Reviews
Oleander Marriage
Eleanor Lerman (Mayapple Press)
Oleander Marriage by Eleanor Lerman is a profound and emotionally resonant poetry collection that deftly explores love, loss, memory, aging, and the inexorable passage of time. Through a series of richly textured poems, Lerman discusses the fragile threads that connect us to our past selves, loved ones, and the universe at large. The collection features personal reflections with mythic and cosmic imagery, creating a layered canvas that captures life's fleeting beauty and enduring scars. Poems like “A Girl on the Streets” and “Silver Rings and G...
Old Books and Faded Dreams
D. L. Norris (Outskirts Press)
Old Books and Faded Dreams by D. L. Norris is a captivating historical fiction novel that transports you to the picturesque town of Tilden, Nebraska. The story follows Maggie Davis, a strong and hardworking widow living in a grand Victorian estate with her lively nine-year-old daughter Jenna. Maggie’s life revolves around her bed-and-breakfast, a hub of community and conversation, with an eclectic cast of guests. Her business provides a venue for socializing, gossip, and at times, heated discussions. Maggie’s life is about to be upended when a...
Lessons III: Confident Conversations
Dr. LaDonna Marie (LaDonna Marie Books)
Confident Conversations Lessons III by Dr. LaDonna Marie is an uplifting collection of poetry that explores inner strength, faith, and personal growth. The poems combine heartfelt stories, biblical scriptures, and reflections to inspire readers to face life's challenges with confidence. Covering themes such as destiny, justice, healing, and divine connection, it encourages embracing one’s purpose with perseverance and faith in God's plan. The author’s poetic insights are powerful affirmations for releasing pain and embracing spiritual renewal....
Scoundrels & Cocktails
Joe Newell (Self published / Marsteles Enterprises)
Reid Franco is a rough-around-the-edges private investigator with a heart of gold. Once a baseball player and stuntman, now a reluctant hero with personal demons, Reid’s business is helping people solve their problems—though he struggles to fix his own. Reckless, stubborn, and a bit of a drinker, he dives headfirst into dangerous cases, from dismantling sex trafficking rings to confronting gangs. The narrative features intriguing episodes that are delivered with wit and humor, beginning with Reid stuck in traffic, pondering the idea of adding “...
The Torus Run
Harry Buck (Calliopezen Publishing)
In a near future where AI companions become inseparable from daily life, brilliant but introverted researcher Stash Novak creates “Twins,” personalized AI that form deep bonds with their owners. When a shadowy hacker collective steals sensitive data from his company and the NSA attempts to seize control, Stash goes on the run with Zero, his witty Twin. Teaming up with Naya Baptiste, a rogue scientist fleeing unethical experiments, they encounter Alia—Europe’s first legal AGI—and work to stabilize her. As a manipulative AI named Q threatens all...
Treacherous Hack (A Mike Stoneman Mystery)
Kevin G. Chapman (First Legacy Publishing)
Treacherous Hack by Kevin G. Chapman is the seventh book in the Mike Stoneman Thriller series, yet it remains a perfect read as a standalone mystery. This gripping crime thriller is set in the dark, dangerous underworld of New York City’s organized crime, cyber hacking, and political corruption. The story follows Detective Mike Stoneman and his partner, Jason Dickson, as they investigate the brutal murder of Lou Palazzo, a shop owner entangled in a web of data theft, Chinese espionage, and gang warfare. Meanwhile, young cyber-savvy students Rya...
American Educational Excellence: The Foundation of Our Values, Democracy, and Market Capitalism
Kenan E. Sahin (Forbes Books)
American Educational Excellence: The Foundation of Our Values, Democracy, and Market Capitalism by Kenan E. Sahin, PhD, offers a comprehensive and nuanced defense of American education, examining its core values, historical evolution, and unique institutional ecosystem. Sahin argues that American educational excellence is rooted in fundamental values such as initiative, innovation, family autonomy, community volunteerism, and a decentralized governance model. He traces the development of American educational institutions from colonial colleges...
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The Innovation Edge: How Large Companies Lose It and How to Get It Back
Merle Symes (Forbes Books)
Merle Symes's book, The Innovation Edge: How Large Companies Lose It and How to Get It Back, offers a comprehensive roadmap for large, mature organizations seeking to reignite their innovative capabilities. Symes emphasizes that in today’s rapidly changing, hypercompetitive world, continuous strategic innovation is not just advantageous but essential for survival. The book explores why established firms tend to lose their ability to innovate over time, and provides detailed principles, processes, and organizational shifts needed to transform in...
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YOUR KEY TO FINANCIAL FREEDOM | A Proven 3-Part System for Professionals Who Want to Clear Deep Money Beliefs So They Can Get Paid for Their Expertise
Mia Doucet (Bankerman Press)
In Your Key to Financial Freedom, Mia Doucet delivers a refreshingly unconventional approach to wealth-building for coaches, consultants, and service professionals who set their own fees. The book’s opening chapters focus on a crucial—yet often ignored—topic: the deep money beliefs and subconscious patterns we inherit from childhood. Doucet argues that our earliest experiences and family messages about money become ‘invisible codes’ that shape our earning potential far more than education or skills ever could. Through candid personal stories an...
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A Goode Inheritance
Paula Welch (Paula Welch)
In A Goode Inheritance by Paula Welch, Bartholomew (Bart) Goode, facing a terminal cancer diagnosis, summons his dysfunctional family to his grand estate, Cricklewood Hall, and shocks them with a will that is more a game than a gift. He leaves his fortune not to the most deserving, but to the first who can solve a series of cryptic puzzles—pitting siblings, children, and ex-wife against each other in a weeklong contest. As the family’s greed, old wounds, and betrayals come to the surface, alliances falter, secrets unravel, and the actual cost o...