Free and bargain romance ebooks + Discussion December 2013

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by library addict

I've been reading the JD Robb's since the series began and have reread the books a lot. I used to reread the whole series every time a new book released, but had to give that practice up once the series hit 15 books or so I always tell people to read the first 3 and if they aren't hooked then the series probably isn't for them. But I've known several people who didn't care for the first book who kept reading and still enjoy the series so that's why I say first three.

I couldn't even finish book 1. It's not my kind of thing.

[NixLapi]

Originally Posted by Blossom

So do you set reading goals for each year? What will be the first book you plan to read in 2014 and why?

I hope you're feeling better soon!

I didn't meet my goal in 2013 - darn real life! 146 of 200 - will probably add another 2.

I hope to hit a more realistic 150 read in 2014, but my real goal is that every other romance read is from my purchased pile (a deal is only a deal if I actually read the darn book!). I also have a goal of reading one general fiction a month and to find a new urban fantasy series while I impatiently wait the next Iron Druid book.

On the plus side I'm spending way less each week... only three to confess today!

[treadlightly]

Originally Posted by Blossom

So do you set reading goals for each year? What will be the first book you plan to read in 2014 and why?

My goal for 2014 is the same as last year - 150 books. Last year I focussed on SF&F, but this year I will choose evenly between SF&F, Mystery, Romance and Historical Fiction. Books that fit into more than one genre are even better!

I tried to select from among the best in Romance and plan to read the following series: In Death, Psy-Changeling, Vampire Academy, The Bronze Horseman, Inside Out Trilogy, Elite Ops, Highlander, Wilderness, Wallflowers and Hathaways.

Thank you all for the recommendations in this thread, the freebies and the coupon codes!

[booklover6]

My goal for 2014 is to catch up on series/authors that I like, and to try not to start too many new series/authors. For my goodreads challenge I had 250, and am up to 278. So maybe this year I will put 275.

[Keslynn]

Originally Posted by NixLapi

a deal is only a deal if I actually read the darn book!

So true! I need to tape this to my laptop screen! Lol

I don't think I'm going to set reading goals this year as far as numbers . I think I want to set reading habits instead. The main habit I want to cultivate is to spend more time working my way through my TBR pile instead of adding to it.

[copyrite]

Originally Posted by NixLapi

a deal is only a deal if I actually read the darn book

I've discovered I can actually "talk" myself out of purchasing Kindle daily deals by reading one star reviews.

[library addict]

Originally Posted by booklover6

I couldn't even finish book 1. It's not my kind of thing.

The series does deal with a lot of dark subject matter. For sure it is not for everyone.

I love it though because we get to follow Eve & Roarke through the ups and downs of their marriage. Plus there's a large cast of supporting characters I mostly really like.

[library addict]

I was very well behaved this week. The only books I added to library were the deleted scenes from Heart of Obsidian and the bonus epilogue to Declartation of Courtship from Nalini Singh's website and newsletter. No new purchases.

Read:

• Stowaway by Becky Barker (B/4 stars)
• Yours, Mine...or Ours? (Guys & Daughters #2) by Karen Templeton (B/4 stars)
• Trace Elements (Gower & Saxon #1) by Kate Donovan (B/4 stars)
• Drawing Closer by Jenny Schwartz (B/4 stars)
• Mistaken Engagement by Jenny Schwartz (C+/3 stars)
• Secret Santa by Rhiann Cahill (B-/3 stars)
• Finding Mr. Right by Jill Shalvis (C+/3 stars) [liked characters, plot was silly]
• Mine Under the Mistletoe by Kat Latham (B/4 stars)
• Season of Second Chances by Brighton Walsh (A-/5 stars)

I also reread a few books.

[Loosheesh]

Hi everyone, I hope you all had a great Christmas! Blossom and KyBunnies, I hope you guys are feeling better. And Tattncat, I hope your hubby and pet are recovering well. Christmas in my part of the world was not so merry. On Christmas Eve we had some bad weather (mostly lots of rain for a very extended period of time) and that caused some trouble. A couple of major bridges went down, separating parts of the island from each other, there was major flooding and we haven't had pipe-borne water since then (because our lone water utility company is reactive and useless but that's another story ). And 6 confirmed deaths. No, not merry at all.

Anyway, I've been reading to cheer myself up. I didn't buy anything, but I read 7 books:

The Lethal Effect by L J Sellers - 4.5 stars
The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley - 4.5 stars
But for Grace by Tracey Bateman - 2 stars
Our Wicked Mistake by Emma Wildes - 4 stars
The Frozen Deep by Wilkie Collins - 3 stars (IDK, I might change this rating later)
Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote - 5 stars
His Sinful Secret by Emma Wildes - 3.5 stars

The Rose Garden took me a while to complete because of the time-travel aspect (I'm pretty resistant to time-travel ). But it's quite good and I'm definitely up for more SK.

You know what would really cheer me up? A GoGo pillow! Blossom, I'm so jealous; now I want one

[silverraven]

Originally Posted by booklover6

I couldn't even finish book 1. It's not my kind of thing.

Years ago I tried listening to the first in the series. Couldn't get through it! I don't know what it was, but I thought for sure it would stay on my 'never ever going to read' list. But, I decided to give them a try reading then instead of listening. I admit it, I'm hooked! I just finished number 19 in the series!
S

[Loosheesh]

Speaking of goals, I have them; lots of them. Too many goals! My (previously unconscious) philosophy with reading goals has always been "go big or go home". Most times, of course, I "go big" and "go home" but that never stops me

I have super-crazy goals for 2014:

1. Read 12 books from my paid TBR that have been sitting on my shelves for more than a year. The books I've chosen for this challenge are all non-fiction.

2. There's a Russian literature challenge going around; I haven't signed up (yet?) but I want to try it. I think the book must either be set in Russia or written by a Russian author. I want to do Level 1 (1-3 books) and go with Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment, Nabokov's Lolita and The Complete Short Novels (there are four) of Anton Chekhov.

3. I've identified 21 series I want to complete (or bring up to current status) and that worked out to be 48 books.

4. Every year I try to read the whole Bible, which I did this year but I'm going in a different direction next year. Throughout the year I want to read John MacArthur's One Perfect Life, which is a harmony of all the whole Bible (both OT and NT) has to say about Jesus. And I also want to do this Bible Memory Plan, where you memorize one verse a week. I'm sure there'll be some modifications with this, because I might be familiar with some of the verses already, plus some years we do our own once-a-week memory verses at church. As long as I get 52 verses in.

5. I want to continue with my Georgette Heyer challenge.

6. And my Classics Club challenge! Read 75 classics by August 2018. Whew! But I love it so far

In terms of numbers, I have no set figure for how many books I want to read but I notice I have been regressing in that regard. In 2011, the first year I actually started tracking my reading, I read 283 books. In 2012 I read 238, and right now I'm at 207. Dramatic declines. I don't know the cause but I'm putting it down to much Internet time

In terms of spending, I want to continue to cut down on that (unless there's some uber-crazy code floating around ), and buy only what's either on my wishlist, a book to continue a series I'm currently reading, or any recommended book I think I'll read right away. I won't go with a dollar limit (that so did not work this year) or a number of books. I simply want to buy less books and spend less money.

Most of all, I just want to have another great reading year!

[Loosheesh]

Originally Posted by silverraven

Years ago I tried listening to the first in the series. Couldn't get through it! I don't know what it was, but I thought for sure it would stay on my 'never ever going to read' list. But, I decided to give them a try reading then instead of listening. I admit it, I'm hooked! I just finished number 19 in the series!
S

I first tried to go the audiobook route with the first book but I didn't like it either. I got the ebook from the library and I loved it. I definitely want to continue the series but, at this point, I have no idea when.

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by Keslynn

The main habit I want to cultivate is to spend more time working my way through my TBR pile instead of adding to it.

That is an excellent goal, and one I would like to do, also!

[Blue2u]

Originally Posted by Carmelreader

I added up my purchases for December and just couldn't believe it. So added up November, not quite as bad, but really, really not good! So glad I bought them first! Think I am going to have to go on a book diet for the New Year! Does anyone set a budget for themselves? Any ideas? My purchases were so out of hand, I haven't a clue what would be reasonable. Not sure how I could be so oblivious, but I sure have been. Oh my goodness, I just realized that when I added it all up, I hadn't added in the audio books too. Oh dear. Out of control.

Oh, I SO understand where you're coming from! This is why I opt in on the 'Sunday confessions'. It makes me keep track of how much I spend and how much I buy. Since I started keeping track of that, I TRY to keep spending to $15-$20 a week [which is approximately what a hardcover book costs and I guess that an average reader would read 1 book per week]. That's my 'formula'.

Originally posted by booklover6:
My goal for 2014 is to catch up on series/authors that I like, and to try not to start too many new series/authors.

Yes, ME TOO! Part of my problem is that nowadays so many new books I buy are just the beginning of a series. I need to pay more attention!

Originally posted by NixLapi:
a deal is only a deal if I actually read the darn book!

Truer words have never been spoken, and I need to remind myself of this way more often!


Loosheeh, first off, thank goodness you're alright, but it sure sounds like a mess for your city, good thoughts to you.
Like you said about your reading goals, I did something similar with my TBR pile and made a list of series I want to finish, authors that I want to read, and new series/authors that I want to try. With the fall Kobopalooza fest we had my library got out of control, but I'm trying!


Blossom, you read my mind as usual, I too had wanted to ask people what their reading goals were for the New Year. This is the list I started and want to try to stick [unless something comes up free or close to it as Loosheesh said, then all bets are off!]

1] Stop buying whole series from new author unless I’ve read the 1st one
2] Finish more series than I start
3] Be even more choosy on starting new series/authors, I have enough authors that are autobuys
4] Stop falling for nice covers!
5] And most importantly, spend more timing reading books than I do about books!


Now, don't fall over, but I actually only bought 4 books this week and only spent $6! I haven't spent that little or bought that few in ages.

Book Purchases this week: 4 books $6
In the Firelight – Sibylla Matilde
Uncockblockable – Shay Savage
Losing Control & Out of Darkness – Laramie Briscoe


Books Read this week and my rating:
Addicted for Now [book 2 Addicted series] – Krista & Becca Ritchie = 5 [I can’t recommend this series highly enough!]
With You – Nashoda Rose = 3
The Grace in Darkness – Melissa Andrea = 3
Tattered Love – Lola Stark = 3
First Ink – Laura Wright = 3
Shattered Ink – Laura Wright= 3

[KyBunnies]

Against the Ropes by Sarah Castille

Free at Amazon
Print Length: 368 pages
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
4.3 (146 reviews)

He scared me. He thrilled me. And after one touch, all I could think about was getting more...

Makayla never thought she'd set foot in an elite mixed martial arts club. But if anyone needs a medic on hand, it's these guys. Then again, at her first sight of the club's owner, she's the one feeling breathless.

The man they call Torment is all sleek muscle and restrained power. Whether it's in the ring or in the bedroom, he knows exactly when a soft touch is required and when to launch a full-on assault. He always knows just how far he can push. And he's about to tempt Makayla in ways she never imagined...