Project Hail Mary starts with a familiar Weir scenario: one person facing an impossible challenge. Ryland Grace, a middle-school science teacher with a PhD in molecular biology, wakes up alone on a spaceship far from Earth. He doesn’t remember how he got there, his crewmates have died, and now he’s responsible for saving humanity. The sun is losing energy because of a microorganism called Astrophage, and Grace’s job is to find a solution at Tau Ceti, the only nearby star not affected.
Category Archives: Book Highlight
Lights Over Phoenix
While skipping class one day, seventeen-year old Daisy finds a mysterious message in the girls’ bathroom. Though she’s not sure if it’s meant for her, she’s determined to find the sender. Every message has a sender. Soon she begins witnessing strange lights in the desert surrounding the small Arizona town from which she’s determined to escape. Before she can go far, however, she must face the parts of herself she wishes to rewrite. Inspired by the Phoenix Lights phenomena of the late 1990s, Terrestrial explores themes of isolation, communication, place, and the desert as both a home and a questionably inhabitable environment.
All the Tide Takes: The Lost Treasure of Olivier Levasseur, Calder Venn’s Fresh Take on Pirate Lore
Calder Venn’s debut, All the Tide Takes: The Lost Treasure of Olivier Levasseur, plunges readers into the high-stakes world of 18th-century piracy, treasure hunting, and the unforgiving Indian Ocean. Published on February 24, 2026, this historical fiction novel is a meticulously researched maritime adventure that blends the intellectual discipline of Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey-Maturin series with the moral complexity of The Count of Monte Cristo. It’s a tale of ambition, consequence, and the sea’s relentless duality—what it offers and what it takes. With its roots in real history and its sights set on timeless themes, this novel is a standout addition to the genre and the first in a planned trilogy.
Collings MacCrae’s The Ruin of the Watcher: A Standout in Character-Driven Crime Fiction
Collings MacCrae’s The Ruin of the Watcher is a riveting crime-fiction prequel that blends a dark atmosphere with human characters and a unique protagonist. This novel introduces the Fox Argall Mysteries with a powerful exploration of trauma, loyalty, and neurodivergence, while delivering an intelligent, emotionally resonant standalone mystery.
From Gnight Sara to Sunday Sunset
The sequel, I Love You, Sunday Sunset, draws its name from Heck’s poem in Gnight Sara / Night Heck. In the poem, he reflects on Sunday sunsets as symbols of farewells and new beginnings, an idea that quietly but powerfully echoes throughout the story.
A Journey Worth Taking: A Review of Paul Scott Grill’s Travel By Star
Some books are a quick thrill, a fleeting adventure you enjoy and then forget. Others settle into your bones, their stories and characters lingering long after you’ve turned the final page. Paul Scott Grill’s debut novel, Travel By Star, firmly belongs to the latter category.
Virginia Evans’ The Correspondent: A LOVE LETTER TO LETTERS
In an era dominated by fleeting texts and emails, Virginia Evans’ glowing debut, The Correspondent (Crown, 2025), is a love letter to the written word, and to the messy, beautiful lives it captures. This epistolary novel, a #1 New York Times bestseller and one of 2025’s most celebrated literary successes, showcases character-driven storytelling. Through the letters of Sybil Van Antwerp, a 73-year-old retired court clerk navigating the winter of her life, Evans delivers a touching meditation on grief, forgiveness, identity, and the relational influence.
CRIMSON REGRET: A Haunting Journey Through Pain and the Supernatural
This is the story of Amy Kennedy, a 16-year-old girl living in the fictional town of Englewood, a place steeped in a dark history of witch trials and executions dating back to the 17th century. This historical backdrop is not just a setting but a living, breathing force that shapes the town’s present and Amy’s personal struggles.
Unlocking the Yellow Brick Road
Imagine a world painted not in familiar colors, but in the colorful adventure itself. A place where a simple country road, paved in brilliant yellow, winds through enchanted lands toward a city of emeralds. This is the world that awaits within the pages of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, a journey that has charmed readers for generations. It isn’t just a story; it’s an invitation to explore the landscapes of courage, friendship, and the surprising power found within ourselves.
Nobody’s Girl: A Harrowing Memoir That Reads Like a Legal Thriller
Nobody’s Girl is a devastating yet vital narrative that combines the emotional depth of a memoir with the tension of a legal thriller. It is a story of survival, strength, and the pursuit of justice, making it an indispensable read for anyone committed to understanding and combating abuse.