marinadoramartino

Written with searing honesty and a compelling contemporary voice, The Girl in the Blue Blazer by Alretha Thomas is an engrossing novel that touches on urgent social and ethical issues, engulfed in an emotionally charged plot. When Pamela finally receives the offer for her long-coveted internship with Clifford Investments, she is beside herself, but she doesn’t want to become Andrews Clifford’s protégé for sheer ambition…Pamela seeks revenge, with unpredictable results. Balancing narratives between the past and the present, Thomas spools a story that is both unique and universal, told with clear and sincere prose that brings emotional authenticity to a […]

Impressively researched and beautifully written, The Darlings of the Downs: Five Generations, One Destiny by Casey Walsh follows the journey of two Irish sisters who leave the brutal poverty of Cork in 1879 to start a journey to Australia. Covering 100 years of family history, Walsh immerses readers in the sisters’ story as they carve out a life for themselves in the new world, showing the long-term effects of chances taken and missed, unrequited love, and sudden tragedy. The novel’s core story focuses on the toughmindedness and importance of a strong female line, resulting in an empowering read that is […]

A varied but thematically concise work of contemporary poetry, Office Poems by Nathan Nicolau mixes together dreamlike verse with an undercurrent of sardonic social awareness. Nicolau’s emotive but playful verse and prose poetry guide the reader through original, ironic, and deeply felt contemplations about the fabric of everyday life – from mundane tasks to the nature of celebrity. At times, the poetry veers into prose reformatted into verse, but the mixture of humor and intellectual inquiry gives the collection a comfortably breezy flair, demonstrating the poet’s total control over his vision. Written with straightforward but layered language, Nicolau’s collection of […]

Voices in the Sanitorium by Amy Lynn Walsh is a gripping spiritual thriller exploring the psychological effect that an abandoned sanatorium, said to be haunted, has on a family who recently made the move to Pennsylvania from New York. Since the night she camped near the wrecked building, Aislyn is not her usual self – does she just miss her old life in the city, or is there something more sinister going on in their new home? Weaving together the present with the past, the supernatural with the historic, and horror scares with a well-crafted detective narrative, Walsh creates a […]

Diego the Smelly Dog, written by A.G. Russo with illustrations by Alona Baulina, is the story of the unique friendship between Ava and Diego, a smelly stray dog who shows up at her house. Ava is not allowed a pet because of the expense, so she must bring him to the shelter, but will anyone pick an old dog as their companion? A heartwarming tale with a happy ending, the story is both dramatic and tender, sending an important message about caring for those who may be unwanted and neglected. Finely illustrated with pictures that tell a story even […]