Book Reviews | Self-Publishing Review

Review: Calm for Surgery by Dr. Chris Bonney MD FANZCA

With experience-based information and a lively sense of humor and humanity, Dr. Chris Bonney, doctor of anesthesiology, advises readers on how to have the greatest success, fewest pains and fears, when anticipating and undergoing surgery, in Calm for Surgery: SuperTips for a Smooth Recovery.

Dr. Bonney explains that there are a number of major issues with which a prospective surgery patient might be grappling: general anxiety, fear of needles, worries about pain, and nervousness about being in a hospital setting without a sense of personal control. To some extent these anxieties are justified by the myriad possibilities, such as […]

SPR2021-12-22T07:33:56+02:00November 15th, 2021|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Health|

Review: Pink Gallery to Mar Suite by Chris Leite

Author Christopher Leite drops readers into the mind of a ruthless android in Pink Gallery to Mar Suite, a grim and bloody novel of revenge, lust, and the existential angst of an AI assassin.

In this gritty slice of the future, ICQA-1037 is just a hard-working robot killer trying to get laid after four long years, but his standards are high, his patience is thin, and his temper seems perpetually ready to boil over and explode. Being one of the most advanced forms of technology on the planet doesn’t make up for his loneliness, or confusion at the petty […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2021-12-21T07:24:52+02:00November 9th, 2021|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Science Fiction|

Review: Verónica: A Musketeer’s Story by Jody Studdard

A rip-roaring adventure about the life and times of the first female Musketeer, Jody Studdard’s middle-grade novel Verónica: A Musketeer’s Story is sure to enchant and inspire readers of all ages.

Eighteen-year-old Verónica Espinosa hails from a family of top-notch male matador champions, so she has a lot to prove as a young woman in the ring. After a poor showing during a bullfight, she flees her home in shame and disgrace, fearing that she has dishonored her relatives. She wanders from place to place, meeting nasty banditos, exploring ancient pyramids, conversing with fortune tellers and spirits, and trying her […]

Michelle Hogmire2021-12-14T03:41:21+02:00November 2nd, 2021|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Middle Grade Fiction, YA Fantasy|

Review: Called by Marlena Fiol and Ed O’Connor

Immersing readers in a vibrant slice of the past, Called by Marlena Fiol and Ed O’Connor is an original account of unsung heroism and unwavering faith in the face of impossible odds.

The story begins in the 1940s, as World War II raged and Hitler’s shadow seemed to stretch across the world, even to Paraguay, and right into the lives of Dr. John and Clara Schmidt. While his whirlwind invitation to Paraguay and sudden proposal may have been the tumultuous start of their journey into revolutionary medical practices, the stakes remained just as high in the many decades that followed […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2021-12-10T08:26:17+02:00October 29th, 2021|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Biography, History|

Review: Of Prophets and Pinioned Angels by Kyle Fox

Plunging once more into the bleak, battle-scarred existence of Jacobus, the dauntless fallen knight of Korigane, Of Prophets and Pinioned Angels by Kyle Fox is the masterful second book in his Tales of Exile series.

After shearing his way through endless horrors in the first book of the series, this doomed warrior is now tasked by an angel to liberate even more souls from the creeping darkness and brimstone that befell his home. The angel Ezrea tells him of other kingdoms, where other battles must be fought, and more blood must still be spilled, in this dark, mystical, and visceral […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2021-12-06T04:26:47+02:00October 25th, 2021|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Fantasy, Kyle Fox|

Review: Valley Fliers by David Boito

Mystery and amateur sleuthing take to the unconquered skies in Valley Fliers by David Boito, a new standout YA thriller with a spiraling, well-crafted plot. Mysteries abound in this acrobatic novel, replete with drone-toting hitmen and a conspiracy too rich not to be investigated by some would-be sleuths.

With dreams of attending a prestigious aeronautical school, Jay is on the cusp of adulthood, but his head has always been in the clouds, as he navigates model airplanes with expert precision. Turning a hobby into a career means a lot of practice at the local miniature airfield, where there are some […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2021-12-02T06:07:39+02:00October 22nd, 2021|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Coming Of Age, Young Adult|

Review: Trump You by Art Cohen with Dan Good

Capturing the deceitful nature and history of greed that has long defined America’s 45th president, Trump You: Promises, Lies, and Corruption: My Battle with Donald Trump’s Fake University by Art Cohen is a scathing personal memoir of one man’s titanic struggle against a capitalist giant.

Not only functioning as a fascinating, and at times painful-to-believe legal thriller, this book is also a detailed unraveling of the Trump University fraud – a clumsy yet lucrative scheme to cheat thousands of people with empty promises. The name “Trump” alone has become synonymous with a great many things in recent years, but this […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2021-10-18T06:16:19+02:00October 17th, 2021|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Art Cohen, Politics|

Review: The Roar of Ordinary by J.C. Foster

A sibling’s love embraces those he has lost, most especially the brother with whom he grew up and shared ambitions, dreams, and a remarkably mature philosophy in The Roar of Ordinary: Brothers, Sisters, War, and Fate, an emotive memoir by J.C. Foster.

The saga of Foster’s family could begin when his father Chuck, in mid-adolescence, rebelled against his overbearing father and struck out on his own as America was struggling under the deprivations of the Great Depression. That independent spirit undoubtedly influenced both Foster and his younger brother Steve. Two tragic deaths left Chuck alone with an invalid daughter […]

SPR2021-12-01T08:06:22+02:00October 12th, 2021|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Memoir|