Book Reviews | Self-Publishing Review

Review: Swollen Identity (McCall & Company Book 2) by Rich Leder

Swollen Identityby Rich Leder is the second book in the electric McCall & Company series about Kate McCall, who’s inherited a PI company from her murdered father, and reluctantly takes the reins. Moonlighting as a way-off Broadway actress starring in a series of absurd musicals, Book 2 finds socialite Brooke Barrington walking into her living room, who claims to have had her identity stolen, as well as stealing a kiss…

This leads to a complex, but still breezingly entertaining case, where Kate has to contend with Brooke’s deranged twin sister Bailey, who wants to murder her sister and who’s […]

Review: The Quieting West by Gordon Gravley

★★★★

The Quieting West is a quick-moving novel set against the backdrop of the Wild West. It follows the parallel lives of two cowboys, Thomas and Billy, who find themselves unexpectedly swept up into the world of Hollywood as the more conventional work for cowboys dries up. Forced to move from ranch to ranch in seek of work, Billy and Thomas’ talents for riding are quickly sought out by silent movie directors, eager to exploit the men’s experience to employ them as stunt riders.

Billy is a young, agile orphan, unsure of his exact age and wise beyond his years. […]

Felicity Box2017-09-21T09:49:51+02:00September 21st, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Historical Fiction Book Reviews, Hollywood for Authors, Western Book Reviews|

Review: Muldooneys and Me: A Memoir by Marlene P. Naicker

Designer, entrepreneur, survivor – all these characterize fashion maven Marlene P. Naicker, author of the emotive memoir, Muldooneys and Me.

Naicker’s fascinating autobiography begins with her defeat, in high school, in a significant track meet, effectively ending her hopes of an athletic career, but she adapted a family trait to “push the limits.”

Never intending to become a designer, her now-famous brand, Muldooneys, became “airborne” when she saw, at a London fashion show, that there was a need for a brand of accessible luxury leather accessories. She quickly learned that the complex, competitive fashion business begins with the essential […]

Barbara Scott2019-02-11T09:36:48+02:00September 21st, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Memoir Book Reviews, Non-Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: The Crown Princess’ Voyage (The Gift-Knight Trilogy Book 2) by Dylan Madeley

★★★★

In The Crown Princess’ Voyage by Dylan Madeley, politics, subterfuge, and war guide the plot as established characters move into broader, more demanding battles.

Kensrik, Osterik, and the Coast do not always get along, but a few clever machinations and a fleet of massive warships with strange, new weapons propel them into open conflict. A crown princess, a knight, a goddess, and several very confused city states take turns leading the narrative.

Although Crown Princess Chandra is ostensibly the main character – and certainly the titular lead – the story shifts between different points of view. Derek is really […]

Mindy Hood2017-10-02T10:43:25+02:00September 20th, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Fantasy Book Reviews|

Review: Hiding in Third Person by Phil Bradley

★★★★★

Hiding in Third Person is a riveting coming-of-age tale by talented author, Phil Bradley. It sucks in the reader from the very first paragraph and doesn’t let go.

Ricky is a young orderly at the Cumberland County Asylum for the Mentally Ill, which he jokingly refers to as Cumberland County Psycho Spa and Dude Ranch. An intern asks Ricky to sit with a new patient, known only as Mr. River. It’s Ricky’s job to listen to anything the patient has to say. Soon, Mr. River haltingly begins to tell Ricky a story about an unlikely friendship between two young […]

Marta Cheng2019-01-22T04:36:08+02:00September 20th, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Contemporary Fiction Book Reviews, Young Adult Book Reviews|

Review: Dennis & Greer: A Love Story, Edited by Molly Gould

Dennis & Greer, a highly engaging and altogether unique book, comprises a love story told with intimate clarity. Their story is comprised of letters and journal entries from the two eponymous characters, who fell in love during the Vietnam war. Edited by Molly Gould, it tells the story of a man her mother loved before her father, which gives the book a wholly unique perspective – not just of Gould’s family, but the timelessness of young love.

What comes through strongest in the book is the genuine humanity of Dennis and Greer – one is tempted to call them […]

Mindy Hood2019-02-11T09:36:44+02:00September 20th, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Memoir Book Reviews, Non-Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: This Gospel of the Kingdom by Ricardo Taylor

Preacher and author Ricardo Taylor explains the difference between commonly conceived facts about the mission of Jesus, and the truths he sees clearly stated in the Bible, in This Gospel of the Kingdom: Heaven’s Reign over the Earth.

Taylor is convinced from his studies that the often-predicted apocalypse so many Christians believe is imminent has, in fact, already occurred. The predictions made by Jesus of the “End Times” were actually an accurate description of events already taking place: the functional end of Old Testament codes with the coming of the new spiritual template, that of Jesus the Christ. That […]

Barbara Scott2019-02-11T09:44:59+02:00September 19th, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Religious Book Reviews|

Review: Terra 12: Paradise Found by Ryan Baxter

★★★½

Given the present situation on our planet, more and more eyes are turning to space as a possible escape from Earth’s rising temperatures. In Terra 12: Paradise Found, author Ryan Baxter paints a remarkably clear picture of one possible future, as well as the dire situation Earth finds itself 300 years from now.

Near the turn of the 24^th century, humans send a dozen ships, named Terra 1-12, into the vastness of space to find a new home world for the human race. Terra 12 is where most of the action focuses in this book, along with […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2020-02-12T07:27:40+02:00September 17th, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Science Fiction Book Reviews|