Today’s Steals and Deals at AAR…..
I’ve heard this series is wonderful. This is book one. Here’s the blurb:
Level-headed Bee still lives at Mooncote, the family home in Somerset, where she has an unconventional boyfriend of whom her sisters are unaware. Stella, a DJ who’s just done some gigs in Ibiza, has vowed never to return to Mooncote after a row with Bee. Single mother and fashion designer Serena lives in Notting Hill with growing doubts about her relationship with her longtime boyfriend, a rock musician. And Luna, the youngest, is a wanderer living out of a horse-drawn van while she follows a trail of horse fairs across the country.
The four Fallow sisters are scattered like the four winds. But now, with the comet due, they’re drawn back together, united in their desire to find their mother, free-spirited Alys, who disappeared a year ago. They have help, of course, from the star spirits and the no-longer-living, but such advice tends to be cryptic and is hardly the most dependable of guides . . .
It’s on sale for 2.99 here.
Both books in this lovely YA series are on sale today. We gave this one, the first, a DIK. (The second, Nothing Like the Movies, got a B+.) In her review of this one, Kayne wrote: This romance was so good, I didn’t want it to end! I’m happy to see there’s a sequel coming out next year called Nothing Like the Movies that takes place when they are in college. I recommend Better Than the Movies to readers who enjoy YA rom-coms. This romance is a winner!
It’s on sale for 3.99 here.
This Shakespeare infused tale is on many Best Books of 2024 list. Here’s the blurb:
Young playwright Melina Green has just written a new work inspired by the life of her Elizabethan ancestor Emilia Bassano. But seeing it performed is unlikely, in a theater world where the playing field isn’t level for women. As Melina wonders if she dares risk failure again, her best friend takes the decision out of her hands and submits the play to a festival under a male pseudonym.
In 1581, young Emilia Bassano is a ward of English aristocrats. Her lessons on languages, history, and writing have endowed her with a sharp wit and a gift for storytelling, but like most women of her day, she is allowed no voice of her own. Forced to become a mistress to the Lord Chamberlain, who oversees all theatre productions in England, Emilia sees firsthand how the words of playwrights can move an audience. She begins to form a plan to secretly bring a play of her own to the stage—by paying an actor named William Shakespeare to front her work.
Told in intertwining timelines, By Any Other Name, a sweeping tale of ambition, courage, and desire centers two women who are determined to create something beautiful despite the prejudices they face. Should a writer do whatever it takes to see her story live on . . . no matter the cost? This remarkable novel, rooted in primary historical sources, ensures the name Emilia Bassano will no longer be forgotten.
It’s on sale for 2.99 here.
This is a DIK–it’s a superb story!
Robb does an wonderful job of bringing medieval York to life, describing things like the smell of the River Ouse and how food was served in trenchers of bread instead of on plates. She populates her version of York with many colorful fictional characters, such as the river woman Magda Digby, who lives in an overturned Viking ship outside the city and practices the old ways (pre-Norman invasion), and Bess Merchet, a tavern owner, who proves to be a better gatherer of information than Owen. They are an interesting contrast to true historical figures like Thoresby and the Duke.
The Apothecary Rose is a touching love story as well as an intriguing mystery. Fortunately for the reader, it is only the beginning of a wonderful series, for once you meet the inhabitants of York, you won’t want to leave them behind.
It’s on sale for 0.99 here.