Book Reviews | Self-Publishing Review

Review: Sojourner to Stoner by Gordon Schwerzmann

Sojourner to Stoner: The Journal

Sojourner to Stoner: The Journal by Gordon Schwerzmann is the second exhilarating installment of the author’s travel adventures, a mix between a memoir, guidebook, and travelogue. This memorable piece of non-fiction feels like a visit to a far-off place, as the best travel memoirs do, full of enchanting and exotic anecdotes, and people who seem like fictional characters.

After Soldier to Sojourner, this book recalls the second phase of Gordon Schwerzmann’s longstanding relationship with traveling the world. Journeying through Southeast Asia in the ’70s, the author breaks down his journeys in snappy episodes, while also allowing himself to linger […]

Marina Dora Martino2023-04-07T11:28:15+02:00March 17th, 2023|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Memoir Book Reviews, Travel Book Reviews|

Review: What Happened to Annabell? A Monday Night Anthology

What Happened to Annabell? A Monday Night Anthology

Ten talented writers contribute a creative storm of stories in response to a single question in the macabre and compelling collection, What Happened to Annabell? With a fascinating hook for these tales – an original writing prompt that is both straightforward and inherently intriguing – it is easy to be pulled into this entertaining and expertly curated collection.

After seeing a headstone from more than a century ago, bearing a female name that lacked a death date, a curious writing prompt was composed, imagining the fate of such a woman. The variety of clever and dark takes on the concept […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2023-04-06T16:37:49+02:00March 14th, 2023|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Short Stories Book Reviews|

Review: The 14 Concrete (But Not So Hard!) Steps to Private Practice by Bonnie McKeegan

The 14 Concrete (But Not So Hard!) Steps to Private Practice by Bonnie McKeegan

For both veteran practitioners and new providers embarking on starting their own practice, author and practitioner Bonnie McKeegan delivers a wealth of valuable advice in The 14 Concrete (But Not So Hard!) Steps to Private Practice: A Guide for Licensed Clinical Social Workers and Licensed Marriage Family Therapists.

As McKeegan lays out, without the guidance and established procedures of a larger medical organization, launching into your own safe and effective practice can be a daunting and overwhelming prospect. Whether you are deciding on charting methods or choosing an insurance carrier, there are countless missteps that should be avoided, and […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2023-04-06T07:51:17+02:00March 14th, 2023|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Psychology Book Reviews|

Review: Coming Into Power by Tamara Smith

Coming Into Power by Tamara Smith

A fast-paced, engaging erotic fantasy, Coming Into Power by Tamara Smith is bursting with imagination and sensuality as well as consideration of issues such as trust, family, and the meaning of belonging. With its original take on the genre, thriller-like plotting, and sharply-drawn characters, the novel is a boundary-pushing, category-crossing story as sensitive as it is steamy.

As the title declares, the book is fundamentally a discussion of power, and how it grows as we become mature adults and fully ourselves. Of course, in a fantasy, this centers around the characters’ fantastical powers, whose superhuman abilities are frequently associated with […]

Marina Dora Martino2023-05-02T10:23:58+02:00March 13th, 2023|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Paranormal Romance Book Reviews|

Review: African Graffiti by Lokhilesh Takoor

African Graffiti by Lokhilesh Takoor

Following the author’s wandering career and adventurous spirit, African Graffiti by Lokhilesh Takoor offers a thoughtful story of self-reliance, courage, and the ageless search for belonging.

Takoor’s journey begins in Madagascar, where his work as a field engineer opened doors for advancement, while his affable personality gained him strong connections. However, the uncertain nature of politics and quick twists of societal opinion forced him to leave, once again seeking new open spaces and safer shores to explore.

The author’s professional skills took him across various African nations, giving him a broad-spectrum introduction to a variety of cultures, work practices, cuisines, […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2023-04-05T15:45:45+02:00March 2nd, 2023|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Memoir Book Reviews|

Review: Shirley’s Compilation of Short Stories by Shirley McLain

Shirley's Compilation of Short Stories by Shirley McLain

Shirley’s Compilation of Short Stories by Shirley McLain is an engaging book of short fiction in which the inner lives of characters intertwine with the bigger picture of history, resulting in a thrilling roller coaster of emotion.

McLain offers the reader a wide range of stories, touching on genres that vary from noir to romantic fiction. The thread running through them is in their evocative atmosphere – the perpetual feeling of something hidden below the surface: a detail overlooked for too long, a well-kept secret, or an emotion that cannot be ignored.

From the tragic secrets behind the wealth of […]

Marina Dora Martino2023-04-05T08:16:45+02:00February 28th, 2023|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Religious Fiction Book Reviews, Short Stories Book Reviews|

Review: Freezing Reign by L.A. Goff

Freezing Reign by L.A. Goff

Tapping into contemporary fears and deep-seated themes of equality and purpose, Freezing Reign by L.A. Goff is an ambitious work of dystopian fiction, and the first installment of a tough but emotional new series.

As the Olympian virus continues to rip through the female population of the planet, Mirari Vega’s father makes an impossible choice to place his healthy daughter in a homemade cryogenic chamber before her chromosomal fate is sealed. Having already missed the chance to save his wife, he promises to bring his daughter back once the technology to safely revive her exists. A dozen years later, Mirari […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2023-04-03T12:18:21+02:00February 27th, 2023|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Dystopian Fiction Book Reviews, Science Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: The Borderlands of Forever by Jeff B. Willey

The Borderlands of Forever by Jeff B. Willey

Spiraling forward through time, space, evolution, and human exploration, The Borderlands of Forever by Jeff B. Willey is an experimental and exceptionally well-written novel depicting our species’ tragic and star-bound future.

In this sprawling portal into the future, the second half of the 21st century is punctuated by the discovery of inter-dimensional enemies and the collapse of freedom as we know it. That’s nothing compared to the cataclysmic events leading into the 22nd century, including the blending of man and machine, and violent pushbacks against these autags and cyborgs. Eventually, the machine intelligence on Earth wins out, and a point […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2023-03-29T11:07:24+02:00February 27th, 2023|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Science Fiction Book Reviews, Visionary Fiction Book Reviews|