Lead Story | Self-Publishing Review

Review: Stories of Yesteryear: Horse & Buggy Days by Harry H. Brown

Stories of Yesteryear: Horse & Buggy Days by Harry H. Brown is a charming reprint of Harry Brown’s tales of Halifax, Massachusetts and New England at the turn of the century and earlier. Harkening back to days before cars, or even electricity, these vignettes are in turns amusing and moving, as it tells an important story about a bygone era. Much of what Brown writes about is lost to history, which makes this reprint by his family and important and worthy enterprise.

At only a page or so apiece, these stories are easy to read and ingest, and have a […]

SPR2019-02-11T09:18:32+02:00May 1st, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: History, Short Stories|

Review: Traveller – Inceptio by Rob Shackleford

★★★★

Author Rob Shackleford goes beyond the nitty-gritty physics and paradoxes implicit in time travel in his new book Traveller – Inceptio, an impressive new addition to the time-travel niche and an exciting start to a new series.

The story begins simply enough: a group of Australian graduate students researching security technology stumble onto the potential for a time-travel device and the world immediately takes notice. Governments begin clamoring for the technology, but a more methodical approach is required for such world-changing technology. A destination is chosen – Saxon England, about 1,000 years in the past – and […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-01-22T05:49:44+02:00April 28th, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Time Travel|

Review: In Search of A Little Piece of Sunshine by Carlos Jimenez

★★★★★

In Search of A Little Piece of Sunshine by Nicaraguan writer Carlos Jimenez is a beautiful and original middle grade novel for readers who enjoy fantasy and nature. Jimenez is a new talent ready to burst onto the US market with this, his first English language release.

As a band of brave children search for “a little piece of sunshine” to save the freezing cities in North America, namely NYC, they must travel into the forests and face many strange and mythical creatures in their environmental quest. An allegory set in the time of Obama, this book is really […]

Cate Baum2019-01-22T11:03:39+02:00April 27th, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Middle Grade Fiction|

Review: Ephaidria by Jim Grieco

★★★★

Most fantasy or sci-fi novels center on a single “surreal” element, such as the presence of alien life, supernatural abilities, terrible dark forces or a bridge to the spiritual world. Ephaidria by Jim Grieco ambitiously tackles all of these concepts, and more, without stumbling over itself or trying to take on too much “strangeness.” From the very start, the novel is packed with mystery, rich descriptions and an unpredictable plot line that stretches the boundaries of readers’ imaginations.

The story starts off simply enough, with the gradual introduction of the four main characters, who are just beginning to discover […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2017-04-27T11:14:29+02:00April 27th, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Science Fiction, Young Adult|

Review: Evening Star (Moonless Night Book 3) by Floriminda Edar Reid

★★★★

When catastrophe struck young lovers Alana and Christian, there remained nobody who could look after them but themselves. Christian, an immortal, always feared his strange world of magic and the unknown would hurt his mortal lover, and together they decide it’s finally time they left behind their troubles for the open sea. But their troubles are far from over, as the seas hide even greater troubles than they have faced so far.

Evening Star is the third book of the Moonless Night series by Floriminda Edar Reid, and the direct sequel to Elusive Dreams. The series follows teen-come-young-adult […]

James Grimsby2020-02-21T07:16:26+02:00April 26th, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Paranormal Romance, Young Adult|

Review: Brethren (The Villeins Trilogy Book 1) by Jeremiah Pearson

Brethren is the first book in Jeremiah Pearson’s Villeins Trilogy, a Christian/historical fiction series about a sect of Anabaptists in 16^th Century Europe. Based in the Holy Roman Empire just prior to the Protestant/Catholic wars of religion and amidst the Ottoman/Hapsburg conflicts, this is a fascinating look at the lives of pacifist protestants during the bloodiest religious wars in history.

First, it must be said, the historical accuracy of this novel is astounding. Many historical fiction writers take great liberties with facts in the name of fiction. To his great credit, Pearson does so sparingly enough as to be […]

Dakota Kemp2019-02-11T09:14:54+02:00April 22nd, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Christian Fiction, Historical Fiction, Religious Fiction|

Review: You Were The Last by Angie Kenny

You Were The Last by Angie Kenny is an evocative collection of ten interconnected short stories based around the idea of being alone when everyone around you is suddenly gone.

The theme of the book is mostly literal, with an unknowable and unexplainable mass disappearance occurring suddenly in the lives of each character, and leaving them alone to ponder their circumstances. The result is an introspective journey of the lives of two strangers who are faced with something they could never be fully prepared for, and how their experiences color their situations and their emotional lives.

Kenny’s writing style is […]

James Grimsby2019-02-11T09:18:57+02:00April 21st, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Short Stories|

Review: Who Told You That You Were Naked? by William E. Combs

Who Told You That You Were Naked? is a reevaluation of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden by Pastor William E. Combs. Combs’ primary argument is that humanity has long interpreted not only “The Fall” incorrectly, but also a large portion of the biblical message. To correct this, he argues that Christians must be willing to cast away the illusion that ‘sin’ is a list of infractions and embrace what it truly is: inherited knowledge, passed down from Adam and Eve, that allows us to recognize and analyze good and evil.

However, lacking perfect wisdom, that all-encompassing understanding […]

Dakota Kemp2019-02-11T09:44:27+02:00April 20th, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Religion|