Reviews
Make Me
lisa Stathoplos (Booklocker)
Make Me by Lisa Stathoplos is a fascinating, energetic ride through a life packed with humor, heartache, and unflinching gusto. As a debut author, her voice bursts off the page with all-caps exclamations and a sarcastic wit that feels like chatting with a fiercely candid friend over drinks. Her memoir delivers revealing glimpses of her journey from an awkward child with scoliosis and identity issues to a dedicated artist thriving in Maine’s exciting regional theater scene. Stathoplos’s storytelling is deft, characterized by short vignettes, eac...
This or Something Better: A Memoir of Resilience
elisa stancil levine (She Writes Press)
This or Something Better: A Memoir of Resilience by Elisa Stancil Levine is a profoundly moving memoir that chronicles her journey through trauma, grit, and the pursuit of meaning. The story begins with her experiencing the devastating Sonoma Mountain wildfire in 2017, which threatened her home and forced a harrowing evacuation. This traumatic event awakens her long-suppressed memories of childhood, including her experiences of familial abuse, loss, and shame. Levine recounts her early years in Camino, California, where she endured emotional an...
Never Turn Your Back on the Tide (Or, How I Married a Lying, Psychopathic Wannabe-Murderer and Kinda Lived to Tell)
Kergan Edwards-Stout (Circumspect Press)
Kergan Edwards-Stout’s Never Turn Your Back on the Tide is a compelling fictional memoir that recounts his tumultuous life journey through childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, marked by personal trauma, resilience, and self-discovery. This candid, fictionalized memoir chronicles the author’s tumultuous journey through childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood, revealing complex themes of betrayal, identity, love, and survival. The narrative opens with thoughts about the deceptive allure of beauty and the ocean’s hidden dangers, symbolizing...
RAZOR'S RETURN
Kimberly A. Biggerstaff (KAB-BAK Co.)
Razor’s Return by Kimberly A. Biggerstaff is an intriguing, deftly crafted tale that intertwines heroism, love, trauma, and redemption. The story follows Zack ''Razor'' Reston, a seasoned Navy SEAL, who volunteers at a charity golf tournament and unexpectedly crosses paths with Eve Patterson, a successful realtor and the daughter of a Navy diver honored on the wall of the local club, whose relationship is rocky and poses danger to her. Their unlikely connection sparks a series of encounters filled with mutual respect, attraction, and shared exp...
White's Tavern
Jim Altfeld (A T Publishing)
White’s Tavern by Jim Altfeld is a gritty, fictionalized account set in a worn-down Chicago suburb. It focuses on the intertwined lives of its colorful characters, mob influences, and local politics. The story weaves through the history of organized crime, the rough-and-tumble world of bar patrons, and the personal struggles of characters like Bill Ott, Ray Apt, and Mayor Tom Tarpey. It delivers a snapshot of a community rife with corruption, violence, and grit, culminating in a chaotic yet darkly humorous portrayal of life on the edge. The set...
The Virus of Beauty
C. B. Lyall (Hazel Publishing Company, LLC)
The Virus of Beauty by C.B. Lyall is a compelling YA fantasy that delivers a complex tale of magic, political intrigue, and personal identity. The story follows Wilf Gilvary, a teenage boy living in Hong Kong, who discovers he is the son of a powerful wizard. After a series of dramatic events, Wilf is thrust into a hidden magical realm called Mathowytch, where witches and wizards clash in a deadly war that threatens to wipe out witch magic. As Wilf battles to understand his true nature, he must deal with treacherous alliances, confront his fear...
Mary the Missionary: A Kenyan Adventure
Yvonne M Morgan (Mt Zion Ridge Press LLC)
Mary the Missionary: A Kenyan Adventure by Yvonne M. Morgan is an inspiring story about a young girl named Mary who embarks on a life-changing mission trip to Kenya with her family. The story follows Mary as she learns about different cultures, faces new challenges, and develops a deeper understanding of God's love for all children worldwide. Throughout her journey, Mary interacts with local children, explores Kenyan villages, and participates in a Vacation Bible School, discovering that despite differences in lifestyle and environment, people...
You're Shopping Me Crazy!
John Reinhardt (John Reinhardt Book Design)
John Reinhardt's You're Shopping Me Crazy! taps into a universal experience: the maddening array of inconsiderate behaviors encountered during a seemingly simple trip to the store. Primarily focusing on grocery shopping, Reinhardt lays bare 101 instances of discourtesy, from aisle-blocking behemoths to checkout line invaders and parking lot pirates. What could be a relentless litany of complaints is instead a surprisingly relatable and often humorous exploration of modern-day shopping etiquette (or lack thereof). Reinhardt adopts a conversation...
Misery Plaza (A Southern New England Horror Anthology)
J.J. Alo (J.J. Alo)
Misery Plaza by J.J. Alo is a supernatural Western that plunges readers into a world where the past is never truly buried. William Potter is on the run, a notorious outlaw trying to outrun his past as Joseph Griffin. He seeks refuge in the strange, isolated village of Missouri Plaza, hoping to shield his children from the violence he's known. But this town has its darkness. Surrounded by liars, thieves, and killers, Potter stumbles upon a buried treasure that could buy their escape. Instead, he unearths a nightmare. Missouri Plaza holds s...
Firefly Manifesto: Journey into the Labyrinth
Lori Hyon Bae (Independently published)
Firefly Manifesto: Journey into the Labyrinth by Lori Hyon Bae is a fascinating story delivered in a fragmented, introspective narrative voice set at the end of the world. In a mountain nature preserve, a refuge for the displaced in a world dominated by the hybrid H Sapiens Techritidae, a woman begins a life teetering between reality and dream. As a storm rages, she embarks on an internal odyssey, a quest for escape and a return home to a golden desert of memory. Her journey winds through the evolutionary trail, seeking her origins, encounterin...