(e)BOOK HAUL: In Which Tree Loses All Control When it Comes to eBook Deals

So I recently subscribed to BookBub, a daily email blast with ebook deals, and now my ebook TBR is totally out of control. Before it was mildly under control. Now? CHAOS.

But I figured I would share some of the books I picked up recently. Also, I’ve included affiliate links if you’re inclined to purchase any of the titles. I’ll earn a tiny commission at no cost to you.

Also, many of these books were on sale (or free) when I picked them up and they probably are no longer on sale. Which boo, but if you sign up for Book Bub you can bookmark titles and they will alert you when they go on sale. (This is not sponsored by Book Bub, I just want everyone to get all the bookish deals). A few of them are also on Kindle Unlimited if you subscribe to that.

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Where There is Smoke There is Fire by Monique Fisher (Amazon Link)

I was lured by the pretty cover for this one, 100%. I have no idea what it is about, but I vaguely remember reading somewhere it has older main characters?

Synopsis: When Aaron “Smoke” Tompkins and Kara Matthews first meet sparks fly, but Kara isn’t looking for love having just ended things with her boyfriend. Aaron isn’t willing to give up, and their occasional casual hook-up quickly evolves. After a grave mistake that almost ends their relationship, he decides to fight for Kara. There’s no way he’s walking away now.

Aaron may not be the type of man Kara saw herself falling in love with—a tattooed, strong silent type who’s rough around the edges–but he proves himself to be the type of man she needs. Their steadfast commitment to each other gets them through life’s rough patches and takes them on a journey they never expected…

Where There is Smoke, There is Fire is a Black, contemporary take on the epic love story. Aaron and Kara’s journey is what happens after the “Happily Ever After.”

Up All Night with a Good Duke by Amy Rose Bennett (Amazon Link)

A bookstagram friend raved about this one and I do love the cover so I of course bought it. I have been flying through historical romances right now so I clearly saw a deal on a book and got it without much thought.

Synopsis: Artemis Jones―”respectable” finishing-school teacher by day and Gothic romance writer by night―has never lost sight of her real dream: to open her own academic ladies’ college. When Artemis is unexpectedly called upon by a dear friend, a fellow Byronic Book Club member, to navigate her first London Season, she comes at once. Who knows, perhaps she can court the interest of a wealthy patron for her school. As long as she can avoid her high-handed aunt’s schemes to marry her off.

Dominic Winters, the widowed Duke of Dartmoor, needs a wife―someone who will provide him with an heir and help him to manage his spitfire adolescent daughter. The problem is, Society has dubbed him “The Dastardly Duke.” Rumors are rife that he murdered his mad wife, so his choices for a suitable bride are limited. But then, he meets the ravishing and passionate Artemis Jones, who might just be everything he needs.

A Christmas Gone Perfectly Wrong by Cecilia Grant (Amazon Link)

Kate Clayborn raved about this novella in her newsletter so I also needed it. I am not typically a holiday reader, but I hope to read this on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. [edit – I read it on Christmas Day and it was fabulous]. I believe it is currently free so GO GO GO.

Synopsis: It should have been simple…With one more errand to go—the purchase of a hunting falcon—Andrew Blackshear has Christmas completely under control. As his sister’s impending marriage signals the inevitable drifting-apart of the Blackshear family, it’s his last chance to give his siblings the sort of memorable, well-planned holiday their parents could never seem to provide.

He has no time to dawdle, no time for nonsense, and certainly no time to drive the falconer’s vexing, impulsive, lush-lipped, midnight-haired daughter to a house party before heading home. So why the devil did he agree to do just that?

It couldn’t be more deliciously mixed-up…Lucy Sharp has been waiting all her too-quiet life for an adventure, and she means to make the most of this one. She’s going to enjoy the house party as no one has ever enjoyed a house party before, and in the meanwhile she’s going to enjoy every minute in the company of amusingly stern, formidably proper, outrageously handsome Mr. Blackshear. Let him disapprove of her all he likes—it’s not as though they’ll see each other again after today.

…or will they? When a carriage mishap and a snowstorm strand the pair miles short of their destination, threatening them with scandal and jeopardizing all their Christmas plans, they’ll have to work together to save the holiday from disaster. And along the way they just might learn that the best adventures are the ones you never would have thought to plan.

The Last Minute First Lady by Tinia Montford (Amazon Link)

This was another cover buy (CAN YOU BLAME ME?), but also I love books with political vibes and this one also has a fake/PR relationship? So I needed this one and preordered it.

Synopsis: Cassian Anders will be the youngest governor in Illinois history… If he wins. That’s all everyone seems to talk about these days. Jolie Coldwell isn’t one of them. As a journalist, her priorities comprise digging up dirt on crooked politicians and local cover-ups. When her latest exposé on a congressman lands her in hot water, her days are reduced to covering the senior center’s casino night.

Unexpectedly, news breaks: the on-air investigative segment needs a replacement. This promotion advance could her career.

She needs a breaking story. She needs it now. The road to office is ruthless compared to the courtroom. Without warning, Cassian Anders’ popularity rating falls, threatening his position on the ballot. He will do whatever it means to secure votes. Now, not only is he engaged, but he’s getting married to his non-existent fiancée…

He’s never relied on luck, but when a convenient but unorthodox wife falls into his lap? He makes her a deal.

He needs a wife. He needs it now. Will Jolie and Cassian be able to fool the public long enough? Can she handle the public poking around in her past, one she would rather keep under wraps… Above all, can she be a model first lady or are they destined to be a scandal?

For the Dukes Eyes Only by Lenora Bell (Amazon Link)

I’ve only read one Lenora Bell book, but it was pretty good and I really want to start this series. This is book two and I already own book one. So obviously I need book two. [edit – I have since also bought book three at a used bookstore]

Synopsis: If adventure has a name…it must be Lady India Rochester. The intrepid archaeologist possesses a sharp blade and an even sharper knack for uncovering history’s forgotten women. Unfortunately, she has one annoying weakness: the dangerously handsome Duke of Ravenwood. Former best friend. Current enemy. And the man who dared to break her heart.

Daniel Bonds, the Duke of Ravenwood, is a thrill-seeking antiquities hunter who only plays by one rule: Never fall in love. He’s in it for the fortune and glory. At least that’s what he wants the world to think. He’s sworn to hide his tangled web of secrets, especially from the one woman he cares about and will protect at any cost.

But when a priceless relic is stolen from the British Museum, the rivals must align forces. Racing to recover the stolen antiquity and avert an international disaster? All in a day’s work. Avoiding their buried feelings? More and more impossible. For love is about to become the greatest treasure of all.

The grand adventure begins…now!

Duke in a Box by 12 Authors (Amazon Link)

I had been eyeing this one and then it went on sale for 99 cents. It’s 12 novellas for ONE DOLLAR? I could not pass up this deal. I hope to read a few of the novellas around Christmas, but unsure if that will happen, but I am going to try my best! Maybe I’ll review all of them, but that seems like so much effort. Also, apparently it is only on sale until December 31? So the link might no longer work.

Synopsis: Twelve novellas from your favorite historical romance authors featuring never-before-published steamy holiday stories. Don’t miss this limited time collection—on sale only from November 1-December 31, 2022.

Love and Latkes by Stacey Agdern (Amazon Link)

Did I DNF book one in this series? Yes. Am I going to give this author another chance because I want to read more non Christmas holiday books, also yes.

Synopsis: Batya Averman is ecstatic when a latke fry-off committee chooses her as its web designer—until she learns the event is in Rivertown, New York, the hometown she fled years ago. But she’s no longer the girl with an embarrassing history and an unrequited crush on Abe Neumann. This delicious competition is Batya’s chance to further her career, and this time she won’t run.

Abe Neumann can’t pass up the opportunity to enter the town’s latke contest. He dreams of throwing caution to the wind and leaving his accounting firm, opening a Jewish deli, and choosing his own happiness. The prize money would bring him closer to making his dream a reality, but when Batya comes back to town, Abe remembers that a deli isn’t the only thing he’s wished for.

When the fry-off’s celebrity host has to pull out of the competition, Batya is determined to step up to the challenge. This Hanukkah, can Abe fix the past and convince Batya that dreams, like latkes, are better when they’re shared?

Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan (Amazon Link)

I saw that this one was going to be on sale for one day only and I literally put a calendar alert in my phone. I’ve heard nothing but amazing things about this one and I really hope to read this one in 2023.

Synopsis: Their love was supposed to last forever. But when life delivered blow after devastating blow, Yasmen and Josiah Wade found that love alone couldn’t solve or save everything. It couldn’t save their marriage.

Yasmen wasn’t prepared for how her life fell apart, but she’s is finally starting to find joy again. She and Josiah have found a new rhythm, co-parenting their two kids and running a thriving business together. Yet like magnets, they’re always drawn back to each other, and now they’re beginning to wonder if they’re truly ready to let go of everything they once had.

Soon, one stolen kiss leads to another…and then more. It’s hot. It’s illicit. It’s all good—until old wounds reopen. Is it too late for them to find forever? Or could they even be better, the second time around?

My Fake Rake by Eva Leigh (Amazon Link)

I own books two and three in this series and my libraries do not have book one so that meant I needed to buy this while it was on sale.

Synopsis: Lady Grace Wyatt is content as a wallflower, focusing on scientific pursuits rather than the complications of society matches. But when a handsome, celebrated naturalist returns from abroad, Grace wishes, for once, to be noticed. Her solution: to “build” the perfect man, who will court her publicly and help her catch his eye. Grace’s colleague, anthropologist Sebastian Holloway, is just the blank slate she requires.

In exchange for funding his passage on an expedition leaving London in a few months, Sebastian allows Grace to transform him from a bespectacled, bookish academic into a dashing—albeit fake—rake. Between secret lessons on how to be a rogue and exaggerated public flirtations, Grace’s feelings for Sebastian grow from friendship into undeniable, inconvenient, real attraction. If only she hadn’t hired him to help her marry someone else…

Sebastian is in love with brilliant, beautiful Grace, but their bargain is complete, and she desires another. Yet when he’s faced with losing her forever, Sebastian will do whatever it takes to tell her the truth, even if it means risking his own future—and his heart.

The Inn on Sweetbriar Lane by Jeannie Chin (Amazon Link)

A friend posted about how much they loved it and it was on sale so I bought it. Post Christmas Tree (lmao) had no control when it came to ebook deals!! To be fair, I had a few credits I wanted to use up.

Synopsis: June Wu always has it all together—only now, she’s in over her head. Her family’s inn desperately needs guests, her mother’s medical debts are piling up, and the surly, if sexy, stranger next door is driving away the customers she has left! When he asks for June’s help, though, she can’t say no. After all, his new bar could be just what the upcoming Pumpkin Festival needs to bring in more tourists. But with the fierce attraction between them, will working together be playing with fire?

Ex-soldier Clay Hawthorne prefers being on his own. He’s moved to Blue Cedar Falls for one reason—to carry out his best friend’s dream of opening a bar in the hometown he’ll now never return to. But the town’s business association is trying to stop Clay’s progress. June soon becomes his biggest supporter, and while their partnership is supposed to be only temporary, for the first time Clay wants something permanent—with June. Can two total opposites really learn to meet each other in the middle?

All the books listed here I acquired in December. ONE MONTH. I also didn’t even include the books I got for free on Stuff Your Kindle Day since I don’t know much about those. This is why one of my 2023 bookish goals is to get my book buying under control, but it’s really my ebook buying.

If you’ve read any of these, which should I start with?

Thanks for reading!

xoxo, Tree