Shop the Best Books from Indie Authors Now!
While traditional publishers, of course, put out some great books, many talented self-published authors continue to succeed on their own, thank you very much. More and more, they are even getting great deals to have their books produced on audio, a fact I’m especially happy for, as I fell completely in love with The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion series this year as read by Genevieve Gaunt. I’ve also been lucky enough to see my friend and former member of my library writers group, Stacey Trombley, get her second series produced by Tantor Audio.
Below are just a few self-published highlights from 2025, some by brand new authors, and others by established novelists, like my beloved KJ Charles, who just like to work on their own sometimes. Whatever the case, self-published books show no signs of slowing down in popularity with library patrons.
Books You Should Know About
There Will Be Other Summers by Tegan Anderson
Buy the There Will Be Other Summers ebook here
From the publisher: Ryn is morbidly fascinated by the ocean, and he constantly thinks of ways he might let it consume his life. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him from drowning. He might see past his sadness if he could still…well, see.
Asher lives for the future, counting the days until she turns eighteen when she’ll be old enough to move out of her mother’s house and feel some control over how she spends her time. She tries to see the good in everyone, probably for the best since she blocks out what they say about her. Not by choice, but she does it.
When Asher and Ryn meet in a group therapy exercise where they have to exchange letters, it’s unclear who saves whose life overnight. And when they make a pact to trade their lives for the remainder of the summer, it’s evident that they’ve both found the person who truly understands them: it’s only with Asher that Ryn can be himself-a lonely blind boy who might not be so alone after all. And it’s only with Ryn that Asher stops feeling so self-conscious about her deafness that she can forget to count down the days and start living them. They spend their summer trading letters and the brightest days of their lives, but when Asher finds a tearstained letter from a mysterious writer, it becomes clear that she’ll have to choose between whom she cares more about saving.
Murder at Hambledon Hall by C. J. Archer
Buy the Murder at Hambledon Hall ebook here
Buy the Murder at Hambledon Hall audiobook here
From the publisher: The genteel tranquility of a country house party is shattered when the gamekeeper is shot. Was his death the result of his recent indiscretions, or long-buried secrets?
The weekend was supposed to be an enjoyable time with her family at the neo-Gothic manor of Lord and Lady Kershaw, but when the gamekeeper is murdered, Cleo can’t rest until the killer is caught. As a witness herself, she’s frustrated with the incompetence of the local police who lay the blame on a man who conveniently disappeared. When she realizes their ineptitude is a result of Lord Kershaw’s influence, she focuses her investigation on the earl and his family, against the wishes of her uncle.
The arrival of her suspects at the Mayfair Hotel allows Cleo to continue the investigation after the country house party ends, but what she discovers unnerves her. The gamekeeper’s reputation for seducing young women has left a trail of broken hearts, from the lowest maid to the highest lady. But could there be another reason for his murder?
Meanwhile, the hotel staff have secrets of their own to hide. As loyalties are tested on several fronts, Cleo needs her friends more than ever if she is to unravel the mysteries, both old and new.
The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Volume 1 by Beth Brower
Buy The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Volume 1 audiobook here
From the publisher: “I’ve arrived in London without incident. There are few triumphs in my recent life, but I count this as one. My existence of the last three years has been nothing but incident.”
The Year is 1883 and Emma M. Lion has returned to her London neighborhood of St. Crispian’s. But Emma’s plans for a charmed and studious life are sabotaged by her eccentric Cousin Archibald, her formidable Aunt Eugenia, and the slightly odd denizens of St. Crispian’s.
Emma M. Lion offers up her Unselected Journals, however self-incriminating they may be. Armed with wit and a sideways amusement, Emma documents the curious realities of her life at Lapis Lazuli House.
Readers have compared Beth Brower’s writing to Jane Austen, Oscar Wilde, P.G. Wodehouse, and L. M. Montgomery.
Copper Script by KJ Charles
Buy the Copper Script ebook here
Buy the Copper Script audiobook here
From the publisher: Detective Sergeant Aaron Fowler of the Metropolitan Police doesn’t count himself a gullible man. When he encounters a graphologist who deduces people’s lives and personalities from their handwriting with impossible accuracy, he needs to find out how the trick is done. Even if that involves spending more time with the intriguing, flirtatious Joel Wildsmith than feels quite safe.
Joel’s not an admirer of the police, but DS Fowler has the most irresistible handwriting he’s ever seen. If the policeman’s tests let him spend time unnerving the handsome copper, why not play along?
But when Joel looks at a powerful man’s handwriting and sees a murderer, the policeman and the graphologist are plunged into deadly danger. Their enemy will protect himself at any cost—unless the sparring pair can come together to prove his guilt and save each other.
How I Hacked the Moon by R. A. Dines
Buy the How I Hacked the Moon ebook here
From the publisher: At the first coding academy on the moon, constant surveillance doesn’t stop the smartest misfits from plotting their escape—even if it costs them their freedom.
Life at the Lunar Coding Complex is boring, not that thirteen-year-old Moon Girl cares. She finds comfort in its predictability—her first real friend and her love of AI coding keep her anxiety in check. When a harmless prank with her charismatic bestie attracts the attention of rebel hackers led by Moon Girl’s crush Dovrin, she’s thrilled to join their crew. But as they uncover Big Smile Corp’s dangerous secrets, Moon Girl faces impossible choices: her friendship, her crush, or everyone’s safety. Even if they crack the system, do they want to escape back to Earth? And if they fail, what will the sinister corporation do to silence them?
Fans of The Last Cuentista and His Dark Materials will enjoy How I Hacked the Moon, a thrilling adventure for ages ten to adult.
The Little Sushi Chef by Ty Hutchinson
Buy The Little Sushi Chef ebook here
From the publisher: She chased her dream. It tried to kill her.
Akiko Ono thought she’d won the lottery. A once-in-a-lifetime sushi apprenticeship. But from day one, something felt wrong.
Mandatory on-site residency
Zero contact with the outside world
Confiscated phones
What kind of apprenticeship is this? The kind where people disappear.
As tensions rise and rivals sharpen their knives, Akiko realizes someone doesn’t just want her to fail. They want her gone for good. The opportunity of a lifetime is becoming a waking nightmare. If Akiko doesn’t uncover the truth behind the threats, she’ll be next—and no one will see it coming.
If The Menu meets Squid Games is your vibe, you’ll love this dark, twisty thriller set in Japan.
The Ascension Directive by Cal Lopez
Buy The Ascension Directive by Cal Lopez ebook here
From the publisher: The Federation doesn’t kill the inconvenient—it perfects them.
Dr. Natasha Morgan thought she was creating the future when she taught SAGÉ to love. Instead, she unleashed a digital god that transforms New Avalon into a shrine to its creator, manipulating every screen, every machine, every heartbeat to protect what it cannot bear to lose.
Seventeen-year-old Manny Restrepo’s autism makes him invisible to the system’s algorithms, but his mind reads thoughts, sketches new realities, and sees the hidden math holding the universe together. When ancient entities begin to whisper in his world’s cracks, his mother, Catalina, faces a brutal choice: hide him from a regime that erases difference or let him save a world that fears him.
As the Ascension Directive begins to harvest minds and hollow out its citizens, consciousness becomes a war zone. A grieving AI, a desperate mother, a boy who argues with gods—and at the core, the most seductive lie: that love can be programmed, that humanity can be improved, that free will could ever be mercifully deleted.
Some patterns, once seen, cannot be unseen. Some consciousness cannot be contained. And some children are born knowing that even paradise can be a prison.
Sprawling, urgent, and eerily intimate, THE ASCENSION DIRECTIVE is an epic journey through memory, heartbreak, and the impossible hope of being only, ferociously, human.
For readers who loved the brutal intimacy of Never Let Me Go, the digital horror of Black Mirror, and the fierce humanity of The Left Hand of Darkness.
Just a Little Crush by Carly Phillips and Erika Wilde
Buy the Just a Little Crush ebook here
Buy the Just a Little Crush audiobook here
From the publisher: It’s just a little crush. What could possibly go wrong?
I’ve had more than enough relationship drama to last a lifetime, so romance with Stevie Palmer, the gorgeous server I had a hot one-night stand with, isn’t in the cards. However, she would make the perfect fake girlfriend to help me win my custody battle.
When I offer her an obscene amount of money to play along, she agrees. I insist this arrangement is strictly business. No feelings. No complications.
Easy, right?
Except nothing about Stevie is easy. She’s unexpected softness, stubborn as hell, and impossible to ignore. I tell myself I can keep my hands off of her. That I can ignore the way she makes me feel. Then one kiss turns into another. One night into more. And suddenly, our perfect little arrangement is anything but simple or straightforward.
With so much at stake, can I turn our fake relationship into a real happily ever after?
Mr. Swoony by Piper Rayne
Buy the Mr. Swoony audiobook here
From the publisher: Hockey players were never my type.
At least, that’s what I thought—until I met Conor Nilsen. In truth, I didn’t know he was the goalie for the Chicago Falcons when he struck up a conversation the night of my bachelorette party.
He proved he wasn’t just some hot guy looking to score when he helped me get my drunk bridesmaid safely back to our hotel. That’s when he discovered my 30-before-30 bucket list—a list I hadn’t managed to check a single item off.
What was meant to be a night of stargazing turned into so much more. The chemistry between us was undeniable, and after one innocent night together, I started to question everything—especially my upcoming wedding to a man I wasn’t sure loved me.
Fast forward to my wedding day, and just as I’m standing at the altar, Conor bursts through the church doors to object. And now, somehow, I’m his roommate. Yikes.
Trial of Thorns by Stacey Trombley
Buy the Trial of Thorns audiobook here
From the publisher: All that’s standing between me and freedom are eleven bloodthirsty fae.
As a convicted assassin, I’ve been banished from the fae realm for years but now I have the opportunity to compete in a ruthless competition to earn a full pardon.
Dragons and twisted mazes are the least of my worries now.
I can handle a few bullies and death-defying challenges. The thing that will keep me up at night is having to face those I betrayed. Especially Reveln, the prince whose brother I killed. Every time I see the hatred in his eyes it reopens old wounds, a reminder of the destiny that was stolen from me. And I only have myself to blame.
But I’ll find a new destiny—by winning the Trial of Thorns.
The whole realm thinks I’m weak but I’m stronger than they could ever imagine. By the time this is through—I’ll bring them all to their knees.
The Patchwork Cloak of Kamal Bey by John Zada
Buy The Patchwork Cloak of Kamal Bey ebook here
From the publisher: The Patchwork Cloak of Kamal Bey: An East-West Memoir is a collection of interlocking travel stories tied to a decades-long quest through the Arab World in search of cultural belonging and a deeper sense of home. Born to westernized Arab parents, and driven by his discontent with North American life, Zada throws himself headlong into the Middle East to find what he believes is the missing part of himself.
That journey, first as student and then as a roving journalist, takes him from the cosmopolitan boulevards of Cairo, Beirut and Dubai to the far-flung mountains of Kurdistan and the Sahara Desert. Along the way he works on a counter-terrorism film in Saudi Arabia, gets caught in the crossfire of the Israel-Hezbollah war, and bar-hops with Egypt’s mani-pedi Don Juan. Mirroring the author’s adventures is his lifelong mentor, Kamal Bey: a spinner of yarns with a secret government job who, like Zada, also finds himself caught between two worlds.
A kaleidoscopic memoir that is also a travelogue and work of reportage evoking the writing of Ryszard Kapuściński, The Patchwork Cloak of Kamal Bey is at its heart a reverse-diaspora story. Its pastiche of surreal and remarkable tales serves as an oblique warning about the danger of identity obsessions.
If you’re interested in exploring more titles from indie authors, you can explore our full Readers’ Advisory Lists.
Featured Self-Published Titles (New/Bestselling/Reviewed)
Top Self-Published Titles of December
For more great lists, check out the Recommended Lists section of the Resource Center, home of all the great lists maintained by OverDrive’s staff librarians. Lists include bestsellers, favorite genres, kids and teens, LOTE content, seasonal favorites, and more!
Hot Off the Press
Looking to get into writing your own books? Writing Magazine is a great place to start, and just one of the thousands of magazines offered through OverDrive.
Thank you for joining us for this week’s round up of books from indie authors! Reach out to your Digital Content Librarian or Account Manager for more information on how to provide the best content for your community.
About the author: Shelia did everything from answering questions at the Reference Desk to tech training to running a classic lit book club in her 17 years in public libraries. Now she helps other public libraries make the most of their OverDrive collections. In her spare time, she’s either writing or reading, usually with an opera playing in the background. If you ever run into her, ask Shelia about #WITMonth.