Welcome to my favorite thing on the blog, highlighting some favorite underread books! These are ordered starting with fewest number of Goodreads ratings. Here are my Self-Published Fantasy recommendations:
The Mage-Born Anthology Nicol, Kayleigh
A short story anthology following 7 very different siblings, having to hide the same secret. The first character very much wants to be left alone with her books, so relatable.
A Magical Inheritance (Ladies Occult Society, #1) Ball, Krista D.
Turns out, I love regency fantasy. A Magical Inheritance was witty and delightful to read, I loved the geeking out over books, the fantasy of manners style, and the great characters. We might all moan about the size of our TBRs, but Miss Knight’s doesn’t even fit in her house.
A Ghostly Request (Ladies Occult Society, #2) Ball, Krista D.
Sequel to the above, loved, really quick read, very much talk about sewing and dress, and I love sewing and dresses. Slice of life.
Sir Thomas the Hesitant and the Table of Less Valued Knights (Less Valued Knights, #1) Perrin, Liam
Probably the one closest to my heart. It’s the most hopeful thing ever, brimming with optimism and humor. Set in and around Camelot it’s a great little adventure with lovely characters such as a reformed evil wizard and a shrinking giantess. This one is free on the author’s website.
Faycalibur (Less Valued Knights, #2) Perrin, Liam
Feels like Thomas grew up a lot since the beginning of book 1, the stakes are much higher this time, saving the kingdom, and so are the risks. I love the menace of Morgan le Fay, and there are new endearing characters as well as growth for the old ones. Not enough of Grandma Farmer.
Spirit Caller Ball, Krista D.
It’s an urban(rural?) fantasy about Rachel, who can see ghosts and has moved to a very small town in Newfoundland, dealing with various ghostly threats to herself and the town. It’s got parts that are scary, intense and deals with some dark themes, but also much cozy awesome friendships and a dopey crush. I like light with my darkness, and this book shines. The individual novellas from the omnibus have a few more ratings, but still under 500 each. I read the last 3 novellas last week and loved them too
Queens of the Wyrd Whitecastle, Timandra
I absolutely loved it, and it very much surpassed my expectations of “ a fun KotW but with women Vikings”, going full speed on the feel train. Although it started out looking like a fun little adventure, getting the band back together, etc, Queens ended up complex both in scale, and in all the little ways it called out various bullshit, both between the characters, and general perceptions.
Swashbuckling Cats: Nine Lives on the Seven Seas Parrish, Rhonda
A short story anthology about well, pirate cats. You’re either sold on that idea alone or you’re not. I loved this anthology, all the different kinds of cats, from common house cats to shapeshifters to bipedal human-sized cats. The settings also vary wildly from ye olde pirate setting, to modern day to space-faring pirates. I really loved all the settings where cats had more lives, and how feline reincarnation was explored.
The Fire Eye Refugee (Fire Eye #1) Gately, Samuel
Kinda slow to start, but I liked it in the end. It’s kind of a mystery, the MC is a fetch that finds missing children, and her laters case ends up involving her in all kinds of politics. Low magic except of the giant burning Fire Eye in the sky.
Mid-Lich Crisis Thomas, Steve
Mid-Lich Crisis is the story of Darruk Darkbringer, hero of legend, evil undead necromancer despot, lich and entrepreneur, prophesied to save the world by sacrificing to the blood moon. When his nemesis, Brynn Brightstorm the barbarian, foils his attempts to save the world yet again, he’s forced to try a different approach. If people keep calling him the e-word he’s gonna do his damnedest to prove that he’s not.
A Demon in the Desert (Grimluk, Demon Hunter, #1) Armstrong, Ashe
A fun wild west adventure with a seasoned Orc demon hunter, an isolated mining town, and a powerful demon. A really fun read and I’m all in for this Clint Eastwood orc business, hell yeah! Contains at least one very cheesy pun.
The Demons We See (The Dark Abyss of Our Sins, #1) Ball, Krista D.
The Demons We See and The Nightmare We Know, the first two books in The Dark Abyss of Our Sins series, by Krista D Ball. I inhaled The Nightmare We Know, finishing it less than 24 hours after I read The Demons We See. I loved the characters, relationships, wit, and social commentary in this series.
My full review of both books out in this series
Fortune’s Fool (Eterean Empire #1) Boord, Angela
A lovely chonker mixing politics, revenge and romance in a setting inspired by Renaissance Italy.
Balam, Spring (Ustlian Tales #1) Riddle, Travis M.
Balam, Spring starts very idyllic countryside mystery, think Murder She Wrote, and then strays a bit into some horror territory. The protagonist is a sort of doctor.
Where the Waters Turn Black (Yarnsworld #2) Patrick, Benedict
It’s the second book, but completely unrelated to the first one and can be read by itself. It’s set on a sunny archipelago where we follow a young musician trying to carve out her place in the world. The entire setting is very polynesian inspired, and if, like me, the only other polynesian tale you can think of is Moana, then tough luck not picturing Kaimana exactly like her.
Those Brave, Foolish Souls from the City of Swords (Yarnsworld #3) Patrick, Benedict
Continues the mixing of folklore and fantasy, this time in a city, has a strong theme of never meet your heroes.
Changing Faces (New Game Minus #1) Lin, Sarah
I think this could be a good choice for some people looking check out some LitRPG, but aren’t really that familiar with game mechanics. Bloodwraith, formally an undead necromancer, switched bodies with the adventurer that almost killed him.Now finds himself reincarnated in the adventurer’s body, starting out in The Forest of Beginnings, where he is plagued by accursed boxes.
Minimum Wage Magic (DFZ #1) by Rachel Aaron & Part-Time Gods (DFZ #2) by Rachel Aaron
DFZ (Detroit Free Zone) is the new series by Rachel Aaron, taking place in Detroit, 20 years after the events in Heartstrikers. I thought it was fun, exciting and quick.The story follows Opal, a young Korean Mage, moved to the DFZ to get away from her controlling family. She works as a cleaner, but more in a Storage Wars kind of way, bidding for apartments and selling the stuff that’s in them, plus cleaning, after people get evicted. It also scratches the “mundane job in a fantasy world” itch.
My full review of books 1 and 2 in this series
Orconomics & Son of a Liche (The Dark Profit Saga #2) by J. Zachary Pike
What happens in a world where the 40% of the economy is based on loot from monsters, when you start running out of loot?
You could say Orconomics is just a book of adventuring fun on a background of a financial crisis, but that would be selling it short. It’s great commentary on the unsustainability of any economy based around a bubble, if you replace “Professional Heroics” with “Loans or other stuff I don’t normally pay attention to” you’ve got our daily life.
My full review of Orconomics and Son of a Liche
Seashells, Spells & Caramels (Spells & Caramels #1) by Erin Johnson
It’s a 1st person story of a 20something baker, who’d been saving for own bakery when bad luck struck. Luckily she’d been given an invitation by a mysterious stranger to attend a competition for the royal baker for a strange European kingdom. It quickly becomes apparent that this is no ordinary island city, at night the tourists go home, the tide comes in and the magic comes out. Not recommended if you’re trying to curb your sugar intake.
omg I love that you highlight self-published fantasy novels!! This is so wonderful! 💖
Thank you for recommending these great fantasy books. A demon in the desert is the only books i read from the list will consider the rest ones as well.