John Staughton, Senior Reviewer

A masterful blend of today’s rampant global crises with a strong supernatural undertone, The Proxima Plague by Robert Thornton is a captivating work of paranormal fiction. Dr. Hope Allerd returns for another biological thriller, but this time she’s facing extinction-level stakes, with sinister creatures being released worldwide via a viral outbreak. Eerily familiar in its premise, while keeping the paranormal theme locked to our current reality, the novel never rushes through authentic character expansion and nuanced scene-setting. Mutating between dystopian drama, gritty fantasy, and brutal social commentary, this is a twisting tale of investigation and imagination, and one that wickedly […]

A stark curation of powerful poetry, Marigold by Cece Ma’moon asks hard questions about heartbreak, and serves as a meditative collection for the countless others who have loved and lost. Though many of these pieces feel centered on abandonment, grief, confusion, and isolation, there are also moments of flickering hope, faith, and curiosity for the future. While the entire book can be read in one sitting, these thoughtful and carefully worded poems are impactful, as the pieces read like mantras or koans, meant to be savored and considered. As both a confessional and a companion in grief, Marigold is deeply […]

A powerful testament of unwavering faith and divine conversations, One Day I Met An Angel by Francesca Darien-Hyde is an inspiring and affirming work of religious exploration. Delving into biblical texts and applying them to modern-day problems, while highlighting the messianic path, this is a dense and challenging examination of the Bible’s traditions, and how they’re carried on today. The angel-wing watermark and font choices make the reading experience more challenging than it needs to be, and the entire book could use a final proofread for small aesthetic errors and oversights. However, for dedicated believers, the author’s commanding tone, lived […]