John Staughton, Senior Reviewer

A self-therapy guide for anyone seeking relief from emotional pain and unaddressed trauma, Master Emotional Healing: 8-Week Guided Mindfulness Journal to Change Behaviour Patterns and Negative Emotions for Beginners by Paulina Siwiera is an invaluable work of self-help for increasing self-awareness, reducing stress, and strengthening emotional regulation. Exploring the long-term impact of negative emotions and experiences, along with key approaches and cognitive tools to manage the resultant anxiety, this book covers a vast array of psychological issues that are not often covered in the field. “Trauma” has recently become a nebulous, blanket term in discussions of mental health, but Siwiera […]

A thrilling and mysterious tale of second chances, Into the Mist by Sharon Mikeworth is a genre-bending dive into time-traveling romance and the thin veil between dreams and waking. Recently jilted Cheyenne finds herself homeless, jobless, single, and squatting in an abandoned Victorian mansion while she attempts to get her life back on track. Enthralled by the incredibly vivid dreams she’s been having about the eerie antiquarian house, Cheyenne also develops a sleepwalking habit, and a liminal affair with a man from 1895, whose life is at a similar crossroads more than a century earlier. An intensely original mix of […]

A historical drama set two millennia in the past, Vinoda’s Vengeance by Naveen Sridhar is a captivating Indo-Greek novel led by a fearless and unpredictable protagonist. When a humble but clever actress named Vinoda catches the interest of the kingdom’s royal family and the eye of the crown prince, her life is soon consumed by palace intrigue and the opportunity to take her theatrical aspirations to a whole new level. Moving smoothly in new circles of influence, Vinoda’s bold personality and philosophical wisdom make her a popular addition to the court, but closeness to kings and crowns can make anyone […]

A sumptuous international romance that tantalizes both the senses and the heartstrings, A Lotus to Love: Perfume, Passion and Discovery in Egypt by Shelley Kassian is an adventurous second-chance love story with a distinctly romantic backdrop. A savant of high-end scents, Portia is sent to Egypt to research a new perfume inspired by Cleopatra’s legendary recipe. Though she is still reeling from the shocking loss of her husband, she finds companionship in unexpected places, rekindling purpose and passion in her life, but some exotic elements may be too good to be true. Written with visceral and sensorial prose that brings […]