Contemporary Fiction | Self-Publishing Review

Godsmack Part I: The Mother Earth by Josie Peterson

A moving novel weaving together crime and romance, Godsmack Part I: The Mother Earth by Josie Peterson explores what it takes to heal from a traumatic past and still find the courage to love.

Yahn’s years in the corrupt corporate world are taking their toll – the dirty power dynamics, secret handshakes, and soulless money-grubbing are all gnawing at him. When one of his clients gets involved with a dangerous crime group, Yahn is forced to leave his job, as well as his boss and lover, Gregory, and move to the countryside.

With the help of his best friend George […]

Marina Dora Martino2023-01-26T13:42:24+02:00January 26th, 2023|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Contemporary Fiction, Josie Peterson|

Review: Where the Heart Is: A Homecoming by D.L. Norris

Heartwarming and thought-provoking, Where the Heart Is: A Homecoming by D.L. Norris is a novel in which love, parenthood, and family history intertwine, exploring the many-faceted legacy that new generations inherit from those who came before.

When Jenna and Marcus learn from Aunt Lee that Jenna’s father has passed away, they decide to move back to the old family manor house in Tilden, Nebraska. It’s a new life for all of them – 9-year-old Ben learns to grieve for his beloved grandad with a new maturity, 6-year-old Allie discovers a different style of life by bonding with an Amish girl, […]

Marina Dora Martino2023-01-17T17:18:26+02:00December 13th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Contemporary Fiction, D.L. Norris|

Dive Bartender: Flowers in the Desert by T.K. O’Neill

Painting a gritty and visceral picture of life on the road, specifically the rugged west, author T.K. O’Neill crafts a haunted hero in his latest novel, Dive Bartender: Flowers in the Desert.

Frank is itching for a new chapter in Denver, but there aren’t enough mountains in Colorado to keep old habits and bad luck from catching up. Navigating a seedy minefield of manipulation, desperation, desire, and even hope, this wandering rogue of a protagonist finds himself in strange company, compelled to stay just a bit longer in decadence and pleasure, and delaying his California dreams one day at […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-11-22T16:01:19+02:00November 19th, 2022|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Contemporary Fiction, T.K. O'Neill|

Review: Sweet Baby Mine by Maria Daversa

A dramatic, dialogue-driven portrait of an imploding marriage, Maria Daversa’s Sweet Baby Mine intimately depicts the impact of mental illness and secrets on a partnership.

From the outside, Ana Storm and Tony DiSalvo might seem like the perfect American couple living in Paris. Caring, compassionate Ana runs a psychotherapy practice, while success-driven Tony teaches economics at a university. In reality, Ana suffers from borderline personality disorder, which clashes with Tony’s narcissistic tendencies. Their fraught marriage is overwhelmed by lies and bitterness, particularly surrounding their estranged eldest daughter, Chloe. When Chloe reaches out to Ana after seven years of silence, the […]

Michelle Hogmire2022-12-15T14:11:55+02:00October 27th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Contemporary Fiction|

Review: The Gospels of Peter Star by Thomas Drago

Author Thomas Drago constructs a brand new testament of religion and history with The Gospels of Peter Star, an endlessly imaginative retelling of the New Testament.

Fated to unify humanity with music and prepare them for modern-day salvation, Peter Star is the musical savior of the world, a Christlike figure without gender or race, heralded by the Horse Whisperer, and born of a virgin. Throughout this cleverly penned book, religious dogma and biblical stories swirl and blend with musical history – from tricky Major Tom’s circumnavigation of the globe in his tin can to Peter Star’s baptismal walking on […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-09-20T12:25:29+02:00September 7th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Contemporary Fiction, Satire, Thomas Drago|

Review: Heartbreak Epiphanies and Justified Lust by John Kruxhammer

A swirling, language-bending journey through philosophy, psychology, and the bottom of a bottle, Heartbreak Epiphanies and Justified Lust by John Kruxhammer is a character-driven diatribe on love and purpose.

John Palmer is an angry young man with a bent towards nihilism, and a serious grudge against his father. He is also a sometimes student of philosophy under Leonard Wilson, a formerly disgraced academic starting his life over in California. John’s decidedly unprofessional therapist, Diana, is a “rain shower in a scorching desert,” but his obsession with her may drive him down a dark path, without any healing waiting at the […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-09-19T09:19:34+02:00August 29th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Contemporary Fiction|

Boxed In by Joseph DeMatteo

Wielding a vitriolic pen to summon a protagonist with a black cloud perpetually hanging over his head, Joseph DeMatteo’s Boxed In is a character-driven drama that unpacks the toxicity of men and modern life.

Ernie Eubanks is fed up with everything – he still lives with his mother, he lost his job as a salesman after thirty years, and every person he meets seems hellbent on irritating him. There aren’t enough cups of coffee or cheeseburgers in the world to chuck at all his problems, but he is about to learn that his bad behavior does have repercussions, and some […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-08-15T14:06:29+02:00August 15th, 2022|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Contemporary Fiction|

Oblivion Black by Christa Wojciechowski

A recovering addict attempting to rejoin society is swept into the mysterious world of an eccentric sculptor in Oblivion Black by Christa Wojciechowski, a shadowy meditation on art, lust, fame and its ensuing destruction.

From the first explosive, mind-rattling pages, this novel hits like a tailor-made drug, with well-timed jump cuts of narration and insightful drop-ins to critical moments and revelations. Anton, Ona, Aunt Vee, and Oz make an interesting core of this darkly entrancing story, their fates seemingly entwined, despite their haphazard involvement in one another’s lives. Ona’s relationship with the regulars of her NA meetings adds another layer […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-08-09T16:58:06+02:00August 8th, 2022|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Contemporary Fiction|