In his latest David Elliott mystery (after The Girl in the Orange Maillot), Herrington examines the far-reaching consequences of revenge. In 1960s Ellerton, Pennsylvania, the tightly knit congregation of the Grace Lutheran church is shaken by the disappearance and subsequent murder of bright and beautiful Elaine Binns, a star student at the Charlotte Thronden School for Young Women. Police investigations headed by Jim Jakubowski—a church member and close supporter of Pastor David Elliott—point to Bill Sinclair, Headmaster of Elaine’s school, as prime suspect. Things turn murky and more mysterious when Bill’s body is recovered from an abandoned printing press—and forensic reports reveal he died of natural causes.

Vested Interest is an engaging police procedural, with Jakubowski’s team thorough and efficient, while Detective Sharon Mercer emerges as a memorable character: she’s sharply observant, determined, and able to quickly connect the dots on the motives behind Elaine’s murder. The novel is less effective when meandering into the quarrels, disagreements, and scandalous accusations within Grace Lutheran’s congregation, particularly the focus on Pastor Elliott’s travails with a small but determined group of church members who are intent on sabotaging his leadership. Elliott prevails, as expected, and stumbles onto crucial clues in the process, that help Jakubowski fashion a clearer picture of the maneuvers driving the story’s mysteries.

Seasoned mystery readers may guess the ending before it arrives, but that doesn’t detract from the satisfyingly tangled web Herrington orchestrates along the way. Elaine’s murder has deeply rooted ties to Elliott’s church, with the villains in this story portrayed as multilayered, complex characters. A late-in-the-game discovery of a mole in Jakubowski’s office adds welcome vigor to the plot, and the final reveal neatly ties up loose ends, with a murder weapon that is both unexpected and intriguing. David Elliott fans will be pleased.

Takeaway: Engaging murder mystery boasting an unexpected weapon.

Comparable Titles: Peter Nichols’s Granite Harbor, Laura Jensen Walker’s Hope, Faith & a Corpse.

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

Viruses both virtual and biological cause disruptive chaos in the fifth volume of Turetsky’s HR Data Doodles comics, which follow the adventures of a gaming software company’s hard-working, high-functioning, ideally supportive HR team. The challenge this time: the OrangeU Playing Much Gaming company’s cheery AI bot, Charlie, has caught a bug and begun to glitch, affecting both the company’s HR systems and customers’ navigation of its VR games. (OUPM is “getting annihilated on the forums,” one employee reports.) Complicating matters: this apparent attack comes at the same time that waves of illness are striking OUPM staff. Even the shadowy, hoodie-covered figure called “The Hood,” seen sneaking into OUPM’s offices, can’t stop coughing—truly a hacker.

Those “Hood” escapades, depicting break-ins and escapes, are the series’ most ambitious strips to date in terms of visual storytelling. Otherwise, HR Versus the Hood carries on with the storytelling techniques Turetsky has refined over recent years, revealing its narrative over four-panel, single-page, dialogue-driven strips each capturing one workday moment, usually a meeting—in person, virtual, or hybrid. Even as the series has turned to stories of sabotage and corporate espionage, Turetsky’s focus has remained on HR professionals facing unusual challenges with an inventive spirit but by-the-book professionalism. Once they’re over their relatable declarations of “This is not good” in the early pages, the team again handles the crises with companionable elan—and, at worst, some minor grumbling about having to calculate bonuses and merit raises via old-school spreadsheets.

The team’s inspiring crisis communication with employees—they’re transparent, empathetic, and available—is a welcome contrast to the depiction of HR in many media narratives. While the ordering of word balloons remains sometimes puzzling, Turetsky’s art and layout remain inviting, occasionally inventive, especially in the natural ways characters interact, within a single strip, with each other in person but also through screens that appear as panels within panels—here, the comics medium proves uniquely suited to capturing the lived experience of today’s hybrid offices.

Takeaway: Upbeat comics of a first-rate HR team facing a dreaded virus.

Comparable Titles: Steve Browne’s HR Rising!, Monica Frede and Keri Ohlrich’s The Way of the HR Warrior

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

Newman introduces young readers to the wonders of science, and theoretical physics, in this charming tale that finds cosmic possibilities in a most everyday mystery: what happens to lost socks? Six-year-old Charlie is lucky to have a dad who is a Caltech professor of astrophysics and a cosmologist mom who encourages his creativity, saying, “Charlie, you’re always thinking outside the box!” As everyone has done, Charlie one day loses a sock—in this case a prized one he needs for soccer practice—in the clothes dryer. One night, Charlie is surprised and intrigued when two talking socks appear in his bedroom via a wormhole. They are Charm and Strange, subatomic particles from the Sock Junction dimension who, to communicate with Charlie, have taken on the form of socks.

Treating science as fun and relatable, Newman cleverly blends everyday kid activities (like soccer, working as a team, and playing with the family dog) with real science (the story touches on the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, the Fermi Paradox, the multiverse, muons, and more) and entertaining fantasy elements, like magic crystals that make children feel special and useful. The revelations get goofier as the story goes on. Turns out, Charm and Strange steal socks from our world to power a force field around Sock Junction, but now they need Charlie’s help to re-energize the dying crystal that powers the Great Sewing Machine powering Sock Junction and deflects enemy factions from attacking their city. The whole neighborhood joins in to save Sock Junction when pregnant mom Miranda and her best friend Claudia plan a heist to borrow a crystal from the new age crystal shop so that Sock Junction scientists can clone it.

The science fact and fiction enchant, but a lack of editorial polish and an abundance of over-descriptive dialogue tags (“‘NO, NO!’ the socks exclaimed, their voices urgent, almost pleading") distracts. Nevertheless, the high-spirited creativity and championing of science will spur curiosity.

Comparable Titles: Jon Scieszka’s Frank Einstein and the Antimatter Motor, K. Tempest Bradford’s Ruby Finley and the Interstellar Invasion.

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

Seemingly overnight, Prince Beauregard’s life is completely changed. After his brother—the future heir to the throne—Charmant dies, Beau is now expected to take his father's place as King of Granvallée. Beyond the tutelage and training required to be the next ruler-in-line, Beau finds himself face to face with his worst nightmare: an arranged marriage, in hopes that the right bride will transform him into a fitting king. But Beau is insistent that he marry for love, and he has until the end of the social season to do so—or his mother will take matters into her own hands.

McPherson creates a world that spins with royal mystery, complete with a complicated love triangle and magical adventure that is both immersive and intriguing. Beau is a complex protagonist: his reluctance to accept his new role collides with grief at losing his brother, the pressures of being the future king, and his conflicted heart. Beau harbors a special love for his trusted guard, Elias, and the only woman he seems to have any interest in is his late brother’s fiancée, Lady Victoire Penamour, otherwise known as Penny—the woman who believes Beau is responsible for Char’s death. When Penny enlists his help in obtaining a magical relic, mystery abounds: Beau is shocked to discover the palace’s vault of magical artifacts has been depleted—and he is being implicated in their loss.

From there, Beau, Penny, and Elias must work together to ensure the future of the kingdom, but McPherson adds a complex web of palace secrets that threatens to be their undoing. As the plot races to a finish, everything Beau knows to be true is upended, forcing him onto a collision course of love, duty, and dark secrets that will resonate with fans who prefer their magic rooted in real-world drama and mystery.

Takeaway: Satisfying mix of royal intrigue, magic, and dark secrets.

Comparable Titles: Angel Lawson and Samantha Rue’s Princes of Chaos, Danielle L. Jensen’s The Bridge Kingdom.

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

Dystpopia!: Hero's Quest

Pirandello and Mel Brooks go YA in this hilarious meta-fictional fantasy split between our world and the Kingdom of Dystpopia, named for a typo from Murray, a 45-year-old writer who, in the face of alimony payments, wants to break into the YA fantasy genre. “Are you a teenager? Do you even know any teenagers?” Murray’s agent asks, and when the best response he can come up with is “the pizza delivery boy was recently a teenager,” Murray abandons the idea. But not so fast. Because Hero, the 17-year-old “take-no-prisoners, nails-for-breakfast” protagonist Murray had dreamed up, won’t let herself be killed off that easy. Hero has notes—and she’s disgusted that her creator has a cat.

Hero has woes: she must save the Kingdom of Dystpopia and defeat the Queendom of Fant, daunting tasks made impossible if she can’t persuade Murray, the hapless weaver of all things, to let her exist. Murray would rather write a musical than a story of swords, sorcery, and revolution, but he persists at Hero’s urging, even as she hectors him at every step. But a funny thing happens as they snipe and scratch at each other across the pages of Horn’s formally inventive novel. Somehow, Hero gains the ability to control her story, a development Murray finds both alarming and fascinating—and that leads to more conflict. Horn also introduces a dazzling cast of characters and creatures to help or hinder Hero: winged half-zombie girl Pesto, pal Toaster, love/hate interest Rodolfo, flying zombies, and “three-foot zorcs with their dark-green skin and sharp teeth,” sometimes organized into literal bands. (“Author, stop this nonsense,” Hero snaps. “Still not a musical!”)

With some welcome dark humor and satiric insights into YA tropes, the playful hilarity doesn’t let up for nearly 500 pages, which is a bit much—the novel is fun and surprisingly emotional, but its length feels protracted. Still, Dystpopia! delights. Bring on the sequel.

Takeaway: Side-splitting YA fantasy whose hero demands her author finish the book.

Comparable Titles: Delilah S. Dawson and Kevin Hearne’s Kill the Farmboy, Rainbow Rowell’s Carry On.

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

“Now, you may be wondering why a book that promised to take a systematic, scientific approach is now introducing the premise of life after death,” Karan notes after an early aside in Who Banged the Big Bang!. The answer, it turns out, is that this very much is a book about life after death and other mystic ideas despite its promise, in the opening chapters, to explore “incrementally and methodically” the “known facts” of the origins of the universe, the mathematics of infinity, and “phenomena all the way down to the Higgs Boson and beyond.” Karan flatters readers interested in these topics as being among the “rarest” living creatures on Earth, the “10 million human beings … either actively or passively pursuing ‘The Infinite’ through objective research and scientific analysis.”

What Karan does not reveal until deep in the book is that the answers presented here are derived from Vedanta teachings. Vedanta, of course, is a philosophy rooted in ancient Hindu texts; Karan labels it a “profoundly secular system of thought that is applicable to all humans”—and that can help “one eventually capture and become one with the Infinite.” (He encourages readers to seek out a Vedantic Institute in their city.)

Karan justifies disguising the book’s true nature by arguing that many thinkers link any spiritual tradition with “mysticism and irrationality.” To be fair, readers like those will balk at Who Banged the Big Bang!’s hazy claims long before Karan reveals his intentions—possibly at the equation that purports to measure an individual’s happiness “by dividing the number of our desires that have been fulfilled by the total number of desires we have entertained”—as if all desires are equally important, and happiness is free from the influence of exterior forces. Readers not burned by the bait-and-switch may enjoy this introduction to Vedanta thinking, cosmology, and meditative practice, as Karan is mostly clear in presenting its “universal” human goals, various forms of intellect, and concepts like subtle thoughts, subtle matter, and a subtle universe.

Takeaway: Introduction to Vedanta philosophy and practice, disguised as scientific inquiry.

Comparable Titles: Dayananda Saraswati’s Introduction to Vedanta, Sri Ramana Maharshi’s Be as You Are.

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

Why Did God Make the Tree?: A Patrick Denny Novel

Saturated with fogs both atmospheric—“the Tower has wholly vanished behind the miasma”—and medical, Gregg’s compelling debut, the kickoff to a planned series, explores madness, devil worship, human monstrosity, and the way stories and nature affect our own conscious reality. At its heart is a most human guide, dedicated to healing minds. Dr. Patrick Denny is a superstar horror author who has recently returned to his earlier profession, psychiatry, as he strives to make a positive impact on Waylingbrooke, a small New England town. In his work at New Hampshire’s Everston Psychiatric Hospital, Denny encounters three individuals whose cases will challenge him. The first connects to the history of Waylingbrooke, as a traumatized teen orphan experiences horror that seems to reflect experiences with the occult laid down in the diary of the 19th-century architect who designed a local landmark.

Another patient languishes, “frozen for nearly two decades with no promise of change,” thanks to the drugs prescribed by Denny’s rival, but under his new treatment soon offers her first communication with the “world outside her mind” in years—a “ceaseless shrieking.” Smart jolts like that also power a case involving Denny’s own horror writing, as a patient struggles to separate fiction from lived experience. Gregg weaves these braided tales into a psychological procedural best suited for readers who relish humane scares over vivid gore or jump-scare action. Gregg toys with expectations throughout, favoring suggestion and mystery over spoon-fed exposition, trusting readers, like Denny, to feel their way through the murk.

Denny excels as a horror protagonist, as he brings empathy and clear thought to everything except his personal safety or relationships. His battles with other doctors, patient families, his own past, and nature itself, all for his patients, form a compelling through line. Especially urgent is his commitment to helping them find ways, beyond simple doping, to face this world—even as Gregg primes us to wonder whether it, like these minds, pulses with blood, beasts, and surprises.

Takeaway: Honorable doctor faces smart, tense horror in a New England asylum.

Comparable Titles: M.R. Carey’s Someone Like Me, Victor LaValle’s The Devil in Silver.

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

“This cannot be true,” muses Pontius Pilate upon receiving his transfer orders to Judea, the barren land devoted to monotheism and a faith Pilate finds laughable. Accompanied by Claudia, his compassionate and sharp-witted wife, he embarks on a political chess game of governing this so-called deviant region where faith is law, resistance is holy, and every compromise is a betrayal. The repulsion is mutual: when he leaves Caesarea on his way to Jerusalem, zealots attack with reckless abandon, despite being vastly outnumbered. Among them, a well-known man named Barabbas survives and is taken prisoner.

With a degree of detached observation, Fleming renders Pilate a man walking on a tightrope. His political maneuvers—beginning with hanging images of Emperor Tiberius Caesar throughout Jerusalem, an act that the Jews rebuke as sacrilege—and interactions with Judean leaders such as Antipas, Joseph of Arimathea, and the Sanhedrin depict him as a strategist. Still, his tenderness toward Claudia and his occasional mercy to the Jewish resistance shed more sympathetic light. Upon the arrival of Jesus, Fleming presents his rise as an orchestrated event spearheaded by Pilate, complete with staged miracles and strategic endorsements, boldly suggesting Christianity as an imperial accident rather than a divine occurrence.

This historical reimagination places political pragmatism at the heart of one of history’s fiercest debates—whether or not Jesus was nailed to the cross. Though the novel invites further research into historical records, Fleming’s revisionist audacity, in-depth characterization, and intricate worldbuilding stand as his triumphs. His demonstration of a balance between Roman imperial ambition and the sensitivities of the local population offers a compelling portrait of governance in an age where gods were made, unmade, and remade to serve empires. Pilate emerges as perhaps the story’s most tragic figure, a man who sought control but instead helped birth a religious revolution that would outlast Rome itself.

Takeaway: Thought-provoking revisionist novel of Rome’s influence on Christianity.

Comparable Titles: Nikos Kazantzakis’s The Last Temptation of Christ, Pär Lagerkvist’s Barabbas.

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

Fleming’s historical narrative chronicles the religious shift that occurs when Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep IV converts from polytheism to worshipping the singular god Aten. The story follows Amenhotep IV—who later changes his name to Akhenaten—from his time as a child to long after his death, with well-known historical figures like Nefertiti, Tutankhamen, and even the Hebrew Moses making appearances, all woven together in a tapestry of family betrayal and secret maneuvers to keep bloodlines intact. As the Egyptian kingdom simmers with turmoil and external threats, Akhenaten’s legendary family upends what has been known for centuries, setting the stage for a revolutionary new beginning.

Fleming (Hail Judeas Caesar) breathes life into Egyptian lineage, giving voice to well-known royals while exploring the impact of their rule on a nation, as each new pharaoh harbors differing opinions on whether their true god is Amun or Aten, causing conflict among the royal lines and the Egyptian priests. Queen Nefertiti is depicted as calculating and self-serving in her bid to maintain status within the royal line, especially after she is unable to produce a male heir for Akhenaten, and Fleming builds tension throughout by highlighting the dynamics between the male rulers and the females working at their side.

Beyond the intrigue of Egyptian royals, Fleming draws parallels between Aten worship and the emergence of Judaism, working deep religious context into this suspenseful narrative as the story of Moses unfolds, from his discovery as a baby floating in the Nile to his role in the mass exodus of the Jewish population from Egyptian rule. The story focuses less on religious text and more on the human aspects of an entire nation converting to monotheism, and Fleming’s skill at tying the royal Egyptian bloodline into biblical accounts delivers a compelling origin story rooted in well-researched historical context. Fans of Egyptian history and smart biblical retellings will find this both immersive and informative.

Takeaway: Suspenseful account of Egyptian royalty leading to the Jewish exodus.

Comparable Titles: Rebecca Kohn's Seven Days to the Sea, Judith Tarr’s Pillar of Fire.

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

The bill comes due in this ferocious conclusion to Bland’s The Price Of trilogy, following The Price of Rebellion. In a dystopian near-future United States, former engineer Dray Quintero is broken, tortured for months alongside his eldest daughter, Raven, in an Agency facility after failing to rescue his 12-year-old daughter, Talia. He can’t trust the reality streamed into his lenses by former friend and Agency leader Zion Calloway. The rebellion is dead… or is it? Aided by an unlikely source, Dray escapes with his family, but he faces an internal conflict as urgent as the one ravaging his nation. His daughters want to keep fighting, and he just wants to keep them safe. But as the Agency and its mass surveillance tech tighten their grip on the country, and the remnants of the resistance desperately need a leader, Dray may not have a choice in the matter.

Balancing hard questions about freedom and responsibility with dustups involving hoverbikes and swarmbots, The Price of Freedom aims to delight with non-stop action, Orwellian drama, and big payoffs as Dray fights to free America—and his family—from the clutches of a surveillance state that he helped create. Dray’s struggle to balance his family’s safety against the needs of the rebellion is urgently relatable, and Bland stirs some empathy for adversaries like the dogged Kieran (whose skill at surviving inspires Dray to liken him to a “silver-haired cockroach”) and Britt, eager for payback.

The continued exploration of a United States gripped by authoritarian surveillance and deadly misinformation campaigns rings timely and is enhanced by its science-fiction foundations. Some repetitive plotting has the effect of slowing the pace, but in the flurry of confrontations, revelations, and traps sprung and avoided, Bland never lets readers lose sight of the human. Despite the cool tech—“biowoven robo-enhancers”; a “biometric layer” of minibots “that mimic skin”—and high stakes, what keeps the pages turning is the characters, their hearts, and their love of privacy, liberty, and each other.

Takeaway: Action-packed climax to a dystopian near-future trilogy.

Comparable Titles: Reed King’s FKA USA, T.B. Kramer’s The Fourth Branch: 2076.

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

When aspiring teen journalists and best friends Violet Wilson and Pamela Edison head to the woods for writing inspiration one summer day, they quickly discover more than they bargained for. Along for the ride are Violet’s younger brothers—13-year-old Brad and six-year-old Willys—who compound the trouble both girls stumble into when they chance upon eccentric science teacher Dr. Harrison and, later, a UFO that, when opened, reveals a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Despite being warned by his sister not to, Willys promptly eats part of the sandwich, inadvertently sparking intergalactic tension when Goobexes—sandwich-like aliens—arrive on Earth and demand the return of their missing son, Goobex 3.

Noah delivers an amusing mix of satirizing science fiction clichés and pop culture references in this playful debut, from hints of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Emperor’s New Clothes to comic books to an elaborate trip through a secret government base. While Willys desperately hopes the sandwich will endow him with special powers, wondering if he can control weather patterns or turn into animals, the adults in the story are strangely nonchalant about the whole situation, ping-ponging between defensive weapons discussions and sharp commentary on America’s political landscape. As Violet and Pamela’s families unite with the FBI to search for Goobex 3—and Dr. Harrison, who’s also gone missing—the Goobexes put their “undigester” device into play, forcing Willys to repeatedly vomit up what they believe to be the remains of their son.

Classic setups like that entertain, while squabbling between characters, miscommunication, and the hypocritical actions of many of the main players lay bare humankind’s darker attributes; astute YA readers will recognize the story’s conflict could have been avoided with some calm resolve instead of emotional reactivity. Noah closes with a nod to alternate dimensions and savvy advice from Dr. Harrison: “A little consideration, a little thought for others, makes all the difference.”

Takeaway: Sharp, playful satire on humankind’s darker attributes.

Comparable Titles: Libba Bray’s Beauty Queens, M.T. Anderson and Eugene Yelchin’s The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge.

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

Jae’s dark fantasy brims with treacherous landscapes, ruthless trials, and a protagonist desperate to prove himself. Peren Naïlo, an elf disguised as a human, seeks to claim the coveted title of Master within the Shadow Fang guild. But first, he must face the Skull Maze—a nightmarish labyrinth from which few who enter ever return. His journey to the maze is just as perilous as the trials inside, forcing him to rely on his wits, combat prowess, and unwavering resolve as he battles both external threats and his own buried truths.

Jae crafts a world dripping with menace and mystique, blending high-stakes action with an eerie atmosphere. The novel excels in its vivid, immersive descriptions—each corridor of the Skull Maze feels alive with shifting shadows and ancient malice, while the story’s violence underscores the consequences if Peren fails. Peren himself is an emotionally resonant protagonist who, even in combat, is devastated when his companions suffer. Between the chaos of battle and the otherworldly creatures Peren must face—the vicious Spliganders who leave a wake of death behind them, predatory Brooders, savage wraiths invading his dreams—Jae weaves heartfelt moments, ensuring the brutality never overshadows the story’s emotional weight. Peren’s arc is compelling, driven not only by his ambition but also by the gradual unraveling of his own identity, making the stakes as intimate as they are precarious.

Though Skull Maze delivers thrilling set pieces and a richly developed protagonist, some worldbuilding elements feel slightly underexplored. The Shadow Fang guild’s inner workings and the history of the maze itself remain somewhat elusive, leaving certain aspects of the story’s lore frustratingly vague. However, the novel’s gripping action and foreboding tension more than compensate for these gaps, making it a standout debut in the realm of dark fantasy, with hints of more to come.

Takeaway: Gripping fantasy adventure of danger, deception, and self-discovery.

Comparable Titles: Chris Wooding’s The Ember Blade, Jay Kristoff’s Nevernight.

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

Walker’s second in The Legends of Baelon series (after Six Moons, Seven Gods) unfolds in a kingdom where war is waged not just on the battlefield, but in the shadows of power and betrayal. Fueled by vengeance, King Axil of Aranox declares war on The Guild of Takers, determined to eradicate the shadowy syndicate responsible for years of corruption and bloodshed. His trusted military commander, Erik Carson, leads the assault, while Sibil Dunn, whose mother once saved the king’s life, copes with her family’s death by seeking a place in his army. When turned down, she opts for a more dangerous path—going undercover within the Guild itself to bring down its elusive leader.

Walker weaves political machinations, epic battles, and personal struggles into a multi-layered narrative that shifts perspectives to capture the full scope of war. Sibil’s journey is fraught with peril, guided by the wisdom of retired royal guard Rolft Aerns, while Erik’s war is just as treacherous, as the Guild’s High Order plans to assassinate the king, making every decision weighty with consequence. Meanwhile, cunning strategist Reynard Rascall manipulates both sides, using the chaos of war to pursue the Guild’s hidden fortune. Walker excels in character development, particularly when portraying Sibil’s transformation from a grieving daughter into a warrior—and Erik’s struggle between duty and morality.

Two Crowns, Three Blades balances deeply personal struggles with large-scale battles, enriched by authentic medieval tactics that lend a sense of realism to the action. Sibil’s infiltration tests her loyalties and her bond with Tristan Godfrey, a knight haunted by survivor’s guilt and his unspoken love for her, while Erik faces intrigue within his ranks. As King Axil’s reckless choices threaten to upend the war, both characters must navigate shifting alliances and deadly battles to survive. The payoffs are satisfying, and Walker leaves several mysteries unsolved, setting the stage for greater conflicts ahead.

Takeaway: Multilayered fantasy of war, shifting alliances, and deadly intrigue.

Comparable Titles: Emberly Ash’s Court of Vines and Vipers, Robin Hobb’s The Tawny Man Trilogy.

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

“For way too many people, we were so poor we didn’t deserve to eat,” Foster writes in this clear-eyed, point-proving memoir of growing up in poverty with “ultraconservative, fundamentalist parents” with mental illness. That pained line—from a passage describing the family’s “nightly tour of churches offering free suppers” in Waterloo, Iowa, during the Reagan era—burns, like much of this debut memoir, with hard-won insight about how Americans think about poverty. Foster reports her parents’ feelings of shame at relying on government programs whose help was meager even before the cuts of the 1980s. (One anecdote, both charming and sad, finds the family choosing to pick litter off Iowa roadways, without being asked, to pay back the taxpayers.)

Amid wrenching memories of food insecurity, parental neglect, and experiences of being groomed and sexually assaulted by older boys and men, Foster conjures memorable portraits of her parents, religious seekers whose lives on the margins, she writes, “reinforced” their “negative beliefs about the medical establishment, the government, and the public school system,” even as their faith in “pyramid schemes and … charlatans was unwavering.” It was only years later, in college, that Foster began to understand that her parents’ hatred of the systems that offered threadbare support was not just some dark, personal quirk. Encountering the 1988 poverty-isn’t-bad-actually essay “What’s So Bad About Being Poor”—by the American Enterprise Institute’s Charles Murray, co-author of the notorious The Bell Curve—Foster fired off a blistering response, confounding her professor but setting her on a lifelong mission to prove Murray wrong.

Foster writes movingly, with urgent detail and feeling, about the trauma of growing up poor—“Too cold, too hot, too hungry, too dirty, too pained, too overworked, and too stigmatized.” She also digs deep into the project, led by AEI, Rush Limbaugh, and others, to convince Americans that “social programs were too large and were eroding incentives” to work. Foster’s heartening account of pulling herself from poverty, earning a PhD, and seizing control over her life is sprawling and shaggy—not whetted for narrative momentum—but it has heartbreaking power and wisdom.

Takeaway: Clear-eyed memoir of rising from poverty and the power of good social programs.

Comparable Titles: Sarah Smarsh’s Heartland, Matthew Desmond’s Poverty, by America.

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

In Karan’s condensed explanation of Vedantic principles, taking “a romantic approach to your intellect” means combining the spiritual and scientific—and commencing an all-important journey to understanding consciousness. While it’s not a relationship guide, The You in Me, Forever… examines the concept of interconnectedness, and how melting the barriers of individuality will bring humans closer to the energy that flows through everyone and everything. Karan sees no inherent conflict in being an engineer and studying metaphysics: Who Banged the Big Bang! is his companion guide, which further explores the energy source of our universe—and likewise offers Vedantic teachings deep in the text, despite not making it clear in marketing material or the early chapters that these are the author’s true subject.

Karan differentiates between the mind as the receptacle of stimuli (“all of our flowing, unorganized thoughts, seat of our desires and all emotions”) and the intellect, which “specifically refers to the human power to think, reason, compare, posit, infer, judge and decide.” This distinction is key to all that follows, because as Karan breaks down each new concept into sub-categories, he keeps the intellect—our uniquely human driving force—at the forefront. At the halfway point, he identifies Vedanta as the source of these ideas, describing it as neither Hindu nor mystical, but “a secular philosophy applicable to all.”

Western readers curious about Vedanta and its texts (including the Bhagavad Gita) will appreciate Karan’s pared-down style, with short descriptions and frequent callbacks to earlier discussions. Decrying the commercialization of yoga into an exercise regime, Karan doesn’t simplify Vedanta to offer self-help quick fixes. It’s a serious path, he asserts, and when Karan starts employing Sanskrit terms, he also begins to discuss the dedication and intensity that it demands. To gain a deeper understanding of infinity can take a lifetime (or several), and Karan is inviting when guiding seekers into it, even if his books don’t acknowledge that goal at the start.

Takeaway: Introduction to the Vedanta path for pursuing Infinity.

Comparable Titles: Pravrajika Divyanandaprana’s Self-Discovery, Eliot Deutsch and Rohit Dalvi’s The Essential Vedanta.

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

Welcome to the Damned

Long shines in this riveting YA sci-fi debut, the first in her Neon Hell series. When embattled heroine Zero returns to Dyvris after serving as a mole in the Purish government, she faces trouble from day one. Dyvris is a city run by criminals, and since she’s returned, Zero finds that alliances have shifted, creating a precarious balance between right, wrong, and in-between. Zero’s one of the Damned, of the Aconite gang, a powerful group determined to hold enemies responsible for their sins—and their new leader, The Scavenger, rules with a special kind of terror. When news leaks out that the Purish government is experimenting with mind-control drugs on the working class, Zero and her compatriots resolve to even the score.

Long evokes compassion for Zero, a complicated, multifaceted heroine driven by past trauma who, in the hands of a less-skilled writer, could seem, at times, like a monster. Her fellow characters also define complexity: while some of their actions feel heartless, their motives are multidimensional and rooted in the dangerous new world they’re trying to navigate, where the haves brutally exploit the have-nots and even the very landscape around them threatens at every turn. Readers will accept the cast’s quirks and easily root for them to find a happily-ever-after, even when they’re making questionable choices—much like in real life.

Epic turns of phrase such as “revenge is like oxygen to the Damned, forgiveness a myth” hint at deeper truths, and, though readers may balk at the ending’s shocking cliffhanger, Long more than makes up for it with the story’s compelling, fast-paced plot, rife with red herrings and memorable characters. Standouts—beyond Zero—include the principled Tal and complicated Rovis, both swimming in painful emotions that drive their treatment of the world around them. Readers will devour this opening salvo and eagerly anticipate more to come.

Takeaway: Riveting YA sci-fi with morally complex characters.

Comparable Titles: Olivia A. Cole’s A Conspiracy of Stars, Mindee Arnett’s Avalon.

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