Carries Book Reviews

The Billionaire Duke
Gina Robinson
(The Billionaire Duke, #1)
Publication date: January 31st 2016
Genres: Comedy, New Adult, Romance

Once a duke’s enough…

SEATTLE’S SECOND HOTTEST BILLIONAIRE JUST GOT HOTTER

American billionaire and Flashionista cofounder Riggins Feldhem’s life is exactly the way he likes it. Until a visit from a British solicitor turns everything upside down. Riggins has just inherited a dukedom complete with a large British estate, an aristocratic title, and the obligation to marry and produce an heir. With a woman his predecessor, the Dead Duke, has selected for him. A woman who uncomfortably stirs his jaded heart. But no one is going to force him into marriage. There has to be a way out of this mess.

Haley Hamilton is young, just out of college, and looking for a hero. Riggins could give her everything. Or completely break her heart. She doesn’t want to be anyone’s forced duchess. But the Dead Duke and Riggins’ irresistible charm are making it impossible to resist.

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EXCERPT:

I needed time to check the facts and make sure what Thorne was alleging was actually true. “What does the Dead Duke want from me?”

I was buying time. If what Thorne said was true, there had to be a workaround.

“That you do your duty. It’s all in that envelope. In short, however, he wants you to do what all good dukes must do—marry and produce a male heir. And a spare would be nice, though not required under the terms the late duke specified. Though I believe there may be a bonus for one.”

I snorted. “You’ve got to be kidding? This is the twenty-first century!”

Thorne sat calmly, legs still crossed. “The late duke had no sense of humor. He didn’t joke, I assure you.”

“What are the terms?” I said as I frantically tried to find an out. “I assume there’s a timeline?”

I sure as hell would have made a timeline. It was time to start thinking like my adversary.

“The late duke specified that you must be married by midnight of the date one month from the date of his death. In this case, Valentine’s Day.”

Damn.

“Pacific Standard Time, I hope.” I tried to keep calm and match Thorne’s demeanor while I plotted a way to escape this fate. “I would hate to be caught by a technicality.”

“Exactly so, Pacific Standard Time.”

“I’m not even seeing anyone. What does the Dead Duke want me to do? Advertise for a bride?” I laughed. The whole situation was ridiculous.

“Surely, Your Grace, getting a bride shouldn’t be a difficulty for Seattle’s Second Hottest Bachelor?” He had the traces of a tease in his voice.

Did Thorne actually have a sense of humor?

Damn that magazine article that was sitting open on my table. Thorne must have been able to read upside down.

“Less than a month isn’t even enough time for a bride-to-be to get a decent wedding gown, let alone plan a wedding. Assuming there was already a

bride-to-be.” I shook my head. “The Dead Duke wants me to snap up just any bride?”

I snorted, losing my amusement at the situation. There were adventures. And there were disasters. This was shaping up to be the latter. “He’s not as discriminating as I would have expected about the mother of his future heirs!

“Isn’t a year more traditional and a more reasonable amount of time to find a wife? If there’s ever a timeline stipulated in stories and movies, it’s always a year. What’s the damn hurry?” I was hoping to buy some time.

“I’m a young man,” I argued. “I need more than a damn month to find the right girl and fall in love.” Not that that seemed likely. “Even a matchmaking service will need more than that.”

Thorne nodded. “I appreciate your concerns. The late duke was a cautious man. Because you are the last male Feldhem, there is no time. If something should happen to you…”

He let the unsaid hang in the air a moment. “Being in love has never been a prerequisite for aristocratic British marriages. Lineage, breeding, family name, and money are much more important.”

I sighed, heavily, wondering how I could outwit him.

“Once again, you underestimate the late duke,” Thorne said. “He was supremely concerned about the mother of his continuing line. Before his death, he, in essence, picked out your bride.”

“What the hell!”

Thorne ignored my outburst. “The late duke wants his bloodline to merge with his American first wife’s, as he believes it should have in the first place. His will stipulates you must marry a single, childbearing woman from her line.” He paused. “There is only one woman left who meets the requirements.”

Of course there is. Fantastic. An arranged marriage. What’s next?

“So who is this woman?” I said, hoping she would be as against marrying a stranger as I was. And not a complete mess.

Author Bio:

Gina Robinson is the bestselling and award-winning author of the popular Switched at Marriage, Billionaire Duke, and Billionaire Matchmaker romantic comedy series, featuring a billionaire in a surprising marriage of convenience, a billionaire who inherits a British dukedom, and a playboy billionaire in business with a Manhattan matchmaker, the Reckless and Rushed contemporary new adult romance series, and the Agent Ex series of humorous romantic suspense novels. Her books have delighted readers and received praise in Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and Romantic Times Book Reviews.

She writes romance and women’s fiction across a wide variety of subgenres—new adult, contemporary, historical, romantic suspense and romantic comedy.

Her love stories are infused with a happy blend of romance, adventure, a bit of mystery, and humor. Readers are drawn to the light touch she gives even serious topics and the fast, fun, easy-to-read pace of her books. From college campus to Seattle to Las Vegas to England, her settings become almost characters of their own, driving the story.

She believes in the power of true love and passion, and that every great romance should have a happily-ever-after.

To keep informed of her new releases, sign up for her mailing list at http://www.ginarobinson.com

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Hopelessly Devoted
A.M. Myers
(Bayou Devils MC, #1)
Publication date: April 7th 2017
Genres: Adult, Romance, Suspense

You think you know pain?

You don’t.

I’ve lived in it for years, pulled so far down into the darkness that it’s all I see. There was no telling where I ended and the darkness began. It swallowed me up whole and spit out a man that I didn’t recognize. I can promise you, you’ve never felt pain like that. It was eternal night and there was no chance that I would ever make it out alive.

Then there was her – Alison James. She’s a spark of brilliant light in the bleak nothingness, a tiny beacon of hope in my endless torment and I can’t do anything but cling to her, hoping for just another second of relief. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep her but some things are out of my hands.

My past is coming back to haunt us and at the very least, it will tear us apart. But if worse comes to worst, she’ll be just as dead as my soul.

Can I force myself to let her go if it will save her? Or will I sacrifice her life for my own selfishness?

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EXCERPT:

“Where am I going to find that first aid kit?”

I point to the cupboard directly behind him. “Second shelf.”

He grabs it and turns back to me, setting the kit on the counter next to me on one side before looking over at the sink on the other side. Without a word, he kneels in front of me and slips my shoe off my foot. I can’t look away, curious and turned on as I wonder what the hell he’s doing. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a knife, flipping it open with ease and I suck in breath. If I were smart, I would be terrified right

now. I would start screaming for help or kick my foot out and hope it catches him in the face so I can get away but he’s rendered me completely fucking stupid.

No, instead I sit my ass on the counter and watch as he pulls my tights away from my leg and cuts them open all the way up, my skin sparking with the intense desire blanketing us. When he gets above my knee where the tights disappear under my skirt, I put my hand out to stop him and he pulls the knife away

“They’re thigh highs,” I mutter as I pull my skirt up slightly and pull the stocking off. I dangle it out in front of him but his gaze is glued to my bare leg. His tongue darts out, wetting his lips and my eyes almost roll back in my head. Jesus, I think I could cum just from watching him watch me. I clear my throat and he looks up at me.

“Care to tell me why you murdered my tights?”

Author Bio:

A.M. Myers currently lives in beautiful Charleston, South Carolina with her husband and their two children. She has been writing since the moment she learned how to and even had a poem published in the sixth grade but the idea of writing an entire book always seemed like a daunting task until this story got stuck in her head and just wouldn’t leave her alone. And now, she can’t imagine ever stopping. A.M. writes gripping romantic suspense novels that will have you on the edge of your seat until the end.

When she’s not writing, you can find her hanging out with her kids or pursuing other artistic ventures, such as photography or painting.

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The Billionaire Shifter’s Secret Baby
Diana Seere
Publication date: April 4th 2017
Genres: Adult, Paranormal

A masquerade ball in Malibu led to a single night of passion under the stars… and set the wheels of fate in motion.

Three years ago, waitress Kara Jablonski gave in to her wilder side with a fellow weretiger, the rock star billionaire Lars Jensen, a sun-kissed blond drummer with a viking’s build. Six weeks later, the pregnancy test came back positive.

Knowing Lars’ powerful, overbearing mother would be able to take the baby away, Kara did what she had to do.

She hid him.

Now chance has brought Lars back into her life, his touch making her pulse beat like the old legends. So strong, so loud, so bold.

So right.

But can she trust him to want more than another night under the stars? Can she trust him to claim his son as his heir… and Kara as his mate?

Fate responds with a roar…

The Billionaire Shifter’s Secret Baby is a novella that stars Lars Jensen, a member of a shifter family with viking blood featured in earlier books in the series, and is part of the Howls Romance series as well: http://howlsromance.com

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EXCERPT:

Under normal circumstances, Kara Jablonski would’ve been happy to pause and admire the towering blond god as he strode across the elegant lobby below the Platinum Club. His expensive black suit was obviously custom-made, cut perfectly to his broad shoulders, narrow waist, and powerful thighs. Above the impressive physique, thick hair swept away from his forehead in loose waves, gleaming

like gold in the sunlight pouring in through the Boston skyscraper’s high windows. His eyes were a piercing cobalt blue. And even more stunning than the rest of him, one perfect dimple indented his chin as if kissed by a naughty, slutty angel.

Right… there. She could almost feel it under her lips.

Under normal circumstances, she would’ve taken the time to drink in every inch of him, knowing he’d never notice a girl like her even if she were openly drooling like a starving stray cat.

Meow.

But this was not a normal circumstance.

Heart thudding against her ribs, Kara lifted her bag in front of her face and scurried behind a row of potted ficus trees. After a moment, she risked peeking through the leaves at the god.

No, not a god.

A weretiger.

The breath seeped out of her, leaving her limp. How dare he look so good, so beautiful, so… unchanged?

Two years, almost three. But he hadn’t aged a day. Of course, shifters had exceptionally long lives, even shifters from the poor, forgotten branches of the breed—like her.

But she was certain she had aged a lifetime in the past two years, almost three. Everything had changed since that night.

Everything.

What was he doing here? If she’d ever thought he would show up in Boston, let alone this building, she never would’ve taken the waitressing job at the Platinum Club. So far as she knew, he wasn’t even an American. He was a globe-trotting playboy, he and his brothers loaded with as much old money as the Stantons, the powerful family of shifters who owned this building.

Well, she assumed they did. When Eva called her about working here, she’d implied as much. Eva, also a shifter of modest means, although not as modest as Kara’s, managed the Platinum Club. Eva was always looking for good waitstaff, she’d said, especially lately since there had been unusually high turnover.

He should be out in the world, enjoying his wealth, prestige, and gorgeousness—in both man and tiger form. He shouldn’t be parading around Boston when she was just figuring how to get through her life without him, not that she’d ever had her life with him, except for that one night. She and Nana had just moved into a two-bedroom apartment, and this job had an elite clientele with a salary to match. A salary they needed desperately.

Where’d he go? She peered through the branches again, an uncontrollable sigh drifting out of her.

He was out of sight and out of her life.

Again.

Another sigh.

Seeing him wasn’t only painful, but dangerous. However, as tempted as she was to turn and run out of the building and never look back—perhaps even shifting to speed her escape—she straightened her spine and held her ground.

She couldn’t leave. She needed this job. They all did. The days of only thinking of herself had passed.

After waiting another minute, she stepped out from behind the potted trees and walked to the elevator. Although the waitresses had a dressing room they could use before their shifts, Kara preferred to work as she’d arrived, in her favorite black dress and ballet flats. She liked how it made her invisible—or maybe she liked an excuse for why most people didn’t notice her, and even men she’d danced with, men she’d kissed, men she’d— Well, even they seemed capable of completely forgetting her. Easier to blame it on her boring clothes than on her face, body, or personality.

He’d walked within five feet of her and hadn’t even blinked. Neither one of his golden-lashed eyelids over his sapphire-blue irises had flickered a millimeter. She’d even gasped a little when he’d stepped in front of her. All morning, in fact, she’d been as jumpy as a cat at a pool party, sweating too much, breathing too fast—she’d thought it was nerves about starting the new job.

But it was nerves about him.

The father of her child.

And he didn’t even know her name.

Author Bio:

Diana Seere was raised by wolves in the forests outside Boston and San Francisco. The only time she spends in packs these days is at romance writing conventions. In truth, Diana is two New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors who decided to write shifter romance and have more fun.

Sign up for her New Releases and Sales email newsletter here: eepurl.com/beUZnr

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Last Breath by Robert Bryndza
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Detective Erika Foster is with one of her former colleagues when they receive a call to a murder scene with a body being found in a dumpster. Wanting nothing more than to go back to solving murders Erika invites herself along to the crime scene and begins investigating even though she is currently supposed to be in a desk job pushing papers.

Fighting to secure a position back on the investigating team Erika quickly ties the current murder to an unsolved murder of a woman four months earlier. Dumped in a similar location and with similar wounds
Erika is sure that the two murders are connected and that she needs to be the one to solve the crimes.

Last Breath is the fourth book in the Detective Erika Foster series by Robert Bryndza. I have followed this series from the very beginning and as usual enjoyed diving into the investigation with Erika and her colleagues as they chased down a serial killer in this installment.

While I feel that you could pick up the story if not having read the other books I would warn that there is going to be background character building that will be missing if reading these out of order. However with that being said I can’t recommend the series enough for the fans of a great police procedural series.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Stumble Stones: A Novel by Marilyn Baron
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Hallelujah Weiss is a writer for the soap opera As the Planet Spins and when her divorce is final she decides to take a lesson from her characters and do something a little daring taking off on a trip. On the plane Hallelujah finds herself seated next to a man that asks if she will watch a package for him as he gets up for a moment but when he doesn’t return Hallelujah gets curious and finds herself holding a large collection of diamonds.

Upon landing Hallelujah finds herself coming into contact with Alexander Stone who seems to have brought Hallelujah into danger by setting her up with the diamonds. With their lives on the line the pair take off on a journey to return the stash of WW II vintage jewels to their rightful owner.

While I understand what the author was trying to do with Stumble Stones I have to say this story just really didn’t work for me. The idea that Hallelujah wants to be more like her soap opera characters and be daring and adventurous sounded good in theory but while reading this book the way it came together just wasn’t to my liking.

The story has bits of dialog of the characters Hallelujah has written to let a reader know their personalities. Then we have Hallelujah and Alexander and their adventure they end up going on. Plus the book tries flashing back to a horrible time in history to show how the diamonds ended up being taken from their owner. Now to me the current story line ended up feeling a bit cheesy and over the top and just didn’t mix well with the dark history period being involved. Of course this is all just my own feeling and others have seemed to like this one but unfortunately it just really didn’t seem to be my cup of tea.

I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley.