RECOMMENDED: Head Over Heels is book 3 in the Lucky Harbor series, and is one of the best in the series. I remember reading this book at a conference and not wanting to leave my room so I could finish it. This book is .99c today only as a Kindle Daily Deal, and other retailers have matched the price!
Free-spirited Chloe lives life on the edge. Unlike her soon-to-be married sisters, she isn't ready to settle into a quiet life running their family's newly renovated inn. But soon her love of trouble–and trouble with love-draws the attention of the very stern, very sexy sheriff who'd like nothing better than to tame her wild ways.
Suddenly Chloe can't take a misstep without the sheriff hot on her heels. His rugged swagger and his enigmatic smile are enough to make a girl beg to be handcuffed. For the first time, instead of avoiding the law, Chloe dreams of surrender. Can this rebel find a way to keep the peace with the straitlaced sheriff?
Or will Chloe's colorful past keep her from a love that lasts . . . and the safe haven she truly wants in a town called Lucky Harbor?
Amazon | Goodreads | BN | Kobo | iBooks
Iain M. Banks' Surface Detail is one of today's Kindle Daily Deals at $1.99, and the price has been matched at other retailers. Banks was an acclaimed writer of science fiction, and he passed away in June.
It begins in the realm of the Real, where matter still matters. It begins with a murder. It will not end until the Culture has gone to war with death itself. Lededje Y'breq is one of the Intagliated, her marked body bearing witness to a family shame, her life belonging to a man whose lust for power is without limit.
Prepared to risk everything for her freedom, her release, when it comes, is at a price. To put things right she will need the help of the Culture. Benevolent, enlightened & almost infinitely resourceful tho it may be, the Culture can only do so much for any individual.
With the assistance of one of its most powerful — & arguably deranged — warships, Lededje finds herself heading into a combat zone not even sure which side the Culture is really on. A brutal, far-reaching war is already raging within the digital realms that store the souls of the dead & it's about to erupt into reality.
It started in the realm of the Real & that is where it will end.
It will touch countless lives & affect entire civilizations, but at the center of it all is a young woman whose need for revenge masks another motive altogether.
Goodreads | Amazon | BN | Kobo | iBooks
Over the weekend, 20 Sherrilyn Kenyon novels went on sale at $1.99 each at Amazon. The price drop is lasting longer than just one day, and other retailers have matched the price, so I'm posting about it again. I'm highlighting the four most highly-reviewed novels in series order here, but the complete set is something to behold. If you're a paranormal fan or a Kenyon fan, this might make your wallet cry a bit.
Readers have also described this series as crack Pringles, so be ye warned!
Night Pleasures is $1.99, and is book 2 in the Dark Hunter Series. Book one is Fantasy Lover – it is not on sale, but it's available for $5.99.
Dear Reader,
Have you ever wanted to know what it's like to be immortal? To journey through the night stalking the evil that preys on humans? To have unlimited wealth, unlimited power?
That is my existence, and it is dark and dangerous. I play hero to thousands, but am known to none. And I love every minute of it.
Or so I thought until one night when I woke up handcuffed to my worst nightmare: a conservative woman in a button-down shirt. Or in Amanda's case, buttoned all the way up to her chin. She's smart, sexy, witty, and wants nothing to do with the paranormal-in other words, me.
My attraction to Amanda Devereaux goes against everything I stand for. Not to mention the last time I fell in love it cost me not only my human life, but also my very soul. Yet every time I look at her, I find myself wanting to try again. Wanting to believe that love and loyalty do exist.
Even more disturbing, I find myself wondering if there's any way a woman like Amanda can love a man whose battle scars run deep, and whose heart was damaged by a betrayal so savage that he's not sure it will ever beat again.
Kyrian of Thrace
Night Embrace is book #3 in the Dark Hunter Series.
Dear Reader,
Life is great for me. I have my chicory coffee, my warm beignets, and my best friend on the cell phone. Once the sun goes down, I am the baddest thing prowling the night: I command the elements, and I know no fear.
For centuries, I've protected the innocent and watched over the mankind, making sure they are safe in a world where nothing is ever certain. All I want in return is a hot babe in a red dress, who wants nothing more from me then one night.
Instead, I get a runaway Mardi Gras float that tries to turn me into roadkill and a beautiful woman who saves my life but can't remember where she put my pants. Flamboyant and extravagant, Sunshine Runningwolf should be the perfect woman for me. She wants nothing past tonight, no ties, no long-term commitments.
But every time I look at her, I start yearning for dreams that I buried centuries ago. With her unconventional ways and ability to baffle me, Sunshine is the one person I find myself needing. But for me to love her would mean her death.
I am cursed never to know peace or happiness— not so long as my enemy waits in the night to destroy us both.
—Talon of the Morrigantes
Dance with the Devil is book #4 in the Dark Hunter series, and book #1 in the Were-Hunter series. It's also $1.99.
Zarek's Point of View:
Dark-Hunter: A soulless guardian who stands between mankind and those who would see mankind destroyed. Yeah, right. The only part of that Code of Honor I got was eternity and solitude.
Insanity: A condition many say I suffer from after being alone for so long. But I don't suffer from my insanity-I enjoy every minute of it.
Trust: I can't trust anyone…not even myself. The only thing I trust in is my ability to do the wrong thing in any situation and to hurt anyone who gets in my way.
Truth: I endured a lifetime as a Roman slave, and 900 years as an exiled Dark-Hunter. Now I'm tired of enduring. I want the truth about what happened the night I was exiled-I have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
Astrid (Greek, meaning star): An exceptional woman who can see straight to the truth. Brave and strong, she is a point of light in the darkness. She touches me and I tremble. She smiles and my cold heart shatters.
Zarek: They say even the most damned man can be forgiven. I never believed that until the night Astrid opened her door to me and made this feral beast want to be human again. Made me want to love and be loved.
But how can an ex-slave whose soul is owned by a Greek goddess ever dream of touching, let alone holding, a fiery star?
I just bought the Jill Shalvis book through this link, and Amazon emailed me back that I qualified for a $1 promotional credit because of this purchase, so I guess I was paid 1 cent to buy it? Not sure why I qualified, or if anyone else will get this same offer. (Ahem, I did, however buy all of the Sherrilyn Kenyon Dark Hunter books on Sunday, so maybe I crossed some magical threshold of purchases or something?)
Jill Shalvis: geo-blocked (her books always are; no idea why).
Iain M. Banks: geo-blocked. Which is too bad, because I’d been meaning to try one of his books, having read so many good things about them when he sadly passed away.
Sherrilyn Kenyon: not geo-blocked, but Amazon has added its usual Whispernet fee, basically making for a 100% markup on the deal price. No thanks.
I don’t know why publishers and Amazon feel the need to treat international readers like this, but if they don’t want my money, or want too much of it, I’l just find something else to buy.
Sorry for ranting, but it’s just so frustrating to see great deals every day (thanks for posting them!) and not be able to enjoy most of them.
What is it with Amazon’s Whispernet fees lately? It’s 150% for the Kenyons for me. It doesn’t make sense: I *will* impulse 1-click a $2 Kindle book, but not a $5 one. $5 is not an impulse buy, it requires some thought. Usually that thought is “I don’t really need it/I can live without it.”
@Meri – I’m sorry. That really stinks. Usually the geo restrictions come form the publisher, not the retailer, and are based on the contractual rights purchased (i.e. Grand Central may have only US/Canada rights and the rights where you are located are with some other publisher – maybe). I hate geo restrictions with a white hot passion and am really sorry you can’t grab the deals when they post.
Where are you located? If you don’t mind telling me, I’ll look for deals your area. I’m sorry you can’t take advantage of this one. 🙁
If you haven’t read Head over Heels by Shalvis, I highly recommend it! Sawyer is my favorite hero in Lucky Harbor. This is book 3 in the series for whom it matters. (It would matter to me.). Quite a marvelous outdoor shower scene. I do think the lead up of having read the first two books built into my anticipation of this couple & so made the story so much sweeter for me.
Sarah – thanks, but there’s really no need; I just wanted to bitch about short-sighted publishers and retailers (who lose sales and lose the good will of people who can’t access the books). Thanks for being nice about my mini-rant 🙂
FWIW, complete geo-blocking isn’t something that I encounter that often these days. Mostly it’s just that deals don’t apply, or Amazon adds the Whispernet fee, which has actually gotten worse since the settlement with the Agency publishers (I’m now regularly seeing ebook versions of mass market paperbacks at almost $10). I don’t know how that can be avoided, but there must be a way because I’ve never seen Whispernet fees applied to certain authors (e.g. Courtney Milan) and imprints (e.g. Avon).
My Turkish friend has it even worse – she can’t buy any e-books, with the exception of self-pubbed ones on Smashwords. It seems like everything else is blocked.
@Meri: rant all you want! I totally understand and it makes me cranky, too. I feel badly for your friend in Turkey – so many romance readers email me from countries where there’s very little available, asking how they can try all these books we write about. (And people wonder why piracy exists. In part, that is why).
loved this story by Jill Shalvis. Her books just keep getting better and better!!