Hill (author of My Prison Without Bars) examines the life of Dr. Goodman Basil Espy, III, an inspiring physician who dedicated his life to serving others. Hill begins with Espy’s rural childhood, spent fishing and helping out on his grandfather’s farm in Alabama—a childhood that Espy treasured, though it was cut short when the attack on Pearl Harbor prompted his father to re-enlist in the military, leaving Espy, the oldest of four brothers, as the “family leader” at the tender age of six. Even from that age, Espy worked to discern his purpose, amid multiple family moves and life tragedies.

That purpose was challenging to nail down initially; though Espy felt a “Calling” to become a minister, his true desire was to pursue medical school. After much personal back-and-forth, he opted to follow his heart, entering the Tulane School of Medicine following graduation from Georgia Tech in the late 1950s. That decision eventually paid off, as Espy became a well-respected obstetrician who not only performed countless life-saving procedures domestically, but also traveled abroad to offer his expertise to underserved women in other countries. Hill covers Espy’s professional achievements alongside his personal struggles, including two failed marriages and the tragic death of his daughter, Anne, who suffered from epilepsy.

Espy’s Christian faith beats a steady rhythm throughout the narrative, sparking comfort when tragedy arrives and driving Espy’s constant desire to serve others. Espy, who traveled to several foreign counties on medical missions over the course of his life, vowed to put aside personal relationships after his second divorce, in an effort to focus solely on philanthropy. Hill includes personal anecdotes of Espy’s patients, as well as historical stories and photographs to anchor Espy’s experiences (including flashbacks to the Truman presidency, Al Capone’s role in Prohibition Chicago, and more). This will entertain readers who relish in-depth biographies accompanied by rousing historical context.

Takeaway: An inspiring medical biography celebrating Christian beliefs.

Comparable Titles: Paul Kalanithi’s When Breath Becomes Air, J. Thomas Grant’s The Next Patient.

Production grades
Cover: B
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: A
Editing: B+
Marketing copy: A

Click here for more about The Apostle, the miraculous journey of Dr. G.B. Espy

Northwick’s debut is a spicy 1920s set Gothic inspired dark romance focused on love, families, memory, mysteries, and—of course—the supernatural. Millie Foxboro, a naïve young woman afflicted with traumatic amnesia, arrives at the foreboding Willowfield mansion to assist Professor Callum Hughes, the brooding but handsome owner, with his work on a book on Celtic mythology. Haunted by the deaths of her anguished father and abusive mother, Millie finds herself increasingly drawn to and repelled by Hughes’s equally wounded soul and foul temper, as well as the strange mystery of his wife’s madness and death, which might have been caused by Willowfield’s ghosts—or by Callum himself. Millie also meets the housemaid Felicity and her flirtatious brother Rodney the groundskeeper, who seems to know about Willowfield’s secrets. Desperate for money, Millie is reluctant to leave, even as Willowfield’s dark past and her own shaky sanity threaten her life.

Northwick conjures a compelling mystery in the classic gothic mode, with intriguing characters and a crumbling estate brought to vivid life by the assured prose. Millie is a vulnerable heroine, who starts off defying Callum’s controlling behavior, refusing to wear the clothes that he bought for her, though soon she’s caught up in an abusive romance, with the sex rough after their violent arguments. The Cruel Dark suggests cycles of abuse, as Millie has disturbing memories of her mother beating her. Callum, meanwhile, is driven by memories of his own eccentric mother who was obsessed with Celtic folklore. But it’s not just their paths that are haunted, as Northwick stages harrowing encounters with what seem to be ghosts.

While mostly fast paced, the story occasional slows or turns repetitive, focused more on the destructive romance than the many tantalizing mysteries. Lovers of dark romance and stories of creepy estates will find much to relish, though, as Northwick guides readers through a shadowed world of chandeliers and “decaying cornices.” This gothic is sumptuous, jolting, and occasionally—like Willowfield’s gardens—blooming with hope.

Takeaway: Sumptuous gothic romance of memory, ghosts, and a destructive love.

Comparable Titles: Beth Underdown’s The Key in the Lock. Alexis Henderson’s House of Hunger.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A-
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A

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In this emotional and inspiring memoir, Van Dusen shares the triumphs and tragedies of a life—and a deep resilience—that took her from “nothing” to being one of the nation’s top financial advisers. “Nothing about my childhood indicated I had a shot in hell” at that kind of success, Van Dusen writes, though her portrait of growing up in a boisterous Italian family split by divorce and lacking any tradition of wealth is often warm and inviting. Starting her career in the go-go 1980s, Van Dusen experienced the scandals, economic crises, and relentless work culture of Wall Street, plus the added challenges of thriving as a woman in a deeply entrenched boys club.

Her story frankly covers wrenching events, including a rape, and builds to the devastating events of 9/11, and her direct, inviting telling of it is always focused on the bottom line, as you would hope for a trailblazer in the stock trade. Running with Grace is deeply personal but also rich with lessons, as Van Dusen digs deep into her drive to make it in the male-dominated business of investment, plus what it takes to bet on oneself against all odds. With anecdotes about run-ins with notorious figures like Bernie Madoff ("eerily calm as he threw me out of his office”), plus moving stories about family, especially her late husband and the grandfather who helped raise her, Van Dusen’s brisk debut is equally heart-warming and motivating, as no matter what life throws at her Van Dusen never stops running after her goals.

That title is somewhat literal. Running and exercise became a major part of Van Dusen's everyday life as a form of healing and peace amid all of the injuries, sickness, tragedy and stress formulating in her personal life and her career. Fans of upbeat business memoirs full of feeling will be engaged as Van Dusen sets the pace.

Takeaway: Inspiring memoir of Wall Street success and never slowing down.

Comparable Titles: Barbara Chase-Riboud's I Always Knew, Tessa Fontaine's The Electric Woman.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A

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Tirado-Ryen (Two Weeks of Summer) delves deep into the psyche of a woman set adrift after an accident robs her of her memory and identity. In an opening straight from a fairy tale, amnesiac Vickie wakes up in the hospital, frequently visited by heartthrob icon of stage and screen, Jack Post. With only snippets coming to her, she’s discharged from the hospital into the loving care of Jack and his staff. As they grow closer, locked in a mutual attraction and honest chemistry, bits and pieces —likes, dislikes, the fact she speaks Spanish—creep in, but she’s both wary of the new information while still clinging to it. All is well until a private investigator reveals Vickie’s jolting truth: her name isn’t Vickie, and she’s not at all free to pursue this promising connection with Jack.

Throughout the novel, facets of who Anne, formerly Vickie, once was shine through in all of their awkward, cringe-worthy glory, as the story twists into unexpected but exciting directions. When she discovers that the woman she was before the accident isn’t someone to be proud of, that her husband is about to divorce her, and her twin sister hates her with a passion, Anne finds herself unable to reconcile the two sides of herself. Looking back on her pre-accident choices and companions brings her to an intense period of self-evaluation, which leads her to some key insights —and, encouragingly, an era of new growth.

The stark, raw exploration of physical and emotional trauma responses coupled with descriptions of infidelity and manipulative behaviors may be difficult for some readers. However, Tirado-Ryen beautifully illuminates human resilience and the journey of self-discovery. Anne’s path is, of course, not smooth, but her development, as well as that of a few secondary characters, is organic and will have readers wishing and hoping for the best possible outcome.

Takeaway: Enthralling story of memory, identity, and redemption.

Comparable Titles: Melissa Hill’s One Last Gift, Michelle Reid’s The Unforgettable Husband.

Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A

Click here for more about Forgetting Me

A dispatch from a more civilized discourse, this insightful collection from Briggs offers a comprehensive week-to-week view of epochal events and challenges faced by the United States between late 2019 and 2022, with an emphasis on politics, policy, and the travails of both parties, especially “the splintering of the GOP in ways that harken back a century” and the Democrats being tied to an unpopular president and a left wing given to “incessant frothing about income and wealth inequality in America.” Briggs digs deeper, offers more evidence, and thinks through positions more openly than many columnists, even in the paragraph-long “short takes” that end each column and often consider the arguments of thinkers from across the ideological spectrum. An attorney well-known for antitrust work, Briggs offers a nuanced and pragmatic approach to controversial topics, favoring practical solutions rather than mere partisan finger-pointing.

These essays, originally published in The Chesapeake Observer, exemplify a principled conservatism as they cover a wide range, including the rise of China; the moderation of the 2020 presidential debate; the Biden Administration's quest to forgive student loans; the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade and the leaking of the decision and the political fallout afterwards; and the “damage to our democratic way of life” represented by colleges that, he argues, discourage “independent mindedness.” Briggs acknowledges when he gets it wrong—a July 2022 column predicts “the beginning of the end” for Biden’s political fortunes, while a September piece breaks down the sudden reversal of the Democrats’ prospects. And, credit where it’s due, a January 2023 piece makes the case that, in the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy “will not be able to command the fealty of his thin majority to achieve material legislative success.”

Briggs’s intellectual integrity, reliance on data, and refusal to rely upon received wisdom sets his columns apart, and his insightful, engaging prose clarifies complex ideas without simplifying them. Readers on the right and left will find their beliefs challenged with welcome thoughtfulness, and the very ideas of truth, inquiry, and respectful, persuasive debate affirmed.

Takeaway: Unusually thoughtful essays of policy and politics in the Biden era.

Comparable Titles: Ross Douthat, John Podhoretz.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A-

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Saller (Eddie’s War) delivers a strong middle-grade thriller with her latest work. Nearly 90 years after lab assistant Madeleine Eleanor Carruthers is executed, leaving four children behind, her great-granddaughter, Madeleine Stanton—known as Lainie—uncovers bits of her story and sets out to exonerate her great-grandmother and namesake. Like her great-granddaughter, the first Madeleine was born at midnight at the start of a new century, and when a local TV reporter asks for an interview about “Millenium Girl,” Lainie is thrilled. But on set, the reporter blindsides Lainie with sensationalized material about her disgraced relative—and sends Lainie on a crusade to find a way to clear Madeleine’s name, with her friends Seth (who might just become more than a friend) and Elle.

Saller skillfully weaves history and present-day hints to create an irresistible narrative, rich with exciting clues, that readers will eagerly devour. A missing and mysterious blue journal, kept by Madeleine in the 1930s, promises to reveal the truth—if they can find it. Living in the old family Victorian provides Lainie with plenty of tantalizing hidden hiding spots, and readers will hold their breath as they wait to see if each hiding place is the one that will solve the mystery. Lainie’s great-uncles, Madeleine’s sons, provide clues, and one particularly juicy secret comes from their younger sister Cecily, kidnapped and renamed Gracie by her nanny during Madeleine’s trial.

Saller’s talent for thoroughly researching her subjects is on full display—readers will find themselves mentally traveling the Victorian family home right along with Lainie and her friends. Saller also doesn’t shy away from tough subjects, such as unethical drug companies, unjust execution after defending one’s own life, and unnecessary commitment to mental hospitals. Lainie and her friends are thoroughly believable and appealing, leading readers to follow them on this multi-decade-old mystery trail. This tantalizing tale will engage readers from the first page to the last.

Takeaway: This expertly plotted middle-grade thriller will enthrall readers.

Comparable Titles: Katherine Rundell, Paul Griffin.

Production grades
Cover: B
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A

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Rich, jealous, spoiled, so-called “best friends” in California’s Silicon Valley prove to be exactly what readers might suspect in this engaging domestic thriller—husbands who constantly feel their masculinity slipping away and women who stab each other in the back, full of insecurities and striving for position. Newcomer to the neighborhood, Cleo Baird, has her eyes set on one particular person when she shows up with her three-year-old daughter, Izzy, to the Oak Valley playgroups—Alex Drake. Alex has it all—a hot husband, a bubbly personality, a close-knit community of best friends…basically, she’d be considered queen bee if they were all back in high school, which, in this hierarchical enclave, is exactly how it feels to the characters themselves.

While Cleo zeroes in on becoming Alex’s best friend, readers quickly see that something more complex is going on, and that nothing about Cleo’s meeting her is coincidental. Worthington’s polished debut compels as Alex seems to be falling into a trap, letting Cleo into her circle with open arms, and giving her intimate details of her life and marriage, while Cleo shares next to nothing about herself and her own background. One of Alex’s friends, Jenna, sees through the façade, but Worthington convincingly comes off as jealous and Alex quickly dismisses her—until it’s too late. Meanwhile, Worthington reveals the imperfections and occasional horrors beneath the veneer of wealth and privilege.

Full of twists and turns, suspense and psychological insight, The Playgroup reveals, in brisk and conversational language that will keep readers of domestic thrillers engaged, a community rich with luxury and fashion but also relentless dish, politicking, and betrayals, a darker Mean Girls full of status-obsessed adults who act like children but scheme like pros. The final twist is satisfying and surprising, and Worthington finds sharp, tragic comedy in her incisive treatment of women who strive to perform the appearance of perfection—trying to distract from the fact that a house is old and unfashionable “overpriced charcuterie and triple creme brie.”

Takeaway: Twisty story of lies and betrayal among moms in luxurious Silicon Valley.

Comparable Titles: Tarryn Fisher’s The Couple Next Door, Jeneva Rose’s One of Us is Dead.

Production grades
Cover: B
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A

Click here for more about The Playgroup

Tirado-Ryen probes the limits of love in this sweet coming-of-age debut. At 18, Arkansas native Connie Baltimore has never had a serious boyfriend. Though she’s eager to discover romance, it’s not high on her list—she’s more interested in finishing high school than she is in chasing boys. Plus, her best friend, Dee, does plenty of that for both of them: she’s brash, outspoken, and dates guys just “for the sex.” While trying to navigate young adulthood, Connie’s world is upended: her older sister’s marriage is on the rocks and forces her to move back home, and her father’s best friend, Nick, who’s struggling to recover from his wife’s death, ends up staying with the family as well.

Young adult readers will find much to relate to here. Despite the turmoil at home, Connie is very much the average high school senior, trying to find her place in the world while navigating the storms that accompany young adulthood. When sparks start to fly between her and Nick, things get exponentially more complicated: Nick’s close to her father’s age, a hurdle the two have yet to truly think through, resulting in their decision to keep their romance under wraps. And there’s convincingly drawn trouble on the friendship front as well: though Dee and Connie experience some of the same rites of passage, they couldn’t be more different—and that difference eventually leads to a rift in their relationship, made more serious by Connie’s romance with Nick.

Tirado-Ryen doesn’t shy away from the harder topics. Connie has a pregnancy scare that brings up some weighty options, and Dee’s struggles with sexual and physical abuse, handled sensitively, simmer throughout the novel. The central romance stays mellow but also serves as a major catalyst in Connie’s life, though the ending, which may shock readers, comes rather abruptly, and feels hurried. Still, The Secrets Inside proves appealing as it plumbs the heart.

Takeaway: A forbidden romance gives this sweet coming-of-age story an edge.

Comparable Titles: Marie Force’s Georgia on My Mind, Jenn Bennett’s Starry Eyes.

Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A

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Clarke’s elaborate debut fantasy offers spirited humor, fresh and winning language, and a spirit of go-for-broke invention as it mixes surprises and perspectives in a somewhat chaotic solution. In the town of Wontmoil, apothecary Growina Crowe is lonely, so when witch friend Margaret Bograven gives her a discarded grimoire, Growina attempts to cast the spell “To summon an otherworldly companion.” But Growina knows she’s not a witch: she skips some parts and is accident prone around burning candles and boiling over tea. Soon the local bank places a bounty on the mystery beast that ate off its locks. The bounty hunting Team Wontmoil is formed, consisting of Growina; the condescending wizard Theo; the three witch Bograven Sisters; and twin space aliens Zizel and Zemni who can create a physical object out of whatever word they speak.

As that summary suggests, Clarke’s world building draws from many genres and traditions, a mash-up approach whose moment-to-moment fun at times lacks context and coherence. The sense of a story getting out of hand, in fact, is written into the plot. The point of view switches from Growina to that of Florian Honeybeard, a female impersonator thespian who is kidnapped by mercenaries who mistake him for a soothsayer. Coerced into guiding leader Captain Beatrix Bodkins to a fortune, Florian invents an accidentally prophetic story about a tentacled beast wreaking havoc in Wontmoil. Bodkin, riding a chair with animated monster legs, drags Florian in pursuit, along with painter Wardric, whose artwork creates in reality whatever he paints, and a ghost made of sand in a box.

These many elements also collide in a fantasy world where nearly anything can happen with few clear rules. Readers invested in traditional plotting may wander, but many inventions here engage. Growina is a sympathetic character who yearns to get out of her shell, be useful, and make friends. The bats that carry messages like carrier pigeons and excerpts from the Lazy Botanist’s Guide are bold, fun touches.

Takeaway: Wildly inventive fantasy fun, with no clear rules.

Comparable Titles: Genevieve Cogman, T. Kingfisher.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A

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Future mercenary Cain searches for deeper meaning amidst the body count and corporate skullduggery in this searching cyber-future action thriller from James (author of The Parnell Affair), the first in the Cain Series. Rising up from petty crime in the flooded streets of Brooklyn to become a high-class mercenary who operates in shades of moral gray, Cain, a soldat de fortune, describes himself as “the man that goes through that door”—he gets the job done. But, with every inventive score he undertakes—from infiltrating orbital space stations, a one-man corporate prison bust, or leading commandos to steal experimental technology—he finds his personal life with girlfriend Francesca Pieralisi, the corruption-fighting mayor of sea-wall-protected Venice, threatening to come undone.

As the title suggests, Ethos of Cain strives to unpack the mind and heart of the eponymous mercenary, blending introspection with action, espionage, and the surprises of a class-divided future where humanity has expanded into the solar system but remains resilient in its corruptibility. James offers a hero of unrivaled skill and, at first, nearly inaccessible morality, but then strives to deepen Cain, especially through the relationship with Francesca, as Cain must reckon with the man he’s become, and if it’s who he wants to be. The adventure will give him opportunity, of course, as James stages crisp, surprising action involving corp-cops, airfoils, TransAtmovVettes, and other innovations crafted to please SF and cyber-punk fans.

Cain can be a bit of a mope, and at times the introduction of this world comes at the expense of narrative momentum, but James excels at making it all feel real, from planning missions to the way the wealthy separate themselves from everyone else. Dialogue often has a fun, seedy spirit (“Don’t think we’ll need this much beef,” the standout Scarlatti says upon meeting Cain), and the tantalizing conspiracies, future tech, mission planning, and Cain’s reliable old .45 and the possibility of a mega-score will please lovers of SF action.

Takeaway: Future mercenary confronts the truth of himself in this action-packed thriller.

Comparable Titles: RJ Roder’s Rise of Metal, Joel Shepherd’s Crossover.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A-

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Openshaw’s surprising novel of art, aging, and what life’s all about is three books in one. There is the awed but irreverent quest of protagonist Sam, an artist facing a troubled marriage and a dearth of inspiration, moved to undertake a “kind of crazy spiritual quest”: to trace the construction of Michaelangelo’s Tomb of Pope Julius II, perhaps the great artist’s greatest challenge, intended to be “A work of art on a scale that hadn’t been attempted in a thousand years.” Sam’s friend Burke links Michelangelo’s mid-life crisis to Sam’s own malaise. “Some men get a red sports car and a trophy wife,” Burke says. “Michelangelo built a Tomb.” As Sam digs into what went wrong half a millennia ago, Openshaw offers an in-depth history of Michelangelo’s life and career, plus elements of a travel guide, complete with photos, illustrations and informative maps and cartoons, documenting real journeys—and the story of the tomb itself, a grand project that never worked out like Michelangelo had envisioned.

Openshaw is a seasoned tour guide and veteran travel-television show writer, and his expertise in Italy, art, and Michelangelo in particular shines on nearly each page. Meanwhile, Sam’s sandwich-generation troubles—painful divorce; trying to help his aging parents; maintaining a relationship with his young daughter—has him reeling. His admission, in a seedy Bologna hotel, that he has “no home” suggests Orwell’s Down and Out in Paris and London, while accomplished passages of travel writing bring Italy to touching life.

Sam finds some relief in spirited carousing and a hopeful romance, and his travails are wittily juxtaposed against those of his idol, Michelangelo, though at times the balance between the novel’s three modes favors the informative, as Openshaw digs deeply into Renaissance sculpture, patronage, politics and more, considering theories of why the tomb became something of a footnote. Still, Openshaw’s depiction of Michelangelo as a human being with faults and frailties is fascinating. Michelangelo at Midlife is like a trip to Italy, edifying, informative, and unpredictable.

Takeaway: Surprising novel of art, history, and mid-life crises, including Michelangelo’s.

Comparable Titles: Stephanie Storey’s Oil and Marble, Theresa Maggio’s Mattanza: Love and Death in the Sea of Sicily.

Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A-

Click here for more about Michelangelo at Midlife

Urging a pivot toward fulfillment, control, and flow in one’s work and career, Galica’s up-to-date debut offers motivational testament to the possibility of career-minded women taking risks, moving past fear of the unknown, and trailblazing their own paths to greater success. Galica notes that “two-thirds of the female workforce is wondering whether they should not just leave their jobs but change industries entirely." Her practical-minded guide offers clear lessons in becoming "unstuck" from draining and unfulfilling career choices. Sharing inspiring interviews with women who made the “leap,” and drawing from her personal experience, Galica delves into why women often feel dissatisfied at work, how to embrace what matters most, and what it takes to bet on themselves—and discover career paths that are more engaging and rewarding.

While Galica writes with a coach’s warm directness, Leap acknowledges the real challenges that can stymie workers’ seeking more. She considers the familiar advice “to align career with your passion” and makes the case that, often, passion isn’t enough. Instead, she argues that playing to one’s strengths and “replacing 'follow your passion' with 'go where you want to contribute'" is crucial, especially for women, who often are made to feel “guilty or uncomfortable switching careers just for passion’s sake.”

Galica backs up insights like that with hard-won wisdom and action steps, engaging reflection exercises, and compelling, on-point testimony from women who dared to leap—and flourish, including heavy hitters like filmmaker Ava DuVernay and celebrity chef Ina Garten. Touchingly, Galica considers the example of her own mother, who over time, unable to let go of “socioeconomic guilt and fear,” resisted making a change, until at last, in her fifties, she followed her joy, her strengths, and her sense of where she wanted to contribute, returning to school and starting fresh. Leap demonstrates that such happy endings don’t have to be put off.

Takeaway: Wise, action-oriented guide for women considering career changes.

Comparable Titles: Karen Arrington's Your Next Level Life, Tessa White's The Unspoken Truths for Career Success.

Production grades
Cover: B+
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A

Click here for more about Leap

Tirado-Ryen (author of Forgetting Me) explores the relationship between two sisters, Kim and Dena, who are mourning their mother’s loss in the early 2000s. Their dynamic is fraught: Kim rues that beautiful Dena seems to have everything, a great career and a doting husband, while Kim is stuck in a boring job and a stagnant relationship with boyfriend, Jared—rather than “I love you,” Kim and Jared settle for “Care for you a lot.” Close to Christmas, Dena asks Kim to watch her daughter, Summer, so that Dena and her husband, Jonathan, can enjoy a child-free vacation. (“When did I last see Dena’s kid?” Kim wonders. “Her fourth birthday party?”) After a shaky start, though, something unexpected occurs: Kim and her niece discover they enjoy time together. But as Kim starts whipping her life into shape, she finds to her dismay that, in truth, things are not that great between Dena and Jonathan.

Tirado-Ryen’s story moves smoothly, traveling between the 2000s and the 1990s, sharing vivid glimpses into the reasons for the near rupturing in the bond between the sisters. While the emotions are resonant, the gentle humor and brisk prose give Two Weeks of Summer an appealingly light touch. All the characters are well etched and engaging, presented with empathy and, at the novel’s best, a plafyul sense of surprise. Scenes of bullying that Kim endured in school and the struggles, in the past, of the sisters’ single mother are memorable and effective.

Tirado-Ryen draws attention to how different people cope differently with grief and loss and though to all outward appearances some seem to have moved on, in reality, they haven’t. Some incidents, including a makeover and a confrontation with a childhood tormenter, play out as expected, but this bright, feel good novel about sisterly love, female friendships, and the meaning of family offers heaps of heart.

Takeaway: Buoyant, well-told story of sisters reconnecting while coping with loss.

Comparable Titles: Claire LaZebnik's The Smart One and the Pretty One, Megan Crane’s Names My Sisters Call Me.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A

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In the dark romantic comedy of reconciliations and fresh beginnings, Fanning (author of The Armchair Bride and Rebuilding Alexandra Small) introduces readers to widower Silas Elijah French, a 67 year-old unemployed New York department store Santa as he attempts to mend a broken relationship with his estranged gay son, Joey, and 68 year-old Ellen Gitelman, a widow struggling with a recent Lupus diagnosis only five years into cancer remission. Broke and desperate to see his son, Silas applies for a Santa gig on a two-week holiday cruise to Florida where Joey resides with his husband and two kids. Expecting to make enough money to surprise his son and the grandchildren he’s never seen, Silas accepts the job on the gay cruise line. He didn’t expect an international drug smuggling operation, snoring drag queens, a shady priest, or the pleasant jolt of meeting Ellen, a woman whose eyes reminded him of his late wife.

Fanning tugs at emotions from the opening pages showing Silas, a broken man severely down on his luck and anxious about reaching out to his son, and Ellen, who is still reeling from her Lupus diagnosis. They meet aboard the MS Viking after Ellen mistakenly buys tickets for the gay cruise and literally falls into his arms. The budding romance often takes a backseat to the mayhem aboard the ship and complicated but engaging relationships among crew members and other passengers, like Patrick and Kathy Lucey, a brother and sister duo who bicker incessantly.

Fanning has weaved a tale that has it all—romance, humor, drama, mystery, and suspense. Despite Silas and Ellen having a lot in common and enjoying each other’s company, their relationship doesn’t really power a story that instead has at its heart friendships and family bonds. Fanning’s prose and dialogue are crisp, brisk, and incisive, and the characterization is strong in this novel that’s ideal for readers who love diverse casts, surprising connections, and healing relationships, with much comic complication.

Takeaway: Emotional story of healing relationships and being there for the ones we love.

Comparable Titles: Stephen McCauley’s My Ex-Life, Audra North’s Midlife Crisis.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A-

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In O’Donnell’s spirited debut, a grisly Californian dystopia, Abilene “Abbie” Spencer is an 18-year-old living in a class-segregated Eureka in 2040, where the prosperous half of the wall-divided city, Port Allegiance, holds the majority of wealth and the rest of Eureka “only [...] serve[s] Port Allegiance.” Living conditions are so atrocious that Abbie won’t even let herself dream of a better life, away from squalor and the city’s serial killer, but her uncle Jesse encourages her to apply for work in Port Allegiance to escape her depressed, addict parents and abusive boyfriend, Ty, who hectors her audacity: “You and your worthless ideas to earn money for college. Never gonna happen, baby.” But it does. Abbie gets a job working as a house servant at the prestigious estate, Redwood Manor, and discovers life on the other side of the wall—and the conspiracy shaping her world.

Fast-paced, suspenseful, and at times horrifying, O’Donnell’s compelling plot offers a prophetic imagining of American life in a capitalist totalitarian regime, though the world-building, localized to the Cold War Berlin-inspired split city, will leave readers eager for more information about this fallen future. The story develops with page-turning power: apart from having to deal with Mrs. De Young, the unpleasant owner of Redwood Manor, Abbie's working conditions, pay, and coworker relationships are better than she ever dared to imagine back in Eureka, especially with the sudden appearance of Dylan, an old flame. Abbie, meanwhile, proves an engaging, surprising character.

Abbie discovers the sinister schemes that fuel Redwood Manor and Port Allegiance as a whole, and what begins as a first step towards a new life plummets into a nightmare that threatens to wipe out the entire human population. Young readers should beware of the book’s depictions of violence and abuse, including sexual abuse, but on the whole, Tetherless, the first of O’Donnell’s Port Allegiance Chronicles, is a promising, debut with a classic setup: one young woman disrupting an empire.

Takeaway: Gritty story of a bold young woman in a class-segregated future California.

Comparable Titles:Tehlor Kay Mejia’s We Set the Dark on Fire series, Lauren Oliver’s Delirium.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy:

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Vattic's charming debut introduces Mr. Daisy, a fearsome giant with a flower on his bald head. Haunted by his sister's death, Mr. Daisy maintains a nomadic and solitary lifestyle save for his cosmic companion and guardian, Joy, who imbues his life with mischief and magic. At Almond Bay, he works as a temporary substitute teacher at Blue Diamond Elementary School, and meets a class of kindergarten kids, including the Three Terrors: the prank masterminds who believe "all substitutes were evil." Amidst the innocent mischief he grows to love and the comradeship he forms with his co-teachers, the stars align for Mr. Daisy to finally confront his inner demons.

A book for all ages, Mr. Daisy shines in the distinct portrayal of children's unique qualities, offering the readers a delightful world with nothing short of wonder and boundless creativity through classroom activities, playful descriptions of the Three Terrors' pranks, and a background of the kids' lives outside school. Parallel to that is Vattic's remarkable ability to alter the tone as Mr. Daisy meets the grim hostility of his childhood. Elsewhere, Vattic's storytelling offers a glimpse into Mr. Daisy’s life when he joins the Republic army shortly after his sister's death, evoking the loneliness and grief that overshadows his openness to an enjoyable life.

These humane subplots are rooted more in character than high-stakes fantasy drama, a grounded approach that will prove alluring to readers seeking thoughtful, rooted storytelling. Mr. Daisy encounters a community filled with kindness and compassion, the necessary ingredients to counter false perceptions of oneself and to accept any leftover childhood trauma and regretful decisions made. "Everyone has scars from their past that helped shape who they are, but it never defines them," Mr. Daisy tells his love interest Leena White. Without fully knowing, he is the one who needs the most convincing.

Takeaway: A gentle giant's unexpected playful ride to healing the past.

Comparable Titles: Paul Zindel, Benjamin Alire Saenz.

Production grades
Cover: B
Design and typography: A-
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A

Click here for more about Mr. Daisy: A Low Fantasy Slice of Life Novel