Readers who enjoy deep contemplation will find much to appreciate here. MacGregor, whose belief system draws from Eastern philosophies while also drawing from Christian principles, paints a holistic picture of how to achieve self-love, although she identifies that term as somewhat of a catchphrase and cautions readers to differentiate it from an ego-based, false sense of self. She frankly addresses how to avoid self-centeredness, writing “There is simply no way that an open heart can turn a blind eye to injustice,” and she urges readers to acknowledge their own biases in order to be more effective activists. MacGregor’s passion for yoga and meditation thread throughout, as she offers original meditation prompts and breaks down steps to use yoga to discover personal and spiritual truths.
Along with this outline of a path to happiness, MacGregor continually emphasizes personal accountability—we are responsible for our emotional reactions and our impact on the world, she writes, and no real change can occur without first uncovering the root to our behaviors. A brief discussion on the science behind emotional regulation and healthy self-love practices rounds out this inviting, transformation-minded read.
Takeaway: A transformative guide to understanding, practicing, and mastering unconditional love.
Great for fans of: Thich Nhat Hanh’s True Love, David R. Hawkins’s Letting Go: The Pathway of Surrender.
Production grades
Cover: B
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: B-
The writing style tends toward simple declarative rhyming that celebrates the Princess’s personality, legacy, and impact. Contemporary fairy tales tend to emphasize positivity, though this narrative goes so far as to elide the complexity of the princess’s life and relationship with the public, never acknowledging challenges and controversies she faced or the perseverance that so many loved in her. The book’s past-tense storytelling and avoidance of any fairytale happily-ever-after invites natural questions from young readers—like “what happened to her?”—that the text doesn’t answer.
Even so, A Real Life Fairy Tale Princess Diana can serve as an introduction to an inspiring historic figure who still has a place in people’s hearts. The possibility that people from our own times can also have lives that look like a fairytale is fun. This princess is kind, philanthropic, and a caring mother, laudable qualities in anyone, but especially in a princess, someone kids are predisposed to find fascinating and look up to. A Real Life Fairy Tale Princess Diana provides a dose of history in the form of a fairytale best suited for the most adamant of aspiring princesses or those who want to introduce their kids to a beloved real-life royal.
Takeaway: Princesses and young history fans will enjoy this fairytale retelling of Princess Diana’s life.
Great for fans of: Sara Presley’s Princess Diana for Kids, Susan Barnett Braun’s Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge.
Production grades
Cover: B
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: A
Editing: B
Marketing copy: A-
The relationship between Peyton and Isabelle is intense, moves with lightning speed, and will keep readers turning the pages as Yearwood’s story spans the course of these lovers’ lives. Just as it seems they’re on their way to securing their American dream, a tragedy threatens to tear them apart. Yearwood’s unsparing portrayal of the pair—their lives shaped by misogyny, disastrous choices, and Peyton’s brutal tendencies—challenges readers to empathize and understand. Yearwood uses that backdrop, and the contrast between Peyton's childhood and adulthood, as a framework around which she weaves arresting themes of love, justice, inequity, and happiness.
Yearwood’s particular focus is on the repercussions of chasing that American dream—although the older Peyton reaches a level of material success that would shock his younger self, he struggles to achieve true happiness, a theme Yearwood explores in striking prose: “Peyton’s belief in God was one long string of empty lights. When he was young, the bulbs had emanated a strong glow, illuminating his path forward…Until one day, without him even noticing, it went dark.” This poignant novel’s crux is the possibility that living for financial success can cost what matters most.
Takeaway: Young lovers on the verge of achieving the American dream are torn apart by their own choices.
Great for fans of: Philipp Meyer’s American Rust, Ann Pancake’s Strange as this Weather Has Been.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A-
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A
The Girl in the Lifeboat:: A Novel of the Titanic
Alive with characters you love and love to hate, and action and intrigue powering every turn in the story, The Girl in the Lifeboat pulls readers deep into the heart of one of the 20th century’s most notorious tragedies, as Hodgetts’s cast recalls the most heart-stopping details of the sinking and reveals shocking information that will keep readers riveted. Also fascinating: how media figures and others respond. “It was all planned,” says a journalist convinced he’s got the story of the century, before offering the kind of evidence (J.P. Morgan canceled his ticket at the last minute!) that will remind readers of contemporary conspiracy theorists. Hodgetts incorporates the truth into her fiction so shrewdly that readers will likely dig into the historical record to suss out what was invented.
Readers will find themselves drawn to the mystery of the accident, the drama of the sisters’ lives in New York and in England, and the thrill of discovering the truth. Despite the epic length, this captivating novel moves fast, with the many perspectives handled deftly and each individual POV contributing to the larger story.
Takeaway: This thrilling epic of the Titanic and its aftermath deftly blends fact, fiction, tense inquiries, and a touch of romance.
Great for fans of: Kate Alcott’s The Dressmaker, Shana Abé’s The Second Mrs. Astor, Hazel Gaynor’s The Girl Who Came Home.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
Sarno explores many heavy and formidable topics, but he does so with sensitivity and delicacy, covering weighty issues like suicide, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other aspects of mental illness with grace. He’s skillful at depicting Matt and Johanna’s shifting relationship, characterized both by moments of transcendent connection as well as darker times—including a wrenching account of a despondent Johanna’s lowest moments. Ultimately, Matt shies from a real commitment because of unresolved trauma from his childhood. This leads to a slow, painful breakup but also later to Matt’s own healing, as he learns to face his past and open himself up in relationships.
The somewhat painful reunion a quarter century later is both moving and evocative of their earlier ups and downs, as Matt has learned to approach those he cares for with a sense of grace that the break-up was lacking. Threaded through it all, as the title suggests, is a fascination with the music of Bob Dylan and others–obsessive Matt, we learn, parses a mono edition of Blonde on Blonde to discover “the prominence of different instruments when compared to the stereo edition.” The resulting novel, like the classic song that lends the novel its title, is a slightly rambling but heartfelt and fascinating narrative about the urgency of human connection.
Takeaway: A beautifully intimate romance that doesn't shy away from challenging topics.
Great for fans of: Hazel Hayes’s Out of Love, Sara Goodman Confino’s She’s Up to No Good.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: B
Sigrid, Heinz, and Werner are complex characters caught up in the events of history, and their stories—told in alternating chapters of past and present—resonate and intrigue as the novel builds to its satisfying final revelations. Readers expecting a page-turner, however, should know that Cayzer’s interest is often more in the sweep of time and history than swift commercial storytelling, with Sepia offering passages of historical facts and detailed summaries of the characters’ lives and cultural interests. Unexpected leaps into the heads of minor characters and a tendency toward grand musings on the part of an omniscient narrator (“…the primeval nature of the species took its natural, ecstatic and climactic course”) also diminish the narrative urgency.
Cayzer proves attentive to the horrors of the Nazi regime but also to the pleasures and pain of life afterwards, as her characters face the past and each other. Dialogue scenes are intimate, revealing, and often witty as the novel immerses readers in these lives and takes the measure of time, trauma, loss, and all that’s worth holding on to. Sprinkled throughout the pages are pencil sketches of characters and settings that add charm.
Takeaway: This historical novel charts three extraordinary lives from 1940s Germany to 21st century Australia.
Great for fans of: Kelly Rimmer, Alexander Starritt.
Production grades
Cover: B
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: A-
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: B
The Liberation of Laith Brinley (Crimson Crew Book 3)
Whitcoma immediately pulls readers into this story with expertly crafted characters and humorous dialogue, and the fast-paced romance sizzles from the start. Laith is accompanied by an astounding, witty cast of side characters from previous books in the series that adds to the story without causing confusion, and Whitcoma skillfully makes the novel’s main players as relatable as they are intriguing. Though sad at times, Laith’s journey feels deeply personal and intense, and readers will be immersed in his transformation. Whitcoma deftly builds to touching moments that will elicit tears as well as red-hot love scenes sure to fulfill any romance reader’s desire for spice.
The strength of this story lies in the author’s mix of sweet moments between engaging leads with well-thought-out flaws set against heartbreaking backstories. Each character is well-rounded and convincingly detailed, and Whitcoma elevates that detail through intimate writing and penetrating inner monologues that bring the cast to life. This addition adds a thrilling touch to the series, and as an expert in fast-moving romance, Whitcoma hits all the right spots for fans who prefer hot and spicy reads that still deliver the perfect amount of complexity.
Takeaway: This fast-paced Ivy League romance satisfies with memorable characters and a dash of spice.
Great for fans of: Elle Kennedy’s The Deal, Elena Armas, Ali Hazelwood.
Production grades
Cover: B+
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: B
Innovative and original, Simons’s guide asks readers to care for themselves and their own balance and wellness but also “to form an underground web of connection with each other, like aspen trees do” and to aspire to nothing less than “a shift in how we relate to each other and to the whole of the living Earth.” Drawing from indigenous traditions, a deep interest in intuition and dreams, and practical and spiritual-minded conversations with thinkers like V. (formerly Eve Ensler) and Terry Tempest Williams, Nature, Culture, & the Sacred stands apart for its breadth and richness, especially in its clear-eyed linking of attention to injustice, from Standing Rock to civil rights to multinational corporations abuses of indigenous populations, and its conviction that we each have the tools to contribute to change.
Simons emphasizes storytelling techniques and exercises to expose truths, build movements, achieve social change, and even “shift our relationship to time.” Profiles of “sheros” whose work embodies Simons’ conception of “emergent, love-inspired leadership” both round out the book and demonstrate the power of those storytelling techniques. Each chapter ends with “Prompts for Deeper Learning”—“How might you strengthen your partnering with others to leverage power?”—that challenge readers in ways few books do.
Takeaway: This uplifting guide to transformative change challenges readers to face a global war on women.
Great for fans of: 25 Transformational Stories From Women Making An Impact In The Lives Of Others, Julie Burton and Chris Olsen’s Her Path Forward.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
In his striking first novel, Mantel creates a dark world where everyone has a secret that could lead to destruction. Donny's apparent hallucinations put him on what seems like a road to violence. Sadasia and Capers develop an affair as satisfying as it is destructive. Most arresting of all is the gradual and poignant fall of Ellia, in another case of inner demons and uncontrolled appetites. Although the plot turns are as complex as the characters’ all-too-human motives, the set pieces are so lively that the reader is carried through until the last page.
A key reason the book moves so quickly is Mantel's terrific use of language, an homage to classic noir fiction but always fresh in its own way. A description of how Donny is conceived is a joyfully bizarre cross between Raymond Chandler and Douglas Adams. As a bird dies, its "feathers liquified, popped, hissed and sizzled like the Yule Log broadcast every Christmas Eve in New York on WPIX, Channel 11." A grim Midwestern town is described "where yellowjackets outnumbered registered voters and probably had a higher standard of living." The mood lasts long after the reader has finished.
Takeaway: A horrific crime catalyzes desperate New Yorkers in this arresting neo-noir ensemble tale.
Great for fans of: Michael Heslin’s Meatpacking, Ernesto Quiñonez’s Chango’s Fire.
Production grades
Cover: B+
Design and typography: A-
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A-
Neff’s playful, informative thought experiment doesn’t restrict the Founder’s conversations to constitutional matters but also reflects on how different the modern world would be to their experience, occasionally layering in jokes to lighten the mood, though some readers might balk at John Adams encouraging someone to “slow [his] roll.” Interestingly, as the conversation turns towards 21st century voting controversies in the last third of the book, Neff makes a wise choice to introduce new characters and broaden the perspective. William Lee, George Washington’s Black manservant, and his two children represent differing perspectives and explore issues of race more fully.
The 2040 section finds the founders speaking to a future president, John Miller, about how the United States made it through its early 21st century crises, giving Neff the opportunity to lay out a set of prescriptions, such as term limits for Supreme Court Justices and members of Congress to the creation of two more major parties rather than just two. Regardless of what a reader may feel about specific proposals, Neff’s dialogs do an excellent job laying out the informal constitutional conventions which American democracy requires to thrive and which are currently under threat.
Takeaway: The founders face the past, present, and future of Constitutional democracy in lively dialogues.
Great for fans of: K. M. Kostyal’s Founding Fathers: The Fight for Freedom and the Birth of American Liberty, Lawrence Rowe’s The Founding Fathers Return.
Production grades
Cover: B
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A
Lizzie’s personal life puts readers onto a roller coaster of emotion. By the time this story starts, she’s had three husbands and five kids and has found that a frightening “emptiness and sense of loss pervaded [her] soul,” specifically after the death of her adopted mother. Tangled Violets Lizzie’s lifelong attempts to find intimacy in too many places eventually lead her into a deeply “inappropriate coupling”—but also, at long last, into healing when she rediscovers for herself the faith that she has always hoped would give her own kids “a wholesomeness and legitimacy that I’d always felt was beyond my reach.”
Martin’s strength in this story comes from a refusal to shy away from life’s difficulties as Lizzie faces tough choices and desires. Living as a Christian, and further a Catholic, isn’t easy, and people do stray. Martin’s development of Lizzie lays a strong foundation to make both her good and the bad choices convincing, encouraging readers to sympathize with a character who embodies human struggle and sin, offering hope of healing and forgiveness. Readers eager for stories about connection and faith will find this engaging.
Takeaway: The heartening story of a woman who’s sought intimacy in the wrong places finding her faith.
Great for fans of: Josie Riviera, Francine Rivers.
Production grades
Cover: B
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A
Willoughby-Burle’s lyrical writing propels the novel, its depictions of rural Kentucky’s idyllic beauty haunted by the poverty of the Great Depression. As Mattie’s character gradually develops, Willoughby-Burle focuses on the contrast between her life in North Carolina and in Certain, skillfully capturing Mattie’s charitable nature and genuine quest to help those less fortunate. When Mattie learns the real reason for Daniel’s behavior, she’s able to see the man underneath the gruff appearance and discovers his immense capacity for caring for others, sparking her determination to convince Daniel he must accept his past difficulties and take a chance at reestablishing his fractured relationships with town residents.
Mattie and Daniel’s romance develops simultaneously alongside the mystery behind Daniel’s fall from grace and self-imposed exile from Certain. As Willoughby-Burle reveals the backstory behind the death of Daniel’s wife and why the church—often the center of small southern towns in the Depression era—became a library, she illuminates the contentious relationships and misunderstandings between the town residents, and readers will be drawn to the connection between Mattie’s arrival as a well-to-do outsider and the community’s struggle to heal old wounds. Through it all, Willoughby-Burle never loses focus on Mattie’s generous spirit and the satisfaction she gains through her work.
Takeaway: A young woman volunteering as a librarian inDepression-era Kentucky finds unexpected love.
Great for fans of: Kristin Hannah’s The Four Winds, Mary Monroe’s Empty Vows
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A
Drawing on scripture, scholarship, and his experience as a pastor and Christian counselor, Wilson lays out, in clear and inviting language, the theological and practical underpinnings of marriage oneness. He urges couples not to drift into “worldly” understandings of marital partnership, noting that the “covenant partners,” driven by love and faith in each other and God, no longer live just for their individual selves. Instead, “We die to ourselves and begin a new walk with our covenant partner.” Separate chapters on both a husband and wife’s sexual fulfillment and the “debt of love” owed to the other are frank but not explicit, taking inspiration from the Song of Songs; Wilson calls for “mutual submission” and “giving self in mutually sharing physical pleasures.”
The question of “submission” has been complex and controversial in Christian marital guides for generations. Wilson argues that a wife’s “voluntary submission” to her husband’s leadership comes out of “respect and affection for him and reverence to Christ” and that the true authority figure in marriage is Jesus. “A covenant wife’s primary role is a homemaker,” he argues, though she has other duties. Wilson notes that this is in “no way an easy path in today’s contemporary society,” citing the “world’s ridicule” of stay-at-home mothers but acknowledging that wives generating some “supplemental income” is not contrary to biblical principle. Christian readers eager to strengthen their marriages while honoring their faith will find this guide welcome.
Takeaway: A pastor’s thorough, inviting guide to oneness and fulfillment in Christian marriage.
Great for fans of: Tim and Beverly LaHaye, Michelle Peterson’s #StayMarried: A Couple’s Devotional.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
Resumes for Children includes over 30 sample resumes that showcase how to frame and write up kids’ KSAs and accomplishments in clear, direct language. Manley makes clear that resumes need not focus primarily on jobs. The samples highlight volunteer work, the generation of hobby income, awards and recognition in hobbies and arts, and computer and software skills. Like all good resumes, each selection here is crafted to target a goal or demonstrate a particular skill set, such as gardening or music. The volume is rounded out by samples to help with the rare writing project young people dread even more than thank-you notes: cover letters.
Rather than nudge kids toward the professionalization of their hobbies, Manley’s guide encourages children both to dig deeper into their interests and to range outside them, to take on new challenges (giving presentations, taking online courses, learning languages, getting involved in library programs) that could add new dimensions to their resumes—and to their real-life skills and conception of self. The result is a book and process that encourages kids to know and better themselves, in the flesh and on paper.
Takeaway: This charming guide lays out why and how developing resumes can give kids a leg up.
Great for fans of: Christine M. Field’s Life Skills for Kids, Rachel Toor’s Write Your Way In.
Production grades
Cover: B+
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
Return of the Sphynx: An A. J. Hawke Legal Thriller
McInnis mines his years of experience as a trial lawyer to bring a high level of reality to the trial prep and courtroom scenes. He has a talent for making the minutiae of trial work interesting, as when Hawke and his associates plan how they will use certain questions to impanel a sympathetic jury without upsetting the judge. McInnis also explores the power—and limits—of expert testimony as Hawke chips away at a distinguished DNA expert in a fascinating exchange. Nor is the personal side neglected, as Hawke and his staff bicker when trial tensions ratchet up.
The trial centers on the DNA of identical twins. McInnis gives the trope a fresh twist with the "chimera” idea, a complex but certainly unique and memorable situation to power a thriller. Thoughtful scientific discussion permeates the book, especially the strategic discussion of how Hawke will explain it to the jury. While most of the suspense centers on the courtroom, the finale shows Hawke can also be an effective action hero–and, fortunately, leaves open the possibility for more Hawke adventures.
Takeaway: A scrappy lawyer must use sophisticated science, and his fists, to aid a client.
Great for fans of: Scott Turow, Phillip Margolin.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: B
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A-
It all gets wilder from there. The subsequent gospels enrich and expand the basic narrative of Peter Star, “Not Son of God and Not Son of Man,” inviting readers to peel back the layers of myth, tradition, and reverence to try to spot the actual human events at their core. En route to Star’s inevitable crucifixion, and the end of what the gospel authors call “The Hard Days,” the satire is playful and biting: “But I tell you to have sex with your enemies, do favors for those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and embrace your abusers,” Star instructs his throng.
Most engaging among the playful provocations is the introduction, in the Book of Paul, of “Lady Madonna,” a figure who seamlessly ties together the biblical and the Beatle-y—and also suggests Priscilla Presley, too. The epic length, proudly archaic prose, and daring conceit means the Star story isn’t for everyone, but readers on its wavelength will find pleasure, insight, laughs, and astonishment.
Takeaway: This astonishing novel presents the gospels of a rock savior, in allusive biblical style.
Great for fans of: WIll Self’s The Book of Dave, Joseph Heller’s God Knows.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A-
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
