The Sweet Life is a special edition boxed set for the May 2014 Brenda Novak Diabetes Auction. It's available for preorder now at Amazon for $2.99, and should be available soon at many other vendors (stay tuned – I'll update when I see it elsewhere). This boxed set features fourteen contemporary romances from many bestselling authors, including Brenda Novak, Bella Andrew, Barbara Freethy, Susan Mallery, Carly Phillips, Susan Wiggs, and Heather Graham. Brenda emailed me about this a few weeks ago, and told me that this boxes set is a limited-time-only offer.
All the proceeds will go to diabetes research. The boxed set will be $2.99 through the second week of May, then the price will rise to $7.99 – which is not bad for fourteen stories!. Then, after May 2014, this boxed set will be taken down and will not be available again.
Have your cake and eat it too–your purchase of A Sweet Life helps fight against diabetes!
Priced at only 2.99 (regular price 7.99), indulge in this stunning limited edition collection of fourteen contemporary romances by New York Times and USA Today Bestselling authors…
You can make a difference while you read! All proceeds from the sale of A Sweet Life will be donated to the Diabetes Research Institute via Brenda Novak's Online Auction for Diabetes Research.
Featuring a foreword by #1 New York Times Bestselling Author Debbie Macomber.
Get your copy today!
1500 pages/ 675 000 words
I Only Have Eyes For You by Bella Andre (The Sullivans)
The only woman wealthy Irish pub owner Jake McCann wants is the one he can't have–Sophie Sullivan, his best friend's off limits sister. But when the beautiful librarian appears on his doorstep as his every fantasy come to life, even though Jake knows loving Sophie isn't the right thing to do…how can he possibly resist?
On A Night Like This by Barbara Freethy (Callways #1)
From #1 NY Times Bestselling Author Barbara Freethy comes the first book about the Callaways, a big Irish family born to serve and protect, many as San Francisco firefighters.
May Day! By Heather Graham
Members of the Krewe of Hunters team plan a relaxing vacation to jolly old London for the English celebration–they never figured that a May Pole just might be murder.
Shopping for a Billionaire by Julia Kent
When mystery shopper Shannon Jacoby meets billionaire Declan McCormick with her hand down a toilet in the men's room of one of his stores, it's love at first flush.
Built to Last by Susan Mallery
The tale of Aaron Cross, a man who doesn't know he needs saving…until he meets Marissa Spencer, a heroine inspired by the real life founder of the Motheread/ Fatheread Literacy Program.
A Baby of Her Own by Brenda Novak
Delaney is tired of waiting for the right man–all she wants is a baby. After seducing a handsome stranger, she returns to Dundee to find that same man is actually taking up residence on a ranch just outside of town–where he will very likely realize she's expecting.
Dare to Love by Carly Phillips
In relationships, Ian Dare offers the bare minimum–until one glimpse of sensual Riley Taylor changes his perspective. Their affair heats up and love comes into play, but Riley's secret past just might cost them everything.
Executive Seduction by Jennifer Probst
When Chandler Santell turns to Logan Grant, the most ruthless CEO in the finance industry to save her beloved Yoga and Arts Center, she never intended to have seduction as part of the plan…
In Too Deep by RaeAnne Thayne
Though fiercely drawn to the comfort of Andrea McPhee's arms, Will Tanner isn't sure he can find room for a woman like her in a life focused on vengeance–until he discovers she has secrets of her own.
Every Girl Does It by Rachel Van Dyken
Amanda gets a flash from the past when the nerdy kid she rejected in high school suddenly reappears in her life…dead sexy, he's all man and he wants her.
Homecoming Season by Susan Wiggs
Miranda Sweeney and her family find hope and healing while spending an autumn at Willow Lake after Miranda survives breast cancer. Inspired by the founder of Cottage Dreams.
Unspoken by Lauren Hawkeye
Once, Ellie Kendrick was the only thing that Dominic Gabriel wanted. Now she's back and her version of what happened between them so long ago makes him question everything he knows about himself as a man…
Sweet Memories by Steena Holmes
Thinking her marriage is over, Tessa is shocked to fall into the arms of her husband… literally. What's a girl to do when her heart still goes pitter-patter for a man who ran out on her once but comes back determined to take another chance?
Take Me, Cowboy by Jane Porter
Jilted at the altar, Jenny Wright is devastated that bull riding champ Colton Thorpe witnesses her shame, but tough sexy Colton is a man who knows what he wants… and he wants Jenny.
Goodreads | Amazon | BN | Kobo
Made in Nashville by Mandy Baggot is .99c right now. This is a contemporary romance set in the Nashville music world, and readers at GR say that if you like the show Nashville, you'll like this. The book has a 4+ star average and readers loved the behind-the-scenes story, though a few hated the turn the heroine takes near the end of the book. Have you read this one?
An on-stage attack left Honor Blackwood with more scars than just the one on her face. It’s been ten years since she left her spot as Nashville’s brightest country music star. Is now the time to return? And is she brave enough to do it?
Country rebel and rock star, Jared ‘Jed’ Marshall is hot property on the Tennessee music scene in more ways than one. He’s wild, he’s sexy and everybody wants a piece of him. But when he sets his sights on Honor, is it pure attraction or just distraction on his mind?
Honor’s record label signs the ex-boyfriend that dumped her and suddenly going back to her old life is harder than she thought. Can she get a new contract? Will she get to perform at the Marlon Festival? Or will Dan Steele destroy everything? When a secret from the past becomes public knowledge it’s no longer just about the music.
Are all the people in her life lying to her to get what they want? And who is really behind the anonymous gifts she keeps getting sent?
Goodreads | Amazon | BN | Kobo
If you're craving contemporaries in the music scene, here's another! Backstage With her Ex by Louisa George has many happy reviews, too, from readers who loved the portrayal of two very different people getting a second chance. Have you read it?
Her ex…the VIP!
Hiding out in the gents' toilets backstage is not the way Sasha imagined bumping into her significant ex. Especially when that ex is notoriously damaged, famously wild rock god Nate Munro! She has a massive favor to ask him, but one glimpse of his sinfully dark eyes and all she can think about is that he's seen her naked!
Nate's used to women doing anything to get his attention, but he never pictured bubbly schoolteacher Sasha as the groupie type—she's far too sweet! But when the paparazzi get a hint of their reunion, it's scandal all the way. Now the question on everyone's lips is this: In this showdown between the girl next door and rock-and-roll royalty, who's going to come out on top?
Goodreads | Amazon | BN | Sony | Kobo | iBooks
When Lightning Strikes by Brenda Novak is $1.99. This is book #1 in Novak's Whiskey Creek series, which is small town contemporary with more attention paid to deeper emotional issues amongst the characters. Chance of uglycry: 45%.
Gail DeMarco left Whiskey Creek, California, to make a name for herself in Los Angeles. Her PR firm has accumulated a roster of A-list clients, including the biggest box office hit of all—sexy and unpredictable Simon O'Neal. But Simon, who's just been through a turbulent divorce, is so busy self-destructing he won't listen to anything she says. She drops him from her list—and he retaliates by taking the rest of her clients with him.
Desperate to save her company, Gail has to humble herself by making a deal with Simon. The one thing he wants is custody of his son, but that's going to require a whole new image. He needs to marry some squeaky-clean girl who'll drag him off to some small, obscure place like Whiskey Creek…. Gail's the only one he can trust. She agrees to become his wife—reluctantly.
But she isn't reluctant because he's too hard to like. It's because he's too hard not to love!
I must be very cold hearted. I read When Lightening Strikes, and never came close to an ugly cry. Just some eye rolls so intense they gave me a headache. I thought the hero was a jerk, and caring about your kid doesn’t get you off the hook. I liked the heroine a lot, though, which is why I kept reading.
I read Backstage with Her Ex last time it was on sale—it having my catnip and all. It really, really didn’t work for me on any level. The characters failed to engage me, the plot was thin and unconvincing, and the world building was utterly inadequate. There was nothing to differentiate the “rock star” hero from any other random reality-TV celebrity; it was all just about paparazzi, flashy parties, and impulsive trips to Italy (or Spain, or wherever it was). There was no sense of musicality, and I never got the feeling that music mattered at all to the hero or to the author. I also found the conflict to rest entirely on douchebaggery and miscommunication.
Finally, the author commits what I consider to be a cardinal sin of romance writing: she demonizes the other female characters in the book in order to make the heroine look better by contrast. For an example of this, look no further than the cover copy:
Implying that sweet* women don’t like sex, and that women who do like sex (specifically with musicians) are inferior to those sweet, bubbly paragons of virtue? In addition to being demeaning and slut-shamey, it’s also just a sloppy, lazy writing strategy. I have strong feels about this.
TL;DR, don’t read Backstage with Her Ex if you’re looking for a book that features a rock star protagonist with any amount of character depth or believability.
*You know what? I’m okay with not being sweet or bubbly. I’m satisfied with being a grown-ass woman who has a complicated personality that cannot be summed up in two words. You know, like an actual human instead of a cardboard cut-out.
PSA not related to romance:
Anya von Bremzen’s highly-rated cookbook The New Spanish Table is on sale for $2.51 at Amazon today. I don’t know about other retailers, but I thought I’d share the wealth. You’d better believe I bought the hell out of that.
I completely agree. I thought that Simon improved over the course of the book, but his behavior was pretty awful throughout. His “I’m damaged, watch me do fifteen different terrible things to prove how much pain I’m in” attitude got old pretty fast. This book was closer to being a wallbanger than an uglycry inducer for me, and I’m glad that I got it when it was free.
@Nicole, yeah, I got it while it was free too, thank goodness.
Sarah, thank you for your deals posts, I hope it’s clear that we love them (and you!), just don’t always love the books….
Oh, definitely! Deals posts are the carrots that get me through the workday. “Twenty more minutes of uninterrupted work and then you can check out the Smart Bitches sales post!” It’s a pretty effective incentive. I bought the first two books today.
Oh, I’m not upset at all! I’d MUCH rather you share what you think of a book in the comments than not! Bring it on, y’all.
Also: OH MY GOSH GOLLY DREAD PIRATE RACHEL I OWE YOU CAKE. The New Spanish Table LOOKS AMAZING (http://amzn.to/1e5J7y7).
I bought the hell out of that, too. Thank you!
@SBSarah,
Yay! I will take you up on that cake if I’m ever on the same coast as you. 😀
@Dread Pirate Rachel
Thank you so much for that info! I’m a cookbook fiend (I may have over 1200 physical cookbooks…) and that book looks great. Bought it!
DPR, you’re my hero.
I’ve only read the Bella Andre book from that big 14-pack, but it alone would be worth the $2.99—it took two of my least-favourite tropes ever and absolutely made them work for me. I was ready to put the book down on the blurb alone but Bella Andre had become one of my more trusted authors, and is much more so after this one.
Wait is this available through bn? The link isn’t working for me ( for the box set)
I dunno Dread Pirate Rachel, you could probably sum yourself up in two words if you had to. How about fucking awesome? Thanks for saving my plaster from yet another rage inducing book.
Box set link is not working for me, either. Not on amazon and not on bn.
Start your search with this handy step-by-step guide.
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Are we allowed to share promo codes here? The New Spanish Table mentioned by DPR is $3.16 on Kobo (in Australia) and is also eligible for promo codes: arl50 (50% off) or if you’ve already used that on another book, there’s halfdiscount35 (35% off).
Pre-ordered The Sweet Life after I saw it mentioned on Brenda Novak’s Facebook page. Several people in my life live with diabetes so it was an easy decision to buy for me.
@ leftcoaster and Nicole – I thought Simon barely redeemed himself by the end and it made me wonder what the future would be like for them. I have to admit to a few sniffles, though.
The Boxed set is a great way to contribute to Novak’s Diabetes Auction. A very good cause indeed!
@Dread Pirate Rachel: The New Spanish Table is an amazing cookbook!
It’s finally shown up at BN. Couldn’t think of a better use for my settlement credit.
I bought Made in Nashville because at .99 why not? So far I’d say it’s a solid B contemporary. And I do believe that if you like the show Nashville (which I do) you’d enjoy this book. However, if you are a country music fan outside of the show, every 10 pages or so you’re going to be like WHAT IS THIS OBSESSION WITH VINCE GILL??? Almost every time the book “name drops” it’s Vince Gill, in both positive and negative connotations. I LOVE country music almost as much as I love romances and this is seriously driving me nuts to the point where I don’t think I’ll be able to finish the book. There are more that 2 or 3 country aritists…way more