Today's Free Friday's book, Bring on the Blessings by Beverly Jenkins, is a captivating and uplifting novel about a town on the brink of disaster that finds a very unlikely savior.

Bernadine Brown's husband may have thought he could pull one over on her - but when she finds out he's cheating on her, the $275 million divorce settlement she gets is a nice consolation prize. Now in her fifties, with plenty of money to burn, Bernadine looks for a worthy way to spend her sudden windfall.

Enter Henry Adams, Kansas, one of the last surviving townships founded by freed slaves after the Civil War. After falling on hard times, the town is now for sale on the internet, and Bernadine jumps at the chance to buy, and rebuild, this historic community. Bernadine, the town's mayor, and some enthusiastic residents join hands to bring a new vision to the town, and in the process, our heroine finds new strength and determination to rebuild her life as well.

Bring on the Blessings is a perfect read for Black History Month - a chance to explore an interesting era of post-Civil War history through the lens of a wonderful modern story.

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 Beverly recommends:

Buy Black Gun, Silver Star by Art T. Burton! US Deputy Marshal Bass Reeves is one of America's unsung heroes. Art T. Burton's research is stellar!

NOOK owners: go to shop and search for “Beverly Jenkins” to download her bestselling books.

“Harvey's debut, launching the Drake Chronicles, is a refreshing take on the familiar teenage vampire drama.”

-Publishers Weekly

Nothing says Valentine’s Day like vampires in love. Right? In today’s Free Fridays selection, Alyxandra Harvey’s Hearts at Stake, 16 year-old Solange is facing even more stress than your average teenage girl. On top of the usual high school pressures, she’s turning into a vampire. While she joins her family’s centuries’-long feud with a band of vampire hunters, she’s also trying to blend in with her peers, with help from her supportive best friend Lucy. Whether you’re planning to spend Valentine’s Day at home with your NOOK, or planning to read Hearts at Stake right away, this is the perfect romantic adventure.

Once you fall in love (okay, I promise that’s my last Valentine’s reference) with the Drake Chronicles, watch for a series of three digital-only novellas available soon for NOOK. The first, A Killer First Day, will be available on February 14.

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 Alyxandra recommends:

Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins because it made me laugh and I really, really love a good snarky heroine!

NOOK owners: go to shop and search for “Alyxandra Harvey” to download her bestselling books.

"An author who can bring historical happenings so vitally back to life and made all the more impressive by being historically accurate in every respect."
- Times of London

Few historical periods were as drama-packed as the lead-up to World War II. In today’s Free Fridays selection, Winston's War: A Novel of Conspiracy, author Michael Dobbs recreates the rise of Winston Churchill as his country faced its biggest challenge ever.

While Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain clung to appeasement as the country’s only hope for peace, Churchill was among the brave dissenters who saw the true danger lurking in Hitler’s Germany. Dodd’s impeccably-researched novel follows Churchill’s brave campaign to change the minds and hearts of his countrymen, and face one of history’s greatest foes head on. The result is, “an intriguing tale of espionage and treason…this is a work to enthrall," (Daily Mail).

Once you’ve been entertained and informed by Winston’s War, sate your appetite for more historical fiction with Dodd’s other fascinating books: Churchill’s Hour, Churchill’s Triumph and Never Surrender.

Free Fridays Recommends

Each week, we ask our featured author to recommend a book or author that you may want to check out. Today, however, Michael's editor at Sourcebooks, Shana Drehs, Editorial Manager,is stepping in to offer one of her favorite historical novels.

I’m a big fan of Howard Fast’s The Immigrants. Growing up in the Midwest, my knowledge of American history on the west coast was somewhat lacking, to say the least. The Immigrants brings to life the vibrant and diverse mix of cultures that converged on San Francisco at the start of the 20^th century. Fast juxtaposes the freedom offered to self-made men in the quickly developing new frontier with the jarring discrimination and prejudice against Asian-American immigrants. I just love The Immigrants and if you’re looking for great historical fiction, Fast is second to none.

NOOK owners: go to shop and search for “Michael Dobbs” to download his evocative historical novels.

“Fischer provides readers with some laugh-out-loud moments and an interesting twist on zombie mythology.” – Kirkus Reviews

High School is hard enough for your average kid, but for newly-zombified Maddy Swift, the challenges are a little...stiffer. In today’s Free Fridays selection, Zombies Don't Cry, author Rusty Fischer offers a fun, fresh take on the popular zombie fiction trope.

Unlike the brainless (and brain-hungry) zombies of popular imagination, Maddy is a compassionate (but still brain-hungry) member of the living dead. In an interesting twist, Fischer’s zombies fall into two camps—good zombies like Maddy and her friends, and bad “Zerker” zombies. When Maddy finds that two of her classmates fall into the latter group, the usual challenges of teenage life fall by the wayside. Now she and her friends must try to get through school passing as ‘normal,’ while saving her unsuspecting classmates from the lurking Zerkers.

Rusty Fischer's next paranormal adventure, Vamplayers, is available for pre-order now.

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 Rusty recommends:

Johnny Gruesome by Gregory Lamberson has a little bit of everything: humor, gore, a strong anti-hero you hate to love, an ode to the classic car horror flick Christine and straight up, 200% revenge served cold. In short, for a horror-loving child of the 80s like me, it was the perfect combination!

NOOK owners: go to shop and search for “Rusty Fischer” to download today's Free Fridays selection.

Fans of Indiana Jones, Brad Meltzer and the writing duo of Preston & Child will love this week's Free Fridays selection: From the Ashesby Jeremy Burns.

 

In addition to today's Free Fridays selection, the publisher of From the Ashes, Fiction Studio, is offering another great deal. To celebrate their 1st anniversary, they're offering 13 books for $1.99 or less each for a limited time. Their popular and eclectic books are a great place to find some of the best new fiction on the market. Go here to start saving now!

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 Jeremy recommends:

Historical intrigue meets cutting-edge science in Spiral by Paul McEuen, a fascinating bioterrorism conspiracy thriller. McEuen, a Cornell professor and leading authority in the burgeoning field of nanotechnology, infuses his high-stakes tale with layers of insider details of setting and subject matter that not only engross readers deeper in the story, but also illuminate our understanding of hidden history and real-life scientific wonders. This book kept me guessing right up to the end and kept me thinking long afterwards.  Highly recommended.

NOOK owners: go to shop and search for “Jeremy Burns” to download this pulse-pounding thriller.

“A massive overview of every myth under the sun. Davis shatters commonly held myths about myths.”

- New York Daily News

Without ancient mythology, modern storytelling would be a completely different beast. From plot structure to character development, authors are still looking back thousands of years for cultural touchstones.

That’s why every serious reader will love today’s Free Fridays selection: Don't Know Much About Mythology by Kenneth C. Davis. This bestselling author has written seven books in his popular Don’t Know Much About…series, covering everything from the Bible to the American Civil War. In this edition, Davis offers an engaging, layman-friendly lesson on ancient mythology—exploring cultures from around the world. While you probably have a vague idea of where everyday terms and concepts like “Pandora’s Box,” “Achilles’ Heel,” and “Wheel of Fortune,” come from, after reading DKMAM you’ll feel quite confident going into your next game of Trivial Pursuit on family game night.

Once you’ve binged on your mythology lessons, you can move on to Davis’s other equally enlightening Don’t Know Much About…books available for NOOK.

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 Kenneth recommends:

As a lover of history, I always look for historians who are also great storytellers --who show us the real people behind extraordinary events. There are few better examples than Doris Kearns Goodwin's No Ordinary Time. Goodwin puts us in the Roosevelt White House corridors as FDR, Eleanor Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, among others, struggle for victory over Hitler's Germany. It is brilliant storytelling and great history.

Stay well-informed on a wide range of subjects by visiting Kenneth’s website here.

NOOK owners: go to shop and search for “Kenneth Davis” to download his many informative and fascinating books.

New Year, Smarter You! Today’s Free Fridays pick—I Used to Know That: Stuff You Forgot From School by Caroline Taggart—is the perfect read for the New Year. Who doesn’t need a little refresher course on all of those important things we learned in school, but somehow escaped our memory over the years?

Taggart covers a plethora of subjects, from presidential trivia, to the periodic table, to the Pythagorean theorem. With this wide-ranging collection of facts and figures, even the most erudite reader will re-learn something new. And thanks to Taggart’s witty, colorful writing, these lessons are much more engaging than when you had to sit through them the first time.

Start 2012 by giving your brain a much-needed jolt, and have a lot of fun doing it. Once you’ve moved to the head of the class, make sure to check out Caroline Taggarts many other helpful compendiums.

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 Caroline recommends:

“Thirty days hath September…” How many times have your relied on that old maxim to figure out a calendar?

Or how about “Every good Boy Does Fine” to remember the notes on the treble clef?

These ingenious, practical memory techniques abound in i before e (except after c) with its hundreds of curious sayings. In this clever—and often hilarious—collection, you’ll find engaging mnemonics, arranged in easy-to-find categories that include:

•           Geographically Speaking

•           Time and the Calendar

•           Think of a Number

•           The Sky at Night and by Day

Guaranteed to amuse and inform, this NOOK Book is the perfect companion to my book "I Used to Know That".

NOOK owners: go to shop and search for “Caroline Taggart” to download her fun and informative books.

“Fresh and entertaining… A tight and engaging story, sharp writing, and dialogue that’s good to the last line.”

—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Welcome to your first Free Fridays, new NOOK owners! Each Friday we highlight a great free NOOK Book to help you build your collection, announcing it here on the NOOK Blog, on our NOOK Facebook Page and via @nookBN on Twitter. If you see something you like, make sure to grab it right away. While some books are available for a bit longer, we only guarantee that each week’s selection will be free on Friday. Without further ado, I present this week’s Free Fridays selection…

Washington DC’s ‘Beltway’ offers never-ending fodder for conspiracy fans, and in today’s Free Fridays selection, The Inside Ring, Mike Lawson offers a pulse-pounding plot in a “Seattle Times Top Ten Thriller of the Year” pick.

The first book in this critically-acclaimed series introduces Joe DeMarco, a tough, shrewd ‘fixer’ for the Speaker of the House. When high-stakes investigations need to stay under the radar, the Speaker calls Joe: the type of guy who will get things done, and not ask any questions. So when an assassination attempt on the President leaves two men dead, raising suspicion that the Secret Service may be compromised, DeMarco is called upon to track down the facts before things spiral even further.

With high-level political motivations at play, and a tenacious ‘fixer’ on the case, The Inside Ring has plenty of action and suspense to satisfy even the most demanding thriller reader.

Since The Inside Ring is such a page-turner, you’ll probably be ready to jump into book two right away. Luckily The Second Perimeter is available now for NOOK.

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 Mike recommends:

Thirteen Hours by Deon Meyer was one of the best thrillers I’ve read in years. Like all good thrillers, it moves at a lightning fast pace, had engaging and memorable characters and, as an added bonus, Meyer educates the reader about South Africa, where he lives and where the novel takes place. I heartily recommend it.

NOOK owners: go to shop and search for “Mike Lawson” to download his thrilling novels.

With Christmas just around the corner, who couldn’t use some last-minute holiday cheer? Today’s Free Friday’s selection—The Everything Family Christmas Book: Stories, Songs, Recipes, Crafts, Traditions, and More by Yvonne Jeffrey—is packed with all sorts of ways to make your Christmas a merry little one.  Give your home a facelift with holiday decorating tips, impress your guests with homemade gift how-tos, and share classic Christmas stories and songs with your family. This all-in-one guide offers everything you need to make this the best Christmas ever.

If you’re a merrymaker who can’t get enough holiday cheer, you’ll also want to check out Why Does Santa Wear Red?: ...and 100 Other Christmas Curiosities Unwrapped! for all the Yuletide trivia you’ll ever need.

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 Yvonne recommends:

If there was just one book I could recommend during the holidays, it would have to be Clement C. Moore’s A Visit from St. Nicholas – which we know better today as ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas – as the poem’s lyrical rhythms capture the joy and anticipation of the season perfectly. First published in 1823, it’s a key link between the earliest traditions of the real Saint Nicholas and our modern interpretations of Santa Claus. But mostly, it’s a lovely story to read aloud, cuddled close with your family in front of the stockings on the mantelpiece, with hot chocolate in hand.  

NOOK owners: go to shop and search for “Yvonne Jeffrey” to download this helpful holiday guide.

“This work is rousing, swashbuckling fun and proof that a good writer can make history not only interesting but an exhilarating romp.”

- Library Journal

In today’s Free Fridays selection—Napoleon's Pyramids by William Dietrich—an American ex-pat finds swashbuckling action abroad during Napoleon’s rule.

This series debut kicks off with adventurer Ethan Gage winning an Egyptian medallion in a Parisian card game, setting an international chase in motion. Once the medallion is in Gage’s possession, and he’s framed for murder by a group trying to get their hands on the mysterious artifact, he quickly realizes that it’s not just a commonplace keepsake.

In lieu of jail, Gage is offered a chance to join Napoleon’s forces as they seek to overtake Egypt. Believing that his medallion may hold the key to ancient Egyptian secrets, our hero jumps at the chance to follow wherever the adventure may lead. Could the treasure reveal the truth behind the creation of the pyramids? And will Gage uncover the secrets before getting swept up in Napoleon’s ill-fated campaign? This riveting historical thriller will keep you guessing until the last page.

Ethan Gage’s adventures continue in three more critically-acclaimed novels by William Dietrich.

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 William recommends:

Gore Vidal's Burr, a fictional memoir of the early vice president who killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel, is a wry and insightful interpretation of our nation's founding that turns the plaster saints of the Founding Fathers into flawed and fascinating human beings. It combines eloquent description with great storytelling, and the result is historical adventure that leaves you thinking. The rascal irreverence of Aaron Burr was an influence on my own character, Ethan Gage.

NOOK owners: go to shop and search for “William Dietrich” to download his Ethan Gage series.