-
Iron and Magic
Iron and Magic by Ilona Andrews is $2.99! This is the first book in a new series by Andrews and features a hero who was a bit of a villain in the Kate Daniels series. I’m on the fence on whether this can be read without finishing Kate Daniels. Any experts care to weigh in?
No day is ordinary in a world where Technology and Magic compete for supremacyâŠBut no matter which force is winning, in the apocalypse, a sword will always work.
Hugh dâAmbray, Preceptor of the Iron Dogs, Warlord of the Builder of Towers, served only one man. Now his immortal, nearly omnipotent master has cast him aside. Hugh is a shadow of the warrior he was, but when he learns that the Iron Dogs, soldiers who would follow him anywhere, are being hunted down and murdered, he must make a choice: to fade away or to be the leader he was born to be. Hugh knows he must carve a new place for himself and his people, but they have no money, no shelter, and no food, and the necromancers are coming. Fast.
Elara Harper is a creature who should not exist. Her enemies call her Abomination; her people call her White Lady. Tasked with their protection, she’s trapped between the magical heavyweights about to collide and plunge the state of Kentucky into a war that humans have no power to stop. Desperate to shield her people and their simple way of life, she would accept help from the devil himselfâand Hugh dâAmbray might qualify.
Hugh needs a base, Elara needs soldiers. Both are infamous for betraying their allies, so how can they create a believable alliance to meet the challenge of their enemies?
As the prophet says: âIt is better to marry than to burn.â
Hugh and Elara may do both.
Add to Goodreads To-Read List →
This book is on sale at:
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks! -
Menagerie
Menagerie by Rachel Vincent is $2.99! This is an urban fantasy novel with a creep circus thatâs 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 didnât 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⊠Â
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”âmermaids, minotaurs, griffins and kelpiesâare 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.
Add to Goodreads To-Read List →
This book is on sale at:
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks! -
Rebel Cowboy
Rebel Cowboy by Nicole Helm is $1.99! This is a contemporary western with a former athlete turned cowboy hero. Readers loved the interaction between the hero and heroine, but others found the characters a bit unapproachable at the beginning of the book. Have you read this one?
UNDER A BIG SKY
For hotshot NHL star Dan Sharpe, hockey isn’t just his job-it’s his everything. But when claims of cheating get him bounced from the ice, he finds himself feeling lost. Everyone thinks he’s crazy for taking on his grandfather’s ramshackle Montana ranch, but hey, he’s Dan Sharpe: how hard can it be?As it turns out? Plenty hard.
Mel Shaw has been fighting tooth and nail to keep her family from falling apart. The last thing she needs is a distraction, but taking a job as some city slicker’s consultant may be her only chance to save the land she loves. But she never expected someone like Dan to come roaring into her life, and it doesn’t take long for Mel to realize this hockey-star-turned-cowboy has the power to upend her carefully ordered world-and heart-for good.
Add to Goodreads To-Read List →
This book is on sale at:
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks! -
Wild & Sweet
Wild & Sweet by Rhenna Morgan is $2.99 at Amazon! This is the second book in the Haven Brotherhood series and has a blue collar, mechanic heroine, which is something you donât see too often! Readers said this was a great new-to-them author and that the main characters had great chemistry. However, some took issue with the doctor heroâs ambiguous behavior.
Live hard, f*ck harder and make their own rules. Those are the cornerstones the six Men of Haven bleed by: taking what they want, always watching each other’s backs, and loving the women they claim with unyielding tenderness and fierce passion. Â
Zeke Dugan is not a man who walks the straight and narrow. He may have sworn an oath as a trauma doc, but he has zero problem leveraging his medical skills outside a hospital if it means giving his family an advantage. Blood before business. All that changes when shy Gabrielle stumbles into his life.
Mechanic Gabrielle Parker prefers the complexities of an engine over men. Her life wasn’t always quiet and well-ordered, but now that it is, she finds peace in the solitude. When a robbery in her neighborhood forces her out of her safe bubble, she never fathoms that a dangerous, cocky trauma doctor will fix more than her injuries.
Zeke doesn’t play by the rules but is exactly what Gabrielle needs in her life. He’ll show her the fierce and uncompromising protection that comes from belonging to a man like him. No one will hurt his woman, even if it means putting the very men who saved his life at risk.
Add to Goodreads To-Read List →
This book is on sale at:
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks!
Don't want to miss an ebook sale? Sign up for our newsletter, and you'll get the week's available deals each Friday.
I remember Helm being a good contemp westerns author in general.
Book 1 of Iron and Magic takes place at least before the final Kate Daniels book. You could probably read it before the last 2 and have it make sense.
I read Iron and Magic without having read the Kate Daniels books. I caught on to the world pretty well and enjoyed it, but I’m sure it would have been more meaningful if I had read the KD books first.
Ilona Andrews’ Magic Burns is also on sale for 1.99 right now. I think it’s the second book in the KD series.
I read the last Kate Daniels book before I read Iron and Magic and although I enjoyed the end of that series, I think it would have made more sense if I had read Iron & Magic first.
I actually listened to Iron & Magic before reading it, although I picked it up on sale later. The listening experience was interesting because the narrator is male and he made some choices about the accents of some of the crossover characters that surprised me. He has a great voice and I enjoyed his narration — but the differences did surprise me.
Getting Rid of Bradley by Jennifer Crusie is 1.99 on Kindle. Donât know about elsewhere.
I read Iron and Magic in order with the Daniels series this summer, but I feel like it would make sense if you havenât read the other books. Hughâs character arc might not mean as much without the earlier books though, which would be a drawback. I think all the information is there. There are new characters who have to be told stuff so thereâs backstory explanation that doesnât feel like info dump. Itâs more Hugh working through his issues.
Chronologically, Iron and Magic takes place before the KD finale. One could read it without reading any of the KD books or even after reading the KD finale because background is given in relevant places so you are not lost.
Agree with everyone upthread about reading it before with the KD books. Personally, I’d recommend reading them in order. I think it makes for a richer reading experience understanding Hugh in his own book having experienced him in the KD books. Also it is much more fun to read the KD finale fore-armed with stuff learned about Hugh gleaned from his own book when it comes time for it to become a plot point in the KD finale.
Also it is a win-win because the KD series is fantastic and I envy anyone discovering them for the first time.
I absolutely loved the first two books in the Rachel Vincent trilogy; the third was rather rushed and incoherent trying to wind everything up. But I can’t recommend the whole reading experience highly enough- excellent world-building, beautiful, heart-breaking characters. Time for a reread.
Menagerie sounds really interesting, but is anyone else thrown off by the name Gallagher? I’m picturing the guy who used to sledgehammer watermelons for his act.
I agree on the discrepancies on the accent choices for Iron and Magic’s narrator… but hey, I could listen to him read the stock report. (Could it be in person please?)
It might be my favorite of their work – but I like characters with fucked up backgrounds. (I mean, hey, if I didn’t end up as a drug dealer, prostitute, or serial killer, I figure all kinds of people have a chance, right?)
“A hero who was a bit of a villain in the Kate Daniels series” is a massive understatement. Lol. I think Iron and Magic technically works without having read the Kate Daniels series first, but much of the richness of the character development would be lost. I have tremendous regard for the Ilona Andrews team, but I had serious doubts that they could successfully pull off having Hugh become a sympathetic character. I’m glad to say I was wrong.
I read Iron & Magic before I read the KD series. I thought it was a good stand alone book even though it briefly references back to Kate or other characters in that world. This book actually finally made me commit to reading the KD series; turns out that I don’t really like Kate but I did appreciate her story arc. I really love Hugh and Elara and can’t wait to see what in their future.
I 1-clicked Wild & Sweet last night and ended up in the Bad Decisions Book Club. By the time I finished it my iPad battery was at 5%. It hit the spot for hot alpha-male tropiness, without going into fated mates territory.
I hate Hugh d’Ambray with a passion, so Iron and Magic just didn’t work for me. It felt like a betrayal.
I finished the KD books before picking up Iron and Magic. For some strange reason, I didn’t know it was book 9.5 of the KD series.
The way I read it worked out for me better than expected. There wasn’t a single thing I didn’t love about the novel. Iron and Magic was my fave book I read in 2019. I liked it so much that, after returning the ebook to the library, I turned around and bought a copy for myself. đ
I understand peopleâs complaints about switching narration from Renee Raudman, but if you can allow your mind time to readjust to the small differences in character accents, then I think you can enjoy the story in its own right. Steve West is an good choice for voicing Hugh DâAmbray. He also voices Martha Grimesâ Richard Jury series and those are just perfect!