Befriending the Beast + Fanny's Hope Chest

Severe sickness with allergies + a possible job change with ten billion forms to fill out = finishing up Indie April almost a month late. (But better late than never, right?) I hope you all will get these wonderful books I've reviewed over the 'month' and enjoy them as I have.

The Innocent

Cover retrieved from 
Goodreads page

The Innocent is a western YA romance novel.

My Goodreads review can be found here.

My Amazon review can be found here.

As per usual, anything that does not directly relate to the topic at hand will be written in this color.

*Please excuse the weird formatting. Google does google things when I format this one and this one only; no matter how many times I delete and do a new post it still won't format correctly*

Perception

Cover retrieved
from Goodreads

Perception is a Jane Austen's Persuasion retelling set in the 1930s.

My Goodreads review can be found here.

My Amazon review can be found here.

As per usual, anything that does not directly relate to the topic at hand will be written in this color.

This is a unique story as it is both a stand-alone, but is also a part of the Vintage Jane Austen series. This series has retellings of Austen's six major stories as standalones and then an anthology book with, I believe, short stories also retelling those major six stories. 

Where Trains Collide + Carrie Mouse and the Giant Garage

 Welcome to Indie April everyone! 

If you're new here, Indie April is where we highlight books that are published independently of major publishing houses; basically, if you can see it in a major bookseller, such as Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million, etc., it's not an indie book. 

I personally consider pay-to-publish and micropublishers part of the indie umbrella due to the hold traditional publishers have on the market (as in there are now only three or four major publishing houses because one bought out the competition and made it in imprint around February/March 2021), but for the sake of this month's reviews I'm keeping it simple with actual "indie published" books.

You guys ready?

The Rise of the Altereds

Cover retrieved from
Goodreads page

The Rise of the Altereds is a YA Sci-Fi/Dystopian sequel to The Unadjusteds

My Goodreads review can be found here.

Though I received the book early, I bought it directly from the author so this has an Amazon review here.

As per usual, anything that does not directly relate to the topic at hand will be written in this color.

All right, ladies and gentlemen, buckle up because I have Thoughts™.

The Viking Throne (or, Why Putting In the Work Is Extremely Important For Indie/Micro-Published Authors)

Cover retrieved from
Goodreads page

 The Viking Throne is an Adult Dystopian Adventure. 

 My Goodreads review can be found here.

 There is no Amazon review as I received this as a gift from the author and Amazon  is finicky about that in their reviews.

**Please excuse any weird formatting on this post. Google was doing Google things and messed it up. Somewhat normal formatting will resume next month**

  As per usual, anything that does not directly relate to the topic at hand will be written in this color.

 This will be a little bit different than my other reviews. The first part will be a discussion about why putting yourself out there, even when it's not 'perfect,' is so important for Indie authors and how it can affect how your readers view you and your future stories. The second part will be an actual review of the story.

Top Five of the Hot Mess Known as 2020

We made it, ladies and gentlemen. 2020 is over and finished. While I didn't read as much as previous years, I did read a lot. Most of them were average (with ratings of 3 stars), but there were a few that I really enjoyed/stood out.

**Note: They are in no particular order of enjoyment, just in the order I read them**