Blog Ritemail

Bargain Ebooks Today: Fantasy Fiction and Library Nonfiction

Touch of Frost by Jennifer Estep has been temporarily reduced--I believe today only--to $2.99 on Amazon. The short story prequel--First Frost--is also free.

Book description:

My name is Gwen Frost, and I go to Mythos Academy -- a school of myths, magic and warrior whiz kids, where even the lowliest geek knows how to chop off somebody's head with a sword and Logan Quinn, the hottest Spartan guy in school, also happens to be the deadliest.
But lately, things have been weird, even for Mythos. First, mean girl Jasmine Ashton was murdered in the Library of Antiquities. Then, someone stole the Bowl of Tears, a magical artifact that can be used to bring about the second Chaos War. You know, death, destruction and lots of other bad, bad things. Freaky stuff like this goes on all the time at Mythos, but I'm determined to find out who killed Jasmine and why – especially since I should have been the one who died …

And while we are here, nonfiction about libraries has been reduced and I thought I'd share since I know some of you are librarians. I own some of these in paper and now in ebook, too, thanks to reduced pricing of $6 or less. The storage of knowledge has always fascinated me.

My Fairy Tale Gift List Item 1: Small Person With Wings by Ellen Booraem

Small Person With Wings by Ellen Booraem is hitting so many "best of" lists for the year, such as at Kirkus and Publishers Weekly, as well as personal lists on blogs that it has been added to my own gifting list. I think I am going to receive it (I am so nice to myself!) and my niece, too. It sounds like perfect holiday reading, perhaps my pick for reading with Leighton over the holidays which we always do to get away from the chaos of her younger brothers at times.

Book description:

Thirteen-year-old Mellie Turpin once declared to her kindergarten class that she had a fairy living in her bedroom. But before she could bring him in for show-and-tell, he disappeared. Years later, she is still trying to live it down.

When her parents inherit an inn and the family moves to a new town, Mellie sees a chance to finally leave all that fairy nonsense behind. Little does she know that the inn is overrun with ... you guessed it. Oh brother.

There's no such thing as fairies, she tells herself. And even if there were, they'd be nothing to worry about. Right?

Fairy Tale Gifts 6: Cheri Williams

I had to take the weekend off so I didn't finish drafting many of the posts I intended to do. The good/bad news is that I only have one new entry in the December Giveaway: Favorite Fairy Tale Things, this time from Cheri Williams who sent me links from her blog of books she's loved recently. We (readers and myself) want more! Send me your lists or even one item. You are making my own list longer with things I've not focused on. And if something has been mentioned before, that just means it's popular with many and we like to know that, too.

From Cheri, gleaned from her email and blog--one isn't due out until April 2012 so no holiday gifting on it:

Two of my fave reads for 2011 are:

The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson. Here's a review from Cheri's blog:

Lucero-Elisa de Rigqueza, Elisa, is Orovalle’s second-born princess, the spare. Useless and floundering—until, at sixteen years old, a bargain for troops in an impending war foists her into marriage with a widowed king she’s never met, thrusts her into a foreign land and forces her to fight for life, love and country. Not to mention the fact that there are those would kill her—or worse—for the Godstone living in her navel.

The balance of life-and-death stakes and Elisa’s every-girl worries, fears and hurts kept me reading THE GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS at a pace I feared would burn out my Kindle. Chock full of characters to love, hate and suspect of every kind of treachery, prose that seriously had me drooling on my screen, a world I didn’t want to leave, and just the right amount of romance—this book has something for everyone. Including a perfect ending! One that’s completely satisfying and has me DYING for more.

His Fair Assassin by Robin LaFevers isn't out until April, but here's a quick review from Cheri's blog:

I have a new favorite! Grave Mercy: His Fair Assassin by Robin LaFevers

Rescued from a lifetime of abuses, Ismae Rienne escapes to the convent of St. Mortain. There she is accepted. There she is admired. There they know she was sired by Death himself and will train her to do his bidding. To kill at his command. A task she’s perfectly suited for—until she meets Duval.

A YA romantic historical fantasy set in medieval France—with teen girl assassins. Could there be a more idyllic book for me?! No. No there couldn’t. Perfect prose that hooked me fast, a cast of characters so real I couldn’t leave them, action, mystery, dollops of humor and ROMANCE. Oh my… the romance. Grave Mercy now sits on my list of all-time favorites.

Cheri Williams
Author / Publicist / Public Menace
www.cheriwilliams.com

A Tiny Squirrel Is Ghulam Nabi Azad's Close Friend

New Delhi, Dec 2: Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has a tiny squirrel who is his close friend at his official residence here.Nearly three and a half months ago, two offsprings of a squirrel suddenly fell from a tree inside their residence. One died, and Azad's daughter adopted the other one. At that time, the offspring's eyes had not opened. 09 more images and video after the break...