Sunday Steals on Ebooks!

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Below are this weeks E-Book Deals on Amazon!
Prices are subject to change at any time so grab them while you can!

FREE
A Little Death by Suzanne Sizemore
Bad to the Bone by Vivi Anna
One Last Bite by Heidi Betts
‘Til We Meet Again by Stacey Kennedy
Hunter’s Choice by Shiloh Walker
Turned by Morgan Rice
The Mind Readers by Lori Brighton
Summer’s Crossing by Julie Kagawa
Beasts and BFFs by Shannon Delaney
Retro Demonology by Jana Oliver
Remedial Magic by Jenna Black
The Bro-Magnet by Lauren Baratz-Logsted

$0.99
Second Skin by Judith Graves
Bodyguard by Jennifer Ashley
Hunting Kat by Kelley Armstrong
Strange Neighbors by Ashlyn Chase
Bring Out Your Dead by Katie MacAlister
Familiar by Michelle Rowen
Unlocked by Courtney Milan
Second Son of a Duke by Gwen Hayes
Tainted by Temptation by Katy Madison
The Ice Princess by Elizabeth Hoyt
Forever Mine by Donna Grant
Knight of Seduction by Cheryl Hoyt
Forever Knight by Jackie Ivie
A Knight to Remember by Karin Tabke
Tempting by Hope Tarr
Let Me In by Callie Croix
Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini
Hereafter by Tara Hudson

$1.99
Thread of Death by Jennifer Estep
The Geek Job by Eve Langlais
Driving Mr. Dead by Molly Harper
I Love The Earl by Caroline Linden
The Wedding Vow by Jillian Hart
Trial by Fire by Jennifer Lynn Barnes ($1.59)
Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes ($1.59)
Eternal Kiss of Darkness by Jeaniene Frost (Bonus Material “Once Burned” excerpt)

$2.99
Under My Skin by Judith Graves
Chill by Stephanie Rowe (FREE for PRIME)
Into the Woods by Linda Jones
Hunting Season by Liz Carlyle
Deadly Cool by Gemma Halliday
Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan

$3.99
Reign Fall by Michelle Rowen

My Book Haul (4)

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From now on I will be posting My Book Haul on Saturdays.
Feel free to link up in the comments if you would like to share your mailbox post with me (and others) to check out.  
———————————————————————
FOR REVIEW
Along Came A Duke by Elizabeth Boyle
A Blood Seduction by Pamela Palmer
A Night Like This by Julia Quinn
Rescue Me by Rachel Gibson
AND A Blood Seduction Shot Glass
— Thanks to HarperCollins/AVON —


Darkness Before Dawn by J.A. London
— Thanks to HarperTeen —


PURCHASED
Fifty Shades Freed by E L James
— Thanks to the husband for these!  He was disappointed though because he couldn’t find the second book in the series for me. So sweet of him to think of me! —
— PaperBackSwap —

GIFTED
The Mane Attraction by Shelly Laurenston
Taken at Dusk by C.C. Hunter
Forbidden Pleasure by Lora Leigh
— Thanks to Anna from Anna’s Book Blog for spoiling me! —

So what did everyone else get this week?

BEA Panel Contest hosted by Penguin!

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Hello everyone!
Are you going to BEA?
Well unfortunately I am unable to attend. *boo*
Being on the West Coast makes it financially impossible for me to attend.
But I have a wonderful surprise for everyone who is unable to attend!
If you are unable to attend BEA, Penguin has graciously put together a goodie bag for one lucky person.
First though, if you are attending BEA, here is some wonderful news and opportunity for you!

——————————————————-
In celebration of “New York Book and Media Week”, Penguin has organized a panel at the New York Public Library and they would like to invite you to join as a valued member of the book media community.
WHO:
Lev Grossman (The Magicians)
Mari Mancusi (Blood Coven Vampire novels)
Veronica Wolff (The Watcher series)
Emily McKay (The Farm)
Laura Harrington (Alice Bliss)
James King (Bill Warrington’s Last Chance)
WHAT:
The Not-So-Secret Life of the American Teenager: Bridging the Gap between YA and Adult Fiction
On this panel, Penguin authors Laura Harrington (Alice Bliss) and James King (Bill Warrington’s Last Chance) join forces with fellow YA authors Mari Mancusi (Blood Coven Vampire novels), Veronica Wolff (The Watcher series), and Emily McKay (The Farm) to draw comparisons between Adult literature and the growing YA market. How do these authors craft novels that both teens and adults enjoy?  Whether their characters are parents reconnecting with their teenage children or teens battling high school bullies or vampires, each author offers readers a glimpse into teenage life-the milestones, the angst, the blissful moments-that both teens and parents can relate to. Moderated by Lev Grossman, author of the New York Times bestselling novels, The Magicians and The Magician King, these authors discuss books that appeal to readers of all ages.
WHEN:
 Tuesday, June 5th from 6 to 7:30 PM
WHERE:
South Court Auditorium, located in the Stephen A Schwarzman Building on Fifth Ave at 42nd Street. (New York Public Library)
If you are interested in attending this panel, please register here:
—————————————————-
Now for everyone who is unable to attend, Penguin has a special chance for one lucky person to win a fabulous gift bag.  I am so jealous of everyone who gets to enter this contest!  If you are NOT attending BEA and live in the USA, follow the rules below for a chance to win the following:
Penguin tote bag will include
1 copy of Veronica Wolff’s ISLE OF NIGHT
1 copy of Mari Mancusi’s BOYS THAT BITE
1 copy of Lev Grossman’s The Magician King
1 ARC of THE FARM by Emily McKay
Bookmarks for Rachel Caine’s BITE CLUB and Veronica Wolff’s VAMPIRE’S KISS and other cool swag, including a YA sampler.
RULES:
1. You must be 13 years or older to enter.
2. Contest is for the USA only.
3. Fill out Rafflecopter to enter!

Guest Post: Lauren Baratz-Logsted

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MY MOM – NOT! – IN FICTION
by Lauren Baratz-Logsted
My poor mother.
Maybe it’s because Mother’s Day was this past weekend, Mom’s been on my mind even more than usual lately, so much so that she’s even the inspiration for #135 in my Fortune-Cookie Tips for Writers micro-blog over at Red Room http://redroom.com/:

When your mother asks you if all the awful mothers in your novels are based on her, deny, deny, deny.

It all started with my first published novel, The Thin Pink Line. The widowed mother of sociopathic pregnancy-impersonator Jane Taylor has always favored Jane’s younger sister and is ice cold to Jane herself; in the sequel, Crossing the Line, the mother becomes a more rounded person but she’s still mostly stiff with Jane. Mom didn’t say anything about Jane’s mother, but by the time my third book came out, A Little Change of Face, yes, well…

The problem was that it actually hadn’t started with my first published novel; rather, I’d written several unpublished books before that, my mother had read most of them, most of the mothers in them were some form of toxic or nutty, so by the time she got around to A Little Change of Face, for the first time she asked, “These mothers in these books of yours – are they all supposed to be…me?”

Even while groaning inside, I knew why she was asking and I knew she had a legitimate reason to ask, because I’d broken a cardinal rule: I’d stolen an anecdote from real life and inserted it into the book. It wasn’t the first time I mined real life for humor, and wouldn’t be the last, but it was the first time Mom was at the center of the anecdote. In this case, the heroine tells the reader how her mother’s decorating style is inspired by TV Guide, by which she means that her mother has a whole panel of wall in her den on which she’s taped up TV Guide covers as though it’s wallpaper and that she’s decorated the support post in the garage in the same curious fashion. Of course Mom had done this and now, based on this one piece of concrete evidence, she wanted to know if all along, all those wretched mothers had been her.

That’s when I explained about the trope of the awful mother, how central that character is for so much comedy. The awful mother helps the writer, like a magician, shift the mirrors. When done right, the awful mother increases sympathy (“Yes, this main character is flawed, but look where she came from!”) and she provides for comic relief even within already comedic material (think Rhoda Morgenstern’s mother on the old Mary Tyler Moore Show and Rhoda). Sweet and sensitive and non-awful mothers just don’t pack the same laughter punch. Eventually, Mom got it. None of my toxic mothers were her – she was a wonderful mother! She even forgave me for using the TV Guide thing once she realized I thought it was a fine way to decorate the house; it was only my eccentric character in my eccentric book who thought differently.
Phew.
By the time I got around to writing The Bro-Magnet, my comedic novel about a man’s man whose been Best Man at eight weddings while harboring a wish to be a groom, I’d solved the mother problem. As the book opens, Johnny Smith tells the reader, “Right from the start, I’ve been a disappointment to women,” and goes on to describe his mother dying while giving birth to him, which results in his mother’s sister playing a large role in raising Johnny. That woman, Aunt Alfresca, blames Johnny for her sister’s death and reminds him of this on a regular basis. So no, in The Bro-Magnet, the mother isn’t awful; she’s actually a saint although she does happen to be dead. Aunt Alfresca, on the other hand, is a piece of work.

The Bro-Magnet is currently free for five days on Amazon and I hope you’ll check it out: http://www.amazon.com/The-Bro-Magnet-ebook/dp/B006KYQ36U/ref=pd_rhf_dp_p_t_2.

And while you’re at Amazon, you might want to also check out the Victorian suspense novel The Twin’s Daughter, a Kindle bestseller and just $1.99! http://www.amazon.com/The-Twins-Daughter-ebook/dp/B003Y3BBA8/ref=pd_rhf_dp_p_t_1.

As for Mom, please know that I do my best to keep her happy. She’s 89 now and as Mother’s Day approached, she asked me if I’d heard of that “new sex book.” I realized she was talking about the E.L. James Shades of Gray thing and I took it as a hint. On Sunday, I let her watch her Yankees instead of my Mets and while she smiled when she opened the Frank Langella autobiography I’d also bought her, her face really lit up when she opened the second package. Somehow, I have the feeling that book will be making the rounds at assisted living and Mom’s status will rise to new heights.

Wherever you are, Mom, the mothers in my novels are not you.
Lauren Baratz-Logsted is the author of 24 books for adults, teens and children. You can read more about her life and work at www.laurenbaratzlogsted.com. 

      

Immortal Danger by Cynthia Eden

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Immortal Danger
Night Watch #0.5
Author: Cynthia Eden
Source: Personal Purchase
Genre: Adult Paranormal
Publisher: Brava;
  Original edition (March 31, 2009)
ISBN-13: 978-0758226068

SUMMARY:

Being Bullet Proof Sucks—Literally

Once, Maya Black was a kick-ass cop patrolling the streets of L.A. She still keeps the city safe, but nowadays her bad guys of choice include demons, werewolves, and assorted nocturnal scum. Something Maya knows a thing or two about. She’s a vampire—and not thrilled about it. Payback meet bitch.


Adam Brody hopes Maya is as dangerous as they say she is. He needs her to help rescue his niece Cammie from a ruthless band of vamps, and he’s willing to pay—in blood. Trusting her is another matter. Adam has never met a vampire who doesn’t lie. Then again, he’s never met anyone like Maya, who fills him with a desperate need that ignites into explosive, no-holds-barred encounters…

MY THOUGHTS:

How to write this review is the question.  I have heard so many wonderful things about author Cynthia Eden so I purchased this series awhile back.  I heard the books were amazing and had kick ass hero’s.  So naturally my ears perked up, my finger started clicking on the ‘buy now’ option and I was the new owner of a new to me series.  I finally got to start reading the paranormal world that Ms. Eden created and couldn’t wait to meet the characters.

This book fell into the category of love/hate.  I loved the alpha hero of Adam Brody.  He was sex on a stick and had the heat to keep the pages on fire.  I hated the character of Maya Black though.  Yes she was a tough as nails heroine, but there was just something about her that I didn’t like.  Maybe it was the fact that she thought she could handle anything and didn’t want to really be on equal footing with Adam.  I felt that she  thought she was better than him and it just rubbed me the wrong way.  I did however, love the way the author created the paranormal characters.  They were your typical vampires, shifters, dragons, and other creatures of the night.  They were bad — with some having just enough good in them to make them the better guys — and some could even put fear into the reader with ruthlessness.

There was plenty of action that balanced well with the sexy time as well.  It wasn’t overdone in the romance, the action flowed at a great pace, and the characters were well described and not overly narrative. The author has a wonderful knack for her writing and it shows just how well she can write within the pages of the story.

While it is not a favorite book of mine,  I am curious to read more in this series.  I want to read more about the Others and the world they live in within the authors mind.  A new series for me to keep an eye on and to hopefully become a new series I can claim as a favorite.

MY RATING:

Very Good! I would recommend this book!