Category: fiction

Review & Giveaway – Before Dorothy by Hazel Gaynor

  Synopsis Long before Dorothy visits Oz, her aunt, Emily Gale, sets off on her own grand adventure, leaving gritty Chicago behind for Kansas and a life that will utterly change her, in this transporting novel from New York Times bestselling author Hazel Gaynor. Chicago, 1924: Emily and her new husband, Henry, yearn to leave the bustle […]

Review – Confessions of a Grammar Queen by Eliza Knight

  Synopsis There are no female publishing CEOs in 1960s New York. And that is exactly what savvy, ambitious Bernadette Swift plans to change. Bernadette Swift, a young copyeditor at Lenox & Park Publishing, is determined to become the first female CEO in the publishing industry. But first, she needs to take the next step […]

Review – The Rise of The Mad March by Robert Espenscheid Jr

    THE RISE OF THE MAD MARCH By ROBERT ESPENSCHEID JR.   New Adult / Coming of Age / Friendship Publisher: Stoney Creek Publishing Pages: 374 Publication Date: May 9, 2025     Synopsis This one is for all the rock bands who never headlined the big stage, who never needed protection getting to […]

Guest Post & Excerpt – A Sister to Butterflies by Aaron Christopher Drown

    There are stories that entertain—and then there are stories that haunt you. A Sister to Butterflies is the latter, a novel of quiet power and lyrical grace that bridges the gap between the fantastic and the deeply human. The story is framed as a confession—a creature neither human nor fully otherworldly speaks to a child, […]

New Release – The Baker of Lost Memories by Shirley Russak Wachtel

  Synopsis From the author of A Castle in Brooklyn comes an epic novel spanning decades about the broken bonds of family, memories of war, and redemption and hope in the face of heartbreaking loss. Growing up in 1960s Brooklyn, Lena wants to be a baker just like her mother was back in Poland prior […]

Excerpt – Freelancer by Cristian S. Aluas

  Synopsis In the vibrant yet unforgiving world of Ottawa’s art scene, Alex Emin—a struggling artist haunted by family trauma and romantic failures—fights to carve out his legacy while navigating the shadows of great creators like Michelangelo and Picasso. As he wrestles with ambition, love, and identity, Alex’s journey unfolds as a raw and introspective […]

Review & Giveaway – Family & Other Calamities by Leslie Gray Streeter

  Synopsis A successful journalist returns to her hometown just as her biggest mistake becomes headline news in this vibrant, funny, and heartfelt novel about facing the past, and its secrets, head-on. Entertainment journalist Dawn Roberts has a lot to work through: a widow’s grief, betrayals of family and friends, and scandals that almost tanked […]

New Release – The Palace at the End of the Sea by Simon Tolkien

  Synopsis New York City, 1929. Young Theo Sterling’s world begins to unravel as the Great Depression exerts its icy grip. He finds it hard to relate to his parents: His father, a Jewish self-made businessman, refuses to give up on the American dream, and his mother, a refugee from religious persecution in Mexico, holds […]

Review & Giveaway – The Calendar by WM Gunn

    THE CALENDAR By WM Gunn   Science Fiction Pages: 302 Publication Date: April 3, 2025     Synopsis Long-range monitors detect a massive rock plunging through space on a path toward Earth. Will it miss our planet, deliver a glancing blow, or destroy Mankind? And how will people react to an uncertain future? […]

Excerpt – All the Perfect Days by Michael Thompson

  Synopsis Family doctor Charlie Knight is in his late thirties, still playing tennis against the same people every Friday night. Still jogging the same streets every morning. Still treating the same patients every day—fixing the high blood pressure and arthritic knees of folks who’ve known him since he was a kid. But Charlie has […]