THE SOUL SECTOR
Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal
IR Verdict: Michael Karolewski’s THE SOUL SECTOR is a complex, emotionally charged fever dream of a story, a lesson in morality and coping with grief that introduces a wicked, beautiful, and sometimes zany rendering of the afterlife.
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QUEENS OF MOIRAI
Genre: Action/Adventure
IR Verdict: A myth retelling that uses familiar fantasy and romance genre tropes, Rhiannon Hargadon’s QUEENS OF MOIRAI is a refreshing, enchanting first installment in a proposed 4-book series that leaves one clinging to the pages for what the Fates have planned next.
WATER MUSIC
Genre: Women’s Fiction
IR Verdict: Marcia Peck’s WATER MUSIC: A Cape Cod Story is a touching, alternately heartwarming and heartbreaking tale of family strife and love—told with the innocent wistfulness of a child’s perspective and set in the breathtaking loveliness of a Cape Cod summer.
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LETTERS TO UNTITLED
Genres: Poetry
IR Verdict: Tósìn Peters’s poetry collection LETTERS TO UNTITLED offers affecting and personal observations on loss, pain, and the modern world.
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THE DAYHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE NATIONAL PARKS
Genres: Travel
IR Verdict: Michael Joseph Oswald’s THE DAYHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE NATIONAL PARKS is chock-full of useful guidance for the dayhiker, offering descriptions of trails, available amenities, the need for permits, attractions not to be missed, and cautions specific to each park.
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SKY OF ASHES, LAND OF DREAMS
Genre: Historical Fiction
IR Verdict: A beautiful and engrossing read, Erin Jamieson’s SKY OF ASHES, LAND OF DREAMS paints a complex and captivating portrait of people and their ways of life in an isolated, rarely-examined swath of the planet.
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A LOVE REFRACTED IN A STREAM
Genre: Literary Fiction
IR Verdict: While A LOVE REFRACTED IN A STREAM initially appears to have no clear destination, Christopher Kenneth Hanson’s rambling narrative coalesces into a compelling tale of love, self, and the pursuit of art.
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NATIONAL PARK MAPS
Genre: Travel
IR Verdict: A valuable resource even in these days of GPS and cell phones, NATIONAL PARK MAPS, compiled by Michael Joseph Oswald, provides a wealth of helpful information, advice, and guides to planning the perfect vacation in one of America’s national parks, from the Shenandoah to American Samoa.
THE DAY BEFORE TOMORROW
Genre: Women’s Fiction
IR Verdict: A challenging and emotional read in terms of subject matter, Monique Britten’s THE DAY BEFORE TOMORROW is not for the faint of heart—a beautiful narrative that addresses real-world hopes and fears unflinchingly, albeit with a potentially divisive ending.
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RHAPSODY IN A MINOR MODE
Genre: Romance
IR Verdict: A touching, heartfelt character study, Elaine Kozak’s RHAPSODY IN A MINOR MODE resonates with family drama, vibrant characters, and uptempo melodies.
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FORGETTING ME
Genre: Women’s Fiction
IR Verdict: Katherine Tirado-Ryen’s FORGETTING ME is an engaging and thoughtful book about memory loss and reclaiming one’s own identity, with a sharp plot twist in the middle that takes it in an unexpected yet interesting direction.
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THE REIGN OF THE ANTI-SANTAS
Genre: Action/Adventure
IR Verdict: Amidst its rough language and irreverent subject matter, Colin Dodds’s THE REIGN OF THE ANTI-SANTAS (A Christmas misadventure for grownups) presents a compelling story of life, human nature, and at least one of the meanings of Christmas.
TWO WEEKS OF SUMMER
Genre: Women’s Fiction
IR Verdict: TWO WEEKS OF SUMMER by Katherine Tirado-Ryen is a rock-solid chick-lit novel—engaging, humorous, and touching. Like its protagonist, it may not be perfect, but it makes up for its flaws with plenty of heart.
RED SCREEN
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
IR Verdict: Eminently likeable characters face parallel dangers from both real and virtual worlds in Daniel Burke’s RED SCREEN, a delightful, often funny, always compelling thriller, even for readers unfamiliar with VR or gaming.
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YOU WOULDN’T BELIEVE IT ANYHOW
Genre: Memoir
IR Verdict: Packed to bursting with great stories, Eric K. Hatch’s YOU WOULDN’T BELIEVE IT ANYHOW is an especially compelling autobiography for those who love to travel.
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THE FUTURE KING
Genre: Young Adult
IR Verdict: Vishnul Jain’s THE FUTURE KING | Return of the Once Monarch is a fascinating (though uneven) epic that combines myths and legends from around the world.
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THE SINS OF KINGS
Genre: Fantasy
IR Verdict: A promising addition to the high fantasy genre, Daniel Thomas Valente’s THE SINS OF KINGS is an ambitious, engrossing debut that will captivate readers who crave more from fantasy than just sword fights and sorcery.
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TOO FAST
Genre: Popular Fiction
IR Verdict: In TOO FAST, Erik E. Morales offers a harrowing, heartfelt portrait of lives touched by abuse, neglect, and hope.
WHEN THE SMOKE CLEARS
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
IR Verdict: In WHEN THE SMOKE CLEARS, a raw and atmospheric novel, Kat Edwards examines the layers of grief and generational trauma with a touch so deft it’s almost restorative.
OVERMORROW
Genre: Paranormal
IR Verdict: Whatever it may appear to be at first, OVERMORROW by H.L. Cherryholmes never stays that way for long: a “bottle story” that spans time and space, bending minds and genres in a three-pronged story of redemption.
TRAUTEROSE
Genre: Memoir
IR Verdict: TRAUTEROSE (Growing Up in Postwar Munich) by Elisabeth Haggblade offers an uncompromising, moving, and elegiac memoir of a deprived childhood in postwar Germany.
WHERE TWO WORLDS TOUCH
Genre: Memoir
IR Verdict: WHERE TWO WORLDS TOUCH is more of a memoir than a travelogue, but author River Faire conveys the various sensations associated with life in another country, identity crisis, and the possibility of a second chance at love with verve and feeling.
LOOPHOLE
Genre: Young Adult
IR Verdict: LOOPHOLE, the debut YA novel by Alex Hugie, is well-paced, packed with action, and works as a sophisticated allegory: a moral conundrum tackling issues of freedom and control.