Carries Book Reviews

Dark Abigail
Tish Thawer
(The Women of Purgatory #2)
Publication date: September 27th 2016
Genres: New Adult, Paranormal, Romance

Will she remain the dark assassin, or fight the evil growing within?

There’s a new player in Hell who’s plunged Purgatory straight into chaos.

Dark Abigail strikes terror in all whom she targets, but when Raven and Holli discover who’s really pulling her strings, Abigail learns that being good at her job isn’t something to be proud of, but instead, something to fear.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

Raven’s Breath – book 1 – is FREE when you subscribe to Tish’s newsletter!

—

Author Bio:

Award Winning Author, Tish Thawer, writes paranormal romances for all ages. From her first paranormal cartoon, Isis, to the Twilight phenomenon, myth, magic, and superpowers have always held a special place in her heart.

Tish is known for her detailed world-building and magic-laced stories. Her work has been compared to Nora Roberts, Sam Cheever, and Charlaine Harris. She has received a RONE Award nomination (Reward of Novel Excellence), as well as nominations for Best Cover, Reader’s Choice, and Author of the Year (Fantasy, Dystopian, Mystery).

Tish has worked as a computer consultant, photographer, and graphic designer, and is a columnist for Gliterary Girl media and has bylines in RT Magazine and Literary Lunes Magazine. She resides in Arizona with her husband and three wonderful children and is represented by Gandolfo, Helin, and Fountain Literary Management.

You can find Tish on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/AuthorTishThawer

A common FAQ: “How do you pronounce her last name?”

Answer: Think “Bower” or “Thow-er”. It’s Persian!

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Fireproof Girl
Loretta Lost
Publication date: September 29th 2016
Genres: Mystery, New Adult, Romance

Abandoned at birth, Sophie Shields grew up in abusive foster homes, escaping into books and computers for solace. When the constant danger became too much to bear, she ran away, thinking she could survive on her hacking skills alone.

That was until she met Cole Hunter. He became the only person she could trust: her family, her friend, her partner-in-crime. Her everything. After struggling through college and starting their lives together, she believed that nothing could ever tear them apart.

Until it did.

And she’ll do everything in her power to fix what is broken. If it isn’t too late…

———

When Cole was nine years old, he watched his whole family burn to death in a house fire. Fueled by years of obsession, he started one of the world’s leading architectural firms, with a mission to design homes resistant to fire, earthquakes, floods, and every threat known to man.

Sophie was his secret weapon. She was his purpose. Since they were teenagers, he was determined to build a better life for her, so she could finally be safe, and they could be together.

But disaster has always followed Cole around, ripping away everything he loves. This time, if he isn’t careful…

His enemies might just take him down.

Add to Goodreads

Author Bio:

Loretta Lost is a USA Today bestselling author who writes stories where very bad things happen to good people. Mystery, tragedy, and danger complicate her unique romances between characters who will do anything to protect each other.

In the two days of summer that she gets in Canada, she grows a garden of the hottest peppers in the world. She loves using these peppers to torture her guests and challenge their manhood. This could be why she isn’t married.

Subscribe to Loretta’s mailing list for updates: http://www.eepurl.com/O0WTL

You will also receive a FREE book as a gift for signing up!

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

Exchange of Power
Andrea Bills
Publication date: August 10th 2016
Genres: Adult, Romance, Suspense

Hannah Mackenzie is married to the love of her life Nick, and they’re beginning to think of starting of a family when that dream comes to a tragic end with the sudden death of her husband. Just when Hannah believes her grief will consume her, she finds her beloved basset hound Presley and her under attack at their home. When she calls in for help from her and Nick’s lifelong best friend Austin he comes over immediately.

Austin brings with him a truth that betrays everything Hannah ever believed and a very sexy bodyguard Jared Tully. Hannah is dealing with very raw emotions from her past while trying to deal with a very real attraction of the present. When it all comes to blows in ways she never would have dreamed she has to make a decision.

Hannah’s flung into a life she never knew existed along with Jared and Austin while they battle an unknown evil that’s targeting her. When they discover the truth they realize the stakes are high and very dangerous.

This is the first in the Power Series and sets the making for a new series that will be sure to keep you on the edge of your seat.

Goodreads / Amazon

—

EXCERPT:

He turned when he felt her eyes on him, “Like what you see?”

She felt herself blush immediately even though embarrassment was a little late at this point between them.

“I’m allowed to look.” She made her way over to him trying to look coy. She ran her fingers up his arm,” and touch.”

Jared grabbed her and pulled her over to straddle him.

“You’re allowed to do whatever the hell you please.” He sealed the statement with a kiss. When he finally pulled away Hannah was completely breathless. She started to take what there was of his workout shirt off of him when his phone rang. “Screw ‘em. I’ll call whoever it is back.”

“Oh good.” Hannah giggled as he started undressing her. They lips never left each other’s which made the process a little more complicated by fun.

Jared started to plant kisses down her neck as his hands roamed her legs and hips. Just as he was about to take her nipple in his mouth the phone rang again. Jared growled as he laid his head between her breasts.

Hannah held his head there as she let out a frustrated breath, whoever it was wasn’t going to wait. Jared kissed her one last time before he got up to reach his phone. Hannah started to reach for her clothes, but Jared threw a blanket at her.

“This isn’t over I’m going to get rid of them and then finish what we started.” He winked at her as he answered his phone.

Author Bio:

Andrea spends her time while she’s not dreaming up friends and villains alike chasing after her two kids and husband at their home in rural West Virginia.

Her guilty pleasure once the kids are asleep is to read. She reads everything she can get her hands on and then she reads it over and over and over again. Her all time favorite book is secretly tucked away under her bed looking very war battered from the hundreds of reads.

The Power Series is her breakthrough series as an indie author. She attributes her writing skills to her overactive imagination, and her husbands wacky dreams.

GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Welcome to the Release Day Celebration for

Sacrifice (Serpentine #2) by Cindy Pon

presented by Month9Books!

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

Happy Book Birthday, Cindy!

Sacrifice, the sequel to Serpentine, plunges Skybright into the terrifying underworld where demons are bred and whisks her up to the magnificent Mountain of Heavenly Peace where the gods dwell.

Stone is stripped of his immortal status and told to close hell’s breach, which mysteriously remains open, threatening mortals.

Zhen Ni, Skybright’s former mistress and friend, has been wed to the strange and brutish Master Bei, and finds herself trapped in an opulent but empty manor. When she discovers half-eaten corpses beneath the estate, she realizes that Master Bei is not all that he seems.

As Skybright works to free Zhen Ni with the aid of Kai Sen and Stone, they begin to understand that what is at risk is more far-reaching then they could ever have fathomed.

Sacrifice (Serpentine #2) by Cindy Pon

Publication Date: September 27, 2016

Publisher: Month9Books

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

He gripped his dagger tighter as he leaned down to seize a large branch from the forest floor, his eyes never leaving the undead creature. The other six had long since crumpled to the ground, filling the forest with the harsh stench of burned clothes and hair. When the last corpse was near enough, Kai Sen stabbed the long branch into the corpse’s throat, and it halted, skewered like a beetle, yet it still fought to stagger toward him, scrabbling its skeletal fingers in the air. It was strong, but so was Kai Sen. He had the advantage of training and muscle, and this thing was mere rotten flesh.

Forcing the thick branch even deeper, he shoved the corpse back until with a final thrust, the thing toppled onto its back. He was on the creature before it could rise again, stomping on its extended arms with furious kicks, breaking them, before driving the branch into the earth and pinning the corpse. It struggled still, thudding its feet as Kai Sen crouched above it, one hand clutching the branch tight as he hacked at its neck with his dagger. It was exhausting and gruesome work, but the undead could only be

killed with fire or decapitation. He needed to train and fight in every capacity, by magic or weapon or with his own hands. As a warrior, he knew it was crucial to his survival.

OTHER BOOKS IN THE SERIES:

SERPENTINE is a sweeping fantasy set in the ancient Kingdom of Xia and inspired by the rich history of Chinese mythology.

Lush with details from Chinese folklore, SERPENTINE tells the coming of age story of Skybright, a young girl who worries about her growing otherness. As she turns sixteen, Skybright notices troubling changes. By day, she is a companion and handmaid to the youngest daughter of a very wealthy family. But nighttime brings with it a darkness that not even daybreak can quell.

When her plight can no longer be denied, Skybright learns that despite a dark destiny, she must struggle to retain her sense of self – even as she falls in love for the first time.

Amazon | B&N | BAM | Chapters | Indiebound | Kobo | TBD | Google Play | iTunes

Cindy Pon is the author of Silver Phoenix (Greenwillow, 2009), which was named one of the Top Ten Fantasy and Science Fiction Books for Youth by the American Library Association’s Booklist, and one of 2009′s best Fantasy, Science Fiction and Horror by VOYA. Her most recent novel, Serpentine (Month9Books, 2015), is a Junior Library Guild Selection and received starred reviews from School Library Journal and VOYA. The sequel, Sacrifice, releases this September. WANT, a near-future thriller set in Taipei, will be published by Simon Pulse in summer 2017. She is the co-founder of Diversity in YA with Malinda Lo and on the advisory board of We Need Diverse Books. Cindy is also a Chinese brush painting student of over a decade. Learn more about her books and art at http://cindypon.com.

Website • Twitter • Facebook • Goodreads • Tumblr

Complete the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

All the Little Liars by Charlaine Harris
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Freshly married and overcome with joy over finding she’s expecting Aurora “Roe” Teagarden has everything falling into place in her life at the moment. That is until four teens go missing, one of which is Roe’s own half brother who had been living with her and her husband.

With everyone becoming frantic when the kids aren’t anywhere to be found the police are quickly called in but unfortunately things only get worse when a dead body is found. While the police are conducting their investigation Roe and her new husband begin their own investigation to help try to find the missing teens.

All the Little Liars is the ninth book in the Aurora Teagarden series by Charlaine Harris but the first of the series which I’ve read myself. I have seen a couple of the movies based on the books though so I was somewhat familiar with the characters and setting involved in this series before starting this one but it still seemed to read alright without the others. Having read the Sookie Stackhouse series I knew I would probably love these books so no better time to try than when I saw this up for review.

Aurora Teagarden is such a likable character, a down to earth small town librarian that can’t help but want to help others when things go wrong. The setting is one in which everyone knows everyone so it’s easy for the main character to go snoopy in her investigations and ask around digging for details in the small town. I spent the entire read with the question of what could possibly of happened to these kids and really enjoyed the journey to finding out along with the ending to the story.

Overall, a great cozy mystery, enjoyable even not having read the others in the series but being a fan of Charlaine Harris already I really should go back and read the others!

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.