Free and bargain romances in August 2013

[Blue2u]

I'll go first with weekly confessions as I'm proud to have my spending back to budget [close enough!]

This week’s purchases: 14 books $17 :
$1
Fear of Falling – S.L. Jennings
Wanted – Kimberly Knight
Love Square – Jessica Ingro
Trust Me – Melanie Walker
Freefall – Tess Oliver
Edible – Ella Frank
Before Now – Cheryl McIntyre
Jane’s Gift & Tempting Cameron – Karen Erickson
Ride With Me & Making It Last – Ruthie Knox
$2
Crave - Monica Murphy
Where I Need to Be – Kimberly Knight
Undescribable – Shantel Tessier

[Loosheesh]

Originally Posted by Blue2u

This week’s purchases: 14 books $17

That's some great deals!


Not much romance stuff to report this week:

Bring Me Home by Cassia Leo ($1.80)
Here Without You by Tammara Webber ($1.80)
Playing for Keeps by Emma Hart ($0.99)
plus 4 collections of classics and 1 nonfiction book totaling $9.79

8 books for $14.38

[library addict]

I was well behaved this week, too. All Kobo coupons, except the last two which I got at the Entangled sale yesterday.

• Knowing the Score by Kat Latham (read this yesterday and really enjoyed it)
• Ugly Ducklings Finish First by Stacy Gail
• 10 Ways to Steal Your Lover by Dee Tenorio
• The Virgin's Revenge by by Dee Tenorio
• Bridal Jitters by Jayne Castle Yay. finally available in digital (I already own the print anthology it came in originally)
• The Ties That Bind by Jayne Ann Krentz
• Real Men Don't Quit by Coleen Kwan
• Real Men Don't Break Hearts by Coleen Kwan

[FizzyWater]

Originally Posted by Loosheesh

Ride With Me was my intro to Ruthie Knox and I've gone on to read and look forward to other stuff by her. Definitely recommended.

Same here. I was expecting "just another fluffy contemporary" and was very pleasantly surprised.

[Blossom]

Well I finally got some of the books together I bought. Some are from last week and some are from this week. After hubby gets back to work I'll be able to participate more. His doctor's appointment is this week! So he should be back to work by the mid week.

1. After Sundown - Shelly Thacker
2. Biker Babe in Black - Debra Kayn
3. Ride Free - Debra Kayn
4. By Any Other Name - Lori Austin
5. Forever Wild - Louisa Rawlings
6. Golden Chances - Rebecca Hagan Lee
7. Harvest Moon - Rebecca Hagan Lee
8. Something Borrowed - Rebecca Hagan Lee
9. Someone Irresistible - Adele Ashworth
10. Stargazer (Oasis) - Cindy Holby
11. Texas Angel - Maggie Shayne
12. Texas Guardian - Maggie Shayne
13. TEXAS HOMECOMING - Maggie Shayne
14. The Challenge (Rystani Warrior 1) - Susan Kearney

[worktolive]

Okay, it's not as bad as I feared. Final tally - 10 books for $13. If not for yesterday's sale, I would only have bought 3 books. Darn you Entangled for enabling me to buy more books!

Sweet Hush - Deborah Smith
Knowing the Score - Kat Latham
The Marquess of Cake - Heather Hiestand
The Switched Baby Scandal - Theresa Meyers
Jane's Gift - Karen Erickson
Just For the Summer - Jenna Rutland
Three River Ranch - Roxanne Snopek
Desire by Design - Paula Altenburg
Real Men Don't Quit - Coleen Kwan
Taste The Heat - Rachel Harris

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by worktolive

Okay, it's not as bad as I feared. Final tally - 10 books for $13. If not for yesterday's sale, I would only have bought 3 books. Darn you Entangled for enabling me to buy more books!

You got a good deal that how I look at it.

Amazon's MYK page is broke for me. So I'm not buying anything till they fix it. It will only load like 1500 of my 5000+ Archive! I've contacted support and if anyone here has the same problem please do the same. I found some threads at the official forum that others are having a problem.

I finished my book Escaping Reality! It was really good! 4.5 Stars. It ends with a cliffhanger so I have to wait till October for the next book.

Escaping Reality by Lisa Renee Jones is still on sale for 99 cents and It's well worth the price! It's 50 Shades meets Romantic Suspense. The sex scenes are well done they are not explicit or overly long but very HOT and draws you in emotionally. You can feel the chemistry between the h/h and that's what makes this story work.

So I have to ask how do we feel about writers writing stories in parts instead of one book? Myself I don't mind if the total story doesn't cost more then an actually book that is complete but when you charge outrageous prices for novellas then yes I have issues.

[library addict]

Originally Posted by Blossom

So I have to ask how do we feel about writers writing stories in parts instead of one book? Myself I don't mind if the total story doesn't cost more then an actually book that is complete but when you charge outrageous prices for novellas then yes I have issues.

I don’t mind an overarching theme or mystery in a trilogy or even a series, but I want a complete book with a beginning-middle-end. So if I were to ever buy a serial, I would wait until all the parts are out before I started it. Also, I do not like cliff-hanger endings in books. I can’t say I never read them, but only for authors who have earned my trust (Nalini Singh is the only current one who springs to mind, but there may be others).

I am not a fan of the current trend to publish books in chapters/parts. Especially when they are labeled as “book 1” and not “part 1”. Book 1 implies it’s a whole story to me. And I agree about the cost.

[apesmom]

Mine was worse than I anticipated but still not too bad. I had a small stash of Kobo codes I felt compelled to use.

• Gail, Stacey - Ugly Ducklings Finish First - $1.35
• Giordano, Adrienne - A Just Deception - $1.05
• Harrison, Thea - Natural Evil - $1.08
• Harrison, Thea - Devil's Gate - $1.08
• Harrison, Thea - Hunter's Season - $1.08
• Harrison, Thea - The Wicked - $1.08
• Latham, Kat - Knowing the Score - $1.57
• Knox, Ruthie - Making It Last - $0.99
• Reynolds, D.B. - Hunted - $1.99
• Scott, Jessica - Coming Home - $0.99
• Stein, Charlotte - Run to You - $2.99

11 books for $15.25, 6 of which were wish list (even if they were only on there for a few days )

[laurla]

Since my last confession, which was actually Tuesday of this week (I think), here is the damage.

• The Marriage Fix - Sandra Edwards - 2.79
• Lover's Gold - Kat Martin - .99
• Blasphemous (Torn Series #3) - Pamela Ann - .99
• Scorned (Torn Series #4) - Pamela Ann - .99
• Destined to Succeed (Destined Series) - Lisa M Harley - .99
• Ride with Me - Ruthie Knox - 1.06
• Tempting Cameron: A Lone Pine Lake Novel - Karen Erickson - 1.06
• Jane's Gift: A Lone Pine Lake Novel - Karen Erickson - 1.06

Like Blu2u, I feel like the spending is finally back under control (at least until the next Kobo contest and/or Entangled sale )

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by laurla

Since my last confession, which was actually Tuesday of this week (I think), here is the damage.

Like Blu2u, I feel like the spending is finally back under control (at least until the next Kobo contest and/or Entangled sale )

Those Kobo coupons are dangerous! I've got a 50% off one from mysterious promo burning a hole in my pocket. I need something to buy!

[laurla]

Originally Posted by Blossom

Amazon's MYK page is broke for me. So I'm not buying anything till they fix it. It will only load like 1500 of my 5000+ Archive! I've contacted support and if anyone here has the same problem please do the same. I found some threads at the official forum that others are having a problem.

Mine is not loading properly either...

Originally Posted by Blossom

So I have to ask how do we feel about writers writing stories in parts instead of one book? Myself I don't mind if the total story doesn't cost more then an actually book that is complete but when you charge outrageous prices for novellas then yes I have issues.

I don't mind the serials but if I know ahead that's what it is, then I will wait to get them all at the end. I'm noticing now with many of these, once it is complete, the entire serial is available in one volume - sometimes at a price much less than if you had purchased each one. Not cool This is another reason I wait until they're all done.

I love series books where there are related bits or characters or an over-arching story or relationship, but I'm like library addict in that I do need each to be complete in and of itself. I don't mind if it's a cliff-hanger that leads you into the next story but I get angry if it's one that leaves the current story hanging. I usually will usually avoid that author in the future.

[apesmom]

Originally Posted by Blossom

Those Kobo coupons are dangerous! I've got a 50% off one from mysterious promo burning a hole in my pocket. I need something to buy!

Me too! The coupon supposedly expires on 8/12 but Rock Chick #8 goes on sale on 8/13. I will be checking to see if the code is still valid at 12: 00 EST 8/13. If not, oh well, maybe there will be another Kobo contest.

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by apesmom

Me too! The coupon supposedly expires on 8/12 but Rock Chick #8 goes on sale on 8/13. I will be checking to see if the code is still valid at 12: 00 EST 8/13. If not, oh well, maybe there will be another Kobo contest.

Oh I Pre-ordered. Yes I know it's $5 but I read every other one for free through Kindle Lending so I don't mind paying $5 for the last book.

Let's see waiting to be released First Ink, Weathering The Storm and there was one more book. My memory these days!

[Blue2u]

Originally Posted by Blossom

You got a good deal that how I look at it.

Amazon's MYK page is broke for me. So I'm not buying anything till they fix it. It will only load like 1500 of my 5000+ Archive! I've contacted support and if anyone here has the same problem please do the same. I found some threads at the official forum that others are having a problem.

I finished my book Escaping Reality! It was really good! 4.5 Stars. It ends with a cliffhanger so I have to wait till October for the next book.

Escaping Reality by Lisa Renee Jones is still on sale for 99 cents and It's well worth the price! It's 50 Shades meets Romantic Suspense. The sex scenes are well done they are not explicit or overly long but very HOT and draws you in emotionally. You can feel the chemistry between the h/h and that's what makes this story work.

So I have to ask how do we feel about writers writing stories in parts instead of one book? Myself I don't mind if the total story doesn't cost more then an actually book that is complete but when you charge outrageous prices for novellas then yes I have issues.

1. What's "Amazon MYK" ?
2. Grr, since you first posted about Escaping Reality I moved it way up my TBR list, but there's so many ahead of it and then I get sidetracked, I swear sometimes I have ADD! I just have SO many GREAT books that I want to read them all NOW! [yes, this is a great first world problem to have] With my OCD at least I finished the 4 I had going at one time [which is totally not like me, again, add in the ADD.] *look, a squirrel*
3. Re writing series. Well, I refuse to get sucked into what I call 'serials' which are a few pages of a whole book [-100] and the author charges $2-4 per 'book' which I tend to think of as per chapter and feel the author is ripping me off. When it's a 'whole' book [+200ish pages per], and there's only 2-4 books planned in series, then fine, as long as the price is aligned with that going in [$2-5 per book]. JMO