So, I know that the title of this post is long. Too long. But I have so much exciting information to share with you…

Today I have an extra post for you. Books are some of my best friends as a chronically ill teen. I’ve always loved to read, but when the days get long and the energy is low, when you’re stuck in bed, or waiting at the doctor’s office… books can be wonderful escapes. We get to jump into other worlds, take a break from our own problems, are escape reality for a moment. That sort of relief is something to be thankful for.

Therefore, without further ado, here are some (though it was hard to limit it) favorites of mine that you might enjoy:

1. The Ilyon Chronicles by Jaye L. Knight – Yeah, yeah, this is a series not a single book, but hey! I had to fit as many into this supposedly ‘5 book’ list as possible, right? 😉 If you want, you can change this to be only ‘Resistance’ (the first book of the Ilyon Chronicles) but I thought I needed to mention the whole series…. because if you read one, you’re probably going to end up reading the rest of them. This clean Christian fantasy series is one of my favorites. The characters are relatable (see just how relatable they are for the chronically ill teen here), and the plot is well written. I’ve read and re-read this series many times… in fact, the first time I read it, I read all three that were out at the time in about a week… not that they were short, I just couldn’t put them down!
2. Sufficient Grace by Jessica Greyson – Written by the same person who wrote Tracking Ruby (which you may have seen me gushing about on Instagram recently), this book is amazing. Amazing. The first time I read it, I related to one character the most. The next time (and more sickness later), I related to another. Ah! I love this book. Don’t get me wrong, though…. while all the books mentioned so far are very relatable to those who are chronically ill, it’s not about sickness… it’s still an uplifting escape. 🙂 This one is a clean Christian historical fiction book.
3. Counted Worthy by Leah E. Good – *beams* Can I say how much I love this book? (I suppose that’s the point of this review? Lol.) (And I’m totally not just trying to come up with a different adjective for each book/series (sarcasm)… they’re all simply amazing.) This one is a beautiful story, with such lovable characters, and an important message(s). Also, just so you know, Leah is one of my all-time favorite authors. Anyway…. this one is also a clean Christian book like the others, except it’s dystopian. However, even my mom, who usually dislikes dystopian books, enjoyed this one. As well as my younger sister (who likes dystopian). I just think everyone should buy this one, but that’s my opinion….
4. Kate’s Innocence by Sarah Holman – Sarah is the author of many different books and genres, but as I was trying to diversify my recommendations I chose this one. It’s about an FBI team, a young woman named Kate, and their modern-day adventures as they try to solve a crime for which Kate is blamed. Also clean, this one and its sequel are interesting, with some well-rounded characters. I can’t wait for the next one in the series to come out!
5. Burning Rose by Hope Ann – This collection of interrelated Christian fairy tale retellings are a treasure (see, a new adjective 😉 ). My favorite of them all by far is Rose of the Oath, a Beauty and the Beast retelling. I helped beta read it (though that doesn’t have anything to do with it), and I simply love it. The characters and sweetness of it are wonderful. Hope does a great job of staying true to the story, but still keeping it original, while simultaneously sharing an uplifting Christian theme.

….and then I find myself here, wondering why in the world I chose to only recommend 5 (ish)… there are too many you need to read! Like Victoria Lynn’s London in the Dark and Bound, J. Grace Pennington’s sci-fi Firmament series, Tricia Mingerink’s Blades of Acktar, or (SPECIAL MENTION) my good friend Natalie Marie’s book A World Through Autistic Eyes. But alas.

Interested in any of those books? Well, I’ve got some good news. Every single book mentioned in this post are going to be on sale. Yep, all of them. In honor of Thanksgiving and Black Friday, a group of independent Christian authors (the wery ones who have written the above books) have banded together to offer a huge selection of discounted books between Nov 24th and 30th. There’s literally something for everyone.

On November 24th, the Indie Christian Books website (http://www.indiechristianbooks.com) will go live. Every single book listed will be on sale in one or more ways. Find discounted paperbacks, dozens of books offered with free shipping, $0.99 ebooks,package deals and more. Even if you have a budget of $0, new reading material awaits you. When you purchase a paperback book through indiechristianbooks.com you’ll be eligible to enter an exclusive giveaway including free books and an Amazon gift card! I mean, y’all… is this is like Christmas early or what?! It just keeps getting better and better.

Enter into the giveaway here, and earn more entries by commenting on the other blog posts in the blog tour as they appear in the next few days: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/62a405b99/

You can meet the authors by visiting the Author Database on the website. Want to get to know the authors better AND have the chance to win some fun prizes? We’d love to have you join our week long Facebook party which will feature 39 authors over 7 days.

What awesome reads of 2016 are you grateful for? What books are you looking forward to reading in 2017?

A note on the Ebooks Only page. Many of the books are listed as “Sold Out.” This is because we aren’t selling those directly through our site. Please click onto the product pages to find descriptions and links to discounted or free ebooks.

Acknowledgements: Thanks to Leah E. Good and Kendra E. Ardnek for their work organizing this sale, and Hannah Mills for her fantastic design work on the website graphics. Hannah can be contacted at hmills(at)omorecollege(dot)edu for more information about her design services.