From Bad to Cursed
From Bad to Cursed by Lana Harper is $1.99! Thanks to everyone for letting us know about this one. Looks like it’s a Kindle Daily Deal for today. It’s book two in The Witches of Thistle Grove series, which many of us liked!
Opposites attract in this wickedly charming rom-com by Lana Harper, author of Payback’s a Witch.
Wild child Isidora Avramov is a thrill chaser, adept demon summoner, and—despite the whole sexy-evil-sorceress vibe—also a cuddly animal lover. When she’s not designing costumes and new storylines for the Arcane Emporium’s haunted house, Issa’s nursing a secret, conflicted dream of ditching her family’s witchy business to become an indie fashion designer in her own right.
But when someone starts sabotaging the celebrations leading up to this year’s Beltane festival with dark, dangerous magic, a member of the rival Thorn family gets badly hurt—throwing immediate suspicion on the Avramovs. To clear the Avramov name and step up for her family when they need her the most, Issa agrees to serve as a co-investigator, helping none other than Rowan Thorn get to the bottom of things.
Rowan is the very definition of lawful good, so tragically noble and by-the-book he makes Issa’s teeth hurt. In accordance with their families’ complicated history, he and Issa have been archenemies for years and have grown to heartily loathe each other. But as the unlikely duo follow a perplexing trail of clues to a stunning conclusion, Issa and Rowan discover how little they really know each other… and stumble upon a maddening attraction that becomes harder to ignore by the day.
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Hunt the Stars by Jessie Mihalik is $1.99! This is book one in the Starlight’s Shadow sci-fi romance series. Many of us have enjoyed Mihalik’s romances previously. What did you all think of this one?
The critically acclaimed author of Polaris Rising takes readers on an exciting journey with the start of her brand-new series about a female bounty hunter and the man who is her sworn enemy.
Octavia Zarola would do anything to keep her tiny, close-knit bounty hunting crew together—even if it means accepting a job from Torran Fletcher, a ruthless former general and her sworn enemy. When Torran offers her enough credits to not only keep her crew afloat but also hire someone to fix her ship, Tavi knows that she can’t refuse—no matter how much she’d like to.
With so much money on the line, Torran and his crew insist on joining the hunt. Tavi reluctantly agrees because while the handsome, stoic leader pushes all of her buttons—for both anger and desire—she’s endured worse, and the massive bonus payment he’s promised for a completed job is reason enough to shut up and deal.
But when they uncover a deeper plot that threatens the delicate peace between humans and Valoffs, Tavi suspects that Torran has been using her as the impetus for a new war. With the fate of her crew balanced on a knife’s edge, Tavi must decide where her loyalties lie—with the quiet Valoff who’s been lying to her, or with the human leaders who left her squad to die on the battlefield. And this time, she’s put her heart on the line.
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RECOMMENDED: The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden is $2.99! This fantasy novel has elements of Eastern European mythology and I made a soothing cocktail for it. The book is whimsical and perfect for the winter, though it can drag at time, in my opinion.
A magical debut novel for readers of Naomi Novik’s Uprooted, Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus, and Neil Gaiman’s myth-rich fantasies, The Bear and the Nightingale spins an irresistible spell as it announces the arrival of a singular talent with a gorgeous voice.
At the edge of the Russian wilderness, winter lasts most of the year and the snowdrifts grow taller than houses. But Vasilisa doesn’t mind—she spends the winter nights huddled around the embers of a fire with her beloved siblings, listening to her nurse’s fairy tales. Above all, she loves the chilling story of Frost, the blue-eyed winter demon, who appears in the frigid night to claim unwary souls. Wise Russians fear him, her nurse says, and honor the spirits of house and yard and forest that protect their homes from evil.
After Vasilisa’s mother dies, her father goes to Moscow and brings home a new wife. Fiercely devout, city-bred, Vasilisa’s new stepmother forbids her family from honoring the household spirits. The family acquiesces, but Vasilisa is frightened, sensing that more hinges upon their rituals than anyone knows.
And indeed, crops begin to fail, evil creatures of the forest creep nearer, and misfortune stalks the village. All the while, Vasilisa’s stepmother grows ever harsher in her determination to groom her rebellious stepdaughter for either marriage or confinement in a convent.
As danger circles, Vasilisa must defy even the people she loves and call on dangerous gifts she has long concealed—this, in order to protect her family from a threat that seems to have stepped from her nurse’s most frightening tales.
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RECOMMENDED: The Lord of Stariel by AJ Lancaster is 99c! Ellen gave it an A:
I adored this book and I NEEDED to tell the Bitchery about it. This is a whimsical, fun, sweet fantasy mystery with wonderful characters and a healthy dollop of romance.
The Lord of Stariel is dead. Long live the Lord of Stariel. Whoever that is.
Everyone knows who the magical estate will choose for its next ruler. Or do they?
Will it be the lord’s eldest son, who he despised?
His favourite nephew, with the strongest magical land-sense?
His scandalous daughter, who ran away from home years ago to study illusion?
Hetta knows it won’t be her, and she’s glad of it. Returning home for her father’s funeral, all Hetta has to do is survive the family drama and avoid entanglements with irritatingly attractive local men until the Choosing. Then she can leave.
But whoever Stariel chooses will have bigger problems than eccentric relatives to deal with.
Winged, beautifully deadly problems.
For the first time in centuries, the fae are returning to the Mortal Realm, and only the Lord of Stariel can keep the estate safe.
In theory.
The Lord of Stariel is the first book in the Stariel quartet.
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These are such good books! I loved Hunt the Stars so much; it was one of those books I read straight through and then thought, that was so perfect. Plus it has a telepathic cat-like pet roaming around the spaceship who keeps sending the narrator images of its empty food bowl 🙂 And another thumbs up for The Lord of Stariel.
I have reservations about The Bear and the Nightingale; I thought it was an excellent book but it was upsetting to me to read. The conflict between the “old ways” and the new religion felt very heavy and suffocating, and there was one female character who suffers a lot and lashes out because of it, and she’s treated as a villain without sympathy from the author (IMO). I felt upset by her story to the point that I was glad to finish the book. I might not have a very thick skin about this kind of thing, though!
Welp, there goes my money, lol!
Jessie Mihalik just keeps getting better. I love this new series.
I cannot yell enough about The Lord Of Stariel, I swear. The series is finished too for those of you who like that.
The Stariel quartet is a lot of fun! I mainlined all four of them in less than two weeks. Some of the plot points get a little repetitive (did you know Hetta is *scandalous*?? Someone should make a honest woman out of her!) but overall, I found the series to be enjoyable escapism.
I really enjoyed the Stariel series and was excited to see it show up as a recommendation, especially since AJ Lancaster is a newer author. Ellen’s description of “whimsical, fun, sweet fantasy mystery with wonderful characters and a healthy dollop of romance” is spot on.
Mercedes Lackey’s BEYOND (The Founding of Valdemar Book 1) is a KDD today. (For $1.99.) I’ve been wanting to get into this new trilogy, but this is the first time the price has dropped—book 2 hasn’t released yet.
KUSHIEL’S DART is also on KDD sale. I’m considering getting it because OMG 1K of paperback is too much to handle! ($3-ish)
I’m mad that GR did away with the “who rec’d it to me” window. Now if a book is in my wishlist or maybe-list I EFFING DON’T KNOW WHY!!! I mean “bitchery rec” was always a no-brainer. *headdesk*
(Don’t mind me, I’m cranky because I’ve had mild pains in my right arm and thus (out of caution) haven’t knitted all weekend. I need to go stuff my face with chocolate.)
I loved The Lord of Stariel! I read the entire book while on a long flight and was so pleasantly surprised.
The Bear and the Nightingale didn’t work for me, ultimately because it kind of felt like the ending was publisher-designed. I’m not saying that the author didn’t have agency, just that it didn’t feel well set up or earned. But, as ever, YMMV.
GR keeps taking away features we like, and then they took away the place where we could tell them what problems we were having (GR Feedback; the only permanent group left is the librarians’ group), or why we liked or did not like the direction things were going.
Snowed in with Benefits by Misha Horne is on sale through Bookbub. I really loved this tropey m/m forced proximity, opposites attract, no plot just vibes, daddy kink romance. If you like pushy brats and stern but sexy spanking, you’ll like this – with a side helping of bantering, personal growth, lots of comfort food and a blizzard.
I’m 1/2 way through The Lord of Stariel audiobook- available on Audible Plus if you happen to be trying to get the most out of a free trial. Unfortunately the rest of the series costs actual dollars and is audible exclusive so hopefully it doesn’t get too propulsive in the back half. so far it’s pretty putdownable. A lot of “this character KNOWS something but you need to wait 3 chapters”. The estate manager seems nefarious and doesn’t want the heroine looking at the account books; I wonder what that’s about…
Wait, TJ Klune’s The Lightning-Struck Heart (Tales From Verania Book 1) is a KDD for $1-ish. I’m sure it’s illegal in Florida—it’s the gayest gay that ever gayed! It’s ridiculous, hilarious, and feel-good. (For starters, anyway. I haven’t made it much past the beginning.) (The audiobook is extra gay because the narrator is all in.)
The Bear and the Nightingale was *fine*. I read it immediately after Spinning Silver, and it suffered from the comparison. However, I’m so glad I finished the trilogy because the final book sticks the landing!
P.S. Looks like The Lord of Stariel is free in the Audible Plus catalog (US members).
@omphale, The publisher literally just picked up the first half of the book and asked the author to rewrite the second half (and make it a trilogy, I think; she may have originally intended it as a standalone). Having heard her read aloud the original second half, I’m not sure that I would have preferred it…but that may be why you have that sense about the ending.
@AtasB Good to know my instincts were on point! Did she die in the original ending? Because that could have been brutal but made more narrative sense to me.
@omphale I don’t think I heard the whole thing, she was reading it live on insta… I just remember it got really rambling–literally, lots of travel. I wasn’t super into it, so I didn’t stick around for the whole thing. (She might not have had time to read the entire half a book anyway.)
I LOVE Hunt the Stars – it’s enemies to lovers done right. There’s a huge power differential between the H/h, but they have different abilities and grow to respect each other. There are some seriously dramatic/romantic moves by the H. YMMV if it’s over the top, or just at the right level of melodrama. Personally, I was a fan. The second in the series is also great, but suffers a bit from “omg just TALK to each other”.
The Bear and the Nightingale was wonderful on first reading, then I started to get a bit squicked out by all the shit these men aimed at the main character, a barely adult woman. Whatever their particular issue was, they all focused it on her (religious fervor, control/abuse etc etc). I have the second book and every time I go to read it … eh.