Category Archives: Five Stars
Terra Lux
Terra Lux, by Jessahme Wren, follows a tight-knit little family on Dobani right as life starts to crack. Pearla is pregnant and running her shop during the Festival of Light, Phoenix is doing his best “steady dad” thing, and Sev is trying to act grown while still feeling like a kid in all the worst ways. Then the mood flips fast. Soldiers show up, a curfew settles over town, checkpoints pop up, and normal routines turn into fear math. The family gets swept into an “evacuation” to Kedros, a place Dobani used to treat like a dump, and the story slides into camp life, forced work, and separation. Sev reconnects with Soren in Kedros, a doctor she knows from earlier, and that reunion becomes a lifeline in a brutal place.
The writing leans hard into touch and sound and small routines. Fried bread. Moonlight. A hand on a belly. Then it pivots into boot grit, broken glass, and that awful sense of being watched. That contrast worked for me. It made the danger hit harder. The point of view shifts also helped. I stayed close to each character’s fear. I also felt the love in the gaps. Phoenix, in particular, got me. He has this gentle, stubborn warmth. It is corny in the best way. A few scenes run long, and some beats repeat. Panic, regroup, panic again. I kept turning pages because I quickly came to care about the characters. To me, that matters more than perfect pacing.
The ideas landed with weight, not with lectures. The book looks straight at what power does to regular people. It shows how fast a safe town can turn into a trap. It also shows how kindness stays alive in ugly places. A ration shared. A quiet favor. A small “I see you” moment in the middle of the mess. The found family thread is the real engine. Sev, Phoenix, and Pearla feel earned. Soren adds a softer kind of strength. He listens. He holds a line without acting like a hero poster. I loved the light motif too. Festival lanterns at the start. Kedros twilight in the middle. Then warm sun at the farmhouse after the storm. It reads like a promise. Darkness is real. Light still shows up. It is worth noting that I did wish a bit for sharper edges on the “system” side. More texture. More messy motives.
I recommend Terra Lux for readers who want character-first science fiction with a lot of heart. It fits people who like survival stories with tenderness, not nonstop grit. It also fits anyone who likes found family, gentle romance energy, and healing after harm. Expect stress and fear, plus moments that feel cozy and hopeful in the same breath. I would hand it to book clubs, too. Plenty to talk about. Power, home, loyalty, and what “safe” even means after everything changes.
ASIN : B0GDQZD128
The 7 Universal Laws: The Hidden Rules Behind the Mind, Emotions, and the Architecture of the Universe
The 7 Universal Laws lays out a framework that blends psychology, physics, personal development, and storytelling. Monica Ion and Stefan Irimia explore seven core principles that they believe govern both the universe and human behavior. These laws include duality, reflection, transformation, synchronicity, eristic escalation, order, and fractals. Each law is illustrated through real client cases and personal stories, showing how perception shapes emotions, decisions, and outcomes. The book positions these laws as tools for resolving inner conflicts and creating meaningful change.
I was pulled in by the mix of scientific language and simple, emotional storytelling. The authors lean on the idea that perception is the root of human experience. I like how they frame events as neutral until the mind assigns meaning. Their examples feel authentic and honest. Sara’s transformation while traveling through the mountains, for example, stirred something in me because of how quietly powerful it was. The writing style is clear and patient, and it feels like the authors genuinely want the reader to walk away with a new way of seeing the world.
The laws are presented as universal truths, yet some explanations feel more metaphorical than scientific, which I didn’t mind. I also enjoyed how they weave in history, philosophy, and neuroscience, and while some simplifications are bold, they make the book more approachable. What impressed me most was how the real stories are used. They are vulnerable and detailed enough to feel authentic. They show how messy people are and how quickly things can shift when the mind reframes meaning.
By the end, I felt a mix of curiosity, calm, and an urge to test some of these laws myself. I kept thinking about how much of my own life has been shaped by hidden assumptions and unexamined fears. That is where this book shines. It invites reflection without preaching. It offers structure without demanding belief. I walked away with a deeper appreciation for how perception shapes reality, and I felt a gentle push to rethink how I label my own experiences.
I recommend The 7 Universal Laws to readers who enjoy personal development, psychology, or spiritually influenced frameworks that are grounded in practical storytelling. If you like books that make you rethink your emotional patterns and give you tools to shift them, this will land well for you. It is especially good for anyone who wants a fresh perspective on why they feel stuck and how to create meaningful internal change.
Pages: 321 | ASIN : B0FPRPNBFK
Mistress of Bees
When I picked up Mistress of Bees, I expected a playful romp through a world of magic and mischief, and that’s exactly what I got, but with a lot more teeth than I anticipated. The book follows Lady Maris Goselin, a foul-mouthed, bee-wielding, sharp-witted sorceress who narrates her own adventures with a mix of biting humor, lustful candor, and raw honesty. Through her eyes, we stumble into necromantic disasters, awkward entanglements with past lovers, dangerous pacts, and more than one horrifying monster fight. It’s a collection of linked tales, each brimming with irreverence, peril, and a constant tug-of-war between desire, regret, and survival.
What struck me first was the voice. She’s crude, hilarious, sometimes cruel, but always human in a way that feels oddly relatable. I found myself laughing one moment and wincing the next. Author Bernie Mojzes writes her like someone you might meet at a bar, the kind of person who overshares and insults you in the same breath, yet you can’t walk away because the stories are just that good. There’s a rhythm to the prose that pulls you along, rough and jagged at times, almost tender at others, and always with the sense that Maris is whispering in your ear, daring you to judge her.
For all its bawdy humor and sly jokes, there’s a heavy weight behind the stories. Maris is haunted. She’s angry, lonely, bitter, and still carrying scars from every betrayal and every battle. The way she faces down horrors, both monstrous and personal, feels raw and almost painful. I didn’t just read about her struggles, I felt them. And yet, the book never wallows. It snaps back with snark, with sex, with bees buzzing through the chaos. That mix of tragedy and comedy made it unpredictable and addictive.
By the time I finished, I knew this was the sort of book I’d want to recommend to readers who crave fantasy that doesn’t play nice. If you like your adventures messy, your heroes deeply flawed, and your magic tangled up with lust and rage, this is for you. Mistress of Bees is loud, brash, sometimes shocking, and often moving in ways you won’t expect. I’d recommend it to fans of dark fantasy, lovers of irreverent narrators, and anyone who wants a story that feels alive, buzzing, and just a little dangerous.
Pages: 416 | ASIN : B0FJGBBR4S
The Incredible Adventures of Casper the Cat Who Got Lost in Africa: Book 5 – The Lions
This children’s book was a fun ride. Casper wakes up under a tree surrounded by a whole crowd of head-bobbing guinea fowl, then spends the rest of the story stumbling into new friends and new dangers as she keeps trying to get home. She helps orphaned squirrels. She faints in front of a lion. She ends up teaming up with lions, a giant spider named Bertrand, an antlion general with the longest name on Earth, and an army of scorpions to outsmart some trophy hunters. The ending is this wild mix of chaos, teamwork, and justice that somehow still feels warm and funny.
I really enjoyed how the writing balances humor with heavier stuff. One moment, I was laughing because Casper freaked out at an eight-eyed spider. The next moment, I felt a weird swell of pride as all these animals worked together to protect each other. The dialogue has this bouncy, chatty rhythm, and the author leans into absurd moments in a way that feels natural. I also liked that Casper never fully stops being scared. She is tiny. She is lost. She knows it. And she still tries to help anyway. I found that pretty sweet.
What surprised me was how much heart there is behind the silliness. The lions aren’t just big dramatic characters. They care deeply about their families, and that gives the story a real emotional center. Casper’s fear of crocodiles made me laugh and also made me feel protective of her. And the idea of every creature working together to chase off people who hurt animals for fun hit me harder than I expected. It was satisfying. And the tone never turns mean. It stays focused on bravery, kindness, and standing up for each other.
The illustrations throughout the book are adorable. They’re done in these soft, warm colors that make the whole world feel gentle even when the scenes get wild. The characters are expressive in that big clear way kids instantly understand. Each picture adds a little spark to the story, almost like a pause that lets you feel what the characters are feeling before diving back into the chaos.
I would absolutely recommend this children’s chapter book to kids who love funny adventure stories, talking animals, or anything with a lot of heart. It’s great for anyone who enjoys a quick, charming read that mixes giggles with good messages about empathy and courage. This book provides young readers with a good time.
Pages: 80 | ISBN: 1923356216
Everyone Deserves a Home
Baer Charlton’s historical fiction novel, Everyone Deserves a Home, traces the intertwined lives of Walter Humphrey, Leatha, Betsy Turner, and eventually Hannah Mariah Rose Humphrey. It begins in the American South of the mid-1800s, moves through New Orleans, crosses the ocean to England, and follows a family shaped by secrets of race, identity, and survival. From the first chapters, the story lays out a complicated inheritance: hidden parentage, passing as white, the legacy of enslavement, and the formation of a chosen family built not by blood but by loyalty. Even early on, you see how Hannah’s future as a surgeon grows out of this unconventional household where medicine, language, theater, and resilience are all part of daily life.
The writing moves with an intimate, memoir-like rhythm, especially in the prologue, where adult children recount their mother’s hidden Black heritage and how she “became white” at five years old. That moment alone sets the tone. It’s direct, a little painful, and strangely gentle. Scenes stretch out with detail you can almost smell or touch. Then, suddenly, a sentence snaps short and lands like a stone in the gut. I liked that mix. It mirrors the characters themselves. Walter’s voice, in particular, blends clinical precision with emotional restraint. Meanwhile, Leatha’s chapters feel grounded and visceral, as if she’s speaking while chopping vegetables or tying on an apron. And Betsy’s early chapters shimmer with that mix of bravado and fragility found in a teenager who has survived too much too young.
What surprised me most was how the novel lets relationships carry the ideas. Topics like passing, racial identity, gender, sexuality, and bodily autonomy are present, but they arrive wrapped inside the everyday details of meals, births, surgeries, and whispered conversations over kitchen tables. The story never lectures. It just unfolds. Sometimes I found myself pausing, not because something dramatic had happened, but because a small detail shifted my understanding of a character. A hand on a shoulder. A joke in sign language. A quiet refusal to leave someone behind. These moments gave the book a warm undercurrent even when the history it leans on is harsh. And although the novel spans continents and decades, its emotional center always comes back to the home this unconventional family creates together.
By the end, I felt like the title wasn’t just a claim but a philosophy that the book keeps proving. The story champions people who carve out belonging in a world determined to deny it to them. It’s historical fiction, yes, but it reads with the intimacy of family lore and the clarity of someone finally ready to tell the whole truth. I would recommend Everyone Deserves a Home to readers who enjoy character-driven historical fiction, stories about identity and chosen family, and novels that blend emotional honesty with rich, lived-in detail.
Pages: 263 | ASIN : B0FL13PG6X
Mortal Vengeance
Mortal Vengeance, by Alejandro Torres De la Rocha, is a young adult supernatural thriller that follows a tight-knit but deeply troubled group of teens whose attempt to get revenge on a cruel teacher spirals into something far darker than any of them imagined. What starts as a grim school drama quickly escalates into a chain of betrayals, fear, and ultimately the appearance of a mythic, reaper-like being that shatters their lives. The book blends coming-of-age turmoil with horror and psychological suspense, and the shift from everyday cruelty to supernatural violence comes through sharp and sudden.
I was pulled into the heat and pressure of those classrooms and courtyards. The writing often leans intense, almost cinematic, with scenes described in a way that makes the emotions feel oversized, raw, and volatile. I caught myself thinking, these kids are carrying way more weight than they know how to hold. Marcos’s explosive anger, Mario’s guilt and fragility, Alex’s manipulative charm and insecurities, Melissa’s heartbreak, Enrique’s need to please everyone… every character is drawn with a kind of heightened emotional color. Sometimes it felt melodramatic, but in a way that matched the story’s pulse. The author’s choice to push sensations and metaphors to their limits gives the book a feverish energy, like the world is always one bad decision away from breaking.
What surprised me most was how quickly the story shifts from grounded teen conflict to something mythic and terrifying. One moment we’re dealing with bullying and revenge in a school hallway, and the next we’re staring down the Grim Cojuelo on a moonlit pier. That jump could have felt jarring, but for me, it worked because the emotional stakes were already running so high. The supernatural element feels like an extension of everything boiling inside these characters. Still, I found myself wishing for a few quieter beats where the emotions had room to breathe. When everything is dialed up, it can be hard to sit with the subtler moments. But there’s something gripping about how unafraid the author is to dive into intensity, whether it’s love, jealousy, fear, or guilt.
Mortal Vengeance is a story about how small cruelties grow into big consequences, and how revenge rarely lands where you expect. If you like young adult stories that mix school drama with supernatural horror, and you don’t mind a narrative that swings for big emotions instead of quiet restraint, this will be the perfect book for you. It’s a dramatic, dark, and sometimes chaotic ride, but it is delightfully entertaining.
Pages: 306 | ASIN : B0FDT6JYSQ
The Adventures of Mo
This charming children’s book follows Mo, a sweet and curious dog who finds a strange shiny object in the forest and soon gets swept into a huge adventure. Along the way, he meets Monta the Moose, a giant whale named Blue, and a nonstop-talking bird named Finchy. Before long, Mo is traveling across the United States on the roof of a delivery truck, visiting wild places, escaping danger, learning about humans, and trying to return the mysterious key to its rightful owner. The whole thing feels like a road trip mixed with a treasure hunt and a friendship story, all rolled into one.
Reading it felt warm and goofy and kind of chaotic in the best way. The writing has this bright, playful energy that made me smile a lot. I liked how Mo is always trying to be polite even when he’s scared or confused, and how Finchy never shuts up but somehow grows on you. Their friendship feels real. I found myself rooting for them while laughing at how often they got lost or sidetracked. The author slips in bits of real-world info about states and landmarks, and it surprised me how naturally it fit into the story. It felt like learning by accident, the way a kid would when traveling with a chatty adult.
Mo trying on human clothes had me laughing, and Finchy stealing a scientist’s “important” piece of paper only to discover it’s a grocery list made me snort. Then there were parts that were thoughtful, like Mo nearly floating away on a paddleboard or realizing how far he is from home. Those scenes had this soft ache to them. The book balances that feeling well, mixing silliness with little flickers of courage and homesickness. I liked that a lot. It kept the story from feeling too fluffy.
Mo is a little geography lesson wrapped in an adventure story. While kids follow Mo from Alaska to places like Missouri or South Carolina, they end up learning where these states are and how different parts of the country feel. The story drops in cardinal directions at the start of chapters, so readers start to understand north, south, east, and west without even trying. Teachers and homeschoolers can use Mo as a fun add-on to US geography because it makes kids want to look at a map and find out where Mo is headed next, which is a huge win for a subject that can sometimes feel a little dry.
I’d recommend this children’s chapter book to kids who love animal stories, big adventures, and characters who get themselves into wild situations but somehow wiggle their way out. It’s also great for adults reading aloud because the humor hits on both levels. If you want something light and sweet that still has heart, this feels like a good pick.
Pages: 313 | ASIN : B0BN29YX96
I Can Play Drums
I Can Play Drums is a friendly beginner’s guide that walks the reader through the basics of drumming in simple steps. It starts with listening and feeling the beat, then moves into coordination, timing, practice methods, stick control, tuning, kit setup, and all the little things a new drummer needs to know. It keeps the language light and direct, and it focuses on helping anyone learn rhythm by breaking ideas into small actions that can be practiced anywhere.
The book talks to you like a coach who actually wants you to enjoy the journey. I appreciated how the book treats drumming as something playful, something almost childlike at times. The little challenges, like patting your head while circling your tummy, made me smile. The tone feels encouraging in a way that pulls down the fear that beginners often carry. I liked how it keeps telling you to slow down, relax, and have fun. That landed with me because learning an instrument can feel stressful. This book leans the other way, and that gave me a sense of relief.
I also liked the ideas in the sections about gear and tuning, even though they are simple. The author keeps the advice practical and almost homespun, which made the book feel grounded. There were good reminders to loosen your grip on the sticks and to avoid chasing fancy drum parts before you can hold a steady beat. The honesty there felt refreshing. Some parts did feel long and a bit repetitive, although I get why the author wanted to reinforce certain habits. Even so, the informal tone kept me reading, and I never felt talked down to.
I think I Can Play Drums works best for new drummers, younger learners, or anyone who feels nervous about starting. The writing is easy to understand, and the hands-on exercises make rhythm feel reachable. If you want a book that takes you by the hand and makes drumming feel simple and fun, this one will suit you well.
Pages: 76 | ISBN : 9781105931598
LITERARY TITAN 