Carries Book Reviews

The Hawkweed Prophecy by Irena Brignull
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

In a coven of witches two sisters learn of a prophecy that says that one of then will give birth to the next leader of their coven. Raven is the determined sister who will do anything to make sure that the baby will definitely be her daughter. She puts a spell on her sister to make sure she will not give birth to a girl but when that spell wears off and a girl is predicted Raven switches the daughter with a human child across the country.

As the two girls grow up each finds it hard to fit into their lives. Ember studies magic among the witch coven but she’d rather make herself look pretty and smell good than deal with the icky things the spells ingredients call for. While across the country Poppy never fits in with her family and continues to be expelled from school after school for her “accidents” that defy explanation.

The Hawkweed Prophecy grabbed my attention in the beginning and was really expecting to completely love this book. Somewhere along the way though I found that it just seemed to drop off for me a bit as far as the excitement level was concerned. The idea was great but there was just a bit of something missing to me.

The story ended up including a bit of a love triangle in the middle which may be the point that it got a bit dull. It’s really kind of awkward to have both of these girls who are complete opposites seem to end up wanting the same boy. Probably would have worked better for me if that part hadn’t been included.

Overall 3.5 stars, interesting ideas behind the plot with a good start and finish but a bit of a lull in the middle of the story to me.

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

Sun and Moon by Desiree Williams
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Zara was stolen from her home in Cadrebia at the age of eight and made to become a slave to the Tankadesh courts. She has spent the last ten years protecting the princess and entertaining the king and his officials with her mastery of weapons while she has tried to plot her escape.

Now on her eighteenth birthday her time to escape is coming close Zara finds herself obtaining her mark that will link her to her lifemate. Zara sees this as trading one type of prison for another so when a stranger arrives bearing the same mark Zara is hesitant to trust him help her out of the prison she’s known for the past ten years.

Sun and Moon is a fantasy romance that I was hoping for a bit more to the fantasy than what I found. It’s still a good read with a unique setting but the pace seemed a bit slow to me as the story began and was hoping we’d touch a bit more into their world.

The romance is a more slow developing one that begins with this couple being destined to be together. Instead of the insta-love you find in some of these stories though it became more of a relationship that had a chance to grow after they find it’s arranged.

Overall, a bit slower pace to me for this fantasy romance but still an ok read overall.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This is Me.
C.E. Wilson
Publication date: August 11th 2016
Genres: New Adult, Romance, Science Fiction

A-SIST

Anthropomorphic Sentient Individualized Servile uniT

Rogan is a robot. More specifically, he is an Asist – a personalized humanoid servant that provides protection, assistance, and companionship for a lonely young woman living on her own in the city. Chloe is trying to get her big break, singing at bars and clubs all over the city at night while she pays the bills as a substitute teacher during the day. Ever since she activated him many months ago, Rogan has been her beautiful, dependable, obedient, dead-eyed security blanket.

One morning she is shocked when he disobeys a direct command in an attempt to please her and his dull artificial eyes flash a hint of something new. Is this the result of the adaptive Asist servility programming or is Rogan actually thinking? Can a robot think? Can a robot feel?

As Chloe struggles with these thoughts she is blindsided by the singular Niven Adams, a handsome, confident man with the voice of an angel who is everything she’s ever wanted in a boyfriend. He’s the perfect guy for her, except for one problem. Niven doesn’t approve of Asists and takes an immediate dislike to Rogan. As Niven charms his way deeper and deeper into Chloe’s heart, Rogan tries to convince her that he is more than a mass-produced disposable servant.

With Rogan doing everything in his power to prove that his thoughts and feelings are real and Niven trying to persuade her to abandon her robot and have a normal human relationship, Chloe is trapped between the two things that mean the most to her. Does she embrace her relationship with the blond newcomer, or face that her Asist’s feelings may be more than features of his programming?

What really makes a person a person?

Is it a ticking muscle inside their chest, or is it something more?

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Author Bio:

C.E. Wilson is 32 years old, grew up in Millersville, Pennsylvania, and has been living in Pittsburgh since 2009. For the first few years living in Pittsburgh, she was an English teacher. Her first book, “Oath of Servitude,” was published in 2012. In 2013, she quit teaching to be a full time author and hasn’t looked back since. She loves spending time with her daughter and husband.

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This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp
My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

The principal of Opportunity, Alabama’s high school finishes up her speech welcoming the students to the new year. But when the principal dismisses the students to class they find that the doors are locked and then the shooting begins.

This is Where it Ends tells the tale of the horror of a school shooting from four different points of view during the horrific events that take place over the course of the next fifty four minutes.

Living in the U.S. this type of event happening is becoming far too common on the news so when I first read the synopsis for this story I was quite intrigued with how it would be written. What I was expecting was the book to be so full of emotion that it would end up being tough to even get through. However, I think what it lacked most was the emotional attachment that I though would be involved. As the POV changes I’d often forget who it was that was telling the story at that time.

Another kind of small nuisance for me in this story was the focus on race, religion, sexual orientation in describing characters that just didn’t seem to fit the situation. This seemed to just halt my attempt at connecting with the characters as human beings in a horrific situation and instead make me think there was a checklist to make sure that the high school was diverse. A bit odd to worry about the color of one’s skin or sexual orientation when facing a gunman.

Overall, 2.5 stars, not the emotional read I was hoping for, characters didn’t seem to be fully developed personality wise, including the shooter, to get my attention and get me invested in the story.

Bound by Duty
Stormy Smith
(Bound #1)
Publication date: July 24th 2014
Genres: Fantasy, New Adult

Amelia grew up in a world of half-truths. She knows she’s an Elder but has no idea what that means. Her father reminds her daily that she must maintain control but he refuses to explain why. Even worse, she’s betrothed to the prince of the Immortals and she doesn’t even know his name.

Finally breaking free to live a few normal years at a community college, the last thing Amelia expects is to find her best friend in a cheeky Southern girl and to fall for a self-assured human who sees her for who she is and not what she’ll be.

As she learns more about herself, Amelia realizes the line between love and duty is a thin one. As her power continues to increase exponentially and her questions are slowly answered, Amelia must make the ultimate choice. The question is, will her head or her heart win the battle?

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EXCERPT:

To set the stage, this scene features Amelia and Aidan. They are just getting to know each other and both have pasts that have irrevocably changed the people they have become. There are secrets and fears that have been buried their whole lives. The question is if they can trust each other?

Without looking back at me, he squeezed my hand tightly. His fingers pressing hard into the divots between the bones in my hand. He clutched at my hand as if I could keep him here, pull him away from the memories that overwhelmed him, that threatened to pull him down into a place I could feel he didn’t want to go.

“You can tell me, but only if you want to.” I put the words between us and let the silence follow. Turning back to stare at the sky, I gave him time to decide. I had no idea what he had been through, what he would say, but I understood what the darkness of truth could do to you if you let it.

“I don’t know why, but I want to tell you, Amelia. It’s insane because I never tell anyone this stuff. But, I want to tell you. Before this goes any further, I want you to know who I am.” He still wasn’t looking at me so while I saw him in my peripheral, I kept my gaze on the clouds. “Then, tell me,” I said. Taking a deep breath, I finished with a surprising, “Tell me and I’ll tell you.”

The longer Aidan held my hand, the more I got used to the feel of my nerves being raw and the increased sensations that vibrated from our point of contact throughout the rest of my body. As I lay there, waiting for him to speak, he kept our hands locked, sliding his middle finger up and down in a slow rhythm over the back of my hand. I could feel callouses on his palm and the heat he radiated. It was soothing and, for once, I was truly in control, at least as far as my power was concerned. My heartbeat, however, raced triple time as I had time to realize that I was laying on the forest floor holding hands with Aidan Montgomery, waiting for him to unlock doors I hadn’t known I wanted inside of. Someone I could give some of my truth to and who wanted to give me theirs in return.

Author Bio:

Stormy Smith calls Iowa’s capital home now, but was raised in a tiny town in the Southeast corner of the state. She grew to love books honestly, having a mom that read voraciously and instilled that same love in her. She knew quickly that stories of fantasy were her favorite, and even as an adult gravitates toward paranormal stories in any form.

Writing a book had never been an aspiration, but suddenly the story was there and couldn’t be stopped. When she isn’t working on, or thinking about, her books, Stormy’s favorite places include bar patios, live music shows, her yoga mat or anywhere she can relax with her husband or girlfriends.

If you want to stay tuned in to all of the new release news, sign up for Stormy’s spam-free newsletter. It only comes out when something exciting is happening…promise! http://eepurl.com/WLlq1

Get more information on her website – http://www.stormysmith.com.

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