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At Book Cave, we specialize in helping our readers connect with free or deeply discounted books. While we’ve promoted some pretty big names like Goose Girl by Shannon Hale and Defy the Night by Brigid Kemmerer, we don’t often promote newly released novels. This is because when a book is actively selling well, authors and publishers aren’t going to discount it.
However, if you’re looking to get your hands on some free or discounted newly released novels, we’ve still got you covered.
How to Get Cheap and Free Newly Released and Popular Books
1. Book of the Month
Book of the Month is a great way to get your hands on affordable newly released novels. Bonus! They always send hardcovers. How?
It’s a monthly book box subscription that hosts a bunch of newly released best sellers. You can get your first book for just $5! After that, book credits each month for as low as $13.99 shipped, depending on your plan. These credits will allow you to select any one book to ship. If you aren’t interested in anything that month, skipping is easy and unlimited. Here’s a selection of some of the current books on their site. I’m sure you’ll spot a couple you recognize.
Once you’ve chosen a book for the month, you have the option of adding additional newly released books to your order. These add-ons initially start at their “regular” book price, but once you’ve shipped three boxes, they start dropping in price and can be as low as $9.99. Again, for a newly released, bestselling hardback book. So I always recommend that my friends wait before stocking up on additional books so that you can get discounted pricing.
After you’ve been with them for a year, they’ll give you a nice tote bag, a free credit during your birthday month, and a free book from their Top Five Book of the Year selection. They also have a great referral program where you can earn free books as well. This is really a great subscription that likes to reward its loyal members.
So, try it out today and get your first book for just $5!
2. Goodreads Giveaways
Goodreads giveaways allow readers the chance to win some of their favorite authors’ books! They do both ebook and physical book giveaways and you’re able to sort the giveaways by genre, format, and popularity. You’re more likely to win ebook giveaways, as physical book giveaways are the most popular with a more limited number of copies given away. I believe the giveaways require that the book is a newly released book or edition. Although, I’ve occasionally come across books that don’t appear to fit this requirement.
So, while it’s not a guaranteed chance of getting the books you’re interested in, I’ve won 69 books in the past two years that I’ve been entering these giveaways. So, it’s not nothing.
Another fun bonus is that while these books aren’t advertised as ARCs, a majority of the hardback books that I’ve won have been ARCs. Which I think is super exciting.
3. Your Library + Libby and Hoopla (Especially Hoopla)
You know how a library works, but I’m still surprised by how many people haven’t heard about Libby and Hoopla. Libby and Hoopla are both library-sponsored apps that let you borrow both ebooks and audiobooks. Depending on your library, you may have access to one or the other, or sometimes even both. These apps are my number one recommendation when people ask me how they can access newly released books for free.
However, there is a slight con. While Hoopla operates on a credits per-month system that doesn’t create long waitlists, if your library is using Libby, you’ll probably encounter long waitlists on these books. This is because the library is still limited on how many copies of the books they can have out in circulation. (Yes, even if they’re digital books. We explain why here.) So, really popular books like Fourth Wing will have a waitlist that’s several months long.
Again, if you have access to Hoopla, you won’t have to worry about this because they operate on a monthly credit system. Your credit limit depends on your specific library. Depending on your reading habits, you may or may not be disappointed in the amount of credits you have access to. If you’re lucky enough to have access to both, I always recommend prioritizing the most popular books on your TBR for Hoopla and using Libby for less popular books.
So, if you haven’t taken advantage of these programs yet, you definitely should! If you already have a library card, you can simply download the apps, look to see if your library is a part of the system, and then enter your library card number. If you don’t already have a library card, you should probably get one.
4. NetGalley or TLC
These sites are platforms where authors exchange ARCs of their books in exchange for your honest review. This means that not only will you be getting access to the newly released book, but you’ll actually be getting access to the books before they’re released. There are actually many more review platforms out there, but these are two of the biggest ones.
NetGalley has one of the largest selections of books available. You have to request each book individually, and then the publisher selects from their requests the readers they’d actually like to send an ARC copy to. Typically, you’ll need to have built up your account for a while before you are able to receive some of the most popular books, but not always. You’ll also not want to go too request crazy, as you don’t want to end up with more books than you can actually read and review during the time period.
TLC is a more blog or social media-based platform. You typically will have better success if you have a book blog or social media account. Unlike NetGalley, however, they provide physical copies of books to review.
5. Thriftbooks
ThriftBooks offers a fantastic way to get cheap or even free books through their extensive online selection and rewarding points system. As one of the largest online used book retailers, ThriftBooks provides a wide variety of books at significantly discounted prices, making it easy to find your next great read without breaking the bank. They also carry second-hand current books from almost the second they are released. However, their pricing system factors in both demand and condition, so while you see lower prices for even the newest releases, you’ll see the best price drops on lightly used books that have been out for a while.
Their rewards program, ThriftBooks Rewards, enhances your shopping experience by allowing you to earn points with every purchase. For every $1 you spend, you earn 1 point. Once you’ve accumulated 500 points, you receive a $5 reward that can be applied to future purchases. It’s a straightforward and effective way to save money on books you love.
In addition to earning points, ThriftBooks often runs promotions and special deals, further reducing the cost of their already affordable books. The site is user-friendly, with search filters that help you quickly find exactly what you’re looking for, from bestsellers to hidden gems.
In addition, they have a great referral program. When you use someone’s referral link and purchase 30 dollars worth of books, you and the person who referred you both get a FREE book credit.
6. Amazon First Reads
Amazon First Reads is a program where Amazon Prime members get early access to a selection of books across popular genres. Depending on the month, you’ll be able to choose one or two of these books for free. If you’re not sure which book you’ll like the best, I’d recommend waiting until close to the end of the month when more reviews have come in.
If you’re not a Prime Member, you can still get these books for quite a good deal, $1.99 each.
7. Free Audiobook and Ebook Subscription Trials
I’m a firm believer of taking advantage of free trial and subscription deals. So long as you remember to cancel them before they start charging. There are several of these that will give you access to free and cheap popular books including:
- Kindle Unlimited: You can often get one month free or multiple months for a steep discount. They’ll also often extend your deal when you go to cancel.
- Audible: They also have great deals for new subscribers such as a 30-day free trial that includes two free audiobooks or 3 months for a discounted price. These deals change often and can vary by account, so you’ll have to check it out to see what exactly you qualify for.
- Rakuten’s Kobo: Your first audiobook is free.
- Audiobook.com: Offers three free books with a thirty-day free trial.
- Everand: Offers 30-day free trial. You don’t get to keep the audiobooks with this platform, it’s more of a borrowing service like Kindle Unlimited.
Do you have any other ideas or methods for getting access to popular and newly released books for free or cheap? Share with us in the comments below!
Happy reading.
P.S. If you’re not already subscribed to our FREE and steeply discounted daily ebook deals, what are you waiting for? You’ve already missed out on thousands of great books. Don’t miss another deal!
I love the idea of joining TLC & getting hard copies of books to review. I do have a Facebook account but do not have a book blog but would create one if I knew how. Can you please help me set up an account with TLC & walk me through how to create a book blog. Thanks so much for your help, it’s greatly appreciated.