Carries Book Reviews

The SEAL’s Secret Lover by Anne Calhoun
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Rose Powell is heading to Turkey for a two week vacation with her grandmother and her two friends. Originally her Navy SEAL brother Jack was going to attend the vacation with them but he backed out at the last moment telling Rose that he would have someone meet them and help them tour the country.

When Rose and the ladies arrive waiting for them at the baggage claim is Keenan Parker, Jack’s good friend from his SEAL team. Keenan has been living in Istanbul and working security since leaving the Navy. Keenan and Rose find themselves with an immediate attraction but being from opposite sides of the world they figure it can’t be more than a vacation fling.

I absolutely loved this little novella form Anne Calhoun. It combines some of my favorite things in involving the family aspect and traveling. Rose’s granny and her friends are quite fun to read about on their sightseeing escapades. It was great reading of the places that they had been visiting and sort of seeing the sights along with them. And then to top it all off we have the very sexy Keenan that was certainly a drool worthy tour guide. Great little novella to start off the Alpha Ops series.

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

A Siren for the Bear by Meredith Clarke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Carson Grant is a singer and when she announces where she’ll be on social media the shows are usually standing room only. One night after performing she is approached by Marek Sarkozy who wants to hire her to fill in for the singer in his band. With a contract she couldn’t possibly turn down Carson packs her bags and joins the band in their mountain cabin to begin practicing. What Carson didn’t count on was falling for Marek or finding that he is actually a bear shifter with enemies out to end his family line.

The first book in a new Sarkozy Brothers series by Meredith Clarke, A Siren for the Bear packs a lot into this short novella. We meet the Sarkozy and learn of their heritage and a bit of what is going on with their enemies plus a nice little romance between Carson and Marek. Great writing, a bit of suspense mixed with a bit of paranormal erotica, nice start to the series.

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

Mistaken by Laurelin McGee
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

When going to confront her friend after having set her up on a horrible blind date Jaylene Kim runs into a new neighbor moving into the building. After spending some time with Noah, Jaylene finds that the two have a lot in common including their love for reading and running. However, Jaylene considers herself a feminist and Noah’s preferences don’t seem to go with Jaylene’s beliefs.

Mistaken is a story of a mismatched relationship of one person’s beliefs are completely opposite of the other. The idea behind the story was appealing however I really didn’t care for Jaylene for about 80-85% of the story so it brought my rating down.

Jaylene is a feminist, but she’s the preachy/judgmental type that wants to push her women’s rights beliefs on others and pretty much anything that a man does seems to be wrong in her eyes. When she started on her rant about erotic literature and degrading women that choose to read it that I almost stopped reading completely. Her views are just so narrow minded that it was driving me crazy. I’m all for equal treatment of woman but that should involve choice for a woman to choose whatever she would like, including reading a dirty book if they chose to.

Jaylene’s attitude also made me sit and debate woman’s rights and her ideas more than actually getting involved into the story as I was reading. I was too busy rolling my eyes at some of her statements and actions to wonder where the relationship would lead or what would happen. I found it a little strange too that her chosen career is a teacher when that is a predominately female profession but yet she refuses to learn to cook due to the woman in the kitchen stereotypes.

Luckily the ending to this saved the story for me a bit. For the majority of the book I was really really disliking Jaylene and her judgy behavior and was considering a one star rating and not bothering to finish. I gave this three stars in the end as I did think the writing was good, I did enjoy Noah throughout, and thought Lacy’s speech to Jaylene at the end deserved a high five so all of that sort of save the story for me.

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

Wings of Hope by Pippa DaCosta
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Muse is a half-blood, she is part demon and part human. Mammon, the Prince of Greed asks for Muse’s company for three nights from her owner Da’mean. Da’mean is ruthless and keeps Muse in a cage quite often beating and torturing her and Muse just knows after time with the Prince, Da’mean just may kill her.

Wings of Hope is a prequel novella to The Veil Series. It can be read as a standalone but is meant to give depth into Muse’s character from the series. I actually haven’t read the series myself but thought this would be a good look into seeing if I’d want to or not. It’s a very dark picture of life for Muse before meeting the prince and how the two did meet.

As usual I wasn’t disappointed with Pippa DaCosta’s work. The books I’ve read have been completely different from one another but still found each intriguing. Being a short novella this was a very brief glimpse into the world of the veil series but I’d definitely be curious as to what would happen next.

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

Her Beastly Stepbrother: A Once Upon A Stepbrother Novella by Rachel Kenley
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

At twelve Belle Somers couldn’t wait to meet her soon to be step-brother when her father and his mother’s wedding. After searching she finally stumbles across a young Charles Barbot who is hiding because he feels that the scars he received in an accident as a child are too hideous for people to see. Belle doesn’t even notice his scars right away and treats him with nothing but kindness so the two become immediate friends but need to keep in contact through email as they won’t be living near one another.

Belle and Charles keep up their correspondence for years until both have graduated college. Each has developed feelings for the other but hasn’t admitted it through their emails. Over the years Charles has avoided actually coming back and seeing Belle in person still concerned with his scars. But one day Belle has had enough of her father trying to run her life and decides to go see Charles.

Her Beastly Stepbrother is basically an erotic retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Charles hides away his whole life but Belle refuses to see the scars he is afraid of showing everyone else. The two have a chance to develop a relationship through the years that is somewhat cute with the back and forth. Belle develops into a strong female and is determined to go after Charles after years of him being in hiding.

A somewhat mix of a cute story tale vibe mixed with an erotic more adult content. 3.5 stars

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