Book Reviews

The latest indie book reviews from Self-Publishing Review

Review: Tell Me When I’m Dead by Steven Ramirez

Tell Me When I'm Dead

The zombie genre has exploded in recent years, and unfortunately, so many similar stories have begun to run together, making it less of a desirable avenue for both writers and readers. However, there is still hope for this genre niche in the form of Tell Me When I’m Dead by Steven Ramirez. The first book in a trilogy, this slow-burning thriller does far more than simply promote an everyman into a zombie-killing hero, introducing readers to a uniquely compelling protagonist.

Leading this novel from start to finish is Dave Pulaski, who is not the type of character you’d expect to […]

2019-01-21T09:36:58+02:00July 5th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: , , |

Review: Dead is All You Get (Tell Me When I’m Dead Book 2) by Steven Ramirez

Dead is All You Get

A stellar sophmore installment to the Tell Me When I’m Dead series, Dead is All You Get ups the ante considerably, avoiding so many of the common clichés in zombie tales, for an original and well-rounded work of zombie fiction.

The first book in the series largely focused on the outbreak and the battles that our unlikely alcoholic antihero must fight to protect his new family and make it out on the other side alive. This second installment takes this basic plot and expands it into something truly shocking.

The zombie contagion was actually a covert government operation […]

2019-01-21T09:37:04+02:00July 5th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: , , |

Review: Even the Dead Will Bleed (Tell Me When I’m Dead Book 3) by Steven Ramirez

Even The Dead Will Bleed

Finishing a trilogy always comes with a certain amount of pressure, as the disparate narrative threads must all come back together, and if loose ends are left untethered, it can often seem anticlimactic for a loyal reader. Fortunately, Steven Ramirez didn’t struggle at all with this challenge, and delivers a knockout final installment with Even the Dead Will Bleed, the last book in the Tell Me When I’m Dead series.

As with the prior two novels, the action is carried not only by a stunning unique protagonist – flagrantly flawed Dave Pulaski – but also by a plot that […]

2019-01-21T09:37:11+02:00July 5th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: , , |

Review: Heirs of Nimeya (Conquerors of Nimeya Book 2) by Kelvin S. Douglas

Heirs of Nimeya (Conquerors of Nimeya Book 2) by Kelvin S. Douglas

In Heirs of Nimeya, Book 2 in the Conquerors of Nimeya series by Kelvin S. Douglas, readers are welcomed into a fantasy universe, but there are strange parallels between this fictional land and the world we know, adding a fascinating layer of reality to this work of fantasy fiction.

Captain Duncan Shay is the focal point around which this story spins, and despite being a ship’s captain that must often bend the rules – or break them entirely – to keep his crew happy and fed, he is ultimately a good man and a hard worker. His normalcy is […]

2018-08-01T07:26:02+02:00June 26th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: |

Review: Songs for Lucy by Philip Wilson

Songs for Lucy by Philip Wilson

Songs for Lucy, a poignant work of women’s fiction by Philip Wilson, conveys the heartfelt message that a death sentence doesn’t mean one should stop living.

Allison “Allie” Connelly has a bright future ahead of her: she’s Valedictorian of her graduating class at Boston Highlands University and has been accepted to Harvard Law. Best of all, she’s also been offered a summer job teaching tennis at a club in Providence, Rhode Island, allowing her to spend the summer with her widowed father.

Then the unimaginable happens. Her father is killed by a drunk driver on his way home from […]

2019-01-22T11:16:32+02:00June 26th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: , |

Review: The Good Fight (The Last Enemy Series Book 1) by Dan E. Hendrickson

The Good Fight by Dan E. Hendrickson

Intrigue and adventure abound in The Good Fight, the first installment in the Last Enemy thriller series by Dan E. Hendrickson.

Twenty-five-year-old Danielle Edwards is the heir apparent to Edwards Auto, the thriving family auto business founded by her paternal grandfather. Danielle is still reeling from the recent deaths of her parents and grandmother after their plane had crashed into the Pacific while on their way to Australia. In Danielle’s mind, it should have been her father at the helm of the family business but with his death, it’s now all hers.

However, Danielle isn’t ready to take it […]

2018-07-24T12:29:11+02:00June 25th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: , , |

Review: If I Came Back from Hell by Bernie Donnelly

If I Came Back from Hell by Bernie Donnelly

The books of Bernie Donnelly are always thoughtful, and often include spiritual elements that leave readers with hard questions at the end of the story. In If I Came Back from Hell, the author takes another leap forward into the realm of philosophical narrative with a powerful tale that will give you shivers. Looking back on your life is something we often associated with the moments before death, when it flashes by in a mere second, but this story leans to the opposite extreme, making for an unforgettable novel.

Frank McGovern has not lived a traditionally “good” life, being […]

2020-05-28T10:12:04+02:00June 22nd, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: , |

Review: Reagan Country (A Pastor Stephen Grant Novel) by Ray Keating

Reagan Country by Ray Keating

If political intrigue and expansive narrative threads fit neatly in your wheelhouse, then the writing of Ray Keating never fails to disappoint. In his new novel, Reagan Country, Pastor Stephen Grant returns in another exceptional story in which he finds himself in yet another international mystery, one that stretches to the highest seats of America’s capitol, as well as the shadowy halls of the Kremlin.

Underpinning this entire novel is a strong political bent, so those readers who remember (and potentially adore) the Reagan years in American history will appreciate the heavy leaning in favor of that president’s policies […]

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