Carries Book Reviews

Definitely Yes
Ella Miles
(Definitely, #1)
Publication date: October 25th 2016
Genres: Adult, Romance, Suspense

One question from an ex-lover.

One text message from a complete stranger.

The same answer to both…Yes.

Scarlett Bell has found a way to move beyond a dark past that threatened to take her best friend, Kinsley, from her. Now ten years later Scarlett has everything. A multi-billion dollar fashion and beauty empire. A fabulous New York apartment filled with everything a girl could need. And an awesome best friend. What more could she want? Love, marriage, and a baby. Everything her best friend has.

One ex-boyfriend could give her everything she thinks she wants. Even if he is a little too nice…

One dark stranger could give her everything she never knew she wanted. But he could destroy her life…

Two men. Two choices. One answer to both: Definitely Yes.

Warning: 3 book series featuring Scarlett from Maybe series. Each book is full length and will end on a cliffhanger. Each book will end one month after previous book. Only for those that love dirty romances, edge of your seat suspense, twists, and a little bit of darkness.

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Author Bio:

Ella Miles writes sexy romance with strong females that could kick your butt if you piss them off, which they often do to the men that fall for them. She’s currently living her own happily ever after near the Rocky Mountains with her high school sweetheart husband. Her heart is also taken by her goofy two year old black lab that is scared of everything, including her own shadow. Ella is the author of the Aligned series. Get a free book by visiting her website. Or by stalking her on Twitter or Facebook.

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Concealed
Christina Bauer
(Beholder #2)
Publication date: October 25th 2016
Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult

As a Grand Mistress Necromancer, Elea’s a witch who commands the ultimate power over spirit and bone. It’s magic that she’ll need in order to stop the Vicomte Gaspard from killing her Sisters by draining their magic along with their life force.

To find and free her fellow witches, Elea must venture into some of the most dangerous places in the realm. What starts off as a rescue quest could easily turn into a suicide mission. And with the handsome warlock Rowan along to help, Elea may be risking more than her life. Her growing feelings for Rowan might put her heart on the line, too.

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EXCERPT:

Rowan stepped into my path, forcing me to stop. “We can’t worry about the Tsar just now.”

“How can I not? This is the Tsar we’re talking about. The man killed off thousands of my people. If he comes back, I’m his top target.”

“No one is getting anywhere near you, Elea.” Rowan’s voice was a rough rasp. “You have my word. I know what you care about, and it’s your Sisters. That’s all you need to think about. At least, for the next two days. Promise me?”

Rowan’s words helped to center my thoughts. “You’re right. Little time remains to save Ada and the others. I need to stay the course. Thank you, Rowan.”

“I’ll always be here for you.” Rowan stared at me for a long moment. I thought he might have more to say. Instead, he shook his head, stepped across the cave floor, and picked up the loops of rope. “Any ideas on where your Sisters are imprisoned?”

“Amelia wants to check the Havilland mansion first.”

“I can send in someone from my team. They’re experts at subterfuge.”

“No. These are my people. I have to go.”

Once again, Rowan moved to stand so close our bodies were only inches apart. “Trust me on this. My people can handle the Royals.” He brushed the backs of his fingertips up my cheek and I melted into the touch. “I want you safe, Elea.” He leaned in until his mouth was only a breath away from mine.

This wasn’t the time for emotion. I couldn’t seem to stop my zuchtlos feelings, though. My heart thumped with such force I thought it might burst from my chest. Rowan’s voice became low and gentle. “Return to Braddock Farm. Stay safe. I will end this. Once it’s done, I’ll find you there. I swear it.”

My legs felt wobbly beneath me. In my mind’s eye, it all appeared so easy and clear. Rowan could handle this. I’d return to my farm and help the faithful servants who’d kept it thriving. Then one day, Rowan would arrive and we’d be together. How wonderful would that be?

I closed my eyes and stepped away from his touch. This was impossible. My people were my responsibility. No one else’s. And the idea that Rowan and I could be together? That was an illusion.

“It’s a sweet dream. We both know it isn’t the truth. You’re part of the Caster Imperial family. Your uncle is none other than Genesis Rex. You can’t have a life with me as a farmer, can you?”

Rowan’s gaze intensified. “No.” He stepped closer once again. “I’ll still find you, though.”

“And when you do, what will I be?” I wanted to touch him and to be with him. I knew that now. But not at any cost. “Your mistress? Your absentee wife?”

“You’ll be mine.” He pulled me into his arms. Every ridge of his hard body pressed against my soft curves. I’d never craved anything more in my life than I wanted to kiss Rowan right now. He leaned in closer than ever before. His warm breath cascaded over my lips. “Don’t fight this. Please.”

My control snapped, and I pressed my mouth to his. Yes. Our first few tastes were tentative. Gentle. Rowan was as delicious as I’d imagined, a flavor that was somewhere between musk and desire. Every touch of his lips sent spasms of want through my core.

Our kiss quickly turned rough. Rowan nipped my bottom lip, and I let out a rough groan. This kiss could go on forever. Still, some small part of my brain shouted for me to stop.

I didn’t know how I found the strength, but I pushed Rowan away. “I want you too. That’s not enough for me. We’re from different worlds. Your place is with your people. I need to save mine. Once this is over, we’ll never see each other again. I can’t afford to feel more for you than I already do.”

Rowan’s eyes took on that intense look I knew so well. A muscle worked in his jaw for a long moment. “I understand. We both have work to do.”

I exhaled. “I’m glad you can accept the truth.”

“I didn’t say that.” He scooped up the ropes and offered them to me. “This isn’t over.”

I stared at the green cords coiled around his palm. I wanted real ties between us as well. Yet wanting a thing wasn’t the same as having it. I pulled the rope from his hand and looped it around my shoulders. “We better get back.”

Author Bio:

Christina graduated from Syracuse University’s Newhouse School with BA’s in English as well as Television, Radio, and Film Production. Her day job is in marketing for companies like Microsoft, Cisco, and Zerto. Back in the go-go 90′s, she founded her own software start-up, Mindful Technologies. Christina believes that, upon close examination of Tolkien’s text, it’s entirely possible that the Balrog was wearing fuzzy bunny slippers.

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The Decision
L.K. Kuhl
(Everlasting Trilogy, #2)
Publication date: October 20th 2016
Genres: Paranormal Romance, Young Adult

The guests are invited. The cake is all set. In just a few short hours Sophia Bandell will be saying “I do” to a guy she isn’t sure she loves. But where does she go from here? She feels her life is headed in a downhill spiral. Her first and real true love, Tate Forester, is a ghost. But he’s the man she wants to be with…the one she can’t live without. Sophia is faced with the toughest decision of her life. Does she forget about Tate and marry the egotistical lawyer, Aaron Stuart? Or does she take the plunge and join Tate to be with him for eternity?

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EXCERPT:

I turned again and caught a glimpse of Aaron coming into the backyard, dressed to the nines in a black tuxedo, his arms splayed wide. He advanced toward my sister-in-law Kristy, who had just come out the backdoor, his voice tight and full of despair. “No sign of her. I’ve looked everywhere. I don’t know what to do next.” His arms flopped down to his sides, and he slumped into a lawn chair on the deck. “This is so unlike Sophia to do something like this.”

Just then, all of my bridesmaids, my best friends—Claudia Bunker, Jenny Staid, and Laura Anderson—came out of the house to join them on the deck. All three of them, along with Kristy, were dressed in their lacy purple bridesmaid dresses, long diamond earrings, and flattering braided up-dos.

“Sophia, you’d better go break the news to them now. Don’t put them through this any longer.” Tate gave me a gentle nudge, urging me to put an end to this.

My chin trembling, I answered him with a small nod. I couldn’t speak, couldn’t answer, my mind tossing a stormy chaos of what to do next. Did I go break the news to everyone that the wedding is called off? Everyone go home. It’s over. There will be no

Mrs. Aaron Stuart today. My eyes slanted back to the yard again. This time Aaron sobbed into his hands. I blinked, then blinked again, my vision blurry.

My chest ached, and I shivered as though the wind had shifted, wind that carried in cooler air— air consumed with an acidic premonition and a feverish guilt. My hands fell limp and I sagged against the tree, sliding down the length of the trunk to deposit my butt on the ground, too weak to stand.

I rubbed my face, trying to come up with the right words, words that wouldn’t disintegrate me— kill us. There were none. This was going to be the hardest thing I’d ever done in my life, but I’d been weighing the consequences since early this morning. Ever since Tate told me there was no possible way there could ever be a future for us, not in this life anyway. Carrying out this agonizing feat would mean shredding my existence, tearing every piece of livable being out of me and turning me into a hollow shell. But I saw no other way.

My breathing picked up pace, amped, making the dizziness spin my world out of control. I was losing it. It got so bad I could no longer breathe. I gasped and wrenched my body, reaching for the sun— grasping, grabbing, trying to save my life. But the air was gone. Nothing to sustain me.

Tate knelt beside me and clutched my shoulders to keep me sitting upright. “You going to be okay, Ladybug? I knew it was going to be hard, but I didn’t think it would be this difficult for you.”

Finally, my voice spewed the bitter, vile words out like a hot rush of lava. The knife had already sliced its way through and gutted me, my heart pierced to the end of the blade, long before they spilled forth. I was too debilitated to even clear my throat. I gurgled out. “I’m letting you go, Tate.” The repugnant, volcanic ashes floated to the ground in a hushed whisper, singeing the ground as they lit.

Tate tipped his head, his mouth falling open. His eyes wouldn’t move, they drilled into me. “What are you saying?”

The tears… I couldn’t stop them. They surged forth like a rapid river, spilling down my face. “I’m so in love with you and… and I know that this time… this time I’ll never be able to forget you. And I know what that means. It means that in six weeks you’ll be going away. But I can’t fight it anymore. My love for you is too strong, and I’m too tired.” Now that I said the words I knew there was no going back for Tate. He would be gone.

Tate lowered his head, his lips pressed into a thin line. He swallowed twice, a small sound escaping from the back of his throat like something wanted to burst forth but couldn’t quite get the job done, caught somewhere between hurt and anger. He sat back on his heels, looking at his hands that trembled on his thighs, then finally whispered. “Do what you have to do. For as much as it hurts both of us, I think it’s for the best. You’ll find someone besides Aaron and move on, and we’ll be together in eternity.”

Author Bio:

L.K. Kuhl lives in Nebraska with her husband Gene of twenty-nine years, young son, Nathan, and Greg, their Black Lab dog. She has two older daughters, Morgan and Brittani and son-in-law, Trevor. L.K. has been writing for over twenty years. She first began writing children’s books and poetry, moved on to writing music, and is now writing Young Adult and Adult novels. She loves spending time with her family, vacationing, writing, reading, and taking long walks. It’s the characters who write their own stories in her novels, and she is just their messenger, sharing it with the world.

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Butterfly Bones by Rebecca L. Carpenter
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Bethany Keatley was diagnosed with a rare bone disease after she was born that doctor’s said would be a death sentence. Bethany’s father however is a scientist and became determined to save his little girl and began a series of experiments to help her survive.

Now at fifteen Bethany has defied all the odds and survived but she is small for age which brings on the bullying at school. While tormented Bethany has still been determined that she would do well and become a scientist like her father one day but unfortunately now after all the years of his experimenting on Bethany things have taken a turn for the worse and it’s not sure whether Bethany will be able to survive until her next birthday yet again.

Butterfly Bones was a book that I was on the fence with through most of the time I was reading this one. My biggest problem with this one stood with the bullying that Bethany goes through during the course of the book. I know that bullying is a real problem and many kids suffer from it but in this day and age school staff should be aware and some of the situations in here didn’t seem realistic and a bit too over the top.

But on the other hand with this book there are some really interesting sci-fi stuff going on with Bethany’s mad scientist of a father. The experiments and outcome really made for some engaging reading since this one seemed truly unique on that area of the plot and I rather enjoyed the creativity behind it all.

In the end I decided to give this one 3.5 stars. Good writing, interesting ideas behind the sci-fi side of the plot but the bullying seemed to go on a bit too much in my opinion. I already felt sorry for the main character and her disease while being a walking experiment her whole life that I didn’t need the extreme amount of teenage drama.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Finding Jade by Mary Jennifer Payne
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In the year 2030 the Earth has undergone many changes due to the changes in the climate, a lot of the world has become uninhabitable and there is much debate on what to do with the refugees. Fourteen year old Jasmine Guzman lives in an habitable area but she is still trying to cope with the abduction of her twin sister when the girls were ten.

Along with the loss of her sister Jasmine’s mother is battling Lupus so Jasmine has had to grow up rather quickly. When sent to a new school Jasmine’s whole world is turned upside down when she finds out that she is actually a Seer with powers and that her sister is trapped in the Place-in-Between where demons dwell.

Finding Jade is a book that it became rather obvious to not judge books by their covers. Looking at this one I would say the book would be about the abduction of a young girl named Jade but while it sort of falls in that path it veered pretty far away when you add in it’s a not to distant dystopian read along with adding in special powers and demons. A rather odd combination but I actually enjoyed that this one went way out on a limb and claimed it’s own story to not feel like I was reading something I had before.

Now as far as the dystopian aspect of this book it wasn’t really given a whole lot of depth to it but what you do know is this one is taking place only 13-14 years from now and when it’s been a constant debate on the global impacts of our climate changing it really is somewhat believable that the world could end up this way. On the other hand with the rest of this story you do learn a bit more about what had happened to Jade and how Jasmine finds out her powers and this whole world of demons and angels she didn’t know existed.

Overall, I found this one got off to a sort of slow start for a couple of chapters but once it picked up it became a unique mix of genres that I found really interesting.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.