Today’s Steals and Deals at AAR…..
We gave a DIK to the first book in this lovely series by Albertson. We haven’t reviewed this one, but critics love it. Here’s the blurb:
Enrique Montez, smooth-talking heir to the Taco King empire, is man enough to admit that he made a critical error when he underestimated Carolina Flores. The agricultural hotshot should have been an easy conquest—who would turn down the chance to partner with California’s largest fast-food chain? But instead of signing her name on the dotted line, Carolina has Enrique eating out of the palm of her hand, and when fate steps in with an unexpected opportunity, Enrique is willing to do whatever it takes to capture her heart.
Growing up as the daughter of farmworkers, Carolina spent her youth picking strawberries in the fields of Santa Maria and vowing to improve the lives of people like her parents. Now, as one of only a few Latina farm owners, she has no time for romance and she’s certainly not about to let the notorious Montez brother anywhere near her business—even if just being near Enrique makes her skin tingle.
But she is willing to let him help get her overinvolved family off her back. When Carolina’s father and her lovelorn sisters mistake Enrique for her (nonexistent) boyfriend, she reluctantly agrees to a series of pretend dates to their town’s traditional Mexican-American holiday celebrations. Soon the fake feelings turn real and both Carolina and Enrique must convince each other to take a chance on love before their vacation romance is over.
It’s on sale for 1.99 here.
It’s a well-known truism that mean people suck. The leads of this book are, says our reviewer, one of the nicest couples I’ve read about in a long time. We also said:
The well-known tale of the arranged marriage between the Scottish laird and the gently bred Englishwoman gets a fine telling in The Marriage Contract. With a resourceful heroine and a tenderhearted hero at its core, it makes for a very pleasant read.
It’s on sale for 1.99 here.
Our reviewer didn’t love this but critics and reader do. YMMV! Here’s the blurb:
In May 1875, Elizabeth Todd Edwards reels from news that her younger sister Mary, former First Lady and widow of President Abraham Lincoln, has attempted suicide.
Mary’s shocking act followed legal proceedings arranged by her eldest and only surviving son that declared her legally insane. Although they have long been estranged, Elizabeth knows Mary’s tenuous mental health has deteriorated through decades of trauma and loss. Yet is her suicide attempt truly the impulse of a deranged mind, or the desperate act of a sane woman terrified to be committed to an asylum? And—if her sisters can put past grievances aside—is their love powerful enough to save her?
Maternal Elizabeth, peacemaker Frances, envious Ann, and much adored Emilie had always turned to one another in times of joy and heartache, first as children, and later as young wives and mothers. But when Civil War erupted, the conflict that divided a nation shattered their family. The Todd sisters’s fates were bound to their husbands’ choices as some joined the Lincoln administration, others the Confederate Army.
Now, though discord and tragedy have strained their bonds, Elizabeth knows they must come together as sisters to help Mary in her most desperate hour.
It’s on sale for 1.99 here.
I so enjoyed this romance. I loved the historical context—Henry II is a player here and integrated into the storyline well. The romance is fiery and well-done. And Becnel does a great job of showing how women, with no real political power of their own, found ways to have their voices heard. This is close to a DIK for me. You can read our B review here.
We said:
The Maiden Bride is a Medieval romance in all its glory. The feel is there, the taste, the smell, the war-hardened men, the superstitions, the love, and the hate.
In order to protect her beloved twin sister from marriage to a brutal Norman lord, Lady Linnea, doomed since birth as a “devil child,” decides to marry the brute herself. Desperate to prove herself worthy in the eyes of her family, she will forfeit herself in the knowledge that when the truth comes out, she will be ruined. She loves her sister Beatrix more than herself and will sacrifice all to save her family’s estate.
Axton de la Manse is the Norman brute. Eager for revenge and to retake the estate that had once been his family’s, he marries Linnea, thinking she is Beatrix. The proud and passionate woman he marries bewitches him, as he does her. He plans to bind her to him through the passion he feels from her. But he has met his match.
It’s on sale for 2.99 here.