Indie Book Rec’s
because I’ve been reading like there’s no tomorrow and have found a number of indie/lesser-known authors with books I really love, and because I’ve not yet earned the right to leave reviews on Amazon, I’m taking to Tumblr, I guess.
Idk why any of you followed me but you’re getting book rec’s.
SO. Buckle up. I’ll probably do this every month as I log my reading journal.
Rec’s and descriptions/reviews under the cut because I expect it to get long.
The Bright Spear Trilogy by H. L. Macfarlane
(Prince of Foxes, Lord of Horses, King of Forever)
Gothic Scottish fairytale. Probably YA. Faeries, kelpies, and that one stubborn human girl ready to throw hands. Healthy polyamory. Multiple POVs. Not spicy/smutty.
Synopsis of book 1: Girl meets faerie. Faerie gets turned into fox. Girl’s parents blindside her with surprise fiance, so she decides she’d rather help the faerie than marry a Londoner (she’s Scotch to her core). They go in search of a kelpie. Bonding! Sweet betrayal and sweet betrayal again.
Book 1 is honestly my least favorite of the three (book 2 is the best and I’m still mad about book 3 even though it was good), but that’s just me. I read the whole trilogy in 2-3 days.
Quick reads. Fun. Nothing too serious for too long. Happy endings, but with plot things hanging over our heads. No “love triangle” because we’re smart and can just sort it out with polyamory and respecting each other.
Content warnings: miscarriage and implied dub-con/rape in book 3 is all I can remember.
Bought from ThriftBooks, but also available on Amazon and at B&N
City of Thorns by C. N. Crawford
(Book 1 of the Demon Queen Trials trilogy)
(Honestly cannot tell how popular/well-known this author is but in my mind, they’re newer/lesser-known)
Modern coexistence with demons. Little romance-y, little murder mystery-y. Probably YA. Mildest of the spices. Fake dating.
Synopsis: Girl kidnapped by demon because she looks exactly like his Arch Enemy TM, but once they realize the mix-up she agrees to pretend to be her doppelganger to get information for him about his other enemies. Except her doppelganger is a succubus and she doesn’t have the slightest idea how to act sexy and confident and powerful. Queue sexy demon teaching her to be alluring and shameless.
Another quick read. Very fun. The ending is just like bam-bam-bam. I’m still reeling. Stay tuned for when I buy and read book 2 in Feb.
Content warnings: murder, 1 (one) mild sex scene, some blood and gore, guns?
Bought from Amazon, also available at B&N
Thief of Spring and Queen of Night by Katherine Macdonald
(Hades and Persephone duology)
Hades and Persephone retelling, but faeries (yes, I was skeptical at first, too). YA. Romance. Mildest of the spices. Fun twist on Greek mythology.
I’ll skip the synopsis, because it’s just Hades kidnapping Persephone (for good reason, okay?) and keeping her in the Underworld for part of the year, as is expected from most Hades and Persephone retellings.
The difference is that the ‘gods’ are faeries of the Seelie Court and this Hades is not dark and broody, but young and fun and hopeful, which threw me off at the beginning, but I absolutely fell in love with him. Fantastic. Beautiful. Protect at all costs. Demeter is not the one causing problems in this story, but Zera (Zeus & Hera; she killed him and took the name and his powers).
I gave both of these books 5 stars. I already want to re-read them. If you have any interest in Hades/Persephone and/or faerie romance novels, I highly recommend these.
Content warnings: many mentions of Hades’ traumatic childhood, including verbal and physical abuse and dub-con/rape
Bought on Amazon, not on ThriftBooks or B&N that I can find
In the Shadow of Demeter by Vic Malachai
(stand-alone Hades and Persephone retelling)
Literally the Greek myth of Hades and Persephone, just from Persephone’s POV (mostly).
After all the other Hades and Persephone retellings I’ve read (and I’ve read a lot and will read more), this one was a bit lackluster. I think this is where people should start, before they get into the retellings that stretch the story a bit (re: Neon Gods and Macdonald’s above, etc.). That being said, it was short and still good. Hades has a personality that isn’t dark and broody, and they have a history before he squirrels her away to the underworld. There’s peace at the end.
If you like Greek mythology for Greek mythology, very good. Think Ariadne by Jennifer Saint (and presumably Circe and The Song of Achilles, which are on my shelf and tbr).
Content warnings: none that I can think of
Bought on Amazon, not on ThriftBooks or B&N
Pretty Girls Make Graves by Steffanie Holmes
(Dark Academia quadrilogy)
Dark academia! Crumbling uni, secret societies, murder mystery, intrigue, danger, a hot priest. Bully romance, lots of second-hand embarrassment. Little spicy.
I’ll skip the synopsis and repeat: hot priest. Naked in the first chapter. The rest of it is summed up in the dark romance/dark academia description. Absolutely loved it, cannot wait for the next three books. (Stay tuned for book 2 in Feb).
Content warnings: bullying, murder, priest doing not Godly things, some violence and drinking and the usually stuff rich assholes get up to
Bought on Amazon, also available on ThriftBooks and B&N
Signed up for her newsletter to get extra content, which in this case gave me two chapters from the book from the priest and the good bad boy’s POVs and left me with way more questions than the book itself. Then she sent me one of her other books for free as an e-book and that led to:
The entire Briarwood Witches Pentalogy by Steffanie Holmes
(Earth and Embers, Fire and Fable, Water and Woe, Wind and Whispers, Spirit and Sorrow)
Polyamorous witches (reverse harem, one girl and 5 guys). Troublesome fae. Some surprising twists and turns. Spicyyyyy (but not kinky).
Synopsis: Girl’s adoptive Christian parents killed. Girl finds she has inherited English castle. English castle comes with four hot guys (*eyes emoji*). Surprise! She is witch. They are all witches. And they must stop the Unseelie King, obviously. Also, sex increases her power. Queue lots of sex and lots of trouble and some really amazing guys.
Binged all five in a few days. It’s really one single, long story.
Content warnings: murder, self-harm, attempted suicide, major character death (don’t worry it’s not permanent), literal “burn the witches at the stake” mentality and mob
E-books, but available on Amazon, ThriftBooks, and B&N