# Kindle Unlimited and KOLL - Lets share some recommendations



## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

I could have sworn I saw a thread not that long ago about KU recs, but its possible I was thinking of the writer one in the bazaar.

So I thought it would be fun to have a thread for those of us that have KU. Most of the books would of course also apply to the KOLL, monthly prime loan.
So if you read something recently that is in KU/KOLL and you liked it, lets share some of it. Might be fun to discover some new authors, new books this way. Since browsing on Amazon has become such a pain, especially within KU. I also always like to get the views of someone that actually read something.

So I'll start with a series I am currently plowing my way through. Amanda M. Lee Avery Shaw series. I'll list the first here.


I have to say it took me a couple of books to get into it totally, although I liked the first 2 fine. But to me they really got better starting at book 3. 
These are what I call mystery. I don't know enough about what is considered cozy, but these have some humor in it that won't be to everyones taste. I love Avery, so there is that. . I like the setting with her being a newspaper reporter, I like the other characters that float around her life and of course the cray cray family. Some of the mysteries are really good, especially after the first 2 books. Some I really didn't quite guess and some really surprised me. Also even with the humor in it, there are moments of deeper emotions and I like the balance of that.

My plan is to finish series if I find series, especially in KU. Assuming of course I like it. I am getting way to overwhelmed trying to keep track with all the series I follow and need a bit more of a sense of accomplishment.

Books I like reading are romance, with all subgenres especially historical romance, historical mystery, mystery, urban fantasy, etc.

But its not just about what I like, its for posting any kind of genre and recommendation here. One never knows what might tickle the fancy so to speak.


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## Gone 9/21/18 (Dec 11, 2008)

Is there a way to see the history of what one has borrowed on Amazon? I just tried and could only find a list of the few most recent ones. I always thought I could look on Amazon to find that history and never kept records myself. Which leaves me with only what little I can remember.

*Romance:*

Just read and enjoyed Shana Galen's_ The Making of a Duchess_ and_ The Making of a Gentleman,_ historicals
Carolyn Brown has contemporary romances. I liked the ones I read but there was a sameness to them that stopped me from reading more
_Cut From The Same Cloth_ - Kathleen Baldwin, historical
A lot of Georgette Heyer's historicals are in KU

*Mystery:*

As I posted in another thread, I found most of Ed McBain's 87th Precinct mysteries are now in KU and started through them like popcorn. I really enjoyed about a dozen before burning out on them. Will probably go back and read more sooner or later.

The Leo Waterman mysteries by G.M. Ford stick out in my mind. Probably because I liked them enough to buy them all sometime ago, but now I see them in KU.

I read the first 3 of Tom Hilpert's Lake Superior mysteries a while ago and enjoyed them, looking now I see a 4th and have just borrowed it. These feature a minister and so are mildly Christian themed.

Scott Pratt's Joe Dillard series, really liked them and read them all.

*Westerns:*

Frank Roderus
Some of T.V. Olsen's old westerns are now available, took another nostalgic trip with these
David E. Unruh has 2 stories that I suppose are westerns, but they take place on a riverboat on the Missouri - _The Missouri River Murders _and _The Last Voyage of the Steamer Barnard Clinton_. I really liked these because of the different setting.

*General:*

Catherine Ryan Hyde has some wonderful books. I think maybe they'd be classified as literary fiction but am not sure.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

ohhh, nice list Ellen. Going through it now to see what to add to my "KU to read" list. I am getting more into mysteries so thanks for listing some of those too. 

To see your KU, all of them you ever borrowed. Go to amazon on the top where it says, hello Ellen your account. In that drop down, a bit down is one called "Your Kindle Unlimited" 
In the middle, open the arrow Your kindle unlimited books . By default is shows what you have currently checked out. Change the drop down from current to returned and you can see everything you ever returned there through KU. You can change the view to list. 

In my case it shows even the ones from when I had KU before, cancelled and then subscribed again. It kept a record of them all.


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## TriciaJ82 (Jan 18, 2011)

I adore this book:



I found it via KOLL but it is now only apart of KU. I loved it so much I actually purchased it. The next of the series (I haven't read it yet) is also available via KU



This recommendation is a bit random I am a huge fan of disney parks and the haunted mansion ride in particular. I found this book quite fascinating. The author Jeff Baham also does a podcast with a few other people about disneyland. I highlighted several interesting passages in the book.


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## Gone 9/21/18 (Dec 11, 2008)

Thanks, Atunah. Going through my list makes me laugh. If you asked me, I'd say I've been on a Western streak for the past few months. Looks like it's been more like the last year. Also just for fun I counted how many KU books I borrowed in a typical month. Picked November 2015 - 35. Now I didn't read any 35 because I download anything that looks interesting and zap a lot of them away after a few pages, but even assuming I read 1/3 of them, Amazon isn't making money off my subscription.

The mysteries I listed above aren't cozy and don't have much of a romantic streak in them, except for maybe the Lake Superior ones. If you're just starting mysteries, try Melinda Leigh's Scarlet Falls stories. They do have a substantial romantic thread in each one.

M.C. Beaton's Poor Relations series are cute historical mysteries.

Maggie Pill's Sleuth Sisters books are cozies, contemporary.

I didn't check to make sure those are all still in KU, but I think they are.


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## crebel (Jan 15, 2009)

ellenoc said:


> Maggie Pill's Sleuth Sisters books are cozies, contemporary.


I read the Sleuth Sisters with my Koll borrows 3 months running. Enjoyed them very much and hope there will be more.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

Thanks for all the recs. Mysteries still confuse me. I am not even sure if I like cozies or not. I know I am not drawn to anything to do with quilting, or cupcakes or other such hows the word, all things I am really bad at. . Anything they taught back in whats it called. I am not very homey in that way so things like that don't attract me. But if someone is like something else, like a reporter, a PI, a something like that. I think its why I like the Avery Shaw series as the MC is a newspaper reporter, can't cook, has a potty mouth and dresses in Star war tshirts. I think those are considered cozies, if I am not mistake. 
But I also like mysteries that are more deeper and more darker. In those cases I just like to have at least a touch of romance in there. Doesn't have to be romantic suspense, but if I am going to read something more heavy, I need something to off set that. Humor, a bit of romance. And good mysteries.

I do of course already love historical mysteries, they can't do no wrong. 

So I just started a HR that I Found by someones recommendation on the amazon forums

I would not have come across that one otherwise. Its just such a pain to find stuff in KU. So far I am really liking it. I think the first 2 are in KU and the 3rd, the latest is not. Fairchild is the first.

I'll update again when I am done with it to see if it held up.

eta: I added the Sleuth Sisters to my KU to read list. They look good. Middle age lady detectives. No cupcakes or quilts on the cover.


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## Gone 9/21/18 (Dec 11, 2008)

Atunah said:


> So I just started a HR that I Found by someones recommendation on the amazon forums


Thanks a lot for that recommendation, Atunah. I zipped right through that one and the second of the series and thoroughly enjoyed them.

As to cozy mysteries - this business of them all having a theme is pretty recent. Agatha Christie's Miss Marple mysteries are classic cozies. They started out as stories that didn't depict the violence of the death that were set in "cozy" places, small villages and the like, with an appealing cast of characters. As always, things have mutated over time, but there are still classic cozies out there that don't have cupcakes (or, as in the case with mine, dogs ).

P.S. Add amateur sleuth to that list of cozy things.


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

Thanks for starting this, Atunah. I'll have to check my reading list to see if there's anything I would recommend.

I borrowed _Fair Child._


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

ellenoc said:


> Thanks a lot for that recommendation, Atunah. I zipped right through that one and the second of the series and thoroughly enjoyed them.
> 
> As to cozy mysteries - this business of them all having a theme is pretty recent. Agatha Christie's Miss Marple mysteries are classic cozies. They started out as stories that didn't depict the violence of the death that were set in "cozy" places, small villages and the like, with an appealing cast of characters. As always, things have mutated over time, but there are still classic cozies out there that don't have cupcakes (or, as in the case with mine, dogs ).
> 
> P.S. Add amateur sleuth to that list of cozy things.


yay, I am glad you liked those books. Goodness you are fast, I am still working on Fairchild, but I have been not feeling great and my eyes are causing me issues having to slow down the reading. I am almost done with it and I really like it. 
I would not have ever found that though if someone in the amazon romance forum hadn't recommended it. I think there is a 3rd out, but not in KU.

Dogs and cats are fine in cozy's for me. . Its the cooking and sewing stuff thats gives me hives. Child hood trauma I am sure. . But really I just want a good mystery, with fun and maybe quirky characters and it doesn't have to be all light either, I like some meat to it too. Classic cozy, maybe that needs to be a sub category. With all those cupcakes on the covers I keep seeing and quilts and such things. Has fragmented a bit that genre, has it. Like separated into specific tropes. Kind of like what happened with contempo romance.



Gertie Kindle 'a/k/a Margaret Lake' said:


> Thanks for starting this, Atunah. I'll have to check my reading list to see if there's anything I would recommend.
> 
> I borrowed _Fair Child._


Looking forward to what you can dig out. Hope you like Fairchild.


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## Gone 9/21/18 (Dec 11, 2008)

Atunah said:


> my eyes are causing me issues having to slow down the reading.


I'm retired, so when I'm on a reading jag I can really go through books.

You have my sympathy about your eyes. Just the other day I decided to read a romance I have in paperback. The type is so tiny and the fact I couldn't do a thing about it almost made me decide not to continue. It's not available in ebook, so I went ahead, but I wonder if that will become impossible in a few years. _(Finding My Right_ by Emily Carmichael - it came out in 1999 and it's hard to believe it's never been made into even one of those typo-filled OCR'd ebooks).


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

This was a different read for me. Interesting story.

 

There are only two books in this mystery series but I like it because it's all about older women.


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## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

All of J.A. Konrath's Jack Daniels series are in KU, and I believe there was a time that all were available through KOLL as well, but I'm not sure whether they still are. Whiskey Sour is the first. Categorized as a police procedural, Jack Daniels is a female detective in Chicago. The violence is graphic, the humor is dark, and I loved this series!


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

Trying to revive this one. 

I recently read 

Its the second in a series and if you scroll up a bit, i read the first in that series called Fairchild also in KU. Highly recommend this HR author. I am soon reading the 3rd in that series, but its not in KU and I had bought it on sale before.

Another book I read recently that was quite a page turner was 

I could not stop reading this one. It does have some darker and horrible scenes in it, serial killer. But it was so gripping to me. I just kept reading until I was done. Its romantic suspense on the darker side.


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## Jodi O (Mar 3, 2010)

Yes, let's try to keep it going.

I borrowed



based on your recommendation.

I recently read and enjoyed



It's a suspense thriller, fairly dark and, for me, a real page turner. It kept me guessing until the very end, and I plan to read more by the author.


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## cagnes (Oct 13, 2009)

I recently signed up for the one month free KU trial. I doubt that I'll keep it though, since I'm having trouble finding enough things that I want to read. 

Just borrowed these...


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## Jodi O (Mar 3, 2010)

I came back here to recommend the horror author, Greg Gifune. However it looks like the books I read by him are no longer on KU. There are others still available on KU though, so if you are into horror and haven't read Gifune, you might want to take a look. His work is very dark and sometimes graphic. I occasionally found myself skipping certain passages, even though I like his work very much. Here is a link to those books still available on KU.

http://tinyurl.com/hss27ky


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## Jodi O (Mar 3, 2010)

Here are some Kindle Unlimited lists on Goodreads that might be helpful.

https://www.goodreads.com/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&search_type=lists&q=kindle+unlimited


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

I'll second the Amanda M Lee books that Atunah started out with.

Betsy


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## passerby (Oct 18, 2015)

Jodi O said:


> Here are some Kindle Unlimited lists on Goodreads that might be helpful.
> 
> https://www.goodreads.com/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&search_type=lists&q=kindle+unlimited


Thanks for the Goodreads link, Jodi O. Very helpful.

For good KU reads, I'd like to second Meemo's recommendation of J.A. Konrath's Jack Daniels series.

For those who like romantic comedies, right now I'm reading and enjoying the heck out of _Crazy Little Thing_ by Tracy Brogan. (It's also in KU.)


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

Finally went through my great under 5 list and checked for KU:

Cry Baby Hollow by Aimee Love -- excellent UF
Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea - entertaining UF, not as compelling as Cry Baby Hollow, but still a very good read
Hoofprints by Laura Crum - these are okay cozies.  I didn't continue with the series, but they are decent reads 
Descendants of the Rose  Juliette Harper - Good UF
Booster and Reeves - Troy Blackford - this is a total zombie pastiche.  Good British kind of fun.  Weird.
Unicorn on Speed Dial - Jeanette Cottrell  - Just a DELIGHTFUL UF, one of my favorites.  Ignore the cover.  Just ignore it.
Slice of Life - Margaret Lake - Overall a sweet romance, but kind of a ... well, Slice of Life!  Good comfort read.

THere were a lot of free and 99 cent books on my list that I  assume means they aren't in KU and are wide, but this hits the first couple of pages.  Interestingly enough most of the cozies were first is free or cheap, but not in KU (Karen Cantwell is an example, Saray Wynde, Jana DeLeon and so on).  

Cheers!


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## Jodi O (Mar 3, 2010)

V.P. said:


> Thanks for the Goodreads link, Jodi O. Very helpful.
> 
> For good KU reads, I'd like to second Meemo's recommendation of J.A. Konrath's Jack Daniels series.
> 
> For those who like romantic comedies, right now I'm reading and enjoying the heck out of _Crazy Little Thing_ by Tracy Brogan. (It's also in KU.)





MariaESchneider said:


> Finally went through my great under 5 list and checked for KU:
> 
> Cry Baby Hollow by Aimee Love -- excellent UF
> Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea - entertaining UF, not as compelling as Cry Baby Hollow, but still a very good read
> ...


Thanks, V.P. and Maria!


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

Thanks for all the recs. Love seeing some more UF as I always look for some I like in that genre.

I am reading the 4th in a series. Unfortunately the first 3 are not in KU as they are with a publisher. The author has put the 4th out herself and so put it in KU


I really like this series, its a bit odd. But I like odd. This really does kind of need to be read in order though as stuff threads through in addition to the mystery each book. Its british mystery.

I keep seeing that Tracy Brogan Crazy little Thing in the store. She used to write historical romance since I read this one by her

It is also in KU and I very much enjoyed it. Guess lost another author from the HR genre.


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## Jodi O (Mar 3, 2010)

I'm embarrassed to ask, what is "UF"?


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## crebel (Jan 15, 2009)

Jodi O said:


> I'm embarrassed to ask, what is "UF"?


Don't be embarrassed to ask! Urban Fantasy.


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## Jodi O (Mar 3, 2010)

crebel said:


> Don't be embarrassed to ask! Urban Fantasy.


Ah! Thank you, Crebel!


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

Sorry, my bad!  Urban Fantasy can also be called paranormal mystery (some people distinguish between the two, but they are very similar.)  I tend to read a lot of mysteries--so I like urban fantasy/paranormal mysteries and I like mysteries with romance.  I like mysteries with tough guys, historical mysteries...thrillers less often these days, but I still read those too...


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## bsgibbs (Dec 5, 2016)

I recently read these two books in the DuLac Chronicles and really enjoyed them:

www.amazon.com/dp/B01CDK2MK0

www.amazon.com/dp/B01N0FW1RU

My kids also enjoyed the following:

www.amazon.com/dp/B01AZGW2Y0 (this is the first in a series of 3, my son enjoyed all three)

www.amazon.com/dp/B01MTKBWT3 (my son read this one and loved it)

www.amazon.com/dp/B01N3LRXMH (this is a two book set that my daughter loved)


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## TriciaJ82 (Jan 18, 2011)

I just finished:



I really enjoyed it. It is a steam punk romance/mystery. This is the first of the series. The second book is out in paperback but I believe I read somewhere that the second one will be on Kindle as of the 11th? I'm not sure and I can't remember where I read that. They are standalone novels in that the couples are different in each book.


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## Jodi O (Mar 3, 2010)

I just finished:



I found it to be a great suspense read. Abbot had me hooked from the start, and the fast pace kept up until the very end. This is the fourth in a series, and I had previously read the third:



I felt that Stranger Child had a stronger plot. I hope they just get better and better, and I do plan on going back to read the first two in the series.


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## passerby (Oct 18, 2015)

_The Grand Sophy_, one of my favorite Georgette Heyer Regency romances, is available on Kindle unlimited: 
https://read.amazon.com/kp/embed?asin=B002WWKZMM&preview=newtab&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_7wMEybRM1HF0Y


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

Was updating the blog this morning, looking for an interesting "new release" to post when I found that Karen MacInereney (cozy series Gray Whale Inn mysteries) has a book coming out this week--I blogged it because it's a much lower price than her books normally sell for...when I noticed it is listed as being in KU! I'm guessing she went indie with book 7 (publishers drop authors all the time, but I honestly don't know if this is what is going on because I don't follow her on FB anymore because I'm not on there very often! Maybe the rights were sold to Amazon for this book?)

https://www.amazon.com/Whale-Crime-Gray-Mysteries-Book-ebook/dp/B01M7QVJ0Q/

I'm guessing it won't be available in KU until release day and, as I blogged, I don't know if this is a teaser pre-order price or maybe it will stay that low. Her other books are NOT in KU, but the first is on sale (I reviewed ... well, I guess I more reviewed a recipe in the book than the book itself on the blog.)

Her books were always very popular on the cozy forums I was on (they were a little tame for me.)


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## Gone 9/21/18 (Dec 11, 2008)

This was a recent discovery for me and I don't think mentioned previously in this thread although I did mention it in the Historical Romance thread when we were talking about Historical Mysteries.

Margaret Addison has a series featuring Rose Simpson as the amateur sleuth, set in 1930-31 England.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

I noticed that the Handmaid's Tale is available through Kindle Unlimited

 
The Handmaid's Tale


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