The Fish Ladder by Katharine Norbury (Bloomsbury)

In this new contribution to the ‘new nature writing’ genre, shaped around journeys to river sources, Samantha Hunt sees considerable craft in vivid landscapes but misses their emotional connection to the author’s search for her birth mother. Read more here

Judas by Damian Walford Davies (Seren)

Amy McCauley applauds effortless mastery of voice, finely tuned rhythms and a keen sense of place, but asks whether employing a greater range of tone through a wider range of characters’ voices would have pushed this poet beyond his comfort zone. Read more here

1519: A Journey to The End of Time by John Harrison  (Parthian Books)

Jonathan Edwards rates this travel journal through Mexico which combines Aztec history and meta-narrative of the author’s battle with cancer, but asks whether the personal story may be more compelling than the history. Read more here

The Slate Sea edited by Paul Henry & Zed Nelson (The Camden Trust)

Menna Elfyn and Alys Conran stand out from a range spanning the overly sentimental and dramatically nostalgic to the restless, angry, hopeful, and honest, within this collection of poetry and photographs inspired by the Conwy Valley, writes Ashley Wakefield. Read more here

Losing Israel by Jasmine Donahaye (Seren)

Amy McCauley admires a highly eloquent and thoughtful meditation on what it means to exist in history and as a product of history within a deeply political and strikingly personal and superior memoir. Read more here