Lead Story | Self-Publishing Review

Review: Transcending Anxiety by Manal El-Ramly

A methodical and compassionate companion for those seeking to improve their lives, Transcending Anxiety: From Fear to Freedom by Manal El-Ramly brings the stark reality of inner turmoil to light and offers practical strategies to overcome this lifelong struggle.

The guide begins with an introduction to a unique model of anxiety, detailing how it can manifest in our Four Bodies – physical, emotional, mental, and egoic. These four aspects of experience form our overall relationship to life, and the presence of anxiety or fear in any one aspect will present itself in different ways. The text then illuminates the critical […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2025-08-25T15:21:47+02:00August 25th, 2025|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Self-Help Book Reviews|

Review: Windslash: The Last Elemental by Chris Bennett

An unlikely hero rises to save the world from a dormant evil in Windslash: The Last Elemental by Chris Bennett, an imaginative and energetic debut fantasy.

On the mythical island of Atlantis, a young student of the Wind named Timaeus discovers an incredible ability: he is able to tap into all four elemental powers – wind, fire, earth, and water – a rare gift only mentioned in prophecy and legend. This unexpected prodigy must master all four forms of elemental magic before he loses control or is consumed by his unprecedented access to such raw power. Forced to prove himself […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2025-08-20T18:26:03+02:00August 20th, 2025|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Fantasy Book Reviews|

Review: Oh F*ck! Dinosaurs! by Dave Bruno

Sardonically echoing Jurassic Park, Alien, and other classic stories of predatory monsters, Oh F*ck! Dinosaurs! by Dave Bruno is an amusing escape that also doubles as a character study of survival during times of absolute chaos.

A dozen post-collegiate friends with a whole trunk of tangled baggage embark on a weekend in the remote mountains of northern California. Rumors of savage animal attacks in the area and their own interpersonal conflicts already threaten their peaceful plans for hiking, camping, and some tipsy debauchery, but when this mismatched crew mistakenly enters a restricted government area, they wander their way […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2025-08-18T16:11:31+02:00August 18th, 2025|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Horror Book Reviews, Science Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: Heaven’s Debris by Suzan Denoncourt

A tangled mystery of desire, deception, loyalty, and sisterhood, Heaven’s Debris (Cisco Series Book 2) by Suzan Denoncourt is a stark and gritty portrait of guilty consciences teetering on the edge.

When her seven-story apartment building mysteriously crashes to the ground, Faye is devastated in multiple ways, particularly because her sister’s husband Gerry was waiting secretly inside for Faye to return, and continue their torrid love affair. Day by day, Faye’s internal torment grows, but when Gerry is miraculously rescued from the rubble, he becomes a media darling, and his inexplicably naked presence in the condo leads to questions that […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2025-07-25T14:03:14+02:00July 25th, 2025|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Thriller Book Reviews|

Review: Cheap Talk, Big Gains in Education by Dr. Matthew Weinberg

Boldly reimagining education in a comprehensive, compassionate, and inclusive way, Cheap Talk, Big Gains in Education by Dr. Matthew Weinberg presents an innovative approach that is desperately needed in our modern paradigm of knowledge distribution and retention. Promoting principles of collective effort and collaboration, rather than the hyper-individualization of Western culture, this meticulously organized book offers an ambitious and potentially controversial vision for the future, one that will require commitment and participation on an international scale.

Driven by the neurological disorder and subsequent struggles of his own daughter, the author spent years researching, exploring, testing, and adapting a more representative […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2025-07-14T16:35:16+02:00July 14th, 2025|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Education Book Reviews|

Review: A Madness Unmade by E.K. Larson-Burnett

Astoundingly clever and deftly penned, A Madness Unmade (The Deathly Inheritance Duology Book 1) by E.K. Larson-Burnett is a biting parody of life itself, and a youthful musing on the illogical nature of existence. Armed with a remarkably precocious protagonist and the narrative touch of a major writer in the making, this eccentric novel absolutely shines with confidence and originality.

As the sole living resident of the Underhallow, Laurel Rumbroom only keeps company with specters and her beloved ghost-cat Goose, but her relatively predictable days have been intriguingly disturbed by a mysterious string of necrotic deliveries. Each week, a new […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2025-06-11T10:04:39+02:00June 11th, 2025|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Paranormal Book Reviews, Urban Fantasy Book Reviews|

Review: Extraterrestrial Noir by Rich Leder

A sardonic mixture of science fiction and snarky suburban drama, Extraterrestrial Noir by Rich Leder is a hilariously original genre mashup.

Maggie Devine is drowning in the suffocation of suburban competition and an embarrassingly stagnant marriage with her husband, Connie. Along with the three other couples and their children who call Hope Circle home, life is a predictable and increasingly dull rerun of picket-fence perfection that doesn’t quite live up to that American dream. All of that changes, however, when a mysterious silver box rockets down through the atmosphere and crashes neatly through the couple’s roof.

The box quickly begins […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2025-06-09T12:23:31+02:00June 9th, 2025|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Satire Book Reviews, Science Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: Archer’s Moon by J.W. Webb

Divine worlds collide and hunting hearts tangle in Archer’s Moon: Dawn of Legends (Legends of Ansu Book 1) by J.W. Webb, a high-fantasy adventure that explores the unique essence and emotional depths of human nature.

From her celestial perch above the planet of Ansu, Argonwui peers down in wonder and longing at the world of humans, a recent creation of her grandfather, the Weaver. However, her mother Elanion, the Emerald Queen, is the custodian of Ansu, and forbids her daughter from any such meddling and mixing with mortals; her roving father Oroonis does enough of that for the whole family.[…]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2025-06-06T10:28:30+02:00June 6th, 2025|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Fantasy Book Reviews|