Book Reviews | Self-Publishing Review

Review: Mr. Average and the 12th Stone by Ben Run

A microcosmic drama with existential implications, Mr. Average and the 12th Stone: Watch Your Mandibles by Ben Run is a mind-bending work of experimental fantasy, told from a thoroughly unique perspective.

Ave may be the best optimizer in the Ant Nest ant colony, but even his eternal loyalty and devotion to Hari isn’t enough to make him forget about the woman who has been visiting him on New Year’s Eve every year for the past eleven years. She is the reason he has been saving up all of his reflection time – all those carefully guarded seconds and emo-seconds – […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2024-11-13T13:46:25+02:00October 31st, 2024|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Fantasy Book Reviews|

Review: Hope: A Journey of Self-Love by Renee Louise

A visceral and unflinching memoir, Hope: A Journey of Self-Love by Renee Louise is an outpouring of raw honesty that holds nothing back.

Reflecting on the decade-long turning point in her life from self-loathing to security, love, and self-confidence, this impactful memoir examines the pain and struggle through which so many people quietly suffer. From the lowest lows to the highest highs as a mother, wife, child, friend, and professional, this is truly a journey of overcoming the mountain of stressors and insecurities that make up our lives, which ultimately don’t need to define us.

Louise reveals herself completely, letting […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2024-10-30T14:34:30+02:00October 30th, 2024|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Memoir Book Reviews|

Review: Cutting-Edge Ideas by Laura Fienor

A bold and visionary proposal for a better world, Cutting-Edge Ideas: Empowering Agents of Positive World Change by Laura Fienor is a wide-ranging treatise on what’s wrong with modern society and what we as individuals can do about it. Revolutionary change is intimidating for many reasons, but Fienor defiantly and articulately argues that we are collectively approaching too many points of no return, and that drastic measures must be taken.

Unapologetically pointing the finger at capitalism and consumerist society, as well as militarism, colonialism, misogyny, racism, and other ideological divides, Fienor’s voice is brazen, righteous, and refreshing, fearlessly laying out […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2024-11-07T18:41:38+02:00October 25th, 2024|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Social Science Book Reviews|

Review: A Hush at Midnight by Marlene M. Bell

A small-town Texas mystery with a dizzying array of twists, A Hush at Midnight by Marlene M. Bell is a cleverly crafted thriller that will keep you guessing.

Returning home to East Texas to be near her parents and leaving her job as a celebrity chef behind, Laura Harris is struggling to find her new niche. After visiting her mentor and dear friend, Hattie Stenburg, a fearless WWII ferry pilot and community legend, Laura is shocked to return only hours later to find her friend brutally murdered. Determined to dig into the crime and uncover the truth, the tables turn […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2024-11-05T08:58:33+02:00October 24th, 2024|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Mystery Book Reviews|

Review: Developing Authentic Leaders by Jennifer Jensen

Providing support for aspiring leaders to be both open-minded and effective, Developing Authentic Leaders: A Practical Guide for All Leaders by Jennifer Jensen is an engaging and effective work of leadership self-help. Written in clear prose and a professional tone, this book is an easy-to-navigate guide, which is both practical and forward-thinking.

Early on, the book makes clear that the journey to becoming an authentic leader is paved with intimate reflection, self-awareness, and genuine personal change. Addressing the challenges that one can encounter at work, she offers communication strategies, tips on how to improve one’s own flexibility, and ways of […]

Marina Dora Martino2024-10-24T17:22:28+02:00October 24th, 2024|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Leadership Book Reviews|

Review: I Paid to Play the Game by Russell Rosen

Tracing the unexpected journey of an aspiring baseball star, I Paid to Play the Game by Russell Rosen is a touchingly honest memoir, reflecting on growing up, following your dreams, and embracing even the hardest truths.

As a child, the author loved every facet of America’s pastime, following the local teams’ exploits in the newspaper and eagerly awaiting the next time his family would catch a game. Playing on an organized team wasn’t an option until his late teens – well past the typical age for a serious pursuit at going pro.

Even so, Rosen dedicated himself to the dream, […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2024-11-04T18:34:17+02:00October 23rd, 2024|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Memoir Book Reviews, Sports Book Reviews|

Review: The Keepers of the Light by Trevor A. Dutcher

A coming-of-age adventure shining a light on the goodness and grace that makes the world go round, The Keepers of the Light by Trevor A. Dutcher is a riveting new YA read, and an entertaining first book in the Logan LeVec series.

Logan LeVec is navigating all the perils of sixth-grade life, from persistent bullies and paralyzing crushes on his neighbor to clumsy lunchroom disasters and embarrassing oral reports, but his seemingly normal life is about to change in ways he never expected. Though Logan’s parents would never believe or approve, the wild stories that his grandfather has been telling […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2024-10-15T13:39:42+02:00October 15th, 2024|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: YA Fantasy Book Reviews, Young Adult Book Reviews|

Review: The Black Wall Of Silence Part IV by George H. Butcher III

The final chapter of a jaw-dropping exposé about the federal judiciary’s past and present conduct, The Black Wall Of Silence Part IV by George H. Butcher III hammers home a final nail in the coffin of judicial impartiality.

Just a few decades ago, the premise of this four-book series may have seemed like a long-form conspiracy theory, and many of these allegations would have remained unknowable and unprovable in a time before the Internet and collective calls for greater transparency in the judiciary. Today, many will have noticed shifts in America’s federal judiciary and the monumental shifts in apolitical tradition, […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2024-11-04T18:07:33+02:00October 14th, 2024|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Politics Book Reviews|