John Staughton, Senior Reviewer

A grown-up retelling of two classic stories, Through an Emerald Gale (A Snowfall in Oz Book 1) by Jordan Riley Swan is an epic collision of magic and royalty in the whimsical land of Oz. A sinister queen has her malevolent sights set on ultimate youth and eternal power, but the infamous Wicked Witch will go to war before she bends the knee. Leo, Nik, Crow, and Dorothy are a nostalgic group of familiar heroes, while Swan’s dextrous and deliciously clever pen makes this darkly entertaining story come to shimmering life with vivid scene-setting and an unpredictable storyline. Deftly melding […]

Reframing the scope of existence with comforting charm and emotional weight, The Perilous Journey of Gavin the Great by Don Gutteridge is the deceptively whimsical story of an unavoidable animal exodus in the face of environmental disaster, and the collisions of fear and ambition that inevitably arise. Peppered with compelling black and white illustrations, the richly told story is brought even more vividly to life through these visual additions, for a beautifully conceived fable both visually and lyrically. A hard-hitting allegory for a readership of “Tallwalkers” on the precipice of their own macrocosmic catastrophe, this novel succeeds in teaching empathy […]

Linking the mysteries and masterworks of history to a nearly omnipotent supercomputer from the 29^th century, Father of the Future by Darren Dash is a time-hopping sci-fi thrill. Cassique is a Time Fixer, devoted to realigning the past to protect the present, but life in the 29^th century is a digitally anesthetized and tech-dominated dystopia, and might benefit from some free will and open-minded genius of the past. Barbed with sarcastic and self-aware narration, this wildly creative read weaves issues of religion, science, and politics into a masterful allegory of contemporary society, seen through the spectacularly inventive lens […]

A time-leaping portrait of grief and fraternal connection, Invisible Sun by Andrew H. Housley probes deep into the unique scars and stains left by those we love, particularly when they make the tragic choice to leave this life. Ian and Chadwick, still reeling in their own ways from the sudden death of their brother, must navigate haunted memories, strained bonds, and painful past choices as they make his final arrangements. Authentic and revealing in its emotional depth and sensitive approach to the subject matter, this is a powerful, soul-baring novel that will be intimately relatable to readers whose lives have […]

A two-pronged narrative that weaves together gracefully across time, Rome’s Last Noble Palace by Kimberly Sullivan is a dramatic thrill for lovers of period dramas and supernatural tales alike. An ornate Roman palazzo with at least one century of secrets lies at the heart of this ghostly and lavishly detailed read, which artfully explores feminine expectations, the nuances of desire, and the long life of grief. As the mirrored lives of two dauntless women unfold in the late nineteenth century and the present day, readers are effortlessly transported to the linguistic, cultural, and aesthetic maze of Rome in all its […]