Daily Deals: A couple of reader/author submitted deals, a cozy mystery, and dragon shifter
The Red Book of Primrose House by Marty Wingate. $ .99
From the Jacket Copy:
In Marty Wingate’s charming new Potting Shed Mystery, Texas transplant Pru Parke’s restoration of a historic landscape in England is uprooted by an ax murderer.
Pru Parke has her dream job: head gardener at an eighteenth-century manor house in Sussex. The landscape for Primrose House was laid out in 1806 by renowned designer Humphry Repton in one of his meticulously illustrated Red Books, and the new owners want Pru to restore the estate to its former glory—quickly, as they’re planning to showcase it in less than a year at a summer party.
But life gets in the way of the best laid plans: When not being happily distracted by the romantic attentions of the handsome Inspector Christopher Pearse, Pru is digging into the mystery of her own British roots. Still, she manages to make considerable progress on the vast grounds—until vandals wreak havoc on each of her projects. Then, to her horror, one of her workers is found murdered among the yews. The police have a suspect, but Pru is certain they’re wrong. Once again, Pru finds herself entangled in a thicket of evil intentions—and her, without a hatchet.
AmazonBNKoboBook DepositoryAREApple
Google
Taste of Darkness by Katie Reus. $ .99
From the Jacket Copy:
He spent more than a thousand years imprisoned in Hell…
Drake is an ancient dragon shifter, one of the most powerful beings in existence, but over a millennium trapped in utter darkness has left him ill-equipped for modern society. If it wasn’t for Victoria, the sweet female brave enough to befriend him, he’d be lost. She’s smart and gorgeous and everything he never dared dream of during his years of agonizing loneliness. He may not have anything to offer her, but one thing he knows for sure: he’d die to keep her safe.
Only to fall into the heaven of her touch.
Victoria is a wolf shifter, healer of the Stavros pack. She’s seen a lot, but she’s never met anybody quite like Drake, the fiery, fascinating shifter who can blaze through the skies unseen by mere mortals. He’s lost, dangerous, and the last male she should fall in love with, but the more time she spends helping him navigate modern life, the deeper—and hotter—their connection becomes. She’s thrilled when they finally locate his family, but reuniting with his people plunges them both into unimaginable danger. It’s a race against the clock trying to figure out who wants them dead and who they can trust, especially when the threat is closer than they ever imagined.
Length: Full novel (88,000 words)
Author note: Can be read as a stand-alone novel.
Darkness Series:
Darkness Awakened, #1
Taste of Darkness, #2
AmazonBNKoboBook DepositoryAREAppleGoogle
Until You Find Me by Amber Hart. $ .99c
From the Jacket Copy:
In this steamy, electrifying novel, Amber Hart pushes contemporary romance to its wildest limits as a young woman travels halfway across the globe—and discovers the place where her heart belongs.
Raven has no idea what to expect when she travels to Africa in search of answers about her family’s past. A twenty-year-old college student from Michigan, she’s never seen anything like the beautiful, treacherous jungles of Cameroon. But nothing takes her breath away like Jospin. As soon as Raven meets the charismatic and intense young hunter, she’s instantly hooked.
Clever, rugged, and fearless, Jospin makes his living from the perils of the jungle. But falling in love with Raven could be the most dangerous thing he’s ever done. The heir to a powerful poaching empire, he holds the key to unlocking the secrets of Raven’s legacy. If she asks the wrong questions, his answers could get them both killed. And yet each and every moment spent holding Raven in his arms is worth the risk.
Raven’s getting closer to the truth. Jospin’s at the point of no return. Their chemistry is out of control, and when they forge a bond that goes beyond blood, desire will take them into uncharted territory.
AmazonBNKoboBook DepositoryAREApple
Google
Wreck of the Nebula Dream by Veronica Scott. $ 0.99
From the Jacket Copy:
A reimagining of the Titanic disaster set in the far future among the stars…
Traveling unexpectedly aboard the luxury liner Nebula Dream on its maiden voyage across the galaxy, Sectors Special Forces Captain Nick Jameson is ready for ten relaxing days, and hoping to forget his last disastrous mission behind enemy lines. He figures he’ll gamble at the casino, take in the shows, maybe even have a shipboard fling with Mara Lyrae, the beautiful but reserved businesswoman he meets.
All his plans vaporize when the ship suffers a wreck of Titanic proportions. Captain and crew abandon ship, leaving the 8000 passengers stranded without enough lifeboats and drifting unarmed in enemy territory. Aided by Mara, Nick must find a way off the doomed ship for himself and several other innocent people before deadly enemy forces reach them or the ship’s malfunctioning engines finish ticking down to self destruction.
But can Nick conquer the demons from his past that tell him he’ll fail these innocent people just as he failed to save his Special Forces team? Will he outpace his own doubts to win this vital race against time?
And this April is the 103rd anniversary of the Titanic sinking.
SFR Galaxy Award Winner in 2013
AmazonBNKoboBook DepositoryAREApple
Google
I remember that review of Wreck of the Nebula Dream! I remember too I almost bought it after reading the rev, but didn’t because it was supposed to be light on the romance. I love SFR, but I love mine heavy on the rom and even better if it’s erotic. But hey, for 99 cents I’m willing to give it a try. :) It sounds like a great SFR.
@Michele Mills: Do you have any good recs for SFR? I’ve actually been in the mood for it lately but don’t really know what’s good!
All of these today sound interesting to me, but my TBR pile has gotten so out of control I just don’t know if I should click. I haven’t even been reading that much lately, so I’m just acquiring, acquiring…
@JJPP: I’ll jump in here and recommend A Viking’s Peace ( m/f, book 1 of the Vikings in Space series ) by Zoe York and Chaos Station by Kelly Jensen and Jenn Burke which is m/m sfr, and Hold by Claire Kent (m/f). Truthfully I didn’t think I’d care for A Viking’s Peace – I mean really, Vikings in space? But it was so good! It’s one of my favourites now by this author. And the other two are equally great.
KC Klein’s The Space Captain’s Courtesan, scifi M/F romance; terrific, and I don’t usually like scifi as a rule.
@JJPP – Linnea Sinclair writes excellent SFR with strong world building and good couples. I’m blanking on the name of my fave – it has a cyborg / virgin hero. Oh wait, I remember – Games of Command.
Does space opera count? I thought Rachel Bach’s FORTUNE’S PAWN had outstanding world-building and a great romance (by my definition, that means I am invested in these characters emotionally and want them to be together after she/they save/s the world.) Same with Ann Aguirre’s GRIMSPACE series. But if the HEA needs to come at the end of a book, as opposed to the end of the arc, then ignore what I’ve said. So, so creative world-building, though.
@Darlynne: Yes yes yes, Fortune’s Pawn is incredible and that series is on my keep-forever list. I loved those books, and had to re-read them right after finishing the third!
I really enjoyed The Vorkosigan Saga, specifically Shards of Honor, as well.
I love all of these recommendations — SFR is one of my favourite sub-genres, can be really hard to find, and would have loved the Horus Heresy more if there’d been a little bit of romance because zomg it was textbook setup!
@JJPP:
People looking for more SFR recs: Veronica Scott runs a column which is devoted to SF/F romance book recs on the USA Today Happy Ever After blog called “Sci-Fi Encounters”.
It’s bi-weekly I think?
This is the latest one:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/happyeverafter/2015/03/26/scifi-encounters-veronica-scott-michelle-howard/70412648/
@cleo:
Oh yeah, Linnea Sinclair is a must read for anyone interested in SFR. I don’t even have the words to express how great she is ;) Plus, she has quite a few ‘love unrequited for years’ type of stories, which is total catnip for me.
Thanks everyone! I appreciate all the recs! These are great.
I have read Games of Command, and I thought it was great. That, and Last Hours of Gann are the books that made me think maybe I needed more SFR in my life :-)
@Jjpp: I did a lot of recommending here: http://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2014/08/the-rec-league-sci-fi-romances-when-aliens-are-your-jam/ and since I’m lazy… ;)
I just wanted to pop back in and say thank you for all of the recs and links! I devoured Grimspace and OH YES OH YES I am so excited I have more books in that series to read! And many many more to bookmark.