Book Reviews

The latest indie book reviews from Self-Publishing Review

Review: Earworms by Zack Duncan

Earworms by Zack Duncan

Blending character-driven drama and hometown heartache with a psychological crime thriller, Earworms by Zack Duncan is an addictive spiral of visionary sci-fi storytelling.

A lucid-dreaming journalist with a penchant for digging up truths people want to keep hidden, Max Barker has returned home after many years to bury his father. He hasn’t seen his old friend Oren West in over a decade, but the now-famous case-cracking PI is at the funeral with an unusual request: Oren needs Max to operate an illegal memory-accessing device in order to locate a missing 16-year-old girl. Still reeling from the shock and grief of […]

Review: Temberlain’s Ashes (Age of Axion Book 2) by D.M. Wozniak

Temberlain's Ashes by D.M. Wozniak

A bold and breathtaking piece of sci-fi imagination, Temberlain’s Ashes by D.M. Wozniak is a fantastic second installment of the Age of Axion series.

The adventure of Dem, Blythe, Chireseal, and Chimeline is far from over, as they seek to eliminate the cruel practice of voidance across the land. Through their practice of eleutheria, they can free the trapped souls enslaved by dark arcane arts, but convincing people to give up power is no easy feat.

The legacy of magical oppression and unchecked power lingers, particularly in a scarred realm trying to rebuild after the bloody war and the defeat […]

2022-11-28T12:52:34+02:00November 25th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: |

Review: Soldier to Sojourner by Gordon Schwerzmann

Soldier to Sojourner by Gordon Schwerzmann

Soldier to Sojourner: The Journal – Traveling on the 1970s Asian Hippie Trails is a compelling personal and historical travelogue of Gordon Schwerzmann’s time in the military and as a tourist in Asia.

Beginning with his stint as an Army officer in Korea in 1970 and continuing through civilian trips to Japan, Nationalist China, Hong Kong, Macau, the Philippines, and Burma, the book is a wild and varied trip through exotic locales. Schwerzmann, a photojournalist and travel writer, documents his experiences through detailed descriptions, historical discourse and extrapolated musings, recollections of people he met, and a wide range of photographs […]

2023-03-20T16:58:22+02:00November 22nd, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: , |

Review: The Noble Exiles (Ocean Black Book 1) by E.J. Wedge

The Noble Exiles (Ocean Black Book 1) by E.J. Wedge

Author E.J. Wedge plunges readers into the dark and unknown ocean of the future with his first novel, The Noble Exiles, the first installment of the Ocean Black series, a sprawling and visionary sci-fi debut.

Unknown centuries in the future, with Earth long ago abandoned, the scattered seeds of humanity have spread to dozens of other stars and planets across the galaxy. However, the details of how the interstellar Nation was finally united, and how the Forging War saved our species, may not be the true origin story of cosmic peace.

The tale is told largely from the perspective […]

2022-11-28T11:22:48+02:00November 14th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: |

Review: Derelict by Tracy Grogan

Derelict by Tracy Grogan

Author Tracy Grogan plunges readers into mysterious new depths with Derelict, the second book in the Divemaster Ricky Mystery series.

After taking a job as a dive instructor in Egypt, it doesn’t take long for the unshakeable Ricky Yamamoto to be caught up in another maritime mystery, when her job prospects literally blow up in her face. On top of that, the local authorities are far too occupied with civil unrest to properly investigate the disappearance of a fellow diver on her team. Unable to shake the feeling that her life has once again stumbled into something sinister, Ricky […]

2022-11-10T12:45:40+02:00November 10th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: |

Review: Broken Souls by Troy Calkins

Broken Souls by Troy Calkins

Crafting a spectacular new fantasy world with an unforgiving edge and two unforgettable heroes, Broken Souls by Troy Calkins is a sprawling, Viking-inspired epic.

Lura is an unassuming young woman trying to survive in a hard world, one where the unlicensed use of magic is prohibited, so she must keep her skills hidden – or at least muffled. Avenging those she loves will require all the craftiness and tenacity she can muster, but she has heart in spades. Bothvar meanwhile comes from a proud lineage of warriors, but is forced into the painful soul-searching and isolation that comes with separation […]

2022-12-20T17:30:32+02:00November 8th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: |

Review: Kate’s Whisper by Carrie Wiegman

Kate’s Whisper by Carrie Wiegman

Dark, mysterious, and emotionally charged, Kate’s Whisper by Carrie Wiegman is a page-turner and a fascinating insight into the lives of those who fight crime.

Set in Seattle, this detective novel follows the investigations of young FBI agent Kate, well-known in the forces for her steady mind and invaluable hunches. Determined, clever, and armed with infallible intuition, Kate is no ordinary agent, and no ordinary person either – since she was little she knew her talents were special, almost surreal.

After her mother’s sudden death and her father’s descent into alcoholism, Kate’s life changed forever. In one sweep, she lost […]

2022-12-20T17:06:56+02:00November 8th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: |

Review: The Ordeal by Josephine Walden

The Ordeal by Josephine Walden

A tender memoir covering events that will surprise the reader as much as they did the author, The Ordeal: A Journey from Misfortunes, Illness and Betrayal to Truth by Josephine Walden inspects the reliability of memory and reveals the bitter pull of greed.

Josie Walden was a nurse and psychiatric nurse-counselor whose mysterious, debilitating illnesses often rendered her incapable of doing her job, On top of that, she also experienced unanticipated natural disasters that drained her finances. It was during these years that she and her older sister, Julie, were faced with their parents’ declining health, eventual deaths, and the […]

2022-11-09T13:12:00+02:00November 8th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: |
Go to Top