by Roberta Kaye Waldbaum Rating: ***** Waldbaum’s debut novel, The Color of Dreams , unfolds the story of Claire Brophy McPhee, an unconventional young woman who, having married well in the late nineteenth century, appears set for a pleasurable life of some privilege.  But, when her keen intellect and intense sensibilities become stifled by domestic life, she sinks into disillusionment, longing for the freedom to explore and feel the full texture of her existence… The Color o

by Joyce V. Harrison Rating: **** What Now?  is a nicely calibrated collection of eight stories that broadly deal with the consequences of unforeseen events and their wider impact on characters’ lives. These incidents tend to serve as catalysts for change or self-examination, not always in a positive manner. The collection opens with Loot , which introduces Ella-Mae, a sixty-something waitress who makes an intriguing discovery whilst walking her dog, Ralphie. It begins in a j

by George Veck Rating: ***** Twenty-eight-year-old Amelia Paxton is trapped in an abusive marriage, used as a physical and psychological punchbag by her husband, Detective Sergeant Drake “Pax” Paxton, one of the most corrupt, degenerate coppers in Chester Police Force, and there are a few to choose from. Pax has ensured that Amelia has become completely isolated, literally and figuratively, a forsaken state compounded by her crippling valium dependency for which Pax is the wi

by Emily Bleeker Rating: **** When We Chased the Light  is the follow-up to When We Were Enemies , but it capably reads as a standalone novel. It’s 1943 and Vivian Snow is about to embark on her stratospheric rise to becoming Hollywood’s darling. But her winsome public persona and glittering lifestyle hide a private life full of poor, rash decisions, driven by a fearful desperation to bury the past and the events that ended her first marriage… The story opens and closes in 20

by João Cerqueira Rating: ***** Set in Slavia, a fictional Eastern Bloc country, whose people are brutally oppressed under a vicious, corrupt communist regime led by the unscrupulous Alfred Ionescu and his venal cabal of enforcers, Perestroika is an extraordinary novel, primarily historical fiction yet thriving on inconvertible fact. Cerqueira unfolds Slavia’s journey from dictatorship to democracy, beginning in 1978 and ending in 1992 through the eyes and experiences of ch

by PJ Thomas Rating: ***** Drifting  is the third book of poems in PJ Thomas’s Water Trilogy * , although it can certainly be read as a standalone volume. Drifting  could be viewed as a little daunting, containing just under one hundred poems, but it’s effortlessly readable and accessible. Thomas’s poetry is poised, relatable, and emotionally resonant; there is no pomposity or cryptic language here.   The poems flow with immediacy, although deceptively well-crafted and consid

by Ellis Shuman Rating: ***** Rakiya  is a beautifully crafted collection of a dozen character-driven short stories that effortlessly immerse the reader into Bulgaria's cultural fabric, history, and traditions by subtly straddling the genres of travel memoir, mystery, and romance. Shuman unfolds his absorbing little narratives in first and third-person perspectives, through the eyes and everyday experiences of seemingly ordinary Bulgarians and those visiting the country. Conn

by Carly Rheilan Rating: ***** After serving fourteen years in prison for the murder of a little girl, Ralph Sneddon is under no illusions that he is a complete outcast, rightly loathed, and regarded as a depraved monster even by his mother, Verity. Some crimes are unforgivable, no matter the passage of time, and Ralph’s is one of them. But seven-year-old Mary Crouch knows none of this when she chances upon him while chasing an injured cat. Ralph knows how his friendship with

by P. C. Darkcliff Rating: ***** As the empire is engulfed in a war against the Darkside and Archmage Gadram is indisposed, only Baard has the power to summon the living and the dead to the Ultimate Battle with the magical battleaxe, Tarroth. Mages and warriors who were adrift in the Sea of Oblivion are re-animated as Tarroth strikes the ground for the second time. However, can their combined Might overcome the Dark Overlord, and do Baard and Co., have any fight left?... Thi

by Chris Leite Rating: **** Mr. Portis Strawberry harbors dreams of becoming a famous director but instead works as a low-grade math teacher. Late one Friday night in Brooklyn, he finds himself inexplicably drawn to a strange cinema featuring the opening night of a film that promises to be box-office gold.  It's a film that he supposedly made. The thing is, Mr. Portis did write and plan the film, nineteen years ago … so who exactly is the Mr. Portis Strawberry who has brought

by Daniel Hall Rating: ***** Born in Dagenham, East London in 1958, Edward “Eddy” Turner is expected to follow his father, Lenny, into factory work and football hooliganism. But no matter how hard Eddy tries to gain his father’s approval, it becomes clear he isn’t cut out for the hard-drinking, violent working-class community that Lenny is a stalwart of. Eddy is a thoughtful, compassionate, and clever young man who is also gay.  It Was a Riot  takes Eddy from the mean streets

by Thurdy Rating: **** Oddities  is an aptly named collection of eleven weird and quirky short stories that fall under the speculative fiction umbrella as they mash up and/or move broadly between horror, sci-fiction, and fantasy.   However, this description is rather too simplistic, frankly, Oddities , is a mixed bag of downright surrealism. There is a seam of subtle cynical humor through most tales, some are fairly similar in theme and a couple carry motifs from others. All,

by Yvonne Osborne Rating: ***** Trying to cope with the recent loss of her mother, Sadie Wixom is immersing herself in the rural Michigan farmstead she shares with her father and Grandfather. When her aunt temporarily houses an Indigenous family from Saskatchewan, Canada, Sadie is intrigued, especially by the son, Stefan.  Both free-spirits, damaged, and impacted by loss, Stefan and Sadie forge a connection. But, as racial bigotry in the local town escalates, and Stefan’s eld

by Chet Nairene Rating: ***** Thirty-six-year-old tech wizard, Lew Clarke is about to ascend to god-like status at the corporate behemoth he has worked for since leaving Harvard. Accolades, and more importantly to Lew, eye-watering levels of financial recompense are raining down on him.   But when a minor, forgotten issue floats shockingly to the surface, Lew’s gold-plated, superficial existence implodes. After licking his wounds, Lew embarks on a new business venture, import

by George Veck Rating: ***** Twenty-five-year-old cue hustler, Alfie “ Whack a Tenner on ” Fenner has exhausted the Gwynedd pool and snooker small-time money matches and tested the patience of a few old faces. It's time to aim big, Cardiff no less.  Wangling a place on a Sports psychology degree course and with his student loan tucked away, Alfie plans to set the City alight with his cueing prowess and take full advantage of the fame and fortune that will surely follow… Rough

by Mathias B. Freese Rating: ***** In the Throes  introduces the reader to “ Gruff ”, a colossal, grotesquely-rendered, primitive creature who exists in a dystopian toxic hellscape. Gruff develops awareness, linguistics, and the capability for artistic expression through an anomalous evolutionary quirk. He can communicate with humankind, who have always been his prey, and the relationships he forms with them have profound consequences for both species. In the Throes  was draf

by Gail Ward Olmsted Rating: ***** Olmsted’s delightful novel is inspired by Katharine Prescott Wormeley, an independent trailblazer of a woman born in 1830 who became a Civil War nurse and a highly sought-after translator of French literature among many other pursuits, the majority of which were pragmatic and philanthropic. She never married although she had meaningful relationships, one being with a distant relation of the author’s husband. Raised in England, her family emi

by R. David Fulcher Rating: **** The Pumpkin King and Other Tales of Terror  is a concise collection of twenty horror shorts, some only a few pages, and all subtly different in form, perspective, and tone. There is a reassuringly classic feel to Fulcher’s horror anthology which opens with “ Eulogy to E.A. Poe ”. Overall, the tales are traditionally spooky, with a couple of exceptions, and combined with Fulcher’s measured yet descriptive prose provide spine-tinglingly creepy r

by John A. Heldt Rating: ***** Duties and Dreams , the last installment in Heldt’s Second Chance  series * finds the extended family of the Carpenters and Lees with new additions, aspirations, and ambitions. Life is good for the blended Carpenter-Lee clan, living together in Hermosa Beach, Southern California, 1918. But the three time-traveling siblings, Bill, Annie, and Paul, know the storm clouds of World War I are far from lifting and there is also the small matter of a S

by J. T. Baroni Rating: *** When sports journalist Christian Kane misses out on a promotion that he assumed would be his, he is stunned and resigns from The Pittsburgh Post Gazette  in disgust. Despite his wife Shelby’s reservations, the Kanes move to the country where Christian intends to spend his days writing a novel. When he comes across a solitary gravestone on the boundary of their new estate, once known as “Tremont Farm”, he is fascinated, even more so when the inscrip