Indie Recs Indie Indie Recommends Indie
Kriti from Armed with a Book's series of guest posts in which an indie author gets to gush about their favorite indie books! Find those featured indie books under this tag.
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Imperium Descent by Christopher Hopper The Imperium has reigned for 4,000 years… …but are its days numbered? For four millennia, the sixteen planets of the Imperium sector have served as a bastion of peace against the Chaosic Regions. The Imperium's legacy can be attributed to the formidable military power of the Stratus, the enforcers of the Supreme and the Senate. However, as is often the case with empires, it is the smallest cracks that threaten to shatter their foundations. Could this be the beginning of the end? A dishonorably discharged stratusaire struggles to recall why he was expelled from the only life he has ever known. Now working as a mercenary on the sector's most profitable mining planet, he is haunted by mysterious memories. Before long, he finds himself in conflict with the very government he once served. Can he survive being pursued by those he was once trained alongside? Simultaneously, the royal heir to a planetary throne is confronted with the harsh realities of her family's rule. As a result of her curiosity, she finds herself entangled in matters of statecraft that surpass her status and experience. Will she prioritize her family's legacy or the lives of those under her rule? Step into the captivating universe of Imperium Descent , created by the bestselling and award-winning author Christopher Hopper . Readers have hailed it as a space opera brimming with engaging characters, intrigue, and thrilling action. Begin your journey with Volume 1 today! |
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Edge of the Future by Andria Stone “He wasn’t human. You’ve discovered the existence of a new enemy combatant, Captain. Since you saw him—he saw you.” One hundred-fifty years after the last war humanity has united to explore space with colonies on Luna and Mars. But the Europa Mission has just failed and 152 people died in space. No one knows why. When military bioscientist, Captain Mark Warren’s hidden research installation is attacked, he meets armored assault Sergeant Axel Von Radach. They become entangled in a deadly fight to stop the theft of classified military secrets by a lethal female adversary. Her plan to use enemy cyborgs posing as humans, plus unsuspecting high-ranking military personnel with neural implants altered to accept her commands, has every chance of succeeding. Unless…Captain Warren and Sergeant Von Radach get a chance to end her first. |
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The Last Gifts of the Universe by Rory August SFFOasis SPSFC 2022 SPSFC Winner Indie Recs Indie A dying universe. When the Home worlds finally achieved the technology to venture out into the stars, they found a graveyard of dead civilizations, a sea of lifeless gray planets and their ruins. What befell them is unknown. All Home knows is that they are the last civilization left in the universe, and whatever came for the others will come for them next. A search for answers. Scout is an Archivist tasked with scouring the dead worlds of the cosmos for their last gifts: interesting technology, cultural rituals—anything left behind that might be useful to the Home worlds and their survival. During an excavation on a lifeless planet, Scout unearths something unbelievable: a surviving message from an alien who witnessed the world-ending entity thousands of years ago. A past unraveled. Blyreena was once a friend, a soul mate, and a respected leader of her people, the Stelhari. At the end of her world, she was the last one left. She survived to give one last message, one final hope to the future: instructions on how to save the universe. An adventure at the end of a trillion lifetimes. With the fate of everything at stake, Scout must overcome the dangers of the Stelhari’s ruined civilization while following Blyreena’s leads to collect its artifacts. If Scout can’t deliver these groundbreaking discoveries back to the Archivists, Home might not only be the last civilization to exist, but the last to finally fall. |
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SPSFC SPSFC 2022 Indie Recs Indie 2021 San Diego Book Award Winner! A melody from the stars can save humanity, but only if Stephen can awaken the alien within… Childhood therapy cured Stephen Fisher of disturbing visions and the delusion of having come from another world. But when his daughter obsesses over a star in the night sky, he fears that his genetic legacy may have burdened her with the same illness. His sanity is then shattered when he loses his child and the military abducts him claiming that she recorded a song broadcast from another world. A voice inside Stephen’s head convinces him that he can bring his daughter back to life. What he discovers instead is a stunning truth about himself, his child’s destiny, and fate of the entire human race… Melody is a riveting and thought-provoking science fiction novel. If you like first contact scenarios and action-filled pages, then you’ll love David Hoffer’s otherworldly adventure. |
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Stellar Instinct (Agent Renault Adventures) by Jonathan Nevair Mission: Impossible meets The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet in this fun and fast-paced spy-fi adventure series featuring a tough yet conflicted secret agent/poet, cloak and dagger intrigue, and a charming cast of alien characters. When galactic danger calls, Agent Lilline Renault answers. Strange signals pulse from an icy planet in a remote star system. Enter Lilline Renault, GAM-OPs secret agent extraordinaire. To ordinary citizens she's Keely Larkin, an adventure company guide with a flair for the daring and a penchant for writing trite poetry. When a terrifying link between high-tech entertainment and ancient cosmic forces rises, Lilline leaps into action. Verses flow as she rockets through space, dons cunning disguises, and infiltrates enemy territory with an arsenal of secret gadgets. To solve the mystery behind a dastardly plan means beating a mastermind at his own game. Lilline will need her best weapon to stand a fighting chance: her instinct. Each Agent Renault Adventure is a standalone story - start anywhere in this award-winning series. |
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Pearl Fields and the Oregon Meltdown by Drew Faraday For most survivors sheltering in the wilderness along the Upper Alsea River, Pearl’s raspy voice announcing her arrival was music to their ears. Little wonder since she was the only outlier with enough nerve to trade goods out of a drift boat upriver and down through a dystopian landscape, patch up the wounded, bury the dead, and share the latest news about the Meltdown dragging on into its fourth year. But a few months ago, her luck went from bad to worse. Bounty hunters tracked her down. Jailers locked her away in a single cell with the well-worn gallows in her line of sight. A military court found her guilty of gunrunning during a declared disaster. Now Pearl faces her toughest challenge yet—confronting her own part in the chaos while talking her way out of being the next inmate hauled up those rickety stairs to take the long drop. |
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Donate by Emma Ellis Mae finds herself pregnant in a world where the global population has hit twenty billion, and governments decree that no child may be born without a life being sacrificed in return. With growing unrest and violence towards pregnant women, Mae must navigate a hostile world to secure a future for her unborn child — no matter the cost. When the stakes are so high, how far would you go to protect your family? |
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Trapped in the lengthening nights of Elysium and abandoned by the last convoy south, Anna is alone with her teenage son. Everyone in town packed up and moved out ahead of the long dark winter season, the years of which they wouldn’t survive. Scouring the darkened town for anything to help them make the long trek to re-join their clan, Anna must scrounge resources and use all her ingenuity to cobble together a usable vehicle. A chance of escape is almost in reach when Anna finds they are not as alone as she thought. But the unexpected visitors are on a mission they will kill to keep secret. Whatever these off-world intruders want, it can't be good for Anna's world, and a fight to save herself and her son becomes a battle for the future of the entire colony. |
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The Planetwalker by Anders Aaslund Marooned on the planet Alamea, Pioneer Imogen Hart and her team have to find a way back aboard the spaceship Conestoga—their home. But their arrival on the planet has not gone unnoticed. The wild beasts of the jungle are watching, and war is brewing between the two nations already inhabiting the planet. The unwelcome visitors could quickly become the spark that lights the fuse. Imogen soon finds herself a pawn and a prize in the race for world domination. Will she be in time to stave off disaster? |
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The Challenger by Anders Aaslund Imogen Hart is an AI geek and star arial gymnastics player who is training to be a pioneer, or planet walker. Enroute to a new home on Alemea, she is of the last generation to live aboard the Conestoga as it nears the end of its thousand-year journey. As a pioneer, Imgen, or Gen, will be among the first humans to explore their new planet and help make it their home. Nearing this momentous event, Gen—struggling to deal with her best friend’s recent suicide—discovers conspiracies and lies that may alter the future she and everyone onboard the Conestoga await. |
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The Binding of Bloom Mountain by Siggy Chambers “One fool in search of money wins a cursed mountain and a lifetime of nightmares...” When Celeste Foster loses her job with the US Forestry Service, she finds solace in drinking herself stupid every night. But when she sees an ad that says “ADVENTURERS WANTED” and “compensation upon completion”, she pulls herself together to head for the town of Milton. In the mountains of Northwest Virginia, she enters a portal to an alternate Shenandoah Valley. Here monsters and gods live alongside humans, and every family has magic in their blood. But a curse festers on the slopes of Bloom Mountain. A decade has passed with no one to bind the magic, and soon the curse will destroy Milton. Armed with a recording, a bag of ritual items, and fresh scones from the cute barista that housed her, Celeste starts up Bloom Mountain. The Binding tests her endurance, sanity, and ability to adapt to this new world. If she can survive the horrors on the mountain, there might be more than just money waiting for her at the end. |
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SPFBO9 SPSFC 2023 Indie Recs Indie Those who cross into Rheta from other worlds don’t usually arrive alive. Berro collects the crosser bodies for a prestigious secret project headed by his academic mentor, and he’s proud of his role, but when a living, breathing woman arrives in the forest through a crack in reality, the project and Berro’s ordered life are thrown into disarray. On Rheta, nature is thriving and conflict is a distant memory. Chaos and cruelty are things belonging to other worlds, other times, and most Rhetari have lapsed into blissful complacency. But Berro is at the epicentre of an event that calls the delicate balance into question. As the crossing project unravels, he confronts the ugly truths about the civilisation he lives in, the work he’s committed to, and the broken parts of himself. |
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River in the Galaxy by Natalie Kelda When Merlon's parents disappeared, his world fell apart. When his best friend died, he lost the ability to enjoy life. For Captain Merlon Ricosta, Lanier's death, two years prior, feels like yesterday. But when a map from his parents is discovered, he decides to push aside his grief to get closure and follow the route they vanished along eighteen years ago. Despite political trouble, Merlon leads his crew into the unknowns of strange galaxies in his quest to find out why his parents never returned. In River in the Galaxy Merlon fights to keep his crew alive and suppress his prolonged grief and depression. But he must face his own struggles in order to protect the ship and the people aboard. |
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Bloody Spade by Brittany M. Willows A girl full of heart A thief touched by darkness A boy with a fiery temper An unwitting servant of evil The era of magic was once thought to be a myth, but after the Reemergenceushered forces both dark and light into the mundane world, it has sincebecome a harsh reality. Now those affected by this strange power—aspecialized group of Empowered called Jokers, known collectively asCardplay—must protect their world from the darkness that threatens toconsume it, all the while fighting for equality in a society clinging to normalcy. But the Reemergence was only the beginning. When another influx occurs on the seventh anniversary of that fateful event, an unfortunate encounter at ground zero lands Iori Ryone, a teenage boy in possession of a corrupt and legendary magic, in the care of recentJoker graduate Ellen Amelia Jane. From him, she learns the Reemergencemay not have been the inevitable natural disaster it first seemed. Someone is trying to tear down the barrier that separates the magical realmsfrom the mundane. The question is, can Cardplay stop them before it'stoo late Bloody Spade is the first installment in anurban fantasy duology that follows a cat-eared thief and a spirited girl as they try to navigate his wild magic, her hotheaded brother, asinister plot, and the feelings they're developing for each other. |
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Kill Your Darlings by L.E. Harper "INKHEART meets INCEPTION in this allegorical masterpiece." Fantasy author Kyla knows dreams don't come true. Isolated and grappling with debilitating depression, she copes by writing about the realm of Solera. Fearless heroes, feisty shapeshifters, and mighty dragons come alive on her pages. She adores her characters, but she doesn't believe in happy endings. And if she can't have one, why should they? Kyla's on the verge of giving up on everything when she wakes one morning, magically trapped in her fictional world. Now she's with her most cherished characters: the friends she's always yearned for, the family she's never known. There's even someone who might be Prince Charming (if Kyla could get her act together and manage some honest communication). She'd surrender to the halcyon fantasy, except she knows a nightmarish ending awaits. Solera is at war, and its defenders are losing against the insidious villain spawned in the depths of Kyla's mind. He feeds on the energy of dreams, seeks the destruction of all who oppose him-and Kyla's become his number one target. Kyla must trade her pen for a sword and fight to change her story's ending, but this isn't a fantasy anymore. No happily-ever-after is guaranteed. And mental illness has robbed her of everything she needs to succeed: love, fighting spirit, hope. If Kyla can't overcome the darkness inside her, she'll die with her darlings. CONTENT WARNINGS: Depictions of mental illness including depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, and self-harm. |
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The Roots that Clutch by A.E. Bross Theia is an unforgiving world, one of sand and heat. There are no rains, and what water there is trickles from dying springs and wells. Those who control the waters control all. They are the god-kings. These tyrants of the last remaining city-states have shackled their subjects and depleted world, enslaving all by the might of their false divinity. Above all, they control thaûma—Theia’s magic. For anyone on the desert planet unfortunate enough to possess the ability to wield thaûma—called thaumaturges—only indoctrination and servitude await them at the hands of the god-kings. This is Tirzah's curse. Tortured by a sadistic older sister and kept locked from sight by her sycophant father, Tirzah’s life is one of shame and cruelty. Even the awakening of her thaûma brings her no respite, and she is soon used as a "gift" to curry favor with the nearest of the god-kings. She narrowly escapes her bonds with the help of a member of the insurgent thaumaturge order known as the Shadow Collective. After the rescue, Tirzah finds a new life among the outcasts of Theia’s wastelands. Yet the deserts are no place to hide, and before long the brutal realities of Theia threaten to shatter her fragile freedom, and drag her back into the shadows of the god-kings themselves. |
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This Too Shall Burn by Cat Rector Arden has lived in the woods near the deeply religious town of Arrothburg all her life, practising magic and keeping balance with nature. She heals the sick, as her mother did before her. No matter how deeply the people of the village hate witches, they still arrive at Arden’s cabin in the dead of night, looking for help that their pastor, mayor, and doctor would never provide. Verity is trapped in a life she doesn’t want. Her mother was burned as a witch six years ago, forcing Verity into the role of caretaker for her father and her younger siblings. The Good Book asks her to serve, and so she does. But it also asks her to endure the ungodly, debilitating agony of her monthly bleeding. No medicine, no comfort, no protests. If God is kind, why is she so cursed? When a chance encounter between them leaves both their skin charred at a single touch, Arden and Verity are left with questions that may get them killed. Does something wicked live inside Verity? If Arden is the only true witch for miles, who is burning on the pyres? Will they be next? |
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SPFBO7 SFFOasis Indie Recs Indie When dragons fight, mountains weep. In nests high in the mountains, dragons and dragonbonded share their lives, thoughts, feelings, and ambitions. Palon and her partner, the dragon Windward, are renowned among their nest for their flying skill. Their days are filled with everything she loves, especially riding the wind. Even being tasked with teaching their way of life to Tebah, a rebellious newly bonded teenager, can’t bring her down too much. But when treasures from the dragons’ hoards are found in Palon’s collection, her idyllic life comes crashing down. She battles to prove her innocence, while her every move is cast as further evidence against her. Tebah’s suspicion, homesickness, and defiance would be frustrating even in easy times. With Palon in the spotlight while her rivals smear her name at every turn and stir up plots of revenge, her teenage charge’s behavior proves dangerous. Dragon tempers shorten, and challenges and disputes shake the ground. Palon will have to trust more than just herself if she hopes to once more own the sky. |
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A Feeling Like Home by Haleigh Wenger Sword and Silk Books WriteHive Book Club Indie Recs Indie Sixteen-year-old Paige Williams can’t stop self-sabotaging. Not when her dad gets sick, not when her relationship implodes, not even when her parents send her to another-freaking-state for the summer to live with her sister. Paige just wants to have fun, spray paint a few walls, and block out everything stressful, including her growing concern that she might be sick as well. To make things worse, her parents threaten her with boarding school in the fall if she can’t prove she’s changed her bad habits. Paige’s parents sign her up for a rebuilding project in Texas where her sister lives. Meanwhile, Paige reluctantly befriends her sister’s straight-laced teenage neighbor, Joey, who is a frequent guest. He’s so different from her, but Paige realizes that may not be a bad thing, especially since being around Joey curbs her urge to vandalize and ignore the rules. He even makes her forget about the debilitating stomach cramps she struggles to hide. Just as Paige begins to feel settled in Texas, her dad’s worsening Crohn’s disease brings her home to Seattle. When her own health fails her, she has the choice of staying at home and receiving care. Or, she could go back to Texas and prove for once and for all that she’s more than her mistakes and more than a disease. Torn between two worlds and two versions of herself, Paige must decide where, and with whom, she truly feels at home. |
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Italian Bones in the Snow by Elaina Batista-Parsons Italian women don't always speak with their hands and cook with cheese. They use their eyes, legs, and fresh parsley too. They race around the kitchen, work a bunch of tasks at once, and get up after being knocked down. Then there’s the penchant for silent energies, colors, and music of all genres being played through large living room speakers in 1984. But growing up as an Italian-American girl is not always baked ziti and the loud yelling dramatized on the big screen. In Italian Bones in the Snow, Elaina Battista-Parsons shines light on a palpable spirituality, a quiet adoration of nature, and a habit of speaking up—particularly when it’s modeled and deemed a survival skill. She explores the people and places in her life that stuck to her soul like candle wax. She celebrates pop culture, cemeteries, her boots, and 1980s nostalgia. Switching between prose and verse, she offers up real life stories about her relationship with Catholicism, winter weather, mental health, and men throughout her life. Lyrical, poignant, and raw, these memoir shorts are all adorned in the unstoppable forces of nature called grandmothers, mother, and aunts. By the time you turn the last page, not only will you know Elaina better, but you'll also know yourself. |
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Winter’s Myths by Gage Greenwood When the world ends, who will tell the story? After a disease ravages his underground community, Winter escapes with his daughters to the dangerous surface of Earth. Believing the planet is largely abandoned, he struggles to make sense of this strange new world while trying to keep his family alive... But the surface is not all complicated artifacts and relics of a deserted universe. Winter is certain something—or someone—is hunting them. He weaves wild tales to entertain and teach his daughters, turning celebrities into demigods and Abe Lincoln into an ice giant. As the journey grows darker and more dangerous, his mythologies keep not only his children from confusion and despair, but him as well. With tensions rising and danger at every corner, will Winter keep his family alive long enough to finish his tales? Winter's Myths is a multi-season serial currently publishing on Amazon's Kindle Vella. This book covers the first season. Each season will be available in book form upon completion. |
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A Bargain of Blood and Gold by Kristin Jacques A novice hunter with a mission. A five-hundred-year-old vampire with a strong sense of irony. A town plagued by creatures in need of saving. When Johnathan Newman arrives in Cress Haven, the last thing he expects is for his life to be irrevocably changed. Sent by a clandestine league of vampire hunters to investigate a string of murders, signs point to a vampire lurking amid the townsfolk. Johnathan’s attempt to enlist the locals leads him to an unlikely partnership with Vic, the town's most eligible, enigmatic bachelor. As the pair work to solve the mystery, Vic’s secrets come back to bite him. Revealed, the vampire fights his attraction to a man trained to destroy him, while Johnathan’s emotions land him in the middle of forbidden desires. Even if Vic isn’t the murderer, how can Johnathan yearn for his natural enemy? As Vic leads Johnathan into encounters with terrifying beings straight from children’s nightmares, Johnathan learns that not only is the world stranger than he knew, but that those he once trusted have far darker intentions that will place hunter and vampire at the center of a conflict between realms. Cress Haven holds more sinister secrets than its resident vampire, a secret so great, it could unleash Hell itself. For fans of Gail Carriger’s Supernatural Society, The Charm of Magpies series by KJ Charles, Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh, and The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzie Lee. |
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Elements of Chemistry Attraction by Penny Reid He is everything she doesn’t want, so why does she want him so badly? From the New York Times Bestselling Author Penny Reid One week. Private beach. Invisible girl. Jerk-faced bully. What’s the worst that could happen? Kaitlyn Parker has no problem being the invisible girl, which is why she finds herself hiding in various cabinets and closets all over her college campus. Despite her best efforts, she can’t escape the notice of Martin Sandeke—bad boy, jerkface bully, and the universe’s hottest, wealthiest, and most unobtainable bachelor—who also happens to be Kaitlyn’s chemistry lab partner. Kaitlyn might be the only girl who isn’t interested in exploiting his stunning rower’s build, chiseled features, and family's billionaire fortune. Kaitlyn wants Martin for his brain, specifically to tabulate findings of trace elements in surface water. When Kaitlyn saves Martin from a nefarious plot, Martin uses the opportunity to push Kaitlyn out of her comfort zone: spring break, one week, house parties, bathing suits, and suntan lotion. Can she overcome her aversion to being noticed? Will he be able grow beyond his self-centered nature? Or, despite their obvious chemistry, will Martin be the one to drive Kaitlyn into the science cabinet of obscurity for good? Where to read more of the Hypothesis Series Book 1 ATTRACTION (ends in a cliffhanger!) Book 2 HEAT (ends in a cliffhanger!) Book 3 CAPTURE (no cliffhanger) Book 4 MOTION (ends in a cliffhanger!) Book 5 SPACE (ends in a cliffhanger!) Book 6 TIME (no cliffhanger) |
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The First Step: A Thousand Li Book 1 by Tao Wong Long Wu Ying never expected to join a Sect or become a real cultivator. His days were spent studying, planting rice on the family farm and spending time with his friends. Fate, however, has different plans for Wu Ying and when the army arrives at his village, he and many other members of the village are conscripted. Given the opportunity to join the Verdant Green Waters Sect, Wu Ying must decide between his pedestrian, common life and the exciting, blood soaked life of a cultivator. Join Wu Ying as he takes his first step on his Thousand Li journey to become an immortal cultivator. The First Step is the first novel in A Thousand Li series, a book on cultivation, immortals, wondrous martial art styles and spirit beasts and will be loved by wuxia and xanxia fans. The First Step is written by Tao Wong, the bestselling scifi and fantasy LitRPG author of the System Apocalypse, Adventures on Brad and the Hidden Wishes. |
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Welcome to Aisling, an enchanted realm where each individual is born with a unique and magical Gift. For centuries, this realm has been slowly crumbling due to an ancient curse set on the land. However, the moment that Alice and Emery Hanley step into the Academy for Gifted Youth, their lives are forever changed. Amidst the disappearance of a fellow student, the twin sisters discover a prophecy that could save the realm of Aisling from destruction. |
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Secret of 8 by Cristal Sipple-Underwood and Andrew Underwood Imagine a world where being different was better than being ordinary. Six misfit kids (Sarah-The Ginger, Ben-The Geek, Nate-The Deaf Kid, Marcus- The Bully, Steph-The Dreamer & Mike with his Imaginary Friend) find themselves part of an unsolved mystery when Ben and his family move into a haunted house. Not only do they all find acceptance but unite together to become ghost hunters. By using their unique abilities and teamwork, they get one step closer to solving the case. They never imagined the magical transformation their lives would take. This is a unique story that was written in two points of view. The female and male voice allows the reader to see through the eyes of Sarah and Ben. Since this book portrays life during the 1920’s and 1980’s, we have created an informative webpage for our younger readers. History can be fun! |
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The Next Right Thing by Celine Perron Twenty-seven-year-old Rena Moretti has lived her life the only way she knows how: by being a good girl and avoiding scrutiny. As the by-product of an illicit affair gone wrong, she figures she doesn’t have much room for error. A budding journalist with an ambition for big things, Rena is comfortable in her own skin, enjoying the simple pleasures of her comfy apartment and the confidence of her best friend. But when Rena becomes the victim of a random hit-and-run accident, her life gets turned upside down on all fronts. After the accident, everyone wants Rena to make a safe return to the life she had before—but Rena is increasingly convinced she has to do the exact opposite if she wants to find any closure. She becomes obsessed with a young man that she’s convinced was involved in her crime, but in pursuit of connection, Rena is dragged into the criminal dealings of a local gang. The Next Right Thing is a moral crime thriller which proves to be equal parts dangerous and thought provoking. Bringing with it victims of crime, countless moral dilemmas, and an elusive gang leader. Rena must now decide whether the right thing is always the best thing. In this page turner, readers will follow along as Rena chooses to overcome her fears and finds inside her a bravery she never knew. But can she make the right choice before it’s too late? |
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Dan Noble is an old Vampire, perhaps the oldest in the world. One night on the prowl, he is inexplicably drawn to a plain-looking university student. But Nina Wright is not as boring as she seems: she meets Dan's charm with the allure of her own, and the two share an unforgettable night. When Dan tries and fails to compel Nina to forget their encounter, he suspects that she is no ordinary human. And when a gang of bloodthirsty vampires singles her out for a vicious kidnapping, he realizes the girl he has fallen head over heels for may very well be a Human Immortal, a being of awesome power. Nina will be able to reclaim her supernatural gifts if she chooses a mate of her own lineage, Nature's Immortals: a Dragon, Were, or Fae. As a Vampire, Dan would only stand in the way of her destiny. Will he find the courage to give up his true love just as soon as he has found her? |
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“I have never believed in going strictly by the book. My six-foot-two frame has an assortment of scars and marks that readily attest to that. It’s the main reason I’ve never been offered a higher position on a big-draft. But, when things really go to hell, I’m always the first one to get the call. They trust me with their lives, but not their jobs.” --Adrian Tarn, Chief Security Officer, Starship Electra |
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The Great and the Small by A. T. Balsara Deep below the market, in the dark tunnels no human knows exist, a war has begun. Led by the charismatic Beloved Chairman, a colony of rats plots to exterminate the ugly two-legs who have tortured them in labs, crushed them with boots, and looked at them with disgust for as long as anyone can remember. When the Chairman's nephew is injured and a young two-leg nurses him back to health, however, doubt about the war creeps in. Now the colony is split--obey the Chairman and infect the two-legs with the ancient sickness passed down from the Old Ones, or do the unthinkable... |
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The Starborn Heir by D.J. Bodden An ancient secret. A legacy betrayed. A path to the stars. Zack was bred and raised to be the heir to a planet, but he's decided he's not the chosen one. He wants to get offworld, see the galaxy, and track down a piece of lost technology from his family's past. He'll need to steal a shuttle, get past the orbital defenses, and rendezvous with a smuggler on the star system's outskirts. But he can't do it alone—he's going to need a crew. Gathering a band of misfits from the colony's underworld, Zack strikes out toward the desert. The government is close on his heels, but Zack is willing to fight the gangs, make deals with aliens, and use illegal technology in wildly unsanctioned ways to blast his way to the stars. And if he can do a little good along the way, so much the better. Zack and his crew have a whole planet after them. The only way out is up. From D.J. Bodden, bestselling author of Viridian Gate Online: The Illusionist and the Black Year Series, comes a brand new science fiction adventure series set in the massive and ever-expanding FiveFold Universe. |
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Beneath the Shadow Dark by Melissa Polk Only in a land of darkness would they find their way. But it is no easy thing to serve a dark god. On a desert planet, the faithful inhabitants of the surface worship a goddess who grants them prosperity, as well as the unrelenting light of a sun that never sets. But beneath them, an eons old struggle for power rages between her banished siblings. When tragedy strikes Jos’ family, they are cast out of their home and deemed unworthy of the goddess’ light. Mad with grief, Jos invokes the long forgotten gods of the dark—and receives an answer. After bargaining their soul to restore their family’s honor, Jos is led into the subterranean world of the Shadow Dark by an emissary of the dark god, who is as mysterious as he is alluring. Among the wonders and curiosities of the dark underworld, Jos discovers many unexpected things: rebellion, friendship, purpose, and a love that struggles to survive a divine war. Jos becomes irrevocably tangled in the machinations of deities as their every choice could alter the tenuous balance of the entire planet. |
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Reality Dreamers by K.M. Frost Dreams or Reality... Which would you choose? "There's another horrible scream, a lot closer this time, and then I can feel the ice cold fingers brushing the back of my neck, just like in my nightmare... I know there's no way to escape the Entities, but we keep running. What else can we do?" Fifteen-year-old Jonas Hartley shouldn’t be having nightmares anymore, but that doesn’t stop them from coming. Every night, the dreams get worse—until he meets the Reality Dreamers. Normally, Jonas would avoid this strange trio of teenagers, but when he realizes one of them is a mysterious girl he’s seen in reality, he decides to stick around for a while, curious about what they’re doing in his dreams. But curiosity isn’t always harmless. The Reality Dreamers are hunted by dark beings called Entities, products of a dark world with many secrets. Too late, Jonas realizes he may have gotten himself into something much larger and much darker than he ever could have imagined... |
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Legacy of the Brightwash by Krystle Matar SPFBO7 Indie Recs Indie SPFBO Finalist Follow the law and you’ll stay safe. But what if the law is wrong? Tashué’s faith in the law is beginning to crack. Three years ago, he stood by when the Authority condemned Jason to the brutality of the Rift for non-compliance. When Tashué’s son refused to register as tainted, the laws had to be upheld. He’d never doubted his job as a Regulation Officer before, but three years of watching your son wither away can break down even the strongest convictions. Then a dead girl washed up on the bank of the Brightwash, tattooed and mutilated. Where had she come from? Who would tattoo a child? Was it the same person who killed her? Why was he the only one who cared? Will Tashué be able to stand against everything he thought he believed in to get the answers he’s looking for? |
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Crown of Aster by Emmaline Strange When Adair first catches Nathaniel’s scent in his forest, he’s curious and aroused. He’s never smelled anything like it, and though the faun has been avoiding entanglements with humans for decades, he thinks the time might be ripe to make an exception. When Nathaniel first sets eyes on Adair, he’s terrified--and, to be honest, a little aroused. Learning that the forest near his village is full of mysterious fae folk has Nathaniel’s head spinning, and finding out the handsome faun now intent on courting him is the heir to the fae kingdom is, quite frankly, a lot to handle. However, their attraction is mutual and undeniable, and Nathaniel finds himself falling hard for the mysterious forest dweller. As they grow closer, Nathaniel learns that the trees he’s lived beside his entire life are full of secrets, magic—and danger. A dark new presence in the woods threatens the fae folk and the humans alike, turning the gentle fae wild and violent, Adair among them. For Adair and Nathaniel to protect their shared world, they must discover who is behind this force of wild magic before Adair and his kin are too far gone to save. |
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Nicholas Erickson is happy to be the smallest cog at the US Embassy in Singapore, a big step up from prison. Nick lives with a terrible secret: he killed a family of three in a traffic accident, for which he was imprisoned and became a pariah back home. The only threat to his second chance is the truth—and Nelson Graves. Shipping Magnate Lord Nelson Graves is secretly the head of crime syndicate Red Sky, making him the biggest arms dealer and drug boss in Southeast Asia. Graves is tired, lonely, addicted to opium, and trying to get his imploding crime syndicate back to business. There is a traitor in his organization and an old enemy is back on his tail. A romance builds between hot-headed, reckless Nick and unhappy, ruthless Graves. But nothing is that easy. Shoot-outs, bombings, and vindictive exes prove Nick’s past and Graves’s present may be a lethal combination. |
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A Sea of Pearls & Leaves by Rosalyn Briar Princess Ingrid of Norella Isle does not want to get married. So, her priestess girlfriend, Lilura, devises a wicked plot to deter suitors with a nearly impossible marriage contract: should Ingrid die first, her husband must be buried at sea beside her. The plan backfires when all seven suitors agree, and the king announces a competition for Ingrid’s hand. Ingrid must keep her head above water as she deals with the suitors, a jealous girlfriend, and the news of two murdered priestesses. As the suitors are eliminated, one man stands out: the quirky and anxious Prince Soren who charms both Ingrid and Lilura. When Lilura goes missing, Ingrid and Soren must piece together who has murdered the priestesses and why before it’s too late. CW: This novel contains violence, sexual situations, and adult language. |
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The Fate of Stars by S.D. Simper A devout mermaid. A disgraced princess. A feud as ancient as the gods Worlds collide when Tallora is kidnapped from her ocean home and forced to be a pet to a tyrannical foreign empire. Her only hope for rescue lies with a sworn enemy--Princess Dauriel, infamous for her stone heart and conflicted past. But when Dauriel's kingdom comes to the cusp of war, could their uneasy alliance be the key to defeating a common foe? Or will their growing feelings for each other lead them to ruin? From the world of FALLEN GODS comes a tale of ancient magic and cutthroat politics--and finding redemption through love. |
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Budding clairvoyant Lacey Moran seeks to understand her dreams and find her life’s purpose along the St. Lawrence River. If only her visions of silver arms and Cian O’Connor’s blue eyes were easier to understand! The pieces begin coming together when she encounters a mermaid in the river, joins a group of Druids, and opens herself to romance with an old friend. Can Lacey overcome her doubts, or is she in over her head? |
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A Death at Tippitt Pond by Susan Van Kirk Secrets long buried surround the murder of teenage Melanie Tippitt. The daughter of a wealthy family in a small town, her lifeless body was found floating in Tippitt Pond in the summer of 1971. Six people were there that day, and one was convicted of her murder. Case closed. Now, forty-five years later, Beth Russell, a freelance researcher and genealogist, is brought to the town by a lawyer who believes Russell is the daughter of Melanie Tippitt and long-lost heir to the Tippitt fortune. Soon Beth finds herself surrounded by people who want her gone as soon as possible, people with a great deal to lose. The more they push, the more determined Beth is to discover the truth. With the help of a handsome detective, Beth vows to uncover what happened that day at Tippitt Pond. The ghostly presence of Melanie Tippitt, a stranger watching from the woods, and the discovery of secrets in Tippitt House make for a suspense-filled investigation where Beth discovers … A DEATH AT TIPPITT POND changed everything. |
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Behind the Scenes by Sharmishtha Shenoy Fading superstar of the Bengali film industry Ryan Gomez is poisoned to death while shooting for a film in the pretty hill town of Darjeeling. Sheila Dhar, the film’s beautiful female lead with whom Ryan had recently broken his engagement is the chief suspect. Sheila attempts suicide and is shifted to a hospital in Kolkata for treatment. The CID, Kolkata, takes over the investigation and the film crew is allowed to move back to the “City of Joy”. Though revenge for the broken engagement seems the obvious motive for the murder, there are several others who had reason to wish Ryan dead. Powerful film producer Rustom, the love of whose life ended up becoming Ryan’s first wife. Screenplay writer Allan, who was in danger of being fired from the production house thanks to a public tiff with Ryan. Acclaimed film director Paddy, who was in love with Sheila. Sheila’s mother, Jaya, who was strongly opposed to her marrying Ryan. The family of Ryan’s first wife, who bear a deep grudge against him. There are suspects galore, but the murderer has not reckoned with the tenacity of Vikram Rana. |
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The Goldilocks Planet by Paula Bernstein Obstetrician Hannah Kline and her brand new fiancé, LAPD Detective Daniel Ross are about to begin house hunting, when Daniel is put in charge of a high profile murder investigation. Dr. Edwin Larramore was at the top of his game. A full professor of Astronomy at the prestigious Technological Institute, and a leader in the search for extra solar planets, he has just been awarded the Nobel Prize for an extraordinary discovery. Who would want to kill him? There turns out to be no shortage of suspects. The victim had an unhappy pregnant wife, an angry ex-wife, who is also his chief academic competitor, a jealous department chairman, and several under-appreciated and disgruntled graduate students. Daniel has his work cut out for him. Hannah has been very helpful in several of Daniel’s previous cases, but this time her hands are tied. Larramore’s pregnant wife is her patient, and medical ethics prevent her from telling all she knows. When Hannah discovers a crucial clue, and her patient’s pregnancy becomes high risk, Hannah has to resolve her conflicting loyalties. |
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A Book Signing To Die For by Judy Moore Beck O’Rourke and her grandmother own Beach Reads bookstore and coffee shop, a gathering place for locals and tourists, a block off the ocean in Manatee Beach, Florida. They live above the bookstore with Beck’s feisty younger sister, Lizzie, a lifeguard. Beck is excited to host the country’s bestselling cozy mystery writer for a book signing event until a member of the audience turns up dead later that night. Afterward, Beck decides to pursue her lifelong dream of being a detective to try to catch the killer. The amateur sleuth finds several suspects, but the murderer isn’t happy about her interference. Neither is the town’s handsome new police detective who has a history with Beck. |
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Somebody in the Neighborhood by Judy Moore Dawn Andersen and her parents are horrified when her carefree Aunt Amy is found stabbed to death on the beach, the second woman to be murdered in the small oceanside town of Manatee Beach. The police have arrested a homeless man for the murders, but is he the real killer? Dawn, 25, makes the biggest decision of her life when she decides to leave her routine existence in Ohio to move into her aunt’s cottage a block from the ocean in South Florida.From the first night that Dawn arrives in Florida, the feeling of uneasiness never leaves her. There’s the strange man next door who always seems to be watching her. Married neighbors who were infatuated with her beautiful aunt. The nosy, too friendly mailman. A hooded figure who’s been lurking outside her house at night. As Dawn learns more about her aunt’s life in Florida, she becomes convinced that the murderer is closer than she ever imagined, that her aunt’s killer is actually somebody in the neighborhood. |
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The Wayfinder's Apprentice by K Dezendorf Rose knows the magical world of the Umbra exists. She’s been there before, and she longs to return to the land of fantasy and start a happier life. Stuck on Earth with only her trickster guardian and a displaced gang of elven siblings for company; Rose has a fateful run-in with a rogue wild elf and meets a Wayfinder, a gatekeeper of the portals between realms. However, Rose is horrified to discover the Umbra has changed since her first visit, finding herself caught up in unexpected conflicts, from warring god-like beings to dealings with demons. With many grueling choices ahead of her, Rose finds the dream she yearns for comes with a cost. |
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The Exiled: Of Shade and Shadow by Niamh Schmid and Rebecca Schmid The Great War is won… so everyone tells her. But even with her brother now king, Astra Verzaer knows the fight is far from over. When her sudden exile finds her alone in the dreary country of Merimeethia with only the aloof Prince Louko for company, she digs deeper in vain attempts to find proof of her suspicions. Yet Astra is not the only one with secrets, and she soon finds herself swallowed up in a sudden uproar over Merimeethia's throne--an uproar which she believes to be caused by the very person she set out to find. But will anybody believe her? Even if they do, will it be too late? |
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The Changeling Tree by Frances Evelyn A missing girl. A Faerie game. An abandoned baby. Tracy has been missing for months and her mum isn’t answering the door, but Mike refuses to forget his girlfriend. When Tracy’s mum disappears too, his last hope is gone. But in her garden he finds a pram, and in the pram is a baby. Will this be Mike’s happy ever after, or will they come for his daughter too? |
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Paternus: Rise of Gods (Paternus Trilogy #1) by Dyrk Ashton SPFBO Finalist Indie Recs Indie Described as American Gods meets The Avengers and Supernatural meets The Lord of the Rings, Paternus combines myths from around the world in a modern story of action and intrigue that is “urban fantasy on the surface, but so much more at its core!” Even myths have legends. And not all legends are myth. When a local hospital is attacked by strange and frightening men, Fiona Patterson and Zeke Prisco save a catatonic old man named Peter—and find themselves running for their lives with creatures beyond imagination hounding their every step. With nowhere else to turn, they seek out Fi’s enigmatic Uncle Edgar. But the more their questions are answered, the more they discover that nothing is what it seems--not Peter, not Edgar, perhaps not even themselves. The gods and monsters, heroes and villains of lore—they’re real. And now they’ve come out of hiding to hunt their own. In order to survive, Fi and Zeke must join up with powerful allies against an ancient evil that’s been known by many names and feared by all. The final battle of the world’s oldest war has begun. Paternus: Rise of Gods, is Dyrk Ashton’s critically acclaimed debut novel and the first book in The Paternus Trilogy. It has been compared to works by Neil Gaiman, Scott Hawkins, Roger Zelazny, China Miéville, Joss Whedon, and Kevin Hearne. |
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Remember the Dawn by A. M. Macdonald Starlight. Steel. Ahryn and Ezai must unite. Ten years ago, the Starsingers--tyrannical magicians who draw their power from the stars--suffered a brutal defeat at the hands of an ancient order of magic-resistant peacekeepers. Their rebellion quelled, their magic controlled, the five families of starlight magicians have been forced to live in a fragile truce with the starless commoners...until now. When an assassin begins killing Starsingers, the defiant peacekeepers are blamed, for who else could slay a magician? EZAI is a storied peacekeeper. He has been tasked with finding the true killer, and he must do so before the balance of power is disrupted. But the Starsingers plot against him. AHRYN is the eldest child of an Astral House, and she alone survives the murder of her family. She seeks justice, but the other families wish to use her fury, and her family's legacy. As another war approaches, Ezai and Ahryn form an unlikely alliance. Together, they must unlock a secret of the past and find the assassin before it's too late, for a greater evil looms. |
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The Crimson Queen (The Raveling #1) by Alec Hutson SPFBO Finalist Indie Recs Indie 2016 Ink and Insights Competition - Judges' Favorite 2017 Reader's Favorite Award for Epic Fantasy 2nd place in the 2017 SPFBO Long ago the world fell into twilight, when the great empires of old consumed each other in sorcerous cataclysms. In the south the Star Towers fell, swallowed by the sea, while the black glaciers descended upon the northern holdfasts, entombing the cities of Min-Ceruth in ice and sorcery. Then from the ancient empire of Menekar the paladins of Ama came, putting every surviving sorcerer to the sword and cleansing their taint from the land for the radiant glory of their lord. The pulse of magic slowed, fading like the heartbeat of a dying man. But after a thousand years it has begun to quicken again. In a small fishing village a boy with strange powers comes of age... A young queen rises in the west, fanning the long-smoldering embers of magic into a blaze once more... Something of great importance is stolen - or freed - from the mysterious Empire of Swords and Flowers... And the immortals who survived the ancient cataclysms bestir themselves, casting about for why the world is suddenly changing... |