British author M. C. Beaton (a.k.a. Marion Beaton) tops today’s Buffet with Lady Fortescue Steps Out, a charming and humorous Regency recommended for those who enjoy lighthearted historical romance. The book first appeared as a St. Martin’s hardcover in 1993, and it was republished to the Kindle this month.
M.C. has won international acclaim for her bestselling Hamish Macbeth and Agatha Raisin mysteries. She is also the author of over 100 romance titles and a series of romantic suspense, “The Edwardian Mystery Series.” M. C. Beaton lives in a Cotswold cottage with her husband.
As usual, each book here has gone FREE within the past 24 hours, except for the Bargain books in the yellow section below. Warning: Kindle book promotions can end without notice, so before downloading click the link “See Kindle price at Amazon” to verify that the book is still free. (Prices and availability may differ outside USA.)
Lady Fortescue Steps Out (The Poor Relation Series, Vol. 1)
Historical Romance > Regency
Author: M. C. Beaton
The impecunious Lady Fortescue, widowed and alone save for two loyal, unpaid servants, has sold off almost all of the furnishings in her large Bond Street home and faces a grim future as a member of the aristocracy too proud to seek employment or charity, yet too poor to survive on the infrequent largess of wealthy relatives oblivious to her plight. Salvation arrives in the unlikely form of old Colonel Sandhurst, an equally impoverished retired military man who falls at her feet in a hunger-induced faint one afternoon in Hyde Park.
The two decide to join forces: the Colonel will share Lady Fortescue’s home, and they will invite others of their station and situation to live with them and pool their resources. Thus is born what eventually becomes one of London’s most popular hotels, The Poor Relation, to which the nobility flocks to enjoy the novelty of being waited upon by members of their own class.
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She Walks in Beauty (Against All Expectations, Book 3)
Romance > Historical
Author: Siri Mitchell
For a young society woman seeking a favorable marriage in the late 1890s, so much depends on her social season debut. Clara Carter has been given one goal: secure the affections of the city’s most eligible bachelor. Debuting means plenty of work–there are corsets to be fitted, dances to master, manners to perfect. Her training soon pays off, however, as celebrity’s spotlight turns Clara into a society-page darling.
Yet Clara wonders if this is the life she really wants, especially when she learns her best friend has also set her sights on Franklin De Vries. When a man appears who seems to love her simply for who she is, and gossip backlash turns ugly, Clara realizes it’s not just her heart at stake–the future of her family depends on how she plays the game.
Derailed (Clayton Falls)
Romance > New Adult & College
Author: Alyssa Rose Ivy
When you’re lost, sometimes the only place you can go is home.
Broken over the death of her fiancé, Molly leaves law school to return to her childhood home in North Carolina. Expecting to lay low until she can figure out what else to do with her life, she finds herself in the arms of her high school sweetheart, the boy who represents everything from the past she tried to leave behind.
Looking for an escape, she instead finds a way back to the girl she almost forgot existed and a future she never dreamed possible.
Camille (Camille Series, Book I)
Romance > Paranormal
Author: Tess Oliver
At a time when society conforms to the strictest rules and most proper etiquette, sixteen-year-old Camille Kennecott and her guardian, Dr. Bennett, live a most unconventional life. They hunt werewolves.
When unwitting victim, Nathaniel Strider, wanders into one of their full moon pursuits, Camille and Dr. Bennett believe they have found a specimen for their study. Finding a scientific key to unlocking the mystery of lycanthropy would end their late night excursions. Yet beneath the irresistible exterior, Nathaniel is transforming into a flesh-tearing monster, and as each experiment fails, Camille loses another inch of her soul to him. In a month’s time, she must face the prospect of destroying the boy who has stolen her heart.
Smolder (Dragon Souls)
Romance > Fantasy
Author: Penelope Fletcher
Wounded, a dragon drops from the sky to crash in front of Marina in an explosion of fire. She does the only reasonable thing a woman can do – she saves his life. Marina knows any moment may be her last, yet she cannot deny the connection between her and the alluring creature.
When fierce dragon lords appear, leading a dangerous assassin to their hiding place, the truth about her dragon is unveiled. The consequences of falling for a beast gifts Marina wonders never before seen … in this world.
33 Amazing Recipes For Homemade Brownies
Baking > Desserts
Author: Pamela Kazmierczak
If you are looking for a brownies recipe this is the cookbook for you! Learn how to make chocolate brownies and other types of homemade brownies today! Learn how much better brownies from scratch taste then from a boxed mix!
If you are looking for simple dessert recipes that everyone will love – the brownie is a great choice. But just because these can be considered simple easy recipes does not mean that these recipes for brownies are boring and mundane, quite the opposite. The brownie recipes that you will find in this book are quite varied in tastes and flavors, so you are sure to find some great new recipes to try!
Uncaged: A Thriller
Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
Author: Paul McKellips
In a thrill a minute read, author Paul McKellips poses a frightening “what if” scenario that will leave the human race on the brink of certain disaster. When a series of attacks on animal researchers leave several people dead, the government—including the President—issues an immediate ban on animal testing. And that’s when the real trouble begins…
At the heart of the action are two government agents, the dashing Commander “Camp” Campbell, a man as decorated for his bravery in Iraq as for his own self-professed charm. Lieutenant Colonel Leslie Raines is the more practical of the two, a woman defined by her dedication to rules. Camp has returned to the States, newly reassigned to a government-funded test site. When the ban on animals comes down, Camp pulls a restless act by making off with two hundred rats…and winds up in deep trouble.
TODAY’S BARGAINS……………What’s this?
Only Time Will Tell (The Clifton Chronicles)
Thrillers > Historical
Author: Jeffrey Archer
Regularly $9.99, Today $1.99
From the internationally bestselling author of Kane and Abel and A Prisoner of Birth comes Only Time Will Tell, the first in an ambitious new series that tells the story of one family across generations, across oceans, from heartbreak to triumph.
The epic tale of Harry Clifton’s life begins in 1920, with the words “I was told that my father was killed in the war.” A dock worker in Bristol, Harry never knew his father, but he learns about life on the docks from his uncle, who expects Harry to join him at the shipyard once he’s left school. But then an unexpected gift wins him a scholarship to an exclusive boys’ school, and his life will never be the same again.
As he enters into adulthood, Harry finally learns how his father really died, but the awful truth only leads him to question, was he even his father? Is he the son of Arthur Clifton, a stevedore who spent his whole life on the docks, or the firstborn son of a scion of West Country society, whose family owns a shipping line?
Best Kept Secret (The Clifton Chronicles)
Thrillers > Historical
Author: Jeffrey Archer
Regularly $9.99, Today $1.99
International bestselling author Jeffrey Archer’s mesmerizing saga of the Clifton and Barrington families continues.
London, 1945. Who shall inherit the Barrington family fortune? The vote in the House of Lords has ended in a tie. The Lord Chancellor’s deciding vote will cast a long shadow on the lives of Harry Clifton and Giles Barrington. Harry returns to America to promote his latest novel while Emma goes in search of the little girl who was found abandoned in her father’s office on the night he was killed. When the general election is called, Giles Barrington has to defend his seat in the House of Commons and is horrified to discover who the Conservatives select to stand against him. But it is Sebastian Clifton, Harry and Emma’s son, who ultimately influences his uncle’s fate.
Unspeakable
Romance > Mystery & Suspense
Author: Laura Griffin
Regularly $5.99, Today $1.99
Elaina McCord’s dream of being an FBI profiler is threatened by her very first case—investigating a string of murders near a Texas beach resort. The victims, all young women, were drugged and brutally murdered, their bodies abandoned in desolate marshland. Elaina’s hunch—met with disbelief by local police—is that these are only the latest offerings from a serial killer who has been perfecting his art for years, growing bolder and more cunning with each strike.
True-crime writer Troy Stockton has a reputation as an irresistible playboy who gets his story at any cost. He’s the last person Elaina should trust, let alone be attracted to. But right now Troy, along with the elite team of forensics experts known as the Tracers, is her only ally in a case that’s turning dangerously personal. A killer is reaching out to Elaina, taunting her, letting her know how ruthless he is and how close he’s getting. Now it’s not just her career that’s in jeopardy—it’s her life. . . .
Blackbirds
Horror > Dark Fantasy
Author: Chuck Wendig
Regularly $6.99, Today $1.99
Miriam Black knows when you will die.
Still in her early twenties, she’s foreseen hundreds of car crashes, heart attacks, strokes, suicides, and slow deaths by cancer. But when Miriam hitches a ride with truck driver Louis Darling and shakes his hand, she sees that in thirty days Louis will be gruesomely murdered while he calls her name.
Miriam has given up trying to save people; that only makes their deaths happen. But Louis will die because he met her, and she will be the next victim. No matter what she does she can’t save Louis. But if she wants to stay alive, she’ll have to try.
An Innocent Client (Joe Dillard Series No. 1)
Thrillers > Legal
Author: Scott Pratt
Regularly $2.99, Today $0.99
A preacher is found brutally murdered in a Tennessee motel room. A beautiful, mysterious young girl is accused.
In this bestselling debut, criminal defense lawyer Joe Dillard has become jaded over the years as he’s tried to balance his career against his conscience. Savvy but cynical, Dillard wants to quit doing criminal defense, but he can’t resist the chance to represent someone who might actually be innocent. His drug-addicted sister has just been released from prison and his mother is succumbing to Alzheimer’s, but Dillard’s commitment to the case never wavers despite the personal troubles and professional demands that threaten to destroy him.
… See the rest of today’s Editor’s Picks here on page 2