Editorial Reviews

Scott Allen Benkie delivers a candid legal thriller in his novel The Lawyer’s Angel. Attorney James Crosson is at his wit’s end with heavy gambling debt and a failing practice, which leads him to take a case involving a CEO despot who is doing everything he can to maintain his throne. Benkie accurately depicts the toxicity of wealth and power through his plutocratic characters, giving the thriller a sense of acerbic social critique. Some dense legal diction slows the novel down at times, and there is an overuse of ethnic stereotypes, but the resolution where characters reimagine their lives […]

Reflective, profound, and haunting, The Jukebox Kid by Loren Jakobov is a powerful collection of emotionally raw verse – a free-verse kaleidoscope of hope and regret, nature, and the mind. Visceral flashbacks shared in “Summertime Dance” juxtapose with dark musings like “The Flimsy Shape of Things” and enigmatic koans such as “Born in the Mojave,” keeping the true thematic heart of this poetry a mystery. Though some of the pieces could use a proofread, purely for spelling and word usage, the experimental form makes these small slips less obvious, allowing readers to lose themselves in the fractured memories and wisdom […]

With a sublime balance of heartbreak and humor, Judy Haveson shares her life story in Laugh Cry Rewind. Growing up in a loving Jewish family could not protect Haveson’s childhood from unthinkable traumas, including a random act of violence and the death of her adored sister, Celia. Her sister’s calm and wisdom stayed alive in Haveson’s memory as she navigated college, careers, dating, marriage and miscarriages, the deaths of beloved family members, and celebrated the birth of her son. Reading more like an autobiography with its strict chronology, Laugh Cry Rewind is intimate and mesmerizing thanks to Haveson’s conversational […]

A gritty, fast-paced, and sexy thrill, The Fragment Murder by Andrew Bonar is the latest conspiratorial installment of the Drew Law & Ashley Tinder mystery series. A young woman desperate to earn her place in a shadowy cabal, a steamy pair of nontraditional sleuths, a bit of mind control, conspiracy theories, and an epic McGuffin that pushes the boundaries of reality all comprise this multilayered read, which practically hums with tension and excitement. Leaping artfully through time and space, without straining credulity, the storytelling on display is impressive and refreshingly original, for a novel that defies genre and expectation.

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A visionary novel of humanity’s ongoing struggle as we spread across the stars, The Bush Clinic by Stella Atrium is a character-driven drama that pits Hippocratic Oaths against hypocritical and patriarchal control. Addressing fears of recreating oppressive traditions on other worlds, this space colonization novel is far more than standard sci-fi, it is a femme-led examination of our societal ills, and a celebration of the strength found through open-mindedness and sisterhood. With diverse narrative voices, remarkably detailed world-building, and a strong coming-of-age theme for characters and communities alike, this is a powerful start to a new series.

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In this powerful memoir, I Must Have Wandered: An Adopted Air Force Daughter Recalls, Mary Ellen Gambutti narrates the complicated journey to restoring her identity after adoption. Gambutti describes her upbringing, in turns idyllic and traumatic, through reconstructed memories, speculation, and vignettes, aided throughout by personal knowledge, letters, and other artifacts. While some generalizations dilute the memoir’s pointed focus on adoption, readers will be enlightened by Gambutti’s portrayal of an adoptee’s pervasive feelings of loss, impermanence, and abandonment. Gambutti explains how adoptees must stay hypervigilant, which takes center stage when she devotes herself to the search for her family of […]

In the emotive novel Karma, co-authors T. Kennington and C. Roth unravel an engrossing mystery of two women running from a traumatic past of violence and addiction. After narrowly escaping their own deaths, Micah and Rowan flee to L.A. where they run a nightclub and find solace in unexpected love. The third-person perspective successfully cultivates a cagey tone, drawing readers into this decidedly dark take on romance, which dives into a number of difficult subjects, such as physical and emotional abuse. When the pair meet their matches in Caden and Declan, the savior-complex is somewhat disappointing for such fiercely […]

A young adult sci-fi fantasy replete with superpowers and interdimensional aliens, Diana Williams’ Alora Factor: Invasion of the Realm Jumpers is also a surprisingly down-to-earth story, as teenagers and adults alike grapple with changes ranging from the personal and social to the global and metaphysical. In this sensitively crafted YA read, thirteen-year-old Alora must come to terms with her own frighteningly powerful new gift, while fighting a body-snatching alien invasion and looking out for her family and friends. Strong, diverse, relatable characters each bring something unique to this well-woven story, interspersed with world-saving action, which will leave readers eager for […]