John Staughton, Senior Reviewer

A YA adventure loaded with magical mischief, odd-couple companions, and the sympathetic pressure of meeting impossible standards, The Plight of Team 27 by Lucas Nava is an absorbing tale of unexpected friendship and daunting duty. Belu Syrus, a new recruit to the noble Bovesi Rangers, is determined to step out from his mother’s shadow and prove his mettle in the contested skies of Avantius. When his first expedition spirals into a political debacle that could fuel another war, his three-person crew must unravel a conspiracy before their careers disappear into the depths of the Cloud Sea. With carefully designed world-building […]

A gritty road novella about uncovering the past and finding yourself, Blue Flamingo by Joyce V. Harrison is a nostalgic slice of American drama. After becoming an orphan at 24, Dylan Ryker hits the road and winds up in the Florida panhandle, working at a bar called the Blue Flamingo – a dive that his father once passed through – in the hopes of finding a fresh direction in life. Between ousting badly behaved drunks, pursuing his passion as an artist, and trying to charm the girl next door, Dylan is a relatable and endearingly flawed protagonist. The raw emotion […]

Viscerally gripping and methodically plotted, The Wetlands by J.J. Richards is another breathless police procedural in the DCI Walker Crime Thrillers series. A merciless serial killer is preying on the weak and elderly in the murky marshes of Lancashire, drawing Walker into a dark rural hunt for the sadistic force of nature. Offering an immersive glimpse into the nuance and investigative instincts of a high-stakes case, the prose is realistic and deeply detailed, but also flavored with emotive descriptions and a hauntingly evil antagonist. Loyal fans of the series and new readers will not be disappointed, as this installment is […]