The New York Times has a profile of Amy Alkon and her book Good Manners for Nice People Who Sometimes Say F*ck.We live in a world that’s very different from the one in which Emily Post came of age. Many of us who are nice (but who also sometimes say “f*ck”) are frequently at a loss for guidelines about how to be a good person who deals effectively with the increasing onslaught of rudeness we all encounter.
To lead us out of the miasma of modern mannerlessness, science-based and bitingly funny syndicated advice columnist Amy Alkon rips the doily off the manners genre and gives us a new set of rules for our twenty-first century lives.
With wit, style, and a dash of snark, Alkon explains that we now live in societies too big for our brains, lacking the constraints on bad behavior that we had in the small bands we evolved in. Alkon shows us how we can reimpose those constraints, how we can avoid being one of the rude, and how to stand up to those who are.
Kirkus: Anika Dragomir, the third most popular girl at her high school in 1980s Nebraska, is pursued by two different boys, both off-limits to her, in a romance filled with seriously funny dark humor and tragedy.
Library Journal: Watching this romance unfold from Ian’s point of view is refreshing and insightful. A stock womanizer soon unfolds into a complex hero. But as with all heroes, Ian has flaws and is all the more lovable for them. Savoring each page of this novel, this reviewer found the end unfolding a bit too quickly; still, with this first-time effort, Braden will soon amass a strong readership.
Publishers Weekly: McGoran fluidly blends science and suspense in his outstanding second eco-thriller starring Philly cop Doyle Carrick (after 2013’s Drift). Because Doyle’s significant other, Nola Watkins, who’s showing signs of rethinking their relationship, needs a break from city life, the couple take a weekend trip to Martha’s Vineyard. On the resort island, their friend Moose is worried about the dwindling bee population, which may be due to a phenomenon, known as Colony Collapse Disorder, that inexplicably leads to disappearances of whole hives. Even as Moose spearheads a research project on CCD, a corporation has received permission to introduce genetically modified bees into the island’s ecosystem. After they return to Philadelphia, Nola decides to take a job on the Vineyard. When Nola misses her train, Doyle drives her to the ferry and accompanies her to the island, where he agrees to lend Moose a hand. This second visit, predictably, ends up being a busman’s holiday for the detective, who finds himself involved in multiple murder investigations. 
Publishers Weekly: Bennett (American Elsewhere) ventures into secondary-world fantasy in this action-packed, occasionally numinous, noir-like novel, which combines metaphysical and geopolitical observations. The city of Bulikov, once the sacred seat of a brutal, miracle-fueled empire, now stagnates under the administration of its former colony Saypur, which has become a technology-driven superpower. Exiled operative Ashara Komayd is the privileged great-granddaughter of the last Kaj of Saypur, the man who killed the Divinities, thereby both literally and politically destabilizing an entire continent. While investigating the politically inflammatory murder of a Saypuri professor who was studying Bulikov’s censored history, she finds disquieting evidence that some Divinities—and their legacy—may yet survive. Bennett largely sidesteps questions of colonialism and cultural appropriation in his tightly paced mystery, but supporting characters like Ashara’s indestructible aide, Sigrud, and conflicted ex-lover Vohannes Votrov flesh out the otherwise narrowly focused setting. The open ending promises a sequel.
Shelf Awareness: Just when you thought Cia’s journey couldn’t get any better, it does, in this finale to the Testing trilogy, which recounts the culmination of Cia’s studies and battles in the dystopian United Commonwealth.
This is a book like no other. Shreve, a teenage delinquent who is a thief and a dealer of contraband candy, has an enormous power for which he struggles to find a place. His telepathy eventually causes him to join the Society of Extranaturals, and his journey is all mental, an exploration of the human psyche that turns his entire world upside down. This novel is a superb telling of what it means to be different, existing physically and mentally on the outskirts of society. Jacobs is a master of the supernatural story, leading readers along dark and winding paths containing secrets, evil, and unimaginable power. Told from a male point of view, The Shibboleth will appeal mostly to boys and any reader who loves dark tales of action, adventure, and the supernatural.