The latest indie book reviews from Self-Publishing Review
Review: Dobyns Chronicles by Shirley McLain ★★★★
Every life is a story in itself. The author, Shirley McLain, proves this with her historical fiction novel Dobyns Chronicles.
Charley Dobyns began his life in northeast Texas, on the Red River. His cowboy father and his Cherokee mother worked hard to provide for Charley and his two younger siblings, David and Viola. In 1888 tragedy struck. Both of his parents died from yellow fever. At the age of sixteen, Charley was the head of the family. His brother was only ten and his sister four. He moved the family to the Chickasaw Territory to stay with friends of […]
Brothers in Arms by Jack O’Riley follows a group of friends who spend a lot of time drinking (and drinking and drinking) who takes their antics too far and end up violently beating up a husband and wife with a pious vanity plate. The victims of the crime are then pegged as snobs as the small band of misfits then become a major phenomenon in the Twin Cities, and the city is plunged into a debate about the nature of crime and punishment.
Alfred Woollacott didn’t have to look too far from home for an idea about a novel. He turned to his own family tree to find inspiration. While The Immigrant: One from My Four Legged Stool is historical fiction, it’s about his ancestors during the 1600s. His imagined account not only seems plausible, but is a wonderful and enthralling read.
Everything I Know About Zombies, I Learned in Kindergarten by Kevin Wayne Williams follows 9-year-old Leticia leading a terrified band of elementary school students through the perils of a zombie apocalypse. As the promo materials make clear: this is emphatically not a book for 9-year-olds. However, for adults, and perhaps young adult readers, it is a stellar addition to the zombie genre, at once page-turning and lyrical.
A Better World, by Belangela G. Tarazona, is a difficult, but uplifting, read about three women who have to endure harsh realities.
Billed as a “fresh retelling” of the classic book The Phanton of the Opera by Gaston Leroux, Caridad Martin has tapped into the public domain treasure trove and settled on adding to the overflowing list of Phantom “adaptations” available online.
Venus Lionheart: The Witch and The God by Dino Costi is an action-packed Young Adult fantasy novel.