Free and bargain romances in August 2013

[booklover6]

Ugh, speaking of serials and cliff hangers.....I had pre-ordered Disenchanted & Co., Part 1: Her Ladyship's Curse by Lynn Viehl. I read it, and finished it today, and it was half a book. Yes, from what I have determined, half a book. For 2.99. The second half (Part 2) is, I hope, the final part, also $2.99, to be released in October, and then the print book next year. How bizarre. I didn't know all that when I preordered them. So, it was good, but I am not happy that it stopped with no conclusion. I might cancel the preorder for part 2.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by Grace Elliot

PS Does anyone know why some Amazon special offers are available in the US but not the UK? I thought the prices were set centrally.

It goes both ways, there are often UK only deals not in the US too. It all depends on the publisher and the authors contract with same. Very seldom are English language rights sold worldwide which is why you'll see different price and often different publishers for the same title depending on where in the world you're shopping from. In the case of self-published backlist titles sometimes a publisher in a certain area still has the rights while in other areas they've expired so the author can self-pub in those regions.

[koland]

new freebies from Wild Rose Press:

http://www.amazon.com/s/?url=search-...e%22&price=0-0

[Blue2u]

A few deals today...
$.99 Spark by Brooke Cumberland - this has overall 4+ at Goodreads but mixed reviews, it's been on my wishlist for awhile, features a firefighter for something different
blurb: **Spark is for mature audiences only—strong language, explicit sexual content, and sexual abuse are apparent.**

When your past controls your future, how do you move forward?
Velaney Wills knows about that all too well.
Weak, powerless, and fearing the one person who has hurt her the most…can she overcome the barriers to move forward?
Being saved by a muscled Godsend was never on her agenda, but when firefighter, Eric Reilley comes into her life unexpectedly, everything changes.

Velaney has never felt loved or cared for, and her past prevents her from letting anyone in. Eric manages to break down her walls – despite the repercussions that come for them afterwards.

They have an undeniable spark – something she has never felt before, but will it be enough? Can love overcome all obstacles? Can they save each other to protect their love or will her past shatter everything she never knew she needed…?


$.99 Watch Over Me by Tara Sivec
blurb: Due to heavy subject matter, this book is recommended for ages 17+.

From the USA Today Best Selling Author of A Beautiful Lie.

Addison Snow is your typical teenager. She has a family that loves her, friends that make her laugh, and she's wrapped up in the excitement of graduating high school and going off to college to pursue her dream of becoming an author. When her mother, who also happens to be Addison's best friend, dies unexpectedly, her world comes to a crashing halt.
Death changes everyone...



$1.99-rocker! In a Heartbeat - Hilary Storm
blurb: Eaven Bennett is a college student with a passion for photography. She has high hopes of completing college and starting a new life as she moves away from her hometown with her best friend, Ivy Adams. Her last boyfriend ruined any chance of her trusting ever again.

Talon Walker is the dark and intriguing drummer for the up and coming band ‘Rebel Walking’. A tragedy in his past has left him empty with no desire for a relationship. That is until he meets Eaven.

One minute your heart is filled with love, the next your entire life comes crashing down. Everything can change in a heartbeat. Can Eaven and Talon overcome the obstacles in their way and find love?


Samantha Young Into the Deep: watch price/georestrictions on this one, I got it at Kobo [2 versions, 1 is cheaper] and used coupon, supposed to be reduced to $2.99 Into the Deep - Samantha Young
From New York Times bestselling author of On Dublin Street and Down London Road…
Live young. Live hard. Love deep.

Charley Redford was just an ordinary girl until Jake Caplin moved to her small town in Indiana and convinced her she was extraordinary. Almost from day one Jake pulled Charley into the deep and promised he was right there with her. But when a tragic incident darkened Jake’s life he waded out into the shallows and left Charley behind.

Almost four years later Charley thinks she’s moved on. That is until she takes a study year abroad in Edinburgh and bumps into none other than Jake Caplin at a party with his new girlfriend. The bad-boy-turned-good attempts to convince Charley to forgive him, and as her best friend starts spending time with Jake’s, Charley calls a truce, only to find herself tumbling back into a friendship with him.

As they grow closer, the spark between them flares and begins playing havoc with their lives and relationships. When jealousy and longing rear their destructive heads, Charley and Jake struggle to come to grips with what they mean to one another.
And even if they work it out, there is no guarantee Charley will ever trust Jake to lead her back into the deep…

New Adult Romance
Recommended Reading Age 18+

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by koland

LOL! Probably true.

Anyway, I keep the MYK page open (with all books loaded). When I want to look something up, I open a second one (to trigger a log-in, if required), then swap to the open tab with all the books listed (and close the newly opened tab - it isn't needed after you log in). that way, I only have to wait for it to load now and then (or after a browser crash). Use Hibernate instead of shutdown and you don't have to load it every day, even.

I clear my cache too often for that method but I only need my MYK page when I am updating my books. I do use sleep instead of shutdown. The only time I shutdown is during storms or or when I need to clean the inside of my computer.

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by Grace Elliot

I read historical romance for the escapism and find it totally jarring if the characters don't act according to the time period. It pulls me out of the story. I hadn't heard the expression 'contemporaries in long dresses' but it's very apt - perhaps you should copyright it!

It's not mine so I can't. I got it from a comment on a blog about historical romance industry issues. I thought it fit the problem perfectly and have been using it since then. I don't think Wallpaper Historicals works as well. When I think of that term I think of a romance that isn't history intense but these new ones out just break the rules too much to be even consider a historical.

[Blossom]

Free @ Amazon


Sight Unseen by Kathy Clark
Harlequin American Romance (1990)

Under the Kissing Bough by Shannon Donnelly
Zebra Regency Romance (2001)

[tilia]

Club Shadowlands by Cherise Sinclair is free. The first book of Masters of the Shadowlands. I don't love every book in this series, but I like this one. It's set in a BDSM club, but it's still fairly light BDSM.

Amazon Kobo

[ScalyFreak]

I'm going to post a plug for this one, because it's really sweet and brightened my day.

It's from Samhain, so DRM free and multi-format, and the price goes down to $2.68 if you apply coupon code SCHOOLDAYS during check-out for an additional 30% off. (Code expires Aug 31, midnight, Eastern Time.)

Oh, and it's a gay contemporary romance, so not for anyone who doesn't want to read about sexy men who fall in love with each other.

From the Ashes

When an accident burns down Jesse’s apartment, he’s left broke and homeless, with a giant dog and a college schedule he can’t afford to maintain. And no family who’s willing to take him in.

Lucky for him, a sexy fireman offers him a place to stay. The drawback? The fireman’s big Latino family lives next door, and they don’t know their son is gay.

Tomas’s parents made their way in America with hard work and by accepting help when it was offered, so he won’t let Jesse drop out of school just so he can afford a place to live. Besides, Jesse’s the perfect roommate—funny, sweet and breathtakingly cute. He climbs into Tomas’s bed and tugs at his heart. Until Jesse starts pushing for more.

Their passion enflames their bodies but threatens to crush Tomas’s family. Tomas is willing to fight for Jesse, but after losing everything, Jesse isn’t sure he can bear to risk his one remaining possession—his heart.

Product Warnings
Contains an angry older brother, judgmental best friends, a slobbering bull mastiff, and enough red-hot gay loving to make a porn star blush.

[worktolive]

Originally Posted by ScalyFreak

I'm going to post a plug for this one, because it's really sweet and brightened my day.

It's from Samhain, so DRM free and multi-format, and the price goes down to $2.68 if you apply coupon code SCHOOLDAYS during check-out for an additional 30% off. (Code expires Aug 31, midnight, Eastern Time.)

Oh, and it's a gay contemporary romance, so not for anyone who doesn't want to read about sexy men who fall in love with each other.

From the Ashes

For those of you that don't know how Samhain's discounts work, note that to get that price, you have to buy it this week. It's currently 30% off because this is its release week, then the coupon is an additional 30% bringing it down to $2.68. Beginning next week though, the release week 30% off is no longer valid although the "schooldays" 30% off coupon will still work through the end of August.

In addition to this book, Vivian Arend's newest Takhini Wolves book, Diamond Dust, is also on double special this week and next week in the Samhain bookstore.

[ScalyFreak]

Originally Posted by worktolive

For those of you that don't know how Samhain's discounts work, note that to get that price, you have to buy it this week. It's currently 30% off because this is its release week, then the coupon is an additional 30% bringing it down to $2.68. Beginning next week though, the release week 30% off is no longer valid although the "schooldays" 30% off coupon will still work through the end of August.

Ah yes, thanks for adding that reminder. I keep forgetting the release discount is only for a week. Karma to you for that one.

[Blue2u]

ETA: both of these also seem to be at Kobo, double check prices!
$.99 Control by M.S. Willis
***Content Warning - This is a new adult fiction with mature themes. It contains graphic sexual situations, mature language and explicit description of sexual violence.***

Book One of a three book series.

Paige Stone lived anything but a normal childhood. Having been raised around an abused women's shelter operated by her parents, Paige was a constant witness to the tragedy and heartache suffered by women at the hands of the men they trusted. Out of refusal to ever allow that to happen to her,... Paige built walls around her heart at a young age. Those walls were only fortified when tragedy struck on her sixth birthday and took from her the only friend and love she knew. Now at 22 years old, and working as a private investigator, Paige is driven by a deep need for strength, independence and a stubborn refusal to accept help from another person. Surrounding herself with her three best friends, Paige never assumed that the autonomy she had worked so hard to build could be challenged.

That was, until Paige met Daemon Pierce.

Mysterious, strong-willed, and breathtakingly beautiful, Daemon seemed to instantly know Paige better than she knew herself. Paige is disgusted by Daemon's reputation as a womanizer, but becomes intrigued when she is unable to discover his background. Paige's curiosity about Daemon proves to be her downfall as she is swept up in his charming and arrogant pursuit to possess her in every possible way.

For the first time in her life, Paige will struggle for control while Daemon slowly dismantles the walls she has built around herself. Only time will tell who will be victorious in their battle of wills as Daemon teaches Paige the weaknesses within herself that she never knew existed. Paige stays one step ahead in her struggle against Daemon's controlling ways, but when tragedy strikes her life a second time, she has to choose; will she put her life in danger, or will she finally accept a helping hand?

$.99 Tall, Tatted and Tempting by Tammy Falkner
***This New Adult book is intended for audiences over the age of 18 due to adult language, sexual content and adult situations***

Kit

Logan wants to know my name, but I can't tell him. I can't tell him anything. There are too many people looking for me. He's pretty persuasive, though, and he convinces me to go home with him so he can keep me safe from this harsh city where I find myself. It's not my home. It's his. He belongs. I don't.

Logan lives with four brothers in the inner city. Yet I've never felt more safe than I do when I'm with him. I want him. But he won't let me have a darn thing, aside from his friendship, unless I'm willing to tell him my secrets. But they're mine, and I can't share them. Not unless I want them to come and get me.

Logan

She catches my eye because she's so beautiful she takes my breath. But that's not all that I love about her. I love the way she smells. The way she smiles. The way she plays the guitar is unlike anything I have ever seen. She sleeps in my bed every night, and drives me crazy with her touch. But I can't take what she offers because I need all of her. I need for her to tell me her secrets. I need for her to trust me.

[koland]

Five freebies from Gossamer (very small press; royalty paying, no author charges):

http://www.amazon.com/s/?url=search-...amer&price=0-0

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by koland

Five freebies from Gossamer (very small press; royalty paying, no author charges):

http://www.amazon.com/s/?url=search-...amer&price=0-0

Had most of them.



I didn't see any goodies today but I can barely keep my eyes open so may have missed something. I'm off to bed as I've had no sleep but heading there now before I fall asleep at my desk. It's been known to happen.

[worktolive]

Originally Posted by ScalyFreak

Ah yes, thanks for adding that reminder. I keep forgetting the release discount is only for a week. Karma to you for that one.

I've found that Samhain puts them on sale for 30% off 3-4 weeks prior to their release week. If Samhain then issues a coupon any time in that pre-order period, you can buy the book for the double discount price. What I do is troll the "coming soon" section in their bookstore and add any books I want to my Samhain wishlist. Then I wait to see which books they are going to put on the monthly discount, or if they are going to issue any special holiday discounts (typically they do a July 4th one, a Christmas one, a Valentines Day one, etc). That way I get the maximum possible discount.

I just have to remember to buy before release week is up if no additional discounts are offered during that time period. I have quite a few Samhain authors that are auto buys, so for me, it is worth it to keep up with this.