The purpose of Thrifty Thursday is to read a book which was free (at some point).
This is a collection of freebies I have read which are in a mix of genres.
Kindle freebie on February 6, 2023 (currently $2.99 at Amazon and Barnes & Noble as of writing this post)
Overall rating 4.01 with 1,706 ratings and 151 reviews
Watch Her Vanish by Ellery Kane Series: Rockwell and Decker #1
Published by Bookouture on October 6, 2020
Genres: Romantic Suspense, Thriller
Pages: 416
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
Goodreads
Amazon, Audible, Barnes & Noble, Apple
he beam from the lighthouse slices through the dawn sky as she runs down the rocky stairway to the beach. She tries to take it all in—the waves crashing against the cliffs, the whip of salt grass in the wind—before finally dragging her eyes down to the innocent girl’s blonde hair, strewn across the bottom step like seaweed…
Returning home to Fog Harbor, California, to be closer to her little sister, Olivia Rockwell is struggling to adjust to life in a town so small she can hardly breathe. That is, until the sound of a scream leads her to the body of a local teacher in the shallows nearby. All the evidence points to Olivia’s most threatening criminal psychology patient, Drake, who is safely locked up behind bars…
Convinced of Drake’s innocence—and desperate to believe in the system that’s keeping her murderer father in prison and away from her sister—Olivia gets to work on her own suspect list. All her life she’s run towards trouble, but this time she’s treading on the toes of Detective Will Decker, whose past mistakes mean this case is his last chance to make amends.
Then a second woman’s body is discovered, strangled while out on an evening jog. The strip of blue material used to choke her implicates Drake once again, forcing Will to admit he needs Olivia’s special talent for understanding the minds of killers. It’s clear more innocent women will die if they don’t get one step ahead of the murders, and Olivia knows she will need her estranged father’s help to get close to Drake.
But when Olivia’s profile leads them to believe Drake could be masterminding murders from within the prison walls, a message written on a scrap of paper found in the latest victim’s car leads them to a terrifying realization: Olivia’s little sister will be next…
The Rockwell and Decker series had some first book issues. Watch Her Vanish seemed overly long in setting up the world and characters. The pacing was not consistent for me. With the foundation laid I should be able to better enjoy the next book, Her Perfect Bones.
The key characters weren’t as competent as I would prefer. There are too many personal problems. Olivia is a psychologist at the prison. She came back to her home town to take care of her mother when she was ill. Her father was / is in prison. She also has her younger sister to Emily to handle.
Will Decker got into a mess in San Francisco and now he’s a new officer in Fog Harbor. His younger brother is in prison. Murders start happening and seem related to the prison. He and Olivia work together a bit since she knows everyone at the prison.
The most likely suspect is in prison so he’s not likely. Is there a copycat killer? Is the suspect somehow directing someone on the outside? Will and Olivia need to figure it out before another woman dies.
Kindle freebie on February 20, 2024 (currently FREE at Amazon and Barnes & Noble as of writing this post)
Overall rating 4.11 with 2,015 ratings and 363 reviews
Pemberley by Maria Grace Series: Jane Austen's Dragons #1
Published by White Soup Press on October 3, 2016
Genres: Fantasy
Pages: 340
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
Goodreads
Amazon, Audible, Barnes & Noble, Apple
Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pemberley has the good fortune to be in possession of the first English firedrake egg laid in a century. Or, at least, he was until some miscreant stole it.
Mr. Darcy tracks the thief to Hertfordshire. Catching the thief, however, proves to be an entirely different kettle of brimstone, especially when he encounters fellow Dragon Keeper, Miss Elizabeth Bennet of Longbourn.
Elizabeth Bennet’s deep connection to dragons and remarkable grasp of their lore make her the ideal companion for finding the egg. It’s too bad that from their introduction she finds Darcy arrogant, conceited, and selfishly disdainful of the feelings
of others.Time is running out for Darcy to win Elizabeth’s trust and recover the precious egg before it hatches, and the fragile peace between humans and dragons is lost forever.
Pemberley is the first book in the series Jane Austen’s Dragons. The series is one of the top ones Sophia picked for Series on Saturday this month. I hadn’t read it and can’t recall if I read much Jane Austen 40 years ago or not. If I have I’ve lost the plot. It makes me think I missed it. I remember nearly every Charles Dicken’s book and several other classics.
I quickly got into the historical setting with dragons. Elizabeth is amazing in her skills. Darcy is more of a bumbler. Or maybe he is just a typical man thinking he knows everything when he doesn’t. Definitely, he doesn’t enjoy having Elizabeth know more and be more competent.
I love how Elizabeth works with the dragons. She also does things to support her family’s life and position. I felt infuriated for her that she wasn’t more appreciated by her family or by the family dragon Longbourn. Or they only appreciated her when they needed her to jump into the fray and save them.
I didn’t stop reading and finished late at night. I was quite worked up and really I can’t wait to read the next one, Longbourn.
Definition of Freebies for the challenge:
- Kindle or other platform freebies where you purchase it for $0
- Freebies through author newsletters that anyone can sign up and get for free
- Giveaways won or gifts received
These do NOT include Audible Plus, Kindle Unlimited, Prime Free Reading, Prime First Reads, or library books.
FYI – My Thrifty Thursday post with my reviews and the linkups and giveaway will normally post on the 3rd Thursday of the month. Sometimes though, due to blog tours, mood reading, and other personal problems, it will be moved around. There WILL be one each month on some Thursday. You can post your reviews any Thursday though on your own site. The linkup will be open until the next month’s post is published. You can easily find all the Thrifty Thursday posts under the Features tab on my top menu.
(Reminder – If I get more than 10 linkups in a month, I will randomly pick one to select a prize from a list I send them which may include gift cards or giveaway books I have. (Open International))
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Giveaway:
The prize will be an $30 Amazon Gift card or $30 gift certificate at of Better World Books or $30 (2 months at Audible). Open International. Runs January 1, 2024 to January 6, 2025.
You can sign up for the 2024 Thrifty Thursday Challenge HERE
About Maria Grace
Six time BRAG Medallion Honoree, #1 Best-selling Historical Fantasy author Maria Grace has her PhD in Educational Psychology and is a 16-year veteran of the university classroom where she taught courses in human growth and development, learning, test development and counseling. None of which have anything to do with her undergraduate studies in economics/sociology/managerial studies/behavior sciences. She pretends to be a mild-mannered writer/cat-lady, but most of her vacations require helmets and waivers or historical costumes, usually not at the same time.
She stumbled into Jane Austen fan-dom in the mid ’90s with Emma Thompson’s Sense and Sensibility film, having somehow graduated HS without ever having read Austen. It was only a short leap then to consume all of Austen’s works, in all their various media forms. In the hopes of discovering more works by Austen, she stumbled into the fan fiction forums, which naturally led to asking ‘What if…’ herself. Twenty nine books later, she still asks that question.
She writes gaslamp fantasy, historical romance and non-fiction to help justify her research addiction.
I read all types of books but my favorites are urban fantasy and romantic suspense.I like some romance and some action / adventure / mystery in everything.I like sex in my books but please, only between TWO people.Intimate conversation is equally important to the sex in a book.It lets me see the characters.The other thing I enjoy is humor.
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 24-COYER
Love it when the first book in a series is a freebie and it’s a win like it was for Pemberley! Great reviews, Anne💜
Thank you Jonetta. I went right on to read the next 2 books in the series. It’s awesome. It’s still free so you should get it if you have any interest.
Pemberly sounds like a fun, adventurous take on P&P! I’d like to try that series seeing that you and Sophia are loving it!
That first book is free so I’d grab it! It’s really fun.
I just grabbed the free copy. Now the trick is having the time to read it, lol!
Excellent! I just jammed it in there. I am more backed up with audio right now than ebooks though.
Sold! I want to read that Darcy Dragon one!
And it’s free so I would get it! I really loved it.
I love all of the P&P books Sophia finds. I have read the first two books in Regency Dragons series by Stephanie Burgis, which aren’t retellings per se, but have the same vibe probably.
I really enjoy Stephanie Burgis so I will get there at some point.
That’s too bad about the mystery having first in series syndrome and the detecting wasn’t as competent, but it still sounds decent.
I was so excited when you mentioned you were reading Pemberley. I loved how she built such a complete dragon world. After the first three, the series transitions to include the setting and people from Jane Austen’s Persuasion, too.
My TT books this month were books I won. I’m determined to get through several of those this year for the challenge.
You are doing an amazing job Sophia! That is why I do this challenge to get myself on reading some of these I own. And I do WANT to read them. If I can stop binging Maria Grace. At least I am using the KU subscription I pay for this month between Maria Grace and the #SIAM I chose.
Ha, the Austen Dragon story sounds interesting!
And that first book is free so you should definitely get it if you are interested at all.