Carries Book Reviews

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The Magical Christmas Cottage
Aimee O’Brian
(Charmed Love, #3)
Publication date: October 23rd 2025
Genres: Adult, Holiday, Romance

In the small town of Hazard, sometimes love is the greatest Christmas miracle.

Alina McAllister is starting fresh in the charming town of Hazard, Rhode Island, with a simple plan: take a docent job at the Historical Society and embrace the magic of the season. But when her landlady Hazel suffers a stroke, everything changes. Hazel’s grumpy yet undeniably handsome grandson, Carter Bestwick, swoops into town determined to sell the cottage and move on with his corporate life. He needs Alina to leave—immediately.

With nowhere to go and a snowstorm trapping them together, Alina and Carter are forced into close quarters. What starts as a tense, begrudging arrangement soon sparks undeniable chemistry. As they clear out the attic, they discover Hazel’s magical wedding bands—heirlooms passed down through generations since the Revolutionary War—and find that sometimes, the magic of love is closer than they think.

In this heartwarming, opposites-attract holiday romance, Alina and Carter may just find that the greatest gift of all is an unexpected love.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

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EXCERPT:

With a playful glance at Carter, Alina slipped the small gold ring on her finger. It fit perfectly. She admired the filigreed design of clasped hands and held up her own. “What do you think?”

Carter frowned at her. Of course he did. His voice was rough when he spoke. “What are you doing?”

Alina shrugged. “Having some fun. You could try it. You do know what fun is?”

His frown lines deepened into furrows. If he wasn’t careful, he’d look old before his time.

Determined to help him avoid that fate, Alina teased, “Don’t you ever have fun? Here.” She held out the larger ring to him. It too, had a design of clasped hands.

He raised a disapproving brow. “You want me to put on some old wedding band.” It wasn’t a question and the censure in his voice was obvious.

“Sure, why not? What are you afraid of?”

He tilted his head. “I’m not a commitment-phobe if that’s what you’re implying.”

“So, put it on.” She issued the challenge to see if he’d accept.

“We are not making a commitment.”

“No, we are playing. Fun, remember?”

When he just stared at the ring, she added, “I dare you.”

Carter’s eyes narrowed. “You dare me?”

“That’s right, I dare you.” She was back to playground taunts, but this time Alina didn’t care because it really was fun. And he needed to lighten up.

Carter tilted his chin up for a moment before he narrowed his eyes at her and slipped the ring on the third finger of his left hand.

It went on easily like hers had. “See, perfect fit. I wonder where they came from.”

“They’re old, I’m certain.” Carter gazed down at the ring on his finger. “I’ve seen pictures of this type of ring somewhere. Traditional workmanship but surprisingly comfortable. Okay, time to get back to work. Fun’s over.”

“Fun should never be over.”

Carter tugged on the ring to take it off. He blinked, tugged harder. “That’s odd. It went on so smooth, and now it’s stuck.”

Author Bio:

Having lived in both California and Texas, award-winning author Aimee O’Brian now resides in the beautiful wine country where she writes dark, sexy, funny romance. With her three children grown and experiencing their own adventures, she and her husband are free to explore the world. When she’s not reading, writing, or planting even more flowers in her garden, she can be found stomping through ancient ruins and getting lost in museums.

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The Magical Christmas Cottage Blitz

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Dolls Gone Wild
Allie Brahms
(Ghost Cupid, #3)
Publication date: December 5th 2025
Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Romance

So far my job month, which should’ve been lowkey and easy, has gone thusly:

1. A bride wants to divorce her dead husband. (You unfortunately read that right.)

2. Zhen gets called into work anyway because they lost Annabelle at the airport. Yes. That Annabelle. (#nothankyou)

3. Jasha is magical. With a familiar. (Anyone have this on their bingo card? I didn’t.)

4. A ghost groom abduction. (I don’t get paid enough for this.)

Is it too late to revoke my supernatural club membership?

Goodreads / Amazon / Raconteur House Store

Author Bio:

Allie Brahms is crazy. All who know her attest to this. Her craziness takes form of writing multiple books under multiple pen names, in between DnD campaigns, learning languages, consuming more Asian dramas than are healthy, etc. She lives in a small town in Michigan in order to pester her nephews and niece. Connect with her on FB.

Website / Facebook

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**This post contains Amazon affiliate links which will allow me as an associate to earn a small commission on any purchase made through the link of the products I share. This commission in no way changes the pricing of any items for the buyer.**

Winter in the High Sierra
Robert Brighton
Publication date: October 1st 2025
Genres: Adult, Historical, Romance

November 1899. New York society belle Louisa MacGregor, heartsick after a broken engagement, flees her old life aboard the last westbound train of the season, whose track cuts through the very heart of the steep and forbidding Sierra Nevada Mountains.

When an early blizzard traps her train in a remote mountain pass, Louisa is fast asleep in her luxurious palace car. The big train proves too heavy to make it over the snow-covered summit, and the engineer makes a fateful decision: to lighten the load, he crowds all his passengers into the first two cars and leave the rest of his train behind to the mercy of the elements.

Asleep, Louisa does not hear the conductor’s urgent cries, and she and her palace car are left behind. When she awakens, she finds herself cold, alone, and deserted in the most rugged wilderness on the continent.

She is near despair when a solitary mountain man—whom she comes to know only as ‘Bandit’—locates her abandoned train. The handsome, mysterious Bandit—who seems to carry with him a deep sadness of his own—leads Louisa over the mountaintops and down to his tidy cabin, nestled in a secluded valley surrounded by the towering peaks of the High Sierra.

With no prospect of rescue until spring, Lou and Bandit must find a way to survive the deadliest winter in fifty years. Trapped in a wild mountain paradise that is by turns unspeakably beautiful and utterly terrifying, these two lost people must learn to trust each other—and, perhaps, find the true meaning of life, love, and redemption.

Rich with historical detail, wilderness adventure, and heartfelt romance, Winter in the High Sierra is a sweeping, inspirational, clean love story perfect for readers who enjoy:

Heartfelt clean romances

Nature and healing journeys

Inspirational love stories with grace

Snowbound survival stories

Western mountain wilderness stories

Historical fiction with emotional depth

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

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EXCERPT:

★★★★★ A beautifully written romance where love, trust, and survival intertwine. Absolute must-read!

What if your second chance came in the form of a snowstorm and a stranger who help you to see your worth before you did?

That’s the heart of Winter in the High Sierra, a powerful, clean historical romance set in the remote Sierra Nevada in 1899.

Louisa MacGregor is used to wealth, comfort, and being told what’s proper, until a broken engagement sends her fleeing west, heart in pieces. Boarding the last train out of New York, she hopes to disappear into the wilderness and leave her pain behind.

But when an unexpected storm traps the train in a mountain pass, Louisa’s car is quietly abandoned. She wakes to an empty train, deep snow, and no hope of rescue.

Then she meets Bandit, a quiet, deeply kind mountain man who offers her shelter in his isolated cabin. With no way out until spring, the two must face the elements, and their own guarded emotions.

Unlike the gruff, brooding heroes found in many survival stories, Bandit is gentle and introspective. He listens more than he speaks, and his kindness runs deep. As Lou finds her footing in this strange, wild world, she begins to rediscover her strength — and see herself through Bandit’s eyes.

Set against breathtaking landscapes and rich historical detail, Winter in the High Sierra blends survival, heartache, faith, and emotional redemption into a story that will leave you deeply moved and enjoying every word. Funny, moving, and a real page-turner. You won’t want to put it down, trust me.

you’ll love this clean, character-driven romance with a slow burn and a strong sense of place.

Don’t miss this unforgettable journey. Grab your copy of Winter in the High Sierra today and let it carry you away to a cozy escape.

Author Bio:

Acclaimed author Robert Brighton is an authority on the Gilded Age, and a great believer that the Victorian era was anything but stuffy. In his immersive fiction books, Brighton exposes the turbulence of the era – its passions, dreams, and disasters – against a backdrop of careful research on the places, sights, sounds, and smells of the time.

When he is not walking the streets in the footsteps of the Avenging Angels, sniffing out unsolved mysteries, Brighton is an adventurer. He has traveled in more than 50 countries around the world, personally throwing himself into every situation his characters will face – from underground ruins to opium dens – and (so far) living to tell about it.

A graduate of the Sorbonne, Paris, Brighton is an avid student of early 20th Century history and literature, an ardent and relentless investigator, and an admirer of Emily Dickinson and Jim Morrison. He lives in Virginia with his wife and their two cats.

Website / Goodreads / Instagram / Newsletter

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Winter in the High Sierra Blitz

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Lovely Torment
Kimberly Quinn
(Savage Hearts Syndicate, #2)
Publication date: November 18th 2025
Genres: Adult, Dark Romance, Romance, Suspense

He’s cold, calculating, and lethal. A killer.

He’s also my hero.

Finn Decker rescued me from a life in captivity, but not out of mercy. I’m his key to destroying the Bratva leader who shattered both our lives. A pawn in his ruthless game of vengeance.

I should be afraid. I should run.

Instead, I’m drawn to the darkness in his eyes, the craving he ignites, and the promise of retribution he offers. And I realize—I want him to use me in ways that have nothing to do with revenge.

Only, it’s hard to tell if I’m his leverage, his weakness, or something far more dangerous.

His.

Because in a war this savage, there’s no room for mistakes.

Or love.

Pre-order

Author Bio:

Kimberly is a contemporary romance author, born procrastinator, and lover of morally gray heroes. She enjoys lively conversations, usually with imaginary people, and can often be found daydreaming at work.

She writes gritty, messy, dangerous romances, featuring beautifully flawed characters, pursuing love at all costs. It’s romance with rough edges.

When she’s not busy writing, you can find her with a coffee in hand, dog at her side, and exploring the wilds of her hometown in Ontario, Canada… Or on her couch, getting lost in a good story.

Website / Goodreads / Instagram / Facebook

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**This post contains Amazon affiliate links which will allow me as an associate to earn a small commission on any purchase made through the link of the products I share. This commission in no way changes the pricing of any items for the buyer.**

Coming Up for Air
Jessica Natalie Reino
Published by: Fire and Ice YA
Publication date: October 20th 2025
Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, Young Adult

As if the rumors and whispers from the people of her seaside town, Oceanbrook, weren’t bad enough, 17-year-old Sarah D’Antonio is troubled by the whispers from the forest. It’s not her fault that she hears voices, that she sees auras, and that she has been sleepwalking along the shore. The townspeople, and Sarah’s parents among them, claim that it is all in response to stress, including her chronic migraines and panic attacks. They believe that she can’t come to grips with the fact that her cousin, Lena, is dead. But Sarah knows that the things she is experiencing are real and not something she is bringing on herself. She also knows that Lena is not dead, only missing. She believes that there is something more supernatural going on and that the town is hiding secrets.

Sarah’s feelings are validated when she suddenly becomes thrust into a world in which she has always sensed but never seen. A world of fairy witches, shape-shifters, and legendary creatures. The world of the astral plane. And now, it will be up to her to form alliances to save the magic, fix the astral plane, and most importantly, to bring her cousin home.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble

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EXCERPT:

I had lost so much over the span of the last few years. Second-guessing everything but still trying to find a reason behind why bad things happen. It’s not like I didn’t know that life wasn’t fair, but living with chronic illness and how everyone reacted differently to Lena’s disappearance really drove home the fact that I would never be able to fully trust my relationships, my health, or even my beliefs. I think that’s what scared me the most. Everything that I had believed was shaken, and I had to build a new normal. I had to build myself back up. Only, I didn’t have a solid foundation on which to do it.

Author Bio:

Jessica Natalie Reino is a multi-genre author with a soft spot for sweet romance and the supernatural. Inspired by her Italian heritage and growing up in New England, she is constantly developing new story ideas that not only raise awareness for those with invisible illnesses, but also promote kindness and the importance of physical and mental health. When she is not working on her own writing, Jess can be found helping other writers achieve their goals, spending time with family and friends, or out on the Zumba® dance floor.

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Coming Up for Air Blitz

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