Editorial Reviews

A drunken wedding results in a knotty relationship in Erin Lynne’s witty and sexy romance novel About That Rule – the second title in her About That series. Best friends Samantha and Nate elope during a night of debauchery in Las Vagas and need to wait ninety days before they can legally end the marriage, setting off three months loaded with sexual tension, tantalizing secrets, and inevitable sparks. The outcome to Lynne’s set-up is no doubt predictable, but About That Rule is a funny, sensual, and smartly written friends-to-lovers tale that stands apart in the genre.

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Author Laura Strobel peels open her heart and reveals a path to healing in her memoir, Accountability: Facing the truth to discover self-empowerment, a searing look at domestic violence, the deeply flawed justice system in America, and the long-term impacts of trauma in its many forms. Straying from the traditional framework of healing grief in five stages, Strobel addresses the complex issues of incarceration, both during and after, as well as the inalterable changes it can cause in one’s self-identity and relationships. Penned with raw emotional honesty, this is both a memoir and a guide for mindfulness, and would […]

Author Marie-Claire Ross delivers a master class in leadership, trust-building, and communication with her latest book Trusted to Thrive: How leaders create connected and accountable teams. The three overarching steps/sections may seem intuitive, but Ross’ focus on creating a safe environment where experimentation, trust, and connection are encouraged, rather than conformity and competition, stands out as a unique focal point of her approach. Peppered with accessible and creative analogies, as well as practical steps that leaders and team members can employ for greater success, this book is easy to read, but simultaneously dives deep on critical points. Cleanly edited […]

A magical realist story collection that covers a great number of subjects from war to love, Valeri Stanoevich’s Fancy Shop is an impressive exercise in surrealist storytelling, illustrating how the short form can pack a heavy punch. The book smartly addresses heady existential quandaries about truth and the meaning of life, while being surprisingly page-turning for a work of multilayered short fiction. The collection would appeal to an audience who’s looking for complex art that asks hard questions, as Stanoevich writes with both eloquence and nuance.

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Author JoDee Neathery dissects the bonds and wounds of the unforgettable Mackie family in A Kind of Hush. While a tragic accident at Zoar Valley Gorge nearly tears the Mackie family apart, the investigation into what happened on that fateful day may reveal even more dark and divisive truths. Exploring the long road of pain, anger, and forgiveness after grief, this intimate peek at familial healing is striking in its level of detail. Though this intense family drama tells a riveting story, the quality of the prose doesn’t always hold up; an overabundance of metaphors and similes, along with […]

A deep dive into the seminal experiences that shaped her life, Whispers from the Universe by Georgina Morello is an inspiring collection of personal essays marking touchstones of her spiritual journey. Fearlessly leading readers through emotional volatility, depression, trauma, and her spiritual awakening, the author details the unusual path of growth and learning the universe unfurled before her. The prose is rich with meaning, but accessible, and while an editor could help with organization, Morello’s writing is informative and engaging throughout. Whether she is communing with her inner voice, dissecting the painful past, or opening herself to new experiences, this […]

A spiraling thriller that pulls readers back through war-torn centuries of global struggle, The Dragon’s Threat by Peter King is a stunning adventure through the halls of power. A bookish specialist is brought in to resolve a hot-button land dispute in the South China Sea, but soon finds himself in a dangerous cocktail of rewritten history, international power grabs, kidnapping attempts, deadly negotiations, and the double-edged sword of any contentious border. Dripping with well-researched detail, entrancing narration, and a tangled knot of hardly trustworthy characters, this whip-smart read is deliciously complex, and a true pleasure to read.

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Obsession dies hard and grief heals slow in Boulder Girl: Bad Moon Rising by Cynthia L. Clark, a gripping sequel in the Boulder Girl series. Random chance and bad luck puts Leon Alvarez back on the streets, and back on the hunt for Lana Ross – the object of his maniacal infatuation. Once again, Clark explores the twisted depths of delusion, and the endless resilience of her lead character, even as she tries to protect the innocent legacy of the man she loved and lost. Though the high-stakes plot is fast-paced and easy to read, the narration can be heavy-handed, […]