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Books by Sonali Dev, Cathy Yardley, & More

Death in the Spires

Death in Spires by KJ Charles is 99c! Thank you to everyone who let us know about this sale. Fingers crossed it lasts through today!

The newspapers called us the Seven Wonders. We were a group of friends, that’s all, and then Toby died. Was killed. Murdered.

1905. A decade after the grisly murder of Oxford student Toby Feynsham, the case remains hauntingly unsolved. For Jeremy Kite, the crime not only stole his best friend, it destroyed his whole life. When an anonymous letter lands on his desk, accusing him of having killed Toby, Jem becomes obsessed with finally uncovering the truth.

Jem begins to track down the people who were there the night Toby died – a close circle of friends once known as the ‘Seven Wonders’ for their charm and talent – only to find them as tormented and broken as himself. All of them knew and loved Toby at Oxford. Could one of them really be his killer?

As Jem grows closer to uncovering what happened that night, his pursuer grows bolder, making increasingly terrifying attempts to silence him for good. Will exposing Toby’s killer put to rest the shadows that have darkened Jem’s life for so long? Or will the gruesome truth only put him in more danger?

Some secrets are better left buried…

From the bestselling, acclaimed author of The Magpie Lord and The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen comes a chilling historical mystery with a sting in the tail. You won’t be able to put this gripping story down!

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Lies and Other Love Languages

Lies and Other Love Languages by Sonali Dev is $1.99 at Amazon! This is more women’s fiction than contemporary romance, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there are some romantic elements in here.

From the bestselling author of The Vibrant Years comes an emotional story of three women navigating ugly truths and safe lies with only love to guide them on a journey of motherhood, friendship, and life.

Bestselling advice columnist Vandy Guru built her career teaching others how to live honestly and courageously, but after the loss of her beloved husband, Vandy’s public veneer can barely conceal her grief. When her beloved daughter Mallika suddenly disappears and her estranged childhood best friend Rani returns, stirring up long-buried secrets, Vandy’s carefully crafted life feels at risk.

Aspiring choreographer Mallika Guru is tired of failure. When another audition ends in rejection, she signs up for a genetic study to find out why she’s so different from her accomplished family. But the results reveal her whole life to be a lie, and Rani seems to be the only one who knows the truth.

Rani Parekh sacrificed everything for Vandy once. But to hold on to the life she’s rebuilt, she must confront her troubled history and face Vandy and Mallika. Join these three extraordinary women as they journey from LA to Mumbai on an incredible path of discovery, hope, and love.

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

One for the Rogue

One for the Rogue by Charis Michaels is $1.99! This is book three in the Bachelor Lords of London historical romance series. The heroine has become a dowager duchess in her early twenties and the hero is in need of decorum lessons.

Beauregard “Beau” Courtland has no use for the whims of society and even less for aristocratic titles. As a younger son, he travels the world in search of adventure with no plans to settle down. Even when the title of Viscount Rainsleigh is suddenly forced upon him, he will not bend to duty or decorum. Not until an alluring young woman appears on the deck of his houseboat, determined to teach him propriety in all things and tempting him with every forbidden touch…

Lady Emmaline Crumbley has had a wretched year. Her elderly husband dropped dead without naming her in his will and she’s been relegated to the life of a dowager duchess at the age of 23. She has no wish to instruct a renegade viscount in respectability, but desperate to escape her greedy stepson, Beau’s family makes her an offer she cannot refuse: teach the new lord to behave like a gentleman, and they’ll help her earn the new, self-sufficient life of her dreams. Emmaline agrees, only to discover that instructing the viscount is one thing, but resisting him is quite another. How can she teach manners to the rakish nobleman if he is determined to show her the thrill of scandal instead?

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Role Playing

Role Playing by Cathy Yardley is $1.99 on Amazon! Many of you were excited for this one and we had Yardley on the podcast to talk about it. Did any of you pick it up? What’d you think?

From Cathy Yardley, author of Love, Comment, Subscribe, comes an emotional rom-com about two middle-aged gamers who grow their online connection into an IRL love story.

Maggie is an unapologetically grumpy forty-eight-year-old hermit. But when her college-aged son makes her a deal―he’ll be more social if she does the same―she can’t refuse. She joins a new online gaming guild led by a friendly healer named Otter. So that nobody gets the wrong idea, she calls herself Bogwitch.

Otter is Aiden, a fifty-year-old optimist using the guild as an emotional outlet from his family drama caring for his aging mother while his brother plays house with Aiden’s ex-fiancée.

Bogwitch and Otter become fast virtual friends, but there’s a catch. Bogwitch thinks Otter is a college student. Otter assumes Bogwitch is an octogenarian.

When they finally meet face to face―after a rocky, shocking start―the unlikely pair of sunshine and stormy personalities grow tentatively closer. But Maggie’s previous relationships have left her bitter, and Aiden’s got a complicated past of his own.

Everything’s easier online. Can they make it work in real life?

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Vintage Cover Art Behind the Scenes with Sharon Spiak and Shirley Green

In Episode 606. Behind the Scenes of Classic Cover Art: Shirley Green and Sharon Spiak, I learned about the behind-the-scenes process of creating some of the romance covers I know very well. It was a fascinating conversation, and if you’re at all interested, there’s a transcript as well as a few pictures in the show notes.

I also did a bonus episode video for the members of the podcast Patreon sharing images that Sharon and Shirley sent me, as well as a clip where they described one major photoshoot that became the stepback for the original cover Elizabeth Hoyt’s Scandalous Desires.

I had a really good time putting this together, and had additional images that didn’t fit in the podcast entry, so I thought you might like to see the bonus video, and check out the before/after cover images that show how the art moves from photograph to painting to book covers.

You can find Sharon Spiak on Instagram and at SharonSpiakArt.com. You can find Shirley Green’s portfolio and stock image collection at ShirleyGreenPhotography.com.

And you can find the podcast wherever you get your favorite shows, and find us on YouTube!

And here are some of the images they shared with me!

The cover for For the Love of a Pirate by Edith Layton is one of my all time favorites, as I’ve mentioned. For the Love of a Pirate with the author's name in white on purple, and a painted image of two people about to go to bone town on some very jagged rocks with a wave about to drown them.

 

Here are some of the photos taken for that cover from the studio:

A photo of a White male model with his shirt off in black pants kneeling on a pillow and a bench with a White model with blonde hair and a pink dress straddling his leg. Behind him you can see another bench that she is also kneeling on.

Check out the pillows and the benches! Eventually, they’ll be jagged rocks, but I’m sure the models appreciated the pillows!

Another show from the photo shoot, this time his white shirt is half off and dangling down his back and he's intimately pressing his mouth against her neck.

This is in the video but I love the progression from photo to painting to cover for A Duchess a Day:

photo for Duchess for a Day with a white woman with long brown hair and a gold dress holding an apple in one hand as she leans away from a shirtless model in tan pants and boots. There are hands visible at the bottom right holding her dress away from her body and a stool and a block are visible behind the male for him to perch on while they pose

Note the hands in the lower right holding the dress out, and the stool with the phone book? maybe? (remember those?) behind him.

Painting by Sharon Spiak based on the photo, with the dress spreading out past the edges of the painting, and now he's leaning on a tree stump and they're in a glade in a forest.

And, of course, the cover:

The. final cover with the title A Duchess a Day by Charis Michaels on top of the painting images

Wow, right? Gorgeous.

Also in the video, but still worth looking at again:

A photograph of a white blonde woman in a wedding dress and waist length veil, resting her hand on a male model's chest. His shirt is open but still tucked in OF COURSE and she seems to be standing on a stool

Bridal gown, check.

Shirt unbuttoned but STILL TUCKED IN? Check!

The painting:

The same couple from the photograph but now they're on a stone staircase outside in a rose garden

And the stepback for Marrying Winterbourne: 

The printed stepback of marrying winterbourne, where the painting is now shaded in pink aside from the human figures

Isn’t that wild?

Here’s the stepback process for Lord of Darkness by Elizabeth Hoyt

A photograph of a woman leaning atop a shirtless man. She's in a gold gown that's off the shoulder, he is shirtless, she's semi-straddling him, and behind him are pillows and blankets to prop his arm on

Per Elizabeth Hoyt’s fabulous Pinterest, I know that the models pictured are Thierry Pepin and Michelle Cortabitarte. Lots of cushions! And a wooden bench or box!

And the resulting stepback image:

The leaning couple are now almost reclining on a stone bench in a very green garden and her gown is now peach colored

Seriously I could look at these all day. Fascinating.

But as I learned during the recording (and the audio was not usable, alas) the real star of every photo shoot is Rocky.

This is Rocky the Rockstarr Pomeranian, who you can follow on Instagram.

Sharon a white woman with red hair is holding the edge of the model's dress while she looks over her shoulder at the camera. On Sharon's lap is a very happy brown pomeranian and there are props and backdrops visible behind her

Rocky is clearly underused as a book cover model, right?

A pair of models recline in mid-pose with Rocky perched on their laps. A woman in a red period gown sits on top of a man laying down in a shirt Unbuttoned But Still Tucked In! And rocky looks very happy.

Shirt! Unbuttoned! But Still Tucked In!

And a very handsome Rocky.

Here’s cowboy Rocky with Timothy Adams:

A white man with great cheekbones in a cowboy hat and fringed jacket holds Rocky, who is wearing a bandana and hat to match

The hat, y’all.

Goggles?

A white dude with a leather jacket holding Rocky, who is wearing a pair of goggles

Goggles!

One more of Rocky? Yes, one more!

A blonde woman with a white empire gown holds Rocky, who is wearing a big bow!

As I mentioned, if this is your thing, you can find Sharon Spiak on Instagram and at SharonSpiakArt.com.

You can find Shirley Green’s portfolio and stock image collection at ShirleyGreenPhotography.com.

MOST importantly, Rocky the Rockstarr Pomeranian is on Instagram!

And you can find the podcast wherever you get your favorite shows, and find us on YouTube!

What are some of your favorite classic covers?

 

 

 

Historical Romances and Magical Realism

If you want more ways to find romances on sale, sign up for alerts for free books and sales from Red Feather Romance!

The Duke of Dark Desires

RECOMMENDED: The Duke of Dark Desires by Miranda Neville is $1.99! This is the fourth and latest book in the Wild Quartet series. The earlier books also appear to be on sale. Elyse reviewed this and gave it an impressive A grade:

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. As far as historical romances go, it’s got a lot of everything good. The hero and heroine break stereotypes and are fully fleshed characters. There’s intrigue and eroticism aplenty. Just make sure you pace yourself and savor this one.

Wanted: Governess able to keep all hours . . .

Rebellious Julian Fortescue never expected to inherit a dukedom, nor to find himself guardian to three young half-sisters. Now in the market for a governess, he lays eyes on Jane Grey and knows immediately she is qualified—to become his mistress. Yet the alluring woman appears impervious to him. Somehow Julian must find a way to make her succumb to temptation . . . without losing his heart and revealing the haunting mistakes of his past.

Desired: Duke skilled in the seductive art of conversation . . .

Lady Jeanne de Falleron didn’t seek a position as a governess simply to fall into bed with the Duke of Denford. Under the alias of Jane Grey, she must learn which of the duke’s relatives is responsible for the death of her family—and take her revenge. She certainly can’t afford the distraction of her darkly irresistible employer, or the smoldering desire he ignites within her .

But as Jane discovers more clues about the villain she seeks, she’s faced with a possibility more disturbing than her growing feelings for Julian: What will she do if the man she loves is also the man she’s sworn to kill?

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Duchess by Design

Duchess by Design by Maya Rodale is $1.99! This is the first book in the Gilded Age Girls Club series. Elyse read this one, but gave it a B-, as she didn’t believe the hero really deserved the heroine. Have you read this one? Do you agree with Elyse’s assessment.

In the first novel of Maya Rodale’s enthralling new series, an English duke vows to make an American seamstress his duchess…

In Gilded Age Manhattan, anything can happen…

Seeking a wealthy American bride who can save his family’s estate, Brandon Fiennes, the duke of Kingston, is a rogue determined to do the right thing. But his search for an heiress goes deliciously awry when an enchanting seamstress tumbles into his arms instead.

…and true love is always in fashion

Miss Adeline Black aspires to be a fashionable dressmaker—not a duchess—and not even an impossibly seductive duke will distract her. But Kingston makes an offer she can’t refuse: join him at society events to display her gowns and advise him on which heiresses are duchess material. It’s the perfect plan—as long as they resist temptation, avoid a scandal, and above all do not lose their hearts.

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

One for the Rogue

One for the Rogue by Charis Michaels is $1.99! This is book three in the Bachelor Lords of London historical romance series. The heroine has become a dowager duchess in her early twenties and the hero is in need of decorum lessons.

Beauregard “Beau” Courtland has no use for the whims of society and even less for aristocratic titles. As a younger son, he travels the world in search of adventure with no plans to settle down. Even when the title of Viscount Rainsleigh is suddenly forced upon him, he will not bend to duty or decorum. Not until an alluring young woman appears on the deck of his houseboat, determined to teach him propriety in all things and tempting him with every forbidden touch…

Lady Emmaline Crumbley has had a wretched year. Her elderly husband dropped dead without naming her in his will and she’s been relegated to the life of a dowager duchess at the age of 23. She has no wish to instruct a renegade viscount in respectability, but desperate to escape her greedy stepson, Beau’s family makes her an offer she cannot refuse: teach the new lord to behave like a gentleman, and they’ll help her earn the new, self-sufficient life of her dreams. Emmaline agrees, only to discover that instructing the viscount is one thing, but resisting him is quite another. How can she teach manners to the rakish nobleman if he is determined to show her the thrill of scandal instead?

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

The Girl Who Chased the Moon

RECOMMENDED: The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen is $1.99 and a Kindle daily Deal! Allen is an auto-buy author for me and I just love the way she adds in some fabulism to her women’s fiction. Some readers felt that this book and its characters weren’t as great as Allen’s other novels. While others say that if you’re looking for something heartfelt and cozy, this should hit the spot.

In her latest enchanting novel, New York Times bestselling author Sarah Addison Allen invites you to a quirky little Southern town with more magic than a full Carolina moon. Here two very different women discover how to find their place in the world—no matter how out of place they feel.

Emily Benedict came to Mullaby, North Carolina, hoping to solve at least some of the riddles surrounding her mother’s life. Such as, why did Dulcie Shelby leave her hometown so suddenly? And why did she vow never to return? But the moment Emily enters the house where her mother grew up and meets the grandfather she never knew—a reclusive, real-life gentle giant—she realizes that mysteries aren’t solved in Mullaby, they’re a way of life: Here are rooms where the wallpaper changes to suit your mood. Unexplained lights skip across the yard at midnight. And a neighbor bakes hope in the form of cakes.

Everyone in Mullaby adores Julia Winterson’s cakes—which is a good thing, because Julia can’t seem to stop baking them. She offers them to satisfy the town’s sweet tooth but also in the hope of rekindling the love she fears might be lost forever. Flour, eggs, milk, and sugar . . . Baking is the only language the proud but vulnerable Julia has to communicate what is truly in her heart. But is it enough to call back to her those she’s hurt in the past?

Can a hummingbird cake really bring back a lost love? Is there really a ghost dancing in Emily’s backyard? The answers are never what you expect. But in this town of lovable misfits, the unexpected fits right in.

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

History, Mystery, & More

One for the Rogue

One for the Rogue by Charis Michaels is $1.99! This is book three in the Bachelor Lords of London historical romance series. The heroine has become a dowager duchess in her early twenties and the hero is in need of decorum lessons.

Beauregard “Beau” Courtland has no use for the whims of society and even less for aristocratic titles. As a younger son, he travels the world in search of adventure with no plans to settle down. Even when the title of Viscount Rainsleigh is suddenly forced upon him, he will not bend to duty or decorum. Not until an alluring young woman appears on the deck of his houseboat, determined to teach him propriety in all things and tempting him with every forbidden touch…

Lady Emmaline Crumbley has had a wretched year. Her elderly husband dropped dead without naming her in his will and she’s been relegated to the life of a dowager duchess at the age of 23. She has no wish to instruct a renegade viscount in respectability, but desperate to escape her greedy stepson, Beau’s family makes her an offer she cannot refuse: teach the new lord to behave like a gentleman, and they’ll help her earn the new, self-sufficient life of her dreams. Emmaline agrees, only to discover that instructing the viscount is one thing, but resisting him is quite another. How can she teach manners to the rakish nobleman if he is determined to show her the thrill of scandal instead?

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Mickey Chambers Shakes It Up

Mickey Chambers Shakes It Up by Charish Reid is $2.99! I recently mentioned this one on an edition of Get Rec’d, after a friend staff picked it at the bookstore where I worked. I remember my mom and stepdad honeymooned in the Poconos and their resort had big martini glass bathtubs. That’s what this cover reminds me of.

“A heartfelt opposites-attract romance…” — Publishers Weekly

Total opposites. Totally irresistible.

Mickey Chambers is an expert at analyzing modern literature. But when it comes to figuring out her own story, she’s feeling a little lost. At thirty-three, she’s an adjunct instructor with a meager summer class schedule and too many medical bills, courtesy of her chronic illness. Picking up a bartending gig seems perfect. Sure, Mickey’s never done this before, but the gorgeous, grumpy bar owner, Diego Acosta, might be the perfect man to teach the teacher…if he wasn’t so stressed.

Diego is worried he’s running his late wife’s bar into the ground. Add the pressures of returning to college part-time at forty-two, and it’s no wonder he’s making rash decisions. Like hiring the sunny, sexy woman who looks more at home in a library than slinging beers to rowdy barflies, and who turns out to be teaching his online writing course, a complication neither was expecting…

It’s not long before Mickey starts reenergizing The Saloon with cocktails, karaoke and an optimism even Diego can’t ignore. They need to fight their feelings if they want to keep things professional, but all it takes is one sip, one kiss, to shake both their worlds forever…

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

The Raven Spell

The Raven Spell by Luanne G. Smith is $2.49 at Amazon! This is book one in a series that seems to combine fantasy, mystery, and historical settings. I mentioned this one on a previous Get Rec’d. Did any of you read it?

In Victorian England a witch and a detective are on the hunt for a serial killer in an enthralling novel of magic and murder.

After a nearly fatal blow to the skull, traumatized private detective Ian Cameron is found dazed and confused on a muddy riverbank in Victorian London. Among his effects: a bloodstained business card bearing the name of a master wizard and a curious pocket watch that doesn’t seem to tell time. To retrieve his lost memories, Ian demands answers from Edwina and Mary Blackwood, sister witches with a murky past. But as their secret is slowly unveiled, a dangerous mystery emerges on the darkened streets of London.

To help piece together Ian’s lost time, he and Edwina embark on a journey that will take them from the river foreshore to an East End music hall, and on to a safe house for witches in need of sanctuary from angry mortals. The clues they find suggest a link between a series of gruesome murders, a missing person’s case, and a dreadful suspicion that threatens to tear apart the bonds of sisterhood. As the investigation deepens, could Ian and Edwina be the next to die?

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

A Haunted History of Invisible Women

RECOMMENDED: A Haunted History of Invisible Women by Leanna Renee Hieber and Andrea Janes is $3.99! Carrie gave this one an A:

This book left me feeling inspired and excited with a new way to think about my interest in haunted places (I’m a skeptic, but also a history nerd, and I never met a graveyard I didn’t love). The book took such a novel approach to hauntings, keeping the focus on our own minds and our history as opposed to titillation.

From the notorious Lizzie Borden to the innumerable, haunted rooms of Sarah Winchester‘s mysterious mansion this offbeat, insightful, first-ever book of its kind explores the history behind America’s female ghosts, the stereotypes, myths, and paranormal tales that swirl around them, what their stories reveal about us–and why they haunt us…

Sorrowful widows, vengeful jezebels, innocent maidens, wronged lovers, former slaves, even the occasional axe-murderess–America’s female ghosts differ widely in background, class, and circumstance. Yet one thing unites them: their ability to instill fascination and fear, long after their deaths. Here are the full stories behind some of the best-known among them, as well as the lesser-known–though no less powerful.

Tales whispered in darkness often divulge more about the teller than the subject. America’s most famous female ghosts, like New Orleans voodoo priestess Marie Laveau, and Bridget Bishop, the first person executed during the Salem witchcraft trials, mirror each era’s fears and prejudices. Yet through urban legends and campfire stories, even ghosts like the nameless hard-working women lost in the infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire –achieve a measure of power and agency in death, in ways unavailable to them as living women.

Riveting for skeptics and believers alike, with humor, curiosity, and expertise, A Haunted History of Invisible Women offers a unique lens on the significant role these ghostly legends play both within the spook-seeking corners of our minds and in the consciousness of a nation.

Foreword by Bram Stoker Award-winning author Linda D. Addison

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