-
Something Fabulous
Something Fabulous by Alexis Hall is $1.99! Of course, we’re big fans of Alexis Hall at the Bitchery and this is a rompy, road trip adventure. It came out in January. Did any of you pick this one up? I remember last time this one was on sale, there were comments about this one feeling a little mean-spirited.
From the acclaimed author of Boyfriend Material comes a delightfully witty romance featuring a reserved duke who’s betrothed to one twin and hopelessly enamoured of the other.
Valentine Layton, the Duke of Malvern, has twin problems: literally.
It was always his father’s hope that Valentine would marry Miss Arabella Tarleton. But, unfortunately, too many novels at an impressionable age have caused her to grow up…romantic. So romantic that a marriage of convenience will not do and after Valentine’s proposal she flees into the night determined never to set eyes on him again.
Arabella’s twin brother, Mr. Bonaventure “Bonny” Tarleton, has also grown up…romantic. And fully expects Valentine to ride out after Arabella and prove to her that he’s not the cold-hearted cad he seems to be.
Despite copious misgivings, Valentine finds himself on a pell-mell chase to Dover with Bonny by his side. Bonny is unreasonable, overdramatic, annoying, and…beautiful? And being with him makes Valentine question everything he thought he knew. About himself. About love. Even about which Tarleton he should be pursuing.
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! -
West Side Love Story
West Side Love Story by Priscilla Oliveras is 99c! This is an enemies to lovers romance between two characters from rival Mariachi families. I remember there being a lot going on when I started this one. Did you read it?
A heart-stirring romance of star-crossed love, feuding familias, and the bonds of sisterhood by USA Today bestselling author Priscilla Oliveras.
Two familias in Texas, both alike in dignity, rivalries, and passion…
Having grown up in the nurturing household of Casa Capuleta, Mariana will do anything for familia. To solve her adoptive parents’ financial problems amid their rapidly changing San Antonio comunidad, Mariana and her younger sisters are determined to win the Battle of the Mariachi Bands. That means competing against Hugo Montero, their father’s archnemesis, and his band and escalating a decades-old feud. It also raises the stakes of Mariana’s forbidden attraction for a certain dark-eyed mariachi who sets her heart racing.
To Angelo Montero’s familia, Mariana is also strictly off-limits. But that doesn’t stop him from pursuing her. As their secret affair intensifies and the competition grows fierce, they’re swept up in a brewing storm of betrayals, rivalries, and broken ties. Against the odds, they vow to bring peace. But sacrifices must be made and consequences weighed for two star-crossed lovers to make beautiful music together.
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! -
Maisie Dobbs
Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear is $2.99! This is the first book in a beloved (and very long) historical mystery series. I read this one and here are my thoughts: I wish it focused on the mystery more and wow, it will bum you out. Have you read them?
Maisie Dobbs isn’t just any young housemaid. Through her own natural intelligence and the patronage of her benevolent employers, she works her way into college at Cambridge. When World War I breaks out, Maisie goes to the front as a nurse. It is there that she learns that coincidences are meaningful and the truth elusive. After the War, Maisie sets up on her own as a private investigator. But her very first assignment, seemingly an ordinary infidelity case, soon reveals a much deeper, darker web of secrets, which will force Maisie to revisit the horrors of the Great War and the love she left behind.
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! -
Just a Heartbeat Away
Just a Heartbeat Away by Cara Bastone is $1.99! Aarya mentioned this one in a previous Whatcha Reading and mentioned it’s an age gap romance with a slow burn. She also picked Bastone’s follow up in the series for one of our Hide Your Wallet posts.
Some people change your life
Others change your heart
Newly widowed dad Sebastian Dorner was unraveling at the edges—until his son’s teacher, Via DeRosa, threw him a lifeline. Now, two years later, they reconnect at Matty’s new school, and an inconvenient but unmistakable jolt of attraction crackles between them. But why does the first person to spark with Sebastian in years have to be a millennial? Is twentysomething Via really too young for him or does fortysomething Sebastian just feel too damn old?
A former foster kid, Via’s finally forged the stable life she’s always dreamed of—new job, steady income, no drama. The last thing she needs are rumors about her and a single dad at school. But why does she keep being drawn into his capable, worn-flannel orbit? And why does being around Sebastian, Matty and even their dog, Crabby, seem to spark so much want?
They’re trying to ignore the tension threatening their friendship. But sometimes what’ll heal you is just a touch—and a heartbeat—away…
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.
Love MAISIE DOBBS! I don’t mind long series when the writing is of the caliber of Jacqueline Winspear. I also keep up with the IN DEATH series by J.D.Robb, another super-long series with top-notch writing
I’ve read a bunch of the Maisie Dobbs books (there are 17 so far), and I like the earlier ones, but I’ll just say that the romantic angles (Maisie has various love interests over the course of the series) are some of the weakest parts. It works much better when Winspear just lets Maisie get on with the detecting.
I like the Maisie Dobbs series, but do get irritated with her excessive navel-gazing at times. I read a number of the early books, and then re-started the series on audio, which has worked better for me.
I enjoyed the Cara Bastone. Lovely contemporary with well rounded characters. It reminds me of Harlequin SuperRomance.
Just dropped on to say that Beginner’s Luck by Kate Clayborn, which I know is an author I’ve seen mentioned on here before, appears to be free on Amazon UK today – unfortunately not on Amazon US.
Ditto on the Maisie Dobbs and Cara Bastone comments here. I have enjoyed Maisie Dobbs, but they’re library reads for me. It’s interesting to me how most of the important personal moments for Maisie happen in between books–we hear about them afterwards and see repercussions but the actual events themselves never happen on the page. Very odd.
I totally agree with @Teresa that Cara Bastone’s characters are well-rounded. I have love everything I’ve read from her and she’s become a one-click author for me. Intense enough to keep my interest but feel-good enough that I enjoy them from start to finish.
Another nod to Maisie Dobbs. The audiobooks keep me company on the treadmill and during simple knitting. The writing is excellent and the mysteries interesting and well done, but they can be dreary. I recently finished the third one, which was really quite dark (and had a new narrator who mispronounced names and mucked up accents), but I have no plans to abandon the series as it really is good.
I DNF’d Something Fabulous because I found to be deeply unfunny and several of the characters were jerks toward Valentine (at least until the 60% mark when I gave up deeply frustrated and hoping I’d DNF’d the book earlier.)
As I understand it, this book is Hall’s parody of Category Romances. It’s possible that I didn’t click with the novel because I have never read in that specific subgenre. All I know is that this was my first DNF for this author (who was an autobuy up until then.)
I suggest folks to download a sample. If it doesn’t work or click for you, it might be a good idea to let it pass.
I highly recommend Cara Bastone for fans of slow-burn romance, both the characters and romance are really fleshed out. I decided to give “Something Fabulous” a chance despite some negative comments because I found myself laughing out loud halfway through the sample and I figured that was a good start. Romance aside, something in Alexis Hall’s brand of humor (especially in “Boyfriend Material”) really reminds me of P.G. Wodehouse, British and somehow being funny, well, for the fun of it.
I enjoyed Something Fabulous but completely agree that it can come across as mean-spirited toward Valentine. I read a post by Hall where he said while writing the book, he was worried that readers would find Valentine too unlikable (rich, privileged, etc…) and that he was surprised when he heard that the character was garnering so much sympathy. It was an interesting take.
I have never hated a book the way I did Something Fabulous – the other characters were horrible to Valentine, and were so narcissistic and self-important and so mean. They were just awful people.
A few free titles:
Savannah Kade’s Our Song
Shayla Black’s First Glance (an anthology of several of her first-in-series titles)
Rhys Lawless’s Killer Heart (m/m)
Laurelin Paige and Sierra Simone’s Hot Cop
Annie Seaton’s Outback Sky: The Pilot
Eva Devon’s Once Upon a Duke
Golden Angel’s Spy Season
Jules Bennett’s Forever Yours
The daily deal today I’d most recommend was a mystery, but not a Maisie Dobbs (though I like those, too) – Tom Franklin’s Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter, which is set in rural Mississippi.
I liked Something Fabulous a lot but it’s definitely not for everyone. Here’s some of my GR review.
B+ Despite a slow start (and some bits that were so very clever that I rolled my eyes), I truly enjoyed this very silly, campy send up and queering of Regency romance tropes. I suspect this will be a polarizing book – I’m not sure what readers who discovered AJH through Boyfriend Material or Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake will think of it. And I’m also not sure what trad Regency fans will think either.
It’s a romance novel written about characters who read A LOT of romance novels and I think it will chiefly appeal to avid readers of Regency romances, especially those who also are aware of the limitations of the genre and enjoy camp / have a silly sense of humor. There’s a botched proposal, a run-away would-be fiancé, a cross-country chase, a duel, inns with only one bed, picnics, a lengthy convalescence, etc. And the MC is a haughty duke who’s afraid of bees. In other words, there are references and nods to tropes and books from Jane Austen to Heyer to Julia Quinn and beyond.
What you won’t find is any unchecked slut-shaming or fat-shaming or misogyny or homophobia. And all of the sex is joyful and consensual. And there are so, so many queer people. It’s very much a fantasy version of Regency England, as well as a commentary on other fantasy versions of Regency England.
In a lot of ways I think this is to the Regency romance genre as Terry Pratchett’s Discworld is to the fantasy genre. It’s a smart, knowledgeable and loving satire and it’s also deeply, deeply silly. Read the sample.
I really love Cara Bastone’s books—always engaging, smart, and feminist, always getting me right in the feels. Very few authors are auto-buys for me, but she’s definitely one.
Also just saw “Witchmark” by C. L. Polk is a KDD! I know a lot of people really loved this, so I’m scooping it up. Actually a number of really interesting-looking deals today…
I loved Something Fabulous – it’s sort of in a satirical screwball vein with a lot of Shenanigans and silliness but genuine emotion too. I agree about the Discworld comparison – there’s definitely a lot of affectionate parody and inversion of tropes and general commentary on regency romance as a genre.
There is some snark and outright meanness, but I didn’t find it over the top. A lot of it was either in an over the top way that contributed to the silliness, or in a way that reminded me of old screwball comedies like His Girl Friday or something, where the characters are sniping insults at each other right up until the point where they fall into each other’s arms (and even after that).
I actually found more of Val’s snark to Bonny more genuinely mean than anything directed at Val (that mostly seemed deserved either for being mean or insensitive himself or being too much of an overbearing duke) but eventually realized that a lot of what Val says to Bonny is really more about himself – he definitely has some internalized issues to work through.
It was definitely more comedy than I was expecting and may not be for everyone but I found it a sheer delight. It’s got a lot of snark and silliness but a lot of wit and heart.
I bought JUST A HEARTBEAT AWAY yesterday after I read this post, and finished it late last night. I loved it! Bastone is a new to me author, and I found the book deeply romantic in a way that hit a very sweet spot for me. It is a slow burn, but the heartfelt way the story unfolds swept me up. I’m excited to read more by this author.
Alexis Hall himself has said this isn’t a regency romance, more of a romance using the regency as set pieces, and that it was escapist fun written during lockdown.
I think the comparison to Pratchett is apt. The book doesn’t take itself seriously, which is definitely different than Hall’s other books (although I think Hall does put many of his characters in over-the-top situations – the van ride and friend’s house bit in Husband Material, for example). The characters are sometimes more caricatures than real people. Slapstick humor abounds. (Valentine: a Regency Rincewind?) I also wonder whether British vs American humor plays into the perception of certain things as “mean-spirited”.
In case the reference to slapstick humor above doesn’t make it clear, it’s not just a matter of the character having mean things said to him, which he does. He’s also physically assaulted. Readers may have to decide if they consider physical assault fun and funny, or mean-spirited.