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Lady Derring Takes a Lover
Lady Derring Takes a Lover by Julie Anne Long is $1.99! This is the first book in The Palace of Rogues series and Carrie gave it a B-. Carrie really loved the heroine and the introduction to some awesome and strong women. However, she felt the romance was rather weak and there was a plot twist she didn’t quite care for.
A mistress. A mountain of debt. A mysterious wreck of a building.
Delilah Swanpool, Countess of Derring, learns the hard way that her husband, “Dear Dull Derring,” is a lot more interesting—and perfidious—dead than alive. It’s a devil of an inheritance, but in the grand ruins of the one building Derring left her, are the seeds of her liberation. And she vows never again to place herself at the mercy of a man.
But battle-hardened Captain Tristan Hardy is nothing if not merciless. When the charismatic naval hero tracks a notorious smuggler to a London boarding house known as the Rogue’s Palace, seducing the beautiful, blue-blooded proprietress to get his man seems like a small sacrifice.
They both believe love is a myth. But a desire beyond reason threatens to destroy the armor around their hearts. Now a shattering decision looms: Will Tristan betray his own code of honor…or choose a love that might be the truest thing he’s ever known?
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The House in the Cerulean Sea
RECOMMENDED: The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune is $2.99! Carrie reviewed this one in the last few months! She gave it a B+:
I’m glad to have a book like this to read when it’s just all too much. Like Linus, who was slowly charmed by the world he entered, I loved this story so much that I did not want to leave when it ended.
A magical island. A dangerous task. A burning secret.
Linus Baker leads a quiet, solitary life. At forty, he lives in a tiny house with a devious cat and his old records. As a Case Worker at the Department in Charge Of Magical Youth, he spends his days overseeing the well-being of children in government-sanctioned orphanages.
When Linus is unexpectedly summoned by Extremely Upper Management he’s given a curious and highly classified assignment: travel to Marsyas Island Orphanage, where six dangerous children reside: a gnome, a sprite, a wyvern, an unidentifiable green blob, a were-Pomeranian, and the Antichrist. Linus must set aside his fears and determine whether or not they’re likely to bring about the end of days.
But the children aren’t the only secret the island keeps. Their caretaker is the charming and enigmatic Arthur Parnassus, who will do anything to keep his wards safe. As Arthur and Linus grow closer, long-held secrets are exposed, and Linus must make a choice: destroy a home or watch the world burn.
An enchanting story, masterfully told, The House in the Cerulean Sea is about the profound experience of discovering an unlikely family in an unexpected place—and realizing that family is yours.
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Shadow and Bone
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo is $2.99! A YA fantasy romance filled with Russian mythology elements, Elyse mentioned this on our 200th podcast episode. It’s the first book in Bardugo’s Grisha trilogy, which is soon to become a Netflix series. I swear, Netflix is killing it with book adaptations.
Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.
Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.
Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha . . . and the secrets of her heart.
Shadow and Bone is the first installment in Leigh Bardugo’s Grisha Trilogy.
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The Dark Protectors Boxed Set
The Dark Protectors Boxed Set by Rebecca Zanetti is $2.99! If you’ve ever been tempted to try this series, this is a pretty good deal that includes three full-length books and a novella. Are there any fans of the series in the Bitchery? Every time we feature one of the books on sale, I’m always really curious about them.
Don’t miss the first four volumes of the unforgettable Dark Protectors series: Fated, Claimed, Tempted, Hunted
Driven by prophecy, the Dark Protectors are male vampires, fearless and born to mate with human females—for eternity. Talen Kayrs is on a mission, and once Cara Paulsen takes him as her mate, nothing can stop the force of his desire…
Vampire king Dage Kayrs knows that when he encounters the brilliant geneticist Emma Paulsen, the power of their coming together will never be decoded…
When bodyguard Max Petrovsky is sent to rescue Sarah Pringle from the evil Kurjans chasing her, he’s willing to go far beyond the call of duty…
It’s taken over a century for ultimate soldier Connor Kayrs to consummate his union with the powerful witch Moira Dunne, but the time has come…
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I love the Dark Protectors. Pretty certain I have read ever single one of them. Lots of good fun, some really ugly sounding bad guys and lots of tender loving.
In today’s Kindle Daily Deals, there’s an old Harlequin Presents on sale for 99-cents. It surprised me when I saw it because HPs rarely go on sale. The book is SECOND-TIME BRIDE by the doyenne of HPs, Lynne Graham. It was first published in 1996, so it probably has “old skool” elements (and it includes the “secret child” trope), but if you’re new to HPs and wanted to get a sample, less than a buck is not a bad price point.
Whoops! “Accidentally” purchased the dark protectors boxset!
The House in the Cerulean Sea was really a lovely read!
I really liked the Grisha trilogy, in particular Shadow & Bone and am looking forward to the TV adaptation. (Full disclosure, and to be fair, though, I recommended the books to a Russian friend and she was very annoyed by the liberties it took with her culture and folklore.) Am currently reading Bardugo’s Ninth House and enjoying it, but I’m definitely in the minority in not liking the Six of Crows duology at all. I’d say all her books are…atmospherically paced? languorous? but Six of Crows was just too dead slow for me, and I really tried.
I read the second palace of rogues book first and remember loving it. Then I read the first and thought it paled in comparison to the second but it was still decent.
I liked Shadow and Bone, as well as the other two in this trilogy, and this seems like a very good price–I think I paid full price for all of them. It is high fantasy rather than horror, so not nearly as terrifying as Ninth House (which I loved).
Agreed, Kareni! The House in the Cerulean Sea was just the warm, lovely, uplifting story I’ve been needing this year. Highly recommended. I also appreciated that both heroes are on the older side, and neither are conventionally attractive.
Totally agree with Carrie that the romance in Lady Derring Takes A Lover is extraneous compared to the relationships between the women, but Delilah and Angelique’s friendship is so wonderful I didn’t care. There’s something rather lovely about a romance novel in which the heroine finds her soulmate in a best friend, not in the hero.
It’s also worth reading for context so you can go get the second book in the series, which is amazing.
I enjoyed and would recommend both The House in the Cerulean Sea and Shadow and Bone.
RE:The House in the Cerulean Sea
My only criticism is that the ending is a bit too neat and simple. But yes, as others have said, an affirmative, feel-good, whimsical fantasy for all ages. I think it works for both adults and children.
RE:Shadow and Bone
Soo … the Russian cultural and linguistic details are definitely off. Most obviously, the character names in the books show that the author is clearly confused about Slavic names and naming conventions. As a pedant, I was annoyed at first. But ultimately, I was won over by Alina’s characterization. Alina is a typical YA heroine. But she’s a YA heroine that worked for me in that I found her to be a sympathetic and convincing everywoman. I definitely thought while reading, “Yeah, I know this girl. We were in English class together. Where she then ended up in a sketchy situationship with the *insert male authority figure*.”