Book Reviews | Self-Publishing Review

Review: Exploration’s End: A New Orleans Mystery by George Sanchez

Southern charm and an old-fashioned mystery make for a great duo in Exploration’s End by George Sanchez.

After returning home to New Orleans, actor Jeff Chaussier has put his mediocre acting career on hold in order to find out what’s going on with his cousin, Cal. Rumor has it that his cousin is in the theater and is even dating an actress.

After some roundabout digging, Jeff suspects that drugs or sex may be involved but he also has other problems he has to deal with that involve facing the beautiful Bryna – who family and friends call his girl […]

Marta Cheng2019-11-14T08:28:33+02:00October 21st, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Mystery|

Review: The Legend of Deputy Jim by Dan E. Hendrickson

Brimming with the rustic energy of the west, The Legend of Deputy Jim by author Dan E. Hendrickson is a story within a story that will rope you in faster than a rodeo show.

Founded on unusual storytelling exposition, this book details the long-winded legend of Jim Edwards, who begins this story as a superstar athlete and humble young graduate with his eyes on one thing: law enforcement. However, his journey is far from easy, and anything but typical.

Before he even begins his time on the force, Jim has mixed it up with the local biker gang that runs […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-11-06T11:15:57+02:00October 17th, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Dan E. Hendrickson, Western|

Review: Simon’s Mansion by William Poe

Running from your present and confronting your past speak to the heart in Simon’s Mansion, a moving work of LGBT literary fiction by William Poe.

Not long out of rehab, Simon Powell returns to his hometown of Sibley, Arkansas, eager to leave behind his destructive life in Hollywood. Given his relatively young life, Simon is a man with many ex’s to his name – ex-husband of Masako, a Japanese woman he had briefly married, ex-cult member and former follower of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon, and ex-junkie, with cocaine and crack his drugs of choice.

He’s also a former […]

Marta Cheng2019-10-14T11:42:43+02:00October 13th, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Contemporary Fiction, LGBTQI, Literary Fiction, William Poe|

Review: Restrained Justice by Christopher Molleda

Set a decade after the divisive pain of the Civil War, Restrained Justice is an intimate slice of history from Christopher Molleda that strikes hard at old American wounds, while still hitting plenty of modern nerves.

Though this is a work of historical fiction, the issues at hand and the drama that unfolds in the small Texas town of Seguin expose the dark legacy of racism and injustice in the United States. With expositional tact and narrative flair, Molleda sucks readers into another world – the true Wild West – forcing them to reflect on the past, and look in […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-10-11T10:07:10+02:00October 11th, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Historical Fiction, Western|

Review: The Journey to Oclesedor (The Legacy of King Jasteroth Vol. 2) by S. L. Wyllie

The second installment of S. L. Wyllie’s Legacy of King Jasteroth series, The Journey to Oclesedor is a high-fantasy feast for the senses and a thrilling adventure to boot. Following on strong from Volume 1, Princess Ariella and other familiar faces are back with an epic quest before them, a desperate bid to outrun the insidious evil of King Jasteroth and live to fight another day. Overflowing with descriptive passages, vivid battle scenes, mythical monsters and innovative magic, this sophomore release from Wyllie delivers a classic, but visceral thrill.

The first part of the King Jasteroth saga set a wonderful […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-11-05T04:00:48+02:00October 10th, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Fantasy, S.L. Wyllie, YA Fantasy, Young Adult|

Review: Gimme Liberty I Can Smell! by J. Flaherty

In Gimme Liberty I Can Smell! (autonomy for ordinary personage), poet J. Flaherty kicks down the doors of poetical convention and rattles off a diatribe of thoughtful verse and bold demands that is difficult to put down.

A self-professed neobeat poet, there are certainly jazzy echoes of Kerouac and Corso in this collection, with urban references wildly blended with classical mythos, juxtaposing intensity and some timeless goofiness. While the topics of the poetry vary greatly, the voice is clear and consistent – he is a bold observer keeping his eyes peeled for the mystery and beauty of the world. […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2020-10-06T02:39:14+02:00October 7th, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: J. Flaherty, Poetry|

Review: Untamed Barbarian (Visigoth Barbarians #2) by Jayla Jasso

In Untamed Barbarian, the second in the Visigoth Barbarians series from author Jayla Jasso, a time-traveling hunk from the 5^th century lands smack dab in the middle of a 21^st century murder investigation in southern California for a hot and gripping urban fantasy.

Andaric, the brutally handsome and physically brutal time-traveler, has come in search of his brother, who was similarly catapulted forward from ancient France, but he gets understandably distracted by the stunning Kaiya Martinez. She may be tasked with determining his mental state – and judging whether he is the serial killer the town has […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-10-31T08:15:21+02:00October 3rd, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Jayla Jasso, Romance, Urban Fantasy|

Review: Eternal Shadow (Fall of Gods Book 1) by Trevor B. Williams

Across the vast landscape of alien invasion stories on screen or the page, most writers take a geocentric approach, where Earth is the target and the immediate stage for the extraterrestrial conflict. In Eternal Shadow, the stunning and far-reaching space thriller by author Trevor B. Williams, the sense of impending doom is only heightened as an alien force begins destroying the outer planets of our solar system, creeping inexorably towards our pale blue dot.

When SETI researcher Jennifer Epstein is woken up by a phone call from her high-strung colleague Sam, she could never have prepared herself for the […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-10-02T06:39:40+02:00October 1st, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Science Fiction|