The Devil of Downtown
The Devil of Downtown by Joanna Shupe is $1.99 at Amazon! This deal may expire soon, considering it’s not price-matched. My main gripe with this series is that the three sisters have an awful, sexist dad. The books kind of overlap in terms of a timeline, so you get to experience the dad in all of his shittiness three times around.
The final novel in Joanna Shupe’s critically acclaimed Uptown Girl series about a beautiful do-gooder who must decide if she can team up with one of New York’s brashest criminals without losing something irreplaceable: her heart.
Manhattan kingpin.
Brilliant mastermind.
Gentleman gangster.He’s built a wall around his heart…
Orphaned and abandoned on the Bowery’s mean streets, Jack Mulligan survived on strength, cunning, and ambition. Now he rules his territory better than any politician or copper ever could. He didn’t get here by being soft. But in uptown do-gooder Justine Greene―the very definition of an iron fist in a velvet glove―Jack may have met his match.
She wears hers on her sleeve…
Justine is devoted to tracking down deadbeat husbands and fighting for fair working conditions. When her mission brings her face-to-face with Jack, she’s shocked to find the man behind the criminal empire is considerably more charming and honorable than many “gentlemen” she knows.
Forming an unlikely alliance, they discover an unexpected desire. And when Justine’s past catches up with them, Jack may be her only hope of survival. Is she ready to make a deal with the devil…?
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Iron & Velvet by Alexis Hall is $1.99! This is the first book in the Kate Kane, Paranormal Investigator series. It’s urban fantasy with some background romance. Catherine enjoyed book three, but does issue a warning that it can get pretty violent.
Previously published; newly refreshed by the author
I like my women like I like my whiskey: more than is good for me.
Name’s Kane, Kate Kane. I’m a paranormal private investigator, which is like a normal private investigator except—and stop me if you’re having trouble following this—more paranormal. This business comes with a few basic rules: don’t start drinking before noon, don’t get your partner killed, don’t sleep with the woman who killed him.
Last year I broke all of them.
The only rule I didn’t break was the one that said don’t work for vampires. But then a dead werewolf showed up outside the Soho shag palace of Julian Saint-Germain—a bloodsucking flibbertigibbet who’s spent the last eight centuries presiding over an ever-growing empire of booze, sex and hemoglobin.
I shouldn’t have taken the job. The last thing I needed was to get caught in a supernatural smackdown between a werewolf pack and a vampire prince. Even if the vampire prince was dangerously my type. But what can I say? I was broke, I’m a sucker for a pretty face and I gave up on making good decisions a long time ago.
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Matzah Ball Surprise by Laura Brown is 99c! This is a contemporary romance with a fake relationship. Sneezy had mixed feelings about this one and gave it a C:
A lot of what’s good about this book was really good, but the things that didn’t work for me downgraded my experience a lot.
This Passover is starting to feel like the ten plagues might be coming back to haunt them before the weekend is over…one hilarious misstep after the next.
Gaby Fineberg just wants to get through Passover Seder without her “well meaning” family playing matchmaker. She needs a date, just for one simple meal—that includes singing, the history of her forefathers, and not one bit of yeast. The hot guy at her gym would be perfect. He probably hates bread, anyway, with a body like that. But when she finally works up the nerve to ask him…he doesn’t hear a word she said.
Levi Miller is deaf and happily single. Initially, he doesn’t know why this beautiful woman is talking to him, but it’s clear she needs help—and suddenly so does he. In a very complicated situation, Levi finds a simple solution. Gaby will pretend to be his new girlfriend to bail him out, and he’ll return the favor. But he didn’t bargain for a family dinner quite like this one…
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Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine is $2.99! This is the first book in the Great Library series, which Carrie has enjoyed. It’s about a great, magical library, which I know will perk up some readers’ ears. But while the concept seems awesome, some readers had trouble initially getting into it.
In an exhilarating new series, New York Times bestselling author Rachel Caine rewrites history, creating a dangerous world where the Great Library of Alexandria has survived the test of time.…
Ruthless and supremely powerful, the Great Library is now a presence in every major city, governing the flow of knowledge to the masses. Alchemy allows the Library to deliver the content of the greatest works of history instantly—but the personal ownership of books is expressly forbidden.
Jess Brightwell believes in the value of the Library, but the majority of his knowledge comes from illegal books obtained by his family, who are involved in the thriving black market. Jess has been sent to be his family’s spy, but his loyalties are tested in the final months of his training to enter the Library’s service.
When his friend inadvertently commits heresy by creating a device that could change the world, Jess discovers that those who control the Great Library believe that knowledge is more valuable than any human life—and soon both heretics and books will burn…
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WELL MET by Jen DeLuca is $1.99 at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Good timing, since WELL PLAYED comes out later this month!
FORBIDDEN PROMISES by Synithia Williams is free today at Amazon US. This book was mentioned? reviewed? here? recently? all of the above? who knows? Man, I hate you, 2020.
@Darlynne: It was featured on sale recently and mentioned in Hide Your Wallet!
I finished Iron + Velvet last week and gave it 2 stars, which is anaomly b/c I’ve 5-starred all the other Alexis Hall books I’ve read and I enjoy the Dresden Files (another paranormal investigator). I thought a queer version of that series with a female heroine would be a slam dunk.
Nope.
The world building was way too much, way too soon and ends up being haphazard and very hard to keep straight. There has to be no less than 50 characters introduced and while a lot of them a minor in this story, it was still very hard to keep track of. Lots of me thinking… Who is this again? Or, Is this another new character being introduced?
And the sex. The sex/flirting/innuendo was pure distraction and added nothing to the story, mostly because I felt that character dev and world building needed a lot more work.
The plot was … okay, I guess? The story line depended on a lot of conveniences, but the wtf-ery it had going on was more or less in line with other paranormal investigation books I’ve read … just a lot less compelling, overall.
The book is violent, but in that “blood-and-gore we’re dealing with vampires and werewolves who give zero fucks” kind of way. *shrug*
As regards Ink and Bone, it *was* a little slow to get started, but the development of the Library and the way the world is built around and dependent on it really lured me in. The series as a whole is amazing. Also, I really want to support Rachel Caine right now.
Ink & Bone is 100% worth the effort to get into! I read the series last summer and already can’t wait to read it again. Rachel Caine is a terrific author and I found myself utterly gripped by the characters and the story.
I inhaled the series and loved every moment (while occasionally wanting to smack some people upside the head, because I cared so much). I came to this from the SF/Fantasy side, so I start assimilating alien cultures faster than a lot of people, but oh, I’m so glad I bought the lot.
The Devil of Downtown was a decent read. Matzah Ball Surprise started off well but had some serious issues – I agree with Sneezy’s review. It was too bad, because I think if those had been avoided it would have been an A-/B+ read.
@M – That was my assessment too. also there were way too many wink wink, nudge nudge references to other properties.
I really love the Shupe and Matzoh Ball Surprise.