FREE/BARGAIN — Romance & Discussion

[Jane A]

Originally Posted by tempest@de

For the audiobooks lovers out there I need an audiobook recommendation.
I finished the Stephanie plum series and I’m looking for something to listen while walking to work, I sampled several from scribd and discarded them, I loved the work that Lorelai King did in the Plum series, so I’m looking for the performer to be as good as she is.

I like romantic, military or action suspense, or just suspense, can you recommend an audiobook that you loved or a performer that you think is great.

Thanks’ in advance,

Have you tried the Mercy Thompson series, read by Lorelai King? It is fabulous and LK rocks as the narrator. I just finished her latest book, Silence Fallen, and loved it. It's Urban Fantasy, though, not one of the subgenres you list.

[tempest@de]

I'm not much into fantasy, but I'll look for some info about the books, thank's!

[worktolive]

I just finished Unmasking Miss Appleby by Emily Larkin. It's historical PNR that is currently free and I really enjoyed it.

Spoiler:

She’s not who she seems…

On her 25th birthday, Charlotte Appleby receives a most unusual gift from the Faerie godmother she never knew she had: the ability to change shape.

Penniless and orphaned, she sets off for London to make her fortune as a man. But a position as secretary to Lord Cosgrove proves unexpectedly challenging. Someone is trying to destroy Cosgrove and his life is increasingly in jeopardy.

As Charlotte plunges into London’s backstreets and brothels at Cosgrove’s side, hunting his persecutor, she finds herself fighting for her life—and falling in love…

The Pirate's Tempting Stowaway by Erica Ridley is also free. This one features a 39 YO heroine and a 40+ YO hero.

Spoiler:

Captain Blackheart leads a simple life of roving the seas, wenching and treasure-hunting. He steers clear of romantic entanglements that could tie him to land. He shouldn't have any trouble keeping his hands off the gently-bred lady he's commissioned to abduct — except his cargo turns out to be feisty and passionate! She'd be a prize worth treasuring, if having her aboard didn't jeopardize everything...

Clara Halton thought the worst loss she could suffer was to be stripped of her family, stricken with consumption, and left to die alone. Then she meets Blackheart. Their attraction is ruinous...and irresistible. When he delivers her like so much plunder, his mission is over — but hers has just begun. She'll force him to acknowledge their connection, even if she must storm his ship to do it!

Regency-set Historical Romance Novel (40,000 words / 200 pages)

[AnemicOak]

Use code MAD40 to save 40% off your next order from Mills & Boon. Offer ends at midnight in the UK Sunday March 19th.

[maddz]

Originally Posted by Jane A

Have you tried the Mercy Thompson series, read by Lorelai King? It is fabulous and LK rocks as the narrator. I just finished her latest book, Silence Fallen, and loved it. It's Urban Fantasy, though, not one of the subgenres you list.

I'd say the series starts as Urban Fantasy, but starts edging into Paranormal Romance territory.

[worktolive]

Free book. I read this and enjoyed it. It's written entirely from the guy's POV but the guy doesn't come off like an alpha-hole. The hero is actually a really nice guy. He's just never been in love before so he likes to play the field (until he meets and falls for the heroine). I have read the previous book in the series, but I don't think you need to in order to enjoy this one.

Confessions of a Reformed Tom Cat by Daisy Prescott

Spoiler:

A Romantic Comedy Bestseller!
Standalone novel. No cliffhanger.

I, Thomas Clifford Donnely, am a manwhore.

You can call me Tom Cat. I've been told I'm irresistible to women. Like catnip for a different kind of pussy-cat.
This is the story about how I lost my wingman, broke all my own rules, and found myself falling in love.

Tom Donnely isn't the marrying kind, or the dating kind. Even after losing his #1 wingman to love, he doesn't see the point in relationships. When his sister's best friend returns to Whidbey Island and propositions Donnely for a one-night stand, he breaks one of his biggest rules--no fooling around with his sisters' friends. It's just sex, nothing more. That's what Tom does and does well.

What happens when "just sex" isn't enough?

Hailey King is more than a match for Tom's flirtations. She's known him most of her life and has heard the rumors about his "skills" for years. When her perfectly planned future falls apart, will the last man she should ever fall for turn out to be more than a one-night stand?

Confessions of a Reformed Tom Cat is Book Two in the Wingmen series. It can be read as a standalone romantic comedy/contemporary romance. It features languages and situations suited for adult readers.

[Jane A]

Originally Posted by maddz

I'd say the series starts as Urban Fantasy, but starts edging into Paranormal Romance territory.

Probably. The lines blur for me when defining those genres!

[FizzyWater]

Originally Posted by Jane A

Probably. The lines blur for me when defining those genres!

As someone who reads romance, paranormal romance, and character-driven urban fantasy, I wouldn't call the Mercy Thompson series paranormal romance, although I might agree that her spin-off series featuring Anna & Charles is.

In a romance novel, the romance is the focus. There may be subplots, but they assist in the goal of the couple's coming together.

The Mercy Thompson series is character-driven, and the main character is a female. So is the author. So Mercy's relationships are included as part of her life and growth. I don't think this series is action driven, although some of the books in it do have a lot of action. It's focus is Mercy, not the magic.

I would agree that - at least for a while - it seemed like every urban fantasy series written by a woman had some kind of love triangle in it. And this started out that way.

But I see this series as Mercy's journey on learning who she is as she interacts with the "natural" and the "supernatural" people around her. In this case, Mercy's journey includes her deciding to get married. And one or two of the books focuses on that part of her journey more closely (the honeymoon book, for example).

I'm probably not saying this well. I think Briggs does a good job of including the romantic aspects of Mercy's life without making them the focus. There's a science fiction author I like (Linnea Sinclair) who has both male and female followers. Those who read her for the SF sometimes say her books have too much romance (especially the later ones, which were specifically marketed as science-fiction romance). Romance readers who read for the relationships sometimes feel there's not enough focus on the couple. I always felt her books were half-romance and half space-opera.

And I don't think the Mercy Thompson books are even "half-romance" most of the time. Briggs' Anna & Charles (Alpha & Omega series) is different. It was born from someone asking her to write a romance novella for an anthology. So her focus in that series was always as much on Anna & Charles (if not more) as on the supernatural storyline, especially in the novella and first 2 books.

[ScalyFreak]

Originally Posted by worktolive

Free book. I read this and enjoyed it. It's written entirely from the guy's POV but the guy doesn't come off like an alpha-hole. The hero is actually a really nice guy. He's just never been in love before so he likes to play the field (until he meets and falls for the heroine). I have read the previous book in the series, but I don't think you need to in order to enjoy this one.

Confessions of a Reformed Tom Cat by Daisy Prescott

Kobo link

[cfrizz]

Great post about Patricia Briggs Mercy Thompson/Alpha Omega Series books. I totally agree with your assessment of them.

[library addict]

Weekly Report:

Read:

• A Taste for Kandy (Frosty’s Snowmen #3) by Rhian Cahill (B/4 stars)
• All is Bright (World of the Helios #1) by Addison Fox (B+/4 stars)
• Heat of a Helios (World of the Helios #2) by Karen Whiddon (D-/1 star)

Also up to Branded by Fire in my complete Psy/Changeling series reread (chronological order).



Purchased:

[Jane A]

Originally Posted by FizzyWater

As someone who reads romance, paranormal romance, and character-driven urban fantasy, I wouldn't call the Mercy Thompson series paranormal romance, although I might agree that her spin-off series featuring Anna & Charles is....

Great analysis. For me, it's a perfect blend, though I also enjoy the Anna and Charles series. She is a great writer who does both well.

[copyrite]

There's a free version of Outlander (Diana Gabaldon) at Audible

http://www.audible.com/pd/Romance/Ou...ook/B003TFYOL4

I'm not sure of the difference between the version that's already in my library because they appear to be nearly identical (maybe it's not Whispersync compatible?)?

ETA: How weird. My older version is just a few minutes longer than the new one.

[ScalyFreak]

Large number of free paranormal romances from Ariel Marie. Found the page via Instafreebie, and it's filled with authors that are new to me. This is either a good thing, or a very bad thing.

https://www.thearielmarie.com/freepnrbooks

[sufue]

My totally most favorite romance author, Joan Wolf, has a novella, An Unsuitable Wife, for free, per her monthly (more or less) newsletter. The relevant part of the newsletter:

Now that we’ve covered the important stuff, let’s talk about books. As you probably know, I wrote a novella, planning for it to be the first in a linked series of four. After it was done, I discovered that the accepted way to publish these kinds of linked novellas is to wait until the last one is written, then release them one at a time over a series of months.

Such a strategy makes sense as a selling tool, but unfortunately it isn’t going to work for me. It took me almost as long to write the novella as it takes me to write a book, so, if I continued with the novellas, it would mean I wouldn’t have anything to publish until 2019 -2020. Not what I want to do. I have decided instead to write another book.

Alas, this leaves me with a single novella, which will be almost impossible to sell. Readers can buy tons of books for $.99 – why buy a single novella that has no continuing story line? So, dear friends, I have decided to offer it to you FOR FREE. In fact, I will offer it for free to anyone who would like to have it. This way my time won’t have been totally wasted – the book will get read. Also, I would be delighted to have you pass it along to as many people as possible. Who knows, I might even pick up a few new readers.

I’m attaching it as a PDF so it can be read off your computer or downloaded to a kindle, etc.

Joan

And here's the link from the email: http://joanwolf.us8.list-manage.com/...c&e=d170f10a1c