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Showing posts with label Contemporary Fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Contemporary Fiction. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

UK Kindle Daily Deal 7/10

My Father's House (£0.99 UK), by Bethany Dawson [Liberties North], is the Kindle Deal of the Day for those in the UK (the US edition is $7.19).
Book Description
‘It had not been a conscious decision to cling to the better memories of his childhood. It had just happened when Hannah came along and the possibility of a brighter future dragged his scowling face away from the details of his past. Now, standing in the middle of the poorly part-mowed field, in front of the house that was hiding all the reasons he had run away, he wondered if it would be possible to hold the past and present in tension.’

Robbie Hanright has a normal, settled life in Dublin. With a wife and baby, an undemanding job and a nice home, everything is just as he wants it. However, after an enduring estrangement from the rural landscape of his youth, Robbie receives a phone call from his sister asking him to come home. Left with little choice, Robbie returns once more to County Down, and to Larkscroft Farm, to confront the father who tormented his childhood and face up to a history he wants only to forget. Set against the backdrop of a decaying farmhouse and fragile family connections, My Father’s House is a powerful, lyrical story of loss and regret, through which Bethany Dawson reveals an affecting compassion for the profound, and often painful, complexities of family life.

The Language of Spells (£0.99 UK), by Sarah Painter [Carina], is the Kindle Deal of the Day for for Romance Fans in the UK (the US edition is $7.69).
Book Description
When you are ready, seek, and you shall find. It is your gift. Gwen Harper left Pendleford thirteen years ago and hasn’t looked back. Until an inheritance throws her into the mystical world she thought she’d escaped. Confronted with her great-aunt’s legacy Gwen must finally face up to her past. The magic she has long tried to suppress is back with a vengeance but gift or burden, for Gwen, it always spells trouble. She has to stay – she has nowhere else to go – but how can she find her place in the town that drove her out after branding her a witch…?

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

UK Kindle Daily Deal 7/9

Binocular Vision (£1.09 UK), by Edith Pearlman [Pushkin Press], is the Kindle Deal of the Day for those in the UK (the US edition is $9.99).
Book Description
In this sumptuous offering, one of our premier storytellers provides a feast for fiction aficionados. Spanning four decades and three prize-winning collections, these twenty-one classic selected stories and thirteen scintillating new ones take us around the world, from Jerusalem to Central America, from tsarist Russia to London during the Blitz, from central Europe to Manhattan, and from the Maine coast to Godolphin, Massachusetts, a fictional suburb of Boston. These charged locales, and the lives of the endlessly varied characters within them, are evoked with a tenderness and incisiveness found in only our most observant seers.

No matter the situation in which her characters find themselves—an unforeseen love affair between adolescent cousins, a lifetime of memories unearthed by an elderly couple’s decision to shoplift, the deathbed secret of a young girl’s forbidden forest tryst with the tsar, the danger that befalls a wealthy couple’s child in a European inn of misfits—Edith Pearlman conveys their experience with wit and aplomb, with relentless but clear-eyed optimism, and with a supple prose that reminds us, sentence by sentence, page by page, of the gifts our greatest verbal innovators can bestow.

White Truffles in Winter (£0.99 UK), by NM Kelby, is the Kindle Deal of the Day for for Romance Fans in the UK (the US edition is $11.99).
Book Description
White Truffles in Winter imagines the world of the remarkable French chef Auguste Escoffier (1846-1935), who changed how we eat through his legendary restaurants at the Savoy and the Ritz. A man of contradictions - kind yet imperious, food-obsessed yet rarely hungry - Escoffier was also torn between two women: the famous, beautiful, and reckless actress Sarah Bernhardt and his wife, the independent and sublime poet Delphine Daffis, who refused ever to leave Monte Carlo. In the last year of Escoffier's life, in the middle of writing his memoirs, he has returned to Delphine, who requests a dish in her name as he has honored Bernhardt, Queen Victoria, and many others..

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Bargain Book Roundup

Night Fall ($2.99 Kindle, Kobo), the third thriller in the John Corey series by Nelson DeMille [Hachette]
Book Description
On a Long Island beach at dusk, Bob Mitchell and Janet Whitney conduct their illicit love affair in front of a video camera, set to record each steamy moment. Suddenly a terrible explosion lights up the sky. Grabbing the camera, the couple flees as approaching police cars speed toward the scene. Five years later, the crash of TWA Flight 800 has been attributed to a mechanical malfunction. But for John Corey and Kate Mayfield, both members of the elite Anti-terrorist Task Force, the case is not closed. Suspecting a cover-up at the highest levels and disobeying orders, they set out to find the one piece of evidence that will prove the truth about what really happened to Flight 800 - the videotape that shows a couple making love on the beach and the last moments of the doomed airliner.

He Died with His Eyes Open ($3.79 Kindle, $3.49 Kobo), the first novel in Derek Raymond's Factory series [Melville International Crime]
Book Description
As it turns out, a dead man can tell stories...

Murders are a dime a dozen in Margaret Thatcher's London, and when it comes to the brutal killing of a middle-aged alcoholic found dumped outside of town, Scotland Yard has more important cases to deal with.

Instead it's a job for the Department of Unexplained Deaths and its head Detective Sergeant. With only a box of cassette-tape diaries as evidence the rogue detective has no chouce but to listen to the haunting voice of the victim for clues to his gruesome end.

The first book in Derek Raymond's acclaimed Factory Series is an unflinching yet deeply compassionate portrait of a city plagued by poverty and perversion, and a policeman who may be the only one who cares about the "people who don't matter and who never did."

Tall, Dark, and Deadly ($2.99 Kindle), by Heather Graham [Open Road]
Book Description
When her best friend vanishes, a woman combs Florida for a killer

Few people in Florida worry when Marnie Newcastle disappears. A successful lawyer with a wild side, Marnie has been known to disappear during her passionate love affairs. But Samantha Miller, a college friend who is as sensible as Marnie is impulsive, knows better. When Marnie vanishes a few days after moving into her dream house, Samantha is the only one who doesn’t think her friend is off on another tryst. There are dark secrets in Marnie’s past, and Samantha thinks one of them may have gotten her killed.

Investigating Marnie’s menagerie of ex-lovers, Samantha finds a crooked contractor, a rock star, and a homicide cop—all with something to hide. A killer is stalking the Florida swamps, and Samantha must find him before he finds her—or else she may be the next to die.

This ebook features an illustrated biography of Heather Graham including rare photos from the author’s personal collection.

The Castaways ($2.99 Kindle), by Elin Hilderbrand [Little, Brown and Company]
Book Description
Greg and Tess MacAvoy are one of four prominent Nantucket couples who count each other as best friends. As pillars of their close-knit community, the MacAvoys, Kapenashes, Drakes, and Wheelers are important to their friends and neighbors, and especially to each other. But just before the beginning of another idyllic summer, Greg and Tess are killed when their boat capsizes during an anniversary sail. As the warm weather approaches and the island mourns their loss, nothing can prepare the MacAvoy's closest friends for what will be revealed.

Once again, Hilderbrand masterfully weaves an intense tale of love and loyalty set against the backdrop of endless summer island life.

The Mountain of Gold ($2.51 Kindle), the second novel in the Matthew Quinton Journals series by J. D. Davies
Book Description
Set sail for Africa in this thrilling sequel to Gentleman Captain.

When a captured Barbary pirate tells a tale of a mountain of gold deep in Africa, gentleman Captain Matthew Quinton has his doubts. But King Charles II can’t resist the chance to outstrip the Dutch with a limitless source of wealth. With the devious corsair aboard, Quinton embarks on a voyage past the edge of the map and into the African unknown. As he gets closer, and as sabotage attempts pile up, he begins to wonder if there is truth in the legend after all . . .

Back in England, the king has arranged a marriage between Quinton’s elder brother and a mysterious lady rumored to have murdered her previous husbands. Will Quinton be able to find the fabled mountain of gold and return home in time to protect his family?

Devil in a Blue Dress: Featuring an Original Easy Rawlins Short Story ($1.99 Kindle), by Walter Mosley [Simon and Schuster]; the companion audiobook is $3.99.
Book Description
Los Angeles, 1948: Ezekiel "Easy Rawlins" is a black war veteran just fired from his job. Now he's drinking in a friend's bar, wondering how he'll meet his mortgage.

That's when De Witt Albright , a quietly vicious white man in a white linen suit, walks in and offers Easy good money if he'll just do a little job for him: find Miss Daphne Monet, a blonde beauty known to frequent black jazz clubs.

It seems simple enough, but Easy soon discovers that Albright isn't the only one looking for the lovely Miss Monet - isn't the only one who's ready to kill anyone, including Easy, who might get in the way.

Animal Dreams ($1.99 Kindle), by Barbara Kingsolver [HarperCollins]
Book Description
From Barbara Kingsolver, the acclaimed author of Flight Behavior, The Lacuna, The Bean Trees, and other modern classics, Animal Dreams is a passionate and complex novel about love, forgiveness, and one woman’s struggle to find her place in the world.

At the end of her rope, Codi Noline returns to her Arizona home to face her ailing father, with whom she has a difficult, distant relationship. There she meets handsome Apache trainman Loyd Peregrina, who tells her, “If you want sweet dreams, you’ve got to live a sweet life.”

Filled with lyrical writing, Native American legends, a tender love story, and Codi’s quest for identity, Animal Dreams is literary fiction at it’s very best.

This edition includes a P.S. section with additional insights from Barbara Kingsolver, background material, suggestions for further reading, and more.

Five titles in the Best American series from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt are on sale for $0.99 apiece. This is a very good deal, for those who skipped getting them on the Deal of the Day earlier this year.


Cable/Deadpool Vol.1: If Looks Could Kill ($3.99 Kindle), the graphic novel/anthology by Fabian Nicieza, illustrated by Mark Brooks and Patrick Zircher (Illustrator) [Marvel]
Book Description
Collects Cable/Deadpool (2004) #1-6. Wade Wilson and Nathan Summers are back, and this time they're stuck with each other! Can two grown men armed to the teeth with deadly genetic weaponry live together without driving each other crazy?!

Walk in the Park ($1.99 Kindle), by Jill Mansell [Sourcebooks Landmark], for those that missed it when it was a Deal of the Day.
Book Description
No one could have planned for this...

Lara Carson left her family and boyfriend Flynn eighteen years ago without a word to anyone. Why has no one heard from her since? Does it mean anything that she's suddenly reappeared in Bath just in time for her ex–best friend Evie's wedding? And what about Flynn? Even the most eagle–eyed observer can't tell whether he's happy to see her, or just stunned.

While secrets pile up on secrets, and the gossip mill wings into high gear, the brand–new life Lara's searching for becomes ever more elusive. There's a lot of catching up for everyone to do, and Lara's return is going to be anything but a walk in the park.

The World Without You ($1.99 Kindle), by Joshua Henkin [Vintage/Random House], with the companion audiobook for $3.99.
Book Description
National Jewish Book Awards 2012, Finalist and JJ Greenberg Memorial Award for Fiction

From the author of the New York Times Notable Book Matrimony ["Beautiful . . . Brilliant."—Michael Cunningham], a moving, mesmerizing new novel about love, loss, and the aftermath of a family tragedy.

It’s July 4, 2005, and the Frankel family is descending upon their beloved summer home in the Berkshires. But this is no ordinary holiday. The family has gathered to memorialize Leo, the youngest of the four siblings, an intrepid journalist and adventurer who was killed on that day in 2004, while on assignment in Iraq.

The parents, Marilyn and David, are adrift in grief. Their forty-year marriage is falling apart. Clarissa, the eldest sibling and a former cello prodigy, has settled into an ambivalent domesticity and is struggling at age thirty-nine to become pregnant. Lily, a fiery-tempered lawyer and the family contrarian, is angry at everyone. And Noelle, whose teenage years were shadowed by promiscuity and school expulsions, has moved to Jerusalem and become a born-again Orthodox Jew. The last person to see Leo alive, Noelle has flown back for the memorial with her husband and four children, but she feels entirely out of place. And Thisbe —Leo’s widow and mother of their three-year-old son—has come from California bearing her own secret.

Set against the backdrop of Independence Day and the Iraq War, The World Without You is a novel about sibling rivalries and marital feuds, about volatile women and silent men, and, ultimately, about the true meaning of family.

Ella Enchanted ($2.49 Kindle), the Newbery Honor book by Gail Carson Levine [HarperCollins]
Book Description
How can a fairy's blessing be such a curse?

At her birth, Ella of Frell was the unfortunate recipient of a foolish fairy's gift -- the "gift' of obedience. Ella must obey any order given to her, whether it's hopping on one foot for a day and a half, or chopping off her own head! But strong-willed Ella does not tamely accept her fate. Against a bold backdrop of princes, ogres, giants, wicked stepsisters, and fairy godmothers, Ella goes on a quest to break the curse -- once and for all.

In this incredible debut novel comes the richly entertaining story of Ella of Frell, who at birth was given the gift of obedience by a fairy. Ella soon realizes that this gift is little better than a curse, for how can she truly be herself if at anytime anyone can order her to hop on one foot, or cut off her hand, or betray her kingdom'and she'll have to obey? Against a bold tapestry of princes, ogres, giants, wicked stepsisters, and fairy godmothers, Ella's quest to break the curse once and for all and discover who she really is is as sharply funny as Catherine, Called Birdy and as richly poignant as Beauty, and has all the marks of a classic in the making.

Chicken Soup for the Traveler's Soul: Stories of Adventure, Inspiration and Insight to Celebrate the Spirit of Travel ($1.99 Kindle), by Mark Victor Hansen, Steve Zikman and Jack Canfield
Book Description
Whether your idea of travel at its finest is trekking through Europe with a backpack, a map and a foreign-language dictionary; road-tripping across America in a fully loaded RV; or cruising the Caribbean aboard a luxury liner, Chicken Soup for the Traveler’s Soul celebrates the people you’ll meet, the lands you’ll discover and the lessons you’ll learn.

Like traveling itself, the stories in this book will take you on a journey of adventure, insight, and discovery. Through the real-life experiences of others, you’ll see that regardless of the destination, it is the journey that provides the fondest memories. You’ll be inspired by these treasured tales of fellow travelers who formed lasting friendships, fell in love, challenged themselves, and cherished the hospitality of others. These stories show that when traveling—as in life—sometimes it’s the unplanned adventures that provide us with the most opportunities for growth; that a twist in the road or a change in our itinerary teaches us not to fear the unknown, but to welcome and savor its surprises.

With chapters including Living Your Dream, Getting There, Our Common Bond, Making a Difference, On Healing, On Love, A Matter of Perspective, The Kindness of Strangers, and Wisdom Along the Way, this book will guide you to where you want to go and celebrate the places you’ve already been.

Chicken Soup for the Traveler’s Soul will rekindle the spirit of every traveler, offer a deeper connection to people across the globe and provide you with a richer appreciation of the journey.

A Spear of Summer Grass ($2.99 Kindle), by Deanna Raybourn [Harlequin MIRA], with the companion audiobook for $3.99.
Book Description
Paris, 1923

The daughter of a scandalous mother, Delilah Drummond is already notorious, even among Paris society. But her latest scandal is big enough to make even her oft-married mother blanch. Delilah is exiled to Kenya and her favorite stepfather's savanna manor house until gossip subsides.

Fairlight is the crumbling, sun-bleached skeleton of a faded African dream, a world where dissolute expats are bolstered by gin and jazz records, cigarettes and safaris. As mistress of this wasted estate, Delilah falls into the decadent pleasures of society.

Against the frivolity of her peers, Ryder White stands in sharp contrast. As foreign to Delilah as Africa, Ryder becomes her guide to the complex beauty of this unknown world. Giraffes, buffalo, lions and elephants roam the shores of Lake Wanyama amid swirls of red dust. Here, life is lush and teeming—yet fleeting and often cheap.

Amidst the wonders—and dangers—of Africa, Delilah awakes to a land out of all proportion: extremes of heat, darkness, beauty and joy that cut to her very heart. Only when this sacred place is profaned by bloodshed does Delilah discover what is truly worth fighting for—and what she can no longer live without.

Theirs Was the Kingdom ($2.99 Kindle), by R. F. Delderfield [Sourcebooks Landmark]
Book Description
The eagerly awaited reissue of the second novel in R. F. Delderfield's classic God Is an Englishman series

Theirs Was the Kingdom is a stirring saga of England in the late 19th century, as the Industrial Revolution takes hold, forever changing the landscape of England and her people.

The 1880s in England were a laissez-faire decade of national optimism and prosperity, of rampant colonialism, typhoid epidemics, and a Diamond Jubilee. This follow-up novel to God Is an Englishman continues the saga of the Victorian giant of commerce Adam Swann, his tough-minded wife Henrietta, and their five children. This prolific tale records the triumphs and tragedies of a memorable family and a nation at the height of its imperial power.

A beloved novel by a beloved author, Theirs Was the Kingdom is a luminous historical novel of a family's fortune and a nation's destiny.

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Bargain Book Roundup

Solo Faces: A Novel ($1.99 Kindle), by James Salter [Open Road]
Book Description
“Solo Faces contrasts a devotion to mountain climbing with the earthbound tugs of love and ordinary life . . . A beautifully composed book that will remind readers of Camus and Saint-ExupĂ©ry. It exemplifies the purity it describes.” —The Washington Post

Vernon Rand is a charismatic figure whose great love—whose life, in fact—is climbing. He lives alone in California, where he combats the drudgery of a roofing job with the thrill of climbing in the nearby mountain ranges. Sure of only his talent and nerve, Rand decides to test himself in the French Alps, with their true mountaineering and famed, fearsome peaks. He soon learns that the most perilous moments are, for him, the moments when he feels truly alive.

One of the great novels of the outdoors, Solo Faces is as thrilling, beautiful, and immediate as the Alpine peaks that have enthralled climbers for centuries.

This ebook features an illustrated biography of James Salter including rare photos from the author’s personal collection.

Kingdom of Fear ($2.99 Kindle; $4.99 companion audiobook), by Hunter S. Thompson [Simon & Schuster]
Book Description
Brilliant, provocative, outrageous, and brazen, Hunter S. Thompson's infamous rule breaking -- in his journalism, in his life, and under the law -- changed the shape of American letters, and the face of American icons. Kingdom of Fear traces the course of Thompson's life as a rebel -- from a smart-mouthed Kentucky kid flaunting all authority to a convention-defying journalist who came to personify a wild fusion of fact, fiction, and mind-altering substances.

Call it the evolution of an outlaw. Here are the formative experiences that comprise Thompson's legendary trajectory alongside the weird and the ugly. Whether detailing his exploits as a foreign correspondent in Rio, his job as night manager of the notorious O'Farrell Theatre in San Francisco, his epic run for sheriff of Aspen on the Freak Power ticket, or the sensational legal maneuvering that led to his full acquittal in the famous 99 Days trial, Thompson is at the peak of his narrative powers in Kingdom of Fear. And this boisterous, blistering ride illuminates as never before the professional and ideological risk taking of a literary genius and transgressive icon.

By Night in Chile ($2.99 Kindle), by Roberto Bolaño and Chris Andrews (Translator) [New Directions]
Book Description
A deathbed confession revolving around Opus Dei and Pinochet, ByNight in Chile pours out the self-justifying dark memories of theJesuit priest Father Urrutia.

As through a crack in the wall, By Night in Chile's single night-long rant provides a terrifying, clandestine view of the strange bedfellows of Church and State in Chile. This wild, eerily compact novel—Roberto Bolano's first work available in English—recounts the tale of a poor boy who wanted to be a poet, but ends up a half-hearted Jesuit priest and a conservative literary critic, a sort of lap dog to the rich and powerful cultural elite, in whose villas he encounters Pablo Neruda and Ernst Junger. Father Urrutia is offered a tour of Europe by agents of Opus Dei (to study "the disintegration of the churches," a journey into realms of the surreal); and ensnared by this plum, he is next assigned—after the destruction of Allende—the secret, never-to-be-disclosed job of teaching Pinochet, at night, all about Marxism, so the junta generals can know their enemy. Soon, searingly, his memories go from bad to worse. Heart-stopping and hypnotic, By Night in Chile marks the American debut of an astonishing writer.

Pigs in Heaven ($1.99 Kindle), by Barbara Kingsolver [HarperCollins]
Book Description
Picking up where her modern classic The Bean Trees left off, Barbara Kingsolver’s bestselling Pigs in Heaven continues the tale of Turtle and Taylor Greer, a Native American girl and her adoptive mother who have settled in Tucson, Arizona, as they both try to overcome their difficult pasts.

Taking place three years after The Bean Trees, Taylor is now dating a musician named Jax and has officially adopted Turtle. But when a lawyer for the Cherokee Nation begins to investigate the adoption—their new life together begins to crumble.

Depicting the clash between fierce family love and tribal law, poverty and means, abandonment and belonging, Pigs in Heaven is a morally wrenching, gently humorous work of fiction that speaks equally to the head and the heart.

This edition includes a P.S. section with additional insights from Barbara Kingsolver, background material, suggestions for further reading, and more.

The 13th Valley ($1.99 Kindle), by John M. Del Vecchio [Warriors Publishing Group]
Book Description
A work that has served as a literary cornerstone for the Vietnam generation, The 13th Valley follows the strange and terrifying Vietnam combat experiences of James Chelini, a telephone-systems installer who finds himself an infantryman in territory controlled by the North Vietnamese Army. Spiraling deeper and deeper into a world of conflict and darkness, this harrowing account of Chelini’s plunge and immersion into jungle warfare traces his evolution from a semi-pacifist to an all-out warmonger. The seminal novel on the Vietnam experience, The 13th Valley is a classic that illuminates the war in Southeast Asia like no other book.

Lonely Vigil: Coastwatchers of the Solomons ($2.99 Kindle), by Walter Lord [Open Road]
Book Description
In the bloodiest island combat of World War II, one group of men risked it all to fight from behind Japanese lines

The Solomon Islands was where the Allied war machine finally broke the Japanese empire. As pilots, marines, and sailors fought for supremacy in Guadalcanal, Bougainville, and the Slot, a lonely group of radio operators occupied the Solomon Islands’ highest points. Sometimes encamped in comfort, sometimes exposed to the elements, these coastwatchers kept lookout for squadrons of Japanese bombers headed for Allied positions, holding their own positions even when enemy troops swarmed all around.

They were Australian-born but Solomon-raised, and adept at survival in the unforgiving jungle environment. Through daring and insight, they stayed one step ahead of the Japanese, often sacrificing themselves to give advance warning of an attack. In Lonely Vigil, Lord tells of the survivors of the campaign, and of what they risked to win the war in the Pacific.

Fade to Black ($1.99 Kindle), by Molly Kate Gray [Crimson Romance]
Book Description
Working undercover is nothing new for DEA Agent Rory Johnston. In the years following her sister’s death, she’s been involved in investigations in more high schools and colleges than she cares to count. The case in Bourland is different, though. Not only is she supposed to find the source of the drugs on the college campus, she also has a secret assignment – find the dirty cop within the department who has been responsible for having their informants killed.

Zachary Rowlins is the officer Rory must work with in her new assignment – but for all she knows, he might be the dirty cop. When Zach is unexpectedly pulled from the case, he discovers that the corruption within the department goes much deeper than either of them suspected. Zach finds himself in a race against time to save his partner knowing one thing – if he loses Rory, he’ll lose more than just a partner. He’ll lose his future as well

Senuality Level: Sensual

Summer at Willow Lake ($2.99 Kindle), the first novel in the Lakeshore Chronicles by Susan Wiggs
Book Description
Susan Wiggs's Lakeshore Chronicles series has captivated thousands of readers with its relatable characters, warm humor and engaging stories. Summer at Willow Lake is the story that started it all. Meet Olivia, Connor and the families and friends of Willow Lake that make these emotional romances a must-read.

Real estate expert Olivia Bellamy reluctantly trades a trendy Manhattan summer for her family's old resort camp in the Catskills, where her primary task will be renovating the bungalow colony for her grandparents, who want one last summer together filled with fun, friends and family. A posh resort in its heyday, the camp is now in disarray and Olivia is forced to hire contractor Connor Davis—a still-smoldering flame from her own summers at camp.

But as the days grow warm, not even the inviting blue waters of Willow Lake can cool the passions flaring or keep shocking secrets at bay. The nostalgic joy of summers past breathes new promise into a special place and people…a promise meant to last long after the season ends.

Don't miss the latest story, Return to Willow Lake, Book 9 of the Lakeshore Chronicles.

Touchpoint ($1.99 Kindle), by Shay Lacy [Crimson Romance]
Book Description
She learns secrets with a touch. He has secrets to hide.

Insurance investigator Gabrielle Healey uses her touch clairvoyance to learn the truth about disasters. But when the crippled Densmore building can’t provide the answers she needs to deny the claim, surely the man who designed it can. The evidence points to a flawed design. A touch will confirm his guilt.

Brilliant architect Christian Ziko has secrets he can’t reveal, and not that he caused the building he created to collapse. With the victims’ families howling for justice and a grand jury poised to indict him, he must uncover what happened so he can clear his name and his conscience. Yet his brother and business partner discourage him. When a clue unearths terrible truths about the people he trusts, Christian is forced to ask beautiful Gabrielle for help. But someone wants their investigation terminated...and is willing to kill to keep their secrets hidden.

Sensuality Level: Sensual

All but one of the novels in Lloyd Alexander's The Chronicles of Prydain children's series are on sale for $2.49 [Henry Holt and Co]. Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

The Book of Three
Since The Book of Three was first published in 1964, young readers have been enthralled by the adventures of Taran the Assistant Pig-keeper and his quest to become a hero. Taran is joined by an engaging cast of characters that includes Eilonwy, the strong-willed and sharp-tongued princess; Fflewddur Fflam, the hyperbole-prone bard; the ever-faithful Gurgi; and the curmudgeonly Doli--all of whom become involved in an epic struggle between good and evil that shapes the fate of the legendary land of Prydain.

Henry Holt is proud to present this classic series to a new generation of young readers. Jackets have been handsomely redesigned while retaining the original art of Caldecott Medal-winning artist Evaline Ness. Each retypeset volume now includes a pronunciation guide prepared by Lloyd Alexander. A companion book of short stories, The Foundling and Other Tales of Prydain, is also available in hardcover for the first time in twenty years.

In their more than thirty years in print, the Chronicles of Prydain have become the standard of excellence in fantasy literature for children.
The Black Cauldron (1966 Newbery Honor Book)
In the imaginary Land of Prydain, where "evil is never distant," it has become imperative that the Black Cauldron, chief implement of the diabolical Arawn, be destroyed. In this cauldron Arawn has created his terrible army of deathless warriors from the stolen bodies of the slain. For each of those chosen to journey to Arawn's domain, the quest has a special meaning, and to Taran, Assistant Pig-Keeper, the adventure becomes a glorious opportunity to wear his first sword and prove himself a man among men.
The Castle of Llyr
In the imaginary kingdom of Prydain, Princess Eilonwy must leave her friends to go to the Isle of Mona for training as a proper princess. Because Eilonwy has magical powers, she is sought by Achren, the most evil enchantress in the land. Shortly after her arrival on the Isle of Mona, something sinister and secret befalls her. Eilonwy's loyal friends--Taran, the Assistant Pig-Keeper; Flewddur, the bard; and Prince Rhun, her intended husband--realize her peril and set out on an exciting and terrifying mission to rescue her. They encounter great forces of enil as well as private--sometimes painful--revelations in the course of their journey.
Taran Wanderer ($4.73)
Taran, the assistant pig-keeper who wants to be a hero, goes questing for knowledge of his parentage, hoping that his journey will ennoble him in the eyes of Eilonwy, the princess with the red-gold hair. Accompanied by several loyal friends, Taran begins his search when three wily enchantresses of the Marshes of Morva send him to consult the Mirror of Llunet for the answers he is seeking, cryptically promising that "the finding takes no more than the looking." During his adventures he meets Craddoc, the shepherd, and the common people of Prydain, whom he comes to respect and admire. With their help, he continues his mission to learn the secret of the Mirror and the truth about himself.
The High King
The Sword of Dyrnwyn, the most powerful weapon in the kingdom of Prydain, has fallen into the hands of Arawn-Death-Lord. Now Taran, Assistant Pig-Keeper, and Price Gwydion lead an army against the powerful lord. After a winter expedition filled with danger, Taran's forces arrive at Mount Dragon, evil's stronghold. There Tara is forced to make the most crucial decisions of his life as he confronts the evil enchantress Achren and the diabolical Arawn.

Released over a period of five years, Lloyd Alexander's beautifully written tales not only captured children's imaginations but also garnered the highest critical praise. The Black Cauldron was a Newbery Honor Book, and the final volume in the chronicles, The High King, crowned the series by winning the Newbery Medal for "the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children."

UK Kindle Daily Deal 7/6

Cooking With Fernet Branca (£0.99 UK), by James Hamilton-Paterson [Faber and Faber Fiction], is the Kindle Deal of the Day for those in the UK (no US edition).
Book Description
Gerald Samper, an effete Englishman, lives on a hilltop in Tuscany. He is a ghostwriter for celebrities, and a foodie, whose weird tastes include 'Mussels in Chocolate and Garlic' and 'Fernet Branca Ice Cream'. His idyll is shattered by the arrival of Marta, a vulgar woman from a former Soviet republic now run by gangsters, notably male members of her family. She is a composer in a neo-folk style who claims to be writing a score for a trendy Italian film director. The neighbours' lives disastrously intertwine. The entourages of the rock star and the director come and go; mysterious black helicopters bring news of mayhem in Voynova, Marta's homeland; and along the way the English obsession with Tuscany is satirized mercilessly.

The Mammoth Book of Regency Romance (£0.99 UK), edited by Trisha Telep [Robinson], is the Kindle Deal of the Day for for Romance Fans in the UK (the US edition is $5.99).
Book Description
From some of the biggest names in Regency historical romance, 25 wickedly witty, lusciously romantic and sublimely sensual short stories. Stories replete with oversexed aristocrats, posturing courtesans and feuding dukes and duchesses tell of a beautiful lady awakened by a passion more powerful than anything she has ever known, one that could doom or save her; a disgraced rake who, given a final chance to redeem himself, discovers love has rules of its own; and a luscious young beauty fed up with proper tea parties and elegant balls who disguises herself to enjoy a soire of uninhibited pleasure. As the passion mounts, so do the complications...Includes big name contributors such as Anna Campbell, Lorraine Heath, Barbara Metzger, Deborah Raleigh and Elizabeth Boyle.

Friday, July 5, 2013

Daily Deal - The Reluctant Matchmaker (E)

The Reluctant Matchmaker ($12.99 $9.39 Kindle), by Shobhan Bantwal [Kensington], is today's Deal of the Day at at Diesel E-Books, where it's discounted to $2.60.
Book Description
In her thought-provoking, uplifting new novel, Shobhan Bantwal vividly blends the nuances of contemporary Indian-American culture with an unconventional romance. . .

At thirty-one, Meena Shenoy has a fulfilling career at a New Jersey high-tech firm. Not that it impresses her mother and aunts, who make dire predictions about her ticking biological clock. Men are drawn to Meena's dainty looks and she dates regularly, but hasn't met someone who really intrigues her. Someone professional, ambitious, confident, caring. Someone like her new boss, Prajay Nayak.

Just as Meena's thoughts turn to romance, Prajay makes an astonishing request. He wants her to craft a personal ad that will help him find a suitable wife: a statuesque, sophisticated Indian-American woman who will complement his striking height.

Despite her attraction to Prajay and the complications of balancing work and her "marriage consultant" role, Meena can't refuse the generous fee. And as her family is thrown into turmoil by her brother's relationship with a Muslim woman, Meena comes to surprising realizations about love, tradition, and the sacrifices she will--and won't--make for the sake of both.
Get the book from Diesel; be sure to check the sales price, as the Deal of the Day often sells out. Deals change at 11AM Eastern Time, USA.

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Daily Deal - Living Single (E)

Living Single ($8.99 $7.19 Kindle), by Holly Chamberlin [Kensington], is today's Deal of the Day at at Diesel E-Books, where it's discounted to $1.20 (10 copies left).
Book Description
From Holly Chamberlin, author of Tuscan Holiday and Summer Friends, comes a witty, insightful novel chronicling a year in one woman's quest to find love, joy--and herself. . .

At twenty, singlehood is a lifestyle choice. At thirty-two, it starts to feel like an affliction. Erin Weston has a rewarding PR career, loyal friends, and a wonderful Boston condo. But in between weekend brunches, farmers' market forays, and dinners in Cambridge and the South End, Erin can't shake the sense that something's missing. The traditional ideal--husband, house, clothing-coordinated children--once seemed too obvious, and pride in her accomplishments doesn't keep the loneliness at bay. Now, ready to venture into uncharted territory, Erin is going to claim the life she thinks she wants. And in the process, she might just figure out exactly what--and who--she really needs. . .
Get the book from Diesel; be sure to check the sales price, as the Deal of the Day often sells out. Deals change at 11AM Eastern Time, USA.

Bargain Book Roundup

I hope everyone is having a great Fourth of July! We are going to cook out (if the weather will co-operate) and I've turned up some cookbook deals (and a few others) at Amazon for us. First, Amazon has a number of (paper) cookbooks at 50% off right now. The best deals, of course, are in the Kindle store!

Be sure to enter the the Audible Wish List contest by July 14 - you can win up to $300 worth of audiobooks!

Slow Fire ($2.99 Kindle), by Lampe Ray, Anderson Famous Dave, Beisch Leigh and Leigh Beisch [Chronicle Books]. It's not too late to run down and pick up enough supplies to make Bacon and Blue Cheese Coleslaw for your picnic today.
Book Description
Great barbecue is as simple as meat, fire, smoke, and time. This ode to authentic meaty goodness gives barbecue beginners an essential guide to the tools, techniques, and recipes needed to make smoky, mouthwatering, fall-off-the-bone meats. And seasoned smokers will learn a thing or two, too! Ray Lampe, a.k.a. Dr. BBQ, brings decades of expertise as a barbecue master, providing indispensable wisdom alongside 68 of the best recipes he has encountered in his long and wide-ranging career, from tantalizing mains such as Competition-Style Beef Brisket to lip-smacking sides such as Bacon and Blue Cheese Coleslaw. For both stove-top smokers and regular backyard grills, Slow Fire makes it easy to cook irresistible slow-cooked barbecue right at home.

Southern Living Around the Southern Table: Coming home to comforting meals and treasured memories ($2.99 Kindle), by Rebecca Lang and the Editors of Southern Living Magazine [Oxmoor House]. I've grabbed a sample and if it isn't all bread, biscuits and cakes, I'll probably get this; I always read Southern Living Magazine and enjoyed skimming thru the recipes, back when it was a huge monthly magazine. It's a lot smaller than it used to be, but you can also now read a lot of the recipes online (and they have some nice Fourth of July articles, free for everyone to read).
Book Description
Sharing a meal around the table is the perfect expression of all things Southern: hospitality, grace, humor, and a devotion to great food. Author Rebecca Lang--a professionally trained chef and lifelong Southerner--makes the reader feel right at home, with pre-meal sips on the porch, indulgent dinners laced with bacon, decadent desserts, and messy morning-after breakfasts with biscuit crumbs and homemade jelly. These are the recipes that fill our memories of family and home, pull readers into the kitchen, and leave them fulfilled at the table.

Essays from well-known and much-loved Southerners--like Chick-Fil-A founder Truett S. Cathy and novelist Cassandra King--pepper the chapters with wisdom, humor, and insights gained from time spent at their own dining tables. Better yet, Around the Southern Table is filled with recipes for dishes that Southerners crave and cherish for everyday as well as special occasions. From mouthwatering main dishes like Shrimp and Grits or Stuffed Meatloaf to classic desserts like Lemon Pie or Pound Cake and Peach Ice Cream, every recipe tells a story, and, more importantly, is absolutely delicious. Each and every recipe is 100% homemade from-scratch and 100% Southern.

This book invites you to pull up a chair at your favorite table and make great food and unforgettable memories of your own.

The Complete Chile Pepper Book: A Gardener's Guide to Choosing, Growing, Preserving, and Cooking ($2.99 $2.51 Kindle), by Paul W. Bosland and Dave DeWitt [Timber Press]. I did pick this one up, as it is one of my favorite publishers for gardening books.
Book Description
Chile peppers are hot — in every sense of the word. They add culinary fire to thousands of dishes from a variety of cuisines and inspire near-fanatical devotion in those who have succumbed to their incendiary charms. In this comprehensive book, world chile experts Dave DeWitt and Paul W. Bosland have assembled all the information that anyone with an interest in chile peppers could ever hope to find.

Detailed profiles of the 100 most popular chile varieties include information on how to grow chiles; how to diagnose and remedy problems, pests, and diseases; and post-harvest processing and preservation.

The book culminates in 85 mouth-watering recipes that make brilliant use of both the characteristic heat of chile peppers and of their more subtle flavor qualities.

Want to know what the hottest chile pepper in the world is? You'll find it in the fascinating story of 'Bhut Jolokia', acknowledged by Guinness World Records as the fieriest chile on earth. Confused about the identity of those chile peppers you bought? The authors' clear photographs and precise descriptions will clear up the mystery. The Complete Chile Pepper Book is the only guide to chiles you'll ever need. It's a scorcher.

Hot Sauce!: Techniques for Making Signature Hot Sauces, with 32 Recipes to Get You Started; Includes 60 Recipes for Using Your Hot Sauces ($2.51 Kindle), by Jennifer Trainer Thompson [Storey Publishing]
Book Description
Here are 32 recipes for making your own signature hot sauces, ranging from mild to blisteringly hot, as well as 60 recipes that use homemade or commercial hot sauces in everything from barbeque and Buffalo wings to bouillabaisse and black-bean soup. Try making chowders, tacos, ribs, salads, seafood, and more. There are even recipes for scorching cocktails, like Daiquiri Diablo and Slow-Burn Martinis! Author Jennifer Trainer Thompson, recognized as a leader in the spicy foods movement for her cookbooks and four hot sauce posters, has talked about hot sauce on hundreds of talk shows, including Live with Regis and Good Morning America. She has traveled her own personal "Trail of Flame," speaking at conventions and in the media about hot foods, and serving as guest chef at Hot Nights at restaurants in Boston, Philadelphia, and the Berkshires.

The Oxford Companion to Beer ($3.79 Kindle), by Garrett Oliver and Tom Colicchio [Oxford University Press], has a list price of $35 (and is $65 in print!).
Book Description
1st Place Winner of the 2012 Gourmand Award for Best in the World in the Beer category.

For millennia, beer has been a favorite beverage in cultures across the globe. After water and tea, it is the most popular drink in the world, and it is at the center of a $450 billion industry.

The first major reference work to investigate the history and vast scope of beer, The Oxford Companion to Beer features more than 1,100 A-Z entries written by 166 of the world's most prominent beer experts. Attractively illustrated with over 140 images, the book covers everything from the agricultural makeup of various beers to the technical elements of the brewing process, local effects of brewing on regions around the world, and the social and political implications of sharing a beer. Entries not only define terms such as "dry hopping" and "cask conditioning" but give fascinating details about how these and other techniques affect a beer's taste, texture, and popularity. Cultural entries shed light on such topics as pub games, food pairings and the development of beer styles. Readers will enjoy vivid accounts of how our drinking traditions have changed throughout history, and how these traditions vary in different parts of the world, from Japan to Mexico, New Zealand, and Brazil, among many other countries. The pioneers of beer-making are the subjects of biographical entries, and the legacies these pioneers have left behind, in the form of the world's most popular beers and breweries, are recurrent themes throughout the book.

Packed with information, this comprehensive resource also includes thorough appendices (covering beer festivals, beer magazines, and more), conversion tables, and an index. Featuring a foreword by Tom Colicchio, this book is the perfect shelf-mate to Oxford's renowned Companion to Wine and an absolutely indispensable volume for everyone who loves beer as well as all beverage professionals, including home brewers, restaurateurs, journalists, cooking school instructors, beer importers, distributors, and retailers, and a host of others.

Adrenaline ($0.99 Kindle), the first Sam Capra novel by Jeff Abbott [Grand Central Publishing]. Although it's not the same series, you can pre-order Trust Me ($2.99), a stand-alone novel that is finally making to ebook.

Adrenaline
Sam Capra is living the life of his dreams.

He's a brilliant young CIA agent, stationed in London. His wife Lucy is seven months pregnant with their first child. They have a wonderful home, and are deeply in love.

They have everything they could hope for...until they lose it all in one horrifying moment.

On a bright, sunny day, Sam receives a call from Lucy while he's at work. She tells him to leave the building immediately. He does...just before it explodes, killing everyone inside. Lucy vanishes, and Sam wakes up in a prison cell. As the lone survivor of the attack, he is branded by the CIA as a murderer and a traitor.

Escaping from the agency, Sam launches into a desperate hunt to save his kidnapped wife and child, and to reveal the unknown enemy who has set him up and stolen his family. But the destruction of Sam's life was only step on in an extraordinary plot-and now Sam must become a new kind of hero.
Trust Me
Luke Dantry finds the bad guys. . .before they're bad guys. He works for a Washington, D.C. think tank as a minor academic who studies the online venting of would-be extremists, trying to identify those who will move from threatening words to deadly action. Anonymously typing from his computer as he monitors a loose collection of enraged loners, Luke thinks his identity is safe--but he is wrong.

Suddenly kidnapped and left for dead in an isolated cabin, Luke soon realizes that the people he's been watching and studying are more organized and dangerous than he ever imagined. And they aren't the only ones who've kept an eye on him. Now with his former targets-and the federal government--tracking every move he makes, Luke must decipher a murderous web of connections that reaches into his own broken past. Only Luke can stop a looming threat that may kill countless people--including himself.

Deadly Sting ($1.99 Kindle) is the just released eighth novel in the Elemental Assassin series by Jennifer Estep [Simon and Schuster], with the companion audiobook for $3.49. A good series and a good author, I definitely didn't expect to see this one on sale so soon after release. I'd grab this one even if you're behind in the series, so that it's waiting for you when you get caught up.
Book Description
Red is definitely my color. Good thing, because in my line of work, I end up wearing it a lot.

Most people shy away from blood, but for an assassin like me— Gin Blanco, aka the Spider—it’s just part of the job. Still, it would be nice to get a night off, especially when I’m attending the biggest gala event of the summer at Briartop, Ashland’s fanciest art museum. But it’s just not meant to be. For this exhibition of my late nemesis’s priceless possessions is not only the place to be seen, but the place to be robbed and taken hostage at gunpoint as well. No sooner did I get my champagne than a bunch of the unluckiest thieves ever burst into the museum and started looting the place.

Unlucky why? Because I brought along a couple of knives in addition to my killer dress. Add these to my Ice and Stone magic, and nothing makes me happier than showing the bad guys why red really is my color.

For fans of Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl series, be sure to check out the many titles on sale for $3.99, including a number of the Kindle with Audio/Video Editions that include a different piece of video footage from Eoin Colfer's one man stage show, Fairies, Fiends, & Flatulence in each title and some with companion audiobook editions (I've linked the one under $5). The A/V editions can be read on any Kindles, but the added content is available only on iThings.

Artemis Fowl #1 (companion audiobook)
Twelve-year-old Artemis Fowl is a millionaire, a genius—and, above all, a criminal mastermind. But even Artemis doesn't know what he's taken on when he kidnaps a fairy, Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon Unit. These aren't the fairies of bedtime stories; these fairies are armed and dangerous. Artemis thinks he has them right where he wants them…but then they stop playing by the rules.
The Arctic Incident #2
Artemis Fowl receives an urgent e-mail from Russia. In it is a plea from a man who has been kidnapped by the Russian Mafiya: his father. As Artemis rushes to his rescue, he is stopped by a familiar nemesis, Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon Unit. Now, instead of battling the fairies, Artemis must join forces with them if he wants to save one of the few people in the world he loves.
The Eternity Code #3 (A/V Edition)
Artemis Fowl is going straight. As soon as he pulls off the most brilliant criminal feat of his career. At least, that's the plan when he attempts to sell his C Cube, a supercomputer built from stolen fairy technology. When his efforts to broker a deal for the Cube with a powerful businessman go terribly wrong, his loyal bodyguard and friend Butler is mortally injured. The only thing that will save him is fairy magic, so once again he must contact his old rival, Holly Short. It's going to take a miracle to save Butler, and Artemis's luck may have just run out.
The Opal Deception #4 (A/V Edition)
The evil pixie Opal Koboi has spent the last year in a self-induced coma, plotting her revenge on all those who foiled her attempt to destroy the LEPrecon fairy police. And Artemis Fowl is at the top of her list. After his last run-in with the fairies, Artemis had his mind wiped of his memories of the world belowground. But they have not forgotten about him. Once again, he must stop the human and fairy worlds from colliding – only this time, Artemis faces an enemy who may have finally outsmarted him.
The Lost Colony #5 (A/V Edition)
Demons are beginning to materialize without warning on Earth. If humans were to capture one, all fairies would be exposed. In order to protect themselves, the fairies must decipher complicated equations to determine where the next demon will appear. Not even the brilliant Foaly can make heads or tails of the formulas – but he knows someone who can: Artemis Fowl. When a very confused demon imp appears in a Sicilian theater, Artemis is there to meet him. But he is not alone. Someone else has unlocked the secrets of the fairy world…and she is only twelve years old. Now, in a race against time, a newly-reformed Artemis Fowl will have to dip into his bag of dirty tricks if he is to save his fairy friends from his latest nemesis, not to mention a power hungry demon warlord who is poised to invade our dimension with his savage army.
The Time Paradox #6 ($3.99 A/V Edition)
"When Artemis Fowl’s mother contracts a life-threatening illness, his world is turned upside down. The only hope for a cure lies in the brain fluid of the silky sifaka lemur. Unfortunately, the animal is extinct due to a heartless bargain Artemis himself made as a younger boy.

Though the odds are stacked against him, Artemis is not willing to give up. With the help of his fairy friends, the young genius travels back in time to save the lemur and bring it back to the present. But to do so, Artemis will have to defeat a maniacal poacher, who has set his sights on new prey: Holly Short.

The rules of time travel are far from simple, but to save his mother, Artemis will have to break them all…and outsmart his most cunning adversary yet: Artemis Fowl, age ten.
The Artemis Fowl Files ($3.49)
The Artemis Fowl Files is comprised of two original stories: “LEPrecon”: the story of Fairy Police Captain Holly Short’s move from Traffic to Recon following her initiation into the Fairy Police; and “The Seventh Dwarf”, featuring Mulch, Butler, and Artemis himself.

EXTRAS INCLUDE:
• “Behind-the-scenes” interviews with major characters including: Artemis, Holly, Foaly, Mulch, and Eoin
Colfer himself
• Coded section from the Fairy Book for kids to translate
• A section for Fairy Spotters including the different categories of Fairy and their physical characteristics
and personality traits, including: Elves, Trolls, Sprites, Pixies Goblins, Dwarves and Centaurs
• Technical diagrams of Foaly’s inventions

Not To Us ($3.99 Kindle), by Katherine Owen.
Book Description
If you get a second chance, do you take a different path?

There are all kinds of ways for a relationship to be tested, even broken, some, irrevocably; it's the endings we're unprepared for.

Ellie's perfect world unravels.
A best friend's betrayal ends her marriage.
An alarming diagnosis threatens her life.
Yet.
It all leads to Michael...
But, fate soon tests their perfect union.
And, begs the question: if you get a second chance, do you take a different path?

The Beach House ($1.99 Kindle) and Another Summer ($2.99 Kindle), by Georgia Bockoven [HarperCollins]

The Beach House (Update: back to regular price)
The beach house is a peaceful haven, a place to escape everyday problems. Here, three families find their feelings intensified and their lives transformed each summer.

When thirty-year-old Julia, mourning the death of her husband, decides to sell the Santa Cruz beach house they owned together, she sets in motion a final summer that will change the lives of all the families who rent it year after year. Teenaged Chris discovers the bittersweet joy of first love. Maggie and Joe, married sixty-five years, courageously face a separation that even their devotion cannot prevent. The married woman Peter yearns for suddenly comes within his reach. And Julia ultimately finds the strength to rebuild her life—something she once thought impossible.

With equal measures of heartbreak and happiness, bestselling author Georgia Bockoven's unforgettable novel tells of the beauty of life and the power of love, and speaks to every woman who has ever clung to a child or loved a man.
Another Summer
Georgia Bockoven’s enthralling Another Summer—the sequel to her phenomenal bestseller The Beach House—is a must for fans of Jodi Picoult and Marian Keyes. It is the moving and powerful story of four families, the conflicts that tear them apart…and the house that brings them together. Bestselling author Kristin Hannah says, “It will appeal to anyone who believes in the healing power of love,” and Mary Jo Putney advises you to, “Read Another Summer on a day when you want to laugh and cry and feel better about the world.” If you’re looking for the very best in heartbreaking, heart-soaring, uplifting fiction…come in.

Disguised Blessing ($0.99 Kindle), by Georgia Bockoven [HarperCollins]
Book Description
After years of being alone, Catherine Miller thinks she's finally found happiness. Engaged to an adoring, successful executive, she lives in a luxurious house, and her beautiful fifteen-year-old daughter, Linda, is on the brink of college and adulthood. Then, Catherine's rose-colored world is shattered. Her daughter is burned terribly in a freak accident, and just when Catherine needs him most, her fiancé abandons her. Now Catherine must call on every ounce of courage and strength she has to help her beloved daughter recover. Fortunately, she's got help in fire captain Rick Sawyer, an expert burn counselor. Ruggedly handsome, appealingly down-to-earth, Rick is like no man Catherine has ever met. But Catherine made the wrong choice before. How can she trust her emotions--especially when it's not just her heart at stake but her daughter's life, too?

In the tradition of Barbara Delinsky comes this poignant, moving story of the bonds of family, the strength of love, and the courage to dare.

Dust ($5.99 Kindle), by Hugh Howey, is now available for pre-order and I have it in my queue! I expect to be up late one or two nights in a row finishing it, as I did with Wool and Shift.
Book Description
WOOL introduced the silo and its inhabitants.

SHIFT told the story of their making.

DUST will chronicle their undoing.

Welcome to the underground.

Daily Deal - The Four Seasons (E)

The Four Seasons ($9.99 $7.69 Kindle), by Mary Alice Monroe [Harlequin MIRA], is today's Deal of the Day at at Diesel E-Books, where it's discounted to $1.60 (5 copies left).
Book Description
They are the Season sisters, bound by blood, driven apart by a tragedy. Now they are about to embark on a bittersweet journey into the unknown—an odyssey of promise and forgiveness, of loss and rediscovery.

Jillian, Beatrice and Rose have gathered for the funeral of their younger sister, Meredith. Her death, and the legacy she leaves them, will trigger a cross-country journey in search of a stranger with the power to mend their shattered lives. As the emotions of the past reverberate into the present, Jillian, Beatrice and Rose search for the girls they once were, in hopes of finding what they really lost: the women they were meant to be.
Get the book from Diesel; be sure to check the sales price, as the Deal of the Day often sells out. Deals change at 11AM Eastern Time, USA.

Saturday, June 29, 2013

Nook Daily Find 6/29

Nadia Knows Best ($9.39 $1.99 Kindle, B&N), by Jill Mansell, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle. Some of you no doubt picked this up when it was 99 cents back in January, so check your libraries, first.
Book Description
The bigger the mistake, the more tempting it is ...

When Nadia Kinsella meets Jay Tiernan, she's tempted. Of course she is. Stranded together while a snowstorm rages outside ... who would ever know?

But Nadia's already been together with Laurie for years—they're practically childhood sweethearts. Okay, so maybe she doesn't get to see much of him these days , but she can' t betray him.

Besides , when you belong to a family like the Kinsellas—glamorous grandmother Miriam, feckless mother Leonie, stop—at—nothing sister Clare—well, someone has to exercise a bit of self—control , don't they? I mean , you wouldn' t want to do something that you might later regret...

Friday, June 28, 2013

UK Kindle Daily Deal 6/28

Harmattan (£0.99 UK), by Weston, Gavin [Myrmidon Books], is the Kindle Deal of the Day for those in the UK (the US edition is $5.99).
Book Description
Harmattan (from an Arabic word meaning destructive wind ) tells the story of Haoua, a young girl growing up in a remote village in the Republic of Niger. Spirited independent and intelligent, Haoua has benefitted from a stable home life and a loving and attentive mother. She enjoys working and playing with her siblings and friends. Haoua worships her elder brother, Abdelkrim, a serving soldier who sends money home to support the family. But, on his last home visit, Abdelkrim quarrels with their father accusing him of gambling away the money he sends and being the cause of their mother s worsening health. It also emerges that their father plans to take a second wife. Despite this Haoua finds contentment in her schoolwork, her dreams of becoming a teacher and in writing assiduously to the family in Ireland who act as her aid sponsors. But for Haoua, there are new storm clouds on the horizon. As civil strife mounts in Niger, Haoua begins to fear for Abdelkrim s safety. Haoua s mother s illness is much more serious and further advanced than anyone had recognised and her father s plans are turning out to be far more threatening than she could have ever imagined. Approaching her twelfth birthday, Haoua is alone and vulnerable for the very first time in her life.

The Kindle Romance Deal of the Day for those in the UK is three novels in Nicola Cornick's Scandalous Women of the Ton series [Harlequin MIRA] for £0.99 each (~80% off).

Whisper of Scandal (Main/UK; US edition $5.38)
London, May 1811

Widow Lady Joanna Ware has no desire to wed again but that doesn’t stop the flurry of suitors knocking on her door. Desperate to thwart another proposal, Joanna brazenly kisses Arctic adventurer Alex, Lord Grant. Joanna knows she’s just set the gossip mill turning. After suffering countless infidelities during her marriage, she’s accustomed to scandal. But nothing prepares her for the shocking news that her deceased husband has bequeathed his illegitimate child to her and his fellow explorer Alex.

As rumours run rampant in the ton, Joanna and Alex travel to the Arctic to claim the orphan. Battling blizzards, dangerous wild life, and a treacherous plot, Alex must protect Joanna but not before he wickedly seduces her…
Notorious (Main/UK; US edition $5.38)
London, June 1816

'Devlin squared his shoulders and prepared to be introduced to the wife he had thought was dead.'

Dangerously seductive and sinfully beautiful, Susanna Burney is society’s most sought-after matchbreaker. Paid by wealthy parents to part unsuitable couples, she’s never yet failed. Until her final assignment brings her face to face with the man who’d once taught her an intimate lesson in heartache…

James Devlin has everything he’s always wanted: a title, a rich fiancĂ©e and a place in society. But the woman who’s just met his eyes across a crowded ballroom threatens it all. Not because she’d once claimed his heart but because the secrets she carries could cost him everything. Dev just might have to play Susanna at her own wicked game.

Let the scandal of the season begin…
Forbidden (Main/UK; US edition $6.15)
Scandal isn't just for rogues, as the daring women in USA TODAY bestselling author Nicola Cornick's scintillating new series prove….

As maid to some of the most wanton ladies of the ton, Margery Mallon lives within the boundaries of any sensible servant. Entanglements with gentlemen are taboo. Wild adventures are for the Gothic novels she secretly reads. Then an intriguing stranger named Mr. Ward offers her a taste of passion, and suddenly the wicked possibilities are too tempting to resist....

Henry Atticus Richard Ward is no ordinary gentleman. He’s Lord Wardeaux and he is determined to unite Margery with her newfound inheritance by any means—including seduction and deception. But when the ton condemns the scandalous servant-turned-countess and an unknown danger prepares to strike, will Margery accept Henry's protection in exchange for her trust?

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Daily Deal - Return to Peyton Place (E)

Return to Peyton Place ($9.99 $7.39 Kindle), by Grace Metalious and Ardis Cameron [Northeastern University Press], is today's Deal of the Day at at Diesel E-Books, where it's discounted to $1.40 (1 copies left).
Book Description
In 1956 Grace Metalious published Peyton Place, the novel that unbuttoned the straitlaced New England of the popular imagination, transformed the publishing industry, topped the bestseller lists for more than a year, and made its young author one of the most talked-about people in America. In 1959 the sizzling sequel, Return to Peyton Place, picked up where Peyton Place left off: Allison MacKenzie, now the author of America's #1 bestseller, is thrown into the glamorous whirl of the smart set of New York and Hollywood. At home, the rest of the most controversial characters in 1950s American fiction continue to create a stir in this ongoing expose of sex, hypocrisy, social inequity, and class privilege in contemporary America. Peyton Place, the small, seemingly respectable New England town, is revealed as a vividly realistic cauldron of secrets and scandal. Peyton Place and its sequel, Return to Peyton Place, the books that readers used to hide under their mattresses, are now recognized by scholars as the Silent Generation's Perfect Storm and predecessors to the women's liberation movement. Treat yourself to this rediscovered classic.
Get the book from Diesel; be sure to check the sales price, as the Deal of the Day often sells out. Deals change at 11AM Eastern Time, USA.