Aimee Easterling's Blog, page 23

Four books that hit the spot

I’ve thrown a few book recommendations at you recently in the form of alerts about freebies or sales, but I’m overdue for a post about the true cream that has risen to the top over the last few months. The books in this post really hit the spot and I feel the need to shout their praises from the rooftop. Hopefully a blog post will sate that urge.

Looking Through Lace by Ruth Nestvold is the most surprisingly perfect book I’ve read this spring. It’s short — only 79 pages — so better to borrow with Kindle Unlimited than to buy. But the tight, intricate plot feels much larger than the page count attests. I don’t want to spoil it for you, but will say it’s a character-driven, soon-after-first-contact, science-fiction tale with several enticing twists and that you’ll still be thinking about it days after you turn the last page. (The sequel is more forgettable — I might skip that one.)

Fire Touched by Patricia Briggs was the most anticipated book of the spring…and it delivered. Yes, it’s expensive. Yes, I checked it out of my local library. Yes, I recommend you start with book one instead of Fire Touched. No, I’m not going to say anything else for fear I’ll spoil some of the earlier books in what has become my favorite series.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer is the book I’m most torn about recommending to you. On the one hand, this steampunk fairy tale retelling was really fun. On the downside, the cliffhanger was brutal and you have to pay tradpubbed prices for the sequels. I caught Cinder on sale for $1.99 and definitely got my money’s worth, but I didn’t pony up the cash to keep on reading.

A Dangerous Madness by Michelle Diener is the most urban-fantasy-like Regency romance I’ve ever read. There’s quite an intricate mystery and the heroine definitely has a backbone. And, as I discovered when I hit the author’s note at the end, the story is based upon a real event that was the JFK assassination of the day. So the book will definitely get you thinking!

How about you? Any truly amazing books you’ve read recently that you want to share with the world?

How long could you read on two grand?

How long would $2,000 keep you reading, do you think? Twenty urban fantasy and paranormal romance authors have teamed up to find the answer.

One lucky winner will take home a two-grand Amazon gift card, but the runnerup prizes aren’t bad either. A paperback Patricia Briggs or ebook Nalini Singh is nothing to sneeze at. Overall, 15 runnersup will enjoy at least one book as a prize!

The Beast by J.R. Ward (any format)
Feverborn by Karen Marie Moning (any format)
Moon Called by Patricia Briggs (ebook or paperback)
Charlaine Harris, Dead until Dark (ebook or paperback)
Angels’ Blood by Nalini Singh (ebook)
Cold Burn of Magic by Jennifer Estep (ebook or paperback)
Signed Copy of The Blackburne Legacy by Apryl Baker
Magick After Midnight Boxed Set (ebook)
Wolf Rampant Boxed Set (ebook)
Mythean Arcana Boxed Set (ebook)
Cursed by Lucy Leroux (ebook)
Flower of Hell by Noree Cosper (ebook)
Darkness Rising by Lisa Carlisle (ebook)
Blood Warrior by H.D. Gordon (ebook)
Winner’s Choice on any top 10 PR/UF book on Amazon at the time of the drawing

Good luck, and don’t forget to share this giveaway with your Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy loving friends for extra entries to win!

Enter the Giveaway
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Win a signed copy of Half Wolf

I’ve got one last giveaway to round out the launch of Fen’s new series. Click here to check out my Goodreads giveaway of one signed paperback copy of Half Wolf. Good luck!

Shapeshifting witch

I caught an exhibit of Lillian Trettin‘s work recently and couldn’t resist sharing this intricate collage depicting a shapeshifting witch. Since a lot of Trettin’s work is based on Native American and Appalachian folklore, I suspect this is meant to depict skinwalkers —- the Native American version of shapeshifters. What do you think?

And another hundred or so great books free or on sale

I’m taking part in a second multi-author promotion this week. This one is just as full of great reads as the other…plus today’s promo includes a giveaway where you can win an kindle if you’re so inclined. Here are my top picks from the reading list, just in case you need some guidance in choosing between so many options:

Dreamwalkers by S.M. Schmitz — This is such a fascinating, well-written book…and I’m afraid to tell you anything about it for fear of spoiling the enticing twists. Suffice it to say that it reminded me of The Time Traveler’s Wife, one of my all-time favorite books. It’s free in KU or on sale for 99 cents through the end of today.

I Bring the Fire Part I : Wolves by C. Gockel — This is a FREE and very solid first installment in a series about Norse gods returning to modern American society.

I’ve also downloaded another half-dozen or so books to explore later but didn’t want post after the deals run out. Enjoy!

I guess Fen won’t be packless after all

The astute reader probably recalls that book two in the Alpha Underground series was originally going to be titled Packless. But I asked my Shifter Secrets subscribers what they thought of the title…and got a big thumbs down.

Luckily, those kind readers countered their criticism with dozens of awesome alternatives. I mulled over the suggestions, narrowed it down to four (that was hard!) and have a poll up now asking for your feedback.

I hope you’ll take a minute and click a button to let me know which title would be more likely to make you pick up a book by an author you didn’t know. Thanks in advance for helping break me out of decision paralysis so I can go back to writing!

Eight dozen free books

This month’s group promo is very heavy on the high-quality books, and every title is FREE. Of the authors I’ve read, I can 100% recommend to you:

Lindsay Buroker’s Balanced on the Blade’s Edge — I might have recommended this book here before. If not, let me just say this is a standalone romance that also begins a series of interconnected semi-standalones. The world-building is unique and intriguing, the characters are top notch, and I still remember the plot approximately 20 books later. (That last point is a ringing endorsement given my memory and speed reading habits….)
Ruby Lionsdrake’s Mercenary Instinct — Pure swashbuckling space opera fun. Also a standalone romance despite being the first book in a series. (The whole series is delicious too.)
C.J. Archer’s The Medium — This book is such a delightful combination of the Victorian era, ghosts, and a light romance. Warning: cliffhanger ending, but didn’t make me want to throw the book across the room.
Seven Against the Dark — This seven-book box set is extremely high quality (although the second book has a maddening cliffhanger — maybe skip that one).

And those are just the offerings where I’ve read the specific book in question — several other of the included authors have wowed me with different titles in the past. With nearly 100 free books to choose from, it would be hard to go wrong…unless you dilly dally and miss the two-day event. So check them out now!

New covers

I celebrated hitting the USA Today bestseller list by adding the tag to all of my covers. And, while I was at it, I upgraded the Wolf Rampant paperback covers from the old version to these new beautiful designs by Rebecca Frank.

This photo doesn’t quite do them justice — I’m not good enough at photography to get a good shot of glossy covers with inside lighting. But trust me, they’re so pretty I lined them up and stared at them for a full minute murmuring “My precious.”

But finally I had to force myself to put them away. After all, Fen is currently in figurative hot water and needs to find a way to swim to shore. Back to work on Packless!

Sign up for Shifter Secrets

Want to stay up to date on new releases and periods when my books are free or on sale? Or perhaps you’d just like to download your FREE starter library, consisting of ebook copies of Shiftless and The Complete Bloodling Serial? Then input your name and email address in the form to the right and we’ll get those freebies out to you right away. Thanks for staying in touch!

Half Wolf Amazon Giveaway

Don’t have KU and don’t have three bucks to buy Half Wolf? You can also enter to win a copy in this Amazon Giveaway. Good luck!

And if you don’t win, please consider sharing with your friends — maybe they’ll win a copy and will then lend it to you when they’re done. (Or you could do what my brother does and just “borrow” the book from them as soon as they fall asleep at night. Boy was I glad when our genre tastes started to diverge!)