Contemporary Fiction Book Reviews

A dramatic work of contemporary fiction set against the seductive and sinister streets of Las Vegas, A Girl Like You by John T. Lucas follows two old friends, James and Erik, as they attempt to escape for a weekend, but instead find themselves adrift in a sea of dangerous decisions.

Erik’s marriage is falling apart in real time when a damsel in distress saunters across his path – Gracie is desperate to escape the sex trade and the cruel pimp that runs her life, and Erik might just be the noble knight she needs to get free. James, in contrast, […]

The loyalty of muscle and the strength of family are put to the test in Hollywood Shadows by Frank C. Senia, an emotive first-person drama about the lines we refuse to cross.

Growing up with a brutal father and an overwhelmed mother, Billy and his twin brother Rickey sprang from rough soil, but never lost their sensitive sides. Billy shines as the focal point of this story, narrating his challenging childhood and often intense life as a Hollywood fixer, which means delivering bad news and tough love that can sometimes veer into violence. From cross-country journeys, brotherly reunions, and undercover […]

A years-long tale of connection, loss, and the emotional minefields of youth, Yesteryear’s Wish by Zixiao Yu is a striking portrait of unfulfilled love and the uncertainties of life.

When the narrator’s stable home is disrupted by the arrival of his cousin, Yunyun, their childish clashes soon shift to an inseparable bond, but age and distance quickly pull them apart. New chapters of life bring new responsibilities, pressures, and infatuations, but the lingering past is rarely far from their minds.

Broken into three sections of connection, displacement, and reflection, this is a story of young hope written with the wisdom […]

An intensely personal drama, Fury in Her Eyes by Phillip Vega is a thrilling and unpredictable portrait of connection, resentment, and romance that refuses to die.

Ollie Morales is living out his high-stakes dream as a professional photojournalist when a mob of Trump supporters nearly beats him to death on January 6^th, 2021, sending his life into chaos. While he assumes that the explosion of violence was random, it gradually becomes clear that what happened to him was no accident.

Thirty years earlier, Ollie had been a normal high school senior, a photographer on the school paper, and […]