Carries Book Reviews

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Death Hits the High Notes
GG Calpo
(The Sweet TOOTH Murder Mystery Series)
Publication date: October 7th 2026
Genres: Adult, Cozy Mystery, Mystery

Trouble is brewing at Whitman’s Port Choral Society as choir members drop dead and Detective Jonathan Storm raises more questions than answers in his investigation. When Stefan, the choir’s soloist, gets weaker by the day, Meg and her friends take matters into their own hands. And if a murder investigation was not enough to elevate anyone’s blood pressure, Meg finds herself in danger tied to her past that she’s struggling to understand.

Will Meg and her friends stop the killer before Stefan becomes the next victim—and before Meg’s past catches up with her?

Join these golden-age sleuths as they follow the clues, protect their own, and prove that friendship is the strongest weapon against a killer.

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EXCERPT:

There were two new faces I didn’t recognize from last year’s concert. They looked familiar, though I couldn’t place where I had seen them before. The conductor stood in front, his back to us as he summoned the choir’s eyes to him with a few taps of his baton. He took a deep breath, synchronizing the choir’s breathing to his own. Gesturing with his baton, he released the soprano’s voice—rich, powerful, and throbbing with emotion. The beginning strains of the solo filled the auditorium. Holding his right hand at waist level, the conductor flicked his right index finger left, then right, counting the beats.

“That’s Amanda, in case you didn’t know,” Liz told me behind her raised hand.

I nodded and tried to stop my giggles when Liz’s shoulder hit mine.

“Will…you…shut…up?” Barbara widened her eyes more with each word.

Liz waved her hands in surrender, twitched her body deeper into the chair, took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. If it weren’t for the trembling of her shoulders, Liz could have fooled us with her pose of deep listening. But we knew her, and all she got from Barbara was another shove. Despite her unfailingly put-together appearance—manicured nails and hair

always expertly cut and dyed—Liz hadn’t left her teen years behind. We must have been making a racket because a woman three rows down turned around and glared at us.

Liz and I looked at each other and decided to settle down and listen. I swayed, imagining my soul lifting in prayer, soaring past the lights of the auditorium and ever more upwards into the wide open sky beyond the school building. Then it happened. One minute I was up in the heavens, one with the song; the next minute I was crashing without a parachute.

The glorious voice stopped, leaving echoes of the high note ringing in the auditorium. A harsh cough sounded, jarring and unexpected. The accompanist stopped. The conductor jerked forward while the soprano toppled gracelessly to the floor, face down. Music scores fluttered in the air before landing gently around the stricken woman. A choir member huddled over her while the rest stared in shock.

“She’s not breathing!” The grief-stricken wail rattled my bones.

Barbara jumped up from her chair, her eyes fixed on Stefan, who stood frozen in his place, his eyes fixed on Amanda.

Amanda…who wasn’t moving.

I whipped my phone out of my bag and dialed nine-one-one. How long would help take to get here? Stefan moved to where Amanda was, kneeling to touch her on her shoulder. What was Stefan waiting for? Why was he not giving her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation? A few other choir members crept nearer but then backed away when Stefan waved them off. Start CPR, I wanted to shout, but couldn’t because the 911 operator had picked up my call.

Then the door to the auditorium opened, and in walked Edna, former third-grade teacher of Post Elementary School and the last of our group. One look at the stage and the woman laid out on the floor had Edna gasping, loud enough for everyone to hear, “Oh no, not another murder?”

Author Bio:

GG Calpo is a retired lawyer and accountant who traded contracts and numbers for the far more enjoyable chaos of fictional crime. Now she writes cozy whodunits featuring warm-hearted golden-aged sleuths who’ve seen it all, heard it all and will investigate a murder with zero hesitation. She loves stories where the stakes are personal, family and friendships are paramount, with characters who refuse to follow the outline and endings that pull the rug out. When not plotting twisty crimes—on paper only, of course—she spends her time reading, crocheting blankets and sweaters for her five grandchildren, watching mystery TV shows and taking long walks in her neighborhood. She lives in Central New Jersey with her husband and two corgis, Whiskey and Nugget.

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Jingle Bells, Wedding Vows
Paula Dombrowiak
(Hollow Reign, #3)
Publication date: October 6th 2026
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Holiday, Romance

He’s the uptight rockstar directing the music for my burlesque Christmas show, and driving the grumpy maestro to throw his sheet music is my favorite hobby.

Then we wake up married, and he can’t remember a single thing about our night together.

Theo Mercer is an arrogant control freak in rolled-up sleeves and glasses who thinks he can tame my headlining act. But on my stage, I call the shots. Beneath the falling stage snow, the friction between us is hot enough to burn the theater down.

When our accidental Vegas wedding explodes across the tabloids, Theo swallows his pride and drops to one knee to propose a holiday charade: play blissfully wedded—which means moving my insufferable new husband into my cramped studio apartment.

Forced proximity beneath the mistletoe turns our backstage feud into breathless passion, and behind closed doors, our fake marriage starts to feel dangerously real.

Except our vows have an expiration date. When the tinsel comes down on New Year’s, Theo has to leave.

He swears he’s coming back.

But I stopped believing in Christmas miracles a long time ago, after a string of men who never kept their word. If I let down my walls only to get burned by my fake husband… I won’t survive the fall.

Jingle Bells, Wedding Vows is Book 3 in the Hollow Reign Christmas Novellas, a series of interconnected, steamy holiday romances. Each book can be read as a standalone and features a guaranteed happily ever after.

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EXCERPT:

In sleep, she looks almost angelic.

Which would be a lot more convincing if I didn’t have the pleasure of knowing she’s a complete and utter menace in sequins and red lipstick who has spent the last couple of weeks

driving me insane. The star of the Christmas show who argues with me about every note I wrote for her number. The woman who loves to push my buttons like no one I’ve ever met before.

Mara Delaney.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

Do not tell me I did what I think I did.

My stomach drops as I lift the edge of the sheet and look down. Finding myself still in my boxers should be reassuring, but the relief is fleeting, swallowed almost immediately by a deeper sense of dread.

I turn my head toward Mara. The sheet has slipped just enough to expose the curve of her bare shoulder. I pinch the edge of the sheet to lift it.

Please don’t let her be naked. Please don’t let her be naked.

Fuck, she’s naked.

I don’t remember how I got here. Last night is a haze of disconnected pieces, and everything that matters is missing.

I ease out of bed with the stealth of a military operative trying not to set off a bomb. My shirt is draped over a velvet armchair, and I pull it on before anything else because I need at least one layer of dignity between me and whatever the hell happened last night. One of my Vans sits near the bathroom door. I shove my foot into it and search for the other, getting a good look at Mara’s apartment in the process.

I run a hand through my hair and pull it back to stare at it before my brain catches up to what I’m seeing.

There’s a gold band on my ring finger. Not the kind that comes out of a gumball machine.

What the actual fuck?

My gaze snaps to Mara.

I lean over the bed to see Mara’s hand curled loosely around the sheet, dark red polish chipped at the edges.

The ring on her finger matches mine.

This has to be a joke. Some elaborate, deeply unfunny prank, and when I find Casey, I’m going to kill him slowly, because somehow he’s responsible.

There’s a marriage certificate on the nightstand next to my phone.

Author Bio:

Paula Dombrowiak grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois but currently lives in Arizona. She is the author of Blood and Bone, her first adult romance novel which combines her love of music and imperfect relationships. Paula is a lifelong music junkie, whose wardrobe consists of band T-shirts and leggings which are perpetually covered in pet hair. She is a sucker for a redeemable villain, bad boys, and the tragically flawed. Music inspires her storytelling.

For more ways to learn about Paula and her books, check out her website: @www.pauladombrowiak.com

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Love and Other Cures for the Recently Undead
H.J. Ramsay
Publication date: October 6th 2026
Genres: New Adult, Post-Apocalyptic, Romance

CeCe Campbell wakes on the asphalt of a mall parking lot with two missing years and a body that no longer feels like her own. Infected with the Kill Virus on her 18th birthday, she’s among the first to be cured.

Rehabilitation teaches CeCe how to walk, how to speak, how to exist in a world rebuilding itself, but it cannot return what she lost. Her mother is dead. Her brother is missing. And the last memory before the dark is a bite she cannot escape.

When CeCe unexpectedly meets Derrick—the boy who infected her—she’s torn between anger and a strange, undeniable connection. Derrick doesn’t remember what he did. CeCe does, and the truth of that moment is something he’ll never get. Not when he already took everything from her.

But if there’s to be life after the cure, CeCe will have to unwind the past, face what happened the night that bound them together, and decide if love and forgiveness can heal wounds deeper than the ones left by the undead.

Love and Other Cures for the Recently Undead is a haunting post-apocalyptic love story about guilt, survival, and choosing connection in a world where nothing can be undone.

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EXCERPT:

CeCe opens her mouth to ask for a ride, but by the time she gets the words out, Savannah is already jumping into the van. Her aunt pulls away from the curb.

Derrick looks toward the van and then at CeCe. He smiles. It’s probably meant to be charming, but she finds nothing about him appealing.

He steps toward her.

Why did she insist on walking home? If her dad was here, she’d already be in his car. Now she has to find a way around Derrick. Or maybe she doesn’t. She could wait him out. He’ll have to leave eventually.

CeCe turns back to the school. Just as she’s about to reach for the door, it swings open and Olivia slithers out. They’re so close that CeCe can see every strand of Olivia’s bangs—and something underneath. A scar? Does that mean Olivia isn’t a Survivor? She’ll have to think about that later. Not now.

Olivia inches to the side. The moment she’s out of the way, CeCe lunges for the handle, but it shuts before she can grab it. She yanks. It doesn’t budge. The damn thing’s on auto-lock.

CeCe presses her forehead against the locked door. Did Olivia do that on purpose? Knowing it would leave her trapped out here? She senses Olivia’s stare crawling over her—and Derrick’s.

She can’t deal with this. Can’t deal with them. Her hand clamps around the latch, unable to move. She just wants to go home.

“Hi again,” she hears Derrick say from behind her.

She groans. “Are you going to be here every day?”

“Ah, she speaks. I wasn’t sure if, you know, there was something wrong with your voice.”

“I speak,” she snaps as she turns, half expecting to see Olivia standing beside him, but she’s already down the stairs, heading toward the same rumbling truck. At least that’s one problem solved.

Author Bio:

HJ Ramsay holds an MFA in Creative Writing and is an award-winning author. She is the Editor-in-Chief of Gold Man Review, a West Coast literary journal, and has a background in Psychology and Criminal Justice with dual bachelor’s degrees. Passionate about storytelling that explores the human experience, she crafts narratives that blend emotion, imagination, and depth. When she’s not writing or editing, she enjoys diving into the worlds of speculative fiction and literary fiction alike.

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The Reports of Silas Killian, Beleaguered Space Station Beat Cop
AJ Sherwood
(Selarion Station, #1)
Publication date: December 18th 2026
Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Romance

Unfortunately, this is my circus, and these are my monkeys.

When Silas graduated from the police academy, he expected a certain level of crazy. People were people no matter the age, race, or location–they were going to get into shit. Somehow, Selarion Space Station took it all up a notch, and it can’t all be blamed on the Qax’asins who don’t believe in wearing clothes.

Factor in Ruan, who’s part owner of that very space station, and from a race that can tell on sight when they’ve met their mate, and Silas’s life goes from crazy to absurd. Ruan is adamant that Silas is his.

Silas very much begs to differ.

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Author Bio:

AJ Sherwood believes in happily ever afters, magic, dragons, good men, and dark chocolate. She often dreams at night of delectable men doing sexy things with each other. In between writing multiple books (often at the same time) she pets her cats, plays with her dogs, and attempts insane things like aerial yoga.

She currently resides in Michigan with aforementioned dogs and cats. Being in snow country gives her the excuse to stay inside and watch bl dramas, which suit her perfectly.

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Atlas

Did I mean to rant on TV about the inconvenience of sharing the ice with San Jose’s brand-new women’s hockey team? 

No, of course not. I’m not an idiot, whatever my second-grade teacher might have written in my quarterly progress reports. 

But I probably should have noticed my teammates’ frantic arm movements. And I definitely shouldn’t have blurted out that I’m actually supportive of women’s hockey because I’m dating Diana Marsh, the captain of the San Jose Pumas.

Because the fact is… we’re not dating. Even if maybe, we sort of did, uh, sleep together. Before I ghosted her. 

But now our teams’ billionaire owner is eager for our ‘romance’ to be public, and since my face is all over his health app, I can’t say no to him. 

Besides, the Pumas will get publicity, and my reputation as captain of the San Jose Jackals will be salvaged. 

Hopefully. 

Once I explain the fake dating plan to Diana.

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