Bargain Book Roundup (under $2.00)

I've included a number of bargain books, not all of which are bargains at all of the stores. As usual, the main link will be to the Kindle store, with it's price clearly marked (Amazon is not always the lowest cost on these and some are full price there), along with links to the alternative stores and the price at each. Surprisingly, several of these are cheapest at Fictionwise this week, especially if you use the Summer2010 coupon for 15% off (and then add in the member discount and any rebate). Do note that all of these books have DRM and only those in the Kindle store work on the Kindle; they all can be read on a PC and most of them can be read on one or more alternative ebook readers. The one theme common in all of these? They are filled under Religion & Spirituality or have Christian Fiction assigned as a tag.

The Shape of Mercy ($9.29 Kindle; $0.99 B&N; $0.84 Fictionwise), by Susan Meissner

Book Description
Leaving a life of privilege to strike out on her own, Lauren Durough breaks with convention and her family’s expectations by choosing a state college over Stanford and earning her own income over accepting her ample monthly allowance. She takes a part-time job from 83-year-old librarian Abigail Boyles, who asks Lauren to transcribe the journal entries of her ancestor Mercy Hayworth, a victim of the Salem witch trials.

Almost immediately, Lauren finds herself drawn to this girl who lived and died four centuries ago. As the fervor around the witch accusations increases, Mercy becomes trapped in the worldview of the day, unable to fight the overwhelming influence of snap judgments and superstition, and Lauren realizes that the secrets of Mercy’s story extend beyond the pages of her diary, living on in the mysterious, embittered Abigail.

The strength of her affinity with Mercy forces Lauren to take a startling new look at her own life, including her relationships with Abigail, her college roommate, and a young man named Raul. But on the way to the truth, will Lauren find herself playing the helpless defendant or the misguided judge? Can she break free from her own perceptions and see who she really is?

If I Had You ($1.99 Kindle & Kobo), by Deborah Bedford

Book Description
From bestselling author Deborah Bedford comes the moving tale of an estranged mother and daughter, and the child who forces their old conflicts back into the light.

A Clearing in the Wild ($0.99 Kindle, B&N & Fictionwise; $0.79 Kobo), by Jane Kirkpatrick

Book Description
Young Emma Wagner chafes at the constraints of Bethel colony, an 1850s religious community in Missouri that is determined to remain untainted by the concerns of the world. A passionate and independent thinker, she resents the limitations placed on women, who are expected to serve in quiet submission. In a community where dissent of any form is discouraged, Emma finds it difficult to rein in her tongue–and often doesn’t even try to do so, fueling the animosity between her and the colony’s charismatic and increasingly autocratic leader, Wilhelm Keil.

Eventually Emma and her husband, Christian, are sent along with eight other men to scout out a new location in the northwest where the Bethelites can prepare to await “the last days.” Christian believes they’ve found the ideal situation in Washington territory, but when Keil arrives with the rest of the community, he rejects Christian’s choice in favor of moving to Oregon.

Emma pushes her husband to take this opportunity to break away from the group, but her longed-for influence brings unexpected consequences. As she seeks a refuge for her wounded faith, she learns that her passionate nature can be her greatest strength–if she can harness it effectively.

When the Heart Cries ($1.59 Kindle, B&N & Kobo; $1.99 Fictionwise), by Cindy Woodsmall, is the first in the Sisters of the Quilt series.

Book Description
When Hannah dares to love across the boundaries of tradition, will she lose everything?

Despite being raised in a traditional Old Order Amish family, seventeen-year-old Hannah Lapp desires to break with custom, forgo baptism into the faith, and marry outside the cloistered community. She’s been in love with Mennonite Paul Waddell for three years, and before returning to college for his senior year, Paul asks Hannah to be his wife. Hannah accepts, aware that her marriage will change her relationship with her family forever.

On the evening of their engagement, tragedy strikes and in one unwelcome encounter, all that Hannah has known and believed is destroyed. As she finds herself entangled in questions that the Old Ways of her people cannot answer, Hannah faces the possibility of losing her place in her family, in her community– and in the heart of the man she loves.

The Captain's Bride ($0.99 Kindle, B&N & Fictionwise; $0.79 Kobo), by Lisa T. Bergren, the first of her Northern Lights trilogy, which continues with Deep Harbor ($5.59) and Midnight Sun ($9.99).

Book Description
Elsa Anders's dream of marrying Peder Ramstad is about to come true. But as this independent, strong-willed woman discovers her own creative gifts--a love for travel, painting, and the sea--can she find happiness with a captain who insists upon leaving her safely on shore?

Leaving their home in Norway behind, Elsa and Peder embark on a new life in with their closest friends, including: Kaatje Jansen, a woman seeking a new beginning for the sake of her marriage and for the child growing within her; Elsa's sister Tora, a sly young vixen who knows exactly what she wants--and exactly how to get it; and Karl Martensen, a man torn between his friendship for Peder and a forbidden, secret love for Elsa, a man tormented by emotions that threaten to ruin them all.

From the gentle hills of Bergen, Norway, to the rocky coast of Camden, Maine, and across the crashing, danger-filled waves of the open sea--experience an epic saga of perseverance and passion, faith and fidelity, in the Northern Lights series: the new historical series by Lisa Tawn Bergren.

A Promise for Breanna ($0.99 Kindle, B&N & Fictionwise; $0.79 Kobo), by Al Lacy

Book Description
The Angel of Mercy series follows the adventures of certified medical nurse Breanna Baylor as she seeks to serve her fellow man and restore her relationship with her true love-John Stranger of the Journeys of the Stranger series-in the post-Civil War West. A Promise for Breanna finds the heroine face to face with Frank Miller, the man who once broke her heart and led her to mistrust men, sabotaging her relationship with John Stranger. Suspense, danger, romance, and spiritual truth each play a part in this compelling story that draws readers into the life of an angel of mercy.

Will the World End in 2012? ($1.99), by Raymond C. Hundley , is from Christian publisher Thomas Nelson. I downloaded a sample, to try to see if this was the full book or a shortened version (as there are two paperbacks, one with over 200 pages and the second claims to have less than fifty). I believe it is the full version, as there were a number of chapters and the sample only went part way into the introduction (and covered a number of pages).

Book Description
Raymond Hundley, PhD, gives a Christian evaluation of the ten most prominent apocalypse theories causing 2012 mania.

In the first millennia after the birth of Christ, nestled in the mountains of Central America, the Mayan people gazed at the stars and calculated days, months, years, and even the future. Their calendar, more sophisticated than any the world had known, indicated an abrupt end of time, December 21, 2012. The future they predicted is now upon us.

"There have been 149 apocalypse predictions between AD 44 and 2009," says author Dr. Raymond Hundley. But will it really happen? In this stirring, balanced, and well-researched book, he evaluates the ten most prominent apocalypse theories and gives a surprising answer to the question everyone is asking.

His knowledge and insights lead to compelling conclusions . . . and a heartfelt call for all of humanity to look upon Jesus Christ as it seeks clarity and peace.

Michael Sharp has three books that are under $2 at Fictionwise: The Book of Light ($4.79 Kindle; $1.99 Fictionwise), Dossier of the Ascension ($5.59 Kindle; $1.99 Fictionwise) and The Book of Life ($7.77 Kindle; $1.99 Fictionwise).

The Book of Light: The Nature of God, the Structure of Consciousness, and the Universe Within You

The Book of Light, shows you the complete truth about God, the universe, and you. Within the grounded and elegant pages of this book, you will find the answers to top level theological/cosmological questions like "What is the nature of God and consciousness?", "What is the nature of the physical universe?", "What is our highest purpose?", "What is our essential nature?" and more. If you ever thought that spiritual enlightenment required sacrifice, strength, or years of effort, if you think that only "the special/the chosen/the few/the evolved" get to be enlightened/saved/go to heaven, if you think ego has anything to do with enlightenment at all, think again.

Remember the simple and glorious truth of your divinity. Read The Book of Light and find the divinity within you.

The Dossier of the Ascension: A Practical Guide to Chakra Activation and Kundalini awakening
The Dossier of the Ascension is the owner's manual for your physical body. Learn about your body as energy system and manifestation device. Learn how to clear the chakra pipes and safely awaken kundalini. Move from disconnected and energetically impotent body to connected and powerful co-creator of your physical world in weeks instead of decades and lifetimes. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

Once you experience the lightning flash of enlightenment and the power of your own divinity, you won't ever go back to before.

The Book of Life: Ascension and the Divine World Order This book explains about The Ascension and The Great Awakening, what they are about, and how (and why) the will mean profound (but positive) personal, social, political, and economic changes. Contrary to what some may think, The Ascension and awakening is not just about you, the individual, it is also about this planet (Gaia) and all of creation. The Ascension is a glorious spiritual event of creation level proportions.

In this book learn about starseeds, Indigo and Crystal Children, the nature of energy, the nature of time, the reasons behind The Ascension, our previous attempts to ascend the planet in Lemuria and Atlantis, the final struggle to transform duality and transmute negativity, and the glorious an inevitable conclusion to our thirty thousand year struggle. Its a party and everyone is invited!

If you do not want to get knocked off guard by the increasingly dramatic changes occurring on this planet, or get caught off guard by increases in your personal power, get serious about your personal awakening

Game of the Day - Trine

Amazon's Game Download of the Day is a $9.99 download of Trine. You can also pick up the DVD-ROM version of Trine for only $3.99 (but no free shipping); it has good reviews, except for one that had a problem with the DRM scheme (only on the DVD-ROM, not on the download version) of a copy he purchased from Best Buy. This one doesn't have a free trial version, unfortunately, so you can't try the download first before deciding which version, if any, to purchase.

Game Description (from the DVD version)

• Combines traditional 2D platformer gameplay with stunning full 3D graphics
• Control all three heroes taking advantage of their individual strengths, weapons, and skills as they travel across a brand new fantasy world in this immersive platformer
• Avoid deadly traps while using each character's special abilities to navigate challenging puzzles that all have multiple solutions
• Search for powerful items and weapons that will make your heroes stronger Increase your characters skills and attributes as you gain experience
• 4 difficulty levels from easy to very hard for the expert player. Up to 3 player co-op campaign on the same screen

In a kingdom facing chaos and forbidden magic, three heroes are bound (whether they like it or not) by a powerful artifact called “the Trine”. This unlikely trio are the only ones that can put an end to the reign of the dark sorcerer that rules the kingdom. Pontius the brave, Amadeus the magnificent and Zoya the silent will have come to together and use their different skills in order to face danger and restore peace.

Two Buck Mysteries

Two more of Elizabeth Peters' Amelia Peabody mysteries are marked down to $1.99 this month, making six total in this series that have been or are available at bargain prices. You can still pick up last month's titles from Amazon and Kobo (although Kobo hasn't discounted this month's titles, yet):

• Crocodile on the Sandbank ($1.99 Kindle; Kobo), the first in the Amelia Peabody series.
• The Hippopotamus Pool ($1.99 Kindle; Kobo), the eighth in the Amelia Peabody series.

The Last Camel Died at Noon ($1.99 Kindle, B&N and Sony), the sixth in the Amelia Peabody series.

Book Description
This time Amelia Peabody, her dashing husband Emerson, and their son, Ramses, set off for a promising archaeological site in the Sudan, only to be unwillingly drawn into the search for an African explorer and his young bride who went missing twelve years back. They survive the rigours of the desert, the death of their camels, and the perfidy of their guides, only to find themselves taken prisoner in a lost city and civilisation. Amelia and Emerson must bravely continue making archaeological finds while doing their best to rescue the innocent...and themselves.

The Snake, the Crocodile, and the Dog ($1.99 Kindle, B&N and Sony), the seventh in the Amelia Peabody series.

Book Description
In her previous outing, The Last Camel Died at Noon, Amelia Peabody and her dashing husband, Emerson, discovered a fabulous lost oasis in the Nubian desert. Now, in the seventh mystery in the series, the Emerson-Peabodys are traveling up the Nile once again to encounter their most deadly adversary, the Master Criminal, who is back at his sinister best. Amelia Peabody was unabashedly proud of her newest translation, a fragment of the ancient fairytale "The Doomed Prince". Later, she would wonder why no sense of foreboding struck her as she retold the story of the king's favorite son who had been warned that he would die from the snake, the crocodile, or the dog. Little did she realize, as she and her beloved husband sailed blissfully toward the pyramids of ancient Egypt, that those very beasts (and a cat as well) would be part of a deadly plot. The expedition began so happily....Leaving their delightful, but catastrophically precocious, son, Ramses, back in England, Amelia hoped this romantic trip might rejuvenate her thirteen-year-old marriage and bring back the thrills that she feared were fading. She and her dear Emerson were returning to the remote desert site where they had first fallen in love, Amarna, the holy city of Akhenaton and his beautiful queen, Nefertiti. But their return would threaten not only their marriage, but their very lives with perils as chilling as a mummy'scurse. An old enemy was determined to learn Amelia and Emerson's most closely guarded secret: the location of a legendary long-lost oasis and a race of people bedecked in gold. So cunning was his scheme that Amelia might overlook - until it was too late...

Free Book (EPUB/PDF) - The Last Days of a Rake

The Last Days of a Rake, by Donna Lea Simpson, is free to pre-order at BooksOnBoard and releases on June 14. This appears to be a fairly short selection from the new publisher Carina Press and is a companion piece to Love & Scandal ($4.79 Kindle), which will be released on June 21. So far, I don't see this one available as a pre-order at Amazon or B&N, though, so grab it while it's free at BoB.

Book Description
In Love & Scandal, Collette Jardiniere is outraged when notorious roué Charles Jameson appears to take credit for The Last Days of a Rake, a novel she wrote under the pseudonym Colin Jenkins to satisfy Victorian convention.

Can a rake be true to himself, yet remain free from sin?

Edgar Lankin has lived the life of rake, a man who cares for nothing but the pleasures of the flesh. But it is the seduction—and abandonment—of a gentle maiden that turns him from mere gadabout to immoral cad. Too late, Lankin realizes his self-centered ways have left him incapable of finding enjoyment in anything. Now on his deathbed, he relates the shocking tale of his wasted life to John Hamilton, a school chum who chose a different path.

In telling his story, can Lankin find redemption for the trail of ruined lives he leaves behind?

Available in PDF or EPUB formats. Bob claims you will need ADE to download and install (a message displays during checkout), but the publisher has said these are supposed to be DRM free.

Hide for Under a Dollar

Hide ($0.79), by Lisa Gardner, the second volume of her D.D. Warren series, is being deeply discounted in the major ebookstores. All but the B&N listings include the info on the bonus content (but I suspect it contains it, as well). Amazon, though, has beat the bunch of them, by lowering the 99 cent discount price down to 79 cents this evening. Update: Now matched by Kobo.

I do wish the publishers would offer the first book in these series as their specials (or, at least start there, then offer later books at later times). The first book in the series, Alone, is still selling for $6.29 to $7.59 in the same stores).

Book Description
This eBook includes the full text of the novel plus the following bonus content:
• Lisa Gardner on Detective D.D. Warren: Who was the inspiration for D.D. Warren? Find out in this exclusive essay.
• A Sneak Preview from Lisa Gardner’s Live to Tell, on sale July 13, 2010

You have good reason to be afraid. . . .

It was a case that haunts Bobby Dodge to this day—the case that nearly killed him and changed his life forever. Now, in an underground chamber on the grounds of an abandoned Massachusetts mental hospital, the gruesome discovery of six mummified corpses resurrects his worst nightmare: the return of a killer he thought dead and buried. There’s no place to run. . . . Bobby’s only lead is wrapped around a dead woman’s neck. Annabelle Granger has been in hiding for as long as she can remember. Her childhood was a blur of new cities and assumed identities. But what—or who—her family was running from, she never knew. Now a body is unearthed from a grave, wearing a necklace bearing Annabelle’s name, and the danger is too close to escape. This time, she’s not going to run. You know he will find you. . . .

The new threat could be the dead psychopath’s copycat, his protégé—or something far more terrifying. Dodge knows the only way to find him is to solve the mystery of Annabelle Granger, and to do that he must team up with his former lover, partner, and friend D. D. Warren from the Boston P.D. But the trail leads back to a woman from Bobby’s past who may be every bit as dangerous as the new killer—a beautiful survivor-turned-avenger with an eerie link to Annabelle. From its tense opening pages to its shocking climax, Hide is a thriller that delves into our deepest, darkest fears. Where there is no one to trust. Where there is no place left to hide.

Click HERE to get the book from B&N ($0.99)

Click HERE to get the book from Kobo ($0.99$0.79)

Click HERE to get the book from Sony ($0.99)