Book Review of Crafting for Your Cat

 One-of-a-kind crafting projects to brighten your home and your cat's life—from chic accessories like matching friendship charm necklaces to unique scratchers and beds that will have your fur baby lounging in style.

Crafting for Your Cat is a fun collection of DIY projects ranging from simple, beginner-friendly crafts to more advanced builds for those ready to tackle a challenge. Each project comes with clear, step-by-step instructions, helpful tips, and room for customization so you can create something truly unique that suits your best friend!



Create a fantastic flower tower to serve as their new favorite perch.


Assemble charming little tea party plates for a luxurious feast.


Build a sweet strawberry scratcher that's adorable and will save your furniture.


Assemble interactive toys to keep kitty entertained and learn clever ways to upcycle materials.

From the perspective of someone with nine indoor cats, this crafting book for cats is absolutely wonderful. Not only are the projects easy to follow, but this book will save a lot of money, considering the prices of cat products on the market now. 

 

Each project takes you step by step, and the author covers everything from the simple play toy to litterbox furniture, wall shelving, and so much more. The author also leaves room for your own imagination to create your own design, say, like the litterbox furniture. I love the design, but I will be going bigger and making a TV stand. Sometimes all you need is a little help and inspiration, and this book will provide it for you, even for the non-so-crafty people. 

 

Got cats? Then you definitely need this DIY Cat book for your bookshelf! 

Book review of : Essential Oil Recipes for Home and Body Care: 100+ Organic Products to Make You Feel Better (Fox Chapel Publishing) Make Your Own Soap, Lip Balm, Candles, Immunity Boosters, Dryer Sheets, and More Stephanie Ariel

Your beginner-friendly essential oils guide! Whether you're new to the amazing world of essential oils or have been using them for years, this complete essential oils guide details their incredible benefits, as well as how to make — and even monetize — natural home remedies and self-care products! Essential Oil Recipes for Home and Body Care provides thorough insight on starting your at-home essential oil apothecary, the power of aromatherapy, how to use essential oils, and other informative topics before presenting 115 essential oil recipes you can easily make and use at home, gift to family and friends, or even sell for a profit! From all-natural homemade body scrubs, dryer sheets, and laundry soap to homemade candles, immunity boosters, medicinal balms for headaches, stings, itches, men's health, women's health, and so much more, each recipe includes clear, step-by-step instructions and tips for personalization. Also included are helpful tables for which essential oils to start with, including peppermint, lavender, ylang ylang, and more, plus need-to-have ingredients, from coconut oil and jojoba to sea salt, castile soap, candelilla wax, and other supplies. Author Stephanie Ariel is a certified aromatherapist with 20 years of experience in product design, artisan crafting, and DIY natural products, who exclusively uses essential oils and natural botanicals to make toxin- and chemical-free products. She is the proprietor of an online essential oils store, Artisan Aromatics. A complete starter's guide to using essential oils, this must-have resource will help you understand the basics and inspire you with endless possibilities!

You'll find endless possibilities with the book. Make money, use the recipes as gifts, or even for yourself. 

The author makes the ingredients and recipes clear and easy to create with her step-by-step instructions. 

I have read and bought several DIY essential oils books, and this one is by far the best book for everyday use. 

Do keep in mind if you have pets in your household, some dogs and cats are allergic to essential oils so please be careful using oils around them. 

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

Build-It-Yourself Birdhouses: 25+ DIY Birdhouses and Bird Feeders by Chris Peterson

Title: Build-It-Yourself Birdhouses: 25+ DIY Birdhouses and Bird Feeders

Author: Chris Peterson

  Source: Netgalley 

Step-by-step instructions for 25+ unique birdhouses tailored for specific birds—pick the one that fits your neighborhood's birds and get building!

Join home improvement pro Chris Peterson as he shares a variety of creative designs for birdhouses and bird feeders, from the classic bluebird house to a mid-century modern home. While all the designs are handsome, most are also approachable for beginning woodworkers. Squares, triangles, and simple joining are used throughout the book. For woodworkers with some experience, Peterson shares a variety of customization techniques that can enhance the designs.

Every project contains a showstopping photo of the finished house and step-by-step instructions (with additional photos) to take any guesswork out of the assembly. You'll also find mounting instructions and tips, as well as information on the types of birds each birdhouse can accommodate.

Designs include:

Small birdhouses: Chickadee Shelter, Nuthatch Wedge, Songbird PVC Birdhouse, Flycatcher Cinderblock Motel, Purple Martin Boarding House, Tufted Titmouse Cabin, Finch's Pub, a Bat Cave, and more!

Large birdhouses: Mourning Dove Monster Ledge, American Kestrel Lodge, Barn Owl A-Frame, Barred Owl Nest Box, Wood Duck Slat House, and a Woodpecker's Log House.

Creative bird feeders: Telephone Platform Feeder, Porch Swing Bin Feeder, Hanging Man Suet Feeder, Squirrel Proof Feeder, and Zen Feeder.

Looking to bring more birds to your yard in 2020 by building different birdhouses? Well, look no farther this book will give you step by step instructions for your entire backyard friends, but from one birder to another, please take another step by providing not only houses but also the right plants and trees to feed and keep your birds safe too.

Don’t have the equipment to build your own birdhouses? Well, don’t fear, I don’t either but I have a friend that does so he is happy to grab some extra money to build me some from this book. So, even though you don’t have the equipment some you know might or you can find someone in your neighborhood or town that would be happy to build them for you’re for a fee.  

Not only do you get full easy to understand instructions you also get tips too.

Book Review of A Year of Creativity: A Craft Date Planner to Meet, Share, and Create by Petra Hoeksema, Lidy Nooij, Miriam Catshoek, Bregje Konings

 Title: A Year of Creativity: A Craft Date Planner to Meet, Share, and Create 

Authors: Petra Hoeksema,  Lidy Nooij, Miriam Catshoek, Bregje Konings

Source: Netgalley

Genre: Craft 

Rating: 4 

Do something creative every day! In A Year of Creativity, learn how to throw the perfect creative party with your friends—with organizing tips, 25 project ideas, and even recipes for snacks.

A "craft date" is a fun get-together with a handful of creative friends in which you surprise each other with craft and DIY projects using cool materials, inspire each other, and make beautiful things together. At each date, a group of participants share a self-made project to be re-created by the other attendees. Materials are individualized for each participant and given as a unique personal gift along with the instructions for the project. A craft date is different than a workshop since you get to choose the lovely people that you invite, and as the organizer, you get to participate in all the projects. Invitees can put their own spin on the project by using their favorite colors, materials, or techniques. This way you end up with a range of different interpretations and results, leading to new inspiration and ideas.

A Year of Creativity is a book for everyone with a basic knowledge of crocheting, knitting, and sewing. It does not teach you how to crochet or explain how a sewing machine works. There are plenty of other books for that. What it does do is inspire crafting enthusiasts to make something together, learn from each other, and have fun doing it. You'll find within:
An introduction to craft dates and how they work
Tips on planning your craft date events
Plenty of project ideas (short, long, and cooperative)
Plus recipes for party dishes that keep the creative juices flowing
You will share ideas, discover new inspiration, and find new friends while creating uniquely beautiful aprons, knit garlands, infinity scarves, haberdashery bags, cards, pencil cases, and more.Have you had a great craft date or are you working on a neat project and want to show it off? There’s a place for this in the craft dates community. On Instagram, for example, you can tag your photos with, or search for the hashtag #craftdates. You can have a look at each other’s work, drum up inspiration for your own dates, invite your Insta-friends, or organize a "blind date" with creative people from your town or city that you don’t know yet. A whole world will open up. A very creative world is waiting for you in A Year of Creativity.

I don’t know what happened when this book downloaded for me but for some reason my copy was totally messed up, I couldn’t see the majority of the images, list of supplies or the steps, but from what I did get to see I can say this book is great to inspire you and some friends to get together and either pick a project from this book or find a new project and craft together. 

Each project you’ll find a supply list along with, step by step instructions with images and has images. There is also a section about the authors and how all of the began and how they went about doing it.

You get several craft projects and a few recipes, most of which are for every skill level of crafter, but there are a few projects for very experienced crafters.

Field Guide to Urban Gardening: How to Grow Plants, No Matter Where You Live: Raised Beds - Vertical Gardening - Indoor Edibles - Balconies and Rooftops - Hydroponics by Kevin Espiritu

Title: Field Guide to Urban Gardening: How to Grow Plants, No Matter Where You Live: Raised Beds - Vertical Gardening - Indoor Edibles - Balconies and Rooftops - Hydroponics 
Author:  Kevin Espiritu
Genre: Gardening 
Source: Netgalley
Reviewed by Laurie
Rating: 5

In Field Guide to Urban Gardening, author Kevin Espiritu of Epic Gardening shares the basics of growing plants, offers tips on how to choose the right urban gardening method, and troubleshoots the most common problems you’ll encounter.

If you think it’s impossible to grow your own food because you don’t have a large yard or you live in the city…think again. There is a plethora of urban gardening options to create beautiful, productive edible gardens no matter where you live. The key to succeeding as an urban gardener is to choose the method(s) that make sense for your unique living situation and then give your plants what they need to thrive. Kevin helps you do just that.

But he doesn’t stop there. He also provides in-depth garden plans, from upcycled DIY projects and intensive hydroponic systems to beautiful and functional raised beds. Urban gardening is a real, growing, and important movement in today’s world. This fact-packed book is your roadmap to get growing today.

Urban gardening techniques featured include:
Container Gardening
Raised Beds
Indoor Edibles
Balconies and Rooftops
Hydroponics

No matter how small your space is you can always find ways to have an urban garden. I have resided beds and containers so I had to see if this book could help me advance more into smaller spaces since my husband always complains about mowing around my gardens. LOL

This book is very detailed and will help you get into the new age of urban gardening, it’s so much better to know where your food is coming from and gardening in any form can help relieve stress. You get great images along with detailed information that will walk you through step by step and if you look up the author he also has a website with tons of information that will help you.

I highly recommend this to anyone that is new or advance gardening.

DIY Book Review of She Sheds Style: Make Your Space Your Own by Erika Kotite

Title: She Sheds Style: Make Your Space Your Own 

Author: Erika Kotite 

Genre: Craft Hobbies

Source: NetGalley

Reviewed by: Laurie 

Rating: 4  

With She Sheds Style, you'll browse ideas, step-by-step projects, and decorating tips from a variety of creative “she shed” owners—then add your personal style to your own shed!

It's no secret that the she shed revolution is underway and gaining steam. What is a she shed? It's simply any outbuilding that has been renovated, outfitted, redesigned, or otherwise reassigned into service as a refuge from the intense pace of modern life.

Consider it a woman's response to the “man cave” craze. Whether you already have that sought-after shed or are still in the dreaming phase, author Erika Kotite (She Sheds: A Room of Your Own, Cool Springs Press, 2016) will help you on your journey. You'll start by browsing the sheds and shed interiors, which range from modern and eclectic to rustic and shabby chic. Learn what architectural details play into a shed's look and consider how these elements work with your preferred decor.

Once you're charged with inspiration, explore loads of DIY projects and ideas from some of the most creative she shed owners around the world. A variety of front entrance ideas provide inspiration for welcoming guests to your space. Ideas for re-purposing furniture abound, such as transforming an old door into a drop-down potting bench. You can even extend your shed's impact beyond the walls with garden features like stepping stones and string lights. Most projects are shown with detailed, step-by-step photos so you can see exactly how the work is done.

So get started and create your own she shed style! 

This book is great if you have a shed and are looking to spruce it up with a style to be all your own.

I bought a medium size shed a few years back with plans that it would be my garden shed all to only become a place to house my holiday junk and my daughters one day but never happening moving out junk for the past few years and I needed some inspiration so I could work on cleaning it out and creating my garden shed. So, when I noticed this book on Netgalley you know I had to give it a try and it had worked with all of the different styles, colors and simple projects I know this spring I will have my garden shed.

No matter if you looking for craft space, office space, writing space, garden space, or just a place to read your books, this book will help you want to change your shed into something you’ll enjoy for years to come all with the authors simple tips and step by step projects to get you on your way to designing that perfect space. 

Gardening book review of Starting & Saving Seeds: Grow the Perfect Vegetables, Fruits, Herbs, and Flowers for Your Garden by Julie Thompson-Adolf (Goodreads Author)

Title: Grow the Perfect Vegetables, Fruits, Herbs, and Flowers for Your Garden 

Author: Julie Thompson-Adolf 

Genre: Gardening 

Source: NetGalley

Reviewed by: Laurie 

Rating: 5

Grow fabulous food and flowers from seeds, then save seeds to make next year's garden even better.

Creating dinner from food you’ve grown provides a fantastic sense of accomplishment. Now, imagine the pleasure of starting plants from seeds, tending them, planting them in your garden, harvesting their fruits, and enjoying a delicious meal or bouquet. But that's not the end of the journey. Now you can turn around and save the best seeds for next year’s garden. Suddenly, you’re self-sufficient; you’ve grown your own garden from seed to seed.

In this book, you'll find the tools you need to become a seed starting and saving champion. Author and gardening expert Julie Thompson-Adolf walks you through every step of the journey, making the entire process a joy. You’ll find hints to encourage stubborn seeds to germinate, lists of varieties to add to your garden, charts for quick growing reference, and simple DIY projects to aid your seed starting and saving adventure. (Learn how to make seed bombs and an indoor seed-starting station.) The extensive plant entries inside cover all the most popular vegetables, fruits, herbs, and flowers. Get started with tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and melons, or chamomile, cosmos, sweet peas, and poppies—accompanied by beautiful photography from Libby Williams.

Whether you’re an experienced gardener new to seed starting and saving or a brand-new grower, you’ll soon have healthy, productive, beautiful plants for your garden.

Awesome reference from starting seeds to saving seeds book, I for one will be buying this book for my future gardening journey.

When I put in a request for this book I didn’t expect to get approval being a romance book blog but when I see the book in my Netgalley shelf I jumped for joy and I was not disappointed.

I started raised beds for my vegetables a few years back and had figured out how to save several seeds myself and have been pleased with my progress, but as I bring in new vegetables there are some I have no clue how to save the seeds so, I need some kind of reference or help to figure out how I save seeds for them plus, this year I expanded my gardening and bought over 300.00 dollars worth of flowers this summer so I knew I had to do something to save the seeds because I refuse to spend that kind of money each year. So, when I saw this book on Netgalley you know how happy I was to see it on my approved shelf.

Now, for the book review, I really loved how the author starts with simple sowing technique and brings you to save the seeds. No, she does not go into each plant on how to save the seed of that plant but she gives you both methods and she lists the way to save the seeds in each plant reference in the back of the book.

I’ve been direct sowing my seeds because my indoor seeds were a flop the first year, so I am hoping the simple tips will help me try indoor sowing again and succeeded next spring.   

This is a great book for any gardener to have on their shelf. 

Do It Yourself by Nikky Kaye ~ Review

Title: Do It Yourself

Author: Nikky Kaye
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Length: 86 pages
Publisher: Indie
Release Date: September 26, 2016
Source: Purchased
Rating: 5
Heat Rating: 3
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

Sarah began her DIY education by ditching the biggest tool in her garage—her husband. Now she’s realizing that not just her marriage was boring, beige and transitional, and she’s in over her head.

Luckily, Chris the hot young handyman is teaching her how to screw, drill, and hammer—and also how to use her power tools.

Together they’re updating her wiring and unclogging her pipes. But when Sarah worries that she’s treating Chris like her own personal power tool, what will she do? Will she pull the plug?

This sexy 25,000-word novella features adults in adult situations and using adult language.. 

This is the ultimate handyman romance come to life. There is just so much hot goodness in the little novella that I read it twice - back to back - which is unheard of for me! The witty and pun filled dialog was too good for me to walk away after the first time. And, like a good meatloaf, the seconds were just as good as the firsts.

But this book isn't all fluff and sexiness. Somehow, Nikky Kaye threw a couple little life lessons in there without me even noticing them at first. Sarah has a lot on her plate, and her way of dealing with things is to do them all on her own. I was rather impressed with her home improvement abilities and skill with tools.

But she does run into a project that's just too far beyond her skills and youtube tutorials. So she hires a handyman to show her how to do it. Which I love! He isn't doing it all for her, but teaches her along the way. And he's such a great teacher too!

But handyman Chris isn't exactly what Sarah thinks at first. She jumps to conclusions, feelings get hurt, and everyone comes out of the experience having learned a little lesson. So pick an afternoon and just curl up with Do It Yourself. Tell everyone you're furthering your home improvement methods and tune them out for a couple hours. You won't regret it!

Goodreads | Amazon

Broken Down by Amanda K. Byrne ~ Excerpt and Giveaway

Broken Down by Amanda K. Byrne
(Hidden Scars #2)
Publication date: April 12th 2016
Genres: Adult, Contemporary

The one thing he could do for her was let her go. Until he couldn’t.

When Thieves’ guitarist Shane Jones lost his close friend to a freak accident, Krista Conner helped him through the worst of his grief. He kept their late-night trysts a secret to protect her from the tabloids, and when she broke up with him, he let her go.

But he never got over her.

Months later, his world is rocked again by the death of his brother mere weeks before the biggest Thieves album yet. Grieving and desperate for peace, he tracks Krista down, craving the salvation he found in her sweet spirit. Only this time, he’s determined not to leave.

Krista left Shane because her life was a mess. She’s rebuilt it, piece by challenging piece, making some hard decisions along the way. She’s settled into a new city and a new life, and for the first time in a long time, she’s content and happy. Then Shane turns up, promising to stay, promising to care. Promising everything.

Shane’s the one she wants, but the toughest choice she made could drive him away for good.

Goodreads ~ Amazon ~ B&N ~ iBooks

Excerpt:

He’d missed the taste of her. Tart and hot and distinctly Krista, like nothing he’d had before and would never have again. He flicked his tongue along the seam of her lips, coaxing her open.

He’d come here for peace, to grieve, to lean on someone who’d let him. But until the moment her lips parted and her tongue met his, he hadn’t wanted to admit he’d come here for her.

She made a whimpering, pleading noise in the back of her throat, and the sexy sound shot through his veins. Closer. He needed her closer. Over him, under him, it didn’t matter. Gliding a hand down her back, he pressed her in, shifting onto his side as her body straightened out and aligned with his. Then, ignoring the sudden pain in his ankle, he rolled them so she was under him.

When her legs parted to cradle his hips, it was like he’d never left. Her legs wound around his waist, her mouth fused to his, her body’s curves and heat and sweetness dragging him out of the dark, the ache disappearing.

He took her mouth, or she took his, it didn’t matter. Over and over, tongues dueling, her hands roaming his back, fingers digging into his shoulders as she arched under him. He dropped kisses along her jaw, suckled the sensitive skin behind her ear, scraping his teeth over it when she gasped. The feel of her obliterated the last remnants of sadness, leaving him wide open and ready for more.

Take her. Take her completely, strip aside her flimsy skirt and panties, sheathe himself in her wet heat. Six long months of craving her and telling himself he’d done the right thing. He’d almost convinced himself they were better off apart. Then Eric died and all he’d thought about was how the world went quiet when she was around.

Lifting his head, he drank in her flushed skin and swollen lips, her eyes hooded and hazy with desire. He’d never seen anything more gorgeous. “Babe.” Slow it down. Stay out of the bedroom, learn her habits and favorites and quirks. No way would either of them be able to say it was just sex.

One side of her mouth quirked up, and he dropped a kiss there. “Guess that was inevitable, huh?” she said.

He propped himself up on his forearms and ignored his throbbing dick and the stabbing pains in his ankle. “Possibly. Not intentional, though. I meant it. I came here because I needed someone who’d have my back.” Needed. The word didn’t sit comfortably.

She lifted a hand to his jaw. “Usually when people need me they end up disappointing me. I think the only one who didn’t was Sara, and that’s probably because everyone else braced themselves with me. She leaned when it was too hard to stand on her own. So did you,” she murmured. “You never asked for more.”

That was about to change. “Krista—”

“Are you going to disappoint me, too?” The fear threading the question gave him pause. It’s what humans did. They disappointed each other. It was inevitable as the two of them on the couch, wrapped around each other.

He struggled to sit up, grimacing when the continued movement jostled his ankle. “That’s a sucker promise, and you know it.”

Her lids snapped shut, mouth tightening. “I know. I’m not going to ask you to make it, because then you will break it. But I don’t want to do this again. You’ve got a life to go back to. Los Angeles isn’t my home anymore.” When her eyes opened, there was sadness there, sadness and resignation. She sat up and swung her legs off the couch. “We don’t work.” She touched her mouth to his, drawing back when he tried to deepen it. “I’m sorry,” she whispered as she stood.

The loss of her touch and warmth had the ache and grief rushing in. He balled his hands into fists, punched down into the couch cushion as she hurried from the room.

Well, he’d wanted slow. He’d just gotten his wish.

AUTHOR BIO:

When she’s not plotting ways to sneak her latest shoe purchase past her partner, Amanda writes sexy, snarky romance and urban fantasy. She likes her heroines smart and unafraid to make mistakes, and her heroes strong enough to take them on.

If she’s not writing, she’s reading, drinking hot chocolate, and trying not to destroy her house with her newest DIY project. She lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, and no, it really doesn’t rain that much.

Website ~ Goodreads ~ Facebook ~ Twitter

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Guest author Sela Carsen and giveaway

Please welcome author Sela Carsen!

Introducing yourself to people who only know you through what you write is always a little difficult. If you met me in person, you'd think, "There goes another mom."
And you'd be right. I'm mostly another mom. One of the many millions out there. We all have common experiences. We make sure the kids get to school and activities and dentist appointments. We make sure there's dinner on the table every night and that the homework gets done. We make sure the bathrooms get cleaned on at least a semi-regular basis. We have our own styles and schedules, but daily life is daily life.
But during the day when I should probably be folding laundry, I'm writing. Putting pieces of myself on the page not just to get the voices out of my head, but to give other people a smile during their day.
People assume that they know who writers are because they've read our words. They project about what our lives must be like. And to a certain extent, that's true for me.
You'd probably be able to decipher that I'm Southern. A Texan, to be specific, but I've not written a specifically Texan heroine.
You'd probably figure out that I like to eat. I like sushi and Sonic drive-ins. I drink wine and have been known to bake muffins by the hundredweight. All of my characters eat what sounds good to me when I'm writing. Pizza, pasta, steak, creamed spinach and sweet potato fries have all made appearances. (This close after Thanksgiving, though, I'm still too full to read that sentence without a stomachache.)
It would be a no-brainer for you to assume I like to read, based on some of my books. One of my heroines nearly swooned when she walked into the hero's library. In my head, it was like the library in "Beauty and the Beast," or more accurately, like the one in Robin McKinley's glorious book, "Beauty: A Retelling of Beauty and the Beast." In another book, my heroine was a librarian.
All of these things are true, yet I work to make sure that my heroines really aren't that much like me at all. I mean, if I met a werewolf in the dark, I'd probably pee myself and faint. If I turned into a Selkie, I'd sink. If a vampire chased me through a graveyard at midnight, I'd be exsanguinated in the time it would take me to spell "exsanginuated."
But not my gals! They're not just little bits and pieces of my experiences. They start out as a few words on a page or as faint images or sounds in my head, but by the end, they've become so much more. They've become fully realized individuals, separate and distinct from each other and very definitely distinct from myself.
So sure, they may read the same books I read and they may like sweet potato fries as much as I do, but they are entirely themselves -- and fun to get to know on their own!

Carolina Pearl is second in the Carolina Wolf series. Ok, so there are really only two books total. There might be a third someday if I can get it to come out right.
The truth is, I never set out to write a series. I always thought a series had to be something that was planned and plotted and outlines and...I don't. At all. The very thought gives me hives.
I wrote Carolina Wolf for a call for submission that Samhain was doing for paranormal romantic comedies. I'd already written two para-rom-coms (it takes a while to write it all out), so it was right up my alley.
It ended up in an anthology called Tickle My Fantasy and people seemed to like it. After a few months, my fellow anthology-buddies came up with the idea that it might be fun to try it again. Since I'd never planned for there to be another story, I struggled with writing Carolina Pearl.
I knew I wanted to keep the town a central part of the story. There were secondary characters who needed to make more appearances, and there was more life in this little town than could be contained in just one novella.
So I did a Google map search of the real-life Congaree Swamp in South Carolina. And there's a house there, just on the edge of the swamp. All by itself. The satellite image shows it to be pretty old and run-down, but the idea of it was all I needed.
Now, my husband is a real DIY kind of guy. I've spent more hours watching HGTV and Bob Vila and "Holmes on Homes" with him than I can count. I've lived through one major kitchen gutting, one minor kitchen remodel, and at least three entire bathroom re-dos since we've been married.
Now I had my town and I had my house. I closed my eyes and saw a man replacing siding by himself, standing on a scaffold and cussing in frustration. Voila! A hero is born! Ok, so maybe not too heroic, but he only needed the right woman.
I saw an opportunity for tying this story in with Carolina Wolf right off the bat, though. I loved writing the prologue for Wolf -- it encompassed so much sensory detail and really dropped people smack into the setting. So I used some parallels and my heroine appeared.
It sounds almost hokey when I write it out like that, but those were the sparks I needed to get the story going. Now it's the in the hands of the readers to decide if I did it right!

Sela is giving away a PDF copy of Carolina Pearl, to enter please leave a comment or question for Sela along with your email.

Thanks Sela!!

Review Carolina Pearl by Sela Carsen

Carolina Pearl
Author Sela Carsen
Requested review
Paranormal romance: shape-shifter wolf
eBook Novella
Authors website

A family legend could lead to a treasure more precious than pearls…or get them killed.
Between babysitting her very pregnant sister-in-law and fending off her mother’s nagging about her marital status, Blair Moreau is going insane. Her only hold on sanity is her daily walk for a guilty peek at her crush, the sexy neighbor who’s fixing up the old Cotesworth place.
Conn Lucas, the bastard son of Culford’s leading family, got way out of town a long time ago. When the only relative who didn’t despise him leaves him her 250-year-old house, Conn plans to refurbish it, flip it, and get back to Connecticut as soon as possible. Until a local beauty with a rare talent for DIY gives him a hand with some stubborn siding.
When he makes her mad enough to swing a two-by-four at his head, he realizes Blair is better than perfect. Especially when his efforts to keep her from killing him explode into an erotic rush of adrenaline that unleashes desires they’ve both kept hidden.
Breaking through Conn’s tough shell isn’t as difficult Blair’s next hurdle—telling him she’s a werewolf. First, though, they’ve got to deal with meddling ghosts and a bad ol’ boy cousin who isn’t above taking what he wants at nail-gun point…
Warning: This book contains a smokin’ hot werewolf chick with serious DIY know-how and a man who thinks that’s sexy; illegal use of nail guns; things to do in a claw-foot tub; pirate references; piddling Dobermans and meddling ghosts. Which is better than meddling Dobermans and piddling ghosts.

My Review
Rating-

Sexual-

This is a sexy fast pace novella. I love to read short and exciting books and I really love it when there is treasure in it. I enjoyed the wolf shape shifter being the female roll with the human as the man, I don’t think I have read one like it. I enjoyed both Conn and Blair and I love how Blair was submissive to Conn. The sex between them is D/s and very tasteful and hot. These two have an adventure with some ghosts, a villain, and treasure. I know I will be reading more from this author.