Carries Book Reviews

Air
L.B. Gilbert
(The Elementals #2)
Publication date: November 28th 2016
Genres: Fantasy, New Adult, Paranormal

Despite being the junior Elemental, Logan’s never had to worry about failing a mission before. Not until an overgrown and annoyingly attractive shifter comes along.

Being an Elemental is in Logan’s blood. Hers is the gift of Air, a vast power she’s still struggling to control. Then a Were named Connell hunts her down. His wolf is missing, and he blames her.

A den of werewolves is the last place Logan wants to be. The testosterone alone is enough to make her choke. But she has a mystery to solve. She will find out who is stealing wolves even if kills her.

Unfortunately, that’s exactly what the enemy has planned…

—

Book 1: Fire

Book 2: Air, Available November 28th

Book 3: Water, Coming Soon

Goodreads / Amazon

—

EXCERPT:

Connell tried to drag the Elemental toward him, but she didn’t budge. Instead, she glanced at his hands. For a second, he could have sworn amusement flashed across her face. Then she was gone—wind whipping him in the face so hard it stung.

Fuck!

He turned around in a circle, scanning the air and the land around him. God, he couldn’t lose her now. He needed to get his wolf back. Not having the extra other in his head was tearing him apart. The empty space inside him was like a crawling emptiness. Sometimes, it was in his head. Other times, it was in his heart.

I can’t believe I lost her. He’d had her in his hands, and then poof. At this

point, she could be anywhere. A strangled sigh escaped from deep in his chest. It sounded pathetic and broken, even to him. He checked the house to make sure she wasn’t there, and then he walked back out to his rented jeep. Damn it, he was going to have to start tracking her all over again.

“Hey, what’s your name?”

Stunned, Connell tripped. Pivoting on his heel, he turned to see the sprite standing on a huge boulder in the distance. He was so damn surprised to see her that he lost his tongue. He just stared at her like an idiot.

Apparently, she agreed. “I can’t keep calling you tall, dark, and stupid, now can I? What…is…your…name?” she repeated, over- enunciating each word.

He was too relieved to get upset over the fact she was talking to him as if he were slow. “Connell Maitland.”

The imp turned away and started addressing the air around her, “He says he’s one of the Maitlands. American accent, so one of the Colorado ones. Yeah. It’s severe. I haven’t seen anything like it. It’s like his wolf was torn out of him somehow. He thinks we did it. Hold on a sec—” Her words broke off as Connell started to run toward her.

A gust of strong air slammed him down to the ground before he cleared the rise.

“Stay there,” the sprite ordered in a glacial tone.

Frigid as the wind, he thought as he regained his footing. Hell, everything about her should be ice-cold. Instead, he felt like he was burning up around her. It was disconcerting. So was the hard edge in her voice. That kind of steel shouldn’t be coming out of such a tiny, doll-like girl.

“Yeah, yeah. It’s fine. He’s on a leash,” the imp said a touch smugly.

Connell growled low in his throat. At least that hadn’t changed. Prey the world over would still react instinctively in fear at that sound.

But the imp didn’t even blink. And she had heard him. She just hadn’t cared. She kept on talking like some gossipy housewife on the phone. Except she was addressing no one.

“Who the bloody hell are you talking to? Invisible fairies? Can anyone even hear you?” he asked incredulously.

Author Bio:

USA Today bestselling author L.B. Gilbert spent years getting degrees from the most prestigious universities in America, including a PhD that she is not using at all. She moved to France for work and found love. She’s married now and living in Toulouse with one adorable half-french baby.

She has always enjoyed reading books as far from her reality as possible but eventually the voices in her head told her to write her own. And so far the voices are enjoying them. You can check out the geeky things she likes on twitter @elementalauthor, facebook http://www.facebook.com/elementalsauthor, or http://www.elementalauthor.com

*If you like a little more steam with your Fire, check out the author’s Lucy Leroux titles*

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Christmas at the Castle by Melissa McClone
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Katrina Parsons grew up attending a summer camp which is where she met her best friend in life, Sophie and Sophie’s annoying brother Gill. Even though the girls led completely different lives away from the camp they kept in touch during the times they weren’t together growing up and now as adults Sophie wants her best friend to attend her wedding.

Kat never realized that Sophie and Gill actually came from real royalty in the country that they are from. Heading to what she thought would be a hotel Kat finds herself staying in the castle of Sophie’s family and not exactly getting a warm welcome from Sophie’s mother the queen or from Gill who is now the crown prince. They believe Kat has been the bad American influence on Sophie and has her own agenda for attending, to snag her own prince to wed. But as Gill gets to know Kat he finds himself falling for her after all the years of her just being his sister’s annoying friend.

Christmas at the Castle is the third book in the Ever After series but it can easily be read as a standalone novel. The story is a really nice fairy tale romance with a regular woman finding herself swept away by the handsome prince with all the obstacles for the couple to overcome as they find themselves falling for one another.

This one is definitely a lovely romance story with characters that had a background to build upon. Kat was a strong female with all that she had gone through in her life which is always a favorite of mine. Gill while starting off suspicious grew into a very likable character as he grows into his own position of being the crown prince and dealing with finding his way with what that entailed. Great story with a great setting, would definitely recommend this lovely holiday romance.

I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

The Heiress and the Hothead by Sabrina Jeffries
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Amanda owns a cotton mill in America and has traveled overseas visiting the mills there. When a night out brings Stephen into Amanda’s life by way of mistletoe the two don’t immediately see eye to eye. Stephen has his own views of the factories and has dedicated his life to seeing changes made to the unfair work practices and doesn’t believe that Amanda is a completely different type of owner in the way she runs her factory across the sea and cares about her workers.

The Heiress and the Hothead is book 1.5 in the Sinful Suitors series. The book is a relatively short read and can easily be read as a standalone novel if you haven’t read any other books in this series. This particular story had actually been previously released in another collection but is now being published by itself.

Being a shorter read this one is a very fast paced romance with the instant chemistry between two characters turning into something a bit more over a relatively short time span. Even with it being a historical romance there are still some steamier moments between the pair so be warned if you prefer a cleaner read. Enjoyed the characters and setting with this quick read and would recommend checking it out for the fans of a quick romance.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Cowboy Rising by Mia Hopkins
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Georgia Meyers is a journalist and has gone to the MacKinnon Ranch to try to write an article about the ranch in an effort to save her job at a failing newspaper. Daniel MacKinnon had to leave a very good career as a petroleum engineer to return to his family’s ranch to take over running the family business and while frustrated with giving up his dreams the last thing he wanted was to deal with a reporter. However sparks fly between Georgia and Daniel when the pair find themselves sharing a steamy night together but with very different lifestyles would this pair have any hope at a future?

Cowboy Rising is the fifth book in the Cowboy Cocktail series by Mia Hopkins. While I have read the entire series I can safely say these are perfectly find to read as standalone books as each is a completely different couple and situations not related to the other books in the series. Each book in the series features a new steaming hot relationship with a sexy cowboy. All being short reads everything is quite fast paced in all the books.

This fifth book in the series quickly became one of my favorites just due to the fact that I completely enjoyed both of these characters. Both at different places in their lives but quite mature in the way they handle their situations they became quite likable and couldn’t help rooting for their steamy night to become more between the pair. A great addition to this series so if a fan of a quick sexy read I’d recommend checking this one out.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Cursing Fate by Brenda Drake
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

After Iris Layne had her fate changed when her sister touched a tarot card Iris had thought she had lost her chance at a relationship with Wade Diaz forever. As much as Wade doesn’t really want anything to do with Iris now though he still cares about her and when he sees she’s in trouble he can’t help but want to help her out. However when Iris touches her sister’s tarot cards she unleashes an evil spirit intent on playing a deadly game where no one Iris loves is safe, especially Wade.

Cursing Fate is the second book in the Fated series by Brenda Drake. The main characters in this second book have changed so it’s not completely necessary to have read the first book to understand what is going on in this one. There are mentions to the first books characters and plot though so if wanting to read both I’d suggest starting at the beginning.

This series is actually a really good, fast paced young adult fantasy series that focuses on magic surrounding tarot cards. Both books in the series have had a completely different take on the magic and how it’s worked into the plot which I found extremely creative and fun to read. I’ve really enjoyed the characters and plot in both books and would definitely recommend checking them both out for a new magical twist on the use of tarot cards.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.