Happy Thursday! Time for another generous helping of great new Kindle freebies. Each book listed here has gone FREE within the past 24 hours (except for the “Kindle Daily Deal” on page 2). Books qualify for “Editor’s Picks” if they have outstanding customer reviews. Warning: Kindle book promotions can end without notice, so before downloading click the link “See Kindle price at Amazon” to verify that the book is still free. (Prices and availability may differ outside USA.)

Letters from a Skeptic: A Son Wrestles with His Father’s Questions about Christianity

Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Theology > Apologetics
Author: Dr. Gregory A. Boyd

Letters from a Skeptic: A Son Wrestles with His Father's Questions about Christianity

Greg Boyd and his father, Ed, were on opposite sides of a great divide. Greg was a newfound Christian, while his father was a longtime agnostic. So Greg offered his father an invitation: Ed could write with any questions on Christianity, and his son would offer a response.

Letters from a Skeptic contains this special correspondence. The letters tackle some of today’s toughest challenges facing Christianity, including

Do all non-Christians go to hell?
How can we believe a man rose from the dead?
Why is the world so full of suffering?
How do we know the Bible was divinely inspired?
Does God know the future?

Each response offers insights into the big questions, while delivering intelligent answers that connect with both the heart and mind. Whether you’re a skeptic, a believer, or just unsure, these letters can provide a practical, common-sense guide to the Christian faith.

Always the Designer, Never the Bride: An Emma Rae Creation

Women’s Fiction > Domestic Life > Friendship
Author: Sandra D. Bricker

Always the Designer, Never the Bride: An Emma Rae Creation

It’s taken Audrey Regan years to establish herself as a wedding dress designer, and to date she’s been roped into creating dresses for nine of her girlfriends. Request #10 follows her vow to “Just say no!” and comes from her very best friend. She can hardly turn Carly down!

Audrey arrives in Atlanta early to perform all of her maid-of-honor duties along with final fittings for a one-of-a-kind dress. But Carly’s wedding is nothing short of an event, complete with Prince Charming, and the festivities make Audrey question whether there’s a prince of her own anywhere in her future.

Enter the groom’s brother and best man. Shaggy-haired, tattooed bad boy J.R. Hunt couldn’t be any more different from Prince Charming if he rode in on a Harley Davidson.  Oh, wait. He actually did ride in on a Harley!

Always the Wedding Planner, Never the Bride: An Emma Rae Creation

Women’s Fiction > Domestic Life > Friendship
Author: Sandra D. Bricker

Always the Wedding Planner, Never the Bride: An Emma Rae Creation

As a wedding planner, Sherilyn Caine should have the perfect wedding experience…

After all, she just landed her dream job at the wedding destination hotel, The Tanglewood. The rest should be a piece of cake for Sherilyn’s Type A personality.

But while everything else goes smoothly, her own wedding plans start to sink right before her eyes. One way or the other, Sherilyn is determined to make this wedding work—until the latest development threatens to call the whole thing off. Is it possible that Sherilyn is allergic to her fiancé?

Shades of Gray: A Novel of the Civil War in Virginia

Genre Fiction > War
Author: Jessica James

Shades of Gray: A Novel of the Civil War in Virginia

Discover the fine line between friends and enemies in this epic love story that captures the emotions and fears of the country as war sweeps the land. This debut novel by Jessica James has received critical acclaim from Civil War authors and historians, as well as lovers of romance and historical fiction. Called “a sympathetic, loving portrait,” by the Historical Novel Society and “well written and expertly executed” by the Book Review Journal, “Shades of Gray” takes readers across the rolling hills of northern Virginia in a page-turning tale of courage as a Confederate cavalry commander and a Union spy defend their beliefs, their country and their honor.


Completely Restored

Literature & Fiction > Contemporary
Author: Robert Kerr

Completely Restored

When Joe Murphy’s wife, Linda, spies an ad for a “beautiful 3-story Victorian house in need of some TLC,” the couple jumps at the chance for their dream home. Renovating it will allow them to indulge their passion for antiques and to get closer to an era they believe was a better time. Privately, Joe hopes that the project will also fill the void that has opened within their family life. They embark upon a grueling three-year renovation to restore the house to its former splendor, and everything seems perfect…until the morning Joe awakes to find a horse-drawn milk cart in his driveway and his family inexplicably transported back to the year 1909.

Suddenly the Murphys’ dream for a simpler time becomes a shocking reality, one in which they will struggle to adapt to turn-of-the-century Iowa while seeking a way to return home.

Chasing Nikki (Chasing Nikki #1)

Teens > Romance
Author: Lacey Weatherford

Chasing Nikki (Chasing Nikki #1)

Chase Walker used to be a good kid–charming, athletic, and with a bright future ahead, but that was before travesty struck his life, sinking him into deep despair. Caught up in a world of drugs and alcohol, he doesn’t notice time slipping away until he’s arrested for underage drinking one night.

Fed up with watching her son destroy his life, Chase’s mom relocates him to live in a small ranching community with his ex-military grandfather. Chase is far from happy about the situation until he meets, Nikki, the cute cheerleader who won’t give football players like him the time of day.

Chase enjoys a good challenge though and sets out to claim Nikki for his own. He soon discovers she’s more than a pretty face–she’s a balm to his troubled spirit also. But when tragedy strikes Nikki’s life too, suddenly Chase finds himself put to the ultimate test. Can he trust Nikki, and all that she’s taught him? Will it be enough?

Smokeless Fire (Fire Spirits #1)

Teens > Love & Romance > Paranormal
Author: Samantha Young

Smokeless Fire (Fire Spirits #1)

When eighteen year old Ari Johnson is transported from her bedroom into the chilling realm of Mount Qaf – home to the terrifying and mercurial Jinn – she learns a truth that rocks her very world. Suddenly her anxiety over college and her broken friendship with Charlie seem like small change compared to the war she now finds herself stuck in the middle of. Her unease isn’t lessened any by the hot guardian, Jai, who won’t stop following her around everywhere – a Jinn whose loyalty Ari hates to question but must. She has no idea who she can trust.

When the truth burns through her life in its determination to turn it to ashes, Ari will have to battle with ancient deadly creatures, epic family drama and heart-wrenching romantic entanglements.

Sins of the Father (An Erin Solomon Mystery)

Mystery > Women Sleuths
Author: Jen Blood

Sins of the Father (An Erin Solomon Mystery)

The truth will set her free… But is freedom worth the price?

A convicted murderer desperate to prove his own innocence, and a serial killer with a list of victims dating back to the 1970’s. The only thing the two seem to have in common is their link to investigative reporter Erin Solomon’s own father. When she and fellow reporter Daniel Diggins are forced into the northern Maine woods during their investigation by someone intent on making them pawns in a diabolical game of cat and mouse, it will take everything they have to get out alive, and finally learn the truth about Erin’s father’s past — and the trail of bodies in his wake.

 

The Librarian (Book One: Little Boy Lost)

Children’s Books > Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths
Author: Eric Hobbs

The Librarian (Book One: Little Boy Lost)

Wesley Bates thinks his life pretty much sucks. He’s landed at the bottom of his school’s popularity ladder, and bully Randy Stanford seems to be waiting around every corner.

The troubled teen thinks he’s found a way to escape his real-world problems when he stumbles upon strange doorways in Astoria’s local library that seem to lead into the extraordinary worlds from all his favorite books. Oz, Neverland, Wonderland — they’re all a reality with Wesley’s new discovery. Wesley teams with best friend Taylor Williams to embark on a great adventure, both ready to leave the drama of middle school behind.

But the two kids quickly find themselves embroiled in a centuries-old battle for the library and the magic hiding within. Now, fighting alongside the eccentric old man who’s vowed to protect the building’s power, the pair must help ward off an attack by a shadowy group with a strange tie to Wesley’s nemesis, forcing Wesley to face the fears he’s been dodging… and one of the most terrifying bullies of all time!

Where Is God When It Hurts?

Christian Books & Bibles > Christian Living
Author: Philip Yancey

Where Is God When It Hurts?

If there is a loving God, then why is it that … ?

You’ve heard that question, perhaps asked it yourself. No matter how you complete it, at its root lies the issue of pain.
Does God order our suffering? Does he decree an abusive childhood, orchestrate a jet crash, steer a tornado through a community? Or did he simply wind up the world’s mainspring and now is watching from a distance?

Yancey reveals a God who is neither capricious nor unconcerned. Using examples from the Bible and from his own experiences, Yancey looks at pain—physical, emotional, and spiritual—and helps us understand why we suffer. Where Is God When It Hurts? will speak to those for whom life sometimes just doesn’t make sense. And it will help equip anyone who wants to reach out to someone in pain but just doesn’t know what to say.

Black Flagged

Thrillers > Spy Stories & Tales of Intrigue
Author: Steven Konkoly

Black Flagged

A graduate of the Department of Defense’s experimental Black Flag program, Daniel Petrovich carries secrets he’d rather keep buried. Secrets his government has hidden in the deepest vaults of the Pentagon. Unfortunately for Daniel, someone is trying to raise Black Flag from the dead and bring Daniel back with it. Someone who knows all of his darkest secrets.

In exchange for the promise of a clean slate and a chance to keep the life he has built with the woman he loves, he agrees to carry out one final mission.

Daniel’s life is about to disintegrate, as he becomes the focus of a relentless FBI manhunt and the target of a vengeful CIA agent. To survive, he’ll be forced to release a dark side he fought for years to keep suppressed. A dark side with few boundaries, and even fewer loyalties.

Lie Down in Green Pastures (The Psalm 23 Mysteries #3)

Christian Fiction > Suspense
Author: Debbie Viguie

Lie Down in Green Pastures (The Psalm 23 Mysteries #3)

Even though they work right next door to each other, Cindy and Jeremiah come from two different worlds. Cindy is a church secretary; Jeremiah is a Reformed rabbi with a mysterious past full of danger and excitement. Together they have faced down a serial killer at Easter and a murderer of homeless people.The two unlikely companions continue to forge a strong friendship as they explore personal history and faith with each passing adventure.This third volume in the Psalm 23 Mysteries series finds Jeremiah and Cindy matching wits with an unscrupulous land developer. In a fast-paced story set around St. Patrick’s Day, murder invades an idyllic landscape, challenging them to save hundreds of teens even as they try to discover the source of their unexpected danger.


First World Problems: 101 Reasons Why The Terrorists Hate Us

Humor > Essays
Author: Ben Nesvig

First World Problems: 101 Reasons Why The Terrorists Hate Us

Have you ever bought so much food at the grocery store that it molded before you could eat it? Did you buy an iPhone one week before the new model was announced?

You’re suffering from First World Problems.
What follows is the graphic account of what it’s like to live in the First World. Tales of unreasonably cold air conditioning, eating to the point of exhaustion, and being unable to enjoy Summer weather due to gainful employment in a bad economy.

Jack Templar Monster Hunter: The Templar Chronicles: Book One

Children’s Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Spine-Chilling Horror
Author: Jeff Gunhus

Jack Templar Monster Hunter: The Templar Chronicles: Book One

If you’re not a monster hunter, don’t read this book!

Seriously, this book is not meant for you. By reading it, you run the risk of attracting monsters to your position and being attacked. So, unless you are willing to join the fight…just walk away.

Still here? OK, don’t say I didn’t warn you. Let me introduce myself. I’m Jack Templar and I’m an orphan.

Recently, I discovered that I came from a long line of monster hunters. You know, vampires, werewolves, zombies, you name it. Turns out there was some kind of truce between monsters and the hunters that kids under fourteen were off-limits. I didn’t find out about all this until the day before my birthday. Yeah, you guessed it, my fourteenth birthday. So, all bets were off. The monsters were coming to get me.

Not only that, but I also found out that if monsters around the world could choose one human to kill, it would be me. Why? I haven’t a clue, but the hunters I’ve met talk about a prophecy and that they think I’m the One…whatever that means. I’d like to find out some day, but for right now, I’m just trying to stay alive.

Dollhouse (The Dollhouse Trilogy)

Genre Fiction > Horror > Dark Fantasy
Author: Anya Allyn

Dollhouse (The Dollhouse Trilogy)

For fifteen year old Cassie Claiborne, there’s only one good thing about moving from steamy Miami to the wild inland forests of Australia–the even wilder Ethan McAllister. But Ethan already has a girlfriend–Aisha Damaj–the girl with a hundred different moods a minute.

When Aisha goes missing on a hiking trip in the local mountains–presumed dead–the whole town points a finger at Ethan. Cassie defends Ethan fiercely. She’s just about the only friend he has left.

Is Cassie letting her feelings for Ethan cloud her judgment? Or does something dark lurk out there in the forests?

There’s only one way to find out–go back to the forests.

My Journey to Heaven: What I Saw and How It Changed My Life

Biographies & Memoirs > Leaders & Notable People > Religious
Author: Marvin J. Besteman, Lorilee Craker

My Journey to Heaven: What I Saw and How It Changed My Life

On April 28, 2006, as he lay in his hospital bed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, visions of celestial beauty were the last thing on Marv Besteman’s mind. He had just had surgery to remove a rare pancreatic tumor. It was after visiting hours and his family had left for the day. Alone and racked with pain, Marv tossed and turned, wanting more than anything else to simply sleep and escape the misery and discomfort for a while. The retired banker, father, and grandfather had no idea he was about to get a short reprieve in the form of an experience he never could have imagined.

Bestman shares the story of his experience of heaven with astounding detail. Readers will hear of his encounters with angels who accompanied him to the gate, his conversation (argument, really) with St. Peter, and his recognition of friends and family members who touched his life. His story offers peace, comfort, and encouragement to those who have lost loved ones and gives security and solace to those who are grieving, dying, or wonder about the afterlife. Marv believed God sent him back to earth to fulfill this mission of comfort and reminds readers that God has work for each of us to do before he calls us to be with him in heaven. Secure in his belief that his book was the fulfillment of his own mission, Marv returned to heaven in January 2012.

Twelve Days (The McRae Series, Book 1 – Sam and Rachel)

Romance > Contemporary
Author: Teresa Hill

Twelve Days (The McRae Series, Book 1 - Sam and Rachel)

Twelve Days before Christmas, Rachel McRae opens her front door and a social worker puts a baby in her arms—one who comes with a four-year-old boy and an eleven-year-old girl—siblings abandoned and in need of a temporary home.

But there’s a catch: Rachel’s family is falling apart.

Rachel and her husband, Sam, have dreamed of a house filled with children—a dream that has led them to repeated heartbreak. Sam McRae has finally decided the only thing left to do is leave his wife.

Reluctantly, Rachel and Sam take the children in, but just until after Christmas. They will do their best not to fall in love with them, not to get their hopes up that this time a miracle will happen. That these children will stay, and that their marriage can still be saved.

Under a Texas Star

Romance > Western > Historical
Author: Alison Bruce

Under a Texas Star

Disguised as a boy, Marly joins a handsome Texas Ranger in the hunt for a con man and they must bring the fugitive to justice before giving up the masquerade and giving in to their passion.

When Marly Landers is fooled by con man Charlie Meese, she’s determined to bring him to justice–even if it means dressing up as a boy and setting off across the plains to find him.

Texas Ranger Jase Strachan is also after Meese, for crimes committed in Texas. He joins forces with the young boy in a journey that takes them to Fortuna, where a murder interrupts their mission. Jase is duty bound to find the killer, no matter the cost.

Marly carries out her own investigation and comes to the aid of Amabelle Egan, the sister of one of the suspects. But appearances are deceiving, and Marly is mistaken for Amabelle’s suitor, making her a target for the killer. Not to mention, Charlie Meese is still out there.

Under the Texas stars, Marly and Jase are drawn together by circumstances beyond their control, yet fate plots to tear them apart. Will Marly finally get her man?

I’ll Have The Soup And Salad (Know About Cooking)

Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Vegetables & Vegetarian > Salads
Author: Katherine Baldwin

I'll Have The Soup And Salad (Know About Cooking)

When you envision the perfect bowl of steamy, delicious soup, what comes to mind? Is it the soup your mother or grandmother used to make from scratch using fresh vegetables and fresh beef or chicken simmered in a savory broth with just the right mixture of herbs and garlic? Maybe your dream soup is a thick, rich bowl of New England Clam Chowder. Or maybe it’s a nice can of condensed soup that you add a can of water to and Voila – you have your favorite soup. What? Scratch that last one because you won’t find any of that in this book. You will, however, find the first two.

You will find 26 soup recipes with some of the classic soups like:

  • Chicken Noodle Soup
  • Southern Style Vegetable Soup
  • Cheddar Cheese and Potato Soup
  • Seafood Gumbo
  • Minestrone

Bangkok Burn

Mystery > Hard-Boiled
Author: Simon Royle

Bangkok Burn

A war is taking place on the streets of Bangkok as political cliques fire bullets and rockets at each other.
Mysterious ‘Men in Black’ snipe combatants from both sides.
It is a good time to settle old scores.

The Warning

Genre Fiction > Horror > Occult
Author: Jonas Saul

The Warning

Sarah Roberts has spent the last four years helping people stay alive through the messages she receives from the dead.

She receives a daunting communication from the Other Side regarding her sister’s murderer, and where she can find him, but the message is not clear enough to confirm the man’s identity.

Then she receives The Warning, a message that tells her to stand down – let it go. She refuses and enters a complex where the odds are stacked heavily against her. The tables turn, and Sarah becomes the hunted rather than the hunter.

How many people have to die to catch one murderer? How far will Sarah go?

Sarah must face the absolute horror and reality that has become her life as an Automatic Writer. The Warning begins as a flame, ignites to a fire and explodes in an inferno of violence over a girl who receives messages from the dead to help the living.

Heroes and Hounds

Genre Fiction > Action & Adventure
Author: Bill Miller, Mary Burkhardt

Heroes and Hounds

“Heroes and Hounds” is a wonderfully charming story about a young girl’s adventures with her pony and her friend as she seeks to fulfill her dream of riding “to the hounds” with the hunt. The story has multi-generational appeal as it touches on such issues as the plight of families with parents in military service and the welfare of veterans. Anyone who loves horses, dogs and other animals will enjoy this book. The illustrations are beautiful and create a nostalgia of their own in their old-style look reminiscent of children’s books decades ago. This book delves into the complexities of what it means to be a hero and how fleeting that glory can be, whether you’re eleven years old or seventy.

The King of Blades

Fantasy > Paranormal
Author: Ken Brosky, Chris Smith

The King of Blades

King Tyler Letrovius has lost control of his kingdom. Democracy is taking hold, and without a bloodline to continue his legacy, the council of lords has chosen to dethrone the once-powerful King of Blades. Unable to come to terms with the new conditions, Tyler’s heart gives out and must be revived by a local physician. But not before Tyler spends a few minutes in Hell, tortured by a god called Aerial who needs Tyler but refuses to explain why.

When Tyler awakens, he learns that his knights have abandoned him and an army from one of the northern kingdoms is marching south, determined to strike the kingdom of Letrovium before its new leaders can act. Tyler must find a way to save his kingdom during the day even while he suffers in the darkness of Hell every time he falls asleep. In Hell, Tyler finds himself hounded by strange visions of a creature named Grendel and a mysterious long-dead hero named Beowulf.

Time is running out—Tyler is dying, and has only a few precious days to fulfill the demands of Aerial, the god of second chances.

I’ll Watch the Moon (Historical Fiction Best Sellers)

Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Christian Fiction
Author: Ann Tatlock

I'll Watch the Moon (Historical Fiction Best Sellers)

When polio stalked Minnesota in 1948, fear was every mother’s constant companion, as Tatlock (All the Way Home) shows in this well-written story for the evangelical Christian market. Young Nova Tierney and her older brother, Dewey, live a mostly idyllic life despite sharing living space with a motley assortment of tenants at the boarding house run by their Aunt Dortha and mother, Catherine. Dewey, nicknamed “Galileo” for his love of astronomy, dreams of some day walking on the moon, and he and Nova spend many happy hours looking at the night sky together in their backyard.

When Dewey is hospitalized with polio, Nova promises to watch the moon for him (thus the title) until he is well. But will he recover? In her bitterness over a childhood secret, her late husband’s infidelity and her son’s desperate illness, his mother turns her back on God. “Sometimes, I wonder how we all go on living,” she muses. Hope begins to return when she strikes up a friendship with boarder and Auschwitz survivor Josef Karski. Meanwhile, Nova exchanges letters with her brother and dreams of having a father again.

Beneath the Willow (Jesse & Sarah)

Romance > Contemporary
Author: Jeremy Asher

Beneath the Willow (Jesse & Sarah)

Jesse and Sarah’s journey continues in Beneath the Willow, the sequel to the heartfelt novel, Across the Creek.
For Jesse Malone, an architect in Chicago, life has been anything but easy. After losing the love of his life six years earlier, he is determined not to let love slip through his grasp once again.

Sarah Ramsey, a business owner in the Windy City, is struggling to keep everything together through a difficult divorce. Her husband, a once brilliant attorney, is about to lose his career along with his marriage and is set on making Sarah’s life just as miserable as his.
When Jesse and his fiancée, Kate, walk into a local floral shop to pick out the flowers for their upcoming wedding, Jesse runs into the only other woman he has ever loved, Sarah. Their brief encounter sets off a series of catastrophic events as Sarah reveals a secret that will test the foundations of their lives, leaving them with one certainty…life will never be the same for either of them.

Near Death

Science Fiction > Adventure
Author: Richard C Hale

Near Death

For Jake Townsend, the loss was shattering. And every night for the past two years, he has relived the horror of what happened. The moonless night. The piercing screams. The horrific crash. The night his wife was taken from him. The last time he saw her alive.

Everyone tells him to move on. But for Jake, there can be no closure. A message appears in his dreams–a warning he is reluctant to heed.

The omens ignored, Jake finds himself caught between the desire to see his beloved wife again and disrupting the delicate balance of life and death. The technology he developed has shown him the path, and others will do anything to use it, but at what price?

He must choose, and the consequences may ultimately shatter his world.

Getting Results the Agile Way: A Personal Results System for Work and Life

Business & Investing > Skills > Time Management
Author: J.D. Meier, Michael Kropp

Getting Results the Agile Way: A Personal Results System for Work and Life

Meier introduces Agile Results®-a simple system for meaningful results. It’s a systematic way to achieve both short- and long-term results in all aspects of your life-from work to fun. It offers just enough planning to get you going, but makes it easy to change your course as needed. It also provides fresh starts for your day, week, month, and year. Even if you already use another time management system, Agile Results can supplement it to increase your impact and sense of fulfillment.

In today’s world, change happens quickly; learn how to be flexible and responsive to new opportunities. Don’t just check off tons of stuff from your to-do list; do the things that make a difference. Stop trudging your way through life; bolster your energy with habits that will carry you forward each day. Quit sacrificing your personal life for your work life (or vice versa); give each facet of your life its due and find balance. In other words, learn the skills to go the distance in an ever-changing world.

The Lion Vrie (The White Lion Chronicles)

Christian Fiction > Fantasy
Author: Christopher Hopper, Sue Kenney, Hillary Hopper, Jason Clement, Allan Miller, Christopher Miller, Jennifer Hopper

The Lion Vrie (The White Lion Chronicles)

The only way to survive is to kill the ones you love.

Having barely escaped the siege of Adriel with his life, Luik is carried north to the realm of Tontha in an effort to weather Morgui’s all-out assault on Dionia. Here he sorts through the trauma of the recent past and attempts to piece together the whereabouts of his scattered Dibor, as well as his friends Fane, Hadrian, and Princess Anorra.

When work begins on fortifying Mt. Dakka, Luik returns to the wreckage of Adriel and uncovers far more than he had anticipated. Events unfold quickly, and his path is plagued by mysterious encounters with the taken, and haunted by the increasing effects of evil upon Creation.

 

 

… See the rest of today’s Editor’s Picks and the Kindle Daily Deal here on page 2