Book Reviews | Self-Publishing Review

Review: Radio Sphere by Devin terSteeg

★★★★★

In the not-so-distant future of “20XX,” the world has changed dramatically. Human innovation has advanced far beyond our ability to truly stay in-touch with the latest news and technology, leading to a social stagnation of endless consumption. We have greatly elongated lives, and yet we have so much more to experience; we’re a progressive society, progressed beyond our limits.

It should have been obvious humans were weak, and now it’s too late.

When human foolishness brings an abrupt end to our golden age of technology, an alien force dramatically alters the Earth in fantastic, unknowable ways. Our world is […]

James Grimsby2016-09-29T08:26:58+02:00August 20th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Science Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: Strangers I Have Known by Melissa Kotler Schwartz

★★★★★

When people think back on the story of their lives, the “main characters” are typically family members, friends, lovers, children, co-workers and the myriad other people who receive Christmas cards or occasional texts. However, a large portion of our time as human beings consists of interactions with strangers. In Strangers I Have Known by Melissa Kotler Schwartz, the author takes readers on a journey through her everyday life, not depicting the time spent with family and friends, but rather her tiny interactions with cashiers, locals, passers-by and one-conversation friends that act as the glue tying all of humanity together.[…]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-01-22T15:12:12+02:00August 17th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Memoir Book Reviews, Non-Fiction Book Reviews, Social Science Book Reviews|

A Journey with Panic by Dr. James Manning & Dr. Nicola Ridgeway

A Journey with Panic: With the Latest Advice on How to Stop Panic Symptoms Using CBT is one of the latest of a series of books by Dr. James Manning and Dr. Nicola Ridgeway that aims to use the principles of CBT – cognitive-behavioral therapy – in self-help guides to various common problems, both in normal day-to-day experiences and for those who suffer from more severe symptoms. CBT is a therapeutic approach that asks those taking part in it to self-examine, self-confront, and address their bad habits, thoughts, and behaviors in hopes of setting their minds and habits to a […]

James Grimsby2019-02-19T15:30:05+02:00August 16th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Non-Fiction Book Reviews, Psychology Book Reviews, Self-Help Book Reviews|

Review: Constant Guests by Patricia Nedelea

★★★★½

Isa would probably say she’s your average girl. Maybe it’s wishful thinking – with all the turbulence in her home and personal life, it’s easier to drown herself in the party scenes of Paris. Too bad for Isa the unusual circumstances of her birth come crashing into her life as her biological mother – the one she only just found out about, no less – dies in front of her without a word.

Confronted with some uncomfortable truths, the unusual event urges Isa to find more, and into a mystery that her mother was willing to die to solve, […]

Naka Jackson2016-08-17T04:47:29+02:00August 16th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Fantasy Book Reviews|

Review: The Cherry House by C.J. Carlyon

★★★★½

Austen Soren is a young girl – a woman, really – returning home to the scenic valley that her and her sister once grew up in together. Now, with her sister Bronte getting married, Austen is made to face the one thing she hasn’t found in her months of travel: love. All around her – friends, family, neighbours – seem to be getting lucky, at least, but not Austen.

But not for long, when the well-off inheritor of the local estate, Cashel Drai, crosses paths with the unassuming Austen, and with a little push, Austen realises what they’ve all […]

Naka Jackson2016-09-07T07:35:00+02:00August 12th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Romance Book Reviews|

Review: The Hotel Westend by Ashley Lynch-Harris

★★★★

The Hotel Westend by Ashley Lynch-Harris is a classic mystery with plenty of twists.

With eccentric characters, an historic hotel with its fair share of secrets, and an innocent ingénue with a good dose of curiosity, The Hotel Westend is a slow-boiling thriller that will have you guessing until the very end. In the beloved style of Agatha Christie and other British suspense classics, this murder mystery pays homage to the genre in an impressive way.

The gradual introduction of the characters – all heading for the same destination for an unknown reason – has the same slow pacing […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2016-08-12T11:38:35+02:00August 11th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Cozy Mystery Book Reviews, Mystery Book Reviews|

Review: Family Business by Colin Beckett

★★★★★

Family Business: An Outer Banks Crime Mystery by Colin Beckett is a grim, thrilling mystery.

From this book’s cold-blooded opening, readers know that they’re in for a story told by a master of suspense. The patient, calculating and terrifying style that Colin Beckett puts on display in Family Business is unique and chilling, making it nearly impossible to put it down.

When a mysterious serial killer strikes fear in the heart of North Carolina’s Outer Banks, it will take two men to ferret him out from his horrific hole and bring him to justice. Sheriff Martin Tate and Paul […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2016-09-06T05:20:35+02:00August 9th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Thriller Book Reviews|

Review: The Muses: Vengeance of Time by N.L. McEvoy

★★★★

The Muses: Vengeance of Time is the sequel to N.L. McEvoy’s Escaping Montague Manor, following Sarah and Nickolas McGuire on another harrowing adventure with the mystical muses. This time, Sarah and Nickolas aren’t as intent on escaping their Great-Aunt Vivian’s clutches as they are on reentering them.

When the children’s cousin, Simon, comes down with a mysterious and excruciatingly painful illness, they have no choice but to contact the powerful muses, whom they had previously freed from the machinations of their evil great-aunt and her benefactor, Dr. James. With the diplomatic Brigitta, herculean Bard, stoic Deidre, clandestine Charles, […]

Dakota Kemp2016-09-05T10:28:27+02:00August 8th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Fantasy Book Reviews, Young Adult Book Reviews|