“Behind the Waterline” by Kionna Walker LaMalle

In her debut novel, Behind the Waterline (Blair 2025), author Kionna Walker LeMalle tells a dual timeline story in two historically significant periods set apart by about four decades. First and foremost, Behind the Water Line is a coming-of-age story about teenage Eric and a courageous journey that he is seemingly forced to take in […]

December Read of the Month: “The Miniaturist’s Assistant” by Katherine Scott Crawford

Editor’s note: SLR has two Reads of the Month for December. We think you will love both books. In The Miniaturist’s Assistant, Katherine Scott Crawford would, for a moment, like you to believe that Charleston, South Carolina, is a town like any other town. If you’ve ever been to Charleston, you know that is simply […]

“Kate Landry Has a Plan” by Rebekah Millet

 Kate Landry Has a Plan (Bethany House 2025) by Rebekah Millet is a very wonderful, straightforward, Christian romance novel which had me hooked with the first sentence: “A bride’s bouquet arced through the air, targeting me like a deployed missile.” Kate Landry and her sister opened a cafe, Beignets & Books, in the home they […]

“Where the Rivers Merge” by Mary Alice Monroe

Mary Alice Monroe, New York Times best selling author of thirty books, has taken a divergent path with her new historical novel. In Where the Rivers Merge (William Morrow 2025) we follow a journey that transports us in time and place between the grand city of Charleston, South Carolina, and a lush Lowcountry plantation to […]

Mary Ellen Thompson interviews Mary Alice Monroe, author of “Where the Rivers Merge”

INTRODUCTION: Mary Alice Monroe’s first historical novel, Where the Rivers Merge, is quite different from the other twenty-nine books she has written. She still focuses on endangered species, but this time her greater focus is on awareness for conservation and protection of our natural resources. Because Mary Alice also likes to educate us while we […]

“Ahead of Her Time, The Trailblazing Life and Literary Legacy of Ann Head” by Nancy Thode

In Ahead of Her Time, The Trailblazing Life and Literary Legacy of Ann Head, Nancy Thode tells the story of her mother with as much unfailing accuracy as possible for a woman who lost that mother fifty-seven years ago when Nancy was only twenty-seven years old and has relied on memory and archives. It would […]