John Staughton, Senior Reviewer | Self-Publishing Review

Review: Lady Garland Tames Her Dragons and Brings Peace to the Kingdom by Jane Garland

Lady Garland Tames her Dragons and Brings Peace to the Kingdom by Jane Garland

Author Jane Garland welcomes readers into the messy realm of her life in Lady Garland Tames Her Dragons and Brings Peace to the Kingdom, a clever, heartfelt, and deeply revealing memoir. Though pitched as a fairy tale for adults, this metaphor-laden memoir is playful and nakedly honest, but also academically appealing and philosophically rich. Garland can recount a painful anecdote in one breath, and then impartially dissect her relevant reactions and emotions in the next.

As the title implies, Garland has had a great many battles in her past, and now having found something akin to peace, she has […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-10-12T11:18:16+02:00September 19th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Memoir Book Reviews|

Review: The Eagle That Drank Hummingbird Nectar by Aneace Haddad

The Eagle That Drank Hummingbird Nectar by Aneace Haddad

Reading like a long-form parable for business professionals, The Eagle That Drank Hummingbird Nectar by Aneace Haddad is like no other book in its genre. Blurring the line between fiction, allegory, and self-help, this masterfully penned book probes into the stagnation that can strike anyone, from any life path, and then gently nudges readers into revelation.

Aidan Perez had risen to the top of his industry, achieving the coveted position of CEO, but after his personal life collapsed in tragedy, it radically changed his perspective on wealth and the pursuit of happiness. With his daughter in Singapore and looming loneliness […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-09-29T15:49:20+02:00September 16th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Business Book Reviews, Self-Help Book Reviews|

Review: The Devil You Knew by Mike Cobb

The Devil You Knew by Mike Cobb

Mike Cobb unravels a sinister, masterfully penned drama in The Devil You Knew. Summoning demons of the past still haunting America today, this period mystery jabs at the most painful nerves of culture and history.

The tone is grimly set in the opening chapters – the deep South of the 1960s, where religion and bigotry reign over a land already scarred by so much sin. When young girls begin disappearing, and then turning up dead, the small community at the heart of this novel is shaken to its core. Billy Tarwater would rather doodle in the hymnal than make […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-10-10T16:54:06+02:00September 15th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Historical Fiction Book Reviews, Thriller Book Reviews|

Review: Earth: The Next Trillion Years by Marcy Mekleerer

Earth: The Next Trillion Years by Marcy Mekleerer

A philosophical and narrative exploration of everything from computer science and genetic mutation to sentience and morality, Earth: The Next Trillion Years by Marcy Mekleerer is an ambitious, thought-provoking, and eye-opening work of visionary science fiction.

Near the end of the 21st century, an alien life form from Alpha Centauri lands in the Brazilian jungle and begins its deadly spread – mindlessly consuming everything in its path as the world numbly watches. Dr. Kacela, the first on the scene of this extraterrestrial invasion, must set her formidable skills in biomolecular and genetic engineering to the test, even as humanity begins […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-10-10T11:32:52+02:00September 15th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Science Fiction Book Reviews, Visionary Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: Brian, Created Intelligence by AJ Pagan IV

Brian, Created Intelligence by AJ Pagan IV

Asking hard questions about consciousness and playing out the dangers of synthetic life, Brian, Created Intelligence by AJ Pagan IV is a smart and thrilling novel about a not-too-distant world.

When Ellie Parsons is tasked with growing the perfect brain of a genius, her ambitious dreams come true, and with the help of a gifted team, Brian is born. This super-brain is much more than a piece of future tech; fundamentally, it is the greatest tool humanity has ever created – but he could also be turned into an unstoppable weapon. When that threat becomes too real, and outside forces […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-10-04T12:19:00+02:00September 15th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Science Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: Suspected Hippie in Transit by Martin Frumkin

Suspected Hippie in Transit by Martin Frumkin

Detailing two months-long journeys across the Middle East and Asia, Suspected Hippie in Transit: Sex, Drugs, Rock ‘n’ Roll and the Search for Higher Consciousness on the International Trail, 1971-1977 (Vol 1) by Martin Frumkin is an eye-opening wander through exotic ideas, people, and experiences in beautiful corners of the world.

Beginning in India and moving west through Nepal and northern Afghanistan, some of the most riveting scenes (and images) come from Frumkin’s time in Kabul, Kandahar, and Herat, though these sections are rather brief, in comparison to his second journey, which began in 1975. In that more extended part […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-10-03T12:42:10+02:00September 14th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Memoir Book Reviews, Travel Book Reviews|

The Jukebox Kid by Loren Jakobov

Reflective, profound, and haunting, The Jukebox Kid by Loren Jakobov is a powerful collection of emotionally raw verse – a free-verse kaleidoscope of hope and regret, nature, and the mind. Visceral flashbacks shared in “Summertime Dance” juxtapose with dark musings like “The Flimsy Shape of Things” and enigmatic koans such as “Born in the Mojave,” keeping the true thematic heart of this poetry a mystery. Though some of the pieces could use a proofread, purely for spelling and word usage, the experimental form makes these small slips less obvious, allowing readers to lose themselves in the fractured memories and wisdom […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-09-14T21:42:41+02:00September 13th, 2022|Categories: Editorial Reviews|

Review: Azabu Getaway by Michael Pronko

Azabu Getaway by Michael Pronko

Michael Pronko delves back into the grit, greed, and mystery of Tokyo in his latest novel, Azabu Getaway, the fifth book in his Detective Hiroshi Mystery series.

In this moody, high-stakes thriller, a desperate father kidnaps his own daughters in the hope of escaping back to America, while the vicious murder of a wealthy financial manager sends shockwaves through Tokyo’s shadowy banking sector. Though the two cases initially feel unrelated, the sinister link between money, violence, and power is hard to shake – for readers and investigators alike.

Hiroshi continues to shine as one of the most unique and […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-09-29T16:39:41+02:00September 13th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Thriller Book Reviews|