FREE/BARGAIN — Romance & Discussion

[Terisa de morgan]

Weekly report:

• Purchased
  
• Read
  

As you can see, I've been in a bit of Christine Warren's frenzy Gargoyles had been in my TBR for a long time, but they appealed to me at this moment, I don't know why.

[ferrywoman]

Both $1.99.

It Happened One Wedding by Julie James:

• Amazon
• iBooks

Spoiler:

SHE KNOWS BETTER THAN TO SAY “I DO”
After a humiliating end to her engagement, investment banker Sidney Sinclair is done with commitment-phobic men. But when her sister winds up engaged after a whirlwind courtship, she’s thrown in to close contact with exactly the kind of sexy playboy she wants to avoid—the gorgeous best man. She’s stuck with him, for better or worse, until her sister walks down the aisle, but that doesn’t mean she has to give in to his smooth advances, no matter how tempting they are…

BUT HE MAKES IT HARD TO SAY “I DON’T”
Special Agent Vaughn Roberts always gets his man on the job and his woman in bed. So Sidney’s refusal to fall for his charms only makes him more determined to win over the cool and confident redhead. Only what starts out as a battle of wills ends up as a serious play for her heart. Because the one woman who refuses to be caught may be the only one Vaughn can’t live without…

Burn Down the Night by M. O'Keefe (Molly O'Keefe):

• Amazon
• iBooks

Spoiler:

The only thing that matters to me is rescuing my sister from the drug-cooking cult that once enslaved us both. I’ve run cons my whole life, and I’ll use my body to get whatever I need. Max Daniels is the last connection I have to that world, the one person reckless enough to get involved. Besides, now that his brothers have turned on him, he needs me too.

The deal was supposed to be simple: a place to hide in exchange for rescuing my sister. Now he’s my prisoner. Totally at my mercy. But I’m the one captivated. Enthralled. Doing everything he asks of me until I’m not sure who’s in control.

We both crave the heat. The more it hurts, the better. But what if Max wants a different life now, to leave the game . . . to love me? I thought I knew better than to get burned. Now I’m in too deep to pull away. And the crazy thing is . . . I don’t want to.

[library addict]

Weekly Report:

Read:

• The Baby Came COD (Two Halves of a Whole #1) by Marie Ferrarella (C+/3 stars)
• Desperately Seeking Twin... (Two Halves of a Whole #2) by Marie Ferrarella (B+/4 stars)
• Breath of Fire (The Kingmaker Chronicles #2) by Amanda Bouchet (B-/3 stars)
• Born to Fly (Prescott Pilots #1) by Becky Barker (C-/2 stars)
• Caitlin’s Guardian Angel (Those Sinclairs! #4) by Marie Ferrarella (B-/3 stars)
• Charade (originally published as Perfect Double) by Cindy Gerard (D/1 star)

Purchased:

[FizzyWater]

Originally Posted by Terisa de morgan

Weekly report:

As you can see, I've been in a bit of Christine Warren's frenzy Gargoyles had been in my TBR for a long time, but they appealed to me at this moment, I don't know why.

They're all in my TBR pile, too. Someday....

[Blossom]

Checking in

I read Goddess of the Hunt by Tessa Dare and Potent Pleasure by Eloisa James.

I'm reading Surrender of a Siren by Tessa Dare. Not as good as the first one. I had to take a break from it so I'm reading Turbo Twenty-Three by Janet Evanovich. They have a much better Ghostwriter than the last book. I'd say two of them in this book. The first one had very strong grasp of grammar and a different sentence structure then typical Plum books. The second has a more relaxed style but keeps making Lula say "Say What?" It's getting really annoying.

I bought Perfect by Judith McNaught and Rainbow Season by Candace Camp.

Sent from my XT1528

[AnemicOak]

Just finished Dragon Spawn by Eileen Wilks (maybe more UF than PR) and was pretty disappointed in it. Then went on an finally read A Promise of Fire by Amanda Bouchet which was great, now on to the sequel.

[library addict]

This is a repeat, but Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh (Psy/Changeling #1) is on sale for $1.99 again.

Spoiler:

THE FIRST PSY/CHANGELING NOVEL from the New York Times bestselling author of Shards of Hope, Shield of Winter, and Heart of Obsidian...The book that Christine Feehan called "a must-read for all of my fans."

In a world that denies emotions, where the ruling Psy punish any sign of desire, Sascha Duncan must conceal the feelings that brand her as flawed. To reveal them would be to sentence herself to the horror of "rehabilitation"--the complete psychic erasure of everything she ever was...

Both human and animal, Lucas Hunter is a Changeling hungry for the very sensations the Psy disdain. After centuries of uneasy coexistence, these two races are now on the verge of war over the brutal murders of several Changeling women. Lucas is determined to find the Psy killer who butchered his packmate, and Sascha is his ticket into their closely guarded society. But he soon discovers that this ice-cold Psy is very capable of passion--and that the animal in him is fascinated by her. Caught between their conflicting worlds, Lucas and Sascha must remain bound to their identities--or sacrifice everything for a taste of darkest temptation...

Kobo

Google Play

Amazon

Still showing as $7.99 direct from Penguin Random House

I love this series and the couple in this first book is one of my favorites.

[Blossom]

I finished Turbo Twenty-Three. It looks like after the last book disaster ghostwriter JE has hired a team of writers this time. There was so many different writing styles. Some meshed okay but others stood plainly out and you could tell when it was switched around like a robin story. One thing editors missed Steph is driving a 10 year old Jeep Cherokee and in later chapters it's suddenly a Ford Explorer. Oops!

I gave it four stars but it would have been five because the mystery was really well done for a change but it ends so abruptly and felll flat after being really well done for 98% of the book. Very odd.

One thing that turned me off was it had a ton of profanity. I mean Plum books always have some here and there but we are talking potty mouth, foul swearing even Steph cussed more than usual. I hope this is not a new thing. It takes away from the funny charm that the series has.

Ranger was hot as ever. *fans self*

I listened to the Audible which was outstanding. Ms King has learned some new voices which made it more fun. I'm such a fan! lol

Sent from my XT1528

[silverraven]

Originally Posted by Blossom

I finished Turbo Twenty-Three. It looks like after the last book disaster ghostwriter JE has hired a team of writers this time. There was so many different writing styles. Some meshed okay but others stood plainly out and you could tell when it was switched around like a robin story. One thing editors missed Steph is driving a 10 year old Jeep Cherokee and in later chapters it's suddenly a Ford Explorer. Oops!

I gave it four stars but it would have been five because the mystery was really well done for a change but it ends so abruptly and felll flat after being really well done for 98% of the book. Very odd.

One thing that turned me off was it had a ton of profanity. I mean Plum books always have some here and there but we are talking potty mouth, foul swearing even Steph cussed more than usual. I hope this is not a new thing. It takes away from the funny charm that the series has.

Ranger was hot as ever. *fans self*

I listened to the Audible which was outstanding. Ms King has learned some new voices which made it more fun. I'm such a fan! lol

Sent from my XT1528

Just out of curiosity, at what number in her series do you think she started using a ghost writer? I'd have to check what number I stopped reading, and I wonder if it is the same place a ghost writer started.
S

[copyrite]

I can't remember where I stopped reading the series... somewhere in the teens. It was before I kept track of what I was reading AND before I went completely digital in my reading. I can remember going on a binge at the beach where/when I found a ton of pbacks in a second hand shop.

[tempest@de]

I’m listening to the audiobook for the 16th book in the series, and I’m enjoying it, I think the performer is great, love all the different voices and it is easy to identify each character trough the different voices. I lost the count of the audiobooks that I started but gave up because the narrator didn’t work for me.

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by silverraven

Just out of curiosity, at what number in her series do you think she started using a ghost writer? I'd have to check what number I stopped reading, and I wonder if it is the same place a ghost writer started.
S

This is all rumored of course. JE handed the series to her daughter so she did most of the early teens. I'd say 14 or 15 and on. Her daughter got tired of it and her son took ill so they hired ghostwriters. The late teens I'd say 17 or 18 were the start but now it's so obvious it's a team of writers on 23 to which actually worked for me. The Mystery kept me guessing which doesn't happen much. Usually it's all figured out but who ever did the last pages felt rushed.

I accepted a long time ago there would never be any real story advancement but I still enjoy them when they are done right. 22 was horrible, 23 was pretty good except for the ending.

Sent from my XT1528

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by tempest@de

I’m listening to the audiobook for the 16th book in the series, and I’m enjoying it, I think the performer is great, love all the different voices and it is easy to identify each character trough the different voices. I lost the count of the audiobooks that I started but gave up because the narrator didn’t work for me.

Lorelei King is the best! She's my favorite narrator and just when you think she can't get better...She goes learns more voices. It was a wonderful surprise.

Sent from my XT1528

[silverraven]

Originally Posted by Blossom

This is all rumored of course. JE handed the series to her daughter so she did most of the early teens. I'd say 14 or 15 and on. Her daughter got tired of it and her son took ill so they hired ghostwriters. The late teens I'd say 17 or 18 were the start but now it's so obvious it's a team of writers on 23 to which actually worked for me. The Mystery kept me guessing which doesn't happen much. Usually it's all figured out but who ever did the last pages felt rushed.

I accepted a long time ago there would never be any real story advancement but I still enjoy them when they are done right. 22 was horrible, 23 was pretty good except for the ending.

Sent from my XT1528

I just checked, the last book I read was 15. Its been a while, so I can't remember the exact reason I quit on them but I *think* they lost some of their humor. Almost like it was too forced?
Like I said, it's been quite a while. Shame she passed it off to others, it used to be so darn funny. Just truly laugh out loud funny. I would drive my hubby nuts giggling while reading in bed while he was trying to sleep.
Thanks for the info!
S

[FizzyWater]

Originally Posted by silverraven

I just checked, the last book I read was 15. Its been a while, so I can't remember the exact reason I quit on them but I *think* they lost some of their humor. Almost like it was too forced?
Like I said, it's been quite a while. Shame she passed it off to others, it used to be so darn funny. Just truly laugh out loud funny. I would drive my hubby nuts giggling while reading in bed while he was trying to sleep.
Thanks for the info!
S

I stopped reading around this time as well. I had two main reasons - and these are my opinions (not meaning to get into any Team Joe or Team Ranger arguments ):

1. I felt that - regardless of what she said to her readers - Evanovich had paired Stephanie with Joe. Flirtation with Ranger was one thing, but in the book where she goes to work with him and sleeps with him, it was too much like cheating for me.
2. In the same book, when Stephanie worked for Ranger, I felt it was real personality growth for Stephanie. She wasn't just a bumbling clown - she found a niche she was good at. So when the next book put her back in the same ole job of hunting down bond jumpers, with all the same keystone cop slapstick, I decided I was done.