Book Reviews

The latest indie book reviews from Self-Publishing Review

Review: The Ocean Spinner by Samuel & Jared Perry ★★★★

Oceanspinnercover4WEBThe Ocean Spinner (Prodigal Book 1) by cousins Samuel and Jared Perry is a fast-paced young adult fantasy adventure about the nation of Al’Bora, which is on the brink of war, savagely attacked by assassins and a new threat: a powerful mage called the Ocean Spinner who has the power to destroy fleets and affect the tides. Sitor, a knight who’s a bit brutish but good with a sword, is tasked to eradicate the Ocean Spinner along with a a ragtag band of assassins and mages who don’t always see eye to eye, but are driven by the same goal, […]

2017-03-24T11:04:48+02:00March 19th, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: |

Review: Kalëon by N. A. Sylla ★★★★★

Kalëon by N. A. SyllaIn a dark time of the Fourth Age, in a strange land known as Earth, a child is born. Son of a king, and heir to a throne, he carries in him a darkness that threatens the world as he knows it. Born of betrayal, raised in conflict, he lives when by all means he should not, watched by mighty beings from beyond that seek – finally – to conquer the heavens and destroy their god, Orph, the ultimate entity. As the world threatens to end once more, myth turns to matter in the hands of the eponymous Kalëon, […]

2017-03-24T11:05:21+02:00March 19th, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: |

Review: Icarus Falling by Christopher Paul Meyer ★★★★

Icarus FallingIcarus Falling: The True Story of a Nightclub Bouncer Who Wanted to Be a F*cking Movie Star But Settled for Being a F*cking Man is the raucous, often hilarious, memoir of Christopher Paul Meyer’s time working as a bouncer in what was then the “most popular nightclub in Los Angeles.” Given the number of bars in L.A. that’s really saying something, so Meyer comes toe to toe, and fist to fist, with an entertaining assortment of drunks, celebrities, homeless people and everything else L.A. has to offer.

There’s an addictive quality to Meyer’s writing. He really knows how to turn […]

2017-03-24T11:06:03+02:00March 18th, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: |

Review: Ashes and Asphalt by Trevor Halloway ★★★★

Ashes“I’ll bet you twenty bucks that you won’t mess with that old man by the bar.”

The large man looked to where his friend pointed. He noticed a few bikers around him and shook his head. “I’m not messing with bikers, bro.”

And so begins the rocking story of the Florida Gearheads – but when the fight gets heavy, old Billy Byrne ends himself up in hospital, his son Mike has to make his way to his side, memories of his childhood alongside his biker dad flooding back to him. But when Billy doesn’t make it, and Mike and his […]

2019-01-22T15:49:57+02:00March 18th, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: , |

Review: Fathers House by C. Edward Baldwin ★★★★★

Fathers House by C. Edward BaldwinThe town of Duraleigh, NC, has had an astonishing turnaround. Once a den of iniquity, with drugs and sex workers on every corner, over a decade of work by county officials and local figures has seen major improvements in every category of crime each year ongoing. Touted as an epitome of what America’s cities can strive for, the movers and shakers of the town have unspoken rules and relationships to maintain their records, and one of them concerns a certain well-renowned home for under-priviledged boys.

“Uncle” Mayo Fathers seems by day to be nothing more than a kindly man concerned […]

2017-03-24T11:09:29+02:00March 16th, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: |

Review: The Lord of Salamander by T.H. Alexander ★★★★

The Lord of SalamanderThe Lord of Salamander is the debut novel of author T.H. Alexander and is an exciting fantasy tale for the young adult crowd.

This coming of age story follows the adventures of Elijah Pendleton, a boy with a miserable home life, no backbone, and a host of unfulfilled hopes.  He desperately needs to believe that more exists than the abuse of his distasteful aunts.  When he first sees a strange cat in the backyard, he can scarcely imagine that its appearance will prove all his wishes to be true.  Soon, Elijah is thrust into a new world of wiccans and […]

2017-03-24T11:09:15+02:00March 13th, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: |

Review: Shattered by the Wars by Hi-Dong Chai ★★★★★

shatteredShattered by the Wars, by Hi-Dong Chai, should be required reading. This powerful coming of age memoir is a story of love, faith, suffering, and sacrifice.

Hi-Dong Chai had to overcome many obstacles in such a short amount of time. During World War II, Korea was under Japan’s control. They imprisoned his father because he was a Christian minister who refused to bow down to the picture of the Japanese emperor. His brother volunteered for the Japanese military in hopes to save his father. During the Korean War, his father was taken away by two North Korean officers. He never […]

2017-03-24T11:09:00+02:00March 12th, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: , |

Review: City Times and Other Poems by Vihang A. Naik

Vihang NaikVihang A. Naik is an Indian poet living in Gujarat, with a prolific career in writing and translating poetry from Gujarati language into English, including his own works.  His collection of poetry here, City Times and Other Poems will be fascinating to poetry lovers interested in words that explore from the inside, as these philosophical pieces capture their environment in a way that can only be crafted by a native inhabitant of an unusual creative mind many readers may not be so familiar with. However, this collection does not necessarily explore India, but more the human condition and the relation […]

2018-07-24T10:50:56+02:00March 12th, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: |
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