Start Me Up by Nicole Michaels

Posted September 6, 2015 by Marsha in Contemporary Romance, Series / 0 Comments

Start Me UpTitle:  Start Me Up
Series:  Hearts and Crafts #1
Author:  Nicole Michaels
Genre:  Contemporary Romance
Published:  March 3, 2015
Publisher:  St.  Martin’s Paperbacks
My Rating:  4 stars
Source:  Owned, Paperback
Cover Description:

Why do Do-It-Yourself…

Single mom Anne Edmond can handle—and hand-make—just about anything. From table settings to party favors, floral arrangements to nursery décor, there is no project her creativity and a glue gun can’t tackle. But dating? That’s a whole ’nother story. Case in point: Mike Everett. He’s a gorgeous mechanic and known car-whisperer, a man who can work with auto parts like nobody’s business. And he has thrown a monkey wrench into Anne’s carefully-crafted life…

When you can do it together?

One look at Anne is enough for Mike to know that she’s no fixer-upper. She’s perfect just the way she is—and the chemistry between them works like a charm. Mike’s always been a no-strings kind of guy, but Anne’s impressive self-reliance—and gorgeous exterior—gives him pause. This time, a fast joyride just doesn’t seem like enough. But first he has to convince Anne that he means to take her all the way.

Read on for my thoughts on Start Me Up.  No true spoilers, promise.

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Hanover House by Brenda Novak

Posted September 5, 2015 by Marsha in Mystery, Series / 0 Comments

Hanover HouseTitle:  Hanover House
Series:  Hanover House Chronicles 0.5 prequel
Author:  Brenda Novak
Genre:  Thriller, Mystery, Romance
Published:  September 1, 2015
Publisher:
My Rating:  5 stars
Source:  NetGalley
Cover Description:

Psychiatrist Evelyn Talbot has dedicated her life to solving the mysteries of the antisocial mind. Why do psychopaths act as they do? How do they come to be? Why don’t they feel any remorse for the suffering they cause? And are there better ways of spotting and stopping them?

After having been kidnapped, tortured and left for dead when she was just a teenager—by her high school boyfriend—she’s determined to understand how someone she trusted so much could turn on her. So she’s established a revolutionary new medical health center in the remote town of Hilltop, Alaska, where she studies the worst of the worst.

But not everyone in Hilltop is excited to have Hanover House and its many serial killers in the area. Alaskan State Trooper, Sergeant Amarok, is one of them. And yet he can’t help feeling bad about what Evelyn has been through. He’s even attracted to her. Which is partly why he worries.

He knows what could happen if one little thing goes wrong…

Read on for my thoughts on Hanover House.  No true spoilers, promise.

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The Rogue You Know by Shana Galen

Posted September 5, 2015 by Marsha in Series / 0 Comments

Rogue You KnowTitle:  The Rogue You Know
Series:  Covent Garden Cubs #2
Author:  Shana Galen
Genre:   Historical Romance
Published:  September 1, 2015
Publisher:  Sourcebooks, Casablanca
My Rating:  4 stars
Source:  NetGalley
Cover Description:

She’s beyond his reach…
Gideon Harrow has spent his life in London’s dark underworld-and he wants out. A thief and a con, he plans one last heist to finally win his freedom. But when everything goes wrong, he finds himself at the tender mercies of one of Society’s most untouchable women-Lady Susanna Derring.

…and out of her depth.
Susanna has spent her life in London’s glittering ton, under the thumb of a domineering mother-and she wants out. When a wickedly charming rogue lands at her feet, she jumps at the chance to experience life before it’s too late. But as she descends into London’s underworld, she finds that nothing- not even Gideon-is as it seems. As excitement turns to danger, Susanna must decide what price she’s willing to pay…for the love of a reformed thief.

Read on for my thoughts on The Rogue You Know.  No true spoilers, promise.

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The Brigadier’s Runaway Bride by Erica Ridley

Posted September 5, 2015 by Marsha in This one's a Keeper / 0 Comments

Brigadier's Runaway BrideTitle:  The Brigadier’s Runaway Bride
Series:  The Dukes of War #5
Author:  Erica Ridley
Genre:  Historical Romance
Published:  September 1, 2015
Publisher:  Intrepid Reads
My Rating:  4 stars
Source:  NetGalley
Cover Description:

Miss Sarah Fairfax is having a wretched year. Her intended perished at war. His child is in her belly. To secure her future, she resigns herself to a loveless marriage. Just as she’s about to say “I do,” her fiancée returns from the grave to crash the wedding… but he’s no longer the charming, carefree man she remembers.

After being left for dead on the battlefield, Brigadier Edmund Blackpool is scarred inside and out. He fights his way home only to discover his intended before the altar with his best friend. He’ll be the one to marry her, no matter what she wants! But when his new bride disappears with his child, he must reopen his wounds to win the most important battle of his life.

Read on for my thoughts on The Brigadier’s Runaway Bride.  No true spoilers, promise.

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Brave the Heat by Sara Humphreys

Posted September 5, 2015 by Marsha in Contemporary Romance / 0 Comments

Brave the HeatTitle:  Brave the heat
Series:  The McGuire Brothers #1
Author:  Sara Humphreys
Genre:  Contemporary Romance
Published:  September 1, 2015
Publisher:  Sourcebooks Casablanca
My Rating:  5 stars
Source:  NetGalley
Cover Description:

The only fire he can’t put out…

Jordan McKenna is back in town, and Fire Chief Gavin McGuire’s feelings when he sees her after all these years are as raw as the day she left. Then he was just a kid wearing his heart on his sleeve. Now he spends every day trying to atone for the tragedy he couldn’t prevent.

Is the torch he carries for her…

Jordan’s life has not exactly worked out the way she expected. A divorced mother of two with a failed acting career, Jordan’s biggest concern about coming back to Old Brookfield was seeing her first love. But when a series of suspicious fires breaks out, Jordan and Gavin realize that dealing with the sparks between them may be the least dangerous of their problems.

Read on for my thoughts on Brave the Heat.  No true spoilers, promise.

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The Christmas Joy Ride by Melody Carlson

Posted September 5, 2015 by Marsha in Christmas Romance, Women's Fiction / 0 Comments

The Christmas Joy RideTitle:  The Christmas Joy Ride
Series:
Author:  Melody Carlson
Genre:  Women’s Fiction, Christmas Stories
Published:  September 1, 2015
Publisher:
My Rating:  4 stars
Source:  NetGalley
Cover Description:

Miranda did not put adventure on her Christmas list, but thanks to her eighty-five-year-old neighbor Joy, that’s exactly what she’s getting this year. When Joy tells Miranda that she plans to drive an old RV decked out in Christmas decorations from their Chicago neighborhood to her new retirement digs in Phoenix–in the dead of winter, no less–the much younger Miranda insists that Joy cannot make such a trip by herself.

Besides, a crazy trip with Joy would be more interesting than another Christmas home alone. Unemployed and facing foreclosure, Miranda feels she has nothing to lose by packing a bag and heading off to Route 66. But Joy has a hidden agenda for their Christmas joyride–and a hidden problem that could derail the whole venture.

Read on for my thoughts on The Christmas Joy Ride.  No true spoilers, promise.

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The Skeleton in the Closet by Angie Fox

Posted September 5, 2015 by Marsha in Mystery, Series / 0 Comments

The Skeleton in the ClosetTitle:  The Skeleton in the Closet
Series:  Southern Ghost Hunter Mysteries #2
Author:  Angie Fox
Genre:  Paranormal
Published:  August 30, 2015
Publisher:
My Rating:  5 stars
Source:  NetGalley
Cover Description:

A haunted library is no place for a girl who can see ghosts, but when Verity Long stumbles on a dead body in the middle of the main reading room, she has to believe someone…even a dead someone…must have witnessed the crime.

Her ghostly sidekick Frankie warns her to stay out of it. The very alive, very handsome deputy sheriff, Ellis Wydell, inadvertently places her directly in the middle of it. And her ex-fiancé, Ellis’s brother, is back with an agenda of his own.

Undaunted, Verity presses forward, uncovering scandalous secrets, long-forgotten ghosts, and a shocking trail of clues that places her directly in the path of a killer.

Read on for my thoughts on The Skeleton in the Closet.  No true spoilers, promise.

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A Ghostly Gift by Angie Fox

Posted September 4, 2015 by Marsha in Series / 0 Comments

A Ghostly GiftTitle:  A Ghostly Gift
Series:  Southern Ghost Hunter Mysteries #1.5
Author:  Angie Fox
Genre:  Paranormal
Published:  February 15, 2015
Publisher:
My Rating:  5 stars
Source:  Owned, Kindle Edition
Cover Description:

Verity Long doesn’t want to see ghosts, and she’d rather not let anyone know her little secret, either. But when a restless spirit stirs up trouble in her friend’s resale shop, Verity and her very new, very dead gangster friend team up to learn what is really happening.

They discover an age-old secret, and must learn the truth behind a mysterious disappearance…before it’s too late.

Read on for my thoughts on A Ghostly Gift.  No true spoilers, promise.

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Southern Spirits by Angie Fox

Posted September 4, 2015 by Marsha in This one's a Keeper / 0 Comments

Pageflex Persona [document: PRS0000037_00031]Title:  Southern Spirits
Series:  The Southern Ghost Hunter Mysteries #1
Author:  Angie Fox
Genre:  Paranormal
Published:  January 21, 2015
Publisher:
My Rating:  5 stars
Source:  Owned, Kindle Edition
Cover Description:

When out of work graphic designer Verity Long accidentally traps a ghost on her property, she’s saddled with more than a supernatural sidekick—she gains the ability see spirits. It leads to an offer she can’t refuse from the town’s bad boy, the brother of her ex and the last man she should ever partner with.

Ellis Wyatt is in possession of a stunning historic property haunted by some of Sugarland Tennessee’s finest former citizens. Only some of them are growing restless—and destructive. He hires Verity to put an end to the disturbances. But soon Verity learns there’s more to the mysterious estate than floating specters, secret passageways, and hidden rooms.

There’s a modern day mystery afoot, one that hinges on a decades-old murder. Verity isn’t above questioning the living, or the dead. But can she discover the truth before the killer finds her?

Read on for my thoughts on Southern Spirits.  No true spoilers, promise.

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A Slightly Different Line Up

Posted September 4, 2015 by Marsha in Discussion Post / 2 Comments

lady with bookI am completely addicted to series.  Romance.  Paranormal.  Mystery.  You name the series, I’ve probably read at least one book from it.  Trouble is – I’m not getting the entire story that way.   And by reading a book here and another one a few months later… I’m missing the connection.  I expect that with established series that I follow – but with newly discovered ones or those that I ask to review through NetGalley… I’m missing a lot on those ones.

So.  I’m taking a different approach to new to me or older series.  I’m going to read and review those series until I’m caught up to date on them.

It’s probably not going to be as easy as it sounds.  Finding, then being able to afford to purchase a complete series might not always be immediately possible.  But, I believe this is worth a shot.  I read a lot and I’m a fast reader.  The trick, as I see it, will be the ability to have an entire series available to me at once.  But those are details I’ll work out over time.

I will most likely set up an additional Series Page – one that shows the entirety of a series that I’ve reviewed here at Keeper Bookshelf.  It would be a help to those folks who wander around to see what I think of some complete series – as well as a guide for myself in keeping up to date on future stories in those series.

I will be doing this here – and I’ve already started over on my paranormal romance book review blog Haunted Bookshelf.  It’s an ongoing project, but one that I plan to enjoy.  I hope it’s of help or interest to you as well.

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Soul Corrupted by Lisa Gail Green

Posted September 3, 2015 by Marsha in This one's a Keeper / 0 Comments

Soul CorruptedTitle:  Soul Corrupted
Series:  Of Demons and Angels #2
Author:  Lisa Gail Green
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Published:  September 9, 2015
Publisher:  Full Fathom Five
My Rating:  4 stars
Source:  NetGalley
Cover Description:

In Soul Corrupted, the sequel to Soul Crossed, life in Heaven isn’t all “happily ever after” for Josh and Grace. Now Guardian Angels, they are entrusted with finding and saving the next potential Antichrist. But Grace is consumed with worry about her family, which is dealing with the aftershocks of her death. She’s particularly concerned about her brother Noah, who has turned down a dangerous path of drugs and violence—and she’s frustrated by the rules of Heaven, which forbid her from contacting them.

Josh has troubles of his own. A former Demon, he questions his ability to guide troubled souls to the light. When he discovers that Noah made a deal with Lucifer and has even been hanging around with Josh’s old Demon pal, Keira, he makes a forbidden counter-deal with the Devil to save Noah’s soul. Josh’s side of the bargain? He has to sever his relationship with Grace.

Josh and Grace’s world is about to spin out of control, testing the limits of true love and blurring the border between Heaven and Hell.

Soul Corrupted is the second installment in Lisa Gail Green’s Of Demon and Angels series, which started with Soul Crossed.

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

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