Editorial Reviews

A heart-expanding novel of tragic revelations, young love, and the eye-opening journeys we must take alone, Rhapsody in a Minor Mode by Elaine Kozak is a haunting reflection on modern masculinity and the mercurial nature of our formative stories. After discovering a shocking truth about the birth father he never met, Niels leaves his Toronto apartment, childhood sweetheart, and final university semester to reassess his life on an epically unplanned journey. From Halifax diners and merchant marine mess halls to Sevillian taverns and the sweaty thrill of dance halls, the lyrical prose is eloquent and moving, while Kozak’s thematic explorations […]

A haunting and heavy anthology of emotionally driven poems, Marching with a Broken Shadow by Dyson Russell is a wide-ranging collection that tackles romantic ironies, universal agonies, and the simple pleasures of existence. The diversity of the poems’ subject matter, length, and tone keeps the reading experience dynamic, making it easy to read dozens of pieces in a single sitting. Russell has a uniquely experimental voice that will make readers sit up and take note, revealing a consistent, critical, and deeply creative mind, for a powerful and relatably personal collection of verse.

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Detailing a hard life of street smarts and survival, The Fixer by Frank C. Senia is the gritty portrait of Billy Summers, from his earliest battles as a childhood bruiser to his career in California as protective muscle, expected to do whatever was necessary to get the job done. Powerful in its depth and intimacy as an internal narrative, Senia’s novel is raw and revealing, delving into family loyalty, the psychological scars of violence, and our perennial search for belonging. A final proofreading sweep could catch the lingering typos, but the matter-of-fact style of narration generally flows well and keeps […]

A deep dive into the modern phenomenon of surviving without truly existing, Cloak of the Living Dead: 13 Reasons Why You’re Living Dead by Ernest Johnson is a bold treatise on how to bring yourself back to a fulfilled, meaningful, and God-centered life. From governmental authorities and mindless careers to personal apathy, the pharmaceutical industry, dead-end marriages, and the poisonous foods we are marketed and fed, this book strips away and analyzes the failed thought patterns of contemporary life, often through the lens of the author’s own experiences. While the prose is written in a stream-of-consciousness style that adds passion […]

A truth-telling collection of poetry from Franco Cardiello, Loving Strays examines the highs and lows of love in the varied seasons of our unpredictable lives. From long-distance romance behind bars to surviving betrayal under the influence, the opening salvos of this reflective collection are raw and passionate musings of youth. The free-verse storytelling style gracefully matures alongside the poet, though lust and love remain his preferred subject matter. The struggles of writing, the dedication of siblings, and the compassion of breaking hearts gently are all explored with tenderness and nuance, despite the almost Bukowski-like grit that edges some of these […]

The Dougherty Code: Secrets of Financial Planning in Spain Revealed by Peter Dougherty is a clearly organized and amusingly written guide about starting a financial planning business in Spain, which will be of great use to anyone in that specialized niche but also, remarkably, of genuine interest to the general reader interested in Spanish or European financial history. An American émigré in the Autonomous Community of Valencia, Peter Dougherty provides a fascinating account of how he came to live and work in a foreign country, what he has learned in his years navigating the complex and bureaucratic Spanish system, and […]

Reality, memory, and the dark side of dreaming collide in The Dominant One by Michelle Ian, a spiraling work of supernatural horror that hooks hard from the very first chapter. A wise protector with a hidden power finds himself on a desperate rescue mission in the Arizona mountains, haunted by the fatal fallout of his own tragic heroics. With a hypnotizing plot and enthralling, suspenseful prose, this is a sinister masterpiece of modern horror, with surreal sequences of mind-bending descriptions, dream-world battles, a corpse-swallowing void, and a psychotic killer who can terrorize outside of space and time. A disturbing escape, […]

From building competitive intelligence to sharpening your instincts in the heat of conflict, Sun Tzu’s Art of War in Business Strategy: Mastering the Battlefield of Commerce by M.K. Langley is a close reading of the titular text for an ambitious professional generation. Breaking down the keys to corporate success before distilling them through Sun Tzu’s keen military lens, this is a straightforward playbook for behavioral efficiency, self-improvement, and corporate ladder climbing. While the association of war and business may be a bit strong for some readers, the author’s exploration of corporate strategy, interpersonal dynamics, high-stakes decision-making, and behavioral science through […]