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A Power Unbound
RECOMMENDED: A Power Unbound by Freya Marske is $2.99! This is book 3 of The Last Binding series, a queer historical fantasy series that began with A Marvellous Light (which is in KU so if you haven’t read this trilogy, it’s easy to start). A Power Unbound was mentioned in Hide Your Wallet, and Freya Marske was a guest on the podcast to talk about the second book A Restless Truth. This trilogy is terrific, and A Power Unbound has a 4.39 star average on StoryGraph and 4.32 on Goodreads. Have you read this book?
A Power Unbound is the final entry in Freya Marske’s beloved, award-winning Last Binding trilogy, the queer historical fantasy series that began with A Marvellous Light.
Jack Alston, Lord Hawthorn, would love a nice, safe, comfortable life. After the death of his twin sister, he thought he was done with magic for good. But with the threat of a dangerous ritual hanging over every magician in Britain, he’s drawn reluctantly back into that world.
Now Jack is living in a bizarre puzzle-box of a magical London townhouse, helping an unlikely group of friends track down the final piece of the Last Contract before their enemies can do the same. And to make matters worse, they need the help of writer and thief Alan Ross.
Cagey and argumentative, Alan is only in this for the money. The aristocratic Lord Hawthorn, with all his unearned power, is everything that Alan hates. And unfortunately, Alan happens to be everything that Jack wants in one gorgeous, infuriating package.
When a plot to seize unimaginable power comes to a head at Cheetham Hall—Jack’s ancestral family estate, a land so old and bound in oaths that it’s grown a personality as prickly as its owner—Jack, Alan and their allies will become entangled in a night of champagne, secrets, and bloody sacrifice . . . and the foundations of magic in Britain will be torn up by the roots before the end.
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When We Left Cuba
RECOMMENDED: When We Left Cuba by Chanel Cleeton is $2.99! This one features a character from the first book in this series, Next Year in Havana, but I believe you can manage this one as a standalone. If I’m wrong, though, chime in below! Here’s what Sarah had to say:
When We Left Cuba is beautiful and fascinating. Better recommendation comes from my house sitter earlier this year who very shyly asked if she could read my ARC of book three because she loves the series so so much and was so excited that a preview copy was in her vicinity.
In 1960s Florida, a young Cuban exile will risk her life–and heart–to take back her country in this exhilarating historical novel from the author of Next Year in Havana, a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick.
Beautiful. Daring. Deadly.
The Cuban Revolution took everything from sugar heiress Beatriz Perez–her family, her people, her country. Recruited by the CIA to infiltrate Fidel Castro’s inner circle and pulled into the dangerous world of espionage, Beatriz is consumed by her quest for revenge and her desire to reclaim the life she lost.
As the Cold War swells like a hurricane over the shores of the Florida Strait, Beatriz is caught between the clash of Cuban American politics and the perils of a forbidden affair with a powerful man driven by ambitions of his own. When the ever-changing tides of history threaten everything she has fought for, she must make a choice between her past and future–but the wrong move could cost Beatriz everything–not just the island she loves, but also the man who has stolen her heart…
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Cold-Hearted Rake
RECOMMENDED: Cold-Hearted Rake by Lisa Kleypas is $1.99! Elyse reviewed this one and gave it an A:
Cold-Hearted Rake has the elements that make me love Kleypas so much as a writer: female friendships, a hero who is a rake but somehow also emotionally aware, a setting that’s fully developed and not a backdrop, and scalding sexual tension.
A twist of fate…
Devon Ravenel, London’s most wickedly charming rake, has just inherited an earldom. But his powerful new rank in society comes with unwanted responsibilities . . . and more than a few surprises. His estate is saddled with debt, and the late earl’s three innocent sisters are still occupying the house . . . along with Kathleen, Lady Trenear, a beautiful young widow whose sharp wit and determination are a match for Devon’s own.
A clash of wills…
Kathleen knows better than to trust a ruthless scoundrel like Devon. But the fiery attraction between them is impossible to deny—and from the first moment Devon holds her in his arms, he vows to do whatever it takes to possess her. As Kathleen finds herself yielding to his skillfully erotic seduction, only one question remains:
Can she keep from surrendering her heart to the most dangerous man she’s ever known?
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The Rogue Not Taken
RECOMMENDED: The Rogue Not Taken by Sarah MacLean is $3.99! Elyse read this one, and gave it an A:
Let me start by saying that The Rogue Not Taken by Sarah MacLean is my favorite book of hers to date. If you’ve read her, or know me, then you know that I just said a thing. I mean, there is a scene in this book where the hero sensually rubs honey on the heroine’s body while she dreamily describes the bookstore she’ll own one day.
Lady Sophie’s Society Splash
When Sophie, the least interesting of the Talbot sisters, lands her philandering brother-in-law backside-first in a goldfish pond in front of all society, she becomes the target of very public aristocratic scorn. Her only choice is to flee London, vowing to start a new life far from the aristocracy. Unfortunately, the carriage in which she stows away isn’t saving her from ruin . . . it’s filled with it.
Rogue’s Reign of Ravishment!
Kingscote, “King,” the Marquess of Eversley, has never met a woman he couldn’t charm, resulting in a reputation far worse than the truth, a general sense that he’s more pretty face than proper gentleman, and an irate summons home to the Scottish border. When King discovers stowaway Sophie, however, the journey becomes anything but boring.
War? Or More?
He thinks she’s trying to trick him into marriage. She wouldn’t have him if he were the last man on earth. But carriages bring close quarters, dark secrets, and unbearable temptation, making opposites altogether too attractive . . .
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The synopsis of the Kleypas makes me try to think of books about rakes who are rakes not because they don’t value women or are determined not to love or hate themselves, etc., but because they just genuinely adore women and think of sex as a mutual gift. There have to be incidental rake heroes, right? I’m struggling to think of them, though.
There’s Scarlett Peckham’s sex worker earl in THE EARL I RUINED, a book I genuinely hated but adored the hero of, although the fact that he’s a sex worker adds other dimensions. Maybe also Courtney Milan’s COUNTESS CONSPIRACY (a book I loved)?
I guess the problem with finding examples of this is that romance tends to prefer heroes and heroines to have never really enjoyed sex before (or to be inexperienced), which doesn’t really work with this kind of character. It’s so much subtler and less prevalent for heroes but still there when you look for it.
I highly recommend the Freya Marske trilogy! You really need to read them in order though. I’ve also listened to the audio books and they are great.
@Star I just read Hyacinth by SM LaViolette/ Minerva Spencer. I loved the heroine so much- she is very sex positive and the way she relates that is well done. She does have some sex shaming and neglect from her childhood in her backstory. She isn’t a traditional rake, but l think it might meet what you are considering. I’ll have to think a bit harder about a hero that fits the requirements.
@Peggy. I just picked up A MARVELOUS LIGHT through KU and then bought the audiobook for $3 (three!) USD with whispersync. That is an unexpected perk of KU, because apparently if you have the book checked out, then you “own” the book. Thanks for the rec.
Free:
– Smitten with the Best Man by Piper Rayne
– To Marry the Duke (American Heiress Trilogy Book 1) by Julianne MacLean
$.99:
– Unrivaled by Ashlyn Kane and Morgan James — @DiscoDollyDeb and I love this series…
– They’re in Trouble by Leslie Kelly
– Last Call: A Marriage of Convenience Romance (Bridges and Bitters Book 4) by Lainey Davis
– Some Like It Wicked by Teresa Medeiros
$1.99:
– If I Never Met You: A Novel by Mhairi McFarlane
– Bombshell: A Hell’s Belles Novel by Sarah MacLean
– Just One Touch by Maya Banks
– The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn
– Dance Away with Me by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
– Snow Place Like LA: A Christmas Notch in July Novella by Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone
$2.99:
– The Family Gathering (Sullivan’s Crossing Book 3) by Robyn Carr
$3.99:
– The Theft of Sunlight (Dauntless Path Book 2) by Intisar Khanani
THE ROGUE NOT TAKEN: “Sensually [rubbing] honey on the heroine’s body” sounds so dreadful that I can’t concentrate on the rest of the book description — the stickiness! The never-ending cleanup! I suppose he could use warm tea to wash it off of her, and then drink it as a sign of how into her he is?
COLD-HEARTED RAKE: Ah, I missed the sale (it’s still slightly on sale).
@Star THE COUNTEDS CONSPIRACY is the only one that comes to mind for me, too. I thought I’d read (or at least own) another but if so it’s not coming to mind.
Last day of the SPFBO finalist sale today. Includes Olivia Atwater’s Small Miracles and RK Ashwick’s A Rival Most Vial for $0.99
@Dreamingintrees – I will check this out, thank you! I would never have guessed from the blurb.
@Kolforin – exactly how I feel, both about the rakes and the honey.
It’s interesting that even if I broaden the mental search space to contemporaries, it’s still kind of hard, and I think there’s more sex-positive heroines than heroes, somehow?