Red Flash by Kiva Wolfe tells the story of the Stanovic family, a group of wealthy gem traders with connections from the Brazilian jungle to Denver. Sérg Stanovic is the father, a powerful and controlling man trading gems both legally and illegally. His choices directly...

Tears of Iemanjá by Kiva Wolfe moves between Brazil, Hong Kong, and Colorado. The story opens with a failed museum theft in Salvador, Brazil, involving a stolen jeweled crucifix and a journal that triggers a chain of dangerous events. Then we move to Dominick Stanovic,...

Moonlight Desires by David Tocher is a retelling of the popular Cinderella fairytale, as well as that of Spider Princess Kipira, which are both rooted in folklore, mythology, and literary traditions. It follows Aurelia, a nineteen-year-old girl who lives as a servant in her father’s...

Dual Convergence: Witness to History by Angel Giacomo is one of the most interesting books I have read in a long time. The author has brought to life the history of the Roosevelt family in a very down-to-earth way – warts and all. Internal family...

ISA StoryWorld: Chandler's Stay by Kristen A. Peters is an insightful, compassionate story told through the eyes of a twelve-year-old autistic boy named Chandler who is facing a frightening hospital stay without the ability to name or communicate his strong, confusing feelings. The book explores...

In ISA StoryWorld: Garrett's Becoming by Kristen Peters, Garret is at an age that confuses most people. At twelve, his body has changed considerably. He is tall, his voice is deeper, and his shoulders have begun to broaden. These changes have led people to start...

Adopted in 1955, T. Alex Blum’s memoir An Accident of Birth: A Story of Adoption and Identity describes a Manhattan upbringing by his adoptive parents, Nancy and John, who treat his adoption as a fact while keeping questions about his origins at a distance. At...

When Detective Ava Martinez and her partner, Dan Riley, arrive at a crime scene in the small coastal town of Crystal Cove, they find the lifeless body of April Seagram, a guide at Biosphere Marine Institute. From the body’s wounds and witness statements, it was...

In Kristen A. Peters' Me In Every Other, a fictionalized Kristen Peters has become the person her university relies on whenever something must be fixed. When a last-minute accreditation file is placed on her desk late on a Friday, she expects a difficult weekend. Instead,...

Dreidels and Dead Ends by award-winning author Nancy J. Cohen is a cozy mystery that calls for high acclaim. Marla Vail, a forty-year-old hairstylist, and her husband Dalton, a retired homicide detective, are attending the grand opening of an exhibition at the local history museum....

Vietnam's Modern Day Boat People by Shira Sebban follows Vietnamese asylum seekers returned from Australia after arriving by sea, beginning with Tran Thi Thanh Loan, a Catholic mother facing prison in Vietnam after officials sent her family back. Sebban enters the case through a newspaper...

Ben Reinking’s How to Relax Without Losing Your Edge is a self-help guide that begins with high-functioning anxiety, the kind of worry that can look like achievement from the outside while keeping a person in overdrive inside. Reinking writes as a physician and as someone...

The setting is Rome, during Nero’s reign. The narrator is Rusticus. He was once a great gladiator that saved Nero’s life during a chariot race. He worked his way up to one of the top ministers in the imperial court. He was in love with...

“What are we going to do today?: Brilliant ideas with Hoobsy and Dubsy” written by Helmut Degen and illustrated by Manuela Soriani is an adorable, interactive book to share with young children! Hoobsy and Dubsy are young groundhog brothers who are never bored because they...

The children's story "Eartha Gets Well" by Kristi Falk and Dr. Daniel Falk is woven around a little girl named Eartha whose name signifies a generalization to represent kids all over the Earth. In an age where the health and well-being of kids has become...

"Passions in Paris: Revelations of a Lost Diary" is an 818-page novel by Rusty Blackwood. The story unfolds in Wychmere Willows, a beautiful place that overlooks Lake Ontario in Canada. The siblings Joe and Emily, with Joe's daughter CJ, await the arrival of other members...

What’s In Your 24 by Dana Simone Stovall condenses lots of common sense into just 60 pages. A time management system at its core, it really is so much more. Stovall’s gimmick is to list the hours in a day (12 of them) and provide...

In the story Albishadewe, “Great White One” by Laraine Anne Barker, you are taken on a journey through the viewpoint of the unicorn Albishadewe. He is quite possibly the last of his kind. After the slaughter of his parents, Albishadewe knows he must hide because...

Upon Your Honor by Marie Lavender starts with a little girl, Chloe, being comforted by her father after the death of her mother. Chloe is told that her mother fell, but she soon learns that her mother took her own life. Chloe grows into a...

Runaway Clothes by Mrs. D joins this author’s growing list of good quality children’s books. The illustrations in this volume are superbly drawn by the very talented Chanoa, making this a delight to read, regardless of your age. Young Nika awakens one morning to discover...