Top 5 Wednesday – January 13th, 2016

Top 5 Wednesday was created by Lainey at Gingerreadslainey. Every week, book reviewers all over the world are given a bookish topic and respond with their top 5 books (or elements of books) that relate to that topic. Click here for the Goodreads group if you would like to learn more about Top 5 Wednesday and join in!

This week’s Top 5 Wednesday topic is your top five favorite self-published books. Now, I’ve not actually read all that many self-published books over the years; my experience in that area is really lacking. I would like to start getting into the habit of reading more of these types of novels this year, and I already have a few picked out that I would like to read soon. So instead of making a list of my favorites, I’ve decided to make a list of the top five self-published books on my TBR that I am most looking forward to reading!

5. Angelfall by Susan Ee

It’s been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.

Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.

Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.

Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels’ stronghold in San Francisco where she’ll risk everything to rescue her sister and he’ll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.

4. Callum & Harper by Fisher Amelie

Life sucks for orphans Callum Tate and Harper Bailey.

Kicked out of their foster homes because they suffer the ‘eighteen disease’ with nothing but a hundred dollar check from the government and a pat on the back, they’re forced to rely on a system that failed them miserably.

So they sit. They sit inside Social Services, waiting for their social workers to call their names and offer them the miracle they know will never come but they sit anyway because they have nowhere else to go, no other options on their very literal and figurative empty plates.

But as they sit, they notice the other. Although captivated, they each come to the conclusion that life is complicated enough without throwing in a boiling tension that can’t ever be acted upon because they’re both too busy thinking about where their next meal will come from but when their names are called and both are placed on a year long waiting list for permanent housing, suddenly relying on each other seems like a very viable plan B.

And, oh, how lovely Plan B’s can be. 

Well, except for the psycho from Harper’s past that haunts her and, oh, yeah, there’s the little issue that neither of them knows they’re in love with the other.

Needless to say, Callum & Harper’s life just got a bit more complicated.

3. The Reluctant Sacrifice by Kerr-Ann Dempster

Centuries ago, sibling rivalry tore Aramith apart. As punishment, the losers were stripped of their immortal birthright and banished to Earth. There, they wasted away from old age and diseases. However, there is hope…

If a Shaw child, born on the 12th day of the 12th month offers her soul in a public sacrifice, then the exiles will be forgiven and welcomed home to Aramith.

Aubrey Shaw is that child, but dying for the exiles is not on her to-do list. Using her gift as a Jumper, Aubrey leaps between bodies to escape relentless shape-shifting hunters. Only, shedding her skin is not enough. Not when Joshua, her best-friend-turned-hunter, is hell-bent on dragging her to the altar.

Will Aubrey’s love for Joshua change his mind?

Or, will she have to trust the scarred stranger who shows up out of the blue cloaked in lies and secrets? Doing so means giving up on Joshua. But betting on Joshua’s love could do more than break her heart.

It could kill her.

2. The Inn by Deirdre Swinden

The Inn had stood for more than 200 years. No one who knew any better would live within its walls. No one who had heard its sordid past would venture within a mile. But Innkeepers Paula and Martin Kent had found the aging red brick charming and the house itself an alluring investment. After all, what more could a bed and breakfast need for success than to be “haunted”? Its history spoke of deadly winters, lusty rovers and immortal lovers. It called to them as it had sung to others, and at a time when ghost hunters achieved success on reality television, the Kents had found a profitable attraction.

When Samantha Brogan arrives to meet her estranged husband Chris in an attempt to repair their crumbling marriage, she is instantly unsettled by an image her failing sight struggles to comprehend. Trapped by a severe snowstorm, guests and caretakers seek out the Inn’s other inhabitants through ghost hunts and chilling tales of the site’s unnaturally violent history. As the storm gains power, Sam’s visions grow darker and more disturbing. As an unseen enemy draws closer, the guests experience nightmare realities of their deepest fears. One by one they succumb to an inescapable fate until there is only one course left for the remaining occupants – attempt to communicate or die trying.  

And death is waiting to take them all.

1. Dissonance by Mariella Hunt

Fifteen-year-old Allie Grant lives crippled by her illness. Though kept in isolation, she’s never alone: A spirit named Song lurks in the silence of her bedroom.

When Song reveals its dark nature on the night of her recital, the show ends in tragedy. Verging on death, Allie’s taken in by an uncle she’s never met. 

Julian claims to be a Muse with power over music and answers that’ll heal her. The cure she needs is rare, requiring of him a difficult sacrifice. Allie soon suspects her uncle has a secret that’ll turn her world around.

But with days left to live, she might fade without learning the truth…like the finishing chord of a song.

What are some self-published novels that you have read and enjoyed? I’m always looking for some more recommendations, so definitely let me know in the comments! 🙂

-Ariana