Hello everyone! Welcome to another Instalment of Indie Recommends Indie. I am very excited to host my friend Jerusha Rene today! We connected because of WriteHive and I am so happy to call her a friends for almost 2 years now. Online friendships can be very rewarding. 🙂 Jerusha’s story recently featured in a anthology and in this post, she is not only highlighting her favorite indie authors, but also
Jerusha, I have you by yourself finally! 😀 You were there for the International Women’s post we did like two years ago and I am so glad to have another reason to have you on Armed with A Book. Since that was a while ago, tell my readers a bit about yourself. 🙂
Thank you for having me back, Kriti! I work in sales by day, writing by night. I primarily write fantasy, but do have a few sci-fi and paranormal works in progress as well. Pre-pandemic, I also taught karate to kids, but since then I’ve put my focus into WriteHive, a nonprofit that provides free writing events. Publishing can be more expensive than people realize, especially for indies, and we help break down some of those barriers.
Do you primarily read indie books or big publishers books as well?
I only started reading indie books a few years ago. A member of my writing group at the time had self-published a book, so I bought and read it to be supportive. I was so impressed by it! The prose, the characters, the worldbuilding, all of it was so lovely. I realized then that self-published books can definitely have the same quality as traditional. It takes work to get there, but then so does the traditional path. Anyways, now I read probably 50/50 indie and traditional books.
Jerusha’s Indie Recommendations
Between Starfalls by S.Kaeth
Fantasy
Published 2020
Book 1 of the Children of the Nexus series
Never leave the path.
It’s sacred law, punishable by exile.
When her son goes missing in the perilous mountains, Kaemada defies the law to search for him. She enlists the help of her hero brother, a priestess berserker, and a fire-wielding friend.
But the law exists for a reason.
When the search party is captured by the mythical Kamalti, they learn that Kaemada’s son was sent to an ancient prison city. As they battle for freedom, they discover a horrible truth that will change the future of both races forever.
With their world in upheaval, Kaemada must find a way to peace if she’s to save her son—but tensions between the two races are leading to war.
Why this book is loved:
If you loved the Pern series, you’ll probably love this series! Dragons aren’t a big feature in this book, but they are a part of the world. Like Pern, there’s also some sci-fi that’s mixed in with fantasy, which is fun to see! We see them more in book 2 and in Windward, which is set in the same world. Between Starfalls follows the story of four characters as they stray from their familiar path and discover a people living under the mountains. The book explores a clash of cultures, misunderstandings, and the desperation of the characters as they try to find Kaemada’s son and return home.
SK has this unique way of really making me feel emotions when I read her books. I’ve never been as angry with book antagonists as I get with hers. I would have loved for a dragon to crush the city at a point or two, haha. I also love the array of creatures that are featured. There’s terrifying angels that will eat you, and there’s a pegasus! Hearing there was a pegasus in an adult fantasy book was what first got me to pick this series up, and I’ve been addicted ever since. Taunos is one of my favorite characters. His personality charmed me from his first scene. And I am also really curious about Kaemada’s son. Very curious.
The worldbuilding is definitely the strength of this series. If you want a world you can get lost in, one with deep cultures and characters, I’d recommend Between Starfalls.
Cleansing Rain by Holly Ash
Science Fiction
Published 2021
Book 1 of a new series
Earth is dying and the only way to save it is to eliminate its biggest threat.
All Zoe Antos wanted was to make it home from work in time for date night with her fiancé Cole Wilborn, something her research had been preventing a lot recently. After managing to get out the door on time, all hope of making it home is lost when she is kidnapped by a man trying to steal files from her lab.
Zoe is thrown into a world of conspiracy theories as her kidnappers reveal that they are trying to stop The Arrow Equilibrium, a powerful eco-terrorism group Zoe has never heard of, from going through with their plan to restore balance to the environment. It doesn’t sound too bad until she realizes the only way to have a shot at doing that would be to eliminate the human factor from the scales. Zoe almost starts to believe them, until it’s revealed that her kidnappers believe the Wilborn family is the behind The Arrows, something she knows can’t be true.
Once rescued, Zoe starts to notice irregularities with her future father-in-law that makes her question if her kidnappers might have been right. Zoe must decide who to trust, her fiancé’s family or her kidnappers. Her life, and the fate of humanity, could depend on her making the right choice.
Why Jerusha recommends this book:
Holly Ash writes what might be considered accessible Sci-Fi. If you’re primarily a fantasy reader, like me, give hers a try for something new! Her stories are plot-focused, and don’t get overly bogged down with technical details. There’s just enough within it to feel realistic and let you know the author knows her science. (She is, afterall, an environmental engineer.) In Cleansing Rain, a researcher named Zoe has to choose between believing her kidnappers or her fiancé’s family about an eco-terrorism plot. Ian is my favorite character in the book, other than Zoe. I didn’t expect to like him as much as I did, but he did the wrong things for the right reasons and got in over his head, haha. It’s one twist after another that ends with a race against the clock with millions of lives hanging in the balance. I was completely surprised with the directions this book took! I recommend this for anyone who wants a fast-paced, suspenseful read with a healthy dose of environmental science mixed in.
The Order of the Key by Justine Manzano
YA Fantasy
Published 2020
Book 1 of the Keys and Guardians series
Jacklyn Madison never expected to be attacked by a beast on an evening snack run. Add a rescue mission enacted by a trained regiment of teenaged warriors, and her night officially becomes just like a scene from one of her beloved comic books. Turns out, her parents were once members of the Order of the Key, gifted humans that protect humanity from creatures spilling through inter-dimensional rifts. Unable to control her newfound abilities, Jacklyn and her family rejoin the Order.
After an attack on their headquarters leaves Jacklyn questioning their leadership, Kyp–the boy who led her initial rescue–reveals a darker secret. The Order’s leader may be corrupt, and Jacklyn’s questions could put her family in danger. Drawn into the search for proof, Jacklyn must use her guts and magical brawn to protect her family, her friends, and herself from the monsters spilling from rifts, and those hiding within the Order.
Why Jerusha recommends this book:
Wow, this book! It tore out my heart, then sewed it back in, at least twice. The sequel comes out in April 2022, and I don’t know how I’ll manage to wait. It’s a contemporary young adult fantasy. Actually, it has almost a superhero feel to it. If you put X-men kids in a SWORD mission run by Magneto, that might be about the same feel as this story. Except Magneto has more of a heart than this antagonist. I loved the worldbuilding within it, filled with refreshing new twists to the superpower genres. I liked how the Keys and Guardians had different abilities that complimented each other. They need each other to survive and fight the inter-dimensional enemies. But this wasn’t really a story about learning to control powers and become a hero. It’s about fighting for survival. Because sometimes the people in charge we should trust are absolute monsters. I adored the characters in it, from Jacklyn to Kyp to Gana (especially Gana!) This story definitely has a darker feel to it, and the author doesn’t pull any punches. I’d recommend it for those who love dark fantasy or even DC or the darker sides of Marvel.
📚 Justine’s other book Never Say Never was recommended by SK here. 📚
Elemental by Whitney Hill
Urban/Paranormal Fantasy
Published 2020
Book 1 of the Shadows of the Otherside series
Enter an urban fantasy world where elves, vampires, weres, djinn, and others maintain a precarious balance of power in North Carolina. Welcome to Otherside.
Private investigator and sylph Arden Finch is determined to come out of the shadows and practice her forbidden magic. There’s just one problem: the elves have a bounty on elementals like her.
When an elf hires Arden without realizing what she is, she seizes the chance to gain leverage in the dangerous world of Otherside-even if it means risking exposure. But as the case grows more perilous, Arden draws the attention of the region’s deadliest power players.
Fans of Kim Harrison, Faith Hunter, and the early Anita Blake series will find a kick-ass heroine to love in Arden.
Content warnings: swearing, light consensual sex, physical violence, death, slurs (not toward any real racial or ethnic group/identity), threat of sexual violence.
Why Jerusha recommends this book:
This book reminded me just how much I love urban fantasy as a reader. As someone who loves vampires, werewolves, and just about all things supernatural, I had so much fun reading this book. On top of that, Arden is such an amazing, capable, and interesting character to follow, too. I fell for just about all of the characters in this book. Troy, Maria, Arden… I love them all. I’d recommend this for fans of the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews, not to mention fans of vampires or werewolves in general. Whitney also is well versed in mythology and it shows in how beautifully she weaves myths into the story. I also loved the little details she includes about the various races within the books. Elves are so scary, as you discover later! And I love the use of scents with the descriptions of magic use or presence. It’s also a series that deals with issues that are extremely relevant to our time, all handled in a way that blends seamlessly with the story and characters. The entire series is awesome, and I cannot recommend it enough. Go read it!
Siren Daughter by Cassie Day
YA Fantasy
Published 2021
Book 1 of the Olympian Exiles series
A determined siren. A journey for immortality.
A bargain shaking the realms apart.
Seventeen-year-old Agathe is a siren, a creature once known for their enthralling songs. But her ancestors’ exile locks her and her family deep beneath the Akri Sea. She resigns herself to an unremarkable life with only her beloved mother for company.
Yet when everything she holds dear is stripped away during a bitter winter, she embarks on a deadly quest. One for the most precious gift in all the realms: immortality.
Bargain upon bargain, she travels across the realms to formidable god-king Zeus and his gilded palace. In the stark corridors and fracturing court, death and loss, friendship and love wait around each turn. But when betrayal renders a bargain with Zeus fruitless, Agathe must choose: her family or herself.
One last shot at bargaining with Zeus.
But every bargain has a price.
If you like Greek mythology, slow-burn romance, and mythological creatures, you’ll love Siren Daughter, the first book in a spellbinding fantasy trilogy.
Why Jerusha recommends this book:
This is an enjoyable book for fans of Greek mythology! Siren Daughter takes place at the time that those myths are happening, and I love how it shows how horrible many of the gods could be. The worldbuilding caught my eye from the start. It was intriguing to see life from a siren’s perspective. Living in a sea surrounded by predators is no easy feat! The main character, Agathe, is driven by grief into bargains with the gods, and from there uncovers terrible secrets about those she’s bargaining with. The secrets are not the type that make bargaining easier or safer, however. They’re the kind that get a person killed. It was suspenseful, seeing how and if she would survive and overcome the obstacles in her way! I also loved that this book featured Charon as a prominent side character. The author seemed to have fun drawing on characters that aren’t typically featured in stories, and I can’t wait to see what she writes next!
Jerusha’s Book Spotlight
After all these fabulous recommendations, here is Jerusha’s book that she wanted to highlight.
Autumn Nights: 10 Stories to Skitter Up Your Spine
Horror
Published 2021
Standalone
Hot summer days fade, and the chills of autumn begin. Leaves wither and fall, trees lay barren, and darkness descends earlier each evening. While people seek shelter in warm, cozy confines, the hair-raising denizens of the night come out to play.
The hollow winds carry more than the skittering sounds of dead leaves…
Ten creepy tales that will leave you checking your windows and tucking yourself safely under the covers await in this book. Perfect for lingering evenings around the campfire, or golden afternoons with a blanket and warm apple cider, the third installment of the Autumn Nights Charity Anthologies is brimming with creepy crawlies.
Not only are the stories low on gore and safe for readers 16 and up, but your purchase will help your fellow humans. All royalties from this anthology will be donated to RIP Medical Debt, a non-profit that purchases bulk medical debt and pays it off for those most in need.
No family should have to choose between medical care and a home.
Pandora’s Attic by Jerusha René – Jo is in danger of losing her boutique shop until an offer arrives from a mysterious artist. Her curiosity about the benefactor may doom more than just the shop.
*These stories are intended to be safe reading for Young Adults and Adults alike, with no graphic/explicit violence or sexual situations. In this book, The Bitten Rush does have the trigger warning of addiction.
Each book in the series can be read in any order, as there is no relationship between the stories from one book to the next. Want to start with this one and help relieve crushing medical debt? Go for it!
This is a charity anthology and proceeds go to RIP Medical Debt https://ripmedicaldebt.org/ .
Other stories in the collection are:
- The Skittering by Mallory Kelly – The frozen wilderness will not stop Elin and Dag from finding their missing research team, but a mysterious evil has been locked, waiting, in the ice for 500 years…ice that is thawing beneath them.
- Dreamweaver by Jaecyn Boné – A baby witch starts her spiritual journey into witchcraft by reaching out to her ancestors for guidance and gets a response she wasn’t prepared for.
- Deathbed Confessions Are Not Beholden to NDAs by Frank L Tybush V – An expedition to an abandoned facility reveals that not all legends want to be discovered.
- New Life by Helen Whistberry – Life in the sky above the polluted cloudline is comfortable and predictable but a fall from an unimaginable height turns one teenager’s world upside down.
- The Sublime Desdemona Scarlet by Jacob Klop – Barton Dubois believes nothing is more important than money, but The Sublime Desdemona Scarlet can’t be bought out…and neither can her curse.
- Prey by Brendon Pohner – A group of 1830s fur trappers struggle to survive amidst a hostile wilderness that appears to have developed a consciousness of its own.
- The Nest by Fay Lane – Following the death of her estranged mother, Lidia returns to her isolated childhood home only to discover it is not as empty as it seems.
- The Bitten Rush by L.T. Ward – An arachnid’s nip goes a long way for Ashley, a costume design major drowning from exhaustion.
- The Protectors by A.W. Wang – Three mechanical dogs embark on a perilous journey to rescue kidnapped children from the clutches of giant spiders.
When you are in the mood for a horror/Halloween story collection, be sure to check out this one! Connect with Jerusha on Twitter and Instagram.
Did you add any books to your TBR today based on this post? Tell us in the comments!
Thank you so much for hanging out with Jerusha and me today as part of the nineteenth Indie Recommends Indie Series. I hope you are enjoying the series so far and are looking forward to future posts.
If you are an indie or small press author who is an avid reader and wants to be featured, sign up using the form on the Indie Recommends Indie home page. This is a fantastic way to bring attention to fellow indie authors as well as your own book. 🙂
Banner Photo of library by Alfons Morales on Unsplash
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