IndieReader Discovery Awards 2025 Entrants
Added as our reviewers read them, find the latest verdicts for the 2025 IndieReader Discovery Award entrants, leading up to the big winner announcement in June!
THE SAPIEN EMPIRE by Nathan Ogloff is a compelling post-apocalyptic novel that follows Shindo Dacan, a socially awkward yet brilliant engineer whose inventions have been co-opted by the tyrannical ruler Vibrun Magrite to dominate the Domain’s four city-states. When Magrite’s cruelty turns personal, Shindo, with the unexpected alliance of Jarim Alsaedon, orchestrates a daring coup to overthrow the despot. As they attempt to rebuild society, they face internal and external threats that challenge their vision for a better world. Ogloff’s storytelling is magical, deserving praise for its vivid world-building and complex character development. The initial chapters present a dense array of details, making the beginning challenging yet gripping. Despite this, the novel’s intricate plot and exploration of themes like power, trust, and societal reconstruction make it a noteworthy addition to the genre.
THE FORGOTTEN TALE: A TRAGEDY IN PASEA by Lewis McDonald is an engaging fantasy mystery that plunges readers into a coastal village shrouded in secrets and dark omens. A band of heroes—Ludwig, Elroven, Nadarr, and Lutras—venture into Pasea to probe vague rumors linked to the Djofull (gods), only to uncover a conspiracy and danger far beyond their wildest expectations. With engaging writing, a well-paced narrative, and an intriguing plot, this installment in the Forgotten Tale series delivers a thrilling and immersive reading experience.
ROLO THE PET EARTHLING by Hans Ness is a charming and imaginative story that transports readers to the whimsical world of Blorx, where a young girl named Zira dreams of having her very own pet earthling. With delightful illustrations by Sofia Komarenko, this book captivates the hearts of children and adults alike, showcasing the importance of responsibility and the joy of companionship.
Leslie A. Rasmussen’s third novel, WHEN PEOPLE LEAVE, deals with the aftereffects of a mother’s suicide on her three grown daughters. Each daughter deals with their own issues, but they all knew their mother loved them, and believed their father was dead. Now, they uncover secrets their mother hid from them all their lives. Morgan struggles with her sobriety, Charlie is in a dead-end relationship stretching eleven years, and Abby’s trying to deal with four young children, married to her childhood sweetheart, and worried that she always makes safe choices. The story is told through multiple points of view of each sister, and through their mother’s, ratcheting up the tension as the story unravels. A trip to New York and discovering their mother’s roots in Brooklyn, along with Morgan’s and Charlie’s early years, complicates things even further. The sisters are driven to unravel the mystery of their mother’s past because of the effect it has on their own futures. WHEN PEOPLE LEAVE is often sad, sometimes funny, and very, very human, with the sisters’ relationship central to the piece.
AIR AND ASHES by Margaret Mantor pulls readers into an interesting world where genetically engineered elemental warriors control air, water, fire, and earth while being locked in a brutal war against the ruthless Clinic. Originally sure of her past, seventeen-year-old Emma discovers her mother was murdered, not lost to cancer, and that she herself is a rare Halfbreed now being hunted. With rich world-building, heart-pounding action and a slow-burn romance that keeps readers hooked, AIR AND ASHES is a must-read for YA fantasy lovers.
Historical timelines collide in BLACK CLIFF CHRONICLES as author Steve Sterling explores the complex concept of how individual choices can alter multiple paths, sensationally displayed through eccentric characters and the adventurous science-fiction element of time travel.
THE AYEEE TO Z ADULTING GUIDE: How To Navigate Adulthood Like A Boss! is an easy-to-digest guide about everything from filling in tax returns to checking tire pressure. Author E. Z. Grace succeeds in crafting a likable, accessible handbook crammed full of useful advice on all those things that, as an adult, you don’t know, but feel too embarrassed to ask about.
Tracy Daigrepont’s RELENTLESS transports readers to Acadianville, Louisiana—where recent Tulane Law graduate Savannah Brannon returns home, only to find herself trapped between her domineering father’s expectations and the weight of her own grief. As she struggles to carve out her own path, her connection with the reserved yet compelling oil rig supervisor Dallas Redding is tested by family conflicts and buried secrets, while those around her—her steadfast best friend, Bennett, and the dangerously volatile Knox—are drawn into a whirlwind of passion, betrayal, and danger. Blending steamy romance, gripping suspense, and a richly immersive depiction of Louisiana culture, this emotionally charged novel is a powerful story of love, loss, and the unyielding fight for a fresh start.
In TWO THOUSAND MILES FROM OMAHA, S.D. Goldman delivers a poignant tale of Ryan Collins struggling to outrun the shadows of his past and the pain of lost love. Through vivid storytelling and authentic, deeply human characters, readers are drawn into Ryan’s turbulent journey of self-reflection, redemption, and unexpected connection. With finely crafted writing and moments of both vulnerability and hope, this novel reminds us that personal growth and true companionship often come when we finally face what we have been running from.
LEAD LIKE AN EDITOR by Victor Maze is an engaging and insightful guide that blends storytelling with practical leadership strategies. Through the MY STAMP Method, Maze offers actionable steps to help leaders build passionate teams, craft compelling narratives, and create brands that resonate with audiences. With its energetic tone and real-world examples, this book is a valuable resource for anyone looking to lead with vision and creativity.
OUR DESPERATE HOUR by John F. Andrews immerses readers in the brutal realities of World War I through the eyes of Ab Johnson, a father searching for his son on the front lines of France. The novel masterfully intertwines the journeys of various soldiers, each facing their own struggles amid the chaos of battle, while highlighting the intense challenges of wartime medical care. Richly detailed and emotionally charged, this historical fiction offers a poignant exploration of sacrifice, courage, and the human cost of war.
Lust is in the air. So is intrigue – and danger. In Melody Grace Hicks’ HIDDEN, the first book in her Triquetra Prophecy trilogy, Vancouver professor Shannon Murphy is literally swept up in a romance with Tod Corvus, a god masquerading as a rock star. She fights the entanglement, yet soon realizes that love (and baby-to-be) triumph. The ups and downs of their relationship make for an easy and absorbing read, up to the ‘to be continued’ after the last chapter.
WORSE THAN YOU THINK is a visceral and at times irreverent account of the unsuccessful candidacy of progressive schoolteacher Todd Allen for the 2018 Democratic primary in Texas’ 24th congressional district. Allen and his friend and campaign guru Heath Hamrick craft a narrative that is heavy on can-do grassroots activism, but also dishes the dirt on the maneuverings and goings-on in local politics in a post-truth society.
Michael Hoffen, Christian Casey, and Jen Thum team up to create BE A SCRIBE: WORKING FOR A BETTER LIFE IN ANCIENT EGYPT, the first in a series of books for young readers. In a delightful mix of story and asides for factual information about the place and time, the book follows Pepi as his father takes him up the Nile River to a school where he can train to be a scribe, a highly revered profession. Along the way, Pepi learns about 18 other not-to-great jobs open to him, should he fail in learning to read and write well enough for his chosen profession. With a combination of maps, photographs of artifacts, drawings, and stories, the book uses gentle humor to teach young readers different facets of life in Ancient Egypt. It even has a primer on how to read hieroglyphics. Hoffen, sixteen, began translating ancient texts when he was in middle school, and partners with Egyptologists Dr. Christian Casey and Dr. Jen Thum to bring this story to life. Filled with both fact and fun, BE A SCRIBE! is an educational romp enjoyed by all ages.
The second book in Evette Davis’s urban fantasy The Council Trilogy, THE GIFT, is an erotic urban fantasy with an international scope. Olivia Shepherd is still learning the breadth and depth of her gifts as a witch, and how to control them. Her mother is murdered in Paris, and her estranged father, with whom she recently started building a relationship, is fighting for political power with the thousand-year-old vampire behind it, using election monitoring in Eastern Europe as a reason to send Olivia and a team to get evidence of the vampire’s corruption. Olivia is engaged to vampire William, but also attracted to his brother, also a vampire, who often serves as her bodyguard. Vampires, werewolves, and witches add the urban fantasy elements, as well as plenty of action, well-written erotica, and intrigue. Urban fantasy readers who enjoy international intrigue will find THE GIFT, the middle book of the trilogy, enticing, and look forward to book 3.
Set against the backdrop of Florida’s vanishing agricultural legacy, Pete Clements’ THE LAST FLORIDIAN is a compelling story of resiliency and transformation. The novel examines the fall of the citrus business, the invasion of urbanization, and the challenge of creating a future in an unpredictable environment via Clayton Ian McIver’s perspective. Clements tells a gripping tale of survival, family, and self-discovery with vivid storytelling and a profound admiration for Florida’s natural beauty.
With MAGDA REVEALED, author Ursula Werner has crafted a droll and rather moving meditation on all that is wrong with the world with a vibrant re-imagining of Biblical times featuring a very demotic and straight-talking Mary Magdalene who sets the record straight about Jesus and her relationship with him.
DESIGNING SUCCESS offers profound practical and philosophical insights into running businesses. Author Catherine Connolly draws on stories from two decades’ worth of experience in tech to offer lessons in life and the workplace that get the reader thinking about success – what it looks like, how to measure it, and, once you’ve achieved it, how to preserve it.