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Donovan's Bookshelf

April 2023 Review Issue


Table Of Contents

Prime Picks
Fantasy & Sci Fi
Literature
Biography & Autobiography
Mystery & Thrillers
Novels
Reviewer's Choice
Young Adult/Childrens


Fantasy & Sci Fi

ALFIE: Earth's Last Hope
Ignacio F. Bunster-Ossa
‎Inspiration Pointe Press
978-0996840644            $14.95 Paper/$9.95 ebook
https://www.amazon.com/ALFIE-Earths-Ignacio-F-Bunster-Ossa/dp/0996840648/ 

ALFIE: Earth's Last Hope will delight hard sci-fi readers with its contrasts between a high-tech future's ability to mitigate the ecological devastation of Earth and the realization that Earth's environmental degradation and abuse are not something to flee from; but tasks important to acknowledge and fix. Can humanity save its home? 

Opposing forces and special interests each try to influence the planet's future. There is a stark disparity between saving the planet's biodiversity and plundering it to the bitter end, and this dichotomy is illustrated in the course of a story that follows each train of thought about the planet's future and mankind's responsibility in managing it. 

Add an alien intelligence into the mix that also holds its own special interests and influences for a tale that brings to life those who would party away their inheritance and those who would preserve it. 

Ignacio F. Bunster-Ossa surveys suspended lives, errant behaviors, technology-laden futures, and the impact of attitudes and choices which lead to conceit, blind rage, the ethics of an ecological approach to managing landscapes and communities, and the ultimate impact of profiting from planetary changes. 

While part of the tone of the story lies in a romp through social, political, and technological decision-making follies, injecting a wry ironic humor into unfolding events, it also represents a thought-provokingly powerful examination of what happens when humans exploit nature without concern for its demise or health. 

The ecological and social messages embedded in this story pair hard sci-fi with social issues in an unusual, revealing manner. 

ALFIE: Earth's Last Hope is highly recommended to sci-fi and social issues readers not just for its futuristic focus, but for its many considerations of human impacts on the planet. These portraits venture into realms of good, evil, and the ways in which mankind burns itself in the process of plundering the world. 

ALFIE: Earth's Last Hope

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Avelune 
Larissa N. N. Davila
Stone Raven Press
979-8-9851260-4-4                  $23.95 Paper/$9.99 ebook
www.StoneRavenPress.com 

Avelune continues the Sky Seekers epic fantasy series with a third book that expands the stark world of rival clans begun in the debut novel Shorn. 

Here, Jhared Denaban, a young Shorn man, clashes with his own kind and with those who have long sought to enslave him. 

Larissa N. N. Davila paints a compelling portrait of a world and an individual teetering on the edge of chaos. She is especially adept at encouraging her readers to consider the impact of Jhared's conflicting missions on his own goals: "...what if your Teachers are hunting for you on the Paths? Don’t you risk drawing their attention each time you travel? Aren’t you more vulnerable when you exhaust yourself?” 

As Jhared travels among friends and foes, and toes a dangerous line between revelation and destruction, he comes to realize that the hurt he's suffered defies healing—but may be the driving force marking his ability to change his world. 

The epic clashes presented in Avelune are as much psychological as they are physical as Jhared, driven in directions he never thought he would travel, accepts his destiny and rejects his dreams: "More than anything Jhared wanted what Moravel offered, but he could not be healed. He was Shorn. The skies would never be his." 

If the devil offers to fill an impossible dream, does he become a savior, or a force ending everything? 

Throughout the course of the story, Jhared searches for an elusive truth and gains the wings to fly with it. Jhared's journey is a compelling search for discovery and redemption that leads readers on another breathtaking flight of fantasy. 

Libraries seeing enthusiasm for Shorn and Cael's Shadow will find this third volume in the Sky Seekers series to be just as action-packed as its predecessors. Prior fans who have the grounding in this world to appreciate its ongoing battles will relish the unexpected directions undertaken by Jhared in Avelune, which introduces readers to unexpected love and a strange source of freedom.  

Avelune 

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The Borderlands of Forever
Jeff B Willey
Outcosm Creations
978-1-7386602-0-9        Price: $22.22 Hardcover / $14.03 Paper / $3.33 ebook
Website: www.Outcosm.com
Ordering: https://www.amazon.com/Borderlands-Forever-Illustrated-Novel/dp/1738660206 

Speculative fiction readers well know that the pickings in this genre are relatively slim, compared to traditional sci-fi and fantasy. The Borderlands of Forever blends elements of cyberpunk, dystopian fiction, AI challenges, and urban fantasy in its speculative tale of shifting realities, and will delight those who look for complex, thought-provoking scenarios embracing humanity's evolutionary process. 

A timeline of events opens the story in 2043, when humanity first encountered the Voing. The tale then moves through time to the 2200s, when humans and machines are integrated and facing new potentials together, and finally to the inevitable clash of the Paroxysm in 2888. 

It should be noted that the account starts in 2106 and jumps back and forth through time until the end of everything in 3113. This non-linear progression may stymie those who anticipate the usual set series of advancements of a traditional plot, but will delight readers seeking more intellectual and thought-provoking flows from the characters and planet-changing circumstances that develop. 

Treks and revolutionaries, revised wild worlds and super-intelligences which traverse its boundaries, and questionable trails that lead to unexpected answers mark a vivid saga that takes the time to inject environmental inspection and a sense of place into its ethereal setting: 

"We found the gelatinous mass of a slime-mold resting on a tree stump, its cellular body in a slow-motion ooze, bending light through itself. Transparent butterflies. Monkey trip-lines. Quetzals called to each other unseen, a song of three repeating elements. Smudges of vibrating colour were all we could perceive of hummingbirds, who like hyperkinetic electron clouds never localized in one place." 

The characters play with atomic fire, choose battles (sometimes carefully and others carelessly), and fight for control of the minds of people, facing perceived malevolent forces that would employ high technology in newly dangerous ways. 

As humanity moves from Earth to the stars and reinvents itself both physically and psychically, so changing prophets and belief systems confront strange attitudes, new worlds, and possibilities that both blossom and contract to redefine mankind's endeavors and countenance. 

From starships to cloud forests, these adventures push the definition and experience of humanity in a manner that will lend to thought-provoking book club discussions and sci-fi reader contemplation. 

However you define it, The Borderlands of Forever is an adventure in evolution that contrasts the revised intentions of men with the machines and drives that bring them into alien territory, both within themselves and in the outside world. 

Libraries looking for engrossing speculative works must include The Borderlands of Forever in their collections as a literary example of the power in blending philosophical, technological, and social inspection within a speculative sci-fi overlay. 

The Borderlands of Forever

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Eliza and the Alchemist
Carlos Lacámara
Fixed Mark Productions, Inc.
9798986742700         $16.95
Website: clacamara.com
Ordering: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BWJ62NDC/ 

Eliza and the Alchemist blends fantasy and humor in a story that traverses different worlds, from a twenty-three-year-old urban gang banger still living at home (but facing the possibility of change) to circumstances that introduce him and Eliza to new worlds they've never navigated before. 

Jaime is once again staring into the barrel of a gun as the story's prologue opens. Eliza appears in the first chapter in a very different situation as she navigates a relationship and contemplates an intimacy she can't accept. She is a young woman on the cusp of great things, entering new adulthood with many possibilities and much strength in hand. 

As disparate characters and worlds intersect, readers are treated to a story that moves through fantasy and reality with equal dexterity. 

Eliza finds many of her blossoming abilities thwarted by her latest pursuit ("Her failure as a detective was only surpassed by her failure as a woman."), while Jaime faces his own repetitive patterns of failure ("Jaime covers his face and waits for the next punch, just like he’s done all his life. Just like he’ll keep doing for forever and ever."). 

When she falls out of her world and into a mystery and adventure upon entering Professor Crowley's office, Eliza finds herself on an express train through hell, riding into a reality that exists just beneath her own perceptions. Is she psychotic or insane, or is she seeing ghosts? And what is Oliver Crowley doing in her dream, if so? 

As reality and fantasy entwine, Eliza and Jaime's disparate lives come together in a James Bond-style series of scenarios involving assassins, demons, and evil. 

Carlos Lacámara's infusion of adventure, self-discovery, and magical realism creates a story replete in mystery and explorations of different situations that ultimately challenge each character to not just survive, but evolve. 

Libraries looking for urban fantasies that flavor their reality-busting stories with wry humor and nonstop action will find Eliza and the Alchemist a riveting tale that's impossible to predict and hard to put down. 

Eliza and the Alchemist

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The Final Season: Planet Gallywood #1
Andrew Gillsmith
Independently Published
‎ 979-8367783919           $14.99 Paper/$2.99 ebook
https://www.amazon.com/Final-Season-Planet-Gallywood/dp/B0BRYY11XJ 

Fans of the quirky sci-fi novels of Douglas Adams now have a new author to follow: Andrew Gillsmith. His prowess at blending irony, humor, intrigue, and life inspection shines in much the same manner as Adams in The Final Season: Planet Gallywood #1. 

The prologue introducing this milieu sounds like a classic Adams observation: "If the inhabitants of Rexos-4 had anything resembling a common creed, it would almost certainly have been "Mxtlpicam bnak ooligapn," which in most languages translated to something like "What's the bloody point?" In the original Rexan tongue, the question mark had been dropped; deemed as not only unnecessary but also contrary to the spirit of the expression. There was indeed no bloody point, and the Rexans damn well knew it." 

With this, the most popular entertainment franchise in the known universe sets off into a foray in which the Rexans face the end of their world with an attention to pulling off a grand finale in a manner never seen before. 

As Gallywood executives and participants struggle to create the spectacle of going out with a bang, readers are drawn into a rollicking ride that explores the best of all possible worlds—even if it does reside on the edge of apocalypse. 

From virginity broken to galactic civilizations that exist not by "darting around amongst the stars and doing great things," but by people who are "carrying on about their lives and trying to make their way through the workweek without being discouraged to the point of giving up," Gillsmith adopts a speculative tone that enables characters to dance around each other and the biggest concern and objective overriding their lives ... their demise. 

Between government lotteries and rescue attempts to the entertainment businesses's management of an end of the world spectacle, The Final Season is simply outstanding. It's a prime example of science fiction's venture into new worlds, sparked by a future entertainment industry gone awry. 

Is there a happy ending to the saga, or a tragedy? 

Libraries and readers looking for Douglas Adams-style sci-fi inspections on steroids will find The Final Season a colorful examination of life's meaning, death's universal threat and promise, and the efforts of media to capitalize on it all by pinpointing the meaning of and irony behind everything, including entertainment. 

The Final Season: Planet Gallywood #1

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The Healer's Miraculous Discovery
Stephen Robbins
Independently Published
978-1-66786-561-4         $18.27 Paper/$6.49 Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/Healers-Miraculous-Discovery-Stephen-Robbins/dp/1667865617 

What does it mean to discover a power that mandates one not only utilize it for the greater good, but capitalize on its presence and meaning? 

The Healer's Miraculous Discovery is a novel of fantasy and life possibilities that revolves around young Stevie Katz's discovery of an object in his parents' store that gives him extraordinary healing abilities. The unexpected power he exhibits leads others to herald him a kind of savior—an illusion that he begins to embrace himself as he moves away from the idea that his abilities come from other than his newfound inherent divinity. 

At first Steve protests the charge that he represents some kind of miracle: “I can’t explain it,” Steve said as his face reddened. “There must be an explanation, but I don’t have it, and as I said, if you want me to tell you I’m some messenger from God to save you all… that would be dishonest, and I can’t do that to you.” 

The process by which he comes to convince himself that he harbors just such a blessing pairs with a growing conviction that, in actuality, his life purpose is to save a self-destructing society from itself. And so he embarks on a televangenlical pursuit as an adult which warps an odd chance discovery into an opportunity to change the turbulent milieu of the 1960s. 

Stephen Robbins presents a likeable character as flawed by his own miracle as he is by his perception of his role and influence. As he tackles conventions, tries to save the world, and finds himself in over his head, Steve's questioning of self and social purpose translates to a second chance in life not only for others touched by his unique miracle, but for himself. 

The social, spiritual, and philosophical ramifications of Steve's life make for a sci-fi read that incorporates bigger-picture thinking into its plot. Readers who look for tales that begin with individual experience but blossom into broader quests for truth and life meaning will find the questions raised in The Healer's Miraculous Discovery to be thought-provoking. Book clubs looking for many discussion points relating to miracles and transformations will find many options for group debate. 

The Healer's Miraculous Discovery is highly recommended for libraries looking for crossovers between sci-fi and fictional representations of personal and social change. Its plausible possibilities create many insights and reflections that readers won't see coming: 

"Steve tried his best to provide a warm thanks for her hospitality, but inside he was offended by what he perceived as false, opportunistic, insincere, and predatory. He was also feeling something new—jealousy. For the first time, he saw things that made him realize that while he was struggling with building his own group, worried that he might offend someone, feeling that he had much more to offer, he had failed to see the opportunity for personal gain that others had exploited; he failed to capitalize on it." 

The Healer's Miraculous Discovery

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The Message
Bill Harvey
The Human Effectiveness Institute
978-0-918538-17-8                $14.99 Paper/$7.99 ebook
Website: https://www.humaneffectivenessinstitute.org/billharveyblog/the-message-by-bill-harvey/
Ordering: https://www.amazon.com/Message-Agents-Cosmic-Intelligence/dp/0918538173/ 

Bill Harvey's The Message presents Episode 11 of the Agents of Cosmic Intelligence series, providing a prequel and introduction to Pandemonium. It presents a future world changed by a psychic message that everyone receives. 

Vying political forces struggle to locate the source of a message so powerful that it's likely whoever discovers this wellspring will change the world. 

As a world-hopping quest evolves, Harvey presents an exploration of social, military, and political circles that is heavily steeped in both psychological revelations and intrigue. 

A wide cast of characters interact with not only transformative possibilities, but the changing nature of their own objectives and perceptions of their place in humanity and the universe as they are forced to confront new possibilities in leadership and alien influences. 

Should the Leaders be trusted? Can control be maintained in a situation which is rapidly spiraling out of everyone's hands? 

From high-tech combat situations to encounters of the fourth kind, Harvey's survey represents not just a bid for power and control, but an effort to redirect the course of humanity itself. 

The psychic investigation that is the central theme of the story experiences many influences and forces as characters explore new perceptions of the universe and their place in it. The buffet of revised spiritual, psychological, cognitive and sensory perceptions add an extra dimension of human ability and growth to the story that gives it a distinctly intellectual flavor. 

If there's one thing to be said about this series, it's that it defies pat categorization. Those who would peg it as military sci-fi, hard sci-fi, or thriller would all be correct—but these labels represent only a fraction of the attraction and strength of the series as a whole and The Message in particular. 

Whether The Message is chosen for its futuristic social experiments in transformation, its riveting action-packed world, or the changes characters experience in the redefinition of their perceptions and purposes, one thing remains true—the story is complex, inviting, and hard to put down. 

Libraries and readers seeking a different brand of sci-fi adventure steeped with thought-provoking intersections between media, society, and individual lives will find The Message and its kin to be a special, unique brand of higher-level political and social examination. They ideally will spark debates among book club circles and groups discussing future societies, values, and life purposes. 

The Message

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Pandemonium: Live to All Devices
Bill Harvey
The Human Effectiveness Institute
978-0-918538-15-4                $19.99 Paper/$9.99 ebook
Website: https://www.humaneffectivenessinstitute.org/billharveyblog/pandemonium-live-to-all-devices/
Ordering: https://www.amazon.com/Pandemonium-Devices-Agents-Cosmic-Intelligence/dp/0918538157/ 

Pandemonium: Live to All Devices is set twenty years in the future, when an American president seizes control of the country, hides in a nuclear bunker, and installs a robot version of himself in the Oval Office to handle everyday affairs. 

In this future, robots are virtually indistinguishable from humans, and psychic spies are an active and recognized part of the paramilitary forces. These two facts dovetail in a powerful scenario that taps into and unfolds just about every thriller device that has attracted genre readers in the past, from aliens, robots, and power plays to AI takeovers and bids for control. 

If all this sounds like a thriller rooted in action (which it is), it should also be mentioned that Pandemonium's real attraction and unique quality lies in its approach to societal interactions and differences as the characters reflect this futuristic setting in disparate ways. 

Take the opening lines, for one example: 

"Theta Force methods were bizarre, by the Army standards Templegard knew. Tim had explained the method they were now practicing as his own interpretation of something Williams had said about the advantages of psychic nakedness ... Templegard found it easy to maintain his erotic concentration shield while naked in a hot tub with three naked female Theta officers as they attempted remote sensing—seeing things as if being there—of the Kremlin. It was Templegard’s first attempt. He got nowhere. His mind wandered." 

This experience sets the stage for both understanding the vastly revised milieu of this futuristic society, where forces compete on different psychic levels, and for reader immersion in a surreal blend of detective investigation and contrasts between dreams, realities, and psychological foundations shaken by both. 

A wry sense of irony often emerges from the interactions between disparate leaders and powerful guiding forces affecting the organization and control of this world: 

“Our purpose,” Snike continued, “is to have a measured ethical response to any country that persistently will not recognize that it is trespassing on the rights of other countries. We are not forming just for the situation in the South China Sea but for all situations that could threaten world peace in the future.”
“What we mean by a measured ethical response,” said the Prime Minister of Israel, “is an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. We will not overrespond, that would be unethical and cause escalation. Our purpose is to thwart escalation.”
 

The depth of psychological examination of individuals, organizations, country leaders, and worldviews makes for an outstanding enhancement of the usual sci-fi attention to action and confrontation. This gives Pandemonium a transformative feel and quality that makes it as much an intellectual pursuit as an action-packed adventure. 

From how a "new, nicer Hitler" is envisioned and groomed, to the looming specter of World War Three, Bill Harvey leads readers on a satisfyingly unpredictable romp through a future world in which special interests have humanity's future in thrall. 

Because this world is so easy to slip into and understand, powered by references which make it simple to enter and hard to set aside, it's surprising to note that this is actually Episodes 12 and 13 of a series that carries forward the spiritual, philosophical, and intellectual concepts of its predecessors. It should be noted that the Agents series is being published out of sequential order (a la Star Wars), so that only Episodes 2, 11, and 12-13 have so far been published. It stands so nicely on its own that newcomers won't be lost. 

Controlling outcomes and confronting evil has never felt so multifaceted and thoroughly engrossing as in Pandemonium: Live to All Devices. The story builds a futuristic series of dilemmas, exploring high-tech heroes whose allies in crime and predicaments over love and world domination prove to be part of a greater media struggle involving augmented reality and revised tools for survival. 

Libraries and readers seeking higher-level thinking than an action-packed sci-fi adventure alone will find all these requirements met in a story which juxtaposes individual interests with higher-level questions such as "Whatever became of that great nation we once were?" 

The answer explored here maintains that it's constantly under siege, revision, and transformation from various forces both technical and psychological in nature. 

Book clubs interested in novels that develop intriguing debates about futuristic encounters, thinking, and purposes will find plenty of fodder for discussion in Pandemonium: Live to All Devices. 

Pandemonium: Live to All Devices

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The Sherangivan
Jacqueline Fellows
Mathias Key Fantasy
9798987205709             $16.00 Paper/$4.99 ebook
Website: www.mathiaskeyfantasy.com
Ordering: www.amazon.com 

The Sherangivan: A Tale of Esseduin depicts a world changed by an attack, murder, and the rupture of a kingdom. It follows the entry of strangers into a world that Caleb thought he knew well—the villages outside of the capital city of Esseduin. In fact, it evolves to become a land he barely knows and can hardly survive as he faces Bured warriors and navigates both the reality of his life and the dangerous dreams that draw him into another realm of possibilities. These experiences revise his role in life and challenge the confidence he once held in its logical progression. 

Jacqueline Fellows crafts an evocative fantasy that attracts in different ways, from the confusing romantic choices Caleb experiences with two very different young women to his changing role in his family and community and his ability to tackle warriors or riots despite the efforts of his best friend Val to save him. 

The sherang that can live in souls and take over leads Caleb to wonder if what lies inside him is murdering people. As the differences between dreams, memories, and murderous maladies are exposed, Caleb is forced to confront what lives in his soul and manifests itself in an already-conflicted world. 

Those who are Sherangivars move differently in their worlds. Jacqueline Fellows weaves a compelling story of a young man who struggles with alien forces both within and outside of himself, drawing readers into a moving tale replete with demons and discoveries. 

The story ends with an open invitation for more, but concludes Caleb's adventure in a satisfying manner that is not quite a cliffhanger. 

Libraries and readers looking for evocative blends of murder mystery, fantasy, and shifting interpersonal relationships under siege will find that The Sherangivan portrays a vivid world, filling it with characters that prove believable and courageous in satisfyingly different ways. 

The Sherangivan

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Literature

Godly Riddims
Dianne Lindsay
Atmosphere Press
978-1-63988-741-5         $17.99 Paper/$26.99 Hardcover
www.atmospherepress.com 

Godly Riddims represents spiritual reflection at its best, and will be thoroughly enjoyed by Christian readers interested in a reflective work that closely considers the presence, actions, and promise of God in daily life. 

Dianne Lindsay cultivates a literary hand in crafting verse that both celebrates and considers God's mystery and promise. Her writings, presented in short passages that explore "the love of God moving upon one’s heart like sweet melodies," embrace the concepts of encouragement and enlightenment that represent the promise of perceiving and inspecting God. 'Riddims' ("the rhythmic movement or beat of a song") are chosen as a literary choice that allows this engagement to be accessed by a wider audience than prose alone could have achieved. 

Lindsay's special form of encouragement and celebration provides spiritual thinkers with reflections that can serve as daily reading in a book that lends to non-linear pursuit. Open any page to discover a new passage of wisdom, as in 'Breastplace of Righteousness': "We walk in righteousness/We Live in your position/We have the mind of Christ/As we stand to fight..." 

The succinct nature of these works translates to the most punch in the least amount of words. Readers already immersed in the task of spiritual reflection will find these thought-provoking riddims to be inviting and deceptively deep in contemplative opportunity despite their seemingly short, simple countenances. 

Libraries and readers looking for spiritually reflective works that can join other examples of accessible literary forms, paired with a celebration and inspection of God, will find Godly Riddims an attraction. 

Godly Riddims

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Madame Curie's Piano Tuner
Steven Barron
Atmosphere Press
978-1-63988-712-5         $26.99
www.atmospherepress.com 

Madame Curie's Piano Tuner blends historical fact with literary fancy and license, using a wry, wicked sense of ironic humor as it examines the life of newly licensed piano tuner Raymond Dover. His visit to the berg of Bucksnort, to provide his services to a veteran's retirement home, results in unexpected amnesia, recovery, and a revised purpose in life. 

Readers who embark on Raymond's life journey will first note the appealingly creative chapter titles which portend a different kind of read than a staid progression of events. Titles such as "Patriotism and a Bad Migraine (tough times for pigs and chickens)" and "The Mick, the Moose, and Whitey" appear alongside "Read ’em and Weep" and "Shrunken Heads and Chloroform Dreams," creating inviting headers that shroud their contents in intrigue and invitation. 

It should be mentioned that Madame Curie's Piano Tuner is no light-hearted romp. Almost 800 pages of literary, social, and psychological inspection create a story that is challenging (in that it appears less than linear, from protagonist Ray's recollections and jumbled experiences), but well worth the extra effort. For, hidden in the complex series of sometimes-lengthy descriptions and ponderings, this rich collection of thought-provoking nomadic journeys injects its descriptors with reflective metaphors and scintillating symphonies of revelation: 

"During their existence, all keyboard-equipped devices, at one time or another, lose direction, some more frequently than others and through no fault of their own. Short shifts in the wilderness are no big deal unless the drift extends, and loss veers chronic. When this occurs, propriety becomes secondary. Units grow agitated, dream of purposeful daggers shoved up the spines of absentee owners and puissant land-lords. Others, wearied of revenge or judicial recourse, pull on Protestant pants, medicate with surface protectants and dancehall gin, often threatening physical harm to themselves. Wood and chords darken, keys and foot pedals check depth charts, review rosters, fumble for coats, grow despondent over tardy maintenance measures and long expired warranty agreements. Once pristine and perfect, notes drift and pitch heads for the ditch. Who but the tuner is there to halt the downward spiral?" 

As the metaphor and reality of the piano tuner become a progressive melody for tackling life and its ironic twists, turns, and representations, literary readers receive a work that is so compelling in its displays, so unexpected in its twists, and so satisfying in its meditative ramblings through the life of Raymond and the society he moves through that it proves surprisingly hard to put down. 

Surprising, because 800-page novels typically are easy to set aside and daunting to absorb—but such descriptors may only be applied to audiences who somehow choose this book expecting a light-hearted romp. Its length should forewarn that the reading effort will be more than casual, but the real pleasure of Madame Curie's Piano Tuner lies in its ability to inject a sense of shock and awe contrast between Raymond's rambling observations and those social forces which swirl around him with unpredictable airs and flavors. 

This literary dance is especially recommended for libraries looking for solid examples of experimental and literary works and for college-level literature teachers using contemporary literary writings as illustrations of creative prowess. Dancing revelations spill from the tip of the writer's pen from the focal point of heartfelt perceptions. 

It's easier to get into something than exit from it. Madame Curie's Piano Tuner will prove surprisingly compelling for its length and complexity, and will delight readers seeking fresh voices, original works, and a jumble of thought-provoking life perspectives. 

Madame Curie's Piano Tuner

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Seasons of Life
Susan McLeod
Atmosphere Press
978-1-63988-711-8         $14.99
www.atmospherepress.com 

Poetry readers who choose Seasons of Life will find it a collection spanning childhood, coming-of-age, and adulthood. It offers inspections both personal and universal as it discusses family, holidays, and the "four seasons" of growth which tie them together. 

In many ways, Seasons of Life represents a throwback ... to simpler times and to rhythms lost in the modern swing towards free verse, much of which has almost lost the ability to be defined as 'poetry'. The rhyming simplicity of Susan McLeod's effort alludes to a time when poetry was both readily understandable and rhythmically attractive. One example lies in her survey of various kids' games, such as 'Hoops': "Roll, roll our hoops on the grass they go/Which way they fall, we don’t know/Playing with our hoops was lots of fun/Kept my friends and I on the run/I remember a simpler time/When playing hoops was very fine."

Modern poetry readers seem to look for and embrace a sense of complexity and philosophical musing in their works. The progressive short pieces in this collection pack a lot of punch into a number of succinct descriptions of life, allowing for more experiences to be explored than one would think by the page count of this book. 

Seasons of Life is a road map of experiences of a bygone era. The cadence of the rhyme, the simple daily life experiences which are presented with a sense of joy rather than complexity, and the attention to swimming holes, summer days, and family comfort is a breath of fresh air against the usual angst-laden emotional turmoil of modern poetry. It will attract readers seeking expressions of life's progression in a more celebratory manner than most poetic inspections offer. 

Seasons of Life

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Biography & Autobiography

Destiny's Daughter
Frances Altman
Apprentice House Press
978-1-62720-423-1         $17.99 Paper/$6.49 ebook
www.ApprenticeHouse.com 

Destiny's Daughter: Highlighting the life of Mary Edwards Walker, Maverick Suffragist, Doctor, and Medal of Honor Recipient: An Advocate for Women from Then to Now is the powerful biography of a woman who made a name for herself as a Civil War doctor and the only woman to receive the Medal of Honor. It represents some fifty years of research into her life and writings, but Frances Altman weaves these facts into a riveting story that should be part of any women's history or biography collection. 

From the very beginning, where Altman introduces Mary Edwards Walker and traces the roots of her fascination with Mary's life, readers receive lively connections between achievement and life philosophies that juxtapose the practicalities of being an advocate with intellectual observations: 

"I acknowledge she practiced many of the principles I borrowed and used. Perhaps young women today may be in need of similar advice. For instance, she urged us to wear sturdy shoes if we are going to rally, march, or stand in a line. That sometimes it might be better to hold your tongue or listen." 

Altman recreates Walker's life with the descriptive draw of fiction, giving her chronicle an animated feel from the very start: 

"Mary Edwards Walker was a feisty, petite girl who loved to jump, run like a deer, and kick at rocks in the dirt as she walked along the Bunker Hill Road near her home. When no one was watching she was likely to pull up a handful of dandelions, blow their puffy tops away, and then nibble at the leaves, providing they were tender. She loved being out in the open air, playing pretend, or following her father around to watch him tinker with farm machinery." 

This method of exploring Walker's life, world, and philosophy brings to life all the facets of coming of age as a young woman during these times, following Walker's early experiences, influences, and the unique perspectives on life she would adopt to not just survive, but thrive. 

Walker's feisty, spirited countenance led her to be admired by men and women as she forged new roads in her life, administering to military personnel and civilians alike and cementing her reputation as a capable physician in a man's world. 

While she operated as a military doctor, Walker was in effect a free agent—a civilian contact surgeon whose work resulted in less pay than the nurses under her.  As she advocated for women's rights and health, rebutting suffragist leaders even as she promoted women's independence, readers will especially appreciate the dichotomy Walker represented both during her times and to modern young women. 

Her resilience, ability to charm both sexes, and her spunky determination to right wrongs makes for a story that is inspirational, revealing, historically accurate, and emotionally compelling for modern women who would understand not just Walker's influence, but her times. 

From the clothing she sewed and wore to her navigation of the confusing and conflicting social and political worlds of men and women, Destiny's Daughter provides a powerful examination of a woman's life, determination, and influences. 

Ideally, Destiny's Daughter will be included in women's history and issues libraries, but will also be chosen for highlight and debate by book clubs interested in women's issues and biographies of early pioneers of women's rights who often refuted not just the status quo, but the methods and approaches of others who advocated for women. 

It's especially timely, considering events of modern times, and gives all ages of reader guideposts for reconsidering their own approaches to advocacy and women's rights. 

Destiny's Daughter

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The Fruit You'll Never See
Gail Brenner Nastasia
Independently Published
979-8-9869313-0-2         $14.99 Paper/$9.99 Kindle
Website: gailnastasia.com
Ordering: https://www.amazon.com/FRUIT-YOULL-NEVER-SEE-overcoming-ebook/dp/B0BWZYGBFV 

The Fruit You'll Never See is a memoir about shame and overcoming negative messages from childhood. It will heavily resonate with readers who have struggled to overcome their own self-limiting training and self-perception, and represents an example of the process of nurturing inner strength against all odds. 

Gail Brenner Nastasia's memoir opens with a bang: "Not even law school could change the fact that I was trash." As her life is revealed, readers learn some shocking facts about her family and the progression of her coming of age and entry into adulthood which fostered this sense of shame and self-depreciation. Gail's realizations about her beloved aunt's shortcomings acknowledges the lure of being included at all costs "...even though I know she used me, at least I got to go along for the ride." 

As she repeats patterns of trusting and loving those who do not have her best interests at heart, Gail moves ever deeper into a familiar quagmire she is, sadly, well-equipped to handle: trading sexual favors for the feeling of belonging, being desired, and being loved. 

As Gail moves into various addictions, it is with the underlying conviction that her value lies in her worth to others—not herself. The remarkable part of her story lies in how she overcame drug addiction to become a successful attorney; then took another big step in defying her inheritance of low self-esteem by creating a different life. 

How she achieves her goals, learns different, healthier ways of interacting with her family, and maintains the equilibrium that truly reinforces her value makes for a powerful memoir that many readers will find inspirational and revealing. 

Rather than consulting self-help books for growth lessons, readers would do better to read The Fruit You'll Never See. Its lessons in abuse, recovery, and the contrast between healthy and unhealthy life choices are stark and involving, offering clues to better living. It ideally will be pursued in book club and psychological group discussions, as well as available for library patrons interested in vivid, candid stories of getting and staying clean. 

The Fruit You'll Never See

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Growth
Karen DeBonis
Loyola University Maryland/Apprentice House Press
978-1-62720-435-4         $19.99 Paper/$6.49 Kindle
Website: www.karendebonis.com 
Ordering: https://www.amazon.com/Growth-Mother-Brain-Tumor-Survived/dp/1627204350 

Growth: A Mother, Her Son, and the Brain Tumor They Survived is a memoir about parenting, health challenges, and the process of fighting for a child's life. 

When her son Matthew was eight, he developed an odd tic which evolved into other symptoms that mother Karen DeBonis found alarming. Her efforts to alert her husband and Matthew's pediatrician that something was wrong fell on deaf ears, as neither wanted to accept that Matthew could be facing a dangerous health condition at such a young age. 

Years passed before a frightening diagnosis was obtained; but even then, DeBonis found herself constantly in the position of advocating for her son's treatment and recovery. 

DeBonis is especially adept at charting the changes to relationships that Matthew's trials introduced: "I’d rarely seen my father cowed and apologetic. He looked vulnerable, and I wanted to yell at him again. In a flash of anger, our relationship experienced a subtle shift. I had become less his little girl and more Matthew’s mom." 

DeBonis is candid in both her self-assessment of her abilities and how far she will go to pursue options for Matthew: 

"Some moms travel the globe in search of treatment or a cure for their sick child ... I was not that mom. I wasn’t a world traveler, and my sense of direction was so bad, I didn’t trust myself to navigate a big city. What good would I be to Matthew if we both got lost? Plus, I wouldn’t intentionally abandon Stephen to move away with his older brother, even temporarily. Maybe if Matthew needed to relearn how to speak and walk and eat, I’d have hopped on the nearest bus to Timbuktu. But he didn’t, so I wouldn’t. We had to make this work on our own turf." 

Any mother who has faced a child's illness and is called upon to be proactive in ways she never has before, in environments she is both familiar and unfamiliar with, will find in Growth a powerful set of examples on how motherhood can be tested. A mother can experience growth from all kinds of events, even from one's own child. 

The eye-opening revelations of disparate sources of growth that come from within, one's children, and life itself makes for a story that embraces the wellsprings of strength, revised perceptions, and choices in taking different courses of action not just for a child's sake, but for the family as a whole. 

More than a memoir about living with a tumor and handling medical challenges, it's a saga of personal transformation and resilience that will resonate with any parent charged with acting in their child's best interests, against all odds. 

Libraries and readers seeking thought-provoking additions to parenting collections will find Growth not only suitable for personal enlightenment, but a fine recommendation to book clubs looking for memoirs about parenting, health advocacy, and growth. 

Growth

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UNDERGROUND: A Memoir of Hope, Faith and the American Dream
'Deji Ayoade
Independently Published
979-8986587615           
$23.95 Hardcover/$16.99 Paperback/$6.99 Kindle
Amazon.com: UNDERGROUND: A Memoir of Hope, Faith, and the American Dream: 9798986587615: Ayoade, 'Deji: Books 

If one book were to be chosen to illustrate the power of perseverance against all odds and the immigrant experience in America, it should be UNDERGROUND: A Memoir of Hope, Faith and the American Dream. While many immigrant memoirs hold these same themes, what sets 'Deji Ayoade's book apart from (and above) many others is his candid acknowledgement that this Nigerian "Logically, should never have arrived here." 

By "arrived here," Ayoade refers not only to America and to a position of success, but to his powerful rise in the military to command a fleet of nuclear-armed missiles in the Air Force, and his leadership of the new United States Space Force. 

These achievements are especially significant given Ayoade's family history, in which "seventy percent of men in my family never lived past forty years. Ninety percent never attended college, and ninety-five percent never left Nigeria." 

Bucking the statistics on all sides is a man who attributes much of his success to his faith. But the meat of the story lies in how this all evolved, making UNDERGROUND a rich read as Ayoade traces the roots and enactment of his foundation belief that "every moment of our lives is connected to our future in one way or another." 

Readers who follow Ayoade on his journey will find his faith-based experiences enlightening, inspirational, and thoroughly engrossing. 

From his childhood and reconnection with his father to his hard work integrating into American principles and life, Ayoade pulls no punches as he candidly reveals the obstacles to success and the drive that promoted him upwards into achievement. 

From confronting the darkness, anger, and bitterness that surrounded his family's reactions to his father's decisions to that father's insistence that a faith in God is never misplaced, Ayoade touches upon the wellsprings of not just perseverance, but a perspective that translates to leadership and achievement qualities in confronting life's obstacles. 

Poetic reflections peppered throughout his story provide interludes and understanding as Ayoade navigates illness, alienation, family reconciliation, and his own faith. 

Libraries and readers seeking stories not just of immigrant experiences in America and success, but of family ties and influences from afar, that continue as he forms his own family, will find UNDERGROUND: A Memoir of Hope, Faith and the American Dream a powerful memoir of not just achieving and living the American dream, but integrating it into a different culture and revised connections both on American soil and back in "the old country" of origin. 

UNDERGROUND: A Memoir of Hope, Faith and the American Dream is especially recommended for African-American readers seeking reading group discussion points in powerful stories of self-inspection and hope. 

UNDERGROUND: A Memoir of Hope, Faith and the American Dream

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Mystery & Thrillers

Beyond the Shadows
DeAnn Daley Holcomb
Atmosphere Press
978-1-63988-721-7         $14.99
www.atmospherepress.com 

Readers of crime thrillers will find Beyond the Shadows the study of a serial killer's impact on a Texas community that delves into a woman's personal connections to a dangerous murderer. 

Dallas TV newscaster Claire is Dallas Police Homicide Detective Lance Harris's former girlfriend. She also holds special knowledge of a growing threat to the community as eight women are killed and the murder spree seems unstoppable. 

The story opens with Jenny's impulsive move towards Jeremy, a stranger she meets in a bar. It's a choice that will cost her her life, adding to the string of victims that are marked by a Smiley Face sticker left by their shared attacker. 

Detective Lance knows the media is stirred up into a frenzy, which translates to pressures to locate and lock up the perp before more victims emerge. When he discovers that his ex has some special knowledge of the situation, he also finds that this has placed her in the crosshairs of danger. Can he employ his investigative skills to solve the mystery and save her life? 

Of course he will, thinks the reader. But, before this can happen, a series of unexpected events emerges to test Lance, Claire, and the reader's perception of crime, redemption, and problem-solving processes. 

DeAnn Daley Holcomb cultivates a special attention to psychological entanglements on all sides. in which the crime serves as a backdrop to relationship changes and an impetus for change in more than one way. 

Her story embraces Claire's family's special form of courtroom hell from the past, which impacts their relationships and lives in different ways: "No one ever knew what the truth was or what really happened. At family gatherings and on holidays, everyone tried to act like it was a happy time, but it wasn’t." 

Perhaps this is unwittingly the reason why she now is the pivot point in a maelstrom of struggle between two very different forces which affect the lives and psyche of Dallas and the women who are threatened by a serial killer's progression and elusive predatory ways. In this milieu, Claire becomes the focus of evil. 

The realistic account feels all the more powerful because Holcomb is herself a television news journalist reporter who closely followed two serial killer murder trials. 

Her background encounter with true evil and observations about crime, justice, and faith contribute to a story which evolves new revelations in all three areas, supplementing its mystery component with a close inspection of hope, love, and the motivations of perps and detectives whose lives intersect in unpredictable ways. 

Libraries seeking murder mysteries steeped in interpersonal growth and revelations will find Beyond the Shadows a compelling journey. 

Beyond the Shadows

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Cobra Pose
Susan Rogers and John Roosen
G-EMS PTY LTD and PS LLC
978-0-6454136-2-5         $6.99 ebook
https://www.amazon.com/Cobra-Pose-Mysteries-suspense-adventure-ebook/dp/B0BTJV4V1H 

Cobra Pose, the second book in the Yoga Mat Mysteries series, benefits from but requires no prior introduction to its predecessor in order to prove accessible and inviting to mystery readers. 

Elaina Williams is a yoga instructor who uses Cobra Pose to boost her energy. Ironically, adversaries and hackers The Cobra and The Wolf, who may be involved in her father's disappearance, hold their own special abilities as they reach out to embroil Australia in an international scam that threatens the global economy. 

Readers move from the microcosm of Elaina and her new love (photojournalist Ric Peters) and their relationship and latest mission to the bigger picture of the worldwide threat posed by adversaries whose skills are well beyond amateur sleuth and yoga instructor Elaina's abilities ... and maybe even Ric's special hidden skills. 

It's rare to see a yoga milieu incorporated into a thriller that evolves on international playgrounds, but the two subjects dovetail nicely in a story replete with nuances and insights into both worlds: 

"Renée was good. She knew what she was doing and had a mellow, soothing voice. Elaina walked around the class, helping them correct their poses. Elaina watched when Renée used her right hand, balancing on three fingers to demonstrate various floor positions. Afterwards, Elaina told Renée, ‘Your form and the timing is “parfait”. But I realize watching you that balance can be achieved in many different ways. This is something I need to remember.’
‘Perhaps, mademoiselle, it will be the balance and grounding, despite any perceived obstacles, that will get you where you need to go,’ Renée said, holding up her right hand."
 

It's also rare to observe the blends of philosophical, political, and thriller influences that so neatly create an exceptionally vivid atmosphere in which intrigue evolves in satisfyingly unexpected ways. 

As the story evolves, thriller readers will relish the twists of plot which bring Elaine and Ric ever closer to an astonishing truth and test of each individual's abilities, while those interested in yoga will find added value in the emotional and physical connections created by the yoga interludes and lessons. 

The attention to atmospheric detail is not lost in the fast pace of the unfolding mystery, which is also a notable feature of a plot which takes the time to create delicious scenes: "They sat down to chicken parmesan, roasted vegetables and pasta stuffed with spinach. In the refrigerator, the chocolate mousse was chilling next to whipped cream ‘at the ready’ to serve as a topping. The Italian rolls were from the local bakery." 

Australia's foreign, financial, and national interests come to life, requiring no prior familiarity with the country from readers. Those interested in a gripping story of intrigue will find Cobra Pose tests the relationships and personal mettle of characters who often seem both capable and in unlikely positions to solve a mystery of international importance. 

Libraries and readers seeking compelling stories firmly rooted in a sense of place, and characters who are each tested to operate beyond their intrinsic training and abilities, will find plenty to appreciate as Cobra Pose evolves its ultimate message about cyber-attacks, schemes, and decisions which lead to discovery, recovery, and uncommon courage and sacrifice. 

Cobra Pose

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Dark Sonnet
Tom McCarthy and Bill Dohar

De Profundis Books, LLC
979-8986395210            $14.99 Paper/$2.99 Kindle

https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Sonnet-Tom-McCarthy/dp/B0B4GBPK62 

In Dark Sonnet, a Jesuit priest unearths a 19th century manuscript containing a puzzle that points the way to a medieval treasure, the Cuxham Chalice. Then the gentleman vanishes. Can two friends (a librarian and an Oxford scholar) follow in his footsteps without becoming victims themselves? 

Dark Sonnet unfolds a bittersweet song of promise and deadly danger. Its dual tune holds a compelling force combining action with psychological cat-and-mouse games as these characters draw ever closer to a truth that will rock the world. 

As Myles and Eva tackle matters of decoding both the ancient document and their own hearts, the world around them descends into chaos, pitting them against police on one side and Vatican special interests on the other. 

Compromised by their concern over their friend's life, which adds a personal dilemma into their quest that draws them into different levels of complexity, Myles and Eva discover that their journey is even more dangerous than they'd anticipated. 

How does an ordinary Jesuit vanish into thin air?  Nothing in his bio would suggest covert activity, and yet something strange is going on. 

All the characters find their special interests both dovetailing and driving the violence they seek to prevent, giving readers an absolutely riveting story that holds the satisfying nonstop action and inquiry of a thriller combined with a set of spiritual and historical revelations on par with The DaVinci Code. 

The intrigue settles its cloak well over each character's psyche and special approach to problem-solving, creating a story that fluctuates between the microcosm of personal interactions, friendships, and more to the macrocosm of threats to world order. 

Librarians and readers looking for historical suspense fiction that dazzles with puzzle and psychology will find Dark Sonnet a thrilling mystery that grabs from the beginning and follows through to a satisfyingly unpredictable conclusion. 

Dark Sonnet

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Defcon
Michele Packard
Independently Published
979-8-9876077-0-1
$5.99 ebook, $11.99 paperback, $19.99 hardback   
Website: www.michelepackard.com
Ordering: www.amazon.com 

Prior fans of genetically enhanced superwoman Matti Baker will welcome her return in Defcon, while newcomers will easily fall into her world. This is because Matti employs a feisty voice in describing an encounter which once again tests her ability to survive, protect her family, and prove effective in her efforts to thwart the bad guys and support everything she loves. 

Matti is one of a triplet of enhanced children. Her strong family ties have resulted in prodigy who also have extraordinary abilities, and who join her in her efforts to neutralize threats to the U.S. 

Even seasoned thriller readers will be surprised and amazed by Defcon because Matti's character is spunky, sassy, and infused with proactive thinking and behaviors that translate into a passionate story infused with history and social observation. 

Matti's opinions and examinations offer unexpectedly astute considerations of American ideals gone awry as the intrigue and confrontations play out: 

"The first three words are the emphasis, We the People. Doesn’t say Government now, does it?  Governments creation and main role was to protect these rights and if not, ‘We the People’, have the right to revolt.  The Constitution and Bill of Rights established a government.  The Declaration of Independence was for breaking away from government when not serving the people." 

These thought-provoking, critical inspections, delivered in a brazen staccato first-person reflective voice, are part of what brings not only Matti and her family to life, but the principles they are fighting for in Defcon. 

Another unusual device linking action with a contemporary, realistic punch is the ongoing allusions Matti makes to popular music and songs which pop up in her mind as she undertakes her missions. These cement her activities with a blend of drama and social reference that compliment the cat-and-mouse actions of intelligence, counterintelligence, and unconventional warfare that encircle her life to threaten all she loves. 

The challenge lies in what label to assign Defcon, because it doesn't fit neatly into any pat genre read. Military in nature, but with a psychological force that lends it a deep personal flavor; thriller in action, but tempered by family relationships and close friendships; and flavored by political and historical information that invite debate and thought, Defcon is quite simply a standout for its adventure, tone, and powerful, female-driven protagonists. 

Libraries seeking extraordinary characters and stories which are nearly impossible to put down will find Defcon an outstanding choice that holds the promise to attract a wide audience. 

Defcon

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Guidance to Death
Daniel V. Meier, Jr.
BQB Publishing
979-8-88633-002-1         $18.95 Paper/$8.99 ebook
https://danielmeierauthor.com 

It's the perfect crime. Nobody can suspect a murderer when the cause of death was clearly accidental. Were it not for the conviction of the victim's surviving wife that something went awry, the truth in Guidance to Death would not have even surfaced. It's that clever a crime: disable a plane's guidance system and let natural flight circumstances take over. 

In this case, what takes over isn't just death, but the perseverance of a grieving widow and independent aviation accident investigator Frank Adams, who join forces to find the few clues pointing to foul play. 

Another death reinforces the likelihood that something more than plane instrumentation went awry, and so the story unfolds with plenty of tense moments, investigative puzzles, and an attempt to silence Frank before he can piece together the few clues that point the way to a perp and a dangerous scheme. 

Daniel V. Meier, Jr. crafts a story that illustrates technical aviation insights, the special approaches of an aviation investigator, and the conundrum faced by a detective who must call upon several people from his past in order to solve the present-day crime. In doing so, Frank unwittingly places his friends in as much risk as he is taking. 

From political power plays and important bids for economic growth, Frank delves into the politics and secrets of individuals willing to kill for what they want. Payoffs, fictional sell-offs, and a family-owned company's involvement in a plot that is tainted with goals of revenge brings Frank to the outer limits of his investigative abilities, testing his perceptions and his suspicions. 

Satisfying twists and turns of plot keep even the most seasoned murder mystery reader guessing, while the aviation industry's processes and insights will delight those who enjoy tales of blackmail and threat that take place in the unsafe skies and on the ground. 

Evidence and bodies mount as Frank finds his suspicions correct—but in a way he'd never anticipated. 

Murder mystery readers and libraries catering to them will find Guidance to Death an outstanding blend of action-packed thriller and whodunit. It is powered by the expertise of an author who is a retired FAA Aviation Safety Inspector able to inject all the real-world processes of the aviation industry into a compelling, can't-put-it-down inquiry that reaches its crescendo of surprise in the unfriendly skies. 

Guidance to Death

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The Horoscope Writer
Ash Bishop
ComCat Books
9780744309300             $25.99 Hardcover/$20.99 Paper
Website: ash-bishop.com
Ordering: https://www.amazon.com/Horoscope-Writer-Ash-Bishop/dp/0744309298 

The Horoscope Writer is amateur sleuth and writer Bobby Frindley, a former athlete forced to rise above his talents (and pay grade) when he receives a series of horoscopes that task him with taking actions to choose whether either only one or all of their dark portents will come true. 

In this way, Bobby becomes both perp and investigator as he seeks to uncover the identity of the horoscope writer, navigating the uncertain waters of making decisions that will dovetail with and direct their deadly outcomes. 

Ash Bishop immerses the story with grisly detective investigations and their powerful outcomes from the start. The first chapter holds the future outcome, but the second reveals how Bobby becomes part of this dangerous legacy, following his forays into worlds of romance, employment, and danger—none of which he is especially adept at navigating. 

Horoscopes often give clues to Libra Bobby's life and future. In this case, the directions they point in, whether they are his evolving relationship with Star or the nuances of a dead-end job that holds some surprising keys to predicting his future, are ones that many readers won't see coming. His mercurial involvement with married friend Sarah assumes the same cloak of uncertainty as his career and life. 

Bobby isn't intrinsically a savvy person, whether in love or career. His flaws lend to both a realistic story and questions of how he will incorporate the demands of a murder investigation into the life he is building for himself. 

The juxtaposition of questions on whether predictions really are coming true or if Bobby has any influence over his own actions and choices lends a particularly intriguing component to the usual investigative puzzle, giving The Horoscope Writer a touch of philosophical and psychological power not often seen in whodunit plots. 

Libraries and fans of amateur sleuth stories containing characters that are driven and motivated by their own life progression and the heavy hand of fate to investigate murderous situations beyond their ken or control will find The Horoscope Writer filled with realistic scenarios and satisfying twists. 

The Horoscope Writer

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The Indian Defense
Jay Perin

East River Books
978-1-7364680-6-7                $4.99 ebook
www.EastRiverBooks.com 

Because The Indian Defense: A Historical Political Saga is the fifth book in the political thriller series One Hundred Years of War, it's recommended that readers of The Indian Defense will have read these predecessors because their rich history, continued here, should ideally be in the back of the mind when embarking on this latest adventure. 

This story opens in 1989, where an ex-president crippled and incapacitated by an assassination attempt somehow appears to remain a key player in the political struggles which are emerging. 

It seems that stepbrother Godwin Kingsley has won, and is building his business empire around the world with a clever eye to disabling any semblance of rebellion in any of Temple's people or others who defy his bids for power. 

With Temple's daughter Lilah on the run from powerful hit men, Temple disabled, and Kingsley's plan to rule the oil sector firmly in place, it would seem a slam dunk that nobody can change the fateful progression of his wide-reaching powers. 

Nobody, perhaps, except his friend Noah and a family secret that could penetrate the cloak of power and secrecy that surrounds Kingsley's world. 

Jay Perin highlights the thrill in the thriller genre as his world-hopping adventure carries a host of characters into unfamiliar territory, foreign cultural encounters, and figures who prove just as powerful, in their own ways, as Kingsley or Temple. 

A cat-and-mouse game evolves, with American politics one of the main prizes as the characters hit, miss, and strategize their next moves. As Lilah's foray into India provides her with tools to not just recover from the blows of but defy the forces pitted against her, readers follow her into an international journey replete with confrontations. 

From fake bank transactions and events that place a former attorney's reputation on the line to exiles that concoct a new strategy to confront the forces that have transformed their lives, Jay Perin explores social, legal, and political changes through the eyes of characters who each hold their own special interests at heart. 

Replete with risk-taking decisions, startling revelations, and a plot that toes the line between thriller and real-world historical facts, Perin's care in extracting events from politics of modern times, but couching them in a way that maintains distance from any association with real-world politicians, creates an especially adept dance between fact and fiction. This will draw a wide audience with the flavor of high drama and the not-quite-real familiarity of historical touches. 

It's also important to note, that this point, that the One Hundred Years of War series is an adaptation of the Mahabharata, the Indian epic mythology. 

The presence of so many seemingly disparate elements would seem to portend a complex and weighty read, but  The Indian Defense represents an accessible, thought-provoking, thoroughly engrossing story that enhances the series as a whole. It is highly recommended for libraries and readers seeking the intersection of fiction, fact, and the well-developed tension of a compelling political thriller. 

The Indian Defense

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The Miracle at Assisi Hill
Pat Camalliere
Campat Publications
979-8-9871624-0-8         $24.95 Hardcover/$17.95 Paper/$5.99 ebook
https://www.amazon.com/Miracle-at-Assisi-Hill/dp/B0BLB35PXV 

The Miracle at Assisi Hill is a Christian mystery that follows the investigation of battle-torn amateur historian Cora Tozzi, who is recovering from tongue cancer and tackling her religious questions in a convent. When she befriends a nun with a secret and faces her husband's own serious illness, all her prayers seem for naught. Or, are they? 

The juxtaposition of a quest to solve a mystery combined with spiritual inspection creates a story which will prove especially compelling to Christian audiences looking for more than intrigue alone. 

Pat Camalliere's special brand of investigation of psychological and mystery matters is simply delightful, between its focus on Cora's life and ongoing spiritual questions and the dilemmas faced by a woman destined to become a saint. 

Between the health conundrums Cora faces with her husband Cisco's startling mental health decline in the face of physical illness ("She had no idea Cisco’s personality could be affected like this. When her mother had a stroke, she was impaired and confused, but her personality remained the same. This was a shock. Cisco just wasn’t acting like himself.") to subplots of ghost lore, Native American history and tribal interests, and miracles that portend religious revelations, the story is much more than either a mystery or a Christian examination, but a multifaceted production that draws on various levels. 

It's rare to see a novel as accessible to a wide audience of readers as it is to genre mystery followers or fans of Christian fiction. Camalliere creates a memorable story that resonates on more than one level, offering a draw that invites religious introspection as well as moral and ethical examination. 

Another important note to know about its creation: the Sister who is presently in charge of the canonization process for Mother Mary Theresa participated in the editing of this book to ensure its historical and Catholic authenticity. 

The Miracle at Assisi Hill is thus highly recommended not just for libraries seeking genre mysteries that stand out, or for Christian collections seeking fiction that invites thought and discussion, but for general-interest readers who will find Cora's dilemmas and revelations about life, death, and what lies between are both intriguing and thoroughly engrossing. 

The Miracle at Assisi Hill

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Nad of Nadidé
Wagih Abu-Rish
Kirland Publishing House
979-8-9859152-1-1
$29.99 Hardcover/$13.99 Paper/$.99 ebook
www.wagihaburish.com 

Nad of Nadidé is a multicultural romance thriller that opens in 1981 London, where Fareed and his mother Fiona are discussing women and observing strangers. It's a curious situation because Fareed already has a beautiful girlfriend (albeit one his mother dislikes because of her attitude and abusive ways). 

A storm of a different nature evolves when Palestinian Fareed meets Turkish Nadidé, evoking a love between them that challenges their cultural backgrounds, perceptions, and the politics which hold them in thrall. 

Wagih Abu-Rish's contrast between not just Turkish and Palestinian history and politics but the Western milieu which also influences the couple creates a series of thought-provoking encounters. Fareed and especially Nadidé find themselves at odds with their heritage and upbringing as their love grows. 

From juntas to groups of girlfriends and the involvements and influences of spies and the entanglements of politics in families and daily lives, Abu-Rish presents a story that requires no prior background in any of the cultures discussed to understand the influences upon and disparate cultural histories of the characters. 

As Fareed is endangered and Fiona struggles to help him, readers become involved not just in a romance, but political power struggles that reach out from the Middle East to overtake and often confuse individual desires. 

The typical scenario of disapproving families translates, in this bigger picture, to national special interests which coalesce into surprising influences on Fareed and Nadidé's choices and lives. 

Under Abu-Rish's hand, 1980s Turkey comes to life through the eyes of a diverse cast of characters whose observations, ideals, and participation in political rebellion and change come to roost at home, affecting their loves and lives. 

Nad of Nadidé holds the political enlightenment of a contemporary historical novel; the emotional draw of lovers fated to struggle not just with each other, but their disparate cultural influences; and the action and tense twists of a thriller. 

Combining all these elements in a readable story that doesn't demand prior knowledge of the times or the countries featured is no mean feat, but Abu-Rish achieves the difficult goal of making his novel accessible to all kinds of readers; from those who enjoy political intrigue to others seeking the story of fated individuals who buck the odds and their own backgrounds in the name of love. 

Libraries and readers looking for novels steeped in social and political conundrums, rich with emotional draws and strong character development, and packed with action that moves from political to social circles will find Nad of Nadidé a winner. 

Nad of Nadidé

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O'Brien's Law
John McNellis
Hubbard House
978-1-7363525-1-9         $14.99 Paper/$6.99 ebook
https://www.amazon.com/OBriens-Law-Romantic-John-McNellis/dp/1736352512 

Romance and thriller genre readers are in for a treat with O'Brien's Law, which deftly weaves elements of both into a story set in 1979 San Francisco, where Michael O’Brien works at the notable law firm Drummond, Upton and Ishwood. His latest case, a big-ticket suit over an inheritance, involves him in a crime that both profiles and tests his investigative skills as much as his legal prowess. 

John McNellis provides a gripping story as Michael evolves from a brash new lawyer whose position in the firm and in his career is uncertain, to an investigator charged with locating missing estate money. 

Always conflicted about not placing his career first, Michael is forced to set aside some of his boredom and personal flamboyance to embark on a serious matter that reaches out to test both his life and his romantic objectives. 

In the course of discovering truths about the "loser" case he's been handed, Michael unexpectedly encounters truths about his own psyche and life pursuits which force him to grow in unexpected ways. 

McNellis is adept at portraying increasing threats that test the psyches of not only Michael, but Marybeth Elliott and others who may not have intended the results they achieve in protecting their special interests, hearts, and lives. Swift action combines with intrigue and romance as Michael faces threats to Marybeth and his own career, suddenly coming to realize that both matter more than he'd thought. 

Shaken from his boredom and flighty ways, Michael finds his passion both romantically and in his job as he pursues truths that threaten to both elude and crush him. 

From the evolution of "difficult man" Knox to the possibilities of murder, an accidental death, and Marybeth's increasing involvement in Michael's life, McNellis presents a novel of growth, intrigue, and special interests which blends legal and thriller elements in an unexpected manner. 

Readers interested in stories that embrace elements of love and adversity alike will find O'Brien's Law a gripping study in revised life approaches and a young man's real coming-of-age test of not just maturity, but ethics and love. 

O'Brien's Law

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Rebels in Pisa
Ken Tentarelli
Independently Published
979-8985662443            $26.00 Hardcover/$4.99 Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/Rebels-Pisa-Tentarelli/dp/B0BV14GVMJ 

Rebels in Pisa is a historical mystery that presents the fifth book in the Nico Argenti series, combining intrigue with the political atmosphere of Renaissance Italy in 1465. Nico and his fellow Florentine Security Commissioners conceal their identities to work undercover with the Pisan loyalists, trying to identify their rebel leader before he fosters an insurrection. 

Many clues are presented as Nico races against time to not only identify the leader, but stop the tide of events that threaten the security and safety of Florence and its leaders. 

As Nico becomes privy to the thoughts and perceptions of ordinary men, readers learn about the economic, social, and political undercurrents of Pisa during these times: 

“You asked about Pisans with animosity toward Florence. Yes, there are men who say Pisa should reclaim its independence. You have only to listen to the business owners and the men who cannot find work to hear their resentment. They don’t hide their beliefs. They voice their complaints openly.” 

The dialogues, political and social observations, and trials and accusations that emerge immerse Nico and his readers in a series of conflicts that portray the simmering siege and tidal changes of Pisa, Florence, and the Renaissance era. 

Ken Tentarelli brings these conflicts to life, staying true to both history and mystery as Nico delves deeper into a quagmire of opposing beliefs about Pisa's place in the world.

His dual attention to building atmosphere and presenting historical facts makes for an especially compelling work that needs no prior introduction to Nico's life and position from previous books in order to prove completely accessible to newcomers. 

As Nico experiences courtroom victories that are accompanied by disturbing revelations and ongoing puzzles, readers will find his story engrossing and packed with unexpected twists and turns. 

Libraries and readers seeking exceptional attention to the development of both historical foundations and an underlying mystery that shakes the political and social structure of Renaissance Italy will welcome the fast pace and insights that Rebels in Pisa employs to involve readers in the times through Nico's investigative savvy and eyes. 

Rebels in Pisa

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She's a Lot Like You
Jim Christ
Joseph and Associates

979-8386120573            $15.00 Paper/$4.99 Kindle
www.jimchrist.net  

She’s a Lot Like You is a suspense-filled crime drama—a sequel to Jim Christ’s 2018 mystery novel, Ways To Be Wicked, but the author’s latest work stands nicely on its own, and it is steeped in moral ambiguity and societal inspection as much as it is in intrigue. Christ not only takes his readers on a tense, action-packed ride; he also leads them to an understanding of the lasting impacts of debt and sacrifice as he probes the cost of one man’s pursuit of justice. 

Fraught with feelings of indebtedness and responsibility, high school principal Enrique Tavish wrestles with the decision to attempt the rescue of a girl named Rosa from a life of hopelessness and bondage. Rosa is not only one of his students but more importantly the young woman who saved his ten-year-old daughter from sex traffickers only to wind up herself in their clutches. 

Having exposed his family to danger in the past, Tavish wonders if he even has the right to undertake the rescue, but the debt he owes to Rosa is too deep to ignore, and he forges ahead despite the moral and practical sea of troubles he must face. He hopes to avoid scrutiny regarding his motives from his wife and a too-inquisitive public, and he sets up an elaborate plan to establish a phantom presence in northern Arizona as an alibi while he covertly pursues Rosa and her captors into Mexico under an assumed identity. Besides, he thinks, there is little hope of actually finding the girl, and his investigation will be only long and thorough enough to quiet his conscience and buy him some inner peace. He believes the whole operation will take only one or two nights away from home, and no one will be the wiser. 

But Tavish has underestimated the terrifying forces he is unleashing upon his home life, his school and his community when he opens Rosa’s deadly Pandora’s Box. His entanglement in lies and half-truths, along with the psychological triggers of past trauma, pull him into a world of sexual exploitation, human trafficking and, ultimately, murder. 

His journey takes him not just to Rosa but to new understandings of the ways in which she’s changed: “Rosa thinks of herself as all grown up then. It makes me realize she’s been forced prematurely into a woman’s roles, assuming responsibility for other people, for one thing.” Still, he begins to wonder if he was a fool for seeking Rosa and freeing her from her captors because he can only watch as she seeks a heinously ruthless brand of revenge. 

In She’s a Lot Like You, Christ confronts readers with the cruelty and social injustice that are the inseparable realities of kidnapping and human trafficking; perhaps more basic, as his protagonist seeks redemption, Christ has his readers reckoning the costs for the pursuit of duty and a quiet mind.

Moral and ethical dilemmas carry this novel to a thoughtful place that most crime/suspense dramas do not even approach. An engrossing story rendered with passion and truth. 

She's a Lot Like You

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Skin for Skin
Melvin Litton
Gordian Knot Books/Crossroad Press
978-1-63789-709-6         $4.99 ebook/$22.99 Print
www.crossroadpress.com 

Six gamblers are robbed one night in 1930s Kansas. One additional, who never makes it to the table, is murdered in a macabre situation. Two farm families already struggling with their calling find equal challenge in their hearts and lives as the murder reaches out to enfold them in a poker game's dangerous stakes and the treachery and revenge which results. 

This third book in the Kansas Murders series is best imbibed by readers of the prior productions, who will find Skin for Skin a powerful conclusion to the trilogy. This does not mean that newcomers are denied accessibility. From an opening section listing a cast of characters and their relationships, and the care Melvin Litton takes to build the atmosphere and environment of the times, the story reaches out in many ways, right from the start: "The sun tips down the dusty sky to spill its last light over the broad horizon then drops like an empty bottle beyond the tall weeds. The wind blows hard at the end of day, leaving line and shadow ill-defined, all relic moments in the ruined dusk." 

The deadly preface to the poker game and events that follow chart the rushes of landscape in a poetic manner that brings this world to life, flavors it with intimate contrasts between life, death, and the shade that lies between, then serves as an intriguing introduction to the more worldly events that follow. 

Each seeming diversion and departure to the plot proves to be a device that cements characters, intentions, and a sense of place with the overlay of metaphor and philosophical and psychological observation. 

Readers will find themselves walking the rough streets of 1930s Elim, Kansas, considering religious reading and mythological references and analyzing characters for their ulterior motives. Changing scenarios then test their mettle: "...given all they do without she admires her dad’s stubborn effort to keep their farm. And he keeps smiling despite the odds. Never gives up, keeps working like their grandad who smiles and says, 'Give me a couple good crops, I’ll spring back.'” 

This atmosphere is cemented by supercharged words and revelations that connect characters via cultural roots, religious inspection, and social change: 

"'Would you say those fellows found a prospect?' Faris asks, having heard little else from his dad all summer.
Brigham wakes from his listen and turns.
'They have prospect but none I would hold. You can strike a match ’n light a candle or lamp to see by. Or light a fuse ’n blast yer way. Them fellas lit a fuse.'"
 

To call Skin for Skin a mystery or suspense piece would be both accurate and an injustice. Based on real events which cement the historical value of this novel, it is as vivid in its recreation of the 1930s as it is in its probe of mercurial intentions and changing worlds. 

Libraries and readers seeking literary intrigue and thought-provoking surveys of gambling and madness and their lasting impact on families and communities alike will find Skin for Skin a powerful exploration. It feels complex in the amount of characters and topics it presents and touches upon, but is completely riveting in its approach and discussions. 

Skin for Skin

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Novels

Althea's Awakening
Maggie Sims

The Wild Rose Press, Inc.
9781509249527             $5.99 ebook
https://www.amazon.com/Altheas-Awakening-School-Enlightenment-Book-ebook/dp/B0BT5TTL9S 

Althea's Awakening adds a third book to the School of Enlightenment series of steamy romance novels, expanding the characters and attention to romance cultivated in prior books by Maggie Sims. 

Here, Lady Althea Egerton is looking to enlarge both her business and her love life. Both would be easy if she could find a rich suitor, but having been in thrall in too many ways in one relationship, she is loath to compromise her newfound independence with another marriage. An investor seems a more appropriate choice; especially if he comes with added benefits. 

Women often chase the Earl of Cheltenham: he's seen as the perfect suitor. Sexually, intriguing, strong, and rich, he'd match Althea's own strengths and pursuits...if she'd have him.

Maggie Sims creates a story that is vivid in its inspection of social, political, and personal ambition: "...her defenses rose. This was the second time he was poking at her marriage. Neither Thomas nor she deserved that. Her marriage had been no better or worse than anyone else’s. Anything she’d wished for was outside of the norm, but it was not Thomas’s fault he was traditional."

Like most men, Lord Cheltenham wants "full control" over his destiny and his women. He's in for a surprise, because if ever a woman were committed to not giving in, it's Althea. Even if it means enjoying a form of sexual pleasure she's been unable to achieve in the past. 

Steamy sexual scenes weave nicely into a story of a strong man and woman who find they are both colliding and joining their shared ambitions and lives. The tie between sexual and business explorations is intriguingly made as the duo dance to a very different tune than either anticipated from their lives. 

Sims profiles the propriety of the times in evocative scenes which set the stage for exploration and realization: 

"The next evening, dusk turned to twilight as Evan rode to Althea’s home. To avoid risking her reputation, he turned the horse to the alley leading to the stables behind the house. Leaving his horse, he was faced with a dilemma. It felt odd to knock there like a servant, but he could not very well use his key when servants were about, making dinner. He knocked, dredging up every ounce of panache he could to nod as though it were normal for an earl to call at the kitchen door." 

The result is another vivid romance both adding to the School of Enlightenment series and creating characters that bend to the power of their social status while remaining true to their ambitions and dreams. 

Libraries and readers seeking titillating Regency romances and intersections between personal lives and business pursuits will find Althea's Awakening a delightful story that approaches growth and discovery from very different vantage points than most Regency reads present. 

Althea's Awakening

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The Call of Jeremiah McGill
Joseph Moore
Gatekeeper Press
978-1662919350            $9.99 Paper/$4/99 ebook
https://a.co/d/5u6KZxQ 

The Call of Jeremiah McGill is a novel set in 1970s Missouri in the small town of Cape Creek, where the eleven-year-old black son of a pastor stands on the cusp of many changes. 

Between the turbulence in society, his father's idea of what his future should be, and his own growing confusion over his faith and destiny, Jeremiah McGill finds too many questions and opportunities in store for his future. 

The opening feel of the story is akin to the care that Harper Lee took in building the atmosphere of To Kill A Mockingbird. The same close attention to small-town details, a preteen's evolving eye for the adult world and his place in it, and the surprising changes that come from friendships suddenly changed makes for a study in shifting perspectives that is every bit as astute and compelling as Lee's classic. 

In this case, the intersection of black and white communities assumes a special air of discovery as events bring them together in unexpected ways: 

"I have never seen so many saints looking at our visitors. Most of us hadn’t been to a white church before, nor had we seen how white people behaved in such settings. Judging by what we’d seen on them Catholic shows, they were more reserved when it came to praising the Lord, but not Mr. Helderman. He gave more hallelujahs and amens than some of the saints who had been there for years." 

The history which brings church and community in sync with a young boy's life stemmed from Joseph Moore's own experiences. Perhaps this is why the story feels particularly realistic and rich in its observations and representations of a young boy who at first resists, then steps into his role as he becomes a force to be reckoned with, both socially and spiritually. 

Libraries and readers interested in coming-of-age works that hold the compelling story of finding one's place in a faith-based family during a hectic time of social change will find The Call of Jeremiah McGill a powerful tale that captures a 'Preacher Kid' and his world in a compelling manner that brings his times, choices, and perspective to life. 

The Call of Jeremiah McGill

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The Green Path
Steven Clark
Independently Published
9798422072750      $5.95 kindle/$11.99 paperback
https://www.amazon.com/Green-Path-Steven-Clark/dp/B09YPC6ZQ9 

The Green Path's historical fiction is rooted in revolution in Guatemala and the issues that drove college student Concepcion to America in the 1980s to study her passion for the piano away from the guerilla war which is consuming her nation and everything she loves. Despite the passion she holds for her art and her successful flight away from oppression, Concepcion comes to realize that the past is never far behind her as nightmares haunt her sleep. 

Those around her recognize her struggle; from Vietnamese immigrant Ngo, who also continues to struggle with the loss of his own country and roots to war and conflict, to a teacher who is personally familiar with the oppression Concepcion fled from in Guatemala. 

This circle of disparate friends and mentors surround Concepcion with not only support, but gentle reminders that she is in a different milieu despite her ties to the past. The challenge lies in the conflict between her craft and the secrets she holds in her heart. 

She is making a new life, but the past is never far behind. It follows her in the form of sponsors and romances, in the Quetzels that represent beauty sacrificed in the name of economics, and in the choices she has made to either ignore and repress or accept matters she cannot change. 

The culture and social impact of her moves both in Guatemala and in her new home in central Missouri are woven into the story in a delicate manner that builds upon small realizations to create a crescendo of thought-provoking movements: 

"When she was a child, Hernando told her of the Quetzal’s sacred status among her people, but she’d never seen one until she came to Steiner’s modest preserve.
'The people need food,' she shrugged.
'Yes, Conchita. It is sad. To lose beauty for food.'”
 

These moments of revelation are unfolded slowly in gifts of reality and new possibilities as Concepcion searches for her true Green Path amidst personal, social, and political currents of conflict at home and abroad. 

Steven Clark's ability to bring Guatemala's milieu to life through various characters' eyes and changing perspectives is one hallmark of achievement that makes The Green Path an exceptional read: 

"If the countryside rippled with mountains, Guatemala City had manmade foothills of smoldering refuse. Eduardo went there for pictures. Bodies dumped by death squads, beggars grubbing for scraps from a flotsam of consumer culture, a dog trotting off with a human hand in its mouth. Foreign papers paid well for such graphicness." 

The power of this story lies not just in Concepcion's revelations and secret, but in the immersion of others in the reality of Guatemala's struggles and the impact of atrocities on the hearts and minds of all involved, whether they be participants or observers. 

Well-developed tension permeates a story that places readers firmly on the soil of two very different nations, leading to inspections that test heart and mind. This offers book clubs and social issues reading groups much food for discussion in the process of the story. 

Libraries and readers seeking evocative, powerful literary works of historical fiction and psychological depth will find The Green Path especially compelling not just for its story of an individual immigrant seeking refuge and growth, but for a nation seeking the same opportunities. 

The Green Path

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Heaven & Earth
Joshua Senter
Roubidoux Press
9781737585626             $34.99 Hardcover/$12.99 ebook
Website: www.joshuasenter.com
Ordering: https://amzn.to/3Xf84y4 

Ruth and her pastor husband have moved mountains to build a megachurch empire, but in Heaven & Earth, the mountain has just erupted in a big way. This results in a scandal that leads to their exile from their own creation and community as they flee into the backwoods milieu of a small Missouri farm. 

Her husband's betrayal has not only shaken the foundations of their church and belief, but causes Ruth to veer from her own preset course in life as a beloved pastor's wife, leading her to question virtually everything she's believed about her world. Well known for her inner wisdom and ability to save others, Ruth must now train her light on a mission that is perhaps impossible—saving her family and herself. The cost of that venture may be greater than the alternatives of divorce or remaining married. 

Joshua Senter presents a multifaceted story that questions a diverse set of notions about how the world operates, from opinions about homosexuality and marriage to a man who proves to be very different than the façade she's accepted all these years. 

One of the strengths of this novel lies in Ruth's revelations about the illusions and truths in her entire life, which are portrayed in such evocative language that readers are drawn to her dilemma: 

"As for heaven, now that Ruth stared once more into the reality of its existence, she wondered what was perfection without imperfection? What was glory without defeat? What was light without darkness? What was happiness if you couldn’t compare it to sorrow? She knew these questions would be heresy if anyone saw them flickering in her mind, especially the two people sitting next to her in the aseptic waiting room, but Ruth couldn’t keep her thoughts from bursting forth any more than she could stop the morning sun from rising outside the hospital windows. A Savior. A God. Angels. Mansions. Crowns of glory. Streets made of gold. These are the ideals of a ten-year-old child who also believes in unicorns and fairytale endings and needs something to distract herself from the realities of life dawning on her." 

Ruth's process of growth mirrors many paths in life which create set courses and then are diverted by circumstances which introduce different realities and events to challenge seemingly-solid foundations. 

As she and her family attempt to forge a new life and face difficult decisions that change everything they've believed in, Ruth discovers that even she can continue moving onward and upward, even though everything she knew to be solid truth is shaken by her revelations about her world. 

Heaven & Earth is outstanding in its evocative probe of this process. It's a novel highly recommended not just for libraries and individuals seeking stories of spiritual and psychological growth, but for book clubs examining women's lives and issues, religious lives and mindsets, and the heart of family changes that reach out to touch all with the promise of change and transformation. 

Heaven & Earth

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I Dream of Demigods
Alexa Sullivan
‎Wild Rose Pres
978-1509245833            $17.99 Paper/$5.99 ebook
https://mybook.to/demigods 

The first book in a paranormal Law of Love romance series, I Dream of Demigods, introduces a steamy romance scene featuring handsome boss Alex from the first few sentences. Part of the attraction is physical and part is an unexpected emotional draw that adds icing to the cake of coworker love: “Listening and caring is just being decent. It shouldn’t be shocking.” 

Readers thus are immersed in a scenario that smacks of sex but reeks of emotional connections, as well, as the story captures romance readers with the dual pull of physical and emotional strength. 

As the story unfolds, the paranormal element also catches fire as readers learn that Ro Baird's passion awakens within her latent powers that allow her to access her magical potential with the help of a new familiar. 

But, this isn't just a tale of love or magical growth, because Alex is actually a soul-stealing demigod from beyond. To such a being, emotional manipulation is more than a fine art—it's a way of life. Can Ro trust a being who is better versed in subterfuge than she will ever be? 

Alexa Sullivan unfolds a dilemma that operates in many unexpected realms, going beyond either traditional romance or paranormal story evolution as Ro and Alex develop a special conjoined form of magic in an effort to thwart the underlying motives of Hades itself. 

The undercurrent of ironic humor is reinforced by first-person explorations that introduce both intrigue and new possibilities. Each evolve in different directions than the seasoned romance or paranormal reader would anticipate: 

"Just because Alex trusted Melanie didn’t mean she was trustworthy. But I had power now, a way to suss out her true intentions. If only I could get closer to her. 'Can you give Elizabeth some kind of magical emergency that keeps her from being in that meeting at eleven? Food poisoning, maybe? Getting stuck in an elevator?'” 

Technically, it's against company policy for Ro and Alex to entertain a romance. And it's also against the kinds of powers that govern each of their lives. But true love holds no barriers, and so Ro and Alex pursue each other and their individual passions through changed lives and milieus which are challenged by their relationship and underlying motives. 

Sullivan's ability to embed the story with all kinds of personal revelations, twists, and romantic and psychic transformations makes for a vivid read that is cemented by Ro's first-person descriptions and the characters she interacts with. 

Libraries and readers seeking a blend of paranormal and romance elements that each reach beyond the usual premises and psychological developments to produce something outside the norm will relish I Dream of Demigods for its ability to fly in the face of convention in a passionate, supercharged manner that evolves a rollicking good read. 

I Dream of Demigods

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Indigo Field
Marjorie Hudson
Regal House Publishing, LLC
9781646033256             $22.95 Paper/$9.99 ebook
https://regalhousepublishing.com 

Indigo Field is set in the rural South and follows what happens when two very different worlds unexpectedly collide—the worlds of retired white Colonel Randolph Jefferson Lee and an elderly Black woman grieving the murder of her niece by a white man. 

An abandoned, ancient field that lies between them, "...tucked between the Cedar River and the monstrous pines of the Gooley Ridge," serves as an unexpected impetus for change and a meeting point for uncovering secrets of the past as these two disparate lives are thrown together by the circumstance of an auto accident. 

The rich lilt of Southern dialogue, the intersection of Black and White communities, and the prejudices and assumptions that follow historical patterns of division are injected into a story as tumultuous in its characters' quiet realizations about hidden truths as it is about the interactions between these disparate worlds that coexist alongside one another: 

"An old man stood before him, red-haired and freckled. Blue eyes searing. Face red as a boiled tomato.
'Pa died,' Rand said. If they hated Pa so much, that would surely make them happy.
'Drunk hisself to death, I reckon.'
'No, sir. No, sir. It was the Bartley Mine.' He stood up straighter. A mountain killed his pa. Not drink.'"
 

The characters that interact both within and outside their families and communities are powerfully depicted. Part of Marjorie Hudson's special ability includes an attention to detail that successfully winds history and precedent into present-day perceptions and lives: 

"...it was 1954 when I come home from Baltimore. Supreme Court just ruled white schools are for colored too. I read it in the paper. I am on my new path, and it seems like the rest of the world is too. But sad old Poolesville is hardly there anymore. All our fine young Black men have moved North." 

As each character confronts the secrets that shatter their carefully construed realities, readers are injected into the heart of Southern experience and perception in a manner that makes this novel sparkle with a powerful sense of place and heritage. This also makes the characters' disparate lives and hard decisions more understandable, as impossible situations test possible changes. 

Indigo Field is set in the rural South, but that doesn't mean its people and dilemmas aren't accessible by Northerners. All who imbibe will find the rich loam of the Southern world to be a compelling draw that makes this story hard to put down and impossible to predict. 

Libraries and readers seeking literary explorations of Southern heritage spiced with a touch of intrigue and mystery will find the communities and people portrayed in Indigo Field to be more than realistic. They nearly walk off the page to sit beside the reader with a fan and a glass of sweet tea in hand. 

Indigo Field

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The Islands Call
Sandy Frykholm
Parenti Publishing

978-1735037622            $14.99 Paper/$7.99 ebook
https://www.amazon.com/Islands-Call-Time-Travel-Adventure/dp/1735037621 

The Islands Call: A Time Travel Adventure blends history and romance into a time-travel quest. The plot centers on Seattle astrology columnist and part-time fortune teller Gino Calabrese and his chance encounter with fraud investigator Sara Shore at a party. 

Her pragmatic determination to expose the truth masks her own unusual clairvoyant abilities, which has destroyed one than one relationship in her past. This is why she keeps her talent and emotions hidden, even though Gino wants them to become more than friends. 

Readers experienced with either time travel or romance stories may think they'll know where this is all going—but they'd be wrong. Gino becomes lost in time, and though Sara knows he's gone missing and is in trouble, even she can't locate him to help him. 

Under Sandy Frykholm's pen, the story becomes steeped in historical details of the 1300s. The Black Death threatens Gino as much as the close attentions of a precocious teenager and Gino's assignment to become the personal astrologer to Signore Ottavio, a dangerous man who condemns charlatans to death. 

Gino is heavily tested to recall not only general history of the times, but the politics and power of the church and the popes that resided in Avignon before Christopher Columbus. Ironically, a tattoo forces him to state that he can "read the stars" and gives him both a false status and a charge to live up to the illusion he is forced to weave about his astrological prowess in a time when religion and the supernatural co-exist too close together. 

Perhaps there is no way out. But in this case, Gino's life depends on Sara, who is literally worlds away. Her clairvoyant abilities may be the only thing that can save them both. 

More so than most time-travel adventures, Frykholm weaves detailed historical events so seamlessly into her story that readers who choose The Islands Call for either its promise of romance or its timeslip action will find the times and their challenges especially realistic and inviting. 

Powered by the strong developments of characters Gino and Sara and the logic behind their actions and reactions, The Islands Call is riveting whether events unfold from Gino's unexpected foray into the past or Sara's growing sense that something is wrong that only she can mend. 

The journey through Italy and matters of the heart unfolds with a compelling series of twists that bring history to life and inject it directly into the hearts and minds of two characters who find their fates inexplicably and inevitably entwined. 

The result is a powerhouse of a story that captures with introductory character connections, and then reinforces these different personalities and their quests with a blend of historical fact and psychological growth that keeps them challenged by both their environment, their tangled knots of possibility, and their unusual connections to each other and the psychic forces that lie behind their choices. 

The Islands Call's ability to blend these disparate, complex influences into a compelling adventure makes it highly recommended not just for the usual timeslip reader, but for romance and history buffs and libraries looking for a read that's edgy and engrossing. The Islands Call is unpredictably attractive in its contrast of modern times and events of hundreds of years past that portend there will be no easy closure or recovery for either character. 

The Islands Call

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Key Number 17
George P. Tymitz
Atmosphere Press
978-1-63988-756-9         $18.99
www.atmospherepress.com 

Key Number 17: A Ukrainian Grandfather’s Odyssey of Courage is a novel that brings to life the history and culture of the Ukrainian people. It deserves special attention during these modern times of the Ukrainian war and struggles as it brings to life the pre-Revolutionary Ukraine of 1905. 

78-year-old Olek Creshenko's visit to his grandson in the hospital after teen Bobby is brutally beaten prompts Olek to teach his grandson about courage and resistance. 

But, in order to do so, he needs to go back in time to confront his own demons and the forces that altered his life, forcing many impossible decisions that haunt him in his present-day life. 

As Olek moves between the worlds of Chicago in the 1950s and 60s to events that changed and formulated his life in his homeland of Ukraine in the early 1900s, readers receive an engrossing contrast in social, political, and cultural conditions. These set the stage for a greater understanding of present-day events. 

The relationship between the now-in-his-eighties grandfather and his grandson (who is now in his twenties) forms and is featured in a story that examines relationships between those of not only different generations, but different cultural experiences and influences. 

It's ironic that Olek's own seven children don't help him in the way that Bobby does. But Olek has helped Bobby find his own special connections to courage and his heritage, even as Bobby now helps him navigate old age and increasing uncertainty about the world. 

Readers anticipating that this novel will be about Ukraine history and experience alone might be surprised at the dovetailing of Ukraine's history with the equally powerful focus on how different generations connect, learn from one another, and receive support from past struggles that impart lessons to modern-day dilemmas. 

George P. Tymitz draws important correlations between these life lessons and decisions and how they are perceived by different generations, adding elements of understanding to solidify and profile these disparate perceptions and experiences from the start: 

"Olek had helped him understand the many ways in which he could find courage, in which he could have the confidence to defend himself in challenging interactions with others, in which he could finally have good feelings about himself. Likewise, Bobby had helped Olek understand the meanings of sad events which had occurred so many years ago and which had left the old man an emotional cripple and a hopeless alcoholic." 

The journey Tymitz creates to more closely examine the wellsprings of these bonds, as well as the disconnects between Olek and his children, contribute to a powerful tale that is as much about learning to forge a life with courage, conviction, and honor as it is about events in Ukraine or their resonating impact on future generations in other countries. 

It's rare that someone hands you the key to understanding courage. It's also rare to see an immigrant's story so strongly rooted in the progression and results of experiences and lessons that translate between generations, sometimes skipping a generation in the process. 

Libraries seeking stories whose roots lie in Old Country Ukraine will find Key Number 17 is so much more than the usual immigrant's tale. Its compelling story of different generations that share a route to courage is hard to put down and worthy not just of individual reading, but book club profile: 

“Robert,” he said. “We help each other. Keep key with you always. Use it when you need reminder of who you are – a brave man, a good man. I am very proud of you. But remember, you must use key for good, never evil. I forget this on cold night in Kiev long ago, and all my life I suffer for my mistake.” 

Key Number 17

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Liv's Secrets
Janet Levine
Armin Lear Press Inc.
978-1-956450-50-7         $24.95 Paper/$7.99 ebook
https://www.amazon.com/Livs-Secrets-Janet-Levine/dp/1956450505 

Liv's Secrets doesn't sound like a historical novel, but it comes steeped in the genre's best trappings of action and facts. It follows a fictional South African Jewish family's journey from Eastern Europe to South Africa, where currents of prejudice and racism follow them to affect their new lives. 

A somewhat-daunting list of characters opens the story. While some might translate this to a weighty novel that will feature fluctuating major players and a complexity that belays emotional investment in people and outcomes, such a perception could not be further from the truth. 

Janet Levine's approach is designed to introduce and streamline the many characters that interact on the pages and arena of historical change, and this prologue and review helps readers immediately place the characters and their connections. 

Because this story of the Weisz family members evolves over a series of decades and different generations, such a review lends a foundation of knowledge to the story that makes it easier to become involved in its personas and events from the start. 

Eighty-eight-year-old narrator Liv opens the tale with a reflection on her present circumstances, the post-apartheid world, and memories good and bad that might pass with her. 

Her observations of the importance of preserving these experiences for future generations do not go unnoted: 

"We learn history from survivors’ horrific nightmares? Is this all we have to share? Nightmare stories. Our century was one of struggle and strife. Perhaps I’ve lived too long? I’m forgetting the beauty of life; I’m forgetting the joy, the love, and the surprises." 

As the saga evolves, it becomes a template for other scattered South African Jewish family experiences, revealing the social, political, and emotional ties that are all tested by history and life. 

Liv's first-person introduction leads to third-person descriptions of the 1960s in South Africa and the events which unfold to present new challenges to her family. The timeline that moves from past to present is clearly identified in chapter headers that keep readers on track about the changing milieu which propels Liv and her family in new directions. 

Relatively little fiction has been written about Jewish experiences in South Africa. This fact, combined with Janet Levine's enticing attention to capturing life under a repressive White South African government and its lasting impact on the psyches of all strata of society, makes for a story that is rich in historical detail, compelling in its social examination, and cemented by family and characters that face difficult decisions on how to live their lives and reflect their values and ideals. 

Libraries—especially those strong in cross-cultural fictional explorations of Jewish communities and experience in history—will find Liv's Secrets a thought-provoking, delightful exploration that ideally will find its way to discussion groups interested in South African history and Jewish cultural experience in particular. 

Liv's Secrets

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Love Like This
Cynthia Newberry Martin
Vine Leaves Press
978-0-6454365-7-0         $17.99 Paper/$5.99 ebook
https://www.amazon.com/Love-Like-Cynthia-Newberry-Martin/dp/0645436577 

Love Like This follows lives reinvented after they become child-free, considering what happens to one couple when they have finished their childrearing job and find themselves once again facing choices. 

In an unexpected twist, each makes a decision to continue their lives not shared, but in different directions. Will quits his job in anticipation of staying home with Angelina. In turn, she quits her at-home position in favor of returning to work as a nurse. 

After twenty-two years of set roles, each finds their new position both transformative and alienating as they encounter different people who threaten to revise their ideas of what retired life together will be. 

Few novels follow post-childrearing dilemmas in long-term marriage as realistically and astutely as Love Like This. As each character considers safety, growth, and different perceptions of the world, whether they be together or grown apart, readers follow an evolutionary process which evolves from the small acts, decisions, and reactions of daily living: "This part, at least, seemed normal. Him outside by himself cooking on the grill. Angelina in the kitchen. Water that he made safe being put on the table. But he didn’t make the water safe anymore." 

The distance, revisions, and love that they feel for each other come to light as powerfully as the forces that threaten to drive them apart. After 22 years of connection, these come as almost a surprise. After 22 years of commitment, new revelations revise the bigger picture of these long-held connections: "She was the love of his life. But she wanted an empty house and he wanted to be in the house with her—with her wanting to be here with him. And he couldn’t make her want that." 

More than a predictable story of distancing, Cynthia Newberry Martin's odyssey is also a journey of coming together in revised ways. The small moments of giving and intimacy which forge innovative paths are delicately traced, creating moving moments which continually revise outcomes readers may anticipate, but which pause on the brink of unfolding. 

The characters that are introduced to supplement the main characters in unusual ways are equally intriguing as they dance around and reinforce the couple's changes. The disparate viewpoints of the two are especially well contrasted. 

Readers seeking a love story of a long-term marriage that faces internal and external forces of change will find Love Like This as rare as a ruby, as brilliant as a diamond, and as subtle as a series of small surprise gifts. Each unwraps into a different possibility, and each comes steeped in love explorations that carry characters and reader on unexpected journeys. 

The fresh revelations about marriage will provide especially intriguing discussion points for both book clubs and groups discussing long-term marriage and growth. 

Love Like This

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The Possibility of Everywhere
Beth Harkins
Atmosphere Press
978-1-63988-702-6         $18.99
www.atmospherepress.com 

The Possibility Of Everywhere: Casablanca to Oklahoma City, Kathmandu to Timbuktu is a novel following the life of Cindy Hollingsworth, who receives a hard lesson early on, from her own father, that females are inconsequential in life. 

It's a lesson she thoroughly refutes in her adult years as Cindy learns about other cultures, powerful figures (such as Isis, the Indian Kali, and Saint Teresa of Ávila), and begins an examination of personal and gender empowerment that changes her ideas of self, her place in the world. 

From the start, Beth Harkins adopts a tone of revelation and discovery, starting in 1953 Morocco, when Cindy first receives the message that her life and position are of little value. The story then moves into a milieu in which Cindy learns that, in fact, women can cultivate a unique brand of feminine power that holds the ability to heal and connect disparate individuals no matter their genders. 

Also present from the start is a cosmopolitan perspective which has Cindy operating in different cultures, setting the stage for a transformative process that encourages her to accept her abilities and reflect them into the world. 

Her acknowledgement of the impact of this transformation on those she loves, who may not understand, is particularly well presented: 

"I thought about the email I’d received from Charlie at home in Oklahoma. Reading between the lines, I sensed how much he was entrenched in his familiar way of life. That’s when I worried that both he and Abby, the two people I loved most in the world, might not grasp the ways our Western lifestyles strangle us and strangle the Divine Feminine. Pushing men and women to assume distorted masculine ways in the workplace and even at home. Often making us depressed or sick, unable to imagine another future. By living life entrenched in Western society and its demands, despite its benefits, Charlie and Abby might not be open to what was opening in me. The thought terrified me." 

This example is only one strength to a story that explores not just one young woman's growth, but her choices and impact on society at large. 

As she "sends shock waves to people she loves," Cindy juxtaposes connecting to inner wisdom and courage with navigating the changes to her family and relationships that these new ventures introduce. The complexity revolving around her newfound understandings and the decisions stemming from her travels and experiences makes for an engrossing read. 

Libraries seeking novels about transformative growth, travel adventures, and new possibilities that stem from change will find The Possibility Of Everywhere intriguing. It's a solid recommendation for book clubs interested in women's literary explorations of growth, independence, and the impact of life stories on the greater world. 

The Possibility of Everywhere

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The Rebirth
V.P. Evans
Independently Published
ASIN: ‎B0BWX78LV5            $3.99 ebook
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BWX78LV5 

The Rebirth is a novel that differs from most stories of parental trauma over a child's death in several important ways. 

The protagonist is a father who is angry with himself for not fulfilling his role as his son's protector. Damned by his own fury and never-ending grief, Mark's self-loathing threatens to consume the rest of his life. 

Jason Roneros is also a fallen man—but in a different way. Beaten down by illness and the specter of the murdering Imperatores who stalk him and force him into the life of a recluse, Jason is at once dying and seeking redemption. 

Mark and Jason are connected in more than one way; and yet are so distant from one another that it seems their disparate and broken lives will force them apart while mirroring one another in unusual ways. 

Fate brings them together in their final attempt to achieve liberation and salvation. The murder of Dermot Walsh which opens this story is the tipping point for altering their trajectory away from one another with an encounter that portends a mystical and psychological experience neither was prepared for. 

Mother Anna, too, is suffering: "A monster had stolen the life from it, and the boyish giggles had given place to creases on the fabric. And just like that, there was a constant wound in the mom’s heart, and her smile had turned into hot tears, a wail that would never stop." Perhaps her mandate to find courage is the greatest challenge of all, but it plays into the new roles the two men find themselves both fielding and embracing as they pursue secrets, signs of truth, and self-revelations. 

V.P. Evans creates a multifaceted story that attracts on different levels. Spiritual readers will appreciate the component of discovery and mystical interludes that cement this unusual journey, while those who look for mystery and intrigue will find The Rebirth embraces both as the characters move from their comfort zones to new possibilities and realizations. Readers who look for psychological depth in their novels will find growth and opportunities for reconsidering what makes heroes and monsters different. 

Another plus is that Evans takes the time to delve into the purposes and perceptions of aforementioned monsters—especially hit man Victor Taylor, who is tasked with both ending lives and uncovering their secrets. 

Libraries and readers will find that The Rebirth touches its audience on different levels. Its special blend of mysticism, psychological discovery, interpersonal interactions, and close inspections of monsters and men makes it a highly recommended read for a broad audience. 

The Rebirth

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The Saint Louisans
Steven Clark
Independently Published
9798835135103             $5.95 kindle/$11.99 paperback
https://www.amazon.com/Saint-Louisans-Steven-Clark/dp/B0B3NB4P54 

In The Saint Louisans, hospice nurse Lee Bridger sees a lot of death. She also finds herself unexpectedly in the middle of a family fray involving an inheritance, the future of a historical mansion, and the opposing interests of a family matriarch and the children who would tear down her legacy to profit from modernization efforts. 

Hell hath no fury like a heritage scorned, but Margot's fiery method of making sure her children don't achieve their goals after she is gone places Lee in a uniquely conflicted position where her actions and choices are scrutinized by the public eye like never before. 

As Steven Clark weaves a story about inheritance, fury, and families behaving badly at the end of life, readers will find an unusual blend of historical issues and humor drives a plot filled with antagonistic, confrontational hardheads that are affected by Lee's services and unique approach relationships: 

“At that moment, I thought I’d had enough of him. Of this. So did Philip. If he dies, I thought, I don’t care. That’s a cold thing to live with. I don’t have Terri’s sensuality and spending, nor Pierre’s Gesshoji and spiritualism. I do have my faith in God, and his love, but I also have that last night. The last words my son said as he stormed out.” Her eyes hardened. “The last time I saw him alive.”
...My pause was brief. “I want you to make up with your children.”
She shook her head. “They’re so ugly, now. They want money. They want to destroy.”
 

As Lee "does battle for the cause" and finds her life turning in a different direction than her hospice charge, readers move with her through a milieu in which one powerful family's special interests are shaken not by death, but by end-of-life decisions about how a legacy will affect and change the future. 

"Every family has its own karma." Lee's own is no different, but the pursuits and reactions she has crafted in the course of her work will change that karma and her own perception of her place in the world. 

While humor is replete in these encounters, readers should by no means anticipate a funny ride into ironic experiences alone. The Saint Louisans is a serious inspection of family relationships and objectives that utilizes humor to contrast the brutal nature of emotional clashes and special interests against the wider impact of changes and family legacies. 

Those expecting a linear story will also be happily delighted by the time Clark takes to create powerfully evocative metaphors and descriptions that sing: 

"Your body shuts down organ by organ. The heart and brain the last ones to keep the light on. Memories are refractions of time. They’re blips on the screen of her heartbeat, going to 2/4 time. She becomes a theory: space and mass are relative, and no mass leaves only time. You focus, but there’s too much going on in each picture. All buzz and minuteness. You want an essence. One last, good memory. The funeral. Hello, Tom. Aunt Mary. A picnic. Delivering your first baby: super nurse. No. Something better. Light. Music. Midsummer." 

It is in passages such as these that the true essence and power of The Saint Louisans comes to the forefront. 

Libraries and readers looking for literary works that capture the beating heart of transformation on many different levels, tinged with an unexpected icing of humor that emerges at different moments in the process, will find The Saint Louisans an excellent read. 

The Saint Louisans

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Sushi and Sea Lions
Rachel Corsini
Creative James Media
‎978-1956183528            $12.99 Paper/$4.99 Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/Sushi-Sea-Lions-Rachel-Corsini/dp/1956183523 

Sushi and Sea Lions is a study in romantic comedy that literally opens with a hilarious bang: "I glanced over at . . . Billy? I think his name was Billy. If it was, he'd be the third one since the walking boot came off. Like the Three Billy Goats Gruff. Trip trap, trip trap right into my bed. Especially after one too many Pinot Grigios." 

Injured prima ballerina Daniela Verdi fills her newly-vacated days and life with a series of distractions that lead her away from what her dream life has become—until she encounters Vincent LaBate, who harbors his own reasons for avoiding his vastly revised life and any possibilities of romance. 

The two begin a relationship that is both healing and extraordinary as it evolves new possibilities and reveals the chinks of old patterns that come back to haunt each of them. 

Rachel Corsini's novel represents a delightful romp through vastly revised possibilities and worldviews that take each character on a sentimental journey through failed dreams and new circumstances. Vincent and Daniela are well aware that their lives are different, but what is less apparent is what is needed to effect permanent revisions in how they approach the future and romance. 

As life is viewed through Daniela's first-person confessions, readers receive an examination that is candid and vividly realistic: "I used to be alive, filled with fire, consuming the world like tomorrow might never come. I relished a good love story, the exertion of leaping across a ballet studio, the sighs a piece of art could emit from me. Since the injury, since my heartbreak, I'd lost my desire. It was time to find it again and the Billys weren't doing the trick." 

As Vinny moves into her life and heart, Daniela comes to realize the potential for a very different life, complete with new possibilities and goals: "I couldn’t believe this was happening. That I could possibly be everything Vinny wanted. That this was real life and I was here being carried to Vinny’s bed like a princess. Like his princess." 

Corsini's ability to juxtapose the evolving growth both between the romantic partners and their individual experiences and special interests creates a well-crafted romance replete in intimacy, sexual exploration, and emotional growth. Vivid food descriptions even conclude with recipes. 

There are plenty of steamy sex scenes for romance readers who like their stories hot, but also many insights into the couple's interactions not just with each other, but family and friends around them. These contribute to a tale as fully vested in exploring the patterns of developing relationships as it is to describing the physical attractions that develop between two already-strong characters. 

Readers seeking the perfect special blend of humor, growth, romance, and dreams altered and realized will find Sushi and Sea Lions a fine study in great expectations, unexpected endings, and new beginnings. 

Sushi and Sea Lions

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Thunder Falls
Neil Perry Gordon
Independently Published
‎979-8987563205            $16.99 Paper/$4.99 ebook
Website: www.NeilPerryGordon.com 
Ordering: https://www.amazon.com/Thunder-Falls-Education-Leopold-Wolf/dp/B0BTGGWLSR 

Thunder Falls: The Education of Leopold Red Wolf belongs in any collection strong in Western fiction and Native American literature. It explores the evolution of protagonist Leopold Wolf in the mid-1800s. His journey led him to become an outspoken Native American rights advocate at an era when the concept of Native rights was barely an idea, much less a reality. 

The roots of Wolf's quest actually begin when he is eight and observes his mother's terrible death when a cannonball is fired through their house by the Confederacy during the opening days of the Battle of Carlisle. Tasked with taking care of his father at too young an age, Wolf grows up with the weight of the adult world on his young shoulders. This sets the stage for his later involvement in the Carlisle Indian School, which employs Wolf and Son Woodworking in a much-needed building job. 

Little did he realize that the business arrangement would lead to social change and revised purpose in his life: "Much as I was involved in crafting every inch of those structures, what I didn’t know was how my life was going to change once the Carlisle Indian School opened its doors, and how my narrowed outlook on the world would cease to exist." 

Neil Perry Gordon juxtaposes fictional drama with historical fact in a satisfying way, bringing to life the milieu of the late 1800s and the political influences on Native American lives and futures. 

As Wolf comes to many new realizations that revolutionize his life trajectory, so readers absorb the politics and influences of times which lead Wolf to make uncommon decisions that lead him to become an advocate for Native Americans. 

The story unfolds a rich contrast between ethical and moral values and the social compass of changing White society and Native Americans alike as issues of assimilation, repression, and civil rights rise to the forefront. 

This showcase of history encourages important dialogues between contemporary readers and book clubs interested in the too-wild West and methods by which it was perceived, tamed, and controlled. 

Libraries and readers seeking a fictional story that attracts with realistic scenarios and influences will find Thunder Falls a powerful social observation of many of the forces in this bygone world which continue to influence behaviors and choices today. 

The story concludes in a cliffhanger which portends further coverage of Wolf's journey and education, maintaining that, despite all the events that have influenced him, his real education is just beginning. 

Thunder Falls

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Triskele
B. D'Amato
Atmosphere Press
9781639887705             $17.99
www.atmospherepress.com 

Triskele is a novel of psychological growth that covers the journey undertaken by ten-year-old Paul, whose flight from his dysfunctional family leads him to abandon his younger sister Bethany in an effort to save himself. 

Decades later, the separated siblings reunite under the care of a psychotherapist dedicating to rebuilding their relationship with each other and their estranged father. It's a momentous effort that holds growth implications and threats to the psyches of all three clients. 

The story opens in 1963 in White Plains, where Paul and his younger sister Bethany enjoy a supportive relationship. Bethany admires her older brother ("Paulie doesn’t have imagination, but he has everything else that makes him my best big brother in the whole world."), but his decisions drive them apart in ways neither could have anticipated or changed. 

Decades later, Beth has blocked off much of her childhood memories of abuse. Even therapist Lillian, whose goal is to encourage her clients to talk to a non-judgmental listener, finds that Beth's deep-rooted traumas are difficult, challenging her own professional distance and ability to serve as an uninvolved therapist. 

D'Amato is especially skilled at illustrating these therapy sessions and their choices and revelations: 

"Beth had said a great deal. Any new material was usually presented as factual, with very little feeling. With subsequent retellings, more and more feelings arose. It made sense. Ultimately, Beth would be able to connect the feeling with the memories. The precise time when she would integrate her words with the right feelings would be under Beth’s control. There was no prodding. Again, Lillian understood. Why would anyone want to know or remember how terrible it felt to be a powerless young girl living with inescapable abuse?" 

As the story and relationships progress, the healing process receives central focus in a memoir of acceptance, love, confrontation, and healing. 

Libraries and readers seeking powerful psychological inspections of family relationships gone awry and the process of confronting and saving them will find Triskele the compelling story of a therapist caught in the middle between her own beliefs about what is true and the disparate experiences and perceptions of her clients. 

As much as it will prove a compelling psychological revelation to individual readers, Triskele holds much food for thought and discussion for not only book club circles, but in psychological groups where clients, therapists, and approaches to family treatment are of interest. 

Triskele

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When Oceans Rise
Robin Alvarez
Creative James Media
978-1956183160            $14.99 Paper/$4.99 Kindle
Website: www.robinalvarez.com
Ordering: https://www.amazon.com/When-Oceans-Rise-Robin-Alvarez/dp/1956183167 

Trigger warning: When Oceans Rise is a novel steeped in revelations about manipulation, emotional abuse, and the processes of identification and recovery which prompt seventeen-year-old Malaya to reconsider her life when she becomes submerged in a toxic relationship. 

Readers who would pursue her experiences will find much growth and realizations within her story that also embrace a touch of the supernatural as she comes to realize that she is cursed by a family legacy of women falling for the wrong man, with death as the outcome and cost of their love.

Malaya becomes convinced that her choices and man are quite different. The ways in which she becomes isolated and is manipulated by her dream man are subtle, at first, but work their dreadful magic to land her in a situation which would careens towards a similar fate.

Is this inevitable, or will Malaya be the one to break the curse and the trend? 

Robin Alvarez crafts a particularly thought-provoking, eye-opening scenario of heritage, legacy, abuse, and the processes by which even a determined, savvy young woman becomes ensnared in the same emotional traps as women before her. 

Alvarez then introduces an extraordinary opportunity for Malaya to travel back in time and make different choices. But, will they lead to different scenarios, or move full circle to reinforce the idea that such patterns are inevitably repeated? 

When Oceans Rise is a powerful survey that introduces a sea witch's influences, but presents many thought-provoking moments about pivot points, decision-making, and repetitive patterns in life that defy change. 

As Malaya contrasts old and new life options, she makes the kinds of revised choices that seemingly send her on a healthier alternative road. Or, do they? 

Individual readers will find much food for thought within her story, but ideally book clubs consisting of women's literature readers (especially young adults moving into new adult status) and psychological groups interested in the mechanics of abuse, repression, and breaking family patterns will find much discussion fodder in When Oceans Rise. This makes it a highly recommended novel that operates on more than one level. 

When Oceans Rise

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Why Hearts Keep Secrets
Mara Purl
Bellekeep Books, LLC
978-1-936878-23-9                $18.95 softcover/$9.99 ebook
Website: www.BellekeepBooks.com
Ordering: https://www.amazon.com/Why-Hearts-Keep-Secrets-Milford-Haven/dp/1936878232 

Why Hearts Keep Secrets is the third novel of the Milford-Haven series, which also includes novellas that extend the saga. It will be best enjoyed by prior readers of the story, as the characters and plots built in previous books are continued and further expanded in this novel. 

The 'Milford-Haven' name may sound familiar to even those who have not seen the previous books. That's because the radio drama which first aired in the U.S. in 1987 reached overseas to pique the interest of the BBC, which aired it in the 1990s under the name 'Milford-Haven, USA'. The soap opera took off, capturing the feelings, experiences, and milieu of small-town America. This latest addition to the series will delight listeners and readers who harbor their own special affection for this environment, the dramas that evolve behind closed doors, and the particular seduction that comes from entwining lives and relationship dilemmas. 

While the books may be read out of sequence, the special delight of this series lies in its special form of unraveling the complexities of a myriad of secrets kept by various residents. This story opens with Senior Deputy Delmar Johnson's date with a ghost. That's right—it's a visage from the past that haunts him through recurring nightmares and the unresolved mystery of the disappearance of broadcast journalist Christine Christian, whose body has never been recovered, but who almost certainly is dead. 

Recent facts seem to refute this notion, but Delmar persists in his certainty that Chris is not alive. As his investigation proceeds, a host of other Milford-Haven characters emerge with their own special dramas, from newly successful artist Miranda Jones's increasing discomfort over her love relationship (which seems to rest on a foundation of uncertain secrets) to Samantha Hugo's own close-held secret that threatens to be exposed. 

Indeed, secrets threatened and unfolding are one theme of a small-town story in which each of the characters navigates uncertainty and oddities that shake their public personas and inner convictions: "Everyone in the story had rights; but no one seemed to have achieved a happy ending." 

Mara Purl's multifaceted probe into these disparate lives and the community connections which keep threatening to reveal their most intimate underpinnings makes for a thoroughly engrossing story. 

Newcomers do receive both an introduction to the environment and a list of characters at book's end, which will help them move smoothly into the small town's people and history. However, Why Hearts Keep Secrets will likely prompt new readers to turn to the previous books to gain a fuller sense of the milieu and drama underlying this community. 

Libraries seeking books strong in emotional twists, community relationships, and small town politics and people will find no better acquisition than Why Hearts Keep Secrets, which cements all with a soap opera's ability to highlight private lives and public consequences with equal strength. 

The mysteries underlying these experiences will keep readers engrossed and often guessing about possible outcomes as characters drawn into disparate dramas lose track of their goals and find their lives careening into unexpected territory. 

Why Hearts Keep Secrets

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Reviewer's Choice

Apple Bottom Blooms
Morgan Rayne
Independently Published
979-8367492477            $4.99 Paper/$1.99 Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/Apple-Bottom-Blooms-Morgan-Rayne/dp/B0BPGMSSLK 

Apple Bottom Blooms is a novella about returning home to face second chances at romance and possible snafus in the process of coming full circle. 

Kinsley Wentworth finds refuge in her childhood tree house and life in small town of Grafton Hills. She cultivates places to hide from life, because "...a place to hide was exactly what she needed thanks to her ex, Tristen, and the band of brainless baboons he called his friends. Even now, in the solitude of her childhood hang out, she could hear the merry band of idiots hooting and hollering, laughing it up––mostly at her expense––by the bonfire that was positioned only a couple hundred yards due north of her current location." 

But, hiding out from love's potential only goes so far when potential romantic perp Chase Thorn returns to town and picks up where he left off, attempting something that was already doomed long ago by circumstances beyond his control. 

Replete with an embarrassing incident involving novelty  panties and a history of the bad nickname "Apple Bottom," Kinsley avoids not just Tristen, but anyone associated with him. And that, by proxy, includes Chase. 

The short novella format is the perfect choice for developing a succinct romantic comedy that achieves the most in the least amount of words. Every word counts in such an endeavor. Morgan Rayne makes the most of humor, irony, and strong characters that will especially appeal to readers looking for powerful stories and examples of literary devices that create the most in the shortest amount of time. 

This is why Apple Bottom Blooms ideally will not only be chosen by libraries and readers interested in the novella format, but for feature in creative writing and reader discussion groups seeking contemporary examples of successful novella devices. 

Apple Bottom Blooms is alternately funny, thought-provoking, and sassy. Readers who absorb Kinsley's character and interactions with Chase's special interests will find the story a compelling example of small town atmosphere, changing self-perception, and the emergence of a kind of romance neither character saw coming. 

Apple Bottom Blooms

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Banquet of Shadows
Lucas Pogrzebny
Independently Published
978-987-88-6402-0         $12.99 Paper/$2.99 ebook
https://www.amazon.com/Banquet-Shadows-Vampire-Bloodmoon-Castelain-ebook/dp/B0BGS1M7BC 

Banquet of Shadows is the first book in the Bloodmoon Castelain series, opening with a vivid death scene designed to both set the atmosphere and create immediate intrigue: 

"The room was tinged red as the pendulum clock struck midnight, letting them know what time it was with twelve ominous chimes. Amid the noise and the blood, Craven squeezed Arthur’s hand tightly, as if this might prevent their parting. The room was brightly lit—so bright, in fact, that the red nectar that sprang from the wallpaper flowers now seemed to have splashed everywhere, decorating everything. The vibrant colors now contrasted with the extreme pallor of Arthur’s face. Jarring juxtaposition.
'I don’t know . . . who killed me,' Arthur repeated over and over again."
 

With this passage, the story takes off for uncharted territory, bringing readers into a powerful vampire tale that involves an 1887 backdrop, a macabre trap reminiscent of Edgar Allan Poe's best horror pieces, and a series of conversations that leads to the revelation of murder and danger. 

In barely five hours, would-be survivor Lester Craven finds himself confronted with a perhaps-predictable trap instigated by the invitation of Baron Darcrois to join a group in his bizarre Château. 

Lucas Pogrzebny writes with the flair of Poe and the passion of a seasoned wielder of the pen of intrigue and supernatural influence. Think a blend of Bram Stoker's classic Dracula horror combined with the mystery and intrigue of Agatha Christie's story And Then There Were None for a flavor of the literary attractions replete in Pogrzebny's tale. 

As the saga evolves to consider banquet participant Lucien's deeper probe into the purposes surrounding this dire dinner, Pogrzebny creates vivid scenarios steeped in "you are here" moments that bring the macabre events to shuddering life: 

"The coach had picked him up at his home in the Rue de Levington—a small flat above the discreet Librairie Azur he owned—almost two hours ago now, but the darkness of night was slowly descending upon them like a wild animal. And perhaps this was more than a metaphor, for Lucien was sure that not even the coachman could tell him for certain what kind of creatures dwelled in those forbidden woods..." 

It's hard to identify a contemporary horror work that is more old-school in its attention to atmospheric detail, yet more modern in its twists of plot. Pogrzebny's artistry lies as much in developing a mystery as it does in creating a supernatural world of vampires and men which simmers under an investigative process that changes its possibilities like the spots of a leopard. 

Libraries seeking supernatural horror works that excel in both literary description and devices and a sense of mystery and discovery will find Banquet of Shadows a powerful addition. It's especially recommended for more literary readers who love Poe's works and look for contemporary writers able to emulate his prowess (albeit in a full-length production). 

Banquet of Shadows

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Catch IT in the Moment
Lauren Meehan
Creative Book Writers
978-1959532118            $19.99 Paper/$9.99 Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/Catch-Moment-Lauren-Meehan/dp/1959532111 

"If you have a pet and a garden, you already have everything you need to be happy." 

Catch IT in the Moment is a celebration of pets that captures the intersection between pet photography and written word. It comes from a pet enthusiast who reveals both the source of her passion for pets and the influence they have had on her life. 

Pet lovers won't expect the extent of revelations incorporated into this celebration as it moves from bios of memorable pets to bigger-picture thinking: 

"...one thing that helps keep one on the move is a healthy inflow of inspiration. Find it, and if you can’t, be a source of it. Keep a new inspiration horizon and find little things that give you happiness, and you will be surprised by how lively the days become ... I can’t describe the warmth I feel while talking about these lessons I learned while pursuing my passion. And a glance at the past makes me even more excited about the future. It makes me ponder about what’s to come and the lessons to be learned from them. Each morning I have blinds of positive thoughts that circle me and pump blood to every corner of my conscience. And that what, I guess, passion does to you - makes you feel alive." 

From unconventional dreams to the special challenges of capturing pets who like to be always on the move, this blend of life philosophy and pet photography will prove surprisingly accessible to a wider audience than either photography or pet books typically reach. 

Readers and libraries interested in thoughts about life's meaning, the efforts of capturing animals in action, and the emotional connections animals represent (which often translate to poses that influence the photographer's eye) will find Catch IT in the Moment a captivating exploration not just of the mechanics and choices of pet photography, but the driving force of love on career and life choices: 

"I worked at a doggy daycare, signed up for a cleaning company, and continued to do it to assure a steady income. But, even with all these hurdles, leaving photography at any cost is analogous to the worst of my nightmares. Because, you know, some actions don't really have logic; they rely solely on magic." 

Catch IT in the Moment is simply exquisite, both in its color pet images and the equally powerful written reflections of pet enthusiast Lauren Meehan. 

Catch IT in the Moment

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The Church of the Lighted Window Volume I: Denial
Anthony Faggioli

Atticus Creative, Inc.
978-1733101868            $3.99 ebook
https://www.amazon.com/Church-Lighted-Window-One-Denial-ebook/dp/B0BS8CDYX4 

The Church of the Lighted Window Volume I: Denial is Christian fiction at its best and follows Kyle Getty, who was a successful man until his brutal assault on a bully. Assigned to undertake therapy at the Fallbrooke Mental Institution, he finds his fellow clients are those who have lost their minds in different ways, from Alzheimers to schizophrenia. Each holds their own beliefs and pursuits, and each finds at Fallbrooke an environment in which they can hopefully face their fears and forge a way past them. 

It's no different for Kyle, who takes the opportunity and the decidedly odd environment as a reason to more closely examine not just his innate pain and responses to life, but his entire belief system. 

As it surveys the meaning of life, Kyle's journey is hard-hitting from the start: 

"At some point, everyone arrives at the same wasted opinion. Life is life. You live it, and then you die. My problem was that one day I woke up and thought that this must be all wrong. Not in any deep way, but in a gritty, cold sort of way. I imagined what it would be like to taste the air of your last breath on this earth and what a horror it would be to do so while you knew it was happening. What now? How did it come to this? A cool bed. Arms at your side. Alone or with family all around, but alone either way because you were the one dying. And then I thought of all the people who pass away, each day, and it occurred to me that most of them are aware. They are. And those arrows of regret, dismay, and disbelief at what is finally happening to them are piercing them at all angles." 

The tone cultivated in The Church of the Lighted Window ranges from that of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (as far as the variety of inmates and their mixed ailments and perceptions of the world) to a spiritual reflective piece about awareness, life purpose, and the different methods of pursuing freedom and truth: "I realized that perhaps this was why; because music opened the rusty gates in me and freed me, always, either from the silence of my own skull or the endless sound of my ricocheting thoughts. And it was a freedom that I did not want. Yet." 

The philosophical and emotional undercurrents that carry Kyle through this new world of self-inspection are presented with a thought-provoking sense of revelation: "One word. One syllable. Words are the most incredible of things. We can ascribe to them any measure of heaven or hell by the realities they carry to us. My children were not here. I was lost. All in one word." 

From definitions of heaven and hell to the clarion call of change, Kyle finds his experience transformative, inducing a form of growth and forcing him into self-inspections he'd never made before. 

The result is a powerful foray into illness, redemption, and belief that introduces God's influence in unexpected ways and unfamiliar milieus. 

Christian readers and libraries catering to them will find The Church of the Lighted Window Volume I: Denial lends not only to individual reading and reflection, but to group discussion; especially for Christian literature readers interested in stories that are spiritually and psychologically thought-provoking. 

The Church of the Lighted Window Volume I: Denial

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Delaware Before the Railroads
Dave Tabler
Independently Published
979-8987000601
$42.00 Hardcover/$30.00 Paper/$9.99 ebook
https://www.amazon.com/Delaware-Before-Railroads-Diamond-States/dp/B0BHL2XKG9 

Delaware Before the Railroads: A Diamond Among the States tackles the myth and mystique of emerging statehood with a focus on a Delaware that many readers won't see coming—even those few already well-versed in the state's history. 

Dave Tabler's special brand of history captures events with a powerful knack for drama that brings to life the state's unique background: "How did Delaware get its name? It began with a storm at Cape Henlopen and a Virginia navigator who had lost his way." 

Color photos of artifacts, examples of early homes and slave quarters, ship models, maps, and more help drive this story, using visual images supplemented by sidebars of history to make it not just accessible, but thoroughly engrossing. 

Backed by these visual displays, readers of all ages will find Delaware's evolution anything but dry, and will appreciate the attention given to details that represent social history. Housing structure examinations, for example, capture slavery housing and church endeavors, taverns, waterway development and steamboat services, and more. 

Each piece lends to a more intimate understanding of Delaware's roots than the typical linear history captures. Each is a colorful visual key to understanding the state's events, politics, society, and evolution. All these facets make Delaware Before the Railroads: A Diamond Among the States a captivating story that will attract even non-history readers with its blend of unusual historical relics and contemporary photos. 

Libraries interested in Delaware's roots and an approach that uses historical objects to cover and reinforce the state's progression and evolution will find Delaware Before the Railroads: A Diamond Among the States accessible to a wide age range, from young adults (who will appreciate the unusual inclusion of pirates and fighting Quakers) to adults who will find the Delaware history both enlightening and thoroughly engrossing. 

Delaware Before the Railroads

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Delilah Recovered
Amelia Estelle Dellos

978-1639885145            $16.99 Paper/$6.99 Kindle
Atmosphere Press
https://www.amazon.com/Delilah-Recovered-Amelia-Estelle-Dellos/dp/1639885145 

Delilah Recovered blends fantasy with occult themes and explores the dilemma faced by Dee, an unemployed accountant facing financial ruin. When she discovers she's also a witch (after a pair of witch hunters attack her), this adds to her anxiety and angst as she is forced to accept her unusual heritage and its accompanying mandate to travel through time on a quest. 

Dee's entire world turns upside down as she steps into the past and her own heritage, discovering new ways of viewing the world and her place in it. 

The blend of historical inspection, fantasy, and even romance adds a full-bodied flavor to the plot that keeps readers guessing not only about outcomes and growth processes, but the actual genre of a story that deftly winds through disparate scenarios. 

Ultimately, Dee walks into a world in which she is not a loser, but holds the powerful potential of protecting and saving the world ... if she is not too lost in her own confusion and identity crisis to grasp the power that was within her all along. 

Amelia Estelle Dellos crafts a compelling story of a woman who encounters a series of obstacles to what she perceives as her role and objectives in life. These serve to revise her perceptions of reality itself as she faces a lynch mob, summons witch powers, and strives to save herself from her destiny and the power she has unleashed. 

With handsome social worker Jonathan Berwick at her side, adding insights that spark growth and new realizations, Dee probes her own motivations and strengths: 

“When something like this happens to a person, it can forever alter their lives. They can’t get over it, or they work to get their life back to normal like it was before, or…” Jonathan paused.
“Or what?” Dee asked, unable to push down the rising anxiety building up in her tightening chest.
“Or it changes them, makes them stronger and braver than they ever were before,” Jonathan said, leaning back in his chair.
“So, my options are my life is ruined forever, I can go back to the status quo, or I can become a hero?”
“Pretty much,” he replied with a casual shrug.
 

Delilah Recovered proves a gripping blend of fantasy, romance, and coming-of-age story that follows an initially powerless woman into a position of strength and newfound responsibilities. 

Libraries and readers looking for lively adventure reads that cross genres to incorporate elements from fantasy, history, and romance will welcome the intrigue and sense of discovery that's well developed in Delilah Recovered. 

Delilah Recovered

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The Fisher Man
Ron Gambrell
Rough River Publishing
9780990856276             $18.00 Paper/$9.99 Kindle
Website: www.roughriverpublishing.com
Ordering: https://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Man-RON-GAMBRELL/dp/0990856275 

The Fisher Man spins an intriguing blend of thriller, social and political inspection, and climate change issues into a novel about Elijah Haycraft, who survives a youth of abuse and torment by adapting his killing instinct to the world around him. 

His early actions mark him as a dangerous fighter in his youth, causing community members to avoid him and his rage. It's an attitude which could attract the wrong forces, even in government circles—but it's one which portends to get dirty deeds done if Elijah can be convinced that his actions are key to saving the world. 

The US government's plans to control climate change blends nicely with the decisions to redirect and utilize Elijah's underlying rage and strengths in unusual ways. 

Environmental issues weave into political special interests and social struggles as the thriller elements interweave with Elijah's psychological development and the forces that place him in the center of a perfect storm during a time of environmental crisis. 

As issues of how sociopaths are born blend with larger concerns about how special interests can tap their psychological traits, readers looking for thriller components augmented by astute characters that absorb trauma and reflect its impact into the world in different ways will find The Fisher Man thoroughly absorbing. 

Replete with strong individuals who closely examine the truths and courses of their lives, The Fisher Man may be billed as a thriller, but is equally powerful in its psychological probes of lives and worlds off balance, that intersect in unusual ways. 

Libraries and readers seeking potent first-person stories of evolving friendships and conundrums will find The Fisher Man hard to put down. 

The Fisher Man

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The Healing Book
Dustin Grinnell
Finishing Line Press
ISBN: TBA             $24.99
https://www.dustingrinnell.com/the-healing-book 

The Healing Book:  A Collection of Short Stories gathers writings that reflect psychological and spiritual transformation, profiling a disparate range of fictional characters that each encounter and challenge their own notions of healing, health, and growth. 

The collection is particularly strong in its representations of the rituals of rebellion, the facets of existential crises that move each character to make uncommon moves to arrive at unexpected life-changing moments, and its juxtaposition of themes that delve into the disparate foundations of change. 

Before moving to the stories themselves, it should be noted that the preface introducing this collection is far more than a few paragraphs of notes. Indeed, it almost represents autobiography in itself as Dustin Grinnell synthesizes his life experiences and influences, illustrating how they ultimately led to creating this collection. 

The opening story, "Beyond Medicine" introduces the milieu of Peru, where a young female neurosurgeon is on a personal quest to cure her ongoing depression through participation in a shamanistic ritual powered by an ayahuasca brew. 

The intersection of Allie's inherent scientific skepticism about such rituals and spiritual revelations as she considers the proven healing methods of a leader and technique which succeed where Western medicine failed makes for intriguing reading as Allie participates in an endeavor committed to "ego death" and transformation. 

The connection between physical and spiritual healing forces is nicely presented as the story evolves in some unexpected, thought-provoking ways. 

In contrast is "Cured," about the intersections of faith and medical miracles which revolve around a doctoral student's pursuit of an elusive cure for a devastating disease. The process of discovery and recovery profiles Peter Spaulding's own barriers to success and achievement as he is forced to set aside both training and preconceived notions about life and health. 

Peter admits from the start that "I don’t have a single adventure muscle in my body." He's about to develop these muscles in an unusual way as he creates experiments to test the outer limits of medicine and belief. 

Beset by failures that make him even more determined to achieve the impossible, Peter finds he must first adjust his own Western traditions and perceptions to take a leap of faith and attitude before he can enter a realm that holds a cure not only for humanity, but his own psyche. 

Each story represents a delicate unwinding of tradition and a reformation of beliefs, attitudes, and convictions that leads into realms of healing that the characters (and their readers) never anticipated. 

The diversity of these approaches, themes, and discussions will especially attract libraries interested in disparate roads to not just health and healing, but self-empowerment and transformation. The elements of visionary fiction, combined with the sense of discovery and adventure cultivated in each different situation, make The Healing Book a thought-provoking, highly recommended journey not just for fiction readers, but for book club and discussion groups interested in the intersection of health, self-growth, spiritual insight, and healing processes. 

The Healing Book

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Long Time Dead
Susan McIver
Friesen Press

9781039151123            
$28.99 Hardcover/$17.99 Paper/$5.99 ebook
https://www.amazon.com/Long-Time-Dead-Investigation-Unsolved/dp/1039151124 

Long Time Dead: My Investigation Into the Unsolved Murder of Ralph Wilson Snair examines a murder that ordinarily would not seem important for close inspection: that of a retired church custodian who was shot. Was his death in 1957 a murder, or suicide? 

The interest came from blood ties. Susan McIver is Ralph Snair's great niece, a scientist and a former coroner well equipped to investigate this unsolved cold case some sixty years later. 

Her research involved old notes, news and police reports, and autopsy results, and uncovered the few clues remaining as to what really happened. 

As she made progress in a case that turns out to hold all kinds of social ties and political insights and influences, readers will find this true crime investigation comes to life with its probe of not only events, but the underlying motives of those involved in Ralph's death. 

The fine art of piecing together police procedures and social and medical influences on murder investigations makes Long Time Dead especially invaluable, and a standout in true crime literature. 

McIver's ability to transmit a mystery, the process of solving it decades later, and the changing procedures of investigators supplements a "you are here" feel with the consideration of historical and social changes that affected outcomes, influences, and investigative technology alike. 

All these facets are why Long Time Dead is recommended, above and beyond the usual true crime story, for libraries strong in criminal justice history and investigative methodology. They will find in the story much to recommend to book discussion groups considering crime, problem solving techniques, and the sometimes-deadly results of the changing social milieus of American communities in the 1950s. 

Long Time Dead

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Make Bold Things Happen
Steve Rosenberg

GSD Press
979-8987364000            $14.99 Paper/$7.99 Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/Make-Bold-Things-Happen-Inspirational/dp/B0BQ5DRJZ3 

Make Bold Things Happen: Inspirational Stories From Sports, Business and Life comes from a "serial networker" who likes to create and foster relationships and connections to make things happen. His goal and contribution to society are the hallmarks of a blend of memoir and how-to guide that covers the basics of meeting and working with a wide variety of people. 

Make Bold Things Happen adopts a non-traditional path in comparison to most self-help inspirational stories, following the process of going boldly into various kinds of relationships with the specific purpose of making new connections, then using them to foster positive growth on many different levels. 

The process begins with mindful choice and adopting an enthusiastic attitude towards the unknown. Steve Rosenberg follows the path of building his own successful connections, using them as a blueprint to help his readers understand the opportunities that lie in adversity and the key traits that led not only him, but others portrayed in his book, to make powerful decisions. 

The diversity in his examples of others' lives adds to the uplifting representation of different methods of making good things happen: "Lead by example and help people understand the complicated situation taking place daily...she brings incredible perspective and knowledge mixed with passion and intelligence and kindness." 

Perhaps the examples of kindness are the most valuable consideration of this process; for without kindness, efforts to achieve can come at a considerable cost for others. 

As Rosenberg probes political campaigns, mentors, self-branding, and planting seeds of promotion and opportunity, readers come to realize, by example, all kinds of related approaches to networking and relationship-building opportunities that can propel them onto a bolder path of discovery, growth, and achievement. 

Libraries and readers seeking self-help titles that operate on both entrepreneurial and personal levels will find Make Bold Things Happen's collection of inspirational examples to be diverse and encouraging. Ideally this book won't just repose on a library shelf, but will be chosen for book club discussion for those interested in entrepreneurial creativity and personal development alike. 

Make Bold Things Happen

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Naples Secrets in the Sun
Alan Bianco
Meaning of Life Press, Inc.
979-8-9873147-0-8         $15.95 Paper/$7.99 Kindle
www.NaplesSecretsintheSun.com 

Naples Secrets in the Sun: As Uncovered by an Inquisitive Uber Driver takes a ride into a retired Florida lawyer's decision to become an Uber driver—in the midst of the COVID pandemic, when the nation was shut down and sheltering in place. The clients he experienced and the vivid stories he gathered from this experience make for an exploration of Florida like no other. 

From byways and the culture of the rich and retired to the unique stories of and encounters with passengers who navigated the city of Naples and Collier County, Florida, Alan Bianco crafts the kind of vivid tale that is anything but staid and familiar when one thinks of their impressions of that state. 

'Counterculture' and 'Florida' would seem disparate connections, but both entwine in a satisfyingly colorful, lively collection of Uber-driven experiences that are accompanied by snippets of wisdom on "the meaning of life." 

These notes aren't just spiritual in nature. They offer cultural, historical, and social references that prove keys to understanding the meaning of life in Florida rather than the generalities of life in an existential milieu. 

From local hangouts (Naples being "the land of the thousand restaurants") and the city's popularity among the elite (thanks in part to Uber, maintains Bianco) to the riots that rocked the nation during 2020 and how national trends were bucked in the more polite Naples society ("...the “riots” that occurred in Naples were kept to a minimum and were non-hostile. One day, about 180 “defund the police” protestors “politely” marched on Tamiami Trail for a few hours. There was also a two-day protest on Immokalee Road, where about ninety protestors displayed homemade signs and politely chanted anti-Trump slogans for an hour or so before going home."), Florida's culture in general and Naples' responses, byways, and personalities in particular come to life. 

The result combines a cultural and social inspection with a lively travelogue that weaves connections between history and personal observation. 

Libraries and readers looking for inviting stories that capture the times of the COVID lockdown in a state that harbors a very different atmosphere from that presented in the typical news report of the times will find Naples Secrets in the Sun a rollicking blend of cultural and social inspection that Florida typically does not receive. 

Naples Secrets in the Sun

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The Narrator
Babak Hodjat
Dastaan Publishing
978-1-7354860-0-0          $10.99 Paper/$4.99 ebook
Website: https://dastaanpublishing.com
Ordering: https://www.amazon.com/Narrator-Babak-Hodjat/dp/1735486000/ 

The Narrator is a challenging title to neatly peg—and this is one of its strengths. 

One might deem it sci-fi, with its futuristic story of AI intelligence. It opens with the narrator's consideration of a futuristic app that will allow users to create whatever stories they want, integrating these within the boundaries of their real-world lives to create transformative experiences of excitement. 

The second chapter reveals this possibility come to life with the creation of the Narration System, which Molly's team has fostered to fruition and fame. 

As discussions morph into corporate visions of success, romance, user dreams and realities, and a dating game which stems from dreams to become reality, readers come to realize that sci-fi suspense and psychological progression are just a few of the undercurrents affecting the stream of lives in The Narrator. 

Babak Hodjat's craft lies in introducing a science fictional possibility, then following its unlikely evolution in daily life where nothing can be predicted or controlled: 

“I didn’t break any ethics codes. The narration is literally writing itself and the coauthor is the user,” Rob said, firmly. “If anything, I’m giving the user a role in the stories rather than making them a sheer consumer.”
“Well, we can’t risk that.” Molly looked at Jurgen.
“Risk what? Why is this even scary?”
“Because, we have no control,” Molly said with a hint of frustration.
 

The issues stem not just from new technological possibilities, but their applications to lives that are changed by it in manners its originators could never have envisioned. The new narrative form changes the world. This story will also challenge and change any preconceived notion that sci-fi or romance need run in well-worn ruts of plot. 

Babak Hodjat's familiarity with California's high-tech Silicon Valley business environment gives the novel a realistic note; while his exploration of freedom, disconnection, and technological influences on reality and relationships keeps readers thinking and wondering. 

This is why The Narrator is particularly recommended not just to libraries seeking accounts of AI possible futures and familiar backdrops of life gone awry, but to book clubs looking for discussion points that revolve around re-inventing the world's narrative system, memories, and the nature of consciousness and connections. 

The Narrator's special blend of suspense, high-tech intrigue, and psychological dilemmas keeps readers thoroughly engaged in a world that holds the familiar feel of modern times, but with a strange futuristic flavor that lingers in the mind long after the story's conclusion. 

The Narrator

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Oliver Stone's Flim-Flam
Fred Litwin
NothernBlues Books

978-0994863065            $18.99 Paper/$2.99 Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/Oliver-Stones-Film-Flam-Demagogue-Dealey/dp/0994863063 

Oliver Stone's Film-Flam: The Demagogue of Dealey Plaza adds to the growing literature about the JFK assassination, debunking the contentions of Oliver Stone's 2021 documentary series on the subject, JFK: Destiny Betrayed. 

The constant back-and-forth dialogues over what really happened may feel redundant all these years later, but as Fred Litwin points out, they actually are as important as uncovering the truth behind what happened, because the drive to reinvent history is motivated by social belief and systems that change over time. 

This analysis reconsiders the contentions posed by Oliver Stone, taking a step-by-step re-look at the processes, findings, and the evidence surrounding the JFK examination. 

From photos of evidence to excerpts of testimony, Fred Litwin points out where and how Stone's conclusions were completely off-track, cementing these contentions with evidence from the house select committee on assassinations (HSCA) and the ARRB studies and the case itself. 

From how bad Stone's documentary film really was to evidence it ignored in the process of making its case, Litwin provides not just another JFK study, but a consideration of how facts, legal processes, and social observation can work against the truth when it conveniently ignores pieces of evidence that don't fit the bigger picture being constructed. 

Why should modern readers care about yet another survey of the JFK experience? Because, ultimately, Stone's works shake the foundations of American democracy, painting a picture of forces at work behind the scenes which Litwin points out as fictional, setting a dangerous precedent for undermining the system as a whole: "According to Stone and DiEugenio, the United States since the assassination has been on a militaristic trajectory that can only be rectified by revealing the truth about the JFK conspiracy and its cover-up." 

As he probes the historical, social, and political significance of Stone's contentions, Litwin creates a study of film influence and media involvement that also adds important themes of how reality is represented, reinvented, dramatized, or twisted. 

These elements make Oliver Stone's Film-Flam recommendable beyond the usual books devoted to the truth of JFK's murder, reaching into media studies and film history programs and students. This audience is encouraged to consider how media translates facts and theories into stories that draw audiences, change hearts and minds, and impact social and political landscapes in modern times. 

These elements make Oliver Stone's Film-Flam highly recommended reading for media studies and social issues students, who will find within it much fodder for thought and group debate and discussion. 

Oliver Stone's Flim-Flam

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Peace & Health
Charles Barber
Community Health Center & OctoberWorks
978-1-959262-00-8         $19.99 Paper/$9.99 ebook
https://www.amazon.com/Peace-Health-Small-Town-Activists-Healthcare/dp/B0BN6N2V98 

Peace & Health: How a Group of Small-Town Activists and College Students Set Out to Change Healthcare adopts a "yes we can" attitude over the elephant in American society—a lumbering healthcare system that most admit is broken, but few feel can be repaired. 

The premise behind one community's actions is basic: health care is not a privilege, but a right that should be equally affordable by all. The story of how various ordinary individuals in one community joined forces to enact this vision on their own turf makes for not just inspirational reading, but a set of blueprints on how a series of disparate people and diverse actions reinforce this principle in one community's healthcare system. 

From a 22-year-old Middletown, Connecticut man who has no money or connections, but literally walks into a vacant downtown storefront to create his dream of a clinic, to the problems faced by those who have no healthcare or management background, this story follows the construction of an impossible dream. 

From the start, Charles Barber acknowledges the daunting reality of enacting this vision: "In many ways, Mark Masselli’s vision was a terrible idea. Building a free clinic for the poor in Middletown, Connecticut, in 1972 was an impractical, even absurd, goal for a number of reasons." 

The real joy to this story is how practicality is set aside in the pursuit of an "impossible" dream, and how it comes to fruition through the advocacy and actions of ordinary individuals. 

As the case histories unfold, various residents face many social changes and obstacles to their dream. They also face daunting challenges on how to address changing health concerns that range from the crack epidemic to AIDS. 

Barber's ability to juxtapose the financial and physical challenges of building a clinic to its social challenges in remaining viable and responsive to changing community needs is the special strength of a story packed with biographical insights and social inspection. These not only provide practical assessments of community makeup and response, but chart the typical obstacles healthcare faces in remaining both relevant and affordable to all. 

Packed with black and white articles and photos that reinforce community history and issues, the visuals nicely compliment the heart of this exploration. 

Libraries and readers interested not just in healthcare advocacy, but the process of reinventing a system from the microcosm of building a clinic and pathways to using it will find Peace & Health not just idealistic and inspiring, but practical in charting routes to achieving community goals. 

Ideally, Peace & Health will be enjoyed by a wide audience, from those interested in grassroots social change to participants in the existing American healthcare system who have a vision for creating something greater than it is now. 

Peace & Health

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Pinups Portraits and Posters
The Randall Family
Independently Published
9798355030551      $84.95
https://www.amazon.com/Pinups-Portraits-Posters-Life-Randall/dp/B0BMT43B1K 

Pinups Portraits and Posters: The Life and Art of Bill Randall captures the life and works of one of the most popular pinup artists of the 1940s-60s, illustrating that his art extended far beyond the pinup domain. Readers who already know his pinups will find that he produced art in all kinds of mediums, from landscape sketches and charcoal to watercolors and oils. 

His memorable productions ranged from his classic and well-known pinup portraits to lesser-known (but equally widespread) advertising art which captured and promoted products. 

The full-page color displays that power this survey of his art include sketches, ads, early works promoting book covers, magazine illustrations, and iconic branding. 

Accompanying these vivid color reproductions are comments that help readers understand the artist's special techniques and unique expressions, such as the presence of a gold earring in the familiar portrait of Mr. Clean, which suggests a cleaning genie; or the whimsical approach he adopted to "Mr. Buck and Mrs. Doe," animal characters used to explain a company's profit-sharing plan. 

These comments, which include allusions to family sway and presence in some of the works, provide invaluable keys to understanding how Bill Randall's life, influences, and experiences translated to and affected his artistic eye. 

Randall's four children and grandchild collaborated on this showcase of his art. Their participation and celebration makes for a powerful display that should be considered a foundation "must' for any arts library strong in pinup history in general or the wide-ranging art of Bill Randall in particular—especially since many of these works have never before been published. 

Pinups Portraits and Posters

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River of Wrath
(St. Benedict, Book II)
Alexandrea Weis and Lucas Astor
Vesuvian Books
9781645480174      $17.95 Print/$7.99 ebook
www.StBenedictSeries.com 

The St. Benedict series continues, following River of Ashes (Book I) with the story of Leslie Moore, now in the second semester of her senior year at St. Benedict High and still recovering from the death of her twin sister. This is ravaging her with guilt and affects everything in her life, from her relationships to her future. 

Readers unfamiliar with the prior book may think this will be a story about ongoing bereavement and recovery, but River of Wrath is a murder mystery, and will especially delight mature teens who can absorb both the emotional and the investigative impact of this compelling tale.  

Leslie isn't the only one questioning her position and future in this town. So are adults who have lived there for a long time, only to find that a new threat is challenging and changing their perceptions of its attraction and safety: "Kent looked at the bloody mess that had comprised the remains of Beau Devereaux. The golden boy of St. Benedict had been a football star and heir to the Devereaux fortune. The day Kent had found his mutilated body along the river had been one of the worst of his career. Beau’s death on the heels of the rape and grisly murder of Dawn Moore had shattered his faith in their small town." 

Alexandrea Weis and Lucas Astor craft a powerful story that moves from adult interests and perceptions to the narrower focus of a teen recovering from tragedy. Their ability to weave Leslie's concerns into the broader story of a series of murders that change everything is part of the draw of this tale: "She took a moment to reflect on Taylor's image, how she had moved through her home, almost as if she were a ghost. The nightmare quickly faded when the uproar of a heated argument filtered through her bedroom door. Frightened, Leslie tossed aside her covers and grabbed her robe. No one had shouted in her home since the death of her sister." 

Not only has everything changed since Leslie Moore’s deal with the devil, but so has she. Vivid dialogue and descriptions cement the tension, contributing to a powerful account that winds through different lives affected by evolving events and subterfuge:  "Her secret became a fire in her chest, burning through her flesh to gain its freedom, but she didn’t give in. She would not resolve the raging battle between her heart and her head during a moment of weakness. Leslie sucked in a painful breath, ready to walk away before she caved, and then it happened." 

Readers needn't have prior familiarity with River of Ashes to appreciate this continuation of Leslie's dilemmas—but they should. Together, the two books present an intense series of events that are intrinsically woven on many levels, questioning the evolution of heroes, psychopaths, and family connections that not only bind, but damage. 

The tension and revelations are nicely done, making this a special recommendation for those interested in not just murder mysteries, but the underlying influences that formulate criminal psyches and victims alike. 

River of Wrath
(St. Benedict, Book II)


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Seeking: 74 Key Findings to Raise Your Energy, Sidestep Your Self-Doubts, and Align with Your Life’s Work
JJ DiGeronimo
‎Together We Seek Publishing
979-8985689761
$22.99 Hardcover/$16.99 Paper/$8.99 Kindle
Audio is available on most platforms
https://www.amazon.com/Seeking-Findings-Energy-Sidestep-Self-Doubts/dp/B0BKQCWJ62 

It's somewhat rare to see a new age book cross over into genres of women's self-help and career and business, but Seeking: 74 Key Findings to Raise Your Energy, Sidestep Your Self-Doubts, and Align with Your Life’s Work is the item of choice for libraries seeking books that can reach a wider audience than most self-help or new-age literature can. 

Perhaps this is because the treatise comes from businesswoman JJ DiGeronimo's own experiences searching for life meaning in her career pursuits. The five years she spent researching, discovering, and applying her findings to her endeavors results in a series of tips that can help other women traveling the road to business and personal success. 

While DiGeronimo began her journey with professional and corporate strategies, her latest book adds the psychological, spiritual, and philosophical growth elements that are key to bringing these seemingly-disparate pursuits in sync with one another. 

Business readers may not be used to references to higher purposes, Soul wisdom, and directing personal energy and pursuits towards greater realizations and end results, but creating a dialogue that redefines success on a broader scale is just one of the surprises that these readers will encounter in Seeking. 

DiGeronimo opens the discussion with an invitation to consider transformative opportunities that lie in questioning the end result of business success: "If you are tired of chasing standards imposed upon you by others; if you are drowning in to-do lists that deplete your energy and maybe even your impact; if you are swimming in negative thoughts and self-talk; or if you are simply seeking more meaning...you are not alone!" For, what is success if it is unconnected to greater purpose? 

Seeking is just the ticket for those who may have success in hand, but feel like there should be more to life than financial or business-building strategies. It serves as a lightning rod for the intersection between the personal drive to achieve and that which questions the methodology of success. Even more importantly, Seeking defines the entrepreneurial and personal events in life that deserve re-examination, redefinition, and reconsideration. 

The blend of journal writing opportunities, questions for self-analysis, and encouragement for business readers to utilize this book in more than a linear fashion lends to its use more for personal acquisition than the rigors of library lending. Its message ideally will be embraced not just individually, but in discussion groups of fellow seekers. 

The "Soul lessons" it considers and promotes will prove especially accessible and thought-provoking to women considering incorporating mindfulness into a life that has previously been directed by the pursuit of satisfaction sans the opportunity for self-analysis or inner alignment. 

Seeking: 74 Key Findings to Raise Your Energy, Sidestep Your Self-Doubts, and Align with Your Life’s Work

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Sightseeing in the Limbic Landscape
Krys Call
Independently Published
‎979-8654701299            $19.80
https://www.amazon.com/Sightseeing-Limbic-Landscape-Neuroscientific-Manners/dp/B08BW431D9 

It's impossible to neatly categorize or pigeonhole Sightseeing in the Limbic Landscape: A Neuroscientific Comedy of Manners. It's a science fiction comedy of errors that romps through California's Delta, neuroscience and psychology, and gender issues alike. Indeed, the social, scientific, and political farces under examination and exploration contribute to a series of dialogues which are both philosophical and psychological in nature. 

The first thing to note about Sightseeing in the Limbic Landscape (if the above descriptors are not enough) is that this is a literary work of over five hundred pages, packed with a Proust-like detail to in-depth descriptions and language (such as 'cuneiform' or 'funicular') which may not be in every reader's personal dictionary of terms. 

As Marie, Anita, and a host of characters undertake this peculiar journey, the humor embedded into social commentary comes to light in unexpected ways: "...it's smoked gouda-style rice cheese and vegan salami with sprouts and pickle relish. It smells of a natural foods delicatessen. Even the meat eaters find themselves wanting some." 

Krys Call's tourist's journey through this landscape evokes behavioral and emotional responses in the reader, in keeping with the reference to the limbic system, as the story unfolds in disparate and unexpected ways, blending science with liberal philosophical observations: "Hope is no longer just hope when the appropriate equations are in place." 

The resulting intersection between fiction and science will delight literary audiences looking for an expansive, involving neuroscientific comedy that is anything but your usual sci-fi formula adventure. 

The questions it provokes and the social insights it encourages make Sightseeing in the Limbic Landscape appropriate not so much for leisure readers looking for action and adventure in the sci-fi realm, but for literary audiences. These readers will thoroughly appreciate Call's attention to detail and the liberal sprinkling of dialogues examining the nature of reality, science, and social transformation. 

Wrapped in the guise of sci-fi, but embracing so much more than a formula read, Sightseeing in the Limbic Landscape is highly recommended for not just college-level readers, but discussion groups interested in literary devices and inspections that expand the boundaries and scope of scientific connections to life. 

Sightseeing in the Limbic Landscape

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Trying to Make It
R.V. Gundur 
Cornell University Press 
9781501764479             $37.95
https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501764479/trying-to-make-it/#bookTabs=1   

Trying to Make It: The Enterprises, Gangs, and People of the American Drug Trade offers an in-depth analysis of the American drug trade's processes, influencers, and history, and is highly recommended for any social issues library strong in topics that embrace these concerns. 

In his preface, R.V. Gundur explains the personal approach employed to explore this topic: "The story is the result of my observations, court documents, and interviews with 129 people. These people included law enforcement, professionals who worked with marginalized communities, residents of those communities, and current and former participants in the drug trade." 

With the goal to minimize bias and present perspectives and materials on the topic that are largely missing from other exposés of the drug trade in America, Gundur embarks on an inspection that initially surprised even him: "I did not expect many of the stories within and what I learned often challenged the perspectives I held before conducting my study." 

From respect, power struggles, and how underground economies function to gang and drug activity on the streets, behind prison walls, and in all walks of society, Gundur enters unfamiliar territory in considering not just the social and historical aspects of his subject, but underlying business practices that dictate the drug trade's ebbs and flows. 

By drawing on the interview process to gain answers and insights, Gundur offers personalized stories that explore all facts of drug operations and the personalities of the people involved. These are stories that, elsewhere, would either never see the light of day, or would be set in a scholarly tone that fails to convey the humanity of its subjects. One surprise is that the dynamics of the illicit drug industry are not all that far from licit business operations, such as its wholesaling strategies. 

Gundur's probe of systems of underground money and those who participate in them lends many eye-opening realizations to the story that will engross law enforcement readers, social issues students interested in gang, criminal, and drug operations, and history readers. Basically, any who look for social inspections that delve deeper into the subject than simply documenting circumstances and facts will find this book attractive. 

Trying to Make It is highly recommended for college-level collections strong in criminal justice, social issues, and the business and community links of the drug trade in America. Its revelations and conclusions ideally will also be used as fodder for book club discussions, and for groups study law enforcement and psychology who are interested in exploring connections between business, community, and drug trade interests and activities. 

Trying to Make It

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Unconditional Power
Steven Gaffney
Rivertowns Books
978-1-953943-08-8         $29.95 Hardcover/$6.99 Kindle
www.rivertownsbooks.com 

Unconditional Power: A Method for Thriving in Any Situation, No Matter How Frustrating, Complex, or Unpredictable offers an opportunity and a concept embedded in the idea of harnessing the power of mood. It is highly recommended for self-help readers and psychology group discussions. 

Steven Gaffney links power to mood in a manner few other books have attempted, fostering the notion of 'unconditional power' as a personal energy source that holds unlimited potential, driven by mood swings. The core message here is that "your mood determines the amount of power you have." 

If readers receive only one takeaway from this book, it's a powerful concept that, like nuclear fuel, promises an energy source that's renewable and unlimited—providing it can be understood and harnessed in an effective, enlightened manner. 

Chapters evolve the concept, building a foundation of methodology that invites proactive readers interested in growth and change to consider the inner tools that are governed by moods and take charge of them. 

The second biggest contention in this book, which drives its self-help strength, is that "...people don’t usually realize how dramatically our mood impacts our power. When we are in a good mood, we make better decisions. We invest our energy in creative thinking rather than worrying or complaining. We see innovative solutions that others might miss. We take smart, calculated risks, knowing that big payoffs are possible. As a result, good things start to happen. All of this makes mood the most important key to achieving and exercising power." 

It's not enough to create a theory, however. Unconditional Power first posits the power of change and adaptation, then follows through with case history examples and exercises that illustrate and cement the process of "calling up your past experiences of feeling and being Powerful, and using those to shape the images of your immediate future." 

From work dynamics to interpersonal interactions, Gaffney's focus on the practical applications of a seemingly idealistic approach to life applies the method of tapping moods to the reality of adapting them in an upward-bound momentum. The examples, exercises, and contentions work together to build a lesson in positivity and empowerment that should be on the reading lists of anyone actively working to improve their lives. 

Libraries and readers looking for self-help books which are powerful and accessible should consider Unconditional Power a 'must read' acquisition. Its promotion of personal power during a period of time in which individuals often feel disempowered by their reactions to life is nothing short of essential. 

Unconditional Power

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Wisdom and Wit
Shanti Rose
Turquoise River Publications
978-1-959965-00-8                $12.95
shantiday.com 

Wisdom and Wit: 301 Gems to Grow and Grin is loaded with messages of hope and fun to light up life, juxtaposing themes of observation and insight with delightful light airs designed to both appeal and intrigue. 

From the start, the wisdom and wit are on full display in as succinct number of words as is possible: "Life is an amazing journey. Sometimes we exclaim WOW, only to be followed by YIKES in the next scene." 

From clues to surviving life's slings and arrows ("Refuse to let the hurtful words of others cause you to subscribe to the erroneous belief that you are small and insignificant.") to reflections on how best to not only absorb but transmit positivity into the world ("Locate negative patterns of thought. Pull them out like weeds. Plant positive thoughts and beautiful flowers will grow."), these may be described as jewels of wisdom and reflection, daily inspirational reading, or collections of life learning which help readers better understand how to weather hard times and share good ones. 

Shanti Rose employs language which is simple to understand, yet hard-hitting in its succinct roundups of wisdom. 

Wisdom and Wit thus cements its appeal with a tone that is both inspiring and advisory, offering much food for thought in an accessible form that lends to both browsing and discussion. 

Libraries and readers seeking daily devotionals and short, inspiring words will find this collection inviting. 

Wisdom and Wit

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Young Adult/Childrens

Fields Apart
J.N. Kelly
Rowe Publishing
9781644460184      $14.95    
www.rowepub.com 

Middle grade readers looking for stories about baseball that blend elements of history and women's issues into the mix will find Fields Apart a fine study in sports and social concerns. It brings to life the milieu of Millie Bauer, whose family has just received notice that her brother is missing in the war. 

In 1941, enlisting in the Army seemed to be a good move in many ways. But for Millie's family, already suffering from the loss of their father in an accident, it's another challenge that could add to the increasing losses the family has experienced over the years. 

Millie is an avid baseball fan whose own pursuit of the sport gives her a respite from the trials of the world around her. Will it be enough to give her strength, with her brother's status so uncertain? 

J.N. Kelly takes baseball interests to a different level in Fields Apart, injecting the themes of a girl interested in sports with the vivid social and political currents of the 1940s. 

From Millie's challenges in entering a male-dominated sport at a time when girls did not play baseball to threats to the distraction that was able to move her mind away from her brother George and his fate, middle grade readers receive a vivid portrait of the 1940s as seen through Millie's perceptions of the changing times. 

Kelly's injection of just the right degree of social and political inspection as it influences a young girl's life and coming of age makes for an especially vivid coverage of the issues and challenges of this era. 

Libraries and young readers seeking a memorable story rooted in baseball, war, and a girl's coming of age in different ways will find Fields Apart an exciting contrast between times then and now, as well as an inspiring portrait of courage that plays out on many different levels and fields of realization. 

Fields Apart

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Find Me in Time: Meeting Columbus
L.T. Caton
Find Me In Time IP Holdings, LLC
979-8-9873961-0-0        
$16.99 Hardcover/$8.99 Paper/$7.99 ebook     
Website: 
www.findmeintime.com 
Ordering: https://www.amazon.com/Find-Me-Time-Meeting-Columbus-ebook/dp/B0BVVDLFBS 

Historical fiction chapter books are not as common as one would think; much less those that inject a time-travel component into the mix to bring that history to life in an unexpected way. L.T. Caton is a teacher who seeks to inject a sense of place and discovery into the fiction format, and succeeds admirably with the first book in a projected series, Find Me in Time: Meeting Columbus. 

The first thing to note about this book is its ability to draw young readers into the intriguing world of five friends whose efforts to play hide-and-seek result in an experience that tests their confidence in reality itself: "Have you ever been somewhere you thought you knew, down to the tiniest detail, only to discover that things are not at all as they seem?" 

The first-person game turns into a journey none of the kids expected in a story peppered with color drawings that bring the chapters to life. 

When the children find an extraordinary tree house that is not what it first seems, they come to understand the opportunity before them—to experience history in a hands-on manner that written description could never touch. What they don't expect is that the process will involve making new connections with the past that affect their perceptions of not just history, but modern-day life. 

Caton does an especially good job in bringing these kids and their wonder to life, answering many questions about time travel and encounters with other cultures which are typically mercurial in time-travel tales: "Somehow, he realized, he’d found himself in the middle of a tribe of Taino people from hundreds of years ago. They seemed to see him as an important visitor. He looked like them, he could understand their language, and they could understand him too." 

The magic lies in the newfound connections they make between past and present, which also changes their closeness to one another and their perceptions of cultural heritage. 

The result is more than a leisure story about a time travel adventure, but a solid inspection of Columbus's times that brings history to life, inviting young readers to understand how these events translate to insights that affect modern approaches to life and knowledge. 

Elementary-level libraries and readers looking for fictional works that embrace stories of people of color, culture clashes, and events seen from other than the usual staid vision of Columbus and his journey will find plenty of food for thought and classroom discussion here, all couched in a lively read that will attract even those usually reluctant to analyze history's lessons and concepts. 

Find Me in Time: Meeting Columbus

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Fini, the Beauty of a Broken Shell
Melitta Santos 
Independently Published
9798370729935             $11.99 Paper/$6.99 ebook
Webpage: www.melittasantos.com
Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Fini-beauty-broken-Melitta-Santos/dp/B0BRMT29W6 

Fini, the Beauty of a Broken Shell will especially appeal to collections strong in folktales from other countries. It presents a Paraguayan folk story to picture book readers, exploring the dilemma faced by young turtle Fini, who breaks her shell in a fall and feels she's now flawed and ugly. 

The kind Fini enlists her forest friends to help heal her, but the solutions many offer to restore her shell and beauty don't work, until a wise spider offers a solution that reveals the broken shell isn't as important as Fini once thought. 

Melitta Santos accomplishes two goals with her story: it's a lesson on kindness and inner beauty, as well as a representation of Paraguayan culture and folklore. 

El Creativo provides bright illustrations that bring to life not only the forest and its creatures, but their underlying goodwill in helping others. 

Each animal Fini encounters in her search for help exhibits traits (such as shyness) that she can help change. In turn, each creature tries to positively influence Fini's life. 

Parents who choose Fini, the Beauty of a Broken Shell for read-aloud have the rare opportunity to discuss acts of kindness in action. They will relish the adventure Fini experiences as she discovers that her outer and inner beauty are a matter of perception and attitude as much as fact. 

Fini, the Beauty of a Broken Shell

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Florence’s Journey: Proving Something
Victor Hess
Independently Published
978-0999564059            $12.95
https://a.co/d/eOiyu0O 

Florence’s Journey: Proving Something is the first book in the Wesley Club series for young readers and follows nine-year-old Florence Abigail Williams, who is, as the story opens, convinced that her mother's reference to a surprise means many possibilities of an improvement to their home and lives. 

Surprise! It involves a journey that, in 1955 Ohio, is no light undertaking when Florence's parents are accused of a crime and arrested, leaving Florence with too many questions and an uncertain future. 

Florence's diary entries describing her experience juxtapose with third person observations of trials, errors, and foster homes that teach Florence about different worlds and lives. 

As her parents learn how to parent from a distance and maintain contact with Florence, the child embarks on a new life under vastly revised conditions, learning to participate in the community church and life in a very different way. 

It doesn't help their case that her parents don't recall where they were or what happened, so Florence becomes involved in an investigation that holds some surprising twists and turns. 

It's unusual to see a pre-teen read where the young protagonist is unwittingly pulled into an adult world of legal and criminal processes while simultaneously navigating her own understanding of strange circumstances. The intrigue added by Florence's own perception of those who arrested her parents introduces another layer of possibility to the mystery that young people won't see coming (and neither will adults). 

As time goes by, Florence's ability to adapt to new circumstances and participate in rebuilding not just her life, but those of her parents, creates a moving and engrossing story that flavors its backdrop of 1950s Ohio with social observations and spiritual reflection. 

The mystery, character development, and spiritual growth dovetail nicely with scenes that profile both the times and the proactive determination of a young girl charged with getting her family back together against all odds and impossible circumstances. 

Libraries and readers looking for realistic stories of trials, difficult choices, and a savvy, concerned child who might be the only one able to help her parents resolve their own unexpected struggles will find Florence’s Journey: Proving Something an astute story of courage, conviction, and spiritual growth. It ideally will attract a wide audience. This is the first book of the Wesley Club Adventure series. 

Florence’s Journey: Proving Something

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The Forgetful Ferret
Sally Alexander
Independently Published
978-958459-04-1
$24.99 Hardcover/$7.99 Paper/$3.99 ebook
Website:
www.sallyalexander.com 
Ordering: https://www.amazon.com/Forgetful-Ferret-Adventures-Caitlin-Rio/dp/B08GDKG9PT 

Book 4 of a Caitlin and Rio adventure for elementary-level readers, The Forgetful Ferret, follows Caitlin Maggert and her magical Ragdoll cat Rio into a new dilemma when a lost time-traveling ferret enters their lives. 

Caitlin wants to help Daisy return to her home, but she also realizes that the ferret represents a unique opportunity to go back in time and change the series of events that brought the evil terrorist MacDougal into their world to threaten it. 

As readers ages 8-12 absorb Caitlin's dilemma over treading carefully lest her own timeline be corrupted and damaged, they receive a rollicking good adventure story. 

The Forgetful Ferret requires no prior familiarity with the preceding series stories in order for newcomers to dip right into the characters and scenarios. This is because a brief introduction sets the stage by condensing past encounters with MacDougal and following his foray into even more dangerous territory in The Forgetful Ferret. 

Can Daisy help them stop MacDougal, or will she enter the time portal without them? Is Caitlin's dangerous plan enough to protect her beloved Rio? 

As Caitlin combines forces with best friends Molly and Trudy, who each exhibit different abilities to solve problems and decipher clues to puzzles, Sally Alexander's excellent adventure benefits from a side dish of realization about the supportive strengths friends can provide in times of adversity. 

The result is a tale that simmers with action, mystery, a nautical treasure hunt, and a pet that offers underlying lessons on friendship and the true meaning of treasure. 

Elementary-level libraries and readers looking for standalone adventures that are engrossing and well-written will find The Forgetful Ferret an excellent choice. 

The Forgetful Ferret

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Hale: The Prophet's Journal
JK Noble
Independently Published
9781636981529             $18.95
www.amazon.com 

Middle-grade readers to adults who enjoyed the story of boy/griffin hero/villain in Hale: The Rise of the Griffins will find its sequel, Hale: The Prophet's Journal, a satisfyingly, equally powerful follow-up. It carries Hale into more adventures as he continues to confront his new powers and role in life. 

The story opens with Hale's father Felix's nightmares and his determination to break away from his dearest, oldest friends to confront King Bayo's rule and son Hale's dangerously powerful, growing gift. 

As the story moves between Bayo, Hale, and Felix, it develops a powerful plot in which young readers once again are called upon to question who is the hero, who is the villain, and who is only human, in their responses to life's adversity and opportunities. 

Hale trusted his Griffin brother Bayo, who let him down. It's been eleven years, but the latest rescue attempt shatters all hope that Hale can be saved. And yet, this is not the end of the story; but the beginning. 

As events unfold with a host of characters questioning their intentions, beliefs, and impact upon their worlds, prior fans of The Rise of the Griffins will appreciate the same attention to psychological development and conundrums that made the first book so compelling. 

As Hale, a siren song, and an awful power are changed by an unexpected savior, satisfying twists and turns develop which continue to challenge the young reader's perception of who are the good and who the evil characters in the plot. 

Nothing is black and white. Nor are the motives and questions of a host of characters that struggle with danger and sometimes even act against their own interests. 

Sometimes readers will admire Hale: "Epic battles showcase Hale’s courageousness and righteous actions when he defends the innocent. The more Marcus watches, the more he is in awe of Hale. For every obstacle Hale overcomes, he remains true to his character." Sometimes, they will hate him. This changing sense of purpose, perspective, and a waking world in which the history of the Griffin clan comes dangerously to life, makes for a complex, involving read that is one of the hallmarks of a superior fantasy story. 

All ages will appreciate the ghosts, mysteries, and struggles which continue to evolve, involve, and consume Hale, his family, and those around him. The blend of fast-paced action, multifaceted characters and purposes, and more developing details about the Griffin clan and their world makes for a satisfying sequel that should be in any collection seeing patron interest in Hale: The Rise of the Griffins. 

Hale: The Prophet's Journal

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Hugh the Hippo Camps Out In My Head
Beverley Reichman
Independently Published
978-1667868578            $14.99 Paper/$8.99 Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/Hugh-Hippo-Camps-Out-Head/dp/1667868578 

Hugh the Hippo Camps Out In My Head explores the hippocampus (the part of the brain where learning and memory live) for young picture book readers through a whimsical story in which young Oliver meets his resident "hippo" Hugh. Oliver embarks on a journey that shares their evolving relationship using the succinct action words and cartoon images (albeit much larger, for younger eyes) of a graphic novel. 

Oliver's acknowledgement of his side-kick and super-powered internal "hippo" accompanies tips on how to reinforce memories and strengthen brain function as Hugh and Oliver embark on a series of adventures, from winning a video game to encountering 'dragons' during a walk in the woods. 

The chapter book appearance of this story is inviting. Mark Jackson's graphics are vivid, colorful, and illustrate unexpected encounters and adventures, while the underlying messages about memory and brain function are educational, yet action-packed. 

Hugh the Hippo Camps Out In My Head stands out from any other chapter book as a fun story that nicely entwines action with education, cementing all within a vivid graphic novel overlay that will prove not just familiar and accessible, but compelling. 

Hugh the Hippo Camps Out In My Head

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Jana's Brightly Coloured Socks
Sally Fetouh
Independently Published
978-0-6454219-0-3                $11.99 (Paperback)/ $19.99 (Hardback)
Website: https://www.sallyfetouh.com/books
Ordering: https://www.amazon.com/Janas-Brightly-Coloured-Socks-Fetouh/dp/0645421901 

Jana's Brightly Coloured Socks follows the life of young Jana, who has just learned how to put on her socks herself. To celebrate her achievement, her parents have bought her a drawer of colorful socks. Now the challenge becomes: which one to choose each day? 

Jana enjoys a wide circle of friends because she is special in more than one way, and they both understand her abilities and celebrate her victories. 

Sally Fetouh's story of friendship, support, inclusiveness builds from Jana's connections to her giving nature and the widespread, unexpected results of her generosity. 

Like ripples in a pond, Jana affects the world around her by not just her connections, but how she invites her friends and peers to participate in her celebration of life's colors and opportunities. 

This very different story of a child with Down syndrome paints a loving, positive portrait of a girl whose attitude shines into the world around her, changing it for the better. 

More than a story of colorful socks or achievement, it's a lesson in generosity and giving that ideally will be profiled by adults who want to go beyond lessons on acceptance, diversity, or differences to illustrate the benefits and approaches of being a giving person to one's peers. 

Sally Fetouh's picture book enjoys colorful illustrations by Alexis Schnitger which bring to life a child's decision to share her delight with the world. The ripples of kindness this picture book supports will ideally be reinforced in various ways: by library acquisition, parental read-aloud, and young reader discussions. 

Jana's Brightly Coloured Socks

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Kep Westguard Rebel Spy
Eileen Schnabel
Wonder Jumps Press
978-1-7338681-2-9         $7.99 Paper/$3.99 Kindle
Website: www.eileenschnabel.com
Ordering: https://www.amazon.com/KEP-WESTGUARD-REBEL-Eileen-Schnabel-ebook/dp/B0BSNZPVKJ 

Kep Westguard Rebel Spy is a historical time-travel piece that follows thirteen-year-old Kep Westguard's unexpected  involvement in the Battle of Saratoga. 

He arrives in 1777 just days before the battle takes place, infiltrates the British camp, and discovers that his grandfather is part of a scheme to assure that the battle win goes to the British. 

Prior readers of Kep Wesguard's time-travel history encounters in 1775 (One If By Land, Two If By Submarine) will find the same attention to bringing American history to life is present here, as Kep comes to realize his involvement in a mystery will prove the pivot point of a battle to preserve American democracy ... if he can escape being discovered and hung for spying. 

Eileen Schnabel utilizes a vivid storyteller's eye to flavor her story with adventure and action, bringing history to life and adding a delightful specter of a timeline gone awry as Kep tries his best and considers the impact of failure: 

"He’d entered Burgoyne’s tent planning to confirm nothing had changed, confident he had been right to come alone, confident that history was on track and Fox had done nothing to change the time-stream. Instead, as he left the tent, he was sure something big had changed. But he was clueless what that something was. Or the best way to figure that key information out. It was like a test question and Kep had gotten a fat, red checkmark: wrong answer." 

At stake is his future and American liberty itself. 

Readers will absorb historical facts about this key battle and its times without even realizing their education, because the key components of the action lie in the unfolding choices all characters make that will determine the state and future of America. This adds an educational component to the tale that is effortlessly inviting as kids move through the story of a boy on a mission and an outcome gone awry. From mission notes and mysteries to clashes between loyalists and rebels, history comes to life as Kep struggles to keep his future world intact. 

Adults seeking time-travel stories that lure the leisure reader, yet educate them with real historical facts flavored with intrigue and action, will find Kep Westguard Rebel Spy strong in characterization, plot, and facts. 

Kep Westguard's choices and impact will bring not only the Battle of Saratoga to life, but give rise to classroom and book club discussions about the relevance of American history to modern life. 

Kep Westguard Rebel Spy

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The Many Adventures of Donnie Malone
Paul E. Doutrich
Luminare Press
979-8-88679-043-6         $16.95 Paper/$4.99 ebook
www.luminarepress.com 

In The Many Adventures of Donnie Malone, sixteen-year-old Donnie becomes caught up in patriotic fervor and enlists to be part of the war during World War I. Joining other fighter pilots in the conflict, he finds that the struggle is only beginning when, at war's end, he returns to a much-changed civilian life. Or, is it he who has changed? 

As he encounters various social figures, starts an air delivery service, and finds himself on the wrong end of the law, Donnie falls into a series of dead-end jobs and dangerous possibilities until his wandering ways are brought to a halt by the former mentor who taught him how to fly. 

The special strength in Paul E. Doutrich's story lies in his ability to weave a tale that moves concurrently through personal growth and society's evolution. Historical facts captured through the eyes of young Donnie thus become more personal, vivid, and certainly more memorable as he finds his path in the aftermath of a world-changing war. 

Doutrich cultivates a rich 'you are here' feeling by presenting the world through Donnie's first-person experiences: 

"I made the first flight on a beautiful, warm mid-April afternoon. As expected, I had an audience, including the local paper and Mr. Davidson. Of course, Mr. Schultz was there. I got him to crank the propeller. Meanwhile, I sat in the pilot’s seat, one hand fiddling with the throttle, the other on the control stick and my feet on the prop peddles. After a few cranks, I heard the engine catch. I pushed the throttle forward and gently pulled back on the stick. Seconds later I lifted off the ground. I pulled the stick farther back, cautiously getting more altitude. The Jenny didn’t have a speed gauge or an altimeter, but you could tell about how high you were and how fast you were going by the position of the throttle and the control stick. In a couple of minutes, I was soaring high above the farm. It felt great." 

Readers of all ages not only absorb this milieu, but sit beside Donnie as he moves through life, learning new lessons and crafting a better idea of where he is heading and how to get there. 

Readers who enjoy stories of aviation experiences will find Donnie's flights especially engaging as he builds familiarity with his craft and designs new opportunities for himself. These grow to embrace other realizations as the years pass, bringing with them Japanese internment camps, labor struggles, McCarthyism, and the Vietnam War. 

Donnie Malone's many adventures represent a vivid attention to detail and psychological development which demonstrate how viewing history through a character's eyes can bring it to life and make it memorable. 

Historical fiction readers, those interested in aviation-centered stories, and readers from teens through adults who look for rollicking good flights into the skies and heart will find The Many Adventures of Donnie Malone a captivating story of growth and change. 

The Many Adventures of Donnie Malone

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Molly Shipton, Secret Actress
Sheri Graubert
Clear Fork Publishing
978-1-950169-82-5         $16.99 Paper/$7.99 ebook
www.clearforkpublishing.com 

Molly Shipton, Secret Actress will attract teen readers interested in historical fiction, drama, and stories about feisty sisters. Molly and her younger sister Juliet lose everything in a plague that hits England in 1598. They leave their plague-threatened home in Bitford-Upon-Avon to eventually make their way to London, disguised as boys to avoid capture by Mr. John Barnes, who wants to use them for free labor. His reputation for abuse is widely known, and so the girls are motivated to undertake a dangerous journey in a bid for freedom and new lives. 

From the start, Sheri Graubert is adept at portraying a world transformed by plague, and its personal impact on Molly and Juliet's young lives: "They sold every valuable thing in the house for food, apart from Molly’s lute and the silver locket. They burned every wooden thing for heat: the stools, the plates, even the table." 

When Molly becomes an actor in one of Shakespeare's plays, she unwittingly becomes a star. The deep secret of her gender must be preserved at all odds, because in this era, women and girls are forbidden from professional pursuits. 

As her acting abilities catch the eye of the young bard and writer Shakespeare, Molly becomes an unwitting muse which may inspire some of his works. Because she not only looks like a boy, but falls into her role, her world changes again, transformed by new connections that build not just a different family around her, but which is changed by her secret and newfound abilities. 

Sheri Graubert crafts a compelling, inspirational story based on history that covers the social and political tides of the times. Her attention to building atmosphere and influences upon young girls lends to a thoroughly engrossing story that is vividly presented and hard to put down. 

The attention to fulfilling aspirations against all odds is particularly inviting and uplifting, creating a history which stands out for teen readers. Libraries looking for strong works of historical fiction for this age group will find Molly Shipton, Secret Actress an excellent acquisition. 

Molly Shipton, Secret Actress

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Monologues for Young Adults
Mike Kimmel
Ben Rose Creative Arts
9781953057112              $9.99 ebook
https://www.amazon.com/Monologues-Young-Adults-Original-Professional-ebook/dp/B0BRT1BCCP 

Monologues for Young Adults: 60 Original Monologues to Stand Out, Inspire, and Shine offers mature teens to those in their 20s and 30s a gender-neutral, ethnically inclusive set of monologues that require no props or costumes. Mike Kimmel excels in creating short pieces that not only teach budding actors about delivery and acting choices, but translate philosophical and social inspection onto the stage. 

Mike Kimmel's monologues join other books in the Professional Actors series, providing the opportunity to not only absorb acting basics, but consider the special opportunities the monologue represents, in general, through these original social inspections. 

Real-world topics combine with ethical considerations and conflicts, creating monologues that are in sync with and appropriate for thinking young adults. 

Aspiring actors need a wide range of materials to utilize in the practice and evolution of their craft. These selections lend equally strongly to individual practice, classroom, and stage pursuit. 

An introduction of basics, including how to get into character and "tame your voice," leads to such works as the first piece, "No Competition," which opens: "Call me a rebel, but I like to see people happy and successful. Life should be a beautiful journey, not a no-holds-barred fight to the finish." The monologue goes on to explore the process of "becoming the best possible version of ourselves"—an effort which really involves no competition. 

These monologues are so short that one might wonder at their potential for powerful diversity and lessons. Wonder not, because each piece packs a punch into a minimum of words, requiring actors to create the accompanying power of delivery that often proves elusive on stage. 

Any library collection strong in acting books in general and monologues in particular should have Monologues for Young Adults. Its strength lies not just in lessons about diversity, delivery, and acting choices; but in its range of appropriate subjects that test the boundaries of the young actor's talents and his or her belief systems and social and ethical choices in life. 

Monologues for Young Adults

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The Tickling Tale of Smoo
Louiza Kallona
Independently Published
979-8370066535                    $8.99 Paper/$2.99 Kindle
Website: https://louizakallona.com
Ordering links: https://a.co/d/7A4iDLd 

The Tickling Tale of Smoo is a rollicking ride through Scotland that presents a fantasy adventure replete with fun and the dilemma of something missing from its characters' lives—laughter. 

Fiddle Wood's residents usually fill their homes with laughter, but one day brother and sister Lucy and Ben McClafferty realize that laughter has vanished from their lives. Not just their home has been affected, however: nobody in the world laughs anymore, either. 

Prompted by a wise, quirky grandmother to embark on a journey to locate Gabel Lylhu, one of the ticklers of the world who hides in Smoo Cave, the children find their quest filled with adventure and questions about why laughter has vanished. They discover how their efforts can make a difference not only in their lives, but in the world. 

The first thing to note is the lilting, lyrical, descriptive voice of Louiza Kallona as she presents this story: 

"It was a crunchy cold afternoon somewhere up a sheep-lined, tractor-chugging, coal-tit-twittering track in Fiddle Wood, in the Scottish Borders. The McClaffertys were huddled around a crackling fire in Middletoun Farmhouse’s kitchen when something hairy howled outside..." 

Descriptive action crackles throughout the tale with thought-provoking, delightfully original scenes as Lucy, Ben, and Uncle Patrick face an array of unexpected creatures and encounters, from a grinning cat with a message to baboons that sing sea shanties. 

As they travel through Smoo to learn that Gabel is not the end result of their search, the adventurers find keys to understanding not only what happened to laughter, but what force changed other cultures, from India to Britain. 

Kids who choose The Tickling Tale of Smoo for its promise of fantasy delights thus receive much more, from insights on joy to cultural revelations, all couched in fun wordplays and descriptions. 

Libraries that add The Tickling Tale of Smoo to their elementary-level collections will find it a standout not just for its sense of fun, but for its especially evocative language and blend of fantasy delights with cultural inspections. 

The Tickling Tale of Smoo

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Traveling Tootsie
Karen and Kathy Honaker
Mascot Kids

‎978-1645435884            $18.95 Hardcover/$6.99 ebook
Website: www.travelingtootsie.com
Ordering: https://www.amazon.com/Traveling-Tootsie-Karen-Honaker/dp/1645435881 

Traveling Tootsie is a picture book about young Katie and Steven, who have to stay home when their parents travel for work. 

Why do they always have to stay home? Why can't they join their parents on a journey? The siblings decide to embark on their own travels, right in their own bedroom, when a talking teddy bear proposes an exciting alternative. 

Traveling Tootsie offers many unexpected, fun moments as the kids send teddy Tootsie on an exciting journey filled with wonders. 

This is the perfect book to choose for read-aloud for kids whose parents travel, and is also a fine opportunity for instilling in children the wonders of travel and encountering the unexpected. 

Powered by Chiara Civati's engaging illustrations, the colorful and quirky journey through history and other lands represents the fun and adventure of travel while capturing the wonders of Washington, D.C. 

Libraries and read-aloud parents seeking picture books pairing whimsical fun with travel insights will find Traveling Tootsie lively, delightful, and just the ticket for instilling a sense of wanderlust and discovery in young children. 

Traveling Tootsie

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Vivienne in Paris
Maria Castellucci Moore 
Mascot Kids!
978-1637551431            $19.95 Hardcover
www.mascotbooks.com 

The picture book story Vivienne in Paris follows the daily life of a young Parisian girl who experiences the delights of the famous city, bringing young readers along for a vicarious journey. 

Emanuela Mannello illustrates Maria Castellucci Moore's story with an eye to translating Vivienne's observations in a way that all young readers can enjoy, whether or not they have any prior knowledge of or interest in Paris. 

Vivienne's first-person story introduces a surprise: she has undertaken a journey through her familiar city home and discovered new aspects of it that she wants to share with her young audience. 

One of these surprises lies in how Vivienne not only observes those around her, but interacts with them. An early example is the time she takes to visit with her grand-pére as he sits on a park bench reading his newspaper. His query to her invites readers to also partake of an emotional self-assessment and trip down memory lane: “Vivienne,” my grandfather asked, “do you remember a time when you felt most alive, full of spirit, zestful, and sparkling with enthusiasm?” 

Papy invites her to “...ride through Paris, go to your usual favorite places, but this time, take notice of what your heart and body tell you.” 

As this idea takes root and is reflected in especially rich experiences that connect emotions with environment, read-aloud adults receive the perfect opportunity to interact with the young to invite readers to consider their own connections to the world in different ways. 

As Vivienne encounters shopkeepers and assembles gifts to bring back from her discoveries, readers also receive lessons in sharing, generosity, and living in the moment in more mindful ways. 

The result is more than a travelogue about Paris. It explores a young girl's place in the world and how she can interact with and share it. Vivienne in Paris represents the perfect opening lines to an approach to life that adults will want to discuss and reinforce with kids ages 4-8. 

Vivienne in Paris

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Water and Blood
N.K. Carlson
Creative James Media
978-1956183887            $11.99 Paper/$4.99 Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/Water-Blood-N-K-Carlson/dp/1956183884 

Water and Blood is the second book in the young adult fantasy series The Chronicles of Terrasohnen, and presents a blend of mystery, fantasy, and swashbucking pirate story. It will especially engage prior readers of the epic sword-and-sorcery clash between powers experienced by Reith and his friends. 

Here, the band that has fled the Elven capitol must both warn the dwarves about the stretching power of the Shadow and learn more about its strength and weaknesses so they can better defy its hold. If they can't reach the dwarves in time, avoiding attempts to destroy them in the course of the journey, the entire kingdom of Terrasohnen will fall. 

That's a weighty objective to place on the shoulders of a ragtag band in general and Reith in particular, who is just coming into his own abilities and learning about his limitations and strengths. 

Storms, winds of adversity, and darkness that "works in subtle and manipulative ways" to lead them down the wrong path are all elements that must be overcome if Reith and his friends are to make headway, both physically and in matters of their own hearts and perceptions. They receive guidance and warnings from others savvier about the process and dangers involved in their quest: “Good becomes evil when evil is used to achieve some seemingly noble and good end,” Eynali said. “There can be no partnership between Light and Dark." 

Is Reith strong enough to tempt fate and bad luck? 

N.K. Carlson's fantasy for teens and young adults can be accessed both by prior fans of Reith's adventures and newcomers to his world. The seamless integration of past and present adventure allows for an immediate immersion into events that are challenging, growth-inducing, and unexpected. 

As fate, luck, and destiny coalesce, nonstop action and solid characterization power this tale's attraction and evolution. 

Libraries and teens looking for epic fantasy series reads in which young people evolve a sense of purpose and better perceptions of good and evil's draw and dangers will find Water and Blood especially adept at juxtaposing vivid action with personal insights about power and how it is confronted and wielded. 

Water and Blood

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Yasuko and the Dream Eater
A. Kidd
Quiet Storm Publishing, LLC
978-1-7338992-4-6
Hardcover $19.99/Paperback $12.99/eBook $3.99
www.akiddwrites.com 

Marcia Misawa illustrates A. Kidd's picture book story, which is inspired by a Japanese legend about a dream eater. Misawa's delicate art brings to life Yasuko, her grandmother, and the hungry dream eater that has its eyes on her most precious dreams. Yasuko taps the dream eater for help in consuming her nightmares. 

There's only one problem: the dream eater doesn't discriminate about which dreams it will consume. In Yasuko and the Dream Eater, the creature is not satisfied by consuming just what Yasuko wants it to eat. When its appetite remains unsatisfied, it threatens to continue consuming everything she likes to dream about, too. But the tale is more than one of a young girl who finds a way to combat bad dreams and preserve good ones. 

The contrast between Yasuko's life visiting her grandmother in Japan and her home in America, her discovery that "different" is not necessarily bad, and her redefinitions of bad and good as a whole provide underlying themes that will appeal to adults seeking picture book stories that reinforce multicultural experiences and the process of adopting new life perspectives and skills. 

From origami to the different loving rituals a Japanese grandmother has for her granddaughter, Yasuko and the Dream Eater explores problem-solving at its best, in which a young girl must identify the real problem and the best way to resolve it to preserve all her dreams. 

Another powerful note to this story: Marcia Misawa makes her dream eater interesting, not frightening. This attention to detail allows access by the very young and parents who seek to educate kids, not scare them. 

Libraries and adults looking for multicultural stories that explore being part of two different cultures will find that Yasuko and the Dream Eater gives rise to many discussion points and insights. 

Yasuko and the Dream Eater

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You Unique Little Thing!
Priya Ram
Independently Published
9798985818352             $12.99
https://www.amazon.com/You-Unique-Little-Thing-Priya/dp/B0BKHWJK3V 

You Unique Little Thing! offers picture book readers an uplifting lesson in kindness and self-confidence, and is highly recommended for read-aloud as well as for libraries interested in acquiring books that promote emotional and behavioral growth in the very young. 

Simple, child-friendly illustrations accompany a story about routes to happiness and satisfaction, outlining the experiences of children who exhibit traits of trying their best, whether at fencing or cooking. Examples of achievement include a female weightlifter, a boy who loves to dance and works hard at improving his moves, and a female chef who makes mistakes, but uses them to forge ahead. 

Each illustration of perseverance and success provides a lesson not only in self-confidence, but in pursuing one's unique love of life regardless of gender, expectations, and the influences of others. 

The result is an inspirational collection of children realizing their aspirations and talents. Parents and adults who choose You Unique Little Thing! for read-aloud and discussion will find it a winning lesson in positive thinking.

You Unique Little Thing!

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