Free ebooks are the best. They’re a great way for readers to try new series risk-free, and they help authors reach new audiences. But there’s just so many of them that it can be hard to find one you like.
Free ebook Friday spotlights a free ebook I’ve personally read and enjoyed, and hopefully, it’ll help you find a good read. The posts come out on random Fridays, not weekly, and the books featured will probably be speculative fiction.
This week’s pick is:
Book Description
Orphaned cat burglar Nyssa Glass intends to outwit her rotten fate.
“Adopted” by her incarcerated uncle’s gang of thieves, she breaks into homes and picks pockets to repay her family debt and one day buy her freedom from their dark enterprise. Mechanically adept and determined, Nyssa longs to attend Miss Pratchett’s School for Mechanically Minded Maids and make an honest life she can take pride in.
She wasn’t made to steal things. She was made to create and fix them.
However, before she can make her escape, the head of the gang taps her for a new assignment, one her conscience cannot bear. Nyssa is faced with a heartrending decision: sacrifice everything or become the very thing she’s desperate to escape.
A Prequel Short for the Nyssa Glass Steampunk Series.
My Thoughts
I’m in full Christmas mode right now, so this short story is perfect, because it’s set during the holidays. It has a bit of a Charles Dickens feel, with an orphaned main character forced to steal for a despicable criminal boss–so more Oliver Twist than A Christmas Carol, I guess.
The snowy, Victorian setting is full of steampunk technology, and the main character, Nyssa, is a self-taught tinkerer. She’s in a terrible situation and is just so sweet and sympathetic, and I just want to give the poor kid a hug and nice cup of hot cocoa during most of the story.
The good guys are good. The bad guys are bad. And the ending is happy and heart-warming. If that sounds like the kind of escapism you’re looking for this Christmas, then you may want to give Nyssa Glass and the Caper Crisis a try.
Happy reading, and happy holidays!
Kristen Brand 