Carries Book Reviews

Burn What Will Burn by C.B. McKenzie
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Bob Reynolds lives out in the middle of nowhere with no phone service so when he comes across a body in the creek he drags it out of the water thinking of the trouble it’s going to be to get a hold of the police. Bob’s kept his head down in the little town he’d moved to trying to stay out of the trouble and a body showing up isn’t exactly going to help him fit into the town.

As much as Bob would much rather just toss the body back into the creek and go about his business he makes every effort to get a hold of the sheriff. But when showing the man where he’d left the corpse the body has disappeared. Bob begins to question just what goes on in this little town he’s now living in.

Burn What Will Burn is one of those reads that while it sounded completely engaging by the synopsis it ended up just being one that totally wasn’t for me. The story got off to a rather slow start with our main character spending more time inspecting the body and complaining about having to call the law.

From there it really went downhill in my opinion, as if the overly descriptive inspection of the dead man in the beginning wasn’t bad enough. There’s just wasn’t a character in the book that I cared for
in the entire story really. This small town is one that I definitely wouldn’t find myself in their backwoods world. A bit of cringe worthy moments all throughout with some of the behavior in the book.

And on a side note, I would love if someone could count the times in this read that “Bob Reynolds” is said all throughout. I suppose I understand the idea of using full names in the small community or referring to someone as Mr. or Mrs. but there were conversations with Bob that the other person said his full name in every line, hate to see if it were made into a drinking game the amount of times it was in the story.

Overall, just not one for me I’m afraid. The mystery/thriller portion is slow developing and I didn’t particularly care for the characters.

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

Moonstruck by Lauren Dane
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Having left Diablo Lake a few years back running from a bad break up Katie Grady is a bit hesitant to return but knows that her family needs her. Finding a place to live near the man she’d had a crush on for years wasn’t a bad turn of events though. Jace Dooley is now hotter than ever and the two find themselves drawn to each other.

Diablo Lake though is inhabited by witches and werewolves. Katie herself is a witch that has just been coming into her powers and finding out just how strong she is. Jace is in line to become the leader of his pack and the two together can only prove to make each other stronger. Katie’s ex-boyfriend is from another pack and when she returns starts giving her problems.

I’ve read several of Lauren Dane’s books and have liked all to some degree whether it was a regular couple involved or one that had a paranormal aspect. She’s always done the erotic sexy side of the read well but sometimes I felt the plot could have been a bit expanded on instead of rushing into the sexy.

With Diablo Lake the relationship between Katie and Jace had plenty of time to build and grow which I enjoyed. They certainly end up having their steamy moments between them but it didn’t feel as rushed into as some of the other books I’d read.

Also, with this small town community being made up of witches and werewolves the story had more of the paranormal added in this time. Magic and werewolf politics coming into play with this particular pairing added a fun layer to the read that was given more expansion than some of the other books that rushed into the bedroom part.

Overall, a fun, sexy read to start off Lauren Dane’s new Diablo Lake series.

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

Halfway Hunted
Terry Maggert
(Halfway Witchy Series, #3)
Publication date: June 2nd 2016
Genres: Adult, Paranormal

Some Prey Bites Back.

Welcome to Halfway; where the waffles are golden, the moon is silver, and magic is just around every corner.

A century old curse is broken, releasing Exit Wainwright, an innocent man trapped alone in time.

Lost and in danger, he enlists Carlie, Gran, and their magic to find the warlock who sentenced him to a hundred years of darkness. The hunter becomes the hunted when Carlie’s spells awaken a cold-blooded killer intent on adding another pelt to their gruesome collection: hers.

But the killer has never been to Halfway before, where there are three unbreakable rules:

1. Don’t complain about the diner’s waffles.

2. Don’t break the laws of magic.

3. Never threaten a witch on her home turf.

Can Carlie solve an ancient crime, defeat a ruthless killer and save the love of her life from a vampire’s curse without burning the waffles?

Come hunt with Carlie, and answer the call of the wild.

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EXCERPT:

There were only two reasons for me to be awake on my couch, staring up into the gloom of the pre-dawn hours. The first is my house itself, which complained against the

deep cold with creaking pops like the knees of a guy who played sports a long time ago when he was younger and had more hair.

The second was Wulfric. My lover was out there in the Adirondack winter somewhere, his vampire skin now as cold as the deep snows that settled on Halfway with a heavy hand. I missed him every second of every day with an ache that started in my heart and ended in the emptiness of my arms. Living without him was like swimming through wool that took my breath and will at every turn.

Everything was hard. Little things made me sad.

Smiles died on my face and I knew if I didn’t find the magic to save him, moving on was going to take the rest of my life and all of my tears. In the midst of my somber reverie, my giant familiar Gus put one of his Maine Coon cat paws on my shoulder. His rumbling purr calmed my mind enough that I sighed and began absently rubbing the magnificent fur of his Tabby neck.

“Brrrrtt?” He asked me, his bronze eyes fixed on me like two coals floating in the dark.

“I miss him. Sorry. I know I should sleep. Or listen for spell requests . . . or do anything except lay here having a pity party.”

Gus answered with a head butt and an even deeper bumble of contented reassurance. He stretched along me from hip to head and I was reminded again that my cat is nearly as tall as I am. Or he would be, if cats could walk upright, but he doesn’t because that would be weird. I felt a small grin touch my cheeks and let it bloom, then looked across the room to the kitchen. There, I saw another friend who was always near.

Even in the heart of a mountain winter, the moon always finds a way to touch me. Laying on my couch in the middle of a frigid night, I watch the square of moonlight light dance across my kitchen floor like the slowest ballet possible. The brilliant smudge of light comforts me, telling me that no matter how short the days and how deep the snows, sunshine will use the face of sister moon to reach across the dark and set my spirits to right.

So I watch, and I wait.

I listen for the telltale creak of my mail slot, an old brass hinge that swings inward when someone needs me. Or, to be more accurate, they need my magic. When the moon is high, I spend my nights listening for the telltale footsteps on my porch. Those are followed by a hesitation as the person decides if they can go through with their request—they always do—and then I wait a bit longer. It’s understood that to ask for my family magic, you must write a note in natural ink, then fold the note within an envelope that is hand made. Hand crafting invests meaning into something as simple as a note, and the poignant pleas I get range from simple to impossible.

But I always try.

Tonight, there was no slide of an envelope on the floor of my foyer. Perhaps it was too cold, although Adirondackers are tough people. A few feet of snow and subzero temperatures wouldn’t stop a local person from asking for help if they needed it, which meant that at least or tonight, my town was free of unusual heartache.

In witch parlance, the night was clean. Spirits were at rest, and after casting a final wish across the snowdrifts to Wulfric, so was I. Before dawn’s gray could pierce the low

clouds covering the mountains, my eyes grew heavy, I let the sadness leave me, and then, when there was nothing else to fight, I slept.

Author Bio:

Left-handed. Father of an apparent nudist. Husband to a half-Norwegian. Herder of cats and dogs. Lover of pie. I write books. I’ve had an unhealthy fascination with dragons since the age of– well, for a while. Native Floridian. Current Tennessean. Location subject to change based on insurrection, upheaval, or availability of coffee. Nine books and counting, with no end in sight. You’ve been warned.

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S is for Stranger by Louise Stone
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Sophie’s husband Paul has custody of their daughter after their relationship ended due to Sophie struggling with alcoholism. During one of Sophie’s days to visit her daughter they go to a fair where Sophie sees a stranger talking to her daughter. Getting a bit upset she lectures her not to talk with strangers but when her back is turned for only a few seconds Amy disappears.

Sophie fears with the disappearance of her daughter that it has something to do with her past. Her best friend had died on the anniversary of the same day years before and Sophie had always believed it was murder even though it was ruled a suicide. Not knowing who to trust or who to turn to Sophie only wants to find her little girl.

S is for Stranger is described as a gripping psychological thriller which in a way it was. Any parent is going to cringe at the subject of what is probably the worst fear of a child being taken so it definitely turned in a page turner wanting to know where little Amy was and what had happened to her.

However, a part of me was rather frustrated with the entire read. We find early on that Sophie has suffered from hallucinations along with being an alcoholic. It was hard to connect with the story when the main character doesn’t know what is real and what isn’t and for someone who likes to follow along and try to figure out what will happen it’s tough to do when you can’t trust what is going on.

In the end I had a feeling I knew where the story would go and I do believe that is what turned out but the ending in the book was also a bit confusing. I felt that it really should have been a bit more clearly written at that point after following a confused character throughout the read.

Overall, 3.5 stars for this one. I think some will love it and I did find myself engaged wanting to find out what happened but wasn’t a huge fan of the main character’s perspective either.

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

Endgame by Jeffrey Round
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Harvey Keill, ex-manager of the Ladykillers, arranges a reunion for the band on a remote island getting them together after fifteen years. But when the band and the other guests arrive Harvey is nowhere to be found.

When a video is shown the group begins to wonder just why they have been brought to this remote location. The video reminds the group of a death that happened during the band’s party days that ended with all of those gathered having some part of the conspiracy to cover it up.

Endgame by Jeffrey Round is a modern retelling of And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. I haven’t read the original so I can’t say how it really compares to that particular book but I did get the sense that this is similar to other stories, television shows or movies I’ve seen through the years.

In this book this aging punk rock band is brought back together and reminded of a dark incident that happened in their past. The cast of characters then find themselves slowly being picked off one by one with no way of getting help.

Overall, it was an engaging read as you go along wondering which of those trapped on the island could be the murderer and who would be the next victim.

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