Editorial Reviews

Years after a covert mission turns sideways and deadly, revenge comes calling for one warrior’s family in Turning Pro by M.J.S. House, a compelling thriller with an original premise. Basketball is life for Jake Delaney, a star college player with the NBA calling, but aside from navigating March Madness and collegiate crushes, he also has a bloodthirsty arms dealer looking to end his nascent career – and his life. The question is, will Jake’s super-spy father and a team of Navy SEALs be able to stop the assassins with the NCAA tournament also at stake? Aside from some necessary suspension […]

Written clearly and empathetically, Healing Cancer: The Complete Way by Lawrence Doochin is a guide to healing from cancer and other major health threats, but also an invitation for everyone to reconsider their habits of body and mind. What does it mean to be sick or to be healthy? What does it mean to be happy, and how can that impact our bodies? These and other questions are treated by the author with exquisite care and a vast realm of references, from philosophy to quantum physics, which are both comforting and informative. Told through the authoritative lens of the author’s […]

A magical flurry of mana, monsters, and epic attitude, Heroes of a Warless World by Darren L. Holloway tells the wild tale of Aria and her soul-linked protector, Rory, as they try to unlock the secret of their shared destiny. Creatively crafted and engagingly written, this action-packed read is something like a video game transposed into a novella, and while there are some technical stumbles, the spirited first-person narration, illustrations, and character interplay drive the story forward, with the dialogue feeling cinematic. Dodging otherworldly assassins and hilariously navigating their sometimes contentious relationship, Aria and Rory make for an entertaining pair […]

A recently jilted designer wakes up confused and covered in her best friend’s blood in Reasonable by K.T. Carlisle, a dark and dramatic first installment of the What Happened to Mia Davis? series. The lives of four friends who were rocked by collegiate tragedy and then bound by a joint business make for an interesting emotional foundation, and their explosive dynamics are the driving force of the plot, which moves forward at a quick pace. Leaping forward and back in time, this character- and dialogue-driven drama will keep readers guessing as the full sinister scope is revealed. Unreliable narrators, spectral […]

Part social commentary and part motivational manifesto, Cloak of the Living Dead by Ernest Johnson demands the reader to look at the world and decide if they are simply going through the motions of existence or actually living their lives to their fullest potential. By discussing his own life’s tribulations and experiences, Johnson aims to show the reader how to be “alive” and aware rather than “dead” and oblivious to the world around us, pointing out the many deadening aspects of life that keep us down – bad relationships, pointless jobs, unhealthy diets, and more. At times difficult to follow […]

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 […]

Following in the tradition of Animal Farm, but with a lighter touch, The Perilous Journey of Gavin the Great by Don Gutteridge is an enchanting fable for all ages, full of poetry and wit. Gavin, a young raccoon, wakes up after a storm to find Earthwood changed into a desert of mud and fog, offering a not-so-subtle allegory to our current living conditions. Gavin knows he needs to take responsibility for his brothers and for all wood creatures in the difficult journey ahead that will redefine what home means for everyone, illustrating how best to act in a time […]

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 […]