Book Reviews | Self-Publishing Review

Review: TZAK: How Time Travel Began by Cindy Shearer

TZAK - How Time Travel Began by Cindy Shearer TZAK – How Time Travel Began by Cindy Shearer is a futuristic novella about one girl’s experience with time travel in a post-apocalyptic America, set in Yucatan, Mexico.

Zola de Chichen, a Maya science student, tells of the times she has encountered time-travelers, and how she herself time travels once she reaches university, in a world where humans can breed their children with any kinds of looks or variants they choose. When a man from the twenty-first century accidentally gets through the portal with Zola, he has to adjust to life over three hundred years in the future.

One would […]

Review: The Demon Cat Of Calle Del Rio by Art Lester ★★★★★

The Demon Cat Of Calle Del Rio by Art Lester Art Lester’s travelogue is a fascinating and funny account of the author’s time in a tiny Spanish village in the mountains by the fictional name of Cantilla.

Books on Spain are always fascinating to other Europeans, and Lester’s book is no exception. I am a Brit, and an ex-pat in Spain, and I was keen to find out if all the foibles I had found further south of Andalusia in the province of Malaga held true for Lester in Granada, albeit some years back before flights to Spain were as common as ten a day per airline from the UK.[…]

Cate Baum2019-01-22T15:39:48+02:00May 4th, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Non-Fiction Book Reviews, Travel Book Reviews|

Review: Blackcloak: A Man of his Sword (The Bloody Tapestry of Kaef’re Book 1) by W. James Chan ★★★★★

Blackcloak: A Man of his Sword by W. James Chan Blackcloak: A Man of his Sword is the first installment of the Bloody Tapestry of Kaef’re series. The book is set in the eponymous Kaef’re: a strange and exotic world reminiscent of, but not analogous to, ancient China, where the world is alive with the forces of nature, magic, and things far beyond true mortal comprehension. In this twisted realm, where dream and reality can uncomfortably intertwine, a young man sets out on a journey of self – against these forces, between mortal and immortal, and through the hands of the two who vie for his life and more. Observed […]

James Grimsby2019-01-22T15:47:31+02:00May 1st, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Fantasy Book Reviews|

Review: An Animal Life: A Chance to Cut by Howard Krum ★★★★

An Animal Life: A Chance to Cut by Howard Krum An Animal Life: A Chance to Cut is the second book in Howard Krum’s award-winning series about life as a vet. Part 2 follows a group of veterinary students in their second semester, focusing on Mike London, a cocky vet school senior who nearly ends a dog’s life and tries to rebuild his life. The phrase “A chance to cut” is a surgeon’s motto: “A chance to cut is a chance to heal,” so London tries to mend his life through medicine, humor and romance.

This is a book for vets, aspiring vets, and pet owners alike. I only count […]

Lysa Grant2019-01-22T15:48:05+02:00May 1st, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Humor, Medical Book Reviews, Memoir Book Reviews, Pets Book Reviews|

Review: Elliptical: The Music of Meshell Ndegeocello by André Akinyele and Jon O’Bergh ★★★★

Elliptical: The Music of Meshell Ndegeocello Elliptical: The Music of Meshell Ndegeocello by André Akinyele and Jon O’Bergh is the tribute to musician and songwriter Meshell Ndegeocello, and is purported to be the first comprehensive overview of her work. The bulk of the book is about André Akinyele’s personal experience discovering her music, while Jon O’Bergh contributes more factual information about her recording history.

I should probably preface this by saying that I wasn’t entirely familiar with the music of Meshell Ndegeocello before receiving this book to review – a career that spans three decades. In short, I haven’t had the same experience of exultation that […]

SPR2019-01-22T15:48:33+02:00May 1st, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Music Book Reviews, Non-Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: Losing Heart by Donna Brown ★★★★★

Losing Heart by Donna Brown is a fast-paced novella that covers a wide range of emotions in a small number of pages. Helen is facing the most difficult of issues: she is in need of a heart transplant and has only five months to live. Cut to 6 months later and Helen is very much alive and isn’t quite worried about living life on the edge: she’s having an affair with her doctor, Jack, while her husband and the mother of the donor become more and more suspicious.

Though Helen is cheating on her husband, she’s a likable narrator who’s […]

Lysa Grant2017-03-24T10:48:31+02:00April 28th, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Thriller Book Reviews|

Review: Shards by James Mirarchi ★★★★

Shards This nicely measured anthology of “pointy” poems by San Francisco-based writer and filmmaker James Mirarchi juxtapose the earthly, natural seams of life with sharp, irregular, unexpected parts to bring a fresh slant of light into word play.

An urban, city feel smears soily atmosphere onto everyday Bukowski-like scenery, while Mirarchi’s dry wit, no doubt the “shards” of the book title, split hairs in ordinary situations. However, there’s a touch of more spiritual and magical sight here too, with shimmers of beauty and some kind of anchoring to existence disturbing the banal streams of life.

Even the Contents page of this […]

Cate Baum2017-03-24T10:48:55+02:00April 28th, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Poetry Book Reviews|

Review: Moscow Venture by A. K. Celer ★★★★

Moscow Venture, by A. K. Celer, is a good old-fashioned spy thriller.

When John Baran learns that his friend and coworker has died under mysterious circumstances he’s determined to unearth the truth. This means he has to travel to Moscow where David Chernov was struck with the bizarre ailment.

In the summer of 1991, hardliners in Russia don’t want to see the breakup of the Soviet Union and will go to great lengths to stop Gorbachev from signing the new union treaty, even if that means overthrowing the communist leader. While Baran is in Moscow managing his company’s cellular […]

T B Markinson2017-03-24T10:49:24+02:00April 28th, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Thriller Book Reviews|