Daily Deals: Regency mysteries, a girl with a great personality; free reads from Pocket; and a cowboy
I want to start with a plug for EK Blair’s Fading. It was recommended by Jennie here. Recently it was discounted to 99c and I included it in the Daily Deals. Last night I read it. If you haven’t bought it, I recommend taking advantage of the offer. I agreed with Jennie’s review and will add my own thoughts that the book was a very emotional read and dealt with the issue of rape seriously and respectfully. I really loved the sweet romance and thought it fit the arc of the story quite well. I was worried about Candace’s ability to be intimate and it didn’t happen quickly but when it did, it was very loving. It’s a great 99c read.
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Captain Lacey Mysteries by Ashley Gardner, Jennifer Ashley. $ .99
From the Jacket Copy:
Captain Lacey Regency Mysteries, Volume One, by Ashley Gardner
A collection of the first three novels in the Captain Lacey Regency Mysteries series, plus two Captain Lacey short stories first published in mystery magazines.
This volume includes:
The Hanover Square Affair (full-length novel)
A Regimental Murder (full-length novel)
The Glass House (full-length novel)
The Gentleman’s Walking Stick (two short stories)
Meet Captain Gabriel Lacey, a half-pay cavalry officer who returns to Regency London with little money and no purpose, but with a sense of honor and fairness. He’s pulled into a search for a missing young woman, and thus begins investigating crime, using his status as a gentleman but a poor one to cross the boundaries between the top of society and the working class of the back streets.
In The Hanover Square Affair, a missing girl and horrific corpse plunge Captain Lacey into the dark underworld of Regency London.
In A Regimental Murder Captain Lacey is on hand to save the life of a beautiful widow; he then investigates the death of her husband, a colonel who had been accused of murdering a cavalry officer during the Peninsular War.
In The Glass House, Lacey investigates the death of a barrister’s young wife, and links her to a notorious brothel where the haut ton play.
Two short stories finish off the collection: In “The Disappearance of Miss Sarah Oswald,” Lacey is asked to locate a man’s missing daughter, though he senses that the family would be just as happy for her to remain missing. In “The Gentleman’s Walking Stick,” Lacey untangles a web of deceit involving a respectable society man, his only clue being a missing walking stick.
Join Captain Lacey and his friends as he investigates intrigue, murder, and villainy from the plush ballrooms of Mayfair to the darker streets of Regency London.
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If I Were You by Lisa Renee Jones . $ Free
From the Jacket Copy:
The steamy first installment in the Inside Out erotic romance trilogy by Lisa Renee Jones, in the bestselling tradition of Fifty Shades of Grey.
When Sara McMillan finds a stack of journals in a storage unit, she’s shocked and enthralled by the erotic life the writer led. Unable to stop reading, she vicariously lives out dark fantasies through Rebecca, the writer—until the terrifying final entry.
Certain something sinister has happened, Sara sets out to discover the facts, immersing herself in Rebecca’s life. Soon she’s working at the art gallery Rebecca worked at and meeting Rebecca’s friends. Finding herself drawn to two dangerously sexy men, the manager of the gallery and a famed artist, Sara realizes she’s going down the same path Rebecca took. But with the promise of her dark needs being met by a man with confident good looks and a desire for control, she’s not sure anything else matters. Just the burn for more.
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Marooned with the Maverick by Christine Rimmer. $ 1.99
From the Jacket Copy:
Rust Creek Ramblings
Seducing the Schoolteacher?
We apologize, dear readers, for our brief hiatus in publication. The offices of the Rust Creek Rambler were damaged in the Great Flood, but we are now filing our reports from a bar stool at the Ace in the Hole. And do we have scandalous news for you!
We have it on good authority that during the storm, gorgeous rapscallion Collin Traub was stranded with our beloved kindergarten teacher Willa Christensen—alone. In a barn. Overnight. No one knows why, but Willa could barely stand the sight of Collin before. And now? Oh, readers—we don’t like to kiss and tell. But our sources tell us that the sexy Rust Creek cowboy has set his sights on lassoing the sweet schoolmarm?for good!
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The Original 1982: A Novel by Lori Carson. $ 2.99.
From the Jacket Copy:
It’s 1982, and Lisa is twenty-four years old, a waitress, an aspiring singer-songwriter, and the girlfriend to a famous musician. That year, she makes a decision, almost without thinking about it.
But what would have happened if she had chosen differently? Thirty years later, haunted by regret, Lisa revisits her past to reimagine it.
Alternating between two very different possibilities, The Original 1982 is a novel about how the choices we make affect the people we become—and about how the people we are affect the choices we make.
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Revenge of the Girl With the Great Personality by Elizabeth Eulberg. $ 2.24 at Amazon and Google Play
From the Jacket Copy:
A hilarious new novel from Elizabeth Eulberg about taking the wall out of the wallflower so she can bloom.
Don’t mess with a girl with a Great Personality.
Everybody loves Lexi. She’s popular, smart, funny…but she’s never been one of those girls, the pretty ones who get all the attention from guys. And on top of that, her seven-year-old sister, Mackenzie, is a terror in a tiara, and part of a pageant scene where she gets praised for her beauty (with the help of fake hair and tons of makeup).
Lexi’s sick of it. She’s sick of being the girl who hears about kisses instead of getting them. She’s sick of being ignored by her longtime crush, Logan. She’s sick of being taken for granted by her pageant-obsessed mom. And she’s sick of having all her family’s money wasted on a phony pursuit of perfection.
The time has come for Lexi to step out from the sidelines. Girls without great personalities aren’t going to know what hit them. Because Lexi’s going to play the beauty game – and she’s in it to win it.
Anyway, so I was instantly attracted to this book since I thought Lexi was a perfect description of me: good personality, but average, not skinny but not fat, aspiring fashionista, blends into the background, chokes up whenever she talks to the guy she likes, little self confidence. The difference: when she puts on makeup and shows a bit more skin, she’s an instant hottie, getting all this attention and boys liking her, and all of the girls jealous, and has killer confidence. When I put on makeup and actually try on my clothes: I’m still plain old me, insecure as always (especially if I’m showing more skin) and there don’t seem to be any boys or people whatsoever checking me out as I walk down te hall. Maybe it’s just me, but some aspect of that does not seem right.
I have been resisting Fading due to rape being one thing I can’t handle reading about or watching in movies/TV. You and Jennie are, however, breaking down my defenses on this one.
@Rachel: I’d never suggest someone read a book with subject matter they can’t handle, but for me it does make a difference when it’s dealt with realistically and sensitively.
I’m so glad Jane liked Fading! I’ve read so many crappy NA/YA books (I can’t seem to stop reading them for some reason), to read one that is well-done is a reminder of why the genre appeals to me.
I’ve been meaning to try the Captain Lacey Mysteries. Love deals like this.
At that price I am totally giving the Captain Lacey series a try. I like but don’t love the Sebastian St. Cyr series (must there be a chase through London in every book? apparently so). Anyway, thanks for the deal!
The Captain Lacy Mysteries are written by Jennifer Ashley. She uses the Ashley Gardner pen name for them to separate them from her romances. She also writes under Allyson James for her erotic romances. EVERYTHING she writes is fabulous!!!
You can’t beat 99 cents for the Captain Lacey series! I bought these about a year ago when Hanover Square was .99, and the rest were…2.99, I think? In any case, the series is well worth it, even at the higher price, IMHO.
I would recommend the Captain Lacey series. I have read them all and I loved them. I have preordered the next one. If you like Deanna Raybourne, Tasha Alexander, or C. S. Harris, I think you will enjoy this series.
@Glittergirl: Agree that I like her regardless of which name she’s using!
Anyone even slightly thinking about the Capt. Lacey mysteries should jump on them now. The books are great and that price is fantastic. I guess this is to gear us all up for the new book coming out this fall. . . finally.
How cool! Thanks, Jane. I bought Fading. Wanted it from Jennie’s review and couldn’t resist at the .99 price. Started it last night. Very emotionally involving.