Weekly best-of · Oct 30, 2026

Good morning and happy Friday. The weekend is here, and so is the weekly best-of: the books from this week we'd push hardest, plus one we'd hand to anyone.

Our spotlight isn't a deal this week: A Court of Splintered Harmony, the new ACOTAR book, is out, and we couldn't not mention it. Below it: the week's strongest deals, from a dystopian convent and a free dragon trilogy to the 20-page fable behind the upcoming Wicker film.

Prices were checked when this issue went out. Some deals may have ended since.

Spotlight

Fantasy
A Court of Splintered Harmony

A Court of Thorns and Roses #6

by Sarah J. Maas

ACOTAR book 6 is here

Sarah J. Maas is back in Prythian with the first book of a new arc, the Valkyrie Cycle. Koschei the Deathless, bound to a mountain lake for millennia, is stirring, and his allies want the human lands back, just as the Night Court is reeling from betrayals and hard truths of its own. This one isn't a deal: it's a full-price new release, and we're featuring it because so many of you have been waiting for more Night Court. New to the series? Start with A Court of Thorns and Roses; our reading-order post on the site has the whole lineup.

For: ACOTAR fans who've read through A Court of Silver Flames and want more of the Inner Circle.

Heads-up: Full price, not a deal. It's book 6, so read the first five first.

More from this week

Sci-Fi
The Unworthy

by Agustina Bazterrica

$2.99 checked Oct 28

A secret diary from a convent at world's end

Outside, cities have drowned and the grid is gone; inside a brutal religious order, a low-ranking sister scratches out her story in ink, dirt and blood, longing to join the mysterious Enlightened. Then a newcomer arrives and starts pulling at memories she has buried. Critics praise the clipped, hypnotic prose, the translation, and a love story that glows in the dark. We'd hand this to anyone who finished Tender Is the Flesh wanting more of Bazterrica's beautiful-and-brutal mix. It's short and fragmentary by design, so let the fever-dream atmosphere carry you.

For: Readers of literary dystopian horror who like their climate collapse with cult dread and feminist bite.

If you liked: Tender Is the Flesh, The Handmaid's Tale

Heads-up: Graphic violence and sexual assault; the fragmented structure and ending divide readers.
Fantasy
Phantasma

Wicked Games #1

by Kaylie Smith

$0.99 checked Oct 28

Nine circles of hell, one wish, and a devilish host

A haunted New Orleans manor, a game built on nine deadly trials, and a heroine who can't afford to lose: that's the hook, and hundreds of thousands of readers took it. Fans single out the gothic atmosphere, the trials modeled on Dante's circles, and the sparky banter between Ophelia and her charming, untrustworthy guide. Her OCD, written as a whispering shadow voice, earns real praise for feeling honest. We picked this one as the perfect October read for 99 cents: moody, fast and properly spicy. Some readers wanted more plot between the steamy scenes, and the middle trials can sag.

For: Romantasy readers who want gothic horror trappings, deadly games and open-door spice.

If you liked: Caraval by Stephanie Garber, Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco, Quicksilver by Callie Hart

Heads-up: Graphic gore; the romance moves fast and some guess the twist early.
Fantasy
The Dragon Blood Collection, Books 1-3

Dragon Blood

by Lindsay Buroker

Free checked Oct 28

Fighter pilots, a waking sorceress and a sarcastic sword

Dragon Blood opens with Ridge, a cocky fighter pilot exiled to run a remote prison mine, who crosses paths with Sardelle, a sorceress waking after three centuries into a world that now hunts her kind. Readers keep coming back for the banter, the mix of propeller planes and old magic, and Jaxi, a snarky sentient sword who steals scenes. It's light, quick and funny rather than deep: the romance moves fast and the magic rarely costs much. We picked this free three-book bundle because it's the easiest way to test-drive an author with a long, finished backlist.

For: Readers who want breezy, humorous steampunk-flavored fantasy with romance and found-family banter rather than grimdark.

If you liked: Lindsay Buroker's The Emperor's Edge, Ilona Andrews

Heads-up: Fast romance with one open-door scene in book 1; book 2 shifts to new leads, which some readers liked less.
Fantasy
Rule or Die

Rule or Die #1

by Heath A. Clarkmann

Free checked Oct 28

A dying man's second chance, with a loan shark system

Daneel is dying of cancer on Earth, then wakes as a twelve-year-old in a sorcery-soaked kingdom, with a game-like system pushing missions into his head and offering loans at ruinous interest. What follows is a weak-to-strong kingdom-builder: corrupt nobles, a family worth protecting and a hero who wants power to fix what's broken. Early readers rate it well and are moving straight on to the sequels, though a few found the prose stiff and the opening heavy on explanation. We picked it because it's free and the series already runs past a dozen books, so if it clicks you're set for a while.

For: LitRPG and progression readers who like slow-burn power growth, politics and kingdom-building over nonstop dungeon fights.

If you liked: Defiance of the Fall, He Who Fights with Monsters

Heads-up: Expository start and a fairly passive hero early on; the series (a reworked web novel) is long and still ongoing.
Sci-Fi
Congo

by Michael Crichton

$1.99 checked Oct 28

Lost city, killer apes, and a gorilla who signs

A tech company's expedition goes dark in the Congo rainforest, and the rescue team brings along Amy, a gorilla who talks in sign language, in hopes she can explain what's waiting at a lost city. Readers agree Amy steals the book: funny, moody and far more vivid than the humans around her. Kirkus called Crichton one of the great explainers, and the science and jungle lore are why fans love it. We picked this one as a cheap way into Crichton's pure-adventure mode, the stuff that led to Jurassic Park. It's much better than the 1995 movie.

For: Readers who like old-school expedition adventure with lots of real science mixed in.

If you liked: Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton, The Lost City of Z by David Grann

Heads-up: Slow first hundred pages, dated 1980 tech and thin characters; the ending is abrupt.
Fantasy
Wicker

by Ursula Wills

$1.99 checked Oct 29

The odd little fable behind this fall's Colman film

A plain, lonely woman pays a basket-maker for a husband woven from willow, and her neighbors can't stand seeing her happy. That's the whole setup of this modern fairy tale, which started whimsical and turns surprisingly sharp about envy and small-town cruelty. Readers call it a one-sitting fable with a satisfying ending, and plenty picked it up after the Olivia Colman and Alexander Skarsgård trailer. We think it's the smartest way to see what the movie grew from. Know going in: it's about 20 pages, gentler and far less racy than the film's marketing suggests.

For: Fans of dark fairy tales and anyone curious about the source of the film Wicker.

If you liked: The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter, Neil Gaiman's short fiction

Heads-up: A short story of roughly 20 pages, so $1.99 buys a 15-minute read; not spicy.

From our shelf

Not a deal, just a book we love.

Sci-Fi
Red Rising

Red Rising #1

by Pierce Brown

Our pick ★★★★★

Darrow, a miner at the bottom of a color-coded caste system on Mars, is remade to infiltrate the ruling Golds and tear them down from the inside. Fast, violent space-opera revenge with a brutal war-school first act.

Free. You get both; turn either one off, or unsubscribe, from a link in any email.