There is a huge list of amazing Kindle Daily Deals, so I decided to just go overboard in listing some highlights.
The Duke Who Didn’t
RECOMMENDED: The Duke Who Didn’t by Courtney Milan is 99c! Catherine gave this a squee grade:
The Duke Who Didn’t was always going to be a book that made me happy. Humour, food, and a gentle hero who just wants the heroine to be less stressed are a pretty good formula for getting onto my keeper shelf.
Miss Chloe Fong has plans for her life, lists for her days, and absolutely no time for nonsense. Three years ago, she told her childhood sweetheart that he could talk to her once he planned to be serious. He disappeared that very night.
Except now he’s back. Jeremy Wentworth, the Duke of Lansing, has returned to the tiny village he once visited with the hope of wooing Chloe. In his defense, it took him years of attempting to be serious to realize that the endeavor was incompatible with his personality.
All he has to do is convince Chloe to make room for a mischievous trickster in her life, then disclose that in all the years they’ve known each other, he’s failed to mention his real name, his title… and the minor fact that he owns her entire village.
Only one thing can go wrong: Everything.
The Starless Sea
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern is $2.99! A lot of readers found this to be a highly anticipated release, given their previous love for Morgenstern’s The Night Circus. Aarya reviewed this one and gave it a B-.
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Night Circus, a timeless love story set in a secret underground world–a place of pirates, painters, lovers, liars, and ships that sail upon a starless sea.
Zachary Ezra Rawlins is a graduate student in Vermont when he discovers a mysterious book hidden in the stacks. As he turns the pages, entranced by tales of lovelorn prisoners, key collectors, and nameless acolytes, he reads something strange: a story from his own childhood. Bewildered by this inexplicable book and desperate to make sense of how his own life came to be recorded, Zachary uncovers a series of clues–a bee, a key, and a sword–that lead him to a masquerade party in New York, to a secret club, and through a doorway to an ancient library, hidden far below the surface of the earth.
What Zachary finds in this curious place is more than just a buried home for books and their guardians–it is a place of lost cities and seas, lovers who pass notes under doors and across time, and of stories whispered by the dead. Zachary learns of those who have sacrificed much to protect this realm, relinquishing their sight and their tongues to preserve this archive, and also those who are intent on its destruction. Together with Mirabel, a fierce, pink-haired protector of the place, and Dorian, a handsome, barefoot man with shifting alliances, Zachary travels the twisting tunnels, darkened stairwells, crowded ballrooms, and sweetly-soaked shores of this magical world, discovering his purpose–in both the mysterious book and in his own life.
Burnout
RECOMMENDED: Burnout by Emily and Amelia Nagoski is $2.99! Sarah and Elyse jointly reviewed this one and gave it an A:
This book is nonfiction about the science behind stress, what it is, and how we deal (or don’t deal) with it effectively. Between the science and the practical applications, it’s incredibly informative, useful, soothing, and empowering.
What’s expected of women and what it’s like to be a woman today are two very different things – and women exhaust themselves trying to close the gap between them. How can you ‘love your body’ when everything around you tells you you’re inadequate? How do you ‘lean in’ at work when you’re already at 110% and aren’t recognised for it? This paradox isn’t going away any time soon, so let’s stop ignoring it and change our relationship to it.
Twin sisters Emily Nagoski, PhD, and Amelia Nagoski are here to help end the cycle of inadequacy, overwhelm and exhaustion, to go beyond banal self-help platitudes (‘Practice self-care!’, ‘Set boundaries!’) and confront the real obstacles that are standing between women and well-being. Combining the latest science-based evidence with prescriptive advice and a good dose of humour they reveal:
· how stress is a biological cycle that has to be completed before your body can return to a state of relaxation
· why rest, human connection and reducing self-criticism are key to recovering from and preventing burnout
· how to control the ‘monitor’ in your brain that regulates the emotion of frustration
· why the Bikini Industrial Complex makes it difficult for women to love their bodies – and the easiest way to fight back
· what you can start doing today to manage stress more effectively
Eye-opening, compassionate and optimistic, BURNOUT will completely transform the way we think about and manage stress, empowering women to thrive under pressure and enjoy meaningful yet balanced lives.
Loathe to Love You
Loathe to Love You by Ali Hazelwood is $1.99! This is a collection of three contemporary romance novellas with heroines who study/work in STEM. There’s also a lot of forced proximity.
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis comes a collection of steamy, STEMinist novellas featuring a trio of engineers and their loves in loathing—with a special bonus chapter!
Under One Roof
An environmental engineer discovers that scientists should never cohabitate when she finds herself stuck with the roommate from hell—a detestable big-oil lawyer who won’t leave the thermostat alone.
Stuck with You
A civil engineer and her nemesis take their rivalry—and love—to the next level when they get stuck in a New York elevator.
Below Zero
A NASA aerospace engineer’s frozen heart melts as she lies injured and stranded at a remote Arctic research station and the only person willing to undertake the dangerous rescue mission is her longtime rival.
Devolution
Devolution by Max Brooks is $1.99! Carrie was reading this one on a previous Whatcha Reading. It’s a mix of monster horror and thriller, told through epistolary storytelling. Definitely curious about this one!
Do Me a Favor
Do Me a Favor by Cathy Yardley is $2.49 at Amazon! This is a standalone romance with an older couple. The heroine is a widowed cookbook writer and the hero is a divorced handyman.
Willa Lieu-Endicott moved from California to the Pacific Northwest to start over. Since her husband’s death, she’s been struggling to get back her old career as a cookbook ghostwriter. Unfortunately, her latest project—ghostwriting for a viral cooking sensation known more for his washboard abs than his meals—has her stuck.
Until she meets her new neighbor.
Hudson Daws, the handyman next door, lives on a farm with his parents and two adult children. He’s the opposite of everything she’s ever known. His happily chaotic life includes biker barbecues, an escape artist dog, and adorably menacing goats. He’s also got a sinfully sexy smile and a rumbling bass voice that makes her shiver. He inspires her.
From their first meeting, the two fall into an escalating cycle of favors, paybacks…and attraction, even though Willa’s trying to keep her distance.
They both have their own pasts to deal with. Now, they just have to figure out if they have a future.
A delectable rom-com about a widowed cookbook writer and a divorced handyman who find that it’s never too late for a fresh start.
Last Night at the Telegraph Club
Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo is $1.99! This was mentioned in a previous Hide Your Wallet and is a lovely YA historical fiction with a sapphic romance. It was also a staff pick at the bookstore where I work! I’ve heard nothing but really good things about this one.
Acclaimed author of Ash Malinda Lo returns with her most personal and ambitious novel yet, a gripping story of love and duty set in San Francisco’s Chinatown during the 1950s.
“That book. It was about two women, and they fell in love with each other.” And then Lily asked the question that had taken root in her, that was even now unfurling its leaves and demanding to be shown the sun: “Have you ever heard of such a thing?”
Seventeen-year-old Lily Hu can’t remember exactly when the question took root, but the answer was in full bloom the moment she and Kathleen Miller walked under the flashing neon sign of a lesbian bar called the Telegraph Club.
America in 1954 is not a safe place for two girls to fall in love, especially not in Chinatown. Red-Scare paranoia threatens everyone, including Chinese Americans like Lily. With deportation looming over her father–despite his hard-won citizenship–Lily and Kath risk everything to let their love see the light of day.
Zero Stars, Do Not Recommend
Zero Stars, Do Not Recommend by MJ Wassmer is $2.99! I mentioned this one on a recent Get Rec’d. This one gives me Kevin Wilson vibes with its fantastical scenarios and wry humor.
White Lotus meets Kevin Wilson in this whip-smart social satire about a man who finds himself trapped on an island resort after the sun literally explodes, and suddenly must choose whether to save himself from the chaos, or help fellow guests make it off the island alive…
Vacation Checklist:
Pack swim trunks.
Apply sunscreen.
Survive the apocalypse?
Professional underachiever Dan Foster is finally taking a vacation. Sure, his life has been average at best, and yeah, he’s never quite lived up to his potential. But after a few Miller Lites in paradise with his girlfriend, Mara, things are starting to look up.
Then the sun explodes.
With the island resort suddenly plunged into darkness (he really should’ve sprung for the travel insurance), Dan’s holiday goes from bad to worse when elite guests stage a coup and commandeer supplies. As temperatures drop and class tensions rise, revolution begins to brew on the island, and Dan accidentally becomes a beacon of hope for the surviving vacationers. But when one six-person plane is discovered that could get them back to the mainland, Dan realizes he has a choice to make.
Does he escape the island with Mara? Or does he stay and fight to become the most unlikely hero of the end of the world?
A Morbid Taste for Bones
RECOMMENDED: A Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters is $2.99 at Amazon! This is book one in The Chronicles of Brother Cadfael series, which I remember Sarah enjoying. Here’s what she said:
This book and the next few books of the series got me through the scariest parts of early Quarantimes.
On an expedition to acquire a saint’s remains, Brother Cadfael instead finds intrigue and murder
It is 1137, and the ambitious head of Shrewsbury Abbey wishes to acquire the remains of Saint Winifred for the glory of his Benedictine order. Brother Cadfael is part of the expedition sent to the saint’s final resting place in Wales, where he finds the villagers divided over the Benedictines’ quest.
When the leading opponent to moving the grave is shot dead with a mysterious arrow, some believe Winifred herself delivered the blow. Brother Cadfael knows that an earthly hand did the killing. But he doesn’t know that his plan to root out a murderer may dig up a case of love and justice, where the waves of sin may be scandal—or his own ruin.
Conventionally Yours
Conventionally Yours by Annabeth Albert is $1.99! This is a gay and geeky romance set at a convention (I miss those!). It was also a summer release that Elyse picked for Hide Your Wallet. Have you read this one? Or have you been waiting for a price drop?
When two “big name fans” go head-to-head at a convention, love isn’t the only thing at stake.
Charming, charismatic, and effortlessly popular, Conrad Stewart seems to have it all…but in reality, he’s scrambling to keep his life from tumbling out of control.
Brilliant, guarded, and endlessly driven, Alden Roth may as well be the poster boy for perfection…but even he can’t help but feel a little broken inside.
When these mortal enemies are stuck together on a cross-country road trip to the biggest fan convention of their lives, their infamous rivalry takes a backseat as an unexpected connection is forged. Yet each has a reason why they have to win the upcoming Odyssey gaming tournament and neither is willing to let emotion get in the way—even if it means giving up their one chance at something truly magical.
Love, Chai, and Other Four Letter Words
Love, Chai, and Other Four Letter Words by Annika Sharma is $1.99! This is book one in the Chai Masala Club series. Have you read this one?
Kiran Mathur knows firsthand just how dangerous love can be. After all, her sister’s marriage in India nearly destroyed Kiran’s family. So she’s decided to redeem romance herself—by not falling for anyone who might disappoint her parents. That is, until she meets her new neighbor Nash Hawthorne…
Nash is a dedicated doctor and dedicated to being alone. His family life has taught him abandonment and he isn’t ready for more. But in spending time with Kiran, he starts to believe in a love he’s never felt before.
For both, love feels like a risk. But when the future only starts to make sense with each other, it might be time to follow their hearts…
Donut Fall in Love
RECOMMENDED: Donut Fall in Love by Jackie Lau is $1.99! Catherine gave this one a Squee grade:
It is such a perfectly balanced book, too. It doesn’t just skim over the surface of difficult things, but it also doesn’t drag you down into the depths of grief, either. I loved that it is such a light, funny, hot read, but also a story that invites reflection.
A baker provides the sweetest escape for an actor in this charming romantic comedy.
Actor Ryan Kwok is back in Toronto after the promotional tour for his latest film, a rom-com that is getting less-than-stellar reviews. After the sudden death of his mother and years of constant work, Ryan is taking some much-needed time off. But as he tries to be supportive to his family, he struggles with his loss and doesn’t know how to talk to his dad—who now trolls him on Twitter instead of meeting him for dim sum.
Innovative baker Lindsay McLeod meets Ryan when he knocks over two dozen specialty donuts at her bakery. Their relationship is off to a messy start, but there’s no denying their immediate attraction. When Ryan signs up for a celebrity episode of Baking Fail, he asks Lindsay to teach him how to bake and she agrees.
As Lindsay and Ryan spend time together, bonding over grief and bubble tea, it starts to feel like they’re cooking up something sweeter than cupcakes in the kitchen.
Rocky Mountain Cowboy Christmas
Rocky Mountain Cowboy Christmas by Katie Ruggle is $1.99! This one has a lot of catnip: a cowboy firefighter, who is also a single parent. This one was recommended on Twitter, so much so that I even added to my Goodreads list (even though I avoid holiday romances).
In the heart of the Rockies
In the arms of a cowboy
One white Christmas can change everything.
When firefighter and single dad Steve Springfield moved his four kids to a Colorado Christmas tree ranch, he intended for it to be a safe haven. But he never expected danger to follow them to his childhood home…
Or that he would come face-to-face with the one girl he could never forget.
Folk artist Camille Brandt lives a quiet life. As the town’s resident eccentric, she’s used to being lonely–until Steve freaking Springfield changes everything. Brave and kind, he’s always had a piece of her heart, and it doesn’t take long before she’s in danger of falling for him and his rambunctious kids. But as mysterious fires break out across the sleepy Colorado town, Steve and Camille will have to fight if they want their happy family to survive until Christmas…
It Happened One Fight
It Happened One Fight by Maureen Lenker is $1.99! I believe we mentioned this on a previous Hide Your Wallet. The Old Hollywood setting definitely grabbed our attention.
From Entertainment Weekly writer Maureen Lee Lenker comes a swoony romantic comedy set in the world of 1930s film.
Joan Davis is a movie star, and a damned good actor, too. Unfortunately, Hollywood only seems to care when she stars alongside Dash Howard, Tinseltown’s favorite leading man and a perpetual thorn in Joan’s side. She’s sick of his hotshot attitude, his never-ending attempts to get a rise out of her—especially after the night he sold her out to the press on a studio-arranged date. She’ll turn her career around without him. She’s engaged to Hollywood’s next rising star, after all, and preparing to make the film that could finally get her taken seriously. Then, a bombshell drops: thanks to one of his on-set pranks gone wrong, Dash and Joan are legally married.
Reputation on the line, Joan agrees to star alongside Dash one last time and move production to Reno, where divorce is legal after a six-week residency. But between on-set shenanigans, fishing competitions at Lake Tahoe, and intimate moments leaked to the press, Joan begins to see another side to the man she thought she had all figured out, and it becomes harder and harder to convince the public—and herself—that her marriage to Dash is the joke it started out as.
The Accidental Pinup
The Accidental Pinup by Danielle Jackson is $1.99! I believe we’ve talked about Jackon’s beautiful covers before. This one features a photographer heroine who inadvertently becomes a model.
Rival photographers are forced to collaborate on a body-positive lingerie campaign, but they might have to readjust their focus when sparks fly.
Photographer Cassie Harris loves her job—her company Buxom Boudoir makes people look beautiful and feel empowered with her modern twist on classic pinup photography. Cassie’s best friend, Dana, is about to launch her own dangerously dreamy lingerie line and wants Cassie to shoot and direct the career-changing national campaign. But company politics and Dana’s complicated pregnancy interfere, and Cassie finds herself—a proud plus size Black woman—not behind the camera but in front of it.
Though she’s never modeled herself, Cassie’s pretty sure she can handle the sheer underwear and caution tape bralettes. She’s not sure she can work so intimately with the chosen photographer, her long-time competitor in the Chicago photography scene, Reid Montgomery. Their chemistry is undeniable on set, however, and feelings can develop faster than film…
You’re a Mean One, Matthew Prince
You’re a Mean One, Matthew Prince by Timothy Janovsky is $1.99! This is book two in the Boy Meets Boy contemporary romance series and this one has some holiday elements.
Bring a little joy to the world?
Not today, Santa.
Matthew Prince is young, rich, and thoroughly spoiled. So what if his parents barely remember he exists and the press is totally obsessed with him? He’s on top of the world. But one major PR misstep later, and Matthew is cut off and shipped away to spend the holidays in his grandparents’ charming small town hellscape. Population: who cares?
It’s bad enough he’s stuck in some festive winter wonderland—it’s even worse that he has to share space with Hector Martinez, an obnoxiously attractive local who’s unimpressed with anything and everything Matthew does.
Just when it looks like the holiday season is bringing nothing but heated squabbles, the charity gala loses its coordinator and Matthew steps in as a saintly act to get home early on good behavior…with Hector as his maddening plus-one. But even a Grinch can’t resist the unexpected joy of found family, and in the end, the forced proximity and infectious holiday cheer might be enough to make a lonely Prince’s heart grow three sizes this year.
