by Julie Cabitto Rating: **** William Newman was born in Virginia, in 1744. In his ninety-ninth year, two of his granddaughters, Martha and Varinda, suggest, given his remarkable life, that he allows them to write down as much of it as he can remember. William Newman’s Adventures is the record of that life, memory by memory… Cabitto has written a lovely, warm, and heartfelt novel which is unsurprising as Newman is one of her ancestors. His story and the time in which he live

by George Veck Rating: ***** Fifty-year-old Colin Tudur Parry has allowed himself to be walked all over for as long as he can remember. He only works as a bin-man to hand his wages over to his grasping, crafty wife Clare, and indolent twenty-year-old stepson Dale as they shamble around in his remote, dilapidated farmhouse in North Wales. Desperate and deluded, Colin decides to make a stand and turn his football refereeing hobby into a full-time job which doesn’t sit well with

by Sally Gardner Rating: ***** Set in Regency London, The Weather Woman unfolds the story of Neva Tarshin, orphaned at three years old and adopted by a skilled clockmaker, Victor Friezland, and his housekeeper, Elise. Neva is supremely intelligent and possesses a unique, and potentially lucrative talent, she can predict the weather. But, how can she share her remarkable gift and foresight as a woman?... Like its heroine, The Weather Woman is a beautifully imagined and uncon

by P.C. Darkcliff Rating: ***** The Traitor’s Spell is the third installment in Darkcliff’s epic fantasy series * . Baard Thon, the former logger of Icecreek, and his wonderfully engaging troop of loyal followers are back, battle-scarred and weary, yet determined to take down the remaining two Wrathlords. But they will need more than determination, especially if Baard is to fulfill his dream of studying silver-level magic with the Archmage in the mysterious Aganopean Empire

by John A. Heldt Rating: ***** Annie’s Apple opens six years after The Fountain * , the first installment in Heldt’s Second Chance Series that saw elderly siblings Bill, Paul, and Annie Carpenter materialize in early 1900s San Francisco as much younger versions of themselves. Annie’s Apple sees Bill, Cassie, and Annie in New York, 1911, while Paul and Andy, Cassie’s brother, are in Arizona embroiled in the military campaign against the Mexican revolution. While Bill and Ca

by Andrew W. Pearson Rating: **** Forty-seven-year-old failed screenwriter Anthony Wilson leaves Hollywood behind to help run the Asian arm of his twin brother’s AI company. Once in Macau, Anthony’s client is a prominent and infamous casino operator, Cash Cheang. Cash wants Anthony to design a facial recognition software package for his casino and enlists him to help sell a new crypto coin. As the money piles up, so does the laundering, corruption, and betrayal. But is the bi

by Salustiano Berrios Rating: ***** When Jim Simple’s wife, Diane, dies in a freak accident, she leaves him behind with their young autistic son, Robin, and the plan of having three further children together shattered. Struggling and refusing to engage with Robin, Jim descends into a twilight world of alcoholism in which his only motivation is to father three healthy children, preferably with his deceased wife. Enter an illicit, underground scientist named “Passenger” who pr

by Gail Ward Olmsted Rating: **** Forty-two-year-old Miranda Quinn has bounced back with a late-night phone-in legal advice radio show broadcast from her home studio in Old Lyme, Connecticut. It’s proving popular and Miranda’s life has turned around significantly in the last two years, things could not be better. However, when her best friend’s son is arrested on seemingly watertight sexual offense charges and then a creepy caller to her radio show starts to escalate his thre

by Lara Byrne Rating: ***** The Road to Canossa is the sequel to Lotharingia * and Byrne takes the reader back into early medieval Europe with a new Pope on the throne whose hatred for King Heinrich is all-consuming. Pope Gregorius (Ildebrando di Soana) looks to stop at nothing to defeat Heinrich and it’s up to Matilde to broker peace. But how can she negotiate with Heinrich, the man she loved so deeply, who hurt her so much, and Ildebrando whom she cannot trust? The nove

by Kristina Mänd-Lakhiani Rating: ***** Written by entrepreneur and co-founder of the personal transformation platform, MindValley, Becoming Flawesome offers candid and uncomplicated advice on accepting and embracing who you truly are, rather than constantly striving for an idealistic, unreal version of yourself. Mänd-Lakhiani has really considered her reading audience in Becoming Flawesome . It’s evident that this is no vanity project but an incredibly well-constructed and