FREE | Small Town Cozy Mystery 🏠
First in the series! Memorable characters, a cozy seaside inn, small-town charm, and a celebration for every holiday.
After suffering a devastating personal loss, Abby Sullivan leaves San Francisco and impulsively buys a sprawling old mansion in Holiday Bay, Maine—sight unseen. She hopes to find solitude and healing but instead finds herself unexpectedly adopted by a giant Maine Coon cat named Rufus, a mysterious drifter named Georgia, and Georgia’s lovable but insecure dog named Ramos.
Even though Abby initially believed that solitude would be essential for her to heal, she discovered an inn she never planned to own, a cat who refused to leave, and a family she never imagined needing.
In the first book in this series, the small seaside town is rocked by the murder of a local girl. Abby is drawn into a tangled investigation when she stumbles across boxes in her basement that may hold clues to the killer’s identity. She’s not a detective, but as a New York Times bestselling mystery author and the widow of a homicide detective, she knows how to follow the trail.
Why I’m including this: Kathi Daley has written over 100 books, and her Inn at Holiday Bay series is cozy mystery perfection. Abby is a mystery author and cop’s widow who moves to Maine to heal—classic setup—but Daley adds warmth with the found family (Georgia the drifter, Rufus the Maine Coon, Ramos the insecure dog). The “celebration for every holiday” series hook means each book has festive vibes, and discovering boxes in the basement that connect to a current murder is a great twist. Perfect for fans of Lorna Barrett’s Booktown Mysteries or Ellery Adams. This FREE series starter is your gateway to a world of cozy comfort. 🐱
FREE | Dark Academy Romantic Fantasy 🔮
A long-lost heir to dark magic royalty. A brutal power she never wanted. But these villains aren’t giving her a choice.
When mages slaughter my parents in front of me, I have no time to mourn. The murderers drag me into a society of dark magic where power is created by fear.
It turns out I’m the long-lost heir to one of their royal families—guaranteed to possess a talent even more vicious than most. And I’m trapped here until I accept my role.
But I don’t want these wicked skills I have no idea how to tap into. I don’t want the mansion or the fancy clothes or the massive bank account I inherited. I especially don’t want the attention of my fellow heirs: four scorching-hot, arrogant men who rule this place and crush anyone who doesn’t kowtow.
All I really want is my family back… but I can’t have that. So I’ll take what I can get to avenge the people I loved. The moment I master the dark power inside me, I’m burning this place to the ground.
Why I’m including this: Eva Chase delivers dark academia meets villain romance in this first book of the Royals of Villain Academy series. The heroine witnesses her parents’ murder, gets dragged into a world where fear creates power, and discovers she’s dark magic royalty—that’s a HOOK. Four arrogant, hot heirs who rule through cruelty? We know this is reverse harem with enemies-to-lovers energy. Chase’s twist is making the protagonist embrace being a villain to burn down the system from inside. Perfect for fans of Zodiac Academy or anyone who loved The Boys but wants it in a fantasy magic school. The “I’m going to master this power and destroy you all” energy is immaculate. FREE! 🖤
FREE | Women’s Fiction/Second Chance Romance 💔
My world ended when I lost my husband, but what I thought was the end could be the beginning of something else if I can finally let go.
Caring for my three children has been my only priority in the aftermath of losing the man I’ve loved since I was seventeen years old. Forced to move forward, I enrolled in college, made a friend who had been there, done that. I also hired a sexy younger man to tutor me in math, who also taught me how to have fun again. And I met a man who wanted to love me whether I wanted him to or not.
Will the lessons I learned in the first year of college give me the strength to live again? Or will my inability to let go keep me from having a second chance at love?
Why I’m including this: Cooper tackles widow grief with sensitivity and hope in this first book of the Always Series. Anna lost her high school sweetheart husband and is now a single mom of three trying to go back to college—that’s HARD, and Cooper doesn’t shy away from the emotional complexity. The “sexy younger math tutor” and “man who wants to love her” suggest a potential love triangle, but more importantly, this is about Anna learning to live again. The college setting as a widow with kids adds unique challenges you don’t see in typical college romances. Perfect for fans of Colleen Hoover’s emotional depth or anyone who loved Nora Ephron’s Heartburn. About healing, not just romance. FREE! 🌅
The White Tiger: A Novel
$1.99 (Regularly $3.99) | Literary Fiction/Cultural Heritage 🐅
A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE
The stunning Booker Prize–winning novel that critics have likened to Richard Wright’s Native Son. The White Tiger follows a darkly comic Bangalore driver through the poverty and corruption of modern India’s caste society. “This is the authentic voice of the Third World, like you’ve never heard it before.”
The white tiger of this novel is Balram Halwai, a poor Indian villager whose great ambition leads him to the zenith of Indian business culture, the world of the Bangalore entrepreneur. On the occasion of the president of China’s impending trip to Bangalore, Balram writes a letter to him describing his transformation and his experience as driver and servant to a wealthy Indian family, which he thinks exemplifies the contradictions and complications of Indian society.
Recalling The Death of Vishnu and Bangkok 8 in ambition and scope, The White Tiger is narrative genius with mischief and personality all its own. Amoral, irreverent, deeply endearing, and utterly contemporary, this is an international publishing sensation.
Why I’m including this: Adiga won the Booker Prize for this darkly comic masterpiece about class, corruption, and what it takes to escape poverty in modern India. Balram is an unreliable narrator—amoral, calculating, but somehow you root for him anyway. The epistolary format (letter to China’s president) creates intimacy and irony. This isn’t poverty tourism; it’s a sharp-eyed examination of India’s economic boom from the bottom looking up. Now a major Netflix film, but the book is always better. At $1.99, this Booker winner is a steal. Perfect for fans of Mohsin Hamid’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist or anyone who wants literary fiction that entertains while it provokes. 🇮🇳
$2.49 (Regularly $4.99) | Dark Romance/Dystopian ⚠️
He is the worst of Earth’s warlords. And he is hungry for one thing only: Our torment.
I like to think I’m a good person. But the things he makes me do… no good person should ever be forced to endure.
Kidnapped during a trip down to the dangerous, war-torn world our ancestors left, I’m forced into situations beyond my most depraved imaginings. Alongside my best friend’s girl, I’m used as a vessel not just for our new master’s pleasure, but for anyone he sees fit to gift us to.
Rebellion equals punishment. Submission equals pain. Through it all, there’s Bella. Sweet, beautiful Bella. My light in the darkness, the only thing keeping me relatively sane as our bodies are used in ways I didn’t even know was possible.
We may not have any hope of ever returning home, but I will do whatever it takes to protect Bella. To shield her from the worst of the horrors the Wolf visits upon us. Even if it costs me my own life.
Why I’m including this: This is DARK romance with content warnings galore—this is the first book in the Warlord’s Captives Duet, and Ange doesn’t pull punches. The dystopian sci-fi setting (descendants visiting war-torn Earth and being captured) adds worldbuilding to what’s essentially a captivity romance. The narrator’s devotion to protecting Bella creates emotional stakes beyond the horror, and the duet format means you’ll get resolution. This is for readers who loved Captive in the Dark by CJ Roberts or want their romance genuinely disturbing and morally complex. At 50% off, but seriously—check content warnings before reading. Not for everyone, and that’s intentional. 🖤
$2.99 (Regularly $5.99) | MM Royal Romance 👑
Two princes from neighboring countries fall into a whirlwind royal romance in this sparkling spin on The Princess Diaries.
Act like a prince, but don’t fall for one.
Jamie Johnson has never been the centre of attention, and he’s perfectly okay with that. His entire world unravels as a hidden truth emerges: he’s the heir to the throne of Mitanor, a sun-drenched southern European country, and the press is ready to expose this secret to the world. An invitation to spend the summer in his father’s palace arrives, giving Jamie a chance to get to know the man he never thought he’d meet.
Meanwhile, in a northern European kingdom known for its cold climate and stoic royals, Erik Lindstrom, the spare prince, grapples with the upcoming marriage of his golden-boy elder brother. With the country’s spotlight trained on his family more than ever, Erik feels sidelined and tightly controlled. So when he receives an offer to tutor the newly found American prince in the ways of royalty, he accepts without hesitation.
Why I’m including this: Dietrich gives us The Princess Diaries but make it gay with TWO princes! Jamie is the secret heir learning to be royal (classic fish-out-of-water), while Erik is the spare prince feeling overlooked—their dynamic creates natural tension. The “tutor the American prince” setup is enemies-to-lovers adjacent, and watching them navigate royal protocol while falling for each other sounds delightful. At 50% off, this is perfect for fans of Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston or anyone who wants their royal romance with actual European palace intrigue. Contemporary MM romance with fairy tale vibes! 🏰
… See the rest of today ‘s Book Picks here on page 3Page 3