John Staughton, Senior Reviewer | Self-Publishing Review

Born of the Gods by Craig Zeppelin

An inventive fantasy tale fronted by a hard-hitting heroine, Born of the Gods: Origins Book One (The Resin Chronicles) by Craig Zeppelin delivers an action-laden plunge into a paradise lost.

Grieving the loss of her deity, and cursed with mystical abilities after a suicidal clash of the gods, Arleia seeks a new divine master, rather than wandering as a high priestess without anything to worship. Venturing into the realms of scheming gods and facing down the monstrous mortals who serve as their playthings, Arleia is determined to unravel the mystery of her matriarch’s murder, no matter how many times she […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2025-09-10T17:28:40+02:00September 10th, 2025|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Fantasy Book Reviews|

Review: Time and Space by Shireen Jeejeebhoy

A frenzied plunge into a regressive and wildly weird future, Time and Space by Shireen Jeejeebhoy defies genre expectations and the laws of physics with gleeful abandon.

When three mischievous men from the year 3011 abduct a woman named Time from her lonely reality, anxiety over turning 40 is suddenly the least of her worries. Overwhelmed by the impossible technology at every turn, she is treated as a “dumb human specimen” in a mind-boggling society of chauvinists, but the future does have its rules, if not rights for “girls.”

Upon discovering that the young men have kidnapped yet another bewildered […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2025-10-03T16:04:22+02:00September 8th, 2025|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Science Fiction Book Reviews, Speculative Fiction Book Reviews|

Triumphs of Tenacity by Yusra Mariyam

A stirring story of transformation through education, Triumphs of Tenacity by Yusra Mariyam is a rousing account of a Bengali immigrant’s journey from undereducated homemaker to distinguished university graduate.

After decades marked by deferring her dreams, Yusra embarked on an unlikely midlife venture to secure an advanced business degree from Anglia Ruskin University. In detailed and emotional recollections, she painstakingly details the intimate struggles of her academic quest through each demanding project and daunting disappointment. Relentlessly driven by inner strength and the example of her uncompromising family, Yusra overcomes every obstacle with grace – from digital illiteracy and time management […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2025-09-08T16:19:27+02:00September 8th, 2025|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Education Book Reviews, Memoir Book Reviews|

The Demon’s Deceit by Andria Carver

Sinister, snarky, and sexy, The Demon’s Deceit (Divine Evolution Book 1) by Andria Carver leers at humanity’s darkest corners through the eyes of would-be gods. Jeanie is a grieving wreck of a person, drinking and stumbling towards oblivion, when she’s propositioned and empowered by a sultry demon plotting an evolutionary leap of divine proportions. Suddenly finding herself with no fear, no pain, and nothing left to lose, she joins a slow-burning struggle for cosmic power, one that could stretch her body and soul to the breaking point. Sharply penned and laced with acerbic prose, this down-and-out urban fantasy shatters archetypes […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2025-09-08T16:26:43+02:00September 8th, 2025|Categories: Editorial Reviews|

A Dog Named 647 by Nancy Kay

A heartwarming and heroic tale about fighting for what you believe in, A Dog Named 647 by Nancy Kay is an intensely emotive middle grade read with an inspiring crusader for animals at the helm.

While walking in the forest one day, Mia finds a malnourished golden retriever with a belly full of puppies, only to have the pooch snatched away by an angry man from a nearby kennel. Convinced that #647 is being mistreated, and overwhelmed by the immediate connection she feels for her furry friend, Mia enlists her friend Cassie to investigate the mystery of Pine Valley Puppies. […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2025-09-05T18:09:51+02:00September 5th, 2025|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Middle Grade Fiction Book Reviews, Pets Book Reviews|

Review: Veinbound by Anne Pengelly

Hauntingly epic prose and one fierce firebrand of a protagonist make Veinbound: The Red Bargain by Anne Pengelly a must-read novel for fans of thought-provoking dark fantasy.

In a realm where blood can be burned as magical currency, paying one’s debt is a matter of life and death, and the Red Church always comes to collect – desperate to control the wielding of all sanguinary powers. Nyxa Reddane has been an orphan from birth, raised by a hedge priestess who taught her the workings of blood rites, simple healing spells, and how to eat the sins of the suspicious townsfolk […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2025-09-23T16:05:39+02:00September 4th, 2025|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Fantasy Book Reviews|

Before We Arrived by Jodie Pine

An intimate and tangled novel that delicately dissects grief and the difficulties of healing, Before We Arrived by Jodie Pine is a nuanced and emotionally charged character-driven drama. In a time-leaping web of interlinked memory, three people seek redemption after bearing more than their fair share of inherited hardship and systemic trauma. Rivka’s compulsive compassion, Henry’s quiet isolation, and Jayce’s haunted history are gradually unraveled as their unfiltered stories overlap across space and time. From radical empathy and epigenetics to internalized racism and mental health epidemics, this generation-spanning story explores a range of existential turning points and contemporary crises with […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2025-09-04T14:19:08+02:00September 4th, 2025|Categories: Editorial Reviews|

Review: You Don’t Have to Be Famous to Write a Memoir by Stephen Mark Silvers

The uncut account of a life well and truly lived, You Don’t Have to Be Famous to Write a Memoir by Stephen Mark Silvers is a free-wheeling testament to the unimportance of age and the timeless power of remembrance.

Beginning with over a dozen adoringly detailed chapters about each of his relatives, Silvers invites readers into the inside jokes, unforgettable anecdotes, and unwavering devotion of his family, from his first meeting of Grandma Bertha in Venice Beach to his sister’s theatrical passions and his father’s noble nature. Beyond painting a vivid picture of the people and places who raised him, […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2025-09-22T11:09:30+02:00September 4th, 2025|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Memoir Book Reviews|