Carries Book Reviews

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Silent Screams
M.H.B.
Publication date: September 19th 2024
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

One accident.

Two men.

Almost three years of despair.

Four beating hearts growing in pain.

Five lives forever changed.

Everything fell apart in the blink of an eye.

These days my own misery keeps me company.

I never thought this would be me—a twenty-four-year-old—stuck in a dead-end relationship.

Gone are the thrilling adventures with Harvey Stark.

Gone is his smile.

Gone is the sight of his dimples and the sparkle in his bright blue eyes.

He’s changed into a hollow version of himself and I’m just a shadow following him around our home.

Then I meet my new boss. Damon Dreygon challenges me in ways I never knew existed and makes me believe in myself again. Our souls match instantly, and meeting Damon feels like a step towards peace.

Except it’s not. Because everyone grieves differently.

While one man refuses to touch me, the other won’t love me.

And I’m crawling through the crippling chaos, barely holding on . . .

Goodreads / Amazon

Author Bio:

M . H . B . graduated law from a Canadian University. She loves spending time with her partner and her dog. She has a passion for animals and loves the simple things in life: chocolate, music, books, sunny days, and overall wellness. When she is not writing, her mind is in another world with a book in hand.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Instagram

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In the Midst of Shadows
Nicola Italia
Genres: Adult, Historical, Mystery

In the Victorian era, a cheap and popular form of entertainment has entranced the population often known by the name; penny dreadful. Costing a penny, readers purchased the stories and entered the fantastic world of superhuman men and damsels in distress.

The stories have been popular for over fifty years and Lavinia Howard is a young woman who dreams of being such a writer. Having recently lost her father, she turns to a family friend who puts her in touch with Jasper Courtenay, owner of Courtenay Publishing.

Writing under the pen name G. R. Howard, Lavinia creates a character who becomes a huge success as her penny dreadful stories are the most popular ever printed. Her character is brash and obnoxious and has no respect for authority as he solves London murders and the working classes adore him!

But strange things begin to happen as the stories Lavinia writes start to come true. Two very similar deaths mirror those she writes about, and Detective Chief Inspector Harrison Bryce is assigned to investigate. Inspector Bryce soon discovers that Lavinia has become so popular that she has also made enemies along with her legion of fans.

He realizes that everyone surrounding Lavinia has a motive to have committed the crimes. He must work fast to determine who wants to harm her as he suspects Lavinia may be the next target on the killer’s list.

Also on audio – The Belle of London

Goodreads / Purchase

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EXCERPT:

Casimir Kimberly strode resolutely past the throng of people gathered in the alley who were trying to catch a glimpse of the body of the woman lying at the foot of the wooden stairs. His black woolen overcoat reached to his knees and he could feel the material swirl about his legs as he walked. Casimir was not a man given to fanciful dress or cologne as some dandies and French men were known to be, but damn did he love his coat.

He made eye contact with a policeman keeping the crowd under control and the man immediately motioned for Casimir to make his way through the circle of people. Casimir glanced over his shoulder and saw that Ralphie was behind him but lagging. The man was always falling behind.

As he came closer to the body lying in an odd position from the fall, a flash of lightning dominated the sky and he looked up. It was early in the morning and most people were still in bed. The crowd that was gathered now must be the dead woman’s neighbors or local tradespeople.

He felt around in his coat pocket for his John Millar & Sons tin and took out one drop and popped it into his mouth. As the delicious flavors of black currant and licorice filled his mouth, he began to study the crowd surrounding him. He first surveyed the middle-aged men, then the women. He knew what he was searching for and his heart beat faster as the lightning flashed once more through the morning sky.

He sat back on his haunches, surveying the body before him. He had been told a portion of the woman’s story when the police had summoned him. The charwoman had lived on the second floor and the stairs leading to the flat were outside in the alleyway. Sometime in the night, the woman had fallen down the stairs and broken her neck. Some in the police said it was an accident, others were not so convinced. He had been called in to look over the scene and give his opinion. Casimir wasn’t a detective with Scotland Yard nor a private investigator who worked for the Pinkerton Detective Agency, but he was blessed—or cursed, depending on whom you asked—with an abnormal understanding of crime, its victims, and most importantly the offenders.

Casimir suddenly looked up. He sniffed the air distinctly with several sniffs to the right and then to the left and narrowed his eyes.

“Ralphie,” he growled once.

“Yes, Guvnor,” came the quick reply from the man standing nearby.

“Move that fishmonger down the lane,” Casimir said simply. “All I can smell is his two-day-old mackerel.”

“Aye, Guvnor.”

The fishmonger was moved along but Casimir’s sense of smell was compromised. He swore inwardly. He always liked to get a sense of the crime scene’s smell. The blood, the vomit, the rain, the earth. Each had its own distinct smell and each told its own story. He looked down at the body and noticed the shabbiness of her nightdress, the small feet, and the hands used to hard work. The woman was probably in her forties but her weathered face looked closer to sixty. Her forehead was deeply lined, her eyes sunken into her skeletal face.

As he took in her worn hands, he noticed something peculiar. On the ring finger of her left hand there was no ring but lighter skin where a ring had once been. He knew the woman was married.

Casimir stood up abruptly, causing the onlookers around him to gasp. He shook his head and looked about at the group. He had been so absorbed in concentrating on the woman he had forgotten about the people surrounding him in the alleyway. He looked back into the group, his eyes searching for what he had seen before to assure himself that he was correct. His eyes narrowed when he saw the exchange and then he almost grinned. This was too easy, he told himself.

He strode forward, his long legs covering vast amounts of space before he stood before a stout, well-built man in the crowd. The man had the look of a stonemason, not very tall but built like a solid bull. He eyed the man quietly, looking over his beefy chest, his bulging forearms, his black hair sprinkled with gray, and the cap he held in his hands respectfully. Casimir narrowed his eyes and watched the man glance quickly to his right and then away again.

Following his gaze, he saw what the man was looking at. A small red-haired woman with a large bosom and thick ankles. She smiled shyly back at the man before he looked away.

“He did it,” Casimir said loudly and strongly, pointing to the stonemason.

Author Bio:

Nicola is a Los Angeles native. Early in elementary school, Nicola had a great fondness for reading and began to write creatively. She graduated from university with a degree in communications and has held a variety of positions in journalism, education, government and non profit.

Nicola has traveled extensively throughout Europe, China, Central America and Egypt and loves all things historical.

She has nineteen historical romance and mystery novels on Amazon.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Instagram / Bookbub / Amazon

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The Celestial Contract
Elizabeth Boyer, W.B. Dineen
Publication date: August 14th 2024
Genres: Metaphysical and Visionary Fiction

Thousands of years ago, Earth was hijacked by a self-appointed group of puppet masters. Their objective? To keep humanity from remembering why we have incarnated onto our planet—to keep us ignorant of the contract we signed with God before we came.

The powers-that-be have created and perpetrated falsehoods, distractions, and illusions, so we no longer have any idea what life on Earth is supposed to be—what reality truly is. We struggle with the most basic principles of living, unaware the game has changed.

An evolution is coming that will alter the landscape of civilization forever. If we want to evolve, we need to wake up now, and honor our covenant with the Divine. The alternative is being cast into eternal darkness.

The Celestial Contract is a harrowing story of what is happening in our world today. It explains who we are, why we’re here, and why we have lost all control over our lives.

“The information in this book blew my mind! I’ve searched for answers to philosophical questions about why we (humans) are on Earth, and what our purpose is … I’m both surprised and delighted by the answers. I want another book stat!”

– USA Today Bestselling author, Diana Orgain

Goodreads / Amazon / Purchase

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EXCERPT:

My life’s journey has encompassed many challenges. Challenges that have underscored the knowledge that there is a bigger landscape of existence than what is seen on the surface—we’re born into families, we go to school to learn, then we get jobs, get married, have kids, and the cycle keeps repeating ad nauseam.

While I had accomplished the seemingly expected tasks, my life still seemed devoid of purpose. I was left with the following questions: Why am I doing this? What is it all about? Who is in charge and where can I register my complaint that I am not fulfilled? I want more.

Growing up in the Catholic Church, going exclusively to Catholic schools, I didn’t learn any of the information I was seeking. I was essentially told, “This is the way it is. Don’t ask questions. Just accept your instructions and live within the confines of them.” While some of what I was taught rang true, I instinctively knew it wasn’t the full story.

In my search for enlightenment, I read copious books, took many courses, and listened to every expert I could find who spoke on the idea of a deeper meaning to life. I learned about

things my upbringing would have eschewed as heresy, but as I didn’t fully trust religious indoctrination, I needed to find out what else was out there.

In a bid to understand why I’m on this planet and what my bigger purpose is, I pried open my mind and entertained a multitude of possibilities. I participated in past life regression; I visited psychics and other clairvoyants; I spoke to shamans and other holy people outside of Christianity; and still, I couldn’t assimilate a vision I could totally get behind.

During this time, when I had no money to spare, I was drawn to spend ten thousand dollars to attend hypnotherapy school. It was an absurd amount for someone who sold her platelets at the blood bank just to gather enough vouchers to take her child to Disneyland.

Ten thousand dollars was a king’s ransom to me and could have alleviated many of my day-to-day struggles. The fact that I was willing to take out a student loan to pay for it confirmed the rightness of my attraction to hypnotherapy. No amount of money seemed too much if it meant continuing my path to enlightenment.

Long after graduating, I began working with a woman who was facing her life’s greatest challenge. She was distressed because her body was unable to carry a pregnancy to term and she desired nothing more than to understand why she couldn’t attain her heart’s desire.

While “in state” during hypnosis, it became clear that my client, Emma, was attracting other presences. Worrying they might not all be benevolent, we began a process of weeding through the curious entities who wanted to take part in our sessions.

That’s when Emma’s spirit guide introduced herself to my client and created the rule for protection. The rule being, if Therie (as she called herself) wasn’t present during the attempted communication, then Emma was to walk away and not participate in it.

You might wonder why Emma would trust a random spirit who just showed up during hypnosis. How did Emma know she was safe? My client had been interested in spiritual endeavors since she was a child, and during a particularly rough patch, a beautiful woman showed up in her dreams to offer comfort and encouragement. This woman was Therie.

When she awoke, Emma didn’t remember anything but the feeling of pure love and joy she had experienced during that encounter, and she was desperate to feel it again. For years she tried to return to the location where Therie came to her, but she was never able to recreate the experience. At least she wasn’t able to consciously remember it.

In any event, that’s why Emma recognized Therie twenty years later in hypnosis. She had no doubt her spirit guide was who she claimed to be, and that she could be trusted.

During our sessions, one entity became more persistent than the others. The only problem was that this being could not decrease its vibration to the point where meaningful contact could be made. Therie assured Emma the contact was vital and the only solution was to increase Emma’s vibration to meet them halfway.

As such, my client’s guide worked with us until Emma could link up with the being from the other side. This process took months, and while we grew impatient to understand what it was all about, Therie continued to assure us we would eventually have all our questions answered.

When Emma’s vibration level finally increased enough that she was able to talk to the being, she refused to tell me what it was saying. All I heard on my end was Emma’s persistent response, “I’m not telling Gen that. Nope, not going to do it.” This went on for several sessions, and I started to wonder if I was ever going to know what was being said.

Eventually, Emma’s contact offered her a deal of sorts. If she would step aside and let them speak, they would help her body heal so she could finally bear the life she longed for. She would finally be able to conceive and carry a baby to term. This was an offer akin to waving a fistful of candy bars in front of a young child. Emma, who still hadn’t achieved her greatest dream—and because Therie encouraged her to do it—signed up to simply step aside and let

the contact give voice through her. She was as surprised as I was by the scope of information that came through.

The focus of this book is what we learned during that time. The being—which turned out to be multiple beings united in one light—not only answered every question I’ve ever had about existence, but they also relayed their purpose for making contact. That purpose was to warn the inhabitants of Earth of an upcoming evolution that would change human life as we have come to know it. Forever.

They explained something called a Celestial Contract, which is the ultimate contract every human makes with God—or the Universe, if you prefer—before incarnating into this world. If this vow is honored, all other contracts become null and void. This one pact is our purpose, it is our destiny, and yet it is something we largely remain unaware of.

AHL, our friends from beyond, explained that their message needs to reach people, to wake them up to their real purpose before the time of astronomical metamorphosis. In addition to explaining this contract, they shared Universal Truths so far beyond limited human understanding that it left me overwhelmed—and I had pursued answers to these questions my entire adult life.

The bottom line is that we are not alone, and we must allow the seed of the Divine to bloom within us before it’s too late.

We have no choice but to adhere to the terms of our Celestial Contract or reap the consequences.

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Whiskey and Warfare
E.M. Hamill
(The Team Huntress Flights, #1)
Publication date: September 15th 2024
Genres: Adult, Science Fiction

Running on caffeine and spite with nothing left to prove.

Maryn Alessi retired from mercenary service after her last assignment went horribly sideways and settled down on a quiet planet with the love of her life. Unexpectedly widowed, Maryn must fulfill a promise to return her mate’s ashes to zer home planet for funeral rites, but a brutal civil war has destabilized space travel.

Former Artemis Corps sisters-in-arms and their sassy ship, the Golden Girl, are up to the task, counting on luck and their rather sketchy cargo business to get Maryn passage through the contested star lanes. But when the crew of the Girl rescues survivors of a ruthless war crime, Maryn and her ride-or-die friends must take up their old profession to save the lives of innocents from a genocidal dictator.

WHISKEY AND WARFARE is the first of The Team Huntress Flights.

Goodreads / Purchase

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EXCERPT:

“We’re in position.” Scylla’s voice came over the headset. She squinted at the display as the external floodlights played over twisted metal. The ramp began to descend, letting the void in. A cold sweat broke out over Maryn’s skin at the sight of interminable space.

I’m inside, not out there, she reminded herself. She tried to train her attention on the heads-up instead, but her eyes refused to focus. “Girl, adjust the holo projector for plus three distance and magnification.”

“Setting display for granny glasses,” the ship responded.

“What did you say?” Maryn blurted.

“That’s what I call it. Girl does too, now,” Scylla said over the comm.

Her eyes finally cooperated. The blasted hull of the ship spun beneath them and she caught sight of the cylindrical life pod, projecting part way out of the tube from which it had been launched.

“I see it. Match trajectory and rotation.” She extended her arms. The hydraulic limbs reflected her movement. “There’s a piece of debris jamming the life pod into the tube. I can only see one of the retrieval cuffs on the pod. It’s twisted the wrong direction. Bring us more to port.”

“Roger. Correcting speed and rotation.” Scylla said. The stars outside spun in a dizzy arc, drawing Maryn’s gaze to them, and she blinked sweat out of her eyes. “How’s that?”

The other cuff was in view. “Good for now.” She reached for the near cuff and clamped hydraulic fingers around the handle. The other limb extended but she met unexpected resistance before she could use the claw to grab the metal rod jamming the tube. “The right arm is stuck.”

“You have to punch a little to unstick it,” Jac told her over the headset. “It’s got shoulder issues. Girl’s getting old, like us.”

“I beg your pardon,” Girl said, offended. “I’m younger than all of you. It’s not the age. It’s the shit you’ve put me through.”

Maryn carefully retracted her arm, swiveling, and extended her fist with more momentum. The joint popped and the robotic manipulator extended the rest of the way, the metal hand slamming against the lifeboat. “I probably just scared the hell out of whoever’s in there.” She wrapped the claw around the junk pinning the capsule into the tube and pulled back. The rod moved but refused to let go. “It’s not going to budge without a little force. It might just pull the wreck with us before it releases. How big of a problem is that?”

“Big,” Scylla admitted. “A huge section of the transport is drifting toward us faster than I hoped. We won’t be able to move out of the way fast enough lugging that behind us and I don’t want the Girl smashed between ‘em.”

“If we leave the life pod here, they’re going to be smashed instead of us,” Maryn snapped. “How long do we have?”

“About two minutes until we have to disengage.”

“Just like old times,” Maryn muttered. “All right. Give me a minute. Be prepared to move away as soon as it comes loose.”

She wrapped one hydraulic claw around the tow handle, the other on the obstructing debris and pulled. Both shifted in the tube and stuck again. “Come on, you bastard,” she grunted, throwing her weight against the hydraulics. The cylinder slid out another foot, not even halfway out of the launch tube.

Her thigh muscles burned with the effort as she leaned backward in the arm controls. She staggered when the cylinder suddenly slid free, and the hydraulic claw jerked the life pod forward too quickly, banging it on the ramp of the cargo bay.

“Damn it, I’m really rattling whoever is inside. I hope they’re strapped in.”

“Make it fast, Mar,” Scylla said. “That wreck’s getting too close.”

Maryn gritted her teeth and clamped the other claw on the opposite tow handle. She carefully drew the vessel into the bay and deposited it hatch side up on the deck, not as gently as she would have liked. “Got it. Go!”

Impulse engines fired, treating her to a fresh, terrifying sight of wheeling stars and drifting wreckage as the bulk of the shattered transport plowed into the remains of the smaller ship and drove it toward the Girl’s stern. “I said go, go, go!”

Author Bio:

E.M. (Elisabeth) Hamill writes adult science fiction and fantasy somewhere in the wilds of eastern suburban Kansas. A nurse by day, wordsmith by night, she is happy to give her geeky imagination free rein and has sworn never to grow up and get boring.

Frequently under the influence of caffeinated beverages, she also writes as Elisabeth Hamill for young adult readers in fantasy with the award-winning Songmaker series.

She lives with her family, where they fend off flying monkey attacks and prep for the zombie apocalypse.

Visit her website at http://www.elisabethhamill.com and her blog at http://www.emhamill.wordpress.co

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / TikTok

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Not much to share this week with only picking up one new title. Starting to eye more Christmas titles with it still being so hot I don’t mind reading about a lot of snow even though fall should be here and we should be cooling down a bit.

As always clicking the covers will take you to the book on Amazon!**

New additions from Netgalley Sept 8th  – Sept 15th

The smell of mulled wine fills the air as the villagers listen to carollers singing. Everyone in town is ready for the big day. But Lauren only has hours to get the community Christmas party back on track…

Thirty-four-year-old Lauren has a list for everything, especially Christmas. With her presents bought months in advance, the last thing on her checklist is the charity party she runs every year. It has to be perfect – she has seen how much the event means to the older villagers who would be alone for the holidays otherwise.

Everything is going smoothly as the local church bells ring. Until handsome Kian walks in, claiming he has the little village hall booked for his young daughter’s birthday party. Lauren nearly falls off the ladder she is using to hang fairy lights. There’s no way this is happening. Not when she’d triple-checked every detail…

As Lauren frantically tries to find another option, Kian’s insistence that she should just “relax” isn’t helping her stay merry and bright. There’s only one way to make this a festive party to remember. She has to try and work with Kian.

They clash over every detail, but as their helpers arrive, Kian’s kind and welcoming nature soothes Lauren’s shaken nerves. And his gorgeous blue eyes make her wish she’d put the mistletoe out. Until Kian mysteriously disappears…

And Lauren is left alone to keep the excitable children from running into the flaming Christmas pudding the older guests love every year. Will Kian’s chilled approach cool the celebrations? Or can Lauren and Kian put aside their differences and save the day once more?

This completely addictive and gorgeous festive romance is perfect for fans of Cathy Bramley, Tracy Rees and Heidi Swain. You will not be able to put this down once it wraps you up in its warmth and charm!