Today I’m going through my TBR and listing some of the books that I’m most interested in reading, that were written by author’s I’ve never read before. A lot of these books are by debut authors or authors who are indie-published and may not be big household names…. yet.
Not His Dragon
Not This #1
Annie Nicholas
Publisher: Self-published
Publication date: July 25, 2016
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Rating:
Eoin Grant hasn’t encountered a female of his race in decades, and this crazy person’s scent declares her unmated. Fate set her in his path, and he won’t let this opportunity slip through his claws. No matter how wary she is of him. After all, how many chances does a dragon have at finding love? But fate can be a crueler mistress than his perfect mate. Of all things, she thinks she’s human.
Business is taking off for Angie Weldon. She put her freakishly sharp nails to good use when she opened her back-scratching spa in downtown New Porter City. The local shifter community pounced on her skills and she’s knee-deep in shed fur. By the end of the year, if lucky, she could afford to move out of her crappy apartment.
Dollar signs flash before Angie’s eyes when a dark, brooding stranger books her solid for a week but she notices the possessive fury in his glare. She’s been around enough shifters to know the look, and she won’t go down that road again. Angie is literally swept off her feet by the intense shifter and he wants more from her than she’s willing to give. She figures it’s best to avoid eye contact and back away slowly. Until he changes her life by insisting she’s a dragon.
Forsaken Mate
Shifted Fates #1
Vasilisa Drake
Publisher: Self-published
Publication date: June 1, 2023
Genre: Paranormal Romance
I thought my fated mate would cherish me. Mine kills me in cold blood.
After a decade of bullying me, the Alpha Heir discovers I’m his predestined mate. But just because he rejects me in front of the whole pack doesn’t mean he’s going to let me go.
When I flee my fated mate, he gives chase. The Alpha Heir would sooner murder me than let me live out of his reach.
Only death isn’t the end for me. The afterlife is a bit more fiery than I pictured, but that’s fine. I’m used to fighting to survive, and literal Hell just might be a step up from what I’ve been dealing with.
Even if that means facing off against minotaurs and murderous mermaids.
Even if, when I find refuge in a seemingly abandoned castle, I find the most dangerous creature in the underworld.
The good news: He agrees to train me, so I’ll never be left weak and at the mercy of another.
The bad news: His training methods involve a variety of unconventional methods, such as infiltrating my dreams and pinning me beneath him when we spar.
The worst news: He’s never going to let me leave his castle.
Kissed by Iron and Glass
E.V. Everest
Publisher: Golden Bird Press
Publication date: April 23, 2026
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Rating:
When my stepmother sold me at auction, I thought I’d experienced the cruelest fate. I was wrong.
Because now I belong to the Iron King, a fae with a heart as cold and unyielding as the cursed iron that encases it. To keep his throne, he needs a queen–his fated mate. And I’m supposed to use my ability to protect him, to see through deception… by posing as one of his potential brides.
Assuming I can survive.
The Iron King’s Bridal Trials are a glittering nightmare of cutthroat fae and deadly secrets. His kingdom is on the brink of rebellion, and every fae lady is willing to kill for the crown.
But when the clock strikes midnight during my first dance with the Iron King, everything changes. Because maybe, just maybe the man I loathe might also become the man I love…if two hearts can break a curse of glass and iron.
My Vegas Groom
The Greene Family #3
By: Piper Rayne
Publisher: Self-published
Publication date: May 18, 2021
Genre: Romance
Rating:
Waking up next to a stranger wearing a wedding ring was not on the itinerary.
I came to Las Vegas for a quick girl’s trip, but somehow ended up a married woman. What I thought would stay in Vegas followed me back to my small town of Sunrise Bay, Alaska.
Of course, my new husband—MMA champion fighter, Logan Stone—couldn’t find me alone at my house to tell me he wants to give our impromptu nuptials a shot. He has to tell me in front of my entire family and half the town.
The two of us couldn’t be more opposite, but he offers me a deal I can’t refuse which involves me pretending we’re happily married for three months. Yeah, a lot of things can change in that short amount of time, most importantly catching feelings for a man whose lifestyle I despise.
This post is linked to Sunday Post, Staking the Shelves, Sunday Salon, and #IMWAYRI did a deep dive into my Goodreads TBR list this month, to go through all the books and delete ones I don’t plan to read. I have had books sitting on my TBR for over a decade. A DECADE!!! Books that I saw and thought, “That looks like a good book” but then never actually purchased it or read it. It’s safe to say that some of those books are no longer of interest to me. Most were YA, and while I still enjoy reading YA, it’s not my primary genre anymore.
So, I went through my list, and any books that I immediately went “meh” over, got the boot. Books that are not available on KU or at my library, that I was not willing to pay money for, got the the boot. I was able to knock out almost half of the books on my TBR. What was once a TBR of over 200 books is now a list of 109 books. It’s still a bit overwhelming, but I feel like it’s more manageable… as long as I don’t go crazy adding books to it again.
Therefor, I have decided that I will spend this summer going through and reading my TBR one book at a time. I won’t push myself to read anything that I’m not feeling, but I do feel like I need to give these books a chance. So many of these books have so few reviews and ratings, and I want to give them a chance to find readers. The book I’m currently reading only has 4,000 ratings on Goodreads.
So, it’s time to brush off my TBR and start giving these books a chance in the spotlight.
This summer, I actually have a few reading projects going on. Every year, I join a summer reading program challenge with my friend and her family. They come up with a cool theme each year (this year is space and planets) and we have to read books for specific categories. It’s usually things like suspense, romance, books with certain colored covers, books set in a particular place, or books released in a specific year. For the last handful of years, I did terribly at the challenge because I was exploring Japan and finishing school. Well, I finally graduated, and it looks like we may be in for a very active typhoon season with no summer traveling. So, I should have nothing but time on my hands to read!
The other thing I have going on is that I joined and became an admin for a local romantasy book club here in Japan. So, that has been pushing me to read more books. I’ve read a lot of books that haven’t been on my radar, but that I really enjoyed. It’s kind of helped me get back into the groove of reading again.
The other bookish project I’m doing is trying to go through my Goodreads TBR. I have had books sitting on that list for over a decade, and it’s overwhelming to look at. So, I recently went through and knocked out a bunch of books that no longer interest me, and I am now going through the list, dusting off the books, and giving them a chance in the spotlight. So far…. it’s not going great. HOWEVER, I’m sure there are some winners in there.
So yeah, this summer is going to be a mix of book club reads, dusty TBR books, and my summer reading challenge.
My Life Among the Underdogs: A Memoir
Tia Torres
Publisher: William Morrow
Publication date: Feb. 18, 2018
Genre: Non-Fiction
Rating:
The beloved dog rescue advocate and star of Animal Planet’s hit show Pit Bulls & Parolees chronicles her life in this heartwarming memoir told through the stories of eleven of her best-loved dogs, capturing the spirit and heart of these beautiful, intelligent, and loving canines.
Tia Torres has devoted her life to shattering the stereotype that pit bulls are dangerous, vicious animals prone to bad behavior. Through her hit show Pit Bulls & Parolees she has shown the world that these wonderful animals have nothing but love to give. As the owner of the Villalobos Rescue Center in New Orleans, the largest pit bull rescue facility in the United States, Tia knows firsthand that pit bulls’ easygoing, adaptable, and vulnerable nature allows them to be used and abused, giving them a bad rep.
In My Life Among the Underdogs, she combines never-before-told rescue tales with select stories from Pitbulls & Parolees, introducing such amazing, affectionate dogs as Tatanka, Joe, LA, Duke, Moose, Monster, Lucky, Bluie, and Taz, who overcame abuse, trauma, and neglect to become forgiving and adoring friends and helpmates. A sweet and stirring gallery of unforgettable canines, My Life Among the Underdogs captures the hearts of dog lovers everywhere and is a testament to the loyalty, love, and devotion these dogs have to offer—if they’re only given the chance.
The Auction
Sadie Kincaid
Publisher: MIRA
Publication date: April 14, 2026
Genre: Dark Romance
Rating:
I was trained to be a pawn, but I will rise as a queen.
My life has never been my own. After the death of my parents, I was saved by my grandfather, with the promise that he would turn me over to the Brotherhood on my twenty-first birthday.
I was kept away from the outside world so I could one day be sold to the highest bidder—pure and unsullied. Penance for my parents’ alleged crimes.
That’s how I come to be sold at an auction.
And who buys me but the reclusive billionaire, Lincoln Knight?
Some say that he’s a monster, more dangerous than any of the evil men from the Brotherhood. That he wears a mask to cover his scars. But I believe he’s hiding more than just his face behind his mask.
My fate is sealed when he takes me to his crumbling mansion deep in the woods. I’m trapped. Entirely at his mercy.
I have to escape.
But something here isn’t what it seems.
Lincoln isn’t what he seems. Maybe he’s not a monster at all. I’m drawn to him in a way that I can’t explain. Until I discover that his secrets go far beyond his mask.
Makerborn
(Maladies of Empire, #1)
by: Daymon Ashcord
Publisher: Self-published
Publication date: June 15 2026
Genre: Dark Fantasy
The God War is over. An empire built on suffering, slavery, and betrayal remains.
In the fractured lands of the Salvian Empire, the Great Houses rule through blood and fear. For years, Alandra Phoenyka has hunted powerful Sonomancers in the empire’s name, paid in empty promises that her stolen daughter would be returned.
Each step forward demands another compromise. Another betrayal. Another piece of herself lost.When those promises turn to treachery, she is forced to take matters into her own hands and risk everything to reclaim her child.
In the empire’s mining camps, Bez Windstrider has endured years of torture and brutal experimentation. Broken but unyielding, he clings to one purpose: vengeance. The men who murdered his parents will pay, and their deaths will complete the ritual needed to free his parents’ souls from damnation.
But the deeper his grief cuts, the more he becomes something far more dangerous, for himself, and for the empire.
As their paths draw closer, the buried truths of the God War begin to surface. What begins as two personal vendettas threatens to unravel something far greater than either of them can control.
Because empires do not fall quietly.
And the gods that shaped them are not as dead as they seem.
