FREE/BARGAIN — Romance & Discussion

[Terisa de morgan]

Originally Posted by library addict

Case in point: I bought the digital and the audio


Weekly Report:

Read:

• Enter the Nightmare (World of Harmony #19/Arcane #25) by Jayne Castle (A-/5 stars)
• Kidnapping in Hope Town (Hope Town Secrets #1) by Nicole Helm (C-/2 stars)

Purchased:

Fiuuuu

[library addict]

Weekly Report:

Read:
Only rereads this week.


Purchased:
none

[library addict]

Originally Posted by library addict

Weekly Report:

Read:
Only rereads this week.


Purchased:
none

Same for this week.

[sufue]

If I'm remembering correctly, I read the first book in Casey Blair's Tea Princess Chronicles, several years ago, and liked it, but then never read the rest. There are several tea-related series, though, so I'm not 100% sure it was this one.

But now there's an omnibus of the the first three books in the series (supposedly the complete series) on sale in the US and UK for $0.99/£0.99 (actually, £0.77 at Kindle UK). No idea how long it will be on sale, but I grabbed it, and plan to see if this is the series I remembered and liked.

Tea Princess Chronicles: The Complete Series
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DTFM1KHQ
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/tea...omplete-series
Kindle UK, £0.77: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DTFM1KHQ
Kobo UK, £0.99: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/tea...omplete-series

Spoiler:

The complete bestselling cozy fantasy trilogy full of magic tea, baby dragons, found family, and lifting people up no matter the odds.

A Coup of Tea
When the fourth princess of Istalam is due to dedicate herself to a path serving the crown, she makes a choice that shocks everyone, herself most of all: She leaves.

In hiding and exiled from power, Miyara finds her place running a tea shop in a struggling community that sits on the edge of a magical disaster zone. But there's more brewing under the surface of this city—hidden magic, and hidden machinations—that threaten all the people who've helped her make her own way.

Miyara may not be a princess anymore, but with a teapot in hand she'll risk her newfound freedom to discover a more meaningful kind of power.

Tea Set and Match
Miyara saved the city of Sayorsen and the dragons. She was happy with the place she'd made for herself.

But every action triggers consequences.

Her older sister comes to drag her back to the palace and the meaningless life she hated. The tea guild won't support her unless she succeeds on her own in their chosen challenge: a tea tournament, and the international politics and unrest that come along with it. And to top it all off, the border protecting the remaining world from the magical disaster zone is suddenly failing.

The path she'd thought was clear is twistier than ever, but armed with her trusty tea set Miyara will fight to keep it.

Royal Tea Service
Miyara has saved the day, again.

And once again, the world has come calling.

Everyone wants a piece of the magical disaster zone for their own agendas, and some will stop at nothing to destroy the border and bring catastrophe down on the world. It's up to Miyara to host a summit bringing all the players to one place so she can find out what's going on and forge the connections necessary to stop it before it's too late for everyone.

Failure means the end of the world. Miyara has no choice but to prove once and for all that her path in serving people with tea is powerful enough to matter.

[DNSB]

Also at Kobo Canada for $0.99 Cdn or Amazon.ca for $1.40 Cdn. If you are enrolled in Kobo Plus, it's free (*). My spouse remembers reading the first book back 2022 so she's happy to grab the next two books.

* I've never quite understood how a subscription service such as Kindle Unlimited or Kobo Plus can say their books are free when you're paying for access.

[Aleron Ives]

Originally Posted by DNSB

I've never quite understood how a subscription service such as Kindle Unlimited or Kobo Plus can say their books are free when you're paying for access.

It's the same way Amazon can say you get free two-day shipping with Prime. $120 per year, or whatever Amazon is charging now for Prime, is most definitely not free.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Also at Kobo Canada for $0.99 Cdn or Amazon.ca for $1.40 Cdn. If you are enrolled in Kobo Plus, it's free (*). My spouse remembers reading the first book back 2022 so she's happy to grab the next two books.

* I've never quite understood how a subscription service such as Kindle Unlimited or Kobo Plus can say their books are free when you're paying for access.

It's dishonest and misleading on two counts:
1. As you point out, there is a subscription so not free.
2. It's a "pay to be a member" lending library. You don't get to keep the eBook.

Irrespective of licences, bought ebooks are eventually free to give away when the copyright expires. DRM is an evil reduction in normal rights under copyright.

My local library is free and has a large ebook catalogue. I've given up on it because:
1. They almost never have the earlier titles in a series (licences expire).
2. DRM means lack of flexibility. I'm not going to remove DRM from borrowed ebooks, ever.

So now I only buy ebooks and only use Amazon if the book is zero price (not free if there is DRM) or others here assert that the ebook is DRM free and thus can be downloaded (it's a disgrace they don't show DRM status or have a basket with status as Kobo has).

[cfrizz]

Originally Posted by Aleron Ives

It's the same way Amazon can say you get free two-day shipping with Prime. $120 per year, or whatever Amazon is charging now for Prime, is most definitely not free.

Prime now cost's $139.00 per year. Amazon music is $119.00 per year.

It's about how much you use the service. I have several things auto delivered each month, as well as regular shopping throughout the month. What I save in shipping cost ends up paying for the service in itself. Same with Amazon music. When I put it on it will be playing all day long commercial FREE!

When I want to actually keep the product, I buy the physical cd or a book that I can strip the DRM from.

For me it's worth the money, and I think most people know that you are paying for the access, not the books or music you are listening to.

At some point you have to apply common sense!

[sufue]

As I've said before, Susan Mallery is one of just a few contemporary romance authors I really like reading. I've never read many of the books in her Hometown Heartbreakers series, though, and now an omnibus of three titles in that series is on sale in the US for $0.99. And I only have one of them. So I'm going to grab it. And I have a couple of long airplane flights coming up in early August, so I'll try to save the two I haven't read for those. (Although I still also have my fingers crossed for Jenny Schwartz's Ghosts Cry, the fourth Caldryn Parliament book, to actually come out on July 30, since that date hasn't moved, and it's getting close.)

Hometown Heartbreakers Collection Volume 3 contains Good Husband Material, Completely Smitten, and One in a Million
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C5RP78LX
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/hom...ction-volume-3

Spoiler:

Don’t miss these three classic tales of small town romance from #1 New York Times bestselling author Susan Mallery's fan favorite Hometown Heartbreakers series!

This box set includes:

GOOD HUSBAND MATERIAL
When Kari Asbury left from Possum Landing, Texas to New York City eight years ago, she was thinking only of the bright future that awaited her—certainly not of her ex-boyfriend, Gage Reynolds, the one she left without saying goodbye. He planned to propose to Kari on the night of her prom but, instead, he finds himself abandoned. Gage has all but forgotten Kari—until she returns to town to sell her grandmother’s house and turns his carefully built world upside down.

Originally published in 2002

COMPLETELY SMITTEN
Being the preacher’s daughter, Haley Foster has lived her entire life for other people. But now Haley is determined to live on her own terms and go against her father’s wishes—starting with helping Kevin Harmon. The injured US Marshal needs a ride from Kansas to his home in Texas. Haley has a car, and she owes him a favor. And he knows a lot more about being bad than she does. A few days with just the two of them in her tiny convertible and intimate hotel rooms… it’ll be fun, it’ll be passionate, and it will be an unforgettable experience. At least, that’s her plan. He just doesn’t know it yet.

Originally published in 2003

ONE IN A MILLION
Stephanie Wynne has given up on finding a man who can help her raise her kids. They all act like one—as did her late husband. She can’t deny she’s a little lonely, but there are temporary solutions for that…FBI negotiator Nash Harmon is trained to be cool and detached in every situation. But when he comes to Stephanie’s Bed & Breakfast, he finds that something about her lively family just draws him in. For the first time in a long time, he starts to realize why people have ties…

Originally published in 2003

[library addict]

Weekly Report:

Read:

• Jamirr (Badari Gladiators #5) by Veronica Scott (B/4 stars)
• His Moment to Steal (In the Line of Duty #4) by Cathryn Fox (F/1 star)
• Risking It All for Her Boss (Heroes for Hire #1) by Sharron McClellan (B-/3 stars)

Purchased:

[sufue]

Oh no! So far from coming out today, the fourth Caldryn Parliament book, Ghosts Cry, is now completely gone from Kindle US and UK - the series length is given as three books. And on Schwartz's website, it's not gone, but now has a date of November 2026. So I guess I won't be reading that on my long airplane flights next week .

OTOH, I have finished (re)reading the first Tea Princess book from a few posts up, and it was the one I had read and liked. So now at least I have the next two in that omnibus to look forward to for the plane.

But still, so bummed about Ghosts Cry...

[Terisa de morgan]

Originally Posted by sufue

Oh no! So far from coming out today, the fourth Caldryn Parliament book, Ghosts Cry, is now completely gone from Kindle US and UK - the series length is given as three books. And on Schwartz's website, it's not gone, but now has a date of November 2026. So I guess I won't be reading that on my long airplane flights next week .

OTOH, I have finished (re)reading the first Tea Princess book from a few posts up, and it was the one I had read and liked. So now at least I have the next two in that omnibus to look forward to for the plane.

But still, so bummed about Ghosts Cry...

Yes, she announced in her facebook some weeks ago and I''m bummed too.

[sufue]

Oh well, you'd think I have enough of a TBR pile to keep me busy until November of 2029 , much less November of 2026. Which is still only a few more months. But I was really looking forward to it sooner.

Originally Posted by Terisa de morgan

Yes, she announced in her facebook some weeks ago and I''m bummed too.

[danicca]

Yes, I was waiting to buy Ghosts Cry too. I picked first Collegium book instead. I might take a look at rest of it.

[library addict]

Weekly Report:

Read:

• Her Favorite Fumble (Wayward Harbor #1) by Shannon Stacey (A-/5 stars)
• Sea of Charms (Great Library of Alyssium #3/Spell Shop) by Sarah Beth Durst (A-/5 stars)

Purchased: