The Harp of Kings
The Harp of Kings by Juliet Marillier is $2.99! This is the start of a brand new series about bard siblings going on a quest. I love Marillier’s writing so much; I read her a lot in high school. I was able to get an early copy of this one before it came out and I was nostalgically enchanted by it.
A young woman is both a bard–and a warrior–in this thrilling historical fantasy from the author of the Sevenwaters novels.
Eighteen-year-old Liobhan is a powerful singer and an expert whistle player. Her brother has a voice to melt the hardest heart, and a rare talent on the harp. But Liobhan’s burning ambition is to join the elite warrior band on Swan Island. She and her brother train there to compete for places, and find themselves joining a mission while still candidates. Their unusual blend of skills makes them ideal for this particular job, which requires going undercover as traveling minstrels. For Swan Island trains both warriors and spies.
Their mission: to find and retrieve a precious harp, an ancient symbol of kingship, which has gone mysteriously missing. If the instrument is not played at the upcoming coronation, the candidate will not be accepted and the people could revolt. Faced with plotting courtiers and tight-lipped druids, an insightful storyteller, and a boorish Crown Prince, Liobhan soon realizes an Otherworld power may be meddling in the affairs of the kingdom. When ambition clashes with conscience, Liobhan must make a bold decision and is faced with a heartbreaking choice. . .
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A Lady’s Guide to Etiquette and Murder by Dianne Freeman is $1.99! This is book in the A Countess of Harleigh Mystery series. If you’ve exhausted all of your historical mystery with romantic subplot options, try this one. It was also mentioned in the comments of The Rec League: Mysteries with Romance Crossover Appeal.
In this exciting historical mystery debut set in Victorian England, a wealthy young widow encounters the pleasures—and scandalous pitfalls—of a London social season . . .
Frances Wynn, the American-born Countess of Harleigh, enjoys more freedom as a widow than she did as a wife. After an obligatory year spent mourning her philandering husband, Reggie, she puts aside her drab black gowns, leaving the countryside and her money-grubbing in-laws behind. With her young daughter in tow, Frances rents a home in Belgravia and prepares to welcome her sister, Lily, arriving from New York—for her first London season.No sooner has Frances begun her new life than the ghosts of her old one make an unwelcome appearance. The Metropolitan police receive an anonymous letter implicating Frances in her husband’s death. Frances assures Inspector Delaney of her innocence, but she’s also keen to keep him from learning the scandalous circumstances of Reggie’s demise. As fate would have it, her dashing new neighbor, George Hazelton, is one of only two other people aware of the full story.
While busy with social engagements on Lily’s behalf, and worrying if Reggie really was murdered, Frances learns of mysterious burglaries plaguing London’s elite. The investigation brings death to her doorstep, and Frances rallies her wits, a circle of gossips, and the ever-chivalrous Mr. Hazelton to uncover the truth. A killer is in their midst, perhaps even among her sister’s suitors. And Frances must unmask the villain before Lily’s season—and their lives—come to a most unseemly end . . .
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Hell On Wheels by Julie Ann Walker is $1.99! This is the first book in the Black Knights, Inc series and if you can’t tell, involves dudes on motorcycles. Readers wanted more action and suspense from this romance, but if you’re a fan of Kristen Ashley’s books, these come recommended. Have you read this series?
He’s the bad boy she’s always wanted…
Nate “Ghost” Weller has loved Ali Morgan nearly half his life. But he’s done something so heinous he’s convinced she’ll never forgive him if she discovers the truth, so he keeps his feelings and his secrets to himself. Then she blows into town with a mother lode of bad guys on her tail and Nate can’t deny she’s in serious trouble. Unfortunately, he’s the only one who can help her.
She’s the good girl he’s kept at arm’s length…
Ali knows Nate as the most solemn, aloof man on the planet. Sadly, he’s also the sexiest. For years she’s avoided him, unable to stomach his dark scowls and brooding silences… especially when she secretly yearns for his touch. Now she must rely on him to save her from the malevolent shadows ghosting her every move. When the bullets explode, so does their passion. But can love really conquer all? Or are some things just too terrible to forgive?
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A Hundred Summers by Beatriz Williams is $1.99! Williams often writes historical fiction with romantic elements and this one is set in Rhode Island. There was a review I read that described Williams’ books as “schmaltzy” and that you really have to lean into it. I completely agree and sometimes, we need some schmaltz.
As the 1938 hurricane approaches Rhode Island, another storm brews in this New York Times bestselling beach read from the author of The Summer Wives and The Golden Hour.
Lily Dane has returned to Seaview, Rhode Island, where her family has summered for generations. It’s an escape not only from New York’s social scene but from a heartbreak that still haunts her. Here, among the seaside community that has embraced her since childhood, she finds comfort in the familiar rituals of summer.
But this summer is different. Budgie and Nick Greenwald—Lily’s former best friend and former fiancé—have arrived, too, and Seaview’s elite are abuzz. Under Budgie’s glamorous influence, Lily is seduced into a complicated web of renewed friendship and dangerous longing.
As a cataclysmic hurricane churns north through the Atlantic, and uneasy secrets slowly reveal themselves, Lily and Nick must confront an emotional storm that will change their worlds forever…
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I have read the Julie Ann Walker books. Enjoyed them with reservations. I found them a bit jingoistic with references to “the leader of the free world” very annoying. The heroines could be a bit childish too
If you’re not interested in the Beatriz Williams book but are interested in the weather event that forms the backdrop, there’s a very good non-fiction book about the 1938 hurricane called THE SUDDEN SEA by R.A. Scotti. The hurricane caused incredible devastation along the New England coastline—especially because most people were unaware of how severe the approaching storm was.
https://www.amazon.com/Sudden-Sea-Great-Hurricane-1938/dp/0316832111/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Hurricane+of+1938&qid=1591805452&sr=8-1
For some reason, as I was reading the blurb for Walker’s book, I read the title as “Heels on Wheels,” which sounded great! So much for failing peripheral vision.
Love Juliet Marillier! And the description of bard spies is giving me some serious Dragon Age vibes (Leiliana <3).
I need to read the Williams and see if she manages to get the geography of RI right.
The Marillier and the Freeman are both boffo, tho, and that I can attest to.
Re: Hell on Wheels – as a lifelong reader of a pretty wide variety of fiction and nonfiction writing, and – especially – as a daily consumer of The Bitchery’s offerings (reviews/Rec League/comments, etc.), I feel comfortable in saying that I’ve read about / heard of a lot of different kinks. I may not want to personally experiment with some of them IRL, but if a good writer has done the research (not looking at you, E.L. James), and it ends up showing on the page, I’m happy to live vicariously through, and emotionally connect with the characters, and ultimately gain a wider understanding of human psychology and desire. But this one… I am just completely gobsmacked:
“When the bullets explode, so does their passion”
Is this a real thing????
Just re-read my above comment;
… or did my tired brain just zip directly to “Literal-land” and it’s really that the back-cover writer and the higher-up who then vetted and okayed that description desperately need a refresher in the do’s and dont’s of hyperbole?
Marillier can be hit or miss with me but those hits are much loved so I can’t pass up $2.99
@Betsydub – Pretty sure it’s a hyperbolic tag line meant to signal “Romance!” “Danger!” Suspense!” in case anyone needed a one-liner for ads.
@Betsydub for the love of god please don’t satisfy your curiosity and fall down a “guns and BDSM” fan fic rabbit hole! LOL Because I bet it’s a thing and a bet that thing has its own niche following…not that there’s anything wrong with that 🙂
I read the Diane Freeman, and didn’t care too much for it. I think it was a near DNF for me, not because of any one particular thing, but IIRC I found it boring and/or the heroine annoying. I’m sorry that I don’t recall the specifics more clearly, but I definitely remember thinking that I needed to not continue with that series.