Y’all it is time to vote for IndieMission No. 7! Next week on the podcast, Laura and Hannah will be hosting knock out rounds for the above 12 contenders. Whatever book wins will be covered on the pod for three weeks from June 4-18! But we want to read every single one of these at some point! Here is a breakdown of the contenders!

Fragment of a Fallen Star by Viano Oniomoh: Moira Karl-Fisher is ready to do anything to bring her parents back from the dead, even embark on a desperate trip across the sea in an attempt to find the missing pages of a spell to turn back time. She’s barely spent one night away from her island when she’s nearly killed for being a MagiK, and now owes her life to the eccentric Nailah, another MagiK who apparently runs her own ship, and romance may be sparking!

First Step by Tao Wong: Long Wu Ying never expected to join a Sect or become a real cultivator. His days were spent studying, planting rice on the family farm and spending time with his friends. Fate, however, has different plans for Wu Ying and when the army arrives at his village, he and many other members of the village are conscripted. Given the opportunity to join the Verdant Green Waters Sect, Wu Ying must decide between his pedestrian, common life and the exciting, blood soaked life of a cultivator.

In the Shadow of Ruin by Tony Debajo: King Jide Adelani has ruled the lands of the Yoruba in West Africa for many peaceful years, but now his kingdom is in turmoil and the cold grasp of death’s embrace is closing in around everything he holds dear. Facing overwhelming military might and dark forces that he cannot comprehend, Jide must either choose to ignore the warnings of the gods, and seek help from those who also practice dark arts; or risk losing his kingdom.

Thorn by Intisar Khanani: Between her cruel family and the contempt she faces at court, Princess Alyrra has always longed to escape the confines of her royal life. But when she’s betrothed to the powerful prince Kestrin, Alyrra embarks on a journey to his land with little hope for a better future. When a mysterious and terrifying sorceress robs Alyrra of both her identity and her role as princess, Alyrra seizes the opportunity to start a new life for herself as a goose girl.

Odd Blood by Azalea Crowley: Stuck: That’s what Josephine Pajimula felt like. A burnout millennial on the verge of losing her housing, her roommate, and maybe even her best friend. It made perfect sense to go to a Halloween party, ignore her feelings, and spend the time searching for apartments instead.
A Chance: She hadn’t expected meeting him. A man in a vampire costume took a hard fall in front of her. Against her better judgment, Josephine is determined to make sure this stranger makes their way home safely. Alarm bells in her head be damned.

Seattle Slayers by Ken Bebelle & Julia Vee: Roxy’s got two hammers, a bit of Breaker magic, and the deathbed promise she made to her father. The Seattle Slayers, an elite cadre of fighters dedicated to protecting the city, is having their Trials for new initiates. My dad was a Slayer–one of the best. I thought his legacy might give me an edge in the Trials, but I was wrong. If anything, it made them harder on me.

Seventh Cadence by Jim Wilbourne: After a supernatural and unforeseen calamity shatters the tentative alliance of the five realms, the Deseran Dominion has returned to take back their homeland and restore their oppressive regime. As the Dominion readies their troops for invasion, the fate of the entire world rests in the hands of a fugitive scientist, a powerful pacifist, and an unseasoned prince with little to guide them but their own ideals. With the freedom of a kingdom at risk, each must find their place in a world torn asunder.

They Came in the Night by Ravi Novais: Ashes to Ashes, Blood to BloodIzara’s life was never meant to be ordinary. Hidden at birth, shielded by her Nephilim aunt, she grew up with the knowledge that her reality was a fragile facade. The paranormal pulsed beneath her skin.The night of her twenty-fifth birthday shatters the fragile equilibrium. A deadly accident unveils her lineage and a sinister legacy.

Heavenly Sword by Alice Poon: Set in a world of human conflicts, fantastical martial arts, sorcery and celestial magic, Alice Poon’s debut fantasy follows a martial maiden’s heartbreaking adventures in her quest for love and justice. The goddess Chang’e is sent to the mortal world to stop the Sky Wolf Zhu Di’s plans to usurp the throne. Reborn as Tang Sai’er, a simple village girl, her celestial mission requires her to learn special martial arts skills, but in order to achieve unrivaled mastery, she must battle against her growing feelings for a member of the evil tyrant’s court.

Gunmetal Gods by Zamil Akhtar: They took his daughter, so Micah comes to take their kingdom. Fifty thousand gun-toting paladins march behind him, all baptized in angel blood, thirsty to burn unbelievers. Only the janissaries can stand against them. Their living legend, Kevah, once beheaded a magus amid a hail of ice daggers. But ever since his wife disappeared, he spends his dys in a haze of hashish and poetry. To save the kingdom, Kevah must conquer his grief and become the legend he once was. But Micah writes his own legend in blood, and his righteous conquest will stop at nothing.

What Doesn’t Kill You by R.N. Barbosa: Gideon’s never seen eye to eye with the law, but when he typically got into trouble, it was over something he’d actually done. These Angel Cops are even less forgiving than the Human ones. Wrongfully convicted by the Order of the First Blade, he’s condemned to Gehenna—a nightmare dimension reserved for criminals and monsters.

A Heart to Hold by Sula Sullivan: Harmony has it all. Apple has nothing left to lose. A chance meeting changes everything. Having none of the “normal inducements” to marriage, Harmony Worth is content to enjoy her family’s fortune, meddle in the lives of her seven older brothers, and master her passion for brewing mead. With wealth, beauty, and wit there is not much she wants for, or so she thinks. Apple Forthwright is many things, a diviner, an illusionist, a potion master, and most importantly they’re a person on the run. Intent on surviving on their charms and staying in the shadows to avoid their wicked Mother, the last thing Apple planned to do was fall in love. With their love blossoming as Apple’s evil Mother is on the hunt, can they learn to lean on each other or will their Happily Ever After be poisoned?