In The Last Boy, Leavy profiles one of the most beloved, and troubled, American sports stars of all time. Mantle was blessed with incredible talent and skill, but cursed with a hardscrabble childhood and a propensity for alcoholism. His affable demeanor and partying lifestyle made him the envy of a generation of baseball fans, but in the end, injuries and alcohol took their toll.

Leavy highlights the highs and lows of Mantle’s storied career, drawing on more than 500 interviews with friends, family, teammates, and Number 7 himself. This is a thoughtful and fair-minded biography that befits the mighty slugger.

Have a great Father’s Day weekend—and take some time to relax with NOOK!

Dad’s will be vying with their kids for a chance to play today’s Free Fridays app selection, Missile Defender by  Epic Pixel . Let’s just hope the young ones give dear old dad some time with NOOK this Sunday!

I loved those intergalactic 1980s arcade games, and certainly plugged enough quarters into them to fund a small army! So Missile Defender is my ideal NOOK app—a chance to relive the arcade fun from the comfort of my couch.

In Missile Defender, your city is under attack, and you’ll need a coordinated plan to intercept the incoming missiles that rain down each night. During the day, you’ll fortify your defenses and prepare a strategy for launching your own missiles to destroy enemy warheads. The combination of quick-thinking and long-term strategizing make this a great app for every gamer.

Once your city is safe and secure, make sure to explore some more great apps and puzzles from Epic Pixel.

Free Fridays app promotions refer specifically to the app in the NOOK Store.

Free Fridays Recommends

Each week, we ask our featured author to recommend a book or author that you may want to check out. Since authors are such passionate readers themselves, we thought you might like to find out what they love to read, too! Here’s what Jane recommends:

Joe DiMaggio: The Hero’s Life by Richard Ben Cramer

Richard made it possible for me to write about Mickey Mantle.  His reportorial tour-de-force, the literary equivalent of a 56-game hitting streak, taught me how to write about those we deem heroes and the frailties that make them all too human if not always beloved.  Richard had chops.  He made me brave.

"An amazing, action-packed series! I’m as hungry as a Vamp for the next book!"

-Bestselling author Kerrelyn Sparks

Today’s Free Fridays selection, A Blood Seduction by Pamela Palmer, is the gripping first book in her dark urban fantasy series.

Fans of Kim Harrison and Laurell K. Hamilton will add Pamela Palmer to their list of must-read authors as soon as they’ve finished A Blood Seduction. Palmer’s fearless heroine, Quinn, enters the treacherous Vamp City to track down a missing friend. Along the way, the handsome vampire Arturo Mazza sets his sights on the beautiful and brave woman from the outside world. Quinn is drawn to the mysterious Arturo, but fears the dangers that lurk in Vamp City.

Arturo knows that his city is dying, and the fate of his fellow vampires is at great risk. While his heart yearns for Quinn, he also sees her as a potential savior of his dying breed, and he’ll do whatever it takes to bring her into the fold.

More hot-blooded action awaits in Palmer’s next Vamp City novel A Kiss of Blood, available now for preorder.

Wow! Wow! Dinosaurs! Your kids will love today’s Free Fridays app selection: Wubbzy's Dinosaur Adventure by Cupcake Digital, Inc.

This app skillfully combines two of the things my kids love most: dinosaurs, and the Emmy® Award-winning Nick Jr. cartoon, Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!  I was a dinosaur fanatic growing up, and I’m happy that my children have found the same sense of wonder from these prehistoric creatures.

In this interactive book, readers follow Wubbzy and friends as they travel to Dino Island—home to the giant Sillyasaurus. Best of all, the interactive activities—like sing-alongs and coloring—have been developed with an emphasis on learning, so your little ones will be refining critical skills as they enjoy the engaging gameplay.

I think your kids will say “WOW!” when you share today’s Free Fridays app with them. Plus there are many more Wubbzy adventures waiting for them on NOOK.

Free Fridays app promotions refer specifically to the app in the NOOK Store.

Free Fridays Recommends

Each week, we ask our featured author to recommend a book or author that you may want to check out. Since authors are such passionate readers themselves, we thought you might like to find out what they love to read, too! Here’s what Pamela recommends:

Nalini Singh’s Slave to Sensation is the most skillfully executed and emotionally satisfying paranormal romance I’ve read, and one of my favorite books of all time. The Psy-Changling world is fascinating, the plot and romance hit every note with masterful perfection, and the characters utterly leap off the page. For lovers of paranormal romance and urban fantasy, this is not a book to be missed.

“Readers will eagerly devour Owen's tale and look forward to its continuation.”

-VOYA

If you’re a fan of the dark dystopian world of Divergent and the mythology of the Percy Jackson series, today’s Free Fridays book selection, The Lost Code by Kevin Emerson, is an ideal summer read.

Summer camp is the perfect backdrop for a great story—there’s adventure, a sense of freedom, the inevitable hierarchy, and the promise of young love. But the summer camp that Owen has won a scholarship to, Camp Eden, isn’t the lush lakeside utopia you might imagine. This camp’s located on a scorched, uninhabitable earth, and only a protective BioDome makes the idyllic landscape possible. Earth has become a wasteland—with humans moving underground for survival—and the only reminder of what the world was once like exists within the BioDome.

While the awkward Owen will be mixing with the privileged kids at this exclusive summer camp, he’s not prepared for the personal transformation that’s about to take place. After almost drowning, Owen notices that he’s sprouted gills, giving him the ability to breathe under water. Several other campers have the same rare mutation, and soon Owen learns that they’re all descendants of an ancient race—the Atlanteans—who may hold the key to prolonging life on earth, even as the BioDome faces imminent doom.

The next book in this captivating adventure series, The Dark Shore, is newly-available on NOOK.

I’m extra excited to announce today’s Free Fridays app selection, Astraware Wordsearch Deluxe —the perfect app for word-loving NOOK owners.

My mom passed down her love of word searches to me, and even as a young kid, I remember combing through puzzle books to pass the time on road trips. But this new generation of digital word search puzzles brings a lot of fresh fun to an age-old pastime. Astraware Wordsearch Deluxe offers over 1,000 puzzles and 12 themed categories, as well as a new puzzle you can download daily. Plus, with a global leader board, competitive players can see how their fastest games stack up worldwide.

Besides this captivating word search app, Astraware offers many more games on the NOOK Store that will keep you and your family entertained for hours.

Free Fridays app promotions refer specifically to the app in the NOOK Store.

Today’s Free Fridays book selection is the chilling suspense novel, Head to Head by Linda Ladd.

When homicide detective Claire Morgan moved from Los Angeles to Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri, she hopes to settle into a more peaceful, simpler life. But fate has other plans in store, as she soon finds out when a soap opera star turns up dead. The star’s trip to a posh “wellness resort” ended with her being taped to a chair at a fully set table and submerged at the bottom of the lake.

At first, the resort’s owner, Dr. Nicholas Black, seemed to be Claire’s ally in uncovering the killer, but as their lives become more intimately entwined, his motivations start to seem suspect. Could he know more about his famous guest’s demise than he’s letting on?

Claire Morgan’s Ozarks adventures continue in Ladd’s newest thriller, Remember Murder, available now for pre-order.

Today’s Free Fridays app selection, Animal Park Tycoon by Advanced Mobile Applications, is your chance to become the creator of your own zoo!

I’m lucky enough to live just a few blocks from my city’s  zoo, so my family takes frequent trips all year long. While it’s a beautiful zoo, I have to admit that I’ve often daydreamed of ways it could be even better. That’s why I was so excited to play Animal Park Tycoon. This multi-layered game lets you build and run your own zoo, with the goal of attracting curious visitors from around the world. And nothing brings in a crowd like a real live unicorn on exhibit—something you can unlock with superb game play.

Once you’ve mastered the art of zoo keeping, put your newfound skills to the test with Animal Park Tycoon, just one of the great apps available from Advanced Mobile Applications.

Free Fridays app promotions refer specifically to the app in the NOOK Store.

Free Fridays Recommends

Each week, we ask our featured author to recommend a book or author that you may want to check out. Since authors are such passionate readers themselves, we thought you might like to find out what they love to read, too! Here’s what Linda recommends:

First off, I’ve got to say that I really love the late great Beverly Barton’s books.  She will be missed by so many readers and friends.  Don't Cry is no exception. This story has all Barton’s usual ingredients—an intricate plot, a hunky hero, an endearing heroine, and a very scary villain. This time, the crime scenes are so unique, and frightening enough to give the reader cold chills. 

Just imagine Cracker Barrel®, that wonderful country restaurant located all across the South with rocking chairs spread out across the front porch…but this time, there’s a woman sitting in one of them, young, dark-haired, pretty, and very dead.  To Special Agent J.D. Cass and Chattanooga grief counselor, Audrey Sherrod, the worst part is what the victim is holding in her arms. Wrapped in a blue baby blanket, they find the skeletal remains of an infant, one reported missing years ago. So the hunt for the killer begins, the current homicide case closely entwined with a gruesome cold case. Audrey and J.D. circle each other at first, not quite sure they like each other very much, but as the case progresses with links to Audrey’s own tragic past, their initial distrust is replaced by a growing passion and respect for each other.

Barton’s plot is intricate and exciting enough to keep you glued to the pages long into the midnight hours. You won’t figure out the villain until the very last minute, trust me. Furthermore, there’s an equally good sequel available to continue the story called Don’t Say A Word. What more could you ask for?  So sit back and enjoy yourself.  I sure did!

"Hard to think of it as a debut, better to think of it as the beginning of a massive new adventure.”

-The Daily Mirror (UK)

Today’s Free Fridays book selection is the sophisticated thriller Sanctus by Simon Toyne. [PLEASE NOTE: There are also foreign language versions of this book available for NOOK, but they are not free. Please make sure that you download the English language version here.]

Television veteran Simon Toyne’s debut novel is an ambitious conspiracy thriller that Brad Meltzer and Dan Brown fans will devour. The whole world is watching when a cloistered monk in modern day Turkey plunges to his death in front of television cameras. The monk’s act of defiance sets off a frenzy to discover what secrets lie behind the ancient walls, and why he sacrificed his life to put an end to them.

When the monk is identified, American journalist Liv Adamsen is shocked to discover that he’s the brother she’d written off as dead long ago. Her reporter’s instincts send her to investigate the secretive world her brother inhabited, and soon she’s battling a group of deadly monks who will go to any extreme to protect their millennia-old secret.

The second book in Toyne’s critically-acclaimed trilogy, The Key, is available for NOOK now.

Today’s Free Fridays app selection is Sherlock Holmes: The Blue Diamond - Hidden Object Game by SecretBuilders. I’m absolutely obsessed with Sherlock Holmes—especially the new BBC television series, Sherlock—so this challenging hidden object game is right up my alley. The puzzles are based on the Holmes story, The Blue Diamond, and each level brings players closer to discovering how a priceless blue diamond ended up in the throat of a goose. The added dimension of helping Sherlock solve a crime makes this one of my favorite hidden object games, and the audio narration is another feature that sets it apart. Once you’ve solved the case, lots more fun-filled apps from SecretBuilders are waiting for you.

Free Fridays app promotions refer specifically to the app in the NOOK Store.

Free Fridays Recommends

Each week, we ask our featured author to recommend a book or author that you may want to check out. Since authors are such passionate readers themselves, we thought you might like to find out what they love to read, too! Here’s what Simon recommends:

I recommend The Dead Zone by Stephen King. It kind of gets overshadowed a little by the other books of his astounding early period (Carrie, The Shining, The Stand) but it was the first book of his I read and I still think about it today, even though I have not read it since. Partly this is because I still remember it so vividly - the terrifyingly plausible villain, the beautiful economy of his characterizations, the audacious central conceit - and partly it is because it's part of my childhood now and you should never go back unless it is disappointment you seek. Read it if you haven't. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.

Moms might find today's Free Fridays selection, Wicked in Your Arms by New York Times bestselling author Sophie Jordan, the perfect excuse to steal some relaxation time on Sunday. But you don't have to be a mom to enjoy this unlikely romance.

While Grier Hadley is the daughter of an unsavory character, her father's fortune affords her a large dowry that would make any suitor swoon. Enter Prince Sevastian Maksimi, who is hot on the trail of a respectable bride-to-be who can give him an heir as well as a hefty dowry. While he knows that she would bring disrepute along with vast fortune, the beautiful and indepent Grier has captured the Prince's attention, and a stolen kiss has him yearning for more.

Will this star-crossed pair find true love against all odds? 

Today’s Free Fridays app selection, Connect Me Puzzle from Agile Fusion, may look simple at first, but proves to be a challenging puzzle app the whole family will love. The concept is perfect for spring time and quite straightforward: draw lines connecting colored pairs of flowers. But there’s a catch—you can’t cross any of the lines as you continue to connect more pairs—making your task much more challenging. I’ve already spent hours honing my skills with this challenging puzzle game, and can’t wait to explore more Agile Fusion apps, too.

 

Free Fridays app promotions refer specifically to the app in the NOOK Store.

Free Fridays Recommends

Each week, we ask our featured author to recommend a book or author that you may want to check out. Since authors are such passionate readers themselves, we thought you might like to find out what they love to read, too! Here’s what Sophie recommends:

I've been a fan of Sarah MacLean since her first historical romance, Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake, released in 2010. I didn't think it could get much better than that book. And then A Rogue by Any Other Name  released.

 
Her voice, the seeming ease in which she makes a historical heroine so accessible to the modern woman has always left me in awe. Her books are like candy, ease to inhale ... but then you're left regretting that you didn't take it slowly and savor it. The hero in A Rogue by Any Other Name  is one of the best alpha heroes I've ever come across. This could be just another damaged/wicked rake meets spinster tale, but MacLean adds depth and emotion by giving them a complex past. My FAVORITE moment is when the heroine sees him (and the cold-hearted man he has become) for the first time in years, and an exchange follows in which she says, "How sad.... He is gone ..." When the hero asks her who, she replies, all the while gazing at him so her meaning is clear, "My friend." Stop. My. Heart. In that moment I was hooked, anxious for the moment when he becomes not just her friend again, but her lover.

In today’s Free Fridays selection, Margaret Daley’s Saving Hope, a tireless Texas Ranger fights to save his town from the ripped-from-the-headlines threat of human trafficking.

Ranger Wyatt Sheridan is called in when a teenage girl at the Beacon of Hope school, which was founded to help former teen prostitutes find a way off the streets, is found dead. He and the school’s director Kate Winslow team up to find out who might be trying to disrupt the school’s worthy mission.

Sheridan has a teenage daughter of his own, so he’s extra-determined to bring justice to the human traffickers who are preying on young girls. And when Kate is kidnapped, and Sheridan’s daughter is terrorized, nothing will stop the tenacious Ranger from putting an end to the evil.

Explore more Texas Rangers series adventures in this continuing series here. 

This week, I’m excited to tell you about another great way you can get a free NOOK Book every weekend with our NOOK Book Two-for-One Weekends Offer. Simply visit your local Barnes & Noble Store and buy one select NOOK Book and you can choose one free NOOK Book from that week’s list. Titles will change each week, but this Saturday and Sunday includes popular books like Life of Pi, Tina Fey’s Bossypants and Killing Lincoln by Bill O’Reilly. Learn more about this offer at www.nook.com/bogo.

Today’s Free Fridays App selection, Magician's Handbook: Cursed Valley, is an enchanting game that sets you on a journey to uncover the hidden secrets of a magical book. The fabled Magician’s Handbook has fallen into your hands, and to reveal the secrets found in its pages and lift an ancient curse, you’ll need to identify objects hidden among beautifully-spooky hand-painted backgrounds. If you love the challenge of hidden object games, and aren’t afraid of a little dark and mysterious fun, start your adventures today with this free offer—and then explore the full line of challenging games from G5 Entertainment.

Free Fridays Recommends

Each week, we ask our featured author to recommend a book or author that you may want to check out. Since authors are such passionate readers themselves, we thought you might like to find out what they love to read, too! Here’s what Margaret recommends:

One of my favorite books I read is Amazonia by James Rollins. I love romantic suspense and adventure stories. This is fast paced with a great plot and set of characters. Also I love stories placed in the Amazon jungle.

“A riveting and intense debut…will keep fans of grim fantasy entirely enthralled.”

– Publishers Weekly

In today’s Free Fridays Book selection, Mazarkis Williams’ dark and complex debut fantasy novel The Emperor’s Knife, a plague that scars the bodies of its victims is ravaging the Cerani Empire. When its patterns start to cover a sufferer’s skin they know that death—or servitude to an evil Pattern Master—will soon befall them. To curb the Pattern Master’s power, Emperor Beyon decrees that anyone with the telltale marks be put to death.

But now the Emperor himself is afflicted with the disease, and once it reaches his face, his dangerous secret will be exposed. As he pushes the great minds of his empire to find a cure, powerful forces align to expose him and grasp power from his ailing hands.

Williams’ powerful series continues in the next book, Knife Sworn, available now for NOOK.

Today’s Free Fridays App, Ocean Adventures! Fun educational games for kids in Preschool & Kindergarten: Grammar & Vocabulary, prepares young NOOK users for school challenges ahead.

This free app is part of the iLearnWith program for kids ages 3 to 6 designed to get your child ready for school while having fun! There’s nothing quite as rewarding as seeing your child enjoy learning and making progress on crucial early milestones. When I set up my preschooler with Ocean Adventures!, she immediately gravitated to the Octopus hidden object game, where she grouped various hidden objects based on their similar characteristics. She laughed every time she saw the octopus juggling the objects she discovered. She’s also had a blast with the other undersea adventures, refining skills like listening comprehension and sentence formation.

With today’s free app, and all of the iLearnWith program apps, your little ones will be prepared to meet the challenges of preschool and kindergarten head on.

In today’s Free Fridays Book selection, The Breath of God by Jeffrey Small, a religious scholar makes a groundbreaking discovery that could change the world but puts him in great personal danger.

Fans of Dan Brown and Preston & Child will love Jeffrey Small's award-winning debut novel, with its unique blend of suspense, spirituality, and ancient history. Graduate student Grant Matthews journeys to the Himalayas in search of an ancient mystery hidden in a remote monastery, but at every step of his quest he confronts a conspiracy of zealots who will go to any lengths to protect the secret: a secret that could change Grant's life, if he survives.

Joining Grant on his quest is photojournalist Kristin Misaki and together they must confront an assassin at the Taj Mahal, a kidnapping in a sacred city, and a desperate chase through a cliffside monastery—all in the pursuit of a legend that could link together the great religious faiths of the world.

If you enjoy fast-paced thrillers that explore ancient cultures, you won’t want to miss The Breath of God, or Small’s newest book, The Jericho Deception—available now for preorder.

Today’s Free Fridays App selection is the fun—and educational—Dora ABCs Vol 1: Letters and Letter Sounds.

In my experience, kids just can’t resist the adorable cartoon adventurer Dora the Explorer. I can’t blame them—she’s cute as a button and an enviable problem solver. With  today’s irresistible free app, early readers learn important lessons about letter recognition and phonics, through a series of engaging activities. You’ll love watching your pint-sized reader tracing letters in the sky, as Dora’s friend Tico draws pictures and letters with his plane. Each activity reinforces different skills, keeping even the most energetic toddler engaged. 

To keep them engaged even after they’ve mastered these new skills, explore the full range of Nickelodeon apps on NOOK here.

 Free Fridays Recommends

Each week, we ask our featured author to recommend a book or author that you may want to check out. Since authors are such passionate readers themselves, we thought you might like to find out what they love to read, too! Here’s what Jeffrey recommends:

International intrigue meets historical fiction in Steve Berry's latest thriller The King’s Deception. After his teen-aged son is kidnapped in England, Berry's returning super-operative Cotton Malone is plunged into a diplomatic showdown involving a Libyan terrorist and a centuries-old Tudor secret that brings into question the English occupation of Northern Ireland. As Malone learns how his son is caught up in a CIA operation known as the King's Deception, he must confront assassins, traitors, spies, and a mysterious secret society, playing one against the other in a lethal game that risks both his son's life and peace in Great Britain.

Today’s Free Fridays Book selection—Angel’s Ink by Jocelynn Drake—is a popular paranormal fantasy with a twist. Gage is a talented tattoo artist, but he’s not your typical ink jockey. His tattoos offer a little something extra—a small dollop of magic that can bring good luck, true love, or even a hex on an ex.

The mysterious Gage is a warlock who’s escaped the cruel Ivory Tower, where witches and warlocks rule with an iron fist, and is in hiding in Low Town. Here he plies his trade, hoping to fly under the radar of the vengeful rulers who have vowed to track him down. Low Town is a unique place—a town where elves, faeries, trolls, werewolves and vampires walk among humans, and Gage has an unusual roster of clients and friends.

But when Gage goes one step too far in a desperate attempt to save a woman’s life, he’s suddenly exposed—risking the tentative freedom that his secret life has brought him.

More of Gage’s enchanting adventures await in the next Asylum Tales adventure, Dead Man’s Deal.

Today’s Free Fridays App is Hidden Object - Where Fairies Dwell, a whimsical puzzle game that’s great for all ages. The game’s objective is to find hidden objects among fantastical dreamscapes. While novice players and kids might want to play the casual mode, I love racing the ticking-clock in the challenge mode (but I admit I sometimes need to rely on hints when I get stumped). There’s also really nice, soothing background music that always helps draw me into the experience even more. As an added bonus, after you download the app you’ll continue to get free updates when they’re released!

Once you’ve mastered the puzzles in this challenging app, you can test your skills with dozens of other great apps from Difference Games here.

Free Fridays Recommends

Each week, we ask our featured author to recommend a book or author that you may want to check out. Since authors are such passionate readers themselves, we thought you might like to find out what they love to read, too! Here’s what Jocelynn recommends:

How To Marry A Millionaire Vampire by Kerrelyn Sparks is one urban fantasy I find myself returning to again and again because I love her wonderful humor and interesting take on the hidden difficulties that come with being a vampire.  She deftly puts two of man's greatest horrors together (vampires and dentists) and leaves you laughing in the end.