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Lake Silence
Lake Silence by Anne Bishop is $1.99! According to Amazon this is book one in a spin-off from Bishop’s The Others series. I’m sure some knowledge would be helpful here, but would love some comments below if you’ve read it!
In this thrilling and suspenseful fantasy, set in the world of the New York Times bestselling Others series, Vicki DeVine and her lodger, the shapeshifter Aggie Crowe, stumble onto a dead body . . . and find themselves enmeshed in danger and dark secrets.
Human laws do not apply in the territory controlled by the Others–vampires, shapeshifters, and paranormal beings even more deadly. And this is a fact that humans should never, ever forget . . .
After her divorce, Vicki DeVine took over a rustic resort near Lake Silence, in a human town that is not human controlled. Towns like Vicki’s have no distance from the Others, the dominant predators that rule most of the land and all of the water throughout the world. And when a place has no boundaries, you never really know what’s out there watching you.
Vicki was hoping to find a new career and a new life. But when her lodger, Aggie Crowe–one of the shapeshifting Others–discovers a dead body, Vicki finds trouble instead. The detectives want to pin the man’s death on her, despite the evidence that nothing human could have killed the victim. As Vicki and her friends search for answers, things get dangerous–and it’ll take everything they have to stay alive.
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The Duke Undone
The Duke Undone by Joanna Lowell is $2.99! This is a historical romance and Catherine gave it a B-:
For me, The Duke Undone is an ambitious book that mostly lives up to its ambitions. I really liked the explorations of class, and I liked the way the relationship between Lucy and Anthony was complicated for really good reasons – there was no big misunderstanding here, just really messy, difficult circumstances.
An artist stumbles upon a naked duke and an unlikely love story begins in this captivating Victorian historical romance.
When Royal Academy painting student Lucy Coover trips over a naked man passed out in an East End alley, she does the decent thing. She covers him up and fetches help. Trouble is, she can’t banish his muscular form from her dreams as easily. She finds herself compelled to put every detail down on canvas. What she doesn’t know is that she’s painting the infamous Duke of Weston, and that her life will never be the same.
A second son, Anthony Philby thought he could flee his brutal family legacy and become his own man. Forced back to London by his brother’s death, he inherits a fortune… with strings attached. One scandal will sink his bid for independence. It’s in his best interest to burn Lucy Coover’s shocking painting and pretend he never met the bewitching young artist. Instead, he finds himself offering a devil’s bargain. He’ll save her aunt’s dressmaking shop from ruin, if she’ll seek out his missing sister, Effie.
As they work together, an unexpected passion ignites between them. But the hunt for Effie leads to unexpected danger, and soon they find themselves risking everything… for a love that might destroy them both.
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The Immortals
The Immortals by Jordanna Max Brodsky is $2.99! It’s the first book in the Olympus Unbound. Sarah gave the first book a B grade. I highly recommend reading Sarah’s review to get a full sense of whether this book may be for you.
When I started reading it, I had a really difficult time putting it down. The world building made for addictive reading, even when I was reading things I usually don’t read.
MANHATTAN HAS MANY SECRETS.
SOME ARE OLDER THAN THE CITY ITSELF.Manhattan.
The city sleeps. Selene DiSilva walks her dog along the banks of the Hudson. She is alone-just the way she likes it. She doesn’t believe in friends, and she doesn’t speak to her family. Most of them are simply too dangerous.Murders.
In the predawn calm, Selene finds the body of a young woman washed ashore, gruesomely mutilated and wreathed in laurel. Her ancient rage returns. And so does the memory of a promise she made long ago. To protect the innocent-and to punish those who stands in her way.Gods.
With the NYPD out of its depth, Selene vows to hunt the killer on her own. But when classics professor Theo Schultz decodes the ancient myth behind the crime, the solitary Huntress finds herself working with a man who’s her opposite in every way. Together, they face a long-forgotten cult that lies behind a string of murders, and they’ll need help from the one source Selene distrusts most of all: the city’s other Immortals.Add to Goodreads To-Read List →
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Well Matched
Well Matched by Jen DeLuca is $1.99! This is DeLuca’s latest release in her contemporary ren faire romances. I believe there’s another on the way? The series has been reviewed well here and seems great for some low angsty reads, but correct me if I’m wrong.
An accidentally in-love rom-com filled with Renaissance Faire flower crowns, kilts, corsets, and sword fights.
Single mother April Parker has lived in Willow Creek for twelve years with a wall around her heart. On the verge of being an empty nester, she’s decided to move on from her quaint little town, and asks her friend Mitch for his help with some home improvement projects to get her house ready to sell.
Mitch Malone is known for being the life of every party, but mostly for the attire he wears to the local Renaissance Faire–a kilt (and not much else) that shows off his muscled form to perfection. While he agrees to help April, he needs a favor too: she’ll pretend to be his girlfriend at an upcoming family dinner, so that he can avoid the lectures about settling down and having a more “serious” career than high school coach and gym teacher. April reluctantly agrees, but when dinner turns into a weekend trip, it becomes hard to tell what’s real and what’s been just for show. But when the weekend ends, so must their fake relationship.
As summer begins, Faire returns to Willow Creek, and April volunteers for the first time. When Mitch’s family shows up unexpectedly, April pretends to be Mitch’s girlfriend again…something that doesn’t feel so fake anymore. Despite their obvious connection, April insists they’ve just been putting on an act. But when there’s the chance for something real, she has to decide whether to change her plans–and open her heart–for the kilt-wearing hunk who might just be the love of her life.
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Lake Silence was a solid B read for me. I don’t think it is as good as the main Others series (which starts with Written in Red), but if you want to step back into that world with different characters, then you will probably enjoy it. I don’t think I would start with this book, as all of the heavy world building was done in the first series. You might be ok, but I think you will miss things if you start here. This world has a different take on paranormal creatures, and I think you need the first books to appreciate and understand that world.
I really liked Lake Silence–it’s a solid addition to the world of the Others series. But I do think you will lose a lot if you have not read the five books of the original series, which I loved. Amazing, intricate worldbuilding, a refreshingly different take on humans and paranormal beings, an unusual slow-burn romance, and a fascinating cast of characters. (I would warn about references to past abuse, violence, and some disturbing sequences/plot points, both in Lake Silence and in the original series.)
NEAR THE BONE by Christina Henry is $2.99. Amanda and Carrie have favorably reviewed some of her retellings of “children’s” stories in a way that suggests this venture into horror is a logical step.
What everyone said about Lake Silence (which I finished re-reading Saturday night, as it happens…). I love both series.
I love The OTHERS series by Anne Bishop. One of my favorites. Also very much enjoyed LAKE SILENCE. Also agreed it is not a great place to dive into the world. It works as a great spin-off ‘further adventures’ in the world of the others. Has a whole new set of characters and also tonally different from the original series. Felt a bit lighter in tone, imo.
While i agree that reading the rest of the series is going to give a better result with Lake Silence, there are a few cases where i would still recommend it even if you haven’t read them – If the thought of getting through 5 books of other characters means you’ll never give any of it a try at all, just go ahead and start here, maybe find someone you know who has read them in case you need worldbuilding questions answered once you start, and at least enjoy some of them. Also, if the only reason you can’t read the main series is because Meg’s particular way of dealing with the visions is triggering for you, know that there is very little about the blood prophets in the follow ups – they get short confusing phone calls from them once or twice, but the way they see their visions is mostly untouched on – there might be a brief allusion somewhere i’m forgetting atm, so i’ll only say mostly none, instead of definitely none. Vicki and others in this book have their own sad pasts and traumas, but none of them are that particular thing.
WELL MATCHED didn’t quite have the magic of WELL MET for me (aka one of my favorite fluffy romances of all time) but it is cute and it is older woman/younger man if that’s your catnip.
It mostly holds up on its own but the heroine from the 1st book is fairly present, if that is something that bugs you. Also the 2 main characters have big parts in the 1st one (although they don’t really interact), so it is more fun to read as a series.
I just love these books because everyone is pretty ordinary. Even Mitch, who is super hot 😉 isn’t secretly a prince or spy or billionaire or vampire. The only real “hook” is the Ren Faire setting and I do wish they’re was a little bit more in this one.
Still very readable if you like low angst fluff.
I’m trying to figure out what is putting me off about the Others series by Anne Bishop.
It FEELS like it’s written to a much younger audience than the plots would support. There’s a lot of sexual assault (esp. in the world building), but yet the characters somehow come across as juvenile.
Even characters who should not be juvenile or naive come across that way. This worked for the first 1-2 books, but it’s not working 5 or so in.
For those as broke as me:
Free in the US (courtesy of ereaderiq.com)
Win Me by Rochelle French
I found out there is a mobile app for http://www.freelittlelibrary.org if you use those for free reading material or you need a place to donate it.
There’s a Christmas in July sale at http://www.harlequin.com
Buy 5 books or more and get 50% off with the coupon JULYXMAS
I’ve actually read all of these! A solid list of A and B grade books here.
I’ll say I liked the second Lake Silence book more than the first, but that’s a quibble.
Since everyone else chiming in about the Bishop books, I’ll shout out for the Brodsky. It’s a wholly entertaining and intelligent take on the ancient Greek pantheon. Plus Selene’s side kick is a classics professor.
Well Matched was my second favorite in the series; as Jill Q says, it’s good but not great. The Duke Undone is Just All Right.
Besides the utterly unique world building of Anne Bishop’s Others, as well as the slow burn attractions and tightly interdependent human/shifter communities, read Lake Silence for the satisfaction of seeing bad people get what’s coming to them. The exploiters and the gas-lighters, the sociopaths and the greedy—Anne Bishop’s Others take them down hard. I reveled in the catharsis. Bishop’s books are mostly pricey, so if you’re interested, snap up Lake Silence while you can.
@Mzcue, I always say one of the best things about the Others books is that bad people always get the crunchy end they deserve.
I thought THE DUKE UNDONE had a lot of good pieces (some interesting history, a deeply creepy villain, some excellent side characters), but the romance didn’t really hold together as the main plot line. I think the pieces would have been much better served as a gothic or historical thriller with some romantic elements rather than a romance, per se.
@Mzcue and DonnaMarie – I agree and that’s my basis for disliking Wild Country. The bad guys didn’t crunch and the good guys were hurt just as badly. I try to pretend that book never happened.
@DonnaMarie – I’m glad to hear you liked LS2 as well as you did the first one. I’ve been waiting for a recommendation like that after the trauma of WC.
@ C S – Yes! I also struggled after the first couple of books in the Other’s series. I think I became somewhat annoyed with how naïve the heroine STILL was after all she seemed to go through in the books. Give me growth! Also, Outside forces seemed to swoop in and save the day and the dialogue…with all…the…pauses drove me batty. Couldn’t get past it myself.
@MaryK – agreed on Wild Country. That one and the last of the Meg books, Etched in Bone, are the ones I cannot re-read. WC was depressing and I didn’t feel that sense of justice you speak of. So Lake Silence which as I said above, felt lighter, and had a little bit of humor, was a welcome bounce back from WC.
In January, Lara reviewed BOLD FORTUNE by M. M. Crane, book one in The Fortunes of Lost Lake Series, and gave it a B+. The book is on sale at Amazon for $1.99 and Amazon UK for .99.
https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/reviews/bold-fortune-by-m-m-crane/
Just for an alternative perspective, Lake Silence was my first Others book and I loved it – it’s the book that sucked me in! I had no problem following along, although I did go back and read some of the earlier books just for fun after reading Lake Silence and Crowbones.
@Darlynne: thanks for the heads up about BOLD FORTUNE. M. M. Crane is an additional pen name of one of my all-time favorite writers, Megan Crane/Caitlin Crews. I haven’t read BOLD FORTUNE yet because it was really pricey when it was first released. I can certainly justify spending $1.99 for it though.
My picks at Amazon today were Lake Silence and an Agatha Christie, Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?
I’m another fan of Anne Bishop’s The Others. My first impression of Lake Silence had me thinking it rather silly, but it grew on me. I’ve now reread it several times. My husband and adult daughter also like The Others.
I found The Duke Undone to be darker than the description indicated though I still enjoyed it.
@judyw I had to put the newest one, which I bought in hardback of all things, on my DNF pile. The nativity which was OK in a very sheltered character, did not make a lot of sense from a 40 something year old sheriff.
Stupid dictation. Naïveté not nativity
The Others series, including the offshoot books, has a mix of sort of comforting everyday-ness, humor, and savagery. I like the books, and that mix, but I know from previous discussions here about Jodi Taylor’s books that many people don’t care for that kind of juxtaposition at all.
One thing that does bother me about the books is how ducking venal and stupid the human villains invariably are. Most of them are Snidely Whiplash-type caricatures with a death wish.
The whole Jen DeLuca series is fantastic and I’m eagerly awaiting the next one. The ren faire setting is so lived in, and what could go overly quirky for quirky’s sake strikes just the right balance.
Faked by Karla Sorenson is free on kindle uk right now. It was mentioned in a wayr a few months back so I thought i would mention in case anyone else had it on their ‘buy when it gets cheaper’ list
I wanted to like Well Matched, but I was so bored I couldn’t finish it. Super low conflict. I think at some point they ended up talking about, I dunno, guacamole or something, and “oh, btw, we’re sharing a bedroom” was completely chill, and ah…no conflict, no tension = one bored me.