I know many of you have subscriptions to services like Scribd, Kindle Unlimited, or the Audible Romance Package.
And I know there are a whole lot of books to discover, and more options being added daily, if not hourly.
So I wanted to ask on a semi-regular basis: what books, audiobooks, or other romance reading have you discovered recently in your subscription that you’d recommend to others?
We have some suggestions for you, never fear!
Sarah: As I mentioned in this month’s Whatcha Reading?, I’ve been trying to listen to more of the Audible Romance Package offerings.
Right now I’m delighted by Bear Meets Girl by Shelly Laurenston, to the point where I’ve paused all my podcast listening to enjoy this book while I walk the dogs each day. Do I make a silly fool of myself laughing out loud while I walk? Yes. Yes, I do.
On my wishlist, I also have The Coincidence of Coconut Cake, by Amy E. Reichert, which is part of the Romance Package.
Amanda: I’ve mentioned some of these before, but here are my audio recs. All of these are part of the Audible Romance Package.
I talked about Wanderlust by Lauren Blakely in podcast Episode 292, Amanda and Sarah Visit With Audiobooks. It has dual narrators, Grace Grant and Richard Armitage.
Sarah: Important details about this book from the podcast transcript:
Sarah: Time out. Are you saying that Richard Armitage speaks French in this audiobook?
Amanda: A little bit, yes. [Laughs]
Sarah: Oh my! Okay, please –
Amanda: English and French.
Sarah: – please continue this. This, this seems to be important detail that I would like to know, yeah?
Amanda: Oh, yeah, and, and when it’s from his point of view and he’s telling us what the heroine is saying, what Joy is saying, he’ll slip into an American accent –
Sarah: [Laughs]
Amanda: – so American, British, and a little bit of French.
Amanda: Yup, important details.
I also recommended in that same podcast episode and later reviewed the audiobook of Bittersweet by Sarina Bowen.
And one more: How to Date a Douchebag by Sara Ney. That was recommended in a Whatcha Reading? post by Jen M. Yes, this is another dual narrator romance!
This one reminded me a bit of She’s All That. Warning: the hero is yes, “a douchebag” as the series name suggests, but most if it is just a front for a lot of things I won’t spoil. The heroine is “buttoned up” but that’s also a front. The first book deals with the hero and heroines outward personas. It’s just a fun listen, IMO.
Sarah: Obviously, we’ve talked mostly about the Audible Romance Package, as that’s the service we use most often.
Because of the volume of books I receive from other sources, a KU subscription hasn’t made sense, but I keep my Scribd subscription because many of the books my kids love are available there.
What about you? Did you find an excellent book inside Kindle Unlimited, or Scribd? Is there an audiobook you were delighted by in the Audible Romance Package? (And is there a subscription I’m blanking on? Probably.)
What outstanding subscription finds have you discovered?
I have never listened to an audio book but Richard Armitage could change my mind.
I discovered Mariana Zapata through KU and i love everything she has written.
I gifted myself with a Book of the Month subscription last year. For $15 a month you choose from a selection of 5 hardcover books- generally new releases that are sometimes available the month before they come out. I had been reading so much on my kindle that I missed real books, and found I’ve been really impressed with the selections each month. Add-on books from the same month or prior selections are $10.
The romance offerings are generally more contemporary major market selections- but last year they offered Ghosted by Rosie Walsh, The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang and The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory.
This month I read Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid, and last month was A Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum (which I read early in February but wasn’t released until March). I also added on Shrill by Lindy West. So lots of great books to recommend!
In general I am not a full-price book buyer. I loooove a kindle deal, used bookstores and libraries (even better is the library bookstore!), so this is a total splurge for me. But I definitely feel its been worth the money and you get a free add-on the month you sign up which makes each book only $7.50 that month.
I let KU lapse after a couple of years because I felt like “getting my money’s worth” was getting in the way of other reading I wanted to do. I’m reading those titles via KOLL right now, but I’ll probably get back into KU at some point, once my list of maybes grows long enough again.
OTOH, after 3 or years, I’ve never let Scribd lapse through all of its various business models. It seems like most of the books for my nonfiction book club are available in audio via Scribd, along with a lot of SFF. (Murderbot!)
For books, my save list is full of the KJ Charles I don’t already own, and my favorite find of the year was Ada Maria Soto’s His Quiet Agent. I feel like maybe 75% of the non-KU indie romances I look up turn out to be available in Scribd, which is great for taking a flyer on a new-to-me author.
My book logs say I’ve been averaging about 3 titles a month from Scribd over the last few years, so arguably my costs aren’t much lower than an Audible subscription and buying books, plus I’m not keeping the titles. But I like being able to try out new authors this way.
Hoopla has the newest Buffy the Vampire Slayer comics issues from BOOM! three weeks after they’re released. #1 & #2 are there now, #3 should be there early in April.
I’m not an audiobook consumer, but I’ve noticed that Scribd is switching over to a lot more audiobooks lately. So those who read that way should be happy. The Murderbot books are audio only, but there are a lot of other Martha Wells books in written format.
I mainly use Scribd for older traditional Regencies. There is a very deep and broad selection, so when I am in the mood for one, they’re always there: Carola Dunn, Diane Farr, Allison Lane, and Charlotte Louise Dolan, for example. I’ve also been working my way through a long Elisa Braden series(Rescued from Ruin) and lately I’ve discovered a lot of Shana Galen books there.
If you pay for Scribd annually, it’s a lot cheaper than the monthly subscription option.
I second the Book Of The Month Club. I joined to get “Circe” by Madeline Miller earlier than release date (Miller is a total auto-buy for me). I also found “When Katie Met Cassidy” by Camille Perri and loved it. I have a whole stack of BOTM titles waiting for me now. I think the months I skipped make up for the months I buy two or three books from them. Lol
KU introduced me to the Beatrice Hyde-Clare mysteries by Lynn Messina. It’s a romantic historical mystery series with a spinster heroine and a Duke (of course). The romance is slow-burn. Messina’s straightforward Regencies are good fun too though not as good. I also like Audrey Harrison’s KU Regencies, which have weirdly stilted dialogue but good stories.
Seconding Mariana Zapata for contemporaries! See also Lindsay Buroker and Rachel Aaron, who will both appeal to fantasy/adventure romance fans. I’d warn that Buroker’s heroines can be a bit ‘not like other girls’, but I think less so as she’s written more. KU makes sense for me because I’m happy to take a chance on indie romance and I like to trawl through Amazon’s search pages, but I do end up cancelling it every so often.
I also came here to recommend the Beatrice Hyde-Clare mysteries by Lynn Messina. The next one comes out in a few weeks. They’re definitely my favorite thing I’ve found in KU.
I found Jasmine Walt through KU, and I really fell down the rabbit hole with her Baine Chronicles series, urban fantasy with mages and shifters and a slowish-burn romance. I’ll start the 8th and final book soon, and I’ll miss the characters so much when I’m done with it. I know there’s a connected trilogy and at least one other connected novel, so I’ll have those at least.
Thanks so much for the Lynn Messina recommendation in the comments because I’m grabbing that next. I also recommend Mariana Zapata even though I found her before I started KU.
Audible Romance Packages favorite discoveries:
Jed Had to Die – By Tara Sivec. I had never read a book by this author before. This book had me LOL’ing so hard. Also I love that the hero was a 4H nerd when they were younger and she’d never given him a second look. But now he is basically Chris Hemsworth and is worth ALL the looks. The townspeople were the BEST!
A Husband’s WIcked Ways – by Jane Feather. I think I last read a Jane Feather book in the 90s. This was fun Regency with a MOC. He makes her go to his personal version of spy school to teach her how to skulk, detect and shake off tail, and communicate with him wordlessly across a room and give him clues just using her fan and a shawl.
Mimosa Grove – by Dinah McCall (also a never before read author, pen name for Sharon Sala) – the suspense was better than the romance. Lots of woo-woo. But the suspense went in very unpredictable directions that made it a good listen. Started me a Sharon Sala suspense kick.
Big Girls Don’t Cry – By Brenda Novak. This author is very hit or miss for me so I don’t really seek out her books. I got this one one a “eh, looks kinda interesting” moment. But it turned out to be good, imo. Soaptastic! Drama! Drama! Drama!
If you are into paranormal romance, Cassandra Gannon, T. A. White and Hailey Edwards are all well worth a read on KU. Well developed worlds, characters and humor.
Kristy Cunning (who also writes under other names) has two exceptional series. Reverse harem is not a favorite trope of mine, (too many bland, interchangeable men and overwrought heroines….) but these are surprisingly creative and funny with characters who speak like real people.
I got the Kindle Unlimited trial last in November, three months for $0.99 a month, but I’ve had trouble identifying books to read. Plenty are available, but many that I’ve tried haven’t lived up to hopes. I’d love an article on how to find books in KU. A lot of the recommended for me suggestions seem off. (e.g., I read several Christmas romances before Christmas, but I don’t really want more of them *now*.)
I have devoured the Lady Violet Carlyle mystery series set in the 1920s, by Beth Byers. Objectively speaking the writing is just okay, but I love the heroine, her twin brother, and their found family.
I’ve tried other mysteries set in the twenties and haven’t gotten invested, although I’m enjoying Murderer Offstage, the first book in the Posie Parker mysteries by LB Hathaway.
I’ve also been been binge reading Perry Mason novels. They’re not much for character development, but boy do they move!
I have a kindle unlimited subscription. Among the authors/series I have been reading are (some of which have been recommended here):
Rachel Aron Heartstriker series (Dragons!)
Victoria Helen Stone – Jane Doe
Kennedy Ryan – Hoops, Grip
Avery Flynn – Hartigans/Harbor City
Pippa Grant
KU is also good as it has the Lonely Planet travel guides.
I also have the Audible Romance package, which includes the Chloe Neill Chicago vampire series.
Sarina Bowen recently put her Ivy Years series in KU if you’re looking for some quality New Adult. Lucy Score’s books are all in KU – she’s great if you’re looking for small town rom com. Her new standalone Rock Bottom Girl was great – Sweet Home Alabama meets Bad Teacher meets Bad News Bears. Pippa Grant is all in KU – I find her stuff a bit hit or miss, but if you’re in the mood for some screwball romcom fluff they can be fun. For some knock you over emotionally, make you sob, give you a book hangover romance, try Kennedy Ryan’s Hoops series, though TW for domestic violence in the first book. For some fun motorcycle club quickies, Kati Wilde’s MC novellas are nice and steamy, though again TW for the typical violence MC books can contain.
Thank you all! My TBR list has definitely increased from this comments section.
What’s scary is that according to KU, I checked out over 100 KU books last year. I am more likely to try a new author on KU – and am more likely to forgive small faults/typos on KU books. I’ve found a few new-to-me favorite authors and have come on a dilemma – if I check something out more than once, should I just go ahead and buy it?
Sci-Fi
Nathan Lowell – Traders tales Interstellar cargo ships and crews, well written. Also his Tanyth Fairport series has a late-middle aged heroine.
E.M.Foner – Union Station. The lives and loves of humans in space. (The first one is about what happens when an all-knowing AI runs a dating service).
MacKay Chandler – April series and Family Law series. YA space opera.
Alma Boykin – From sci-fi to urban fantasy to fantasy based on medieval Europe and China – I’ve enjoyed all of her works.
Romance
Glasgow Lads – By Avery Cockburn – Especially the Glasgow Lads on Ice – Curling romance!
Garrett Leigh – The angst, TW for lots of things, but what amazing flawed characters
Post Apocalyptic Romance – Kris Ripper’s The Home series. The aftermath of sexual slavery.
Michelle Diener – Dark Horse series. These are ones I may buy since I’ve re-checked them out at least 3 times. Earth women, kidnapped, who rescue themselves with the help of AI. With music and a sense of humor.
Another rec for the Beatrice Hyde-Clare mysteries by Lynn Messina on KU. I recommended them to my sister who swore she hated mysteries but I described them more as a blend of Anthony Trollope and Georgette Heyer with the mystery element primarily serving as an excuse for the main characters to interact, and she looooved them.
Also from KU, I just read A Song Begins (Warrender Saga Book 1) by Mary Burchell which has been on my tbr list ever since I read a great review on Dear Author about it. It was very good, about a famous opera conductor and the young woman who he is determined to make into a great singer. It’s definitely of it’s 1960’s era; the cold, masterful older man/vivacious young ingenue type that Harlequin did(does?)so well. The entire 12 book series is on KU and I will be trying others.
I listen to lots of audiobooks so I do subscribe to Audible’s romance package. They have four of Judith Ivory’s historical romances, I liked them all though Beast and The Proposition are my favorites. They also have Lord of Scandals by Loretta Chase read by the wonderful Kate Reading.
They have most of the historicals by Sherry Thomas though they aren’t as good as her Lady Sherlock books, and the narration varies from book to book, I did like The Luckiest Lady in London quite a bit, I love a pair of unendearing protagonists.
Elizabeth Hoyt’s Legend of the Four Soldiers series is available and I actually prefer the 4 book story arc to that of the Maiden LAne series. I find the narrator’s voice a bit difficult to listen to though I think many others like her. Take this with a grain of salt, I’m not particularly fond of the much loved Renee Raudman either.
Georgette Heyer’s The Talisman Ring is narrated wonderfully, it seemed much funnier than I remembered it being when I read it years ago.
I’ve listened to the entire FBI-US Attorney Series by Julie James and also really liked her stand alone book Practice Makes Perfect.
Many of Lois McMaster Bujold’s fantasy books set in The World of Five Gods are available with the Romance package including The Paladin of Souls, and Penric’s Demon. They are invariably wonderful.
I forgot to mention that The Talisman Ring does include some of the hurtful negative stereotyping of a Jewish gentleman as well as some off-hand anti-catholicism that is so frustrating in a number of Heyer’s books. Not nearly to the extent that makes The Grand Sophy so unpleasant but it should be mentioned.
I also forgot to mention that one of my recent favorite KU books was A Wicked Kind of Husband by Mia Vincy. A historical Romance with funny banter.
I found Jessica Cale’s historical romances on KU and just love them.
So I got KU because I was buying the heck out of KM Shea’s various series and KU was a heck of a lot cheaper. Of course, I LOVE most of her books, so now I’ve bought them on sale here and there.
Jenny Schwartz – particularly for SBTB readers Phoenix Blood, my favorite though is Her Robot Wolf.
K.M Shea / A.M Sohma – all the books, especially Frog Prince, 12 Dancing Princesses, The Reckless, The Revived, Goblins Drink Tomato Juice.
Bonus, Kitty is the rare KU author without typos, mis-spellings, wandering plots, etc. She writes “clean romance” so not for everyone here, but I love it.
I’m an audiobooks now subscriber, because $5/month fits my budget and that gives you half off one audiobook. We did have to wait a little longer for the latest Donna Andrews. (Really the first & second one. It was fun when Meg is so interested in these digital cameras.)
I’m doing a re-read of the Chronicles of Narnia with my daughter on Scribd right now. Scribd has also been a great resource for old Kresley Cole books as I listen to the “Fated Mates” podcast, and has a pretty deep collection of audiobooks, including some front-list titles!
Thanks to the poster above who mentioned the monthly vs. annual pricing, I’m going to check that out.
While it can be hit or miss, I’ve really enjoyed how Kindle Unlimited makes it easy to try lots of new authors. I feel a lot less guilty about not finishing a book when it’s in KU. Some authors put their whole series in KU, some will just put the 1st book to give you a taste.
Two of my favorite authors, Sarina Bowen and Tessa Bailey, put some of their books in KU sometimes. I highly recommend Sarina’s Ivy series, which I think is available in KU.
I’ve actually found LOTS of authors I’ve loved through KU:
Let’s Get Textual, by Teagan Hunter – first in a 3 book series. Very funny, lots of the content is the main characters’ communication through text. This epistolary-esque style is my catnip. 🙂 The other two books were cute too.
How To Date a Douchebag, by Sara Ney (whole series is in KU)
Jamison Valley Series by Devney Perry – I think whole series is in KU, takes place in Montana, and they just sucked me in.
Three Little Lies series by Sara Ney (3 novellas, lots of that text-epistolary catnip in the first one!)
Devil’s Night Series by Penelope Douglas – addictive, super dark, and full of angst, not my typical cup of tea but since they were in KU I took a chance on them.
Kathryn Nolan – not sure if her books are technically a series, but the characters show up in each other’s books. These are very sweet, low-angst. She writes about hippies, activists, surfers, bookstore owners, etc – interesting characters.
The Walsh Brothers by Kate Canterbary – I LOVED this series about a set of siblings in Boston. Super addictive. Not all of her books are in KU, but this one is right now I think. It’s the first three books of the series. Some of the peripheral characters also have books in KU and you can read out of order. Highly recommended.
Wingmen Series by Daisy Prescott- low angst and set in the San Juan Islands, a very sweet series.
Love Under the Big Sky Series by Kristen Proby – low angst to the point of almost no conflict, but I enjoy that sometimes. Takes place in Montana, and that gorgeous scenery is basically one of the main characters.
Smart Jocks series by Rebecca Jenshak – New Adult/college/sports and very fun reads. I have already preordered the next one.
Ok wow. I just looked through my KU history and there is some sketchy stuff in there lol! I was like “no way I read that” but then the next book in the series would be there too… oh well. Here’s a list of the ones I actually finished and remember really liking. Interestingly there’s more YA and NA on here than I usually read- I guess KU gets me my rare fix of that.
Elise Kova – Air Awakens – YA fantasy romance
Kendra Elliot – Mercy Kilpatrick series – more mystery with some romance
Laura Thalassa – the Bargainer series – YA fantasy romance
Talia Hibbert- I read a bunch of hers and enjoyed them
Emily R King – The Hundreth Queen
Mariana Zapata
Melanie Summers – Crown Jewels series
Madrid Dawson – Matchmaking for Beginners
Catherine Bybee – First Wives series
Elle Pierson (Lucy Parker) – Artistic License
*Maddie Dawson
Also Victoria Helen Stone! I liked Jane Doe a lot and Evelyn, After was good too.
@Courtney- this is kind of off topic but do you have any other epistolary style recs? I looked up Let’s Get Textual and saw I’d read it before but I’m reading it again now. This is my jam. I loved Dear Aaron by Mariana Zapata for the same reason even though I don’t love all of her other stuff. The new Can’t Escape Love by Alyssa Cole almost does this and I really enjoyed that too. (and I also randomly have a fanfic rec for this if you/anyone is interested too)
@Mary: I love epistolary romances, too! We have a tag for them, and there’s an older GS vs STA, but I think we should do a new one soon. I’ll add it to the schedule.
I have to recommend Elizabeth Hunter and Rosalind James, both available through KU and in Audible’s Romance Package. Hunter writes paranormal romance (vampires, ahoy!), while James writes contemporary sports romance set in New Zealand, as well as some contemporary suspense set in Idaho. I love both these authors, and read them before KU even existed, so their names definitely should be on this list.
I’ll also second Lindsay Buroker/Ruby Lionsdrake for compulsively readable and fun fantasy and sci-fi. Buroker/Lionsdrake is KU only, not Audible, and recently featured here in the book club.
@SB Sarah- that’s perfect, thank you!
@Mary The first one that comes to mind is the Sara Ney Three Little Lies set of novellas, particularly the first one. The relationship is semi-long distance through text and email. That was a fave for me – very funny and sweet!
I can’t think of any other books where text/email is a major piece of the story off the top of my head. There are some authors who use text/email super effectively, but you couldn’t call the books epistolary. Kate Canterbary’s Walsh Series, Alice Claytor’s Wallbanger series, New Adult stuff by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy all come to mind.
I checked on Goodreads to see if I’m missing something I’ve read and found a book I’ve never heard of called Amber’s Blind Date by Casey Summers. It’s in KU and looks to be a book told 100% through text. I’m going to try it out!
@Mary also thank you for those recs, I am adding them all now!
I subscribe to KU and Audible Romance Club. I discovered author Max Monroe and have been binge listening/reading her Bad Billionaires books (all stand alones and all amazing!). Do yourself a favor if you like humor and romance together!
I recently binged the Spotless series by Camilla Monk via KU. The heroine is a computer engineer who arrives home one day to discover a hit man with OCD has cleaned her apartment while waiting for her to arrive. There’s a romance but it’s not the main focus of the series.
I’m a huge fan of Mariana Zapata. I especially loved From Lukov with Love and Luna and the Lie.
I really liked the Outlier Prophecies by Tina Gower about an actuary in the Accidental Death Predictions department who meets and begins to work with a latent werewolf police officer
I also enjoyed Mia Vincy’s A Wicked Kind of Husband. A historical romance marriage of convenience story. The hero and heroine meet and get married on the same day. He immediately leaves and when they meet again two years later they don’t even recognize each other. I desperately wanted to glom everything the author had to written but she doesn’t currently have anything else out. Her website says new books are coming out soon. It also says A Wicked Kind of Husband will only be available via KU until 2 April so, if you’re interested, you don’t have much longer to read it.