Read Free!

I've read over 90 books so far this year, but I've only paid for about a handful. The rest were free. There were some stinkers in there, but most were great books, and did I mention they were free?

You don't have to have a dedicated ereader to read free books. You can read books for the kindle or nook on your PC, your laptop, your phone, or your tablet. The apps to read these books are free too. You may have to open an account with the ebook store, but if the books you want are free you don't have to pay anything.

There are other sources for free books. A lot of public libraries can lend ebooks now, and you don't have to drive to the library to borrow them. Check with your local library to see if they have ebooks available.

Project Gutenberg has over 40,000 free ebooks. The Open Library boasts over 1 million free ebooks. ManyBooks.net has more than 29,000 titles available for free. Google gets into the game with Google Play Books. Google has lots of free books, but some are just samples so look before you download.

I wrote a post about this back in January, but I just wanted to remind people that reading is so much easier these days, and free. I can start a book on my tablet or one of my PCs, switch to my kindle or nook, and continue to read on my phone if I want to endure the small screen.

I know there are purists who still want their books made of trees, but I prefer the electronic kind. The paper kind are are only free from the library, and I live 20 miles from the library. Did I mention I like free?

The New Deputy in Town - Daniels, B.J.

The New Deputy in Town is a murder mystery romance. This book is free for the kindle.

Laney Cavanaugh and her sister Laci come back to Whitehorse Montana every year to visit their grandparents. This year their cousin Maddie is engaged to be married, but Laney senses some problems. Nick Rogers is the new deputy sheriff in town. When people start to get beaten up on Saturday nights, and someone is murdered at Maddie's engagement party, Nick and Laney square off. It turns out Nick has an even bigger problem than the troubles in Whitehorse, and it could catch up with both he and Laney. This book has lots of twists and turns, and plenty of characters. It's good solid entertainment. Recommended.

Stewards of the Flame - Engdahl, Sylvia

Stewards of the Flame is science fiction and it's free. This would be a great book if the author didn't suffer from logorrhea. This is a fairly long book. I suspect the Reader's Digest condensed version would be the length of a short story. The book contains too much useless dialog and introspection, and is preachy to extremes on the perils of modern medicine. Lack of a good editor is one of the dangers of self-publishing.

Jesse Sanders was the captain of the star ship Eureka. Then Jesse had the misfortune to get drunk on the colony planet Undine. The government of Undine was the planet's medical establishment. Alcoholism was a disease and the Meds couldn't let it go untreated. Jesse was arrested and missed his ship's departure window. Now he's been stranded on Undine, but a group called the Stewards of the Flame recruit him in a bid to defeat the control of the Meds. The potential exists for this to be a great book. It's not achieved. I read the whole thing to see how it developed, and even the ending left a lot to be desired. Not recommended.

The Island Parts 2-5 - Stark, Michael

The Island Parts 2-5 make up the rest of The Island. Parts 1-3 are free and parts 4 and 5 are 99 cents. I read through the last four books like I was starving for words. Now I just have to wait for the next collection of books in the series.

William Hill has made it to the island. He and the other people there are stranded now, because the country has imposed martial law to try and stop the spread of the fever. The problem is, martial law does nothing to stop the spread of the strange creatures that accompany the fever. They're monsters from legend who feed on people's bodies and minds. William has a special connection to these monsters that he'll eventually understand. That is if he can believe the word of a talking nightmare. Plenty of action and plenty of scary. An amazing book. Very highly recommended.

The Island - Stark, Michael

The Island promises to be an amazing post-apocalypse story. This is the first of five books in the Fallen Earth series. The first three are free. The last two are 99 cents. I'm reading book two now.

The Fever is spreading fast. As it spreads to every continent and gains momentum William Hill decides he wants to die somewhere of his choosing. He heads to the island, the island his father took him to years ago. He's got a boat and provisions. What he doesn't realize is he's going to have company. This is a beautiful book. It has great characters and just enough scary to give it an edge. Highly recommended.

Dark Halo - Kokoski, Christopher

Dark Halo is free to Amazon Prime members and $2.99 for others. This is a book I can't get excited about. I had to finish to find out how it ended, but it was a book with more words than substance. A good editor who wasn't afraid to cut the crap would have been helpful.

Landon Paddock threw away his wife and child after his parents were killed in an auto accident. He's the central figure in this book and not likable. He ends up fighting for his daughter and wife, and the rest of the town's people, when the town is invaded by demons. The religious aspects are secondary to the story. If the story line had been done by King or Koontz this could have been a winner. Not recommended.

The Promise - Sorensen, Jessica

The Promise is book four in the Fallen Star series. It's still 99 cents. This is the last book. No cliff hanger!

Gemma changed the future, but chaos was the result. Witches, vampires, foreseers, and fey are all being given the mark of Malefiscus, and running wild. Gemma and her friends have to solve this while still trying to find that one loop hole that will allow Gemma and Alex to survive stopping the end of the world. Ignore some editing errors that are cropping up. Highly recommended.

The Vision - Sorensen, Jessica

The Vision is book three in the Fallen Star series. It's only 99 cents. You can't stop this series once you start.

Gemma is discovering new powers and new problems. Loop holes could be her salvation, but can she find the right ones. I'm doing my best to avoid spoilers. Book three is highly recommended too.

The Underworld - Sorensen, Jessica

The Underworld is book two in the Fallen Star series. It's only 99 cents. I'm reading these in order. Book two is another cliff hanger. If you're old enough to remember the TV show Lost in Space (1965-1968), you'll know what I mean by cliff hanger.

Gemma needs to rescue her mother from the underworld. She's getting better with her foreseer abilities, so she should be able to get into the underworld, but will she be able to get out? Another page turner. Highly recommended.

The Fallen Star - Sorensen, Jessica

The Fallen Star is the first book in the Fallen Star series. It's still free for the kindle. The other books in the series are only 99 cents. Just a warning, there is a major cliff hanger at the end of this book. You will want to read the second one if you enjoyed the first. I did.

Gemma Lucas is a high school student in the little town of Afton Wyoming. What makes Gemma unique is that until recently she had no feelings at all. She described herself as an emotionless zombie. Then her emotions started to wake up. Gemma is in for some big surprises. She's about to discover that her emotions weren't the only things waiting to wake up. There is lots of action in this book and more than a fair share of teenage angst. The ending is abrupt and leaves the reader aching to find out what happens next. Young adult, but a good read overall. Highly recommended.

Right Ascension - Derrico, David

Right Ascension is hard science fiction. Space ships and aliens abound. This book is still free so get it while you can.

The year is 3040. Humans are dominant in the galaxy and expect to stay that way. Admiral Daniel Atgard commands the Apocalypse, a new breed of ship with some interesting state-of-the-art gadgets. When humans are attacked by an unknown alien species it's up to Atgard to save his ship, his crew, and the entire human race. This story was hard to put down. Highly recommended.

Deadly Offerings - Grace, Alexa

Deadly Offerings is a murder mystery that's still free for the Kindle. Not the best book I've read, but for free it's not bad. In some ways it's more of a bodice ripper than a murder mystery, but you can skip over those parts when you're my age :)

Anne Mason is going through a messy divorce. She sells her share in a software company and her house to get out of her marriage. Michael Brandt is her husband's attorney. He regretted taking the case before he even saw Anne. Once he did the sparks started to fly. Anne is kidnapped and Michael is there when she escapes. The trouble is her kidnapper keeps coming, and he's leaving Anne some presents that she doesn't want. Except for all the sex scenes the book is pretty good, but the ending is not very satisfying. Recommended with those caveats.

A Hidden Fire - Hunter, Elizabeth

A Hidden Fire is the first book in the Elemental Mysteries series. This book is still free. Grab it at that price while you can. This book reminds me of Anne Rice in a way. It introduces an interesting new twist on vampires.

Dr. Giovanni Vecchio is a book dealer specializing in very old books. He has a cat named Doyle and a butler named Caspar. He's also a vampire. Beatrice De Novo is a senior who works in the Special Collections reading room at the Houston University library. Beatrice and Giovanni become friends when their paths cross in the reading room. Little do they know the twists of fate that will draw them together and change both of their lives. This is an amazing story. I couldn't put it down. Very highly recommended.