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And I Darken
READER RECOMMENDED: And I Darken by Kiersten White is $1.99! We featured a review of this as part of our series Squee from the Keeper Shelf. Reader Fairywine really, really loved this book:
And I Darken utterly blew me away with how damn good it was, and it’s easily equal in quality to my other best favorites of 2016. This is a book that will challenge you, and surprise you, and give you things you didn’t even know you wanted in a book but actually did all along.
This vividly rendered novel reads like HBO’s Game of Thrones . . . if it were set in the Ottoman Empire. Ambitious in scope and intimate in execution, the story’s atmospheric setting is rife with political intrigue, with a deftly plotted narrative driven by fiercely passionate characters and a fearsome heroine. Fans of Victoria Aveyard’s THE RED QUEEN, Kristin Cashore’s GRACELING, and Sabaa Tahir’s AN EMBER IN THE ASHES won’t want to miss this visceral, immersive, and mesmerizing novel, the first in a trilogy.
NO ONE EXPECTS A PRINCESS TO BE BRUTAL. And Lada Dragwlya likes it that way. Ever since she and her gentle younger brother, Radu, were wrenched from their homeland of Wallachia and abandoned by their father to be raised in the Ottoman courts, Lada has known that being ruthless is the key to survival. She and Radu are doomed to act as pawns in a vicious game, an unseen sword hovering over their every move. For the lineage that makes them special also makes them targets.
Lada despises the Ottomans and bides her time, planning her vengeance for the day when she can return to Wallachia and claim her birthright. Radu longs only for a place where he feels safe. And when they meet Mehmed, the defiant and lonely son of the sultan, who’s expected to rule a nation, Radu feels that he’s made a true friend—and Lada wonders if she’s finally found someone worthy of her passion.
But Mehmed is heir to the very empire that Lada has sworn to fight against—and that Radu now considers home. Together, Lada, Radu, and Mehmed form a toxic triangle that strains the bonds of love and loyalty to the breaking point.
From New York Times bestselling author Kiersten White comes the first book in a dark, sweeping new series in which heads will roll, bodies will be impaled . . . and hearts will be broken.
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Hold Your Breath
RECOMMENDED: Hold Your Breath by Katie Ruggle is 99c! This is the first book in the romantic suspense Search and Rescue series. The other books are also available for 99c each! Elyse gave the book a B grade:
While the suspense and action were intense, I found the romance to be a little tame. Part of it was that we never get inside Callum’s head. The book is mostly 3rd person POV from Louise’s perspective. When you have a hero as taciturn and withdrawn as Callum, keeping his thoughts a mystery weakens the romance. Like the heroine, we have to guess at his feelings and desires, which reduces some of the sexual tension.
While Hold Your Breath isn’t perfect, it’s still a fast, funny read and a promising start to a new series.
In the remote Rocky Mountains, lives depend on the Search & Rescue brotherhood. But in a place this far off the map, trust is hard to come by and secrets can be murder…
As the captain of Field County’s ice rescue dive team, Callum Cook is driven to perfection. But when he meets new diver Louise “Lou” Sparks, all that hard-won order is obliterated in an instant. Lou is a hurricane. A walking disaster. And with her, he’s never felt more alive…even if keeping her safe may just kill him.
Lou’s new to the Rockies, intent on escaping her controlling ex, and she’s determined to make it on her own terms…no matter how tempting Callum may be. But when a routine training exercise unearths a body, Lou and Callum find themselves thrust into a deadly game of cat and mouse with a killer who will stop at nothing to silence Lou-and prove that not even her new Search and Rescue family can keep her safe forever.
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The Paid Companion
The Paid Companion by Amanda Quick is $1.99! This is a historical romance with a mystery element and a fake relationship. Some readers had trouble connecting with the main couple, while others thought the romance and the mystery was well-balanced. Have you read this one?
“Once again, the incomparable Quick has whipped up a delectable Regency Romance”(Booklist)—about an ice-cold business agreement that turns into something far more heated.
The Earl of St. Merryn needs a woman. His intentions are purely practical—he simply wants someone sensible and suitably lovely to pose as his betrothed for a few weeks among polite society. He has his own agenda to pursue, and a false fiancée will keep the husband-hunters at bay while he goes about his business. The simplest solution is to hire a paid companion.
Finding the right candidate proves more of a challenge than he expected. But when he encounters Miss Elenora Lodge, the fire in her golden eyes sways him to make a generous offer.
Her sorry financial circumstances-and dreams of a life of independence-convince her to accept. But St. Merryn appears to be hiding a secret or two, and things seem oddly amiss in his gloomy London home. Elenora soon discovers that this lark will be a far more dangerous adventure than she’d been led to believe. And the Earl of St. Merryn will find that the meek and mild companion he’d initially envisioned has become a partner in his quest to catch a killer—and an outspoken belle of the ball who stirs a bothersome passion in his practical heart.
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The World According to Star Wars
The World According to Star Wars by Cass R. Sunstein is $1.99! This is a nonfiction book examining the success of Star Wars and how aspects of the movies translate to our world. Some reviewers mention that the book can be dry at times, but say it’s a great addition to any Star Wars fan’s library.
A deeply original celebration of George Lucas’s masterpiece as it relates to history, presidential politics, law, economics, fatherhood, and culture by Harvard legal scholar and former White House advisor.
There’s Santa Claus, Shakespeare, Mickey Mouse, The Bible, and then there’s Star Wars. Nothing quite compares to sitting with down with a young child and hearing the sound of John Williams’ score as those beloved golden letters fill the screen. In this fun, erudite and often moving book, Cass R. Sunstein explores the lessons of Star Wars as they relate to childhood, fathers, the Dark Side, rebellion, and redemption. As it turns out, Star Wars also has a lot to teach us about constitutional law, economics, and political uprisings.
In rich detail, Sunstein tells story of the films’ wildly unanticipated success and what it has to say about why some things succeed while others fail. Ultimately, Sunstein argues, Star Wars is about the freedom of choice and our never-ending ability to make the right decision when the chips are down. Written with buoyant prose and considerable heart, The World According to Star Wars shines new light on the most beloved story of our time.
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I read the Ruggle that came after this one (or sometime after… Callum and Lou were together, anyway). The heroine in that one was visiting the town. She made arrangements with Callum and Lou to take her somewhere and went back to her hotel room. While she was waiting, the local rapey asshole let himself into her room with a key he got from his buddy at the front desk. She ended up barricading the unlockable bathroom door with her body while rapey asshole muscled it open and told her what a great time they were going to have. He only left when she told him Callum and Lou were coming and would be there any second. Then Callum and Lou came, and SHE SAID NOTHING. Not a single word about how rapey asshole and his front-desk buddy have turned the hotel into their personal rape den and every woman is in danger. I read enough after that for her to be a couple of days in the wilderness with her mountain man. Nope, still nothin’. Apparently I’m the only one concerned about the rapist and everyone else has moved on to consensual sexytimes in a sleeping bag.
I don’t know if highly organized rape threats with no consequences are a chronic thing for this author (and I won’t be finding out), but if you get this book and it’s fine and you love it, here’s a friendly PSA that the next book (or whichever one has the woman searching for her father with the barely verbal mountain man) does treat a rape hotel like business as usual.
The author has said that And I Darken is a gender-flipped version of Vlad Dracul’s early life in the Ottoman court. There’s a sequel (Now I Rise) coming out at the end of June.
Ren – that’s the third book, Gone Too Deep. The second book (Fan the Flames) has the gun-shop-owner heroine.
@RenBenton Thank you!! While I really enjoy Katie Ruggle’s writing and did read all the books in this series that made me CRAZY! The guy literally takes or steals the key to her hotel room and attacks her in it! She tells no one! Not the police, not even her new best friends that she takes rides from and eats at their home. I wanted to shake the heroine.
On the other hand I do think the rapey guy is offed by the bad guys in the book so he won’t be preying on anyone else in sequels.
I loved The Paid Companion. She was smart and resourceful and didn’t need rescuing. He was clever, good with finances and acknowledged how she helped his investigation. Good secondary romance too.