Review: Stained by Ella James

Posted May 27, 2015 by Marsha in This one's a Keeper / 2 Comments

Title: Stained
Series: Stained #1
Author: Ella James
Genre: Paranormal, Romance
Published: September 14, 2011
Publisher: Barkley’s Books
My Rating: 5 star
Source: NetGalley
Synopsis:

Seventeen-year-old Julia is finally living the good life. She’s traded a hard cot in a Memphis orphanage for her very own room in a perfect little house, on a perfect little street, with a perfect set of parents who picked her to be their daughter.

But Julia is hiding a secret – and one fall night, she returns home from a friend’s house to find that her secret has found her. Her ‘forever home’ is ashes. Her parents are dead. And, in the sky above the flames, a winged creature hunts her.

The Nephilim King, Samyaza, has taken everything from Cayne. After struggling in the darkness for years to piece together his shattered life, Cayne is finally ready to confront his past and avenge the loss of everything he loved. He tracks Samyaza to a Memphis warehouse, where he winds up flat on his back, in the healing hands of a beautiful, dark-haired girl he doesn’t need to know.

Unbeknownst to either of them, they are already bound. Cayne’s past holds the answers to Julia’s future. But what will pose the greatest threat to her? The bounty placed on her head by the leaders of two Celestial realms, or giving her heart to a man who is bound, by birth, to break it?

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

Waiting on Wednesday #16

Posted May 27, 2015 by Marsha in This one's a Keeper / 4 Comments

“Waiting on” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating… cannot wait to get our hands on… having hissy fits at having to wait… you know, waiting for the book is exhausting work!

I am in Seventh Heaven and on Pins and Needles (and any other corny phrase I can find) for this release. Edge of Darkness is a 3 in 1 novel featuring Christine Feehan, Maggie Shayne and Lori Hertner. *silent scream of joy* July 28, 2015 cannot come soon enough for me. Vampires. *be still my heart*

Dark Crime by Christine Feehan
Blaze knows who killed her father and she has merciless plans for payback. Until a phone call from a seductive stranger pleads with her to wait. Retribution is in his blood, too. Now, he and Blaze will be united in the blood of the guilty. Tonight, vengeance is theirs.

Dead by Twilight by Maggie Shayne
Bloodsuckers may be an accepted minority but one of them is getting away with murder. Until a female vamp teams with a mortal detective to end the killing spree. Now the night belongs to them—and so does every pleasure and danger lurking in the shadows.

Cimarron Spirit by Lori Herter
While excavating an Anasazi ruin, archeologist Annie Carmichael uncovers the resting place of a centuries-old vampire who finds in Annie the liberating mate he has longed for. But how much is Annie expected—or willing—to surrender for the man she now desires?

Vampires, from my favorite authors – need I say more? What amazing novel are you waiting for?

Review: The Medium Path by Elizabeth Davies

Posted May 26, 2015 by Marsha in This one's a Keeper / 0 Comments

Title: The Medium Path
Series:
Author: Elizabeth Davies
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Published: May 26, 2015
Publisher: Romance Beckons
My Rating: 5 stars
Source: NetGalley
Synopsis:

Ruby died nearly one hundred years ago. She saw spirits of the dead when she was alive, and now she is dead she has become a guide who helps ghosts pass on.

When ghosts start being taken by darkness instead of the light, Ruby is forced to seek help from a handsome and unwilling medium, who awakens emotions she never knew she had.

Read on for my thoughts on The Medium Path. No true spoilers, promise.

Review: Rescuing The Bad Boy by Jessica Lemmon

Posted May 26, 2015 by Marsha in Contemporary Romance / 2 Comments

Title: Rescuing the Bad Boy
Series: Second Chance #2
Author: Jessica Lemmon
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Published: May 26, 2015
Publisher: Forever
My Rating: 5 star
Source: NetGalley
Synopsis:

For Donovan Pate, the lake town of Evergreen Cove is a minefield of tough memories-including the day he had to let go of Sofie Martin. Years later he still can’t forget the taste of her lips and the feel of her killer curves. He knows he’s too damaged, that he should stay away for her own good. But what the head says and the heart wants are two very different things . . .

Seven years ago, Donovan broke Sofie’s heart. Now her career depends on playing nice in order to pull off the charity fund-raiser of the decade. She vows to keep things professional . . . yet working by his side every day doesn’t make it easy to fight temptation, and it isn’t long before she finds herself falling for this bad boy all over again. But loving Donovan means helping him face his past-so they can fight for a future together.

Read on for my thoughts on Rescuing the Bad Boy. No true spoilers, promise.

Review: Letting Go by Jessica Ruddick

Posted May 26, 2015 by Marsha in Contemporary Romance / 0 Comments

Title: Letting Go
Series:
Author: Jessica Ruddick
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary Romance
Published: May 26, 2015
Publisher: Entangled
My Rating: 4 stars
Source: NetGalley
Synopsis:

Cori Elliott likes order. Her schedule, her social life…even her GPA is perfect. Then she finds out her high school boyfriend’s death wasn’t an accident-it was suicide. The devastating revelation is enough to fracture her perfectly structured life, sending Cori in a downward spiral of self-doubt and impulsive decisions.
And right into the arms of Luke Evans.
But Cori’s life isn’t perfect anymore. In fact, it’s all coming apart. The only way she can save herself is to let go of everything-including the girl she used to be. Even if it means losing the one guy who might just be perfect for her in the process.

Read on for my thoughts on Letting Go. No true spoilers, promise.

Review: Give Up The Ghost by Kelly Moran

Posted May 26, 2015 by Marsha in This one's a Keeper / 0 Comments

Title: Give Up The Ghost
Series: Phantoms #2
Author: Kelly Moran
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Published: May 26, 2015
Publisher: Entangled
My Rating: 5 stars
Source: NetGalley
Synopsis:

Paranormal investigator Kerry Baker has seen it all. But nothing in her work with the Phantoms team prepares her for the most terrifying ghost of all―seeing her doppelganger. Rumored to be a foreshadowing of one’s death, the spectre shakes Kerry to the core…sending her into the arms of her best friend and fellow Phantom cast member, Paul Leake, for comfort.

Until a kiss changes everything.

Paul has been in love with Kerry for ages, unwilling to compromise their friendship. As their investigation in a ghost town grows more intense, however, so does the chemistry between Paul and Kerry. With her life in danger and their jobs on the line, giving into their attraction couldn’t be a worse idea―and yet they can’t bring themselves to stop it. Even if it kills her…

Read on for my thoughts on Give Up The Ghost. No true spoilers, promise.

Review: A Leopard’s Path by Lia Davis

Posted May 26, 2015 by Marsha in This one's a Keeper / 0 Comments

Title: A Leopard’s Path
Series: Ashwood Falls #5
Author: Lia Davis
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Shifters
Published: May 26, 2015
Publisher: Fated Desires Publishing
My Rating: 5 stars
Source: NetGalley
Synopsis:

Stolen from her family as an infant, Ana Darwin-Andrews has to piece together her past and present. Her whole life is a lie. There’s only one man she feels she can trust, but even he has secrets.

Kieran Michaels keeps a tight lid on his past, but the Onyx Alpha knows his darkest secrets. Kieran will stop at nothing to destroy the rogue before the past is revealed. Ana can never discover his hands are as bloodstained as their enemy’s, because life without her is not an option.

Read on for my thoughts on A Leopard’s Path. No true spoilers, promise.

Review: The Lady Hellion by Joanna Shupe

Posted May 26, 2015 by Marsha in This one's a Keeper / 0 Comments

Title: The Lady Hellion
Series: Wicked Deceptions #3
Author: Joanna Shupe
Genre: Historical Romance
Published: May 26, 2015
Publisher: Kensington Books, Zebra
My Rating: 5 stars
Source: NetGalley
Synopsis:

A rabble rouser for justice, Sophie’s latest mission is to fight for the rights of the poor, the wretched—and the employees at Madame Hartley’s brothel. She’s not concerned about the criminals who will cross her path, for Sophie has mastered the art of deception—including the art of wearing trousers. Now her fate is in her own hands, along with a loaded gun. All she needs is instruction on how to shoot it. But only one person can help her: Lord Quint, the man who broke her heart years ago. The man she won’t let destroy her again…

The last thing Damien Beecham, Viscount Quint, needs is an intrusion on his privacy, especially from the beautiful, exasperating woman he’s never stopped wanting. A woman with a perilously absurd request, no less. For Damien is fighting a battle of his own, one he wishes to keep hidden—along with his feelings for Lady Sophia. Yet that fight is as hopeless as stopping her outlandish plan. Soon all Quint knows for certain is that he will die trying to protect her.

Read on for my thoughts on The Lady Hellion. No true spoilers, promise.

Review: Wedding Bells in Christmas by Debbie Mason

Posted May 26, 2015 by Marsha in Contemporary Romance / 0 Comments

Title: Wedding Bells in Christmas
Series: Christmas, Colorado #4
Author: Debbie Mason
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Published: May 26, 2015
Publisher: Forever
My Rating: 5 stars
Source: NetGalley
Synopsis:

Wedding bells are ringing in the charming town of Christmas, but not for Vivian Westfield. She’s just had her heart trampled under the cowboy boots of Chance McBride and lost her dream job at a big-city newspaper. But when she returns for a wedding, she stumbles on a story that could resurrect her career. First, though, she’ll have to deal with the handsome man standing in her way… and a still-burning flame that’s too hot to ignore.

Chance recognizes trouble when he sees it. He just didn’t expect to find it in the first-class cabin on the flight home for his father’s wedding. Yet there she is, as gorgeous as ever. Vivi dared Chance to want things he knew he could never have. It’s why he left her. But Christmas’s meddling matchmakers have them firmly in their sights. So if they want to survive the next week, they’ll have to play the part of an adoring couple—an irresistible charade that may give them a second chance at the real thing.

Read on for my thoughts on Wedding Bells in Christmas. No true spoilers, promise.

Review: The Hookup Hoax by Heather Thurmeier

Posted May 25, 2015 by Marsha in Contemporary Romance / 2 Comments

Title: The Hookup Hoax
Series:
Author: Heather Thurmeier
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Published: May 26, 2015
Publisher: Entangled Lovestruck
My Rating: 5 stars
Source: NetGalley
Synopsis:

Sawyer Sterling needs a girlfriend. With the family cabin up for grabs, he’s desperate to prove that he could be the guy to “pass it on.” Of course, Sawyer also has a tendency to treat relationships like a contagious stomach flu that should be avoided at all costs. Now he needs a girlfriend-for-hire. Someone he can trust. Someone he could never, ever fall for…

Someone like his best friend’s sister.

Sawyer’s offer is exactly what Olivia Morgan needs. After traveling around the world for the last five years, the promise of a job and free accommodations is heaven. And sure, maybe Sawyer’s a super-hot, charming guy with dimples made for kissing, but he’s not willing to be the guy—or relationship—she needs.

All it takes is one hot hook-up before this little hoax gets blown all to hell.

Read on for my thoughts on The Hookup Hoax. No true spoilers, promise.

Review: Finally His Bride by Maisey Yates

Posted May 25, 2015 by Marsha in Contemporary Romance / 0 Comments

Title: Finally His Bride
Series: Montana Born Brides #4
Author: Maisey Yates
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Published: May 25, 2015
Publisher: Tule Publishing
My Rating: 4.5 stars
Source: NetGalley
Synopsis:

Wedding fever has hit the little town of Marietta…

As the whole town goes crazy over the celebrity wedding event of the century, Melanie Richards decides she’s tired of blending in. It’s time go after what she wants. Her to do list:

Get a sexy dress

A little liquid courage

Lose that pesky virginity

Luke Shuller can’t believe his eyes when he walks into Grey’s and sees his best friend trying to pick up some drunk cowboy. Melanie wants to start hooking up? She can practice on him. At least he’ll keep her safe. And as a bonus, their pretend relationship will help him deal with a family crisis.

But when pretend gets real, Melanie can’t tell where the charade ends and reality begins. When the dust settles, will she get thrown back into the friend zone, or will she finally get the man of her dreams?

Read on for my thoughts on Finally His Bride. No true spoilers, promise.

Musing Mondays #5

Posted May 25, 2015 by Marsha in This one's a Keeper / 6 Comments

Musing Monday is hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm.

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme that asks you to choose one of the following prompts to answer:

I’m currently reading…
Up next I think I’ll read…
I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
I can’t wait to get a copy of…
I wish I could read ___, but…
I blogged about ____ this past week…

THIS WEEK’S RANDOM QUESTION:

Where is the strangest place you’ve ever read a book? OR… Where is the strangest place you’ve ever found a crazy-good book, unexpectedly?

Strangest place, might not be too strange but not the norm for me at all. There was the perfect window with a window seat in an apartment that I lived in years ago. Just shaded enough in the warm months, not too harsh a light in the winter. It was simply a great place to curl up with a book and no one would bother me. I converted part of that attic to a little reading area and I adored it. I’ve never found a more cozy, comfortable place to curl up since.

I’m using the I wish I could read_____, but… prompt this week because it’s time I made a book confession. I cannot read the Harry Potter books. Now, before anyone gets into a heart attack mode here – I have watched, loved and re-watched every Harry Potter movie. I just cannot get into the novels, and I don’t know why – I wish I did. I have every novel, as they were published, with the intention of reading every single one. But I put them down and don’t return. The movies are the only way that I’ve experienced the Harry Potter world. And while I’m okay with that fact, it is still a puzzle to me as to why I simply cannot get lost in the books. It actually makes me feel rather sad because I’ve always enjoyed the book that was made into a movie more. I don’t know… hopefully one day I’ll get to read them, but for now I’m a totally visual Harry Potter fan.

Monday’s Pick ~ Dead Radiance

Posted May 25, 2015 by Marsha in This one's a Keeper / 0 Comments

Dead Radiance “Monday’s Pick” is a feature here at Keeper Bookshelf that showcases a novel I picked up for free. This week’s pick was found at Amazon’s Free Kindle Books offerings.

Look for a “Free” novel to be picked each Monday and the review to appear on the following Monday. There are some really good “free” novels available (and some not so great too). Let’s weed them out. If this sounds like something you might like to take part in — awesome, just leave a link with your Free Monday Pick in the comment section and let us go check it out.

Blurb:

Bryn Halbrook had always seen the glow. But it is only when her best friend dies that she discovers the meaning of those beautiful golden auras — Death. Alone, lost in the foster system, she struggles to understand who she is and why she was cursed with the ability to see the soon-to-be-dead.

The new foster kid, Aidan, isn’t helping any. Mr. Perfect seems to fit in no matter what, making her feel even more pathetic. But when his affections turn to her, Bryn finds him hard to resist. Impossible actually. A mystery himself, Aidan disappears, leaving behind a broken heart and a mysterious book that suggests Bryn might not be entirely human.

Bryn stands at the threshold of a journey of discovery. Will destiny help her find herself, find her purpose and her place in a world in which she’d never belonged?

Review: Kissing Mr. Wrong by Kerri Carpenter

Posted May 24, 2015 by Marsha in Contemporary Romance / 0 Comments

Title: Kissing Mr Wrong
Series: A Wrong Man Story
Author: Kerri Carpenter
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Published: May 26, 2015
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
My Rating: 4 stars
Source: NetGalley
Synopsis:

Three months ago, graphic designer Vanessa Hewitt slept with the ridiculously hot guy she met after nearly falling to her death while stargazing on a bridge. The adrenaline-fueled night of we’ll-never-see-each-other-again sex fulfilled every fantasy, but with her best friend’s wedding on the horizon, Vanessa can’t stop thinking about what would happen if her sexy stranger passed through town again.

Haunted by his time in Afghanistan, soldier John Campbell returns to his hometown just long enough to help plan an engagement party for his sister. When he realizes her best friend is the sweet one-night stand he’s been fantasizing about for months, he’ll do anything to have her again…though getting trapped together in a storeroom wasn’t quite what he had in mind.

Vanessa is in hell. Or is it heaven? Because with every touch, their forbidden connection grows, until kissing Mr. Wrong starts feeling more like kissing Mr. Right.

Read on for my thoughts on Kissing Mr. Wrong. No true spoilers, promise.

Review: Date and Dash by Susan Hatler

Posted May 23, 2015 by Marsha in Contemporary Romance / 2 Comments

Title: Date and Dash
Series: Better Date Than Never #10
Author: Susan Hatler
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Published: May 10, 2015
Publisher: Hatco Publishing
My Rating: 4 stars
Source: NetGalley
Synopsis:

Mary Ann Nielsen lives by her one-strike-and-you’re-out dating policy, but she’s always open to meeting the right guy. When she accidentally rear-ends handsome Trevor Brooks on her way to a charity auction to buy back her beloved grandmother’s long lost bracelet, she figures this unconventional meeting could at least turn into a hot date. Wrong. Trevor is annoyingly responsible and more concerned with insurance reports than responding to her flirting so he earns three strikes right off the bat.

Flustered from the car accident and being rejected by gorgeous Trevor, Mary Ann mistakenly bids on the wrong auction item and loses out on reclaiming her grandmother’s bracelet. Instead, she wins four dates on a reality TV show with none other than stuffy Trevor Brooks. Now she’s broke and the only way to get the money to buy back her special family heirloom is to win the grand prize money from the televised couples competition by convincing the audience that she and Trevor are in love.

While dating Trevor on the show, Mary Ann discovers the reliable analyst is fun and kind-hearted. In fact, the more she finds out about him the more she starts to fall for him. Could giving Trevor a second chance mean winning not just the TV show and her grandmother’s bracelet but the love that Mary Ann has always dreamed of?

Read on for my thoughts on Date and Dash. No true spoilers, promise.