Editorial Reviews

Echoes is the stunning new collection of poetry by Steffan Williams, who shows great poetic skill along with an original storytelling voice. The first third of the collection is colored with a fresh, bright palette, from subject matter to imagery, displaying the down-to-earth wisdom of Williams’ Trinidadian roots. The last two-thirds is comprised of darker and more emotional poems, which don’t always live up to the earlier works. However, Williams’ imagination is on full display throughout the collection, with the perspectives of pilots and vigilantes, or ruminating on artwork and monsters in the streets. A truly refreshing collection of poems […]

A brain-bending dive into the philosophy of personal choice and autonomy, Free Will, Do You Have It? is a fascinating presentation of the author’s personal theory of Procirclism. The author makes a strong case for his idea, through extended metaphors, scientific research, and proposed thought experiments. Presented in a logical structure that introduces scientific concepts and details as necessary, the book is designed intuitively. Kral successfully expounds on a truly challenging and eye-opening theory for why humans do what we do.

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Portrait of a Daughter by Liz O’Toole Papazian is a short and poignant novel about how to find meaning in life and death. New York City in the 80s is the perfect nostalgic backdrop to this novel that deftly mixes tragic upbringing with personal triumph. Papazian does not coddle the reader as we follow Grace through the death of her mother to the hedonistic clubs of the Big Apple, and finally becoming a mother herself. While the story has some predictable dramatic plot points, the spirit of Grace’s character pierces through each scene so it’s impossible not to admire her, […]

A classic heroine-driven adventure, Saving the Dragon by Sara R. Cleveland is a high-fantasy romance that will thrill YA readers and veteran fantasy fans alike. Leveraging love and loyalty like magical weapons, this book is a creative, well-penned coming-of-age story with clever spell-casting laws and strong-willed characters that are both recognizable and unique. The plot moves quickly, with regular jumps of weeks or more in the storytelling, which can make this foundational tale feel rushed at times, but the world-building is still impressively detailed. Pulling themes from traditional sagas, fairy tales, and fables, but weaving them into an expansive new […]

Neil Turner’s latest Tony Valenti thriller, Plane in the Lake, pits the no-nonsense lawyer and his fiery partner against entrenched power in this classic Chicago crime story. Lawyers and liars go hand in hand in the pearly offices of the city’s underworld, as a well-to-do family’s desperate attempt to cover up the truth behind their daughter’s death spirals into something much more. As Valenti is faced with saving not only his firm but his family too, Turner skillfully wields an incisive pen that takes on the seemingly untouchable upper classes and shady crime families. With his trademark breezy style […]

Wild, experimental, and difficult to stop reading, Junk Drawer at the Edge of the Universe by Steven Reed Johnson is a Pynchon-esque ramble through language and storytelling that defies classification, and at times, understanding. What reads like a memoir and feels like a documentary is also an abstract exploration of performance, writing, relationships, and reality itself. While the stream-of-consciousness style can be exhausting, there is the gleaming thread of a winding plot, and a kaleidoscopic perspective on those who live on the world’s fringe. An edit for clarity would be recommended, but the raw imperfection of this avant-garde fiction is […]

A gentle and colorful explanation of being adopted from a foreign country, The Baby with Three Families, Two Countries, and One Promise by Julie Gianelloni Connor, and illustrated by Saman Chinthaka Weerasinghe, is a unique and essential children’s book. Clearly laying out some of the key reasons, factors, and steps in the emotionally complex process of overseas adoption, this book delicately explores the subject, making it a great launching point for conversations between parents and children. The illustrations are vivid, though some of the facial expressions are a bit opaque, and the text is stripped down to its simplest form, […]

In The Next Day, a charming and steamy second installment of the Foothills series by Carrie Thorne, this sharp-tongued author turns up the heat between a haunted vet and a big-city woman looking to find a different kind of peace in the natural beauty of Washington. The plot rolls out with slowly building chemistry, as well as unexpected events that inevitably nudge the pair closer. Some of the more callous language, particularly between Zane and Asher, might be off-putting for readers, but there is also a gritty eroticism in the prose – a well-tuned tension of emotion and desire […]