Lead Story | Self-Publishing Review

Review: The Hotel Westend by Ashley Lynch-Harris

★★★★

The Hotel Westend by Ashley Lynch-Harris is a classic mystery with plenty of twists.

With eccentric characters, an historic hotel with its fair share of secrets, and an innocent ingénue with a good dose of curiosity, The Hotel Westend is a slow-boiling thriller that will have you guessing until the very end. In the beloved style of Agatha Christie and other British suspense classics, this murder mystery pays homage to the genre in an impressive way.

The gradual introduction of the characters – all heading for the same destination for an unknown reason – has the same slow pacing […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2016-08-12T11:38:35+02:00August 11th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Cozy Mystery, Mystery|

Review: Ganesha’s Temple (The Temple Wars #1) by Rohit Gaur

★★★★½

Ganesha’s Temple by Rohit Gaur is a masterful and meaningful adventure.

Escapism is one of the basic reasons why people read, so books that transport readers to completely new worlds, or rarely seen corners of this one, are particularly compelling. Ganesha’s Temple by Rohit Gaur is the first installment of a brilliant new series that perfectly blends mysticism and adventure.

Tarun is a young boy in Kashmir, the son of the country’s chief minister, who is thrown into the wilds of nature following a horrific attack on a local festival celebrating Ganesha. The vivid depiction of the attack sends […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-01-24T19:45:06+02:00July 13th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Action and Adventure, Fantasy|

Review: City on a Hill (Vol 1: The City) by Ted Neill

City on a Hill by Ted Neill is an epic tale of belief, chaos and conflict.

While many post-apocalyptic, dystopian novels center on the ravages of atomic fallout, the wasteland lifestyle of survivors, unholy abominations or alien overlords, there are few books in the genre that have placed religion as the focal point. City on a Hill is the bold and provocative tale of Lysander and Fortinbras, the Twin Cities, the last two havens in a world destroyed by violence and religious conflict. Following the Cataclysm, the new leaders of the world, the Head Ministry, have outlawed religion in all […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-02-11T06:59:54+02:00July 12th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Apocalyptic Fiction, Science Fiction|

Review: Leadership Wisdom by Bob Vanourek

★★★★★

Leadership Wisdom: Lessons from Poetry, Prose, and Curious Verse by Bob Vanourek is an enlightening collection of sage and timely advice.

Books about leadership and self-improvement seem to be a dime a dozen, which makes it difficult to know who to heed and where the best advice actually comes from. Sidestepping that common failing, Bob Vanourek’s new book, Leadership Wisdom, instead relies on great minds and wise figures from human history to support his unique perspective.

While it can be easy to dismiss the occasionally condescending lessons from modern leaders and success stories, it is far harder to […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2016-07-12T09:29:58+02:00July 12th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Leadership, Non-Fiction, Self-Help|

Review: New Age Lamians (The Lamian Trilogy Book 1) by Didi Oviatt

★★★★

New Age Lamians (The Lamian Trilogy Book 1) by Didi Oviatt is a unique and addictive YA adventure.

It is becoming increasingly difficult to find a new angle on the post-apocalyptic genre, as the recent popularity of this topic has led to hundreds of new books trying to capture the horrors of a dystopian future. The YA genre has been less inundated with these types of stories, however, and Didi Oviatt’s new novel, New Age Lamians, stands out as a truly creative and engaging story. The premise of the novel is bleak – a planet that has been […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2016-07-12T11:09:47+02:00July 12th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Dystopian Fiction, Young Adult|

Review: The Martyr’s Blade (The Chronicles of the Martyr Book 1) by Joel Manners

★★★★★

Magic, mayhem and memorable characters abound in The Martyr’s Blade (The Chronicles of the Martyr Book 1) by Joel Manners.

The sword and sorcery genre has had a major resurgence in recent years, thanks to a particular hit HBO show and a fresh generation of eager readers, but Joel Manners is clearly not a novice to the realms of fantasy. For a debut novel, The Martyr’s Blade welcomes readers into an incredibly dense and meticulously crafted world that becomes more enrapturing with every chapter.

At the outset, Manners works hard to establish reader rapport with a range of intense […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2016-07-12T09:14:58+02:00July 12th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Fantasy|

Review: Let There Be Linda by Rich Leder

★★★★½

Let There Be Linda by Rich Leder begins with a poodle being thrown out of a window on an L.A. freeway. Brothers Mike and Dan Miller, one an almost-respectable accountant and one a completely crooked talent agent get embroiled in a caper with many angles: a missing $75,000, a brutal loan shark swarf and his much bigger sidekick, a coke-addled dentist, and other denizens of the sweat-infused San Fernando Valley. Add to that a girl who can raise the dead and you have a novel that’s part crime fiction, part satire, and the strangest supernatural story you’ve ever read. […]

Henry Baum2020-12-23T05:49:41+02:00July 5th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Crime Fiction, Rich Leder|

Review: Connected by Kat Stiles

★★★★

Connected by Kat Stiles is an entertaining paranormal escape for young adult readers.

Emily is a high school student who doesn’t feel like she fits in. To make matters worse, Em discovers she has a special power. Fortunately, she isn’t alone and her best friend Roz has her own gift. Tommy, the boy Em likes, seems to be different as well. When people in their town start to die, Em, Roz, and Tommy join forces to find a murderer.

The theme in Connected is intriguing and inspirational for younger readers in a world that is becoming increasingly more disconnected. […]