Book Reviews

The latest indie book reviews from Self-Publishing Review

Review: Silent Spring – Deadly Autumn of the Vietnam War by Patrick Hogan

Silent Spring - Deadly Autumn of the Vietnam War by Patrick Hogan

As one of the darkest periods in America history, the Vietnam War continues to fascinate new generations. In Silent Spring – Deadly Autumn of the Vietnam War, author Patrick Hogan pulls back another curtain on that brutal conflict, and the battles that it is still causing today.

Many people are cursorily familiar with the devastating use of chemical weapons in Vietnam by the American military, including the widespread application of napalm and Agent Orange in defoliation campaigns. Savagely effective, but relatively untested, this attack strategy by America remains one of the dark marks on US history.

In this book, […]

2020-02-21T06:17:45+02:00February 23rd, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: , , |

Review: The Little Love That Could by Pamela Capone

The Little Love That Could: Stories of Tenacious Love, Underdogs, and Ragamuffins by Pamela Capone

Autobiographical anecdotes, humorous afterthoughts and messages of faith entertain and inspire in The Little Love That Could: Stories of Tenacious Love, Underdogs, and Ragamuffins by Pamela Capone.

As a self-professed “professional unpaid people watcher and evidence gatherer” by day and “an insomniac dot connector” by night, Capone shares her insights into life and living through a series of autobiographical anecdotes that are candid and humorous. Her tone is conversational, upbeat and quirky, but always heartfelt.

Capone shares her vulnerabilities and fears through her adoption as a child and the uneasy relationship she had with her “bio-illogical” birth parents in “The […]

2019-03-21T12:58:56+02:00February 17th, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: , , , |

Review: Is God in That Bottle Cap? A Search for Truth by John D. Sambalino

 Is God in That Bottle Cap? A Search for Truth by John D. Sambalino

In Is God in That Bottle Cap? A Search for Truth, a lawyer writes about spirituality in an engaging combination of autobiography and philosophical treatise.

Beginning as a child who resisted having to eat fish on Friday, to his adulthood as a world-traveler who sees that God is found not so much in precepts as in experience, John D. Sambalino has always been seeking truth, and so conveys a sense of exploration that is fortunately free from self-congratulation. The first glimmers of this search came with his interest in martial arts and the understanding that such physical practices have […]

2019-03-18T12:08:23+02:00February 7th, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: , |

Review: All Fall Down (Furnass Towers Trilogy Book 3) by Richard Snodgrass

 All Fall Down (Furnass Towers Trilogy Book 3) by Richard Snodgrass

In All Fall Down, the epic conclusion to Richard Snodgrass’s Furnass Towers Trilogy, the characters and families that loyal readers have come to know so well all come together for one final piece of the puzzle – centered dramatically around the murder of Dickie Sutcliff.

The Sutcliff family, specifically Dickie and his brother Harry Todd, have featured heavily in this trilogy, being at the center of the real estate market in the mill town of Furnass. However, over those many decades and deals, Dickie has certainly made enemies along the way, so when he turns up dead, it is […]

2019-03-11T12:05:00+02:00February 4th, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: , , , |

Review: A Chicken in the Wind and How He Grew by Frank South

A Chicken in the Wind and How He Grew by Frank South

Life can be messy and complicated – throw ADHD into the mix and you’ve got A Chicken in the Wind and How He Grew: Stories from an ADHD Dad, a spirited memoir by Frank South.

During his lifetime, South has held many “former” titles: a former English teacher for adjudicated teens, a former Off-Broadway playwright, a former television writer and producer, and a former alcoholic. He writes about what he knows – life as an adult struggling and coping with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, commonly referred to as ADHD.

Together with his loving (and somewhat long-suffering) wife Margaret, they […]

2020-05-20T05:16:54+02:00January 29th, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: |

Review: The Sandbox by JW Patrick

The Sandbox by JW Patrick

An intense and unpredictable adventure set against a rich narrative landscape, The Sandbox by JW Patrick is a memorable new work of YA science fiction. When three young teenagers’ lives collide after a mysterious impact event, their worlds are thrown into a fascinating and potentially dangerous spiral driven by forces beyond their control or understanding.

The focal characters of this novel – Isla, Sonny and Dan – make for a brilliant trio of protagonists wrestling with powers they had previously thought were impossible. When they discover a world – The Sandbox – where they can do anything they want in […]

2019-03-11T12:37:04+02:00January 27th, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: , |

Review: The Scent of Distant Worlds by W.D. County

The Scent of Distant Worlds by W.D. County

Leaving behind all you have known for worlds that humans have never seen may sound like a grand and honorable adventure, but troubles – both internal and external – are bound to arise. In The Scent of Different Worlds by W.D. County, the crew of The Far Traveler is on a mission to explore an inhabitable world in the Goldilocks Zone, a potential new home that can support life, but the sacrifices they must make are daunting no matter where or when you’re from.

The crew has the opportunity to explore some of the first intelligent life forms to have […]

2019-01-28T12:07:27+02:00January 26th, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: , |

Review: Lincoln’s Paramour by Devin K. Asante

Lincoln's Paramour by Devin K. Asante

A touching life-long love affair is at the heart of Devin K. Asante’s creative work of historical fiction, Lincoln’s Paramour.

Abraham “Abe” LaRue is the second son of James LaRue, a wealthy Kentucky land baron, and his second wife, Suzanne. He’s as different from his older brother, Aron, as chalk is to cheese, but has an idyllic childhood growing up on his large plantation where his best friend is Maisie, the daughter of his father’s older brother and his black slave mistress – until tragedy strikes and Abe’s father is killed by a bear.

His mother remarries a year […]

2019-03-06T12:52:40+02:00January 23rd, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: , |
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