Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

Books on Sale: Austen Nonfiction, and the Start of Much Loved Series

 Thanks to @Joonces on Twitter for the heads up: What Matters in Jane Austen? is a nonfiction book that's marked down to $2.99 at BN and Amazon - that's 90% the normal price of $30. Joonces asked if anyone had read it, and Sofia Tokar replied that it's a "GREAT book" though not for the "casual Austen reader" as it is very "in-depth and scholarly." That said, Sofia added,"I highly recommend for anyone who wants to go beyond the cursory Austen stuff. This book is SO well researched."

 Which important Austen characters never speak? Is there any sex in Austen? What do the characters call one another, and why? What are the right and wrong ways to propose marriage? In What Matters in Jane Austen?, John Mullan shows that we can best appreciate Austen's brilliance by looking at the intriguing quirks and intricacies of her fiction. Asking and answering some very specific questions about what goes on in her novels, he reveals the inner workings of their greatness. In twenty short chapters, each of which explores a question prompted by… read more »

Books on Sale: Historical Romances from Cathy Maxwell at $1.99

Avon has a selection of Cathy Maxwell's historical romances on sale for $1.99. If you're flying to RT soon, or about to find yourself with some reading time, you can have a pile of historical romances to read for a few dollars - spiffy! Which of these do you recommend for readers? 

When Dreams Come True was originally published in 1998. The updated cover makes me want to smack the hero because I think he's pulling her hair.

Everyone knew the Earl of Penhollow needed a wife, so one thunderous night the villagers gathered together to ask the ocean to deliver a bride to the bachelor lord . . .

When Pierce Kirrier rescues a mysterious beauty from the billowing ocean waves, he has no idea who she is or where she came from. But at first sight of this enchanting maiden, he knows he must claim her for his own.

Taking her back to Penhollow… read more »

Books on Sale: Linda Lael Miller’s Women of Primrose Creek - and a RITA Nominated Novel

 Linda Lael Miller's Women of Primrose Creek series is a set of four shorter historical western romances - about 160 pages each, published beginning in 2000. They are very highly reviewed, and each is available digitally for $2.99. Bridget is the first book in the series.

They are the women of Primrose Creek, and their strength and passion is a match for the Nevada frontier they call home. Linda Lael Miller masterfully captures the hardships and dangers of a country swept by the winds of war -- and the daring and determination, the hopes and dreams of four unforgettable women -- in a thrilling new series.

When Bridget McQuarry comes to settle in Primrose Creek, she has nothing to lose; her husband, Mitch, was killed in the Civil War, and she has lost her family farm to ruinous Reconstruction taxes. With her baby son and a sister to care for, Bridget vows to make a new start out West.

But when Mitch's best friend reappears in her life, he sparks a forbidden passion she thought was forever… read more »

Books on Sale: Favorites from Catherine Coulter and Sandra Brown

Night Storm is $2.99, and is book #3 in Catherine Coulter's Night trilogy, originally published in 1990. Coulter historicals are usually replete with grumpy alpha males, but I have a huge soft spot for them because they were among the very first romances I ever read. In this book, the heroine is posing as a boy (of course) and the hero has angersex with her, frustrated by her independence and strength. The back cover copy is also one of those "Dear Reader" letters - but it's from the author, not the hero. Much less creepy.

Dear Reader,

You met Alec Carrick in Night Fire. He returns full force-and believe me, this man's got force--in Night Storm, the third novel of the Night Trilogy which I wrote in the Fall of 1988. The Paxtons are shipbuilders in Baltimore. Alec Carrick is an English nobleman who wants to buy them out. Genny Paxton isn't at all what she seems. She dresses like "Eugene" and wants to build her own sailing ships without male interference. Alec, a man of great insight, knows exactly… read more »

Books on Sale: Tessa Dare’s Spindle Cove Series!

A Night to Surrender is book 1 in Tessa Dare's Spindle Cove trilogy, and it's .99c. I really liked the series (though this was my least favorite of the books). The setting is wonderful and the characters, especially the women, are fantastic. This book was nominated for a RITA so there are two RITA Reader Challenge reviews: HarperGray gave it a C+ and Kelly gave it an A-. (And yes, we will be doing the RITA Reader Challenge this year - stay tuned!).

Welcome to Spindle Cove, where the ladies with delicate constitutions come for the sea air, and men in their prime are... nowhere to be found. Or are they?

Spindle Cove is the destination of choice for certain types of well-bred young ladies: the painfully shy, young wives disenchanted with matrimony, and young girls too enchanted with the wrong men; it is a haven for those who live there. Victor Bramwell, the new Earl of Rycliff, knows he doesn't belong here.

So far as he can tell, there's nothing in this place but spinsters... and… read more »

Books on Sale: Historical Regencies from Carla Kelly, and a UK Daily Deal

After the horrible news from Boston yesterday, I needed comfort reading like whoa. Historicals for me are often top at my list of fuzzy comfort reads, and I was happy to find a few of Carla Kelly's traditional Regencies at $2.99. I hope you have all the comforts today.

Summer Campaign is $2.99 digitally, and has some stellar reviews behind it, including this one from Joyce Yee:

"Jack Beresford and Onyx Hamilton are both people who are survivors on many levels - Jack is a war veteran, and Onyx is an orphan who is overshadowed by the family who adopts her and her brother. They also are, like so many other characters in Carla's books, innately good people who strive to do the very best for others around them, despite their own personal fears and feelings of inadequacy."

Miss Onyx Hamilton knew the risk of going to Major Jack Beresford's isolated… read more »

Kobo Romance Sales for Australia and New Zealand

G'day Australia and New Zealand! Kobo sent me a heads up about some more deals just for you guys in the Kobo store. The following books are on sale right now, and though I did my best to verify the prices using a proxy server (and eating Tim Tams while building links) if I get one wrong, please let me know.

These prices are, to the best of my knowledge, only available at Kobo. And, as usual, the discount is substantial - US prices instead of AU/NZ prices! WOOOO!

I hope you find something you like!

Midnight Kiss - Anthology by Robyn Carr, Jean Breashear and Victoria Dahl

TAKE A RISK

At the inaugural New Year's Eve party at Jack's Bar, two lonely revelers decide the best balm for their broken hearts might just be each other.

FIND THE PERFECT WORK-LIFE BALANCE

When a flinty lawyer with a bad-boy addiction meets the quintessential nice guy, sparks fly that consume their expectations of life and love.

GET THOSE FINANCES IN ORDER

Working over the holidays on a… read more »

Books on Sale: Contemporary Romances with Dogs, Comedy and Starting Over

Wish You Were Here is currently .99c at many retailers. Phillipa Ashley is a bestselling author in the UK, and this book is described as a light summery fling with beaches and comedy, with surprising depth of emotion.

When Jack proposes to Beth at the end of a holiday romance, she doesn't think twice--she knows he's The One. But then Jack walks out soon after their return, with no explanation, no nothing.

Eight years on and Beth finds a fantastic new job--working for Jack. She could definitely do without having to face him everyday, but then she can't do without the job...

As the two of them are forced to spend time together, Beth unravels the mystery of Jack's disappearance. Is there too much baggage for them to try again--or could they finally be in the right place at the right time?

Goodreads | Amazon | BN | Kobo | iBooks

Books on Sale: Historicals from Susanna Kearsley, Victoria Dahl & a Slow Cooker Cookbook

RECOMMENDED: The Shadowy Horses by Susanna Kearsley is $1.99 - for today only, I think! Egads! 

We selected this for the 2013 DABWAHA before becoming aware that it wasn't eligible (oops). Kearsley is a wonderfully evocative writer, blending historical, paranormal, mystery and romance into rich and absorbing books. $1.99 is a great price for any of her books.

THE INVINCIBLE NINTH ROMAN LEGION MARCHES FROM YORK TO FIGHT THE NORTHERN TRIBES. AND THEN VANISHES FROM THE PAGES OF HISTORY.

Archaeologist Verity Grey has been drawn to the dark legends of the Scottish Borderlands in search of the truth buried in a rocky field by the sea. Her eccentric boss has spent his whole life searching for the resting place of the lost Ninth Roman Legion and is convinced he's finally found it—not because of any scientific evidence, but because a local boy has "seen" a Roman soldier walking in the fields, a ghostly sentinel who guards the bodies of his long-dead comrades.

Here on the windswept shores, Verity may find the answer to one of the great… read more »

Books on Sale: Contemporary Romance, Historical Sagas, and Steampunk

Sultry With a Twist is the first book in the Sultry, Texas, series, a small town-set series. This one is a friends-to-lovers/returning home story - with an interesting piece of conflict, according to Jill on Goodreads: "There is a bit of conflict between June and her religious grandma, especially since June is a bartender and Sultry Springs is a Bible town and alcohol-free." Sultry with a Twist is on sale for $.99c.

Welcome to Sultry Springs, Texas: where first loves find second chances... Nine years after June Augustine hightailed it out of Sultry Springs with her heart in pieces, one thing stands between her and her dream of opening an upscale martini bar: a bogus warrant from her tiny Texas hometown.

Now she's stuck in the sticks for a month of community service under the supervision of the devilishly sexy Luke Gallagher, her first love and ex-best friend. If Texas wasn't already hot enough, working side-by-side with June would make any man melt.

Luke wants nothing more than to strip her down and throw her in the lake-the… read more »

Books on Sale: Contemporary Stories from Carr, Novak, Anderson, and Noble

Brenda Novak's Whiskey Creek series is contemporary small town romance with a heavy dollop of angst. If angst were fog, Whiskey Creek would have no airport traffic in or out for lack of visibility. There's a lot of emotion and very realistic characters, however - which is a requirement of good angsty romance because it's not angst if you as the reader don't give a whiff, right? Right. When Summer Comes is book 3 in the series, and is on sale for $1.99.

One day, Callie Vanetta receives devastating news She needs a liver transplant. But her doctors warn that, in her case, the chances of finding a compatible donor aren't good. Determined to spend whatever time she has left on her own terms, she keeps the diagnosis to herself and moves out to her late grandparents' farm. She's always wanted to live there. But the farm hasn't been worked in years and she begins to fear it's too much, she'll have to return to town.

One night, a stranger comes knocking at her door... He's an attractive and… read more »

Books on Sale: Cathy Pegau, Eloisa James, Plus a Preorder Discount-Digital and Print!

Cathy Pegau's books are on sale for $1.99 right now. Caught in Amber is a science fiction novel set in the future, and Carrie S reviewed, giving it a B:

Even though the story doesn't shy away from its tougher issues, it stays entertaining and enjoyable, not too bogged down in angst. The various schemes are exciting and suspenseful. The main characters are funny and engaging. I really rooted for Sasha and Nathan, and I appreciated the fact that their attraction to each other wasn't too overplayed.

Recently out of rehab, Sasha James is determined to keep her head down, complete her parole and never touch amber again. The chip in her neck controls her cravings for the highly addictive drug, but also tracks her every move. Not that she goes anywhere other than work and the halfway house she calls home—a far cry from her luxurious former life as lover of the mining colony's top drug dealer, Guy Christiansen.

Agent Nathan Sterling has no desire to see Sasha fall back into amber, but his sister has become… read more »

Books on Sale: Paranormal Weres, Foodie Love, Reincarnation - and Nellie Olsen’s Memoir

Full Blooded is Orbit's digital drop title this month and is $2.99. It's the first book in Carlson's series about Jessica McClain. So far, three books are listed in the series.

Born the only female in an all male race, Jessica McClain isn’t just different—she’s feared. After living under the radar for the last twenty-six years, Jessica is thrust unexpectedly into her first change, a full ten years late. She wakes up and finds she’s in the middle of a storm. Now that she’s become the only female full-blooded werewolf in town, the supernatural world is already clamoring to take a bite out of her and her new Pack must rise up and protect her.

But not everyone is on board. The werewolf Rights of Laws is missing text and the superstitious werewolves think that Jessica means an end to their race. It doesn’t help when Jessica begins to realize she’s more. She can change partway and hold her form, and speak directly to her wolf. But the biggest complication by far is that her alpha father can't control her… read more »

Books on Sale: Historical Romances from Karen Hawkins

A number of Karen Hawkins' backlist novels are discounted to $2.99. An Affair to Remember is book 1 in her Talisman Ring series. Lest you fear plot moppetry, Penny Watson on Goodreads wrote:

Usually, families of naughty children can become rather irritating in a romance novel. The scene of this book in which Anna, a governess, meets the five unruly children Anthony has recently "inherited" makes you wonder how the hell she is going to win them over. Well, Hawkins does an extraordinarily good job showing us how the bonds gradually build between these distrustful children and Anna and Anthony. It is funny, sweet, touching.

Saddled with five unruly orphans, the Earl of Greyley, Anthony Elliot, is at his wits' end. Unfortunately, the only person willing to deal with the adorable little terrors is Anna Thraxton, governess "extraordinaire" --- and the one woman Anthony can't abide. She's too outspoken, too opinionated, and far too beautiful for his peace of mind.

A woman should be meek and mild --- words that perfectly describe… read more »

Books on Sale: Milan’s Brothers Sinister, a Hist-Para-TimeTravel set in the 20s, and YA Shakespeare

The Duchess War, the first book in Courtney Milan's Brothers Sinister series, is the Kindle Daily Deal and is priced at $1.99. Carrie S reviewed this novel and gave it an A+. The prequel novella, The Governess Affair (SB grade: B+), is free, and A Kiss for Midwinter, the novella that comes after The Duchess War is $.99c right now.

Miss Minerva Lane is a quiet, bespectacled wallflower, and she wants to keep it that way. After all, the last time she was the center of attention, it ended badly--so badly that she changed her name to escape her scandalous past. Wallflowers may not be the prettiest of blooms, but at least they don't get trampled.

So when a handsome duke comes to town, the last thing she wants is his attention. But that is precisely what she gets. Because Robert Blaisdell, the Duke of Clermont, is not fooled. When Minnie figures out what he's up to, he realizes there is more to her than her spectacles and her quiet ways. And he's determined to lay her every… read more »