Carries Book Reviews

Blaze by Erika Chase
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Kate McDonald has moved to the big city of San Francisco from a small town in Alaska to try to get into a career in the publishing industry. While at an event she meets the famous author Gabriel Call. Gabriel is immediately attracted to Kate but doesn’t want to offer a relationship beyond sex while he is staying in San Francisco. Of course things heat up and it seems each are wanting more.

A really hot and steamy read with a lot of chemistry between the sheets for Kate and Gabriel. In a way this reminded me of 50 Shades of Grey in the way that Gabriel seemed to think of Kate as more of a possession and want things on his terms although it was not a dominate/submissive relationship as in those books.

It also seemed like as soon as the story started to progress it ended on a cliffhanger. Not overly a fan of the ones that just abruptly end in this way but a good read until then.

Overall, a good hot and steamy erotic romance with a cliffhanger ending.

White Lies by Emily Harper
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Natalie Flemming thinks she has her career on track as an accounting manager at a designer shoe company and all she wants to do is find her Mr. Right. Getting frustrated not meeting the man of her dreams she places an ad in a magazine hoping to expand her prospects. When a handsome stranger shows up at her company though Natalie can’t concentrate on any of her potential dates being infatuated with Oliver.

A lovely romantic comedy that had me laughing out loud on more than one occasion with Natalie’s antics. Loved Natalie’s character right from the start, just the right mix of a sort of zany craziness that had me both laughing and rooting for things to turn out well for her. Her letters to the man of her dreams were always good for a chuckle between the chapters too.

Overall, great for the fans of romantic comedies.

Pink Balloons and Other Deadly Things by Nancy Tesler
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Carrie Carlin is a biofeedback technician who is in the middle of a divorce from her husband of eighteen years who left her for a model that worked at his company. When she visits her old house and overhears the new fiance Erica discussing her five thousand dollar wedding dress she gets upset and rushes off only to be pulled over for speeding.

When hearing the next day that Erica was murdered Carrie gets a visit from the same detective that had pulled her over. When she finds herself becoming a suspect Carrie begins to investigate Erica’s murder on her own.

This book was alright really I just couldn’t really find myself getting too into the story as Carrie’s therapy time kind of bored me a bit. The oh my gosh this woman is an over-eater at 150lbs and a few others things was really kind of a turn off and found those areas of the story a bit boring. Not to mention that often it seemed Carrie should be a patient instead of helping others with some of her frantic behavior.

Overall, wasn’t a fan of the main character but I’m sure others would enjoy this cozy mystery.

The Island by Jen Minkman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Leia lives on an island where the society she is from sends their children off to live in a place called the Manor at the age of ten. They are considered old enough to be on their own and must go and learn the rest of what they need to know to survive at the manor where at some point by the age of nineteen they should choose a mate and get married to then return to the village of the parents.

When Leia’s friend Andy tells them that their leader is lying to them Leia steals “the book” that contains the story of their ancestors for proof. As she is trying to hide it she meets a boy named Walt that is from the city beyond the wall that Leia’s people refer to as the Fools.

The Island really seems to be one of those love it or hate it type of stories. In the end I actually kind of enjoyed it but I also love Star Wars so when Leia’s are said to believe in the Force and their story is being told I kind of got hooked on seeing how in the world the author would explain all of this.

It’s really not until the very end of the story do you find out why all the Star Wars references but there was a reasoning behind it. That being said I believe the author captured what she was going for when trying to show a society’s rules can seem odd to an outsider.

Did I actually love the idea of ten year olds being sent away? No, not particularly but it captured my attention in wanting to know what in the heck these people were thinking. Of course the entire story and the explanation in the end also seem kind of silly too but I still found it entertaining to read.

Overall, best to describe this as a rather light-hearted dystopian novella that won’t be for everyone, especially those who will not like the Star Wars ties but for me still a fun read.

The Secret Hour by Evie Ryan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Scarlett Reese is only twenty three but she is already employed as a forensic pathologist at the local college although she’s often mistaken as a student. Scarlett is a little different than everyone else, she can hear the thoughts of not only the living but the dead too. Often the bodies that she are studying talk to her, she can see their murders but needs to find the scientific evidence to prove them.

Jack Hollister has transferred to the college and is immediately taken with Scarlett. When Jack approaches her Scarlett finds that she can’t hear his thoughts the way she can with others so she agrees to her first date ever with Jack. Jack however has his own secrets and when someone dies in front of Jack and Scarlett on their date Scarlett is determined to find out why.

This book was another that was hard to rate. If only scoring on entertainment and creativity to the story I’d have gone with five stars very easily. I was completely hooked on this definite page turner and caught up in the story. There were a lot of elements thrown in including a supernatural entity I hadn’t heard of in another story.

However, there are little bits and pieces to the story that could have used a bit of work. I don’t want to give away details to the story but just a few things that could have used better explaining as to why it worked the way it did or changed a bit to work better with the overall story. Also, unfortunately this one ends on a cliffhanger too.

Overall, completely entertaining with some original concepts. Would definitely continue this series.