John Staughton, Senior Reviewer | Self-Publishing Review

Review: The Garden Before Eden by Les J. Whitmore

A touching tale of true love, despite all odds, The Garden Before Eden by Les J. Whitmore is a clever new take on destiny and the unexpected fates that control it.

Keller is an unassuming IT specialist with little chance of landing a date with Ashley the super-agent, but his authenticity, wit, and oddball charm catch her eye. He is completely different than Jack, the brash man she represents, who seems determined to sweep her off her feet with all the grace of a charging linebacker. Meanwhile, in a heavenly waiting room called the Garden, Ashley’s future children are waiting […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-11-10T11:16:05+02:00October 4th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Religious Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: A Rebel’s Path (The Enchanted Isles Book 3) by I.L. Cruz

Author I.L. Cruz summons another tense chapter of the Enchanted Isles YA series with A Rebel’s Path, her third electrifying installment. Between paternal revelations, impending royal nuptials, a resurgence of magic, and an urban legend come to life, the life of Inez Garza and the realm of Canto is as strange and exciting as ever.

Inez’s predestined fate of bringing magic back to the Enchanted Isles is a tall order, particularly since she has no idea how to achieve that seemingly impossible goal. Her powers have proven to be impressive, but difficult to predict and keep hidden, training in […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-10-03T17:33:55+02:00October 3rd, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Fantasy Book Reviews, YA Fantasy Book Reviews, Young Adult Book Reviews|

Review: The Kentucky Bicentennial by Dale E. Voelker

A visual tour of Kentucky during its 200th birthday year, The Kentucky Bicentennial by Dale E. Voelker is a celebration of a state, its people, and the enduring spirit that populates every corner of the Bluegrass State. These pages hold images from events both big and small that occurred in 1992 across the state, finally brought to life thirty years later in this commemorative book.

The photos from “Hillbilly Days” are particularly evocative of the rustic, patriotic, and whimsical nature of the state, while the shots of the Kentucky Derby that year are both dynamic and intimate. The “Summer Festival […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-11-09T13:15:57+02:00October 2nd, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: History Book Reviews, Photography Book Reviews|

Review: Reclaiming the Sacred by Jeff Golden

With the masterful pen of a mystic scholar, Jeff Golden delivers a profound assessment of the modern world and a bold schematic for salvation in Reclaiming the Sacred: Healing Our Relationships with Ourselves and the World.

To explain the discipline of a book like this, it is perhaps easiest to use the author’s own words – “The science of happiness, abundance, and belonging.” Explaining the instability and corruptibility of today’s world, as well as the path that led us here, Golden attempts to redirect the course of society through positive adaptation and intentional shifts in our belief structures, artfully […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-10-31T18:37:08+02:00September 29th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Social Science Book Reviews|

Review: Birdie Pesky Was Here by Andrew Augustine Connor

A spiraling account of a fictional historical heist, Birdie Pesky Was Here: The Story of the Big Bad Buxom Blonde Boston Bank Boost by Andrew Augustine Connor is a rowdy and unpredictable thriller that teeters on the edge of believable from start to finish, making it easy to forget that this novel is a wildly creative piece of imagination.

Cash and Cary make for an unforgettable duo of safe crackers as they scheme their way around their debt to a dangerous don, with a dazzling balance of laissez-faire larceny and daring deeds. They are a delightfully odd couple, and genuinely […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-10-10T17:29:21+02:00September 28th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Historical Fiction Book Reviews, Thriller Book Reviews|

Review: Hunted by LaBrie James

Author LaBrie James plunges readers into a tangled nightmare in her gripping debut novel, Hunted, a character-driven dive into dark family drama and deadly small-town secrets.

Stalked by a vengeful shadow, one with a face eerily resembling the chief of police, Lennox Rose is slowly recovering from a gunshot wound sustained during a horrific attack, but that brutal night in the snow is only the beginning. After watching her best friend violated and killed, Lennox is shattered both physically and mentally, and has to somehow find a way to rebuild herself.

Finn Holland is the young officer assigned to […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-09-30T09:44:47+02:00September 22nd, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Thriller Book Reviews|

Violet by Sabrina Simon

A raw and vulnerable collection of love-soaked poetry, Violet by Sabrina Simon is a powerfully uncut gem of youthful grief and growth. Fueled by reflection on lovers longed for, lusted after, and lost, some of these pieces are narrative streams, while others are lyrical and metaphorical, musing on the nature of desire itself. There is some redundant word use and idiomatic comparisons, but the heart of this collection beats with passion and honesty. Anyone who has known the pang of heartbreak, especially for the first time, will find comfort and wisdom in Simon’s verse.

[…]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-09-20T17:47:28+02:00September 20th, 2022|Categories: Editorial Reviews|

Review: 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|