It’s summer and the living should be easy.
But if you’re stressing over the latest intrigue at the White House, the increasing dangers of climate change and/or Chris Pratt’s recently announced separation from Anna Farris, perhaps you should consider downloading one of the books below, slathering yourself in sunscreen and sipping a cocktail.
Things could always be worse.

Space Fandango by Henry Mosquera
SPACE FANDANGO: BACKSTABBER’S BLUES by Henry Mosquera
Winner in the Science Fiction category of the 2017 IndieReader Discovery Awards
Author Henry Mosquera presents a world as colorful as the book’s title promises, making BACKSTABBER’S BLUES a wonderful adventure for readers, a world contained on one’s lap.
Read the full review here.

These Thy Gifts by Vincent Panettiere
THESE THY GIFTS by Vincent Panettiere
THESE THY GIFTS is a thoughtful, warmly-told story of a man who feels his vocation down to his bones, and uses it for the good of others as best he can.
Read the full review here.

Hockey Karma by Howard Shapiro
HOCKEY KARMA by Howard Shapiro
Winner in the Graphic Novel category of the 2017 IndieReader Discovery Awards
This graphic novel is about much more than the sport in its title: it’s a realistic portrait of strength, growth, and friendship.
Read the full review here.

Void if Detached by Sarah Bowen
VOID IF DETACHED by Sarah Bowen
Winner in the Religion category of the 2017 IndieReader Discovery Awards
VOID IF DETACHED is a thoughtful and intelligent guide to Christian (and other) religious ideas through the eyes of an educated, kindly minister and his loving, but questioning, daughter.
Read the full review here.

Stretch for Change by Gustavo Razzetti
STRETCH FOR CHANGE by Gustavo Razzetti
Unlike other books of this type (ie inspirational), Razzetti eschews New Age Zen and Nietzsche concepts of “That Which Does Not Kill Us Makes Us Stronger,” and instead offers practical advice of how to deal with life in our pinball-like age.
Read the full review here.

Make a Wish for Me by LeeAndra M. Chergey
MAKE A WISH FOR ME by LeeAndra Chergey
Winner in the Parenting (Child Care/Family) category of the 2017 IndieReader Discovery Awards
Exploring a family’s emotions and circumstances in facing the life-altering impacts of autism, MAKE A WISH FOR ME feels like LeeAndra Chergey’s heart laid bare, from the impact of Chergey’s diagnosis line ‘it feels like he’s died,’ all the way to the family’s hard-won progress as life goes on. Challenging preconceptions, this manages, somehow, to be both heart wrenching and heartwarming.
Read the full review here.

Election 2064: Book One by Scott McDermott
ELECTION 2064: BOOK ONE by Scott McDermott
Winner in the Science Fiction category of the 2017 IndieReader Discovery Awards
ELECTION 2064: BOOK ONE, Scott McDermott’s futuristic tale of a civil war-torn America eagerly embracing a president’s healing process gesture of picking a vice president from the opposition, is a commentary on our age. In McDermott’s very capable hands such appeals to unity rhetoric mask a sinister agenda that is all too possible today.
Read the full review here.

The Glorious Beyond by Sandy Denise Adams
THE GLORIOUS BEYOND by Sandy Denise Adams
THE GLORIOUS BEYOND is a well-written story that begins with the murder of a woman’s husband and then flashes back to her childhood, with realistic characters, all too human in their strengths and weaknesses, and a strong sense of the Baltimore setting.
Read the full review here.

Standby for Broadcast by Kari Rhyan
STANDBY FOR BROADCAST by Kari Rhyan
STANDBY FOR BROADCAST is a vivid and often painful memoir that demonstrates the necessity of confronting trauma in order to overcome it.
Read the full review here.

The Book of Moon by George Crowder
THE BOOK OF MOON by George Crowder
Winner in the Literary Fiction category of the 2017 IndieReader Discovery Awards
Author George Crowder has a poetic gift of being both lyrical (his descriptions of California almost rival Raymond Chandler’s) and making every word count. He is equally good on machine gun-like dialogue. THE BOOK OF MOON is well worth the read.
Read the full review here.

The Librarian by Philip Wilson
THE LIBRARIAN by Philip Wilson
Author Philip Wilson has taken a tired old genre and breathed new life into it by giving what has been a male superhero fantasy to a female, and a desk-bound one at that.
Read the full review here.
Check back next month at IndieReader for the Best Reviewed Books of August!