Editorial Reviews

The Reign of the Occult by Lauren Louise Hazel is a breakout start to a riveting new series. Weaving in lessons about humanity’s perennial weaknesses, Hazel layers in powerful societal statements that will feel timely for YA readers. The world-building and magical exposition is done very well, and the dialogue moves the story along at an engaging clip. Whether fleeing Demons after a cage match in hell or avoiding deadly betrayals from within their merry band, this tenacious crew of heroes are entertaining from the start, in this dark and creative new work of YA fantasy.

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A true coming of age memoir, The Gosling Bride by Eileen Bader Williams is about growing up in the tumultuous seventies and its esoteric religious fervor, as she and her brother join a group that closely resembles a cult. Telling the story of being removed from Catholic school in her teenage years, struggling to form relationships with adults as she grew up, and her experience with faith, Williams’ story is told with both seriousness and endearing humor. Through her travels, she grows into a woman and discovers she has been on the road to true love her entire life, telling […]

Storm and Solace by Robin Woods is an engaging fantasy adventure bringing a modern feel to the fairytale genre. In a world of moral ambiguities, a fallen goddess looks to right wrongs on her own terms, but she just didn’t count on falling in love along the way. An inventive retelling of Beauty and the Beast, this novel works entirely on its own terms, leaning towards the mythic quality of the original in a tale of battling immortals that draws on Norse mythology, but fans of the original will be delighted by Woods’ creative take on the classic fairytale. […]

California poet Thea Rosemary cultivates a dreamlike collection of lyrical verse in The Los Angeles Gardening Guide, a title that reflects the artful inventiveness inside. Reminiscent of recent work by Lana Del Rey or Marisela Norte, this is an accomplished pouring of emotion in words exploring the journey of a woman’s transformation at the end of a relationship, finding her feet through an understanding of loss and anger, and then transcending these losses through the beauty in the cycles of nature around her. With subtle eloquence and a keen use of symbolism, this poetry collection is a probing and […]

The horrific but gripping subject of women accused as witches being burned at the stake is set alight in Burning The Witches, the first installment of Penn Fawn’s probing historical fantasy saga, the Underworld Series. Following a young woman, Hespatia, living with her grandmother in an unspecified era, she struggles with accusations of witchery in the face of a growing league of various toxic belief systems and the rising powers of her time. The author has gone full throttle with world-building throughout the novel, but it does remain somewhat murky as to the history that forms the basis […]

A thorough resource for entrepreneurs looking to make their business plans a reality, How To Start Your Dream Business: A Beginner’s Guide by Aung Thura offers an impressive number of strategies that will help both experienced and new business owners. Thura deftly manages a balance of pep talk with actionable information, covering every facet of business, without overloading the reader with dry information. Most helpful are the four pillars of success – when combined with the three different business models to consider, the book covers the gamut of potential business needs, which will be useful to most every reader, even […]

Capturing the cadence, charm, and soulful lessons of small-town America, At Trails End: Homecoming by John Strother is a cleverly penned homage to youthful resilience, and the epic trials of survival as new kids in a tough-as-nails Texas high school. Ink, Dusty, Smoke, and Cowboy are victims of circumstance in this compact novella, but rather than wallow in their outcast social status, they define their own version of cool in a world that doesn’t prize originality. Brimming with lessons for any reader in their formative years, as well as sage wisdom for all ages, the writing is authentic, witty, and […]

A collection of poetry and prose, Every Awful Thing by S.E. Bourne is written with verve and insight. Bourne creates a world wholly her own yet reminiscent of many great writers of the past who captured the plight of Middle America; Lucia Berlin comes immediately to mind, not just for the stripped-back prose and down-to-earth construction, but also in the way metaphor is deftly handled at every level of the narrative – a recognition of the beautiful poetry in the mundane things we do. The few flash fiction stories feel at home as well, with Bourne taking a poetic idea […]