If you’re looking for your next read, the Kindle deals below have caught my eye this week.  Two of them I remembered reading reviews for last year (written by trusted book bloggers in my network) and they were on my wishlist.  One of them might help you if you’re flagging in keeping your New Year resolutions …

A Weekend with Mr Darcy by Victoria Connelly

The blurb:

A romance-filled page-turner for any Austen fanatic who’s ever dreamt of spending a weekend with Mr Darcy…

Katherine Roberts is fed up with men. As a lecturer specialising in the works of Jane Austen, she knows that the ideal man only exists within the pages of Pride & Prejudice and that in real life there is no such thing. Determined to go it alone, she finds all the comfort she needs reading her guilty pleasure – regency romances from the pen of Lorna Warwick – with whom she has now struck up an intimate correspondence.Austen fanatic, Robyn Love, is blessed with a name full of romance, but her love life is far from perfect. Stuck in a rut with a bonehead boyfriend, Jace, and a job she can do with her eyes shut – her life has hit a dead end. Robyn would love to escape from it all but wouldn’t know where to start.They both decide to attend the annual Jane Austen Conference at sumptuous Purley Hall, overseen by the actress and national treasure, Dame Pamela Harcourt. Robyn is hoping to escape from Jace for the weekend and indulge in her passion for all things Austen. Katherine is hoping that Lorna Warwick will be in attendance and is desperate to meet her new best friend in the flesh.

But nothing goes according to plan and Robyn is aghast when Jace insists on accompanying her, whilst Katherine is disappointed to learn that Lorna won’t be coming. However, an Austen weekend wouldn’t be the same without a little intrigue, and Robyn and Katherine are about to get much more than they bargained for. Because where Jane Austen is concerned, romance is never very far away…

This is the first in a series of three.

Amanda on One More Page says:

“I don’t think you need to be an Austen fan to enjoy this book. This is a love story about two very different women trying to come to terms with failed relationships and I think you could read it and enjoy it without ever having read the books.”

She rated it 4/5 and you can read the rest of Amanda’s review on her blog.  

Amazon’s price is £1.99.  Click on the picture to visit the Amazon page.  The second in the series  The Perfect Hero is also reasonably priced £0.99.

The Darling Strumpet by Gillian Bagwell

The blurb:

From her beginnings as a humble oyster seller, Nell Gwynn’s dazzling rise to fame has gone down in history. Step into the tumultuous world of Restoration England, and join Nell on her journey from courtesan, to famed actress to King’s mistress in a novel that is as captivating as Nelly herself.She sold her innocence…and captured the heart of a king. London, 1660 Growing up in the bawdy atmosphere of 17th century Covent Garden, Nell Gwynn is little more than a girl when she enters the world of the courtesan. But Nell learns the hard way that to be at the mercy of unscrupulous men is no life at all.With London’s theatres flourishing, Nell seizes an opportunity to change her luck and takes a job selling oranges at The King’s Playhouse on Drury Lane.It isn’t long before Nell takes centre-stage herself and her saucy wit and ambitious temperament soon catch the eye of the young King Charles II. But can she keep him enthralled when the country’s finest Ladies are vying for his attentions at court?Nell Gwynn was a darling of the people and the most famous courtesan of her age. You too will find it impossible to resist her in The Darling Strumpet.

Carol on Dizzy C’s Little Book Blog says: “Well researched historical events feature in the novel  such as The Great Fire of London, The Plague and the rise of the theatres are brought to life in glorious detail through the eyes of Nell. ”  

She rated it 5/5 and you can read the rest of Carol’s review on her blog.
Amazon’s price is £1.99.  As soon as I saw this while browsing I bookmarked … but it wasn’t long before I pressed that button that makes it all so easy  Click on the picture to visit the Amazon page.

52 Small Changes: One Year to a Happier, Healthier You by Brett Blumenthal.

Four good Kindle deals have caught my eye this week ...

The first book, well, if you haven’t seen this on the social media networks this week you MUST have had your eyes shut!

Before I Go To Sleep by SJ Watson

Winner of the Galaxy National Book Awards 2011 in the Crime and Thriller category, it’s also a pick on Richard & Judy’s spring book club, plus the TV Book club (4).   Tesco Books blog are also holding a Q & A session with the author  Before the social media frenzy, this book had already caught my eye so  imagine my delight when after watching the Kindle price I saw it drop to £2.70 (still correct at the time of this post).  Of course I brought it

The next book that caught my eye was on Lins Healy’s blog ‘The Littlereader Library’.

A LIFETIME BURNING by Linda Gillard

Lins has a review, an author interview and a giveaway (closes 31st January).  Lins’ review is amazing – she has given it 5/5.

This is how she sums it up “It’s an absorbing, brave and unforgettable book, from a talented writer. The dialogue flows easily; the characters are so well drawn that they leap from the page; they are loved, rejected, damaged, hopeful, damned and loved again, and they grow and change through the timescale covered in the novel. As a reader it makes you think, question and ponder, and though you may not like some of the characters and their actions, they are nevertheless compelling. A thoroughly riveting read. “

Go and have a read!  At the time of this post, the Kindle copy is £0.88.

  The third book was on Amazon’s 12 Days of Kindle promotion and is still £0.99 (at the time of this post)

The Dress by Sophie Nicholls

Meet Ella and her mother Fabbia Moreno who arrive in York, one cold January day, to set up their vintage dress shop.

The flamboyant Fabbia wants to sell beautiful dresses to nice people and move on from her difficult past. Ella just wants to fit in. But not everyone is on their side.

Will Fabbia overcome the prejudices she encounters? What’s the dark secret she’s hiding? And do the silk linings and concealed seams of her dresses contain real spells or is this all just ‘everyday magic’?

Among the leopard-print shoes, tea-gowns and costume jewellery in Fabbia’s shop are many different stories – and the story of one particular dress.

This is a full-length novel for lovers of vintage and readers of contemporary romance/fantasy.

I downloaded it and author Talli Roland gave it 5 stars on Goodreads

My final book (which is actually two!) …

I had already reviewed Raven but it caught my eye because it’s free on Kindle and the second in the trilogy is reasonably priced!  AND the second DECEMBER MOON was one of my top 10 fiction reads for 2011.  December Moon is priced at £0.77 at the time of this post.

Raven (The Raven Saga) by Suzy Turner

After the inexplicable disappearance of Lilly Taylor’s parents, she has no choice but to move to Canada where she unravels some frightening yet intriguing family secrets…
Her whole life had been based on a lie. Lilly had grown up in a loveless home with a father who she had barely ever seen and a mother who was… well, not very motherly.
After they mysteriously disappear without a trace, Lilly is sent to Canada where she finds a whole new way of life. A life filled with love and people who care for her. But that’s not all she discovers, Lilly also finds out that she isn’t who, or what, she thinks she is.

Lilly has a very special ability and it’s just a matter of time before her true self starts to shine. And when it does, her life will never be the same again.
Raven is a fantasy novel for children and young adults set in the beautiful province of British Columbia.

December Moon (The Raven Saga) by Suzy Turner

On her 15th birthday, December Moon discovers she is the descendant of a family of witches, kept in the dark her entire life in an effort to protect her. But when Lilly, her best friend, finds herself in danger from one of the world’s most evil vampires, December will do everything in her power to stop him. December Moon is a fantasy novel for children and young adults set in BC, Canada.

If you read any of them, I would be interested to know how
you get on!