My #IndieApril 2021 Reading List
As many in the online writing community know, we have been celebrating #IndieApril this month. It’s meant to promote those authors who choose to forge their own path and go the route of independent publishing, rather than taking the traditional route.
I’d been reading a massive epic fantasy series for a while (The Wheel of Time, by Jordan/Sanderson), and got well and truly stuck midway through book seven. I hate leaving books or series unfinished, even if I’m not enjoying them much. After almost five months of barely reading anything at all because I wanted so badly to continue with the series but could not make myself go on, I learned about #IndieApril. And that rekindled my desire to read again. (It turns out, I needed a break from The Wheel of Time, in spite of the loathing my completionist self has for leaving something unfinished. I’ll resume where I left off, eventually.)
I made it my goal during the month of April to read as many books by independently published authors as I could. When I asked the Twitter writing community for recommendations, I was astounded at the number of responses I received. I may have a TBR list ready for the next few years! That being said, I believe I will continue to post my book finds with short reviews of each more regularly to this blog. There are so many talented authors out there looking for recognition, and I want to do my part to support them as I can (I know how hard it is to get just one review or just one sale).
I wanted to share what I’ve read, so that perhaps you might find your next great read as well. With that in mind, please understand that writing is a very subjective artform, and my opinions may not reflect other readers’ takes on these books.
Here’s my list, in the order that I read them:
Keepers & Destinies – Carl F. Brothers
A dystopian fantasy set in modern times, this book has a very interesting take on the conflict between Heaven and Hell, angels and demons. As a reader, I very much like to be entertained by the books I choose, and this one definitely delivered. I loved the concept of Andrea’s character, an angel who doesn’t know her own place in the world, and has no inkling of what she is capable of at the start.
Given its premise, it would have been very easy for the author to fall into heavy religious themes, but the author kept the story in the fantasy realm, which made it much more enjoyable for me. This book does end on a bit of a cliffhanger, but I felt the ending was also quite compelling. I have been told a sequel is in the works – and I’ll be waiting for it!
Author website: carlfbrothersauthor.com
Open Evening – Lee Hall
This is an occult novel told from the perspective of a teenage boy, thrown into some very unusual and terrifying circumstances. This book reminded me so much of many of the movies and TV shows I watched as a teenager in the late ‘90’s that I absolutely loved it, even though many of the characters were fairly stereotypical for the genre. The references to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the X-Files were fantastic (I loved the X-Files).
Even though the main character is a teenager, I wouldn’t categorize this book as being young adult. There are some graphic/gory scenes and language, as well, so sensitive readers may wish to avoid it.
Open Evening is the first book in an ongoing series. The author has books 2-4 available as well (I have yet to read them, but they’ll be on my list).
Author website: leehallwriter.com
The Soul Collector – Laura Daleo
A wonderfully written paranormal fantasy with some elements of romance, this book had a very unique story for the genre. The Soul Collector herself turned out to be a far more complex character than I had anticipated, and not the monster she at first seemed to be. It was compelling and thought-provoking, and a thoroughly enjoyable read.
This is the first book on my list that is a standalone novel, and it had a beautiful ending. I’ll admit the emotional scenes toward the end regarding one of the main characters made me tear up (not something that happens to me often!)
Author website: lauradaleobooks.com
Affinity’s Window – Douglas L. Wilson
If you’re looking for a good ghost story with a number of twists and turns in the plot line, this is a book for you. It tells the story of a haunting, a number of missing children, demonic possession, and psychic forces all rolled into one compelling read.
When I chose to read this book out of the number of others that were suggested to me, I was hoping for something truly scary; it’s been a while since I’ve read a book that really struck a chord with me. The person who suggested it (not the book’s author) said it was one of the scariest books they had ever read, so I had high hopes going in. I liked this book and the story it told, but I think I am a bit desensitized – I didn’t find it scary. Nevertheless, I would still recommend this book for fans of occult, paranormal, or horror. It was an intense and very enjoyable read.
Author’s Twitter Page: twitter.com/anglrsg9
Note: I want to stress that my opinion regarding the fear factor of books is definitely a bit skewed – I rarely find things scary, and am always looking for that book that will strike a nerve. It does not happen very often (I believe part of this is due to my scientific training, and part due to the fact that I started reading Stephen King and Dean Koontz at the age of 12). To any horror writers who may be reading this: I love your genre, and I am open to suggestions for things that just might give me a nightmare or two…but you might have your work cut out for you.
The Shield Road – Dewi Hargreaves
This is a collection of short fantasy stories all set within the same world. Each story is complete by itself, though I do recommend reading them in order (as the author suggests at the beginning of the book), since most of the stories overlap, particularly toward the end. The stories seemed to be unrelated at the beginning, but each character makes a return before the end, tying the series of stories together cohesively.
This was a great read, and a nice change of pace after the couple of darker books I read just prior to this one. If you like fantasy with a touch of magic and a few unusual creatures sprinkled into the mix, you’ll enjoy the stories of The Shield Road. I find myself wanting to learn more about the world described within its pages, and hope the author continues to write more of it in the future.
Author website: dewihargreaves.com
The House with the Orange Gates – Kausar Zain
Trigger warning: There are a few scenes in this book that depict domestic violence.
This novel covers the stories of three different Pakistani women, and their struggles with cultural expectations, love, and family life. The stories of all three are intertwined around an ugly family secret that two of them are unaware of for much of the book. An intense confrontation brings that secret to light, and things are never quite the same for any of the parties involved. Without giving too much away, I will say the ending was a good one, though I found it a bit surprising (unexpected twist!).
I chose to read this one because the premise sounded interesting, it has high review ratings on Amazon, and I also wanted to learn more about that part of the world and its culture. It’s worth a read from the cultural aspect of the stories alone; for someone like myself who does not know very much about Pakistan or its people, it was quite enlightening.
Author website: orangegates.com
Clueless in Croatia – Joy Skye
A cute, fun, and humorous little romance novel set in Croatia. It follows the classic pattern of enemies to lovers, though in this case, I feel the two simply misunderstood one another and weren’t enemies in the literal sense. I especially liked the addition of the children in the book, which added another layer of humor to the story (who doesn’t like to make fun of their dad, given the chance?)
It’s listed as book 2 in the series, but it seems this is a complete story in itself and I did not find myself questioning anything due to the fact that I have not read book 1. If you’re looking for an entertaining romance with a very happy ending, this just might be a book for you.
Author website: joyskye.com
The Forgotten Flapper: A Novel of Olive Thomas – Laini Giles
If you’re into historical/biographical fiction, this book will not disappoint. It follows the life of Olive Thomas, a Broadway and silent film actress. The book focuses on her life primarily between the years of 1915 – 1920.
This book was very well-written, entertaining, and had a fantastic story. Told from the perspective of Olive herself (or rather, her ghost), the reader has the opportunity to see both the good and the questionable sides of her character as she navigates the early years of Hollywood. It is an excellent read, and one I found hard to put down.
Author website: lainigiles.com
The Stone Mermaid – Aisha Urooj
This is a Middle-grade/YA fantasy spin-off from the classic Little Mermaid fairy tale, though much of the cast are new and original to this story. It also includes some other seafaring, mythological creatures, such as sirens, selkies, and water nymphs. The main characters are the sea king’s mermaid daughter, the sea witch’s son, and a pair of human princes.
It’s been a while since I picked up a YA novel, and I was forced to remind myself that the writing would be tailored for that crowd and age group. As I stated previously, this list was set up in the order I read the books, so you can clearly see what I was reading prior to this one. Anyway, here are my thoughts, after my brain recalibration was complete:
The story was very original on many fronts, though the one constant between it and the original fairy tale was the sea witch and her influence. This book explores themes of young love, loss, betrayal, and redemption, and has a solidly happy ending in spite of everything the main characters go through. The writing itself is very simplistic, which is great for younger readers, though the book is fairly lengthy for the genre (I’m not opposed to longer books, this is just a note for readers so they know what to expect—I was reading long books at a young age myself). The author does have a tendency toward repetition, and some scenes felt a bit rushed, but it was good story. I would recommend it for middle-grade and younger adult readers.
Author website: aishauroojbooks.wordpress.com
Demonheart: Raging Elementals – J. J. Egosi
A dark fantasy book filled with action, featuring an unlikely hero, Michael, who seeks to find his place in the world. This book was fast-paced and entertaining from start to finish, with several unexpected twists and turns in the plot that will keep the reader wondering just what sort of trouble Michael will land himself in next.
I found this book to be well-written, with some interesting characters and monsters. It’s the first book in the Demonheart series; the second book released in March, and though I haven’t read it yet, it will be on my list. I’d recommend this for adult readers, due to language and violence, but it’s well worth taking the time to read.
Author website: demonheartchronicles.com
Cemetery Tours – Jacqueline E. Smith
A cross between murder/mystery and ghost hunters, Cemetery Tours is an incredibly fun read for anyone who enjoys a good story with paranormal elements. It places Michael, a man who can see and speak to ghosts (but who does not want anyone to know he isn’t “normal”) in the position of helping his new neighbor, Kate, the victim of a haunting. Along the way, they cross paths with the famous host of a Ghost Hunters-type TV show, who also happens to be the only person to know of Michael’s secret.
This book was a great read and so entertaining that I couldn’t put it down (I read it cover to cover in a single day). I especially liked the addition of Brink, the ghost roommate of Michael – he added quite a bit of humor to the book.
It is the first book in a series, and like several of the others on my list, I’ll be adding the subsequent books to my TBR. I’m not sure I want to pick favorites for this post, but this book was definitely high up there.
Author website: windtrailpublishing.com
Edge of the Breach – Halo Scot
Warning: This book contains some graphically violent and sexually explicit content.
This is a very dark, post-apocalyptic/futuristic science-fantasy novel. Due to nuclear war, humanity has been pushed to the last “safe” haven left to them in Antarctica, which has become a desert wasteland. Humans have also evolved to harbor powers, dictated by the season of their birth, which I found to be a very cool concept. The two main characters are Kyder, a summer-born mage, and Rune, a winter-born shield. Two more opposite characters could not have been imagined…and yet, they work perfectly together within the narrative.
This book is a wild ride. It’s brutal, it’s wonderful, it’s heart-wrenching, it’s crazy, but it was such a fantastic read. If, as a reader, you can handle confronting the darkness that is the human monster (and I believe that we all have some of that inside of us), and also the beauty of the human soul, you will enjoy this book. This book will not be for everyone – it is violent, explicit, and has a fair amount of language, but I loved every second of it.
Edge of the Breach is the first book in the series (books 2 – 4 are also available), and I will definitely be reading the rest.
Author website: haloscot.com
As I mentioned above, I will be continuing these book review posts on a regular basis. Not only did I find some great books to read, but I had a lot of fun putting this list together and connecting with the authors. I’ll be linking this and the next couple of book review posts in my next newsletter; if you’re interested to learn more about what I’m reading or what I’m writing, you can sign up to the newsletter here, or to my blog here.
Thanks for taking the time to read my post, and I hope you’ll find some new and interesting authors to check out from my list.
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