Carries Book Reviews

The Sullivans Boxed Set
Bella Andre
(The Sullivans #1-3)
Publication date: December 5th 2015
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

More than 6 million readers have already fallen in love with the Sullivans! Now get ready to meet your new favorite family in Bella Andre’s New York Times and USA Today bestselling contemporary romances with the first three books in the #1 hit series.

“Not since Nora Roberts has anyone been able to write a big family romance series with every book as good as the last! Bella Andre never disappoints!” Revolving Bookcase Reviews

THE LOOK OF LOVE

Chloe Peterson is having a bad night. A really bad night. The large bruise on her cheek can attest to that. And when her car skids off the side of a wet country road straight into a ditch, she’s convinced even the gorgeous guy who rescues her in the middle of the rain storm must be too good to be true. Or is he?

As a successful photographer who frequently travels around the world, Chase Sullivan has his pick of beautiful women, and whenever he’s home in San Francisco, one of his seven siblings is usually up for causing a little fun trouble. Chase thinks his life is great just as it is–until the night he finds Chloe and her totaled car on the side of the road in Napa Valley. Not only has he never met anyone so lovely, both inside and out, but he quickly realizes she has much bigger problems than her damaged car. Soon, he is willing to move mountains to love–and protect–her, but will she let him?

FROM THIS MOMENT ON

For thirty-six years, Marcus Sullivan has been the responsible older brother, stepping in to take care of his seven siblings after their father died when they were children. But when the perfectly ordered future he’s planned for himself turns out to be nothing but a lie, Marcus needs one reckless night to shake free from it all.

Nicola Harding is known throughout the world by only one name – Nico – for her catchy, sensual pop songs. Only, what no one knows about the twenty-five year old singer is that her sex-kitten image is totally false. After a terrible betrayal by a man who loved fame far more than he ever loved her, she vows not to let anyone else get close enough to find out who she really is…or hurt her again. Especially not the gorgeous stranger she meets at a nightclub, even though the hunger – and the sinful promises – in his dark eyes make her want to spill all her secrets.

CAN’T HELP FALLING IN LOVE

Gabe Sullivan risks his life every day as a firefighter in San Francisco. But after learning a brutal lesson about professional boundaries, he knows better than to risk his heart to his fire victims ever again. Especially the brave mother and daughter he saved from a deadly apartment fire…and can’t stop thinking about.

Megan Harris knows she owes the heroic firefighter everything for running into a burning building to save her and her seven-year-old daughter. Everything except her heart. Because after losing her navy pilot husband five years ago, she has vowed to never suffer through loving – and losing – a man with a dangerous job again.

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EXCERPT:

FROM THIS MOMENT ON

For thirty-six years, Marcus Sullivan has been the responsible older brother, stepping in to take care of his seven siblings after their father died when they were children. But when the perfectly ordered future he’s planned for himself turns out to be nothing but a lie, Marcus needs one reckless night to shake free from it all.

Marcus Sullivan was known for his patience. After helping to raise his seven siblings, he’d learned to wait out tantrums, fistfights, even tears.

But tonight, he was all out of patience.

He’d come to the club tonight to find a woman, to proposition her, to claim her for one no-holds-barred night, but he’d been watching the dancers for long enough to know that he wasn’t going to take a single one of them to bed. None of the women who’d walked in through the thick red curtain in the past thirty minutes had been contenders, either.

Until, suddenly, the curtain parted…and she walked in.

Marcus felt like a fist had slammed straight into his gut.

The woman was young, mid-twenties probably, and so beautiful it almost hurt to look at her. Her black leather dress left nothing to his imagination, fitting her like a second skin with wide cut-outs that ran down the side of her insane curves.

She was the one.

As she stood in the doorway and slowly scanned the crowd, every eye in the room was on her. She was magnetic, had that special something that made it impossible to pull your eyes away from her.

And then her eyes met his, illuminated by a beam of light in the dark room, and although Marcus hadn’t drunk nearly enough at Chase’s engagement party to be unsteady on his feet, one look at those clear blue eyes had him fighting for balance.

What was wrong with him?

He needed to remember, at all times, what tonight was about. Pleasure. Not emotion. Not a relationship. It was okay for certain parts of his body below the waist to react like a match had been lit from nothing more than looking at the woman. Everything else was off-limits. He wasn’t looking for a woman to respect.

And he definitely wasn’t going to fall in love.

The dangerous curves began to shift beneath the thin layer of leather as she moved straight toward him, never once breaking stride, even in impossibly high heels. Marcus couldn’t miss the challenge in her gaze, a look that asked if he was man enough to handle her.

He’d always liked his women tall and slim, not barely coming up to his chest like this one. A voice in his head told him she was way too young for him, young enough that if this were any other night, he’d walk away from her now.

But he wasn’t planning on walking away from whatever this woman offered. Not until first light.

And definitely not until he’d had his fill of those curves.

FROM THIS MOMENT ON excerpt by Bella Andre © 2014

Author Bio:

Bella Andre is the New York Times, USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of “The Sullivans”, “The Maverick Billionaires”, “The Morrisons”, and the NYT bestselling “Four Weddings and a Fiasco” sweet romance series written as Lucy Kevin.

Sign up for Bella’s newsletter at http://www.BellaAndre.com/Newsletter
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Having sold more than 6 million books, Bella Andre’s novels have been #1 bestsellers around the world and have appeared on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists 32 times. She has been the #1 Ranked Author at Amazon (on a top 10 list that included Nora Roberts, JK Rowling, James Patterson and Steven King), and Publishers Weekly named Oak Press (the publishing company she created to publish her own books) the Fastest-Growing Independent Publisher in the US. After signing a groundbreaking 7-figure print-only deal with Harlequin MIRA, Bella’s “The Sullivans” series is being released in paperback in the US, Canada, and Australia.

Known for “sensual, empowered stories enveloped in heady romance” (Publishers Weekly), her books have been Cosmopolitan Magazine “Red Hot Reads” twice and have been translated into ten languages. Winner of the Award of Excellence, The Washington Post called her “One of the top writers in America” and she has been

featured by Entertainment Weekly, NPR, USA Today, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, and TIME Magazine. A graduate of Stanford University, she has given keynote speeches at publishing conferences from Copenhagen to Berlin to San Francisco, including a standing-room-only keynote at Book Expo America in New York City.

If not behind her computer, you can find her reading her favorite authors, hiking, swimming or laughing. Married with two children, Bella splits her time between the Northern California wine country and a 100 year old log cabin in the Adirondacks.

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Hard Rock Deceit
Athena Wright
Publication date: July 25th 2017
Genres: New Adult, Romance

He’s a brilliant artist. A rock star god.

He challenges me. Excites me.

He makes me quiver. Makes me swoon.

He makes me feel things I’ve never dreamed of.

But we’re both dedicated to our art. We’ll do whatever it takes to succeed.

When I find out just how far he’ll go, it threatens to tear our world apart.

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EXCERPT:

August placed a hand on my shoulder, squeezing gently. The heat of his palm burned into my bare skin. I shivered.

That reassuring touch turned into a caress, trailing along my collarbone. I swallowed hard. His gaze was fixated, as if mesmerized, as callused fingertips ran a trail up my throat, along my jaw. He cupped the back of my head, sifting through the dark strands.

August leaned forward. My heart jumped in my chest. Soft lips brushed my ear.

“What are you feeling right now?”

His voice was low and husky, inflaming every inch of me.

“I don’t know,” I stammered.

The hitch of my breath, the trembling of my fingers, the flush of my cheeks, told a different story.

I felt his lips curve into a teasing smile.

“Liar.”

Author Bio:

Athena Wright is a USA Today Bestselling author of New Adult Romance. She has a fondness for rock stars and the girls who tame their wild hearts. Athena loves to write characters who are not always what they seem.

Want a free taste of Athena’s writing? You can receive two exclusive Newsletter-Only side stories for free. Just subscribe and tell Athena where to send them. You’ll also be notified of new book releases. http://athenawright.com/sign-up/

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Bad Boss
Clarissa Wild
(Unprofessional Bad Boys Series #2)
Publication date: July 19th 2017
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

What do men want more than anything? Money and women.

As the CEO of one of the biggest companies in the city, I am one lucky man.

Everyone wants a taste of what I’ve got to offer, and it’s massive. Girls fight over me in droves.

In my fantasy, of course. I had to make some sacrifices to get to the top.

To protect myself and the company, I always have to hide my dirty little secret…

I’m a panty sniffer.

What? A man has needs. Mine are just a bit more… outrageous. Instead of dating, I hoard panties.

Except it’s about to blow up in my face.

Why?

Because a beautiful girl just showed up for a job interview … the same girl I just bought a pair of panties from anonymously…

And what do I do?

I let my junk do the thinking, and hire her as my intern.

Author’s note: Don’t take it too hard, it’s just a book, not a big D. But this guy does have one. I’m not kidding. His schlong is huge and his ego is too, so beware. And as always … if you don’t like slapstick jokes and corny romance, don’t bother to read.

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EXCERPT:

“The shower’s over there.” I point at my bathroom. “In case you wanna take a shower. Or something.” Oh god, why did I have to make it sound so pervy?

“I’m fine,” he says. “I just wanna get dry and get back to work.”

Damn.

For a moment there, I’m actually disappointed. Now I won’t get to see his sexy abs and imagine running my fingers all over them. I wonder what he looks like.

Seriously, Lesley? Stooping so low for some action?

I should definitely have more sex, just to prevent myself from craving him. I mean, I do like casual sex, but I’ve been so busy running my panty-scheme and trying to find a job that I just don’t have the time for sex. Let alone a boyfriend. Nope. I definitely need to find some random hookup. That, or pull my trusty vibrator from the closet.

Especially when he just takes off his shirt … right here in my living room.

I gulp.

The shoulder and back muscles that appear beneath capture my attention, and not just a little bit. My eyes are practically bulging out of my head as he marches toward the bathroom and throws his shirt down with little to no care.

That sexy body dragged me out of the water. He lifted me up and held me close to him as he tried to bring me to the shore. I came so close … and then I screwed it for myself. Why did I do that again? Oh right, because I want to be my own boss. Stupid. I should’ve just let him touch me.

Oh, yes. I’m practically drooling over my shoes at the thought. Fuck.

Roll in that damn tongue, girl.

He throws his jacket on the counter and puts his shoes on the floor. Then he pulls off his soaked socks and pants, revealing his mighty calves. He must go to the gym often to look like this, but my question is … Who’s he doing all the work for? Another girl? Not that it should matter. I mean, I don’t have a shot. I shouldn’t even take a shot; he’s my damn boss.

Annoyed with myself and my own dirty thoughts, I furrow my brows, but still, I can’t take my eyes off him.

He turns around and stares right back at me.

And I’m left horrified and stunned.

“Are you looking at me?” A smug grin spreads across his face.

“N-no, I wasn’t,” I stammer, barely able to keep my eyes from his abs, which are now clearly visible as he’s turned my way.

He’s so damn sexy, and to think that I was in the water with … that. I’m impressed. I never thought he’d be this good looking. I wasn’t looking hard enough. Then again, he’s still kind of an ass.

He snorts. “Yeah, you were.”

Author Bio:

Clarissa Wild is a New York Times & USA Today Bestselling author, best known for the dark Romance novel Mr. X. Her novels include the Fierce Series, the Delirious Series, the Stalker Duology, Twenty-One (21), Ultimate Sin, Viktor, Bad Teacher, RUIN, and Wicked Bride Games. She is also a writer of various erotic romances. She is an avid reader and writer of sexy stories about hot men and feisty women. Her other loves include her furry cat friend and learning about different cultures. In her free time she enjoys watching all sorts of movies, reading tons of books and cooking her favorite meals.

Want to get an email when my next book is released? Sign up here to receive 4 FREE short stories: http://eepurl.com/FdY71

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Dead Girls Can’t Lie by Carys Jones
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

North Stone and Kelly Orton had been best friends since they were very very young and had always considered themselves to be soul sisters. When North gets the news that Kelly was found hanging from a tree on a jogging path from an apparent suicide North knows that there is no way Kelly killed herself. Kelly was a fun a vibrant person whom everyone loved with a great boyfriend and no way she’d leave her best friend behind without a word.

The police are not listening to North’s pleas to investigate further into Kelly’s death with all clues pointing to the suicide so North decides to take matters into her own hands and investigate Kelly’s death. With what little information the police have given about Kelly’s death and a few leads into her past few months North sets out to prove her theory and ends up putting herself directly in the path of danger in her search for the truth.

Dead Girls Can’t Lie by Carys Jones is one of those books that after I was finished I was truly disappointed that I didn’t care for it as much as I had thought I was going to when picking it up. Shortly after starting this mystery/thriller read though two distinct things happened that brought the entire book down for me from then on out.

First, I was never convinced of this amazing friendship between North and Kelly. The book takes the reader back and forth with flashes from the girls past and North’s investigation in current time and truth be told the more I read I just disliked North and wondered about the friendship overall. Parts of it had me thinking North seemed just rather kind of creepy or in the very least needing a bit of help to deal with her own issues instead of focusing on Kelly.

Then the other thing that had me a bit disconnected during the read was it seemed shockingly obvious what the outcome would be at the end and then unfortunately I was right. I wanted to scream where’s the twists, where are the turns? Perhaps with a shocking ending I would have at least felt happy to have continued on but unfortunately that wasn’t the case. I’m chalking this one up as to the it just wasn’t for me as there are others enjoying it but I couldn’t say the same unfortunately.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

The Vampire Prince by Michelle Madow
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Vampire Prince is the second book of a new young adult fantasy series by Michelle Madow. In the first book of the series, The Vampire Wish, we met Annika who had lost her whole family to a vampire attack and was taken hostage to the hidden vampire kingdom of the Vale where she is kept as a human blood slave to provide food for the vampires. Also introduced in the first book was Jacen who was also taken by the vampires against his will but unlike Annika who still remains human Jacen was turned against his wishes and now fights his desire to kill for blood. Jacen and Annika met and Jacen tried to help Annika escape but she was taken away with Jacen being led to believe she died and Annika believing Jacen had betrayed her.

Now in The Vampire Prince Annika finds herself in possession of a magical artifact that has trapped the ancient witch, Geneva. Whoever controls the ring controls Geneva so Annika now has her power behind her as she continues to try to get revenge upon the vampires that killed her family and held her hostage. Meanwhile, Jacen has returned to the kingdom and is being forced to find a bride so with Geneva’s help Annika plans to disguise herself and become his bride to have full access to the palace and destroy The Vale from the inside.

As usual Michelle Madow hasn’t disappointed me in the least coming up with another great fast paced addition to this series. The story picked up right after the end of the first book and quickly brought the reader back into the story as the characters try to recover from the ending of the first book. Always moving at a quick pace and full of action the story has added in so much more about all of the characters and situations that I can’t wait to see what happens at each turn of the page.

This second book also has a bit of Selection or The Bachelor feel to it as Jacen starts looking for a bride. The story isn’t quite being done in the same way as either of those but they are definitely brought to mind as the potential brides arrive at the kingdom including Annika in disguise. Being left right in the middle of this story line among others going on in the series is the only reason I didn’t rate a perfect five but I will most certainly be anxiously awaiting seeing where the story goes in the next installment and would recommend this to the fantasy/paranormal fans that enjoy fast paced and full of action reads.

I received a free advance copy of this book directly from the author, thank you to Michelle Madow for allowing me to read early.