u/kitimitsu

Had this in paperback and I also bought the ebook several years ago but this is a steal of a deal! From one of my favourite older series, this is the first book in the {Holt Sisters Trilogy Series by Julie Anne Long}.

The e-version of {Beauty and the Spy by Julie Anne Long} is on sale in US and Canada for a limited time at the awesome price of $0.99!!!

Available from these retailers - Amazon, Apple Books, Google and Kobo so pick up while you can.

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Earlier this year, January 7th to be precise I finished reading {Luck Be a Lady by Meredith Duran}.  Now this was my second time reading the book as I originally read it back when it was first published in 2015.  And even though I loved the sexy crime boss Nick who is amongst my fave MMCs...I was not quite as enamoured with the FMC Catherine or as Nick loved to call her Kitty.  Kitty owned and ran an auction house with her brother Peter in the storyline. For someone who professed to be independent and not wanting to marry...I found her very insecure and lacking in confidence and she did not always make the best decisions and mainly for those reasons I rated the book 4 out of 5 stars.  

So I was rereading {Lady Be Good by Meredith Duran} last week which is part of {Rules for the Reckless Series by Meredith Duran} and Kitty plays a larger supporting role in that book along with the main FMC of that story Lilah plus you find out more about when Kitty and Nick first met.  Anyway, I finished reading that book and yes I thoroughly enjoyed it, I liked both main characters and their interactions!  However, you also learn more about Kitty's history and it made me want to revisit Kitty and Nick's story again even though it had only been a few months.  I am not joking when I say I have dino brain AKA the retention of a gnat lol!

Finished reading Luck Be A Lady this morning and I have to admit that I may have been too harsh in my opinion about the FMC.  Is she still insecure and lacking in confidence?  Yes but not as much as I originally thought. Because upon reading Lilah's book, you find out more about Kitty's background/family life. Kitty will never be one of my fave FMCs but I am now more sympathetic to her personality and reactions to events and I don't hate her character.  If you do decide to pick up Luck Be A Lady, may I highly recommend that you read the prior book Lady Be Good first!  Due to my more positive response to Kitty, I revised my rating to 4.5 stars for her book.

Not looking for new recommendations as I could lose small children and pets in my TBR pile!😉 But I am curious about what books have you reread recently that changed your mind about the original rating for the read? Can be for the positive or negative. And your reason or reasons for the higher or lower score.

The e-version of {An Offer From a Gentleman by Julia Quinn} is on sale in US and Canada for a limited time at the awesome price of $1.99!!! It's Sophie and Benedict's story from the Bridgerton series.

Available from these retailers - Amazon, Apple Books, Google and Kobo so pick up while you can.

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I keep seeing suggestions for newer HR books in my feed and more than half of them are all variations of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice(P&P). A small sample of book blurb examples below:

• What if Darcy regrets separating Jane from Bingley and brings a tortoise to Cheapside? The children are delighted, Jane is bemused, and Elizabeth? All bets are off.
• What if Darcy and Elizabeth understood one another sooner?
• Jane Bennet still struggles to forget the absent Mr Bingley, whilst Elizabeth finds herself increasingly troubled by her feelings for the proud and enigmatic Mr Darcy. 
• What if Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy spoke honestly to one another in Kent, clearing away their misconceptions before he ever made his proposal?
• Fitzwilliam Darcy is hiding on the roof of a folly when he hears Elizabeth Bennet describe him as a man she could never love. It is, he will later reflect, not his finest hour.

Ya wanna know something?  Who the f**k cares about Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy!!!!!  I read Pride and Prejudice once.  ONCE.  And it was a very long time and I can honestly tell you that it definitely did not rock my HR world else I would not be writing this rant.  Everybody and their dog thinks they can write the next version of P&P using the same boring characters and versions of situations and possible futures.  Can you not write your own unique storyline with original characters?  Heck I know lots of these are probably AI slop or AI is used in the creating of this garbage but it is still super annoying to see all the flippin' time.

Now I also understand that we all are individuals and have a wide range of reading preferences.  Many people cite P&P for the reason they began their writing journeys and I think that is awesome.  Anything that starts the creative juices flowing is a wonderful thing!  But can these Jane Austen wannabes try to create their own literary worlds and not try to piggyback off such a well-known and beloved classic? 

I want to hear your views on this topic.  Do you enjoy or like variations of P&P or do you disdain it?  Is there a newer version of P&P that actually does a great job building on the P&P world that you would recommend?  Try and change my jaded mind! 

Posting request on behalf of u/daisychain82 see their request below:

Can someone help me with the title of a book that contained these characters: Miles, Olivia, and his secret son Brian whose mom is Olivia’s younger sister? Olivia had a tattoo of a flower. The title and author escapes me. Thanks!  

The e-version of {Love In The Afternoon by Lisa Kleypas} is on sale in US and Canada for a limited time at the awesome price of $0.99!!! It's the last book in the Hathaway series and is Beatrix and Christopher's story.

Available from these retailers - Amazon, Apple Books, Google and Kobo so pick up while you can.

= = = = Sale price only for US and Canada regions = = = =