I love classic vampires (stay away sparklies!). And I love Japan even more. Yet when I read the description of Sword of the Undead by Steven Fujita, I was quite skeptical. A combination of the classic Bram Stoker Dracula story and Japanese history? Boy, I...

An unspeakable evil has taken over the land of Tomiro and the once idyllic life of the elves has been destroyed by Rau, the puppet of the vengeful god Haulua in The Sword of Lumina: Mira's View by Erin Elliott. The goddess Mira has spoken...

In Russ Linton’s Crimson Son, Spencer Harrington is the 19-year-old son of Crimson Mask, the world’s most powerful Augment or superhuman soldier. For his family’s safety, they often moved from one city to another, to avoid being a target for his father’s enemies. Unfortunately, Crimson...

Armor of Glass is an emotional and harrowing journey through the domestic turmoil that has become the life of an ex-Marine. Brick reminisces on his daily train ride, thinking about the decisions he has made in his life. From his childhood days to his current...

Whoa! That was my first thought when I finished reading Chasing Harpo by author Alan Black. Follow our protagonist, Harpo the orangutan, as he escapes into the unknown. Harpo, who has always believed that humans were put on earth for his entertainment and to feed...

In Emma and the Cutting Horse, Martha Deeringer has woven a delightful tale around the adventures of Emma, a fourteen-year-old girl who, with her parents, lives on a cattle ranch in Texas. Raising cattle has its moments, but for most small ranchers it does little...

The Virtual Tablet of Irma Tre is a beautiful book of poetry, but with deeper meaning than one might expect. Marie Lecrivain has emulated steps along a spiritual journey, describing them in compelling terms to rip open her psyche and display the transformations and obstacles...

Disturbed by Suzanne Wilson is an accurate title for this story, given its content. Josh was a happy man with a good job and a beautiful fiancee. His happiness was short-lived after moving into a cottage on his mother’s property. Objects appear in places where...

Emilia is getting to be an elderly woman now, but she wasn’t always. Now in her mid-seventies, she’s managed to create her own empire as a frozen food supplier after coming from a poor family that frequently found themselves dependent on the kindness of strangers....

Higgledy Piggledy: A Tale of Four Little Pigs is a retelling of the classic tale of the three little pigs written by B. Seymour Rabinovitch and his granddaughter, Rebecca S. Treger, and illustrated by Mari Gayatri Stein. Curly, Twirly and Whirly liked to tease their...

In Temper the Winds, Wilma Hamill engages readers in the lives of people grappling with love on multiple levels. Readers encounter people whose existence is filled with the kind of stimulating realism that keeps a person invested in the story. In some cases, Hamill’s tale...

Troubled Spirits with Medium Loraine Rees is a non-fiction work which chronicles Loraine Rees' psychic abilities. It's written by Mary Ross, a scientist, and is the second book she's written as a result of her work with Rees. Rees has a spirit guide, Ramos, who...

Picture! Picture! is a delightfully charming children's story that uses many repetitive words for learning vocabulary - a big parental plus! Before beginning the review of the text, I want to point out that, unlike many self-published children's books, author Scott Ferrell did not use...

Author Nancy Scalabroni has given us a story about a cat with a very long name and a very long tail in CougaMongaMingaMan. CougaMongaMingaMan, or Cougie as he is called, is a friendly cat whose long tail allows him to be spotted from a long...

If you have a preschooler who fears the first day of school, Si Mama, Si Papa just might help the child get past his or her fears and into a sense of adventure. Author Nancy Scalabroni has written the book in both Spanish and English...

In Be Everything You Can Be by Karen Seader, readers have the pleasure of reading more about siblings Hailey and Logan and the lovely Lady of the Rainbow. Being the second book in the series, the Lady of the Rainbow teaches these kids about the...

The advent of rail transformed mankind's opportunities to explore his world. Yet we are subconsciously aware of a dark side to this innovation that expresses itself in uneasy images, such as the stereotypical damsel tied to the railway lines and whispered tales of trains bound...

Harold J. Fischel's book Anthony is as meaningful as it is simple. A simple story, with a normal plot, but the depth and the meaning within is so much more. To say that Anthony has had a rough life would be a major understatement. The...

Callie James presents an average high school in which there are everyday students. One of the students wants to pay another student for protection for her brother from the school bullies. Pretty soon this turns into a down spiraling event in which everyone wants protection...

When Eva’s husband died of cancer after eight years of marriage, she learned that her marriage was not what it seemed. On top of learning her husband was a cheater, Eva also learned that he was a terrible money manager who made bad investments with...