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Garden Spells
RECOMMENDED: Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen is $2.99! This author became an auto-buy for me after I read this book as a part of a GoodReads reading challenge. I would liken this book to women’s fiction with a magical realism slant. It’s heartwarming and beautiful and has a 4-star rating on GR. I even wrote a Keeper Shelf squee for it; that’s how much I love this book.
In a garden surrounded by a tall fence, tucked away behind a small, quiet house in an even smaller town, is an apple tree that is rumored to bear a very special sort of fruit. In this luminous debut novel, Sarah Addison Allen tells the story of that enchanted tree, and the extraordinary people who tend it.…
The Waverleys have always been a curious family, endowed with peculiar gifts that make them outsiders even in their hometown of Bascom, North Carolina. Even their garden has a reputation, famous for its feisty apple tree that bears prophetic fruit, and its edible flowers, imbued with special powers. Generations of Waverleys tended this garden. Their history was in the soil. But so were their futures.A successful caterer, Claire Waverley prepares dishes made with her mystical plants—from the nasturtiums that aid in keeping secrets and the pansies that make children thoughtful, to the snapdragons intended to discourage the attentions of her amorous neighbor. Meanwhile, her elderly cousin, Evanelle, is known for distributing unexpected gifts whose uses become uncannily clear. They are the last of the Waverleys—except for Claire’s rebellious sister, Sydney, who fled Bascom the moment she could, abandoning Claire, as their own mother had years before.
When Sydney suddenly returns home with a young daughter of her own, Claire’s quiet life is turned upside down—along with the protective boundary she has so carefully constructed around her heart. Together again in the house they grew up in, Sydney takes stock of all she left behind, as Claire struggles to heal the wounds of the past. And soon the sisters realize they must deal with their common legacy—if they are ever to feel at home in Bascom—or with each other.
Enchanting and heartfelt, this captivating novel is sure to cast a spell with a style all its own…
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The Queen of Blood
RECOMMENDED: The Queen of Blood by Sarah Beth Durst is $1.99! It earned an A grade from Carrie:
It’s a beautiful and at times harrowing book that is overwhelmingly about the lives of women and their relationships to each other. Best of all, it preserves the beauty and terror of fantasy while avoiding many of fantasy’s clichés.
An idealistic young student and a banished warrior become allies in a battle to save their realm in this first book of a mesmerizing epic fantasy series, filled with political intrigue, violent magic, malevolent spirits, and thrilling adventure
Everything has a spirit: the willow tree with leaves that kiss the pond, the stream that feeds the river, the wind that exhales fresh snow . . .
But the spirits that reside within this land want to rid it of all humans. One woman stands between these malevolent spirits and the end of humankind: the queen. She alone has the magical power to prevent the spirits from destroying every man, woman, and child. But queens are still just human, and no matter how strong or good, the threat of danger always looms.
With the position so precarious, young women are chosen to train as heirs. Daleina, a seemingly quiet academy student, is under no illusions as to her claim to the throne, but simply wants to right the wrongs that have befallen the land. Ven, a disgraced champion, has spent his exile secretly fighting against the growing number of spirit attacks. Joining forces, these daring partners embark on a treacherous quest to find the source of the spirits’ restlessness—a journey that will test their courage and trust, and force them to stand against both enemies and friends to save their land . . . before it’s bathed in blood.
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Blue Lines
Blue Lines by Toni Aleo is $1.99! This is a hockey romance with a secret baby and a marriage of convenience. Hey there, catnip! The hero is a big of a jerk and readers thought he needed a lot of redemption, while others enjoyed the chemistry between the two main characters.
Opposites do more than just attract in TONI ALEO’s latest Nashville Assassins novel about a very bad boy and the good girl he can’t resist.
The instant Piper Allen sees Erik Titov, she wants him–wants his rock-hard body, sure, but the strength and mystery that lie behind that superstar hockey jock demeanor, too. So when he sidles up to her at a bar and slinks his arm around her waist, she’s lost. What follows is the wildest night of her life . . . followed by inevitable heartbreak the next morning. And then, a few weeks later, a very big surprise: two blue lines on a pregnancy test.
Only a check to the head could make Erik fall for a nice girl like Piper. But since their crazy-sexy night together, he’s been trying to forget about her alluring body by falling into bed with every woman in Nashville, and it’s not working. So when Piper shows up at his house with a baby-bomb to drop, it doesn’t take much for Erik to suggest the nuclear option: marriage. While it’s supposed to be all for show, the second they say “I do,” the ice between them starts to melt into sizzling steam.
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Highland Heat
Highland Heat by Jennifer Haymore is 99c! This is a romance between an injured Scottish hero and a British heroine, who nurses him back to health. Readers felt this was a pretty straightforward romance without many surprises, but they loved the hero. It has a 3.8-star rating on Goodreads.
Perfect for readers of Maya Banks and Monica McCarty, Jennifer Haymore’s seductive new Highland Knights series begins with an electrifying tale of class warfare, fierce loyalties, and forbidden love.
With blood still drying on the front lines at Waterloo, Lady Grace Carrington helps an injured soldier to a British medical tent. Though she believes she’s pulled him to safety, in fact she has put them both in grave danger: Because when his brilliant blue eyes meet hers, the passionate Scottish sergeant kisses her in a way that leaves her breathless and trembling. As the obedient daughter of an earl, Grace shouldn’t be tempted by someone so far below her station. But as a red-blooded woman, she longs for so much more.As far as Duncan Mackenzie is concerned, getting stabbed in the arm was the best thing that ever happened to him. When he wakes on the battlefield, the sight of Grace’s lovely face sets his soul aflame. As an enlisted man and a farmer’s son, however, pursuing his guardian angel means facing the wrath of London society, not to mention his own superiors in the British Army. Aye, but he’d risk all that and more just to keep her in his arms.
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That is not the correct description for Blue Lines. I’ve read some of this series, including Blue Lines, but I don’t recognize which title the description matches.
Sounds like the Toni Aleo description above is for Falling for the Backup, a novella in the series. Blue Lines is:
The instant Piper Allen sees Erik Titov, she wants him—wants his rock-hard body, sure, but the strength and mystery that lies behind that superstar hockey jock demeanor, too. So when he sidles up to her at a bar and slinks his arm around her waist, she’s lost. What follows is the wildest night of her life . . . followed by inevitable heartbreak the next morning. And then, a few weeks later, a very big surprise: two blue lines on a pregnancy test.
Only a check to the head could make Erik fall for a nice girl like Piper. But since their crazy-sexy night together, he’s been trying to forget about her alluring body by falling into bed with every woman in Nashville, and it’s not working. So when Piper shows up at his house with a baby-bomb to drop, it doesn’t take much for Erik to suggest the nuclear option: marriage. While it’s supposed to be all for show, the second they say “I do,” the ice between them starts to melt into sizzling steam.
Oops! Goodreads had the wrong description for Blue Lines – sorry about that, and thank you for the heads up. Amanda says she’s very sorry and she’ll do an extra lap on the treadmill as penance.
Blank Spaces by Cass Lennox is .99. It got a B review here on SBTB:
http://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/reviews/blank-spaces-cass-lennox/
Also, Priest by Sierra Simone is free. I think this first came onto my radar when I saw it on Sarah MacLean’s list of recommended romances.
The whole I’ll-solve-my-desire-for-one-woman-I’ve-already-slept-with-and-dumped-by-sleeping-with-others is ridiculous. Nobody does that! And if someone did, you’d never get back together with him because a) he’s a giant asshole, b) he’s going to cheat on your ass, and/or c) he’s got issues that would make a relationship hell.
While I did enjoy Blue Lines, the hero is a REAL asshole to the heroine. I think he pulls his shit together eventually, but there are some things done and said that would have made me lose my mind (which is not to say that I didn’t enjoy the book, I totally did).
Also, not a *sale* but the Heart2Heart anthology is $3.99 or on KU. It’s about 10 short stories from different MM authors on the premise that they were matched through a new online dating app. Each story is well rounded and the book itself is about 10+ hours of read time (though I was watching Olympics at the same time, so YMMV). All proceeds are going towards LGBTQ charities. Highly recommend!
I don’t know, my college fresher roommate certainly tried to obliterate the memory of one guy with an awful lot of interesting one night stands. Also quantities of whisky and coke. I think of her every time I hear that country song ‘Different for Girls’ about how girls don’t behave like that when their hearts get broken. Snort.
@ Tam
But did she dump him (and was he a reasonably pleasant person) out of fear of commitment? That’s the part that gets to me.
GARDEN SPELLS, YOU GUYS. Garden Spells. Garden Spells. I can’t rave hard enough about this book.
@CelineB: thank you for the tip on PRIEST. I was unfamiliar with Sierra Simone, but I always take a quick look at free downloads. I only had to read a few pages of PRIEST and immediately downloaded it. The unresolved sexual tension is already burning up the page!
Off Campus by Amy Jo Cousins is free until Sat – it’s the first of her queer NA series Bend or Break – this one is m/m. It’s not my fave in the series – but it’s a good series and this one has a fun, subtle secondary romance between the respective bffs of the h/h and they get their romance in book 3, which is my fave.
I LOVE Garden Spells and the sequel First Frost
@CelineB Thanks for the tip about Priest! I’d heard about this book when it came out but… eh. Last month I listened to to American Queen, Sierra Simone’s retelling of the King Arthur legend and now I’m a huge fan.
I quite enjoyed The Queen of Blood listed above.
All the good book noises for “Garden Spells.” All of them. <3
I thought Highland Heat looked interesting. It appears it's been sitting on my Kindle for two years. Huh.
I started Garden Spells and lost interest, maybe I’ll give it a second look. Just finished Three Dark Crowns and One Dark Throne, so one-clicked on The Queen of blood….
I bought Blue Lines – my 3rd book buy of the day. Uh oh! I’m so excited because the elements in the story are my total catnip too. Yay!