Carolyn's March Pre-Orders

This is going to be an expensive month for me, but it's worth it. And, after all, I don't have anything going for me but reading, so I don't feel too guilty about it. :-) 

I believe I've spoken before about how my most favorite authors have been so successful that they now command hardback prices and, well, you know how that works. The actual HB book may cost between $20-$30 but unfortunately the ebook reflects that price. $12-$15 for an ebook. Yeah.

There aren't many authors I'll buy during their HB season: Ilona Andrews, Patricia Briggs, Anne Bishop and Simone St. James are a few if not most of them and they all have releases in March. Others will have to wait until paperback prices kick in and are reflected in the ebook pricing.

Seems a damn shame a person has to keep a ledger to keep track of what books can be bought when.  Sheesh!

Here we go then. It's a very talented month!



1.  Book: Burn Bright
    Author: Patricia Briggs
    Publisher: Penguin Group
    Releases:  March 6, 2018
    Price:  $13.99

They are the wild and the broken. The werewolves too damaged to live safely among their own kind. For their own good, they have been exiled to the outskirts of Aspen Creek, Montana. Close enough to the Marrok's pack to have its support; far enough away to not cause any harm.

With their Alpha out of the country, Charles and Anna are on call when an SOS comes in from the fae mate of one such wildling. Heading into the mountainous wilderness, they interrupt the abduction of the wolf--but can't stop blood from being shed. Now Charles and Anna must use their skills--his as enforcer, hers as peacemaker--to track down the attackers, reopening a painful chapter in the past that springs from the darkest magic of the witchborn...

Love Patricia Briggs; love both her series. Long may she write. Don't particularly care for that cover, though.  

2.  Book: Lake Silence
     Author: Anne Bishop
     Publisher: Penguin Group
     Releases: March 5, 2018
     Price: $13.99

In this thrilling and suspenseful fantasy set in the world of the New York Times bestselling Others series, an inn owner and her shape-shifting lodger find themselves enmeshed in danger and dark secrets.

Human laws do not apply in the territory controlled by the Others--vampires, shape-shifters, and even deadlier paranormal beings. And this is a fact that humans should never, ever forget....

After her divorce, Vicki DeVine took over a rustic resort near Lake Silence, in a human town that is not human controlled. Towns such as Vicki's don't have any distance from the Others, the dominant predators who rule most of the land and all of the water throughout the world. And when a place has no boundaries, you never really know what is out there watching you.

Vicki was hoping to find a new career and a new life. But when her lodger, Aggie Crowe--one of the shape-shifting Others--discovers a murdered man, Vicki finds trouble instead. The detectives want to pin the death on her, despite the evidence that nothing human could have killed the victim. As Vicki and her friends search for answers, ancient forces are roused by the disturbance in their domain. They have rules that must not be broken--and all the destructive powers of nature at their command. 

Another great writer. Love her world of the Others and looking forward to more stories. BTW, really like this cover.  :-)

3.  Book: The Wolf Lord

     Author: Anne Aguirre

     Publisher: Self Published

     Releases: March 14, 2018

     Price: $2.99

Roguish. Reckless. Unreliable.

Raff Pineda has a certain reputation among the Animari. He’s the one to call if there’s a party starting, not the man to rely on when all hell breaks loose. Though he’s nominally the leader of the Pine Ridge pack, he defers to his second on the tough calls. Raff prefers to live fast and hard and keep his heart hidden, but a certain Eldritch princess won’t fall for his usual tricks, and their contract political marriage may be anything but convenient.

Ambitious. Elegant. Isolated.

Princess Thalia Talfayen may not have been raised by a witch in a tower, but she’s spent the last few decades locked up for a failed insurrection. Plotting and scheming come naturally to her; personal connections do not. Since she’s come this far in her unstoppable quest to claim the silver throne, she won’t hesitate to do whatever it takes to unite her people, even if that means giving herself to the big bad wolf…

I believe this is the third book of the Ars Numina series. This series is not your usual shapeshifter stuff. Like the world building, very realistic. 

 

4.  Book: The Broken Girls

     Author: Simone St. James

     Publisher: Penguin Group

     Releases: March 20, 2018

     Price: 12.99

Vermont, 1950. There's a place for the girls whom no one wants—the troublemakers, the illegitimate, the too smart for their own good. It's called Idlewild Hall. And in the small town where it's located, there are rumors that the boarding school is haunted. Four roommates bond over their whispered fears, their budding friendship blossoming—until one of them mysteriously disappears... 

Vermont, 2014. As much as she's tried, journalist Fiona Sheridan cannot stop revisiting the events surrounding her older sister's death. Twenty years ago, her body was found lying in the overgrown fields near the ruins of Idlewild Hall. And though her sister's boyfriend was tried and convicted of murder, Fiona can't shake the suspicion that something was never right about the case.

When Fiona discovers that Idlewild Hall is being restored by an anonymous benefactor, she decides to write a story about it. But a shocking discovery during the renovations will link the loss of her sister to secrets that were meant to stay hidden in the past—and a voice that won't be silenced...

Been following this author since her debut with "The Haunting of Mattie Clare". She is a true storyteller. 

                                         *****************

I don't suppose many will want to buy at these prices but I hope you'll write the titles down somewhere and check them out when the pricing changes or they have a sale. Good writers, good stories - can't ask for more.  :-)

Friday Fiction Fantasy "Boy" Friend: His Road Home by Anna Richland

It would truly help if my memory was in better working order. Seems like I forget a book almost as soon as I read it.

So, I was looking through the book collections on my Fire and came across Anna Richland's His Road Home. Once it was again brought to my attention, I remembered this book fondly; I've reread it several times. It's not a long book but you get a lot of bang for your buck (so to speak).

May I introduce my interpretation of SSG Reynaldo Cruz, medic in the 5th Special Forces Group, US Army.

When the book opens, Rey's performing simple dentistry on a village elder in Afghanistan, who is so grateful that he offers Rey his daughter in marriage. It would be very iffy to turn this offer down and once Rey recovers he tells the elder that he has a fiancee and he must regretfully decline this most wonderful gift. But the elder wants to see a picture of this woman and Rey is up shit creek because he's got nada.

He searches photos from his old high school on the internet and decides on a classmate of his older sister. What can it hurt? She'll never know. No one will ever know, only an old Afghani.

Uh ...

Wait a minute ...

Yeah, famous last words.

Grace Kim finds out she's engaged from calls from her friends, family and her boss. Yeah, Rey had printed out her picture and it was found on him when he came into contact with an IED and ends up a bilateral amputee and with expressive aphasia. Grace goes to Washington DC (she's from Seattle) to find out WTF??

And that is when the story really begins; I won't say more because - spoilers.  :-)

This is a gem of a book and Rey is a gem of a hero. I fell in book love with him because he doesn't moan and groan; he hunkers down and gets with the program to overcome his injuries. He has to learn a new way to live and he wants Grace to be part of it. He is a true hero and just about the most loveable man I've ever read about.

This is also a road story, as Grace accompanies Rey back home, driving across country in Rey's classic old car. Reading how they both adjust to Rey's injuries is inspiring and I like that there's no overwhelming lust making them jump each other's bones. This could be termed a slow burn romance, I guess, since Grace went on a cruise counting fish (she works at the National Marine Fisheries Service) while Rey was in rehab and then there was the long car trip. And they had some adventures along the way.

I highly recommend this book. It's not a long book but it's packed with feels and with people you'd like to know.

And the hero is a true hero.

Friday Fiction Fantasy Boyfriend

Motorcycle Man. By Kristin Ashley.

The book that launched her career, bought her a house and made a million women weak in the knees for a bossy, bearded motorcycle hunk with a heart of gold.

Tack originally was a turn-off for me. I hated the bossiness, the ownership. But Carolyn asked me to read it again and pay attention to Tack's story: his sister's death, his kids, his trying to bring the MC to a less criminal standing.

Tack and Chaos MC remain illegal (nobody wants a bad boy who isn't bad) but he becomes the hero of many dreams. He would kill for those he loves. And he's a great lover, a real family man and a book boyfriend worth having.

Trying to find a picture to embody Tack was almost impossible until I suddenly thought of Sam Elliott. Older, hot, laconic, on a motorcycle. Sam Elliott is the kind of man that you know makes sure his lover orgasms first, can whip up pancakes on a Sunday morning and would whoop the ass of anyone who messed with those he loves.

Happy

It's all about the love you find in your life. Husbands, children and friends.

When we leave this earth what we leave behind is how we touched people's hearts and lives.

I don't love easily and I rarely remain in love.

I love you Carolyn. Always will.

Happy Birthday.

Looking forward to another year of friendship, blogging and you.