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Indie book reviews

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IndieReader’s reviewers are tough, but fair

Our Reviewers won’t judge your book as compared to other self-published titles, but against other books, period. Our ratings are based on the following criteria, although reviewers are able to award partial stars (i.e. a 1.3 or a 4.7), rather than rounding up or down to a whole or half number.

1/5

Really bad 
Work on it.

2/5

Mediocre
1-2 bright spots.

3/5

Good
Worth reading.

4/5

Very Good
1-2 spots that need work

5/5

Excellent!
Must-read.

* IndieReader receives compensation for most of the books it reviews, along with copies of those books.

IR Approved
June 18, 2025

THE LAST WHALER

By Cynthia Reeves
Rating:
4.8 / 5.0

Tense, gripping, and beautiful, Cynthia Reeves’s THE LAST WHALER is a powerful tale of losing and re-discovering one’s humanity through the crucible of grief.

IR Approved
June 6, 2025

THE NIGHT OF THE ANIMALS

By J.J.Pascal
Rating:
4.3 / 5.0

J.J. Pascal's literary novel THE NIGHT OF THE ANIMALS is an emotionally honest meditation on memory, masculinity, and familial inheritance, wielding rich prose and unforgettable...

Rating:
3.5 / 5.0

Though rather lacking in any great drama, Peter Briscoe’s BETWEEN MEMORY AND OBLIVION: A Novel focuses on the philosophical in a way that should reward...

IR Approved
May 21, 2025

MENTIS AND ETHOS

By R. Henry Price
Rating:
4.0 / 5.0

R. Henry Price's MENTIS AND ETHOS is an intriguing, deft observation of an academic life gone wrong.

May 16, 2025

THE BOOK COLLECTOR TRILOGY

By Tom Story
Rating:
3.9 / 5.0

Tom Story's THE BOOK COLLECTOR TRILOGY offers a sentimental, heartfelt look at childhood, the love of books, and the responsibilities of parenting.

Rating:
3.8 / 5.0

Intellectually ambitious and stylistically dense, Mark Seinfelt's A MEAL FOR A MINOTAUR AND FIVE COMPANION ESSAYS is a demanding read best suited for those prepared...

IR Approved
April 14, 2025

DECADENCE

By Soph Tang
Rating:
4.5 / 5.0

Soph Tang’s DECADENCE is a funny, haunting, and relatable queer love story.

IR Approved
April 11, 2025

A LIFE FULL OF QUARKS

By C W Johnson
Rating:
4.5 / 5.0

Featuring a highly original premise and refreshingly confident execution, C.W. Johnson’s A LIFE FULL OF QUARKS transcends genre conventions to deliver a debut novel that's...

IR Approved
March 26, 2025

ALTIPLANO AND OTHER SHORT STORIES

By David Bassano
Rating:
4.2 / 5.0

David Bassano’s ALTIPLANO AND OTHER SHORT STORIES evokes a very modern malaise with well-imagined scenarios rendered in muscular prose.

IR Approved
March 21, 2025

ALIVE AND BEATING

By Rebecca Wolf
Rating:
4.0 / 5.0

Rebecca Wolf’s debut novel ALIVE AND BEATING is an insightful, humorous, and soul-stirring harmonization of seven stories into one piercing tale of sacrifice, pain, and...

IR Approved
March 19, 2025

DAMAGED BEAUTY: Joey Superstar

By Margaret Gardiner
Rating:
4.0 / 5.0

In Margaret Gardiner’s novel DAMAGED BEAUTY: Joey Superstar, authentic, evocative prose paints an absorbing portrait of a brazen, intelligent young woman.

IR Approved
March 14, 2025

THE FONDLING OF DETAILS

By Panayotis Cacoyannis
Rating:
4.0 / 5.0

Though some of the plot feels perfunctory at times, Panayotis Cacoyannis’s THE FONDLING OF DETAILS is clear in its scenic evocation of London, its disdain...

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