Carries Book Reviews

Open Wounds: Abel & Hope
Inger Iversen
(A Love Against the Odds Novel)
Publication date: June 28th 2017
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

If you could see your life from inception to your death, would you change things or would you let your death play out as fate intended?

Abel is in search of only two things. A stable job and a safe place to lay his head at night after a mistake that cost him eighteen months of his life. As if fate had plans made only for him, Abel is offered a complicated job, and a chance to redeem himself to his old boss.

And then he meets her…

And Abel adds another item to his list—Hope.

At twenty-six, Hope has only ever slept with one man, and at her boss’s unsolicited advice, Hope plans to forget the abuse and degradation she suffered at her ex’s hand by seducing and bedding the next man she meets. Only, after Hope finds a promise of death at her doorstep, her plans are derailed and only chance at staying alive rests on the dedication of her new bodyguard and her own sheer will to live the life she deserves.

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AND – look out for the last book in the series, Weathered Souls: Ivory & Eric, coming this fall!

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EXCERPT:

Once Thea and Lex dropped off the groceries, Abel started cooking away. Hope’s mouth watered as scents wafted through the kitchen and met her

nose. If the aroma from whatever was brewing on the stove was any indication, that man could cook.

Hope had always watched her figure while married to Mark. All it took was one extra pound, and he’d make sure her life was even more of a living hell than it already was. Every night, he’d force her onto the scale, and every night, he would find something about her body that needed to change. Your thighs shouldn’t meet in the middle. It’s disgusting. Hope’s stomach twisted in fear at the thought of placing food in her mouth. If you cared about the way you looked, this wouldn’t be necessary.

Mark’s voice was engrained in her head, and the memories of his degradation were the only reason she hadn’t gorged herself the second she was free. Because in the back of her mind, she would never truly be free of Mark. Perhaps, one day, her physical wounds would heal, but her soul would be forever scarred.

“No excuses,” Abel muttered as he opened a steaming pot and stirred.

His comment pulled her from her memories. She glanced up. “Excuse me?”

Lifting a container of spices, Abel shook a liberal amount into the pot. “You’re going to eat, and then you’re going to sleep a full eight hours tonight.” Stirring the sauce, he added, “No excuses.”

Hope prickled at the demand in his tone. “I’m not a five-year-old.”

“No excuses.” He hadn’t even looked up, just stood there stirring, while she silently fumed.

She’d had enough of men telling her what to do. Taking in a deep breath with the intention of telling him just that, she paused. Abel had leaned down and opened the oven door. The scent of marinara sauce, baked cheeses, seasoned meat, and Italian seasoning assaulted her senses, and she could do nothing but stare in wonderment at the man in her kitchen.

“You’re underweight and have bags under your eyes.”

Though his words stung, Hope didn’t even flinch at his observation. The aroma coming from the oven had moved her to her feet, and she was now standing inches from him. It wasn’t as if she’d never smelled decent food before; it had just been a long time since she’d contemplated eating a delicious meal without the fear of gaining an ounce.

“It’s hard to eat healthy when you are on the run.” The excuse flew out of her mouth, as a force of habit.

Abel slightly lifted a brow, letting her know he didn’t believe her. “That changes tonight.” He turned his body to the side, making room for her to sidle up next to him. “For tonight, we’ll be dining on lasagna, Caesar salad, and garlic bread.” Gently, he took hold of her hand, his warmth invading her cold palm the second he touched her. Guiding her hand to the wooden spoon, he said, “Stir.” Then moved away from the oven and began to prepare the bread.

Hope stirred the sauce, light-headed from Abel’s magnetic touch. Of course, she was already riding on cloud nine at the thought of a full belly and a full night’s rest. But while she was hesitant to believe she’d be able to sleep through the night, Hope prayed Abel’s presence would trick her mind into believing she was safe—at least for now.

“Why are you making this sauce, if the lasagna is already in the oven?”

Abel didn’t glance up from smearing butter on the rolls as he spoke. “That is spaghetti sauce. We’ll make a lot of it, divide it up into containers, then freeze it.” He sprinkled some garlic powder onto the buttered rolls. “Can you turn the heat down under the sauce? We’ll need to let it simmer for another twenty minutes. Then pull the lasagna out of the oven, please.”

Hope did as she was told. Leaning her face over the cheesy meal, she inhaled. “Jesus, this smells like five pounds.” She regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth, but she couldn’t take them back. She turned to Abel to apologize for her crudeness, but instead of meeting angry eyes, she found his soft gaze.

“Listen to me.” He moved to her, his gait sure and steady. “You’re beautiful as is.” His words knocked her a bit off kilter. She opened her mouth to disagree, but Abel softly placed a finger over her lips to hush her. “When I make comments about your weight, it’s not because you aren’t attractive. It’s because I understand the stress your body is under. I want you strong and alert—always. After all this is said and done, you can go ahead and drop the pounds again, if that’s what you want.

“But never confuse me with Mark. I am not him. Whatever comments he made, or whatever way he made you feel about your body, starts and stops with him. I am not that man, and I never will be. We just need to get you healthy again.”

Hope was unsure of what to say. No one had called her beautiful in years. Mark had only ever complimented her when they were dating, and if another man so much as glanced at her, Mark would remind her that her thighs touched and men didn’t like that. Hope knew she wasn’t ugly, but she didn’t feel beautiful; she hadn’t for some time now. To hear Abel say it with such sincerity, while looking nowhere but in her eyes, made her feel good.

Author Bio:

Inger Iversen was born in 1982 to Anne and Kaii Iversen. She lives in Virginia Beach with her overweight lap cat, Max and her tree hugging boyfriend Joshua. She spends 90 percent of her time in Barnes and Noble and the other ten pretending not to want to be in Barnes and Noble.

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Ruthless Love
Demi Damson
Publication date: June 18th 2017
Genres: Adult, Romance

Charlotte Nichols thinks romance is just a worthless fairy tale.

Jordan Lovett might be the city’s most eligible CEO but to Charlotte, he’s a route to revenge. His father stole her father’s company, and she won’t stop until the Lovett family is ruined. Jordan is just a spoiled playboy, and she’s happy to use him as her way in, even if that means pretending to be his date for the weekend.

Jordan Lovett knows that romance is just a path to heartbreak.

He’s had his share of gold diggers but when the latest one leaves him for his own father, he gives up on the fairer sex completely. Now he needs a woman on his arm to face his father’s engagement, and he’s not feeling choosy. His friend says he knows an escort to stand in as his public-facing girlfriend for the weekend and Jordan’s happy with that as a solution. When Charlotte walks into his life, he has no idea he’s just given the job to the wrong person.

Jordan traced a circle around the tattoo on her wrist. “What’s the R stand for?”

A trail of excitement followed the path of his finger. “Ruthless,” she whispered.

Jordan didn’t know that Charlotte wasn’t who she claimed to be. Charlotte didn’t know Jordan thought she was an escort. And neither of them knew that there was any risk of falling in love.

No cheating, no cliff-hangers! Just a little bit of steam and a whole lot of happily ever after.

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The Secret City by C.J. Daugherty
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

The Secret City is the second book of the Alchemist Chronicles written by authors C.J. Daugherty and Carina Rozenfeld. The series is a young adult fantasy series based around alchemy and curses. In the first book we met Taylor Montclair and Sacha Winters who lived in different countries but had met online when their teachers set them up for tutoring sessions. Taylor was an overachiever student who took the assignment for the extra credit and Sacha was slacking off in school but it’s found that is because he had found out he was cursed and set to die on his eighteenth birthday.

Taylor had vowed to help Sacha break his curse before his upcoming birthday when they found out that it was Taylor’s ancestor that had placed the curse and both of them were the thirteenth child in their respective bloodlines and that the curse should end this generation after Sacha’s death. Taylor also finds that she herself is an alchemist and now with this story picking up right where the first book left off Taylor is beginning to study her abilities at Oxford’s St Wilfred’s College where the two had fled.

The Secret City was actually a great continuation of a story that I found quite interesting. The story grew quite nicely in this second edition adding in other characters into the mix to help Taylor and Sacha and keeping up quite a bit of action all throughout. There was a budding romance between the main characters but thankfully it was just left to grow over the course of the books and not the usual insta-love found in this genre.

The one thing I did find with this second installment was that having been over a year since reading the first book I felt it lacked reminding the reader what had progressed in the first book. I could remember liking the story and characters but the way it jumped right in I ended up going back and giving the first book a quick reread. But that’s really a small complaint leaving me rating this book at 4.5 stars and looking forward to reading if the story continues.

I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Here’s a series that should be on your radar!

Chance at Redemption (Madison Square #3)

by Samatha Harris is available now!

Read an excerpt below and be sure to enter the

giveaway found at the end of the post.

Gwen Stevens had a privileged life until her father spoke three little words that turned her world upside down. “You’re cut off.”

Broke and desperate, Gwen is forced to accept a waitressing job, but this glimmer of hope has a price. As if being a cocktail waitress isn’t bad enough, she has to do it in a dive bar called The Den, and her bad luck doesn’t stop there. She also needs to deal with the new owner, a blue-eyed, self-righteous ass determined to make her life miserable.

Liam Sinclair walked away from the entitlement and obligation his family planned for him, vowing to make his own way in the world…

Adjusting to life as a new business owner, Liam has experienced more than his fair share of setbacks. When his only waitress breaks her leg, his sister takes it upon herself to hire a replacement—a spoiled, self-indulgent hothead with too much makeup and more than enough attitude. Gwen represents the world he’s trying to escape, a world of excess and greed that he was never cut out for.

Appearances can be deceiving, and first impressions aren’t always right…

Despite their apparent differences, the tension between them turns to a fiery passion that neither of them can resist. Together they find balance and learn to appreciate the simpler things in life. But Gwen soon discovers that old habits die hard, and one mistake is all it takes to ruin everything.

Forgiveness must be earned, but even a villain deserves a chance at redemption…

WHAT READER’S ARE SAYING:

” fun opposites attract/ boss & employee romance” – Cyndi, Once Upon a Page

“… story of forgiveness, second chances and starting over” – Tanya, Girl Plus Books

“Anything you want to tell me, little brother?” she asked as she folded her arms across her chest and watched me closely to gauge my reaction.

I frowned. “Um, No.”

“Really? Nothing new at all in your life?” She was baiting me into something I was sure was not going to be good.

“I bought a new toaster the other day.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“You should see it, it’s pretty sweet. Its toasts Darth Vader’s face into the bread.”

Madison growled in frustration and tossed a breadstick at me.

“Whoa chill cougar,” I laughed.

“Don’t start that.” She pointed her finger at me. “I get enough of that crap from Margot.”

“Okay,” I said as my laughter died down.

“So you really have nothing to share?”

“Like what?”

“Like what’s going on with you and Gwen.” She smiled, her eyebrows disappeared beneath her bangs.

“Oh that.” I ducked my head to hide my smile.

“Yes that.”

“Who told you?”

“Sean.”

“What? Who told him?”

“I don’t know, someone at the bar I guess,” she said with a dismissive wave.

“The bar?” Madison shrugged. Then it hit me. “Sam,” I sighed. “Great now everybody knows.”

“Were you hiding it?”

“No. Not really. We just didn’t want things to be weird at work.”

“Well, here’s a tip, if you don’t want the people you work with to know. Don’t have sex in your office.”

I cringed. Hearing my older sister discuss my sex life was disturbing on a lot of levels.

“So?” she asked.

“So what?”

Madison let out a frustrated groan and rolled her eyes. “So what’s going on between you and Gwen?”

I wasn’t sure how to answer her. Hell I wasn’t even one hundred percent sure I even knew how. I sat back in my chair and played with the edge of my napkin. I was stalling and the look on my sister’s face said she knew it too.

“I’m not exactly sure,” I said.

She raised an eyebrow and tilted her head. “Aren’t you living together?” she asked.

“Kind of,” I said.

“Kind of?” she scoffed. “Her clothes are there, she sleeps in your bed, eats your food, uses your shower.” I nodded and she sat back in her chair, folded her arms across her chest. “Sounds like living together to me.”

“It’s not like we’d been dating for a while and I asked her to move in. She needed a place to crash. Everything else came later.”

“Everything else?”

I shrugged. “You know what I mean we were spending a lot of time together and it just happened.”

“What happened?”

“Sex Madison. We had sex.” I leaned back in my seat and relived some of our more creative positions in my head as a grin crept across my face. “Lots and lots of sex.”

Samatha “Sam” Harris lives near Baltimore, Maryland with her husband David and daughter Ava. Born in Florida, she migrated north which most people agree was a little backwards.

She has been an artist all of her life, a Tattoo Artist for more than ten years, and a storyteller since she was a kid.

Sam has a slightly unhealthy love for Frank Sinatra, classic movies, and Jazz and Blues music, but her first love will always be reading. From Romance, to Thrillers, to Historical Fiction and everything in between, she loves to become a part of the story. As a writer she tells the stories that she would want to read.

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Damned Either Way
Erin Hayes
(The Harker Trilogy, #3)
Publication date: May 31st 2017
Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Romance

The thrilling conclusion to The Harker Trilogy

I’m finally free of my family’s curse.

Except now, the world is ending. FML.

Anthony, the vampire that killed my sister and my brother-in-law, has won. I’ve lost everything. I no longer have my powers. I have no idea where Amelia is. And the vampire I love has surrendered to the hunger that is throwing the world into chaos.

The worst part? I can’t do anything about it, because I’m no longer the Harker. Sure, I’m not dying anymore, but I’m barely living at this point.

But there may be one last chance to save us all. If only I can find it in me to make one final sacrifice.

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The complete trilogy is on sale for only $0.99 until June 5th!

Previous books in the series:

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EXCERPT:

The Twinkie is mushed and some of the cream is coming out, but as I pull it out of the wrapper, I can’t help but be gentle.

I found the single-serve pastry in a hollowed-out convenience store in downtown Birmingham a few days back. It’s the only thing resembling a cake that we’ve found on

our way to Austin. In the aftermath of the apocalypse, all the grocery stores are empty as everyone panicked and stole every little thing they could get their hands on. Many of them are now hiding out in their houses during the night.

Those that are alive anyways.

I could make a cake myself, but we are never in one place long enough for me to find an oven and make one. With one arm, it’s a little…hard.

Besides, this is just a small ritual that I want to do myself. I don’t need to decorate it. I just need to…pay tribute. With the only kind of food that would survive the apocalypse.

I light the candle that I stuck in it, its soft glow flickering in the dying light. I give a small smile, feeling my heart break.

“Happy birthday, Amelia.”

Author Bio:

Sci-fi junkie, video game nerd, and wannabe manga artist Erin Hayes writes a lot of things. Sometimes she writes books.

She works as an advertising copywriter by day, and she’s an award-winning New York Times Bestselling Author by night. She has lived in New Zealand, Hawaii, Texas, Alabama, and now San Francisco with her husband, cat, and a growing collection of geek paraphernalia.

You can reach her at erinhayesbooks@gmail.com and she’ll be happy to chat. Especially if you want to debate Star Wars.

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