Clean Sweep ARC May 2015

Posted March 21, 2015 by Marsha in This one's a Keeper / 2 Comments

Clean sweep may  2015I’ve been pretty good about keeping my ratio decent at NetGalley.  After a massive “newbie” mistake, I’ve been more realistic in my requesting of e-ARCs.  But it seems I am not one to back away from a Challenge.

Once again, Kimberly from Caffeinated Book Reviewer has the Clean Sweep ARC Challenge for May 2015 going on.  And I will take part in yet another Challenge.  I’m honestly not addicted – really – it’s just such a fun way to get something we need to do done, and to interact with other book lovers and book bloggers.

As always, you can get to the Sign-Up page through the graphic link or the written link above.  So go, check out the rules and join in on something fun.  Come on, you know you want to.  And if I can do one more Challenge, you can too.  🙂

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Signing Up For Bloggiesta Spring 2015

Posted March 20, 2015 by Marsha in This one's a Keeper / 14 Comments

Bloggiesta-mar 23-29This will be my first time joining in on Bloggiesta.  It sounds like so much fun, and the bonus of helpful information about improving my blog(s) is just icing on the cake.

I’ve spent some time going over all the information available at the main Bloggiesta website.  And I think I have a pretty good idea of what is ahead of me this coming week.  I’ve even penciled in some specific time to work on it daily.  Yeah, you could say I’m excited about this.  🙂

My Personal Blog To-Do List

There are many things that I feel need done on my book blogging blogs (yes, I have three).  So this is really a chance to take the time to do these things on all three blogs.  And should it take me longer than the week of Bloggiesta *shrug* oh, well, it takes until it’s done.  But the first blog to be tackled is this one where the posts will be.

  1.   Get social media icons up and linked up
  2.   Clean up the sidebar
  3.   Work on the Pinterest site for KB
  4.   Work on the Facebook page for the combination book blogs
  5.   Put together the TweetDeck and organize/follows
  6.   USE Twitter more – become comfortable with it
  7.   Revise my already written scheduled reviews – have at least 2 weeks done in advance
  8.   Get caught up on librarything, BookLikes, First to Read (GoodReads is up-to-date yay)
  9.   Learn some basic html coding – just enough to do some basics
  10.   Put together a blogging planner

So that’s my list, my commitment for the coming week.  Now to get ready to work.

If anyone else would like to join in as well, just follow the link by clicking on the graphic or go here to the Sign Up Page.

 

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Review: The Bride Ship by Regina Scott

Posted March 20, 2015 by Marsha in This one's a Keeper / 0 Comments

The Bride Ship

Title:  The Bride Ship
Series:  Frontier Bachelors (Book 1)
Author:  Regina Scott
Genre:  Historical Romance
Published:  November 24, 2014
Publisher:  Love Inspired
My Rating:  3 stars
Source:  personal collection, owned

Cover Blurb:

What was his brother’s widow–his first love–doing on a ship full of prospective brides headed out West? Clay Howard had been tasked with escorting the Boston belle home, but he didn’t anticipate Allegra being so strong-willed–or that he’d wind up traveling with her just to keep her from leaving without him!

Allegra Banks Howard isn’t going to let Clay interfere with her plans for a new life with her daughter on the frontier. True, Allegra needs his wilderness savvy, but if Clay thinks he can rekindle what they once shared, he had better think again. Because risking her heart for a second chance at being his bride isn’t something she’ll undertake lightly…

Read on for my thoughts on The Bride Ship.  No true spoilers, promise.

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Bloggiesta Spring of 2015

Posted March 20, 2015 by Marsha in This one's a Keeper / 0 Comments

Bloggiesta-Button-2 longSometimes when wandering around new-to-me blogs on a weekly meme I find really interesting and helpful things.  That was the case this morning. Now, I definitely should not be starting up yet another Challenge (embarrassed laugh), I have so many to do this year as it is.  But this event caught my eye because it involves something I’m attempting to do here at Keeper Bookshelf (and my other blogs) — get the website in better shape and blog better.  It’s a total win-win, so how could I possibly resist?

This event is bi-annual with mini-events two more times, so in effect there are 4 times a year you could join in on this ongoing event.  Each event is short, it doesn’t run year long, some for a weekend, others (like this one) run for a week.

Aside from finding amazing new bloggers to interact with, read their blogs — there is so much to learn.  I admit, that is the main reason I’m going to jump into this one – to learn from some very generous bloggers.  Trust me on this one – if you take just 5 minutes to wander around the BLOGGIESTA website you will find a wealth of helpful information through links to past Challenge participant’s posts.  So much that I could spend a week there and still go back for more.

Now I’m off to read the rules better – get my “To Do List” in order and write my joining post.  But I wanted to put this out there to those bloggers that do wander around here – this might be something that you want to look into for yourself.  We often speak of how to improve our blogs — this seems like a fun way to join in with a lot of other bloggers to do just that.

Click on the Bloggiesta graphic or on the Bloggiesta links scattered throughout this post to find out first hand what this is all about.

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Feature & Follow #9

Posted March 20, 2015 by Marsha in This one's a Keeper / 22 Comments

FeatureFollowParaAlisonGain 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 View and  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!  The rules are simple…Follow the Hosts and the Featured Blogs of the week – then do the blog hop, Follow those blogs that you don’t already and remember, if someone Follows you be sure to return the favor and Follow them right back.

This week’s Feature Blogs are:  Captain Swan Bookishh ~ and Teen Book Hoots   Be sure to check out their blogs and give them a Follow (if you aren’t already).  :)

Because this blog does not have the ability to put up GFC I would appreciate a follow through Bloglovin’.  Thanks so much.

FetureFollowbloglovinBloglovin button

This week’s question:

Have you ever been inspired by a book character to do something? Who was the character and what was it? – Suggested by  Eternity Through Pages

I can’t say “inspired to do something” but definitely been an influence on parts of my life.  There is a trilogy by Nora Roberts called Three Sisters Island  the novels are Dance Upon The Air (Nell),  Heaven and Earth  (Ripley) and Face The Fire  (Mia).  The three women in this series each touched me and taught me something.  Nell – how to stand up to my fears and live past them – Ripley – how to not be afraid to be angry or mad, and how to control the words that spill out when I am angry – and Mia – (Mia who has more shoes in her closet then she will ever wear) – how to stand tall no matter what the situation, with dignity and grace, and also how to let go of the past in order to embrace the future.  It might sound like a lot from some fictional characters – but I can definitely trace new and important reactions and decision back to this particular series.

Okay, now let’s get Blog Hopping!

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The Search for the Perfect Blog Theme

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

heartI wish I could find that “just right for me and what I want” blog/website theme.

I think I have the perfect one up – and then I discover days later that it isn’t doing what I thought it would when I used it.

It’s frustrating, ya know?  Somewhere, out there, there has to be a good, attractive, easy to use, does what I need website theme.  There has to be *sob*.

Anyone have any good suggestions I would LOVE to hear them.  My frustration level is about to go through the roof – and I should be concentrating on reviews not this theme search.

🙁

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Review: One Night With Her Bachelor by Kat Latham

Posted March 19, 2015 by Marsha in Contemporary Romance / 0 Comments

One Night with her BachelorTitle:  One Night With Her Bachelor
Series:  Montana Born Bachelor Auction (Book 6)
Author:  Kat Latham
Genre:  Contemporary Romance
Published:  March 27, 2015
Publisher:  Tule Publishing
My Rating: 5 star
Source:  NetGalley

Cover Blurb:

Bid on a date with this wounded warrior for an unforgettable night of adventure. Aim high—and bid higher!—because no one comes close to local hero Gabriel Morales.

Molly Dekker hates being the town charity case, but when her son Josh is seriously injured she has no choice. She lets her best friend organize a bachelor auction to help pay her massive bills and make Josh’s life more comfortable. She can’t bid on any of the men, but a surprise bidder gives her a gift she never expected: a date with the man who saved her son’s life—the only one she’s in danger of losing her heart to.

Former Air Force pararescueman Gabriel Morales made a career of flying to the rescue, until a tragic helicopter crash stole more than his livelihood. Being auctioned off like a slab of beef isn’t in his recovery plan. But one look, one touch and one night unlocking Molly’s pent-up passion makes him realize how badly he needs to be rescued…and how badly he wants to rescue Molly right back.

Will Molly and Gabriel’s never-quit attitude have them rushing head-first into love? Or will Gabriel’s secret pain stall their relationship before it can get off the ground?

Read on for my thoughts on One Night With Her Bachelor.  No true spoilers, promise.

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Claimed by Sarah Fine

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

ClaimedTitle:  Claimed
Series:  Servants of Fate (Book 2)
Author:  Sarah Fine
Genre:  Paranormal, Fantasy
Published:  March 24, 2015
Publisher:  47North
My Rating:  4 stars
Source:  NetGalley

Cover Blurb:

Galena Margolis, a brilliant scientist with a tragic past, is determined to fulfill her destiny and develop the vaccine that could save millions. Yet when Galena’s test subjects meet with foul play, it’s clear that someone is still determined to stop her, and that Galena herself is a target. As the Ferry empire forges a plan to keep her safe, Declan Ferry, the politics-hating black sheep of the family, steps forward to protect her—but the emotional cost may be more than either of them is willing to pay.

As unknown enemies close in, it becomes terrifyingly clear that they threaten to destroy not only Galena’s lifesaving work but also the very fabric of fate. As Galena and Declan race to uncover the traitor, they also forge a special bond that could save both Galena and those she’s sworn to help. Torn apart by the past and hunted by those she trusted, can Galena find room amidst her fears for a passion that could make her stronger than ever? And even if she and Declan can find their way together, will it be enough to keep the future from coming apart at the seams?

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

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Bookworm Confessions

Posted March 18, 2015 by Marsha in This one's a Keeper / 2 Comments

book confession

I love taking part in features and memes.  It brings us book lovers and book bloggers a bit closer together, if only in our shared love of reading great books.  So today I discovered something new.  🙂

There is a new feature over at Parajunkee called Confessions of a Bookworm.  Here’s the link to the feature post.   And the information about all of this is located at that link.

From the Feature Post at Parajunkee.com:  This is a new feature, where you can participate, telling us your craziest confessions. Here’s how it works. Write a post about your most eccentric bookworm confession, and put your post link below. I will go around checking your blogs, and choosing the craziest bookworm confessions, and featuring them into our next post.

So I thought, “Why not?”  I’m all for connecting with other bookworms and sounds like a fun new feature to take part in.

My Bookworm Confession

When I write in posts that “so and so” is one of my favorite authors, people assume that I like and read all of their books.  Which is correct, but only to a certain point.

For an example of my true meaning of “favorite author” – I love Nora Roberts novels, whether under that name or writing as J. D. Robb, I will purchase, on release day, any of her books.  My confession is a bit more than just making certain I have all of an author’s books though.

I search through book sales, garage sales, obscure bookstore dusty stacks for different covers or earlier books by the author (or any other name they write under) until I have as complete a collection of an author’s books as is possible.  I have Nora Roberts’ very first novel written, Irish Thoroughbred in 1981.  I have several J. D. Robb ..In Death books from the United Kingdom.  And several duplicate books but with different covers.

I have several authors that I have done this with.  Obviously, I cannot afford to do this with every author that I read frequently.  But for those that I will never, ever miss a new book on release day – yeah.  I have two bookcases full of my book collection obsession for these books.

So maybe it’s not the craziest confession – but it is mine.  If you have a bookworm confession of your own head on over to Anila’s post and start confessing.

Here’s the link again.. now, go, shoo.

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Waiting on Wednesday #8

Posted March 18, 2015 by Marsha in This one's a Keeper / 2 Comments

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

There are so many books that I want to read – I know realistically I cannot get to all of them.  But is one that I do want to read.  It’s so easy to slip into a “group” of novels that we read all the time so that it’s almost a no-brainer as to what we’ll pick up next.  I want to shake up my reading just a bit and i think this is a good start toward that goal.

 

TakenAbducted at the age of sixteen and coerced into assisting the Jacoby crime family, Shannon Bliss has finally found a way out. She desperately wants to resume some semblance of normal life, but she also knows she has some unfinished business to attend to. She has enough evidence to put her captors behind bars for a very long time.

When Shannon contacts private investigator and former cop Matthew Dane to help her navigate her reentry into society, she quickly discovers that gaining her freedom doesn’t mean her troubles are over. For one thing, her brother is the leading candidate in the race for Illinois governor, and news of her escape will create a media frenzy. For another, the ransom her family reportedly paid years earlier appears to have been a scam; no one knows what happened to the money. And then there’s the fact that Shannon’s escape involved faking her own death. If the Jacoby family learns she is still alive, they’ll stop at nothing to silence her.  

If justice is to be done, and if Shannon’s life is ever to get on track again, Matthew will need to discover exactly what happened to her–even if it means stirring up a hornet’s nest of secrets.

I don’t know why the concept of this novel grabs me so.  But the moment I read the synopsis I knew that I had to read this one.  So, who knows – I’ve requested it at NetGalley but if I don’t get approved I’ll end up waiting ’til launch which is April 28, 2015.  Either way, I’ll let you know through a review if it was all i thought it would be.  🙂

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Review: A Touch of Passion by Bronwen Evans

Posted March 18, 2015 by Marsha in This one's a Keeper / 2 Comments

A Touch of Passion lgTitle:  A Touch of Passion
Series:  Disgraced Lords
Author:  Bronwen Evans
Genre:  Historical Romance
Published:  March 24, 2015
Publisher:  Random House – Loveswept
My Rating:  4 stars
Source:  NetGalley

Cover blurb:

In the latest Disgraced Lords novel from USA Today bestselling author Bronwen Evans, a vivacious thrill seeker clashes with her dutiful defender—causing irresistible sparks to fly.

Independent and high-spirited, Lady Portia Flagstaff has never been afraid to take a risk, especially if it involves excitement and danger. But this time, being kidnapped and sold into an Arab harem is the outcome of one risk too many. Now, in order to regain her freedom, she has to rely on the deliciously packaged Grayson Devlin, Viscount Blackwood, a man who despises her reckless ways—and stirs in her a thirst for passion.

After losing his mother and two siblings in a carriage accident years ago, Grayson Devlin promised Portia’s dying brother that he’d always watch over his wayward sister. But having to travel to Egypt to rescue the foolhardy girl has made his blood boil. Grayson already has his hands full trying to clear his best friend and fellow Libertine Scholar of a crime he didn’t commit. Worse still, his dashing rescue has unleashed an unforeseen and undesired consequence: marriage. Now it’s more than Portia he has to protect . . . it’s his battered heart.

Read on for my thoughts on A Touch of Passion.  No true spoilers, promise.

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