Everyone I Kissed Since You Got Famous
Everyone I Kissed Since You Got Famous by Mae Marvel is $2.99! Marvel is the writing duo of Ruthie Knox and her wife, Annie Mare. This book was mentioned in Hide Your Wallet and Dahlia’s queer romance round-up.
An actress home for the holidays makes a bet with her former best friend-turned-online sensation.
Katie Price is known in every living room in America. A small-town Wisconsin girl who became an A-list star, she rarely makes it home, but this year is different… Little does she know it will lead her straight into the piercing blue-eyed gaze of Wil Greene.
A lot has happened in the decade since those cold Wisconsin nights when Wil and Katie drove around in Wil’s Bronco senior year. Since then, Wil’s law career hasn’t taken off. Her father passed away. And what started as a personal challenge―kissing a new person twice a week, every week―has made her a growing sensation, but her life is still stuck in phase one. Through the years, the two have never left each other’s thoughts and desires, but now suddenly, they are back in each others’ lives. Their reconnection is instantaneous and the passion is palpable… but can it stand the test of time?
Witty, emotional, and steamy, Everyone I Kissed Since You Got Famous is an unforgettable romantic read for everyone who almost kissed their best friend. And then finally did.
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!The Ten Thousand Doors of January
RECOMMENDED: The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow is $2.99! I read this one and gave it a B+:
If you’re in the mood for a lovely, tender fantasy novel about belonging and one that feels more like a long, relaxing bath than a hot, intense shower will all of the fancy pressure and pulsating settings you can imagine, you’ll love this one. It’s a soothing pick for when you hope to take comfort in a book
In the early 1900s, a young woman searches for her place in the world after finding a mysterious book in this captivating and lyrical debut.
In a sprawling mansion filled with peculiar treasures, January Scaller is a curiosity herself. As the ward of the wealthy Mr. Locke, she feels little different from the artifacts that decorate the halls: carefully maintained, largely ignored, and utterly out of place.
Then she finds a strange book. A book that carries the scent of other worlds, and tells a tale of secret doors, of love, adventure and danger. Each page turn reveals impossible truths about the world and January discovers a story increasingly entwined with her own.
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!The Cruel Prince
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black is $2.99! This is book one in The Folk of the Air series. This is a pretty popular series, though I haven’t gotten around to reading it. Is it more new adult or young adult in content?
Of course I want to be like them. They’re beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever.
And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe.
Jude was seven years old when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King.
To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences.
In doing so, she becomes embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, discovering her own capacity for bloodshed. But as civil war threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself.
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!Rookie Move
Rookie Move by Sarina Bowen is $1.99! This is book one in the Brooklyn Bruisers series about a hockey team. Both Elyse and I have enjoyed books in this series. Readers loved the second chance romance in this book, but found the pacing in the first half a bit slow.
The first novel in a sexy new series featuring the hockey players of the Brooklyn Bruisers and the women who win their hearts—from the USA Today bestselling author of the Ivy Years series.
In high school they were the perfect couple—until the day Georgia left Leo in the cold…
Hockey player Leo Trevi has spent the last six years trying to do two things: get over the girl who broke his heart, and succeed in the NHL. But on the first day he’s called up to the newly franchised Brooklyn Bruisers, Leo gets checked on both sides, first by the team’s coach—who has a long simmering grudge, and then by the Bruisers’ sexy, icy publicist—his former girlfriend Georgia Worthington.
Saying goodbye to Leo was one of the hardest things Georgia ever had to do—and saying hello again isn’t much easier. Georgia is determined to keep their relationship strictly professional, but when a press conference microphone catches Leo declaring his feelings for her, things get really personal, really fast….
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.
I had mixed feelings about The Cruel Prince series. It was well-written and kept my interest, so I can’t say they are bad books. However, it was definitely not my cup of tea, for the following reasons:
– It’s what I believe is called bully romance. A significant portion of the trilogy involves the protagonist being emotionally and physically abused and publicly humiliated, either by the male lead or by his friends.
– The author really leans into the “faeries are grotesque and weird” trope. While this is certainly accurate to traditional folklore, the prince’s physical description grossed me out.
– This is also a world where fae/faeries have little morals, empathy, or remorse, and aren’t really capable of understanding or caring about human suffering. Although there is some character development on the prince’s side, I didn’t feel like it was enough to form the basis of a believable relationship. He doesn’t seem to have enough capacity for mature emotion to have an equal relationship with a human partner.
Overall, I think I’d only recommend this to someone who either likes bully romance, or else thinks that regular romance novels are too saccharine and wants something grimy and ambiguous that slightly deconstructs the conventions of fae romance.
I enjoyed the Mae Marvel but not quite as much as I’d hoped to. Something about the writing style made it hard for me to connect with the characters. The main characters are So. Very. Certain. about how the world works, but their understanding doesn’t always fit with my lived experience. I was mostly able to suspend disbelief but I kept getting pulled out of the story more often than I like, wondering if such and such thing would really happen.
I had a similar issue with the Annie Mare solo book I’ve read. The characters were so stylized that I just couldn’t relate to them.
Generally speaking, I will read anything that Sarina Bowen publishes, but I’m especially happy if it includes hockey. ROOKIE MOVE was a fun start to a fun series, although it’s been a good while since I re-read it.
I’ve read all of these. The Alix Harrow would be my pick, despite being fairly YA. The only one I didn’t like was the Mae Marvel. Which to be fair I didn’t read so much as try repeatedly but fail to read. Just reading the blurbs, honestly, it’s the only one that I would have guessed I’d like, especially since Ruthie Knox has written romances I adore. You never know! Favorite tropes and authors can disappoint, and ones that sound all kinds of nope can be surprisingly entertaining (looking at you Cruel Prince) or ones that seem schmeh whatever can be the start of a whole rabbit hole of mindless fun (that would be the Bowen).
$.50:
– Relentless by Katie Golding
$.99:
– Good Time Cowboy: An Anthology (Gold Valley Book 3) by Maisey Yates
– The Endgame (Atlanta Lightning Book 1) by Riley Hart
– A Heartfelt Christmas Promise: A Novel by Nancy Naigle
– Critical Doubt (Off the Grid: FBI Series Book 7) by Barbara Freethy
– Love Bites And So Do I (Eternity Falls Book 1) by Kinsley Adams
– The Ghost Slept Over by Marshall Thornton
– Dark Embrace: Historical Gothic Mystery Romance + Vampires (Dark Gothic) by Eve Silver
– Mistletoe Scandal: A Christmas Romance by Sylvia McDaniel
– Filthy Little Games: A Dark Mafia Romance (New York City Mafia Book 1) by Lane Hart
– The Boot Knockers Ranch Box Set Books 8-13 (The Boot Knockers Ranch Box Sets Book 2) by Em Petrova
– Deck the Hulls (Silver Shoals) by Kat Cassidy
– The Wishing Tree (Wishing Tree Vermont Book 1) Kindle Edition
by RJ Scott
– Ice & Sweet: An MM Christmas Romance by Charlie Novak
– The Rise of Virginie by Katey Hawthorne
– Freefall (Dragons of Ardaine Book 3) by Roe Horvat
– The Light Between Us by Rian Durant
– Camouflage Christmas by Jamie Lynn Miller
– Stanley’s Christmas Redemption (Love in Mission City 2) by Gabbi Grey
– Pickup Men by L.C. Chase
– Transparent Is a Color by Kaje Harper
– Mr. Frosty Pants: A Gay Christmas Romance (Mr. Christmas) by Leta Blake
– The King of Hearts: A Celebrity Romance (Project Lyonheart Book 1) by Jenny Redford
– Tangled Hearts: A Second Chance Celebrity Romance (Project Lyonheart Book 2) by Jenny Redford
– Deep in the Heart: A Fake Relationship Celebrity Romance (Project Lyonheart Book 3) by Jenny Redford
– Wolf at the Door (Salvation Series Book 1) by N.J. Walters
– Unexpected Gifts (A Small Town Christmas Romance): Sugarville Grove – Book 2 by Tess Thompson
– An Unconventional Christmas Love Story by Ellie Hall
– The Christmas Letters by Jenny Proctor
– The Accidental Christmas Matchup by Rachel John
– The Candy Cane Cottage by Jennifer Griffith
– Hibiscus Christmas by Kellie Coates Gilbert
– Finding Holly by BE Baker
– Cowboy’s Christmas Nanny by Clara Pines
– A Holly Jilly Christmas by Emma St. Clair
– A Pen Pal for Christmas (Christmas in Snow Hill 4) by Jess Mastorakos
– Jingle Bell Rock by Tamie Dearen
– The Clause in Christmas by Rachael Bloome
Some m/m holiday stories: https://books.bookfunnel.com/winterlove25/33g0kjq229
$1.99:
– The Afterlife of Holly Chase: Great for Holiday and Christmas Reading or Gifting by Cynthia Hand
– Agnes and the Hitman: A Novel by Jennifer Crusie, Bob Mayer
– The Love Fix: A Heartwarming Novel of Reconciliation, Forgiveness, and Unlikely Love in the Midst of Family Secrets and Life’s Unexpected Turns in Sunrise … Reading (The Sunrise Cove Series Book 8) by Jill Shalvis
– Tending Roses by Lisa Wingate
– Mercy (Buchanan / Renard / MacKenna Book 2) by Julie Garwood
– Sharp Edges by Jayne Ann Krentz
$2.49:
– Stepbrother Dearest by Penelope Ward
– Home Again by Caitlyn O’Leary, Binge Read Babes
– Home Town: spicy small town mystery romance by Cat Johnson
– Temptation on Ocean Drive (The Sunshine Sisters Book 2) by Jennifer Probst
– Sterling Brick (Sterling Falls Book 2) by L.B. Dunbar
$2.99:
– Dance of Thieves by Mary E. Pearson
– Swept Away by Beth O’Leary
– Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Free:
– How the Hitman Stole Christmas: A Grumpy-Sunshine Romance (Holiday With a Hitman Book 1) by Katie Reus
– Dear Mister Frost: A Sweet Small-Town Holiday Romance (Christmas Letters Book 1) by Shanna Hatfield
– A Small Town Christmas (Four Irish Brothers Winery Book 1) by Nan Reinhardt
– The Case of the Wayward Witch (A Katy Kramer Cozy Mystery No. 1) (Katy Kramer Cozy Mysteries) by A.A. Albright
– Once Upon A Time: Billionaires in Disguise: Flicka (Her Royal Bodyguard Book 1) by Blair Babylon
– Duet (Road Kings Book 1) by Julie Kriss — I think DiscoDollyDeb is a fan of Julie’s writing and this series
– Blade’s Edge (L.A.S.T. Defense Book 1) by Patricia D. Eddy
– Pride of the Clan (Caledonia Chronicles Book 1) by Anna Markland
– Down with Love (Laws of Attraction) by Kate Meader
– Careless (Ashford Creek) by Carrie Ann Ryan
By contrast, I have a purely positive reaction to The Cruel Prince/The Folk of the Air trilogy! I was on a quest for solid enemies-to-lovers books but was deeply disappointed by a lot of what I found– dudes who had loved her the whole time but were miserably immature; dudes who didn’t even realize they had antagonized the lady (Darcy!!!); absolute nonsense conflicts (The Luckiest Lady in London suffered for being read during the week Russia invaded Ukraine– my friends were getting bombed, and this 28 year old couldn’t figure out how to apologize????); and so on. What I want is that Beatrice-Benedick dynamic with hostility on both sides. The Internet made a lot of recommendations, and the clear winner was The Cruel Prince.
-I’ve never read any of the books that market themselves as bully romances, so I can’t compare. Is there bullying in this book? Yes. The titular prince and his friends are nasty to the heroine. Also, once the heroine figures out his weakness, she bullies the absolute crap out of him.
-In addition to the bullying, said prince is not appealing in the way that many romance heroes are. He is irresponsible and lazy. He’s a skinny dude who can’t fight. He drinks too much and has a tail. YMMV.
-Holly Black went with a more sociopathic fae society and really leaned hard into the ‘no lies’ thing, which means that the heroine, a human, is surrounded by a bunch of hot, uncanny lawyers that might kill her at almost all times.
Personally, I enjoyed the hell out of this trilogy. I hadn’t read anything in years that made me feel that much like a teenage girl kicking her feet over fictional events.
@The Other Kate: See, those things appeal to me lol
@One of the Ms. M’s: Love this description! May bump it up on my TBR. (Also I hope your friends are doing okay.)
@Amanda They’re still alive! (Of course, the best case scenario would be ‘they aren’t getting bombed anymore,’ but I’ll take what I can get.)
I should also add that this trilogy is Young Adult. I believe there is one sex scene in the third book, but even then, the writing is relatively opaque.