The post STARRED Book Review: The Campaign by Evette Davis appeared first on Independent Book Review.
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The Campaign (The Council Trilogy, 3)
by Evette Davis
Genre: Fantasy / Urban Fantasy
ISBN: 9781684633326
Print Length: 354 pages
Reviewed by Lauren Hayataka
This campaign trail comes with curses, ghosts, and a demon or two.
In The Campaign, the final book in The Council Trilogy, Evette Davis delivers a smart, fast-paced urban fantasy that’s as much about political warfare as it is about personal reckoning. Returning to the series is like settling into familiar territory—only this time, the stakes have gone global, and the monsters wear suits.
Olivia Shepherd, political consultant and reluctant witch, barely has time to regroup after her last mission before she’s rerouted to Idaho on a favor she can’t ignore. Diana Chambers, a Secretary of State with her eye on the presidency, is assembling a campaign—and she wants Olivia by her side. The job would be complicated enough without Stoner Halbert in the mix. He’s not just a campaign rival—he’s the very real face of supernatural chaos, backed by dark magic and a trail of destruction no press cycle can explain away.
With her circle—William, Josef, Elsa, Lily—back at her side, Olivia’s pulled into something much larger than an election. Strange weather, unexplained violence, and ominous visions point to a world increasingly out of balance. And for once, it’s not just the Council calling the shots. It’s the gods. The dead. Her family. Everyone, it seems, wants Olivia to become something more.
The chapters move briskly, and Davis has sharpened the pacing since The Gift. The writing is confident but relaxed, letting the emotional stakes rise without drawing too much attention to them. There’s the expected fantasy flare—werewolf attacks, spectral messengers, cursed amulets—but none of it overwhelms what makes the story work: Olivia herself.
She’s a heroine who still doesn’t quite want the job, still doubts herself, still wishes things could be simpler. But this time, she stops running. Her relationships with William and Josef remain tangled and intimate, especially as she begins to question what love looks like after betrayal—and what it means to be chosen by someone versus choosing them in return. It’s messy, but grounded. Davis never plays the romance for drama. She lets it sit in the background where it belongs, textured but never overpowering.
There’s a heaviness here that wasn’t present in earlier books—grief, inheritance, exhaustion. Olivia’s late mother and grandmother are constant shadows, not just in spirit but in memory, reminding her that power often comes from pain. Her father, once a steady hand at the head of the Council, begins to falter. The prophecy following her for two books now presses closer, demanding more than strategy or magic. It demands commitment; commitment that Olivia isn’t sure she’s capable of living up to.
And still, Davis never forgets to make room for sharp dialogue, dry humor, or the surreal nature of blending campaign stops with ancient rituals. A demon hiding behind a press secretary. A livestreamed witch hunt. A political opponent whose very presence warps the laws of nature. It all works because it isn’t overwrought. It’s just Olivia’s life now—and like her, we’re not surprised anymore.
The book’s final third pivots toward deeper revelations, but Davis keeps her focus where it belongs: on Olivia. The resolution isn’t about fireworks or final battles. It’s about acceptance. What makes The Campaign satisfying isn’t how it wraps up the plot—it’s how Olivia begins to take ownership of herself. The work she does isn’t just in the field. It’s in her relationships. In her family home. In the way she finally stops hiding from the life that’s been waiting for her.
There are still enemies. Still sacrifices. But by the end, Olivia understands the cost of leading—and chooses it anyway.
Thank you for reading Lauren Hayataka’s book review of The Campaign by Evette Davis! If you liked what you read, please spend some more time with us at the links below.
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Fires Burning Underground
by Nancy McCabe
Genre: Middle Grade Fiction / Supernatural
ISBN: 9781646035601
Print Length: 158 pages
Publisher: Fitzroy Books
Reviewed by Eric Mayrhofer
Spirits prowl at the corners, but tender vulnerability and small rebellions make the haunting, beating heart of Nancy McCabe’s middle-grade novel.
Anny, the main character of Nancy McCabe’s Fires Burning Underground, has grown up on a collection of the books her mother loved as a child—shelves of Nancy Drew and Anne of Green Gables. But oh, how I wish she could find a book about pirates, about their rebelliousness and their bravery; their stories might embolden her. She deserves all the encouragement and love in the world as she moves through McCabe’s lovely, thoughtful story and starts coming into her own.
When the book opens, Anny is facing a multitude of problems. First, she finds out that Robert, a boy who asked her out once, has died. Then, his passing triggers big questions; she says, “I keep having random inappropriate thoughts, like maybe Robert might have been the person who would have helped me figure out if I’m gay or straight.” And all of that is before leaving homeschool and starting public school, where “it’s as if everyone else has known each other forever.”
When she meets Larissa, however, she discovers a kindred spirit beyond the wall of her home. Larissa is fascinated with the paranormal, and as she draws Anny into her explorations of clairvoyance, telepathy, and the beyond, Anny begins pushing back on everything she has ever known.
Throughout the book, Anny’s random thoughts might surprise her, but feel true and universal; it’s so natural for someone else’s death to make us turn inward, to look at how we’re living our own lives. In a religiously dominated household, her inability to find space for herself also rings true.
More interesting, however, are the small ways that Anny’s venturing into the world threatens a status quo quietly dominated by religious conservatism. When she brings Larissa home for the first time, she notices that “Mom smiles stiffly. I get the feeling that she’s made up her mind not to like Larissa…Mom is all bulgy and embarrassing, so I don’t know why she’s so judgy.” Her mother balks at Larissa exposing her to Ouija boards, warning that they can expose Anny to demons, and making her concerned. Anny notices later, though, that “in the bright, noisy cafeteria, my uneasiness seems kind of dopey.” Leaving her home environment, seeing new perspectives, and letting new voices into her life helps her see, in small ways, that not everything she’s been taught should be trusted.
But most interesting of all is the use of the supernatural as a symbol for personal power. With each experiment, Anny pushes back a little more against the world she has been brought up in and explores a little more deeply into her nature. As they start practicing mind reading, Larissa says, “ESP is like that. You have to practice a while every day to keep your talent active.” The same is true of self-discovery and self-determination—especially for queer children—it takes constant practice to be fully yourself when it may seem the rest of the world is telling you your truth is wrong.
It’s a tale of empowerment with emotion that runs deep, rendered with grace, empathy, and a brave little girl that will haunt readers long after they leave her on the final page.
Thank you for reading Eric Mayrhofer’s book review of Fires Burning Underground by Nancy McCabe! If you liked what you read, please spend some more time with us at the links below.
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]]>by Joe Walters & the IBR Staff
What are the best books you read in 2023?
My picks are different than yours. Different than Jaylynn’s, than Tucker’s, than Joelene’s, than Andrea’s, than the New York Times.
I love that about books. We couldn’t possibly read them all, and media outlets couldn’t either. Every list is different because reading is subjective, specific, dependent on real-life availability, experience, past interests, current interests, future goals, you name it. There is no one best book.
And yet, one book is the best book someone has ever read.
There’s so much singularity in this. And so much honesty. Only that person in that circumstance who has read those books before this one can have their specific opinion on their best one ever. And still, some books are chosen by multiple people. Both can exist at the same time.
Want to see our picks for the best books we read in 2023?
The IBR team is awesome and so uniquely them. They love books, they’re smart as hell, and when they tell me that this is the book that wrecked them, I listen. And I love to listen. They read so many books this year, both the ones that contributed to the 400+ reviews we’ve published this year and the ones they choose to read on their own time. If you’re going to listen to anybody’s recommendations this year, let it be this team.
Another plus here is that these are ALL indie books.
While a majority of most bookstores are filled with books published by the same five publishing companies, IBR reviews the digital masses: the indie press & self-published books. If you know an author or publisher in real life, there’s a pretty good chance they published indie. Those are the people we review.
So read indie!
Not only are they the little guy that feels good to support–your neighbor or friend or family member–they publish damn good books. And books that these reviewers have chosen to be among the the best books they’ve ever read.
Here are the best books we read in 2023!
1. Monstrilio
Author: Gerardo Sámano Córdova
Genre: Literary Fiction / Magical Realism
ISBN: 9781638930365
Print Length: 336 pages
Publisher: Zando
If the lung of your favorite person became a monster, could you love it the same?
Magos removes a piece of her son’s lung after he dies, and she keeps it in the closet. And from that point on, her grief exists in the physical world. Not only for Magos but also for Joseph, her now ex-husband.
It stays close to Magos, until it doesn’t. Until it grows. Transforms. Starts wrapping its tail around the bar in the closet and swings. It becomes hungry. Ravenous. And turning into Santiago, their dead son.
The grief is real: monstrous but real. Maybe if they love it, they’ll be able to tame it.
I couldn’t believe this book. How could something with such a heavy topic like a child’s death be so beautiful to experience? I started this thing on vacation with a toddler and finished within DAYS. And let me tell you, I miss it!
It’s so smart and easy at the same time. The analogy for this grief is so fascinating. Not only is it fun to watch new Santiago swing and develop, but we always know he has the power to destroy absolutely everything.
2. I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself
Author: Marisa Crane
Genre: Science Fiction / Dystopia
ISBN: 9781646221295
Print Length: 352 pages
Publisher: Catapult
Shame is a shadow: visible, connected, following or leading you.
In you do something the state considers wrong in this sci-fi dystopia, you are given an extra shadow so you can be ridiculed, outcast, and feared in society.
Or, in Kris’s case, you are given two shadows.
Kris has recently been widowed and is now the single parent of a child she has no idea how to raise. Especially alone. But here she is doing it and in turn, following the kid’s lead.
This book is inventive and realistic and personal and global and important and even visibly appealing. But on top of it, it’s written lyrically, creatively, intimately; it’s even capable of being read quickly. Kris writes the book directly to Beau (her dead wife) and includes love letters, memories, and lists. It feels like a collection of notes to a loved one: heartbreaking, surprisingly plot-happy, and deeply affecting notes.
Any literary sci-fi reader would be thrilled to find this one. As a new parent at the time I was reading this, I got a lot from it. It’s got relatable parenting content in droves.
3. Weather and Beasts and Growing Things
Author: Charlotte Suttee
Genre: Science Fiction / Dystopia
ISBN: 9781590217580
Print Length: 210 pages
Publisher: Lethe Press
Inventive & important. Stylish and bare. An eco-fever-dream.
This dystopian sci-fi meets us in a state of climate disaster at the end of this century. Stevven and Eli are just a couple of growing things trying to take care of a garden at the top of an abandoned apartment building, but they’re not allowed to do that.
When a drone finds them, they are chased out of their home in search of another one, but they’re forced across a bare, dangerous landscape. They hear Sewanee’s got the answer, but who in the world knows for sure where is safe. Stevven doesn’t, that’s for sure.
Weather and Beasts and Growing Things is a stylish dystopia in concept and form. Words are conjoined, like “Stevvenarm,” and articles (like “the” and “a”) are hard to come by. It makes for strong, sharp, needle-like one-sentence paragraphs that give you an image but ask for you to conjure the rest yourself. It makes the violence, the world seem more abrupt, more in-time, and more disorienting.
When I read books about climate & weather, I want to encounter nature writing. And I’m fulfilled here! The nature writing is spare—those one-word, three-word descriptions—but full in specificity, knowledge, and appreciation for our world. For a book to place such importance on keeping a plant alive and to follow it up with good nature writing gave me just what I came here for.
Honorable Mentions:
- Hashtag Good Guy With a Gun by Jeff Chon (Bookshop | Amazon | Review)
- The Museum of Human History by Rebekah Bergman (Bookshop | Amazon)
1. The Tenement Nurse
Author: Kate Gemma
Genre: Historical Fiction
ISBN: 9798393246679
Print Length: 280 pages
The time period, the setting, the characters, the storylines: they’re all sure to enrapture you.
This enthralling novel set in NYC during the roaring 20s follows Millie, who devotes herself to her chaotic job as a nurse in a tenement building made up mostly of immigrants. But things take a turn when one of her pregnant patients dies at the hands of her alcoholic husband. That’s when Millie creates her own idea of justice. It’s up to her to decide what a woman should and should not do.
This book is fantastic: I was constantly engaged, constantly questioning what was going to happen next. Millie finds herself in increasingly dangerous situations, and her circumstances are always changing. I was pulled along by the freshness of each succeeding chapter. She always has the option to disappear into the life of a housewife, and each avenue we take along the way ends up being as entertaining as the last. There’s not one paragraph I wanted to skip.
2. At the Edge of the Woods
Author: Kathryn Bromwich
Genre: Literary Fiction / Thriller
ISBN: 9781953387318
Print Length: 220 pages
Publisher: Two Dollar Radio
A spellbinding debut set in a lush natural world
Laura lives in a remote cabin in the Italian Alps. Her days consist of exploring the woods behind her home, tutoring young children from the nearby town, and translating documents for money. It’s all quite cozy, until someone from her past knocks on her door, shattering the illusion that Laura is simply a person who needed a change in life.
The reality of her situation is a bit darker, and as it catches up with her, our understanding of her present situation begins to untangle. And with it comes chaos and freedom.
Survival in the natural world, isolation, not having children–I love so much of what Bromwich is able to do with this novel. But my infatuation all starts with her protagonist Laura, a woman after my own heart. Just when we get comfortable with her, the narrative flips our understanding on its head. I never knew what was going to happen.
Still, it’s Browmwich’s effortless nature writing that may shine brightest here. The natural world is captured in gorgeous description. It brings a sense of calm to the reading experience even when situations are tense. About as close to a walk through the real world as a book can be, these descriptions simultaneously communicate the beauty of nature while never over-glorifying the reality of her way of living.
If you read this book, you’ll feel the underlying fear for a woman alone in the woods just as you’ll admire her constant ability to overcome it. This is a book to be remembered.
Give to yourself this holiday season! Here are the BEST gifts for book lovers.
1. To Refrain from Embracing
Author: Jeffrey Luscombe
Genre: Historical Fiction / Coming of Age
ISBN: 9781590217481
Print Length: 438 pages
Publisher: Lethe Press
A smartly indelicate fiction exploring every aspect of a boy’s weird trauma
At first, this story seems to be about Ted Moore, who’d enlisted at 17, became a UN Peacekeeper in the Congo, and recently self-injured in front of his 10-year-old son. “I don’t consider it my best hour,” he admits of his suicide attempt, “but that’s what happened and that’s that.”
As the novel leads us into the woods, the drama recenters onto Ted’s son, Josh. For him, the way to impress an older neighborhood boy is to divulge a really good secret. Fortunately (or not), Josh has a few of those.
A big achievement of this novel is how it investigates overlapping strands of identity. Josh’s mother grew up on a reservation in Minnesota, and his Aunt Doris in particular values her Indian heritage. On his father’s side, his aunts are fanatical born-again Christians. So who might Josh grow up to become?
It’s a twisted tale with touching moments that are meant to feel awkward. To Refrain From Embracing is an apt title insofar as the novel is about people who spend more time trying to control themselves and each other than to listen and connect.
Luscombe keeps piquing our curiosity into this weird kid born into an even weirder family, and he weaves an elaborately detailed world that’s ultimately left open-ended. He gives us an extended peepshow of Josh’s formative—perhaps de-formative—year.
2. Opening to Darkness
Author: Zenju Earthlyn Manuel
Genre: Nonfiction / Spiritualism
ISBN: 9781683648611
Print Length: 240 pages
Publisher: Sounds True
An ordained Zen priest delivers a sensitive, compelling exploration of a slippery philosophical topic: the vast amount we don’t know or can’t know.
In a dark place, we may feel stuck or in pain, but we may still find support and gain insight there. It’s the most fertile ground, and we can encourage our mutual work there. Manuel says she writes especially for those whose skin, like hers, is racialized as “dark,” and she also says her message is for everyone. Darkness doesn’t destroy light; it’s an essential part of our existence, and it shows us what light is.
3. La Syrena
Author: Banah el Ghadbanah
Genre: Poetry
ISBN: 9781950539444
Print Length: 160 pages
Publisher: Dzanc Books
An impressive debut poetry collection that will give you a new way of seeing
Spoken word poet & scholar of Syrian women’s creative work, Banah el Ghadbanah addresses war, ecological crisis, and revolution. Just as the title plays on words for “mermaid” and “Syrian,” so do the poems consistently weave layers of mythic consciousness: ancient Babylonian goddesses, modern refugees, linguistic shift, playfulness with gender, and the fluidity of all identity. La Syrena is sensual, visually inventive, and inspirational.
1. A Seat for the Rabble
Author: Ryan Schuette
Genre: Fantasy
ISBN: 9798988598602
Print Length: 468 pages
Masterful storytelling and epic worldbuilding make this a must-read for fans of political fantasy.
Ryan Schuette weaves a complex world of political intrigue, class conflict, and the pursuit of power in this enthralling epic fantasy.
Set in the richly imagined world of the Kingdom of Loran, the story begins with the death of King Hexar, throwing the realm into a tumultuous struggle for succession.
At the heart of the narrative is Jason Warchild, the illegitimate son of the late king. Despite his uncertain origins, Jason is driven by a noble purpose: to bring equality to the people of Loran.
One of the many strengths of A Seat for the Rabble is the relevant themes reflecting modern day issues. The intricate political landscape, mirroring our own challenging political systems, reflects the power struggles seen in today’s world. Furthermore, the novel delves into the pressing issues of class conflict and social inequality, drawing parallels with contemporary societal challenges.
Ryan Schuette’s writing style is rich and immersive, drawing readers into the vividly detailed world of the Kingdom of Loran with its knights, magic, and powerful griffons. As the narrative unfolds, the book mixes in plenty of action and suspense too, reminding me of the Game of Thrones series.
2. The Mystery Next Door
Author: Michael Rodney Moore
Genre: Middle Grade / Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
ISBN: 9798393679699
Print Length: 259 pages
There’s something about southern mystery that brings out a childlike wonder.
The Mystery Next Door becomes addictive when Moore brings out old tales of piracy and long-lost treasure. It’s the type of adventure one would recognize from movies such as The Goonies (1985) and Tom & Huck (1995). Whose inner child didn’t wish they could find secret treasure in their own backyard?
Moore’s book begins with young Zoey Morganton as she moves into a small town with her mother in North Carolina. It isn’t long until she learns about the mysterious plantation not too far from her home: Oak Harbor. The house is covered with many secrets, ranging from a crazed slaveowner to a secret pirate treasure.
As Zoey Morganton delves deeper into the history of Oak Harbor, readers are treated to an alluring journey through time. Readers become engaged with the golden age of piracy and life in the South (before and after the Civil War). Although the characters in these times are fictional, it does provoke educational interest as Moore’s research shines through the pages.
Middle school readers who are exploring the American South in other classes and those who relish in satisfying mysteries and adventure are going to love this story.
3. Ferren and the Angel
Author: Richard Harland
Genre: Fantasy
ISBN: 9781922856296
Print Length: 242 pages
A fast-paced and engaging dystopian fantasy with loads of fascinating lore
What will happen in the next thousand years? Some people believe there will be significant alterations, some that it will be eerily similar, and others think there will be no Earth at all.
Author Richard Harland has some other ideas. The future depicted in Ferren and the Angel shows angels and humans in an epic never-ending battle for dominance.
The worldbuilding here is addictive. You won’t want to miss any developing details about what the world will look like in this future.
What will break young Ferren out of his humdrum life at the start of this book? Watching an angel fall from Heaven. Miriael, the Fourth Angel of Observance, has no way of returning to her ethereal realm. Her powers have faltered since she arrived in the material world, but she cultivates a new friendship in Ferren. Unfortunately, it has to be kept secret, and it doesn’t stay that way for long.
Honorable Mentions:
- Oversight by Dennis Batchelder (Bookshop | Amazon | Review)
- The White by Matt Micheli (Amazon | Review)
1. To the Woman in the Pink Hat
Author: LaToya Jordan
Genre: Science Fiction / Feminist
ISBN: 9781619762367
Print Length: 100 pages
A powerful exploration of racial inequality through the lens of feminist sci-fi
In the near future, a horrifying organization has risen. Posing as a health center that conducts birth control studies, it instead steals the uteruses of young women of color who seek its services and transplants them into women who are willing to pay.
Jada Morris had been leading the SU’s, a resistance movement against the company, until she was incarcerated for a violent crime. Now she has been transferred to The Center, a rehabilitation program aimed at helping her confront her past and getting her back into society.
Speculative fiction has long been a vehicle for exploring cultural and social issues in the world, and Jordan uses it to its full potential here. Echoes of Marge Piercy’s feminist masterpiece, Woman on the Edge of Time, flicker within these pages.
This novella packs a powerful punch for something so succinct. It doesn’t flinch from the dark places science will go if left unchecked, but there is also warm compassion and, above all, hope. To the Woman in the Pink Hat is a heavy and often confronting read with lovely sparkles of light scattered throughout, a wonderful addition to the shelf of anyone with an interest in social politics, race theory, or feminism.
2. Montecito
Author: Michael Cox
Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense / Crime
ISBN: 9798987960264
Print Length: 340 pages
Dark secrets lurk beneath the glittering veneer of this slow-burn thriller.
Moving to wealthy Montecito seemed like a fantastic idea to Hollis Crawford and his wife Cricket. When an obscenely rich family moves to the area, they bring with them Hollis’s last hope in the form of a spectacular job offer. Not everything is as it seems in this luxurious, glittering world, however.
Montecito is difficult to categorize into a particular genre. It could fit under psychological thriller or domestic mystery; it even has aspects of family drama. Whatever the genre, it is an astoundingly good read.
How could this be a debut? The execution is too deft and confident. Nothing is over-explained or hammed up. In fact, there’s a rare degree of subtlety to the writing. Everything in this story unfolds at its own pace, revealing secrets upon secrets until the final page.
Montecito is like an exquisite little machine where all the moving parts slot impeccably together. The story couldn’t stand without the setting or characters, and Hollis’s specific flaws are the force that drives the narrative.
3. Soiled Dove Murder
Author: Sherilyn Decter
Genre: Historical Fiction / Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
ISBN: 9781777515140
Print Length: 479 pages
Clever, nuanced, entertaining, and fun all at once.
School is out for the summer. Schoolteacher Lucie Santoro and Delores Bailey, her incongruous moonshiner companion, are using the break to help one of Lucie’s old pupils.
The once-impoverished student is now running a bordello of prostitutes in Virginia City. When one of her so-called “soiled doves” goes missing in suspicious circumstances and law enforcement doesn’t care, Ruth turns to Lucie, the one person she knows will help.
As a teacher in the 1920s, life is a delicate balancing act for Lucie. Being seen with the owner of a bordello would be enough to shatter her reputation and destroy her career. Little does Lucie know that losing her career may be the least of her worries. On this holiday, she’ll be in danger of losing her life.
As with all of the books I’ve read from Sherilyn Decter, the historical attention to detail is remarkable. From the very first bumpy, exhausting bus ride to the portrayal of Chinese immigration in 1920s USA, it’s clear how well Decter understands the world she’s writing.
What I love about these novels is that the protagonists aren’t immune to the values of their time. They judge and misstep, but they are fully rounded empathetic characters and the more they experience, the wider their understanding becomes.
Honorable Mentions:
1. Cursebreakers
Author: Madeleine Nakamura
Genre: Fantasy
ISBN: 9781939096128
Print Length: 284 pages
Publisher: Canis Major Books
Cursebreakers is nonstop action, pierced with so much heart and heightened emotion on both ends of the scale.
The book follows Professor Adrien Desfourneaux, who finds himself entangled in the life-threatening position of preventing a magical coup linked to a rapidly increasing number of comatose victims—while he is experiencing a significant flare-up of his bipolar disorder symptoms. The book’s characters come alive off the page in a way that is rare and precious and will no doubt fuel the rise of a powerful fandom.
Cursebreakers is outrageously good—phenomenal, even. This is a novel as electric as the lightning-bolt magic its protagonist wields, filled with curses, destruction, and piercing heartache. It’s an ode to true, enduring friendship and a call to believe in our capacity for good.
2. Just Wide Enough for Two
Editors: Kacey M. Martin
Genre: Historical Fiction / LGBTQ
ISBN: 9798218116293
Print Length: 328 pages
A love story between childhood best friends Emily Dickinson and Susan Gilbert, spanning years of complicated life changes and passionate connection
Emily Dickinson is wild and offbeat, more comfortable running around outdoors and speaking out of turn than she is in any stereotypical “ladylike” capacity.
Between vivid descriptions of the ever-changing natural landscapes, seductive descriptions when looking at each other, and the secret-coded letters slipped between breasts before sneaking off to rendezvous, open-hearted Emily and Susan always take center stage.
Just Wide Enough for Two feels like a classic romantic comedy filled with grand gestures of love in a charming historical setting. There’s a powerful sense of longing and suspense while reading, as we cannot imagine how the women may achieve their happily ever after under these circumstances, but trust that they will.
A long-lasting romance with steady beats of delicious sapphic sexual tension, this book makes sure that even readers who are unfamiliar with the story of Emily Dickinson’s life will be pulled in by the beautiful, sincere, and poetic love depicted.
3. I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself
Author: Marisa Crane
Genre: Science Fiction / Dystopia
ISBN: 9781646221295
Print Length: 352 pages
Publisher: Catapult
Like paging through a beautifully rendered therapy exercise that was designed to remain in the closed-door confines of the psychiatrist’s room.
It’s easy to imagine, when reading Crane’s gorgeous, heartbreaking prose, that Kris is sitting amongst the cluttered dishes and take-out wrappers, writing her heart out to the person she loves and misses more than it seems her body was built to hold.
You’ll need an assortment of colored pens when reading I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself. This novel is so full of sharply observed gut-punches and painfully human truths (about love, loss, desire, bureaucracy, fear mongering in the media, loneliness, kink, queerness, and new motherhood) that you’ll be thinking about Crane’s magnificent, evocative phrases for a while.
I highlighted and underlined more in this book than I ever have before, often pausing to really let the words sink in before I continued reading. Writing about inequality with a clarity and creativity this rich is always going to feel relevant and important.
Equal parts queer, devastating, precious, and thought-provoking, I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself is an unforgettable experience, exploring what it means to be human and illuminating the healing significance of finding community in the depths of your despair.
Honorable Mentions:
- Smash the World’s Shell by Daniel Fliederbaum (Bookshop | Amazon | Review)
- Fated Sworn by Kristin L Hamblin (Bookshop | Amazon | Review)
1. A Boring Book
Author: Seth McDonough
Genre: Humor Fiction
ISBN: 9781777092528
Print Length: 500 pages
A charming read about taking on the dull challenges of life with good will, grace, and a keen eye for inscrutable human behavior
A Boring Book presents itself as the ghostwritten autobiography of Canadian John Smith, growing up in the not-so-distance past, from childhood through young adulthood.
Written as a first-person account, John frequently interjects comments on the “ghostwriter’s” prose as well as third-wall-breaking direct address to the reader. These devices, along with the engaging voice, are intriguing and pull the reader into this everyman’s tale. With a dry, subtle wit and spot-on characterizations of the various actors in John’s mundane life, the tale is both amusing and compelling.
I was impressed by this “boring” story’s ability to infuse the mundane situations of life with tension and conflict. The stakes matter to the protagonist, and so the reader is engaged. We identify with the protagonist, and the mundane is made interesting. I found this book a real page-turner, actually, without any car chases and fires.
Readers who enjoy a unique take on narrative and characterization will be glad to spend some time with Mr. John Smith. There’s plenty of nostalgia here, as we relive the common, everyday experiences of growing up seen from a gently humorous perspective.
2. A Moonserpent Tale
Author: Rosemarie Montefusco
Genre: Fantasy
ISBN: 9798766900832
Print Length: 352 pages
Danger, adventure, magic, and romance: What else could you want out of a high fantasy?
A Moonserpent Tale tracks a young witch (Araina), her guide (Sol), an elf, and a pigeon on a quest through a barren, peril-fraught land.
Along the way, the characters grow, change, and develop through a number of challenges. They bond as a team and then must deal with the heartache of misunderstanding and betrayal. The book’s worldbuilding is thorough and thoughtful, and the description is immersive. A Moonserpent Tale’s sweet, slow-burn romance is perfect for these characters in this situation.
Readers who enjoy character-driven fantasy fiction such as the fantasy novels of Lois McMaster Bujold will be impressed with A Moonserpent Tale. This is a tale both thoughtful and entertaining, a true pleasure to read.
3. Making Comics
Much more than the curriculum for a comics class
Making Comics digs up and examines the roots of childhood creativity: that time and mental space where the line is the story, no matter if it represents an image, a letter, a numeral, or simply the joy of mark making.
Through a series of fun, accessible exercises and assignments, Making Comics breaks down the barriers that adults tend to put up between ourselves and storytelling through visual art.
Much of this head-and-heart work is applicable to any creative endeavor. Our authentic art must sprout from self-confidence and trust in the message rather than our technical skills.
Honorable Mentions:
- Heliophobia by Christopher X. Ryan (Bookshop | Amazon)
- Swedish Cults by Anders Fager (Bookshop | Amazon)
1. Half a Cup of Sand and Sky
Author: Nadine Bjursten
Genre: Literary Fiction
ISBN: 9789198861617
Print Length: 402 pages
Publisher: Alder House Books
A sweeping story of Iranian people, poetry, and politics, spanning three decades
Nadine Bjursten’s debut novel Half a Cup of Sand and Sky follows Amineh, a young Iranian woman who has moved to Tehran for university from the small village of Qamsar. An aspiring novelist, Amineh longs to tell her parents’ story as rural rose farmers, even as she is caught up in the air of revolution surrounding the death of a classmate which is sparking protests against the Shah.
Amineh is pulled between the traditional and the revolutionary as she survives through turbulent times. She struggles between realizing her dreams of a novel, coming to terms with what it means to be a wife and partner to her husband, and mothering her children in a country fraught with war and loss, all while nurturing her independent spirit. Her emotional intelligence and strength through the various seasons of her life make Amineh a well-developed narrator that readers will root for through her highest and lowest moments.
Half a Cup of Sand and Sky was a finalist for the PEN/Bellweather Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction in 2016, and it’s easy to see why. From beautiful images of Iran, Sweden, and the UK, to heavily researched historical events, and to characters that are deeply human in their joys, mistakes, and dreams, Nadine Bjursten has written an exceptional book. This is a necessary story of maturity and resilience told from a perspective that is often overlooked by Western readers. Half a Cup of Sand and Sky will captivate folks of all genres and ages with its craft, vitality, and wisdom.
2. Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City
Author: Jane Wong
Genre: Nonfiction / Memoir
ISBN: 9781953534675
Print Length: 288 pages
Publisher: Tin House Books
A book of rage and nourishment, action and healing, of celebrating chosen and blood family
Jane Wong’s verdant, nonlinear memoir, Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City tells the story of a Toisanese-American girl coming of age in New Jersey. The fragments of this memoir-in-essays are held together by Wong’s abundant and tender relationship with her mother. (Excerpted from a print review at Rain Taxi).
3. Obit
Author: Victoria Chang
Genre: Poetry
ISBN: 9781556595745
Print Length: 120 pages
Publisher: Copper Canyon Press
A book shaped by grief, unforgettable in its stark lines and the way it encapsulates the death of one’s parents
It took me almost two years to get through this book, because it is meant to be digested very slowly, to be sat with. The speaker’s depth of love and pain is rendered so artfully, so precisely, so rightly. This is a handbook for loss like no other.
Honorable Mentions:
1. Gone to Ground
Author: Morgan Hatch
Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
ISBN: N/A
Print Length: 321 pages
A suspense novel like an ornate mirror, reflecting what needs to be changed
Gone to Ground follows Javier Jimenez, a smart, young kid on the brink of graduating high school. Javier’s struggles are echoed in his community of Horseshoe Barrio; many are stuck in an unforgiving poverty loop. To make ends meet, Javier often works with his sister Betzaida, towing cars and trucks. During one of their jobs, Javier innocuously pockets a phone found in one of the cars. Without realizing it, Javier becomes entangled in a gentrifying bloodbath scheme to devour his community and regurgitate a tech community. He’s determined to put an end to it, but the cost could be fatal.
The writing is bewitching from the first page. After this explosive beginning, the book switches to Javier pondering his future. One of the many things that Hatch does well is make Javier’s mind a fascinating hub of observation and emotion.
Gone to Ground delivers in all aspects of suspense too. Jones, the antagonist, is calculating, threatening, and yet scarily familiar. He is nearly omnipresent, representing the greedy, lecherous system that prioritizes quick profit well.
I was quite amazed by Gone to Ground. It’s a suspense book that captivates while it brings forth an important conversation about shelter, community, and commodity.
2. Word Petals
Author: Carla L. Ibanzo
Genre: Poetry
ISBN: 9791220128827
Print Length: 114 pages
A lovely collection that serves as a portal to many different worlds
From life in Japan to life back home in Jamaica to reflections on tradition, this book is expansive yet succinct, thought-provoking and surprising.
Like petals on a flower, the words beautify the narrative and color it. There are poems centered around religion while others ruminate on growing older and enjoying the present. A lot of the poetry is also meant to be inspirational and to push the reader to take risks despite hesitations. There’s a nugget of wisdom in each poem that will leave a lasting impact.
3. Please Write
Author: Lynne M. Kolze
Genre: Nonfiction / Writing
ISBN: 9781643436739
Print Length: 320 pages
Publisher: Beaver’s Pond Press
Like an intricate wax seal, concealing a wonderful surprise inside
Please Write by Lynne Kolze is an impassioned plea to get you to return to writing letters. It is evidence of just how meaningful the act can be—for writer and recipient. This book can inspire readers to become more compassionate through their own words, and there’s supplementary material, like real letters that were preserved in Kolze’s family, along with pictures and stories. Each chapter spearheads a separate but vital aspect of letter writing to make it special and accessible in this new wave of technology.
The premise of this book excited me. I thought of writing letters as a bit dusted over, didn’t you? But as I read on, I found myself resonating deeply with Kolze’s purpose and narrative. The writing, when centered around Kolze’s personal reasons for loving letter writing, is emotionally pulling to the point where I found myself replicating those emotions.
Please Write also includes a lot of fascinating history regarding letters. The “Dear John” letters call to me especially. Receiving a letter can be a touching event, but other times it can be heartbreaking. The wide scope of letters covered in this book make it that much more engaging; like an unopened box, whatever is inside can contain so much.
Honorable Mention:
1. The Joy of Costco
Author: David & Susan Schwartz
Genre: Nonfiction / Coffee Table Book
ISBN: 9781959505006
Print Length: 272 pages
Beautifully illustrated and just bizarre enough to adorn your coffee table
The Joy of Costco won’t just sit pretty in your living room. It will have you enraptured with fun facts and inspire you to leave right now to buy a wholesale box of cashews.
Costco enthusiasts David and Susan Schwartz, sparked by their love for the versatile superstore, spent seven years researching the history and fun facts of Costco. They did this by traveling to at least one Costco in each of the 46 states that housed a facility and multiple Costcos outside of the U.S.
The book is in a fun A to Z format, but the alphabetization of the topics is playfully organized, ultimately giving readers the experience of the structured chaos that Costco attendees often feel when roaming the store themselves.
The Joy of Costco is engaging for Costco fans and intriguing for those who have never stepped foot in the store.
2. Landscapes
Author: Christine Lai
Genre: Literary Fiction
ISBN: 9781953387387
Print Length: 230 pages
Publisher: Two Dollar Radio
Lai captures the intersectionality of art, feminism, and environmentalism in this moving debut novel
A major focus of this novel is destruction and what it means to create anew; destruction often is not the end but a site for rebirth. Though Penelope has devoted so much of her life to the preservation of [an art archive], in its demolition, she is able to transition into a new future… Landscapes is beautiful, provocative, and accessible. It will remind you that destruction is rarely the end and that we all must continue forward.
3. Dreaming in Chinese
Author: William Tsung
Genre: Nonfiction / Memoir
ISBN: 9798987452707
Print Length: 248 pages
An act of resistance and self-preservation; an ode to the resilient human spirit.
One can tell a lot about a country from the way it treats its most affluent citizens; one can tell a whole lot more from the way it treats its lower class citizens. William Tsung’s memoir goes on the offensive, toe-to-toe with the Taiwanese penal system. The memoir captures the grim reality that Taiwanese prisoners experience day-to-day for multiple years and for some, even decades. Tsung took the challenge of making sympathetic characters out of criminals and felons and thoroughly succeeds in his endeavor. Dreaming in Chinese challenges the reader’s understanding of fair punishment by highlighting the corruption of a system that benefits from prisoners’ forced labor.
Dreaming in Chinese is a condemnation of a system designed to see and even benefit from under-resourced people failing. In Tsung’s experience with Taiwan’s prisons, this book also calls into question America’s penal system. I highly recommend this book to those dedicated to social justice.
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1. Second Best
Author: David Foenkinos
Genre: Literary Fiction / Humor
ISBN: 9781913547592
Print Length: 240 pages
Publisher: Gallic Books
What does it take for one to decide to live differently?
Martin Hill is the 10-year-old boy who wasn’t chosen to be Harry Potter. This slim novel is the story of his life, tracing his crippling anxiety alongside the chance encounters and happenstances that shape his world. I was utterly swept up in the book’s short, poignant chapters. Each have a distinct melody and sensibility that is unexpectedly joyful to read.
2. Hate Hunters
Author: Mari Georgeson
Genre: Literary Fiction / Satire
ISBN: 9798987204900
Print Length: 364 pages
Combining biting satire with deep insight into the human condition—a timely novel of ideas about tolerance and the folly of extremism
In a not-so-distant future where the United States has been divided into the Virtuous Federation and the Patriot States, Hate Hunters follows a large cast of characters struggling to live in accordance with the Virtuous Federation’s exacting moral standards.
Ambitious and multi-voiced, individual narratives and fictional texts are woven into an immersive tapestry-like world that is at once unsettling and extremely recognizable.
Impressive in ambition and philosophical scope, Hate Hunters stands out for its expert plotting, beautiful writing, and an intricately designed structure. This is an exceptional book that enrages, enlightens, and above all, affirms the humanity of every individual regardless of their beliefs.
3. The Moon and the Bonfires
Author: Cesare Pavese
Genre: Literary / Historical
ISBN: 9781590170212
Print Length: 176 pages
Publisher: NYRB Books
A devastating, gorgeous, pensive look at the country’s postwar politics and identity
After making a fortune in America during WWII, a man is drawn back to his impoverished childhood town in Piedmont to reflect on his brutal childhood as an orphan and search for what he has missed while being in America. A sense of loss and dislocation animates the book. Lyric and philosophical musings conjure the bucolic landscape in its harsh beauty. Intense hardly does the book justice, it dives headlong into the battered psychology of its unnamed narrator and that of the country at large.
Honorable Mention:
1. The Mill House Murders
Author: Yukito Ayatsuji
Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
ISBN: 9781782278337
Print Length: 288 pages
Publisher: Pushkin Vertigo
A chilling locked-room mystery that unfolds within the ominous walls of the remote Mill House, a setting shrouded in both secrecy and tragedy
Ayatsuji builds a compelling tale of intrigue around the eccentric Fujinuma Kiichi, the consequences of his accidental disfigurement, and his annual house party for a very select group of guests. When a killer strikes, brilliant amateur sleuth Kiyoshi Shimada sets about unravelling the complex web of secrets and lies that led to the perplexing crime. Ayatsuji is a master at combining the macabre with the mysterious, creating a tense work of crime fiction that is packed with alarming events, red herrings, and psychological insights.
2. Beasts of England
Author: Adam Biles
Genre: Literary / Satire
ISBN: 9781913111458
Print Length: 288 pages
Publisher: Galley Beggar Press
Adam Biles’s modern reimagining of Animal Farm chronicles disturbing if all too believable events at a version of the farm restyled as the country’s premiere petting zoo.
Rather than being raised and ultimately sacrificed as farm animals, the residents of this zoo are subjected to being gawped at, poked, and prodded by visitors seeking an amusing distraction from real life.
Mirroring the tumultuous landscape of contemporary politics, as if being put on display to the general public isn’t bad enough, the animals also face rigged elections, factional strife, societal chaos, and a mysterious epidemic that threatens to kill them all.
Satire at its best, Biles’s work presents by turns distressing and amusing glimpses into a world that is not different from reality, even if it can serve as a warning of things that might be to come.
3. Mild Vertigo
Author: Mieko Kanai
Genre: Literary Fiction
ISBN: 9781646033492
Print Length: 192 pages
Publisher: New Directions
An unrestrained exploration of the human condition
Meiko Kanai’s captivating storytelling renders this an engrossing account of the unexpected depth of housewife Natsumi’s outwardly ordinary life. Kanai uses elegant prose and a rich portrayal of Natsumi’s inner world to reveal surprising conflicts with the outer world she must interact with and conform to. And this ensures that her protagonist’s musings and reflections are always rewarding and sometimes disturbing. Kanai’s ability to evoke emotions and provoke thought about even the most seemingly insignificant detail is a marvel. The book as a whole provides an introspective account that delves deep into the complexities of human emotions.
Honorable Mentions:
- In the Silence of Decay by Lisa Boyle (Bookshop | Amazon | Review)
- The Molossus of Old Man Moyer by Joe Lyon (Bookshop | Amazon | Review)
1. Rearranged
Author: Kathleen Watt
Genre: Nonfiction / Memoir
ISBN: 9781956474343
Print Length: 384 pages
Publisher: Heliotrope Books
A lyrical memoir chronicling the life-altering vicissitudes of cancer
Kathleen Watt pulls back the curtain on the Metropolitan Opera, giving readers an inside look at the competition, the backstage behaviors, and the culture of the opulent and expansive productions at the famous New York City Opera House. With her pursuit of being in the Extra Chorus finally realized, Kathleen looks forward to celebrating with her partner, Evie, on their ski vacation, but a bump on her gumline brings up the concern that’s usually coupled with any new bump or pain: What is this? Am I overthinking this? Should I be worried? After trips to several dentists and then a few doctors, she learns of her shocking prognosis: cancer.
Her journey to find not just her singing voice, but her voice in her world and the world at large is a testament to the difficulty of putting one’s life back together after a trauma like battling a chronic illness.
Rearranged is a bel canto of a book, full of lyrical language, the crescendo and decrescendo of cancer, and the universal search for one’s voice.
2. How to Monetize Despair
Author: Lisa Mottolo
Genre: Poetry
ISBN: 9781956692785
Print Length: 102 pages
Publisher: Unsolicited Press
A reverie of memory and the existential wonderings on life and loss that make us human
In How To Monetize Despair, Lisa Motollo captures the intricate and sometimes random thoughts and feelings that arise when dealing with life’s most difficult chapters: trauma, grief, loss, and the mundane.
This collection beautifully balances the vulnerabilities and agonies of grief with the dark humor and odd realizations that come with experiencing trauma. But it also muses on the anxieties a person can feel attending a party or during everyday activities like making a sandwich.
Life is full of many experiences that we either don’t want to discuss or even know how to discuss, but How To Monetize Despair is a beautiful example of how to start and navigate those conversations.
Honorable Mention:
1. No God Like the Mother
Author: Kesha Ajọsẹ-Fisher
Genre: Literary / Short Stories
ISBN: 9781942436553
Print Length: 168 pages
Publisher: Forest Avenue Press
A raw look at those crucial moments when the realities of life are laid bare
No God Like the Mother by Kesha Ajọsẹ-Fisher is a story collection that explores pivotal moments in the lives of women and girls. Though the settings and details of the stories vary widely, from naive young girls in Nigeria to grieving mothers in Portland, each one functions as a glimpse of the defining moment of a person’s life story.
In all, No God Like the Mother is a quietly devastating and frank look at the interplay between hope and grief that is experienced by someone whose body can produce life. It is also about the way others throughout the world have historically reacted to that ability with fear, desire, shame, or a combination of those and more.
2. Invitation to a Hanging
Author: Karin Rathert
Genre: Historical Fiction / Western
ISBN: 9781639887262
Print Length: 318 pages
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
A meditation on the life and death of a lawless town in the waning days of the Wild West
When Adam’s parents moved to Mondak early in the 19th century, it was a frontier boom town and a symbol of unlimited potential. Now, with both his parents long dead, the town is nothing more than a reminder of things that had been. People are moving away or dying, and businesses are closing. All that is left are those with no place else to go and the town bosses who oversaw its fall, presiding over a place with more dead than living.
The author does a stellar job of evoking the atmosphere of the Wild West and the forces at work in the country at large at that time. There are rumors of coming war and the upheaval that comes with train tracks being laid. There are remnants of forts and graveyards of soldiers and civilians. There’s reckoning with the ongoing unimaginable treatment of the people forcibly removed from their land when settlers moved in, and that is still going on with their incarceration in “hospitals” that are worse than prisons.
Invitation to a Hanging is an artful portrait of a young man discovering the magic of self-determination. The people it depicts strive to carve a life out of whatever circumstances they might find themselves in. It is about quiet persistence in the face of greed and evil intentions, of choosing when to fight and when to walk away.
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1. Pure Cosmos Club
Author: Matthew Binder
Genre: Literary / Absurdist
ISBN: 9781736912812
Print Length: 272 pages
Publisher: Stalking Horse Press
A hallucinogenic satire of the worlds of art, fashion, and cults.
Penned with the wisdom of a philosopher and laugh-out-loud wit, this novel follows Paul, a struggling artist and his best friend, a dog named Blanche, as they hop from parties to art and fashion shows, maneuvering through a directionless life. Paul finally finds meaning in a new age cult called The Pure Cosmos Club, but the cost of admission becomes more than he can handle.
Binder’s prose sings all throughout Pure Cosmos Club, parrying anxiety with hilarity and the bizarre with a touch of the sober and sane.
2. The Red-Headed Pilgrim
Author: Kevin Maloney
Genre: Literary / Humor
ISBN: 9781953387288
Print Length: 242 pages
Publisher: Two Dollar Radio
Review originally published in Cleveland Review of Books
Heartbreakingly witty, Kevin Maloney’s The Red-Headed Pilgrim captures the coming of age of an idealistic man-child as he tours the united states in search of meaning.
While it’s difficult to argue that a true “Western”—whether it be prefixed by “Acid” or “Anti”—can be limned outside of the setting of the Wild West, Maloney’s revisionist treatment of Western themes make The Red-Headed Pilgrim at least the offspring (dare I say red-headed step-child?) of the Acid Western genre. And I don’t believe it’s overly generous to say that The Red-Headed Pilgrim is the next iteration of the Western, one with enough music and heart to propel the genre into the twenty-first century and beyond.
3. The Nature Book
Author: Tom Comitta
Genre: Literary / Nature Writing
ISBN: 9781566896634
Print Length: 272 pages
Publisher: Coffee House Press
A bold exploratory work; a canonical collage of the natural world
In The Nature Book, Tom Comitta compiles descriptions of the natural world from 300 canonical English texts into a vibrant literary collage. In the foreword, Comitta tells the reader that the following text is “closer to a YouTube supercut than a Burroughsian collage novel.” They categorize the excerpted texts into four sections, The Four Seasons, The Deep Blue Sea, The Void, and The Endless Summer, each of which features language poached from the pages of writers from Charles Dickens to Cormac McCarthy and beyond. With surgical precision, Comitta lifts phrases from Louisa May Alcott, Zora Neal Hurston, and Stephen King, and combines them into a single sweeping tale, often ruminative, but with its share of conflict and tension.
Though no human characters disturb the natural world of The Nature Book, Comitta reminds the reader that nature isn’t tranquil. Storms rage. Lightning strikes. One such storm leaves several pheasants slaughtered. Nature fears for its life, whether it is “the river’s babbling (which) sounded like the call of a liquid throat waiting, just waiting for the world to end,” or the beaver that seeks escape from the otter.
The language often tends toward the apocalyptic; the end of the world is mentioned at least five times in the novel. But beginnings also proliferate, such as the river which was “like traveling back to the earliest beginnings of the world, when vegetation rioted on the earth and the big trees were kings.” In short, the language reflects the scope of the novel, which is epic, spanning from the lowest depths of the ocean to the outer reaches of the universe, from darkness to darkness, creation to apocalypse.
Honorable Mentions:
- Bardo by Joseph Edwin Haeger (Bookshop | Amazon | Review)
- Other Minds and Other Stories by Bennett Sims (Bookshop | Amazon)
1. The Cabinet
Author: Un-Su Kim
Genre: Science Fiction
ISBN: 9780857669179
Print Length: 304 pages
Publisher: Angry Robot
Definitely the strangest, most surreal, and most innovative book I’ve read in 2023
The titular filing cabinet, which is watched over by harried Seoul-based office worker Kong Deok-Geun, contains files on all the known “symptomers,” that is, all those people who exhibit peculiar powers and report experiencing preternatural phenomena. As Kong’s work brings him into contact with an eclectic cast of oddballs, he finds himself engaged in a mind-bending catalogue of events and recollections that pokes fun at the delightfully absurd occurrences that can be found hiding behind the mundane elements of modern life.
2. Golden Age Detective Stories
Editor: Otto Penzler
Genre: Mystery / Anthology
ISBN: 9781613162163
Print Length: 312 pages
Publisher: Penzler Publishers
Top-notch examples of the various non-official folks who have been called upon to solve crimes that have perplexed the police, including a magician, a publisher, a nun, and more.
Featuring stories by Golden Age greats such as Ellery Queen, Erle Stanley Gardner, Clayton Rawson, and Mary Roberts Rinehart, Golden Age Detective Stories is a very welcome addition to the sublime American Mystery Classics series. The crimes are generally not gory, although they’re certainly far from cozy, and the puzzles involved are sufficiently complex to get your little gray cells going as you attempt to identify the culprit before the relevant amateur detective does.
1. The Catch of a Lifetime
Author: Alexandra Neville
Genre: Romance
ISBN: 9798857020920
Print Length: 210 pages
Sparks fly in this endearing romance about a once in a lifetime love
The Catch of a Lifetime offers an intoxicating blend of passionate romance, relatable characters, and heartwarming moments that will leave romance aficionados enchanted.
When Becca Linton decides to give Colt Mason—her best friend’s twin brother—a chance, she doesn’t expect things to move as quickly or as intensely as they do. With her budding career as a yoga instructor and Colt’s commitment to hiking mountains in different continents, Becca doesn’t think of it as a serious relationship or that long distance would affect her much.
Alexandra Neville really brings the heat in this one! Colt and Becca are such a heartwarming, relatable couple. I love how both of them, despite the other commitments or past trauma they had, try so hard to make their relationship work. Through Colt and Becca’s relationship, we get to see the amount of effort, trust, and open communication that goes into a long-lasting relationship.
However, Colt and Becca’s love story isn’t the only awe-worthy relationship within these pages. The Mason family radiates genuine warmth and affection, effortlessly endearing themselves to readers. What makes their family remarkable is not just their closeness but their welcoming and inclusive nature, extending warmth and kindness to all—be it friends, employees, or strangers.
2. The Violence of Reason
Author: Pete Planisek
Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense / Historical
ISBN: 9780985098285
Print Length: 202 pages
Publisher: Enceladus Literary
Fate plays a cruel, twisted game in this compelling historical thriller.
A beguiling mystery with a web of secrets and shocking twists, The Violence of Reason is first a tale of freedom and survival. The novel delves into the intricate nature of trust and loyalty during a time of war. It shows that battles aren’t just fought on the frontlines but also in our neighborhoods, homes, and workplaces, where our friends suddenly become our foes and trust becomes a deadly commodity.
The Violence of Reason follows Norill Haugen, a Norwegian spy during the Nazi occupation of Norway. Norill joined the Milorg, the Norwegian resistance, as a way to help liberate and free her country. She works as a translator and courier for the resistance with other members of her resistance cell. Things were going as normal as they could be in a time of such uncertainty and turmoil.
But when Nazi soldiers show up to schedule piano lessons with Norill’s teacher—the house of Vinni Nases, which serves as their resistance cell—things take a turn. Has Norill’s cover been compromised? Are they here to arrest Norill and the other members of the resistance? Has someone betrayed them?
1. The Baron’s Ghost
Author: Kyro Dean
Genre: Sci-Fi & Fantasy / Thriller
ISBN: 9781957475134
Print Length: 244 pages
Pirates, spires, treason—The Baron’s Ghost is an escapade to remember.
Christina Rushing has had her fair share of adventure, and that was before she became a spy. Forced to marry a horrible baron and left with nothing upon his death, she finds herself taking on deadly missions to make ends meet.
When her latest mission provides evidence that her late husband might not be dead after all, Christie is set on a far different path—and is there really a big difference between espionage and piracy anyway?
The characterization is impeccable. I couldn’t help but fall in love with their snark and passion. The mystery is satisfying and successful too, filled with plenty of little twists and turns. And if pirates, spies, and adventures aren’t enough, the Victorian and steampunk vibes are there to help this book overflow with things to enjoy.
For all you romantics out there, Dean includes a bit of a love triangle with Christina caught in the middle. Christina’s desire for independence after a checkered past and her inherent need for a sense of security is something that resonates and adds greatly to the romantic payoff.
2. Curse of the Anito
Author: Isabelle R. Duffy
Genre: Young Adult / Fantasy
ISBN: 9780645854916
Print Length: 204 pages
A thought-provoking novel of ancient evils buried just beneath the surface
Angela has spent the summer with her family in the Philippines, learning about her culture and seeking some sort of belonging. When her grandmother says that she will help Angela learn the family’s healing practices, she is overjoyed.
However, a dark and ancient power has a far different plan for Angela. She wakes in the night to find the Anito, an old God, at the foot of her bed, telling her she has been chosen, that she has a destiny to fulfill.
This is the first of a number of terrifying encounters for Angela, ones she cannot escape even when she flies back home to Australia. If given the chance to learn more about where you came from, would you take it? Would you take it even if it meant accidentally awakening an ancient deity? Isabella R Duffy sends readers on a captivating adventure alongside Angela in Ancestral Shadow: Curse of the Anito.
Duffy’s novel is full of self-discovery, familial love, and the need for cultural connection. In Angela’s storyline, readers feel the push and pull of what is modern and what is tradition.
This journey of self-discovery will have young adult readers thankful for its nuance and ever-looming danger.
1. Geographies
Author: Carmelinda Blagg
Genre: Short Stories
ISBN: 9798891320253
Print Length: 212 pages
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
Through fleeting encounters and lasting impressions, these stories capture the essence of places as ephemeral homes, where the heart finds refuge in unexpected corners.
Carmelinda Blagg’s short story collection, Geographies, explores the enduring impact of places, and our feelings and relationships with the people within them. Tucked away in our hearts are the memories of everywhere that we have been before, and may never truly escape from; regardless of whether they represent a blissful sanctuary or a place crumbling with regret.
Blagg has an exceptional ability to create characters that are more than words on a page; they truly leap from the pages as if they are living, breathing souls made from flesh and blood. Each and every character is searching for the place inside them that they recognize as home. This search, intertwined with grief and nostalgia, forms a poignant undercurrent, echoing the constant in their lives—change, inevitable and heart-wrenching. This theme of change, depicted through various lenses—a fall leading to assisted living, the transformation of a childhood monster into a frail old man—emerges from every story, wrapped in grief; an emotion that Blagg expresses in ways that others never have.
Reading Geographies is more than a literary experience; it is an introspective journey, one that invites you to look to the hidden places within your heart. This collection of stories doesn’t just evoke ache and wonder; it is unrelenting in its bold—almost brutal—sentiment and intentions. Yet, every probing question Blagg asks finds its answer within her narrative, steadfast in its unwavering pursuit to explore the uncharted territories within her characters. What lingers is the unexplored place within you, tethered to your heart and your lungs, patiently waiting to be acknowledged and understood.
2. Numamushi
Author: Mina Ikemoto Ghosh
Genre: Fantasy / Fairy Tale
ISBN: 9781941360774
Print Length: 112 pages
Publisher: Lanternfish Press
Step into a realm of vivid characters, haunting realities, and the legacy that words leave behind.
Mina Ikemoto Ghosh’s fairytale, Numamushi, beckons readers into a mesmerizing realm where reality and enchantment intertwine seamlessly. Set in post-World War II Japan, Numamushi, a child marked by the scars of napalm, becomes an unlikely protagonist, raised by the guardian spirit of a river, blurring the boundaries between humanity and nature.
Numamushi stands out as a precocious and delightful main character, bridging the gap between a world of wonder and hate, one dominated by both man and beast. Many authors struggle to create a child protagonist that resonates with mature audiences while maintaining authenticity and sincerity. However, Ghosh deftly navigates this challenge, portraying Numamushi with a personality that never loses its charm.
The story blurs the line between the world of beast and man, but it does not question or compare the nature of each and make the reader consider which is more brutal. Instead, Ghosh allows the story to breathe and intertwine around the themes of love, forgiveness, and pain: raw and unforgiving pain. And with pain comes healing, as Numamushi reflects: “If snakes had venom to fill and protect the stomachs that made them snakes, then humans had tears to protect and clean the hearts that made them humans.”
hosh’s ability to blend enchantment with stark reality, coupled with their skillful characterization and thoughtful prose, creates a world that lingers in the reader’s mind. With its rich thematic depth and compelling storytelling, Numamushi stands as a testament to Ghosh’s literary prowess, offering readers an incredibly lovely yet bittersweet escape.
1. Between the Mountains
Author: Jeremy Campbell
Genre: General Fiction / Animals
ISBN: 9798986645728
Print Length: 322 pages
A heartwarming tale that underscores the important bond between animals and humans while exploring themes of friendship, forgiveness, and community
Between the Mountains is a compelling read for those who adore dogs, but it also delves into the themes of second chances, healing, love, and loss.
The prose flows beautifully, maintaining a consistent and suspenseful tone throughout. Each sentence effortlessly transitions into the next, drawing readers in with unexpected perspectives, such as that of a dog. “Scars of the past and worries of the future sit out of mind, like spectators on the riverbank, while a canine’s present needs race through his head as fast as water gushes through Morgan’s Cove after a summer rain.” The result is an emotionally charged tale that keeps readers hanging on to every word, even when exploring typically mundane moments.
2. In the Name of Family
Author: Cynthia Coppola
Genre: Historical Fiction / Family
Print Length: 285 pages
An authentic exploration of love, devotion, and unconventional family dynamics during an era of conformity
In the Name of Family delves into the lives of two central characters: Ruth, a conservatively-raised Jewish woman, and Tony, an Italian Catholic. Their journey begins when Tony musters up the courage to ask Ruth out on a date one day while at work at The Hoffman Shoe Factory in the year 1950. Over the next few months, the more time spent together, the deeper their bond grows. However, their lives take an unexpected turn when Ruth becomes pregnant and they both must reveal long-held secrets from their pasts.
This narrative successfully explores the intricate tapestry of love and life. It unfolds against the backdrop of a conformist era. In the face of societal norms, Ruth and Tony defy conventions to discover love, happiness, and joy while trying to create an environment where family comes first. In the Name of Family vividly illustrates how children within the same families can lead radically different lives based on how the people around them navigate pivotal life moments and family conflicts.
In the Name of Family beautifully illustrates that even amidst the most tumultuous and challenging lives, happiness can flourish. The story stands as a testament to the enduring power of love and family bonds, offering a resounding message of hope and resilience.
3. Invisible Sun
Author: Andrew H. Housley
Genre: Literary Fiction
ISBN: 9798891320260
Print Length: 172 pages
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
An intense, raw, and quite beautiful exploration of trauma and grief
Invisible Sun opens with Ian revisiting the traumatic scene where he discovered his brother Hugo, who had taken his own life. The room is still stained with blood, and Ian is engulfed by a torrent of emotions—pain, guilt, anger, and sorrow. In addition to grappling with this emotional turmoil, Ian is burdened with the practical responsibilities of arranging for cleaners, claiming Hugo’s body at the morgue, and packing up the family home. Amid this chaos, he is haunted by the relentless question of why this tragedy occurred.
Beneath the surface, the novel delves into the intricate dynamics among three brothers, shaped by a shared history of abuse and control imposed by their tyrannical father.
Invisible Sun unflinchingly navigates the complexities of loss, guilt, and despair, which could prove emotionally taxing for some individuals in certain situations. Nonetheless, these weighty themes provide valuable insights into the multifaceted personalities of the characters within the narrative. The novel skillfully observes the convergence of philosophy, emotions, and the human psyche when confronted with death, encapsulated in the haunting notion that, “The dead have it easy; they don’t have to live with the guilt.”
What were the best books you read this year? Let us know in the comments!
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Smash the World’s Shell
by Daniel Fliederbaum
Genre: Young Adult / Fantasy
ISBN: 9781959804192
Print Length: 324 pages
Reviewed by Andrea Marks-Joseph / Content warnings: suicide, self-harm
An unlikely friendship between a young dragon and human girl upends the world
Smash the World’s Shell is a story about misunderstanding the creatures we share a world with—and the difference a kind, lonely misfit can make by keeping their heart open.
Ellen lives a quiet life with her dad, both of them grieving the loss of her mom by suicide. When she finds a ring that magically transports her to the wild, outdoor, dragon’s realm—which should be inaccessible, because humans live under a protective dome specifically to avoid dragons—she meets Shard, a young dragon who offers to help Ellen amplify her mysteriously subdued magic abilities.
“A ring from nowhere that took her to a talking dragon that hadn’t killed her and wanted to teach her magic?”
Their communities are mortal enemies with longstanding lore to instill fear and hatred in their respective populations. Despite everything, they become fast, fierce friends. Their star-crossed, secret only-at-first friendship becomes the catalyst for escalating vitriol between their nations and sparks a catastrophic battle that could be the end of both their worlds.
Both leads are lovely and you immediately want the best for them, in that typical “the adults and status quo don’t know what’s best, defiant teens will save the world” spirit typical of the greatest fantasy adventures. Shard loves to paint but has to do it in secret because local culture says art is for dragonesses only. He struggles with acclimating to being shown generosity and gentleness because he’s so accustomed to being bullied and beaten up for his many “non-masculine” tendencies.
“Before, Shard had wondered if he was betraying his tribe by teaching a human magic. But now he’d come to a conclusion: he didn’t care. For the first time in his whole life, he was making a friend, someone who laughed and smiled with him, someone who didn’t hit him, someone he was proud of.”
Ellen is unsettled by the realization that everything she’s been told is untrue. “Every time they met, she was reminded that this dragon, this great beast of fire, was so gentle.” There’s great suspense in Ellen’s motivation to learn magic. She initially needs it to join The Guild, but no longer wants to follow her career goal of joining the crew (whose mandate is to fight dragons) now that she knows they’re capable of friendship and love.
There’s also a sweet, realistic blossoming queer romance between Ellen and a girl she meets while volunteering. “Ellen’s heart leaped, and a great, but terrible thought reared its head: I really do have a crush on her, don’t I? And the next thought, terrible, but great: I think I might be okay with that.” I adored the genuine, can’t-look-away captivating sapphic feelings buzzing between them, and how they begin to share secrets and go on adventures together.
“Lana’s voice was barely a whisper, her breath warm as it tickled Ellen’s nose. It smelled savory, but also floral. Was that lilac body wash? She had never been this close to another girl before, and it sent shivers up and down her spine.”
The overarching themes of trauma in this book are really dark, but author Daniel Fliederbaum’s writing is beautifully crafted to show how deeply affected the characters are by their various personal devastations. Smash the World’s Shell does sharp, brilliant work introducing concepts of the patriarchy, toxic masculinity, and misogyny holding both young women and men back from being their brightest selves: “Weren’t there any other dragonesses in the tribe who were sick of being less than the drakes? Surely someone was sick of being belittled and relegated to raising dragonlings and making pots and baskets and being banned from hunting and herding and farming.”
Firebug is a young female dragon whose immense natural talent is overlooked and dismissed because it’s within a skillset seen as typically-masculine. She’s also dating Shard’s brother, Keeper. Her storyline makes your heart ache, because we’ve all been there at some point. Firebug bravely advocates for herself, not allowing herself to be discouraged, but it’s still difficult to see. She’s a character I would love young women to read, someone who trusts herself and doesn’t back down just because other people tell her she’s too much. I believe this feminist storyline will serve as a point of relatability for readers of all ages but is particularly important for younger readers who may not have seen their experiences of being underestimated on page so vividly before.
The story also deals with the ever-present teenage worries that come with believing you’re not good enough. At its most poignant, Smash the World’s Shell is an ode to those who live under the pressure of the patriarchy and the pain of constant abuse—it’s a call for them to hold on and keep fighting, for their rightful time to shine under safe conditions. It’s a story of life-changing, world-shifting friendships; of misfits seeing something in someone’s eyes and deciding to stay with them; and of saving their life while they save yours, simply by being kind to each other.
Smash the World’s Shell tells a story about the power—literal magical power, but also soul-uplifting strength—of desperately lonely people finding someone who sees them as special and worthy of time and care. This is why, when these characters lose the connection they were so pleasantly shocked to have gained at all and come to rely on, it is devastating, and the depths of the depression they fall into feels perfectly reasonable.
Recommending the appropriate age for reading this novel is tricky, because the story is so clever and creative that I’d love to say it suits anyone middle-grade and up—but there’s a darkness rooted in a painful reality that is best considered very seriously before diving in.
Smash the World’s Shell deals with so many themes that are relevant in a teenager’s life: The cultural history in judging (and hating) entire groups before meeting them; the heartache and conflicting thoughts when realizing your dreams may not be ethical or that your career plans don’t match your personal values; coping with having parents who aren’t present; realizing that not everyone’s going to see your talents as valuable. There’s also extensive exploration of living with grief after a loved one’s suicide, while becoming friends with someone who experiences suicidal thoughts, and understandably not being able to handle that. These are not passing themes addressed vaguely, but very present conversations and emotions expressed within the story.
There’s a strong truth to the way Fliederbaum addresses this, which would have made me feel seen as a deeply depressed high schooler whose friends were mostly in the same headspace. Smash the World’s Shell has some of the most honest, accurate representation of feeling suicidal as a young person I’ve ever seen—whether in books, songs, or on screen. It’s quite stunning actually, especially to read in this context, because the rest of the story feels crafted for a slightly younger audience.
In addition to depression, suicide, and grief, Smash the World’s Shell examines how a once-innocent boy can be twisted into someone heinous and cruel simply by the society around him weaponizing his competitive spirit and insecurities. “I was just doing what you taught me to do — being strong, and protecting what was mine! If you didn’t want me to do that, why the hell did you drill it into me?” One of many bullies in this story, Shard’s brother, Keeper, knows that he’s behaving despicably, but readers can see the warped reality he’s been fed and all the implications he genuinely isn’t aware of come to light.
Smash the World’s Shell serves as a warning to adults about how we treat boys, jealous siblings, and the strongest characters in an impressionable group—and it stands in solidarity with all people living alongside these characters, experiencing their cruelty, who see these bullies for who they are even when society seems to reward their brash behavior.
Smash the World’s Shell depicts abusive relationships of various kinds: Abusive parents, siblings, leaders, romantic partners, and the cascading emotional consequences of these abuses. When Firebug helps Shard, he can’t quite fathom it: “Was another dragon showing him kindness? It didn’t add up.” When Firebug learns that her betrothed, Keeper, has been abusing his brother, she wonders, “if Keeper had it in him to beat his own brother, then what would he do to his Bonded mate? She hadn’t seen any warning signs, though admittedly, she hadn’t looked for them…”
I’ve mentioned most necessary content warnings above, but to be clear: There are descriptions of physical and emotional abuse that do not shy away from the brutality and violence of it. We live through achingly immersive scenes in the headspace of someone experiencing suicidal ideation and self-harming, including descriptions of them cutting. When a lead character has a panic attack, she has flashbacks on-page, reliving in explicit detail the moment she found her mother’s body, who died by suicide. This character reacts quite insensitively to finding out about her depressed friend contemplating suicide, but it makes sense within the text as we’ve experienced her relevant personal trauma first-hand.
Smash the World’s Shell has wonderful, inventive magic systems and a rich culture surrounding it. I loved the way Daniel Fliederbaum incorporated the specific quality of love and tension between siblings and greatly appreciated the scenes where young girls passionately enjoy watching sports. Fliederbaum’s characters allow readers to hold tight to the hope that love and goodness is always out there to find, even in a brutal landscape.
This is also a great book for readers who are aware of the damage humans have done to the environment, animals, and the climate—That low-key suspicion of human nature will serve you well as the mysteries unfold and more information is shared by the many characters who are keeping secrets from each other. There’s certainly room for a Smash the World’s Shell sequel, and I’d be delighted and very curious to return to this world to see what happens next. There’s an impressive optimistic energy that lives in the relationship between Shard and Ellen, and the way their friendship literally changes the course of history for both nations.
Thank you for reading Andrea Marks-Joseph’s book review of Smash the World’s Shell by Daniel Fliederbaum! If you liked what you read, please spend some more time with us at the links below.
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The Tenement Nurse
by Kate Gemma
Genre: Historical Fiction
ISBN: 9798393246679
Print Length: 280 pages
Reviewed by Jaylynn Korrell
An enthralling historical novel set in NYC during the roaring 20s
Millie is not going to get married. She is going to devote herself to her chaotic job as a nurse in a tenement building made up mostly of immigrants. She is going to help them meet basic needs and improve their health as a sort of public servant, and she is going to keep her haunting memories behind her.
But things take a turn when one of her pregnant patients dies at the hands of her alcoholic husband. And Millie is capable of more. While navigating a complex rekindled relationship and coping with the reality of her brother’s death, Millie creates her own idea of justice. It’s up to her to decide what a woman should and should not do.
We learn pretty early on that Millie has been around death before. Having experienced some of the horrors of war in France a few years earlier and knowing what taking this man’s life would mean for other people, she can make peace with the idea of doing it. But she has no idea how closely crime and violence would follow her after that.
Newfound relationships with a few “bad men” take her on a journey through a darker side of New York. Lucky for us, she ends up being up to the task. Through flashbacks of her time in the war, we learn how she keeps her wits about her in trying times.
In case you couldn’t tell: I think this book is fantastic. I was constantly engaged, constantly questioning what was going to happen next. Millie finds herself in increasingly dangerous situations, and her circumstances are always changing. I was pulled along by the freshness of each succeeding chapter. She always has the option to disappear into the life of a housewife, and each avenue we take along the way ends up being as entertaining as the last. There’s not one paragraph I wanted to skip.
Gemma thrives in depicting womanhood. Millie is a standout protagonist, you already know this, but so are the secondary female characters. I would have gladly pivoted into their background whenever Gemma wanted to take me there. I’d read anything she wrote.
Millie’s best friend Betty is an independent woman who just happens to be dating a married man. Her mother is a grieving but hopeful woman who is coping with the death of her son in the war. A friend we meet later in the book, Etta, is a single woman who exudes confidence in every shape of the word. Each is in some way trying to hook an uncatchable man, while holding on to the pieces of themselves that make them unique. I cared about all of them.
Honestly, I could go on and on about The Tenement Nurse. This is undeniably one of the best books I’ve read this year. The time period, the setting, the characters, the storylines: they’re all sure to enrapture you.
Thank you for reading Jaylynn Korrell’s book review of The Tenement Nurse by Kate Gemma! If you liked what you read, please spend some more time with us at the links below.
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]]>Chosen by the IBR Staff
Kindle Unlimited has over 4 million books to choose from.
How do you know which books are the good ones?
With a Kindle Unlimited (KU) subscription, you pay a monthly fee (now at $11.99 per month) so that you can read multiple ebooks per month without having to pay the full price per book. This includes eBooks, audiobooks, and magazines. There are super popular ebooks in KU (like Hunger Games & Colleen Hoover), but there are a lot of great indie books too.
Single eBooks usually range from about $4.99 to $14.99 depending on what you read (classics vs. new releases, indies vs. major publishers). The membership fee is meant to save you money if you read around 2-3 ebooks per month.
That’s a lot of choosing. So we put together this list.
But wait!
If you don’t have Kindle Unlimited right now, have you used your free trial yet?
Do you want to read these books for free?
Start the free trial (click below), and you can cancel whenever you’re done! Or, if you plan on buying a Kindle anyway, you can get three months of Kindle Unlimited free if you click the right button at checkout.
I’ll give you a moment to click! Get that free trial real quick. The books on this list are too good to be free.
Now that you have Kindle Unlimited, check out this research we did for you.
We have 25 reviewers on staff dedicated to finding the best in indie publishing. We have reviewed over 1,000 books since 2018, and we have found some absolute gems in the process. So we put together some of our highest recommended books on Kindle Unlimited.
Since it’s important to sustain a healthy reading diet with a lot of variety, we’ve got recommendations in a number of genres: sci-fi & fantasy, literary & general fiction, horror, mystery-thrillers, nonfiction, and books for younger readers.
Here are 23 great Kindle Unlimited books that you probably didn’t know you needed.
1. The Devil Pulls the Strings
A dark magical quest steeped in musical folklore
Author: J.W. Zarek
Genre: Fantasy / Action & Adventure
ISBN: 9781736401330
Print Length: 252 pages
Recommended by: Andrea Marks-Joseph
What it’s about:
The story follows Boone, a seemingly ordinary boy with a tragic past and fierce friendships. He’s sent on a mission which turns darker and more perplexing with each reveal. Boone innocently travels to an address where he’s supposed to take his friend’s place performing in a musical concert. But when he gets there, it’s a murder scene—happening live—a body and piano falling from the sky, crashing down in front of him.
Whether the characters are running from terrifying monsters, sword-fighting sinister attackers, or fleeing from the scene of bloody murders, there’s always more going on. We wonder along with them: Is this time travel? An accidental trip through a magic portal? A mental break?
Equally reminiscent of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the surreal conversations with classical prodigies in Mozart in the Jungle, and particularly trippy episodes of The Magicians, this novel never stops surprising Boone or its readers.
Why you should read it:
The Devil Pulls the Strings is a twisted, joyous, and bloody shifting kaleidoscope of a fantasy adventure. It is a story so arresting, so action-packed and personality-filled, that even readers unfamiliar with or not usually interested in the historical setting will be enthralled by it.
Is is a charming novel filled with curious characters. There is violence, death, terror, and suspense, but as Boone works to avoid summoning the Devil, the overall mood of the book is upbeat. It’s a thoroughly enjoyable, wholly unique, and brilliant read.
–Andrea Marks-Joseph
2. Commendable Delusions
At once entirely absurd and unsettlingly real
Author: A.T. French
Genre: Short Stories / Magical Realism
ISBN: 9781737950011
Print Length: 308 pages
Recommended by: Joshua Ryan Bligh
What it’s about:
A.T. French’s Commendable Delusions provides a breadcrumb trail of ten magical realist stories, each nestled in some unique nook of dream-tinted reality far from the bustle of cities and quotidian life.
Airplanes, arid planes, and farmlands; each tale takes its venue and gently warps it into something surreal, serving as wholly engaging vehicles for the author’s messages on perception, connection, and our place in a jumbled reality.
Why you should read it:
As with the best of magical realism, French’s stories use the unknown and unreal to provide better understanding of the world around us… French does well to create his individual style and ambiance, but I can’t help but draw comparisons to Jorge Luis Borges or Haruki Murakami, only to better prepare the reader for the joy to come upon reading these stories.
Commendable Delusions is one of those hidden gems, a read that I’m glad has intersected my path. In only ten pieces, it does what the best of stories do: it at once imparts wisdom, inspires the mind, and entertains with a sense of playful joy.
–Joshua Ryan Bligh
3. Season of the Dragon
Magic, dragons, and ancient mysteries
Author: Natalie Wright
Genre: Fantasy
ISBN: 9798987491218
Print Length: 482 pages
Recommended by: Alexandria Ducksworth
What it’s about:
Season of the Dragon opens with Quen, a Solian desert merchant’s daughter. She was born with two different eye colors and two souls. Her other soul is one of a darker nature she must calm with magic. Animals fear Quen whenever she approaches them, and the townspeople keep their distance from her.
One day, a mysterious woman approaches Quen’s father, announcing secrets about Quen and her deceased mother. The angry father casts the woman out of sight before Quen can learn more. Later, a dragon burns down Solia, killing Quen’s father.
The strangest part about this tragic event? Dragons aren’t even supposed to exist.
Why you should read it:
There are some books you wish you could read forever. For me, Natalie Wright’s Season of the Dragon is one of them. The author writes with a deft hand, ensnaring us in the mystery that is our great heroine. Quen is a genuinely inspiring protagonist, and she’s never afraid to fight.
The Indrasi world is absolutely captivating. Wright has created a land with great cities, memorable characters, and curious customs. It feels alive. Those who loved Rachel Hartman’s Seraphina and other beloved dragon fantasies will enjoy this one.
-Alexandria Ducksworth
4. Cul-de-sac
A genre-blending mosaic with an unforgettable atmosphere
Author: Nick Perilli
Genre: Fantasy / Experimental
ISBN: 9781957010175
Print Length: 370 pages
Publisher: Montag Press
Recommended by: Joshua Ryan Bligh
What it’s about:
The Oughtside is here, and it is time to bathe in red. Nick Perilli takes you through a surreallist urban fantasy that dances a shadowy jib across genres as broad as soap opera, haunted house horror, and isekai. Perilli’s inspiration seems pulled from a wide creative interest, weaving together each piece into a singular, unique novel.
When Derek, referred to as “the boy” for most of the narrative, wakes up, he knows something has gone down. He is tipped off by the sky, a strange red hue basking his typically boring suburban cul-de-sac in an otherwordly glow. If that doesn’t close the deal, then the shadowy figure in his hallway sure does, apparating and whisking him away à la A Christmas Carol to serve as Judgment, witnessing the varied lives of his neighbors and either condemning or saving them.
Why you should read it:
Lively and surreal, something born of a Venn diagram of Dali, de Chirico, and David Lynch, Cul-de-sac plays out with fascinating detail as a testament to the author’s imagination and playful style.
There is humor, resentment, passion, longing, missed chances, and more beneath the fragile surface of each of his characters, shining with a grounded clarity in an otherwise phantasmagoric landscape.
Readers who enjoy the odd and spooky (without dipping into the kitsch of gratuitous horror) will find a crisp joy in Cul-de-sac.
-Joshua Ryan Bligh
5. The Bear & the Rose
A brave bearslayer embarks on a quest to rescue her new love in this fantasy novel rich with folklore
Author: E.K. Larson-Burnett
Genre: Fantasy / LGBTQ
ISBN: 9781088084472
Print Length: 366 pages
Recommended by: Andrea Marks-Joseph
What it’s about:
The Bear and the Rose is set in a world where humans shift into bears and community elders make pacts with gods for protection. Rhoswen, the “warrior rose” of her town and the protagonist of this wonderful book, has pledged her allegiance and sworn commitment to protect her village from the vicious bears who attack during the “waking nightmare” that is the season of Spring.
This year, right after the first attack, Rhoswen meets a beautiful woman and all her plans change, almost immediately. Suddenly nothing matters besides freeing her new lover from the curse that keeps her under the torment of a dangerous forest. She ventures out into the world, abandoning her village for the first time, in the fierce hope that the instrument that will free her lover from the forest can also prevent the bears from attacking her people.
Why you should read it:
Written so lyrically that it often feels as though you’re listening to a melodic folksong, author E.K. Larson-Burnett weaves nature and beauty into this imagined world. This novel is bloody murder and befriending beasts. It is at times a brutal fight for love, loyalty, and revenge.
The story is filled with all the wild creatures, dramatic gods, absurd dysfunctional families, and mythical tricksters you could want from a fantasy adventure novel, but it also moves with twists and turns and satisfying payoffs at a quick pace. If you’re looking for a captivating afternoon read that has a refreshing energy and richly woven lore, The Bear and the Rose is such a good choice.
-Andrea Marks-Joseph
6. Welcome to the Free World
A post-apocalyptic page-turner full of feverish exhilaration
Author: Lloyd Raleigh
Genre: Science Fiction / Dystopian
ISBN: 9798218088033
Print Length: 363 pages
What it’s about:
Will Robin is part of a group called “Scalpels,” and they are in opposition of the creators of the AI technology dominating the society he lives in. Scalpels work tirelessly to remove microchips embedded in the brains of individuals in society.
As a part of Scalpels, Will’s job is to help individuals escape a totalitarian government that wishes to survey and control society through a metaverse where the “utopia” is in their heads.
Of course, there are higher-ups who are not very pleased with the nature of Will’s job. Soon he finds himself on the run from assassins, the authorities, and everyone else who is against the work he is doing.
Why you should read it:
The world is so intricately woven together that readers are going to be sucked in from the moment they begin. Everything from the details of how the Aurora technology works to the state of the society has been so cleverly crafted that we always feel a part of the story and world.
Settle in to the comfort of your chairs for this story that grabs you by the throat.
–Chika Anene
7. Tourist Trapped
Unique and abstract—a tale of trust and humanity
Author: J.B. Velasquez
Genre: Science Fiction / Metaphysical
ISBN: 9798987554104
Print Length: 320 pages
Recommended by: Audrey Davis
What it’s about:
Tobias Munch feels stuck. Stuck at a job he hates, in an apartment he hates. He’s recently divorced and looking for solace in the novel he’s been writing for the last eight years.
Enamored with a vibrant barista, Mia, from the café he frequents, he yearns in secret until the night she accidentally hits him with her car. And invites him into her life.
He takes psychedelic drugs with her, desperate to impress her, but their trip takes them to a place called the “the–in-between”—the afterlife between life and death. Tobias is trapped once again, it seems. And it’s up to him to find the answers.
Why you should read it:
Velasquez has a wonderful way of describing the intricate world in which we’re thrown. We see how people communicate through the vastness of this purgatory and spend time with activities they do to stay busy while there. The attention to worldbuilding is refreshing, and it keeps the pages turning quickly.
The author’s background in psychotherapy brings forward a unique perspective on introspection and how every aspect of character development is a type of growth.
–Audrey Davis
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8. The Old Men Who Row Boats and Other Stories
Stories that take nothing for granted
Author: David Joseph
Genre: Short Stories / Literary
ISBN: 9781735919119
Print Length: 238 pages
Recommended by: Madeline Barbush
What it’s about:
The Old Men Who Row Boats and Other Stories is a collection of perceptive observations on people living on the Iberian Peninsula. A simple moment, like a quiet interaction between strangers, transforms into a captivating tale of lost time or lost love, newfound friendship or newfound hope, under the pen of David Joseph.
Why you should read it:
David Joseph shines as a storyteller. He knows what his stories are about, and he knows how they should be told. His characters are simple but imagined through a lens so romantic, so compelling, that they stand clear in the mind’s eye.
I highly recommend immersing yourself in Joseph’s world of lovers and dreamers, strangers and lifelong friends. Each story offers an opportunity to make a meaningful connection with another human being, serves as a recollection of how intertwined we once were, and will be once again, with each other.
–Madeline Barbush
9. Just Wide Enough for Two
A reimagining of Emily Dickinson’s life as a sweet love letter to deep sapphic love
Author: Kacey M. Martin
Genre: Historical Fiction / LGBTQ
ISBN: 9798218116293
Print Length: 328 pages
Recommended by: Andrea Marks-Joseph
What it’s about:
Just Wide Enough for Two is a love story between childhood best friends Emily Dickinson and Susan Gilbert, spanning years of complicated life changes where their passionate connection remains constant.
Emily Dickinson is wild and offbeat, more comfortable running around outdoors and speaking out of turn than she is in any stereotypical “ladylike” capacity.
Between vivid descriptions of the ever-changing natural landscapes, seductive descriptions when looking at each other, and the secret-coded letters slipped between breasts before sneaking off to rendezvous, open-hearted Emily and Susan always take center stage.
Why you should read it:
Just Wide Enough for Two feels like a classic romantic comedy filled with grand gestures of love in a charming historical setting. There’s a powerful sense of longing and suspense while reading, as we cannot imagine how the women may achieve their happily ever after under these circumstances, but trust that they will.
A long-lasting romance with steady beats of delicious sapphic sexual tension, this book makes sure that even readers who are unfamiliar with the story of Emily Dickinson’s life will be pulled in by the beautiful, sincere, and poetic love depicted
–Andrea Marks-Joseph
10. Navarro’s Gold
Hansen reinvigorates the Western form with Navarro’s Gold
Author: Dustin Hansen
Genre: Historical Fiction / Western
ISBN: 9798375315867
Print Length: 187 pages
Recommended by: Nick Rees Gardner
What it’s about:
Even though he is innocent, Cole Baxter is a wanted man.
After the love of his life, Maggie, chooses Cole’s best friend over him, he seeks out a treasure that he and Maggie have talked about for years in hopes that, with the treasure, he can win her back.
What he doesn’t expect is for his former friend Doyle, Maggie’s husband, to put up a reward for his arrest. As Cole travels from town to town in search of a famous astronomer who can help him read the pirate’s journal to track down Navarro’s treasure, he is tailed by Pinkertons and bandits, making an already fraught hunt even more dangerous, often almost deadly.
Why you should read it:
Hansen’s knowledge of the wild west landscape is matched only by his poetic diction in which he expresses the beauty of the natural world. Navarro’s Gold, is an adventure and treasure-hunting novel that harbors a sophisticated depth. The treasure hunt is not about the gold itself, but the history behind it, and the story of those who try to find it.
–Nick Rees Gardner
11. Morphosis
A haunting horror story fraught with tension in which the monsters aren’t just killers.
Author: AJ Saxsma
Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense / Horror
ISBN: 9798218143909
Print Length: 141 pages
Recommended by: Lindsay Crandall
What it’s about:
Ollie Hooper and his family relocate to a rural farm in Larton, home to approximately 3,800 people. Hooper has taken a job with the Sheriff’s Department, leaving his partner, Dwayne Brenner, as the primary caretaker to Hooper’s two children, Jodi Lee and Sam.
In addition to catching a killer dubbed “The Visitor,” Dwayne attempts to guide Jodi Lee through her fledgling adolescence and first crushes in a new town. Unfortunately, Jodi Lee is befriended by the daughter of the town priest. Dwayne’s medicine slowly starts to go missing; his home is being bleached and disinfected daily; and Jodi Lee won’t face him without a mask covering her face.
Why you should read it:
AJ Saxsma has delivered one of my favorite books of 2023. Morphosis operates with an undercurrent of tension exacerbated by a cast of characters all chasing something. It’s a tense LGTQ horror novel you aren’t going to forget.
-Lindsay Crandall
12. A Perfect Night
A jaw-dropping story about mental and external freedom
Author: Joseph Stone
Genre: Horror / Dark Fantasy
ISBN: 9798439670109
Print Length: 358 pages
What it’s about:
Fran has a gift of seeing spirits, but she also has some terrible secrets. She lives with her Aunt Laura after her mother dies in a terrible car accident and after her father gives up his only daughter and is never seen again.
Fran believes her mother’s spirit is still with her despite the naysayers. Whenever Fran is sad, her mother sends her ladybugs. Other times, her mother disciplines her for wrongdoings.
When a wealthy relative enters her life, she learns that she’s not the only one with connections to spirits. Soon, the spirit that might not be her mother turns malevolent.
Why you should read it:
You think you have read dark fantasy—and then you read A Perfect Night. Stone weaves heavy scenarios you can’t stop thinking about. It’s like not being able to fall asleep after watching a horror movie. Stone really knows how to give us the creeps. Scenes are disturbing yet strangely captivating. Readers may become addicted to the drama. Be warned, A Perfect Night contains plenty of shock matter and death.
Everybody involved in this gripping story has something to reveal, and the results are often jaw-dropping and downright scary.
–Alexandria Ducksworth
13. Unshod, Cackling, and Naked
A treasure trove of creativity; a dynamic story collection
Author: Tamika Thompson
Genre: Short Stories / Horror
ISBN: 9781989206980
Print Length: 261 pages
Publisher: Unnerving Books
Recommended by: Jaylynn Korrell
What it’s about:
In one story, a woman disappears on occasion and leaves her husband questioning how; in another, a man wakes up to discover his town is under siege by bats; another follows a woman as a tree overpowers her body and mind. The ten other stories will take readers on completely different journeys. What they all have in common? They’ll all leave readers with mouths wide open.
Why you should read it:
More than once I thought to myself, “How did she come up with this?” And I have a feeling many other readers will think the same. Thompson displays an impressive range—stories of the supernatural, of hallucinations, of the all-too-real horrors of the human mind. From deeply heartbreaking to inspiring and destructive, anything is possible as these characters question what’s become of their realities.
When I finished this collection, I wanted to clap like the annoying person in a movie theater. To say I enjoyed it would be an understatement.
In a book club? Check out these book club gifts for hosts & members!
14. In the Vanishing Hour
One river. Two tragedies. A mystery slowly unravels with growing unease.
Author: Sarah Beth Martin
Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense / Literary
ISBN: 9781645993926
Print Length: 308 pages
Publisher: Encircle Publications
Recommended by: Melissa Suggitt
What it’s about:
Eight years after her brother Mac’s tragic drowning, 20-year-old Frances has never recovered. She became a shell of the girl she once was, and she longs to be something more, to see someone else when she looks in the mirror.
When she meets new model Gwen at the department store where she works, Frances is set down a new path and begins to explore the possibility that there could be more for her out there. But how can she move forward and live a life she dreams of when she can’t outrun her grief or control her newest obsession?
Why you should read it:
In the Vanishing Hour pairs suspense with drama and a touch of romance, for an effect that is pleasant and cozy. What a novel for a rainy afternoon.
Martin expertly moves between characters and timelines, jumping between 1959 and 1974, blending past and present together, all the while slowly unravelling details that keep the reader guessing and on the edge of their seat, desperate to know more.
The writing is poetic and detailed enough to give us a clear picture of this little town and its characters, both in their prime and in their decline. Martin’s dialogue flows so effortlessly and smoothly that you forget you’re not sitting in the moment with the characters.
–Melissa Suggitt
15. Soiled Dove Murder
History, mystery, adventure, and action align as a 1920s schoolteacher takes on mobsters.
Author: Sherilyn Decter
Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense / Historical
ISBN: 9781777515140
Print Length: 479 pages
Recommended by: Joelene Pynnonen
What it’s about:
School is out for the summer. Schoolteacher Lucie Santoro and Delores Bailey, her incongruous moonshiner companion, are using the break to help one of Lucie’s old pupils.
The once-impoverished student is now running a bordello of prostitutes in Virginia City. When one of her so-called “soiled doves” goes missing in suspicious circumstances and law enforcement doesn’t care, Ruth turns to Lucie, the one person she knows will help.
As a teacher in the 1920s, life is a delicate balancing act for Lucie. Being seen with the owner of a bordello would be enough to shatter her reputation and destroy her career. Little does Lucie know that losing her career may be the least of her worries. On this holiday, she’ll be in danger of losing her life.
Why you should read it:
I don’t know if you can really have a gripe with this book. It’s clever, nuanced, entertaining, and fun all at once. As with all of the books I’ve read from Sherilyn Decter, the historical attention to detail is remarkable. From the very first bumpy, exhausting bus ride to the portrayal of Chinese immigration in 1920s USA, it’s clear how well Decter understands the world she’s writing.
What I love about these novels is that the protagonists aren’t immune to the values of their time. They judge and misstep, but they are fully rounded empathetic characters and the more they experience, the wider their understanding becomes.
-Joelene Pynnonen
16. Here in the Not Yet
A tale that blends the real with the nightmarish
Author: David Spaugh
Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense / Psychological
ISBN: 9798374364569
Print Length: 214 pages
Recommended by: Akram Herrak
What it’s about:
The story opens as our protagonist (Ben) and his father (Mr. Knight) are departing on a road trip like they used to do when Ben was a child. A wholesome and thoughtful conversation is tragically cut short as a car accident claims his father’s life and traumatizing Ben.
After that event, Ben takes a morning jog that disturbs the fates and propels us on a thrilling journey that beautifully combines what is real with what is imaginary. Traumas from the past resurface and take form. How Ben reacts to them will define not only his fate, but his loved ones’ as well.
Why you should read it:
I’m struggling to think of a book that I’ve read in the last few years that resonated with me quite as much as Here in the Not Yet did. David Spaugh writes about trauma, death, separation, fears, and more in a way that makes them palpable.
The constant blend between two worlds lends the story an incredible sense of danger. It doesn’t care for reality or emulating it; it emerges out of the dark and makes its presence known, and with it comes everything that Ben has underneath.
–Akram Herrak
Reading nonfiction is a great way to read multiple books at once! Here are some more tips on developing a strong reading habit.
17. Life, Travel, and the People in Between
An insightful, feel-good travel memoir that shows how following your passion can change your life
Author: Mike Nixon
Genre: Nonfiction / Travel
ISBN: 979-8985945201
Print Length: 316 pages
Recommended by: Joelene Pynnonen
What it’s about:
At nineteen, working in a Comfort Inn motel, and studying at Norfolk State University, Mike Nixon dreams of having a bigger life. One that more resembles the lives of the guests checking into the rooms of his motel every day.
Only when he travels to the Dominican Republic as part of his university’s study-abroad program does he realize what he’s been missing. Visiting new countries and meeting people from different walks of life calls to him. On his return to the USA, Mike’s only concern is how to repeat the experience. As a poor uni student, his options seem limited. But the calling to experience the world is far too powerful to refuse, and soon Mike is doing everything he can to follow it.
Why you should read it:
Life Travel and the People in Between is like an interesting discussion with someone talking about the life they love. It’s accessible, relatable, sometimes funny, and sometimes painful. It’s also one of those books that inspires you just by existing. For someone without a lot of means, either social, professional, or economic, it’s amazing how Nixon manages to build such a fulfilling, enriching life while following his heart.
–Joelene Pynnonen
18. Whole Body Prayer
A tall glass of water for the parched soul
Author: Yan Ming Li
Genre: Nonfiction / Memoir
ISBN: 9798985131512
Print Length: 208 pages
Recommended by: Alexandria Ducksworth
What it’s about:
Yan Ming Li was born and raised during the Maoist China era. There was little freedom, people toiled endlessly in factories, and food was strictly limited. His parents had little time to spend with him and his siblings, as they were busy working 10+ hour days to make sure their children were fed.
Li eventually was introduced to the Light, an inner guide to everything in his life. It told him where to go and whom he will meet. It is the qi inside every one of us, our natural energy system. Li uses this unique energy to heal people.
Why you should read it:
Whole Body Prayer is incredibly inspiring and spiritually magical. The book reads like Yogananda’s The Autobiography of a Yogi and Kosta Danaos’s The Magus of Java. A warm wave of peaceful energy emits from the pages of Li’s memoir.
Whole Body Prayer reveals an important message: we all have a gift to share. Li’s gift was his qi. Not only does he use it to help hundreds of people, he reminds others that they can heal themselves.
-Alexandria Ducksworth
19. The Anthropocene Epoch
About as good of a book on the climate crisis as I could have asked for.
Author: Bruce Glass
Genre: Nonfiction / Climate & Environment
ISBN: 9780578995304
Print Length: 220 pages
Recommended by: Joe Walters
What it’s about:
Author Bruce Glass tells a complete story of how we’ve arrived and where we are going. The earth has gone through extinction-level events before (five to be exact), and we go through each one early on in the book. Then, we arrive at the small fraction of time humans have been on the planet. We may be making our lives more convenient and our standards of living higher, but we have “altered nearly half of our planet’s land surface area.” We have dammed and diverted almost all major rivers. Cut down trees. Filled our air with enough cow farts & burps to rapidly change our atmosphere.
And the earth is responding with warmer climates and catastrophic storms.
What can we do to stop this?
Why you should read it:
The Anthropocene Epoch: When Humans Changed the World is about as good of a book on the climate crisis as I could have asked for. Supremely readable and undeniably informative, it has what it takes to transform everyday citizens from unknowing contributors in the end of the world to enthusiastic and active participants in its possible salvation.
A terrifically important piece on the future of our planet, The Anthropocene Epoch will inspire readers to take an objective view of our choices and to act on them before it’s too late.
-Joe Walters
20. Kingdom of the Silver Cat
An enchanting experience to a land you won’t want to leave
Author: Thomas M. Carroll
Genre: Middle Grade / Fantasy
ISBN: 9781733091701
Print Length: 414 pages
Recommended by: Jaylynn Korrell
What it’s about:
After their school bus travels through a mysterious blue light and ends up in a strange field, a group of kids quickly discover the truth—that they won’t be going to school today. They assume the adult in charge (their bus driver) will figure things out for them, but when he fails to return from searching for help, they soon realize that it’s up to them to get themselves back to where they came from.
But not long after arriving, the kids begin to show unique magical powers. While the world and powers seem exciting, they still know they need to get back home, for the road back is filled with challenges they never could have imagined.
Why you should read it:
I read most of this book with a smile on my face, happy to feel a part of the group that evolves because of this magical bus ride. Ranging in age from 8 to 13, each child is on a personal journey along their trip back home.
Carroll’s imaginative writing really brings the world of Hevelen to life. The way he describes each new aspect of the land gives the reader a clear image that is often exciting and unique to imagine. The fruit he describes makes your mouth water, the animals seem realistic despite their kooky differences, and when danger arrives, the hairs on your neck will stand tall. I feel impressed by the care given to each small detail.
Carroll’s imagination seems to know no bounds, as do the places that this series can possibly go in the future.
-Jaylynn Korrell
21. The Journey to Jumbalot
A spectacular tale of tiny beasts making big differences
Author: Ryan Wakefield
Genre: Middle Grade / Fantasy
ISBN: 9798553853532
Print Length: 198 pages
Recommended by: Samantha Hui
What it’s about:
Fat housecat Alby loves three things: naps, a filled food bowl, and his owner Professor Wizoom. But Wizoom soon disappears through a bright triangular door in the name of science. A mysterious voice from beyond beckons, telling Alby to be brave and leave the safety of his now owner-less home. It’s time for him to take the leap.
On the other side of the door, Alby discovers the bright and fantastical world of Jumbalot and its inhabitants. But he soon discovers that the once-friendly kingdoms of Jowla and Wolvoon are warring over the powerful Gem of Jumbalot.
Why you should read it:
Ryan Wakefield’s Journey to Jumbalot is as entertaining as it is smart, addressing themes of courage, compassion, friendship, and more. It is a classic fantasy tale at heart, but Wakefield brings a delightful originality to it in creating this world and his “jumbo:” the beasts and creatures of Jumbalot who are composed of different Earth animals. Firephants, warthawks, and deermations keep our imaginations churning on this fantasy friendship adventure for the whole family—pets included.
This book is sure to be a bedtime favorite with the family. It is jam-packed with adventure, action, and heart, and it would be a great book to teach your children how to handle problems with love and compassion and show them how to lead with their hearts.
-Samantha Hui
22. Wicked Blood
Part murder investigation, part supernatural feud, all fast-paced Berlin adventure.
Author: Margot de Klerk
Genre: Young Adult / Fantasy
ISBN: 9781919621333
Print Length: 322 pages
Recommended by: Andrea Marks-Joseph
What it’s about:
A shapeshifter travels to Berlin in search of her father, where she ends up tangled in a deadly feud with the city’s supernatural creatures.
What at first feels like a novelty, or a result of not visiting the right tourist spots, turns out to be a supernatural crisis: Cynthia hasn’t seen any supernatural beings in Berlin—no vampires, shifters, witches, or hunters—because they have gone into hiding, or worse, may be dying en masse.
Why you should read it:
De Klerk’s worldbuilding is rich with fresh takes on old magic. The fascinating mechanics of being a shapeshifter are by far my favorite. Shapeshifting is described clear as day, as if you’re watching on screen. The rules of Cynthia’s magic create challenges just as exciting as the opportunities they cause. The supernatural in Wicked Blood is wonderfully accessible and conversational, bringing you into the experience with ease.
In this tale of abandoned buildings and misplaced trust, Cynthia finds Berlin’s history entangled with ancient magical theories and creatures. Wicked Blood is easy to sink your teeth into and such a sweet thrill to read.
-Andrea Marks-Joseph
23. Dawn of Deoridium
You’re going to fall in love with the world that Ting has created here.
Author: Jeff Ting
Genre: Young Adult / Sci-Fi & Fantasy
ISBN: 9798406654538
Print Length: 352 pages
Recommended by: Chika Anene
What it’s about:
16-year-old Kaili, who is next in line of the queens of the kingdom of Kalulishi, is no ordinary royal. She possesses electromagnetic power caused by The Shift—an upheaval of the earth’s magnetosphere more than three hundred years ago.
When Kalulishi faces an attack by an outside force bearing the name Iron King, Kaili puts her life on the line and travels to the deadly Dead Lats to find Deoridium—a mythical element that possesses unmatched electromagnetic energy that her father spent a great deal of time searching for while he was alive—in order to save her people.
Why you should read it:
From reading Dawn of Deoridium, one thing is clearest to me—Jeff Ting is one heck of a talented writer.
The descriptions in Dawn of Deoridium are so alive, and the banter shared between clansmen of certain cities during Kaili’s journey, or the little children who eagerly want her to perform tricks with her powers, are great specific details added to the already strong worldbuilding. You’re going to love the world Ting has created here.
–Chika Anene
What are the best Kindle Unlimited books you’ve ever read? Let us know in the comments!
About the IBR Staff
Independent Book Review is your source for the best in indie books. With 25 readers on staff, we aim to show the reading world why they can put their trust in independently published lit. Meet the team or follow on Instagram & Twitter.
Thank you for reading “23 Hidden Gem Kindle Unlimited Books (2023)!” If you liked what you read, please spend some more time with us at the links below.
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]]>The post How to Write a Great Book Review appeared first on Independent Book Review.
]]>by Joe Walters
There are so many ways to write a great book review.
But it all starts with careful and attentive reading.
Read every word on every page, and if you don’t understand something, read it again. Back in college, I read things I didn’t understand but continued moving forward because that’s what I did in high school, in grade school, in class all the time. You’re taught to use context clues and follow along.
You have my permission to stop doing that. (Tell your teacher to blame me).
If you don’t understand something, read it again. If you still don’t understand it, try writing down what happens in each and every scene. A scene could be a full chapter, a paragraph, or a few paragraphs. I had to do this with Le Morte D’Arthur when I was in school, and I actually ended up loving it by the end, regardless of the hard to decipher Olde English spellings.
Just because you’re a slow reader doesn’t mean you’re a bad one.
Before you learn how to write great book reviews, understand this…
People write book reviews for different reasons. Sometimes they want to publish their writing in a publication (like a newspaper, magazine, or Independent Book Review). Sometimes they have to write a book review for school. Sometimes they want to build a platform on Goodreads, or they want to support indie authors by leaving the review on Amazon.
If you’re writing a book review for school, my first recommendation is to combine this treasure trove of a blog post with the specifics of what your teacher is asking you to do on their rubric. They may want analytical points that go beyond the 50% marker because they don’t care for spoilers, while reviewing for publication might want it to be spoiler-free.
The kinds of reviews I’m talking about? These would put you in a good position to publish your book reviews on blogs, magazines, and platforms like Goodreads or Amazon.
Your first big question:
Should you take notes while you read?
Maybe? Probably? It’s up to you in the end, but I’d recommend it, especially if you’re just starting out.
If you take notes while you go, you can not only pinpoint comments in specific locations in the book regarding how you’re feeling about it (so that you can write about it later), you can also highlight some of your favorite quotes in the book.
Adding quotes directly from the text can add some intrigue (and length) to your book review. It’s one thing to hear that the book has great prose; it’s another to see it for yourself.
After reading the book
Sleep on it. Not literally (unless it’s comfy, I guess?).
The main point here is to just give yourself some time to stew on it. How is it sitting with you now that you’ve read the ending? Now that you understand what the author really wanted to do?
Then, imagine a scenario where you are talking to another reader about it.
How would you start the conversation? How would you set the story up so that they understand the characters and the plotline and where it goes from there?
The good news is that you’re not just babbling to your friend about it (although that’s cool too). Unlike a conversation, with a review, you will have time to revise and edit instead of just spouting out all the things you have to say.
But still, it’s good practice. You will figure out what is most important to talk about simply by imagining this friend’s perspective—wait, did I tell them about the revolt yet? The love interest? They’re gonna need to know who the hell Puck is before I get to why it’s so good.
How do you write great book reviews without reading some examples first? You can’t. So check these out before you go any further: Book Review: Rock Gods & Messy Monsters and Book Review: The Devil Pulls the Strings.
How to write a first draft of a great book review:
“Some people call it verbal diarrhea. I just call it word shit.” – Wanderlust (2012)
Regardless of what you call it, let the words spill out. Write about what happens in the book, how you feel about it, and why. Just write.
If you start out with the skeleton of a structure, it could be even easier to draft. Here’s what we share with our reviewers for our 400+ word reviews:
- Tagline: Mention a little of what the book is about as well as one of the book’s positive points in a short catchy phrase
- “An evocative psychological thriller that explores the influence of trauma on the human mind and soul” – Robyn-Lee Samuels, Book Review: A Cabin in the Woods
- “A tender, inventive memoir that grapples with the unexpected loss of a child” – Tucker Lieberman, Book Review: An Ambiguous Grief
- “The laugh-out-loud antics of three unlikely pilgrims headline this poignantly told humorous novel.” – Frank Pizzoli, Book Review: The Jesus Nut
- Part 1: Introduce the characters & goals of the book early on.
- Part 2: Write an enticing summary up until about the 50% marker
- Part 3: How the author/book succeeded. Be specific & use examples. If you said that it has great characters, tell me who they are and what’s great about them.
- Part 4: What you did not like about the novel (if applicable). If not applicable, use this paragraph to indicate another thing that the author/book did well.
- Part 5: Closing comments, recommendation, and overall feeling about the novel.
Self-editing your book review
You’re not done yet. I’m sure you’ve already written a great book review, and everyone else in the world would applaud you for it, but—wait, actually, no.
No you didn’t. Not yet.
I have not read it obviously, but I feel pretty confident in saying your first draft can be improved upon. Please read your review from the top to the bottom, asking yourself questions like:
- Did I write in present tense to describe the happenings in the plot?
- Did I italicize the book title but use quotation marks for stories or essays within the book?
- Does this sentence communicate exactly what I am trying to say in as few words as possible? Are there filler words that could be removed without impacting the clarity of the sentence?
- Do I avoid cliche and speak honestly and originally about this book?
- Do I tell the story in a linear fashion up until about the 50% marker?
- Did I accidentally include any spoilers?
- Are the words I use to praise the book really saying anything? Avoid empty words and phrases like “interesting” and “relatable”
- Do I have a good mix of summary, praise, and (if applicable) criticism?
- If I added a quote from within the book, would it help make my case or entice readers into buying it?
- Do I use evidence to back up why I am saying this character is so great? Evidence for why the pacing worked?
- How’s my last line? Is it as catchy and clear as it could be? Am I leaving the reader with some of my best work?
What I love about great book reviews
They don’t always follow the rules.
I edit book reviews for a living, and I share tips like the ones I’ve shared here with my reviewers, but sometimes, they write reviews that look far different from my guided outline and are about as wonderful as I could ask for. They are clear, they are honest, they are poetic, they are so many things at once.
Reviewing is an art form. It’s important to know the foundations of a great book review, but like great art, sometimes it takes writers stepping out of boundaries to really do something amazing.
Here are a couple examples of reviews that threw my outline out the window but absolutely nailed the execution: Book Review: Obit and Book Review: Anthropica.
Thanks for checking out our tips for how to write a great book review! If you would like to apply to write for IBR, fill out the submission form on this page.
About the Author
Joe Walters is the editor-in-chief of Independent Book Review and the author of The Truth About Book Reviews. He has been a book marketer for Sunbury Press, Inkwater Press, and Paper Raven Books. When he’s not doing editorial, promoting, or reviewing work, he’s working on his novel, playing with his kids, or reading indie books by Kindle light.
Thank you for reading Joe Walters’s blog post “How to Write a Great Book Review!” If you liked what you read, please spend some more time with us at the links below.
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]]>The post The Best Books We Read This Year (2022) appeared first on Independent Book Review.
]]>Curated by the IBR team
Let’s talk about the best books we read in 2022.
This doesn’t mean they were published in 2022.
Yes, some of them were published this year, because this was an impressive year for indie books, but some of these titles have been out for years and have been making a difference in people’s lives long before we got to them.
But they’re still here, they’re still awesome, and we can’t wait to share them with you.
If you don’t know, IBR is a team of book lovers dedicated to highlighting the best of indie presses and indie authors, so this list reflects that. You won’t find any books by big five publishers here.
This year, 15 of our 25 reviewers participated. Some of these books came from IBR assignments, and some came from their own leisure reading (because, plot twist, I think they like books). And while some reviewers chose five and an honorable mention list (whoops!), others only chose two or three that stood out the most. You will find the books, publication information about them, and a mini-review about why each book was chosen.
So if you’re in the mood to treat yourself to something indie and something awesome, consider yourself prepared.
Here are the best books we read in 2022!
#1. Braiding Sweetgrass
by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Publisher: Milkweed Editions
Released: August 2015
Genre: Nonfiction / Nature & Ecology
Review by Joe Walters:
A thing about books is that they can change your life. I know this. I believe this. I just wish I could have known that this would be one of them so I could have read it sooner.
I learned so much about being alive on this planet thanks to Robin Wall Kimmerer, the author and narrator of this audiobook. Kimmerer told me stories and taught me the wisdom of the earth, most often while I was doing dishes. Not only did I enjoy it, I had a regular excuse to revisit a place of gratitude for the planet I’m living on.
Braiding Sweetgrass shares insights on nature with the knowledge of a botanist and the prose of a poet. If you’ve got some dishes to do, I’d recommend giving your ears to this book.
#2. My Volcano
by John Elizabeth Stintzi
Publisher: Two Dollar Radio
Released: March 2022
Genre: Literary / Disaster Fiction
Review by Joe Walters:
This novel sprouts a volcano from the reservoir in Central Park and continues to take big risks and land big punches. I was flabbergasted by where Stintzi took me. I read so many books that sometimes I think I get what you can do with them, then a book like this comes along.
It describes the various eruptions of our personal and collected lives with surprises and characters doing their best. I am so grateful to have found wonder in the pages of this groundbreaking book.
I read it on vacation, and strangers asked me about it (prob because of this badass cover), and I had so much trouble talking about it, despite doing it for a living. It might be hard to talk about, but it’s cool as hell to read it.
If you like experimental fiction and prose that’ll circle around you like a swarm of bees, you’ve got my wholehearted recommendation here.
#3. Jerks
by Sara Lippman
Publisher: Mason Jar Press
Released: March 2022
Genre: Literary Fiction / Short Story Collection
Review by Joe Walters:
I admit that I make a majority of my book purchases based on the cover. This is no different with Jerks. I mean, look at this thing.
It’s such an unbelievable experience for a book to be as good, if not better, than its great cover. A treat waiting to be peeled open.
The language is so bouncy in this collection. It features a cast of strong, weird, funny, sexual, and flawed characters, and each story fulfills or exceeds my expectations. Every. Single. One.
Short fiction fans: this is an easy recommendation.
#4. The Anthropocene Epoch
by Bruce Glass
Released: November 2021
Genre: Nonfiction / Climate & Environment / History
Review by Joe Walters:
Important. Impactful. Surprising.
The Anthropocene Epoch: When Humans Changed the World is about as good of a book on the climate crisis as I could have asked for. Supremely readable and undeniably informative, it has what it takes to transform everyday citizens from unknowing contributors in the end of the world to enthusiastic and active participants in its possible salvation.
If you don’t know much (or want to learn more) about the history of humans on this planet, I’m throwing a recommendation for this one your way.
#5. Negative Space
by Lilly Dancyger
Publisher: Santa Fe Writer’s Project
Released: May 2021
Genre: Nonfiction / Memoir / Family
Review by Joe Walters:
Another audiobook choice for me! Narrated by the author, Negative Space plants me in 80s/90s New York City with a group of artists and punks who have so much to show me about love and family.
I don’t read enough books about kids who love their parents despite their flaws, like drug addiction in this one, but I’m hoping this book changes that. It’s both a heartbreaker and a heartwarmer thanks to Dancyger’s deft hand.
Honorable Mentions:
- And If That Mockingbird Don’t Sing edited by Hannah Grieco (Bookshop | Amazon)
- Not Your Job by Pierce Brantley (Bookshop | Amazon)
- The Red-Headed Pilgrim by Kevin Maloney (Bookshop | Amazon)
- Gather Us Up and Bring Us Home by Shasta Grant (Bookshop | Amazon)
- Jewbilly by Rick Rosenberg (Bookshop | Amazon)
#1. First Born Sons
by Vincent Traughber Meis
Genre: Literary Fiction / LGBTQ+
Review by Jaylynn Korrell:
First Born Sons follows the lives of a handful of standout characters as they navigate their worlds, which are soon to be rocked by the year 2020.
Touching on subjects such as race, being trans, politics, pandemics, adoption, and more, this story is jam-packed with contemporary issues. And yet it never feels like too much. Meis gracefully weaves in and out of the narratives, writing with sensitivity and honesty about each subject.
I can honestly say that I enjoyed every single chapter of this book—and each narrative within it. It is impressive to say the least for an author to tackle such difficult subjects in such a complete and compelling way.
Meis brings humanity to the forefront of this book: characters who are uniquely flawed and deeply recognizable.
#2. What Happens In…
by Steffanie Moyers
Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense / Romance
Review by Jaylynn Korrell:
What Happens In… is a white-hot thriller set in the wonderful world of Las Vegas. With a steamy romance at the forefront and a dangerous killer lurking in the background, this novel absolutely mesmerized me.
I’d recommend What Happens In… to those readers who enjoy lustful and high-stakes stories. From the beginning, we know that Knox is engaging in activities that could put her away for life, and it makes the book even sexier. We never know what scene will be her last, if any. We never know who will catch on or when. And for a long time we have no clue just what it is her mysterious new boyfriend is up to while he is away. It creates a damn-near perfect hodgepodge of events that leaves readers guessing.
It’s one of the best books I’ve read in a while.
#3. The Linchpin Writer
by John Matthew Fox
Publisher: BOOKFOX
Genre: Nonfiction / Authorship
Review by Jaylynn Korrell:
A valuable guide to crafting a novel worth reading
In writing, the “linchpin moments” are the pivotal places that will either make or break your work. When done correctly, these moments hold your book together and make sure your readers are always engaged.
With specific examples from some of the greatest novels ever written (both classic and contemporary), his own personal experience, and lessons from writing professionals, Fox guides readers to better writing in regards to killing characters, ending chapters, creating gripping first dialogue, describing characters, evoking wonder, and much more.
In addition to some really spot-on writing advice, Fox provides personal experience and inspiration to make this book something that writers can’t afford to miss.
#1. The Maenad’s God
by Karen Michalson
Publisher: Arula Books
Released: December 2022
Genre: Literary Fiction / Metafiction / LGBTQ+
Review by Tucker Lieberman:
An engaging metafictional romp through an improbable New England
What you’ll get out of this strange novel isn’t the blow-by-blow of how a drug ring is busted. It’s a character-driven story of interpersonal relationships and a general wonder at the explosive funniness of life. The dominant voice is irony and camp, even leaning into the 1970s-style bizarro that has been called “high weirdness,” but there are also glimpses of sincere existential questioning.
The narrator is unique and memorable: a gay FBI agent who appreciates potpourri aromatherapy with his gun at the ready. Michalson also surprises readers with language that describes, for example, what it is to feel “like an old sea mollusk might feel dying on an Iowa plain.”
#2. Man Made Monsters
by Andrea L. Rogers
Publisher: Levine Querido
Released: October 2022
Genre: Short Story Collection / Aboriginal & Indigenous Fiction
Review by Tucker Lieberman:
Monsters menace the border between realms. One kind of monster can wrap around a coyote, leaving “an empty skin and gaping eyes.” Core to this collection is Cherokee folklore; for example, if you see Uktena, a serpent with deer antlers, it means “the world is about to change.”
Every story is a different scenario and setting, but it all coheres into one world with energy and depth.
#3. When They Tell You to Be Good
by Prince Shakur
Publisher: Tin House Books
Released: October 2022
Genre: Nonfiction / Memoir / African & African American Literature
Review by Tucker Lieberman:
A memoir of coming into self-knowledge as a queer Black man and coming into activism as a young Jamaican-American. Shakur, who was an infant when his father was murdered, describes feeling “the importance of being incompatible with a world that aimed to destroy you.” The chronology circles like a ribbon, walking the labyrinth forward and backward.
#4. Cascade
by Rachel A. Rosen
Publisher: The BumblePuppy Press
Released: June 2022
Genre: Fantasy / Magical Realism
Review by Tucker Lieberman:
A novel of climate apocalypse and magic. This magic, a power that comes to some individuals, is a gut response to suffering or injustice or whatever they can’t accept. This story stars a new plant species called shriekgrass. Why does the grass shriek? Because it knows what’s happening to the world. Out of all the solutions we brainstorm to address the climate crisis, why don’t we hear more about magical ones?
#1. A Perfect Night
by Joseph Stone
Released: June 2022
Genre: Fantasy / Dark
Review by Alexandria Ducksworth:
I cannot get enough of Joseph Stone’s dark fiction.
A Perfect Night is Joseph Stone’s unforgettable story about a young girl and the terrible secrets tied to her gift of seeing spirits. You think your family has dark secrets. You’ll be glad you don’t have any like Fran.
Stone weaves heavy scenarios you can’t stop thinking about in this story. It’s like not being able to fall asleep after watching a horror movie. Stone really knows how to give us the creeps. Scenes are disturbing yet strangely captivating. Readers may become addicted to the drama.
Everybody involved in this gripping story has something to reveal, and the results are often jaw-dropping and downright scary.
#2. Rogue
by Tam Derudder Jackson
Released: May 2022
Genre: Fantasy / Romance
Review by Alexandria Ducksworth:
Move over JR Ward and Gena Showalter.
Tam Derudder Jackson is coming for the paranormal romance pantheon.
Rogue, her sizzling romantic adventure, is going to have readers missing its story and characters before they even reach the final page. This steamy story gives readers a little extra spice to their romance, and the tale includes characters as believable as you’re going to find with a splash of underrated Celtic mythos.
I highly recommend Rogue to longtime paranormal romance readers who can’t get enough of handsome, magical fighters with big swords. After reading this book, you’re are going to be starving for more of Jackson’s tales.
#3. Whole Body Prayer
by Yan Ming Li
Released: January 2022
Genre: Memoir / Spirituality / Asian & Asian American Literature
Review by Alexandria Ducksworth:
A tall glass of water for the parched soul
Yan Ming Li’s spiritual memoir Whole Body Prayer is an absolute treasure. Li is no stranger to hard times, yet his book is filled with encouraging moments for those who feel less than they should in this world.
We all have a gift of some sort. Some of us are born builders, writers, healers, and more. Whole Body Prayer is a wonderfully-written reminder of it.
Although this is a short read, it’s uplifting and well worth the time spent. We all need a book like Whole Body Prayer during eventful times. It can give readers peace of mind and the power to keep moving no matter what happens out in the world.
#4. The Grand Game
by Tim Ahrens
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
Genre: Fantasy / Dark
Review by Alexandria Ducksworth:
A Hunger Games meets Battle Royale fantasy delight
Do you control your fate, or is a higher power doing all the work? Is there some god out there who sets up where you live, work, date, and die?
Tim Ahrens takes this thought and throws it into a fun, fantasy adventure in The Grand Game. It’s a wonderful world filled with intriguing characters, unique lore, and memorable faraway lands.
Ahrens knows how to scribe entertaining fantasy. Sure, there are tons of fantasies filled with kings, queens, dragons, and fairies, but what else can writers do with these age-old elements? Ahrens takes these tropes and twists them into an RPG “fight for your life” ordeal. Every page is filled with surprises, dangers, and secrets worth reading.
#5. Creole Conjure
by Christina Rosso
Publisher: Maudlin House
Released: October 2021
Genre: Short Story Collection / Fantasy
Review by Alexandria Ducksworth:
Alluring and mystical—Creole Conjure captures Louisiana in all of its mysterious glory.
This story collection comes with a pinch of magic. Author Christina Rosso thrives in her depiction of mystical New Orleans and makes you want to explore its singular charm.
This collection of intertwining stories is set both in New Orleans and the Honey Island Swamp, modeled after the real Manchac Swamp. The areas are well known for their magic, superstitions, and folklore. There are witches, werewolves, vampires, cursed dolls, and more than you can imagine in Creole Conjure. And the non-magical folks are just as peculiar.
Rosso has a way with mystical storytelling, taking you in like one of her witches and capturing you in her spell.
#1. Stamp Mill Murder
by Sherilyn Decter
Released: January 2022
Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense / Historical Mystery
Review by Joelene Pynnonen:
Despite being an escapist novel, this novel doesn’t sugarcoat the darker parts of the era.
The Moonshiner Mysteries series steps up its game with this second installment. The first book, Big Sky Murder, is a great set-up: it introduces the characters and shows readers around a fascinating historical small world.
This second book, Stamp Mill Murder, expands all the horizons: Characters who were already thoroughly enjoyable gain more nuance; we explore the town of Pony Gulch and its surrounding mines and forests deeper; and all the great historical aspects are developed even further too.
Light and fun with enough historical clout to hold its own, this series has been a fantastic escape from reality so far.
#2. Balsamic Moon
by Alan Gartenhaus
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
Released: October 2022
Genre: Literary Fiction / Disaster Fiction
Review by Joelene Pynnonen:
Most disaster novels I’ve read follow similar conventions to disaster movies: more action than reality. Balsamic Moon breaks that mold. It’s a thoughtful, nuanced, and authentic exploration of the occurrence and direct aftermath of 2005’s Hurricane Katrina. The long days of waiting, the stifling anxiety about whether they’ll be rescued, and the dwindling of already meager rations are all drawn with stark clarity.
Something about the way Balsamic Moon is written pulls readers so smoothly across its pages. It’s easy to empathize with the characters through the struggle for survival. The heat of the long days is palpable, the stench of the floodwater equally so.
While Balsamic Moon uses Hurricane Katrina as a vehicle for its story, the story isn’t really about the storm. There are so many different things that this novel explores, but, at its heart, I think it is about the people that society accepts and the people it rejects.
Reading Balsamic Moon is somehow both wonderful and heartrending. I could easily have spent more time with these characters. There seems to be so much of both of them left unexplored. It feels fitting, though, that in the wake of this disaster, things are left messy and incomplete. It leaves an air of disturbance around the novel. A feeling of disquiet that somehow mirrors the ultimate atmosphere of the book.
#3. Life, Travel, and the People In Between
by Mike Nixon
Publisher: Palmetto Publishing
Released: September 2022
Genre: Memoir / Travel
Review by Joelene Pynnonen:
An insightful, feel-good travel memoir that shows how following your passion can change your life
Life, Travel, and the People in Between is like an interesting discussion with someone talking about the life they love. It’s accessible, relatable, sometimes funny, and sometimes painful. It’s also one of those books that inspires you just by existing.
For someone without a lot of means, either social, professional, or economic, it’s amazing how Nixon manages to build such a fulfilling, enriching life while following his heart.
#4. So Far From Home
by Robert Wilhelm
Released: December 2021
Genre: Nonfiction / True Crime / Historical
Review by Joelene Pynnonen:
A vivid true crime story that dives into the social and political climate behind a gruesome murder
So Far From Home is a fascinating historical tale. While the crime is at the forefront, there is a lot going on behind the scenes. Wilhelm paints a full picture of the stakes that pertain to all parties through the trial. Pressure is on the prosecution to return a guilty vote.
Author Robert Wilhelm maintains the perfect balance in giving all parties involved a voice, but also in making each of their perspectives persuasive. He takes the time to humanize the people involved in this story. For a book gleaned from old newspapers, it does so well in delving into personalities.
#5. Laugh Cry Rewind
by Judy Haveson
Released: July 2022
Genre: Memoir / Women
Review by Joelene Pynnonen:
A poignant memoir that shows how love perseveres beyond death
Laugh Cry Rewind could easily fall into pity memoir territory, but the often funny, irreverent tone puts it onto another level. While the central most devastating event in Judy’s life might have been losing her sister, Celia’s life dominates the page more than her death. This isn’t the story of a person fixed on one terrible moment, but of a person whose moments, both bad and good, all add up to an incredible life.
Funny, awkward, and sad by turns, it explores the ins and outs of navigating all the complexities of the world from adolescence to relationships to careers.
#1. Don’t Ask the Blind Guy for Directions
by John Samuel
Released: November 2022
Genre: Nonfiction / Autobiography / Disability
Review by Andrea Marks-Joseph:
This is a tremendous book about the powerful impact of having a disability, denying that disability, and then finally using tools that make the world accessible for people with your specific disability. It’s a short, personal story that could be an afternoon read, but John Samuel’s words and life will stay with you long afterwards.
Though my disabilities are very different from Samuel’s, I could see so much of my own journey (the best parts: getting the accessibility tools I needed!) in there, but it’s filled with enlightening, practical lessons that would be beneficial and life-changing for everyone to read–especially if you’re running a company or involved in hiring processes.
#2. The Sleepless
by Victor Manibo
Publisher: Erewhon Books
Released: August 2022
Genre: Science Fiction / Cyberpunk
Review by Andrea Marks-Joseph:
I think about this book every day, and I read it almost a year ago. This is a sci-fi novel about a world where “sleeplessness” (chronic, permanent insomnia) is the product of a global pandemic, but it is now something accessible on the black market.
What does capitalist society look like when the world is filled with people who never sleep? What does that mean for our office culture, our personal lives, our brain’s capacity to make and store memories, and for how our families see us? The worldbuilding is phenomenal, but this is also a murder mystery, a corporate conspiracy, and a highly motivated queer Filipino protagonist on his devastating journey through compounding grief.
#3. Like & Subscribe for Murder
by Elle Kleos
Released: May 2022
Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense / LGBTQ+
Review by Andrea Marks-Joseph:
Like & Subscribe for Murder is a super fun, hilarious queer murder mystery complete with constant, affirming use of they/them pronouns (and gender neutral Spanish!) for its nonbinary protagonist, Detective Sam. Imagine HBO’s The White Lotus as more focused on the murder, just as horny but way more queer, heavier on the ‘eat the rich’ energy, and depicting actual solidarity with its local hotel staff.
Elle Kleos nails the absurdity of wealth and the traditions of the rich, alongside the ridiculously serious business of an influencer’s lifestyle. I wish there were already ten books in this series because it’s truly unlike anything else I’ve read in the genre!
#4. Xenocultivars: Stories of Queer Growth
edited by Isabela Oliveira & Jed Sabin
Publisher: Speculatively Queer
Released: March 2022
Genre: Anthology / LGBTQ+ / Fantasy
Review by Andrea Marks-Joseph:
This short story anthology is the perfect gift for anyone interested in speculative fiction, and should be part of every inclusive library. All these stories—written by diverse marginalized authors from every corner of the globe—are magnificently queer and fantastically imaginative.
This vibrant collection blooms with ideas of what the world could look like and flourishes because it models what community should look like; it crosses genres from fairytales to horror to space adventure and back, radiating gender expansiveness and everyday queerness everywhere it takes us.
#5. Wicked Blood
by Margot de Klerk
Released: September 2022
Genre: Young Adult / Fantasy / Paranormal
Review by Andrea Marks-Joseph:
A wild and dreamy poetic journey through the wilderness in all of us.
De Klerk’s writing is effortlessly descriptive… The prose is never dense or overwhelming and really makes us feel as though we are wandering the streets of Berlin: riding its trains, noticing its architecture, appreciating its history, encountering its strange and mysterious people carrying worlds of secrets in their skin.
I particularly enjoyed reading the shapeshifting experience as Cynthia transforms into whichever animal she chooses. De Klerk’s worldbuilding is rich with fresh takes on old magic. The fascinating mechanics of being a shapeshifter are by far my favorite. Shapeshifting is described clear as day, as if you’re watching on screen. The rules of Cynthia’s magic create challenges just as exciting as the opportunities they cause. The supernatural in Wicked Blood is wonderfully accessible and conversational, bringing you into the experience with ease.
Wicked Blood is a book I’d read again with pleasure. Like any young adult’s time abroad, the true magic is in the surprises that each day brings and the people you meet along the way—prickly and powerful as they may be here.
Honorable Mentions:
- Bibi Blundermuss & the Tree Across the Cosmos by Andrew Durkin (Bookshop | Amazon)
- The Antidotes: Pollution Solution by Patty Mechael (Bookshop | Amazon)
- Alora Factor by D.L. Williams (Bookshop | Amazon)
- I Sang That by Sally Stevens (Bookshop | Amazon)
- The Way of the Cicadas by Audrey Henley (Bookshop | Amazon)
#1. Personal Demons (Hopeless, Maine)
by Nimue Brown and Tom Brown
Publisher: Outland Entertainment
Released: September 2021
Genre: Graphic Novel / Fantasy
Review by Kathy L. Brown:
This is a beautiful graphic novel with engaging characters and a really interesting story. I’m thrilled to see more magical orphanage adventures are available!
Fans of gorgeous art, subtle eldritch horror, and all around creepy good times will enjoy this hardback, full-color book.
#2. The Kraken Imaginary
by James M. Wright
Publisher: Montag Press
Genre: Fantasy / Historical
Review by Kathy L. Brown:
This secondary world has strong similarities to our own world’s ancient history and tells stories that interweave amongst each other.
Hilarious and entertaining while philosophically exploring the nature of, well, everything. Strong character development and well-crafted storytelling too! Great for fantasy fans, especially role-playing gamers and history buffs. (Disclosure: this reviewer also has a book out with the publisher, Montag Press.)
#3. 1836: Year of Escape
by Rose Osterman Kleidon
Released: August 2022
Genre: Historical Fiction / Adventure
Review by Kathy L. Brown:
A desperate and dangerous journey; an immersive historical fiction
Rose Osterman Kleidon crafts a compelling tale, seamlessly weaving family research, historical facts, imagination, and insight into human emotion and behavior into an exciting story.
The first book in a series, it describes the Kästner family’s travels from Prussia to the Port of New Orleans. 1836: Year of Escape includes everything you could want in historical fiction—engaging characters, brisk action, compelling drama, and historical facts that are totally integrated into the narrative.
#4. Dilation: A 10,000 Year Sci-Fi Epic
by Travis Stecher
Released: January 2022
Genre: Science Fiction / Epic
Review by Kathy L. Brown:
The human drive to survive propels this skillful epic sci-fi, where humankind suffers from its own folly and an alien race plans for its annihilation
Author Travis Stecher takes on a vast subject in Dilation: A 10,000 Year Sci-Fi Epic—nothing short of the near-destruction of humanity. The story brings together people from across nations, planets, solar systems, and historical epochs to combat an extinction threat from light-years away.
Dilation’s prose is skillful and the voice confident. The author’s wry humor grounds the narrative, especially when things get dark and heavy. Readers who enjoyed The Expanse series by James S.A. Corey will appreciate Dilation’s grand scale, well-rendered characters, and ingenious melding of scientific possibilities with logical speculation about what lies ahead in humanity’s future.
#5. Taming Infection
by Gregg Coodley & David Sarasohn
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
Released: April 2022
Genre: Nonfiction / Health / History
Review by Kathy L. Brown:
An engrossing history of infectious diseases’ toll on humanity
Taming Infection is the story of the infectious diseases that have most tormented humanity as well as the impact of these illnesses on American history. In a clear conversational voice, the book explains fifteen major infectious diseases’ microbiology and clinical presentation as well as the measures developed to combat them.
Readers interested in infectious diseases of the past and, unfortunately, the present will gain much from this book. History buffs will find new insights into the tremendous impact disease has had on events from war to colonization to legislation, as well as human behavior.
#1. The Seed Keeper
by Diane Wilson
Publisher: Milkweed Editions
Released: March 2021
Genre: Literary Fiction / Native American Literature
Review by Genevieve Hartman:
This intergenerational narrative of one Dakota family’s struggles to maintain their homeland and their family legacy despite war, generational trauma, hostility from white neighbors, and environmental threat is one of the most achingly beautiful books I’ve ever read.
The characters are finely rendered with a deep devotion to each other, to their family history, to the land they call home, and to the seeds that represent both past and future hope.
#2. The Wet Hex
by Sun Yung Shin
Publisher: Coffee House Press
Released: June 2022
Genre: Poetry / Asian & Asian American Literature
Review by Genevieve Hartman:
The Wet Hex plays with form and expectations, using the symbols of shadows and light to create a gripping portrait of Korean folklore, motherhood, immigrant experience, and cataclysm. The poems are darkly resonant and honed to fine metal, piercing and leaving the reader paging through the depths of legend and our fading future.
#3. Born Into This
by Adam Thompson
Publisher: Two Dollar Radio
Released: July 2021
Genre: Short Story Collection / Indigenous & Aboriginal Fiction
Review by Genevieve Hartman:
A stark, moving window into Aboriginal life in Australia
Immersive, honest, and at times cutthroat, this short story collection peers into the lives of ordinary people across Tasmania—students, activists, desk workers, prisoners, and beyond—looking broadly into how people learn to survive in the circumstances they are born into.
Thompson leaves readers wondering what to say in the face of suffering and resilience, of fading ties to the land and the people who once lived there. Frank and darkly perceptive, yet somehow still tender, Born Into This is built out of short stories that strike, that spark, that ignite into flame.
#4. Coffee, Shopping, Murder, Love
by Sherilyn Decter
Publisher: Red Hen Press
Released: June 2022
Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense / LGBTQ+
Review by Genevieve Hartman:
A chaotic, hilarious, and murder-filled journey through LA and Baja California
Readers will embark on a riotous, ribald, and somehow still laughter-inducing ride, from a terrible first date over coffee to a somewhat-accidental-but-also-on-purpose murder, with a few unintended deaths, a lot of misery, and of course, shopping and love to boot.
It’s been a long time since I’ve read a book as unabashedly fun as Coffee, Shopping, Murder, Love, and I think it’ll be a while before I read another book that so deftly marries whimsy with wrongdoing, that makes me laugh out loud while cringing at the same time.
#1. A Lot of Questions (with no answers)?
by Jordan Neben
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
Released: May 2022
Genre: Nonfiction / Philosophy / Essays
Review by Jadidsa Perez:
A Lot of Questions illuminates the darkest corners of humanity with humor and intelligence.
Neben has written one of the strongest debuts I’ve read in a while. A Lot of Questions does not simply look at the surface of ideas; it plunges deep into the waters of human behavior. The prose is clever, neat, and most importantly, accessible. Neben clearly explains any concept that is introduced and creates analogies that are easy to understand.
The book does not hone in on only one perspective. Instead, it looks at many different angles. As Neben himself admits, humans are extremely complex, thus history itself is almost a labyrinth.
A Lot of Questions is an incredible read—emotionally intense but extremely important.
#2. Lost Roots
by KArl von Loewe
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
Released: September 2022
Genre: Memoir / Family History & Genealogy
Review by Jadidsa Perez:
A seed is planted in the reader’s mind that blossoms into a beautiful flower of prose, memories, and familial bonds.
Lost Roots: Family, Identity, and Abandoned Ancestry details the way oppressive structures have altered the identity of millions of families. For von Loewe, what began as a search for the significance of the compound name, “von Loewe Kiedrowski” resulted in a historical journey through wars, borders, and time.
Lost Roots has equal parts nostalgic storytelling and detailed research, providing beguiling context for what’s happening in Poland, Germany, and America… My favorite aspect of this book is the juxtaposition between the family’s recollection and actual evidence of what occurred. Embellishment is a natural part of oral storytelling, and despite the documented evidence, it’s an important part of how people are remembered.
#3. The Perfect Tulip
by Alexander Martinez
Released: December 2021
Genre: Nonfiction / Self-Help
Review by Jadidsa Perez:
Impulsivity and indecision can alter your life completely—let this book help you make the best decisions.
The goal of this book is not to make the “perfect” decision for someone, but to allow readers to critically engage with their choices and understand themselves, their environment, and how all of that will impact their future.
What sets Perfect Tulip apart from other psychological self-help books, especially as personality tests have risen in popularity? Martinez’s honesty and focus on decision making carves out a niche within the self-help genre and makes Perfect Tulip not just enjoyable, but practical and informative.
#1. What Have I Done?
by Carrie Close
Publisher: Unsolicited Press
Released: March 2022
Genre: Memoir / Poetry
Review by Anne Greenawalt:
I loved the hybrid/fragmented style of this book as well as the intimacy of the writing. I felt like I was getting a secret glimpse into the author’s private notebook. She writes unabashedly with the gritty and uncomfortable details of relationships and motherhood. This is one of the first hybrid books I’ve read, and I was drawn to the style because of the way the gaps leave room for the reader to make meaningful connections.
#2. Beautiful, Violent Things
by Madeline Anthes
Publisher: Word West
Released: September 2021
Genre: Short Story Collection / Literary
Review by Anne Greenawalt:
The first time I read this book, I thought it was narrative prose poetry (even though it says “stories” on the cover) because the language is so beautiful and vivid. The strong narrative voices within each story drew me in, as did the themes of romantic (or not so romantic) relationships and motherhood. The intimacy Anthes creates, even in the micro stories, touched me viscerally.
#3. Ceremonials
by Katharine Coldiron
Publisher: Kernpunkt Press
Released: February 2020
Genre: Literary Fiction / Women / LGBTQ+
Review by Anne Greenawalt:
Coldiron writes with gorgeous, lyrical prose about love, loss, and obsession that leaves me feeling haunted. This novella lives up to the jacket description of “a song etched in ink.” Now I want to listen to the album (Florence + the Machine’s 2011 album Ceremonials) that inspired it.
#4. Somewhere, a Woman Lowers the Hem of Her Skirt
by Laurie Rachus Uttich
Publisher: Riot in Your Throat
Released: May 2022
Genre: Poetry
Review by Anne Greenawalt:
I love the fierce, feminist themes of all of Riot in Your Throat’s poetry collections, and Uttich’s collection is no exception. Each poem tells a story, often about de/constructing identity, motherhood, teaching, and fighting for equality in all of those realms. The narrative quality of each poem made them emotionally true and relatable. The line “I wonder if who I’ve become is who I am” still stays with me and helps me reflect on my own journey and identity as a woman.
#1. My Volcano
by John Elizabeth Stintzi
Publisher: Two Dollar Radio
Released: March 2022
Genre: Literary / Disaster Fiction
Review by Nathaniel Drenner:
My Volcano explodes with a surreal, apocalyptic take on modern society.
Stintzi’s novel reflects the surrealistic feeling of the early 21st century—the feeling of life going on as normal when things are decidedly not normal. The threats rumbling under the surface are, we may feel, invisible even as they stare us in the face.
The novel gives us a funhouse mirror of ourselves and our society: entertaining, thought-provoking, and purposefully strange. The volcano—any of our volcanoes—always threatens to overwhelm, demanding our attention. The question remains what, if anything, we will do about it.
#2. The Happy Valley
by Benjamin Harnett
Released: October 2022
Genre: Literary Fiction / Dystopian
Review by Nathaniel Drenner:
A thought-provoking exploration of the past, the future, and the worlds we construct for ourselves
The story involves a secret society, a potential murder, and a law firm as old as the United States. The layers of plot, setting, and theme turn what could have been a simple young-adult adventure novel into a thought-provoking tale investigating how we construct our past, how societies function, and who gets to decide.
The Happy Valley offers fascinating insights about the relationship between the past and the future, anchoring its philosophical musings in a personal story of rediscovery. To blend the abstract with the concrete, to mash-up genres with intention—neither is any small feat, and this novel pulls off the sleight of hand necessary to bring its distinct vision to life.
#1. Dawn of Deoridium
by Jeff Ting
Released: February 2022
Genre: Young Adult / Fantasy / Asian & Asian American Literature
Review by Chika Anene:
A fantastic YA Fantasy that fans of The Poppy War by R.F Kuang will love
Trust me when I say: You’re going to fall in love with the world that Ting has created here.
16-year-old Kaili, who is next in line of the queens of the kingdom of Kalulishi, is no ordinary royal. She possesses electromagnetic power caused by The Shift—an upheaval of the earth’s magnetosphere more than three hundred years ago.
From reading Dawn of Deoridium, one thing is clearest to me—Jeff Ting is one heck of a talented writer. The worldbuilding is unique, the descriptions are alive, and the characters all play integral roles in the development of the story. Brilliant.
#2. Welcome to the Free World
by Lloyd Raleigh
Released: November 2022
Genre: Science Fiction / Post-Apocalyptic
Review by Chika Anene:
Embark on a whirlwind of feverish exhilaration in this post-apocalyptic page-turner.
Will Robin is part of a group called “Scalpels,” and they are in opposition of the creators of the AI technology dominating the society he lives in. Scalpels work tirelessly to remove microchips embedded in the brains of individuals in society.
As a part of Scalpels, Will’s job is to help individuals escape a totalitarian government that wishes to survey and control society through a metaverse where the “utopia” is in their heads.
The world is so intricately woven together that readers are going to be sucked in from the moment they begin. Everything from the details of how the technology works to the state of the society has been so cleverly crafted that we always feel a part of the story and world.
Settle in to the comfort of your chairs for this story that grabs you by the throat.
#3. Wind Out of Time
by Rhema Sayers
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
Released: January 2022
Genre: Science Fiction / Time Travel
Review by Chika Anene:
A funny, whimsical, and adventurous fantasy retelling of King Arthur of Camelot
While on a wild chase after a wanted terrorist, FBI agent Andrea Schilling unexpectedly finds herself tumbling through a portal leading to 5th century Britain where the ruler of the land is King Arthur. However, something’s not quite as it should be, as the kingdom Andrea finds herself in seems to be the exact opposite of what she remembers from the popular tales about King Arthur.
What I enjoyed most about Wind Out of Time is the character development. As King Ardur gets to know Andrea, he becomes more willing to see the flaws within his kingdom and more willing to improve them.
The characters, scenes, and places are described with such vividness that I feel like the one who fell through a portal into a fairy tale.
#1. Singing Lessons for the Stylish Canary
by Laura Stanfill
Publisher: Lanternfish Press
Released: April 2022
Genre: Historical Fantasy / Magical Realism
Review by Erica Ball:
A playful and loving take on authenticity and pursuing your own path to happiness
From the first pages to the last period, the author’s spirited storytelling style lifts the prose above the actual action to a place where the reader can smile at the foibles of human life and behavior. This means that though unfortunate things happen to these likable characters, the reader can take the broader view of these circumstances.
Another strength is the originality of the writing. Simple scenes evoke strong emotions, such as a quiet moment between a mother and her colicky baby. There is a plethora of unexpected analogies that reframe ordinary experiences, often into the language of music.
Singing Lessons for the Stylish Canary is a place of music, birdsong, and beauty; a wonderful world in which to rest awhile. It is a look at how the destruction of certainty can make space for growth, and the peace that can be found in allowing ourselves to just be ourselves.
#2. Wipe Out
by Teresa Godfrey
Publisher: Roswell Press
Released: January 2022
Genre: Science Fiction / Dystopian
Review by Erica Ball:
A hopeful look at what can happen, even in a dystopian future, when someone decides to do the right thing
Wipe Out by Teresa Godfrey is the story of a tough-as-nails military driver who accidentally finds herself leading a revolution. In this world, society is recovering from a deadly disease that has collapsed civilization.
It is a story of one of those rare moments when many factors come together to trigger rapid change. A pivot point. A flashpoint occurs because the right people are in positions to make things happen, and—most importantly—choose to do so.
#3. The True History of Jude
by Stuart Campbell
Released: July 2022
Genre: Science Fiction / Dystopia
Review by Erica Ball:
The story of a rebellious woman and the power of our stories, even in a world where truth is not welcome
The True History of Jude is an epistolary novel about a bleak dystopian future in which the geopolitical structure of the world has drastically changed. Due to massive environmental upheaval caused by climate change, many countries, including Australia, face grave uncertainty about the future of their cities and the people who live in them.
When a pivotal moment strikes in the form of a tsunami, a complex political plan years in the making is triggered and the fates of millions are rewritten in an instant.
In many ways, it is a thought experiment with a terrifying premise: What would happen if the greatest powers in the world—those of government, military, and corporations were to join forces or be joined under a single will? As such, it is a look at how change can come gradually or in a single cataclysmic event. Of how freedoms can be slowly whittled away even if it’s obvious what is happening because no one has any idea what to do about it. Is there even anything to do about it, once such forces are at work?
#4. Brilliant White Peaks
by Teng Rong
Released: September 2021
Genre: Middle Grade Fiction / Animals
Review by Erica Ball:
An engrossing story capturing life through the experiences of a young wolf.
We follow him from birth, growing up in the warmth and comfort of his family, and exploring the slowly expanding world around their den. As he gets older he experiences all the ups and downs of living in the wild: hunting, accidents, fights, danger, love, and more.
In the wolf’s world, scent carries all important information, food is always the priority, and memories–good and bad–fade equally quickly.
#1. Pearls on a String
by Jane Merling
Publisher: BayMar Publishing
Released: November 2022
Genre: Historical Fiction / Romance
Review by Tomi Alo:
A captivating historical fiction that uncovers family secrets and connects the past to the present
Author Jane Merling thrives in her depiction of tenacious and courageous people facing adversity.
Sarah Langner, a successful independent woman in the progressive 1980s, stumbles upon a mysterious box containing journals and letters belonging to her grandmother. As Sarah goes through the contents of the box, she uncovers many family secrets that will change what she thought she knew about her grandmother, father, and even herself. Though the book is from Sarah’s perspective, the story revolves mainly around the life of her grandmother, Augusta.
Merling writes Augusta’s life with such eloquence, capturing a true perseverance and resilience in her character. Even though Augusta isn’t alive to tell her story, we can see much of her kindness, generosity, and positive attitude toward life.
It is a sweet and exciting historical fiction filled with love, strength, courage, tragedy, and humor.
#2. Gods of the Garden
by Robin Strong
Released: October 2022
Genre: Young Adult Fiction / Science Fiction
Review by Tomi Alo:
Robin Strong’s debut novel Gods of the Garden is an enlightening and engaging narrative that allows its reader to gain a fresh perspective on human existence.
With a focus on cultural anthropology, the book analyzes the foundation of life, offers a fresh perspective on how life changes when influenced, and poses the questions that have always seemed too ambiguous to have clear-cut answers—Why are we here? What’s our purpose in this world?
The author does an outstanding job of evoking varied emotions in her reader through the novel’s characters and description. She creates an atmosphere in which you can experience their losses and wins right alongside them.
#1. Icarus Never Flew ‘Round Here
by Matthew Edwards
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
Released: August 2022
Genre: Literary Fiction / Coming of Age
Review by Madeline Barbush:
A curious portrait of a cattle rancher searching for meaning
Dale Samuel doesn’t know the meaning of life, if there is one, so he asks the sky. Blunt and raw in style, author Matt Edwards crafts this indelicate Frankensteinian tale of one man’s poorly cobbled-together idea of god and creation and the power that these entities hold.
I highly recommend Icarus Never Flew ‘Round Here. It’s a novel that surprises you, makes you uneasy, and flies by in an instant. Matt Edwards creates a surreal world seen through the eyes of a cattle rancher who, once settled and serene, becomes hungry for meaning. It’s a quiet and slow sort of anxiety but one you can put back down, although in this case, I doubt you will want to.
#2. By Fire
by Rhonda Harris Slota
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
Released: December 2021
Genre: Poetry
Review by Madeline Barbush:
A hauntingly beautiful collection that explores the life of a daughter seeking love and reconciliation
By Fire is a fervid debut poetry collection, retracing the life of a youth growing up in southern Indiana with a father whose mental illness took the form of an overzealous belief that he was the prophet Elijah.
Slota instills in each of her poems not only a palpable feeling of devastation, but also, eventually, renewal. She earnestly exposes and examines a family’s secrets and vulnerabilities; she need only describe the mother’s hands or the change in the father’s eyes and hair for us to feel the weight of all their suffering at once.
There is both a silence and a bellowing call in each of these poems: the silence to quiet out the cries of pain, and the bellowing call for love. Slota paints a life with so many brilliant colors that all fade at once before brightening up again.
#1. Witch Window
by Phil Bayly
Released: October 2022
Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
Review by Lindsay Crandall:
A gripping mystery set in a stunning Vermont landscape
Witch Window starts in the summer heat with the discovery of a body. A body that just so happens to be dressed for skiing.
Author Phil Bayly decorates this engrossing tale with rich descriptions of Vermont’s landscape and local flora—vivid enough that I started researching real estate prices in New England.
As soon as I thought I had part of the mystery solved, Bayly slyly shifts focus to revisit a previously mentioned character or locale. He is clearly comfortable turning his mysteries around on their heads and enjoys leaving readers guessing to the final pages, to see how all of the dots of the story connect.
#2. The Source of Smoke
by V.L. Adams
Publisher: New Degree Press
Released: May 2022
Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense / Small Town
Review by Lindsay Crandall:
V.L. Adams absolutely nails the combination of true crime and small town drama in The Source of Smoke.
Fans of the true crime genre are sure to love this novel. I think Adams really excels in pacing this story. Every new rumor or bit of gossip Charlie hears seems relevant to the situation, making it difficult to put the novel down. The story picks up most when the lies start to unravel, making the last quarter of the book easy to fly through. I genuinely enjoyed The Source of Smoke, and I think you would too.
#3. Reportedly Murdered
by Geoffrey Walters
Publisher: Wipf & Stock Publishers
Released: May 2022
Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense / Detective
Review by Lindsay Crandall:
An unputdownable mystery about a reporter-turned-detective with a colorful cast of characters
Walters has a realistic reporter-turned-detective mystery. Each character, all unique and intriguing, is a viable suspect.
Set in New York City, it feels like a good old fashioned whodunnit detective mystery, even though Gregory isn’t really a detective. Fans of the mystery genre and detective fiction are going to enjoy this one.
Happy reading! What were the best books you read in 2022?
About IBR
Founded in April 2018, Independent Book Review is dedicated to showing readers the best in small press and self-published books. IBR has over 25 reviewers on staff with an enthusiasm for genres all across the literary landscape. They are based out of Harrisburg, PA and are always considering new books for review.
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]]>Reviewed by Frank Pizzoli
Finally! A story about animal rights that informs and entertains rather than preaches
Award-winning writer Chuck Augello in his literary fiction A Better Heart presents the sensitive topic of animal rights in a way no reader has to flinch. No matter where you stand on this issue, aspects of this comic family adventure—featuring a father, two sons, and a capuchin monkey—is sure to grab your readerly attention.
The five-part story takes place between 1999 and 2003. The novel opens with indie filmmaker Kevin Stacey laboring on the set of Exit 23. By the bottom of the first page, I’d already laughed several times. Maybe Kevin should have gone to law school like his brother Mike. Although there is nothing funny about the plight of animals as presented by Augello in this novel, he does have a way of keeping the scenes nice and humorous alongside the important issue.
When Kevin’s estranged father Edward shows up unannounced, he brings a gun, cash, and a capuchin monkey named Henry along with him.
A failed Hollywood actor with the stage name Brian Edwards, Kevin’s father holds the Guinness World Record for most appearances in a motion picture with over 623 credits to his name, excluding his multiple roles in Mexican horror flicks under the name “George Gringo.” His actor’s resume reads like “the ubiquitous Extra” with only one five-word speaking role.
This adventure with his sons and Henry may be his biggest part yet.
His father’s arrival incites a journey of a lifetime for Kevin. For a father who has just come back into his life, it takes some guts (and probably some growth, too) for him to return with a stolen monkey, asking for his help.
His lawyer-brother Mike gets involved in helping determine whether or not his father’s handgun is registered. That’s when they learn that Henry may be one of seven monkeys that were taken by animal rights activists from a Utah lab. Their goal becomes to get this monkey to safety.
By the end of Part I, the journey has begun in earnest with the element of law enforcement surveillance. The FBI and the US Attorney’s Office are never far away. In Part II, Kevin’s best friend and occasional lover Veronica begins her own journey upon meeting up with an eccentric Catholic priest named Father Anton Blank.
This novel is fun and features a quirky adventure with a lovable primate, but Henry isn’t the only one capturing our attention. The ongoing references to Hollywood films and television shows provide context and help define the relationships and experiences among the growing characters.
In a novel of family drama and adventure, Augello manages to successfully address the connection of humans and non-humans, as well as to ask his readers for a reconfiguring of how important they consider the freedom of animals to be. He makes it easy to learn about the treatment of animals, but don’t get it twisted—this is a humorous literary novel first, not only a primer on animal rights.
Writing about this topic isn’t easy, but Augello thrives in it. By the end, you’ll see a monkey play a role as prominent, and as lovable, as any human. How could he and so many other animals end up under the knife of vivisection?
Publisher: Black Rose Writing
Genre: Literary Fiction / Humor
Print Length: 257 pages
ISBN: 978-1684338269
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