Book Reviews

5.0

The Rhythm Wave: Six Laws to Build a Leadership System Without by Kevin Cover is a business leadership book structured around six core principles designed to help leaders build a sustainable leadership system, published by True Path Publishing in March 2026.

Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman

Originally published in 2012 and now reissued by Tor Nightfire, Between Two Fires is a historical horror novel set during the Black Death, following a disgraced French knight, a visionary girl, and a fallen priest on a harrowing journey across plague-ravaged France — a book that blends cosmic theological warfare with earthy, lyrical prose to powerful effect.

Earl, Honey by D S Getson

Earl, Honey is a coming-of-age novel by D. S. Getson, published by Troubador Publishing (Matador imprint) in May 2022, set in the 1920s American South and based on the true story of the author's great-uncle. It follows Earl Hahn, a thirteen-year-old boy left cognitively impaired after his father struck him in the head with a two-by-four, as he navigates a childhood defined by his father's prosecution for incest and the devastating aftermath that falls on the entire Hahn family. Raw, honest, and rooted in real events, the novel has drawn strong praise for the quality of its prose, the vividness of its characters, and its unflinching yet ultimately hopeful portrayal of survival and redemption.

The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali

Marjan Kamali's The Lion Women of Tehran is a New York Times bestseller that traces the decades-long friendship of Ellie and Homa against the turbulent backdrop of twentieth-century Iran, from the early 1950s through 2022. Published by Gallery Books on July 2, 2024, the novel earned a starred notice from Kirkus Reviews as "a touching portrait of courage and friendship," and People called it "an evocative read and a powerful portrait of friendship, feminism, and political activism." Kamali, a 2022 National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Award recipient whose books have been translated into more than thirty languages, brings her command of Iranian history and culture to what is widely regarded as her most ambitious work to date.

Styled: Secrets for Arranging Rooms, from Tabletops to Bookshelves by Emily Henderson, Angelin Borsics

Published by Potter Style in October 2015, Styled is a New York Times bestseller that translates Emily Henderson's professional styling expertise into a home-focused handbook, co-written with Angelin Borsics and photographed by David Tsay, offering readers ten core steps and over 1,000 design ideas for transforming any room without requiring a decorator's budget or timeline.

How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain―How We Create by Lisa Barrett

How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain is a landmark work of popular neuroscience in which psychologist and neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett dismantles the dominant classical view of emotion and replaces it with her theory of constructed emotion — arguing that feelings are not hardwired reactions triggered in dedicated brain regions but are actively built, moment to moment, by core systems spanning the entire brain, shaped by a lifetime of learning.

Solve for Happy by Mo Gawdat

4.5

Solve for Happy is a self-help non-fiction book in which Mo Gawdat, former Chief Business Officer of Google X, draws on engineering logic, neuroscience, and positive psychology — and on the shattering loss of his 21-year-old son Ali — to construct a practical framework for lasting happiness. The book argues that happiness is a default human state, blocked by six illusions, seven cognitive defects, and curable by five ultimate truths, all examined through a series of thought experiments. Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google, called it "a powerful personal story woven with a rich analysis of what we all seek in a way we can act upon."

Apr 9, 2026

Paradise Lost by John Milton

4.5

Milton's Paradise Lost, presented here in the Penguin Classics edition edited and introduced by John Leonard, is widely considered the greatest epic poem in the English language — a work of over ten thousand lines that retells the biblical story of Satan's rebellion, the temptation of Adam and Eve, and humanity's expulsion from the Garden of Eden, while grappling with free will, obedience, and the possibility of redemption.

The Cat Behavior Answer Book: Solutions to Every Problem You'll Ever Face; Answers by Arden Moore

4.3

Arden Moore's The Cat Behavior Answer Book: Solutions to Every Problem You'll Ever Face; Answers to Every Question You'll Ever Ask (Storey Publishing, 2007) is a Q&A-format reference guide designed to demystify feline behavior — covering everything from catnip fascination and blanket kneading to hunting instincts and the many contradictions of cat personality. Drawing on Moore's animal expertise and current behavioral research at the time of publication, it earned praise from regional and national outlets as a handy, insight-packed resource well suited to both new and experienced cat owners.

Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber

4.2

Once Upon a Broken Heart is the first novel in Stephanie Garber's #1 New York Times bestselling series of the same name, published by Flatiron Books on September 28, 2021. It follows Evangeline Fox, a true believer in love and happy endings, who strikes a perilous bargain with the wicked Prince of Hearts — trading three kisses for his help stopping her beloved's wedding — only to discover that dealing with an immortal Fate carries consequences far darker than she imagined. Kirkus Reviews calls it "a lushly written story with an intriguing heart," and critical coverage praises Garber's "exquisitely imagined worldbuilding and her trademark heady romance," though Kirkus also notes that the fantasy world-building is unevenly developed and the writing can veer into the verbose. The series opener is designed to be accessible to readers new to Garber's Caraval universe while expanding it in significant new directions.

Apr 9, 2026

The End of Thinking: How to Stop Letting Everything Affect You: How by Taha Maarouf

Taha Maarouf's self-help guide The End of Thinking: How to Stop Letting Everything Affect You targets readers caught in cycles of overthinking, anxiety, and emotional overwhelm, offering tools drawn from positive psychology to help them reclaim mental clarity and inner peace. This review is based on publisher descriptions and publicly available source material, not hands-on use of the book.

The Reboot (Jeez and the Gentile) by Stephen W. Hiemstra

The Reboot is the concluding volume of Stephen W. Hiemstra's Jeez and the Gentile series, sending eighteen-year-old college student Tom back through time to walk dangerous roads in first-century Israel and brave a sea voyage to Rome alongside Jeez — a journey designed to strip away borrowed ambitions and reveal both characters' true callings.