Chaos Reigning
Chaos Reigning by Jessie Mihalik is $1.99! Ellen reviewed it, giving it a B-:
I think if you have enjoyed the series overall this is a worthwhile read, but I wish my expectations had not been so high coming off the second book.
Interplanetary intrigue and romance combine in this electrifying finale to the Consortium Rebellion series.
As the youngest member of her High House, Catarina von Hasenberg is used to being underestimated, but her youth and flighty, bubbly personality mask a clever mind and stubborn determination. Her enemies, blind to her true strength, do not suspect that Cat is a spy—which makes her the perfect candidate to go undercover at a rival House’s summer retreat to gather intelligence on their recent treachery.
Cat’s overprotective older sister reluctantly agrees, but on one condition: Cat cannot go alone. Alexander Sterling, a quiet, gorgeous bodyguard, will accompany her, posing as her lover. After Cat tries, and fails, to ditch Alex, she grudgingly agrees, confident in her ability to manage him. After all, she’s never found a person she can’t manipulate.
But Alex proves more difficult—and more desirable—than Cat anticipated. When she’s attacked and nearly killed, she and Alex are forced to work together to figure out how deep the treason goes. With rumors of widespread assaults on Serenity raging, communications down, and the rest of her family trapped off-planet, Catarina must persuade Alex to return to Earth to expose the truth and finish this deadly battle once and for all.
But Cat can’t explain why she’s the perfect person to infiltrate hostile territory without revealing secrets she’d rather keep buried. . .
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!Shadow’s Claim
Shadow’s Claim by Kresley Cole is $1.99! This is technically part of the Immortals After Dark series, and book one of the spin-off Dacians series. To be honest, I’m not sure if the spin-off was well-received or not because I haven’t heard any rumblings of a book two. As someone who has read this entire series, I was eh on it.
Shadow’s Claim features Prince Trehan, a ruthless master assassin who will do anything to possess Bettina, his beautiful sorceress mate, even compete for her hand in a blood-sport tournament— to the death.
HE WON’T BE DENIED
Trehan Daciano, known as the Prince of Shadows, has spent his life serving his people—striking in the night, quietly executing any threat to their realm. The coldly disciplined swordsman has never desired anything for himself—until he beholds Bettina, the sheltered ward of two of the Lore’s most fearsome villains.
SHE’S BOUND TO ANOTHER
Desperate to earn her guardians’ approval after a life-shattering mistake, young Bettina has no choice but to marry whichever suitor prevails—even though she’s lost her heart to another. Yet one lethal competitor, a mysterious cloaked swordsman, invades her dreams, tempting her with forbidden pleasure.
A BATTLE FOR HER BODY AND SOUL
Even if Trehan can survive the punishing contests to claim her as his wife, the true battle for Bettina’s heart is yet to come. And unleashing a millennium’s worth of savage need will either frighten his Bride away—or stoke Bettina’s own desires to a fever pitch. . . .
Add to Goodreads To-Read List →
Find on Scribd →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 Marquess of Cake
The Marquess of Cake by Heather Hiestand is $1.99! This is a Victorian historical romance about a young woman who works in her father’s shop, and – yes – a hyperglycemic marquess who is smitten with her fine sugary skills. It’s also the first book in The Redcakes series. Some readers thought the dudes in this book were major jerks, while others warn not to read this while hungry!
Coffee…tea…or a pastry chef sweeter than any confection…
Scotch trifle fit for Queen Victoria, scones with clotted cream…Alys Redcake knows the way to a man’s heart. Yet she is unaware that with each morsel—and flash of ankle—she is seducing the handsome marquess frequenting her father’s tea shop. Unmarried at twenty-six, Alys’s first love is the family business. But thoughts of the gentleman’s touch are driving her to distraction…
With his weakness for sugar, the Marquess of Hatbrook can imagine no more desirable woman than one scented with cake and spice. Mistaking Alys for a mere waitress, he has no doubt she would make a most delicious mistress. And when he finds himself in need of an heir, he plans to make her his convenient bride. Yet as they satisfy their craving for one another, business and pleasure suddenly collide. Will Hatbrook’s passion for sweets—and for Alys—be his heart’s undoing?
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!Brooklynaire
Brooklynaire by Sarina Bowen is FREE! This is the fourth book in the Brooklyn Bruisers series and the first book in the spin-off Brooklyn series. Though this could be reads as a standalone, readers say there’s a lot of build up to this romance in the previous books.
A sexy new standalone from USA Today bestseller Sarina Bowen.
You’d think a billion dollars, a professional hockey team and a six-bedroom mansion on the Promenade would satisfy a guy. You’d be wrong.
For seven years Rebecca has brightened my office with her wit and her smile. She manages both my hockey team and my sanity. I don’t know when I started waking in the night, craving her. All I know is that one whiff of her perfume ruins my concentration. And her laugh makes me hard.
When Rebecca gets hurt, I step in to help. It’s what friends do. But what friends don’t do is rip off each others’ clothes for a single, wild night together.
Now she’s avoiding me. She says we’re too different, and it can never happen again. So why can’t we keep our hands off each other?
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.
I bought the first book in the Jessie Mihalik series on the strength of the comments here when it was last on sale. I really wish I’d enjoyed it because SFR is a favorite category for me, but I personally wasn’t wowed by the writing. Plus a few plot points didn’t work for me. I wish I’d tried a sample first.YMMV.
Don’t sleep on Brooklynaire. Rebecca & Nate are lovely.
I enjoyed Brooklynaire, but be aware I consider Sarina Bowen an auto-buy because 99% of the time her books work for me. I think some others have expressed disappointment in that book, but it is free, so go ahead and give it a try. I rated it a solid B.
@Carrie G: I have not read Chaos Reigning, but I also was left cold by the first book in the series, Polaris Rising. It was one of those books that everyone other than me seemed to love, but I did not. I did have thoughts of trying the second book in the series, but it has been a couple of years and I haven’t.
I liked Shadow’s Claim (also a B read for me). I think Kresley Cole may have had some health issues that prevented her from writing for a while. I think she is back writing again though because Munro, which I have been waiting for for five or six years is scheduled to be released in January.
Anyone who’s been ‘round these parts for a while knows that I coined the term ”Brooklynaire Syndrome” for any time we’ve waited for so long for a book in a series (and done the commensurate shipping of the MCs) that the book, when it finally appears, is a bit of a letdown. It’s possible that if you’re new to the Brooklyn Bruisers series and have been reading them without a great deal of lag time between the books, BROOKLYNAIRE will be a great read, but I found it just average.
Shadow’s Claim was one of my least favorite IAD world book. The heroine came across as extremely childish/TSTL and the hero I felt deserved better. Despite my best efforts and my stubborn desire to not be a quitter, I DNFed it and never went back.
For those who like audiobooks, I just found Olivia Dade’s Teach Me for $2.99, her story collection Sweetest in the Gale for $4.99, Lucy Parker’s The Austen Playbook for $3.99, Mary Robinette Kowal’s Shades of Milk and Honey for $2.99, and not a romance, but Lois McMaster Bujold’s The Physicians of Vilnoc, which is part of her Penric and Desdemona series, for $2.99 on Chirp Books. The deal with Chirp is that yes, it’s another app, but no membership is required for their deals or any other purchase, and some of those deals are awesome. I know a lot of SBTB readers like these authors, so I thought I had to share.
Free:
A Cowboy’s Recipe for Romance by Amy Proebstel
JFK to Dublin byBrooke St. James
The Cowboy’s Promise by Macie St. Jam3s
One Wright Stand by K.A. Linde
Beginning to Look Like Scandal by Stacy Reid
Unlawful Harvest by P.D. Workman
The last ebook is crime fiction various heat levels
Hated Shadow’s Claim; hated it. Everything else by Cole was a much enjoyed autobuy for me. But the incredibly whiny heroine coupled (hur) with the manipulative hero just hit all my hate triggers. Plus all the peripheral characters also sucked, especially the heroine’s father. The idea of offering one’s kid as 1st prize in a massive no-holds-barred tournament just grossed me out so much. Cole’s novels can be violent and her heroes alph-holes, but the novels are balanced with strong heroines and humor. Except for this one.
I’m a big fan of the Brooklyn Bruisers series but Brooklynaire is my least favorite in the series.
Also – I HATE HATE HATE the cover. Nate is a computer nerd so the ripped body is ridiculously out of character. And Nate is supposed to be a genius but by the look on the cover model’s face it appears he can’t figure out how to use the coin slot on the soda vending machine.
There was a second Dacians book, but it was self-published: Shadow’s Seduction. It has an M/M couple, which might be why. If you disliked Claim, you probably won’t like Seduction; it’s definitely a big Gay For You book and was, well, an attempt was made. Whether or not it was successful, I’ll leave it to the reader to decide. It does overlap with Claim (it’s about Caspion and Mirceo).
Sarina Bowen is sadly one of those authors who I like only when she writes with someone else; I really disliked Brooklynaire, but I’m glad to see I’m in the minority and people enjoyed it; it was just not for me, nor the other of her Brooklyn Bruisers series I’ve read.
Chaos Reigning was a big disappointment to me after the 5 star books 1 and 2 (which required editing out large chunks of the book in chapters 6-9 and 22-26 to make 5 stars). DNF at 35% due to boredom. A sad end to a great series.
Two more free Kindle books for US readers ~
Aftermath (Vino and Veritas) by L.A. Witt; this one is m/m
Heartwood (Speakeasy) by J.H. Croix
I totally agree with @DDD-Brooklynaire was a real let down for me. I love the series, I’ve read it multiple times. I was very excited for this one, but it fell flat. Like DDD said, if you haven’t read the series, it might be more enjoyable? Plus as @Laurel says-it’s free! Hard to argue with that price. If you like the writing in this one, I think you will be even more happy to read the series.
I loved Aftermath
@Bunnifur, I’ve been buying sale books at Chirp (chirpbooks.com) occasionally for about a year,and I agree with you. love that there is no subscription. Some of their deals are awesome ($1.99 to $5.99 a book) and the app is really easy to use and hassle free. I don’t buy many, but the ones I’ve bought have been great finds, like Boyfriend Material for less than $4, and Loretta Chase’s Dressmaker series narrated by the incomparable Kate Reading for between $3 and $5 each.
Tip: when you see a book in a series on sale,check out the other books as well, often they are on sale also, but not highlighted.
So I hadn’t read any of the rest of the series, and I really enjoyed Brooklynaire. Not knowing anything previously about the characters maybe helped as others above have speculated; I’m a big Sarina Bowen fan but still haven’t gotten to any of the other Brooklyn Bruiser books.
I’ve only read the original Brooklyn Bruisers series, not this one, and I absolutely agree that the model’s idiot facial expression is ludicrously wrong for Nate, but I’m not sure about the muscles, because he is depicted as really into yoga. He’s so into yoga that he makes all his players do it too whether they like it or not. Yoga can get you quite toned (speaking from experience! and I’m only intermediate), so if he’s as serious about it as it sounded from the first trilogy, it would be in character for him to have pretty muscles. But, on the other hand, those do seem like maybe the wrong genre of muscle? The model has that sort of slightly puffy-muscled gym rat look, and I have no idea if men can get that variety of muscle from yoga alone, but probably not if you’re Nate and doing lots of crazy yoga is not your job.
I liked all three books in the Polaris Rising trilogy! Have not done a reread but really enjoyed as they came out.
I was also let down by Brooklynaire- Sarina Bowen’s writing style is not for me but for the first few Brooklyn Bruisers books I enjoyed the plot enough to overlook it. But in Brooklynaire I couldn’t and it was a letdown after the buildup, agreeing with DDD.
I barely remember Shadow’s Claim and given that for better or worse, Kresley Cole’s books tend to stick in my mind, that’s probably not a good sign! On the other hand with her- I’m super excited to see that she has at last announced the release date for the next book in IAD!
Can we expect to see the Brooklynaire cover in a future Cover Snark post? The poor boy looks SO confused … kind of a “why am I here?” “where’s my shirt?” and just … he looks totally clueless.