Mar 302012
I love reading hidden Gems. I love telling friends about my favorite hidden gems. The reason why the book is a hidden gem can be that the book is self published and the author hasn’t promoted his/her book enough, the book is relatively new so not many people know about it, or it can be a published book that kind of lost its way for whatever reason. It’s not important why these books are hidden. What is important? All these books are gems! I thought I’d share a few of my recent hidden gems and a few classic gems.
Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days, #1) by Susan Ee
Angelfall is the perfect example of a hidden gem that is not so hidden anymore. When I read the book back in July of 2011, hardly anyone knew about the book and now, the book is now #41 on the Kindle Bestseller list on Amazon, and #1 on the Fantasy list for all books! Angellfall was a true word-of-mouth book. I know this because I was one of those people that could not shut up about it. This book is truly better than most urban fantasy books published by the big time publishers. If you like urban fantasy, it ranks as an absolute must read!
Wool (Wool #1) by Hugh Howey
No Time To Read? Try Wool by Hugh Howey. Wool is a post-apocalyptic short story. When I say “short story”, I really mean it. In fact, I think I held my breath the entire time I read the story. It is only 65 pages long but Howey truly crams a book’s worth of suspense, and fright, in those 65 pages. Plus, if you crave more? There are 4 additional installments (stories) in the same series (appropriately titled Wool 2 through Wool 5).
Zero Sight (Zero Sight #1) by B. Justin Shier
Fantasy and Witty Humor?
Compared to “The Magicians”, a more grown up “Harry Potter”, or even a young “Harry Dresden”, Zero Sight by B. Justin Shier is an absolutely fantastic read. When I read books on my Kindle, I’ll highlight passages that I find memorable especially if they make me laugh out loud. There were so many humorous passages in this book, I just gave up with the highlights. The young, teenage narrator in Zero Sight is so real, charming, and witty, that if you don’t fall in love with him, there is something wrong with you! Please do not judge this book by its cover. It really was one of those books I could not stop reading and hated when it was over!
Compared to “The Magicians”, a more grown up “Harry Potter”, or even a young “Harry Dresden”, Zero Sight by B. Justin Shier is an absolutely fantastic read. When I read books on my Kindle, I’ll highlight passages that I find memorable especially if they make me laugh out loud. There were so many humorous passages in this book, I just gave up with the highlights. The young, teenage narrator in Zero Sight is so real, charming, and witty, that if you don’t fall in love with him, there is something wrong with you! Please do not judge this book by its cover. It really was one of those books I could not stop reading and hated when it was over!
Fire Baptized (Habitat #1) by Kenya Wright
An urban fantasy with some bite? I’m not talking bite as in vampire bite. I’m talking about an urban fantasy that characterizes the paranormal characters as what they are! You have shape shifters that have animalistic tendencies, vampires that kill, and monsters acting like monsters. Fire Baptized is dark, gritty and wonderfully written.
Extinction Point by Paul Jones
Science Fiction that explains the science? Paul Jones is your author. So often authors forget to explain the science behind the end-of-the-world. Not Paul Jones. Besides writing a unique post-apocalyptic story, he manages to explain what the hell is happening in a realistic scientific manner. I really believed his explanation of the blood rain and enjoyed Extinction Point!
Fractured Moon (Steel #1) by E.R. Pierce
A unique paranormal romance? Fractured Moon manages to be unique in handling issues and scenes that were driving me crazy as of late in paranormal romance novels. It was fun and refreshing to see how Pierce portrayed loyalty, fidelity and honor as sexy without being preachy. She also has one of the most realistic sex scenes ever!
Demons at Deadnight (Divinicus Nex Chronicles #1) by A&E Kirk
A fast paced paranormal YA? Demons at Deadnight is a super fast paced YA book that is loaded with everything that teens crave- super powers, super cute guys, a mystery that needs solving and did I mention super cute guys? For those adults that like to read YA novels, Demons at Deadnight has been compared to the Black Dagger Brotherhood novels with teens!
Battle Sylph (Sylph #1) by L.J. McDonald
A unique, fantasy novel with sizzle? Battle Sylph was such a surprise for me. I thought the beginning was confusing because I wasn’t used to fantasy. However, something kept me reading the book. I ended up loving it. However, as much as I loved book 1, book 2 is twice as good. So why am I putting Battle Sylph down as a Hidden Gem and not book 2? Because even if you don’t read book 2 in the series, this book is great. However, if you do continue with the series, you won’t regret it. Book 2 made me love this series even more and the entire series is an all time favorite hidden gem classic.
Binding Vows (MacCoinnich Time Travel Trilogy #1) by Catherine Bybee
A time traveling romance? After reading the entire Outlander series, I searched hard for anything that was time traveling. I found this book and was prepared to be disappointed. Imagine my surprise when not only did I like Binding Vows, but I ended up buying book 2 and 3. While nothing can compare to my Jamie (if you have no clue what I’m talking about, go buy Outlander by Diana Gabaldon) but this is a satisfying time travel romance novel that is well written and fun to read!
Do you have a hidden gem that you read and loved? Of course, authors, I hope you think your book is a hidden gem, so this question goes out to the readers! If you have read and loved a hidden gem, let me know about it! I’m always eager for more, and I might feature that book in a future edition of “Badass Hidden Gems”!
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Michelle, the Bookshelf Stalker
When I'm not with the family, with the dog, at work, playing outdoors, or watching football, I'm reading. I LOVE to read. In my dream world, I'm getting paid to read and I do it all day, everyday. In the real world, I do it as a hobby but would love if it was my career.
I'm the ONLY reader in my family and I've found that people CAN become jealous of books. I'll read almost anything but prefer urban fantasy, paranormal romance, post-apocalyptic, horror, historical romance, erotica (especially dark erotica), and some historical fiction. However, if it is good, I'll read it!
I have an e-reader that I love and a Mp3 full of audio books, I don't mind waiting in lines, sitting for hours at doctor's offices, or being stuck in traffic, it is the perfect opportunity to get just one more chapter in!28 Responses to “Badass Hidden Gems Volume I”
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Fantastic post, Michelle. There really are some hidden gems out there. Angelfall is one of the best little indie books I’ve read and I hear that her $0.99 sale is going to end soon, so people should grab it. I loved The Battle Sylph – those sylphs are the coolest paranormal creatures ever. Fractured Moon was a lot of fun to read. Now I have to add some more books to the to-read list.
AH, I don’t know if you’ve read book 2 in the Sylph series but if not, it is a definite must read. I had a hard time picking just a few hidden gems. This was a fun page to do for me, I hope to do it again!
Thanks, AH!
I just posted a link to this on my blog.
Really great stuff! I´ll do it on my to-read list.
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Thanks Jeff. I hope you find a gem from the list!
Michelle I love this post! So many good books on there, I am glad I have you to discover them for me.
It was hard to narrow down my hidden gem list! Thanks Regina!
Great variety and mostly right up my alley! Another time travel story a la Outlander? I am so there! Thanks!
I’m always on a search for Outlander-ish books!! LOL, Hope you like the book!
It’s really cool that you’ve unearthed all of these books Michelle – and I’m very intrigued by the scientific sci-fi and the realistic sex scene! Thanks for alerting us to these (so we don’t have to dig for them ourselves).
Thanks Catie! Hope you find a good one from the list.
Wonderful post, Michelle! Thanks for including Angelfall.
These books look great!
Susan Ee recently posted..Angelfall’s editing process
Thank you for writing Angelfall!
I second the Zero Sight series. My husband and I STILL miss those characters!
Definitely a favorite of mine!!
Whoo to the Hoo, Baby! I love it when people talk about my time travels. You do know that Highland Shifter, the 4th book in the series is out? Right? LOL Thanks again for adding me to your amazing mix.
Thank you for the series, and I didn’t know the 4th is done! So excited!
Tee hee…
Rock on, thanks. I think this post is so awesome, and shows what reading is all about. Sharing what we love, and think others will love.
Keep being super creative and breaking the trends in that genre! Great job with your book!
I loved the Battle Sylph and I’m just about to start The Shattered Sylph. Your review of Fractured Moon also caught my eye. I’ll have to give it a try.
Love, love, love The Shattered Sylph. I actually kept my copy. I rarely keep books since books are meant to be shared. You’ll have to let me know what you think of that one when you are done!
Ah Jamie, can’t top that. But I do love timetravel romance, I will have to check out this series. Thanks for the tip!
No one can top Jamie (oh…that just brought naughty thoughts in my head….lol). However, a good time travel romance novel is a nice substitute!
thanks for sharing ~ i love angelfall ~ will definitely put your recommendations on my to-read list ~
Wow, this is a great selection of hidden gems. I’ve read Wool, but Extinction Point and Battle Sylph sound right up my alley.. so thank you
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