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When a Marquess Loves a Woman
RECOMMENDED: When a Marquess Loves a Woman by Vivienne Lorret is $2.99! Elyse read this historical romance and gave it an A- and while this is the third book in a series, it can be read as a standalone:
If you like enemies-to-lovers romance, then you probably want to read When a Marquess Loves a Woman. It’s got all my prerequisites for a good Regency romance–loads of sexual tension, a heroine who owns her shit, and epic sass-battles. Also canoodling in libraries. Also a stock market crash. There’s a lot going on in this book.
As a young, penniless gentleman, Maxwell Harwick knew he had little to offer Juliet White—the most beautiful debutante of the season—except his love, and one thoroughly scandalous kiss. But when they were discovered in a compromising position, a nearly ruined Juliet fled into the arms of a rich, older lord… taking Max’s heart with her.
Now a widow, Lady Juliet Granworth intends to use the fortune she inherited from her odious husband to build a new life in London. Five years have passed, but she’s never forgotten Max… or his soul-searing kiss. Yet it’s clear the newly-minted Marquess of Thayne has not forgiven her—after all, the infuriating man can barely stand the sight of her. But Juliet has endured far too much to give up without a fight and if it’s a battle of wills he wants, it’s a battle he’ll get.
He hates her for breaking his heart. She detests him for destroying her future. But beneath all the loathing simmers an intoxicating passion that neither can ignore… and the harder they resist, the harder they will inevitably fall.
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Half-Resurrection Blues
Half-Resurrection Blues by Daniel José Older is $2.99! This urban fantasy is the first book in the Bone Street Rumba series. Many felt the first half of the book really raced by, but the second half seemed to get bogged down and boring. Have you read this?
FIRST IN A BRAND NEW URBAN FANTASY SERIES
“Because I’m an inbetweener—and the only one anyone knows of at that—the dead turn to me when something is askew between them and the living. Usually, it’s something mundane like a suicide gone wrong or someone revived that shouldn’ta been.”
Carlos Delacruz is one of the New York Council of the Dead’s most unusual agents—an inbetweener, partially resurrected from a death he barely recalls suffering, after a life that’s missing from his memory. He thinks he is one of a kind—until he encounters other entities walking the fine line between life and death.
One inbetweener is a sorcerer. He’s summoned a horde of implike ngks capable of eliminating spirits, and they’re spreading through the city like a plague. They’ve already taken out some of NYCOD’s finest, leaving Carlos desperate to stop their master before he opens up the entrada to the Underworld—which would destroy the balance between the living and the dead.
But in uncovering this man’s identity, Carlos confronts the truth of his own life—and death.…
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Darkborn
Darkborn by Alison Sinclair is $2.99! This is the first book in the Darkborn fantasy series. Readers really enjoyed Sinclair’s writing and her worldbuilding. However, some felt the plot lacked clarity and direction.
A new romantic fantasy of magic, manners, and espionage that is also a “fast-paced thriller” (Carol Berg).
For the Darkborn, sunlight kills. For the Lightborn, darkness is fatal. Living under a centuries-old curse, the Darkborn and the Lightborn share the city of Minhorne, coexisting in an uneasy equilibrium but never interacting. When Darkborn physician Balthasar Hearne finds a pregnant fugitive on his doorstep just before sunrise, he has no choice but to take her in. Tercelle Amberley’s betrothed is a powerful Darkborn nobleman, but her illicit lover came to her through the daytime. When she gives birth to twin boys, they can see, something unheard of among the Darkborn. When men come for the boys, Balthasar is saved by the intervention of his Lightborn neighbor-and healed by the hands of his wife, Telmaine. Soon he finds himself drawn deeper into political intrigue and magical attacks, while Telmaine must confront a power she can no longer keep sheathed in gloves, a power she neither wants nor can control.
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Bad for Me
Bad for Me by Codi Gary is $1.99! This is a small town, contemporary romance between a guarded heroine and the town’s hero. TRIGGER WARNING: The heroine was previously in an abusive relationship and her ex also abused her dog. However, many readers said they enjoyed the book because of its emotional intensity. It has a 4.1-star rating on Goodreads.
Callie Jacobsen isn’t about to open her heart to just anyone. Not so very long ago, trusting someone changed her life forever—and not in a fun way. Now she’s better off focusing on her career, her friends, and her dog. So when former Marine Everett Silverton takes an interest in her, Callie’s more than a little wary. No matter how charming he is, men are a bad idea. In fact, she’s got the scars to prove it.
But Everett isn’t convinced Callie should shut everyone out—especially not him. He may be a hero to the people of Rock Canyon, but he’s got his own demons, and he bets they’re not that different from Callie’s. Still, he knows it’s going to take more than chemistry to get her to let her guard down. Everett will do whatever it takes to show her she’s safe with him. All she has to do is take a chance, take a step … and take his hand.
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I had Darkborn in paperback way back when. I don’t remember much about the story (maybe the politics got too cumbersome for my taste?), but I sliced off the cover and kept it in my preeeeecious file because it was so gorgeous, rich, and velvety-looking in person.
Otherwise, it’s another “You already bought this book that sounds good and totally unfamiliar” day for sales.
I don’t know if it’s a deadly caffeine deficiency, but I can’t make heads or tails of the Darkborn book description. I’ve read it three times, and I still don’t understand what the fuck is going on. But not in an intriguing, “I must read this book to find out more” kind of way–more in a “Holy shit, what if the entire book is that muddled” kind of way.
I remember liking Darkborn enough to read the entire trilogy. But I don’t remember the story and like Rachel, I find the description above incoherent.
I probably have a copy somewhere. I may go take a look.
Remember Elyse’s epic DNF of Hunt the Dawn by Abbie Roads a little while ago, with the memory-sniffing hero?
http://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/reviews/hunt-dawn-abbie-roads/
Race the Darkness, the first book in that series (AKA Khaleesi fanfic with a misunderstanding involving incest), is 99¢ at Amazon, Kobo, and BN and therefore presumably wherever else it’s sold.
The Lorret book was DNF for me. I really don’t care for this author’s work, her books seem (to me) contemporaries garbed in Regency dress. I don’t have the patience for this kind of laziness, I want to escape into the regency world, Lorret pulled me out of the story too often with her “modern” writing style. Plus the Marquess was an ass….JMO.
I tried the first in the Lorret series and it was a DNF for me. It was just meh and I didn’t want to waste my time finishing. I still bought this one yesterday when it was .99 (sorry, for those who missed the deal, it was apparently a Nook daily deal price matched by Amazon late last night). Hopefully, this one works better for me. I’ve read a lot of rave reviews of it.
OMG! Daniel Jose Older is now a must buy for me. I ADORE his writing! One thing in particular I love is that his books are chock full of strong female characters–women who will NOT take your shit.
The second book has a main character who is a female teenager, and it is FABULOUS. And he has a YA whose main character is a teen girl, and it is wonderful.
Plus, things like this:
“(A)nother little guy is definitely Indian/ Pakistani or maybe Puerto Rican. Or half-black. Whatever he is, he gets randomly searched every time he’s within twenty feet of an airport.”
And just when you think it’s all smart-assery, he throws in something like this:
“The eight-year-old giggles every time her abuelo picks up a card. Her laughter rises to a joyous cackle and she crows, “Uno!” The old man fusses with his mustache, furrows his brow, and then picks a card. And then another. “Chingada madre,” he mutters as the laughter continues unabated across the table. “Mierda.” Finally, he puts down one with a sigh and the girl gets real serious, scrunches up her face, and draws a card, then slams it down, yells, “Uno!” again, and resumes laughing.”
A *adore* his writing.
Also, Salsa Nocturna is usually inexpensive, if you’d like a glimpse at his writing from a short story perspective.
Salsa Nocturna has THIS passage:
Checking on a possible link to a phantom pachyderm.” I feel stupid saying that, but it sounds better than ‘ghost elephant.’
…
“Mammuthus primigenius,” says the doctor.
“You tangled with a wooly motherfucking mammoth,” Riley translates.
I order three shots of rum.
Every time I rave about his books, I have to restrain myself from going back and rereading everything he’s written.
Sorry, I think I just gushed all over the comment section.
I read the Lorret and, although it took me some scrolling to remember it, I think I did really enjoy it.
It does work as a standalone, though I believe I did a lot of scrolling through any of the parts with the main characters of the previous books. I’m personally bored of trilogies (especially contemporary trilogies). I get bored and almost annoyed when the H/h from the last book pops up with their predictable new baby…and I even like babies! That said, exclusions apply (anything Courtney Milan, the Pink Carnation series, etc.).
I quite liked the Darkborn trilogy, and I still have it on my shelves, but yeah, I feel like that description only makes sense if you’ve already read the book (though I’m not really sure I could do any better, tbh).
I’m not sure why, but the first and third in the Lorrett series really worked for me! The second one, meh. The other series had sparkles within the story, but I wasn’t really enamored of the story as a whole. Anyway; I liked this third installment more after reading the first two books and getting snippets of the history of antagonism between this couple. Second chance romance and enemies to lovers are definitely my catnip!
Also, I saw that Joanna Bourne’s The Spymaster’s Lady is on sale for $2.99 at AMZ on Kindle. Her books would be considered expensive, IMO, for Kindle romances so whenever one is on sale – yay! Spies, intriguing dialogue, badass heroines……
@ Random Michelle: I love Daniel José Older too–you’re not alone! Battle Hill Bolero gave me ALL THE FEELS. I especially love that the Bone Street Rumba books take place in the same world as Shadowshaper (it’s stated explicitly in BHB, and was slyly hinted at in MTT), which is another fabulous piece of world building. Daniel also narrates the audio books, and he is *good.* He’s done some kind of performance in the past, and it stands him in good stead. And if you ever get the chance, see him. He’s great in person; his twitter (@djolder) gives a real feel for what he’s like. He’s going places and will be winning all the awards in a few years.
@Floating Lush
Oh YAY! I’m always delighted to find people who love authors as much as I do!
I’ve listened to all the BSR audio, although I’ll be honest, his daughter wasn’t nearly angry enough to do King Impervious justice, but they get points anyway.
I picked up a short story recently set with the Shadowshaper characters, and it had Reza making an appearance. Ghost Girl in the Corner is the story (I had to look it up.)
I already follow him on twitter, although I am often leery of doing so, because learning that an author is a giant douche canoe will utterly ruin a book for me (ie I can no longer read Marion Zimmer Bradley or Orson Scott Card).
Of course, from the way he writes his female characters, I felt it unlikely he’d have those kinds of nasty bits hiding from the public.
I keep trying to get all my friends to read his books–hopefully we’ll make it so he can write full time and give us MORE books!
I’d love for him to win all the awards, but I’ll be honest, the state of SFF is still a bit of a mess with the giant puppy debacle–I’m positive that ilk HATE Mr Older, what with all the women and minorities messing up their white male privilege.
Oops. Slipped some rant in there.
PEOPLE! READ DANIEL JOSE OLDER! I MEAN IT! 😉
@Random Michelle: it was his wife who did the King Impervious raps–as far as I know they don’t have any kids yet.
I am excited that the second Shadowshaper book is coming out this fall! And sad that the Bone Street Rumba books were done after just three, but boy did he go out with a bang.
Tonight we rise as one and change the world! No! More!
I actually don’t mind that Bone Street Rumba is ended. I have a great admiration for authors who write the story they meant to and then quit.
There’s always that author who keeps going long past when the writer cared about the characters, and then I as a reader end up disliking characters that I once loved.
And mysteries are as prone to that as fantasy.
And he doesn’t seem to be leaving that world–and what with Reza making an appearance in the Shadowshaper short story–I don’t think most of those characters will disappear.
I’m kinda hoping he has another short story collection–I think Gordo is perfect in that format.