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Artist and writer Beatriz M. Robles combines her passions in Artwords, an astoundingly imaginative collection of calligrams, found poetry, and photographs that meld print and visual imagery. Nearly every calligram and photograph feature a simple object, such as a kite or a piggy bank, rendered in childlike, brightly-colored images with text embedded in each that describes an experience with the object, for a wholly innovative work. Some of the pieces are quite risqué, even when describing seemingly ordinary activities – such as putting on a pair of socks – but the combination of words and images is uniquely expressive, […]

James Gardiner’s All in With Love: My Journey to the Hero Within is a life story filled with pride and regret as narrated by three versions of the man who lived it: Little Jimmy, whose asthma-plagued childhood never stopped his dreams, adult Jim, who sought and fought for fame and glory, and author James, who concludes with a screenplay-version of his inner child rescuing him from rock bottom. Switching between third person and first person, the perspective shifts seem somewhat arbitrary in terms of which persona tells what stories, but the stories themselves are emotive and relatable, given Gardiner’s open […]

Aileen Sideris’ Motion: The Art of Moving Forward by Creating Change is a step-by-step guide to success for people with any goal in mind, from a life-changing career switch to learning a language or an instrument. Clearly written, engaging, and stimulating, the book is comprised of life management instructions, thought exercises, and daily practices to affirm one’s own self-worth. Despite an overreliance on inspirational quotes, Motion is remarkably practical, providing a structured methodology for self-help that separates it from other books in the genre that may rely on vague pep talk, instead asking the reader to investigate themselves with sensible […]

With the atmosphere of a noir, the intensity of a psychological thriller, and the passionate emotion of a love story, Cody Lakin’s The Family Condition is a delicately complex read with dark undertones. Amid fresh heartbreak, Bennet meets Elodie and is instantly intrigued by her unique charm, falling in love with her. When he discovers Elodie’s disturbing family history and heritage, Bennet has to decide if he will run away from the relationship or go all in with this enchanting, but complicated woman. Though the story can feel far-fetched at times, this is a book that asks vital questions about […]

Destiny of Determination: Faith and Family is Cathy Burnham Martin’s engrossing true account of her ancestors’ escape from the Armenian genocide and the rebuilding of their lives in America. This multigenerational family saga, told mostly via backstories and history, is full of joy, sorrow, and the miraculous, including a startling miracle at the book’s end. The book reads more as a work of non-fiction than a novel, as it is mainly a chronicle of events with fairly straightforward prose, and would be better served by a first-person narrator, but Martin lovingly and emotionally preserves her family’s history, for an engaging […]

The Story of My Life: Childhood Never Lasts by Vaughn J. Samuel is a tumultuous memoir that gives heartwarming insight into how hope and hard work can pay off, despite terrible circumstances. For Samuel, this came through considerable hardships of her childhood, which no child should have to endure, as she worked hard to apply herself and excel, with no support. The style throughout her narrative is simple and unassuming, conveyed with straightforward honesty. Samuel is forthright about her struggles while crediting God for her successes in the economic booms of the eighties and nineties, bringing her story to a […]

Scott Allen Benkie delivers a candid legal thriller in his novel The Lawyer’s Angel. Attorney James Crosson is at his wit’s end with heavy gambling debt and a failing practice, which leads him to take a case involving a CEO despot who is doing everything he can to maintain his throne. Benkie accurately depicts the toxicity of wealth and power through his plutocratic characters, giving the thriller a sense of acerbic social critique. Some dense legal diction slows the novel down at times, and there is an overuse of ethnic stereotypes, but the resolution where characters reimagine their lives […]