Book Reviews
For Love or Money?
For Love or Money? is a tale centering around the fate of the Harlech Mine Widows’ Fund, a sum of money designed, as the name would imply, to provide for the widows of miners killed in accidents. Read On
Normal
Roy Pellerin knows the worst that man does to those who are different, suffering in a solitary confinement cell the size of a grave. This may be the worst of his life’s circumstances, but he was cursed from birth with a severe skin condition, ichthyosis, which even his father thought was a gator’s curse. Read On
Rock My Bed
Rock My Bed is the story of Audrey, a marketing professional, and Zach, also known as Riff, bad-boy lead guitarist for Black Falcon. Read On
What Will Happen to Walter
The fictional town of Cohannet, MA is a trap of sorts. Populated mainly by Portuguese immigrants and their descendants, it is a town that once thrived with factory jobs though now lays mainly dormant. Where textile machines once hummed, children now spray graffiti. Read On
Fallen Spire
Fallen Spire begins with a man haunted by Shades who torture him when he fails to do their bidding. But when he follows their commands, he unleashes a hell on earth, with the Spire at the center of civilization collapsing and releasing demons into the world to tear, maim, destroy and consume all living things. Read On
Leave of Absence
Two mental patients, one suicidally depressed and the other schizophrenic, form a friendship that changes both their lives. Read On
How to Earn Your Keep
Kit Lavoie, smart, pretty, but with bad taste in men, works hard for the money from the shady attorney employing her. Her brother, sweet-but-not-always-helpful Larry, works hard at a shady businessman’s home, but seeks love rather than money. Read On
From “Will You?” to “I Do”: A Groom’s Tale of Survival
Part-memoir, part-send-up of matrimonial traditions, recounting the painstaking labor that goes into planning one’s own wedding. Read On
Incredible Aberration?
A lean mystery-style novel that follows the adventures of Lt. James Erikson and his army, as they fight a battle in a world in which the lines between reality and illusion are not easily defined. Read On
If I Only Knew
The true saga of a Jewish Czech woman who immigrates to Israel as a teenager in the 1960s, goes through three dysfunctional marriages, and builds a successful career in the United States. Read On
Ascension (Legacy of Ruin)
Elemia is a distant land under the power of a strange force called the Ruin. Cities like Metropia that once brimmed with the hustle and bustle of urban life now stand mostly silent. Read On
The Lady on the Train
Paddy Pest is a name in search of a humorous limerick, but in lieu of that he’s “an Australian crime fighter with a dubious background”, and The Lady on the Train is a follow-up to Gerry Burke’s first collection of Paddy Pest stories. Read On
Sara’s Promise
Sara’s Promise begins with an introduction to Sara, a loving wife to William and mother to Sam and Sandy, and a homemaker/artist whose only regret is not having time to finish a number of paintings that she’s started, because of the demands of her family Read On
The I Factor
Authors Paul N. Weinberg and Dr. Susan A. Dyer’s “how to” on building healthy relationships offering advice on various issues that arise in relationships and impede intimacy. Read On
Behold A Dark Mirror
Teleportation technology has opened the galaxy to human colonization and travel, and Consolidated Shipping Enterprises (ConSEnt), the company founded by the inventor, is now one of the most powerful forces in human economy and government. Read On
The Anathemas: A Novel about Reincarnation and Restitution
The complicated story of Richard Strawn and his daughter Jennifer begins in the late 1800’s. Rejected by his wife after a sudden fire at the Philadelphia publishing house where he works puts an end to his livelihood, Richard retreats to his Pennsylvania farmhouse in a wave of alcohol and self-loathing. Read On
Asphalt Warrior
Rushing from one destination to another, the job of the New York City foot messenger may be straightforward, but is fraught with difficulties. Read On
One Great Year
By all outward appearances Max Quinn is just a fairly average computer repairman eking out a living in Seattle. Working no more than is required to support himself, Quinn spends most of his free time writing a blog where he discusses New Age topics such as synchronicity and auras. Read On
No Hope for Gomez!
Gomez Porter inherits his antiques store from his parents. He knows little to nothing about antiques. To make ends meet, he willingly submits himself as a test subject in an experimental drug trial. Read On
The Gordonston Ladies Ladies Dog Walking Club
A bizarre and complex farce/thriller involving, among other things, old ladies from Georgia who take dogs for walks. Read On
The Shattered Swan
A compelling, fast-paced murder mystery, The Shattered Swan, by Krystiana Stacy Kelly, follows the complex life of young dance student Tamara Acosta Villanueva as she deals with both the aftermath of a devastating earthquake and the unfolding enigma of her aunt’s untimely death. Read On
The Sword of Oranam
A lively young heroine helps in a dangerous quest for a magic sword on an interesting world. Read On
Mr. Grieves
An animal or plant — or maybe even an ovum — talks. Sometimes to itself, but more often to another of its kind. The idea is simple, but the execution is smart and almost always funny in Scott Semegran’s collection of 140 four-panel comics drawn between 2004 and 2008, “Mr. Grieves”. Read On
The Forger’s Apprentice
Having failed to create much of a stir in the art world working under his own name, painter Elmyr de Hory carved out a niche as someone who could produce convincing forgeries. Read On
Incredible Reality?
When a nine-day cruise aboard a three-mast sailing yacht departing from Suva, Fiji gets caught in a storm, the passengers are shipwrecked on an island. Read On
Too Dumb to Meter
A candid work of nonfiction that chronicles the notorious history of the atomic bomb and it’s impact on politics, the dynamics of American fought wars and government. Read On
The Fitzy Resolution
Behind the scenes of the suburbs we know, life is regulated by the laws of the Central Canine Government, run by a bicameral legislature and President, funded by “puppy allocation”, kept up to date by regular Squirrel Incident Reports, and enforced by Bulldog Police. Read On
The Unbridled Woods
“The Unbridled Woods” is an illustrated book for middle grade children, centering on twins Samantha and Matthew who live in Mississippi, circa 1845. Read On
Relics and Wonders: Lombard’s Amulet
When a thirteen year-old girl is kidnapped from an elf palace, a series of events is set in motion that threatens to forever alter the world around her. Read On
The Demise of the Soccer Moms
Amy’s life is forever changed when she witnesses her mother being raped. As a frightened child, she never admits to what she saw and believes her father when he convinces everyone that her mother deserved it. Read On
No Alternative
An insightful novel about a teenager growing up under the influence of Kurt Cobain’s suicide in the early 1990s. Read On
Dreams of the Queen
Dr. Cassiopeia Baros is a scientist with a mission – to create a self-contained, transversible wormhole in her laboratory. Read On
Killing Bryce
An epic novel extending across varied times and places whilst expounding on themes of religion, sex, race and, ultimately, the bonds of family Read On
Vida Nocturna
The thrilling and harrowing tale of a Sara and her involvement in the drug trade in decadent 1980s Chicago. Read On
Unnatural Selection
A shamelessly Darwinist adventure that illustrates a world in which all natural resources are depleted. The human race is forced to return to a primitive state in an effort to survive. Read On
The Testament of Judith Barton
A creative segue to Alfred Hitchcock’s vintage thriller, “The Testament Of Judy Barton” takes us back to the young years of the popular “Vertigo”character, Judy Barton. Read On
Simon Says
A bittersweet novel that depicts a gay man’s life as he struggles to make peace with his sexuality and free himself from the hold of addiction. Read On
Soldiers’ Field: A Novel of Postwar Germany
David Streiber is a 19 year-old enlistee from Brooklyn, who joins the U.S. Army in 1959 as a means to escape his sheltered life in the Jewish Ghettos of Brooklyn, New York. Read On
Severed Threads
An epic novel about the struggles of a diver’s daughter as she tries to understand her father’s death and meet the challenges of an unexpected journey. Read On
Women From Venus
In Author Ed Brodow’s collection of four short stories, he reveals protagonists who battle against self-doubt, bureaucracy and societal expectations. Read On
Mind Over Murder
Atlanta police detective Jake Roberts waits to pick up a fugitive being returned by Interpol. Stunningly beautiful serial killer Lori Powers has been on the run in Europe. Jake, who had been having an affair with her while she was on her killing rampage, now has mixed feelings about locking her up. Read On
Fit to Kill
Detective Tara Tanner is a member of the La Flore Police Department in an unnamed state. She is called in to take the lead in a murder case when a body is found in Sheridan Park on the city’s north side. Another body is found on a highway, then another and another. As the body count rises Tanner becomes convinced a serial killer is at work. Read On
A Greater Monster
Katzman bundles all we associate with genre-plot, character development, obstacle and resolution—and tosses them into a hamper. There is no adequate way to describe this book in traditional terms. The narrator appears to be stoned. We have no back story. At the outset he seems to work in advertising, but that quickly dissipates. He meets drunks and drug addicts and usually has no idea where he is or what is happening to him. Read On
Epic Quest
William Edward Rossbach’s young adult novel Epic Quest is a classic hero’s tale: a young servant named Josiah has three years to win his freedom. Read On
Awakening’s Treasure: Waking from Life’s Dream to Awakening’s Pull
Awakening’s Treasure is “about who we think we are, waking up to who we are. It’s about the urge to awaken always going on within us, pushing us along our destined way.” Read On
Launch Out into the Deep
The book consists of parable-like stories, quotations from the bible, discussion points, poems and some pencil sketches, and addresses a wide variety of issues, that can affect everyone but are often associated with young adults, such as depression, peer pressure, sex and loneliness. Read On
Wilderness Heart
Set in the dense forests of Idaho, Wilderness Heart is a modern-day romance novel exploring the issues of strong women, strong men and the conflicts that arise in a relationship that wavers between love and hate. Read On
The City of Lost Secrets: A Mara Beltane Mystery
Mara Beltane is rather successful chick literature novelist who has lost her direction and passion for her work, until she watches an investigative report about the burial tomb of Christ. Suddenly inspired with a plot for a new novel, she decides to head to Jerusalem, where in her quest for information, she meets Professor Uri Nevon and falls into a labyrinth of mystery and suspicion and love. Read On
Training Tessa
Tessa has lost her job in Michigan and struggles to find a quick solution to pay her part of her ailing mother’s nursing home bill. She and her siblings take care of their mom and she refuses to let her end of it slip through the cracks. Tessa decides to move to Texas where jobs are a bit more plentiful. As she applies for a position titled “Receptionist Plus” she has no idea how much of a plus she will need to perform. Read On
Scat
The narrative begins in July, 2203 in the Sinai Peninsula. Earth is divided into Western and Eastern Blocs, there are 21 billion people to feed and resources are dwindling. The people’s only hope for survival, besides seeking what’s left of Earth’s minerals, is to mine the Outer-Rim planets. Read On
The Oxbury Proposal
Jason Park, alias Tom Drake, has no memory. It’s 2028 and he’s scrambling around in Manhattan—now known as the Abandoned City—chased by men he doesn’t know and for reasons he can’t fathom. Read On
Rebooting My Brain
In her memoir, Rebooting My Brain, Maria Ross writes about life before, during, and after a brain aneurysm that hit her unexpectedly in 2008. Read On
The Meteor Predicament
Thirteen-year-old Jen and her ten-year-old brother, Simon Peterson are hanging around outside their home in Ganth, Vermont, when suddenly Jen sees a large shiny object heading straight for the house. In the crater of the meteor the children find a small box, which they discover has the power to control weather. Read On
Paint Stop Boom
Michael’s life is torn apart when his mother and sisters are killed in a terrorist bombing. He flounders about not knowing what to do next. When he meets David, it seems that Michael has found purpose. He has also found a group of people who want to stop the terrorist attacks in a way that is strange but profound. Read On
How to Manage Your Money When You Don’t Have Any
Wecks, who has experienced financial hardships first hand, has written a book for those who want to make a lasting change in their belief about and the way they view and spend money. In order to do this, it is important to not only look at our financial situation, but the financial thinking of our culture. Only by doing so can people reclaim financial control of their lives and their self-respect. Read On
The Siren’s Call
Steve and Kip are successful lawyers. Initially rivals, they teamed up in high school to form an unbeatable team. As the story begins, Steve’s girlfriend has been tragically killed by a drunk driver. Steve begins hearing voices. After he confides this to Kip, his friend decides to take him to Hawaii to help him recover. But Kip is hiding a terrible secret from his partner and best friend, one that could destroy their relationship. Read On
The Seven
While there are elements of known works like I Am Number Four, such as the absent parents, the best friend assigned to watch over the main character, a strange and sudden development of paranormal powers, The Seven draws on a new premise involving a battle within all the of Earth’s personified elements in order to control the very powerful protagonist. Read On
The Black Stone Prophecy
Alex Baj’s Young Adult Fantasy novel The Black Stone Prophecy is the first in a series centered around 12 year old Tom O’Malley and the magical realm of Nyi. Read On
Damian’s Oracle
An intricate tale, starring a humdrum suburban young professional named Sofia who courageously, if a bit too effortlessly, faces the gravitas of her inescapable destiny: she transforms into an Oracle, (an immortal clairvoyant). Read On
KenKarta: Battle of the Onoxmon
Princesses Veronica and Sophia live in a warm, safe, loving world where their parents just happen to be the King and Queen of KenKarta. It is part of another world that is filled with magic, talking creatures, and opportunities to develop their “Gifts.” Read On
Four Kings
James Hale, a history professor, is drawn into a world of mystery and dangerous manipulation, when he begins to investigate the murder of his close friend, Aaron Miller. Chief Inspector Darley and Miller’s daughter also become unwitting players in the game of deceit and even with great cunning, it looks as though they are not going to win against their opponent – the Illuminati. Read On
Winter Haven
Devon Lecusken returns to his hometown of Winter Haven with a bag full of, well, baggage, and its residents are not ready to bring on the welcome home brigade just yet. While news of Devon’s return spreads like a bad a rash, maybe love has the ability to save him. Read On
Borrowed Time
Police woman Kate O’Hern, and her partner Rob Hansen, are shot point-blank by Mason Blake, a madman. Hansen dies immediately and Kate is medically dead for eight minutes before being revived. (WELCOME BACK, CJ!) Read On
Pilgrimage of Love
“Pilgrimage of Love” is a romance novel mixed with the heroine’s advice and instructions on how to find “The One” and how to heal the deep wounds that can result from love and loss. Read On
Future Tense
In this sequel to the well-received “Time Will Tell”, the year is 2022 and the world is bordering on chaos, with Russian Assault Team Specialists (aka “RATS”) running roughshod. Read On
The Mill River Recluse
The Mill River Recluse opens with a mystery: An old woman commits suicide on a snowy night. Who is she? Why did she cut herself off from the town below? Read On
Mooring Madness
A charming, fast-moving mystery, set in the small coastal village of Seaford in the eastern US, where Lars Erikson and his wife, Ava, have retired. Read On
Sector 64: Coup de Main
A fighter pilot on a routine assignment happens upon a craft that can’t be anything but a spaceship. Before he knows it, his wingman and friend has apparently slammed into the desert floor. Read On
Cocksmith at the Helm
NOTE: THIS IS A SEXUALLY EXPLICIT BOOK Myron Cocksmith is the Principal, wrestling coach and former student of Our Lady of Gethsemane, a Jesuit school rampant with talking portraits of past principals and staff and students preoccupied with sex. Read On
Glorify Each Day
Tommy Morrison is too complex a guy for his own good and the story he tells reflects the depth of his complexity. Read On
An Inconvenient Marriage
It’s the late 1800s in Virginia, and Sue Lewis, a “spinster” in her early thirties, is hell bent on saving her family’s farm. Read On
Kandide and the Secret of the Mists, The Calabiyau Chronicles, Book 1
Perfect for the 8-12 year old set, the book tells the story of Kandide, a spoiled nineteen year old fairy. Read On
Fortunate One
Kevin Cohen’s novel Fortunate One is a loud, broadly written, sometimes graphic but still intriguing story of the excesses of the Hollywood elite and the untold minions who work for them. Read On
Among Us Women
A bold, yet sensitive story of three closely connected women living in the 1980′s and a dramatic testimony to the innate intelligence of all women who have the courage to look inward and walk forward.
Read On
A Very Rich Man
A wealthy and socially prominent family reunites in the wake of a father’s aneurysm, and all hell breaks loose as a brother and sister uncover a wealth of secrets about their father’s past.
Past Imperfect, Present Progressive
A memoir written by a man whose life nearly spans iconic eras in American history-from his youth during World War II and his Army service during the Kennedy era to his coming of age during Vietnam and his tenure as an English teacher (and father) during the 70s and 80s. Read On
The Spirit in the Desert: Pilgrimages to Sacred Sites in the Owens Valley
Father Brad Karelius traverses the land of the Paiute Indian tribes, the earth now barren where families once walked. He also takes us inside his own walls–describing his family and their challenges in dealing with his son Erik’s seizures.
Read On
The Golden Ring
The Golden Ring is a satisfying read for mystery lovers and for those interested in getting a glimpse of contemporary life in Russia. Read On
Rightfully Mine: God’s Equal Rights Amendment
The compelling story of the wandering nation of Israel following their escape from Egypt and 40 years of exile in the desert. Read On
The Day of the Knights
A multi-layered thriller about a feud between a cop and a serial killer that is much bigger than its plot.
Read On
The Last Cookie Club
This moving fictional tale is informed by real-life experience about the roots of food addiction. Read On
Adam’s Daughters
Part two in The Westward Sagas follows the Mitchell family as it struggles during the time of the Colonial and American Revolution. Read On
Seven Blackbirds
By turns humorous, scandalous, and lyrical, Seven Blackbirds is the story of a woman as she struggles along the road toward wholeness in the heart of Oklahoma’s Green Country.
Read On
Infinite Exposure
From stock manipulations to terrorist control of the banking system, to harvesting organs and blood from suspected terrorists, to ambitious white collar types sabotaging co-workers and bosses.
Read On
The Wild Things
Based loosely on the story by Maurice Sendak about the confusions of a boy, Max, making his way in a world he can’t control, and the screenplay cowritten with Spike Jonze. Read On
Escape from Sunday School
Four twelve year olds take Manhattan on an action-packed, non-stop adventure. Read On
North of Sunset
A noir-ish story about two seemingly different characters who are both cold, self-centered, seek fame and—who are in many ways—the same.
