John Staughton, Senior Reviewer | Self-Publishing Review

Happiness is Fleeting by Andrew E. Crowley

Happiness is Fleeting by Andrew Crowley

The fragile ideal that happiness is the ultimate pursuit of life is forcefully challenged in Happiness is Fleeting: The First Steps To Fulfillment, a quick and motivational read by author Andrew E. Crowley.

There is no denying that our modern society has resulted in widespread addiction to happiness, or at least the idea of it. The things we buy, the way we are told to feel, and our standard metrics for success are largely driven by our hunger for this abstract emotion. As an alternative, Crowley suggests a greater level of personal accountability and focus in order to seize […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-12-09T08:08:42+02:00December 8th, 2019|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Self-Help Book Reviews|

Molls Like It Hot by Darren Dash

Molls Like It Hot by Darren Dash Molls Like It Hot from author Darren Dash is a fast-paced and oddly heartfelt thriller, featuring a cabbie with a surprising toolkit, a worldly gangster, a trigger-happy target, and a decidedly dangerous offer.

A young woman lies at the heart of this tangled mess of a story, as one so often does, but Toni is far from a plot device. She’s a hard-drinking badass with a psychopathic soft spot for violence and a dangerous temper. Protecting this gangster’s lover in the seedy streets of South London leads Eyrie Brown into a weekend of gunfights and bloodshed that he’ll never forget […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-12-09T07:18:56+02:00December 6th, 2019|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Crime Fiction Book Reviews, Thriller Book Reviews|

My Mommy Does Weird Things by Amelie Julien

Penned from the whimsical perspective of a child, My Mommy Does Weird Things by Amelie Julien is a fun and heartfelt read for both children and parents. Focusing on some of the strange responsibilities of mothers, and how funny some of them must look to children, the book inspires empathy as well as laughs. The full-page illustrations are vibrant and engaging, and the translated text is well done – though “bizarre” may have been a better choice for the title. Most of all, the subject matter is universally relatable, with each page offering amusing insights about parenthood.[…]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-12-05T08:58:32+02:00December 4th, 2019|Categories: Editorial Reviews|

Mystery in the Mine: Gold Dust Returns by Thomas Trimble

Thomas Trimble spins a tall and entertaining tale with Mystery in the Mine, a quick and spooky read with a keen sense of history. When Michael Bishop inherits an old mine, he doesn’t expect the supernatural assistance that seems to be leading him to untold riches. Though the narrative relies a bit too much on exposition, rather than action and dialogue, this charming ghost story focuses on the value of hard work, hope, and a bit of luck to uncover your own personal riches.

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John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-12-04T08:21:12+02:00December 3rd, 2019|Categories: Editorial Reviews|

Review: Nightmare City by P.S. Newman

Nightmare City by P.S. Newman

The line between dreams and reality is shattered in Nightmare City by author P.S. Newman, the first book in her new Nightmare City series.

Los Angeles has collapsed into a dystopian roller-coaster, one in which the stuff of nightmares crosses over into the real world. To prevent complete destruction, the world has changed, and hunters patrol this new landscape, eliminating the horrors from the depths of dreams. Eden Maybrey is one of these shade hunters, someone who walks the night with sword in hand, cleaving horrific visions from reality.

This is a world where every shade is tracked back to […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2020-01-31T09:01:59+02:00December 2nd, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Fantasy Book Reviews, Urban Fantasy Book Reviews|

Cape of Storms by Bianca Bowers

Childhood innocence and grown-up cruelty clash in Cape of Storms by author Bianca Bowers, a gripping coming-of-age tale woven through one of the darkest periods in South African history. Rosalinde is the precocious and endearing protagonist, an 8-year-old whose life is shaken and eyes are opened over the course of two shocking decades. With the South African landscape as a beautiful but sinister setting, this novel is a gripping and unforgettable account of one of humanity’s great failures, told with sensitivity and eloquence from a uniquely powerful perspective.

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John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-12-03T08:55:45+02:00December 1st, 2019|Categories: Editorial Reviews|

1969: A Brief and Beautiful Trip Back by Sea Gudinski

1969: A Brief and Beautiful Trip Back by Sea Gudinski 1969: A Brief and Beautiful Trip Back by author Sea Gudinski is an authentic and immersive journey back to the sixties heyday.

When the enigmatic Dave rolls back into town with a legendary stash for sale, Rhiannon Karlson has no idea that her life is about to change forever. Thrown thirty years back in time in the midst of a wild DMT trip, Rhiannon finds herself tuning in, turning on, and dropping out in San Francisco at the peak of the Love Revolution. From Grace Slick buying her a beer to an epic trip to Woodstock ’69, this book is […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-11-27T09:27:01+02:00November 26th, 2019|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Historical Fiction Book Reviews|

Did You Hear About Stuart’s Desert Burial by David Bath

No matter how far you go, you can’t run from the past, a hard truth that Stuart James discovers in Did You Hear About Stuart’s Desert Burial?: A Dark Tragicomedy and Cautionary Tale by David Bath. Getting roped into a half-baked scheme to rob a Vegas club, Stuart has no idea the chaos that Jenna and Gabe are about to bring down on his head for a payday. With whip-smart dialogue and visceral narration that would make Hunter S. Thompson proud, this is a savage and unpredictable scramble through morality, love, and deeply desperate times.

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John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-11-26T09:33:58+02:00November 25th, 2019|Categories: Editorial Reviews|