Book Reviews

The latest indie book reviews from Self-Publishing Review

Review: Killing Paradise by Andrew Esposito

Killing Paradise ReviewThis debut novel by Andrew Esposito is the fictionalized story of historical events of the late nineteenth century Hawaii. Loss of habitat due to a proliferation of coffee and sugar plantations, as well as the introduction of non-native species, are speeding the extinction of many of the birds native to the Hawaiian islands. Two rival museums are completing with astonishing greed and ruthlessness to collect specimens of these birds before they are gone forever.

Underneath the basic events are deeper questions of the benefits and potential harms of collecting. This adds texture and depth to the book. The personalities of […]

2014-07-07T15:20:29+02:00June 27th, 2014|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: |

Review: 30 Days by G.R. Case

30 Days by GR Case is a dark vengeance thriller following ex-military Marcus Freling, an honorably discharged young veteran, enjoying a quiet life in his Harlem neighborhood with his beloved sister Diane and teenage niece Tonisha, both of whom he has dedicated himself to looking after as their only other family. Their peaceful lives are shattered when Troy, a local drug dealer, lets an execution remorselessly claim the fourteen-year-old Tonisha as collateral damage. Ripples spread through their fear-stricken community as Detective Steve Rodgers takes on the case, falling short of each snuffed-out witness and missing leads. Marcus’s anguish turn to […]

2019-01-23T12:53:19+02:00June 26th, 2014|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: , |

Review: Future Prometheus II by J.M. Erickson

FP2-WEB“Nothing is more painful to the human mind than, after the feelings have been worked up by a quick succession of events, the dead calmness of inaction and certainty which follows and deprives the soul both of hope and fear.” Mary Shelley, Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus, says the epigraph for J.M. Erickson’s novel Future Prometheus II, explaining J.M. Erickson’s trilogy title, Future Prometheus.

In Future Prometheus II , we catch up with black ops Lt. Jose Melendez and his team. After attempting a cryogenic experiment to save mankind that was meant to last for just a few […]

2018-03-16T09:56:02+02:00June 24th, 2014|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: , |

Review: The Casquette Girls by Alys Arden

The Casquette GirlsThe Casquette Girls by Alys Arden is eerie, magical and gritty, getting into the grimy seams of New Orleans in the tradition of Anne Rice or Poppy Z Brite. A taunting and mysterious chant haunts during the read,

Seven girls tied by time
Five powers that bind
One curse to lock the horror away
One attic to keep the monsters at bay

As Adele Le Moyne and her father make it back into the French Quarter following a Katrina-like storm; abandoned, musty streets stare back at them – with unfamiliar elements that send shivers through the Gothic South. When Adele […]

2019-01-22T05:59:04+02:00June 21st, 2014|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: , |

Review: Rocket Ship by C. O. B.

rocketshipRocket Ship, by C. O. B., is a moving story that offers profound insight into the world we live in now. While the story revolves around two boys who want to build a rocket ship to escape this world and their problems, the story isn’t so much science fiction as social commentary.

Lincoln and Gary, two best friends, come from different backgrounds. Gary’s parents are wealthy, while Lincoln’s father is in prison and his mother is an alcoholic. Yet, both are outsiders at their school and when Gary moves next door to Lincoln, the two become close friends.

Neither […]

2019-01-22T05:59:10+02:00June 18th, 2014|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: , |

Review: Mintaka by Brian M. Brownrigg

Mintaka reviewMintaka, the first book of the Road in the Sky Saga by Brian M. Brownrigg follows a young boy named Orion, joined by his friends including his loyal dog Sirius and a strange magician named Isis. They soon discover the plans of the Gods and what Orion must do to ensure the world stands against an evil conqueror whose seal may be breaking, gathering alliances and facing the inevitability of loss during their adventure.

Mintaka is fairly standard fantasy fare that doesn’t break very much in terms of new ground in setting or basic premise. A triad of gods […]

2014-06-17T10:55:39+02:00June 12th, 2014|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: |

Review: Return of the Clonsayee by Elaine Bassett

return of the clonsayee reviewReturn of the Clonsayee is the second part of the Xidoran Prophecy series by Elaine Bassett.

Following the events of The Xidoran Prophecy, Charles Brookfield, a recent inductee into the coin-collecting, time-traveling organization of the Sojourners, who exist within and without the world we live in, returns to his life with sweetheart Caroline and a job at Jones’ farm.

After discovering the truth of the titular Xidoran Prophecy – the promise made by a furious sorcerer that someday the Sojourners would feel their power at the behest of a chosen one – Charles discovers new adventure in ancient writings […]

2019-01-22T05:59:17+02:00June 11th, 2014|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: |

Review: The Xidoran Prophecy by Elaine Bassett

xidoranCharles Brookfield was just an ordinary boy with a life in the country that left him wanting for nothing. That is, until his fifteenth birthday. With a gift of a set of coins, his family leaves Charles heir to an unbelievable secret and a whole new world, one so dangerous that Caroline – the only girl he ever felt right about – must never be exposed, no matter how much the world of the Sojourners may intrude upon their lives. What follows is an epic tale of magic and intrigue for the best summer Charles has ever had.

Xidoran is […]

2019-01-22T05:59:24+02:00June 11th, 2014|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: |
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