Reviewed by Haley Perry

A sexy story following an unbreakable bond formed in the most unlikely circumstances

High Prince Jarren Graf has been forced to flee his home planet, Lynta, after his father’s death leads to conflict over the ascent to rulership. He just wants to blend in among the Terrans and avoid his all-too-certain execution.

He didn’t expect to find his boss’s high-achieving assistant Lissa Reyes. From the moment Jarren first smelled her, he knew they were perfect biological mates. He must be careful exchanging scents though; marking her with his scent could make her vulnerable to the bounty hunters tracking him.

After dancing around one another all of Jarren’s first week in the office, Jarren reveals his full scent to Lissa, sparking the first of many steamy moments. However, Lissa’s prior traumatic experience with office romances leads her to run. Now carrying his unmasked scent, she is attacked and has to be saved by Jarren.

Realizing that he has now put her life in danger, Jarren takes Lissa and her daughter Jasmine on the next adventure on his journey to break the corrupt caste-system plaguing Lynta.

To Desire the Stars is a novel to read in a frenzy. The novel’s high-stakes, intriguing setting, emotional intensity, and immediate action give you what you asked for from the very beginning.

The worldbuilding is superb, from the creation of new alien species all the way down to human office politics. The characters are three-dimensional with clear motives, dynamic pasts, and humanizing details. Even the dual point of view is handled with great care and purpose as Jarren and Lissa engage with one another and their conflicts. Getting both of their perspectives allows readers to get a better grasp of the wider world, especially given their species’ different expectations.

And the romance! The book is infused with sexual chemistry, and as time passes, their passion takes root and extends beyond the concept of the biological mate. I loved the clever connection between smell and the lust-to-love storyline playing out.

The writing style is deliberate and makes the spicy scenes all the more intense. Campbell does a great job with galactic politics and the concept of fated mates as well. There’s a real emotional gravity to the mundane moments here.

If you couldn’t tell, I had a great time with To Desire the Stars and think you would too. Sci-fi romance readers: rejoice at the characters, the action, the spice, and the finely drawn world.

Thank you for reading Haley Perry’s book review of To Desire the Stars by Venus Campbell! If you liked what you read, please spend some more time with us at the links below.

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Reviewed by Andrea Marks-Joseph

Part career memoir, part nonprofit guidebook—entirely inspiring

No Woman Left Behind follows Kate Grant in her journey from working in the advertising industry—having checked all the career boxes she aimed for—and wondering if she could make a more powerful impact on society.

This tremendous, unpredictable, unparalleled journey leads Grant to find (then lose, then reconnect with, then lose again, only to succeed far beyond expectations) her calling at the Fistula Foundation. 

The Fistula Foundation has done groundbreaking, lifesaving work in raising awareness about the needless traumatic childbirth injury (caused by inaccessible medical services and various gender inequality issues) that results in the development of a fistula (a hole, often between the vagina, bladder or rectum), which leaves women continuously leaking urine, feces, or both and consequently rejected by their husbands and communities. 

The Foundation also raises funding for hospitals throughout the world (this avoidable childbirth injury is most prevalent in Africa and Asia’s most rural, poorest regions) which provide the relatively simple surgical repair of fistulas, offering these women a new beginning to their lives, often after years of isolation due to shame and misinformation about their incontinence.

No Woman Left Behind is an immensely valuable guidebook for women working (or aspiring to work) in nonprofits, a wake-up-call to anyone feeling unfulfilled working in policy and government-funded services. It’s a book about how it’s not too late to change careers and make meaningful change that feels personal and important.

If you’re looking for an empowering read that will enlighten you to a societal issue and its daring (yet deceptively simple) solution, and bring you along the winding road toward each step of its success, you’ll get what you’re looking for and feel inspired from this book. 

My heart broke reading about the young Ethiopian woman whose “family all contributed money for the bus fare” into the city when her neighbor learned that fistula treatment was possible, only for her to get “kicked off the bus because she was leaking. So she walked the last five kilometers” to the hospital. 

And my heart soared each time the small group of go-getters at the Fistula Foundation office rallied their way into winning landscape-shifting publicity or funding that could bring even a handful more women the healing that this brave Ethiopian woman, and millions of other woman globally, prayed for. The No Woman Left Behind narrative is powerful and provides a fascinating perspective of feminism that feels modern and fresh in the canon of women’s history.

The quotes at the start of each chapter can feel disjointed from the contents of some chapters. They set up expectations of the forthcoming story but will occasionally do it inaccurately and seemingly out of context. Some quotes, of course, fit well, like an African proverb as a suggested business practice or a college advisor quoting Kurt Vonnegut at an important juncture of her life: “A step backward, after making a wrong turn,” truly is “a step in the right direction.”

Though she worked behind the scenes in major movements in advertising and government, author Kate Grant doesn’t always see that what she’s seeing is strategic storytelling and not exactly truth. Some of her opinions feel predictable and untrue to the broader truth. I was occasionally disappointed and perplexed by the lack of meaningful consideration of race. Grant also praises pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson, even if briefly, which seems an odd choice for a book related to people living on the African continent over the last decade. But her heart is in the right place. She is willing to admit her mistakes, and she has been able to shape her aims into a tremendous, global impact, so I can’t hold it against her. 

I was moved by Grant’s frequent openness to share her mistakes, her errors, her embarrassments, and admit in specific situations that she may not have responded with as much patience or consideration as she recalls in the way she relays past events to us. Countless women will learn vital lessons from this willingness to share her professional (and personal) failures so unselfishly and unselfconsciously, whether it be her romantic relationships or raising issues in her boardroom meetings. The author takes us as far back as her first advertising job and fledgling internships in the 80s, through the 2008 financial crisis and the development of the internet, to as recently as organizational decisions in the years following the COVID-19 lockdowns—and still she manages to surprise and impress us with valuable teachable moments.

Grant brings us along on her discovery of the natural ineffectiveness of US foreign aid policies and provides examples of how the UN and USAID fails the people it claims to serve on the ground. These are lessons many of us had to learn the hard, heartbreaking way—from the realities of security precautions in expat life, to concerns about transparency at the highest level of aid work, where she worked with names and faces you’ll recognize from news channels, C-SPAN, assigned college readings, and pop culture.

The conversations she shares, and even the specifics of professional dealings with organizations, donors, and remarkable women will ensure that No Woman Left Behind is an invaluable tool for anyone with genuine interest in what it’s like to work in the global nonprofit sector. Kate Grant explores the impact of media moments like an interview on the Oprah show or being featured by a prominent writer in his New York Times’ columns and how she was able to steer the foundation into a direction where it could become a major operation, which she described as the “Smile Train of Vaginas.” 

“The late Egyptian public health leader Professor Mahmoud Fathalla said it powerfully: “Women are not dying because of diseases we cannot treat. They are dying because societies have yet to decide their lives are worth saving.” 

No Woman Left Behind and the Fistula Foundation must be praised for its direct intentions to address, publicize and mobilize to reduce and prevent thesystemic failures that allow for the fistulas to be created in the first place. The Foundation taking this forward-thinking and unwavering direction with imaginative, detailed planning is down to Kate Grant’s “imposter” status, and her heart truly being in helping the women, but also in her drive to execute her solution-driven plans to the fullest.

These were not talking points to Grant, and they are not simply stories that make good marketing copy. She’s in this business to eradicate a societal failure that has become a medical one, robbing women of their social lives and stealing the joy and wisdom these women would bring into their communities had they not been isolated from them due to their incontinence. Part of this remarkable outlook is the author’s understanding and commitment to ensuring that local doctors are empowered with the skills to serve their own people in-country. That is in itself rare and commendable.

It feels like a gift that the author brings us along on the ups and downs of her professional journey so openly: From the in-country hospital CEO replacement and consequent board failures that resulted in the devastating group-resignation of local doctors to the board meeting moment when “the hazy dream I’d had when I left Madison Avenue more than a decade earlier to try to make a small dent in global poverty had finally started to come into focus.”

No Woman Left Behind is a window into the stories of women who were almost immediately isolated and rejected by their husbands and communities after their traumatic childbirths, most of whom lived in the emotional darkness, loneliness, and medical neglect of the resulting fistula for years. 

This is also the story of the women—hospital volunteers, surgeons, doctors in training, translators, fundraisers, board members, donors, investors, office workers in nonprofit admin offices, and so many more—who have worked fiercely and terribly hard for the opportunity to provide a surgery that could repair the fistula and bring them confidently back into their social and academic lives.

Readers should be aware that throughout the book, the author recounts the harrowing stories of teenage girls who were raped and whose traumatic birthing experiences sometimes involving rape, others neglect, most of which resulted in stillbirths and the development of the fistula. These stories are painful every time, heartbreaking every time, no matter how concisely she tells them, no matter how many smiles are packed into either side of her visit to their hospital bed.

No Woman Left Behind would be a great choice for young adults with interest in this sector, whether to volunteer in the region or study with intentions to work in a field that will help alleviate the effects of global and gender inequality. It’s also a book for those working in the nonprofit sector, as the author’s hard-won lessons on clear dos and don’ts could save crucial on-the-ground relationships from being fractured and save them months of internal battles with colleagues.

It’s impossible not to be impressed and grateful for the lives saved and changed by the author’s fearless commitment to honoring all the women she works with and all the women she was able to help at the Fistula Foundation. Readers will feel inspired by her commitment and empowered by her fierce passion in her closely-held life’s mission. It’s never too late. After all, how could it be, if it’s a step in the right direction.

Thank you for reading Andrea Marks-Joseph’s book review of No Woman Left Behind by Kate Grant! If you liked what you read, please spend some more time with us at the links below.

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Reviewed by Andrea Marks-Joseph

A refreshingly messy woman is forced to face her painful past through movie-scenario magic, discovering she’s worthy of rom-com love

A powerful psychic enters Sophie Sweet’s life at a carnival and magically transports her into various movie-like settings. Through this strange magic, Sophie reluctantly comes to terms with the fact that her painful youth (filled with parental neglect, bullying, and emotional abuse) doesn’t exclude her from being deserving of love as depicted in the movie scenes she mocks.

We first meet Sophie at the carnival, where her best friend insists on getting a psychic reading from a mysterious woman named Tiffani—and that’s where a disastrous series of ‘How did I end up here? Also, where the heck is here? Should I be asking when is here?’ chapters begins.

For the majority of this book, Sophie is thrust from one rom-com-gone-wrong scenario that feels vaguely inspired by her life to another, and in each of them, Jodie is there. “That’s how it had always been with Jodie. No amount of cruelty from my parents, or the world, couldn’t be washed away by her comfort. If you looked up the word “safe” on the internet, a gif of Jodie smiling, big and goofy, would appear.”

In every new scenario, Sophie wakes up suddenly, disoriented and upset to not be home, but makes sure to find Jodie, her “best friend on this whole godforsaken planet…a stunning Black goddess” who has been with her through it all—and whose bright smile “could illuminate the whole town with that wattage.” In typical movie fashion, in each new environment, Sophie must work to convince Jodie that she is trapped in a dream-mirage-psychic trip, and figure out how to achieve the emotional unlocking that will free her from the situation and—hopefully, eventually, somehow—send her back home to reality. 

“Feelings of inadequacy? I did my best to never have feelings in the first place!” I adore Sophie’s raw honesty in this book and see that she’s leaned deeply into quirky narration and chaotic behavior as a shield against the way she’s been treated for most of her life, especially in her painful formative years. When she begins to gain a sense of confidence and accept her self-worth, I found myself underlining quotes and feeling quite emotional reading the phrases of support that Jodie and the psychic Tiffani use to encourage Sophie to love herself.

Nelson uses fun chapter titles (“10 Things I Hate About Myself,” “To All the Boys I’ve Destroyed Before,” “The Princess Diarrhea-ies”) and clever references to each setting being a mirage of sorts (“Déjà Vu Senior High School” and locations like the “Southern border of Pretendia.”) Sophie’s bisexuality is written with a joyful authenticity that queer readers will particularly enjoy—and it’s charmingly refreshing to have a female main character who unashamedly ogles women’s cleavage, frequently claims to be pooping dramatically as her go-to-lie in complicated situations, and makes jokes about having seen similar things in porn. 

I’m not sure the book fits the category of rom-com, as the majority of the story is neither particularly funny nor romance-focused. There’s certainly an entertaining and satisfactory storyline, but it’s not a comedy and is more focused on personal development, overcoming internalized trauma, and Sophie discovering self-worth in a way that makes me believe this would be a fantastic recommendation for readers of women’s fiction.

There’s frequent mention of the cruelty Sophie faced when she was growing up and some really traumatic things she has to relive during the psychic adventure she refers to as a “kidnapping,” including a case of a spy camera in the toilet she’s using; misogyny, sexual harassment, and a combination of the two in an incident where a group of men are tasked with performing an examination to establish her virginity (She is able to stop them before it happens, though).

The first movie scenario in Attack of the Rom-com is an unpleasant and extended experience where Sophie must relive her high school experience of being bullied and berated on multiple fronts. Frankly, Sophie’s experience is unenjoyable for most of the first half of the book, as she must banter with people who try to give her makeovers, and discuss the disturbing parental neglect and childhood horrors that made her feel unworthy of kindness. Once we shift away from her teenage years, there is a more playful rom-com energy that genuinely feels rewarding by the end of the book.

The fierce friendship between Jodie and Sophie creates a strong, believable ground on which their romance eventually is revealed as a possibility. Their road to love is appropriately awkward, filled with movie-related interruptions, period-specific shenanigans, and crafted with true heart. “We locked eyes. In my whole life, nobody ever looked at me that way. Like I was made of golden candy or something. So, naturally, I ruined it. I stepped back and cleared my throat. “I would also save you from the Vagina Wizards.””

Attack of the Rom-com’s ending is sweet and friends-to-lovers romantic. Readers simply shouldn’t expect their love story to be the focus of the book. I’d recommend you go into this tale expecting a powerful journey of personal development and an inspiring narrative about a complex, brilliant, queer woman who learns that what has happened to her doesn’t mean she isn’t deserving of being treated with the adoration she craves in the deepest parts of her heart.

Thank you for reading Andrea Marks-Joseph’s book review of Attack of the Rom-Com by Martti Nelson! If you liked what you read, please spend some more time with us at the links below.

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Reviewed by Melissa Suggitt

Hit the court with Recruiting Blue Chip Prospects—a slam dunk of a coming-of-age tale

In Ken Hogarty’s Recruiting Blue Chip Prospects, readers are transported to Sacramento in 1991. Through the eyes of high school senior Patrick Kiernan, we’re granted a front-row seat to a world where dreams, ambitions, and the seedy underbelly of high-stakes college athletic recruitment collide in a spellbinding narrative.

The story revolves around Patrick, a young journalist-in-the-making who secures his dream job in the sports section of a local newspaper. He is our guide through a tumultuous year at the prestigious Catholic school LaSalle, where he navigates the highs and lows of his fellow student, T.R. Ward, a promising blue chip basketball prospect. 

When T.R.’s mentor and substitute father figure is accused of reaping under-the-table rewards from prospective colleges on T.R.’s behalf, readers are thrown into a vivid portrayal of how college recruitment operated four decades ago. Hogarty fearlessly exposes the predators who sought to exploit underprivileged boys, especially those of color, trying to create better lives than those of generations before them.

While the core of the novel centers on high school athletics and the ever-enticing world of sports journalism, Patrick’s personal life adds a layer of complexity that opens the story to a wider audience. His struggle to maintain a relationship with his girlfriend Suzie, who has recently become “born-again” and found solace in her newfound faith, offers an intriguing counterpoint to the sporting drama. The tension between the couple highlights the broader theme of personal growth and the challenges of maturing relationships in the face of evolving beliefs.

Recruiting Blue Chip Prospects is a riveting tale of both the quest for athletic greatness and the messy and multifaceted journey of becoming a man. It dives deep into the turbulence of teenage emotions, offering valuable life lessons through the lens of Patrick’s favorite English teacher, Mr. Wilson. These lessons range from choosing the moral high ground to navigating changing and deepening male friendships at the precipice of adulthood to understanding the complexities of teenage hormones and first loves. The book does a fantastic job of encouraging open and healthy emotional expression, starkly contrasting the toxic masculinity often associated with the sports world, particularly in the 1980s.

In addition to its thematic depth, the narrative excels in character development. Readers will witness the transformation of boys into men, their growth and self-discovery, and the lessons they learn along the way. As Patrick and his peers face the challenges life throws at them, they become more than just characters in a story; they become friends, brothers, and mentors, each with unique struggles and triumphs.

Incorporating Patrick’s writings, including notes, letters, news clippings, and school assignments, provides an intimate and human connection to the story. These passages serve as windows into his world, allowing readers to better understand his perspective and adding layers of authenticity to the narrative.

Hogarty’s writing is engaging and emotionally resonant, as he weaves a tale of scandal, success, betrayal, contrition, and the trials of manhood. The book is an amalgamation of heart-pounding sports sequences and gut-wrenching drama, delivering a story that caters to sports enthusiasts, drama lovers, and those seeking a coming-of-age story. 

Recruiting Blue Chip Prospects is more than just a sports novel. It’s a poignant exploration of the human condition, wrapped in the trappings of high school athletics and the enigmatic world of sports journalism. Hogarty’s storytelling prowess shines through. This book deserves a spot on your reading list, whether you’re a die-hard basketball fan or simply looking for an emotionally charged and thought-provoking read.

Thank you for reading Melissa Suggitt’s book review of Recruiting Blue Chip Prospects by Ken Hogarty! If you liked what you read, please spend some more time with us at the links below.

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Reviewed by Erin Britton

The interplay between shadow and light has far-reaching and unexpected consequences for a largely unhealthy relationship in Silhouette in Free Light.

Capturing a series of day-to-day events in which the initial mundanity belies the deeper profundity, Ethan R. Ray’s Silhouette in Free Light offers an often poignant exploration of the nature of love, the mystery of the everyday, and the delicate balance between shadow and light when it comes to human relationships. The story centers on the intertwining lives of Clyde and Cassandra, two troubled and sometimes troubling individuals navigating the complexities of love, identity, and the haunting specters of the past.

The story begins with an intimate portrayal of Cassandra, a woman with an enigmatic past and an allure that captivates the narrator, Clyde, although he notes “I loved her only as much as a man could love.” They’ve been together for an unknown period, likely a while, but there are still many mysteries and secrets between them. “We always loved each other but sometimes the love was off because of a certain way someone had looked at her, but at least we had each other.” As such, it’s clear from the outset that trouble lurks within their relationship.

The couple live in New Hampshire and their unconventional lifestyle—“We get along well enough but we don’t have jobs. Somehow we have money but I don’t know where she gets it.”—is marked by moments of vulnerability and raw emotion. Clyde in particular seems to exist in an almost dreamlike state, with little understanding of the past and present and even less consideration of the future: “I don’t remember how we got the house and I don’t care.” Ray’s prose is both evocative and contemplative here, delving into the intricacies of human connections.

Both Clyde and Cassandra are deeply flawed and often peculiar characters, and their relationship, while often overtly loving, is very far from perfect. “I could have hit her. I could have yelled or I could have gotten a drink, for we still had a lot of wine. But I shrugged and sat down on the bed, not looking at her.” There are other hints, too, that the possibility of danger is never far away. Still, as Silhouette in Free Light progresses, Ray mixes these more shocking aspects with scattered moments and vignettes from their lives, with other characters only irregularly intruding.

Despite being the overwhelming focus, the two main characters, especially Cassandra (“She was the most mysterious thing in my life.”),are portrayed in a rather oblique fashion, which lends them both an air of mystery—whether ultimately deserved or otherwise—and provokes intrigue regarding how the many layers of their personalities will be unraveled. Ray skillfully combines moments of tenderness and moments of tension, creating a rich tapestry of emotions that mirrors the complexities of real-life relationships.

Given the ambiguous way in which Clyde and Cassandra (fail to) communicate, the motif of silence and the unspoken nature and quality of emotions runs throughout Silhouette in Free Light, adding another layer of depth to the story. The couple’s unorthodox love is palpable, but it is really the challenges they face, both internal and external, that serve as the background to Ray’s exploration of the overarching themes of acceptance and understanding. In this way, the outside world does occasionally—and violently—intrude upon their lives, for instance, when Clyde is hospitalized with alcohol poisoning.

Silhouette in Free Light is also rich in imagery, with Ray using vivid descriptions to paint scenes that are both intimate and atmospheric. His juxtaposition of mundane activities, such as grocery shopping (“Not the kinds that bristle with the unforgiving maliciousness of pre-baked lasagna, packaged ‘Chinese’ food or even soup, but I bought real things like tomatoes and onions and steak and rice.”), with profound moments of reflection (“I looked out the window and noticed the tree, but in a dull way, in a lost way I noticed the way that nature was around me.”) creates a nuanced narrative that captures the essence of the characters’ lives.

Moreover, the story takes several unexpected turns, introducing elements of suspense and intrigue, for example, when Cassandra receives a mysterious phone call from a persistent caller she alleges to be a car salesman. “Do not call this telephone because I do not want you to call it. Put away that piece of paper you have there in your hand which has my telephone number on it. You are calling from a pay phone. You are calling from New York. Stop calling this telephone—.” While they do not always give rise to significant consequences, these features adds a layer of tension to the story and further obscure its overall direction.

In dealing with the extraordinary moments in the ordinary lives of two pivotal figures, Silhouette in Free Light presents an engaging literary examination of the interplay of shadow and light in the human experience. Ray’s writing is both introspective and observant, inviting reflection on the nature of love, identity, and the elusive balance between freedom and connection.

Thank you for reading Erin Britton’s book review of Silhouette in Free Light by Ethan R. Ray! If you liked what you read, please spend some more time with us at the links below.

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Reviewed by Jaylynn Korrell

A stunning tribute to Mississippi through the eyes of some of its most talented writers

The Clinton Ink-Slingers in a non-profit writing group that has published two nonfiction books in the past, but now, they’ve plunged into the world of stellar short fiction with What Would Elvis Think? Set in their home state of Mississippi, these stories are, to put it bluntly, very, very good.

When I first think of Mississippi, I think of sweet tea and a smooth, slow pace. But not everyone does; some think first of mystery, of ghosts, of strong women. This authentic anthology features a wide variety of storytelling styles that speak to Mississippi life and the overall human experience.

This anthology begins with the gorgeous prose of “What If We Were Strangers?” by Kyle Summerall. This piece tells the story of a man who returns to his hometown to retrieve his father’s ashes. While there, he has to account for the things he’s inherited, but to his surprise, they end up being more internal than material. As in life, grief is a common theme throughout many of these pieces, and they often do it so well.

“If God was a lamb, and Satan a snake, my father was the slit of cold darkness one could find in the snake’s eye, and by then, if you’d been so unfortunate as to see it, it was too late.”

– From “What If We Were Strangers?”

Not all of the stories about loss are doomed to be sad. Matter of fact, a handful of them have me cheering for the women who initiate it. These women protrude a softness and strength that sometimes even surprises them.

For example, in “Moving the Finish Line” by Melanie Noto, the protagonist is in the hospital with her dying husband. But when her friends come in, we realize it’s not sympathy we’re stewing in—it’s rage. She has learned that he cheated on her again, adding to the countless times he has done so over their decades-long marriage, and she just can’t find the sympathy expected of her. But lucky for us, soon, she becomes the force of her own decision making. It’s an absolute pleasure to read this woman’s story and many others throughout the anthology.

The emotionally heavy stories in this book are balanced well with those that really lighten the mood. “The Thornton Line” is a deeply imaginative piece that I actually cheered for at the end; that, and “The Garden Club” packs a similar imaginative punch. The overall tone of the book is fairly heavy, so keep those tissues handy, but I hope you’ll find the mix of the lighter-toned stories just enough to keep you churning forward to a terrific end.

Though a Mississippian will find comfort in these familiar places and people, you won’t have to be anywhere near it in order to feel a connection to its stories. The vivid descriptions of the landscape and the heartfelt people who inhabit this place make for a really excellent anthology of short southern fiction.

Genre: Short Story Anthology

Print Length: 240 pages

ISBN: 978-1096035503

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Reviewed by Steph Huddleston

An epic romance on an adrenaline-pumping adventure 

Set in a dystopian America, in the deserts of Vegas, is an outlaw. Bonnie plays by her own rules and will do anything to protect her freedom from those who would steal it from her again. Jesse James and his brother Harry are on the run too, looking for a future and whatever it may hold. When the paths of Jesse and Bonnie cross, so do sparks, banter and unfortunately for them, danger. 

But as this unlikely band of outlaws makes their journey through the rugged landscape, they’ll soon find that you can only outrun your past for so long before it catches up to you. 

Co-authors Sevier and Smith have crafted a wonderful story from the beginning with Guns & Smoke. Told in dual perspective from both Bonnie and Jesse’s points of view, readers get deep into the minds, feelings, and histories of the pair. I’ve seen too often an unbalance in the dynamic in romance plots, but this is not the case with Bonnie and Jessie. Bonnie maintains her strength and leadership, and Jesse displays his vulnerability without either compromising who they are as they edge toward each other. 

“This was Bonnie. A murdering, one-and-done type of woman. Even if I did like her, I didn’t want just one night.”

The sexual and romantic tension is high throughout the book, with the co-authors expertly teasing both readers and characters with the promise of something more. The constant interruptions may feel a bit tiresome at times, but in the end, it doesn’t hurt the development of the characters and this strong relationship. The scenes with sexual content are not gratuitous, but instead, serve to further the plot and character bonding. This is especially important given the discussions of sexual abuse mentioned in some of the characters’ backstories. The chemistry between Bonnie and Jesse is sizzling, and readers are sure to fall in love with these broken but mending people. 

“The sun dipped low toward the horizon, setting the land ablaze in a wash of vibrant red and purple light.” 

The plot points and setting are intentionally (and beautifully) reminiscent of an old Western film. Expect gun-slinging outlaws, horse races, long and dusty train rides, as well as a few unexpected plot surprises along the way. The ending of this book is going to leave more than a few readers grasping desperately for the next in the series, just like I was. 

Guns & Smoke is a triumph of a book with characters who face real and dark internal struggles and who must learn to accept and face their demons. The supporting characters and worldbuilding are both vibrant and full without depending on too many overused post-apocalyptic tropes. For fans of Joss Whedon’s Westworld (only with a lot more romance), this is well worth adding to your TBR.

Genre: Dystopia / Romance / Thriller

Print Length: 364 pages

ISBN: 978-1734402346

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Reviewed by Joelene Pynnonen

A family drama thriller with a killer twist

When rookie private investigator Max Adara’s cousin is murdered, she is well aware that this might just be the case that breaks her. Not only does it mean digging into the private life of her cousin, one of the only family members who still loved her, but with this death in the family, Max’s estranged mother is back.

And with her comes all the buried memories Max had hoped to forget.

Meanwhile, Abril Hart is used to compartmentalizing. Between working as an arsonist for her father and being a wife and mother, her life depends on it. When someone starts burning on her home turf, she realizes that maybe this time she can’t keep work and home separate any longer.

But that separation has been the only thing that has kept her husband and son safe. With all of their lives in jeopardy, she is going to have to up her game and figure out who she can trust before time runs out.

A standalone thriller, Better Off Guilty is a truly appealing read for fans of domestic noir as well as those who enjoy flawed and often unreliable narrators. Telling the story from these two very different perspectives allows us to see this complicated story from both sides. It’s only as the tale unfolds that it becomes clear that there is more going on behind the scenes.

The choice of viewpoint characters is a good one. Max and Abril are worlds apart in wealth, education, manners, and personality, but they have a couple of important things in common. Both of them are falling apart under the pressure of their lives, but often at different times; while Max collapses under pressure, Abril thrives. While the differences between the viewpoint characters ensures that the story never stalls, Max or Abril aren’t always active participants in the story. Their actions can occasionally read like a string of reactions to outside forces rather than conscious choices.

Better Off Guilty takes a motley cast of characters and weaves a compelling narrative around them, especially in terms of their family issues which threaten to unravel their lives. Both struggle with intergenerational trauma and their actions are often the result of past events. It puts a relatable flavor into this larger-than-life story. It’s also refreshing that the novel doesn’t shy away from unreliable and sometimes unlikeable characters.

However, there are some parts of this novel that confuse me. At times, there isn’t enough information given at the right times to make it clear what is going on, especially closer to the beginning. The language isn’t always clear, and some sentences can read somewhat awkwardly, but all in all, these issues don’t stand in the way of my enjoyment of the novel—especially once that killer ending makes itself known. 

The portrayal of flawed, complex, but still sympathetic characters is brilliant in Better Off Guilty. As a debut, this proves to be a promising beginning.

Publisher: WordCrafts Press

Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Print Length: 223 pages

ISBN: 978-1952474491

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Reviewed by Tucker Lieberman

A candid, heartbreaking memoir of a mother-daughter bond lost over a refusal to acknowledge childhood sexual abuse

Wendy Hoke’s memoir Family Legends, Family Lies: A Daughter Speaks Truth About the Ultimate Betrayal is about how her life was profoundly affected by being sexually abused by her maternal grandfather. It is especially a story about how secrecy and shame destroyed her relationship with her mother; to this day, her mother will not acknowledge that the abuse occurred. A cautionary tale for families who might be inclined to sweep traumatic events under the rug, it shows how the trajectory of entire lives can be changed by denial. It’s also a frank tale of how one woman was able to build up her own self-awareness and self-assurance to come to terms with her past.

Drawing from the fabric of her family history, Hoke weaves a rich tapestry in this memoir, showing us the context for why she remained silent about her childhood abuse well into her adulthood. Without discussing exactly what her grandfather did to her, she reveals her own process of coming to terms with the abuse and her hope that she can shed light on “why anyone would keep these secrets.” This choice likely makes the book more accessible to readers who prefer to avoid details of violence or manipulation.

It’s truly an interesting and compelling way to tell a story; by discussing her abuse only in terms of its effects on her adult life, she proves how wide-ranging and long-lasting those effects are.

Hoke was adopted as a baby and grew up in a middle-class household in California in the 1960s and 70s. Her grandfather was a pastor in the American Lutheran Church and was, for a while, the regional bishop. At home, he was unquestionably the patriarch, setting “the rules and tone of the family.” The women in her family tended to take the role of serving the men. Unfortunately, “anything less than shining acclaim” for the patriarch “drew a sharp reprimand” from the man’s daughter, who was Hoke’s mother.

Her father, whom she loved, died in 1998. Unfortunately, she had visited him rarely in adulthood because she wanted to avoid her mother. In the several years following his death, a number of things changed for her, like her grandfather’s death in 2001 and learning that her long-distance love interest was also dying.

When the terrorist attack of September 11th occurred, she was working on a Navy base where she filed an internal complaint of sexual harassment against her boss. Her coworkers falsely accused her of not reporting to work on that day, and she later resigned.

Although she moved away from the area, a former coworker stalked and threatened her; authorities would not help. By telling the story in this way, Hoke implies that deaths within one’s inner circle (including the death of one’s abuser) can become emotionally linked to old memories. She also makes the reader feel her distress and outrage at not being believed about harassment, and thus she helps the reader understand why it seemed hopeless for her to take the risk of talking about what happened to her in childhood.

A door cracked open for her when the Catholic Church sex abuse scandal made high-profile national headlines in 2002. Meanwhile, her local news carried the story of a small girl who was kidnapped and murdered (a crime she does discuss in detail in this book). The story of the girl’s fate triggered Hoke’s own suppressed trauma: “I felt as if lightning had just ripped through me.” Since then, she has gradually claimed space to speak her truth.

In this book, she raises a few big questions. One is a major unknown detail—pointed out compassionately and curiously—about her mother: What was her childhood like? Hoke accepts that her mother might be hiding from a similar pain. As a child, Hoke, “filled with pain and terror,” never wondered who else her grandfather might have victimized in the same way; now, as an adult, she is able to raise the possibility. Maybe the same thing happened to her mother.

Another big question stems from her Christian faith. It is a theological question: How can faith in God, just by itself, be sufficient to forgive major sins? According to Hoke, it shouldn’t be. People who have committed wrongs should try to repair the damage and change their ways. Can an abuser, however, “even understand the depths of what he has done?” It is the nature of these questions to remain unanswered.

Eloquently invoking the metaphor of mountain climbing (she was a mountain climber herself when she was younger), and sharing the narrative of her personal maturation and growth, Hoke shows how she has slowly reclaimed her dignity and autonomy. She gently delivers a message for people who have been hurt: “Victims don’t shame the family,” she says; “it’s the perp who shames himself.”

Publisher: Atmosphere Press

Genre: Nonfiction / Family

Print Length: 146 pages

ISBN: 978-1647645618

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Reviewed by Joe Walters

★★★★★

Daisy, Bold and Beautiful is an absolute treat. Written by eleven-year-old phenom author Ellie Collins, this novel discusses important middle-grade topics such as standing up for yourself, dealing with grief, and making a new place feel like home—all while remaining focused on entertaining the reader and making sure we care for its main character. What else could we ask for?

This short book opens with D.J. (or Daisy Jane), a young girl who has just moved into a small condo with her father, only months after her mother has passed away. D.J. misses her mother deeply and her dad does too, but Dad is a strong, kind, and positive force that helps D.J. prepare for her next quest. He knows that D.J. will need to step up to the task of staying true to herself and making friends in her new school. But can she really do both?

Author Ellie Collins approaches grief and the loss of her mother so gracefully. Whenever D.J. falls asleep, she transports to a dream world filled with flowers and beautiful scenery. That’s where we meet Persephone, the goddess of Spring and the female figure D.J.’s been missing. Persephone shows the girl around her beautiful garden, nearly as beautiful as the one D.J. shared with her late mother, while helping her with the problems of her new school. The author lets readers, young and old, think for themselves with this one, never directly mentioning the relationship between her mother and Persephone. Instead, Collins encourages her middle grade readers to improve their analysis skills and think critically.

http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBH_MvkMsD0&feature=youtu.be

The writing is what really makes this novel shine. Not only does the author do a strong job in introducing middle-grade readers to words they may not be familiar with, but she succeeds in raising important questions and offering helpful solutions that its young readers can act on immediately. She may achieve her goals just a bit too easily in this novel, but for middle grade readers, we think it sends the right message that sometimes all it takes is just a little bit of effort.

Daisy, Bold and Beautiful (Fresh Ink Group, 2018) also displays a wonderfully effective pace throughout, unraveling both the plot and characterization with grace. We learn a lot from D.J. early and often, through small acts like leaving food behind the napkin holder, hoping that Dad won’t notice if she left it there, and through big actions like speaking to Hudson and daring to explore her differences with her new friends.

If Ellie Collins’s teacher hasn’t started using Daisy, Bold and Beautiful in her curriculum yet, we’re sure it’s just a matter of time. This young author has done an absolutely wonderful job, and we can’t wait to read more from her.

Purchase Daisy, Bold and Beautiful by author Ellie Collins HERE!

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