DAILY DEALS: Ward, Oates, Bujold
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Lover at Last by J. R. Ward $ 1.99
From the Jacket Copy:
Qhuinn, son of no one, is used to being on his own. Disavowed from his bloodline, shunned by the aristocracy, he has found an identity as a brutal fighter in the war against the Lessening Society. But his life is not complete. Even as the prospect of having a family of his own seems within reach, he is empty on the inside, his heart given to another….
Blay, after years of unrequited love, has moved on from his feelings for Qhuinn. And it’s about time: it seems Qhuinn has found his perfect match in a Chosen female, and they are going to have a young. It’s hard for Blay to see the new couple together, but building your life around a pipe dream is just a heartbreak waiting to happen. And Qhuinn needs to come to terms with some dark things before he can move forward…
Fate seems to have taken these vampire soldiers in different directions, but as the battle over the race’s throne intensifies, and new players on the scene in Caldwell create mortal danger for the Brotherhood, Qhuinn learns the true meaning of courage, and two hearts meant to be together finally become one.
How We Deal With Gravity by Ginger Scott $ 0.99
From the Jacket Copy:
When her son Max was diagnosed with autism, Avery Abbot’s life changed forever. Her husband left, and her own dreams became a distant fantasy—always second to fighting never-ending battles to make sure Max was given opportunity, love and respect. Finding someone to fight along her side wasn’t even on her list, and she’d come to terms with the fact that she could never be her own priority again.
But a familiar face walking into her life in the form of 25-year-old Mason Street had Avery’s heart waging a war within. Mason was a failure. When he left his hometown five years ago, he was never coming back—it was only a matter of time before his records hit the billboard charts. Women, booze and rock-n-roll—that was it for him. But it seemed fate had a different plan in mind, and with a dropped record contract, little money and nowhere to go, Mason turned to the only family that ever made him feel home—the Abbots.
Avery loved Mason silently for years—until he broke her heart…completely. But time and life have a funny way of changing people, and sometimes second chances are there for a reason. Could this one save them both?
And the ending was a bit cheesy. Or maybe it was just a bit over the top, because everything just pans out perfectly for all of them.”
The Sharing Knife Volume One by Lois McMaster Bujold $ 0.99
From the Jacket Copy:
One of the most respected writers in the field of speculative fiction, Lois McMaster Bujold has won numerous accolades and awards, including the Nebula and Locus Awards as well as the fantasy and science fiction genre’s most prestigious honor, the Hugo Award for Best Novel, four times (most recently for Paladin of Souls). With The Sharing Knife series, Bujold creates a brand new world fraught with peril, and spins an extraordinary romance between a young farm girl and the brave sorcerer-soldier entrusted with the defense of the land against a plague of vicious malevolent beings. Meet Fawn Bluefield and Dag Redwing Hickory in Beguilement, the first book in Bujold’s unforgettable four-volume fantasy saga, and witness the birth of their dangerous romance—a love threatened by prejudice and perilous magic, and by Dag’s sworn duty as Lakewalker patroller and necromancer.
The Tattooed Girl by Joyce Carol Oates $ 1.99
From the Jacket Copy:
Joshua Seigl, a celebrated but reclusive author, is forced for reasons of failing health to surrender his much-prized bachelor’s independence. Advertising for an assistant, he unwittingly embarks upon the most dangerous adventure of his privileged life.
Alma Busch, a sensuous, physically attractive young woman with bizarre tattoos covering much of her body, stirs in Seigl a complex of emotions: pity? desire? responsibility? guilt? Unaware of her painful past and her troubled personality, Seigl hires her as his assistant. As the novel alternates between Seigl’s and Alma’s points of view, the naïve altruism of the one and the virulent anti-Semitism of the other clash in a tragedy of thwarted erotic desire.
With her masterful balance of dark suspense and surprising tenderness, Joyce Carol Oates probes the contemporary tragedy of ethnic hatred and challenges our accepted limits of desire. The Tattooed Girl may be her most controversial novel.
No, don’t start with Lover at Last, start with the first one, Dark Lover and read them until they lose their luster for you. For me it was this book, which for the record should have been Butch and Vishous (not Phury) – call me a purist.
@Sara: Agreed: must be read in order; should have been Butch and Vishous; Qhuinn and Blay were barely placeholders in their own book.
The luster completely fell apart for me, however, with Payne’s book, Lover-I-Can’t-Even. We were supposed to see the first female Brother, she was supposed to stand up to everyone, including the King, but no joy there. When I think of how this series consumed me back in the day …
I love The Sharing Knife series – it starts slow, and this first book of the series sets up what’s at stake in this wide green world (the original title of the series). There is a large age gap between the hero and heroine, but think Tolkien and the age of the elves. Highly recommended.
I think the Sharing Knife books may have been written as two big books split into four for the series, which might explain why its so slow. I liked it, but have never gone back to it, unlike her Chalion and Vorkosigan books.
@Darlynne:
True about Payne’s book, but I really liked Manny. I think I had rose colored glasses on and finally had to give up after Qhuinn and Blay. And I’m with you on having been consumed. I give Ward all the credit in the world for holding me through so many books. Have you read the Shadows? I’m wondering if I can jump back in there.
@Sara: You mean Trez and iAm? Yes, you could jump back in, but it will be more of the same and a lot of WTF; not saying don’t do it, just be prepared.
Surprisingly, BLOODKISS, the first spin-off, felt more like old school BDB than anything else has in a long while, which makes me *gah* hopeful for THE BEAST. After buying so many of these books, in multiple formats, I rely on the library now. It’s safer and less painful that way.
“Artistic License” by Elle Pierson (pen name of Lucy Parker who wrote “Act Like It”) is free on Amazon right now.
The Sharing Knife series is excellent on audio. I loved it.
My last in the Ward series was Lover Unbound. The “HEA” and I use that loosely, was just a huge disappointment in a story that had carried through the first four with someone else. So no, no more Ward.
I’d thought about The Tattooed Girl until I read some of the reviews :(
I don’t even remember when I gave up on Ward, but it was way later than it should have been. Unless she sneaks something out under a new, anonymous pseudonym, I won’t even try anything else by her.