FREE/BARGAIN — Romance & Discussion

[AnemicOak]

Harlequin coupon.

33% off site-wide with code TREATS17

*Offer valid until September 20, 2017, 11:59 p.m. ET. Offer entitles purchaser to 33% off the list price of print books and ebooks when the coupon code is entered at checkout. Sales tax applied where applicable. Quantities are limited. All orders subject to approval. One time use only.

[worktolive]

Free:

A Dragon's Family Album by Thea Harrison.

Sorry for the non-clickable link. I'm traveling and my iPad is being a bit temperamental this morning.

If you aren't already reading The Elder Races series, this probably isn't the place to jump in.

Spoiler:

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Thea Harrison…

This collection contains Dragos Takes a Holiday, Pia Saves the Day, and Peanut Goes to School (two novellas and a short story in the Elder Races series, previously published separately). All three stories focus on the Cuelebres, the First Family of the Wyr.

Dragos Takes a Holiday: When the Cuelebre family heads to Bermuda for some much needed R&R, it’s no ordinary weekend in the sun. Between Pirates, treasure hunting, and a baby dragon… what could possibly go wrong?

Pia Saves the Day: The Cuelebres have moved to upstate New York where they finally have the space to indulge their Wyr side, and Liam can grow in safety. Their idyllic situation is shattered when Dragos is injured and stripped of his memory. Without Pia’s taming influence, there’s nothing holding back Dragos’s darkest side.

Peanut Goes to School: Dragos Cuelebre is no longer the only dragon. At just six months of age, Liam has already grown to the size of a large five-year-old boy. In an effort to give him a taste of normality, his parents enroll him in first grade. But school has a surprising number of pitfalls, and Liam is fast becoming one of the most dangerous creatures in all of the Elder Races.

[FizzyWater]

Originally Posted by library addict

The early novellas were good and added to the series. A few of the later novellas in the paranormal anthologies are too far outside the box for the world she created (IMO). Not sure which ones are in Time of Death.

I like Naked in Death for the beginning of Eve & Roarke's relationship. Also I've reread it so many times there's a nostalgia factor for me. But I agree it doesn't have the best murder mystery.

Totally agree. It would be a shorter list of which novellas add to the story and don't take the very pragmatic Eve into the woo-wwo side (as well as making Peabody sound like a total idiot).

[library addict]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

The first book in Time had a fake vampire. I assume you mean aren't hooked on Eve.

Yes, if the reader isn't hooked on Eve. I've been reading the series since book 2 came out. I know a lot of people I loaned the books to back in the days before digital books, especially non-romance readers, maybe weren't hooked after Naked in Death but if they kept going with Glory and Immortal then most of them continued with the series. I don't think you can necessarily say if you will enjoy the series if you only read book one.

I have one friend who read through about book fifteen or so and then she told me she just didn't like Eve. I can't imagine continuing reading the books where you don't like THE main character. This series is very much about Eve. Yes, her romance and marriage to Roarke plays an integral part, but it's ultimately HER story.

The vampire novella is a good example of Nora writing to the paranormal theme but sticking to her rules

Spoiler:

since the vampire wasn't real. There is one novella where she goes full paranormal with the plot and it is not a good fit with the police procedural aspects of the series. And another where it's borderline full paranormal.

[sufue]

Thanks!

I'm not traveling , so here are links:

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/Dragons-Famil...dp/B00O4HSROQ/
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/a-d...s-family-album
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dragons-Fam...dp/B00O4HSROQ/

Originally Posted by worktolive

Free:

A Dragon's Family Album by Thea Harrison.

Sorry for the non-clickable link. I'm traveling and my iPad is being a bit temperamental this morning.

If you aren't already reading The Elder Races series, this probably isn't the place to jump in.

Spoiler:

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Thea Harrison…

This collection contains Dragos Takes a Holiday, Pia Saves the Day, and Peanut Goes to School (two novellas and a short story in the Elder Races series, previously published separately). All three stories focus on the Cuelebres, the First Family of the Wyr.

Dragos Takes a Holiday: When the Cuelebre family heads to Bermuda for some much needed R&R, it’s no ordinary weekend in the sun. Between Pirates, treasure hunting, and a baby dragon… what could possibly go wrong?

Pia Saves the Day: The Cuelebres have moved to upstate New York where they finally have the space to indulge their Wyr side, and Liam can grow in safety. Their idyllic situation is shattered when Dragos is injured and stripped of his memory. Without Pia’s taming influence, there’s nothing holding back Dragos’s darkest side.

Peanut Goes to School: Dragos Cuelebre is no longer the only dragon. At just six months of age, Liam has already grown to the size of a large five-year-old boy. In an effort to give him a taste of normality, his parents enroll him in first grade. But school has a surprising number of pitfalls, and Liam is fast becoming one of the most dangerous creatures in all of the Elder Races.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by library addict

Yes, if the reader isn't hooked on Eve. I've been reading the series since book 2 came out. I know a lot of people I loaned the books to back in the days before digital books, especially non-romance readers, maybe weren't hooked after Naked in Death but if they kept going with Glory and Immortal then most of them continued with the series. I don't think you can necessarily say if you will enjoy the series if you only read book one.

I have one friend who read through about book fifteen or so and then she told me she just didn't like Eve. I can't imagine continuing reading the books where you don't like THE main character. This series is very much about Eve. Yes, her romance and marriage to Roarke plays an integral part, but it's ultimately HER story.

The vampire novella is a good example of Nora writing to the paranormal theme but sticking to her rules

Spoiler:

since the vampire wasn't real. There is one novella where she goes full paranormal with the plot and it is not a good fit with the police procedural aspects of the series. And another where it's borderline full paranormal.

I have only given up on a couple of series, usually because of the author not the characters in a book. An example would be the Anita Blake series. I loved the first ones. Her later books left me wondering why they were sold at Walmart when they should have been sold at the Love Shack. They weren't paranormal romance by that point.

[FizzyWater]

Originally Posted by library addict

I have one friend who read through about book fifteen or so and then she told me she just didn't like Eve. I can't imagine continuing reading the books where you don't like THE main character. This series is very much about Eve. Yes, her romance and marriage to Roarke plays an integral part, but it's ultimately HER story.

I have been frustrated with Eve at certain points in the series, and I had to remind myself that the timeframe in the series is actually pretty short. She's been writing these for about 25 years now, right?, but only 3 years have passed in the book's time.

Year after year, you read about this suspicious, impatient, tormented, arrogant woman, and she has this great husband and develops good friends - and she can be *so* rude to them. (How many times has she called one of them up, refused to say even "hi, how you doing?", demanded they drop everything to assist her NOW, then hang up while they're asking questions?)

When that starts to bug me, I just have to remind myself - it's really only been 3 years (or whatever the timeframe was when I was reading the book(s) that particularly set me off). And, she has reasons for not trusting/making friends easily.

If I think TOO hard about the short timeframe, I have to say that New York in the late 2050s-early 2060s will be a haven (if only short term) for serial killers! Eve rarely gets cases that could be considered simple in any way. But that's true of any long-running series.

One of my absolutely favorite books in this series is Treachery in Death, because it let us see some real growth in Eve's personality. I've been liking where Eve is in her personal journey a lot more since that book - and it's easier to accept the meltdowns (such as, "humming woman in Eve's office") when they come.

[cfrizz]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

I have only given up on a couple of series, usually because of the author not the characters in a book. An example would be the Anita Blake series. I loved the first ones. Her later books left me wondering why they were sold at Walmart when they should have been sold at the Love Shack. They weren't paranormal romance by that point.

I totally agree. I gave up on the Anita Blake series around book 20, but bought a couple after that. Her Anita books just basically turned into one big orgy scene after another. Then there is the fact that NOBODY including Anita ever matures and grows up! Life if about change if you don't change and grow, you stagnate and die, which is what the Anita Blake series does for me. So I stopped reading them.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by cfrizz

I totally agree. I gave up on the Anita Blake series around book 20, but bought a couple after that. Her Anita books just basically turned into one big orgy scene after another. Then there is the fact that NOBODY including Anita ever matures and grows up! Life if about change if you don't change and grow, you stagnate and die, which is what the Anita Blake series does for me. So I stopped reading them.

I stopped after 15.

[library addict]

Originally Posted by FizzyWater

I have been frustrated with Eve at certain points in the series, and I had to remind myself that the timeframe in the series is actually pretty short. She's been writing these for about 25 years now, right?, but only 3 years have passed in the book's time.

Year after year, you read about this suspicious, impatient, tormented, arrogant woman, and she has this great husband and develops good friends - and she can be *so* rude to them. (How many times has she called one of them up, refused to say even "hi, how you doing?", demanded they drop everything to assist her NOW, then hang up while they're asking questions?)

When that starts to bug me, I just have to remind myself - it's really only been 3 years (or whatever the timeframe was when I was reading the book(s) that particularly set me off). And, she has reasons for not trusting/making friends easily.

If I think TOO hard about the short timeframe, I have to say that New York in the late 2050s-early 2060s will be a haven (if only short term) for serial killers! Eve rarely gets cases that could be considered simple in any way. But that's true of any long-running series.

One of my absolutely favorite books in this series is Treachery in Death, because it let us see some real growth in Eve's personality. I've been liking where Eve is in her personal journey a lot more since that book - and it's easier to accept the meltdowns (such as, "humming woman in Eve's office") when they come.

I can see why people become frustrated with Eve, but I think that's different than actually not liking her as a character at all.

When I asked her why she'd kept reading, my friend said she liked the mysteries and the supporting characters and wanted to know if Eve was ever not in one of the books. When I told her no, she said she just didn't like Eve so she was going to stop reading them. I was agog that she'd read through so many (IIRC she read through Memory or Born, so it was quite a ways into the series).

I do think Eve has grown over the years. But as you said, in book time it's been a short timeframe so some of the changes are subtle. Stuff like her calling people and not saying hi doesn't bother me.

And yes, so many serial killers

[worktolive]

The Vampire's Mail Order Bride, a PNR by Kristen Painter is currently free.

I read this and enjoyed it. It's light and doesn't take itself very seriously. I'm still traveling so apologize for the lack of a clickable link.

[Terisa de morgan]

Originally Posted by worktolive

The Vampire's Mail Order Bride, a PNR by Kristen Painter is currently free.

I read this and enjoyed it. It's light and doesn't take itself very seriously. I'm still traveling so apologize for the lack of a clickable link.

Links to Amazon US and Kobo US.

[library addict]

Weekly Report:

Read:

• The Mark of the Tala (The Twelve Kingdoms #1) by Jeffe Kennedy (A-/5 stars)
• Saison for Love (Brewing Love #2) by Meg Benjamin (B/4 stars)
• Made for Us (The Shaughnessy Brothers #1) by Samantha Chase (D+/2 stars)
• Love Walks In (The Shaughnessy Brothers #2) by Samantha Chase (C/2 stars)

Purchased:

[library addict]

Is anyone able to access Carina Press' website?

I've been getting a Service Temporarily Unavailable message for the past few days.

[Terisa de morgan]

Same here.