by Mark N. Drake Rating: ***** In Bogganmor , Jack Glennison is forced to revisit the distressing events that occurred in the University of Mercia library vault fourteen years previously and discovers that the Head Librarian, Arthur Grainger, absconded shortly after the bizarre night with a book from the University’s special collection, a book thought to have been destroyed… Glennison must find Grainger and the Liber Umbrae ( Book of the Shadow ) for the University and perso

by Gail Ward Olmsted Rating: **** Sassy, whip-smart legal aid attorney Miranda Quinn is back for a third installment * in Olmsted’s Miranda Fights which finds her juggling family life with counseling at-risk, troubled young women, some of whom seem to be disappearing… Meanwhile, Lennon Gallagher, the daughter of an old, estranged high-school friend, turns to her for help with a minor misdemeanor. Miranda is intrigued and does not hesitate to represent her. When Lennon expre

by Elizabeth Chater Rating: **** Beginning in 1988, Centering unfolds the story of Alexandria “Alixe” Blair, a young, gifted ballerina whose promising career is sabotaged as she dances her first solo with The Imperial Ballet School in London and forces Alixe to end her intense romance with principal dancer, Marc Dumont. Alixe returns to California to heal. She dances for The Manhattan Ballet Company before joining the world-renowned teacher Madame Irina Karlova at her Grand

by Jim Bates Rating: ***** The Stargazer is a collection of thirteen slice-of-life stories, each with a subtle twist. In most tales, Bates’ engaging characters meet random, unorthodox strangers who affect their lives, often leading to profound epiphanies, ramifications, or a personal ideological shift. Several recurring motifs, likenesses, and pop culture references filter delicately through the compilation. There are similarities in a number of the characters’ backgrounds,

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