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The Gift
The Gift follows Emery, a young woman pulled into a strange dimension where voices, shadows, and visions drag her into a fate she never asked for. The novel is about her journey to rescue her mother, uncover hidden truths about her powers, and navigate an ancient and perilous world that teeters between myth and science. There are black holes that bend time, creatures that lurk in slithering shadows, and tribes that live by instinct and survival. But underneath the cosmic spectacle, it is really about one woman’s fight to hold on to family, identity, and purpose in a reality that constantly shifts beneath her feet.
The writing surprised me. It has a dreamlike quality in places, flowing almost like waves, then suddenly crashing into moments of raw grit and pain. The descriptions of the void, of light turning into memory, of bodies disintegrating and reforming, made me pause and reread because they were so vivid. But then the author would drop Emery into the dirt, into hunger and thirst, into stumbling mistakes, and it grounded everything. That combination kept me engaged. Sometimes the prose was a little heavy, but the emotional weight pulled me through. I found myself caring about Emery’s stubbornness, her doubts, her messy humanity, even as she was tasked with saving more than just herself.
What really stayed with me was the emotional pull of Emery’s relationships, especially her bond with Visla. Their friendship felt tender and real, the kind of connection that lights up even the darkest setting. I loved how their language lessons became a bridge between two worlds. I felt warmth reading their moments together, and sadness knowing Emery’s destiny might tear them apart. Emery’s constant second-guessing sometimes slowed the story, and I wished she trusted herself more. But then again, maybe that’s what made her believable. She wasn’t some perfect heroine. She was clumsy, scared, and hopeful, and that made me root for her all the more.
I felt like I’d been on a strange and exhausting journey right alongside Emery. The Gift is not just for fans of science fiction or fantasy. It’s for readers who want to feel the clash of fear and hope, who enjoy sci-fi stories where survival is as important as destiny, and where the heart matters as much as the universe. I would recommend it to anyone who likes their adventure raw and relatable, layered with both cosmic wonder and everyday struggle.
Pages: 381 | ASIN : B0FM77FD39
Unborn
Eva Barber’s Unborn tells a tale that feels like a dreamy collision of family bonds, mystery, and the tug of destiny. It opens with the discovery of a mysterious infant in the forest, devoid of a belly button, by a couple in rural Russia. Sasha and Lev, battling their own heartbreak over childlessness, decide to keep the child despite its otherworldly origins. What unfolds is an exploration of the girl Olesya’s extraordinary nature, her struggles with identity, and the looming forces seeking to claim her.
Barber sets the scene vividly in the opening chapters. The forest is not just a backdrop but a character itself, ancient and whispering secrets. The moment Sasha discovers Olesya is pure magic and it pulls you right into the story. But as the narrative progresses, some passages lean heavily on exposition.
What really works for me is Barber’s exploration of the emotional ties between Olesya and her adoptive parents. Sasha’s maternal instinct feels raw and real, especially in scenes where she defends Olesya fiercely against a world that might see her as an oddity. When she performs the makeshift surgery to create a navel for her daughter, I felt her desperation to make Olesya fit into a world she might not belong to. These moments, packed with tension and love, kept me invested.
Olesya herself is an enigma, and her journey to find her place in a world both mundane and mysterious is fascinating. Her struggles with bullies at school, her social awkwardness, and her scientific brilliance make her relatable despite her supernatural origins. I especially loved her conversation with her teacher about atoms, she’s bright but understated, a quiet force. Her supernatural abilities, like the incident with the boy in class, add a layer of danger that I wished the author had explored more deeply early on.
The plot raises intriguing questions about destiny and choice. There’s a constant push and pull between safety and discovery. Lev’s interaction with his cousin Lech, leading to their plan to flee to the United States, adds a touch of thriller energy. The stakes feel personal yet far-reaching, and I couldn’t help but wonder what secrets about Olesya’s origins might unfold next.
While many scenes are rich with detail and emotion, a few moments linger a little longer than necessary, while others, like the shadowy men in the forest or Olesya’s recurring nightmares, could benefit from a bit more attention to fully capture their significance. That said, Barber’s gift for crafting compelling characters and emotional depth shines through.
Unborn is an atmospheric and thought-provoking read for anyone who enjoys stories about family, identity, and the intersection of science and the fantastical. Fans of speculative fiction with a strong emotional core, think The Midnight Library meets The Giver, will find much to love here. It’s a slow burn, but one worth savoring.
Pages: 435 | ASIN : B0DPYGM68C
Girls Are Most Empowered When We Lift Each Other Up
Rose M. Channing Author Interview
The Mansion’s Twins follows Ellie and Savannah Senka, fourteen year old twins who run away from home and journey to a magical world. What was the inspiration behind Ellie and Savannah being twins and the bond they have?
It felt right for the story for a couple of reasons. First, it was important to me to have well-rounded female characters girls could relate and look up to. Sometimes in fantasy books, when there’s a “strong female character,” she stands alone, and ends up bashing other girls in order to set herself apart. In reality, girls are most empowered when we lift each other up. Having two female protagonists gave me the opportunity to show this. Ellie and Savannah learn to work together, support each other, and bring out the best in each other. I also had twins in mind because I always wanted a twin sister. I actually built them around my idea of an ideal sibling relationship–of course, I wanted them to be real, so they couldn’t be perfect. But I always wanted to share that kind of connection and understanding with another person, especially because I did not have it with my own sister.
The new world is full of magic, but it’s filled with danger after being destroyed by a terrible storm. I found this new world to be intriguing. What were you hoping to accomplish when developing this world and do you feel you’ve told the whole story?
I wanted a world readers could immerse themselves in, that was similar to our own enough to be familiar, but with magic integrated deeply enough to be captivating. I also wanted to show how the people reacted to this disaster, mainly the way they came together in the mansion. I certainly haven’t told the whole story yet, but there are many sequels to come!
I think the twins go through some very challenging obstacles throughout the story and grow because of it. Was there anything from your own life that you put into these characters?
I think there are at least pieces from my own life that I put into every character I have, and some are more obvious than others. For example, Savannah stands out to me. I’m naturally a shy person, and have often found myself in situations where I’ve needed to step outside my comfort zone to accomplish something. This gave me strong connection with Savannah, who has to do the same in the story. She is quiet and careful by nature, and learns throughout the book how to find her voice and confidence.
What is the next book that you are writing and when will it be published?
My current work in progress is called “Acapella Angels.” It tells the story of Ellie and Savannah’s parents, Cassandra and Travis, in the days leading up to the storm. It will reveal their first meeting, how they fell in love, Cassandra’s time in Summer’s Angels, and the mysteries behind the storm itself! I plan to release it later this month.
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook | Website
Ellie and Savannah Senka, fourteen year old twins, ran away from their unhappy homes, thinking they’d return after a brief adventure. Together, they journey to another world. The new world is full of magic, but though it was once beautiful, it is damaged, unbalanced, and dangerous after a terrible storm. Ellie and Savannah may be the only ones with the power to restore the world to its original state, for the magic of twins is rare and powerful. The girls are welcomed into a grand mansion, the safest place in the aftermath of the storm. There, they learn who they are, and what they have to do. To restore the world, they must travel through the mansion to the center of magic and reset the balance. They discover their own magical abilities, find joy and friendship in the mansion’s family, and face the dangers of the storm’s left-behind magic. The journey to the center of magic is full of twists and turns, magic and excitement. Ellie and Savannah support each other to overcome obstacles along the way, knowing the whole world is depending on them.
Review: The 13th Prophet By T. Lucas Earle
The 13th Prophet is noir science fiction done with perfection. Mulligan Burke is a private investigator hired to solve a murder. The victim is one of twelve prophets that people around the world hold up as gods. These people are the human embodiment of the emotions they represent. Desire, Defiance, Grace, Satisfaction, Solitude, Strength, Clarity, Courage, Care, Passion, Control, and Bliss. They’re personalities are copied and uploaded into other people so they too can become gods, for a price, without any effort or justification for their ennoblement. But Defiance is dead, and people are panicked and unruly; unsure of where they’re going to get their next personality upgrade. Mulligan is beyond his prime, but even with bad knees, fake teeth and a receding hairline he’s still more than a match for most people and the last crime he solves will be the one that changes the world.
This is a short story and I’m happy to see that no time is wasted. Every sentence in the story offers something that paints the picture of the overall world, develops the characters, or moves the story along. The language is crisp, clean and easy flowing and in that lays the enjoyment as provocative ideas or staple detective mystery devices unravel before you with little effort. What I liked most about the story was that the reader has equal opportunity to solve the crime along with the detective and the conclusion of the story comes about logically. Aside from a few grammatical errors this was a near perfect execution of a short story.
E-Book: 23 page
Published July 8th 2013 by T. Lucas Earle
ASIN: B00DU2IQGU
LITERARY TITAN 