Rob J. Hayes's Blog, page 7
January 4, 2022
Self Published Fantasy Releases – January 2022
If you would like to be kept up to date with the upcoming lists, please subscribe to my newsletter by clicking this link. I don’t send out letters too often, pretty much once a month when this list goes out… and occasionally if I release a book or something.
As always, this is not a comprehensive list, but only includes all the books I have heard about so far.
If you have a fantasy novel you are self publishing in January or beyond, let me know by filling out THIS FORM, and I shall add it to the page. There are but 3 requirements:
1) It must be a self published fantasy novel.
2) It must have a Goodreads page.
3) It must have a cover.
28th December – The Blood of Outcasts (The Bane Sword Trilogy #1) by D.A. SmithEpic Fantasy, Sword & Sorcery
Masako escapes the Lord Council with only her life intact, her clan shattered and master dead in wake of disaster she wrought. It is her cursed blood that cries out, and a godsborne that answers.
By the power in her blood, and a promise made with it, she’s given a second chance. With it, she must unite the outer clans, move past old rivalries and worse, or face annihilation at the hands of a foreign sect of sorcerers, the Taosii, and their silent invasion.
Only, Masako was executed, she’s meant to be dead. Demonic rumours and a destructive past sow doubt in her campaign before it is begun.
GoodreadsAmazon30th December – Edict of Honor (The Eldest Throne #2) by Bernie Anes PazProgression/Cultivation
A screaming sword. A dangerous renegade. Both stand in the way of the coterie’s first mission.
After being sanctioned by Avyleir Library, Roun and his friends find themselves looking forward to their futures as sacred guardians of humanity. Roun knows, however, that their evaluation was only one obstacle along an endless path, and it does not take long before they receive their next challenge: the coterie’s first Copper rank mission.
The job seems simple on the surface, and tasks them with protecting a village from the threat of a roaming brigand clan. Yet upon their arrival, they discover the inhabitants are anything but what they expected—and are soon drawn into a conflict against something far more sinister than mere outcasts.
To make matters worse, an apostate feared across the empire may lie at the heart of the brewing storm, a man whose legend is as great as that of the profane artifact he seeks.
Caught between timeworn vows and their equally ancient bearers, Roun’s coterie will need to battle against impossible odds to complete their mission—and prove they can overcome even the darkest strokes of Fate.
GoodreadsAmazon31st December – Of Darkness and Light (The Bound and the Broken #2) by Ryan CahillEpic Fantasy, Sword & Sorcery
Heroes will rise. Nations will fall.
Behind the towering walls of Belduar, Calen Bryer and his companions stand in defense of the city and its new king. In over a thousand years, Belduar has never fallen. It has stood as a bastion of hope. But the Lorian empire are at its walls once more, and the Dragonguard are coming.
In the North, with Faenir by her side, Calen’s sister Ella arrives at the port of Antiquar. She holds no fear of the unknown. She will see this through, no matter what – or who – gets in her way.
Meanwhile, at the embassy of the Circle of Magii in Al’Nasla, Rist Havel hones his newfound powers in preparation for the trials. Unbeknownst to Rist, he is being watched, measured, and judged. He was not taken into the Circle by chance. There is greatness in him. But great men can do terrible things.
As Lorian forces land on southern shores and Aeson Virandr’s letters of rebellion find their way to the right hands, only the Knights of Achyron see the true danger. The danger that stirs in the darkness. The coming shadow will not stop. It will consume all in its path. It wants for nothing but blood and fire.
GoodreadsAmazon4th January – All Daughters Rise (Kinborn #1) by Alysa AuriemmaYA
Sabrine, a Greenwitch, has grown up thinking that the female, winged warriors known as the Daughters were unrepentant killers, gleefully slaughtering all humans who stood in their way. This all changes when her ex, vampire Lora Walker, resurfaces with a shocking revelation–Sabrine’s mother was once the feared leader of the Daughters. Sabrine has unknowingly been groomed to be her mother’s assistant.
Now Sabrine needs to reevaluate everything she thinks she knows, and she needs to do it fast, because the barrier that separates the magical world from the world of the humans is cracking open, and nobody knows why. And the only person she can rely on is the last person she wants to deal with: her ex-girlfriend.
Goodreads11th January – The Lost Sentinel (Relics of Power #1) by Emma L. AdamsEpic Fantasy
They say the country of Zeuten no longer has any need for heroes.
Quests have been completed, the great Powers have withdrawn from the world, and the Sentinels who guard the last Relics are largely forgotten. Unlike their neighbours in the country of Aestin, whose Invokers wield the magic of the deities in exchange for glory and prestige, they leave the gods alone, and the gods extend the same courtesy to them.
When Zeuten’s last Sentinel disappears, Zelle, her granddaughter, intends to track her down. Instead, she runs into an Aestinian stranger with no memories of his past, who claims to be looking for a long-lost Relic hidden in the mountains by the first Sentinels. To Zelle, the rumours of lost Relics are just stories told to trick gullible travellers, but the hordes of enemies on the stranger’s tail suggest otherwise. Armed with nothing but her grandmother’s sentient (and temperamental) magical staff, Zelle finds herself tasked with keeping them both alive.
Between monstrous beasts, magical storms, and an enthusiastic but inept aspiring assassin and her dragon sidekick, Zelle has her work cut out if she wants to survive long enough to save her grandmother and prevent the destruction of a nation.
Maybe Zeuten is in need of a few heroes after all…
Sheriff Errol Thorpe’s life is chaotic, brutal, and above all, solitary. After an unimaginable loss years ago, all he feels is the compulsion to seek vengeance. But when a vulnerable family arrives in town, facing an ugly future, he is pulled headfirst into a web of violence, secrets, and things he never imagined. In search of truth and answers, Thorpe finds himself battling deadly flesh-eating Dust, acidic golden blood, and the political designs of powerful people – all the while learning how to be a person again. When Dust rises in San Dios, people hide indoors. When Sheriff Thorpe arrives, people run.
GoodreadsAmazon13th January – Components of a Caster (A Series of Decisions on Kairas #2) by D. Hale RamboEpic Fantasy
Laysa has always vowed to do whatever it took to learn magic.
Rejected by deities and getting nowhere with research, Laysa’s not sure she has what it takes to be powerful. When she learns her leader is a Caster with overwhelming talent, she sees a way forward. Laysa eagerly exchanges instruction in return for the Holy Speaker’s requests. Reclaim stolen deity artifacts that have fallen into deadly hands.
Plunged into danger chasing the remnant, Laysa is unprepared. Monstrous creatures and perilous travel she’s no match against. And her fledgling magic isn’t enough to prevent bandits from ambushing her and her friends.
Brought before a dangerous woman who knows more than expected, Laysa questions everything she’s been told.
Can Laysa keep her friends alive and survive uncovering the depths of the unknown? Does she have what it takes to be a Caster?
GoodreadsAmazon14th January – Whispers of Stone (The Last Gift #2) by Allegra Pescatore
A God is Dead. A Queen is Missing. Secrets are Unraveling.
On trial for the murder of the King, Elenor and Gabriel must become allies if they want to survive. His magic is spiraling out of control, awakening a mystery hidden in the very walls of the palace. She has one month to pass her Water Rite and find a way out of the marriage her parents set up. But things are about to get much more complicated.
Between sadistic family members intent on taking Elenor’s throne, Tirit Mindel breathing down Gabriel’s neck, and a Golden Dragon appearing in the sky above the Mondaer Desert with an ominous warning, more than the Kingdom of Lirin is at stake.
If that weren’t bad enough, time is ticking down for Fedrik and Fay as well. With the desert turning against them and Daemon as a questionable new ally, figuring out how to control Fedrik’s Gift has become a matter of life and death.
GoodreadsAmazon15th January – Star Overhead volume 3 by Zachary NievesUrban Fantasy, YA
Amethyst Treasure is torn between two worlds. Her mother’s world in Downbeat where she has her friends, a large house, and any little thing she could want for—except her mother’s time. Her mother’s mysterious job gets much more of her attention than Amethyst ever did.
In another world is her father, little sister, and Virtuoso, the Queen’s own backyard. The house isn’t big and the spending is frugal, but even if she has to share him, Amethyst has as much of her father’s love and care as she can stand. What she can’t understand is how her world was ever torn apart in the first place.
When a chance encounter leads to a new perspective with the giantess Solei, Amethyst finally questions the peculiarities surrounding her parent’s divorce. For the two people she’s spent most of her life with, it seems like she hardly knows them.
GoodreadsAmazon17th January – A Capital’s Perils (Adventures on Brad #8) by Tao WongEpic Fantasy, YA, LitRPG
May You Receive the Attention of Those in High Places
Daniel has drawn the attention of the one group he desperately wanted to avoid. The Royal Family has summoned him to Warmount, the capital of Brad. There, he’ll have to try avoid noble politics, royal entanglements and keep up with his Adventuring.
Of course, that’d be simpler if the Labyrinth was easier to delve through or if Warmount wasn’t a Master Class dungeon.
GoodreadsAmazon20th January – Rule of the Night (Record of the Sentinel Seer #2) by M.H. WoodscourtSci-Fantasy
Blood called to the stars.
Darkness is answering…
After facing the Wildwood’s wrath, Lekore must set his sights on protecting his people from a threat descending from the depths of space. The key to safeguarding the cities of Erokel lies in an ancient shield system—if it can be repaired in time.
And the faraway threat isn’t Lekore’s only trouble. Closer dangers draw near to claim him and his abilities for their own. Somehow, he must wrestle with his newfound right to the throne, while he fends off a Tawloomez invasion, a slave revolt, and the worshippers of the Night—with only four days until first contact.
Meanwhile, the evil beyond his world has other plans…
She left a slave. She returns a conqueror.
As an Adept, Reiva blasts fire from her hands and leaps over walls. But when her first solo mission leaves her half-dead amidst a heap of massacred allies, she gets just one chance at redemption.
The Empire orders her to crush the one kingdom she thought she would never see again: Talynis, the land of her birth, the land she left in chains.
Standing in her way is the Wolf, a vicious assassin hellbent on killing Adepts—and a single cut from his cursed blade will destroy Reiva’s magic forever.
Even if she can survive, victory may come at a price too high to pay…
In the aftermath of battle, a truth is laid bare—the world, and the people within it, are not as they appear.
Adrift without an anchor and nursing a broken heart, Lidan steels herself for a task she never thought would fall to her—to hunt down the architect of the horrors that have plagued the South Lands for years.
Ranoth stands on a precipice, his plans in tatters. The path forward leads as easily home as to death. Hungry for answers, he and Lidan set out in pursuit of a common enemy, for dark and fathomless powers are moving beneath the surface of Coraidin.
The unseen realms have awoken and within them, ancient feuds flare to life.
A new and deadly threat looms, and an old bargain will be struck anew. Will Lidan and Ran survive the coming storm to finish what they have begun?
GoodreadsAmazon25th January – Heart of the Bloodstone (The Stone Tribes #1) by Philinna WoodEpic Fantasy
Avalan is a hunter in a cage.
In the village of Hydrus, a fastness secluded from the Stone Lands, Avalan was born. He swam its warm waters, hunted through its blackwood forest, played the goat games on its white shore.
Now, he watches the chief erect a mighty palisade to keep his tribe contained, forbid the magic of the birthstones, exile his childhood friend, and punish the tribe of Hydrus for daring to love, hope, dream … As the chief’s madness grows, so does Avalan’s longing to lead the tribe to freedom.
But Avalan’s dagger is no match for the chief’s powerful stone magic. Much as Avalan hates the stones for being the chief’s weapon, he realizes there’s only one path to freeing his tribe: find what was denied to him, the missing piece of his soul …
GoodreadsAmazonAnd if you like these lists, please consider joining my Patreon for exclusive content and lots more.
Check it out
November 30, 2021
Self Published Fantasy Releases – December 2021
If you would like to be kept up to date with the upcoming lists, please subscribe to my newsletter by clicking this link. I don’t send out letters too often, pretty much once a month when this list goes out… and occasionally if I release a book or something.
As always, this is not a comprehensive list, but only includes all the books I have heard about so far.
If you have a fantasy novel you are self publishing in December or beyond, let me know by filling out THIS FORM, and I shall add it to the page. There are but 3 requirements:
1) It must be a self published fantasy novel.
2) It must have a Goodreads page.
3) It must have a cover.
1st December – Jubilant (Shallic Sea Chronicles #1) by Galadriel Coffeen & Anneliese KnopEpic Fantasy
Kelta’s life on a small clan warship has given her peace and anonymity, and a way to fight through her grief. But when her ship is called upon to search for a missing ambassador, Kelta can no longer remain safely in the shadows. Will she sacrifice her future for her family, or will she let the mission fail and keep her secrets?
After being barred from studying magic, Wren Elspur’s only way to make a name for himself is to work up through the ranks of the Ellondese Navy. Passing his lieutenant’s exam should have put him on the fast track for promotion, but a tyrannical captain, an arranged marriage, and an alliance with the southern savages interfere with his plans and pit his conscience against his career.
When Wren and Kelta’s ships both find evidence of slavers working in international waters, they have no choice but to put aside their cultural differences and work together to rescue hundreds of innocents bound for the Alokite slave-markets. But there’s more going on behind the slave trade. As an ancient evil stirs in the west, Kelta and Wren find themselves fighting side by side in the opening moves of a war they don’t yet understand.
Amazon1st December – The Second Storm (A Thousand Li #6) by Tao WongEpic Fantasy, Progression/Cultivation
When War Wages, Even Innocents Perish
Two years have passed and the war between the kingdoms of Shen and Wei rages on. The dark sect moves in the shadows, striking against the noble Verdant Green Waters Sect, damaging, killing and kidnapping their members.
Among the victims – Fairy Yang, Wu Ying’s martial sister. On a desperate quest to retrieve her, Wu Ying finds himself caught up in inter-sect politics and headed straight for a trap.
Tragedy awaits, but some paths, a man must walk. No matter the cost.
GoodreadsAmazon2nd December – Anachrony (Timelessness #3.5) by Susana ImaginarioSci-Fantasy[image error]Arianh had one wish.
Yewlow made it real.
And Time turned it into a regret.
Anachrony takes you on a journey to the bleak future of Aegea and the darkest places of the mind.
Can fate be avoided, or is the future just someone else’s past?
GoodreadsAmazon2nd December – Servant of the Lesser Good by Shaun Paul StevensEpic Fantasy, Sword & Sorcery
High Mistress Talia is a hell-raising socialite with a murky past. But she has a bright future. Beautiful, rich, and a virtuoso harpist, she’s betrothed to the Count of Brecht. In short, she has it all. Or so it would seem.
Marla Holst is the new lady’s maid, but never has the ‘help’ been so unhelpful. Marla, real name Mist, has only one mission: to stop the high mistress’s marriage. By any means necessary.
But complications abound. Talia’s disturbed daughter, a girl who can see into the future, is cursed with the stigma of a devil-worshipping father. The count’s father, the Duke of Rizak, is a recluse, too afraid of assassins to show his face. And all the nobility want to do is duel.
Meanwhile, the highlight of the season—a recital of the famous ‘Cursed Symphony,’ draws ever closer.
GoodreadsAmazon2nd December – Nectar for the God (Mennik Thorn #2) by Patrick SamphireEpic Fantasy, Urban Fantasy
In the city of Agatos, nothing stays buried forever.
Only an idiot would ignore his debt to a high mage, and Mennik Thorn is not an idiot, no matter what anyone might say. He’s just been … distracted. But now he’s left it too late, and if he doesn’t obey the high mage’s commands within the day, his best friends’ lives will be forfeit. So it’s hardly the time to take on an impossible case: proving a woman who murdered a stranger in full view is innocent.
Unfortunately, Mennik can’t resist doing the right thing – and now he’s caught in a deadly rivalry between warring high mages, his witnesses are dying, and something ancient has turned its eyes upon him.
The fate of the city is once again in the hands of a second-rate mage. Mennik Thorn should have stayed in hiding.
GoodreadsAmazon3rd December – Rise of Chess (Fair Quest #2) by Kit FalboSci-Fantasy, LitRPG
Overwhelmed by a shift to a “normal” life Nate is under pressure to make friends. Re-joining the Immersive Fantasy game Fair Quest seems like his best option. But the game has changed, and many players are taking what is going on more personally. Will the return of the Kingmaker winner send shock waves through the game even as he’s trying to avoid attention? Find out in The Rise of Chess.
GoodreadsAmazon4th December – Darkhaven (The Lightless Prophecy #1) by Kel E. FoxEpic Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, YA
What would you sacrifice for magic?
Gabby is in her final year of high school and facing the Question: what does she want to do with her life? A shame ‘wizarding’ isn’t on the list of university courses.
Just as Gabby despairs that she’ll never find the answer, lightning strikes. She uncovers a conspiracy, meets a mysterious boy, and finds out that maybe, magic might just be real. But it comes at a cost, and now Gabby’s faced with a decision that makes choosing a university as easy as choosing a favourite kind of cake… How is anyone meant to do that?
GoodreadsAmazon7th December – The Hunt for Lost Souls (Guardian of the Core #3) by Michael E. ThiesEpic Fantasy, Sword & Sorcery, Sci-Fantasy
The Curse of Pirini Lilapa has once again sown discord throughout the system.
In its wake, the Twelve gods are sealed and scattered throughout the system, leaving nations on the brink of war and rulers left to fend for themselves. Looking beyond their disputes, Guardian Eska is forced to unleash the Hown as he searches for the largest threat to the system, Hydro Paen—and the strange necklace he bears.
The system’s most-wanted man, Hydro makes a deal that allows him to evade the Hown pursuing him. But what has he sacrificed in return and how long can he outrun the system’s most highly trained trackers and fighters?
By a stroke of luck, Zain Berrese escapes Zigarda’s Web along with his father and what remains of his troops. Driven by the need to halt a war and save those he loves, Zain must outmaneuver attempts to recapture him, all while he questions his choices, his future, and his purpose.
Finally understanding his birthright, Eirek Mourse is determined more than ever to earn Guardian Eska’s trust. But how can he focus on his training when the system lingers on the precipice of total collapse—and he might be the only one who can save it?
Goodreads10th December – Trouble in the Green Lands (Seeder Wars #2) by J. HouserUrban Fantasy, YA, Romance
THE GAME IS CHANGING.
It’s been three years since Saff made the life-changing decision to embrace her Seeder nature and move to the Green Lands. She loves her job, her husband, her Seeder family, and everything about this enchanting new realm. Life couldn’t be more perfect. Except for the disturbing new war tactics displayed by their enemies, the Ivies.
Rachel’s senior year in high school is anything but typical. Discovering her true identity as a Seeder means learning new abilities, hiding from Ivy assassins, and preparing to leave the human world behind. But something’s not right with her powers, causing crippling self-doubt and leading her to make unlikely allies. Rachel’s ready to join the rebellion, helping to put an end to centuries of unrest amongst the green folk.
But people and promises are rarely as they seem in a war filled with secrets and misdirects.
Far from being on the same page, Rachel and her new mentor, Saff, realize they can only take the needed leap of faith by trusting each other. The ultimate goal for them both is to stay alive, find out who they can trust, and just maybe, if they can manage that, they can stop a never-ending war.
GoodreadsAmazon12th December – Ardulum (The Battle for Pruitcu Ardulum #5) by J.S. FieldsSci-Fantasy, Romance
Consumed by guilt, Guard Four trawls space, hopping from spaceport to spaceport, hoping to find and bring Atalant home with exonerating evidence that Ardulum, the traveling planet her people worship, is no mystic deity.
At the edges of the known galaxy, Guard Four finds the shattered remains of a murdered world – a world of her genetic cousins who could have provided the evidence she desperately seeks. Ardulum, in seems, is no fairy tale but rather a bogeyman, set on destroying anyone who gets between it and its biological imperative to reproduce. And in its seat of governance rules Atalant – god to a planet she swore did not, could not, exist.
Guard Four must unravel Ardulan fact from myth to save her friend and the billions of other beings threatened by the Void – a tear in space created from Ardulum’s most recent birthing event. But how does one bring a god of a killer planet home? And how is Guard Four supposed to stop the Void without giving it the only thing it wants – the destruction of Ardulum?
GoodreadsAmazon14th December – Tethered Spirits (Curse of Shavhalla #1) by T.A. Hernandez
A man with an unknown past
For years, Amar has traveled the Kavoran empire, seeking a way to recover his lost memories and end the curse that plagues him. With support from loyal friends, Amar may finally be on the verge of finding answers, but to do so, he’ll need to enlist the help of an unexpected guide.
A girl afraid of her own powers
Kesari is a Tarja, granted magical abilities through her Bond with a spirit named Lucian. Haunted by past mistakes that have left her desperate to sever her Bond, Kesari has her own reasons for agreeing to help Amar. But in doing so, she may finally have to face the fears she’s carried ever since leaving home.
A woman on a vital mission
Meanwhile, a young refugee named Aleida is in hot pursuit, hoping the secret behind Amar’s curse can save her brother from a fatal illness. With so much at stake and little left to lose, Aleida will stop at nothing to get what she wants.
And when their paths collide, all three are set on a journey to unravel a mystery far deeper than they ever suspected.
GoodreadsAmazon20th December – War of the Sphere (The Sphere Saga #3) by Jay S. WillisEpic Fantasy
The lines have been drawn. The battle for the realm has begun. Can this young woman become the leader who can stop the spread of evil?
Dashira Eisenheart never planned to head a rebellion. But when three millennia of magic suppression end to unleash devastating forces upon the world, she launches into a fight for her people. And every day the war over the Sphere-Blessed continues to rage, the closer her homeland edges toward utter annihilation.
Struggling to control her own abilities and teaming up with the all-powerful Three, Dashira hunts for magical artifacts to swing the conflict in their favor. But a dangerous trek reveals shocking secrets about the nature of reality that could tear apart the very fabric of time.
Can this rebel warrior save the future before the present is ground to dust?
GoodreadsAmazon21st December – The World Breaker Requiem (Adjacent Monsters #2) by Luke TarzianGrimdark, Horror
Prince of Woe…
Avaria Norrith is the adopted heir to the Ariathan throne. But that means little to a man who, for the better part of fifteen years, has sought and failed to earn his mother’s love. Fueled by pride and envy, Avaria seeks the means to prove himself and cast away his mental chains. When he’s tasked with the recreation of The Raven’s Rage he sees his chance, for with the infamous blade he can rewrite history and start anew.
Daughter of the Mountain…
Erath has not felt sunlight for a century. Not since Ariath condemned her people to a life of darkness with their misuse of The Raven’s Rage. But when an old friend comes seeking the remnants of the ancient sword, Erath cannot contain her curiosity and resolves to lend her aid. Is it true—can history be revised? Can her people be reclaimed?
Toll the Hounds…
They are hungry—and they are here.
GoodreadsAmazon29th December – The Awakening (Pennine Prophecies #1) by J.A. Roles
An ordinary girl is thrust into the extraordinary when she meets a mysterious stranger and finds her life is not as it seems. With love, friends, and family at stake will she find the strength to survive long enough to find true happiness?
Sapphire:
England is my home, and home to the Pennines – hills rooted deep in myth and legend. And that’s all I ever believed it was… until I met him.
Now I know vampires, werewolves, witches, and warlocks walk amongst humans.
The Pennine Prophecies dictate the fate of the supernatural world. A world that is under threat by an ancient evil who will stop at nothing to satisfy his bloodlust.
If it comes to laying down my life for the people I love, I know what my choice will be. They’re the reason I wake up each day. The reason I continue to fight, the reason I refuse to give up. The reason I have to tell you my story.
GoodreadsAmazon20th December – Villains (The Reeve #2) by Ian LewisSci-Fantasy
Beldenridge—a city of aging grandeur adrift in complacency—is reeling in the wake of violence perpetrated by the Wojiin, a legendary foe once thought to be extinct. Now mutated horrors lurk by shadow of night, and opportunistic villains rise to fill the gap left by the perceived abandonment of Beldenridge by Logan Hale, the city’s highest peace officer. Though Logan knows the Wojiin will return, he’s beleaguered by the ignominy of failure and a loss of purpose. To recover, he must not only confront himself but the malevolence that runs like an insidious undercurrent beneath everything he fears.
GoodreadsAmazon26th December – The Guild’s Demands (Adventures on Brad #7) by Tao WongEpic Fantasy, Sword & Sorcery, YA, LitRPG
Everyone Needs a Healer, Whether He Wants Them or Not
Daniel Chai has fallen into a routine of adventuring and dungeon delving with his friends. They aren’t making quick progress, but it’s steady improvements and honest work.
Unfortunately, Daniel’s ability as a healer, and one who is truly Gifted, has come home to roost with a vengeance. As his secret is exposed, Daniel’s greatest fears come to play and adventuring guilds of all stripes attempt to recruit him and his friends, whether he wants it or not. Forced to navigate guild politics and noble interest, Daniel’s simple life has once more grown complicated.
GoodreadsAmazon31st December – Of Darkness and Light (The Bound and the Broken #2) by Ryan CahillEpic Fantasy, Sword & SorceryHeroes will rise. Nations will fall.
Behind the towering walls of Belduar, Calen Bryer and his companions stand in defense of the city and its new king. In over a thousand years, Belduar has never fallen. It has stood as a bastion of hope. But the Lorian empire are at its walls once more, and the Dragonguard are coming.
In the North, with Faenir by her side, Calen’s sister Ella arrives at the port of Antiquar. She holds no fear of the unknown. She will see this through, no matter what – or who – gets in her way.
Meanwhile, at the embassy of the Circle of Magii in Al’Nasla, Rist Havel hones his newfound powers in preparation for the trials. Unbeknownst to Rist, he is being watched, measured, and judged. He was not taken into the Circle by chance. There is greatness in him. But great men can do terrible things.
As Lorian forces land on southern shores and Aeson Virandr’s letters of rebellion find their way to the right hands, only the Knights of Achyron see the true danger. The danger that stirs in the darkness. The coming shadow will not stop. It will consume all in its path. It wants for nothing but blood and fire.
GoodreadsAmazonAnd if you like these lists, please consider joining my Patreon for exclusive content and lots more.
Check it outOctober 25, 2021
Self Published Fantasy Releases – November 2021
If you would like to be kept up to date with the upcoming lists, please subscribe to my newsletter by clicking this link. I don’t send out letters too often, pretty much once a month when this list goes out… and occasionally if I release a book or something.
As always, this is not a comprehensive list, but only includes all the books I have heard about so far.
If you have a fantasy novel you are self publishing in November or beyond, let me know by filling out THIS FORM, and I shall add it to the page. There are but 3 requirements:
1) It must be a self published fantasy novel.
2) It must have a Goodreads page.
3) It must have a cover.
26th October – A Land of Never After (Curses of Never #1) by R.L. Davennor
All my life, I’ve dreamed of the sea.
Mermaids, stormy skies, daring adventures, pirates…it was little wonder I sprinted to the docks the moment I left the orphanage. Eager to begin my new life, I searched for a ship that would have me—and found a thief instead. I chased the bastard.
Now I’m trapped.
I’m told this place is Neverland, but everything I touch is dead or dying; what’s left is hellbent on killing each other. Monsters lurk around every corner, and everyone I meet hides a damning secret. I’m thrust in the middle of an ancient feud, and seemingly, the only one interested in unraveling the curse that plagues us.
Neverland is my home now. Until it’s done with me?
It will never let go.
GoodreadsAmazon29th October – Rebel’s Creed (The Lawful Times #2) by Daniel B. Greene
With one simple myth, nations burned. Under the Almighty, an empire has been forged, bringing peace to the once-divided continent. But now, a spark of truth threatens to ignite the religion of lies. Chapman unknowingly brought the Seventh Precinct to their demise. Now Officer Holden Sanders, known throughout the Capital City as the survivor, seeks the truth of how so many he held dear were slaughtered. But when it comes to light his former mentor might still draw breath, the Officer of God is forced to wage war against the Almighty itself.
GoodreadsAmazon1st November – The Lament of Death by Maria Vermisoglou
My name is Kyara, and I am a banshee.
My job? Bringing the dead to the other side.
I expected to become a healer…
…But fate bestowed me with a curse.
Cause, yeah. Being a Banshee is a curse.
I’m hated by my friends and family, and I’m kind of stuck in the Realm of Silver, the last place I want to be.
But if I don’t accept my job and take souls to their next stop, well, things will get bad fast. The wicked ones will drown the world in darkness, while the rest? I don’t even want to know.
What I really want is to gather the strength I need to become who I want to be.
Is it even possible to do my job with all this pressure from… everybody?
GoodreadsAmazon1st November – Town Under (The System Apocalypse: Australia #1) by Tao Wong & K.T. HannaUrban Fantasy, LitRPG
What’s worse than Australian wildlife? Mutated Australian wildlife.
The System Apocalypse has come to Australia, altering native organisms and importing even more menacing creatures to the most dangerous continent on Earth. For Kira Kent, plant biologist, the System arrives while she’s pulling an all nighter at work with her pair of kids in tow.
Now, instead of mundane parental concerns like childcare and paying the bills, she’s got to figure out how to survive a world where already deadly flora and fauna have grown even more perilous – all while dealing with the minutiae of the System’s pesky blue screens and Levels and somehow putting together a community of survivors to forge a safe zone to shelter her son and daughter.
It almost makes her miss the PTA fundraising sales. Almost.
GoodreadsAmazon2nd November – Reaper (Cradle #10) by Will WightEpic Fantasy, Progression/Cultivation
Sacred Valley has been saved…at least, what’s left of it.
With his home finally secure, Lindon delves deep into the ancient labyrinth, seeking long-lost Soulsmithing knowledge and the secret to destroying the Dreadgods. Monarchs plot against him and against each other, unaware of the threats gathering in realms beyond.
Far above Lindon and the Monarchs and the Dreadgods, another war is waged. Suriel and the Abidan clash against the Mad King and his forces in a battle for the fate of many worlds.
And if it is lost, Cradle will be destroyed.
GoodreadsAmazon3rd November – The Mercenary and the Mage (Complete Series) by Selina R. GonzalezSword & Sorcery, Romance
Mercenary-turned-lord Regulus and mage-in-hiding Adelaide struggle to make a relationship work despite societal disapproval and a sorcerer bent on destruction and conquest—even if he has to go through Regulus and Adelaide to achieve his goals. Learn more about Regulus’ suave and loyal best friend, Dresden Jakobs, in his prequel and companion novellas, and enjoy a cozy winter holiday story from the perspective of Regulus’ earnest squire, Harold.
GoodreadsAmazon4th November – Mortal Secrets (Realms Unleashed: Red Angel #1) by Isa Medina
Broke, blacklisted, and keeping secrets—the deadly kind.
Name? Ana Calliope Holt. Occupation? Demon vermin hunter. Status in the human magic community? Rock bottom, basement level.
And for a half-angel, that’s quite a feat.
I don’t mind it—the less anyone pays me any attention, the better. Because if anyone in the mortal, angelic, or demonic realms learns I’m the reincarnation of the Red Angel, an ancient weapon that can end immortal lives, I’ll be the hunted instead of doing the hunting.
So, when rumors about my existence begin to circulate, I must cover up my tracks, no matter what.
Unfortunately, when you’re already scraping the bottom of the barrel, the only help you find is the one you probably don’t want. Like Zel, an angel much more infuriating than he’s useful. Or the magical black market, where backstabbing is more of a competitive sport than a hobby.
But the way I see it, once you’re down this deep into a hole, things can only look up.
…Right?
GoodreadsAmazon5th November – Naiya’s Wish (Elisabeth and Edvard’s World #3) by Astrid V.J.[image error]A Naiad makes an impossible wish, sending a ripple of effect through the land and binding to her magic the people from the nearby mill, and the village beyond. Unexpected twists of fate tie Naiya to Hilda, the miller’s unhappy wife and, Amina, the baker’s youngest daughter.
Amina is flung into a daring adventure when Naiya’s wish ensnares the love of Amina’s life. Can she find a way to save Phillip from the watery depths? And what will she have to sacrifice to do so?
Embark on a magical adventure of daring, determination, and heartbreak. Be enchanted by this retelling of the Grimm Brothers’ lesser-known tale, The Nixie of the Mill-pond.
GoodreadsAmazon5th November – A Bitter Drink by Azalea Forrest[image error]As the center of trade for the four major races, Bisia is the perfect city for a Dahlseid—a young race of plant folk—like Rowan to experience whatever his heart desires, and his position as ambassador for the Dahlsia makes affording those desires easy. But when he overhears a plot of treason against his people, all of that could end.
But will it?
My people can take care of themselves, Rowan thinks. The humans will give up once they realize the Dahlsia have nothing of value. Because all humans want is gold, right?
They’ll be just fine.
GoodreadsAmazon5th November – Gold Glamour’s Ghost by Neil Adam RayEpic Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Sword & Sorcery
A legendary gunslinger returns, bringing his mythic revolvers and a host of eldritch magic back to the Wild West.
Carter Quinn might be Tarnation’s premiere scoundrel, charlatan, and snake oil salesman, but at least each of his overpriced promises of false hope comes with a good story pegged to it. All the man claiming to be Lucas Linden offers with his lies is a brief dance at the end of a short rope.
After studying the art of the scam for decades, Quinn knows a fraud when he sees one. Sure, the legendary gunslinger’s revolvers weigh down the stranger’s belt and he’s got the folk hero’s signature smile stretched across his face, but the real Lucas Linden disappeared thirty years ago. For him to come back after so long without a single wrinkle or gray hair, he’d need a hell of a lot more than a healthy diet—he’d need the kind of magic that only exists in stories more outlandish than those of Lucas Linden himself.
The fake Lucas Linden seems harmless at first, but when he appoints himself sheriff and claims to have discovered enough gold to reanimate the dried-up mining town, the simple townsfolk fall for the con hook, line, and sinker. They feed off the fervor of the lawless, godless hangings, growing more manic by the day, and it falls on Quinn and his soft-headed sidekick, Ron Chesterfield, to stop the grinning ghost before his festering evil consumes Tarnation and spreads its black tendrils to the rest of the world.
She’s exactly where she’s meant to be… now if she only knew why?
Charlaine gained a reputation for accomplishing the impossible after successfully repelling a sea-borne invasion.
Now, newly promoted to Temple Captain, she travels to the northern coast of the Petty Kingdoms, where she discovers a threat to the very church she holds so dear.
And then there’s Danica’s new command…
GoodreadsAmazon18th November – With Dagger and Song (Curse of the Cyren Queen #2) by Helen Scheuerer
An empty crown. A perilous journey.
Will she answer when darkness calls?
Against all odds, Roh survived the harrowing Queen’s Tournament, but now something far deadlier awaits her: a formidable quest for the three magic birthstones of Saddoriel.
The gems have been scattered across the realms – and only when Roh retrieves them can she take her place as queen. But surrounded by hostile companions and tormented by the dangerous secret she carries, Roh begins to realise that the pursuit of power may prove more destructive than she ever imagined.
Nothing can prepare her for the nightmares that fester in the shadows of Akoris, a fanatical cyren territory, or the twisted games of its cunning leader…
Can Roh win the first birthstone without sacrificing everything she holds dear – and without losing herself?
GoodreadsAmazon19th November – Dawn of the Sphere (The Sphere Saga #2) by Jay S. Willis
Thousands of years ago, magic ruled their land. When the mightiest among them rise up, will they bring peace… or rain down destruction?
Axamar Sulvastra discovered his powers on the day his brother died. Instead of saving a life, his accidental outburst robbed him of something truly precious. And now he fears the Red Rage pumping through his veins could either free the world or send it to its doom.
Working hard to control his abilities at the Academy of Arcane Studies, Axamar quickly bonds with two other gifted and potent mages. But as jealousies erupt and unchecked power festers, their irreparable discord could cost them everything when a devastating plague threatens to ravage the planet.
Can Axamar unite The Three to repair the realm before all life is obliterated?
GoodreadsAmazon23rd November – The Trials of Ascension (The Frostmarked Chronicles #2) by Brendan NobleEpic Fantasy, Sword & Sorcery, YA
Salvation does not come without sacrifice.
Rise. Otylia will never forget the betrayer’s blade slicing across her throat. Nor will she forgive.
Trapped by Weles in the underworld of Nawia, she is further from Wacław and Dziewanna than ever. The Trials of Ascension are Otylia’s only hope to escape her father’s grasp, but is she ready to pay the price of immortality?
Fall. Wacław would do anything to get Otylia back. But no demon has ever entered Nawia’s paradise.
Marching west with the nomadic clans, Wacław senses the darkness inside him growing with his power. As Marzanna threatens his hopes of saving both Otylia and his tribe, will he surrender to the demon’s call or resist as the world he knows burns before him?
GoodreadsAmazon30th November – The Ravyn’s Words (The Citadel #0.5) by Rowena Andrews
Fate belongs to the Gods. They Weave it. Sing it. Harvest it.
Ravyn was born between life and death, free of the weave of fate. She dreams of distant places and grand deeds far from the eyes of the Gods that she refuses to believe in.
Eleyn is thrice-sworn to the Gods, marked for death and cursed with the knowledge that the Gods are stirring and what that will mean for the world she will leave behind. Unless she can change things, and that means twisting the weave of fate.
But fate is a dangerous thing, especially when it is stolen from the Gods.
GoodreadsAmazonSpace for more…
September 27, 2021
Self Published Fantasy Releases – October 2021
If you would like to be kept up to date with the upcoming lists, please subscribe to my newsletter by clicking this link. I don’t send out letters too often, pretty much once a month when this list goes out… and occasionally if I release a book or something.
As always, this is not a comprehensive list, but only includes all the books I have heard about so far.
If you have a fantasy novel you are self publishing in October or beyond, let me know by filling out THIS FORM, and I shall add it to the page. There are but 3 requirements:
1) It must be a self published fantasy novel.
2) It must have a Goodreads page.
3) It must have a cover.
28th September – Spirits of Vengeance by Rob J. Hayes
He’ll die as many times as it takes.
The Ipian Empire was once a land that welcomed dragons and spirits alike, but a century of war and bloodshed saw them all but vanish. Now, the lost things are returning and the Onryo have gathered. Five legendary spirits with mysterious powers, bent on freeing an ancient evil that would wreak havoc on humanity.
Haruto swore his soul to the God of Death for the chance to hunt down the vengeful ghost of his wife. Now an onmyoji, he’s tasked by the Imperial Throne to hunt down monsters and malicious spirits. But he knows not all spirits are evil and not all deserve the peace of the sword.
Kira is a student at Heiwa, an academy for children with dangerous techniques. But she has a secret, she’s not like the other students. When the school is attacked, she flees with one of the tutors, determined to hide both from those who would kill her, and those who would use her.
As a plague of spirits sweeps across the land, the Onryo leave a bloody trail for Haruto to follow. But who’s hunting who?
GoodreadsAmazon28th September – Wake of the Phoenix by Chelsea Harper
War Hero. Thiefmaster’s apprentice. Traitors. Every title comes with a price.
Arkaen is a gods-damned saint. He sacrificed his childhood innocence fighting for the beleaguered rebellion in a civil war and relinquished a comfortable life with the man he loves to reclaim his place as high lord from corrupt nobles. Now, a hidden enemy is manipulating his lower lords into talk of rebellion, including the powerful Rogue Baron who is slowly swaying the city into questioning every move Arkaen makes.
With the help of his near-omniscient lover’s gift of foresight, Arkaen finds a potential ally in Niamsha, a reluctant thief trying to pay for her brother’s education. But Niamsha owes an insurmountable debt to the mysterious leader of her thieves guild and failing to pay means death—for her entire family. When her guild leader demands she join forces with the Rogue Baron himself, she finds herself caught in a political battle beyond her skills. Torn between protecting her family and following her conscience, Niamsha doesn’t know who to trust.
If Arkaen can win Niamsha’s loyalty, he might just prevent a second civil war and the destruction of everything he fought to protect. Or he might get them all killed.
GoodreadsAmazon28th September – Duke’s Brand by Deston J. Munden
Ser Torlyek is an awkward and soft-spoken man fumbling through his knightly duties as a member of the Duke’s Brand. Though there is little trust afforded to a band of former criminals, Torlyek and his companions continue to prove themselves to be one of the strongest knightly orders in the land.
But when Jani—a half-orc woman of noble blood—joins their ranks, they find themselves targeted by one of the most powerful lords in Dargath. Soon, Torlyek finds his new life cast into turmoil as the secrets of Jani’s past converge with the shadows of his own.
Faced with an impossible choice, will the Duke’s Brand stand with one of their own? Or will they turn her over to the forces that hunt her? And what will come from Torlyek’s own turbulent past—and the choices that continue to haunt him?
Goodreads1st October – Trinity of the Hive by Grayson Sinclair
When they took my life, I thought I had nothing left to lose. I was a fool.
The Ouroboros Project was my last chance at salvation, but the new, virtual reality was just as bad as the world I’d left. Backroom deals with corrupt nobles, slavery, and murder were all swept under the rug in the pursuit of gold.
Despite everything, I found mercenary life fulfilling, until my guild was attacked. Now, I’ve got unknown, extremely rich enemies on all sides, a mysterious woman with strange magic and compound eyes, and a guild to save.
They brought their war to my home. It’s only fair I return the favor.
GoodreadsAmazon1st October – The Goddess of Nothing At All (Unwritten Runes #) by Cat Rector
Perhaps you know the myths.
Furious, benevolent Gods.
A tree that binds nine realms.
A hammer stronger than any weapon.
And someday, the end of everything.
But few have heard of me.
Looking back, it’s easy to know what choices I might have made differently. At least it feels that way. I might have given up on my title. Told my father he was useless, king of Gods or no, and left Asgard. Made a life somewhere else.
Maybe I would never have let Loki cross my path. Never have fallen in love.
But there’s no going back.
We were happy once.
And the price for that happiness was the end of everything.
GoodreadsAmazon1st October – By Demons Be Driven (Grimluk, Demon Hunter #4) by Ashe Armstrong
Grimluk is an orc with one purpose: hunting demons.
In Grimluk’s profession, sometimes you find the next job, and sometimes the next job finds you. After a demon knight attacks him on the highway, he’s pushed to the decaying town of Dunvich. Grimluk arrives just in time for a festival, joining several other outsiders as guests of honor. The smiling, friendly faces and hospitality seem good to be true, setting him on an instinctive investigation to find out if there’s more going on.
What he discovers is more than he expected. Dunvich contains secrets that could alter the course of the continent if left unchecked. Secrets that drag Grimluk into a fight for survival. As the hunter becomes the hunted, will a quick gun and a sharp knife win the day? Or will survival be the luxury Grimluk can’t afford if he wants to stop the coming darkness from spreading?
One thing’s for sure: he’s got a job to do.
GoodreadsAmazon4th October – Non-Player Character by Victoria Corva
Not all fantasy worlds live only in our imaginations.
32-year old Tar feels like a Non-Player Character in their own life. They’ve been utterly sidelined by their anxiety and they spend all their spare time playing video games. Then they get invited to play Kin, a tabletop role-playing game their friend swears will change their life. And it does, but not in the way Tar expects. Friendship, it turns out, is even better than escapism.
But what none of them knew was that it would change their life a second time. Because the world of Kin is real. And the whole party soon discovers that changing your setting doesn’t change you.
Goodreads5th October – Blackcoat by Steve McHugh
When Celine Moro took a job as a Blackcoat, an elite agency tasked with investigating crimes throughout Union space, she thought she had finally put her past to rest.
Now, betrayed by her allies, her world is falling apart. Running from the corrupt politicians that she had sworn to bring to justice, Celine is dusting off the skills of her old trade in order to bring truth to light.
The only thing bringing her comfort is knowing how much worse her friends are eventually going to feel about their betrayal.
GoodreadsAmazon5th October – I Shall Return with Winter by C.F. Welburn
DEFY FATE. DEFY GODS. DEFY EVERYONE.
When Oben’s farm is sacked by marauding Skalgs, he embarks on a deadly quest for revenge, leaving pious Edale behind to enter the godless north.
But Skaligar is a strange place, and his enemies are full of surprises, which will push his endurance and his faith to their limits. He finds himself an unwitting pawn in their ancient prophecy; one which tells of a Conduit who will deliver Edale into their hands.
If Oben is to see his homeland again, he must not only survive, he must prove the prophesy wrong, whilst exacting vengeance on those to whom he grows ever more bound.
GoodreadsAmazon5th October – Scorch (The Burdens of Beasts #1) by Jesse Teller
Tack normally wouldn’t stay in one place this long. He’ll have to leave soon or risk being found. This land is full of its own turmoil anyway. The king hunting the queen, her bodyguards on such high alert she’s a prisoner to her own protection. It’s not exactly war, but it isn’t peace either. Maybe that’s what Tack likes about it here, the desert that stretches between battle and old wounds.
GoodreadsAmazon5th October – The Curse of Broken Shadows (Smoke and Shadow #1) by Laura Winter
An assassin, a powerful dagger, and a magic that shouldn’t exist.
Shadow magic is extinct. The Veil Worshippers who honor the shadow god’s wall are hunted for their artifacts, including the Veil shards that break off the wall in Valisea.
Brela vows to steal it all back. With the dagger of her people and a Veil shard embedded in her collarbone that has infected her with shadow-cursed magic, she is determined to keep her secrets or suffer a fate worse than death. That was a lot easier when the uptight and infuriatingly handsome Captain Cason Valkip wasn’t hunting her.
Cason has spent his entire life hiding—from the raids on Valisea, from his emotions, and from his multiple gods-blessed magics that everyone is afraid of… everyone except Brela. The chaotic, non-magic wielding assassin who drives him insane is also the only person who has never looked at his tainted magic without any ounce of fear. Which is why being forced to work with her to discover the source of the breaking wall sets his already uncontrollable fire magic ablaze.
With tension growing in the remaining kingdoms and mythical beasts threatening her at every turn, Brela’s secrets might not remain hidden for much longer. To survive, she will have to work with the one man who could burn her.
Because if shadow hell is released, no one will be safe.
GoodreadsAmazon6th October – A Dance with Magic (The Twin Kingdoms #2) by Nancy O’Toole
The chance for freedom
Rebecca has lived a life of restrictions. Once a scared princess, ruthlessly controlled by her older brother, she now finds herself inheriting a kingdom that never expected to have a queen. Facing the possibility of engagement to a man she cannot stand, Rebecca takes her first chance of freedom: an enchanted masquerade located beneath a trap door.
The loyal soldier
Zahir has lived a life of loss. A peerless swordsman and trained fighter, he once fought for his country. Now he only raises his blade in defense of one: his queen and dearest friend, Rebecca. But secretly, his feelings expand beyond friendship. It will take all of Zahir’s skill to protect Rebecca from the true purpose of the masquerade, a force more sinister and older than either of them expect.
Or may be able to survive.
GoodreadsAmazon8th October – The Seventh Cadence (The Continua Chronicles #1) by Jim Wilbourne
After a supernatural and unforeseen calamity shatters the tentative alliance of the five realms, the Deseran Dominion has returned to take back their homeland and restore their oppressive regime.
As the Dominion readies their troops for invasion, the fate of the entire world rests in the hands of a fugitive scientist, a powerful pacifist, and an unseasoned prince with little to guide them but their own ideals. With the freedom of a kingdom at risk, each must find their place in a world torn asunder.
GoodreadsAmazon13th October – The Thirteenth Hour (The Cruel Gods #1) by Trudie Skies
When the saints fail, the sinners step up.
Cruel gods rule the steam-powered city of Chime, demanding worship and tribute from their mortal subjects. Kayl lost her faith in them long ago, and now seeks to protect vulnerable and downtrodden mortals from their gods’ whims. But when Kayl discovers powers that she didn’t know she had—and destroys a mortal’s soul by accident—she becomes Chime’s most wanted.
Quen’s job was to pursue sinners, until the visions started. Haunted by foreboding images of his beloved city’s destruction, Quen hunts soul-sucking creatures made of aether who prey on its citizens—and Kayl is his number one target.
To ensure Chime’s future, Kayl and Quen must discover the truth of Kayl’s divine abilities before the gods take matters into their own hands.
For a city that bows to cruel gods, it’ll take godless heathens to save it.
GoodreadsAmazon13th October – The Dragon Charmer’s Apprentice by J.C. Kang
With all of humanity enslaved by orcs, and other races little more than legends, Mai eeks out a living as a farmer. Her greatest ambition in life is to catch the eye of the handsomest man in the village…until the elf gods dispatch their divine messenger, Aralas, to reveal a secret: her unique voice has the power to charm the orcs’ powerful ally, the dragon Avarax.
However, Mai can only succeed when an upcoming conjunction of the moons magnifies her magic. She has a few short months to learn an art that takes a lifetime to master, but her abrasive mentor is too busy trying to win Aralas’ affection to teach. Complicating matters, Aralas begins to take a liking to Mai.
Failing to overcome these complications means mankind will remain slaves to the orcs for another three centuries.
GoodreadsAmazon16th October – The Summoner’s Cry by Ana C. Reis
A powerless Summoner. A cursed Witch Lord. A clash of demons and magic.
After a failed coup against Witch Queen Lilith, rogue Witches Lau and Adam have no choice but to flee and hide. Crushed and surrounded by enemies, the pair arrives at Latis, a peculiar island brimming with strange tales of the supernatural, where they hope to find Adam’s long-lost grimoire — their only shield against Lilith’s wrath.
Rendered powerless after sealing a dragon Spirit in Adam’s flesh to save his life, Lau struggles with loneliness and resentment. Helpless and doomed to live forever in a child’s body, Adam seeks to make peace with a spell he has no strength nor skill to undo.
Once allies in an ancient war, Lau and Adam start drifting apart. But when a dangerous visitor sets foot on Latis and the grimoire is nowhere to be found, the two estranged Witches must work together if they want to save themselves and the lives of the townsfolk they’ve come to love.
GoodreadsAmazon18th October – The Skin (Black Hind’s Wake #1) by J.E. Hannaford
How far would you go to save your skin?
I’m a selkie, trapped above the waves until I can recover my skin. Humans used to call us seal-wives many years ago – before they broke the planet. I thought that after the warming, less humans would mean less danger. My kind believed our world was finally recovering.
We were wrong.
Up here, the magic is fading and Old Ones like me are being traded as trophies for rich and powerful humans to display in collections.
Without the Old Ones, the magic fades, without magic, the planet dies.
Humankind has gone too far and someone has to put a stop to it, I just wasn’t expecting it to be me.
As the selkie begins her hunt, far to the south on his enormous pleasure ship, Barge, Lord Sal hunts for missing Old Ones with a grand plan to leave his own mark on the world. Icidro and Prince Ulises are searching for them too, and this is a world where money talks louder than morals.
GoodreadsAmazon18th October – The Spawn of Spiracy (A Disaster of Dokojin #2) by Jesse Nolan Bailey
The Sachem has fled his Fortress. Many fear that he intends to turn on the Decayer device.
Hoping to stop this, Annilasia resolves to track down the Sachem. But her plan falters when she discovers that, should the Sachem succeed in turning on the Device, the dokojin attached to her will rip her apart. Before she can save the world from the Sachem, she must first find a way to save herself.
Meanwhile, Jalice sets out to locate her long-lost brother, Kerothan. It is only with his help that she can hope to save the Sachem from his own wickedness. But the sins of the past are not soon forgotten, and Kerothan has no intentions of mending old wounds. He’s more concerned with the infestation of twisters that scheme to unleash a new evil…
…a new evil that eludes detection and festers in a forsaken place.
Goodreads19th October – Given to Darkness by Phil Williams
Ikiri demands blood. Whose will it be?
A malevolent force stirs from the heart of the Congo. One child can stop it – but everyone wants her dead.
Reece Coburn’s gang have travelled half the world to protect Zipporah, only to find her in more danger than ever. Her violent father is missing, his murderous enemies are coming for them, and her brother’s power is growing stronger. Entire communities are being slaughtered, and it’s only getting worse.
They have to reach Ikiri before its corruption spreads. But there’s a long journey ahead, past ferocious killers and unnatural creatures – and very few people can be trusted along the way.
Can two criminal musicians, an unstable assassin and a compromised spy reach Ikiri alive? What will it cost them along the way?
Goodreads21st October – Prince of the Fallen (Record of the Sentinel Seer #1) by M.H. Woodscourt
Abandoned in the wilderness, Lekore lives with ghosts and fallen gods, until his efforts to rescue a traveling princess and her entourage bring him into a civilization unlike anything he’s ever known.
Caught in a net of silk and secrets, Lekore finds himself ensnared by court intrigue, midnight assassins, and a deviant faction of the Church of the Sun Gods—all thirsting for his blood.
He just wants to find the man who deserted him, until a storm rises out of the north, furious enough to destroy the city and outlying lands. Now Lekore must find the source of its wrath, deep in the wilds of the deadly Lands Beyond, if he can flee a city that won’t let him escape.
GoodreadsAmazon22nd October – Shadows and Vines (The Reign of Goddesses #1) by C.D. Britt
Everything you know about the gods of Ancient Greece is a lie.
Zeus.
Hades.
Poseidon.
They do not exist as you’ve been told.
For centuries, Persephone, the true Ruler of the Underworld, has watched humanity destroy themselves and the world around them. Known for centuries as her alter ego, Hades, she has guarded the souls under her care, her only interaction outside of her realm as C.E.O. of the largest financial company in the world, Cerberus Financial.
She is content with this, except a soul has called to her and her alone for thousands of years. One that she finds herself bound to in more ways than one.
Devon Aideonous was murdered, his killer unknown, his past as a mercenary haunting him in the afterlife. He is sent to the Underworld, but not as a soul meant to live out eternity there. He is something far more powerful, and the more he learns about his new power, the more secrets are uncovered from his past.
GoodreadsAmazon25th October – Kingdom of Essence by Holly Karlsson
Elitsa Serlov only cares about two things — earning enough money to start a new life and finding the rogue mage who murdered her mother. But years without leads have left her jaded, and she won’t let anyone — friend or foe — get in her way.
In Casekraia, anyone can use magic if they’re desperate enough to rent relics from the Tower, a corrupt guild of mages more concerned with their own wealth than the welfare of the people. Elitsa has spent the last three years as a reclamation agent for the guild, hunting down her own people for precious coin and the hope of uncovering what happened to her mother.
Just one week before her contract with the Tower is set to expire, Elitsa is coerced into a dangerous conspiracy by a gang of rebellious thieves. With her loyalty to the Tower in question, Elitsa must decide between her quest for revenge and charting a new course for her life.
GoodreadsAmazon25th October – Dream of the Sphere (The Sphere Saga #1) by Jay S. Willis
Three thousand years of tradition torn asunder. When the truth comes out, will a hero emerge to pick up the pieces?
Dashira Eisenheart takes ultimate comfort in her community. So she’s thrilled when her brother ascends to the coveted order chosen to protect the world from safely sealed-away, millennia-old, dangerous magic. But her faith in her beloved parents’ loyalty cracks after she spies her mother sneaking about town to meet with the enemy.
Striving to stay focused on her own academic studies, Dashira becomes caught in family tensions that soon reach a boiling point. And as her father’s Brotherhood and her mother’s rebel group head toward a cataclysmic clash, the young seeker finds herself trapped by conflicting choices.
Will she face her fears and accept her role in a grand destiny?
GoodreadsAmazon26th October – A Land of Never After (Curses of Never #1) by R.L. DavennorAll my life, I’ve dreamed of the sea.
Mermaids, stormy skies, daring adventures, pirates…it was little wonder I sprinted to the docks the moment I left the orphanage. Eager to begin my new life, I searched for a ship that would have me—and found a thief instead. I chased the bastard.
Now I’m trapped.
I’m told this place is Neverland, but everything I touch is dead or dying; what’s left is hellbent on killing each other. Monsters lurk around every corner, and everyone I meet hides a damning secret. I’m thrust in the middle of an ancient feud, and seemingly, the only one interested in unraveling the curse that plagues us.
Neverland is my home now. Until it’s done with me?
It will never let go.
GoodreadsAmazon29th October – Rebel’s Creed (The Lawful Times #2) by Daniel B. GreeneWith one simple myth, nations burned. Under the Almighty, an empire has been forged, bringing peace to the once-divided continent. But now, a spark of truth threatens to ignite the religion of lies. Chapman unknowingly brought the Seventh Precinct to their demise. Now Officer Holden Sanders, known throughout the Capital City as the survivor, seeks the truth of how so many he held dear were slaughtered. But when it comes to light his former mentor might still draw breath, the Officer of God is forced to wage war against the Almighty itself.
GoodreadsAmazonSpace for more…
August 30, 2021
Self Published Fantasy Releases – September 2021
If you would like to be kept up to date with the upcoming lists, please subscribe to my newsletter by clicking this link. I don’t send out letters too often, pretty much once a month when this list goes out… and occasionally if I release a book or something.
As always, this is not a comprehensive list, but only includes all the books I have heard about so far.
If you have a fantasy novel you are self publishing in September or beyond, let me know by filling out THIS FORM, and I shall add it to the page. There are but 3 requirements:
1) It must be a self published fantasy novel.
2) It must have a Goodreads page.
3) It must have a cover.
31st August – Perceiver by E.C. Fuller
Moving to a new town was not on Hattie’s to-do list for the summer.
Her arrival in Applewood brings nothing but strange things to her doorstep. A bendable boy guards an abandoned orchard. A cactus gives her a bullet. A monster made of oil stalks those around her.
And nobody can see them but her.
When traveling consultants show up on her doorstep, a chance encounter with the boy named Jack forces them to confront the monsters and their intertwined fates. Worse yet, the lives of the people she loves now hang by a thread.
When her world collides with another, Hattie must make a choice: save herself or save her parents.
Tsava awaits.
GoodreadsAmazon31st August – Wizardoms: Shadow of a Dragon Priest (Fall of Wizardoms #4) by Jeffrey L. Kohanek
A man who commands dragons rises. The people call him a prophet, a savior…the one who will free them from the tyranny of the wizard class. They do not comprehend the threat he presents.
The dragon priest rages across the land. Cities and rulers are helpless against his might.
A pair of heroes embark on a dangerous quest, seeking a lost object of power. Without it, the dragon priest and his army will destroy the world.
An army of metal golems invades another wizardom. These magic-powered automatons are the weapon of the last wizard lord – a madman who desires to rule the world. Despite his might, betrayal might be his most useful tool.
GoodreadsAmazon31st August – The Gray Mage (Realms of Camellia #3) by Liz Delton
To fulfill her bargain with the Storm King, Kira must train at the Spire to learn more about her Shadow magic. There’s just one problem:
Her Shadow magic doesn’t work anymore.
Something inside her is broken, and she must find a way to fix it or risk losing her Light magic, too. While Kira struggles with her inner turmoil, another battle brews outside the walls of the Spire. Raiders descend on the realm, and Kira’s pretty sure they’re here because of her.
With her magic slipping, not only is she vulnerable, but her family’s legacy is at stake too. She must find answers. And a discovery about the past might offer some clues about the elusive and dangerous Lord of Between, whose dark magics still echo across the realm…
and reveal an unpleasant connection with her broken soul.
Goodreads1st September – Oil and Dust (The Elemental Artist #1) by Jami Fairleigh
Politics, Money, Power, Religion, and Greed. These are the things we never again need.
Artist Matthew Sugiyama can alter the physical world with his art. As the top student graduating from the prestigious Popham Abbey, Matthew Sugiyama’s future is secure… until he bucks convention and begins a journey to find answers about his birth family. The trouble is, he doesn’t know who or where they are.
Determined to find answers, but without a clear destination, Matthew sets out on horseback across a post-technology world, guided only by random flashes of a vision or long-buried memory. Using his skills as an artist to barter for hospitality and supplies, Matthew soon learns his sheltered upbringing has left him wholly unprepared to face the obstacles on the road or his unexpected yearning to join the communities he encounters. When he uncovers a mysterious adversary’s plan to harm the people he’s come to care for, Matthew must decide what’s more important; the adopted family he has created, or his need for answers about his past.
GoodreadsAmazon1st September – Forbidden Zone (The System Apocalypse #11) by Tao Wong
They can run, but hiding isn’t in their forte
After revealing the deception spread by the Galactic Council and the hidden aspects of the System, John Lee and his friends flee the council building on Irvina.
Just escaping the capital planet will tax them to their utmost. Evading the full force of the Galactic Council and their minions might be more than they can handle. While old allies deal with the new truths, friends fracture under the increasing pressure and all the while, the System Quest hangs over John’s head, unfinished.
Their only hope, their only clue, lies in the Forbidden Zone.
GoodreadsAmazon6th September – An Emperor’s Gamble (Legend of Tal #3) by J.D.L. Rosell
The legend of Tal Harrenfel has a new, dark chapter to its legacy, and its hero quests alone into the East. But though Tal intends to end Yuldor’s war himself, Garin and their companions follow closely on his heels…
Elendol is in ashes, and its queen has been replaced by one sympathetic to the East. Fleeing the destruction left in his wake, Tal leaves behind all those he loves in an attempt to save them from further harm. His aim is simple: find Yuldor and claim the Worldheart from him, no matter the cost.
But Garin and the others won’t let Tal sacrifice himself so easily. Setting off in pursuit, they intend to offer what help they can. But not all the company’s aims are the same…
The East is fraught with imposing challenges, formidable monsters, and dubious allies. And survival is only the beginning — for its Emperor has a scheme in mind that may throw the World off its axis…
GoodreadsAmazon7th September – The Tempered Steel of Antiquity Grey by Shawn Speakman
Forever shamed for family actions a century earlier, Antiquity Grey is a young woman living in a far-future city of Erth. It is a life of danger and hardship, dragons and advanced technology.
But when she discovers an outlawed and operational mech buried in the sands of her planet, she realizes its secrets hold the power to reverse her family’s dishonor while challenging the Imperium’s off-world oppressive might.
GoodreadsAmazon13th September – The Reckoning (The Lightning Conjurer #4) by Rachel Rener
Four years after the collapse of the Inner circle, the Asterian Order is functioning as Aspen and the late Magistrate envisioned; containment centers have been shut down, antiquated laws have been abolished, and free elections for a new Prime Minister are underway. In the meantime, Aspen and her fiancé, Aiden, have been enjoying their peaceful life out of the spotlight and away from the Order.
However, in the absence of containment and conviction, the line between freedom and secrecy has been blurred; amid the turmoil, a fresh wave of Elemental Supremacism is threatening to take hold of the Asterian Parliament. To combat this, Ori announces his bid to become Minister. If he loses, his radical opponent will be turning dangerous rhetoric into a stark reality that poses a direct threat to the entire human race.
While he and Aspen embark on a crucial political mission, Aiden, Eileen, and Sophia are joined by an old nemesis to carry out their own top-secret quest: scouring the globe for rogue Elementalists with extraordinary powers. If they succeed in recruiting these hundreds of Wilders to their cause, they’ll have a slew of newcomers to support Ori’s campaign. But if they fail, their adversary will have access to the greatest army of Elementalists the world has ever seen.
The stakes have never been higher for Aspen and her friends… and losing has never been more dangerous.
GoodreadsAmazon14th September – Black as Night (Darkwood #2) by Anthea Sharp
One princess. Two realms. And a reckless choice that could destroy kingdoms…
I never thought I’d become friends with Neeve, the stepsister I didn’t want, even though she has everything. Everything, that is, except the one thing she truly desires…which is where things went terribly wrong. Now I’m the only one who can help her, even though she doesn’t want to be rescued.
But saving Neeve might cost me my freedom, my world, and even my heart. Can I bear to make that sacrifice? Do I even have the choice?
Amazon14th September – Battle and Burning (Dragon Destiny #2) by Carl Cota-Robles
Dragons clash, and Maya’s Kingdom is the battleground, in book two of this thrilling epic fantasy series.
Maya is a full-fledged dragon rider. She is done with school and bonded to her dragon until death. She has joined the ranks of the powerful Serpentines, after having saved her nation from a devastating weapon. But though the weapon has been stopped, war is destined to descend upon her kingdom.
As the forest burns, Joel races across the desert to warn her of a secret plot. Armies are mobilizing, dragons are spreading their wings, and he’s received word of dangerous scientific progress up north.
The dragon riders lead the military. Maya helps train ordinary soldiers to fight under dragon filled skies. Those closest to her are swept up in the battle, coming together as friends and foes. They are:
A previously broken man with a newfound sense of self. A loyal dragon rider who is destined to perish. An old friend with a grudge. An outcast with family drama.
And a boy who is more valuable than all the jade in the world.
Maya and her dragon must step up and fight for everything they hold dear.
GoodreadsAmazon15th September – Quill & Dust by Maria Vermisoglou
The supernatural can take lives just easily as it can save them…
Prepare to meet djinns. Mermaids and magic stones and a pack of other enchanting characters through a tangled string of fairy tales that combine adventure, mystery, and the supernatural into a package that is certain to hold something for everyone!
GoodreadsAmazon20th September – A Wicked Wind (The Archanium Codex #2) by Nicholas McIntire
As the aftershocks of Kalinor’s fall radiate through the realm of Ilyar, Prince Jonas Belgi finds himself fighting a very different war. As he battles for his very soul, powerful forces are in motion to remove him from the world entirely, lest the contradictory magics burning within him engulf all of existence in a conflagration that no one, not even his beloved Hunter Aleksei Drago, could hope to survive.
Even as Jonas begins the impossible task of escaping his prison, the Lord Captain is caught up in a savage civil war. As the fractured remnants of the Legion attempt to regroup, seeking refuge from the hordes of rebel soldiers dogging their every step, Aleksei is confronted by a new nemesis, a creature at once invisible and indestructible.
Aleksei must be constantly vigilant for the vengeful spirit that stalks him, waiting to catch him off-guard, thus forfeiting both his and Jonas’s lives.
Aleksei is torn between his need to find Jonas and commanding the last remnant of the Legion against the Zra-Uul’s rebellion, with its overwhelming numbers and scores of powerful and destructive Magi under the Demon Bael’s command.
Having to choose between his heart and his homeland, Aleksei attempts to accomplish the impossible, while always listening for wind. A Wicked Wind.
GoodreadsAmazon21st September – City of Reckoning (Nerasia Saga #1) by Brianna da Silva
Kindy Sharro is used to hiding. As a Nocturan, her bat wings, claws, and night vision place her under constant threat of hunters, who cruelly slaughter her kind for sport.
But everything changes the day of the invasion. The Dorish Empire drafts the Nocturans it once persecuted to help defend against a godlike foe. Kindy enters the war, but she has an ulterior motive: Use the war to destroy her arch enemy, Charris Pouden, before he gains enough power to destroy her first.
Meanwhile, Lasía Mae’olo, an elite wolf-accompanied warrior, plots rebellion against the Dorish Empire. When she is drafted to fight for her enemies, she must find a way to subvert the war for her own purposes.
But suspicion and distrust haunts her every move. This war has many sides—and she’s not sure which side she’s on anymore.
The bonds of friendship will be tested. Alliances will be questioned. In a story of political intrigue, ethics of war, and young love, one question must be answered: Which side will you join?
GoodreadsAmazon24th September – To Cure A Curse by Sky Sommers
Belle and Beast. A tale as old as time. A spell that sounds an awful lot like a curse.
What if Belle went in search of a remedy for the Beast and when she came back he didn’t remember her at all? What if you can’t rely on a true Love’s Kiss (because one party has, quite obviously, forgotten and wants to eat the other party).
How do you break a curse then? Given that the last few petals are about to drop any day now.
Easy. You work with what you got and try to fall in love.
GoodreadsAmazon28th September – Spirits of Vengeance by Rob J. Hayes
He’ll die as many times as it takes.
The Ipian Empire was once a land that welcomed dragons and spirits alike, but a century of war and bloodshed saw them all but vanish. Now, the lost things are returning and the Onryo have gathered. Five legendary spirits with mysterious powers, bent on freeing an ancient evil that would wreak havoc on humanity.
Haruto swore his soul to the God of Death for the chance to hunt down the vengeful ghost of his wife. Now an onmyoji, he’s tasked by the Imperial Throne to hunt down monsters and malicious spirits. But he knows not all spirits are evil and not all deserve the peace of the sword.
Kira is a student at Heiwa, an academy for children with dangerous techniques. But she has a secret, she’s not like the other students. When the school is attacked, she flees with one of the tutors, determined to hide both from those who would kill her, and those who would use her.
As a plague of spirits sweeps across the land, the Onryo leave a bloody trail for Haruto to follow. But who’s hunting who?
GoodreadsAmazon28th September – Wake of the Phoenix by Chelsea HarperWar Hero. Thiefmaster’s apprentice. Traitors. Every title comes with a price.
Arkaen is a gods-damned saint. He sacrificed his childhood innocence fighting for the beleaguered rebellion in a civil war and relinquished a comfortable life with the man he loves to reclaim his place as high lord from corrupt nobles. Now, a hidden enemy is manipulating his lower lords into talk of rebellion, including the powerful Rogue Baron who is slowly swaying the city into questioning every move Arkaen makes.
With the help of his near-omniscient lover’s gift of foresight, Arkaen finds a potential ally in Niamsha, a reluctant thief trying to pay for her brother’s education. But Niamsha owes an insurmountable debt to the mysterious leader of her thieves guild and failing to pay means death—for her entire family. When her guild leader demands she join forces with the Rogue Baron himself, she finds herself caught in a political battle beyond her skills. Torn between protecting her family and following her conscience, Niamsha doesn’t know who to trust.
If Arkaen can win Niamsha’s loyalty, he might just prevent a second civil war and the destruction of everything he fought to protect. Or he might get them all killed.
GoodreadsAmazon28th September – Duke’s Brand by Deston J. MundenSer Torlyek is an awkward and soft-spoken man fumbling through his knightly duties as a member of the Duke’s Brand. Though there is little trust afforded to a band of former criminals, Torlyek and his companions continue to prove themselves to be one of the strongest knightly orders in the land.
But when Jani—a half-orc woman of noble blood—joins their ranks, they find themselves targeted by one of the most powerful lords in Dargath. Soon, Torlyek finds his new life cast into turmoil as the secrets of Jani’s past converge with the shadows of his own.
Faced with an impossible choice, will the Duke’s Brand stand with one of their own? Or will they turn her over to the forces that hunt her? And what will come from Torlyek’s own turbulent past—and the choices that continue to haunt him?
GoodreadsAmazonSpace for more…
July 26, 2021
Self Published Fantasy Releases – August 2021
If you would like to be kept up to date with the upcoming lists, please subscribe to my newsletter by clicking this link. I don’t send out letters too often, pretty much once a month when this list goes out… and occasionally if I release a book or something.
As always, this is not a comprehensive list, but only includes all the books I have heard about so far.
If you have a fantasy novel you are self publishing in August or beyond, let me know by filling out THIS FORM, and I shall add it to the page. There are but 3 requirements:
1) It must be a self published fantasy novel.
2) It must have a Goodreads page.
3) It must have a cover.
27th July – Once Stolen (These Treacherous Tides #1) by D.N. Bryn
No one with half a brain would rob the jungle’s most notorious energy cartel. The vibrations of their power-producing stones are the only thing that calms the mer-snake Cacao’s agonizing sensory condition though—and after being banished from his homeland swamps for similar thefts, he’s desperate.
When his attempt fails stunningly, a chaotic escape leaves him chained to a cartel prisoner: a self-proclaimed hero with a hidden stash of ignits so large, Cacao would never need to steal again. He’s determined to get his hands on it, even if it means guiding her home straight through the mist-laden and monster-filled swamp that exhaled him, with scheming poachers and a desperate cartel leader on their tail.
But the selfish and the self-righteous can only flee together for so long before something snaps…
GoodreadsAmazon27th July – Horns of the Hunter by Frank Dorrian
An age of myth. A bitter feud. A storm of legend.
It is the closing days of the Enkindled King’s wars for Earthblood, when a cycle of violence and hatred sparks a bitter feud in his shadow.
Náith, the Warrior. Luw, the Hunter. Cast aside and burned by their lover’s betrayal, the two find themselves trapped in a bloody struggle for the affections of Síle, the Maid of Mael Tulla.
Cherished as a healer and bringer of verdant life to barren lands, Síle stands as a mystery unto all – even those who would claim her heart. For one so gentle and kind, secrets and bloodshed swarm about her like flies upon a corpse.
Consumed by hatred and heartache, both Náith and Luw will take the darkest of trials and challenge death itself, unaware of the true game being played.
A storm beyond imagining waits for the Warrior and the Hunter. One that will decide the fate of Luah Fáil.
GoodreadsAmazon27th July – Falcon (Masks #3) by Amara Lynn
Keeping his boyfriend and his identities secret, fighting demons, and nearly losing Chayton have made college life bumpy for Avari Terran so far.
All he wants now is a quiet and uneventful spring break alone with Chayton.
Between Kaiden insisting on continuing to fight the demons, and Chayton insisting on continuing to be Falcon, it doesn’t seem that’ll happen.
When three people from Chayton’s past appear, everything is thrown further into chaos. New revelations will threaten to drive Avari and Chayton apart, and neither of them knows if they’ll be able to work it out this time.
Goodreads27th July – Forged in the Fallout (Rimduum #1) by Ben Green
Clayson Spangler turned fourteen a couple of days ago—maybe. His father keeps the exact date under a mountain of secrets. But secrets have a way of getting out.
On a tranquil evening in the Appalachians, Clayson’s solitary life crashes into his family’s impossible past: a kingdom under the Rocky Mountains; his mother enchanted to forget her own son; strange metal objects filled with magic; and his father’s most dangerous secret—mithrium—a metal strong enough to level cities.
Now, Clayson’s father is on the run, his mother is on trial for treason, and Clayson is ordered to hide in the last remaining safehold—Tungsten City. To stay out of danger, he’ll need help from his new friend, Rugnus, a master of elemental magic, and Andalynn, the sister his father had kept hidden from him.
But after years of secrets, Clayson won’t stand by as a world of enemies—both known and unknown—threatens to eradicate his family and ignite a war between the last two cities deep under the Rockies in the Kingdom of Rimduum.
29th July – Hazelhearth Hires Heroes by D.H. Willison
Welcome to Hazelhearth: our picturesque city is nestled in a tranquil corner of the empire. Fitness lovers enjoy vigorous nature walks in the surrounding forest (don’t forget your sword!) Foodies savor rich, robust walnut-based cuisine. Or visit the gnome quarter for a walk on the wild side! Local mines and orchards beckon with plentiful employment opportunities, while workers sleep safe knowing that stout city walls keep mythic monsters at bay. A select few may even be chosen for exciting quest opportunities.
The onslaught of subterranean hordes? Oh, that’s happening miles away. And the elves have it completely under control.
Inquire today at the Hazelhearth board of tourism, employment, and heroics!
How could Sam and Lee say no? Lee is bored to tears as a telegrapher. His only excitement in life is the revolutionary new board game he’s creating. And of course constant disruptions at work by Sam, whose high voltage experiments wreak havoc with nearby electric systems. These two best buddies… colleagues… acquaintances are ready to escape from 19th century America into a more exciting world!
GoodreadsAmazon27th July – Sundered Souls (The Brotherhood of the Eagle #2) by Tim Hardie
Led by Johan Jokellsward, the Brotherhood of the Eagle fights to free the land of Reavesburg from its occupiers the Vorund Clan and avenge the murder of their chief. Only Johan’s inner circle understand their true calling, sworn to defeat an old evil that has risen once more.
Gautarr Falrufson, one of Reavesburg’s few surviving leaders, still defies the occupying forces and the Brotherhood’s small army must lift the siege of his fortress if they are to survive. However, Reavesburg is a divided land and the old clan loyalties no longer hold true. What reception can Johan expect if he clears the way to Gautarr’s gates?
With their fate hanging in the balance, Johan sets aside the accepted ways of his people and appoints Rothgar Kolfinnarson as his advisor, someone who has his own personal reasons to hate the Vorund Clan. Together, they must call upon mistrusted magic to gain the advantage over their enemies.
GoodreadsAmazon1st August – Veysuul (The Devoted Trilogy #3) by Kim Wedlock
Betrayed. Hope snatched. Reeling from their own clumsy mistake.
But there’s no time for shock. Salus is almost finished; there’s only one step left, and Rathen must stop him from taking it.
Solutions lie in a tangle of trials, and Rathen and his companions must pull themselves together, grasp the fraying threads and drag unwilling allies into place. Nothing – not war, abduction nor existential crisis – can be allowed to stand in their way, or Turunda will collapse once and for all under Salus’s own twisted brand of protection.
3rd August – Heavy Lies the Crown (The Scalussen Chronicles #2) by Ben Galley
You don’t have to save the world, you just have to survive it
The battle for freedom has left Emaneska reeling and desolated. Both Scalussen and Arka are scattered to the winds. With the Blazing Throne now empty and the Arka Empire for the taking, the race to claim Emaneska has begun.
Farden and Mithrid have been stranded alone in strange eastern lands by errant magick, They battle not to return home, but to uncover an ancient weapon capable of defeating a god. A god who desires nothing but chaos.
In Emaneska, Elessi leads the survivors of the Rogue’s Armada to safer havens, something rare and lacking in the uncharted waters of the south.
Treachery and pain await them both, but the price of failure is steeper. New enemies lie in wait on those foreign paths. Dark creatures born of nightmares and forgotten powers. Warlords set on mastering magick. And an old threat reborn, doggedly pursuing one fate:
The death of Farden.
3rd August – Distant Gardens: Ten Stories of Exploration, Biodiversity, and Found Family by Various Authors
Rules were made to be broken.
From terraformed outposts to magical realms, journey to worlds where deadly plants, rampant biodiversity, or failed terraforming have created irresistible opportunities for those brave enough to seize them.
New worlds, found family, mystical secrets, and deadly science weave together in this lesbian-centric anthology focusing on a very different kind of first time—a first encounter with a world, or being, entirely unlike our own.
If you like diverse stories with lesbian heroines practicing science, magic, and seduction, buy Distant Gardens today!
Amazon3rd August – Fall of Wizardoms Box Set by Jeffrey L. Kohanek
An evil plot throws the Eight Wizardoms into chaos. Heroes old and new assemble to combat this daunting threat. Should they fail, their world is doomed.
Rebellion, war, and toppled thrones ravage the Eight Wizardoms.
The mysterious leader of a secret organization seeks to wreak chaos, death, and destruction.
What motivates his elaborate scheme? What is his end-game?
A woman on a mission…
Rose Gardner never thought she’d leave the small town of West Ridge. But when her husband dies at war, she must return his arms to his place of birth to set his spirit to rest. After traveling into enemy territory, Rose falls into a trap. Held captive in an enchanted manor, she finds herself face to face with a beast who is equally horrifying and kind. Will she manage to complete her quest or be pulled in by the secrets of the manor?
A man haunted by his past…
Trapped within his own home and in the body of a hideous beast, Kris never wanted to share his prison with another. As much as Rose may draw him in with her beauty and stubborn strength, he knows she must escape before the next full moon. After all, he remembers all too well what happened to the previous caretaker.
The dead won’t let him forget the blood on his hands.
GoodreadsAmazon4th August – The Burden of Legacy (The Living Sword #3) by Pemry Janes
Leraine has finally returned home, but the welcome is not as she imagined it. Tension is rising within the Mochedan Federation as many advocate for an end to the long peace and a return to the glory of war.
She sets off to the most important festival of the Mochedan, hoping to preserve the peace for at least a little while longer. Eurik joins her, to help his friend and to finally find the answers about his parents he’s been chasing since he left the island.
What they find is theft, murder, and a conspiracy to end their world.
GoodreadsAmazon9th August – Frailyond Death of the Monarch by Kedumetse Motloutsi Junior Mashilo
A society fueled by magic. A young man born with little. A desperate quest to save a life.
In a magic fueled land, a blood magic curse is placed on the mighty king. To avenge what has befallen the king, the use of blood magic is declared a punishable offence.
Luke was born with little magic. That makes him a target. To protect him from a brutal fate, his father takes drastic measures. But Luke is defiant and takes matters into his own hands.
When he embarks on a daring quest to outrun and outsmart those who would see him die, he comes face-to-face with the harsh realities of the situation and inadvertently begins a journey to self-discovery that will change who he believes himself to be and, if he’s not careful, may lead to the ultimate punishment.
Breaking the tenets of Special Forces means one thing. Death.
Thorrn is an accomplished swordsman desperate for his promotion. But when the king orders that he hand over a girl from Earth, Thorrn’s soul companion, Thorrn struggles to obey. If he doesn’t bow to the king’s wishes, he will be executed.
Aubin is sick of being an apothecary. Unable to defeat death, chafing at injustices piled on him, he’s ready to quit. But when he sees someone in distress and realises he could help, he is confronted with a life-changing choice – he will have to commit treason to remedy this.
Working together, the swordsman and the apothecarist come up with an unlikely plan. Only if they trust each other and put their egos aside can they defeat their common enemy. But do they even have a common enemy, and can the apothecarist be trusted at all…?
Goodreads10th August – Remnants of the Sun (The Sun Shards #1) by J.A. Day
The Sun has been destroyed. Trapped in an icy wasteland, humanity survives by the heat of The Sun Shards.
Sigrun is done with looking after cows and partying every week, she wants to make a name for herself within her nomadic tribe. To her amazement, she gets her chance when she impresses a tribal elder enough he nominates her to be the next Jarl. However, her new role as leader plunges her into a political minefield. The previous Jarl, Hannes, is angry at being supplanted. Sigrun has to quickly learn how this new world of politics works to neutralise Hannes’ remaining power, before his vengeance turns violent.
Sonja is done with the tribe’s faith, she wants to love women and the faith look down on that. But her mother’s will names her as the faith’s leader. Sonja sees an opportunity to use the power to change the faithful’s attitude and gain acceptance. But changing an ancient prejudice won’t be easy, as Britta, who feels she should have been named leader instead, is determined to fight her.
Sigrun and Sonja meet, and they fall for each other. But the two women lead a tribe that is divided. The workers and the faith hate each other and seek completely opposite goals. but with only one Sun Shard they are stuck together. Can the power of Sigrun and Sonja’s relationship bring the two sides together, or will the divisions of the tribe also divide them?
GoodreadsAmazon21st August – Rebirth of the Mage (Three Crowns #2) by D. Heyman
Getting assassinated in his sleep certainly wasn’t on the top of Eric’s to do list, but apparently these things happen when you are set to inherit a crime syndicate.
Fortunately, for Eric at least, a previously unknown power is keeping him alive and well, despite numerous attempts, and successes, to stab, maim and dismember him.
Armed with his suspicions, and aided by a Captain just the wrong side of drunk, Victor Claye seeks to bring Eric to the legendary last enclave of mages living in Caer Innar, hoping that they can help the boy understand his new gifts. Together, this odd crew will embark on a journey that will take them far away from the Empire.
What is Mr Claye hoping to gain from these introductions? If these mages even still exist, will they be willing to help?
GoodreadsAmazon31st August – Perceiver by E.C. FullerMoving to a new town was not on Hattie’s to-do list for the summer.
Her arrival in Applewood brings nothing but strange things to her doorstep. A bendable boy guards an abandoned orchard. A cactus gives her a bullet. A monster made of oil stalks those around her.
And nobody can see them but her.
When traveling consultants show up on her doorstep, a chance encounter with the boy named Jack forces them to confront the monsters and their intertwined fates. Worse yet, the lives of the people she loves now hang by a thread.
When her world collides with another, Hattie must make a choice: save herself or save her parents.
Tsava awaits.
GoodreadsAmazon31st August – Wizardoms: Shadow of a Dragon Priest (Fall of Wizardoms #4) by Jeffrey L. KohanekA man who commands dragons rises. The people call him a prophet, a savior…the one who will free them from the tyranny of the wizard class. They do not comprehend the threat he presents.
The dragon priest rages across the land. Cities and rulers are helpless against his might.
A pair of heroes embark on a dangerous quest, seeking a lost object of power. Without it, the dragon priest and his army will destroy the world.
An army of metal golems invades another wizardom. These magic-powered automatons are the weapon of the last wizard lord – a madman who desires to rule the world. Despite his might, betrayal might be his most useful tool.
GoodreadsAmazonSpace for more…
June 28, 2021
Self Published Fantasy Releases – July 2021
If you would like to be kept up to date with the upcoming lists, please subscribe to my newsletter by clicking this link. I don’t send out letters too often, pretty much once a month when this list goes out… and occasionally if I release a book or something.
As always, this is not a comprehensive list, but only includes all the books I have heard about so far.
If you have a fantasy novel you are self publishing in July or beyond, let me know by filling out THIS FORM, and I shall add it to the page. There are but 3 requirements:
1) It must be a self published fantasy novel.
2) It must have a Goodreads page.
3) It must have a cover.
29th June – A Red Moon Over Rhyll (The Dryad’s Crown #3) by David Hopkins
Silbrey and her family travel to the island of Rhyll to seek an audience with High General Bren Caius. As guests in her grand palace, they discover that legends and myths aren’t always what they seem.
New allies share new insights that lead Silbrey to a greater understanding of her power.
Spring has arrived to the gentle rolling grasslands of Rhyll, but a danger lurks nearby that threatens everyone on the island. Silbrey must face the threat alone. The events of this pivotal third book set the course for the rest of the series—an epic story about a woman with a strange connection to the natural world.
GoodreadsAmazon30th June – Glass Rhapsody (Songs of Sefate #2) by Sarah Chorn
Five years ago, the Boundary fell. Now the Union is coming to claim Shine Territory as its own.
But not everyone wants to live under their heel.
In a hidden town run by women with rough pasts, life remains untouched until greed paves the way for conflict. Faced with few choices, Grace Hart must stop the Union to protect the women under her care.
Elroy McGlover has spent the past five years running from what he’d done in Matthew Esco’s name. Haunted by ghosts from his past, he returns to where it all went wrong. Enlisted to help Arlen Hobson fight against Union control, Elroy soon finds himself in the middle of a war for the heart of Shine Territory.
In the fight for the soul of the West, no one is innocent.
Amazon1st July – Dark Apprentice (Fall of Magic #1) by Val Neil
A psychopathic wizard. An immortal mage. An epic battle of wills.
Nikolai doesn’t want much out of life: sex, immortality, and the power to disembowel anyone who crosses him. But with dark magic forbidden, his only option is Medea–a mage so deadly even the Enforcers give her a wide berth. Despite dire warnings that her apprentices don’t survive, Nikolai won’t stop until she agrees to train him. After all, he’s a killer himself.
Barbaric and brutal, the training is a far cry from what Nikolai expects. When a mysterious illness strikes Nikolai down, he suspects he’s found the secret to Medea’s longevity. He resolves to find out what happened to her previous apprentices. If he can locate the source of her power, he can turn it against her.
Medea swore off training dark wizards–none of them take the craft seriously and the ungrateful bastards always try to kill her. This one definitely seems the backstabbing type, but magic is dying out and she hasn’t felt such magical strength in centuries. If she can control the boy, show him that magic is more than curses and necromancy, he might obtain the power he desires. If not, well . . .
What’s one more dead apprentice?
GoodreadsAmazon1st July – Nephilim’s Hex (Timelessness #3) by Susana Imaginario
The Nephilim loom over Niflheim.
Gods, Dharkan and mortals fight amongst themselves in their shadow.
And Time is on no one’s side.
The gods are outmatched, their talents useless against the Nephilim’s technology. Desperate, they turn on each other.
New alliances form and fall apart, for there can be no peace when survival is at stake.
Psyche, torn between a goddess’s duty and a mortal’s hate, sets off on her own to learn the truth behind her fate, unaware of the danger following her.
Meanwhile, Chronos’ own agenda involves a power so dangerous and unpredictable it’s been long forsaken by both the gods and the Nephilim.
Will it be worth the risk?
Her key to freedom is also her torment.
Mina is an outcast. A childhood accident left her scarred and with a curse that her master exploits to hunt dragons for sport.
She wants freedom, from both her master and the curse, but unless the right dragon is killed, she’ll be a bondservant for the rest of her days.
With Mina’s uncanny ability and her master’s magical strength, the beast responsible for her misery will fall … even if she has to take matters into her own hands.
GoodreadsAmazon10th July – Scars of Stone (Pacts Arcane and Otherwise #2) by Joana Maciejewska
Discovering the truth about magic is one thing. Doing something about it will require bloodletting, backstabbing, and a bunch of lies.
The battle with a demonic foe had opened Kamira’s and Veelk’s eyes: they were unprepared for their task. If they want a chance of freeing Veranesh from his crystal prison, they need the help of a brilliant inventor imprisoned by Gildya, a man also desired by the refugee queen, Cahala, who will stop at nothing to slate her thirst for magic.
Time is also of the essence as Archmage Yoreus maneuvers for power. Once he claims the title of the first archmage for himself, he will tie up all loose ends, and that entails burying Kamira, Veelk, and a long line of secrets he’d prefer to be forgotten.
Kamira and Veelk have a rule, “no heroics, survival first.”
When dealing with demons, avoiding heroics is easy. But survival? Not so much.
A deadly contest. A vaulting ambition. How far will one cyren go to win?
Mighty cyrens have ruled the ancient lair of Saddoriel for centuries. A cavernous fortress, a subterranean labyrinth of tunnels and levels, powered by magic and music…
From the moment she was born, Roh, the daughter of an infamous criminal, has been despised by her own kind. Restricted to the Lower Sector and forced to work as a common bone cleaner, she has always believed she belongs above: where lies adventure… and power.
Opportunity arises in the form of the Queen’s Tournament, a treacherous set of trials that could see the victor crowned ruler of the entire lair. Up against the most cunning, dangerous cyrens in all the realms, does Roh stand a chance?
Goodreads22nd July – Robin’s Hood: A Tale of Sherwood Forest (Hightower Fairytales: Robin Hood #1) by Jacque Stevens
The King of Thieves is dead. Long live the Queen.
Orphaned at five and widowed at sixteen, Marian is the sole heir of Locksley keep and the Earldom of Huntingdon. Her husband, Robin of Locksley, never returned from the crusades, leaving her at the mercy of the sheriff. He chooses her a new husband among his brutal lackeys and taxes her people to rags and starvation.
Marian is sidelined and powerless, but rumors spread of a charismatic thief who could change everything. Clever, brave, and strong, his followers claim that the hooded rogue is Robin’s spirit back from the grave.
Only Marian knows the truth. Her husband is dead, but under his hood, she could be invincible.
GoodreadsAmazon23rd July – City of Salve (Magelands Eternal Siege #7) by Christopher Mitchell
For six months, the lands of the massacred Scythe tribe have lain empty and desolate; then, one crisp winter’s morning, the red sky crackles and forty thousand survivors of the Lostwell Catastrophe appear, along with a dozen dragons, and one Holdfast…
While King Daniel struggles to reform the City, Queen Emily dreams of recapturing the lost town of Jezra on the Western Bank. When the Lostwell Exiles arrive, she realises that she may have found the only force capable of transforming her dreams into a reality.
Lurking in the dark shadows of his palace in Dalrig, Montieth, the powerful God-Prince, conspires against the mortal government, as he plots to seize control of the City’s last remaining reserves of salve, whatever the cost.
GoodreadsAmazon27th July – Once Stolen (These Treacherous Tides #1) by D.N. BrynNo one with half a brain would rob the jungle’s most notorious energy cartel. The vibrations of their power-producing stones are the only thing that calms the mer-snake Cacao’s agonizing sensory condition though—and after being banished from his homeland swamps for similar thefts, he’s desperate.
When his attempt fails stunningly, a chaotic escape leaves him chained to a cartel prisoner: a self-proclaimed hero with a hidden stash of ignits so large, Cacao would never need to steal again. He’s determined to get his hands on it, even if it means guiding her home straight through the mist-laden and monster-filled swamp that exhaled him, with scheming poachers and a desperate cartel leader on their tail.
But the selfish and the self-righteous can only flee together for so long before something snaps…
GoodreadsAmazon27th July – Horns of the Hunter by Frank DorrianAn age of myth. A bitter feud. A storm of legend.
It is the closing days of the Enkindled King’s wars for Earthblood, when a cycle of violence and hatred sparks a bitter feud in his shadow.
Náith, the Warrior. Luw, the Hunter. Cast aside and burned by their lover’s betrayal, the two find themselves trapped in a bloody struggle for the affections of Síle, the Maid of Mael Tulla.
Cherished as a healer and bringer of verdant life to barren lands, Síle stands as a mystery unto all – even those who would claim her heart. For one so gentle and kind, secrets and bloodshed swarm about her like flies upon a corpse.
Consumed by hatred and heartache, both Náith and Luw will take the darkest of trials and challenge death itself, unaware of the true game being played.
A storm beyond imagining waits for the Warrior and the Hunter. One that will decide the fate of Luah Fáil.
GoodreadsAmazonSpace for more…
June 1, 2021
Self Published Fantasy Releases – June 2021
If you would like to be kept up to date with the upcoming lists, please subscribe to my newsletter by clicking this link. I don’t send out letters too often, pretty much once a month when this list goes out… and occasionally if I release a book or something.
As always, this is not a comprehensive list, but only includes all the books I have heard about so far.
If you have a fantasy novel you are self publishing in June or beyond, let me know by filling out THIS FORM, and I shall add it to the page. There are but 3 requirements:
1) It must be a self published fantasy novel.
2) It must have a Goodreads page.
3) It must have a cover.
28th May – The Iron Crown (Dragon Spirits #1) by L.L. MacRae
Fenn’s first and only memory is finding himself in the middle of a forest, face to face with a dragon spirit mocking him, all knowledge gone apart from his own name.
Lost and confused, his only hope for answers is Calidra—a woman living on the edge of the world with her partner. Forced to return home when her father dies, Calidra has put off facing her estranged mother for seven years, and she begrudgingly helps Fenn, forging papers for him so he can avoid the Queen’s Inquisitors.
But her mother is the least of her worries when they discover an ancient enemy is rising again. It should be impossible with the Iron Crown in power—and Fenn is terrified he might unwittingly be playing a part in the war’s resurgence.
Surrounded by vengeful spirits and powerful magic, Fenn’s desperate attempt to find his way home might well alter the fate of Tassar, and every power in it.
GoodreadsAmazon29th May – Society of the Ancients (The Wanderlings #2) by Hoyt Hallford
The Wander kids can do magic, but that has nothing to do with how they destroy the galaxy.
On a once in a lifetime trip to Earth, they find that nothing is what they were told, and no one is quite what they seem.
They have to stop the Dragon Queen from whatever despotic shenanigans she has planned, and avoid capture by a shadowy group of time travelers.
They will probably not be successful with both.
GoodreadsAmazon30th May – Rise of Fomori (Faerie Warriors #2) by J.A. Curtis
Brothers at odds. One lost faerie to find. An enemy lurks in the shadows.
But not for long.
After saving her friends from death, Mina finds herself in charge of the faeries of the Haven. But the two faerie factions are still divided, and a lost faerie remains to be found.
Answers about their enemy are elusive. And with half the Haven burned to ash, and the faerie army reduced to a fraction of its former strength, Mina knows they aren’t ready for the attack that may come any day.
They must prepare. They must unite. Or risk being destroyed.
Still reeling from a devastating betrayal, Arius struggles to find his way. Realizing now what he should have known all along—that Mina is the one who will save them all—he is desperate to not lose her in the process.
Time is short. The enemy is making their move.
The Fomori are on the rise.
GoodreadsAmazon31st May – Split Paths (Fall of Emros #2) by Thomas J. Devens
Paths split, sometimes to merge once more. Sometimes only to stray ever further. Friends and comrades are made, lost, and sometimes, against all odds, found again. None can predict the turns one’s life may take. None can predict the losses to come. One can only hope.
A killer seeks his path to freedom. A path away from the blood that has haunted his life.
A young warrior, journeys to a new world in search of glory, only to find himself forgotten.
A sellsword searches for an easy job.
The mercenaries of the Stone and Shield have suffered great losses, their numbers decimated, many comrades lost. The bulk of the surviving mercenaries return to their home in Frostmoor on the edge of the Norwaldian Wilderness. Eager to begin a period of rest while they winter in.
Others survive, scattered across the world. Whether arriving on the distant western shores, far from the reaches of the Emrosian Empire, or in the capital of the troubled kingdom of Talres. For some of the surviving mercenaries, there will be anything but a time of rest.
GoodreadsAmazon31st May – The Dragon Snatchers (Tainted Scales #2) by Alexis D. Johnson
“You princelings prefer a beast wet its talons in blood for you. A monster, if you can make one.”
War has come, threatening to rip away everything Mirren holds dear.
Woefully unprepared for what she and her dragon, Rai, will have to face, Mirren must make choices that will claim far more than she is willing to give.
In the wake of a coup that left nearly half of the Council of Governors dead, the Dragon Corps is being rebuilt. The destruction has only just begun. Assassinations are in motion—cities falling—and the nation’s most barbaric war criminal has been unleashed astride the White Dragon, leaving no person or dragon safe.
GoodreadsAmazon1st June – The Last Dragonkeeper by Drew Montgomery
Joven Farquin has spent a lifetime building up a reputation, his name spread far and wide as the man who travels with the last known dragon, as a mercenary who has made his living with a beast that inspires fear and awe throughout the land. It is a reputation that has brought him face to face with kings, warriors, clergy, and more across the Free Kingdoms as he has built his fame and fortune. But none of it could make him invincible.
Awakened in a strange camp, injured and imprisoned, his dragon nowhere to be found, he finds himself at the mercy of powerful forces, agents of both a massive empire and an influential order of sorceresses. As he answers their questions, providing a glimpse into a past that has led him to this place, his mind seeks answers, searching for an escape and to find a reason that the beast he had so long entrusted with his life could allow him to fall.
GoodreadsAmazon1st June – The Prisoner of Tardalim by Dan Zangari & Robert Zangari
Tor’s rebellion war against the Mindolarn Empire has delivered a crippling blow, the death of Emperor Mentas. Seeking aid from their allies, the Mindolarn Empire turns to the Principality of Soroth, and their society of mages, the Sorothian Magical Order.
In an effort to aid the empire, the Order’s council calls for an expedition to travel to the nethermost reaches of the world, the Abodine Wasteland. There they must venture to a reliquary of ancient tevisrals–magical objects–rumored to be hidden within crystal ruins leftover from a fabled war now long forgotten.
Among those heading to the perilous wastes is Amendal Aramien, a conjurer with a quick-wit, keen mind, and a licentious appetite. Forced into this expedition, Amendal begrudgingly enters the depths of the reliquary. What he unearths will forever change his life and set the stage for the return of a Dark God.
TALES OF THE AMULET
Several millennia ago a war raged between the factions of dragonkind. With their world ravaged, the Kaldean Alliance forged the Amulet of Draconic Control and the Tethering Stone, and banished their foes to other realms, saving Kalda from utter destruction. Fearing the power of the Amulet, the survivors secreted it away. But now knowledge of the Amulet has resurfaced—and in the wrong hands, war could erupt anew.
Not All Injuries Heal True
Wu Ying saved his master from the machinations of the dark sect but was gravely injured during the process. His body has changed, his bloodline awakened and his cultivation compromised. Physicians and healers at the Verdant Green Water can do nothing for him.
Forced to travel to a new sect for healing, Wu Ying might find opportunity in his distress. But the dark sect is not done with him, or their machinations. Caught up in the winds of war, Wu Ying and his friends must continue to balance their journey to immortality against the pull of mortal politics.
GoodreadsAmazon1st June – Queens of the Wyrd RE-RELEASE by Timandra Whitecastle
Raise your shield. Defend your sisters. Prepare for battleHalf-giant Lovis and her Shieldmaiden warband were once among the fiercest warriors in Midgard. But those days are long past and now Lovis just wants to provide a safe home for herself and her daughter – that is, until her former shield-sister Solveig shows up on her doorstep with shattering news. Solveig’s warrior daughter is trapped on the Plains of Vigrid in a siege gone ugly. Desperate to rescue her, Sol is trying to get the old warband back together again.
But their glory days are a distant memory. The Shieldmaidens are Shieldmothers now, entangled in domestic obligations and ancient rivalries.
Family is everything, though, and Lovis was never more at home than at her shield-sisters’ side.
Their road won’t be easy: old debts must be paid, wrongs must be righted, and the Nornir are always pulling on loose threads, leaving the Shieldmaidens facing the end of all Nine Realms. Ragnarok is coming, and if the Shieldmaidens can’t stop it, Lovis will lose everyone she loves…
GoodreadsAmazon1st June – Dark Sea’s End (Beyond Ash and Sand #1) by Richard Nell
Feared pirate and scoundrel ‘Lucky’ Chang has a dirty secret: he loves his crew, and would die to protect them. As he’s dragged from prison to face the dark sea and a dangerous new world, he just might have to.
Zaya, warrior and skald from the land of ash, knows she has a destiny. Having left her homeland with only a knife and a dream of adventure, she finds herself captured by pirates. To discover her fate, and become a hero from the book of legends, she must first survive the sea.
With a monstrous pilot as guide, and an ex-assassin as captain, Chang, Zaya, and the crew of the mighty Prince sail into uncharted waters. There they may find new lands and wealth, as well as glory beyond their dreams, or nothing but their doom.
GoodreadsAmazon1st June – Mother Pig (Houndstooth #2) by Travis M. Riddle
The Houndstooth has forever loomed over Ruska. A towering black tree with indestructible bark, it seals away powerful dark magic. But its bark is cracking and this magic is leaking, threatening to extinguish all life in the valley.
Six individuals are infected with this foul magic, imbued with unnatural abilities called Blights. Coal is their final recruit, tasked by the immortal Dirt King to track down ancient artifacts that can seal the Houndstooth and restore balance to Ruska. As the Blighted venture through the kingdom, they realize its condition is worse than they feared. The must tangle with cults, navigate through melting forests, and fight hordes of grotesque beasts warped by the Houndstooth’s magic.
Ruska’s fate rests on their shoulders, but are they already too late to save it?
GoodreadsAmazon1st June – The Sun’s Blood (The Nine Heavens and Ten Earths #3) by Jeremy Bai
Wang Fan and his friends face dark times.
He is stronger than ever, but that didn’t help in his fight against the monstrous rogue Black Corpse, Nicolas Kun.
Now he and his friends face greater challenges than ever. As they climb higher in the Grand Kingdom, seeking the True Heaven, they will learn darker secrets than they could have guessed existed.
The time has come to fight!
GoodreadsAmazon3rd June – The Gifts of Pandora (Tapestry of Fate #1) by Matt Larkin
The winding road of fate unfolds …
In the last days of the Silver Age, the tyrant god Zeus takes whatever and whomever he wants with impunity. He has already torn Pandora from one home and now he threatens to destroy another. When he turns his wrath upon Atlantis, Pandora flees with the Titan Prometheus.
Despite her bitterness, Pandora finds a friendship she never imagined possible. But Zeus is not done with Prometheus, and what Pandora will face next will make all she has endured pale in comparison.
But Pandora has considerable gifts of her own, not least her cunning mind. When Zeus binds Prometheus, Pandora swears to turn all those gifts toward bringing Zeus down and saving her one true companion.
GoodreadsAmazon4th June – An Unkindness of Magic by Amelia Sides
Murder and Blood Magic in 1919 London, England.
Captain Dante White returns from the war a broken man. London was meant to be a refuge, not a continuation of the war. Mages from his original unit in bootcamp are turning up dead, drained of magic. Will he be next or will he be forced into being a scapegoat for the Army yet again?
Death hunts him, bringing long buried secrets of his family to light.
Can he find the real killer before he becomes the next victim, or is he just another pawn broken by the game?
GoodreadsAmazon4th June – A Hollow Mountain (The Brightest Shadow #2) by Sarah Lin
The arrival of the Hero was worse than anyone could have imagined.
The Hero’s mad quest to purge the world continues beyond death, but a journey to the far north promises that knowledge might succeed where power could not. Allegedly there are wise sages who understand the Legend, though Tani fears that they have also been consumed by its light. As the group travels into fearsome mountains, they can only hope to prevent the Hero from destroying new lands.
Though the sage’s mountain promises a simple destiny for everyone, it will test the earthly commitments of each individual. Tani will have her moral ideals challenged, Slaten will encounter a strange young woman among barbaric raiders, and Celivia will struggle with the demands of her military superiors. All will need to change as they meet the steel-clad errants of the far north, and their war that has been simmering for generations…
GoodreadsAmazon5th Jun – Pyramidion by G.E. Newbegin
What if everything you thought you knew was a lie?
“Seek the Pyramidion.”
After losing his whole world in a car accident, Luke Nixon falls into a pit of despair, only to find himself receiving advice from his dead wife in his dreams. He soon ends up under the care of an ancient organisation and learns that he and his family are of an ancient bloodline – and that his daughter is still alive.
Unsure if he can trust them, but lacking any other choice, Luke is left with only one option: to rescue his daughter. However, it’s no simple task following a breadcrumb trail across multiple continents, through the spirit realm, and ultimately bringing Luke face to face with gods and demons.
Into the Everwood, Prep’s Dungeon Dive is here! Closing towards the end of Prep, Terrence and his team are now working harder than ever to Rank Up and progress in their Affinities.
When an old acquaintance decides to stand in their way, will the team be able to deal with the threat? Packs of monsters will stand in their way, but will their fellow students be their most significant burden to overcome?
For Tom and his group, the death of their friend is only the beginning. They’re ready to leave the Dungeon for good, but will the Dungeon let them?
Will Omar, the leader of the expedition?
The Tournament of the Sacred Sword sounded like exactly the type of thing Keras would enjoy: a series of challenges for thousands of contestants seeking a chance to fight for the Sacred Sword of Earth. He knew there would be challenges. It wouldn’t be a high-stakes tournament without a few high-profile assassinations and mysterious murders, after all. But Keras wasn’t ready to run into someone from his homeland, and he certainly wasn’t prepared for the revelations that came from their confrontation.
Still reeling from the strange revelations of their meeting, Keras plunges back into the fight, preparing for the battle royale — a massive free-for-all contest outside of the scope of the standard tournament rounds. When the consequences of that match tear at the bonds between his allies, he’ll have to face new challenges alone.
Satoshi Muramasa, the strange swordsman from the distant kingdom of Artinia.
Crown Princess Edria Song, the Wielder of Diamantine.
Ishyeal Dawnsglow, the Wielder of Soulbrand.
When their blades clash, the heart of the world will tremble.
GoodreadsAmazon15th June – A Dagger in the Winds (The Frostmarked Chronicles #1) by Brendan Noble
A rejected son with a hidden power.
A forgotten sorceress with the blessing of a goddess.
Forced apart for years, only together can they end winter’s reign.
Wacław has always dreamed of a purpose. Except he’s never actually dreamed. Each night, his soul leaves his body and wanders the world, free from the scorn of his father and mocking of his tribe. If only he understood why.
The entire village fears Otylia, but she prefers it that way. She’s a szeptucha, a whispering channeler of the wild goddess Dziewanna. Everyone’s abandoned her—even Wacław, her once best friend—but Dziewanna never would.
It’s been four years since Marzanna, goddess of winter, stole Otylia’s mother. The goddess’s death in spring is Otylia’s annual retribution. But when Otylia discovers Wacław bearing Marzanna’s Frostmark on what should be the last day of winter, she realizes the dark truth.
Spring will not come, and only Wacław can help her find out why.
GoodreadsAmazon19th June – Crownless by M.H. Woodscourt
A fugitive storyteller running out of time. A prince hiding from his mother. A kingdom on the brink of collapse. A search for a world of magic.
Convinced his tales are true, storyteller Jinji is determined to find the legendary fae realm of Shinac to save his world from a dread lord trying to cross over—before a fatal illness ends Jinji’s life.
Prince Jetekesh is caught between a controlling mother and his affection for his dying father—until he’s kidnapped and forced to journey with a delusional storyteller and a motley band of fugitives in search of a myth.
Hunted by the queen, hindered by a malady, and invaded by an enemy empire, Jinji and Jetekesh race across a crumbling kingdom to find the alleged gate between worlds.
But even if Shinac exists, how can a humble storyteller and deposed prince hope to stand against a devastating evil?
GoodreadsAmazon20th June – Conqueror’s Blood (Gunmetal Gods #2) by Zamil Akhtar
The Kingdom of Alanya is home to mystic warriors and mischievous djinn, vulgar poets and vain philosophers, soaring simurghs and scheming shahs.
Little do the people know that a power struggle between an ancient sorceress and an upstart sultana threatens to bathe the sands in bile and bones. A bloody cauldron boils, and primeval gods laugh whilst they stir it.
As warhorses charge, arrows shower, and cannon shots brighten the night, all must choose a side.
Goodreads22nd June – Orluvoq by Benny Hinrichs
The young shaman Orluvoq finds herself clanless and addicted. Her last hope at survival, a talisman, lies buried with her mother.
At the end of the world, an ice cliff reaches down forever. Its frozen face holds all the dead who have ever died.
Shamans burn narwhal tusk to work magic for the clan. Every shaman is taught not to eat the tusk. The high is too great to resist, and their clan will perish from neglect.
But not every shaman does as they’re told.
So, Orluvoq must climb down the ice cliff at the end of the world and find her dead parents. Otherwise, she’ll soon join them in the ice.
Should she succeed, she can finally move to her real plan. Seduce a king.
GoodreadsAmazon30th June – Glass Rhapsody (Songs of Sefate #2) by Sarah ChornFive years ago, the Boundary fell. Now the Union is coming to claim Shine Territory as its own.
But not everyone wants to live under their heel.
In a hidden town run by women with rough pasts, life remains untouched until greed paves the way for conflict. Faced with few choices, Grace Hart must stop the Union to protect the women under her care.
Elroy McGlover has spent the past five years running from what he’d done in Matthew Esco’s name. Haunted by ghosts from his past, he returns to where it all went wrong. Enlisted to help Arlen Hobson fight against Union control, Elroy soon finds himself in the middle of a war for the heart of Shine Territory.
In the fight for the soul of the West, no one is innocent.
GoodreadsAmazonSpace for more…
April 26, 2021
Self Published Fantasy Releases – May 2021
If you would like to be kept up to date with the upcoming lists, please subscribe to my newsletter by clicking this link. I don’t send out letters too often, pretty much once a month when this list goes out… and occasionally if I release a book or something.
As always, this is not a comprehensive list, but only includes all the books I have heard about so far.
If you have a fantasy novel you are self publishing in May or beyond, let me know by filling out THIS FORM, and I shall add it to the page. There are but 3 requirements:
1) It must be a self published fantasy novel.
2) It must have a Goodreads page.
3) It must have a cover.
28th April – Windborn by Alex S. Bradshaw
Drowning is only the beginning…
Edda Gretasdottir is a raider, a fell-handed shield-maiden, feared along every coast. Hers is a life woven in battle scars.
But she never wanted to walk the warrior’s path. All she wanted was freedom, to earn enough gold to buy her family their own remote farm, and to escape their oppressive chieftain. Now, she has enough plunder so that she can finally hang up her shield and live in peace.
That peace is stolen from Edda, however, when raiders burn her home, destroy all that she loves, and toss her, wounded and bleeding, into the ravenous ocean.
But the fates are cruel and this is not the end for Edda: she rises from the bloody surf as a Windborn, a cursed warrior whose supernatural gifts are a poor exchange for everything she has lost.
Fuelled by rage and armed with strange new powers Edda will hunt for whoever sent the raiders, for whoever is responsible for taking everything from her. She will show them the sharp edge of her axe… or die trying.
GoodreadsAmazon30th April – Disrupting Destiny (Naturae #1) by Jan Foster
1536 – Hunted, hiding for a century, two outcast Fae soulmates have their dreams of freedom and eternal life ripped apart after a violent confrontation with a ruthless figure from the past.
Racing against time itself forces Annabella to choose – confront or flee from her destiny. The shadowy realm she knew before haunts her and rebellion looms. To avert catastrophe, she must challenge history, as well as accept a solitary future.
Once a mortal, homebody Joshua must desperately navigate the turbulence of Reformation England in a quest to recover his love, whilst finally reconciling his faith with his unnatural state. Traversing North East England and Scotland trying to find her mystical kingdom, he just has to survive long enough to save her…
The fate of an entire race rests on their shoulders, but can destiny be changed? Rebellion, danger and intrigue threaten the future in a thrilling journey, weaving Tudor times with magical fantasy and faeth.
Disrupting Destiny – forever isn’t certain, trust no-one…
GoodreadsAmazon1st May – Little White Hands by Mark Cushen
Almost five hundred years have passed since the Seasons were at war.
Half a millennium since Winter defied Spring, and lost.
Generations have come and gone, not knowing the bitter freeze and howling snows of Winter ever existed.
But now, after centuries of silence, the participants in this ancient struggle have resurfaced and reignited their feud on the doorstep of an unassuming little kitchen boy.
Garlan’s dreams of being just like the knights he idolizes may not be as impossible as he has always been led to believe, when he is chased from his home and thrust headlong into the kind of adventure he had only ever read about in books.
Setting out on a journey that spans the entire kingdom of Faeland, Garlan will traverse impossible mountains and stormy seas and battle terrible monsters, all to keep the world he knows safe from an enemy who will stop at nothing to bring about a never-ending winter.
With a cast of fantastical characters to aid him in his quest, can Garlan overcome his self-doubt and find the courage he needs to rise above his humble station and become the hero he always dreamed of being?
The fate of the world rests in his hands.
GoodreadsAmazon3rd May – The Blood of the Spear (The Eye of Eternity #1) by Mark Timmony
Two brothers. One prophecy. A world in peril.
When Kaiel loses his chance to become part of the legendary Daemon Hunters, joining the Bronze Guard mercenaries seems like the logical alternative. It is an opportunity to put his training to use and, more importantly, as the company is currently in the employ of Prince Alesandr, it will allow him to keep an eye on his younger brother, Darien, who’s determined to follow his dream of becoming a Ciralys magic-user.
But the broken continent of Athmay still bears the scars of the war between the Summoners some three-thousand years ago, and an unexpected battle with a daemon – a remnant of that ancient war – reveals the brothers’ connection to a forbidden bloodline. Soon they find themselves on the run from the prince, daemonic hordes, and a prophecy that could break the world anew.
GoodreadsAmazon7th May – Sairo’s Claw (Chronicles of Gensokai #3) by Virginia McClain
Kaiyo is proud to serve in the Kaigun as captain of the Wind Serpent and heir to the merchant facade that conceals it. She has never once questioned her admiral’s orders. But when she receives the command to abduct a civilian who is likely to be killed for what she knows, Kaiyo finds herself wondering if the secret society she would die to protect is truly worth the life of an innocent.
When Torako is forced to pursue her recently abducted wife with their three year old daughter in tow, she bends even her own lax definition of “good” parenting. Still, she’s certain that abandoning her daughter in the wilderness while she chases after her mother would be the worse choice. So, with little more than the sword on her back—and the mysterious, grumpy wolf spirit within it—she and her daughter must race to rescue their beloved scribe before those who have taken her deem her a “necessary loss.”
GoodreadsAmazon8th May – Sands of Blood and Bone (Defying Divinity #2) by Jamey Sultan
He escaped slavery.
He defeated the Lich.
But will he survive the arena?
Locked in a cell underneath the Colosseum, James refuses to be a pawn anymore. He needs to rescue his friends and escape his captors, but it won’t be easy with the entire city out to get him.
GoodreadsAmazon9th May – Witch of Wealth and Ruin (Tidecaller Chronicles #2) by Levi Jacobs
The flood is coming, and sooner than anyone thought.
Burdened with visions of the end, mourning the loss of her allies, and desperate to save a lover trapped under her enemy’s control, Aletheia chases clues to the opulent city-state of Dahran. An ally there reveals the location of her father’s papers, key to stopping the flood and understanding her enemy’s power.
Seizing the chance, Aletheia breaks into the tower where they are held—only to be betrayed from inside, arrested and thrown into a gladiator prison.
Now she faces an impossible choice: buy her freedom at the cost of a dangerous alliance with her betrayer, or fight her way out over the bodies of the friends she is making inside.
GoodreadsAmazon10th May – Half Sword (Tapestry Codex #1) by Christopher Matson
“It is said that men must worship the gods of this earth, but none know whom the gods themselves must worship.” The crone’s breath stank of septic wounds and open graves. She leered at him. “I will tell you a secret—the gods worship fools such as yourself.”
Simon is that fool. Reviled as a halfwit, he is pursued across medieval Europe by a sinister league of conjurers, the Apostles of Light. Having erased his past, they will stop at nothing to steal his future as well. On the way, he joins the Knights of Palermo, a dubious band of wandering rogues, and attracts a mysterious young woman whose fate is somehow interwoven with his own.
Simon finds himself caught in a struggle for power between the shadowy Apostles, his adopted Knights, and a cabal of powerful women known to a select few as the Weavers. With only a broken sword and his own shattered memories, Simon must thread this maze of warring factions to discover who he was and why he is inexorably drawn to the haunted ruins of twelfth century Rome.
Norylska Groans…
with the weight of her crimes. In a city where winter reigns amid the fires of industry and war, soot and snow conspire to conceal centuries of death and deception.
Norylska Groans…
and the weight of a leaden sky threatens to crush her people. Katyushka Leonova, desperate to restore her family name, takes a job with Norylska’s brutal police force. To support his family, Genndy Antonov finds bloody work with a local crime syndicate.
Norylska Groans…
with the weight of her dead. As bodies fall, the two discover a foul truth hidden beneath layers of deception and violence: Come the thaw, what was buried will be revealed.
GoodreadsAmazon10th May – Numa. The Hunter. GRAPHIC NOVEL (Numa #1) by Stas Borodin
Under the shuttered moon, on an alien world populated by giant insects and bizarre beasts, a young hunter embarks on a perilous journey to find his lost kin and save his race from extinction.
GoodreadsAmazon13th May – Quantum Cultivation by Jace Kang
Like all Purebred with their menial jobs, Ken eeks out a living sweeping the floors of Kyoto Peacekeeping Central. His kind serve as a benchmark for XHumans to measure how far they’ve progressed, and a reminder of what homo sapiens once was.
His life will change when eight-hundred-year-old Ryu appears in Kyoto, looking for a lost temple; and Aya, a beautiful hacker whose Sensory Interface perceives the EtherCloud as Feudal Japan, learns that XHumans aren’t as perfect as they thought.
They’ve edited out the genes which allow for Cultivation.
That will give Ken a chance to surpass them.
And maybe use mythical martial skills to save the world from an oppressive government, spirit beasts, and alien invaders.
GoodreadsAmazon14th May – Paths of Chaos (The Broken Gods #2) by Aaron S. Jones
Blood. Betrayal. Chaos.
A darkness shrouds the land of Takaara. Magic flees the world as the Empire of Light seeks to use the confusion to its advantage. Warriors from the Borderlands struggle to find an imprisoned friend and adjust to the new normal of life with their ancestral enemies – the Barbarians. Others have been banished from the United Cities of Archania and flee to new lands in the hope of discovering allies to fight against the impending doom.
Through it all, Chaos has awoken and the Final War is on its way, threatening to wipe away the old world and start anew. The warriors of Takaara will be left with a choice as fear and blood consume the world around them.
Embrace the Chaos. Or die.
Goodreads15th May – Nine of Swords (Fynneas Fog #1) by Brooklyn Quintana
Goodreads15th May – Raven’s Ruin (The Keeper Origins #2) by J.A. Andrews
Sable, separated from her sisters, and her companions, must navigate her new world, and find a way to make the world listen to the truth.
Pick up the second book of the Keeper Origins Trilogy today, and continue the tale of how an orphaned thief escaped the slums, united a nation, and brought a mighty Empire to its knees.
GoodreadsAmazon15th May – The Well of Shadows (The Shadow Watch #4) by S.A. Klopfenstein
It’s another War Between the Worlds…
And the Gallows Girl will determine once and for all…
If magic will save the world or bring it to ruin.
Reeling from the events in the Ruined Empire, Tori must rally her few loyal followers to save her friends and face foes on two fronts. The Darkling Queen has sentenced Mischa to death in a bold attempt to lure Tori into a trap. The Gallows Girl must find a way to outwit the sorceress who hijacked her rebellion and stole her magic, so she can face an even greater threat.
For the chancellor searches the world for the mythical Wellspring, the power of creation itself, in a final scheme to take back his throne. if he finds the heart of magic, it could plunge the world into a darkness beyond all imagining.
Tori must face her demons and harness new magic, if she has any hope of preventing another magical war from ravaging her world.
But there can be no peace without sacrifice.
GoodreadsAmazon18th May – Legacy of Flame by Rebecca Bapaye
A winter queen and prince of flame, bound together by fate.
Following a deadly attack on a druid grove, Queen Elia Kolenikova of the Ice Realm is the first—and only—monarch to take a stand against the fire priest order, a reclusive band of sorcerers with unlimited power. Determined to find a way to protect druids from further violence, Elia turns to the annals of history, tracing her knowledge of fire priests back to a time when a previous Ice Queen was intimately tied to the rise of the order. There’s just one problem: what Elia reads in those accounts may not be true.
To unravel the mystery, Elia needs more than an ally—she needs a fire priest. An immortal Ice Realm prince who’s been missing from the history books for centuries.
Syllian, like his father before him, sacrificed his mortal body to be born again in flames. Two thousand years later, he’s hunted at every turn by fire priests seeking revenge for his betrayal of the order. The threat means little until a rumor reaches him: Queen Elia Kolenikova is asking questions. About fire priests, about druids, and most dangerously of all, about the truth.
Emerging from the shadows could cost Syllian his life. But if he doesn’t, the lies and propaganda of the fire priest order will cost Elia hers first.
GoodreadsAmazon24th May – The Throne of Ice & Ash (The Runewar Saga #1) by J.D.L. Rosell
In the frigid storms of winter, leaders and warriors are forged… Can the Jarl’s heirs avenge their kin and protect their throne from ancient foes?
Bjorn, son of the Jarl of Oakharrow, has always felt more at ease with a quill than a sword. Yet when tragedy strikes his family, he finds himself drawing a blade and leading a company of warriors into the cold, deadly mountains in pursuit of a mysterious enemy. But vengeance comes at a high price…
Aelthena, Bjorn’s sister, was born with the aptitude to lead, and she’s eager to prove herself. But her society’s rules for women, and her love for her brother, restrain her efforts to command. As she struggles to walk the fine line between ambition and virtue, the city stirs in unrest, and even her allies question her right to rule…
Yet more than one city’s fate hangs in the balance. Mythic enemies emerge to conquer all of humanity. And the only way they can be overcome is for Bjorn and Aelthena to unite their feuding peoples and master mysterious powers few humans have touched before…
The Runewar is rising — and it begins with the fall of the throne.
Goodreads28th May – The Iron Crown (Dragon Spirits #1) by L.L. MacRaeFenn’s first and only memory is finding himself in the middle of a forest, face to face with a dragon spirit mocking him, all knowledge gone apart from his own name.
Lost and confused, his only hope for answers is Calidra—a woman living on the edge of the world with her partner. Forced to return home when her father dies, Calidra has put off facing her estranged mother for seven years, and she begrudgingly helps Fenn, forging papers for him so he can avoid the Queen’s Inquisitors.
But her mother is the least of her worries when they discover an ancient enemy is rising again. It should be impossible with the Iron Crown in power—and Fenn is terrified he might unwittingly be playing a part in the war’s resurgence.
Surrounded by vengeful spirits and powerful magic, Fenn’s desperate attempt to find his way home might well alter the fate of Tassar, and every power in it.
GoodreadsAmazon30th May – Rise of Fomori (Faerie Warriors #2) by J.A. CurtisBrothers at odds. One lost faerie to find. An enemy lurks in the shadows.
But not for long.
After saving her friends from death, Mina finds herself in charge of the faeries of the Haven. But the two faerie factions are still divided, and a lost faerie remains to be found.
Answers about their enemy are elusive. And with half the Haven burned to ash, and the faerie army reduced to a fraction of its former strength, Mina knows they aren’t ready for the attack that may come any day.
They must prepare. They must unite. Or risk being destroyed.
Still reeling from a devastating betrayal, Arius struggles to find his way. Realizing now what he should have known all along—that Mina is the one who will save them all—he is desperate to not lose her in the process.
Time is short. The enemy is making their move.
The Fomori are on the rise.
GoodreadsAmazon31st May – Split Paths (Fall of Emros #2) by Thomas J. DevensPaths split, sometimes to merge once more. Sometimes only to stray ever further. Friends and comrades are made, lost, and sometimes, against all odds, found again. None can predict the turns one’s life may take. None can predict the losses to come. One can only hope.
A killer seeks his path to freedom. A path away from the blood that has haunted his life.
A young warrior, journeys to a new world in search of glory, only to find himself forgotten.
A sellsword searches for an easy job.
The mercenaries of the Stone and Shield have suffered great losses, their numbers decimated, many comrades lost. The bulk of the surviving mercenaries return to their home in Frostmoor on the edge of the Norwaldian Wilderness. Eager to begin a period of rest while they winter in.
Others survive, scattered across the world. Whether arriving on the distant western shores, far from the reaches of the Emrosian Empire, or in the capital of the troubled kingdom of Talres. For some of the surviving mercenaries, there will be anything but a time of rest.
GoodreadsAmazonSpace for more…
March 29, 2021
Self Published Fantasy Releases – April 2021
If you would like to be kept up to date with the upcoming lists, please subscribe to my newsletter by clicking this link. I don’t send out letters too often, pretty much once a month when this list goes out… and occasionally if I release a book or something.
As always, this is not a comprehensive list, but only includes all the books I have heard about so far.
If you have a fantasy novel you are self publishing in April or beyond, let me know by filling out THIS FORM, and I shall add it to the page. There are but 3 requirements:
1) It must be a self published fantasy novel.
2) It must have a Goodreads page.
3) It must have a cover.
26th March – Aofie’s Quest (Gods &Goddesses of Labraid #1) by Angela J. Ford
A warrior princess with a dire future embarks on a perilous quest to regain her fallen kingdom.
Eighteen-year-old Aofie’s Mor is an outcast princess, hiding in the sacred forest of the centaurs. She’s spent her life training for one purpose: to take back her kingdom from the angel of death.
When she comes of age, the centaurs prepare her to reunite with the humans. However, on the morning of her departure, she learns a horrific truth that leaves her questioning her true identity.
Frustrated, but taught not to question the will of the gods, Aofie travels deep into perilous lands in search of her birth mother. Along the way she accidentally frees a dangerous goddess, befriends a mysterious iceman, and meets a magic-wielding nymph.
But threads of betrayal and corruption run deeper than Aofie imagined. As she faces trials and tribulations, she begins to question everything she’s assumed to be true. Caught in the ultimate war between good and evil, Aofie must make a choice about her future.
Will she have the strength and courage to take back her kingdom? Or will she turn her back on fate and choose her own destiny?
GoodreadsAmazon26th March – The Last Days of Earth by Andrew Hindle
Not lightly does one kill a God. There is always a price to pay. There is always an equal and opposite reaction, whether you speak of the most basic principles of physics or stalk the lofty halls of deicide leaving footprints of ichor. And so it was with Earth, which gasped its last in the estimated Eleventh Century after the Fall; called the 1322nd year ExE by the elders; called 3700 AD by the truly ancient.
And the last remnants of humanity, those left behind, those who had deserted the sinking ship, all came away from it with their own stories. These stories formed the tapestry that was to become known as the Wild Empire of humankind.
All of these groups were mostly wrong, and they all spent most of their time trying to kill each other anyway.
This story is the true account of the Last Days of Earth, and the culmination of events set in motion in Bad Cow and Greyblade.
GoodreadsAmazon30th March – Wizardoms: Legend of the Sky Sword by Jeffrey L. Kohanek
A terrifying prophecy. A royal abduction. The desperate search for a legendary blade.
The Seers are blind to prophecy, or so it seems until a nightmarish vision shocks everyone. A darkness comes. Should it claim the elves, it will advance until it consumes the southern wizardoms.
To stave off impending doom, misfit heroes embark on a quest for magical sword not seen in millennia.
The newborn princess of Pallanar is abducted, triggering a desperate search. Her wizard father will do anything to rescue her. Who is behind it and what will his efforts cost?
Toppled thrones send two wizardoms into chaos. The ambitious strive to claim power while new gods rise to replace the old. What can it all mean?
GoodreadsAmazon30th March – Disruption of the Planes (The Flow of Blood & Fealty #2) by Michael E. Thom
This story picks up where The Vanguards of Scion ended introducing a few new characters and keeping some previous ones. Here we witness the beginning of a world coming undone and an invasion of beasts and creatures and armies from multiple worlds colliding. A dark epic fantasy with twisted magic, blood-lusty killers and cruel tyrants.
GoodreadsAmazon30th March – Breach of Peace by Daniel B. Greene
When an imperial family is found butchered, Officers of God are called to investigate. Evidence points to a rebel group trying to stab fear into the very heart of the empire. Inspector Khlid begins a harrowing hunt for those responsible, but when a larger conspiracy comes to light, she struggles to trust even the officers around her.
GoodreadsAmazon30th March – A Hidden Burrow Near Barcombe (The Dryad’s Crown #2) by David Hopkins
Silbrey and her family seek refuge in a farmhouse nestled next to a dark forest. Somewhere among the trees hides the answers to Silbrey’s past.
As the snow melts, yielding to the wet chill of an early spring, Silbrey’s children venture from the farm to explore their surroundings. Her daughter Gydan hears voices begging for help, luring them deeper into the woods. They meet a peculiar neighbor, a war mage who once served Kret Bonebreaker during the War of the Hounds.
The War of the Hounds, which tore apart the region so long ago, may not be over—and all of Amon is at risk. No place is safe for Silbrey and her family in this startling continuation of the epic ten-part novella series about a woman with a strange connection to the natural world.
GoodreadsAmazon31st March – Sylvan Valley Aflame (The Holly Sisters #3) by Jonathan Pembroke
Her sister is gone and her lover maimed. The Faery Gang stands on the brink of failure. And yet, Sydney’s greatest challenges are still to come.
With Marla in self-imposed exile, Sydney desperately tries to rally the gang in the face of their troubles. New enemies emerge alongside the old, hatching plots and schemes. The gang find themselves under attack and are drawn into confrontation with the Nightshade and his allies, before catastrophe strikes. Riven with guilt and self-doubt, Sydney leads her friends into a desperate war to rescue all they hold dear.
And through it all, Sylvan Valley burns.
Lives will be lost. Trusts will be broken. Friendships will be shattered. And in the midst of the chaos, Sydney will come face to face with the one thing she’s sought since leaving home.
Her destiny.
GoodreadsAmazon1st April – The Conjuring of Zoth-Avarex: The Self-Proclaimed Greatest Dragon in the Multiverse by K.R.R. Lockhaven
Kept hidden by the United States government for decades, the Site is a place where magic is real. But that doesn’t mean that everything happening there is sparkly. Soul-sucking policies and layers of stifling bureaucracy threaten to take all the fun out of magic.
Harris, a newbie Conjurer, starts his first day of work at the Site bursting with excitement: he’s been brought on for an extremely big project happening the very next day. In a triumph over its habitual inefficiency, the Site manages to carry out its plan and conjure an actual dragon to be used by the military.
The dragon (Zoth-Avarex, the self-proclaimed greatest dragon in the multiverse) immediately eats the person next to him, snatches a “princess” from the ranks of the Conjuring Department, and flies away to the Space Needle. There he manipulates the media, outwits the Site’s bumbling management, demands sixty-three billion dollars’ worth of treasure (because Smaug was said to have had sixty-two billion in his hoard), threatens to destroy the city—and installs a couple of food trucks.
GoodreadsAmazon1st April – Remove the Shroud (The King’s Ranger #3) by A.C. Cobble
A ranger’s duty. The rotten heart of a king. Rebellion spilled from the blood of family.
Having fled Spinesend following a calamitous encounter atop one of the city’s towers, Rew and his companions face a long journey across a dangerous land to the city of Carff, the seat of Prince Valchon. The treacherous spellcaster Alsayer fled there, along with Kallie Fedgley, but finding them without attracting the murderous gaze of the prince might be impossible.
During the journey, Rew and the others uncover sadistic plots by the princes against each other, and they garner the attention of the king himself. The younglings must sharpen their skills for what is to come, and Rew must command the courage to finally face his past.
GoodreadsAmazon4th April – Stones of Light (Threadlight #2) by Zack Argyle
The coreseal is shattered and a new darkness is coming.
Chrys swore to never again let the Apogee take control but, in a moment of desperation, he gave in. Now, he will learn what the Apogee truly wants.
In Alchea, Laurel will do anything to get her threadlight back, even if it means working for the leader of the Bloodthieves. But she has no choice…a life without threadlight is no life at all.
To the west, Alverax travels with the Zeda people to the large port city of Felia, where they seek refuge after the fires in the Fairenwild. But he shattered the coreseal, and no one quite knows what the consequences will be. They only know it won’t be good.
Together, they doomed the world…now, they must save it.
GoodreadsAmazon6th April – Bloodline (Cradle #9) by Will Wight
It’s time to go back home.
In the years since Lindon left Sacred Valley, he has attained power beyond anything his family thought possible. Now he’ll have to put those powers to the test, because a Dreadgod is on its way.
Lindon and his allies set out to evacuate the valley before the arrival of the Wandering Titan, but their sacred arts are weakened by an ancient curse. They’ll have to persuade the squabbling inhabitants of Sacred Valley to leave behind their home and set off into the outside world.
But it has been a long time since Lindon left, and more has changed than he realized.
He has always sought power to save his family…but now he might be too late.
GoodreadsAmazon6th April – Eulogy for the Dawn (Wrathlore #1) by Jeramy Goble
Domaren constructs peace using his tools of war. He is a silencer of rebellions and a butcher of tyrants. To some, he is a champion defender. To others, he is a merciless eradicator. Together with his fellow Godknights, Domaren wields might and magic to carry out the will of the creators.
But the creators have suddenly gone silent.
As the last living Godknight present during the ancient rebellion known as Wrathlore, Domaren must rise above suspicions of deceit, faltering powers, and a world erupting in chaos if he hopes to learn the fate of the missing creators.
GoodreadsAmazon8th April – Emergency Shift (The Full Moon Medic #1) by Daniel Potter
Never promise a fey anything.
With magic leaking back into our world, working the nightshift as a paramedic comes with danger. But I handle it. I’ve got a shotgun for the zombies and my lycanthropic rage hasn’t escaped my apartment. Life is normal-ish. All that changes when I’m called to help a dying fey knight and I make a promise.
There’s a little girl with big eyes and a heart-rending sniffle. I can’t say no. Of course she’s not human. She’s their key to opening the long-closed gates and feasting on humanity.
Now an entire world I know nothing about is trying to kill me. And if I don’t protect her, the teeth around my heart will finish the job. If I learn fast and bargain the right parts of my soul, the girl and I might make it out alive. Otherwise the cruelest winter will freeze everyone solid.
Let’s start Ragnarok, they said. It’ll be fun, they said.
Nothing pisses off a trickster god more than being imprisoned for five hundred years and not being able to annoy Thor. There are other reasons, secrets, and promises behind Loki’s rage, but that’s for Loki to know and the gods to find out—preferably painfully.
When the chance to start Ragnarok presents itself, Loki feels the apocalypse is as good a way as any to burn Asgard to the ground. And, it is, until the gods reveal their own teensy, tiny little surprise for Loki.
Suddenly, Loki has every reason in the worlds to stop them from ending. But this is Ragnarok, and one does not simply stop the apocalypse.
Chaos is all well and good, so long as Loki is in charge of it. Except chaos isn’t about to start taking orders from anyone, not even the god of pot-stirring himself, and it has a universe to destroy…
The world knows Kaiya as the Dragon Charmer.
After vanquishing the Last Dragon with the power of her voice, all she wants is to return to a quiet life of anonymity. Instead, the Emperor tasks her with an onerous task: negotiating with the aggressive Teleri Empire for the extradition of her cousin, who tried to murder the imperial family and usurp the Dragon Throne.
The mission reunites her with her childhood friend Tian, now an assassin-spy who loathes killing. He is no longer the adorable, gullible boy from her memories, any more than she is the adventurous, sweet girl from his. Instead of rekindling nostalgia for a youthful innocence they both yearn for, their reunion ignites a mutual hatred.
When the Teleri Empire breaks off negotiations, Tian must help Kaiya escape. Orcs, Ogres, and enemy soldiers stand between them and home, and their volatile relationship could get them captured… or killed.
GoodreadsAmazon13th April – Coven of Shadows (The Soul’s Abyss #2) by S.C. Gowland
Everything they fought for was a lie.
The Otan have returned and must be stopped, or darkness will fall over the land of Thura once again.
Kaoldan and his Walkers must find missing pieces of the Dark Crown to prevent the fulfilment of this evil prophecy.
Can Kaoldan fight against his past, to fight for his future? Souls have been lost, the sacred order of Walkers has fractured, and his world shattered. But can Kaoldan tell friend from foe, as the battle lines are drawn? Kaoldan must discover the truth to free himself from the past.
Romina must fight to suppress the shadows. Darkness surrounds her, every day a new nightmare. She must trust her strength, find allies amongst her captors, trust her power and her judgement to free herself and save her life. Can anyone in the Coven of Shadows be trusted?
The Havath Dominion is marching to war.
Humiliated in the ruins of Imperial Ithos, the Exile Splinter stolen from their grasp by the ancient sphinx Kanderon Crux, Havath’s Duarchs have assembled an army that dwarfs the entire population of Skyhold. Led by their Great Powers, monsters and mages individually capable of leveling a city, they pose a threat that even Kanderon, one of the mightiest of Great Powers, and her equally monstrous allies might be unable to stop.
As the Havathi forces push closer and closer to Skyhold, Hugh and his friends train relentlessly, hoping to make a difference in the oncoming siege. While they venture into dangerous realms of untested experimental magic, though, they’re already caught up in currents far beyond their control.
Once you’re a pawn in the games of the Great Powers, there’s no escape.
GoodreadsAmazon15th April – Fate of Madness (The Madness Wars #4) by Jesse Teller
Drine gains momentum as Rextur continues his march, yet he knows Tienne rallies forces in its final moments. To secure the west, Rextur must siege the city of his father. A city he was cast from. An upbringing he was denied. He must stay focused to succeed in his lifequest. This war he was raised to win, a fate designed for destruction.
GoodreadsAmazon16th April – She Dreams in Blood (The Obsidian Path #2) by Michael R. Fletcher
Drawn by the shards of his obsidian heart, Khraen follows the path south. The islands, largely ignored by the Wizard’s Guild, have become a refuge for the unwanted of the world. Necromancers and sorcerers rule warring tribes haunted by the ghosts of savage and primal gods.
With each fragment Khraen discovers more of the man he was.
There was an Empire.
There was a god.
And she dreamed in blood.
GoodreadsAmazon19th April – Whispers of Ruin RE-RELEASE (The Famine Cycle #1) by J.D.L. Rosell
Every secret has its price. When a seller of secrets is caught in a deadly conspiracy, she’ll discover how high a price she’s willing to pay to uncover the truth…
Among the unsavory streets of Oedija, Airene and her unorthodox companions scrape a living as Finches, exposing lies and scandals for a scant profit.
When Oedija’s monarch dies suspiciously, Airene sees her chance to earn more than the next meal. Though her quest might prove fruitless, she risks everything to learn the story behind his death in the hopes of making her fame and fortune.
But the ruler’s death is just the first piece of the puzzle. Magic, long forbidden, reemerges in the face of revolution. War looms on the horizon. Ancient spirits awaken, hungry after their long slumber.
And the secrets Airene reveals threaten to consume their world…
GoodreadsAmazon21st April – Idols Fall (Iconoclasts #3) by Mike Shel
“AT LONG LAST, EVEN GODS WILL KNOW REGRET…”
Agnes Manteo now bears her father’s sentient Djao sword, along with a terrible revelation—the gods are charlatans, ancient sorcerers who draw their strength from the suffering of humanity. She and her Syraeic companions have but one duty: to track down those pretenders and end their reign of cruelty and lies, no matter the cost. To that end, the magical blade—mighty, single-minded Szaa’da’shaela—won’t allow any wavering of their commitment.
But the empire is in turmoil with the sudden passing of its undying queen. Noble houses clash and threaten civil war, murderous barbarians mass on the frontier in preparation for a bloody invasion, and all feel the aching void left by the clergy, whose temples were devastated by a great fire. Can the kingdom survive should Agnes succeed in tearing away its very foundations?
And if she fails? What might sorcerers with nearly godlike powers do to exact their revenge?
Goodreads22nd April – Heir to the Darkmage by Lisa Cassidy
Ambition drives her. Danger thrills her. But magic always has a price.
Twenty years have passed since the Darkmage was destroyed and the war between mages ended. For Lira Astor, the single living heir to the Darkmage, escaping her name is impossible. People still fear what is long dead, and they see in her the rise of another dangerous mage with deadly ambition. Desperate to claw her way free of her grandfather’s shadow, to make her own name amongst the world of mages, Lira is willing to do whatever it takes. Even if that means joining the secretive rebel group looking to restore his vision.
Survival is a lesson Lira learned early and often, yet when she is abducted and held prisoner in a deadly game of cat and mouse, she finds herself facing a nemesis she may be no match for. Forced to band together with unlikely allies who challenge everything she believes about what it means to be a mage, she will have to rely on every bit of ruthlessness she possesses.
Because the war may only just be beginning…
…and Lira Astor intends to come out on top.
He’s lost his love. He’s lost his horse. And now he’s lost.
Grimble is the regiment’s best rider, but after he’s assigned to an elite team for a covert mission, they make him prove his worth to the new unit. And when everything falls apart he finds himself on foot, alone, and struggling to survive while being hunted by a king, a deadly mage, and a host of creatures he never knew existed.
The odds are stacked against him. The noose is tightening. The enemy draws near.
But Grimble’s love drives him on. Will it be enough?
GoodreadsAmazon23rd April – Gates of Ruin (Magelands Eternal Siege #6) by Christopher Mitchell
The Holdfasts of Lostwell are scattered. Sable, injured by Belinda, hides among the wild dragons of the Catacombs, while they plot to drive her and Maddie out.
Taken by the former God-Queen of Tara, Kelsey faces a life in captivity, alongside Aila; while Corthie lies sick and broken – his dreams of destiny in tatters, his hopes in ruins.
All that stands between the Ascendants and victory is Belinda, who faces her own struggles as she attempts to keep her resistance a secret. Battling her fears, only she has the power to free the land where once she was queen.
GoodreadsAmazon23rd April – Symphony of Fates RE-RELEASE (The Dragon Songs Saga #4) by J.C. Kang
Kaiya escapes her ordeal at the hands of the Teleri Emperor, only to return to a homeland beset by enemies on all sides, and crumbling from within.
As a teenager, she quelled a rebellion with the Dragon Scale Lute. As a young adult, she vanquished a dragon with the power of her voice.
Now, robbed of her magic by grief, Kaiya must navigate a web of court intrigue to save the realm before it falls. Only she can lay claim to the Dragon Throne on behalf of her unborn sons—whether the father is the lover who perished rescuing her, or the hated enemy who killed him.
GoodreadsAmazon27th April – The Squire (Blood of Kings #1) by Duncan M. Hamilton
When creatures that lurk in the dark dare to venture out into the world, lives are changed forever.
Conrad lives a quiet rural life with his parents in the Northlands. During one fated night, his world is turned on its head, as nightmares become reality. While his Northlands blood cries out for revenge, Conrad’s head tells him surviving is the best he can do.
Rescued by a motley band of mercenaries, Conrad embarks on a life he could have barely imagined –squire to the men who saved him. As new challenges, friends, and enemies present themselves, Conrad knows that one day he will have to face the evil that so altered his life, and when that day comes, he will need to be ready.
Goodreads28th April – Windborn by Alex S. Bradshaw
Drowning is only the beginning…
Edda Gretasdottir is a raider, a fell-handed shield-maiden, feared along every coast. Hers is a life woven in battle scars.
But she never wanted to walk the warrior’s path. All she wanted was freedom, to earn enough gold to buy her family their own remote farm, and to escape their oppressive chieftain. Now, she has enough plunder so that she can finally hang up her shield and live in peace.
That peace is stolen from Edda, however, when raiders burn her home, destroy all that she loves, and toss her, wounded and bleeding, into the ravenous ocean.
But the fates are cruel and this is not the end for Edda: she rises from the bloody surf as a Windborn, a cursed warrior whose supernatural gifts are a poor exchange for everything she has lost.
Fuelled by rage and armed with strange new powers Edda will hunt for whoever sent the raiders, for whoever is responsible for taking everything from her. She will show them the sharp edge of her axe… or die trying.
GoodreadsAmazon30th April – Disrupting Destiny (Naturae #1) by Jan Foster1536 – Hunted, hiding for a century, two outcast Fae soulmates have their dreams of freedom and eternal life ripped apart after a violent confrontation with a ruthless figure from the past.
Racing against time itself forces Annabella to choose – confront or flee from her destiny. The shadowy realm she knew before haunts her and rebellion looms. To avert catastrophe, she must challenge history, as well as accept a solitary future.
Once a mortal, homebody Joshua must desperately navigate the turbulence of Reformation England in a quest to recover his love, whilst finally reconciling his faith with his unnatural state. Traversing North East England and Scotland trying to find her mystical kingdom, he just has to survive long enough to save her…
The fate of an entire race rests on their shoulders, but can destiny be changed? Rebellion, danger and intrigue threaten the future in a thrilling journey, weaving Tudor times with magical fantasy and faeth.
Disrupting Destiny – forever isn’t certain, trust no-one…
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