DAILY DEALS: Regency, PNR, mystery, and fantasy
Book Dealsbook deals6 Comments
The Lady’s Companion by Carla Kelly $ 2.99
From the Jacket Copy:
A lady in distress finds an unlikely companion in this classic Signet Regency Romance from Carla Kelly.
AVAILABLE DIGITALLY FOR THE FIRST TIME
Miss Susan Hampton never imagined she would have to make her own way in the world. But when her reckless father gambles away the family estate, and she becomes an unpaid servant of her aunt, she flees in search of a better life.
Taking the position of companion to a temperamental dowager, she finds herself in dangerously close contact with the dowager’s handsome bailiff, David Wiggins, who is everything a man should be—except a gentleman. Though she tells herself he is a thoroughly unsuitable suitor, his irresistible charms could make her forget she was ever a lady…
Don’t miss Carla Kelly’s other classic Signet Regency romance, The Wedding Journey.
There was nothing exceptional about this book for me. It’s a nice little romance with some things about war in it. There were no surprises. Everyone was a nice person, good and honorable. Even Susan’s father and aunt are portrayed more as weak and fearful rather than evil. It was exactly what I needed, a relatively quiet story with characters I cared about mildly, a story and resolution that I could predict right down to the last line – but I found it satisfying nonetheless. It’s a C, a perfectly good story, well worth my time and money, satisfying in every way, but I’m not likely to read it again. “
Light My Fire by G.A. Aiken $ 0.99
From the Jacket Copy:
The trouble with humans is that they’re far too sensitive. Forget you put a woman in the local jail for a few months–and she takes it so personally! And yet she is the one trying to assassinate the queen. And now I’m trapped with Elina Shestakova of the Black Bear Riders of the Midnight. . .gods! That endless name!
But what am I to do? I am Celyn the Charming with direct orders from my queen to protect this unforgiving female.
Even more shocking, this unforgiving female is completely unimpressed by me. How is that even possible? But I know what I want and, for the moment, I want her. And I’m sure that she, like all females, will learn to adore me. How could she not when I am just so damn charming?
Blue Suede Shoes by Deborah Reardon $ 0.99
From the Jacket Copy:
Deep in the woods of Wisconsin, little Mary Martin has been missing for five weeks.
Meanwhile, city girl Clare Paxton thinks she’s destined for boredom when she returns home to Danfield, Wisconsin, to care for her lonely mother. But when a little girl goes missing, leaving only her tiny blue shoes behind in the dark northern forest, Clare can’t idly stand by as local police fumble the case. Handsome police chief Jared Grady seems far more interested in keeping watch on Clare’s meddling than searching for the girl, and no one in town seems to care that there could be a kidnapper in their midst—or worse. Why would the townspeople of Danfield allow little Mary’s case go cold?
As Clare’s investigation heats up, she discovers more than she might have hoped about her small-town neighbors. And she may be Mary Martin’s only hope of returning home safe and sound.
The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski $ 2.99
From the Jacket Copy:
Winning what you want may cost you everything you love
They were never meant to be together. As a general’s daughter, seventeen-year-old Kestrel enjoys an extravagant and privileged life. Arin has nothing but the clothes on his back. Then Kestrel makes an impulsive decision that binds Arin to her. Though they try to fight it, they can’t help but fall in love. In order to be together, they must betray their people . . . but to be loyal to their country, they must betray each other.
Set in a new world, The Winner’s Curse is a story of rebellion, duels, ballroom dances, wicked rumors, dirty secrets, and games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart.
Did the publisher put the plug in for Kelly’s The Wedding Journey? I’m mostly curious because “other” (rather than “another”) reads to me as singular, but Kelly published a BUNCH of Signet trads.
I think maybe I liked this one better than MOFB did, primarily because it was populated by fewer aristocrats and gentry than most trads. It’s not my favorite Kelly, but is in maybe the top 5. The Wedding Journey, meanwhile, is a book I’ve never re-read. Maybe I should…unless I got rid of it in The Great Book Purge of 2014.
I haven’t read a Carla Kelly book yet that wasn’t a B grade, and most are an A! And I haven’t read The Lady’s Companion yet so thanks!!
Maybe Carla Kelly is a “love her” or “meh her” writer, but count me in the “love her” camp, and Lady’s Companion is one of my favorites. However, I do think that there are a lot of elements of it that are drawn from a previous book of hers, Miss Chartley’s Guided Tour (which happens to be my all-time favorite romance novel ever).
A lot of people I know love The Lady’s Companion, so take this with a grain (or several) of salt. I thought the story of the “temperamental dowager” that the heroine was a companion to was terribly sad and it overshadowed the romance for me.
The whole Dragon Kin series is an absolute must read for me. $0.99 is a steal for Light My Fire and completely worth it. It was one of my top reads last year. But I agree you have to read the rest of the series first…not that it’s a hardship they are all terrific. G.A. Aiken aka Shelly Laurenston never disappoints.
Adding to the love for Carla Kelly, although I agree with Janine on the dowager’s story overshadowing the romance. I’m reading The Summer Campaign right now and while it’s still A++ Carla Kelly, there are those hints of sadness and a story untold in a part character I don’t know if I’ll see resolved. On the other hand, it tends to make her characters a lot more real.
If I know I want a comfort read, even if it’s a new book to me, Carla Kelly is definitely one of my go-tos. She’s like a pair of fuzzy slippers and a hot cup of tea in book form.