Book Reviews | Self-Publishing Review

Review: Ascending Voice by Simi Fromen

Ascending Voice by Simi Fromen is a moving collection of poetry about putting yourself together after a broken relationship. Told in three sections -“Mud,” “Murky Waters,” and “Lotus” – the collection follows Fromen’s path from pain to renewal. It’s a deeply honest collection about healing that should help readers heal as well, especially those recovering from a divorce or other bad relationship.

Fromen writes from a decidedly New Age, yogic perspective. However, where New Age “think positive” writing can devolve into tropes and cliches, what makes Ascending Voice stand out is Fromen’s honesty. She is very clearly, by her own […]

Lysa Grant2019-02-11T09:12:37+02:00March 2nd, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Poetry|

Review: The Diary of an Immortal (1945-1959) by David J. Castello

★★★★

In The Diary of an Immortal, author David J. Castello shows his skills as a wordsmith and creates an unforgettable narrative that looks at immortality from every possible side.

As a main character, readers can hardly ask for more from Steven Ronson, who begins as a hapless but heroic young man who stumbles upon something unimaginable – a formula that allows him to live forever. Readers are quickly taken away from the battlefields of WWII, but the fight is far from over. Ronson soon learns that chasing his every dream, without fear of failure or fatality, is not […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-01-24T19:47:01+02:00March 1st, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Fantasy, Historical Fantasy|

Review: The Gambit by Brad Carlson

★★★★★

International intrigue and political thrillers have always been a popular genre, but in these tumultuous times, the fodder for such writers seems to have increased immeasurably. In The Gambit, Brad Carlson tears the tension from the headlines, postulating a world where Iran becomes a nuclear nation, and in the face of American hesitance, Israel must make a dangerous decision to protect itself.

Every chapter is packed with the gravitas of the present world, making this novel both timely and prescient. For those trying to escape these difficult times, this book may not be the most appealing read, but […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2018-07-05T09:52:58+02:00March 1st, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Terrorist Thriller, Thriller|

Review: In Albuquerque, Abandoned by Tower Lowe

Keeping the adventures of a sleuthing duo fresh can be a challenge for any writer, but it seems as though Tower Lowe has figured out the secret to success. Within the pages of In Albuquerque, Abandoned, the seventh novel in her Cinnamon/Burro New Mexico Mysteries series, readers are not only sucked into the story of a mysterious fraternal murder, but also the strange depths of Cinnamon and Burro’s lives.

This uniquely named crime-solving team is not your average pair, and both have deeply rooted issues that define them as characters. From Burro’s schizophrenic visions to Cinnamon’s demons of abandonment, […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-02-11T09:10:05+02:00March 1st, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Mystery|

Review: The Stuff of Life by Asif Zaidi

Former Chairman of the Management Board of Citibank Kazakhstan, Pakistani author Asif Zaidi presents essays on a myriad of eclectic subjects in The Stuff of Life. Not hesitant to weigh in on such topics as philosophy, religion, social issues, anthropology, and even evolution, Zaidi is after finding the very meaning of life in this intriguing and wide-ranging collection of essays.

Zaidi spends a lot of time on the subject of religion, and how it defines or derails us. His focus may not always be popular, but it is certainly interesting. The expectation of the coming of a Messiah anticipated […]

Barbara Scott2019-02-11T09:26:10+02:00March 1st, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Essays, Non-Fiction, Social Science|

Review: Programming the Brain by Chandana Watagodakumbura, PhD

Educational neuroscience is a relatively new field, and one that is expertly explored in Programming the Brain: Pedagogical Practices and Study Skills for Enhanced Learning and Metacognition. A PhD engineer and academic who teaches computer science at Australia’s Central Queensland University, Dr. Chandana Watagodakumbar’s premise, intelligently and comprehensively set forth, is that just as computers are programmed to “learn” in a specific way, the principles of neuroscience can offer a useful modality for teaching humans.

Programming the Brain comprises an introduction to neuroscience and its implications for how we access knowledge; an examination of learning related concepts widely employed […]

Barbara Scott2020-08-27T04:03:12+02:00March 1st, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Chandana Watagodakumbura, Education, Non-Fiction, Science|

Review: Jerk Magnet: A Guide to Demagnetize by Dr. Bill Bunn

Many people (women especially) have said “I’m always attracted to the bad ones.” In Jerk Magnet: A Guide to Demagnetize, Dr. Bill Bunn shows that this is part of lifelong conditioning, and once people are able to identify these habits and their origin, they’ll by attracted to and attracted by healthier people. Far from blaming the victim, Dr. Bunn methodically lays out how these negative patterns arise, how to recognize them, and how to overcome them.

Dr. Bunn’s voice is is spirited and friendly – not so much doctorly, as a confidante wanting to help. What may be most […]

Lysa Grant2019-02-11T09:42:45+02:00February 16th, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Non-Fiction, Relationships, Self-Help|

Review: Handful of Memories by Robert A. Cozzi

In Handful of Memories, Robert A. Cozzi continues his exploration of themes that frequent his work, particularly in regards to romantic, platonic, and familial love, about which he is a sincere and passionate writer. The book gathers together both poetry and prose from the period between the release of his first collection, Tide Pool of Words, and his most recent collection, Blanket of Hearts, making for an ambitious and affecting trilogy.

As with his other collections, Cozzi demonstrates his talent through a simple poetic style with short, sweet lines and sentences with the intention of evoking […]

James Grimsby2019-02-22T11:45:23+02:00February 14th, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Poetry, Robert A. Cozzi|