Kill the Queen
RECOMMENDED: Kill the Queen by Jennifer Estep is $1.99! Elyse read this one and gave it a B+:
Kill the Queen by Jennifer Estep is the first book in a fantasy series that features a badass female gladiator on a quest to reclaim the throne from her murderous cousin. It’s tremendous fun, although it wraps up quickly.
Gladiator meets Game of Thrones: a royal woman becomes a skilled warrior to destroy her murderous cousin, avenge her family, and save her kingdom in this first entry in a dazzling fantasy epic from the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Elemental Assassin series—an enthralling tale that combines magic, murder, intrigue, adventure, and a hint of romance.
In a realm where one’s magical power determines one’s worth, Lady Everleigh’s lack of obvious ability relegates her to the shadows of the royal court of Bellona, a kingdom steeped in gladiator tradition. Seventeenth in line for the throne, Evie is nothing more than a ceremonial fixture, overlooked and mostly forgotten.
But dark forces are at work inside the palace. When her cousin Vasilia, the crown princess, assassinates her mother the queen and takes the throne by force, Evie is also attacked, along with the rest of the royal family. Luckily for Evie, her secret immunity to magic helps her escape the massacre.
Forced into hiding to survive, she falls in with a gladiator troupe. Though they use their talents to entertain and amuse the masses, the gladiators are actually highly trained warriors skilled in the art of war, especially Lucas Sullivan, a powerful magier with secrets of his own. Uncertain of her future—or if she even has one—Evie begins training with the troupe until she can decide her next move.
But as the bloodthirsty Vasilia exerts her power, pushing Bellona to the brink of war, Evie’s fate becomes clear: she must become a fearsome gladiator herself . . . and kill the queen.
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A Sinister Revenge by Deanna Raybourn is $1.99! This is book eight in the Veronica Speedwell series. Not a bad price if you’re looking to collect all the books digitally or just want to get ahead of the long library holds.
Veronica must find and stop a devious killer when a group of old friends is targeted for death in this new adventure from the New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award–nominated author Deanna Raybourn.
Veronica’s natural-historian beau, Stoker, has been away in Bavaria for months and their relationship is at an impasse. But when Veronica shows up before him with his brother, Tiberius, Lord Templeton-Vane, he is lured back home by an intriguing job offer: preparing an iguanodon for a very special dinner party.
Tiberius has received a cryptic message—along with the obituaries of two recently deceased members of his old group of friends, the Seven Sinners—that he too should get his affairs in order. Realizing he is in grave danger but not knowing why, he plans a reunion party for the remaining Sinners at his family estate to lure the killer out while Veronica and Stoker investigate.
As the guests arrive and settle in, the evening’s events turn deadly. More clues come to light, leading Veronica, Stoker, and Tiberius to uncover a shared past among the Sinners that has led to the fatal present. But the truth might be far more sinister than what they were prepared for.
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RECOMMENDED: The Rakess by Scarlett Peckham is $1.99 and a KDD! Carrie read this one and have it an A-:
The combination of personal catnip with descriptive language and complex characterization is spot on. I recommend this for fans of vocal feminism, found family, angst, and explicit sex in their historicals. I plan to read my copy many, many times!
Meet the SOCIETY OF SIRENS—three radical, libertine ladies determined to weaponize their scandalous reputations to fight for justice and the love they deserve…
She’s a Rakess on a quest for women’s rights…
Seraphina Arden’s passions include equality, amorous affairs, and wild, wine-soaked nights. To raise funds for her cause, she’s set to publish explosive memoirs exposing the powerful man who ruined her. Her ideals are her purpose, her friends are her family, and her paramours are forbidden to linger in the morning.
He’s not looking for a summer lover…
Adam Anderson is a wholesome, handsome, widowed Scottish architect, with two young children, a business to protect, and an aversion to scandal. He could never, ever afford to fall for Seraphina. But her indecent proposal—one month, no strings, no future—proves too tempting for a man who strains to keep his passions buried with the losses of his past.
But one night changes everything…
What began as a fling soon forces them to confront painful secrets—and yearnings they thought they’d never have again. But when Seraphina discovers Adam’s future depends on the man she’s about to destroy, she must decide what to protect…her desire for justice, or her heart.
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Dangerous Ground by Rachel Grant is $1.99! This is book one in the Fiona Carver series and I’m unsure if it’s romantic suspense or more of a mystery series with romantic elements. Book two is also on sale!
In the remote and unpredictable Aleutians, danger comes without warning in an adrenaline rush of a novel by USA Today bestselling author Rachel Grant.
Archaeologist Fiona Carver has unfinished business in the Aleutian Islands. After an emergency evacuation cut her first expedition short, she’s finally back. But time is not on her side as she races to finish documenting the remnants of a prehistoric village, recover missing artifacts, and track down missing volcanologist Dylan Slater.
Having bluffed his way onto Fiona’s team with fake credentials, wildlife photographer Dean Slater is willing to risk more than federal prison to find his missing brother, but he needs Fiona’s help. She knows the inhospitable terrain better than anyone.
When the two set out together on a perilous journey, it becomes more than a recovery mission. In their fight for survival, nature isn’t the only threat. They aren’t the only ones on the hunt. Mile by dangerous mile, someone is hunting them.
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Rakess is my pick here!
The Rackess has an old-school awesome cover – want to read just for that! 🙂
The Rakess sounds awesome except …. can anyone who has read it comment on the angst level? It’s mentioned in the review and tbh I avoid angsty books generally because I have enough angst irl. What I truly hate is prolonged angst when a simple conversation could clear the air. Trying to decide if it’s worth the risk. Tia.
@Liz — I’d say that the angst level in THE RAKESS is high — particularly around Seraphina’s truly serious alcoholism. In some way I remember the story as more vividly about her addiction and struggles to recover than about obstacles to her romance. The depictions of alcoholism aren’t really signaled in blurbs and advertising but are central to her character’s arc.
What is the lady on the Rakess cover standing on? Or maybe her right leg is just really really long? And I thought the guy had some sort of cooling vents on the back of his head but it’s her fingers. That’ll teach me to only glance at cover thumbnails.
Also: a comment somewhere on SBTB led me to CraftSnark on Reddit, and now I lead it right back to you.
If you enjoy Morning Glory Milking Farm by CM Nascosta*, and you also enjoy crochet, you can now combine your two enthusiasms!
Please note the title of the pattern on the Ravelry link: it is VERY NOT SAFE FOR WORK!
https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/minotaur-peen-plushie
@Liz Thank you for raising the question of angst level in Romance novels. It’s a key point for me for the same reasons you noted. Cannot count how many books I’ve bailed out on at the 80% mark. Danger, humiliation, pain, and betrayal—I can handle a little but not a lot.
I love me some Deanna Raybourn, but I struggled a bit with A SINISTER REVENGE because Stoker and Veronica are on the outs after the previous installment and there’s actually very little interaction between the two of them in this book. Given that their banter and chemistry is usually a high point of the series for me, this one was a bit less fun. (Lots of good character development for Veronica and a solid mystery, but I missed Veronica and Stoker being Veronica and Stoker.)
I loved Dangerous Ground. It was my first of many Rachel Grant books. Ive since cooled on her stuff, but I still like to reread Fiona Carver. I’d say it’s romantic suspense, or at least the romantic elements are very strong.
There’s a new Pen & Des novella available! DEMON DAUGHTER. I just noticed it today while checking KDDs. (It was in the “continue with a series you’ve started” recs.)
@Empress of Blandings—I showed my husband that plushie and the look on his face was beyond priceless. After I stopped laughing, he looked me right in the eye and said, “I’m going to need the circumcised model.”
Humble Bundle currently has a campaign where you can get 38 Discworld novels for $18 and support the charity Room to Read! The titles in the bundle are through Kobo. U.S. only. The campaign is running until Feb 1st.