Carries Book Reviews

The Devil’s Host MC: The Complete Series
Shari Slade
Publication date: February 12th 2017
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance

Meet the dangerous enforcer of The Devil’s Host MC in this complete bundle!

When a big scary biker shows up at Jimmy’s Diner fifteen minutes before the end of my shift—covered in tattoos and looking at me like I’m on the menu—I should flip the open sign to closed. But I don’t. I’m too used to doing what I’ve been told. Too used to working and struggling and surviving to do anything different. A closed sign wouldn’t stop him anyway. He’s here to collect a debt. And I’m the only one left to pay.

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THE DEVIL’S HOST MC is only 99c for a limited time! Get this “dark, dangerous, and perfectly dirty” bundle while it’s on sale.

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EXCERPT:

I can’t process all of him at once. He’s that big. He is scruff and muscle and a white T-shirt tucked into dusty jeans. He looks weathered and road

weary, like most of Jimmy’s clientele, but…more. Everything about him is intense. His knife-blade cheekbones. His heavy brows.

His blue eyes flash icy heat, and some animal instinct tells me this man isn’t looking for sass, that if he finds it, he might do something about it, something I won’t like at all.

He’s made himself comfortable in the booth with his leather jacket tossed on the opposite side along with a sleek black helmet. I’m pretty sure there’s a motorcycle parked out front now to match his accessories. If only I’d heard the rev of an engine and the spray of gravel, but I was too busy humming and watching the clock. A warning would’ve been nice. I might have locked the door a few minutes early, even if it did mean Jimmy would dock my pay.

No. I wouldn’t have locked a customer out. But I’d have braced myself better.

His hands are massive and flat on the tabletop. Tattoos crisscross his blunt knuckles, the ink broken by spidery scars. It takes my brain precious seconds to decipher the blue-black loops and whirls as letters.

It’s like he’s put them there for inspection. But not the “clean enough for supper, ma’am?” kind of inspection, the “how much damage do you think these can do?” kind.

A lot of damage. That’s the answer. A lot. Those are knuckles that have been through walls and windows. Flesh and bone.

I want to say we’re closed, but Jimmy’d can my ass for turning away a paying customer. I want to run back to the kitchen and get Harry to tell him to take his business elsewhere, but Harry isn’t any match for this man. And I’m frozen in place anyway. I can’t peel my eyes away from his hands.

I stare harder, and it hits me that the letters over his knuckles form words.

Lost. Soul.

Some fear inside me eases, because that’s almost romantic. Lost souls and lone wolves. Desperadoes. If he were really terrible, he wouldn’t have to advertise. The truly dangerous men blend in.

“Not much of a talker, are you?” he says.

I try for caustic, but the words slip out as half whispers. “Not when I don’t have anything to say.”

He laughs again, only softer this time. More smug. “I can respect that.”

Him respecting anything about me seems like the most ridiculous thing yet. Even sillier than me standing here for long minutes without taking his order. My gaze drifts up his colorful forearms, across his chest, and over the hard pecs I can make out through thin cotton. His neck, corded with muscle and more ink, flexes under my scrutiny.

Everything about him is hard, except for his mouth.

His lips look soft. And pinker than they should be. A sensual mouth, curled into a smile that says I know everything you’re thinking, and yeah you’re exactly right. A smile that says test me, please. A smile that says I’m hungry and you look like cake.

Fuck me. I want to be cake.

Author Bio:

Shari Slade is the USA Today bestselling author of sexy new adult, biker, and rock star romance. A would-be academic with big dreams and very little means. When she isn’t toiling away in the non-profit sector, she’s writing gritty stories about identity and people who make terrible choices in the name of love (or lust). Somehow, it all works out in the end. If she had a patronus it would be a platypus.

Frequently found in a blanket fort, you can also find her on facebook and twitter.  

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Hot Shade
Tamara Lush
Publication date: March 1st 2017
Genres: Erotica, Romance, Suspense

In the tropical Florida heat, a man with deadly secrets falls for a lovely, inquisitive reporter.

***

After Luca Rossi lost everything to the Italian mafia, he used all his skills to write a stunning expose, and managed to put a key don on trial for his life. But now Luca must hide out on the Florida coast until justice is served in Italy. All is well, until he meets a lovely young American reporter who won’t stop asking questions about who he is. Soon he’s fighting the urge to hush her with a kiss … and much, much more.

Skylar Shaw took a job with a small Florida paper determined to make her mark on the journalistic world. She may spend her days writing up alligator scares and human interest stories, but when she meets a handsome mystery man on the beach, she’s not afraid to dig into his past, and the danger stalking him from across the seas. There’s just one problem … will her efforts help Luca, or bring danger straight to him?

Luca knows all too well the journalistic drive to keep digging. Can he trust his lovely Skylar to keep his secrets, or must he push her away to save both their lives?

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Author Bio:

Tamara Lush was born in California and raised in Vermont. She graduated from Emerson College with a degree in broadcast journalism. For the last several years, she’s worked as a reporter and is currently a correspondent in Florida with The Associated Press. She lives with her Italian husband and two dogs on the Gulf Coast.

She was recently chosen as one of 24 writers for the Amtrak Residency program, and in 2017, she’ll be riding trains and writing romance.

Published in September of 2015, her debut novel HOT SHADE received four stars from RT Book Reviews. Her most recent novel, a five episode serial called TELL ME A STORY, has “an engaging voice, sexy heroes and heroines and a wry sense of humor,” according to New York Times bestselling author Beth Kery.

Tamara is a fan of vintage pulp fiction book covers, Sinatra-era jazz, 1980s fashion, tropical chill, kombucha, gin, tonic, beaches, iPhones, Art Deco, telenovelas, coloring books, street art, coconut anything, strong coffee and newspapers. Find her on Twitter @tamaralush or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tamaralushwrites.

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Over the course of one wild road trip, feuding childhood sweethearts get a second chance at love in this charming rom-com—a standalone novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Blurred Lines and Good Girl.

When Lucy Hawkins receives a job offer in San Francisco, she can’t wait to spread her wings and leave her small Virginia hometown behind. Her close-knit family supports her as best they can, by handing over the keys to a station wagon that’s seen better days. The catch? The cross-country trip comes with a traveling companion: her older brother’s best friend, aka the guy who took Lucy’s virginity hours before breaking her heart.

After spending the past four years and every last dime caring for his sick father, Reece Sullivan will do just about anything to break free of the painful memories—even if it means a two-week road trip with the one girl who’s ever made it past his carefully guarded exterior. But after long days of bickering in the car turn into steamy nights in secluded motel rooms, Reece learns that, when it comes to Lucy, their story is far from over. And this time, they just might have a shot at a happy ending.

Although listed as a title in the Love Unexpectedly Series, all books in the series stand alone.

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Parker
Jillian Quinn
(Face-Off Series #1)
Publication date: February 15th 2017
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Former collegiate athlete and successful sports agent, Charlotte “Coach” Coachman, is a straight shooter who has a very strict policy—no dating clients. The loves of her life are coaching little league basketball and managing the careers of her players, leaving no room for men.

Coach hasn’t met an athlete she couldn’t handle and a deal she couldn’t close—until she meets Alex Parker—the NHL’s most notorious bad boy both on and off the ice.

Alex is the best defenseman in the league, breaking records along with hearts. He’s made a name for himself as a womanizer, and after a scandal involving the owner’s granddaughter, Alex is traded to Philadelphia. Still reeling from the loss of his father, Alex is on a downward spiral, drowning himself in booze and women, until Coach takes him under her wing.

She might be attracted to the sexy hockey star, and certainly not immune to his charms, but Coach can see that Alex needs her help, and coaching players is what she does best. Now that the lines are blurred and the passion between them is too strong to deny, Coach has to decide if Alex is worth making an exception to her rules.

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EXCERPT:

As my cell phone rings, Tony mumbles that he’s going to grab us a few more beers, and then he disappears into the hallway. I do not recognize the number on the caller ID, but I do know the 215 area code. Philadelphia.

I press the button to answer, and before I can even say hello, a woman on the other end of the line says, “Parker, this is Coach. Mickey wanted me to call personally, so here you go. You’ve got me for all of two minutes and thirteen seconds.”

It takes me a minute to remember the name before I realize it’s Mickey’s girl, Charlotte Coachman. Her voice is so stern and confident, yet she’s exactly what I expected from what I’d heard about her from Mickey and some of her clients. She has made a name for herself in the sports world, and she’s one of the few women who didn’t sleep her way into that position, which is rare in this business.

“Hello to you, too, sweetheart.”

At first, she chuckles, but then her laughter slowly turns into a cackle. “Call me that again, Parker, and watch what happens. Let’s get something straight. I’m not one of your puck bunnies. I have a name. That name is Coach or Charlie, but it sure as hell isn’t sweetheart. You got that?”

This chick is crazy and feisty, and I kind of like it.

“One minute and thirty seconds.” She sounds like she’s chewing glass, the words harsh and painful on the tip of her tongue. “In the interest of saving ourselves the headache, I’ve arranged for my secretary to meet you at the apartment building. Please don’t look at her, smile in her direction, or flirt with her because I’m sick of replacing secretaries. I did you a solid with the Philly deal, so I’d appreciate you doing the same and keeping your hands to yourself.”

She went from intriguing to working my last nerve in a matter of seconds.

“Give me some credit at least. You make me out to be a total creep.”

“That’s not entirely off base, Parker. You seem to have a problem with keeping your pants on—or is it finding them?”

I can hear her covering the phone and chuckling to herself before she returns to being a mega bitch.

Damn those stupid YouTube videos.

“Forty-seven seconds.”

What is her problem?

She’s so uptight, she might snap in half.

“Like I was saying, Kayla will meet you at the building with the keys. If you need food, clothes, whatever, just let her know, and she will have it delivered. I put my ass on the line for you. Please make sure you’re at practice on time.”

“Sure thing, boss lady. Anything else?”

She sighs loudly into the receiver. “No. My cab is here, and I have to hang up. Mickey said you had the address and Kayla’s contact info. Just call her when you arrive. That’s all.”

I’m about to speak when I realize she already hung up on me and without even saying good-bye. I guess she sucks with them as much as I do.

Every second of our phone call replays in my mind as I try to wrap my head around what the hell just happened. It’s not hard to see why Charlotte is Mickey’s favorite agent and close friend. She’s the female version of him.

Author Bio:

Jillian loves Mafia men, sports, bad boys, dirty talkers, strong female characters, and books with plenty of heat, all of which you will find in her books. As a lover of all things bookish, she has a serious book hoarding problem and runs a book blog in her free time. When she’s not reading, writing, or blogging, she’s obsessively fangirling over hockey players and can be found wherever she can catch the next hockey game.

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Cowboy Pride by Anne McAllister
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Jed McCall has been doing his best to raise his nephew after some unfortunate circumstances brought the child into Jed’s life. Unfortunately Jed has to keep proving to the authorities that he is the best choice for guardian for Tuck and that the pair are doing well together. When it’s suggested that Tuck take art lessons Jed finds Brenna Jamison brought back into his life and after their past he’s not too happy about it.

Tuck loves being around Brenna and finds a way to make sure his stubborn uncle spends time with her as well. The last thing Jed expected was for Tuck to approach him with the idea that Brenna needs a husband and Jed should be the man for the job in which the arrangement would benefit all three of them immensely.

Cowboy Pride is the fifth book of the Code of the West series but each book features a different couple and plot so this is one that is fine to read as a standalone novel. The plot features one stubborn cowboy meeting up with the one that got away from him in the past with a little push from the child in his life to make this couple a pair again.

While I enjoyed reading this one and the cowboy/ranch setting involved and absolutely loved little Tuck pushing his stubborn uncle I will say that Jed’s stubborness became somewhat of a turn off at some point too. Just one of those please get to the romantic parts a little sooner to me moments so that brought my rating down a bit for this one. Otherwise it’s an interesting set up between the pair and a nice read with the couple having a history together.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.