Editorial Reviews

Written with searing honesty and a compelling contemporary voice, The Girl in the Blue Blazer by Alretha Thomas is an engrossing novel that touches on urgent social and ethical issues, engulfed in an emotionally charged plot. When Pamela finally receives the offer for her long-coveted internship with Clifford Investments, she is beside herself, but she doesn’t want to become Andrews Clifford’s protégé for sheer ambition…Pamela seeks revenge, with unpredictable results. Balancing narratives between the past and the present, Thomas spools a story that is both unique and universal, told with clear and sincere prose that brings emotional authenticity to a […]

Impressively researched and beautifully written, The Darlings of the Downs: Five Generations, One Destiny by Casey Walsh follows the journey of two Irish sisters who leave the brutal poverty of Cork in 1879 to start a journey to Australia. Covering 100 years of family history, Walsh immerses readers in the sisters’ story as they carve out a life for themselves in the new world, showing the long-term effects of chances taken and missed, unrequited love, and sudden tragedy. The novel’s core story focuses on the toughmindedness and importance of a strong female line, resulting in an empowering read that is […]

Whimsically blending Regency style with a touch of the fairy tale, My Cousin Darcy by Robin Elizabeth Kobayashi is a smart, fun, and creative installment of her Sofia-Elisabete Stories, which reimagines characters from Pride and Prejudice. The historical dialogue, cultural touchpoints, and deep dive into the sporting side of British life suggest significant research by this detail-oriented author, along with skillfully balancing social intrigue, romance, and relatable vulnerability. Moreover, the writing contains beautifully woven allegories that bind the rich and descriptive prose with layers of meaning. Building on Austen’s storied protagonist, Kobayashi imbues this inventive series with authenticity, […]

A dark and spiraling mystery that probes into human nature, violence, and the supernatural, The Hook by James Pack is an original, dialogue-driven thriller. Searching for his mysteriously vanished wife after returning from his tour of duty as a Navy medic in Vietnam, Earnest Kemp is a determined and increasingly desperate man. His arrival in small-town Maine coincides with a bizarre and brutal murder, but he shakes off suspicions as he becomes enmeshed in the investigation, praying that it will lead him to his wife and child. Penned with a gritty grace that blurs the line between reality and something […]

A varied but thematically concise work of contemporary poetry, Office Poems by Nathan Nicolau mixes together dreamlike verse with an undercurrent of sardonic social awareness. Nicolau’s emotive but playful verse and prose poetry guide the reader through original, ironic, and deeply felt contemplations about the fabric of everyday life – from mundane tasks to the nature of celebrity. At times, the poetry veers into prose reformatted into verse, but the mixture of humor and intellectual inquiry gives the collection a comfortably breezy flair, demonstrating the poet’s total control over his vision. Written with straightforward but layered language, Nicolau’s collection of […]

Author Sheldon Greene pulls readers into a post-collapse prophecy of America with his stark and cautionary novel, After the Parch. Half a century in the future, the United States has dissolved and resilient pioneers of the ensuing chaos seek little more than stability and safety in a dry and burned-out world, as a young man journeys through California to secure land and hope for the future of his small clan of survivors in the face of perpetual environmental exploitation. Bran’s wide-eyed wonder at the dangerous world before him gives this dystopian slice of on-the-road storytelling an original and authentic […]

A lyrical playground of emotive recollections, Copper Child: Poems by Emma Mnaya-Buzy is an homage to innocence, self-confidence, love, and growth. Interspersed with vivid images that are both stunning and simple, mirroring the delicate and lilting language of the verse, readers are gently guided through meditations on mortality, rebirth, nature’s beauty, femininity, and the power of speech – a wide-ranging series of topics that manages to be thematically consistent. Wielding symbolic stories and universal metaphors with grace and creativity, Mnaya-Buzy imbues each poem with a visceral sense of magic and history, for a stunning and well-curated collection.

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Author Claire N. Rubman, PhD presents a revolutionary new take on a fundamental facet of childhood development in This May Be Difficult to Read: But You Really Should (for your child’s sake). Calling out some of the most destructive myths and ineffective teaching methods related to reading and literacy, this is both a persuasive thesis and a friendly guidebook. Rubman does an excellent job of maintaining the accessibility of the book, without compromising her role as an academic authority and expert in the field. This May Be Difficult to Read is a tremendously helpful read for parents, teachers, and […]