Books On Sale

Thieves, Laura Ingalls Wilder, & More

  • Whiskey Beach

    Whiskey Beach by Nora Roberts

    UPDATE: Deal no longer valid.

    RECOMMENDEDWhiskey Beach by Nora Roberts is $1.99! This is a standalone romantic suspense. I know Elyse frequently turns to Roberts’ books for comfort or to help get out of a slump. However, some found this book rather boring and wouldn’t recommend the audio version. Have you read this one?

    For more than three hundred years, Bluff House has sat above Whiskey Beach, guarding its shore – and its secrets.

    To summer tourists, it’s the crown jewel of the town’s stunning scenery. To the residents of Whiskey Beach, it’s landmark and legend. To Eli Landon, it’s home…

    A Boston lawyer, Eli has weathered an intense year of public scrutiny and police investigation after being accused of murdering his soon-to-be ex-wife. And though there was never enough evidence to have him arrested, his reputation is in tatters as well as his soul. He need sanctuary. He needs Bluff House.

    While Eli’s beloved grandmother is in Boston, recuperating from a nasty fall, Abra Walsh has cared for Bluff House, among her other jobs as yoga instructor, jewelry maker, and massage therapist. She is a woman with an open heart and a wide embrace, and no one is safe from her special, some would say over-bearing, brand of nurturing – including Eli.

    He begins to count on Abra for far more than her cooking, cleaning, and massage skills, and starts to feel less like a victim – and more like the kind of man who can finally solve the murder of his wife and clear his name. But Bluff House’s many mysteries are a siren song to someone intent on destroying Eli and reaping the rewards. He and Abra will become entangled in a centuries-old net of rumors and half-truths that could pull them under the thunderous waters of Whiskey Beach…

    Passion and obsession, humor and heart flow together in a novel about two people opening themselves up to the truth – and to each other.

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  • A Wilder Rose

    A Wilder Rose by Susan Wittig Albert

    A Wilder Rose by Susan Wittig Albert is $1.99 at Amazon. This is literary historical fiction about Laura Ingalls Wilder and her daughter, Rose Wilder Lane, based on Lane’s diaries and Wilder’s letters. The author explores their relationship, and the reasons why Lane’s involvement in her mother’s publishing career was concealed. If you know of a Little House of the Prairie fan or you really like historical fiction, this book might make you a happy reader indeed.

    In 1928, Rose Wilder Lane—world traveler, journalist, much-published magazine writer—returned from an Albanian sojourn to her parents’ Ozark farm. Almanzo Wilder was 71, Laura 61, and Rose felt obligated to stay and help. To make life easier, she built them a new home, while she and Helen Boylston transformed the farmhouse into a rural writing retreat and filled it with visiting New Yorkers. Rose sold magazine stories to pay the bills for both households, and despite the subterranean tension between mother and daughter, life seemed good.

    Then came the Crash. Rose’s money vanished, the magazine market dried up, and the Depression darkened the nation. That’s when Laura wrote her autobiography, “Pioneer Girl,” the story of growing up in the Big Woods of Wisconsin, on the Kansas prairie, and by the shores of Silver Lake. The rest—the eight remarkable books that followed—is literary history.

    But it isn’t the history we thought we knew. For the surprising truth is that Laura’s stories were publishable only with Rose’s expert rewriting. Based on Rose’s unpublished diaries and Laura’s letters, A Wilder Rose tells the true story of the decade-long, intensive, and often troubled collaboration that produced the Little House books—the collaboration that Rose and Laura deliberately hid from their agent, editors, reviewers, and readers.

    Why did the two women conceal their writing partnership? What made them commit what amounts to one of the longest-running deceptions in American literature? And what happened in those years to change Rose from a left-leaning liberal to a passionate Libertarian?

    In this impeccably researched novel and with a deep insight into the book-writing business gained from her own experience as an author and coauthor, Susan Wittig Albert follows the clues that take us straight to the heart of this fascinating literary mystery.

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  • Fraternize

    Fraternize by Rachel Van Dyken

    Fraternize by Rachel Van Dyken is $1.99! This is a contemporary romance with a love triangle element. If you want to be surprised at who the heroine winds up with, DO NOT read the description of the second book as the man not picked is the hero of that one. Readers love the heroine, but felt the book was a little too silly at times.

    Emerson just made her dream come true as a professional cheerleader for her favorite pro football team. But even though the plus-size athlete is breaking down boundaries, she still has to contend with the massive rulebook. Carbs? Nope. Chocolate? Definitely not. Still, Emerson loves her curves, and she’ll rock the hell out of this job even if it kills her. Except for one mandate that is easier read than done…

    No fraternizing with the players.

    Problem one is Miller Quinton: Emerson’s first love, first sex, and the guy who still ignites her daydreams and R-rated fantasies. Thrown back together, Miller and Emerson feel the undeniable pull of passion again, even if the conflict that tore them apart seems insurmountable. Then there’s way-too-sexy Grant Sanchez. He has a serious reputation with the ladies, and when it comes to winning someone he wants, he doesn’t let anyone stand in his way.

    Now Emerson is breaking every rule in the manual. But what she doesn’t know is that she’s part of a wicked little game—one that could steal both her dream and her heart.

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  • The Sapphire Affair

    The Sapphire Affair by Lauren Blakely

    The Sapphire Affair by Lauren Blakely is $1.99! This is a romantic suspense that Elyse mentioned on July’s Hide Your Wallet as the start of a new series she was excited about. Many readers loved the mix of adventure and romance, while others said it takes a bit for the hero and heroine to initially meet. The sequel, following the same characters, is also on sale!

    Bounty hunter Jake Harlowe knows how to track a criminal. So when a group of swindled shareholders hires him to trail their former CEO, Jake expects a quick trip to the Cayman Islands to close another case. Until a devastatingly beautiful woman gets in the way.

    Steph Anderson is visiting the Caymans for a rock climbing and dive trip—or so she tells Jake. She’s really trying to find out whether or not her stepfather embezzled money from his company. The last thing Steph needs is the distraction of a sexy, charming man whose kisses drive her wild.

    Soon, the pair discover they’re after the same target—and millions in jewels. While Jake can’t be certain Steph isn’t working for her stepfather, and Steph can’t be certain Jake isn’t after the diamonds for himself, they can agree the heat between them is intense, and neither can deny the passion for long.

    But the morning after, Steph discovers that she just might have slept with the enemy, and now she’ll have to outwit him to get everything she needs…

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Comments are Closed

  1. Ren Benton says:

    Food of the Gods by Cassandra Khaw is 99 pennies. It’s two novellas (Rupert Wong, Cannibal Chef and Rupert Wong and the Ends of the Earth). It opens with undead demon babies that want to unionize, so… yeah. Get in my Kindle.

  2. RachelT says:

    I always think of ‘These Happy Golden Years’ in the Laura Ingalls Wilder series as the first romance I read, aged about 8. This was was followed by The Scarlet Pimpernel at 10 and by 11 I was hooked after being introduced to Georgette Heyer. Interestingly, the same types of books and tropes still appeal to me today, albeit in a more grown up version!

  3. Vicki says:

    Jessica: the tweets have inspired me to both follow @AnaMardoll and get the book. Very different look at the history.

  4. L. says:

    Speaking of Lauren Blakely, her Sweet Sinful Nights is a Kindle freebie at the moment.

  5. Kari Dell says:

    I have to agree with the consensus on Whiskey Beach. The characters were okay, the suspense plot was okay, but there was basically no romantic conflict between these two, so while it functions well enough as a comfort read, it didn’t earn a place on my Nora keeper shelf.

  6. Jennifer says:

    @Jessica – I was just coming here to say the exact same thing re: Prairie Fires!

  7. The Other Kate says:

    I can never read a book with a heroine named Emerson. For me that name will alays refer to my Book Husband, the sable-haired, sapphire-eyed, impeccably muscled Father of Curses, the Greatest Egyptologist of This or Any Other Age!

    (Elizabeth Peters’ Amelia Peabody series. If you haven’t read them, start with The Curse of the Pharaohs and then proceed until done.)

  8. Bu says:

    For anyone curious about the ‘Prairie Fires’ live tweets, they are collected here:
    http://www.anamardoll.com/2011/02/little-house-little-house-index-thread.html?m=1

    (I had trouble locating them on Mardoll’s actual Twitter feed, but read them here this evening while cooking and… wow. O_o)

  9. Willa says:

    Have read Whiskey Beach and loved it – a hero who has been beaten down by life – his wife’s murder and a cop who is convinced he did it but can’t find the proof. A fun, quirky heroine who makes her living doing various jobs – housekeeping, yoga classes, jewelry making. And a big, old creaky house on the beach. Fab! Re-read it just a couple of months ago.

  10. Count me among those who really liked “Whiskey Beach” – nothing crazy re:suspense plot, but I just love how Nora Roberts writes these standalone thrillers. This has her usual lovely touches with building a sense of community, and I liked that there was not a ton of angst or violence. These are my comfort reads

  11. Re: Prairie Fires–having begun reading the tweets linked above I am not sure whether the author’s treatment of the material is as critical as Mardoll’s. Does anybody know? I don’t know that I could read it if it’s delivered as ‘her life was even more difficult than you knew!’ without addressing the real issues Mardoll is pointing out.

  12. Marci says:

    Groupon has a 60-Day Kindle Unlimited deal that is FREE right now. I think current Unlimited customers can use it too(if they’ve never used the deal before.)

    Also, absolutely agree with @The Other Kate about the Amelia Peabody series. But the first book in the series is actually Crocodile on the Sandbank. The Curse of the Pharaohs is the second book. I recommend starting with Crocodile on the Sandbank to see the romance and courtship between Amelia and Emerson. But the whole series is great fun. And if you can find the audiobook versions that are read by Barbara Rosenblat they are excellent. I think they’ve been re-released with a new reader, but Barbara Rosenblat perfectly captured both lead characters. I have the whole 20 books series in print, ebook and audio formats. It’s a favorite re-read/re-listen.

  13. Bu says:

    @Patricia Burroughs

    I seem to remember the author of ‘A Wilder Rose’ covering a lot of the same events that Mardoll has referred to (in the adult lives of Laura and Rose). However, I think it was a MUCH more sympathetic look at them both — portraying them simply as flawed human beings in an often uncomfortably close mother-daughter relationship. I don’t remember much (any) critical analysis of issues like genocide, fascism, sexual abuse, politics, journalistic ethics etc.. Definitely don’t expect the scathing/head-scratching and articulate takedowns of Charles Ingalls’s life choices. (“EAT HIM.”)

    I haven’t read ‘Prairie Fires’ itself (the book Mardoll is reading).

  14. Meg says:

    I have Prairie Fires sitting next to me to begin reading, and I think I’ll finally do so.

    I am not a huge fan of Albert’s book at all – mainly because I’m one of those people who doesn’t look so favorably upon Rose. Laura had been writing her entire life. Her raw diaries she kept from her move from DeSmet to Missouri were excellent, as well as the compilation of her letters to Almanzo when she visited Rose in San Francisco. Then there’s her work on the Missouri Ruralist. I think Rose helping was ultimately a boon for Laura, but Laura always had the raw writing talent to succeed.

  15. JennyME says:

    Like @meg, I’m also not a fan of Albert’s book. Rose may have helped her mother edit her work, but Laura was the real storyteller. Rose was unable to come up with a plot of her own that wasn’t ripped from her mother’s life. Prairie Fires is on my wishlist this year and I hope to read it soon.

  16. Sue the Non-Practicing Librarian says:

    I finished Prairie Fires at 2:30 AM this morning (which says a tremendous amount in itself!) and found it the most convincing, nuanced explanation of the tangled,loving, destructive relationship between Laura and Rose. This book is an outstanding combination of biography, literary analysis, and history. I’m so glad I read it!

  17. Msb says:

    Put me with the fans of Whiskey Beach. Having treated serious crime (especially serial rape/murder) pretty uncritically as a plot device in earlier books, Roberts has started looking at how any involvement with such a thing actually affects people in more recent books, such as The Search, Witness (a favorite), Whiskey Beach and Obsession.

    As to the Peabody mysteries, the names Amelia and Emerson can refer to only two people. Was seriously disappointed in the latest addition, which Peters/Merton didn’t complete: the Painted Queen. Suppose it just shows that Peters’ writer was a much harder accomplishment than it may have looked.

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