"Grim Honey explores the messiness of the human body and a constellation of losses. Barksdale writes with great verve and energy about every subject from family to travel to death. There’s an urgency to these poems, a persistence in all things, whether it’s the writing itself or the cataloguing of the world’s beauties and tragedies. She knows how to turn a curse into a benediction, an old kitchen into the site of new memories, each pain into the story of a deeply lived life."

- Traci Brimhall, author of Come the Slumberless to the Land of Nod and Rookery

“A rich blend of fantasy, farce and spot-on history, The Play's the Thing is a joyous journey through time, place, and the universal complexity of the human heart. A delightful marriage of Peggy Sue Got Married and Shakespeare in Love—a celebration not to be missed.”

"Interlacing Shakespearean lore, a rom-com, and the time-space continuum into a single book . . . "The Play's the Thing" is a fun addition to the "reimagining the Bard" genre. And be assured, it does end well."

 -Amy Wang, The Oregonian

"Fans of the swashbuckling, time-traveling “Outlander” books or TV series are sure to enjoy this similarly unpredictable visit to Shakespeare’s England: a place and time teeming with comedy and tragedy, snappy dialog and serious observation, unrequited passion and candlelit encounters with the world’s sexiest playwright."

 --Scott Hewitt, The Columbian

"Jessica Barksdale Inclan approaches her main character’s dilemma...with a deliciously light touch. The dialogue sparkles, Jessica’s struggles and flaws never fail to ring true, and the contrast between her unmistakably modern views and Will Shakespeare’s Elizabethan take on life are simultaneously revealing and thought-provoking. If you’re looking for a scientific explanation of time travel (assuming that such a thing exists), you won’t find it here, but the novel is, in every respect, a fun read. It will stay with you long after you reach the end."

--C.P. Lesley, New Books Network