-
Cocaine Blues
Cocaine Blues by Kerry Greenwood is 99c and a KDD! This is book one in the Phryne Fisher Mysteries series. Elyse previously reviewed it and gave the book a B. In summary, she said that while the book was tons of fun to read, there were some things the TV show just did better, namely the costumes.
First in series from bestselling author, Kerry Greenwood
Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, now streaming on Netflix, starring Essie Davis as the honourable Phryne Fisher
The London season is in full fling at the end of the 1920s, but the Honourable Phryne Fisher—she of the green-gray eyes, diamant garters, and outfits that should not be sprung suddenly on those of nervous dispositions—is rapidly tiring of the tedium of arranging flowers, making polite conversations with retired colonels, and dancing with weak-chinned men. Instead, Phryne decides it might be rather amusing to try her hand at being a lady detective in Melbourne, Australia.
Almost immediately from the time she books into the Windsor Hotel, Phryne is embroiled in mystery: poisoned wives, cocaine smuggling rings, corrupt cops, and communism—not to mention erotic encounters with the beautiful Russian dancer, Sasha de Lisse—until her adventure reaches its steamy end in the Turkish baths of Little Lonsdale Street.
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! -
The Bridge Kingdom
The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle L. Jensen is $2.99! This is a new adult fantasy romance that could work well for fans of Sarah J. Maas and Jennifer Armentrout. Ellen reviewed it and gave it a C+, noting that while they mostly enjoyed the reading experience, the lead up to a cliffhanger ending was frustrating.
What if you fell in love with the one person you’d sworn to destroy?
Lara has only one thought for her husband on their wedding day: I will bring your kingdom to its knees. A princess trained from childhood to be a lethal spy, Lara knows that the Bridge Kingdom represents both legendary evil – and legendary promise. The only route through a storm-ravaged world, the Bridge Kingdom controls all trade and travel between lands, allowing its ruler to enrich himself and deprive his enemies, including Lara’s homeland. So when she is sent as a bride under the guise of fulfilling a treaty of peace, Lara is prepared to do whatever it takes to fracture the defenses of the impenetrable Bridge Kingdom.
But as she infiltrates her new home – a lush paradise surrounded by tempest seas – and comes to know her new husband, Aren, Lara begins to question where the true evil resides. Around her, she sees a kingdom fighting for survival, and in Aren, a man fiercely protective of his people. As her mission drives her to deeper understanding of the fight to possess the bridge, Lara finds the simmering attraction between her and Aren impossible to ignore.
Her goal nearly within reach, Lara will have to decide her own fate: Will she be the destroyer of a king or the savior of her people?
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! -
Magic Bites
RECOMMENDED: Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews is $2.99! This is book one in the Kate Daniels series, and I remember reading it and hiding so no one would make me stop reading. This book has a 4-star average at Goodreads and is much loved.
Atlanta would be a nice place to live, if it weren’t for magic…
One moment magic dominates, and cars stall and guns fail. The next, technology takes over and the defensive spells no longer protect your house from monsters. Here skyscrapers topple under onslaught of magic; werebears and werehyenas prowl through the ruined streets; and the Masters of the Dead, necromancers driven by their thirst of knowledge and wealth, pilot blood-crazed vampires with their minds.
In this world lives Kate Daniels. Kate likes her sword a little too much and has a hard time controlling her mouth. The magic in her blood makes her a target, and she spent most of her life hiding in plain sight. But when Kate’s guardian is murdered, she must choose to do nothing and remain safe or to pursue his preternatural killer. Hiding is easy, but the right choice is rarely easy…
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! -
Enemies on Tap
Enemies on Tap by Avery Flynn is $2.99! This is the first book in the Sweet Salvation Brewery about three sisters who return to their hometown to revamp a family brewery. However, the small town isn’t exactly welcoming them with open arms. I thought this book was okay – C+ to B- range. The hatred against the sisters was a bit unfounded and a little over the top for me. But I absolutely loved the second book.
Brewing up trouble one pint at a time.
Enemies …After years away, Miranda Sweet returns to Salvation, Virginia to save her family’s brewery, but her fate is in the hands of her lover-turned-enemy, Logan. What’s a girl to do when the only person who can help her is the man who betrayed her?
Lovers …Logan Martin can’t believe his luck when the woman who smashed his heart to smithereens walks into his bank asking for his help. What she doesn’t know is that he needs the land her brewery is on–and he’ll do whatever it takes to get it.
An Irresistible Combination …Their wager becomes a battle between their attraction and their determination to win. But it’s in each other’s arms that they realize there might be more at stake now than their bet. With the town against the Sweet Salvation Brewery’s success, Logan has to choose between what’s expected of him and what he really wants…
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.
Ilona Andrews is an auto buy author for me, one of the very few that I will buy without even looking at the book description, but I will admit that Magic Bites was a bit underwhelming. It was the first book I read by them (husband & wife writing team), so if you aren’t delighted by it, I encourage you not to give up on the series – it keeps getting better & better.
I listened to both Bridge Kingdom books that are out, and they turned me into a teenager in the best sense. I had all the feelings. The only thing I did not like was that the heroine on the cover is white and blonde, and in my head she was neither 😉 The book is pretty violent, not what I usually read in my current incarnation, but somehow it pushed all the buttons, some of them I did not know I had. It really was like some of my most exciting, angsty reading experiences from 35 years ago.
My personal picks are the Fisher mystery and the Andrews, though I’ve been meaning to read the Flynn.
I just did a full reread of the Kate Daniels series, including novellas, and it is SO GOOD. I agree with @Laurel, the first is the weakest in the series. 2 is better, and then it picks up and I cannot put them down starting around book 4. With all the crap in the world, there is something so cathartically awesome about reading about the utter destruction of the bad guys. There is also a lot of redemption and deepening of characters and arc throughout.
I liked the first Kate Daniels book and threw (I think) book 4 against the wall and never touched another one. It generally seems to shake out that if you’re not keen on the first one, the series will grow into what you wish it was, and if you do like the first one, don’t get your hopes up.
The Kate Daniels series got me through the early weeks of the pandemic – whenever I could no longer doomscroll the internet or watch the news, I’d dive back in. I recommend the whole series and all the novellas, full stop.
The authors themselves (Ilona Andrews being a husband and wife writing team) have said many times over the years that they recommend people start with the second Kate Daniels book, because Magic Bites is literally the first book they ever got published and it’s much rougher than any of the others. They have also said that to even get the book published, they had to cut a bunch of pages from the manuscript, and in hindsight, the plot suffers massively for it. It does establish their wonderful ability to craft complex fantasy worlds and interesting magic systems, and gives you a picture of quite a few of the supporting characters, but Kate Daniels, the actual protagonist feels off, and doesn’t really come into her own until the sequel.
I liked the Bridge Kingdom, it wasn’t perfect by any means, but it was better than a C+. The second book also redeems a lot of the shortcomings.
The Fisher mystery is a lot of fun. I haven’t read the complete series, but I have enjoyed the ones I’ve read.
The Flynn looks intriguing and I’m going to check it out.
I’ve read the whole Fisher series and most enjoyed the history of the series from an Australian perspective. The heroine’s time in WWI is revealed, the post war art and fashion, the bits and pieces of that time period were as fascinating as the heroine. I really recommend the series.
What Joy said.
Being able to see the clothes is the only thing that’s better about the TV series than Greenwood’s books. But the clothes are well-enough described in the books that I can see them in my mind’s eye. On the characterization, plotting, anti-racism and feminism front, the show doesn’t hold a candle to the books.