Jennifer Huston Schaeffer | Biographies and Memoirs
Jennifer Huston Schaeffer's memoir, Mommy's Boy, is a unique story of a bond between a woman and her canine son, a story of the transformative decade she spent with Benny, a rescued Westie-Maltese mix who became her “doggie soulmate.” Following heartbreaks and realizing traditional motherhood might not be her future, Jennifer adopts Benny in 2014, finding unconditional love that heals her loneliness. The narrative follows their journey from Chicago to Indianapolis, where Benny helps Jennifer pursue a romance with Brad. Together, they face Benny’s complex health battles, including pancreatitis and gallbladder surgery, treating him as their child. For how long can they keep Benny with them?...
Continue ReadingJeffrey L. Carrier | Fiction — Thriller
Jeffrey L. Carrier's Coal Dust on Purple Asters is a collection of three interconnected stories set in the coal fields of Eastern Kentucky. In ''Rain on Chinquapin Holler,'' Vergie Hicks endures her husband's infidelity until a devastating flood prompts a sacrifice that might save the children. “A Sprig of Purple Asters” follows May Owens during the Depression, who burns her cabin to escape her criminal brothers. But the outcome delivers the opposite of her expectations, a redemption she never saw coming. “Red Snow in the Kentucky Woods” reveals a decades-old family secret when grandson Cory tracks down his missing uncle, James Herald, who fled a mining destiny after accidentally killing his...
Continue ReadingD.J. Paolini | Romance - Historical
D.J. Paolini's The Paladin of Rimini is a compelling multi-generational saga spanning from 1982 to 2017. Angelina Fabrizzi is a woman burdened by severe family abuse and financial ruin. After her mother, Isabella, was forced into marriage and died from cancer, Angelina suffered through an abusive union with Giovanni until her godmother, Valentina, a fierce former carabinieri, finally intervened. In 2017, widowed and in heavy debt, Angelina meets Benjamin LaRocca, an American travel writer, on a train to Rimini. Benjamin becomes her tenant, and their shared kindness quickly blossoms into romance. As Valentina protects them from the past, she must reckon with her secrets as well. While Angelin...
Continue ReadingRon Morris | Thriller
In a Country with No Name by Ron Morris follows Bert Mars, a young English teacher in Bangkok who abandons his teaching job for what he believes is a glamorous opportunity with CLB, a television network owned by Thai tycoon Chiang. Transferred to an unnamed neighboring country, Bert becomes entangled in a conspiracy to overthrow Prime Minister Thaw Kai after a business dispute over broadcasting rights. Recruited into Chiang’s inner circle, Bert helps install communications equipment for a coup attempt. Will he and his friends succeed in this daring mussion to overthrow a government or will this insane adventure become his undoing? The answers are surprising. Ron Morris delivers a comp...
Continue ReadingMatthew Fults | Fiction - Thriller- Conspiracy
Nikolai's Secret (The Ukraine Stories) by Matthew Fults is a Cold War thriller narrated by Nikolai Kovalenko, a Ukrainian electronics technician employed by the KGB-affiliated surveillance division of the Soviet Ministry of Communications. Spanning 1965 to 1983, the story traces Nikolai’s career from army conscription in Leningrad to a classified facility in Brovary, Ukraine, where he discovers a tape recording of a conversation between East German Stasi agent Dieter Werner and co-conspirators plotting regime change in Poland. When his supervisor is found murdered, shot in the head in his home, and Werner begins hunting for the recording, Nikolai must walk carefully. Nikolai now possesses a...
Continue ReadingAJ Streator | Poetry - General
AJ Streator’s From the Shallow End to the Deep End is a gorgeous collection of ninety-five sonnets that capture the author’s experiences, psyche, and autobiographical journey through varying shades of life. Structured clearly into three sections—The Shallow End, Middle of the Pool, and The Deep End—the collection features themes ranging from nostalgic childhood memories and family bonds to the painful experiences of divorce, mental health struggles, and aging. The poems are a reflective ledger, examining the author's intimate relationships with his mother, father, siblings, and children, while exploring resilience, faith, and redemption. Rather than adhering strictly to traditional romantic...
Continue ReadingAlisa Jean | Romance
Matthew (A Los Angeles Quakes Hockey Series, Book 3) by Alisa Jean is just as tantalizing as the first two books in the series. This entry introduces another unique, compelling hero, a character as genuinely flawed and lovable as those in the other books. Meet Matthew Holt, a Hockey player for the L.A. Quakes team and a man who will do anything for his team. He spares no energy when he plays and can even get brutal if that is what it takes to defend the team and teammates. Then something bad happens: he is traded to a team thousands of miles from home, away from friends and family. And he doesn’t like that. Now his anger has only one outlet—the hockey pitch. But something else is happening:...
Continue ReadingOliver Libby | Non-Fiction - Government/Politics
Strong Floor, No Ceiling: A Bold Plan to Rebuild the American Dream—for Everyone by Oliver Libby offers a radically moderate blueprint for a fractured nation. Entrepreneur and policy innovator Oliver B. Libby urges us to move beyond division with a pragmatic vision rooted in both tradition and innovation, equity and growth. Libby’s “Strong Floor” approach ensures every American has access to healthcare, education, and opportunity—while his “No Ceiling” philosophy champions the limitless ambitions that drive progress. Inside, you’ll find actionable strategies to restore trust in institutions and elections, a new model for bipartisan cooperation, and a call to civic renewal. Learn how capital...
Continue ReadingAlan J. Hesse | Children-Educational
It was supposed to be an easy, delightful journey to return Penguin to Antarctica, but Captain Polo and her clever sidekick, Penguin, are drawn into perils they never anticipated. Tex Greedyman is a ruthless oil tycoon with devastating plans for the Amazon, and from the rainforest's heart to Rio’s enchanting streets, Captain Polo and Penguin are on a whirlwind adventure packed with action and discovery. They'll scale Sugar Loaf Mountain's cable car, dodge a furious bull at a southern cattle auction, and uncover nature-based climate solutions in the Atlantic Forest. Along the way, they confront pressing environmental crises while discovering inspiring community-driven innovations. Will they m...
Continue ReadingJulian Lighton | Business and Investing
Julian Lighton’s Navigating Your Next delivers a rigorous, experience-backed roadmap for professionals seeking meaningful career transitions. The book is specifically written for those seeking to find their ideal careers and the path to get there. The author taps into his tenure at McKinsey & Company and Cisco to draw timeless lessons for readers, developing a seven-step methodology —Initiate, Insight, Imagine, Investigate, Implement, Increase, and Inspire—that helps career professionals to rethink, redraw their path, and pursue it. The seven steps are organized across three phases: finding, getting, and living your next role. The “Four Axis Framework” provides tools for self-a...
Continue ReadingGiancarlo Roversi | Fiction - Science Fiction
Giancarlo Roversi’s Pulstar I: The Swan Barely Remembers launches you into a dystopian Astralvia where astronomer Jeral Murh, a person haunted by trances of an alien past, searches for her missing sister, Jessi, while pursuing a controversial theory about Pulstar, a hidden dimension of dark energy where consciousness transcends physical form. Parallel narratives follow Aris Castilho, a disillusioned engineer who suffers from recurring dreams of a reddish jungle and deadly pursuit, hinting at a former life on the planet Chrilarm. And then there is Esther Bernarbh, a traumatized woman indoctrinated by the Damul cult to believe Aris is the prophesied King of Verwins. Their paths cross in a...
Continue ReadingLaurel Colless | Children - Adventure
Knights Unite is the fourth book in the Peter Blue Series by Laurel Colless, and it follows Riva du Lac, who is determined to uphold her promise to avoid detentions at Spiral Hall. But a sea cleanup reveals Shem, a mythical fish boy, and a surprise honor from the Spiral Knights forces her to choose between rules and friendship. Meanwhile, Peter Blue has a vision of a water-dwelling monster. Can their unlikely alliance save the knights—and the world? Laurel Colless captures the delicate balance of environmental activism and adolescent adventure through the eyes of Riva, the determined twelve-year-old protagonist. The character development is both nuanced and engaging, particularly in Riva’s j...
Continue ReadingColin Dodds | Fiction - Literary
The Reign of the Anti-Santas by Colin Dodds is a unique and audacious Christmas tale that takes readers on a rollercoaster ride through a world where the holiday spirit collides head-on with corporate greed, scandal, and societal change. The story is narrated by Elvin, an elf with a front-row seat to the evolution and devolution of Christmas. Elvin's journey begins when he unwittingly accompanies Santa Claus on a Christmas Eve trip, setting the stage for a decades-long adventure filled with intrigue and danger. Dodds creates a narrative that includes Santa's secret affairs, the PR scandal that catapults Rudolph to fame, and the encroachment of humanity on the North Pole. What makes this book...
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Julian Lighton (Advantage Books)
Julian Lighton’s Navigating Your Next delivers a rigorous, experience-backed roadmap for professionals seeking meaningful career transitions. The book is specifically written for those seeking to find their ideal careers and the path to get there. The author taps into his tenure at McKinsey & Company and Cisco to draw timeless lessons for readers, developing a seven-step methodology —Initiate, Insight, Imagine, Investigate, Implement, Increase, and Inspire—that helps career professionals to rethink, redraw their path, and pursue i...
Giancarlo Roversi ()
Giancarlo Roversi’s Pulstar I: The Swan Barely Remembers launches you into a dystopian Astralvia where astronomer Jeral Murh, a person haunted by trances of an alien past, searches for her missing sister, Jessi, while pursuing a controversial theory about Pulstar, a hidden dimension of dark energy where consciousness transcends physical form. Parallel narratives follow Aris Castilho, a disillusioned engineer who suffers from recurring dreams of a reddish jungle and deadly pursuit, hinting at a former life on the planet Chrilarm. And then t...
Matthew Fults (Tradecraft Werks Inc.)
Nikolai's Secret (The Ukraine Stories) by Matthew Fults is a Cold War thriller narrated by Nikolai Kovalenko, a Ukrainian electronics technician employed by the KGB-affiliated surveillance division of the Soviet Ministry of Communications. Spanning 1965 to 1983, the story traces Nikolai’s career from army conscription in Leningrad to a classified facility in Brovary, Ukraine, where he discovers a tape recording of a conversation between East German Stasi agent Dieter Werner and co-conspirators plotting regime change in Poland. When his supervis...
Peter D. Banko (Forbes Books)
Peter D. Banko’s The Necessary Goodbye is a candid leadership manual that reframes termination not as a managerial failure but as an essential, albeit underutilized, tool for organizational health. The author shares his experience that spans two decades as a CEO handling financial turnaround, and argues that firing—whether termed “freeing up futures” or “involuntary separation”—is often the most compassionate act a leader can undertake. Yet, this experience can come with a sense of guilt for many leaders. In this book, he teaches lead...
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