Category: This one’s a Keeper

Review: Unseen by Amber Lynn Natusch

Posted February 24, 2015 by Marsha in This one's a Keeper / 0 Comments

Title: Unseen
Series: Unborn (book 2)
Author: Amber Lynn Natusch
Genre: Fantasy
Published: February 17, 2015
Source: NetGalley

Story Blurb:

Welcome to the Kingdom of Hades, where even its prodigal princess sleeps lightly.

After fighting Soul Stealers in Detroit, Khara hoped to return home to find answers in her father’s realm. But the land of the dead offers little information, and far too much tragedy. Now cut off from her brothers, and left only with her dark and unreliable companion Oz, Khara must navigate the centuries-old webs of deceit and betrayal, all while eluding the Underworld’s most depraved inhabitant. But she soon finds an unexpected ally in her adopted sister Persephone. Together, they endeavor to right a terrible wrong. And as Khara soon discovers, there’s more riding on her success than she ever thought possible.

Read on for my thoughts on Unseen. No true spoilers, promise.

Unborn by Amber Lynn Natusch

Posted February 24, 2015 by Marsha in This one's a Keeper / 0 Comments

Title: Unborn
Series: Unborn series (book 1)
Author: Amber Lynn Natusch
Genre: Fantasy
Published: August 26, 2014
Source: NetGalley

Story Blurb:

Born into mystery. Shackled to darkness…

Khara has spent centuries discovering everything about the Underworld―except her place in it. But when she’s ripped from her home, solving the riddle of her origins becomes more important than ever. With evil stalking her through the dark alleys of Detroit, she finds salvation from an unlikely source: a group of immortal warriors sworn to protect the city. Khara needs their help to unravel the tangled secrets of who and what she is—secrets many seem willing to kill for. But time is running out, and the closer she gets to the truth, the closer necessity binds her to an arrogant fallen angel.

Can their shaky alliance withstand that which threatens her, or will her soul fall victim to the unholy forces that hunt her―those that seek the Unborn?

Read on for my thoughts on Unborn. No true spoilers, promise.

Review: A Stolen Season by Tamara Gill

Posted February 22, 2015 by Marsha in This one's a Keeper / 2 Comments

Title: A Stolen Season
Series:
Author: Tamara Gill
Genre: Historical Romance, Time-Travel
Published: February 23, 2015
Source: NetGalley

Story Blurb:

One small mistake in the past will change everything about her future... Archaeologist Sarah Baxter just broke one of the biggest rules of time travel: leaving a piece of 21st century equipment in 19th century Regency England. Unfortunately, when she goes back to retrieve it, she makes an even bigger mess of things—resulting in the death of an English Earl. Now his brother is not only out for revenge, but he also has Sarah’s device. Which means an entirely different approach is needed. It doesn’t occur to the new Earl of Earnston that his charming acquaintance is responsible for his brother’s death. He is merely swept away by a passion that threatens his very reputation. Yet he gets the distinct impression that Miss Baxter is hiding something from him. Now Sarah must find a way to steal back her device, hide the truth about the earl’s brother and—most importantly— not fall in love…

Read on for my thoughts on A Stolen Season. No true spoilers, promise.

Review: Of Silk and Steam by Bec McMaster

Posted February 22, 2015 by Marsha in This one's a Keeper / 0 Comments

Of Silk and Steam Title: Of Silk and Steam
Series: London Steampunk book 5
Author: Bec McMaster
Genre: Romance
Published: March 3, 2015
Source: NetGalley

Story Blurb:

Enemies. Allies. Lovers.

When her beloved father was assassinated, Lady Aramina swore revenge. The man responsible is well beyond her grasp, but his dangerously seductive heir, Leo Barrons, is fair game. When Mina obtains evidence proving that Leo is illegitimate, she has the means to destroy both the killer and his son, a man who troubles her heart and tempts her body.

A woman of mystery, Mina’s long driven Leo crazy with glimpses of a fiery passion that lurks beneath her icy veneer. He knows she’s hiding something, and he’s determined to unravel her layer by silken layer. He just doesn’t expect the beautiful liar to be the key to overthrowing the corrupt prince consort… or to saving his own carefully walled-off heart.

Read on for my thoughts of Of Silk and Steam. No true spoilers, promise.

Review: Soul Crossed by Lisa Gail Green

Posted February 21, 2015 by Marsha in This one's a Keeper / 0 Comments

Title: Soul Crossed
Series: Of Demons and Angels (book 1)
Author: Lisa Gail Green
Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal
Published: February 25, 2015
Source: NetGalley

Story Blurb:

One Demon.

One Angel.

One Soul.

Josh lived a reckless, selfish life, so upon his death, escaping the eternal torments of Hell by assuming the role of a powerful, soul-corrupting demon is an easy choice. His first soul assignment doesn’t seem too hard: the mortal Camden is already obsessed with weapons, pain, and torture. If only Josh wasn’t distracted by Cam’s beautiful friend, Grace.

Grace never expected to die violently at age sixteen, but now she’s an Angel, responsible for saving a soul. She can already see past Camden’s earthly flaws, so the job should be be easy. If only that handsome, playboy Josh would stop getting in the way.

It’s forbidden for an Angel to be with a Demon, so if Josh and Grace stop resisting each other, the results would be disastrous.

And only one can claim Cam’s soul.

Read on for my thoughts on Soul Crossed. No true spoilers, promise.

Feature & Follow #6

Posted February 20, 2015 by Marsha in This one's a Keeper / 25 Comments

FeatureFollowParaAlison Gain new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogger Feature & Follow! If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers — but you have to know — the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me.

The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts,Parajunkee of Parajunkee’s Viewand Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it’ll allow us to show off more new blogs!

This week’s question:

Do you like fantasy or realistic books?

I’m pretty equal between the two. There is nothing like a fantasy, sci-fi or paranormal to let me escape for a few hours. But I can escape just as easily with a contemporary novel or a how-to book. Basically, if it has printed letters on it I will most likely read it.

If you’re a new follower I’d really prefer a Bloglovin’ follow – the button is over on the side bar 🙂 Thanks.

Now since there are no official feature blogs to check out, I’m going to follow our hosts idea of celebrating National Love Your Pets Day. 🙂

My home is ruled by two felines. Charlie, who is our 18 year old grey striped king of the household (very much a smaller version of Charlie in that picture of National Love Your Pet Day banner)

And I introduced Leia earlier this week on a Waiting on Wednesday post but here she is in all her Ragdoll beauty again…. my puppy-cat who loves her belly rubbed. Leia is in her terrible 2’s right now. She is the largest cat I’ve ever had weighing in at 32 pounds of solid muscle and fur. And when she lands on you… You Know It.

Review: The Last Heiress by Mary Ellis

Posted February 19, 2015 by Marsha in This one's a Keeper / 2 Comments

Title: The Last Heiress
Series:
Author: Mary Ellis
Genre: Christian Romance
Published: February 1, 2015
Source: NetGalley

Story Blurb:

Bestselling author Mary Ellis (A Widow’s Hope) presents The Last Heiress, a new romantic standalone that intertwines the lives of a British manufacturing heiress and an American merchant caught in the turbulent time of the War Between the States.

When Amanda Dunn sets sail from England for Wilmington, North Carolina, she hopes to somehow restore shipments of raw materials for her family’s textile mills, which have been severely disrupted by the American Civil War. Though there is not much one individual can do, the wealthy young woman feels she must try, as her mother and hundreds of employees at Dunn Textiles are dependent on Southern cotton.

When Amanda meets Nathaniel Cooper, her desire to conduct business and quickly return to England changes. Though captivated by one another, neither is fully aware of the other’s true nature.

Nathanial, who on the outside appears to be a poor but hardworking merchant, is actually a secret Yankee sympathizer who will stop at almost nothing to bring about freedom for those who live under subjugation, even when that involves questionable judgment. And Amanda’s wealth is made possible by underpaid workers living in slums around the mills, not much different than American slavery.

Can these two earnest souls find the best in one another rather than focus on what could tear them apart? And though they both believe they are on God’s path, how will their decisions affect those around them?

Read on for my thoughts on The Last Heiress. No true spoilers, promise.

Review: A Matchmaker’s Christmas by Donna Lea Simpson

Posted February 19, 2015 by Marsha in This one's a Keeper / 0 Comments

A Matchmaker's Christmas Title: A Matchmaker’s Christmas
Series:
Author: Donna Lea Simpson
Genre: Historical Romance, Christmas
Published: December 17, 2014
Source: NetGalley

Story Blurb:

Twenty years ago, Beatrice Copland committed a reckless and foolish act of deceit that she’s certain ruined the life of a man she’d fallen in love with and led to his wife’s death. Now serving as companion to the stern Lady Bournaud, she leads a quiet life and attends to her duties as a kind of penance. But Lady Bournaud, trying to make amends for her own selfish ways, is opening her country estate to a few select guests for the holidays—including the man Beatrice wronged so many years ago.

Sir David Chappell spent nearly two decades coming to terms with the haunting memory of his wife’s death. When he receives an invitation to Lady Bournaud’s for the Christmas season, he’s reluctant to go at first, but he’s sure the time away in Yorkshire will be a welcome change from London. Once there, he’s immediately captivated by the youthful beauty and genuine compassion of the lady’s companion, Beatrice Copland—all the while sensing that he’s met her before.

Even as David pursues her and Beatrice realizes she’s still powerfully attracted to the man, she must gently rebuff his advances for fear that her damning secret will come to light and reopen his old wounds. And while Lady Bournaud watches, happily scheming to make matches for all her guests, it may take more than a Christmas miracle for David to free Beatrice’s conscience, and her heart, at last.

Read on for my thoughts on A Matchmaker’s Christmas. No true spoilers, promise.

Waiting on Wednesday #5

Posted February 18, 2015 by Marsha in This one's a Keeper / 50 Comments

“Waiting on” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

This week I’m waiting for the next installment of an unusual mystery series. The Pru Marlowe Pet Noir series follows the life, times and animals in need of a particular human’s intervention. Think of The Ghostwhisper tv series – now consider that you are able to “talk” to animals, interact on an intelligent, conversational level … then you have an idea of what the Pru Marlowe murder mysteries novels are about. Murder is never a snap to solve but when you have the purr-fect eye witness playing beside the dead body why not use what you’ve got? If you can psychically talk to the animals – why not ask what they know?

Kittens Can Kill by Clea Simon is due out on March 3, 2015.

I have admitted before that I’m a sucker for covers – and that cover looks exactly like my Leia (see her picture below) when she was an itty-bitty kitten. Now she’s a 30 pound huge ball of fluff, but the blue eyes – yeah, a cover to touch my heart. 🙂

Kittens Can Kill The dead don’t keep pets. So when animal behaviorist expert Pru Marlowe gets a call about a kitten, she doesn’t expect to find the cuddly creature playing beside the cooling body of prominent Beauville lawyer David Canaday. Heart attack? His three adult daughters angrily blame drug interactions, feline allergies—and each other. And begin to feud over their father, his considerable estate, and that cute ball of fluff. While the cause of death is pending, each sister has an axe to grind –with arguments that escalate when David’s partner reads out the will.

Pru’s special sensory talents and sensitivity to animals that caused her to flee the cacophony of Manhattan for the quiet Berkshires add further problems. The local vet is overwhelmed with money running out. There’s that needy Sheltie and some invasive squirrels? But the dead man’s kitten, his former partner, and his troublesome family keep drawing “wild-girl” animal psychic Pru back in. Despite the wry observations of her trusty tabby Wallis, now the wrongfully accused kitten’s guardian, and the grudging compliance of her cop lover, this may be one time when Pru can’t solve the mystery or save the kitten she wants to believe is innocent. A single witness knows the truth about that bright spring morning. How far can Pru investigate without risking her own hidden tale?

This is one of my cats – a Ragdoll called Leia. We often call her a “puppy-cat” because she loves to roll over and get her belly scratched. Now Leia and I have conversations – she meows and I answer. I have No Clue what she is saying but she is enthusiastic about whatever her point is. I certainly wish I could talk to the animals too. Or maybe I don’t really want to know…. *snicker*

Teaser Tuesday #5

Posted February 17, 2015 by Marsha in This one's a Keeper / 18 Comments

teaser tuesday One of the fun parts of taking part in blog hops (aside from getting to visit new to me blogs) is finding great ways to interact with other book lovers. This is one:

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

“Get over yourself. And get out of those clothes.”

Ian winced. Since she put it that way.

“And concentrate. Picture a wolf in your head,” Sara repeated.

~Of Shadow & Stone by Michelle Muto

Want to read more about this Tease? Click “Read More” for the cover blurb & the link to my review of it. 🙂

Review: What A Lady Requires by Ashlyn Macnamara

Posted February 17, 2015 by Marsha in This one's a Keeper / 0 Comments

Title: What A Lady Requires
Series: The Eton Boys Trilogy (book 3)
Author: Ashlyn Macnamara
Genre: Historical Romance
Published: February 24, 2015
Source: NetGalley

Story Blurb:

Unlike every other proper young lady, Miss Emma Jennings views marrying well as little more than a means to an end. Such a merger would provide her industrious father with social credibility, and Emma with a chunk of her vast inheritance. Emma’s practical views are shattered, however, when her father ties her to the fabulously handsome ne’er-do-well Rowan Battencliffe, a man she loathes on sight—from the smile that promises all manner of wickedness to the way he ogles her with those striking blue eyes.

Deep in debt, especially to his wine merchant, Rowan figures the sooner he gets his finances in order, the sooner he can go back to doing what he does best: burning through ridiculous sums of cash. Which is why Rowan agrees to marry the merchant’s daughter, a prim and proper woman with delightful curves and an ample dowry. But Emma seems to think it’s her business to reform him! Their marriage is a tinderbox—and it’s just too tempting to resist playing with fire.

Read on for my thoughts on What A Lady Requires. No true spoilers, promise.