Books On Sale

Books on Sale: Bees and The Night Circus, Plus Three Erotic Romances Still on Sale

Book The Secret Life of Bees - headshots of the actresses in the film against a yellow honeycomb background

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd is $3.99 at Amazon. It hasn't been price matched yet, but here's hoping. This isn't a romance, but it is a huge bestseller. It's set during the civil rights era in South Carolina. Some readers adored it for how it focused on loss, rebirth, and self-discovery, while other readers haaaaated it because it's a(nother) story of black women told from the perspective of a young white woman, and because they felt the issues raised, such as abuse, racism, and cruelty, are not dealt with honestly.

Have you read this? So many people have told me they loved it that I'm curious.

Set in South Carolina in 1964, The Secret Life of Bees tells the story of Lily Owens, whose life has been shaped around the blurred memory of the afternoon her mother was killed. When Lily's fierce-hearted black “stand-in mother,” Rosaleen, insults three of the deepest racists in town, Lily decides to spring them both free. They escape to Tiburon, South Carolina–a town that holds the secret to her mother's past.

Taken in by an eccentric trio of black beekeeping sisters, Lily is introduced to their mesmerizing world of bees and honey, and the Black Madonna. This is a remarkable novel about divine female power, a story women will share and pass on to their daughters for years to come.

Goodreads | Amazon

 

 

 

 

Book color silhouette of a pumpkin coach and two grey silhouettes of a man and a woman on either side

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern is $4.99 at Amazon (come on over, price matching fairies!). This is a fantasy novel, with a love story within it, but it's not a romance. It is, however, praised effusively for the language, the worldbuilding, and the magic of the circus itself. Have you read this book?

The circus arrives without warning.

No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway: a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them both, this is a game in which only one can be left standing.

Despite the high stakes, Celia and Marco soon tumble headfirst into love, setting off a domino effect of dangerous consequences, and leaving the lives of everyone, from the performers to the patrons, hanging in the balance.

Goodreads | Amazon

I posted these earlier this month, but they're still on sale. If you like erotic romance series, all three are a good deal.

 

Book Crave - a couple against a black background looking like they're going to eat one another for brunch

Crave, book 1 in Monica Murphy's Billionaire Bachelor's Club trilogy, is $1.50/$2.99 depending on vendor (AMZ and BN are at $1.50). This is erotic contemporary romance featuring a trio of billionaires (who are bachelors, obviously) (and part of a club) (like you do), and the first story rests on the bff/sibling/no no conflict, with the added bonus of excellent chemistry and really, really hot sex scenes, according to some reviewers.

Billionaire Archer Bancroft always gets what he wants—and he’s wanted Ivy Emerson, his best friend’s sister, for far too long. Being forbidden and untouchable only makes her more tempting. When a million-dollar bet with his friends throws down a challenge—last bachelor standing takes all—Archer knows he can win. That is, until one enchanted evening with Ivy takes his heart for a ride.

Ivy knows Archer is nothing but bad news: Infuriating, arrogant…and completely intoxicating. But despite her best efforts, she can’t seem to keep away.

When a stolen kiss leads to a night of heated passion, Ivy realizes she’s in trouble and in head over heels.

But in the light of day, everything seems clearer and Archer’s not so sure a one-night stand is all he wants. Concocting a plan to keep Ivy by his side, Archer might just be willing to lose this bet…and win the jackpot instead

Goodreads | Amazon | BN | Sony | Kobo

 

 

 

 

Book Another close up, this time with pink text accents, and it looks like he's smelling her armpit.

Torn, book 2, is also .99c at BN and AMZ (or $2.99 if you're Kobo/ARe). This story is about billionaire 2, who is tempted by a woman tied (not literally although maybe) to his latest business acquisition. Is Mergers & Acquisitions a trope? Probably. Again: hot chemistry, hot sex, plus billionaires.

Marina Knight came to this party for one thing only: to slap Gage Emerson in the face. Poised to snatch up her family’s real estate empire, the sexy tycoon is on the verge of making an enemy for life—even if he can make her melt with a single kiss …

When Gage discovers that the alluring woman before him is the key to his latest acquisition, claiming her as his suddenly doesn’t seem quite so cut-and-dried. To get what he wants, he must get to know the fierce woman willing to face him down—as she steadily steals his heart.

Gage’s persistence and intense passion war with Marina’s determination to protect her family. As they delve deeper into an affair they didn’t see coming, Marina’s torn: Will she lose her heart to Gage—or everything she holds dear?

Goodreads | Amazon | BN | Sony | Kobo

 

 

 

 

Book Savor by Monica Murphy - close up, against black background, this time with both characters' eyes closed

Savor is available for pre-order for .99c/$2.99 (depending on vendor) as well. This book comes out on 21 Janaury 2013. And yes, this is book 3 in the trilogy, which means that by the end, all bachelors will be accounted for and also no longer bachelors, because romance. 

When I first posted these earlier in January, it was bitter cold. It's bitter cold again, so perhaps erotic romance can help! 

New York Times bestselling author Monica Murphy concludes her sexy Billionaire Bachelors Club series with a fiery romance that refuses to be left at the office…

Bryn James can’t take much more. Smart, sexy Matthew DeLuca is everything she wants in a man, but he’s also her boss—the youngest, hottest vineyard owner in the Napa Valley—and he doesn’t see her as anything more than his shy assistant. That’s all about to change. Armed with a hot new look and an attitude to match, Bryn is determined to catch Matt’s eye… professionalism be damned.

With his winery’s grand reopening approaching, Matt is trying to stay focused, but Bryn is suddenly making it very difficult. He’s always thought her prim demeanor effortlessly sexy, but Matt can’t deny that her transformation is jaw-dropping …and going to make it very difficult to keep his hands to himself.

But when one thing leads to another and suddenly Matt is stripping Bryn bare, he’ll be faced with the biggest risk of his career—and his heart. Can he convince her—and himself—that this might just be more than a no-strings office affair?

Goodreads | Amazon | BN | Sony | Kobo

Categorized:

General Bitching...

Comments are Closed

  1. Chris Z says:

    I did not love the A Billionaire Bachelors Club Novel series.  Well, at least the first two.  I canceled my pre-order of the third one. I don’t have a lot of experience with billionaires in person, but the lifestyle and conversations of these guys do not make me think that they grew up with/or have any experience with copious amounts of money.

  2. Algae says:

    I read The Night Circus a few weeks ago.  It’s really lovely. The characters are flat and just sort of there, but the world building is gorgeous and descriptive.

  3. Jenns says:

    I read The Secret Life of Bees right after it came out. I think it might have been a Barnes and Noble recommended book (Pre-Kindle). I absolutely loved it and remember being so touched by the story. That was over ten years ago, though. I’ll have to reread it and see if I still feel the same way.

  4. Helen says:

    I LOVED the Night Circus. I read it when it first came out. I thought it was a magical book (and it’s about magicians). I would highly recommend it!

  5. Nicole says:

    I didn’t read the first two books in the Billionaire Bachelor books but did read an advance copy of the third for work. It didn’t blow me away, but I thought that it worked fine as a standalone title (characters from the first two books popped up in this book, too). Although I liked this book well enough, reading Savor did not make me want to go back, buy the first two books, and find out how those other couples get where they are when Savor opens.

    Bryn is a bit too Suzy Creamcheese for me. My eyeballs get a real workout when I read books with heroines who are so overwhelmingly beautiful that feel they must wear shapeless clothes, treat their hair like their worst enemies, and don unnecessary glasses in order to be able to live among the rest of us trolls. I also don’t get how tight ponytails, non-fitted clothes, and glasses somehow mean that every other sighted person doesn’t notice a person’s stellar physical attributes. This is like a callback to all of those ridiculous 50s movies (or maybe just She’s All That).

    I have some super hot friends, so I won’t pretend that beautiful women don’t get hassled and unfairly judged on the bases of others’ misconceptions in real life, but the level that Bryn took it to was extreme. Bryn expecting her terrible Podunk, Texas experiences to be replicated exactly in Napa, California was pretty cute, actually. But then again, she’s like 21 or 22 or something, so a lot of her ridiculousness could be more about a dearth of life experience than anything else. Actually, the more I think about this book, the more ridiculous I find it. Matthew is okay. He’s the one with the relatable problems, or at least with issues I didn’t find annoying to read about. What does it say about me that I’m always up for reading about daddy issues?

    This book is definitely worth buying at $.99. If you’re only seeing it for $2.99? I’d wait for the next sale.

  6. peggy h says:

    Another thumbs up for the Night Circus.  It has a surreal, evocative tone that kept me hooked.

  7. Maya says:

    Billionaire Bachelor Clubs were a disappointment with the last of the trilogy being the worst of the bunch. I really do not have high expectations or lofty literary needs when I am reading these kinds of novellas but by the end I was forcing my way through the pages just to say I finished it and get it off my kindle. The characters were so under developed that as a reader I could not care what they did next – and the men each just flipped a switch from resisting to undying love within a few lines without even a moment of explaining to us poor readers the how or why of it. I will buy a switch to undying love (my god do I love a good were / fated mate story line) but just give me a small explanation to hang my suspension of disbelief on …..

  8. Jill-Marie says:

    OK … Nicole and Maya have pretty much hit upon why I am having a really tough time slogging through this series. It’s just not my cuppa, but I paid for them, dammit!

  9. LaineyT says:

    HOW SBTB GOT ME READING ABOUT RABIES
    So I went to check if the Monica Murphy books were available from my local library and they are (yay!).  The search results also included a book with a contributor of the same name – Rabid:  a cultural history of the world’s most diabolical virus.
     
    “Charts the history, science, and cultural mythology of rabies, documenting how before its vaccine the disease caused fatal brain infections and sparked the creations of monsters, including werewolves, vampires and zombies.”

    This got me thinking…maybe it’s the same Monica Murphy and she uses her scientific background to write PNR (as well as some ER).  Cool right?  Turns out it’s two different authors (It didn’t help that Goodreads has both Monicas listed and several of romance-author-Monica’s books are attributed to veterinarian-science-author-Monica).  Of course now I’m quite intrigued by this non-fiction book about rabies.  It’s scored a 3.60 on goodreads and the reviews would indicate this is intended for the general reader, not just virologist etc.

  10. SB Sarah says:

    You can’t spell romance without “rabies,” yo.

  11. PamG says:

    I did not care for The Night Circus.  It was beautifully written, very visual and evocative.  Unfortunately, as Algae said, the characters are flat.  I found their motivations obscure or simply not believable.  I don’t require a character to be likable, but I do expect them to be interesting and to have some depth.  Characterization is not optional if a book is to succeed as fiction, whether literary or romantic. 

    The other problem I had with it was that the basic premise is unoriginal.  For me, the ultimate mysterious circus/carnival/show novel will always be Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes.  The language is just as beautiful and evocative, and the reader actually cares what becomes of the characters. TNC creates the elaborate setting, slaps on a rather arbitrary and sometimes incomprehensible love story, and fails to make the reader care what happens to the lovers.  I finished it, but found it a disappointing, rather pretentious take on a tired trope.

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