FREE/BARGAIN — Romance & Discussion

[danicca]

Originally Posted by sufue

I now can't wait for the fourth book, but it's not out until next June

And it was kind of funny, in the author bio, I noticed that Jenny Schwartz is Australian, which is where my long airplane flight was to.

Anyway, just wondering, which of her other series did you like? I note she has a lot, so would love a recommendation or two...

Yeah, I picked KU specifically for this series and devoured it in, like a week. It's great. I would also love recommendation for her other books, because I tried another series and just couldn't get into it. Or maybe the Caldryn books spoiled me.

[sufue]

I haven't read anything by KA Linde, but have picked up a couple of her books via various "freebie" days. All still in my TBD pile. And now, on the way to other things, I noted that Cruel King, which is the seventh of seven in her Cruel series, is free at Kindle UK, Kobo UK and Kobo US, although oddly not at Kindle US. And then when I looked at the series, there were some other series books and novellas going for free. So I scooped those up, not that I have any idea when I'll find time to read them. Or like them if I do? But even if I don't, they were free...

Cruel Money, #1
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D7JMJWT
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/cruel-money
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07D7JMJWT
Kobo UK: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/cruel-money

Cruel Promise, #3.5
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B086WRPHMC
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/cruel-promise
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B086WRPHMC
Kobo UK: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/cruel-promise

One Cruel Night, #5, or maybe #5.5 ???
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MLXWC3H
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/one-cruel-night
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07MLXWC3H
Kobo UK: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/one-cruel-night

Cruel Kiss, #6.5
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BWPSJC4H
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/cruel-kiss
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BWPSJC4H
Kobo UK: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/cruel-kiss

Cruel King, #7
Kindle US (for price check): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09TN4S8FH
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/cruel-king-3
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09TN4S8FH
Kobo UK: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/cruel-king-3

Oh yeah, and these appear to be self-pubbed, but this thread doesn't seem to have the same restrictions as the sci-fi and mystery threads...

[Quoth]

KA Linde?
Anagram of "A Kindle"?
Free is always a bit tempting.

[sufue]

You have a sharp eye. No idea if KA Linde is a pen name or not.

And I agree, I like free, because I can try new authors with no risk, and just delete if I don't like. But there is a lot of self-published junk out there, so I understand why some of the threads prohibit posting self-pubbed unless you've read and liked it. But for me, that misses the point of wanting to try the new author...

Originally Posted by Quoth

KA Linde?
Anagram of "A Kindle"?
Free is always a bit tempting.

[sufue]

The author duo of Ilona Andrews are offering last year's novella, Sanctuary, for free, from now until the end of the year, via their own store only. It is NOT free via any of the traditional retailers. Sanctuary definitely has year-end holiday tie-ins, so it's a nice one to read this time of year. (I may have to re-read it soon myself...)

Sanctuary is set in the authors' Kate Daniels world, and features Roman, the Black Volhv. But it's more in the Slavic/Norse/Pagan tradition than Kate's Mesopotamian/Babylonian world, so you don't really need to have read the original Kate Daniels series. And the authors do a good job of explaining any background that you do need to know, without being tedious.

And there is a "bonus freebie" right now too, which is a hold-over from the freebies from when they first opened the store. That one is Silent Blade, which is the first in their Kinsmen Chronicles series.

Here's the link to their store for the freebies: https://ilonaandrewsstore.com

And a separate link to instructions on how to get the freebies, and how they will be delivered: https://ilonaandrewsstore.com/pages/sale

Oh, and they don't bombard you with lots of emails from their store...

[pdurrant]

Amazon UK and Kobo UK have Hemlock & Silver by T. Kingfisher for just £0.99 at the moment.


Mostly fantasy, with some romance elements. I really enjoyed it.

[Terisa de morgan]

Originally Posted by sufue

And there is a "bonus freebie" right now too, which is a hold-over from the freebies from when they first opened the store. That one is Silent Blade, which is the first in their Kinsmen Chronicles series.

I liked a lot Silent Blade and I'm sad they didn't continue that series.

[Terisa de morgan]

Originally Posted by sufue

Anyway, just wondering, which of her other series did you like? I note she has a lot, so would love a recommendation or two...

I got Caldryn Parliament because of Pax Galactica, and I liked Interstellar Sheriff too, but those two are romance / space opera (I like that a lot). It's a different tone, more romance, but I like them.

[sufue]

Ooh, thanks! I just started Interstellar Sheriff, and like it so far. I'll try Pax Galactica after that. I also did try Shifters and Shamans, but that one wasn't doing it for me all that much. Caldryn Parliament is definitely a different tone, though, less romance, more sci-fi maybe? I'm horrible at assigning genres.

Originally Posted by Terisa de morgan

I got Caldryn Parliament because of Pax Galactica, and I liked Interstellar Sheriff too, but those two are romance / space opera (I like that a lot). It's a different tone, more romance, but I like them.

[sufue]

All four of the books in Julia Huni's original "Space Janitor" series have dropped to either free or $0.99/£0.99, and one of the two novellas (the holiday one) has also dropped to free right now. The other novella is still at its long-term $0.99/£0.99. They're all in KU if you have that, but if you don't, and you want to try the series, now is your time .

Here are links to the series webpage for the four books, and individual links for each of the novellas.

Series webpage
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08KS2TVLC...kindle_edition
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08KS2TV...kindle_edition

Orbital Operations, prequel novella
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08BG9MQWG
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08BG9MQWG

The Trouble with Tinsel, a Space Janitor Christmas novella
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KVCDWLF
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KVCDWLF

And, since I found my way to Huni via her recent, and rather different in style, A Dragon Rider's Guide to Retirement, which I really liked, I was happy to see that a second book in that series is in the works, although sad to see it's not out until August of next year. And the end of August at that...

Originally Posted by sufue

I enjoyed Dragon Rider so much ^^ that I put Julia Huni on my eReaderIQ list, and this morning a book from one of her other series popped up as free.

Dark Quasar Rising is the first in her "Friends of a Former Space Janitor" series, and since I just now finished binge-reading the original "Space Janitor" series, I grabbed this one. (Even though it's also KU, but free is free, and books do drop out of KU sometimes.) Space Janitor was a mix of science-fiction and murder-mystery/thriller, with a five-book slow burn romance - not intellectually deep, but lots of fun. So I assume that "Friends of a Former Space Janitor" will be more of the same...

{edited other info}

[Terisa de morgan]

Originally Posted by sufue

Caldryn Parliament is definitely a different tone, though, less romance, more sci-fi maybe? I'm horrible at assigning genres.

For me, Caldryn Parliament is something difficult to clasify. If you think about the vibe, yes, sci-fi (space opera) but.... there is no spaceship or aliens, but magic and magic beings, so paranormal fantasy.... it's really a strange setting but I like it a log.

[library addict]

Weekly Report:

Read:
only rereads


Purchased:

[library addict]

What were your favorite reads of 2025?
It’s that time of year again. Impossible for me to pick just one book or even one series as so much depends on my mood. As usual, not all of these were new releases as I regularly read a lot of backlist. However I limited myself to books read for the first time this calendar year.

alphabetically by author, then by release date:
Dragon Fires Everywhere by Hazel Beck Sept 2025 (Witchlore #4)
Beneath the Burning Sea by Amanda Bouchet June 2025 (The Kingmaker Chronicles #5)
It Takes a Psychic by Jayne Castle June 2025 (World of Harmony/Arcane Society #24)
The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst July 2025 (The Great Library of Alyssium #2)
The Undertakers by Nicole Glover Nov 2021 (Murder and Magic #2)
The Improvisers by Nicole Glover Nov 2024 (Murder and Magic #3)
Cold Case Discovery by Nicole Helm Feb 2025 (Hudson Sibling Solutions #6)
Dark Mountain Ambush by Nicole Helm Aug 2025 (Western Edge Mystery #2)
Long Lost Winter by Nicole Helm Dec 2025 (Western Edge Mystery #3)
Special Forces K-9 by Julie Miller Feb 2025 (Protectors at K-9 Ranch #3)
The Things Gods Break by Abigail Owen Oct 2025 (The Crucible #2)
Atonement Sky by Nalini Singh July 2025 (Psy/Changeling Trinity #9)
Predator by Rebecca Zanetti Mar 2025 (Stope Packs #4)

Above are my five star reads for the year. Below are some of the ones I rated as B+ that I would also consider favorites.

Honorable Mentions:
Relics of the Wolf by Lindsay Buroker Jan 2025 (Magnetic Magic #2)
Curse of the Wolf by Lindsay Buroker June 2025 (Magnetic Magic #5)
A Mythical Case of Theft by Melissa Erin Jackson May 2025 (Mythical Pet Sitting Mystery #3)
Shattering Dawn by Jayne Ann Krentz Jan 2025 (The Lost Night Files #3)
Murder on an Irish Farm by Carlene O'Connor Mar 2022 (Irish Village Mystery #8)
Murder at an Irish Chipper by Carlene O'Connor Feb 2024 (Irish Village Mystery #10)
Murder in an Irish Garden by Carlene O'Connor Mar 2025 (Irish Village Mystery #11)
Bonded in Death by JD Robb Feb 2025 (In Death #71)
Crossing Paths by Katie Ruggle May 2025 (Beneath the Wild Sky #2)
Archangel's Ascension by Nalini Singh May 2025 (Guild Hunter #17)
A Kowalski to Count On by Shannon Stacey Feb 2025 (Kowalski Family #11)
You Can Scream by Rebecca Zanetti Dec 2025 (Laurel Snow #5)

My main reading goal for the year was to finish up five separate series I’d started reading years ago and hadn’t kept up with as the remaining books were published. As well as five trilogies or short (4-5 books) series I already owned all the books in. I am slowly chipping away at Mount TBR tackling smaller chunks by series since I completely finished up the large backlists of various authors I still consider favorites prior to 2025 so no longer can pick just one author to concentrate on.

I am behind planning my 2026 books, so hope to spend some time today doing that,

[Blue2u]

My 5 star books that I read in 2025:

The Favorites Layne Fargo hands down the best of 2025 for me
Remarkably Bright Creatures Shelby Van Pelt
Quicksilver Callie Hart - Fae and Alchemy - 01.0
Brimstone Callie Hart - Fae and Alchemy - 02.0
Sunrise on the Reaping Suzanne Collins
Promise Me Sunshine Cara Bastone
Wild Dark Shore Charlotte McConaghy
Say You'll Remember Me Abby Jimenez
My Friends Fredrik Backman
Turns of Fate Anne Bishop - Isle of Wyrd - 01.0

My goal the past year was to complete some unfinished series, and also to alternate new books with books sorted by oldest publication date. It's the only way I can think to manage the backlog of my TBR pile. Another goal of mine is to branch out to different genres and have been quite happy doing so. I've found the Goodreads challenges a great way to start.

Wishing you all a Happy New Year!

[cfrizz]

LOL I read too many books to keep track of not to mention many rereads! But right now I'm reading Shelly Laurenston's To Kill A Badger. As usual she has me laughing hysterically with practically every chapter.

I absolutely love her books!