Book Reviews

The latest indie book reviews from Self-Publishing Review

Review: Paralysis Paradox (Paradox Consecution Book 1) by Stewart Sanders

★★★★½ Paralysis Paradox by Stewart Sanders

Through a lens, and in remiss of time and space, four lives are lived in parallel. Four lives come together, and regardless of sense and argument, come to acknowledge their paradox: they live together, separately.

One lives as brother to the Count of Anjou, the next as a poor working boy, a third as a girl trapped by the unsaid, and the last, a machine. As an otherworldy device ticks long cycles on a distant bookend of humanity, a lost comrade contemplates, and these immiscible consciousnesses coalesce, with abstracted struggles converging on an immense level of conspiracy. Convoluted co-existence […]

2017-03-24T10:28:41+02:00June 25th, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: , |

Review: Somerflip: Based on a True Story… Witnessed by Drunks by Daley James Francis ★★★★★

Somerflip: Based on a True Story... Witnessed by Drunks by Daley James FrancisSet in the British East Midlands, the small town of Oatvale is blessed with miles of countryside, a long drive from anywhere of interest, and a smattering of no less than seven pubs, some more disreputable than others. Almost a zoo of local “characters”, the only kind of normal occupying the town is “a little bit odd”, and someone almost average can hardly escape at least a story of something extraordinary. Such is the fate of one Rob Thomas, who’s bad luck is flipped almost as marvelously as how he once caused a trouble-maker to somersault over in a single […]

Review: The Shoes Come First by Janet Leigh

★★★★½ The Shoes Come First by Janet Leigh

The Shoes Come First: A Jennifer Cloud Novel, by Janet Leigh, is a lighthearted and laugh out loud historical fantasy and romance.

In Sunnyside, Texas, Jennifer Cloud has the perfect job as assistant purchasing manager for an upscale shoe store. When her boss is arrested, Jennifer’s world comes crashing down. She ends up working for her brother in his chiropractic office. Jennifer feels like she’s the only one in her life who doesn’t have ambition.

An unexpected birthday gift opens up a whole new world for Jennifer. This gift allows her to travel in time and during her […]

Review: Afterlife by Tim Gurung ★★★★

AfterlifeAfterlife by Tim Gurung follows Enos Bronte as he travels through the hereafter meeting many challenges along the way. He battles loneliness, isolation, barren landscapes, trapped souls, and other dark and disturbing visions as he attempts to navigate this difficult wilderness. Ultimately, the journey is worth it. Enos hasn’t been trapped in hell, he must fight his way through this otherwordly landscape to reach safety and redemption.

This is not a traditional view of the afterlife, and it’s more a reflection of Eastern mysticism than Western depictions of heaven and hell. At the same time, Gurung covers most of the […]

2017-03-24T10:24:29+02:00June 22nd, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: |

Review: Harebrained by Meg Myers Morgan

Harebrained

Harebrained: It seemed a good idea at the time is a delightfully humorous collection of essays by Meg Myers Morgan. The essays cover many aspects of motherhood, good and bad jobs, education (her own and her kids’), higher education, becoming a writer, and many more topics in spirited and engaging prose. There is also a three-act play thrown into the mix.

In a way, the collection seems like the essay version of the popular blog, “Hyperbole and a Half,” including a similar brand of irreverent wit and self-deprecation. This is high praise, rather than suggesting that its derivative of someone […]

2019-02-11T09:25:35+02:00June 17th, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: , |

Review: Human by Den Holson ★★★★

Human by Den HolsonIn a time somewhere after 1952, and a place often known as Dundee, a man concludes the search for his mother’s grave, failing to find any remnant of a true piece of her being in her headstone and final remains, and thus giving up on his life-long quest. Rather than being the final conclusion to a wider tale, this event is at best a mid-point.

With his father’s spirit in his ear, and his mother’s photo as phone wallpaper, the narrator continues an introspective journey of the nature of truth, humanity, being, and a few other more interesting things, maybe. […]

Review: Murder Over Kodiak by Robin Barefield ★★★★

Murder Over Kodiak by Robin Barefield Murder Over Kodiak, by Robin Barefield, is a clever Alaskan-set mystery that will keep readers guessing until the final pages.

Research biologist Jane Marcus has a bad feeling when the floatplane she’s waiting for is late. On the plane is her young research assistant. The weather is perfect and Jane is familiar with the charter company. While Jane hopes there’s a good reason for the delay she fears the worst.

And indeed the worst has happened. A bomb has exploded on the plane she’s waiting for, and there are little remains left of the pilot and five passengers. Why […]

2017-03-24T10:29:21+02:00June 17th, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: |

Review: Conversations and Adventures by Simone Diston ★★★★

Conversations and AdventuresConversations and Adventures by Simone Diston is a spirited and engaging collection of true-to-life stories about meeting different people in a city and starting conversations out of the blue. Everyone she meets on her travels is asking big questions about life, with obstacles in their lives to overcome. Together they reach new insights into big questions about the human condition, such as equality or identity, and smaller issues as well, such as dating.

The premise is a good one: it’s a bit like a road movie, only Diston’s protagonist stays in the same city and meets new people in her […]

2015-06-22T10:22:31+02:00June 15th, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: |
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