Did you know that Amazon has a list of the top-selling and free sci-fi and fantasy books? The list changes constantly — authors and publishers set their books to free temporarily to promote their work, and, of course, books move up and down in the rankings. Read on to find your fun free read for this weekend! And grab the books quickly because they don’t always stay free for long.
This week’s list is completely different from those of the previous weeks. So if you’re a fan of free books, there are going to be new things to read all the time. If you want to get this list in your inbox every Friday afternoon, subscribe to the MetaStellar weekly newsletter.
There are a lot of books to go through, so this week I’m being helped out by a couple of other members of our MetaStellar community. If you’d like to join me in doing these reviews — and taping our regular Free Friday videos — email me at maria@metastellar.com.
5. Between Ink and Shadows by Melissa Wright
This is the first of three books in the Between Ink and Shadows epic fantasy series. The other two books are $3.99 each and are not in Kindle Unlimited. This book has been on our top ten list before — we previously reviewed it in December of 2023.
From Maria Korolov:
Nim was born to be a thief, indebted to a magical organization that has her tied to society’s dark underbelly. But she wants to get free.
Her father used to be high up in court society, close to the king himself but got tangled up in a dark bargain that cost him his station and his freedom. But at least he didn’t get hanged, even if his daughter did end up with his debt.
In this world, magic is illegal, which means that it’s the criminals that use it. Nim herself is only human, but the criminal who holds her debt is one of the most powerful magic users. But the interest on the debt means that she’ll never be free. Her next task is to steal something from the king’s seneschal. It’s an impossible job. The seneschal was second to the king, and the man responsible for hanging those associated with magic. He’s the head of law and order in the country. But if she fails, she’ll lose what little freedom she does have.
I like Nim, I like the story, and am looking forward to reading further as she finds a way out of her predicament.
Get the ebook free from Amazon here.
4. Dead Witch on a Bridge by Gretchen Galway
This is the first book of the six-book Sonoma Witches magical mystery series by a USA Today bestselling author. The rest of the books are $3.99 each and are not in Kindle Unlimited. We previously reviewed this book in April of 2021.
From Amira Loutfi:
We start out with a chilly scene in which the protagonist finds her ex-boyfriend’s crumpled form, and determines his status with a probing spell. I’m already pulled in. The ex-boyfriend was the a powerful member of an international witches group that protected fae and humans alike from supernatural dangers.
The world-building here is good.
It feels a lot like I’m watching a really good urban fantasy television series from the eighties. Our protagonist is serious, the situation is grim, and she is surrounded by a bunch of silly, useless, supernatural characters. I can only imagine they look and behave like the puppets from the “Neverending Story” or any other pre-CGI SFF film.
Chapter two introduces the father, who visits for seemingly no reason. Chapter three introduces a handsome demon that cost our protagonist her job. Chapter four introduces a boring neighbor and lots of chatter from said neighbor. But other than the world-building and the juxtaposition of silly characters with Galway’s humorless protagonist, I am not enjoying any of the other characters.
From Maria Korolov:
I read Amira’s review, and even though she didn’t like the book, it inspired me to check it out. And I love it.
The book opens with Alma looking at a body in the middle of the bridge. She’s too late. It looks like he was run over and left for dead. The dead guy, like her, is magical — and a former boyfriend. Alma came out in the middle of the night because fae voices woke her up, and she ran out of the house in her pajamas.
And there’s a loud fairy screaming under the bridge. Alma can talk to them, so she finds a path down and tries to talk to him, but the fairy doesn’t tell her anything useful. Meanwhile, she hears a vehicle, maybe the police. It would probably look suspicious if they found her hiding under the bridge in her pajamas. She casts a spell to hide herself, then wades through the water to get back home.
Then we learn that Alma might have a bigger problem than just a dead ex. The small town they live in has a hidden magical power that could cause supernatural trouble if it wasn’t safeguarded. And it was her ex-boyfriends job to guard it. Now both fae and demons will be drawn to the town.
So when she gets back to her house and someone tries to attack her with magic, she immediately fights back. Witches are always strongest in their own kitchens, and she takes the bad guy down. And he turns out to be her self-centered, obnoxious dad. He says he attacked her because she was sneaking in through the back door and he thought she was a burglar.
And we learn that Alma also used to be in the magical protection business, like her ex boyfriend, but something happened and she was honorably discharged because of an incurable disability, and now she sells beaded charms for a living. She’s trying to figure out what her father was looking for in her house when he teleports away and someone else shows up. The demon who cost her her old job.
I like Alma very much. I don’t find her humorless at all. I think she has a dry, cynical sense of humor and is capable and matter-of-fact. And I definitely plan to stick with this book.
Get the Kindle e-book free from Amazon here.
3. Dark Dimensions by Tamara Rose Blodgett
This is the first of three box sets in the Dimensions series of fantasy and sci-fi box sets by a USA Today and New York Times bestselling author. The other two box sets are $9.99 each, but are both in Kindle Unlimited — and the third one is also free today. This is the author’s first time on our Free Friday list.
From Maria Korolov:
In this box set we get five free books. We’ve got Blood Singers, the first of eleven books in the Blood paranormal romance series. Punished, the first of four books in the Alpha Claim sci-fi romance series. The Pearl Savage, the first of seven books in the Savage sci-fi romance series. The Reflective, the first of five books in the Reflection fantasy romance series. And Death Whispers, the first of nine books in the Death fantasy sci-fi series.
Now, all these books seem to have a strong romantic element in them, and I’m not much of a fan of romance.
The first book opens with a prologue in which Julia is in the back seat of a car, complaining to her mother and father about how much she hates her seat belt. The distraction causes a car accident, and both her parents die in the crash.
Then it’s ten years later, and Julia is now a high school student, living with her aunt, and engaged to her boyfriend. She can’t wait until they graduate and she can move in with him.
Then we’re somewhere else. Julia is being tortured by demons and she escapes into her memories. Memories of high school and her boyfriend. We also get some scenes in the boyfriend’s point of view, and scenes with Julia’s best friend, who has doubts about the whole getting-married-at-18 plan that Julia has. There’s a lot of teenage drama.
Then we’re back with the demons. Julia just wants them to kill her and get it over with. But there’s something rare and magical about her, and the demons don’t want her to die.
I like the part of the book with the demons. I’m not so much a fan of the teenage drama and the love story. So I probably won’t stick with it, but if romantasy is your jam, definitely pick up this box set because the book is very readable and you might just find your next favorite author.
Get the Kindle ebook free from Amazon here.
2. The Night Singers by London Clarke
This is a standalone horror novel by an award-winning author — and she has many other scary books up on Amazon if you decide you like her writing style, all in Kindle Unlimited.
From Maria Korolov:
Of all the book genres, horror has to be my least favorite. I get creeped out easily and I don’t like books that keep me up at night in a bad way.
But you gotta do what you gotta do, so here goes.
The book starts with Callie, who makes her living writing about musicians. She writes articles, biographies, and does ghostwriting. Ghostwriting is her favorite part of the job. Musicians tell her their stories and she writes them down.
It worked great. Until her latest assignment, with Riff Fall, who used to the lead singer in a famous band. She was a big fan of his as a teenager. In fact, she’d been slightly obsessed with him.
Now he’s an agoraphobic recluse, living in an isolated island home, an eight-hour drive and a ferry ride from Nashville. She’ll have to talk to him on Zoom. Just as her first meeting is about to start, a creepy woman comes to her door and starts banging on it and creeping Callie out. She’s ready to call the police when Riff shows up on the Zoom call.
They start with the usual stuff as she gets to know him, then he says something weird. He calls himself “the walking dead.” But then waves it off. But he says he can’t tell her why he lives on an isolated island or leave his house. And he also doesn’t want to talk about his childhood.
She’s having trouble drawing him out, and suggests that she drive out to talk to him in person. But he says its not safe.
Then he says this whole thing was a mistake and ends the call.
The next day, she’s outside, and creepy people, covered in tattoos, are approaching her as she’s on her way home from a meeting with a friend at an old warehouse in an industrial park, where the friend was filming a video. She’s creeped out and runs away and her Uber arrives just as the weird people are about to reach her but when she turns to look and see if they’re still there, they vanished.
Then she hears that Riff has changed his mind yet again. And he wants to meet her in person.
So yeah, I’m creeped out. I’m not going to stick with it, but if it’s your kind of thing then the book is very readable and Callie is a sympathetic character. I like her. If not for the zombie, I’d continue reading.
Get the Kindle ebook free from Amazon here.
1. Time Tourist Outfitters, Ltd. by C. N. Jackson
This is the first of four books in Toronto Time Agents science fiction adventure series. The other books are $5.99 each, but are all in Kindle Unlimited. The fourth book isn’t out yet, but is scheduled to be released next May and is available for pre-order. This is the author’s first time on our Free Friday list.
From Maria Korolov:
I love the premise of this book. I would have grabbed it even if I wasn’t the only one around to do reviews today. I’m not disappointed.
Wilda has been working for the Toronto office of a time travel tourism costume company for three decades, and her motto is: “Things can always get worse.” I like that motto. The setting here feels very steampunk-y, even though it’s set in the present day, and Wilda’s job involves creating costumes for time travelers. The latest customer is a very annoying upper-class woman who wants to go back to the court of Louis the XV, and she wants to be a noblewoman, of course. Oh, and she wants to have everything ready immediately, even though the first open fitting slot isn’t for weeks.
Every stitch of clothing has to be custom made, down to the underwear.
Wilda used to work as a temporal agent, making sure people followed time travel rules, but she decided she liked garb creation more than the traveling.
The book starts slowly, with Wilda dealing with customers, her boss, bad weather, and more annoying customers.
Then, a few chapters in, a sick customer comes in, just back from a trip, asking for medical help. He may have been exposed to something nasty — and now Wilma and her staff might be exposed as well.
There’s still no sign of an actual plot, but the book is fun to read, and I like Wilma and the setting, so I might stick with it this weekend.
Get the Kindle ebook free from Amazon here.
See all the Free Friday posts here. Do you have other free books for us to check out? Comment below or email me at maria@metastellar.com.
Have you read any of these books? Are you planning to? Let us know in the comments!
Or watch Maria tell you about all five books in the video below:
MetaStellar editor and publisher Maria Korolov is a science fiction novelist, writing stories set in a future virtual world. And, during the day, she is an award-winning freelance technology journalist who covers artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and enterprise virtual reality. See her Amazon author page here and follow her on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn, and check out her latest videos on the Maria Korolov YouTube channel. Email her at maria@metastellar.com. She is also the editor and publisher of Hypergrid Business, one of the top global sites covering virtual reality.
MetaStellar reviews editor Amira Loutfi is an author and web designer. She is on a mission to craft excellent fantasy fiction that is inspired by late antiquity Arabia. You can join her monthly newsletter where she shares insider info, wips, and tons of cool stuff.