As July draws to a close, sadly, so too do all the great July sales on Amazon. For example, this month’s list of 20 Kindle Books For $2 Each. The sale ends at midnight PST on July 31st, so if you see anything you like be sure to get it now, before prices go back up in a couple of days. The sale list includes:
The Secret Piano: From Mao’s Labor Camps to Bach’s Goldberg Variations (4.5/5 stars)
Zhu Xiao-Mei was born to middle-class parents in post-war China, and her musical proficiency became clear at an early age. Taught to play the piano by her mother, she developed quickly into a prodigy, immersing herself in the work of classical masters like Bach and Brahms. She was just ten years old when she began a rigorous course of study at the Beijing Conservatory, laying the groundwork for what was sure to be an extraordinary career. But in 1966, when Xiao-Mei was seventeen, the Cultural Revolution began, and life as she knew it changed forever.
One by one, her family members were scattered, sentenced to prison or labor camps. By 1969, the art schools had closed, and Xiao-Mei was on her way to a work camp in Mongolia, where she would spend the next five years. Life in the camp was nearly unbearable, thanks to horrific living conditions and intensive brainwashing campaigns. Yet through it all Xiao-Mei clung to her passion for music and her sense of humor. And when the Revolution ended, it was the piano that helped her to heal. Heartbreaking and heartwarming, The Secret Piano is the incredible true story of one woman’s survival in the face of unbelievable odds—and in pursuit of a powerful dream.
A Cabinet of Wonders (4.5/5 stars)
When the curtains are drawn back on the cabinet of wonders, every individual you meet is an original, the indelible mark of their uniqueness shaped in their flesh. Molly and Faye are spirited teenagers – and conjoined twins. Saffron is the Wolf Girl, her female form covered head to toe in fur. Alex/Alexandra is a seductive hermaphrophodite, her male/female parts irresistible to many.
To the rubes that pay good coin to see them, they are Freaks. To the other carnies – those who run the Ferris Wheel, the Girl Show, and more – they are the Starlight Carnival Royale’s most lucrative source of income, and sometimes, friends. To Shadrach the tattooed man of God who travels with them, they are evidence of the divine. For Dugan – scholar, businessman, romantic, and dwarf – the cabinet of wonders is more than just his business, it’s his family and the centre of his universe, and he’ll do everything he can to keep it together…despite the rifts that are appearing after three years on the road.
The Pumpkin Man (4.5/5 stars)
After her father’s gruesome murder, Jenn needed a place to get away from it all with some friends, to take her mind off her sorrow. The empty seaside cottage she inherited seemed perfect.
Jenn didn’t know that the cottage held arcane secrets, mysteries long hidden and best left alone. She didn’t realize until it was too late that the old books and Ouija board she found there really do hold great power.
And it was only after her friend’s headless body was discovered that she knew the legend of the local bogeyman was no mere legend at all. An evil has been unleashed, a terrifying figure previously only spoken of in whispers. But now the whispers will become screams. Beware…The Pumpkin Man.
Take Me Home (4.5/5 stars)
Nancy Herkness welcomes readers to Sanctuary, West Virginia, where a whisper horse leads two wounded hearts to a second chance at love.
When Claire Parker left Sanctuary, West Virginia, she thought it was for good. But now she’s back, reeling from an ugly divorce. Readjusting to small-town life is harder than Claire expected, so she’s surprised, and grateful, to find companionship in Willow, an abused Thoroughbred mare. Willow is Claire’s “whisper horse,” and they share a special, rare bond. Except Willow isn’t the only one helping Claire heal; Willow’s ruggedly handsome veterinarian, Dr. Tim Arbuckle, is sympathetic…and secretive.
Devastated by his wife’s death, Tim thought he’d never find love again. The stoic, sexy doctor was sure he’d left his heart behind when he came to Sanctuary. But Claire stirs up emotions he thought he’d buried long ago. For the first time, the doctor can see past his grief…until Willow falls gravely ill. Tim and Claire must save Willow’s life and, surrounded by the majestic mountains of West Virginia, believe in a love so encompassing, so intimately intense, their lives will never be the same again.
Amazon Editors selected Take Me Home as one of 50 Great American Love Stories.
Flowertown (4.5/5 stars)
When Feno Chemical spilled an experimental pesticide in rural Iowa, scores of people died. Those who survived contamination were herded into a US Army medically maintained quarantine and cut off from the world. Dosed with powerful drugs to combat the poison, their bodies give off a sickly sweet smell and the containment zone becomes known simply as Flowertown.
Seven years later, the infrastructure is crumbling, supplies are dwindling, and nobody is getting clean. Ellie Cauley doesn’t care anymore. Despite her paranoid best friend’s insistence that conspiracies abound, she focuses on three things: staying high, hooking up with the Army sergeant she’s not supposed to be fraternizing with and, most importantly, trying to ignore her ever-simmering rage. But when a series of deadly events rocks the compound, Ellie suspects her friend is right—something dangerous is going down in Flowertown and all signs point to a twisted plan of greed and abuse. She and the other residents of Flowertown have been betrayed by someone with a deadly agenda and their plan is just getting started. Time is running out. With nobody to trust and nowhere to go, Ellie decides to fight with the last weapon she has—her rage.
Flowertown is a high-intensity conspiracy thriller that brings the worst-case scenario vividly to life and will keep readers riveted until the final haunting page.
Click here to browse the full list of 20 Kindle Books For $2 Each.