Carries Book Reviews

My Junior Year of Loathing
Jennifer DiGiovanni
Published by: Swoon Romance
Publication date: October 25th 2016
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult

Junior year is supposed to be tough. Exams, term papers, homework, college tours, and participation in extra-curricular activities can all add up to non-stop stress. But Melinda Banner has goals to achieve and dreams to make real. This year, she’ll be unstoppable. But even over achievers need a break.

While walking in the woods to take a break from the stress of it all, Melinda meets a boy named Connor. After a few more run-ins, the two settle into an uneasy friendship, if you can even call it that.

But Connor’s closed and mysterious. Whenever Melinda asks too many questions, he suddenly has to go or is no longer interested in talking. When they’re together, she’s torn between wanting him to open up and running away as fast as she can. Still she can’t seem to shake her budding interest in him.

Connor has his own way of looking at the world, and his views often conflict with Melinda’s practical nature. Can you like someone and loathe them at the same time? Is he even worth the emotional tug on her heartstrings or distraction from all things Junior year?

And, as if she needs another project right now, Melinda starts to obsess over the abandoned estate she passes on the way to school each day. Between Connor and the old estate, Melinda’s beginning to think she’s taking on too much.

But Melinda’s smart. She finds a way to indulge her interest in the estate and fulfill her obligations. She will uncover the truth behind the aging edifice for an epic article in the school newspaper.

But when her investigation reveals a connection between Connor and a tragedy long-since forgotten, Melinda has a choice: put off her junior year achievements to save a local landmark and a boy who constantly pushes her away or put them both out of her mind for good and focus on making the grade.

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EXCERPT:

My eyes land on the monstrous wall running the length of the block ahead of us. What was once red brick has now faded to ashy gray and tan, adorned with splotches of green lichen. To me, the Westerly Estate has always looked completely out of place in Harmony, like someone froze time and plunked a long-forgotten fairy tale castle in the center of mid-town Manhattan.

Becca’s renegade curls swat the side of my forehead when she turns away from Will. “I’m sure you’ve heard the story behind the Westerly wall.”

“Something about Old Man Westerly building it because he hated his daughter’s boyfriend?” The memory is fuzzy, but I recall my father telling me about the local legend when I was younger.

Will laughs. “Dude must have been a fun parent.”

Becca nods. Finally, they agree on something. “Judging by the state of the wall, the estate behind it must be a total wasteland. I wonder why the mayor doesn’t force whoever owns it now to fix it up.”

I straighten my spine, searching for tall stone turrets, perhaps the tower of London, or at least a mansion like Brian’s. Only the top floor of a tired-looking manor house with faded clapboard siding and a shingled roof pokes over the top of the brick barrier. In the distance, I spot a redwood barn and two corroded metal silos.

“Old man Westerly built the wall a long time ago—maybe the seventies,” Becca says. “According to the story my gran told me, he completely despised his daughter’s boyfriend.”

“Yeah, and I bet the wall was his bright idea to separate them,” Will cuts in.

“All that to keep out one guy?” I ask.

“He was probably her one true love.” Becca enhances the mood by fluttering her eyelashes faster than a crazed hummingbird’s wings. “Then, right after the wall was finished, the Westerly family moved away and sold the land. Apparently, there was some sort of accident.”

“So the place is cursed,” Will says.

“Supposedly haunted,” Becca adds.

Will huffs. “No one believes the ghost stuff. But whoever bought it made a bad investment. Must be a toxic-waste dump or something if you can’t build on it.”

The light switches to green. Will punches the gas, and Becca slams into me, her shoulder knocking mine.

“You’re out of control, Gamen,” Becca gripes. “Sorry, Mel.”

Two cars roll through the intersection before the light shines yellow and then red. Will swears under his breath. “First-day-of-school traffic. Everybody wants to show off their new wheels.”

“Do you really think there’s a ghost?” I turn to Becca.

“Of course there’s a ghost,” she says. “People see her all the time.”

“Like who?” Will asks, arching an eyebrow.

She shrugs. “Just people.”

“Name one person. Have you seen her?”

“No, Will,” she answers with a sigh. “But everyone knows about her, so the story must be true. She’s waiting for her true love to come back and rescue her.”

Will barks out a laugh. “True love. Right. More like a sex fiend.”

“Awesome. We’re talking about ghost sex now,” Becca says.

“I wonder what the real story is,” I say. “The truth could make a great headline for the paper. If I find out what really happened to the estate, maybe someone would clean the place up. I’m sure it was beautiful, back in the good old days.”

“Don’t you have enough to worry about this year?” Becca asks. “You can’t spend time researching a story like that. You’re assistant editor of Out of Tune. You’re on student council. You play basketball and run a whole bunch of other clubs. Our school would not exist without you.”

“You’re exaggerating.” My face flames.

The light flips to green, and Will floors the gas. As we pull away from the Westerly Estate, I glance at the second story of the old manor house. A shadowy profile appears in the left window. I blink, stare hard, and blink again. It’s gone.

Author Bio:

Jennifer DiGiovanni is the author of the School Dayz Series. When she’s not writing or reading, she likes to try new sports and activities from archery to ballroom dancing, with varying degrees of success.

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City of Wind
Jordan Rivet
(Steel and Fire, #4)
Publication date: December 20th 2016
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

Dara Ruminor is a serious young duelist in the mountaintop kingdom of Vertigon, a land of dramatic cliffs and misty peaks where mysterious Fire magic runs through the stones like blood. The secluded kingdom has been peaceful for a hundred years. Swords are used for sport, and successful athletes live like kings as long as the crowds love them.

Eighteen-year-old Dara needs to find a wealthy patron in order to duel professionally and avoid a lifetime working in her parents’ Fire Lantern shop. Her efforts are disrupted when her coach asks her to train with Prince Siv, an infuriating—if handsome—young man who refuses to take the sport as seriously as she does. But the prince’s life may be in danger, and soon Dara will discover that Vertigon isn’t as peaceful as she thought.

As threats emerge from the shadows, Dara will have to raise her sword to protect Siv—if he doesn’t irritate her so much that she decides to run him through herself.

From the author of the Seabound Chronicles comes a new fantasy series about sword fighting, cur-dragons, molten Fire magic, and one young woman’s effort to prove herself.

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Author Bio:

Jordan Rivet is an American author of swashbuckling fantasy and post-apocalyptic adventures set at sea. Originally from Arizona, she lives in Hong Kong with her husband. She was a fencer for many years and hasn’t made up her mind about whether the pen is mightier than the sword.

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Untraceable by S.R. Johannes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Grace has lived in the Smoky Mountains her whole life where her father was a forest ranger who has taken her out daily teaching her tracking and wilderness survival. When Grace’s father went missing a few months ago she refused to give up hope that he wouldn’t be out there and alive surviving against all the odds.

Fighting the law enforcement who have chalked Grace’s father’s disappearance up to an accidental drowning on very little evidence Grace finds herself still searching the woods daily. When Grace runs into some trouble in the woods and is rescued by a handsome stranger she can’t help but find herself liking him but doesn’t want to lose focus on her father and her search either.

Untraceable is the first book in the Nature of Grace series which is a fast paced young adult read with a mix of mystery/thriller along with a bit of romance. The book moved at a fairly good pace all throughout and was a rather quick read for me.

I did have the feeling that the book seemed a tad predictable with what was going on in the story at any given time through the middle. But I will say this one was more than a little surprising with how everything turned out in the end and with a bit of a lead in to the next book in the series it was quite engaging.

Overall, a fast paced young adult mystery/thriller with a bit of romance in the mix. As much as I thought I saw the ending coming it had a nice surprise waiting, would definitely be interested in book 2.

I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Don’t Lie to Me
Amber A. Bardan
(Bad for You #3)
Published by: Carina Press
Publication date: October 24th 2016
Genres: Adult, Romance, Thriller

Amber Bardan returns with a heart-stopping third installment in her high-octane, highly addictive Bad For You series

A fling with her best friend’s reclusive business partner should’ve been harmless.

When Emma meets him, the only way she’s looking to be tied down is in the literal sense. But Avner—shady hacker, off-the-books investigator, occasional spy—takes her breath away. He’s the first man who doesn’t turn to mush under her sexual spell: a fact that makes what’s between them very different, and very real.

Beautiful and uninhibited, Emma is everything Avner thought she would be and more. Yet his deadly past and dark duties can never be forgotten…not even as he succumbs to their seductive intimacy. But for the first time he’s after something of his own, as well.

And now that he’s found Emma, he’ll protect her, no matter what. Because anything worth loving is worth fighting for.

But nothing about Avner is remotely harmless.

Soon, Avner has infiltrated Emma’s personal life, stalled her career and nearly destroyed everything she’s worked for—all in the name of protection. Desperate and heartbroken, drawn into a secret criminal underworld in her quest for understanding, Emma discovers the truth: Avner’s secrets are far more devastating than his lies.

Book Three of the Bad For You series

One-click with confidence. This title is part of the Carina Press Romance Promise: all the romance you’re looking for with an HEA/HFN. It’s a promise! Find out more at CarinaPress.com/RomancePromise

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EXCERPT:

I caught sight of his traveling jaw—and my own fell open because this was not the right jaw. This jaw wasn’t Kal-El on the front of a comic book, it was sharper, the cheeks above it hollow.

My hand fell away.

His body followed the turn of his head. His cologne hit me like a jolt of static. Spicy, and so musky and male, maybe some of that scent was actually him. I blinked at the open shirt collar suddenly in front of my face. Most of the time I came level with men, a balance I adored. But today I stared at a collarbone. A deep biting groove at the base of a long, wide neck. Twin tendons rose up in a V on either side of a prominent Adam’s apple I could lean forward and sink my teeth right into. The thrill of being stood over struck some place deep in my core. Flipped the mechanics of how I preferred this male/female thing to be. Like maybe if I went to his room—and I knew right then without having seen his face that I would be going to this man’s room—I might actually let him be on top.

Pure lunacy. The top was my spot. I tilted my chin and met a dark gaze. His brown eyes shone down at me, flecked with yellow like they were lit from behind. He smiled, and grooves made crescents on either side of his mouth. Mischief sprawled across his features so catastrophic that I could almost hear a chorus of hallelujahs.

This is going to be fun.

He smiled wider.

My womb panged. Yep, so much fun would be happening. So much fun. Laughter bubbled out of my lips, because really all I could do was laugh. His brows shifted, his gaze moving over me as though he’d never seen a person laugh before. Then his chest rumbled and the sound he released rushed straight between my thighs.

My cheeks burned from grinning.

“Buona sera,” he said.

The words were familiar, but I no longer remembered what they meant. In fact, I’d lost all languages. His lips parted, and he spoke again. My gaze was sucked to his mouth. To the way his lips curved up so completely, every tooth revealed all the way to his molars.

I was going to have awesome sex very, very soon. I felt it in my bones—the amazingness of the impending sex. Actually I felt it in my cunt, but whatever. I love my life. His lips shuffled across his teeth as he talked, words smooth and almost creamy compared to when he spoke Arabic on the phone. The tone was the same, husky and low. I had no idea what he said, but I kept on smiling.

Author Bio:

After spending years imagining fictional adventures, Amber finally found a way to turn daydreaming into a productive habit. She now spends her time in a coffee-fuelled adrenaline haze, writing romance with a thriller edge. 

She lives with her husband and children in semi-rural Australia, where if she peers outside at the right moment she might just see a kangaroo bounce by.

Amber is an award winning writer, Amazon Bestselling Author, and member of Romance Writers of Australia, Melbourne Romance Writers Guild, and Writers Victoria.

Find out more about Amber by visiting http://www.amberabardan.com

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Playing Pretend
Juliana Haygert
Publication date: October 24th 2016
Genres: New Adult, Romance

**New extended (13,000 more words) and re-edited version!**

As the Governor’s daughter, Charlotte McClain is an expert in playing pretend. High society, the men her mother shoves in her direction and a Pre-Law major are all a part of her perfect pretense. But when she pretends to be a nobody during Spring Break, she meets someone who rocks her world.

Mason Rowell knows heartbreak and Spring Break don’t mesh well, so he allows the mysterious Charlotte to seduce him. What should have been a fling, results in something deeper. After Spring Break has long since passed, he moves to Washington to pursue his graduate degree, but what he never expected to find living among the rich and pompous, was the girl who gave him the strength to change and the desire to start anew.

When the guy Charlotte can’t forget goes from a sensual memory to temptation in the flesh, her facade is put to the test. If she surrenders to his charms, she risks ruining her mother’s perfect career and master plan. Playing pretend is what Charlotte does best, but how long can she pretend she doesn’t love who man that made her proud of her true self?

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Author Bio:

While Juliana Haygert dreams of being Wonder Woman, Buffy, or a blood elf shadow priest, she settles for the less exciting–but equally gratifying–life of a wife, mother, and author. Thousands of miles away from her former home in Brazil, she now resides in Connecticut and spends her days writing about kick-ass heroines and the heroes who drive them crazy.

Subscribe to Juliana’s newsletter to stay up-to-date with new releases: http://eepurl.com/CKsmX

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