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Editor's Pick

Reaper’s Dice, by V. J. Madsen—Book Review 

5.0
Reviewed by Maria Ashford February 12, 2025

In a genre increasingly cluttered with the same old tropes, V.J. Madsen’s “Reaper’s Dice” deals a fresh hand. This genre-bending fantasy debut novel follows Arno, a wood elf bounty hunter whose thousand-year quest to restore his lost homeland collides with the gritty…

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Editor's Pick

Charlotte’s Ghosts: The Mystery of the Vanishing Boy, by L. P. Simone—Book Review

5.0
Reviewed by Maria Ashford February 8, 2025

“Charlotte’s Ghost” breathes fresh life into the middle-grade ghost story by grounding its supernatural elements in real history. L.P. Simone’s novel follows thirteen-year-old Charlotte Cross, who moves to Manassas, Virginia after her father’s death in Afghanistan. During runs on the historic battlefield…

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Of Godlike Men, by Molly Colton—Book Review

4.5
Reviewed by Maria Ashford February 4, 2025

Molly Colton’s “Of Godlike Men” marks a bold entry into Southern Gothic literature, intertwining supernatural elements with the historical fabric of 1900s Florida. The novel centers on Griffin Quade’s return to his family’s tobacco plantation – a prodigal son with uncanny abilities…

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At the Risk of Recovery, by Finn Adair Morgan—Book Review

4.5
Reviewed by Maria Ashford February 4, 2025

“At the Risk of Recovery” by Finn Adair Morgan hits hard from its first pages, when Aran Moreau wakes up at a wharf with no memory of how he got there. What follows is a thrilling exploration of memory, guilt and violence…

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Editor's Pick

The Cloud Above Her Head, by Justine Miller—Book Review

5.0
Reviewed by Maria Ashford February 4, 2025

In her new poetry collection, “The Cloud Above Her Head”, Justine Miller maps the fault lines between identity and expectation through 105 poems that reflect on what it means to be seen – or to remain hidden. The work moves beyond mere…

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Shadow of the Queen, by Scott Finley—Book Review

4.5
Reviewed by Maria Ashford January 30, 2025

The ocean liner murder mystery is a well-worn genre, but Scott Finley manages to breathe fresh life into it with his new thriller, “Shadow of the Queen.” Set aboard the luxury liner Queen Victoria in the immediate aftermath of the 1929 stock…

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Editor's Pick

Divine in Essence, by Yarrow Paisley—Book Review

5.0
Reviewed by Maria Ashford January 29, 2025

In Yarrow Paisley’s unsettling collection “Divine in Essence,” reality bends and fractures across ten interconnected tales that blur the boundaries between horror, fabulism, and weird fiction. These stories plumb the depths of human consciousness while exploring the fluid nature of identity. The…

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Ice Cream, Ice Water, and the Boogeyman, by Pamela Bondar—Book Review

4.5
Reviewed by Maria Ashford January 29, 2025

In her touching debut poetry collection, Pamela Bondar takes readers on a raw and courageous journey through trauma, healing, and reclamation of one’s own life. The collection serves as a deeply personal and yet simultaneously universal exploration of how we carry, process,…

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Burning Shadows, by Haven Thorne—Book Review

4.0
Reviewed by Maria Ashford January 28, 2025

“Burning Shadows” is a competently crafted supernatural romance that blazes new ground in the genre, seamlessly blending elements of gothic romance with the classic ghost story. Haven Thorne’s steamy novel delivers a scorching tale of love, redemption, and the ghosts that haunt…

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Shock Pepper, by Blox Widdle Manor—Book Review

4.0
Reviewed by Maria Ashford January 25, 2025

Blox Widdle Manor’s “Shock Pepper” begins with the discovery of a corpse by a young boy. From this unsettling opening, the novel splits into three parallel stories: a small-town policeman investigating ritual murders while caring for his mentally ill wife; a Bangalore…

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