Maryse's Book Blog

Happy Friday my friends!!! Today’s list is MOSTLY reader recommendations, and boy these sound tried and TRUE!!!! YAY US!!!

I’ll be adding more throughout the day if some go on super-sale, or if I get another awesome sounding recommendation (or if anything has a surprise-release), but I think today’s Friday Finds list is pretty solid!

Let’s read!! 😀

Take a look at what we found! (NOTE: some are bargain priced when I added them, but prices can change on Amazon, so make sure to check before you finalize your order. Sales listed are for Amazon U.S., however some of the Amazon UK links also reflect the sale!):

• Something in the Way (Something in the Way Series Book 1) by Jessica Hawkings <— FORBIDDENY & A RECENT READER QUESTION ALERT!!! I want to read this one sooooo bad. TOTAL blurb jolt ’cause she falls for him, but she’s too young, and then her sister also falls for him. And Marion says:

Marion: Guys this book is soooooo good!!! Everyone should read it, you’ll immediately want to dissect it with someone afterwards… just leave the judgement at the door lol! Can’t wait for book 2 this month!

• The Perfect Illusion by Winter Renshaw <— SHE HATES HER BOSS & IS ABOUT TO QUIT/FAKE FIANCE ALERT! Plus it’s on SUPER-BARGAIN!!! This sounds like such a fun read!!! “I’m in the midst of scrawling “I QUIT!” onto his fancy cardstock letterhead when my boss corners me. He needs a favor, he says. And then he asks how well I can act …  Hudson Rutherford needs a fiancée. With his old-moneyed parents forcing him to marry some bratty hotel heiress and his hedonistic, playboy lifestyle at stake, the only way to get them to back off is to make them think he’s truly, madly, deeply in love … with me—his third personal assistant this year…” BUT!!! It’s the LAST line that cinched me wanting it to bad…

“I’m seconds from giving him a resounding “no” when he flashes his signature dimpled smirk and gives me a number that happens to contain a whole mess of zeroes …On second thought, I think I can swallow my pride.But, oh baby, there’s one thing I haven’t told him, one teensy-tiny thing that could make this just a hair complicated …”

• A Court of Wings and Ruin (A Court of Thorns and Roses) by Sarah J Maas <— FANTASY ROMANCE & THE BIGGEST HIT OF THE WEEK! (P.S. Here’s the reading order)

MichelleS: I caved. I started A Court of Wings and Ruin last night. I have so many others lined up, but moved it to the front of the list because…. well… BECAUSE it’s the next in the series and RHYS and…. Fae… and betrayal and war looming and 707 pages…. I’m just kind of a mess right now. It’s like crack to me this kind of thing. I might need to call in sick.

Tessa: Muahaha, Court of Wings and Ruin is mine

Tasha: Yay, Michelle! Keep us updated, please. I put Sarah J Mass books off until I can devote all my time and attention to the story. It stays with me for so long after too so I have to allow for that.

Maryse: Tasha, me too. I’m collecting each one…

• Accidentally on Purpose 6 Book Box Set by L.D. Davis <— ENTIRE BOX SET SERIES SUPER-BARGAIN ALERT!!! YES. THIS is full of angst and drama and forbiddeny stuff from what I hear, and I just one clicked this treasure-trove!! 😀 😛

• Four Doors Down by Emma Doherty <— ANGSTY ALERT!!!! I just learned about these because of book #2’s release (I accidentally read the blurb when I shouldn’t have but OMG I wanted to read BOTH anyway!!). And now… I’ve received feedback:

Maryse… the Four Years Later one, but I accidentally read the blurb, and I haven’t read the first one yet. That said, the blurb for #2 makes me want to read it. It sounds like it will be tumultuous!!!

Liz: I just power read Four Doors Down and Four Years Later. I also read the blurb and ruined it for myself but it only added to the angst of it all. Boy was it angsty and I loved it. Laughing, crying it had it all

Maryse: Liz!!!!!!!! Thank YOU!!! This sounds like out type of angst and intensity, and yet I had never heard of these yet. I’m SO glad for some feedback!!!!!! *hug*

• One True Loves: A Novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid <— ONE OF MY FAVORITE AUTHORS IN THE WORLD ALERT!! Still on sale (for now!!) and Jessica just discovered her awesomeness!

Kathy: One True Loves: A Novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid is on sale… Talk about Angst! I might need a support group and a glass of wine to read this one.

Jessica: I recently discovered Taylor Jenkins Reid (I read MAYBE IN ANOTHER LIFE) and now I’m obsessed. Her books are so heartfelt and so smart! Thanks for the heads up about the sale – off to one click that bad boy now.

Amy: Jessica…we LOVE Taylor Jenkins Reid around here so you’re in good company. 

• The Other Us by Fiona Harper <— JUST WENT LIVE!! SHE WAKES UP AND REALIZES SHE’S IN HER 20’s AGAIN! She’s 40-something and feels her marriage has gone stale and… “…she can’t help wondering what happened to Jude Hanson. The same night Dan proposed, Jude asked Maggie to run away with him, and she starts to wonder how different her life might have been if she’d broken Dan’s heart and taken Jude up on his offer. Wondering turns into fantasising, and then one morning fantasising turns into reality. Maggie wakes up and discovers she’s back in 1992 and twenty-one again…”
• Weaving Man: Book One of The Prophecy Series by Tove Foss Ford <— SCI-FI/STEAM-PUNK ALERT!!! MichelleS is hesitant about the cover but loves the book!

MichelleS: I’m loving my current read. Long, slow, but really cool world building & amazing characters. My catnip! The Weaving Man. If you like interesting, unique, a study in characters, Victorian steam punk sci-fi feel. I don’t even know WHAT genre this is! I am totally in love with the lead character, Menders. A very imperfect hero. And his rag-tag team of outcasts protecting the future queen. Totally my kind of read!!! …Worst covers – great books, don’t judge it by the cover: Weaving Man (especially the hand drawn one)…

Tessa: Weaving Man was… *Sighs* So good. And a good example of how the secondary characters build the world far more than just the MCs do. The MCs build the story, and the secondaries build the world around them. …It’s not high on angst yet, (though there were parts that were), but the story telling and characters and everyone’s relationship with each other was just beautiful to read.

MichelleS: Hands down one of the best books I’ve ever read & best male characters ever. Complicated, intelligent, cunning, tender, loyal, ruthless when he needs to be. Stunning debut from this author.

Tessa: And yes. Yes I do believe you almost missed it because of the cover. If I were to judge a book by it’s cover, The Weaving Man is a Edwardian mystery and NOT MY TYPE, or else such crap, they couldn’t get a decent cover.

• Rhapsodic (The Bargainer Book 1) by Laura Thalassa <— FANTASY ROMANCE ALERT!! And Laura recommends this one!

Laura: I remember readers of your blog raving about Laura Thalassa’s The Fallen World series last year. Her paranormal romance book, Rhapsodic (The Bargainer Book 1), was bargained price earlier this week so I purchased it. The book is so good that it’s worth paying full price!

Rhapsodic features a rare, gorgeous romance between the two main characters. I enjoyed Callie’s character- she was strong and independent but without crossing that line into gratingly stubborn territory. I loved that her foolish heart still beat for Des despite seven years apart. The flashback scenes between 16 year old Callie and the enigmatic Des were wonderfully done and clearly showed the growing bond between the unlikely pair.

I appreciated that Des went against his dark nature and was committed to not pushing a young Callie into a relationship that she wasn’t ready for. When Des finally expressed his feelings for Callie and explained his absence, it was *everything* that a romance reader could swoon for.

My only complaint with the story and why I can’t give it five stars (spoiler alert!), is that I wish Des and Callie could have had more time together before she was taken. I felt a bit cheated that they only had one night together after such a long build up. However, I am anxiously awaiting the next book in this series so that I continue with them on their journey. The second book is expected to be released in May.

• Dirty Filthy Rich Men (Dirty Duet Book 1) by Laurelin Paige <— DARK, BULLY TYPE HERO ALERT!! Tessa and Grey recommend it!

Grey: Dirty Filthy Rich Men! Yep, I had an ARC of this one and the prologue earlier this month and really enjoyed them. A mean ol’ bully and dark (not quite black, but greyish) undertones … Certainly was creeping up on my book catnip!!

Tessa: Filthy, Rich Men by Laurelin Paige – Seriously, CATNIP!! This is not for everyone but I’m so glad Grey brought it to my attention. *huggles Grey* My bully buddy.   …Dirty, Filthy, Rich Men did not disapoint. Anyone who loves the darker, bully type hero, READ THIS! Seriously, I can’t believe how much I loved it. Thank you Grey for recommending it!

• The Duke of Shadows by Meredith Duran <—HISTORICAL ROMANCE!!! Jan enjoyed it.

My fav read for April was a HR by Meredith Duran, The Duke of Shadows. A bit different, set in 1850s India then moves to London. Enjoyable and well-written, although not a five star. I didn’t have any 5 star reads in April  Here’s hoping for May.

• The Bohemian and the Businessman: The Story Sisters #1 (The Blueberry Lane Series) by Kate Regnery <— ROMANCE WITH NOT TOO MUCH ANGST ALERT!!! And Jan LOVES this series!

Jan: “Ooh. I just noticed Katy Regnery has a new book out in the blueberry lane series. It’s called The Bohemian and The Businessman and it just seems to have come out last week. Maybe it was on your list and I missed it Maryse?

I’ve read most of the blueberry lane series and they’re sweet romances usually with not too much angst – just my style! Some are better than others, and I’m hoping this new one will be good because it starts a new story arc, about the ‘Story sisters’. (that’s their name).

The last book that came out in the series was a terrific book, IMO the best one by far, so maybe this one will be as good.  It was called J.C. and the Bijoux Jolis: The Rousseaus #3 (The Blueberry Lane Series) and it was a really great frenemies read about a very unlikely couple who finally find each other – the eternal player meets the savvy, smart girl who’s totally not his type. At first they HATE each other, but then they fall for each other, hard. There’s also a nice art/painting mystery in the story. I’ve just been rereading it, which is what made me go look up Katy Regnery and I found the new book. Ah, Jean-Christian, mon amour. Sigh………..

Going to start the new one today!”

• Try Not to Breathe: A Novel by Holly Seddon <— PSYCH-THRILLER ALERT!!! And it’s super-bargain priced today! She’s a journalist but struggling to get through life and just going through the motions… and then she finds out about HER. “...Alex discovers Amy Stevenson. Amy Stevenson, who was just another girl from a nearby town until the day she was found unconscious after a merciless assault. Amy Stevenson, who has been in a coma for fifteen years, forgotten by the world. Amy Stevenson, who, unbeknownst to her doctors, remains locked inside her body, conscious but paralyzed, reliving the past. Soon Alex’s routine includes visiting hours at the hospital, then interviews with the original suspects in the attack. But what starts as a reporter’s story becomes a personal obsession...”
• You Belong to Me (Romantic suspense Book 12) by Karen Rose <— SERIAL KILLER/THRILLER SUPER-BARGAIN! “….he’s starting to suspect that his medical examiner, Dr. Lucy Trask, may be shielding a dark secret that could connect her to these vicious killings-and put her next on the killer’s hit list...”

AUDIOBOOK LVERS

For those going on a road trip soon, or maybe you’ve got some projects that require both hands this weekend but still allows you to “listen”… check out the free audible trial + 2 free audiobooks deal —>

• AND! Here’s the fun-tool again! —> Find out which of YOUR Kindle books are available as audiobooks at a BARGAIN-PRICE! <— This thing is so cool (Amazon calls it “Matchmaker“)! It’s an Amazon feature, that scans all of your Kindle books and will list all of the ones you have that are also available as an audiobook at a discounted price (not normal audiobook prices). This way, you can switch back and forth, seamlessly between your ebooks and your audiobooks. VERY COOL!

Leslie M: Honestly, for those who are trying to fit more reading time into their life…you got to try audiobooks. I got 5 listening hrs (almost 1/2 of my book) in today ALL while doing other things. It takes a while to get used to audiobooks. But once you are into them, you will wonder how you ever lived without them.

Rebecca: 1-2 books a week for me, because Kids. I exhausted!! However, my quantity is up double now thanks to Audible. While I’m cooking, cleaning, I have my head phones on listening to a book.