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The Blighted Stars
RECOMMENDED: The Blighted Stars by Megan E. O’Keefe is $2.99! Elyse loved this scifi with romantic elements and gave it an A, but gave a warning:
The Blighted Stars is the first book in a series, so we don’t get a ton of resolution in this novel, romantic or otherwise. If you’re looking for a complete romantic arc, don’t start this book.
When a spy is stranded on a dead planet with her mortal enemy, she must first figure out how to survive before she can uncover the conspiracy that landed them both there in the first place.
She’s a revolutionary. Humanity is running out of options. Habitable planets are being destroyed as quickly as they’re found and Naira Sharp knows the reason why. The all-powerful Mercator family has been controlling the exploration of the universe for decades, and exploiting any materials they find along the way under the guise of helping humanity’s expansion. But Naira knows the truth, and she plans to bring the whole family down from the inside.
He’s the heir to the dynasty. Tarquin Mercator never wanted to run a galaxy-spanning business empire. He just wanted to study rocks and read books. But Tarquin’s father has tasked him with monitoring the mining of a new planet, and he doesn’t really have a choice in the matter.
Disguised as Tarquin’s new bodyguard, Naira plans to destroy his ship before it lands. But neither of them expects to end up stranded on a dead planet. To survive and keep her secret, Naira will have to join forces with the man she’s sworn to hate. And together they will uncover a plot that’s bigger than both of them.
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Tonight, I Burn
Tonight, I Burn by Katharine J. Adams is $2.99 and a Kindle Daily Deal! I mentioned this one on Book Beat because queer witches are a lot of catnip for some Bitchery members. Its release date was moved a few times; I hope that didn’t affect sales too much!
Thorns, Tides, Embers, Storms, and Ores. All five covens are bound in servitude to the tyrant High Warden of Halstett.
Penny Albright is a daughter of the thorn coven, forced to patrol the veil between the realms of Life and Death, keeping it safe and whole. Each night, one thorn witch—and only one—must cross the veil by burning at the stake. Each morning, that witch returns with the help of their magical lifeline. Failure to follow the rules of Death risks them all.
But one morning, Penny’s favorite sister Ella doesn’t return. And that night, determined to find her, Penny breaks the rules. She burns in secret.
What she finds in Death is a manor that shouldn’t exist, home to the devastating Lord Malin, who shouldn’t be there. Malin offers Penny a dangerous deal: Ella’s freedom in exchange for information about the High Warden.
But all isn’t as it seems in Life or Death. Penny’s bargain leads her to Alice, a mysterious captive prophet… and to a rebellion brewing in the shadows of their city. And as Penny’s world splits between her growing love for the ethereal Alice in Life and her attraction to the seductive Malin, in Death, she’ll face a devastating choice.
Because it’s not just her sister’s life that hangs in the balance. It’s the fate of all magic.
All it takes is one witch—and one spark—to set the world ablaze.
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Today Tonight Tomorrow
Today Tonight Tomorrow by Rachel Lynn Solomon is $1.99! Solomon’s adult romances are often highly recommend and we’ve favorably reviewed them on the site. She’s also an accomplished YA author, so if you’re looking to explore those titles as well, grab this one.
The Hating Game meets Booksmart by way of Morgan Matson in this unforgettable romantic comedy about two rival overachievers whose relationship completely transforms over the course of twenty-four hours.
Today, she hates him.
It’s the last day of senior year. Rowan Roth and Neil McNair have been bitter rivals for all of high school, clashing on test scores, student council elections, and even gym class pull-up contests. While Rowan, who secretly wants to write romance novels, is anxious about the future, she’d love to beat her infuriating nemesis one last time.
Tonight, she puts up with him.
When Neil is named valedictorian, Rowan has only one chance at victory: Howl, a senior class game that takes them all over Seattle, a farewell tour of the city she loves. But after learning a group of seniors is out to get them, she and Neil reluctantly decide to team up until they’re the last players left—and then they’ll destroy each other.
As Rowan spends more time with Neil, she realizes he’s much more than the awkward linguistics nerd she’s sparred with for the past four years. And, perhaps, this boy she claims to despise might actually be the boy of her dreams.
Tomorrow…maybe she’s already fallen for him.
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Dangerous Ground
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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What the heck is with Blighted Stars not having samples? Samples have cut by DNF pile contributions by 90%. I don’t trust a book that specifically blocks samples. 🙁
@cheryl – didn’t try to download/send a sample to my kindle, but you can still see a sample on the website… messed me up a bit ago when they moved where you click on it but the sample button is now on the left-hand side of the webpage under the cover. Just in case you want to try that option 🙂
@drewbird Eww. Can’t really send that to my Kindle and read it when the mood strikes. 🙁
There’s no Kindle sample?! I haven’t encountered that before. I won’t even consider a book I can’t read a sample of. That had better not be a trend.
Anyone with an Apple device, I find Apple Books the best place to sample books. I admittedly find samples messy on my Kindle (and if you buy the book, sometimes you end up with 2 books: the sample and the full ebook – I am too OCD for that mess!). You just go to the book on Apple Books, tap sample, and it’s on your device. I agree with @Cheryl that reading the sample is a good way of finding out if you’re really going to read that book!
Oh whoops forgot the link. I don’t see a link here from Smart Bitches. You can definitely read the sample (downloaded) here:
https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-blighted-stars/id1603037335
@Lynn S – I delete the samples once I’m done with them.
Overdrive for your library has samples (if they have the book)! You can check out an 87 page sample of Blighted Stars at mine here: https://lasvegas.overdrive.com/lasvegas-visitor/content/media/8557981
I read Dangerous Ground, as well as its sequel that also features Fiona and Dean as protagonists. I picked it up mostly because I love Alaska settings. I would classify it as romantic suspense–it is pretty heavy on the romance but also action-packed. I liked it well enough to read the sequel, also action-packed but not in Alaska, but long before the end I was heartily sick of Dean and wished Fiona had dumped him for pretty much any one of the other guys in the books (including the bad guys).
@Ele, oh no! I’m curious what about Dean made him so objectionable? (Assuming that isn’t too spoilery?) Thanks–I do have a couple in this series on my TBR, and appreciate the additional insight!
@cheryl
When I click on the Amazon link for “The Blighted Stars” the webpage that appears does have a “Read Sample” button just below the cover image. The sample goes through the first part of Chapter 6 (these are fairly short chapters).
My Blighted Stars has a sample, but I’m looking on my computer, not my Kindle.
Kelly D
There’s no sample link, send to Kindle or otherwise, on Amazon’s mobile site. I only really browse Amazon on my phone.
@flchen1 — It isn’t too spoilery. The reader knows early on that Dean is (1) still grieving over a romantic tragedy that happened many years earlier, and (2) thinks Fiona is off-limits because she is involved with his brother. Both totally okay things. Except he can’t seem to wrap his head around the fact that Fiona is not and has never been involved with his brother. And grieving over a lost love may be a great reason for avoiding romantic entanglements, but he isn’t actually doing that, he’s blowing hot and cold. Still, I liked the books–Fiona is great.
@Ele, thanks so much–that is quite helpful!
$1.99:
– I’m Not Dying with You Tonight by Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal
$.99:
– Oh Buoy by Ava Olsen
– One Tiny On Dit Later (Singular Sensation Book 3) by Sandra Sookoo
– Tough Cookie: An age gap, forced proximity spicy romance (Sugar & Spice Erotic Romance Book 2) by Tawna Fenske
Free:
– Falling for My Second Chance by Dakota Davies
– The Splendid Hour: A Medieval Romance (The Executioner Knights Book 7) by Kathryn Le Veque
$1.99:
– The Blood Trials by N. E. Davenport
$.99:
– The King’s Delight (Tales of Lilleforth Book 1) by Sarah Honey
– The Amazing Alpha Tau Boyfriend Project by Lisa Henry, Sarah Honey
– Tempt by Marie Tuhart
– A Bargain with a Beast by Tammy Andresen
$4.99:
– THIRDS Volume One: Books 1-3 (The THIRDS Collection Book 1–Hell & High Water, Blood & Thunder, Rack & Ruin) by Charlie Cochet
Free:
– Good Duke Gone Cold: A Best Friend’s Brother Historical Regency Romance Novel (The Good Dukes) by Eliana Piers
– Consequences – Part I: A Taboo Step-Family Story by Sinistre Ange
– Consequences – Part 2: A Taboo Step-family Story by Sinistre Ange
$1.99:
– A Poisonous Page (A Sweet Fiction Bookshop Mystery Book 2) by Kitt Crowe
KDD for Sunday is lots of firsts in series. I highly recommend Katherine Addison’s THE GOBLIN EMPEROR for sheer awesomeness of fantasy worldbuilding, characters, and plot. (But it’s a quiet one of court intrigue and not action adventure!)
And I might grab the kindle edition of KUSHIEL’S DART by Jacqueline Carey, because that 674-page mmpb is not the easiest thing to read…
$2.99:
– The Roommate (The Shameless Series Book 1) by Rosie Danan
$1.99:
– The Chief: A Highland Guard Novel (The Highland Guard Book 1) by Monica McCarty
– The Unsung Hero (Troubleshooters Book 1) by Suzanne Brockmann
$.99:
– Hot SEALs Volume 1: Books 1-4 (Night with a SEAL, Saved by a SEAL, SEALed at Midnight, Kissed by a SEAL) by Cat Johnson
– The Marriage List by Ella Quinn
– Kiss the Bride by Melissa McClone, Robin Lee Hatcher, and Kathryn Springer
Free:
– Dominating the Duke: A Steamy Enemies to Lovers Regency Romance (S∂¥, Lies, & Forbidden Desires Book 6) by Andrea K. Stein, Louisa Cornell
– The Cowboy’s Thirty-Day Fling: (A Steamy Opposites Attract, Small Town Romance) (Cowboys of Haven Book 2) by Jenna Jacob
– Too Hot to Handle (Hope Falls: Station 8 Book 2) by Melanie Shawn
– Loving Jackson (Wishing Well, Texas Book 10) by Melanie Shawn
– Too Close for Comfort (Firefly Island: Southern Comfort Book 3) by Melanie Shawn
– Flirting with Fate (Hope Falls: Brewed Awakenings Book 4) by Melanie Shawn
– Forever with You (Hope Falls: Maguire Family Book 3) by Melanie Shawn
I second the recommendation of Katherine Addison’s THE GOBLIN EMPEROR; I’ve read it many times!