Author J. E. Weiner kicks off her debut novel, The Wretched and Undone (HTF Publishing 2025) with a rattlesnake falling from the rafters of a church onto the congregation below. That’s a tough scene to follow, but Weiner keeps ramping up tension and introducing unexpected events, each scene propelling the story forward as we follow […]
“The Ballad of Karla Faye Tucker” by Mark Beaver
May 4, 2025 by 1 Comment
Reviewed by Addison Summers As an avid reader, few books have ever fully captivated me quite like The Ballad of Karla Faye Tucker (University Press of Mississippi 2023) by Mark Beaver. This emotional and deeply moving work tells the true story of Karla Faye Tucker, the first woman executed in Texas since 1863. Tucker and her […]
Read of the Month: “The Bright Years” by Sarah Damoff
April 30, 2025 by Leave a Comment
The Bright Years (Simon & Schuster 2025) by Sarah Damoff shimmers as an exquisite, poignant portrait of a family crumbling as their painful pasts push their way into the present. It is a story of addiction and recovery. Of love and loss. Of forgiveness and redemption. Set in Texas, The Bright Years takes readers on […]
Books of Note: “Queen of the Clouds” by Taylor C. Phillips and “Greed at the Happy Valley Motor Inn and Resort by Leslie Noyes
March 18, 2025 by Leave a Comment
Queen of the Clouds by Taylor C. Phillips First woman to fly around the world—Amelia Earhart, right? Wrong! Yet most of us remember Earhart’s name rather than the two women who did complete that amazing solo journey. Queen of the Clouds: Joan Merriam Smith and Jerrie Mock’s Epic Quest to Become the First Woman to […]
“Dreams of Arcadia” by Brian Porter
October 15, 2023 by Leave a Comment
In Dreams of Arcadia (Legacy Book Press 2023), Brian Porter transports readers inside the world of a rural veterinarian with spectacular descriptions of the Texas countryside and riveting details concerning the care of cattle and other animals. But the novel is also the story of Nate Holub’s family and the uncovering of long-held secrets. Think […]
“How We Came To Be,” by Johnnie Bernhard
December 11, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by Donna Meredith Forget the Father Knows Best clichés of the 1950s—they are so yesterday. Set in contemporary Houston and Austin, How We Came To Be (Texas Review Press, 2018) is a witty, insightful study of the forging of a twenty-first century family. A finalist in the 2017 International Faulkner-Wisdom Competition, the novel was […]