Reading indie books is becoming a hobby of mine. I have my reasons which are many. Firstly I know what its like to feel like nobody is reading my stuff let alone leaving a review. I understand the work and financial commitments to getting a book out there, and overall reading enriches the mind.

If you are published you’ve got to give back to the community and help the brethren of wordsmiths. No writer can expand by being an island, plus there are some amazing indie books out there that are as good as any trad’ published ones…

Like me, many authors can only talk about their stuff so many times until the inevitable broken record begins to play, so how about I talk about them instead!

Here’s the rundown of the 4 indie titles I read in February….

Over The Pass, and Other Stories by Susan Mary Malone was the first book I picked up in Feb and this immersive collection of shorts whisks the reader away to the sights of american country.

All of the stories are linked by a very human style of telling and description of feelings with a setting that moves in and out of focus.

I managed to get through the entire collection within a few days, and as my review said this is literary art of the highest caliber and a unique collection of stories…

Next up I read ‘Odd Spirits’ by S.T. Gibson

Like the title suggests this a story that delves into the spiritual and occult world but it’s done in a more lighthearted kind of way that makes this unique to the genre.

It’s a novella, but that doesn’t take anything away from the fact its a fantastic well paced story.

Quoting from my review ‘there are elements of several genres blended together in this book such as romance, paranormal and spiritual they are all combined in a light way that makes for some great and very addictive reading which would suit all readers.’

The story centers around a married couple who are both active in the world of witchcraft and spirits, their house is being ‘haunted’ by a presence which they must look within to exorcise.

Seeing as I have written a vampire book, I should also read vampire books, so Nocturnal Blood by Villimey Mist was next…

This was quite a long read, but as I got further and further into the story I found myself supporting the main character who suffers from OCD and anxiety.

This is a brave and difficult thing to execute well and a real strong point of the book. We’ve all heard vampire stories and some think they have been done, but Nocturnal Blood proves there are more to offer from the world of blood suckers!

This book is journey within a journey and for anyone who likes the young adult genre, you should check it out!

Also the cover art is awesome, Design for Writers did a top job, they are also behind the covers of my stuff!

And so with only a few days left of Feb I consulted my TBR list and found a shorter book about fairies. 

My review for Silver Princess By Lea Carter literally dropped yesterday but I will say this is a charming story like nothing I have read before, mainly because I’ve never read a story about fairies but that didn’t stop me from enjoying a great well paced story that twists and turns.  This book truly proves that good things come in small packages…

This was a great way to cap off another month of indie reads and to quote my review this was ‘part love story and part coming of age, the book focuses on Rebecca; a fairy princess who is rescued by a mysterious man-fairy named ‘Scamp’. Their romance is subtle and gradually reveals itself much like the story as a whole making it an enjoyable read suitable for all ages, something which is rarely well executed in literature these days. Its a sort of princess and the pauper story until more is revealed in the latter stages.’

And so that’s it for another month of reading Indie books! How many reviews have you left recently? (I’m not sure if that was rhetoric or even slightly sarcastic, answers in the comments folks…)