The Drunken Botanist
The Drunken Botanist by Amy Stewart is $1.99 digitally. This is a nonfiction exploration of plants that can be turned into alcohol, and the history of each. It has a 3.9-star average, and seems like a perfect gift for science nerds, people who enjoy learning the history of the things they eat and drink – or both!
Sake began with a grain of rice. Scotch emerged from barley, tequila from agave, rum from sugarcane, bourbon from corn. Thirsty yet? In The Drunken Botanist, Amy Stewart explores the dizzying array of herbs, flowers, trees, fruits, and fungi that humans have, through ingenuity, inspiration, and sheer desperation, contrived to transform into alcohol over the centuries.
Of all the extraordinary and obscure plants that have been fermented and distilled, a few are dangerous, some are downright bizarre, and one is as ancient as dinosaurs—but each represents a unique cultural contribution to our global drinking traditions and our history.
This fascinating concoction of biology, chemistry, history, etymology, and mixology—with more than fifty drink recipes and growing tips for gardeners—will make you the most popular guest at any cocktail party.
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Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch is 99c! This is the first book in an urban fantasy series set in London and (I believe) was a previous DABWAHA nominee. It was also recommended by author Lauren Willig on a recent podcast! Some reviewers on Goodreads felt the first book was missing something, but liked the setting and story well enough to continue with the series.
Constable Peter Grant dreams of being a detective in London’s Metropolitan Police. Too bad his superior plans to assign him to the Case Progression Unit, where the biggest threat he’ll face is a paper cut. But Peter’s prospects change in the aftermath of a puzzling murder, when he gains exclusive information from an eyewitness who happens to be a ghost. Peter’s ability to speak with the lingering dead brings him to the attention of Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Nightingale, who investigates crimes involving magic and other manifestations of the uncanny. Now, as a wave of brutal and bizarre murders engulfs the city, Peter is plunged into a world where gods and goddesses mingle with mortals and a long-dead evil is making a comeback on a rising tide of magic.
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Country Mouse by Amy Lane and Aleksandr Voinov is 99c! This is an erotic, contemporary M/M romance with BDSM elements. Some readers thought this was a well-written, opposites attract romance. However, some didn’t think the co-authoring idea worked very well. Have you read this one?
Owen may be a bit of a country mouse, but he’s loving his vacation in London. After a long day playing tourist, he’s on the hunt for some cheap beer and a good burger. Instead he finds a man hunting him, an arrogant prick with only one thing on the brain: the kind of meat that doesn’t come on a bun.
Eighty-hour weeks at a trading desk don’t leave Malcolm Kavanagh much time for meaningful relationships. Besides, in his world, everything’s a competition-even sex. When his newest one-night-sub fails to show, Malcolm sets his sights on the pretty young Yank on the bar stool beside him.
Owen’s all for an adventure with a native, but he’s not the pushover Malcolm thinks he is, and Malcolm’s not as shallow as he tries to be. They both soon learn that nothing’s too intimate to share with a stranger, and the strangest things happen when two people share the most important pieces of their hearts.
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Coveted by Shawntelle Madison is 99c! Readers seem to be divided on whether this is a paranormal romance or urban fantasy, so maybe some readers can shed some light on which it is. I will issue a trigger warning as the heroine has OCD and hoards trinkets. It has a 3.4-star rating on Goodreads.
SOMETIMES WHAT YOU COVET IS IMPOSSIBLE TO KEEP.
For werewolf Natalya Stravinsky, the supernatural is nothing extraordinary. What does seem strange is that she’s stuck in her hometown of South Toms River, New Jersey, the outcast of her pack, selling antiques to finicky magical creatures. Restless and recovering from her split with gorgeous ex-boyfriend, Thorn, Nat finds comfort in an unusual place: her obsessively collected stash of holiday trinkets. But complications pile up faster than her ornaments when Thorn returns home, and Nat and Thorn discover that old flames still remain intense.
Before Nat can sort out their relationship, she must face a much hairier problem. Her pack is under attack from the savage Long Island werewolves—and Nat is the first target in the turf war. Toss in a handsome wizard vying for her affection, a therapy group for the anxious and enchanted, and the South Toms River pack leader ready to throw her to the wolves, and it’s enough to give anybody a panic attack. With the stakes as high as the full moon, Nat must summon all her strength to save her pack, and ultimately, herself.
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Aaronovich’s Peter Grant series is awesome. I heartily recommend it.
Seconding the Peter Grant recommendation. I have never read anything quite like this before, the first book may be a little slow, but so far there is no “sequel syndrome” in the other 4 books (with number 6 coming soon!) Also, depending where you are the series is called “Rivers of London” or “Peter Grant”
The Drunken Botanist is a fun read. I bought it a while back when it was on sale at BN (where it is not now, apparently).
99c being the top of my budget, with your recommendations, @Lisa and @MirandaB, Peter Grant has been one-clicked. (Sounds like a euphemism, isn’t.)
So much for freezing the book budget in April. Dear B*tchery, I should just give you my accounts and let you all be my personal shoppers. You’ve never steered me wrong.
I’d say to read the first chapter of Midnight Riot and if you don’t absolutely love the main character’s voice, then the series probably isn’t for you.
Another MIDNIGHT RIOT fan here.
Harlequin has been offering 17 downloadable digital books in exchange for signing up for their newsletter. I just found the offer on their FB page and once you sign up, you can choose specific titles or download them all. I know so little about Harlequin and their authors, this seemed like an opportunity to try them out.
@Darlynne: THANK YOU!
Reasons I love the “Rivers of London” series like crazy (although number 2 was a bit slower than the others. Still pretty good though).
a) You don’t actually realise the ethnicity of the main character until a fair way through the book
b) There’s a whole heap of other characters who are of different backgrounds, ethnicities, religions, etc – just like the population of London. Not because it’s special, or they’re showing “oh yes, we thought we’d put a POC in here”. The “Ninja in a Hijab” is one of my favourites.
c) The author is himself an absolute gentleman (which is why I picked up the stories in the first place)
But most importantly of all…
d) Nightingale.
Damn. I bought Midnight Riot in paper a few months back.
Haven’t read it yet, but my mom really likes the series. (Since she lives in England, finding the first book was more complicated than it should have been.)
The audiobooks of the Rivers of London series are awesome,too.
Another vote for the Peter Grant books. If you were brought up in the UK in the 60s, seventies or eighties they have a lot of jokes that others may miss, but Aaronovitch does have a glossary on his website of things that may be meaningless to others.
Sorry link to glossary http://temporarilysignificant.blogspot.co.uk/p/the-peter-grant-glossery.html
I enjoyed Country Mouse (but not the sequel) – fun story of a weekend hook up in London that turns into more. It’s fun and much lighter than a lot of the back list of both authors. There are some writing quirks, so read the sample.
The bdsm is in the bedroom only and I think it’s mostly spanking and some sensory deprivation (iirc). But it’s not a D/s story.
And one of the heroes is matter of factly bi, which I liked.
One more thought on Country Mouse (after reading Amanda’s comments more closely). About the co-authoring. It was the first Voinov and the first Amy Lane that I read. I found the writing style a little choppy but I got pulled into the story and didn’t really notice it after awhile.
Now that I’ve read a lot more by both authors including some of Voinov’s other collaborations, I’d say it’s not his most successful collaboration. And I’d also say that Amy Lane has a lot of writing quirks and they show up in this collaboration too – she’s one of those writers where you either connect emotionally with her writing or you wonder how the hell she got published. Voinov is a little more cerebral in his writing – so I think that’s part of why they’re not a great match. But having said all of that, I still enjoyed this book enough to read many more by both authors – I’ve kind of out grown Amy Lane but I’m still an Aleksandr Voinov super fan.
TL;DR – read the sample first.
Yes, the Peter Grant books are fab. Can hardly wait for the new one to come out this summer!