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. Monstrous Cravings by Ember Nicole
This is the first of two books in Cherished Omegaverse science fiction romance series. The other book is normally $3.99 but is on sale today for $0.99 — and is also in Kindle Unlimited. This is the author’s first time on our Free Friday list.
From Maria Korolov:
First, before we get started, I’m not a fan of romance, and especially not a fan of monster romance. I prefer my monsters stabbed with something pointy.
But the book opens with Arden, the protagonist, starting down the barrel of a handgun, which is promising. Oh, no — it’s not her gun, it’s a mugger’s gun. He takes her purse, discovers that she’s broke, and is getting increasingly upset. He’s about to kill her when a shadow — a monster, a horned devil — appears from the alley behind him and swallows the mugger whole.
Then it swallows her.
When Arden wakes up, she’s in a gold cage hanging high off the floor in a room so big she can’t see the roof.
Then we switch to the point of view of one of the monsters. Turns out, three of them came to Earth through a portal created by an ancient, long forgotten race. They were following a scent — the scent of a woman who would become their mate. They had to leave their home world to escape destruction. Now that they found her, they must bond with her. If they don’t, they will crumble and die. Or will they? After all, she’s not of their species. They decide to leave her caged up for four days and see if they start to feel any ill effects.
So there you go. That’s the premise. Based on the first few chapters, I expect the book to be very sexually explicit and very cheesy — and very, very readable. Will I stick with it? I’m not admitting anything.
Get the Kindle ebook free from Amazon here.
4. The Magelands Epic by Christopher Mitchell
This is a box set of the first four books in the eight-book The Magelands Epic fantasy series. The other books are $4.99 each and are all in Kindle Unlimited. We previously reviewed this box set in January of 2022. And, this past March, we reviewed The Magelands Eternal Siege, a boxed set of the first three books in the 16-book The Magelands Eternal Siege epic fantasy series.
From Amira Loutfi:
On Star Continent, there are five regions, each populated with five different types of humanoids. Three of them are descended from apes, one from amphibians, and one from reptiles.
Shella belongs to the humanoid group that has descended from reptiles. Her family is large because this race of people tends to give birth to about a dozen babies at once. Their region is suffering from overpopulation and government policies are intrusive and controlling. Citizens need a special license to have children and they are forced into certain careers depending on their talents. Shella, for example, happens to possess great magical abilities. Even though she is clearly a lazy person, she is forced to work as a flow mage at the local sewage and waterworks plant. Of course, she is dissatisfied with this arrangement and longs to be alone. Shella is tempted by a high-paying offer from the government to work on a project that has already wasted a lot of money.
I really enjoyed reading this and I love how the author is building out the world. It is an epic fantasy and the first plot thread that I can see developing is character — i.e. if we don’t see Shella grow to embrace her challenges — or for her to finally get to be happily alone and lazy — then I’m going to be distraught. In spite of her lazy attitude, we can also see that she loves her family and doesn’t want to part from them. She says that she will help her sister write up another application to have children even though she knows that the government won’t allow it.
I will be back for sure. I want to know how the story unfolds and what the other races and regions are like. This is exactly my kind of story. I enjoy a blend of novelty and plot and various literary devices.
This would definitely be a buy, even if the entire box set wasn’t free today.
Get the ebook box set free from Amazon here.
3. Rozar by Sue Mercury
This is the first of six books in the Vaxxlian Alien Mail Order Brides science fiction romance 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 Maria Korolov:
Again, I’m not the target audience for this. But, again, the beginning is promising — Nadia is in the Witness Protection Program. Ooh, maybe she’s a murderer for the mob.
No, she’d been married to a mob boss, then testified against him. She’s been fearing for her life for the past five years, expecting a hitman to show up at any moment. Her ex-husband is in jail serving life without parole, but not all of his henchmen ended up behind bars. Some of them are still out there — and probably still looking for her.
Which explains why she’s tempted by the offer from the Vaxxlian Mail Order Brides dating agency. They’re looking for women to become life mates of lonely Vaxxlian warriors — but must be willing to relocate to the planet New Vaxx.
Then we switch to the point of view of one of the alien warriors, Rozar. He and five hundred other Vaxxlian unmated warriors have arrived on Earth on an interstellar ship looking for women. He’s excited to be meeting the woman to whom he’s been matched.
Then we’re back with Nadia. She’s all packed, ready to be picked up. If she had the money to do so, she’d have just bought a ticket off Earth – but she can’t afford it. So this is her only option.
Fortunately, when the alien finally arrives, she finds him drop dead gorgeous. And, of course, he’s instantly attracted to her, as well. Then they have an extremely awkward first conversation.
This book is even more cheesy, if that’s possible, than the monster one from above. If you’re looking for something very, very cheesy — and sexy — to read this holiday weekend, this is it.
Get the Kindle ebook free from Amazon here.
2. Forged of Fire by Stacy Von Haegert
This is the first of two books in The Forged Series of fantasy romance. The other book is $6.99 each, but is in Kindle Unlimited. This is the author’s first time on our Free Friday list.
From Maria Korolov:
Have I mentioned yet that I prefer murder and mayhem over love and romance? No? It’s true. I have a cold, cold heart and an appetite for death and destruction.
Unfortunately, the MetaStellar team members who do like romance are off this holiday weekend, leaving me all alone with all these hot, sexy books.
Trapped — trapped, I say! — between their sizzling pages.
This book starts in 776 BCE, with Zander watching a beautiful woman walking up to a pool of lava, her two sons looking on. There are priests and warriors there too, and a large crowd of people watching — as well as Zander’s father, the king. She takes off her robe and is then thrown naked into the lava. A bunch of magical stuff happens. I can’t tell if the woman dies or not.
That was the prologue.
In chapter one, we’re in Italy, in the present day. So we’re on Earth, not in a fantasy world. Ash has been around for over a thousand years. He used to be human. But now he’s a fire dancer, with the ability to manipulate fire. He’s been immortal since he turned 25 and is now tremendously wealthy. Every decade or so, he creates a new business, builds it up, then sells it off. His current company is now eleven years old, so he’s looking for someone to sell it off to before people start asking uncomfortable questions about how he looks so young.
Then he learns that there’s a woman, one who can manipulate both water and fire, who has the same name as Ash’s mother — and who is guarded by an angel.
Then we switch to Stefen’s point of view. He’s trying to keep a clumsy red-headed woman alive. This is the same woman that Ash has just found out about, so Stefen must be the angel.
Then a vampire shows up and follows the woman down the street. Stefen steps in and kills the vampire in a particularly gruesome way. I like this book. I might stick with it. There’s a lot of action here, some hints at skullduggery and a war shaping up. Good stuff!
Get the Kindle ebook free from Amazon here.
1. Fractured Empire by A.K. DuBoff
This is a box set of all seven books in the Cadicle series, which is part of the Cadicle Universe. There are four other box sets in this universe, all of which are $9.99 but one of which, Mindspace, is on sale today for $0.99. All are also in Kindle Unlimited. The author is a USA Time bestseller but it’s her first time on our Free Friday list.
From Maria Korolov:
Space operas — now that’s my genre!
We meet Cris while he’s training with his sparring tutor. Cris, 16, also has telepathic powers, which he uses to improve his fighting abilities. But his father doesn’t want him to use these abilities. Cris is the heir to the family empire. At least, he is now, after his older brother died. All he wants is to get away from his family and the entire planet. He’s interested in joining something called the Tararian Selective Service, which has a whole division dedicated to honing the abilities of gifted individuals.
He wants to see what the rest of the galaxy has to offer — and also find himself.
I like Cris. I like the way he’s taking control of his own destiny, the way he plans ahead, the way he’s able to get away from his family’s compound and guards, and the way he flies a shuttle off the planet — the first time he’s been off-world by himself. And he talks his way into a job on a cargo ship. Fortunately, he’s got skills.
I like this book. This is definitely one I’ll be sticking with 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 [email protected].
Have you read any of these books? Are you planning to? Let us know in the comments!
Or watch Maria talk about all five books in the video below:
Edited by Melody Friedenthal
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.
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.