Book Reviews | Self-Publishing Review

Review: Back to Serve by CW3 Cesare Giannetti

Back to Serve by CW3 Cesare Giannetti

Author and decorated veteran CW3 Cesare Giannetti U.S. Army (Ret.) draws readers into a fascinating crucible of loyalty, war, family, and self-determination in Back to Serve: Return of a Soldier.

Written as a fictional memoir of the similarly-named Captain Nico Corretti, the novel no doubt reflects the author’s own experience, but it is intriguingly woven together with the elements of a thriller. It is unusual for a military story to begin with the protagonist retiring from service, but Captain Corretti’s respite is short-lived, as his loyalty and willingness to sacrifice are endless. With a mother who died when he […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-08-16T11:34:04+02:00June 17th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Military Book Reviews, Thriller Book Reviews|

Review: Letters to Sis by CW3 Cesare Giannetti

Letters to Sis by CW3 Cesare Giannetti

A stirring memoir in an unusual form, Letters to Sis by CW3 Cesare Giannetti is an intimate look into the everyday lives of ordinary servicemen, and a peek behind the curtain at the lives they leave behind.

A blend of non-fiction epistolary writing and narrative confession, this book is deeply personal and revealing about the author’s lived experiences, during his years before, during, and after serving in the US Army. Telling the story via letters gives the book genuine emotion and honesty in these scribbled snapshots of prose, while Giannetti’s dramatic accounts of his service fill in the blanks, providing […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-08-08T07:20:52+02:00June 17th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Memoir Book Reviews, Military Book Reviews|

Review: Revolution by David Dorrough

Revealing how everyday lives can be extraordinary in countless ways, Revolution by David Dorrough is a deep dive into a Southern California social bubble with a cadre of well-drawn characters and drama aplenty. A commentary on the epic level to which we raise the banalities of our own lives, and the struggle to achieve or feel contentment in the modern world, this book cuts deep into our current culture.

Each player in this drama represents some small and strange slice of California dreaming – seeking something better, newer, faster, sexier, but ultimately finding their hopes dashed, or their expectations unmet. […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-07-25T07:16:25+02:00June 14th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Contemporary Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: Person to Person by Joeri Torfs and Pim Ampe with Greta Myers

Person to Person by Joeri Torfs and Pim Ampe

Authors Joeri Torfs and Pim Ampe with Greta Myers delve into a possible better path forward for our world in Person to Person: Change Your Life and Fix the World.

Examining the present day through a sparkling lens of technological knowledge, sociological insight, and philosophical foundations, these authors ask cutting-edge existential questions that are relevant for everyone. Partially inspired by a rare opportunity to breathe new life into an old space in southern France, this book blends a quartet of fictional characters with the speculative yet sober dreams of the authors.

Driven by the idea of creating a “heterotopia,” they […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-06-13T06:36:14+02:00June 12th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Social Science Book Reviews|

Review: 2359 Hours by Jack B.S. North

2359 Hours by Jack B.S. North

Immersing readers in the mind of a conflicted soldier desperately seeking inner peace, 2359 Hours by Jack B.S. North is a timely reflection on war, trauma, and the myriad roads to redemption.

Archie has attempted to overcome his devastating experiences in Afghanistan by moving to Canada, near his wartime comrades, but has found that all the ghosts of his past came along for the journey. Embarking in a new direction after being forged in a crucible of war is never easy, as this gritty and relentless story shows. The twist of this narrative, however, is that the novel takes place […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-07-21T01:24:40+02:00June 8th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Contemporary Fiction Book Reviews, Military Book Reviews|

Review: Myers by Jeff Lee

Myers by Jeff Lee

A gripping mystery that reveals its villain long before the final page, Myers by Jeff Lee is a character-driven thriller that exposes the grim repercussions of trauma and war, showing how the severe residual trauma and haunting memories of survivors can have their own terrible repercussions.

Plunging readers into a wind-blown, easily forgotten part of America, this novel is an exposé of violence, history, and family. The story pits two such souls against each other, the town’s police chief, Karl Myers, and Jerry Peterman – a soldier who never really stopped fighting, and who has forgotten any language but domination. […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-07-15T04:47:13+02:00June 7th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Historical Fiction Book Reviews, Thriller Book Reviews|

Review: Bad Girl by Vonne B

Bad Girl by Vonne B

A compelling rich-romance drama, Bad Girl by Vonne B offers a surprisingly multifaceted novel set in the dual cut-throat worlds of strip clubs and the law.

Protagonist Abigail has managed to pull off a gig at one of the best strip joints in town, Secrets, working as a thick-bodied exotic dancer to provide for her little brother after her drug-addled mother made off leaving them to fend for themselves at a young age. A wealthy regular, Jones, has taken a shine to her, and she’s dancing for him privately one night a week to bring home the dough.

Meanwhile, Jones […]

SPR2022-07-05T10:05:40+02:00June 7th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Erotic Book Reviews, Romance Book Reviews|

Review: Stained Echoes by Jon Ring, Illustrated by Vinessa Sanford

Stained Echoes by Jon Ring

Crafting myriad worlds in a tightly penned collection of stories, Stained Echoes: Tales of the Mysterious and the Macabre by Jon Ring is an enchanting work of old-fashioned horror for readers who love to be spooked. Presenting a wide and weird variety of disturbing yarns, from ancient battlefield hauntings to the demons held deepest in our hearts, this book exhibits a mastery of the style.

A unique and impressive homage to the macabre pacing of Poe, the collection hums with sinister tension, often delaying its twisted payoffs until the very end of the story. The opening piece especially, “The Secret […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-06-09T03:51:58+02:00June 3rd, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Horror Book Reviews, Short Stories Book Reviews|