Editorial Review For Dark Lullaby

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F64BBB1Y/

Editorial Review For Dark Lullaby

Dark Lullaby by S. Lillys pulls you right into the mess of Elle’s life, which is loaded with drama, longing, and a whole lot of questionable choices. Elle, a former fashion model, is stuck in a love triangle so complicated it makes reality TV look tame. She’s trapped in a relationship with Jack, her controlling manager-boyfriend, while chasing after David, the one that got away—or maybe never was hers to begin with. This isn’t just a romance. It’s a breakdown in real time, with Elle battling addiction, regret, and the nagging feeling that she’s always on the outside looking in.

The strongest part of Dark Lullaby is how raw and honest it is. There’s no filter on Elle’s confusion, guilt, or even her vanity. The book refuses to clean up her mess. The writing gives you a front-row seat to her anxiety and her desperate grabs for freedom, love, and maybe just a little bit of dignity. The best scenes are the ones where Elle’s thoughts spiral out of control or when she can’t decide if she wants to run or stay put. These moments aren’t pretty, but they feel real.

This book fits right in with the trend of “unlikable” or flawed female leads. Fans of books about mental health, toxic relationships, and the mess beneath the surface of “glamorous” lives will probably see the appeal. There’s a bit of old-school noir in here, mixed with the bleak honesty of modern confessional writing. If you’re looking for something that sugarcoats addiction, betrayal, or just plain loneliness, this is not the one.

Readers who like unreliable narrators, chaotic love stories, or a story that sometimes feels like therapy (but without the bill) will find a lot here. On the other hand, anyone who needs a happy ending should run for the hills.

All in all, Dark Lullaby isn’t about finding the light at the end of the tunnel. It’s about standing in the dark and admitting you might have put yourself there. If that sounds a little too real, well, consider yourself warned.

Editorial Review For The Importance of Sleep

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F84BD7S9/

Editorial Review For The Importance of Sleep

What starts as a quiet reflection on the so-called “importance of sleep” unravels into a dense, messy, and oddly compelling look inside one man’s thoughts, obsessions, grudges, and inability to forget a breakup.

The book doesn’t follow a tight plot. Instead, it drifts with Dan, a motel clerk in off-season Maine who avoids daylight and embraces solitude like it’s his job. He reflects on failed relationships, high school humiliations, imaginary romantic triumphs, and a deeply entrenched sleep schedule that’s either impressive or tragic. Memory, identity, masculinity, and rejection come up often. So does the temperature in his apartment. And don’t forget about his long-standing beef with someone named Ami. If you want closure or a character arc, this isn’t that kind of book. But if you want to watch someone mentally pace around regret and loneliness with surgical precision, welcome aboard.

What works is the voice. It’s bitter, sharp, and often hilarious in a low-key, annoyed-with-everyone kind of way. The narrator is self-deprecating without begging for pity and smart without trying to sound like he’s smarter than everyone. The writing thrives in its contradictions. Dan claims not to care, then obsesses over every perceived slight. He pushes people away, then dreams up entire relationships with them. The strongest parts are when the book stops pretending to be about sleep and just admits it’s about being haunted.

This isn’t your usual coming-of-age novel. It leans hard into introspection, skipping the typical life lessons. It shares DNA with outsider lit, the kind that doesn’t ask to be liked. The narrator probably wouldn’t like you either. But readers who enjoy stream-of-consciousness fiction and unreliable narrators who don’t believe in therapy will find this satisfying. If you’ve ever clung to a grudge like a weighted blanket or thought about writing a love letter you’d never send, The Importance of Sleep will feel uncomfortably familiar.

The plot’s loose. The mood swings. The narrator’s not always likable. But that’s the point. There’s a strange honesty in how stuck he is. Sometimes all a book has to do is tell the truth, even if it doesn’t get you anywhere. The Importance of Sleep tells the truth. Then it shuts off the light and tries to go back to sleep.

Editorial Review For The Zen Garden

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F2SLZSDB 

Editorial Review For The Zen Garden

If you think The Zen Garden is going to hand you enlightenment on a silver platter, you’re in for a surprise. Tara Light lays out fifty Zen stories, each followed by straight talk and reflection exercises, not some mystical mumbo-jumbo. You get tales about students chasing answers, monks having existential moments over tea, and even cracked pots that end up watering wildflowers. Underneath, the stories cut through the noise about perfection, control, and endless self-improvement. You get themes like presence, letting go, and accepting that nothing really lasts—yeah, even your favorite mug or your job.

What stands out is the book’s setup. Each story is more than a bedtime tale. Right after, Light breaks it down: she digs into what the story actually means, not what you wish it meant. Then, she hits you with “Growing Forward”—ways to apply the lesson without sounding like a self-help robot. The best part? She actually makes these Zen ideas work for people living with smartphones, layoffs, and family drama instead of monks living on a mountain. She doesn’t pull any punches when talking about her own rough patches, either. No sugarcoating.

You won’t find the usual New Age fluff here. This book fits right in with the recent trend of practical Buddhism—like Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind or The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down. But where other books just tell you to meditate or let go, The Zen Garden gives you stories and then drags those lessons straight into your real life, messy as it is.

Who should read this? If you want a book to display on your coffee table and never open, skip it. But if you’re tired of advice that feels written by people who’ve never had a bad day or made a mistake, this is worth a look. People who like to wrestle with their own habits, who appreciate a little bite with their wisdom, or who want real-world ways to slow down—this is for you. Also, if you enjoy Zen stories but roll your eyes at empty platitudes, you’ll find something here.

Final verdict? The Zen Garden won’t solve all your problems. But it will probably make you think twice about why you’re clinging to them in the first place. If nothing else, you’ll come away with a few good stories and maybe a better way to look at your own cracked pot moments. Try it if you’re up for something honest and a little sharp around the edges.

Editorial Review For The Wreckoning

  

https://www.talesofdepravityandtacos.com/

Editorial Review For The Wreckoning

This book kicks things off with a goat sock and a text message that would make your HR department clutch its pearls. From there, things only spiral deeper into chaos, absurdity, and more than one questionable bathroom encounter. The Wreckoning strings together a wild set of stories featuring two main threads: one about a guy named Mario dragged into an apocalyptic nightclub brawl with ex-KGB dominatrixes, and another about Max, a 500-year-old vegan werewolf who’s trying to keep his family safe from religious murder cults. Not kidding. Under all the splatter and screaming, you’ll find themes of friendship, identity, loyalty, grief, and the burden of living more lives than one guy should be allowed to.

The book’s strength lies in its full-throttle storytelling. It doesn’t hold back. The voice is sharp, dark, and soaked in sarcasm. The dialogue moves fast and is laced with insults, heavy metal references, and moments of strange tenderness. The action doesn’t just escalate—it careens. If you came for subtle, this ain’t your ride. But the writing is self-aware and surprisingly disciplined underneath all the carnage and filth. The chaos is calculated. Even the dick jokes are choreographed.

This kind of writing isn’t floating alone in space. Think Trainspotting meets Metalocalypse with a side of grindhouse. The book rides the line between horror, satire, sci-fi, and absurdism. It fits in with a growing trend of genre mashups that throw respectability out the window and replace it with fire, blood, and punchlines. There’s also an undercurrent of real loss and some philosophical pokes if you squint past the flying limbs.

People who will enjoy The Wreckoning? Anyone sick of the literary beige. If you’re into horror that doesn’t pretend to be polite, or you’ve ever wondered what it would be like if Slayer wrote a memoir, this might be for you. It’s especially good for readers who like their storytelling unfiltered, their humor sharp, and their werewolves pissed off.

This book is unhinged in all the ways it means to be. It doesn’t try to behave, and thank god for that. Read it if you’re ready for something that feels like a car crash soundtracked by Motörhead—awful, loud, unforgettable, and somehow exactly what you needed.

יהוה‎ What Is A Friend

https://www.lulu.com/shop/tamar-israel-and-seraiah-israel/%D7%99%D7%94%D7%95%D7%94-what-is-a-friend/hardcover/product-dyzvkej.html?q=&page=1&pageSize=4

We all seek connections. We all want to be seen, heard, and valued by friends. But too often, we search for friendship in the wrong places, investing in people who don’t truly care about us. If you're searching for a friend who will never leave you or betray your trust, this book will show you that friend—יהוה. Drawing from ancient Hebrew wisdom and scriptures, this book explores the true meaning of friendship and offers a renewed understanding of the greatest friend you will ever have. יהוה‎ What Is A Friend shows you how יהוה‎ love transforms, heals, and guides us through every situation, teaching us to trust and lean on Him. It teaches us to put all of our hope and stay committed to our relationship with יהוה. If you are ready to experience a friendship with יהוה‎, this book will open your heart to the greatest friend of all, the friend who is always by your side.

Editorial Review For The Boy With The Glow

https://a.co/d/iJjFoOv

Editorial Review For The Boy With The Glow

A glowing kid walks through a lot of life’s mess, asks questions, takes some falls, and gets advice from just about every sky object you can think of. That’s the structure. It’s a series of small moments, each wrapped in rhyme, each offering some kind of reminder—keep going, ask for help, trust your gut, don’t be afraid to start over.

Charles H. Gripenburg leans into rhythm and repetition in a way that makes the message stick. The language is clear, the format is consistent, and each page gets to the point without dragging. The poetic style gives it an extra layer of calm. It’s the kind of book you could pick up in any mood and find something that speaks to it.

There’s no shortage of feel-good books out there, but The Boy With The Glow manages to say familiar things in a way that still feels worth hearing. It’s part affirmation, part storybook, and part life manual. It fits right in with the growing number of poetic, self-reflective reads that don’t try to fix you—they just try to meet you where you are.

This book would land well with kids, especially those who need a gentle reminder that confusion is normal. But adults will get something from it too. It’s a read-aloud book that might end up getting read in quiet moments when no one else is around.

The Boy With The Glow doesn’t try to dazzle. It stays soft and steady, which is why it works. It’s honest without being heavy. If you’re looking for something that feels kind without being corny, this is it.

Editorial Review For NICK and the 996: A Porsche 911 Novel

https://a.co/d/ddHlXy2

Editorial Review For NICK and the 996: A Porsche 911 Novel

Also available as an audiobook

This book throws an alien into the middle of Earth’s car culture and somehow makes it work. NICK and the 996 follows Nick R. Bates, an ex-racer from another planet who’s trying to fix both his image and a Porsche 996. His plan? Turn the car into a racing machine worthy of a galaxy-wide competition. There are themes of identity, friendship, and purpose layered between car parts, turbo upgrades, and some surprisingly human moments.

The author knows Porsches. Every technical detail is handled with care. The scenes involving the restoration of the 996 are written with the kind of attention that shows real love for the subject. What’s more surprising is how the book manages to blend gearhead content with character growth. Nick isn’t just bolting on spoilers; he’s figuring himself out too. The friendships he builds are more than just plot devices—they add some weight to the story. The pacing moves fast, but not so fast that it skips over the emotional core.

As a genre piece, it fits somewhere between sci-fi parody and car enthusiast fiction. There’s a little bit of Top Gear, some Guardians of the Galaxy attitude, and a lot of automotive fandom. It's weird. And somehow that’s the point. You won’t find another spacefaring car club president wrenching on a 996 in most sci-fi books.

This one's for readers who like their fiction with fuel injection. If you’ve ever lost a weekend on a forum about headlight conversions or argued about air-cooled engines, this book gets you. If you also like sarcastic aliens, even better.

Is it a serious novel? Not really. Is it trying to be? Thankfully, no. But it does manage to say something about connection and reinvention without feeling like a lecture. If you're into cars and want something different, give NICK and the 996 a shot. Just don’t expect a Hallmark ending.

 

Healing Patches To All The Inner Holes: A Journey To Inner Peace and Healing (Author Interview)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DLLHG4B9/

What inspired you to start writing Healing Patches to All the Inner Holes; was there a moment when it just clicked?

When I finally connected the dots and found out there is a pattern that’s at play. When I realized this, I thought to myself that I must write a book about it. Figured out the patterns in my life  helped me to trace back to the real origin of all the challenges of my life. I feel if I can help my fellow humans to find their patterns , they entire life will change. They get to live through life’s challenges through love, grace and introspection instead of suffering and hardship.

You talk about feeling unsafe for many years—how did writing the book help you feel safe again?

Been able to graduate identifying all the fears in my life, really looking at it, walk through fear little by little, grow through it. Finding the cause of it, been with the full spectrum of fear, it forced me to find solutions, and be comfortable with the feeling however hard it is.  I had to go through an internal journey to heal all the traumas. Once the internal journey has completed, I was able to alchemize all my emotions , then the book basically was completed before it was written, all I had to do is just pour the entire transformation journey on paper. It took time, but after walk through all those fears day after day, one the other side of it all is fearlessness and safety.

 

In the book, you mention “finding your pattern”—what does that process look like day to day?

Look at what is repeating in your external environment. For example, are you dealing with the same issue every day? For me it was the noise issue, wherever I go, there was excessive noise. Noise signals danger, my internal landscape was not safe due to trauma, so my outer environment reflect that. An  easy example for people to contemplate: there are people who would work every day, not giving themselves one day of rest. When you talk to them, they tell you they grew up with parents who are always working, so they have been conditioned early on that rest is associated with fear of not been able to survive. Rest is fear in their psyche, so they will refuse to rest no matter how tired or burned out they are. Look at what is repeating in your life, and you are hurt or burdened by it. That is a good starting point.

Editorial Review For Kei and the Magical Box

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F7GZTCHF

Editorial Review For Kei and the Magical Box

This is the kind of story that sneaks up on you. Kei and the Magical Box starts off like it’s about a girl playing with her mom’s makeup, and somehow it ends up being about imagination, identity, weird dreams, and one very overachieving Labrador named Luki.

The story follows six-year-old Kei, who stumbles across her mother’s makeup box and basically spirals into a full-on creative awakening. What begins as a curious peek turns into an entire fantasy arc—both real and dreamlike—where she experiments with colors, style, and even who she wants to be. There’s no big, dramatic conflict. The tension is more about whether she’ll survive face paint gone wrong or ever get that Cinderella dress. But the emotional heart? It’s there, and it’s sincere. The themes hit gently: beauty, creativity, growing up, and the quiet absurdity of how kids interpret the world.

The book’s strength is its tone. It never tries too hard. The narration stays close to Kei’s point of view without turning her into a cliché. She’s not precocious, she’s just... six. There’s a smart rhythm in how scenes unfold—balanced between daily life and fantasy sequences that don't feel tacked on. The dream sequences are where things stretch the most, but they land well thanks to some solid internal logic (and a talking rat chef, obviously). There’s humor, there’s heart, and thankfully, it never gets too sentimental.

This book fits neatly into the kid-lit space that blends slice-of-life with magical realism. Think Matilda minus the trauma or Coraline with a lot less existential dread. It’s not breaking new ground, but it doesn’t need to. It knows exactly what it’s doing. The fairy tale references, costume play, and whimsical touches nod to classic tropes, but the author resists making it too polished or self-serious.

Young readers who like stories that don’t rush, where the fantasy builds slowly, will get the most out of it. Parents reading along won’t be bored either, especially when the dad drops lines like, “As long as you don't look like a witch...” This book knows its audience and throws in just enough winks for the adults.

Final take? Kei and the Magical Box reads like a quiet, sparkly fever dream filtered through a child’s logic and a parent’s patience. It's playful, sweet, a little ridiculous—and honestly, it works. It might make you want to pull out your old makeup kit or decorate a pebble.

Failing Gravity

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F3WJX87X/

Roman Koa knows that to survive, he must be ruthless.

The Slums beneath the floating city of Icaria were never meant to thrive—but they did. A gritty junkyard city of thieves and robot fighters, it’s everything Icaria isn't. Roman has grown greedy after clawing his way to the top of the robot fighting hierarchy with his powerful electromagnet robot, taking from anyone who crosses his path. When Icarians come to the Slums for a night of risky entertainment, Roman takes twice as much.

But when he’s offered the chance to steal advanced tech from Icaria, the job is too tempting to resist—even with Oliver Flint offering it, his former best friend who sold their robotics code for a new life in Icaria. Without Roman.

The job is simple: Roman helps Oliver save Icaria’s failing gravity beams, and Roman gains access to technology to build powerful robots to secure his position as King of Ring and King of the Slums. Roman’s hatred for Icaria is hard to ignore, though and he is tempted to let the city Oliver betrayed him for crash back to Earth, but dooming Icaria means dooming everyone.

As Icaria’s gravity—and Roman’s fragile bond with Oliver—fails, Roman must choose: will he let Icaria crash, or is there a chance for forgiveness, for both his friend and the city?

Failing Gravity is a high-octane, cyberpunk-inspired adventure about friendship, betrayal, and the fight for forgiveness.

Editorial Review For The Atlas Agenda

https://www.amazon.com/-/de/dp/B0F5T4J9QG

Editorial Review For The Atlas Agenda

There’s espionage. There’s memory control. There’s a spy whose job is to erase people but who keeps catching feelings and carrying dead men's skin samples in a copper case. The Atlas Agenda kicks off in Marrakesh with a lyrical prologue and a market full of fake teeth whiteners, rogue memory-tonics, and a spy who prefers the truth wrapped in trade lies. The book follows Al-Khafi, a field agent with the Bureau Mechanika, as he digs into a forbidden mark that’s part symbol, part conspiracy, and still burning through the remnants of Europe’s sanitized ruins. Lira Varga, another operative, possibly more dangerous, shadows him through it all. She watches but doesn't step in until someone starts shooting.

This book works best when it lets its scenes breathe. The souk in Marrakesh hums. Casablanca gleams but feels empty. A sniper almost takes out Al-Khafi right when things get interesting. The pacing holds steady without rushing. The dialogue cuts sharp but doesn't try too hard. Every setting has a physical presence. You can almost smell the steam, the metal, and the bad decisions. The author builds tension by letting it simmer instead of blowing things up every chapter.

It reads like dystopian spy fiction but sidesteps the usual cliches. You don’t get gadgets. You get broken memory tabs and outlawed lullabies sung by mechanical birds. The story is not about a big final showdown. It’s about what happens when people who are trained to forget start remembering the wrong things.

Readers who liked The Memory Police, The Peripheral, or any story about secret agencies burying the past will probably get into this. If you’ve ever wanted a spy novel with less flashy tech and more existential dread, this one’s for you.

Final word: The Atlas Agenda doesn’t hold your hand. It expects you to keep up, stay sharp, and maybe wonder who's curating your own memories. Read it if you like your espionage with truth as the real weapon.

A Nation Without

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F5HZPK49

What if the entire U.S. government vanished in seconds?

A single explosion. The President. The Vice President. The Speaker of the House—gone.
In a heartbeat, the leadership of the most powerful nation on Earth is erased.
Christopher Ames never asked for power. As a behind-the-scenes political advisor, he had no vote, no office, and no desire to lead. But when a catastrophic attack collapses the chain of command, he’s thrust into the Oval Office under emergency protocol.
Now, America teeters on the edge of chaos.
The media calls him unqualified. The public questions his legitimacy. A rising domestic militia wants him dead. And the enemies of the state? They smell blood in the water.
But Ames has a secret. He’s not here to play politics—he’s here to rebuild America from the ashes… or die trying.
Smart, cinematic, and chillingly realistic—A Nation Without delivers a high-stakes political thriller that grabs you from the first page and doesn’t let go.

Editorial Review For Neither This Nor That

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CMNYS42Y

Editorial Review For Neither This Nor That

Maverick and Darwin spend a day looking at clouds and arguing about what each one looks like. Is it a banana or a boat? A cat or a bear? They ask around, trying to settle their disagreement, but everyone sees something different. Even the animals they ask can’t agree. By the end, the two friends stop trying to be right and start laughing instead. They realize it’s okay to see things differently.

The strongest part of Neither This Nor That is its pacing. The back-and-forth between Darwin and Maverick keeps the rhythm tight. Their little spat plays out in a way that feels familiar, like two kids arguing over nothing and everything at once. The writing captures the silliness without dragging it out. It also sticks to very simple language, which makes it feel natural and a bit like a conversation you’d overhear on a playground. The ending is solid. It doesn’t force a lesson but lets it land anyway.

This book fits right into picture books that lean on minimal storytelling to spark imagination. It’s part of that growing group of stories that don’t try to teach something straight-on but sneak a little meaning in there anyway. If you're used to neat endings where someone is clearly right, this one doesn’t bother with that.

Kids who like silly arguments and seeing things in clouds will enjoy this. It also works well for grownups reading aloud—there’s room to be dramatic, to take sides, to argue just for fun. It’s quick, and it’s not trying too hard to be anything other than what it is.

The book doesn’t stretch too far. It just does what it does and leaves the sky open. Worth a read—especially if you’ve ever fought with someone about something pointless and loved every minute of it.