Book Reviews | Self-Publishing Review

Review: The Lives of Things by Stephanie Wilson Medlock

The world is filled with art of all types: statues, paintings, clocks, jewelry, dolls, and more. Artists from the beginning of time have attempted to make this world more beautiful and to leave their mark. Not all artists achieve international fame, but many want to. Or maybe they weren’t appreciated in their day, but now they are.

Imagine if you could communicate with the creator of art and objects that you see every day. Rebecca Katz doesn’t have to imagine that at all. Rebecca is a successful art authenticator for Atherton’s Auction House. However, her colleagues don’t know why she’s […]

T B Markinson2013-11-20T11:54:18+02:00November 20th, 2013|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Fantasy Book Reviews|

Review: Warming The Rose by Marta Smyk

When a distracted gardener leaves Anastasia, the most beloved rose in the garden, uncovered and exposed to freezing temperatures, Anastasia’s fellow flowers must come to her rescue in this charming children’s story of friendship, bravery, and the power of hope.

Amadeus, the hero of this tale, is both inspiring and engaging. The book is filled with many other strong characters as well, including Grandmother Rose, the wise matriarch of the garden; Mr. Black, a kindly raven; and two spunky companions: a meadow daisy and a nervous narcissus flower whom Amadeus meets on his journey to find a medicine that will […]

Avery Hurt2014-05-18T16:52:17+02:00November 15th, 2013|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Children's Book Reviews|

Review: Barely Breathing by Michael J Kolinski

Barely Breathing by Michael Kolinski is an edgy thriller that isn’t afraid to take on difficult subject matters to get the reader to think as well as be entertained.

Jake Wood has recently survived a tragedy that left seven people dead. When his cousin, Jana, learns of the situation she reaches out to Jake and invites him to visit her in sunny California. Jake is in dire need of a vacation and accepts the invitation.

As soon as he steps off the plane, things are troublesome. First, Jana doesn’t pick him up at the airport. Then she doesn’t answer repeated […]

T B Markinson2019-01-22T17:45:19+02:00November 7th, 2013|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Detective Fiction Book Reviews, Thriller Book Reviews|

Review: Katerina by Rita D’Orazio

Katerina by Rita D’Orazio is the sequel to her first book, Don’t Look Back; however if you haven’t read the first one, no worries. This can be read as a standalone. The author does a wonderful job of not referring to incidents or characters that only readers of the first novel would understand. In fact, if the reader didn’t know that this was the sequel they might not even have guessed that this work is a continuation of Katerina’s story.

Katerina Balducci has lived a full life and she’s only fifty. The novel opens with Katerina attending a Beach […]

T B Markinson2014-05-05T21:27:47+02:00November 4th, 2013|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Women's Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: Beneath The Surface By Stanley Yokell

This book full of fictional diving incidents kicks off with two accomplished scuba diving friends, Joe and Thura, in the popular scuba resort in Cuba, where they are intrigued by their encounter with some playful mermaids – so why is their guide so concerned about the sighting?

In this globe-trotting collection of short stories we follow a group of young people as they try out scuba diving spots in just about every continent, and the friendships and romances they develop on the way.

Yokell’s style reminds me of a simplified Michel Tournier with his literary descriptions of people’s lives and […]

Cate Baum2019-01-22T17:45:58+02:00November 4th, 2013|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Contemporary Fiction Book Reviews, Sports Book Reviews|

Review: James Clyde and the Diamonds of Orchestra by Colm McElwain

James Clyde and the Diamonds of Orchestra is a wonderful addition to the young adult fantasy adventure genre. The story is entertaining, fast-paced, and imaginative. James Clyde, an orphan, along with his two friends, Ben and Mary Forester, must safeguard a magical diamond from an evil man dressed in black. In order to protect the diamond, the children need to travel to Orchestra, an alternative world. Each step of the way, the trio encounters trials and tribulations and the army hunting them is merciless. Will the children be able to overcome all obstacles and keep the diamond out of the […]

T B Markinson2019-01-24T19:45:23+02:00November 1st, 2013|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Action and Adventure Book Reviews, Children's Book Reviews, Fantasy Book Reviews|

Review: The Hangman’s Replacement By Taona Dumisani Chiveneko

The Hangman’s Replacement, the first book in a promised series by Zimbabwe author Taona Dumisani Chiveneko, begins with devoted family man Abel Muranda making the arduous journey from his village in rural Zimbabwe to the capital city of Harare to apply for the job of hangman. The position has been vacant for almost a decade, and the nation is moving rapidly toward abolition of the death penalty. But for reasons as mysterious to Muranda as to the reader, a powerful group of leaders is eager to fill the position and clear death row. Muranda, however, is concerned with neither […]

Avery Hurt2014-05-05T21:30:00+02:00October 31st, 2013|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Science Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: Death And Other Taxes by Robby Miller

Because he died before his time, the teen protagonist of this wildly imaginative fantasy/sci-fi novel ends up in the special part of the afterlife reserved for lost things. He is meant to wait there until his proper time to die. Wit, as he is called in the afterlife, finds himself sharing this peculiar sort of purgatory with all manner of lost things—not just children. Buttons, socks, religion (“people are losing their religion all the time, right?”) and more turn up there as well. Wit, however, is unwilling to accept that he is dead and immediately sets about trying to find […]