Romance reviews, writing meta and the occasional rant from a couple of techie readers/writers.
Sabine…and the Beast has a hot, hunky Scottish werewolf as the hero. Go buy the book.
What? You need to know more than that? All right, all right. The book begins with our hot Scot werewolf, Ciar, looking for his mate. He has finally come home from a war with the Lion shifters, having finally formed a peaceful alliance. Ciar expects Sabine to be waiting for him, but she is not there. Unbeknownst to him, his mother had a witch lay a curse on Sabine, because Ciar is High Lord, and Sabine is only a commoner. His mother wants a political alliance, not a love match. The curse was meant to make him forget her, but the spell backfired and anyone she touches forgets Sabine – even her own mother. When Ciar finds Sabine, he proposes that they confront his mother and the witch, but even the witch doesn’t remember her or the spell, so undoing the magic will be difficult.
Nevertheless, Ciar is determined to break the spell, and claim Sabine as his mate and High Lady, so they travel back to his home for a final confrontation. During the trip, they find ways to work around the ‘no touching’ problem the spell has created, and despite the short length of the story, there’s a good amount of plot (and steamy love scenes!) packed into its short length (unlike Ciar’s length…which is lengthier, if you know what I mean, and I think you do).
Sabine….and the Beast is a short story in a series, and I’m looking forward to reading the next one, Kisri, which will deal with the Lion shifters mentioned earlier. It is a solid B+.
Sony - Reader Pocket Edition Digital Book - Silver
Model: PRS350SC | SKU: 1238478
Original Price: $139.99
You Save: $20.00
Our Price:$119.99
If you’re in the market for a cheap e-ink reader and you don’t mind the lack of wi-fi, the Sony Reader Pocket Edition is on sale this week at Best Buy! The plus to the Sony Reader is that it supports ePub files, which as of now, hasn’t happened yet on Kindle. (Amazon, can we talk? I’d probably buy a Kindle IF I could read all my ePubs on it. You have a very enthusiastic evangelist in Katie.)
I haven’t purchased an e-ink reader yet - I’m waiting for the Nook e-ink to go on sale again, so that I can sync files across it and my Nook Color.
As a heads up for book bargain hunters, I got a this in my inbox this morning:
“Great savings are no joke at eHarlequin. Come back on April 1 for a Freebie Friday deal you won’t want to miss: buy any 2 print books or more and you’ll get any 3rd book FREE! And if you’d prefer to shop for ebooks, we’ve got an offer for you, too: get an extra 5% off any ebooks! Come back April 1 for our one-day sale on print books and ebooks.”
Yes, I perk up any time that I hear about eBook discounts. They are special snowflakes nowadays. I can’t tell from the ad whether the April Fool’s sale extends to Carina Press titles or not, but I’ll poke Angela James on Twitter to see if she’s heard one way or another.
ETA: Angela James says that Carina Press runs its own sales independent of HQN. Considering how reasonable CP’s prices are, I can’t complain.
—Heather
Good for her. I didn’t care for her book, but she sounds very level-headed in terms of how she’s handling her career. Self-pubbed is a LOT of work, and I can’t blame her - I know a crapton about eBook layout, cover design and typeset, and I still wouldn’t do it…only because I know how much work it is. LOL.
—Heather
What happens if they screw you over in a contract, steal all your money, and keep your erights forever> Then they do. I like the books St. Martin’s bought. And I believe in them. But if I lose money on them, I lose money on them. That’s the risk I’m taking. And I do know this is a risk. But it’s…
Holy crap look at that chunk of eBook market! :D
In light of all the hype, I had to have a look at Ms. Hocking’s work. It is indeed a $0.99 book, which is to say, I did not finish it. I got about 50 pages in and I was boooored. There was too much hinting and hawing and high school, and nothing paranormal or interesting. This is why Twilight bores the crap out of me too, btw. I expect paranormal stuff to happen in a paranormal book.
There was a lot of talk of the heroine’s diet, which was odd and full of plain yogurt and jello. I found myself wondering if she was autistic, and if so, that would have made her more interesting - a metaphor of how an autistic person feels like a changeling in a neurotypical world is a book I think I’d be into and read - but that’s not where the book went, and I gave up.
I do think with a proper editor her work might be more readable, but I would give this series a pass. Her prose is simple and direct, which is probably why it’s popular. It’s easy to read, but this is why I do not want $0.99 to be the price of an eBook. I need a better polished book than this. There are good self-published titles - I am enjoying the Nadia Lee book that I got, for example, and I will have to give A Happily Ever After of Her Own a proper review. All that said, I don’t feel comfortable giving this review a letter grade, because I didn’t finish it.
Final analysis: DNF
—Heather
I loved this post and the links - $0.99 as a price point for a book is ridiculous. Dear Author is also having a discussion on eBook pricing. The comments are eye-opening in regards to buying budgets, perceived value, and production costs.
Thoughts:
1. Production costs mean crap to a reader, especially in regards to ebooks. No one wants to pay hardback costs for an eBook.
2. Series bundles for ebooks would be awesome, why can’t we get more of them from the big 6?
3. Indie presses like Carina Press, Samhain and Loose-Id are good places to get good, well-edited stories for a reasonable price. (this is kind of a DA commenter thing, but honestly that’s where I’m buying a lot of my eBooks too, so I concur).
4. The $.0.99 eBook that I bought earlier today was indeed worth about $0.99. I would rather pay more for well-made book, kthx.
5. Upshot: Personally, I don’t think I’d pay more than $9.99 for a book that’s only available in hardback/eBook form. There are exceptions to this rule - I bought Ariel Levy’s Female Chauvinist Pigs for $11.99, but it’s a more academic book, and I suppose I tolerate the higher price point because I expect that I’ll spend more time with the title than I do with fun reading.
—Heather
Which I would subtitle “Why Geeks are Still Often Quite Stupid about the ‘Real World’ “
I was indirectly linked through John Scalzi over at Whatever to a LiveJournal entry on e-publishing and ebook pricing by a Cat Valente. And I have to say, the entire argument resonated with me as being…
The digital marketplace. Some people get it, some people don’t. Mark Coker does. :D
Get your discount in 3 easy steps:
1. Choose your eBook & click on “Buy Now”
2. Sign in or create an account
3. Type in discount code — mar18us30
— & click submit
Unlimited Use Coupon!
Sale ends March 20th.
(note: it appears to be anything in the store - I am browsing now and if I run into any snags, I’ll update this post.)
ETA: agency pricing strikes again. Expect that you can’t use the discount code on any of the big 6. Of course. *roll eyes*
-Heather
Read it, loved it, and promptly downloaded the next Dragon Kin book. Annwyl is a badass heroine (I know, I know, you’re rolling your eyes if you read a lot of paranormal, but hear me out). Her nickname is Annwyl the Bloody, and she earns it on the battlefield against her brother, who is a tyrant who wants her dead, and the kingdom under his complete rule.
Our hero, Fearghus, finds her dying on the battlefield, toasts her enemies, takes her to his home and helps her heal. He’s fascinated by the little human who should have run from him in fear. When she asks for his help to defeat her brother, he decides to train her. In the book, it’s an unknown that a dragon may take a human form, so Fearghus tells her that he has a knight who will teach her to control her temper, which is her downfall on the battlefield. Meanwhile, Annwyl is torn by her love for the dragon and her desire for the knight. There’s also humor in the form of Fearghus’ siblings, one of whom gets a bad case of indigestion from eating too many bad guys. The end of the book is a little choppy compared to the rest of the story, which is the only thing that detracted from it getting an A+. Also, if you’re used to your fantasy titles building slowly, you’ll find that Dragon Actually unfurls at a breakneck pace. This ain’t Lord of the Rings, guys.
Note: I read the nookBook version of this title, and it has two stories in one. I am not certain if the paperback version is the same. The second story is the backstory of Fearghus’ parents and their courtship, which was tumultuous. It’s a bit naughtier than Fearghus and Annwyl’s story – there’s some light bondage, so reader be aware. All in all, I give Dragon Actually an A…because I don’t want Fearghus to eat me.
-Heather
