Carries Book Reviews

The Dream Protocol: Descent
Adara Flynn Quick
Publication date: May 18th 2016
Genres: Dystopia, Young Adult

WHATEVER YOU DO, DON’T GET OLD. In fiery young Deirdre Callaghan’s home of Skellig City, no one has dreamt their own dream in over a thousand years. Dreams are produced by the Dream Makers and sold by the Ministry, the tyrannical rulers of the city. In Skellig City, years of life are awarded equally and the ruined are cast away beneath the city on their 35th birthday.

Unbeknownst to the Ministry, Deirdre’s handsome friend Flynn Brennan is afflicted with a terrible disease – a disease that accelerates the aging process. Knowing his fate if the Ministry should ever discover his illness, Flynn has lived his whole life hiding from their watchful eyes. When Flynn’s secret is finally discovered, Deirdre is determined to free him from the Ministry’s grasp. But to save him, she will have to reveal herself to a shadowy enemy…one that none of them even knew existed.

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EXCERPT:

Deirdre was falling from a great height. The air was cold and her hair blew up around her like a golden veil. Ice crystals collected in her curls and they turned rigid as she fell. And then she crashed headlong into a body of ice-cold water. The freezing temperature bit into her skin like a thousand pinpricks, and her eyes flew wide open. Above her was the light of the surface, but a powerful current was sucking her down, down, down into the dark. She flailed against the downward pull, kicking with her legs and reaching with her arms. She knew that the single breath of air in her lungs wouldn’t last much longer. At the last moment, just as she felt that she might open her mouth and drink down the dark water, the riptide from below released her. She kicked for the light, but soon the true horror of the ‘Mare became clear. The surface was sealed away with a thick layer of ice and frost. There would be no air for her lungs in this underwater prison. She beat her fists against the ice to no avail; the dark water wouldn’t let go. She was drowning with the surface just out of reach.

She tried to scream a curse at the Minister, but in this ‘Mare there was only silence. No sounds at all. She sucked down the freezing water and choked, over and over. Mercifully, she passed out. In that brief moment of unconsciousness, a hundred images flickered through her mind, each one like a photograph taken with a magnesium flash bulb. Images of Roenin, Flynn, and the red oak tree kept appearing. In the back of her mind her own voice formed a question: how does Roenin know about the Dream Protocol?

On the surface of the frost, something new came into the dream, something that the ‘Mare Makers would never have sequenced. The ice started to hiss and steam. A pattern wrote itself into the ice block; the five-circle symbol of the Makers. It burst into flame, melting the ice and cold all around the Maker’s daughter. Deirdre felt her body rising out of the water. In dream, she came Awake.

Author Bio:

Irish-American author, Adara Flynn Quick, is the writer of The Dream Protocol series. Early in her career, Adara was fascinated by dreams, the unconscious, and the healing stories of many cultures. As a contemporary author, she writes young adult literature that brings ancient myths and legends into futuristic worlds. She is an accomplished visual artist and uses her background as a psychotherapist to inspire the finest and darkest moments of her characters.

Driven to distraction by her computer, Adara writes all of her stories longhand. Pen and paper are two of her favorite things. The author tortures her husband with a passion for downtempo electronica and too many pillows. She is a firm beleiver that there are never enough pillows.

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Smoke & Metal
Skyla Madi
(New York Crime Kings, #3)
Published by: Limitless Publishing
Publication date: May 21st 2016
Genres: New Adult, Romance

The feel of cool air on my skin is priceless. We are free, but we aren’t out of the woods yet. Not by a longshot…

Can Skull feel it?

His impending downfall?

There’s a war coming, and I’m at the forefront of it. I will tear New York apart looking for my brother, and I won’t stop.

Emily thinks I’m crazy, but I’d do the same for her. There is no obstruction…

No building…

No cell…

That can withhold my family from me. I’ll find Joel. It’s only a matter of time…

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Cover designed by Deranged Doctor Design!

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Previous books in the series:

Author Bio:

Skyla Madi is an Australian writer from Brisbane, Queensland.

She started her writing career fresh out of high school and at 21 she is a giver of both real and fictional life.

Madi is an Aquarian, lover of the written word and author of the #1 BESTSELLING Consumed trilogy.

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12 Hours in Paradise
Kathryn Berla
Published by: Limitless Publishing
Publication date: April 19th 2016
Genres: Romance, Young Adult

Twelve hours, thirty-six questions, and a chance to fall in love…

It’s the last day of Dorothy Patmont’s family vacation. Soon, she must head back to Reno, where all that waits for her is the cold and the snow. To top it all off, her brother, Chester, acted like a little jerk and ate one too many cookies from the sample jar in the cookie store. But his antics have an unexpected benefit—attracting the attention of an intriguing boy who could change her life forever.

Treats can be sweet, but love is sweeter still…

Arash Atkinson, fluent in four languages and an adventurous soul, is in Waikiki for a high school band competition. When he meets Dorothy, he realizes their time together is limited. “Come out and play,” he texts her. A night of romantic adventure ensues, and Arash discovers an app that claims it can make people fall in love after answering thirty-six questions in each other’s presence.

With each question asked, their stories and feelings continue to unfold. But with every hour that passes they’re more at risk of being found out—Dorothy, by her parents; Arash by his school chaperone. And then Arash gets the dreaded phone call—he has been discovered missing from his room, and must return immediately. Can they finish the questions before facing their consequences?

When time is running out, true love cannot wait. What Arash and Dorothy have is beyond special, something that comes along once in a lifetime, and begins with Twelve Hours In Paradise…but can it survive the trials of the real world?

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble

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EXCERPT:

We stepped into the open-air lobby, where tables had been set out with bowls of the usual happy-hour snacks. A light breeze ruffled my hair, and scarlet-headed birds darted from table to table, looking for crumbs. Pigeons strutted purposefully under the tables, scurrying away whenever a human foot got too close.

Chester made a beeline to the bar, where he ordered a virgin strawberry daiquiri. Arash and I followed him, each of us ordering guava juice. I really was going to miss Hawaii. I never got to drink guava juice in Reno. I never got to feel air this soft against my bare skin. The surf pounded in the distance. I’d miss that sound too. A constant. The heartbeat of this island.

We sat down at an open table while Chester brought back bowl after bowl of chips, popcorn, pretzels, and everything else he could get his hands on.

“So is that why you talk funny?” he asked when he finally sat down. “Because your mom is Persian?”

“I grew up in six different countries,” Arash said. “I speak four languages. So my accent is a mixture of all the places I’ve ever lived. A mongrel accent.”

“A mongrel,” Chester said. “Like Genghis Khan?”

“Oh my God.” I shook my head. “Genghis Khan was a Mongol, not a mongrel.” I turned to Arash and rolled my eyes. “Sorry about my brother.”

But he just laughed. “Mongrel. Like a mutt. A mixture of many things.”

And then we talked about Reno and what it was like to live there.

And about the town outside of San Francisco where Arash lived.

And about how he was in Hawaii for a high school band competition.

And at some point Chester got bored and went up to our room to watch TV while my parents finished packing.

And at some point Arash asked if we could trade contact info just in case.

Just in case he ever came to Reno.

Just in case I ever went to San Francisco.

And at some point I realized Arash was not like any other guy I’d ever known. But in a good way.

And at some point after that, he left and I went up to the room I shared with Granny and finished packing my own stuff.

Author Bio:

Kathryn Berla graduated from the University of California at Berkeley as an English major. She has lived in many different countries in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. She currently resides in the San Francisco Bay Area.

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Cowboy Valentine by Mia Hopkins
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Cora Gomez was counting the days until she could escape the small town she was from and head off to college. On Valentine’s Day she was working at the local ice cream parlor when a handsome cowboy, Caleb MacKinnon, walked in at closing wanting to be served. Cora having had a crush on Caleb can’t bring herself to send him away.

Hearing that Caleb had been stood up on Valentine’s Day Cora agrees to go for a ride with the sexy cowboy. For the first time in her life Cora decides to take a chance with Caleb and the two begin a steamy affair. But Cora still has her sights set on leaving and does not want to give away her heart.

Cowboy Valentine is a fairly short novella that unfortunately while the down and dirty parts were off the charts for this steamy couple the story really lacked any kind of true build up or explanation of the rushed relationship.

Cora is a studious high school senior and also a virgin. Having a crush on Caleb really didn’t explain why she would so willingly jump into his truck and immediately have sex with him when she had spent her life planning her escape to college. It just really all seemed rather rushed with no build up to them being together.

Overall, if you are looking for a steamy erotic read you’d probably enjoy this one as that is the main focus but for me I was a bit disappointed in the lack of any fleshing out of the relationship.

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

Game of Fear: A Novel of Psychological Suspense by Glede Browne Kabongo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Abbie Cooper has always been an overachiever setting her sights on getting accepted into an Ivy League school after her senior year. But when Abbie finds a note in her locker with the warning, “I know what you did” her plans may all start to crumble around her.

Abbie wants to believe the note was a joke or a mistake but when a photo shows up in the mail she can’t deny that someone knows her secret. Now she’s being blackmailed by someone calling themselves The Avenger who for a price will keep the secret safe.

Game of Fear is one of those books that hooked me in right from the beginning wanting to know exactly who was behind it all. I flew right through the story trying to guess how it would turn out and see if my guess would be right.

My one complaint in this read would be that Abbie was completely focused on it being one certain person behind the notes and calls. I liked Abbie overall but as a reader you just know that the one person that is being pointed out over and over is not going to be the one behind the suspense and I kept wondering why such a smart girl wouldn’t think of anyone else. Of course as a reader I had my own theories so it so I was still completely engaged.

Overall, a fast paced young adult novel full of suspense.

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