Top Five Wednesday | Favourite Self-Published Books

This week's Top Five Wednesday is Favourite Self-Published Books. I have to say I struggled slightly to find out which books that I've read were self-published, but I've managed to find a few! I'm going on the basis that these books were originally self-published, so even if they were later picked up by a publisher, I'm including them here. So, without further ado, here are my top five!

1. The Martian by Andy Weir

Well I wasn't aware that this was originally a self-published book until I looked it up, but this was a fantastic book that I read last year. I know most people will have heard of it as it came out as a movie last year, and was very popular in the BookTube community, so I won't go on about it too much. It was a brilliant, witty, well-written book that had me laughing out loud at times, while other moments had me on the edge of my seat. Full of suspense and adventure, I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys science fiction books.

2. The Silent Deal by Levi Stack (The Card Game Series)

I was offered to read and review this book, by the author, in 2014, and I could not be happier that I did. This book is set in Russia in the 1830s, in a land of aristocrats and serfs. The main character, Viktor, lives in Aryk, a town with a mysteries and hidden past which no-one talks about, but everyone knows it is related to the cards. When Viktor meets the strange forest-boy, known as Romulus, they dive head-first into the enigma of the cards to discover more of the town's past, and their own. There is just so much mystery in this book, and it's sequel was equally amazing. I highly recommend checking this book out as not many people have heard of it. If you enjoy books with a historical setting then you'll love this. I have a full review of this book that you can read here if you're interested!

3. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

After looking up self-published books, I discovered that one of my favourite classics was originally self-published: A Christmas Carol. I'm sure everyone will have heard of this short book, but if you've never read it, or have been put off by it being a classic, then I suggest just giving it a read. It's extremely short and beautifully written; definitely one of my favourite Christmas stories.






4. The Ending Series by Lindsey Pogue and Lindsey Fairleigh

The Ending Series, starting with After the Ending, is an extremely interesting and rather unique series of books set in a world suffering an Apocalypse. It was originally recommended to me by my sister when it was free on the Kobo store (which it still is if anyone is interested! Click here). She loved it and so I picked it up soon after and it had me hooked. The book follows two main characters who are friends on different sides of the country, Zoe and Dani, and alternates between their perspectives. It is set in America when a deadly virus hits, wiping out most of the population and leaving those who survive different. Although I had some problems with the series overall, it was still a very enjoyable and addictive read. I have reviews for the first three books in this series on my Book Reviews page if anyone wants to know any more about this Dystopian series.

5. Angelfall Trilogy by Susan Ee

I read this trilogy last year and I have to say I really enjoyed it. It was a very different take on a post-apocalyptic world, using Angels in a way I'd never seen before. Although I had a few problems with the romance and some of the plot points, I did find this trilogy enjoyable and refreshing to read.

 
Those were my Top Five Favourite Self-Published books. Let me know what yours are! (And also let me know if you also struggled to find out which books were originally self-published!)

Just in case anyone is new to this, Top Five Wednesday was created by Lainey (Gingerreadslainey on YouTube), so that people can share more of their favourite (or sometimes least favourite) books in an interesting way. She creates weekly topics for each month so Bloggers and YouTubers alike to discuss books. The group which lists the monthly topics can be found here! And if you want to see more of my previous Top Five Wednesday Blog posts, you can click here!