If you’ve got any of the subscription services like Scribd, Kindle Unlimited, or the super-sexy Canadians Only Kobo Plus, I want to know what your latest favorite is!
And this doesn’t mean only the paid subscriptions. Library folks may also be using Hoopla Digital to access ebooks and audiobooks, and services like Kanopy to watch scripted series and documentaries.
The Library Extension browser add-on allows folks browsing Amazon to see what books are available at their library, or via library subscriptions like Hoopla. (I use this extension constantly and I love it.)
My latest happy find is the number of cookbooks, quilting pattern books, and cross stitch books inside Hoopla and sometimes KU. I love trying cookbooks out via library lending (usually in print) but I freaking love finding new quilt pattern books to browse through.
Craft-focused books like pattern collections and how-to guides can be expensive, and I really like digital browsing before I buy or borrow. I made a quilt from a quilt pattern book I found on Hoopla called Quilting With a Modern Slant, and this quilt is one of my favorites.
Zeb approves of this quilt, too.
I’m always (always) looking for fiction and nonfiction inside the subscriptions I have, so I’d love to know what you’ve discovered that you absolutely freaking loved!
Which subscription services are you using? And what books, audiobooks, or other romance reading have you discovered recently in your subscription that you’d recommend to others? If you can also tell us what genre the book is, that would help a lot for those who like to CTRL-F their rec threads.
So, please share! What recent treasures have you discovered?
I recently did a 3-month stint of KU and binge-read:
– A pile of Mariana Zapata
– The ‘Ruses of Lenore’ series by Kate Stradling (fairy tale-esque fantasy. They have a romantic element but I’d say are more coming-of-age)
– The ‘Treaties of Moial’ series by Jen Lynning (fantasy-of-manners romance with a strong political bent, centered around the formation of treaties between a kingdom and it’s neighbours. The first book features an Incubus and an Empath and it was *chefs kiss* delightful)
– A pile of Rachel Grant
– A pile from Andrea Penrose’s Wrexford and Sloane historical mystery series
– The ‘Clandestine Magic’ trilogy by Colleen Cowley (fantasy romance set in an America where men have magic and women don’t, and this has set the course of women’s rights back by several hundred years. The set-up was so interesting and the gender politics so well done)
– The ‘Stariel’ series by AJ Lancaster, which I very much want more of as soon as possible
I keep my KU membership current because I read so many books from there, it pays for itself within the first three books every month. Recently, I’ve been binging on some gritty m/m romantic-suspense series: Cordelia Kingsbridge’s Seven of Spades, a 5-book series about a homicide detective and a bounty hunter (later, private investigator) who team up, professionally and romantically, while searching for a serial killer in Las Vegas. I’m also making my way through John Wiltshire’s 9-book More Heat Than the Sun series, a very twisty-turny (and violent) story about a British Army veteran who now works for a shadowy covert operations group and his boss, a Danish diplomat married to a member of the British nobility. There’s a lot going in these books and just when you think you know everything about these two men, Wiltshire pulls the rug out. Unlike the Seven of Spades series, which unfolds one long story over the course of five books. Each of the More Heat Than the Sun books, while building on what happened in the previous one, is really a self-contained story that could be read as a standalone. I’m enjoying my journey through both of the series, but there are lots of triggers, especially in the Wiltshire books.
Hoopla:
A Dog Called Jack by Ivy Pembroke
Second Best by Noelle Adams
Tall Oaks by Chris Whittaker (thriller)
The Long and Faraway Gone by Lou Berney (thriller)
Kanopy added Anthony Bourdain’s first series “A Cook’s Tour” a couple of weeks ago. It’s been interesting to see the younger, somewhat snarkier Tony than we saw later when he became less bad boy chef and more philosophical traveler.
Kindle Unlimited has all of Susan Grant’s SFR and I’ve been happily indulging myself with her revised back list. Currently I’m reading Hunting the Warlord’s Daughter which is the second book in her Borderlands series. Unfortunately book 3 is still in revisions and isn’t out yet.
I have a subscription to Scribd, not for the books (although those are great) but because they have lots of good Sheet Music! I love that I can access lots of piano music at will.
What a lovely quilt, @SB Sarah!
I don’t use any subscription services, but I’m taking note of the suggestions. @Sarah L, some of the titles you mentioned look particularly enticing.
I like to accrue a list of TBRs for Kobo Plus and Kindle Unlimited, and a couple of times a year I’ll get a month’s subscription to focus on those books. For me (I love my Kobo Libra), it’s actually disappointing when a book gets added to KU because exclusivity rights means it’s not available for purchase on Kobo or on Kobo Plus anymore (sometimes authors switch their books between the services). (I ended up purchasing an Amazon Fire pretty much just to read KU books, but it’s not as comfortable as an e-reader.)
For people who have access to Kobo Plus, some of my gems on there (including some series you might recognize from previously being on KU) include:
– Sierra Simone (Thornchapel, New Camelot, Priest series, Markham Hall, Misadventures)
– Chloe Liese’s Bergman Brothers series (as well as A Mistletoe Motive, a Kobo exclusive)
– Rake I’d Like to F… anthology (which was also mentioned yesterday as currently being on sale)
Side note: When compiling this list I discovered that at least some of the Duke I’d Like to F… stories have been released as separate novellas (probably why the anthology isn’t available anymore)
– Anita Kelly’s Moonlighters series
– TJ Klune’s Green Creek & How to Be series
– Rebekah Weatherspoon’s Fit, Beards & Bondage, Loose Ends (Rafe and Xeni) and Sugar Baby series
– Several of Alyssa Cole’s novellas
– Alexis Hall’s ‘Murder Most Actual’
– Suleikha Snyder’s ‘Tikka Chance on Me’
– Talia Hibbert’s independently published titles (Ravenswood series, Princess Trap, Roommate Risk, Mating the Huntress [one of my favourites] and a Kobo exclusive, Wrapped Up in You)
– Most of Jackie Lau’s books
– Ruby Lang’s Practice Perfect series
– Most of Skye Warren’s books
– Annika Martin
As well as brand new flashy books like:
– Kink Camp: Hunted by A. Anders (Adriana Anders also has some other books on there)
– The Dragon’s Bride by Katee Robert (also her Wicked Villains and Touch of Taboo series)
Seeing how much is available it can end up being a great deal. I’m looking forward to seeing what others recommend!
I have some cautions for searching Hoopla. There’s something screwy about the way they format author names and how they tie in to the database content. Some examples below.
Also, you know how when you’re using a media app and type in an author name to search, it will pop up author names for convenience? DON’T USE THAT IN HOOPLA. Just keep typing and do a general search. For whatever reason, individual books are not all correctly tied to the author page. If you type in Marian Babson, you’ll get listings for 34 of her books. If, when you’re typing, you click on the automatically suggested Marian Babson, it will take you to an author page where 20 of her books are listed. !!!
Exs. – Books by Jordan Castillo Price are listed under JordanCastillo Price.
Some books by CS Poe are listed under C.S. Poe and some under C S Poe. None are listed under CS Poe.
TL;dr – I love Hoopla but their search function is crap. Search creatively before you give up.
Scribd is getting frustrating to me- seems like they get new release audiobooks months before they appear as ebooks, if at all. Still, hard to lose access to all those books. They even have the script and sheet music for the musical I’m performing in, as a PDF.
@Nicole, I suspect Scribd quietly limits audiobooks and that is why so many new releases are only available in audio.
@Jenreads, is A Dog Called Jack a melancholic story?
@SBSarah, I made a crib size nine patch pattern quilt for a baby gift once. That was so hard for me that I never attempted another. Yours is lovely.
@Sarah L, I also enjoyed reading Mariana Zapata, Rachel Grant and Andrea Penrose on KU in the last month or so.
Fellow SBs, If you use Scribd and aren’t aware, paying annually reduces the cost to less than $8.00 per month.
@Sarah- That quilt is gorgeous! And, thank you for pointing out that Hoopla has nonfiction instructional, and crafty type books available. I’ve just started art journaling and trying my hand at mixed media and watercolor. There are so many books available that it’s hard to know where to start or if the content is worth it, not to mention I can’t possibly afford them all. I’ve been slowly waiting for physical library borrows to come in and never considered looking at hoopla before today.
I just borrowed four books after searching Mixed Media, Art Journal and Creativity. I also appreciate that hoopla allows you to search a publisher too. Quarry books published many of my favorite creative titles and it’s an available search tag in hoopla.
I love your quilt, @SB Sarah!
I probably don’t use it as much as I should, but I’m definitely going to keep my KU subscription. It actually has a good selection of all kinds of books (and some magazines), but what I really like are the audiobooks. Many books have the option to either listen to the audiobook for free when you borrow the ebook, or buy the audio for a reduced price.
KU also really helps curb my one-click habit. When I see a book that I’m remotely interested in go on sale, I’m always tempted to buy it “just in case” despite already owning eleventy million other “just in case” books. If it’s a KU book, I just add it to my KU wish list and forget about it. Even if I don’t borrow a single book one month, I figure it’s saving me money in the long run. (And, yes, I know how pathetic this sounds.)
I also love my platinum (or whatever it’s called now) Audible membership. (Does this count as a subscription?) I’ve slowed down substantially during the pandemic, but I can go thru a couple hundred audiobooks in a good year. The Audible Plus free listens have been a real bonus.
I’m digressing but, as you can tell, I love audiobooks. I’m a visual person so never expected they’d really work for me, but the medium really grew on me once I tried it. I definitely had to learn to be a better listener, tho.
I’m on my last month of the KU free trial so I need this post. My favorite is the bannanpants “what the fuck did I just read?” variety. I’ve blown through all the Cate C. Wells and Katrina Jackson so I need more! Other KU authors that hit: Nia Forrester, Nicole Falls, Jodie Slaughter and Christina C. Jones (audiobooks on Hoopla and Scribd are A+).
Thank you for the compliments on the quilt! I’m sitting with it right now and I love it. 🙂
@LML re: A Dog Named Jack: How about charming and sweet. Neighbors become friends with a side of romance. Finding little gems like it make all my Hoopla searches worth while,
Kobo Plus – Noticed some of Linnea Sinclair’s Dock 5 series (the middle ones?) are there.
Hoopla – Graphic Audio’s version of Clean Sweep by Ilona Andrews
On USA Audible Plus –
-Mystic Bayou series by Molly Harper (I think these are Audible exclusive not even available as ebooks.)
Non romance:
-Middle grade series starting with Zero G by Dan Wells, narrated by Emily Woo Zeller and full cast. I thought they were fun, didn’t love the music and effects though.
-Richard Armitage narrates Joy Ellis mystery series
My KU subscription definitely pays for itself. And I find myself more willing to give new authors/far out there books a try. Some of my favorite KU books this year were:
-Anything written by Honor Raconteur or AJSherwood
-Consulting Magic series by Amy Crook (mystery and courtship)
-CW Gray Blue Solace series (space opera, with pets!)
-Superpowereds by Drew Hayes- super hero’s go to college
-Eric Foner’s Union Station and Earth Cent books- science fiction without space battles
-Audrey Harley’s Gamer Girls series- darker contemporary romances.
@MeMe I’m paid up for two more years of KU just because it’s the BEST bananapants outlet I’ve ever found! I also have a tendency to binge read entire series to the detriment of all other things I should be doing. Some of the weirder but worth reading authors I’ve glommed this last month include Shaw Montgomery (ROMANCE AND REVOLUTIONS series, alt. omegaverse), Regine Abel (PRIME MATING AGENCY, alien-human(ish) arranged marriages, see last Cover Snark for the Birdman), Lisa Manifol(THE ORACLE of WYNTER series starting with HEXES AND HOT FLASHES), Anne Aguire (GALACTIC LOVE series), and Annette Marie (everything). Many of these have been suggested by others in prior posts, but this has been most of my reading in the past month. KU has been a life saver and a treasure trove of off-the-wall but surprisingly thoughtful books I’d never have read otherwise.
@Qualisign – Thank you! I’m doing a big copy/paste of all your recs in the KU search. Just downloaded the audiobook for HEXES AND HOT FLASHES on hoopla (thanks library extension app!).
@Susan – Do you know if there’s a way to search for audiobooks that are in KU?
Beautiful quilt!
Scribd has Anita Kelly’s Moonlighters novellas – her Love and Other Disasters was well-reviewed here.
Hoopla is my go-to for graphic novels – I’ve read all of Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London graphic novels there, including the most recent, Monday, Monday.
Hoopla was also a great place to check out several travel guides before I went on a vacation, since I’m unlikely to visit that place again, sadly.
Cannot second @MaryK strongly enough on the Hoopla search function. A corollary to her observation is that you should never trust an absence of autofill to mean an absence of that author – I have typed in names in full and gotten hits when the name wasn’t being suggested as I typed.
@MaryK – Here’s the list of audiobooks on KU: https://smile.amazon.com/s?i=digital-text&rh=n%3A133140011%2Cn%3A9630682011%2Cn%3A154606011%2Cn%3A158566011%2Cp_88%3Abundle%7Ccollections%7Cdigitaltextfeeds%7Cebooks&s=date-desc-rank&pageType=kindle&pf_rd_i=bookshelf&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=XVY06XJ1YFVDFX54RX77&pf_rd_s=center-5&pf_rd_t=5601&qid=1649990669&sourceType=search&ref=sr_pg_1
a lot to slog through but the new Alexis Hall is a big stand-out
A Dog Called Jack doesn’t show up when I do a Hoopla search, nor does Ivy Pembroke (I’m in Canada, if that makes a difference). For Hoopla readers, keep in mind that if they have a book/author, that does not mean they will always have that book/author. I’ve gone looking for a book I read there previously and haven’t been able to find it.
Wow! @MeMe to the rescue. I had no idea how to search on that. I’ve always just stumbled across the “listen for free” option by accident when checking out a specific book/author.
I have KU and Hoopla. I love KU-and am always so happy when I find books I want on there. Rosalind James has most of her book on KU-hard for me to tell because I started buying them to support her-but seriously-BEST DEAL EVER to get the Escape to New Zealand series on KU.
Hoopla for me is very hit or miss. I love audiobooks but just don’t have time to listen to them. I’m a much faster reader than listener, so I do get aggravated that so many of the titles I want are audiobooks. I just went to my History to check, and they do have books from Sawyer Bennett, Marie Harte, Lauren Dane-lots of authors I do enjoy. So, also worth it!
Eliza: I have found many books disappear from Hoopla and reappear at a later date. The Pembroke one was still listed by name and author when I searched, so it could be country availability.