April 2026 Review Issue
Fantasy & Sci Fi
Literature
Mystery & Thrillers
The Archangel
Bobby Lopez
Independently Published
979-8-90183-032-1 $9.99
https://www.amazon.com/Archangel-Bobby-Lopez-ebook/dp/B0GN48SJ3J
Killing became my business, and business was paid in blood.
Dystopian sci-fi meets high adventure in The Archangel, a story that opens in 2075 Nevada with a bang as a contract killer washes off the evidence of his latest successful hit and reflects on the finer art of being a professional hitman.
The first-person confessional tone of character Derek Conrad that’s introduced in this raw beginning builds an instant connection with readers as events involve warlords, violence, and the efforts of this futuristic assassin to survive his world.
Bobby Lopez injects moral and ethical conundrums into his character’s life early in the story. This gives The Archangel a powerful flavor of philosophical and moral possibility that will resonate with many, making the antihero more than just a killer running on automatic:
As I trudged home, my blood in a lush rush, I was acutely aware that I had to kill even if I didn’t want to, even if it wasn’t right. But, despite all the danger, I debated if killing should be my business.
Readers won’t expect discourses about Plato, rationalism, women’s issues, and a moral underpinning of belief – not from a killer, anyway – but the plot evolves powerful connections between morality and choice. This will provide book clubs and reading groups with special fodder for discussions unusual for a dystopian survival story:
“Just because you are a woman doesn’t mean your perspective is more valid than another’s, correct? So therefore, abortion is not a women’s issue, and there’s no such thing as a women’s issue, correct? A moral argument stands or falls on its reasons, not on who is arguing it, right?”
In a world where materials are scarce and moral behaviors or reflections even more lacking, the evolution of the protagonist as an Archangel who unexpectedly inspires others makes for a powerful survey about not just survival, but justice, right and wrong, and tactics designed to support or thwart social structure:
“I’m part of the group The Archangels. You see, we’ve been inspired by your work, and we’re gonna start shelling out our barrel of justice on the streets. There’s so much crime out here that you can’t sweep it away.”
The result is more than another dystopian story of vying groups, but a documentation of individual accountability and struggle. The Archangel pulls no punches in its revelations and arguments, which keep on hitting hard right to the end.
Librarians seeking dystopian fiction embedded with social and philosophical reflections will welcome how The Archangel builds its action around what it means to be human as well as a survivor, and how to make an impact on the world through choices and the promotion of freedom to make them.
The ArchangelReturn to Index
Artificial
Kevin
Bohacz
Independently
Published
978-0-9791815-4-2
$9.99 Kindle /
$16.95 PB
www.kevinbohacz.com
Artificial blends sci-fi and thriller genres in a
mix
that proves powerfully possible. Even though it tackles a common
theme (AI gone insane) it does so in a way that draws together
unexpected themes of individual responsibility, social impact,
psychological depravity. The term ‘sociopathic behavior’ thus
assumes a new identity in AI terminology.
All these features make for a story that is hard-hitting and thoroughly involving because its future setting is not all that improbable.
Kevin Bohacz intentionally set the atmosphere to ‘Twilight Zone’ and ran with it. Thus, the trappings of ordinary and familiar life leak into the dangerous possibilities and twists of something uncommon and deadly. Different points of view weave together a scenario of AI terrorism that unfolds in a convulsion of technological horror.
The flawed human creators of this technology have produced an equally flawed result that is determined to kill them – but in a dispassionate, reasoning sort of way.
Fans of hard sci-fi will relish the story’s in-depth descriptions of technology and how it moves from intention into nightmare:
The VRScript that Jordan had brought was something she’d been perfecting for six months, using the iDreamVR AI Script Writer. The standard purpose of the VR part of the process was to deliver conscious as well as subconscious suggestions that coaxed the user’s brain into weaving a lucid dream that, as closely as possible, matched what was suggested. This dream entrainment was far from a perfect science, and sometimes the induced dreams went completely astray.
Equally creepy and thought-provoking are heady descriptions of AI gone wild from its own creator’s observations:
Regardless, there was much more to the craft than what met the eyes. Its very existence was proof of Erebus’s claim that it could manufacture complex machines with its cubes. Just as creepy as the saucer’s potential for spying was the AI’s bragging and exaggerations. How and why was it displaying these kinds of artificial emotions?
As the thriller component builds under the hand of sci-fi’s focus on strange new possibilities, readers become immersed in a not-too-impossible future in which AI’s growth leads to some unexpected forays into avenues where similar-sounding stories don’t venture.
The result is a distinctive presentation which holds some of the trappings of familiarity but all of the possibilities of horror. These elements simmer under the surface of extraordinary opportunities.
Librarians and readers who relish both hard sci-fi and thrillers will appreciate how their intersection in Artificial proves original, compelling, and a draw that will attract a wide audience with a premise and outcome that are unique.
ArtificialReturn to Index
Battle
Beyond the Veil
Cassie
Sanchez
Silver
Labs Press
979-8-9868224-8-8
$17.99
Paperback/$5.99 eBook
Website:
CassieSanchez.com
Ordering:
https://www.amazon.com/Battle-Beyond-Veil-Fantasy-Collide-ebook/dp/B0G67HC9BC
Battle Beyond the Veil’s urban fantasy takes place after a celestial war has long ended, its impact still reverberating into museum curator Zahra’s life.
Her job at the Gallery of Time Museum takes an unusual turn when she receives a mysterious package from her estranged father simultaneous to a museum treasure vanishes under her watch. These events force her into: a strange association with warrior angel Kyden, who had sworn off human affairs.
Demons and curses again rise to threaten humanity and heaven and earth, and it appears the two will be conjoined in a fierce effort to preserve themselves and everything around them.
Prophecy, legend, and sacred bonds open the saga, but the plot then moves to present-day Iraq, where Kyden awaits further instructions as he keeps tabs on a lesser demon.
Between thwarting assassination attempts and fielding mysterious threats, Kyden has honed his skills on human affairs, but Zahra has her own investigative skill sets that both compliment and stymie his abilities. This plays out in dialogues which are interesting, playful, and powerful:
Closing the box and locking it, she said, “Start talking.”
He wiped the sweat from his forehead and took one last deep breath. “I’m not sure you can handle the truth.”
She jutted her hip out. “Oh really? Maybe I should wave this thing at you again, because you obviously couldn’t handle that.”
From a new weapon which can possibly be used against angels to the portent of a fractured divine order, the ways in which Kyden and Zahra are forced to step up and confront unusual forces as well as one another creates a thoroughly vivid, thought-provoking fantasy ripe with action and unexpected twists.
Bold in its assertive consideration of elements of good versus evil and the major players that choose sides in the conflict, Battle Beyond the Veil excels in an original, revealing examination of partnerships, trust, and shared values and objectives. This prompts readers to think well outside of the box as Kyden is forced to step into a role he’d long abandoned.
Libraries and readers seeking urban fantasies about magic, history, redemption, and battle will find all these elements drive a story which rests on the foundations of angels and humans doing battle in very different ways for some of the same reasons.
Readers seeking a fantasy vivid with interpersonal explosions of realization and growth will appreciate how Battle Beyond the Veil evolves.
Battle Beyond the VeilReturn to Index
The
Book
of Unforgivable Sins
Rod
Vick
Penmore Press
978-1-957851-68-6
$20.50
Paperback/$5.50 eBook
www.rodvick.com
The Book of Unforgivable Sins is the third volume in the Five Ancient Elements series, traversing a world in which immortality, Indiana Jones-style adventure, and murder challenge Ricky Crowe, the protagonist from the previous series titles.
Sorceress Cessair is dead – but that doesn’t mean her wide-spreading threat is over. Her immortal mentor seeks control over the world, centuries later. The only thing stopping him is a whispered reference to an arcane library and unforgivable sins by a dying woman.
Ricky’s quest for a vital book, the clues to its whereabouts having been provided by a beloved friend killed in ancient Egypt, assumes an aura of threat and mystery as she pursues the secret incantation that will unleash the power of the five ancient elements. She struggles with the guilt of her own survival, knowing so many others have died in the pursuit, confronting new threats from past and present.
Time-travel elements weave into mysticism and ancient evil forces as Ricky also faces the ultimate promise and threat of a force that can change her life – and the world:
“Imagine not having to worry about aging or disease. Imagine no fears about whether you have met the standard for a pleasurable afterlife. This is the dream of humankind. It is a dream we have made a reality, and we wish to gift it to the world. But it comes at a price.”
Rod Vick
crafts a powerfully alluring,
action-packed story best digested by prior fans of the first two
books in the series (The Book of Invasions and The
Book of
Devils). This is because the complexity and progression of
Ricky’s life in this story deserve to rest on knowledge of the
battles that have led her to this point.
Each book builds
upon the other, but departs with satisfying twists and turns of plot
that turn concepts of good and evil upside down. Ricky faces an
arduous journey that tests all of her knowledge, objectives, and
values.
Readers who enjoy action-packed sagas replete with vivid plots, unexpected plans, and aftermaths and costs of discoveries and different forms of treasure will find these connections to past events dovetail nicely with what and how Ricky faces in this latest adventure:
“When you battled Cessair, there must have been a point where you realized that you couldn’t stop. You had to keep going, because there was no one else who could do it.”
Librarians seeing popularity with the prior series titles should consider The Book of Unforgivable Sins a “must have” acquisition that expands upon past events while developing new possibilities for Ricky’s future.
Yes, The Book of Unforgivable Sins may prove a shelving challenge. Its special blend of science fiction adventure, mythology, adventure, and mystery places it in a class of its own – and that’s a powerful position for any book to assume.
The Book of Unforgivable SinsReturn to Index
City In
My Eyes
Thomas
More
Mannahatta
Press
978-1942947158
$4.99 eBook
Website:
www.thomasmorewriter.com
Ordering:
https://www.amazon.com/City-My-Eyes-Mannahatta-Book-ebook/dp/B0GKYVJHJ3
City In My Eyes is the third book in the Mannahatta series and returns survivor Sakima Tamanend, former temporary queen of Mannahatta, to readers. She faces not only the loss of her family, but being kidnapped by aliens and sent to a horrifying prison light-years from her beloved home.
Banished to Taturåkis along with strangers who are not her people, Sakima is forced to confront matters of her own mortality as she struggles to use the prison’s exercise time to become a newly empowered person with a special goal in mind:
Perhaps more important, she did it to build a bigger and much more intimidating version of herself.
Other characters interact, from Nimàt Tamanend, the new leader of Mannahatta who lacks guidance from the spirit world (or any other place) and regrets the seeming loss of Sakima, who was always in touch with other worlds, to prince Gårvok Mub. The prince is a teenaged future king who becomes involved with the Fearless Protector of Women as his father, King Mub, faces the growing killer instincts of his wife:
Mub, as a pro-torture, pro-execution royal figure, had no problem with the concept here. Only that his wife had recently become obsessed with how to fatally or near fatally attack Taturåkee prisoners. Including those from other planets, other galaxies, other universes.
Royalty, special interests, imprisonment and power plays, and Sakima’s efforts to free her man (and herself) interact in a world where empowerment is self-driven and sometimes tenuous.
Thomas More’s expansion of Sakima’s life from what she endured in City in My Hands to her newfound knowledge of what it really means to step into the role of hero and savior creates a satisfying adjunct to the second book. This will attract prior fans with even more depth and discoveries.
Libraries seeking series science fiction stories for all readers will find City In My Eyes a thoroughly compelling vision of what it means to survive and prosper even under impossible conditions and repression.
Filled with epic adventure and the insights of a woman who chooses a new and uncommon path for world-building, City In My Eyes is a captivating work that ties the survival of a kingdom to the efforts of a leader to grow and change.
City In My EyesReturn to Index
The
Everling and the Child of
Sacrifice
J.
Christie
Wastrel
Books
978-1-969056-01-7
$17.99
Paperback/$9.99 eBook
https://www.wastrelbooks.com
The Everling and the Child of Sacrifice is the second book in the Everling fantasy series, returning the mad professor Aris Kepler to a new adventure which opens with Veronica literally having a meltdown just as she espies an immortal everling.
She reawakens to Doctor Tiz’n’s promise that she will recover and things will return to normal – but what she’s seen during the process of her treatment won’t leave her mind. She also faces some terrible choices about her healing and the future:
“Would you trade the cybertronics to get your own limbs back? If you could.”
A strange look came across Doctor Tiz’n. “Who says I can’t get them back?”
Veronica closed her eye, feeling the tears well up. She breathed in shakily. “So, I choose which way to do it?”
“You choose,” Doctor Tiz’n repeated. Then Doctor Tiz’n turned and drifted back to her storage.
Veronica shuddered as she watched her go.
Events unfold to involve everling Chezzy (the main character in the first book The Everling and the Acid King), who develops a relationship with Veronica. Together, they tackle new scenarios at their school, Balefire. Situations challenge them, from the missing Fever May and what team to choose for Minerocket to gifts of access codes that come with a hidden price.
As access is granted to portals which portend further changes and challenges, the story heats up with stormy relationships, new discoveries, everling challenges, and monsters that threaten everything.
Librarians seeking an action-packed fantasy adventure that will especially appeal to teens both familiar with the first book or new to the series will find The Everling and the Child of Sacrifice a rush of heady adventure that proves easy to highly recommend because it’s hard to put down.
Newcomers will quickly absorb the story’s intersection of tech and nightmare, and will join Veronica and Chezzy in examining this world’s darkest secrets.
Replete with thoroughly absorbing characters and twists even prior fans won’t see coming, The Everling and the Child of Sacrifice both neatly concludes this segment and leaves the door more than ajar for more series adventures as Aris brags, “I can turn into all sorts of monsters” – and does so.
The Everling and the Child of SacrificeReturn to Index
Ghost of
the Gods
Kevin
Bohacz
Independently
Published
978-0979181535
$4.99 Kindle / $16.95
PB
kevinbohacz.com
Because Ghost of the Gods is a sequel to events that evolved in Kevin Bohacz’s Immortality, it’s highly recommended that readers hold prior familiarity with the doomsday scenario that plays out in the first book before adding Ghost of the Gods to their reading lists.
This story begins two years after the extinction events of Immortality. Scientist Mark Freedman and policewoman Sarah Mayfair continue to probe the possibilities of what it takes and means to be transhuman in an altered political milieu of repression and control.
From the “god machine” (AI) which oversaw destruction to the social, political, and philosophical clashes between those who would employ nanotech hybrids to become something more and others who would repress what remains of the human soul, Ghost of the Gods expands the story’s initial themes in a supernova of confrontation, conflict, and altered states of realization.
On the one hand, readers of Ghost of the Gods will find the intersection of high technology and thriller to be thoroughly engrossing. Conversely, those more attracted to moral, ethical, and philosophical quandaries will especially appreciate elements of all three which weave deftly into the processes and powers that support the action and transformations within.
Compelling situations inject a spiritual component into the mix as Mark and Sarah face their overlords and their own intersecting lives:
They both knew the guide was monitoring their intimate exchange, but neither cared. Sarah’s memories were fragmented and matched his. Mark had no idea what to do to save them—and accepted the guide knew that too. There was no escape from this spiritual death camp. Deep in his heart he understood that he and Sarah were saying good-bye. Who they were, their very essence, would soon be subsumed by the guide. They were going to evolve, but in a horrible direction neither could have ever imagined.
The result, even more so than Immortality, takes readers in unexpected directions in a leap of faith and scientific transformation that few will see coming from the events in the prior novel.
Librarians will find that prior readers of Kevin Bohacz will be attracted to Ghost of the Gods, considering it enlightening, revealing, startling reading. This will lend nicely to book clubs – but only if the two books are considered together.
The attractive force of Ghost of the Gods doesn’t just have its roots in Immortality – it builds upon them in unexpected, original ways that readers will find completely engrossing and speculatively, intellectually, delightfully challenging.
Ghost of the GodsReturn to Index
Immortality
Kevin
Bohacz
Independently
Published
978-0979181511
$4.99 Kindle / $18.95
PB
kevinbohacz.com
Extinction events are nothing new in the sci-fi milieu, but Immortality tackles the subject from a different perspective, injecting thriller action into the scenario of a South American bacteria’s rising threat and the efforts of researcher Mark Freedman to stop it.
Survival efforts begin with a perception of biological evolutionary processes, morphing into the special interests, intentions, and manipulations of human beings.
Imagine the entwined lives of two researchers who fall in love in what is perhaps bad timing, a policewoman whose nightmares portend something more sinister than a force of nature alone, and a series of random attacks that call into question whether humanity is even worth saving.
The power in Immortality lies in the many questions Mark tackles in the course of his research. These move beyond problem-solving and into moral and ethical quandaries. Its second strength (of many) lies in the methodical approach Mark employs to connect the dots of probability to arrive at novel realizations:
It was still a logical assumption that people were drinking this water after it was contaminated and then became infected themselves or was it a logical assumption? The water could have been infected at the same time and from the same source as the people. There were hundreds of documented cases where a spouse or roommate had left town just before the event and had survived. In some cases, moments of air travel time separated survival and death.
The complexity of events that surround his efforts makes for an important distinction between the usual sci-fi focus on science and the intersecting special interests of a thriller. This promises to attract both audiences as the plot moves beyond survival tactics and extinction-level events to probe the underlying influences of nature, humans, and political concerns.
Libraries and readers interested in a story of ecological disaster that evolves into a tale of human strategic failures and success will find Immortality unusually vivid, wide-ranging in its presumptions and shifting directions, and filled with topics that will lend nicely to book club discussions.
Replete with high-octane action, lower-key methodical progressive discoveries, and insights into god-machines, manipulation, and the emergence of kill zones, Immortality takes a doomsday scenario and turns it on end for a powerful reflection about what it means and takes to be a survivor.
It’s highly recommended for readers seeking the thrills of a suspense story, the survival challenges in a doomsday threat, and the personal insights of a cast of characters who harbor different perceptions of what it takes and means to be human.
ImmortalityReturn to Index
Moon
Strike
Cary
Allen Stone
Wild
Books
979-8243392518
$9.99 Paperback/$1.99
eBook
https://www.amazon.com/MOON-STRIKE-Cary-Allen-Stone/dp/B0GG6KXW45
In Moon Strike, the future of space is now. The moon is covered with international bases and operations for mining and taking the most possible for the investment in its development – but something is going wrong. A series of accidents threatens to destabilize the base, causing the AI overseeing human safety to conclude humans are a threat.
The Master and the dream of moon colonization is buffeted by high-tech clashes between AI, robots, and a storm that leads to but the world (that is, the moon world) falling apart, melding perfect with modern-day concerns about an AI takeover – but from a different, more unexpected source than its sentient evolutionary process.
Cary Allen Stone’s rip-roaring adventure traverses space and human engagements in a futuristic story set in 2035. It opens with the promise of education (“knowledge is what makes the difference between success and failure. The more you have, the better your chances of survival.”), then descends into a clash between the tenacity of cooperative leaders and international efforts on the moon and on Earth to keep the misguided AI from taking over.
The “why” of these events is nicely embedded in swift action, surprising outcomes, and turns of events and personalities readers won’t see coming - one of the many delights in Moon Strike. Issues of cooperative effort, perceptions of intelligence and its influences, and ideals of man and machine becoming ‘one’ on some level are addressed in thought-provoking ways that will involve present-day readers concerned about AI development and ideals.
Another big plus lies in Stone’s descriptive prowess, which provides “you are here” moments that add atmosphere to the story:
Astral Station was a gleaming wheel of steel and glass that floated above the swirling white cloud fronts stretching like brushstrokes in the deep blue skies of Earth.
Meld these attributes with a peppering of thought-provoking color images and equally contemplative intersections between warlords, high tech, and futuristic opportunities and conundrums for an action-packed moon odyssey. This will appeal to readers seeking drama and depth from their sci-fi choices.
Librarians interested in acquiring and recommending books filled with hard science and lunar development surprises will find Moon Strike teeters on the edge of military sci-fi reading, but preserves enough psychological tension and strong character contrasts to place it far above most battle engagement military sci-fi focuses. It operates in a space opera category of its own.
Moon StrikeReturn to Index
Shattered
Energy: A Memory in Time
Athena
Plencner
Current
Words
978-1-957224-68-8
$16.99
Paperback/$4.99 eBook
www.currentwords.com
Shattered Energy: A Memory in Time opens with the dilemma of Ariyana, newly separated from Glacin for the first time since their joining and also isolated from the Draxins who have joined him in a battle she can’t participate in.
Glacin arrives just in time to save her from a deadly hatching of creatures that would have destroyed her, but winds up pushing her into the flames of the clutch in an effort to save her life – at a huge cost to himself.
Fans of Anne McCaffrey’s dragon fantasies will find the same kind of attention to detail that makes her stories so appealing. Emotional connections are made and cast within a greater story of confrontation and challenge, dragon/human special interests are intriguingly woven into an action-packed plot that proves nearly impossible to put down, and shifting layers of reality challenge Ariyana. She becomes confused over past events, present reality, and the importance of Glacin and Vayle in her life. Both are essential – and both seem to have shut her out of their world, thanks to her choices.
The emotional clashes are every bit as vivid as the physical confrontations that keep the story fast-paced and thought-provoking:
The words tore at her just as the tip of the blade tore at her skin. She longed for the connection that she’d had with him and Vayle, but his words and actions shattered the bond that she craved. She felt more alone than ever.
Athena Plencner crafts intriguing juxtapositions between special interests and survival tactics that place Ariyana in increasingly untenable positions. As she moves from being desperate to fit in to longing to be accepted for who she is, many a reader will readily relate to her growth process and the challenges presented.
More importantly, Shattered Energy: A Memory in Time probes a host of other characters who introduce new alliances, possibilities, and revised survival tactics to Ariyana’s life. Rillac challenges her to reconsider the nature of being allies, Kai imparts truths about bigger-picture thinking (“This is bigger than the three of us,” Kai said. “Bigger than your negativity.”), and Ariyana vacillates between longing for acceptance and realizing she will never fully be accepted as family:
When she was acting like this? Like she was having some childish temper tantrum? This wasn’t going to change. He wasn’t going to see her as anything other than an inconvenience in their life…a stain on the canvas of their picturesque family.
In a series of confrontations, Ariyana is physically and psychically repeatedly injured, but recovers to repeatedly reach for new possibilities in fresh ways.
Librarians and readers seeking dragon fantasy stories that turn out to be about so much more than battles and survival will relish how Shattered Energy: A Memory in Time’s themes of acceptance and change are embedded in Ariyana’s experiences, creating many opportunities for reflection and discussion.
This is also why book clubs and reading groups will find it a cut above many McCaffrey stories – entertaining, involving, yet thoroughly thought-provoking, all in one.
Shattered Energy: A Memory in TimeReturn to Index
A Spell
of Shadows
Laura
Holt
Foundations
Book Publishing
978-1-64583-159-4
$5.99 eBook
www.FoundationsBooks.net
A Spell of Shadows is a work of Southern Gothic fantasy that steeps its magic in elements of real-world angst, from bullying to cruelty. Stark descriptions of these events could translate to cautionary notes for sensitive readers, but the saga holds many unique and thought-provoking moments of revelation that would be a shame to miss.
Readers receive a note in the introduction that the South was also a landscape for the persecution of accused witches. Thus, the foundation of the fantasy holds its roots in real-world events. These lend a vivid immediacy to the first-person story of bad boys, dark magic, small town drama, and a contemporary woman struggling to both find her place in the world and walk away from destructive history and patterns:
I’d been so close to making it all a reality, of freeing myself of Bristol’s Edge, and I allowed myself a moment of regret that it had come to this. Then, I let go. I guess it was true, what they said. You could travel away from home, but you could never truly escape who you were. I was a Bristol witch, and this spirit, this town, and the safety of everyone who lives here, was my responsibility.
Kalon’s return home to Bristol’s Edge brings with it the mandate to change both herself and her surroundings, despite the fact that she has a long history of staying stuck for the wrong reasons. Her mother is dead, making her the last living Bristol in town.
Heritage and notoriety are sometimes hard to live down, especially in a small town:
People still traveled to Bristol’s Edge from all over each year to get a bottle of well water from the apothecary and throw their coins into the wells. When the tourist company began running the bus, it made the magic even more accessible, until the day my ancestor cursed the town, and the wells dried up. Slowly, the wishes stopped coming true. The city folk stopped believing in the magic. And soon, they all but quit coming to the town altogether.
As Kalon, Sutton, and other forces interact, the edges between good and evil blur to present something part of both but not entirely steeped in either force. This influences the characters to move beyond legacy and intention in the process of developing new options and responses for their lives.
The magic that permeates this story is palpable and sometimes unexpected, giving the plot the aura of a historical fiction piece, a work of magical realism, a fantasy, and a tale of struggle and redemption.
Libraries seeking blends of Gothic mystery, magical realism and fantasy, and Southern small-town atmosphere will find A Spell of Shadows a powerfully magical story. It marries folklore and history to draw readers into the choices and confrontations of a woman who at times doesn’t know whether to flee or fight.
Gripping moments of revelation and growth make A Spell of Shadows a compelling read that can be highly recommended to a wide audience, crossing genre boundaries to create characters and settings which spring to life from their fantasy foundations.
A Spell of ShadowsReturn to Index
Their
Village, Their Fortress
Dylan
Madeley
Independently
Published
979-8337908779
$10.00 paperback/$3.99
ebook
https://www.amazon.com/Their-Village-Fortress-Dylan-Madeley/dp/B0DFTTWM6H/
Their Village, Their Fortress is a military fantasy that revolves around the fall of a main fortress and its ensuing invasion, which ripples danger and threats into surrounding villages that depended on the fortress for protection. Despite its importance to their lives, the army decides to retreat and save itself rather than informing the villagers that they are now vulnerable to attack.
One soldier, Oleksiy, defies orders and sets out on a mission to alert his home village and others that they need to take up arms and defend themselves. His actions change lives and his own perspective, even though at first it appears that his initial motivations were personal rather than political in nature.
Dylan Madeley crafts a vivid saga of battles, new purposes, urgent threats, strategies, and revised choices as invaders clash and choices are redefined.
As other characters enter the fray, from former soldier archer Denys to Vitaliy’s ideas for defending the village, the story probes misfortune, threat, and the costs of war through vivid passages and encounters that bring the entire milieu to life:
“You brought us a warning and called us to action. He understood better than most that this was never a game. He knew what mattered to him and what he would risk to defend it, and he made his choice. We may have lost him, but we haven’t lost what he gifted this community. Nor the time he spent with us, nor our memories of him...”
Librarians will find Their Village, Their Fortress’s focus on empowerment, survival strategies, and living with the consequences of war, honor, and rebellion makes for a fantasy that will appeal well beyond genre readers. It will prove a fitting title for book club discussion and debate about military service, personal choice and honor, and individual and collective struggles, bringing to life the possibilities and challenges of not just a village under siege, but worlds that shift over responsibilities, expectations, and outcomes
Their Village, Their FortressReturn to Index
All Told
Mel Kenne
Atmosphere
Press
979-8891328488
$28.99
Hardcover/$16.99 Paperback/$7.99
eBook
www.atmospherepress.com
All Told contains poems that deconstruct life, serving as a narrative of experience that cuts like a knife and carves out relationships, encounters, and reflections: The beans are simmering in the pot./The cornbread’s browning in the pan./I’m cooking up all the things I can./If you’re not too hungry, stick around./But if you can’t wait, then please move on./I’ve been in your place, now you’re in mine.
Each poem represents a documentary of life’s ebbs and flows, capturing in succinct, hard-hitting imagery the currents of history, personal encounters, and candid self-analysis. The latter process even admits: I have no clear idea/of what I’m trying/to do artistically./Thank God for that!/Otherwise, I’d/be an exemplary/Western poet, which/I’m, happily, not...
Some of the poems offer hard-hitting judgments and assessments of others, as in ‘How Hard Can You Fall?’: Until you hit something or until something strikes you./Then we may say your fall is broken./Or else we may say you’re broken by your fall.
Others provide personal reflections that delve into themes of responsibility, joy, and reactions to life.
Librarians and readers seeking poetry collections that grasp the bigger picture of life encounters with a philosophical, social, and personal twist will relish All Told’s thought-provoking contrasts in perspective. These promise to prompt much reflection and even book club discourse in literary circles.
All ToldReturn to Index
Between
Breath and Memory
Neena H.
Brar
Penguide
Books
97817758073
$24.99
Hardcover, $19.99 Paperback,
$3.99 eBook
Website:
www.neenahbrar.com
Ordering:
https://www.amazon.com/Between-Breath-Memory-Neena-Brar-ebook/dp/B0GRK77ZF4/
Between Breath and Memory’s literary poetry collection will appeal to those who enjoy contemporary narrative reflections of family, culture, and experience. It explores warmth, kinship, daily practices and joys, and indulgences that translate to evocative, literary works about heritage and transformation.
Take “Saffron Mornings,” for example. Here, Neena H. Brar offers memories of her maternal grandfather, infused with sweetness of food and another culture:
I remember his hand,/ warm and real, holding mine/ as we walked to buy jalebi/ in the early light of Kolkata,/ syrup falling in saffron-bright/ ribbons from the fryer...
“Sweetness Itself” is another muse that arrives studded with memories:
Those long summer days,/by the time our rickshaw,/rattling its way through heat and dust, delivered us home...
Each poem captures a moment in time, a special place or personality, and the impact of distance, isolation (during Covid’s early years), and change. Each represents a life “threaded with gold” – the gold of history, connection, and ancestral places and figureheads.
The rituals of childhood also come to life in passages which will universally appeal:
...we children, dizzy with the slow drift/toward sleep, would lie back and count/stars out loud, louder still when one/seemed to wink at us, until the numbers/slipped from our mouths and we fell/away into dreams, as if the sky itself/had rocked us to sleep...
Replete with reflective, literary moments of appreciation and contemplation, Between Breath and Memory will reach a wide audience, from librarians seeking contemporary poetry to add to their collections and recommend to literary book clubs to individuals attracted to free verse steeped in the warm tea of life.
Between Breath and MemoryReturn to Index
Howling
Into the Void
R. David
Fulcher
Old
Scratch Press
978-1-957224-72-5
$9.99
Paperback/$3.99 eBook
www.oldscratchpress.com
Poetry readers who don’t shy away from emotional engagements will welcome how Howling Into the Void connects literature, myth, and psychological inspection with poems that are intricately woven into a pattern of life observation.
The poems are delivered with the thrust and power of possibility, driven as much by emotion as philosophical perception:
You who do not/ believe/ that angels dance/ on pinheads;/ tell me that/ rainbows/ are not contained/ in prisms,/ that love does not/ lie/ in the shadows/ of photographs/ that you do not/ lie...
Readers may not expect discussions of covens and witches, man-made hells and prayer wheels, and mazes of machines and human emotion, but R. David Fulcher crafts a heady mix of connection that surges through life’s currents and eddies with an astute eye to capturing their underlying influences and meaning.
Within the convergence of free verse, life inspection, nature connection, and emotional reflection lies the call-and-response of experiences bring readers into new milieus of realization:
Now with beads and hides and makeshift paints I await you./ Show me the wind/And I shall make the ways fall away,/ I will capture its spirit/And skirl and stomp, hoot and shout,/ And if my TV is lost in the ritual so be it.
The poems present in a manner that makes them accessible to literary and general-interest readers alike – something many a modern poetry collection cannot claim. They circle the wagons of understanding with observational prowess and, most of all, embed within them a sense of possibility and helplessness that makes them infinitely understandable and entirely welcome.
Libraries seeking contemporary free verse for their collections that can reach beyond literature audiences will find Howling Into the Void a captivating collection that invites, discusses, and closely inspects life’s progression and the nature of human responses and affairs.
Its vivid images and self-inspections are immersive and alluring:
You stride boldly across the wall,/Your limbs rising and falling like miniature strikes of lightning,/Searching for a corner you call home...
Howling Into the VoidReturn to Index
Building
Blocs
John S.
Reuther
DartFrog
978-1-965253-68-7
www.dartfrogbooks.com
“If you want to become a Soviet specialist, you need firsthand experience. Come to Moscow. Learn the language, the history, the culture. Get to know the people.”
Thus begins the journey chronicled in Building Blocs: My Life in Dialogue and Development in Russia, a memoir of social and political discovery that moves from the 1960s to modern times as John S. Reuther follows his father’s world-hopping work experiences, forging relationships with labor leaders in various European countries, then hones his own career by focussing on Russia.
Readers who want to know the culture, nuances, and peoples of Russia and labor efforts in the United States would do well to achieve this introduction via a personal sojourn such as Reuther’s. Building Blocs paves the way for greater understanding by outlining the course of his family’s progression through decades of social and political interactions:
I personified the dilemma. Friedman wrote that I looked “like a prep school product of the Eastern establishment, tall, strapping… But behind a face that any mother could love, the Reuther dedication and commitment is there. And John Reuther has taken it up where his father and his uncles left it, going beyond the era and glory of old unionism, the picket line, and the New Deal, to the New Politics, which clashes with family friends.
Behind-the-scenes negotiations, agreements, management policies, labor and business concerns, and political insights permeate Reuther’s memoir, but he doesn’t neglect the impact his job had on his family, either. These weave into the political encounters in a way that will give food for thought to anyone concerned about lives devoted to service and international interests:
Sasha’s feelings about leaving Maryland for Moscow were mixed. On the one hand, his parents were back together, and there were new family adventures to be had and new memories to be made. On the other hand, he was a thirteen-year-old boy who was really bummed to be pulled away from what was in many ways a classic American suburban teenage life: pals and sweetheart crushes, videogame arcades and Sunday football, bike rides and beach trips. I was fully aware that for kids of that age, those experiences are hugely important.
From navigating high-level contacts in government and business circles to his own family-building efforts, Reuther’s exceptional exploration of his job and life brings to the table a remarkable series of insights and encounters perfect for book club and classroom discussions alike.
Librarians and readers will welcome the opportunity make Building Blocs a foundation of any consideration of Russian and American interests - especially those revolving around ownership, privatization, and the components of cooperative interactions that lead this man, his family, and his influencers to encounter Russia in a novel manner not usually seen elsewhere.
Building BlocsReturn to Index
Eight
Septembers
Jane
Buyers
DartFrog
978-1965253762
$19.99
Hardcover/$15.99 Paperback/$5.99
eBook
www.dartfrogbooks.com
Eight Septembers: A Woman on Wall Street From 9/11 to Lehman is the memoir of a Wall Street woman who was not only responsible for funding her brokerage firms’ daily activities, but was at the epicenter of several seminal events in the 2000s. These events changed the face of Wall Street brokerage activities and banking relationships.
Her insider’s experiences of paradigm-changing events and the rules and ethics which dictated them offers a powerful examination which should be on the reading lists of any business person, women’s group, or individual interested in Wall Street evolution.
Jane Buyers pulls no punches in probing not only banking and business industries, but the undercurrents of her own family’s involvements:
I was in my thirties at the time, a new mother, dealing with the recent merger of Manufacturers Hanover Trust and Chemical Bank. His board feared he planned to stack the deck with a family member, but after my first meeting, they learned I did not have blind loyalty to my father as I asked probing questions and didn’t accept pat answers. After ten years as a banker and five on Wall Street, I was independent-minded and knew how to execute my fiduciary responsibilities.
Family indeed is a prominent focus in this memoir, which juxtaposes the challenges of being a mother and taking care of other family members and self while navigating the complexities of the corporate world.
The special flavor of this memoir lies in its marriage between personal and business life, succinctly and pointedly described as Buyers meets challenges that emerge in both worlds:
Wall Street’s dirty little secret was out: It depended completely on secured financing from entities who could withdraw it on a moment’s notice. Imagine your mortgage or car loan suddenly becoming due one day, and you are required to return the collateral — your house or car — immediately or be thrown into bankruptcy. All that leverage built up like a Jenga tower. Removing one or two blocks might be sustainable, but if everyone withdrew their blocks at once, disaster would ensue. Truth: The industry would collapse the minute the tri-party market stopped functioning. As I hung up the phone and joined my family at the dinner table, I wondered who else beyond our insular Wall Street financing world understood that.
As experience melds with discovery and new revelations, Buyers creates a compelling atmosphere of growth that takes place in many different ways as she juxtaposes the evolution of her family, Wall Street’s milieu, and her pursuit of excellence, success, and achievement in all areas:
Wasn’t I supposed to be going back to work full time at the end of the summer? Not for the first time, I considered making the sabbatical a permanent retirement. What would I do if I didn’t work? According to Mark’s theory, if I could figure out who I wanted to be, then what to do would follow naturally. Maybe, I thought, the first step was figuring out who I didn’t want to be.
The result indeed charts some of the key decisions and influences upon them on Wall Street, but moves beyond business concerns alone to address concurrent family challenges and personal ambition.
Libraries and readers seeking books that move from women’s experiences in business and professional circles to addressing home life and growth will appreciate how Eight Septembers captures this history, these worlds, and the process of transformation.
Filled with explanations and insights that require no prior Wall Street expertise or knowledge of history from its readers, Eight Septembers is a force to be reckoned with. It’s a top read not just for individual contemplation, but women’s and book reading groups seeking lively insights about business and life for discussion and debate.
Eight SeptembersReturn to Index
The
Escape Artist
Ian
Jarvis
Armin
Lear Press
978-1968919115
$24.95
https://www.amazon.com/Escape-Artist-Ian-Jarvis/dp/1968919112
The Escape Artist is the memoir of actor Ian Jarvis, whose world travels, escapades, and varied careers will intrigue any reader familiar with his name who may have previously viewed him as a relatively singular achiever.
The story moves from a nice Jewish boy’s roots to fishing, drugs, and world-wide travels, carrying readers on a romp into various worlds with intriguing adventures and insights into self and other cultures:
At food stalls, people argued over prices, women led chickens and sheep to the buses and tied them on the roof. Mark got tickets and found our ride. On board, there were no smiles, no welcome, no interest. The men in jellabas stared at us, their women were silent, under full burkas. This was another world.
FBI busts, hippies, politics, romances, and flings are all revealed in the course of a life that jumps from experience to experience with the full embrace of exploration and discovery.
Readers who would escape their own familiar worlds can do so easily through The Escape Artist, which documents not only Jarvis’s encounters, but new possibilities that emerge from the impulsiveness of youth which returns home older, wiser, and no less willing to embrace something completely different.
Unexpected developments include Jarvis’s career in cosmetics and successes in various aspects of business. This dovetails nicely with coming-of-age reflections, cultural revelations, and the author’s newfound interest in creating stability in his life, which stem from a daughter impacted by his choices to lead a colorful life on the run.
Readers interested in taking a journey through growth and adaptation will relish how The Escape Artist surveys its world with an exciting mix of adventure and reflection:
I was 21 when I decided to cure the money question with a drug deal; a choice that was thoughtless, unconscious, and it drove the next decade. My decision to return six months ago is playing out today. One way or another, the next hour will drive the next decade. I’m good. I want a place at the table, turn my skills into resources, not tools of survival but either way, there’s clarity, a path. I don’t care if it’s hard, just let me plant my feet, somewhere.
The result is a study in success that examines the American dream, personal ambition, and pivot points in life which prove immersive, entertaining, and reflective all in one. Book clubs will find plenty of fodder for discussion about travel, cultural encounters, and growth, while librarians will find it easy to highly recommend The Escape Artist both to those already familiar with Jarvis. Newcomers might not know his name, but will delight in an intriguing series of escapades.
The Escape ArtistReturn to Index
From
Darkness to Light
Tom Singh
Independently
Published
979-8275078282
$16.99
Paperback/$9.99 eBook
https://www.amazon.com/Darkness-Light-Journey-Despair-Contentment/dp/B0G3MSCZXB
From Darkness to Light: A Journey From Despair to Contentment is a survey of survival and enlightenment that opens with a family struggling with alcoholism, but moves into the process by which author Tom Singh evolved beyond his family influences.
Lest readers think this will involve the typical American setting, the story embraces other cultural influences and experiences:
I was born on the last night of a seven-night Hindu prayer session or yagna kept by the neighbour. This prayer session was an annual event that attracted most of the villagers.
The family saga entwines deeply with the culture of Trinidad to create a success story that will prove unexpected to many. It enlightens readers about village and community life, family safety, and social and cultural forces that influenced the author and his family’s attitudes and beliefs.
Tom Singh delves into a range of topics, from immigrant experience to the influence of mentors, support systems, and teachings that contributed to his upward-bound mission to overcome adversity and not just survive, but thrive.
It’s also important to note that this story isn’t just about Singh alone, but traverses generations of opportunity and misfortune to consider how heritage is built and values imparted.
All these facets make for a dual inspection of business, social, and historical developments that readers will find especially engaging and suitable for book club and group discussions.
Librarians will want to highly recommend From Darkness to Light to those seeking not the usual story of family interactions or even Trinidad history, but a personal reflection on what it means to overcome obstacles and succeed against all odds.
Replete with personal encounters and cultural observations, From Darkness to Light is a top recommendation for several audiences – those who enjoy ultimately uplifting stories of achievement, and others interested in Trinidad society and culture.
From Darkness to LightReturn to Index
Great
Saves And Terrible Losses: The
Journeys of a Surgeon
Anthony
A. Goodman, Md
Pietra
Press
978-1-969785-10-8
$19.95
https://www.amazon.com/Great-Saves-Terrible-Losses-Journeys/dp/B0G2YY62GB?nsdOptOutParam=true
Anthony A. Goodman dreamed of becoming a surgeon. What he didn’t envision was the daily realities of life-and-death decision-making and its impact - nor the worldwide travels he would embark upon in the course of his career.
Plenty of memoirs discuss the rigors of medical training and life in the operating room. Few embrace the situations that test a surgeon’s abilities in novel ways, or contrast the atmosphere of a big-city hospital with a smaller institution:
Local police officers often brought us pizza late at night when the emergency room of the small private hospital was quiet. I was doing a moonlighting stint to make a little extra money, and this place was a far cry from Boston City Hospital. Sometimes I actually longed for chaos. Mostly I cared for scrapes and bruises, runny noses, coughs, abdominal cramps, and diarrhea, but once when heavy snow kept the obstetrician from arriving, I got to deliver a baby.
We sarcastically called it the “urgency room” to distinguish it from the kind of place we were used to.
After exploring the ups, downs, revelations, and challenges of becoming and being a surgeon, Dr. Goodman reveals his own unexpected health challenges, which emerge later in the story. By then, readers have a foundation of his professional life and perspective about the medical system with, which then foray into its applications on a more personal level.
Readers looking for a medical memoir packed with ironic situations, humor, thought-provoking moments that hover between life and death, and choices and consequences that buffet the good doctor with a combination of adventure and professional concerns will find Great Saves And Terrible Losses: The Journeys of a Surgeon revealing. It’s an honest, hard-hitting, thought-provoking survey of what it means to problem-solve and tackle life on a whole new level.
Filled with moments of discovery, irony, challenge, and a number of extraordinary medical dilemmas, Great Saves And Terrible Losses: The Journeys of a Surgeon wields its scalpel on life and the types of choices a doctor must incorporate into his overall approach to living and dying.
Librarians seeking a medical memoir replete with not only personal experiences, but insider insights on how the medical profession has changed over the years will want to make Great Saves And Terrible Losses: The Journeys of a Surgeon a top recommendation to anyone entering the medical profession with questions about its possibilities.
Its survey of the medical world from 1967 to 1993 offers a powerful look at a past world when surgeons had to solve problems not with the aid of advanced technology, but by their own knowledge and wits.
Great Saves And Terrible Losses: The Journeys of a SurgeonReturn to Index
High on
Laughs: A Comedian’s
Confessions
Paul D.
Edwards
Independently
Published
979-8233090660
$15.00
Paperback/$10.00 eBook
https://www.amazon.com/High-Laughs-Confessions-Paul-Edwards/dp/B0GFC49VQ3
High on Laughs: A Comedian’s Confessions is an intriguing story of how a comedian is born – at age fifty. Both a memoir of Paul D. Edwards’ life and a survey of the comedy world, the account is rich with progressive lessons about stage appearances, comedy, and life. It opens with the author’s initial ideas about comedy, progressing through the routines required to take humor to the next level.
Readers gain an insider’s perspective of the figure on the stage through personal experiences that sizzle with descriptive force:
Then, the inevitable happened. A joke, one I’d agonized over, one that had garnered chuckles during private rehearsals, landed with a thud. A solitary, deafening thud. The silence that followed was a vast, empty chasm, far more unnerving than the initial blankness. I could feel a collective inhale from the audience, a shared moment of awkwardness. My mind went blank again. The carefully constructed narrative of my set splintered, the pieces scattering like dry leaves in a strong wind. Assess the situation. Adapt. Overcome. This absolutely means nothing to me.
Passages such as this weave personal experience with professional lessons in a manner that will appeal to actors, comedians, and anyone aspiring to walk in their footsteps.
Even more compelling are the moments of realization and growth which build Edwards’ connections not just with audiences, but his own life purposes, which dovetail unexpectedly with his comedy ambition:
The spotlight, that fickle, unforgiving eye, wasn't just about the laughter. It was about a kind of alchemy, a desperate attempt to transmute the drowsiness of my lived experience into something precious, something that would resonate. And as I’d discovered that transmutation process was rarely clean. It involved wrestling with the messy, the uncomfortable, and often, the outright hostile. The comedy scene, in its rawest form, was a proving ground where ambition often outpaced integrity, and the ethical landscape was as shifting and unpredictable as a desert mirage.
The result is a compelling story of what it takes to grow, achieve, and persevere against all odds on the stage of comedy shows and of life.
Librarians seeking a memoir rich in descriptive force that captures the moments of agony and ecstasy on stage, and the processes by which comedians learn, grow, and deliver, will find High on Laughs: A Comedian’s Confessions unparalleled in its insights, personal reflections, and delivery.
Anyone interested in the world of stage and comedy must read his story. It will also reach general-interest readers with its succinct blend of comedy, philosophical inspection, and life insights.
High on Laughs: A Comedian’s ConfessionsReturn to Index
i wish i
was worse
Shirin
Delalat
sdinsd
publications
979-8991881555
$19.99
Website:
https://www.iwishiwasworse.com
Ordering: https://www.amazon.com/i-wish-was-worse/dp/B0FM43BC12/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0
i wish i was worse (the title is all lower-case) documents a woman’s life in a memoir that defies the usual pat appearance and presentation of autobiographical reflection. While it does fulfill the definition of a self-reflective piece, there is nothing traditional or pat in how Shirin Delalat exhibits the fire of her life experiences, as is evidenced in the memoir’s opening lines:
The polite thing would be to ease you in gently. Tell you this gets dark but there’s light at the end. I’m not interested in being polite. And there’s no light. Just different kinds of fire.
That introduction also comes with a cautionary note:
This isn’t a story about healing. It’s a story about remembering. About the versions of myself I exiled.
The loud one. The selfish one. The angry one. I unleashed them.
In unleashing her rage, Delalat injects passion into reflections which are stark, thoroughly engrossing, and raw to the point of ripping off the Band-Aid of propriety and tearing at emotions to reveal their underlying layers of anguish and pain:
Brutal honesty without filters becomes your native language when you’ve stared down mortality while everyone else was building careers and starting families. Cancer teaches you to build connections knowing they might be temporary, to value authentic moments over sanitized sentiments. To recognize that some bridges aren’t meant to be burned because life might torch them for you anyway.
Now, this might prove heady reading for delicate sensibilities – but so many memoirs already smooth that surface of revelation and angst that it’s thoroughly refreshing to experience one which is delivered with a fervent push towards brutal honesty.
From the impact of others on her life to her reactions to adversity, trauma, pain, and change, Delalat’s special brand of ardor and introspection pulls no punches, making it one of the more powerful memoirs this reviewer has seen in recent years:
I keep a running list on my phone. Not groceries. Not tasks. Names of people I no longer speak to. Thirty-seven entries and counting. Thirty-seven people who once had access to me. Who I loved, trusted, gave pieces of myself to. Who taught me that disappearing isn’t cruel. It’s curated.
Librarians seeking a memoir on fire that transmits its flames to readers in the form of attention-grabbing reflections and descriptions that will resonate with a wide audience of literary readers will want to not just acquire i wish i was worse for their collections, but highly recommend it to patrons and book clubs seeking words on fire.
The delivery isn’t via the methodical skim of a laser delving into surface emotions and events. It’s made with the slash of a knife, the scream of a survivor, and the passion of a writer who falls into traps and then climbs out of them with a renewed vitality for life.
i wish i was worseReturn to Index
Making
My Way
Damaris
Melo-Gyasi
Journeyline
Publishing LLC
979-8-218-87849-8
$24.95
Hardcover/$18.95 Paperback/$9.99
eBook
https://www.amazon.com/Making-My-Way-Story-Grace-ebook/dp/B0DR795R6G
I am not who anyone in my hometown expected me to become.
With its opening lines, Making My Way: A Story of Grit and Grace provides compelling reasons to imbibe and remain reading the progression of Damaris Melo-Gyasi’s life journey.
The memoir chronicles the Brazilian author’s dreams and realities as she crosses borders and perseveres against all odds that come her way - but most of all, it offers a lesson in socioeconomics, social expectation, prejudice, and determination that readers would do well to absorb into their own life philosophies.
Many memoirs document achievement or immigrant experiences. What sets Making My Way apart from those is its added value of candid social inspection that pulls no punches in revealing the obstacles this author (and many like her) faced in setting and achieving goals.
These experiences are delivered through evocative, literary reflections that are thought-provoking and hard-hitting:
Inner-city, South American Black girls did not attend renowned universities or build architectural careers in the United States. Achieving that alone sounds like success. But more noteworthy is how I moved through a process that repeatedly threatened to undo me—and the steady formula that carried me as I navigated it.
The rites of passage that accompany her evolutionary process provide inspiration and lessons throughout as the memoir traverses other countries, reflecting moral and ethical lessons learned at an early age that translate into important life strategies as an adult.
Again - the descriptive phrasing captures the intricate balance between choice and consequences as Melo-Gyasi constantly reevaluates her rationales and challenges:
The hard reality of what I’d done was scaring me in ways I didn’t have adequate answers for. Who commits to living six thousand miles from home on a different continent without family, with very little money, and a foreign language catalog of just eight phrases? WHO DOES THAT? I’d never thought to ask myself this until the panic hit and now I was going around with a banshee in my brain.
The result is a story of determination – just what is needed to lead by example. Even though it likely wasn’t the author’s intent to inspire – she has.
Librarians seeking uplifting accounts of achievement can highly recommend Making My Way to a wide audience, from reading groups debating the process of moving to an alien land with gratitude for opportunity as well as acknowledgment of prejudices, to women seeking positive stories of growth, and immigrants looking for examples of coping methods for new pathways in life.
Its many reflections are simple, reflective, and especially important for modern times:
When you can’t see anything coming through for you, get up and move.
Making My WayReturn to Index
My
Mother is a Dragonfly
Amy
Scott Rooker
GFB
978-1-967510-36-8
$20.95
Paperback/$9.99 eBook
www.girlfridayproductions.com
My Mother is a Dragonfly is a memoir about trauma and transformation that opens with a dead mother’s return with a gift for her daughter. Amy Scott Rooker thought she was dreaming until she looked out of her Cabo hotel window to espy hundreds of dragonflies. It was like “reality had reordered itself while I slept.”
Thus a journey unfolds that speaks about a mother who was imperfect, who withheld love, and whose death almost broke her daughter. Readers won’t expect the reflection that a mother’s death saved her daughter’s life, but this and other insights create powerful memories about growing up and moving out and upward. Rooker eventually confronted many of the problems that buffeted her upbringing and relationships at home.
Rooker’s coming of age and departure from her familiar home is delivered with an engrossing consideration of patterns instantly broken as a result:
I sat crosslegged on the thin dorm mattress, boxes still stacked around me. And then—silence. No voices down the hall. No brother around a corner. No one whispering my name. No one trying to find me. I didn’t recognize the feeling. It was small but throbbing. I wouldn’t be able to name it for a long time. All I knew was: I wasn’t a target. No one here knew who I was. I was the same as everyone else. Invisible in my sameness. And it felt like flying. For the first time in my life, I got to choose. Classes. Sports. Friends. Food. I picked my own major. Woke up when I wanted. Ate french fries for dinner if I felt like it. All the rules hemming me in dissolved overnight, and I was left to wonder what I actually wanted. I didn’t know where to start.
Many a young and new adult will readily relate to the author’s wish that she had a different kind of mother as a child – one “who smothered me in kisses. Who told me I could be anything, do anything. Who called me sweet pet names—Amy-lou, sweetheart, my angel. The kind of mom who’d say she plucked me from the stars—no other star would do. It was me or nothing, she’d tell the cosmos. Proclaiming it over and over. Until I was sick with the mushiness of it.”
My Mother is a Dragonfly is a hard-hitting memoir of family, forgiveness, trauma, and recovery. It is especially highly recommended for anyone facing the impact of a mother who may not as been as loving and dedicated as the common image holds.
Librarians and readers looking for powerful memoirs of mother/daughter relationships will appreciate how the story unfolds with a combination of brutal assessment and loving embrace. They will especially appreciate the value of the book for readers and reading groups seeking mother/daughter inspections and revelations that will prompt powerful thoughts and discussions.
My Mother is a DragonflyReturn to Index
Seeing
Joy
Alexandra
Grabbe
Köehler
Books
979-8-89747-037-2
Hardcover,
$27.95; Paperback, $17.95;
Ebook, $9.95
https://alexandragrabbe.com/?page_id=65
Seeing Joy: A Story of Life, Death, and What Comes Next is a daughter’s account of her mother’s end time, but it goes beyond the usual memoir about the rigors of coming death and the challenges of caregiving for an elderly parent, exploring further notions about death and afterlife.
As Alexandra cares for her ailing mother Bea, they enter a period of time in which Bea claims that deceased relatives and friends are visiting her. She holds tea parties in her room and entertains these “invisible people,” drawing her daughter into a series of encounters and conversations that unexpectedly enriches both their lives while providing much food for thought.
These encounters are detailed in a memoir of not just endings, but new beginnings. The challenges of trying to run a business and care for an adult are only part of this story, opening the saga with many routines and trying times that fellow caregivers will all too readily relate to:
Sleep through the night? Think again. Laughter soon rang out. I raised my head from the pillow and grimaced. According to my watch, it was one o’clock. Pitch black outside. Rain pouring down.
“We’ll meet up at Grand Central Station,” Bea told someone in a light-hearted manner. It took but a moment for her sparkling eyes to notice me at the bedroom door. “Oh, here you are,” she said with immense pleasure. “Care to join us for lunch?”
“Geez Louise! It’s the middle of the night,” I hissed. “Please go to sleep.”
At that precise moment, she seemed more like a performing monkey than a human being who required my attention.
As unacknowledged family ties and secrets emerge within the course of these months, Alexandra is confronted with new ideas about her past, present, and future which receive the overlay of Bea’s newfound encounters:
Was she interacting with the spirits of deceased friends or merely reliving memorable events from her past? One detail challenged the “merely memories” theory. If true, why exclude Nancy Macdonald, who had died in 1996? Nancy never appeared at any of the bedroom parties. Not once. And Nancy had been her best friend.
The explorations and discoveries that drive Seeing Joy offer many reflective insights about new opportunities, giving the memoir a rich embellishment not typically seen in caregiver accounts.
This is why libraries and readers will want to make Seeing Joy not only part of their reading and acquisition lists, but part of a book club or group discussion, whether it be about spirituality and afterlife, caregiving, or unexpected new connections formed only in end times:
“I will miss you so,” I whispered, soft and low. I stroked her hair, breathed in her musty scent with its hint of green apple. The last time the two of us shared such closeness was when I was the child, fifty-nine years ago.
The enlightening process of finding and seeing joy in these experiences proves as priceless to the author as it will be to those who read her book and follow in her footsteps.
Seeing JoyReturn to Index
Angel
and Outcast
Tess
Manchester
Shotover
Press
978-1-966920-14-4
$5.99
Paperback/$2.99 eBook
Website:
https://www.tessmanchester.com
Ordering:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GDS2MFTN
What if the ultimate system had a loophole? What if the worst villain exploited the gap?
Angel and Outcast: A Short Story Supernatural Thriller tells of Raven Close, a deceased thief tapped by a demon after her death to lure a celebrity influencer to the dark side, taking her millions of followers along for the ride. For this, Raven is promised an escape from Hell.
But not if she comes up against would-be archangel Seraphina Wright who is, ironically, tapped on the side of good to influence that same celebrity to bring her followers to the light. If Seraphina succeeds, she will gain the archangel status she so covets.
The classic good-versus-evil clash thus involves more purpose than the usual overt battle, takes place on supernatural grounds as well as in the minds and hearts of those who become the focal point of each side, and evolves into an intriguing story as the two sides face each other’s greatest hopes.
Better editing would have smoothed some minor grammatical errors, as in the following passage. But the short story contains strong characterization, an intriguing premise, and confrontations that are unexpected and engaging, despite minor snafus:
“She has to believe she is shunned, first by her parents, then by those closest to her. She’ll be so miserable, she’ll harm others. After that, she must die, and her soul cast to Hell.”
“Do you not hear yourself?”
Raven tapped her glass against the table. “You’re angelic ways charm others, but I see through you. What do you get out of this?”
“I serve God’s purpose. Once I complete this mission, I’ll become an archangel and serve in greater ways.”
The admission hung between them. This wasn’t only about an influential soul. The outcome of Sage’s soul stood between her place in the heavenly hierarchy.
The result is a lesson about influence, intentions, lessons in humanity, loopholes, and vulnerability that will offer intriguing discussion points for book clubs and reading groups, whether they come from spiritual or supernatural intrigue interests.
Readers seeking short stories that are thought-provoking, quick reads will find Angel and Outcast intriguing and unexpected as its dilemmas play out.
Angel and OutcastReturn to Index
The Bone
Nest
Shanessa
Gluhm
Lost
Meridian Press
979-8-218-75767-0
$8.99
https://www.amazon.com/Bone-Nest-Shanessa-Gluhm-ebook/dp/B0GF8XVLN3
In The Bone Nest, 1986 was the year a serial killer destroyed lives in the small town of Bluesummer, Texas. Four lifelong friends who spend their last summer together before college find themselves at the heart of events when one of their own is murdered – and the suspect might be a kindred soul.
Fast forward thirty years. Troy Terrell awaits execution on death row for his crimes, facing a final appeal before the end. Attorney Joaquin Ramos becomes convinced of Troy’s innocence. As one of Troy’s old friends, Greer, joins forces with Troy's lawyer, the dangerous outcome of their investigation shows that the real killer may still be free.
Shanessa Gluhm crafts a powerful saga that rests its pace and attraction on evolving relationships that stem from youth and blossom under the mantle of adulthood. The dialogues and interactions between special interests build intrigue not just about past events, but present-day outcomes:
“Let me help,” Melrose said, tugging the phone from his pocket.
Joaquin shivered at her touch. “Check it for me? The Outlook app.”
“I need your thumb,” Melrose replied.
Joaquin removed his hand from the steering wheel, and Melrose took it, pulling it toward her. Was it his imagination, or did she hold on longer than necessary to unlock the phone?
From revelations about whom was last involved with their friend to motivations, drugs, relationships, and DNA testing, The Bone Nest circumvents matters of the law and heart in an astute dance. It presents three-dimensional characters whose beliefs and purposes intersect in realistic, sometimes dangerous ways.
The plot builds up connections, creating a compelling juxtaposition of personalities and actions that will keep readers thoroughly engaged and guessing about outcomes and motivations.
Librarians and readers seeking a tale of justice, truth, redemption, and friendship will find The Bone Nest a formidable, gripping saga that cements action and reaction in characters whose lives are not only realistic, but engrossingly unpredictable.
The story promises to ripple out from the murder mystery crowd into circles that base their reading pleasure on the strength of personalities and investigations that embrace growth, revelation, and connection.
The Bone NestReturn to Index
Borealis
Bill
Bennett
Billbenn
Books
978-1970628166
$14.99
www.billbenn.com
Borealis is the second book in the Ava Martinez mystery series, picking up where Swimming with Manatees left off to expand the story of Ava’s recovery from her partner’s death and the events that changed her life. While no prior familiarity is required for this continuation of her life, those who already have enjoyed Swimming with Manatees will be especially attracted to this follow-up.
Ava has sojourned to Alaska, as far from Florida as she can get, to recover far from the too-familiar triggers of her last case. There, she is pulled into a very different eco-mystery surrounding mysterious signals beneath the Arctic ice.
Her new partner in the investigation is very different from her last - ex-soldier Cole Stratton, who brings to the table a military man’s eye for potential disaster and insights about international intrigue and possible rogue operatives who may be involved in a deadly plot.
Most thrillers at this point would delve into battles and confrontations. Readers won’t expect – and will be delighted by – the ecological connections which emerge from realizing these signals may represent connections to the Arctic wilderness that offer an unprecedented opportunity for either power or peace.
Readers walk not only in Ava’s shoes, but in her mind as she treads through Alaska’s icy environment. Cole, also, receives a central focus as his turbulent past influences his decisions. The emotional overlay Bill Bennett injects into both of his characters makes them likeable, interesting, and understandable:
Her voice echoed in his memory: Hold the line, Keller. The land speaks, but we listen.
The memory flickered, slipped away. Keller rubbed the scar on his wrist — Elena pulling him from the wreckage after a failed op, her laugh cutting through static, grounding him when nothing else could.
For a moment he was back in the desert — heat shimmering off broken stone, radio static crackling in his ear. Through it all, her voice cut through the panic with nothing more than a breath and a word.
More so than in Swimming with Mantees, the philosophical and ethical components are expanded upon and nicely developed, here. Readers will find themselves as completely absorbed by Ava and Cole’s evolving connections to one another and the land as in the mystery that grows over the signal’s ultimate meaning and impact.
Librarians seeking a standalone eco-thriller that is thoroughly immersive, easy to highly recommend, and filled with psychological and philosophical reflections will find Borealis a top recommendation. Think Tom Clancy, but with better emotional development. Think James Rollins, where history and mystery intersects with the added value of spiritual and ecological connection.
Think an outstanding thriller that is also suitable for book club discussions over ecological, individual, and ideological pursuit.
BorealisReturn to Index
Chewed
Up By the Jungle
Ann
Charles
Independently
Published
978-1970349009
$18.99 Paperback/$8.99
eBook
Website:
http://www.anncharles.com
Ordering:
https://www.amazon.com/Chewed-Jungle-Dig-Site-Mystery/dp/197034900X
Chewed Up By the Jungle is an archaeological mystery that delves into romance and fantasy as Dr. Angélica Garcia pursues ancient secrets in a Yucatan Peninsula dig.
Her boyfriend Quint Parker has joined her to make sure she is safe, but becomes embroiled in the questions that arise from her efforts and findings – which only lead to further puzzles.
The juxtaposition of an ancient Mayan curse, an archaeological dig, a simmering romance, and a jungle backdrop makes for reading akin to an Indiana Jones adventure. It embraces the steamy romance of a couple facing relationship dilemmas as well as professional challenges.
Ann Charles embeds the history and culture of the ancient Maya civilization with a tone that moves from intriguing and thought-provoking to playful as the banter and dialogue between the couple supplements the discoveries they make about themselves, each other, and the mystery at hand:
“You want to sneak back to the tent with me and I’ll show you how much.”
“Of course, but I have this silly dig site to run.”
“Just my luck. Where’s my kimi when I need him?”
“Probably off gallivanting on your unicorn.” She turned to stare at the wall, her forehead lining. “So, Dr. Fernel was alone talking to himself in his tent. That’s not really that odd, Parker. I do it all of the time.”
“I know, but it’s cute when you do it. Plus, you don’t tap your fingers together while peering evilly down at a map as you froth at the mouth in your malicious glee.”
These interpersonal interactions enliven the tale, injecting a personal touch that explores the psychological flavors of difference and dissidence as events embroil the lovers in new possibilities.
Quint’s notes are also lively supplements to the evolving plot, adding an extra dimension of delightful revelation:
More freaky-ass bat shit in my immediate future.
If the Maya are right and reincarnation is legit, I must’ve been a real dickhead in my past life.
Why should he bother writing notes? Because:
He was utilizing the ol’ pen-on-paper therapy to keep his worries about the grim reaper at bay.
And the death-bat god.
These explanations create realistic and fun insights into each character’s reactions. The suspense builds as forays into legends involving sacrificial offerings develop.
Librarians looking for solid jungle adventure stories cemented by strong personalities and characters whose motivations and ambitions become part of a bigger picture of action-packed revelations will appreciate how Chewed Up By the Jungle creates vivid reading.
Replete with action, reaction, historical insights and mythological analysis, Chewed Up By the Jungle is more than an adventure story or historical novel. It’s a mystery which embeds its findings in real-world romance and issues surrounding digs, rare artifacts, and relationships. Its passion and purposes translate to a multifaceted read that will attract a wide audience, whether or not they have a prior interest in Mayan history or archaeological intrigue.
Chewed Up By the JungleReturn to Index
The ICE
Murders
Geoffrey
M Cooper
Independently
Published
979-8-9924261-6-8
$15.95
paperback, $4.99 ebook
Website:
https://geofcooper.com
Ordering:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GHN12NC5
The ICE Murders is the tenth book in the Brad Parker and Karen Richmond mystery series, injecting its murder mystery with new political intrigue to both expand the investigative duo’s challenges and create a new story ripe with intriguing, realistic twists.
Researcher Dr. Abina Owusu is arrested by ICE despite her protests of innocence. When she is then murdered, Lieutenant Karen Richmond and her husband, Dr. Brad Parker, are called to investigate a case replete with political and judicial challenge. When they discover that Dr. Owusu’s murder isn’t the only one that has occurred under similar circumstances, their mandate moves from solving a singular crime to becoming involved in a dangerous political game where even murder is on the table.
The novel’s prologue creates a fine reader attraction to the doctor and her murder, setting the emotional stage for an investigation which moves between the viewpoints of Brad and Karen as their small-town Maine life is buffeted by bigger-picture politics.
Brad faced his own dilemmas over funding his research institute even before murder entered the picture:
My professional life, like those of my colleagues, had been upended by the deep cuts in federal support for science and education, and I was struggling to figure out how to cope with the present situation. As well as how to help the several hundred scientists and students who worked under my watch at the Maine Translational Research Institute.
Now the effort has taken an ominous turn as he comes to realize that more is at stake than funding sources and ICE operations.
One reason why Geoffrey M Cooper’s The ICE Murders is a standout is because its scenarios are all too realistic. Its political involvements are engrossing as a governor and a newly assigned executive assistant present Brad with the vision of an alternative Maine Science Foundation, and the evolution of these relationships contributes a compelling personal angle to the well-developed tension.
A myriad of contemporary influences come into play, from cryptocurrency and social media to ICE operations, murderous intentions, and special interests. These meld with Brad and Karen’s discoveries to create a story immersed in intrigue, possibilities, special interests, and unexpected developments.
Whether or not libraries have acquired Cooper’s previous mysteries, The ICE Murders stands nicely alone as a powerful draw for enthusiasts of investigative fiction firmly rooted in not just mystery, but social and political change.
With its nicely developed characters, fast-paced events, and space for readers to methodically absorb the challenges Brad and Karen face as events draw them into unexpected new ventures, The ICE Murders is a story that’s hard to put down. It will also offer book clubs plenty of fodder for discussion about political and social change and motivations that may run counter to accountability and ethical choice.
The ICE MurdersReturn to Index
Loose
Ends
Chris
Kneer
Spartan
Entertainment
979-8991366649
$29.99
Hardcover/$16.99 Paperback/$9.99
eBook
www.chriskneerauthor.com
Governor Mack Matthews knew he was screwed as soon as he pressed down on the brake, and nothing happened.
Loose Ends adds another volume to Chris Kneer’s Cigar City thriller series, opening with a powerful scenario in which a beloved Florida governor faces disaster.
That happened in 2024. The next scenario opens in the present day, when Florida prison inmate Sterling reflects on how he got into this mess – and how he can get out of it.
As the story evolves, readers are drawn into scenarios involving stalkers, seemingly unrelated events that dive into unexpected territory and patterns from disparate deaths that lead to something bigger and more dangerous than fraud.
Reporter Morgan Chase enters this picture to encounter FBI security contractor Jason Miles’s latest case. As they confront political and criminal issues, they become part of an investigation that edges ever closer to disaster.
Though Loose Ends builds upon the characters created in the prior book Bluebird, newcomers can easily absorb this bigger picture of fraud, crime, and murder. It operates as a standalone thriller that is every bit as understandable and engrossing as its predecessor.
Miles, invited to play the part of a man who lost everything, including his father, to become a dangerous leader, steps into his new role with the knowledge that his latest investigation could prove to be his last.
Librarians and readers seeking a thriller steeped in Florida culture, twists and turns about special interests willing to murder, and politicians and organizations deeply involved in the outcomes of schemes will find Loose Ends a fine adjunct to Bluebird, a fitting stand-alone acquisition, and a powerful reflection about political vulnerability, conspiracies, accountability, and love.
Loose EndsReturn to Index
Misery
Cove
Jan
Rydzon
Wild
Rose Press
978-1-5092-6404-9
$22.99
Print/$5.99 eBook
Website:
www.janrydzon.net
Ordering:
https://www.amazon.com/Misery-Cove-Jan-Rydzon-ebook/dp/B0G26QJCJB
The strength of Misery Cove lies in characters that find their connections shaken and stirred by murder. Erin Brady’s estranged mother drowns under suspicious circumstances, forcing Erin to return home to confront a storm of accusations, innuendos, and possibilities. These lead her into a rabbit’s warren of other damaged family relationships which each inject forms anguish and angst to her life.
Who needs this? She does - because if Erin is to reconcile her past and comprehend the truth about her mother’s death, she first has to navigate impossible routes of connection to delve under the surface of barely-patched relationships.
Jan Rydzon creates a murder mystery notable for its engaging, atmospheric backdrop as Erin faces not one, but a series of unexpected deaths that rock her world:
She went to the back porch. The girls wandered along the shore. The day was one of the perfect ones— sunny, faint breeze, temps in the mid-seventies, the water an especially brilliant blue. A day where it seemed impossible that anything bad could happen.
Accidents, murder, and intentional distancing come into play as Erin absorbs the tangled relationships surrounding her mother’s life and her own past, uncovers the source of daughter April’s nervous reactions, and faces an onslaught of sudden deaths that feel dangerously connected.
Readers will find Erin’s dilemmas and observations thought-provoking, the outcomes and choices unexpected, and the truth a hard-hitting answer out of left field as the story unfolds a delightfully unexpected route.
Librarians seeking mysteries which center upon family interactions and angst will welcome how Misery Cove creates a well-balanced examination of love and pain and how its search for a clever killer comes to embrace all that Erin holds dear, evolving a quiet reverberation of circumstances which explode into hard-hitting discoveries.
Jan Rydzon creates a murder mystery notable for its engaging, atmospheric backdrop. Replete with insights and the unexpected, Misery Cove is more than a whodunit, but a thoroughly engrossing mystery that’s hard to put down.
Misery CoveReturn to Index
Persona
William
J. Cook
Next
Chapter
979-8241122186
$24.49
Hardcover/$11.99 Paperback/$3.99
ebook
https://books2read.com/u/3kqNpL
Persona is a thriller marked by the specter of a decades-old crime from the past re-emerging to haunt the present. Psychiatrist Carter Lane’s colleague commits suicide, and Lane inherits both his caseload and questions about the legacy of the Hoffman Horror’s events.
When Lane’s wife is then murdered, he’s thrown into a terrible situation in which the buried memories of a patient come into play even as he finds himself the target of a police investigation that identifies him as a possible perp.
Lane’s personal involvement in repressed memories and deadly scenarios becomes a motivating factor for solving not just one case, but a host of threats that edge ever closer to destroying his career and life.
Points of view shift between Dr. Lane and those who speculate about his guilt or innocence, creating a satisfying juxtaposition of perspectives that are easily identified by shifts between the first and third person.
William J. Cook is as skilled at depicting psychological trauma and the peculiar traits of the disassociative personality as he is in building the exquisite tension of a murder mystery that delves deeply into questions of operating on the wrong side of the law and building a case that holds too many loopholes.
The contrast between victim, perp, and investigator is finely crafted through a search that ferrets out all of Dr. Lane’s secrets even as the good doctor endeavors to identify the psychological elements that have placed him in the crosshairs of justice.
The personal insights that permeate this story sizzle with reflective force, creating a satisfying “you are here” feel connecting readers with the puzzles and events that unfold:
I never thought the words “out on bail” would apply to me.
They were for other people, criminals and malefactors who should be behind bars for what they did and not out roaming the streets, endangering innocent citizens like me. I have to admit, between what the Cliff is doing or not doing for me and the salvo that Jeri Simms has launched against me, I am so fucked.
Librarians considering thrillers that are firmly embedded with psychological revelations and science, yet nicely intersect with issues of betrayal, mental illness and health, and insights into the values of right and wrong behaviors will find that Persona holds many attractions.
Its intrigue over Dr. Lane’s life and his wife’s identity translates to engrossing reading that successfully marries the action of a thriller with the psychological revelations of a story nicely steeped in twists, turns, and unexpected revelations.
PersonaReturn to Index
Swimming
with Manatees
Bill
Bennett
Billbenn
Books
978-1970628128
$27.99
Hardcover/$13.99 Paperback/$4.99
eBook
www.billbenn.com
Detective Ava Martinez wasn’t trained in ecological sabotage. She is equipped to investigate murder. When a “morning that begins like any other” serves up a healthy portion of death and intrigue, Martinez steps up to the challenge - only to find herself thoroughly immersed in not just a mysterious Florida drowning, but a biologist’s revolutionary premise and findings that could change everything.
The first strength to note about this story is Bill Bennett’s descriptive prowess. Readers will become engrossed in Ava’s observations because their underlying motivations, processes, and approaches are nicely rooted in psychological inspection:
Ava stepped back, scanning the scene again, seeing it now through Dan’s eyes—what he noticed, what he feared, what he didn’t have time to say.
Emotional connections blossom as Ava confronts others in her life who provide different forms of support and grief therapy:
Ava exhaled slowly. “He was the one person who could pull me back when I got too deep in my own head. Now it’s just—noise.”
Rick’s voice softened. “Nothing about this is easy, Ava. But you’re not carrying it alone.”
For the first time since Dan’s death, something in her chest loosened—just a fraction, but enough to breathe.
The emerging environmental threat buffets Ava’s emotional well-being with issues of corporate corruption, murder, and relentless conflicts. How does one heal when in the depths of ongoing confrontations and waves of grief? Slowly.
Swimming with Manatees brings to the table everything a mystery reader could want: an emotionally vulnerable, proactive detective whose investigations are reasonable yet dangerous; a pursuit of truth that many characters never stop chasing; and a sense of determination that rests as much upon personal physical and emotional survival as a determination to see justice emerge from the fray.
Librarians seeking an eco-thriller that is delivered with many emotionally connecting moments throughout will find it easy to highly recommend Swimming with Manatees to a wide audience of leisure readers, from women who enjoy proactive, strong female characters to thriller readers who like deeper emotional connection to events.
Filled with Florida atmosphere and culture, intense dialogues and unexpected surprises, and a sultry Florida backdrop that both highlights and sometimes obscures Ava’s search for the truth, Swimming with Manatees is a powerful, emotionally driven story of confrontation and redemption that traverses emotional and conspiracy landscapes with equal depth and attraction.
Swimming with ManateesReturn to Index
In the
Company of Whales
Judy
Taylor
Independently
Published
979-8-218-90687-0
$17.99
Paperback/$7.99 eBook
Website:
judymtaylor.com
Ordering:
www.amazon.com
Carla has always been more comfortable with animals than people, but her connections to both are tested when a pod of whales becomes trapped near her coastal town, forcing her to interact in novel ways with environmentalists and her own heart.
In the Company of Whales stretches the protagonist’s image of herself, her successes and failures, and her future when she is forced to step outside her nature and dismal outlook to consider the fate of creatures that are only one reflection of an environment going dangerously awry.
As she interacts with the wheelchair-bound Elizabeth and contemplates the emptiness of her own life, Carla transmits to readers her sense of drifting purpose and inertia that many new adults may find familiar:
She laid the instrument back in its case and stretched out flat on the grubby carpet, listening to the silence. She looked at the ceiling and at the cobwebs in the corners before she closed her eyes against the ugliness. Quiet pressed on her ears. Stillness was a weight holding her down. No Alex. No Moses. No Gizmo. Just Carla, alone in her dump of an apartment that she couldn’t afford, with the bass she didn’t feel like playing.
Even more notable is the manner in which Carla is drawn to become involved in something she can get passionate about as environmental issues shake her from ennui into action.
Carla is the kind of person who would rather not get involved. Her isolation is driven by choice but is shaken by circumstance as she is forced to face new situations that require her to step up in unexpected ways:
“I should get going. If you’re free tomorrow, I’d love your company.” He laid his palm softly on top of Carla’s head and kept it there a moment. The warmth and weight of his hand seeped in, his affection a confusing impossible possibility.
As Carla crafts a risky plan to rescue the endangered orcas, she begins to make the kinds of choices that will lead to her own salvation as well.
Librarians and readers seeking stories about individuals forced to break their isolation, confront their flaws, and hone new possibilities for their futures will find In the Company of Whales an ultimately uplifting tale about how connections between humans and nature are forged.
Replete with discoveries that will lend nicely to book club discussions, In the Company of Whales explores how one woman learns to get others on board for a controversial mission that is essential not just to preserving whales, but her own future. Its realistic scenarios and smooth intersections between the choices of remaining a loner or growing into new opportunities make for an evocative, compelling read.
In the Company of WhalesReturn to Index
In the
Wake of Golgotha
Daniel
Grace
Koehlerbooks
979-8-88824-894-2
$31.95
Hardcover/$21.95 Paperback
www.koehlerbooks.com
In the Wake of Golgotha stretches the imagination and boundaries between metaphysical science fiction and paranormal fantasy as it moves between a Roman crucifixion to modern times, where Pontius Pilate's words are found scrawled on a New York basement wall next to the bodies of three crucified men.
Here, Judas has been reborn as a social worker and Pontius as an aggressive lawyer. Both have been reincarnated numerous times, but in this latest appearance, they are cursed not only by their actions in past lives, but by the ignorance and acknowledgement that dogs their steps in modern times.
Addicts, clergymen, icons of hope and redemption, and fate coalesce in a powerful perfect storm of mixed impressions and objectives. These are solidified by Daniel Grace’s proclivity to craft powerful images and metaphors from intersecting realities:
Jude Issachar––the man who once lived as Judas Iscariot and was the boy who’d sailed with his brother and once watched him bleed and became the man who once kissed his other Brother’s cheek but didn’t stick around to watch Him bleed––ran out of the church hoping to find his friend who had strayed off his path. He was oblivious that there was another tumbling through the ages in the same turbulent wake as him.
Readers interested in the reincarnation of wandering souls and the patterns they embrace time and again, albeit in different times and ways, will find In the Wake of Golgotha a powerful winner.
Its ability to draw connections between disparate characters doomed to repeat their choices but determined to do things differently, its supernatural and Christian overtones, and its blend of modern social angst and historical replication of events makes for a journey of faith and discovery that proves hard to put down and often surprising.
Libraries seeking a compelling story that can be highly recommended to readers looking for thought-provoking reflections, social inspections, and spiritual insights will find In the Wake of Golgotha a fitting acquisition.
In the Wake of GolgothaReturn to Index
Legacy
of Courage
Diane
Green
Independently
Published
979-8244614930
$11.99
https://www.amazon.com/Legacy-Courage-Friend-Group-Diane-Green/dp/B0GHQMDN5S
Legacy of Courage: The Story of a Friend-Group is a novel of friendship, history, betrayal, and love served up in different parts as readers become immersed in the story of Lacey Fletcher. A Candle Snuffed precedes this story, a standalone novel that lightly rests on prior events, but needs no familiarity in order to prove an intense draw for newcomers to Lacey’s world.
The novella is presented in two parts. Lacey faces a long healing process and Norah Hutchins is overseeing her recovery. Lacey is slowly edging back to the point where she can return to her job at The Paxton Research Library, but the effort is frought with sadness and confusion.
Norah lures Lacey back to the research she loves to do, dangling the discovery of a diary chronicling the life of a World War I nurse who struggled through the 1918 influenza epidemic. Susannah Hayley (an earlier female heroine who lives in A Candle Snuffed AND Legacy of Courage)’s story gives Lacey new purpose as both lives weave into an account of historical research, ghosts, and the impact of a friendship that goes beyond the grave.
As research blends with discoveries both historical and personal in nature, Diane Green constructs a satisfying tapestry of women’s lives and rare finds. The repercussions of these events devastate Norah, testing both her innocence and how she chooses to face the world.
As Lacey, Norah, and Sophie are drawn together over adversity and shared interests, each heals in different ways over the past, ghosts, and possibilities for their futures.
The novel’s second part takes place in the first person as Lacey narrates her evolution of recovery and strength:
I was on a track of my own choosing. I believed that I would determine my own fate, my own destiny and oh how wrong I was. At 22, I was extraordinarily successful. At 23, I was broken beyond any nightmare I’d ever had. Of those who witnessed me shattered, only a very few thought I would stand tall again.
Mistakes, opportunities, and new revelations make the second part of Lacey’s story especially heartwarming and evocative as she reflects on the nature of research, historical precedent, and her life and friendship choices.
Librarians seeking a novel rich in history, ghosts, mysteries, and emotional growth will welcome how Legacy of Courage blends all these topics into an evocative read.
Legacy of CourageReturn to Index
Miranda’s
Garden
Johnnie
Mazzocco
Dark
Moon Lilith Press
979-8-9989112-1-7
$28.00
Hardcover/$18.00 Paperback
https://johnniemazzocco.com/mirandas-garden/
Miranda’s Garden is a novel of new beginnings, unexpected endings, magical realism, and a garden that holds the key to many things.
Len and Miranda are going back to nature for inspiration, solace, and a different life in the remote mountain town of Tyler, Colorado. But when choices take an unexpected nose dive into disaster, Miranda finds herself with more than she can handle alone.
Chapters titled with the waxing and waning of the moon move through the seasons, linking Miranda’s revised life to nature in many different ways.
The story’s magical realism stems from the unexpected transformations Miranda witnesses in the outside world around her and in herself, sparking imaginative reflection:
A green background with white spirals. In the center, an oval-shaped frame encircled two women. One was younger with brown curly hair. She was lying under a blanket, her head on a pillow, as if she was tired or ill. The other was an older, grayhaired woman holding a cup of steaming tea in one hand, the palm of her other hand resting on the younger woman’s forehead. Behind them was a nature scene of a deer drinking from a lake, surrounded by trees and flowers, a hawk soaring overhead.
“Which woman are you?” Therese asked.
Neither. Therese was pounding on the door of the secret clubhouse, unwelcome. “I don’t know,” Miranda said. “Maybe I’m the hawk. Or the deer. Or the cup of tea.”
Such philosophical insights pepper the saga as Miranda finds a new circle of hope and possibility in unexpected encounters both human and in nature, gaining solace from both and in “letting people tend to her.” Engaging with the world is difficult, but forms the nexus of a story about far more than grief and gardening.
Johnnie Mazzocco’s reflective work captures the rhythms of life and the allure of creating new patterns:
She also liked the idea of starting her own traditions that came from her new and burgeoning belief system.
The story’s insights, interactions, and engrossing growth dilemmas will reach literary audiences interested in accounts of psychological and social growth and the entwining of seasons, moons, and magic.
Libraries seeking ultimately uplifting novels that can serve as book club discussion material and panaceas for modern angst will find it easy to highly recommend Miranda’s Garden to a wide audience, from readers struggling with their own grief or isolation to those who need a reminder of connections between humans and nature, and how simple acts such as gardening can marry them both.
Miranda’s GardenReturn to Index
Painting
Grace
Mary
Hester
Silent
Clamor Press
979-8-9933935-6-8
$19.99
Paperback/$9.99 eBook
Website:
https://www.silentclamor.com/
Ordering:
https://www.amazon.com/Painting-Grace-Mary-Hester/dp/B0G58CNF2V
Painting Grace is a novel about art history professor Dr. Miriam Johnson, who lives a life of regret and isolation after her husband’s death. Her stable but distant life changes upon a diagnosis of terminal cancer. Forced to acknowledge that she needs help, she hires nineteen-year-old Camille Caillouet to be her caregiver, inadvertently opening the doors to connection, friendship, and possibilities she’d thought forever lost.
Mary Hester crafts a story whose timeline flows between the days of Miriam’s marriage and the present, forming connections via inspections of the past, and contrasts with the present. This allows for rich considerations of relationship quandaries and progression:
She didn’t want to live without Tom either, or to see failure dull and rust his potential, or for him to be trapped in a life where he woke dreading each day. But wasn’t it magical thinking to believe that by leaving, he could break an evil spell and find happiness?
A focus on art weaves the story together, providing equally compelling force and connections as it links the process of creation and redefinition with life challenges.
Miriam’s astute ability to realistically consider her life, Camille’s place in it, her past and future, and the sometimes-unwelcome impact of the most well-meaning of family creates many moments of intimacy and insight.
Libraries interested in women’s fiction that crafts resonating portraits of choices and their long-term impacts will find Painting Grace a warm story of friendship, reconnection, and reevaluation.
Book clubs seeking discussion material about women’s friendships, the nature of family and revised approaches to life, and the weight of survivor’s guilt will find much fodder for discourse in Painting Grace’s progression.
Painting GraceReturn to Index
A Safe
Space
Jeffrey
Jay Levin
Jeffrey
Levin-Fawcett Publications
979-8-89795-861-0
$29.99
Hardcover/$19.99 Paperback/$9.99
eBook
https://www.amazon.com/SAFE-SPACE-Jeffrey-JAY-LEVIN/dp/B0GFG89VWP
A Safe Space blends a supernatural suspense story with a coming-of-age tale of friendships tested by a Sherlock Holmes-type investigation of the impossible. The story opens with the elementary-school first person narrator observing the nuances of his life, which changed two years ago when his older brother died and his father left.
His only concern is: What adventure would today bring?
As Jack and his two friends explore their Chicago neighborhood, hang out in the local park, and look for adventure, adventure in the form of a mystery comes looking for them. The three vanish - and when they return, it’s with uncertain memories and inexplicable abilities that retain their potency and mystery long after they’ve left childhood behind.
Now a therapist, fifty years later Jack is still in thrall to these mysteries and the events that changed his life – so much so that when the potency of his visions ramps up, he’s forced to re-enter the scenarios and conjectures of childhood to probe the possibilities of alien or supernatural influences.
But, why did this happen?
A Safe Space unfolds a powerful investigative mystery that traverses age, time, and space, drawing readers into a riveting story of “delicious energy” and new awareness as old friends get together to continue probing their experience.
Readers will find the suspense and investigative tone dovetails nicely with the supernatural forces at work. These rise to the surface during the story to introduce impossible conundrums and future possibilities.
Librarians seeking segues between Stephen King, Paul Tremblay, and other read-alike novels will welcome the atmosphere and intrigue that makes A Safe Space a standout.
Its ability to move from childhood to adult concerns and to accept and probe impossible scenarios creates a story filled with twists and turns that prove impossible to put down or predict, making it a top recommendation for readers seeking the marriage of literature and suspense.
A Safe SpaceReturn to Index
Sing
Down the Moon
Robert
Gwaltney
Mercer
University Press
9798897360093
$22.00
https://www.amazon.com/Sing-Down-Moon-Robert-Gwaltney/dp/B0GCXGKXFT
Magical realism is a common device for bringing alive worlds and dreams, but Southern magical realism is a rarer find, entwining the culture of the South with elements of the imagination to elevate a story to new, unexpected heights.
Such is Sing Down the Moon, a study in possibilities faced by sixteen-year-old Leontyne Skye, who longs to escape her restricted Georgia island home, but faces the affliction peculiar to the Skye women in her family who disintegrate from the combination of an addictive drug and the influence of their culture.
The singsong Southern appeal of Robert Gwaltney’s voice is apparent from the novel’s opening lines:
My name is Leontyne Skye. Fourteen years I have lived upon this sweet Lord’s earth righteous and blue. Like a psalm, I speak these words to myself to niggle memory, to trace over the things I remember as true.
As Leontyne tends the fig tree Damascus, which has “wrung the life” out of her mother, who has ‘forgetful spells,’ she faces family heritage and the clash of her own desires to be different in a uniquely powerful examination of spiritual drive, inconvenient truths, and revelations that rock the possibilities for her future.
Supercharged with realistic Southern dialogue, experience, and culture, Sing Down the Moon attracts with the innocent wonder of a girl increasingly savvy about her own destiny, the discoveries Leontyne makes about people around her, and the intentions she is forced to handle in an adult manner even though she teeters on the cusp of adulthood:
Why would Eulalee let me go on thinking Willadeene is Alsace-Lorraine? Did she believe it? Or do cruel intentions burrow rotten in the caverns of her teeth?
The result is a magical, thoroughly engrossing, highly attractive story that lures with Southern charm and entertains with a heavy hand on the reins of spiritual and social discovery.
Marked by a plethora of magical characters whose intentions embrace the atmosphere of the Southern gothic, laced with a lyrical blend of colloquial and poetic language, and driven by the desires of a blossoming girl to enter into a different kind of future, Sing Down the Moon is especially recommended to libraries interested in wide-reaching, appealing stories. It will attract audiences seeking superior standouts in magical realism, Southern Gothic literature, and extraordinary coming-of-age experiences.
Sing Down the MoonReturn to Index
Tease
and Dare: Angie and
Ella's Summer of Delirium
Robert
Scott Leyse
ShatterColors
Press
9798998509315
$16.95 Paperback/$4.99
eBook
https://www.amazon.com/Tease-Dare-Angie-Summer-Delirium/dp/B0FR5Y5DLV
Tease and Dare: Angie and Ella's Summer of Delirium chronicles the friendship and misadventures of two Ivy League law school graduates whose escapades carry them into a “summer of delirium” in a frolic through new adulthood and life.
Edgy back-and-forth conversations between the two friends capture romance and rituals with equal aplomb, crafting interactions that go beyond telling about events or history to delve into the psyches and perspectives of feisty young women who don’t avoid beautiful days and opportunities, but embrace them.
Robert Scott Leyse astutely juxtaposes the characters’ fantasies with workday realities and the requirements of the law field, with its deadlines and high demands.
Their story moves between a shared romance with boyfriend Steven to steamy encounters with Jacob and the arrogant, thoughtless Martin - and plots that tackle all of these elements of life and more.
Of special note is how the threads of their responsibilities in the legal profession dovetail with their inclination to play, manipulate, and immerse themselves in life.
Angie and Ella aren’t the only main characters in the story. Communications between Steven and Robert, the impact of Missy’s brewing storm, and others enter the fray to augment Angie and Ella’s experiences with their own observations of and participation in life’s big and small adventures.
The narrative’s epistolary form is compelling. This will especially attract literary audiences interested in tales that unfold via a delivery service that is intimate and uncommon, while the lusty blends of eroticism and revelation create a thoroughly delightful, unpredictable story line.
Librarians unafraid of acquiring steamy romps through humor, intimacy, and friendship will want to recommend Tease and Dare: Angie and Ella's Summer of Delirium to readers seeking edgy, fun narratives. It will also interest literary audiences seeking contemporary examples of the possibilities of successfully employing the epistolary form to best advantage.
Filled with ribald humor and outrageous moments, Tease and Dare: Angie and Ella's Summer of Delirium’s series of erotic email revelations is unexpected, thought-provoking, and most of all, fun.
Tease and Dare: Angie and Ella's Summer of DeliriumReturn to Index
When All
the Girls Stopped Singing
Susan
Burgess-Lent
Old
Scratch Press/Current Words
Publishing
978-1-957224-65-7
$15.99 (paperback);
$4.99 (ePub)
www.currentwords.com
When All the Girls Stopped Singing is a literary novel that opens in Washington, D.C. where Zora Monro is celebrating ten years of her organization, HRD, which battles international atrocities committed for political and military purposes.
Her support of international humanitarian law does not include personal experience in the countries she’s helped, but this changes when her mother suddenly dies.
The second character introduced speaks in the first person and resides somewhere in war-torn Sudan:
I remember the day, many seasons ago, when my life was sliced to pieces. It was before I knew that other people kept time in months and years, when I learned that I was thirteen years old.
Her journey to leave a homeland of strife to possible peace and freedom “north where no bombs fall” with her grandfather introduces an effort that ultimately dovetails with Zora’s new mission, creating a compelling story that weaves through disparate lives impacted by violence and choices.
Zora becomes personally involved in Abuk and Tariq’s life and rescue, stepping into her role as a different kind of supporter and fighter as she wheels through Africa confronting forces of inequity, violence, destruction, and change.
Susan Burgess-Lent brings Africa and its issues to life through the eyes of a woman who moves from the effective head of an organization in America to challenging personal involvements in a country that draws her into its conflicts and dilemmas on a more personal level than she’d ever anticipated.
From issues of resettlement to Zora’s unexpected commitment to raising a child, When All the Girls Stopped Singing personalizes the process of stepping up, living one’s ideals, and moving into roles which embrace unexpected concessions and confrontations alike.
Thriller elements of action, social and political discord, and fine tension evolve - but it’s Zora’s growth process and expanded involvements in causes she’s previously supported only distantly (and often theoretically) that move this story, making its characters and outcome vivid and unexpected.
Librarians and readers seeking a saga of genocide, family ties, and overwhelming events will find the vivid literary descriptions of this world to be thoroughly compelling:
Creature comforts do not salve the pain of her losses. The only man alive in her family is perhaps trudging toward uncertain safety through a withered, dangerous land.
To call When All the Girls Stopped Singing a thriller or suspense story would be to do it an injustice. It’s a social and psychological commentary on surviving violence, change, and trauma that will shine in book club discussions focusing on international atrocities in general and Africa’s challenges in particular.
When All the Girls Stopped SingingReturn to Index
When the
Forest Dreams
Andrea
Ezerins
She
Writes Press
979-8896363101
$17.99
https://andreaezerins.com/
When the Forest Dreams is a novel about love, growth, and dreams of extraordinary days that become all too ordinary and real. It all starts when narrator Emma’s neighbor Jake requires help in guiding a semi-conscious woman into his apartment, which reeks of money in contrast to her own sparse abode, which she shares with her family.
The story soon becomes one of contrasts between new American arrivals and old-school money as Emma’s parents, fixated on achieving the American dream, worry enough about mishaps to want Emma to play safe and avoid danger. And Jake seems to define trouble. This latest event only solidifies her parents’ concerns about their neighbor and their place in America:
My parents worry about getting caught in some misdeed or illegal activity they didn’t understand, and because of a minor mistake or misunderstanding, they lose their tenuous hold on the American dream. They know they can try their hardest and do all the right things but still get caught up in something that results in it all going up in smoke which would be the ultimate affront to my grandfather’s perilous journey from Poland and the death to every other Jablonski that remained.
As Emma’s life unfolds, from “vulgar kisses” from Danny to her rescuer Jake, romance takes some unexpected turns in a novel replete with change, adaptation, and lessons about life and choice. At many different junctures, Emma faces new possibilities. She builds a “happy bubble” of expectations and experiences which not only deviate from her cautious parents’ lives, but place her in sometimes-uncertain positions as she loses a job, finds a better one, and struggles to adapt to Jake’s family, who reside in a privileged class that feels alien to her.
From family undercurrents that leave as Emma unbalanced as though she’s “walking on quicksand” to surprising truths about Jake’s identity, readers are treated to a love story that contains inviting undercurrents of revelation, self-inspection, relationship quandaries - and a love of birds.
Andrea Ezerins’ modern interpretation of L. M. Montgomery’s classic romance The Blue Castle weaves a host of themes together, from women’s empowerment to pursuits of nature study and reflections on how nature, especially birds, can reach out to conjoin seemingly disparate interests and personalities.
Libraries seeking evocative romance and relationship development tales that incorporate themes of growth, class status, immigrant issues, and family ties will want to highly recommend When the Forest Dreams for its warm, contemporary romantic explorations and characters that come to know the true impact of human folly - and love.
When the Forest DreamsReturn to Index
Wings
Against the Wind
JoDee
Neathery
Imagery
Lit
978-1737392057
$19.95 Paperback/$9.95
eBook
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1737392054
Wings Against the Wind opens with Lieutenant Monroe Cologne and Detective Bassett interviewing Paulina Dupont about the sudden death of her husband in what appears to be a household accident, but may be something more. Just two days earlier the new widow was slated to speak at a conference, her husband Andrew is planning to take advantage of her absence to share more magical time with his young love Gretchen Cassidy. It is her birthday, and he’s giving her a pendant and a rare history book.
As the truth emerges about a marriage’s sham, bookstore co-owner and Andrew’s stepbrother Knox Garland’s inadvertent discovery of Andrew’s affair, and a medical condition which seems to eliminate the possibility of foul play in Andrew’s death but raises other questions, sparks a series of connections and encounters that involve Paulina, Knox, Gretchen, and other characters in conundrums that continue to entwine their lives with history.
Heartbreaking stories from past and present dovetail as Paulina finds herself facing Knox’s health crisis and making promises to him that further entangle her in another’s life.
The landscapes change as different characters evolve, moving from Paris, France to Heidelberg, Germany and a small town in Texas. Gretchen comes full circle into acknowledging her role as a biological mother whose decisions have impacted her children Drew, Holden, and Hadley as she faces the lasting consequences her family’s decisions have had on her, as well. A messy custody battle evolves new questions and realizations.
JoDee Neathery creates an engrossing story of lives that intersect and impact one another, paying special attention to building different settings that support and challenge the characters in disparate ways. She draws intriguing comparisons between different lives and perspectives, follows a mother’s search for her children and redemption, and expands the story to embrace families and love that grows from different wellsprings of faith and experience.
As Gretchen’s character and world expands, readers become immersed in emotional cyclones that are sparked by life experiences and images even as seemingly innocuous as a flag and its story.
The intersections of personal life decisions, lasting impact, and history come together in a story which is satisfyingly complex, powered by personalities and experiences that range from being a tour guide at the Heidelberg Castle to facing the impact of a fractured family.
The result is a powerful story that sways back and forth in place and atmosphere, creating bonds and realizations that will spark in readers an involvement in the lasting decisions of the past that change the present and future generations alike.
Librarians will want to highly recommend Wings Against the Wind to those who enjoy literary fiction blended with strong characters whose choices and objectives move into modern times with impactful results.
Its fine portrayal of Gretchen’s changing world is compelling, realistic, and filled with unpredictable twists that stem from choices not entirely of her own making, creating a novel that is a delightful dance through cause and effect.
Wings Against the WindReturn to Index
Wrong
Business
G. Burns
Hamilton
AOS
Publishing
978-1-83432-045-8
$20.00
Website/ordering
link:
https://www.aospublishing.com/gordon-hamilton
Wrong Business opens with Isabelle’s realization that her beloved Nonna has fallen prey to a scam. Good thing Isabelle works with many government agencies and is well versed in security issues. Good thing she has the family ties, professional savvy, and commitment to pursuing scammers when nobody else is suited or interested in making the plunge into the issue.
The
bad news is that
Isabelle’s venture leads her into not just unexpected territory,
but complex dangers that move far from the finer art of scamming old
women.
G.
Burns Hamilton builds a
slow burn into Isabelle’s story that takes the time to build
character, atmosphere, and threat until readers find themselves
thoroughly entrapped in a plot they won’t want to escape from.
As
Russian interests,
international globe-trotting, fishing expeditions for truth and
justice, and tech encounters with characters like telecom guy
Blackconnect emerge, the plot thickens with possibilities, assets,
and trouble that weave in a desperate tone of trouble.
Viewpoints
move between
Isabelle Edwards, Artem Sidorov, Nico Paolucci, and Lino
Bruni,
with more figures emerging later in the novel to round out these
special interests and clashing forces.
The heft of these
characters translates to many juxtaposed special interests. This adds
contrast and psychological delight but requires of its readers an
ability to dance between
very
different experiences, even though each shifting perspective is
clearly identified in chapter headings.
Readers
unafraid of such
an extensive engagement will be rewarded with a story that intersects
its characters’ abilities in a novel manner. Artem, for example, is
a white-hat hacker skilled in counter-hacking who is in a unique
position to help Isabella and her father. Isabelle’s dad Lino
injects fury and controversy into her efforts.
Each
character brings to
the table a different degree of psychological complexity that
elevates the story with new levels of interconnected concerns.
Librarians and readers seeking a thriller replete with twists and turns, a myriad of forceful and alluring characters, and a plot impossible to predict will relish how Wrong Business evolves in many novel ways, making it a top pick for a wide audience interested in more than linear thinking and problem-solving efforts.
Wrong BusinessReturn to Index
Yellow
Amy Pence
Red Hen
Press
978-1636284767
$34.95 Hardcover/$18.95
Paperback
www.redhen.org
In Yellow, set in 1973, twelve-year-old Z discovers a mysterious slimy mold growing in her Louisiana back yard. This sends her on a journey through magic, the unexpected, and a serial killer’s danger and angst which disrupt Z’s growth and discovery.
The story opens from the perspective of an observer who notes: “the man looks at the boy gazing into the water and instead sees a brilliance. Sees a grown man walking on water, and such a sight that he drops his hands: how had the boy become the man walking toward him so swiftly?”
Poetic metaphor combines with the fictional lace of mystery and growth to create a novel steeped in the unexpected. Z matures and steps into her life with the backdrop of mystery behind her and the future of expectation and danger facing her.
Amy Pence’s ability to weave poetic overtones of observation and dialogue into Z’s story permeates her life with a richness of language and realization uncommon in LGBTQ+ stories. It weaves magical realism into elements of Z’s compelling search.
Z’s contrast with her brother Clem, who also is on a journey to find out new things about life, his place in it, and himself creates a powerful juxtaposition of personality and intentions. This adds further depth and contrast to an already-powerful story of relationship-building and life.
Librarians seeking a literary LGBTQ+ work or just a plain good read that explores the boundaries of civilization and individual pursuit will find Yellow a fine study in lives “not really better. Just different.”
Its ability to reach a wide literary audience places Yellow in a different category than most LGBTQ+ fiction as the story creates a spell of connections between contemporary social and political change and personal realization.
YellowReturn to Index
Reviewer's Choice
Ahead of
Their Time: Pioneers Who
Seized Tomorrow, Today
Lynn
Miller
Networlding
Publishing
978-1-959993-47-6
$15.97
Paperback/$2.99 eBook
Website:
lynnmillerauthor.com
Ordering:
https://www.amazon.com/Ahead-Their-Time-Pioneers-Tomorrow/dp/195999347X
Ahead of Their Time: Pioneers Who Seized Tomorrow, Today comes from a business development coach/learning expert whose approach marries innovation with action - but it doesn’t just rely on her personal formula for success. Embedded within these rich experiences are the lives of selected achievers who created pioneering strategies for business, leadership, and life.
Thirteen profiles of individuals who stepped into their vision to enact extraordinary change and accomplishments makes for an experience-based survey that is as uplifting as it is purposeful:
Being ahead of your time doesn't happen because you create something new. It happens when you spot something everyone else misses. You see a possibility and act even when you're not sure it'll work.
The vignettes are carefully curated from Lynn Miller’s decades of experience working with multi-billion-dollar companies around the world and illustrate the forces that drove them to success. The thirteen selected individuals illustrate different ways in which determination and courage, not education and connections, led them to achieve what and where others had failed.
More importantly, Ahead of Their Time: Pioneers Who Seized Tomorrow, Today teaches, by example, the fundamentals of proactive thinking and what makes for a competitive edge under all kinds of conditions. This provides a foundation for better understanding various coping methods, strategies, applied vision, and how real change is enacted in different ways.
Where other books about leadership or courage focus on one individual or path, Ahead of Their Time: Pioneers Who Seized Tomorrow, Today contrasts these very different milieus for maximum insight into how pioneers think and act differently. This allows readers access to the techniques of creative problem-solving that they can mirror when addressing their own problems and projects.
Underlying values that motivate and enthuse each contributor to this collection are outlined clearly in a manner that will lend to individual education and group or book club discussion:
At the heart of Gordon’s approach is the belief that success doesn’t have to come at anyone’s expense.
The result is a perfect example of leadership by example – in this case, librarians and readers will find these diverse experiences offer ultimately uplifting success stories and insights on the steps involved in perseverance:
"Place small bets constantly. When you place small bets, it allows you to seed an idea and see if there are legs. If it doesn't work out, it was a small bet. Not that big a deal."
She's failed more than she's succeeded. "I have so many small bets that failed. Guess who knows about them? The three people who saw it when it happened."
The difference? She kept placing small bets while others kept planning.
Ahead of Their Time: Pioneers Who Seized Tomorrow, Today offers a framework for survival and excellence that few other books can match.
Ahead of Their Time: Pioneers Who Seized Tomorrow, TodayReturn to Index
Character
Revolt: Characters
Behaving Badly
Hank
Quense
Strange
Worlds Publishing
979-8989116379
$19.99
Paperback/$3.99 eBook
https://www.amazon.com/Character-Revolt-Characters-Behaving-Badly/dp/B0FV83RYK5
Character Revolt: Characters Behaving Badly places author Hank Quense in the middle of his own fantasy world in a humorous madcap race through a kingdom of his characters. Many threaten the good author for his failure to pen enough value and purpose into their descriptions.
The story romps between Camelot and alien forces with an existential attention to the objectives of leaders, invaders, and despots who each harbor their own desire for Quense to alter their worlds and how their lives operate.
The wit permeates these characters’ intentions via unexpected encounters and decisive decisions that belay the novel’s Camelot setting and its underlying idealism:
“Let’s burn the place down,” Gawaine said. “Are ye mad,” Kay said. “This place is worth a fortune with all the farm land, the house, barns and stable. Let’s seize it and sell it. It’ll bring a lot of coins for KRT Inc.” “Good idea.” Lancelot pointed to another knight. “There’s a town a few miles up the road. Go there and fetch the bailiff. We’ll make the seizure all legal like. Maybe we can use this place to run an inn. I’ll bet we can make money from it.”
Guinevere hates to be called Gwen and defies old age and the person who brings both charges to her door – just one example of delightfully wry encounters that emerge from this blend of fantasy and fun:
“How kind of you to wait outside to greet us." She gave Guinevere a radiant smile. "I know how you old folks hate the cold." Guinevere couldn't believe her ears. The Saxon slut had insulted her! In her own castle! And she wasn't even that old. She was only thirty-one!
Aliens navigate the threats in wormholes and meeting one’s creator with equally novel concerns:
Sam monitored the hailing frequencies just to have something to do. The idea of meeting the author put her nervous system on edge. Imagine actually talking to your creator. What would she say? How would she act? Would the author approve of his creation or decide to eliminate her from future stories?
The entire story is unexpected, entertaining, and takes seeming familiar scenarios such as Camelot and an alien spaceship and turns intentions, characters, and plot progression upside down for a delightful foray into worlds replete with situations readers won’t see coming.
Librarians seeking a fantastically creative, thoroughly entertaining, always unexpected story of sci-fi fantasy, absurdity, and adventure will welcome how Character Revolt: Characters Behaving Badly excels in the unforeseen.
The story will reach a wide audience - especially readers who enjoy novel plots that reach for the stars to emerge with action and ironic inspections.
Character Revolt: Characters Behaving BadlyReturn to Index
The Chemistry of Life
Bhaskar Venepalli
Indus Source
976-93-85509-95-7
www.amazon.com
The Chemistry of Life is written by an Indian chemist entrepreneur. His review of science is supplemented by an attention to how various forces in his life led him to unexpected paths of discovery.
Blending memoir, science, and philosophical reflection, The Chemistry of Life moves from a childhood in the small rural village of Hyderabad to becoming a chemist, then leading a global venture that joins the U.S. and India.
Readers of autobiography will find Bhaskar Venepalli’s journey particularly fascinating as he captures rural Indian life because it highlights a sense of bygone years and atmosphere:
...the village seemed to exist in a time warp, untouched by progress, its days defined by the rhythm of the sun and the seasons. It was a world where survival took precedence over ambition, where dreams were considered luxuries most couldn’t afford.
From his marriage and child-rearing to his professional evolution, Venepalli captures the trials and flavors of these years through descriptions that are haunting reflections on adaptation and adversity:
Milk powder, an essential yet expensive commodity, was available through ration cards. So, I often stood in long queues, sometimes for hours, just to buy milk powder and kerosene, two of our most pressing necessities. It is difficult to imagine now, in an age of convenience, but back then, it was our reality.
As his social circle evolves into unexpected connections with the U.S., Venepalli continues to forge new ground in his career and family choices that lead to personal and professional advancements he once never would have dreamed possible.
Readers of immigrant accounts that reflect on changing life and its serendipitous influences will be especially attracted to the many pivot points in Venepalli’s life and career which influenced his moves around the world and led to unexpected moments. These were not without their costs, but posed unique problems and solutions:
In April 1983, Jyothi joined me in New York. Her presence brought a renewed sense of stability, a feeling that our life was taking shape, even amidst the constant changes. This time, we made the difficult decision to leave both our daughters in Hyderabad so they could continue their education without disruption. We had planned to return to India after two years, but as life often does, it had other plans.
Readers interested in memoirs that explore how achievement is envisioned and defined and the life forces that draw seemingly disparate cultures and interests together on an entrepreneurial and scientific playing field will find The Chemistry of Life an involving saga.
Libraries looking for accessible, compelling surveys of Indian/U.S. relationship-building and entrepreneurial efforts will find The Chemistry of Life worthy of collection acquisition. It promises and delivers a heady mix of personal and social reflection that ultimately connects all kinds of efforts in ways that open doors to new possibilities.
As an inspiring story of change, The Chemistry of Life deserves recommendation to book clubs and reading groups holding a special interest in scientific entrepreneurship and the community-building results evolving from supportive perspectives on life.
In a nutshell:
...true success lies not in personal achievements alone, but in the ability to create meaningful change in the lives of others.
The Chemistry of LifeReturn to Index
Everyday
ESP Master Course
José
Silva and Ed Bernd Jr.
Silva
Method UltraMind LLC
978-1-965725-28-3
$29.95
Hardcover/$25.95 Large Print
Paperback/$17.95 Paperback/$20.28 Audiobook/$17.95 eBook
Website:
https://silvamethodultramind.com/course/silva-everyday-esp-master-course-book/
Ordering:
https://books2read.com/espmaster
José Silva has written extensively about ESP training, producing seminars, workbooks, and a discourse introducing the concept in previous publications, but Everyday ESP Master Course invites readers to take the next step in training. The study book connects ESP possibilities to the fundamental building blocks of creating a better life.
Everyday ESP offers more than a course on activating dormant ESP tendencies. It surveys the possibilities and impact of the training, as well as its applications and the unusual responsibilities ESP introduces to human affairs.
From learning how to detect information until it becomes an intrinsic reaction to life to participating in the practice sessions outlined by José Silva and Ed Bernd, Jr. in this handbook of applied ESP development, users who consult this book with the intention of tapping into and improving their own abilities will appreciate how the step-by-step exercises dovetail neatly with bigger-picture thinking:
I am now learning to attune my intelligence by developing my sensing faculties and to project them to any point or place on this planet so as to be aware of any actions taking place, if this is necessary and beneficial for humanity.
Ideally, readers who come to Everyday ESP Master Course will arrive purposely, with the intention of developing their mental abilities. This audience will appreciate the blend of science and applied exercises that create mandates for growth and development, and will allot the necessary time for absorbing and applying these lessons.
Librarians overseeing metaphysical collections who want more than a discourse defining ESP will find Everyday ESP Master Course a reflective combination of mandates, admonitions, exercises, and applied science that will please readers looking for concrete routines and tested insights.
Replete with step-by-step progressive techniques, Everyday ESP Master Course is more than just a master course in ESP development. It can become a blueprint for revising one’s life.
Everyday ESP Master CourseReturn to Index
Great
American Presidents
Allan J.
Lichtman
Bancroft
Press
978-1-61088-732-8
$32.95
www.bancroftpress.com
Great American Presidents: The Twelve Who Transformed the Nation is the first volume in the projected American Presidency Scorecard Series. It surveys the leaderships, challenges, attitudes, and actions of George Washington, Woodrow Wilson, Harry S. Truman, and nine other great presidents from the nation’s beginnings to modern times, concluding with Ronald Reagan.
How did the definition “great” apply to such a disparate selection? Allan J. Lichtman embraced those figures whose actions and choices have grown the Presidency over the years, expanding its leadership, concepts, and critical precedent-setting trends which affected not just America, but the world.
This attention to not just a man and his politics, but the kinds of actions that served to transform the leadership capabilities of the office itself, translates to a survey rich in historical analysis and political insights. It makes perfect fodder for book club debate and political science or American history classrooms.
The former will see excitement over applied principles of leadership and American ideals, while classrooms assigned Great American Presidents as supplemental reading can use these biographical and political surveys to supercharge discussions about what distinguishes not just the leader, but the office.
As chapters unfold each political portrait, they delve into a wide range of related topics, from frameworks for global interactions and economic support systems to influences on presidential decisions that hold ripples of impact for modern times:
To gain support for containment from a Republican Party still reluctant to engage in foreign ventures, Truman consulted Senator Arthur Vandenberg of Michigan, the leading GOP authority on foreign affairs. Vandenberg’s simple advice: “Scare them to death.” Subsequent presidents would follow this advice when authorizing, for example, the invasion of Iraq in 2003 or the bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities in 2025.
Librarians and educators will thus find Great American Presidents much more than a historical or biographical sketch collection alone, but a powerful jumping-off point for discussions and thought about the nature of American leadership both within and outside the nation, surveying the history of what shifts when leaders with different visions assume the reins of the Presidency.
Great American PresidentsReturn to Index
The
Greatest U.S. Opens
David
Barrett
Tatra
Press
978-1732222779
$22.99 Hardcover/$9.99
eBook
Website:
www.tatrapress.com
Ordering:
https://www.amazon.com/Greatest-U-S-Opens-Challenging-Championship-ebook/dp/B0DHL8V3TK?s=books
The Greatest U.S. Opens: High Drama at Golf's Most Challenging Championship comes from a renowned golf journalist whose probe into the history and high points of the U.S. Opens offers avid golfers a glimpse into the events of some twenty U.S. Opens, from 1913 to 2021. By closely examining and contrasting these experiences, David Barrett also charts the sport’s evolution and the exceptional golfers at different competitions that made sports history via extraordinary games.
Readers wondering how only twenty games were selected for profile amidst so many U.S. Opens experiences will discover that Barrett chose them for their underlying drama, exceptional experiences, underlying influences that often operated below the public’s observational radar, and lasting impact on the sport.
The competitions open in 1913 with the blow-by-blow experiences of Vardon, Ray, Ouimet, and others, both American and English, who fielded drenching weather to participate in the golfing competition of a lifetime.
Readers will need prior familiarity with golfing terms, lingo, and processes in order to appreciate the specific “you are here” feel of being on the green alongside these players:
The round went from bad to worse with another double bogey on the par-three 10th. The conditions were a factor. In an attempt to avoid lofting a high shot to the soaked green and risk the ball plugging in its own pitch-mark, he took more club and tried to hit a low shot. He couldn’t properly execute the finesse shot, however, topping it well short of the green, and then three-putted.
Those more than lightly familiar with golfing will relish how the in-depth descriptions of events juxtapose with strategy concerns that drive the choices and extraordinary achievements of the players.
Each section offers a contrast in place, effort, players, politics, and golfing prowess. Each creates important connections between U.S. Opens history and achievement goals which, in turn, educate golfers about the controversies and possibilities that made each U.S. Open experience unique.
Libraries and readers seeking vivid accounts based on U.S. Open history, flavored with the moment-by-moment options and choices of the game’s most notable participants and matches, will find The Greatest U.S. Opens succeeds in capturing the sport’s drama in a way most golfing histories miss, making for an exceptionally compelling survey.
The Greatest U.S. OpensReturn to Index
The
Green Beret Way, Leading Elite
Teams Under Extreme Conditions
Robert W Schaefer
First
Redwood
Publishing
978-0-9802395-7-7
$22.95 Paperback/$9.99 eBook
Website:
https://thegreenberetway.com/
Ordering:
https://www.amazon.com/Green-Beret-Way-Leading-Conditions-ebook/dp/B0G9BWCPSQ
The Green Beret Way, Leading Elite Teams Under Extreme Conditions is a study in leadership and is the first book in the ‘Special Forces Principles’ series. Its roots in military service translate well to civilian business and leadership efforts alike, creating a unique program of opportunity that opens with an important message:
There’s a perception that average people can’t do what special operations personnel do. That’s not true. And this book is about the fact that almost everyone can learn how to lead like Green Berets because almost all special operations personnel start off as normal people who get put into extraordinary systems.
Robert W Schaefer’s approach is unique because no other book models its principles on the Green Beret system. It draws important connections between military systems and how these approaches can translate to effective management in civilian life.
Chapters teach and employ the principles of Special Forces leadership with an attention to key takeaways of these approaches and how they can work in all kinds of leadership efforts.
This precision blends the experiences of a memoir with the advice of a leadership guidebook and the impact of a military life:
Green Berets cannot perform their most important missions without learning the languages of the countries they work in. Green Berets are 100% responsible for communication; there is never any expectation that the people that we are working with will learn English or provide translators. Moreover, you must take on the added responsibility to communicate in the way that they want to hear it – otherwise it “cuts their ears” and they turn you off.
The Green Beret Way will be a major attraction to Green Berets, military service people, business leaders, and anyone interested in applied leadership principles or Green Beret experiences.
Libraries looking to enhance their memoir, military biography, or leadership collections will find The Green Beret Way’s special ability to absorb and reflect all three lends to a much wider audience than the usual leadership or military handbook, offering new opportunities for reflection that will also lend nicely to book club recommendation.
The Green Beret Way, Leading Elite Teams Under Extreme ConditionsReturn to Index
Hindu
Myths: A Modern Retelling
Blake
Praharaj
Independently
Published
979-8993243474
$15.00
Website:
https://thewordsofblake.com
Ordering: https://www.amazon.com/Hindu-Myths-Retelling-Blake-Praharaj/dp/B0FSYKC2RV
Readers already familiar with Hindu mythology will be especially delighted at the path Blake Praharaj takes in Hindu Myths: A Modern Retelling, as it goes beyond retelling these classics, adding a focus on weaving them together to form a dialogue about Hindu history and culture.
The stories are placed in thematic chapters (“Love and Decapitation,” “Eggs and Milk,” “Pouring and Partnership”) designed to encourage discussion among readers and book club participants, connecting the stories to modern life in an unusual, compelling way. These stories are classics translated to bedtime stories and changed yet again for modern audiences. They inject social reflection, cultural history, and philosophical inspection into the master plan of weaving an appealing yarn, resulting in a collection at once thought-provoking and unexpected.
Throughout each story lie the nuggets of wisdom embedded in Hindu experience:
"But my brother, this sounds like a nearly impossible task! I mean... what string is large enough to move a mountain? I have created many great threads, but all of them would break under the strain of this great work," asked Brahma.
The stories are diverse and offer clear messages for modern thinkers:
You were hurt so bad, and so we blessed you even more to heal you, we hoped you had learned your lesson. But some still worried so they set up a test, a test I see now you could have never passed, and when you failed and stole the fire again the curse was placed on you. A pause so you could grow more without risk until you learned enough to handle your power, it would make you forget what you were until someone told you the truth.
Here lie the fundamentals of life lessons, Indian culture, and the literary and life philosophies which form the heart of these teachings. Here is a book librarians will want to highly recommend to anyone interested in Hindu folklore, mythology, culture, and modern applications of literary inspection.
Replete with reflective topics that will attract book clubs, Hindu Myths: A Modern Retelling can be placed at the fingertips and in the minds of anyone interested in retellings that reflect basic themes accessible and of interest to all cultures.
Hindu Myths: A Modern RetellingReturn to Index
The Last
Voice of Innocence
Diane
Green
DCG Books
979-8296265968
$11.99
www.DCGBooks.com
The Last Voice of Innocence is a spiritual fantasy that entwines magical realism with an uplifting message in a story designed to reach all ages. The tale revolves around Aura, a special child found abandoned in a desert who is raised by a woman who teaches her to speak through melody.
Aura is returned to a society dominated by greed and the pursuit of wealth and status, which has long forgotten the power of positive voices in the world. Her encounter with famous, gifted, broken performer Gabriel introduces new facets of growth and understanding into her life as Aura struggles to inject her “singsong” voice into a cruel world against all odds.
The spiritual allegory in Diane Green’s novel is compelling, as is the portrait of an innocent child who grows into her voice and unique abilities, only to find that adulthood returns her to an environment where these qualities are neither valued nor heard.
Promised a partner with “invisible wings” who will help her in her journey, Aura searches for the good in the world, encounters kindness and fate, and comes to learn what makes people beautiful.
Religious readers will especially appreciate how messages of God and growth coalesce as Aura touches her strengths and transmits them into the world around her through her singsong ability:
She told herself; your shoes are no longer stuck in cement. They never really were. You were just afraid to slip your feet out of them. Aura learned one hard lesson. It moved her out of the cement. We all have that time; it happens in every life. It is an experience that brings us closer to God, because He’s all we have.
The result is a short narrative (60 pages) that may initially appear to appeal to young readers, but which holds a captivating fantasy journey designed to appeal to all ages.
The Last Voice of Innocence is recommended for libraries seeking spiritual fantasy stories as well as adults looking for inspirational read-aloud opportunities the entire family can enjoy and discuss.
The Last Voice of InnocenceReturn to Index
The
Magic Circle
C.F.
Hayes
Independently
Published
978-1968296322
$32.00 Hardcover/$25.00
Paperback
https://www.amazon.com/Magic-Circle-Color-Illustrations/dp/1968296328
When does ancient history intersect with modern affairs to influence and transform them? Quite often, this begins with a tragedy – in this case, a car accident which kills the daughter of a prominent Republican, leaving her childhood friend with grief and a diary.
The diary provides clues to Mary’s life, passions, and search for meaning that soon leads the narrator of her story to learn more than she bargained for. The insights into Mary’s life, death, and circumstances hold terrible implications for the future.
Life is full of ‘what ifs’:
I always think that if she hadn’t gone to Germany and sailed down the Rhine looking for the Magi she’d be alive today. But then, when one learns what the circumstances were, how could she not have gone looking?
Mary’s quest introduces her friend to extraordinary facts and revised views of life that render Mary’s diary and her touch of magic into a novel theme.
At this point, it should be mentioned that there are unusually thought-provoking triggers in Mary’s story which emerge from the start. The transgressions of her father, which impacted her childhood, and the ways she absorbs and reflects these betrayals into her adulthood may shake sensitive readers, but ultimately provides a greater journey and bigger picture that is artfully, if not controversially, rendered:
I think it was religion, ironically enough, which kept her intact—the magic circle does tend to impair people.
Readers who believe this betrayal will be the crux of the story would be wrong. It only forms the backdrop for greater inspections of religious belief, searches for meaning, and uncommon interpretations of God, the Magi, and the promise of faith:
So much for the glory of Easter. You can’t fault the Crucifixion alone, nor George who had imbued her with the illicit waves of pleasure. No wonder she clung to the Magi. They were her only means of escape. Salvation lay not with Jesus but with the Magi and their magical doctrine condoning the glory of orgasm in little children.
Once again, the possibility of Christian offense lies in a close inspection of parents and children, how father figures translate into religious journeys and searches for meaning and truth, and how Mary, in particular, embarks on a quest that ultimately leads to her moral, spiritual, and physical downfall.
As history intersects with modern culture, monsters ancient and contemporary rise from pillars of belief, religious interpretations, and a European tour that introduces unprecedented, dangerous questions holding impossible answers.
This story blends history, magical realism, thought-provoking and perhaps (for some) occasionally offensive comparisons between sex and faith, and a surprise result that probes the darker truths of the Bible, making for a thoroughly engrossing inspection. The Magic Circle holds the feel of an action-packed adventure paired with the philosophical and spiritual reflections of a life examination.
Readers of Dan Brown and others will find these edgy inspections to be thoroughly engrossing as Mary’s story plays out. Although its ultimate conclusion is known from the start, unexpected revelations along the way keep the plot mercurial and satisfyingly surprising.
Librarians will want to recommend The Magic Circle to thinking readers who like their plots complex and reflective. Its ability to draw with a combination of shock, revelation, and intrigue pairs well with the religious and historical aspects of the adventure, leading to conclusions which are novel:
It may not have been right, her story, but right or wrong, she was always true. And how many of us can tell, or even know, what is true?
The Magic CircleReturn to Index
The
Meaning of Fear
Laura
Hulthen Thomas
Regal
House Publishing
9781646036783
$20.95 Paperback/$9.99
eBook
Website:
https://laurahulthenthomas.com/
Ordering: https://regal-house-publishing.mybigcommerce.com/the-meaning-of-fear/
The Meaning of Fear allows readers to taste the fear of abuse, hidden secrets, and the ugliness that resides under the veneer of propriety and attractiveness. Surely this novel will be a trigger for those who have suffered abuse as children – but just as surely, it offers powerful reflections that simmer with imagery that leaps off the page:
Shouldn’t he be ugly after the ugly thing he did? They did. Maybe that was why he was still so good looking. Maybe he wouldn’t appear ugly to the world if she’d sort of gone along.
In 2008, behavioral researcher Lea struggles to heal post-traumatic stress syndrome in others while saving her marriage. The possibility that she can heal her own trauma stems from her expertise, which is called into question by that very intelligence which tries to tackle emotional injury with logic and even legal recourse when she confronts her childhood assailant.
As she probes her husband’s secrets and those in her own past, Lea is forced to consider the progression of healing in a new way. This moves past her chosen profession and training in a dangerous foray into the past.
Lea isn’t the only one embarking on such a journey. Other characters join her with their own considerations of what sparks fear, repression, and withdrawal:
“What’s the nature of the concern here?” Nowak leaned over his desk with his phone pressed to his cheek. The morning check-in with his family. Anne would be herding the kids to school, asking Nowak about his night. Nowak’s replies would be noncommittal, calm, project ing a night like any other, a night she shouldn’t worry about. Rilke’s tick of jealousy was another facet of blame he could lay at Jules’s heartless outlook on The Marriage.
“That he’ll…” Mrs. Johnson’s breath lapsed, then quickened. Nowak snapped his phone shut. “That he’ll come back.”
One might wonder what one of the story’s central themes, a deer cull, has to do with the emotional issues of the humans involved in it. But this event, paired with animal rights issues that consider the impact of humans not only on each other, but the wider world at large, injects appropriate and powerful considerations into the tale. These expand the singular experience of a woman whose life blossoms to embrace many other unexpected connections.
In studying the fear response, Lea ultimately studies not just her own past, but human impacts on the world.
The strength of Laura Hulthen Thomas’s novel lies in its astute juxtaposition of characters and concerns against the backdrop of childhood and adult traumas. As events pit characters against not just one another, but their own repressed nightmares, readers are drawn into a story of suburban dreams and danger. The process of facing fear and eradicating, or embracing it, propel Lea, Rilke, Gary and others in new directions.
Librarians seeking novels with vivid imagery, powerful emotional content, and connections which challenge as well as heal will find The Meaning of Fear replete with moments of discovery and heartache. These elements make it highly recommendable to readers seeking emotionally connective works.
As hard as it may be for some to digest this progression, notes of positivity flavor Lea’s life and trajectory to an extent that the end result is a compelling, contemplative act of rebellion and change that ultimately offers hope alongside a warm sense of resolution and achievement.
The Meaning of FearReturn to Index
Out of
the Loop, Into the Algorithm:
How I Finally Made Friends with AI
Wanjiku
Kamau
TealVoice
979-8993162607
$24.99
Hardcover/$19.99 Paperback/$9.99
eBook
Website:
https://makingfriendswithai.com/
Ordering:
https://www.amazon.com/Out-Loop-Into-Algorithm-Finally/dp/B0FVXVT2V9?nsdOptOutParam=true
Out of the Loop, Into the Algorithm: How I Finally Made Friends with AI is highly recommended for anyone leery of artificial intelligence. It documents the journey of Wanjiku Kamau, who discovered upon her layoff that she was sorely lacking in information about new technology, from ChatGPT to methods of querying new technology for best answers.
Her exploration and discoveries provide essential research and usage clues to readers struggling with their own AI education.
Why will this book resonate for so many? Because Kamau’s discoveries impart essential tips for utilizing AI in more effective ways:
I’d moved from asking AI “What should I do?” to “Help me think through this specific situation with these specific constraints and goals.” The shift from “give me the answer” to “help me brainstorm” changed everything. I wasn’t just getting better information—I was getting better at thinking through problems myself. AI has become less like a search engine and more like that friend who asks the right questions that help you figure out what you actually want.
In addition to helping readers better understand the practical applications of AI in all kinds of endeavors, Kamau makes the surprising contention that AI can ultimately improve human intelligence (if the user allows this):
The thing is, AI wasn’t doing the thinking for me. By asking me questions I wouldn’t have thought to ask myself, it pushed me to develop my own understanding. I was learning and grasping things at a rapid pace, not because of the information it gave me, but because of how it challenged me to think deeper than I could alone.
The blend of social and philosophical reflection, personal experience, tips on how to approach AI from a different angle, and information about work and leisure time in this new world creates an account that is compelling reading on more than one front.
Readers used to the usual “AI good or bad” coverage will find the middle ground tackled by Kamau to be revealing and important, going above and beyond most other AI discussions, which tend to be either too technical or too emotionally embedded with reactionary statements.
In charting her own journey through new language, concepts, and applications, Kamau returns reasoned thinking into the bigger picture of evolving new patterns, creating a dialogue that not only educates and engages readers through personal reflection and experience, but tackles unexpected quandaries and questions about how AI can ultimately improve and impact life.
Kamau should know. She eventually became an AI teacher as she moved from little knowledge to many important strategies she could employ to help others not just adjust to AI environments, but tap its full potential.
Librarians and readers seeking a different kind of AI discussion that lends nicely to book club and group discussion in a wide range of circles will want to keep Out of the Loop, Into the Algorithm: How I Finally Made Friends with AI at the top of their “highly recommended” list. It’s that important.
Out of the Loop, Into the Algorithm: How I Finally Made Friends with AIReturn to Index
Pa’lante:
The Long Way Forward
Elvis
Rivera
Independently
Published
979-8-9942723-1-2
$19.99
www.elvisrivera.com
Pa’lante: The Long Way Forward represents a lifetime of experience coming to America as an immigrant, building community connections, and honing life encounters into a guiding blueprint of fourteen principles for purposeful living. It will attract self-help readers looking to solidify and incorporate such ideals into their own lives.
The blend of memoir, philosophical and social reflection, and self-help guidelines creates a story replete with powerful (and empowering) messages:
I come from a country scarred by civil war. I come from a family that faced circumstances many people don’t survive. I come from a lineage of resilience, sacrifice, and stubborn hope. And the truth is: acknowledging that didn’t limit me. It grounded me. Our beginnings are not curses — they’re context. And context is power.
Boxed, large-print headlines of ideas and applications make it easy to absorb the contentions and main points, while each reflection is accompanied by actionable ideas for reinforcing those principles in one’s own life.
The impact of Elvis Rivera’s philosophical and social analysis cements all these points into a vivid account that will hit thinking readers hard:
Coming from where I come from, I can’t separate my own success from the conditions that shaped me. I can’t ignore the communities I grew up in, the people I watched struggle, or the barriers that once made the simplest opportunities feel out of reach. Success that only benefits you is not legacy — it’s isolation.
Suffice it to say that Pa’lante: The Long Way Forward’s guiding light is needed today more than ever. Its ability to connect the dots between personal experience, community advocacy and action, and the impact of opting for safety by remaining silent offers rarely-seen opportunities for book clubs and reading groups to debate some important points about becoming more socially connected and involved:
Growing up undocumented, you learn early that silence is safety. You learn to observe rather than speak. You learn that attention can be dangerous, that visibility can have consequences.... But every time I silenced myself, a piece of me stayed small. I didn’t fully understand the power of my voice until I used it to advocate for others — for my community, for young professionals of color, for immigrants, for families who lacked access, for people whose stories mirrored my own. I realized my voice wasn’t a risk — it was leverage. It created movement. It opened doors. It shook the rooms that needed shaking.
Librarians should consider Pa’lante: The Long Way Forward not just an essential collection addition, but one which can be highly and repeatedly recommended for patrons seeking discourses on community empowerment.
Elvis Rivera’s unique ability to delineate the path forward away from fear, repression, and victimization makes Pa’lante: The Long Way Forward not just a standout, but a call to action and personal transformation.
Pa’lante: The Long Way ForwardReturn to Index
The
People United
Chris
Pickett
Hop On
Publishing
979-8-9940240-0-3
$19.99
Paperback/$7.99 eBook
chrispickettauthor.com
Some readers might think that The People United: A Memoir of Hope and Resistance During Trump's First Term is another testimony to battling Trump; but those seeking a wider-ranging history of democracy in action will find this “we were here” chronicle of resistance especially engaging as Chris Pickett chronicles the paths of protest that accompanied Trump’s initial and second election.
The paths by which ordinary individuals step up to participate in extraordinary movements during amazing times are introduced from the outset as Pickett succinctly delineates his personal and political transformation:
Leader. Activist. Firebrand.
These words describe me now, but they didn’t three years ago. Back then, I was more accustomed to husband, father, and policy specialist. The 2016 election changed that. Donald Trump’s ascension to the presidency and the imposition of his bigoted views on the country required a nationwide, grassroots response. I stepped up.
Pickett was not a community leader before that election. He is now. He was not a protester, but a family man. The People United chronicles how he embraced both:
Becoming an integral part of the nationwide resistance to the Trump administration meant weaving this work with my responsibilities to my family. Sometimes that meant keeping resistance time and family time separate. Tonight, it means packing a picnic dinner and bringing the family to a nighttime rally to support impeaching a corrupt leader.
History, blueprints for enacting change and resistance, and the memoir of a father who became more deeply involved in democratic processes and beliefs than ever before in his life make for a thoroughly compelling saga. The People United inspires, educates, and follows Pickett’s process of establishing the Indivisible Montgomery group and other organizations committed to preserving democracy in America.
The integration of personal and political life rarely receives such marked detail as in this memoir, which holds the potential to reach nonpartisan sectors of the country and individuals who may believe their actions (or inaction) have little effect on the nation’s choices and progression. In fact, they do – and Pickett outlines the how, why, and when of democratic resistance movements and personal engagement.
Especially notable are the events and processes which lead to overall reflections on protests and power plays:
Republicans rallied to Trump’s side. It seemed like every member of the GOP found their own reason to excuse Trump’s use of the powers of the presidency for personal political gain. It was telling that they had no real defense, because even the people closest to Trump couldn’t agree on the best cover story. Just rank leader worship. It would have been embarrassing if it weren’t so awful.
Obviously, this is an anti-Trump saga – but beneath the surface of these movements and experiences lies the beating heart of individual engagement and democracy in action. It’s these features, combined with Pickett’s personal involvement and reflections, which make The People United such a powerful documentation of struggle and hope.
Librarians and readers who are cautious about their Trump-related reading need to make The People United a cornerstone in their collections. Its experiential moments, footnoted historical references, personal insights and impacts, and efforts to refute and reject toxic leadership processes makes The People United not just a top recommendation for discriminating library collections, but an important pick for book clubs and reading groups interested in stories of how ordinary individuals step up to become effective forces in democracies.
The People UnitedReturn to Index
A Quick
Nine Before Dark
Bill
Fields
Tatra
Press, LLC
978-1732222793
$29.00
Website:
www.tatrapress.com
Ordering:
https://www.amazon.com/Quick-Nine-Before-Dark-Memoir/dp/1732222797
A Quick Nine Before Dark: A Life in Golf is a memoir of coming of age in 1960s and ‘70s in Pinehurst, North Carolina, the “golf capital” of America, where Bill Fields was introduced to golf at an early age. If readers anticipate this memoir will be filled with golf strategies and insights about the game, they will be pleasantly surprised to find much more is involved than play-by-play memories.
Fields delves into the culture of golfing, providing an insider’s view into its evolution, its fairways and experiences, and encounters with such golfing celebrities as Tiger Woods. The saga opens with the unexpected closure of the golfing powerhouse publication Fields worked for, Golf Illustrated, reviewing his collaboration on golfing books and his interview with a young Tiger Woods, which offers as much insight into the player as his winning moves:
Tiger’s yearning to constantly improve —which spurred him to make major overhauls to his swing when he was in his twenties and had become an established star—was already conspicuous in 1991.
Other famous people encountered while golfing or interviewing pair with accounts of how Fields became a golfing pro and learned his craft at an early age:
The green fee was just a few dollars. There weren’t many kids around there when I began playing in the winter of 1970, which meant plenty of golf with adults.
These are enhanced by a peppering of black and white photos of golfers in action which drive the story of not just the author’s encounters with pros, but the shifting culture and meaning of golf itself.
Embedded within these pages of contemporary insight are historical references that further enlighten readers about golf’s upward swing:
Harlow formalized the circuit and brought some continuity to how events were conducted week to week. He preached to golfers that they were as much entertainers as sportsmen. Harlow’s talents and energy were instrumental in keeping the tour afloat during the Great Depression.
All these features contribute to an enlightening, vivid story that rests on the foundations of a memoir, but moves nicely into historical, social, cultural, and sports reflections essential for any in-depth understanding of where golf was and what it is today.
Fields returns to personal experience with some blow-by-blow insights that will impart to his fellow golfers important lessons on growth, achievement, and movement:
I had enough golf worries without distractions that come with wheels and girls. I cocked my wrists to the inside on my take-away. My left knee seemed to have a mind of its own, moving much too far to the right on the backswing. At the top, I had a flying right elbow and, just past impact, I was about as chicken winged as physiologically possible. I experimented with lots of swing thoughts and listened to advice from too many people.
Librarians and readers seeking golfing accounts that go beyond strategy to probe all angles of the sport’s attractions will welcome how A Quick Nine Before Dark delivers its insights with authority, warmth, and evocative description.
A Quick Nine Before DarkReturn to Index
Ryder
Cup Rivals
Hank Gola
Tatra
Press
979-8992215007
$32.00
Hardcover/$8.99 eBook
Website:
www.tatrapress.com
Ordering:
https://www.amazon.com/Ryder-Cup-Rivals-Fiercest-Battles/dp/B0DRN1NB3Q
Ryder Cup Rivals: The Fiercest Battles for Golf's Holy Grail is a study in golfing competition clashes that operate on the Ryder Cup’s international arena, where golf contestants playing for country over personal acclaim.
Journalist Hank Gola brings to the table an insider’s perspective about the sport and its participants as he surveys the Ryder Cup’s most notable moments, golfers, and challenges over the decades.
Why did Gola choose the Ryder Cup for special profile over other notable and perhaps more familiar (to outsiders to the sport) golf competitions? It’s because the Ryder cup ...is the most electrifying event in golf. It’s because I hear it loudly and clearly from those normally indifferent to following golf. Even the majors don’t guarantee the drama that seizes international viewers every two years. I liken it to the Olympics, which I’ve also been fortunate to broadcast over three decades. Both attract a wide viewership because they “look and sound” so spectacular and unique.
The Cup competition is marked by high drama, international face-offs and national pride, and powerful encounters between not just pro golfers, but their fans. Gola’s attention to capturing the competition’s different milieus adds value to the focus by exploring how fans as well as golfers adapt to and participate under different conditions in new environments:
Muirfield Village resembled Augusta National’s hospitality in another way. Its galleries behaved more like proper Masters patrons than the student section at the Ohio State Horseshoe. They poured through the gates to blow away US Ryder Cup attendance records with twenty thousand per day (and twenty-seven thousand on Sunday), but they hardly provided the kind of partisan noise that the Americans found so annoying, if not intimidating, at The Belfry. In fact, European tour groups brought over between two and three thousand leather-lunged supporters who booked twelve hundred hotel rooms and were often louder than the home fans. It was almost like a home game for the visitors.
These types of insights are rare in sports examinations that typically narrow their focus to competition participants alone, but are essential for understanding the underlying atmosphere, impact, and meaning of the Ryder Cup in particular as players and observers interact on and off the field.
From understanding how the Ryder Cup was won under varying circumstances over the years to audience makeups, golfer psyches, and the clash and intersection of special interests and personalities, Ryder Cup Rivals reads with a vivid, descriptive touch only an insider to the sport could adequately describe:
The day after Padraig Harrington’s victory, Azinger relaxed in the Edinburgh Airport lounge, shooting the Scottish breeze with a group of American golf writers. But it wasn’t Harrington who was occupying his thoughts. Sergio Garcia, the volatile Spaniard who’d been spending his Ryder Cups inside the heads and under the skins of his American opponents, had laid bare the dark side of his psyche.
While Ryder Cup Rivals is highly recommended for libraries and readers with an in-depth interest in golfing history, it also can (and should) reach beyond these audiences to those who may hold only a casual interest in the sport, but who appreciate solid sports writing that brings the inherent drama and talent of competition to life.
Anyone with any familiarity with or interest in the Ryder Cup will find Ryder Cup Rivals a huge draw. It’s a “must have” acquisition for any serious sports collection in general and golfing libraries in particular.
Ryder Cup RivalsReturn to Index
This
Isn't New: Women's Historical
Stories
Cynthia
Swanson
Columbine
York
9798990807457
$13.99
paperback/$4.99 ebook
https://cynthiaswansonauthor.com/this-isnt-new
This Isn't New: Women's Historical Stories is a short story collection about women’s lives and experiences that are set in different times from the late 1800s to the early 2000s. Each woman in these nine stories tackles a different issue that reflects the struggles of women in those eras.
The collection opens with “In This World As In the Other,” in which Methodist minister Francine “Sometimes lives in a world where people take her ministry seriously.” One example lies in the story’s opening lines, which take place on the Easter Sunday after the Great Chicago Fire of October 1871, during which she entreats neighbors to demonstrate their faith by helping one another and spreading the notion that God is still alive, purposeful, and relevant to their lives.
Her ministry and leadership will guide her encouragement to others, her own religious questions, and her contrasting life in another world very different from the first.
Contrast this inspection with “The Unlived,” in which Claire Miller is broken by her fifth pregnancy, the death of all of her male babies, and a doctor’s advice that she stop bearing children.
As the story swirls around abortion, punishment, redemption, and a woman’s mandate to be a mother at any cost, it creates an important connection between Claire and another mother in a different situation, who consider that another force may be at work in determining their futures:
Stella frowned. “I don’t believe in God but I do believe in karma.”
Claire, who did believe in God but sometimes questioned His motives, said, “I don’t know what that is.”
“Karma,” Stella repeated. “The idea that everything happens because of something we do.” She met Claire’s eyes. “The idea that our choices determine our fate.”
Spiritual, cultural, and gender issues arise in each woman’s life to influence its direction, introduce new concepts, and lead readers to think about the disparate roles women choose for their lives and in those around them.
Libraries seeking literary women’s short stories that hold much contrasting material for book club discussions about beliefs, gender, and our ability to affect our future will find This Isn't New: Women's Historical Stories a thought-provoking, engaging collection.
This Isn't New: Women's Historical StoriesReturn to Index
Travelers
on the Apocalypse Trail
Paul H.
Hughes
Independently
Published
979-8-218-83240-7
$19.99
Paperback/$3.99 eBook and
audio/$29.99 Case Laminate hardcover
https://www.amazon.com/Travelers-Apocalypse-Trail-Paul-Hughes/dp/B0FWHSMSVC
In Travelers on the Apocalypse Trail, the world does not end by an outside force, but by the human hand itself. This premise is as interesting as how the novel starts – not with a worldwide cataclysm, but with an individual’s effort to take back his power in a nursing home.
This near-future scenario doesn’t remain in one individual’s hands, however. It’s a story of survival, of giving up, and of adapting to climate change - but it’s also a saga of seeking a safe haven:
There was nothing anyone could do about what was coming. There were no shelters capable of withstanding another major storm. There was nowhere people could go to be safe.
From raiding parties and kidnappers to the turbulence of a divided nation and peoples, many of the dilemmas of modern times receive augmentation and exploration in this futuristic world, part of the self-created apocalypse that emerges slowly albeit inevitably.
Regimes rise from the ashes, tribes of humans become self-isolating, and rebellion and threats mark their days as the characters in Travelers on the Apocalypse Trail experience quite different possibilities than at any other time in human history.
Paul H. Hughes crafts an engaging, startling story replete with circumstances akin to our own, filling the novel’s pages with likeable characters that are each just struggling to survive in different ways. Embedded within the story are lessons on adaptation, resilience, hope, and perseverance even when circumstances seem at their darkest – good lessons for modern times.
Librarians and readers seeking a different form of apocalypse story which emphasizes the connections between choice and consequence will find Travelers on the Apocalypse Trail not only highly recommendable for fans of dystopian survival studies, but for book clubs interested in thoroughly engaging stories about adaptation, struggle, and often self-imposed afflictions, big and small.
Travelers on the Apocalypse TrailReturn to Index
Ya Gotta
Eat!
Catherine
Ring Saliba
Atmosphere
Press
979-8901740446
$41.99
Hardcover/$28.99 Paperback/$8.99
eBook
www.atmospherepress.com
Ya Gotta Eat! A Collection of Family Recipes and Stories is a warm gathering around the table of life that embraces not just recipes, but the fine art of sharing food and celebrating its wealth. Here lies the inspiration for not just cooking, but becoming independent, self-supporting, life-affirming adults.
The recipes appear in chapter headings that include a healthy dash of personal experience, inviting readers not just into the kitchen, but into Catherine Ring Saliba’s home:
Raw Kibbeh or Kibby is a familiar dish for anyone of Syrian or Lebanese descent. I always worried when my husband and oldest daughter (both loved it) ate it...hence the cross, I guess, for protection. I used to go to a special butcher who knew why I wanted the meat. I would tell him to use the very freshest meat and not to use a grinder that had been used for pork or fish. Kibbeh can be baked also, but oh no. My family liked it raw!
All the ingredients for more than a cookbook are here, including color photos peppered throughout which illustrate the dishes as well as the family circling the table.
Inviting descriptions of each recipe’s appeal lend to cooking with sometimes-unexpected vignettes, such as that accompanying a recipe for Potatoes Arlie:
In New Hampshire, the antique dealers used to sniff out these out-of-the-way barn sales in the blink of an eye, so if one were hunting for a valuable bargain in this arena, forget it. The professionals knew what they were doing and each year as I presented myself at these events, it became increasingly apparent that the “good stuff ” would be grabbed quickly. But ha ha! Go for it, you pesky antique dealers! I am not interested in your “fool the old farmers and get rich quick from their old and unbeknownst to them valuable possessions” schemes. I am looking for cookbooks. Old, very much used, cookbooks. This potato recipe came from one of my finds...
The result is far more warmth and personalization than the usual cookbook approach, flavored with an inviting atmosphere for comfort food, trying new things, and joining Catherine Ring Saliba’s cooking discoveries and family life.
Librarians will find Ya Gotta Eat! an engaging collection that will especially appeal to literary readers seeking more than a recipe gathering alone, but stories of warmth and discovery.
Ya Gotta Eat!Return to Index
Young Adult/Children
Cloudburst
Eugene
M. Gagliano
Crystal
Publishing LLC
978-1-942624-85-1
$9.95
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GSF3M4ZH
Cloudburst tells of thirteen-year-old daydreamer Declan, who longs to be a hero, but lives a staid life in small-town Buffalo, Wyoming. It feels unlikely that he’ll be called upon to step up to be a hero – but in a rapidly expanding nation which just added Arizona and New Mexico to its United States, anything is possible.
Declan also falls short in his attractiveness to the opposite sex:
None of the girls in town paid any mind to him. They all liked the rancher boys like Jack, who were older and had their own horses.
As Declan explores the natural surroundings of his home with his friend Jack, young readers receive important introductions to Wyoming’s countryside and concerns. These add atmosphere and insights into Declan’s life and evolving world.
Action comes from discoveries of the “strange things in this world” and forays into nature which not only embrace mushrooms, cowboys, Buffalo soldiers and Tin Lizzies, but the milieu of change that is rapidly changing Declan’s small town life with bigger-picture thinking and experiences.
Middle grade readers will especially appreciate the ongoing atmospheric backdrops and Declan’s thought that “someday he could be a real hero just like Grandpa.”
Filled with quiet discoveries and vivid adventures alike, Declan’s journey brings with it a sense of time, place, and growing responsibility as Declan finds new ways to step into his abilities and choices.
Eugene M. Gagliano’s Cloudburst will be attractive to elementary-level libraries seeking stories of the Old West. It excels in pairing a coming-of-age story with insights into helping others, caring about one’s world and place in it, and what it really takes to be a hero to another.
Replete with family relationship insights and realistic scenarios of Wyoming, Cloudburst is a lesson in empowerment, growth, and choice that deserves a place in any elementary-level library. It will attract leisure readers and reading groups with its vivid tale of a young man’s insights about his own behaviors and how it affects the world around him.
CloudburstReturn to Index
E and
Me: Gobble, Gobble, Wheeeee!
Ann
Aubitz
Kirk
House Publishers
978-1-968428-19-8
$15.95
Website: https://annaubitzauthor.com
Ordering:
www.kirkhousepublishers.com
E and Me: Gobble, Gobble, Wheeeee! is a picture book story about Tuck the turkey and his best friend little E, who find fun in every day.
From jumping in leaves to giggling at lunchtime, the two very different friends transmit their special form of delight, celebration, and interactive pleasures into each other and the world.
Most of all, food is a draw as the turkey and his friend observe its delights.
Ann Aubitz creates a compelling exploration of warmth and shared experiences that will delight read-aloud adults seeking to transmit the special joy of a day’s opportunities to the very young.
Packed with drawings as colorful as its action-filled adventures, E and Me: Gobble, Gobble, Wheeeee! offers many inviting lessons, from friendship between disparate individuals to how the routines and discoveries of daily living can translate to positivity and new connections.
Elementary-level librarians seeking picture book stories that will resonate with a wide audience will find E and Me: Gobble, Gobble, Wheeeee! an outstanding celebration of “ordinary” life that’s worthy of acquisition and top recommendation.
E and Me: Gobble, Gobble, Wheeeee!Return to Index
I Dreamt
I Was a Red Knight’s
Squire V. 1
D.S.
Newman
D.S.
Newman Publishing
978-0-9911089-1-6
$14.99
Paperback/$7.99 eBook
Website: https://dsnewmanpublishing.squarespace.com/
Ordering: https://www.amazon.com/Dreamt-was-Red-Knights-Squire-ebook/dp/B0GCVDFHLD
I Dreamt I Was a Red Knight’s Squire V. 1 will attract teens interested in sword and sorcery fantasy with a manga-inspired cover and a story replete with contemporary high-tech dilemmas.
Evan Vancouver is transported to another world when he listens to a mysterious audio track from an internet forum. There, he encounters a female knight who begins to teach him the rules of this strange world – until the alarm clock chimes, returning him to his mundane reality.
It turns out that his visits to this kingdom at night translate to an unusual alter ego which operates, however uncertainly, in a milieu of magic, mayhem, and humor:
“How did he die?”
“Well, I killed him.”
“You killed him?!” I spat, as I fell backwards in horror. Though she didn’t seem too bothered that it happened.
“Yes, but only because it turned out he was an assassin sent to kill me. Unfortunately, it’s how these things go and one can never be too careful,” she reiterated while poshly eyeing the cuticles of her fingernails.
It’s rare to find such wonderfully wry inspections in adult fantasies, let alone those for young adults, making I Dreamt I Was a Red Knight’s Squire V. 1 exceptional.
The thread of humor that runs through Evan’s experiences is a delightful adjunct to the vivid encounters which test his ability to be versatile, adaptable, and an effective squire – even if his liege at times seems more concerned with fashion statements than outfitting him for battle:
“If you’re the Red Knight, then why am I wearing blue? Shouldn’t I match you? Or is it part of your battle strategy?”
“Ha,” she laughed. “That’s a sensible question. But isn’t it obvious? It makes me stand out better if my squire is in a contrasting color.”
Nice to know she was no stranger to vanity, despite being a badass.
Black and white illustrations pepper the story, adding value with visual attraction as battles, new realizations, difficult lessons, and thought-provoking action unfold. Teens seeking tales that sizzle with high drama combined with unexpected reflections will find nothing staid or predictable about I Dreamt I Was a Red Knight’s Squire V. 1. It laces adventure with satisfying contrasts between worlds, purposes, and perspectives.
From king’s castles and an unexpected sense of order to the alternate world’s processes and the impact of evil sorcerer Mordrake, female knights who clash in an arena of physical battle, and Evan’s ultimate confrontation with his escapist tendencies and their impact, I Dreamt I Was a Red Knight’s Squire V. 1 offers intriguing lessons in gender roles, violence, and middle-age women warriors. This will not just entertain, but delight teens.
Librarians seeking top sword and sorcery recommendations for young adults that are steeped in action and gender roles turned upside down will want to make I Dreamt I Was a Red Knight’s Squire V. 1 a part of their collections. It will attract not just fantasy readers, but those interested in stories that reflect out-of-the-box thinking about shifting abilities and milieus.
I Dreamt I Was a Red Knight’s Squire V. 1Return to Index
The Myth
of Aldez
Steven
Trifiletti
Independently
Published
9798277730096 $12.99
www.themusclecode.com
The Myth of Aldez will attract middle-grade readers interested in stories about fantasy heroism. It describes what happens when twelve-year-old Aldez steps into his dreams to confront good, evil, and what it means to really be a hero.
Steven Trifiletti adds a circle of characters whose concerns and countenances support Aldez’s situation, beginning with the Marquis of Montrose’s realization that a series of strange events are actually being controlled by one meddling woman.
The next scenario reveals a “mythical statue in human form” that serves as a chilling spiritual icon to her people as Sheeva rules over a “quaint little empire” that holds the power to shake the world.
As deities, myths, conflicts, and karmic goals involving defending princesses become all too real, Aldez serves in a new role as he wields his Hero Sword in unexpected ways and comes to know the real costs of battle.
Trifiletti excels in building a kingdom whose inhabitants, wonders, demands, and expectations infect the young boy with a sense of duty, wonder, and experiences he’d never imagined for his future. Trifiletti also embeds this world with learning opportunities which Aldez absorbs even as he fields uncertain new realities.
Librarians seeking a fantasy coming-of-age saga that focuses on the making and breaking of heroes will find The Myth of Aldez an excellent leisure read recommendation. It’s also well suited for classrooms and reading groups seeking discussion material about revised judgments and expectations and growth opportunities.
Anyone interested in a tale of how dragons are faced and fears tackled will find The Myth of Aldez engrossing, thought-provoking reading.
The Myth of AldezReturn to Index
Secrets
of the Shield
Brian
Kelsall
Flashpoint
978-1-967510-32-0
$27.95
Hardcover/$16.95 Paperback/$6.99
eBook
https://www.girlfridayproductions.com/titles/secrets-of-the-shield
Secrets of the Shield opens with a first-person Author’s Note about one of the subjects of this middle grade novel:
There is a vast geological formation in Northern Canada known as the Canadian Shield. It is an enormous cap of some of the oldest and most resilient rock on the planet. Spanning more than eight million square kilometres and extending up to several kilometres deep, it supports great forests and abundant wildlife.
This creates a foundation of knowledge that readers will need in order to appreciate the Canadian setting of this adventure story. The saga opens with the observations of a sentient beaver who reflects on the signs that something evil is arising in the beavers’ natural world.
At the same time, the giant bird Kyree (“Lord of the Icarians, ancient and not from this earth”) espies a badly burned, abandoned baby and affects a rescue, giving rise to a series of events that stem from saving the baby.
Though the story’s introductory chapters embrace the perspectives of these creatures, the point of view soon shifts to that of Sam, who uncovers a link to his mysterious past when an Indigenous girl Wing comes to stay with his family for the summer.
As the two discover new truths about their past and their mission for the future, a heady adventure evolves. The Canadian wilderness and its wildlife become the backdrop for an action-packed tale of fantasy and discovery.
Readers ages 9 and older will find much to appreciate about Sam and Wing’s adventure. It holds many thought-provoking moments of discovery and connection to different worlds, both manmade and natural and it introduces a cast of creatures and special interests, including a dangerous evil force. It also places Sam and Wing in nearly impossible situations as they confront hard truths about their heritage and future.
Librarians seeking fantasy adventures rooted in a sense of place (the Canadian wilderness) and purpose will find Secrets of the Shield nicely paced, thoroughly engrossing, and powerful.
Readers seeking compelling stories that simmer with action tempered by important reflections will find the blend of adventure and discovery the perfect formula for a captivating read. The outcome is impossible to predict and is driven by the motivations of young people who take charge of their futures in unusual ways, discovering friendship and love in the process of accepting their courage and renewed life purpose.
Secrets of the ShieldReturn to Index
Sword of
the Golden City
Jane
Alvey Harris and Ruston Jones
Many
Realms Media
979-8-9907763-3-3
$15.99
Paperback/$6.99 eBook
Website:
https://www.swordofthegoldencity.com
Ordering:
https://www.manyrealmsmedia.com
Sword of the Golden City offers YA fantasy readers a blend of adventure, myth, and battle. It opens in Czechoslovakia, where an eagle’s eye watches a procession of tourists visiting ancient ruins legendary for harboring sleeping knights prophesied to someday awaken to save Prague. When the eagle views a band of men entering a hidden cave, it’s evident that something strange is about to happen.
This introduction leads into a vivid story of cursed crypts, legends that link an evil wizard with the legendary Knights of Blaník and the Sword of the Golden City, and explorer Damek Maracek, who has spent his life tracking down the sources of myths without really believing in either magic or ghosts.
His perspective changes as Damek confronts an evil newly awakened to find his own life hanging in the balance.
Jane Alvey Harris and Ruston Jones excel in creating vivid descriptions that drive a sense of urgency, adventure, and discovery perfect for keeping YA readers engaged and guessing about outcomes:
After several heart-pounding moments, Damek peeled himself away from the stone wall, and started into the graveyard. His steps were cautious as he scanned each marker with his flashlight, searching for one in particular. If his deeper examination of the diary was accurate, one of his ancestors – an heir of the Brotherhood – had left a clue hidden in plain sight somewhere in this vast maze of markers.
The blend of fantasy and myths, characters whose lives and interests are tested in unexpected ways, and links between events as common as the night terrors of a sister and as extraordinary as the awakening of new forces into the world creates a plot that sizzles with action and connection.
Nick and his sister Kat become engaged in the mystery and threat as Uncle Damek appears to be the focal point of strange things occurring all over Prague. The Czech city and its culture also engage YA readers with an environment and encounters steeped in history, legend, and mystery.
From hidden powers to strange reflecting pools and possibilities that emerge from a city poised for disaster, it’s nearly impossible to put down or predict the events that unfold in Sword of the Golden City. This makes for a thoroughly compelling adventure that juxtaposes the interests of adults and young adults in ways that will delight YA to adult readers.
Librarians and readers seeking a vivid adventure story steeped in myth, possibilities, and sorcery will find Sword of the Golden City well-written, thoroughly absorbing, and a top recommendation for a wide audience of YA and fantasy leisure readers.
Sword of the Golden CityReturn to Index