Books

Free Books Worth Reading

I work at a small school and bring home a small paycheck. I’m also looking for a new place to live, so I’m trying to save as much money as possible. How, then, does a girl get her reading fix on a tiny budget?

Answer: free books. Good ones.

The Devil You Know by Victoria Vane—today’s the last day to snag this erotic Georgian novella. I haven’t read this one yet, but I read A Wild Night’s Bride, the first in the series, and liked it a lot. DeVere is definitely a wounded soul, for all he tries very hard to hide it, and those are some of my favorite heroes. I’m very excited to get to know him better, and see his wounds healed.

Daughter of Time by Sarah Woodbury—the first in the After Cilmeri series, this time-travel romance is technically YA, but I didn’t realize it until I was halfway through the series (which becomes a time-travel/alternate history/ series with romantic Medieval maiden and knightelements). It takes place in medieval Wales, when modern-day Meg finds herself transported to the court of Llewlyn the Last. He’s one of my historical favorites, so I may be a bit biased, but I liked this book immensely, and devoured the rest of the series.

Forevermore by Lauren Royal—a short novella set in 1667 England. A Scottish gentleman woos an English woman who is not only a widow with a daughter, but several years older than he is. It’s a quick read, but so good I want to dive into the rest of the series (and this is my first experience with Lauren Royal).

The Governess Affair by Courtney Milan—a Regency romance where the duke isn’t the main character. The hero this time is his employee, tasked with “fixing” the duke’s problems (in this case, a governess named Serena who has been ill-used by said duke). It’s a long novella or a short novel (about 200 pages), so the story develops well, but doesn’t get bogged down in too many details.

Midnight Marriage by Lucinda Brandt—I haven’t read this Georgian romance yet, but I devoured Salt Bride and have heard wonderful things about this series. A young pamela-richardsongirl is drugged and wed to a rebellious lad in the dead of night. She’s returned to her bed, he’s shipped off to the continent. They meet again as adults. Are you curious about what happens next? I certainly am!

The Wild One by Danielle Harmon—a Georgian romance featuring an irresponsible but good-hearted lord, and his dead brother’s American fiancée. I’m always wary of period romances that include American heroines because they’re frequently portrayed as ill-mannered, but necessary because of their large dowries. This is not the case here; Gareth was fun to read, and Juliet was a good balance for him. Throw in Juliet’s daughter, and Gareth’s obvious adoration for her, and you’ve got a winner.

Didn’t see anything here you fancy? Have you already read these? Click here for the list of Kindle historical romances available for free…and let me know what you found!

Books

Favorite First Lines

Since school started last week, I’ve been up to my neck in summer reading papers. So I thought now would be a good time to celebrate one of the fun parts of reading by sharing the opening lines of some of my favorite romances.

dicksee-romeo-and-juliet

“When Tiberius Lamartine Flynn heard the tree singing, his first thought was that he’d parted company with his reason.”  —Grace Burrowes, Once Upon a Tartan

“In the tender green time of April, Katherine set forth at last upon her journey with the two nuns and the royal messenger.” —Anya Seton, Katherine

“The spy called Saint hunkered down in the bottom of the wardrobe she’d occupied for the last four hours and attempted to stifle a yawn.” —Shana Galen, Lord and Lady Spy

“Kate squinted up at the sky. Her nine-year-old imagination raced as fast as the wooly clouds that floated above her. A lamb, a dragon—and that big one, surely that was a giant with a horrid hooked nose.” —Anne Easter Smith, A Rose for the Crown

“ ‘Whatever fool claimed females to be the weaker sex never met my sister.’ ” —Candice Hern, The Best Intentions

“He was dead. However, his nose throbbed painfully, which he thought odd in the circumstances.” —Diana Gabaldon, Voyager

“Everyone knew that Sophie Beckett was a bastard.” —Julia Quinn, An Offer From A Gentleman

“Not every fairy tale begins with a prince or a princess. Some begin with a kiss that turns a man into a frog, or a tumble on the road that turns a basket of eggs into scramble.” —Eloisa James, Storming The Castle

“Gwen’s pulse beat so loudly in her ears, the sound drowned out the rumble of voices in the hall. He was here! And he still loved her!” —Sarah Woodbury, The Uninvited Guest

“So this was how it felt to be a conquering hero.” —Courtney Milan, Unveiled

2006-12-03_Ring_of_love_Edit

Okay, so which ones did I forget? What are some of your favorite first lines?

Books, Friday Favorites

Friday Favorite: Daily Cheap Reads

Books for your Kindle for $5 or less!

DailyCheapReads.com is a website run by two ladies who are very interested in filling up their Kindles for as little money as possible. They mostly post books published by mainstream publishers in all kinds of genres: mystery, romance, history, how-to, cookbooks, YA, etc. There are occasional indie book posts, too.

Saturdays are Savings by the Bundle days, featuring an electronic “boxed set”, where the price per book comes out significantly less than buying the books individually. Nook users: Barnes & Nobel sales are often mentioned as well, as Amazon has a policy of price matching. There is also a book club you can join at will, and lots of places to leave comments.

You can find them on Facebook and Twitter, in addition to their website.

If you’re looking specifically for Young Adult books, there is a Daily Cheap Reads, Jr.

And lest my British friends feel left out, there’s also a Daily Cheap Reads UK, for Kindle books under 6 pounds.

daily cheap reads logo

Books, Friday Favorites

Friday Favorite: When You Give a Duke an Indecent Proposal on Christmas Eve

Shana Galen fans, this one’s for you! Just before Christmas 2012, Shana released a short story featuring the hero and heroine from the first novel in her Jewels of the Ton series. Juliette was a former courtesan, while Will was the Duke of Pelham. They found their HEA in When You Give a Duke a Diamond, and continued the fun in When You Give a Duke an Indecent Proposal on Christmas Eve.

duke-diamond-200

When You Give a Duke an Indecent Proposal on Christmas Eve:
A Jewels of the Ton Holiday Story

Christmas Eve, Rothingham Manor, Yorkshire

“Your Grace, have you considered all of the ramifications of this scheme?” Richards asked in his dry, monotone voice.

Juliette refrained from rolling her eyes. Duchesses did not roll their eyes, or so Will had told her several weeks ago. She had responded by noting that duchesses also did not tickle dukes, and then proceeded to tickle him until his sober expression broke and he laughed despite himself. “It is not a scheme, Richards,” she told the butler. “It is a gift, and I want it to remain a surprise.”

Find the rest of the story here.

Books, Friday Favorites

Friday Favorite: Slightly Dangerous

Description (from Amazon):

“All of London is abuzz over the imminent arrival of Wulfric Bedwyn, the reclusive, cold-as-ice Duke of Bewcastle, at the most glittering social event of the season. Some whisper of a tragic love affair. Others say he is so aloof and passionless that not even the greatest beauty could capture his attention. But on this dazzling afternoon, one woman did catch the duke’s eye—and she was the only female in the room who wasn’t even trying. Christine Derrick is intrigued by the handsome duke…all the more so when he invites her to become his mistress.

What red-blooded woman wouldn’t enjoy a tumble in the bedsheets with a consummate lover—with no strings and no questions asked. An infuriating lady with very definite views on men, morals, and marriage, Christine confounds Wulfric at every turn. Yet even as the lone wolf of the Bedwyn clan vows to seduce her any way he can, something strange and wonderful is happening. Now for a man who thought he’d never lose his heart, nothing less than love will do.”

This is one of my favorite books of all time! Like The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie, Slightly Dangerous at first appears to be like any other Regency romance. The beauty in this story, though, is its leading man, Wulfric Bedwyn. He is every inch the cold, formidable duke in public (and sometimes with his siblings). But throughout the previous five books, the reader gets tiny peeks at the man under all that ice. You see his loneliness and isolation, the way he adores his family even when he can’t (or won’t) tell them. You discover little pieces of his soul.

I fell in love. And then, so did he 🙂

http://www.amazon.com/Slightly-Dangerous-Balogh-Mary-ebook/dp/B000FC1PBG/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1371758779&sr=8-1

Slightly Dangerous

Books, Friday Favorites

Friday Favorite: Richard Armitage Reads Georgette Heyer

Hold on to your e-readers and mp3 players, ladies! Our Friday Favorite this week is Richard Armitage. He’s best known for his portrayal of John Thornton in North and South, Lucas North in MI-5 (Spooks across the Atlantic), and most recently as Thorin Oakenshield in The Hobbit movies.

Richard Armitage

But in the last few years he’s also gotten into audiobook narration, including three of Georgette Heyer’s novels: The Convenient Marriage, Venetia, and Sylvester.

Audio clips:

Interview for The Convenient Marriage, where Richard talks about the difference between doing audiobooks and screen acting, and his love of music. (June 2010)

Interview for Venetia, where he talks about how he got started with audiobooks, and his reading habits. (March 2010)

Excerpt from Georgette Heyer’s Venetia, complete with separate voices for each character.

You can find these clips and other audio at Richard Armitage Central. But make sure you come up for air once in a while 😉

Books, Friday Favorites

Friday Favorite: The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie

Description (from Amazon):

“It was whispered all through London Society that Ian Mackenzie was mad, that he’d spent his youth in an asylum, and was not to be trusted–especially with a lady. Yet Beth found herself inexorably drawn to the Scottish lord. Despite his decadence and his intimidating intelligence, she could see that he needed help–her help. Because suddenly the only thing that made sense to her was…the madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie.”

Set in Victorian England, France, and Scotland, this book at first looks to be like any other historical romance novel. Except that the hero–Lord Ian Mackenzie–appears to have what today we’d call Asperger’s Syndrome. And the heroine–Beth Ackerley–grew up in a workhouse for the poor.

And that’s where everything changes.

A lot of readers have already discovered this book, but for those of you that haven’t, put this one at the top of your TBR list. 🙂

http://www.amazon.com/Madness-Lord-Ian-Mackenzie-Mackenzies/dp/0425244466/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1368972507&sr=1-1&keywords=the+madness+of+lord+ian+mackenzie

Lord Ian Mackenzie