Spotlight: The Champion's Ruin by Kristen Banet - November 24 Release

 

Author: Kristen Banet

Published: November 24, 2020

Pages: 

Goodreads

Pride comes before the fall

Riding the high of the victories their rebellion had been able to claim early in their campaign against the tyranny and oppression of the Empire, the Andinna stand tall. They find reasons to celebrate with every won skirmish, every freed slave, and every reunion with their friends from Olost. Mave stands at the top beside her king, her friend, and her brother, Alchan Andini, as they claim each of those victories. Supporting them, the full force and power of the Ivory Shadows, helping lead the Andinna to freedom. Her husbands, their extended families, their community, a band of warriors brought together in the most terrible of times. A band of warriors who will stop at nothing to see freedom before their lifetimes are over.

But Shadra has joined the fray now. A thousand years before, a cunning noble woman knew how to cut to the heart of the Andinna and bring them to their knees. Her generals and admirals are floundering. Her son and heir is dead. There are traitors and spies in her midst. But she is Empress Shadra of the Elvasi Empire and she has defeated the warrior Andinna people before. She is resolved to do it again.

Pride comes before the fall.
And when one can fly, that fall can be a very long way down.

The Champion’s Ruin is a 155,000+ words, full-length novel. 
Age of the Andinna is a reverse harem epic fantasy series. The female lead will collect her lovers as the series progresses.
There is triggering content in this series including but not limited to: abuse, violence, mature language, and sexual content. It’s recommended for mature audiences.

Amazon

Kristen Banet loves to read books that make people cry. She likes to write books that make people cry (and she wants to hear about it). She’s a firm believer that nothing and no one in this world is perfect, and she enjoys exploring those imperfections—trying to make the characters seem real on the page and not just in her head.
She might just be crazy, though. Her characters think so, but this can’t be confirmed.

You can find more of her works under K.N. Banet!

Check out her social media to catch what's going on in the worlds inside her head. She drops teasers, new covers, and opens ARC reader slots through her Facebook group, The Banet Pride.
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/kristenbanetauthor/
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheBanetPride/

Viori Shampoo and Conditioner Bar review

 

It has been a couple months since I last reviewed shampoo and conditioner bars, because I've been using the same brand that whole time. Now, that wasn't my intention, but when I got the Terrace Garden shampoo and conditioner bars from Viori, I immediately noticed they smell like lilac, which is one of my most favorite scents, and I can almost NEVER find it in anything. So for the past couple months (20-22 washes, because I'm not 100% sure I marked them all down) I've been using this. And that leaves me with plenty to say about them. 

First off, can we talk about that packaging! The conditioner bars have wax seals on them, making them look all fancy and stuff, and the shampoo bars come in those adorable gift boxes that I'm absolutely going to reuse at some point for something.

Secondly, the Terrace Garden shampoo bar does not leave my hair feeling more dry than washing with traditional shampoo does. However, it is designed for dry to normal hair. This means that unlike the bar I was using from The Earthling Co, my hair still needs to be washed every two to three days. If you are looking for a shampoo bar designed for oily to normal hair, you're going to want to go with the Citrus Yao bar (according to the website). I wish I could review that one as well, but I sent it off to Bekah the Awesome from Playtpire Reviews to try out, and I've got several other brands of shampoo bars to try out first before I even think about reordering from Viori (although next time they have a sale I may just have to stock up on the Terrace Garden Bars because I seriously love them). 

Another thing I've noticed since I started using the Viori bars is that my hair is showing it's natural curl more. I don't have a lot of natural curl, and it seriously only lasts up until I brush my hair, but there have been days when I've gone to bed with my hair still damp and woken up with the most adorable ringlets. I don't want to say that this will absolutely lead to more curl for you ladies with curly hair, but it might based on my experience. 

The final point I'd like to make about these shampoo bars is that the scent seems to linger in my hair longer than the ones I tried from The Earthling Co. Now some of that may be psychosomatic because I really like this scent so I want to smell it longer (whereas I wasn't fond of the Cool Breeze scent I was using from The Earthling Co.). I don't think it's entirely psychosomatic though, as my bathroom has smelled like lilacs since I put these bars in my shower, and the previous bars I tried did not noticeably scent the whole room. 

Like The Earthling Co., Viori had super fast shipping, I think it only took three days from the date of purchase for them to arrive. And I would definitely order from them again, if only because of the lilac scented bars. 

Do you know of another retailer who sells lilac scented shampoo bars? Leave me a link to their page in the comments (even if it's an Etsy seller or something like that) because I'd love to try them out. - Katie