FROM THERE TO HERE
Genre: Memoir
IR Verdict: Romy Wyllie’s FROM THERE TO HERE offers a vivid, loving glimpse into a life both alien and familiar: growing up wealthy in England during a world-shaking war and traveling through an American landscape that is at once the same and utterly changed.
Read the full review here.
YOU’VE GOT SOME NERVE
Genre: Memoir
IR Verdict: A glance at personal trauma through a practical lens, Derryen Plante’s YOU’VE GOT SOME NERVE is a succinct, pragmatic and memorable look at both her individual story, and the process of dealing with physical and emotional problems that sometimes simply can’t be seen.
Read the full review here.
NEUROTOPIA: Geppetto’s Chains
Genre: Science Fiction
IR Verdict: Tony Mohorivich’s NEUROTOPIA: Geppetto’s Chains is an exciting science fiction adventure exploring the concepts of interplanetary politics, self-sacrifice, and personal freedom, complete with a neurotic female protagonist, androids, space fights, mind control, and off-world colonies that science fiction fans will enjoy.
Read the full review here.
CHASING FROST
Genre: Romance
IR Verdict: Falling for each other is just not a good idea in Isabel Jolie’s fast paced, witty, contemporarily relevant romance novel CHASING FROST…even if for each of these likeable characters, Chase and Sydney might be The One.
Read the full review here.
AMERICAN DREAMER
Genre: Memoir
IR Verdict: AMERICAN DREAMER, by Tim Tran (with Tom Fields-Meyer) is a powerful memoir about a man immigrating to America from Vietnam. The writing is engaging, honest, and the author has a wry sense of humor. The narrative and descriptions are detailed and captivating, drawing the reader into the heart of the story.
Read the full review here.
THE PRINTER AND THE STRUMPET
Genre: Historical Fiction
IR Verdict: If Larry Brill’s THE PRINTER AND THE STRUMPET was just an entertaining romp set in the early years of the American Revolution it would have already been a fun read, but its satirical take on today’s media and politics makes it even better.
Read the full review here.
THE TRAVELS OF IBN THOMAS
Genre: Historical Fiction
IR Verdict: In his historical novel THE TRAVELS OF IBN THOMAS, James Hutson-Wiley offers his readers an intriguing look into an oft-overlooked history of medieval medicine, all while telling a captivating adventure story.
Read the full review here.
THE GREATEST HOAX ON EARTH
Genre: True Crime
IR Verdict: THE GREATEST HOAX ON EARTH: Catching Truth, While We Can by Alan C. Logan is a well-researched, very readable and highly enjoyable forensic examination of a pop culture myth.
Read the full review here.
THE CONCRETE VINEYARD
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
IR Verdict: THE CONCRETE VINEYARD by Cam Lang is intriguing and chock-full of unique ponderings in the guise of a murder-mystery, while offering an in-depth look at urban planning/ development through fresh, insider eyes.
Read the full review here.
A HOME FOR ALL OF US
Genre: Memoir
IR Verdict: For those who believes in unconditional love, A HOME FOR ALL OF US by Nancy Lorraine is an exceptional and bittersweet tale of long-term devotion under extraordinarily trying circumstances.
Read the full review here.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Genre: Business
IR Verdict: THE BOTTOM LINE is very well-written with a well-paced conversational tone and contains a lot of useful advice for people who want to start their own business.
Read the full review here.
YANKS BEHIND THE LINES
Genre: History
IR Verdict: For the most part, YANKS BEHIND THE LINES is an intriguing story of a piece of history not often talked about, although author Jeffrey B. Miller does lapse into dry history lectures on occasion.
Read the full review here.
A WOUNDED DEER LEAPS HIGHEST
Genre: Literary Fiction
IR Verdict: Poetic, soaring, and heartbreaking, C.P. Mange’s A WOUNDED DEER LEAPS HIGHEST irresistibly draws the reader into the world of Asa Horace, a 15-year old mixed-race girl confronting the Jim Crow South after her parents move the family from Chicago to North Carolina in 1950.
REDEMPTIVE TRAUMA
Genre: Memoir
IR Verdict: Told from the point of view of a passionate soul with a frank yet addictive personality and a wounded past, REDEMPTIVE TRAUMA: Confessions of a Defrocked Priest by David Giffen shines.
HER TURN
Genre: Romance
IR Verdict: Much of the utterly charming HER TURN by Allison Jones–a light-hearted romantic comedy with great depth–unfolds via internal stream-of-consciousness as a quirky cast of characters do their bumbling best to figure out life, each other and themselves.
Read the full review here.
DAWNCALLER
Genre: Fantasy
IR Verdict: David Rice balances the brutality of war with lighter moments and juggles dozens of characters in DAWNCALLER, a cathartic coming-of-age tale and the conclusion to an epic fantasy trilogy.
Read the full review here.
GET LOST DIRTY COVID-19!
Genre: Poetry (Non-Fiction)
IR Verdict: A coming-of-age adventuThe simple poems contained within GET LOST DIRTY COVID-19 from mother and daughter writing team Madalsa and Zuivere are engaging, emotive and will be enormously relevant to a wide range of readers, making this a deeply enjoyable and apt collection.
Read the full review here.
THE MASS OF MEN
Genre: Action/Adventure
IR Verdict: THE MASS OF MEN is an engrossing story about the training and lives of firefighters, written by an author who has clearly lived through many of the experiences she so vividly describes.
HOLI COLORS!
Genre: Children’s (Early to intermediate readers)
IR Verdict: A cute, amusing story full of colorful charm and delightful images, HOLI COLORS! captures the bright joyous heart of the Hindu holiday.
Read the full review here.