Marta Cheng | Self-Publishing Review

Review: The Last Surviving Dinosaur by Steven Joseph, Illustrated by Andy Case

The Last Surviving Dinosaur: The TyrantoCrankaTsuris is an imaginative picture book written by Steven Joseph, with vivid illustrations by Andy Case.

As a young boy, the father in the story grew up in his tight-knit Bronx neighborhood listening to his large group of relatives ranging from his Aunt Zaydie and Aunt Ruthie, his second cousin Dottie, and his Uncle Mottie and Uncle Shmukie out-do one another by “kvetching” about their “tsuris,” Yiddish for complaining about their problems. One had green fungus growing between her toes, another had a foot bitten by an alligator and was turning into a reptile, one […]

Marta Cheng2019-05-22T07:28:31+02:00April 4th, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Children's Books|

Review: Sophia’s Storm by Cara Skinner

The past meets the present in Sophia’s Storm, a gripping historical novel written for young adults by Cara Skinner.

It’s fourth of July week during the summer of 79. Sixteen-year-old Sophie Reiter and her extended family have assembled at her grandparents’ Galveston beach house for their annual week-long get together, but this year’s gathering is bittersweet, due to the passing of Sophie’s beloved Great Aunt Sophia last November at the age of eighty-nine. Her great aunt had died before she could tell Sophie about the most terrible time in their family’s history: a time when Galveston was nearly destroyed […]

Marta Cheng2019-04-18T12:27:55+02:00March 22nd, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Historical Fiction, Young Adult|

Review: Dakota Son by Mary Ramsey

Unshakable faith and determination are sometimes more powerful than any drug – such is the message in Dakota Son, an inspiring work of young adult fiction by Mary Ramsey.

Fifteen-year-old Sean Foster’s gymnastic career is sidelined by a severe infection induced by his cystic fibrosis, which lands him in the hospital. At his side are his mother and devoted sister, Sara, a brilliant science nerd and his best friend. Sara shows up at the hospital one day with a surprise visitor, the lovely Jen Quinto. She and Sean have something in common: Sean is constantly fighting for his life […]

Marta Cheng2019-04-05T09:20:49+02:00March 11th, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Contemporary Fiction, Young Adult|

Artist Free Zone by Annette Mori

In life, there are victims and triumphs and nowhere is this more evident than in Artist Free Zone, an inspiring work of lesbian romance by Annette Mori.

Just shy of her forty-fifth birthday, human resource director Melissa is thrown a devastating curveball when her lover, Colette, walks away from their eight-year relationship – and then has the gall to lie about why she’s leaving. With plans for their future together in tatters, Melissa sees little hope for her love life in a new town filled with cowboys and Republicans…

Mori has written a compassionate story about modern-day relationships. Told […]

Marta Cheng2019-03-07T11:46:09+02:00March 7th, 2019|Categories: New Releases|Tags: LGBTQI, Romance|

Review: Koa Kai: The Story of Zachary Bower and the Conquest of the Hawaiian Islands by D.R. Pollock

Adventures and misadventures on land and sea are at the heart of Koa Kai: The Story of Zachary Bower and the Conquest of the Hawaiian Islands, a fascinating work of historical fiction by D.R. Pollock.

Zachary “Zach” Bower is the youngest of three sons born to Martha and Matthew Bower. Despite his intelligence and affinity for learning, Zach’s future working on the family farm seems a foregone conclusion until fate intervenes, resulting in the untimely death of Zach’s beloved mother. His grieving father decides to honor his dead wife’s last wish to ensure that their youngest son continues his […]

Marta Cheng2019-03-11T12:55:44+02:00March 6th, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: D.R. Pollock, Historical Fiction|

Review: Beautiful Nightmare by L.C. Son

The fine line between reality and hauntingly sensual dreams become blurred in Beautiful Nightmare, an intriguing and creative paranormal romance by L.C. Son.

It’s the day before art buyer Damina Nicaud’s wedding to Jackson Nash, a fiancé any woman would be proud to call her own. Hunky, refined and with a good head on his shoulders, Jackson is the perfect catch, and yet Damina can’t help being affected by these hauntingly sensual dreams she’s been having lately involving golden oaks, a white wolf and a mystery man who smells spicy and sweet. She’s sure the elusive man of her […]

Marta Cheng2019-03-28T12:56:35+02:00March 5th, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Paranormal Romance|

The Burning by Devin K. Asante

A fanatical obsession leads to deadly consequences in The Burning, Devin K. Asante’s chilling work of historical fiction.

The year is 1666. Sixteen-year-old, Agnes Wilmore, has lost her three younger siblings to the plague before arriving in London, hoping to make a new life for herself. Almost as soon as she arrives, she’s raped by Robert Hubert, a tavern barkeep, who’s immediately infatuated with her. She’s rescued by Thomas Farrier and his wife, who hire her as their live-in caretaker for their three young children.

Agnes fervently hopes she’s seen the last of Robert but with each passing day, […]

Marta Cheng2019-02-18T10:57:17+02:00February 17th, 2019|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Devin K. Asante, Historical Fiction|

Review: The Little Love That Could 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 […]