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Friday Finds & Reader Recommendations – 04-30-2021

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HAPPY FRIDAY & then… it’s gonna be May!!! 😉 You know I had to. 😂 By the way, this is probably the biggest Friday Finds list I’ve ever posted. TONS to choose from!

Also, don’t forget to check out:

TODAY’S BLASTS FROM THE PAST!!

TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT WE FOUND FOR THE WEEKEND :D !!

➔➔➔ TWO MONTHS FREE KINDLE UNLIMITED DEAL!!! <— For new members only. If you haven’t tried it yet, now’s your chance. WE ARE LOVING IT! 

D.G. Just finished “You Were There Too”. OMG…writing was great with ALL the feels in this one. Emotionally devastated.

Maryse: I’m in the last quarter!!! 😀 It’s SO GOOOOOD!

Michele G: Ohhhh get ready! It’s gonna get intense!

Annette: Oooh I remember this one. I really liked it too.

  • Save Me From Dangerous Men by S.A. Lelshuk <— KICK-ASS HEROINE ALERT!! MARGIE JUST EMAILED TO RECOMMEND THIS ONE!! “…Nikki Griffin isn’t your typical private investigator. In her office above her bookstore’s shelves and stacks, where she luxuriates in books and the comfort they provide, she also tracks certain men. Dangerous men. Men who have hurt the women they claim to love. And Nikki likes to teach those men a lesson, to teach them what it feels like to be hurt and helpless, so she can be sure that their victims are safe from them forever…”

Margie: I’ve just read the most amazing book with the most amazing smartest kick ass heroine ever…she makes Jack Reacher and Lizbeth Salander look dull. The author is S.A. Lelshuk and the first book in the series (so far two books) is “Save Me From Dangerous Men.”

I couldn’t put it down.

Lisa C: I started The Love Interest by Kayley Loring from up there. I don’t like the cover at all. It’s a romcom but the cover is all serious. Anyway, it’s a age gap, student/professor book. Nothing forbidden just light and funny and slow burn.

I love the main characters. They are both writers and some of the chapters start with excerpts from their books. Their books change as they get to know each other (they are each other’s muse). I’m only halfway through but I’m enjoying it.

Mony: I am loving this book…it’s a new release. So far, my best read for 2021. A witty dirty talker plus plus plus

  • Say I’m the One (All of Me Duet Book 1) by Siobhan Davis <— LIVE!!! SHE WAS IN LOVE WITH HER BEST FRIEND BUT HE BROKE HER HEART… and then she met HIM! “…If I’d known fate was meddling in my life, perhaps I would have chosen differently, but my future was cemented the instant I laid eyes on him. Dillon O’Donoghue was Reeve’s polar opposite in every way, and perhaps, that’s why I felt drawn to him. He was the dark to my light. The thorn in my side, irritating me with his cold disdain, wild recklessness, and a burning rage hidden deep inside him that spoke to a silent part within me. Yet Dillon showed me what it was like to truly live, opening my eyes to endless possibilities. What happened next was inevitable, and I only have myself to blame. He warned me, and I knew my reprieve was temporary, because there is only so far I can run. Especially when fate hasn’t finished messing with me yet...”
  • STEPH N READ THESE!!!

Steph N: I read The Kind Worth Killing in the last week or so (finally), 4.5 stars.

I also read Life’s Too Short by Abby Jimenez which I gave 5 stars to, just like her previous books. Her books are ~chefs kiss~ to me.

Nancy: This starts as a slow-burn romance, but once Lacey & Jake have that first hot kiss, the pages “figuratively” seem set on fire.

Ivana: I’ve read

during weekend and my bookish heart is now satisfied 😅 I recommend all 3 books!

Linda: Wrapped up Beautiful Savage last night! Thanks for recommendation Maryse!! Couldn’t put it down. Had no idea what direction it was going to go!!

Maryse: OH I AM SO HAPPY!!!! Isn’t she an incredible writer? Storyteller. I need to read more from her…

Liz: I just finished it. I hated Becca but I felt her beautifully broken soul. I really felt so sorry for *spoiler*…

I just read the authors blurb on goodreads. I would be friends with her for sure. Great biography. Anyone else read any other books of hers you liked? I am going to go read some of the blurbs and find my next read by her hopefully 🤞

Michal: I loved this book!

Madeleine: Thanks for the recommendation…just bought it!

Harper: A while back I was looking for a reverse harem that focused on the relationships and wasn’t academy/high school/paranormal. Do you guys remember? It turns out I found the perfect combination.

Lola and the Millionaires (two parts) by Kathryn Moon. The title and cover aren’t the best. It should be changed ASAP to get more readers. But it’s a “sweet omegaverse” (not dark). The author explains that is not paranormal but has bonding, alpha, omega, beta, nesting, knot, and NO shifters. So just the best part of paranormal romance basically hahaha.

Every relationship develops at a natural pace (1 h and 6 H) and I really believed in them (there was just 1 H I didn’t like very much). It’s very steamy with some MM action (but nothing too graphic). The action is kind of ridiculous but I was able to ignore it considering that 90% of the book is about the relationships in the pack.

There is one book in the series before this one but is not as good and you don’t need to read it to understand this story. I recommend it!! If you guys know any book like this one, please tell me!!

Maryse: YES I DO remember you looking for recommendations and we built this list! 😀 Reader Recommendations – Our favorite Reverse Harem books that are not paranormal, nor do they have academy, or bully tropes…

  • Wolf Series by Penelope Sky <—PAGE TURNING MAFIA ROMANCE THAT MHARIS RECOMMENDS!

Mharis: I’ve read lots of mafia books but I absolutely loved the Wolf series by Penelope Sky. It’s so angsty and it’s such a page turner. It’s my go-to mafia read.

Lisa M: Sebring by Kristen Ashley!! It was amazing, like every single one of her books I’ve read!!! How can you not fall in love with Nick!!

Anne: Finished Sebring and loved it! Nick was so great! KA never disappoints!

DG: …you can read Sebring as a standalone. It briefly recaps some of Nick’s history to give you an idea of what occurred previously. Some characters from previous books make an appearance but haven’t played a major part to take away from his story.

Lisa M: The whole Unfinished Hero Series was awesome too!! Every one of her books I have enjoyed and still remember them. You know sometimes you read a book and then you’re like I read that book but I can’t remember what it was about. Not with KA…

Michelle F: Just started Deacon today and I have to agree that this one definitely has an old school KA feel. It’s totally sucked me in! I love this Unfinished Heroes series (Creed is one of the best KA books ever!).

Aimee: OMG!! I WANTED A TEARJERKER AND THIS WAS DEFINITELY IT!! I so want to listen to book two but I may need a breather!😭💔 so thankful for the recommendation!!

Maryse: YAY Aimee!!!! I’m so glad you loved it. It tore us UP! Here’s review.

Tasha J: …Currently reading Arsenic and Adobo. Something fun and light and easy for the short amount of time I do carve to read every day. It’s making me so hungry! In the best way…

Tasha J: I finished Arsenic and Adobo today and liked it pretty well. It’s the start of series, so I’ll likely read book 2 as well. It didn’t blow me away, but I like cozy mysteries and it kept my attention.

One thing that bugged me was there there’s hints of a possible attraction between 2 guys and it’s mentioned that there’s this chemistry and such (no spoilers) with one and there is absolutely nothing to support this. Not enough interaction with some of the supporting characters.

Hopefully expanded on in the next. One thing I loved, was the food descriptions and bonus recipes in the back!

Jan: I’ve started The Belle and the Beard and liking it. It opens with a funny and cute meet-cute. Kate Canterbary writes funny banter.

Stacy: Thanks for the feedback Jan. I’m going to start this one next.

Randi: I just started it this morning. So far so good.

Mony: Good to hear…nice to have a new Canterbary book…it’s on my TBR!

  • BEV’S LATEST READING LIST!!

bev: I’m reading two books right now and thoroughly enjoying them.

Tasha J: Omg you guys the Grishaverse series, Shadow and Bone is now streaming on Netflix!!! Ahh, I didn’t realize it was here and I wasn’t prepared!! *eeeep*

I only made it through the 1st, Shadow and Bone, and Six of Crows and nearly halfway through Crooked Kingdom, but I’m totally starting this when I get a minute today or tomorrow. 🎉

Janie: The one I’m currently reading is called Into The Drowning Deep by Mira Grant. It’s an adult, somewhat horror, book about killer mermaids in the Mariana Trench. I’m halfway through now and it’s getting creepy!

AUDIOBOOK L:DVERS!

➔➔ Not a member of Audible yet? Get a free 30 day audible trial (which includes one title from their premium selection of best sellers and listen all you want to thousands of titles in their growing Audible Plus Catalog.)

➔➔ AND! Audiobook Matchmaker!! <— Find out which of YOUR Kindle books are available as audiobooks at a BARGAIN-PRICE! This is how it works. Click on that link & Amazon will show you all of your Kindle books that are also available as an audiobook at a seriously discounted price. This way, you can switch back and forth, seamlessly between your ebooks and your audiobooks. VERY COOL!

  • Rebellious: A Best Friends-To-Lovers Romance by Kristy Marie <— STAR CROSSED LOVERS!! “…A love controlled by guilt, contained by rules…. One summer will change everything. No kissing. No cuddling. No blah, blah, blah. He wrote the rules onto our skin – every ink stroke tragically smeared by the lines we’d crossed. He claimed it was the only way we could be together – the only way we wouldn’t destroy our families. But there was an exception to his rules – one he never saw coming. All I needed was opportunity and a sunburn. The girl who played by his rules is gone. This girl…is not his “friend”…”
  • Life’s Too Short by Abby Jimenez <— Michele G LOVED it!

Michele G: I loved Life’s Too Short as well! I listened to the audio and it was perfection!!

PREORDERS (going live soon!!! 😀 )

  1. The Watcher Girl: A Thriller by Minka Kent – May 1st 2021
  2. Spring Fling (Dating Season Book 1) by Laurelin Paige – May 3rd 2021
  3. Edge Of Fear (Arrow’s Edge MC Book 4) by Freya Barker – May 3rd 2021
  4. That Summer: A Novel by Jennifer Weiner – May 4th 2021
  5. The Last Thing He Told Me: A Novel by Laura Dave – May 4th 2021
  6. Rattlesnake Road (A Small Town Mystery Romance) by Amanda McKinney – May 4th 2021
  7. Find You First: A Novel by Linwood Barclay – May 4th 2021
  8. Project Hail Mary: A Novel by Andy Weir – May 4th 2021
  9. Cursed Luck by Kelley Armstrong – May 4th 2021
  10. Realm Breaker by Victoria Aveyard – May 4th 2021
  11. The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang – May 4th 2021
  12. The Newcomer: A Novel by Mary Kay Andrew – May 4th 2021
  13. The Insiders by Tijan – May 4th 2021
  14. Shadowed Steel (An Heirs of Chicagoland Novel Book 3) by Chloe Neil – May 4th 2021
  15. The Princess Purge: A young adult dystopian romance by Cordelia K Castel – May 6th 2021
  16. The Mixtape by Brittainy Cherry – May 11th 2021
  17. The Final Twist (A Colter Shaw Novel) by Jeffery Deaver – May 11th 2021
  18. Off the Record: A With Me In Seattle Mafia Novel by Kristen Proby – May 11th 2021
  19. The Gravedigger’s Son: A Charley Davidson Novella by Darynda Jones – May 11th 2021
  20. Here With Me by Samantha Young – May 11th 2021
  21. Tempting Fate (A Goode Girls Romance Book 4) by Kerrigan Byrne – May 11th 2021
  22. People We Meet On Vacation by Emily Henry – May 11th 2021

➔➔➔  Looking for more book releases? Check out the upcoming new releases here or check out the latest new releases here.

➔➔➔  Get Maryse’s Book Blog updates delivered by email (you’ll get one daily email that will have each post from that day consolidated on it). AND/OR you can also subscribe to my newsletter. 😀 It goes out once or twice a week and features my “Best Of…”

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Steph N

I read The Kind Worth Killing in the last week or so (finally), 4.5 stars. I also read Life’s Too Short by Abby Jimenez which I gave 5 stars to, just like her previous books. Her books are ~chefs kiss~ to me.

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Maryse

Oh now I need to check out Life’s Too Short!!! 😀

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Michele G

I loved Life’s Too Short as well! I listened to the audio and it was perfection!!

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Mony

Wow, what a treasure trove of books!
Will be definitely be reading these books by my go-to authors…look wonderful!
✔ Rebellious by Kristy Marie
✔ The Belle and the Beard by Kate Canterbary

The Love Interest by Kayley Loring. I finally finished it and it was AWESOME – stayed with me for quite a while, actually still with me. The H is witty, hot, loving, dirty talker/thinker, the h a lovable cool California gal. Some bits for HR lovers too. A re-read in the future, for sure.

On Harper’s recommendation, I’m pulling together a group read for the Lola and the Millionaires duet by Kathryn Moon…just my cup of tea! Can’t wait.

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Maryse

YAY!!!! I can’t wait to post your recents!!!

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Jan

Wow what a list. You are a legend Maryse. Lots of good lookin books today. 😀 I don’t know where to start.

BTW I noticed a new Susan Fanetti is out today (in Australia). It’s called Redemption and is a sequel to her Brazen Bulls MC series. New series arc, maybe?

In honour of bev’s great questionnaires that you revisited today, I will post these questions for anyone who wants to answer:

1. What are you reading at the moment?
2. What’s the next book you plan to read?
3. What’s been on your tbr pile for ages but you plan to read it soon?
4. Who is a new-to-you author you like that you discovered recently?
5. If your next read had to be a comfort reread, which book would you choose?

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Mony

Cool!…giving it a think. What about you Jan?

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Jan

OK Mony, you’re right. I spose I’d better answer my own questions.

1. What are you reading at the moment? Just finished I, Eliza Hamilton by Susan Holloway Scott. 4 stars.

2. What’s the next book you plan to read? The Proposition by Judith Ivory for a May Goodreads BOTM. (historical romance)

3. What’s been on your tbr pile for ages but you plan to read it soon? My Heart’s True Delight by Grace Burrowes. I have some catching up to do on Ms Burrowes’ series.

4. Who is a new-to-you author you like that you discovered recently? Rose Lerner. I recently read Listen To The Moon which has a butler and maidservant as the main characters. It was a really fresh and different HR.

5. If your next read had to be a comfort reread, which book would you choose? Hmm. So many old favs. Maybe Winter Solstice by Rosamund Pilcher. An oldie, but a beautiful book.

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Mony

🙂

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Tasha J

Oh, I missed these!

1. Recursion by Blake Crouch
2. Hard choice being a mood reader. Probably Hail Mary.
3. Just 1? It Ends With Us.
4. May Cobb! The Hunting Wives was a juicy, guilty pleasure that left me pleasantly surprised.
5. Hmm. This is actually the hardest question. I’m not big on rereading. And to choose one that would bring me comfort? The Hating Game. Something light, with romance, that gives me a little thrill with the tension, and rom com like. Something I would’ve liked watching on tv, like all those good romcoms back in the day, before they were an endangered species. Glad they’re making a comeback!

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Mony

Are you enjoying Recursion? My husband really liked it…I need to get in the right headspace to read that one. Loved his book Dark Matter. 🙂

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Tasha J

I am! I also loved Dark Matter and am always reading great reviews on this one. When it came on super sale a few days ago, I snagged it. His writing sucks me right in. I feel like it’s gonna be a mind f***, but I’m really early in.

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Mony

🙂

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Maryse

I LOVED Dark Matter!!!!

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R. Renee

1. What are you reading at the moment? Thanks to Rochelle’s suggestion the other day, I’m reading Someday in Paris. It may just pull me out of my book slump! Thanks Rochelle!

2. What’s the next book you plan to read? Lord I have no idea. Nothing seems to be sticking right now. Maybe the latest Sarah Reading book? She’s new and I really loved her debut.

3. What’s been on your tbr pile for ages but you plan to read it soon? Sleeping With the Enemy. I’m determined!

4. Who is a new-to-you author you like that you discovered recently? Sarah Ready again. I’ve read a few new authors I’ve like recently but they tend to wrote YA or fantasy, which isn’t my thing.

5. If your next read had to be a comfort reread, which book would you choose? Probably Him on audio. *swoons just thinking of it*

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bev

1. The Same Breath by Gregory Ashe
2. This Train is Being Held by Ismée Williams and a manga called Spy X Family by Tatsuya Endo
3. Love and Other Chemical Reactions by Six De Los Reyes, since 2016.

These are all on my May tbr.

4. Maybe Alexis Hall, Renee Ahdien, and Io Sakisaka

5. It would probably be a Lisa Kleypas. She is one that I sometimes will randomly open a book and skip around reading scenes.

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Maryse

How do I keep missing Susan Fanetti’s books? I am so thankful for you, Jan!!!!!

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Maryse

OKAY… IMMA TRY ‘EM:

1. What are you reading at the moment? The Four Winds by Kristen Hannah
2. What’s the next book you plan to read? ARV-3 (a post apocalyptic read that seems interesting)
3. What’s been on your tbr pile for ages but you plan to read it soon? “The Moonlight Child” due to an adamant recommendation.
4. Who is a new-to-you author you like that you discovered recently? Lucy Score and so far she rocks!!!
5. If your next read had to be a comfort reread, which book would you choose? Beautiful Disaster.

Reply
Jan

Oh yeah, Beautiful Disaster. I might reread that one some time too. See how it feels now a few years after I first read it.

I like some of Lucy Score’s books too. The Worst Best Man was fun, with a lovely romance.

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Lisa M

1. Our Song by Lauren Runow
2. Diamond in the Dust by Autumn Jones Lake
3. Always Crew by Tijan
4. Susan Elizabeth Phillips
5. Lessons in Corruption by Giana Darling

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Mony

1. Torment Me (Rough Love #1) by Annabel Joseph
2. Royal (Billionaires in Disguise: Maxence, #4) by Blair Babylon
3. The Witness by Nora Roberts
4. P.D. Robb – In Death series
5. Manwhore by Evans or Rock Chick series by Ashley (I pick a different hot guy depending on my mood 😉)

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Lisa M

I changed my #2 I read the Prenup by Lauren Layne. Highly recommend it. Great writing. You know what’s going to happen but not how it gets there. Love my HEA’s

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Mony

Yay! glad you liked it too!

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Rochelle Koch

Oki just bought the 5 book KA series you all recommend. Starting the Pretend your mine and just wanting time to be with me and my books. Moving my daughter for school, trying to get in some spring skiing in Oregon to end in rain on the slopes and just want to put my head in a pillow and read. All is good and I love my favorite book blog buddies.

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Nicole

Hi, Maryse! Sorry, I tried emailing you via your Contact Me page, but I don’t think it’s sending…

I was hoping you and your readers can help me find this book. I think the female lead goes to a party? one night at a guy’s house, and she meets an intimidating guy alone in his room upstairs. She leaves the party, and another dude tries to sexually assault her outside. I think the intimidating dude saves her, but she is a bit offended after noticing that he took his sweet time to lace up his shoes? Something like that…

Thank you!!!

Reply
Maryse

Hi Nicole!

I just posted your reader question. 🙂 Keep an eye on it and let me know if you see the right guess:

https://www.maryse.net/reader-questions/reader-question-the-book-about-the-intimidating-guy-that-saves-her-from-assault-at-a-party.html

*safe hug*

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J R

I enjoyed Writing the Rules! It was my first read by this author. It can be read as as standalone but there were some minor spoilers for other previous books in the series. I hope to go back and read more of this college friend group!

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Maryse

OH YAY!!! Thank you for the feedback, J R! I’ll include it in tomorrow’s Friday Finds. 😉 I’m glad you gave it a try.

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Autumn Jones Lake

Thank you for the mention! 💎💙

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Maryse

My pleasure, Autumn!!!! ❤️

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