Aug 21 2012
Daily Deals: YA and classic romance
Wal-mart is offering $100 iTunes Giftcards for $80.
The first three books are published by a company called Spark Point Studio. They sent me a press release and said if you purchased three titles (Girl Unmoored, India’s Summer by Therese, and Finding Emma by Steena Holmes) you can be entered into a contest. The first one has quite a few accolades but the second two are questionable. One review calls into question the editing. Ultimately I opted not to feature the second two because they just didn’t seem to be right for DA. If you do purchase the three titles, you can send proof of purchase to contests@sparkpointstudio.com NOW through Wednesday, Aug. 22nd and you’ll be entered into a drawing to WIN a $300 Target gift card.
Girl Unmoored by Jennifer Gooch Hummer. $1.99.
From Jacket Copy:
Apron Bramhall has come unmoored. Fortunately, she’s about to be saved by Jesus. Not that Jesus—the actor who plays him in Jesus Christ Superstar. Apron is desperate to avoid the look-alike Mike, who’s suddenly everywhere, until she’s stuck in church with him one day. Then something happens—Apron’s broken teenage heart blinks on for the first time since she’s been adrift.Mike and his boyfriend, Chad, offer her a summer job in their flower store, and Apron’s world seems to calm. But when she uncovers Chad’s secret, stormy seas return. Apron starts to see things the adults around her fail to—like what love really means, and who is paying too much for it. Apron has come unmoored, but now she’ll need to take the helm if she’s to get herself and those she loves to safe harbor.
Shut Up and Kiss Me by Christie Craig. $Free.
From Jacket Copy:
Welcome to Precious, Texas, where fistfights serve as dinner theater and fire ants rain from the sky. The locals are very friendly, if a bit eccentric. No pictures please, or you may find yourself a guest of the county morgue.
Photojournalist Shala Winters already had her hands full bringing tourism to this backward, podunk town, but her job just got tougher. Pictures can say a thousand words, and one of Shala’s is screaming bloody murder. Now she has to entrust a macho, infuriating lawman with her life — but she’ll never trust him with her heart.
Trusted or not, Sky Gomez isn’t about to let a killer get his hands on Shala’s Nikon — or any of her more comely assets, for that matter. Her mouth might move faster than a Piney Woods roadrunner, but all he can think about is how good it must taste…and how she’ll never escape true love.
Duke and I by Julia Quinn. $1.99.
From Jacket Copy:
Simon Basset, the irresistible Duke of Hastings, has hatched a plan to keep himself free from the town?s marriage-minded society mothers. He pretends to be engaged to the lovely Daphne Bridgerton. After all, it isn?t as if the brooding rogue has any real plans to marry – though there is something about the alluring Miss Bridgerton that sets Simon?s heart beating a bit faster. And as for Daphne, surely the clever debutante will attract some very worthy suitors now that it seems a duke has declared her desirable. But as Daphne waltzes across ballroom after ballroom with Simon, she soon forgets that their courtship is a complete sham. And now she has to do the impossible and keep herself from losing her heart and soul completely to the handsome hell-raiser who has sworn off marriage forever!
The Amulet of Samarkand (Bartimaeus Volume 1) (Bartimaeus Trilogy) by Jonathan Stroud. $1.99.
From Jacket Copy:
Nathaniel is a magician’s apprentice, taking his first lessons in the arts of magic. But when a devious hot-shot wizard named Simon Lovelace ruthlessly humiliates Nathaniel in front of his elders, Nathaniel decides to kick up his education a few notches and show Lovelace who’s boss. With revenge on his mind, he summons the powerful djinni, Bartimaeus. But summoning Bartimaeus and controlling him are two different things entirely, and when Nathaniel sends the djinni out to steal Lovelace’s greatest treasure, the Amulet of Samarkand, he finds himself caught up in a whirlwind of magical espionage, murder, and rebellion.
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Aug 21, 2012 @ 15:48:27
I thought the Bartimaeus Trilogy was amazing. It’s funny, yes, but also quite dark, and the characters are complex. I’d say it’s more in the vein of something like Ursula Le Guin’s Earthsea trilogy (in the respect for younger readers’ intelligence and for what fantasy can do) than of a lot of YA/middle grade fantasy being published today. I loved it.
Aug 21, 2012 @ 16:47:39
Hunger Games is on sale again today. This time it’s $1.99 at Amazon.
Aug 21, 2012 @ 20:40:35
Alas, Girl unmoored is not on sale on B&N
Aug 21, 2012 @ 20:53:12
No idea if the book is any good or not, but “Cold Kiss” by Amy Garvey (YA) is currently listed as Free on Amazon, BoB and B&N (and probably elsewhere too since it’s agency). Probably a US only deal. The paperback is $8.99
Aug 22, 2012 @ 06:18:15
I loved the Bartimaeus trilogy – I’m not sure how it translates to an ebook though, because there are so many footnotes in Bartimaeus’ POV sections. Lots of fun to read though, and at that price you can’t help but give it a try.
I did really enjoy the Bridgerton series, but that scene appalled me when I read it. I forced myself to keep reading, and thankfully there wasn’t anything that hit me like that in the rest of the series.
Aug 22, 2012 @ 12:29:00
Actually, the Christie Craig book was quite fun. The H got her camera taken away because the town did not want the Native American rituals photographed out of respect. She actually did not take any picutres, but all cameras were banned. The book did not exploit or make fun of native cultures in the least. If you are looking for a fun and easy read, Craig is very good. I have read all of her back list over the past year and enjoyed most of them. They are good “escape” books for a lazy afternoon.
Aug 22, 2012 @ 13:46:29
@Bobbie. Thanks Bobbie. I hadn’t read it so glad to get the opinion of someone who has.