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Carousel (Book 2 in Fire Ballad Series) by Kimberly Stedronsky

 Carousel by Kimberly Stedronsky


Reviewed by Shirley Buchanan

I have always believed that angels live among us. It could be the person who stops you from accidentally walking into traffic. Or is it the person who offers comfort, sympathy and compassion to someone in grief? Or maybe it's the person who performs acts of kindness anonymously? But are there other kinds? Ones who don't show those good tendencies? What would or could they do? While reading Kimberly Stedronsky's newest book, I definitely gave them a lot of thought.

Sweet, kind and generous, Wynn Rush, daughter of Logan and Violet, tried to help others in any way she could, putting herself last. Painfully shy, she never felt like she fit in with the rest of her peers, even though she had tried in her younger years. Maybe it just wasn't in the cards for her to be part of all the activities other teenagers experienced. Besides since their return from Icepond, a lot of new responsibilities had been placed on her young shoulders and there was no extra time for anything else. As always, her first love and loyalty would always be to her family. Then potential tragedy struck. A photo showing her future death by the Carousel Killer was delivered to her home. She couldn't ask her family for help because that would put them in danger. Only one person could be her ally in ferreting out the killer before the photo came true, Cole Mathison.

Locating facts, spinning theories, and researching legends, they would peel back every layer to find the killer, but assistance to her endeavor was not the only thing Wynn finds with Cole. Love comes barreling in during the investigation to take her completely off guard. Can she convince Cole she loves him while saving herself from a horrendous death, even if she is immortal and will live again? And after it's all over, will she be able to keep her true love or will past grievances and misconceptions tear them apart?

Handsome, muscular, and immortal, Cole Mathison has fought his share of ghosts, demons and the supernatural, but Wynn's request for his help and protection to help find the Carousel Killer was the hardest gig he had ever had. With each new discovery they are pulled closed together and he finds himself drawn to her. Despite every reason he knows he shouldn't, he finds himself falling in love, but he doesn't feel like he deserves her. Only when they are together he finds peace from his own demons for the first time. Can he let her go when the crisis is over or will he ignore his logical brain and hang on to her forever?

With so many twists and turns intertwined with the excellent character development and intriguing plot, this story was a joy to read. Turning the pages quickly because I was so enthralled in the action of the story, I felt as if I was there helping them figure out the reasons for the murders and encouraging their fledgling love. Mystery, suspense, intrigue, action and roller coaster emotions made this a very entertaining story. Intense interaction with the secondary characters, including some from the Roam series, provided an excellent addition to this story.

I would recommend this book for all readers of romance and paranormal.

I received an ARC from the author for an honest review.

5/5 stars                       Could they solve the mystery and find love before she died?