A year ago I got my Amazon Kindle and finally managed to set up an account. Now, almost a year later, I can already tell you: I can't live without it anymore. The Kindle subscription is completely worth it for me. Once you've found your way around a German Amazon account, a whole world literally opens up for you. How do I like my Kindle, how do I find my way through the Amazon jungle, how do I get my reading material, and what do I actually read? Let me take you along on my reading adventure.
Quick recap
My Kindle has a 6-inch diagonal screen, a battery life of up to 6 weeks, and 16 GB of storage. It's the cheapest entry-level model and costs around 100 euros. I ordered mine straight from the Dutch website. There are still roughly four models available, with the most expensive one costing around 700 euros. It's that pricey because it functions almost like a tablet, with reading as a nice bonus feature. You don't strictly need a Kindle subscription to own an Amazon Kindle — e-books bought through Amazon just load straight onto it, and the same goes for any of your own books or files acquired some other way. You can even put PDFs on it, though the e-reader sometimes struggles a bit with the layout.
Can't see the library for the books
It genuinely took me a while to learn to navigate the enormous number of books Amazon offers. Navigating through the filters on the website feels really intense to me — I quickly lose track, I lose certain filters along the way, and if you want to, you can scroll endlessly through the books on offer. So how do I approach it?
First, I very deliberately go to the German Amazon website — I'm already logged in there and have set the entire site's language to English. Now that I've been using my Kindle for a while, I'm also seeing fewer and fewer German books; the algorithm does adjust to what you read and search for most. If you go to Accounts & Lists (top right) you can find Your Kindle Unlimited. There you'll see an overview of the books you've borrowed (up to 16) and the ones you've already returned. That's also how I found out that, besides those 16 borrowed books, you can borrow magazines too! Beyond that, this page is basically a central starting point for anything Kindle- and e-book-related — although the categories at the top of the page will often lead you straight back to physical books, unless you specifically click Kindle eBooks.
How do I search?
Honestly, I always just search Amazon's main search bar for the title of the book I'm after. These days I'm so deep in a book vortex on social media that I take screenshots of books I want to read and then search for them on Amazon to see if they're available digitally or for free. I also keep track of what I'm reading, what I've already read, and — more importantly — what I want to read next in Fable. That way I can navigate the digital book jungle on Amazon in a very targeted way.
Stuff Your Kindle events
There's also another way to get free, permanent digital books. Through Kindle Unlimited you can borrow 16 books at a time. You always have to "return" those when you want to read other books, and your read books don't stay permanently on your Kindle. Books you've bought or added yourself, though, do stay on there permanently.
So how do you get books for free? Various platforms organize what are called Stuff Your Kindle events. What are these, exactly? They're mostly websites that team up with authors to offer books at a very low price, or even for free, often through Amazon. When you click the "buy" button on Amazon, the book simply costs €0. You can follow various BookTok influencers on social media who cover these, or search for them yourself online. Below is a link to a website I like to use to keep track of these kinds of events.
Indie Author Collective – Stuff Your E-Reader
My Kindle Unlimited book recommendations
By now I've devoured quite a few books, so I can actually give some recommendations! First, let me tell you what genres I love to read. I'm a big fan of fantasy and romantasy — think Laws of Magic, Game of Thrones, Throne of Glass, that sort of thing. There are usually magical creatures involved somewhere... Sound like your kind of thing? Then I've got some tips for you below.
The Legends of Tezmarr series
This series is written by Helen Scheuerer and consists of four books — the Legends of Tezmarr series. The Legends of Thezmarr follows Althea "Thea" Zoltaire, a young woman living in a world where women aren't allowed to carry weapons — not that she lets that stop her. Determined to become a Warsword, one of the elite warriors who protect the five kingdoms, she fights her way into the guild at Thezmarr. There she crosses paths with the brooding, mysterious Wilder Hawthorne, sparking an intense slow-burn romance full of tension and danger.
As the series progresses, the threat of a dark, devastating force looming over the entire land keeps growing. Thea and Wilder get pulled ever deeper into a struggle full of betrayal, secrets, and painful revelations that turn everything they thought they knew upside down. Loyalties are tested, hearts are broken, and the world teeters on the edge of collapse more than once.
In the end, Thea — grown from a fierce outsider into a legendary force to be reckoned with — has to draw on every ounce of her power for an epic, decisive confrontation that will settle the fate of the kingdoms once and for all.
A romantasy full of action, magic, found family, and a romance you won't forget anytime soon.
The Plated Prisoner series
This series is written by Raven Kennedy and consists of six books — the Plated Prisoner series. The Plated Prisoner by Raven Kennedy is a dark romantasy told across six volumes, loosely based on the myth of King Midas. The story follows Auren, a young woman with golden skin who has spent her entire life in a golden cage in the frozen castle of King Midas — the man who once rescued her from the streets and has considered her his most prized possession ever since.
Auren owes everything she has to Midas, and for a long time believes her cage is what protects her. But when political games and the looming threat of war turn her world upside down, she starts to see the man behind the gold in a different light. Slowly but surely, she discovers that her golden life is built on lies — and that she has far more strength inside her than she ever dared to believe.
What follows is a gripping story of self-discovery, freedom, and reclaiming your own power, woven together with an intense slow-burn romance, dangerous intrigue, and unexpected allies.
A series for fans of dark romantasy, complex character growth, and a romance that smolders from the first page to the last.
