Beginner’s Luck
Beginner’s Luck by Kate Clayborn is 99c! Sarah gave this book a C- because she was hoping for some more depth in the book. However, I remember seeing the Bitchery recommend it in comments. This might be a Your Mileage May Vary situation. It also has a scientist heroine!
When three friends impulsively buy a lottery ticket, they never suspect the many ways their lives will change—or that for each of them, love will be the biggest win of all.
Kit Averin is anything but a gambler. A scientist with a quiet, steady job at a university, Kit’s focus has always been maintaining the acceptable status quo. A sudden windfall doesn’t change that, with one exception: the fixer-upper she plans to buy, her first and only real home. It’s more than enough to keep her busy, until an unsettlingly handsome, charming, and determined corporate recruiter shows up in her lab—and manages to work his way into her heart . . .
Ben Tucker is surprised to find that the scientist he wants for Beaumont Materials is a young woman—and a beautiful, sharp-witted one at that. Talking her into a big-money position with his firm is harder than he expects, but he’s willing to put in the time, especially when sticking around for the summer gives him a chance to reconnect with his dad. But the longer he stays, the more questions he has about his own future—and who might be in it.
What begins as a chilly rebuff soon heats up into an attraction neither Kit nor Ben can deny—and finding themselves lucky in love might just be priceless . . .
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RECOMMENDED: Fortune Favors the Wicked by Theresa Romain is $1.99! There’s a treasure hunt, a blind hero, and a former courtesan heroine. Talk about catnip! Redheadedgirl gave this an A grade in a Lightning Review:
What I found the most interesting about this book was how the blind hero was written. He hadn’t always been blind – he was struck by a disease while he was in the Navy – and the narrative describes with abundant detail how he moves through a world he can’t see, but he still perceives. And I really appreciated that she doesn’t magically cure him of his blindness. Love doesn’t cure all things, and this is a part of who he is now.
INDECENTLY LUCKY
As a lieutenant in the Royal Navy, Benedict Frost had the respect of every man on board—and the adoration of the women in every port. When injury ends his naval career, the silver-tongued libertine can hardly stomach the boredom. Not after everything—and everyone—he’s experienced. Good thing a new adventure has just fallen into his lap…
When courtesan Charlotte Perry learns the Royal Mint is offering a reward for finding a cache of stolen gold coins, she seizes the chance to build a new life for herself. As the treasure hunt begins, she realizes her tenacity is matched only by Benedict’s—and that sometimes adversaries can make the best allies. But when the search for treasure becomes a discovery of pleasure, they’ll be forced to decide if they can sacrifice the lives they’ve always dreamed of for a love they’ve never known…
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Menagerie by Rachel Vincent is $2.99! This is an urban fantasy novel with a creep circus that’s filled with mythical creatures. Some readers felt the ending was a bit rushed, but found the setting and the incredible amount of detail to be quite amazing. This is the first book in a trilogy, though I didn’t see any mention of a cliffhanger in the Goodreads reviews.
From New York Times bestselling author Rachel Vincent comes a richly imagined, provocative new series set in the dark mythology of the Menagerie…
When Delilah Marlow visits a famous traveling carnival, Metzger’s Menagerie, she is an ordinary woman in a not-quite-ordinary world. But under the macabre circus big-top, she discovers a fierce, sharp-clawed creature lurking just beneath her human veneer. Captured and put on exhibition, Delilah is stripped of her worldly possessions, including her own name, as she’s forced to “perform” in town after town.
But there is breathtaking beauty behind the seamy and grotesque reality of the carnival. Gallagher, her handler, is as kind as he is cryptic and strong. The other “attractions”—mermaids, minotaurs, griffins and kelpies—are strange, yes, but they share a bond forged by the brutal realities of captivity. And as Delilah struggles for her freedom, and for her fellow menagerie, she’ll discover a strength and a purpose she never knew existed.
Renowned author Rachel Vincent weaves an intoxicating blend of carnival magic and startling humanity in this intricately woven and powerful tale.
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Lady in Waiting by Marie Tremayne is 99c! This is the first book in the Reluctant Brides historical romance series. Readers say this is really a fantastic debut from Tremayne, but warn of some pacing issues from time to time. The second book in the series is also 99c!
When her father arranges her marriage to a titled but brutal lord, young heiress Clara Mayfield escapes by slipping away under the cover of darkness, finding work as a domestic servant in a grand country manor, the last place anyone would ever think to search for her. But her safety depends on hiding her true identity from both the staff and her intriguing new employer, the Earl of Ashworth.
William, Lord Ashworth is no stranger to tragedy. His father and older brother’s deaths placed the weight of an earldom squarely on his shoulders, and now he must seek an eligible bride from the ton in order to produce an heir. But when a beguiling new housemaid arrives at his estate, he can’t dismiss his fascination with this woman whose eyes hold secrets…and desire.
As Clara weighs the need for secrecy against her growing feelings for the Earl, she finds herself losing a man who was never hers to love in the first place. And when circumstances beyond his control rip the lovely servant from the safety of his estate, the Earl of Ashworth is forced to make a choice that could forever shake his family name.
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A STUDY IN HONOR by Claire O’Dell is $1.99. Black, gay, female Watson and Holmes in a dystopian near-future Civil War setting, which ticked too many boxes for me to leave unbought.
And eight of Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum books are $2.99. Not starting at the beginning and not in an unbroken run (that would be SILLY), but if you’re building a collection, it will help fill out the middle.
I bought Beginner’s Luck because I really love the cover. The colors, the glasses, the model’s candid pose and how she’s not looking directly at the camera. It makes me think of Spring too, which I’m already ready for.
I really, really loved Beginner’s Luck! Definitely a YMMV situation. (I have a friend who has almost the exact same job as the scientist heroine, so even though she’s not normally a romance reader, I recommended the book to her, and she loved it too and got hooked on the whole series along with me!)
Count me as another who loved Beginner’s Luck. I was completely swept up by the admittedly improbable premise of three women friends winning the lottery. Nevertheless, the book really worked for me. One of the best things: a strong supporting cast, from Kit’s girl friends, her brother, Ben’s dad, even the boy Ben and the dad catch breaking in. I was captivated by the shop and Kit’s old house as well. To me the characters were complex and felt real. I read the whole series as well and recommend all three. Of course I don’t agree with all the reviews here, but rarely have I read another where it felt like we read different books. YMMV indeed. (I hope this doesn’t sound too rude, it’s not meant that way.)
One of today’s KDDs is The View from Flyover Country: Dispatches from the Forgotten America by Sarah Kendzior. She’s an expert on authoritarian regimes, a journalist, and an extremely intelligent woman who warned the world about 45’s win when everyone was still snickering about his rallies. I’ve heard her interviewed on political podcasts, so I snagged the book at $2.99 because I couldn’t not.
https://smile.amazon.com/View-Flyover-Country-Dispatches-Forgotten-ebook/dp/B076H4ZNPQ
I adored the Romain and the Treymayne, definitely rec both.
I got bored with Beginner’s Luck but I think reading it on a plane didn’t help and I’m still going to read the whole series because it’s an interesting concept and each woman has such a different journey.
Beginner’s Luck has it’s issues, but it is an A for me. I loved Kit the scientist heroine. My only criticism is that the author is a little cagey and skimpy on the details.
I also really liked Beginner’s Luck (probably a B+ from me), but the third book in the series, Best of Luck was my favorite read of last year. All three books in the series were good reads, actually.
Something about Best of Luck though, really hit all my buttons.
I agree that Beginner’s Luck is a YMMV book. I personally hated it, but in that weird way when you acknowledge that there are a lot of good qualities about the story, even if you disliked it. My biggest issue is the writing – the writing itself is competent and at times quite lovely, but the book is approximately 90% telling, which is a huge problem. The plot setup is really interesting with genuine conflict, but for me, the execution was a big fail. That said, I see so many people raving about the book that it’s definitely a question of your reading preferences. If showing/telling isn’t an obstacle for you, this could be a solid read.