You know those rare books that make you sit in stunned silence after finishing the last page? The kind where you look up from the words and feel like you’ve just been somewhere else entirely — not just observed a story, but lived it? Beyond Boundaries is one of those books. I don’t say that lightly. George Carter doesn’t just write characters — he conjures them, with all their scars and wonder and tangled inner lives. This is fiction that feels truer than memory.

In the ever-evolving landscape of literary criticism, a work occasionally emerges that not only illuminates its subject but transforms how we perceive an entire genre. Mary Phelan's "Wicked Uncles & Haunted Cellars: What The Gothic Heroine Tells Us Today" (Greenwich Exchange, 2023) is precisely such a revelation—a work that breathes new life into our understanding of Gothic literature's most compelling figures.

Charlie Tyler's The Tangled Mane is a cleverly constructed tale of survival, loss, and resilience. At its heart are two young people, left to fend for themselves amidst a world of neglect and chaos, their mother—a drug-addicted cleaner with many bed partners —unable to provide the love and stability they need. Though the themes appear heavy, Tyler's deeply descriptive writing creates a vivid narrative of a sad but only too regularly reported life, along with the fleeting moments of happiness, balancing sadness with humour. It's storytelling that captivates, both beautiful and harrowing.

The loss of a loved one is a wound we all know we'll face someday, yet nothing prepares us for when that loss defies the natural order of life. When someone leaves us too soon—especially a child—the grief carves a path through our hearts that forever changes the landscape of our lives. It's this sacred, painful territory that Jennifer Fox navigates with extraordinary grace in her memoir "The Day Our Lives Changed."

Eoin O’Donovan’s When Geminis Fall is an ambitious, darkly compelling novel that draws readers into a gripping narrative set against one of the most catastrophic days in modern history. What starts as a tale of personal ambition and betrayal soon becomes entangled in a global crisis, with lives colliding in ways neither characters nor readers could anticipate.

If you're looking for a fiction-based series novella that takes the concept of absurdity and runs with it (while occasionally tripping over its own laces), The Maltese Haddock by Keven Shevels might be just what you need. Our lead, Monsewer Dogsbreath, a private detective turned psychic investigator (thanks to a blind signwriter) with a drinking problem, is thrown into another whirlwind of insane but hilarious escapades, this time with a lunatic werewolf client.

Time Gentlemen Please! by Dave Shonfield is a rich and eclectic tapestry of storytelling, masterfully interweaving satire, fantasy, nostalgia, and sharp social commentary. The collection is unapologetically varied, with each story serving as both entertainment and a pointed exploration of contemporary issues.

Operation Fools Mate: Deadlock plunges readers back into war-torn Britain to meet familiar and unfamiliar characters still recovering from their last outing, saving the world from known and terrifying invading forces. The third instalment (possibly the last) pushes our heroes and the world as we know it into darker, grittier territory, highlighting not just the physical devastation but also the erosion of trust and humanity amidst the chaos.

House Moving Therapy by Mila Petrova is not a book about house clearance or furniture removal, house swapping or home flipping; it’s a mixture of ‘how too’ and a self-help book, combined with autobiography beautifully written in the author's unique style, reminiscent of Nora Ephron meets Marie Kondo combined with Brené Brown. Petrova views moving as a powerful catalyst for change, personal transformation and healing. The book has some useful logistics mixed with quite a lot of tears, delving into the emotions of moving home (in several different scenarios and not always easy ones) to look at the psychology of uprooting.

Gap Year by Helen Chislett is an exquisite meditation on change and the aching beauty of letting go. Despite its depth, the narrative is infused with a lightness and a great sense of humour, making it an engaging and enjoyable read. There’s a raw tenderness in Chislett's exploration of love in all its forms—the fierce love of a parent, the push and pull between mother and daughter, the reckless thrill of new beginnings, and the quiet yearning for a life that once felt limitless. Her prose is effortlessly eloquent, capturing both the grandeur and intimacy of Paris with rare authenticity. The city is not just a backdrop; it is a mirror, reflecting both the dazzling possibilities of youth and the quiet regrets of adulthood.

Life Gets In The Way is not a novel; it’s a book of poems, but it is much more than a novella of sonnets. Chris Husband pulls his content from rich and diverse life experiences. He is reflective and candid about his past, sharing humorous and poignant moments. Expect to feel Husband’s shyness and humiliation as a young boy, but despite shyness, he finds joy in creative activities with his siblings. Early exposure to storytelling and performance laid the groundwork for his later poetic pursuits.

Cee Cee Evans has one hell of an imagination, or at least I hope it’s imagination, because this murder mystery whodunnit tale is as gritty as they come. Don’t give this book to your granny unless your gran is Joan Collins or Sylvia Kristel. Expect lots of swearing, sex and other unprintable words beginning with S. If you’re looking for a complex whodunnit, then you’re in the right place and like all good mysteries, it’s never the person you think it is.

Lunarmancer by Jake Bennett is a fantastical journey that weaves shape-shifting, telepathy, mind reading, transformation, and ghosts into a detailed story filled with depth and mind-expanding concepts in a quest to find The Anodyne Stone. Readers are introduced to a world where curses affect teleporters, and creatures with no arms and legs, referred to as "foul beasts," roam freely to live rent-free in our imagination.

Motherhood by Ameena Tabassum is a novel about precisely that. Motherhood explores the complexities of motherhood through the story of Lucy, a fifteen-year-old girl dealing with a troubled family life and the son of our protagonist, Adib, who is working through his own problems, his parents' ill-fated marriage breakup, and general teenage turmoil.

The Fourth Beginning by Paul Georgiou is a sardonic fantasy novel about Adam and Eve Smith's search for understanding after their daughter's tragic death. Although the book is grief fiction, it isn't misery-lit. Strangely, although the subject is sad, The Fourth Beginning is uplifting and hopeful.

Jill Fitzgerald-O’Connor is not just a dressmaker! That statement, dear reader, is an understatement, to say the least. Fitzgerald-O’Connor is an entire list of adjectives: strong, opinionated, talented, creative, resilient, forthright, intuitive and considerate. If you love fashion and are interested in history and commerce, this book is an informative real-life narrative that you could easily convert into a small business reference manual.

On The Ledge by Naomi Clarisse is a young adult novella that delves into the life of Sam Robinson, a teenager who seemingly has it all—He’s an athlete with an attractive and attentive girlfriend, a seemly happy family, an expensive home, and popularity at school.

You know, a novella is good when it starts with the line ‘undercurrent of hatred has reached a whole new level after the death of Masha Amini, a twenty-two-year-old university student who was savagely beaten by the morality police.’ And ends with ‘Men! Well, screw them all. I order another Margarita.’