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A Gentleman’s Game
RECOMMENDED: A Gentleman’s Game by Theresa Romain is $2.51 at Amazon and $2.99 elsewhere! Redheadedgirl read this historical romance and gave it an A:
Theresa Romain basically created a series just for me, and the first full-length book just confirms it. She reached into my head and found the references and plot that would make me happiest, and gave those thoughts a beautiful cover and said, “Here!”
In Book One of Romance of the Turf, a refreshing new Regency series from rising star Theresa Romain, a mystery demanding to be solved brings unlikely allies together in more ways than one…
How far will a man go
Talented but troubled, the Chandler family seems cursed by bad luck-and so Nathaniel Chandler has learned to trade on his charm. He can broker a deal with anyone from a turf-mad English noble to an Irish horse breeder. But Nathaniel’s skills are tested when his stable of trained Thoroughbreds become suspiciously ill just before the Epsom Derby, and he begins to suspect his father’s new secretary is not as innocent as she seems.To win a woman’s secretive heart?
Nathaniel would be very surprised if he knew why Rosalind Agate was really helping his family in their quest for a Derby victory. But for the sake of both their livelihoods, Rosalind and Nathaniel must set aside their suspicions. As Derby Day draws near, her wit and his charm make for a successful investigative team…and light the fires of growing desire. But Rosalind’s life is built on secrets and Nathaniel’s on charisma, and neither defense will serve them once they lose their hearts…Add to Goodreads To-Read List →
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Unthinkable
Unthinkable by Nina Croft is 99c! This is the first book in the Beyond Human paranormal romance series, and the second book is on sale for $1.99. The plot does seem to involve the hero using the heroine for revenge, which may not be everything’s bag. It has a 3.9-star rating on Goodreads.
Jake Callahan, leader of the Tribe, has always believed he’s one of the good guys. Now, hunted by the government he used to work for, he’s taking a crash course in being bad. What he desperately needs is a bargaining tool, and that’s unfortunate for Christa Winters, daughter of Jake’s former boss.
Christa is a scientist, a total geek, and a good girl with a secret hankering for bad boys. Which turns out to be embarrassingly inconvenient when she’s kidnapped by a stunningly gorgeous—but obviously bad-to-the-bone—man intent on using her against the father she loves. A man with a seemingly uncanny ability to know exactly when she’s thinking about kissing him—which is most of the time.
But people are dying, and it becomes clear that the stakes are much higher than Jake ever imagined. Someone is out to obliterate the Tribe and everyone associated with it, including Christa. Only by working together to uncover the secrets behind the past, can they ever hope to have a future.
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The Name of the Wind
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss is $1.99! This is the first book in the epic fantasy Kingkiller Chronicles series. A lot of people I know love this series and say the writing and world building are both fantastic. However, I struggled to get into it and didn’t particularly care for the main character. Your mileage may vary, of course.
MY NAME IS KVOTHE
I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during day. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep.
You may have heard of me.
So begins a tale unequaled in fantasy literature–the story of a hero told in his own voice. It is a tale of sorrow, a tale of survival, a tale of one man’s search for meaning in his universe, and how that search, and the indomitable will that drove it, gave birth to a legend.
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The Care and Feeding of Stray Vampires
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: The Care and Feeding of Stray Vampires by Molly Harper is $1.99! This is a paranormal romance that features a vampire hero and a heroine who is a daytime “vampire concierge.” Author of the Heroine Complex series, Sarah Kuhn, tweeted that this was her favorite Molly Harper and said it has a great sister relationship.
Iris Scanlon, Half-Moon Hollow’s only daytime vampire concierge, knows more about the undead than she’d like. Running all their daylight errands—from letting in the plumber to picking up some chilled O neg—gives her a look at the not-so-glamorous side of vampire life. Her rules are strict; relationships with vamps are strictly business, not friendship—and certainly not anything else. But then she finds her newest client, Cal, poisoned on his kitchen floor, and only Iris can help.
Cal – who would be devastatingly sexy, if Iris allowed herself to think that way – offers Iris a hefty fee for hiding him at her place until he figures out who wants him permanently dead. Even though he’s imperious, unfriendly and doesn’t seem to understand the difference between “employee” and “servant,” Iris agrees, and finds herself breaking more and more of her own rules to help him – particularly those concerning nudity.
Turns out what her quiet little life needed was some intrigue & romance—in the form of her very own stray vampire.
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Daughter and I looooooved The Name of the Wind.
By the midpoint of the next book in the series (iirc, the title is Everybody Loves Kvothe’s Magical Virgin Dick, subtitled This Dumb M**********r), I was spitting poisonous fireballs, and Daughter had declared Patfuss her mortal enemy. It devolves into such a teenage boy’s wankfest.
We’re just waiting for spoilers from book three so we can say, “CALLED IT!”
I really liked The Name of the Wind, but the beginning is a bit on the slow side.
It is a great book to get as an ebook, since it’s 600+ pages.
@RenBenton, agghh! That is exactly the experience I had with those books. I loved The Name of the Wind and about a third of the way into the second book I was filled with rage and never picked it up again. I’ve read that damn story too many times.
I listened to Name of the Wind on audio. I liked it, but it was a bit repetitive. I tried the second book, & I DNF’d it pretty early. I would recommend reading the sample before you buy. If you like it, you will probably like the book, but I wouldn’t recommend continuing with the next one.
I though Name of the Wind was ok, but am not very tempted to read the sequel. I feel that to love this searies you kinda need a penis, not enough girls being awsome or even very interesting.
What the others said–enjoyed NotW well enough (though I felt it was more than a bit bloated and glacial in places), but the second…. oh, the second. I absolutely loathed what I read of the second and DNF… quit right at the point of the emergence of “Kvothe’s Magical Virgin Dick” (THAT. YES. Perfect description). No longer care at all if he ever gets around to releasing #3. I won’t be reading it. Kvothe wins the Gary Stu award for most egregious example of all time.
I envy everyone who didn’t rage-read to the end. Y’all missed SO MUCH magical virgin ginger peen, certified The Best™ by the immortal sex fairy. But all that primo banging was merely an appetizer for the finale: “Gee, Ambrose hasn’t bothered me in, like, forever. Because I’m bored today, I’m going to play a stupid prank on him that anyone who isn’t a braindead manbaby would know has a high likelihood of getting a woman killed. Gee, if somebody gets murdered as a result, I hope it’s no one *I* care about who also has a known connection to Ambrose.”
flames… flames, on the sides of my face, breathing… breathless… heaping breaths…
I’ve met Rothfuss. He’s exactly what you’d think he’d be like if you read Book #2.
My headcanon is that the immortal sex fairy did not, in fact, have any sex with Kvothe, but rather the entire thing was an elaborate glamour she cast around him, and she was merely laughing her head off watching this self-satisfied asshole humping the air making happy noises. Because if I were an amoral immortal sex fairy, that would be my favourite hobby, hands down.
Thank you to all of you who didn’t like the second book in the Kingkiller Chronicles and particularly to Anonymous, great headcanon. Rothfuss is one of those much recommended fantasy writers I haven’t read and have been considering, you have all saved me from reading that story again.
Name of the Wind was a DNF for me. I tried, honestly, but about 2/3 of the way through, the endless narrative of “look how incredibly fabulous I am and I can do anything and cope with any circumstances and wouldn’t you love to hear more about my fabulousness?” just wore me down.
I’d managed to block that 2nd book entirely other than remembering the “heroine” (besides the sex fairy, who as I said, I’ve blocked) was exactly what a man would write, and not in a good way. And now that it’s gone down the road of “series that will never ever finish,” I’m kind of glad it’s not taking up room in my brain.
Ahhh, Kingkiller Chronicles. So much that went wrong.
I adored NotW. I’m talking “let’s peek at it during breakfast / what do you mean I’m late? We were meeting at 6 pm and… oh you’re right.”.
Yes it’s slooooow, yes Kvothe is THE Gary Stu that ever Stu-ed. (Personal Headcanon: Findullias felt pity and let him go. Thanks Anonymous for your version.)
What keeps me reading is two things: First, the contrast between Kvothe Stu and Kvothe Barkeep. What the heck happened to break the kid so badly?
Second, the amount of time Kvothe just outright makes mistakes and fucks up. Even when he’s the one who’s telling the tale, there’s all this accidental things that make me believe he’s missing half the tale. (Probably went by Rothfuss, as well)
Jumping on the bandwagon here–I liked Name of the Wind well enough to get the second book, but never even made it to the halfway point in it. (It’s been sitting on my dresser for a year. It makes a great paperweight.) There was some good world-building, but Kvothe, and pretty much everyone else in it really, was just too annoying.
It really does my heart good to see SO. MANY. WOMEN in agreement on Name of the Wind. The headcanon on Felurian from #8 is way better than mine (she tells all the boys they’re so good for a first time).
I found the first book so enraging that I wrote the following review on GR.
Let’s try that again
This review?
(At any rate, it’s here- https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1909734153)
@ anon at 8 — I saw him at the launch for The Adventure Zone graphic novel, and he had the nerve to ask “when’s the next one coming out?” Concerns of quality (which are great) aside – yikes.
@Ms. M, thank you for that review! I needed the laugh.
Er, I mean, great job! high five Your review perfectly summed up his view on women. In fact, I’d say you nailed it.
(See what I did there? HuH? Oh. You did. Well, just checking.)
‘String of boasts + “You may have heard of me.”‘
Now I’ve read the comments, that makes me think of Happyland’s “Don’t You Know Who I Am” (nsfw).
I definitely feel better about buying that Alison Croggon fantasy novel out of jingoism (dingoism(?)) by comparison. It was not half as Mary Sue as I feared once I worked out it was magical poets saving the world, written by a poet.
Shelly Laurenston’s Hot and Badgered is $2.99 on kindle today!
I DNF-ed The Name of the Wind 50 pages in. So glad I made the right decision. After unsuccessfully attempted to read a number of male fantasy authors, I was forced to (erroneously) conclude that high fantasy wasn’t for me. The goddess Bujold made me realise how wrong I was.
I agree with everyone, and I thought it was a shame because otherwise I thought the series was excellent. As a palate cleanser, I do recommend ‘The Slow Regard Of Silent Things’, which is a brief novella from the perspective of Auri, and takes place at some indeterminate time during book 2.
Also, the head-canon where it’s glamour and he’s just humping the air might be the greatest thing I’ve ever heard, and I’m sharing it with everyone.
I made it through NotW audiobook on 1.4 speed. (The narrator is actually not bad, it’s just that the book is so… long… and not in a good way.) I ranted to my daughter a bit about how terribly Gary-Stu Kvothe was.
Book two started out better. I was actually impressed. And then I got to the fairy sex scene. Gary-Stu-est Gary-Stu to ever Stu a Gary! I hate-listened to the rest. (Seriously, though, the narrator is pretty good.)
So Name of the Wind is one of those types of books? typical.
I think its because of books like NOTW that I plan to to write (I’m an aspiring writer) the opposite of a Gary Stu Male Fantasy novel.
My first story is similar to Labyrinth, but modeled after an Andersen Fairy Tale; with a Heroine rescuing her family in Fairyland, after they were turned into black swans by a wicked fairy woman. The Heroine, with the help of a Wise Woman (her mentor and guardian) and three companions (all female), the Heroine makes a charm that would break the curse on her family, but takes seven years to make. During that 7 year concoction, the Heroine quests to find several magic ingredients for the charm, and she has an inner and outer conflict between childhood and adulthood, and the wicked fairy woman (who cursed her family) schemes to thwart the Heroine’s quest by any means.