Daily Deals: Contemporaries, classics, and paranormals
Instant Gratification by Jill Shalvis. $ 1.99
From the Jacket Copy:
Stone Wilder is no less a daredevil bad boy than the rest of his brothers, especially when the thrill of a lifetime is about to arrive in a surprising package. . .The Doctor Is In Deep
Wishful, California, is 3000 miles from Dr. Emma Sinclair’s last job in a New York City ER. Running her father’s clinic for a summer, Emma treats bee stings, stomach flu, and the occasional pet cat. Then there’s Stone Wilder: gorgeous, laid-back, and irritating beyond belief. Emma loathes him. Almost as much as she wants to throw him on her examining table and break every doctor-patient rule in the book. . .
Paging Dr. Sinclair. . .
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The Princess Bride by William Goldman. $ 2.99
From the Jacket Copy:
Once upon a time came a story so full of high adventure and true love that it became an instant classic and won the hearts of millions. What reader can forget or resist such colorful characters as
Westley . . . handsome farm boy who risks death and much, much worse for the woman he loves; Inigo . . . the Spanish swordsman who lives only to avenge his father’s death; Fezzik . . . the Turk, the gentlest giant ever to have uprooted a tree with his bare hands; Vizzini . . . the evil Sicilian, with a mind so keen he’s foiled by his own perfect logic; Prince Humperdinck . . . the eviler ruler of Guilder, who has an equally insatiable thirst for war and the beauteous Buttercup; Count Rugen . . . the evilest man of all, who thrives on the excruciating pain of others; Miracle Max. . . the King’s ex-Miracle Man, who can raise the dead (kind of); The Dread Pirate Roberts . . . supreme looter and plunderer of the high seas; and, of course, Buttercup . . . the princess bride, the most perfect, beautiful woman in the history of the world.
S. Morgenstern’s timeless tale—discovered and wonderfully abridged by William Goldman—pits country against country, good against evil, love against hate. From the Cliffs of Insanity through the Fire Swamp and down into the Zoo of Death, this incredible journey and brilliant tale is peppered with strange beasties monstrous and gentle, and memorable surprises both terrible and sublime.
With over one million copies in print, S. Morgenstern’s classic fantasy, in the abridged “good parts” version by William Goldman, is a readers’ favorite.
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Blood of the Wicked by Karina Cooper. $ 1.99
From the Jacket Copy:
When the world went straight to hell, humanity needed a scapegoat to judge, to blame . . . to burn.
As an independent witch living off the grid, Jessie Leigh has spent her life running, trying to blend in among the faceless drudges in the rebuilt city. She thought she was finally safe, but now she’s been found in a New Seattle strip club—by a hard-eyed man on a mission to destroy her kind.
A soldier of the Holy Order, Silas Smith believes in the cause: trawling the fringes of society for the murderous witches who threaten what’s left of the world. Forced into a twisting web of half-truths and lies, he has to stay close to the most sensuous and electrifying woman he has ever seen and manipulate her into leading him to the witch he has to kill: her brother. Silas doesn’t know that Jessie’s his enemy, only that he wants her, needs her, even as he lies to her . . . and must protect her until his final breath.
Blood of the Wicked
Sacrifice the Wicked
One for the Wicked
All Things Wicked
Lure of the Wicked
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Highland Rebel by Judith James. $ 2.99.
From the Jacket Copy:
A love story set against the backdrop of Restoration England, Jacobite Scotland and Ireland, and the rise and fall of kings, by an award-winning author.
Amidst the upheaval of the first Jacobite war in 17th century Britain, Jamie Sinclair’s wit and military prowess have served him well. Leading a troop in Scotland, he impetuously marries a captured maiden, saving her from a grim fate.
A Highlands heiress to title and fortune, Catherine Drummond is not the friendless woman Jamie believed her to be. When her people effect her rescue, and he cannot annul the marriage, Jamie determines to recapture his hellcat of a new wife.
In a world where family and creed cannot be trusted, where faith fuels intolerance and war, Catherine and Jamie test the bounds of love, loyalty, friendship, and trust…
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Gah! Am I the only one who prefers the Princess Bride movie? I found the book to be really mean and misogynistic. Also, most of the devices in the book felt way too twee for me. When I read it it alternately annoyed or angered me. The movie is just (to me) so much more enjoyable!
I’m proud to say that I bought the book The Princess Bride a zillion years ago at a yard sale, before it was a movie. I loved that book. It was my YA before there was YA. I’d take it out and reread it often and I was so excited when later I found out my beloved story was going to be a movie, because of course it would be a great movie. I still have the book sitting in a place of honor on a bookshelf nearest to eye level. I take it out and pet it sometimes. It’s a paperback with the original cover prior to the movie and even has a fold out map. How can you not love a book with a fold out map?!
@pamelia – I feel the same way! I read it in college (25 ish years ago) and enjoyed it, but I re-read it recently and gah, I was surprised at how awful all of the women characters are – they’re either shrill or vapid. I’ve discussed this on other forums and i know some people interpret it as Golden’s satire of how women are portrayed in fairy tales and I can kinda sorta see that, but I still find it unpleasant to read. And the pacing really drags – I was much more tolerant of meandering narration in my youth.
For people who love the movie, I’d say it’s worth getting the book, but be aware that the tone of the book is quite different and the frame story is different too. (Jo Walton has a nice post about the differences somewhere on tor.com.
And if you thought Buttercup was a bit useless in the movie, be warned that she has much, much less agency in the book.
I love The Princess Bride. LOVE. I love the movie and I love the book. Like a large number of other geeks, I believe that The Princess Bride is the best book to movie adaptation this side of Harry Potter.
I’m one of like 3 readers who didn’t LOVE Broken Wing (KristieJ still talks to me, and is still my roomie when we attend RWA together – she hasn’t tried to smother me in my sleep…..uh, yet anyway), but there was enough on the page for me to try her second book and I’m glad I did. I really enjoyed Highland Rebel. Quite a lot actually. It made my “Best of the Year” list back in 2009. Here’s what I wrote about it at that time:
“Great time period, great conflict, and a wounded hero (who doesn’t wallow) who’ll sell his loyalty to the highest bidder (so long as they have a shot in Hell at being the winning side). A heroine who starts out a bit rocky, but with an intriguing back story, who calls the hero on most of his bullshit (love that!). Nice romantic couple, good use of history, and a realistic ending. Trust me. Once you get past the first 50 pages, it’s fantastic.”
I must be the only person on the planet who didn’t like Princess Bride. I’ve never understood why people are so gaga over that movie. :/
At first I thought maybe I’d like the book better, but it surely doesn’t sound like it.
Instant Gratification is one of my all time favorite contemporaries. The whole Wilder series is great. I recommend it wholeheartedly.
Eve Langlais has two books out for free across the board right now — A Demon and His Witch (PNR erotic romance, I liked it quite a bit) and Delicate Freakn’ Flower (Shifter m/m/f set in Ottawa involving Lacrosse players and is one of my favourite books EVER because the heroine, while a kickass werewolf, just wants to be treated like the delicate flower she is damnit!).
@Lana Baker: No, you are not alone. I didn’t care for The Princess Bride movie and DNF’d the book.
@SuperWendy: Sold! Purchased the Judith James novel. Thanks for the excerpt from your review.