“But Archibald – author Graeme Menzies uses his given name rather than his surname – is vocally against the plundering and abuse of the First Nations his ships encountered. In fact, he befriended them during his two round-the-world voyages that brought him to the west coast of Vancouver Island.” Ron Verzuh reviews Bones: The Life and Adventures of Doctor Archibald Menzies, by Graeme Menzies (Dunbeath, Scotland: Whittles Publishing, 2024) $23.95 / 9781849955911
In the latest instalment, a plucky “Canadian kid from a middle-class family” meets larger-than-life characters from the heyday of ’60s London. The bodies really pile up too. —Ron Verzuh reviews Curse of the Savoy: A Priscilla Tempest Mystery, Book 4, by Ron Base and Prudence Emery (Madeira Park, BC: Douglas & McIntyre, 2025) $19.95 / 9781771624381
“Citra vividly captures contemporary life for young people. The fact that it’s rural life makes little difference really: urban, suburban, or rural, our existence now is complicated.” —Alison Acheson reviews Like a Bird, by Becky Citra (Toronto: Second Story Press, 2025) $15.95 / 9781772604177
Debut novella offers a “heartfelt embrace of iconic werewolf lore, a tragic but charming peek at wholesome male friendships, and a careful balance between horror and humour,” but is overly influenced by its source material. —Zoe McKenna reviews A Canadian Werewolf in Montana, by W. K. Shephard (Altona: Friesen Press, 2025) $11.99 /9781038319982
“Wilson-Raybould’s approach—based on learning, understanding, and acting—clarifies complex issues surrounding Indigenous justice and colonial history, making them approachable for readers of all backgrounds, including newcomers.” Amy Tucker reviews True Reconciliation: How to be a Force for Change, by Jody Wilson-Raybould (Toronto: McLelland & Stewart, 2024) $22 / 9780771004407
Sophomore kids picture book “suggests an unknown—in the form of an underworld of creatures—that might not be easily accessed but exists without a malevolent intent in its heart.” —Brett Josef Grubisic reviews Monster Friends, Where Are You?, by Daniel Anctil (illustrated by Corentin Hunter) (Vancouver: Midtown Press, 2024) $21.95 / 9781988242569
“Stunningly and dismayingly, for a village that revels in the memory of Ginger Goodwin and its progressive values, Cumberland has never developed a co-housing project. It now struggles with social housing, and has instead enabled the sprawl of energy inefficient big-pipe developments of big ‘little boxes’ that are locally unaffectionately known as ‘Little Alberta.'” Loÿs Maingon reviews A Place Called Cumberland, by Rhonda Bailey (ed.) and The Cumberland Museum and Archives (Vancouver: Figure 1 Publishing, 2024) $25 / 9781773272511
“Deep Cuts is a fantastic debut novel that aptly captures being in your twenties, loving music, and chaotic will-they-won’t-they romance. Winsome, full of heart, and with unusually excellent dialogue, Deep Cuts is destined to become a fondly dog-eared novel, meant to be reread and replayed.”—Jessica Poon reviews Deep Cuts, by Holly Brickley (Toronto: Doubleday, 2025) $26.99 / 9780385699907
“Mynett has dug deeply into HBC logs and personal journals to bring us this story of harsh competition and survival in a land of often unbearable cold and danger.” Ron Verzuh reviews A Gentlemen of Considerable Talent: William Brown and the Fur Trade, 1811-1827, by Geoff Mynett (Qualicum Beach: Caitlin Press, 2024) $26 / 9781773861524
“If ever Moore decides to transform his novel into a screenplay for a Casablanca sequel, an intention suggested by naming his chapters as acts and scenes, I’d like to request a reserve seat. It promises to be a marvellous viewing treat.” —Ron Verzuh reviews The Last Reel: A Sequel to “Casablanca,” by John Moore (Victoria: Ekstasis Editions, 2024) $25.95 / 9781771715140
Set in urban and rural England during the 1940s, a debut novel features a captivating heroine with a noteworthy story. It throws in mystery, intrigue, and ornithological details too. —Valerie Green reviews Letters from Gerald, by R.W. Butler (Altona: Friesen Press, 2024) $22.49 / 9781038305459
“McAlpine’s memoir is a cogent, salubrious reminder that our accolades and impressive achievements are, more often than not, seldom the reason why anyone likes or trusts us. Initially, McAlpine keeps his recovery and his doctorly life neatly compartmentalized.” Jessica Poon reviews Prescription: Ice Cream: A Doctor’s Journey to Discover What Matters, by Alastair McAlpine (Johannesburg: Pan MacMillan South Africa, 2024) $37.50 / 9781770108042
“Their book, a collection of case studies, reveals the parallel experience of Indigenous women living on the Canadian prairie in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, the ‘nuance and diversity in their everyday lives, in how they responded to, resisted, and refused settler colonial intrusion, and in the ways they persisted in the face of the many transitions that infringed on their traditional ways of life.'” Linda Rogers reviews Métis Matriarchs: Agents of Transition by Cheryl Troupe and Doris Jeanne MacKinnon (eds.) (Regina: University of Regina Press, 2024) $34.95 / 9781779400116
“This journal is like having a companion on the trail: someone who points out the pitfalls, loans you a shoulder to lean on in the hard parts, and gently steers you away from the worst of the hazards along the way.” —Carellin Brooks reviews Safekeeping: A Writer’s Guided Journal for Launching a Book with Love, by Chelene Knight (Toronto: House of Anansi, 2025) $34.99 / 9781487013073
Set in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Canada during the early 1990s, an appealing children’s book portrays realistic hardship, loss, and uncertainty but remains far from despondent or despairing. —Brett Josef Grubisic reviews Zia’s Story, by Shahnaz Qayumi (illustrated by Nahid Kazemi) (Vancouver Tradewind Books, 2024) $14.95 / 9781990598142
“After cooking and baking Chef Bruno’s recipes from The Bacon, Butter, Bourbon & Chocolate Cookbook, I can confidently say that my initial instincts were right: I so enjoyed spending time with this book and making the recipes.” Trish Bowering reviews The Bacon, Butter, Bourbon & Chocolate Cookbook: Chef Bruno’s Favourite Ingredients, by Bruno Feldeisen (Vancouver: Whitecap Books, 2024) $34.95 / 9781770503335
“Long before this uncertain time of looming tariffs, which would include Canadian books, I felt deeply that it was important to support and promote British Columbia authors. As a nonfiction author, my dream was to create a book contest open to BC authors both traditionally and self-published.” Cathalynn Labonté-Smith writes about the 2025 Sunshine Coast Writers and Editors Society Awards being hosted in Gibsons this coming August.
Career retrospective of Okanagan poet is an “elegant and marvellous book to read and to hold” as it maps the emergence of a singular, formally idiosyncratic style. —Sharon Thesen reviews Molecular Cathedral: The Poetry of John Lent, Selected With an Introduction by Jake Kennedy (Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2024) $21.99 / 9781771126373
“At 60 years old, the Comox Valley Writers Society (CVWS) might just be the oldest writing society in the province. To celebrate the milestone, Terrance James decided to document this niche history…before memory of the early days was lost forever.” Dave Flawse interviews author Terrance James, author of History of the Comox Valley Writers Society: 60th Anniversary 1964-2024
Third novel of a complex, magic- and power-laden series (this volume set in a parallel historical time) grabs attention and does not let go. But be sure to read books One and Two before Three, writes Myshara Herbert-McMyn in her review of Crest (The Call of the Rift, Book Three), by Jae Waller (Toronto: ECW Press, 2021) $23.95 / 9781770414587