Carries Book Reviews

Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Genesis is a planet that used to be a colony of Earth but has been at war with Earth for years now fighting for their independence. The humans of Genesis have lost many lives fighting the robotic mech army of Earth over the years. Now there’s a plan in motion that will cost more Genesis lives but hopefully turn the tide for Genesis.

Noemi Vidal is a teen soldier for Genesis that lost her family at a young age and now will do anything to protect the only person she is close to in her life. However during a training mission leading up to the Genesis plan that Noemi volunteered for there is a surprise attack and Noemi finds herself stranded on an abandoned ship where she comes across the most advanced mech she’s ever known, Abel.

While Abel should be Noemi’s enemy his programming forces him to obey her and the pair soon find themselves teamed up on the biggest adventure across the galaxy trying to save Genesis before it’s too late. After spending time with Abel Noemi comes to realize that he’s not only advanced but appears to have a soul and a mind of his own.

Defy the Stars was a fairly fast paced young adult science fiction fantasy mostly taking apart in space. The characters were absolutely wonderful in this one, Abel especially quickly became a favorite as he was often quite funny. Noemi however was a very strong and determined young lady that I couldn’t help but root for.

If I had to make any complaints about this story the only thing I could think of was I wish there had been a bit more build up in the beginning about Noemi, her past and her relationship with her friend. However, considering this book was over 500 pages and it didn’t lose my interest at any point I really can’t complain since I usually have a short attention span for lengthy novels. This however kept a good pace and I never felt it slowed down or got boring.

Overall, 4.5 stars for Defy the Stars, will be looking forward to seeing where the author takes this story in any future installments.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Hello readers! Welcome to the Release Week Blitz for

Other Breakable Things

by Kelley York and Rowan Altwood

presented by Entangled Teen!

Congratulations Kelley York and Rowan Altwood!!

According to Japanese legend, folding a thousand paper cranes will grant you healing.

Evelyn Abel will fold two thousand if it will bring Luc back to her.

Luc Argent has always been intimately acquainted with death. After a car crash got him a second chance at life—via someone else’s transplanted heart—he tried to embrace it. He truly did. But he always knew death could be right around the corner again.

And now it is.

Sick of hospitals and tired of transplants, Luc is ready to let his failing heart give out, ready to give up. A road trip to Oregon—where death with dignity is legal—is his answer. But along for the ride is his best friend, Evelyn.

And she’s not giving up so easily.

A thousand miles, a handful of roadside attractions, and one life-altering kiss later, Evelyn’s fallen, and Luc’s heart is full. But is it enough to save him? Evelyn’s betting her heart, her life, that it can be.

Right down to the thousandth paper crane.

Other Breakable Things

by Kelley York and Rowan Altwood

Publication Date: April 4 ,2017

Publisher: Entangled Teen

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We creep through old warehouses and through a wing of the hospital until padlocked doors obstruct us. Across the road is another building, pitch black inside thanks to the boarded-up windows, and seems to have been some sort of cafeteria or hall for events. I stop in the middle of the wide, linoleum-covered room, turn to Evelyn, smirk…and turn off the flashlight. She lets out a startled yelp, and I jog back a few steps as she reaches wildly for me.

“That’s not funny!” she shrieks, but there’s a laugh at the tail end of her words. I hear her footsteps coming toward me and move away, keeping just out of her grasp.

“Sounds pretty funny to me. C’mon. Hide and seek and we don’t even need a hiding spot.” As long as I can hear her voice, as long as I know she’s not actually freaking out, this can be fun.

We dance around the room in the dark, calling to each other and making our voices echo into the abyss.She tags my arm and runs away, leaving me to chase after her this time. I can envision her in the darkness, her hair starting to fall from its tie, and now and again when I reach for her, I feel the arch of her back, the curve of her hip, before she twists away from me again. I let her stay out of my grasp until I’m at my physical limit.

When I catch her, it’s with an arm latching around her waist and dragging her to me so quickly our legs tangle together and we tumble to the floor in an attempt to regain our footing.

Evelyn sags back against me, full of breathless giggles. Iclick the flashlight back on and shine it in her face, refusing to focus on the fact that I can feel the rise and fall of her chest as she catches her breath. “See? Told you it would be fun.”

“What would you have done if I hadn’t come along?”she asks, twisting around and batting at the flashlight to get it out of her eyes. “Played tag by yourself?”

“Maybe.” I redirect the beam onto my face instead. “I would’ve been a better opponent to play against.”

She laughs and gets up, offering her hands to me.My chest is tight and my lungs hurt a little. Today has definitely been pushing it too far. It’s the only reason I actually take the offered help to get to my feet.

“Did I wear you out?” she teases.

“You have no idea.” I motion for her to follow. It’s getting late and we still have driving to do tomorrow when the sun comes up to cover as many miles as we can. We’ve been messing around for hours. I lost track of time.

Except I don’t head straight for the car. Close by is one last building I want to check out: a series of dorms where the Navy Seals used to stay. At least eight floors of tiny apartments smaller than the size of my bedroom back home. We trek upstairs to the top floor and Evelyn pauses at the railing, tilting her head to look up at the sky. We have the same beautiful view as I had from the second floor of the first building we explored.

All stars. All sky. Nothing else.

Kelley York and Rowan Altwood are a wife and wife writing team living in central California with their daughter and way too many cats. Kelley is the author of Hushed, Made of Stars, and Modern Monsters, and Other Breakable Things is Rowan’s debut.

Website | Kelley York Twitter | Rowan Altwood Twitter | Author | Kelley York Goodreads | Rowan Altwood Goodreads

The White Raven
Carrie D. Miller
Publication date: April 1st 2017
Genres: Adult, Fantasy

Finally, after nearly a thousand years, Aven Dovenelle is truly happy. In her thirteenth life, she’s settled into the now witchcraft-friendly Salem, Massachusetts, where she has opened her own shop and made great friends—there’s even a possibility of love blooming.

Despite her contentment in this new life, the truth of Aven’s existence haunts her. She is cursed to live life after life, with all the memories of her horrific past. For all her powers, she’s never discovered why she was cursed nor how to break it. Hope may come in the form of a mysterious white raven, who has followed Aven through each of her lives. Although they have a connection that neither understands, it may prove to be her salvation.

An evil force from Aven’s past isn’t finished with her. Driven by vengeance and hate, he emerges to torment her anew and threatens all she’s built. He strikes without warning—her loved ones are caught in the wake of his attack and may not survive the encounter.

The cost of her happiness and freedom could be too high as Aven uncovers the truth about her curse and that dark magick lingers.

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—

PROLOGUE:

Calico, California

1886

They are close. I sense their hatred. Though I am prepared, I must force myself to be calm. I do not fear what comes although I know I will be dead soon. Running from this place now is not something I wish to do, nor do I care to fight anymore. I’m ready to seek out a new land, a new time, and to continue on to the next life I am cursed to begin.

My Pyrenees is at attention by my side, ears pricked and hackles raised. “It is time to go, my girl.” She whines and lowers her head, her big brown eyes pools of concern. “You go ahead,” I say with a smile. “I’ll be along soon.”

I hear the gallop of fast-moving horses and the shouts of agitated men as they approach my home. The sound of heavy boots bounding onto the porch makes my skin prickle. Torchlight fills the windows and I steel myself. The front door splinters when one of those heavy boots comes through it.

“I knew there was somethin’ not right about you.” The man in the lead is Morris Stiles, the town’s bully. I’m sure he took quick ownership of the lynching party so he could exercise his insatiable need to inflict pain and suffering without the threat of retribution. Not to mention the chance to snare himself a witch.

His face seethes with hostility. The men who crowd into the room behind him wear the same expression. The grin forming on his face as he looks me over is filled with decaying stubs that once passed for teeth. Many months ago, I offered to ease his pain, but was met with the back of his hand followed by a brown, revolting gob of spit aimed at my face.

Life in Calico has been filled with hardships. Each time I felt a modicum of acceptance, someone like Morris Stiles would speak against me. My goats and chickens were taken one by one, and the sheriff was not the least bit sympathetic or helpful in retrieving them. I am not one to back down so I held on, hoping for the relief of simply being ignored.

Now, yet another angry mob is at my doorstep. I know my lover has not had a direct hand in this. I am certain that due to the effects of much drink, his lips recounted events he should have kept hidden. I confessed to him this very morning that I am, in fact, a witch, and his reaction was what I had expected. I am unable to hide my true self for very long, and I am either revealed by my actions or by my simple confession. I will not deceive my lover with lies and trickery. I have told myself time and time again to stay away from love but the pangs and yearnings cannot be ignored, not even by one such as myself.

There is no fear on my face as I glare at the five men who have invaded my little home. Each one averts his eyes. As I inhale, my lungs fill with the thick, heavy air the men brought with them—full of sweat, dirt, whiskey, and anger.

I glower at the still grinning man. “Morris Stiles, you are a fool.” My voice resonates throughout the room. The sound makes the men jump and look around, wide-eyed.

Morris grunts and spits a brown mass onto the floor. “Them’s funny words coming from a whore a’ Satan!”

I scoff. “Tell me one thing, just one thing—any of you—that I have done to remotely reflect the work of the devil?” No one meets my eyes and nothing intelligible passes from their lips. Feeling the mood of his men shift, Morris lurches forward.

“Don’t matter! You do things no livin’ person should be doin’. Ain’t but God himself that can mend a broke back, or make Jenny’s fever break even after Doc said nuthin’ could be done. You got wrong in you, woman, and we gon’ fix that!” He lunges for me. Emboldened by Morris, three other men follow. I do not cry out as they grip my arms and shoulders with rough, dirty hands. Morris binds my hands in front of me. The smell of their breath and body odor stings my nose. I am ushered from my home with shouts

and laughter. The night is fresh and crisp after the all-day rain. I welcome the clean air into my lungs.

“Why don’t she fight?” someone mutters behind me. “Why don’t she scream? Ain’t never known a woman not to go screamin’.”

“’Nother thing that ain’t natural ’bout her. Like them purple eyes!”

I am shoved up onto an old, work-worn mare. A timid voice comes from behind the rest.

“But she made Pa’s leg stop hurtin’. He’s able to get out in the fields again. Ma said it was a miracle and that God was workin’ through her.”

“Shut yer mouth, boy!” Morris slaps the young man hard on the back of the head. He grips the boy by his collar. “Yer Pa’s lucky she didn’t turn that leg into a cloven hoof!” He pushes the boy backward and turns to face me.

“We gonna show you what we do to witches!” He throws his head back and hoots manically. Several men follow suit; some punctuate their exuberance with gunshots into the air.

The horse underneath me snorts and pulls back from the man holding the reins, jerking her head from side to side. He yells obscenities at her and yanks her bridle. I run my hands along her taut neck and make her listen to my words in her mind. She calms to the song I sing to her.

I am paraded down the main street through town towards the cemetery where the gallows stands. Many outlaws have met their end in this manner, and it appears so will I.

The cemetery is unusually bright this evening with torches on every fence post. They cast a harsh yellow glow onto the weathered wood of the gallows. I am aware of the shouts, calls, and other verbal assaults around me, but I hear nothing except the steady beating of my heart. I focus on controlling my movements and breathing. I will not give them the satisfaction of seeing my fear. While I am not afraid of death itself as I have done it eleven times before, it is the act of dying I fear. But I am pleased by the method they have chosen, for it is a fast end if done properly.

I am shoved up the steps and I will my legs to keep up. I am jerked around into position in front of the freshly tied noose of new rope. Morris presents it and me to the crowd—the ringmaster to this circus.

“Lookie what we got here!” He shoves me forward as if they couldn’t already see me. “By her own confession to Roy Shackleford, she’s a gawd damn witch!” The crowd becomes deafening.

I catch the eye of the town preacher at the far end of the massive throng. His face is smug and his eyes dance with spiteful glee. Under my glare, his grin falters and he moves behind a large elderly woman who’s covered herself in a quilt and grasps a wooden cross tightly in her meaty fists.

Morris continues to speak random sentences describing my unnatural and ungodly ways, inciting the crowd further. I look upon their hateful faces, devoid of any resemblance to the humans they were earlier in the day. I pity them all for their small, feeble minds. I become aware that Morris is attempting to put the noose around my neck.

“I wish to speak!” I yank myself away from Morris’s grip. Much to his dismay, I am stronger than I have led him to believe.

I am booed and hissed at, and the crowd calls for my immediate death. I clench my teeth and hiss back at them. “Silence!” The force in my voice, the unearthly sound I make, strikes them dumb. “You will listen.”

“Almost half of you have benefited from my healing skill.” My gaze seeks those I readily find who have been under my care. Their eyes do not meet mine.

“I have caused no harm to any of you, nor your land, nor your property. I have done only good deeds. Refute that, anyone!” People shift their feet and hide their faces behind those in front of them. The people in the front look at the ground. In the silence, I hear the flapping of large wings and see the heavy flames of the torches dance in the air currents. I cannot see the creature but I know it. I have always known it. A sharp, angry cry from the bird peals out above the crowd. There are gasps and cries of fear; some crouch down as they stare into the black sky. I feel strangely calmed by the bird’s presence.

Morris steps forward to speak, and my thoughts close his windpipe. He grips his throat, his eyes widening. My eyes warn him not to proceed. I will be allowed to speak, Morris, but you no longer will.

“As I look at each of your faces, I know none of my words will make the slightest difference. Your minds are small and petty. The only danger here is you. You believe you are ridding the world of some great evil tonight. But all you are doing is worsening your own lives. Ponder that as you lay your heads on your pillows. The evil here is you, for there is none in me.”

I release Morris from where he stands still gasping for air. As he tries to recover himself, he waves several men forward to put me back into place. Coughing is all he can manage as he puts the noose over my head and jerks it tight. When he is close to my face, he spits at me. The smell of it would be nauseating if I could feel anything other than rage.

He shoves each man out of the way so he is the one to pull the lever that controls the trap door upon which I stand. He stumbles and is still sputtering to get words out, but he can only cough and spit. As my last act of defiance, I make those the only sounds that will ever come out of his mouth. My petty revenge makes me smile.

The movement of the well-worn mechanism opening the trap door is loud in my ears. It is all I hear though I’m certain the crowd has reached a frenzied state. For the length of a breath, I am suspended in midair. I look above the crowd as I plummet downward, seeing a flash of white wings in my periphery.

I relax my neck and let the noose perform its job without resistance. I want this over quickly, to have my neck snap immediately. The noose tightens as my weight pulls my body down. The pain is but a quick jolt and then the world is black and silent to me.

Author Bio:

Carrie D. Miller was born in Hutchinson, Kansas, on October 31, 1970. She credits her vivid imagination, as well as her sugar addiction, to being a Halloween baby. In a former life, she was an executive in the software industry for many years. Her career in

the technology world included software product management, website design, training, and technical writing just to name a few. Although Carrie’s written a great deal over the decades which has been read by thousands of people, software documentation allows for about as much creativity as pouring cement. At the age of 45, she decided to chuck it all to become an author which had been a life-long dream.

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Dragon Splendor
Ophelia Bell
(Immortal Dragons #3)
Publication date: April 7th 2017
Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Romance

Nobody said finding your fated mate would mean an instant happily ever after. For immortal gold dragon Aurum, meeting the lover who’s haunted her dreams for centuries is only the start of her problems. The ancient satyr, Calder, knows he’s destined to mate a dragon. The problem is, he made a vow never to take a mate until he’s completed his mission to track down the slippery nymph who betrayed his race. Caught in the middle of the pair, young ursa Nicholas only knows he desperately wants two people he can’t have. He would do anything to make them both happy, even if it means breaking the laws of his own race, and setting into motion a chain of events that will get all three of them exiled. With a war between ancient allies on the horizon, the trio soon realizes that victory might just go hand in hand with surrender where matters of the heart are concerned.

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Author Bio:

Ophelia Bell loves a good bad-boy and especially strong women in her stories. Women who aren’t apologetic about enjoying sex and bad boys who don’t mind being with a woman who’s in charge, at least on the surface, because pretty much anything goes in the bedroom.

Ophelia grew up on a rural farm in North Carolina and now lives in Los Angeles with her own tattooed bad-boy husband and four attention-whoring cats.

If you’d like to receive regular updates on Ophelia’s publications, freebies, and discounts, please subscribe to her mailing list: http://opheliabell.com/subscribe/

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The Chocolate Comeback by Roxanne Snopek
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Deirdre Cash has returned to her hometown of Marietta, MT when her modeling career isn’t going the way she had always dreamed it would. DeeDee knows that she needs to find some kind of work in Marietta and when Isaac Litton’s younger brother Mark who has down syndrome takes a liking to DeeDee he offers to hire her to help care for Mark since he is always busy with work.

DeeDee who doesn’t really have any experience working with handicap still does a marvelous job with Mark with her efforts showing every day. DeeDee’s gotten Mark to take up exercising by offering treats from the Copper Mountain Chocolate Shop, she’s gotten him out meeting new people, approved his appearance and given him tasks that Isaac would never consider. All of this shows Isaac every day just how well DeeDee fits in his and his brother’s lives.

The Chocolate Comeback is the seventh book in the Love at the Chocolate Shop series set in the wonderful small town of Marietta, MT. While each book in the series features a different couple and can be read as standalones there are also mentions in the stories of previous characters for those that have followed all of the series.

One of my favorite types of romance reads are when family such as children or in this case Isaac’s younger brother are brought in and a relationship is formed around the entire family being meant for each other. In this case DeeDee seemed to be perfect for Mark as she’s really the opposite of Isaac’s overly cautious nature. The three together really made a great family which became obvious from the start. It was also nice to find a favorite previous character of mine, Sara Marie, get a lot of mentions in this story so I couldn’t help but be a fan.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.