The titular book of the Kingdom Within series by Samantha Gillespie is a fun adventure from start to finish. Turning eighteen has never been harder. Princess Meredith is being pressured to marry Prince Ethan, a powerful but completely foreign man, upon her 18th birthday. Danger...

Angered by the oil spill in her hometown on Santa Barbara's coast in 1969 and being sent to Catholic school, fifteen-year-old Jolie absconds from her family with her twenty-four-year-old activist boyfriend, Will. Hoping she would now be free from her parents' control, she is instead...

Numbers!: Take the Dog Out, written by Lynne Dempsey and illustrated by Mandy Newham-Cobb, is a picture book that children can use to learn about numbers, addition, and subtraction. As children enjoy the beautiful illustrations, they will be able to follow along as new characters...

The Duchess Quest by C.K. Brooke combines action, adventure, fantasy, intrigue and romance into a delightful fairytale. The story starts with the monarchy of Jordinia being overthrown by rebels who want to start a new republic of their own. The royal family is assassinated with...

Facing Up is a young adult coming of age story written by Carolyn Gilpin. Carly is one of thousands of young adults attending university, but she feels isolated and oh, so different from everyone else. One side of her face is scarred from a disastrous...

Crushed Gardenias by Heather Osborne is a short story that is full of suspense. It develops with tension as a serial killer is committing murders of innocent people. The story follows Agent Hatting who is in charge of the case. She is externally reserved, but...

The Aakowa Parables Vol. I - Life Studies: For A Happy Heart by Sid Aakowa is a really interesting concept of mixing wonderful story telling with self-help questionnaires and tips. This book is really quite unique in my experience, and combines elements of both fiction...

Billie is a non-fiction memoir written by Billie King. The author had to grow up quickly when she was a child. By the age of 10, she was all too aware of the abusive and hostile relationship between her father and mother. Her father was...

What is it that makes a great writer? A great work of literature? When asked this question, perhaps the first name that comes to mind is Shakespeare. But he was not the only great and it might be argued by Shakespearean scholars that perhaps his...

Yell and Shout, Cry and Pout: A Kid’s Guide to Feelings by Peggy Kruger Tietz, Ph.D. is invaluable educational reading. As the title suggests, the book discusses eight of our emotions in a friendly and easy way: anger, fear, shame, sadness, happiness, love, disgust, and...

In This Book Belongs To by Daley James Francis, young readers are taken on a whimsical journey along with Amy Carr, a journey that opens up a whole new world of creativity and imagination. It's a story of magic, adventure and family. Amy Carr realizes...

Lexi Goes on Vacation to The Outer Banks by Janice Wills Kingsbury is a beautiful and heartwarming story that conveys a message of compassion, love and the gift of living to readers. Lexi is picked up from the streets of Virginia by a good person...

46 by Melissa Burke is a collection of poems written over a period of several years. Melissa is a young woman battling several mental illnesses including bipolar disorder, eating disorder, OCD, and depression. As may be imagined, her poems have a raw power and quality...

The Bloodless Mask by Cy Wyss is the second mystery novella to feature Lukas Richter, a Junior Inspector in the San Francisco Police Department. At the start of the book – set in 2004 – Lukas is partnered with Inspector Mary Itokawa in investigating the...

Hayley's Courage by Linda M. Steiner is the story of Hayley, a young girl who has a birthmark on her face. Her parents teach her that she is special and Hayley is quite a remarkable girl who doesn't let other people's words bring her down....

Samantha Church has already faced tremendous danger and hardship, but things are not getting much better for her in Dead Wrong by Betta Ferrendelli. Still recovering from injuries she received during a kidnapping, Sam feels guilty for Wilson’s need for a prosthesis to replace the...

Genetically Privileged - Redux by A.W. Daniels starts with an introduction to Joe and Mary Christianson, a childless couple who, like many couples unable to conceive naturally, are at a fertility clinic looking to science and modern medicine to conceive a child. So far, so...

Wake Up: Spiritual Enlightenment Uncloaked is a book containing coherent and clear messages about waking up to inner happiness and spirituality. The author, Helen Jane Rose, claims to have written this by “automatic writing.” Upon reading the book, it seems most likely that this is...

A Brief Stay at Earth Human Camp: Book 1 of the Secrets of Farbookonia Series by Marie C. Collins is the story of sister and brother, Anne and Atticus, whose lives are turned upside down when they discover that their mother is an alien. They...

The short story continues alive and well, and Tales 2 Inspire: The Diamond Collection is living proof. Editor and author Lois Stern - with Stan Cupery M.D. and Tom Eliopoulos - has compiled twenty-three award winning stories from previous collections, and has presented to readers...