Dr. Lisa Theus

Historical Fiction Editor

Lisa Theus thinks one of the best ways to get to know somebody is their favorite books, and she credits Eiji Yoshikawa’s Musashi with helping her fall in love with her now husband. Her favorite works include (listed chronologically!): The Epic of Gilgamesh, Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War, Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Thomas à Kempis’ Imitation of Mary, the poetry of John Donne, J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, Robin McKinley’s The Blue Sword, and Pope Benedict XVI’s Jesus of Nazareth.

She has spent most of her life training herself how to think like an ancient Roman (she earned a PhD in Classics at Rutgers University and taught college courses for several years). Eventually, she left academia for something more stable–working first as a church secretary for her local Catholic parish and now as an assistant for a financial advisor. She can’t keep her head out of history or rich worlds, however, and she loves reading about noble heroes and the difficult pursuit of virtue–however that may manifest. Bonus points for an engaging cast of characters and strong worldbuilding.
When she isn’t working for her paycheck, she’s pursuing the life of a freelance writer and editor; building her own worlds; volunteering in her community; or playing video games with her husband.

Corinna Turner

Fantasy Editor

Carnegie Medal Award nominated author Corinna Turner has been writing since she was fourteen and likes strong protagonists with plenty of integrity. She has an MA in English from Oxford University, but has foolishly gone on to work with both children and animals! Juggling work with the disabled and being a midwife to sheep, she spends as much time as she can in a little hut at the bottom of the garden, writing.

She is a Catholic Christian with roots in the Methodist and Anglican churches. A keen cinema-goer, she lives in the UK. She used to have a Giant African Land Snail, Peter, with a six inch long shell and an even larger foot, but now makes do with a cactus and a campervan! 

If Wishes Were Dragons By Karina Fabian

What happens when LARPing becomes a lot more real than a group of D&D players can handle?

End of Year Releases

The newest stories in Catholic literature! End your year with a good book.

Playing by Heart by Carmela Martino

In this historical drama, Emilia longs for a love as beautiful as her sonata, but the ambitions of her father put her and her sister in great danger. Winner of our 2018 Best of the Year Awards.

Death in Black & White by Fr. Michael Brisson, L.C.

Can an ordinary American guy make it as a priest in a world where everything is against him?

Shadows: Visible and Invisible By Catholic Teens Books

Bringing the holy back to All Hallows, these short stories entertain & remind us of the mercy we all rely upon.

Heaven’s Hunter By Marie C. Keiser

A man-hunt across space that forever changes both the criminal and the detective.

Crusader St. Tommy NYPD Book 5 By: Declan Finn

Detective Nolan embarks on a Crusade against demonic sex traffickers trying to raise a demon.

The City and The Dungeon by Matthew P. Schmidt

Who knew fighting monsters in a D&D dungeon could convince him that not everything can be attributed to a chance roll of the dice?

Sister Aloysius Gets Ready for the First Day of School By Linda Etchison Illustrated by Denise Plumlee-Tadlock

Sister Aloysius leans on the Divine Mercy of Jesus as she gets ready for school.

The Wish Thief by C.D. Verhoff

Glory steals an unusual gem to save her family but winds up threatening an entire world.

Jesus By Paul Johnson

A biography of Jesus written by a noted Catholic journalist and historian.

Bonvida’s Awakening, by C.D. Smith

Can Atticus live up to the legacy of his birthright? An adventure fantasy novel for teens about good and evil, friendship, and identity.

Fields of Prosperis By Claudia Leboeuf

A bingeable space opera with the best written complex villains out there.

Sisters of the Last Straw Book 1, 2 & 3: by Karen Kelly Boyce

Exploding kitchens, runaway goats, and ghosts in the chapel. Life in the Little Sisters of the Last Straw is never boring.

2025 Reader’s Choice Awards

This year’s favorite books as chosen by CatholicReads subscribers

Transgender Ideology & Gender Dysphoria: A Catholic response by Dr. Jake Thibault

A pastoral, academic overview of one of today’s most controversial issues: transgenderism.

Best of 2020

Yes some good things DID happen this year- Catholic creators have not let turmoil stop their mission.

How Can You Still Be Catholic? By Christopher Sparks

There are many good apologetics books out there but this book teaches you how to speak to the heart as much as the head.