Carries Book Reviews

Loyal To The Bear (BBW Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance) by Meredith Clarke
My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

After Carly Tate’s father was murdered when she was younger she vowed to stay far away from shifters. When she finds out the man she is dating is a shifter she breaks things off and runs as far from him as possible, unfortunately she is still harboring feelings for him. When running into Henry a few years later he tries to get Carly to see not all shifters are alike.

Meanwhile, there’s a serial killer on the loose that is threatening to kill all shifters but he keeps killing human women. Henry and his friends have been asked to help find out anything about what is going on to try to stop the killer.

Unfortunately Loyal to the Bear is one of those cases of a bit too much trying to happen in such a short story. I don’t want to mention details too much as to spoil anything for future readers but events take place as if a light switch is hit and boom emotions change or plot developments get rushed through.

Overall, 2.5 stars for me, not horrible but could slowed down a bit instead of jumping from one thing to another.

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

Soundless by Richelle Mead
My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Fei lives in a village high a top a mountain. The entire village is deaf and they rely on supplies sent up a zipline from a town far below. Most of the villagers work in the mines, digging for precious metals that are then sent down in trade for the food they receive. Unfortunately something is causing some of the villagers to begin also losing their eyesight and becoming unable to work in the mine causing less and less food to be sent from below.

I really really wanted to like this book despite all the negativity I’d seen in regards to it. I have enjoyed everything else I’ve read by Richelle Mead prior to reading this so I thought maybe some were being a bit too harsh since it was different to her normal work.

Unfortunately, I spent most of the story being really bored. I won’t argue the Chinese folklore or if it was lacking. I just thought the story dragged a whole lot for my taste. In the end I’d say around 2.5 stars for me. If it were shorter, and that’s saying a lot as it’s less than 300 pages already, I may have enjoyed it a bit more. I just kind of got somewhat a repetitive feeling with discussing the hearing, eyesight, and lack of food over and over. There’s really only a few major happenings throughout and just not enough to keep my attention.

Overall, not really one I’d recommend but I’m sure most Mead fans will want to check it out anyway as I did too.

The Hazards of Mistletoe by Alyssa Rose Ivy
My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Savannah, or Savy as she’s known by friends and family, has spent a week at Christmas with her father in Vail for years. During the time there she has been friends with Glen since they were kids. They spend time together every year doing all the holiday things together as Savy has always loved everything Christmas. Unfortunately, Glen does something a bit stupid during their time together out of good intentions but it truly hurts Savy’s feelings.

The Hazards of Mistletoe is the fourth book in the Hazard series but the first and only one I’ve read. It did read find as a standalone.

When finished I’d rate this story only at 2.5 stars. The first thing that really bothered me right off was the conversations in the story would often just run together to where you really couldn’t tell who was saying what so it was hard to focus and get to know the characters. The chapters were also just broken up with a number between paragraphs which may be the review copy so I would likely overlook that if it had been the only thing and I hadn’t had trouble with the dialogue too.

Generally I love a good Christmas romance and a part of me did still love reading all the winter fun that comes with the holidays but unfortunately I just didn’t love this particular couple and their story. Glen was an alright character, yes he did a stupid thing but tried to make up for it. Savy though seemed really immature to me. She is only nineteen and I suppose that could be part of it but I was somewhat wanting to pull my hair out with her refusal to listen to Glen. With the conversations being hard to follow I became really bored with the back and forth between the two and there was quite a bit of it.

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

The Copper Gauntlet by Holly Black
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Copper Gauntlet is the second book in the Magisterium series. We rejoin Call as he is on the summer break from the Magisterium where he had just completed his first year of study of magic known as the Iron year and is soon to return for his Copper year. Unfortunately Call’s father seems to have some shady plans set for Call and doesn’t want him to return forcing Call to run away.

The authors do a wonderful job of quickly catching the reader up with the story and what had happened in the previous book right as you start off reading, no reason to fret if you might have forgotten some details since reading the first book. After a quick refresh we are again thrust back into the world of magic and details left from the first story yet to be resolved. Easy to get completely caught back up into the story and with Call and his friends on their adventures.

Again, as with The Iron Trial, I really couldn’t tell that I was reading a book about a group of now thirteen year olds. Call and his fellow apprentices are very mature for their ages so without the occasional reminder to the reader I really think anyone of any age should enjoy this story if you love a good fantasy read. What is missing from the normal young adult fantasy is the lack of a love triangle between the two male characters and their female friend. Being kids, they are all truly a group of friends that care for each other no matter the odds.

Some great action with the current story line and a good opening at the end to leave the reader wanting to know how the story will continue. Looking forward to reading the next in this five book series next year and would highly recommend all the fantasy lovers to give this one a shot.

I won this book from Goodreads First Reads, receiving a free copy in no way reflects upon my review and all thoughts are my own.

The Iron Trial by Holly Black
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Callum Hunt lost his mother when he was a baby to the Mage Wars. His father has taught him that the Magisterium is an evil place and the masters teaching the young mage will get him killed much like what happened to his mother. When he goes to take the Iron Trial, a series of tests to see if he will be chosen to become a mage and study at the Magisterium, Callum is determined to fail the tests. Much to his dismay, no matter how terrible his showing at the tests, Callum is still chosen by Master Rufus to enter the Magisterium.

When first hearing of this book I was interested to read it but put it off for quite a while due to it being aimed at the middle grade audience. I really shouldn’t have worried as the book read quite nicely even for an adult such as myself. It was just a wonderful fantasy read that I would often even forget the actual supposed age of the characters in the story as they went about their adventures. There are a few reminders here and there that these are supposed to be twelve year olds we are reading about but believe me, the maturity level was probably greater for them for the vast majority of the story than some adult books.

Being probably one of the very few people left that has not read the Harry Potter series yet I can’t say whether this series is similar to it or not. What I will say though is I did enjoy it quite a bit. If anything I was somewhat reminded of the Shadowhunter series by Cassandra Clare, I could compare Simon starting that academy and feeling a bit left out and Call entering the Magisterium and getting a hard time to start. Other than that though it had a life of it’s own and I think anyone interested in a good fantasy read and tales of magic would enjoy this no matter what their age.

Overall, very enjoyable start to this series and would definitely recommend taking a chance on this one.

A huge thank you to the authors and the publisher for sending an autographed copy of this book when winning a Goodreads giveaway for the Copper Gauntlet. Receiving a free copy in no way reflects upon my review and all thoughts are my own.