Book Reviews

The latest indie book reviews from Self-Publishing Review

Review: If Nobody Listens by Rikard Sommer

If Nobody Listens

Scandinavian writers have recently captivated the attention of the literary world, beginning with Stieg Larsson’s breakout trilogy, and Rikard Sommer’s debut novel certainly follows in those illustrious footsteps. If Nobody Listens is a novel that defies classification to a certain degree – one part social commentary, one part an emotional tale of personal growth, and a final dash of thrills and danger for good measure. The subject of medical research and the struggles of global pharma companies may not sound like compelling reading, but in this case, you would be mistaken.

With a patient, methodical approach to exposition and storytelling, […]

2019-02-11T08:53:04+02:00August 8th, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: , |

Review: The Curse Ends by Jeff Attinella, Illustrated by Mike Pascale

The Curse Ends by Jeff Attinella

The Curse Ends: The Story of the 2016 Chicago Cubs, written by Jeff Attinella, is a great bedtime read that will be a source of inspiration for future Little Leaguers, as well as inspire a love of the great American pastime.

In rhyming prose, this charming children’s books tells the story of the Chicago Cubs “curse” and how they beat the curse in 2016. The year is 1945 and it’s game four of the World Series. A man wants to buy a seat for his Billy goat but the crowd protests and they’re kicked out of the stadium, leading […]

2019-02-11T08:35:08+02:00August 7th, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: , |

Review: Brainwalker by Robyn Mundell & Stephan Lacast

★★★★ Brainwalker

“Getting inside someone’s head” tends to be a figurative idea, or turn of phrase, but in Brainwalker, the boundlessly creative new novel from Robyn Mundell and Stephan Lacast, the concept is taken quite literally. This fast-paced novel takes readers deep into the actual human brain – and beyond.

Bernard is a typical YA literature protagonist – an unusual teen with some personality quirks who is suddenly thrown into an extraordinary situation. For Bernard, that situation arises when his curiosity gets the best of him in his father’s lab, who happens to be a particle physicist. After fiddling like […]

2017-08-08T04:25:50+02:00August 6th, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: , |

Review: Embellished: A Vadarc Novel (Chronicles of Orian Book 1) by Karen Glista

Embellished: A Vardac Novel (Chronicles of Orian Book 1) by Karen Glista

When eighteen-year-old Travis Kurth lures his sister Bekka in to his online game, nobody expects the game to get so real.

As both Travis and Bekka and the rest of their online party are sucked into the fantastical world of Orian, mystery after mystery reveal themselves. Where, exactly, are they? How did they get there? Why is Bekka’s debilitating illness suddenly in complete remission?

With confusion in their minds, their hopes of a quick rescue are dashed as war clashes in their midst, claiming their party and tearing its members apart. A royal entourage sweeps in, only to lose Bekka […]

2020-02-21T07:14:42+02:00August 5th, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: |

Review: Cleveland Wins a Championship by Jeff Attinella, Illustrated by Steve Madden

Cleveland Wins a Championship by Jeff Attinella

Jeff Attinella’s children’s book, Cleveland Wins a Championship: The Story of the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers, gives its readers a great sports story with drawings that jump off the page, thanks to the considerable talents of illustrator Steve Madden.

Attinella tells the story not only of the Cavaliers, but down-on-their-luck Cleveland sports fans, who never seem to catch a break. In spirited rhyming prose, it tells the story of hometown hero LeBron James, from his early years with the Cavs, his heartbreaking departure, and his triumphant return. As he’s the most popular player in basketball, this is a book that […]

2019-02-11T08:34:55+02:00August 5th, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: , |

Review: The Breaking (The End Time Saga Book 2) by Daniel Greene

★★★★½ The Breaking by Daniel Greene

In a world of mindless zombies, eccentric hillbillies, deadly skill sets, and endless loyalty to the people you’ve survived beside, Daniel Greene has carved out an exciting apocalyptic series that stands head and shoulders above other offerings in the zombie genre.

In The Breaking, the sequel to End Time, readers are dropped back into the world of Steele, Mauser, and Gwen, as well as a United States that has fallen under the weight of a zombie onslaught. Multiple narrative perspectives provide readers with a three-dimensional picture of this harsh new world, which constantly borders on insanity. Death […]

Review: Bebette by Joseph Barone

★★★★ Bebette by Joseph Barone

Joseph Barone’s existential novel, Bebette, tells the story of Lily, a 12-year-old girl with a rare form of blood cancer, as she grapples with her own mortality. After her family’s move from the allegorically named town of Reverie to the equally metaphorical town of Salvation, Lily develops a relationship with an imaginary friend named Bebette.

Bebette is a 5-year old child who looks like Alice in Wonderland but who speaks with the knowledge, insight, and wisdom of a much older person. The conversations held between Bebette and Lily are not those you would expect to encounter between two […]

2017-09-15T12:45:16+02:00August 3rd, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: |

Review: The Moreva of Astoreth by Roxanne Bland

★★★★ The Moreva of Astoreth by Roxanne Bland

Being the granddaughter of a goddess has certain advantages. Those privileges inflate the priestess Tehi’s ego beyond the bounds of propriety. When she fails in her duties thanks to her open disdain for the hakoi, the common laborers, her grandmother sentences her to serve a year in a far northern outpost. She will be the only moreva, and all of her daily interactions will be with hakoi. But that’s hardly the most challenging aspect of her assignment. The town is a border between the land of Tehi’s gods and untamed hakoi who refuse to be governed.

In her new […]

2017-08-09T01:54:11+02:00August 2nd, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: |
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