Let’s begin this review of Not a Fairytale by asking if it’s not a fairytale, then what is it? Essentially, it’s a rare form of memoir, not told as a story with characters and dialogue, but as a poem based, as many memoirs are, on...

In Beth Gildersleeve's debut novel, Love Rehired, we are introduced to funny perfectionist Emily. And to call Emily a workaholic is a bit of an understatement. She's given more of her time and devotion to Hart Hospitality than anyone could ever match. But it had...

Declan Quinn is the main character in The Consigliere, a mafia lawyer trying to escape his life of crime. The story goes back and forth between the past and the present and his hopes for the future. Declan had a hard and troubled childhood,...

The Vineyard Dregs by Anthony Carinhas is the story of Claus Berliner, a young man in 1938 Germany. After a house fire rips through too quickly to be extinguished, Claus' brother, Radulf, and a female companion who had accompanied him are killed in the inferno....

The Field by Ian Dawson is a fairly straightforward YA novel about two friends, Daniel and Kyle, and what happens when one of them is kidnapped. The book starts with an introduction to both boys and their friendship, and all of the normal adolescent...

If there’s one thing I can say about the author of Out of the Flames, Eileen Hare-Scott, it’s that she certainly is a story-teller. She is also a romantic, has an eye for detail, and knows the locations in which she sets her stories. I...

With Wanton Disregard is a graphic and gripping crime novel by author Gwen Banta. The plot takes place in the exclusive Long Beach area of Belmont Shore, where the high-gloss lives of the well to do people mask a seedy underbelly filled with crime and...

The ancient Japanese martial art of Kyudo seems to have nothing to do with business or finance, at least on the surface. However, the President of Godiva Chocolatier for Japan and the author of this book, Jérôme Chouchan, has found a balance and connection between...

A Principal’s Tale: Life in 31 Days by Shelley McIntosh, Ed.D. provides an inside view of what life is like for the author, a principal of a 700-student elementary school in urban Michigan. Sandwiched between the prologue and epilogue, in which Dr. McIntosh writes a...

Diving Catch by Gregory Saur is a gritty novel about a thirteen-year-old boy called Devon Horner who lives with his grandma in a less wealthy part of town. Preston Whiteside, the neighbourhood drug dealer, wants Devon to work for him. However, Devon is not interested...

What makes Mind Files by Penny Hodgson such a unique and vital contribution to the immensely relevant and timely subject matter of individual psychological health is Ms. Hodgson’s manner of applying the deepest of psychological understandings from practitioners as astute as Carl Jung to a...

American Justice on Trial: People v. Newton by Lise Pearlman presents the trial of Huey Newton in a cleverly constructed style, filling readers in on the drama, the jury selection, and the outcome of the trial. Besides focusing on the Newton trial, the author makes...

Esperanza by Tommy Tutalo is a historical fiction novel that revolves around a young woman named Sarita who, following the unexpected death of her mother Gabriela, is left with three journals. While initially hesitant to read them out of fear that the written word of...

The Great Angel War by Larry Gerovac is a broadly imagined telling of what happened in the heavens before mankind was created. In the book we hear the story as it is being told by an angel named Raphael to the last prophet, a man...

Death by the River is a thrilling psychological work by author team Alexandrea Weis and Lucas Astor, aimed at young adults. Catching the current vogue of teen psycho and revenge tales like Bates Motel, Revenge and 13 Reasons Why, the anti-hero of the tale is...

It is the 13th century, and a match between Sir Amaury Barlais and Sir Toringuel sees Amaury defeated. This failure sparks even more hatred from Amaury and this time he swears his revenge. Barlais and his two supportive friends, Cheneché and Bethsan, leave and later...

A Heart of Kindness by Wendy Comeau is a memorable and remarkable story of survival in the face of tragedy. Wendy opens her heart and tells her story of facing life after the heartbreaking loss of her parents, brothers and then young son Christopher to...

A Whisper can Rip your Guts out by Elliott Zaff is a realistic novel based on the author's life and his interactions with a brilliant 74-year-old professor. Canadian-born Elliott does not have a happy childhood and he comes to California as a young man...

Take the Late Train by Jack Messenger is a novel based on the life of Stephen Ketley, a professor whose marriage begins to fray at the seams on his tenth wedding anniversary. Problems with his wife's infidelity is only one of a number of issues...

Just Stop: 10 Things Everyone Should Stop Saying is written by Heather Nelson. Have you ever been faced with a situation which is so tragic that you are not sure what to say? Do you feel you have to fill the awkward silence and just...