In The Iron Tithe by Robert W. Riley, we meet Knight Commander Cedrik Theramond, who serves as the King’s Shield and has the grueling charge of collecting mandatory grain levies. The crux is that these come from famine-struck villages to supply the King's army of...

The Drowned Queen by Elspeth Gregorsdóttir introduces us to Myr’Caenith, a woman who survives a century of captivity in the deathless realm of the Duskhold. She goes into the Whispering Sea, where her body dissolves and reforms with command over shadow and starlight. She crosses...

In Sicko, Avril Grady tells the story of Jamie Katz, a queer man working as a scriptwriter for an adult film studio. Jamie’s life is complicated—he’s still intertwined with Paul, his twice-ex-husband who is also his boss and secret lover, and their repeated breakups and...

Born and brought up in London’s East End in 1952, Steven James Foreman longed for adventure and headed for Africa in 1992 to follow his dream. He was to stay for 30 years, returning to the UK in 2024. He recounts his experiences in From...

Elizabeth Kellam's Chopin’s Last Manuscript begins in 1971, when a Polish craftsman renovating Eugène Delacroix’s Paris studio discovers a hidden leather portfolio beneath the floorboards. Inside are a manuscript signed by Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin and a diary that appears to chronicle his private account of...

Escape Gravestone Caverns by Melissa Costa begins in 1605, during the Nightlore Witch Trials, when sisters Cordelia and Dalia flee an angry mob and hide in a cavern that becomes their tomb. The story moves to 2025, where sixth grader Jenny Corine prepares for a...

A Strange Sound: Friendly’s Universe by Olive Green is a children’s story about a toad named Terry who is driving a truck full of berries. She is singing aloud in her truck when she hears a series of strange sounds along the way: whistles, squeals,...

On her first day at South Iris High, twelve-year-old Nina Allbright was an awkward auburn-haired girl with braces and two left feet. However, she has her two left feet to thank for an encounter that was about to shape the rest of her high school...

Upon opening Paul Kaplan's The Thingy That’s Stringy (and Other Ridiculous Poems), young readers enter a playful world of everyday moments and familiar objects that turn into ridiculously silly rhymes. This book is full of short poems that bounce quickly from deli counters selling laughs...

She Who Floats Above the Breeze by Jennifer Conklin is the third book in The Adventure Above series. It is a well-written book that takes young readers on an exciting adventure as two best friends embark on a journey of discovery. Anya and Breck embark...

A Life Without You by Rose Roberts is a well-written book that emphasizes the importance of love, commitment, and appreciating what you have in the moment. The story begins with Claire, a thirty-two-year-old woman, having a session with her therapist, Nadine. Claire is married to...

Wrong Bird by Matthew West-James is a memoir built around moments when his confidence and his reality collided. The book begins with his teenage decision to mark a turning point in life with a phoenix tattoo that later proves to be nearly identical to the...

In Colleen Hoskins' Crossing in One Piece, after nearly a decade at HarborPoint, senior analyst Cary Valente is whom executives rely on for numbers. Her models shape forecasts, performance reviews, and strategy across the company. When a long-expected promotion stalls during a corporate reorganization, Cary...

Danny Can Read by Diana Paola Navarro Gomez follows two dinosaur siblings, Danny and Lily, who are also best friends. They love spending time together, and with their pet parrot, Poli, they enjoy going picnicking and dancing. Danny and Lily have always worked as a...

Moondust by Kahlani B. Steele is an evocative collection of poems that explores the delicate spaces of nature, memory, and the human psyche. The book is arranged in thematic chapters, and it begins with the section called “Nature,” where the author gives human qualities to...

Billy struggles to cope with his mother's passing to the point that he becomes miserable when his father remarries. All attempts to draw him out of his shell fail, as the young boy prefers to comfort himself with memories of his late mother. When his...

In Pafel Dubois’s Spark Chase, Jace Jinks Keller lives on Helix Seven, where he keeps a hidden fragment of a wormhole known as the Spark that maintains a telepathic link with him. When armed operatives breach his quarters and take the Spark, Jace sees the...

Katy Farber's What If It Wasn’t My Fault follows Indie Watson, a teenager trying to navigate life after being sexually assaulted at a party. She wrestles with memories and a relentless sense of guilt. On top of that, she is burdened by her family's problems,...

Becoming a Mom: An IVF Story by Liz Jauvtis chronicles the author’s deeply moving journey into motherhood. After being a babysitter to a single mother in her teen years, Liz decided she also wanted to be a mother someday. However, she did not expect to...

Careers by the People by Mike Wysocki is a compilation of over 100 first-person interviews, placing readers inside the working lives of those in a wide array of positions. These include the likes of a Vice President of Information Technology, who recalls learning computing through...