(BookTrib)
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“The First Cycle: NUE World Chronicles” by F.N. Knight
In this ambitious science-fantasy epic set nearly a thousand years after humanity’s flight from a dying Earth, the planet Thelo is both refuge and prison — a world of twin suns, corrosive mists, dangerous beauty and old bargains with a long reach.
Anibel Azure, the youngest daughter of the ruling Azure family, has been raised to become Lady Head of the Medium. But first she must face the Test, a secret coming-of-age rite that has claimed generations of Azure daughters and bound her people to the mysterious Black Towers. Haunted by visions of humanity’s violent first days on Thelo, Anibel begins to question the history she has inherited.
With Jael, a quick-witted acolyte drawn into her orbit, Anibel may uncover the truth behind the ritual, the ruling Vaine families and the rebellion gathering in the shadows. Richly imagined and morally charged, “The First Cycle” launches a bold new saga.
Purchase at https://tinyurl.com/the-first-cycle.
“Grab Another Gear: Disrupt the Norm. Ignite Your Passion.” by Wayne Williams
This compelling self-help and leadership guide is designed for anyone ready to break out of autopilot and live with greater purpose. Drawing on Wayne Williams’s deep experience helping leaders navigate pivotal transitions, “Grab Another Gear” invites readers to disrupt the routine, rekindle dormant passion and embrace meaningful change rather than comfort.
Through his signature Grab Another Gear framework, Williams blends vivid racing metaphors, personal insights from wins and wipeouts, and clear “Gear Check” action steps that help individuals clarify identity, strengthen relationships and make courageous choices that matter. Far from a typical motivational read, this high-octane guide empowers readers to shift from merely successful to truly significant — living fully engaged, fully awake and fully alive. It’s the ideal read for leaders, entrepreneurs, and anyone feeling stuck or seeking clarity, courage and a renewed sense of impact.
Purchase at https://tinyurl.com/grab-another-gear.
“Dawn Before Darkness” by Liz Lazarus
A psychological thriller inspired by real events, “Dawn Before Darkness” reveals the treachery of a ruthless stalker, the alarming failure of the legal system and the unthinkable battle a daughter must face to protect her family.
Dawn Smith, a vet tech, meets her dream guy. Not only does he woo her with fancy dates and thoughtful gifts, but he charms her widowed mother. Soon, however, strange things begin to happen — a break-in at her home, a missing necklace, and most alarming of all, a rapid decline in her mom’s health. The facade of Mr. Charming is cracking and before Dawn understands the magnitude of his lies, she’s immersed in a battle she never saw coming.
Drawing on real-life guardianship cases and interviews with stalking victims, Lazarus crafts an emotionally charged thriller that explores how the systems designed to protect us can be manipulated.
Details at https://tinyurl.com/dawn-before-darkness.
“Scripts” by Brandon Knightley
In mid-twentieth-century America, Arlene Zirner is a woman no one seems to see clearly — least of all her cold, dismissive husband, Charlie. Raised with an unusual worldview and trapped in a marriage that has taught her to disappear, Arlene quietly accepts the boundaries of her life until a chance encounter in a park awakens a hidden gift.
With a typewriter tucked away like a secret, Arlene begins to discover not only a talent for writing, but a self she has long been denied. Woven through her story are intimate two-person dramatic scripts, read aloud by other couples who find in them a language for emotions they cannot otherwise express.
Inventive, tender and quietly powerful, "Scripts" is a literary novel about marriage, silence, unseen goodness and the private acts of creation that can become a path to liberation.
Learn more at https://tinyurl.com/scripts-review or purchase at https://tinyurl.com/scripts-novel.
