Friday Finds & Reader Recommendations – 07-03-2020

<— 7:13am BREAKING NEWS UPDATE!!!! HANDS DOWN BY MARIANA ZAPATA IS LIVE!!! I’m working on the list as we speak (I know… I’m late, just started) but the HUGE HIT OF THE DAY that we’ve all been waiting for… IS LIVE!!!

Mony: …so happy to hear that Marianne Zapata will be releasing a new book in July!! It’s called “Hands Down”…it’s about Zac, the roommate in Wall of Winnipeg’s house. He was the awesome gorgeous footballer who was trying to get it together after an injury… 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

Jan: Ooh, I knew there was a new Mariana Zapata book coming out, but didn’t realise it’s about Zac from WoW. I reread WoW recently so should be in the right frame of mind for Hands Down 🙂

Kirsten: Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee I’ve been re reading her books but I’m jumping ahead haha

Michelle: MZ’s books go directly to the front of the line … can’t wait to start!

Maryse: I LOVE HER!!! And I am right there with you on that! I think we’re all going to do a massive buddy-read today!

TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT WE FOUND FOR THE WEEKEND  !!

• EXTENDED THROUGH AUGUST!!! ➔➔➔ TWO MONTHS FREE KINDLE UNLIMITED DEAL!!! <— If you haven’t tried it yet, now’s your chance. 😲👏👏👏 WE ARE LOVING IT! 

And…

• AMAZON FIRST READS for July are up!! I chose “Her Final Words” “…The teenage girl confesses to murdering a young boy. Disturbingly composed, she reveals chilling details only the killer could know. Beyond that Eliza doesn’t say another word...”
• Hands Down by Mariana Zapata <— MARIANA ZAPATA ALERT!! ZAC’S BOOK (he was the roommate in Wall of Winnipeg!!) “...She thinks she’s ready when a call has her walking back into her old friend’s life. Or at least as prepared as possible to see the starting quarterback in the National Football Organization. Before the lights, the fans, and the millions, he’d been a skinny kid with a heart of gold. Waltzing out of Zac Travis’s life should be easy. Just as easy as he walked out of hers…”
• Dear Sexy Ex-Boyfriend (The Guys Who Got Away Book 1) by Lauren Blakely <— RECENT RELEASE & WE HAVE FEEDBACK! Harper loved it!

Harper: I read dear sexy ex boyfriend today. It’s a very fast read, funny and sweet.

• Blood & Bones: Sig (Blood Fury MC Book 2) by Jeanne St. James <— EX-MEMBER OF A BIKER CLUB & OUT OF PRISON “…he’s now trying to move past it and stay out of jail for good. Until he finds a beaten and abused woman running through the woods, trying to escape her captors. Now all he can think about is revenge on the Shirley Clan, a group of sovereign citizens who follow no laws but their own. And if he isn’t careful, he might end up right back where he vowed to never go again. Behind bars...”
• Home Before Dark: A Novel by Riley Sager <— RECENT SCARY RELEASE & we have feedback! She inherits the horror house her father wrote about and became famous for…

Michelle: Just finished it in one day. Amazing book

Maryse: Thank you so much for letting me know!!!! I love haunted house horror stories!! Amityville freaked. Me. Out!!

Tasha J: I just picked my Book of the Month for this month and chose Riley Sager’s Home Before Dark!! Eeep, I was so excited to see that as a choice as that was one of my most anticipated releases.

• Live to Tell: Interracial Dark Romance Bundle by Asha King <— BOOK BUNDLE ALERT!! “…For those who likes some darkness to their romance–heroes who might be killers and the heroines determined to find the truth, even if it means losing their hearts–this bundle is for you. Two of Asha King’s hottest romantic suspense stories that fall on the darker end of the spectrum...”
• Michael Prentiss Series by Andrew French <— SPY-THRILLER SERIES! Mandy recommends them!

Mandy: Hi! I’ve followed you on Facebook for awhile. I just wanted to send a suggestion your way for a book series I absolutely fell in love with. It’s the Michael Prentiss Series by Andrew French.

It’s a spy-thriller series that has seven books and I couldn’t put them down! I devoured each book! The writing is unique, and the characters make you fall in love with them and feel their pain and joy.

If it interests you Assassin’s Run is the first book!

• Penpal by Dathan Auerbach <— SUPER-CREEPY ALERT! I JUST ONE CLICKED THIS ONE ’cause I saw it on my Facebook feed (recommended by Katelynn saying if you liked to be creeped out… she has no words <— GASP!!!) YES PLEASE!!!

Maryse: Ooooooh titillating!!!! Thank you! 😀

Katelynn: prepare yourself… I don’t think I’ll ever be the same lol …the premise of it is extremely unique.

• Just Like the Movies by Natasha Preston <— HER BEST FRIEND IS NOW A FAMOUS ACTOR!! “...Indie has been in love with her best friend for years, and their short-lived love affair was the best time of her life, but she had let him go so he could follow his dreams. Now she’s alone, stuck inside a nightmare she keeps hidden. With the premiere of Spencer’s first movie coming up, he books a ticket for Indie and takes her to LA. She wants to give in to their chemistry and dive back into a relationship with Spencer, but if she does, she risks exposing the family secret she’s been guarding her whole life…“
• Thoroughly Whipped by Tillie Cole <— MONY 5-STARRED IT!

Mony: Thoroughly Whipped by Tillie Cole was a fantastic read…just the kind of I needed right now.

A quirky enemies-to-lovers romance between an uptight Brit and an outgoing sassy girl. And there is a reason there is “whip” in the title… “eyebrows wriggle* Well written and lots of fun. 5*****

• Never Look Back by Mary Burton <— SERIAL KILLER ALERT! “…After multiple women go missing, Agent Melina Shepard of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation makes the impulsive decision to go undercover as a prostitute. While working the street, she narrowly avoids becoming a serial killer’s latest victim; as much as it pains her to admit, she needs backup. Enter lone wolf FBI agent Jerrod Ramsey…”
• MONY READ SOME OF JAN’S HISTORICAL ROMANCE RECOMMENDATIONS!

Mony: Hi Jan, I was thinking about you over the last couple weeks as I binged on historical romances, one of your favourite genres. So much fun, I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed it!

• Just finished Slightly Dangerous by Mary Balogh (one of your favourites, I think?). I loved it…a beautiful slow burn – 5 stars ⭐
• Also enjoyed The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie by Ashley & Chasing Cassandra by Kleypas. Both were really good & 4.5 stars ⭐
• Once and Always by Judith McNaught – 3 stars ⭐
• Next up is…Daring and the Duke (The Bareknuckle Bastards #3) by Sarah MacLean. Always looking for recommendations! 😏

Jan: You gave similar star ratings to me, mony. Yay. Book twins! Yes, Slightly Dangerous is a beautiful book, isn’t it I’ll be interested to see what you make of the Sarah Maclean.

For recs, and slightly different HRs, have you tried Susan Fanetti’s Carry The World? American Great Depression.
Or Joanna Shupe’s Magnate? American Gilded Age. I enjoyed both.

• Just Saying: An absolutely perfect and feel-good romantic comedy by Sophie Ranald <— HIS PERFECT EX-GIRLFRIEND MOVES IN WITH THEM… “…out of the blue, Zoe needs a place to live. And Joe has the bright idea of inviting her, and her fluffy ginger cat Frazzle, to stay with them. Alice tries her hardest not to feel threatened. But the thing is, Zoe doesn’t survive off microwave meals, or go days without washing her glossy copper-coloured hair, or accidentally get mascara in her contact lenses. Joe’s ex might be pretty much perfect, but there’s no way that Alice will let Zoe steal him...”
• Tanner (Stryker County PD Book 5) by Kali Hart
• Wanted Angel: A Reverse Harem Paranormal Romance (Feathers and Fate Book 3) by Sadie Moss
• Reaper’s Wrath: A Last Riders Trilogy (Road to Salvation Book 2) by Jamie Begley <— LIVE!! Randi found us this one!

Randi: In case it was missed, Reaper’s Wrath by Jamie Begley is out. Book 2 in the trilogy. She put it into Kindle Unlimited because B&N didn’t have it out fast enough.

Melanie: …loved the last riders series by jamie begley omg its like alpha male heaven

Deborah: An interesting fact about Jamie Begley is that she is the mom of Sarah Brianne. The author of one of our favorite book ” Nero ( The Made men)” series.

• The Inn At Pelican Beach (Pelican Beach Book 1) by Michele Gilcrest
• Secrets by L.A. Fiore and Anthony Dwayne <— SHE’S NEW IN TOWN & HE’S THE SEXY SHERIFF… “…Arissa Haywood, editor of the popular Southern Charm magazine, is looking to get out of the rat race of Charleston so moves to the quirky town of Summerville. When a move-in disaster brings the sexy sheriff Hank Weathers to her door, she knows she’s made the right move. Hank Weathers can’t deny the attraction to the beauty who just moved into his quiet town, but he’s been there before…a city girl trying to live in the country. He’s not going down that road again, but the attraction is too hard for them to ignore...”
• Caleb: Alpha Bad Boy MMA (Fit to Love Book 7) by Tarin Lex
• My (Im)perfect Love: A Friends to Lovers Sweet Romance Novel (Lyrics of Love Book 4) by Melody Sweet
• Lessons In Corruption: A Student/Teacher Romance (The Fallen Men Series Book 1) by Giana Darling <— FORBIDDEN LOVE SUPER-BARGAIN TODAY!!

Jacqui: Lesson’s in Corruption by Giana Darling? I loved this book!

Nay: If you love the forbidden/taboo (age gap and student/teacher type), I inhaled Lessons in Corruption and Welcome to the Dark Side (Fallen Men 1 & 2) by Giana Darling. …The alpha writing reminds me of KA A LOT and in a great way (usually when I get ‘like KA’ recs, they don’t much remind me of KA.)” So if you enjoy reading about bikers, teacher/student, then I highly recommend these, especially if you love Tack Allen. BUT the second one has a huge age difference (bigger than the one in the first one), so if that bothers you, I’d read some reviews.

• IOU: A Romantic Comedy by Kristy Marie <— MONY ENJOYED IT!

Mony: Loved IOU by Kristy Marie…it’s enemies-to-lovers N/A romance with a tough poker playing guy and an endearing sassy girl. Hadn’t read that author before – will be reading more 4****

AUDIOBOOK LVERS!

• ➔➔ Not a member of Audible yet? Get a free 30 day audible trial (which includes 1 free audiobook + 2 audible originals)
• ➔➔ AND! Audiobook Matchmaker!! <— Find out which of YOUR Kindle books are available as audiobooks at a BARGAIN-PRICE! This is how it works. Click on that link & Amazon will show you all of your Kindle books that are also available as an audiobook at a seriously discounted price. This way, you can switch back and forth, seamlessly between your ebooks and your audiobooks. VERY COOL!
• ➔➔ Audible now has an “Escape” package membership (30 day free trial) – used to be called the “Romance” package <— this one is SO cool, and worth it (unlimited listening for all of the audiobooks in the program, and there are tons – kind of like Kindle Unlimited)!!
• ➔➔ And… if you’re not an audible member yet, you can get the first 4 months for 46% off this summer!!!

and…

• The New Husband by DJ Palmer <— SHIRLEY IS LOVING IT!

Shirley: I am listening to The New Husband by DJ Palmer. Never heard of this Author before but I am thoroughly enjoying this book! It is awesome and I don’t have a clue how its going to end. I have 2 hours left of listening.

Highly recommend and the narration is great! (there are 2 narrators-the mother and teenage daughter and both are terrific!) Check it out!

PREORDERS (going live soon!!! 😀 )

• The Beginning of Everything (The Rising Book 1) by Kristen Ashley- July 7th 2020
• Survivor Song: A Novel by Paul Tremblay – July 7th 2020
• The Golden Cage: A novel by Camilla Läckberg and Neil Smith – July 7th 2020
• The Other Couple by Louise Candlish – July 7th 2020
• Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust – May 5th 2020
• A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor: A Novel by Hank Green – July 7th 2020
• Unravel the Dusk (The Blood of Stars Book 2) by Elizabeth Lim – July 7th 2020
• Survivor Song: A Novel by Paul Tremblay – July 7th 2020
• Home Before Dark: A Novel by Riley Sager – July 7th 2020
• Diamond in the Rough by Skye Warren – July 7th 2020
• Shameless (The Therapist #2) by WS Greer – July 7th 2020
• Complicate Me: Reid & Sienna #1 (Hawthorn Hills Duet Series) by Claire Raye – July 8th 2020
• Am I the Only One by E.K. Blair – July 10th 2020
• A Little Pill Called Love by Jas T. Ward – July 11th 2020
• The Rivals Paperback by Vi Keeland – July 13th 2020
• Twisted Circles (Secret Society Book 2) by Claire Contreras – July 13th 2020

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