Indie Speculative Fiction of the Month for April 2017

It’s that time of the month again, time for “Indie Speculative Fiction of the Month”.

So what is “Indie Speculative Fiction of the Month”? It’s a round-up of speculative fiction by indie authors newly published this month, though some February books I missed the last time around snuck in as well. The books are arranged in alphabetical order by author. So far, most links only go to Amazon.com, though I may add other retailers for future editions.

Once again, we have new releases covering the whole broad spectrum of speculative fiction. This month, we have urban fantasy, epic fantasy, Asian fantasy, dystopian fiction, Cyberpunk, space opera, military science fiction, science fiction western, science fiction romance, paranormal romance, horror, dragons, werewolves, third twins, mindjackers, bounty hunters, FBI witches, alien invasions, galactic empires, intergalactic animal rescues, genetically engineered tiger supersoldiers and much more.

As always, I know the authors at least vaguely, but I haven’t read all of the books, so Caveat emptor.

And now on to the books without further ado:

The Rogue Prince by Lindsay Buroker

Starseer, pilot, and animal lover Jelena Marchenko wants to prove to her parents that she’s ready to captain her own freighter and help run the family business. When she finally talks them into getting a second ship and letting her fly it, it doesn’t faze her that the craft is decades old and looks like a turtle. This is the chance she’s craved for years.

But it’s not long before the opportunity to rescue mistreated lab animals lures her from her parentally approved cargo run and embroils her in a battle between warring corporations. To further complicate matters, her childhood friend Thorian, prince of the now defunct Sarellian Empire, is in trouble with Alliance law and needs her help.

Torn between her duty to her family and doing what she believes is honorable, Jelena is about to learn that right and wrong are never as simple as they appear and that following your heart can get you killed.

Broken Wolf by Stacy Claflin:

The wolf essence stone—finding it could free werewolves from the curse of the moon. Or it could kill them all.

Victoria has burned with “the fever” to find the stone since hearing about it. Hundreds of werewolves before her have died in the quest. That legacy doesn’t deter her, though. She’s willing to risk anything to find the stone and break the curse that forces them to shift every full moon. Her obsession compels her to travel to Iceland, where she feels the stone calling to her. Pulling her toward it. If only she knew the ancient evil residing inside.

Toby fears the changes in his beloved Victoria. He sets out to find the one person who might be able to help—Soleil, a Valkyrie with incredible power and vast knowledge about essence stones. But even she may not be enough to stop the carnage Victoria is about to set loose on the world.

Victoria has a strong connection to both the stone and danger behind it. Will she be able to end the curse of the moon, or will the stone destroy them all?

USA Today bestselling author, Stacy Claflin, brings you Broken Wolf, the fourth book in the Curse of the Moon series. It’s a paranormal romantic suspense saga that features gripping supernatural drama, surprising twists, dynamic characters, and heart-pounding romance. For the best reading experience, follow the series in order.

Eye of the Tiger by Michael-Scott Earle:

Imprisoned and subjected to brutal genetic experiments, space marine Adam has been changed into a perfect predator. A super soldier that is part man, part tiger, and all killing machine.

When his latest mission has an unexpected outcome, Adam finds himself free of his explosive control collar and honor bound to protect a mysterious woman. Now he is on an alien planet, and they are both being hunted by the most powerful mega corporation in the solar system. Their only escape lays at the helm of an experimental starship hidden beyond countless layers of military security.

All Adam has is his military training, sense of honor, and a beautiful woman who needs to drink blood to live.
It is time to let the tiger out.

Scions of the Star Empire: Scandal by Athena Grayson

When a princess who's no stranger to scandal runs afoul of the secrets of the most powerful cabal on Landfall, even her crown can't protect her from the consequences.

They can have anything they want...except a future.

Nothing infuriates Princess Ione Ra more than having someone else take control of her reputation from her, and her old nemesis--gossip journalist Jaris Pulne--is poised to do just that with pilfered pics of her caught in a compromising position with her power-couple partner. As someone who's no stranger to manipulating the markets on her own social life, Ione knows the wrong scandal means social suicide.

Privilege is a prison...

For the other half of the power couple, Den Hades, his survival has depended on staying in his powerful father's shadow in order to protect his secrets. But on the very night of his one chance to earn a shot at becoming a Scion--and freedom from his father's ambitions, scandal threatens to tear him from Ione, or worse--force them together before their time.

Symphony of Fates by J.C. Kang:

Kaiya escapes her ordeal at the hands of the Teleri Emperor, only to return to a homeland beset by enemies on all sides, and crumbling from within.

As a teenager, she quelled a rebellion with the Dragon Scale Lute. As a young adult, she vanquished a dragon with the power of her voice.

Now, robbed of her magic by grief, Kaiya must navigate a web of court intrigue to save the realm before it falls. Only she can lay claim to the Dragon Throne on behalf of her unborn sons—whether the father is the lover who perished rescuing her, or the hated enemy who killed him.

In the final story in Kaiya’s saga, she must rally a nation, repel invaders, and prove to the world why her family alone holds the Mandate of Heaven.

Edge of War by Anthony Melchiorri

Humanity’s expansion into the stars has led to awe-inspiring discoveries—and terrifying new threats. An insidious alien race is waging an interstellar war, enslaving any civilization they encounter to carry out their galactic rampage. Now they have set their sights on mankind.

Tag Brewer is a medical scientist. Not a ship’s captain. But as humanity’s survival hangs in the balance, he must lead a ragtag crew of humans, a skeptical alien, and a synthetic lifeform into the depths of enemy territory. There he forms an uneasy alliance with a group of aliens—the Mechanics—fleeing from the destruction.

There is only one way to track down and stop their frightening new adversaries. Tag must follow the trail of devastation left behind in the fallen Mechanic empire. There he hopes to recruit other survivors to their cause. But what Tag and his crew find is far more dangerous than any of them thought possible.

Witness Enchantment by T.S. Paul:

The Magical Crimes Division of the FBI has been loaned out to WITSEC to help protect a very valuable witness. The only problem is they don't like FBI Agents and refuse to allow them to take him. Agatha and her charge are plagued with Magickal Assassins, Evil Witches, and Fergus her Mini Unicorn. What is one Witch to do when even members of your own family are trying to kill you?

Locked Tight by Susan Kaye Quinn

In a world filled with mindreaders, being a mindjacker is a good way to end up dead.

And Zeph is no ordinary jacker.

He can break open the toughest minds—or lock the weakest ones—but that just makes him a weapon every jacker Clan wants to control. To keep his family of mindreaders safe, Zeph does what his Clan leader says and tries to shut out the screams—but when jackers are revealed to the world, he has no choice but to hug his kid sister goodbye and leave home.

Passing for a reader is something Zeph does well, but when readers start changing into jackers and his family disappears, Zeph must return to a city filled with jackers who hate him, trick a mindware CEO into helping him, avoid a girl who knows him too well, and spy on the most powerful jacker in the state.

All without dying or revealing his abilities—or being caught in the firestorm of hate between jackers and readers that’s threatening to pull the world apart.

Second Time Charm by Hollis Shiloh

I've wanted to work with a wolf partner for as long as I can remember. This is my third — and final — chance of being chosen by one.

You know what they say. Be careful what you wish for.

I had no idea wolves could be as broken as my new partner is. He has an intense phobia of dogs, his attitude reeks, he barely knows how to take care of himself, and doesn't care about much of anything — except having lots of sex.

That's the best thing about our partnership, the sex. But sometimes I wonder if it's worth it. I don't know how to fix this. He's difficult, annoying, handsome as hell...and I don't want to give him up.

My dream come true is starting to feel like a nightmare. But the one he's living turns out to be far worse.

A shifters and partners novel

The Third Twin by Darren Speegle

Some things should never be bred…

Barry Ocason, extreme sportsman and outdoor travel writer, receives a magazine in his mailbox and opens to an ad for an adventure in the Bavarian Alps. Initially dismissing the invitation, which seems to have been meant specifically for him, he soon finds himself involved in a larger plot and seeking answers to why an individual known only as the elephant man is terrorizing his family.

Barry and his daughter Kristen, who survived a twin sister taken from the family at a young age, travel from Juneau, Alaska to the sinister Spider Festival in Rio Tago, Brazil, before he ultimately answers the call to Bavaria, where the puzzle begins to come together.

Amid tribulation, death, madness, and institutionalization, a document emerges describing a scientist’s bloody bid to breed a theoretical “third twin,” which is believed to have the potential, through its connection with its siblings, to bridge the gulf between life and afterlife. The godlike creature that soon emerges turns out to be Barry’s own offspring, and she has dark plans for the world of her conception that neither her father nor any other mortal can stop.

Mercury's Bane by Nick Webb:

They're all gone. We remember them like yesterday: pieces of our stolen heritage. Things like NASA. Football. Parades and pies. Good things, comfortable things. We remember a time when we were alone in the universe, safe and oblivious.

But it's all gone now.

We called them the Telestines, and in the face of their ruthless invasion we were powerless. By 2040, all the world's governments and militaries had fallen, and the remnants of humanity exiled to the solar system. We looked down on our blue planet, so close to our birthplace, so close to our home. But the miles may as well have been lightyears.

Our anger smoldered in the darkness of space. On Mars. On Ganymede. In the dank crowded filth of the asteroids. We swore: we will take our planet back.

And today, it begins. Our fleet is ready. Our soldiers determined.

Earth will be ours again.

Coilhunter by Dean F. Wilson:

Welcome to the Wild North, a desolate wasteland where criminals go to hide—if they can outlast the drought and the dangers of the desert. Or the dangers of something else.

Meet Nox, the Coilhunter. A mechanic and toymaker by trade, a bounty hunter by circumstance. He isn't in it for the money. He's in it for justice, and there's a lot of justice that needs to be paid.

Between each kill, he's looking for someone who has kept out of his crosshairs for quite a while—the person who murdered his wife and children. The trail has long gone cold, but there are changes happening, the kind of changes that uncover footprints and spent bullet casings.

Plagued by nightmares, he's made himself into a living one, the kind the criminals and conmen fear.

So, welcome, fair folk, to the Wild North. If the land doesn't get you, the Coilhunter will.