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. A Mystical Legacy by Rowan Dillon
This is a prequel story to the three-book The Skye O’Shea Paranormal Cozy Mystery Series. The other books are $4.99 to $5.99 each, and are all in Kindle Unlimited, though the third book hasn’t been released yet. It’s due out in May and is available for pre-order. The author has been on our Free Friday list before.
From E.S. Foster:
Since this is a prequel, it was interesting to see what was going to happen to Skye O’Shea, especially since I’ve read some books in this series before for Free Fridays.
The story begins with Skye pulling up to a retirement home and lamenting about having yet another job interview. She’s been searching for jobs after leaving her work at a hospital, but it’s not clear right now just what made her leave.
She gets into the parking lot and her car dies, so she’s already off to a great start. Skye can’t help but think that this interview isn’t going to end well. On top of that, her bills are getting more numerous since her husband, or soon-to-be-ex-husband, won’t pay her any alimony.
As Skye reaches the front of the building, a large crow appears, and Skye takes it as an ominous sign. When she gets inside the home, one of the elderly ladies passes by and tells her to “beware of the shadows.” So she’s more than a little freaked out.
She meets with the head of the retirement home, who asks her more questions about why she left her job and what makes her want to work there. Skye comes up with answers as best she can, but it looks like things might not be in her favor.
I don’t read cozy mysteries too often, but I’ve read a couple of books in this series before. It’s interesting to see what Skye was like before the events of the books I’ve read, so I think I might stick with this one, or at least with this series.
Get the Kindle ebook free from Amazon here.
4. Hidden Legends Starter Collection by Megan Linski and Alicia Rades
This is a box set of the first books of three different romantic fantasy series, all set in magical academies, from a pair of USA Today bestselling authors. It includes The Fire Prophecy, the first of six books in the Hidden Legends: Academy of Magical Creatures series, The Wolven Mark, the first of six books in the Hidden Legends: University of Sorcery series, and The Coven’s Secret, the first of six books in the Hidden Legends: College of Witchcraft series. The other books in the three series are $9.99 each, and are not in Kindle Unlimited. The authors have been on our Free Friday list before.
From Amira Loutfi:
There is a character with a rare disease in this book. I wonder how that ties in. The cover looks like a lot of fun — a gorgeous young girl with an electric orb about her, a feline-looking creature peeking out of her right armpit, glowing purple flecks, a castle, and two dragons! That’s a lot for one cover!
It’s another magical school book.
Liam comes from a magical world with dragons and elemental magic. He’s angry. He has water magic, but lost interest in it. He says he’s on the brink of life and death. He is different from how he used to be — ever since the thing occurred. There is a lot of mystery in this prologue.
Sisters Sophia and Amelia are hiking. Amelia just graduated college and got a job on a cruise ship and Sophia is about to start college. She doesn’t know what she wants to major in. It’s getting a little dark and suddenly, Amelia gets spooked. She grabs Sophia without explaining.
The two sisters make a mad scramble for the car. In the car, Sophie doesn’t explain anything, but then suddenly decides to stay instead of run away. She gets out of the car and yells out to someone named “Naomi.”
It’s a giant cat.
It attacks Amelia. Sophia fights it. A burst of fire shoots out of her. And they both run back into the car. That’s how we find out that Sophia has fire magic.
Amelia tells Sophia that their parents always said that she was adopted — and that she was human. The rest of the family has water magic.
Liam walks around the magic school castle, and meets the dean, who has a giant dragon familiar. Ah, and now we learn that the giant cat Naomi is the familiar of Madame Doya, one of the deans.
I’m guessing that the elder sister went to this school, upset Madame Doya, and is not really going to work on a cruise ship.
Why were the parents trying to keep her magic from her? Clearly they didn’t want her going to magic school, right?
The viewpoint character switches between Sophia and Liam, so I’m guessing they will fall in love. Or else it’ll be some variation of a buddy-cop movie!
There is a prophecy about a powerful fire witch who is hidden. Liam is charged with going to find her. This will help his social standing with the other elemental magicians. It also might explain why there had to be so much secrecy in Sophia’s family.
I can see why others like it. It’s cute and uses a lot of elements from the first Harry Potter book.
Get the Kindle ebook free from Amazon here.
3. A Wife for the Werewolf by Rose Kent
This is the first of three books in the Monster Match paranormal romance series. The other books are $2.99 each, but are both in Kindle Unlimited. This is the author’s first time on our Free Friday list.
From E.S. Foster:
This story begins with Katie, a witch whose grandmother just died. Because of her grandmother’s death, Kate has inherited a potions shop, which isn’t doing well. She runs the shop with Cassie, who pushes her to come up with new ideas for boosting the store’s business. Kate does her best, but she’s out of ideas.
She’s also in deep debt, which is a huge worry for her.
The story then shifts to Trent, a werewolf living in the woods. He’s the alpha male, but he recently lost his mate. While the others want him to find another mate and continue the pack, Trent isn’t ready to look for someone else yet. At the same time, humans have been encroaching on their territory, so Trent needs to talk with one of the humans who maintains a secret peace treaty between the two groups.
Kate and Cassie continue trying to come up with new ideas for the business. Suddenly, Kate suggests that they provide a matchmaking service for supernatural creatures. Cassie wholeheartedly agrees to the idea, and they start making plans.
I wasn’t sure what I expected going into this story, but it definitely had a more cozy vibe to it. I don’t plan on continuing the story, but I recommend it if you’re looking for a fun, cozy, and romantic read this weekend.
Get the Kindle ebook free from Amazon here.
2. Of Murders and Mages by Nikki Haverstock
This is the first of ten books in the Casino Witch Mysteries series. The other books are $2.99 to $4.99 each and are not in Kindle Unlimited. We previously reviewed this book in May of 2021 and its been on the Free Friday list again since then.
From Maria Korolov:
And now for another little cozy witch mystery!
Ella has just found out that she’s a witch, there’s a mischievous cat who wants to be her familiar, and her new coworker is cranky but very, very attractive.
I must have read this story a million times already. But, to be honest, I’m going to read it again. And enjoy it.
So, Ella works at a casino, and she just moved into her Dad’s apartment after he’d been murdered. She’s a freelance financial auditor. While she’s working at her desk, a giant cat, the size of a medium dog, keeps bothering her and sneaking into her office. This is a common type of cat in this town, which is Rambler, Nevada. And the cat bites her.
She’s at the casino’s owner office when she sees marks spreading up her arm from where the cat bit her, and thinks she’s been infected by a poison. But the casino owner knows what’s going on, and she calls in witnesses and they do a little ritual. Ella’s now bonded to a cat, learns she’s got some magical powers — her ability to spot financial fraud isn’t just pure professional skill – and the casino owner sends her home with a ton of cat supplies.
At home, she discovers that her dad left her a mysterious necklace, and that her new cat hates dry cat food.
I’m interested. I like the Ella. I like the casino owner. I like the cat. I like the fact that all the other books are in Kindle Unlimited. Or were, at least, the first time I read this series.
This book set is a keeper.
Get the Kindle ebook free from Amazon here.
1. Good Bad Witch by Isa Medina
This is the first of six books in the Good Bad Magic cozy magical mystery series. The other books are $4.99 each, but are all in Kindle Unlimited. This is the author’s first time on our Free Friday list.
From Maria Korolov:
As I might have mentioned, I love cozy magical mysteries, especially when it’s cold outside or the news is bad. They’re the literary equivalent of a slice of warm apple pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. Predictable, too sweet, but just what you need sometimes.
But before I get into the review itself, I just want to say something to any author who might be reading this. If your book is the first person, please put something like, “My name is So-and-So and I used to sell lingerie but now I work for my uncle’s bail bonds agency in New Jersey.” Even Janet Evanovich does this, and there are probably very few people on Earth who are picking up one of her books without knowing who Stephanie Plum is.
I hate having to read several pages into a book — or, sometimes, several chapters! — before I find out the main character’s name, age, gender, and profession. I like knowing those things, or at least approximations of them, because it helps me picture the protagonist in my head.
But anyway, I scanned through the beginning of this book until I found the protagonist’s name – Hope. Hope is a witch, just like her grandmother.
Okay, back to the beginning. It’s been two weeks since Hope has opened her new witch shop and she just got her first review. It’s one out of five stars, and the customer said she was rude.
Hope is also under a deadline. She only has six months to make a go of it, before the witch shop goes to another witch. Apparently, the previous owner — also a witch — had died without leaving an heir, and the council of witches handed the shop over to Hope. We also learn that Hope is 26 and has recently completed her witch internship, though it didn’t go very well.
We also learn that Hope has one friend in town, and the friend doesn’t know that magic is real. Apparently, most people don’t.
And then Hope finds a dead body in her bathtub.
Ah ha! The mystery is afoot!
Hope screams and runs outside and calls the police. The officer who shows up does know about magic — Hope met her when she first got to town to take over the shop. The police officer goes into the shop and upstairs to Hope’s apartment — and the bathtub is empty. The police officer suggests that if there was a body, and Hope wasn’t imagining it, then it was probably some drunk sleeping it off who’d woken up and left by the back door. Except that the backdoor is firmly locked.
I like this beginning. The only thing the book is missing is a sexy policeman for Hope to fall in love with. But maybe Hope will fall in love with the policewoman who came to look at the bathtub.
I continued reading this book, and no, Hope doesn’t get together with the policewoman. But she does meet a sexy magical bounty hunter a few chapters further along while trying to steal dirt from a cemetery. Yes, the book is filled with hijinks, and I’m enjoying it very much. It’s not quite as hijink-y as the Stephanie Plum series, but it is very reminiscent in style and tone.
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 on our YouTube channel!
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
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.