Carries Book Reviews

Going All the Way by Megan Ryder
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Stacia Kendall was just fired from her job as an image consultant on what became a losing political campaign with the blame falling onto her. Feeling a bit down and not knowing what she’ll be doing next Stacia finds herself flirting with an attractive man and thinking maybe a one night stand is just what she needs right now.

Sneaking off after her night of passion Stacia finds herself being sent to a new job consulting for a baseball player who’s image needs work. Out of the political arena Stacia still wants to prove herself to her overbearing father a prominent and powerful Senator. When Stacia arrives to fulfill the contract though she finds none other than Jason Friar, the man she just left sleeping in his bed.

Going All the Way is the first book in the Knights of Passion series. This one was just an OK read in my opinion though. The story of the female character working with the hot, broody athlete is not a new one but the question I always have in this case is why would a professional female put her job on the line crossing the line between private and professional relationships? With this particular story though at least the characters had started their physical attraction before working together to save me from completely disliking a strong woman crossing that line. Otherwise, the writing and characters in this story were done well so it’s just my own opinion of that professional line crossing that brought my rating down a bit.

I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Call Me Daddy by Kelly Stone Gamble
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Cass Adams had thought everything in her life had changed for the better until she was out for a drive and managed to hit a man with her truck. The town still sees Cass as all kinds of crazy after the murder of her late husband but thankfully this is quickly ruled as an accident.

Things get a little hectic after the accident even though Cass wasn’t to blame when they find out that the strange man was Roland and Clay’s surprise half brother Britt. Britt has come to town to track down his half brothers in hopes to get them to donate a liver to the father they hadn’t seen in years and on top of it all Cass needs to tell Clay he just may be a daddy soon.

Call Me Daddy is the second book in the Cass Adams series by Kelly Stone Gamble. In the first book, They Call Me Crazy, we met Cass who talks to dead people and had been medicated by her former husband and a lousy town doctor for years but now is coming to terms with her problems.

This series also reminds me somewhat of daytime television with it’s family drama and problems involved but it’s actually an incredibly funny read. The setting is a small town where everyone knows everyone… perhaps a little too well at times which brings in the drama. And now with this edition we take a look at family and what that means to the characters so mixed in with the humor is some nice wisdom about family.

I’m a fan of this series and would recommend this to anyone who wants a good lighthearted laugh with some really zany characters and situations.

I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Love and First Sight by Josh Sundquist
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Will Porter was born blind and at an early age his parents decided his best chance would be to attend a school for the blind to learn how to cope with is ability. Now at sixteen though Will wants nothing more than to fit in with normal kids his age and attend a regular school. His first day at his new school though has him accidentally groping a fellow student and making another cry.

Will does start to slowly fit into his new surroundings though making a new group of friends. As he finds his footing Will also starts to develop a crush on Cecily when the two are paired for a class project. Just as Will thinks he’s becoming adjusted his parents spring a new experimental surgery on him where there is a chance that Will may gain eyesight for the first time in his life but are the risks worth it?

Love and First Sight is a young adult coming of age contemporary read with the twist of having the main character have the disability of being sightless. Will was an extremely likable character from the start with his quick wit with dealing with the obstacles in life that his disability quite often with a lot of humor to keep a reader smiling and chuckling.

The one thing I didn’t quite enjoy with this one was the added drama towards the end with Will and Cecily, it just didn’t seem to fit Will’s personality with all he had to deal with in his life. The build up to this was fairly obvious that something was going to come about with Cecily’s character and knowing it was coming I was a bit disappointed with how it got dealt with. In the end though I did enjoy the rest of the story and felt the characters and their journey was a likable one.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Where Nothing Ill Can Dwell by Crista McHugh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Miranda Prospero has grown up on an uncharted planet on the fringes of the Bad Nebula with her mother who had needed to go into hiding when she was framed on her home planet. Now the time has come that Miranda’s mother has been waiting for to obtain her revenge on those that ran her off years ago when their spaceships come near the planet they’ve been hiding on.

As the ships crash land upon the planet Miranda finds herself coming across other humans for the first time, including a young man just her age that is immediately taken with Miranda. Miranda begins to sneak off to meet and help him and the two begin to grow closer but her new friend is the son of the man Miranda’s mother is seeking revenge from and a part of the bigger plot she’s concocted.

Where Nothing Ill Can Dwell is the first book in the Bard Nebula series by Crista McHugh. The story within is a new modern day retelling of Shakespeare’s classic The Tempest taking the tale into outer space with all that you would find on a strange planet, aliens and other strange lifeforms. The book has multiple POVs so that you know what is going on with each of the characters at different times in the story.

I actually really enjoyed this one and the creativity with changing the story to fit characters being in space, such an interesting idea and it made the story pop out just that much more with the space ships and aliens mixed into the complex revenge plot. Fun setting, interesting characters and story, would recommend to those who enjoy ya sci-fi or retellings.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Merry Christmas to all of you that celebrate! I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday. 🙂

And this will be me after the season is over…..