Carries Book Reviews

Tru Blue
Melissa Foster
Publication date: November 9th 2016
Genres: Adult, Romance

TRU BLUE is a sexy, dark stand-alone novel written in the same loving, raw, and emotional voice romance readers have come to love, and the deeply emotional literary prose women’s fiction readers have come to expect, from New York Times & USA Today bestselling, award-winning author Melissa Foster.

“With her wonderful characters and resonating emotions, Melissa Foster is a must-read author!” New York Times Bestseller Julie Kenner

“Melissa Foster is synonymous with sexy, swoony, heartfelt romance!” New York Times Bestseller Lauren Blakely

He wore the skin of a killer, and bore the heart of a lover…

There’s nothing Truman Gritt won’t do to protect his family–Including spending years in jail for a crime he didn’t commit. When he’s finally released, the life he knew is turned upside down by his mother’s overdose, and Truman steps in to raise the children she’s left behind. Truman’s hard, he’s secretive, and he’s trying to save a brother who’s even more broken than he is. He’s never needed help in his life, and when beautiful Gemma Wright tries to step in, he’s less than accepting. But Gemma has a way of slithering into people’s lives and eventually she pierces through his ironclad heart. When Truman’s dark past collides with his future, his loyalties will be tested, and he’ll be faced with his toughest decision yet.

**

“You can always rely on Melissa Foster to deliver a story that’s fresh, emotional and entertaining. Make sure you have all night, because once you start you won’t want to stop reading. Every book’s a winner!” NYT Bestselling Author Brenda Novak

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EXCERPT:

TRUMAN GRITT LOCKED the door to Whiskey Automotive and stepped into the stormy September night. Sheets of rain blurred his vision, instantly drenching his jeans and T-shirt. A slow smile crept across his face as he tipped his chin up, soaking in the shower of freedom. He made his way around the dark building and climbed the wooden stairs to the deck outside his apartment. He could have used the interior door, but after being behind bars for six long years, Truman took advantage of the small pleasures he’d missed out on, like determining his own schedule, deciding when to eat and drink, and standing in the f**king rain if he wanted to. He leaned on the rough wooden railing, ignoring the splinters of wood piercing his tattooed forearms, squinted against the wetness, and scanned the cars in the junkyard they used for parts—and he used to rid himself of frustrations. He rested his leather boot on the metal box where he kept his painting supplies. Truman didn’t have much—his old extended-cab truck, which his friend Bear Whiskey had held on to for him while he was in prison, this apartment, and a solid job, both of which were compliments of the Whiskey family. The only family he had anymore.

Emotions he didn’t want to deal with burned in his gut, causing his chest to constrict. He turned to go inside, hoping to outrun thoughts of his own f**ked-up family, whom he’d tried—and failed—to save. His cell phone rang with his brother’s ringtone, “A Beautiful Lie” by 30 Seconds to Mars.

“F**k,” he muttered, debating letting the call go to voicemail, but six months of silence from his brother was a long time. Rain pelleted his back as he pressed his palm to the door to steady himself. The ringing stopped, and he blew out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d trapped inside. The phone rang again, and he froze.

He’d just freed himself from the dredges of hell that he’d been thrown into in an effort to save his brother. He didn’t need to get wrapped up in whatever mess the drug-addicted fool had gotten himself into. The call went to voicemail, and Truman eyed the metal box containing his painting supplies. Breathing like he’d been in a fight, he wished he could paint the frustration out of his head. When the phone rang for the third time in as many minutes, the third time since he was released from prison six months ago, he reluctantly answered.

“Quincy.” He hated the way his brother’s name came out sounding like the enemy. Quincy had been just a kid when Truman went to prison. Heavy breathing filled the airwaves. The hairs on Truman’s forearms and neck stood on end. He knew fear when he heard it. He could practically taste it as he ground his teeth together.

“I need you,” his brother’s tortured voice implored.

Need me? Truman had hunted down his brother after he was released from prison, and when he’d finally found him, Quincy was so high on crack he was nearly incoherent—but it didn’t take much for f**k off to come through loud and clear. What Quincy needed was rehab, but Truman knew from his tone that wasn’t the point of the call.

Before he could respond, his brother croaked out, “It’s Mom. She’s really bad.”

Author Bio:

Melissa Foster is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling and award-winning author. She writes sexy and heartwarming contemporary romance, new adult romance (M/F, M/M, F/F), romantic suspense, thrillers, and historical fiction with emotionally compelling characters that stay with you long after you turn the last page. Melissa’s emotional journeys are lovingly erotic and always family oriented. Her books have been recommended by USA Today’s book blog, Hagerstown Magazine, The Patriot, and several other print venues. She is the founder of the World Literary Café. When she’s not writing, Melissa helps authors navigate the publishing industry through her author training programs on Fostering Success.

Melissa has painted and donated several murals to The Hospital for Sick Children in Washington, DC. Her interests include her family, reading, writing, painting, friends, helping others see the positive side of life, and visiting Cape Cod.

Melissa is available to chat with book clubs and welcomes comments and emails from her readers. Visit Melissa on Facebook or her personal website.

Never miss a brand new release, special promotions or inside gossip again by simply signing up to receive your newsletter from Melissa.

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Good Behavior: Letty Dobesh Chronicles by Blake Crouch
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Good Behavior: Letty Dobesh Chronicles by Blake Crouch is a collection of three novellas formerly published separately featuring the character Letty Dobesh. The collection includes the books The Pain of Others, Sunset Key, and Grab. These stories and Letty are going to be the focus of a new show coming to television on the network TNT.

Each novella features Letty on a different adventure and in the first Letty is freshly released from prison and fighting her addictions when she attempts to return to her former life of crime. Unfortunately when Letty learns of a murder she finds that there are lines that even she won’t cross.

Good Behavior is an OK enough read but perhaps I went into this expecting perfection and it seemed to fall a bit short of that for me. I’ve heard so many good things about Blake Crouch’s books that I couldn’t help but want to try one out but Letty and her stories just really didn’t grab me the way I hoped.

For a character that suffers from addiction I kind of found the fast paced adventures she ends up on a bit far-fetched. Really though I can see this one making an entertaining television show but reading all three novellas together it just seemed a bit jumpy going from one to the next with not enough to get me invested in Letty or believing her to be the heroine.

Overall, three fast paced adventures featuring Letty, not as great as I was hoping for but still an OK read in the end.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Before Tomorrow
Pintip Dunn
(Forget Tomorrow #1.5)
Published by: Entangled: Teen
Publication date: October 31st 2016
Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult

Prequel to the New York Times bestselling and award-winning novel, FORGET TOMORROW!

In a world where all seventeen-year-olds receive a memory from their future selves, Logan Russell’s vision is exactly as he expects — and exactly not. He sees himself achieving his greatest wish of becoming a gold-star swimmer, but strangely enough, the vision also shows him locking eyes with a girl from his past, Callie Stone, and experiencing an overwhelming sense of love and belonging.

Logan’s not sure what the memory means, but soon enough, he learns that his old friend Callie is in trouble. She’s received an atypical memory, one where she commits a crime in the future. According to the law, she must be imprisoned, even though she’s done nothing wrong. Now, Logan must decide if he’ll give up his future as a gold-star swimmer and rescue the literal girl of his dreams. All he’ll have to do is defy Fate.

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EXCERPT:

He could see her now, and it made him want to fall to his knees and beg for forgiveness. If he had known, he never would’ve let her come.

Her face was pale, so pale, and her eyes stood out like stars in the black sky. But they weren’t lustrous stars full of verve and sparkle; no, her stars were the ones at the end of their lives, the ones in danger of blinking out. Her bones looked fragile, her skin was as thin as parchment paper. Bruises decorated her arm like the latest fashion

trends. In a mere week, she looked like this. In a week, she had transformed from a girl to an apparition.

His heart shook, and shame flooded him. I’m sorry, Callie. So sorry. I didn’t know. I thought this was what you wanted. I thought I was doing the right thing.

He hadn’t known—but he should’ve. He was the one with the connection to the Underground. The one with access to information other people didn’t have. He should’ve known, and he should’ve stopped her.

But then, so quickly he barely registered it, she crossed the floor and laid her hand on his chest. He blinked—and then blinked again. What was she doing? They had to get out of here.

“You feel amazing,” she said, oblivious to the urgency. She didn’t sound like herself, either. What was going on? And then she shuffled forward until their shoes were touching. He inhaled sharply and forgot everything else. The touch was nothing. He knew that. Synthetic rubber against synthetic rubber. But now they were connected in two spots. Everything inside him sizzled and popped. If she touched him anywhere else, he might explode.

She seemed determined to try. She trailed her hand across his chest, over his shoulders, up, up, up to his face. And then, she rubbed her fingers back and forth, and the breath shot out of him. He’d never felt anything so sweet, so exquisite. It felt so good it almost hurt. No, it did hurt, but if this were pain, he’d go to Limbo for an eternity.

Her fingers skipped to his lips—and he couldn’t take it anymore. His body broke free from the force that was paralyzing him. He could either grab her and kiss her senseless—or he could put a stop to this and get on with the mission.

He struggled. Oh, how he struggled and damned Fate to the moon and back. Every fiber in his body screamed, Do it! Kiss her now! And if they were anywhere else, if it were any other time, he would’ve.

But he couldn’t forget the bruises on her body. If he didn’t break her out now, he’d never be able to live with himself.

He reached up and covered her hand with his trembling fingers. Fate help him, if he was going to end this moment, he wanted at least one touch of his hand against hers. Something for him to remember during his sleepless nights.

He moved her hand from his lips, and it felt like he was dragging it through wet concrete. “I can’t believe I’m saying this,” he said hoarsely, “but we don’t have much time.”

Her eyes snapped into focus, and everything about her features sharpened. “You’re real?”

Author Bio:

When her first-grade teacher asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up, Pintip replied, “An author.” Although she has pursued other interests over the years, this dream has never wavered.

Pintip graduated from Harvard University, magna cum laude, with an A.B. in English Literature and Language. She received her J.D. at Yale Law School, where she was an editor of the YALE LAW JOURNAL.

Pintip is represented by literary agent Beth Miller of Writers House. She is a 2012 RWA Golden Heart® finalist and a 2014 double-finalist.

She lives with her husband and children in Maryland.

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Give Me Chaos
Jillian Ashe
(Wolfegang, #5)
Publication date: March 16th 2017
Genres: Adventure, New Adult, Science Fiction

The fifth book in the Wolfegang series follows Katerina back to the top secret military base, Enzo, where she is Lt. Donnelly’s prisoner. The lieutenant puts her through tests and experiments to find out what makes her so special, and why the genetic enhancements aren’t degrading her brain. He wants answers for his own cure. Katerina might not survive his search for answers until General Ryojin shows up and changes the game completely.

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Author Bio:

My readers are what’s important to me. Yes, I write for myself and the enjoyment of it, but I adore when a reader actually has a great time reading a story I slaved over. I don’t write any particular genre, but I do stick to kick-ass female characters. I love writing about all types of differently strong women. My debut series is Young Adult Science Fiction. The first novella is free to see if you enjoy what I write.

I’m very involved with my fandoms, and love all things geeky and nerdy. I love connecting with my readers, so if you’d like to contact me just head over to my website 🙂

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Life in the Danger Zone
Patricia B. Tighe
(The Zone, #3)
Published by: Swoon Romance
Publication date: November 1st 2016
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult

Sixteen-year- old Rose Mulligan’s plan for the summer cruise with her grandparents is simple—read mysteries in the sunshine and see historical sites. It doesn’t include joining a young people’s tour group or crushing on a boy whose flirting runs hot and cold. And it definitely doesn’t include being accused of theft.

Sam Briggs also has a plan for the trip—hang out with his uncle and cousins, and avoid thinking about his stupid parents. But when family members pair-up with strangers, Sam is left wanting to hit something. The only bright spot is shy, constantly blushing Rose, a girl he really needs to avoid. She’s too nice for a meaningless hookup. Then why can’t he stop thinking about her?

Determined to clear her name, Rose decides to find out who the real thief is. It quickly becomes clear that everyone has secrets. Dangerous secrets. But by the time Sam starts helping with the investigation, Rose is wishing she could forget the whole thing and just focus on his intense gaze and lopsided smile. There are only a few days left on the trip after all, and they’ll never see each other again once it’s over. Right?

But it’s too late. Danger has a way of finding you, whether it’s disguised as a cunning thief or a swoony boy.

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EXCERPT:

Sam’s point of view:

We continued on for a while, occasionally dodging people coming from the other direction. At one point, the promenade made a sharp turn to the left, bringing us face-to-face with two middle-aged men engaged in a loud discussion in Croatian. While smoking cigarettes. And only wearing gold chains and black Speedo-type briefs.

Our passing didn’t bother them at all. They kept talking like we weren’t even there. But I held my breath because Alexis was about to give me crap. It was as predictable as

saying the sun would set tonight. Because I used to love Speedo briefs for swimming; it always felt like the longer jammers slowed me down. Later I changed my mind. It happens. You need to get rid of all liabilities in a race. Even those that might be just in your head.

Alexis started coughing, and I knew it wasn’t because of the smoke. Here it came. And three, two, one …

“Those are just like the ones you used to wear, aren’t they, Sam?” Alexis asked, laughter in her voice.

I looked behind me. She and Rose were both smiling. Although Rose’s smile looked like she’d had to plaster it on. “Kind of, yeah.”

“You looked so adorable in them with your little stick legs,” she said.

I stopped walking and turned around. Marie stopped too. “I have never had stick legs,” I said. Oh, no. Now all three girls stared at my legs—well, my calves were the only part showing. My skin got all prickly, and I shoved my hand in my pocket to keep from scratching my knee.

Alexis’s smile grew broader. “You did when you were twelve.”

I glared at her. “So did you.”

She laughed. “But I wasn’t wearing Speedo briefs.”

Rose covered her mouth. She had to be smiling under that hand. I wanted to grab it and pull it away from her face. Heck, I just wanted to grab her hand in general. I shook my head at her. “Not you too.”

She raised one eyebrow, but before she could say anything, Marie spoke. “Not sticks,” she said, still examining my legs.

“Not anymore,” Alexis said.

“Nope,” Rose said, between her fingers, “definitely not sticks.”

I was torn between running away and dropping trou so they could get the full effect. But just then, Nick appeared. “Why’d you guys stop?”

“Don’t even,” I said to Alexis, causing her to bust out laughing.

Author Bio:

The mother of two grown sons, Patricia B. Tighe lives in West Texas with her husband and dog. She eats way too much pizza, drinks way too much coffee, and watches way too much NFL football. On the bright side, she also reads and writes teen fiction. She promises to include as much romance, angst, and adventure as possible in her books.

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