Book Review: Writers and Liars

Fifteen years ago, Maia Gold attended a prestigious (and very exclusive) writers retreat hosted by billionaire Argos Alexander on the Greek island of Eris. It’s where she wrote her first book, the one that should have launched a brilliant career. But something dark happened on that island, a betrayal that has hung over Maia ever since.

Now, Maia finds a familiar envelope in the mail. It’s an invitation to return to Eris, and according to social media, she’s not the only one from that first retreat who’s been invited back. Almost all of the writers from fifteen years before have returned to Eris, bringing unresolved resentments with them. This could be the second chance Maia needs to jump-start her dreams. A chance for reconciliation… or revenge.

Book Review: Dialogue

Robert McKee's popular writing workshops have earned him an international reputation. The list of alumni with Oscars runs off the page. The cornerstone of his program is his singular book, Story, which has defined how we talk about the art of story creation.

Now, in Dialogue, McKee offers the same in-depth analysis for how characters speak on the screen, on the stage, and on the page in believable and engaging ways. From Macbeth to Breaking Bad, McKee deconstructs key scenes to illustrate the strategies and techniques of dialogue. Dialogue applies a framework of incisive thinking to instruct the prospective writer on how to craft artful, impactful speech. Famous McKee alumni include Peter Jackson, Jane Campion, Geoffrey Rush, Paul Haggis, the writing team for Pixar, and many others.

Book Review: The War of the Roses

Jonathan and Barbara Rose are the perfect couple, living the dream in their beautiful house, filled with their precious antiques, their darling children, and their prized Ferrari in the garage. It’s all any red-blooded American could possibly want. But when Jonathan experiences a sudden heart attack (or so he thinks) Barbara realizes that she wants a new life, without him. There’s just one problem: they both want the house. For husband and wife, it’s not just a residence: it’s a passion, one that will escalate an ugly divorce into a full-blown battlefield, complete with weapons and casualties.

In this viciously black comedy, the Roses will each do whatever they can to destroy their better half—no matter the cost to themselves.

Book Review: Grommets

Two outcast best friends navigate the Sacramento suburbs of 1984, where they find a home in skateboard culture and punk rock.

Grommets, whose title springs from skater slang for a young up-and-coming skater or surfer, is both an authentic look at ’80s skate culture (a snapshot of the generation that turned skating into a worldwide phenomenon) as well as a heartfelt coming-of-age story following two friends from troubled homes navigating their damage in an era when no one cared.

Written by Rick Remender and Brian Posehn, with art by Brett Parson and Moreno Dinisio, will be published July 8, 2025. It collects issues #1-7. Image Comics provided an early galley for review.

Book Review: A Novel Murder

In the quaint English town of Hoslewit, the biggest names in crime writing have congregated to celebrate all things bookish and murderous. Author Jane Hepburn is determined to make her time at the Killer Lines festival worthwhile. This is her chance to change her fortunes and make her fictional Private Detective Baker a household name. And if she has to resort to sneaking into the book tent after hours to rearrange some books so hers are front and center, so be it.

But when Jane encounters the dead body of renowned (and reviled) literary agent Carrie Marks, the festival takes on a decidedly different tone. Joined by Carrie's newest client, debut novelist Natasha Martez, and the agency's hapless intern, Daniel Thurston, Jane decides to put her fictional sleuthing skills to use in the real world—she's going to solve the murder. But the list of suspects is long: seemingly everyone at the festival has a motive to kill Carrie, and the more Jane and her new friends investigate, the closer they come to a dangerous truth—one that’s stranger than fiction.

Book Review: A Willing Murder

Sara Medlar is a household name in romance, with millions of books sold. But lately, retirement has been boring her and she’s found herself back in her hometown of Lachlan, Florida, remodeling the grand old mansion she’d admired as a child. Then Sara’s niece Kate comes to town for a job in real estate; she approaches her estranged yet incredibly famous aunt for a place to stay while she gets herself settled. But when she arrives, she finds she’s not the only long-term houseguest. Jackson Wyatt, with his deniable good looks and charm, already has his own room and clearly has got her aunt wrapped around his finger.

Book Review: Toil and Trouble

A relative newcomer to Lily Dale, the quirky New York lakeside village populated by spiritual mediums, young widow Bella Jordan doesn’t have time to believe in supernatural entities. She has enough to tackle, what with running Valley View guesthouse, wrangling her seven-year-old son Max and their growing army of pets, and dealing with her lovable but meddlesome neighbors.

So when Pandora Feeney, Valley View’s highly eccentric – and reputedly highly psychic – owner, portentously predicts that something wicked this way comes, Bella’s more worried about the fact that Pandora’s announced she plans to move back into the guesthouse than about approaching danger. Besides, the local theatre is putting on a performance of Macbeth, so it’s no wonder that sorcery and black magic are in the air.

Lily Dale is safe. Bella’s sure of it. Even if one of her female guests at Valley View is setting her oddly on edge and Max is seeing witches behind every corner. Little does Bella know that a storm is coming, with the power to blow her life, and Max’s, right off course... or far, far worse.

Book Review: Revolution

Revolution is a detailed exploration into the era of Prince’s most prolific and groundbreaking music made with considerable inspiration and performed by a unique cadre of musicians he gathered and relentlessly drove to be the sonic, visual, and ideological reflection of his evolving vision. Although being the most self-contained, versatile, and prolific artist of his era, Prince reveled in the band, a multi-racial, intergender unit that acted as both family and loyal acolytes that embodied his ethos, expressed his pathos, and lifted him to rarified heights of pop dominance.

This is the story of the genre-shifting, multi-media, trailblazing Prince & the Revolution from their humble inception to their precipitous rise in celebrated hit singles, albums, films, and tours to their controversial and shocking demise.

Book Review: Etiquette for Lovers and Killers

It’s 1964 in the tiny town of Eastport, Maine, and Billie McCadie is bored to death. She’s surrounded by dull people with more manners than sense, and no sign of the intrigue or romance that fills her beloved novels. That is, until an engagement ring and cryptic love letter turn up, addressed to 'Gertrude'. Until she meets yacht-club handsome Avery Webster. Until the unsettling phone calls and visits from a man in a fedora begin. Until she's one of the last people to see Gertrude alive... and the first to see her dead.

Book Review: A Legionnaire's Guide to Love and Peace

On the eve of the battle that will decide the realm of Telrus’s fate, Katrien takes a hard look at her prospects. A mere legionnaire, she and her spear will be at the fore in the morning, facing off against the Demon Lord and his wretched army, and it’s all but certain she’ll perish in the fight. But if the end of the world is mere hours away, there’s no reason not to hook up with her handsome, dedicated battle partner, Emory—despite any antifraternization policies their centurion may have in place.

Only the world doesn’t end the next day. Instead, an insufferable prince raised in hiding comes out of nowhere with a plucky band of heroes, defeats the Demon Lord, and seals the rift to the hellish plane. The realm is saved. The war is over. And Kat suddenly has a lot more future than she knows what to do with. It’s a future that could include Emory. . . . if only he weren’t so set on staying enlisted in the very army Kat was unwillingly drafted into.

Book Review: Kill Your Darlings

Thom and Wendy Graves have been married for over twenty-five years. They live in a beautiful Victorian on the north shore of Massachusetts. Wendy is a published poet and Thom teaches English literature at a nearby university. Their son, Jason, is all grown up. All is well…except that Wendy wants to murder her husband. What happens next has everything to do with what happened before.

The story of Wendy and Thom’s marriage is told in reverse, moving backward through time to witness key moments from the couple’s lives—their fiftieth birthday party, buying their home, Jason’s birth, the mysterious death of a work colleague—all painting a portrait of a marriage defined by a single terrible act they plotted together many years ago. The secret, that has kept them bound together, has each wondering if they would be better off making sure their spouse carries it to the grave.

Book Review: Killer Deals at Mayview Mall

For childhood actor turned private eye Paul Washington, investigating a theft at his childhood mall was a dream come true. But when a body turns up the second day on the job, the case turns into a whodunnit. With his dream girl as the prime suspect, can the pop-culture-obsessed detective crack the case and clear her name before it's too late?

80s and 90s kids unite - this cozy mystery is ready to take your Gen X and Millennial hearts on a fast paced adventure through your childhood.

Killer Deals at Mayview Mall by Steven Templar will be published June 3, 2025. Mysterious Ink Publishing / Victory Editing provided an early galley for review.

Book Review: The Witch Roads

When an arrogant prince (and his equally arrogant entourage) gets stuck in Orledder Halt as part of brutal political intrigue, competent and sunny deputy courier Elen—once a child slave meant to shield noblemen from the poisonous Pall—is assigned to guide him through the hills to reach his destination.

When she warns him not to enter the haunted Spires, the prince doesn’t heed her advice, and the man who emerges from the towers isn’t the same man who entered.

The journey that follows is fraught with danger. Can a group taught to ignore and despise the lower classes survive with a mere deputy courier as their guide?

Book Review: Stupid TV, Be More Funny

The Simpsons is an American institution. But its status as an occasionally sharp yet ultimately safe sitcom that's still going after 33 years on the air undercuts its revolutionary origins. The early years of the animated series didn't just impact Hollywood, they changed popular culture. It was a show that altered the way we talked around the watercooler, in school hallways, and on the campaign trail, by bridging generations with its comedic sensibility and prescient cultural commentary.

Book Review: Pop Kill

Award winning creators Jimmy Palmiotti and Dave Johnson deliver an all-new graphic novel about what happens when the top two cola comapnies declare all out war on each other!

Imagine a world where the two dominant and competing Cola companies, each worth billions, are owned by former conjoined twins who are now separated and have grown to hate each other so much they hire assassins, saboteurs, and espionage personnel to meddle with each other on a daily basis. This is the story about brotherly love run afoul, and the people they enlist to do their dirty work.

Pop Kill by Jimmy Palmiotti, Dave Johnson and Juan Santacruz will be published August 19, 2025. It collects issues 1 to 4 of the series. Mad Cave Studios provided an early galley for review.

Book Review: Nostalgia

A reclusive rock star receives a mysterious package that forces him to face both his past and a resistance movement that represents all of the ideals he had once stood for.

In a world where fame can consume the soul, a once-revered musician has chosen isolation over the limelight. But when an unexpected package arrives at his doorstep, he's thrown into a whirlwind of memories, regret, and a rebellion that seeks to rekindle the ideals he abandoned.

Nostalgia by Scott Hoffman and Danijel Zezelj will be published June 17, 2025. the volume collects issues 1 to 5 of the 2023 series. Mad Cave Studios provided an early galley for review.

Book Review: Before Dorothy

Chicago, 1924: Emily and her new husband, Henry, yearn to leave the bustle of Chicago for the promise of their own American dream among the harsh beauty of the prairie. But leaving the city means leaving her beloved sister, Annie, who was once closer to her than anyone else.

Kansas, 1932: Emily and Henry have established a home in a farming community in Kansas. Aligned to the fickle fortunes of nature, their lives hold a precarious and hopeful purpose, until tragedy strikes and their orphaned niece, Dorothy, lands on their doorstep.

The wide-eyed child isn’t the only thing to disrupt Emily’s world. Drought and devastating dust storms threaten to destroy everything, and her home becomes a place of uncertainty and danger. When the past catches up with the present and old secrets are exposed, Emily fears she will lose the most cherished thing of all: Dorothy.

Book Review: Saturn's Favorite Music

Clara Jane is an alternative music-loving graduate fresh out of broadcast school in Detroit. Determined that she will be one of the lucky ones to make it in a competitive field, she lands her first job at a small market radio station in northern Michigan in the summer of 1992. The station's hyper-local programming (featuring lost farm animal reports and radio obits) and its mix of light hits and great oldies is a far cry from the rock star glamour she craves, but it is all part of "paying her dues." Clara must adjust to small town life and to being the only woman in an all male airstaff.

Clara's biggest supporter is the recently-divorced morning man Seth Jones. Clara and Seth share a sense of humor and a mutual love of different genres of music. They develop a deep friendship that might become something more. But just as Clara starts to become comfortable operating the board, the station is sold and staff members start to be replaced by automation. Will Clara find the radio fame she craves before the station goes completely robotic?

Book Review: Coded Justice

Avery Keene is back! The fan-favorite former Supreme Court clerk has finally gone out on her own, securing a prestigious position at a high-end law firm in Washington, D.C., where she is about to earn real money and get her life in order after a tumultuous run working as a clerk on the Supreme Court. With her reputation preceding her, Avery is quickly tasked at her new job with becoming a corporate internal investigator.

Her new client is Camasca—a mega-tech firm that's on the forefront of developing a new integrated AI system poised to revolutionize the medical industry, particularly by delivering vastly improved health care to veterans. The AI potential is breathtaking, but some disturbing anomalies have plagued Camasca in early testing—including the mysterious death of a Camasca engineer. Avery and her colleagues, Jared, Ling, and Noah, find themselves on a journey to determine whether the anomalies are mere technical glitches, or something much more concerning.

Book Review: Survivor - A Cultural History

Premiering in 2000, Survivor altered the landscape of network television from its first season, popularizing reality shows for audiences in the 21st century and quickly growing to a semi-annual release slate that has resulted in more than 46 seasons and hundreds of contestants. Over twenty years later, the series remains popular and a ratings hit, maintaining a devoted fanbase even as the television landscape has evolved and shifted to streaming.

In Survivor: A Cultural History, Joseph J. Darowski and Kate Darowski analyze how the iconic CBS show revolutionized television and has adapted and changed across decades of production.

Book Review: The Sin Bin

Dale “Dukes” Duquesne is a washed-up hockey player by day and a ghost, monster, and demon hunter by night. After each away game, Dukes finds the local legend that goes bump in the night and takes it down, locking it away in the Sin Bin. When his daughter, Cat, discovers the truth about his demon hunting, it becomes her dream to follow in his footsteps.

As they work their first case together, Cat will learn Dukes’ biggest secret, though. He doesn’t hunt monsters out of the kindness of his heart. He’s searching for someone that was taken by monsters years ago…his wife, and Cat’s mother, Marta! Together, they hit the road to save mankind and reunite their family.

Book Review: Atmosphere

Joan Goodwin has been obsessed with the stars for as long as she can remember. Thoughtful and reserved, Joan is content with her life as a professor of physics and astronomy at Rice University. That is, until she comes across an advertisement seeking the first women scientists to join NASA’s space shuttle program. Suddenly, Joan burns to be one of the few people to go to space.

Selected from a pool of thousands of applicants in the summer of 1980, Joan begins training at Houston’s Johnson Space Center, alongside an exceptional group of fellow candidates. As the new astronauts become unlikely friends and prepare for their first flights, Joan finds a passion and a love she never imagined. In this new light, Joan begins to question everything she thinks she knows about her place in the observable universe. Then, in December of 1984, on mission STS-LR9, it all changes in an instant.

Book Review: Class Clown

How does the son of a Presbyterian minister wind up winning a Pulitzer Prize for writing a wildly inaccurate newspaper column read by millions of people?

Dave Berry began his journalism career at a small-town Pennsylvania newspaper where he learned the most important rule of local journalism: never confuse a goose with a duck. Somehow from there he wound up as a humor columnist for The Miami Herald, where his boss was a wild man who encouraged him to write about anything that struck him as amusing and to never worry about alienating anyone.

His columns slowly grew in popularity, but he quickly developed a loyal following of readers. He became a book author and joined a literary rock band, which was not good at playing music but did once perform with Bruce Springsteen, who sang backup to Dave. As for his literary merits, Dave writes: “I’ll never have the critical acclaim of, say, Marcel Proust. But was Marcel Proust ever on Carson? Did he ever steal a hotel sign for Oprah?”

Book Review: Wild Cards - House Rules

The island of Keun lies off the coast of Cornwall, connected to the mainland only by an ancient, tidal causeway. It is a magical place, where anything can happen. The mansion crowning the island is owned by Lord Branok, a mysterious billionaire who is also a wild card of some sort—but whether he is an ace, a joker or a knave, no one is quite sure.

Parties at Loveday House are legendary—for adventure, for intrigue, for love, for danger—and guests may take on whatever personae and masks they choose when they attend. Parts of the house seem to exist out of time, and the Wild Hunt is reputed to ride the island. And haunting the house is its original owner: a woman determined to regain control over her domain—by any means necessary.

Book Review: Underscore (The Vinyl Detective #8)

Italy is known for some of the greatest (and grooviest) music ever committed to vinyl, including a rich diversity of soundtracks. One of the composers of these was Valerius Passeri. No one disputes that Passeri was a genius. The argument is whether or not he was a murderer.

Passeri’s granddaughter Chloe has come to England to hire the Vinyl Detective. The mastertapes of the albums have been destroyed and she needs immaculate vinyl copies to provide the source for a series of reissues. She wants to preserve her grandfather’s heritage and also to clear his name.

The Vinyl Detective’s real job will be to find out who actually committed a murder, over half a century ago, in Swinging London. But the real killer is not enchanted with the notion of being exposed. And, having killed once before, they see no problem in doing so again.

Book Review: The Dashing Zaddy and His Icy Protégé 1

The second sales division at Itsuboshi Trading Company is headed up by Mr. Takanashi, one of the firm's top performer and a charismatic knockout at age 40. One of his subordinates is the equally hot, cool and calculating 26-year-old, Hiwatari. Practically every woman at the company has attempted to stir up an office romance with the magnetic Takanashi, but this dashing zaddy has turned them all down, because he secretly has ED! Meanwhile, Hiwatari seems like a scary robot on the outside, but he's actually looked up to Takanashi since he started working with him four years ago. When Hiwatari gets a chance to spend the evening with Takanashi, he reveals more than he means to!

The Dashing Zaddy and His Icy Protégé volume 1 by Fumito was published April 1, 2025. Kodansha Comics provided a galley for review.

Book Review: Honeko Akabane's Bodyguards 1

Delinquent high schooler Arakuni Ibuki is drafted to protect his childhood friend Honeko Akabane, the secret daughter of a yakuza leader. It’s no small task, especially when they’re up against hired assassins who also have just one job…to kill Honeko Akabane! Ibuki joins the elite corps of bodyguards that make up Class 3-4 of Sosoji High School. Akabane is oblivious to the elaborate covert operation surrounding her. Is this team of misfits really up for the job?!

Honeko Akabane's Bodyguards 1 by Masamitsu Nigatsu was published January 28, 2025. Kodansha Comics provided a galley for review.

Book Review: Marble Hall Murders

Editor Susan Ryeland has left her Greek island, her hotel and her Greek boyfriend, Andreas, in search of a new life back in England. Freelancing for a London publisher, she's given the last job she wants: working on an Atticus Pünd continuation novel called Pünd’s Last Case. Worse still, she knows the new writer. Eliot Crace is the troubled grandson of legendary children’s author Miriam Crace who died twenty years ago. Eliot is convinced she was murdered—by poison.

To her surprise, Susan enjoys reading the manuscript which is set in the South of France and revolves around the mysterious death of Lady Margaret Chalfont, days before she was about to change her will. But when it is revealed that Lady Margaret was also poisoned, alarm bells begin to ring. The more Susan reads, the clearer it becomes that Eliot has deliberately concealed clues about his grandmother’s death inside the book.

Book Review: Sunder vol. 1 - Small Beginnings

When a mysterious book appears in the library of a young monk named Zeek, he must embark on a quest to find its rightful owner. Unbeknownst to him, another dark figure has been searching for this very book for a very long time, sending his minions across the known planets and using dark magic to find it at all costs. When this evil figure realizes the manuscript has finally resurfaced, it sets events in motion that will send Zeek on an adventure unlike anything he could have ever imagined–leading Zeek to discover his true identity and destiny.

Sunder vol. 1: Small Beginnings by Pierre-Alexandre Comtois, Mark Englert and Buddy Beaudoin will be published on May 6, 2025. Mad Cave Studios provided an early galley for review.

Book Review: Parents Weekend

In the glow of their children’s exciting first year of college at a small private school in Northern California, five families plan on a night of dinner and cocktails for the opening festivities of Parents Weekend. As the parents stay out way past their bedtimes, their kids—five residents of Campisi Hall—never show up at dinner.

At first, everyone thinks that they’re just being college students, irresponsibly forgetting about the gathering or skipping out to go to a party. But as the hours click by and another night falls with not so much as a text from the students, panic ensues. Soon, the campus police call in reinforcements. Search parties are formed. Reporters swarm the small enclave. Rumors swirl and questions arise.

Libby, Blane, Mark, Felix, and Stella—The Five, as the podcasters, bloggers, and TikTok sleuths call them—come from five very different families. What led them out on that fateful night? Could it be the sins of their mothers and fathers come to cause them peril or a threat to the friend group from within?

Book Review: Rules of Deception

Dr. Jonathan Ransom, a surgeon for Doctors Without Borders, is climbing in the Swiss Alps with his wife, Emma, when she falls into a hidden crevasse and dies. Twenty-four hours later, Jonathan receives an envelope addressed to his wife containing two baggage-claim tickets. Puzzled, he journeys to a railway station only to find himself inexplicably attacked by the Swiss police. Suddenly forced on the run, Jonathan's only chance at survival lies in uncovering the devastating truth behind his wife's secret life.

Rules of Deception by Christopher Reich was published in July of 2008 by Anchor Books (a division of Penguin Random House). It had two sequels: followed by 2009's Rules of Vengeance and 2010's Rules of Betrayal.

Book Review: Hollywood High

What influence did Francis Ford Coppola have on George Lucas’s American Graffiti? And Lucas on John Singleton’s Boyz n the Hood? How does teenage sexuality in Fast Times at Ridgemont High compare to Twilight? Which teen movies pass the Bechdel test? Why is Mean Girls actually the last great teen film of the 20th century?

Bruce Handy’s Hollywood High situates iconic teen movies within their times and reveals the intriguing stories, artists, and passions behind their creation. These films aren’t merely beloved stories; they reflect teens’ growing economic and cultural influence, societal panics, and shifting perceptions of youth in America. Much more than a nostalgia trip, Hollywood High is a lively, provocative, and affectionate cultural history, spanning nearly one hundred years.

Book Review: The Fallbacks - Dealing with Dragons

The Fallbacks might not be Faerun’s first choice for saving the day, but if the money’s right they’ll get the job done. In this ragtag band of adventurers, each member plays a vital role: Tess the disciplined elven thief; Anson the courageous fighter; Lark the cunning bard; Baldric the wily cleric; Cazrin the inquisitive wizard; and Uggie, their pet monster who eats garbage. Squint a little and they’re the heroes Faerun needs.

Fresh off a harrowing journey into the infinite dungeon of Undermountain and the defeat of a powerful undead lich (with the help of a giant hungry worm or two), the adventurers are now a proven and dedicated team, ready for a new adventure which will take them to strange new realms.

Book Review: Disney Twisted-Wonderland - The Manga - Book of Octavinelle vol. 1

Stranded in the world of Twisted Wonderland, Yu must brave a magical school filled with ghosts, monsters, and uncooperative students!

Whisked away to the world of Twisted Wonderland and enrolled in the magical school known as Night Raven College, Yu encounters a strange scenario: his fellow students are doing too well on their exams! But there couldn’t be anything sinister behind great test scores, could there?

Disney's Twisted-Wonderland: Book of Octavinelle volume 1 by Wakana Hazuki and Sumire Kowono will be published on July 8, 2025. VIZ Media provided an early galley for review.

Book Review: Superman's Good Guy Gang

Eight-year-old Clark Kent is pretty super: super fast, super strong, and super cool! But being so super can also be super lonely, until he meets fellow super powered kids, Kendra Saunders and Guy Gardner a.k.a. Hawkgirl and Green Lantern! Together, they’ll form a club where other supers can be themselves, test their powers, grow together, and maybe earn some good guy points along the way.

Superman's Good Guy Gang by Rob Justus (with lettering by Lucas Gattoni) will be published on July 1, 2025. DC Comics provided an early galley for review.

Book Review: DC's Misfits of Magic

Ricki Jones is your average middle-grader. Her fellow-orphan-turned-adopted-brother Ross is, too. The seven mystical monks training them to protect the Earth from dark supernatural forces are pretty standard adults—they want nothing more than a little peace over summer vacation and all their prior attempts to get the kids out of town led to the camps going out of business. So this year? Rikki and Ross are heading to the town library, where Zatanna Zatara took a camp counselor job she expects to regret.

It’s fate (not like, Dr. Fate, just regular fate) that brings her together with Danny Cassidy, the Blue Devil. He’s got ADHD and kinda fused with his Halloween costume, giving him demon powers. And Boston Brand, who died in a horrifying microfiche accident and roams the halls as Deadkid. And don’t forget June Moon, who changes into an incredibly powerful sorceress named The Enchantress. But don’t hold that against her, she’s really very sweet when she's not causing trouble.

Book Review: Ravenloft - Heir of Strahd

Five strangers armed with steel and magic awaken in a mist-shrouded land, with no memory of how they arrived: Rotrog, a prideful orcish wizard; Chivarion, a sardonic drow barbarian; Alishai, an embittered tiefling paladin; Kah, a skittish kenku cleric; and Fielle, a sunny human artificer. After they barely survive a nightmarish welcome to the realm of Barovia, a carriage arrives bearing an invitation from Strahd von Zarovich to dine at Castle Ravenloft.

With no alternative, and determined to find their way home, the strangers accept the summons and travel to the forbidding manor of the mysterious count. But all is not well at Castle Ravenloft. To survive the twisted enigmas of Strahd and his haunted home, the adventurers must confront the dark secrets in their own hearts and find a way to shift from strangers to comrades—before the mists of Barovia claim them forever.

Book Review: Spider-Man - Octo-Girl vol. 2

Spider-Man rogue Doctor Octopus faces his biggest challenge yet—living life as a middle school girl in Japan!

Mad scientist Doc Ock and Japanese middle school girl Otoha Okutamiya are having a hard enough time sharing a body in Tokyo before they have to contend with a sinister would-be hero—Superior Octopus! The battle between the pair of Doc Ocks escalates into all-out war, with Otoha’s friends caught in the fray.

Spider-Man: Octo-Girl volume 2 by Hideyuki Furuhashi and Betten Court will be published on May 13, 2025. VIZ Media provided an early galley for review.

Book Review: The Only Song Worth Singing

Childhood friends Patrick, Ciaran, and Malachi would've been happy to play music for coins on the streets of Dublin, but when their sound – a blend of traditional tunes and rock styling – lands them a record deal, they also get their first tour of America. As they gather fans, however, they also get the attention of three sídhe, fairies straight out of Irish tradition who play by their own rules.

Mal finds himself beleaguered by a prankster whose malicious tricks make him think he's losing his mind, while Ciaran falls hard for a hanger-on whose primal sexuality saps the life from him. Patrick can save them – if he's willing to trust the superstitions he learned during a painful childhood he thought he'd left behind long ago.

But the only thing that matters more than music to Patrick? His friends.

Book Review: Doctor Who - A Cultural History

From its first airing in the immediate wake of the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Doctor Who has been a fascinating portal through which viewers observe changing times and standards. For over sixty years it has told the story of not just the central protagonist, the Doctor, but also of humanity. To understand the Doctor is to understand ourselves through the eyes of a stranger.

In Doctor Who: A Cultural History, Graham Gibson highlights the incredible impact of the long-running sci-fi series Doctor Who on television by guiding readers through the show’s history and evolution to remain a fixture of popular culture for over six decades. Investigating a range of topics from religion and politics to gender and technology and even the very nature of good and evil, Gibson demonstrates how the show reflects our society, sometimes showing a powerful prescience, sometimes not. Beginning with the first Doctor through to the fifteenth, this book covers everything from fan-favorite Doctors played by David Tennant and Matt Smith to the introduction of the first female and Black Doctors, respectively, as well as iconic lore such as the Tardis’s origins, the Doctor’s essential companions, and key foes from the Daleks to the Master.

Book Review: Didn't You Use to Be Queenie B?

Regina Benuzzi is Queenie B, a culinary goddess with Michelin Star restaurants, a bestselling cookbook empire, and multimillion-dollar TV deals. It doesn’t hurt that she’s gorgeous and curvaceous, with cascading black hair and signature red lips. She had it all. Until she didn’t.

After an epic fall from grace, Queenie B vanishes from the public eye, giving up everything: her husband, her son, and the fame that she’d fought to achieve. Her shows are in rerun, her restaurants still popular, but her disappearance remains a mystery to her legions of fans.

Local line cook Gale Carmichael also knows a thing or two about disaster. Newly sober and struggling, Gale’s future dreams don’t hold space for culinary stardom; only earning enough to get by. Broke at the end of the week, he finds himself at a local soup kitchen in one of the roughest parts of New Haven, Connecticut. But Gale quickly realizes that the food coming out of the kitchen is not your standard free meal; it is delicious and prepared with gourmet flair. Who is this Regina, the soup kitchen's cranky proprietor?

Book Review: Dark Maestro

Curtis Wilson is a cello prodigy, growing up in the Southeast D.C. projects with a drug dealer for a father. But through determination and talent, and the loving support of his father’s girlfriend, Larissa, Curtis claws his way out of his challenging circumstances and rises to unimagined heights in the classical music world—even soloing with the New York Philharmonic.

And then, suddenly, his life disintegrates. His father, Zippy, turns state evidence, implicating his old bosses to the FBI. Now the family, Curtis included, must enter the witness protection program if they want to survive. This means Curtis must give up the very thing he loves most: sharing his extraordinary musical talents with the world. When Zippy’s bosses prove too elusive for law enforcement to convict them, Curtis, Zippy, and Larissa realize that their only chance of survival is to take on the cartel themselves. They must create new identities and draw on their unique talents, including Curtis’s musical ability, to go after the people who want them dead. But will it be enough to keep Curtis and his family alive?

Book Review: The Memory Collectors

Elizabeth aches for one more precious hour with her son who died in a senseless accident. Andy is desperate to find his first love who vanished after a whirlwind romance. Logan craves the rush of surfing and mountain climbing, yearning to reclaim the freedom he lost after a misstep landed him in a wheelchair. Brooke is looking for an hour of relief from the guilt of an unforgivable mistake.

Enter Aeon Expeditions, the groundbreaking time travel invention of Mark Saunders, which allows some lucky clients the chance to spend an hour in their past. Even though Aeon’s technology ensures time travel can’t alter the future, all four clients, including Mark’s ex-wife Elizabeth, yearn to revisit the hour that changed their lives forever.

Book Review: Dearly Beloved

When Prince spoke those words over celestial organ sounds in the opening moments of "Let's Go Crazy," he wasn't just inaugurating yet another Billboard Hot 100 hit--one of forty-seven in his career; he was also giving voice to the deep-seated and richly complex spiritual underpinning of his art. Prince is beloved by millions worldwide, and a true legend of the pop genre. Yet most of his fans don't recognize the spiritual messages coded within his work, nor understand the connections between Prince's own religious devotion--which evolved over time--and the sexualized messages of his music. Prince was beguiling and used his seductive and mysterious charm to draw his fans into his spiritual and cosmic worldviews, often without their knowledge.

Book Review: John and Paul

The Beatles shook the world to its core in the 1960’s and, to this day, new generations continue to fall in love with their songs and their story. At the heart of this phenomenon lies the dynamic between John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Few other musical partnerships have been rooted in such a deep, intense and complicated personal relationship.

John and Paul’s relationship was defined by its complexity: compulsive, tender and tempestuous; full of longing, riven by jealousy. Like the band, their relationship was always in motion, never in equilibrium for long. John & Paul traces its twists and turns and reveals how these shifts manifested themselves in the music. The two of them shared a private language, rooted in the stories, comedy and songs they both loved as teenagers, and later, in the lyrics of Beatles songs.

Book Review: The Only Grammar Book You'll Ever Need

The Only Grammar Book You’ll Ever Need, Updated Edition is a comprehensive guide to mastering English grammar. Whether you’re a business professional looking to polish your communication skills, a student aiming for top grades, or an English language learner seeking to improve your proficiency, this book covers everything from understanding the parts of speech and elements of a sentence to avoiding the most common grammar and punctuation mistakes.

In a world where AI struggles to identify grammar mistakes, this book serves as a reliable tool for ensuring grammatically accurate communication. With English spoken by almost a quarter of the global population, the need for a comprehensive guide is more important than ever. This one offers clear, concise, and grammatically excellent guidance for all.

Book Review: The Ultimate Fantasy Character Creator

In a genre with so much imaginative potential, creating well-rounded and unique characters that speak to the personality and individuality of the creator can be tricky. This guide is an excellent resource, perfect for anyone interested in elevating their fantasy content on social media, preparing for a LARP event, or even writing characters for novels or screenplays.

With the tool in The Ultimate Fantasy Character Creator, fantasy content creators will be able to generate compelling and fully realized backstories, engage in colorful dialogue with other characters, and connect their fantasy characters to the real world in new and interesting ways.

Book Review: Disney Twisted-Wonderland - The Manga: Book of Savanaclaw vol. 1

Stranded in the world of Twisted Wonderland, Yu must brave a magical school filled with ghosts, monsters, and uncooperative students!

Yu finds herself at Night Raven College, a school for magic users, where the staff and students are getting ready for the interdormitory Spelldrive tournament. It sounds fun, but Yu soon learns that intensity, intrigue, and fierce competitiveness abound!

Disney Twisted-Wonderland: The Manga - Book of Savanaclaw vol. 1 will be published April 8, 2025. VIZ Media provided an early galley for review.

Book Review: Splinter Effect

Smithsonian archaeologist Rabbit Ward travels through time on sponsored expeditions to the past to secure precious artifacts moments before they are lost to history. Although exceptional at his job, Rabbit is not without faults. In a spectacular failure twenty years ago, he lost both the menorah of the second temple and his hot-headed mentee, Aaron. So, when new evidence reveals the menorah’s reappearance in 6th century Constantinople, Rabbit seizes the chance for redemption.

But from the moment he arrives in the past, things start to go wrong. Rabbit quickly finds out that his prime competition, an unlicensed and annoyingly appealing “stringer” named Helen, is also in Constantinople hunting the menorah. And that’s only the beginning. The oppressed Jewish population of the city is primed for revolution, Constantinople’s leading gang seems to have it out for Rabbit personally, and someone local is interested enough in the menorah to kill for it.

Book Review: Dear Writer

Drawing from her twenty years of teaching experience and her bestselling Substack newsletter, For Dear Life, Maggie Smith breaks down creativity into ten essential elements: attention, wonder, vision, play, surprise, vulnerability, restlessness, tenacity, connection, and hope. Each element is explored through short, inspiring, and craft-focused essays, followed by generative writing prompts. Dear Writer provides tools that artists of all experience levels can apply to their own creative practices and carry with them into all genres and all areas of life.

Dear Writer: Pep Talks and Practical Advice for the Creative Life by Maggie Smith will be published April 1, 2025. Atria Books provided an early galley for review.