Carries Book Reviews

Tales from Harborsmouth
E.J. Stevens
(Ivy Granger Psychic Detective, #0.5, #1.5, #2.5, #5.5)
Publication date: July 11th 2017
Genres: Adult, Mystery, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy

In Tales from Harborsmouth, readers get the chance to delve deeper into the award-winning world of Ivy Granger.

Ivy Granger is a psychic detective with ties to Harborsmouth’s paranormal underworld. Too bad those ties tend to ensnare Ivy and her friend Jinx in the Machiavellian schemes of the city’s teeming population of bloodsucking vampires and psychotic faeries.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

—

QUICK SNEAK PEEKS:

It’s hard to pay the bills when you’re dead, but if you die in a city filled with faerie magic and have Ivy Granger on the case, you sure as Hell can settle your debts.

—Ivy Granger, Frostbite

A detective’s job is to take note of the little things, the small details that can break a case wide open, but having anthropomorphic snot treat you like you smelled worse than a troll fart could give a girl a complex.

—Ivy Granger, Frostbite

There was a serial killer in Harborsmouth with a penchant for murdering faeries. Happy freaking holidays.

—Ivy Granger, Blood and Mistletoe

If a faerie, a vampire, and a demon walk into a bar, you wait for the punch line. At Private Eye, when a faerie, a vampire, and a demon walk through the door, it’s just another day at the office.

—Ivy Granger, Blood and Mistletoe

I blew a stray lock of hair from my eyes while running a damp cloth over the bar. The raven black curl froze at the edge of my vision, ice crystals from my breath coating it like the dust of fractured diamonds. But within seconds the damp chunk of bangs thawed from the perpetual heat of the club. The heat was one of the many things that I despised about bartending at Club Nexus.

—The Ice Faerie Beryl, Club Nexus – Iced

Deviance is nothing if not full of variety and Puck had discovered how to capitalize on each and every one of our desires. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if the imp was purposely late to our meetings to build the suspense, and empty my wallet.

—The Vampire Cyrus, Club Nexus – Dusted

It had been centuries since a human had piqued my interest, longer still since anyone had stirred feelings of lust and longing, but there was something unquestionably magnetic about the woman my eyes now frantically sought.

—Forneus, Club Nexus – Demonized

Of all the nightclubs, in all the cities, in all the world, the freakin’ demon had to walk into Club Nexus.

—Jinx, Club Nexus – Jinxed

I’d seen a lot in my nine lives, but nothing so strange as Ratfink’s Family Fun Palace and its tone-deaf taxidermied talent.

—Torn, Thrill on Joysen Hill

Author Bio:

E.J. Stevens is the bestselling, award-winning author of the IVY GRANGER, PSYCHIC DETECTIVE urban fantasy series, the SPIRIT GUIDE young adult series, the HUNTERS’ GUILD urban fantasy series, and the WHITECHAPEL PARANORMAL SOCIETY Victorian Gothic horror series. She is known for filling pages with quirky characters, bloodsucking vampires, psychotic faeries, and snarky, kick-butt heroines. Her novels are available worldwide in multiple languages.

BTS Red Carpet Award winner for Best Novel, SYAE finalist for Best Paranormal Series, Best Novella, and Best Horror, winner of the PRG Reviewer’s Choice Award for Best Paranormal Fantasy Novel, Best Young Adult Paranormal Series, Best Urban Fantasy Novel, and finalist for Best Young Adult Paranormal Novel and Best Urban Fantasy Series.

When E.J. isn’t at her writing desk, she enjoys dancing along seaside cliffs, singing in graveyards, and sleeping in faerie circles. E.J. currently resides in a magical forest on the coast of Maine where she finds daily inspiration for her writing.

Connect with E.J. on Twitter @EJStevensAuthor. For more, including a list of her books, freebies, and upcoming events visit http://www.EJStevensAuthor.com.

Website / Goodreads / Facebok / Twitter

GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Twenty-Four Hours
Carolyn Anthony
(A Shattered Boundaries Novel)
Publication date: July 3rd 2017
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

The second chance that might never happen…

Eve Luccio waited years for her first love, but somehow their lives were never quite in sync. Now, at thirty-six, her only focus is completing the final year of her PhD. The last thing on her mind is the honor-driven former Navy SEAL who stole her heart as a teen and left her unable to love any other man since.

When Jake Theron walks back into Eve’s life, his presence shatters her walls of self preservation. He unleashes a dark sexuality that Eve never imagined she would experience, much less come to crave. All he wants from her is a day of her trust—twenty-four uninterrupted hours before she crosses the country for her Post Doctorate position in New York. But letting down her guard for even twenty-four hours with Jake might just destroy her.

For Jake Theron, Eve was always “the one that got away,” except even after two decades, she’s still under his skin. When Eve finally agrees to see him, Jake vows he won’t let her slip through his fingers again.

But nobody knows better than Jake what a vicious bitch fate can be. When his life gets in the way, he realizes he may have to let Eve go once again—this time for her own good.

All he has left are the next twenty-four hours. One day and night in a seaside hotel, after which he has no choice but to let her walk out of his life with no guarantee he’ll ever see her again. The problem is, now that he’s had a real taste of the woman who should have been his twenty years ago, he’s not sure he’ll have the strength to let her go.

Add to Goodreads

Author Bio:

Carolyn Anthony is a sucker for a dark romance with a dominant, tattooed, alpha badass man at the helm.

Her characters deal with real life issues: the painful, the tragic, the damaging sort of life events that leave both external and internal scars, because she’s been there.

Her heroines are strong women at the core who will always find what’s been lost, taken or exploited: their strength, their self-worth, their identity, their innocence or their love. She writes about women exploring their sexuality, owning that sexuality and enjoying it. Along for the ride, the hot-ass men who prove worthy enough to be on that journey with them.

Book one in the Shattered Boundaries Series, Twenty-Four Hours, will be available to buy on July, 3, 2017. Each book is a stand alone with a well earned HEA. Book two coming soon as well as Phoenix, the first book in a Contemporary second chances trilogy.

Feel free to stalk me everywhere!

Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Pinterest / Google+

Heart of a Thief
Ella Miles
Publication date: June 26th 2017
Genres: Adult, Romance, Suspense

I’m the villain in most romances.

I’m a thief that steals happily ever afters.

Except unlike most romances love doesn’t conquer me, I conquer it.

I’ve stolen countless women from unsuspecting men.

Gotten my one night with them.

And then watched the heartbreak that occurs in my wake.

Love doesn’t survive once I enter the picture, if it ever existed at all.

Although, stealing Sloane might be my greatest challenge of all.

Asher is a villain trying to a put a horrible life behind him by doing the only two things he knows to do: surf and steal. Sloane is an angel that runs a charity helping children needing a fresh start. Asher will do anything to have her. There is just one problem…she’s about to marry another man.

Goodreads / Amazon

—

CHAPTER ONE:

I grab a beer out of the mini fridge while I wait to see if Danielle is coming up or not. I pop the cap off against the counter in my hotel room and then bring the cold liquid to my lips as I stare at the door.

I met Danielle three weeks ago. It was a lucky happenstance really. Well, lucky for me, not so lucky for her. I met her like I meet most of my targets—in a bar. She was with her fiancé, minding her own business, just having a drink at the bar, when he was called away for work. That was when I stepped in and gave her the attention that she was so desperate for.

That’s all it took. One night of being nice to her, and I knew I could steal her from her fiancé. I knew it wouldn’t take long. I probably could have had her that night if I really wanted. But that’s not my game. Cheating isn’t enough. Many a men take back fiancées or wives who have cheated on them. No, I don’t entice the women so that they will cheat on their husbands. I hit on the women to steal them and make them mine—at least, until I get bored with them.

I’m not looking for anything long-term. I’ve never dated a woman for longer than a few weeks after claiming her as mine. Others, I get bored with much faster. I’m not really after the women. I’m after the chase that comes with stealing them away, and that satisfies the rush I used to get when I stole objects instead of people.

I don’t know which makes me a worse person. Stealing things like cars, money, or jewelry. Or stealing women and their hearts. But, this way, at least I don’t have to worry about going to jail.

I sit on the edge of the bed as I take another sip of my beer. I thought tonight was the night I would claim her. I thought tonight was the night I would steal her away. But, as every second passes, I become less sure of myself.

Maybe Danielle loves her fiancé, Wade, more than I thought she did.

I hear a soft knock on my door. Once, twice, and then a pause before the third knock. I grin before I down the rest of my beer and toss it into the trash can as I walk to the door. I open it and widen my eyes when I see Danielle standing outside my door, like I’m surprised that she is standing here even though I’m not the least bit surprised.

“What are you doing here, Danielle? Shouldn’t you be in bed, dreaming about that fiancé you are going to marry tomorrow?” I ask.

I haven’t stolen her yet. Not fully. I don’t win until she’s broken up with him, and I’ve had her in my bed.

Danielle wraps her arms across her chest, covering her cleavage that was sticking out from beneath her sparkly white dress that she wore to the rehearsal tonight.

I didn’t have to do much to get Danielle here. At least, not tonight. All I did was show up at the rehearsal. I made an appearance in the background, and it was enough to convince Danielle that she might be making a huge mistake.

“I’m not getting married tomorrow,” Danielle says.

“Oh,” I say, my voice dripping with sadness that isn’t the least bit real. “Would you like to come in?”

She nods, and I hold the door open for her. She walks over to the edge of my bed and sits down. I walk over to the mini fridge and pull two beers out. I open the caps on both and then hand one to her. She takes it, loosely holding it in her hand. She stares at it for a while, not able to look at me.

I keep my distance until she is ready to talk. Leaning against the counter next to the mini fridge, I sip on my beer.

“I broke up with Wade tonight,” Danielle finally says.

“I gathered that. Why though?”

She looks up at me with puppy-dog eyes. “Because I don’t love Wade anymore. I love you.”

I look at her seriously and say, “I want you.”

She hears I love you though. It’s clear from the goofy smile and blushed cheeks.

But that’s the one thing I won’t ever do. I won’t lie to these women. I can’t help it if they hear what they want to hear.

I put my beer down and walk over to her until I’m standing between her legs. I take the beer out of her hand and place it on the counter. Her eyes follow me.

I push her back on the bed, and then I take the off the T-shirt I’m wearing… She bites her lip as she stares at my abs that have formed from surfing every day.

“Tell me you want me to fuck you,” I say.

Danielle sits up and unzips the back of her dress, letting it fall to her waist, revealing her white lacy bra that holds her perky breasts in, away from me.

“Fuck me, Asher.”

I grin as I grab ahold of her dress and roughly pull it off her body. She lets out a gasp.

She grabs at my neck, trying to pull me in so that she can kiss me. I let her pull me into her. I let her kiss me, and then I turn the kiss into rough kisses that show her what I really want.

“You like it rough,” she says.

“Don’t you?” I ask.

“I like anything with you.”

I flip her over on the bed, and she lets out another surprised gasp.

I slap her ass. “I’m going to fuck this later, but first, I have to claim your pussy.”

“God, just fuck me already. I can’t wait,” she cries into the pillow that she is now face down on.

I sigh. “They never have patience,” I mutter to myself, annoyed that I can’t take my time to properly enjoy her body.

“What?” she asks.

“Nothing,” I say, hitting her hard on the ass, causing her to cry out.

I shove my shorts and briefs down and pull out a condom from the nightstand. I quickly slip it on before she finds a way to get herself off without me.

“Ready?” I ask, pulling her panties down and positioning myself at her entrance.

“Just fuck me already.”

I do. I push inside her tight pussy that I know is anything but ready for me. I’ve barely spent any time turning her on, but if this is what she wants, I won’t object.

She moans loudly and then quickly starts screaming, “Yes…yes,” over and over.

I keep thrusting until I come, not concerned at all if she comes or not. I’m an asshole after all. Although most have called me worse than that.

She must have come because she screams loudly, followed by nothing.

I pull out of her and go to the bathroom to clean myself off. When I’m done, I stay in the bathroom with my hands clenching either side of the sink as I look at myself in the mirror. I can’t handle this woman much longer. It was hard enough to pretend to like her to get her to want me, but now that I’ve had her once, I don’t think I can keep up the act to fuck her more than that. I’m ready for the implosion to happen.

I walk back out and dig through my suitcase to find a fresh pair of briefs to put on. After I do, I glance over at Danielle, who is now under the covers of the bed. Her cheeks are flushed, her brown eyes heavy, and her long brown hair is a mess on top of her head.

“That was amazing,” she says.

I nod and force my lips to curl up into something that resembles a smile.

“I’m ready to go again if you are. Or if you want to sleep some first…”

I take a deep breath, ready to tell her that I’m through with her, that she can’t stay here, when I hear a loud pounding at my door.

I hold up a finger and then walk to the door in just my briefs, not caring who is on the other side. I throw the door open, and before I can register who is standing there, a fist flies at my face and hits me square in the nose. My body jolts backward with the hit, and I put my hands up to my nose as another hit rains down on my face, followed by another. My nose is pouring blood now, and I’m sure it’s broken. My eyesight is blurry, but I think I make Wade out through the haze. Or, at least, my prior experiences with ex-fiancés verify that he is most likely on the other end of the fist that keeps coming at my face.

“Wade, stop!” Danielle screams, running to my aide.

I hear Wade breathing heavily.

“I’m done. I’m done with both of you. You’re a rotten scumbag who deserves to be locked up in prison. And you’re a lying, cheating slut. I’m done with both of you.”

The blurriness finally leaves my eyes long enough for me to see Wade stumbling out of my room, clearly drunk. It’s a wonder he was even able to aim for my face. The door slams shut, and then I see Danielle standing naked in front of me.

“I’m sorry about Wade. He’s just upset that I broke off the wedding, that I no longer love him. He’ll get over it.”

I walk into the bathroom without saying a word and see that I was right about my nose. It’s most definitely broken as blood pours down my face. I grab one of the towels and hold it up to my nose to try and stop the bleeding, but I know it is going to take a while to stop.

“Here,” Danielle says, holding up a bag of ice.

I take the bag from her and hold it up to my face.

“It stings,” I say, wanting to pull it away from my face.

She laughs. “It will help with the swelling and stop the bleeding.”

I keep it on my face and walk back to the bedroom. Danielle follows me.

“I think you should go,” I say.

“What? Why?”

“I don’t want to worry about Wade coming back and beating me up.”

“He won’t.”

“And I don’t think you and I are going to work out. You’re not worth my trouble.”

Danielle’s jaw drops. “I broke up with Wade for you though. I called off my wedding tomorrow for you. I want to be with you. I’ll do whatever it takes.”

“You made a mistake then. You should have stayed with Wade, or you should find someone else. I’m not the man for you, Danielle.”

“He’s not going to take me back now,” she says, her voice shaking.

I smirk. “No, I don’t think he will take you back.”

“You fucking bastard! You asshole!” Danielle shouts, raising her hand to no doubt slap or punch me.

At least, this time, I’m ready for the attack. I grab her wrist midair, stopping her from hitting me.

“You are an evil, vile person,” she says through tears.

I nod. “I am.”

She jerks her hand out of my grasp. “Why would you do this?”

I open my mouth to speak, and she holds a hand up to stop me.

“Never mind. I don’t want to know. I don’t want to spend another second listening to this crap.” She grabs her crumpled dress from the floor and quickly puts it back on, not bothering with her underwear. She cries the whole time.

Occasionally, the women recover after this. They are able to convince their fiancés to take them back. But I don’t think Danielle will. And I’m not sure she is strong enough to fully recover from it either.

She hesitates a second, like she is trying to decide if she should say anything or if I’m going to. When I don’t, she storms out the door without another word.

I take a deep breath as I go over to the bed and lie down, ensuring the ice pack is still on my face.

Shit, I curse to myself when the ice stings my face again.

If I’m going to keep this up, I need to be better prepared. I can’t keep getting hit like this. Next time, I might get a concussion, and then I won’t be able to surf. I won’t let that happen. Next time, I’ll be ready for a hit.

Maybe I should take some boxing classes or something.

I grin. Despite the pain I’m feeling now, I’ll sleep like a baby for the first time in weeks. I stole her heart and then tore it to pieces. It feels good.

Author Bio:

Ella Miles writes sexy romance with strong females that could kick your butt if you piss them off, which they often do to the men that fall for them. She’s currently living her own happily ever after near the Rocky Mountains with her high school sweetheart husband. Her heart is also taken by her goofy two year old black lab that is scared of everything, including her own shadow. Ella is the author of the Aligned series. Get a free book by visiting her website. Or by stalking her on Twitter or Facebook.

Website / Goodreads / Facebok / Twitter

GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tomorrow’s Kin by Nancy Kress
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Aliens have landed on Earth and stationed their ship at the New York Harbor. They’ve communicated that their own world is very different from Earth and they cannot leave their ship but are willing to talk with the United Nations about their arrival. This is of course causing a bit of fear and panic among citizens wanting to know more and why the aliens are here.

Dr. Marianne Jenner had made a discovery that got her name on the map but while attending a faculty event someone arrives stating that she has been requested to accompany them to New York. After arriving Marianne finds herself among other elite scientists with the dilemma of solving a scientific discovery with a countdown of ten months until all of Earth will be in danger.

Tomorrow’s Kin is the first book of the Yesterday’s Kin Trilogy by Nancy Kress. First I will admit sci-fi is not a top genre for me so I always find reading them that it’s a bit iffy as to whether I’ll enjoy a book or not. With this particular book I found the story involved to be an interesting one and wanted to give it a try.

For me though this story was entertaining enough plot wise that I wanted to know what would happen but I wasn’t a huge fan of the way it’s executed overall. I knew there was a countdown which made a big part of the story but what we have is some really quick time jumps which leaves me a bit disconnected to the characters. All in all by the end years have gone by and while it’s interesting what is going on I can’t say I wouldn’t have liked more depth to get more hooked into the book.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Hart of Mine
Annie Arcane
(Cale & Mickey #4)
Publication date: June 25th 2017
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

God, this woman drives me insane.

In all of the good, most of the bad, and some of the ugliest ways imaginable. But it doesn’t matter because she’s mine. My little sadist. My crazy girl. My beautiful wife.

And you don’t ever f*ck with what’s mine.

Warning: Strong language, mature content, drama, and angst included. Shirt sold separately.

This novella is an adult contemporary romance featuring a disabled hero who (still) happens to be a rich and sexy alpha male with a potty mouth.

Cale and Mickey: Book 4 of 4

Goodreads / Amazon

—

EXCERPT:

Fate could be a bastard and fuck with me all day long, but I would never be caught off-guard again. I would leave nothing to chance.

Liabilities were mine.

Assets were hers.

It was simple.

There were no ifs, ands, or buts.

“Doesn’t matter what you want, Mickey. It’s yours regardless.”

“Seriously?” She was staring at me as if I’d sprouted horns and was in desperate need of an exorcism. “Can you even hear yourself?”

I didn’t bother answering. Of course, I could hear myself. I was making perfect sense.

She gave a loud sigh, “I hate it when you act like this.”

“Like what?” The pussy-whipped husband who spoils his wife rotten? The pathetic bastard who empties his bank account at her feet?

“Like this. Like a dumb idiot. Like a controlling jerk. Like…like…” Another sigh. Louder. Far more exasperated. “You. You’re acting like you.”

My fists clenched.

Great. Now I’m jealous of my hypothetical competition. Keeps on getting better and better.

“And who would you rather I act like?”

“Hmm, I don’t know,” she countered sweetly. “How about a reasonable human being?”

Oh, fuck, no.

“How the hell am I not reasonable? I do anything you ask me to. I do everything you ask me to. Even when it’s a blow to my ego, I swallow my damn pride and do whatever you want. For Christ’s sake, we just got married at a drive-thru because that’s what you wanted,” the reminder was bitter on my tongue. “You think that’s what I wanted? You think I spent months learning to stand on my own goddamn feet again because a fucking drive-thru wedding was my end goal?

“But you say jump, I say how high, right? So, by all means, let me know what else you need me to do, Mickey. Tell me how else to prove I trust you because I’ve literally given you every single thing in my possession and it still isn’t good enough. Because I’ve placed my entire life in your hands and…shit!”

It happened so fast.

The crazy girl tackled me.

I didn’t even see it coming. Which was fortunate since I probably would’ve broken something had I braced for impact. She tipped my chair over backward, knocking me right out of the damn seat. And landed hard on top of me, knocking the wind right out of my lungs.

As the room swirled, her panicked voice clawed through the fog, “Oh, my God, Cale. Are you okay?”

Crazy fucking girl.

I nodded, attempting to catch my breath while the fancy-ass ceiling tiles came into focus. Guess I must’ve cracked my skull on the floor too.

“I can’t believe that actually happened.”

A sixteen-pound titanium wheelchair with no brakes vs. a stunningly gorgeous human torpedo with no fear.

Physics 101.

What the fuck did she expect would happen?

“I was only trying to distract you.”

More like trying to kill me. Closing my arms around her, I managed a hoarse chuckle. It was more of a cough. I took a ragged breath and murmured, “You don’t have to try.”

She relaxed into my chest and whispered, “Sorry.”

“No harm done.” Minus the splitting headache.

“Are you sure you’re not hurt?”

“Yeah, except…”

Her head snapped up. “What?”

I curbed a smile, knowing full well this was going to cost me dearly. There was no doubt she’d make me pay for it later.

She scrambled to alleviate her weight, hovering inches above. “What?”

Worth any punishment, “I can’t feel my legs.”

God, that laugh.

Who cares about the consequences?

I’d sell my soul to hear that laugh.

Author Bio:

Romance with wounded heroes, disabled characters, alpha males, and angst.

Annie doesn’t like long walks on the beach, getting dolled up, or HEA endings with a boringly perfect hero. She’d much rather be rock climbing, shooting guns, or ending on cliffhangers with a deliciously imperfect hero. And hugs. She likes hugs.

She also has a B.Sc. in Biology and feels kinda sorta weird referring to herself in 3rd person. Just saying.

Website / Goodreads / Facebok / Twitter

GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway