Book Reviews | Self-Publishing Review

Review: The Average Joe’s Guide to Success by R.C. Farrington

Author and entrepreneur R.C. Farrington has written a book for those he calls “average Joes and Josies” who may be wondering when, if ever, they can excel in The Average Joe’s Guide to Success: The Brilliant Overachievers Will Never See You Coming.

If you fall into this category, as Farrington says he does, you will probably realize it early on: you won’t make straight A’s in school, and perhaps, like him, you will be tested at some point and routed towards vocational work. You may feel undervalued and lapse into a pattern of underachieving, because it seems pointless to […]

Review: The Chief and His Marine by B.A. Sherman

★★★★

Few can understand the horrors of war if they have never put their lives on the line for their country, but the family members of soldiers have an intimate knowledge of that stress and pain. In The Chief and His Marine, author B.A. Sherman brings some of the challenges and tragedies of war into stark detail, shedding light on a subject that is pushed under the rug, or tacitly avoided, far too often.

This novel wastes no time in getting into the action, introducing readers to the titular Chief Platte character, who appears to still be reeling from […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2020-02-21T06:18:46+02:00January 10th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Contemporary Fiction Book Reviews, Military Book Reviews|

Review: It’s All Coming Back: On Love After the War by Jon Kahn

★★★★ It Is All Coming Back - On Love After The War By Jon Kahn

When Anne-Marie and Helmut marry in London just a year after World War II, they are young, in love, and glad to be finally free of the deep tragedy Hitler had brought to Europe. Swedish Anne-Marie is sweet, educated, and emancipated, but Helmut is from Germany, and Jewish. He has lived through many terrible family losses, and there are many divides in their knowledge of world events recently passed.

Through their love, they must now get to know each other, and heal the rifts in understanding between their families, both culturally and emotionally. The awful truth is almost to […]

SPR2018-02-16T10:10:26+02:00January 9th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Historical Fiction Book Reviews, World War II Book Reviews|

Review: Soul Census by AJ Vega

★★★★ Soul Census by AJ Vega

Finding purpose after a life-changing event is something to which all readers can relate, and such is the fate of WWI veteran Willem Maddock, feeling the sense of despondency and alienation following the impossible tragedy of war. However, in Soul Census, written by AJ Vega, the story delves much deeper than a standard novel about post-war America. Instead, it penetrates the veil between mortality and spirituality, hinting at a form of existence that doesn’t end, but simply transcends.

Returning to find a cold world that doesn’t worship the right heroes, the tone is set for Maddock to be granted […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-01-22T15:17:08+02:00January 8th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Science Fiction Book Reviews, Visionary Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: Salvation Day by RD Meyer

★★★★

Mike Faulkner has just attended the second funeral he never thought he’d have to experience: first, his daughter Samantha, taken far too young, and now his wife, who has taken her own life from grief.

Mike is more than a grieving father, and more than a fresh widower – he’s emotionally detached, yet intellectually brilliant. Currently, he is working as part of the team on the verge of a groundbreaking discovery that could revolutionize energy production forever, and his family tragedy will soon affect his work dramatically.

Despite his colleagues’ hesitance, Mike’s pain becomes fuel for his work, spurred […]

James Grimsby2018-05-09T10:47:52+02:00January 7th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Science Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: Carpenter’s Bluff by James Sanders

★★★★

Our adult lives are largely influenced by the uncharted events of our youth and nowhere is this more evident than in Carpenter’s Bluff, James Sanders’ moving literary tale of youthful indiscretions and dark secrets.

Henry “Hank” Anawatty is a young attorney with some serious problems in his life, the most pressing one being that the woman he’s been seeing has disappeared. In desperation, he goes to see a shrink and little by little, her pointed questions chink away at Hank’s armor, revealing a less-than-idyllic childhood spent dodging an abusive father, not to mention harboring lingering guilt over his […]

Marta Cheng2018-01-10T11:03:53+02:00January 6th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Literary Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: The Believers in the Crucible Nauvoo by Alfred Woollacott III

Blending family documents, historical records and a strong imaginative gift, author Alfred Woollacott III depicts the travails of a young woman joining in the founding of the Mormon faith in The Believers in the Crucible Nauvoo.

Woollacott’s book opens in Peterborough, New Hampshire, where one of Mormon founder Joseph Smith’s disciples has converted many townspeople. These believers are caught up in Smith’s challenging and inspiring message. According to teachings from the Book of Mormon, converts must be baptized, and then have the certainty of sharing the life of Jesus while here on Earth. Some feel strongly called to Nauvoo, […]

Barbara Scott2019-02-11T09:15:26+02:00January 5th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Christian Fiction Book Reviews, Historical Fiction Book Reviews, Religious Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: The Gods Wait by John von Dorf

★★★★

In The Gods Wait by John von Dorf, you’ll find pessimists fighting to be optimistic about romance, a waitress’s vivid inner world, an internet troll’s thoughts on philosophy, and many other slices from diverse, scattered lives.

A collection of well-drawn characters seek fulfillment and meaning through various mediums, including film, insults, and food. Each obsession demonstrates the individual’s need and desire for grander meaning than their obsession actually delivers. The only voices with new ideas are shut down by the intentional defamation or self-congratulatory ignorance of other would-be intellectuals. Each character is defined as much by their hates as […]

Mindy Hood2018-02-06T07:05:04+02:00December 21st, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Literary Fiction Book Reviews|