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. 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.
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.
GoodreadsAmazonSpace for more…
