One Give away! Three good books!

Amazon is doing a fun deal for October, Amazon.com: 100 Kindle Books for $3.99 or Less. There are a couple of books on this list of 100 that are totally worth picking up, and I wanted to share them with you.

My favorite book series this year kicks off with book one, Halfway to the Grave A Night Huntress Novel eBook: Jeaniene Frost. Book two is even better than book one. The is urban fantasy and romance, with a strong female lead character named Cat and how she went from being a small time vampire hunter to becoming one of the best in the business, with the help of a sexy hunk named Bones. If you like Vampires or paranormal romance, you will probably love this.

The Eye of the World: Book One of ‘The Wheel of Time’: Robert Jordan shouldn’t need a synopsis. This is epic fantasy at its finest. And with the final book coming out next year, it’s the perfect time to start reading.

Can You Keep a Secret? By Sophie Kinsella is a fun, quick romance story that had me rolling with laughter. My husband even read this one and enjoyed it. If you need a pick me up and enjoy romance books, you’ll love this!

Now the contest! Tell me about your favorite book, and you can win the kindle version of one of these three books, your choice! Just leave me the name of the book and the author, as well as at least one sentence on why I should read that book. Please include an email address so I can contact you.

One winner will be announced on Friday October 14th. Winner chosen randomly from the comments. Spread the word!

Don’t Read: The Emperor’s Tomb by Steve Berry

I like a good suspense book…the action thriller with international scandals and political upheaval. This book dragged out the actions scenes so long, I was bored waiting for someone to die or just run out of bullets.

While the subject matter- China corruption and oil wars did interest me, the characters didn’t. Ill thought out, overly stereotyped and just a little too violent for me.

I did learn some interesting facts about oil in the back and that WAS worth reading.

The Red Queen by Phillipa Gregory

Even knowing the history and that this true story had a happy ending, I had serious trouble liking Lady Margaret. While adorable and innocent as a child bride, her plots and devotion to a son who thinks nothing of her make this book a bore. She is a flawed heroine with more ambition than personality. Her 3 marriages are horrible and cold, her son raised far away from her, etc.

Usually, I’m a fan of Phillipa’s books. This time, not so. I wanted to like this woman who was to be the Grandmother of Henry the 8th, but I really don’t. I don’t know if that’s the writing or the reality of the person herself.

Infinity by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Teen fic be damned. This was  a real page turner! Nic is a very poor New Orleans kid whose Mom is a stripper. Not the environment for a hero, right? Wrong. Nic soon learns that being in the haunted city isn’t just a metaphor, he starts to see things he’s never believed before. And comes into his own powers just in time for an epic battle that is to come. And maybe some revenge on those jocks who picked on him…and who doesn’t dream of that?

Filled with fun characters, mythic elements and man-made zombies, this book kept me thinking about, gnawing at my brains (LOL) until I had to finish it. I especially liked how nothing was as it seemed, even after being revealed; it would peel again into another story yet untold!

Infinity by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Packing for Mars

Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void By Mary Roach is a rather fun book for anyone who has ever thought about space travel. Mary Roach has a witty, relatable way of informing the reader about science while relating interesting adventures and experiments she both observes and takes part in, all in the name of science.

In this book, Roach focus on what exactly it takes to live and work in space. She flies to Japan to observe people vying for a spot in space by folding hundreds of paper cranes while being forced to live in a small space under the observation of scientists. The book contains a history of space travel, and talks about the snafu around what NASA the body of Albert, the first monkey in space, the mystery of sexy in space, and of course, all the problems out eating and voiding while in orbit.
Packing for Mars delivers hard science, entertaining facts, and keeps the reading interested and even laughing out loud. I highly recommend this nonfiction novel!

One for the Money, etc. by Janet Evanovich

Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series is very popular and for good reason.  There are now 16 books in the series and 4 “between-the-numbers” holiday books.

The series starts with One for the Money and continues with the numbered theme.  One for the Money introduces Stephanie Plum, a native of Trenton, New Jersey.  Stephanie is recently laid off from her job as a lingerie buyer and needs money fast.  Her family mentions that her cousin, Vinnie, runs a bails bond company and may be looking for office work.  Stephanie goes to Vinnie who says he doesn’t need any office help, but he is looking for a bail bonds enforcer (aka bounty hunter).  Despite some misgivings about her bounty hunting skills, she blackmails Vinnie into giving her the job.  Her motivation?  The potential for $10,000 if she turns in long-time acquaintance and resident bad boy, Joe Morelli.  Since they do have a history, namely a garage-train experience at the age of 6 years old and the losing of her virginity behind a pastry counter, Stephanie figures she’ll be properly motivated to apprehend Morelli.  Morelli is wanted for murder and eventually, with Stephanie and “security specialist” Ranger’s help, justice is served.

This book sets the theme for the rest of the series: danger, attitude, romance, heat, awkwardness and a whole lot of luck.  Each book reads almost as a t.v. series.  There is an underlying theme and the characters have their particular roles.  The books are fast reading and action packed.

Probably the best thing about this series?  The characters.  Each character is very much an individual and they are easy to love.  Stephanie, Joe, Ranger, Connie, Vinnie, Lula.  As the series continues, the characters only get better.

One for the Money is being filmed as a movie as well.  The casting looks fantastic and I am eagerly awaiting it’s opening.

Time Travelers Never Die

I’ve been a Jack McDevitt fan for years. Like all successful sci-fi writers, he was getting a little formulaic after many years in the same timeline. This book broke the rut! New universe and totally new characters.

Adrian Shelburne inherits a rather odd gift from his presumed dead father, a set of time travel devices. With his language expert friend in tow, they start out looking for his missing Father but soon discover why he hasn’t come back- the entire catalog of human history is too much to pass up.

I liked that it was lacking most of the time travel clichés and it sets a clear line as to what is possible and what’s not. The romps through history are not the usual see Rome burn OR see epic battles; they dig much deeper into events. I found myself at times looking a few things up that I didn’t know about.

The characters are likeable, the villains are never what they appear and the heroes are never saints. An excellent sci-fi read.

Mennonite in a Little Black Dress

A memoir by Rhoda Janzen.

It’s an unusual  day when I pick up a non-fiction book. I was captured by the title because it sounds naughty. Rhoda’s honest and funny look at a life she left behind, came back to and then made peace with is a page turner.

In her 40’s, her life is completely blown away by cancer and her husband’s announcement that he’s found someone on gay.com. She returns home to a family that she never understood but who accept her with love and appreciation. This book however, is not a sob story or recommendation for joining the Mennonites. It’s a love letter with funny stories of her freakish childhood eating parsnip cookies and wearing odd clothes. There is a soul searching tone and the realization that she’s can’t be a Mennonite but she can’t throw out what she’s learned either.

I found a lot of kinship in her tale of the abusive mentally ill husband. She speaks about the rare talents that can accompany such partners and why we sometimes fall in love for all the wrong reasons.

No story too gross for her family to tell, no detail too funny! There’s an entire chapter devoted to things her Mother says in public.

A good read.

Mennonite in a Little Black Dress

Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett

This book is set during World War II and involves a very involved intelligence scheme by the British.  They are planning a large movement, but want the Germans to believe they are doing something else entirely. 

One of Germany’s best spies/agents is know as Die Nadel (The Needle) who we first meet as Henry Faber.  His current mission is to track British movements because the Nazis believe they are up to something. 

A concurrent story is told about Lucy and David.  They conceive a child, get married and soon thereafter get into a car accident that cripples David.  With David’s army career as a pilot foiled, they end up living on a very remote island off the coast of Scotland, Storm Island.  The island is very rough living and is shared only by one other man.

After much adventure, Die Nadel ends up washed ashore on Storm Island.  He stays with Lucy, David and their son.  Due to a troubled marriage and Faber’s charm, he and Lucy end up having an affair and falling in love.  What follows are their many exploits of lies and suspicion. 

As Lucy and Die Nadel go through their struggles, the British intelligence team eventually follows Die Nadel’s trail far enough and is able to take action and try to keep their scheme under wraps from Germany.

This book was a joy to read.  The characters were believable and relatable enough to get in their heads.  Follett’s research was well-done and though it is fiction, you are able to get a feel of the effects the war had on people.  The plot was full of action and intrigue and rarely was there a dull moment.

The Exile By Diana Gabaldon

The Exile By Diana Gabaldon is a graphic novel, and a prequel. The story is drawn by Hoang Nguyen, who does a wonderful job of capturing the characters.

The story itself is amazing, but only if you have read Outlander, which is the first book. The Exile assumes that you know the general storyline from Claire’s perspective. If you haven’t read Outlander, you need to skip the Exile until you have finished Outlander.

The story begins before Outlander starts, with Jamie’s arrival in Scottland. Murtagh meets him the beach. Before the two of them can plan their next move, they find themselves swept up in the events which lead to Claire and Jamie’s fateful meeting. If you loved Jamie before, you will find yourself falling in love with him even more, realizing how quickly he bonded with Claire, and what Claire meant to him before she had any idea how deep their bond would be.

If you love Outlander, you will enjoy the story of The Exile. The art is also very good, although Claire seems even prettier than I ever pictured her. I highly recommend this graphic novel!