Book Reviews | Self-Publishing Review

Review: Sweet Barbarian by Jayla Jasso

★★★★½

Mild-mannered Karly has had a bit of a rough time. Between her job and her creepy, clingy ex, she has to find happiness where it comes. And sometimes happiness comes in the strangest of ways. When Karly’s dog begins barking at something outside her little cabin in the woods, she expects a raccoon or a squirrel, not a huge, half-naked man decked out in furs and leathers, bleeding and freezing half to death.

This is Valamir, a warrior from the year 483 AD. After suffering defeat and surrendering to a depraved priestess, he finds himself flung 1500 years into […]

Naka Jackson2019-10-04T07:35:57+02:00February 2nd, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Romance Book Reviews|

Review: Devil in the Dark by Chris Lindberg

★★★★★

If you’re looking for a relentless, action-packed thriller, Devil in the Dark by Chris Lindberg is the hit you’ve been seeking. This follow-up to the 2011 thriller Code of Darkness brings back the walking natural disaster named Rage, a priceless military asset with more fury and superhuman abilities than any one man should possess.

His new task, now that he has been successfully contained (and medically subdued) by the powers that be, is to end the reign of a vicious Mexican drug lord, Javier Oropeza. After a devastating attack on a key border crossing between the United States and […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2017-02-17T05:37:32+02:00January 31st, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Thriller Book Reviews|

Review: The Book of Moon by George Crowder

★★★★★

Cynical adults may often point to the angst of younger generations and claim that they are being overly dramatic, and that they haven’t experienced enough of life to truly know heartbreak or sorrow. However, in The Book of Moon, author George Crowder reminds readers that pain is relative, and the fact that our capacity for sadness grows as we age does not make it any less potent when we are young.

Moon Landing seems like a normal kid growing up in California, but his musings on misfortune parallels to Job, the biblical whipping boy, suggest that he sees […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2017-02-17T05:37:23+02:00January 31st, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Young Adult Book Reviews|

Review: Professor Flintwick’s Dream Machine by Dominic R. Daniels

★★★★

In Professor Flintwick’s Dream Machine, author Dominic R. Daniels delivers an unforgettable young adult fantasy with the depth of a novel intended for adults. Blending the whimsical impossibility of “Spirited Away” with the pared down, yet surreal style of Murakami, this short book is an adventurous ride that will be difficult to put down.

Yoshi Flintwick, an eccentric inventor and loving grandfather, once built weapons for the government, but is now much more interested in his dream machine – an invention that constructs rather than destroys. When Professor Flintwick has a horrible vision of creatures under the cruel […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2017-02-17T05:37:14+02:00January 27th, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Fantasy Book Reviews|

Review: From Grief to Awakening by Steven Joseph

In From Grief to Awakening, author Steven Joseph explains the complex, personal and spiritual struggles he underwent as he tried to make sense of his ultimate loss – the suicide of his son – but there is far more to the story than that, offering a challenging and enlightening perspective on loss.

Prefaced with his admitted suspicion (years ago) of anyone claiming to have an understanding of life after death, the author begins by expounding his own reticence to accept that there is a way to find peace after tragedy. He recounts his doubts of religion, and the empty […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-02-11T09:51:58+02:00January 25th, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Spirituality Book Reviews|

Review: The Oarsman by Zubin Mathai

★★★★★

Many authors attempt to bridge the gap between metaphysical, philosophical and narrative elements, but few succeed as effectively as Zubin Mathai in The Oarsman. This is a novel that stands out of time and space, and brings readers on a surreal journey back up the long river of the Man’s years, a nameless protagonist seeking meaning and validation as he nears the end of his life.

At the behest of the god-like Judge and with the help of the mysterious, titular Oarsman, the Man sails back upstream, through the many different lives he has led, including those abandoned […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2017-02-17T05:38:24+02:00January 19th, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Literary Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: The You in You by Wilbert Hunt

Human beings have long been fascinated by the idea of something beyond this world; whether you want to call it the afterlife, a higher consciousness or even another dimension, it perennially intrigues the imagination. In The You in You, author Wilbert Hunt explains his own relationship to this other realm, accessed through out-of-body experiences.

Hunt methodically takes readers through the story of his life, making claims and suggesting possibilities that are absolutely incredible, according to the most basic definition of that word. For example, within the first ten pages, readers are posed a series of questions: “What would […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-02-11T09:52:08+02:00January 16th, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: New Age Book Reviews, Spirituality Book Reviews|

Review: Detention Land (Book 1) by Susan Orion

★★★★

Detention Land by Susan Orion is a wholly unique and affecting young adult novel about Roger Prism, who’s trapped in a prison of his own making. Roger keeps acting out at school, including drawing his teacher on a blackboard in permanent ink, which lands him in the strange zone dubbed Detention Land, in which a woman’s voice behind the wall probes Roger about his misdeeds. This limbo reflects Roger’s own mind, and his feeling of being trapped in his life, and he must come to a better understanding of himself if he’s ever going to be free of Detention […]

Lysa Grant2017-02-17T05:40:52+02:00January 14th, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Young Adult Book Reviews|