Google Play Samples: May

Because my HTC kept telling me I didn't have enough room to download the Overdrive app to read books from the library and I overcompensated by downloading just about every free sample book I could get my hands on.

That was a really long sentence.

Google Play has a good selection of books that you can download samples of. (I'm not sure if you can download one for every book they offer.) The samples are usually at least two chapters.

Now, I'm kind of cheating because I'm sampling them to get them from the library instead of buying them, but I'm figuring I'll buy at least a few over the summer. Ebooks are cheaper than physical ones, after all, and I already have enough physical books as it is. And ebooks are much more portable.

Books that are starred after their TBR number means that I added them after reading the sample. Ones that are carroted (what is ^ supposed to be called?) were on my TBR and I didn't realize it until I typed this post up.

These also aren't in order of how I read them.

Frostfire by Amanda Hocking, TBR #1114^

A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray, TBR #983

Dream On by Kerstin Gier, TBR #1565*

The Rose and the Dagger by Renee Ahdieh, TBR #1551

The Siren by Kiera Cass, TBR #1502^

The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson, TBR #1562*

Saving Montgomery Sole by Mariko Tamaki, TBR #1566*

The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan, TBR #1472

I also downloaded the sample to The Improbable Theory of Ana and Zak, but I got my hands on a library copy before I ever touched the sample. (Here's my review.) I also checked out Saving Montgomery Sole from the library as a result of reading the sample, so I'd say this has been a success so far!

I liked all of the samples, so I'd definitely recommend trying these books out. I have more samples downloaded that I haven't gotten to yet, so I'm hoping to do that in June. I'm also hoping to get more of these books from the library so I can report back on them. (Also, The Hidden Oracle is $11.99 from Amazon Prime. I'm waiting to pass on a few books to friends before I go ahead and buy it.)

All in all I think the Google Play samples have done their job of making me more interested in the books, and it'll most likely be my source for any ebooks I buy over the summer. (But I'm also an Android user, so I'm biased. I definitely like being able to read my Google Play books on my laptop, though, something I never figured out how to do with iBooks.)

If you guys have read any of these or find some good Google Play samples, I'd love to hear about them!