Young Adult | Self-Publishing Review

Review: Memloots: The Exposition by Francis O’ Joseph

Author Francis O’ Joseph immerses readers in a sci-fi world that looks oddly similar to our own in Memloots: The Exposition. Tapping into philosophy, religion, agricultural practice, economic theor,y and sociology, while still maintaining an air of whimsical adventure, this is a YA novel brimming with creativity and potential.

Philo Heartfield is like so many other young people on the planet Petrichor: studying hard and aspiring to earn a spot at a prestigious university. He dreams of traveling to Maraville, the home world of the intelloyds, outer-space philanthropists who have transformed his home into a thriving, livable planet.

Ringed by […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2020-06-02T07:30:23+02:00April 14th, 2020|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Science Fiction, Young Adult|

Review: A Noble’s Path (The Enchanted Isles Book 2) by I.L. Cruz

Inez Garza, sporting a new magical streak of purple hair, is back at the heart of rebellion and action in A Noble’s Path, the second book of the Enchanted Isles series from author I.L. Cruz. Following on from the tumultuous events of A Smuggler’s Path, this new installment dives right into the action, supported by remarkably thorough exposition from the first book.

Magic is still forbidden in Canto, but the hidden market is alive and well, and Inez continues to tread the finest line between royal blood and illicit smuggling. Navigating the complex underbelly of illegal magic and […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-07-05T10:22:19+02:00March 12th, 2020|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Fantasy, I.L. Cruz, YA Fantasy, Young Adult|

Review: Blowback ’94 by Brian Meehl

Author Brian Meehl brings his Blowback Trilogy to a compelling close with Blowback ’94, where Iris Jongler-Jinks finally gets her wish to hop through time, landing her squarely in the heart of the Belle Epoque in Paris, determined to find her mother and reunite the Jongler family.

Iris is joined by Arky, her time-traveling brother who just recently evaded death in the American Civil War, and the pair boast a brilliant dynamic as they try to unravel the last great mystery of their family’s cor anglais. Although neither of them planned to be tossed backward this time around, […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2020-03-10T10:36:13+02:00March 9th, 2020|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Brian Meehl, Science Fiction, Time Travel, Young Adult|

Review: Degrade (Tesla Expansion Book 1) by Mark Lingane

Across the brutal landscape of a nearly parched Earth, MechRigs and MechCities vie for dominance in Degrade, the first book in the Tesla Expansion series by Mark Lingane. In a world where mobile cities wage desperate war like futuristic monsters, one young boy may hold the key to salvation – or destruction.

Arid Geiger is the seemingly hapless hero embedded at the heart of this story. While minding his own business in the blasted plains, searching for sources of precious water, he gets his small craft embroiled in a rig duel between two powerful factions. Miraculously, he manages to […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-04-28T07:32:35+02:00February 16th, 2020|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Mark Lingane, Science Fiction, Young Adult|

Mark of the Medallion (The Wizard Academies Book 1) by Mike Shelton

With great power comes great temptation, as Kyril Siravan discovers in Mark of the Medallion, the first installment of the Wizard Academies series by Mike Shelton.

As an orphan and an apprentice wizard of the mind at the Wizard Academy, Kyril has a lot to learn about his abilities and the complex world of the mystic arts. However, not all is right at the academy, and when Kyril is drawn into a new group of secretive apprentices led by a wizard named Targon, his best friend Sylvie fears that he is treading a dangerous path.

While this fast-paced adventure […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2020-01-08T09:12:55+02:00January 8th, 2020|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Fantasy, YA Fantasy, Young Adult|

Review: All Roads Lead to Lawrence by Craig Leener

Readers are welcomed back into the strange world of Zeke and the Seventh Dimension in the wild and wise All Roads Lead to Lawrence by Craig Leener.

A sequel to the acclaimed This Was Never About Basketball, our protagonist is a bit older and wiser, but his heart still beats with every bounce of the basketball. Now the point guard for his college team, he may think he’s done with his extra-dimensional adventures, but his journey is only beginning.

Upon the death of his brother, Zeke’s reality begins coming apart at the seams, and it doesn’t help that not […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-12-20T08:11:58+02:00November 4th, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Contemporary Fiction, Craig Leener, YA Fantasy, Young Adult|

Review: Jacob’s Ghetto by Travis Peagler

Rising above adversity is the powerful theme in Jacob’s Ghetto, the emotionally-charged story written by Travis Peagler for middle-grade and young adult readers.

Ten-year-old Jacob Kingsman was born with the cards of life definitely stacked against him. Living in the notoriously tough south side ghetto of Chicago, Jacob’s mother is a junkie who does nothing to provide the daily necessities for him, forcing Jacob to ask the owner of the corner market for a banana every day so that he has something to eat at night.

He and his best friend, Kenny, are harassed by Ja’heve, second in command […]

Marta Cheng2019-11-19T08:24:04+02:00October 22nd, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Contemporary Fiction, Young Adult|

Review: The Journey to Oclesedor (The Legacy of King Jasteroth Vol. 2) by S. L. Wyllie

The second installment of S. L. Wyllie’s Legacy of King Jasteroth series, The Journey to Oclesedor is a high-fantasy feast for the senses and a thrilling adventure to boot. Following on strong from Volume 1, Princess Ariella and other familiar faces are back with an epic quest before them, a desperate bid to outrun the insidious evil of King Jasteroth and live to fight another day. Overflowing with descriptive passages, vivid battle scenes, mythical monsters and innovative magic, this sophomore release from Wyllie delivers a classic, but visceral thrill.

The first part of the King Jasteroth saga set a wonderful […]