Book Reviews | Self-Publishing Review

Review: Behind Enemy Lines by Ray Keating

The journalistic side of Ray Keating’s writing comes to the fore in Behind Enemy Lines: Conservative Communiques from Left Wing New York. Boasting a traditional conservative voice that is measured, self-aware, confident, and persuasive, Keating’s arguments are original and thought-provoking, while many of the ideas explored in this book are surprisingly nuanced.

As a journalist, fiction writer, and general observer of life, Keating has written more than 8,000 columns and pieces over the past thirty years, remaining steadily in the lane of idyllic conservatism – family, God, and country matter above most else. Having read many of Keating’s Pastor Grant […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2020-06-30T05:54:30+02:00June 6th, 2020|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Essays, Politics, Ray Keating|

Review: The Race to the Blackened Nevers by Douglas Bain

A new pantheon of fantastic gods is unveiled by author Douglas Bain in The Woeful Wager, the first installment of the The Race to the Blackened Nevers series. Boasting more world-building than some authors attempt in a lifetime, this thrilling new realm is bursting with potential, supported by a passionate writer who demonstrates his deep appreciation and mastery of language.

In a world of mischievous, vengeful and deeply competitive gods, their followers are conniving in their own ways, though most are committed to staying on the good side of the divine. However, when a new race to the edge […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2020-06-05T08:25:19+02:00June 5th, 2020|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Douglas Bain, Fantasy|

Review: The World Without Flags by Ben Lyle Bedard

Armed to the teeth with subtle world-building and a powerful narrative voice, The World Without Flags by author Ben Lyle Bedard is a formidable standalone sequel to his first novel about this dystopian world. Kestrel, an indomitable young survivor, pulls readers on an epic journey across the American wasteland, and in the spirit of Cormac McCarthy, brutal beauty is everywhere in the prose.

The Homestead has been Kestrel’s roost for as long as she can remember, and the writing provides an intimate introduction to a safe haven amongst a world gone mad with a brain-infecting pandemic called Worm. Depicting a […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2020-06-05T08:24:51+02:00June 5th, 2020|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Ben Lyle Bedard, Post-Apocalyptic, Zombie Fiction|

Review: A Completing of The Watsons by Rose Servitova

Jane Austen started The Watsons in 1803, abandoning it after writing just a few chapters because, it is said, it was too close to her own life. Author Rose Servitova has effortlessly picked up where Austen left off, producing a delightful English Regency-period novel in a manner intrinsically true to Austen’s style and wit.

Sisters, suitors, and choices are at the heart of The Watsons. Nineteen-year-old Emma Watson is the youngest child of an impecunious clergyman. For the past fourteen years, she’s been the ward and expected heir of a wealthy aunt and uncle, but is returned home penniless […]

Marta Cheng2020-06-30T05:53:32+02:00June 5th, 2020|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Historical Fiction, Rose Servitova|

Review: No. 7: They’re Calling by Nandita Banerjee

Author Nandita Banerjee unfurls a brilliant web of supernatural mystery and deep cultural detail in No. 7: They’re Calling. The relationship of a seemingly ideal couple begins to crumble when ghosts from the past come calling, and human nature is run through the gamut in this entertaining thriller.

Priya and Ravi seem to have the perfect life as immigrants living in Texas – comfort, stability, wealth, good friends, children off in college, and an unquenched love for one another, even after decades of marriage. However, when a traumatic piece of Priya’s past returns to her life, so too do […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2021-11-17T02:34:10+02:00June 4th, 2020|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Nandita Banerjee, Paranormal, Thriller|

Review: A Thin Porridge by Benjamin J. Gohs

A search for truth fuels A Thin Porridge, a powerful historical coming of age adventure by Benjamin J. Gohs.

On the morning after the death of publisher, Jon Browne, a rival newspaper publishes a scandalous article about his past. The article has the potential to ruin Jon Browne’s name and his good works as a fiercely-passionate abolitionist, rumored to have had Abraham Lincoln’s ear.

His daughter, Abeona Browne, furiously marches into Terence Swifte’s office, demanding that their lawyer sue the rival paper for slander and libel – and is dumbfounded when Terence reluctantly admits that there’s some truth to […]

Marta Cheng2020-06-25T07:51:57+02:00June 4th, 2020|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Historical Fiction|

Review: Beautiful Belligerence by Brent Beamer

Beautiful Belligerence lives up to its name as author Brent Beamer delivers a no-holds-barred peek into a wild and seminal trip that continues to impact him to this day. Touching on delicate themes of substance abuse, addiction, depression, brotherhood, sexuality, and perseverance, this book may be rough around the edges, but so is life.

When the author and three of his closest friends decide to throw their troubles to the wind and tear up Kansas City for a weekend, none of them know what might lie in store for them. At first glance, this book may seem like a drug […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2020-06-25T03:20:00+02:00June 3rd, 2020|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Contemporary Fiction|

Review: A Devil’s Tongue by Richard J. Blanco

A young man on a dangerous road with one end in sight finds a final chance at redemption in A Devil’s Tongue by author Richard J. Blanco. Readers are brought into the juvenile yet unexpectedly mature mind of Robert, a young man who has seen far too much already in his young life, in this heartbreaking story of second chances.

The traumatic premise of this novel gives it a harder and more visceral edge than other stories of kids going down a dark path and finding salvation. Watching Robert attempt to be “normal” while wading the waters of addiction and […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2020-06-24T03:49:49+02:00June 2nd, 2020|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Contemporary Fiction, Richard J. Blanco, Young Adult|