Sep 16 2012
Daily Deals: Rules of Civility by Amor Towles and three others
Rules of Civility by Amor Towles. $2.99.
From Jacket Copy:
The New York Times bestselling novel that “enchants on first reading and only improves on the second” (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
This sophisticated and entertaining first novel presents the story of a young woman whose life is on the brink of transformation. On the last night of 1937, twenty-five-year-old Katey Kontent is in a second-rate Greenwich Village jazz bar when Tinker Grey, a handsome banker, happens to sit down at the neighboring table. This chance encounter and its startling consequences propel Katey on a year-long journey into the upper echelons of New York society—where she will have little to rely upon other than a bracing wit and her own brand of cool nerve. With its sparkling depiction of New York’s social strata, its intricate imagery and themes, and its immensely appealing characters, Rules of Civility won the hearts of readers and critics alike.
Seduction and Snacks (Chocolate Lovers #1) by Tara Sivec. $2.99.
From Jacket Copy:
Claire is a twenty-something, single mom that grudgingly helps her best friend sell sex toys while she attempts to make enough money to start her own business to give her foul-mouthed, but extremely loveable (when he’s asleep) toddler a better life.
When Carter, the one-night-stand from her past that changed her life forever, shows up in her hometown bar without any recollection of her besides her unique chocolate scent, Claire will make it a point that he remembers her this time.
With Carter’s undisguised shock at suddenly finding out he has a four-year-old son and Claire’s panic that her stretch marks and slim to none bedroom experience will send the man of her dreams heading for the hills, the pair will do whatever they can to get their happily ever after.
Warning: contains explicit sex, profanity and enough sarcasm to choke a horse.
For example, from one review:
“Hey Carter, speaking of hot-your hot beef injection had a play date with my eggs”
“Speaking of crazy, your spunk has a crazy backstroke”
“I was trying to figure out a way to tell him his love mayonnaise had mad skills and no one at this table could stop talking about vibrators”
Night Is Mine (The Night Stalker) by M. L. Buchman. $1.99.
From Jacket Copy:
First in a thrilling military romantic suspense series based on the real-life elite helicopter pilots who transport Navy SEALs and Delta Force teams in and out of combat and covert missions. (SOAR are the heroes of Black Hawk Down.)
Buchman’s heroine flys the most dangerous military ops and tries to find the one man who can be a hero in her own life. Ace-pilot Captain Emily Beale goes undercover as bodyguard to the First Lady, with her rugged commander, Major Mark Henderson, who is determined to cover her back. Can she learn to keep her desire at bay before her covert mission implodes
The Night is Mine by M. L. Buchman has got to be the lightest-weight military-oriented romantic suspense story I’ve ever read, in spite of the number of times the heroine gets injured. What I’m saying is that I found the story to be a tremendous amount of fun, and I absolutely got sucked way into it the first night, but that I totally checked my reality-meter at the door. And I had a wilder ride than any of the chopper pilots in the story!
The Last Good Man by Kathleen Eagle. $1.99.
From Jacket Copy:
“A poignant, satisfying romance.” -Library Journal
“Compelling.”-Booklist
“A good man is hard to find, but a romance by Eagle is a good place to start.” -Kirkus Reviews
Gorgeous, famous Savannah Stephens is back, and no one in her hometown, Sunbonnet, Wyoming, really knows why. Especially not Clay Keogh, the good-hearted rancher who has loved her from afar since they were kids. Savannah’s young daughter looks just like Savannah’s first love: local bad boy Kole Kills Crow, Clay’s half-brother. Has Savannah come home to start a new relationship with Kole? Whatever her secrets, it’s clear that she’s deeply troubled and needs a shoulder to lean on. Clay is there for her, and she soon realizes that he’s a very special man. But until she can bring herself to share the painful truth about her fall from stardom, the emotional distance between her and Clay may separate them forever.
About the Author: Bestselling author Kathleen Eagle retired from a seventeen-year teaching career on a North Dakota Indian reservation to become a full-time novelist. The Lakota Sioux heritage of her husband and their three children has inspired many of her stories. Among her honors, she has received a Career Achievement Award from Romantic Times, the Midwest Fiction Writer of the Year Award, and Romance Writers of America’s prestigious RITA Award. Library Journal named THE NIGHT REMEMBERS one of the five best romances of the year. Kathleen takes great pleasure in reading letters from readers who tell her that her books have tugged at their heartstrings, entertained, inspired, and even enlightened them.
From a review at Amazon: Clay is wonderful, one of my all-time favorite heroes. Hardworking, competent, sexy, and nurturing with an always tender touch for the wounded and needy, human or animal, he is the man the title evokes. But he is no impossible dream. He can be angry and impatient, he can make foolish choices, and he can find it difficult to articulate his feelings. Eagle reveals enough about his past for the reader to understand that his need to take care of others is an essential and innate part of the person Clay is. Like many natural givers, Clay must learn to accept the gifts of others.
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Sep 16, 2012 @ 12:56:38
“Seduction and Snacks” was SUPER funny. I laughed out loud more than a few times reading it. It’s also a somewhat sweet romance. It’s also pretty crude and very adult humor, so if you’re easily offended, you might want to stay away.
That quote posted above is the heroine trying to find the “right” way to let the hero know he has a four year old son with her from a one night stand in college.
Sep 16, 2012 @ 13:23:09
I’ll be the guinea pig on Rules of Civility. I’ve been really wanting to read it for a while now.
Sep 16, 2012 @ 14:06:04
I read an excerpt of Seduction and Snacks and it sounded hilarious to me. Thanks for the link, I missed it last time around.
Sep 16, 2012 @ 14:21:42
One of the first American authored romances I read was “The Last Good Man.” I absolutely loved it, and I still do. I have a battered paperback of it on my keeper shelf. When it was written, it was groundbreaking, and in some ways it still is.
Sep 16, 2012 @ 15:56:53
I really liked Rules of Civility, but it is NOT a romance. It’s historical fiction and the style and subject matter evoke New York in the 30s well, I thought. It reminded me a bit of Fitzgerald.
I’d describe it as “anti-romance” in the sense that it has some of the themes and plot points of romance fiction but takes them in a different way. (This isn’t a spoiler; the way the book is framed, you know early on what the longterm outcome of the relationships will be. What happens to them in the middle is complicated and unexpected, though). You could say that it’s the story of Katey’s love affair with the glamour of Manhattan, and that ends in a satisfying way. So I’d recommend it but with the caveat that you not expect romance and you’d be disappointed if you did.
Sep 16, 2012 @ 16:34:11
imho – the writing in Rules of Civility is absolutely beautiful. Like Liz Mc2 up there said, the author does tell you the end right in the beginning, but I was no less sucked into the story for knowing. I’d highly recommend it.
Sep 16, 2012 @ 16:54:28
I’m totes getting Rules of Civility. I remember reading the sample when it came out but being unwilling to part with the $14.99 they were asking at the time, even though I thought the writing was beautiful.
Sep 16, 2012 @ 17:02:00
Went to Kobo via tab for Rules of Civility and amusingly was met with three Japanese translations of Harry Potter as first matches
Sep 16, 2012 @ 21:03:19
Rules of Civility was one of my favorite reads from last year. I’m a sucker for that time period and found the writing to be beautiful. I’d definitely recommend it.
Sep 16, 2012 @ 21:59:10
Just bought Seduction and Snacks – I wishlisted it last week after seeing Twitter buzz, but couldn’t resist the reduced price today. Bought the Kathleen Eagle also. These daily deals are killing me!! :)
Sep 17, 2012 @ 22:47:26
I may be pre-judging (having not read this yet), but it might help to know that Buchanan is male. When you consider that men in the average romance novels are seldom similar to the “real thing” (being the perfect male from a female point of view), I am expecting a similar lack of reality of the female characters from a male romance author.
Sep 18, 2012 @ 07:43:26
@MikiS: You might have something there.
Sep 18, 2012 @ 22:13:43
Does anyone know what fanfic Seduction and Snacks is supposed to be from? It is mentioned in a number of reviews and GR shelving that it is fanfic, but nothing specific.
This was a DNF for me for so many reasons, so I want to stay away from the source document, so to speak.
Sep 19, 2012 @ 07:12:19
@Ellen: My understanding is that it is Twilight fan fiction. As is everything else.