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Kindle Klub (free e-books)


Kell

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As quite a few of us got e-readers for Xmas (and some had them before that too!), I thought it might be nice to compile a list of FREE e-books that are available for download.

  1. Please limit it to FREE e-books that you have downloaded and have read.
  2. State where you got them (e.g. Amazon UK/Amazon US)
  3. Provide a link to the free e-book
  4. Leave a little note of what you thought of it and who you think might like it

DO NOT LEAVE GENERAL COMMENTS (eg "Oh, I've read that one / I fancy that one / thanks for the suggestion).

 

I hope this will become a great resource for us all. :)

 

Thank you!

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The Middle Passage by Julia Golding - 3/5

Amazon UK

A novella in the Cat Royal series of books (takes place between the last two).

Great for fans of young adult historical adventures.

 

The Stolen Child by Brian McGilloway - 2/5

Amazon UK

Quick Read crime/mystery

Fans of contemporary crime may enjoy it, but there's no real development of characters or plot.

 

Hollowland by Amanda Hocking - 3/5

Amazon UK

Zombie apocalypse with a feisty heroine. First in a series.

Great for fans of young adult, zombies and post apocalyptic novels.

 

Ember by Bettie Sharpe - 5/5

Amazon UK

A fantasy twist on the Cinderella story.

Great for fans of twisted fairytales, fantasy, magic and subversion.

 

X Y Z A Detective Story by Anna Katharine Greene - 2/5

Amazon UK

Classic detective mystery.

Fans of classic mysteries such as Sherlock Holmes might enjoy this.

 

The Lady and the Locksmith by Cody Young - 3/5

Amazon UK

Victorian romance

I don't even like romances and I enjoyed this one, so anyone who likes even a little bit of gentle romance in other genres might enjoy this one.

 

The Emo Bunny That Should by John H Carroll - 3/5

Amazon UK

Subversive children's story

Great for fans of sweet little stories with a twist.

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Excellent thread idea, Kell! Here's a few I've found, all with a minimum of a four star rating on Amazon:

 

Site: Amazon.com (meaning some or all of these cost something on Amazon.co.uk)

 

Unread (someone else might want to check them out):

The Fox by Arlene Radasky

44 by Jools Sinclair

The Emperor's Edge by Lindsay Buroker

Love, Life & A Polar Bear Tattoo by Heather Wardell

 

***

 

Read:

The Strange Case Of Finley Jane by Kady Cross - 3/5

A short prequel to The Steampunk Chronicles. Set in Steampunk Victorian London, about a girl with unusual abilities (super-strength/speed). The writing lets it down, not knowing whether it's classic or modern, though there is potential here. Not enough to make me pay for the Chronicles, though I might give them a go for free. May appeal to YA readers.

 

I also read The Emo Bunny That Should, and pretty much agree with Kell's 3/5 stars. A less-developed Robert Rankin style of short story.

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The only one I've read so far is (free on Amazon UK):

 

Broadmoor Revealed: Victorian Crime and the Lunatic Asylum by Mark Stevens - 5/5

Heartily recommended to anyone who enjoys social history - it was fascinating. :)

 

 

 

 

All the following were downloaded from Amazon UK but are as yet unread so I won't link them as you said they have to be read but people might like to check them out - a friend recommended the first title:

 

A Dog Named Slugger by Leigh Brill

A Journal of the Plague Year, written by a citizen who continued all the while in London by Daniel Defoe

Black Beauty by Anna Sewell

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Herself by Harriet Ann Jacobs

Letters on England by Voltaire

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

Resting In the Bosom Of the Lamb by Augusta Trobaugh

Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

Sea and Sardinia by D H Lawrence

The Cruise of the Snark by Jack London

The Golden Acorn: The Adventures of Jack Brenin by Catherine Cooper

The Little Book of Christmas by John Kendrick Bangs

The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux

The Queen's Christmas Speeches by HM the Queen!

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

 

 

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Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte - 4/5

Amazon UK

Anne Bronte has become my favourite Bronte sister. Both her novels, but especially this, have a quiet kind of passion, and Agnes Grey displays a very reserved longing for love without showing any expectation of it.

 

Based on Anne's personal experiences of being a governess, I wonder how much of this novel is based on fact and how much is fabrication, but either way, Anne's deft handling of the characters and situation, in my opinion, outshines the ability of both her sisters, giving a much more natural and realistic impression of life and love at that time.

 

Great for fans of classics and of the other Bronte sisters and Jane Austen.

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http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_2_16?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=the+penal+colony+richard+herley&sprefix=the+penal+colony%2Cdigital-text%2C147

 

The Penal Colony by Richard Herley

Amazon UK

This was a stonking good read. I think it goes in the genre of speculative fiction. It is set in 1997, (so was possibly written a few years before that?). An innocent man called Routledge has been wrongly convicted of rape and murder , by the normal process of British law. What is diifferent in this version of 1997 is that a right wing government has taken tough measures and made several islands off the UK coastline into penal colonies where certain categories of criminals are sent for life, with no chance of reprieve.

Routledge wakes up at Sert, an island off the coast of Cornwall and his ordeal begins.

In his first days of confusion and mind numbing fear he has to fight for his survival in this new unforgiving society . He is a quantity surveyor, unfit and soft. Can he possibly survive ? Or will he succumb to madness?

There is nothing second rate about the writing, the book is gripping throughout. definitely worth downloading.

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  • 4 weeks later...

The Lady and The Locksmith by Cody Young

Amazon UK

 

This was just a very short story only a half hour read. The blurb said it was a Victorian Romance. But there was hardly any period detail and it was a bit soft porny. It had a happy ending but I thought the whole thing was a bit unlikely.

Edited by vodkafan
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Hollowland by Amanda Hocking.

Amazon UK

 

A quick read. Kick -ass young heroine fighting against hordes of zombies to be reunited with her little brother in post -apocalypse America. Writing was OK, but lacking any sparkle. Nothing really original in the plot or the idea of the zombies. Die -hard zombie fans will like it. I won't be reading the rest of the series though.

Edited by vodkafan
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  • 4 weeks later...

Broadmoor Revealed by Mark Stevens

 

Amazon UK

 

Very interesting read, made up of case studies of notable inmates of the Asylum . Not very long, but the author states that it is only a first look at the subject and another longer book is in preparation. Doesn't say very much about the techniques or therapies for treating mental illness in vogue at the time, I would have liked to see a little of that in the book.

Edited by vodkafan
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  • 5 months later...
  • 3 months later...

I've just read Season One of Yesterday's Gone, which was free when I bought it, but now they are charging. However, you can download the first two 'Episodes' (as they call them) of Season One for free:

 

Episode One

Episode Two

 

From what I gather, they release a new 'episode' each month or so. I've read the first 6 episodes and they are brilliant, if you are into 'end-of-the-world' type fiction.

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  • 2 months later...

There seem to be quite a few free ebooks for Kindle. I use the site Kindle Buffet there are others too but so far I've just used this one. Most of the books listed on the website seem available for free in my country (the Netherlands) from Amazon.com, at the time of the writing of their posts. If you're in the UK though the Amazon.co.uk website has different deals and availability, I'm not sure how much overlap there is to be honest.

 

And yes, I have downloaded some Kindle freebies (and read a bit in some of them, on the computer), though I don't actually have my Kindle yet!

Edited by Athena
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  • 8 months later...

Having been out of the reading arena for reasons mentioned in my introduction I had to see how I could handle reading a book again and so I went for a HG Wells novella with his well known "The Time Machine". Being a novella and quite short it allowed me to take that initial step back into reading. The book itself  was one I read as a child many moons ago and to hear about the different cultures and the way the world turns out in the distant future is a tale of great imagination and colour. An easy to read book full of excitement and the early ideas of science fiction. the book can be down loaded from Amazon for free here:

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Time-Machine-Enriched-Classics-Pocket-ebook/dp/B00APIJZGC/ref=sr_1_6?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1382902624&sr=1-6&keywords=the+time+machine

 

Sernicki

 

 

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