Undaunted, he assembles a makeshift band (and chosen family) for potential gigs. Then he hears a life-changing rumor: another human, on a moon that's a lawless den of vice, being held captive by a brutal criminal who has sinister motives. That spurs a highly unlikely, amusingly ludicrous, and frequently lethal chain of events as Prog hires a vicious but principled criminal to guide him and his friends on a seemingly doomed rescue mission. Amidst befouled space cruisers that crash before even leaving the atmosphere, teleporters that might kill you, enemies everywhere, and a murderous, clone-hungry villain in the monstrous Croakus, Prog labors to protect not just his life but his sanity.
Written as the first volume of a potential series, Lamberson leaves some loose ends but brings this story to a satisfying end, though sometimes at the cost of having his hero get lost in the shuffle of so many colorful characters. Narratively, Lamberson switches perspective with each chapter in the second half, deepening characterization while sometimes slowing the momentum, but then he cleverly flips this technique by advancing the plot in surprising ways before rewinding to tell the story from a different point of view. Despite some proudly ridiculous story beats and the exaggerated comic features of many alien characters, Lamberson takes care to pay close attention to their feelings and individual personalities, while spinning a gripping story. Lamberson refusing to bow down to action cliches elevates the novel from a wild lark into something with more depth.
Takeaway: Teen angst, heavy metal dreams, and madcap science fiction escapades.
Comparable Titles: Jim C. Hines’s Janitors of the Post-Apocalypse series, Dennis Taylor’s Bobiverse series.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A
The “revolution” of air-conditioning, Mohr argues, is a crucial driver in these cases, and his case is clear and persuasive. Of course, that comfort comes at a cost, and in a final section Mohr draws on an analysis of numbers of Cooling Degree Days around the world to demonstrate the extraordinary energy expenditure it will take to cool hot regions enough to become competitive. (Mohr is convincing when noting the necessity of air conditioning for growth and stability and the “formidable” challenge of providing it.) Mohr backs up his claims throughout with original analysis of nations’ (and sometimes their inner regions’) per capita GDP, HDI, and other factors, showing his work in easy-to-follow charts, demonstrating that “the availability of conducive academic and working environments where individuals can effectively work and study is crucial for economic development within a society.”
While the major contentions in The Divide of Nations have some persuasive power, the text itself feels padded and repetitive. Mohr explains basic ideas multiple times within a chapter or even a page, and continually identifies the analyses here—which feel like starting points rather than conclusive proof—as “comprehensive.” Still, Mohr demonstrates strong correlations between temperature and the strengths of nations’ institutions, and his crunching of numbers offers some understanding of why.
Takeaway: Original study arguing that wealth disparity between nations comes down to temperature.
Comparable Titles: Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson’s Why Nations Fail, Branko Milanovic’s Global Inequality.
Production grades
Cover: B+
Design and typography: A-
Illustrations: B+
Editing: C
Marketing copy: A-
Though previous series entries work as standalone romances, and Treadgold offers context here for new readers, this climactic volume really targets readers of the whole series, structured as a family soap opera in which Edward and Lisette’s relationship is often sidelined to the follow ups for David, Maddie, and Liam’s movie pursuits, Ali and Liam’s drama about their addicted birth mother, and the return of the distasteful but still compelling yoga guru Kilo. The connection between Lisette’s past and the current O’Connell dramas overshadows the romantic story arc. Edward’s church backstory is shared almost entirely in exposition, so its emotional impact is lessened, and his disclosure of psychic predictive powers would feel more surprising if not for the family’s other supernatural gifts.
Still, the cast and holiday setting are presented with a casual mutual warmth, and the overall impression is an appealingly fuzzy one of a family coming together with love and mutual support, despite their wide disparities in life paths and backstories. Treadgold’s deep affection for her characters and understanding of their hearts, quirks, and concerns will reward fans of the series, though this entry isn’t a jumping-on point. Readers wanting more from protagonists of earlier installments get plenty of it, and overall the series comes to a satisfying conclusion.
Takeaway: Reunions, romance, and a warm holiday vibe power this series ender.
Comparable Titles: Lydia Michaels’s Almost Priest, Nora Roberts’s The MacKade Brothers series
Production grades
Cover: B
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A-
That motif of freedom permeates the narrative, one that Caraballo describes as "not entirely an illusion" but is "the result of all that has been done." When he’s diagnosed with stage IV Hodgkin's lymphoma at 18, he believes the disease is sent from God as his divine punishment. With a matter-of-fact, stoic voice, Caraballo relives grappling with shame and self-blame—”two years of torture” from cancer and chemotherapy, momentarily falling into the bleakness of addiction, and later on, incarceration for “violating the rules of a DUI sentencing.” Of his life in prison, Caraballo writes "so many of the challenges you face are brought upon you by others, although the reminder that your own actions put you there remains with you almost constantly."
Caraballo reconciles the murky aspects of shaping his identity, self-perception, and life choices with a nod to how his early religious upbringing may have affected his concept of freedom. Throughout, he uplifts, enlightens, and encourages a clear-cut view of his experiences as an homage to resilience and inner strength. “The average person shouldn’t ever have to live through so much turmoil in order to better themselves,” he writes, “and yet, each of those experiences was something I needed to have happen.”
Takeaway: Observant account of resilience through cancer, addiction, and imprisonment.
Comparable Titles: Allie Bailey’s There Is No Wall, Brandon J. Wolf’s A Place for Us.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A-
The Cicada Spring: A Potomac Shores Novel
After accepting a tempting job offer in Miami (a professional upgrade to IT infrastructure manager), Katie is swept off her feet by the exuberant bon vivant J.C., James Conrad Bland III, a D.C. high-society fixture who offers just the kind of freewheeling life Katie craves after decades of stifling stability. She rides his romantic wave, which crests at their October 2019 wedding, but McBride doesn’t send Katie crashing onto the rocks just yet. Marry in haste, repent at leisure: Katie’s wish-fulfillment fantasy melts away drop by painful drop, heightened by stupefying grief and COVID isolation.
McBride, a former National Geographic magazine staffer, imbues The Cicada Spring with a profound love of nature and infectious curiosity about the Occoquan River and Virginia’s history, going back to its ancient inhabitants. Deftly capturing the forced introspection of the 2020 shutdown era, she steers Katie toward her core values, including faith in American institutions (like the government agencies that converge to address environmental devastation). The pandemic shifts Katie’s perspective to the long view, from selfless people-pleaser to steward of the land and its generations of inhabitants. While the cultural shifts from COVID still reverberate, McBride’s briskly told story proposes, with persuasive heart and wisdom, that it’s the recalibration of individual lives that will power our collective future.
Takeaway: Uplifting middle-age romance alive with wisdom and love of nature.
Comparable Titles: Rachel Hanna’s The Beach House, Pamela M. Kelley’s The Nantucket Inn.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
Treadgold skillfully teases out the complexities of multigenerational relationships, twisting the individual threads of the O’Connell family into one immense, labyrinthine tapestry that hums with the conflicts and interplay expected from a large, high-powered family. As his siblings find their way to their happily-ever-afters, Jake finally grasps the opportunity to follow his own dreams: becoming an author, something he sacrificed to fulfill his father’s legacy. His family reunion isn’t quite as sweet as expected, and, as Treadgold plumbs the intricacies of jumbled family dynamics, Jake surveys his own life choices and struggles to make sense of his instant attraction to Chiara, the Italian guardian of his brother’s child.
Jake and Chiara—a fellow outsider who’s currently embroiled in a loveless marriage—make a spirited couple, as they face nearly impossible challenges, both paranormal and not, on their road to happiness. Treadgold leaves readers guessing throughout, weaving a suspenseful will-they-or-won’t-they with rapid perspective changes and rich descriptions of her characters’ luscious lifestyles. That chaos makes the threads challenging to track at times, but, in the end, this is a satisfying escape into the lives of the rich, the famous, and the wounded.
Takeaway: High-powered family saga with a hint of the paranormal.
Comparable Titles: Bobbie Jean Huff’s The Ones We Keep, Lisa Kleypas’s Dream Lake.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A
While upbeat, briskly told, and alive with charm and life lessons, Tuned In never shies away from personal hardship, especially early in Wilson’s career. He recounts leaving home as a young man, dropping in and out of schools, and navigating a series of mostly failed relationships and moments of despair. Performing, meanwhile, had its humiliations: playing his “pensive” original compositions at the Hotel Bel-Air, he was asked by a patron for “something from Cats.” A turning point came when Wilson enrolled in piano-tuning school. Soon after graduation he began getting business from local musicians, and his reputation grew, eventually leading to tuning a piano for classical pianist Van Cliburn. Wilson proved up to the task and soon began tuning pianos for Herbie Hancock, Quincy Jones, Carole King, Elton John and more. Lively anecdotes abound.
Drawing on lessons “baked into [his] DNA from [an] act of self- determinism,” Wilson became adept, as he matured, at seizing an opportunity, helping, in the 1980s, to develop the first MIDI-adapter for acoustic piano before collaborating with Spectrasonics, a creator of virtual-instrument software plug-ins. It was during this time that four of his recordings earned spots on the Billboard Top 20 and he became something more remarkable still: the kind of star who could hire a world-class piano tuner. Tuned In hits the right notes, with wit, surprises, and winning enthusiasm.
Takeaway: A pianist and piano technician’s surprising story of success with music’s greatest names.
Comparable Titles: Andrew McMahon’s Three Pianos, Franz Mohr’s My Life with the Great Pianists.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
People being people, stolen Kleptrons are being put to nefarious ends. The story kicks off with Latternian biobots’ cockeyed solution: introduce to Earth the bioengineered predator that handled Kleptrons on Lattern. Unfortunately, these Flektanians turn out to be “meter-long creatures that look remarkably like dung beetles.” Complicating matters, as they help Maine doctors Ed and Helen Gilner track down Kleptrons, the Flektanians spit out radical speeches about resurrecting the reign of the trilobites, even vowing “to make arthropods great again.” As that suggests, Ringel’s satire edges at times toward the wacky, but like all good conjurers of speculative fiction his world is internally consistent, no matter how off-beat. Nothing here is scattershot, and despite the silly stuff the novel offers a smart, twisty investigation of how the powers that be use Kleptrons, complete with insights into 22nd century American politics and business.
The science, too, is dead serious despite the fun. The crisply told narrative, spiked with sharp comic dialogue and diplomatic crises, builds to real surprises and thoughtful ideas, demonstrating in the end that “A civilization's understanding of theoretical physics is far and away the best indicator of its overall maturity.” Ringel’s own blend of maturity and its opposite is idiosyncratic, but lovers of oddball comic SF will be on board.
Takeaway: Truly funny science-fiction satire, alive with ideas and fun.
Comparable Titles: Keith Laumer, Robert Sheckley.
Production grades
Cover: B
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: B+
Lovers of Dickens will enjoy picking out surprising correspondences and Easter Eggs (a “Boz” haunts the pages). Unlike many authors inspired by A Christmas Carol, however, Cummins avoids a point-by-point recreation, instead finding fresh approaches to familiar beats and favoring meds over ghosts, all while still embracing Dickens’s themes and eye for social problems, as Justin contemplates the desperation of addiction, adults’ ambivalence for Christmas (“But we knew the truth. It was for kids”), the lives of other patients (one man is “an empty pit of metabolism”), and more.
Ex-Mas Song is hefty in length, and Cummins can’t resist chatty characters and some repetitive prose. But it moves swiftly as Justin, in brisk and unfussy prose, plays Christmas trivia games with other patients, contemplates his childhood in a therapy session or considers the faith of King David, and eventually finds his way to committing to a life worth living. The “song”’s final verse inevitably involves a cemetery, but Cummins upends expectations as the story makes its way toward the traditional transformative ending.
Takeaway: Heartening Christmas epic of finding faith and hope when life doesn’t feel worth living.
Comparable Titles: Annie Rains’s Through the Snow Globe, Richard Paul Evans’s A Christmas Memory.
Production grades
Cover: B
Design and typography: A-
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: B-
The “banshee howling” of the Blitz proves formative, as Eglin recounts discovering the talent for art that would bring him into advertising, marketing, and design as a boy hunkered “underneath the shelter of our sturdy table," awaiting the all clear. Building and re-building are themes throughout—London and the Globe; bands and businesses; eventually his beloved gardens. The memoir also chronicles Eglin's transition into adulthood, his ad adventures, and his eventual move to Canada with his wife, Barbara. Small details, like traveling by Greyhound bus for the first time, strategizing a plan for a newspaper’s biggest advertiser, and obsessively researching how to create a hybrid blue rose highlight Eglin's keen eye and curiosity.
What sets Eglin's memoir apart is his attention to detail, capturing not only the significant milestones but also the seemingly mundane moments that shaped his journey and the factors that powered his decision making, from accepting job offers to moving to a new country. All I Ever Wanted to Be Was An Ad Man is a testament to a life lived to its fullest potential.
Takeaway: A London ad man’s life of adventure, from the Blitz to the garden.
Comparable Titles: Fred S. Goldberg’s The Insanity of Advertising, Dave Buonaguidi’s Blah! Blah! Blah!.
Production grades
Cover: B
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: A-
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A-
Soon, Rod’s vigorous workplace sex with fellow drone jock Honey results in the accidental bombing of a Karachi school, and he and Honey are dispatched to Pakistan to kill the target they missed the old-fashioned way: undercover as Canadian DJs eager to discover the local talent. Shallman’s novel is a proudly take-it-or-leave-it affair, though the prose is crisp, the outrages inventive, the sex scenes vigorous, and the surprises, when they come, legitimately surprising, especially an of-the-moment third section in which Rod, from the vantage point of 2024, announces he’s had enough of Shallman and will tell his story himself.
As in the work of Chuck Tingle, the sex is vigorous, graphic, and explosive but always tinged with clever absurdity, though Shallman’s scenes involving torture and his explicit linking of Rod’s desires to “waves of enemy infantry strafed into oblivion” ensures the book repulses more often than it arouses. Witty prose and the wilder twists reward readers on Shallman’s wavelength. One jawdropper: Rod’s unexpected connection with a woman who witnessed the school’s destruction and an audition from a Pakistan man whose talent is the “silent scream” of the vestigial twin visible in his bare chest.
Takeaway: Proudly scabrous and sexually graphic satire of 25 years of American war.
Comparable Titles: Chuck Tingle, Philip José Farmer’s A Feast Unknown.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A-
Holy City
Seasoned mystery pro Helms (Doctor Hate) demonstrates his mastery in blending genres as the narrative seamlessly transitions between mystery, suspense, and family drama, creating a rich and multi-dimensional story powered by crisp prose, sharp-edged dialogue, and an eye for the killer detail. Helms’ skilful pacing and scencraft will keep readers on the edge of their seats, but the page-turning storytelling never comes at the expense of complex themes and convincing, multifaceted characters revealed in striking portraiture, like the actress who, facing “the constantly shrinking scope of her dreams” and “degradation at the hands of at least one producer” finds herself “reduced from ambition to resignation.”
Helms combines shoe-leather procedural sleuthing with unpredictable setpieces and a savvy examination of South Carolina business, politics, culture, and personalities. (Charleston is the “Holy City” of the title, and the milieu is evoked with offhand precision, with the silver hair one local swell, at his plantation, “drawn stringy in the Low Country humidity.”) Holy City excels in building suspense and intrigue, with a twisty but satisfying plot, as Helms spices his thoughtful buildup with jolts of action and fish-out-of-water suspense as Whitlock jets to surprising locales. Readers will be eager for more Whitlock.
Takeaway: A Charleston PI seeks a billionaire’s lost daughter in this polished series starter.
Comparable Titles: Greg Iles, James Lee Burke.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
As she cheers readers on to face their own desires for change equipped with the four “C”s (courage, clarity, commitment, and capacity), O'Sullivan shares inspirational quotes from sources familiar in the genre (Steve Jobs, Dale Carnegie) and some welcome wild cards (Lady Gaga, Beyoncé). Her goal, she notes, in chatty prose, is for the book to be both rousing and practical, showcasing two keys to change-making and seeing yourself on the other side of challenging situations: “the courage and a roadmap to say, ‘Hell, YES!’” O’Sullivan’s zeal for life jumps off the page as she shares her journey from a child born into mysterious circumstances, to a teen that wanted to perform with a traveling group of inspiring performers, to using what she refers to as “The Bob Hope Method,” which “is about believing the seemingly impossible is possible and being brave enough to ask for what you want.” (Rest assured, younger readers, she explains who Hope is.)
Throughout, she balances actionable steps for change-making with breezy accounts of putting them into practice. The book is quite literally colorful, especially in typography, though some all-caps passages can feel unintentionally shout-y. Still, she charmingly invites readers into her world and encourages them to participate in things that wow and excite them as she does.
Takeaway: Upbeat and positive self-help memoir and journal encouraging change-making.
Comparable Titles: Andi Andrew’s Braving Change, Case Kenny’s That’s Bold of You.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A-
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
Blended families, mixed race heritage, and devastating secrets with the power to destroy families punctuate this compelling debut. The Keneally family is richly drawn, their individual narratives bolstering the idea that family is what you make it, as McHugh probes the prejudice, PTSD, and mental illness that haunts their bloodlines. The heavy material is delicately handled, portraying trauma’s ripple effect with a gentle voice, as McHugh writes, when POW Frank returns home at the end of World War II to Winn’s attempts to nurse him back to health, “Mother and son were in need of each other’s love, but the scars of recent years remained for both of them.”
McHugh’s reunions are emotional and moving, while still relatable, and the characters’ family struggles and personal awakenings will engross readers, whether it’s Dot’s mission to protect and empower the First Nations Peoples or Joe’s reflections on the violence of Vietnam: “I believe there is a certain spirituality that transcends death and our understanding of it.” Amid the family saga, McHugh crafts an intriguing mystery centered on war-driven PTSD alongside a reckoning between Dot and her family that, though readers may see it coming, still resonates.
Takeaway: Moving story that interlaces trauma, loss, and family bonds.
Comparable Titles: Claire Lombardo's The Most Fun We Ever Had, Candice Carty-Williams's People Person.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A-
The first of Lee’s Dr. Mark Lin mysteries plunges readers into a chilling week of Lin’s life, where the stakes couldn’t be higher and the battleground isn’t Lin’s usual realm, the body, but the digital world of medical records and the darkest corners of cyberspace. Lin, a cynic but a good doctor, is determined to clear his name, and his jaded, sometimes scalding thoughts about the medical field—when “know-it-all” patients “accuse us docs of being greedy, self-serving frauds who only cared about the extra dollars in our wallets”—are resonant, allowing readers to step inside the shoes of a doctor who, even before the suspense ramps up, already finds himself tested by the landscape of healthcare.
Lee deftly weaves real-world concerns about cybersecurity into the fabric of his narrative, highlighting the vulnerability of medical institutions. At times, the deliberate pacing flags, but the convincing milieu, strong characterization—especially of relatable antagonists like the bereaved Lisa Flint—and thoughtful consideration of the motives behind cyber warfare are timely and compelling, as is Lee’s exploration of the moral complexities of contemporary healthcare. Fans of medical and hacker thrillers will relish Lin’s outrage and determination under impossible pressure.
Takeaway: Thrilling medical suspense debut pits a doctor against hacker terror.
Comparable Titles: David Baldacci’s Zero Day, Marc Elsberg’s Blackout.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A-
Through it all, Frost’s voice is engaging, informative, and funny, even punny—one section is titled “Good Things Come to Those Who ‘Weight’”—in the manner of an inviting trainer or Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson guiding tourists through a jungle cruise. Johnson, a “paragon of GenX performance,” is frequently cited throughout as a source of inspiration as Frost explains, with buoyant urgency, the essential health and aesthetic impacts of strength training, chief among them the promise of being a “vital second-half performer for up to fifty years.”
Helpful photo illustrations demonstrate some finer points of stretching, squats, planes of body motion, different types of lifting, while Frost offers clarifying insights into the carb and fat impact of energy bars, and much more. He’s created a host of mnemonic acronyms (WIFM, DEEP, FITT, MORNINGS) and fresh metaphors crafted not just to inform readers about healthy mindsets and habits but to make sure the info sticks—like any good coach, his voice gets stuck in one’s head. The advice is smartly targeted at men and women both, though the book’s organization is eccentric, with introductory material on the basics (including the advice to consult a doctor before heavy lifting) coming in later chapters.
Takeaway: Rousing guide to strength training for Gen Xers eager for high performance.
Comparable Titles: Wayne Westcott and Thomas Baechle’s Strength Training Past 50, Timothy Caso’s Weight Training for Old Guys.
Production grades
Cover: B+
Design and typography: A-
Illustrations: A
Editing: B+
Marketing copy: A
