Indie Book Recs - with June guests.
- 2 hours ago
- 4 min read
For this month’s list I had help from a number of humans.
My thanks to Heather Lynn, Alexandra Peel, Cheryl Burman, Fi Phillips, and Ann Littler
In each case the person making the recommendation is named in brackets after the title.
Wendy Bayne – Crimes Against the Crown (Heather Lynn)
'Crimes Against the Crown Series' is set in post-Regency England. It was an exciting time, a world awash in silks, seduction, duplicity and intrigue of the post-Napoleonic period.
Danielle Lauren Spiritchild series (Ann Littler)
From Book 1: The beautifully imagined debut fantasy novel inspired by the likes of Lord of the Rings and Magician. "A vividly written fantasy that touches on philosophy and environmentalism." -- Kirkus Reviews A young woman's yearning to become something more is brought to alarming fruition when she is pitted against the source of a malignant blight affecting the natural order of her world. A broken god. A bleeding world. And the power within her to save it.
Beyond the veil, the spirit realm connects all living things together. The ocean to the sky. The rain to the ground. The air, and the trees.
But there is a darkness bleeding through the veil, tearing spiritlife out by the roots, leaving a lifeless void in its wake. The seasons have stopped turning, life withers where it should flourish, and vicious raiders prowl the lands. And in the heart of the darkness, a mad, broken god crouches, playing puppet master with the human race.
Fae is a gifted healer, and the only human in the elven tree-city of Arolynos. Brought to Arolynos as a young orphan, she remembers nothing of her life beforehand, but she has felt the eyes of the spirits her whole life. Never before have they deigned to speak to her. Until the day the trees scream.
The spirits are dying, and the world is dying with them. Gifted with a seed of power by the spirits themselves, Fae is the only one who can save them. She alone must venture into the darkness. To defeat a broken god.
Before the natural order collapses completely.
Danielle Lauren The Fates Of Aos
From Book 1 Every world knows the laws of balance.
Push and pull. Ebb and flow.
Rise and Fall.
But the balance of Aos has begun to change…
The Fall pulls down ships and their crews faster than they can be recovered, Dominique's brother among them.
The Rise pushes a wall of water slowly but surely towards the prosperous city of Rihurr, and Theobald is the only one who notices.
The oceans are unpredictable and perilous, forcing pirates onto land and driving Luke far from home.
EV Faulkner, Saint Peter’s Knickers. (Cheryl Burman)
The story of a child struggling to navigate life, find friends, and learn how all families are not like hers.Piety Scroggins is eight and a half. She’s awkward, skinny, has trouble remembering things, and is the butt of everyone’s jokes. Worse than the teasing at school, though, is the neglect and sniping from Mum. Piety enjoys school – the world is an amazing place, but finds the lessons hard – who can listen and write simultaneously?When Piety begins secondary school, she thinks she has left the bullies behind, but an old adversary is here, and new ones too. She takes refuge in art books, especially the painting of Saint Peter by El Greco, and uses the saint as an example – with disastrous results. When she meets an angel on a bus, Piety learns to take care of and stand up for herself.
Heartwarming. Moving.
Alexandra Peel The Schimmering. (Cheryl Burman)
In a world where magic has faded into myth, three operatives-a cynical soldier, a charming acrobat, and a cunning forger-are recruited by the Crown's spymaster. Their missions soon plunge them into a shadow war between two ancient, magical factions. As loyalties are tested and a forgotten power awakens, they must navigate a web of betrayal and conspiracy where the line between ally and enemy blurs, threatening to shatter their world and themselves. The price of loyaltyis a constant, devastating question.
For readers who enjoy Joe Abercrombie, Scott Lynch, or Leigh Bardugo.
Fat Man Blues Richard Wall (Fi Phillips)
"Hobo John" is an English blues enthusiast on a pilgrimage to present-day Mississippi. One night in Clarksdale he meets the mysterious Fat Man, who offers him the chance to see the real blues of the 1930s. Unable to refuse this offer, Hobo John embarks on a journey through the afterlife in the company of Travellin' Man, an old blues guitarist who shows him the sights, sounds and everyday life in the Mississippi Delta. Along the way, the Englishman discovers the harsh realities behind his romantic notion of the music he loves and the true price of the deal that he has made.
Deep Space Accountant Mjke Wood. (Alexandra Peel)
Could this be the worst job interview in the entire history of the universe? Possibly. So when Elton D. Philpotts actually lands his dream job as an accountant with the elite Space Corps, he’s baffled. How did it happen? Is he a financial savant, or does someone in the galaxy's most powerful organisation have an ulterior motive for bringing him on board?The work is dull—nothing like the intergalactic glamour job he envisioned. Until, that is, he sees things he shouldn’t: a hidden ledger, highly dubious transactions, and bogus gate receipts. The numbers don't lie.And when an entire starship vanishes without a trace, who is the corporation going to blame?A frantic, hilarious race across the Sphere of Influence pushes Elton and his hapless band of followers into a universe of adventure and dangers none of them could have ever imagined.This is a feel-good, laugh-out-loud, David and Goliath story that blends high-stakes thrills with heartfelt camaraderie. Join one man and his small, loyal group of friends in their fight against a corrupt corporation spanning all human-inhabited space.Deep Space Accountant is the first book in the Sphere of Influence series.
Travelling in a Box Mike Wood. (Alexandra Peel)
Rain, gales and ice blizzards. Parched, tinder-dry fields. There are alien invasions, military manoeuvres and toxic waste, and all before the Wood family even start their Alpine caravan adventure. Why? Because it is fun. It is holidays.Travelling in a Box is about a family and their passion for all things camping and caravanning. Join them as they embark on a pan-European adventure with their thirty-year-old caravan in tow, and see what happens when their unbreakable tolerance for ‘fun’ is pushed to new limits?
Thanks to all my guests.
Happy reading
Lilyx
Comments