Book Reviews | Self-Publishing Review

Review: Baturi by Matthew Stephen

Baturi by Matthew Stephen

In Baturi, author Matthew Stephen has created a remarkable work of fiction that draws directly on his own experiences in certain dark corners of the world in the 1980s. The level of authenticity and brutal honesty achieved by this author makes this book stand out, despite its potentially niche appeal.

Matthew Ferguson is stationed in northern Nigeria with the Volunteer Services as a teacher, having chosen to leave his life behind and disconnect from everything he has known. However, becoming entranced and then embroiled with another foreigner, and a strikingly beautiful one at that, sends him spiraling into an […]

Review: We Fly Away by J.V. Whittenburg

We Fly Away by J.V. Whittenburg

In We Fly Away, the striking new memoir by J.V. Whittenburg, the author recounts his own incredible story and family history with savagely honest clarity. The third son to a mother of nine, a woman whose sweat and blood and love for her children sits upon every page, the book is told from the unique perspective of a child raised among sharecroppers, a child who was forced to grow up too fast.

Whittenburg writes in the first person, detailing a streaming narrative of his life captured in stunning detail. From his youngest years, dealing with the terror of nearly […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-10-01T10:12:15+02:00September 4th, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Memoir Book Reviews|

Review: The Best of Intentions by Gilbert Van Hoeydonck

The Best of Intentions by Gilbert Van Hoeydonck

A moving work of literary fiction, The Best of Intentions by Gilbert Van Hoeydonck illustrates the stark message of its title: the best of intentions are too often not enough.

Transplanted Melbourne social worker, Kurt Edelman, is hardly a typical Buddhist. With a penchant for cheap wine, leather jackets, and violent video games, he’s disillusioned and frustrated by the social system for which he works – a system that is for the most part understaffed, underfunded, and forces a high case load on its workers.

However, when young Kylee Watson, one of his former charges, jumps from the roof of […]

Marta Cheng2019-09-30T09:12:25+02:00August 20th, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Contemporary Fiction Book Reviews, Literary Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: Littlethumb Sneezed by Truant D. Memphis

Littlethumb Sneezed by Truant D. Memphis

When 10-year old Littlethumb Brooks emerged from the “Occurrence,” the world around him had not changed, but he had. Always sensitive, but now a precocious artist, he possesses a wiseness beyond his years. In front of him stands an amazing series of events involving his parents, a kind yet eager teacher, an evil rock-star, a devastating fire and a beautiful nanny. Littlethumb Sneezed by the creatively named Truant D. Memphis captivates and careens through mystery, love, and a head-spinning jaunt through the enigmatic art world.

The story begins on Coney Island where a caricature artist meets a nanny and the […]

Greg Rideout2019-09-27T09:29:48+02:00August 17th, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Contemporary Fiction Book Reviews, Literary Fiction Book Reviews, Visionary Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: Ramona’s Man by D.L. Yoder

Ramona's Man by D.L. Yoder

Flipping the script on the classic tale of Pygmalion, author D.L. Yoder presents a quirky and unpredictable novel with Ramona’s Man. Tackling issues of parental control, societal expectations, and the half-blind nature of love, this book is an intriguing dive into family psychology and has plenty of squirm-worthy moments to which younger readers will relate.

There is always some pressure when you bring a person home to meet your family for the first time – this pressure is much greater when that person is a homeless man named Harley you picked up less than an hour earlier as a stand-in […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-01-14T07:34:04+02:00August 17th, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Contemporary Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: Hot Solar (Cold Solar Book 2) by Anthony Robinson

In the not so-distant future, the remains of Earth and the Martian colonists are locked in a bloody battle for control of resources, the destiny of their planets and the ultimate fate of mankind itself. This is the sci-fi premise of Hot Solar, the entertaining second installment of the Cold Solar series from Anthony Robinson. Balancing well between suspense and action, the author draws readers into a number of mysteries in his twisted future vision.

While the first book set up this dystopian world and the major players within it, this sophomore of the saga allows for more intense […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-09-26T07:59:19+02:00August 16th, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Science Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: Education from a Deeper and Multidisciplinary Perspective by Chandana Watagodakumbura

Education from a Deeper and Multidisciplinary Perspective by Chandana Watagodakumbura

Most people believe that a strong education provides a foundation for the future, but there are also those who believe our educational philosophy in the 21st century is outdated and limiting, if not downright harmful to coming generations. In Education from a Deeper and Multidisciplinary Perspective, author Chandana Watagodakumbura presents a bold new vision for the future of education, an individualized and customized approach that could alter communities, populations, entrenched infrastructures, and global society as a whole.

Rather than arguing over the merits of the current educational system, or presenting small adjustments to improve standardized test scores, this book […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2020-08-27T04:03:00+02:00August 14th, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Education|

Review: A Family Affair and Other Stories by Joseph E. Fleckenstein

A Family Affair and Other Stories by Joseph E. Fleckenstein

A Family Affair and Other Stories by Joseph Fleckenstein is an engaging collection of fictional and non-fictional stories that span the globe.

Many of these stories have been previously published in literary journals, which speaks to the quality of the writing throughout, which includes those that have not been published before. Written in bite-sized portions, with some stories only two pages long, this is a collection that you can breeze through quickly, in part because of the eclectic variety of Fleckenstein’s storytelling. The stories travel to Egypt, India, Germany, and more, acting as a kind of travel diary, as well […]

Cate Baum2019-09-16T08:54:26+02:00August 13th, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Literary Fiction Book Reviews, Short Stories Book Reviews|