Book Recs and a Snippet of The Queen’s Gambit

I’m still buried writing book two, but thanks to a long flight, I had the opportunity to read a couple books from other people this week. Both were excellent and if you follow me on Twitter, you may have seen me talking about them.

The first is Wicked and the Wallflower, by Sarah MacLean. This is a delicious historical romance with a scoundrel hero and a lock-picking heroine. The banter in this book is incredible and these two are perfect for each other. I can’t wait for the next book in the series! You can read an except from chapter one on Sarah’s site.

The second is Iron and Magic, by Ilona Andrews. Fair warning, we’re friends, so I could be considered biased, but their books are awesome by any measure. I know a lot of readers of the Kate books didn’t think Hugh could be redeemed, but I’m here to tell you, you’re wrong. Hugh may be my new favorite character (shh… don’t tell any of my other favorite characters). And Elara is the perfect foil for him. You can read the first three chapters over on Ilona’s site, but once you get going, you’re not going to want to put it down.

Finally, did you know that The Queen’s Gambit comes out in less than two weeks? Aaahhh! You can get your hands on all the sweet, sweet preorder links right here. And, as before, print on demand books are coming but they can’t be setup for preorder, so they’ll be available to buy from Amazon on release day.

Here’s a little snippet to tide you over for the next couple weeks. :)

There was no way that Valentin hadn’t caught me checking him out, so I just shrugged and rolled with it. “What kind of help do you need that doesn’t require a shirt?”

I heard Ari snort from the living room.

“I need you to remove the bandage from my back,” he said, his voice a little deeper than usual. “I can’t reach it, and it’s driving me crazy.”

“Would you like Stella to look at it? She’s a doctor.”

Valentin was already shaking his head before I finished speaking. “No, I don’t need a doctor. I would prefer you to do it. Please,” he said softly.

“Okay, turn around,” I said.

He obeyed. There were red spots above and below the elastomer bandage where he’d irritated his skin trying to reach it. I used my fingernail to peel up one edge. “Fast or slow?” I asked.

He grinned at me over his shoulder. “Fast.”

“This is going to hurt,” I warned. I gripped the edge of the bandage with my right hand and pressed my left hand against his shoulder for leverage. “On three. One—” I ripped the bandage off.

Once he finished cursing, he glared at me. “You need to learn how to count,” he growled.

13 thoughts on “Book Recs and a Snippet of The Queen’s Gambit”

  1. Thanks for the snippet! I can’t wait to read this and see how you’ve updated the story. Iron and Magic was so so good! The book did an excellent job separating Hugh from Roland’s Warlord in my brain.

  2. We’ve probably discussed this before but any chance this will come out in a print form? Not real wild about Kindle and similar formats. THANKS!!

    1. Print on demand books are coming but they can’t be setup for preorder, so they’ll be available to buy from Amazon on release day. :)

      1. I will make a note in my calendar so I can order as soon as it become available. THANKS!! Looking forward to reading it straight through ;D

  3. Looking forward to the release and comparing it to my memories of the serial, which I loved. Thanks for posting the serial, it is my new favorite way to read!

  4. Aaaaah Hugh *-* I was one of those that always loved him, so I was super excited for Iron and Magic and it did not disappoint in the least, read in one sitting with a big smile on my face. Also super excited to see how TQW is looking like after the edits. Pre-ordered it, now I’m just waiting to come at my kindle app :D

  5. Thank you for the snippet! Preordered and looking forward to the finished product!! I too enjoyed “Iron and Magic” but I haven’t read anything I didn’t like from those two. Hope Ilona’s hands get better soon – and don’t you overwork yourself either!! We appreciate your writing too much. ?

  6. Jessie,
    . Many thanks for the snippet! I have, of course, everything on pre-order. Like the Innkeeper series, I am on pins and needles waiting for the actual release (when you start getting income from your efforts), so I can read things straight through, comparing my memory of what was written with the final release.

  7. Got it, read it, really liked the re-working. It made more sense to me this way. Her constantly tossing him in cells in the original did not seem conducive to fostering an alliance or a budding relationship. This version works much better and fits them better too (makes him less of a pushover). I look forward to reading more. And Jax is gonna get his comeuppance!!!!!!

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