Lady M reads

Bourbon Springs Box Set: Volume I, Books 1-3 (Bourbon Springs Box Sets Book 1) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01E6DT75U/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_i_0VYKEbZHP06WR

This series is entirely FREE! This is the link for the box set 1-3 but 4-6 and 7-9 is also free (at the time I’m posting! ). If you want to look through her whole collection, Jennifer Bramseth has put quite a few of her books free right now. I love her stuff, I discovered her a couple of years ago with this Bourbon Springs Series. And it’s all free! So worth checking out

Petal Plucker: A Steamy Romantic Comedy https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PFVYWVK/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_i_XNYKEb01C2JZ4

I’ve been coming across so many free books lately that I finally had the thought to share them! Some I’ve read, some I have on my too be read list, so I can’t promise they’re all good. But I’m only going to share ones that I’ve either read, or that I’m pretty sure I will like. This one I read as an arc when it first came out. I’ve read most of Iris Moreland’s books and have not been disappointed yet. Load up your kindle!

The other day I posted my freak out of losing review capabilities on Amazon. I sent a couple emails to a couple of addresses I found and finally got a response. Apparently my amazon account may have been compromized, so they shut down my account. All has been restored! I’ve been able to leave a couple of new reviews this week and all of my previous reviews have been restored. I was seriously worried that I was going to lose my arc team status with some authors because of this. Amazon is usually the preferred review site. And you all know how cheap I am! I almost cried at the thought of not being able to read some of my favorite authors like I normally do. I don’t know how people do it, buying all the books they do. I buy some, I take advantage of kindle unlimited as much as I can, but it can add up quick!

Also this week, my kindle unlimited trial was up. I got a deal last December for 3 months for I think $1.99. I went to cancel Monday and it offered me an extra month for free! Heck yes! I saw they were offering some kind of quarantine special for new subscribers, so I never expected a deal of any kind. So 2 gold stars this week for Amazon!

I almost forgot about this one! Everything in the world is crazy right now, and lots of people are working from home, or not working at all and have lots of free time all of the sudden. I’m still working. Double edge sword for me since I’m considered essential, but luckily last week my hours have been reduced so I’m not constantly out there worrying. So I’m still getting a pay check (yay) but I worry about what I may come in contact with. When I am home, I’m getting caught up on my to be read list. This book was on it, and it was released today.

I’ve read a few books by this author, so I knew going in I’d enjoy it, but I still never quite know what to expect like I do with some other authors. I loved that it combined several romance tropes. Military, friends to lovers, cowboy-esque with a hint of second chance. Oh, and a dog! This should appeal to a lot of readers just based on those things. Just like most series, it’s always better to read them all in order, but this does work as a stand alone. I know that’s not always the case, but this book is. It’s so easy to sink into this one and root so hard for Angelina and Logan to get their happily ever after, spoiler, they do! I so appreciate when a book is well written like this, that builds characters that make you care, that you don’t want to put it down until you know how it ends.

Just wow. I just finished this book and part of me wants to think over it more before I post my review, but I just need to get it out. I had no idea what the book was about when I dove in. It was so addicting, I couldn’t put it down. I had no idea where it was going, what was going to happen. Even the last page, I held my breathe. It was so good, so we’ll thought out, perfect execution of a complicated story of fate. Unbelievable.

This part has some slight spoilers. Stop now if you don’t want to know…………

Okay, so now I’ve slept on it. Dang it was still so good! I want to believe in fate like that! I want to believe that me and my husband were meant to be together. I loved Brie and Cain from their first meeting. Then to see how things played out. How he knew all those things about her. How they kept running into each other. It was pure romance magic. I’ve read several books by this author, and every time, I think the most recent book is my favorite. I know I said this already, but it was so well done. Dropping enough pieces to keep you hooked. The supporting characters trying to help, but actually interfering. Yet it all worked out beautifully. Ugh, the tattoo!!!! The French, I loved those parts so much. Okay, I’m done gushing, but seriously, read this book, you won’t regret it.

I just found out that I’m banned from reviewing on Amazon! I’m so upset because I arc for so many authors, and I know Amazon is a major site to leave reviews for. A lot of authors are understanding because of how picky Amazon can be, but I’ll be upset if I get dropped over it. I emailed their community support to try and find out why, so hopefully I can get this resolved. Has this happened to any of you out there? What did you do?

Do you guys set an actual book budget? I never have, but I’m also pretty cheap, so I avoid buying books as much as possible. I know it sounds horrible to not support these amazing authors, but I started out just by reading free books to see what I like and don’t like. And, well, it just kind of stuck. I’ve mentioned how I get a lot of my books (Hidden Gems, NetGalley, Author ARCs), so it’s hard for me to justify paying for books when I have and get so many for free. I do get kindle unlimited about once a year to catch up on as many books as I can. Sometimes it’s for authors that I haven’t been able to arc for, sometimes it’s to catch up on a newly discovered authors back log of books. It just got me to thinking, what is a normal monthly budget on books? Funny enough, many times the books I buy are ones I’ve already read. I just don’t feel like I have the time to indulge in rereads with all of my arc commitments. I have a few weeks of unlimited left and I feel like I didn’t nearly make a dent in the list of books I was hoping to get through. So it makes it even harder for me to justify subscribing year round. I suppose if I read just 4 unlimited books a month, it’s worth it, but since I rarely purchase books, even that feels like too much money to spend. I’m thinking I should just set an amount to spend and not feel guilty. What do you guys do?

I said years ago, this is the job for me, professional reader and reviewer. Unfortunately I only get paid in books, so that doesn’t quite pay the bills, but now I can at least claim pro reader officially! Next time my husband makes fun of me, I can show him this

I plowed through this series recently, and I completely loved it. But parts of it made me sad. The Landrys are a pretty big family, there’s like 5 or 6 of them (I forget already, I read too much) and that’s siblings, not counting parents, then spouses and children. And all the times they talk about family dinners and events at the Farm made me sad, and a little jealous. I don’t have a big family and I feel like I’m missing out. I only have 2 other siblings, and only 1 of the 3 of us has just 1 kid. So I’ll never have that big family holiday that’s chaos and fun and it makes me so sad sometimes. It’s just me and my husband. I’ll never know what it’s like to have a house full of kids, and grandkids, and spouses and a big family like that. I loved the stories in the series, don’t get me wrong, it just makes me regret a little. Good books make you think, and this one certainly has.