FREE/BARGAIN — Romance & Discussion

[library addict]

Weekly Report:

Read:

• Star Cruise: Chef’s Kiss (Sectors #18.7) by Veronica Scott (F/1 star)

Usually I enjoy the Star Cruise entries in the long-running Sectors series but this one was a disappointment to me. Thought about not listing as I did last week for something else, but felt I should in this case since I've listed all her other novellas and books I've read since we started this thread. Sure this was a me issue, but as with all ratings YMMV.

Purchased:
just freebies

[sufue]

Joffe's free book yesterday, still free today, was District Nurse, the first in the Julie Barden romance series by Audrie Manley-Tucker.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CJ5G3YMN
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CJ5G3YMN

Spoiler:

Although she was understandably nervous, Julie Barden was also thrilled to be taking up her first job as district nurse in the small seaside town of Ambersea...

It was not so much the medical side of things as her patients’ personal problems that interested her so deeply – the old woman neglected by her daughter-in-law; a teenager struggling to keep the home going for her young brothers and sisters; an orphan child that nobody wanted: all square pegs that Julie was convinced she could help into square holes.

But her biggest problem was her relationship with the local doctor, David Pembury, who saw her only as an interfering ‘new broom’ sweeping far too clean. Each of them only wanted the best for their patients. Would they be able to agree about how to achieve it?

[library addict]

Weekly Report:

Read:

• K-9 Defender (Protectors at K-9 Ranch #2) by Julie Miller (B-/3 stars)

Purchased:

[sufue]

Yesterday's Joffe free book, still free today, is The River Girl, which is the second in the Devonshire Sagas series by Tania Crosse.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B095X31VZP
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B095X31VZP

Spoiler:

Dartmoor, 1858.

Elizabeth Thornton has every reason to want to escape from home — a ramshackle farm in the middle of nowhere on the wilds of Dartmoor. Since her father’s death, she’s been trapped here, in the clutches of her lascivious uncle.

When a position opens up at Rosebank Hall, she jumps at the chance. She will be a domestic drudge at the beck and call of the house’s cantankerous master.

It’s hardly the career of her dreams. Elizabeth wants to be a doctor, but she’ll do anything to be free of her uncle.

Then one night, the master’s wayward son turns up, wounded in a conflict in a foreign country — damaged in every way a person can be.

But as Elizabeth nurses him back to life, the pair grow closer and everything changes.

But Elizabeth’s uncle isn’t ready to relinquish her yet . . .

Will she keep on fighting for her freedom? Even with her dark past nipping at her heels?

[sufue]

I don't do many recommendations for books on this thread, mostly because I don't do a very good job of keeping track of what I read in the way of romances. But, I just finished reading Ann Liang's A Song to Drown Rivers, which is out tomorrow (I had a review copy), and it is one of the best books I've read this year. Not totally sure it's a romance rather than a fantasy, but posting it here because I think of it as a romance. It's a retelling of a Chinese legend, and just has so many emotions all wrapped up in a rollercoaster ride. The romance is very slow-burn and not at all explicit, but still really powerful - powerful enough that I cried my way through the last couple of chapters, although it ends up feeling natural and fitting in the end. (If you want to read my full review, the URL is in my signature, and just pop "Liang" in the search box...)

Anyway, it's really expensive right now, because it's brand new, but if you can grab from your library, and/or I'll post if I see it on sale.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CQHLN681
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/a-song-to-drown-rivers
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1035050390
Kobo UK: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/a-s...drown-rivers-2

Spoiler:

Inspired by the legend of Xishi, one of the famous Four Beauties of Ancient China, A Song to Drown Rivers is an epic novel steeped in myth about womanhood, war, sacrifice, and love against all odds as the fate of two kingdoms hangs in a delicate balance.

Her beauty hides a deadly purpose.

Xishi’s beauty is seen as a blessing to the villagers of Yue—convinced that the best fate for a girl is to marry well and support her family. When Xishi draws the attention of the famous young military advisor, Fanli, he presents her with a rare opportunity: to use her beauty as a weapon. One that could topple the rival neighboring kingdom of Wu, improve the lives of her people, and avenge her sister’s murder. All she has to do is infiltrate the enemy palace as a spy, seduce their immoral king, and weaken them from within.

Trained by Fanli in everything from classical instruments to concealing emotion, Xishi hones her beauty into the perfect blade. But she knows Fanli can see through every deception she masters, the attraction between them burning away any falsehoods.

Once inside the enemy palace, Xishi finds herself under the hungry gaze of the king’s advisors while the king himself shows her great affection. Despite his gentleness, a brutality lurks and Xishi knows she can never let her guard down. But the higher Xishi climbs in the Wu court, the farther she and Fanli have to fall—and if she is unmasked as a traitor, she will bring both kingdoms down.

[library addict]

Resonance Surge by Nalini Singh (Psy-Changeling Trinity #7) on sale for $3.99

Spoiler:

Where are the broken? That is the propulsive question that unleashes a world of secrets in New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh’s Resonance Surge . . .

StoneWater bears Pavel and Yakov Stepyrev have been a unit since birth, but now Pavel’s life is veering in a new direction, his heart held in the hands of Arwen Mercant, a Psy empath—and the only man who has ever brought Pavel to his knees.

This is it. A point of irrevocable change. For Pavel . . . for Arwen . . . for Yakov . . . and for another pair of twins whose bond has a far darker history.

A low-Gradient Psy, Theodora Marshall is considered worthless by everyone but her violently powerful twin, Pax. She is the sole person he trusts in their venomous family to investigate a hidden and terrible part of their family history—an unregistered rehabilitation Center established by their grandfather.

Places of unimaginable pain designed to psychically wipe minds, leaving the victims shells of their former selves, the Centers are an ugly vestige of the Psy race’s Silent past. But this Center was worse. Far, far worse. And now Theo must uncover the awful truth—in the company of a scowling bear named Yakov, who isn’t about to take a Marshall at face value . . . especially a Marshall who has turned his dreams into chilling nightmares.

Because Yakov is the great-grandson of a foreseer . . . and he has seen Theo die in an unstoppable surge of blood. Night after night after night . . .

Kobo

Google Play

Apple books

Kindle

[sufue]

A few freebies from an email newsletter...

Hallowed Games, first in the Hallowed Games series by CN Crawford
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CM1BB54F
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CM1BB54F

Bewitched, first in the Bewitched series by Laura Thalassa
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BMGYR5XP
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BMGYR5XP

First Ritual: Supernatural Battle, first in the Coven Caves series by Kelly St Clare
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BRXMNG56
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BRXMNG56

I don't think I've read anything by St Clare, but have read and enjoyed other books by Thalassa and Crawford. And I did see that St Clare has teamed with Shannon Mayer on a couple of books, and FWIW I have liked several of Mayer's books.

[sufue]

Another Joffe free romance...

The Drayton Legacy is the first in the Potters Saga series by Rona Randall. (The second book in this series was also free a couple of months ago, but not free right now.)

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CGRY2MQK
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CGRY2MQK

Spoiler:

Authentic, colourful historical romance set in the 18th century.

When Joseph Drayton, the head of the family, refuses to let his sister marry — and, what’s more, sends her suitor packing — he little knows what turmoil he’s creating for the future.

For Jessica is pregnant by her lover, and her predicament has far reaching consequences in the close-knit community of the Staffordshire village of Burslem.

Joseph Drayton, Master Potter, is immaculate in velvet and lace, narrow-minded in the efficiency with which he runs the family business but untrammelled in his private ambitions.

Those ambitions include Meg, the spirited gypsy girl who slaves in his turning sheds, but not Martin, his gifted younger brother.

Martin is bound by indentures to work five years in Joseph’s pot bank, but longs for the day when he comes into the Drayton legacy and can express his artistry in a more personal way.

In this he is helped by his friend, Simon Kendall, the canal digger, a humble genius who can neither read nor write but whose vision as an architect and engineer transforms the potteries trade…

The Drayton Legacy is an involving novel, rich in character and detail, which takes as its background the rapidly industrialising potteries of the 18th century.

Told with humour and insight, the story of The Drayton Legacy will grip all readers who enjoy colourful, authentic historical romance.

[library addict]

Weekly Report:

Read:

• Saving the Sheriff (The Hills of Texas #1) by Kadie Scott (B+/4 stars)
• Resisting the Rancher (The Hills of Texas #2) by Kadie Scott (B-/3 stars)
• Taming the Troublemaker (The Hills of Texas #3) by Kadie Scott (C+/3 stars)
• Claiming the Cowboy for Christmas (The Hills of Texas #4) by Kadie Scott (B/4 stars)
• Landing the Lawman (The Hills of Texas #5) by Kadie Scott (C+/3 stars)

Purchased:
none

[kg3]

FREE:

Witches Get Stuff Done (Starfall Point #1) - Molly Harper
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Sept. 2023

Amazon US--Amazon UK--Amazon Canada--Amazon Australia--Kobo US

[library addict]

Lindsay Buroker has her Agents of the Crown five book bundle series available free from
Book Funnel.

Spoiler:

In a far away kingdom, an immensely powerful soul is trapped in a jewel called a dragon tear. Whoever holds it has access to great magical power, but, as in all times and places, power is seductive and dangerous. And, as with all trapped souls, this one wants to escape.

~

Orphaned at a young age, Zenia Cham has fought and scraped her way into a position of honor as an inquisitor for one of the city's temples. But an even greater destiny awaits. Impressed by her deeds, the king offers her a prestigious position as one of his elite Agents of the Crown.

The missions will be dangerous, and she’s not sure she wants the partner she’s being assigned—a cocky noble lord from a wealthy estate—but she has the opportunity to distinguish herself as she serves not only the city but the entire Kingdom.

How could she say no?

There’s just one problem. The king gives her a mysterious dragon tear that’s nothing like the other magical gems she’s seen. She may need its power to stay alive in this perilous new job, but dare she rely upon it?