Welcome to this week’s news post!  There is news of the closure of the legal ebook lending site – LendInk due to pressure by authors who viewed it as a pirate site, Amazon’s rumoured new Kindles and textbooks retal as well cover reveals which features Patricia Briggs’ Frost Burned which was unveiled this week.

The major news that hit this week, was the closure and fallout over LendInk the legal site that lends Kindle and Nook ebooks to readers.  A few weeks ago on twitter a group of authors were frantically tweeting that this was a pirate site that was illegally lending their ebooks to readers which has closed the site due to the Cease & Desist letters and pressure from angry authors who assumed this was an illegal site. This led to the hosting site to close down LendInk  but the irony is that the author have themselves given permission when they signed up to these lending schemes when they uploaded their books to the Nook and the Kindle.  The sad aspect to this, is when the furore died down and these authors were pointed out about the schemes which they joined. many didn’t apologise or took back their complaints.

This just shows that some authors are ignorant on ebooks and how they work as well not reading the terms when they sign their books onto sites like Kindle and the Nook but the fact the lending schemes was protected by DRM and was much restrictive such as when a reader lends out a title – it is only for a two week period and that book is removed from their personal shelves. Moria Rogers has posted a wonderful explanation between the two different lending programmes on the Kindle which a few author also misconstrued  upon on twitter and Facebook. 

Overall, this is a sad state of affairs because sites like LendInk is a wonderful and LEGAL way to share and recommend books, and Amazon has stated that lendable books have brought on more sales than non-lendable ones.  I really hope that LendInk comes back online.

Something that links up to this, Amazon has launched a rental scheme for paper textbooks, instead of paying for the full price which can be very expensive for an average text book. Amazon is offering a half price discount, which a student can rent a text book for the duration of a semester. Details can be found here about how this will work.

And more Amazon news!

Gizmodo reported on the rumour that the new Kindles and tablets will be available on order very soon. It is reported that the new Kindles will have frontlit screens and tablets including a ten inch version.

A report by Gadget Lab stated that Amazon has closed a security hole that would have allowed a hacker/scammer to infiltrate an account and access data stored in the cloud. This was due to an incident when a Wired journalist had his account hacked into and his Apple Cloud storage deleted.  Apple  who have similar issues with their security policies but according to reports have not done anything to resolve this issue. But it is scary on how easy someone can have access with basic information which they can gather on the internet.

News in Brief:

I am surprised Amazon hasn’t started a similar scheme like this but a site in the UK is going to offer a streaming service for audiobooks. The service will be modelled under the Spotify/Pandora type streaming although right now there is no fiction books being currently offered although that is planned to be available later in the year.

Ann Aguirre has launched a big giveaway on her site to promote Enclave, (one of the best YA post apocalypse series I read) which is at a special price of $2.99 right now. To enter the giveaway  clicky here! 

And now for the covers and books to look out for!

 

This week have a bumper one for  news on Patricia Briggs. The cover for Frost Burned was unveiled and with the tidbit that there will be an Adam POV chapter in the book which will feature him going HULKADAM when he finds himself being abducted along with the pack.

 

 

Shapeshifter Mercy Thompson’s life is calming down, at least enough that she can focus on mundane matters like Black Friday sales. But on her return, Mercy is unable to contact her mate, Alpha Adam Hauptman, or the other members of their pack. All she knows is that Adam is angry and in pain. With the werewolves fighting a political battle to gain acceptance from the public, Mercy fears Adam’s disappearance may be related – and that he and the pack are in serious danger. Outclassed and on her own, Mercy may be forced to seek assistance from the most unlikely of allies: the vampire seethe.

 

And Orbit, the UK publisher for Patricia Briggs has posted the omnibus edition for Masques and Wolfsbane – Aralorn.

 

 

After an upbringing of proper behaviour and oppressive expectations, Aralorn fled her noble birthright for a life of adventure as a mercenary spy. But her latest mission involves more peril than she ever imagined.

She has been tasked with gathering intelligence on the increasingly popular and powerful sorcerer Geoffrey ae’Magi. Soon Aralorn comes to see past the man’s striking charisma – and into a soul as black as endless night. And few have the will to resist his sinister control.

So Aralorn, aided by her enigmatic companion, Wolf, joins the rebellion against the ae’Magi. But in a war against the power of illusion . . .

. . . how do you know who the true enemy is?

Alisha Rai has a brand new post apocaylptic series coming out soon which looks gooood!

 

When every night is a battle for survival, love is an endangered speciesShadowLands, Book 1Analyst James Bennett has spent the years since humankind fell victim to the Illness living underground. Part of an elite group of survivors determined to save their race, his only interaction with the blood-drinking Shadows roaming the Earth is through surveillance technology carried by his team of search-and-rescue agents. Scarred by vicious events, he has no desire to leave the safety of his bunker for the dangerous world outside—until he recruits a tough, haunted young woman clear across the country.

Former gang member Jules Guerrero learned two things early on: the value of loyalty and never backing down from a fight. Both of those teachings come in handy now that her job description includes protecting humans and kicking Shadow ass. But it’s hard to keep her mind strictly on her mission when all she can think about is the man whose voice keeps her sane through the depths of each dark night.

When Jules is captured and threatened by a rogue organization even more bloodthirsty than the Shadows, James must draw on all of his courage to fuel a furious cross-country chase through the lawless land…before the Jules he loves is destroyed forever.

Product Warnings
Contains a hero who would fight monsters for his love, a heroine out to save the world, a treacherous wasteland, poetry as foreplay and flesh-eating enemies.

I adore this cover and the setting – I have a case of insta-lust-wantz-the-book-now!  His Very Own Girl by Carrie Lofty which is slated to be released in September.

From the author of Flawless and Starlight comes an emotional, sensual romance set during World War II about a female British civilian pilot and the American paratrooper medic who opens her heart—only available as an eBook.

After the War took the lives of Lulu Davies’s parents and her fiancé, she promised herself she would guard her heart carefully and concentrate on her great love—flying the biggest and best airplanes in the sky. Lulu is a pilot in the British civilian air force, ferrying planes around Great Britain and keeping her eye on a coveted spot in a training program for world-class pilots. She’s perfectly content to strive for greatness in the skies, and dance with a few GIs on the way.

Brawny, quiet American medic Joe Weber signed up with the paratroopers to escape his checkered past; he’s hoping that jumping out of planes and patching up soldiers will earn him respect and a hopeful future. Joe’s first real test of medical skill is on a pilot whose plane takes a hard landing in a training field; after rushing to the crash scene, he is stunned to come face-to-face with a gorgeous Rita Hayworth lookalike. And when the two cross paths at a dance hall a couple weeks later, he can’t resist the urge to find out more about this spirited, dark-haired beauty.

Their flirtation breaks all of Lulu’s rules, but dance by dance, week by week, walk by walk, she finds herself falling in love with this honest, vulnerable man on the run from his demons. But as Lulu and Joe’s undeniable attraction gains momentum, World War II steadily intensifies toward D-Day. The lovers only have one night together before Joe is transported to France for the Battle of the Bulge, where his skills and his instinct for survival will be pushed to their limits. Lulu distracts herself with flight school and the friendships of her colleagues, but she can’t get the handsome medic out of her head. Only time and hope will tell if her love will return unharmed from War, and if the two will be able to overcome their pasts to form a beautiful life together in peace-time.

 

 

 

So what do you think about the demise of LendInk? And what do you think of the upcoming books? Any of them take your fancy?

About Has

Has is a bookaholic and feeds her addiction whenever she can. She usually can be found lost in a Romance or an Urban Fantasy novel. Her favourite sub genres are Paranormal, Fantasy and some Scifi. Her most treasured authors are, Patricia Briggs, Ilona Andrews, Ann Aguirre, Lisa Kleypas and Tamora Pierce. She loves that discovery of finding a brand new author and falling in love with their books. Has also blogs a The Book Pushers - Book chatter and reviews

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