Book Reviews | Self-Publishing Review

Review: Bodyguard of Deception by Samuel Marquis (Book 1 of the World War Two Trilogy)

★★★★ Bodyguard of Deception by Samuel Marquis

As the clock ticks down to D-Day, the Allies are secretly in a state of panic. The greatest secret the Allies had left to win the war with has been stolen by one of the top Nazi spymasters, en route to the Fuhrer as they scramble to form a plan to reclaim it. In Germany’s final days of Nazi rule, could this be the lifeline they need to extend the conflict by one more bloody campaign of resistance, or will the Allies swoop in just in time to save millions of lives? The world hangs in a delicate balance […]

James Grimsby2016-03-23T04:03:25+02:00March 22nd, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Thriller Book Reviews, World War II Book Reviews|

Review: Ghosts of Mateguas: A Mateguas Island Novel by Linda Watkins

★★★★

Karen Andersen could be envied. She has a loving husband, wonderful children with a new arrival to light up her life, and a home near the coast to ease her mind on days when the gray sets in. Yet there’s a secret pain that Karen carries with her, carried from another coast of a place she can never forget: Mateguas.

After the terrifying ordeals of her time there, Karen knows she has to return; it’s the only way to put down her torments for good. Will Karen do what must be done? Is her son doomed to be cursed […]

James Grimsby2018-10-16T09:21:56+02:00March 22nd, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Horror Book Reviews, Paranormal Book Reviews|

Review: I Am Ed by R.A. Akerlund

★★★½

An intensely moving story of loss, survival, and brotherly love.

The prospect of losing a parent is a fearful part of every child’s reality as they grow up, but to lose both parents, as the nuclear family of brothers in this novel did, is something particularly tragic. Readers are given an intimate glimpse of teenage life through the eyes of orphans, and the resultant story is nothing less than heartfelt and inspiring.

When Fred, Ben, Steve, and Ed lose their mother, they are faced with a difficult decision: report her passing to the authorities and risk being separated or […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-01-22T04:36:49+02:00March 22nd, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Young Adult Book Reviews|

Review: Autumn’s Eyes (Storm Season Book 1) by J.L. Sutton

★★★★½

Autumn’s Eyes by J.L. Sutton is a supernatural thriller that will keep you guessing – superb!

There’s nothing quite like a good detective novel, and from the first few chapters, it’s clear that Benjamin Hadley is a detective in the most classic and incredible sense of the word. With a tragic backstory and a jagged edge to his inner monologue, he is a seeker of truth being hunted by his own demons. From mysterious vixens and supernatural shivers to suspenseful prose and gritty action, Autumn’s Eyes is a complex, dark, and endlessly mysterious book that will keep readers breathlessly […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2016-04-18T02:31:05+02:00March 22nd, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Fantasy Book Reviews, Urban Fantasy Book Reviews|

Review: The Perihelion by D.M. Wozniak

★★★★½ The Perihelion

The Perihelion by D.M. Wozniak is literary, character-driven science fiction at its best. Set in 2069, The Perihelion comprises a world where there are hybrid humans with 1% animal or insect DNA, called 99ers. The novel follows the lives of six different characters in an approaching apocalypse, the Perihelion: “The point in the path of a celestial body that is nearest to the sun,” in which the world is melting down both physically and mentally. This is an epic, uniquely inventive novel about big ideas that should hopefully get a lot of attention.

An apocalyptic scenario sounds like well-trodden […]

SPR2019-03-07T09:26:07+02:00March 10th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Science Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: The Man in the Blue Fez: A Birth of an Assassin Novel by Rik Stone

★★★★½

In 1973, in the harsh eternal winter of Siberia, Jez Kord silently leaves his wife and comrade Anna behind in what was once a death camp built under Stalin’s rule.

Without a word to anyone else, he treks across the unforgiving plains that span beyond the militarized fences of the complex, determined to prove himself fit for duty; his mission-to-be: destroying the military corruption caused by the drug and flesh operations of local crime lords and the brutal machinations of the mafia. However, his task is hindered by friend and foe, leading to a desperate escape from Siberia for […]

James Grimsby2016-03-10T10:02:27+02:00March 10th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Thriller Book Reviews|

Review: Reflection: Book One by W. Scott Causey

★★★★★

The year is 2126, and thanks to the efforts of CEO Carlton Ferguson and his revolutionary creation of Reflection Technology, the world is all but free of the tyranny of crime. Truth reigns supreme as Reflection can show the user any event within a forty-eight hour window. But Carlton knows that the world isn’t ready to hold the key to such power yet, and even less so as his company begins to advance the window from hours to days. He and he alone covets the control of the system, until the United States government offers him a once-in-a-lifetime deal […]

James Grimsby2016-03-25T06:04:10+02:00March 10th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Science Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: The Little Scary Book by Kevin Duncan

★★★★½

The Little Scary Book by Kevin Duncan is a horror story collection, with ten stories for “anyone who was ever young.” This extremely brief description is surprisingly effective at summarizing the piece; the collection is meant for the slightly younger scare-fans out there, though with just as much for an older reader to enjoy. Slip back into the shoes of your younger self for a whole bunch of frights.

It’s very simple book in look and form, though frankly quite terrifying at first glance with its text-less black-and-white depiction of a warped skull. Even as an adult, readers could […]

James Grimsby2019-01-22T11:01:18+02:00March 8th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Horror Book Reviews, Middle Grade Fiction Book Reviews, Short Stories Book Reviews|