When our last credit card bill arrived, I realised I might have gone a tad overboard since my BeBook arrived – the lure of instant gratification and all that. So I vowed to be sensible and spend less this month.
Here’s a peek at a the books I bought before my book budget for July was well and truly blown. Note: I purchased them as ebooks, but they should all be available in print.
ECHOES FROM THE DEAD
BY
JOHAN THEORIN
Blurb: Can you ever come to terms with a missing child? Julia Davidsson has not. Her five-year-old son disappeared twenty years previously on the Swedish island of Oland. No trace of him has ever been found. Until his shoe arrives in the post. It has been sent to Julia’s father, a retired sea-captain still living on the island. Soon he and Julia are piecing together fragments of the past: fragments that point inexorably to a local man called Nils Kant, known to delight in the pain of others. But Nils Kant died during the 1960s. So who is the stranger seen wandering across the fields as darkness falls? It soon becomes clear that someone wants to stop Julia’s search for the truth. And that he’s much, much closer than she thinks …
THE DARKEST ROOM
BY
JOHAN THEORIN
Blurb: ‘The dead are our neighbours everywhere on the island, and you have to get used to it’. It is bitter mid-winter on the Swedish island of Oland, and Katrine and Joakim Westin have moved with their children to the boarded-up manor house at Eel Point. But their remote idyll is soon shattered when Katrine is found drowned off the rocks nearby. As Joakim struggles to keep his sanity in the wake of the tragedy, the old house begins to exert a strange hold over him. Joakim has never been in the least superstitious, but from where are those whispering noises coming? To whom does his daughter call out in the night? And why is the barn door for ever ajar? As the end of the year approaches, and the infamous winter storm moves in across Oland, Joakim begins to fear that the most spine-chilling story he’s heard about Eel Point might indeed be true: that every Christmas the dead return…
Why Did I Buy Them? My interest was piqued by Keishon’s review of The Darkest Room. My mother is also reading and raving about them at the moment.
THE HEAT IS ON (August 2010)
BY
JILL SHALVIS
Blurb: Oh, dear. Bella Manchelli is so not having a good day. First, she’s deliciously exhausted from last night’s sizzling one-night stand. Second, there’s a (gulp) dead body at her back door. Third…um, that scrumptious one-nighter is at her front door… and he’s wearing a badge!
Police Officer Jacob Madden is all about duty. Until he shows up looking for a homicide…and runs right into last night’s slice of sexy heaven! Damn, he just can’t think straight when he’s around Bella. All he wants to do is lick her up one side and down the other….
Can duty and smoking-hot sex blend for a while? Definitely! Until Jacob discovers that several of the guys Bella’s dated have turned up dead. Jacob loves being around Bella. But is he ready to be used as target practice?
Why Did I Buy It? I read and enjoyed Jill Shalvis‘ novella, Friendly Fire, which features another Madden brother as the hero. However, I was determined to hold off and get this book at a later point. Then Jill Shalvis was cruel/clever enough to post the entire first chapter of The Heat is On on her blog. After reading it, I knew I had to have this book NOW! (Note for those confused by the August publication date: I purchased this book in digital format at the eHarlequin eBook Boutique. They always sell the next month’s releases a month early on their site.
ONE SEASON OF SUNSHINE (2010)
BY
JULIA LONDON
Blurb: Adopted as an infant, Jane Aaron longs to know the identity of her birth mother and why she gave her up. Her only clue is the name of the small Texas town where she was born, so she’s come to Cedar Springs for answers.
Handsome ad executive Asher Price lost his wife, the beautiful, mysterious Susanna, in a terrible car crash eighteen months ago. When he hires Jane as the nanny for his two children, sparks fly. Jane finds herself falling in love with both Asher and his children, but begins to suspect that Susanna was not the perfect mother and wife the family portrays her to have been.
As Jane gets closer and closer to finding out the truth about both her own and Susanna’s past, devastating secrets begin to emerge that may be more than anyone can bear. Will the truth bring Jane and Asher closer together or tear them apart forever?
Why Did I Buy It? Although I’ve never read anything by Julia London, I saw One Season of Sunshine mentioned at All About Romance and the blurb appealed to me.
HIGHLAND REBEL (2009)
BY
JUDITH JAMES
Blurb: Amidst the upheaval of Cromwell’s Britain, Jamie Sinclair’s wit and military prowess have served him well. Leading a troop in Scotland, he impetuously marries a captured maiden, saving her from a grim fate.
A Highlands heiress to title and fortune, Catherine Drummond is not the woman Jamie believes her to be. When her people effect her rescue, and he cannot annul the marriage, Jamie goes to recapture his hellcat of a new wife…
In a world where family and creed cannot be trusted, where faith fuels intolerance and war, Catherine and Jamie test the bounds of loyalty, friendship, and trust…
Why Did I Buy It? I’ve been meaning to buy this book since it was released last year. Plus I’m about halfway through her newest release, Libertine’s Kiss, and loving it.
Have you bought any books so far this month, or have you been more fiscally responsible than I have?
{ 5 comments }
I’m a person who loves to shop and so when the hubster bought me an iPad I have been buying eBooks like they’re going out of fashion! I haven’t actually read any yet, but I keep buying more. I agree with you, it’s the instant gratification that is just SO addictive!
I am currently compiling a massive print order list.. which is already creeping near to budget busting status. LOL
But I am justifying it as I haven’t brought myself any books in ages. (So not counting books for the business LOL)
And a large portion of my order is manga books.. I discovered One Piece books. Incredibly silly fun.
Ha!! I knew you’d go crazy with a new ereader. I think it’s inevitable the first little while *g*. And I’m trying oh so hard to be a good non-purchasing reader – at least until I get to some book conferences.
@Book Chick City: Ha! I know! It is dangerously addictive.
@Edie: Enjoy the books! The one thing I do miss is getting a parcel of books delivered. It always made my day.
@KristieJ: LOL! I take it you’re putting your new Kobo to good use!
I went a bit insane for about a year after I got my Kindle. The last few months, I’ve been making a serious effort to get a handle on my book budget. The good thing is that there are a ton of free and discounted books available on special offers at Amazon. I’m not sure what format you need for the bebook, but I know B&N and Sony also both run specials. Also Fictionwise occasionally runs 20-45% off specials on all of their multiformat ebooks and All Romance sometimes does a free book a day giveaway (theirs are mainly erotic romances).