Free Friday: Today’s top free Amazon sci-fi and fantasy books for February 9, 2024
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 [email protected].
5. The Liftsal Guardians by Alexandra Moody
This is the first of four books in The Liftsal Guardians science fiction romance series. The other books are $3.99 to $4.99 and are in Kindle Unlimited. This is the author’s first time on our Free Friday list.
From E.S. Foster:
Sloane and her family have been traveling for months through space, leaving behind an Earth long devastated by another world war. But Sloane isn’t content to be trapped on a ship, especially since her father, the captain, forced her and her sister Rowena to join against their will. Even worse, her brother Ash and his exploration team have mysteriously disappeared while exploring the uncharted planet Aeris. Now it’s up to Sloane to rescue him.
But when Sloane infiltrates the mission to Aeris and prepares to wield her Academy training, she finds much more than she bargained for when she enters the icy planet. And it’s going to be much harder to escape the grip of the alien prince who discovers her.
This may be the first book in the Liftsal series, but it’s clear Alexandra Moody understands the rules of science fiction. Right from the beginning the suspense is amped up, and you realize the stakes are going to be high as you delve into a setting filled with layered worldbuilding. The senses take in the harsh coldness of the spaceship, balanced perfectly with love and care Sloane and Rowena offer each other.
Even from just reading the first couple of chapters, I gained so much insight into Sloane’s character, and I could tell that she was destined to become a strong, determined heroine in this
series.
If you love a good mix of science fiction and romance, you’ll want to check out this series and binge read.
Get the Kindle ebook free from Amazon here.
4. Al Clark by Jonathan G. Meyer
This is the first of five books in Al Clark science fiction series. The other books are $4.99 each and are not in Kindle Unlimited. This is the author’s third time on our Free Friday list. We previously reviewed this book in May 2023 and September 2022.
From Maria Korolov:
I love hard sci-fi, and I love books about settling new planets. So, I’m very optimistic about this novel.
He — no name yet — wakes up in a box not much larger than his body, with only a little light coming from a pinhole above his head. There’s an alarm blaring somewhere.
He opens the lid and climbs out into a tiny gray room and turns off the alarm. He’s wearing a uniform that he doesn’t recognize. And he can’t remember his name or where he is. Or who he is.
He leaves his room and when he looks back at the door, he sees a name written on it — Al Clark. So, he must be Al.
He wanders around, and eventually finds a keycard and a handgun, and things start coming back to him. For example, he knows about the gun and how it works and how to use it. He finds food and water and battery chargers and eventually a spot where he can see out — to space. He must be in a space station, one large enough to rotate and have gravity.
So where are all the people? And why couldn’t he find a single working computer?
The opening of this book reminds me a little bit of Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. It’s matter of fact, but suspenseful. I’m liking it so far and will probably stick with it.
Get the Kindle ebook free from Amazon here.
3. Taken by Werewolves by Kestra Pingree
This is the first of three books in The Lost Princess of Howling Sky paranormal romance series. The other books are $4.99 to $6.99 each and are not in Kindle Unlimited. This is the author’s first time on our Free Friday list.
From Kristin Noland:
There has been a war going on between humans, werewolves, and vampires for a very long time, but things are about to take a turn.
Princess Sorissa was raised by a witch far away from her family and other werewolves. Sorissa is excited she is going to see the world outside of the woods she’s lived in for eighteen years. She pictures a lush landscape but is confronted with desolate ashy terrain. Just then, a car pulls up and three werewolves get out and take her away. The witch made a deal to turn her over to them.
Rodrick is a werewolf who is a member of the rebels, but he’s hiding this from his pack. He and his pack were supposed to pick up the princess, but they were too late. Now they have to follow the other car and get the princess.
The story kicks off pretty quickly, so it’s got that going for it. Sorissa is clueless about life outside of the woods—she doesn’t even know what a car is—and Rodrick seems like an honorable guy.
After reading the first three chapters, I’m not sure where the story is going. I don’t like Sorissa, due to her ignorance and immaturity, but I hope she will grow over the course of the story. Rodrick is more interesting, with a “dark and mysterious” vibe.
I will not be finishing the book, but fans of werewolf romance will probably enjoy it.
Get the Kindle ebook free from Amazon here.
2. Sucking Hell by Anna Dare
This is the first of four books in Fae’d Up and Frustrated urban fantasy mystery series. The other books are $2.99 each and are in Kindle Unlimited. This is the author’s first time on our Free Friday list.
From Maria Korolov:
Lyon Fox — yeah, her mother had a weird sense of humor — is a paralegal in a district attorney’s office in a quaint little magical community in southern California. She’s mostly human, with a little pixie and fae mixed in. And her annoying boss, a werewolf, has just dropped 14 new files on her desk.
Lyon is obsessed with vampires, which is why she took the job. Sure, the vampires she sees are all in cuffs — but she likes them in cuffs. But, for some reason, she only likes looking at them — she can’t stand to have one touch her.
Meanwhile, the new felony investigations supervisor is her ex, Bennett, a dragon shifter. She tries to avoid him seeing her by hiding under a coworker’s desk, but he spots her, and wants to have a nice sit-down chat. Clear the air.
But then the day — I mean, the night — turns around for the better. Her new DUI cases are gorgeous vampires. DUI here stands for “Drinking (those) Under the Influence.”
The idea being, drunk humans can’t consent to being bitten.
The vampires are processed and bonded out, and the hottest one flirts with her.
It’s fun to see the court cases and to watch Lyon interact with her crazy coworkers and her neighbors. She also volunteers for a local political campaign, which also involves various magical creatures in funny ways.
Then her ex, the dragon shifter, gets into a fight with that hot vamps from earlier.
Then Lyon mysteriously passes out. When she wakes up the next day, she’s in a jail cell.
And it turns out that she’s a suspect in the murder of a rival political candidate because she’s the last one to see her alive.
But she didn’t kill the candidate, who’s a vampire. I’m not going to give away exactly how, because it’s juicy, but Lyon was used by someone as a murder weapon.
I love this premise, the cute setting and the characters. and am definitely sticking with this book!
Get the Kindle ebook free from Amazon here.
1. Gentle Giant by Sue Mercury
This is the first of three books in Cascade Beasts fantasy romance series. The other books are $4.99 each and are in Kindle Unlimited. This is the author’s second time on our Free Friday list. We reviewed Rozar, book one of the six-book series Vaxxlian Alien Mail Order Brides in November of 2023.
From Maria Korolov:
I’m not a fan of fantasy monster romances. I’m a fan of fantasy monsters — just not the romance part. So, given that I’m not the target audience of this book, read this review with a big grain of salt!
The book opens with Brutus standing on a cliff, surveying his domain in the North Cascades, when he sees a metallic air vessel fly overhead, pursued by three others. I take it that we’re in our modern world, and those are airplanes.
Seems that his kind have been hiding from humans for thousands of years but the nearest human town has been growing lately.
I Googled it, and the North Cascades are somewhere outside of Seattle. Apparently, Brutus’ people, the Montikaans, have gone unnoticed by hiding in the forests and caves in the area, and altering the memories of trespassers.
Wait, is he a Big Foot?
Anyway, the plane crashes in the middle of one of their settlements, and 25 Montikaans die — most of them female. A couple of human men survived the crash, but the Montikaans kill them, then move the plane deep into the forest in case other humans come looking for it.
Their tribe is already small. The loss of so many females is going to be hard to deal with. They might have to steal females from other, neighboring, Montikaan tribes. Then Brutus has a vision. A vision of a human female. And his father, telling him that his fate — and that of other males in his tribe — is to take human mates.
In the next chapter, we switch to the point of view of Hailey, hiking through a forest. It’s late, and she needs to find shelter.
Then she meets a creature, over seven feet tall, covered in fur, with broad shoulders and well-defined muscles and pale blue eyes. And she’s immediately, and strangely, drawn to it. And it doesn’t look like any of the aliens that humans have come in contact with. But maybe it’s a newly-discovered race, she thinks. She doesn’t always keep up with the news.
The beast reaches out for her, she leans into his touch, and the beast tells her that he’s been waiting for her.
Oh, and then she wakes up. It was a dream. And she’s safely at home. Her ex-fiance — with whom she’d recently broken up — is at work, so she gets busy packing up her stuff. A friend of hers comes over. The friend is about to leave Earth to go to a planet called New Vaxx, where human women are a paired up with Vaxxlian warriors who need human mates.
Wait! That sounds familiar! Yup, I reviewed one of the books in the Vaxxlian Alien Mail Order Brides.
Anyway, since we’re jumping between Hailey’s and Brutus’s points of view, we know they’re fated to get together. And, judging by the stirring she felt in her loins when Hailey had her vision, I’m guessing that things are going to get steamy.
What else do you need to know? Well, the writing is highly readable and moves along quickly. Hailey’s a sympathetic character. So’s Brutus, though he’s a little on the… brutal… side. I mean, he killed the human crash survivors, and his relations with the other tribes of his people aren’t peaceful, either.
If you like books where the plot is secondary to the romance, and if you preferred Beauty’s Beast while he was still in Beast form, you might get a kick out of this book.
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 [email protected].
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:
Kristin Noland is a developmental and line editor who works with women authors of speculative and crime fiction. At Noland Editing, she expertly guides authors through the writing and editing process to strengthen their storytelling skills, so their readers are entertained and immersed in their stories from cover to cover. With over seventy manuscripts edited, including two bestsellers, and her caring and encouraging editing style, she helps her clients create captivating novels. Follow her on YouTube at @KristinNoland.
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 [email protected]. 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 at her blog, E. S. Foster.