The purpose of Thrifty Thursday is to read a book which was free (at some point).
Kindle freebie on January 5, 2019 (currently $3.99 and in Kindle Unlimited as of writing this post)
Overall rating 3.74 with 1,693 ratings and 254 reviews
Days Gone Bad by Eric Asher Series: Vesik #1
Published by Self-Published on February 8, 2013
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 316
Length: 8 hours, 50 minutes
Format: eBook, Audiobook
Source: Purchased
Goodreads
Amazon, Audible, Libro.fm
A crashed wedding. A scorned vampire. Here comes the blood…
Necromancer Damian Vesik is no hero. At least, not according to the magical community that turns a blind eye to his battles against evil. So he chalks it up as one more thankless mission when he’s forced to stop his vampire sister from murdering her ex’s entire bridal party…
Infiltrating the ceremony to protect the innocent, Damian uncovers something even more sinister than a massacre. With the help of his berserker fairy friend, he may need to prevent an unholy union between ancient demons and the walking dead.
Damian has one chance to stop his sister and ruin the wedding before one hell of an afterparty dooms the world.
I got this free from the author, probably for joining his newletter or some other author freebie. Then the box set of the first 3 books was free. I learned the author put the first three books in this Vesik series into one audiobook set which I purchased. I am utilizing both versions for my review. Days Gone Bad is currently in Kindle Unlimited, but that would not count for Thrifty Thursday.
I began reading last December on ebook and got distracted at 25%, then I started over with the audiobook when I purchased it. It still took me awhile to really get going. There was a kind of humor mixed into the camaraderie of the characters which at first felt like I just wasn’t part of the group and didn’t get the jokes. As I read further, the world-building made more sense and I got caught up in the action.
The action involves battling a demon who is taking over vampires. There is history would into the creation and his master, Zola joins in the fight. She brings historical knowledge and experience.
There are still a lot of characters to be further developed so I am glad I have the next two stories ready to go, both in ebook and audio. I feel there is plenty to learn about Damian. He has a shop but he also works as a necromancer and we don’t know all about that yet. His sister, Sam, is a vampire. There are fae involved with him. So this is only the beginning. Now I am ready to read and learn more.
Narration:
This is my first experience with the narrator and I thought it was great! The voices for all the different types of characters were well-performed and distinct. The male and female voices felt appropriate. I was able to listen comfortably at 1.5x speed.
Listen to a clip: HERE
These are only Kindle freebies I get, or ones through author newsletters which anyone can sign up and get for free. I don’t include things like Kindle Unlimited or Prime Free Reading (I do have it). Both Tantor and Audible have occasional free audios (to anyone) and I do include those. Since I one-click on 1-2 freebies a day or probably at least 5 a week, I came up with this feature to make sure I start reading them.
So I have thought about doing a Thrifty Thursday Challenge someday. For now, what I think would be fun is if you have read and reviewed a freebie, link up to your review (Goodreads, blog, facebook or wherever) below.
Add your review link here:
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About Eric Asher
Eric is a former bookseller, cellist, and comic seller currently living in Saint Louis, Missouri. A lifelong enthusiast of books, music, toys, and games, he discovered a love for the written word after being dragged to the library by his parents at a young age. When he is not writing, you can usually find him reading, gaming, or buried beneath a small avalanche of Transformers.
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I read all types of books but my favorites are urban fantasy and romantic suspense.I like some romance and some action / adventure / mystery in everything.I like sex in my books but please, only between TWO people.Intimate conversation is equally important to the sex in a book.It lets me see the characters.The other thing I enjoy is humor.
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- 🎧Nobody’s Fool by Harlan Coben @harlancoben.bsky.social @vikasadam.bsky.social @hachetteaudio.bsky.social @grandcentralpub.bsky.social #LoveAudiobooks@GrandCentralPub@HarlanCoben - March 25, 2025
- Sunday Post – 23 March 2025 @caffeinatedreviewer.com@readingreality.bsky.social @kimbacaffeinate @readingreality - March 23, 2025
- 🎧 Fool Me Once by Harlan Coben @harlancoben.bsky.social @justjanuary.bsky.social #BrillianceAudio #LoveAudiobooks @HarlanCoben @justjanuary - March 22, 2025
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- COYER-20
You have such good fortune with your freebie selections. Looks like an exciting series and kudos to you for getting the box set on audio! Great review, Anne?
Thank you! I was thinking about it this morning and I have been collecting freebies since 2012 so I have lots and some are from before the author became well-known My favorites will always be the first in a series though This one had the ebook box set for free very briefly and I bought the audio to go with it.
This is a new author and series for me. Sounds like more fun is to come.
Yes I think so I had a slow start but that happens to me with fantasy genre sometimes. I look forward to reading more.
I allow for a slower read too in fantasy genres. The author has to build their world and help us see it:)
This sounds pretty good! I always forget there are freebies everywhere, and I always wonder why authors want to give away their work like that. But I guess it’s good for us readers!
I think it is especially great when they give away the first book in the series. That way we get to really learn about it and are encouraged to purchase the rest of the series, which I did add the audio. I screen freebies every day in great detail. I remember looking at my freebie emails on my iphone when I rode my Harley from MN to CA and back over 3.5 weeks in 2014.
thanks for sharing. i have flagged your email to remind to stop by and add some that i have coming up
That would be great! I think I probably have some of the ones you do because I have so many and I’d love to see more people’s freebie reviews. The next TT post is July 2. So you have more options to join in linking.
Sounds like something I might enjoy. Thank’s for sharing!
It’s definitely got a lot happening, some snarky dialog. I hope you get to read and enjoy!
It’s always fun dancing around between print, electronic and audio and sometimes more than one to get a book read.
Glad it worked for you once you got further into the story and could piece together the history and situation. It sounds like a set I’d love. Yay for dusting it off the freebie shelf.
That’s the point here to read the freebies I have collected. And things I already own.
Good to know it takes a while to gel. It sounds interesting. I’m glad you were able to get both the ebook and audio. I enjoy reading a book in both formats.
Yes the 3 ebook box set was free and then I found I could add on the audio. I’m excited to keep listening but have to wait a bit because I have a bunch of ARCs right now for June is Audiobook Month.
I am on the second boxed audio set and having fun with this series. The narrator rocks!
Yes I also love the narrator. I learned about the box set audios from you. I know I will enjoy this series now that I’m started.