New Releases | Self-Publishing Review

Someone to Kiss My Scars by Brooke Skipstone

A dark tale of troubled teens seeking a new way forward through their trauma, Someone to Kiss My Scars by Brooke Skipstone is a brutal and essential read. Highlighting many of the critical and widely overlooked issues facing young people today – self-harm, abuse, sexual identity, bullying and much more – this is a fearless novel with a message far deeper than the plot.

The intensity of the story, as Hunter and Jazz try to heal one another’s oldest wounds, is coupled with powerful prose and the reminder that everyone has secrets and scars, urging readers towards empathy, self-examination, and […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-09-12T11:38:34+02:00September 10th, 2019|Categories: New Releases|Tags: New Adult Book Reviews|

U-10 by Sam B. Miller II

When an alien and his craft crash-land in Afghanistan on a mission to capture a human and return home, a madcap hunt for the mysterious titular technology U-10 begins. Author Sam B. Miller II delivers an off-kilter, tongue-in-cheek sci-fi drama that has occasional echoes of Vonnegut, Douglas Adams, and even a dash of Asimov.

Ty Lavender, Lincoln Frost, and Koritt Diviak make for a captivating core of characters, despite being on opposing sides with decidedly different intentions. One wants to keep his soldiers safe and get out of the Afghan desert alive, another wants to take possession of the priceless […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-09-11T09:44:34+02:00September 10th, 2019|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Science Fiction Book Reviews|

Deep Rough by Ray Keating

Whether it’s dodging bullets, doling out wisdom or dragging a bag of clubs around the links, Pastor Grant continues to be one of the most entertaining heroes in the political thrillers and suspense genre.

In Deep Rough, author Ray Keating drops his Swiss Army Knife in human form, Pastor Grant, into another nearly unbelievable mission. He is tasked with protecting the son of a controversial pastor in China; the only problem is that the son is an international golf star whose career is on the rise. With Chinese secret police and a whole cast of unsavory characters gunning for […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-08-29T05:13:17+02:00August 29th, 2019|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Thriller Book Reviews|

The Hub of Hell by Beverly Porter

Tales of murder, scandal and injustice from the rugged end of the 19^th century in America hold a perennial appeal, and The Hub of Hell from author Beverly Porter has all of these aspects in spades. The book is a shocking glimpse into law enforcement of the past, and an impressively complete account of the strange autumn and winter of 1887.

Inspired by a single newspaper article, this true story is a well-researched reconstruction of the dramatic events and players surrounding a trio of imprisoned brothers in Minneapolis more than 130 years ago. Pete, Tim and Henry Barrett sit […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-08-22T06:04:25+02:00August 21st, 2019|Categories: New Releases|Tags: History Book Reviews|

The Healer’s Daughters by Jay Amberg

The Healer’s Daughters is a complex and gripping new novel by author Jay Amberg, bridging mysticism and truth, as well as time and space. Tying together ancient cultural beliefs, insightful flashbacks, mystical practices, and enough treasure hunting to satisfy a Clive Cussler fan, this tangled tale is difficult to put down both for its originality and skillful storytelling.

From the ancient trials of Galen, the second century’s most famous physician, to the terrors of the modern day in Turkey, this book is sweeping and ambitious, but also carefully penned, culturally sensitive, and finely polished. After a terror attack rips through […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2021-01-21T03:49:28+02:00August 20th, 2019|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Action and Adventure Book Reviews, International Thriller Book Reviews|

This Ain’t My Life by Bilal Alaji

The American immigrant experience, particularly for those of Muslim descent, has become a front-page topic in recent years, giving This Ain’t My Life by author Bilal Alaji a true sense of import, for a timely and poignant read.

Recounting his life from childhood to the present, this is a brutally honest and precisely recorded story, one that feels very naturally told, but also framed within larger social issues and beliefs the author wants to highlight. The author’s youthful success and whimsy were dampened by brutal familial expectations, run-ins with the law, and self-professed mistakes in judgment. Despite repeated stumbles and […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-08-20T14:27:36+02:00August 20th, 2019|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Memoir Book Reviews|

Strange Quantum Souls by Chris Carvell

Scholars and thinkers have been seeking the substance of the soul since time immemorial, but author Chris Carvell proposes something entirely unique in his new book Strange Quantum Souls. Blending high-level mathematics with cognitive philosophy and quantum theory, this book is a wild and challenging dive into the realm of quantum consciousness.

Carvell’s argument combines ideas of micro-black holes and a Super-Ether that feed our brains information to form our thoughts and consciousness on an instantaneous level. If that single sentence is a struggle to unpack, you’ll have a truly tangled (and thought-provoking) time comprehending the rest of this […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-12-17T07:57:50+02:00July 31st, 2019|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Philosophy Book Reviews, Science Book Reviews|

Land of Kings (The Britannia Chronicles Book 2) by Virginia Weldon

The mythology and mystery of ancient Britannia are brought vividly to life in Land of Kings, the second installment of Virginia Weldon’s Britannia Chronicles.

A decade after Regan, Valerius, Cara, and Alana’s lives first collide, peace feels like a distant dream and there are still many battles on the horizon. Regan, having honed his impressive battle skills in the gladiator pits, returns to Britannia with his freedom intact, fire in his belly and a singular goal of reuniting with the woman he loves. Meanwhile, the rebel forces of the island nation are amassing under Queen Boudicca, and Alana and […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-07-22T10:49:51+02:00July 22nd, 2019|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Historical Fantasy Book Reviews, Historical Fiction Book Reviews|