Book Reviews | Self-Publishing Review

Review: Wyrd, TX by David Shawn

★★★★½

Wyrd, TX by David Shawn is a terrifying, stylish thriller.

Balancing humor, wit and terror is an ability that few authors ever master, but David Shawn releases a macabre tour de force in Wyrd, TX, a city that time seems to have forgotten, but demons have not. Shawn marvelously sets the tone for readers within the first few chapters – a supernatural first scene to cleanse the palette for fantasy, followed by patient, thorough introductions of the major characters populating this bizarre world.

Chief Butler is the perfect antihero for this type of setting; a good man with […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-01-22T05:46:01+02:00June 17th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Horror Book Reviews, Paranormal Book Reviews, Thriller Book Reviews|

Review: The Voice of Divine Love by Arlene Dayrit

The Voice of Divine Love by Arlene Dayrit

The author of The Voice of Divine Love, Arlene Dayrit, is self-described as a fervent attendant to God’s will and has spent much of her life in constant search of God’s redemption and love through her spirituality and religious devotion. The result of her meditations on scripture and Christian ideals is her first published work.

Essentially a re-examination of the scripture, the book takes the point of view of the Lord expressing his infinite love for his children and how to interpret his messages from a first-person point of view. Rather than a fearful, vengeful figure depicted elsewhere, Dayrit […]

James Grimsby2019-02-11T09:44:23+02:00June 16th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Non-Fiction Book Reviews, Religious Book Reviews|

Review: How to Fail at Life: Lessons for the Next Generation by Mark Aspelin

★★★★★

Failure sucks. There’s no denying that. But every pratfall and tumble has an upside, even if it’s just the schadenfreude of knowing someone else screwed up too, or even worse than you ever have.

Enter Mark Aspelin. Aspelin bills himself as an “experienced practitioner in the failure arts” who has “been there, done that, and got the t-shirt when it comes to messing up in life.” Aspelin boasts years of speaking experience prior to his newfound membership into the circle of author-hood, focusing on the subject of failure and the lessons to be learned from the falls we inevitably […]

James Grimsby2016-06-16T03:15:56+02:00June 16th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Humor, Self-Help Book Reviews|

Review: American Zeroes by John DiFelice

★★★★½

American Zeroes by John DiFelice is a darkly comic bit of brilliance.

Novels that defy classification make for an entertaining read, and that is precisely what John DiFelice delivers in American Zeroes. Behind the rambling and sometimes confusing storyline is an intelligent and witty author who knows which subtle buttons to push for laughs, tears and thoughtful musing, forcing readers to see the world through his twisted lens.

At times, the book reads like the rambling manifesto of a conspiracy theorist, or a legitimately deluded patriot, which isn’t actually far off the mark. Jeremiah Stumpf is a modern-day […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2016-07-26T05:25:35+02:00June 13th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Contemporary Fiction Book Reviews, Satire Book Reviews|

Review: Sunspots by Gary Martin

★★★★ Sunspots by Gary Martin

Many sci-fi authors focus on unique plot details and extensive exposition to stand out, doing all they can to create a memorable world for their readers. Books like Sunspots, however, show the other side of the sci-fi genre: the banality of space travel when it’s “just a job.” John is a believable character because readers can immediately relate to him; he is a blue-collar worker on a space scow hauling garbage away from Earth. It’s hardly glamorous work, and the entire novel would have seemed disingenuous if the author, Gary Martin, had tried to paint a different picture.[…]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2016-07-22T10:00:29+02:00June 13th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Science Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: The Hourglass: Life as an Aging Mortal by Pamela Cuming

The Hourglass: Life as an Aging Mortal by Pamela Cuming

The Hourglass: Life as an Aging Mortal by Pamela Cuming is an insightful book about a topic no human being can escape. Cuming’s book addresses how to live with the knowledge that one will eventually die. But it isn’t only about a person’s impending doom. She discusses at length how to view the aging process and how to accept it as part of life.

The topics in this book aren’t easy to confront, no matter what stage of life the reader is in. Almost every person on the planet has lost a person they loved or has encountered insurmountable grief […]

T B Markinson2019-02-11T09:28:49+02:00June 2nd, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Health Book Reviews, Non-Fiction Book Reviews, Self-Help Book Reviews|

Review: Children of Swan (The Land of Taron Vol. 1) by Coral Walker

★★★★

It’s every child’s worst nightmare to wake up and find that their parents have vanished without a trace. Unfortunately for Bo, Jack, and Brianna, it’s not just a nightmare, it’s real. With the siblings struggling to find out what could have happened, they’re unaware that the worst is yet to come.

Little do they know that their parents were secretly the prince and princess of a faraway planet known as Cygnore, in the land of Taron, having eloped twelve years ago to Earth to start a family together. Now returned, they must find a way to look after their […]

James Grimsby2016-06-16T03:09:37+02:00June 2nd, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Fantasy Book Reviews|

Review: Brown Sugar in Minnesota by Joe Field

★★★★ Brown Sugar in Minnesota by Joe Field

Brown Sugar in Minnesota by Joe Field is a short, thrilling ride fueled by drugs and danger.

By their very definition, thrillers are high-intensity stories, and whether that manifests in the form of action or psychological drama doesn’t actually matter. Readers seek out an author like Joe Field for his ability to create an atmosphere where both types of drama can play, where readers fear what’s around the next page, but can’t help but keep turning. Brown Sugar in Minnesota is a patient, slow-burning book that digs surprisingly deep for being such a short read. It’s perfect for an […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2016-06-16T04:54:58+02:00June 2nd, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Thriller Book Reviews|