Time for me to share another book I've personally read and can recommend. (These are not book reviews, just personal recommendations with why I recommend them. I don't do book reviews and I don't take book review requests!)

This time I'm featuring No Man Can Tame (Book 1 of Dark-Elves of Nightbloom), fantasy romance by Miranda Honfleur. Normally, I'm not into elves. Not sure why; partly it's the pointy ears. I just don't do pointy ears. But on occasion I'll make an exception, and I made one for No Man Can Tame because it's an offshoot of Miranda Honfleur's Blade and Rose romantic fantasy series, which I really enjoy.

And I was really glad I gave it a try. Though I got a little frustrated with Aless at the beginning because she clearly had a lot of growing up to do, she really came into her own later in the book. And I thought Veron was awesome from the first moment I read him. He was forced into a political marriage with Aless, but he's willing to do his duty and do what's best for his people (a real hero does what's right even when it's hard), and he recognized that Aless was in his same position and had sympathy for her.

That was one of the things I especially liked about this book, was that the hero and heorine didn't resent each other for being forced into the marriage but quickly accepted that this was their lot in life so they would go forward together and make the best of it.

Another thing I liked about No Man Can Tame is that the "beast" doesn't change his appearance. My sister said about the Disney Beauty and the Beast, when Belle kisses the beast, "And then he turns into a handsome young rock star." 🤣 And I guess in the original versions, he changes back into a handsome human prince. But in No Man Can Tame, he doesn't change his appearance; what changes is the heroine's perception of him. Because, of course, beauty is what's on the inside, not on the outside.

No Man Can Tame is available on Amazon for $4.99 (or the international equivalent), though if you're in the US or UK (I think) you can get it for 99 cents through 31 August 2021. The second book in the series, Bright of the Moon, is also out now.

I'm part of a giant indie fantasy book fair going on right now, in connection with the Indie Fantasy Addicts Facebook group summer reading challenge. The challenge and the book fair go through the middle of September, so there's still time to join the group, join a team, and start reading. Discover more books, make new reading friends, play games, and maybe even win prizes! Or you can just browse the book fair and discover books by a whole bunch of indie fantasy authors.

My personal recs from the books in the book fair are the Witch of the Lake trilogy/Feast of the Mother (Witch of the Lake Book 1) by Miranda Honfleur and Nicolette Andrews, Blade and Rose by Miranda Honfleur, and No Man Can Tame also by Miranda Honfleur. But there are also a slew of books I haven't read yet that I want to! There's something for almost every fantasy taste, from epic fantasy to fantasy romance to urban fantasy, dragons, Asian-influence, GameLit, and more.

A lot of the books are Amazon-only, but if you're looking for books available at other ebook stores, here's a list I made (not 100% guaranteed; sometimes authors move books in and out of Amazon exclusivity): Gatebreaker - Michelle Wilson; Gisela's Passion - Astrid V.J.; Prophecy Tested - Shannon Pemrick; Finding Fae Artifacts - Isa Medina; Rogue Legacy - Jeffrey L. Kohanek; The Priestess and the Dragon - Nicolette Andrews; The Ancient Realms Collection - A.J. Flowers; Prophecy of Convergence - Shannon Pemrick; Dawn Rising - Lisa M. Green; Celestial Downfall boxed set - A.J. Flowers; Diviner's Prophecy - Nicolette Andrews; Dragon Lake by R.L. Davenor; Rotten Magic by Jeffrey Bardwell; Dorelle's Journey - Hannah Steenbock; Divinity's Twilight - Christopher Russell; Kitsune - Nicolette Andrews; Og-Grim-Dog by Jamie Edmundson; Destiny by Shannon Pemrick.

What new book or author will you discover?

I used to do a lot of book reviews. But I stopped several years ago because for various reasons I got more and more uncomfortable with publicly reviewing fellow authors' books. Now, I don't even mark them as "currently reading" on Goodreads any more.

But, I still want to share books I'm excited about and enjoyed, so that's what this feature is going to be about. This will be books I've read and enjoyed and personally recommend, not reviews but just a few words about why I recommend them. (And, btw, I do not take book review requests! This is strictly my own organic reading for fun.) I'll be sticking to my main genres of epic/high romantic fantasy (fantasy with strong romantic subplots) with some fantasy romance (romance with fantasy elements), standard epic/high fantasy, and some weird western mixed in. Mostly indie authors, but also some traditionally-published authors as well.

 So, with that intro, my first Reading Rec is the Coilhunter Chronicles by Dean F. Wilson. Weird western in a low-tech steampunk science fiction setting with some elements almost verging on magic.

The Coilhunter Chronicles starts with Coilhunter, and I fell in love with the series right away. Nox the Coilhunter is everything a bounty hunter should be, and more. Tragic past, thirst for justice, quick on the draw, follows a strong code of honor. Plus he's quite a tinkerer and inventor, with lots of awesome gadgets. He has some sidekicks, Mr. Quacky (I don't remember if that's the official name, but that's what fans of the series call it) the mechanical duck, and Porridge, the pilot and scavenger. He's flamboyant, to say the least, but he's also clever and heroic. Lots of great action, suspenseful stories, laugh-out-loud moments, and moments that get me all up in the feels or rip my heart out and stomp on it.

I just finished the latest book, Sixshooter (book 5), and I've loved every book in the series and can't wait for the next book. Each book is its own story, but for optimal enjoyment, I recommend reading them in order. There's a related series, The Great Iron War, that's concurrent with the Coilhunter series and events in it are referred to more often as the Coilhunter books go on, and it's also on my reading list.

Coilhunter:
Welcome to the Wild North, a desolate wasteland where criminals go to hide—if they can outlast the drought and the dangers of the desert. Or the dangers of something else.

Meet Nox, the Coilhunter. A mechanic and toymaker by trade, a bounty hunter by circumstance. He isn't in it for the money. He's in it for justice, and there's a lot of justice that needs to be paid.

Between each kill, he's looking for someone who has kept out of his crosshairs for quite a while—the person who murdered his wife and children. The trail has long gone cold, but there are changes happening, the kind of changes that uncover footprints and spent bullet casings.

Plagued by nightmares, he's made himself into a living one, the kind the criminals and conmen fear.

So, welcome, fair folk, to the Wild North. If the land doesn't get you, the Coilhunter will.