Nook Daily Find 4/28

The Cat That God Sent ($8.54 Kindle, $3.99 B&N), by Jim Kraus [Abingdon Press], is the Nook Daily Find.

Book Description
Jake Wilkerson, a disillusioned young pastor who is an expert at hiding his fears, takes on a new assignment at a small rural church in Coudersport, Pennsylvania--which is a far piece from anywhere and full of curiously odd and eccentric people. His first day on the job, he is adopted by Petey--a cat of unknown origins and breed--but a very sentient cat who believes that he is on a mission from God to redeem Jake and bring him back to the truth. Jake must confront his doubts early on when he meets Emma Grainger, a single woman and a veterinarian who dismisses all Christians as "those people." Then, Tassy, a young runaway with a secret, arrives at the door of the church looking for a place of refuge. How does Jake deal with this runaway and his interest in Dr. Grainger? More importantly, can Jake rekindle his faith? Petey does his best to lead all people to the truth, in a most subtle and feline way.

Nook Daily Find 4/27

Good Omens ($3.99 $1.99 Kindle, B&N), by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle (it was already discounted to $3.99 as part of the Monthly $3.99 or Less Sale).

Book Description
There is a distinct hint of Armageddon in the air. According to The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch (recorded, thankfully, in 1655, before she blew up her entire village and all its inhabitants, who had gathered to watch her burn), the world will end on a Saturday. Next Saturday, in fact. So the armies of Good and Evil are amassing, the Four Bikers of the Apocalypse are revving up their mighty hogs and hitting the road, and the world's last two remaining witch-finders are getting ready to fight the good fight, armed with awkwardly antiquated instructions and stick pins. Atlantis is rising, frogs are falling, tempers are flaring. . . . Right. Everything appears to be going according to Divine Plan.

Except that a somewhat fussy angel and a fast-living demon -- each of whom has lived among Earth's mortals for many millennia and has grown rather fond of the lifestyle -- are not particularly looking forward to the coming Rapture. If Crowley and Aziraphale are going to stop it from happening, they've got to find and kill the Antichrist (which is a shame, as he's a really nice kid). There's just one glitch: someone seems to have misplaced him. . . .

First published in 1990, Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett's brilliantly dark and screamingly funny take on humankind's final judgment is back -- and just in time -- in a new hardcover edition (which includes an introduction by the authors, comments by each about the other, and answers to some still-burning questions about their wildly popular collaborative effort) that the devout and the damned alike will surely cherish until the end of all things.

Nook Daily Find 4/26

All the Pretty Hearses ($6.83 Kindle, $1.99 B&N), the 26th in the Bed-and-Breakfast series by Mary Daheim, is the Nook Daily Find; should be price matched on Kindle later this morning.

Book Description
Cormac McCarthy has nothing on Mary Daheim—whose fabulous Bed-and-Breakfast mysteries win hands down when it comes to outrageous zaniness. In All the Pretty Hearses, Daheim,“the reigning queen of the cozies” (Portland Oregonian), embroils Hillside Manor hostess Judith McMonigle Flynn in a lethal case of insurance fraud and mystery meat gone bad, in the twenty-sixth installment of the hilarious, New York Times bestselling cozy mystery series that remains as fresh and funny as the very first.

Spring Fever Bargain Books, Part II

OK, now that you have books on hand to get your vegetable garden growing this year (or maybe joined a local CSA), you may want to pick up one or two cookbooks (is it possible to have too many good cookbooks?) for inspiration on how to consume all that produce this summer. Even if you aren't gardening yourself, there should be at least one title below that appeals, whether you want to eat more locally produced foods, try an exotic new recipe or just lose a little weight without resorting to processed, frozen dinners for every meal.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle ($1.99 Kindle, B&N, Kobo), by Barbara Kingsolver [HarperCollins], is practically the bible of the local food movement.

Book Description
Bestselling author Barbara Kingsolver returns with her first nonfiction narrative that will open your eyes in a hundred new ways to an old truth: You are what you eat.

"As the U.S. population made an unprecedented mad dash for the Sun Belt, one carload of us paddled against the tide, heading for the Promised Land where water falls from the sky and green stuff grows all around. We were about to begin the adventure of realigning our lives with our food chain.

"Naturally, our first stop was to buy junk food and fossil fuel. . . ."

Hang on for the ride: With characteristic poetry and pluck, Barbara Kingsolver and her family sweep readers along on their journey away from the industrial-food pipeline to a rural life in which they vow to buy only food raised in their own neighborhood, grow it themselves, or learn to live without it. Their good-humored search yields surprising discoveries about turkey sex life and overly zealous zucchini plants, en route to a food culture that's better for the neighborhood and also better on the table. Part memoir, part journalistic investigation, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle makes a passionate case for putting the kitchen back at the center of family life and diversified farms at the center of the American diet.

"This is the story of a year in which we made every attempt to feed ourselves animals and vegetables whose provenance we really knew . . . and of how our family was changed by our first year of deliberately eating food produced from the same place where we worked, went to school, loved our neighbors, drank the water, and breathed the air."

The Beekeeper's Lament: How One Man and Half a Billion Honey Bees Help Feed America ($1.99 Kindle, B&N, Kobo), by Hannah Nordhaus [HarperCollins], is one I'd recommend to anyone that eats and is concerned both about the cost of food (everything from squash to almonds) and getting food locally. I know that our bees declined at the same time and for seemingly no reason (and that continues - we don't have bees at all after the winter, some years).

Book Description
Award-winning journalist Hannah Nordhaus tells the remarkable story of John Miller, one of America’s foremost migratory beekeepers, and the myriad and mysterious epidemics threatening American honeybee populations. In luminous, razor-sharp prose, Nordhaus explores the vital role that honeybees play in American agribusiness, the maintenance of our food chain, and the very future of the nation. With an intimate focus and incisive reporting, in a book perfect for fans of Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation, Michael Pollan’s The Botany of Desire,and John McPhee’s Oranges, Nordhaus’s stunning exposé illuminates one the most critical issues facing the world today,offering insight, information, and, ultimately, hope.

Cooking Light Pick Fresh Cookbook: Creating Big Flavors from the Freshest Produce ($4.99 Kindle), by Mary Beth Burner Shaddix and the Editors of Cooking Light Magazine [Oxmoor House]

Book Description
Cooking Light Pick Fresh Cookbook shares the secrets to buying, growing, and cooking your favorite fresh fruits, vegetables, and herbs. Bursting with beautiful color photographs, this book is an invaluable resource for home cooks, novice gardeners, and food lovers alike. Cooking Light Pick Fresh Cookbook includes:

• More than 200 full-color photos
• Organized by fruits, vegetables, and herbs makes it easy to find recipes and information for the fresh produce you have right now
• 150+ recipes that utilize the fresh taste of the season's best produce in main dishes, sides, salads, dessert, and more
• Easy getting-started gardening tips from Mary Beth Shaddix, Cooking Light's expert gardener, for growing your own fruits and vegetables, whether it's in your backyard or on your windowsill
• A complete nutritional analysis for each recipe

How To Eat ($1.99 Kindle, B&N), by Nigella Lawson [Hyperion]; I bought this a couple of years ago, on sale, but you can now get it for half what I paid.

Book Description
Through her wildly popular television shows, her five bestselling cookbooks, her line of kitchenware, and her frequent media appearances, Nigella Lawson has emerged as one of the food world's most seductive personalities. How to Eat is the book that started it all--Nigella's signature, all-purposed cookbook, brimming with easygoing mealtime strategies and 350 mouthwatering recipes, from a truly sublime Tarragon French Roast Chicken to a totally decadent Chocolate Raspberry Pudding Cake. Here is Nigella's total (and totally irresistible) approach to food--the book that lays bare her secrets for finding pleasure in the simple things that we cook and eat every day.

The Beginner's Guide to Preserving Food at Home: Easy Techniques for the Freshest Flavors in Jams, Jellies, Pickles, Relishes, Salsas, Sauces, and Frozen and Dried Fruits and Vegetables ($2.99 Kindle, B&N), by Janet Chadwick [Storey Publishing]

Book Description
A wonderful thing is happening in home kitchens. People are rediscovering the joys of locally produced foods and reducing the amount of the grocery budget that's spent on packaged items, out-of-season produce, and heavily processed foods. But fresh, seasonal fruits and vegetables don't stay fresh and delicious forever - they must be eaten now . . . or preserved for later.

For all the vegetable gardeners facing baskets overflowing with bright tomatoes, and for all the dedicated farmers' market fans and CSA members, The Beginner's Guide to Preserving Food at Home has the simple solutions that turn overwhelming bounty into neatly canned tomatoes, jars of jams and jellies, and crispy-tart relishes and pickles.

Organized in a friendly, food-by-food format, readers will find freezing, drying, canning, and storing instructions for each vegetable, fruit, and herb. In many cases, several ways to freeze or can a food are described, and there are often other preserving suggestions as well, such as making juice or fruit leather.

Everything is written with busy people in mind: these are the quickest, most efficient methods for preserving summer's bounty. Up-to-date information and clear, step-by-step instructions show even absolute beginners the way to a fully stocked pantry.

Sweet on Texas: Lovable Confections from the Lone Star State ($3.03 Kindle, B&N, $3.49 Kobo), by Robert M. Peacock and Denise Gee [Chronicle Book]

Book Description
This tantalizing tome features a hearty helping of must-eat recipes and must-meet dessert devotees, garnished with their fascinating stories. Learn about local Texan bakeries, the youngest pastry chef in the state, and the proper way to organize a Southern cookie swap. Divided into four tasty Texas regions, this cookbook features the big flavors of sweet treats like Deep Chocolate Meringue Pie, Citrus-Kissed Fig Ice Cream, Deep-Fried Coca-Cola, and Sweet Pineapple Tamales. With more than 60 classic and brand spankin' new recipes for cakes, cookies, puddings, cobblers, ice cream, pies, and pastries, Sweet on Texas is a sugar-coated tour through the culinary wonderland of the Lone Star State.

Make It Fast, Cook It Slow: The Big Book of Everyday Slow Cooking ($1.99 Kindle, B&N), by Stephanie O'Dea [Hyperion], is another one I bought at twice the current price! This cookbook does double duty: not only can you find recipes to use up your garden produce, you can use them to cook your meals while you are out gardening! Also of note: all the recipes are gluten free!

Book Description
Make It Fast, Cook It Slow is the first cookbook from Stephanie O'Dea, the extremely popular slow cooking blogger: affordable, delicious, nutritious, and gluten-free recipes to delight the entire family.

In December 2007, Stephanie O'Dea made a New Year's resolution: she'd use her slow cooker every single day for an entire year, and write about it on her very popular blog. The result: more than three million visitors, and more than 300 fabulous, easy-to-make, family-pleasing recipes, including:

• Breakfast Risotto
• Vietnamese Roast Chicken
• Tomatoes and Goat Cheese with Balsamic Cranberry Syrup
• Falafel
• Philly Cheesesteaks
• CrÈme Brulee

--and much more. Make It Fast, Cook It Slow is the perfect cookbook for easy, quick prep, inexpensive ingredients, and meals that taste like you spent hours at the stove.

In the Kitchen with A Good Appetite: 150 Recipes and Stories About the Food You Love ($1.99 Kindle, B&N), by Melissa Clark [Hyperion], I also bought last year (but at only a dollar more than this year's sale price). Even if you don't buy the entire book, be sure to check out the Amazon page, where you'll find a complete recipe for Spiced Chipotle Honey Chicken Breasts with Sweet Potatoes.

Book Description
“A Good Appetite,” Melissa Clark’s weekly feature in the New York Times Dining Section, is about dishes that are easy to cook and that speak to everyone, either stirring a memory or creating one. Now, Clark takes the same freewheeling yet well-informed approach that has won her countless fans and applies it to one hundred and fifty delicious, simply sophisticated recipes.

Clark prefaces each recipe with the story of its creation—the missteps as well as the strokes of genius—to inspire improvisation in her readers. So when discussing her recipe for Crisp Chicken Schnitzel, she offers plenty of tried-and-true tips learned from an Austrian chef; and in My Mother’s Lemon Pot Roast, she gives the same high-quality advice, but culled from her own family’s kitchen.

Memorable chapters reflect the way so many of us like to eat: Things with Cheese (think Baked Camembert with Walnut Crumble and Ginger Marmalade), The Farmers’ Market and Me (Roasted Spiced Cauliflower and Almonds), It Tastes Like Chicken (Garlic and Thyme–Roasted Chicken with Crispy Drippings Croutons), and many more delectable but not overly complicated dishes.

In addition, Clark writes with Laurie Colwin–esque warmth and humor about the relationship that we have with our favorite foods, about the satisfaction of cooking a meal where everyone wants seconds, and about the pleasures of eating. From stories of trips to France with her parents, growing up (where she and her sister were required to sit on unwieldy tuna Nicoise sandwiches to make them more manageable), to bribing a fellow customer for the last piece of dessert at the farmers’ market, Melissa’s stories will delight any reader who starts thinking about what’s for dinner as soon as breakfast is cleared away. This is a cookbook to read, to savor, and most important, to cook delicious, rewarding meals from.

The Belly Fat Diet Cookbook: 105 Easy and Delicious Recipes to Lose Your Belly, Shed Excess Weight, Improve Health ($2.51 Kindle, $4.99 Kobo), by John Chatham [Rockridge University Press], is a companion to The Belly Fat Diet ($4.99 Kindle, B&N, Kobo), but starts out with enough of the basis of the diet before jumping into recipes that you can probably skip the second title, completely. Note that unlike some of his Paleo diet cookbooks, many of the recipes in this one are not gluten free (and if you are new to a GF diet, there is gluten hiding in the spelt and bulgar, amongst other ingredients), although many can be easily adapted (by using GF oats, for example).

Book Description
Trim away your belly fat with a healthy and delicious diet.

Achieving a flat stomach is not about doing hundreds of crunches or worrying about how much you eat; it's about what you eat. The Belly Fat Diet Cookbook provides delicious recipes and teaches you how to eat more, weigh less, and achieve a flat belly.

• Enjoy your favorite healthful dishes from breakfast to dessert, including Green Smoothies, Chicken Stir Fry, Baked Kale and Sweet Potato Chips, Almond Encrusted Salmon, and Berry Parfait.
• Learn the dangers of excess belly fat from its harmful impacts on your liver, to increasing your risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, dementia, and a stroke.
• The Belly Fat Diet Cookbook offers 105 healthy recipes, tips for a successful transition to the belly fat diet, and the Belly Fat Diet Shopping Guide to help you minimize your intake of sugar and processed carbohydrates.

Lose weight and lose your belly with The Belly Fat Diet Cookbook--a sustainable path to a longer, healthier, and leaner life.

In his latest work, bestselling author John Chatham blasts the myths surrounding belly fat. The groundbreaking research in The Belly Fat Diet Cookbook reveals a science-based approach to healthy eating and looking good, and it doesn't involve starving yourself.

The Belly Fat Diet Cookbook: 105 Delicious Recipes to Lose Your Belly, Shed Excess Weight and Improve Health provides an easy-to-follow health solution that gets fast, visible, long-lasting results from the inside out.

Spring Fever Bargain Books

I've been doing a bit of gardening lately (our veggies are mostly in and the cleanup of my herb beds is complete, but the flower beds still need (a lot of) work). So, naturally, I've also been browsing thru the gardening and cookbook sections on rainy days (like yesterday). Here are a few of the finds I've turned up.

The Heirloom Life Gardener: The Baker Creek Way of Growing Your Own Food Easily and Naturally ($1.99 Kindle, B&N), by Jere And Emilee Gettle [Hyperion]. If you raise veggies and have done any mail order shopping for seeds, you know who Baker Creek is; if you garden now or plan to, buy this book!

Book Description
Tired of genetically modified food every day, Americans are moving more toward eating natural, locally grown food that is free of pesticides and preservatives—and there is no better way to ensure this than to grow it yourself. Anyone can start a garden, whether in a backyard or on a city rooftop; but what they need to truly succeed is The Heirloom Life Gardener, a comprehensive guide to cultivating heirloom vegetables.

In this invaluable resource, Jere and Emilee Gettle, cofounders of the Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company, offer a wealth of knowledge to every kind of gardener—experienced pros and novices alike. In his friendly voice, complemented by gorgeous photographs, Jere gives planting, growing, harvesting, and seed saving tips. In addition, an extensive A to Z Growing Guide includes amazing heirloom varieties that many people have never even seen. From seed collecting to the history of seed varieties and name origins, Jere takes you far beyond the heirloom tomato. This is the first book of its kind that is not only a guide to growing beautiful and delicious vegetables, but also a way to join the movement of people who long for real food and a truer way of living.

The Dirt-Cheap Green Thumb: 400 Thrifty Tips for Saving Money, Time, and Resources as You Garden ($2.99 Kindle, B&N, Kobo), by Rhonda Massingham Hart [Storey Publishing]. Storey has been a source of gardening books that I've read for many years (long before ebooks were around) and several of today's picks are from this publisher. I suspect that if you can't save at least the price of the book by using it's tips, you weren't trying very hard.

Book Description
Now gardeners don’t have to choose between frugal and fantastic! In The Dirt-Cheap Green Thumb, Rhonda Massingham Hart provides practical, time-tested solutions that will stretch your dollar farther than you ever thought possible, even as they yield beautiful, bountiful plants. From starting seeds to preserving produce, from composting to conserving water, Hart's advice ensures that you won't waste a scrap of time or money. Perfect for everyone from novices to experts, whether you are growing food, flowers, house plants, or landscape plants.

Don't Throw It, Grow It!: 68 windowsill plants from kitchen scraps ($2.99 Kindle, B&N, Kobo), by Deborah Peterson [Storey Publishing]. If you've shopped for plants lately, you know that just saving the cost of one plant will pay for the book (not to mention: how often do you even see culinary ginger for sale?).

Book Description
Magic and wonder hide in unexpected places — a leftover piece of ginger, a wrinkled potato left too long in its bag, a humdrum kitchen spice rack. In Don't Throw It, Grow It! Deborah Peterson reveals the hidden possibilities in everyday foods.

Peterson, former president of the American Pit Gardening Society, shows how common kitchen staples — pits, nuts, beans, seeds, and tubers — can be coaxed into lush, vibrant houseplants that are as attractive as they are fascinating. With Peterson's help, a sweet potato turns into a blooming vine; chickpeas transform into cheery hanging baskets; the humble beet becomes a dramatic centerpiece; and gingerroot grows into a 3-foot, bamboo-like stalk. In some cases the transformation happens overnight!

Don't Throw It, Grow It! offers growing instructions for 68 plants in four broad categories — vegetables; fruits and nuts; herbs and spices; and more exotic plants from ethnic markets. The book is enhanced with beautiful illustrations, and its at-a-glance format makes it a quick and easy reference. Best of all, every featured plant can be grown in a kitchen, making this handy guide a must-have for avid gardeners and apartment-dwellers alike.

Vertical Vegetables & Fruit: Creative Gardening Techniques for Growing Up in Small Spaces ($2.99 Kindle, B&N, Kobo), by Rhonda Massingham Hart [Storey Publishing]. Other than some fruit vines kept on trellises, we've never really done any vertical gardening (and I HIGHLY recommend you install a much stouter support than a clothesline, if you are growing kiwis ... and pay closer attention to the 20' recommended distance between than I did!), so I haven't decided to get this one ... yet.

Book Description
At last, an innovative solution for urbanites, apartment dwellers, and anyone who wants to grow food in small spaces — grow up!

Vertical Vegetables & Fruit shows how easy and fun small-footprint food gardening can be. Low maintenance and big harvests are just two of the benefits of using teepees, trellises, cages, hanging baskets, wall pockets, stacking pots, and multilevel raised beds to grow vegetables and fruit.

Whether your soon-to-be garden is an alley, a balcony, a rooftop, or just a windowsill, master gardener Rhonda Massingham Hart provides expert advice for constructing the site, preparing the soil, and planting and caring for vegetables and fruits to produce a hearty harvest. From beans on a tepee to tomatoes on a wire archway, melons on a slanted fence to cucumbers on a trellis, kiwis on a clothesline to strawberries in a pot, there are simple growing guidelines here to fit every gardener’s favorite tastes and site.

For experienced gardeners looking to try new techniques as well as first-time growers with tiny growing spaces, Vertical Vegetables & Fruit is the space-saving, harvest-enhancing guide to producing a bounty of fresh food in any location.

The Veggie Gardener's Answer Book: Solutions to Every Problem You'll Ever Face; Answers to Every Question You'll Ever Ask ($2.51 Kindle, $2.99 B&N, Kobo), by Barbara W. Ellis [Storey Publishing], looks like the perfect starter book for beginners (and should be helpful even for "experts" ... unless you are already writing your own books on this subject).

Book Description
For all of your gardening questions, The Veggie Gardener's Answer Book has the answers, gathered together in a sturdy little book for handy in-the-garden reference. You'll find helpful information on everything from planning and planting a vegetable garden to improving soil, caring for crops, organically controlling pests and diseases, and harvesting.

Starting Seeds: How to Grow Healthy, Productive Vegetables, Herbs, and Flowers from Seed ($2.99 Kindle, B&N, Kobo), by Barbara Ellis [Storey Publishing]. Despite the size of those several gallon potted tomato plants at your local Home & Garden store (which cost more, I suspect, than the tomatoes you'll get from them are worth), it's not to late to grow quite a bit of this year's garden from seed. It's a bit late for peppers, true, but just skip those sections now and read them this winter (when it is time to get those long-season plants started).

Book Description
Growing plants from seeds isn’t difficult; it just takes a little know-how. Now, gardeners of any experience level can get a jump on the growing season with this concise, straightforward guide. Expert gardener Barbara Ellis provides the basic information that you need and teaches you foolproof starting techniques for a variety of vegetables, herbs, and flowers.

Nook Daily Find 4/25

Summer Rental ($7.99 $3.99 Kindle, $3.99 B&N), by Mary Kay Andrews, is the Nook Daily Find. I do expect it to drop at Amazon also, later this morning (it just dropped a minute ago at B&N, nearly an hour late, and is still bouncing up and down in price; Amazon's prices generally update after 3AM Eastern Time).

Update: Now price matched on Kindle.

Book Description
Sometimes, when you need a change in your life, the tide just happens to pull you in the right direction…

Ellis, Julia, and Dorie. Best friends since Catholic grade school, they now find themselves, in their mid-thirties, at the crossroads of life and love. Ellis, recently fired from a job she gave everything to, is rudderless and now beginning to question the choices she's made over the past decade of her life. Julia--whose caustic wit covers up her wounds--has a man who loves her and is offering her the world, but she can't hide from how deeply insecure she feels about her looks, her brains, her life. And Dorie has just been shockingly betrayed by the man she loved and trusted the most in the world…though this is just the tip of the iceberg of her problems and secrets. A month in North Carolina's Outer Banks is just what they each of them needs.

Ty Bazemore is their landlord, though he's hanging on to the rambling old beach house by a thin thread. After an inauspicious first meeting with Ellis, the two find themselves disturbingly attracted to one another, even as Ty is about to lose everything he's ever cared about.

Maryn Shackleford is a stranger, and a woman on the run. Maryn needs just a few things in life: no questions, a good hiding place, and a new identity. Ellis, Julia, and Dorie can provide what Maryn wants; can they also provide what she needs?

Mary Kay Andrews' novel is the story of five people questioning everything they ever thought they knew about life. Five people on a journey that will uncover their secrets and point them on the path to forgiveness. Five people who each need a sea change, and one month in a summer rental that might just give it to them.

Summer Rental is one of Library Journal's Best Women's Fiction Books of 2011

Nook Daily Find 4/24

Tangled Ashes ($9.09 Kindle, $1.99 B&N), by Michele Phoenix [Tyndale House], is the Nook Daily Find.

Book Description
When Marshall Becker arrives in Lamorlaye, France, to begin the massive renovation of a Renaissance-era castle, he unearths a dark World War II history few in the village remember. The project that was meant to provide an escape for Becker instead becomes a gripping glimpse into the human drama that unfolded during the Nazi occupation and seems to live on in midnight disturbances and bizarre acts of vandalism.

Nook Daily Find 4/23

Big Stone Gap ($2.99 Kindle, B&N), by Adriana Trigiani [Random House], is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle.

Book Description
Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, the tiny town of Big Stone Gap is home to some of the most charming eccentrics in the state. Ave Maria Mulligan is the town's self-proclaimed spinster, a thirty-five year old pharmacist with a "mountain girl's body and a flat behind." She lives an amiable life with good friends and lots of hobbies until the fateful day in 1978 when she suddenly discovers that she's not who she always thought she was. Before she can blink, Ave's fielding marriage proposals, fighting off greedy family members, organizing a celebration for visiting celebrities, and planning the trip of a lifetime—a trip that could change her view of the world and her own place in it forever. Brimming with humor and wise notions of small-town life, Big Stone Gap is a gem of a book with a giant heart. . . .

Monday Morning Bargain Books

Diamond Eyes ($2.99 Kindle, Kobo), by A A Bell [HarperCollins]

Book Description
Mira Chambers has an unusual gift for solving mysteries ...

Blind, institutionalised and frustrated by her loss of independence, Mira has been driven to the brink of insanity by medications that make her life unbearable. When she astounds two medical scientists by ′seeing′ the impossible, they begin an exploration of Mira′s strange perspectives.

Together with Bennet Chiron, an enigmatic ex-con, Mira becomes entangled in a dangerous adventure of self-discovery that leads them to a killer -- and exposed to a manipulative sociopath whose own unique talent is more than a match for Mira′s.

Layers of secrets are about to be peeled away ... and no one will be safe from what is revealed.

American Rose: A Nation Laid Bare: The Life and Times of Gypsy Rose Lee ($0.99 Kindle, B&N, Kobo), by Karen Abbott [Random House]

Book Description
America was flying high in the Roaring Twenties. Then, almost overnight, the Great Depression brought it crashing down. When the dust settled, people were primed for a star who could distract them from reality. Enter Gypsy Rose Lee, a strutting, bawdy, erudite stripper who possessed a gift for delivering exactly what America needed. With her superb narrative skills and eye for detail, Karen Abbott brings to life an era of ambition, glamour, struggle, and survival. Using exclusive interviews and never-before-published material, she vividly delves into Gypsy’s world, including her intense triangle relationship with her sister, actress June Havoc, and their formidable mother, Rose, a petite but ferocious woman who literally killed to get her daughters on the stage. Weaving in the compelling saga of the Minskys—four scrappy brothers from New York City who would pave the way for Gypsy Rose Lee’s brand of burlesque and transform the entertainment landscape—Karen Abbott creates a rich account of a legend whose sensational tale of tragedy and triumph embodies the American Dream.

A Plague of Zombies: An Outlander Novella ($1.99 Kindle, B&N, Kobo), by Diana Gabaldon [Random House]

Book Description
A captivating tale of history and suspense, with a touch of the supernatural, featuring Lord John Grey. This novella, originally published as “Lord John and the Plague of Zombies,” is now available as a standalone eBook.

Lord John Grey, a lieutenant-colonel in His Majesty’s army, arrives in Jamaica with orders to quash a slave rebellion brewing in the mountains. But a much deadlier threat lies close at hand. The governor of the island is being menaced by zombies, according to a servant. Lord John has no idea what a zombie is, but it doesn’t sound good. It sounds even worse when hands smelling of grave dirt come out of the darkness to take him by the throat. Between murder in the governor’s mansion and plantations burning in the mountains, Lord John will need the wisdom of serpents and the luck of the devil to keep the island from exploding.

Mother of the Bride ($1.99 Kindle, B&N, Kobo), by Lynn Michaels [Random House]

Book Description
She planned everything for the wedding – except the falling in love part....

In a family of jet-setters and lovable eccentrics, Cydney Parrish is the stable, sensible one, always with her feet firmly planted on the ground. Maybe that’s why she ended up raising her sister’s daughter Bebe. Now Bebe is all grown up and about to marry the nephew of the handsome and reclusive author Angus Munroe. Between planning the wedding, dealing with her high maintenance kin, and facing a future with only a cat for company, Cydney has her hands full. But she isn’t too busy to notice that aside from being pushy and generally infuriating, Gus Munroe may just be the man of her dreams.

Angus Munroe is not about to let his only nephew throw his future away on some ditzy debutante. He flies into town determined to “speak now and never hold his peace”–but ends up instead with a broken nose, a slight limp, and his mountainside home invaded by the bride-to-be’s family. He’s pretty certain it is all the wedding planner’s fault. Aunts aren’t supposed to be sexy, but someone obviously forgot to tell the irresistible Cydney Parrish....

Nook Daily Find 4/22

Tumbleweeds ($8.89 Kindle, $2.99 B&N), by Leila Meacham, is the Nook Daily Find [Hatchette].

Book Description
Recently orphaned, eleven-year-old Cathy Benson feels she has been dropped into a cultural and intellectual wasteland when she is forced to move from her academically privileged life in California to the small town of Kersey in the Texas Panhandle where the sport of football reigns supreme. She is quickly taken under the unlikely wings of up-and-coming gridiron stars and classmates John Caldwell and Trey Don Hall, orphans like herself, with whom she forms a friendship and eventual love triangle that will determine the course of the rest of their lives. Taking the three friends through their growing up years until their high school graduations when several tragic events uproot and break them apart, the novel expands to follow their careers and futures until they reunite in Kersey at forty years of age. Told with all of Meacham's signature drama, unforgettable characters, and plot twists, readers will be turning the pages, desperate to learn how it all plays out.

Nook Daily Find 4/21

Like Dandelion Dust ($6.64 Kindle, $6.99 B&N), by Karen Kingsbury [Hachette], is the Nook Daily Find, better than price matched on Kindle, where the companion audiobook is $3.49. I actually suspect that B&N is just late changing the price of their book (and that Amazon will price match, if it does drop).

In any case, you might bet a better deal with the omnibus edition of Like Dandelion Dust & This Side of Heaven ($8.89), just one of several omnibus editions by Kingsbury that drop the per-novel price to the $3-$5 range.

Book Description
Kingsbury delivers a powerful new novel about two parents' love for their child and the surprising lengths they will go to keep their family together when a judge rules that their adopted son must be returned to his biological father.

Jack and Molly Campbell are right where they want to be, enjoying an idyllic life with their four-year-old son Joey, and the close family and friends who live in their small hometown just outside Atlanta. Then the phone call comes from the social worker the Campbells never expected to hear from again. Three states away in Ohio, Joey's biological father has just been released from prison. He is ready to start life over, but not without his son.

A judge's quick decision deals a devastating blow to the Campbell family: Joey must be returned to his biological parents. The day after the ruling, in the silent haze of grief and utter disbelief, they watch their son pick a dandelion and blow the feathery seeds into the wind.

In the days that follow the ruling, Jack Campbell has a desperate and dangerous thought. What if they can devise a way out? Then they could take Joey and simply disappear . . . LIKE DANDELION DUST.

Nook Daily Find 4/20

Two Graves ($9.99 Kindle, $1.99 B&N), the twelfth (and latest) title in the Special Agent Pendergast series by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, is the Nook Daily Find (and likely to be price matched on Kindle later this morning). You can also pick up the tenth in the series, Fever Dream, at a discount right now ($3.99 Kindle).

Two Graves

For twelve years, he believed she died in an accident. Then, he was told she'd been murdered. Now, FBI Special Agent Aloysius Pendergast discovers that his beloved wife Helen is alive. But their reunion is cut short when Helen is brazenly abducted before his eyes. And Pendergast is forced to embark on a furious cross-country chase to rescue her.
But all this turns out to be mere prologue to a far larger plot: one that unleashes a chillingly-almost supernaturally-adept serial killer on New York City. And Helen has one more surprise in store for Pendergast: a piece of their shared past that makes him the one man most suited to hunting down the killer.
His pursuit of the murderer will take Pendergast deep into the trackless forests of South America, to a hidden place where the evil that has blighted both his and Helen's lives lies in wait . . . a place where he will learn all too well the truth of the ancient proverb:
Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.

Fever Dream

Yesterday, Special Agent Pendergast still mourned the loss of his beloved wife, Helen, who died in a tragic accident in Africa twelve years ago.

Today, he discovers she was murdered.

Tomorrow, he will learn her most guarded secrets, leaving him to wonder: Who was the woman I married? Why was she murdered? And, above all . . . Who murdered her?

FEVER DREAM

Revenge is not sweet: It is essential.

Nook Daily Find 4/19

Angelology ($12.99 Kindle, $1.99 B&N), by Danielle Trussoni, is the Nook Daily Find. This should be price matched on Kindle by early morning, since Penguin is still an Agency Pricing publisher.

Book Description
A thrilling epic about an ancient clash reignited in our time--between a hidden society and heaven's darkest creatures

There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. --Genesis 6:5

Sister Evangeline was just a girl when her father entrusted her to the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in upstate New York. Now, at twenty-three, her discovery of a 1943 letter from the famous philanthropist Abigail Rockefeller to the late mother superior of Saint Rose Convent plunges Evangeline into a secret history that stretches back a thousand years: an ancient conflict between the Society of Angelologists and the monstrously beautiful descendants of angels and humans, the Nephilim.

For the secrets these letters guard are desperately coveted by the once-powerful Nephilim, who aim to perpetuate war, subvert the good in humanity, and dominate mankind. Generations of angelologists have devoted their lives to stopping them, and their shared mission, which Evangeline has long been destined to join, reaches from her bucolic abbey on the Hudson to the apex of insular wealth in New York, to the Montparnasse cemetery in Paris and the mountains of Bulgaria.

Rich in history, full of mesmerizing characters, and wondrously conceived, Angelology blends biblical lore, the myth of Orpheus and the Miltonic visions of Paradise Lost into a riveting tale of ordinary people engaged in a battle that will determine the fate of the world.

Nook Daily Find 4/18

French Lessons ($1.99 Kindle, B&N), by Ellen Sussman, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle.

Book Description
A single day in Paris changes the lives of three Americans as they each set off to explore the city with a French tutor, learning about language, love, and loss as their lives intersect in surprising ways.

Josie, Riley, and Jeremy have come to the City of Light for different reasons: Josie, a young high school teacher, arrives in hopes of healing a broken heart. Riley, a spirited but lonely expat housewife, struggles to feel connected to her husband and her new country. And Jeremy, the reserved husband of a renowned actress, is accompanying his wife on a film shoot, yet he feels distant from her world.

As they meet with their tutors—Josie with Nico, a sensitive poet; Riley with Phillippe, a shameless flirt; and Jeremy with the consummately beautiful Chantal—each succumbs to unexpected passion and unpredictable adventures. Yet as they traverse Paris’s grand boulevards and intimate, winding streets, they uncover surprising secrets about one another—and come to understand long-buried truths about themselves.

Nook Daily Find 4/17

Duchess in Love ($4.74 Kindle, $1.99 B&N), the first novel in the Duchess Quartet series by Eloisa James [HarperCollins], is the Nook Daily Find; it's likely there will be a price match on Kindle by early morning.

Book Description
A Duke in Retreat

Gina was forced into marriage with the Duke of Girton at an age when she'd have been better off in a schoolroom than a ballroom. Directly after the ceremony her handsome spouse promptly fled to the continent, leaving the marriage unconsummated and Gina quite indignant.

A Lady In the Middle

Now, she is one of the most well-known ladies in London ... living on the edge of scandal—desired by many men, but resisting giving herself to any one.

A Duchess in Love

Finally, Camden, the Duke of Girton, has returned home, to discover that his naïve bride has blossomed into the toast of the ton. Which leaves Cam in the most uncomfortable position of discovering that he has the bad manners to be falling in love—with his own wife!

Nook Daily Find 4/16

Shades of Blue ($8.00 Kindle, $1.99 B&N), by Karen Kingsbury [Zondervan/HarperCollins], is the Nook Daily Find; no price match yet on Kindle, but likely sometime in the morning.

Book Description
Brad Cutler, twenty-eight, is a rising star at his New York ad agency, about to marry the girl of his dreams. Anyone would agree he has it all ... a great career, a beautiful and loving fiancee, and a fairy tale life ahead of him---when memories of a high school girlfriend begin to torment him. Lost innocence and one very difficult choice flood his conscience, and he is no longer sure what the future will bring except for this: He must find his old love and make amends. Haunted by the past and confused about the future, he turns to God seeking forgiveness and redemption.

Three people must work through the repercussions of a decision made long ago before any of them can look toward a new future.

Bargain Book Roundup

Dead Shot ($2.99 Kindle, B&N, Kobo), the second novel in the Sniper series by Jack Coughlin and Donald A. Davis

Book Description
In this follow-up to the highly successful Kill Zone, former Marine sniper Kyle Swanson faces his most deadly enemy yet, a legendary enemy sniper working with a fringe Islamic organization that has created a terrifying new weapon of mass destruction

In Baghdad’s Green Zone, an Iraqi scientist is murdered just before he is to reveal the monstrous secret that Saddam Hussein took to his grave: the Palace of Death, home to a chemical weapon that Islamic militants quietly have been developing and whose formula is nearly complete. The assassination is the work of a mysterious sniper called Juba, who was originally trained by the British but now works with a twisted mastermind determined to wrest leadership of the terrorist world from Al Qaeda.
Kyle Swanson, once the top sniper in the Marine Corps, has become the key member in a secret special operations team known as Task Force Trident. When Juba tests the new weapon by killing hundreds of people at a British royal wedding in London, Swanson is assigned to hunt down his old special ops rival.

The birth of a new reign of global terror can be stopped only by a confrontation between the two best snipers in the world, a duel in which the first shot wins. Usually.

10,001 Ways to Live Large on a Small Budget ($2.99 Kindle, B&N, Kobo), by The Writers of Wise Bread [Skyhorse Publishing] - just in time for Tax Day (and what we have left over after paying them)!

Book Description
Filled with savvy tips on how to live, eat, shop, and have fun on a small budget, 10001 Ways to Live Large on a Small Budget is a compilation of the juiciest tips from the #1 personal finance blog WiseBread.com, including:

• 9 Ways to See the World For Free
• 12 Ways to Live Rent or Mortgage Free
• 6 Steps to Eliminating Your Debt Painlessly
• 7 Ways to Score Free Food
• Bulk Buying 101
• 10 Killer Ways to Feel Like a Million Bucks
• 6 Horrible Financial Products to Avoid
• 7 Beauty Secrets that Cost Almost Nothing
• 50 Ways to Get the Most Out of Health Care
• 12 Fabulous Frugal Party Ideas

Too many frugal living books focus on the negative, throwing around words such as "sacrifice" and "responsibility" like there was a fire sale at the Boring Store. But the writers at Wise Bread believe the key to financial wellness isn't a ramen-eating, vacation-skipping, fun-depriving life. Far from it. The best way to ensure that readers will stick to a budget is to help them create a lifestyle that is as much fun as it is practical.

Goldberg Variations: A Novel ($2.99 Kindle, Kobo) and After All These Years ($1.99 Kindle, B&N, Kobo), two novels by Susan Isaacs [Simon & Schuster and HarperCollins, respectively]

Goldberg Variations

Imagine King Lear as a comedy . . .

Elegant, amusing, and profoundly nasty tycoon Gloria Garrison, née Goldberg, has a kingdom to bequeath to one of the grandchildren she barely knows. They’re all twentysomethings who foolishly believe money isn’t everything. Just shy of eighty, Gloria doesn’t wish to watch the minutes tick by while the three dither over the issues of their generation—love, meaning, identity. She has summoned them all from New York for a weekend at her palatial home in Santa Fe. She has a single question to ask them: “Which one of you most deserves to inherit my business?” Gloria never anticipates the answer will be “not interested” times three. She created a brilliant, booming beauty business, Glory, Inc., that not only does well, but does good. And they say “no”? What’s so grand about their lives that they would reject such a kingdom?

Daisy Goldberg is not only mad for movies, she’s part of the film industry: East Coast story editor for one of the biggest studios. Her brother, Matt, the über–sports buff, has a great job in public relations with Major League Baseball. And their cousin Raquel Goldberg, half-Latina, all Catholic, is a Legal Aid lawyer. They may like their work, but do they really like their lives? Would they be so foolish as to hold against their grandmother the pain she inflicted on every member of the family? As far as Gloria is concerned, this isn’t about tender feelings. It’s about millions of dollars; it’s about living a life the ninety-nine percent dream of and the one percent know.

The weekend is full of surprises, not only for Daisy, Matt, and Raquel but also for Gloria. Memories have a way of intruding at the most inopportune times. And is Gloria’s tough hide as impenetrable as she has always believed? Susan Isaacs is at her formidable best in Goldberg Variations, a novel that is both wickedly witty and a deeply moving tale of family and reconciliation.

After All These Years

The day after her lavish wedding anniversary bash, Rosie Meyers gets a big surprise: Her nouveau riche husbandRichie is leaving her for a sultry, sophisticated, size-six MBA. When he's found murdered in their exquisitely appointed kitchen, no one is surprised to find Rosie's prints all over the weapon.

The suburban English teacher is the prime suspect. The police's only suspect. And she knows she'll spend the rest of her life in the prison library unless she can unmask the real killer. Going on the lam into Manhattan, Rosie learns more about Richie than she ever wanted to know. And more about herself than she ever dreamed possible.

Tessa Dare's forthcoming novel in her Spindle Cove series, Any Duchess Will Do, is nearing release and HarperCollins has it and all the previous novels on sale ($7.99 list in print, usually around $5).

A Night to Surrender ($0.99 Kindle, B&N, Kobo)

Welcome to Spindle Cove, where ladies with delicate constitutions come for the sea air, and men in their prime are . . . nowhere to be found.

Or are they?

Spindle Cove is the destination of choice for certain types of well-bred young ladies: the painfully shy, young wives disenchanted with matrimony, and young girls too enchanted with the wrong men; it is a haven for those who live there.

Victor Bramwell, the new Earl of Rycliff, knows he doesn't belong here. So far as he can tell, there's nothing in this place but spinsters . . .and sheep. But he has no choice, he has orders togather a militia. It's a simple mission, made complicated by the spirited, exquisite Susanna Finch--a woman who is determined to save her personal utopia from the invasion of Bram's makeshift army.

Susanna has no use for aggravating men; Bram has sworn off interfering women. The scene is set for an epic battle; but who can be named the winner when both have so much to lose?

Once Upon a Winter's Eve ($0.99 Kindle, B&N, Kobo) - a novella

Some wallflowers bloom at night...

Violet Winterbottom is a quiet girl. She speaks six languages, but seldom raises her voice. She endured bitter heartbreak in perfect silence. The gentlemen aren't beating down her door.

Until the night of the Spindle Cove Christmas ball, when a mysterious stranger crashes into the ballroom and collapses at Violet's feet. His coarse attire and near-criminal good looks would put any sensible young lady on her guard. He's wet, chilled, bleeding, and speaking in an unfamiliar tongue.

Only Violet understands him. And she knows he's not what he seems.

She has one night to draw forth the secrets of this dangerously handsome rogue. Is he a smuggler? A fugitive? An enemy spy? She needs answers by sunrise, but her captive would rather seduce than confess. To learn his secrets, Violet must reveal hers—and open herself to adventure, passion, and the unthinkable... Love.

Warning: The heroine packs a pistol, the hero curses in multiple languages, and together they steam up a cold winter’s night.

A Week to Be Wicked ($0.99 Kindle, B&N)

Unexpected lovers find themselves together in Spindle Cove with A Week to be Wicked—the second book in Tessa Dare’s utterly delectable historical romance series. This Regency Era delight finds a restless British lord desperate to escape the quaint and too quiet small seaside resort he’s trapped in…and he gets much more than he expected when he eagerly agrees to escort a beautiful, brilliant, socially awkward lady scientist to Scotland. Concerning Tessa Dare and her irresistible romances, bestselling author Julia Quinn is spot on when she says, “Prepare to fall in love!” And anyone who loves the novels of Lisa Kleypas, Christina Dodd, and Liz Carlyle is going to adore having A Week to be Wicked.

A Lady by Midnight ($0.99 Kindle, B&N, Kobo)

A temporary engagement, a lifetime in the making . . .

After years of fending for herself, Kate Taylor found friendship and acceptance in Spindle Cove—but she never stopped yearning for love. The very last place she'd look for it is in the arms of Corporal Thorne. The militia commander is as stone cold as he is brutally handsome. But when mysterious strangers come searching for Kate, Thorne steps forward as her fiancÉ. He claims to have only Kate's safety in mind. So why is there smoldering passion in his kiss?

Long ago, Samuel Thorne devoted his life to guarding Kate's happiness. He wants what's best for her, and he knows it's not marriage to a man like him. To outlast their temporary engagement, he must keep his hands off her tempting body and lock her warm smiles out of his withered heart. It's the toughest battle of this hardened warrior's life . . . and the first he seems destined to lose.

Any Duchess Will Do ($4.74 Kindle, $4.99 B&N)

What's a duke to do, when the girl who's perfectly wrong becomes the woman he can't live without?

Griffin York, the Duke of Halford, has no desire to wed this season--or any season--but his diabolical mother abducts him to "Spinster Cove" and insists he select a bride from the ladies in residence. Griff decides to teach her a lesson that will end the marriage debate forever. He chooses the serving girl.

Overworked and struggling, Pauline Simms doesn't dream about dukes. All she wants is to hang up her barmaid apron and open a bookshop. That dream becomes a possibility when an arrogant, sinfully attractive duke offers her a small fortune for a week's employment. Her duties are simple: submit to his mother's "duchess training"... and fail miserably.

But in London, Pauline isn't a miserable failure. She's a brave, quick-witted, beguiling failure--a woman who ignites Griff's desire and soothes the darkness in his soul. Keeping Pauline by his side won't be easy. Even if Society could accept a serving girl duchess--can a roguish duke convince a serving girl to trust him with her heart?

The Scandalous, Dissolute, No-Good Mr. Wright ($0.99 Kindle, B&N, Kobo) - a novella outside the series, also on sale

A sparkling, sexy Regency romance from New York Times bestselling author Tessa Dare!

When a girl meets a rake...
Miss Eliza Cade is a lady in waiting. And waiting. Because of a foolish mistake in her youth, she's not allowed "out" in Society until her three older sisters are wed. But while she's trying to be good, she keeps bumping elbows--and more distressingly, lips--with notorious rake Harry Wright. Every moment she spends with him, she risks complete ruin.

The sensual passions he stirs in her are so wrong...but Eliza just can't resist Mr. Wright.

Through My Eyes ($1.99 Kindle, B&N, Kobo), by Tim Tebow with Nathan Whitaker [HarperCollins]

Book Description
Former University of Florida star quarterback, 2010 first-round draft pick for the Denver Broncos, and devout Christian Tim Tebow tells the story of his faith, his life, and his career in football in Through My Eyes. Written with Nathan Whitaker, the New York Times bestselling coauthor of Quiet Strength, with Tony Dungy, Through My Eyes gives fans a first look into the heart of an athlete whose talent and devotion have made him one of the most provocative figures in football.

Jennifer Ashley's novella The Untamed Mackenzie is now available to pre-order [Penguin] and you can also pick up several of her backlist novels and novellas at bargain prices, a few of which I've highlighted here. Note that some of these were published under her pseudonym, Ashley Gardner.

The Untamed Mackenzie ($1.99 Kindle, B&N) - Highland Pleasures

A WOMAN OF BREEDING MEETS A MAN OF NO STANDING…

To redeem her family’s disgraced name, Lady Louisa Scranton has decided to acquire a proper husband. He needs to be a man of fortune and highly respectable in order to restore both her family's lost wealth and reputation. She enters the Marriage Mart with all flags flying, determined to find the right bachelor.

But Louisa’s hopes are dashed when the Bishop of Hargate drops dead at her feet—and she is shockingly accused of murder! Soon, Louisa’s so-called friends begin shunning her, because the company of a suspected killer is never desirable in polite society.

The problem comes to the ears of Detective Inspector Lloyd Fellows, by-blow of the decadent Scottish Mackenzie family and an inspector for Scotland Yard. He has shared two passionate kisses with Lady Louisa–and vows to clear her name. For not only does he know she’s innocent, he recognizes he’s falling for the lovely lady.

Fellows is Louisa's only hope of restoring her family's honor—and it is he alone who intrigues Louisa in a way that may be even more scandalous than murder…

INCLUDES A PREVIEW OF THE UPCOMING NOVEL THE WICKED DEEDS OF DANIEL MACKENZIE

Lone Wolf ($1.99 Kindle, B&N, Kobo) - Shifters Unbound

Book Description
Ellison Rowe is a wolf Shifter who has embraced all things Texas. He's a cowboy through and through, complete with a Texas drawl, cowboy hat, and well-worn cowboy boots. He's also lonely, though he feels obligated to look after his sister who is recovering from a hit-and-run accident that has left her striving to control her feral tendencies.

Enter Maria, a human woman taking refuge with the Shifters, who volunteers to look after the cubs and help Ellison’s sister. Maria too is recovering from a haunted past—she was kidnapped and held hostage by a rogue Shifter and then disowned by her family when she was set free. Now she’s on her own, but determined to put her life back together and leave Shiftertown for good.

But someone is attempting to abduct Shifter cubs, and Maria and Ellison know they must stop him. As Maria works with Ellison to track down the kidnapper, she finds her heart slowly awakening once more. And Ellison realizes that Maria may be just the one to bring light back into his life…

The Hanover Square Affair ($0.99 Kindle, B&N, Kobo) - Captain Lacey

London, 1816
Cavalry captain Gabriel Lacey returns to Regency London from the Napoleonic wars, burned out, fighting melancholia, his career ended. His interest is piqued when he learns of a missing girl, possibly kidnapped by a prominent member of Parliament. Lacey's search for the girl leads to the discovery of murder, corruption, and dealings with a leader of the underworld. At the same time, he struggles with his own disorientation transitioning from a soldier's life to the civilian world, redefining his role with his former commanding officer, and making new friends--from the top of society to the street girls of Covent Garden.

Book 1 of the Captain Lacey Regency Mysteries. For fans of Kate Ross, Anne Perry, and C.S. Harris. This is a full-length novel.

Mackenzie Family Christmas: The Perfect Gift ($0.99 Kindle, B&N, Kobo) - Highland Pleasures

Revisit the Mackenzies in this heartwarming Christmas tale. Book 4.5 of the New York Times bestselling Mackenzies / Highland Pleasures Series, this short novel has fifteen chapters, 43,000 words.

The Mackenzies gather for a clan Christmas and Hogmanay in Scotland. In the chaos of preparations for the celebration--the first of Hart and Eleanor's married life--one of Ian's Ming bowls gets broken, and the family scrambles to save the day. Daniel busily runs a betting ring for everything from the hour Eleanor's baby will arrive, to whether Mac's former-pugilist valet can win a boxing match. Ian begins a new obsession, and Beth fears that the loss of one of his precious bowls has made him withdraw once more into his private world.

Events take place after the close of The Duke's Perfect Wife (before the Epilogue).

Hard Mated ($1.99 Kindle, B&N, Kobo) - Shifters Unbound

Spike, a wildcat Shifter and the champion fighter of Shiftertown, is stunned when Myka, the best friend of a dying human woman, announces that Spike has fathered a cub. What's more, the mother is giving the boy to Spike to protect and raise.

Myka, who'd been raised by an abusive stepfather, is not sure that a wild fighter named Spike is the best man to bring up the cute little jaguar cub. She goes to Shiftertown to check out Spike, and finds that the man behind the name is a lonely Shifter who's lost most of his family and is a fierce caretaker to those he has left.

Spike is torn between the cub and his duties as tracker to the Shiftertown leader, and begs Myka, the only person who understands, to help him. He starts to like the sassy Myka, a horse trainer who's not afraid of working with animals, even if they're wildcats who turn into humans.

When Spike's job puts his cub and Myka in danger, Spike is forced to choose between those to whom he's pledged his loyalty and his need to protect the woman and cub he's come to love.

A Carrion Death ($1.99 Kindle, B&N, Kobo), the first Detective Kubu novel by Michael Stanley [HarperCollins], the nom de plume of the two-man writing team of native Africans Michael Sears and Stanley Trollip. You may also want the short-story collection Detective Kubu Investigates (Kindle, Kobo), currently 99 cents.

Book Description
Smashed skull, snapped ribs, and a cloying smell of carrion. Leave the body for the hyenas to devour—no body, no case.

But Kalahari game rangers stumble on the human corpse mid-meal. The murder wasn't perfect after all. Enter Detective David "Kubu" Bengu of the Botswana Criminal Investigation Department, an investigator whose personality and physique match his moniker, the Setswana word for hippopotamus—which is a seemingly docile beast, but one of the deadliest, and most persistent, on the continent.

Beneath a mountain of lies and superstitions, Kubu uncovers a chain of crimes leading to the most powerful figures in the country—cold-bloodedly efficient and frighteningly influential enemies who can make anyone who gets in their way disappear.

Gayle Callen's newest novel, Surrender to the Earl, will be releasing late next month and in preparation, HarperCollins has her entire backlist is on sale for $1.99. There are too many to list them all, so I'm only going to highlight the series starting novels.

Surrender to the Earl ($7.59 Kindle, $7.99 B&N)

Surrender to the Earl, the latest historical romance from USA Today bestselling author Gayle Callen, is the passion-filled second novel in her Brides of Redemption series about battle-scarred soldiers and the women whose love heals them.

Audrey Blake, blind since a childhood fever stole her sight, is hidden away by her family and needs help to claim the property that is rightfully hers. But her plan to gain independence by asking the visiting Earl of Knighsbridge, Robert Henslow, for his help goes awry when he insists they fake an engagement. Though he thought the ruse was for Audrey’s benefit, Robert soon yearns to make the falsehood a fact and win the lady for himself.

A seductive Victorian romance filled with steamy excitement and spicy ardor, Surrender to the Earl is sure to cast a spell on Gayle Callen’s fans and new readers alike.

The Darkest Knight ($1.99 Kindle, B&N, Kobo) - Welles Trilogy

Trained as a knight, yet sworn to the monastery, Reynold Welles had always lived by a strict code of honor. Yet the night he rescues beautiful Lady Katherine Berkeley from a treasonous kidnapper and an arranged marriage, he is captivated by the power of her enchanting loveliness. As she trembles within his protective embrace, he knows she is unaware of the fire she has ignited within him--a passion that burns with greater fury each day.

Though he is powerless against her innocent sensuality, Reynold is duty bound to bring the lady to the king, whose life may depend on the secret she holds. Yet when the dark knight discovers that Katherine is to be married, he is torn between doing his duty. . .or claiming Katherine as his won.

His Betrothed ($1.99 Kindle, B&N, Kobo) - His Trilogy

She was a reluctant bride...

When Lady Roselyn Harrington discovers an injured sailor from the Spanish Armada washed up on shore, she's stunned to see he's the fiancé she abandoned at the altar two years before. When she'd first met Sir Spencer Thornton, he was far from the man of her dreams. But the Spencer she nurses back to health now is very different from the aloof nobleman who once scorned her. And in his strong embrace, Rose discovers passion...with the one man she can never trust.

He was a determined groom!

Spencer had jumped at the chance to escape London and serve Queen Elizabeth as a spy against Spain. And though he's now dependent on Rose's good graces to hide him from the traitor trying to kill him, Spencer decides to play an even more dangerous game: to make Rose fall in love with him so that he can reject her. But the impetuous girl has become a strong beauty, and Spencer's intended revenge turns into a wholesale wooing of the one woman he can't resist -- his betrothed.

No Ordinary Groom ($1.99 Kindle, B&N, Kobo) - Spies and Lovers

No Ordinary Engagement

Miss Jane Whittington's hopes have been dashed. She'd always imagined herself marrying someone daring, adventurous, exciting. Instead, the man her father has betrothed her to is...a fop! Certainly William Chadwick is devastatingly handsome, but Jane could never love a dandy who cares for nothing save the latest fashions. So why does his heated gaze enflame a desire in her that she's never known?

No Ordinary Love

His work as a British spy has kept William apart from proper society for years -- and he has no idea that his latest “disguise” is anything less than appropriate. Now that he longs for a simpler, safer lot, he believes he's found his ideal bride in this irresistible beauty. But it will take a special sort of seduction to win Jane's heart. And when the Crown calls him back into service, how can William refuse -- even if it costs him the peace he covets...and the woman he can no longer live without?

The Lord Next Door ($1.99 Kindle, B&N, Kobo) - Sisters of Willow Pond

Victoria must wed . . . and immediately!

To rescue her family from financial ruin, lovely Victoria Shelby has no choice but to marry. Her options for a bridegroom are limited . . . until she remembers the shy servant boy next door. Then she discovers that her childhood friend is actually Viscount Thurlow -- ruthless businessman, future earl, and a man whose family is shrouded in scandal!

After two rejected marriage proposals, David Thurlow needs a wife who will give him an heir, someone who will not only overlook his past but also be above reproach. Victoria is the ideal candidate -- quiet, unassuming, and in desperate need of funds. But even as she strives to be the perfect wife, her calm demeanor masks a shocking secret . . . one that is overshadowed by David's slow, heated lessons in the art of seduction that threaten to transform a “convenient” marriage into a torrid and passionate affair.

In Pursuit of a Scandalous Lady ($1.99 Kindle, B&N, Kobo) - Scandalous Lady

In Pursuit of a Scandalous Lady is the first book in a delectable new series by fan favorite Gayle Callen in which three gentlemen wager that they will find and seduce an apparently shameless beauty who posed for a scandalous portrait. The USA Today bestselling, Holt Medallion and the Laurel Wreath Award-winning author offers readers the flip side of her popular Sons of Scandal trilogy, presenting the delightfully romantic stories of the aristocratic sisters of the heroes from Never Dare a Duke, Never Trust a Scoundrel, and Never Marry a Stranger.

Return of the Viscount ($1.99 Kindle, B&N, Kobo) - standalone

USA Today bestseller Gayle Callen is not only a longtime favorite among avid readers of historical romance the world over, she’s a multiple award-winner as well, having won both the Holt Medallion and the Laurel Wreath Award. With Return of the Viscount, she kicks off a wonderfully sexy series set in Victorian England, where the destinies of three battle-scarred soldiers lead them to the women fated to capture their hearts and heal them. Return of the Viscount once again showcases what Romantic Times calls Callen’s “forte,” her ability to “entangle readers in a tale that’s delightfully sexy, fast paced, and filled with engaging characters who hold your interest until the end.” Return of the Viscount is an unforgettable marriage of convenience tale that will enthrall fans of Samantha James and Loretta Chase—the story of a breathtaking love affair between a soldier with a debt to pay and a lady on a quest to unravel her family’s secrets.