Free book (nook) - The Battle Sylph [Fantasy/Paranormal Romance, US-only]

[ATDrake]

The Battle Sylph, 1st in the Sylph series by L.J. McDonald, is one of B&N's Free Fridays book this week, courtesy of publisher Dorchester, who've been very generous with the freebies lately, presumably as part of their switch to all-digital publishing.

I'm not sure exactly what criteria paranormal romance requires, but it mostly seems to require some sort of Earth-based origin/crossover to go with the fantasy creatures, and this seems to be set on its own world, so I've also added the fantasy tag, even though for all I know this actually takes place in underground fight clubs in Minneapolis. The reviews are kind of ambiguous as to category.

Synopsis
Solie finds herself kidnapped as bait for a dangerous Battle Sylph named Heyou, but she fights back and takes control of him, an immensely powerful shapeshifter. Solie & Heyou flee death to seek sanctuary, and Heyou begins to fill Solie with desires that threaten to change the world.

For more paranormal romance reading, I think the B&N Samhain freebies from last week may still be active. Since those threads have been pushed back at least 3 pages by now, I'll check and add a round-up if that's the case after I'm done posting the other Free Fridays book.

[ATDrake]

Okay, here are the various Samhain still-freebies, which I cribbed from the excellent list that's been assembled over at the B&N discussion boards, and added a little category/description info to, since some of the B&N listings don't have them.

For anyone with an ePub compatible reader, I'll note that for some reason, B&N's Samhain freebies have always been DRM-free (these ones are no exception), and unlike most other B&N books, you'll be able to easy load them up or just plain convert them to put on your reader without any further steps.

Slow Ride, in the Rough Riders series by Lorelei James. Contemporary cowboy/cowgirl newlyweds.

Hara's Legacy, 1st in Resonance Mate series by Bianca D'Arc. Sci-fi romance with psychic rancher family ménage fighting off an alien invasion.

The Sword Lord, 1st in Fifth Planet series by Robert Leader. Sci-fi/mythological/maybe-historical with aliens from a doomed planet colonizing ours early in India's history and apparently becoming the inspiration for their gods.

Trey, 1st in Red Hot and Blue series by Cat Johnson. Contemporary military fraternization while on special assignment.

Just Right, 1st in Bradfords series by Erin Nicholas. Contemporary doctor/nurse action in hospital setting.

Pack Challenge, 1st in Magnus Pack series by Shelley Laurenston. Contemporary paranormal, with biker werewolves in Texas.

Without Reservations, by J.L. Langley. Standalone contemporary m/m paranormal romance, with destined gay/het/ Native/white werewolf mates trying to transcend racial and sexual boundaries.

Specifically Holiday-Themed Stuff

The Dickens With Love, by Josh Lanyon. Contemporary m/m standalone w/professor and antiquarian on a book hunt.

Holiday Bound, by Beth Kery. Contemporary Oedipal-by-proxy sex-in-a-cabin with the hot prospective stepmom. Maybe some BDSM, definite daddy issues, judging from the synopsis.

My Christmas Wish, by Ember Case. Contemporary, local girl who made it big goes home for hot Cajun sex with the man she left behind. Who done her wrong, but it looks like they kiss and make up.

Snowy Night Seduction, by Arianna Hart. Another contemporary w/someone going home to face the lover they left behind and forced by circumstances to kiss and make up. This one's got a snowstorm, for those who like those stranded-together plots.

Well, that's all the freebie romance/erotica stuff that's still available, though there are some fantasy/thriller/Christian fiction books also listed on the excellent Nookbook summary thread over at the B&N boards (scroll down for updates, as the list gets pruned for unavailability every few days).

My personal recommendation: Mussolini's Rome: Rebuilding the Eternal City, a very nice academic book about the impact of fascism on architecture. I'm honestly surprised this is still free and quite likely it's a glitch that the publisher has yet to notice. But it's well-done, with footnotes, pictures, and interesting info. Well worth the download.

And finally, a nook-compatible ADE-DRM ePub holiday romance freebie from Kobo books, by UK author Miranda Dickinson, courtesy of publisher HarperCollins:

Fairytale of New York, romantic comedy about an Englishwoman in Manhattan.

Happy reading!