Bicoastal Babe by Cynthia Langston was recently released and right now you can download the Kindle version of the book for free!

Word has it Katherine Heigl bought the rights to the book and there are plans to make it into a show on the CW! Get in on this now – for free – and be in the know later once everyone else catches on!

Click here to snag your free Kindle edition now!

Download the Kindle Version of Bicoastal Babe for Free! is a post from: Fantabulously Frugal.

A few weeks ago everywhere I turned people were talking about 50 Shades of Grey, the hot new story written by someone named E L James. I’ve seen this trilogy described as “mommy porn” more times than I can count, and while I’m not a mom I thought I’d make my way through the trilogy anyhow.

I was determined to read not just the first book, 50 Shades of Grey, but the entire trilogy. To be perfectly honest with you, I’m not sure why I made and kept this goal because I found the books to be pretty abysmal from page 1.

It’s worth noting that 50 Shades started off as a Twilight fan fiction story called Master of the Universe. So yeah, when you’re reading these books, just picture the main character Christian as Edward and Anna as Bella and you’ll be good to go.

The most unforgivable aspect of the 50 Shades series is that it is just very poorly written. The books are addled with type-o’s, which drives me freaking nuts.  They’re making who knows how many millions of dollars on these stories and they couldn’t bother getting a proper copy editor? Give me a break. {I know this blog is not perfectly written, but I don’t have an editor.} Once you get past the type-o’s, it’s glaringly obvious that the stories are written at about a sixth grade reading level. You know, about the same level at which the Twilight books were written. For instances of poor writing, look no further than the words that come the most frequently out of Anna’s being mouth being either, “Holy $***” or “Holy F***.” I considered making a drinking game out of Anna saying either of these expressions but then realized I’d be hammered after about five pages.

I didn’t actually know that 50 Shades of Grey started out as fanfic until after I finished the first book, and then it all made sense. While reading Grey I kept thinking that it was written in a similar – READ: basic and unsophisticated – style to Twilight. The things the characters say to one another is downright cringe-worthy. Instead of Jacob and the werewolves, however, 50 Shades of Grey has SEX. Holy cow do they have sex. Christian and Ana can’t look at one another without “tingling” and wanting to have sex immediately. And often. And anywhere they can. There’s so much sex that it becomes mind-numbing and I started skipping over those scenes completely. I’m not opposed to sex scenes in books, but these scenes were so boring and similar to one another that I found them unbearable.

Christian and Ana are not well thought-out characters nor are they characters worth cheering for. Ana has no backbone whatsoever and apparently spent her time in college living under a box. Christian is, well, 50 shades of f***** up. {This is straight from the book. I don’t talk like this.} He’s also a stalker, abuser, billionaire that never works, and a psychopath. I noted many sections in the trilogy when Christian seemed like nothing more than an abusive stalker, and Anna, knowing no better just wanted to make him happy. Yes, there is a backstory that explains Christian’s tortured childhood, but I found it impossible to blame his behavior as an adult on the life he lived until age four.

I thought the story marginally picked up in the final third of the final book when there’s actually a little bit of storyline, but I don’t recommend paying about $30 for this trilogy to read a marginally good third of one book. Seriously. I don’t generally read “mommy porn” or erotica stories so I can’t recommend another that might be better, but I would think anything should be better than this.

I know I am in the vast minority with my opinion on this trilogy, so I found it interesting that E L James herself thinks the trilogy isn’t that great.

Did you read 50 Shades of Grey? You know how I feel, but I’d still love to hear your opinions!

50 Shades of Grey Trilogy Review is a post from: Fantabulously Frugal.

I don’t think I’ve picked up a Harlequin since I found Jude Deveraux novels in 1995, but they’ll always have a soft spot in my heart. Corny, but true.

If you, too, enjoy Harlequin you’re in luck because they’re currently offering digital downloads of 18 different books for free! At the very least, they’ll make some very light beach reading this summer.

Click here to check out the free Harlequins now!!!

Thanks to SwagGrabber for the heads up!

Download 18 Free Harlequin Novels is a post from: Fantabulously Frugal.

Continuing their trend of offering Kindle downloads for a quarter, today you can pick up Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk from Amazon.

These deals can end at any time so I’d snag this quick if you’re interested!

Click here to get Fight Club now!!! 

Download the Kindle Version of Fight Club for a Quarter is a post from: Fantabulously Frugal.

If you hurry you’ll be able to pick up a Kindle download of Jonathan Safran Foer’s novel Extremely Loud & Incredible Close for just 25 cents!

I’m a little bitter about this because I definitely paid full price for this download. Grrr.

Hurry though – Amazon can change the price of this download at any time!

Click here to snag it now!!! 

Get a Kindle Download of Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close for a Quarter is a post from: Fantabulously Frugal.

For some reason I had no idea that Amazon releases a list of 100 Kindle Books that are on sale for $3.99 or less each month! This news absolutely made my night last night.

Considering it’s the beginning of March, there’s a new list of books available. Check them all out here. 

Many of the books are non-fiction and include a few cookbooks, but the book Original Sins looks interesting to me.

I like the $2.99 price tag and the story about growing up in Tennessee in the 50s and 60s is intriguing! It shall be mine!

Happy reading!

Amazon Offers 100 Kindle Books for $3.99 or Less is a post from: Fantabulously Frugal.

Alright, with what I consider to be a disaster of a book behind us, let’s move on to March’s pick, shall we? Dory mentioned she had just picked up The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted: And Other Small Acts of Liberation by Elizabeth Berg and it seemed like the perfect light-ish read!

Here’s the synopsis:

In this collection of mostly uplifting stories, Berg (Dream When You’re Feeling Blue) explores the everyday challenges that women face. Whether teenaged or octogenarian, Berg’s heroines brave the emotional landmines underlying domestic scenes (from holiday dinner parties to visiting family), navigate the slippery slope of constant dieting and address the process of aging. The title story features an unnamed, insouciant narrator who flees from a Weight Watchers meeting and allows herself to indulge her most fattening food cravings. In Full Count, an introspective army brat begins to decipher what she looks like to others. The wistful and nostalgic Rain features a woman reminiscing about a good friend who dropped his successful corporate life to live closer to nature. Berg’s men are surprisingly supportive and well behaved; it is often the women in these stories who manipulate and mistreat their partners. The protagonist of Truth or Dare, for example, struggles to accept that her ex-husband moved on after she left him. Berg has a knack for sentimental but authentic stories about women who find affirmation in true-to-life situations, and if her endings are slightly predictable, it’s in a good way, like comfort food that never disappoints.

You can currently pick up a paperback edition from Amazon for $10.20. I downloaded the Kindle version for $11.99. {Don’t get me started on how digital versions should NOT cost more than paper versions…}

Happy Reading!

March Book: The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted: And Other Small Acts of Liberation is a post from: Fantabulously Frugal.

I finished The Kitchen House a couple of weeks ago, but haven’t felt inspired to write a review. Truthfully, while I read this book quickly and found it engaging, I didn’t find it enjoyable.

Everything that could go wrong did go wrong. We had rape, incest, murder, adultery, physical abuse, drug abuse, and alcohol abuse. I’m sure there are things I’m missing, too.  All of this takes place within a book about slavery, in which there is already plenty of material from which to draw. I felt like reading The Kitchen House was the equivalent of watching an over-dramatic Lifetime movie.

The Kitchen House has two narrators: Lavinia, a young Irish indentured servant and Belle, the daughter of a slave and the master of the house who grows up in the big house but eventually finds herself living with the rest of the slaves. One of the first things that annoyed me about the book is that Lavinia had very long and drawn-out chapters and Belle had very short chapters. It’s not that I didn’t think Lavinia deserved long chapters so much as I think Belle could have told more story. While Lavinia starts out as an indentured servant, she eventually winds up as the mistress of the big house. Thus, while she grew up with the slaves as her makeshift family, they are eventually her slaves. I thought more could have been done exploring the relationship Lavinia had with the slaves once she was the mistress of the house, but instead she spends those years in an opium stupor and they’re glossed over fairly quickly.

While I was definitely ready for The Kitchen Help to be over, the last few paragraphs were perhaps my least favorite. The way this book was written it could have easily had a sequel. Life before the big house burns down and life after it. Instead, there’s a very pat ending  and the final words of the book come out of left field and discuss how when Belle dies {sometime in the far-off future} she is able to be buried in the white person lot.

At the end of the day The Kitchen Help just wasn’t what I was expecting at all. I’d give it 2 out of 5 stars.

February Book Review: The Kitchen House is a post from: Fantabulously Frugal.

Daily Candy Deals has a fun offer for any of you who love the Housewives. $17 will get an autographed copy of Kyle Richards’ new book, Life is Not a Reality Show: Keeping It Real With The Housewife Who Does It All, shipped to your door. Considering a non-autographed copy will currently cost you $16.47 + shipping at Barnes & Noble, this is a pretty fab deal. Kyle is my favorite Housewife, and I’d love to see what she has to say.

I don’t really think Kyle’s autograph is really going to be worth anything, but this could be a fun gift for someone like … me.

Click here to check out this offer from Daily Candy Deals now!!!

Get an Autographed Copy of Kyle Richards Book for $17 is a post from: Fantabulously Frugal.

On February 11th, (Or Friday night at Midnight for the die-hards), Breaking Dawn – Part I will be released on DVD.

You can pre-order it now on Amazon.com now and watch it this weekend!

Pre-Order The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 is a post from: Fantabulously Frugal.