Someone to Hold
Someone to Hold by Mary Balogh is $2.99! This is the second book in the Westcott series, which I know many of you love. Some found the book rather repetitive in some parts, though many praise Balogh’s romances for their depth and tenderness. What did you think of this one?
Humphrey Wescott, Earl of Riverdale, has died, leaving behind a fortune and a scandalous secret that will forever alter the lives of his family—sending one daughter on a journey of self-discovery…
With her parents’ marriage declared bigamous, Camille Westcott is now illegitimate and without a title. Looking to eschew the trappings of her old life, she leaves London to teach at the Bath orphanage where her newly discovered half-sister lived. But even as she settles in, she must sit for a portrait commissioned by her grandmother and endure an artist who riles her every nerve.
An art teacher at the orphanage that was once his home, Joel Cunningham has been hired to paint the portrait of the haughty new teacher. But as Camille poses for Joel, their mutual contempt soon turns to desire. And it is only the bond between them that will allow them to weather the rough storm that lies ahead…
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Clean Sweep by Ilona Andrews is 99c! I’ve heard good things about this book and it has a mix of scifi and paranormal elements, and I really don’t know why I’m dragging my feet on reading this series. Can someone tell me how much romance is in it, if any? That’s the one thing I’m unsure of.
On the outside, Dina Demille is the epitome of normal. She runs a quaint Victorian Bed and Breakfast in a small Texas town, owns a Shih Tzu named Beast, and is a perfect neighbor, whose biggest problem should be what to serve her guests for breakfast. But Dina is…different: Her broom is a deadly weapon; her Inn is magic and thinks for itself. Meant to be a lodging for otherworldly visitors, the only permanent guest is a retired Galactic aristocrat who can’t leave the grounds because she’s responsible for the deaths of millions and someone might shoot her on sight. Under the circumstances, “normal” is a bit of a stretch for Dina.
And now, something with wicked claws and deepwater teeth has begun to hunt at night…Feeling responsible for her neighbors, Dina decides to get involved. Before long, she has to juggle dealing with the annoyingly attractive, ex-military, new neighbor, Sean Evans—an alpha-strain werewolf—and the equally arresting cosmic vampire soldier, Arland, while trying to keep her inn and its guests safe. But the enemy she’s facing is unlike anything she’s ever encountered before. It’s smart, vicious, and lethal, and putting herself between this creature and her neighbors might just cost her everything.
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Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts by Kate Racculia is $2.99! This is a price-matched Kindle Daily Deal, which features some romance as well! This one reminded me a lot of The Westing Game and was a ton of fun, if you’re in the mood for light reading that sets a great pace.
A handsome stranger. A dead billionaire. A citywide treasure hunt. Tuesday Mooney’s life is about to change…forevermore.
Tuesday Mooney is a loner. She keeps to herself, begrudgingly socializes, and spends much of her time watching old Twin Peaks and X-Files DVDs. But when Vincent Pryce, Boston’s most eccentric billionaire, dies—leaving behind an epic treasure hunt through the city, with clues inspired by his hero, Edgar Allan Poe—Tuesday’s adventure finally begins.
Puzzle-loving Tuesday searches for clue after clue, joined by a ragtag crew: a wisecracking friend, an adoring teen neighbor, and a handsome, cagey young heir. The hunt tests their mettle, and with other teams from around the city also vying for the promised prize—a share of Pryce’s immense wealth—they must move quickly. Pryce’s clues can’t be cracked with sharp wit alone; the searchers must summon the courage to face painful ghosts from their pasts (some more vivid than others) and discover their most guarded desires and dreams.
A deliciously funny ode to imagination, overflowing with love letters to art, from The Westing Game to Madonna to the Knights of the Round Table, Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts is the perfect read for thrill seekers, wanderers, word lovers, and anyone looking for an escape to the extraordinary.
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RECOMMENDED: The Cold Between by Elizabeth Bonesteel is $1.99! This is a scifi mystery with romantic elements and Elyses gave the book a B+:
By the end of the book I was attached enough to the various supporting characters that make up the Galileo’s crew that I’m hoping if Bonesteel continues this series, she keeps them all in place.
If you want something a little different or enjoy lighter Sci-Fi with a suspense edge, then I’d recommend The Cold Between. If you need a guaranteed HEA with your romance, then you might want to tread cautiously.
Deep in the stars, a young officer and her lover are plunged into a murder mystery and a deadly conspiracy in this first entry in a stellar military science-fiction series in the tradition of Lois McMaster Bujold.
When her crewmate, Danny, is murdered on the colony of Volhynia, Central Corps chief engineer, Commander Elena Shaw, is shocked to learn the main suspect is her lover, Treiko Zajec. She knows Trey is innocent—he was with her when Danny was killed. So who is the real killer and why are the cops framing an innocent man?
Retracing Danny’s last hours, they discover that his death may be tied to a mystery from the past: the explosion of a Central Corps starship at a wormhole near Volhynia. For twenty-five years, the Central Gov has been lying about the tragedy, even willing to go to war with the outlaw PSI to protect their secrets.
With the authorities closing in, Elena and Trey head to the wormhole, certain they’ll find answers on the other side. But the truth that awaits them is far more terrifying than they ever imagined . . . a conspiracy deep within Central Gov that threatens all of human civilization throughout the inhabited reaches of the galaxy—and beyond.
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I know readers are split about TUESDAY MOONEY, but I loved this book. It was just the right quirky/unusual mix that appeals to me. Also enjoyed THE COLD BETWEEN and purchased the second in the series.
There’s romance in Clean Sweep! But it is a bit of a slow burn (I believe they get together in the third book) but it’s cute.
I read The Cold Between and thought the characterization and world-building were great. The only reason I haven’t returned to the series was I have to be careful about my conspiracy-and-betrayal dosage these days. 🙂 Already have the second in series and I really should read it!
I love the Innkeeper series by Illona Andrews! Clean Sweep is a lot of fun and I love the clever world building. There is a romance that happens over several books, and in fact, there is a second romantic arc in the later books. In a way I can’t quite define,this series has a little lighter feel than the Hidden Legacy series, which I also love.
Clean Sweep is a great book, and the beginning of a wonderful series. @CarrieG, above, describes it very well. 99 cents for this book is a steal – get it and read it, you won’t regret it. It is a different type of fantasy than the other books Ilona Andrews writes – it kind of reminded me of fairy tale fantasy, although that isn’t quite it either. It is unique. Dina is a great heroine.
I also really enjoy the Clean Sweep series, and it has a lot of Competency Porn, which is always nice in women. The side characters make me laugh but they are dark not silly. I do wish, however many books in we are, they would just find her @@$#$@ parents. That’s for people who have read them all.
I also love the Innkeeper Series. Of all of the Ilona Andrews series, it’s my comfort-reading. It definitely feels like a romance, but the first book does not end with even a HFN and the romantic arc in the first three books is more about the characters growing into their own roles than it is about their relationship.
Alas, it is not showing up as on sale at Kobo for me.
Echoing everyone else’s raves over the Innkeeper series, and while you should absolutely read them in order, the fourth book, Sweep the Blade, is a spinoff with side characters from the earlier books and is probably the only one of them I’d call a straight-up “romance novel.” It is also my favorite. Sean is cool and all, but I love Arland.
The Queen’s Gambit is a KDD/Nook Deal today for $1.99! Highly recommended as a great book in general but also just as a way to deepen appreciation for what a stellar job Netflix did in adapting it. Comparing the two really shows the art of being able to keep the spirit of the text and most of the story beats while deepening some aspects and excising the things that aren’t necessary or haven’t aged well. It really shows what makes a great adaptation.
Ditto every good thing said about Clean Sweep. The series is definitely one of my top ten comfort reads. I just want to mention that one of the pleasures of reading and rereading this series is recognizing characters from seemingly unrelated Andrews series, specifically the Edge series. It’s fun spotting the subtler references and catching up with certain characters. It really expands Andrews’ fictional universe.
The Innkeeper series is so much fun. The romance is a subplot running through the books that focus on Dina. The romance in the book about her sister, Sweep of the Blade, is a relatively bigger part of that book. There are funny supporting characters all over the place. The inn has a fugitive galactic dictator as a permanent guest and a temperamental alien chef. There are crafty merchants that look like foxes with lynx ears who love to bargain, and every time I read a description of them, I want to cuddle them. The combination of space travel and magic is really interesting. Sweep of the Blade really expanded the world since it’s set on the space-vampire home planet instead of at Dina’s inn, and I hope they do more with those characters so we can see more their universe.
Tuesday Mooney didn’t quite deliver the mystery I was looking for/ expected from the reviews. But it was so much fun and worth the read for the 90s teen references alone. I mean how many books have you read that include lyrics to Cake’s ‘The Distance’? The book actually opens with a bidding war at auction for NKOTB reunion tickets.
My favorite was a brief reference to “Lydia Deetz. A winged Claire Danes. Three different Keanus…” talk about a girl after my own heart. Tuesday and I would have been friends (I think she was cooler than me in high school though)
Gonna be a contrarian and say I just couldn’t get into Clean Sweep (but I own the whole series – that’s how much I had thought I would love it). I just couldn’t get over the VERY gendered dynamics between the aliens? Like, trash human gender norms and stereotypes were somehow… in aliens?
OH, but I did enjoy Tuesday Mooney. Possibly I think it works better for people from Boston. But very fun!
I’ve enjoyed all of the Westcott series and Camille’s story is really excellent. She’s such a snob in the first book, and then completely unmoored, as well as being deserted by a fiance, when the truth about her and her sibling’s births are revealed. A drastic change in her position amongst the ton and in her family’s finances has made her bitter, but she is determined to find her own way. There are several real standouts in this series including Someone to Wed about a woman with port-wine stain on her face, and Someone to Care, about Camille’s mother.
Love the Clean Sweep series. It’s a bit more sci-fi than their others, and not a straight up romance. It’s funny, and has great visuals. Ilona Andrews are possibly my favorite world builders.
Damn-The Cold In Between isn’t on sale anymore.
KFW was wrong about the very gendered dynamics of the aliens. As we get further into the series we see REALLY kick-ass women and caring men/aliens.
In Clean Sweep we see a woman trying to recover from the traumatic loss of her family and to rebuild her life (The INN) and establish a found family. She is a steady center but the action swirls around her in the books with her family.
Love some of the short stories in this universe including the delightful “A Mere Formality” short story (free on Ilona Andrews webpage).