Book Reviews | Self-Publishing Review

Review: Lamellia: The Wicked Queen by Gloria D. Gonsalves, Illustrated by Katerina Brunot

Lamellia: The Wicked Queen is a charming story by Gloria D. Gonsalves, with the talented brushstrokes of Katerina Brunot bringing color and depth into this imaginative book for children.

Lamellia, the kingdom of mushrooms, is a magical place that would be perfect were it not for the fact that its rulers, King Polipoli and Queen Nobilia, have remained childless. This has left the queen constantly singing sad songs, making those around her sad as well.

One day, one of the king’s Lantern guards finds a human baby while walking in the forest. The baby is brought back to the kingdom […]

Marta Cheng2019-02-04T11:51:02+02:00March 6th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Children's Book Reviews|

Review: Counter-Zombie Warfare by Jason A. Beauchemin

Telling a horrific story about the coming zombie apocalypse is no longer a unique approach to the genre, but Counter-Zombie Warfare by Jason A. Beauchemin takes a decidedly different angle. Once the zombie apocalypse happens, there are bound to be some people standing boldly on the front lines, tasked with protecting the rest of us from certain death. This is the story of one such soldier.

Readers are invited to see the strange and terrifying new world through the eyes of a counter-zombie infantryman, and while the context of the dead coming back to life is far-fetched, there is a […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-02-11T08:44:18+02:00March 1st, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Horror Book Reviews, Zombie Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: Dick Dialogues by R. Mohan

Writing a book from a unique perspective is far from a revolutionary approach to literature, but in Dick Dialogues: A Jovial Conversation About Sex, the narrator is particularly unusual – and memorable. With an interest in spreading information and awareness about sexual health and behavior to those who need it most, R. Mohan has created a hilarious and heartwarming guide to sex, told from the perspective of…a penis.

Genitalia is rarely chosen as a narrator, let alone a protagonist, but just as The Vagina Monologues began a conversation between women and about sex in a healthy and hilarious way, […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2018-03-05T17:36:26+02:00February 28th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|

Review: Through the Villain’s Eyes (Primordial Realms Book 2) by Stacy Benedict

Immersing oneself in a strange new world is what fantasy is all about, but imbuing magic and mystery into the world most humans recognize also makes for great storytelling. Through the Villain’s Eyes by Stacy Benedict is a veritable masterpiece of the macabre, with real-world contexts and settings that juxtapose brilliantly with the slight edge of magic flowing through the pages of this book.

In this dark, supernatural novel, there are Primordials and those that hunt them, including the mysterious and violently fascinating Blaire, one of these terrifyingly tough hunters. However, she isn’t sure about being a tool of pure […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2018-03-28T10:38:06+02:00February 27th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Fantasy Book Reviews, Urban Fantasy Book Reviews|

Review: Timing the Infinite by Nathaniel Schmeling

Timing the Infinite by Nathaniel Schmeling

For those who look or think about the world differently, life can be a minefield of isolation, confusion, despair… and occasionally hedonism, but it also offers the potential for bizarre, one-of-a-kind storytelling. In Timing the Infinite, author Nathaniel Schmeling embarks on a brilliant linguistic roller coaster ride, one packed with import, introducing a myriad of unforgettably weird and profound characters.

Stranger is an apt name for the protagonist, as he seems to represent a massive bundle of “otherness” and embraces the unknown. A brilliant programmer with a multilayered façade of nihilism and perceived freedom, he is actually an existential […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-03-08T10:06:15+02:00February 22nd, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Science Fiction Book Reviews, Visionary Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: The Journey from Poor Procrastinator to Invested Millennial by Jeremy Kho

Author and entrepreneur Jeremy Kho advises his readers to start investing now for the bright future we would all like to have in The Journey from Poor Procrastinator to Invested Millennial.

Kho creates a clear picture of procrastinators – those who continue to delay making the moves that would garner them positive prospects for financial security. It might be a perfectionist who can’t get started on a project until everything is in place, or a “thrill-seeker” who likes the danger of waiting to pay a bill until the very last minute. Maybe it’s someone who feels too busy to […]

Barbara Scott2018-03-22T07:05:14+02:00February 16th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Business Book Reviews|

Review: Confessions of a Bar Brat by Judith A. Boggess

Growing up too fast is a reality that many people must face, but for Judith Boggess, the author of Confessions of a Bar Brat: Growing Up in Rosendale, New York, adulthood was forced on her at a particularly young age. Falling asleep to the raucous sounds of a bar beneath you isn’t ideal for the maintenance of childhood innocence, and this memoir tells the visceral, and often disturbing truth of what it was like growing up in that strange place during a tumultuous time.

Boggess is an unflinchingly honest narrator of her own life, depicting the constant challenge of […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2018-05-09T10:16:33+02:00February 14th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Memoir Book Reviews, Non-Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: Hello, Agnieszka (Between Two Worlds Book 2) by Evy Journey

Life has a funny way of exposing even the best-kept secrets and when it does, it has the potential to devastate. Such is the case in Hello, Agnieszka, the standalone second book in the Between Two Worlds romance series by Evy Journey.

Agnieszka (Agnes) Halverson has been a devoted wife and mother to her husband, Charles, and their three children, all grown now with lives of their own. Their only daughter, Elise, is shocked after receiving a phone call from her father who tells her that her oldest brother, Peter, had just tried to commit suicide. The next day, […]

Marta Cheng2018-03-19T12:32:32+02:00February 5th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Romance Book Reviews, Women's Fiction Book Reviews|