Free:
God Don't Like Ugly, by Mary Monroe, is now free in both the Kindle and the Barnes & Noble store. This is the second today from Kensington Publications.
Book Description
In this richly drawn novel set on the streets, porches and in the parlors of 1960s Ohio, Mary Monroe brings to life the bond between two girls from opposite sides of the tracks--and the shattering event that changes their lives forever.
At the heart of the story is Annette Goode, a shy, awkward girl who keeps a terrible secret. Mr. Boatwright, the boarder her hardworking mother has taken in, abuses her daily. Frightened and ashamed, Annette withdraws into a world of books and food.
But the summer Annette turns thirteen, something incredible happens: Rhoda Nelson chooses her as a friend. Rhoda, who is everything Annette is not--gorgeous, slim, and worldly--welcomes Annette into the heart of her eccentric family, which includes her handsome and dignified father; her lovely, fragile, "Muh'Dear;" her brooding, dangerous brother Jock; and her colorful white relatives--half-crazy Uncle Johnny; sultry Aunt Lola; and scary, surly Granny Goose.
With Rhoda's help, Annette survives adolescence and blossoms into a woman. But after her beautiful best friend makes a stunning confession about a horrific childhood crime, Annette's world will never be the same.
The Irish Devil, by Diane Whiteside. Also from Kensington Publications
Book Description
Only sixteen when she discovers that her mother is a spy for the South during the Civil War, Viola Ross desperately tries to conceal her family's dark secret at the end of the conflict she must marry the one man in town who knows - Edward Ross, a drunkard who soon uproots Viola and takes her out West in search of gold. When Edward is tragically killed, Viola survives the best way she can, and ends up becoming partner with another widow in a laundry and dressmaking business, barely making ends meet. When her partner deserts her and her husband's debts threaten to destroy her, Viola offers William Donovan - a self-made Irish man - a deal he can't resist. She offers to be his personal mistress for three months; in return, Donovan agrees to house and feed her, which allows Viola to turn down the advances of Paul Lennox, a treacherous man whom she loathes. As Viola and William start to trust each other - much to both of their surprise - things heat up as Lennox plots to kidnap Viola. But will the growing bond between Viola and her Irish devil prove strong enough to overcome the dangerous circumstances that are headed their way?