John Staughton, Senior Reviewer

A thought-provoking commentary on the range and depth of trauma, as well as a moving romance, The Language of Silence by T.K. Karaway is a slow-burning glimpse at the sunshine and shadows of life. Finding herself emotionally torn between a debonair charmer, a gentle healer and a gritty hero, Clara Jenkins must navigate the rigors and romantic tangles of her new chapter as a child psychologist at a prestigious advocacy institute. Weaving genuine moments of self-discovery, erotic tension, and compassionate education with profound examinations of healing after heartbreak, the story is richly told and relatable. Reminding readers to look for […]

Earth’s salvation – or its final failure – lurks beneath the Antarctic ice in Polar Deception (Crystal Connections Book 1) by Barbara Hanson Clark, a near-future thriller that crackles with contemporary relevance. In 2050, the discovery of a super-crystal that could reshape global power in a post-internet future draws a cast of curious characters and sinister seekers to the bottom of the world. These crystals could revive the past and catapult humanity forward, but acquiring them could also push the collapsing planet to its breaking point. Clark masterfully blends geopolitical intrigue, social critique, and moral philosophy into a thrilling, thought-provoking […]

A carefully researched historical drama from a watershed era in America, Of Their Own Free Will: Fort Mims to New Orleans by L.E. Denton shines an uncommon light on assimilation, belonging, and the weight of patriotic betrayal. Forced by a marauding Indian army to flee the fort he calls home with his wise Uncle John, Jacob Worley wrestles with the unavoidable divide in his soul – red warrior or white ally. Embarking on a journey into the legacy of his blood and America’s untamed wilderness, the overlapping lines of his loyalty, duty, and morality begin to blur, for a deeply […]