itty, lush, and stunning poetic imagery which draws a mesmerizing landscape of escapism and heart felt longing with wry humor and lovely tales motivated by desires and fears that unite all of us. A lover's desert escape to a storied hotel gives a sense of sunbaked noir and shows an elusive distorted world where the guests never really check out. Mortality and regret are brushed off with a glamourous shrug. Once the couple leaves, life is never quite the same.

Anna Carranza's debut book captures a traveler's porthole to an adjacent universe with a distinctive voice filled with lovely palpable moments that are both perceptive and highly felt. Illuminating a deeper reality that savors life's every minute yet is almost too painful and beautiful to bear. It gives a sense of old 1940s noir, like, Sunset Boulevard or Casablanca, but with a modern spin.