FREE/BARGAIN — Romance & Discussion

[Blue2u]

Layne Fargo - The Favorites $6.99

Blurb:
To the world, they were a scandal. To each other, an obsession.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • An epic love story set in the sparkling, savage sphere of elite figure skating, starring a woman determined to carve her own path on and off the ice

“Part Wuthering Heights and part Daisy Jones & The Six, this novel is as brilliantly choreographed as a gold medal performance and will keep you guessing until its last page.”—Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author of Wish You Were Here

She might not have a famous name, funding, or her family’s support, but Katarina Shaw has always known that she was destined to become an Olympic skater. When she meets Heath Rocha, a lonely kid stuck in the foster care system, their instant connection makes them a formidable duo on the ice. Clinging to skating—and each other—to escape their turbulent lives, Kat and Heath go from childhood sweethearts to champion ice dancers, captivating the world with their scorching chemistry, rebellious style, and roller-coaster relationship.

Until a shocking incident at the Olympic Games brings their partnership to a sudden end.

As the ten-year anniversary of their final skate approaches, an unauthorized documentary reignites the public obsession with Shaw and Rocha, claiming to uncover the “real story” through interviews with their closest friends and fiercest rivals. Kat wants nothing to do with the documentary, but she can’t stand the thought of someone else defining her legacy. So, after a decade of silence, she’s telling her story: from the childhood tragedies that created her all-consuming bond with Heath to the clash of desires that tore them apart. Sensational rumors have haunted their every step for years, but the truth may be even more shocking than the headlines.

[library addict]

Read:

• Wooing the Witch Queen (Queens of Villainy #1) by Stephanie Burgis (B/4 stars)
• Kin of the Wolf (Magnetic Magic #3) by Lindsay Buroker (B+/4 stars)

Purchased:

[kg3]

FREE:

[1] Beyond the Night (The New Vegas Chronicles Book 1) - Colleen Gleason

-Science Fiction Romance (with Post-Apocalyptic/Time Travel elements)
-Originally published by Avon/HarperCollins, 2010
(In 2010, Released as: Beyond the Night (Envy Chronicles Book 1) by Joss Ware)

Smashwords ---Kobo US (with Adobe DRM)---Amazon US

[2] Embrace the Night (The New Vegas Chronicles Book 2) - Colleen Gleason

-Science Fiction Romance (with Post-Apocalyptic/Time Travel elements)
-Originally published by Avon/HarperCollins, 2010
(In 2010, Released as: Embrace the Night Eternal (Envy Chronicles Book 2) by Joss Ware)

Smashwords---Kobo US (with Adobe DRM)---Not Free at Amazon US

[3] The Clockwork Scarab (Stoker and Holmes Book 1) - Colleen Gleason

-YA, Mystery, Fantasy/SF/Paranormal, Time Travel, Alt-History, Steampunk, with some romance elements
-Originally published by Chronicle Books, 2013

Smashwords---Kobo US (with Adobe DRM)---Amazon US

[4] The Spiritglass Charade (Stoker and Holmes Book 2) - Colleen Gleason

-YA, Mystery, Fantasy/SF/Paranormal, Time Travel, Alt-History, Steampunk, with some romance elements
-Originally published by Chronicle Books, 2014

Smashwords---Kobo US (with Adobe DRM)---Not Free at Amazon US

[Aleron Ives]

I don't see people mention Smashwords around here very often. I remember there used to be some controversy with the Smashwords "meat grinder" that turns Word documents into EPUB files and often mangles the formatting.

Would I be correct in assuming that if Smashwords only offers EPUB format for a book, that the author probably uploaded a finished EPUB file, and you're getting the same file that you'd get on other stores, whereas if Smashwords offers TXT/PDF/EPUB/MOBI that the author probably used the meat grinder method, and the formatting is more likely to be spotty compared to getting the book at another store?

I'd be interested in supporting an independent store, but not if I get mangled books in the process.

[Quoth]

You can upload epub separately as well as Word doc. Also you can upload a Dual Mobi (Azw3/KF8 and old mobi in one file) from Calibre.

Often there is sample download and then you can see. Also Smashwords/D2D redistribute to Apple, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, etc and soon Amazon.


Plenty of bad formatting on Amazon and some on Kobo and Google.

The exact same epub can be uploaded to Amazon KDP, Smashwords and Google Playstore. Amazon doesn't accept Amazon formats on STK or KDP.

[Aleron Ives]

My question was how you can tell if the author uploaded an EPUB file directly vs using the meat grinder. It seems like if EPUB is the only format, then the book must have been uploaded in that format, as the meat grinder multi-format conversion only happens when you upload a Word document.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by Aleron Ives

My question was how you can tell if the author uploaded an EPUB file directly vs using the meat grinder. It seems like if EPUB is the only format, then the book must have been uploaded in that format, as the meat grinder multi-format conversion only happens when you upload a Word document.

If it has every format then Word has been used. But the author can still separately upload mobi and/or epub.

Also the author/publisher (there are multi-author publishers) chooses which formats to support and could select mobi and epub only, or just epub, even if uploading an MS Word format file, on the basis that PDFs are terrible on small screens and txt is so 1970s, abysmal. Nowadays people are going to either want epub or Kindle format. Also ALL Smashwords downloads are DRM free and Send To Kindle won't take mobi/azw3 etc, but will take epub. So a DRM free epub suits everyone. People can even make their own text, RTF, Word, PDF, LRF, PDB whatever for free from an epub on Mac, Windows or Linux.

So you can't tell if epub only means Word was not used. Even if Word format was used (PDF & Text files etc), the epub could still be a separate upload and same one used for Google and Amazon.

So you can't know how the epub was made, unless you download the sample, if there is one (recommended).

[Aleron Ives]

That's what I was afraid of. Thanks.

[library addict]

Weekly Report:

Read:

• Murder in an Irish Garden (Irish Village Mystery #11) by Carlene O'Connor (B+/4 stars)
• The Eternal Library by L Penelope (B/4 stars)
• Hainn (Sectors New Allies #19) by Veronica Scott (B-/3 stars)

Purchased:

[library addict]

Weekly Report:

Read:

• Predator (Stope Packs #4) by Rebecca Zanetti (A-/5 stars)
• How to Love a Princess by Claire Robyns (F/1 star)

Purchased:

[Blue2u]

$1.99 Jessica Joyce - The Ex Vows

Goodreads stats: 4.14 42,404 ratings 9,103 reviews

Blurb:
A Library Reads Pick

Estranged exes must stick close together to save their best friend’s wedding after a string of disasters in this swoony and steamy second-chance romance from the USA Today bestselling author of You, with a View.

Georgia Woodward lives by her lists, none more so than the one about her ex, Eli Mora. It’s full of the ironclad dos and don’ts they’ve been following since she returned to the Bay Area after their cataclysmic breakup five years ago.

With the wedding of their mutual best friend, Adam, looming, and them about to step into their roles as best woman and man, Georgia’s never needed it more. She refuses to threaten their tight-knit friend group with her messy—and still very present—feelings. The rules on that list will keep her cool, calm, and compartmentalized.

What’s not on her list? Eli arriving from New York with a new rule-breaking attitude or the all-inclusive venue burning to the ground, leaving the bride and groom in dire straits. Nor does she anticipate Adam asking her and Eli to help him make a miracle happen. Together.

As Georgia and Eli rush up to Napa Valley to pull off the perfect wedding, their old chemistry comes back in technicolor. Somewhere between cake tastings gone wrong, disastrous DJ auditions, and Eli’s heated attention, Georgia starts recognizing the man she fell in love with before. And if she lets herself break her rules, she might find what they’re building isn’t the something old that ruined them—it’s a chance at something new.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Blue2u

$1.99 Jessica Joyce - The Ex Vows

Also available for $1.99 on:
Kobo Canada: The Ex Vows - Jessica Joyce
Kobo US: The Ex Vows - Jessica Joyce

[library addict]

Weekly Report:

Read:

• The Conductors (Murder and Magic #1) by Nicole Glover (B/4 stars)
• The Undertakers (Murder and Magic #2) by Nicole Glover (A-/5 stars)
• A Kowalski Secret (The Kowalskis #12) by Shannon Stacey (B-/3 stars)
• The Improvisers (Murder and Magic #3) by Nicole Glover (A-/5 stars)

Purchased:

[Terisa de morgan]

Originally Posted by library addict

Weekly Report:

Read:

• The Conductors (Murder and Magic #1) by Nicole Glover (B/4 stars)
• The Undertakers (Murder and Magic #2) by Nicole Glover (A-/5 stars)
• A Kowalski Secret (The Kowalskis #12) by Shannon Stacey (B-/3 stars)
• The Improvisers (Murder and Magic #3) by Nicole Glover (A-/5 stars)

Purchased:

Thank you, I'll give a try to Murder and Magic.

[library addict]

Originally Posted by Terisa de morgan

Thank you, I'll give a try to Murder and Magic.

The first two books are set in the 1870s and feature the same couple. Book 3 is set in 1931 and the FMC is their granddaughter. Book 4 will be set in 1964 (to be released Jan 6, 2026).