Sarah Woodward is the only person to walk away from a chilling accident. After her unexplained survival, she is haunted by repeated dreams she can’t parse, strange changes to her appearance, memories that don’t seem to belong to her, and unexplained healing abilities—she can’t even scar, much less die. By chance, she meets Alex Smith, Seattle’s only vampire, and Lucy Goodspeed, a low-ranking member of a centuries-old society, both of whom quickly identify Sarah as not quite human. Sarah doesn’t trust them, but also doesn’t believe she qualifies as ordinary anymore; still, she’s not ready to give up her independent life, unattached and unneeded by anyone.

Viscerally macabre imagery permeates Wilson’s chilling debut, the first in her Deathless Creatures Saga, giving attentive readers haunting scenes to savor while echoing Sarah’s desperation for someone to understand, and clarify, what’s happening to her. She runs from Alex—and avoids learning more from Lucy—in an attempt to save her comfortable life, but ultimately her path can’t be denied. Wilson colors Sarah’s fascination with Alex as a conduit for acceptance—that she cannot be less than who she is and cannot avoid her fate as someone more than human, needed by the entire planet—though her relationship with Alex is muddled by vampire hierarchy and Lucy’s enigmatic Society of Keepers.

Though Sarah’s refusal of her call is lengthy and drawn out, Wilson’s writing easily draws readers in, eventually offering a high-stakes feast of electrifying passion, death, and a ticking bomb of destruction that only Sarah can stop. Through sheer willpower, and with Alex’s devoted help, Sarah eventually comes into her own, transforming into a confident, transfixing lead who is assured in her role of protecting the human world. Wilson’s characters—and their mesmeric universe—are ripe for sequel treatment, whispering of more romance and exponentially higher stakes in the future.

Takeaway: Two immortals struggle to accept their fate—and each other.

Comparable Titles: B.B. Griffith’s The Vanished series, Charlaine Harris’s Sookie Stackhouse Saga.

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

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Launching Anglehart's Scottish Scrolls series, this polished and enchanting urban fantasy coming-of-age thriller follows a teenage girl learning about her mystical gifts. In Massachusetts in 1991, 17-year-old Mckenna O’Dwyer has the ability to read people’s emotions and suffers from nightmares of a witch being burned at the stake. After Mckenna reveals she moved a book with her mind and discovers a secret letter from her absent mother, her biological father, Seán, confesses that in England he once was married to a witch named Abigail. Believing herself to be in danger, Abigail urged Sean to flee the country with the infant Mckenna—affectionately named “Wise One.” An obstinate Mckenna runs away, accompanied by her new friend Nissa, in search of her mother in Ballycastle, Northern Ireland.

Anglehart’s twisty mystery adventure skilfully captures the awkwardness and unease of being a teenager who feels out of place, all while conjuring a grand web of magic, intrigue, mystical atmosphere, and fae surprises. After stowing away on a ship bound for Dublin, Mckenna and Nissa traverse the Emerald Isle by hitching a ride with Cillian, a young politician who informs them of the Troubles in Belfast and the ancient mound at Newgrange, a site whose magical energy connects with Mckenna. But Cillian will face jolts, betrayal, and a relentless High Priestess eager to push the Wise One to discover her “darkness within” and, in accordance with prophetic scrolls, bring great power to the natural world, but with a dire human cost.

With intrigue and revelations, the plot progresses delightfully as Mckenna gains confidence and learns about her magical legacy. This swift, crisply written modern-day fairytale of determination, growing up, and embracing your identity will inspire young adult readers who appreciate Irish and Scottish folklore. The environmental message resonates, and Anglehart's evocations of an Ireland where a “lake of mystic topaz” stands “silent and still beneath smooth mountains” are both wistful and sumptuous.

Takeaway: Enchanting fantasy of a teen girl, prophecies, and witchy magic.

Comparable Titles: Brie Tart’s Iron & Ivy, E. Latimer’s Witches of Ash & Ruin.

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

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“The Gospel is the greatest story ever told… yet, today, it seems most people in the West do not care,” writes Tellefsdal in this fresh, inviting resource for Christian leaders and organizations. Drawing on 20 years of experience in public relations, and candidly sharing his personal journey with the Christian faith, Tellefsdal delves into barriers that, he argues, are making the church irrelevant to contemporary followers: weakening their message to be “like everyone else” or becoming inflexible and isolating from the mainstream. To combat those “ditches” as he calls them, Tellefsdal offers several functional tools and communication tactics, urging the church to reach those who are “in desperate need of grace and hope.”

Tellefsdal’s approach is unique, and, though much of his experience is based out of his home turf of Norway, readers will find a wealth of creative suggestions here, all aimed at increasing church membership and clarifying the Christian message. Tellefsdal labels the church as “off-brand”—and offers steps to get back on track, including how to “pitch” Jesus to contemporary audiences—while asserting that the complaints people have toward Christianity result from a lack of human connection between the church and the outside world. He also recounts interviews with prominent church leaders across the globe, sharing their success stories and the steps they took to get there as proof that “significant progress can occur if we rethink where and how we gather.”

Whether it’s revamping media approaches, improving web sites, or applying a sales funnel approach to church marketing, Tellefsdal offers readers logical principles to enhance the “Christian narrative” and “make the Christian faith relevant to modern audiences.” Bonus material includes analysis of secularization trends in the United States compared to Europe and a summary of how to use the hero’s journey framework when marketing the Christian faith.

Takeaway: Creative guide for bringing a Christian message to contemporary audiences.

Comparable Titles: Andrew Atherstone’s Repackaging Christianity, Dave Adamson’s MetaChurch.

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

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In Warren’s harrowing young adult debut, coastal flooding and ravaging wildfires have left much of the United States uninhabitable. Diego Rivera, the renowned scientist who desperately tried to warn others of impending climate change consequences, now lives with his assistant, Mia, and subsists on alcohol, grieving over the world’s destruction and economic collapse while cheating death one day at a time. Meanwhile, siblings Dee and Rowan leave New York when food becomes scarce and their parents are dead, and 17-year-old Winona struggles on her own in what used to be Seattle—until Jeremy arrives and changes her life forever.

Warren’s world is a stark, unflinching portrait of the costs that come with ignoring climate change. As the three groups make their way to Denver, Colorado—one of the last viable places to live on Earth—Warren paints a planet rife with harsh conditions: natural food is almost non-existent, animal scavengers are deadly, and viruses have decimated populations. Readers grasp the events leading up to the world’s destruction through the stories Warren’s characters share with each other—and the knowledge they glean from history books—while experiencing firsthand their fight to survive the choices made by humans in “the before.”

Though the story holds eerily similar parallels to contemporary times, Warren ensures a glimmer of promise in the bonds made between her characters, the resilience of the few who survive, and their commitment to living in a safer, more natural world. As the groups start over from scratch, the novel reaches a precarious balance of struggle and optimism, with sprinkles of romance and new beginnings buoying up the bleakness of this new world. The terrain is vicious, and the stakes deadly, but Warren’s characters—an appealing jumble of hardened yet vulnerable survivors—will leave readers with flickers of hope for our own future.

Takeaway: Realistic but hopeful adventure of starting over after climate destruction.

Comparable Titles: Sarah Crossan’s Breathe, Neil Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman's Dry.

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

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