Carries Book Reviews

Welcome to the Release Day Celebration for

McGrave’s Hotel by Steve Bryant

presented by Tantrum Books!

Be sure to enter the giveaway found at the end of the post!

Happy Book Birthday, Steve!

It’s 1936, and nearly twelve-year-old JAMES ELLIOTT is a bellhop at McGrave’s Hotel, there a year since the night his parents died while on a spy mission into Nazi Germany.

JAMES craves a goodbye message from his parents, but is distracted by troublesome guests who require his help.

Assistance with locating a missing and priceless mummy, wrangling mutant spiders, and attaching the head of a bridegroom is just the kind of hospitality guests have come to expect while at McGrave’s hotel where guests are dying to check in.

But over the course of one frightful evening, James will team with Death’s daughter to fight Nazi sympathizers, monsters, and the undead in this riveting, deathly, historical adventure story unlike any you’ve read before.

McGrave’s Hotel by Steve Bryant

Publication Date: October 11, 2016

Publisher: Tantrum Books

Google Play | BAM | Chapters | Indies | Amazon | B&N | Kobo | TBD | iBooks

Miss Charles was already dressed for her evening duties in a long black gown, and her dark wavy hair reflected the dancing flames of the candles. “Sorry, no communications for you this time,” she said, glancing at him fondly. “The Other Side is rather quiet tonight.”

“Hi, Miss Charles,” James said. “Gosh, it looks as if we are going to be extra busy this evening. The hotel is full up. Mr. Nash says things could get interesting.”

“Want to know for sure?” Miss Charles asked.

Miss Charles possessed a versatile arsenal of techniques for telling fortunes including star gazing, palm reading, interpreting tea leaves, casting bones, tossing dice, analyzing bumps on the head, and gazing into crystal balls. Yet of all the arcane methods available to her, her favorite was interpreting cards drawn from a tarot deck.

She didn’t give James the chance to refuse. She produced her well-worn deck and sprang the cards from one hand to the other in a cascade, as a magician might.

“A quick reading,” she said as she spread some of the cards face down across the table. “On the house. Miss Charles knows all.”

She instructed James to slide three cards from the spread.

“These are the cards of the major arcana,” she said. “They never lie.”

James held his breath as she turned the first of his cards face up. It depicted a lady with a sword, sitting next to a pair of scales.

“Justice,” Miss Charles said. Her voice had become deeper, more mysterious. “Interesting. Tonight, you will witness an important act of justice.”

James wondered if he should take Miss Charles’s utterances seriously. Some of the hotel staff thought she merely made up her little prophecies, telling customers what they wanted to hear. Others thought her prophecies were dead on and feared them. Whatever did she mean by justice?

The second card showed a man and a woman holding hands.

“The Lovers!” Miss Charles said. “Why, James, you never told me you had a girlfriend. It appears romance is in your future.”

“Ro-mance?” he said. “I’m eleven! I don’t like girls. I don’t even know any girls. I think the cards are screwy tonight.”

James immediately realized his statement wasn’t quite true. He had known a girl once, the year he was eight, the year he and his family lived in Brazil. Her name was Renata, and she had black hair. The two of them had had real adventures, boating alone on the Amazon despite seventeen-foot-long crocs and even longer anacondas.

But she was only a summer’s best friend, not a romance. Not like Miss Charles and Mr. Nash, the night manager. They were sweet on each other, according to hotel gossip. James wondered what it would be like to be grown up and have a girlfriend like Miss Charles. She was very pretty, but she was also kind of spooky. She knew things.

Miss Charles turned over the third and final card, and her face paled as she beheld its image: a skeleton astride a horse, carrying a scythe.

“Death!” she gasped. “I’m sorry; you’re right, James. The cards are making no sense tonight. We shouldn’t have done this. Silly of me to have tried.”

She hurried the cards back into a pile. She was clearly disturbed at having revealed such a dark indicator.

“Death?” James said. “Don’t worry about it, Miss Charles. Haven’t you noticed? Death pretty much turns up here every night. This is McGrave’s.”

For McGrave’s was indeed unlike any other hotel in Gotham.

Steve Bryant is a new novelist, but a veteran author of books of card tricks. He founded a monthly internet magazine for magicians containing news, reviews, magic tricks, humor, and fiction, and he frequently contributes biographical cover articles to the country’s two leading magic journals. He lives in Bloomington, Indiana.

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The Billionaire Shifter’s Virgin Mate
Diana Seere
(Billionaire Shifters Club, #2)
Publication date: October 11th 2016
Genres: Adult, Paranormal

McDermott “Derry” Stanton is an old-money playboy who sleeps his way through half the world, one willing woman at a time. A bear shifter, he never hibernates alone. Sometimes even one woman isn’t enough. But when this irresistible billionaire meets Jessica Murphy, everything changes. The man who views life as a female feast suddenly acquires more discerning tastes. The only woman who can satisfy him now…

Is Jessica Murphy. He must have her. Immediately. Frequently.

Jess, however, doesn’t want any man, least of all a spoiled playboy who’s about to become her brother-in-law. A pre-med student with deep ambitions and a past filled with painful rejection, she’s all business.

Too bad Derry Stanton is her business. A frequent customer at the Platinum Club where she waits tables, and now the best man to her maid of honor in her sister’s wedding, the guy is everywhere. And pretty soon, she finds herself everywhere, too. In his arms, on his bed, between the sheets….

But sex is the last thing she needs.

Or it was until she meets Derry and starts hearing the Beat. And feeling a connection she’d never imagined, never dreamed, never hoped for. It’s all too unbearably good.

The Billionaire Shifter’s Virgin Mate is the second book in the Billionaire Shifters Club series by Diana Seere, the paranormal pen name for two New York Times and USA Today bestselling romantic comedy authors. This book is a standalone *within* a series.

* * *

Welcome to the most exclusive club in the world. The Novo Club. Novo is Latin for “change.” Our members prefer the word “shift” though.

It’s the hottest club in town.

The price of membership is your heart and your secrecy.

All you need to do to join is to be loved beyond your wildest imagination by someone powerful with an…alpha side so primal it’s in their blood.

Are you ready?

Good. Then let’s begin.

The Billionaire Shifters Club is a new series featuring the five Stanton siblings, four brothers and one sister who are all part of an ancient shifter family living in modern America. The subterranean club-within-a-club beneath the streets of Boston, Massachusetts holds secrets only the Stantons and their fellow shifters know.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / iBooks / Google Play

—

EXCERPT:

Jess Murphy walked through the wide doors into the opulent lobby below the Platinum Club, surprised by the butterflies fluttering in her stomach. The building was more luxurious than she’d expected, every inch of glass, steel, and marble gleaming like freshly minted coins. Well-dressed men and women hurried around her over the shiny floors.

“Can I help you?” asked a man from behind a vast reception desk decorated with fruit and flowers. He wore a black suit, had gray hair, and sounded like a British butler in a classic film.

“I’m Jessica Murphy,” she said. “I’m, uh, it’s my first night working at the Platinum Club.”

The man tapped something on his screen. “You are expected on eleven,” he said. “You can take either the public or the service elevator.”

She glanced at the posh lobby, the posh people. “I’ll take the service one. Where is it?”

He gestured at a side door behind him.

“Thank you,” she said, taking a deep breath as she walked across the marble floors.

Jess had to remind herself that this was only a waitressing job. There was no reason to be nervous; this wasn’t an important career move for her, just a way to pay for medical school. Because the club’s clientele was so elite, the job paid insanely well, and incoming staff members, at all levels, were screened meticulously.

In fact, she’d been hired almost a month ago, yet this was the first time she was stepping foot in the place. Instead of working tables right away, as she’d expected, she’d had to visit a notary and sign a dozen nondisclosure agreements—and then submit to a background check, personality test, and three phone interviews.

Now, finally, she could actually begin working.

She walked through a doorway into a space that looked older than the lobby, found a vintage-elevator call button, and popped a mint into her mouth as she waited for the car to arrive.

She could imagine her sister Lilah feeling exactly how Jess was feeling now, fighting her nerves on her first day as she thought of all the famous, powerful people upstairs.

Lilah had worked at the Platinum Club until last month, when she’d shacked up with her billionaire love god, Gavin Stanton. In fact, they were already planning their wedding. No more money worries for her.

No more worries of any kind, apparently.

The changes that had come over Lilah in the past couple of months made Jess uncomfortable. She was glad Lilah was happy, but it had happened much too fast. At one point, her sister had been so sex-crazed she’d claimed her rich boyfriend had turned into an animal.

Jess sighed. Lilah had always been too lusty for her own good, too easily enchanted by a pretty face.

Gavin Stanton certainly had that. And the rest of him wasn’t bad either. Not Jess’s type, but… not bad.

Shaking her head, Jess walked into the car—a gorgeous old thing with wood paneling—and pressed the button for the eleventh floor as instructed. Time to focus on the job at hand. Love was the last thing on her agenda. And sex was second to last. If she was going to survive the long slog through med school and internships to become a doctor, she couldn’t get distracted with trivialities. She had to keep her eye on the prize. Work, school, work, school, work. And more work.

The elevator stopped, not on the eleventh floor, but the tenth. Jess looked down at herself, uneasy with the tight jeans and T-shirt she wore. They’d told her the club would provide a uniform when she arrived. Hopefully whoever joined her in the elevator was just another wage slave, not anyone important in management. She wanted to make a good impression on her first day. Her impressively curvy figure looked respectable in formal clothes, but in a T-shirt, her F-cup chest had a knack for distracting people.

Damn, I should’ve worn a jacket. But it had been so hot today. Autumn in Boston could still get steamy.

The doors slid open, revealing an extremely tall, thickly muscular man with long black hair and bright blue eyes that slid over her body so thoroughly she sucked in a breath.

Talk about steamy. Now this guy was her type. He was huge. Dark. Powerful.

Dangerous.

She felt beads of sweat form at the small of her back, under her breasts, her arms. What had he bathed in that morning—testosterone? She could smell it. She could taste it. She couldn’t help sucking it in, breath after breath, eager for another hit.

A slow smile spread over his full, sensual lips. “Why, hello there,” he said. Was that a British accent?

Every alarm bell she had was clamoring so loudly in her head, she was amazed she’d been able to hear him speak.

“Hi,” she said, stepping aside instinctively. Getting too close to this man would be a mistake.

“I don’t believe we’ve had the pleasure.” Oh, crap. It was a British accent. He held out a hand. “McDermott Stanton. My intimates call me Derry.”

Author Bio:

Diana Seere was raised by wolves in the forests outside Boston and San Francisco. The only time she spends in packs these days is at romance writing conventions. In truth, Diana is two New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors who decided to write shifter romance and have more fun. You can find “her” on Facebook at Diana Seere’s Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/dianaseere. Sign up for her New Releases and Sales email newsletter here: eepurl.com/beUZnr

GIVEAWAY!
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The Billionaire Shifter’s Virgin Mate
Diana Seere
(Billionaire Shifters Club, #2)
Publication date: October 11th 2016
Genres: Adult, Paranormal

McDermott “Derry” Stanton is an old-money playboy who sleeps his way through half the world, one willing woman at a time. A bear shifter, he never hibernates alone. Sometimes even one woman isn’t enough. But when this irresistible billionaire meets Jessica Murphy, everything changes. The man who views life as a female feast suddenly acquires more discerning tastes. The only woman who can satisfy him now…

Is Jessica Murphy. He must have her. Immediately. Frequently.

Jess, however, doesn’t want any man, least of all a spoiled playboy who’s about to become her brother-in-law. A pre-med student with deep ambitions and a past filled with painful rejection, she’s all business.

Too bad Derry Stanton is her business. A frequent customer at the Platinum Club where she waits tables, and now the best man to her maid of honor in her sister’s wedding, the guy is everywhere. And pretty soon, she finds herself everywhere, too. In his arms, on his bed, between the sheets….

But sex is the last thing she needs.

Or it was until she meets Derry and starts hearing the Beat. And feeling a connection she’d never imagined, never dreamed, never hoped for. It’s all too unbearably good.

The Billionaire Shifter’s Virgin Mate is the second book in the Billionaire Shifters Club series by Diana Seere, the paranormal pen name for two New York Times and USA Today bestselling romantic comedy authors. This book is a standalone *within* a series.

* * *

Welcome to the most exclusive club in the world. The Novo Club. Novo is Latin for “change.” Our members prefer the word “shift” though.

It’s the hottest club in town.

The price of membership is your heart and your secrecy.

All you need to do to join is to be loved beyond your wildest imagination by someone powerful with an…alpha side so primal it’s in their blood.

Are you ready?

Good. Then let’s begin.

The Billionaire Shifters Club is a new series featuring the five Stanton siblings, four brothers and one sister who are all part of an ancient shifter family living in modern America. The subterranean club-within-a-club beneath the streets of Boston, Massachusetts holds secrets only the Stantons and their fellow shifters know.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / iBooks / Google Play

—

EXCERPT:

Jess Murphy walked through the wide doors into the opulent lobby below the Platinum Club, surprised by the butterflies fluttering in her stomach. The building was more luxurious than she’d expected, every inch of glass, steel, and marble gleaming like freshly minted coins. Well-dressed men and women hurried around her over the shiny floors.

“Can I help you?” asked a man from behind a vast reception desk decorated with fruit and flowers. He wore a black suit, had gray hair, and sounded like a British butler in a classic film.

“I’m Jessica Murphy,” she said. “I’m, uh, it’s my first night working at the Platinum Club.”

The man tapped something on his screen. “You are expected on eleven,” he said. “You can take either the public or the service elevator.”

She glanced at the posh lobby, the posh people. “I’ll take the service one. Where is it?”

He gestured at a side door behind him.

“Thank you,” she said, taking a deep breath as she walked across the marble floors.

Jess had to remind herself that this was only a waitressing job. There was no reason to be nervous; this wasn’t an important career move for her, just a way to pay for medical school. Because the club’s clientele was so elite, the job paid insanely well, and incoming staff members, at all levels, were screened meticulously.

In fact, she’d been hired almost a month ago, yet this was the first time she was stepping foot in the place. Instead of working tables right away, as she’d expected, she’d had to visit a notary and sign a dozen nondisclosure agreements—and then submit to a background check, personality test, and three phone interviews.

Now, finally, she could actually begin working.

She walked through a doorway into a space that looked older than the lobby, found a vintage-elevator call button, and popped a mint into her mouth as she waited for the car to arrive.

She could imagine her sister Lilah feeling exactly how Jess was feeling now, fighting her nerves on her first day as she thought of all the famous, powerful people upstairs.

Lilah had worked at the Platinum Club until last month, when she’d shacked up with her billionaire love god, Gavin Stanton. In fact, they were already planning their wedding. No more money worries for her.

No more worries of any kind, apparently.

The changes that had come over Lilah in the past couple of months made Jess uncomfortable. She was glad Lilah was happy, but it had happened much too fast. At one point, her sister had been so sex-crazed she’d claimed her rich boyfriend had turned into an animal.

Jess sighed. Lilah had always been too lusty for her own good, too easily enchanted by a pretty face.

Gavin Stanton certainly had that. And the rest of him wasn’t bad either. Not Jess’s type, but… not bad.

Shaking her head, Jess walked into the car—a gorgeous old thing with wood paneling—and pressed the button for the eleventh floor as instructed. Time to focus on the job at hand. Love was the last thing on her agenda. And sex was second to last. If she was going to survive the long slog through med school and internships to become a doctor, she couldn’t get distracted with trivialities. She had to keep her eye on the prize. Work, school, work, school, work. And more work.

The elevator stopped, not on the eleventh floor, but the tenth. Jess looked down at herself, uneasy with the tight jeans and T-shirt she wore. They’d told her the club would provide a uniform when she arrived. Hopefully whoever joined her in the elevator was just another wage slave, not anyone important in management. She wanted to make a good impression on her first day. Her impressively curvy figure looked respectable in formal clothes, but in a T-shirt, her F-cup chest had a knack for distracting people.

Damn, I should’ve worn a jacket. But it had been so hot today. Autumn in Boston could still get steamy.

The doors slid open, revealing an extremely tall, thickly muscular man with long black hair and bright blue eyes that slid over her body so thoroughly she sucked in a breath.

Talk about steamy. Now this guy was her type. He was huge. Dark. Powerful.

Dangerous.

She felt beads of sweat form at the small of her back, under her breasts, her arms. What had he bathed in that morning—testosterone? She could smell it. She could taste it. She couldn’t help sucking it in, breath after breath, eager for another hit.

A slow smile spread over his full, sensual lips. “Why, hello there,” he said. Was that a British accent?

Every alarm bell she had was clamoring so loudly in her head, she was amazed she’d been able to hear him speak.

“Hi,” she said, stepping aside instinctively. Getting too close to this man would be a mistake.

“I don’t believe we’ve had the pleasure.” Oh, crap. It was a British accent. He held out a hand. “McDermott Stanton. My intimates call me Derry.”

Author Bio:

Diana Seere was raised by wolves in the forests outside Boston and San Francisco. The only time she spends in packs these days is at romance writing conventions. In truth, Diana is two New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors who decided to write shifter romance and have more fun. You can find “her” on Facebook at Diana Seere’s Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/dianaseere. Sign up for her New Releases and Sales email newsletter here: eepurl.com/beUZnr

GIVEAWAY!
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Hello Readers! Welcome to the Release Day Celebration for

The Extremely Epic Viking Tale of Yondersaay

by Aoife Lennon-Ritche

presented by Tantrum Books!

Be sure to enter the giveaway found at the end of the post!

Happy Book Birthday, Aoife!

This winter, siblings Ruairi and Dani Miller visit their ancestral homeland: the legendary Viking island of Yondersaay. Even with Granny Miller’s storytelling to pass the time, the pair manage to find trouble. In less than twenty-four hours of their arrival, Ruairi is mistaken for the lost Boy King of Denmark, kidnapped by Vikings, and scheduled to be sacrificed at sundown. Granny isn’t very pleased.

But when everyone except them goes Viking, the three turn to Granny’s epic tales of the legends of Yondersaay, The Gifts of Odin, and King Dudo the Mightily Impressive for clues. But not all stories end happily, and Ruari, Dani, and Granny will have to write their own happy ending.

The Princess Bride meets Vikings in this enchanted tale of high adventure, buried treasure, villainous treachery, violent ends, and – of course – true love. Aoife Lennon-Ritchie’s debut middle grade novel, THE EXTREMELY EPIC VIKING TALE OF YONDERSAAY, is a humorous and heartwarming story for readers ages 9+.

The Extremely Epic Viking Tale of Yondersaay

by Aoife Lennon-Ritchie

Publication Date: October 11, 2016

Publisher: Tantrum Books

Google Play | BAM | Chapters | Indies | Amazon | B&N | Kobo | TBD | iBooks

The King of the Danes

“It wasn’t today or yesterday,” Granny began again. “It was a long, long time ago when the world was warmer, and some believed the sun moved around the earth. There was a Viking of old called King Dudo the Mightily Impressive, lord over all Denmark. King Dudo was a big man, broad and tall, with tanned skin tight across bulging muscles and long reddish-blond hair that fell in thick waves to his elbows—a mighty warrior. All who fought with him worshipped him, and those who fought against him trembled in fear at the very sight of him. An adventurer, he pillaged and plundered as far north as the turn in the world and as far south as the oceans of sand.

“One bright autumn, King Dudo and his warriors set sail from their homeland to the northern-most seas of the world. They wore thick layers of skins and furs against the cold of the northern air.

“Among their number on this westward voyage was a famous monk from the lower lands called Brother Brian the Devout and Handy with Numbers. Brother Brian had the gift of navigation and was an expert star-reader. His job was to guide King Dudo and his Viking warriors to the northern lands.

“After roiling upon the waves for many weeks, their supplies diminishing, and cramp and fatigue setting in, the Vikings were anxious for the sight of land. Surprised they had not found land yet, some began to doubt Brother Brian’s ability. A whispering campaign started at the backs of the longships: “Brother Brian has gotten us lost!”

“Now, while it is true that Brother Brian was tasked with getting the Vikings safely to and from the lands of the north, only King Dudo knew that Brian had another task—another secret task.

“It had long been suspected that in the middle of the northern-most seas, between the homelands of the Danes and the far-off lands, below the turn in the world but beyond the craggy cliffs of Land of the Scots, lay an island. This island was often the subject of the songs and tales of the kingdom’s official storytellers, the court skalders. The stories described it as an enchanted island, cloaked in secrecy. The island was called Yondersaay.

“Viking legend tells that after death, the most worthy Viking warriors would meet in Valhalla, the Hall of the Dead, for a final battle. Anything a Viking had buried in his earthly life would be his once more. His true armor, weaponry, or wealth stayed buried in the earth while its ghostly copy awaited him in the afterlife. So it was, every Viking, before he died, buried his prized weapons and his most coveted jewels in preparation for this final battle.

Irish actor and writer Aoife Lennon-Ritchie studied at the Sorbonne in Paris, the Universita di Catania in Italy, University College Dublin in Ireland, and the University of Cape Town in South Africa. Aoife holds diplomas, degrees and a Masters in the multiple fields of business and information technology, English and classic literature, theatre and creative writing; she looks forward to doing her PhD in Film and Media. Always searching for new adventures, Aoife has lived in the UK, France, Greece, Italy, and several US cities, including Chicago, New York and Pittsburgh. She speaks three (and a half) languages. Although she was once an investment banker, she much prefers acting, fencing, writing, and being a mum. She currently lives in Cape Town with her handsome husband and two small children.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Pinterest

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Saving Cruz
Alexis James
Publication date: October 4th 2016
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Hate is controlling. Dominating. Powerful.

And so is Cruz Moran.

Sexy Spaniard Cruz Moran has it all….money, success, and strong family ties. The handsome CEO with the sharp mind and even sharper tongue, is driven to succeed at every level. Ghosts haunt him. Painful memories, he can’t seem to avoid. His demons remind him of the tragic choices he made years ago. His life of solitude… a small price to pay for what he’s done. He avoids relationships of any kind, choosing instead to submerse himself in his company.

Mia Elliott is innocent… a sweet, exotic beauty who walks straight into Cruz’s path, and knocks him completely off his feet. She is instantly intimidated by him, and rightly so. He is brusque, rude, and quite possibly the most haunted man she’s ever laid her eyes on. He’s also beautifully complicated, in every single way. Losing her heart to him comes all too easily. Finding a way into his heart, will prove more challenging than she ever imagined. Saving him from himself seems impossible, but so worth it.

Goodreads / Amazon

—

Author Bio:

Alexis James lives on the beautiful Central California coast. When she’s not spending time with her hubby of almost 30 years or her amazing kids, you can find her tapping away on the computer. She loves reading, spending time with family, reading, camping, reading….and writing too! She enjoys a good date night, an inexpensive glass of wine, and any story that can make her smile and/or cry.

Alexis’s first novel, “Losing Faith”, was released in September 2014. Her second novel, “Loving Emma”, is a standalone, though it does feature some characters from “Losing Faith”.

She invites you to visit her author pages on Facebook and Goodreads, and her website: alexisjamesauthor.com. You can also follow her on Twitter (@alexisjames27) or you can email her at: alexisjamesauthor@gmail.com.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

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