Free Books, Anyone? Summer Reading From My Mailbox to Yours

Photo from Eric Doeringer.com.

I am shamelessly and unabashedly engaging in robbery this morning. It's all for a good cause, though -- free books for you! Kay at My Random Acts of Reading posted a unique giveaway on Friday, and because I believe that imitation is the highest form of flattery, I'm stealing imitating her giveaway today!

What makes it unique? You don't have to win. It's a first-come, first-serve free-for-all. The first person to claim each book gets it! The only rule is that it has to be shipped within the continental U.S. So, if you want one of these books, leave a comment telling me which one. Then, email me at awornpathbooks at gmail dot com with a mailing address. After that, it's yours!

Catfish Alley by Lynne Bryant (click here for my review):

"Roxanne Reeves defines her life by the committees she heads and the social status she cultivates. But she is keeping secrets that make her an outsider in her own town, always in search of acceptance. And when she is given a job none of the other white women want - researching the town’s African-American history for a tour of local sites - she feels she can’t say no.

Elderly Grace Clark, a retired black schoolteacher, reluctantly agrees to become Roxanne’s guide. Grace takes Roxanne to Catfish Alley, whose undistinguished structures are nonetheless sacred places to the black community because of what happened there. As Roxanne listens to Grace’s stories, and meets her friends, she begins to see differently." (Synopsis from the author's website)

 The Crimson Rooms by Katharine McMahon (my review):

"Evelyn is a young woman who has defied convention to become one of [England]'s pioneer female lawyers. Living at home, Evelyn is still haunted by the death of her younger brother James in the First World War. Therefore, when the doorbell rings late one night and a woman appears, claiming to have mothered James's child, her world is turned upside down.

But then two cases arise that make Evelyn realize perhaps she can make a difference. The first concerns woman called Leah Marchant whose children have been taken away from her simply because she is poor. The second, Stephen Wheeler - a former acquaintance of Daniel Breen, her boss - has been charged with murdering his own wife." (Synopsis from the author's website)

My Wife's Affair by Nancy Woodruff (my review):

"Actress Georgie Connelly is thrilled to leave her stifling suburban existence behind and move to London with her husband and three young sons. Almost immediately, she lands her dream role, playing 18th century actress and royal mistress Dora Jordan in a one-woman show. Dora Jordan, a real life figure, was the most famous stage actress of her time. Dora's story, Shakespeare's Woman, unfolds as a play-within-the-novel, and as Georgie rehearses her part she feels a growing connection to Dora.

As the play opens to great acclaim, Georgie also finds herself increasingly drawn to the playwright, Piers Brighstone, and when they leave London for a short run at a countryside theatre, she and Piers begin an affair. The novel is narrated by Georgie's husband Peter, a failed writer turned businessman whose discovery of the affair leads to harrowing consequences that none of them could possibly foresee." (Synopsis from the author's website)

Out of the Shadows by Joanna Rendell: 

"Thirty-four year old, Professor Clara Fitzgerald has been living in the shadows of her fiancé for too long. While her career seems stalled, his scientific research is on the cusp of a major breakthrough. His fight against cancer in the laboratory doesn’t leave a whole lot of time for Clara anymore.

But when Clara stumbles on an old copy of Frankenstein and remembers her mother’s claim that they are related to the nineteenth-century author, Mary Shelley, everything changes. Clara begins a search for the author’s long lost journals and letters. This search reveals surprising facts about the passionate young woman who wrote Frankenstein." (Synopsis from the author's website)

The Wishing Trees by John Shors: 

"Almost a year after the death of his wife, Kate, former high-tech executive Ian finds a letter that will change his life. It contains Kate’s final wish – a plea for him to take their ten-year-old daughter, Mattie, on a trip across Asia, through all the countries they had planned to visit to celebrate their fifteenth anniversary.

Eager to honor the wife and mother they loved, Ian and Mattie embark on an epic journey that retraces the early days of Ian’s relationship with Kate." (Synopsis from the author's website)

Leave a comment claiming your book, email me your address, and free summer reading material will miraculously land in your mailbox. Who says nothing in life is free?