FREE & BARGAIN EBOOKS – {03-16-2022}

Florida by Lauren Groff

In her thrilling new book, Lauren Groff brings the reader into a physical world that is at once domestic and wild—a place where the hazards of the natural world lie waiting to pounce, yet the greatest threats and mysteries are still of an emotional, psychological nature. A family retreat can be derailed by a prowling panther, or by a sexual secret. Among those navigating this place are a resourceful pair of abandoned sisters; a lonely boy, grown up; a restless, childless couple, a searching, homeless woman; and an unforgettable, recurring character—a steely and conflicted wife and mother.

The stories in this collection span characters, towns, decades, even centuries, but Florida—its landscape, climate, history, and state of mind—becomes its gravitational center: an energy, a mood, as much as a place of residence. Groff transports the reader, then jolts us alert with a crackle of wit, a wave of sadness, a flash of cruelty, as she writes about loneliness, rage, family, and the passage of time. With shocking accuracy and effect, she pinpoints the moments and decisions and connections behind human pleasure and pain, hope and despair, love and fury—the moments that make us alive. Startling, precise, and affecting, Florida is a magnificent achievement.

Nest Egg (Aloha Chicken Mysteries Book 1) by Josi Avari

Hens and homicides in a cozy slice of paradise.

Saffron Skye has inherited a little piece of Hawaiian paradise. Only it’s filled with the leftovers of her late uncle’s life and overrun with his enormous flock of chickens. When her new friend, the oldest man in town, dies, no one else finds it suspicious. But as the town’s newest poultry keeper Saffron recognizes fowl play when she sees it. Saffron is a tetrachromat and can see colors nobody else can see. If only she could do the same with killers. To find the culprit–and the victim’s hidden fortune–Saffron will have to look in some surprising places. Even her new flock will lend a wing. With scrumptious island food galore and two handsome men vying for her attention, Saffron has to focus, crack a few eggs . . . and crack the case. Featuring Beautiful illustrations by Richard Russell.

ARKO: The Cosmic Order (A Sci-fi Adventure Series) by U.W. Leo

The teen Arkonots are back and their mission to evolve humankind is being met with deadly opposition.

Genetic modification, advanced technology, dinosaurs, and space travel to distant unknown planets are at the core of this thrilling second volume of the groundbreaking sci-fi adventure series.

Five years have passed since the Arkonots’ world-changing discovery, and their mission of restoring the Earth and developing technology to enhance the capabilities of humans and animals, including dinosaurs, has flourished. But not everyone is on board with their advancements, and the group of teens find themselves on a galactic rescue mission for their leader Ben and in a battle to save their mission, the planet, and themselves.

Choking on the Splinters by Jim Lively

Charles Pierce thinks he has it all figured out at last. He’s bought a building to use as an art gallery, creates new paintings almost every day, dates a smart and beautiful woman, and hired a marketing whiz to promote his upcoming gallery opening and art show. So why isn’t everything exactly what it seems? Why does he keep finding hints and clues that people who show up in his life and at his gallery aren’t completely honest with him?

And how did the guest bathroom in his gallery become the most popular spot in the entire place? What’s really going on in there? Something illegal and dangerous?

He can choose to ignore his suspicions, or he can get in touch with the detectives who saved his life last year. Either way, Choking on the Splinters isn’t an option.

The Last Standby Lorhainne Eckhart

The law is the law until someone comes after your family.

From New York Times & USA Today bestselling author Lorhainne Eckhart comes a new Billy Jo McCabe mystery set on a small island town in the Pacific Northwest. On the eve of Police Chief Mark Friessen’s wedding, a fierce snowstorm blankets the island, knocking out power, and the body of a woman is discovered in the church. The only clue is the note in her hand, a list of names—all members of Mark’s family.

Mark Friessen has been counting down the days to his wedding to Billy Jo McCabe. Yet only days from Christmas, after their families arrive, a freak blizzard comes out of nowhere and knocks out power on the entire island.

With the island in an emergency and the ferry shut down, no help is arriving anytime soon from the mainland. Mark receives a call to stop into the church where he and Billy Jo are planning on being married the next day, but there he stumbles upon the body of a woman. The only evidence is a note she’s clutching. At the top, in all bold, is the word KILL, and listed below are the names of everyone he loves, including Billy Jo, his parents, his brothers, their wives, and his two nieces.

With access to the outside world cut off, Mark finds himself up against an invisible enemy who he believes is coming after his unsuspecting family. But Mark has no idea who it is. Where is the killer hiding on the island, why isn’t Mark’s name on the list, and who is the dead woman? Mark is determined to find the killer and protect his family, whatever it takes…even if it’s his Last Stand.

Claimed for Good: A Business of Love Novel by Ali Parker

I’m an anti-Romeo. I remove love.

Everyone wants to tattoo their lover on their skin, but what happens when that love goes broke?

Me. I happen. I remove the memory one drop of ink at a time.

That’s why I’m not falling in love. Ain’t nobody pulling the wool over my eyes. F*ck that.

My time serving in the military opened my eyes to the real world.

Everybody leaves in one way or another.

No way in hell I’m hitching this wagon to one woman when I can enjoy as many as I please while making a fortune lasering ugly tattoos off of heartbroken singles.

Don’t hate the player. Hate the game.

I’m good until a pretty smile and great curves steal my thoughts.

She’s shaking everything up in my life.

She needs a date for an upcoming wedding and I need a fake fiancée to help my business image. We’re a match made in heaven.

The hope is that we get to “play house” in all the ways possible.

She just wants the short term, but I’m claiming her for good.