In Until I Met Jake, Kimberly J. Coleman narrates the story of a woman named Christina. She finds herself trapped in an eerily empty, colorless world when she meets Jake, an eight-year-old boy. Without his parents to guide him, Jake is frightened, looking up to...

Wisdom from the Wild: The Nine Unbreakable Laws of Leadership from the Animal Kingdom uses animals to teach leadership skills. Author Julie C. Henry calls her book a “fun, new approach to leadership.” Henry’s principles include overcoming fear (based on spiders), developing a singleness of...

In The Universe in 3/4 Time by Leona Francombe, a perpetual night walker, Audrey Nightingale comes across an abandoned piano on the streets of Brussels. She hasn’t played the piano since a mysterious disaster happened three years ago. Her fingers are drawn to the keys....

City of Schemes by Bill Garwin is an engaging story with strong, relevant themes and well-developed characters. Megan Garrity is a mother and a woman who follows rules meticulously. When she receives an email with an offer that includes a house, employment, and possible programs...

In the wonderfully conceived and magnificently presented Liberty-Loving Lafayette: How 'America’s Favorite Fighting Frenchman' Helped Win Our Independence, Dorothea Jensen presents her theme in visuals and verse, alternating them page by page as she traces Gilbert’s (Lafayette’s) dedicated involvement in America’s Revolutionary War. The visuals...

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...

The Mystic's Way for Regular People by James Alexander is a slim book that explores communion with God and shows how accessible it is to ordinary people. Many people tend to believe that to become a mystic one needs to be learned, a scholar of...

The Curse of Cortés by Guy Morris is a mystery/thriller that is aptly subtitled “An abandoned billion-dollar plunder. A forgotten sacred pilgrimage. A cursed family legacy.” The story follows Sophia as she comes across relics that she does not recognize and a log book with...

Colours of Life: A Colurful Magic, by Md Taslim, is an inspiring, aesthetic work of fiction that encourages readers to celebrate life in all its colors. The author is comprehensive and perceptive when discussing the myriad aspects of life, from simple pleasures to deep pain....

If you agree that there is something amazing in conciseness when you read a work in prose, you may find that it is also true for poetry. This is what I experienced when I read Reduction Fired, a poetic collection by Jennifer Yeates Camara. Here,...

The Twelfth Boy by Milan Sergent is a psychological thriller. Savannah Grayson gave up hope of ever being loved until she meets Scotty. Giving birth to Noel on Christmas Eve, Savannah believes her life is complete – until Noel turns six. He loves elves and...

Are you ready to take a trip down memory lane with Timothy Neff Gocke? He has authored The List: Shooting for Another New Old in which he shares life as a high school student in the mid-1960s. Timothy’s book is a delightful tale of life...

Have you ever been pulled into the ocean by a tsunami? Have you ever been chased in a jungle by a wild animal? Belinda Smith-Cicarella has had these and many other events happen in her life. To say she has led an exciting life is...

Saints and Martyrs, a debut novel by Aaron Roe, is essentially a coming-of-age story…with an interesting twist. The coming-of-age that the protagonist, Damian Kurt undergoes is enlightenment about the Catholic Church’s religious control which his well-intentioned mother has been exerting over him and his younger...

Chasing Zorba: A Journey of Self-Discovery in a VW Bus, by Jerry Steimel, is an intriguing travelogue of introspection and fulfilling a lifelong dream. The Vietnam War is a powder keg in America, along with other social issues, and the author has just finished college....

Pastor R. D. Bernard shares his heart and his church during the COVID-19 crisis in his book Pastoring through a Pandemic. His actions and beliefs are inspiring. His church is to be commended for its love for other members and for the whole community. Because...

Without Rhyme: A Poet's Story by Bles Chavez-Bernstein is a collection of free-flowing verses, poems that capture some of the important moments in the author’s life. Inspirational in nature and intimate, it is brimming with strong imagery, capturing the author’s life as a young girl,...

Finding Hope is a work of fiction in the contemporary romance and interpersonal drama sub-genres and was penned by author Erin Brockus. The work is intended for the general adult reading audience and contains some moderate on-page sexual scenes as well as occasional uses of...

The 'Great' Kickin' Dog: A Family Tree by Kenneth Allen Crutchfield, Sr. is a novel with its own beauty and dignity in exploring the life of a dysfunctional family. John Coleman is the main protagonist, an ex-musician, assembly line worker, and alcoholic. Don’t call him...

In his middle years, Peter J. Boni is at the top of his professional career as a veteran high-tech CEO who is the go-to guy for organizations in disrepair. While his career has been competing for time and attention with his family, his mother suffers...