Springtime is here, flowers are in bloom, and it’s officially peak reading season!
Our favorite Indie Book Picks
If you’re looking for an exciting new book, these fresh and forthcoming releases from indie authors are for you. From dark romantasy to mind-bending sci-fi to captivating historical fiction to feel-good romantic comedies, this batch of new books features some highly anticipated new series installments as well as more under-the-radar debuts.
Check out our favorite new and upcoming indie gems!
The Witch and His Crow
by Ben Alderson
‘Rule them. Win. Become Grand High.’
My name is Hector Briar, and I live for revenge. It's been eighteen years since Witch Hunters murdered my parents, and still the night haunts me. A part of me died that night, when six-year-old me was forced to listen to their brutal murder. Since then, I've gone from prey to predator. I spend my nights stalking Oxford's streets for those who'd see me slaughtered for being what I am. A witch. And more than that, the son of the last Grand High.
If You Love Me
by Helena Hunting
Our new assistant coach is a gorgeous brunette - and also my former two night stand.
What started as the best weekend of my life, turned into the worst when I woke up to an empty hotel room.
No note. Gone.
Three years later she's back and more beautiful than ever. It's my last season in the pros. I don't need distractions. And Alexandria Forrester is proving to be one.
She's hockey obsessed.
Nothing To Write Home About
by Becca Erin Title
Maggie McArthur was doing just fine, thank you.
That is, until she unexpectedly inherited her aunt's sleepaway camp just weeks before the summer session was set to start, cashed in years' worth of unused vacation days at her fancy consulting firm, and caught a flight from Europe back to her home state of North Carolina to spend two months as Interim Camp Director.
Accidentally Forever
by Carrie Ann Ryan
In the world of romance, Aria Montgomery knows two things for sure:
She's not in love with the man everyone thinks she is.
And she refuses to let herself love Crew McTavish.
Her former best friend is spiraling, and her photography career seems to be standing in her father's shadow. Aria knows she needs to find her way out of the darkness. Yet she's afraid if she allows Crew inside, he'll not only take over-but he'll get hurt in the process.
Crew McTavish enjoys being the mysterious friend of the Montgomerys. They may joke that he's dating his way into their family one-by-one, but in the end, it's only one Montgomery he wants: Aria.
Perfect Enemy: A Jake Rush Sci-Fi Techno-Military Thriller
by Justin Kuiper
Air Force Major Jake Rush is drawn into a high-stakes battle against The Flame and Light, a powerful AI-driven cult that combines radical ideology with cutting-edge technology to manipulate followers and eliminate enemies. Rush, a seasoned cyber-architect in the National Guard, stumbles upon a conspiracy that threatens not only his life but the fabric of global stability. The cult, led by a mysterious Prophet, believes that humanity's next evolutionary step lies in merging technology with spirituality, crafting a vision where an AI deity known as Th3os becomes the focal point of worship and control.
If the Stars Are Lit
by Sara K Ellis
If the Stars Are Lit is a speculative mystery exploring the implications of AI, memory, and loss.
When the starship ferrying her to Earth is gutted by an explosion, Joss Carsten is left alone and adrift, struggling to reestablish contact with humanity. But her health is fading fast, and her isolation is triggering painful hallucinations of Alice, her long-estranged wife.
A New America: The State of Independence
by Aaron Morell
"A deep-thinking, thought-provoking novel." - Independent Book Review
"Morell's alternate history feels dense with realistic detail. ... a fascinating thought experiment exploring notions of self-determination and freedom." - Kirkus Reviews
In this fictional travelogue, journalist Roman Wolfe ventures into the heart of Independence, a nation formed after widespread secession movements scorched North America. As Roman navigates the rural plains and insular communities of this fledgling country, he witnesses the struggles, aspirations, and contradictions of a people grappling with its identity. Independence teeters between resilience and collapse, where the promise of self-determination clashes with the weight of fractured loyalties and an uncertain future.
Venice Peach
by Jessamyn Violet
Welcome to the Dark Carnival of Futurism…
One dark, windy supermoon night in the near future, a woman's ill-timed tarot question rips open a portal between dimensions, unleashing cosmic chaos. Step right up to Venice Peach, a flamboyantly freakish circus on the gritty Venice Beach boardwalk, where bizarre talents and mind-bending spectacles are just the beginning. Get lost in a funhouse maze of reality-shattering events and untamed, sex-fueled showdowns.
The Malice of Moons and Mages
by N V Haskell
For Audra, survival means lying and stealing from the Moon and Starling tribes who have pillaged her people and stripped them of their magic. No scorned lover, monstrous aunt, or prison bars will keep her from getting what she wants. But when she finally obtains the dragon's eye jade-the one thing that could save her spell-wounded brother and return her people to their former glory-fate intervenes.
Haunted by his part in his father's death, Lua is determined to put an end to the chaos of the former Rajav's madness. As the most powerful, and most hated, mage in the Moon tribes, he must claim his throne before the impending dual lunar eclipses or risk his sociopathic sister dooming their people. But when he's betrayed and left for dead by the man he called brother, his magic anchors him to the foul-mouthed woman who plucks him from the sea.
This Vicious Dream
by Stacia Stark
Once, I helped save a kingdom.Now, I'm trapped in a prison of thorns and nightmares.
My crime? Knowing the location of a power that could reshape the world-a grimoire I swore to protect with my life.
That secret is the only thing keeping me alive while my captors wait for me to break.
Until he arrives.
Beautiful. Ruthless.
Dark, inscrutable eyes. A dangerously wicked grin.
But he's not here to rescue me. He wants the grimoire for himself--and he'll destroy anyone who stands in his way.
My only choice is a fragile, temporary alliance with a man I can never trust.
The Lizard
by Domenic Stansberry
After a near decade of silence, Edgar and Hammett award winning novelist Domenic Stansberry returns to the mystery scene with a chilling new noir: The Lizard
In 2016, six years after the conclusion of his acclaimed North Beach Series, Stansberry returned to win the Hammett Prize with The White Devil. Now he comes with The Lizard -part political thriller, part expressionist nightmare-a timely contemporary tale of betrayal, murder and violent transformation, dark stuff laced with the author's signature black humor.
The main character, S.E. Reynolds, is a former investigative reporter now working as a political ghostwriter. He is thrust into the center of a conspiracy investigation after an illicit romance turns deadly. His efforts to untangle himself only entangle him deeper, drawing the attention of government agents with their own agenda.
The Web of Time
by Flavia Brunetti
Far beneath the ground, a web quietly spins.
The threads are keeping time, marking history.
What's done is done. Until now.
Protected by the gods and powering the three Great Portals of Kindness, Art, and Language, The Web of Time re-arranges itself as humans change their minds, fall in love, or cause empires to rise and fall. When the Great Portals close from the world, time begins erasing itself, histories start to disappear, Earth falls into chaos, and the gods don't know how to stop it-until Jack meets Anna.
I Know What UFO Did Last Summer
by Kevin Garone
Stranger Things meets The Last Kids on Earth in this "fun, exciting science fiction novel" (Foreword Reviews). An alien-obsessed boy thinks he's stumbled upon an extraterrestrial invasion in the woods behind his house, but the truth is even more dangerous...
The alien invasion is upon us! At least, that's what twelve-year-old Marv thinks when a mysterious craft appears in the woods behind his house. If there's one thing he's learned from his trusty alien invasion guidebook, it's that ETs are just as likely to land in your backyard as they are on the front lawn of the White House.
Grow and Glow: The Fizz Sisters' guide to being happy, healthy, and glowing from the inside out while growing up
by Mia Fizz - Sienna Fizz
Mia Fizz is a nineteen-year-old social media star with over 250 million views on YouTube alone. She's featured in numerous magazines, interviewed stars such as Mark Wahlberg and appeared in a sell-out live show alongside her family. She rose to fame thanks to her unwavering honesty and openness to talk about teen issues. When not vlogging, she likes to cook, rock climb, and crochet.
Sienna Fizz is a thirteen-year-old internet sensation. She started making videos at only five but has always inspired people with her upbeat and vibrant personality. Gymnastics is her biggest passion, and she hopes to compete professionally in the future.
All Shall Mourn
by Ellie Marney
From the author of New York Times bestseller None Shall Sleep and a Kirkus 2023 Best YA Book of the Year sequel Some Shall Break - the electrifying third and final instalment in the None Shall Sleep Sequence.
Simon Gutmunsson is on the loose...
Since the disastrous events of the College Killer case, the FBI is coming to terms with the fact that while catching one sociopath, they've released another. Chillingly manipulative, frighteningly intelligent, and wholly insane, Simon Gutmunsson is the worst of the worst. Now he's free, and on the run with his twin sister, Kristin, and nobody in the FBI is smart enough to keep up…
"Ellie Marney brings the serial killer thriller to YA with riveting suspense and sizzling style. Don't read this book in the dark!"―C.S. Pacat, USA Today bestselling author of Fence and Dark Rise
Madame Eldridge's Wayward Home for Unruly Boys
by Benjamin Ryan
Deep in the heart of Virginia's dense backwoods, the Wayward Home for Unruly Boys hides more than just troubled youth. Under Madame Eldridge's watchful eye, three strict rules govern their behavior program:
1. What happens here stays here.
2. You must complete all eight steps-no exceptions allowed.
3. Forget your name; you'll be known only by your problem.
But, there's one unspoken rule that sends shivers down the boys' spines: never enter the forbidden third-floor bedroom of the boy who vanished, leaving nothing behind but whispers.
Fabulous Beasts: A Love Story
by W A Schwartz
Vivienne Holland, an enormously talented yet mentally fragile woman, comes of age in mid-century America and dreams of becoming a famous writer. However, trapped by the restrictions of pre-feminist society, a scientifically limited medical system unprepared to cope adequately with her mental illness, and her own tragic family background, she faces daunting obstacles. Complicating matters, she falls in love with a charismatic but abusive English poet, and the two of them, moving between the East Coast of America and early 1960's London, set out to blaze a trail that will change the landscape of both American and English literature forever.
Go On Pretending
by Alina Adams
Three generations of women battle against the tides of history, from segregated 1950s America to the fall of the USSR and the rise of revolutionary Rojava.
Rose Janowitz is a pioneer in the 1950s golden age of television, as she navigates the transition from radio to TV soap operas. But beneath the glitz and glamor lies a web of secrets. Rose's radical past and her hidden romance with Jonas Cain, the African-American leading man who made Guiding Light a hit on radio. How long will Rose be able to hide Jonas Cain's identity-and their romantic relationship-from the public, and from Irna Phillips, the formidable doyenne who invented the soap-opera, a woman who makes-and breaks-professional careers on a whim.
Winter's End
by Barbara Pronin
"A page-turner with honest characters who capture your heart and soul." -Faye Kellerman
Luring Nazi officers from smoky taverns to their deaths was not what Evi Strobel bargained for when she agreed to join the Dutch Resistance. But that is what she did until that fateful night she was saved from rape by a downed American Airman.
Phoenix Girl: A Memoir
by Michelle Yang
After Michelle emigrates to the U.S. from the tight-knit ethnic Chinese enclave in Incheon, South Korea, she must adapt quickly to survive. With a dominant, impulsive father in charge-who protects the family from everyone but himself-and a mother who never finds her power, Michelle craves safety and security.
Raising Loki
by Elliot Manarin
The incredible true story of an unlikely friendship between an abused raven and a grieving human... In 2014, an abandoned raven in need of rehoming came to the Coda Falconry, where Elliot Manarin worked. Little did Elliot know at the time, but the "cheeky corvid," soon to be known as Loki, would end up putting him in hospital over a dozen times from vicious attacks. But Elliot refused to give up on him.
Danger Face
by C W Emerson
Danger Face, the recipient of the 2024 Homebound Publications Poetry Prize, is a profound exploration of family and legacy through the lens of C.W. Emerson's evocative poetry.
This collection delves into the intricate web of familial ties-examining the cards we're dealt, the curses and inheritances from generations past, and the impact of these legacies on our lives. Emerson's poetry illuminates these themes with striking clarity, revealing the weight of ancestral ghosts, weaknesses, and addictions.
Too Pretty for Plain Coffee
by Tyler Hurula
"Tyler Hurula might be 'the world's most tender magician, ' weaving a poetic spell that compels you to fall in love, in heartbreak, or the in-between of almost. Too Pretty for Plain Coffee is a romantic stream of beautiful punches that bruise and balm. Its passion winds and unravels, simmers and swells, recoils and strikes gorgeous. What I am most enchanted by in this collection is its simultaneous devotion to the familiar and to 'sudden and infinite newness.'
A fresh and energizing debut!" -Junious Ward, author of Composition
Savage Pride Silent Prejudice: The Savage Pride Duet
by Jill Ramsower
Zeno De Rossi is arrogant and callous. Nothing like the boy I grew up with.
He's poised to take over the most powerful mafia family in New York.
To him, I'm nothing but the daughter of a soldier-a member of the staff at his grand estate...
Until his estranged brother comes home and shows an interest in me.
Now, I'm trapped in a dangerous dance between two men who hate one another.
Both have secrets. Neither is safe.