FREE/BARGAIN - Romance + Discussion - 2014

[ATDrake]

Originally Posted by Blue2u

Also, what blogs are SBTB and Smexy? I've seen them mentioned before but haven't really checked them out.

No idea on Smexy, but SBTB is Smart Bitches, Trashy Books, which I will add has some excellently entertaining reviews, especially in the D and F grade sections, and I say this as a no-romo.

Especially recommended: Carla Cassidy's Pregnesia (actually only around a C, but a hilarious write-up), and Toni Carrington's Private Sessions (warning for non-vanilla sexual content, but the reason why this one is NSFW is because you'll be sporfling during the reading).

[library addict]

Originally Posted by ATDrake

No idea on Smexy, but SBTB is Smart Bitches, Trashy Books, which I will add has some excellently entertaining reviews, especially in the D and F grade sections, and I say this as a no-romo.

Smexys is probably Smexy Books

The other half (usually) of the DBSA podcast is Jane from Dear Author. It's one of my favorite review sites because it's where I first learned about Calibre

[worktolive]

Originally Posted by Blue2u

Also, what blogs are SBTB and Smexy? I've seen them mentioned before but haven't really checked them out.

Smexy refers to Smexybooks. They review all types of romance, PNR, historical, romantic suspense, and occasional UF. They are one of my favorite romance blogs. Mandi, the blog owner, posts an utterly hilarious Top Ten list every Friday that is always good for a lift. I especially appreciate that they mainly focus on adult romances as opposed to YA or NA, and my tastes seem to align pretty closely with several of their reviewers.

[ATDrake]

Free from the author via KDP Select @ Amazon:

The Ghost and Katie Coyle by Anne Kelleher, who as it turns out is a pseudonym (or the other way around) for Anne Kelleher Bush (ISFDB), a Warner Aspect-published fantasy author. Anyway, this one is an f/m contemporary paranormal romance originally out from Jove in 1999.

A cry for help, echoing across the centuries, inspires a young teacher to rewrite history and rediscover a passion she only dreamed about…

Life is good for Katie Coyle. She’s delighted with her new position as a professor of Irish literature and history, and enchanted by the old cottage on the cliff overlooking a beach that she now calls home. But she can’t shake the feeling that something— or someone— else calls the cottage home, and that in the night, echoes of an anguished voice calling for help haunt the beach below.

When Katie first meets Derry O’Riordan, an Irishman claiming to study a set of standing stones in the middle of the woods, she takes his story at face value. But when her life is threatened and her job is jeopardized, Katie realizes that more is at stake than just the confirmation of a fascinating historical footnote. In the end, a man’s honor, the truth, and her own life hang in the balance.

Free from the authors @ Kobo (may be price-matched elsewhere):

Red Light Specialists by Michelle M. Pillow & Mandy M. Roth, an f/m sfnal paramilitary-ish action-adventure romance mini-collection of linked stories, originally out from Ellora's Cave in 2005.

Three sexy secret agents. Three even sexier missions…

Bianca, Sonja and Trinity were given a choice—become RLS-69 special agents or continue to serve out their prison sentences at the Restigatio Woman’s Correctional Facility. Trained to complete their mission by any means necessary, these women aren’t afraid to pull out all the stops. With their freedom on the line, they’ll do whatever it takes to get the job done. From combat to seduction, their targets won’t know what hit them until it’s too late. There’s only one problem…their handsome targets have a few secret weapons of their own.

Free from the authors via KDP Select @ Amazon: (linkage for the lot since there's some price-matching going on to their other stuff)

Quartz by Michelle M. Pillow, 2nd in her Galaxy Playmates series of f/m sci-fi erotic romance shorts.

Pleasure Cruise by Pillow & Roth, 1st in their eponymous series of mate-seeking travel honey trap paranormal erotic romances, also free @ Kobo.

[Blue2u]

Thanks you guys for all the info on the blogs.

Any idea when the Google sale ends?

[apesmom]

Originally Posted by worktolive

Smexy refers to Smexybooks. They review all types of romance, PNR, historical, romantic suspense, and occasional UF. They are one of my favorite romance blogs. Mandi, the blog owner, posts an utterly hilarious Top Ten list every Friday that is always good for a lift. I especially appreciate that they mainly focus on adult romances as opposed to YA or NA, and my tastes seem to align pretty closely with several of their reviewers.

I love the top 10 post! I watch for it every Friday.

[apesmom]

Originally Posted by Blue2u

Any idea when the Google sale ends?

There's no indication on the Google Play site as to how long it will run.

[BuyMore]

Originally Posted by apesmom

There's no indication on the Google Play site as to how long it will run.

But the sale is still on as of now? Because some of the books are no longer price-matched at Amazon, e.g. Nora Roberts's The Collector. I took too long to consider whether or not I want to get the book.

Shadow Spell and Blood Magick, however, are still on sale at $2.50 each. But the first book isn't on sale, so I'm not very tempted to get the books/series.

Jay Crownover's Nash is also no longer $0.50. I only checked a few books, but perhaps there are more that are no longer price-matched.

[apesmom]

Originally Posted by BuyMore

But the sale is still on as of now? Because some of the books are no longer price-matched at Amazon, e.g. Nora Roberts's The Collector. I took too long to consider whether or not I want to get the book.

Shadow Spell and Blood Magick, however, are still on sale at $2.50 each. But the first book isn't on sale, so I'm not very tempted to get the books/series.

Jay Crownover's Nash is also no longer $0.50. I only checked a few books, but perhaps there are more that are no longer price-matched.

Yup. All are still on sale.

Dark Witch (Book 1) was on sale for $2.99 for most of 2014. It inconveniently went back up in price in Nov. If you pick up the other 2 it might be worth it just to keep an eye on it to see if it drops again.

BTW, I've seen Amazon's price matching fluctuate in the past. They
match, it goes back up then drops again, sometimes multiple times. Keep your fingers crossed.

[ATDrake]

Originally Posted by BuyMore

But the sale is still on as of now? Because some of the books are no longer price-matched at Amazon, e.g. Nora Roberts's The Collector. I took too long to consider whether or not I want to get the book.

Sale is still on, but Amazon is no longer matching for some of the titles, including one of the ones I wanted to get (GRRM's ASOIAF companion A World of Ice and Fire, which is still $6.25 at Google Play US when I try looking with an IP proxy, but jumped back up to $19.99 US at Amazon this morning, aarghdammit*).

I hope a whole bunch of US people do enough "Report a Lower Price" that they start matching again.

* I literally slept on this one, since my narcolepsy collided with my insomnia last night right after my browser crashed and I thought, "Eh, Google says it's a 'cyberweekend' sale in the URL, Amazon will keep matching it, at least through tomorrow if they want to make any money and I can dig up a gift certificate to apply to my US auxiliary account in the morning". Oh, how wrong I was.

But I'm getting the actual paper book in both French and English, so I'm not too put out. And I'd rather have an ePub officially on sale to my Canadian account anyway. Still, if it goes back down, I'm jumping on it this time.

[Blue2u]

Originally Posted by apesmom

There's no indication on the Google Play site as to how long it will run.

Thanks apesmom.

Buymore, I was concerned about that as well which is why I was asking. Just grabbed the Christina Lauren book and it was still on sale.

[apesmom]

Blue, have you ready Coleen Hoover's Maybe Someday? I'm considering grabbing that one for $2. It has insanely good ratings.

[Blue2u]

Originally Posted by apesmom

Blue, have you ready Coleen Hoover's Maybe Someday? I'm considering grabbing that one for $2. It has insanely good ratings.

Yes, I loved it. I just glommed through all her books last month and give them all 4+. I definitely recommend anything by her.

[ScalyFreak]

Originally Posted by ATDrake

(Personally, I just wish they'd do a special 1-day newsletter announcement of a freebie and give people all day to get it like they used to, since maybe people don't want to or can't sit around on the internet all day refreshing their damn Twitter*.

We most definitely can't. That's why we have the twitter app on our phones and have it set to auto-refresh so we can track our favorites that way.

Thanks for the post and the Twitter link.

[ATDrake]

Originally Posted by ScalyFreak

We most definitely can't. That's why we have the twitter app on our phones and have it set to auto-refresh so we can track our favorites that way.

Hey, some of us happen to have phones which are insufficiently smart and no intention of shelling out $$$ to upgrade for features we never use.

Hope you manage to catch some of their freebies. <-- closest we have to a helpful helper app sort of smiley