Book Reviews | Self-Publishing Review

Review: Addicted to Love by Kathleen Murray

★★★½ Addicted to Love by Kathleen Murray

Addicted to Love by Kathleen Murray is a new adult novel that explores the concept of learning to accept oneself.

Sally Smithfield lives in a Chicago North Shore suburb in the 1970s. The novel chronicles Sally’s life from childhood to her adult years showing the devastating and long-lasting effects of child abuse, family secrets, love, and loss.

The author is quite ambitious in this new adult novel. Set in the seventies, Murray drops enough film and song titles and historical references to transport the reader back in time. She does this seamlessly without bonking the reader over the head […]

Review: Schism by Britt Holewinski

Schism by Britt Holewinski

In the year 2017, a government-manufactured virus accidentally leaks into the wider population, and the world is brought to its knees. Claiming almost the entirety of Earth’s population, it seems the only ones spared from the epidemic are children. As Andy Christensen and her friends travel from Bermuda back to their homes in North America, they find the new Wild West that has emerged in the destructive wake of the virus, and must venture with newfound friends to find a new home in Schism by Britt Holewenski.

As an initial conceit, the concept isn’t entirely realistic or original, borrowing ideas […]

James Grimsby2019-02-11T07:02:03+02:00April 3rd, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Apocalyptic Fiction Book Reviews, Dystopian Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: Coinman by Pawan Mishra

★★★★ Coinman by Pawan Mishra

Coinman: An Untold Conspiracy by Pawan Mishra is a quirky, heartfelt novel about finding your identity – and keeping it.

The search for personal fulfillment is a lifelong journey for most, and along the way, it is necessary to establish the identity you want, the work you cherish, the people you respect, and the love you deserve. In Pawan Mishra’s oddly charming novel, readers are welcomed into the strangely neurotic, passionate, and unfulfilled existence of Coinman, a simple office worker with a jangling passion for coins.

The title of the book suggests this slightly odd premise, but the majority […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2016-04-15T02:29:44+02:00March 31st, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Contemporary Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: Forbidden Heat (Firework Girls Book 1) by J.L. White

★★★★½

Forbidden Heat by J.L. White is a steamy romance that’s hard to put down.

Isabella wants to be a scientist. During her last year of college, Isabella learns she needs to take a philosophy class to fulfill all her requirements. Isabella already has a full class schedule, but she talks the Dean into allowing her to take an extra class instead of dropping a science course she needs for graduate school. However, Isabella gets more than she bargained for when she discovers that the professor is only a few years older than her and he’s the hottest professor at […]

T B Markinson2016-07-14T11:28:28+02:00March 31st, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Erotic Book Reviews, New Adult Book Reviews, Romance Book Reviews|

Review: The Empty One (The Fallen Conviction Book 1) by Matthew Stanley

★★★★½

The Empty One by Matthew Stanley is an epic, fantastic tale in a very unique form.

Combining religious philosophy, vivid battle scenes, biblical undertones, political and social commentary, and incredible magical forces, The Empty One is much more than your typical fantasy. The plot base of Matthew Stanley’s story is the tale of two warring superpowers – one dedicated to mystical belief, the other to social order – but this epic story comes with a major twist. The entire text is presented in verse form, making it a highly unique reading experience, supported by a fascinating (albeit convoluted) plot […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2016-04-07T06:58:03+02:00March 28th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Fantasy Book Reviews, Poetry Book Reviews|

Review: Phantom: Birth of an Arc by Gabriel Common and Christy Lea Wilkerson

★★★★½

Phantom: Birth of an Arc portrays the endless battle between good and evil in an incredible space adventure.

From the very first scene of the book, the fantasy aspect of this novel is clear, as Angels and Seraphim debate the fate of two half-mortal children borne of an Angel’s lust for a human. One of the children, Raven, was raised as an Arc, while Traiven was sent to grow up in rural Louisiana. However, it doesn’t take long for these two worlds to collide. Traiven’s small-town life is turned upside down when Shawn, a soldier in Heaven’s army, informs […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2016-04-07T07:07:47+02:00March 25th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Science Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: Ties that Bind by Debbie White

Ties that Bind by Debbie White is the moving and epic novel about a woman trying to uncover her past in order to understand herself. Pat has a sense of gnawing dissatisfaction in her life given that she’s adopted and never met her birth parents. Her children are deprived of extended family and Pat is deprived of answers. When she seeks out to find answers to all her questions, she finds a hidden contentment she didn’t know she had.

Pat is a wonderfully engaging and comforting presence in the book. Even when White is describing her hardships, Pat has a […]

Lysa Grant2019-02-11T09:21:01+02:00March 24th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Women's Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: Edge the Bare Garden by Roseanne Cheng

★★★★½

Edge the Bare Garden by Roseanne Cheng is a wonderful instructional novel for teens.

Agnes hasn’t had an easy life. Even though she’s young, her daily life has been filled with taunts by her peers, reinforcing the belief that she doesn’t belong.

An opportunity arises for Agnes to seek revenge online. Can her actions be justified? Forgiven? More to the point, in today’s online world, who should be held responsible when individuals can hide their identity?

Roseanne Cheng is a teacher and founder of the website, Teachable Lit, which is dedicated to books and reviews that instruct young minds. […]

T B Markinson2020-02-21T05:54:31+02:00March 24th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Young Adult Book Reviews|