Book Reviews | Self-Publishing Review

Review: Operation Reboot by James Hallenbeck

The future of humanity depends on returning to the past in Operation Reboot by James Hallenbeck, an imaginative time travel novel that rings with contemporary significance.

At the turn of the 22nd century, as the world spirals into chaos and barbarism, a secretive group of scientists finally unlocks the mystery of time travel. Their ambitions are risky, yet simple: travel five centuries into the past and start a new timeline for the species, one where European colonizers are prevented from spreading and slaughtering their way across America.

Upon arriving in the year 1607 in the lands of the Mohawk, the […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2025-10-15T15:13:25+02:00September 17th, 2025|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Time Travel Book Reviews|

Review: Jinn: The Manga Series by Samay Saidi and Kamal Rahyab

A thoughtful adventure through Islamic tradition and folklore, Jinn: The Manga Series by Samay Saidi and Kamal Rahyab offers essential wisdom about family, purpose, and cultural roots.

While traveling home from class with friends and discussing the nuances of Orientalism, Tamina experiences what seems to be a seizure, but is actually something far stranger. As her body is rushed to a hospital, her mind enters a dream-like realm called the Berzakh, where she encounters a mythical Jinn who has been watching over her since birth.

After overcoming her disbelief, Tamina learns that one of her ancestors possessed a mighty gift […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2025-10-10T17:30:58+02:00September 11th, 2025|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Comics & Graphic Novels Reviews|

Review: Time and Space by Shireen Jeejeebhoy

A frenzied plunge into a regressive and wildly weird future, Time and Space by Shireen Jeejeebhoy defies genre expectations and the laws of physics with gleeful abandon.

When three mischievous men from the year 3011 abduct a woman named Time from her lonely reality, anxiety over turning 40 is suddenly the least of her worries. Overwhelmed by the impossible technology at every turn, she is treated as a “dumb human specimen” in a mind-boggling society of chauvinists, but the future does have its rules, if not rights for “girls.”

Upon discovering that the young men have kidnapped yet another bewildered […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2025-10-03T16:04:22+02:00September 8th, 2025|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Science Fiction Book Reviews, Speculative Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: Veinbound by Anne Pengelly

Hauntingly epic prose and one fierce firebrand of a protagonist make Veinbound: The Red Bargain by Anne Pengelly a must-read novel for fans of thought-provoking dark fantasy.

In a realm where blood can be burned as magical currency, paying one’s debt is a matter of life and death, and the Red Church always comes to collect – desperate to control the wielding of all sanguinary powers. Nyxa Reddane has been an orphan from birth, raised by a hedge priestess who taught her the workings of blood rites, simple healing spells, and how to eat the sins of the suspicious townsfolk […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2025-09-23T16:05:39+02:00September 4th, 2025|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Fantasy Book Reviews|

Review: You Don’t Have to Be Famous to Write a Memoir by Stephen Mark Silvers

The uncut account of a life well and truly lived, You Don’t Have to Be Famous to Write a Memoir by Stephen Mark Silvers is a free-wheeling testament to the unimportance of age and the timeless power of remembrance.

Beginning with over a dozen adoringly detailed chapters about each of his relatives, Silvers invites readers into the inside jokes, unforgettable anecdotes, and unwavering devotion of his family, from his first meeting of Grandma Bertha in Venice Beach to his sister’s theatrical passions and his father’s noble nature. Beyond painting a vivid picture of the people and places who raised him, […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2025-09-22T11:09:30+02:00September 4th, 2025|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Memoir Book Reviews|

Review: The Mystery of the Scroll by Ann Beltran

Two intellectual lovers with very different minds become tangled with the unexplained wonders of the universe in The Mystery of the Scroll by Ann Beltran, a heady ride through science, spirituality, and the unknowable past.

On his way to start working as a lab technician at the Smithsonian, Jeremiah stops by his old Joshua Tree stomping grounds during a cross-country trip with his anthropology PhD partner, Sunny. Returning to the site of an unforgettable discovery from his childhood, the pair uncover an inexplicable artifact: a rawhide pouch containing an impossible treasure from the past.

As they settle into their new […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2025-09-19T08:21:05+02:00September 3rd, 2025|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Visionary Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: A Necessary Death by Terri Karsten

Immersive, clever, and impeccably detailed, A Necessary Death by Terri Karsten is a charming historical mystery with a healthy dash of pastoral romance.

Freshly widowed and left penniless by her seafaring husband, Penelope Corbitt is heading towards a new life in colonial Boston with her two children – 16-year-old Nabby and young Nathaniel. On the journey north, however, accompanied by her dour brother-in-law, a stagecoach accident diverts them to a roadside tavern, where Penelope promptly finds a dead man in the outhouse.

Miles Turner, the gruff innkeeper, constable, and a fellow widower, may not appreciate Penelope’s presumptuous nature, but her […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2025-09-17T17:56:13+02:00September 2nd, 2025|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Cozy Mystery Book Reviews, Mystery Book Reviews|

Review: The Summer of Haight by George Petersen

Mesmerizing, deviant, and steeped in counterculture madness, The Summer of Haight by George Petersen is a psychedelic thriller that dares readers to interrogate their animal nature, and even question their grasp on reality. Set against the legendary backdrop of 1967, this Summer of Love story follows a tangled trio as they navigate existential dilemmas and psychedelic schemes across the highs and lows of San Francisco.

Jonathan St. Amour is a secretive psychiatric researcher and a snake-loving socialite who appears to be spiraling into a midlife crisis, despite his debonair attitude and lavish dinner parties. Longfellow is his loyal friend, lawyer, […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2025-09-12T12:14:31+02:00August 27th, 2025|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Historical Fiction Book Reviews, Literary Fiction Book Reviews|