Spider's Bite, book #1, by Jennifer Estep is $1.99. This is book 1 in the Elemental Assassins series, featuring Gin Blanco, who is powerful, badass, and fascinating. This series is a much-loved Urban Fantasy adventure and each book gets better than the last, according to reviewers. Plus, many people highlighted this quote, which is pretty awesome, too:
“You're late.”
“Sorry. I was busy talking about my feelings and killing people.”
My name is Gin, and I kill people.
They call me the Spider. I'm the most feared assassin in the South — when I'm not busy at the Pork Pit cooking up the best barbecue in Ashland. As a Stone elemental, I can hear everything from the whispers of the gravel beneath my feet to the vibrations of the soaring Appalachian Mountains above me. My Ice magic also comes in handy for making the occasional knife. But I don't use my powers on the job unless I absolutely have to. Call it professional pride.
Now that a ruthless Air elemental has double-crossed me and killed my handler, I'm out for revenge. And I'll exterminate anyone who gets in my way — good or bad. I may look hot, but I'm still one of the bad guys. Which is why I'm in trouble, since irresistibly rugged Detective Donovan Caine has agreed to help me. The last thing this coldhearted killer needs when I'm battling a magic more powerful than my own is a sexy distraction…especially when Donovan wants me dead just as much as the enemy.
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RECOMMENDED: It Takes Two to Tangle by Theresa Romain is $2.99. This is a historical romance from a writer whose books I really like. RedHeadedGirl and Elyse, too – Elyse reviewed this book (Grade: B) and liked the heroine a lot:
For all my bitching about Henry, I quite liked this It Takes Two to Tangle. It captured me emotionally, and I loved, loved, love the heroine. I also really, really wanted Henry and Frances to get together. It elicited the same reaction in me as my favorite Jane Austen books do “Jesus you two! Can’t you just FIGURE IT OUT AND GET TOGETHER!?” Even though I knew this book came with a HEA guaranteed, I was afraid somehow Henry and Frances would wind up apart. Romain’s ability to draw me into the story that deeply is impressive.
If you’re a Regency fan who likes unconventional heroines, pick this book up for sure. If you like the Tragically Wounded Hero, like I do, pick it up. If you need your hero to really have his shit together, you may want to avoid it. Henry gave me heartburn sometimes, but the great conflict, and a kick ass heroine, kept me reading.
Wooing the Wrong Woman…
Henry Middlebrook is back from fighting Napoleon, ready to re-enter London society where he left it. Wounded and battle weary, he decides that the right wife is all he needs. Selecting the most desirable lady in the ton, Henry turns to her best friend and companion to help him with his suit…
Is a Terrible Mistake…
Young and beautiful, war widow Frances Whittier is no stranger to social intrigue. She finds Henry Middlebrook courageous and manly, unlike the foppish aristocrats she is used to, and is inspired to exercise her considerable wit on his behalf. But she may be too clever for her own good, and Frances discovers that she has set in motion a complicated train of events that’s only going to break her own heart…
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In my podcast interview with Kat from Bookthingo, Kat mentioned how much she loves Melina Marchetta. In fact, pretty much all the people I know who have read Marchetta recommend her books eagerly. Jellicoe Road is $1.99 at Amazon right now.
“What do you want from me?” he asks. What I want from every person in my life, I want to tell him. More.
Abandoned by her mother on Jellicoe Road when she was eleven, Taylor Markham, now seventeen, is finally being confronted with her past. But as the reluctant leader of her boarding school dorm, there isn't a lot of time for introspection. And while Hannah, the closest adult Taylor has to family, has disappeared, Jonah Griggs is back in town, moody stares and all.
In this absorbing story by Melina Marchetta, nothing is as it seems and every clue leads to more questions as Taylor tries to work out the connection between her mother dumping her, Hannah finding her then and her sudden departure now, a mysterious stranger who once whispered something in her ear, a boy in her dreams, five kids who lived on Jellicoe Road eighteen years ago, and the maddening and magnetic Jonah Griggs, who knows her better than she thinks he does.
If Taylor can put together the pieces of her past, she might just be able to change her future.
Between Now and Forever by Barbara Freethy is .99c right now. This is a contemporary romance with a prominent suspense element, and is book 4 in her Callaways series. This book has a 4+ star average, but might not work as a standalone, based on some of the reviews that mention its ties to an earlier series. Have you read this book?
From #1 NY Times Bestselling Author Barbara Freethy comes a romantic and suspenseful new novel in the popular family series, The Callaways.
Nicole met Ryan when he was a handsome, cocky teenager with a desire to fly high above the clouds. Ryan encouraged Nicole to dream big and promised her a lifetime of happiness, but several years into their lives together, they were faced with obstacles bigger than either had ever imagined. Their love faltered. They lost their way and considered what had once been unthinkable—the end of their forever.
But now fate throws them a curve, an event that forces them back together, that strips their emotions bare and is both terrifying and strangely unifying. For the first time in a long while they have to face each other, and not only talk but also listen, because their lives depend on it—not only their lives, but also the life of their six-year-old son.
Secrets and lies frame a perilous journey to the truth that takes Nicole and Ryan to Angel's Bay, a place where miracles sometimes happen. But in order to get that miracle, Nicole and Ryan must work together and learn how to trust and love each other again. Only then will they be able to save their family and find their way to happily ever after.
loved It Takes Two to Tangle!
FYI Rescued by a Stranger by Lizbeth Selvig (RITA nominee) is $.99 right now.
Spider’s Bite has been purchased! I read Jennifer’s Mythos Academy series and fell in love with it, so I’m psyched to start this series.
Woo-hoo! My patience has been rewarded and I snagged Spider’s Bite on sale. Maybe I’ll have to start that after I catch up on The Kraken King. AND I was even good and check at my library for It Takes Two To Tangle, so that’s on hold as well.
Uh oh…just finished It Takes Two to Tangle and now I can’t wait for the next book in her “The Matchmakers” series!
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