Freebies Read 2024

 Black Bane - Zee Kelley 

Blurb

Embark on a quest to thwart the relentless black bane in this gripping fantasy tale. Journey into a realm of fantastical creatures, clashing civilizations, and an enigmatic malevolence that threatens annihilation.

☆☆☆☆, short, fantasy

Short story, quite enjoyable. I'm curious about the Gillies, are they like a rabbit? bird? Such a cute animals.

This is a prequel from an upcoming series.

Murder at The Ritz - Anna Sayburn Lane

Blurb

London, 1922.

Marjorie Swallow isn’t a regular at The Ritz. But she really, really wants this job. She’s been summoned to an interview to become a personal secretary to the enigmatic Mrs Jameson, who wants assistance with ‘social engagements and private investigations’.

Over afternoon tea in the Palm Court, Marjorie’s detective skills are put to the test when a fellow guest keels over in suspicious fashion. Who killed the colonel? There are no shortage of people who wanted him dead. But which of them slipped a spoonful of poison into his Darjeeling?

☆☆☆½ , short, sleuth/cozy mystery

Many of historical cozies remind me of Agatha Christie works which is no wonder, she probably influencing a lot of mystery authors.

Nice story, a prequel for a series. The writing is good, i just wish there was Marjorie's crime scene sketch there. That would be a nice touch

The Tale of Kami and a Desperate Man by Odessa Silver

Blurb

Under the moon's gaze even the strongest of loyalties are tested. What consequences befall a lovesick fool?

In the world of Yamato, humans live alongside beings of strange power: kami, who see to the world, and fickle yokai that can bless or trap even the most wary of humans. Hotaka follows the guidance of the kami Tsukuyomi, but even kami make mistakes. And Tsukuyomi’s eyes aren’t the only ones that watch that night. Will Hotaka escape with his life, like he has before, or finally fall to kami whims? Only the moon has the answers.

☆☆☆½, fantasy

Good, although it doesn't explained the Japanese entities and Gods that appearing (yokai, tsukuyomi, suzaku to name a few). I googled a lot.

It seems the author assume the reader aware about the Japanese mythology and culture. 

Freebies read

Gene Switch - B.P Stevens

Crack the code.  Change the world.

Danny was on top of the world.

After dedicating her entire life to unlocking the secrets of epigenetics, she finally cracked the code. Cancer patients around the world are about to be cured of their ailments, and amputees can finally regain their limbs.

It's the scientific discovery of the century, or even the millennia.

The Cancer Research Hospital of San Francisco even offers to be the first site of human trials with the new wonder chemical.

Then two masked men break in and steal the chemicals.

With Danny's discovery at risk of being transformed into supercancer, an unstoppable biological weapon, she goes after the thieves.

But things are not as they seem. Who stole Danny's miracle? And why would they betray her?  

Will she be able to stop them in time to spare the world from this new bioweapon, or will she die trying?

☆☆, read October 2023, scifi

The story quote ambitious and i am excited to read it. Too bad the execution fell short.

The conversations not flowing nicely. 

Way too many telling and not enough doing. There are no description when Danny doing her research in lab, just a glimmer in the beginning. It just like a narrator tell me a story of something happening instead me seeing something directly. 

Which is what i expect from reading a story, a fleshed out or at least an attempt to embody the story in my imagination.

Disappointed.

 

The Prophecy - Daan Katz

Prophecies don’t lie.

Life has not been kind on King Haniman of Dalanthia, but when Emperor Fedromir of Morynthia offers his daughter’s hand in marriage to Haniman’s son, he feels like his luck has finally taken a favourable turn.

However, when he learns about the ancient prophecy that foretells the downfall of his kingdom and doom upon his descendants if the two Glorious Houses unite, he is faced with an impossible choice: come back on his word to Fedromir and risk a war with Morynthia, or proceed with the marriage and curse his own flesh and blood.

Ebook, appr 17 pages, historical kingdom, 

☆☆☆ , read on September 2023

Too short, not enough to labelled as prequel or novella. The story itself is okay but even as a background story, it need a basic conclusion at the end not abrupt ending like in this story. 

Relics of Salem prequel - S.H. Steele

Rowena Wickerson is a devoted historian looking for a job that will help her with her graduate studies thesis project. She is on the hunt for anything that will help her research the Civil War Era. Living in sunny California won’t get Rowena what she desires and without an internship or job, she’ll be behind on her thesis and overall schooling.

Packing her belongings, she heads east with Massachusetts as her destination in the hopes of finding a job she’ll love while developing her thesis project. A few miles outside of Boston, a storm stalls Rowena in her tracks. Pulling over to the side of the road, she tries to wait out the rain and lightning.

After Rowena’s car is struck by lightning, she is put on a path she never expected. What job will she be able to find? Read Rowena’s journey through the supernatural world of Salem, Massachusetts.

Ebook, 80 pages, fantasy/paranormal

☆☆☆ ½ 

I enjoy the mystery and the cliffhanger ending did pique may curioustity for more.

Permanent Record - Ess Harelson 

Siobhan O'Hurlihy is just trying to get through her day. 

The problem is, she's dean of students at a middle school, and she has a mystery to solve. 

Is it just an April Fool's prank, or is there something more? And what is the deal with this raven? Does he seem like he wants to be friends? He sure has a nasty vocabulary. 

Siobhan has always been a little magical; she can see auras and detect lies. The downside is that she has terrible luck with electronics. Her Auntie Louise thinks it has to do with her chi. 

A priceless...phone...is missing, and Siobhan uses all her skills to solve the mystery.

Ebook , 70 pages, paranormal sleuth

☆☆☆☆, read on January 2023

I like it. It's funny and i like Siobhan

Philosopher’s Crone (An Undertown Short Mystery) - Tabatha Gray

A prequel from Undertown Paranormal Myteries series

Cora Barrow and her sister Sally never see eye to eye. To Cora, their psychic powers are a gift. To Sally, they’re a curse. But when two magical gemstones disappear from a locked room, the sisters put their differences aside. The gems are the key to untold arcane power. If that power fell into the wrong hands... 

If you like Stranger Things, The X-Files, and classic Agatha Christie puzzlers, this paranormal cozy short is worth a look.

Ebook, 31 pages, paranormal sleuth, 

☆☆

I'm kind of disappointed with this, the story way lighter and misleading than the cover promised (which what attract me to download it in the first place). The mystery is not paranormal although the characters have that ability.

Too Young To Die - R.W. Brooks

Those words were written on Jamie Torres' bathroom mirror.  Her coworkers thought that she had written them.

It is Jamie Torres' mission to find out who did it.

Also, why are these young girls going missing?

Ebook, 135 pages, thriller

☆☆☆

Jamie Torres, a police officer forced to take a leave after an assault that believed by her boss and colleague to be a suicide attempt. She moved to her case's victim town to investigate the case.

The writing quite nice. There are parts that are not satisfying like Jamie's amateur mistake of revealing  her informant's identity easily or her almost careless attempt in investigating. This also have a cliffhanger ending, which i don't like lol.

Overall okay.

Francis Marchs Visions - Rick Adelmann

When David March shows up, unexpected, former Pinkerton detective Sherwood Garth can't possibly know what mystery he's about to step into. 

He's been asked to visit David's home, undercover as a former professor, while secretly investigating why the perfectly healthy, but elderly patriarch, and powerful Hollywood studio chief, Francis March, has suddenly begun to experience hallucinations and visions of his dead wife. 

David is very concerned. Garth is intrigued and agrees to investigate.  What he learns while getting to know this family will make anyone shiver, but never fear ... this intriguing short story is a great introduction to Rick Adelmann's jazz-age mystery series.

Ebook, 35 pages, sleuth

☆☆

So-so. The writing is not flowing, and i don't really excited with the mystery.

 Prey For Them - Y.G. Knight

Blurb

My brother was brutally murdered…

His neck slashed & body repeatedly stabbed. That’s how they found him. Out of sight in the woods outside of our small town.

Now he lays there, so quiet and peaceful. Blue eyes closed shut. His body confined in the wooden casket. Completely surrounded by strangers dressed in black. Luckily, I see dad standing in the corner. No tears, just a blank stare.

I’ve always hated this church. Father Red’s creepy chanting echoing through the hall. The eerie locals follow his lead like sheep. No bible in sight, but the sermon continues. I feel the hairs on my skin rising with the high pitch sound of the choir. 

A male voice whispers in my ear, “Be brave & be ready…”

Ebook , 106 pages, thriller cult

☆☆☆, read on November 2022

The story was okay, at least for the beginning and the middle. I'm not fond with the ending though.

Feral (Many Lives #1) - Laxmi Hariharan

He was her destination. She just didn't know it.

When Maya leaves Luke to go in search of her blood family, nothing prepares her for the secrets she uncovers about herself.

Ebook, 106 pages, paranormal short stories

☆☆½, read on March 2021

I tempted to stop reading at first few pages because shapeshifter romance not my favourite genre, thankfully it just small part of the story. The writing was okay except for the psychological/scientific explanation on certain events in Maya's mind which is weird. I think it's better on footnote maybe?

I also disappointed with Maya decision to just forget her blood family. Clearly her situation is not her family's fault but instead she choose to be with the wrong one here, the one who forcefully makes her life change from who she should be.

The irony that she hail her pack in giving her freedom in living and condemn human life in lack of choice, and yet her condition as part of werewolf was forced into her since Ma abduct her from her real family which actually give her no choice at all. Sigh.

The Boy Sherlock Holmes #1 : Eye of The Crow

Sinopsis 

London, 1867

Seorang perempuan terbunuh dengan keji di Whitechapel, London. Seorang tersangka pembunuhan telah ditangkap. Tidak ada saksi mata di tempat kejadian kecuali...

BURUNG GAGAK

Ya, burung-burung gagak menyaksikan peristiwa itu. Dan seorang anak lelaki pecinta misteri, yang selalu mengikuti para gagak akhirnya terlibat dalam kasus itu. Anak lelaki itu telah menemukan potongan-potongan puzzle kasus tersebut. Dia hanya perlu menyusunnya.

Dan ini akan menjadi kasus pertama yang dipecahkan oleh si anak lelaki, yang suatu hari nanti akan dikenal dunia sebagai SHERLOCK HOLMES.

Softcover, 368 hlm, Penerbit Noura 

☆☆☆ ½ dari 5

Dibaca okt-des 2022

Review

Secara keseluruhan ceritanya menarik, walau saya agak tersendat di awal karena tidak terbiasa dengan gaya penulisan pengarang.

Ceritanya juga kocak di bagian Malefactor yang selalu terpesona setiap ada Irene haha.

Pengarang pintar menyelipkan nama Doyle sebagai nama keluarga Irene, menghormati Arthur Conan Doyle, pengarang Sherlock Holmes yang asli.

Untuk cover, dibanding versi luar, lebih bagus yang versi Indonesia. Versi luar terlalu suram dan serius  dan kurang menarik untuk remaja, yang menurut saya adalah target pembacanya.

Oh ya buku yang saya punya cetakan Penerbit Noura , jadi ada sedikit perbedaan di warna tulisan Eye of the Crow (yang saya emas kuning mencrang kearah oranye, yg edisi lain emas pucat), lalu ada beda lambang di kanan atas, tergantung terbitan mana (Noura atau Qanita).

The Candy Makers by Wendy Mass

Empat orang anak berusia 12 tahun terpilih dari Region Tiga untuk mengikuti kompetisi membuat cokelat terbaik di dunia. Selama dua hari mereka akan menemukan rahasia cara membuat permen di pabrik Life Is Sweet.

Persaingan mereka dipenuhi oleh berbagai kecurangan demi memenangi kontes tersebut. Hingga akhirnya, mereka mengetahui ada orang yang ingin menghancurkan pabrik kesayangan mereka tersebut.

Keempat anak yang disatukan dalam kontes ini kemudian berupaya untuk melindungi resep rahasia dari orang yang ingin menghancurkan Life Is Sweet.

Namun, bagaimana dengan dendam Philip dan phobia Milles? Atau rahasia luka Logan dan Daisy yang misterius saat terungkap?

Softcover (Paperback)

Dibaca Juni-Juli 2022

☆☆☆☆ dari 5

Kesan awal-awal, ini seperti Charlie and Chocolate Factory(C&CF) nya Roald Dahl, tapi ternyata berbeda.

Kesamaannya hanyalah ada empat anak bersaing di pabrik coklat.

Disini cerita ditulis dari empat sudut pandang, yaitu Logan si anak pemilik pabrik coklat, Miles yang suka sekali dengan kehidupan setelah kematian, Daisy yang bersemangat dan galak, serta Philip yang arogan.

Setiap pergantian sudut pandang membuka sedikit demi sedikit rahasia dan masa lalu mereka yang membuat mereka tidak seperti kesan yang ditampilkan. 

Tidak seperti karya Roald Dahl, masing-masing anak di sini dibuat lebih berkepribadian. Bahkan anak yang kelihatan jahat pun berada di daerah abu-abu, tidak 100% bertabiat jelek ala saingan Charlie di C&CF.

Saya juga suka bagian mereka melihat pembuatan berbagai permen yang menarik dan berbeda-beda per jenis permennya. <i>Permen Taffy kayaknya enak deh haha</i>

Ceritanya oke, tentu ada bagian yang kurang seperti pembuatan permen mereka untuk lomba yang hanya diceritakan tapi tidak didetilkan. 

Tapi keseluruhan cerita oke dan jumlah halaman yg tebal tidak berasa juga karena ceritanya menarik.

The Ghost's Call (Afterlife Calls #1) by K.C. Adams

Blurb

Single parent Niamh desperately doesn’t want her daughter Edie to go into the ghost hunting business like she did. But when Edie receives an important message from a ghost, she may not have a choice.

Their hometown is haunted. With the town’s rich history, it could be anyone. And they could be anywhere.

When a ghost arrives on the doorstep of family friends, Niamh and Edie must race against time to protect the people love.

Meet ghost hunter Niamh, her teenage daughter Edie, and a whole new cast of characters in Afterlife Calls, Kristina Adams's new fantasy series (writing as K.C.Adams). If you're looking for a story of family, romance, and ghosts, this is the series for you.

Ebook, 204 pages

☆☆☆ ½ of 5

Overall nice reads, it has a cliffhanger ending for the case and some backstory.

There are some things that i don't like such as: 

- I wish Edie show her mom the video result of the spy camera, it seems she do that for nothing.

- Niamh is too strict and overprotective about Edie which understandable but i was exhausted with their constant bickering.

- Niamh change of heart was such a big leap, from prohibiting to urging Edie to doing the exorcism by herself. It's too sudden and feel baseless.

For side character, i love Mr. Brightman character and his interaction with Niamh :) 

Chasing the Wind (The Cloud Warrior Saga #2.8) by D.K. Holmberg

Blurb

Before Zephra became one of the greatest wind shapers of the kingdoms, and before she had bonded the wind elemental ara, she first had to catch the wind.

As Zephra sets out across Incendin on a task assigned by her mentor, she must decide whether to help a young girl or continue to chase her wind so that she can rejoin the university.

A short story in the world of the Cloud Warrior Saga.

Ebook, 32 pages

☆☆☆ of 5

First, the cover is gorgeous! 

I think the story is decent and i'm quite like the characters and the magic concept.

But since this is just a prequel, some things left hanging and to understand further i have to read the series (like the magic flower thing, yes the one in the cover and who is Lia and the rest of their journey), and this is so short. I feel unsatisfied.

However, i prefer Zephra's story more than the first book, at least based on the sneak peek. I found Tan character as dull and lack of passion, unlike Zephra.

Shade of Evil: a short story by Jacinthe Dessureault

Blurb

A map drawn in blood found under the floor of an old house...

A derelict cabin deep in the forest...

A gruesome local tale...

Will four intrepid teenagers come out of the woods unscathed?

Shade of Evil tells the story of detective Pierre Deveraux’s first brush with the paranormal as a young teen. He will appear in A Sinister Gift, the first novel in the upcoming Nora Bello Paranormal Mysteries series.

Ebook, 52 pages

☆☆☆☆ of 5

I like the writing and the main character. The dread, the fear and the details is good.

Pierre was a very mature character, wise beyond his thirteen years old, even wiser at twenty three years old.

The conclusion regarding the mystery a little too light for my taste. It was a whole but not quite enough.

Maybe because i have this scenario where the ghost is not gone yet and subconsciously arise on occasion with new case where that possessed one become Pierre's arch-enemy.

I got the ebook free HERE or click on the image below