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!
Magic and mystery come to life with MOON SPIRIT by Fred Gracely. When an orphaned teenaged boy connects with a “moon spirit,” he finds himself engaged in her quest to save the world from an evil goddess. Descriptive chapters and clean writing bring each character to life, as they embark on a dangerous journey. MOON SPIRIT may keep readers asking the question, “and then what happens?”
Book two in Shain Stodt’s Sally Mitts story collection, SALLY MITTS AND THE LAND OF IMAGINATION features colorful illustrations and easy-to-read text, as Sally the cat visits a fascinating world in the land of her imagination. Through the eyes of this sweet kitten, children may see how creative they can be when visualizing happy things within their own world.
Danila Botha’s third collection of short stories, THINGS THAT CAUSE INAPPROPRIATE HAPPINESS, is a beautifully written, deeply rendered series of portraits of people struggling to define themselves in harsh circumstances. Dealing with often generational trauma, especially around Holocaust survival, the stories relentlessly strip away facades. From the bullied teenage girl to the woman who self-harms to get attention from her husband, the pain is deep. The stories often enter the realm of the fantastic, yet the stories never trade deeply felt experience for something easier and more escapist. The short stories of THINGS THAT CAUSE INAPPROPRIATE HAPPINESS will remain with the reader long after the book is finished, and in each re-read, there are new discoveries and revelations.
F. Diane Pickett’s second novel, THE TEA WASN’T ALWAYS SWEET, is an ambitious saga spanning a good portion of the 20th century and into the 21st century, about the life of a determined Southern woman fighting sexism to achieve independence. Sissy’s mother left the Sissy and her brother Robbie when they were young. Her strict father brought them up as a single father, unusual in those times, and the stigma of growing up without a mother in the house scarred both Sissy and her brother in different ways. Sissy marries a closeted gay man in the 1950’s, and eventually divorces him when he makes her life unbearable. She goes on to build a strong career, but her brother’s suicide leaves her caring for his children. The book is framed primarily in conversations Sissy has with her favorite cousin Joyce, her best friend “Super Sue” and her brother, discussing the injustices and social changes of the various decades. Sissy is the center of the book, rendered in her complexity, determination, pain, and humor. Any woman who lived through the era of the book will recognize and champion Sissy’s struggles, and the book serves as an important history lesson for those who didn’t.
Losing control of one’s own sense of self and identity can lead to a long and lonely road of recovery. BRINGING SUNSHINE BACK INTO MY MIND by Momoko Uno is a fictional “hit the nail on the head” piece about a middle-aged woman seeking to reclaim her own reality. With streams of humor, truth, and self-discovery, the story is a reader’s glimpse into life, with ways to recapture sunshine and blue skies of everyday living.
FINDING HOME by McKenna Lynn is a heartfelt exploration of rediscovering oneself after life’s unexpected turns. The book skillfully portrays the deep emotional journeys of its characters, particularly Jamie and Kennedy, as they navigate love, loss, and the idea of home. With vivid descriptions and relatable struggles, it offers readers a touching narrative of resilience and second chances.
Michael Pronko’s gripping thriller SHITAMACHI SCAM blends forensic accounting with fast-paced detective work to transport readers to Tokyo’s dirty underworld. Pronko’s realistic portrayal of the city’s distinct culture plus a clever narrative involving con games aimed at the elderly make this a novel worth reading. A crime story with an intriguing new dimension.
WITCHFINDER’S SACRIFICE by Rande Goodwin expertly blends historical and supernatural elements, offering readers a thrilling tale of witchcraft, betrayal, and the fight for justice. Goodwin’s ability to bring rich details of the past into a contemporary storyline creates an immersive experience. The tension builds as familiar characters navigate moral dilemmas and supernatural challenges, making this book a captivating read for fans of dark fantasy.
A dystopian novel with mysterious and mystical elements, Brian McInerney’s A STATE CALLED DISORDER gives a disturbing glimpse into a potential future regime when three members of a practically royal family suddenly flee the empire causing both children to question the reality of the world in which they’ve been raised.
Zac Cannon’s SLANTWISE starts slowly, zeroing in on Holt, a recovering alcoholic-hero living in a shed in Appalachia, working at Walmart, and pining for a change. That ends quickly when he goes searches for his missing son, Coy (and girlfriend Mei-Ling), tangles with the Molinas and, eventually, with the real villains – the police. This tale of lost-and-found relatives and reunions is action packed and well written, with smart dialogue and characters readers will care about.
Verlin Darrow’s third novel, THE NOT QUITE ENLIGHTENED SLEUTH, is a unique mystery, with an ex-Buddhist num as the protagonist. Ivy Lutz returns to California after ten years as a Buddhist nun, most recently in Sri Lanka, when her mother has a massive stroke and dies. Ivy’s bipolar sister Jan believes their mother was murdered, probably by her husband, Dennis. Ivy teams up with the detective in charge of the case to find out the truth, especially once Dennis is murdered. The book’s characters are relatable, complex, and interesting. The way Ivy learns to navigate cell phones, computers, and the noise of daily living that is so different from the temple noises is both poignant and funny. Ivy’s attraction to the detective, her determination to find the truth, and the tension caused between her chosen spiritual path and the realities of solving a murder are all handled with a mix of grace, compassion, and understanding, without sacrificing the necessary rising stakes as the body count goes up. THE NOT QUITE ENLIGHTENED SLEUTH is a unique mystery for all the right reasons, and will keep readers entertained.
Victoria Ann Granacki’s AN ARTIST GOES TO WAR is a daughter’s compelling tribute to her father via his World War II service, with well-pieced-together diaries, letters, and artwork. Except for the details of battles, every description is personal, from Leon’s draft by the US Army and his map-making job in the South Pacific to a brief history of his welcome home and beyond. Those in Chicago will recognize many long-gone landmarks (Polk’s) and the Washtenaw Polish neighborhood, now gentrified. Filled with his drawings and watercolors, this personal recollection makes war all too real – and human.
WHEN SPITE STRIKES, REVENGE RUMBLES is a sparky and uncompromising memoir in which Bartoe shares the challenges she has overcome in the academic, social, and workplace environments. Bullying, vindictive behavior, and duplicity could have easily derailed her, but instead, she retaliated with a single-minded determination to work hard and succeed. Author Tabitha Bartoe impresses with tenacity and intelligence which filters clearly through her writing making WHEN SPITE STRIKES, REVENGE RUMBLES a forthright, pacey read and her willingness to discuss her experiences and reactions to adversity which offer much to interest, inspire, and encourage those readers navigating similar obstacles.
In CARAVAN OF SPECTERS, Carlos García Saúl transports readers to 1898 Puerto Rico, where Lieutenant Bailey Ashford faces a devastating medical crisis amid the chaos of the Spanish-American War. As he grapples with a mysterious illness ravaging the native Jíbaro population, Ashford’s depth of character shines through in his resourcefulness and determination to uncover the truth behind the pandemic. This compelling narrative, rooted in true events, combines an enticing storyline with rich historical detail, making it a gripping read from start to finish.
DEVOTION is the third book in M.C. Hunton’s urban fantasy Martyrs series. The Seven Deadly Sins are real, but there’s a group called Martyrs fighting back. Darius Jones, a Virtue, is one of them. Desperate to get into the field, and even more desperate to be of real use in taking down Gluttony, who controls the NYPD, he has to do more than simply heal the wounded. The book has a complex, twisty plot with detailed, credible world building. The action sequences are well constructed, balancing action without sacrificing character development. There is a large, well-developed and memorable, ensemble of characters, committed to a cause, but differing in the ways they believe they can achieve it. The magical/fantastical elements are strong and work well within the created world. Hunton also explores themes of destiny, belief, and personal choice/responsibility. DEVOTION is a pulse-pounding page-turner of an urban fantasy that’s satisfying within itself, but also makes the reader eager to read the rest of the series.
When an old gold coin is discovered in the pocket of a drowned woman, Police Chief William Templeton is shocked to be told that an identical coin was found on his estranged wife’s body, whose death a year previously was ruled accidental. When two more coins appear, William turns to friend and historian, Eva Knightly, to help him unravel their secret and find out the truth about the women’s deaths. Author Carol Ann Collins capably weaves the legend of Blackbeard through her enjoyable present-day mystery, set against the wild beauty of the North Carolina coastline. Lightly sprinkled with romance and rich in pirate history as well as intrigue, THE SEAFARER’S SECRET impresses with its nicely twisty and rewarding tale.
When two people come together, it could be magic or it could be mayhem. In KENT AND KATCHA (Espionage, Spycraft, Romance) by Larry and Rosemary Mild, American spy is captured, escapes, meets Russian girl, falls in love … and then the drama intensifies. The story has moments of intrigue, danger, tenderness, and suspense that are bound to lead readers of this genre to enjoy a satisfying conclusion.