Books on Sale: Recapping April’s Most Popular Deals in Paranormal and Urban Fantasy

Let's take a look at this month's most popular paranormal and urban fantasy books on sale, the ones that sold the most copies through April. Did you buy any of these? Do you recommend them?

 

Dark and Deadly is a .99c boxed set of eight paranormal romance stories by Jennifer Ashley, Alyssa Day, Erin Quinn and Caris Roane, among others. I can't figure out if this boxed set is all novellas, or a mix. I know the Day title is a novella, but I can't find the specifics.

That said, some of these stories are, according to the description, brand new, so if you're a paranormal romance fan, this may make you very happy.

Eight hot paranormal romances by New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors. Alpha male bad boys will fulfill your darkest, most deadliest desires in these stories about shifters, werewolves, vampires, magic, special powers and other realms. But only if you dare…

BODYGUARD by Jennifer Ashley
Elizabeth Chapman is saved from an armed attacker by a Kodiak bear who shifts into a tight-bodied, naked human male. Ronan takes Elizabeth to Shiftertown, becoming her 24/7 bodyguard. The mateless Ronan has adopted a houseful of orphaned Shifters–having grown up in foster care, Elizabeth is touched by his protectiveness. Ronan only wants to keep Elizabeth safe, but the sassy woman is triggering his long-buried need to mate.

ALEJANDRO’S SORCERESS by Alyssa Day
He’s a warrior, hardened by years of protecting his town from vampire attack. She’s a garden witch who sees the world in shades of sunshine and delight. Opposites don’t only attract, they go supernova in this sizzling tale of magic and mayhem.

BEWITCH by Felicity Heaton
A vampire with a bloodstained past and a soul tainted with darkness, Payne is perfect in his self-control, never surrendering to his darkest desires. Now a beautiful witch in the shadowy fae underworld reawakens long denied hungers and tempts him with pleasure. When one incredible night of fulfilling their fantasies leads to more than just keeping a promise and saving a friend, will they be able to overcome the barriers that stand between them and forever?

DARKNESS FALLS by Erin Kellison
Agent Malcolm Rook is hunting for people with the rarest of talents—the ability to master dreams. He finds the undeniably gifted Jordan Lane, but she’s wary of mysterious Rook and resists his pursuit as long as she can. Yet the dreamwaters they enter are too exhilarating to resist, and attraction soon ignites electric passions. Delving too deep stirs a nightmare, one they must defeat, or be forever lost to darkness.

ROGUE’S PASSION by Laurie London
Blaming himself for the death of a friend, Iron Guild warrior Asher Kane vows to bring those responsible to justice. After he’s hurt on a mission and nursed back to health by a beautiful yet mysterious woman with special psychic abilities, this dangerously sexy bad-boy finds himself falling for her…even as he struggles to stay away. But stalking them on the streets of New Seattle is a cruel and vengeful evil—one that threatens to destroy them both…

THE FORBIDDEN LIFE OF ALEX MOORE by Erin Quinn
Alex’s mission: Kill the hellhounds that have invaded earth and return to his home in the Beyond. But from the start, things go horribly wrong. The hounds are cunning and a human female witnesses their attack—she intervenes and saves Alex’s life. Now he must keep the alluring Lilly alive while fighting his desire for her. When passion flares, Alex risks all to protect her and defend the forbidden life he craves.

THE MATING HEAT by Bonnie Vanak
Werewolf Kara Mitchell fled with her brother Aiden to Montana after their alpha father punished her for kissing sexy omega werewolf Ryder Carrington. Left scarred by her father’s cruelty, Kara believes no one can love her. After killing his alpha to save the pack, Ryder now rules, but needs a mate. His blood runs hot for Kara. Ryder will do anything to claim her, even risk an all-out pack war that could cost them everything…

TRAPPED by Caris Roane
Mastyr Vampire Zephyr, a one-man fighting force, struggles to save the life of a woman who despises his warrior ways. She’s been a thorn in his side, but he has one goal: to keep her safe. For Alesia, however, she just wishes he’d leave her alone since she can never approve of his profession. She broke up with him months ago and wants to start a new life. The trouble is, he’s still the one man who can curl her toes.

Goodreads | Amazon | BN | Kobo

 

 

 

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.

Goodreads | Amazon | BN | Sony | Kobo | iBooks

 

 

 

Blue Skies by Tamara Allen is .99c at Amazon, and free at AllRomance right now.

This is a unique book – it's part time travel and part contemporary and part historical, with a m/f and m/m set of parallel stories, too. This book was emphatically recommended to me (I haven't read it yet, though) by Ann Somerville, who said it's extraordinary. It has a 3.6-star average on GR, and was just recently released.

In modern day Manhattan, preservationist Susan Lennox saves history for a living. Her long-standing battle with developer Joe McGowan brings a fragile Bowery rowhouse to her attention, and she’s as determined to protect it as he is to tear it down. During an inspection, Susan discovers just how unique the property is when she comes across a frightened and apparently homeless man bearing a tale of time travel neither she nor her brother Neil believes—until they find they themselves have traveled three days into the future.

Professor Robin Winfield learns too late the mistake he made in agreeing to help Joe’s great-great-grandfather Victor McGowan decode a family journal connected to the rowhouse, a place once used as a laboratory for electrical experiments. When Robin is inadvertently transported one hundred and twenty-six years from home, Neil and Susan take him in, hoping to get him back where he belongs before anyone else learns of his presence. But Victor’s will has already spilled those beans and Joe thwarts the attempt to send Robin back—only to end up trapped with Susan in 1887.

Broke and homeless in the not-so-ideal past, Joe and Susan struggle to find common ground—and they aren’t the only ones, as Neil and Robin join forces in a desperate search to rescue Susan before Victor figures out the secret to time travel. But a secret Victor’s keeping is the one destined to change the future—Neil and Susan’s—for all time to come.

Goodreads | Amazon | BN | Kobo

 

 

 

RECOMMENDED: First Grave on the Right is the first book in Darynda Jones' Charley Davidson series, and it's $2.99 right now. I linked to this sale over the weekend, but now books two and three are also $2.99 – see below. The newest book in the series, Sixth Grave on the Edge, comes out May 20.

This book won the Golden Heart in 2009, and the RITA for Best First Book in 2012. As I've mentioned before, I listened to the audiobook performance by Lorelei King (after buying the Kindle copy on sale I was offered a discounted audio copy so take a look and see if that's true for you) and the audiobook was really good. I didn't want to stop walking the dogs, that's for sure.

 Charley sees dead people. That’s right, she sees dead people.

And it’s her job to convince them to “go into the light.” But when these very dead people have died under less than ideal circumstances (i.e. murder), sometimes they want Charley to bring the bad guys to justice.

Complicating matters are the intensely hot dreams she’s been having about an Entity who has been following her all her life…and it turns out he might not be dead after all.

In fact, he might be something else entirely.

 Goodreads | Amazon | BN | Kobo | iBooks

 

 

 

 

 

Second Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones is $2.99, and it's the second book in the Charley Davidson series – hooray for obvious series order titles! All of the books in this series have 4+ stars, and they blend mystery, paranormal, comedy and romantic elements wonderfully. They're a little addictive, too. Be warned.

NB: when I first posted this deal, a few readers talked about the problems they had with the setup of the romantic pair – Charley and Reyes – and his behavior, both corporeal and noncorporeal. 

If you hang around with dead people, life can get pretty complicated. Take it from Charley Davidson, part-time private investigator and full-time Grim Reaper. Complicated is her middle name. The deceased find her very sparkly. Demons find her irresistible. And one entity in particular wants to seduce her in every way possible.

When Charley and Cookie (her best friend/receptionist) have to track down a missing woman, the case is not quite as open and shut as they anticipate.

Cookie's friend Mimi disappeared five days earlier. Mimi then sends Cookie a cryptic message telling Cookie to meet her at an nearby coffee shop. The coffee is brewing, but Mimi's still missing. There is, however, a clue Mimi left on the bathroom wall: a woman's name. Mimi's husband explains to them that his wife had been acting strange since she found out an old high school friend had been murdered. The same woman whose name Mimi had scribbled on the bathroom wall.

Meanwhile, Reyes Alexander Farrow (otherwise known as the Son of Satan. Yes. Literally) has left his corporeal body and is haunting Charley. He's left his body because he's being tortured by demons who want to lure Charley closer. But Reyes can't let that happen. Because if the demons get to Charley, they'll have a portal to heaven…well, let's just say it wouldn't be pretty.

Can Charley handle hot nights with Reyes and even hotter days tracking down a missing woman? Can she keep those she loves out of harm's way? And is there enough coffee and chocolate in the world to fuel her as she does?

Goodreads | Amazon | BN | Kobo