Book Reviews | Self-Publishing Review

Review: Discovering Kaylee by Stu Kane and Hannah Wilkerson

★★★★

Discovering Kaylee, by Stu Kane and Hannah Wilkerson, is an angst-filled teenage drama that will hold the reader’s interest until the end.

Kaylee, a high school junior, is popular and successful. She has good grades, friends, drive, and is attractive. Sam is the opposite. He’s withdrawn from his peers, school activities, and classes. When the two of them start a rock band, it drastically changes both of their lives. The question is will the two of them survive the changes?

Teenage drama is just that: drama. It’s one of the appeals of young adult and new adult fiction. […]

Review: End Time (The End Time Sage Book 1) by Daniel Greene

★★★★½ End Time by Daniel Greene

A savage, unforgettable zombie thrill ride.

From the very first scene of Greene’s gruesome, entrancing thriller, readers know that they are in for one hell of a ride. When a deadly virus begins to spread in the DRC, one might think that all the petty rivalries, policies, and ambitions of people would be put to the side for the sake of survival, but this novel takes readers not only through the brutal gore of an imagined zombie apocalypse, but also into some truly dark corners of human nature.

Readers are initially led to believe that this is a slowly […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-01-21T09:37:57+02:00March 4th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Horror Book Reviews, Zombie Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: White Dove by Ryan Gordon

★★½

White Dove by Ryan Gordon is a young adult horror novel about Zuri Bailey, a 17-year-old with more problems than face most high-schoolers, who suffers from a violent and mysterious attack in her past. As she comes to terms with the encounter, she witness more violence: a murder in her town of Dover Point. Battling personal issues and trying to take care of her family, Zuri find that the murderer is more terrifying than she even realized: a supernatural force is on the prowl.

Gordon is at his best when he’s expressing the emotional complexity of his teen characters. […]

Henry Baum2016-03-11T03:18:20+02:00March 4th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Vampires Book Reviews, Young Adult Book Reviews|

Review: Fixed by Doug Piotter

★★★★ Fixed by Doug Piotter

Doug Piotter’s memoir, Fixed: dope sacks, dye packs and the long welcome back, is an eye-opening account of the author’s dysfunctional and seemingly hopeless existence as a young man. Fueled by almost every illegal substance known to man, he stumbles through bank robberies, drug rehab, and has many encounters with a whole host of crazy characters. When he starts his “long welcome back,” his tale turns into a positive one and he embarks on the beginning of a life of hope and productivity.

With no conventional parental guidance to speak of, Piotter quickly slides down a very slippery […]

Helen Chenaf2016-03-24T07:51:08+02:00February 29th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Addiction Book Reviews, Memoir Book Reviews, Non-Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: Everyone Versus Everyone by Arthur Jay

★★★★ Everyone Versus Everyone by Arthur Jay

Welcome to the world of courtroom drama with a difference – Arthur Jay takes on the state of modern life in his satirical novella Everyone Versus Everyone. In this thought-provoking and humorous tale, Jay ponders the question: if everyone was on trial for making a mess of the world, what would happen? If everyone took on everyone in court, how could things possibly be resolved – and would the trial make a difference? Diverse members of the public are plucked from their everyday pursuits to appear on the witness stand for the prosecution or sit on the jury, and […]

Helen Chenaf2019-01-22T15:36:48+02:00February 27th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Contemporary Fiction Book Reviews, Satire Book Reviews|

Review: Motions and Moments: More Essays on Tokyo by Michael Pronko

Motions and Moments: More Essays on Tokyo by Michael Pronko

Continuing on from his previous book, Beauty and Chaos: Slices and Morsels of Tokyo Life, Michael Pronko presents more stories and snippets of life in Tokyo from the perspective of an expat American. Motions and Moments: More Essays on Tokyo reflects on the unique flavors, distinct cultures, and the functional paradoxes of the Japanese capital in 42 more essays from Pronko’s 18 years of Japanese life. Altogether, the book provides a light, solemn, and amusing collection of autobiographical moments and views on the vibrant and fascinating Land of the Rising Sun.

Pronko has an intriguing outlook on his surroundings: […]

James Grimsby2019-02-11T09:26:00+02:00February 26th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Essay Book Reviews, Travel Book Reviews|

Review: Human Behavior in Extreme Situations by Robert H. Koff & Kathryn Hanna

★★★½

Human Behavior in Extreme Situations by Robert H. Koff and Kathryn R. Hanna is a book that unfortunately needed to be written, given that school shootings have become the “new normal.” Investigating a number of tragic events throughout history, Koff and Hanna examine what we can learn from them in order to be better prepared when a similar events happen in the future.

Koff and Hanna make clear at the outset that this book isn’t about preventative methods. They don’t delve into the gun control/mental health debate. They reference the head of the NRA saying “We need to be […]

Henry Baum2019-01-22T15:21:54+02:00February 25th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Education, Non-Fiction Book Reviews, Social Science Book Reviews|

Review: Happy Chasing Happy by Jerome Jay Isip

★★★★½ Happy Chasing Happy by Jerome Jay Isip

A vicious piece of prose – unique and powerful.

At the outset of this brutal and honestly painful story, the name of this book may seem misleading, to say the least. But the further along into the novel you dig, the title begins to make more sense. From the darkest depths of drug addiction, self-loathing, and listless living to the incredible heights of physical perfection, mental clarity, and self-fulfillment, this book is a true knockout, written with the patience and precision one would expect from a veteran novelist.

The intricacies of the professional MMA world may be a mystery […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2016-03-10T09:59:40+02:00February 25th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Memoir Book Reviews, Non-Fiction Book Reviews|