December 16 2022 Episode 3 “10 Kindle Vella Romance Stories You Must Read” Show notes
Intro Music for 5 sec
Welcome to the Romance and Carrying On Podcast where we discuss romance stories, because who doesn’t need a guaranteed Happily Ever After? I’m your hostess Janette Gellar, aspiring author, blogger and book reviewer extraordinaire.
First of all, I’ll be the first one to say it. It’s been a while. I think I underestimated the work that went into a podcast and I’m not the type of person who can’t say it when I’ve made a mistake. So I started podcasting unprepared but no fear I think I’ve figured it out. I read on buzzsprout somewhere that it takes a podcast 9 episodes to decide if podcasting is right for him. I enjoy podcasting. I enjoy talking to new people. I enjoy having a platform that doesn’t really care about algorithms and what not. It’s simple. I have something to say and I can just say it. So what I’m saying is that I’m now prepared.
So a lot has happened in these two months. By the time this episode goes live my Kindle Vella Dystopian Romance Cause for Ruin will be days away from going live! That’s super exciting! So if you like a romance where you can watch the world burn go check out Cause for Ruin on Kindle Vella. I’ve put the link in the show notes. The first 5 episodes will go live soon!
And on to the topic at hand. You may have read the reviews that the stories on Kindle Vella are basically fanfic that never ends but I don’t think that’s true! There are a lot of hidden gems on Kindle Vella. (Like my story Cause for Ruin!) (pause) And I’m going to share with you 10 stories that I’ve found on Kindle Vella that you might not have found yet. I’m assuming you haven’t found them because these stories one thing I will say bad about Kindle Vella is the search feature kinda sucks. If you’re on top you’re visible to the public scrolling through for a new read but if you are not on top well sifting is hard work.
To be considered for this list the story has to be well written, the plots are well thought out and original, and the characters are amazing. The trifecta of how I assign stars on my book reviews as well. The only difference is I can’t judge the ending until the series is complete. One more thing: this list is in the order that I found the Kindle Vella serial and not in any ranking order.
1. Up first is a finished Kindle Vella story so if you’re the type of reader that wants to know you’re going to get to the end of a story this one is for you. Kristen Lance’s Human Sexuality! This is a polyamorous bisexual alien romance that takes place on EARTH! I can’t say that I’ve seen that so much. Normally the humans find themselves stranded on an alien planet or they are set in the future where humans are intergalactic traveling left, right and center. But no, in this one we’re still our normal screw up selves who couldn’t figure out how to exist off this rock we call Earth when aliens show up and basically squat Montana. Apparently they saw War of the Worlds and they want to exist amongst us but with social distancing so they don’t catch anything from us. This is a fated mates troupe so the characters have plenty of fun unlocking all kinds of feelings that come from all the erotic behaviors they sign up for. And if that wasn’t enough there’s a war going on and these aliens have brought their enemies with them. Humankind is kinda screwed pun intended.
2. Next up is Evelyn Austin’s The Mistress Contract/ The Accidental Mistress. These are also completed Vellas so need to wait to binge the entire series. Added bonus if I haven’t convinced you to try Vella yet these stories are being published in long format (regular ebook) next month so go ahead and grab that preorder goodness!
The Mistress Contract is the first book in the series and it introduces the super rich men of the Exeter Clubhouse. On the surface the Exeter Club is a networking private social club but not everyone knows all the dirty little secrets that go on in the VIP sections of the club. The thing you have to understand is the men who belong to the Exeter Clubhouse aren’t there just for the networking/business relationships they cultivate there they’re into all kinds of kinky stuff! This BDSM Vella is not for the faint of heart. Triggers includes rough sex, purchased sex and some dubious consent.
The Mistress contract starts with a poor unsuspecting Maddy Swanson who is sent to a job interview for what she thought was a personal assistant job by her roommate only to find out that it’s for a very personal assistant. She obviously walks out of the interview and tells the Billionaire Evan Kohl exactly what kind of sleezeball she thinks he is. But that makes him want her more. No one says no to a billionaire, right. The chase begins and it’s a deliciously naughty chase.
When college student Madeline Swanson stumbled into the wrong job interview, I immediately wanted her…on her knees…
Filthy Billionaires Book 1 & 2 by @evelynaustinauthor are coming in January 2023!! #Preorder it today
3. Number 3 is Kay Elem’s Game On. This Vella is interesting telling of how a woman came to join the BDSM community. I will warn you that the first episode shows the rough life of a woman living alone on the streets. Joie has aged out of foster care and is now homeless. One night a lawyer sees her sleeping rough in a park and tries to rape her. Fortunately she’s tougher than she looks and she kicks his ass.Her attack doesn’t go unnoticed and a passerby (Rex) thought he was needed to save her and finds that she would make a better protege and business partner.
Now Joie is training to be a professional female Dom to the wealthy. The story takes you on the journey that she goes on. Being a Dom is pretty hard work and it’s not all spankings and ties. There’s a lot of skill involved.
4. Up next is Nellie K. Neves’s Sugared and Spiced I loved this story because it’s a modern retelling of Romeo and Juliet but it’s a RomCom. We have the story of Duke Monroe and Colette Caplan. The Caplans and the Monroes have lived next door to each other since the founding of Snowhaven and they’ve been fighting practically since day 1.
So instead of all the super serious monologues that Shakespeare gave us we have a set of characters that fight over the zaniest things. Naomi Monroe stole Grandma Caplan’s recipe for cherry cream cheese pie and won first prize at the country Christmas bazaar? Never forget. It’s exactly how a modern family feud works. The stories and rumors get passed down over the years embellished with half truths until you have no idea who actually did what and when.
5. Number 5 is Jacinda Hale’s The Kainos Trials This series is one the first Vellas that I got hooked on. The setting is massive and I don’t want to give away any spoilers so let me start here. The Vella takes place in the future where society has fractured even worse than it is now. Which I thought would be hard to top but in this story they have. Criminals and people who are on the fringes of society find themselves transported through a portal to another dimension to be forced to survive an impossibly large experiment world called the Kainos Trials.
See back in the home world climate change and low fertility have destroyed society to the point that the scientific community and world leaders have decided that a solution must be found no matter what. So they just snatch people! Once in the Kainos Trials every vital sign is being monitored and manipulated. Hormones and chemicals are released to the population through food, water and even the air.
The Vella is a polyamorous romance. You can call it reverse herem but I don’t think it would be very accurate because of the structure of the relationships. There is a primary relationship between Hutch and Molly. They’re a fun grump and sunshine couple. They live in a house with 3 other men Sebastian, Patrick and Leo. The last two are in a relationship of their own. Consensually all members of the house have decided to pursue relationships with Molly in some form or another but under the control of Hutch, her primary partner. This is an erotic Vella so the sex is the driving force behind the changes in the relationships but try it for yourself and see which characters you ship the most.
6. Next up is Dani Greer’s From This Day Forward. Now I don’t know how Dani pulls this off but she has written 19 Kindle Vella stories and she keeps coming up with ideas so if you like what you see there’s a lot more!
From This Day Forward is about Child Psychologist Megan MacGregor and Lawyer K. Lindsey Calhoun finding love together after a chance meeting when Megan is hired by Lindsey to be an expert witness for a defense client. These two are both of Scottish descent and are tapped into the Scottish-American community of Denver Colorado which is how they end up in the same wedding hours after meeting for the first time. The romance sparks fly and that’s what we’re all here for!
The thing I found interesting with this Vella is I knew and probably to a large part still know very little about Scottish culture in America and seeing all the different cultural norms in the story brought a depth that I appreciated. It gave a realness to the story that made me love the characters even more.
7. Number 7 is Melissa Willis’s Legends and Legions. This story is like if Black Widow has lived, had kids and balanced her kill schedule with her three children’s soccer practice, baking PTA cupcakes in addition to running a business as a single mom. But wait there’s more! Nerissa is also a super powerful witch, a Legend meaning she’s what gives young demons nightmares at night. She apparently is one of the few Legends still running around and She’s going hunting! This is an enemies to lovers romance because the demon she’s hunting is also hunting her and buys her aunt’s home to get closer to her. So who is going to be the predator and who is going to be the prey?
The practical part of me is like does she have a time stopping watch that allows her to get all of this done and not have everything come crashing down on her? No she doesn’t. She suffers from the problems of single motherdom while kicking ass and taking names!
8. Up next is someone I’m going to screw up the last name so forgive me! But if you know how to pronounce it I’m now on TikTok under the handle @janettegellar so you can replay to the TikTok post on this podcast with the proper pronunciation. Please do, I had a name that was hard to pronounce before I was married. It sucked! Anyway, Kristen Dutkiewicz ‘s
Season 1/Book 1 is titled Too Late is the story of Sandy Palmer, a woman having a bad day who popped into a bar to have a drink and ends up being targeted by some sleezball. She’s rescued by Lincoln, super rich heathrob who after rescuing Sandy finds she’s passed out in his chauffeured car with no clue as to where she lives. So he does the only honorable thing he can think of and takes her home with him. Don’t worry, he’s a good guy. He lets her sleep off her drunkenness and even makes her breakfast in the morning. But after the breakfast is over Lincoln finds he’s not ready for her to go and asks her to spend the day with him. The romance is on!
Both season 1 and season 2 are completed so you can binge through their entire love story without waiting.
9. Number 9 is Jacqueline Hopkins’s Timeless. This is interesting because it’s every authors fantasy. The main female character is a widow romance author whose characters one day show up in her office. Now the thing is she writes historical romance so from the point of view of the characters is was around civil war time and now it’s 2020. I think the absolute WORST year to drop into the present but the Rona hasn’t made an appearance as of yet in the story so they may dodged a bullet there. This is a newer vella at the time of recording there was almost 20 episodes up sp also easy to catch up using your free tokens.
I don’t think I mentioned that. Amazon is trying to spread the word on Kindle Vella as a platform so they are constantly giving away tokens. Depending on the day you get 200-500 tokens. So you can actually just press the key button and see what you get! It’s like a candy surprise but instead of chocolate you get great reading!
And my last pick is another name I’m probably going to butcher Nancy Semotiuk’s Single Mom and the Commando! So I love history. It was my favorite subject in school and if I thought I could get a job with it after university I would have majored in it but I’m too practical for that so I went a different way. This story is based on an actual elite band of soldiers from Italy who protect national treasures and famous art and whatnot. And what’s not to love about a hunky beefy soldier guy who also is cultured and knows the value of the nicer things in life. Brain and braun! Sign me up!
So that’s my list! What do you think of my picks? Have you checked out any of these guys before? If you want to see more of my hidden gems picks next month share this podcast on your social media so I know it’s something you’re interested in and others can find these hidden gems as well. Don’t forget to also check out my new Dystopian Romance Cause for Ruin Episodes go live Sunday, Tuesdays and Thursdays!
I want to thank you guys out in podcast land for joining me! And as always you can find me on Twitter and on Facebook and now on TikTok as well!
Outro music
