Leggere Loft

A jazz musician's NYC dream collides with his Southern past. A story of art, family, and the mentors who guide us. Soulful & poignant. 🎷🎶 #OrpheusBlues #BookReview #LiteraryFiction In the hazy, hopeful world of a New York City jazz musician, some tunes are played on a saxophone, and others are carried in letters from home, which is precisely where we find the soulful heart of  Orpheus' Blues  by Carlos Rubio. This novel immediately pulls you into the life of Jack Stewart, a protagonist many of us in the indie community can relate to: the artist chasing a dream in the big city, far from a home that didn't quite understand. The story feels classic and deeply human. We're promised a glimpse into the creative struggle, the essential friendships that keep you afloat (shoutout to George, the roommate!), and the romantic entanglements of city life. But what really makes this story sing is the tender, complex foundation built through letters from Jack's mother. This n...

A love that transcends time but stumbles over human nature - this indie gem cuts deep with uncomfortable truths about second chances 💔✨ #NumberedLove #IndieBooks #RomanceReads What happens when a thirty-year obsession meets the harsh light of reality? Numbered Love by Maysam Yabandeh strips away every romantic illusion you've ever held dear. Nam's devotion to a childhood sweetheart feels almost sacred at first - keeping her memory alive through ancient tales, nurturing hope across decades. But Yabandeh isn't interested in feeding us fairy tales. Instead, this story becomes a masterclass in how love can become both salvation and prison, especially when filtered through the lens of someone who doesn't quite see their own contradictions. What grabbed me immediately was how this isn't your typical "lost love found again" narrative. The reviews hint at something much more complex - a story that starts as romance and morphs into something closer to psycholo...

For the quiet hearts and the heavy feelers—this collection is a mirror, a sanctuary, and a silent nod of understanding. 💔✨ #TooMuchAndNotEnough #QuietStories #HealingInPages Munira Sadiq’s  I Just Need Some Space  doesn’t just tell stories—it  unfurls  them, like handwritten confessions left on your pillow. This isn’t a book you read; it’s one you  breathe . Sadiq’s 33 short stories are tiny emotional grenades, each detonating with the quiet precision of someone who knows exactly how it feels to ache in silence. The characters? Oh, you’ll recognize them—the friend who laughs a little too loud to mask loneliness, the partner who leaves love letters unsent, the person who stares at their phone waiting for a text that never comes. What guts me (in the best way): Sadiq’s ability to  name the unnameable . That specific flavor of guilt when you set boundaries? The rage that curls up in your throat but never escapes? The way longing can feel like a physical weigh...

Real life, but make it fiction - Glenn Brigaldino blurs the lines beautifully! 📖✨ You might just recognize yourself in these pages. #ShortStories #IndieReads #Fiction Briggi Stories: Snapshots from Fictionalized Lives feels like peeking through windows into lives that could be yours, or your neighbor's, or that person you sat next to on the train last Tuesday. Glenn Brigaldino has done something quietly brilliant here - taking the Substack format that's become a playground for experimental storytelling and curating it into a physical collection. There's something almost nostalgic about rescuing these stories from the digital ether and giving them permanent form. It's like preserving conversations that mattered enough to write down but were too fleeting for the online world. The concept of "fictionalizing real life experiences" hits a sweet spot that many readers crave but few authors nail successfully. We're not talking about thinly veiled memoir here...

A poignant tale of forbidden love that transcends cultural boundaries while honoring the complexity of family ties. "The Executioner's Stepdaughter" captures the bittersweet tension of finding yourself between worlds. 💫 #PostcolonialLove #CulturalIdentity #1960sLondon  In "The Executioner's Stepdaughter," Yaw Agawu-Kakraba masterfully weaves a tale where duty and desire collide with devastating consequences across two continents.  There's something profoundly moving about watching a character's carefully constructed walls crumble in the face of unexpected love. Nii Narh's journey from Ghana to London on his Commonwealth Scholarship represents more than academic achievement—it carries the weight of his mother's expectations and cultural heritage. The promise he makes to never date an English woman seems straightforward enough until Charlotte dances into his life.  What makes this narrative particularly compelling is how it avoids painting eit...

Life doesn't always follow our carefully plotted course, and sometimes that's exactly as it should be 🌊 A touching reminder that friendship evolves but never truly fades 💫 #CapeCodLit #ComingOfAge #IndieYA There's something magical about stories that capture the bittersweet essence of endings and beginnings, and C.M. Francis's "One Term Left" does exactly that, wrapping its arms around you like a warm beach towel on a cool Cape Cod evening. Set against the backdrop of Falmouth Academy's final term, this heartfelt novel weaves together the lives of three inseparable friends – Sarah, Alice, and Makayla – as they navigate the choppy waters of their last few months together. What starts as a seemingly straightforward tale of high school friendship evolves into a profound exploration of how life's unexpected curves can reshape our carefully planned futures. Francis masterfully captures the unique atmosphere of Cape Cod life, where the steady rhythm of w...

"A masterful blend of personal tragedy and political awakening that reminds us how love can flourish even in the darkest corners of history 📚 An essential read for anyone seeking to understand the human cost of totalitarianism ✨ #HistoricalFiction #SovietEra #WomensFiction" There are books that simply tell stories, and then there are books like Angelika Regossi's "Love in Communism" that reach into your soul and leave an indelible mark. This powerful coming-of-age narrative serves as both a personal journey and a stark reminder of the human spirit's resilience under oppression. The story of Anfisa Petrova unfolds like a delicate paper crane against the harsh backdrop of Soviet reality. What particularly struck me was how Regossi masterfully weaves the personal with the political, never letting one overshadow the other. The protagonist's evolution from a young girl aware of her family's anti-communist stance to a woman navigating the treacherous wat...

"A mesmerizing blend of lunar loneliness and garage rock soul that proves even in space, the human heart beats to an earthly rhythm 🌙🎸✨ #LunarLit #IndieSciFi #GarageRockNoir" In "The Waterbed Factory," Paul crafts a hauntingly familiar tale of existential yearning set against the backdrop of 2070s lunar colonization. Who knew that even on the moon, we'd still be struggling to make rent and chasing our dreams through garage band rehearsals? This debut novel masterfully weaves together the seemingly contradictory threads of futuristic lunar living and age-old human struggles. Through Jude Mason's eyes, we experience the fascinating dichotomy of living in humanity's greatest technological achievement while grappling with the same earthbound concerns that have followed us to the stars - dead-end jobs, creative passion, and the eternal question of where we truly belong. What particularly strikes me is how the author transforms the moon - traditionally a s...

Missing pieces aren't always lost - sometimes they're just waiting to be discovered in the most unexpected places 🧩✨ #PsychologicalThriller #MentalHealth #UnreliableNarrator  Have you ever wondered what happens when the line between sanity and reality becomes so blurred that even your own mind becomes a stranger? Rachel Richards' haunting new novel " Glass Half Broken " plunges us deep into this unsettling territory through the eyes of Annie, a child prodigy whose brilliant mind becomes both her sanctuary and her prison. From the very first page, Richards masterfully crafts a psychological labyrinth that had me questioning everything I thought I knew. Annie's journey from a socially anxious child genius to a young woman grappling with unexplained disappearances is both heart-wrenching and utterly compelling. What particularly struck me was how Richards weaves the complex dynamics of mental health through the narrative - Annie's self-harm, her father'...

Sometimes the most vibrant colors in life come from the most unexpected places. In Kelly Allegretti's charming debut novel "Chalk Dreams," we meet September Rose, a woman who has mastered the art of settling for less until a street artist named Orion turns her world from monochrome to technicolor. Living in what she considers a "fine" existence, September Rose has constructed a carefully contained life where her cat Miles serves as her primary confidant. It's a relatable setup that many readers will recognize – that comfortable yet unfulfilling space where we tell ourselves we're content while carefully avoiding any real risks. Allegretti crafts this familiar scenario with a gentle touch that pulls us right into September's world. What makes this story particularly compelling is how it explores the ripple effect of allowing someone different into your carefully constructed comfort zone. Orion, with his chalk art and presumably different outlook on ...

A beautifully crafted journey of self-discovery that proves sometimes you need to get lost in a new world to find your true path home 🌅✈️🗺️ #LiteraryFiction #TravelRomance #IndieGem There's something magical about how a spontaneous journey can reshape our entire world perspective, and Carlos Rubio's "Italian Tilt" captures this transformative power with remarkable authenticity and charm. When we first meet Donald, he's stepping into the vibrant tapestry of Italian culture, but what unfolds is far more than just another travel romance. Rubio masterfully weaves together multiple threads of human experience – the tentative steps of new love, the complex dynamics of family relationships, and the profound journey of self-discovery that comes with immersing oneself in a foreign culture. What particularly struck me about this novel is how it refuses to settle for surface-level storytelling. While the romantic elements provide a compelling narrative drive, it's th...

  There are books that entertain, and then there are books that grab you by the shoulders and force you to confront the raw complexity of human existence. Steven Richard Harris's 'Desert of Solitude' firmly plants itself in the latter category, weaving a masterful tapestry of personal transformation against the backdrop of Mexico's turbulent 1990s. In this gripping narrative, we follow Max, a privileged soul seeking escape from the mundane, only to find himself entangled in a web of revolution, identity, and purpose. Harris doesn't just take us on a geographical journey through Mexico – from the bustling streets of Mexico City to the mysterious depths of Chiapas – he leads us through the labyrinthine corridors of Max's psyche, where every turn reveals a new layer of complexity. What particularly struck me was Harris's ability to transform Max's initial solitary quest into a powerful story of solidarity. The character encounters a fascinating cast along...