Posted October 15, 2019 by Marsha in Discussion Post / 0 Comments
October is almost here which means so are all the Halloween decorations, candy, costumes and… the 2019 edition of Fraterfest over at Caffeinated Reviewer!
Love Horror stories, do you escape with some Paranormal adventures, devour Shifter Romance or any other supernatural setting? Then you’ll want to check out this five (5) day Readathon for fun, to discover some new authors, new blogs and maybe a prize along the way. What’s not to love about that idea?
UPDATE: Well, it’s the 15th and Fraterfest will be winding down today (until hopefully next year). (I have one more book that I “might” get finished today – but no promises ‘cos life happens, ya know?) I had fun – I certainly wasn’t looking to win prizes, I simply wanted to be part of the book community by taking part in more events… and get back into my Paranormal Cozy Mystery addiction. 🙂
So my Paranormal Cozy Mystery books were a surprise to me. I found one series that I will definitely continue with (I’ve read the author’s other series and had fun). The rest of the titles were probably one time “test the water” reads that I enjoyed at the time but have no compelling need to return to that world. Actually, that kinda makes me sad because I was hoping to add to my repeat read list by adding some new to me authors. It didn’t happen this time around.
Books on my list this year:
- DEADLY SPELLS AND A SOUTHERN BELLE by Amy Boyles (this is the one series I’ll continue)
- This series I’ll not be continuing but the story was fun: WITCH MYTH YEW HOLLOW by Alexandria Clarke
- KICKSTART MY WITCH by Lotta Smith is one I “might” pick up the second story and see if it “clicks” with me.
And I don’t think I’ll finish the 4th in time. The links above will take you to the review posts here at Keeper Bookshelf. In all, I had fun and that was the point.
Posted October 15, 2019 by Marsha in Paranormal Cozy Mystery, Series / 0 Comments
In book one of an exciting new paranormal series, author Lotta Smith introduces accidental witch Fiorentina “Fio” Valentine.
The Napa Valley native is desperately seeking work after yet another job goes up in smoke. Her third employer in a row has gone out of business, and her only lead for gainful employment comes from the familiar voice of her late great-grandma Jane, who tells Fio in a dream to seek a position at one of the country’s largest real estate agencies, Quest Realty.
After a disastrous interview with prospective boss Jack Adams, and a run-in with the apparition of a former Quest employee, Fio is ready to give up the ghost and accept long-term unemployment, but Jack has other ideas. He tells Fio if she can spend the night in a haunted apartment and get to the bottom of a supernatural mystery, she just might be right for the job.
Can Fio face her fear and calm a restless spirit? Is she destined for a desk in the Haunted and Hexed Property management division, or will it be back to the want ads in the morning, assuming she survives the night?
Titles in the Witch’s Guide to Haunted Property: Los Angeles series include – Kickstart My Witch – Too Spooked for Witch – Helter Witchelter –
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Posted October 13, 2019 by Marsha in Mystery, Paranormal Cozy Mystery, Series, This one's a Keeper / 0 Comments
Morgan Summers hates talking to ghosts, but when the victim of a ghastly murder asks her for help from beyond the grave, Morgan can’t say no.
Soon, Morgan herself is blamed for the murder, and the town is out for blood. Can Morgan clear her name, discover the real killer, and help her new ghostly friend cross over to the next life?
Titles in A Witch Myth Cozy Mystery series include – Witch Myth Yew Hollow (a combination book with #0 and #1 together) – Wild Fire – Witch Myth Christmas – Siren Song – Lost Magic –
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Posted October 13, 2019 by Marsha in Christmas Romance, Connection to another series, Modern Western Romance, Series, Tule Publishing / 0 Comments
The first and only wish on his Christmas List – the One Who Got Away
Macon Draeger has loved Charlotte for as long as he can remember. While he’s thrilled that she’s back in Last Stand, Texas, he suspects she won’t stay long. Charlotte has always had a wandering spirit, with dreams that carry her far from their hometown.
When Charlotte Kraus returns to run her grandmother’s flower shop for the holidays, she never expected to feel so at home and inspired. On a whim, she decides to transform the simple flower shop into a flower cafe. The project quickly spirals out of her control, but Macon, her high school sweetheart – a skilled and in-demand handy man – steps in to help. Was he this tall, dark, handsome and tempting when they were teens? Charlotte is wondering about a lot of things by the time they ring in the New Year.
Spending time with Charlotte reminds Macon of what he truly wants in life – love and a family of his own. Can he gain his heart’s desire this Christmas?
Titles in the Draegers of Last Stand, Texas series include – Sweet on the Cowboy – Christmas Flowers –
(This series is part of the Last Stand, Texas group of connecting series, to see all of the titles please visit our Last Stand, Texas page. (think Marietta, Montana– Tule Publishing’s other large set of somewhat connecting series set in a fictional town)
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Posted October 12, 2019 by Marsha in Cozy Mystery, Paranormal Cozy Mystery, Series / 0 Comments
Escape to Witch’s Forge, a magical town tucked deep in the heart of Tennessee’s Smoky Mountains. Only Witch’s Forge isn’t a supernatural paradise—here spells backfire, kudzu bites and magic is broken.
That is until Charming Calhoun arrives.
Charming has everything a Southern Belle could ask for—a thriving matchmaking business and great employees. But when one of her employees goes missing in Witch’s Forge, she quickly realizes there’s something sinister afoot.
Once she arrives, Charming discovers a world of strange. Her house has a mind of its own—adding rooms and coughing up objects. There’s also a broomstick that likes to spank and a pot-bellied pig with an appetite for chocolate.
Then she butts heads with the local vampire chief of police. What? A handsome vampire cop in a town full of witches? Vampires and witches are mortal enemies. But Charming better stay on the vampire’s good side because when someone winds up dead, everyone’s a suspect.
She’s got her work cut out for her. Can Charming solve the mystery and return to her old life? Or will she discover that in the Smoky Mountains her life truly begins? And if so, can Charming survive long enough to enjoy it, or will she become the murderer’s next victim?
Titles in the Southern Belles and Spells Matchmaker Mystery series include – Deadly Spells and A Southern Belle – Cursed Brides and Alibies – Magical Dames and Dating Games –
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Posted October 12, 2019 by Marsha in Christmas Romance, Connection to another series, Contemporary Romance, Series / 0 Comments
With a dash of Christmas magic…
Two people who have spent most of their lives being rivals…
Learn a little something about following their hearts…
Carter Montgomery broke the family mold when he went to culinary school. Now a successful restauranteur, he’s at a crossroads: should he continue on his successful path or look for a new challenge? What he needs is time alone to think things through. But his matchmaking family has other ideas…
Emery Monaghan’s no-good fiancé has embroiled her in scandal and she needs a way out. When mentor Eliza Montgomery offers her a place to recoup, perhaps hide, she’s relieved―until she realizes that the deal means rubbing elbows with Eliza’s son Carter―Emery’s childhood nemesis.
Titles in the Montgomery Brothers series include — Wait For Me – Trust In Me – Stay With Me – More of Me (#3.5)– Return to You – Meant for You – I’ll Be There – Until There Was Us – Suddenly Mine – A Dash of Christmas
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Posted October 11, 2019 by Marsha in Christmas Romance, Contemporary Romance, Modern Western Romance, Series, Tule Publishing / 0 Comments
Her thermostat was set to frosty until her Christmas cowboy cranks up the heat.
Ashley Hughes would love to cancel Christmas this year. Instead of holiday plans, she’s back in her Texas hometown planning her twin sister’s wedding — to her ex! Nothing like small town speculation to make her life cheery and bright. No one believes that she’s over the groom, until a certain cowboy secret crush steps in to be her plus one. Ashley’s tried to friend zone Jennings since high school because she’s always known kissing the casual charmer would lead to a love she’d never forget.
Jennings Hill would be the first to admit that his feelings for his ex-best friend are more likely to land him on the naughty list. When he sees Ashley again, he only wants to help but then a rumor links them romantically and that’s when their lives get complicated.
The more time they spend together, the more Jennings worries she’s not over her ex, but Ashley starts wishing Jennings was her present wrapped under the Christmas tree.
Titles in The Hills of Texas series include: Saving the Sheriff – Resisting the Rancher – Taming the Troublemaker – Claiming the Cowboy for Christmas –
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Posted October 9, 2019 by Marsha in Connection to another series, Contemporary Romance, Series / 0 Comments
Finn Anderson is a loyal military veteran who has no desire to live a life of luxury and ease, but sometimes a person doesn’t get a choice. His life is flipped upside down when he and his four brothers learn they’re long-lost relatives of the absurdly famous and wealthy Joseph Anderson. The eccentric but generous billionaire puts the brothers to work building a new veterans center, and that’s not all: Joseph won’t stop until each nephew finds love.
Finn has never expected or wanted an easy life, and he struggles with his early retirement from the elite SEAL team. But when a very confident Brooke Garrison literally sweeps him off his feet during a self-defense class he’s teaching, he thinks less about his past and more about a brand-new future.
If Finn knows anything for certain, it’s that he can’t let this woman get away. Though Brooke is tough and compassionate, the loss of her brother has left her vulnerable. She isn’t sure she can risk loving and losing another person in her life, including a very determined ex-SEAL. Can the two of them look beyond their past wounds and embrace what they’re feeling?
Titles in the Anderson Billionaires series include — Finn – Noah –
This series is part of the larger set of connected series about the branches of the Anderson family – to see a list of titles and series please visit our Melody Anne page.
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Posted October 9, 2019 by Marsha in Cozy Mystery, Mystery, Series / 0 Comments
It’s the most wonderful time of the year in Connecticut, but Melanie Travis finds surviving this December may take a real Christmas miracle when a yuletide murderer comes to town
As Melanie attempts to deck the halls in a house overrun by pampered Poodles, her event planner friend, Claire, is busy playing Santa—beard, and belly not included—for the wealthiest clientele on Connecticut’s Gold Coast. A personal shopper gig in the affluent town of New Canaan seems like business as usual. Except Claire’s stylish stint comes at a higher price than she bargains for when she stumbles over her newest customer’s dead body on the job. Named a prime suspect for murder, she begs for Melanie’s help, then vanishes like cookies and milk on Christmas Eve . . .
Determined to track down Claire, Melanie, and her nosy Aunt Peg dash into a dizzying investigation that leads to even more questions. Why was homicide victim Lila Moran, a secretive woman with an untraceable past, permitted to live on a well-known socialite-turned-recluse’s private estate, and is Claire keeping her own incriminating secrets under wraps? Now, with a grinchy New Canaan detective on their case and disturbing clues piling up like presents beneath the tree, the crime-solving duo must rein in a sinister Kris Kringle before they’re the next ones on someone’s deadly wish list.
Titles in the Melanie Travis Canine Mystery series include – Underdog – Dog Eat Dog – Hair of the Dog – Watchdog – Hush Puppy – Unleashed – Once Bitten – Hot Dog – Best in Show – Jingle Bell Bark – Raining Cats & Dogs – Chow Down – Hounded to Death – Doggie Day Care Murder – Gone with the Woof – Death of a Dog Whisperer – The Bark Before Christmas – Live and Let Growl – Murder at the Puppy Fest – Wagging Through the Snow – Ruff Justice – Bite Club – Here Comes Santa Paws –
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Posted October 9, 2019 by Marsha in Christmas Romance, Cozy Mystery, Mystery, Series, Tule Publishing / 0 Comments
It’s one thing to write a mystery, but when your daughter is the suspect — you solve it.
Wedding planner Jenna Bell doesn’t panic when the groom is a no-show to the ceremony – even though he is her former high school sweetheart and this wedding is the small town’s event of the year. However, when he turns up dead and she is falsely accused… well, yeah, now it’s the time to panic.
Jenna’s mother, Maddie, puts her cozy mystery-writing skills to use to try to clear her daughter’s name, stepping on by-the-book Chief of Police Jackson Bradley’s toes in the process. No matter how enticing he finds her, he doesn’t want this writer-turned-amateur-sleuth interfering with his murder investigation.
With nearly all of Hemlock, North Carolina, picking sides and the town’s own Gossip Brigade churning out the rumors, Maddie discovers the mystery isn’t very cozy when it hits this close to home.
Titles in The Wedding Bell Mysteries series include – Slay Bells Ring –
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Posted October 9, 2019 by Marsha in Christmas Romance, Connection to another series, Historical Romance, Regency Romance, Series / 0 Comments
All she wants is a little peace.
But Sophie’s holiday is about to heat up.
Lady Sophie Windham has maneuvered a few days to herself at the ducal mansion in London before she must join her family for Christmas in Kent. Suddenly trapped in Town by a snowstorm, she finds herself with an abandoned baby and only the assistance of a kind, handsome stranger standing between her and complete disaster.
With his estate in chaos, Vim Charpentier expected complications this holiday season, but he couldn’t have predicted that Sophie Windham would be among them. His growing attraction for Sophie is the only thing that warms his spirits. But Sophie’s been keeping secrets, and it will take more than a kiss under the mistletoe to make her wishes come true.
The Windham series contains three sub-series:
The Duke’s Obsession (about the Duke’s three sons), – The Heir, The Soldier, The Virtuoso
The Duke’s Daughters (about his five daughters), – Lady Sophie’s Christmas Wish – Lady Maggie’s Secret Scandal – Lady Louisa’s Christmas Knight – Lady Eve’s Indiscretion – Lady Jenny’s Christmas Portrait
The Courtship and The Duke and His Duchess, two prequel novellas. (list information from Goodreads)
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Posted October 8, 2019 by Marsha in Cozy Mystery, Series / 0 Comments
Halloween on Mackinac Island is a season of fun tricks, but finding a corpse is no treat for fudge shop owner Allie McMurphy . . .
NIGHT OF THE REALLY DEAD
It’s late October, the off-season for tourists, but locals are up and lurching for the annual zombie walk charity event. Though everyone’s living it up, trouble is just a few pawprints away.
Allie’s followed the bloody tracks of her calico cat, Carmella, to a body in the alley behind the Historic McMurphy Hotel and Fudge Shop. Unlike the island’s other walking dead, this one’s flatlined for good. It seems that someone is using the zombie fest as the perfect backdrop for murder.
Now amateur sleuth Allie and dreamboat officer Rex Manning must use every trick in their treat bag to unmask a killer in disguise.
Titles in the Candy-Coated Mysteries series include – All Fudged Up – To Fudge or Not To Fudge – Oh Say Can You Fudge – All I Want for Christmas is Fudge (3.5) – All You Need is Fudge – Oh, Fudge! – Deck the Halls with Fudge (5.5) – Forever Fudge – Fudge Bites –
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Posted October 8, 2019 by Marsha in Christmas Romance, Paranormal Romance, Series / 0 Comments
Silver Town is howling with Christmas cheer
Gray wolves Meghan MacTire and Sheriff Peter Jorgenson plan to spend the rest of their lives together, and what better time to start forever than Christmas?
But they are both harboring dark secrets that are about to surface and threaten their future together.
With holiday magic in the air and all Silver Town ready to celebrate, Meghan and Peter have to conquer the past if they’re to have any hope of celebrating this Christmas together.
Titles in the Silver Town Wolf series (part of the larger Heart of the Wolf series) include: Destiny of the Wolf – Wolf Fever – Dreaming of the Wolf -Silence of the Wolf – A Silver Wolf Christmas – Alpha Wolf Need Not Apply – Between a Wolf and a Hard Place – All’s Fair in Love and Wolf – Home for the Holidays –
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Posted October 8, 2019 by Marsha in Christmas Romance, Contemporary Romance, Series, Tule Publishing / 0 Comments
They didn’t believe in holiday magic… until it happens to them.
Anna McKinnon is a free spirit. As a bartender in New York City, she answers to no one, keeps what she calls “vampire hours” – and likes it that way. She secretly wishes to find real love, the forever kind her brothers have all found. But love has not only eluded her, but it’s also burned her badly. Keeping things light is how Anna copes.
David Beren is a high-powered, intense investment banker in the heart of Manhattan. His 80-hour workweeks took over his life long ago, but now, at 35, he’s ready for something more. But what? And then he meets Anna. She’s unexpected – full of light, color, and laughter. Anna knocks him off his game and his feet, and he’s never been happier.
Can total opposites – a feisty, bold girl from Ireland and a quiet, straight-laced Jewish guy from New Jersey – find love at the holidays? With the double whammy of a Hanukkah miracle and some Christmas magic, they just might.
Titles in The McKinnon Brothers series include – All I Want For Christmas – A Doctor’s Love – Marrying His Best Friend – Love In Dublin – Holidays in Manhattan
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Posted October 8, 2019 by Marsha in Contemporary Romance, Series, Women's Fiction / 0 Comments
Three women—two sisters and their aunt—and the cliff house on the northern California coast that served as a beacon to them all…
After the death of their mother, sisters Daisy and Beatriz Davenport found a home with their aunt Stella in the beautiful and welcoming town of Cape Sanctuary. They never knew all the dreams that Stella sacrificed to ensure they had everything they’d ever need. Now, with Daisy and Bea grown up, it’s time for Stella to reveal the secret she’s been keeping from them—a secret that will change their family forever.
Bea thought she’d sown all her wild oats when she got pregnant far too young. The marriage that followed was rocky and not destined to last, but it gave Bea her wonderful, mature, now eleven-year-old daughter, Marisol. But just as she’s beginning to pursue a new love with an old friend, Bea’s ex-husband resurfaces and turns their lives completely upside down.
Then there’s Daisy—sensible, rational, financially prudent Daisy. She’s never taken a risk in her life—until she meets a man who makes her question everything she thought she knew about life, love and the power of taking chances.
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