Book Reviews | Self-Publishing Review

Review: Fixed by Doug Piotter

★★★★

Doug Piotter’s memoir, Fixed: dope sacks, dye packs and the long welcome back, is an eye-opening account of the author’s dysfunctional and seemingly hopeless existence as a young man. Fueled by almost every illegal substance known to man, he stumbles through bank robberies, drug rehab, and has many encounters with a whole host of crazy characters. When he starts his “long welcome back,” his tale turns into a positive one and he embarks on the beginning of a life of hope and productivity.

With no conventional parental guidance to speak of, Piotter quickly slides down a very slippery […]

Review: Everyone Versus Everyone by Arthur Jay

★★★★

Welcome to the world of courtroom drama with a difference – Arthur Jay takes on the state of modern life in his satirical novella Everyone Versus Everyone. In this thought-provoking and humorous tale, Jay ponders the question: if everyone was on trial for making a mess of the world, what would happen? If everyone took on everyone in court, how could things possibly be resolved – and would the trial make a difference? Diverse members of the public are plucked from their everyday pursuits to appear on the witness stand for the prosecution or sit on the jury, and […]

Helen Chenaf2019-01-22T15:36:48+02:00February 27th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Contemporary Fiction Book Reviews, Satire Book Reviews|

Review: Motions and Moments: More Essays on Tokyo by Michael Pronko

Continuing on from his previous book, Beauty and Chaos: Slices and Morsels of Tokyo Life, Michael Pronko presents more stories and snippets of life in Tokyo from the perspective of an expat American. Motions and Moments: More Essays on Tokyo reflects on the unique flavors, distinct cultures, and the functional paradoxes of the Japanese capital in 42 more essays from Pronko’s 18 years of Japanese life. Altogether, the book provides a light, solemn, and amusing collection of autobiographical moments and views on the vibrant and fascinating Land of the Rising Sun.

Pronko has an intriguing outlook on his surroundings: […]

James Grimsby2019-02-11T09:26:00+02:00February 26th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Essay Book Reviews, Travel Book Reviews|

Review: Human Behavior in Extreme Situations by Robert H. Koff & Kathryn Hanna

★★★½

Human Behavior in Extreme Situations by Robert H. Koff and Kathryn R. Hanna is a book that unfortunately needed to be written, given that school shootings have become the “new normal.” Investigating a number of tragic events throughout history, Koff and Hanna examine what we can learn from them in order to be better prepared when a similar events happen in the future.

Koff and Hanna make clear at the outset that this book isn’t about preventative methods. They don’t delve into the gun control/mental health debate. They reference the head of the NRA saying “We need to be […]

Henry Baum2019-01-22T15:21:54+02:00February 25th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Education, Non-Fiction Book Reviews, Social Science Book Reviews|

Review: Happy Chasing Happy by Jerome Jay Isip

★★★★½

A vicious piece of prose – unique and powerful.

At the outset of this brutal and honestly painful story, the name of this book may seem misleading, to say the least. But the further along into the novel you dig, the title begins to make more sense. From the darkest depths of drug addiction, self-loathing, and listless living to the incredible heights of physical perfection, mental clarity, and self-fulfillment, this book is a true knockout, written with the patience and precision one would expect from a veteran novelist.

The intricacies of the professional MMA world may be a mystery […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2016-03-10T09:59:40+02:00February 25th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Memoir Book Reviews, Non-Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: Accidental Dad by Joshua McDowell

★★★★½

A deeply personal and thorough perspective on life as a single father.

Every established system has its persistent flaws, regardless of how often or eagerly they’re pointed out. In Accidental Dad, Joshua McDowell presents his case against the treatment of single fathers in a tangled system seemingly designed to make them fail. McDowell takes readers through his story from start to finish, where he successfully joined the small percentage (6-11%) of single fathers who fought for custody and actually won. He offers this unique perspective in an unadulterated form, revealing his intimate details of teenage fatherhood, the pain of […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2016-03-10T09:59:20+02:00February 25th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Memoir Book Reviews, Non-Fiction Book Reviews, Parenting Book Reviews|

Review: Moral Turpitude by Layne Winklebleck

★★★★½

Moral Turpitude, the first book in the Ange Parker Series by Layne Winklebleck, is an action-packed thriller.

Davis Sheffield is the billionaire majority shareholder of Sheffield Industries, a private defense contractor. Davis, formerly Robert Davis Jones, married into the Sheffield family. His wife died young and the Sheffield family wants to kick out Davis from the company. To accomplish this, they accuse Davis of moral turpitude based on kinky experiences from years ago.

Ange Parker, a young and idealistic attorney, advises Davis to go into hiding to avoid being served. Davis follows a hunch and entrusts Ange with […]

T B Markinson2016-03-07T12:56:27+02:00February 24th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Thriller Book Reviews|

Review: Prince Dragonslayer by C. G. Cactus

★★★★

While you could call 20-something Florida resident Prince something of a dreamer, he could never have dreamed something like this; waking up on a bed of straw in place of a normal, comfortable mattress, he’s quickly greeted with his brother, or at least, a man identical to his brother who now claims to be a wizard-in-training, complete with staff and wizard hat.

Quickly, the dapper doppelganger yanks him from his rest to continue their apparently urgent quest. Armed only with a mismatched pajama set and a sense of unrelenting confusion, Prince joins his newly-wizarding, evidently-amnesiac brother Ricky on a […]

James Grimsby2016-03-06T03:43:11+02:00February 24th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Fantasy Book Reviews|