Free Today on Amazon and Harlequin

Although I write fantasy, as a reader I enjoy books from many different genres. I can’t imagine reading just one kind of book. It would be like going to a dinner buffet and deciding I was only going to eat the potatoes. Now, maybe it’s an awesome buffet and there are many different potato dishes. Still, that means I’m ignoring the meats, salads, vegetables, pasta and, worst of all, the desserts being offered. Why would anyone do that?

Same thing with books. If I decided I was only going to read speculative fiction, I would have a wide variety of good novels to choose from. However, I would miss out on so many other good books.

Which brings me to the romance genre. It doesn’t get a lot of respect. The stereotypes of “bodice ripper” and “lady porn” have turned potential readers away. Which is a shame. Romance is one of the most varied genres out there, having a whole bookstore’s worth of subgenres, including historical, suspense and science fiction.

Romance novels have been dismissed as easy to write, which is simply not true. They must be well written to even be considered by a publisher. Readers, contrary to some opinions, won’t read just any old crap because it contains sex scenes.

While romance isn’t my number one genre of choice, I do like to pick up one every now and then. They make for a nice variety in my reading. One book I recently enjoyed was “Ridiculous” by D.L. Carter. It was a Regency romance that included subtle social commentary. I got it as a Kindle freebie. It’s now $0.99 and well worth the price. Currently, I’m reading “Midnight Marriage” by Lucinda Brant, which is available for free on Amazon. So far, I’m enjoying it, though I can’t quite recommend it yet.

If you’re interested in checking out a bestselling romance author, you can pick up a two-in-one freebie of historical romance, “Of Nobel Birth” and “Honor Bound” by Brenda Novak.

But wait, there’s more! This is for both readers and writers.

Readers, Harlequin Books offers 18 novels as free downloads. 15 are in English and 3 are in Spanish. They can be downloaded here.

Writers, even if you don’t write romance, you could probably benefit from Harlequin’s helpful writing articles and examples. Though these are geared toward romance, much of the information is general and applies to most genre writing. You can find these articles here.

Disclaimers and Disclosures

I found these books via Amazon’s Kindle eBooks store and Harlequin Books. Resources for free Kindle and other format eBooks are listed in my sidebar.

These freebies are limited time offers, so there is no guarantee any of these books will still be free when you click on the links. Grab them sooner rather than later.