📚 Free Kindle Books: 11 Stories from Victorian Mysteries to Montana Cowboys 📚

Today's collection features island house fixer-uppers with surprise pilots, Victorian Gothic medical thrillers with Sherlock Holmes

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The Island House (Getaway Bay Romance Book 1)

Author: Elana Johnson

FREE

Clean & Wholesome Romance

**Charlotte Madsen’s whole world came crashing down six months ago with the words, “I met someone else.”** Thirty-seven, recently divorced, and childless—that’s Charlotte when she disembarks from the plane in Getaway Bay. She wants to get away, that’s for sure. She thought the best way to do that was to buy a run-down house overlooking the bay, knowing she’ll need all her fixer-upper skills to get it in shape. Which is just fine. She’s hoping as she overhauls the house, she’ll get a life makeover too. New paint, new floors, new Charlotte. 🏝️

She was not expecting a tall, handsome man to be under the kitchen sink when she arrives at the supposedly abandoned house. She wasn’t expecting to get drenched when the non-plumber twists something the wrong way. And she certainly wasn’t expecting **her heart to be well enough to feel anything for anyone.** But former Air Force pilot Dawson Dane has a charming devil-may-care personality, and Charlotte could use some carefree laughter in her life after six months of crying into her wine. 💕

But everything with Dawson isn’t sunshine and unicorns. **He’s estranged from his family,** though he does speak to one of his brothers. And he’s never committed to anything except his career, even choosing flying over an engagement years ago. Between renovating a house that has more problems than she expected, healing a heart that’s still raw from betrayal, and falling for a man who’s never stayed anywhere long enough to unpack, Charlotte discovers that sometimes the best fixer-upper projects are the ones that fix you back. The question is: can two broken people build something whole together? 🔧

What makes this heartwarming: Thirty-seven-year-old Charlotte’s world crashing down with “I met someone else,” buying run-down Getaway Bay house for life makeover, finding tall handsome former Air Force pilot under kitchen sink, Dawson Dane’s charming devil-may-care personality despite family estrangement, and heart unexpectedly well enough to feel again.

Silent Witnesses: A Victorian Gothic Thriller (Arlington & McCurley Mysteries Book 1)

Author: Annelie Wendeberg

FREE

Victorian Gothic Thriller

Victorian London is a city of contrasts—gaslit streets and shadowed alleys, medical progress and medieval superstition, scientific discovery and unspeakable crimes. Dr. Anton Kronberg, one of London’s most respected medical examiners, has seen death in all its forms. But when bodies start appearing with wounds that defy medical explanation, even he is disturbed. **The victims are London’s forgotten—prostitutes, beggars, the nameless poor who disappear without anyone noticing.** They’re killed with surgical precision, their bodies left as silent witnesses to horrors Anton can barely imagine. 🔬

Scotland Yard Inspector Sherlock Holmes enters the investigation, his legendary deductive methods clashing with Anton’s scientific approach. Holmes suspects a pattern, a killer with medical knowledge and a twisted purpose. But as they delve deeper into London’s underbelly—visiting workhouses, asylums, and the laboratories where medical research crosses ethical boundaries—they discover something far more sinister than a simple murderer. **Someone is conducting experiments on the living and the dead,** and the conspiracy reaches into the highest levels of society. 🕵️

Anton harbors secrets of his own, secrets that could destroy everything if discovered. Working alongside the brilliant but abrasive Holmes, navigating Victorian society’s rigid expectations, and racing to stop a killer who sees human lives as nothing more than research subjects, Anton must decide: how much truth is worth revealing when the cost could be everything? Between medical mysteries, gothic atmosphere, and a partnership forged in London’s darkest corners, some witnesses remain silent forever. 🌫️

What makes this atmospheric: Victorian London medical examiner Dr. Anton Kronberg finding bodies with wounds defying explanation, victims being London’s forgotten poor killed with surgical precision, Sherlock Holmes suspecting pattern with medical knowledge, discovering someone conducting experiments on living and dead, and conspiracy reaching highest society levels.

Silent Access: FIRE Series

Author: K.T. Coatney

FREE

Espionage Thrillers

**A rogue government faction—AC10—is out for blood.** FIRE (Federal Investigations and Reconnaissance Enforcement) is the only thing standing in their way, and AC10 has spent years infiltrating, undermining, and destroying FIRE from the inside. Now they’re ready for the endgame, and the body count is rising. FIRE agent Isobel “Izzy” O’Keefe doesn’t back down from a fight. **Smart, deadly, and armed with a custom taser whip,** she lives to take down threats that regular law enforcement can’t handle. 🔫

But when her body begins showing signs of **a mysterious neurodegenerative illness**—tremors during combat, memory lapses, deteriorating motor control—and her partner is captured by AC10, Izzy’s mission turns personal fast. She’s running out of time in more ways than one. FBI profiler A.J. Cooper is sent undercover as Izzy’s new partner to expose the traitor leaking intel from inside FIRE. Working alongside her is part of the job. **Falling for her isn’t.** Especially when the enemy always seems to be one step ahead, suggesting the mole is closer than anyone wants to admit. 💔

As AC10 prepares to weaponize stolen biometric tech that could turn every smartphone into a surveillance device and every fitness tracker into a remote kill switch, Coop and Izzy must navigate deadly traps, shifting loyalties, and **the ticking time bomb of her failing health.** One misstep could cost them the mission—and each other. Between exposing a traitor who knows their every move, stopping biometric weaponization, and racing against Izzy’s degenerative illness, some battles can’t be won with a taser whip alone. ⚡

What makes this explosive: Rogue government faction AC10 out for blood with FIRE standing in their way, agent Izzy O’Keefe armed with custom taser whip showing signs of mysterious neurodegenerative illness, partner captured making mission personal, FBI profiler A.J. Cooper sent undercover falling for her, and AC10 weaponizing stolen biometric tech as her health fails.

Aztec Odyssey (Nick LaBounty Series Book 1)

Author: Jay C. LaBarge

FREE

Historical Action Adventure

A treasure lost to time, a string of stolen artifacts, and one archaeologist determined to expose the truth. **The year is 1521, and Tenochtitlán burns.** Wracked by plague and war, the majestic Aztec empire begins to crumble as Spanish conquistadors and hordes of vengeful tribes converge on their beloved capital. As their beloved capital city falls to the ruthless Spaniards, the Aztecs make a last-ditch attempt to secretly save their heritage before it’s lost to the sands of time forever. What they hide will remain undiscovered for five centuries. 🏛️

Meanwhile in the modern day, **a string of high-profile robberies lays waste to archaeological sites and museums across Mesoamerica,** overshadowed by a brewing nationalistic fervor which threatens to topple already fragile countries. Rumors say the artifacts hold the secret to a legendary myth—The Seven Cities of Cibola—which has concealed countless treasures for centuries. Someone is assembling pieces of a puzzle that was meant to stay buried. 💎

Faced with unraveling the mysteries of both the present and the past, aspiring archaeologist Nick LaBounty embarks on **a dangerous mission to solve a long-held family mystery** and discover the truth behind the stolen artifacts. He soon finds his fate irreversibly entangled with a civilization from over five hundred years ago. But time is running out, and the future of both a fabulous treasure—and all Central America—teeters precariously in the balance. Between decoding Aztec secrets, stopping artifact thieves with deadly intent, and uncovering family history that connects him to 1521, Nick discovers that some treasures are worth dying for—and someone is willing to kill for them. 🗿

What makes this thrilling: 1521 Tenochtitlán burning as Aztec empire crumbles with last-ditch attempt to save heritage, modern day high-profile robberies laying waste to Mesoamerican archaeological sites, rumors artifacts hold secret to Seven Cities of Cibola, archaeologist Nick LaBounty solving long-held family mystery, and fate entangled with civilization from five hundred years ago.

Marquess Under the Mistletoe

Author: Jillian Eaton

FREE

Regency Historical Romance

It’s a family tradition. **Every single Appleton sister has met her husband at their parents’ annual Christmas ball.** Every single sister except for Honora, that is. Determined to maintain her independence and avoid the matrimonial fate that’s befallen her siblings like dominoes, the last thing the youngest Appleton sister wants is to be caught kissing a marquess under the mistletoe. She’s quite happy sipping warm cider and watching everyone else fall in love, thank you very much. Besides, who needs a husband when you have sisters, nieces, nephews, and freedom? 🎄

Then **a handsome stranger arrives and suddenly the cider is no longer the hottest thing in the room.** As sparks begin to fly faster than snowflakes outside the ballroom windows, will Honora be the first in her family to break tradition... or follow in her sisters’ footsteps and run towards the nearest mistletoe? The mysterious marquess seems determined to spend the evening by her side, his dark eyes promising adventures her independent life has never offered. 💕

Between dodging well-meaning relatives, resisting a nobleman who makes her pulse race in very un-independent ways, and trying to figure out why the Christmas ball suddenly feels less like a family obligation and more like destiny, Honora discovers that sometimes the best traditions are the ones you didn’t plan on following. And sometimes the best Christmas presents come wrapped in a marquess’s smile under strategically placed mistletoe. The question is: will she kiss him before midnight, or will her independence win out over the magic of Christmas? 🌟

What makes this charming: Every Appleton sister meeting husband at parents’ annual Christmas ball except determined independent Honora, handsome stranger arriving making cider no longer hottest thing in room, sparks flying as she decides whether to break tradition, and discovering Christmas magic under mistletoe with mysterious marquess.

The Deadbeat Next Door (Catalpa Creek Book 1)

Author: Katharine Sadler

FREE

Small Town Fake Fiancé Romance

**My obnoxious, unemployed neighbor is the last man on earth I’d ever marry, but to save my job and my reputation in this small town I’ll have to pretend I’m his fiancée.** I’ve always played by the rules. I work hard at my teaching job and I take care of the people I love. Sure my furniture hasn’t been updated since the sixties (I inherited it from my parents), I love classic movies, and I prefer sweater sets to mini-skirts, but that doesn’t mean I’m ready to settle down with fifteen cats and accept spinsterhood. 📚

I want to fall in love, marry the right guy—an upstanding, risk-averse, good citizen who pays his bills on time—and have kids. I just keep ending up on dates that go nowhere with men who think discussing their ex-wives is appropriate first-date conversation. **Lying to my boss, a woman who’s had it out for me since second grade,** might not be my best idea ever, but the entire town is talking about my “wild” night with my smug, unemployed neighbor, Cody Reynolds. My boss threatens to fire me and I do the wildest thing I’ve ever done—I tell her Cody is my fiancé. 💍

Truth is, **I didn’t even get to see my inconveniently gorgeous neighbor naked. Nothing happened.** But small towns and school principals with vendettas don’t care about the truth when the gossip is this good. Between maintaining the fake engagement with a man who thinks responsibility is a four-letter word, dodging my vengeful boss who’s looking for proof I’m lying, and trying not to fall for the deadbeat who’s surprisingly good at playing devoted fiancé, I’m learning that sometimes the right guy is exactly the wrong guy you’d never choose. The question is: when does pretending stop feeling like pretending? 😘

What makes this fun: Obnoxious unemployed neighbor last man she’d marry becoming fake fiancé to save job and reputation, rule-following teacher lying to boss who’s had it out for her since second grade, entire small town talking about wild night that never happened, not even seeing inconveniently gorgeous neighbor naked, and pretending with deadbeat who’s surprisingly good at playing devoted.

Romancing Miss Quill (Willful Winterbournes Book 1)

Author: Sandra Sookoo

FREE

Regency Historical Romance

**Lightning doesn’t strike twice...** Arthur Charles Winterbourne, Earl of Ettesmere, at the age of forty-four is done indulging in fanciful matters such as love and romance. When his wife died, he was brokenhearted, and he’s convinced himself that one great love is all any person deserves. During the midsummer season, he and his siblings join their mother at the Berkshire countryside for revelry and entertainment, but all he wants is to shut himself away with his grief and leave living to the ones who believe in happiness after loss. 💔

**Romance doesn’t hold a candle to science...** Miss Juliana Quill has no time for courtship or attracting a man, which is why she’s on the shelf at seven and thirty. A self-taught astronomer with a brilliant mind and unfashionable interests, she looks after her aging father and wants nothing more than to chart the stars and perhaps discover a new heavenly body. That gives her more satisfaction than marriage or rearing children ever could. No sense in wishing for more, especially since she missed her chance years ago and society has written her off completely. 🔭

**Love appears when it’s least convenient...** When a handful of mysterious notes throw Arthur and Juliana together at every turn during the house party, a slow attraction blooms from friendship. Despite their stubborn refusals and protests that they’re too old for such nonsense, desire flares and grows into a romance neither of them ever expected. While Arthur battles with guilt and memories of his late wife, she’s nearly petrified by their difference in station and age. But these two willful, love-shy people will need to open their hearts and minds to grasp a happy ending they’d never dreamed they could have. ✨

What makes this touching: Forty-four-year-old widowed Earl of Ettesmere done with love after wife’s death, thirty-seven-year-old self-taught astronomer Miss Juliana Quill on shelf with no time for courtship, mysterious notes throwing them together at every turn, slow attraction blooming from friendship despite stubborn refusals, and two willful love-shy people opening hearts to unexpected happy ending.

Runaway Duchess (London Ladies Book 1)

Author: Jillian Eaton

FREE

Victorian Historical Romance

A wealthy entrepreneur with a dark past, Gavin Graystone is not looking for love. But he does need a wife to secure a business deal and silence society gossips who question why such a successful man remains unmarried. **Setting his sights on Charlotte Vanderley, a lady of impeccable breeding—albeit questionable temperament—he makes it clear from the very beginning that emotion will have no place in their relationship.** As far as he is concerned marriage is a business contract. Nothing more and nothing less. No messy feelings, no expectations of romance, just a mutually beneficial arrangement. 💼

**Desperate to escape her engagement to the lecherous old Duke of Tarrow,** feisty, free-spirited Charlotte jumps at the opportunity to marry Gavin. Running away with him will mean defying one of the most powerful men in all of England and becoming a social pariah, but Charlotte has never let a little adversity—or a surly rogue with commitment issues—stand in her way. Gavin may not be a fairy-tale prince, but he’s certainly better than a man three times her age who smells like mothballs and makes her skin crawl. And he’s an excellent kisser, which is an unexpected bonus. 💕

But marriages of convenience rarely go as planned, and as Charlotte and Gavin embark on a journey that will take them from Gretna Green to the rolling hills of Southampton and the crowded streets of London, **they find themselves doing the one thing they both vowed they would never do. Falling in love.** Between navigating dangerous enemies who want revenge, learning each other’s dark secrets, and fighting an attraction that threatens their carefully constructed emotional walls, these two discover that the most binding contracts are written on the heart. 💍

What makes this sweeping: Wealthy entrepreneur Gavin Graystone needing wife making clear emotion will have no place in relationship, Charlotte Vanderley desperate to escape engagement to lecherous old Duke of Tarrow, jumping at opportunity to marry him despite questionable temperament, marriage of convenience journey from Gretna Green to London, and finding themselves doing one thing they vowed never to do—falling in love.

The Wasteland. Zero Circle [RealRPG Wuxia Series The Way] Book #1

Author: Mike Ignatov

FREE

Epic Fantasy

**A raging fire devoured the world of the Ancients.** Where once great cities stood with towers reaching the sky, now there’s nothing but ruins submerged in the sand, monuments to a civilization that thought itself invincible. But even in this endless wasteland where the sun beats down mercilessly and water is more valuable than gold, there’s a place for life and hope. However, those who find new life here value nothing other than strength. The weak don’t survive. The strong don’t apologize. 🏜️

Enjoying his childhood, he paid no attention to the world, its secrets, or to those around him plotting in the shadows. Little did he know that **his ignorance would be his undoing.** Now, as an outcast looked down upon by everyone in his community, he has to endure humiliation as he stares into the eyes of the one who took everything from him—his father, his status, his future. Life had taught him the hard way that the strong wouldn’t hesitate to stab the weak in the back, then smile while doing it. ⚔️

But what if he became one of the strong? **How much power would it take to avenge his father’s death?** How much power would he need to bleed dry the bastard that took everything from him and left him with nothing but rage and determination? Would the others learn their lesson, or would they, too, seek to get their revenge in an endless cycle of violence? Between mastering ancient cultivation techniques, surviving brutal training, climbing the ranks in a world where mercy is weakness, and planning vengeance against those who destroyed his family, he discovers that power comes with a price—and he’s willing to pay it in blood. 🔥

What makes this intense: Raging fire devouring world of Ancients leaving only wasteland ruins, childhood ignorance becoming his undoing as outcast enduring humiliation, staring into eyes of one who took everything including father, life teaching strong stab weak in back, and questioning how much power needed to avenge father’s death and bleed bastards dry.

Undertaking Irene (Jane Delaney Mysteries Book 1)

Author: Pamela Burford

FREE

Women Sleuths

Life gets complicated for Jane and her Death Diva business when **she’s hired to liberate a gaudy mermaid brooch from the corpse during a wake—on behalf of the rightful owner, supposedly.** Well, a girl’s got to make a living, and this assignment pays better than scattering ashes, placing flowers on graves, or bawling her eyes out as a hired mourner at funerals for people she’s never met. The Death Diva handles all the grief-adjacent tasks that regular people find too morbid, too tedious, or too awkward to handle themselves. 💎

Unfortunately for Jane, **someone else is just as eager to get his hands on that brooch, and he’s even sneakier than she is, not to mention dangerously sexy.** The mysterious rival thief keeps appearing at exactly the wrong moments, complicating her carefully planned heist with his infuriating competence and smoldering good looks. Just when she thinks her biggest problem is grand theft mermaid and avoiding a very attractive competitor, things take a murderous turn that transforms a simple jewelry job into something far more deadly. ⚰️

But hey, when you’ve teamed up with **a neurotic seven-pound poodle named Sexy Beast,** how can you go wrong? Between stealing jewelry from corpses, dodging a dangerously attractive rival thief, solving a murder that nobody else believes happened, and managing a poodle with anxiety issues and impeccable fashion sense, Jane discovers that the Death Diva business is far more complicated than she expected. And far more dangerous. Who knew that death could be this lively? 🐩

What makes this quirky: Jane hired to liberate gaudy mermaid brooch from corpse during wake for Death Diva business, someone else even sneakier and dangerously sexy after same brooch, grand theft mermaid turning murderous, and teaming up with neurotic seven-pound poodle named Sexy Beast to solve mystery.

The Irish Cowboy (Montana Adventures Collection Book 1)

Author: D.W. Ulsterman

FREE

Small Town Romance

**Hap Wilkes made a choice to sacrifice his own happiness in order to honor a vow.** Since then he has lived a loveless life caring for the few animals that remain on his isolated Montana ranch while waiting each year for the return of the wild horses that make his land their summer home. The horses come back faithfully, year after year, like clockwork. But everything else—love, joy, the future he once imagined—stayed away. 🐴

Haunted by memories of what could have been while fighting the constant onslaught of old age and regret, Hap suddenly receives **two unexpected visits.** One of them intends to take his land by force, threatening the only thing he has left in this world—his ranch and the wild horses who trust him. The other hopes to give him another chance to know real love, arriving decades late but still carrying the same spark that made him sacrifice everything so long ago. 💔

What happens next is **a journey of loss, heartache, hope and redemption,** as masterfully told by bestselling author D.W. Ulsterman. Between defending his land from those who’d steal it, confronting the ghosts of choices made long ago, and deciding whether a man in his twilight years deserves a second chance at happiness, Hap discovers that some vows can be broken and some loves are worth waiting a lifetime for. In the shadow of Montana’s mountains, where wild horses run free and old cowboys guard their secrets, one man must choose: honor the past or embrace the future. 🌄

What makes this moving: Hap Wilkes sacrificing own happiness to honor vow living loveless life on isolated Montana ranch, haunted by memories while fighting old age and regret, receiving two unexpected visits—one to take land by force and one offering second chance at real love, and journey of loss and redemption in twilight years.

His Convenient Highland Wedding (The Lochmore Legacy Book 1)

Author: Janice Preston

Regularly $8.99, Today $1.99

Historical Scottish Fiction

Bought by her husband, bound by secrets of their past. Earl’s daughter Flora McCrieff brought shame on her family once—now she discovers she must wed impossibly rich but lowborn Lachlan McNeill. He’s undeniably handsome but a man of few words. Despite the attraction that burns between them, can she reach beyond his impeccable clothing to find the emotions he’s locked away for so long? 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Janice Preston launches The Lochmore Legacy—a Scottish castle through the ages—with this marriage of convenience romance featuring classic Regency tropes with Highland setting. Flora’s past shame creates vulnerability while Lachlan’s “lowborn but impossibly rich” status suggests self-made man who bought his way into aristocratic circles but can’t buy acceptance. The class tension adds edge to their forced marriage. 💍

The “man of few words” hero hiding emotions behind “impeccable clothing” is classic emotionally guarded romance hero territory. Flora must penetrate both his literal and figurative armor to reach the man beneath the wealth and silence. The burning attraction provides physical chemistry while their shared secrets (her past shame, whatever he’s locked away) create emotional stakes beyond the convenient marriage arrangement. 🔥

As first book in The Lochmore Legacy series spanning different time periods but connected by the Scottish castle, this establishes the location and family dynamics that will carry through subsequent books. The convenient marriage becoming genuine love story is romance staple, but the Highland setting and multi-generational castle saga framework adds distinction. For fans of Scottish historical romance with class conflict and emotionally wounded heroes. ✨

What makes this essential: Highland marriage of convenience romance where a shamed earl’s daughter must wed a rich but lowborn Scotsman—and break through his emotional walls. 💙

Sally’s Baking Addiction: Irresistible Cookies, Cupcakes, and Desserts for Your Sweet-Tooth Fix

Author: Sally McKenney

Regularly $22.99, Today $2.49

Cookie Baking

Updated with a brand-new selection of desserts and treats, the fully illustrated Sally’s Baking Addiction cookbook offers **more than 80 scrumptious recipes** for indulging your sweet tooth—featuring a chapter of healthier dessert options, including some vegan and gluten-free recipes. It’s no secret that Sally McKenney loves to bake, and her popular blog Sally’s Baking Addiction has become a trusted source for fellow dessert lovers eager to bake from scratch. 🍪

Sally’s famous recipes include **award-winning Salted Caramel Dark Chocolate Cookies**, No-Bake Peanut Butter Banana Pie, delectable Dark Chocolate Butterscotch Cupcakes, and yummy Marshmallow Swirl S’mores Fudge. The blog-to-cookbook success story means these recipes have been tested by thousands of home bakers, ensuring they actually work in real kitchens with real ingredients and real ovens. 🧁

Find tried-and-true sweet recipes for all kinds of delicious categories: Breads & Muffins, Breakfasts, Brownies & Bars, Cakes, Pies & Crisps, Candy & Sweet Snacks, Cookies, Cupcakes, and Healthier Choices. The healthier options chapter acknowledges that sometimes you want dessert without complete caloric abandon—vegan and gluten-free alternatives mean more people can enjoy Sally’s creations. 🎂

With tons of simple, easy-to-follow recipes, you get **all of the sweet with none of the fuss**—no complicated techniques, obscure ingredients, or professional equipment required. Sally’s approachable style makes ambitious baking feel achievable for home bakers of all skill levels. The full illustrations help visualize each step, reducing anxiety about whether you’re doing it right. For anyone who wants bakery-quality results without culinary school. 🍰

Why I’m including this: Trusted blog-to-cookbook with 80+ tested recipes including award-winning cookies, no-bake pies, and healthier options—all the sweet with none of the fuss. 🌟

Five for Sorrow, Ten for Joy: A Novel

Author: Rumer Godden

Regularly $17.99, Today $2.99

Christian Classics & Allegories

A sense of adventure and eagerness to savor life impel young, orphaned Elizabeth Fanshawe to escape her cold, unloving home and enlist in the British Army as a driver in 1944. Dispatched to Paris at the close of the Allies’ war against the Nazis, she finds herself swept up in the intoxicating celebratory glee of newly liberated France. But after she meets the charming, seductive Patrice Ambard, Elizabeth’s life takes a sharp turn down a very dark road. 🇫🇷

Her love for the dashing, hypnotic Frenchman draws Elizabeth (now called Lise) into Patrice’s world of **crime and high-class prostitution**, where she is broken, hardened, and transformed into the whore-turned-notorious-madam known as **La Balafrée, or the Scarred One**. Still, her great fall will not be complete until circumstances drive her to commit a shocking murder—and imprisonment ultimately sets her free. ⚖️

Rumer Godden crafts a devastating arc from innocent orphan seeking adventure to notorious madam to convicted murderer to—the title suggests—redemption. The “five for sorrow, ten for joy” references the rosary’s sorrowful and joyful mysteries, framing this as spiritual journey despite (or through) the degradation. Elizabeth’s transformation into “La Balafrée” represents complete identity loss, the scarring both literal and metaphorical. 💔

The post-WWII Paris setting captures a specific moment when liberation’s euphoria masked darker realities. Patrice as charming seducer who leads her into destruction is classic trajectory, but Godden’s treatment (categorized as Christian Classics & Allegories) suggests this isn’t exploitation but examination of fall and redemption. The murder as catalyst for ultimate freedom creates paradox—only by hitting absolute bottom does she find salvation. 🕊️

What makes this special: Powerful redemption story where a British Army driver in liberated Paris falls for a seductive Frenchman and descends into prostitution, becoming the notorious “Scarred One.” ✨

Ladies Who Punch: The Explosive Inside Story of “The View”

Author: Ramin Setoodeh

Regularly $20.99, Today $2.99

Television History & Criticism

When Barbara Walters launched The View, network executives told her that hosting it would **tarnish her reputation**. Instead, within ten years, she’d revolutionized morning TV and made household names of her co-hosts: Joy Behar, Star Jones, Meredith Vieira, and Elisabeth Hasselbeck. But the daily chatfest didn’t just comment on the news—it became the news. And the headlines barely scratched the surface. 📺

Based on **unprecedented access**, including stunning interviews with nearly every host, award-winning journalist Ramin Setoodeh takes you backstage where the stars really spoke their minds. Here’s the full story of how Star, then Rosie, then Whoopi tried to take over the show, while Barbara struggled to maintain control—a modern-day Lear with her media-savvy daughters. You’ll read about how so many co-hosts had a tough time fitting in, suffered humiliations at the table, then pushed themselves away feeling betrayed—**one nearly quitting during a commercial**. 🎭

Setoodeh uncovers the truth about **Star’s weight loss and wedding madness. Rosie’s feud with Trump. Whoopi’s toxic relationship with Rosie.** Barbara’s difficulty stepping away. Plus, all the unseen hugs, snubs, tears—and one dead rodent. The director was being driven insane, especially by Rosie. The behind-the-scenes chaos makes the on-air drama look tame by comparison. 💥

The book reveals how a show designed to showcase women’s voices became a battleground for ego, control, and media manipulation. Barbara’s struggle to maintain authority while her co-hosts vie for dominance creates Shakespearean dynamics. For fans of television history, media analysis, or anyone who wants to know what really happens when the cameras stop rolling. The dead rodent detail is both horrifying and perfect metaphor. 🐭

Why I’m including this: Explosive behind-the-scenes exposé of The View based on unprecedented access—revealing feuds, power struggles, and the chaos Barbara Walters fought to control. 🌟

Rules of Thumb: A Life Manual

Author: Tom Parker

Regularly $14.99, Today $2.99

Reference

**1,000 curious solutions to life’s curious problems**, gathered from farmers, financiers, philosophers, teachers, salesmen, and people in all walks of life. A mix of folk wisdom, common sense, shared experience, the advice of experts, and the kind of group think that’s made websites like Wikipedia so vital, Rules of Thumb is the impulsive compendium of 1,000 general principles that apply to every facet of life. 📚

Collected by Tom Parker for **over 25 years**, these are rules that are practical, quirky, and as entertaining to read as they are relevant to the reader. There’s a rule of thumb for just about every subject imaginable—money, marriage, cooking, health, weather, cars, gardening, restaurants, travel. This is the priceless knowledge that’s accumulated not from reading but from living. 💡

Tempted by a string of pearls at a yard sale? **Rub them against your teeth**: the rule of thumb, as your grandmother might have told you, is that a genuine pearl will grate. Not sure how to choose a puppy? Pick one whose tail wags in sync with its walk—a sign of calmness. To win at blackjack, assume that any unseen card is an eight. And remember, **a rule of thumb works four out of five times** (including this one). 🎲

The beauty of this compendium is its randomness and practicality—these aren’t academic theories but actual shortcuts people use daily. Parker’s 25-year collection represents crowdsourced wisdom before crowdsourcing was a thing. The examples given (pearls against teeth, puppy tail synchronization, blackjack strategy) show the range from everyday decisions to specific situations, all grounded in accumulated experience rather than formal study. Perfect bathroom reading or conversation starter. ✨

What makes this essential: 1,000 practical, quirky rules of thumb collected over 25 years—from testing pearls with your teeth to choosing calm puppies to winning at blackjack. 🔍

Unlocking The Sky: Glenn Hammond Curtiss and the Race to Invent the Airplane

Author: Seth Shulman

Regularly $17.99, Today $2.99

Biographies of Scientists

Unlocking the Sky tells the extraordinary tale of the race to design, refine, and manufacture a manned flying machine—a race that took place **in the air, on the ground, and in the courtrooms of America**. While the Wright brothers threw a veil of secrecy over their flying machine, Glenn Hammond Curtiss—perhaps the greatest aviator and aeronautical inventor of all time—freely exchanged information with engineers in America and abroad, resulting in his famous airplane, **the June Bug, which made the first ever public flight in America**. ✈️

Fiercely jealous, the Wright brothers took to the courts to keep Curtiss and his airplane out of the sky and off the market. The legal battles became as intense as the technological innovation, with patents weaponized to stifle competition rather than encourage progress. Ultimately, however, **it was Curtiss’s innovations and designs, not the Wright brothers’, that served as the model for the modern airplane**. This challenges the standard narrative of aviation history. 🏛️

Seth Shulman reveals a forgotten pioneer whose open-source approach to aviation advancement contrasted sharply with the Wrights’ proprietary secrecy. The June Bug making America’s first public flight is significant—the Wrights flew first, but privately. Curtiss brought aviation to the public sphere, demonstrating that flight was achievable and sharable. His collaborative approach accelerated innovation while the Wrights’ litigation strategy slowed it. ⚖️

The courtroom drama adds compelling dimension to aviation history—this wasn’t just about who flew first but about patent law, intellectual property, and whether innovation thrives through openness or protection. That Curtiss’s designs became the template for modern aircraft vindicates his approach while complicating the Wright brothers’ heroic narrative. Essential reading for aviation enthusiasts and anyone interested in how innovation actually happens. 🔧

What makes this special: Forgotten aviation pioneer Glenn Hammond Curtiss freely shared innovations while the secretive Wright brothers sued him—but his designs became the model for modern airplanes. 🛩️

Red: A History of the Redhead

Author: Jacky Colliss Harvey

Regularly $23.99, Today $3.99

History of Anthropology

With an **obsessive fascination that is as contagious as it is compelling**, author Jacky Colliss Harvey (herself a redhead) begins her exploration of red hair in prehistory and traces the redhead gene as it made its way out of Africa with the early human diaspora to its emergence under Northern skies. She explores red hair in the ancient world; the prejudice manifested against red hair across medieval Europe; and red hair during the Renaissance. 🔥

During the Inquisition, red hair served as both an indicator of Jewishness and, paradoxically, reached the height of fashion in Protestant England under Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. Harvey examines the modern age of art and literature with the first positive symbols of red hair in children’s characters; modern medicine and science and the **genetic and chemical decoding of red hair**; and finally, red hair in contemporary culture, from advertising and exploitation to **”gingerism” and the new movement against bullying**. 👑

Harvey’s personal investment as a redhead brings authenticity to this comprehensive cultural history. The journey from genetic origins to contemporary “gingerism” spans anthropology, history, art, literature, science, and social justice. The contradictions are fascinating—red hair as marker of otherness yet also royal fashion; medieval prejudice yet Renaissance celebration; genetic rarity yet cultural visibility. 🎨

The book examines how a simple genetic variation became loaded with cultural meaning across centuries and continents. From ancient associations with witchcraft to Victorian Pre-Raphaelite idealization to modern anti-bullying campaigns, red hair serves as lens for examining how physical difference gets interpreted, fetishized, stigmatized, and reclaimed. For redheads seeking context, history buffs interested in cultural anthropology, or anyone curious about how genetics intersects with identity. 💇

Why I’m including this: Comprehensive cultural history of red hair from prehistoric origins to modern “gingerism”—tracing prejudice, fashion, genetics, and identity across centuries. ✨

Poor Man’s Feast: A Love Story of Comfort, Desire, and the Art of Simple Cooking

Author: Elissa Altman

Regularly $17.99, Today $2.99

Biographies & Memoirs of Chefs

For a woman raised by a weight-obsessed mother and a father who rebelled by sneaking his daughter out to lavish meals at Le Pavillon and La Grenouille, **food could be a fraught proposition**. Not that this stopped Elissa Altman from pursuing a culinary career. Everything she cooked was inspired by the French haute cuisine she once secretly enjoyed with her dad—from rare game birds at extravagant dinner parties in her tiny NYC apartment to **eight timbale molds purchased from Dean & DeLuca** just to make her food tall. 🍽️

All that elegance was called into question when Elissa fell in love with Susan, a small-town woman whose idea of fine dining was **a rustic meal served on her best tag sale TV tray**. Susan’s devotion to simple living astounded Elissa, even as it changed the way she thought about food—and the family who taught her everything she understood about it—forever. The contrast between timbale molds and TV trays perfectly captures their different worlds. 💕

Based on the **James Beard Award–winning blog** and filled with twenty-six delicious recipes, Poor Man’s Feast is one woman’s achingly honest, often uproarious journey to making peace with food and finding lasting love. Altman examines how food served as both connection and battleground in her family—her mother’s weight obsession versus her father’s rebellious indulgence, haute cuisine versus simple comfort food, aspiration versus authenticity. ❤️

The title’s significance deepens as the memoir progresses—what initially seems like “poor man’s feast” (TV tray meals) becomes richer than elaborate dinner parties because it’s rooted in genuine connection rather than performance. Susan teaches Elissa that food’s value isn’t in height or expense but in love and simplicity. For readers interested in food memoirs that examine how we use cuisine to express identity, family dynamics, and love. 🥘

What makes this essential: James Beard Award–winning memoir where a woman raised on French haute cuisine learns about love and simple living from her partner’s TV tray dinners. 🌟

Carrots Love Tomatoes: Secrets of Companion Planting for Successful Gardening

Author: Louise Riotte

Regularly $19.99, Today $2.99

Organic & Sustainable Gardening & Horticulture

The **50th anniversary edition** of the classic guide features a foreword from gardening influencer Charles Dowding and tips on creating a bountiful garden. Plant parsley and asparagus together and you’ll have more of each, but keep broccoli and tomato plants far apart if you want them to thrive. Utilize the natural properties of plants to nourish the soil, repel pests, and secure a greater harvest. **Over 500,000 in print!** 🌱

With plenty of insightful advice and suggestions for planting schemes, Louise Riotte will inspire you to turn your garden into a **naturally nurturing ecosystem**. Companion planting isn’t just folklore—it’s based on how plants interact through their root systems, the chemicals they release, and the beneficial insects they attract or repel. Understanding these relationships transforms random vegetable patches into strategic, productive gardens. 🥕

The title perfectly captures the concept: certain plant combinations create symbiotic relationships that improve growth, flavor, and pest resistance for both. Carrots and tomatoes actually do benefit from proximity, as do many other surprising pairings. Conversely, some plants are antagonistic—broccoli and tomatoes will actively harm each other’s growth if planted together. This knowledge prevents costly mistakes. 🍅

Fifty years in print and over 500,000 copies sold proves this isn’t trendy gardening advice but time-tested wisdom. The companion planting approach reduces need for chemical fertilizers and pesticides by working with nature’s existing systems. Charles Dowding’s foreword in this anniversary edition bridges Riotte’s classic wisdom with contemporary organic gardening movements. Essential for anyone pursuing sustainable, chemical-free gardening. 🌿

Why I’m including this: Classic companion planting guide (over 500,000 sold!) teaching how to create naturally nurturing garden ecosystems—like planting carrots with tomatoes for mutual benefit. 🌻

His Next Wife

Author: D.K. Hood

NEW RELEASE

Murder Thrillers

**His first wife died in an accident. Did he kill her? Am I next?** When she moves in with her new husband Jack, she can’t wait to start their new life together. She tries to forget that he once lived here with his ex-wife, Laura. As she takes in their isolated beachfront home, she sees a face staring at her from an upstairs window. Jack tells her they’re alone, that she’s imagining things... 👻

Then she discovers **Laura’s long ivory wedding gown** in one of the bedrooms. She can’t help but brush the beautiful silk before Jack quickly hurries her out and locks the door behind them. It’s so sad when he talks about the night Laura died—a terrible accident, he says. But she can’t stop thinking about Laura. Traces of her are all over this house. And then she finds **her diary**—and her blood turns to ice as she reads Laura’s last words. 📔

She says that Jack is dangerous. That she feared for her life. Could her perfect new husband be a killer? And could she be next? D.K. Hood delivers classic “Rebecca”-style psychological thriller: new wife in isolated house haunted by predecessor, husband with secrets, diary revealing horrifying truth. The face in the window establishes supernatural ambiguity—is it Laura’s ghost, imagination, or someone else? 💀

The locked bedroom with preserved wedding gown is deeply creepy—shrine to the dead or evidence concealment? Jack’s insistence she’s “imagining things” is classic gaslighting, making her question her own perceptions. The diary as smoking gun creates ticking clock—she’s discovered the truth, but does Jack know she knows? The isolation of the beachfront home means no easy escape. For fans of domestic thrillers where dream marriages become nightmares. 🏚️

What makes this essential: Chilling new release where a bride discovers her husband’s first wife’s diary warning that Jack is dangerous—and she might be his next victim. ⚠️

Nuptials & Neglect (Betray Me Once Book 1)

Author: Wren Shaw

NEW RELEASE

Second Chances Romance

**She left her husband because love shouldn’t feel like loneliness.** Callie Prescott had enough of being invisible, of competing with endless boardrooms, a manipulative mother-in-law who treated her like an outsider, and the ambitious assistant who wanted Ethan all to herself. When betrayal sends his wife walking out the door, Ethan finally wakes up. 💔

He’ll **burn every bridge** to prove he’s the husband she deserved from the start. But earning back her trust requires more than apologies—it demands sacrifice. As old wounds reopen and new life sparks hope in the darkest moment, Callie must decide if the man who broke her heart can **grovel hard enough** to put it back together. The “new life” hint suggests pregnancy complicating the separation. 👶

Wren Shaw delivers second chance romance with the grovel-heavy arc readers crave. Ethan’s awakening came too late—she’s already gone—so now he must prove transformation through action, not words. The “burn every bridge” promise suggests he’ll prioritize her over career, mother, assistant, everything he chose before. The manipulative mother-in-law and ambitious assistant create clear antagonists beyond just Ethan’s neglect. 💍

The “Betray Me Once” series title establishes this as first in connected romances about betrayal and second chances. Callie’s feeling of invisibility and loneliness within marriage is painfully relatable—she wasn’t abandoned, she was ignored, which can hurt worse. The pregnancy (if that’s the “new life”) adds urgency and complication—they’re tied together permanently now, so resolution becomes essential not optional. For readers who love satisfying grovel arcs. ✨

What makes this special: Second chance romance where a neglected wife walks out—and her workaholic husband must grovel and sacrifice everything to prove he’s changed. 💕

THE HOUSE OF MYSTERY

Author: Joy Ellis

NEW RELEASE

Psychic Suspense

A teenage boy’s body is found on a lonely country road at dawn. By the time police arrive, **it has vanished without trace**. The blanket that covered him remains. The witness is adamant the boy was dead. But when Detective Bob Foreman reaches the scene, there is nothing—no body, no blood, no explanation. With no forensic evidence and conflicting accounts, Foreman is running out of leads. He’s already looking for a second missing boy, last spotted on a moonlit towpath and never seen again. 🌙

At the same time, two children are displaying abilities that defy explanation: **Five-year-old Harry sketches detailed drawings of WWII bomber cockpits with impossible precision**—every dial, every lever exactly right. Eight-year-old Christopher writes in his sleep, leaving behind disturbing warnings and repeated references to **a place called the Eleventh House**. When the investigation stalls, Foreman turns to Ellie McEwan, a healer who can read auras, the colored energy that reveals a person’s true nature. 🎨

As Ellie and her team uncover the truth, connections surface between the vanished body, the gifted children, and **an isolated mansion hidden deep in the Surrey woods**—a place spoken about in whispers, a place no one is meant to find. Joy Ellis blends police procedural with paranormal investigation, creating supernatural mystery where physics-defying events require unconventional solutions. The vanishing body establishes impossibility from page one. 👻

The gifted children suggest reincarnation or psychic connection to the past—Harry’s WWII bomber knowledge and Christopher’s sleep-writing about the Eleventh House imply they’re channeling information they couldn’t possibly know. Ellie’s aura-reading ability represents alternative investigative tool when traditional forensics fail. The isolated Surrey mansion as nexus point promises sinister revelations. For readers who enjoy mysteries that blend the procedural with the paranormal. 🔮

Why I’m including this:

Atmospheric psychic suspense where a detective investigates a vanishing body, mysteriously gifted children, and an isolated mansion no one is meant to find. ✨