Book Reviews | Self-Publishing Review

Review: Muldooneys and Me: A Memoir by Marlene P. Naicker

Designer, entrepreneur, survivor – all these characterize fashion maven Marlene P. Naicker, author of the emotive memoir, Muldooneys and Me.

Naicker’s fascinating autobiography begins with her defeat, in high school, in a significant track meet, effectively ending her hopes of an athletic career, but she adapted a family trait to “push the limits.”

Never intending to become a designer, her now-famous brand, Muldooneys, became “airborne” when she saw, at a London fashion show, that there was a need for a brand of accessible luxury leather accessories. She quickly learned that the complex, competitive fashion business begins with the essential […]

Barbara Scott2019-02-11T09:36:48+02:00September 21st, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Memoir, Non-Fiction|

Review: The Crown Princess’ Voyage (The Gift-Knight Trilogy Book 2) by Dylan Madeley

★★★★

In The Crown Princess’ Voyage by Dylan Madeley, politics, subterfuge, and war guide the plot as established characters move into broader, more demanding battles.

Kensrik, Osterik, and the Coast do not always get along, but a few clever machinations and a fleet of massive warships with strange, new weapons propel them into open conflict. A crown princess, a knight, a goddess, and several very confused city states take turns leading the narrative.

Although Crown Princess Chandra is ostensibly the main character – and certainly the titular lead – the story shifts between different points of view. Derek is really […]

Mindy Hood2017-10-02T10:43:25+02:00September 20th, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Fantasy|

Review: Hiding in Third Person by Phil Bradley

★★★★★

Hiding in Third Person is a riveting coming-of-age tale by talented author, Phil Bradley. It sucks in the reader from the very first paragraph and doesn’t let go.

Ricky is a young orderly at the Cumberland County Asylum for the Mentally Ill, which he jokingly refers to as Cumberland County Psycho Spa and Dude Ranch. An intern asks Ricky to sit with a new patient, known only as Mr. River. It’s Ricky’s job to listen to anything the patient has to say. Soon, Mr. River haltingly begins to tell Ricky a story about an unlikely friendship between two young […]

Marta Cheng2019-01-22T04:36:08+02:00September 20th, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Coming Of Age, Contemporary Fiction, Young Adult|

Review: Dennis & Greer: A Love Story, Edited by Molly Gould

Dennis & Greer, a highly engaging and altogether unique book, comprises a love story told with intimate clarity. Their story is comprised of letters and journal entries from the two eponymous characters, who fell in love during the Vietnam war. Edited by Molly Gould, it tells the story of a man her mother loved before her father, which gives the book a wholly unique perspective – not just of Gould’s family, but the timelessness of young love.

What comes through strongest in the book is the genuine humanity of Dennis and Greer – one is tempted to call them […]

Mindy Hood2019-02-11T09:36:44+02:00September 20th, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Memoir, Non-Fiction|

Review: This Gospel of the Kingdom by Ricardo Taylor

Preacher and author Ricardo Taylor explains the difference between commonly conceived facts about the mission of Jesus, and the truths he sees clearly stated in the Bible, in This Gospel of the Kingdom: Heaven’s Reign over the Earth.

Taylor is convinced from his studies that the often-predicted apocalypse so many Christians believe is imminent has, in fact, already occurred. The predictions made by Jesus of the “End Times” were actually an accurate description of events already taking place: the functional end of Old Testament codes with the coming of the new spiritual template, that of Jesus the Christ. That […]

Barbara Scott2019-02-11T09:44:59+02:00September 19th, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Religion|

Review: Terra 12: Paradise Found by Ryan Baxter

★★★½

Given the present situation on our planet, more and more eyes are turning to space as a possible escape from Earth’s rising temperatures. In Terra 12: Paradise Found, author Ryan Baxter paints a remarkably clear picture of one possible future, as well as the dire situation Earth finds itself 300 years from now.

Near the turn of the 24^th century, humans send a dozen ships, named Terra 1-12, into the vastness of space to find a new home world for the human race. Terra 12 is where most of the action focuses in this book, along with […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2020-02-12T07:27:40+02:00September 17th, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Ryan Baxter, Science Fiction|

Review: The Moonshine Wars: Or My Life in Kincaid, Georgia by Terry Lee Kincaid III

★★★½

While it is easy to look at the post-Civil War era through a historical and objective lens, the stories of the families who lived through those times are also fascinating, and vitally important. In The Moonshine Wars: Or My Life in Kincaid, Georgia, author Daniel Micko invites readers to get to know one particular Southern family, and takes the time to tell their strange side of the American story.

Stretching from the end of the Civil War through the end of the Roaring Twenties, this multi-generational tale delves into the Kincaid family business, how they rose to prominence, […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2017-09-26T02:46:42+02:00September 16th, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Historical Fiction|

Review: Emboozlement (McCall & Company Book 3) by Rich Leder

Emboozlement is Rich Leder’s third novel in the excellent McCall & Company series. Kate McCall, an off-off Broadway actress has inherited her dad’s private investigator business, and now finds herself embroiled in a possible embezzlement scheme at a popular sports bar run by a former Major Leaguer, while somebody is murdering lawyers – who may just be her father’s killer – and somebody is letting her know about the murders ahead of time.

Meanwhile, Kate might be falling for the ballplayer, and also meanwhile he might just the one committing the embezzlement. As always, Leder provides a uniquely entertaining page-turner […]

Henry Baum2019-02-11T08:40:58+02:00September 15th, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Crime Fiction, Detective Fiction, Rich Leder|