Today’s Steals and Deals at AAR…..

This sci-fi romance is a DIK–our reviewer says she would ABSOLUTELY take this one to a Desert Isle!

 

If you are a reader who has disliked science fiction or paranormal romances or never tried one, I would highly recommend this book to change your mind, or get you hooked for good on them! It’s definitely a book I’d take to a deserted isle.

The heroine, Cidra de Arr, comes from a planet populated with telepaths and empaths. In fact, her people’s powers are so strong that negative emotions such as violence or hate can send them into unconsciousness because of the mental pain they experience. All of the population practices mental exercises to maintain serenity and inner peace. Cidra’s parents and the man she hopes to marry are telepaths; Cidra is not. Although she has never been ostracized for her lack of powers, she has always felt left out and alone.

Cidra’s people very rarely leave their home planet because of the effects strong emotions have on them, and her parents cannot understand why Cidra would choose to leave. Cidra is an historian and believes that she has found an artifact which may give her telepathic powers. With this artifact, she can return to her planet as a full telepath and marry the man she believes she loves. Cidra leaves her planet and begins to search for a pilot and a ship. Who she finds is Teague Severance – a trader pilot with some demons of his own and a shady past. Perhaps not the most original hero, but JAK pulls the reader into the story so fast, you never have time to notice. Teague is planning to drop off his shipment, relax, and then move on to another planet when Cidra approaches him.

Their initial meeting sets the stage for the rest of the story perfectly. The sparks fly from the very beginning, and neither one wants to like the other, much less admit to any attraction. JAK does an incredible job with the setting of this story. The reader never feels like the background; the planets, the ships, etc., are cardboard cut-outs with no substance. Each description has a purpose and they all fit together seamlessly into the plot of this story.

 

It’s at Amazon for 2.49 here.


Time travel, history, and hot sex? Sign me up!

 

Forced to travel to the Middle Ages when an experiment goes wrong, Dr. Jane Florian is forced to live as Lady Jehane from the Holy Land -and try not to do or say anything that could change the past.

It isn’t easy keeping a low profile, the the castle where she hides needs cleaning, and the lord of the castle’s young bride needs a makeover if she’s going to get a happily ever after.

Jane’s real troubles in leading a quiet life comes from the enigmatic Sir Daffyd, the Welsh mercenary whose attentions she knows she must defend her heart from – but can’t.

 

It’s at Amazon for 2.99 here.


 

Our reviewer called this one by powerhouse romance author Jill Shalvis a perfect winter read.

 

The Family You Make is a charming start to a new series by Jill Shalvis. A perfect winter read, it tells the story of two strangers thrown together in an emergency who end up building something real between them when they come through the other side.

Levi Cutler and Jane Parks meet as they are stranded on a ski lift in a blizzard, one strong gust of wind away from a steep drop and quick death. Fearing it’s his last chance, Levi calls his parents to tell them he loves them, and unexpectedly gets roped into a conversation about his dating life. Not wanting to end on a bad note, literally, Levi manages to tell them that Jane is his new girlfriend before the power cuts out. Jane is not impressed, but nonetheless manages to enjoy the remaining time stuck in the gondola with Levi, bantering with him and talking about what’s meaningful in their lives. A few hours later, safely returned to solid ground, the feeling of intimacy between them lingers.

Jane, however, has no plans to do anything about that feeling. Effectively abandoned by her family as a child – or neglected enough to feel abandoned – Jane is extremely skittish about getting into relationships. Instead she works as a traveling nurse, allowing her to rotate positions and never stay in one place long enough to put down roots. Is a perfect, and very lonely, setup for her life.

Luckily, Jane’s nomad lifestyle isn’t enough to deter Levi. After looking her up through some hospital connections, he asks Jane to come to dinner at his house to pacify his family. By bribing her with cupcakes and making it clear that he’d like to make the fake relationship a real one anytime she’s ready, Levi slowly entices Jane to give him a shot. It’s a little like watching someone coax a shy woodland creature to eat from their palm – in dating Levi, Jane is leaving her natural habitat far behind.

Of course, Levi is carrying his own share of relationship baggage. Years ago his highschool sweetheart died, and Levi has never gotten over the guilt of not proposing to her before she passed. Even more, he feels guilty for not wanting to propose to her. As Jane stumbles down a path toward trusting people, Levi works on trusting and respecting himself. Despite a few hiccups along the way, these two complement each other well, and both show some real growth over the book.

 

It’s at Amazon for 1.99 here.


Caz gave this one a DIK. 

 

Ms. Purcell does a terrific job of balancing the telling of the story through both timelines, and the way she shows Elsie disintegrating before our eyes is uncomfortable and masterful all at once.   She keeps us constantly on our toes, making us doubt our narrators, playing with our perceptions and questioning whether those things we have just discovered or been told are real or imagined.  If I have a criticism, it’s that the story is perhaps a little slow to start, but once it really gets going it quickly becomes gripping and completely un-putdownable – and even now, hours after finishing it, I’m still getting that feeling of breathless chills as I think back to it.  The story is permeated by feelings of unease and foreboding, and the author really knows how to ramp up the tension; the latter part of the story is a rollercoaster ride of creepiness of all kinds – and I’ll say here that there are a few descriptions that don’t spare any of the gory details and aren’t for the faint-hearted.  But without question, the book is beautifully written and the descriptions of the depressing atmosphere inside the run-down house and the dreariness of the surrounding countryside are incredibly evocative and put the reader right in the middle of those dark, oppressive corridors and damp, mist-shrouded fields; this is no idyllic English village or beautifully kept beloved family home.

We’re left with as many questions as answers by the time the story closes, and the ending is a real kicker – utterly brilliant and something I most definitely didn’t see coming.  If you need explanations and closure in your books, then you might find the final ambiguity here a little frustrating, but honestly, the last lines fit the tone of the rest of the book so perfectly, I can’t imagine it ending any other way.

If you’ve been looking for a heartily unnerving, chilling gothic ghost story, then look no further.  Just make sure you read The Silent Companions with the lights on.

 

It’s at Amazon for 2.99 here.


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