These ebooks are only free for a limited time, so get them now before they expire!

Free eBooks at Amazon and Sony

Sophie’s Secret by Nancy Rue

4.5 stars, 2 reviews

Sophie and her friends launch an ‘archaeological expedition’ and make a disturbing discovery. Sophie keeps digging to uncover a shocking family secret. In light of this new revelation, will she ever be able to trust her parents again?

Download from Amazon »

Download from Sony »

Sophie’s World: Book 1 by Nancy Rue

4.5 stars, 3 reviews

In the first fiction book of the Faithgirlz!(tm) series, best-selling author Nancy Rue introduces Sophie LaCroix, a creative soul who’s destined to become a great film director someday.

When her overactive imagination immerses her in the American Revolution after a school field trip, Sophie quickly learns a real-life lesson. “Excellent for Homeschool Use”

Download from Amazon »

Download from Sony »

Hostile Intent by Michael Walsh

3 stars, 57 reviews

It starts with the unthinkable–the most horrific act of violence ever committed on American soil.

Only one man can stop them.

Hostile Intent

Code named Devlin, he exists in the blackest shadows of the United States government–operating off the grid as the NSA’s top agent. He’s their most lethal weapon…and their most secret. But someone is trying to draw him out into the open by putting America’s citizens in the crosshairs–and they will continue the slaughter until they get what they want.

Download from Amazon »

Download from Sony »

Bake Sale Murder by Leslie Meier

4.5 stars, 11 reviews

Ever since local developer Fred Stanton and his wife, Mimi, built five modular homes next door to Lucy Stone’s farmhouse, life just hasn’t been the same. With Mimi complaining about everything from the state of Lucy’s lawn to another neighbor’s lovable dog, quaint Tinker’s Cove, Maine, is now entangled in cul-de-sac politics and backstabbing. And when Mimi doesn’t show up for her shift at The Hat and Mitten Fund bake sale, the scent of burnt sugar leads Lucy to a shocking discovery: Mimi, face down on her kitchen floor–with a knife in her back.

While the police start their investigation, Lucy gets busy writing up the murder for the local Pennysaver–and following a few leads of her own. Lucy knows the women in her neighborhood didn’t like Mimi, but they certainly didn’t want her dead…right?

Download from Amazon »

Download from Sony »

Motorcycles, Sushi & One Strange Book by Nancy Rue

4.5 stars, 11 reviews

In the first book of Nancy Rue’s new Real Life series for teens, fifteen-year-old Jessie Hatcher has ADHD and often uses her bubbly charm to cover up her problems.

But when her biological father appears from nowhere and tells her she’ll be spending time with him in Florida, Jessie finds she’ll need more than charm this time. In fact, a mysterious book might be the answer to her problems.

Download from Amazon »

Download from Sony »

More Free eBooks From Sony

Barty the Kid by Jason Thibeault

no rating

Barty Scrivner is a 13-year old Wizard in 1895 Boston. But he’s not an ordinary wizard. No, he has a special talent. He’s the fastest draw in the East and he’s proven it time and again. But Barty wants more. He wants to be the most talked about wizard ever.

One September Morning by Rosalind Noonan

no rating

The moment Abby Fitzgerald sees two soldiers approach her front door, she knows her husband is dead. John Stanton, who gave up his career as a star NFL running back to serve after 9/11, has been killed in Iraq. Suddenly Abby’s kitchen is overflowing with casseroles brought by the army wives’ club to which she has never really belonged.

And her in-laws arrange a lavish funeral at Arlington National Cemetery in spite of Abby’s misgivings. John had grown to hate the war even though he loved his country, and Abby can’t reconcile the complex man she knew with the version being portrayed by self-serving politicians, military, and the media . . .

More Free Sony eBooks: Kaplan Books (Education/Study Guides/Reference)

More Free eBooks From Amazon

Cybill Disobedience by Cybill Shepherd and Aimee Lee Ball

3.5 stars, 71 reviews

‘How I survived beauty pageants, Elvis, sex, Bruce Willis, lies, marriage, motherhood, Hollywood, and the irrepressible urge to say what you think.’

From wholesome beauty queen to saucy cover girl, from heartbreaking movie star (THE LAST PICTURE SHOW, TAXI DRIVER) to one of television’s most loved comediennes (MOONLIGHTING, CYBILL), Cybill Shepherd is renowned as sassy, shocking and sexy. In CYBILL DISOBEDIENCE, she opens her heart with the wit and honesty of a star who’s seen and knows it all.

The Dangerous Dimension by L. Ron Hubbard

4 stars, 4 reviews

Dr. Henry Mudge undergoes a striking personality change when he discovers a mathematical formula “Equation C” that defines a mysterious negative dimension. He is instantly transported to any location in the solar system by merely thinking of it–even when he doesn’t want to.

Overcoming Perfectionism: The Key to a Balanced Recovery by Ann W. Smith

5 stars, 4 reviews

Do you have to be perfect to lead a healthy life? Ann Smith discusses how perfectionism may have benefits but is ultimately an obstacle to quality living as it prevents intimacy and lowers self-esteem. This book offers practical hints to letting go of your superhuman syndrome and being imperfect.

The Pearl at the Gate by Anya Richards and Anya Delvay

4 stars, 3 reviews

For her transgression, she will pay-with screams of forbidden pleasure. After a lifetime of hard work, Captain Roake Barbenoir finally has all he has ever wanted. Wealth, social position, and the epitome of an ideal wife, the beautiful and well-born Jenesta. Of all his treasures, she is his favorite-a pearl, perfect and pure-and Roake vows never to tarnish her with the dark sexual knowledge he gleaned from a life at sea.

Yet every breath his sweet wife takes arouses an urge to watch her come apart under the onslaught of his passion. But she must never know of the lust-filled, almost demonic cravings fighting for release in his soul. To make her privy to them would be to lose her warm regard . . .

More Free Kindle eBooks: Kaplan Books (Education/Study Guides/Reference)

Filed under: Free eBooks, Kindle, Sony | Tags: free epub ebooks, free kindle ebooks | No Comments »

These ebooks are only free for a limited time, so get them now before they expire!

Valley Forge Free Preview: George Washington and the Crucible of Victory by Albert S. Hanser, Newt Gingrich and William R. Forstchen

no rating

Valley Forge picks up the narrative a year after Washington’s triumphant surprise attack on Trenton, and much has changed since then.

It’s the winter of 1777, and Washington’s battered, demoralized army retreats from Philadelphia. Arriving at Valley Forge, they discover that their repeated requests for a stockpile of food, winter clothing, and building tools have been ignored by Congress. With no other options available, the men settle down for a season of agony. For weeks the dwindling army freezes under tents in the bitter cold. Food runs out. Disease festers. The men are on the point of collapse, while in Philadelphia the British, joined by Allen van Dorn, the Loyalist brother of the dead patriot, Jonathan van Dorn, live in luxury.

In spite of the suffering and deceit, Washington endures all, joined at last by a volunteer from Germany, Baron Friederich von Steuben. With precious few supplies and even less time, von Steuben begins the hard task of recasting the army as a professional fighting force capable of facing the British head-on—something it has never accomplished before—and in the process he changing the course of history.

And Thereby Hangs a Tale Free Short Story by Jeffrey Archer

5 stars, 1 review

Bestseller Archer assembles 15 more of the clever stories for which he is known. They are split between tales of trickery, as with “Stuck on You,” where an eager young man is played by a diamond thief, and decidedly sentimental stories, such as “Members Only,” about a man who wants nothing more than to join a private country club. Archer marks with an asterisk stories that are based on true incidents (10 in this collection), and whether it is the weight of credibility these stories’ genesis lends or if the author works better with some starting material, the entirely imagined stories are also the weakest.

“Politically Correct” never gets out of the shallows in its attempt to be provocative, and “Better the Devil You Know,” with its evil executive making a deal with the devil (aka Mr. De Ath), is silly even for this author, who usually writes with a winningly light touch. Still, Archer’s writing exudes a certain charm and is mostly satisfying. His trademark twists–sometimes a surprise to the reader, sometimes not–and genial tone will endear these mostly cozy stories to his many fans.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Bury Your Dead Free Preview: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel by Louise Penny

no rating

It is Winter Carnival in Quebec City, bitterly cold and surpassingly beautiful. Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté de Quebec has come not to celebrate but to recover from a harrowing investigation gone wrong that left one of his team members dead. But murder seems to follow Gamache everywhere, even to the seemingly peaceful Literary and Historical Society, one of the last bastions of English culture in Quebec, where a man in found dead in the basement. And not any man–but the famous Augustin Roy, who had carried his obsessive search for the long-lost body of the founder of Quebec, Samuel de Champlain, all the way to the Society library. Badly injured himself and desperately in need of a rest, Gamache cannot resist the appeals of the police and the Society board alike to negotiate the treacherous ground between the English and the French in the old walled city.

Meanwhile, Gamache receives a letter each day from the little town of Three Pines, where the beloved Bistro owner Olivier was found guilty of murdering a mysterious hermit in THE BRUTAL TELLING. “Why would Olivier move the body?” Olivier’s partner Gabri writes every time. “It doesn’t make sense. He didn’t do it, you know.” Even though the evidence against Olivier seemed overwhelming at the time, Gamache sends his deputy, Inspector Beauvoir, back to Three Pines to be sure that nothing was overlooked….

Through it all, as he and Beauvoir search for the truth about present and past murders, Gamache must relive the terrible events that killed one of his men before he can begin to bury his dead.

OUTTA THE BAG: A Prequel Story to ME, MYSELF AND WHY? by MaryJanice Davidson

no rating

From New York Times bestselling author MaryJanice Davidson, comes OUTTA THE BAG the hilarious prequel story to her upcoming novel ME, MYSELF AND WHY, the first in a brand new series. In OUTTA THE BAG, Clive Better—the better-than-best plumber in town—attends a speed dating event where—instead of attempting to score phone numbers—he recounts his recent run-in with a freaked-out cat and a sexy-but-psychotic woman that has left him confused, scratched up, and rather aroused.

Wicked Appetite Free Preview by Janet Evanovich

no rating

Number one bestselling author Janet Evanovich has created a brand-new heroine in Elizabeth Tucker: Marblehead resident, bakery worker, unlucky in love…and descendant of witches. Life has had a pleasant predictability to it for Lizzy. That is until a tall, black-haired, dark eyed man shows up in a black sports car, touches her hand and leaves a burn mark.

His name is Gerwulf Grimoire, also known as Wulf. And he wants what Lizzy has: knowledge. Almost simultaneously comes another man, a different man, but this one just as dangerous in his own way. His name is Diesel. And he wants several things Lizzy has, only one of them being knowledge. Unbeknownst to Lizzy, she has the ability to find “empowered objects.” Turns out, a collection of stones that represent the seven deadly sins have made their way to Marblehead.

Nothing bad can happen if the stones are all separated. But if they are grouped together, they have the power to unleash hell on earth. Wulf wants them. Diesel wants to stop him. And Lizzy is the key to all of it. Can Lizzy stay one step ahead of two men who both want her…both body and soul? Can she juggle her job at Dazzle’s bakery and still get the muffins out in time every morning? Can she stop the end of the world from occurring? For Elizabeth Tucker, cupcakes, 4 a.m. alarm clock settings, and Armageddon are all in a day’s work….

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

4.5 stars, 36 reviews

This classic selection brings together twelve of the original stories serialized in the Strand Magazine in the early 1890s. Thrilling adventures such as “A Scandal in Bohemia” catapulted the keen-witted Holmes to fame and continues to make him the most beloved sleuth of all time.

I. A Scandal in Bohemia
II. The Red-headed League
III. A Case of Identity
IV. The Boscombe Valley Mystery
V. The Five Orange Pips
VI. The Man with the Twisted Lip
VII. The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle
VIII. The Adventure of the Speckled Band
IX. The Adventure of the Engineer’s Thumb
X. The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor
XI. The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet
XII. The Adventure of the Copper Beeches

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin

4.5 stars, 26 reviews

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, which Franklin himself called his Memoirs, is the unfinished record of his life written between 1771 and 1790. It has become one of the most well-known and influential autobiographies in history, and has been praised both as a historical document and a piece of literature in its own right. William Dean Howells declared that “Franklin’s is one of the greatest autobiographies in literature, and towers over other autobiographies as Franklin towered over other men.”

Profiles of Remarkable Businesses (Collection) by FT Press Delivers

4 stars, 1 review

A brand new collection of essential insights for your business and career from world-renowned experts-now in a convenient e-format, at a great price!

Actionable lessons from a century of extraordinary businesses-from Ford to NetFlix, Wal-Mart to Zappos

What you can learn from the world’s greatest businesses: from legendary startups to extraordinary turnarounds! Crucial takeaways from the experiences of McDonald’s, Home Depot, Zappos, Wal-Mart, Oprah (Harpo), Ford, NetFlix, UPS, Lego, Intuit, and many others.

From world-renowned business profilers New Word City and Nancy F. Koehn.

The Truth About the New Rules of Business Writing by Claire Meirowitz and Natalie Canavor

4.5 stars, 44 reviews

Business writing that packs a punch: Make the most of your message to get what you want!

• The truth about supercharging your business writing
• The truth about writing directly, clearly, and convincingly
• The truth about writing in today-s varied business formats

Germs, Genes, and Civilization: How Epidemics Shaped who we are Today by David P Clark

3.5 stars, 18 reviews

The Stunning Hidden Interconnections Between Microbes and Humanity.

AD 452: Attila the Hun stands ready to sack Rome. No one can stop him–but he walks away. A miracle? No…dysentery. Microbes saved the Roman Empire. Nearly a millennium later, the microbes of the Black Death ended the Middle Ages, making possible the Renaissance, western democracy, and the scientific revolution. Soon after, microbes ravaged the Americas, paving the way for their European conquest.

Again and again, microbes have shaped our health, our genetics, our history, our culture, our politics, even our religion and ethics. This book reveals much that scientists and cultural historians have learned about the pervasive interconnections between infectious microbes and humans. It also considers what our ongoing fundamental relationship with infectious microbes might mean for the future of the human species.

Filed under: Free eBooks, Kindle | Tags: free kindle ebooks | No Comments »

Flowers For Elvis by Schuster, Julia

4.5 stars, 9 reviews

Flowers For Elvis is quirky Southern fiction with a literary edge, surprising humor and an uplifting spirit. In 1956, Olivia and her twin sister are born to a nun an old auto parts store turned convent in rural Mississippi. Little Olivia doesn’t survive the day, but her spunky spirit hangs around and takes on the role of ethereal watchdog over her twin. When the Reverend Mother-and holy guilt-convince the nun’s sister (a young pregnant newlywed) to secretly raise the baby as the twin of her own soon-to-be-born child, Olivia realizes the urgency of her presence and support.

Not only is her aunt a fanatical Elvis fan, she’s a renegade Southern belle, bent on self-indulgence and desperate to safeguard her multitude of sins. Without revealing which girl is her twin until the end, Olivia takes the reader on a flower strewn tour of misguided love and maternal betrayal which culminates at Elvis’ funeral, where they finally discover the truth of their parentage and unravel the generations of secrets that shadowed their lives.

Premiere by Carlson, Melody

4 stars, 7 reviews

Paige and Erin Forrester have been given the opportunity of a lifetime: a chance to host their own fashion reality show on television. Unfortunately, Erin would rather be behind the camera than appearing on it. Luckily, her beautiful sister is a natural, at both fashion and at hosting. This gives Erin the opportunity to work on the crew and act as a chaperon/moral compass to Paige.

A guest spot on a catty teen reality series provides a chance for the sisters to launch their show, but it does not go as planned and leaves the future of the show in jeopardy. Erin has other issues to deal with, too, including an ex-boyfriend who is trying to get back in the picture as well as her own struggles with how her faith fits into a Hollywood lifestyle. Teen girls who enjoy fashion, reality television, and are looking for something less edgy than the Gossip Girl series will be rewarded with this title, which looks to be the first in a series.

Gone to Green by Christie, Judy

4.5 stars, 12 reviews

In Gone to Green, Lois goes from being a corporate journalist at a large paper in the Midwest to the owner of The Green News-Item, a small twice-weekly newspaper in rural North Louisiana. The paper was an unexpected inheritance from a close colleague, and Lois must keep it for at least a year, bringing a host of challenges, lessons, and blessings into her life.

When Lois pulls into Green on New Year’s Day, she expects a charming little town full of smiling people. She quickly realizes her mistake. After settling into a loaned house out on Route 2, she finds herself battling town prejudices and inner doubts and making friends with the most surprising people: troubled teenager Katy, good-looking catfish farmer Chris, wise and feisty Aunt Helen, and a female African-American physician named Kevin . . .

A Little Death In Dixie by Lisa Turner

5 stars, 12 reviews

The Blues were born out of need, anger and pride. Murder comes from those same dark places. Memphis has both. One of Memphis’ most seductive and notorious socialites has vanished. Either she’s off on another drunken escapade or the disappearance is something much more frightening.

What begins as an ordinary day’s work for Detective Billy Able quickly grows into a complex spider’s web of tragedy, mystery, suspicion, and sordid secrets including a few of Billy’s own. With the help of Mercy Snow, the estranged sister of the missing socialite, Billy follows a twisted trail of human frailty and corruption to disturbing truths that undermine everything he thought he knew about himself and the people he loves.

From a Distance (Timber Ridge Reflections, Book 1) by Alexander, Tamera

4.5 stars, 33 reviews

What happens when the realization of a dream isn’t what you imagined… and the secret you’ve spent a lifetime guarding is finally laid bare?

Determined to become one of the country’s premier newspaper photographers, Elizabeth Westbrook travels to the Colorado Territory to capture the grandeur of the mountains surrounding the remote town of Timber Ridge. She hopes, too, that the cool, dry air of Colorado, and its renowned hot springs, will cure the mysterious illness that threatens her career, and her life.

Daniel Ranslett is a man shackled by his Confederate past, and he’ll do anything to protect his land, and his solitude. When an outspoken Yankee photographer captures an image that appears key to solving a murder, putting herself in danger, Daniel is called upon to repay a debt. He’s a man of his word, but repaying that debt could reveal secrets from his past he would prefer remain buried.

Forced on a perilous journey together, Daniel and Elizabeth’s lives intertwine in ways neither could have imagined when first they met from a distance.

From a Distance (Timber Ridge Reflections, Book 1) by Alexander, Tamera

no rating

No description available.

Trading from Your Gut: How to Use Right Brain Instinct & Left Brain Smarts to Become a Master Trader by Curtis Faith

3.5 stars, 49 reviews

Legendary traders like Jesse Livermore, George Soros, Richard Dennis, and Steven Cohen use their full range of powers that encompass both instinct and analysis. That’s how they made their fortunes–and that’s how you can, too.

In Trading from Your Gut, Curtis Faith, renowned trader and author of the global bestseller Way of the Turtle, reveals why human intuition is an amazingly powerful trading tool, capable of processing thousands of inputs almost instantaneously. Faith teaches you how to harness, sharpen, train, and trust your instincts and to trade smarter with your whole mind . . .

Leading at a Higher Level, Revised and Expanded Edition: Blanchard on Leadership and Creating High Performing Organizations by Ken Blanchard

2.5 stars, 7 reviews

From The One Minute Manager® to Raving Fans, Ken Blanchard’s books have helped millions of people unleash their power and the potential of everyone around them. The Ken Blanchard Companies has helped thousands of organizations become more people oriented, customer centered, and performance driven.

Now, in this fully updated edition of Leading at a Higher Level, Blanchard and his colleagues bring together all they’ve learned about world-class leadership. You’ll discover how to create targets and visions based on the “triple bottom line” and make sure people know who you are, where you’re going, and the values that will guide your journey . . .

Filed under: Free eBooks, Kindle | Tags: free kindle ebooks | No Comments »

To download the free ebooks below, you’ll need to set up an account with Amazon and, if you don’t own a Kindle, download a free Kindle app for the iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Blackberry, Android-powered devices, PC, or Mac computers.

Bright of the Sky by Kay Kenyon

4.5 stars, 28 reviews

At the start of this riveting launch of a new far-future SF series from Kenyon (Tropic of Creation), a disastrous mishap during interstellar space travel catapults pilot Titus Quinn with his wife, Johanna Arlis, and nine-year-old daughter, Sydney, into a parallel universe called the Entire. Titus makes it back to this dimension, his hair turned white, his memory gone, his family presumed dead and his reputation ruined with the corporation that employed him.

The corporation (in search of radical space travel methods) sends Titus (in search of Johanna and Sydney) back through the space-time warp. There, he gradually, painfully regains knowledge of its rulers, the cruel, alien Tarig; its subordinate, Chinese-inspired humanoid population, the Chalin; and his daughter’s enslavement. Titus’s transformative odyssey to reclaim Sydney reveals a Tarig plan whose ramifications will be felt far beyond his immediate family. Kenyon’s deft prose, high-stakes suspense and skilled, thorough world building will have readers anxious for the next installment. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Your Credit Score, Your Money & What’s at Stake: How to Improve the 3-Digit Number that Shapes Your Financial Future by Weston, Liz Pulliam

4.5 stars, 50 reviews

In post-crash America, it’s tough to get credit…and even tougher to get rates and terms you can afford. That makes your credit score more important than ever before. Now, MSN Money/L.A. Times personal finance columnist Liz Pulliam Weston has updated her best-selling book on credit scores to show how you can maximize your score right now–and save yourself a fortune!

Weston reveals the tough new realities of borrowing and credit scoring, and shows why they aren’t going to change any time soon. She rips away the mystery surrounding credit scoring, including the FICO 08 overhaul, and tells you exactly how to use the new system to maximize your score.

You’ll learn how to fight back against lenders who want to lower your limits or raise your rates…bounce back from bad credit and bankruptcy…choose the right credit solutions and avoid options that only make things worse. One step at a time, Weston will help you build (or rebuild) your credit score–so you can get the credit you need and deserve!

Autobiography of a Yogi (Reprint of Original 1946 Edition) by Yogananda, Paramhansa

4.5 stars, 81 reviews

The original text of Yogananda’s classic introduction to Eastern mysticism.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Rorey’s Secret (Country Road Chronicles #1) by Kelly, Leisha

4.5 stars, 10 reviews

The Worthams and Hammonds are as close as two families could be, sharing almost everything on their Depression-era Illinois farms. So when a raging fire breaks out and threatens to destroy the Hammond farm, both families are affected by the tragedy. But how did the fire start?

Several of the kids know the truth, but no one is talking. As the families try to overcome aching loss, misplaced blame, troubled relationships, and an upsetting secret, they once again find themselves clinging desperately to their trust in God. In this compelling tale of faith, hardship, and community, acclaimed author Leisha Kelly continues the much-loved story of the Wortham family, who with courage and determination discover the power of forgiveness to restore and heal.

The Goddess Of Fried Okra by Jean Brashear

5 stars, 12 reviews

Grief. Hope. Love. Sword fights. And the crisp glory of fried okra. Ex-cocktail waitress and “convenience story professional” Eudora “Pea” O’Brien is filled with grief and regret, low on cash and all alone. Headed down the hot, dusty back roads of central Texas, Pea is convinced she’ll find a sign leading her to the reincarnated soul of the sister who raised her. A sign that she’s found her place in the world of the living again. At least that’s what the psychic promised.

In an unforgettably funny and poignant journey, Pea collects an unlikely family of strays-a starving kitten, a pregnant teenager, a sexy con man trying to go straight, and a ferocious gun dealer named Glory, who introduces Pea to the amazing, sword-wielding warrior goddesses of Texas author Robert E. Howard-creator of the Conan the Barbarian novels-and celebrated in festival every year. Six foot tall, red-headed Pea looks good with a sword in her hand. Glory, the goddesses, and a grandmotherly café owner become Pea’s unlikely gurus as she struggles to learn swordplay and the art of perfect fried okra. She’ll have to master both if she’s going to find what matters most-her own lost soul.

The Ocean Inside by Janna McMahan

4.5 stars, 7 reviews

McMahan’s debut novel is a vividly drawn but uneven love letter to coastal South Carolina. Emmett and Lauren Sullivan’s lifestyle has never matched their upper-crust neighbors’, but they’ve been comfortable raising their daughters in their money pit of an ancestral home. Then their nine-year-old daughter, Ainslie, is stricken with a rare form of cancer, and the family is plunged into chaos. Suddenly Emmett is battling a recalcitrant insurance company; the stress of caring for a sick child full-time begins to take its toll on Lauren; and 18-year-old Sloan’s college plans are in jeopardy.

As the parents’ financial and emotional problems consume the family, Sloan finds escape with a new boyfriend whose preppy good looks and moneyed charm mask a dangerous streak. McMahan’s descriptions of the Lowcountry and its unique climate and customs jump off the page, but her characters and plot have trouble matching the wealth of scenery. There’s emotional sincerity and depth, and ample talent for description and pacing, but the eventual payoff and resolution, though unconventional, falls slightly flat. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A Flower Blooms on Charlotte Street: A Novel by Propst, Milam McGraw

4.5 stars, 5 reviews

In 1898, after her mother’s death, Ociee runs wild with her brothers in Marshall County, Mississippi. Her mother’s sister, Aunt Mamie, has other plans for Ociee. Her loving father agrees and packs his only daughter on the train to go live with her aunt on Charlotte Street in Ashville, North Carolina; it is the biggest metropolis that the child has ever seen. This protagonist, lively and sympathetic, stars in a story that is permeated with familial love. A 2000 Parents’ Choice® Recommended winner.
Reviewed by Kemie Nix, Parents’ Choice® 2000 — From Parents’ Choice

A Nail Through the Heart by Timothy Hallinan

5 stars, 1 review

Poke Rafferty was writing offbeat travel guides for the young and terminally bored when Bangkok stole his heart. Now the American expat is assembling a new family with Rose, the former go-go dancer he wants to marry, and Miaow, the tiny, streetwise urchin he wants to adopt. But trouble in the guise of good intentions comes calling just when everything is beginning to work out.

Poke agrees to take in Superman, Miaow’s troubled and terrifying friend from the gutter. Then he agrees to help locate a distraught Aussie woman’s missing uncle and accepts a generous payment to find a blackmailing thief. No longer gliding carelessly across the surface of a culture he doesn’t really understand, suddenly Poke is plodding through dark and unfamiliar terrain—and everything and everyone he loves is in terrible danger.

The Sari Shop Widow by Bantwal, Shobhan

3.5 stars, 39 reviews

Pungent curry. . .sweet fried onions. . .incense. . .colorful beads. . .lush fabrics. Shobhan Bantwal’s compelling new novel is set on the streets of Edison, New Jersey’s Little India, where a young businesswoman rediscovers the magic of love and family. . .

Since becoming a widow at age twenty-seven, Anjali Kapadia has devoted herself to transforming her parents’ sari shop into a chic boutique, brimming with exquisite jewelry and clothing. Now, ten years later, it stands out like a proud maharani amid Edison’s bustling Little India. But when Anjali learns the shop is on the brink of bankruptcy, she feels her world unraveling. . .

To the rescue comes Anjali’s wealthy, dictatorial Uncle Jeevan and his business partner, Rishi Shah-a mysterious Londoner, complete with British accent, cool gray eyes, and skin so fair it makes it hard to believe he’s Indian. Rishi’s cool, foreign demeanor triggers distrust in Anjali and her mother. But for Anjali, he also stirs something else, a powerful attraction she hasn’t felt in a decade. And the feeling is mutual. . .

Love disappointed Anjali once before and she’s vowed to live without it-though Rishi is slowly melting her resolve and, as the shop regains its footing, gaining her trust. But when a secret from Rishi’s past is revealed, Anjali must turn to her family and her strong cultural upbringing to guide her in finding the truth. . .

Face of Betrayal (Triple Threat Series #1) by Wiehl, Lis and Henry, April

3.5 stars, 182 reviews

Wiehl, a Fox News commentator and legal analyst, teams with mystery veteran Henry (Buried Diamonds) on a sizzling political thriller. When 17-year-old Senate page Katie Converse goes missing on her Christmas break near her parents’ white Victorian home in Portland, Ore., law enforcement and media personnel go into overdrive in a search for clues.

Three friends at the pinnacle of their respective careers—Allison Pierce, a federal prosecutor; Cassidy Shaw, a crime reporter; and Nicole Hedges, an FBI special agent—soon discover that Katie wasn’t the picture of innocence painted by her parents. It appears Katie was having an affair with a much older man, a senator whose political career could be derailed if the affair was publicized. The seamless plot offers a plethora of twists and turns. A blurb from Fox News commentator Bill O’Reilly will help draw attention to Wiehl’s debut. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Filed under: Free eBooks, Kindle | Tags: free kindle ebooks | No Comments »

Forevermore by Cathy Marie Hake

4 stars, 18 reviews

Like a dandelion in the wind, Hope Ladley blows from one farm to the next, helping cook for the field hands during the harvest. Illiterate and often twisting cliches and Bible verses into mind-boggling observations, Hope leaves widower Jakob Stauffer baffled by her unconventional ways. But her sunny disposition and unstinting love make changes of a different kind around the place.

His little daughter and the pregnant sister he’s shielding from an abusive husband adore Hope, and things are getting accomplished even if Hope’s methods are unique. Then Jakob’s brother-in-law shows up and threatens the newfound peace and happiness of the farm. With Jakob’s future uncertain and his heart tangled, can the farmer convince Hope to take root and remain as his wife?

St. Dale by Sharyn McCrumb

4.5 stars, 37 reviews

A group of stock car racing fans embarks on a bus tour of Southern speedways—seven states in eight days—as a tribute to legendary NASCAR champion Dale Earnhardt in this meandering road novel modeled after the Canterbury Tales. Harley Claymore, a down-and-out race car driver who yearns to be reinstated, is a tour guide with an encyclopedic knowledge of spectacular races and risk-loving drivers.

His “Where are you folks from?” introduces a diverse group of tour participants: Karen and Shane plan to be married at the first stop, where the bride’s Wiccan mother will be waiting, and the groom will try to come to terms with his grief over the death of his hero, Dale, in the 2001 Daytona 500; longtime fan Jim, married 47 years to Arlene, hopes her incipient Alzheimer’s won’t spoil their enjoyment of the tour; Bill Knight, an Episcopalian priest in smalltown Canterbury, N.H., is chaperone for a dying orphan who was selected for a Last Wish trip; Nebraska resident Ray has proudly plowed his alfalfa field with a giant three (Dale’s racing number).

Veteran McCrumb provides a lively illustration of the cult of celebrity and offers instructive speculation about the human need for heroes. Minimal drama and suspense, however, will make this best suited to those who thrill at the sight of a memorial number three.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Falling Out Of Fashion by Karen Yampolsky

3.5 stars, 17 reviews

In the bestselling tradition of The Devil Wears Prada, Karen Yampolsky-s hilarious and disarmingly candid debut goes deep inside the glossy, glamorous, and completely ruthless world of magazine publishing, where bitchiness and betrayal are always in vogue, and this month-s hotshots are just one dud issue away from a pink slip and a one-line career obit on Page Six-

As a teenager at a prestigious prep school, Jill White studied her roommate-s magazines, filled with airbrushed-beyond-recognition photos of whisper-thin blondes who hadn-t finished a meal since third grade. She dreamed of one day starting a magazine of her own that would feature women of all sizes and colors-smart, witty, real women with aspirations beyond tinier thighs and shinier hair.

Sullivan’s Justice by Nancy Taylor Rosenberg

3.5 stars, 10 reviews

First introduced in Sullivan’s Law, Ventura County probation officer Carolyn Sullivan is put to the test again as the body count—and list of suspects—quickly rises in Rosenberg’s latest confidently plotted thriller. This 3o-something single mom with a narrow waist and wide-ranging intelligence has a special gift for getting perps to talk, and two days before Christmas, she faces an especially frightening inmate, Raphael Moreno, who decapitated his own mother, killed his sister and decimated a family of five.

Though he’s not talking, she thinks he had an accomplice. Before she has a chance to fully crack Moreno, however, the plot thickens: late that night, her younger brother, Neil, a meth addict but also a successful artist, calls for help, having just discovered his girlfriend Laurel’s body floating in his swimming pool. Though Neil will be considered a suspect, his alibi, a rich, conniving, sexually avid ex-girlfriend who lured him into bed that night, refuses to clear his name. Soon, another woman is murdered just a few blocks from Neil’s house, raising the prospect of serial killing, and a full-scale investigation begins to link the homicides to Moreno’s case. Thriller enthusiasts will relish the intricate plot, accelerating action and novel climax of this gripping ride.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Mozart’s Blood by Louise Marley

5 stars, 3 reviews

Marley, a musician and writer, has produced a stunning drama inspired by the life of Teresa Saporiti, the first Donna Anna. Teresa, an aspiring singer, was turned into a vampire by a Czech aristocrat. As bad as the need for blood are the memories of the victims, which remain with the taker. Teresa has learned to deal with them, but Mozart, whom the baroness bit at the same time, never did and died painfully because he could not bring himself to satisfy the unnatural thirst.

In San Francisco in 1906, Teresa meets Ugo, a Silician werewolf with a very curious past of his own. They become partners, guarding each other’s backs. In twenty-first-century Milan, an egoistic baritone thinks he has figured out Teresa’s secret and abducts Ugo to obtain the blood that holds Mozart’s memories. The story covers four centuries, but the shifts between the past and the present are seamlessly handled, and the development of Teresa and Ugo over those centuries is impressive. An engrossing piece, from overture to final chord. –Frieda Murray

All Tied Up: Pleasure Inn, Book 1 by Cathryn Fox

4 stars, 6 reviews

Need the job done right? Get a handyman with the right-tools.

Pleasure Inn, Book 1

Interior decorator Lindsay Bell jumped at the chance to help restore the old inn at Mason Creek. What could be more fun than letting her imagination run wild on an unlimited budget? Eagerly she plans to turn her assigned room into a fantasy BDSM playground.

All she expected from her newly hired handyman was to help her tear down a support wall. She certainly didn-t expect Brad Caldwell to be so drop-dead gorgeous in a tool belt. When he proves to be a steady, hardworking, stand-up guy-unlike the men she-s dated-Lindsay has a new and wicked idea.

To take her new creation on a test drive down the road of their deepest, darkest, most delicious desires-and seduce her way into his heart.

Warning: Smokin- hot sex with creative use of toys, and a dash of magic.

The Wicked House of Rohan by Anne Stuart

2.5 stars, 2 reviews

A fallen woman. A most wicked plan for redemption.

Venice, 1740.

Desperate, starving, Kathleen Strong makes her way to a job interview that promises a chance at proper employment…and maybe a bite to eat. Accused of “gross immorality,” she’s adrift after being dismissed from her governess position, despite being entirely innocent.

That innocence is precisely what a mysterious group of debauched aristocrats finds so alluring about Miss Strong. When they propose a scandalous offer that she can’t refuse…she can’t refuse. But if the darkly gallant Alistair Rohan, a gentleman involved in all manner of wicked deeds himself, has anything to say about it, Kathleen can escape her disrepute in another way.

Of course, the escape route looks very similar to the group’s illicit proposition itself…

(Product images and book descriptions are from Amazon.)

Filed under: Free eBooks, Kindle | Tags: free kindle ebooks | 2 Comments »

First, the Kindle ebooks . . .

My Beautiful Disaster (The Pathway Collection #2) by Buckman, Michelle

5 stars, 6 reviews

Dixie Chambers is an average high school girl who’s just been granted access into the popular crowd. Sucked into a world that resembles one big party, Dixie falls into an intimate relationship with local rock star Vince Evans. But as his nice-guy facade begins to slip, she discovers that Vince is a better actor than musician.

Making matters much worse, Dixie learns that she’s pregnant. Terrified of her family’s response, and fearful of what her friends will think, she faces a tough decision that will change her life forever.

Author Michelle Buckman offers an edgy, realistic story for teen girls that honestly explores challenging issues facing today’s youth. Buckman balances tough themes with the hope found in God alone, leading readers to embrace their faith in everyday life. A Beautiful Disaster is the latest release in the Pathway Collection.

The Outsider: A Novel by Ann H. Gabhart

3.5 stars, 18 reviews

For as long as she can remember, Gabrielle Hope has had the gift of knowing–visions that warn of things to come. When she and her mother joined the Pleasant Hill Shaker community in 1807, the community embraced her gift. But Gabrielle fears this gift, for the visions are often ones of sorrow and tragedy. When one of these visions comes to pass, a local doctor must be brought in to save the life of a young man, setting into motion a chain of events that will challenge Gabrielle’s loyalty to the Shakers.

As she falls deeper into a forbidden love for this man of the world, Gabrielle must make a choice. Can she experience true happiness in this simple and chaste community? Or will she abandon her brothers and sisters for a life of the unknown? Soulful and filled with romance, The Outsider lets readers live within a bygone time among a unique and peculiar people. This tender and thought-provoking story will leave readers wanting more from this writer.

Darkfever: The Fever Series by Moning, Karen Marie

4 stars, 296 reviews

Drawing on elements from the paranormal world that bestseller Moning (Spell of the Highlander) created in her earlier romances, this suspense novel takes readers on a darker journey, one dominated by the search for a powerful Faery magic and bereft of the romantic magic Moning’s fans have come to expect. When MacKayla Lane, an ordinary young woman, travels to Ireland to track down her sister’s murderer, she is sucked into an extraordinary world filled with ancient secrets, vampires, assorted Fae nasties and other tough-to-kill beings.

In the process, Mac learns of her own unusual talents and finds an unlikely mentor in the wealthy and mysterious Jericho Barrons. Moning’s newest foray contains suspense and plenty of setup. Indeed, this reads like a fragment of a larger story, an introduction to character and place that, while entertaining, skims the surface. But it’s a compelling world filled with mystery and vivid characters, and this, combined with the hint of sparks between Jericho and Mac, will stoke readers’ fervor for Bloodfever, the next installment. (Nov.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Two Kindle pre-orders (no description, book covers, or ratings available). These usually expire quickly.

Hour of the Hunter: With Bonus Material: A Novel of Suspense by Jance, J. A.

A Nail Through the Heart: With Bonus Content by Hallinan, Timothy.

Free Nook Books

FREE 25 Language Phrasebook: by MobileReference

4.5 stars, 9 reviews

FREE 25 Language Phrasebook: German, French, Spanish, Catalan, Portuguese, Italian, Greek, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Czech, Polish, Hungarian, Russian, Croatian, Turkish, Hebrew, Arabic, Japanese, Chinese, Indonesian, Malay, and Thai. Navigate from Table of Contents or search for words or phrases.

Learn how to say Hello, How are you, Please, Thank you and much more in 25 languages!

Northfield: A Western Story by Johnny D. Boggs

4 stars, 131 reviews

On September 7, 1876, the James-Younger gang attempted to rob the First National Bank of Northfield, Minnesota, with disastrous consequences. In a unique, compelling approach, author Johnny D. Boggs shifts perspectives from one first-person account to another to describe the bloody robbery, as well as the events leading to it and its aftermath.

Maximum Ride: Fang – Free Preview: Book One by James Patterson

3.5 stars, 297 reviews

FANG WILL BE THE FIRST TO DIE.

For years, Max has been desperately on the run from evil forces trying to prevent her from her destiny to save the world — but nothing has ever rocked her world like this horrifying prophetic message . Fang is Max’s best friend, her soul mate, her partner in leading the flock of winged children. A life without Fang is unimaginable.

Max’s desperate desire to protect Fang brings the two closer than ever. But their world is turned upside down yet again when another winged boy, the beautiful Dylan, is introduced into the flock. Raised in a lab, like the flock, he exists for only one reason: He was created to be Max’s perfect other half.

Now a battle of science against soul and perfection versus passion unfolds, twists and turns . . . A meanwhile, the apocalypse is coming.

Darkfever (Fever Series #1) by Karen Marie Moning

4 stars, 490 reviews

MacKayla Lane’s life is good. She has great friends, a decent job, and a car that breaks down only every other week or so. In other words, she’s your perfectly ordinary twenty-first-century woman.

Or so she thinks…until something extraordinary happens.

When her sister is murdered, leaving a single clue to her death – a cryptic message on Mac’s cell phone – Mac journeys to Ireland in search of answers. The quest to find her sister’s killer draws her into a shadowy realm where nothing is as it seems, where good and evil wear the same treacherously seductive mask. She is soon faced with an even greater challenge: staying alive long enough to learn how to handle a power she had no idea she possessed – a gift that allows her to see beyond the world of man, into the dangerous realm of the Fae…

As Mac delves deeper into the mystery of her sister’s death, her every move is shadowed by the dark, mysterious Jericho, a man with no past and only mockery for a future. As she begins to close in on the truth, the ruthless Vlane – an alpha Fae who makes sex an addiction for human women – closes in on her. And as the boundary between worlds begins to crumble, Mac’s true mission becomes clear: find the elusive Sinsar Dubh before someone else claims the all-powerful Dark Book – because whoever gets to it first holds nothing less than complete control of the very fabric of both worlds in their hands…

The Lost Hero (Heroes of Olympus Series #1) by Rick Riordan

4 stars, 172 reviews

After saving Olympus from the evil Titan lord, Kronos, Percy and friends have rebuilt their beloved Camp Half-Blood, where the next generation of demigods must now prepare for a chilling prophecy of their own:

Seven half-bloods shall answer the call,
To storm or fire the world must fall.
An oath to keep with a final breath,
And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death.

Now, in a brand-new series from blockbuster best-selling author Rick Riordan, fans return to the world of Camp Half-Blood. Here, a new group of heroes will inherit a quest. But to survive the journey, they’ll need the help of some familiar demigods.

Filed under: Free eBooks, Kindle, Nook | Tags: free, free kindle ebooks | No Comments »

The headers and images of this list of free ebooks all link to Barnes and Noble for download. All the ebooks are also available for free from Smashwords in various ebook formats.

Memoirs of a Serial Killer by Tricia Bennett

4 stars, 1 review

Young Serial killer meets girl. Is he getting soft? What will happen next?

Also available in multiple formats from Smashwords »

The Great Amphibian by Michelle Richmond

no rating

In this award-winning short story by the New York Times bestselling author of The Year of Fog, a pregnant woman witnesses an unsettling act of violence at a model yacht race in Golden Gate Park. Inspired by the story of her famous great-grandfather, a man of strange aquatic gifts who disappeared on Lake Michigan many decades before, she decides to commit her own act of heroism.

Also available in multiple formats from Smashwords »

The Devil in Iron, Respawned by Roberta E. Howard

no rating

A Conyn the Barbarian story. Any resemblance to Robert E. Howard’s Conan is completely intentional. A resurrected demon menaces Conyn on an island fortress, along with other monsters. A Gender Switch Adventure.

Also available in multiple formats from Smashwords »

The Golden Road to Sararkand by Brian Lawrenson

no rating

Join a group of travellers as they visit Uzbekistan and celebrate Navrus (New Year) in Samakand, the centre of Central Asian culture. Journey to the ancient walled city of Khiva and spend time at some of most amazing bazaars in Asia.

Also available in multiple formats from Smashwords »

Fear of Dying by Richard Hunter

5 stars, 1 rating

Stephen, terminally ill with a failing liver, thought he was prepared to face his own death, but when he gets a shot at the transplant he has been waiting for, he finds himself facing his own inner demon and a chance at life he never expected to get.

Also available in multiple formats from Smashwords »

The Book of Sorrow by Iurgi Urrutia

no rating

The Book of Sorrow is a collection of poems, songs, and excerpts of prose writings that were long thought lost. Together, they open a window to the wonders of Galador. While the texts are undoubtedly unfinished they are all that remains of the literature of the time, and thus of major historical importance as Galador was a city of deep culture and traditions.

Also available in multiple formats from Smashwords »

The Mormon by Jon Thorpe

no rating

Three members of a secret organization sit in a Calcutta bar and discuss an ancient codex they have recently purloined from a Tibetan monastery. They know that the key to unlocking the knowledge contained within the codex is a young Mormon who has been spirited away to the Rason-Marinetti Oil Platform to analyze the validity of what just might be Siberian seer stones.

Also available in multiple formats from Smashwords »

A Mixture of Metals by Brian H. Jones

5 stars, 1 review

Born in Society after the War of Restitution, Simora undertakes a voyage of investigation into the faceless forces that control him — to the Southland, to an affair with ‘barbarian’ Mary, and to the Colony gulag. Finally, in the Settlement of the Guardians, he discovers why his mother disappeared. But other questions remain …

Also available in multiple formats from Smashwords »

Filed under: Free eBooks, Nook | Tags: free epub ebooks, free kindle ebooks | No Comments »

Below is a list of free audiobooks from Audible.com. If you haven’t tried audiobooks before, now’s a good time to try some for free—they’re great to listen to while driving and working.

Audiobooks from Audible work with any computer, all of Apple’s device, the Amazon Kindle, and a laundry list of other PDA’s, cellphones, and other devices.

Another way to get a new free audiobook from Audible is to click the banner to the right and sign up a free trial. There’s no obligation and you can cancel before the free trial ends.

Audible has some other free titles too (interviews and excerpts for the most part) that can be found here.

Note: Sometimes linking to Audible.com’s individual titles seems to stop working after a time. If you get an error message, just copy the book title and paste it into the search box on Audible’s website to find the listing.

A Study in Emerald by Neil Gaiman

3.88 stars, 901 reviews

Alluding to both the Sherlock Holmes canon and the Old Ones of the Cthulhu Mythos, this Hugo Award-winning short story will delight fans of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, H. P. Lovecraft, and of course, Neil Gaiman.

A Study in Emerald draws listeners in through carefully revealed details as a consulting detective and his narrator friend solve the mystery of a murdered German noble. But with its subtle allusions and surprise ending, this mystery hints that the real fun in solving this case lies in imagining all the details that Gaiman doesn’t reveal, and challenges listeners to be detectives themselves.

Length: 49 minutes – Unabridged

My Soul To Lose by Rachel Vincent

3.63 stars 159 reviews

It was supposed to be a fun day, shopping at the mall with her best friend. Then the panic attack started and Kaylee Cavanaugh finds herself screaming, unable to stop. Her secret fears are exposed, and it’s the worst day of her life….Until she wakes up in the psychiatric unit.

She tries to convince everyone she’s fine – despite the shadows she sees forming around another patient and the urge to scream that comes burbling up again and again.

Everyone thinks she’s crazy. Everyone except Lydia, that is. Another patient with some special abilities….

Length: 1 hour 48 minutes – Unabridged

FREE: The Future of a Radical Price by Chris Anderson

4.15 stars 517 reviews

The New York Times best-selling author heralds the future of business in Free. In his revolutionary best seller, The Long Tail, Chris Anderson demonstrated how the online marketplace creates niche markets, allowing products and consumers to connect in a way that has never been possible before. Now, in Free, he makes the compelling case that, in many instances, businesses can profit more from giving things away than they can by charging for them.

Far more than a promotional gimmick, Free is a business strategy that may well be essential to a company’s survival. The costs associated with the growing online economy are trending toward zero at an incredible rate. Never in the course of human history have the primary inputs to an industrial economy fallen in price so fast and for so long.

Just think that in 1961 a single transistor cost $10; now Intel’s latest chip has two billion transistors and sells for $300 (or 0.000015 cents per transistor – effectively too cheap to price). The traditional economics of scarcity just don’t apply to bandwidth, processing power, and hard-drive storage. Yet this is just one engine behind the new Free, a reality that goes beyond a marketing gimmick or a cross-subsidy.

Anderson also points to the growth of the reputation economy; explains different models for unleashing the power of Free; and shows how to compete when your competitors are giving away what you’re trying to sell.

In Free, Chris Anderson explores this radical idea for the new global economy and demonstrates how this revolutionary price can be harnessed for the benefit of consumers and businesses alike.

Length: 7 hours, 2 minutes – Unabridged

Shadow of the Crimson Queen by Eric A. Radulski

3 stars 16 reviews

Yaran Blackencloak, a bard with bad luck and a poor reputation, is ripped violently from his mundane existence when he is tempted into the service of a demon goddess. He gets more than he bargains for, though, for when Yaran tries to return to the life he knew, he finds it permanently, tragically changed.

Length: 1 hour, 11 minutes – Unabridged

Horrid Henry Robs the Bank by Francesca Simon

no rating

Horrid Henry helps himself to all the money he needs to win his favourite board game. Then he comes up with another spectacular money-making scheme for launching a newspaper with all the school gossip. He vows vengeance on Perfect Peter when Peter nicks his birthday party theme and has his own Pirate Party – and gets it by taking over as Head Teacher when Peter plays school with his goody-goody friends.

Length: 1 hour, 16 minutes – Unabridged

The Conservative Nanny State: How the Wealthy Use the Government to Stay Rich and Get Richer by Dean Baker

3.07 stars, 72 reviews

In his new book, economist Dean Baker debunks the myth that conservatives favor the market over government intervention. In fact, conservatives rely on a range of “nanny state” policies that ensure the rich get richer while leaving most Americans worse off. It’s time for the rules to change. Sound economic policy should harness the market in ways that produce desirable social outcomes: decent wages, good jobs, and affordable health care.

Length: 6 hours, 31 minutes – Unabridged

Summer’s Path by Scott Blum

2.23 stars 396 reviews

Summer’s Path is the remarkable story of Don Newport, an engineer that comes face to face with his personal destiny under extraordinary circumstances. After losing his job and his health insurance, Don learns he has a terminal disease with only a few months left to live. On his death bed, he meets Robert, a brazen angel of death that promises to help Don with a graceful exit.

As Don prepares to say his last goodbyes to his loving wife, Robert attempts to change Don’s perspective about his mortality and proposes an exceptionally unique option. Robert leads Don through an astounding meditation of life and death and reveals various healing and spiritual concepts including walk-ins, embodiment and soul destiny. On this magical journey of self realization, Don discovers that it’s never too late to learn profound life lessons about ourselves and our loved ones.

Length: 4 hours, 4 minutes – Abridged

(Audiobook images and descriptions via Audible.com)

Filed under: Free eBooks | Tags: audiobooks, free, free kindle ebooks | No Comments »

Darkfever: The Fever Series by Karen Marie Moning

4 stars, 293 reviews

MacKayla Lane’s life is good. She has great friends, a decent job, and a car that breaks down only every other week or so. In other words, she’s your perfectly ordinary twenty-first-century woman.

Or so she thinks…until something extraordinary happens.

When her sister is murdered, leaving a single clue to her death – a cryptic message on Mac’s cell phone – Mac journeys to Ireland in search of answers. The quest to find her sister’s killer draws her into a shadowy realm where nothing is as it seems, where good and evil wear the same treacherously seductive mask. She is soon faced with an even greater challenge: staying alive long enough to learn how to handle a power she had no idea she possessed – a gift that allows her to see beyond the world of man, into the dangerous realm of the Fae…

As Mac delves deeper into the mystery of her sister’s death, her every move is shadowed by the dark, mysterious Jericho, a man with no past and only mockery for a future. As she begins to close in on the truth, the ruthless Vlane – an alpha Fae who makes sex an addiction for human women – closes in on her. And as the boundary between worlds begins to crumble, Mac’s true mission becomes clear: find the elusive Sinsar Dubh before someone else claims the all-powerful Dark Book – because whoever gets to it first holds nothing less than complete control of the very fabric of both worlds in their hands…

DarkFever is also free from Barnes and Noble »

Tuscan Holiday by Holly Chamberlin

4.5 stars, 3 reviews

In this smart, tender, insightful new novel, bestselling author Holly Chamberlin introduces two very different women who, over the course of two unforgettable weeks, learn about unbreakable bonds, unshakeable love, and the chances that come once in a lifetime — and change us forever…When Elizabeth Caldwell planned a trip to Florence with her daughter, Marina, she secretly hoped for a warm, fuzzy bonding experience worthy of a Lifetime movie. But Marina — twenty-one, newly graduated, and close to her mom in many ways — has always been more the PBS type: dependable, practical, and completely in control. Elizabeth knows Marina wants to avoid the kind of “stupid mistake” that left Elizabeth a single mother at twenty-two, and she’s bitten her tongue as Marina settles for a wealthy fiance who gives her everything she thinks she wants.

After all, Elizabeth? — unable to bring herself to fully commit to the man she has dated for years — is hardly an expert in romance. Still, a lot can happen on vacation, especially in Tuscany, where every scent borne on the warm breeze inspires delight, and every view makes the heart soar. There, on streets once walked by Dante and Michaelangelo, Marina is blindsided by a gorgeous Italian named Luca who shows her how gloriously unpredictable passion can be, and Elizabeth finally lets go of the role that has defined her for so long to embrace her own uncertain future…

No Mercy by John Gilstrap

4.5 stars, 18 reviews

Deep inside the dangerous world of rescue operations, one anonymous hero pays no ransom, takes no prisoners, and breaks every rule. Meet Jonathan Grave. . .

No names. No feds. No trace evidence. That’s how Jonathan Grave operates. As a freelance specialist in covert rescues, he has to work outside the law to get things done—especially in highly sensitive hostage situations. But when an Indiana college student is abducted, and Jonathan’s meticulous plan explodes into a deadly shooting spree, the local authorities are out for blood—and they’re not alone. Someone wants to control a devastating secret . . . someone rich and powerful . . . someone willing to capture, torture, and kill anyone to get it. Even the people Jonathan loves most. . .

Eternal Hunter by Cynthia Eden

4.5 stars, 11 reviews

Cynthia Eden delves into the dark realms of the Others, where desires and dangerous games await the unsuspecting in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. . .

Assistant DA Erin Jerome has a secret. Make that two. One: She’s not entirely human–she’s Other, desperately trying to keep her supernatural strength under wraps. Two: she’s got a killer stalking her–an Other rogue set on “gifting” her bloody corpses, not to mention nights lying awake in terror. Small wonder she’s been having bad luck with men.

But the bounty hunter on her new case isn’t worried about any of that. Jude Donovan is a shapeshifter himself, and the new DA’s midnight hair and addictive scent tell him all he thinks he needs to know: She’s gorgeous, she’s definitely not human, and she’s bringing out the animal in him in a really good way. He might have to track a psychotic Other stalker through half of Louisiana. But he might also get the chance to watch Erin’s wild side come out and play. . .

The Heir by Paul Robertson

4.5 stars, 17 reviews

Wealth. Fame. Power. Murder.

Jason Boyer Just Got an Inheritance to Die For

The fortune wasn’t supposed to befall him.

Jason Boyer had known all along his father’s business empire would pass to different hands. Which suited him just fine. The money was crooked and the power corrupt. But when an accident claims the old man’s life, everyone is stunned by the unveiling of the will.

With the passing of the Boyer crown, power-hungry politicians and shady business partners all try to force Boyer’s hand. Fighting the temptation of influence and riches, he simply wants to be a better man than his father—but attempting to stand for what’s right soon brings murderous consequences.

Filed under: Free eBooks, Kindle | Tags: free kindle ebooks | No Comments »

Amazon added a plethora of free titles to the Kindle Store this week, mostly romance and erotica short stories from two publishers, Ellora’s Cave and Cerridwen Press. There are way too many to list so the best option is to hit the top 100 free Kindle ebooks list and take a look at the most popular ones or you can search by publisher and then sort low to high.

Here’s the list for the Ellora’s Cave ebooks and the list for the Cerridwen Press ebooks.

There are a couple of non-romance ebooks as well that are listed below.

In Between: A Katie Parker Production (Act I) by Jenny B. Jones

5 stars, 18 reviews

Unlike most kids, teenage Katie Parker never got a fair shot at a normal life. With a mother in jail and a missing-in-action dad, she’s never known what it’s like to truly be loved. Low on options and family members, she’s soon shipped off to a foster home. Now in an unfamiliar town, Katie’s rebellious attitude is at odds with her new family, school, and classmates. And after falling in with all the wrong people at school, things go from bad to really bad after she takes the blame for vandalizing the local performing arts theater.

But in the midst of a dark situation, Katie finds light in the most unexpected places: through her new friendship with an eccentric senior, the commitment of her foster family, and a tragic secret that changed them forever. And as she inches closer to acceptance and forgiveness, she finds that God has been there all along.

Bulls Island: Free With Bonus Material by Dorothea Benton Frank

4 stars, 2 reviews

Elizabeth “Betts” McGee loved those lazy afternoons on pristine Bulls Island in the Carolina Lowcountry. But everything came crashing down when tragic fate-coupled with nasty rumor and innuendo-ended her engagement to Charleston golden boy J.D. Langley of the fabulously wealthy (and fabulously snooty) Langley clan. Betts left soon after, and she hasn’t been back in nearly twenty years.

Successfully reinventing herself in New York City, Betts is now a top banking executive and heading up the most important project of her career, but it’ll transform the untouched island she loved in her youth into something unrecognizable. And it’s forcing her to return to the bosom of her estranged family, where she may not be welcomed with open arms. Worse still, it’s uniting her with ex-flame J.D., who’s changed . . . but perhaps not enough. And then there’s that crazy alligator . . .

 Subscribe to keep updated on more free ebooks

Filed under: Free eBooks, Kindle | Tags: free kindle ebooks | No Comments »

This first ebook is also available free from eHarlequin in EPUB, PDF, LIT, and Mobipocket formats.

Winter’s Passage by Julie Kagawa

4.5 stars, 9 reviews

Meghan Chase used to be an ordinary girl…until she discovered that she is really a faery princess. After escaping from the clutches of the deadly Iron fey, Meghan must follow through on her promise to return to the equally dangerous Winter Court with her forbidden love, Prince Ash. But first, Meghan has one request: that they visit Puck–Meghan’s best friend and servant of her father, King Oberon–who was gravely injured defending Meghan from the Iron Fey.

Yet Meghan and Ash’s detour does not go unnoticed. They have caught the attention of an ancient, powerful hunter–a foe that even Ash may not be able to defeat….

An eBook exclusive story from Julie Kagawa’s Iron Fey series.

The One Year Daily Insights with Zig Ziglar by Zig Ziglar and Dwight “Ike” Reighard

5 stars, 2 reviews

A well-known authority on complete and balanced success, Zig Ziglar has authored such best sellers as See You at the Top, Top Performance, Over the Top, and Secrets of Closing the Sale. As popular motivational speaker, Zig Ziglar has spoken on the same stage as Presidents Ford, Reagan, Bush, General Norman Schwarzkopf, Secretary of State Colin Powell, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, and Paul Harvey.

Now, for the first time ever, Zig Ziglar has gathered his insights on what the Bible says about life.

Critical Care by Candace Calvert

4.5 stars, 29 reviews

After her brother dies in a trauma room, nurse Claire Avery can no longer face the ER. She’s determined to make a fresh start–new hospital, new career in nursing education–move forward, no turning back. But her plans fall apart when she’s called to offer stress counseling for medical staff after a heartbreaking day care center explosion.

Worse, she’s forced back to the ER, where she clashes with Logan Caldwell, a doctor who believes touchy-feely counseling is a waste of time. He demands his staff be as tough as he is. Yet he finds himself drawn to this nurse educator . . . who just might teach him the true meaning of healing.

Stumbling On Wins in Basketball by David J. Berri and Martin B. Schmidt

no rating

This Element is an excerpt from Stumbling On Wins: Two Economists Expose the Pitfalls on the Road to Victory in Professional Sports (9780132357784) by David J. Berri and Martin B. Schmidt. Available in print and digital formats.

In basketball, spending explains less than 10% of the variation in wins. Discover what explains the other 90%!

In basketball, success takes more than money. From 1997-98 to 2003-04, the Knicks finished either first or second in payroll-and won only six more games than they lost. Their -averageness- led them to hire Isiah Thomas. Few people knew more about basketball. Thomas-s path to disaster began with his first move: sending several players and draft picks to the Suns for players, including Stephon Marbury.

Clearing the Mind for Creativity by John Kao

no rating

John Kao learned a lot about creativity and innovation during his years teaching at the Harvard Business School and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Media Lab but also as a serial entrepreneur, psychiatrist, movie producer, and jazz pianist. He wrote about the topic in Jamming-The Art and Discipline of Business Creativity, a BusinessWeek bestseller that has been published in more than a dozen languages. Now, he’s distilling what he knows into a series of brief, practical guides. The topic of this one is how to clear the mind to make way for creativity and the great ideas that follow.

Come with me to Harvard. My classroom is like many others at the business school. The setting is casual and comfortable, yet conducive to drama. I lower the lights and ask my students to shut their eyes. “Picture yourself in five years,” I tell them. “Are you alone or with another person? Where do you live? Where do you work? What are you doing right now? What do you smell? What do you taste? Touch the object nearest you. What do you feel?” My students smile. I know what they are experiencing. They are playing parts in a mental performance. Initially, they are surprised by what they are imagining, but soon they are engrossed. One is walking through Washington’s corridors of power. Another is climbing an Alpine rock face. Another is standing in the Shanghai Stock Exchange. After five minutes or so, I turn up the lights and ask how they feel. They are energized, emotional, inspired….

Changing a Troubled Ship’s Course by D. Michael Abrashoff

no rating

Mike Abrashoff learned about leadership as captain of USS Benfold, a guided-missile destroyer that he and his crew transformed from a dysfunctional disgrace into the best damn ship in the U.S. Navy. He told that story in a bestselling book, It’s Your Ship. Now he’s distilling the lessons of that experience, plus what he’s learned as a consultant and speaker, into a series of brief, practical guides to effective leadership. This one focuses on turning around a troubled organization.

The Atlanta Falcons hit rock bottom the day a tornado ripped off half of its stadium’s roof. By then, their charismatic quarterback, Michael Vick, was in prison for leading a dog-fighting ring. Their coach, Bobby Petrino, had defected in mid-season to college football. They’d won only four games in 2007, losing 12. They weren’t just defeated; they were demoralized, beaten, losers. It was up to their owner, Arthur Blank, cofounder of Home Depot, to turn this sorry situation around. And in one of the deftest performances I’ve ever heard of, he did. By the end of 2008, the Falcons had gone to the playoffs with an 11-5 record. Their new coach, Mike Smith, was NFL Coach of the Year. Their quarterback, Matt Ryan, was NFL AP Offensive Rookie of the Year. “This is the season of miracles,” Blank said. But the miracles all traced to the careful moves he’d made….

(Product descriptions, ratings, and images are from Amazon.com)

Filed under: Free eBooks, Kindle | Tags: free, free kindle ebooks | No Comments »

Brandon Sanderson, author of the popular Mistborn trilogy and the writer chosen to complete Robert Jordan’s epic Wheel of Time series, released one of his novels, Warbreaker, as he wrote it so that student writers could learn about the evolution of a novel from beginning to end.

Brandon also believed that by giving away one of his books online for free, it would expand his audience and give more people the opportunity to find out that he’s a good writer, so that they will then have an interest in purchasing his other novels.

Here’s a great quote from Brandon’s website:

“I believe in my novels, and believe that if people read them, they will want to read and buy more of them. I believe that readers like to own books and, yes, even like to buy them specifically to support authors they want to write more books.”

Download Note: The link and image below directs to Brandon Sanderson’s official website where there are various versions of Warbreaker to download. The latest free versions is 6.1, and it’s available in PDF and PRC formats. If you want EPUB, download the PRC version and then convert it with Calibre (check the previous post for directions on how to use Calibre).

Version 6.1 of Warbreaker is the last step before copyediting. It contains some typos and formatting differences from the final published version. The Final version sells from most ebook sites like Amazon, Kobo, and B&N for around $7.99.

Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson

4 stars, 190 reviews at Amazon

“Warbreaker” is the story of two sisters, who happen to be princesses, the God King one of them has to marry, the lesser god who doesn’t like his job, and the immortal who’s still trying to undo the mistakes he made hundreds of years ago. Their world is one in which those who die in glory return as gods to live confined to a pantheon in Hallandren’s capital city and where a power known as BioChromatic magic is based on an essence known as “breath” that can only be collected one unit at a time from individual people.

By using “breath” and drawing upon the color in everyday objects, all manner of miracles and mischief can be accomplished. It will take considerable quantities of each to resolve all the challenges facing Vivenna and Siri, princesses of Idris; Susebron the God King; Lightsong, reluctant god of bravery, and mysterious Vasher, the Warbreaker.

Get Warbreaker free from Brandon Sanderson’s website »

Filed under: Free eBooks, eBooks | Tags: brandon sanderson, free kindle ebooks, warbreaker | No Comments »