Book Reviews
Explore thoughtfully curated book reviews that help you discover your next favorite read.
Despite Desire, Pillow Talk with Nietzsche, by Angel L.G. | Book Review
Despite Desire: Pillow Talk with Nietzsche is a compact, yet ambitious philosophical play by Angel L.G.. It stages an imagined encounter between Friedrich Nietzsche and a sex worker named Rachel in 19th-century Switzerland. Combining the intimacy of chamber theatre with the rigour…
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A Friend for Hope, by Amie White—Book Review
Some children’s books these days are loud, begging for your attention with glitter, gimmicks and childish humor. A Friend for Hope isn’t one of those books. It doesn’t need to be. This is a story with a heartbeat, and you can feel…
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Dancing in the Purple Rain, by Judy L Mohr | Book Review
Dystopian fiction is one of the most popular genres in modern publishing, so standing out requires considerable originality. Thankfully, Judy L. Mohr’s Dancing in the Purple Rain is one of those rare books that does exactly that. It plunges readers into a…
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Talking with Intelligence, An AI-Human Dialogue, by Richard Blood | Book Review
There are few subjects more controversial in 2025 in the publishing world than the use of AI, which is why Richard Blood’s Talking with Intelligence: An AI–Human Dialogue comes at such an interesting moment. Embarrassing stories abound of authors accidentally leaving AI…
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The King of Ithaca, by Quinn Makenna | Book Review
Despite being set in Vietnam during the heights of the civil war, Quinn Makenna’s The King of Ithaca is inspired by relatively unexpected subject matter, The Odyssey. It offers a creative retelling of the classic tale. From the very first page, it…
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Operation Nightfall: The Web of Spies, by Karl Wegener | Book Review
This new spy novel by American author and former military intelligence professional, Karl Wegener, begins as all good spy stories should—with a whisper in the dark, a meeting already compromised, and danger sliding into view before the first word is spoken. Following…
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Light Beneath the Lids, by Jane Lightbourne | Book Review
Light Beneath the Lids (Nevada Street Press, 2025) is the second collection of poetry by London-based writer Jane Lightbourne, following Bright Dust. The poems vary in subject matter but largely tackle themes of intimacy, relationships, and the nature of memory. Lightbourne treats…
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The Sanctuary of Tomorrow, by Lyntara Choi | Book Review
The Sanctuary of Tomorrow is the kind of novella that makes you think. Set against the backdrop of Europe between the end of the First World War and the rise of fascism in the 1930s, it tells the story of Martino Griffiths,…
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Residents of the Deep, by Marianne Villanueva | Book Review
One of the more interesting books I’ve read as part of this site, Marianne Villanueva’s Residents of the Deep is a gripping yet at times unsettling collection of short fiction that moves fluidly between myth and history. It is in short a…
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Cicatrice, by Jo Boyle | Book Review
Jo Boyle’s Cicatrice: New Eyes and Brave is a dark, unflinching novel about survival. It follows Brinda Anand, who also lives under the names Malavika Lal, Melinda Burman, and most often, Mel, with occasional POV chapters ffrom Jamie. The story opens in…
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