Books on Sale: Contemporary Romances, Plus Betty Friedan
Falling for Max by Shannon Stacey is $1.99 at Amazon - the price matching fairies are going to rack up some excellent frequent flyer miles this week, I hope. This is the ninth book in the Kowalski series, but features main characters who are not Kowalskis (they're in the background plenty, though). The hero, Max, is a recurring character from earlier books, and is shy, somewhat reclusive, and aware that he is socially awkward and uncomfortable in new situations. The heroine, Tori, works at the Trailside Diner, and, when she learns he is trying to find a date/girlfriend/wife, she decides to help.
Microreview: I struggled a LOT with Tori's "Let's go on a Pretend Date! So you can practice!" enthusiasm as a plot device, and with what I thought were unrealistic developments that kept the story loosely following a My Fair Lady gender-flip plot. But once the MFL parts disappeared and Tori and Max had to figure one another out it got a LOT better. The dialogue is terrific, as usual, and though I had a few issues with Tori's motivation to not be in a relationship, Max's determination to find someone he can care about and be with was incredibly sweet.
Max Crawford has reached the point in life where he's starting to think about settling down. Unfortunately, he's always been a little awkward when it comes to social interactions, and working from home doesn't help. He spends so much time alone, painting beautiful, historically accurate model trains that half of Whitford has begun to joke that he may be a serial killer. Not exactly prime husband material.
Tori Burns has found happiness in Maine, thanks in large part to her shifts at the Trailside Diner. She likes the work, and she loves the local gossip. When shy, geeky Max Crawford becomes a regular, she's intrigued. When she finds out he's in the market for a wife, she's fascinated…and determined to help.
Molding Max into every woman's dream turns out to be much easier than expected. But has Tori's plan worked a little too well? As she turns his comfortable life all sorts of upside down, she'll have to find a way to show just how she's fallen for him…the real him
RECOMMENDED: The Theory of Attraction by Delphine Dryden is .99c at iTunes. (Hello, price matching fairies, over here!)
I didn't review this book (I could have sworn I did - what the hell?) but I really, REALLY liked it. I'm really finicky when it comes to erotic romance, especially romance with BDSM, and I thought this story was an excellent blend of erotic tension and character development. Plus the hero is really fascinating. This is a terrific read - I hope you'll give it a try.
And yes, the cover is really weird and looks like he's going down on someone whose leg grew out of her ribcage.
Camilla can set her watch by her hunky rocket-scientist neighbor who jogs past her window each day. She relishes each glimpse of his shirtless abs, and is dying to see more. But it's hard to connect with a man who doesn't seem to know she exists...
Ivan feels at home in the lab, not in social situations. When he finally approaches his attractive neighbor, it's not for a date—he wants tutoring in how to behave at an important fundraiser. Ivan doesn't expect the chemistry between them to be quite so explosive, and is surprised when Cami actually accepts his proposal to embark on a series of "lessons."
Cami soon discovers Ivan's schedule isn't the only thing he likes to be strict about—he needs to be charge in the bedroom as well. She's shocked at how much she comes to enjoy her submissive side, but wonders if a real relationship is in the equation...
Her Kind of Trouble by Sarah Mayberry is $2.99 at all vendors (high fives, price matching fairies!). This is a contemporary second-chance story about two people who meet up and hook up at a wedding, then find themselves in one another's orbit when the heroine moves back to Australia. It has a 3.9-star average, and readers loved the attraction between the main characters, and the ways in which they grow and change during the course of the story.
The moment Vivian Walker spies Seth Anderson she knows they're a match made in hedonistic pleasure. And they both agree their one night together is all about fun, not forever.
Now, years later, Seth remains a favorite memory. Surely the sizzling chemistry has faded, though, right? Apparently not. Because he's still sinfully attractive, and she likes the man he is. When he suddenly becomes a full-time dad to his newborn daughter, Vivian falls hard.
Yet despite the responsibilities, he's not a good bet for commitment. And she needs to guard her heart before she gets into trouble!
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The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan is the Audible deal today at $4.95. Read by Parker Posey, this is an unabridged audio edition of 15 hours and 25 minutes. It has 3.9 stars on Audible, where listeners rate the book and the performer separately before giving an overall review, though some listeners didn't like Posey's performance.
Landmark, groundbreaking, classic these adjectives barely do justice to the pioneering vision and lasting impact of The Feminine Mystique. Published in 1963, it gave a pitch-perfect description of the problem that has no name: the insidious beliefs and institutions that undermined women s confidence in their intellectual capabilities and kept them in the home.
Writing in a time when the average woman first married in her teens and 60 percent of women students dropped out of college to marry, Betty Friedan captured the frustrations and thwarted ambitions of a generation and showed women how they could reclaim their lives.
Part social chronicle, part manifesto, The Feminine Mystique is filled with fascinating anecdotes and interviews as well as insights that continue to inspire.
Goodreads | Audible ($4.95 today only - 9/16)
Categories: Ebooks, Free or Cheap Ebooks, General Bitching
