Editorial Reviews

A charming and emotional addition to her cozy mountain romance series, Day Dreaming by Carrie Thorne explores our capacity to gracefully grow and embrace second chances. When Reed brings his two kids to Foothills for a summer of outdoor adventures, he never expects to fall for a hunky new neighbor, nor for that curious desire to be returned so wholeheartedly. Expanding on the Foothills series, Thorne’s novel centers on LGBT love in all its complexity and depth, without tokenizing the relationship or falling back on superficial stereotypes. Balanced tidily between dreamy and steamy, the story begins as a summer fling, […]

A soul-searching tale of connections that never truly end, Mama’s Still Dead by Anne Davidson Keller tells the humorous and affecting story of an overwhelmed researcher who finds otherworldly support for her “rotting-bagged-salad of a life.” When Lily’s family and sanity simultaneously start to crumble, her long-dead Mama is drawn back through the veil to guide her through a painful and unexpected chapter of life. A reflection on grief, memory, and the human need for compassionate support, this earnestly penned novel boasts an endearingly clever narrator, a splash of Southern charm, and a trove of wisdom for anyone who feels […]

A hard-hitting ensemble adventure in the Human-Born Era series, The Legends that Awaken by Susan Markloff expands the enthralling world of Tilion and the endless conflict that defines it. Though life has settled into a strange normalcy for the young elemental heroes of Agerius, the burdens of leadership, betrayal from within, visions of the past, the challenges of parenthood, and the hopes of an entire world still lie on their shoulders. Stretched thin by side quests and war, but united in their defense, the Human-Born’s commitment to the cause of peace is continually tested. As the characters show more maturity […]

A tragedy worthy of Shakespeare, taking place in the colony that would become South Africa, Of Treason, Grace, and Redemption by Olaf van Renen is an existential family drama with a stirring international backdrop. The Dunne and Kemp families are on seemingly opposite sides of the waning conflict between the British Crown and Dutch settlers, but their clans become dangerously tangled together, as loyalties to blood and heritage are pitted against the insistent power of love. Vividly summoning a contentious historical moment, this well-researched portrait starkly reveals the heartbreak, horror, and human costs of war, delivering a timeless reminder of […]

A scathing satire stretching from Lucifer’s fall to fake news on smartphones, Lord of the Eastern Hemisphere of the Universe: Your Current Involuntary Election Campaign by Joseph Dopp is a comedic conspiracy theory come to life that hits painfully close to home. In the not-so-distant future, Lord Fink and Joseph Dopp face off in a monumental election to rule the future – one is an algorithm-fueled tool of financial control and ownership, the other is a truth-telling anarchist determined to liberate humanity. Successfully staying “one step ahead of reality,” while mercilessly skewering both the sinister and ridiculous facets of modern […]

Pulling back the curtain on human behavior and the critical role that self-awareness plays in everything we become, The Principle of the Five Chairs: A New Mindset for Personal Transformation by Phil Graffoe is a timely piece of practical philosophy. Providing tangible strategies for healthy self-governance, the text teaches readers how to seize control of their lives by being more intentional about who and what gets to occupy their immediate circle – the titular five chairs. This framework is accessible and flexible, while exploring essential themes of attention, ego, wisdom, ambition, discipline, independence, and character. Though repetitive on some points, […]

A dramatic clash of cutting-edge science and the impossible unknown, The Vacuum We Return To by Tsung-Long Wu is an imaginative sci-fi parable about time, memory, and the subjectivity of reality. Sophy Valentine, a DARPA-funded physicist, has discovered a gateway in the brain that challenges the foundational laws of the universe; her husband, a seasoned fireman, witnesses an anomaly in the flow of time and receives an ominous warning about dark forces descending on his family. Despite repetitive structures and occasionally cyclical prose, this is a mind-altering plunge into theoretical physics and the endless mysteries of the human mind, for […]

A contemporary fantasy about family, legacy, and the secret power of the past, The Book of Wands by Lauren Louise Hazel is a dramatic and deftly penned piece of YA fiction. Still mourning the death of her beloved grandmother, Olivia Pembroke is anxiously hurtling towards her Final Evaluation at the prestigious Chester College, determined to claim the Golden Quill and restore her family’s honor. To do so, she’ll need to defeat her classroom nemesis, avoid the pitfalls of grief, outsmart the enigmatic Host of the Evaluation, and unravel the fortune-telling mystery left behind in her grandmother’s tarot deck. Thoughtful and […]