First, a few reminders and updates.
- Today is the last day to fulfill the Visa $10 Kindle Book Credit KSO offer.
- Both Monday Night Jihad and A Kiss of Adventure are now free for US Kindle customers and in both EPUB and nook formats.
- If you are voting in the HUGO awards, today is the last day to submit your ballot.
- It's the end of the month, so many of the publisher set prices on bargain books will change at midnight tonight or shortly thereafter.
Grand Sophy (
$2.99), by Georgette Heyer; if you missed this price the first time, grab it now as it should change at the first of the month.
Book Description
Sophy sets everything right for her desperate family in one of Georgette Heyer's most popular Regency romances.
When Lady Ombersley agrees to take in her young niece, no one expects Sophy, who sweeps in and immediately takes the ton by storm. Sophy discovers that her aunt's family is in desperate need of her talent for setting everything right: Ceclia is in love with a poet, Charles has tyrannical tendencies that are being aggravated by his grim fiancee, her uncle is of no use at all, and the younger children are in desperate need of some fun and freedom. By the time she's done, Sophy has commandeered Charles's horses, his household, and finally, his heart.
Gotcha! (
$0.99) and
Divorced, Desperate and Delicious ($0.99), by Christie Craig, are two backlist titles worth looking at.
Gotcha!
Macy Tucker was five years old when her beloved grandfather dropped dead in his spaghetti. At twelve, her father left his family in the dust. At twenty-five, her husband gave his secretary a pre-Christmas bonus in bed, and Macy gave him the boot. To put things lightly, men have been undependable.
That's why dating's off the menu. Macy is focused on putting herself through law school -- which means being the delivery girl for Papa's Pizza. But cheesier than her job is her pie-eyed brother, who just recently escaped from prison to protect his new girlfriend. And hotter than Texas toast is the investigating detective. Proud, sexy...inflexible, he's a man who would kiss her just to shut her up. But Jake Baldwin's a protector as much as a dish. And when he gets his man -- or his woman -- Macy knows it's for life.
Divorced, Desperate and Delicious
Ever since photographer Lacy Maguire caught her ex playing Pin the Secretary to the Elevator Wall, she's been content with her dog Fabio, her three cats, and a vow of chastity. But all of that changes when the reindeer-antlered Fabio drags in a very desperate, on-the-run detective who decides to take refuge in her house -- a house filled with twinkling lights and a decorated tree. (Okay, so it's February, but she has a broken heart to mend, a Christmas-card shoot to do, and a six-times divorced, match-making mother to appease.) For the first time in a looooong while, Lacy reconsiders her vow. Because sexy Chase Kelly, wounded soul that he may be, would be an oh-so-delicious way of breaking her fast. Now, if she can just keep them both alive and him out of jail....
Hunter's Run (
$1.99), by Gardner Dozois, George R. R. Martin and Daniel Abraham, was part of the
Big Deal Sale on Kindle. It and several other books from that sale are still showing their sale prices (you can click on the link to see them, but sorting by price doesn't work on them very well).
Book Description
Running from poverty and hopelessness, Ramón Espejo boarded one of the great starships of the mysterious, repulsive Enye. But the new life he found on the far-off planet of São Paulo was no better than the one he abandoned. Then one night his rage and too much alcohol get the better of him. Deadly violence ensues, forcing Ramón to flee into the wilderness.
Mercifully, almost happily alone—far from the loud, bustling hive of humanity that he detests with sociopathic fervor—the luckless prospector is finally free to search for the one rich strike that could make him wealthy. But what he stumbles upon instead is an advanced alien race in hiding: desperate fugitives, like him, on a world not their own. Suddenly in possession of a powerful, dangerous secret and caught up in an extraordinary manhunt on a hostile, unpredictable planet, Ramón must first escape . . . and then, somehow, survive.
And his deadliest enemy is himself.
Immortal Monster (
$2.99), by Anthony Bruno and Marilyn Bardsley, is one of six titles being sold under the
Crimescape banner by RosettaBooks, which is a collection of compelling, short nonfiction by the best true crime authors in the business, many of whom have seen their books made into major motion pictures.
Book Description
Contract killer, lethal scam artist, loving father, abusive husband, abused son, convicted murderer, jailhouse schemer, liar, TV star. The man they called “The Iceman” was all of those. In 1988 he was sentenced to life for four gruesome murders, but this was just the tip of his iceberg. He had a taste for esoteric methods of death─favoring a cyanide solution in a nasal spray bottle─and body disposal─freezing one of his victims to disguise the time of death. At one point he bragged that his personal body count was over 200, seven times the more likely number. Still, he has huge following, and a biopic based on his life is about to start shooting this fall. The Iceman told his story in three extremely popular HBO documentaries, which are still broadcast regularly. Why does the Iceman's story continue to fascinate the public five years after his death and 25 years after his apprehension? And how much of his legend is truth?
Anthony Bruno is an expert on the Iceman after researching and corresponding with him for over two years. His full-length book The Iceman: The True Story of a Cold-Blooded Killer is the basis for an upcoming feature film set to roll starring James Franco, Benicio Del Toro and Boardwalk Empire’s Michael Shannon as the Iceman. Bruno is currently serving as executive producer for The Iceman feature film.
Anthony Bruno is also the author of The Seekers: A Bounty Hunter’s Story with Joshua Armstrong, which was nominated for an Edgar Award. Bruno has authored over 50 articles for TruTV’s Crime Library and 14 published crime-related books. Bruno also assisted with film adaptation of his novel, Bad Apple, for Turner Network Television. He acted as consultant to the producers and wrote key scenes.
There are three big bargains under the AmazonCrossing label (English translations of foreign works of note):
The King of Kahel (
$1.24), by Tierno Monénembo and Nicholas Elliott,
Doña Luz (
$0.99), by Juan Valera and Kenneth Evan Barger, and
A Bit of Everything (
$0.99), by Juan Valera and Johanna Warren.
The King of Kahel
Tierno Monenembo's The King of Kahel was originally published in France in 2008 and was the winner of the French literary prize, the prix Renaudot, which is awarded to the author of an outstanding original novel. Loosely based on the life of Olivier de Sanderval, a man who journeyed to Guinea to build an empire by conquering the hostile region of Fouta Djallon, the book exposes how Sanderval braves all dangers to build a railway that will bring modern civilization to Africa.
Doña Luz
Doña Luz must abandon her aristocratic life in nineteenth-century Madrid and begin anew in rural Andalusia. What she cannot leave behind is her history: an illegitimate birth that defines who she is and what her future holds. Unwilling to settle for a husband of lesser intellect and sophistication, the lovely Doña Luz announces that she will never marry. As it has for more than a century, the revered style of Spanish writer Juan Valera pulls readers into this novel of love and uncertainty. Does Doña Luz follow the spiritual pull of Father Enrique or the sensual attraction of Don Jaime Pimental? A novel that has been enjoyed since its first publication in 1879, this translation offers readers a compelling view into the conflicts facing a protagonist of more than a century past, conflicts that are still poignantly relevant today.
A Bit of Everything
I see I am soaring too high, so I shall descend and speak more plainly. So writes nineteenth-century Spanish author Juan Valera in "Cordovan Woman," one of a literary sextet found in the translation of his 1883 collection, A Bit of Everything. Whether readers resonate to the apologia of "Spring," in which Valera regrets his inability to express sentiments eloquently, yet delivers those sentiments with unparalleled elegance, or to the warm humor of "Cordovan Woman" as he delivers self-deprecating comments about his writing skills (all delivered in the brilliant prose for which he has long been famous), Valera's work is timeless. He holds us captive with his fascinating views of wealth in "A Bit of Chrematistics" and challenges us to think in "Women Writers in Spain and Praise of Saint Theresa," "On Goethe’s 'Faust'," and "On Shakespeare." Humor, philosophy, a dash of love and sensuality, along with insightful social observation make this book as fresh today as it was a century ago.
Spirit (
$2.99), by Graham Masterton
Book Description
Peggy Buchanan was such an adorable little girl, all blond curls and sweetness. Then came the tragic day when her family found Peggy floating in the icy water of their swimming pool, dead, her white dress billowing around her. Her sisters, Laura and Elizabeth, couldn’t imagine life without Peggy. They knew from that day forward their lives would be changed forever. But they couldn’t know the nightmare that waited for them. Peggy may be dead—but she hasn’t left them. As the sisters grow up, a string of inexplicable deaths threatens to shatter their lives. No matter how warm the weather, each corpse shows signs of severe frostbite . . . and each victim’s dying moments are tortured by a merciless little girl in a white dress, whose icy kiss is colder than death.
Come Twilight (St. Germain) (
$9.99 Kindle), by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, is $2.99 at
B&N. This publisher is under an Agency agreement, so the prices should be the same at all stores - be sure to let Amazon know if this is one you want to buy.
Book Description
Beginning in the 600s, Spain's old blood rituals of animal sacrifice were replaced by the new gods of Christianity and Islam, who demanded no less obedience and allegiance. Saint-Germain becomes trapped in this cauldron of blood, fear, and faith when, he makes a vampire of the beautiful, haughty, tempestuous Csimenae.
Csimenae kills without mercy. She makes vampires without a second thought; and they,
For five hundred years, as waves of war and religion sweep over Spain, Csimenae hunts until her marauding, willful ways expose her vampiric nature. Saint-Germain's centuries of life have taught him that to fall out of step with history is to risk the True Death, a fate Saint-Germain wishes for none of his kind. He must try to save Csimenae-and her clan-but at what price?
Murder on the Eiffel Tower (
$9.99 Kindle), the first in the Victor Legris series by Claude Izner, is also $2.99 at
B&N.
Book Description
The brand-new, shiny Eiffel Tower is the pride and glory of the 1889 World Exposition. But one sunny afternoon, as visitors are crowding the viewing platforms, a woman collapses and dies on this great Paris landmark. Can a bee sting really be the cause of death? Or is there a more sinister explanation? Enter young bookseller Victor Legris. Present on the tower at the time of the incident, and appalled by the media coverage of the occurrence, he is determined to find out what actually happened. In this dazzling evocation of late nineteenth-century Paris, we follow Victor as his investigation takes him all over the city and he suspects an ever-changing list of possible perpetrators. Could mysterious Kenji Mori, his surrogate father and business partner at the bookstore Legris operates, be involved in the crime? Why are beautiful Russian illustrator Tasha and her colleagues at the newly launched sensationalist newspaper Passepartout always up-to-date in their reporting? And what will Legris do when the deaths begin to multiply and he is caught in a race against time?
Murder on the Eiffel Tower is painstakingly researched, an effortless evocation of the glorious City of Light, and an exciting opening to a promising series of eight books featuring Victor Legris.
if you missed
A Gift of Grace, by Amy Clipston, when it was free, now is the time to get it, while it is
99 cents. This is the first in her
Kauffman Amish Bakery series, from Christian publisher Zondervan. You can also pick up the third in the series,
A Place of Peace, for just $1.99.
A Gift of Grace
Take a trip to Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania, where you'll meet the women of the Kauffman Amish Bakery in Lancaster County. As each woman's story unfolds, you will share in her heartaches, trials, joys, dreams ... and secrets. You'll discover how the simplicity of the Amish lifestyle can clash with the 'English' way of life---and the decisions and consequences that follow. Most importantly, you will be encouraged by the hope and faith of these women, and the importance they place on their families. Rebecca Kauffman's tranquil Old Order Amish life is transformed when she suddenly has custody of her two teenage nieces after her 'English' sister and brother-in-law are killed in an automobile accident. Instant motherhood, after years of unsuccessful attempts to conceive a child of her own, is both a joy and a heartache. Rebecca struggles to give the teenage girls the guidance they need as well as fulfill her duties to Daniel as an Amish wife.Rebellious Jessica is resistant to Amish ways and constantly in trouble with the community. Younger sister Lindsay is caught in the middle, and the strain between Rebecca and Daniel mounts as Jessica's rebellion escalates. Instead of the beautiful family life she dreamed of creating for her nieces, Rebecca feels as if her world is being torn apart by two different cultures, leaving her to question her place in the Amish community, her marriage, and her faith in God.
A Place of Peace
Take a trip to Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania, where you'll meet the women of the Kauffman Amish Bakery in Lancaster County. As each woman's story unfolds, you will share in her heartaches, trials, joys, dreams ... and secrets. You'll discover how the simplicity of the Amish lifestyle can clash with the 'English' way of life---and the decisions and consequences that follow. Most importantly, you will be encouraged by the hope and faith of these women, and the importance they place on their families. Miriam Lapp, who left the Amish community of Bird-in-Hand three years ago, is heartbroken when her sister calls to reveal that her mother has died suddenly. Traveling home to Pennsylvania, she is forced to face the heartache from her past, including her rift from her family and the breakup of her engagement with Timothy Kauffman.Her past emotional wounds are reopened when her family rejects her once again and she finds out that Timothy is in a relationship with someone else. Miriam discovers that the rumors that broke them up three years ago were all lies. However, when Timothy proposes to his girlfriend and Miriam's father disowns her, Miriam returns to Indiana with her heart in shambles.When Miriam's father has a stroke, Miriam returns to Pennsylvania, where her world continues to fall apart, leaving her to question her place in the Amish community and her faith in God.
Dark Legacy ($2.99 Kindle), the first in the Legacy series by Anna DeStefano, is free from Barnes and Noble (it was free on Kindle this past May).
The University of Chicago Press' free book this month is Spiral Jetta: A Road Trip through the Land Art of the American West ($9.99 Kindle), by Erin Hogan.
Buy one of 100 Humor titles for $1
Save $40 on select printers from Amazon.com