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The After Party
The After Party by A.C. Arthur is $3.99! This was just mentioned in part one of November’s Hide Your Wallet and Sarah noted its 9 to 5 vibes. This might be it’s regular price, but it’s still not bad if you’re curious about it.
Three women form an unbreakable bond in a sexy, suspenseful, and adventurous novel about empowerment and sisterhood through thick and thin.
Venus McGee, Draya Carter, and Jackie Benson are coworkers with a lot in common. They’re smart, independent, driven, and deserving of recognition—certainly more than they’ve been handed by a demoralizing boss. He’s the topic of conversation at their impromptu get-together after the company holiday party, where the threesome fantasizes about a life without him. There has to be an alternative to taking a deep breath and sucking it up. There is. It’s just not the one they expected.
When morning comes, Venus, Draya, and Jackie are blindsided by murder—a twist of fate that brings a startling new challenge to the table and forces them to navigate a hair-raising detour they never saw coming. For better and (unless they can help it) for worse, it’s going to turn their world upside down. What starts as a necessary bond of mutual trust soon morphs into an empowering and galvanizing friendship that Venus, Draya, and Jackie need now more than ever.
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Empire of Wild
Empire of Wild by Cherie Dimaline is $1.99! I picked this one in Hide Your Wallet over the summer. Indigenous horror is having a moment and I’m definitely on board. I’d say this is more tense and suspenseful and eerie, rather than flat out scary. Your mileage may vary! Carrie gave it an A.
“Empire of Wild is doing everything I love in a contemporary novel and more. It is tough, funny, beautiful, honest and propulsive—all the while telling a story that needs to be told by a person who needs to be telling it.”—Tommy Orange, author of There There
A bold and brilliant new indigenous voice in contemporary literature makes her American debut with this kinetic, imaginative, and sensuous fable inspired by the traditional Canadian Métis legend of the Rogarou—a werewolf-like creature that haunts the roads and woods of native people’s communities.
Joan has been searching for her missing husband, Victor, for nearly a year—ever since that terrible night they’d had their first serious argument hours before he mysteriously vanished. Her Métis family has lived in their tightly knit rural community for generations, but no one keeps the old ways . . . until they have to. That moment has arrived for Joan.
One morning, grieving and severely hungover, Joan hears a shocking sound coming from inside a revival tent in a gritty Walmart parking lot. It is the unmistakable voice of Victor. Drawn inside, she sees him. He has the same face, the same eyes, the same hands, though his hair is much shorter and he’s wearing a suit. But he doesn’t seem to recognize Joan at all. He insists his name is Eugene Wolff, and that he is a reverend whose mission is to spread the word of Jesus and grow His flock. Yet Joan suspects there is something dark and terrifying within this charismatic preacher who professes to be a man of God . . . something old and very dangerous.
Joan turns to Ajean, an elderly foul-mouthed card shark who is one of the few among her community steeped in the traditions of her people and knowledgeable about their ancient enemies. With the help of the old Métis and her peculiar Johnny-Cash-loving, twelve-year-old nephew Zeus, Joan must find a way to uncover the truth and remind Reverend Wolff who he really is . . . if he really is. Her life, and those of everyone she loves, depends upon it.
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The Fire in the Glass
The Fire in the Glass by Jacquelyn Benson is $1.99! Recently, we featured Benson’s more action/adventure title and people in the comments also mentioned how much they loved this one. It’s more of a paranormal historical or historical fantasy with a medium main character.
London, 1914. Someone is draining the blood of the city’s mediums. Lily Albright knows who’s next.
The unacknowledged bastard daughter of the Earl of Torrington, Lily is haunted by visions of the future that she can never change. When she foresees the death of her dearest friend, she realizes the circumstances of that yet-to-be murder match those of a series of brutal and mysterious crimes.
If she can find the killer before he strikes, maybe this time she can finally thwart fate and save someone she loves.
As Lily’s investigation takes her to a bedchamber where one of society’s most desirable widows lies dead, she realizes she can’t do this alone. She needs help from the reclusive Lord Strangford, a man haunted by his own unusual powers. To pursue the path of a killer, Lily must ask Strangford to face unimaginable horrors – and is compelled to reveal her darkest secrets to a man she has little reason to trust.
Somewhere in the city lies a murderer hell-bent on an unspeakable harvest, one that could reshape the future of the human race. To stop him, Lily must face a past rife with betrayal—and embrace the power she has spent her entire life trying to escape.
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Prime Minister
Prime Minister by Ainsley Booth and Sadie Haller is FREE! This is a contemporary erotic romance with BDSM. It’s also part of the Frisky Beavers series (hehe). Some readers expressed difficulties connecting with the heroine, but many found this book to be hot and pretty fun! Anyone interested?
Gavin: Ellie Montague is smart, sensitive, and so gorgeous it hurts to look at her. She’s also an intern in my office. The office of the Prime Minister of Canada.*
That’s me. The PM.
She calls me that because when she calls me Sir, I get hard and she gets flustered, and as long as she’s my intern, I can’t twist my hands in her strawberry-blonde hair and show her what else I’d like her to do with that pretty pink mouth.**
Ellie: How much I like the PM varies on a daily basis. He’s intense, controlling, and a perfectionist in every way—and he demands the same of his staff.
How much I want him never wavers.
There’s something about him that tugs at me deep inside, and makes me wish that just once he’d cross the line in a late night work session. I’d take that secret to the grave if it meant I got a taste of the barely restrained beast inside him.***
FOOTNOTES:
* This is a fictional erotic romance. No prime ministers or interns were harmed in the making of this book.
** Except it’s a BDSM romance, so they were hurt a little.
*** Spoiler alert: she gets more than a taste. And she likes it.Add to Goodreads To-Read List →
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Canadian PM and an intern? NOPE. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Don’t care how good the book might be, just NOPE. Rich and/or powerful men and their “subordinates”? Nope. Also, heritage political leaders (e.g., current Canadian PM for one) are also a nope.
I dislike most Boss/Employee workplace romances because of the inherent power dynamics that are usually never addressed or grossly glossed over and I cannot suspend disbelief long enough to enjoy the book. But 1,001 YIKES to Prime Minister. Boss/intern (which probably means the heroine is in her early-mid 20s) *and* BDSM to boot?! Hard pass. Does he want to sabotage his career and potentially hers as well? I don’t care if she quits her job as their romance heats up or whatever convenient excuse is given to greenlight their relationship, their relationship should be a non-starter, full stop. How hard is it to set a workplace romance and not have such a glaring issues with power dynamics?
Also: I’m not anti-BDSM at all and read my fair share of BDSM romance, but why do authors write the Dom/Domme as controlling or an ice-cold hard ass outside the bedroom? Like being a Dom/me means they’re just a perfectionistic, controlling mofo 24/7. Heads up authors: one does not equal the other.
Okay…off my ranting soapbox today.
I’m going to be the contrarian because I liked the Frisky Beavers series, including PRIME MINISTER. Yes to everything everyone above has said, but I still thought it was a fun read—and the bdsm is relatively mild. The best book in the series, however, is FULL MOUNTIE—MMF and smoking hot!
I really liked “Prime Minister” also ..but i love Justin Trudeau 🙂
I don’t mind the sound of Prime Minister, but that could just be because I’m on a weird high of relief at finding that it’s not about the UK PM because ew ew ew
@Empress of Blandings I was also relieved it wasn’t Boris! However, I can’t see myself enjoying a story between a politician and an intern without ick vibes.
Free:
Lush by K.D. Elizabeth
Rogue by K.D. Elizabeth
Every Little Promise by Lexi Ryan
Smoulder by MacKenzie Stowe
A Wallflower’s Wish Boxset books 4-6 by Maggie Dallen and Katherine Ann Madison
Feels Like Forever by Brooke St. James
When I Fall in Love by Wendy Lindstrom
Foolish Games by Tracy Solheim
Unwrapping Her Perfect Match by Kat Latham
Truffles by the Sea by Julie Carolinian
Just One Kiss by Jami Rogers
Truffles by the Sea by Julie Carboni not Carolina
Sorry about that!
@M I’m cosigning “inherent power dynamics that are usually never addressed or grossly glossed over” as being something that is usually churning in the back of my head with boss/employee romances, to the point where it can destroy my immersion in the book. It DOESN’T HELP that the boss is usually male, the employee is usually female, and in a significantly more junior role. Like, why is the Prime Minister dating the INTERN? Why not the Canadian equivalent of the Secretary of State or similar? How does a PM even come into significant close contact with an intern without there being some dirtbag tendencies in the first place?
The boss/employee romances I’ve enjoyed usually have “highly treasured and competent executive assistant/secretary” as the heroine, where the sexual tension has built for years before finally boiling over, or a temporary consultant. Things where the power difference is at least less marked than top of hierarchy/bottom of hierarchy.
@Empress of Blandings – your post made me laugh out loud, thanks! Because… more than ewwwwwwww!
AJ Demas’s Sword Dance is free on Kindle US. The last book in the trilogy was released recently and I have it on the TBR stack (literally, my paper copy arrived yesterday). I love this series so much. One of the heroes is a perfect cinnamon roll, and this first book is from his POV.
@Empress of Blandings– you do realize that now you have put that idea out into the universe, somewhere out there at least one person is writing a romance (or worse, erotica) with a thinly disguised Boris as hero…
@Courtney M – ooh, can you recommend any of the sexual tension boil-over ones?
I would love to read a well-done secret longing romance between high-up government officials. Nobly ignoring their hearts for the sake of the nation, etc. (Also, I would love the fantasy of high-up government officials being competent and responsible in their professional and personal lives.)
Actually, Red, White, and Royal Blue was kind of like that and it was great.
I haven’t read Prime Minister (and won’t), but recommend Empire of Wild. The Fire in the Glass is pretty good, although not as good as the author’s previous book.
@InviolateLight it’s been a while, so these may not be quiiiite right (and frankly I may be mashing some of the details of them together in my brain): “Faking Ms. Right” by Claire Kingsley, “Thirty Day Boyfriend” by Whitney G. (or it might have been another one by her?), “Tapping the Billionaire” by Max Monroe (again, might have been another one by the same author), and “Back for More” and “Tonight You’re Mine” by Kayley Loring.
@Merle oh dear gods no avert avert. *draws circle of containment round cursèd notion*
@InviolateLight: I would also recommend Julie Kriss’s FILTHY RICH, about a boss and his super-efficient P.A. The heroine is attracted to her boss but he is super locked-down and never indicates his feelings for her…until, of course, he does. Kriss finds a clever way for the couple who agree “We absolutely can’t do this” to be able to “do this”—lol. Also, don’t be turned off by the title—yes, the hero is wealthy, but (as with many Kriss heroes) he grew up rough on the wrong side of the tracks and never expected to be rich.
@Emily – two high-up government officials – this fits several books in the long running sci-fi Vor saga by Lois McMaster Bujold. Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen is the first one that came to mind but it’s the last in the series. Cetaganda is an earlier one, could work as a standalone, no heat but so much longing and competence.
One of the best office working-together romances is Fast Women by Jennifer Crusie. She (as usual) upends all the tropes. Her characters are definitely equals, although not equal employees, and they deal with that head on. Highly recommend.
I admit the idea of the Prime Minister/intern romance squicked me, and this is mostly because of my familiarity with Monica Lewinsky in the states.
PM romance just makes me think of the mostly awful and fatphobic sublot from Love Actually with Hugh Grant.
As a Canadian I felt it was my duty to read the PM book and now I get to be uncomfortable any time Justin Trudeau is mentioned like I’m suffering from secondhand embarrassment on his behalf. Writing wasn’t bad from what I remember though!
@Emily – The President’s Protector by Kris Ripper, in the anthology Rogue Affair is a romance between the US president and her long time guard / secret service agent. Lots of pining and no unprofessional sex! It was one of my favorites in the collection. I’m not sure the anthology is still available tho.
@InviolateLight – my favorite tension-boiling over book is A Gentleman’s Position (Society of Gentlemen #3) by K.J. Charles. Excellent mm romance between a gentleman and his long time valet. It’s the 3rd in a trilogy and while it’s mostly stand alone I think it works better if you read the whole series (book 1 is ok and book 2 is excellent)
I second @cleo re. Society of Gentlemen. And yes, better to read them in order – you just get so much more out of the whole story. Cyprians machinations are something else!
Oh, and I should add TOTAL CREATIVE CONTROL by Joanna Chambers & Sally Malcolm to that list. One of Lewis’ (the boss) golden rules is – no relationship between boss and PA. Cue three years of pining (of course!)… until it does boil over. And it doesn’t get squicky, though I can’t say what happens afterwards – too many spoilers!