SELF-PUBLISHED FANTASY BOOKS 🐉

[@Michael_R_Miller]

Oh my what?! I am so so happy you enjoyed Ascendant, Elliot. This has just absolutley made my week. A great pick me up right in the hardest part of drafting book 4. To anyone who decides to give Songs of Chaos a try, I really appreciate you taking the chance on it, and I really hope you love it :D

[@ebnovels]

Ohh, best of luck with book 4! How exciting 🤩🤩🤩

[@debbiegreen6706]

It sounds amazing. A few of the people I follow on TikTok recommended it as well.

[@mischarowe]

Okay, I definitely have to read it now. :)

[@Michael_R_Miller]

@@mischarowe hope you do!

[@mischarowe]

@@Michael_R_Miller Yep. :)

[@moonstonepearl21]

Props for talking about a lack in young male representation in current books geared for younger audiences. Issues like that with males tend to get overlooked.

[@LisaMarieFord]

As an self-published indie author/artist I think it’s awesome you’re reading and starting to recommend more indie books. As an avid reader of mostly self-published books I love supporting independent authors who usually have to also be their own team to do just about everything for a book unless they can swing hiring out. Whereas traditionally published authors essentially only have to write the book as the publisher has teams of dev editors, copy editors, designers, layout editors, marketing and pr teams, social media crew, and so on in addition to their connections putting those books on lists that drive sales. I have plenty of book/series recommendations if you’re looking for them with a variety of genres and tropes.

[@bespectaclednerd4426]

I am so happy to see Ascendant get the recognition it deserves🥰. I binged read the first three books last month and i loved the series for the exact same reason you did. Holt and ash are so so adorable😭. Baby ash was the sweetest dragon ever. I was so sad to know this series is so underrated but i am glad to see more people talking about it. Thanks elliot for a great review😊

[@Michael_R_Miller]

Woooot! Thanks a ton for binging all three (so far) - so happy you've enjoyed it. Word of mouth is the best way books get around so leaving a comment like this is super helpful - thanks for spreading the word!!!

[@ebnovels]

I’m excited to read the next two hopefully in the next couple of months! Just need to catch up on some other series first :D

[@bespectaclednerd4426]

@Michael_R_Miller No! Thank you for this amazing series. I am so excited for the next installment🥹🥹.

[@bespectaclednerd4426]

@@ebnovels the next two books are even better. Book 3 is my favorite so far😁

[@BreinGames]

Elliot be like, sigh, hello friends.

[@GwenCooper-l1b]

Yes! A positive boy protagonist! It has become harder to find teen boy protagonist for my son to read! We are definitely going to read Ascendent! Thx so much for sharing it with us!

[@Michael_R_Miller]

Ah that's wonderful. I hope your son really likes it. Holt undergoes a growing up moment in book 3 which I don't think I've ever seen dealt with before, and I was really proud to get it into Holt's arc. I want him to be a very positive male role model - defo not enough of those right now.

[@TheDragonCodexBk]

Thank you for sharing these. I'm always looking for fellow indie authors with dragon stories to tell. Mine just came out at the beginning of September.

[@heatherkline6766]

Elliott, you mentioned that boy protagonists are lacking. I find this quite interesting because I am an aspiring young author and about 75% of my stories have young male main characters. A series I am working on is about a prince and him becoming king. I also have a few standalones; including one which is a high seas adventure with pirates and secret nobility, but the prince's story is by far my favorite. I am also planning some more epic fantasy tales, starting with a world and a magic system and building conflict as I go. I am not sure how many books these will become as they are still in the works; but hopefully I can finish writing the other books and get those down. Wish me luck! This will be quite the endeavor.

[@mmorgan1980]

I don't think I've seen you mention The Bound and the Broken series by Ryan Cahill. Its a self published series and it is so so so so good! I've read the first book, a novella, and I'm almost done with the second book. There are dragon riders (I know you like those). I wouldn't even know about the series if Mike's Book Review hadn't done a video about it.

[@AFictionalEscapist]

Loving the self pub love! I have been meaning to read Ascendant forever!

[@Michael_R_Miller]

Hope you find the chance!

[@paulasedmock7147]

I would really like more books with male protagonist in every genre.

[@saramm3765]

Love this video topic. I’m always happy to support self-published works.

[@Michael_R_Miller]

You're a hero!

[@JayGTheAwkwardBookworm]

“I just want them to smooch” made me howl 😂

[@ebnovels]

Haha, sometimes that’s all a person wants 😘

[@MaedBetweenthePages]

I've had all of these on my peripheral TBR for a minute now, so it's great to see some more in depth reviews! Rise of the Ranger and Ascendant sound like something I could really get into in my current reading mood 👀

[@Michael_R_Miller]

Thanks in advance if you pick Ascendant up!

[@ebnovels]

Perhaps we’ll have to do a book swap after I have a few more indie books under my belt 🤔😄☺️

[@MaedBetweenthePages]

@@ebnovels I’m 100% down for that! :)

[@MaedBetweenthePages]

@@Michael_R_Miller I have a feeling I’ll love it! 👀

[@astevenswrites]

Love seeing all the love for indie! I've said it before, and I'll keep saying it, but you and other BookTubers, Bookstagrammers, and etc are the beating heart of this community. On behalf of indie authors, we so very much appreciate that!

[@itsaduck]

You've convinced me to bite the bullet and get Ascendant! I'm finding that I'm enjoying self published books more than traditional ones atm. They seem to be more free with their ideas and not restricted to what a publisher thinks will sell. Also, I saw in a previous video that you have finished writing your 2nd book! I was wondering for ages if you would release more, I enjoyed the first so I'm glad the wait is ALMOST over lol

[@Michael_R_Miller]

Thanks for taking the plunge! I hope you enjoy Ascendant (and the series!)

[@debbiegreen6706]

If a book has Dragons 🐉, I’m going to read it 😊 Thanks for the recs, I needed a self-published/indie book for my fantasy book bingo card. I love the sound of the first and third series.

[@ebnovels]

If you like dragons, you can’t really go wrong with Ascendant 😄

[@surpriseitsus9622]

Me too, the first and third series 🤜

[@miyayume_eclectic_dream]

"Boy and a dragon" book 🙀💖 I am reading it after I finish Tainted Cup. It is not the same at all but taking care of dragon reminds me of How to train your Dragon and I love that trilogy.

[@TiffanyRussell]

I just finished the second book in Songs of Chaos and thought it was even better than the first one, although darker. I hadn’t thought about the fact that you don’t see a lot of male protagonists in YA, but now thinking about it I think you’re definitely right. You get boys in children’s or middle grade and then adult. Boys still want representation in the young adult stage too! Or they just don’t want to read romance at that stage😂 which I totally get.

[@ebnovels]

Ohh, that’s great to know about book two :D And yeah, the lack of certain demographics in specific age ranges and genres is still an issue-kids and adults alike should get to see themselves and their loved ones in stories!

[@TiffanyRussell]

@@ebnovels exactly!

[@Avarn388]

I am really glad you’re doing a video like this. Honestly, I’ve been finding a lot of the books I’ve enjoyed lately have been indie/ self published. For example, the Cradle series by Will Wight is anazing( think last Airbender style world meets DBZ but handled well) and his Last Horizon series are fantastic. And same with Ascendant and Songs of Chaos. There’s clearly more freedom allowed in indie and that can allow a creative more opportunities to tell the story they want to tell. Execution and careful thought matter always but all in all; I I am finding a lot of the books that have kept my attention have been indie.

[@Michael_R_Miller]

Cradle was a big inspiration for Songs of Chaos!

[@ebnovels]

I agree about indie having a lot more freedom and creativity in its stories, characters, worlds, etc. I’m excited to keep reading more 😄

[@Avarn388]

@@Michael_R_Miller Your songs of Chaos series is great as well. But yeah; I love Cradle.

[@JLP1]

After finishing Rise of the Ranger, I just wanted more Asher so I immediately started Court of Assassins. It was so good! Will definitely be reading the next two in the prequel series.

[@ryguy1928]

Thank you for bringing up how so much of YA feels to have been very girl focused for a while now, as it's a pattern I've also noticed somewhat recently. I think the reason for this was because most of the early YA dystopia and paranormal romance books that sold really well we're girl focused, so writers and publishers sort of assumed that those stories generally sold better and/or that most YA readers were girls and decided to cater more towards them. From this, there could have started a positive feedback loop of the YA genre trying harder and harder to grow that female audience.

[@88chuaky]

i have read Ascendant and enjoyed it.

[@Michael_R_Miller]

thank you for saying so!

[@88chuaky]

@@Michael_R_Miller Reading and listening to the second book Unbound now

[@mischarowe]

YES! I need to get more self-pub on my TBR. They all sound amazing. Damn.😊 Rise Of the Ranger is going on my TBR. And, Ascendant is already on my TBR but this rave review is putting it at the top. You are so energetic and excited about it that it makes me want to read it, desperately.😉 Thanks so much for all these wonderful recommendations.❤

[@miyayume_eclectic_dream]

I am always surpised how some book you talk about I also like but than there is ONE Book like Bridge Kingdom and our opinions are way apart 🤩

[@Griffnix]

Just found out about Songs of Chaos and Rise of the Ranger recently so I'm very interested in reading that. I just want to clear up some series I'm reading now before tackling new ones. The other series seems interesting but not my cup. Hope to see more self published works from you.

[@RodgersReads]

I have Ascendant...sounds like I need to prioritize that one so we can squeal about the cute dragon together lol

[@Michael_R_Miller]

Thanks for picking Ascendant up! Hope you enjoy it :D

[@spencedawg5029]

Hey Elliot! Just saying if you liked Ascendant and want to read another self-published fantasy series, highly recommend The Bound & Broken Series by Ryan Cahill! Started it a couple weeks ago, and it’s fun so far!

[@terrillrogers9983]

I’m right with you on the companion animal books…love them and first for me to read😊

[@lindsayjones6656]

Am I the only person who instantly thought of the little in Despicable Me and her stuffed unicorn when Elliot starts talking about how much she likes the animal side characters? It’s So Fluffy!!!

[@carsonallen4719]

The actual name of the authors for each book would be nice. Link or no link it's just proper etiquette

[@serenity8910]

Oooh I might try The Bridge Kingdom. I just finished A Fate Inked in Blood from the same author and I really enjoyed it! It was my first "romantasy" lol. Super fast-paced plot, war, forbidden love, lots of banter and just enough spice. The world building is slightly lacking though. But the ending was such a cliffhanger!

[@landscapesofink]

Endless War is being traditionally published. Penguin picked them up, the first three are already on shelves traditionally published. Maybe the fourth as well!

[@laurenschenck5355]

OMG! I love Ascendant (Songs of Chaos so much love the characters and the dragons are so magical and fearless and unbelievable beautifully written 💚🌸🌺🪻🌺🌸💚💚💚📖💙📙📙🥀🩵🩷🩷💓🪷💜💜🌞🪷💓💚💖💚💚🌸💚💚💚🪻🪻🪻📖💙💕🥀🩵💞💛💛💜🤍🌞🌞🌹🌞

[@Guinokun]

Magician - Raymond E. Feist was the book that makes me really love companions having Fantus the Fire Drake, but Fitz and Nighteyes connection in Farseer Trilogy - Robin Hobb starts to move away from what I like.

[@jessicaemery9421]

Try The Dragon Jousters series by Mercedes Lackey. A boy and his dragon. And a revolution. It's an all-time favorite.

[@kch_789]

5:56 the way I stopped drawing when I heard my name

[@LiteraryStoner]

Love seeing the indie love!

[@tmancour]

You should consider the self published indy Spellmonger Series. It's Epic-er fantasy.

[@Nasser851000]

Is there a good book to read during a hot summer day?

[@BookishDaddy]

Bride lol it was so good

[@saramm3765]

I’m planning on reading The Tide Child series (The Bone Ships is the first book) this summer. I want a water adventure. Also planning on trying The Ever King. A romantasy also involving the ocean.

[@BookishDaddy]

@@saramm3765 the Ever King is my next read! After I finish twisted love

[@ebnovels]

I honestly think a fun manga is great…perhaps Fullmetal Alchemist? 👀

[@surpriseitsus9622]

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi is fun. Also Kings of the Wyld...only because I read it two summers ago and had the best time.

[@moonstonepearl21]

Yes, just like getting a puppy. A really, really, really large puppy that can breathe fire.

[@bikash5706]

I would love to read self fantasy books but here in India self published fantsay books costs lot more than the traditional fantasy books. 😢

[@BookishDaddy]

Love this video idea!! So awesome

[@aelin2800]

How did I never know the bdrige kingdom was self published? 😂 I've read the first 3 and need to pick up the fourth, just haven't gotten around to it.

[@thewitchyreader6131]

Great Video!

[@rosieturbide6813]

Well, I'm not a fan of Bridge Kindom bur the other two seem really interesting :) Two new series to be read !

[@Cewooldridgejr]

Hello Elliot. I like that you are covering this topic. Think I am definitely going to pick up Ascendant for a friend's kid. Also, I am an indie author and would love to send you one of my books. I have sent you an e-mail.

[@reggieswilliams]

Good job

[@Demancer2]

All of these books pale in comparison to the fascinating piece of art...that is "AeonHeart".

[@laurenschenck5355]

Self published books needs more attention and I always support self published books so much 💕📖📖📖📚💕🪻💕📙💜💜🌸💖🩷🩷🫶🏻💛🤍🩵🌺💖📖📖🪷💓💙💙💞💙🥀💛💖🌸📖📙💕🪻🪻🌺🌺💖🌸💚