FREE/BARGAIN — Romance & Discussion

[sufue]

I just read the three books in Jenny Schwartz's Uncertain Sanctuary series, featuring Baba-Yaga's great-granddaughter, who has her own world-traveling castle built on fossilized extinct Giant Moa legs, rather than Baba-Yaga's hut on chicken legs. It was a cute premise and there were some fun sort-of-Easter eggs here and there.

The three are available in one volume at Kindle, and actually feel to me more like one book (albeit a rather long book) than three. And then there are two spin-off books in the same world, with some cross-over characters, in the Hidden Sanctuary series, and I read those two as well, and liked them too. There's a three "book" long romance arc in the Uncertain series, and each of the two Hidden books has its own romance arc.

Not up to the Caldryn Parliament series, but I found them to be enjoyable.

[Terisa de morgan]

Thank you, they are in my wishlist, so they'll go up.

[library addict]

Weekly Report:

Read:

• Archangel’s Eternity (Guild Hunter #18) by Nalini Singh (A-/5 stars)

Purchased:

[Terisa de morgan]

I'm reading Archangel's Eternity now and I'm crying a lot.

[cfrizz]

Originally Posted by Terisa de morgan

I'm reading Archangel's Eternity now and I'm crying a lot.

I just finished it and did the same. It's a terrific book, so glad to have this series and I will reread it a lot!

[library addict]

Weekly Report:

Read:

• Calculated Whisk (Tales from the Dragon Diner #1) by Lindsay Buroker (B/4 stars)
• Resolution (Planet of Last Resort #4) by Veronica Scott (C+/3 stars)
• Love's Persuasion by Ola Awonubi (C-/2 stars)

Purchased:

[library addict]

Weekly Report:

Read:

• Calculated Risk by Stephanie Doyle (C-/2 stars)
• What the Hex by Alexis Daria (D+/2 stars)

Purchased:

[salty-horse]

The Duke at Hazard (The Gentlemen of Uncertain Fortune #2) by KJ Charles is $1 in the US (Kobo, Amazon)
This is historical fiction & romance, rather than primarily romance.
According to the author, it's "a standalone book set in the world of The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting but with a completely new cast of characters."

The Duke of Severn is one of the greatest men in Britain.

He's also short, quiet, and unimpressive. And now he's been robbed, after indulging in one rash night with a strange man who stole the heirloom Severn ring from his finger. The Duke has to get it back, and he can't let anyone know how he lost it. So when his cousin bets that he couldn't survive without his privilege and title, the Duke grasps the opportunity to hunt down his ring-incognito.

Life as an ordinary person is terrifying... until the anonymous Duke meets Daizell Charnage, a disgraced gentleman, and hires him to help. Racing across the country in search of the thief, the Duke and Daizell fall into scrapes, into trouble-and in love.

Daizell has been excluded from polite society, his name tainted by his father's crimes and his own misbehaviour. Now he dares to dream of a life somewhere out of sight with the quiet gentleman who's stolen his heart. He doesn't know that his lover is a hugely rich public figure with half a dozen titles. And when he finds out, it will risk everything they have...

[sufue]

The Joffe free romance for Friday/the weekend is The Love of my Other Life, by CH Connolly. I haven't read anything by this author, but WTH, it's free, and I can always delete. If it ever makes it to the top of my TBR pile...

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B15JQV9J
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0B15JQV9J

Spoiler:

Imagine you woke up with the perfect life . . . But it wasn’t yours.

Today is Josie’s 36th birthday.

Josie is a single British woman living in a tiny walk-up in Brooklyn. She misses her family, but her radio show is starting to go places. And sure, she could be a dress size smaller, but no one cares what you look like on the radio. The guy she’s had a crush on for months is finally going to break up with his girlfriend. She hopes.

She’s zipping through traffic on her way to meet her friends for dinner at a SoHo restaurant. There’s a screech of brakes, Josie crashes her bike and her world goes black.

Then something extraordinary happens.

She wakes up in hospital. The handsome stranger by her side, holding her hand and telling her he loves her, is Rob. Her husband of two years. They live in a chic Manhattan penthouse. She works in real estate. And she’s thirty pounds slimmer than when she got on her bike that morning.

Josie has no idea how she got here. This new life is everything she ever wanted. But there’s one very important thing missing . . .

And now she has to decide: should she go back to her old single life in Brooklyn or stay with the love of her nearly perfect new life?

What would you do?

[library addict]

Weekly Report:

Read:

• The Final Target by Nora Roberts (B/4 stars)
• Secretly Pregnant Princess (Babies for Royal Brides #1) by Lorraine Hall (B+/4 stars)
• King’s Heir Ultimatum (Babies for Royal Brides #2) by Lorraine Hall (B/4 stars)

Purchased:

[maddz]

Originally Posted by salty-horse

The Duke at Hazard (The Gentlemen of Uncertain Fortune #2) by KJ Charles is $1 in the US (Kobo, Amazon)
This is historical fiction & romance, rather than primarily romance.
According to the author, it's "a standalone book set in the world of The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting but with a completely new cast of characters."

I can recommend KJ's books, they're great fun!

[sufue]

I had a review copy of J Penner's A Fellowship of Librarians and Dragons a while back. It's the second in her Adenashire series, and I also read the first one first, since it was on KU, so I could do a better review of the second, and I liked them both. Kind of slow-paced and cozy, so if you're looking for adventurous romanstasy, these aren't it. But just solidly enjoyable, and with a fun plot twist from time to time. (And, of course, librarians and dragons are a couple of my favorite characters, although as I said in my review, the librarians are usually in mysteries, and the dragons in fantasies...)

Now J Penner has another book on sale for a few more hours in the US at $1.99 and like half-an-hour (sorry) in the UK at £1.99: Death Meets Cute. It seems to have the flavor of the Adenashire books, with witches, ogres, orcs, etc., but per Penner's Amazon webpage, isn't part of the series.

Oh, and discountable at Kobo...

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FDMK7995
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/death-meets-cute
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FDMK7995
Kobo UK: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/death-meets-cute

Spoiler:

I am more than capable of being evil today. I think…

Iris Weyward wants to be bad. Truly bad. Terrifyingly, gloriously villainous. But after helping her sisters unleash a spell to throw the realm into chaos, Iris is left feeling strangely empty—and still not the villain of her dreams. So, she sets off for the quiet town of Fraywell to build her wicked legacy alone.

Things start promisingly: a crooked little cottage, a reputation for curses and potions, and a healthy dose of fear from the locals. But when her ogre bodyguard disappears, Iris needs new muscle. Good thing a fearsome orc just toppled over in her yard. Naturally, she decides to reanimate him. It's a perfect solution.

Only, Talon isn't the brooding warrior she was hoping for. He's gentle. He bakes. Worst of all, he's nice. But Iris can't possibly have a thing for her new employee. She's supposed to be the most wicked witch in town!

While Iris struggles to turn Talon into the enforcer she deserves, her sisters arrive seeking help—their magic is fading, and the cause may be closer than any of them realize. The timing couldn't be worse, and falling for an orc wasn't supposed to be part of her villain era, but it might turn out to be the best spell she's ever cast…

[sufue]

And, now that I'm looking at J Penner, I also note that all the books in her Adenashire series have just gone on sale - at $0.99/£0.99 for the first one, A Fellowship of Bakers & Magic, and $1.99/£1.99 for the rest. Except, of course, the one that's not out yet, and is coming out in March, 2027, which is still a ways away. They are also in KU, but not available at all at Kobo, which seems to happen pretty much all the time with smaller presses and/or self-pubs - sigh!

Series websites:
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/Adenashire/dp/B0CMKCKYZS
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Adenashire/dp/B0CMKCKYZS

[sufue]

Sadly, I went to look at the upcoming Caldryn Parliament book, Ghosts Cry, since I have a long airplane flight coming up next week. And I had my fingers crossed it might be a bit early, since Jenny Schwartz had said on her blog that the June 30 date was a bit of a placeholder. Sadly, though, it has gone the other way, and is now saying July 30. I didn't want it to be a placeholder in that direction , but it is what it is.

On a happier note, if you like not relying on KU, the first book in the series, Stars Die, has gone on sale at Kindle UK for £0.99. Not sure if this is one of the June/monthly markdowns, or just for today, but if you want your own copy (as much as Amazon tries to not have it be "your" copy), not dependent on KU, that's probably as good as it will get.

It doesn't seem to have dropped in price at Kindle US, but I'm including the link for folks who might want to price-check...

Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DXMQQT8J
Kindle US (for price check): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DXMQQT8J

Spoiler:

Welcome to Caldryn Parliament. Golden Age mysteries in the Realm of science fiction and fantasy.

Recalled from the frontier, the new Warden of Caldryn Parliament is well aware she’s not a popular choice, but she never expected to portal into a murder scene.

Nor did she anticipate acquiring such a unique partner.

Now, Vanda Kavanagh must discover the truth of a politician’s death, unravel the mystery of her sabotaged wards, and survive her family.

***

Stars Die is a magic parliament mystery. If you’ve ever wished that Agatha Christie included magic or that Sherlock Holmes fought space pirates, this is the series for you!

***
Political intrigue
Futuristic fantasy
Cozy mystery
Found family
Urban fantasy meets space opera
Don't worry about the genre, just enjoy!

Originally Posted by Terisa de morgan

Glad to hear about 8 books, really!

[Terisa de morgan]

Originally Posted by sufue

Sadly, I went to look at the upcoming Caldryn Parliament book, Ghosts Cry, since I have a long airplane flight coming up next week. And I had my fingers crossed it might be a bit early, since Jenny Schwartz had said on her blog that the June 30 date was a bit of a placeholder. Sadly, though, it has gone the other way, and is now saying July 30. I didn't want it to be a placeholder in that direction , but it is what it is.

Yes, I saw it the other day and cried a bit too.