BookShelfie Reviews

Originally published in 2018, Terence Shannon’s Mt. Everest in Flip-Flops is a reflective, autobiographically styled but apparently completely fictional novel about the formative power of youth and memory. Set in ....

Originally published in 2018, Terence Shannon’s Mt. Everest in Flip-Flops is a reflective, autobiographically styled but apparently completely fictional novel about the formative power of youth and memory. Set in a Catholic summer camp in 1972, the book mostly eschews conventional plot drama in favour ....

Originally published in 2018, Terence Shannon’s Mt. Everest in Flip-Flops is a reflective, autobiographically styled but apparently completely fictional novel about the formative power of youth and memory. Set in a Catholic summer camp in 1972, the book mostly eschews conventional plot drama in favour of episodic scenes that gradually tell a story. Through the […]

....

Richard M. Risi’s debut The Fragments of Shadow & Sound is a poetry collection that manages to be both easy to read and daringly experimental at points. Comprising five sections, ....

Richard M. Risi’s debut The Fragments of Shadow & Sound is a poetry collection that manages to be both easy to read and daringly experimental at points. Comprising five sections, Faultlines, Reflections, Longings, Thresholds, and Ascents, its poems reflect on subjects such as longing, disability, ....

Richard M. Risi’s debut The Fragments of Shadow & Sound is a poetry collection that manages to be both easy to read and daringly experimental at points. Comprising five sections, Faultlines, Reflections, Longings, Thresholds, and Ascents, its poems reflect on subjects such as longing, disability, and perhaps most of all, music. The effect is less […]

....

American writer C.E. Wooldridge Jr.’s The Colts of Midnight drops the reader right into Golterran, a continent where magic and steel clash in ways that explore old tropes in new light. This ....

American writer C.E. Wooldridge Jr.’s The Colts of Midnight drops the reader right into Golterran, a continent where magic and steel clash in ways that explore old tropes in new light. This standalone entry in the Twelve Paladins series walks that tricky line between D&D-style adventure and ....

American writer C.E. Wooldridge Jr.’s The Colts of Midnight drops the reader right into Golterran, a continent where magic and steel clash in ways that explore old tropes in new light. This standalone entry in the Twelve Paladins series walks that tricky line between D&D-style adventure and genuine character work—and honestly? It pulls it off. Part of […]

....

Cetywa Powell’s Meanwhile Here in Austin is not a conventional memoir, travelogue, or photography collection, but rather a layered fusion of all three. It is also a deep look into ....

Cetywa Powell’s Meanwhile Here in Austin is not a conventional memoir, travelogue, or photography collection, but rather a layered fusion of all three. It is also a deep look into everyday life in Texas’s capital, following Powell’s move there. Structured around the seasons, Powell’s work ....

Cetywa Powell’s Meanwhile Here in Austin is not a conventional memoir, travelogue, or photography collection, but rather a layered fusion of all three. It is also a deep look into everyday life in Texas’s capital, following Powell’s move there. Structured around the seasons, Powell’s work unfolds as a series of vignettes, interlaced with high-quality photography. […]

....

There are some books that you would never see yourself reading, but end up picking up for whatever reason and really enjoying them anyway. Michael Nill’s Nurturing Decent Human Beings: ....

There are some books that you would never see yourself reading, but end up picking up for whatever reason and really enjoying them anyway. Michael Nill’s Nurturing Decent Human Beings: The Case for Moral Education in Our Schools is one of those types of books. ....

There are some books that you would never see yourself reading, but end up picking up for whatever reason and really enjoying them anyway. Michael Nill’s Nurturing Decent Human Beings: The Case for Moral Education in Our Schools is one of those types of books. It’s a non-fiction book that insists—firmly but gently—that we pause, […]

....

TJ Blaines’ Unacknowledged is a debut thriller that immediately announces itself with ambition, with a strong female protagonist and delivering no shortage of adrenaline-charged moments. On the surface, it is ....

TJ Blaines’ Unacknowledged is a debut thriller that immediately announces itself with ambition, with a strong female protagonist and delivering no shortage of adrenaline-charged moments. On the surface, it is a high-tech military thriller packed with acronyms, weapons systems, and covert operations. But beneath the ....

TJ Blaines’ Unacknowledged is a debut thriller that immediately announces itself with ambition, with a strong female protagonist and delivering no shortage of adrenaline-charged moments. On the surface, it is a high-tech military thriller packed with acronyms, weapons systems, and covert operations. But beneath the thrilling scenes classified programs lies a surprisingly personal story about […]

....

The Shadowbound Fates is an ambitious dark fantasy debut from biologist-turned writer R.S. Meander. Perhaps drawing his scientific sensibility and a taste for the mythic, the novel is set in ....

The Shadowbound Fates is an ambitious dark fantasy debut from biologist-turned writer R.S. Meander. Perhaps drawing his scientific sensibility and a taste for the mythic, the novel is set in the sprawling world of the Empiriac of Phylaxus. It opens in scripture-like tones, with the ....

The Shadowbound Fates is an ambitious dark fantasy debut from biologist-turned writer R.S. Meander. Perhaps drawing his scientific sensibility and a taste for the mythic, the novel is set in the sprawling world of the Empiriac of Phylaxus. It opens in scripture-like tones, with the cosmology of the Cradle of Light and the Blackstar Citadel, […]

....

…Because He Was Evil is the debut novel from Domenico Del Re, the pseudonym for an anonymous European writer with German and Italian roots. It opens with a punch. Young ....

…Because He Was Evil is the debut novel from Domenico Del Re, the pseudonym for an anonymous European writer with German and Italian roots. It opens with a punch. Young Lucia, an innocent young girl anticipating her birthday celebration, discovers her parents bloodied and beaten ....

…Because He Was Evil is the debut novel from Domenico Del Re, the pseudonym for an anonymous European writer with German and Italian roots. It opens with a punch. Young Lucia, an innocent young girl anticipating her birthday celebration, discovers her parents bloodied and beaten in their Salerno restaurant. This haunting prologue sets the tone […]

....

What if a man’s drowning breath was not an ending, but a doorway to another type of existence? This is the electrifying premise of Cracks, Houston-based writer L.A. Prendergast’s ambitious ....

What if a man’s drowning breath was not an ending, but a doorway to another type of existence? This is the electrifying premise of Cracks, Houston-based writer L.A. Prendergast’s ambitious debut novel, a fantasy novel that largely trades sword-and-sorcery spectacle for something a bit more ....

What if a man’s drowning breath was not an ending, but a doorway to another type of existence? This is the electrifying premise of Cracks, Houston-based writer L.A. Prendergast’s ambitious debut novel, a fantasy novel that largely trades sword-and-sorcery spectacle for something a bit more philosophical. The result is a tale at once intimate and […]

....

There’s something satisfying about a noir that knows exactly what it is. Daniel P. Douglas’s new novelette, the pen name of identical twins Phil and Paul Garver, Blood Tide doesn’t ....

There’s something satisfying about a noir that knows exactly what it is. Daniel P. Douglas’s new novelette, the pen name of identical twins Phil and Paul Garver, Blood Tide doesn’t apologize for its cigarette smoke and rain-slicked streets, doesn’t try to subvert the hardboiled tradition. ....

There’s something satisfying about a noir that knows exactly what it is. Daniel P. Douglas’s new novelette, the pen name of identical twins Phil and Paul Garver, Blood Tide doesn’t apologize for its cigarette smoke and rain-slicked streets, doesn’t try to subvert the hardboiled tradition. It simply executes it with precision and genuine affection for the […]

....

All You Need Is Love is a new contemporary romance novel set in Ann Arbor from Meg Macy, author of the Shamelessly Adorable Teddy Bear series. Clearly a genre pivot ....

All You Need Is Love is a new contemporary romance novel set in Ann Arbor from Meg Macy, author of the Shamelessly Adorable Teddy Bear series. Clearly a genre pivot for the author, at its centre is Jack Riley, a former actor determined to rebuild ....

All You Need Is Love is a new contemporary romance novel set in Ann Arbor from Meg Macy, author of the Shamelessly Adorable Teddy Bear series. Clearly a genre pivot for the author, at its centre is Jack Riley, a former actor determined to rebuild his life by opening a café with his best friend. […]

....

In her new children’s book, Karyn Wills has crafted a delightfully absurd children’s adventure that reads like a cross between Roald Dahl’s mischievous humor and the zany cartoon logic of ....

In her new children’s book, Karyn Wills has crafted a delightfully absurd children’s adventure that reads like a cross between Roald Dahl’s mischievous humor and the zany cartoon logic of Captain Underpants. The Mozzarella Heist is the kind of book that will have children giggling ....

In her new children’s book, Karyn Wills has crafted a delightfully absurd children’s adventure that reads like a cross between Roald Dahl’s mischievous humor and the zany cartoon logic of Captain Underpants. The Mozzarella Heist is the kind of book that will have children giggling uncontrollably while secretly making adults crave pizza. At its heart, […]

....