Rebel
RECOMMENDED: Rebel by Beverly Jenkins is $1.99! Claudia wrote a guest review for this one before coming onboard. She gave it a B+:
One of the greatest joys of reading this book was seeing Val reconnecting with her inner hellion, and starting to believe she too could experience a great love.
The first novel in USA Today Bestselling Author Beverly Jenkins’ compelling new series follows a Northern woman south in the chaotic aftermath of the Civil War…
Valinda Lacey’s mission in the steamy heart of New Orleans is to help the newly emancipated community survive and flourish. But soon she discovers that here, freedom can also mean danger. When thugs destroy the school she has set up and then target her, Valinda runs for her life—and straight into the arms of Captain Drake LeVeq.
As an architect from an old New Orleans family, Drake has a deeply personal interest in rebuilding the city. Raised by strong women, he recognizes Valinda’s determination. And he can’t stop admiring—or wanting—her. But when Valinda’s father demands she return home to marry a man she doesn’t love, her daring rebellion draws Drake into an irresistible intrigue.
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!Aurora Blazing
RECOMMENDED: Aurora Blazing by Jessie Mihalik is $1.99! Thanks to everyone who let us know about this deal. It’s the second book in a sci-fi romance series I love, but you can jump in here without reading the first. I gave it a B+:
If you’re part of the “Slow Burn Just Kiss Already Dammit” club, though, you’ll be white-knuckling this one.
To save her brother and protect her family’s future, a powerful princess must join forces with a dashing man from her past in this thrilling space adventure, the second novel in the Consortium Rebellion trilogy.
As the dutiful daughter of High House von Hasenberg, Bianca set aside her personal feelings and agreed to a political match arranged by her family, only to end up trapped in a loveless, miserable marriage. When her husband unexpectedly dies, Bianca vows never to wed again. Newly independent, she secretly uses her wealth and influence to save other women stuck in dire circumstances. Information is power and Bianca has a network of allies and spies that would be the envy of the ’verse—if anyone knew about it.
When her family’s House is mysteriously attacked, Bianca’s oldest brother, the heir to House von Hasenberg, disappears. Fearful for her brother’s life, the headstrong Bianca defies her father and leaves Earth to save him. Ian Bishop, the director of House von Hasenberg security—and Bianca’s first love—is ordered to find and retrieve the rebellious woman.
Ian is the last man Bianca wants to see. To evade capture, she leads him on a merry chase across the universe. But when their paths finally collide, she knows she must persuade him to help her. Bianca will do anything to save her sibling, even if it means spending time alone on a small ship with the handsome, infuriating man who once broke her heart.
As the search takes them deep into rival House Rockhurst territory, Bianca must decide if she can trust Ian with the one piece of information that could destroy her completely . . .
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!Tempests and Slaughter
Tempests and Slaughter by Tamora Pierce is $1.99! Pierce is an auto-buy author for a lot of the Bitchery and this is the start to a new series, though it’s definitely related to her Tortall books. The second book is due out sometime this year, but who knows what will happen with that.
The highly anticipated NEW Tortall Legend from TAMORA PIERCE, the #1 New York Times bestselling author who is legend herself, is a must-read for any fantasy lover!
Arram. Varice. Ozorne. In the first book in the Numair Chronicles, three student mages are bound by fate . . . fated for trouble.
Arram Draper is a boy on the path to becoming one of the realm’s most powerful mages. The youngest student in his class at the Imperial University of Carthak, he has a Gift with unlimited potential for greatness–and for attracting danger. At his side are his two best friends: Varice, a clever girl with an often-overlooked talent, and Ozorne, the “leftover prince” with secret ambitions. Together, these three friends forge a bond that will one day shape kingdoms. And as Ozorne gets closer to the throne and Varice gets closer to Arram’s heart, Arram begins to realize that one day soon he will have to decide where his loyalties truly lie.
In the Numair Chronicles, readers will be rewarded with the never-before-told story of how Numair Salmalín came to Tortall. Newcomers will discover an unforgettable fantasy adventure where a kingdom’s future rests on the shoulders of a talented young man with a knack for making vicious enemies.
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!And I Darken
READER RECOMMENDED: And I Darken by Kiersten White is $1.99! We featured a review of this as part of our series Squee from the Keeper Shelf. Reader Fairywine really, really loved this book:
And I Darken utterly blew me away with how damn good it was, and it’s easily equal in quality to my other best favorites of 2016. This is a book that will challenge you, and surprise you, and give you things you didn’t even know you wanted in a book but actually did all along.
This vividly rendered novel reads like HBO’s Game of Thrones . . . if it were set in the Ottoman Empire. Ambitious in scope and intimate in execution, the story’s atmospheric setting is rife with political intrigue, with a deftly plotted narrative driven by fiercely passionate characters and a fearsome heroine. Fans of Victoria Aveyard’s THE RED QUEEN, Kristin Cashore’s GRACELING, and Sabaa Tahir’s AN EMBER IN THE ASHES won’t want to miss this visceral, immersive, and mesmerizing novel, the first in a trilogy.
NO ONE EXPECTS A PRINCESS TO BE BRUTAL. And Lada Dragwlya likes it that way. Ever since she and her gentle younger brother, Radu, were wrenched from their homeland of Wallachia and abandoned by their father to be raised in the Ottoman courts, Lada has known that being ruthless is the key to survival. She and Radu are doomed to act as pawns in a vicious game, an unseen sword hovering over their every move. For the lineage that makes them special also makes them targets.
Lada despises the Ottomans and bides her time, planning her vengeance for the day when she can return to Wallachia and claim her birthright. Radu longs only for a place where he feels safe. And when they meet Mehmed, the defiant and lonely son of the sultan, who’s expected to rule a nation, Radu feels that he’s made a true friend—and Lada wonders if she’s finally found someone worthy of her passion.
But Mehmed is heir to the very empire that Lada has sworn to fight against—and that Radu now considers home. Together, Lada, Radu, and Mehmed form a toxic triangle that strains the bonds of love and loyalty to the breaking point.
From New York Times bestselling author Kiersten White comes the first book in a dark, sweeping new series in which heads will roll, bodies will be impaled . . . and hearts will be broken.
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 would love to hear any of the Bitchery’s thoughts on Tempests and Slaughter, if anyone’s read it. The Immortals series is by far the most reread series in my library, and so I’m very curious about this new series.
But I’m so wary about origin stories of already loved characters, and my god do I love Numair. So I’d love to hear some opinions on the new book if anyone has them!
“Destiny’s Embrace”, “Destiny’s Surrender”, and “Destiny’s Captive” by Beverly Jenkins are also on sale for $1.99 each on Kindle.
@Ashley M.: For some context, Numair was my first fictional crush and when THAT MOMENT happened in EMPEROR MAGE baby NomadiCat threw the book against the wall and cried her eyes out. (And then picked it back up because I wanted Daine to rain hell down on Ozorne.) So to say I was excited about this book? Understatement.
And then I DNF’d it. It was a combination of knowing the horrors and betrayal that were to come for Arram (like watching a slow-moving plane crash), and not liking teenage him or his friends a whole bunch. The book is also not as tight as it could have been. I was happier walking away and rereading the Immortals series again.
But YMMV and I’m going to keep an eye on this thread in case others who finished it want to weigh in! Maybe I’ll grab Book 2 from the library and try again.
@NomadiCat: Thanks for chiming in! The experience you had with the novel is why I’ve been hesitant to pick up the book. I know Numair and his past from the Immortals series, I don’t necessarily need to read and invest myself in reading through those experiences with him. Especially if, as you perfectly described it, it’ll just be me watching a slow moving plane crash.
I also don’t want to read the book and find I really like a certain relationship and a certain character and I have the “well this is going nowhere, wish I didn’t like this ship” or “why am I loving you, you do not live a long life into geriatric age, this will only cause me pain” feelings. YMMV, but that is not a reading experience I enjoy.
I will see if others weigh in on how they felt about it! I can pick it up from the library or I can reread the Immortals to help fill the quarantine time.
Also, total agreement about THAT MOMENT in Emperor Mage. Young me was not prepared and not okay when it happened. I can only appreciate the awesomeness of Diane’s response on the reread, when I first read it the shock was too much in the moment. And that is saying a lot because Diane’s response is truly awesome.
I also DNF’d Tempests and Slaughter. On both prose and plotting levels it didn’t feel particularly Tamora Pierce.
I was also frustrated because what’s particularly interesting to me about Tortall is its future, not its past. Obligatory plug for my favorite fanfic ever, a sequel to Lady Knight that has plenty of Daine and Numair: Lady Knight Volant. https://archiveofourown.org/works/511762/chapters/902085 This caps off all the Tortall books like *chef’s kiss*, recommend any time over Tempests and Slaughter.
I also DNFed Tempests and Slaughter! I think it fell into the same problem as Han Solo–it felt like it had to explain the origination of lots of things about Numair, his friends, and his world that were mentioned the Immortals and other books within the Tortall universe, but that doesn’t necessarily result in the development of more depth to the characters or their relationships with each other.
Thanks @snackleton for the rec!!
I enjoyed Tempests & Slaughter when I read it but I haven’t felt the need to reread like I do any of the other Tortall books. It is also weird reading a book where I know how all the characters end up…but it was also nice to have a new Tamora Pierce to read!!
The Immortals is my FAVORITE quartet of Pierce’s, and Numair is one of my top favorite characters; I was looking forward to Tempests & Slaughter for years! And…it wasn’t my jam. For all the reasons everyone else said–I especially agree with @snackleton’s point about the prose/plotting just feeling off.
There was a ton of fan service, which is a personal irritant of mine. Others might not mind the random callbacks to other books.
Possibly the thing that bothered me the most was that huge swaths of time were just glazed over, which meant I didn’t think the side characters like Ozorne and Varice got the development they deserved. On top of that, this was Pierce’s first foray into magic school and/or academics in Tortall, and while I don’t think it should have been a Tortall version of Harry Potter, I also came away feeling like I knew next to nothing about what the magic school was really like or what the culture of living there was like.
I read it the whole way through, and found things to like about it, and intend to keep reading the series, but it definitely disappointed me.
I’m so late to this conversation! @snackleton – thanks for the fanfic rec! My only question is: TP said recently that Kel is ace… does this doc lean that way? Or if not, can you rec any that have Kel as ace? It’s been forever since I read any fanfic, and never have read any Tortall fic. I have some catching up to do!
I haven’t read the Numair prequel book, but this comment section made me ridiculously happy. The Immortals series is my fave, and now I want to read Tortall fanfic.
Based on most people’s experiences, I’ll probably not pick up Tempests and Slaughter, and instead start reading some Tortall fanfic. I always know I can count on the Bitchery to come through!
Penny @ 9: LKV definitely has a sexual Kel/Dom endgame. Unfortunately I don’t have any recommendations for ace!Kel, but as an ace myself, I’m thrilled that Tammy confirmed it. 🙂