Editorial Reviews

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 […]

A kaleidoscopic voyage through imagination, Presence, the Play is a deep dive into the writer’s psyche, in which a playwright monk suffers a tragic accident before his grand story can be revealed, triggering a visionary journey. William E. Jefferson has produced a tour de force blending different fictional forms while displaying a vast knowledge of drama, theology, history, and mysticism. As the reader travels to unknown lands in the Isle of Estillyen to battle the actors of evil, Jefferson’s narrative dynamism is on full display. While heavy on dialogue, as might be expected, distinct voices shine through with every innovative […]

A vibrant and accessible children’s book about salvation, Snatched Up to Heaven for Kids by Jemima Paul and Arvind Paul is a powerful and commanding read. Filled with vivid, detailed illustrations of Jesus, angels, and the main characters’ frequent travels to heaven, this book is a feast for the eyes. While the final chapters of the book may get a bit intense for younger readers, this is perhaps necessarily so, and underscores the authors’ impassioned devotion to their message. Complete with references to passages from the bible and Revelations, this book delivers a clear outline of Christian faith to parents […]

Michael Santino kicks his series off with an explosive start in The Frontline: Season 1 – Episode 1. Seemingly ripped from today’s tumultuous headlines, this small-town tale of crime and power runs head-on at issues like domestic terrorism, anarchists, white supremacy, law enforcement, and the judicial system. Some of the dialogue feels too explicit to be believed, particularly between law enforcement agents, but the narration is sharp, clever, and unpredictable. Along with the heavy and timely themes, this first installment is also focused on gritty character-building, setting the stage for an action-packed, twist-driven series.

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