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. Well of Furies by Craig DeLancey
This is the first of seven books in the Predator Space Chronicles space opera series. The other books are $2.99 each, and are not in Kindle Unlimited. This is the author’s first time on our Free Friday list.
From E.S. Foster:
I really enjoy reading space fiction, especially Golden Age sci-fi, so this one was exciting to read.
The book opens with a human named Tarkos and a centipede-like alien standing in the middle of a plain and facing each other. They’ve come to fulfill the deal they made: Tarkos has delivered several units of antimatter, while the alien has provided tiny creatures that resemble mechanical animals.
Tarkos asks how the alien got these creatures since they are from an area in space that has been quarantined. A huge galactic organization that leads all alien races — and that humans aren’t a part of — has banned anyone from going there.
In response, the alien threatens to shoot Tarkos, but Tarkos says that his suit is attached to the antimatter. If anything happens to the antimatter, the entire planet could blow up.
Tarkos tries to arrest the alien, the alien shoots him, but Tarkos manages to escape. His ship appears, along with his co-pilot, Bria, a bear-like creature. I already really like her.
They’re able to subdue the alien and return to their ship. Suddenly, they get a communication from another alien, someone who has big ties throughout the galaxy. It looks like she has a dangerous mission for them to go on.
I liked the start of this. It got me invested in the characters without dumping information on me, and I ended up wanting to read more. I’m going to stick with this one this weekend.
Get the Kindle ebook free from Amazon here.
4. The Shattered Court by M.J. Scott
This is the first of three books in The Four Arts romantic fantasy series. The other books are $4.99 each, and are not in Kindle Unlimited. The author has been on this list before.
From E.S. Foster:
Sophia is a young woman who is thirty-second in line to the throne. Despite being so far down the line, Sophia must participate in a ritual on her twenty-first birthday, which is right around the corner. If she discovers she has magic, she’ll immediately be married off to whoever’s most convenient. If not, she’ll still be married off to someone outside the court.
But Sophia doesn’t want any part of this. She wants the freedom of not being seen as an object. Too bad her every waking moment is spent being forced to act like a proper young lady. The incessant rules are likely all she’ll ever learn.
Her one comfort is the crown princess Eloisa, the strongest witch of them all. Aafter the death of her husband, Eloisa hasn’t gotten remarried.
As a lady-in-waiting, Sophia has learned plenty about how witches use their magic, or at least how they should be able to.
We then shift to Eloisa’s guard whose father wants him to seduce the princess to improve their stations, and it seems as if that’s the last thing the guy wants. Nevertheless, he and the princess immediately start in with in the witty banter then take it to the bedroom within the next two pages. Princess Elosia then tasks him with taking Sophia to on a trip to get some magical herbs.
Sophia and the guard immediately dislike each other. Sophia sees him as just another man trying to boss her around. But while they’re purchasing the herbs, an attack occurs at the palace. They immediately return, and in the chaos, Sophia comes into her magic—the strongest and deadliest kind. All the politics of the court are thrown into disarray, and now Sophia and the guard must work together to keep the princess safe from the enemies cropping up from the inside.
I loved the idea of oppressed witches in a fantasy setting. Even though I’ve read a lot of stories of a protagonist suddenly discovering they have magic, this story felt unique because of all the power dynamics involved. I was a little weighed down by some of the exposition, but with a completed series in front of me, I think I’ll stick with this one to see what happens to Sophia and her magic.
Get the Kindle ebook free from Amazon here.
3. Bound to the Orc Warlord by Krista Luna
This is the first of five books in Brides of the Moon Blade Clan romantasy series. The other books are $2.99 each, and are on Kindle Unlimited. This author has previously been featured on this list.
From Maria Korolov
If you’re a regular reader of our Free Friday reviews, you already know that I’m not a fan of the mushy stuff. I prefer my orcs ugly and vicious, not sexy. I don’t mind if the orcs are the good guys, as long as they still get to destroy stuff. And not be sexy.
Everybody’s got their favorite tropes. What can I say? Mine are murder and mayhem.
So, anyway, I’m probably not going to be the target audience for this book, so I’m going to try to keep that in mind as I write the review.
The book opens with Ashley trying to sneak into her boss’s office on Friday night, during a staff party. She works at a non-profit supporting a cause she believes in — but she’s starting to suspect that not everything is above board. She manages to find evidence of embezzlement and sends pictures of the evidence to an investigative reporter.
Then her boss comes in, catches her, and locks her in a closet. There’s nobody who can help her. Panicked, she shrinks down on the floor of the closet and rubs her necklace — the only thing she’s got left from her mother — and begs for help.
Then we switch to the point of view of Dravarr. He’s a clan warlord in a family of orc warriors. The Moon Goddess comes to him in a dream with a summons. She has a gift for him — a “moon bound bride.” I’m guessing that Ashley is the gift and that they’re fated to get married. I know that fated mates is a super popular trope, but I’m not a fan of it. I don’t like the idea of not being in control of your own life.
Anyway, we’re back to Ashley. The necklace turns out to be magic, and it opens a portal of some kind. The magic drops her on top of a stone column in the middle of a clearing surrounded by trees. She holds on to the necklace again, and wishes she could fly — and she does. Well, kind of. She can’t figure out how to control where she goes, and winds up stuck in a tree, pecked by birds.
Then a miniature dragon flies up to her and scares away the birds, and black unicorn gallops into the clearing below, and there’s a monster of a man on the unicorn’s back. The guy is green and muscular, with ivory tusks and green pointy ears. But in a hot, sexy way.
Then we switch back to Dravarr’s point of view. Yup, that’s him in the clearing, because the Moon Goddess sent him there. He looks around for his promised bride, and the unicorn points up towards the tree where Ashley is stuck. She’s wearing a skirt, and he’s looking up and can see her underwear, and, of course, her creamy thighs. He can tell by her smell that she’s his fated mate. Of course she is.
He gets her down from the tree, which involves all kinds of sexy contact. The evil birds come back and he fights them off. Next, he needs to take her to the speaking stone, which I’m guessing, has some kind of magic that would let the two of them understand each other. Then he plans to take her home, even though he’s a little disappointed that she doesn’t seem to be very good at using magic, and isn’t much of a warrior. Still, she’s his mate.
So that’s the beginning of the book. It is very definitely readable. And graphically sexy. And the two main characters seem nice. So if you’re looking for a cozy, sexy, romantic read set in a fantasy world with dragons and unicorns, you’re in luck. I don’t think I’ll be sticking with it, though.
Get the Kindle ebook free from Amazon here.
2. The Alchemist of Paris by M.C. Dulac
This is the first of six books in The Alchemist’s Passage fantasy series. The other books are normally $3.99 each but are on sale today for $0.99 — and are all in Kindle Unlimited. The author has been on this list before.
From Terri Wells:
By the time I made it through the prelude, which takes place in present day Paris, I knew I’d want to finish this book.
We meet Ellie, a research student of plant biology with a mysterious client. The client read her article on medicinal herbs and has been paying her well to complete interesting assignments to get him certain rare and unusual plants. He sent Ellie to Paris with a two-hundred-year-old diary and a mission—to find the house described in the journal. But the house, its plans, its paper trail have all been lost. Even Google Maps can’t find it.
Ellie is ready to give up, until her charming client encourages her to read the journal more closely and keep looking. The journal writer, Elise, was a maid and the house’s owner was an alchemist. His laboratory on the house’s grounds had burned down shortly before the maid finished the journal. But what specifically happened all those years ago to make the house so hard to find two centuries later?
Ellie finds the house, and it’s clear no one has lived there for a very long time. There is a building-sized scorched area on the garden grounds, with an ugly chemical smell.
Then we switch to the journal, and thus the maid’s point of view.
If you’ve ever read stories written in the 1800s, you’ll be comfortable with the change in the style of language.
We learn Elsie loves helping some monks in their medicinal garden and almost disappears into the forest trying to find an ingredient for a monk’s recipe. She returns triumphant and keeps that feeling close to her heart even when the nuns punish her. I very much related to this character.
In March 1820, a storm overturns a carriage outside the convent where Elise sleeps. An older wealthy man dies from his injuries, but the younger man has a broken leg and is in shock and Elise helps one of the monks treat him. From information mentioned earlier in the book, he’s the owner of the estate Ellie was hired to locate.
The man is a difficult patient, which Elise spends more time with than she’d like. Still, it builds up her confidence, and the monks trust her more and more with medicines. Around the time she turns eighteen, the convent receives a letter from the man. He wants her to work at his estate in Paris as a maid. She’s less than thrilled, to say the least, but she’s an orphan at the convent, and he’s giving the convent and the monastery a handsome sum of money plus new books. She can’t say no.
When she arrives in Paris, she learns she’s staying in just one of her benefactor’s houses. Her benefactor is very wealthy indeed. This particular large estate is rented to Albert Price, the alchemist.
So far, it’s so well written that I genuinely feel like I’m there. The viewpoint characters are sympathetic and relatable, even through two hundred years of time.
If you like mysteries, Gothic-style stories, period pieces, intrigue, and stories that take their time building the world, you’ll enjoy spending time with this book.
Get the Kindle ebook free from Amazon here.
1. Memoirs of a Time Traveler by Doug Molitor
This is the first of five books in the Time Amazon science fiction adventure series. The other books are $4.99 each, and are not in Kindle Unlimited. This author has previously been on this list before.
From E.S. Foster:
This story is told from David’s perspective. He begins the book by explaining that, during his college years, he lived in the same dorm as Andy, a baseball star for the Dodgers. They never hung out, but one thing led to another, and Andy ended up engaged to David’s cousin.
Unfortunately, Andy became a little too involved with the drug scene on campus, and they broke up. Andy has been trying to contact the woman for the past several months.
Eventually, Andy figures out that she’s David’s cousin, and he asks for a meeting at the Dodger stadium.
David arrives at the stadium before the game starts and the two of them meet. Suddenly, a shifty-looking man and woman appear and ask Andy to autograph a baseball. At first, Andy isn’t too keen on doing it, but they offer a trade — a baseball signed by Ty Cobb in 1908. They also ask that Andy sign the new baseball in ballpoint pen. David stays for the game and agrees to hold the ball, and the woman tells David that if he misplaces the ball, she’ll kill him.
Andy goes up to bat and hits a home run — then follows that up with another. And another. All together, he hits a record of five home runs.
However, that doesn’t distract Andy from trying to get back with David’s cousin. David meets him outside with the signed ball and Andy heads to the airport to try to fly and meet David’s cousin. Then Andy dies, just two hours later.
I’m not a huge fan of the writing style since David is telling us about all these events, instead of us seeing them happen in real time, but despite that, the book was really entertaining so far, and I might stick with it just to see what happens next.
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 and Emma discuss 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.
E. S. Foster is a writer and graduate student at the University of Cambridge. Her work has been featured in a variety of literary journals and small presses. You can find out more about her and what she does on her blog, E. S. Foster and her personal website E. S. Foster - Author
Terri Wells (she/her) has been writing stories ever since she could hold a pencil, and editing written work of all kinds for nearly half her life. When not editing, she can be found eyeballs-deep exploring other worlds, or elbows-deep in her latest fibery project.