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The British Columbia Review is the online book review journal for BC writers and readers.

03/17/2025

Seed and Plant Man

Bones: The Life and Adventure of Doctor Archibald Menzies (Whittles Publishing, 2024) by Graeme Menzies.

“Archibald was tasked with the lesser task of collecting samples of plants, seeds, and animal and bird life through the Pacific west coast to send home to his benefactor, the redoubtable Joseph Banks.”

Reviewed by Ron Verzuh.

Clickable Link in Bio: https://thebcreview.ca/2025/03/05/2468-verzuh-menzies/

03/17/2025

A cast to die for

Curse of the Savoy: A Priscilla Tempest Mystery, Book 4 (Douglas & McIntyre, 2025) by Ron Base and Prudence Emery.

“If you’re not too exhausted from meeting all the big stars gathered at the Savoy’ Pinafore Room for a lavish dinner hosted by Welles, let’s move on to the first blood-curdling scream.”

Reviewed by Ron Verzuh.

Clickable Link in Bio: https://thebcreview.ca/2025/03/04/2267-verzuh-base-emery/

03/17/2025

Teenage burdens, teenage eurekas

Like a Bird (Second Story Press, 2025) by Becky Citra.

““I wander between the young adult and the adult shelves.” This brief quote from Becky Citra’s latest offering, Like a Bird, captures both protagonist and reader, too. The line between being a young person and being an adult, which is not a line at all, can be a challenge to capture in a story on paper.”

Reviewed by Alison Acheson.

Clickable Link in Bio: https://thebcreview.ca/2025/03/03/2266-citra-acheson/

03/13/2025

Werewolves in the Kootenays, eh?

A Canadian Werewolf in Montana (FriesenPress, 2025) by W.K. Shephard.

“Knowing Shephard’s affinity for werewolf lore, this debut feels like only the tip of the iceberg in terms of unique and original plotlines he might explore.”

Reviewed by Zoe McKenna.

Clickable Link in Bio: https://thebcreview.ca/2025/02/28/2465-mckenna-shephard/

03/13/2025

‘Fundamental reckoning with past injustices’

True Reconciliation: How to be a Force for Change (McClelland & Stewart, 2024) by Jody Wilson-Raybould.

“Through her structured framework—learning, understanding, and acting—Wilson-Raybould offers a comprehensive approach for Indigenous and non-Indigenous readers to engage with the ongoing journey towards justice for Indigenous communities.”

Reviewed by Amy Tucker.

Clickable Link in Bio: https://thebcreview.ca/2025/02/28/2464-tucker-wilson-raybould/

03/12/2025

‘I think I should try’

Monster Friends, Where Are You? (Midtown Press, 2024) by Daniel Anctil (illustrated by Corentin Hunter).

“Monster Friends, Where Are You? 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.”

Reviewed by Brett Josef Grubisic.

Clickable Link in Bio: https://thebcreview.ca/2025/02/27/2463-grubisic-anctil/

03/12/2025

Then and now: a palimpsest

A Place Called Cumberland (Figure 1 Publishing, 2024) by Rhonda Bailey (ed.) and The Cumberland Museum and Archives.

“It brings together the work of twelve BC contributing writers who at some point in their careers have had an association with Cumberland.”

Reviewed by Loӱs Maingon.

Clickable Link in Bio: https://thebcreview.ca/2025/02/26/2462-maingon-bailey/

03/12/2025

Friendships, Romances, Jobs

Deep Cuts (Doubleday, 2025) by Holly Brickley.

“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.”

Reviewed by Jessica P**n.

Clickable Link in Bio: https://thebcreview.ca/2025/02/25/2461-poon-brickley/

03/07/2025

An unspectacular life of service

A Gentleman of Considerable Talent: William Brown and the Fur Trade, 1811-1827 (Caitlin Press, 2024) by Geoff Mynett.

“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. He has done so by guiding us through the life of “an ordinary Scot, trying to do his best.””

Reviewed by Ron Verzuh.

Clickable Link in Bio: https://thebcreview.ca/2025/02/24/2460-verzuh-mynett/
daggereditions

03/06/2025

Sam, Ilsa, and Rick in the Cold War

The Last Reel: A Sequel to “Casablanca” (Ekstasis Editions, 2024) by John Moore.

“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.”

Reviewed by Ron Verzuh.

Clickable Link in Bio: https://thebcreview.ca/2025/02/21/2459-moore-verzuh/

03/06/2025

Eleanor, on the ascent

Letters from Gerald (FriesenPress, 2024) by R.W. Butler.

“The story continues to build with many twists and turns along the way. And the big twist ending is totally unexpected. Be prepared for what you did not imagine!”

Reviewed by Valerie Green.

Clickable Link in Bio: https://thebcreview.ca/2025/02/20/2458-butler-green/

03/06/2025

Emerging from Medical Training

Prescription: Ice Cream: A Doctor’s Journey to Discover What Matters (Pan Macmillan South Africa, 2024) by Alastair McAlpine.

“…everything you want in a memoir—immediately immersive, frequently funny, wincingly candid, and more often than not, genuinely profound.”

Reviewed by Jessica P**n.

Clickable Link in Bio: https://thebcreview.ca/2025/02/19/2457-poon-mcalpine/

03/05/2025

‘We will start from there’

Métis Matriarchs: Agents of Transition (University of Regina Press, 2024) by Cheryl Troupe and Doris Jeanne MacKinnon (eds.).

“This timely book, is written in the words of Métis matriarchs and descendants who listen with respect to the voices of past and present, clarifying the role of women, past and future, in the maintenance and preservation, the actual survival of their ancient cultures.”

Reviewed by Linda Rogers.

Clickable Link in Bio: https://thebcreview.ca/2025/02/18/2456-rogers-troupe-mackinnon/

03/04/2025

Zero boundaries? Here’s help.

Safekeeping: A Writer’s Guided Journal for Launching a Book with Love (House of Anansi Press, 2025) by Chelene Knight.

“Safekeeping is much more than a journal about our writerly longings. It’s an interrogation by someone who’s been there, and who wishes she had someone else to ask her these sorts of questions much earlier in her writing career.”

Reviewed by Carellin Brooks.

Clickable Link in Bio: https://thebcreview.ca/2025/02/18/2455-brooks-knight/

03/04/2025

Kabul and After

Zia’s Story (Tradewind Books, 2024) by Shahnaz Qayumi (illustrated by Nahid Kazemi).

“The forces of world history descend on a Kabul neighbourhood and one household within it over the opening pages of Vancouver-based Shahnaz Qayumi’s quietly affecting picture book Zia’s Story.”

Reviewed by Brett Josef Grubisic.

Clickable Link in Bio: https://thebcreview.ca/2025/02/17/2454-grubisic-qayumi-kazemi/

03/04/2025

Savoury, sweet, stovetop, oven, treat

The Bacon, Butter, Bourbon & Chocolate Cookbook: Chef Bruno’s Favourite Ingredients (Whitecap Books, 2024) by Bruno Feldeisen.

“Four powerhouse ingredients, all of which can be used in a multitude of cooking and baking applications, and without exception, luxurious. As soon as I opened Chef Bruno Feldeisen’s latest cookbook, I knew I was in for a treat.”

Reviewed by Tricia Bowering.

Clickable Link in Bio: https://thebcreview.ca/2025/02/16/2453-bowering-feldeisen/

03/03/2025

An author-centred Book Contest

Entries now being accepted: the 2025 Sunshine Coast Writers and Editors Society Awards
by Cathalynn Labonté-Smith

“However, I envisioned a competition where indie authors could put their books up against traditional publishers, and also one that books from traditional publishing houses could be directly entered by authors.”

Deadline for entries is midnight May 31st, 2025! Check out the post itself for information on what books are eligible to be submitted.

Clickable Link in Bio: https://thebcreview.ca/2025/02/14/2452-labonte-smith-scwes-awards/

03/03/2025

‘With bright wonder’

Molecular Cathedral: The Poetry of John Lent ( Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2024) Selected With an Introduction by Jake Kennedy.

“It is an elegant and marvellous book to read and to hold.”

Reviewed by Sharon Thesen.

Clickable Link in Bio: https://thebcreview.ca/2025/02/14/2451-kennedy-lent-thesen/

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