The Weapons They Use by K. J. Porter is a smooth science fiction tale that will have you biting your nails and holding your breath at the same time. Sam Jackson is a Marine and there is nothing in this world that scares him. But...

Kate Porter’s The Last Echo is a sublime dramatization of what happens when love is derailed by the pretension and conceit of parents, riding roughshod over their spoiled son’s quest for happiness. Lisa Hayes becomes the latest victim of this prejudice when she meets and...

The Billionaire’s Mansion Game! by Scott Leroy Chally is a suspenseful novel that is as exciting as it is puzzling. It starts with an offer of a trip for two for Europe and the excited winners have no clue what they have gotten themselves into....

Desmond is seven years old and he likes being a big brother to Omari who is two. Desmond likes sports, pizza, and building forts. Omari loves Desmond and he laughs at his older brother's jokes and enjoys listening to his bedtime stories. It is bedtime...

The Dream Book by Lee Ann Rubsam asks whether God might still speak through dreams. Chapter two is full of biblical examples. Chapter three differentiates between “God-dreams,” which include colorful messages, and “self-dreams” influenced by our health. Chapter four deals with the fourth source of...

When a distraught man stands on a cliff, contemplating the ineffectiveness of his life, fate steps in, enabling him to change the course of his life in the motivational allegory, The Little Book of Greatness (A Parable About Unlocking Your Destiny) by Ari Gunzburg. Lost...

Germany is desperate and apprehensive in 1945. Russian soldiers patrol and women scavenge in the rubble. So begins The Letter by Barry Cole. We wonder why Hannah and her children are given shelter by an older couple, Otto and his wife. The scene then focuses...

The Legend of the Stinky Sock is a short story by Laura Riley for young children. The story starts with Conner, a young boy who plays for the Little League baseball team called the Rockets. Conner was very upset by the poor performance of his...

I usually avoid reviewing books of poetry for one simple reason: these are the hardest books to review. But after I read the poem excerpt Michael Pedretti used in his description of the Dog and I, a short collection of 27 of his poems, I...

At the start of The Catnapper Mystery by Anita Stafford, our main character Kale discovers that a cat has gone missing from the shelter where he volunteers. To make matters worse, the shelter director, Aspen, blames him for the disappearance and puts him on probation....

The Soul Whispers Poetry by Vikki Koplick is a wide-ranging and lovely work of inspirational poetry. It's impressive how many human emotions, thoughts, and feelings she captures in her poems--she has her finger on the pulse of the human experience and what it means to...

The Czech Book: A Rainee Allen mystery by Lauren B Grossman is an engaging mystery with well-written characters and a plot that moves fast. Rainee Allen is in Prague for her friend Shelley’s wedding when a bomb blast takes place, leaving Shelley terribly wounded just...

Dark clouds, lightning, thunder! It is normal to be intimidated by the impressive forces of nature, but storms can help us in many ways. Sally is an engaging character who plays and dances among the clouds and causes storms and she will explain everything we...

India is under British rule, and Balkishan, a newly appointed teacher, meets Lakshmi, a 14-year-old girl who is to be married to a 40-year-old man. Lakshmi and Balkishan both feel an instant attraction for each other. Lakshmi, desperate to avoid her marriage, runs away with...

Flynn finds himself on the roadside somewhere near the wood. He had been thrown out of a car. His little paws hurt, and he was scared, starting to realize that the beloved human he trusted so much had left him all alone. Or so it...

The Animal Squad and the Mystical Topax Amulet by Jan Sier involves an elite team of agents who resemble half-man and half-animal. They are undercover to capture criminals and keep our world safe. They are the AIT (Animalis International Team). However, one member, Croc, has...

The protagonist in The Gatekeeper of Pericael by Haley Reese Chow, Porter, is your average boy, but he hides a secret. His mother is the gatekeeper of a portal between Earth and Pericael, a world of magic, spirits, and danger. His family is part of...

The Song of Ramon and Maria by Richard E. LaMotte is an epic romance novel set against the backdrop of the Mexican Revolution at the dawn of the 20th century. Despite misgivings from her family, Maria Duranthon marries the love of her life, Ramon, an...

The Shadow's Secrets by Anna Casamento Arrigo explores the conflicting human emotions that often leave us at a crossroads. Each action determines our final destination in life. Father Nunzio Aragona had taken an oath to serve God but, when he laid eyes on Mariella, he...

The Healing Book by Dustin Grinnell is a collection of short, slice-of-life stories about people trying to navigate the various absurdities of life. "An Affable Man" follows a young man disillusioned with his corporate career who finally finds meaning in his life after a chance...