Free Book (nook) - Marked

Marked ($5.59 Kindle), by Elisabeth Naughton, is free in the Barnes and Noble ebookstore today.

Book Description
As unrest in the Underworld threatens, seven warriors descended from the greatest heroes in all of Ancient Greece may just be mankind's last hope.

THERON - Dark haired, duty bound and deceptively deadly. He's the leader of the Argonauts, an elite group of guardians that defends the immortal realm from threats of the Underworld.

From the moment he walked into the club, Casey knew this guy was different. Men like that just didn't exist in real life--silky shoulder-length hair, chest impossibly broad, and a predatory manner that just screamed dark and dangerous. He was looking for something. Her.

She was the one. She had the mark. Casey had to die so his kind could live, and it was Theron's duty to bring her in. But even as a 200-year-old descendent of Hercules, he wasn't strong enough to resist the pull in her fathomless eyes, to tear himself away from the heat of her body.

As war with the Underworld nears, someone will have to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Click HERE for the free book.

Bargain Book Roundup

Long Lost ($1.99), by David Morrel

Book Description
Brad Denning is a successful architect living a perfect life in Denver with his loving wife and son. Or so it would be, if not for the haunting memory of his brother Petey who disappeared while under Brad's supervision when they were kids. Now, a man claiming to be his sibling has mysteriously appeared and Brad is eager to take him in, despite the man's haggard appearance and reluctance to reveal anything about his past. "Petey" is a welcome addition to the family, until a camping trip goes terribly wrong and Brad returns home to find that his devoted wife and son have been abducted. Certain that Petey -- or whoever he may be -- is responsible for the horrible crime, Brad sets out to recover his family. Travelling alone through America's heartland, it's a race against time as Brad struggles to get to his family before the terrible secret of what really happened long ago destroys everything he cares about.

Roma: The Novel of Ancient Rome ($2.99), by Steven Saylor

Book Description
Spanning a thousand years, and following the shifting fortunes of two families though the ages, this is the epic saga of Rome, the city and its people.

Weaving history, legend, and new archaeological discoveries into a spellbinding narrative, critically acclaimed novelist Steven Saylor gives new life to the drama of the city's first thousand years -- from the founding of the city by the ill-fated twins Romulus and Remus, through Rome's astonishing ascent to become the capitol of the most powerful empire in history. Roma recounts the tragedy of the hero-traitor Coriolanus, the capture of the city by the Gauls, the invasion of Hannibal, the bitter political struggles of the patricians and plebeians, and the ultimate death of Rome's republic with the triumph, and assassination, of Julius Caesar.

Witnessing this history, and sometimes playing key roles, are the descendents of two of Rome's first families, the Potitius and Pinarius clans: One is the confidant of Romulus. One is born a slave and tempts a Vestal virgin to break her vows. One becomes a mass murderer. And one becomes the heir of Julius Caesar. Linking the generations is a mysterious talisman as ancient as the city itself.

Epic in every sense of the word, Roma is a panoramic historical saga and Saylor's finest achievement to date.

Beyond Good Intentions: A Biblical View of Politics ($2.99), by Doug Bandow

Book Description
Beyond Good Intentions brings a wealth of knowledge and insight to the question of how Christianity and politics interrelate. Author Doug Bandow believes the key lies in the correct use of the Bible in addressing public policy issues. Too often Christians either ignore or misapply the Bible in the political arena. Beyond Good Intentions is a much-needed corrective which takes the Bible seriously yet avoids proof-texting and questionable interpretive methods.

Run For It ($1.99), by Matt Christopher

Book Description
Theo Gordimer is a classic 13-year-old couch potato: he prefers video games and TV shows to playing sports. Then his favorite aunt is diagnosed with cancer. Theo wants to do something to help her, but what? Then his friend Paul tells him about a 5K road race coming up. The money collected from the race goes toward cancer research. Theo panics: running the race seems like the perfect way to help out his aunt, but 5K is more than three miles! Theo can barely run a quarter of one mile without having to stop. How will he be able to finish the race?

Sudden Sea: The Great Hurricane of 1938 ($2.99), by R.A. Scotti, is another of those books with practically no description, but dozens of great reviews.

Book Description
The massive destruction wreaked by the Hurricane of 1938 dwarfed that of the Chicago Fire, the San Francisco Earthquake, and the Mississippi floods of 1927, making the storm the worst natural disaster in U.S. history. Now, R.A. Scotti tells the story.

On Becoming Fearless...in Love, Work, and Life ($2.99), by Arianna Huffington

Book Description
Observing that her own teenage daughters were beginning to experience some of the same fears that had once burdened her--how attractive am I? do people like me? do I dare speak up?--Arianna Huffington began to examine the ways in which fear affects all our lives. In stories drawn from her own experiences and from the lives of other women, she points toward the moments of extraordinary strength, courage, and resilience that result from confronting and overcoming fear. And she outlines the steps anyone can take to conquer fear. Her book shows us how to become bold from the inside out--from feeling comfortable in our own skin to getting what we want in love and at work to changing the world.

The Healthiest Kid in the Neighborhood: Ten Ways to Get Your Family on the Right Nutritional Track ($3.99), by William Sears, Martha Sears, Robert Sears & James Sears

Book Description
America's foremost childcare experts present a practical, appetizing, easy-to-follow eating plan for shaping children's tastes and metabolisms toward optimal health.

Numbers Game ($4.99), by Graham Perry

Book Description
Don't waste a minute. Get in on the biggest puzzle craze in the country. People all over the country are already sharing this game with each other via E-Mail, faxes, and computer networks. The Numbers Game is a compendium of 300 of these fun-filled puzzles.

Free Classics from B&N (nook)

Barnes and Noble is continuing their free Classics in the B&N Free Library this week, with a new set of free classics, ten of which have not be offered for free previously. This weeks theme is Tearjerkers:

1. Maggie by Stephen Crane
2. Sentimental Education by Gustave Flaubert
3. Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser
4. Wings of the Dove by Henry James
5. Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte
6. The Life of Charlotte Bronte by Elizabeth Gaskell
7. Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald
8. Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
9. Les Miserables (abridged) by Victor Hugo
10. Collected Poems of Emily Dickinson by Emily Dickinson
11. This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald
12. Ethan Frome & Selected Stories by Edith Wharton

These editions are not exactly the same as you would find at Gutenberg; Barnes and Noble Classic Series editions generally have been more carefully proofread and have introductions and scholarly notes inserted in the beginning to aid in understanding the text. If you are building a summer reading list for a student, stocking up for lit classes in college or just want to revisit the classics, these are a great (free) resource.These are DRM'd epubs, though, so will only be readable on a nook or one of the B&N reader apps.

Spotlight on AmazonEncore

Most of you know that Amazon picks up the occasional independent author and publishes their book both in paper and on Kindle. Often these books were released on Kindle first, but Amazon puts them thru editing and proofing (just like a "real" publisher) and when then come back in their new incarnations, the prices are often much higher. Today, I am focusing on a few sales amongst the AmazonEncore editions.

I'm cheating a bit with The Static of the Spheres ($0.00), by Eric Kraft, as this novella has been free for quite some time. If you picked it up and haven't read it, you might want to push it to the top of your TBR list.

Book Description
Peter Leroy recalls his maternal grandfather’s attempt to build a shortwave radio, a project that begins with an article in Impractical Craftsman magazine promising "hour after interminable hour of baffling precision work." After many, many hours spent watching his grandfather labor at his basement workbench, Peter at last gets to put the earphones on, flip the switch, and twiddle the dials. Through the crackling and sussurous static he detects the sounds of love and lust, joy and sorrow, hope and loss.

A King of Infinite Space ($9.99 $3.99), by Tyler Dilts

Book Description
Awake in the darkness, long after midnight, Long Beach Homicide Detective Danny Beckett is trying to keep his past at bay. Haunted by all the things he's lost--his wife, his family, his hope--he begins to investigate the brutal murder of Elizabeth Williams, a popular High School English teacher. Soon Danny begins to understand that apprehending the murderer is not just a case to solved, but an act of personal redemption.

A Cruel Harvest ($9.99 $3.99), by Paul Reid

Book Description
Set in 1790, A Cruel Harvest tells the epic tale of Orlaith and Brannon, young lovers whose futures are jeopardized when Moorish pirates raid their Irish fishing village. Orlaith and her infant son manage to escape the savage attack, but Brannon is captured. Thrown into the hold of the pirates’ ship, the young farmer is spirited away to the harsh confines of North Africa. There he is sold into slavery and forced to serve in the army of the sadistic Sultan of Morocco. Back in Ireland, a heartbroken Orlaith faces certain ruin unless she agrees to marry wealthy landowner Randall Whitely. But Whitely is a cruel man, and life with him quickly becomes a waking nightmare. Though separated by thousands of miles, Orlaith and Brannon draw on their great love to challenge the oppression of the tyrants keeping them apart. Stretching from the windswept coast of Ireland to the sun-baked hills of Morocco, A Cruel Harvest is a thrilling novel of adventure, survival, and once-in-a-lifetime love.

A Wish After Midnight ($9.99 $4.59), by Zetta Elliott

Book Description
Genna is a fifteen-year-old girl who wants out of her tough Brooklyn neighborhood. But she gets more than she bargained for when a wish gone awry transports her back in time. Facing the perilous realities of Civil War–era Brooklyn, Genna must use all her wits to survive. In the tradition of Octavia Butler’s Kindred and Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time, A Wish After Midnight is the affecting and inspiring tale of a fearless young woman’s fight to hold on to her individuality and her humanity in two different worlds.

Shaken ($9.99 $2.99), by J.A. Konrath, is still a pre-order (Oct 26 release date), although an extended sample is available for free, if you need to read a bit to make up your mind.

Book Description
Chicago cop Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels has chased, and caught, dozens of dangerous criminals over the course of her career. But she's about to meet her match.

When Jack wakes up in a storage locker, bound and gagged, she knows with chilling certainty who her abductor is.

He's called "Mr. K." More than two hundred homicides have been attributed to him. His victims have died in the most horrible ways imaginable. He's the essence of evil. Some think he's just an urban legend. But he's real. Jack has tangled with him twice in the past, and both times he managed to slip away.

Now Jack will finally have a chance to confront the maniac she's been hunting for over twenty-five years. Unfortunately, it won't be on her terms. In less than two hours, Mr. K is going to do to Jack what he's done to countless others. And Jack is going to learn that sometimes the good guys don't win...

Perfect on Paper: The (Mis)Adventures of Waverly Bryson ($9.99 $3.99), by Maria Murnane, is a bit skimpy on the product description (so I added the back cover copy below), but has a 171 reviews and averages over 4 stars.

Book Description
A humorous tale of affection, rejection and the search for perfection.

Anything can look perfect...on paper. When her fiancé calls off their wedding at the last minute, Waverly Bryson wonders if her life will ever turn out the way she thought it would...or should. Her high-powered job in sports PR? Not so perfect. Her relationship with her dad? Far from it. Her perfect marriage? Enough said.

Perfect...on Paper is a humorous tale of Waverly's efforts to cobble the pieces of a broken yesterday into a brand new tomorrow. What does the future have in store for her? Will she finally find what she's looking for?

Her dates? Cringe-inducing at times, definitely entertaining. Her friends? Often amused, definitely supportive. Her new crush? Possibly intrigued, definitely a catch. The results? Hardly perfect, definitely just right.

Greyhound ($9.99 $3.99), by Steffan Piper

Book Description
12-year-old Sebastien Ranes is taking a trip. He doesn't exactly understand why, but he accepts it. His mother often seems too emotionally detached to care for him. Her latest boyfriend Dick takes cruel pleasure in mimicking the boy’s stuttering, and wants to live his life without "somebody else's kid" getting in the way. So it's no surprise when they pack his bags to send him away. It is a surprise when they send him alone.

Ushered from his Stockton, California home, Sebastien must fend for himself and travel two thousand miles across the country to live with his grandmother and sister in Pennsylvania. Along the way, he learns that sometimes caring, guidance and understanding can come from some unlikely people.

Marcus is a man who has been neglected more by society than his family. As a young black ex-con, he is not the epitome of the person most would pick as a chaperone for their child's cross country trip. Yet rather than be held apart by their differences, Marcus and Sebastien are drawn together by the things that make us all alike. As both guide and protector, Marcus imparts his own style of wisdom while showing Sebastien that, despite the darker side of the human condition, people can and do care for one another. Greyhound is the story of the journey taken by a young boy into manhood, and by the reader into his world. Like every trip, there are many stops along the way. But this journey differs in the way young Sebastien arrives at his destination.

They Never Die Quietly ($9.99 $3.99), by D.M. Annechino

Book Description
... tells the story of homicide Detective Sami Rizzo, who is assigned to head a task force investigating serial killings in San Diego. Simon, the highly intelligent, cunning, and deceptively charming villain, redefines the depths of human evil. He believes God has given him absolute authority to purify his unholy victims through a ritual that ends in a grisly crucifixion. Driven by warped religious beliefs and guided by his dead mother, very much alive in his subconscious, Simon abducts “chosen ones” and holds them captive in a Room of Redemption. There, the victims helplessly await their crucifixion. Detective Rizzo urgently yearns to solve the case and gain the respect of her male colleagues, but her obsession to apprehend the killer on her own clouds her thinking. When Simon outsmarts Rizzo and captures her, determined to make her his next victim, she must employ all her resources—both physical and intellectual—to outwit the villain at his own game.

Silent Tears: A Journey Of Hope In A Chinese Orphanage ($9.99 $3.99), by Kay Bratt

Book Description
Irrepressible memories. Vacant eyes. A child being dangled from a third story window. A boy tied to a chair. Children sleeping in layers of clothing to fight off the bitter cold. An infant dying from starvation. Some things your mind will never allow you to forget.

Silent Tears is the true story of the adversity and triumphs one woman faced as she fought against the Chinese bureaucracy to help that country’s orphaned children.

In 2003, Kay Bratt’s life changed dramatically. A wife and mother of two girls in South Carolina, Bratt relocated her family to rural China to support her husband as he took on a new management position for his American employer. Seeking a way to fill her days and overcome the isolation she experienced upon arriving in a foreign country, Bratt began volunteering at the local orphanage. Within months, her simple desire to make use of her time transformed into a heroic crusade to improve the living conditions and minimize the unnecessary deaths of Chinese orphans.

Silent Tears traces the emotional hurdles and daily frustrations faced by Ms. Bratt as she tried to change the social conditions for these marginalized children. The memoir vividly illustrates how she was able to pull from reservoirs of inner strength to pursue her mission day after day, leaving the reader with the resounding message that everyone really can make a difference.

Legacy ($13.99 $4.17), by Cayla Kluver, was free last August, which probably helps explain the 166 reviews it has garnered. Be sure to check the product page for detailed map images that go along with the book, if you haven't already.

Book Description
In an award-winning YA fantasy debut, 16-year-old novelist Cayla Kluver brings a magical touch to an unrelentingly suspenseful coming-of-age tale. Duty-bound to wed her father's choice in successor to the throne, Princess Alera of Hytanica believes that she is being forced into the worst of all possible fates' a marriage to the arrogant and hot-tempered suitor, Steldor. When a mysterious boy from enemy Cokyri appears bearing secrets and an entirely different view of what's appropriate behavior for a young lady, Alera learns that her private desires threaten to destroy the kingdom. When Narian's shocking past comes to light, Alera finds herself in a shadowy world of palace intrigue and ancient blood feuds, facing an uncertain future with dwindling options ... and must learn to decide between right and wrong all alone. Marked by witty, rapid-fire dialogue and dramatic complexity that belie the writer's age, Legacy brings a fresh, new sensibility to age-old questions of duty and inheritance and to a young's heroine's quest to find her true voice. Legacy was Bronze Medalist in Young Adult Fiction in the 2008 Moonbeam Children's Book Awards; Finalist in Young Adult Fiction in the National Best Books Awards 2008, sponsored by USA Book News.

Author Spotlight - Jennifer Crusie

A number of Jennifer Crusie's books are marked down this month, not only on Kindle, but also at Kobo (only one title) and B&N, it looks like to get you hooked on her books prior to the release of Maybe This Time ($11.99) at the end of this month. These are all stand-alone novels, so I'm just listing them in order of price. If you think you want several of these, be sure to double check the bundle at the end: it contains four titles for $10.

Bet Me ($2.99 Kindle, Kobo)

Book Description
Minerva Dobbs knows how to work the odds.
Calvin Morrisey always plays to win.

But when they face off, neither one is prepared.
Because when real life meets true love, all bets are off. . . .

Minerva Dobbs knows that happily-ever-after is a fairy tale, especially with a man who asked her to dinner to win a bet, even if he is gorgeous and successful Calvin Morrisey. Cal knows commitment is impossible, especially with a woman as cranky as Min Dobbs, even if she does wear great shoes and keep him on his toes. When they say good-bye at the end of their evening, they cut their losses and agree never to see each other again.

But fate has other plans, and it's not long before Min and Cal meet again. Soon they're dealing with a jealous ex-boyfriend, Krispy Kreme doughnuts, a determined psychologist, chaos theory, a freakishly intelligent cat, Chicken Marsala, and more risky propositions than either of them ever dreamed of. Including the biggest gamble of all---true love.

Strange Bedpersons ($3.60)

Book Description
Tess Newhart knows her ex-boyfriend Nick Jamieson isn't the right guy for her. He's caviar and champagne; she's take-out Chinese pot stickers. He's an uptight Republican lawyer; she was raised in a commune. He wants to get ahead in business; she just wants...him. But there's no way Tess will play second fiddle to his job.

Yet somehow she finds herself agreeing to play his fiancée on a weekend business trip that could make or break Nick's career. And while he's trying to convince Tess that he needs her in his respectable world, Tess is doing her best to keep her opinions to herself and her hands off Nick.

Anyone But You ($3.93)

Book Description
art basset, part beagle, all Cupid... For Nina Askew, turning forty means freedom-from the ex-husband, freedom from their stuffy suburban home, freedom to focus on what she wants for a change. And what she wants is something her ex always vetoed-a puppy. A bouncy, adorable puppy.

Instead she gets...Fred.

Overweight, middle-aged, a bit smelly and obviously depressed, Fred is light-years from perky. But he does manage to put Nina in the path of Alex Moore, her gorgeous, younger-by-a-decade neighbor.

Alex seems perfect-he's a sexy, seemingly sane, surprisingly single E.R. doctor-but the age gap convinces Nina that anyone but Alex would be better relationship material. But with every silver-haired stiff she dates, the more she suspects it's the young, dog-loving doc she wants to sit and stay!

Charlie All Night ($4.32)

Book Description
Dumped by her boyfriend and demoted from WBBB's prime-time spot, radio producer Allie McGuffey has nowhere to go but up. She plans to make her comeback by turning temporary DJ Charlie Tenniel into a household name. And if he's willing to help cure her breakup blues with a rebound fling, that's an added bonus.

Charlie just wants to kick back, play good tunes and eat Chinese food. He's not interested in becoming famous. But he is interested in Allie. And after all, what harm is a little chemistry between friends?

But suddenly their one-night stand has become a four-week addiction. Night after night on the airwaves, his voice seduces her and all the other women in town. He's a hit. It looks as if Charlie's solved all Allie's problems - except one. What is she going to do when he leaves?

Getting Rid of Bradley ($4.32)

Book Description
Lucy Savage is not having a good week. Her cheating husband, Bradley, lobbed the final insult when he stood her up in divorce court. A dye job gone wrong has left her hair green. And someone is trying to kill her. To top it off, sexy cop Zack Warren is certain that the very same man Lucy is trying to wash right out of her hair is the same Bradley he wants to arrest for embezzlement.

When someone shoots at her and then her car blows up, Zack decides she needs twenty-four-hour police protection. Next thing Lucy knows, Zack has moved in to her big Victorian house, making them both sleepless - and not just from things that go bump in the night!

Manhunting ($5.04)

Book Description
Kate Svenson may be a dynamite businesswoman--but after three failed engagements, she's decided she's hopeless at romance. What she needs is a Business Plan to help her find Mr. Right. The Cabins resort is ripe with eligible bachelors, all rich and ambitious just her type. But they're dropping like flies, and after fishing Kate's latest reject out of the swimming pool Jake Templeton is convinced that Kate is nothing but trouble. Especially for him. A man who's sworn off ambition and a woman hanging from the top of the corporate ladder don't have much in common. But in that unpredictable territory known as the heart, anything can happen...

What the Lady Wants ($5.40)

Book Description
Mitch Peabody was learning pretty fast that the life of a private detective was nothing like the movies. He'd envisioned a world of tough-talking detectives and smart-mouthed, stunning dames. Instead he saw case after case of cheating husbands, suspicious wives and unsuspecting mistresses... until she walked through the door.

Right down to her stilettos, Mae Sullivan was a knockout with a lethal body--and a lethal family to go with it. There was something not quite on the up-and-up about her, but she came with a case he couldn't afford to refuse...and left him with a case of lust he hadn't had since high school. It didn't take long for him to fall for her, hook, line and sinker. But was Mae interested only in catching the double-crossing crooks who murdered her uncle...or did the lady want to catch him?

Jennifer Crusie Bundle ($9.99)

Book Description
This bundle includes four ferociously funny, sexy romances, Getting Rid of Bradley, Strange Bedpersons, What the Lady Wants and Charlie All Night.

The last book today is a bit different. Blogger Bundle Volume VIII: SBTB's Harlequins That Hooked You ($9.99) contains books from several different authors (Jennifer Crusie, Suzanne Brockmann, Emilie Rose, Beverly Barton, Rachel Lee), which works out to $2.50 per book, if you read them all. The Brockmann selection is also in her anthology Tall, Dark, and Dangerous Part 1 ($6.30), which I mentioned last week (when it was a couple of bucks cheaper, yet).

Book Description
Blogger Sarah asked the readers of the SBTB blog which Harlequin books hooked them on romance. The list was epic, but was ultimately narrowed down to five SBTB readers' contemporary romance picks! So go on and get hooked with these books included in Blogger Bundle Volume VIII: SBTB's Harlequins That Hooked You: Anyone But You by Jennifer Crusie, Prince Joe by Suzanne Brockmann, The Millionaire's Indecent Proposal by Emilie Rose, An Officer and a Gentleman by Rachel Lee and Keeping Annie Safe by Beverly Barton.

For those with a nook, you will want to check the list at B&N. I didn't see Bet Me on sale there, though.

Free Book (Sony/nook) - Bride's Holiday Gift

Bride's Holiday Gift, by Solange Ayre, is free to download from Barnes and Noble and Sony (it's not available for those in the US in the Kindle store).

Book Description
Six months after the mass human-Terilian weddings of One Thousand Brides and Bride Reborn, Earth woman Janis Stone is consumed with lust for her alien husband Delos. A public exhibition of sex in zero gravity leaves her craving more of his exciting lovemaking. Janis- attempted seduction of Delos during a holiday sexual -fast- makes him promise retribution. Payback comes when Janis awakens tied to the bed, about to be pleasured by Delos- skillful fingers, tongue and cock.After a steamy encounter, the couple exchange gifts obtained at personal sacrifice. But their greatest gift for each other is love.

Click HERE for the free download from B&N.
Click HERE for the free download from Sony.

When Christians Get It Wrong (under a buck)

When Christians Get It Wrong, by Adam Hamilton, is currently priced at 99 cents in the Kindle store. Christian publisher Abingdon Press tried to get it listed for free, but ran into time constraints with Amazon and 99 cents was the lowest they could get it.

Book Description More and more young adults have opted out of Christianity and the church. The reason? Christians.

When young adults talk about the problems they have with Christianity and the church, they often name certain attitudes and behaviors they believe are practiced too often by Christians: judging others, condemning people of other faiths, rejecting science, injecting politics into faith, and being anti-homosexual. With his familiar style, Adam Hamilton tackles these issues and addresses the how's and why's of Christians getting it right when it comes to being Christ in the world.

Those who read When Christians Get It Wrong will gain a different way of understanding the issues that keep people away from Christianity and keep Christians from living a more compelling faith. Because, honestly, if we don't start getting it right, we may lose an entire generation.

Author Spotlight - Julie Garwood

There are several pre-order bargains for Julie Garwood and some of these may be pulled, as they duplicate listings by the publisher, although Amazon has almost always honored even the mistaken listings in the past (at the worst, your pre-order may be canceled, you won't be charged the higher price of the second listing). If you've had your Kindle for a while, you might already have one of her books, Murder List, as it was free in December, 2008. That one was romantic suspense, while these are closer to historical romance in genre. All of these will be released August 31.

Rebellious Desire ($0.99), is also listed for $7.99, HERE.

Book Description
Of all the dukes in England, Jered Marcus Benton, the Duke of Bradford, was the wealthiest, most handsome -- and most arrogant. And of all London's ladies, he wanted the tender obedience of only one -- Caroline Richmond.

She was a ravishing beauty from Boston, with a mysterious past and a fiery spirit. Drawn to the powerful duke, undeterred by his presumptuous airs, Caroline was determined to win his lasting love. But Bradford would bend to no woman -- until a deadly intrigue drew them enticingly close. Now, united against a common enemy, they would discover the power of the magnificent attraction that brought them together...a desire born in danger, but destined to flame into love!

Ransom ($0.99), is also listed for $7.99, HERE.

Book Description
Overflowing with all of the majesty and intrigue of medieval glory days, this magnificent New York Times bestseller is a page-turner of passion and loyalty, justice and honor. Beloved storyteller Julie Garwood steps back to the silver-shrouded Highlands of her classic tale The Secret -- and hails the return of two unforgettable warriors: Ramsey Sinclair and Brodick Buchanan.

In the dark days after the death of Richard the Lionhearted, lives and lands would fall into upheaval at the hands of a power-hungry British ruler and his violent minions. One victim of the scourge is innocent Gillian, who is a mere child when the cruel and ambitious Baron Alford slaughters her father and tears her family apart. Alford, determined to recover a jeweled box for the despotic King John, is furious when the precious treasure slips through his fingers -- only to be lost for more than a decade.

Now a beautiful young woman, Gillian finds the key to resolving her past in handsome Scottish chieftains Ramsey Sinclair and Brodick Buchanan. With the cunning and courage of the daring Scotsmen, and with the friendship of a new ally, Bridgid KirkConnell, Gillian at last fights the unscrupulous Baron Alford, laying claim to her home, her family, and her father's reputation. But in the presence of the mighty warrors, Gillian and Bridgid discover that desire can be a weapon of conquest...betrayal can slay trust in a heartbeat...and the greatest risk of all is surrender -- to the deep emotions of unexpected love.

The Lion's Lady ($0.99), is also listed for $7.99, HERE.

Book Description
Christina Bennett had taken London society by storm. The ravishing beauty guarded the secret of her mysterious past until the night Lyon, Marquis of Lyonwood, stole a searching, sensuous kiss. An arrogant nobleman with a pirate's passions, he tasted the wildfire smoldering beneath Christina's cool charm and swore to possess her....

But the feisty and defiant Christina would not be so easily conquered. Mistress of her heart and of her fortune, she resisted Lyon's sensuous caresses. She dared not surrender to his love...for then, she must also forsake her precious secret...and her promised destiny!

The Clayborne Brides: One Pink Rose, One White Rose, One Red Rose ($7.99), contains three novellas, each of which is listed separately at $7.99 apiece, for a total of 456 "pages" in the combined volume (page estimates are generally based on mass market paperback editions, I've found).

Book Description
First introduced in Julie Garwood's magnificent New York Times bestseller For the Roses, the Clayborne brothers have been embraced by millions worldwide. Now the individual stories of these three spirited brothers -- once a mismatched gang of street urchins -- are told in a trio of special novels.

ONE PINK ROSE
Travis, the youngest of the Clayborne brothers, escorts mail-order bride Emily Finnegan to Montana -- but Emily makes it perfectly clear that she's taking charge of her destiny and nothing is going to interfere...except the journey with Travis across this beautiful, rugged land that opens her eyes -- and her heart.

ONE WHITE ROSE
Douglas Clayborne will never turn his back on anyone in need, and everyone in Blue Belle, Montana knows it...but his quiet strength faces its ultimate battle when he meets ranch owner Isabel Grant. Douglas may stop the outlaws from stealing her land, but he can't stop Isabelfrom stealing his heart.

ONE RED ROSE
Adam Clayborne has always loved the power of books. An escaped slave, reading has been his only ticket to the wonders of distant lands....Until the irresistible Genevieve Delacroix comes to Montana. Genevieve shares Adam's dreams of seeing the world, and is determined to teach Adam what he'll never learn from a book -- that true freedom only comes when you open your heart.

Two Free on Smashwords: Remix and Loisaida

Both of these have good reviews and are free, today only, using the coupon codes below.

Remix ($2.99), by Lexi Revellian, is free using coupon code QE49G.

Book Description
Caz Tallis is living her dream, restoring rocking horses in her London workshop. A chance encounter with the shabby but charismatic Joe and his dog (called Dog) leads her into investigating a missing rock star and a murder that happened three years ago. Which, as her best friend James points out, is rather like poking a furnace with a short stick…

Loisaida -- A New York Story ($2.99 Kindle), by Marion Stein, is free using coupon code KG53V. This author also has a short story/novella (20K words) free on Smashwords,
The Death Trip (or 99 cents on Kindle)

Book Description
One sweltering night, in a neighborhood on the cusp of change, boy meets girl. If they’d only gone home together, they might still be alive.

The core of this gritty, only in New York-story was inspired by real events – a beautiful, aspiring dancer slain, her corpse dismembered, possibly fed to the homeless in Tompkins Square Park. The psychotic roommate has confessed, but a dilettante actor turned journalist thinks there’s more to it and investigates. Soon one of his sources mentions he might have better luck gaining trust if he’d shoot dope.

Welcome to New York’s East Village, aka Loisaida, circa 1988. Meet your neighbors — artists, dreamers, hustlers, devil worshipers, anarchists, junkies and yuppies — all competing for breathing space in a city without air. It’s the era of greed, when the poor are objects of scorn not sympathy, and the gentrifiers view themselves as urban pioneers. This is a story about sex and drugs and real estate. This is a story about a murder…

Shopaholics's Series under a Buck!

Although Amazon has one of the best prices on Confessions of a Shopaholic ($0.89), by Sophie Kinsella, the rest of the series there (and most places) is over $6 per volume. However, if you don't mind not reading on the Kindle, you can pick up the rest of the series, other than the upcoming Mini Shopaholic ($9.99), for under a dollar apiece at Fictionwise. They don't have the first in the series, but have books 2-5 in the series at 99 cents each (84 cents for members), as well as four additional stand-alone novels at the same price. Use coupon code eleven2010fw for an additional 11% off (it's working right this minute, but could stop at any time), bringing the member price down to 75 cents apiece.

Click HERE to see the entire list - grab them now, as that price could change at any second. When you are in the cart and checking out, the order total may show as $0.00. Just keep going, once your order is completed, the total shows correctly (I paid $6.75 of my store credit for the lot!).

Game AND Book of the Day - L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Today's game download pick is L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz , which Amazon has marked down to $2.99 for today only. This game is a bit different, though, in that it ALSO includes a digital copy of the original novel. So, it's a game, it's a book (it's entertainment!). I haven't played it yet, but I am downloading the free trial; the graphics look good on the product page, much better than some hidden object games I've tried.

Game Description

• Based on L. Frank Baum's literary classic!
• Visit over 30 unique locations in the land of Oz
• Three modes of gameplay to appeal to all users
• Several varieties of hidden object gameplay keep things fun, fresh, and exciting.
• Includes a digital copy of the original novel

Join Dorothy, The Tinman, The Scarecrow, the Cowardly Lion and even Toto as you travel through the wonders of the Land of Oz on a quest to see the wizard to send Dorothy back home to Kansas. Dorothy needs your help as she journeys through Munchkinland, the field of poppies, dark forests, the witch's castle, the Emerald City where the companions meet the great and terrible Oz, and much more.

Free Book (nook) - Shadow Bound

Shadow Bound ($5.59 Kindle), by Erin Kellison, the first in her Shadow series (and only released this past June), is free to download in the Barnes & Noble store.

Book Description
When a demon breaches the barrier between death and life, the salvation of the world depends on the passions of a beautiful banshee just coming into her power and the man willing to use her to avenge the destruction of his family.

Death
Some people will do anything to avoid it. Even trade their immortal souls for endless existence.

Wraiths
Secretly, inexorably, they are infiltrating our world, sucking the essence out of unsuspecting victims with their hideous parody of a kiss.

Segue
Adam Thorne founded the Institute to study and destroy his monster of a brother, but the key to its success is held in the pale, slender hand of a woman on the run. There is something hauntingly different about Talia O’Brien, her unknowing sensuality, her uncanny way of slipping into Shadow.

Twilight
This is the place between life and what comes after - a dark forest of fantasy, filled with beauty, peril, mystery. And Talia is about to open the door.

Click HERE to get the free book.

Free Audiobooks - Does My Head Look Big In This? and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Audiobook Sync's free giveaway continues. This week, there is, once again, one title available globally and one that is limited to distribution in the "US, Canada, and Open Market (excludes UK, Australia, British Commonwealth)."

Does My Head Look Big In This? ($8.99 Paperback), by Randa Abdel-Fattah, is available to download by all.

Book Description
Sixteen-year-old Amal makes the decision to start wearing the hijab full-time and everyone has a reaction. Her parents, her teachers, her friends, people on the street. But she stands by her decision to embrace her faith and all that it is, even if it does make her a little different from everyone else.

Can she handle the taunts of "towel head," the prejudice of her classmates, and still attract the cutest boy in school? Brilliantly funny and poignant, Randa Abdel-Fattah's debut novel will strike a chord in all teenage readers, no matter what their beliefs.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn ($10.99 Kindle), by Betty Smith, is geographically restricted.

Book Description
The American classic about a young girl's coming of age at the turn of the century.

Amazon.com Review
Francie Nolan, avid reader, penny-candy connoisseur, and adroit observer of human nature, has much to ponder in colorful, turn-of-the-century Brooklyn. She grows up with a sweet, tragic father, a severely realistic mother, and an aunt who gives her love too freely--to men, and to a brother who will always be the favored child. Francie learns early the meaning of hunger and the value of a penny. She is her father's child--romantic and hungry for beauty. But she is her mother's child, too--deeply practical and in constant need of truth. Like the Tree of Heaven that grows out of cement or through cellar gratings, resourceful Francie struggles against all odds to survive and thrive. Betty Smith's poignant, honest novel created a big stir when it was first published over 50 years ago. Her frank writing about life's squalor was alarming to some of the more genteel society, but the book's humor and pathos ensured its place in the realm of classics--and in the hearts of readers, young and old. (Ages 10 and older) --Emilie Coulter

Click HERE to get the free downloads.

For those who are just finding out about Audiobook Sync, there are two new ones each week, so you have to keep checking back. You can't get any titles that have been missed, but once they are loaded into, they are yours to keep (there is no expiration date). Get today's titles quickly, as there will be two new ones up each Thursday. You'll have to sign up for an account and install Overdrive (if you are not already using it for library books). In addition, you end up clicking about three pages, for each book, before the audiobook actually downloads. Don't stop so long as you still see a button that talks about your Sync download (or until you see the Overdrive software open up). Once in Overdrive, you'll need to tell it where to save the files (just click OK to use the default location, since Overdrive will keep track of them for you), then again to actually start the download (by default, all parts of the book are downloaded; I would suggest not changing this in the last dialog box, just click on OK to get the download started).

Free Classics from B&N (nook)

Barnes and Noble is continuing their free Classics in the B&N Free Library this week, with a new set of free classics. This weeks theme is Uncensored... Books That Were Banned:

1. Babbitt - Sinclair Lewis
2. Candide - Voltaire
3. Lady Chatterley's Lover - D.H. Lawrence
4. Leaves of Grass - Walt Whitman
5. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
6. Moll Flanders - Daniel Defoe
7. Sons and Lovers - D.H. Lawrence
8. Jungle - Upton Sinclair
9. Metamorphosis and Other Stories - Franz Kafka
10. The Scarlet Letter - Nathaniel Hawthorne
11. Uncle Tom's Cabin - Harriet Beecher Stowe
12. Women in Love - D.H. Lawrence

These editions are not exactly the same as you would find at Gutenberg; Barnes and Noble Classic Series editions generally have been more carefully proofread and have introductions and scholarly notes inserted in the beginning to aid in understanding the text. If you are building a summer reading list for a student, stocking up for lit classes in college or just want to revisit the classics, these are a great (free) resource.These are DRM'd epubs, though, so will only be readable on a nook or one of the B&N reader apps.

The Burnt House for Two Bucks

A special edition of The Burnt House , the sixteenth in Faye Kellerman's Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus series, is available for pre-order at $1.99. You can get a sample of the book from the original edition, but be sure not to order that one, as it is full price ($7.99). Some "bonus material" is apparently contained in this special edition and, although there is no indication on the product page, I'd bet that it is an excerpt from her newest, Hangman, which released this month.

Book Description
At 8:15 in the morning, a small commuter plane carrying forty-seven passengers crashes into an apartment building in Granada Hills, California. Shock waves ripple through Los Angeles, as L.A.P.D. Lieutenant Peter Decker works overtime to calm rampant fears of a 9/11-type terror attack. But a grisly mystery lives inside the plane's charred and twisted wreckage: the unidentified bodies of four extra travelers. And there is no sign of an airline employee who was supposedly on the catastrophic flight.

Decker and his wife, Rina, have personal reasons for being profoundly shaken by the tragedy, since the "accident" occurred frighteningly close to their daughter Hannah's school. Luckily, their child and her schoolmates escaped unscathed. But the fate of the unaccounted-for flight attendant—twenty-eight-year-old Roseanne Dresden—remains a question mark more than a month after the horrific event, when the young woman's irate stepfather calls, insisting that she was never onboard the doomed plane. Instead, he claims, she was most likely murdered by her abusive, unfaithful husband. But why, then, was Roseanne's name included on the passenger list?

Under intense pressure from the department to come up with answers, Decker launches an investigation that carries him down a path of tragic history, dangerous secrets, and deadly lies—and leads him to the corpse of a three-decades-missing murder victim. And as the jagged pieces slowly fall into place, a frightening picture begins to form: a mind-searing portrait of unimaginable evil that will challenge Decker's and Rina's own beliefs about guilt and innocence and justice.

Combining relentless suspense with intense, multilayered human drama, The Burnt House is Faye Kellerman at her mesmerizing best.

Free Book (Sony) - Who Is Mark Twain?

Who Is Mark Twain? ($9.99 Kindle), by Mark Twain, is free in the Sony store. No doubt the individual stories are in the public domain, but this collection from Harper-Collins should be well done.

Book Description
Who Is Mark Twain? is a collection of twenty six wickedly funny, thought-provoking essays by Samuel Langhorne Clemens—aka Mark Twain—none of which have ever been published before, and all of which are completely contemporary, amazingly relevant, and gut-bustingly hilarious.

Click HERE for the free book.

Free Book (Sony) - The Lovers

The Lovers ($12.99 Kindle), by Vendela Vida

Book Description
Twenty-eight years ago, Peter and Yvonne honeymooned in the beautiful coastal village of DatÇa, Turkey. Now Yvonne is a widow, her twin children grown. Hoping to immerse herself in memories of a happier time—as well as sand and sea—Yvonne returns to DatÇa. But her plans for a restorative week in Turkey are quickly complicated. Instead of comforting her, her memories begin to trouble her. Her vacation rental's landlord and his bold, intriguing wife—who share a curious marital arrangement—become constant uninvited visitors, in and out of the house.

Overwhelmed by the past and unexpectedly dislocated by the environment, Yvonne clings to a newfound friendship with Ahmet, a local boy who makes his living as a shell collector. With Ahmet as her guide, Yvonne gains new insight into the lives of her own adult children, and she finally begins to enjoy the shimmering sea and relaxed pace of the Turkish coast. But a devastating accident upends her delicate peace and throws her life into chaos—and her sense of self into turmoil.

With the crystalline voice and psychological nuance for which her work has been so celebrated, Vendela Vida has crafted another unforgettable heroine in a stunningly beautiful and mysterious landscape.

Click HERE for the free book.

Free Book (Sony) - The Rational Optimist

The Rational Optimist ($12.99 Kindle), by Matt Ridley, is free in the Sony bookstore.

Book Description
Life is getting better—and at an accelerating rate. Food availability, income, and life span are up; disease, child mortality, and violence are down — all across the globe. Though the world is far from perfect, necessities and luxuries alike are getting cheaper; population growth is slowing; Africa is following Asia out of poverty; the Internet, the mobile phone, and container shipping are enriching people’s lives as never before. The pessimists who dominate public discourse insist that we will soon reach a turning point and things will start to get worse. But they have been saying this for two hundred years.

Yet Matt Ridley does more than describe how things are getting better. He explains why. Prosperity comes from everybody working for everybody else. The habit of exchange and specialization—which started more than 100,000 years ago—has created a collective brain that sets human living standards on a rising trend. The mutual dependence, trust, and sharing that result are causes for hope, not despair.

This bold book covers the entire sweep of human history, from the Stone Age to the Internet, from the stagnation of the Ming empire to the invention of the steam engine, from the population explosion to the likely consequences of climate change. It ends with a confident assertion that thanks to the ceaseless capacity of the human race for innovative change, and despite inevitable disasters along the way, the twenty-first century will see both human prosperity and natural biodiversity enhanced. Acute, refreshing, and revelatory, The Rational Optimist will change your way of thinking about the world for the better.

Click HERE for the free book.

Two Buck Romance

In addition to the pre-order for the novella/short story The Ice Princess ($1.99 Kindle), Elizabeth Hoyt has two more books at $1.99 this month (both full length novels). No doubt she is hoping to get you hooked enough to also pick up her latest, Wicked Intentions ($6.99), which just released this month.

To Seduce A Sinner

Book Description
Jasper Renshaw, Viscount Vale, has a problem: he needs to marry and produce an heir to the title. All Jasper wants is to find a lady who will put up with him long enough to wed so he can retreat to his life of debauchery--a life that keeps the haunting memories of his past at bay. Knowing that Jasper is under pressure to marry, Melisande Flemming grasps her fate with both hands and volunteers to wed him. Although Jasper is initially only interested in producing an heir, he soon becomes entranced by his wife--prim and proper by day, wanton by night-- and vows to learn her secrets.

Melissande, however, is determined to keep her husband at a distance. She has loved, and lost, before, and will do anything to keep him from learning her terrible weakness: she's secretly been in love with him for years. But to her chagrin, her husband pursues her, wooing her as if she were a paramour, not his lady wife. As Melissande and Jasper embark on a passionate game of cat and mouse, secrets from the past begin to resurface.... threatening to tear them asunder.

To Taste Temptation was also a $1.99 special last November.

Book Description
The ton loves nothing more than a good scandal, and they're giddy with the appearance of wealthy Samuel Hartley. Not only is he self-made, American, and in the habit of wearing moccasins, but he is also notorious for fleeing a battle in which several English gentlemen lost their lives. What the ton doesn't know, though, is that Samuel is in Londonbecause of this massacre. He believes his regiment was given up to the enemy and won't rest until he finds the traitor.

Lady Emeline Gordon is captivated with Samuel. Not only does he defy convention with his unusual dress, his sensual smile, and his forthright manner, but he survived the battle that killed her beloved brother. Samuel suspects that the person responsible for her brother's death is Jasper Renshaw, Viscount Vale, a family friend since childhood--and Emeline's fiancé. Despite Emeline's belief in Vale's innocence and her refusal to break off her betrothal, she and Samuel begin a passionate affair. But can their relationship survive the fallout from Samuel's investigation?