Indie Scouting Report: September 2017
Our roundup of the best-reviewed self-published titles from BookLife authors.
In this month’s look at the best-reviewed self-published titles, we highlight contemporary fantasy, an oral history of the great migration, a tongue-in-cheek whodunit, and a whole lot more.
Holding Out for a Zero by Heather Wardell
Synopsis: This is a riveting novel about childhood trauma and the harmful neuroses that can arise from unresolved guilt.
PW’s Takeaway: This book’s warning about how unresolved traumas can manifest in devastating ways will appeal to a wide readership, and the author’s authentic voice will prompt chills, chuckles, and empathy.
Comparable Titles: Some Women
Sample Line: “But being friends is a mistake. As bitter experience has taught me, getting too close to people is never a good idea.”
Strangehold by Rene Sears
Synopsis: Sears’s debut is a contemporary fantasy in which human magic wielders and magical fae live among mortals.
PW’s Takeaway: The author balances worldbuilding with solid characters and skillful descriptions. These elements, combined with a bit of romance, will enchant fantasy fans.
Comparable Titles: Karen Marie Moning’s the Fever series
Sample Line: “The general human population had been able to forget that Faerie had ever been real, that Faerie ever existed. Those of us with magic never had.”
Gertrude, Gumshoe: Murder at Goodwill by Robin Merrill
Synopsis: Gertrude stumbles upon a murder victim during a shopping trip.
PW’s Takeaway: Readers who enjoy tongue-in-cheek whodunits will find themselves grinning.
Comparable Titles: Schlock Homes
Shadow Mountain by Tess Collins
Synopsis: The son of the Watcher who protects Shadow Mountain finds himself called upon to rejuvenate the sacred peak.
PW’s Takeaway: Through narrative tension and vivid characters, Collins’s new series starts strong.
Comparable Titles: The White Queen
On a Burning Deck by Tom Jones
Synopsis: An oral history of the great migration told via the stories of the author’s family.
PW’s Takeaway: Jones’s book gives insights into the lives of white Southerners who migrated north before the Depression.
Comparable Titles: The Warmth of Other Suns
