The post Forthcoming & New Release Books You Won’t Want to Miss (2025) appeared first on Independent Book Review.
]]>by Eric Mayrhofer
The final quarter of 2025 is upon us.
Autumn—the season when we start pulling out cozy sweatshirts, putting pumpkin in everything, and getting started on our Christmas lists (if we’re ambitious). If you’d rather binge Gilmore Girls for the ninetieth time, you have my blessing, but I also highly recommend checking out this season’s new book releases instead.
The books coming out between October and December 2025 are gearing up to freak you out and give you hope. They’re getting ready to show you the magic in the world and remind you that it’s a wild place to live. In a season of so many extraordinary reads, these are some of the best indie books to add to your TBR.
Here are 12 new release books you won’t want to miss.
1. Magic at the Grand Dragonfly Theatre
Author: Brandie June
Genre: YA Fantasy
Release Date: October 7
ISBN: 9780744311792
Publisher: CamCat Books
To me, autumn is the season of writing. From the motivation of the former beast known as NaNoWriMo to the coziness of drafting by hand while watching the leaves change beyond the window, nothing feels quite as right as writing. But when you add forbidden magic? Now that makes a story worth savoring.
Those elements are the starting point in Brandie June’s new release Magic at the Grand Dragonfly Theatre. Playwright Violet Ashmore lives in the shadow of her sister Iris, who has promised to protect Violet and her dangerous magic from from the Crown. But when bounty hunter Alec Morgan infiltrates the theater and begins falling for Iris, their life—and the theater—could all come undone.
With a literary protagonist longing for more, the danger of books like Caraval and the lyrical magic of The Night Circus, Magic at the Grand Dragonfly Theatre has the potential to be the most enchanting read of the end of 2025.
2. But the Wicked Shall Perish
Author: Catori Sarmiento
Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense / Fantasy
Release Date: October 7
ISBN: 9781960018762
Publisher: Running Wild Press
More than a few years ago now, The Golem and the Jinni used Jewish folklore to incredible effect, creating a lush and heartwarming fantasy about the immigrant experience in America. This year, Catori Sarmiento incorporates the culture’s mythology to paint a blood-red portrait of a woman seeking her murderer—and revenge.
But the Wicked Shall Perish slips readers into Tziporah Curiel’s resurrected shoes. When she comes back to life in 1920s Venice, Italy, she begins a quest for justice that will leave a trail of souls in her wake and lead to a deal with a demon, forcing her to come to terms with what happened and what she has become. Supernatural, heart-wrenching, and pulse-pounding, this might be exactly the early Halloween treat you’ve been looking for.
3. The Scald Crow
Author: Grace Daly
Genre: Literary Fiction / Horror
Release Date: October 14
ISBN: 9781951971311
Publisher: Creature Horror
“This isn’t a dream… This is really happening!” Could that iconic quote from Rosemary’s Baby be the inspiration for a new spooky season favorite? It may seem like it when you read The Scald Crow by Grace Daly. Offering laughs and scares in equal measure, the novel asks, “Can a sick woman ever be trusted?”
The sick woman in question is Brigid, a self-doubting protagonist living with chronic pain so severe it cost her her job. To add misfortune to injury, her mother goes missing, a turn of events that forces her back into her childhood home. Soon, a crow starts following her, a painting returns no matter how often she rids herself of it, and nightmares of her mother keep startling her awake. Is it all in her head? After all, her pain has no identifiable cause, and that must be her own fault too…right?
A book that confronts readers with the one thing that is all too often our own worst enemies—the negative voices in our heads—The Scald Crow is a spine-tingling, ultimately empowering entry in the horror genre.
4. The Ten Thousand Things
Author: Debbi Flittner
Genre: Memoir
Release Date: October 7
ISBN: 9798992424218
2025 isn’t all about the scares though. Any time is a good time for beautifully written memoirs. This memoir on silence and belonging is the author’s lifelong attempt to understand her “elusive, unnerving” mother.
Lauren Hayataka of IBR says it’s the lyricism of the prose that elevates the memoir. She says, “Flittner writes with the precision of someone who has carried these memories for decades, shaping them into vivid, almost cinematic scenes: hiding beneath plastic during a sudden storm, watching rain blur the world into a secret cave; lying in the plastic-covered back seat of the family’s Buick as the desert slid past; screaming for help in a kitchen where no one came.”
For all those looking for moving true stories about complex family in lyrical prose, find out why Hayataka calls it “radiant” and “unforgettable.”
5. Bloodletting a Butterfly
Author: Alec B. Hood
Genre: Poetry / Dark
Release Date: Oct 14
ISBN: 9798891328266
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
Okay, back to the dead. But with a twist.
Alec B. Hood’s poetry is “visceral, devastating, and brilliantly gory,” says Mandy Bach of IBR. The speaker of the collection is completely preoccupied with death and dying and discusses it with raw, physical imagery.
“Hood expertly uses surreal descriptions of the body to help readers understand the disturbing nature of this preoccupation with suffering and death. He writes, ‘there are insect eggs / embedded in my esophagus // parasites peering / through my pupils // my lungs / flooded with webs // my blood / blinking with lightning bugs.‘”
Feast your eyes on roadkill, ghosts, and more in this “beautifully ugly” collection.
6. The Mongoose
Author: Joana mosi
Genre: Graphic Novel
Release Date: October 14
ISBN: 9782925114475
Publisher: Pow Pow Press
Pow Pow Press is doing some amazing work! After the unique power of The Jellyfish and Botanica Drama, I couldn’t help but get excited about The Mongoose.
This black and white graphic novel about grief and ghosts and, oddly, a phantom mongoose combines what I’ve come to expect from Pow Pow Press: thoughtful and moving visual stories with a dash of strange.
7. A Blood Witch
Author: Joseph Stone
Genre: Fantasy / Dark
Release Date: November 5
Joseph Stone is no stranger to captivating dark fantasy. From the alluring darkness of The Lykanos Chronicles, which we included in our list of best book series of the past few years, to the first book in the Haunted Women series, which Alexandria Ducksworth raved about, Stone writes evocative fantasy with “jaw-dropping” and “downright scary” results.
And now, book two! Victoria Lilly of IBR called it “a chilling, layered, and intelligent gothic piece that tackles the genre from a distinctly feminist angle… Not a comforting read, but a valuable one.”
8. The Sofa
Author: Sam Munson
Genre: Horror / Literary
Release Date: November 11
ISBN: 9781953387974
Publisher: Two Dollar Radio
Mr. Montessori goes downstairs one morning to find his sofa is different. The doors are all locked. Windows too. Nobody’s broken in. So how did this get here, and where did their old, perfect couch go?
Suddenly, the image of a man in a bowler hat starts popping up all around him. His son’s drawing used to only have the new sofa in it. The mirror used to be only him staring back.
The Sofa by Sam Munson is a surreal piece of everyday horror that nails down obsession in an eerily painful way. Man, what if Montessori just stepped away from this fascination? What if he accepted this weirdly outdated sofa as his own and moved on with his perfectly fine life? It surely wouldn’t turn out like this.
9. A Gathering Place
Author: Vicki salloum
Genre: Literary Fiction
Release Date: November 18
ISBN: 9798999042286
Publisher: Silent Clamor Press
Sometimes faith is all but a voice.
81-year-old Blue Hamieh follows her faith to New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, believing that the Virgin Mary wants her to open a gathering place, a cafe, for downtrodden people in the devastated city. Is this a true calling, or is her family right and she should return to Mississippi?
Vicki Salloum imbues this community-driven novel of faith and resilience with artful, meaningful prose and a big heart. I dare you not to fall for Blue by the novel’s end.
10. Hotel Melikov (Citizen Orlov Book 2)
Author: Jonathan Payne
Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense / Crime
Release Date: November 18, 2025
ISBN: 9780744311808
Publisher: CamCat Books
What better way to prepare for the oncoming winter chill than to immerse yourself in the chilling espionage of a mountainous, central-European country?
In Hotel Melikov, the second book of Jonathan Payne’s Citizen Orlov series, readers find Orlov as the Minister for Security of a nation on the verge of collapsing. When tension between the government and revolutionaries erupt, all he wants is to return to his former life as a fishmonger. But when he discovers a sinister plot that threatens everyone, what will he choose?
Featuring tense thrills, political intrigue, nuns who are more than they seem, and a comedic twist, Jonathan Payne returns us to the world of Citizen Orlov in style.
11. Hope
Author: Sommer Schafer
Genre: Literary Fiction / Short Stories
Release Date: November 25
ISBN: 9781963115475
Publisher: Unsolicited Press
Previously published in Best American Short Stories, Sommer Schafer returns with Hope, a story collection to keep you warm as winter approaches.
Set in the small island community of Hope, Alaska, Hope offers an experience that will delight fans of small-town, big-emotion collections like Olive Kitteridge. Linked stories show the hopes and dreams the townsfolk have for the future, all while questioning how well (or how much) they can bury the past.
With precise descriptions, sharp insights, and subtle humor, Schafer’s collection holds all the promise of an uplifting read on these lengthening nights.
12. Dark Matter
Author: Kaja Kothe
Genre: Science Fiction
Release Date: December 2, 2025
ISBN: 9781946154972
Publisher: Meerkat Press
Bunny Graves has to make this list. Kathe Koja’s Dark Factory series has already been praised for its wild and mind-bending prose, the esoteric experience it gives readers, and its thrilling combinations of art, technology, and a willingness to explore both reality and virtual reality.
Readers might just have their minds blown in Dark Matter. Here, Bunny and Koja’s array of characters wind through a cyberpunk-ish landscape to break the rules, chase ancient myths into virtual reality and back again, and make it through in a world where corporate wars can be life and death. It’s set up to be a rewarding finish for longtime fans of the acclaimed Koja and a bold new world for readers in search of a Snow Crash-meets-Cyberpunk 2077 fix.
What new release books are you looking forward to? Let us know in the comments!
Author Bio
Eric Mayrhofer is a marketing creative living in Connecticut with his partner and their three cats, Frosty, Korra, and Zoe. A lifelong reader, Eric is working on his first novel in between illustrating, watching spooky movies, and pretending he knows how to bake after watching reruns of The Great British Baking Show.
Thank you for reading “Forthcoming & New Release Books You Won’t Want to Miss (2025)!” If you liked what you read, please spend some more time with us at the links below.
Book Reviews | IBR Blog | Resources for Writers
The post Forthcoming & New Release Books You Won’t Want to Miss (2025) appeared first on Independent Book Review.
]]>The post What Should I Read Next? Indie Book Recommendations Based on Your Mood appeared first on Independent Book Review.
]]>by Nick Gardner
Answering the inevitable question.
I used to have a stack of about twenty books beside my reading chair, but last year I graduated to an entire to-be-read bookshelf. Now that shelf is two titles deep and I still find myself wondering, what should I read next?
The problem isn’t so much that I don’t have time to read all of the books I’ve collected—I’m not overwhelmed—but rather that sometimes I visit a new bookstore and a fresh plot catches my eye. Or I read a blurb or review and think, “This is the book that fits my mood!”
Even though I have a backlog of what I’m sure are perfectly wonderful titles, oftentimes it’s not the quality of the book as much as my mood that decides which author’s world I will lose myself to in that moment.
When a book fits my mood, it takes me where I want to go. My wanderlust overpowers me, so I read a travelogue or adventure story or my disgust with a certain contemporary event drives me to horror. Maybe I just want to see words used in sentences that are beautiful concoctions of sound and motion, so I read something lyrical, musical.
Though there are many reasons to read any book, if an author can drop me smack-dab into the middle of a place I’ve been yearning for, then their book rises to the top of my stack.
Below, I’ve arranged several books I’ve come to love based on moods, or, more specifically, where my mood drives me to get lost. Because if you’re going to lose yourself, you may as well know what you’re losing yourself to. And bonus points
—they’re all indie books!
Here are some book recommendations to answer the inevitable question, “What should I read next?”
(Book lists on Independent Book Review are chosen by very picky people. As affiliates, we earn a commission on books you purchase through our links.)
What should I read next if I want to get lost On a journey?
Oregon, Montana, Vermont, Kevin Maloney’s protagonist finds himself slumming it in some of my favorite cities and wild lands.
Joe Walters, in his review at Independent Book Review, calls The Red-Headed Pilgrim “escapist fiction. You can’t convince me otherwise. It’s not a fantasy, a sci-fi, any other mystical land to travel to (unless you count Portland). It’s just a break from this wild real life, a visit to a funny world, an entrance into someone else’s reality.”
And it’s weird, even though that “someone else’s reality” is not necessarily the “lap of luxury,” it is meaningful enough to wander the streets of Burlington, broke, with a cowboy hat and a corncob pipe, pretending to be some preposterous other. It’s somehow enough to know that you’re somewhere else.
Amaranthine Chevrolet
Another book filled with similar wanderlust, Amaranthine Chevrolet by Dennis E. Bolen, follows fifteen-year-old Robin, who takes off in his boss’s field truck on a thousand-mile trek across Western Canada. The book is based in 1967, so it plays doubly on my transportation in both space and time. Sometimes it’s enough to just mentally trek across North America and meet the strangers who live there in order to get you lost.
What should I read next if I want to get lost In nostalgia?
It’s nice to think back on the past—a car ride through the country with a long-lost lover, the joy of a high school soccer game. Nostalgia is everything you’ve physically lost but still carry with you.
Issa Quincy’s Absence is the story of a poem that follows the narrator from his childhood bedroom where his mother first read it to him. Over the years, the poem pops up time and again to remind him of his past, of his mother, a memory he will carry with him forever.
Amy Brozio-Andrews calls Issa Quincy’s Absence, “A tender and thoughtful novel that illuminates the power of memory and how it shapes us.”
Bonus nostalgia recommendation: Andrew Bertaina’s long essay, Ethan Hawke & Me: The Before Trilogy, tracks how the Ethan Hawke films shaped him as a man, a thinker, and a writer.
What should I read next if I want to get lost In language?
There are plenty of wonderful books out there written in simple language. A perfect plot or intriguing character is often enough to make a book worth reading. But then there are those writers who really lean into the rhythms of speech, the flow of their language. They may use beautiful imagery, some rhyme, some esoteric words, but the words themselves have the tendency to sweep you up and take you away.
Whitney Collins’ prose has wowed me since I read Ricky and Other Love Stories earlier this year. A collection of love stories that aren’t always only love stories, Collins is a smooth talker, throwing humor and wit into her prose. Shark attacks, sperm banks, a Ham Depot, Collins’ stories are always a heartfelt, if sometimes weird, wild ride.
Bonus recommendation in this mood: Claire Hopple’s Echo Chamber is bizarre and beautiful, sure to take you to unexpected places.
What should I read next if I want to get lost In the grotesque?
I’m late to the indie horror game, but thanks to David Simmons, I’ve found myself enjoying the description of a Dobson Fly eating its way through Jada’s insides. Simmons’ latest novel, The Eradicator features a twenty-four-year-old NICU nurse who likes parties, drugs, sex, and sometimes murder. As her own body deteriorates and lashes back at her, she takes her discomfort and her hatred of the world out on strangers around her in vicious ways.
Simmons describes the most disgusting parts of bodies in a manner that makes me cringe but also want to read on. It’s a mystery, in a way. It makes you wonder what is actually wrong with this person, with people.
Bonus recommendation in this mood: While David Ohle’s The Death of a Character is a vastly different story, the obsession with breaking-down bodies, with the strangeness of bodies is also there and also incredibly fascinating to read.
What should I read next if I want to get lost In the West?
I love a good Western. Boundless land to ride through, heroic escapes, a clear sense of good and evil, white hats versus black hats. The Western is, in many ways, a simplified world with clear laws about humanity.
Kendall Roberts’ Gunslingers is a story about cowboys in the wild plains of the West defining their own personal brand of justice in a dangerous world. Of course Gunslingers features shoot-outs and bar brawls, posses, and long rides through the desert, but Roberts’ take on the Western goes beyond the thrill of dead-eye gunmen and near escapes.
With deft prose, Roberts paints a fictional landscape spotted with fictional towns that comment on traditional views of the American Frontier while also showing its natural beauty. It’s wonderful to get lost in the plains.
What should I read next if I want to get lost In the mind?
Sometimes a mental landscape can be just as interesting as a physical landscape, even if the mind you’re reading is filled with small anxieties and paranoia. As an anxious person myself, it actually feels nice to lose myself to someone else’s paranoia. Or, rather, to see the anxieties of another character and laugh at how similar they are to my own. It’s healthy to laugh at yourself, and easy to do when you see your same follies in others.
Bennett Sims Other Minds and Other Stories is a collection of quiet, intellectual stories, often taking place over no more than a couple hours of the character’s life in which very little action actually occurs. However, as the characters spiral, the tension grips tighter. As suspicions snowball into certainties and questions mushroom into conspiracies, the simple process of writing an essay or reading a book turns into a question of life and death.
What should I read next if I want to get lost For a short amount of time?
I read on the metro sometimes, or in stolen moments before and after work. Maybe on an airplane, which is where I powered through Michael Bible’s powerful, moving, heartbreaking book about a tortoise, Little Lazarus (Clash Books). The book shows the world through the eyes of a turtle who cares very deeply for everyone around him. It’s a quiet book, but a short read, taking up not much more than an afternoon.
I’ve talked with several readers of Bible’s novella who have cried at the end. I also teared up. The prose is fantastic, but the heart is what drives this hundred-or-so-page novella.
Bonus recommendation in this mood: Ryan Rivas’ Lizard People is another short book with a lot of heart that’s definitely worth sitting with for a couple hours some afternoon.
No matter what your mood, there’s a book to match it because writers, like readers, often change. Whether you want to transport yourself to outer space or into the subconscious depths of your mind, there’s a book made for you.
About the Author
Nick Gardner is a writer, teacher, and critic who has worked as a winemaker, chef, painter, shoe salesman, and addiction counselor. His latest collection of stories from the Rust Belt, Delinquents And Other Escape Attempts, is out now from Madrona Books. He lives in Ohio and Washington, DC and works as a beer and wine monger in Maryland.
Thank you for reading Nick Gardner’s “What Should I Read Next? Indie Book Recommendations Based on Mood.” If you liked what you read, please spend some more time with us at the links below.
The post What Should I Read Next? Indie Book Recommendations Based on Your Mood appeared first on Independent Book Review.
]]>The post Troubleshoot Your Reading: A Guide to Overcoming Reading Slumps appeared first on Independent Book Review.
]]>by Shelly Foreshaw
Some books meet you where you are. Others require a little strategy.
If your reading life has felt off lately—distracted, sluggish, or strangely joyless—you’re going to want to diagnose the problem. The right fix might be simpler than you think.
Here are some common causes for a reading slump and how to fix them.
#1. You’re having trouble concentrating.
Diagnosis: Narrative Attention Deficit
You sit down to read, but your mind flickers elsewhere. Paragraphs blur. Sentences slide past. Your attention span isn’t ready for long form content, the book isn’t holding you—and maybe nothing will. So you get up to eat. You do the dishes again. You pick up the book and put it down, then pick up the book and put it down, then pick up the book and put it down.
Prescription: Find the narrator who insists on taking you with them.
Some books are designed to grip you from the first line, with prose that’s urgent, lean, and emotionally direct. When my own concentration falters, I turn to Bret Easton Ellis—not for moral instruction, but for pace. His narrators don’t wait for you to catch up; they just go. A great indie author pick for fast-paced fiction is Sherri L. Dodd and her Murder, Tea, and Crystals trilogy.
Some books feel like films. Chuck Palahniuk once said he set out to write for people who loved video games—not traditional readers. The result was Fight Club. Books like this aren’t just fast; they’re immersive, built for people whose attention is pulled in all directions. (RPG fantasy fans: Check out Veil Online!)
And seriously—keep an eye on debuts! Something written before the author had the luxury (or burden) of refinement. In my reading life, their books always seem to move so fast—because they must!—and the energy is contagious. When in doubt, follow the momentum. Boxcutters by John Chrostek fits that mold!
#2. You just can’t seem to get started.
Diagnosis: Entry Resistance
You’ve picked out the book, maybe even opened it once or twice—but somehow, starting feels like such a task. The first page hasn’t drawn you in, and the thought of returning to it already feels like work.
Read past the resistance. Commit to a minimum page count on your first attempt—fifteen pages, twenty, maybe forty if you’ve got the time. Enough to cross the initial threshold and allow the narrative to begin unfolding. Often, the real problem isn’t the book itself but the inertia of beginning. The second time you pick it up, the world of the story will already be faintly familiar, and that makes returning easier.
Extra, Spicy Tip: Skip the prologue or introduction. Don’t waste your reading energy on the preamble—save it for the actual text. You can always return to it later, once the book has had a chance to speak for itself.
Need more convincing to get started? Here are some of the biggest benefits of reading.
#3. It feels like you don’t have enough time.
Diagnosis: Literary Delusion
We are made up of time. It never changes. 24 hours, every day. There are moments, there are small pockets; these are the little times.
Those books you’ve been wanting to read might feel too daunting. The chapters might be too long. You might feel like you can’t commit at the outset to finishing a full book in a specific amount of time.
Prescription: Reach for short stories. They offer the satisfaction of completion without the long-term commitment. They are so often spaces for authors to take creative risks—testing ideas, styles, or narrative experiments. The best of them come with sharpness: a sense that the story is being held taut by its brevity.
They also linger! Since the author doesn’t have space to expand on every detail, you end up doing some of the imaginative work yourself—filling in the emotional terrain, sketching out the lives that unfold just beyond the final line, while you’re doing your busy work around the house or in your life. It’s a kind of co-authorship. This not only activates your inner world, but it also leaves you with compact, vivid narratives that tend to resurface days later in conversation or thought.
Best of all, short stories can lead you back to longer reading. They awaken the part of you that craves story, and once the appetite returns, reaching for a novel feels less like a chore and more like a continuation. You have the time; you just have to make it. Smartly.
Plays can also offer something unique. Unlike short stories, which can be jagged or experimental, plays often dwell in deep emotional and psychological space. They are less concerned with the outer plot than with what the characters are wrestling with internally. There’s immediacy to them—dialogue, tension—that creates a vivid sense of life unfolding.
Anton Chekov and the American classics are especially good here. Tennessee Williams and Arthur Miller are often described as psychological writers—not in an academic sense, but in an intuitive, emotional one. Their work grips you not because of the plots, but because of the emotional clarity and quiet devastation they manage to evoke in just a few acts. You leave not just with a story, but with a mood that stays with you.
#4. You are bored by your current book.
Diagnosis: Narrative Drift
The prose stretches on without much movement—neither in plot nor in cadence. You find yourself drifting, rereading the same lines, or worse, skipping ahead without really absorbing anything.
Prescription: If you’re reading leisurely, don’t be afraid to move on. I don’t care if you’re 200 pages into your 400 page book. It’s still going to feel too long if you’re not enjoying yourself. Sure you can’t add it to your finished pile for the year, but sometimes reading slumps are specific to the book. Move on. There’s better books waiting for you, like these ones.
If you’re reading as an assignment or feel like you have to read the book, go for a walk. Pace up and down your room, your hallway, your garden—anywhere that allows for a bit of steady, uninterrupted movement. The physical rhythm can help impose structure where the writing offers none. It keeps you alert and engaged, and paradoxically, heightens your focus. With the mind slightly occupied by movement, your attention on the text sharpens. What seemed shapeless on the page starts to take on a rhythm of its own.
#5. You feel like you’re lacking momentum.
Diagnosis: Passive Absorption Mode
Some books don’t offer natural pauses—long chapters, no section breaks, no clear arc. You’re not reading to savor the prose; you’re reading to understand, to absorb, or simply to finish.
Prescription: Read in public. A subway ride introduces “organic” interruptions—someone getting on or off, a shift in the carriage, a dog barking in the distance. These interruptions, rather than breaking your focus, can create a strange, dreamlike absorption. The plot lodges itself more firmly in your mind, and you often retain more than you expect. Alternatively, the ambient distractions can produce a kind of tunnel-vision concentration—as if your mind is working harder to hold onto the thread of the story.
This approach works especially well for lighter or less stylistically rich books, the kind you don’t necessarily want to sit down and savor, but still want to read through with momentum.
If you’re prone to dizziness or public transit isn’t an option, replicate the effect in a café or bar—ideally in the evening, when the hum of conversation is steady and low. The surrounding life creates texture and contrast with the text.
#6. You’re feeling intimidated by the classics.
Diagnosis: Literary Stage Fright
You’ve been meaning to read them—Dostoevsky, Proust, & co—but something about their reputation, the page count, or the way people talk about them makes you hesitate. You want to admire but are afraid you won’t understand them—or worse, that you might not enjoy them.
Prescription: Begin with the author’s shorter work. Novellas, short stories, essays. Just get a sense of their voice, concerns, and style. A single story can introduce you to the atmosphere of their work without requiring a major commitment. It builds familiarity and, more importantly, appetite.
Once you’ve had a taste, you may find you want to read the longer works—not out of obligation, but curiosity. Most of these stories are available online or in collected editions. Think of them as literary aperitifs—sharp, suggestive, and much easier to approach.
If you want to read Robin Wall Kimmerer for example, author of the hefty but incredible Braiding Sweetgrass, start with The Serviceberry.
#7. The book you have to read is too difficult.
Diagnosis: The Comprehension Stall
You’re reading the same paragraph for the third time and still can’t quite tell what it’s trying to say. The prose is dense, the terminology unfamiliar, and the argument elusive.
Prescription: Begin with the conclusion of the chapter or section—this is where the author often distills their central claim. Once you know where they’re headed, you’ll be better prepared to trace the path they take to get there. Next, skim the chapter to identify key terms that you don’t yet know. Take the time to look these up before your proper read to not interrupt your flow later.
When you return to the full chapter, you’ll find the argument clearer, the reading smoother, and your focus far less fragmented.
#8. You’re reading the wrong format.
Diagnosis: Paperback Inaccessibility
I love physical books. New book smell, old book smell; I welcome it all. I love to listen to the gentle swishing of the page as I turn it to find out what happens next. I love placing it face-out on my bookshelf or nightstand and carrying it by my side as I venture to my comfy spot.
But you don’t always feel uncomfortable reading in public, or you need to turn the light off because your partner is asleep.
Prescription: Experiment with a new format.
E-readers can be great for public reading. Not only might some of them fit in your pocket, but if you whip out your Kindle at your kid’s sporting event, it might just look like you’re on your phone like so many others.
E-readers are excellent to fall asleep by too. If you read a paperback, you need the light on. With e-readers, you can lie in bed, read with only one hand, and fall asleep naturally without having to interrupt it by turning off the light. (Be warned though: you may drop it on your face.)
And audiobooks open up a whole new world of possibilities for readers! The time-sensitive reader can do the dishes, put the clothes away, even go to the gym while they’re reading. Nonfiction books make for great audiobooks because it doesn’t matter much if you tune out for a paragraph or two. Give it a shot!
What’s causing your reading slump? Let me know in the comments!
About the Author
Having worked as a playwright in Berlin, Shelly Foreshaw now splits her time between Germany and the UK while working as a freelance writer. She’s currently in the process of publishing her first novella.
Thank you for reading “Troubleshoot Your Reading: A Guide to Overcoming Reading Slumps” by Shelly Foreshaw! If you liked what you read, please spend some more time with us at the links below.
The post Troubleshoot Your Reading: A Guide to Overcoming Reading Slumps appeared first on Independent Book Review.
]]>The post 7 Contemporary Beach Reads to Pack This Summer appeared first on Independent Book Review.
]]>by Addison Ciuchta
A beach read lives outside genre.
With summer fully upon us, the annual discussion of what makes a beach read a beach read is back in full force. Some say beach reads are lighthearted romances to speed through by the surf. Others say a sucker punch of a thriller is the best for those sand-filled afternoons. I, however, think a beach read is any and all of the above. As long as it fits a few criteria.
A beach read must be absorbing. It must keep you hook you at the start and keep you engaged until the end. But should you get interrupted by a mid-afternoon ice cream break or a dip in the water, it should be easy to dive back into. It probably shouldn’t be too sad either, but that one’s up for debate.
This list is made up of dazzling romance, the spectacular adventure, and twisty-turny mysteries, all of which are easy to breeze through. And bonus points: they’re all indie books!
Here are 7 books perfect for your beach bag.
(Book lists on Independent Book Review are chosen by very picky people. As affiliates, we earn a commission on books you purchase through our links.)
1. Empire of Shadows
Author: Jacquelyn Benson
Genre: Fantasy / Romance
Print Length: 476 pages
ISBN: 9781958051337
After she is arrested at a women’s rights protest, Ellie Mallory is fired from her archivist job. Her archeological dreams crumbling before her, she finds a map that documents the route to an ancient, mythical city. She’s not the only one interested in what lay at the end of the x, a sleekly vicious villain named Jacobs hot on her heels as she spontaneously decides to sail to Honduras to investigate. There, she meets a local surveyor Adam Bates, a rough-around-the-edges rascal who agrees to help her navigate the dangerous route.
It’s a thrilling adventure full of dense brush, ancient history, and unexpected connection between Ellie and Adam who both, in their own way, fight against a society that tells them who they should be, lending a sincerity to the narrative even as gashes, gore, and gun fire erupt. Fair warning, it’s on the longer side, so don’t forget to reapply that sunscreen!
2. Make a Scene
Author: Mimi Grace
Genre: Romance
Print Length: 230 pages
ISBN: 9781999108236
Bakery-owner Retta Majors is thrown off kilter when, at a family gathering, her cousin announces she’s engaged to Retta’s ex-boyfriend. As her family congratulates the couple, Retta tries to keep her composure. Wanting to show everyone how fine she is with it all, Retta agrees to attend the wedding against her better judgement, making up a boyfriend who is supposed to come along with her.
After a few failed attempts, she finds her fake boyfriend in the boxing gym next to her bakery; one of the owners, Duncan Gilmore, is the perfect candidate. All she has to do is give up a coveted parking space and a recipe to get him to say yes.
As Retta and Duncan get to know each other so they can ace their act at the wedding, real chemistry blooms between them. Through descriptions of pastries you can practically taste, not-so-pretend dates, and background family drama, you’ll be smiling through it all.
Need gifts for your book-loving kid? Check out these gifts for kids who love to read.
3. Lucky Secrets
Author: B.T. Polcari
Publisher: Wild Rose Press
Genre: Mystery / Cozy
Print Length: 414 pages
ISBN: 9781509261420
Amateur sleuth Sara Donovan is heading into finals before college graduation when two envelopes arrive, one with an invitation to take part in a mysterious competition and the other containing doctored blackmail photos that suggest Sara doesn’t have a choice in whether to agree.
With her best friend Zoe and her loyal sidekick sleuth dog Mauzzy, the trio report to a mansion where the competition will take place. Under strict non-disclosure agreements, vague threats from the unknown organizer, and the pressure of seven other contestants, Sara’s investigating skills are pushed to their limits as she tries not only to win but to unmask the person pulling the strings behind it all.
Sara’s sleuthing skills, her adorable sidekick Mauzzy, and riddles galore make this an excellent cozy mystery to read beach-side. But just because it’s lighthearted doesn’t mean the stakes aren’t high!
Blackmail, white collar crime, and violence raise the tension to keep you guessing.
4. Tap Dancing on Everest
Author: Mimi Zieman
Genre: Memoir / Climbing
Print Length: 244 pages
ISBN: 9781493078431
Tap Dancing on Everest is part adventure, part inspiration—perfect for a sunny break from your daily life.
Mimi is still in medical school when she accepts the invitation to be a doctor that accompanies a team of climbers striking out a new path on Mt. Everest. But they have limited resources and no possibility for rescue.
Fighting her own self-doubt, the rough conditions, and the biting cold, Mimi recounts her experience with the climbers, reflecting on her childhood, her education, and her heritage as she does.
What makes this unique is the perspective, Mimi approaching the narrative of her trek from more of a layperson’s point-of-view rather than a technical take on the climb. It’s also full of vulnerability as she reflects on her upbringing as the child of Jewish immigrants, her insecurities in studying medicine, and her true dedication to help others.
5. His Third Victim
Author: Helen H. Durrant
Publisher: Joffe Books
Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
Print Length: 235 pages
ISBN: 9781912106196
After the death of his partner in an ambush last year, Detective Inspector Matt Bridle is taking a break from investigative work, maybe forever, to heal his own injuries from the attack.
But after a young boy goes missing and five seemingly unconnected people turn up dead in Yorkshire with the same Chinese symbol on them, his boss needs him back. Now paired with a new sergeant, Lily, the pair must find out who the killer is before there are more bodies to be found.
With glimpses into the meticulous, chilling mind of the killer, you’ll be rooting for D.I. Brindle to put a stop to this before it’s too late. With leads that go nowhere, suspicious witnesses, and his own trauma, though, Brindle’s up against more than a simple open-and-shut case. A truly thrilling beach read!
6. Looks Good on Paper
Author: Kilby Blades
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Genre: Romance
Print Length: 310 pages
ISBN: 9798849930459
Zuri Robinson likes paper. Okay, maybe she loves paper. It’s kind of her thing. Pen pal letters written on that fancy paper? There’s nothing better. One of the only things that keeps her pushing through her customer service job, fielding calls from disgruntled users of a not-so-respectable dating app, is knowing a package of wonderful stationary or a letter from her Italian pen pal, Alessandro, is waiting for her.
What she doesn’t know is that the person writing the letters is actually Nico, Alessandro’s brother. When Zuri jets off for Italy for a much-needed vacation, the secret can’t stay secret for long.
With beautiful descriptions to Italy (and Italian men), this is an adorable romance between Zuri and Nico, framed by the touching letters they sent each other. What’s stunning about this one is the way love can bloom amongst every day, mundane topics, the small details of each other’s lives where they find a deep connection in each other before they ever meet.
7. Murder in First Position: An On Pointe Mystery
Author: Lori Robbins
Publisher: Level Best Books
Genre: Mystery
Print Length: 260 pages
ISBN: 9781947915749
Leah Siderova, a ballerina, is knocked from top billing and lead roles after a knee injury requires surgery. Her competitor, a younger ballerina named Arianna, is now in the spotlight, taking Leah’s place. Back in action, Leah’s determined to knock Arianna down a peg.
But when Leah finds Arianna stabbed to death, Leah’s shocked to find she’s prime suspect number one in the police’s eyes. Everyone knows ballet is cutthroat, and sure they may have had an altercation or two, but she’d never actually murder anyone. Now, as the company turns on her, Leah must solve the case and prove her innocence before bars keep her from dancing again.
With many a possible murderer, Leah has her work cut out for her. Juxtaposed between the seemingly soft and pretty world of ballet and the harsh light of a murder, Leah finds out quickly just how similar the two worlds are. Plus, author Lori Robbins’ knowledge of ballet shines through, showing a backstage look at what really goes on in a ballet company, flaws and all. This is a fun, cozy mystery, especially for those interested in dance.
And of course…those kids need books too!
About the Author
Addison Ciuchta is a reader first, a writer second, and an everything else third. She spends her days hiding from the Arizona heat, spending time with her fluffy cat, enjoying any sweet or sour candy she can get her hands on, and making plans to travel anywhere and everywhere.
Thank you for reading “7 Contemporary Beach Reads to Pack This Summer!” If you liked what you read, please spend some more time with us at the links below.
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]]>The post Literary Fiction Books That Are Punk AF appeared first on Independent Book Review.
]]>by Nick Gardner
Indie lit has always been counterculture.
It would honestly be nuts for a small press to open their door to submissions without the desire to fight the status quo. The very idea of indie lit is anticapitalist (small presses probably won’t get you rich), anti-establishment (the “Big Five” can eat it), and, for the most part, small presses like fiction that breaks the rules. But what makes a book punk-as-fuck goes beyond the author’s antiauthoritarian leanings. It must have some other pull. It needs music.
While this list is far from exhaustive, it focuses on books of literary fiction that don’t just have that punk fierceness, that blatant challenging of authority, but those that also have the music.
Think Bad Brains, Buzzcocks, Pere Ubu. You can get behind the lyrics, the message, the ethos, the power, but a punk group is nothing if the sound doesn’t make you want to mosh. That’s what makes these specific literary fiction authors stand out: not only the shared goal of challenging the way the reader sees the world, but also an understanding of the aesthetic necessary to keep a reader glued to the page.
Here are 7 literary fiction books that challenge the status quo.
(Book lists on Independent Book Review are chosen by very picky people. As affiliates, we earn a commission on books you purchase through our links.)
1. Someone Who Isn’t Me
Okay, some can argue that he’s more post-hardcore than punk, but Geoff Rickly’s debut novel, Someone Who Isn’t Me, hums with musical prose that rivals the best lyrical writers of literary fiction.
A heroin addict and lead singer, the protagonist, Geoff, seeks sobriety through the psychedelic drug Ibogaine. His trip sends him on a psychic spiral through his guilt-laden past, forcing him to contend with the person he has become. Rickly depicts Geoff’s wild tour across the United States, not holding back on the bickering or the drugs. It’s a dirty novel in the way that addiction can be dirty. But it also breaks the trend of stories about addiction. Refusing to pause on the fallout, Rickly writes beyond into recovery and hope.
2. No Names
Author: Greg Hewett
Publisher: Coffee House Press (April 2025)
Print Length: 352 pages
ISBN: 9781566897259
Greg Hewett’s No Names is by far the slowest moving of the works of literary fiction in this list. Think Sleep’s Dopesmoker. Okay, maybe it’s doom metal. Whatever the case, punk is the root.
As Hewett skips around from POV to POV, a large focus is a punk band called, of course, The No Names, and the sketchy European tour that ended the band. But there’s also quite a bit of classical music in the background, as well as a long exploration of friendships entangled with sexual experimentation. Maybe the end drags on a bit longer than expected, but the prose holds up, a song that slowly diminishes rather than ending with a crash.
Looking for more literary fiction recommendations? Check out our best books of 2024!
3. Earth Angel
Author: Madeline Cash
Publisher: CLASH Books (April 18, 2023)
Print Length: 152 pages
ISBN: 9781955904698
Easy to read cover-to-cover in a single sitting, Earth Angel is all power chords, heavy and fast. Cash’s sentences are short and piercing and her endings cut to nothing rather than attempting a summation or even a meaning. Because everything is meaningless, right?
Think Biblical plagues, Isis recruits, childless millennials and millennials with children that they’re not quite sure what to do with. Think designer drugs, broke city dwellers, homicidal fantasies, porn. Maybe Earth Angel is too modern to hold to the ‘80s DIY ethos, but it’s still counterculture AF. It still questions authority, culture, and god. It’s a witty collection for confused kids who definitely don’t want to grow up.
4. Scumbag Summer
Author: Jillian Luft
Publisher: House of Vlad Press (June 2024)
Print Length: 192 pages
ISBN: 9798320644059
More sex, more drugs, more blood and fallout, Scumbag Summer explores smoky bowling alleys and dive bars, the crass scenery of Orlando. Though she’s a college grad, the protagonist seems intent on continuing her nihilistic young-adulthood, refusing to settle into any kind of square, middle class grind.
Orlando for her is No Doz and 7 layer burritos, and as she lodges herself more deeply into the dumpster fire, she spots the pages with social commentary, a distrust of wealth and power and an understanding of “trash culture,” of those stuck in on the lower rungs of the social hierarchy who sometimes can’t even imagine the climb. Scumbag Summer also contains one of the most punk lines I’ve ever read: “Love is a friendly butcher.”
5. Ghosts of East Baltimore
Author: David Simmons
Publisher: Broken River Books (2022)
Print Length: 202 pages
ISBN: 9781940885544
A Baltimore native with a deep understanding of the underground, David Simmons shrugs off the rules in his debut literary crime thriller. As with the other books on this list, there’s a unique and manic music behind Simmons’ prose. It’s rough music, blasted loud. I mean what’s more punk than a protagonist named Worm who gets out of prison to find that he’s the only one who can take out a drug ring smuggling dangerous chemicals into his community?
Simmons raises the bar for punk AF literature with his cutting social commentary, including “crack epidemic” history lessons and a deep understanding of Baltimore’s crime and corruption-ridden past.
6. Hellions
Author: Julia Elliott
Publisher: Tin House Books (April 15, 2025)
Print Length: 272 pages
ISBN: 9781963108064
Witches, Cryptids, Ghosts, and other supernatural entities plague the pages of Julia Elliott’s strange collection of longer short fiction. No flash stories here. But just like when you enter a DIY venue and feel surrounded by like minds, the pages of Hellions is a comforting place for those who have normalized the weird.
In “The Maiden,” a community trampoline allows a witchy girl to show up the popular kids with her otherworldly acrobatics before disappearing to her woodland squat. And in “Hellion,” a tough twelve-year-old tames an alligator. Elliott’s stories are filled with loners and weirdos outperforming their normative peers and youngsters challenging their parents’ conservative ideals. What’s more punk than that?
7. Hey You Assholes
Author: Kyle Seibel
Publisher: CLASH Books (March 25, 2025)
Print Length: 272 pages
ISBN: 9781960988393
Seibel’s story of trying to publish this debut book of short literary fiction, Hey You Assholes is filled with almost as many bizarre twists as the book itself. It reminds me of a 21st century reenactment of ‘80s punk bands banging down doors to book a studio or distro a record. He couldn’t have found a better home for his book than Clash Books, a publisher of some of the strangest and most energetic fiction on the market. Energetic is the word, because even the longer stories don’t stop driving. ThinkLandowner Plays Dopesmoker 666% Faster and with No Distortion.
Hey You Assholes is a deep dive into the lives of unpopular people: soft-hearted alcoholics, wiley factory workers, and Navy veterans who feel forever lost at sea. None of Seibel’s characters have money or power and they definitely don’t have any respect for The Man.
Want some thrills in your bookshelf? Check out the best indie thrillers!
About the Author
Nick Gardner is a writer, teacher, and critic who has worked as a winemaker, chef, painter, shoe salesman, and addiction counselor. His latest collection of stories from the Rust Belt, Delinquents And Other Escape Attempts, is out now from Madrona Books. He lives in Ohio and Washington, DC and works as a beer and wine monger in Maryland.
Thank you for reading Nick Gardner’s “Literary Fiction Books That Are Punk AF!” If you liked what you read, please spend some more time with us at the links below.
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]]>The post 8 of the Best Book Series of the Last Few Years appeared first on Independent Book Review.
]]>by Joe Walters & the IBR Staff
Read a series, experience a world.
Some stories can’t be told in one book. Some need time to develop. Some need context. Some characters are just too good to say goodbye to.
Writing a great fictional book series is its own dedicated art form. You’ve got to enthrall readers so much that they don’t want to leave for 1,000 pages. Even if you’re Leo Tolstoy, that’s a tough thing to convince a modern reader.
My team and I have reviewed over 2,000 indie books since 2018, so at this point, we know what you want.
We know it’s these books.
Here are some of the best book series of the last few years!
1. The Pinter P.I. Series
Author: Lisa Boyle
Subgenre: Crime
Series Length: 3 Books
Reviewed by: Erin Britton
A rip-roaring crime series with complex, evolving characters and even better plot twists and curveballs
This series ticks all the boxes for modern crime fiction. It’s got unlikely heroes solving genuinely surprising mysteries with enough well-paced action to make the thriller aspects come to life. The Navajo setting also adds cultural richness to the storyline.
Both of the first two books received starred reviews at Independent Book Review, and good news for all involved: the third book is on its way out in July. So read the first two stars now, so you’re ready for The Pusher Man.
2. Moonshiner Mysteries
Author: Sherilyn Decter
Subgenre: Historical Fiction / Women’s
Series Length: 4 Books
Reviewed by: Joelene Pynnonen
A historical mystery series that just keeps getting better
Set in Montana’s gold fields during prohibition, the Moonshiner Mysteries series follows Delores Bailey, a resilient young woman who flees a dangerous, abusive, crime-infested family in Philadelphia to make a home (and a moonshine still) in the middle of the Big Sky state.
Every single book in this series has been named to our best of the year book list in the year it was published. Decter’s recipe for this moonshining series is infused with sweetness, charm, good friends, historical clout, and backstabbing enemies.
If you’re looking for an authentic historical atmosphere and a lovable leading lady, you’ve struck gold with the Moonshiners Mysteries.
Here are my tips on how to develop a healthy reading habit!
3. Detective Hiroshi Series
Author: Michael Pronko
Subgenre: Crime / Japan
Series Length: 6 books
Reviewed by: Joe Walters & Peggy Kurkowski
First-rate detective fiction; non-stop mystery
I was blown away by Azabu Getaway, the first novel we reviewed of Pronko’s. It’s not every day I encounter a thriller with as many mysteries as that one. It keeps you constantly asking questions, zipping around from perspective to perspective to complicate each situation and to develop the chase-down, but it always makes sure you don’t skip a beat at the same time.
Peggy Kurkowski says that Shitamachi Scam, the series’ most recent novel is, “a superb and timely plot with old school sleuthing and witty, compelling characters.”
It takes a deft writer to pull off prose and mysteries like these. Luckily there are 6!
4. The Lykanos Chronicles
Author: Joseph Stone
Subgenre: Dark Fantasy
Series Length: 3 books
Reviewed by: Joe Walters & Alexandria Ducksworth
Addictive dark fantasy where the author always remains one step ahead
Werewolves traipse down the dark streets of 1920s France in The Lykanos Chronicles. It begins with Criminal Beware, “a dark web of paranormal mystery… that’ll give you more than you bargained for.”
Stone’s wolves are smart, sophisticated, and insanely powerful. Like reading Anne Rice’s Interview with a Vampire—but with werewolves—the world of this series is beyond intriguing. Alexandria Ducksworth says, “Stone has the magical touch with worldbuilding.”
5. The Phoenix Elite
Author: C.T. Clark
Subgenre: Science Fiction / Action & Adventure
Series Length: 2 books
Reviewed by: Chelsey Tucker
Fascinating technology, crazy schemes, a bit of freaky science, and a spectacular collision of historical people
Each one of The Phoenix Elite, a technically discontinued experiment made up of seven individuals from around the world, is 99.5% related to a prominent historical figure. A creative, eccentric genius; a devoutly religious teenager of the 15th century; a ground-breaking leader from Ancient Egypt; and a controversial revolutionary guerilla.
Cloning historical figures to create a super team to save the world against nuclear destruction is wild and worth the ride.
6. Just In Time
Author: Howard Wetsman
Subgenre: Science Fiction / Time Travel
Series Length: 2 books
Reviewed by: Joelene Pynnonen
Time traveling with a Roman Emperor gets even better as this enthralling series goes on.
When Joe Schwartz, a Late Roman and Byzantine professor at Tulane University, is approached by a young man after one of his lectures, he’s not prepared for how drastically his worldview will change.
It turns out—this man, Jules, is actually Flavius Claudius Julianus, the eventual emperor of Rome. The Jules that Joe meets is a much younger man, nowhere near the age where he will take the crown and the realm. And he needs help.
This series explores time travel through a contemplative, thoughtful lens, which gives the distinct feeling of burrowing down for a bit of cozy sci-fi when you settle in to read it.
Many of the aspects that made the first book, House on Constantinople, such a phenomenal read return in Just in Time Service, only bigger and better. The fusion of real history and fiction is just as vital, and as more time travelers are introduced, we’re exposed to a far wider range of historical events and periods.
Get yourself one of the best e-readers for reading at night and on the go!
7. The Ferren Trilogy
Author: Richard Harland
Subgenre: Fantasy / Angels & Demons
Series Length: 3 books
Reviewed by: Alexandria Ducksworth
Science and religion battle it out in this fast-paced dystopian fantasy with loads of fascinating lore.
In Richard Harland’s hands, the future contains humans, angels, wandering spirits, and technological monstrosities. And they’re constantly fighting for dominance of our post-apocalyptic world.
One of the most rewarding parts of this series is that you get to watch Ferren, a young man who watches an angel fall from Heaven, transform from a humdrum follower to a brave leader just as the conversation about science and religion really comes to a head.
This series is a non-stop thrill-ride that takes place in a cleverly crafted world where you can bet the characters will get their rightful endings.
8. The Adventures of the Flash Gang
Author: M.M. Downing & S.J. Waugh
Subgenre: Middle Grade Fiction / Historical
Series Length: 3 books
Reviewed by: Warren Maxwell
A rollicking series of crooked schemes and youthful hijinks set in the gritty underworld of Depression-era Pittsburgh
Book one, Exploding Experiment, is a gripping story of two young children who foil a vast international conspiracy. Book two, Treasonous Tycoon, is an emotional, noir-tinged sequel that has street orphans investigating a Nazi plot, and it’s all splashed with humor and playful dialogue. The third…well, we can’t wait for that one either!
This middle grade series is a special one. It has a deep sense of history, especially in book two, and its characters are alive and vital and stand in the way of being young and overlooked. They are important; our younger ones are too.
What are your favorite book series of all time? Let us know in the comments!
Thank you for reading “8 of the Best Book Series of the Last Few Years!” If you liked what you read, please spend some more time with us at the links below.
The post 8 of the Best Book Series of the Last Few Years appeared first on Independent Book Review.
]]>The post The Best Books We Read in 2024 appeared first on Independent Book Review.
]]>by Joe Walters & the IBR Staff
“Unforgettable!” “Perfect!” The best books we read in 2024.
We do things a little differently here at Independent Book Review.
We review indie books only, and we throw publication date out of the window. This best of the year book list ranges from 1899 to 2025, because what matters most is quality. Relevance is wrapped up in that, regardless of release date.
In previous years, we’ve asked our reviewers to include 3-5 of their best books of the year, but we’re bigger now. Our reviewer list has grown, and we’ve got all the more reason to zero in on the best of the best.
21 reviewers, only 2 books to choose as their best reads of 2024 (with some honorable mentions thrown in for good measure). Did your favorite indie make the cut?
Here are the best books we read in 2024.
1. Fire Exit
Author: Morgan Talty
Genre: Literary Fiction / Native American & Aboriginal Fiction
ISBN: 9781959030553
Print Length: 256 pages
Publisher: Tin House Books
In which a life can transform in the quiet
Charles Lamosway watches his daughter live a better life across the river from him. One where she fits in. Where she doesn’t know she’s half-white, half-unwelcome. Should Charles tell her he’s her father, or does not knowing what runs through her blood provide more for her than the truth would?
Fire Exit is one of those novels that comes across as quiet, but in the context of these people’s lives, it is earth-shattering. What is more powerful than blood? I left this novel knowing real people, ones I was sad to say goodbye to. This is an exquisite gem and one I’m proud to place at #1 on my list.
2. Nothing Left to Lose, or How Not to Start a Commune
Author: Jeff Richards
Genre: Memoir
ISBN: 9781953639202
Print Length: 268 pages
Publisher: Circuit Breaker Books
All your favorite 70s stereotypes come to life in this laugh out loud hippie memoir
Memoirs can be about nothing and everything. Or they can be Nothing Left to Lose, one person’s story that represents so many people’s stories.
How could author Jeff Richards possibly have done all of what we imagine the 70s counterculture movement to do? Drugs, sex, road trips, communes, you name it. Jeff Richards has done it. Some memoirs are about the content; some about the prose. This is both.
I didn’t want to put a book with a 2025 release date in my best reading of 2024 list, but once I finished Nothing Left to Lose, I had no choice. Put this on your radar now before it floors it out of town.
Honorable Mentions:
- My Father Once Told Me by Blas Telleria (Bookshop | Amazon | Review)
- A Mouthful of Air by Amy Koppelman (Bookshop | Amazon)
- The Jellyfish by Boum (Bookshop | Amazon)
1. Ohmigod!
Author: Aaron Asadi
Genre: Literary Fiction / Humor
ISBN: 9781399985819
Print Length: 234 pages
A funny, inventive story about a man with anxiety and the return of god
How many people have thought about what life would be like if their god came back to Earth as he’s promised? What would you say? What would you wear? Aaron Asadi takes the return to places you’ve never imagined (and won’t expect) in Ohmigod!
I’m still debating what I think everything means in this story—the mark of a damn good, thought-provoking novel. A couple times, my mouth hung wide open. I gasped. Laughed. And yet, the writing style is so casual that things feel calm right before they explode. It makes big reveals feel even bigger.
I read Ohmigod! with haste and excitement. Asadi takes what could be a common or simple idea and transforms it into something creative and digestible and funny and kinda scary but also somehow super chill. I could talk about this book for a long time. Someone ask me!
2. Until the Streetlights Come On
Author: Ginny Yurich, M.E.d.
Genre: Nonfiction / Parenting
ISBN: 9781540903402
Print Length: 224 pages
Publisher: Baker Book House
The PERFECT read for parents looking to simplify their lives with the outdoors.
Slow down and enhance your natural rhythm from being outside more! There are so many parenting books to read as a new parent, but this has been far and away the most impactful one for me. Your kids need to go outside at any age. Matter of fact, I do too. Learn how and why in this supremely important, accessible book.
Give to yourself this holiday season! Here are the BEST gifts for book lovers.
1. Apocalypsing
Author: Jason Anderson
Genre: Science Fiction / Satire
ISBN: 9798990230972
Print Length: 308 pages
Publisher: Roadside Press
Death and the apocalypse is as good a time as any to take charge of your life.
Domestic foibles. Impending armageddon. Aliens in the transdimensional afterlife. Jason Anderson’s Apocalypsing is a quick-witted, pop-culture savvy, sci-fi satire that is equal parts absurd and introspective.
The apocalypse will not simply be a tragedy to live through, but an active verb of what the people will do to save each other’s souls in the end times. This book is hilarious, current, and—at times—tender. An excellent choice for fans of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and Good Omens.
2. The Peril of Remembering Nice Things
Author: Jeffrey Wade Gibbs
Genre: Memoir
ISBN: 9781953932297
Print Length: 284 pages
Publisher: April Gloaming Publishing
A powerful memoir reminding us to find the truth in our stories when both history and memory fail us
History is rarely captured in its nuanced entirety; the full truth often lies in the shadows of the stories left untold. Jeffrey Wade Gibbs’s memoir shines a light on repressed memories and warped histories through an investigation guided by the heart.
Well researched & beautifully written, this memoir is as much an ode to the American South as it is an indictment of it. Here, readers will come to see that to truly love something is to also be critical of its failings.
Honorable Mentions:
1. Where When It Rains
Author: John F. Duffy
Genre: Literary Fiction
ISBN: 9798218456955
Print Length: 302 pages
Hedonism meets consequences in this sumptuously devastating literary novel.
Where When It Rains is a devastating study of the consequences of living as though the world and everything in it is meaningless. While the characters are a lost, numbed, and nihilistic lot, there’s an underlying thoughtfulness to them that makes them feel incredibly authentic. These are people who have been disappointed by life time and time again, who don’t have the language for the emotions they’re feeling. So they brush them away with drugs and alcohol and the companionship of others who care as little as themselves.
While other novels explore this sort of hard-nosed cynicism, few show the raw vulnerability and deep humanity lying under the façade. As painful as it can be at times, Where When It Rains is lovely. Dark, bleak, and hopeless, but lovely nonetheless.
2. Whiskey Wars
Author: Sherilyn Decter
Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense / Historical
ISBN: 9781777515171
Print Length: 358 pages
The stakes just keep climbing in this satisfying prohibition-era mystery series.
The thing I’ve admired in every one of the Moonshiner Mysteries so far is the fact that the formula changes so drastically. The characters grow in each novel; there’s no systematic paint-by-numbers plot line. The story follows whatever trajectory it needs to reach a satisfying conclusion.
This latest installment has all the charm and excitement that fans will expect and enough historical clout and action to hook new readers. It’s about a moonshiner in Montana whose moonshine still is destroyed, and she turns to prohibition icon Mickey Duffy for help.
Honorable Mentions:
1. Glitches of Gods
Author: Jurgen “Jojo” Appelo
Genre: Science Fiction & Fantasy
ISBN: 9789083423616
Print Length: 524 pages
A genius engineer cultivates the next big thing in AI and keeps rebooting himself into different realities
Julien may be my favorite fictional character of the year. I remain in awe of him like a professor whose work I just discovered, and I also really want to be his friend. Julien is laugh-out-loud funny even when he’s having miserable banter with his AI assistant. He’s just doing his best in an impossible situation.
I can’t thank the author enough for Glitches of Gods existing as a reminder there’s always human-made art out there for those who seek it; that there are still people who care about humanity and who care about creating clever stories that convey a powerful message. I could not recommend this story more, especially if you love sci-fi and imaginative future-tech, but are feeling overwhelmed or disheartened by the current mainstream conversation around AI and how it has permeated the zeitgeist.
2. A Bitter Pill (The Bookshop Mysteries, 1)
Author: S.A. Reeves
Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense / Cozy
ISBN: 9781068720932
Print Length: 306 pages
A charming, bookish modern mystery
Bitter Pill never loses focus from its charming setting and instantly adorable leading ladies: bookshop employees chasing leads and questioning potential suspects, while trying to brim up sales for their beloved Bookworm.
I feel as though I’ve found my new favorite bookshop. Only caveat is that I’ll have to open Bitter Pill to visit it again and again. Fans of Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building are a perfect match for this novel, as t is brewed with an intergenerational detective duo and a balanced blend of time-honored wisdom and considered insight from its older characters.
Honorable Mentions:
- Sundown in San Ojuela by M.M. Olivas (Bookshop | Amazon | Review)
- Jigsaw of Light by J.C. Button (Amazon | Review)
1. The Wood Sprite
Author: James Dobie
Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense / Paranormal
ISBN: 9798987133835
Print Length: 358 pages
About as wild as thrillers get
The Wood Sprite by James Dobie is filled with surprises. It drips with murder, horror, and strange family secrets straight out of a V.C. Andrews novel.
Each chapter in this alluringly dark novel is a cliffhanger. You’ll struggle to catch your breath, just as Dobie’s characters do. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows, but you won’t stop reading despite the heart-pounding trepidation. Paranormal thriller fans should definitely pick this up.
2. Mimic
Author: T. Kolodziej
Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense / Supernatural
ISBN: 9781738779758
Print Length: 320 pages
An exciting paranormal adventure with a swirl of the macabre, mystery, and some downright creepiness
Content creator Damion Beck is last seen on a livestream playing with a spirit board. His whereabouts are unknown from the moment his camera malfunctions. Initially, people believe the culprit behind Damion’s death is an ordinary human criminal, but the more that psychic Dee King dives into the case, the more she realizes the murder suspect might be a multi-dimensional monstrosity.
Mimic’s mystery and plot twists are its sparkling stand-out features, and this mystical creature makes it a real page-turner, especially once you venture through the puzzle of its purpose.
A fun, fast-paced joyride. Mimic has it all.
Honorable Mentions:
1. A Sense for Memory
Author: R.H. Stevens
Genre: Science Fiction / Illustrated
ISBN: 9780645922424
Print Length: 371 pages
An unforgettable immersion—smart science fiction at its very best
Immersive details yield a great narrative experience for the reader in this collection of two novellas. The book’s worldbuilding is impressive, exquisitely detailed in every aspect from geography to biology to cultural norms. The individuals and societies portrayed would be called “alien” by humans, but we’re not there. While the conflicts are relatable to planet Earth, there are no Sol system explorers to weigh in with opinions.
A Sense for Memory raises important political and ecofiction themes too: How does society balance individual rights with society’s needs? What is cruel punishment? What are sentient beings’ responsibilities to the land and “lower” animal and plant life?
This book is a real pleasure to read.
2. Deluge
Author: Carolyn Watson Dubisch
Genre: Middle Grade / Graphic Novel
ISBN: 9781312369603
Print Length: 50 pages
Laura’s new town is cursed in ways both obvious and hidden.
In Deluge: The People That Melt in the Rain, a stranger comes to town. Yet it’s the town itself that’s strange; the new girl, Laura, appears to be perfectly normal. Laura and her mom move to Deluge for a new, perhaps too-good-to-be true, job. But they are immediately confronted by a frog-infested rain shower, a wonderful opening scene for the graphic novel.
Deluge’s illustrations are phenomenal. The drawings are realistic, with palettes ranging from muted to colorful, depending on the needs of the narrative. Deluge will appeal to readers young and old, both for its interesting story, appealing characters with real problems, supernatural and mysterious aspects, and beautiful graphics.
Honorable Mentions:
- Who Killed Leeanne? by Mira Gibson (Bookshop | Amazon)
- Alien Nation by Raymond King (Amazon | Review)
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1. The Tower of Love
Author: Rachilde
Translator: Jennifer Higgins
Genre: Literary Fiction
ISBN: 9781962728003
Print Length: 176 pages
Publisher: Wakefield Press
Gothic, gorgeous, thrilling, unnerving, and deliriously ahead of its time
The Tower of Love is a strange, 125-year old book by a transgressive French author who was known for cross-dressing (illegal in France at the time), spent two years in prison for the publication of one of her novels, and otherwise broke every imaginable rule. Given Rachilde’s undertakings, I was floored by the simple narrative force of this novel about two men locked in a lighthouse together.
There are echoes of Melville’s Ishmael in the shifting naivety of the lighthouse-keeping narrator Jean Maleux. But behind his naivety are reverberations of a knowledge he won’t share, histories we don’t have access to. Frankly, the book is as deep as a well and the definition of a must read.
2. Tap Dancing on Everest
Author: Mimi Zieman, MD
Genre: Memoir / Climbing
ISBN: 9781493078431
Print Length: 244 pages
A riveting memoir about the travails of growing up, the trauma of mountain climbing, and the elation of being in the great outdoors
Beginning at the dramatic climax of a years-in-the-making expedition to climb Everest’s east face without oxygen for the first time, Zieman’s memoir doubles back to trace the bumpy path that led her to become the team medical officer as a twenty-five year old medical school student.
What materializes is a deep portrait of Mimi’s youth and milieu in New York as the ambitious daughter of two Holocaust survivors.
The overall quality of the writing in this book is exceptional. The memoir’s many large and small vignettes, its minor characters and central ones all leap into focus. Whether Zieman’s haunted, psychotherapist father or a boy that she rescues in a climbing accident, personality and life abound. A beautiful, wrenching story about the trials that we endure and the rewards we reap.
Honorable Mention:
- The Thinking-About-Gladys-Machine by Mario Levrero (Bookshop | Amazon)
- The Hidden Power of Rising Dividends by Greg Donaldson (Amazon | Review)
1. No One Left
Author: Lisa Boyle
Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense / Crime
ISBN: 9781736607794
Print Length: 348 pages
Deception and discrimination threaten life and liberty on a Navajo reservation in this stellar crime thriller.
No One Left is an intricately plotted and action-packed sequel to In the Silence of Decay. As the first book makes clear, life in New Mexico in the late 1970s is far from paradise, especially for the Native American community living on the reservation near Sanostee.
The murder mystery at the heart of No One Left proves to be even more complex and convoluted than it initially appears, giving way for a number of twists and turns as the story progresses. The story imparts with some keen social commentary and historical insight along with its compelling thriller aspects.
A rip-roaring and conspiracy-filled crime novel with good characters and even better curveballs.
2. Blood and Mascara
Author: Colin Krainin
Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense / Detective
ISBN: 9798989986804
Print Length: 292 pages
A hard-boiled detective story set in the late 1990s but with more than a hint of classic noir like The Big Sleep and The Maltese Falcon
Colin Krainin’s Blood and Mascara traverses the seamier side of Washington, DC and exposes all the blood, gore, and corruption to be found there. Through pitch-perfect PI dialogue and a plot packed with political duplicity, sleaze, and casual violence, Krainin presents a fiendish murder mystery that shines a light on both the best and worst of humanity.
An old-school detective novel with modern sensibilities and a healthy dose of nastiness, Blood and Mascara pairs an engagingly flawed PI with an eclectic supporting cast and pits them against both a complex plot and a host of nefarious villains.
Honorable Mention:
1. Patterns
Author: H.L. Gaydos
Genre: Memoir / Art
ISBN: 9798891321861
Print Length: 198 pages
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
A beautiful take on how the moments that make up the story of a life can only be fully revealed with the perspective of time
In Patterns: The Mystical Journey of an Ordinary Life, visual artist, professor, and long-time psychiatric nurse Honey Lee Gaydos combines memories and collage art in a look back at pivotal moments in her life.
Though to outsiders these moments would seem mostly unremarkable, they are laden with a rush of feeling for the author, and they lead to changes in her life that are at times small and at times large, from adjusting her outlook to uprooting her life and moving to another state.
Patterns is an exquisite combination of powerful art and evocative prose. It’s a journey into beauty and emotion by embracing one’s own complicated nature and the confounding forces of the world we inhabit.
2. The Last Whaler
Author: Cynthia Reeves
Genre: Historical Fiction / Literary
ISBN: 9781646035083
Print Length: 326 pages
Publisher: Regal House Publishing
A dark, emotional tale about facing the harshness of grief while living through a brutal, sunless Arctic winter
Astrid thought she could do it. She thought she could accompany her husband, Tor, to his beluga whaling station for the hunting season. In some ways, she was right. In others, not quite.
Just as they think their trials in the harsh north are over, one miscalculation leaves them stranded, facing the long cold period of 24-hour darkness, when the sun doesn’t rise for months.
The Last Whaler touches on themes of isolation, faith, and storytelling to process life’s darker moments. It meditates on the effect humans have when engaged in large-scale hunting in delicate ecosystems. It’s about these big themes, but it’s also about the struggle of a single person to stay alive despite overwhelming grief. Then to stay alive despite overwhelming odds. It’s about how the dangers that lurk within us are as terrifying as those to be found without. And the dogged impulse of the living to keep on living.
Honorable Mention:
- The Insistence of Memory by Susan Quilty (Amazon | Review)
- But I Digretch by Gretchen Astro Turner (Bookshop | Amazon | Review)
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1. Bad Foundations
Author: Brian Allen Carr
Genre: Literary Fiction / Absurdist
ISBN: 9781955904865
Print Length: 256 pages
Publisher: Clash Books
A working-class White Noise, a story about family, crap jobs, paranoia, and an uncertain future
Cook works in crawl spaces, inspecting them for rot, but even when he emerges from the claustrophobic confines, driving across Indiana to the next client, the crawl follows him.
From the canon of working-class literature and literary family stories comes Bad Foundations, an unputdownable dive into the crawlspace sludge of a working man’s life and the inevitable rebirth that comes when he emerges to see his family in a not-so-blindingly-fluorescent light.
2. The Body Is a Temporary Gathering Place
Author: Andrew Bertaina
Genre: Essays
ISBN: 9781957392301
Print Length: 184 pages
Publisher: Autofocus Books
Bertaina is at his best in this collection of meditative essays on fatherhood, marriage, and self
Each essay is incredibly personal, holding nothing back, bearing all. It’s funny. It’s deep. It will glue you to your seat pondering your own life, finding those strange connections between the internal and external worlds that make up a life.
Honorable Mentions:
- Of Fathers and Gods by Jim Roberts (Bookshop | Amazon)
- You Could Be That Kind of Girl by Téa Franco (Bookshop | Amazon)
- Leasing by D.T. Robbins (Amazon)
1. 1986
Author: Will Stepp
Genre: Literary Fiction / Short Stories
ISBN: 9798991503600
Print Length: 164 pages
Atmospheric & real—a recollective mood on childhood, family, and friends in the 1980s, coated with the nostalgia of times gone by
1986 is a collection of interlinked short stories following an unnamed boy—turned teen, turned man—and his ever-so-relatable childhood, filled with Nintendos, G.I. Joe’s, Garbage Pail Kid cards, and all the things they could get in trouble for when they’re bored and have friends they want to impress.
This book is about the feeling. The atmosphere. The time. The things we can’t forget, well into adulthood. We can learn so much from kids, as long as we’re willing enough to listen. This is the only childhood they’ve got, and they’re doing things you’re too afraid to do. Jump back in time with your old self in this knife-sharp story collection.
2. What We Tried to Bury Grows Here
Author: Julian Zabalbeascoa
Genre: Literary Fiction / Historical
ISBN: 9781953387530
Print Length: 300 pages
Publisher: Two Dollar Radio
A dynamic tale built of different voices and the comprehensive struggles of war
In 1936, Isidro Elejalde leaves his Basque village in Northern Spain to join the combat against the fascist forces in the Spanish Civil War. While Isidro serves as the story’s central figure, his journey unfolds through a web of compelling voices, all telling of his life and simultaneously exposing the larger story.
Zabalbeascoa’s debut is a sharply compelling exploration of complex war-time themes, featuring a propulsive narrative structure and a story that challenges readers to consider the need for human empathy in the most difficult times.
“I want this war to end,” I said, “but I want to preserve life. Are both things possible?”
Honorable Mentions:
- Fathers and Fugitives by S.J. Naudé (Bookshop | Amazon | Review)
- Writing for Money & Meaning by Julie Anne Eason (Amazon | Review)
1. Children of Madness
Author: Jarrett Brandon Early
Genre: Fantasy / Epic
ISBN: 9781734231489
Print Length: 684 pages
Stranger Things meets Lord of the Rings in a new generation’s classic fantasy epic.
Children of Madness is an epic adventure led by a new group of heroes that will capture even the coldest of hearts. Readers will fall in love with the Sour Flower Gang almost instantly. As a group, they’re whip-smart and skilled. They vote for things as a group, swear profusely, and often are filled with joy despite considerable circumstances.
Early manages to balance light and dark throughout an immense journey, not only by including scenes where kids can be kids, but also by infusing supporting characters with some measure of both good and evil.
With winning characters and fantastic creatures and locations, Children of Madness feels like it could be read straight from a leather-bound book with gold leaf edges and all. Timeless.
2. Bomb Island
Author: Stephen Hundley
Genre: Literary Fiction / Coming of Age
ISBN: 9798885740258
Print Length: 224 pages
Publisher: Hub City Press
A tense coming-of-age tale about a boy’s last few weeks in a commune off the coast of Georgia
Fish lives on an island with his found family: Whistle, his “sage-mother;” Reef, the “young man;” Nutzo, “the old man;” and Sugar, a full-grown white tiger. But Sugar’s behavior becomes more predatory, and Nutzo goes missing. When Fish meets a girl on the mainland, he finds himself stuck between vastly different worlds.
Bomb Island is packed with evocative symbolism and big-hearted character dynamics, making for a cataclysmic, fast-paced story that kept me reading through the night.
Honorable Mentions:
1. Our Daughter Who Art In America
Editor: Mukana Press
Genre: Short Story Anthology / African
ISBN: 9798989694617
Print Length: 144 pages
Publisher: Mukana Press
Smart, heartfelt stories that challenge norms and spark important conversations
From the bustling and chaotic atmosphere of Lagos markets to the dark shorelines of South Africa to the hot territory of Kenya, Our Daughter, Who Art In America is a diverse, poignant, and engaging anthology that transcends borders and invites readers into the heart of human experience and African culture.
The book—collectively authored by eleven talented African writers from different parts of the world—navigates the theme of grief with a nuanced and multifaceted approach. Across the anthology, grief is explored not merely as a standalone emotion but as an intricate part of the human experience, intertwined with other themes like motherhood, resilience, cultural identity, and societal norms. It’s a thought-provoking kaleidoscopic view of the human experience.
2. The Significance of Curly Hair
Author: Kara L. Zajac
Genre: Memoir / Grief & Loss
ISBN: 9798891322868
Print Length: 364 pages
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
A poignant story about the bond between a granddaughter and her grandmother
The Significance of Curly Hair is a heartwarming and enlightening memoir that reminds us to cherish our time with our loved ones. Through a six-day account, author Kara L. Zajac takes us on a journey of grief, healing, family bonding, and hope.
The Significance of Curly Hair is more than a memoir of loss; it is a celebration of life, love, and family. It serves as a special reminder to appreciate the present and hold our loved ones close.
1. A Thousand Tiny Stitches
Author: Stephanie Claypool
Genre: Literary Fiction
ISBN: 9798891324183
Print Length: 314 pages
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
A tender tale about making a late daughter’s dreams come true
After a tragedy takes the lives of her daughter Amanda and her son-in-law Matt, Lily Wolfe becomes the caretaker of her heartbroken eight-year-old granddaughter Emma. Lily is left to deal with Amanda’s estate, including the house she dreamed of turning into a quilt shop.
A Thousand Tiny Stitches takes the mentality of “it takes a village to raise a child” and applies it to a bigger picture concept: it takes a village to make dreams happen. Throughout the novel, the compassion and aid from others is endless. I loved the emotion and interpersonal lives of her cast of characters, and I’m confident you will too. Stephanie Claypool pens a masterful story of grief, love, and hard work with this one.
2. Not the Same River
Author: W.A. Polf
Genre: Short Story Collection
ISBN: 9798891323056
Print Length: 316 pages
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
Discover the profound within the ordinary with this impactful collection.
W. A. Polf’s Not The Same River explores the timelessness of the ordinary experiences that make life extraordinary. Polf’s stories traverse the terrain of turmoil and triumph, even when triumph looks a little more commonplace than you might expect.
Not the Same River exemplifies what depth of character and emotion can look like on the page. Each story will give you something real & genuine to think about. There’s something absolutely wonderful and haunting about these stories and how they make you look at life.
Honorable Mentions:
1. Strings
Author: Joseph Edwin Haeger
Genre: Literary Fiction / Speculative
ISBN: 9798325616952
Print Length: 295 pages
An intricately woven exploration of one man’s journey through the splintered possibilities of fatherhood
Fatherhood is redefined through speculative glimpses of love, fear, and uncertain futures in Joseph Edwin Haeger’s Strings. In the aftermath of an explosion, William, our protagonist, is consumed by an overwhelming fear for his unborn child, a fear that unravels his mind across three distinct narratives.
Despite the fear and uncertainty, despite the heartbreak that inevitably comes with bringing a new life into the world, William’s love for his child is the one constant across every reality. It’s a love that transcends the narrative and consumes and defines him, even as he struggles to reconcile it with his own sense of self.
Haeger’s portrayal of William’s fragmented realities offers readers a glimpse into the universal fear of parenthood—the fear of failing, of losing control, of not being enough. And yet, within this fear lies a quiet hope, a recognition that, while we may not be able to control the world around us, we can still choose to love fiercely, even when the future remains uncertain.
2. Angry Daughter
Author: Nanci Lamborn
Genre: Memoir / Religious
ISBN: 9798218372965
Print Length: 216 pages
A remarkable memoir where the path from resentment to redemption unfolds with stark honesty and unwavering faith
Nanci Lamborn’s debut is an introspective exploration of forgiveness, redemption, and the transformative power of faith from a Christian perspective. Through her raw and poignant narrative, Lamborn invites readers into the tumultuous landscape of her past, where buried wounds of shame, rejection, and abandonment festered beneath the surface.
Lamborn’s narrative serves as a testament to the transformative potential of compassion and empathy, offering readers a glimpse into the profound beauty that can emerge from the depths of pain and suffering. In the end, Lamborn’s journey toward forgiveness is an inspiring reminder of the resilience of the human spirit and the boundless capacity for healing and reconciliation.
Honorable Mentions:
- The Water Stricken by Rina Olsen (Bookshop | Amazon | Review)
- Sabine & Vincent Van Gogh (The Dream Collectors) by R.W. Meek (Amazon)
- 180 Days by Alfred Bottello (Bookshop | Amazon | Review)
1. Flicker
Author: Matthew J. McKee
Genre: Literary Fiction / Mystery
ISBN: 9798891321854
Print Length: 254 pages
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
Flicker ignites thrill and excitement while examining humanity’s chaos and despair.
The Northern District has an arsonist who is consistently burning down houses in the middle of the night. This arsonist is Flicker‘s narrator and protagonist, Heat Agaki, a teenage girl who dreams of setting everything aflame.
The passion for fire lives within Heat, and soon that drive to burn it all down begins to take on a mind of its own. When the fireball within her takes more control, Heat continues to self-ignite and spin out of control. Her emotional turmoil feels intimate and raw, especially when she talks directly to the reader.
Flicker adeptly explores the human psyche—an additive thought-provoking layer to the novel. One thing’s for sure: It will leave you with a burning desire for the sequel.
2. Sacred Blood
Author: C.T. Clark
Genre: Science Fiction / Action & Adventure
ISBN: 9781962600002
Print Length: 367 pages
Fascinating technology, crazy schemes, and a bit of freaky science
Adam is part of a technically discontinued experiment: The Phoenix Elite Initiative. It is made up of seven individuals cloned from historical figures who are tasked with saving the world against nuclear destruction.
Lovers of of history, science, and military strategy will be floored at all of what this fast-paced, action-packed story does.
Honorable Mentions:
1. No Good Deed
Author: Jack Wallace
Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense / Crime
ISBN: 9798891320529
Print Length: 268 pages
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
A novel with a soul that entertains as it educates about sex trafficking and the individuals sucked into its diabolical orbit
Inspired by true events, Wallace’s impressive sophomore novel No Good Deed examines the seedy criminal underworld of sex trafficking in the American South. It’s a compulsive story of everyday people selflessly sacrificing to help those in need among us.
His protagonists are good people facing unspeakable brutality and evil; they are ordinary people thrust into becoming the heroes they never knew they were. No Good Deed is a superbly written and propulsive story with an unforgettable climax.
2. Half the World
Author: Leissa Shahrak
Genre: Historical Fiction
ISBN: 9798891323803
Print Length: 292 pages
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
An enchanting historical novel set in a deeply suspicious society ripe for rebellion
In 1977, newlyweds Angela and Doug Weston arrive in Iran for an opportunity to build a nest egg and enjoy the beauty of Persian culture, but they are not prepared for awaits them in Half the World.
This is an authentic story, lushly told, perhaps because Shahrak experienced the Iranian Revolution firsthand. Her depictions of pre-Revolution Iran with its walled gardens, majestic mosques, and the squalid living conditions of the have-nots of Esfahani society are well-drawn and compelling, painting a portrait of an oppressed society on the cusp of overthrowing the shackles of one regime, only to choose the shackles of another.
What makes Half the World so enchanting is not only Shahrak’s fertile prose and convincing characters, but her obvious love of Persian society and culture that blooms on every page, leaving a whiff of bittersweet nostalgia for a world that no longer exists.
Honorable Mentions:
1. Chained Birds
Author: Carla Conti
Genre: Memoir / True Crime
ISBN: 9781964730066
Print Length: 436 pages
A compelling true crime exposé of a corrupt prison program and the lives forever changed when it was brought to light
Carla Conti is a true crime journalist and staunch prison reform advocate. In Chained Birds, Conti becomes part of the story herself.
It all started with a snowball, and it would, pardon the pun, snowball into something more. One inmate launched a snowball at a corrections officer before assaulting him—the officer’s revenge led to an orchestrated rec cage assault that involved Conti’s subject, Kevin Sanders, through no fault of his own. This is the event that brought him to Conti’s attention, as well as the prison’s Special Management Unit, which turned out to be rife with abuse, corruption, and violence.
Conti writes with an endearing balance of humor and passion, and she is a driven and intelligent advocate for those without a voice. Without her assistance on Sanders’s case, he might have disappeared into the system and the SMU program may have gone unnoticed.
Chained Birds is like two great books in one: a captivating true crime story that exposes a deplorable prison program and an engrossing memoir of a journalist making a difference.
2. The Reverse Tower
Author: Fay Lanark
Genre: Fantasy / Dark
ISBN: 9798871588307
Print Length: 381 pages
A dark fantasy with lyrical prose, vibrant characters, and a harrowing mystery
The world of Asp is one of wonder, magic, and violence where mages can command bones, blood, and gore to their bidding. But as dark and ominous as Asp is, there is another land that pulls people into a hellscape. An endless desert stretching beyond the horizon and nothing in sight save a singular tower. A tower that hangs in the sky pointed downward with no apparent end. And all are drawn to it.
The worldbuilding is intense, deep, and engrossing. The world of Asp has a fantastic but familiar feel to it, almost as if it were Earth but centuries beyond some apocalypse. The Reverse Tower is dark and fascinating, a building that’s part community and part otherworldly being.
For every touch of normalcy, there’s a pool of unreal magic and wonder. It’s a dark tale of mystery and violence with broken people driven to survive under the watchful eye of a sentient tower hanging impossibly in the sky.
Honorable Mentions:
- Heavy Weight of Darkness by J.M. Erickson (Bookshop | Amazon)
- In Pursuit of the Giant Sable Antelope by John Manuel (Bookshop | Amazon | Review)
1. Taxonomic Vignettes
Author: Alan Cohen
Genre: Poetry
ISBN: 9798891324237
Print Length: 192 pages
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
A powerful, well-crafted, and intelligent collection reflecting the realities of life and relationships
Taxonomic Vignettes dissects life and loss with genuineness.
This poetry collection’s mastery is most evident in the portraits it paints of all the people who come and go in our lives. Peppered with pop culture and literature references, every stanza is smart and vulnerable simultaneously. Not only is it enjoyable to pick out all the references you’re familiar with, but the reference always adds a layer of deeper understanding to the surrounding stanzas.
There’s such heartbreaking brilliance, vulnerability, and relatability in these poems.
2. Kat Girl
Author: Sarah Lahey
Genre: Literary / Romance
ISBN: 9780645835854
Print Length: 380 pages
A sexy romance that celebrates the power of second chances
Kat Girl gives all the romantic scenes you could hope for from the genre—from sweet to steamy—inviting us in on the action of a budding relationship.
Still, it might be the focus on internal conflicts that attracted me the most. Kat’s still reeling from three failed marriages and an unspeakable loss. She’s trying to trust something good in her life while she’s facing her grief and baggage from her past to get the future she’s always wanted.
On the Bridgerton scale of steamy, this one is definitely season three—except maybe a little steamier. Reach for Kat Girl if you’re looking for something hot to rev your power drill.
1. Tennis Players As Works of Art
Author: David Linebarger
Genre: Nonfiction / Sports
ISBN: 9798891324671
Print Length: 284 pages
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
Like a museum exhibit in a book—an impressive collection of art and prose celebrating tennis.
It took seven years for David Linebarger to assemble this collection of nearly seventy artworks by over forty artists, all directly connected to the sport of tennis. Each one is augmented by a brief page or two of original writing, with some quotes and excerpts creatively sprinkled in.
This book packs in a lot. Facts and biographical information mix comfortably with emotions spanning joy, anger, sadness, frustration, and even pathos. The common thread is a reverence for a sport anyone can play that comes across as genuine, not sentimental.
Tennis Players as Works of Art is as rewarding as an absorbing museum exhibit, without having to leave your sofa or armchair. And not just for tennis aficionados.
2. The Sum of All Things
Author: Seb Doubinsky
Genre: Science Fiction / Satire
ISBN: 9781946154392
Print Length: 200 pages
Publisher: Meerkat Press
An intricately woven plot about saving Earth’s freedom with disparate, personable characters
In a not too distant future (the Internet and Google Translate are still current), Earth is on its way to yielding its freedoms to the Subliminal Empire. Other planets have already done this, and Vita is determined to not let Earth suffer her planet’s fate.
The poetic economy of often very brief chapters amps up tension and propels the conflicts forward. Their symmetry brings cohesiveness in a prose showcase of the author’s apparent poetic talents.
This is a deftly packed & poetic novel that you’ll be glad you picked up.
Honorable Mentions:
What were the best books you read this year? Let us know in the comments!
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]]>by Carley Carver
Ring in the spooky season with these magical fall reads.
Autumn is here! Halloween is nipping at its heels. It’s time for witches, ghosts, and all manner of spooky creatures to arrive in our homes, on our screens, and in our books.
Some believe the supernatural veil is thinner this time of year. They go looking for inspiration. I’ve got it. If you just want a happy haunt to get into the spirit of the season, I’ve got that too. No matter your motivations, here are some spooky, witchy books I’d be glad to recommend.
And best of all, they’re all indie books!
Here are 13 witchy books to bask in Fall vibes.
1. Yew Hallow
Author: Alexandria Clarke
Subgenre: Paranormal / Romance
Print Length: 300 pages
ISBN: 9798339593270
Yew Hollow is a cozy mystery with a magical twist. Paranormal detective Morgan Summers hates working with ghosts, but she is tasked to work with one. When she gets entangled in the secrets behind the ghost’s untimely death, she herself is considered a suspect. And she’s going to have to work against town gossip to solve it. This book is quippy with just the right amount of mystery and romance woven in.
2. Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble
Author: HP Mallory
Subgenre: Witches & Vampires / Romance
Print Length: 245 pages
ISBN: 9798509712531
The first book of H.P. Mallory’s 39 part collection of magical romances, Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble, feels like you’re hearing a story from your witchy best friend. Jolie, a witch living in Los Angeles, is hired by a handsome warlock to help a ghost. As they work together, they create more chaos when they accidentally raise the ghost from the dead.
This book has all the feels of a cozy romance with a generous amount of laughs along the way.
What do you want for Christmas? Get these gifts for book lovers!
3. Fat Witch Summer
Author: Lizzy Ives
Subgenre: Witches / Friendship
Print Length: 318 pages
ISBN: 9780996232456
Publisher: Sounds True
Osmarra is a plus-sized witch about to come of age and receive her magical gifts, chosen by her mother. The only problem is that her mother is a slim glamor witch convinced that gifting Osmarra with the glamor gift will solve all their familial issues. Osmarra sets out on a summer road trip with other young witches on a mission to set their own destinies.
This is a light-hearted, comical book with body-positive messages and unexpected lessons.
4. The Forgotten Witch
Author: Jessica Dodge
Subgenre: Romance
Print Length: 434 pages
ISBN: 9781737696650
Helen is burned out and tired of living in the city, so she makes a knee-jerk purchase and finds herself the new owner of a 500-year-old cottage in Scotland. In the cottage, she is introduced to a world of magic that she never knew was there. With the help of her handsome neighbor, she works to solve the mystery of this curious new home.
This book will keep you riveted! It’s got the right balance of genuine mystery and romance, and it’ll check all of your autumnal boxes.
5. Dead Witch On a Bridge
Author: Gretchen Galway
Subgenre: Urban Fantasy
Print Length: 3388 pages
ISBN: 9781939872418
Another supernatural murder mystery to add to your reading list! Alma is a demon-hunting witch who finds herself at the center of a murder investigation thanks to some meddling fairies. In order to save herself, Alma must solve the murder and challenge a slew of unsavory (and dangerous) magical characters.
6. The Last Witch of Scotland
Author: Philip Paris
Subgenre: Historical / World Lit
Print Length: 352 pages
ISBN: 9781785305245
Publisher: Black and White Publishing
This one is excellent for those always seeking more about real life witch hunts, as it follows the true story of the last person executed in the witch trials of Britain. Alia and her mother are left in pieces after a fire takes the life of her father. In an attempt to start over, they move to the small community of Loth. When a mysterious troupe of entertainers arrive, Alia is quickly drawn to them, churning up gossip from the people of Loth.
Bedtime reading is the best time reading. Get yourself one of the best e-readers for the job.
7. The Sapling Cage
Author: Margaret Killjoy
Subgenre: Adventure / LGBTQ
Print Length: 321 pages
ISBN: 9781558613317
Publisher: Feminist Press
When a disease begins to kill trees in the forest, Lorel is keen to join up with the witches to find out why and how to stop it. But witches are all women, and Lorel was born a boy. Sapling Cage follows Lorel on her journey of identity, witchcraft, and covens in a novel Audrey Davis called, “a delight for anyone with a love of magical stories and high fantasy” [Review].
8. Burned: A Daughters of Salem Novel
Author: Kellie O’Neill
Subgenre: Historical / Salem
Print Length: 520 pages
ISBN: 9798989244348
A newly anointed witch, Eleanor, is balancing her normal life with witch lessons in the famed witchy town of Salem. When some of her fellow coven witches go missing, Eleanor teams up with her familiar to solve the mystery and in turn unearths a story that dates back to Salem’s infamous 17th century witch trials. Fans of Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina will love this story.
9. The Good Witch of the South
Author: T.C. Bartlett
Genre: Young Adult / Fantasy
Print Length: 354 pages
ISBN: 9781733908627
Publisher: Sandhill Publishers
Set in L. Frank Baum’s magical land of Oz, this story focuses on Samantha, daughter of Glinda the Good Witch. Samantha sets out on her own adventure to save the Land of Oz from a dark force rumored to be building an army to overthrow Oz. This book is great for any middle grade reader who is left wanting more from the world of Oz after Dorothy saves the day.
10. I Escaped the Salem Witch Trials
Authors: Juliet Fry & Scott Peters
Subgenre: Historical / Adventure / Ages 8-12
Print Length: 118 pages
ISBN: 9781951019174
Another installment from the popular, “I Escaped” series, this 3rd grade level chapter book tells the story of Hannah, a young orphan who finds herself at the center of the suspicion and frenzy of her village’s witch hunt. Hannah, who is most certainly not a witch, must use her might and brains to escape her own witch trial.
Surprise your kids with some of the best gifts for kids who love to read.
11. The Pomegranate Witch
Author: Denise Doyen
Subgenre: Spooky
Print Length: 40 pages / 4-8 year olds
ISBN: 9781452145891
Publisher: Chronicle Books
When a spooky tree begins to bloom juicy pomegranates on the property of the neighborhood witch, a group of children are tempted to harvest a few for themselves. By doing so, they invoke the great pomegranate war against their witchy neighbor. This story is silly and fun and perfect for readers looking for tricks and treats this Halloween season.
12. Witchy Paths
Author: Cecily Ravenwood
Genre: Mysticism / Magic
Print Length: 52 pages
ISBN: 9798840474105
Half educational, half bedtime story magic, Witchy Paths introduces different types of witches to children in a fun and enlightening way. This quick read-aloud transports young readers into the world of magic and gently exposes them to all the ways of practicing their own magic. In addition to the storytelling, the watercolor art work is whimsical and breathtaking.
13. The Witch’s Cat
Authors: Kirstie Watson & Magdalena Sawko
Genre: Picture Book / Ages 2-6
Print Length: 38 pages
ISBN: 9781914937064
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Sure-fire witchy fun for the littlest readers you know. This is a lighthearted rhyming story about a house cat who lives as a witch’s familiar and loves to stir up magic and mischief. A read-aloud story with quirky illustrations and fun imagery, you can bet any reader will be excited for Halloween after this one.
What are your favorite witchy books of all time? Let us know in the comments!
Author Bio
Carley Carver is an editorial lifestyle writer and aspiring novelist. She is based in North Carolina where she resides with her husband and their puppy, Daisy, and is a proud graduate of University of South Carolina. Carley is a lifelong bookworm who enjoys reading everything from the classics to modern romances. When she’s not reading or writing, she enjoys traveling, getting outside and trying new recipes at home.
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]]>by Toni Woodruff, Joe Walters, and Jaylynn Korrell
Kids’ books are like windows to a new world.
These little people are just trying to figure out this life on earth thing. They know only what they know, and we see why they know what they know, even how it differs or connects with our own understanding of the world.
That’s only one of the reasons why it’s so important to read kids’ books.
Sometimes it can be difficult to talk about certain subjects. Other times, they just never arise naturally enough for our little one to grow curious about it. Some books include topics we don’t even want to talk about to our kids yet, like death or brattiness, so which books are the ones you should get for your little one and the little ones around you?
This list includes picture books and board books, some suitable from ages 2-9. Some are nonfiction while others are about as fantastical as they come (I’m looking at you, Rainbow Goblins!).
If you’re looking to expand your little library or give an awesome kids’ book for your best friend’s baby shower, this list has you covered. And in true IBR fashion, they’re all indie books!
Here are 13 kids’ books that little ones love.
1. The Rainbow Goblins
Gorgeous paintings, creepy goblins, and a story of nature fighting back
Author: Ul de Rico
Subgenre: Fantasy & Magic
Print Length: 32 pages
ISBN: 9780500277591
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Recommended by: Joe Walters
Welcome to my absolute favorite purchase of 2024!
My daughter picked up The Rainbow Goblins in the Odyssey Bookstore in Ithaca, NY, and I was amazed with her quality control. And once you pick this thing up, you’ll see why.
The paintings are breathtaking, and it tells an oddly creepy (but not scary!) story about goblins who are trying to drink up all the colors of the rainbow until there’s nothing left. Everyone lives in fear of them, except for the Valley of the Rainbow. But when the goblins gather up their lassoes and set their sights on that, the roots of the trees and plants communicate to the nature around them that it’s time to fight back. And how!
Watch in absolutely gorgeous color as nature fights back against the rainbow goblins and ensures that rainbows are safe from their wrath once and for all.
It’s creative and long but not too long, and the pictures are a wonder to look at. A particularly good choice for book-loving, imaginative 3-year-olds all the way up to 9-year-olds.
–Joe Walters
2. My Father Once Told Me
Stellar! A Native Nations creation myth told with poetic language, magical illustrations, and love passed down
Author: Blas Telleria
Subgenre: Native American
Print Length: 54 pages
ISBN: 9798218417253
Recommended by: Joe Walters
Not often do I encounter kids’ books quite as beautiful as this one. I don’t want to exaggerate; don’t want to overdo it, make you think I’m being untrue for the sake of hyperbole. I just really want you and your kids to read this book.
It’s a creation story that’s passed down from father to son about how the Great Spirit reached into the nothing of the universe and turned it into a Something. A big blue ball that his children—the animals of the sky—are enamored of. Oh, please, please, can we go in?
Salmon and Whale are the first to dive into the unknown blue. They are followed by Eagle and Crow taking to the skies, Tortoise and Turtle carrying mud on their backs from the ocean to build land to stand on. Moose, Water Snake, Wolf, beyond—the animals play and form the land in ways that are natural to them. Who else but Water Snake would form the rivers; who else but Beaver would create lakes and waterfalls?
My Father Once Told Me is poetic but not in the sing-song way you’ve come to expect of children’s books. There are no rhymes here. But the story that the unnamed narrator father tells uses poetic techniques like repetition—“little” on the first page to contrast the one human against the big world—and personified language that floats through fire and air, up to sky, and moves stars around.
The illustrations are equally magical. The animals and the land are freely flowing, like fluid movements akin to moving water, and the trees rise high and tall. Imprints of the animals’ bodies are even long like the trees. The water and the land and the lifeforms all flow together in soft palettes and pleasing tones of blue and green. And on the off-chance it’s not blue or green, orange and reds pop in eye-catching, still-fluid contrasts.
ut this isn’t all. It’s also got a deep conversation going on about myth as history. This story is passed down like all important stories are. It’s a father talking to a son like his father talked to him. Kids can gain access—maybe with a little help from their mom or dad—to the understanding of how history works.
–Joe Walters
3. Fly High, Baby Dragon
A brave baby dragon and an encouraging yet patient mother star in Fly High, Baby Dragon—an easy choice for all-the-time reading.
Author: David Klochko
Subgenre: Dragons
Print Length: 26 pages
ISBN: 9798989991013
Recommended by: Toni Woodruff
Fly High, Baby Dragon checks all the boxes. It has a good story, good kids, good parenting, a good moral, great eye-popping illustrations, and, most importantly, it has actually captivated my little one. She wants to read it, and I’ll gladly open it again, knowing she’ll be learning about something relevant and encouraging while getting pulled in by the story.
A baby dragon emerges from his shell excited to learn that he will soon be able to fly. But not before a little practice and a lot of patience after flying doesn’t come easily. Baby Dragon jumps off a cliff and falls and kerplunks and splats. He’s frustrated—he wants to give up—but he’s got one cool mom on his side, cheering him on when he gets back up again and taking him away to give him space and distract him from the problem at hand. She’s wonderfully patient, dances with him, feeds him delicious, big-bellied breakfasts, and allows him to make the decision to get back out there. To keep trying.
Riding a bike. Steering a scooter. Jumping at the trampoline park. Climbing the rock wall at the playground. My kid experiences failure at first attempt all the time. All I’ve ever wanted to communicate with her is in this book. Yes, you’re going to fall. Yes, it hurts to get hurt. But also yes, it can be worth it if you keep trying. And yet at the same time, it’s not worth panicking over. If you’re not ready to conquer it, try something else. Dance, eat. But don’t be afraid to try again when you feel ready.
–Toni Woodruff
Need more space for kids’ books? Here are our favorite kids’ bookshelf ideas!
4. Alphabreaths
A calming, fun tool to teach young’ins the power of breathwork
Author: Christopher Willard
Subgenre: Mindfulness / Alphabet
Print Length: 32 pages
ISBN: 9781683641971
Publisher: Sounds True
Recommended by: Joe Walters
It’s easy to take breathing for granted. It comes naturally and happens without us even thinking about it. But what about our little ones?
Breathing is one of my favorite parenting techniques: showing my babies that I’m focusing on breathing while they’re crying. This book brings the physical activity of breathing to the forefront and makes an alphabet game out of it.
Open your arms like an alligator on the in-breath, snap those jaws shut on the exhale. Flap your wings like a butterfly and breathe your way around the room. Envision you’re blowing out your birthday cake.
A great book to start your day with, one or two or three breathing and imagination activities to remind us that we are here on this earth and capable of conquering anything as long as we just keep breathing.
–Joe Walters
5. A Very Chilling Mystery
A creative and fun story that tests the limits of our imagination
Author: Steve A. Erickson
Subgenre: Cooking & Food
Print Length: 52 pages
ISBN: 9781639882519
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
Recommended by: Jaylynn Korrell
There’s a party going on in the fridge, and Erickson lets you in on it. It starts with an illustration of a little girl eyeing up the fridge from afar as the narrator invites us on a journey of confirmation that those delectables aren’t just lying around waiting to be enjoyed in there.
Soon we’re taken through the shelves as foods and beverages go about their daily business, which includes things like playing baseball with a carrot bat, potatoes watching tv on a meatloaf couch, and beets rocking out on a drum set. In fact they’re doing everything but the nothing most people assume, and it’s awesome!
The illustrations are what truly bring the book to life. As it takes place predominantly in the fridge, readers can look forward to a colorful display of fruits, vegetables, leftover dinners, and mysterious forgotten foods on each page. The illustrations are so inviting and professional but also look as if they’ve been done with crayon or colored pencil, giving them a youthful touch that matches the reading level perfectly.
Children will enjoy Erickson’s rhythm and rhyme style of storytelling while adults will appreciate some of the more detailed aspects of the vegetable characters, like the half and half who can’t make up their mind or the beet who plays in a band called “The Beets,” written in the same font as “The Beatles.”
–Jaylynn Korrell
6. Over and Under the Pond
Take a dip beneath the boat in this calming and informative book on aquatic life.
Author: Kate Messner
Subgenre: Nature
Print Length: 48 pages
ISBN: 9781452145426
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Recommended by: Toni Woodruff
Part of a wonderful series, Over and Under the Pond follows a boy and his mother as they kayak over the water and talk about the life going on underneath them.
Talking about frogs, turtles, fish, beavers and even the animals who visit the water to get their meals and wash up (like moose!), this book is a trove of helpful information for kids who like to kayak and swim in natural waters.
While it can be enjoyed by younger audiences like 3 year olds, it can stay relevant in your bookshelves for years to come, maybe even as old as 12. Since it follows a mom and her son, it gives your story-loving little one something to cling to as they learn the nature lessons of the book.
–Toni Woodruff
7. The Boogie Barn Band
A fun, instructive tale about the impact that music has on people
Author: William Nephew and Natalie Neal
Subgenre: Music & Instruments
Print Length: 28 pages
ISBN: 9798989779727
Recommended by: Jaylynn Korrell
To me, the best kids’ books are the ones that entertain and teach. The Boogie Barn Band does both. On top of that, it gives kids the opportunity to be vocal and active. It’s a positive, upbeat story about musical barn animals and how they bring their community together.
In the beginning, music beckons animals from all around town to a local farm. Soon the Boogie Barn has quite an audience on their hands—all excited to jam out.
To get the concert underway, readers are introduced to each member of the band and the instruments they play. Each character has their own flare, and they do a great job explaining the role they play and the sounds each instrument makes.
The vibe is upbeat, exciting, and fun, and it’s reflected well in vivid illustrations and an array of your kids’ favorite animals. The happiness exudes off each character so the positive experience can be had by all. You won’t be able to resist smiling after witnessing how much fun they’re having and the audience is having. Backed by a beautiful barn on a bright sunny day, this book seems the epitome of positivity.
The authors of The Boogie Barn Band do an excellent job of adding in informative bits about the technical pieces of each instrument as well as its role in the music-making process. The drummer of the band, Reggie the dog, is described as the one in charge of keeping the beat with his instrument. From guitar to piano to bass, we learn about how the instruments are played and are given examples of the sounds they make. It inspires an activity too—I can just imagine how many kids will be laughing as they try to sound out how the instruments are supposed to sound.
–Jaylynn Korrell
Celebrate your kids’ love of reading with some of the best gifts for kids who love to read.
8. Blink and Glow
A shining & bright kids’ book about the natural magic of real-life glowing animals
Author: Raven Howell & Ann Pilicer
Subgenre: Nature
Print Length: 36 pages
ISBN: 9781738219377
Publisher: Tielmour Press
Recommended by: Joe Walters
Leo and Lilly have show-and-tell at school tomorrow, and they want to have the best things to show off. And what better items than living ones!
Leo bottles up a firefly. While Lilly can’t catch her own, she spots another glowing creature—a salamander—near the pond! If you didn’t know that salamanders can glow in the dark, you do now.
But their light starts to diffuse the longer they’re kept in the jar. With the help of their grandmother, they learn that these animals, including the lunar moth flapping nearby, need to be free in order to shine their brightest light.
So while it feels special to have their own little bottled-up magic, they discover how important it is to let them live their own lives out in nature. Grandma keeps the fun going by showing them how they can make art inspired by these amazing critters. The book even lets you in on the fun by walking your kids through the steps of making their very own firefly suncatcher with tissue paper and a picture frame.
The art is lovely, natural, and magical. Parents who like to pair their books with art activities will relish what Blink and Glow has to offer.
–Joe Walters
9. Purple Ina
Myth, magic, culture, and color, Purple Ina is a sparkling gem of a picture book.
Author: Rafael Arzuaga
Subgenre: Fantasy / Culture
Print Length: 30 pages
ISBN: 9780692270516
Recommended by: Toni Woodruff
Ina lives on a beautiful purple island. It’s all she knows, until a fierce gust of wind sends her flying to new islands, all splashed in their own color. And along with the new colors, she meets new people, all appreciative of the way they do things on their island and sharing some of the magic with Ina before she takes off for the next.
Each page is clean with a minimal art, and yet there’s still so much beauty to look at. It entertains with just enough magic and fully-fleshed characters in a short amount of time. Experience a forever summer with Adonis on the pink island, shine bright at night with Light on the orange island, and play music with Esteban on a land draped in color.
It’s a subtle story of the lives of other people and other cultures, and it doesn’t state any morals overtly. Just shares the truth that there are other people and other places out there to love.
–Toni Woodruff
10. Ricky, the Rock That Couldn’t Roll
A caring, warmhearted book about supporting your friends no matter what obstacle stands in their way
Author: Mr. Jay
Subgenre: Rocks / Disabilities
Print Length: 28 pages
ISBN: 9780578198033
Recommended by: Joe Walters
I don’t know how you make being a rock look so fun, but this rhyming picture book does it in droves. Author Mr. Jay and illustrator Erin Wozniak team up to turn this group of rocks into personality-rich critical thinkers who see a friend being left out for the make-up of his body and do something about it.
While all his friends are rolling up and down a hill, Ricky can’t join in on the fun because one of his sides is flat. I absolutely love the parallels being discussed in this book of a rock and kids with disabilities of any kind.
This book is a stellar introduction to showing kids what they can do to help their friends, and it’s a warmhearted reminder to those with disabilities that people care about them and that they can achieve their goals.
–Joe Walters
Surprise your kids’ teachers with this handy list of great gifts for English teachers.
11. Immune Heroes
An entertaining, useful book to help kids learn about cuts, scrapes, and the healing process
Author: Namita Gandhi, PhD
Subgenre: Science
Print Length: 36 pages
ISBN: 9781917095211
Recommended by: Jaylynn Korrell
In Immune Heroes, siblings Mayu and Nimi are out riding bikes and enjoying the day when Mayu suddenly hits a rock and tumbles to the ground. His sister runs to comfort him while reminding him that the pain he’s currently feeling is a good thing, as it signifies the beginning of the healing process. And the beginning of the healing process couldn’t be cooler than the way that Gandhi tells it.
This book packs in a lot of action in its 30 or so pages, as the process of healing isn’t always completed on the first try. Bacteria find their way in despite the tacky platelets creating a protective seal. Macrophages are called in to devour said bacteria as new intruders find other ways to wreak havoc. Gandhi’s story transforms healing into an epic battle that is sure to entertain.
Parents who want to introduce big concepts like immunology to their kids in a way that they’ll understand will love this book. Gandhi writes about the experience in such a fun way that kids may not even realize they’re being taught a valuable, relatable science lesson. She explains things in an accessible way and pairs the prose with beautiful graphics that will keep little eyes glued to the page. I loved watching each new group of characters rush to the scene whether it be to attack or defend Mayu’s wound.
–Jaylynn Korrell
12. Baby Loves Science (The Five Senses)
5 brightly colored, easy to understand kids’ science books in one neat package
Author: Ruth Spiro
Genre: Board Books / Science
Print Length: 110 pages
ISBN: 9781632890580
Publisher: Charlesbridge Publishing
Recommended by: Toni Woodruff
Bombarding your kids with fun stories is a good thing. But no children’s library is complete without this resourceful & relevant 5-book series.
The five senses—hearing, sight, smell, touch, and taste—are a wonderful kid-friendly science topic. Not only can they count the senses on one tiny hand, but they have experience with each of them, whether they’re equipped with it or not.
This series does an excellent job of including those kids without the ability to see or hear in addition to discussing the science of how each of them work. From tiny molecules to their big, developing brains, this series could stick with your little one for years. Even by the time they hit school-age, they’ll be able to return to these educational resources in their bookshelf.
–Toni Woodruff
13. Hummingbird
A touching little story of familial connection over the wonder of hummingbirds
Author: Nicola Davies
Genre: Picture Book / Birds
Print Length: 32 pages
ISBN: 9781536205381
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Recommended by: Toni Woodruff
Any parent in love with the beauty and magic of hummingbirds will adore this children’s book. The lush green, natural surroundings of each page make for an eye-popping viewing experience, but it’s the sheer number of unique hummingbirds flying around that make it stand out most.
It’s about a young girl who hand-feeds hummingbirds with her grandmother in Central America, but she soon departs for New York City. And while she believes she leaves the magnificent little creatures behind, Granny tells her to keep an eye out. That they travel north too. Maybe even to Central Park for the very first time.
Hummingbirds emit a special type of magic. Bring the wonderment to your bookshelf with this gorgeously illustrated, moving story of connecting through generations by way of these amazing migratory birds.
–Toni Woodruff
What are your favorite kids’ books of all time? Let us know in the comments!
About IBR
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]]>Chosen by the IBR Staff
These mystery thrillers are to die for.
What is it with us and our interest in murder?
It’s in us to gaze through the fog, to look over our shoulder, to piece together the unknown. You’re telling me I can’t find out the truth? Challenge accepted.
Mystery thrillers are among our most popular reviews at IBR. We review tons of them. Why? Because the people who like them…they really, really like them. It’s one of those genres that can keep a reader for their entire life. Sure they might dabble in other spaces sometimes, but they always make their way back home…to murder.
Compiled by our mystery thriller team, this list includes murder mysteries, detective stories, psychological thrillers, paranormal mysteries, and beyond. And they’re all indie books!
Here are 15 mystery thrillers that’ll satisfy your inner crime solver.
1. Blood and Mascara
Infidelity, corruption, and murder on the mean streets of Washington, DC.
Author: Colin Krainin
Subgenre: Detective Fiction
Print Length: 292 pages
ISBN: 9798989986804
Recommended by: Erin Britton
What it’s about:
Former investigative journalist Bronze Goldberg is now a private eye who makes his living from seedy cases…Sufficiently shaken to take a modicum of action, Bronze reluctantly hits the streets to find out more about what happened to Billy Kopes, the “congressman who washed up on the banks of the Potomac.”
Given that Roger Haake, a political consultant, is “one of the most powerful unelected men in DC,” only someone incredibly brave or exceptionally foolish would consider having an affair with his wife. So which one was Kopes? And how much did Haake really know before he hired Bronze to tail Carolyn and find proof of her infidelity?
Unfortunately, in addition to being downright despicable, Haake is murdered before Bronze can find out more from him, which makes for two bodies dropping in less than 24 hours. Clearly, something is seriously amiss.
Why you should read it:
A hard-boiled detective story set in the late 1990s but with more than a hint of classic noir like The Big Sleep and The Maltese Falcon, Colin Krainin’s Blood and Mascara traverses the seamier side of Washington, DC and exposes all the blood, gore, and corruption to be found there.
Through pitch-perfect PI dialogue and a plot packed with political duplicity, sleaze, and casual violence, Krainin presents a fiendish murder mystery that shines a light on both the best and worst of humanity.
Luckily, despite being such a deeply flawed human being, Bronze is actually a top-notch private investigator, likely due to a combination of his journalistic training and his plain orneriness. And given the twisted, complicated murder mystery that Krainin has crafted for him to solve, he’s going to need all his skill and experience to stay alive long enough to discover who is trying to kill him. The answer to the puzzle is wrapped up in layers of sleaze, scandal, and corruption, and Bronze has to survive through a fair bit of bloody violence as he attempts to unravel the Kopes/Haake conundrum.
–Erin Britton
2. An Unclean Place
Real people, a compelling mystery, and damn good writing
Author: Barbara Barrow
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Print Length: 308 pages
ISBN: 9781941360736
Publisher: Lanternfish Press
Recommended by: Toni Woodruff
What it’s about:
Ms. Ella is a renegade teacher at Stillwater School, an experimental academy in Atlanta. Some students, like best friends Amber and Dawn, flock to her, and others are hurt by her. After she’s arrested and the school is closed due to scandal, Dawn stays on Ms. Ella’s trail.
But Dawn dies mysteriously years later. So Amber is the one who has to pursue the missing Ms. Ella, only to find more than she’s bargained for.
Why you should read it:
The writing is what pulled me in first. The third-person plural is a tough perspective to pull off, but Barrow does it with a flourish in the first section of this book, leaving an intriguing mythical feel to Ms. Ella’s impact on the students at the school.
The novel’s mysteries float through decades, and like the best of the psychological thriller genre, characters are complex and have agency. We find out who they really are only through sharp, subtle prose, and the mystery is well worth the wait.
–Toni Woodruff
3. Shitamachi Scam
Detective Hiroshi has to unmask scammers before the elderly in the city lose everything…including their lives.
Author: Michael Pronko
Subgenre: Detective Fiction
Print Length: 348 pages
ISBN: 9781942410317
Recommended by: Peggy Kurkowski
What it’s about:
Detective Hiroshi and his eclectic team of investigators are in the narrow lanes of shitamachi (“lower town”) Tokyo to unravel a devilishly complex scam scheme, where real estate has become the richest commodity and tradition just a stumbling block to “beautification” and progress. This is where thieving rings zero in on the most vulnerable—elderly women who are often widowed or retired.
When a scooter zooms through the street and kills their informant, whilst her scammer barely flees the scene, police officers are left with a bag full of blank paper, wondering what went wrong and why.
The next day, a young, reclusive tenant is found dead in his room. Are the two deaths connected? Hiroshi and his crack colleagues begin to peel back the layers of this mystery as break-ins and violence increase.Pronko aces the granular gumshoe work necessary as the scam becomes the lesser of two evils—ruthless land developers may have a larger scam of their own, one that isn’t afraid of murder to achieve its aims.
Why you should read it:
Shitamachi Scam is first-rate detective fiction that delivers a superb and timely plot with old school sleuthing and witty, compelling characters. Readers will want to see more of Hiroshi after this one.
The plot is intelligent and well-researched, reflecting as it does a current crime plague upon the elderly. For a crime disguising itself in white-collar clothing, Pronko dutifully approaches the narrative in a more cerebral manner, which makes the action sequences even more propulsive.
As Hiroshi and his colleagues—and Takuya and his—converge on the primary scammer(s) behind the deaths and mayhem, the climax is a cinematic set piece that rewards the readers’ patience in spades.
–Peggy Kurkowski
4. From Sweetgrass Bridge
An enthralling prairie mystery with humor, heart, and an ingenious plot
Author: Anthony Bidulka
Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense / LGBTQ
Print Length: 280 pages
ISBN: 9781988754543
Publisher: Stonehouse Publishing
Recommended by: Melissa Suggitt
What it’s about:
Set in the small town of Livingsky, Saskatchewan, the novel captures the essence of prairie life while unraveling the mysterious disappearance of a local hero, Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback Dustin Thomson. The disappearance of Dustin, a beloved figure and role model for Indigenous youth, is a devastating reality for their community.
At the heart of the story is Merry Bell, a private investigator who has been back in her hometown for six months with little to show for it. Her business is floundering, her finances are strained, and she’s grappling with a sense of isolation. Just when Merry’s hope is nearly extinguished, Dustin’s cousin walks into her office, seeking her help to find the missing quarterback. If something bad happened to him out at the secluded Sweetgrass Bridge, she knows he didn’t do it to himself.
Merry’s investigation is anything but straightforward. As she delves deeper, she uncovers startling truths that add layers of complexity to the case.
Why you should read it:
From Sweetgrass Bridge proves to be a multifaceted mystery that adeptly balances its tension, humor, and emotionally charged moments.
Merry’s experience as a trans woman is depicted with care, insight, and understanding—an enrichment to the mystery… The setting of Livingsky, with its close-knit community and prairie backdrop, adds a nostalgic charm to the story. As a prairie girl myself, I found the depiction of the landscape and community life to be authentic and heartwarming. Bidulka’s pacing is impeccable, keeping readers on the edge of their seats while allowing the characters’ emotional journeys to unfold naturally.
–Melissa Suggitt
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5. The Apologist
A taut non-linear thriller with satisfying twists and an array of complex characters
Author: A.A. Weiss
Genre: Spy Thriller
Print Length: 193 pages
Publisher: The Agency Books (Sunbury Press)
Recommended by: Joseph Haeger
What it’s about:
Patrick Allred has the best of intentions. He wants to use his English education for good, helping people who need it most. After graduation, he walks into the Peace Corps recruiting office before learning he doesn’t actually have any applicable skills. He pivots to teaching English abroad and is soon Beijing bound. Little does he know he’s actively getting pulled into a twisted web of espionage and Chinese politics.
Then, he suddenly drops off the map.
His disappearance prompts freshman congressmember King to put together an under-the-radar mission led by assassins who don’t want to kill anymore. Two disillusioned hit men team up to locate and retrieve the missing American, ideally without any bloodshed, and this makes us wonder: do these killers have what it takes, or will they revert to their old ways to complete the mission?
Why you should read it:
The structure of The Apologist is reminiscent of a Christopher Nolan film. It’s a jigsaw puzzle of sorts, where different moments in time are running concurrently and it’s up to us to pull hints from the chapters to build a larger linear timeline in our heads. I love this tactic because it further engages the reader with the mystery of the story, expecting us to participate in a small way.
But even then, you don’t have to piece the timeline together to have a great time. All the characters are written effortlessly as their own individuals. Their dialogue wouldn’t even need to be attributed because through the cadence and language we already know whose voice is speaking.
Throughout the book, we don’t know who to root for. At any moment, any one of the characters could be the bad guy and any could be the good guy. The effect this creates is that we’re kind of rooting for every single one of them at all times. This means regardless of the thread we’re following, we have an emotional investment in that specific part of the story.
This is a rare novel that balances both plot and characters with equal fervor. Had the characters been lesser, the plot would have made up for it; and conversely, if the plot would have been weakened, the characters could have carried me through. In the end, it’s a one-two punch that makes me giddy even thinking about.
–Joseph Haeger
6. You’ve Been Summoned
An immersive, interactive mystery that keeps you on your toes
Author: Lindsey Lamar
Genre: Murder Mystery / Interactive
Print Length: 378 pages
Recommended by: Kristine Eckart
What it’s about:
Combining a modern-day mystery with an unsolved case from the 1940s, this book establishes a glamorous but secretive atmosphere and storyline to delight the likes of a millennial Agatha Christie.
You’ve Been Summoned revolves around two sets of sisters. Jane and Sillian Parks, the present-day set of twins, are at the center of an eerie visit to Sophomore Manor with their circle of friends. However, as arguments arise between the visitors and a man with an axe makes a startling appearance, the event turns from a costume party to an unsettling stay at a mansion with a past.
To make matters worse, Sillian goes missing and Jane’s twin senses are telling her that her sister is in danger. Will Jane be able to save Sillian from a terrible fate? And why did Sillian insist on having her party at Sophomore Manor?
Mary and Macie Sophomore, Hollywood’s darling twins from the 1940s, are focused on their careers. When teaming up with jazz icons Josh and James to gain publicity brings attention to the rising stars, the couples decide to get married and make this business arrangement permanent. But when their honeymoon period turns into a horror story, will Mary and Macie be able to escape?
Why you should read it:
Using diary entries from Mary Sophomore and a verbal account from Jane Parks, the novel transitions back and forth between the present day and the 1940s…. It brings a sense of old Hollywood glamor to the present-day action in a wonderful nod to the iconic Golden Age of Detective Fiction.
The creative details are what truly shine. Everything from the list of liars and the list of case files that replace a traditional table of contents to the newspaper clippings to the character drawings, letters, and diagrams all serve as evidence to create an immersive and interactive experience for the reader. Complete with ink splotches, different handwriting, and torn pages, the reader is offered a variety of puzzle pieces to put together to solve the intriguing mystery. It will make you feel like you’re at a murder mystery party.
–Kristine Eckart
7. The Mill House Murders
A chilling locked-room mystery that unfolds within the ominous walls of a setting shrouded in secrecy and tragedy
Author: Yukito Ayatsuji
Genre: Locked-Room Mystery / Japanese
Print Length: 288 pages
ISBN: 9781782278337
Publisher: Pushkin Vertigo
Recommended by: Erin Britton
What it’s about:
When a killer strikes, brilliant amateur sleuth Kiyoshi Shimada sets about unravelling the complex web of secrets and lies that led to the perplexing crime.
Why you should read it:
Ayatsuji builds a compelling tale of intrigue around the eccentric Fujinuma Kiichi, the consequences of his accidental disfigurement, and his annual house party for a very select group of guests….Ayatsuji is a master at combining the macabre with the mysterious, creating a tense work of crime fiction that is packed with alarming events, red herrings, and psychological insights.
–Erin Britton
8. Midsummer Mysteries
An eclectic story anthology with some of the best mystery writers you’ll find
Edited: Martin Edwards
Genre: Short Story Anthology
Print Length: 416 pages
ISBN: 9781804177266
Recommended by: Toni Woodruff
Publisher: Flame Tree Publishing
19 compelling thrillers all wrapped up in one beautiful hardcover book. SJ Butler, William Burton McCormick, SJ Bennett, Judith Cutler–this anthology is chock-full of some of the best mystery writers I’ve ever read, fiction or nonfiction. A perfect gift for mystery-thriller & crime fiction lovers with names they know and stories they’ll die for.
–Toni Woodruff
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9. Lying in Judgment
A propulsive, easy, entertaining audio journey with an unforgettable premise
Author: Gary Corbin
Genre: Audiobook / Crime / Legal
Listening Length: 9 hrs 25 mins
Recommended by: Toni Woodruff
What it’s about:
In a jealous fit of rage, Peter Robinson tracks down his wife’s lover and beats him to death. Only problem is: he’s killed the wrong man.
And now, he’s being summoned to be on the jury of the case where he is the killer. Because he knows who really did it, he wants to get the accused off, but he’s got a tough motive to beat. We worry that Peter might be too close to the situation to let the wrong man go.
Why you should read it:
I listened to this audiobook years ago and haven’t forgotten a twist in it. The narration by the author is smooth and compelling, but it’s the premise that makes it so propulsive. A sure-fire “What would you do if this happened to you?” thriller with never-ending curiosity to find out what will come of the flawed protagonist.
–Toni Woodruff
10. Murder Under Redwood Moon
An energetic and suspenseful witchcraft-filled murder mystery
Author: Sherri L. Dodd
Genre: Supernatural Mystery
Print Length: 290 pages
ISBN: 9781685133887
Publisher: Black Rose Writing
Recommended by: Chelsey Tucker
What it’s about:
In the small mountain town of Boulder Creek, beautiful young girls begin to go missing. Even worse: they show up in the river.
The entire town is on edge, but for Arista and her friends, it hits closer to home; they knew some of the victims. As a serial killer lurks in the shadows, danger continues to ramp up with snakes and upside down pentagrams signaling dark times.
A family relic that her Great-Aunt Bethie shows her may be the key they need to help solve these murders. “Our Ouija is rich with a past of providing details about serial killers—which is coming, my dear, you watch!” It soon comes to light that she may be in more danger than most, and her great-aunt knows why. Family is supposed to protect and care for one another, so how could they hurt you instead?
Why you should read it:
Murder Under Redwood Moon’s story structure provides the perfect pacing to nail the suspense factor. The author handles multiple viewpoints well and provides a macro-picture with micro-details—an essential piece to telling a captivating murder mystery. The reader is led to believe that they know more than they do, and just when they start piecing some things together, the point of view switches and we venture off in a new, enticing direction.
Murder Under Redwood Moon is going to be a fun read for mystery junkies as much as for fans of modern fantasy fiction and witchcraft. Dodd provides a refreshing tale while still including some staple lore conventions like the witch’s cat and broomsticks. The pages really fly by.
–Chelsey Tucker
13. Lost Grove (Part 1)
Strong paranormal elements really make this mystery pop.
Author: Charlotte Zang & Alex Knudsen
Genre: Paranormal / Mystery
Print Length: 357 pages
ISBN: 9798989796212
Recommended by: Alexandria Ducksworth
What it’s about:
When the corpse of Sarah Elizabeth Grahams winds up on shore, it throws the entire town of Lost Grove into a frenzy. Secrets long kept under wraps are slowly reaching their tipping point.
As they attempt to solve the mystery of Sarah’s death, sergeants Seth Wolfe and Bill Richards fall deeper and deeper down a rabbit hole that gets more shocking with each step they take.
Meanwhile in town, two psychic siblings attempt to start anew in a new high school to escape their past. A group of teenagers attempt to figure out if changelings truly exist. This mix of the paranormal into our recognized reality fits so well in this creepy atmosphere. There’s a whole world to uncover in this first book of the Lost Grove series.
Why you should read it:
Readers start Lost Grove by discovering Sarah Elizabeth Grahams washed up on the beach. It’s a common opener for an mystery until readers soon discover this is set in a place with witches and strange, bloodthirsty creatures. Lost Grove is what would have happened if the TV show Twin Peaks (1990) had taken a more supernatural path.
What makes Lost Grove such a compelling read is the town’s secrets. Many events are happening in Lost Grove besides the Grahams’ case. For instance, one of the townspeople, Mary Germaine, becomes obsessed with eating raw meat and drinking blood after a strange creature bites her. One coffee shop owner believes a ghost haunts her business. And even more.
Because of the unraveling threads, this book can get addictive quickly. The city’s lore will grip any reader’s attention, and there is so much alluring strangeness going on.
–Alexandria Ducksworth
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11. Blame It on the Moon
A mysterious haunted house story with plenty of heart
Author: Lou Pugliese
Genre: Haunted House
Print Length: 278 pages
ISBN: 9798990072602
Recommended by: Kristine Eckart
What it’s about:
Richard Craft, a widower in North Arlington, Virginia, moves into a spacious home passed down from generation to generation in his family. Still, his family is present in more ways than one. Mysterious sounds, appearances, and occurrences soon reveal the house is haunted—and Richard is determined to find out why.
As Richard digs into the lives of the house’s previous residents, including his deceased wife and child, his brother Bob, and more dating back to the Civil War era, Richard starts to discover secrets that have remained hidden for years. With each new discovery, Richard is one step closer to putting all the puzzle pieces together, but he also may be in more danger. Will he be able to help the spirits of the house find peace before it’s too late?
Why you should read it:
This is not your typical haunted house story. Blame It On The Moon by Lou Pugliese is a ghost story, murder mystery, steamy romance, and Indiana Jones archeology mission all rolled into one. These little twists are pleasant surprises that add a lot of nuance (& fun!) to the reading experience.
There’s a believable world in this novel with real-feeling characters who, like many readers, have reservations about believing in ghost stories, even if they enjoy them. From scientific equipment and experienced academic teams to Ouija boards and opal amulets, there’s a little something for every reader in this book.
–Kristine Eckart
12. Simon’s Dream
An inspiringly fresh take on the traditional crime thriller with coming of age romance and supernatural twists
Author: Jeremy Howe
Genre: Supernatural / Noir
Print Length: 256 pages
ISBN: 9798218222574
Recommended by: Warren Maxwell
What it’s about:
Ever since his step-father, former police chief Doug Lewis, threw him out of the house, Simon Verner has been forced to fend for himself, working his way into a tiny apartment through a strict routine and a job collecting golf balls at the local golf course. Regular therapy, a goldfish named Hank (rhymes with tank), and two loyal friends keep Simon content as he slowly discovers himself inside the parameters of his newly stable existence.
However, everything is turned upside down when uncanny dreams of a cop’s decade old murder begin visiting Simon. Thrust by these visions into Chicago’s corrupt underworld, Simon finds himself compelled to investigate a cold case that no one wants reopened.
Why you should read it:
The novel pushes boundaries with its exploration of the supernatural, but remains settled in the distinct realm of crime fiction. Simon’s quest to understand himself and the meaning behind his dreams is aided by Loretta, a fortune teller. Indeed, the dreams are windows into the past, giving Simon access to memories of his previous lives. From an African tribesman to an English queen, his life is indelibly linked to lives already lived, all of which are tainted by a millennium’s old curse. This heady theory of the soul deepens as the central mystery unfolds, adding exciting new dimensions to the straight-forward pleasures of mystery fiction. The writing is workman-like and entertaining, with sweeping descriptions and blow-by-blow action sequences frequently tipping into the cinematic. Shifts between dreams, reality, and the distant past are united by a tactile specificity that readers will be eager to visualize.
The thrilling story of a golf-ball fetcher who reinvents himself as a dogged agent of justice, Simon’s Dream abandons worn-out tropes in order to create a fresh new take on noir fiction.
–Warren Maxwell
14. The Mystery Next Door
Whatever kind of literary magic Michael Rodney Moore has conjured up, it’s working.
Author: Michael Rodney Moore
Genre: Middle Grade / Historical
Print Length: 259 pages
ISBN: 9798393679699
Recommended by: Alexandria Ducksworth
What it’s about:
Moore’s book begins with young Zoey Morganton as she moves into a small town with her mother in North Carolina. It isn’t long until she learns about the mysterious plantation not too far from her home: Oak Harbor. The house is covered with many secrets, ranging from a crazed slaveowner to a secret pirate treasure. Zoey can’t help her growing curiosity as she finds herself exploring Oak Harbor. There’s more to the plantation and the original owner’s history than she realizes.
Why you should read it:
The Mystery Next Door becomes addictive when Moore brings out old tales of piracy and long-lost treasure. It’s the type of adventure one would recognize from movies such as The Goonies (1985) and Tom & Huck (1995). Whose inner child didn’t wish they could find secret treasure in their own backyard?
One of the most captivating aspects of The Mystery Next Door is its exploration of Oak Harbor’s history. Moore delves into the complex dynamics of the 19th-century South, addressing topics such as slavery and the Civil War without it being too much for younger readers.
As Zoey Morganton delves deeper into the history of Oak Harbor, readers are treated to an alluring journey through time. Readers become engaged with the golden age of piracy and life in the South (before and after the Civil War).
The Mystery Next Door is a fun & delightful read. Middle school readers who are exploring the American South in other classes and those who relish in satisfying mysteries and adventure are going to love this story.
–Alexandria Ducksworth
15. Assassins Are Us
Action, heart, and laughs in equal measure.
Author: Kimberly van Sickle
Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense / Humor
Print Length: 164 pages
ISBN: 9781639889433
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
Recommended by: Melissa Suggitt
What it’s about:
Hedy isn’t your average teenager. She’s next in line to inherit her family’s centuries-old legacy as secret assassins. Picture this: deadly skills, killer charm, and a hint of rom-com magic. With Hedy and her family at the helm, you’ll want to prepare yourself for this unique combination of snort-inducing laughter and heart-pounding action.
Balancing a budding romance with Dave, a student in her class and the weight of her family’s destiny, Hedy’s journey is quite the complicated one. Is she meant to carry on her family legacy? Will pursuing Dave affect her focus and put herself, her family, and Dave in danger, potentially exposing their family’s sordid past? Assassins Are Us is a seamless blend of high school drama and covert ops, served with a side of chaotic family dinners that’ll make you grateful for every mundane gathering.
Why you should read it:
Buckle up for a wildly entertaining ride through family secrets, flirtatious encounters, and dangerous missions in uproariously captivating ways. Hedy Hinterschott is a protagonist you’ll wish was your best friend.
Don’t be fooled by the laughs; author Kimberly Van Sickle has a knack for tugging at heartstrings too. The bonds formed among Hedy and her quirky crew ooze authenticity, adding warmth to the story’s action-packed and slightly outlandish core. This book doesn’t just capture the essence of being a teenager; it catapults you into a world where family, romance, and thrilling twists intertwine constantly.
Hedy’s quick thinking, intelligence, and sassiness will win you over faster than you can say “undercover operation.” Just when you think you’ve cracked the code, Van Sickle throws curveballs that leave you gasping and grinning simultaneously.
–Melissa Suggitt
What are the best mystery thrillers you’ve read? Let us know in the comments!
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