Hello QuTs!
Today we have for you a list of indie books being released this year. These weren't chosen for any real reason other than that I could find them. There's many many indie authors out there, but given their nature they're pretty hard to find.
I also find it worth noting that, as these are all new or haven't been released yet, I can't vouch for the content in them. I generally avoided books whose synopsis detailed things which go against NoQu's core values, but other than that I really don't know for sure if these are clean.
Last few notes, on links and formatting:
All author names will link to the author's website when applicable.
For books which are available for preorder or are already released, their covers will link to where you can purchase them.
The books are organized by release order, not by genre.
Without further chatter, here's the list!
Early 2022
Release Date: Unspecified; early '22
Title: Fled for Refuge by Kristina Hall
Genre: Suspense/dystopia
Synopsis:
"Tyranny. Betrayal. Risk.
Tony Dorence works security for a little country church mostly untouched by America’s downward spiral. Untouched, that is, until a car smashes through First Baptist’s front doors and the driver attempts to murder the congregation. Though Tony thwarts the driver’s intentions, this seemingly random event sets off a chain reaction that threatens his sister, Merri, and everyone involved with First Baptist.
Merri Dorence, though not a believer, supports much of what First Baptist stands for. As Tony’s world is shaken, she too is dragged into the turmoil. Yet her agnostic worldview proves to be a shifting foundation on which to stand.
As everything falls apart around them, will Tony and Merri crumble beneath the pressure or flee to the only One Who can provide them refuge?"
Release Date: January 4th (it's currently out!)
Title: The Ivory Key by Akshaya Raman
Genre: Fantasy
Synopsis:
In this epic YA fantasy debut, magic, a prized resource, is the only thing between peace and war. When magic runs out, four estranged royal siblings must find a new source before their country is swallowed by invading forces. The first in an Indian-inspired duology that’s perfect for fans of There Will Come a Darkness, The Gilded Wolves, and We Hunt the Flame.
Vira, Ronak, Kaleb, and Riya may be siblings, but they've never been close or even liked each other that much. Torn apart by the different paths their lives have taken, only one thing can bring them back together: the search for the Ivory Key, a thing of legend that will lead the way to a new source of magic. Magic is Ashoka's biggest export and the only thing standing between them and war with the neighboring kingdoms—as long as their enemies don't find out that the magic mines are nearly depleted.
The siblings all have something to gain from finding the Ivory Key, and even more to lose if they don't. For Vira, the Ivory Key is the only way to live up to the legacy of her mother, the beloved former maharani. Ronak plans to get out of his impending political marriage by selling the Ivory Key to the highest bidder. Kaleb has been falsely accused of assassinating the former maharani, and this is the only way to clear his name. And Riya needs to prove her loyalty to the Ravens, the group of rebels that wants to take control away from the maharani and give it to the people. With each sibling harboring secrets and conflicting agendas, figuring out a way to work together may be the most difficult task of all. And in a quest this dangerous, working together is the only way to survive.
Release Date: January 11th
Title: Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves by Meg Long
Genre: Fantasy
Synopsis:
Meg Long's Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves is a captivating debut about survival, found family, and the bond between a girl and a wolf that delivers a fresh twist on classic survival stories and frontier myths.
On a frozen wasteland of a planet, a girl is on the run with a wolf who is born to be a killer but bound to be her guide. As they fight to escape ice goblins, giant bears, and a ruthless leader intent on trapping them both, one question drives them relentlessly forward: where do you turn when there is nowhere to hide?
Release Date: January 18th
Title: Love's Lost Star by Caitlin M. Smith
Genre: Contemporary
Synopsis:
Cece Burbin thought she knew what love was—people using you to get what they wanted. Until she met Jason Porter. But on what should have been the happiest day of their lives, Cece wakes up on a riverbank cold, alone, and in pain. After realizing she lost her voice, Cece becomes desperate to find a way to communicate with someone that she needs help. Freeing herself, she sets off in search of the only man she has truly loved. But as she struggles to find her way back home, her past quickly begins to creep back. The gang she thought she had left behind was never that far away, and the crimes she has committed are coming back to haunt her. Can God truly love and forgive her for all she has done?
Jason is just as frantic to find his missing bride. But when he receives a note saying she left him for another man, his world is shattered. How had he missed her change of heart? Jason struggles to trust God in this heartbreak, battling uncertainty about the future he thought he had. But when he meets a strange woman who claims to be a private investigator, he discovers a clue that could change everything. Unaware that time is running out, the abandoned bridegroom sets off in search of love’s lost star.
Release Date: February 1st
Title: In Search of a Prince by Toni Shiloh
Genre: Contemporary romance
Synopsis: Brielle Adebayo is fully content teaching at a New York City public school and taking annual summer vacations with her mother to Martha's Vineyard. But everything changes when her mom drops the mother of all bombshells--Brielle is a princess in the kingdom of Oloro IlZ, Africa, and she must immediately assume her royal position, since the health of her grandfather, King Tiwa Jimoh Adebayo, is failing.
Distraught by her mother's betrayal, Brielle is further left spinning when the Oloro IlZ Royal Council brings up an old edict that states she must marry before assuming the throne or the crown will be passed to another. Uncertain who to choose from the council's list of bachelors, she struggles with the decision along with the weight of her new role in a new country. With her world totally shaken, she must take a chance on love and brave the perils a wrong decision may bring.
Release Date: February 1st
Title: Those With Ears (Midnight Hour Series, Book One) by Makenzie Gray
Genre: Apocalyptic
Synopsis: What will Takvi do when the End begins?
In the blink of an eye, Takvi's guardians disappear into thin air, along with thousands more. When the government swiftly moves to cover up the Disappearing, she and her siblings grapple with the truth behind what happened. They've been government loyalists their whole lives, but a split in opinions threatens to upend their lives permanently.
And Takvi is trapped in a vacuum where no solution leaves her or her family unscathed, which is the one thing she can't bear.
The illegal book their guardians left them has answers that agree with her siblings, but Takvi struggles to accept it. When the newly-formed government tightens its grip in eerie prophetic fashion, will she stand up or will she fold? Will any of it matter in the end of the world?
A compelling apocalyptic story on redemption, sibling bonds, and seeking truth in a corrupt world, Those With Ears is the first novel in the Midnight Hour series.
Release Date: February 15th
Title: Labor of Love by Marguerite Martin Gray
Genre: Historical Fiction
Synopsis: Something sinister lurks in Pitti Palace.
Despite having spent eight years as companion to her cousins, Ana Geovani still questions her role and place in the Medici household. This uncertainty compounds and alarms as her cousin's marriage approaches and a marriage is arranged for Ana.
With no say in her own future, fear and despair dulls even the splendor of the gardens she holds so dear.
As the newest under gardener at the palace, Marco Rossi should have everything he's dreamed of--beautiful gardens to tend and master architects and gardeners to learn from. Yet a secret mission threatens his peace of mind, his position, and even the love of Ana. Although God is always with him, reminding him of a bigger plan, Marco feels the weight of the consequences he will face if he challenges a Medici member.
The desires of men and women, both royal and common, create costly dilemmas and potential disasters of hearts and souls. What will it take for Marco and Ana to prevail against everything driving them apart?
Release Date: February 22
Title: Only a Monster by Vanessa Len
Genre: Paranormal, fantasy, romance, gothic
Synopsis:
The sweeping romance of Passenger meets the dark fantasy edge of This Savage Song in this stunning contemporary fantasy debut from Vanessa Len, where the line between monster and hero is razor thin.
Don’t forget the rule. No one can know what you are. What we are. You must never tell anyone about monsters.
Joan has just learned the truth: her family are monsters, with terrifying, hidden powers.
And the cute boy at work isn’t just a boy: he’s a legendary monster slayer, who will do anything to destroy her family.
To save herself and her family, Joan will have to do what she fears most: embrace her own monstrousness. Because in this story…she is not the hero.
Dive deep into the world of Only a Monster: hidden worlds dwell in the shadows, beautiful monsters with untold powers walk among humans, and secrets are the most powerful weapon of all.
Release Date: March 8th
Title: One For All by Lillie Lainoff
Genre: Historical fiction fantasy
Synopsis:
“There are no limits to the will―and the strength―of this unique female hero.” ―Tamora Pierce, writer of the Song of the Lioness and the Protector of the Small quartets
One for All is a gender-bent retelling of The Three Musketeers, in which a girl with a chronic illness trains as a Musketeer and uncovers secrets, sisterhood, and self-love.
Tania de Batz is most herself with a sword in her hand. Everyone thinks her near-constant dizziness makes her weak, nothing but “a sick girl.” But Tania wants to be strong, independent, a fencer like her father―a former Musketeer and her greatest champion. Then Papa is brutally, mysteriously murdered. His dying wish? For Tania to attend finishing school. But L’Académie des Mariées, Tania realizes, is no finishing school. It’s a secret training ground for new Musketeers: women who are socialites on the surface, but strap daggers under their skirts, seduce men into giving up dangerous secrets, and protect France from downfall. And they don’t shy away from a sword fight.
With her newfound sisters at her side, Tania feels that she has a purpose, that she belongs. But then she meets Étienne, her target in uncovering a potential assassination plot. He’s kind, charming―and might have information about what really happened to her father. Torn between duty and dizzying emotion, Tania will have to decide where her loyalties lie…or risk losing everything she’s ever wanted.
Lillie Lainoff's debut novel is a fierce, whirlwind adventure about the depth of found family, the strength that goes beyond the body, and the determination it takes to fight for what you love. Includes an author's note about her personal experience with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome.
Mid 2022
Release Date: June 17th
Title: Calligraphy Guild by R.M. Archer
Genre: Fantasy
Synopsis: Dragon ink gives calligraphers the power to set history in stone—or to change it.
Lai Duyên’s dreams are realized when she’s admitted into the ranks of the calligraphers—authors considered trustworthy enough to defend time from those who would change it. She’s thrilled at the opportunity to record her country’s history, and to work with the other calligraphers in her village.
But when Duyên’s guild is set upon by ancient dragons demanding a time-changer be destroyed, her world is flipped upside down. Her guildmates turn on each other, suspicion coloring their every move. To make matters worse, she’s begun hearing the dragons in her head and finds them impossible to block out: a condition that rendered her grandmother insane.
With the calligraphy guild in turmoil and Duyên’s ever-present fear of madness clouding her vision, will the group be able to discover which of their guildmates has altered time before the dragons pass judgment on them all?
Late 2022
Release Date: July 17th
Title: Dauntless by Elisa A. Bonnin
Genre: Fantasy
Synopsis:
A teen girl must bring together two broken worlds in order to save her nation in this lush, Filipino-inspired young adult fantasy novel from debut author Elisa A. Bonnin.
“Be dauntless, for the hopes of the People rest in you.”
Seri's world is defined by very clear rules: The beasts prowl the forest paths and hunt the People. The valiant explore the unknown world, kill the beasts, and gain strength from the armor they make from them. As an assistant to Eshai Unbroken, a young valor commander with a near-mythical reputation, Seri has seen first-hand the struggle to keep the beasts at bay and ensure the safety of the spreading trees where the People make their homes. That was how it always had been, and how it always would be. Until the day Seri encounters Tsana.
Tsana is, impossibly, a stranger from the unknown world who can communicate with the beasts - a fact that makes Seri begin to doubt everything she's ever been taught. As Seri and Tsana grow closer, their worlds begin to collide, with deadly consequences. Somehow, with the world on the brink of war, Seri will have to find a way to make peace.
"Dauntless captures the best parts of every action-packed fantasy―breathtaking scenes of power and victory that push the limits of human tenacity. This is a triumphant tale of courage and self discovery that will make you believe in your own strength." ―Kyllie Lee Baker, author of The Keeper of Night
((No Cover Available))
Release Date: Sometime December
Title: Dalkeith by Abigail Harder
Genre: Historical Fiction
Synopsis:
A young woman trying to find her place in this world. A king fighting daily for his life, family, and kingdom.
When Rachel finds herself in an enchanted cave while on a trip to Scotland, she does not know what to think. She is suddenly thrown into a medieval, Scottish kingdom that is at war against a tyrant. As Rachel tries to navigate through this new life, she has to face struggles head on that she never wanted to face.
James is struggling to be the perfect substitute king in place of his father. However, his past demons continue to bring up his past making it hard to focus on the future. To make matters worst, he must fight an evil tyrant, Fergus, who has taken over his kingdom and ruling it with an iron fist.
Together, James and Rachel must make life changing decisions that not only impact themselves, but everyone around them. Will this unlikely pair free Dalkieth from Fergus or will they be each others doom?
Unspecified Release Dates
Release Date: Unspecified
Title: Once I Knew by Victoria Lynn
Genre:
Synopsis: Violet lives her quiet little life in her sleepy village. Trying to remain as dead to the politics that are threatening their world as possible. She follows the rules, stays out of trouble and does her best to remain out of sight of the dreaded and overbearing Kingsmen.
With the new regent on the throne, the country has been thrown into a turmoil. Unlike the kindly king before him, the new ruler is overbearing, frightening and tyrannical in his rule. Taxes are bleeding the people dry and without the money or goods to pay, they have been forced into penal servitude and imprisonment by the Kingsmen, who know no mercy. The despair and fear that has taken over their lives has ruled out any level of hope.
When Violet stumbles upon an unconscious and injured Kingsman in the woods, despite the consequences, she cannot help but take care of the injured man. When he wakes and has no memory of who he is, she takes the only precaution that will keep her and her grandmother safe; she destroys the evidence of his past life.
If Violet’s lowly Kingsman regains his memory, will she be able to live with the consequences? And will the Kingsman be able to live with his past life?
And there you have it!
These are some indie releases coming out this year. Do you plan on reading any of these? Which ones are you most excited for? Is there an indie release coming out not on this list that you're anticipating? And if you're an indie author, did your book make it onto this list? If it didn't, please tell the Qummunity about it in the comments!
I'd love to hear from you about any of the above. Have a wonderful day and, just once more, a Happy New Year!
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