Daily Deals: Wherein I take a walk down memory lane with a once beloved historical author’s backlist
Jane Austen: Blood Persuasion by Janet Mullany. $ 3.99
From the Jacket Copy:
It is 1810, and the Damned are out of favor—banished from polite society. Jane Austen’s old undead friends have become new neighbors, raising hell in her tranquil village just in time to interrupt Jane’s work on what will be her masterpiece. Suddenly Jane’s niece is flirting dangerously with vampires, and a formerly respectable spinster friend has discovered the forbidden joys of intimate congress with the Damned (and is borrowing Jane’s precious silk stockings for her assignations). Writing is simply impossible now, with murderous creatures prowling the village’s once-peaceful lanes. And with the return of her vampire characteristics, a civil war looming between factions of the Damned, and a former lover who intends to spend eternity blaming her for his broken heart, Jane is facing a very busy year indeed.
AmazonBNSony
KoboBook DepositoryAREApple
Google
Loving a Lost Lord by Mary Jo Putney. $ .99
From the Jacket Copy:
In the first of a dazzling series, Mary Jo Putney introduces the Lost Lords—maverick childhood friends with a flair for defying convention. Each is about to discover the woman who is his perfect match—but perfection doesn’t come easily, even for the noble Duke of Ashton. . .
Battered by the sea, Adam remembers nothing of his past, his ducal rank, nor of the shipwreck that almost claimed his life. However, he’s delighted to hear that the golden-haired vision tending his wounds is his wife. Mariah’s name and face may not be familiar, but her touch, her warmth, feel deliciously right. . .
When Mariah Clarke prayed for a way to deter a bullying suitor, she didn’t imagine she’d find the answer washed ashore on a desolate beach. Convincing Adam that he is her husband is surprisingly easy. Resisting the temptation to act his wife, in every way, will prove anything but. And now a passion begun in fantasy has become dangerously real—and completely irresistible. . .
MJP lost me when she started writing contemporaries and I’ve never revisited her. Is this the book I should tackle if I would return?
AmazonBNSonyKoboBook DepositoryAppleGoogle
One Night Heir by Lucy Monroe. $ .99
From the Jacket Copy:
Only a royal wedding?
Bitter life lessons have taught Crown Prince Maksim Yurkovich that duty must come before desire. His country needs an heir, so when he discovers his lover can’t have children, he must sever their ties. Only Maks can’t resist spending one last night in her bed.
?can avert this royal scandal!
Now he faces the biggest diplomatic crisis of his life. Against all odds, Gillian Harris has become pregnant. Maks’s royal reserve masks the heart of a fierce Cossack warrior—one who is not above using their mutual passion to convince a hurt, wary Gillian that she must be his queen!
AmazonBNSonyKoboBook DepositoryAREApple
Google
The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook by Joshua Piven. $ 1.99.
From the Jacket Copy:
An omnibus of fast-access survival advice on the full range of everyday life emergencies, The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: LIFE packs hundreds of instant, real solutions to daily crisesbecause getting through the day is survival enough. Diverging from the multi-step scenarios of the previous books in the Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook series, each of the more than 700 new scenarios here are pared to the immediate problem, the immediate first step, and some what-next advice. Categories cover home, family, travel, sports & hobbies, pets, school, beauty & fitness, on the job scenarios, and more. Complementing this whole life catalog of disaster situations are 60 full-page illustrations that reveal the problemand solutionin a single, amusing visual. With helpful subject tabs and an extensive index, this SAS Survival Manual meets Helpful Hints From Heloise guide will keep readers informed and safe whether battling a bobcat or busted faucet. Because anything can go wrong, anywhere, anytime.
AmazonBNSonyKoboBook DepositoryAREApple
Google
Re the Putney book: just pick one of the Fallen Angels books for a re-read. Don’t know if the publisher has told her to keep the books shorter, but there just wasn’t much “there” there with this one.
I thought One Night Heir was okay but I really loved its sequel, Prince of Secrets. It has a brilliant scientist heroine.
Definitely not.
I’ll second Ros’s recommendation of Prince of Secrets. The heroine was great (as was the hero) and Monroe played really well with the Presents convention. It’s on sale for 1.99.
Sadly, I must agree on the Putney. This one was eh, not too bad, but by the second one in the series, she had firmly landed on my “don’t bother to look at new books” shelf.
I’ll have to check out Prince of Secrets.
SB Sarah has Prince of Secrets on her books on sale list today–it’s supposed to be $1.99
http://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/blog/books-on-sale-more-harlequin-sales-for-us-canadian-readers-plus-a-novella-f
That is a fairly new Lucy Monroe( I do wish they would discount some of her older books) so the discount surprises me. Its not her best but as others have said the next in the series is much better .
I got the MJP book when it was free, and IIRC it was a fairly standard amnesia plot. However, I don’t really like amnesia plots and I’m pretty sure that the heroine in that one annoyed me…I don’t remember it very well though.
I agree with the consensus on the Putney, and I was once a big fan of hers. I liked the first third or so of Loving a Lost Lord, but then it took a dive. Way too many improbable plot twists, because on top of the amnesia there were six separate instances of people who had been presumed dead turning out to really be alive! There comes a point at which it becomes impossible to suspend disbelief. I would give this one a D/C- grade and it took away my desire to read further in the series. It’s a shame, because Putney’s voice is still good.
I glommed Putney’s Fallen Angels series two summers ago and I loved those. Shame her current stuff is not as good.
I agree with all the other commenters above re the Putney. I paid full price for it when it first came out, being so excited that she was back writing historicals. I have her older backlist on my keeper shelf. But this one? What Janine said.