Book Reviews
Book Review: Double-Crossing the Bridge by Sarah J. Sover

Book Review: Double-Crossing the Bridge by Sarah J. Sover

If you ever wanted a story about the Underworld, filled with trolls and other monsters, Double-Crossing the Bridge is for you. Sarah J. Sover's debut successfully blends an Ocean’s Eleven-type heist with sheer fantasy with high Monty-Python-quality wildly-hysterical...

read more
Book Review: Hamartia by Raquel Rich

Book Review: Hamartia by Raquel Rich

Hamartia successfully blends time travel with reincarnation with the interesting concept that souls can be harvested. In the futuristic city of Hamartia, Grace Dartmouth learns that her nine-year-old son is afflicted with metagenesis, a disease in which a human’s soul...

read more
Book Review: Long Island Noir

Book Review: Long Island Noir

Akashic Books, an independent publisher based in Brooklyn, is dedicated to publishing urban literary fiction and political nonfiction by authors ignored by the mainstream. Akashic has an excellent reputation and when they release a new book, the quality is guaranteed...

read more
Book Review: Every Time He Dies by Tara East

Book Review: Every Time He Dies by Tara East

The cover of this book alone would prompt me to read it. As a Texas gal who lives in a city where El Día de los Muertos is celebrated, the skeleton with its ties to Sugar Skulls drew me in. This book is about grief, hauntings, and identity.  The protaognist, Daphne...

read more
Book Review: Summoned by M.A. Guglielmo

Book Review: Summoned by M.A. Guglielmo

M.A. Guglielmo’s debut novel, Summoned, is a lively, fun book which should appeal to older YA readers (and adults wanting a light-hearted read). Daniel Goldstein, a Jewish gaming designer, is told by his grandmother’s ghost to summon a jinn to save the world from...

read more
Book Review: The Flight Girls by Noelle Salazar

Book Review: The Flight Girls by Noelle Salazar

A World War II novel from a woman's point of view, The Flight Girls follows a young Texas woman who, despite her privileged life in Dallas, leaves the security of home and family to fly military aircraft for the US Army. The main character, Audrey, is strong and...

read more
Book Review: The Wild Impossibility by Cheryl A. Ossola.

Book Review: The Wild Impossibility by Cheryl A. Ossola.

The Wild Impossibility is Cheryl A. Ossola’s debut novel, but an accomplished feat it is, combing elements of mystery, historical fiction, psychological drama, and love story into a cohesive whole. Kira, the protagonist, has suffered two miscarriages. With the second...

read more
Book Review: Monkey Temple by Peter Gelfan

Book Review: Monkey Temple by Peter Gelfan

I had a hard time getting into the first few pages of Monkey Temple, mostly because I didn't feel well-grounded at the onset. However, I was soon captivated. As a woman of a certain age (roughly the same age as Jules, the protagonist of Monkey Temple), I found myself...

read more
Book Review: The Resurrectionist of Caligo

Book Review: The Resurrectionist of Caligo

The Resurrectionist of Caligo by Wendy Trimboli and Alicia Zaloga is a gothic fantasy with Victorian England overtones, Jack-the-Ripper type murders, political intrigue, a bit of romance, and some magic tossed into the mix. It’s a delight to read with an original...

read more
Book Review: A Lady’s Guide to Gossip and Murder

Book Review: A Lady’s Guide to Gossip and Murder

Dianne Freeman’s debut novel, the first in the Countess Harleigh mystery series, A Lady’s Guide to Etiquette and Murder, is a witty romp of a Victorian mystery. The second in the series, A Lady’s Guide to Gossip and Murder, is just as delightful. Frances (Lady...

read more
Book Review: Runaway Love Story by Sadira Stone

Book Review: Runaway Love Story by Sadira Stone

Laurel, Runaway Love Story’s heroine, is a free-spirit who wants to be an artist. Her plans are derailed time and again by her own lack of commitment and tendency to run away when things don’t go her way. In Runaway Love Story, her plans are again derailed, this time...

read more
Book Review: Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows: A Novel

Book Review: Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows: A Novel

I read this novel because I enjoy being transported to different places and cultures. Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal reveals the immigrant experience in Britain, particularly in the Sikh community of London’s Southall. The protagonist, Nikki, a...

read more
Book Review: Neon Empire by Drew Minh

Book Review: Neon Empire by Drew Minh

Neon Empire is a dystopian novel in keeping with works by George Orwell and Aldous Huxley. The author vividly describes a plausible near-future world in which social media is even more overt than it is now. The city, Eutopia, has been built on a Native American...

read more
Book Review: The Forgetting Flower by Karen Hugg

Book Review: The Forgetting Flower by Karen Hugg

The Forgetting Flower intrigued me as it is described as a slow-burn thriller, and it certainly is. Author Karen Hugg expertly juggles secrets, half-truths, lies, and flashbacks while gradually leading the reader into the labyrinth of the gritty underground of Paris....

read more

-Let’s Connect-

I love to hear from writers and bibliophiles!

Author Suanne Schafer: The Art of Words.

Be a Fire-Starter

If you love literature, art, photography, exclusive sneek peaks, author giveaways, and things that light up the soul, you will want to sign up for Suanne's low-volume newsletter...

You have Successfully Subscribed!