Carries Book Reviews

Dead Woman Walking by Sharon Bolton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

One morning just before dawn near the Scottish border Jesse and her sister Isabel are enjoying a hot air balloon ride that Jesse set up to celebrate her sister’s birthday. As the balloon passes over the countryside with the two women and ten other passengers onboard with the pilot Jesse sees something below that she can’t believe is happening. A man is attacking a woman below as the group flies over and when he sees he has witnesses the chase begins.

Before the group above knows it bullets are flying at them as they duck for cover in complete shock from what they’ve just witnessed. Unfortunately one of the bullets takes out their pilot leaving them to fend for themselves as the attacker begins to pursue the balloon. As hard as they try the lack of experience wins in the end when the balloon comes crashing down leaving only one survivor hiding from the assailant.

Dead Woman Walking by Sharon Bolton had a unique format in which the action kicks in right away with the hot air balloon chase but this event is actually the middle of the story involved within the pages. The following events switch back and forth between telling the tale of what led up to the hot air balloon ride and the events that take place in the aftermath of the crash. Perhaps a tad confusing jumping into this format but it quickly worked it’s way to becoming a compelling read.

Along the journey in the story the reader already knows from the explosive beginning who the bad guy is so it’s not a matter of a whodunnit but the why and how things got to where they were in the beginning. The story was well developed and eventually everything is brought around through the expected twists and turns to bring the reader to the conclusion. I think this is one that thriller fans will enjoy that are always yearning for something a bit different from their next read.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

The Border by Steve Schafer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

As Pato is entering his cousin’s birthday celebration with his parents he sees a strange black car sitting outside the house and means to say something about it but with the excitement of entering with his family it slips his mind. Later in the night Pato, Arbo, Marcos, and Gladys sneak away from the party to smoke when all of a sudden gunshots ring out in the night.

When the group return they find everyone from all their families have been executed with the gunmen still there. Marcos thinks quick and finds a gun to return fire but the group finds themselves on the run from the drug dealers. With nowhere to go and the narcos doing everything they can to find them the group finds themselves setting out to cross the desert hoping to find freedom in the US.

Steve Schafer has come up with an excellent novel that truly fits today’s society and headlines giving a look into the lives of some of the innocent that are forced to flee Mexico and risk their lives crossing the border illegally. With all the talk in the news of building walls on the border this story is very relevant with the four innocent teens having no other option but to run away from their home due to the volatile situation that was not any doing on their part.

The story is fairly fast paced with a decent amount of action building the tension throughout their journey although I did find a few slower moments. There’s a bit of a romance that builds between Pato and Gladys which of course didn’t sit well with Gladys’ older brother Marcos who becomes the self appointed leader and protector of the group to add to the drama of the story during their crossing. Arbo was the sort of class clown type of personality which leads to a few funnier moments to lighten up the read here and there.

Overall, while this young adult read is a story of fiction the reality of the characters situation is a great look into the struggles that some truly do suffer and I’d definitely recommend checking it out.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Social Media
JA Huss
Publication date: August 15th 2017
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

When Grace @FilthyBlueBird tweeted her dirtiest, most delicious secret desires to MovieStar @VaughnAsher she never expected a reply, let alone a face-to-face meeting and an offer of a lifetime.

And when MovieStar @VaughnAsher figured out the woman vacationing at his family’s St. Thomas resort was the author of all those dirty hashtags she was relentlessly tweeting at him… well, that was a challenge he couldn’t pass up. He was more than happy to #RockHerFilthyWorld.

@FilthyBlueBird’s online fantasy is about to collide with her real-life reality. And it’s about to happen now.

What started out as a fun, filthy tweet turned into the romance of a lifetime. If—that is—your idea of romance is the #asshole real-life persona of a kinky off-screen control freak.

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EXCERPT:

GRACE @FilthyBlueBird

I can’t stand silence, it drives me crazy. So I’m a talker. I’m a gabber. I’m what they call… social. I pin things, I share things, I plus things. I like, I follow, and I comment.

But most of all… I tweet. I’m a tweeter. I live for the Twitter. I chirp good morning like a little blue bird from my bed in the AM and then chirp good evening again every night.

Even before social media took over the world I was this girl. From my very first year I have been one of those butterflies. Yes—I’m putting my hand up to stop the protests—my very first year. Because my first birthday picture was of me whispering a secret into my big brother’s ear.

And after social media took over the world I embraced this girl. My bestie, Bebe, and I have this whole social thing down to a science. We are the champions of chatter, the proponents of prattle, the backers of blather. We are the goddesses of gossip and we own this shit. We take bubbly optimism to a whole new virtual level. Our motto is Happiness is a #Hashtag and we live life knowing the fairy tale is possible, even if you only get it online.

Who needs reality anyway? Reality is being orphaned at thirteen. Reality is foster homes and loneliness. Reality is a risk ripe for disappointment.

But thank God for Bebe and her family. They welcomed me in with open arms and instead of something tragic, I became the poster child for surviving and came out the other end not only intact, but better than ever.

But back to my mouth—and by extension, my fingertips since they do all my talking on Twitter—it has a mind of its own.

And that mind is very dirty.

Yes, my name is Grace Kinsella and I’m a filthy tweeter.

I can turn a hundred and forty characters into living sex. I can string words together in a way that will make you wet your panties with lust. I can make a man blush before he even gets to the hashtag. I am famous for pithy filth.

In fact, my girlfriends and I have an online Facebook group called the Filthy Blue Birds. And we’re not the only ones. The world of pithy filth is booming, friends. There are endless groups like ours. There are legions of shy girls who come alive when faced with the hundred-and-forty-character challenge. And there is a very special place online where we meet, challenging each other to achieve a new level of smexy typing.

I call that Twitter list Dirty Heaven. I made it up, like literally I’m the freaking founder. So Dirty Heaven is my kingdom and I’m the queen.

I’ll stop here to take a bow.

Besides being a list, Dirty Heaven is an online competition that happens on Twitter every Saturday night across the world—yes, we have filthy tweeters from all walks of life. At 8 PM Eastern the FT’s come alive and each league puts up their best and brightest. You get one tweet, one hashtag, and one chance to shine.

I don’t win anymore, it’s simply not fair. I’m now the judge. But back when we were first putting this together my tweets took me to Dirty Heaven time after time after time. That’s back when we used to have the competitions nightly and the group was small. Just fifteen or twenty of my closest online stranger friends. Each competition we had an online muse and we took turns choosing who would benefit from our blush-inducing prose. Sometimes the girls picked models or rock stars.

I only ever had one muse and his name is Vaughn Asher.

Yes, the Vaughn Asher. A Hollywood legend. He started out in the boy band 2 Far Out, then when his angelic voice changed as he hit puberty he graduated into Disney sitcoms. Most child actors would fade after that, never able to make the transition. But Vaughn Asher doubled down on the workouts—gaining the title of Most Envied Body in

Hollywood six years in a row from Buzz Hollywood Magazine—and the preteen wannabe turned into an action-hero heartthrob overnight.

Just thinking his name makes me sigh. He’s so freaking gorgeous. That messy dark hair that makes him look like he just rolled out of bed. Those tight abs that just make you want to drag your tongue all over them to see if they taste as good as they look. And that package, boy. He’s never done any nudes so I have to use my imagination, but my imagination is vivid. I have a very clear picture.

Besides, you know what they say about a man’s thumbs, right? Well, Vaughn Asher has incredible thumbs. And large feet. They say that too.

Yes, doing filthy things to his six-foot-two frame has been my idea of Dirty Heaven for almost three years now. I’d like to say I’ve said everything imaginable about him, but that’s not true. I never run out of ideas. It’s like my brain only exists to compose a one-hundred-and-forty-character sentence that will turn him red.

That’s my fantasy. That’s my fairy tale. Vaughn Asher doing things to me that can only be said in a hashtag.

Author Bio:

JA Huss is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than fifty books. She likes stories about family, loyalty, and extraordinary characters who struggle with basic human emotions while dealing with bigger than life problems. JA loves writing heroes who make you swoon, heroines who makes you jealous, and the perfect Happily Ever After ending.

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The Wolf of Kisimul Castle
Heather McCollum
Published by: Entangled Publishing
Publication date: August 14th 2017
Genres: Adult, Historical, Romance

Mairi Maclean is kidnapped on her wedding day by the enemy of her dead husband. Taken north to the water-surrounded Kisimul Castle, she is held captive in the name of retribution. But The Wolf of Kisimul Castle soon learns Mairi is not a docile pawn in this game of war between neighboring

Scots. Nor will she be frightened into walking down the aisle to wed the fierce Highland chief.

Alec MacNeil is set on revenge. When he finds his enemy dead, he takes his wife to replace the one that was murdered. An eye for an eye. A bride for a bride. But Mairi is more tiger than kitten and refuses to bend to his will. Set stubbornly against one another, the passion that flares between them threatens to tear Alec’s strategy to shreds.

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EXCERPT:

He crossed to the window without a word and looked out at the courtyard, his eyes scanning beyond. “Where is everyone?” he asked. “At the chapel, I assume,” she said, stepping closer. He probably smelled of sweat or ale. She inhaled. Nay. She smelled pine and the sea and fresh air on him.

He turned, and she rubbed her nose to hide the action of sniffing him. His gaze dropped to her as if her nearness surprised him. “We will go,” he said.

Mairi sighed. “I won’t have Geoff wondering if I would have failed his test, so go ahead.” She let her eyes flutter shut and waited. “Go ahead?” he repeated, and she blinked open.

“Aye,” she said, starting to feel foolish. “Kiss me, if ye’re going to. Otherwise take me to the chapel.”

The only change in the man’s devilishly handsome face was a slight rise in his brows, his clear blue-gray eyes widening the smallest amount. Those damnably tempting lips opened and closed, and his gaze drifted to the shut door before returning to her. He stared at her, as if he were delving into her thoughts. The idea shook Mairi, and she frowned.

“Well, if ye’re not—”

The man wrapped his hand around her arm, slowly reeling her in with constant, gentle pressure until she had to tip her head back to see his face. He radiated authority and determination, as if he could order the mountains to move, yet chose to hold her instead. Her heart hammered in her chest as he set his hand on her cheek. “A kiss, and then we go,” he murmured, moving his thumb across her jaw.

She had time for only a quick inhale as he descended. Mairi had expected a bruising press of his mouth like Geoff had given her when he’d asked her to wed. But this man’s kiss was gentle and warm. With slight pressure, he tipped her head to seal their lips together, moving against her as if tasting an aged whisky. Heat flowed down through

Mairi, wiping away all rational thought. Her knees numbed, but the man seemed to accept her weight easily as he held her against his hard body. His height made him loom over her, but Mairi felt safely surrounded by power instead of fearful. Her fingers reached behind his head to feather through his wavy hair. They were still woven in the dark mass when he gently pulled back, ending the most sensuous kiss Mairi had ever experienced. What bloody foolishness was Geoff thinking? Her traitorous body begged for more, but she stepped back, hands to her flushed skin above her low neckline. The man adjusted himself through his kilt, proving that he too had been affected by the kiss.

“Who are ye?” she asked.

Author Bio:

Heather McCollum is an award winning, historical and contemporary YA paranormal romance writer. She earned her B.A. in Biology from the University of Maine, much to her English professor’s dismay. She is a member of Romance Writers of America, won the 2015 Readers’ Crown, and was a 2009 Golden Heart Finalist. Ms. McCollum has twelve historical romances released in both electronic and digital formats. She also has three YA paranormal romances released in both formats.

When she is not busy writing and answering calls of “Mom”, she can be found educating women about ovarian cancer. She is a teal warrior herself and slayed the ovarian cancer beast in 2012.

She currently resides with her very own Highland hero and three spirited children in the wilds of suburbia on the mid-Atlantic coast.

More information about Ms. McCollum and her books can be found at http://www.HeatherMcCollum.com.

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Friend Request by Laura Marshall
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Louise Williams has spent most of her adult life trying to forget the past and make up for the mistakes she made while in high school. However, when Louise gets a friend request on Facebook from Maria Weston her heart nearly stops as the past comes flooding back into her life and the memories that have haunted her for years are brought back to the surface.

Around twenty five years before Maria had disappeared one night and with a search turning up nothing it was assumed that she had died but the body was never found. Due to peer pressure Louise has blamed herself believing all these years that it was her fault that Maria had died that night…. but had she really? Is there a chance that Maria is really alive? Either way it’s now time for Louise to face the past that has haunted her since high school.

Just seeing the title of this book I knew that I needed to check it out seeing how today’s society is so focused on social media so I figured it would bring that creepy edge to it. I’m happy to say my instinct was correct as far as the use of social media in the story. Louise is like most people these days with being concerned with her Facebook and the friends she has and basically socializing through a computer instead of face to face.

Now the story in here takes a reader back and forth from the present time and the past high school days for Lousie. Adult Louise is dealing with what it means to have a dead girl that she felt responsible for popping back up in her life. Then the flashing back to the high school days shows the reader just what had happened to Maria that night to make Louise live her life full of guilt. I’m not even sure which side of the story had me more engrossed as they both certainly kept the pages turning looking for answers.

As for the ending to this one, I thought the author did a great job keeping it a believable outcome overall while adding in a few extra little twists to the story. Definitely one that I think most fans of thriller will enjoy quite a bit.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.