Carries Book Reviews

In The Absence Of You
Sunniva Dee
Publication date: June 28th 2016
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance

Aishe is running. Running from the burn of a love she knows will consume her.

Running from a soul mate she’s never even met.

If only she hadn’t been hired as a merch girl for the hottest indie band on earth.

If only she’d never laid eyes on its front man, Emil—intense, sexy, and so unlike the men of her culture.

If only she hadn’t fallen onto his lips, then into his bed.

If only her flame hadn’t exploded into a full-on forest fire.

If only Emil’s heart didn’t belong to someone else.

***

Emil is running. Running from a broken heart.

Running from who he was with her.

If only Zoe hadn’t left.

If only Aishe hadn’t been right there.

If only she hadn’t been so damn gorgeous—insistent—different.

If only he could control himself around her.

If. Only.

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Author Bio:

Between studies, teaching, and advising, Sunniva has spent her entire adult life in a college environment. Most of her novels are new adult romance geared toward smart, passionate readers with a love for eclectic language and engaging their brain as well as their heart while reading.

Born in the Land of the Midnight Sun, the author spent her early twenties making the world her playground. Southern Europe: Spain, Italy, Greece–Argentina: Buenos Aires, in particular. The United States finally kept her interest, and after half a decade in Los Angeles, she now lounges in the beautiful city of Savannah.

Sometimes, Sunniva writes with a paranormal twist (Shattering Halos, Stargazer, and Cat Love). At other times, it’s contemporary (Pandora Wild Child, Leon’s Way, Adrenaline Crush, Walking Heartbreak, and Dodging Trains, coming in late March 2016).

This author is the happiest when her characters let their emotions run off with them, shaping her stories in ways she never foresaw. She loves bad-boys and good-boys run amok, and like in real life, her goal is to keep the reader on her toes until the end of each story.

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A Criminal Magic
Lee Kelly
Publication date: February 2nd 2016
Genres: Fantasy, Historical, Young Adult

THE NIGHT CIRCUS meets THE PEAKY BLINDERS in Lee Kelly’s new crossover fantasy novel.

Magic is powerful, dangerous and addictive – and after passage of the 18th Amendment, it is finally illegal.

It’s 1926 in Washington, DC, and while Anti-Sorcery activists have achieved the Prohibition of sorcery, the city’s magic underworld is booming. Sorcerers cast illusions to aid mobsters’ crime sprees. Smugglers funnel magic contraband in from overseas. Gangs have established secret performance venues where patrons can lose themselves in magic, and take a mind-bending, intoxicating elixir known as the sorcerer’s shine.

Joan Kendrick, a young sorcerer from Norfolk County, Virginia accepts an offer to work for DC’s most notorious crime syndicate, the Shaw Gang, when her family’s home is repossessed. Alex Danfrey, a first-year Federal Prohibition Unit trainee with a complicated past and talents of his own, becomes tapped to go undercover and infiltrate the Shaws.

Through different paths, Joan and Alex tread deep into the violent, dangerous world of criminal magic – and when their paths cross at the Shaws’ performance venue, despite their orders, and despite themselves, Joan and Alex become enchanted with one another. But when gang alliances begin to shift, the two sorcerers are forced to question their ultimate allegiances and motivations. And soon, Joan and Alex find themselves pitted against each other in a treacherous, heady game of cat-and-mouse.

A CRIMINAL MAGIC casts a spell of magic, high stakes and intrigue against the backdrop of a very different Roaring Twenties.

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GUEST POST by LEE KELLY:

GANGSTERS!

Real-Life Gangsters that Inspired the Tough Guys in A CRIMINAL MAGIC

The pitch for my latest book, A CRIMINAL MAGIC, is THE NIGHT CIRCUS meets THE PEAKY BLINDERS, and for anyone who’s seen that twisty, violent BBC drama, you’ll know this means there’s some pretty hardened criminals in this one. My story takes place during an alternative Prohibition-era America, but instead of alcohol, magic has been prohibited. And just like during real Prohibition, gangsters have created an extensive, lucrative underworld to make sure people still get what they want, despite the letter of the law.

Because the magic in this novel is tricky and dangerous by nature, I knew I needed gangsters that weren’t just ruthless – these wise guys had to be clever, driven, and one step ahead of the sorcerers they employ in all aspects of their illegal trade. For inspiration and ideas, I naturally turned to history. Here are some of the notorious, hardnosed gangsters that most inspired me while writing A CRIMINAL MAGIC:

Owen “Owney” Madden was a New York gangster nicknamed “the Killer,” and aptly so as he was known for his very public executions. Madden more than once gunned down his rival gang members in the streets, and he allegedly shot a man on a trolley for flirting with his date. Despite being a hothead, he was also a shrewd businessman, and ran The Cotton Club (as well as some other swanky speakeasies) in New York City. In my novel, Erwin McEvoy, the boss of the Irish Shaw Gang, is loosely based on Madden (with a little Boo Boo Hoff thrown in there too. Boo Boo’s up next).

I have to admit, I was first attracted to Max “Boo Boo” Hoff because of his name, but the more I read about this Philly-based crime boss, the more fascinated I became. Hoff was a boxer turned gangster, and his bootlegging operation was so successful during Prohibition, it’s claimed he had an office of operations with 175 phones and a weekly payroll of $30,000 (in the 1920s)! Also known for his partying and extravagant lifestyle, Hoff frequently rubbed shoulders with celebrity types at his lavish affairs.

Also intriguing was Guiseppe “Joe the Boss” Masseria, the head of the New York Italian-American mafia – the city’s powerful crime alliance known as the Five Families – during the later years of Prohibition. But Masseria was a bit of an underworld dictator: he even required monetary tributes from other Families as testaments of their loyalty. His reign naturally didn’t last: several families declared war on Masseria, which broke up the crime dynasty and led to his execution. I loosely based my novel’s Italian-American gang, the D Street Outfit, on Masseria’s New York operation.

And of course, no list of Prohibition-era gangsters would be complete without Al Capone. Though my novel’s young gangster-on-the-rise, Harrison Gunn, is actually nothing like media-hungry Capone was, I couldn’t believe that Capone was at the height of his power and became a Chicago crime boss in his mid-twenties. So I made Gunn younger (originally he was going to be middle-aged), to help rev up the tension between him and my female protagonist, Joan.

Author Bio:

Lee Kelly has wanted to write since she was old enough to hold a pencil, but it wasn’t until she began studying for the California Bar Exam that she conveniently started putting pen to paper. An entertainment lawyer by trade, Lee has practiced law in Los Angeles and New York. She lives with her husband and children in Millburn, New Jersey, though after a decade in Manhattan, she can’t help but still call herself a New Yorker. She is the author of A Criminal Magic and City of Savages. Visit her at http://www.NewWriteCity.com.

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Available: A Memoir of Heartbreak, Hookups, Love and Brunch by Matteson Perry
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Matteson Perry is what you’d refer to as a nice guy. Always trying to treat a lady right and had always been in committed relationships being a serial monogamist. But when the girl he thought would be his one and only dumps him he decides it’s time to change things up and try casual dating. His Plan: 1. Be single for a year. 2. Date a lot of women. 3. Hurt no one’s feelings.

Available is a memoir written of Matteson Perry’s experience with dating and relationships. It’s often incredibly funny which I enjoyed. A look into a male’s experience with the single life when he’s not a player or very good at the whole dating thing it was somewhat of an interesting read.

I do think the one thing that brought my rating down a bit was it seemed to get a bit repetitive after a while reading about this date or that experience. And I also would have probably been better off skipping the whole chapter with the drug experimenting.

Overall though this was a fun read, Matteson can be a funny guy just from the first page where it mentions he’s changed the names, not to protect those in the book but because he came up with better names. I didn’t necessarily agree with everything and find it hard to rate a memoir feeling I’m judging someone’s life but decided on three stars in the end for overall enjoyment of the read.

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

The Midnight Shrink by Edward A. Dreyfus
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Dr. David Edminson is a psychologist that instead of working in a cushy office for rich clients he has chosen to work on skid row out of the back of his van. His office hours are at night so as to be able to treat the people of the streets that have no other way to seek mental help.

When a body turns up David gets involved in the investigation of a serial killer who seems to be targeting prostitutes and strippers. Along with his friends an LAPD detective and an ER physician David helps with the case but also discovers some facts about his own family sending him in search for the truth.

The Midnight Shrink wasn’t a bad read overall but it’s one that I have to rate with how I felt throughout the read. I just never really could get into the story at all although I’m sure others may very well really enjoy it.

One of the things about this that bothered me was the excessive language often used. I’m not one to complain too much about cussing in books but I’m not also a fan of characters that f this or f that every other word and there was a few involved in here.

I think I just found myself disconnected overall with the story from the beginning when things like the language of some of David’s patients became involved. I was quite often bored and just waiting for the tell me what happened so I can finish instead of invested in the story all the way through.

Overall, not my cup of tea unfortunately but I’m sure others may enjoy.

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

In The Blood by Sara Hantz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Jed Franklin’s life was turned completely upside down a year ago when his father was arrested. Accused and charged with the murders and rapes of several young boys Jed’s father sits awaiting for trial. Every day since the arrest Jed has had to deal with the stares and accusations but now he questions himself and whether he will turn into his father, is it truly in the blood to be a pedophile or killer?

While In the Blood deals with some dark subject matter when it comes to what Jed’s father had done it is set in the tone of seventeen year old Jed who is struggling to deal with the aftermath. Jed is a typical teenager although with the weight of the world on his shoulders but he deals with things as a teenager would.

I immediately became engaged in this read and getting to know Jed. His mother is a zombie and not dealing well with the aftermath of the arrest and even forgets Jed’s birthday. Jed is practically raising his five year old sister and trying to hold the family together at his age and he has one friend left that still has faith in him. With school work slipping and getting in fights defending himself he has turned to drinking to drown out his troubles. Quite an intriguing read to see how it would all turn out.

Just a note, while the subject of what Jed’s father has been accused of is mentioned and talked about during the book there is nothing overly graphic concerning his crimes. This is more of the emotional roller coaster ride for the family of the accused and dealing with their world falling apart.

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