Lead Story | Self-Publishing Review

Review: The Darziods’ Stone by Richard Smith

The Darziods' Stone by Richard Smith

The Darziods’ Stone by Richard Smith is a fun middle grade adventure, reading like “The Goonies” set in Cornwall, which will certainly inspire young readers’ sense of adventure.

The book begins with a prologue, which sets the scene nicely, giving the adventure to come a sense of real history – namely Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt and the British swift response to it. The reader then finds themselves stranded in Cornwall with a mystical stone that is being desperately hidden by members of the crew, which sets the story for a group of teenagers to crack the code of the missing […]

Review: Footsteps in the Dark: Stories of the Bizarre and Unusual by Carlo Armenise

Although a collection of short stories, Carlo Armenise has managed to make Footsteps in the Dark: Stories of the Bizarre and Unusual a cohesive whole by creating an atmosphere that radiates through each page. Without delving into exaggeration or fantasy, Armenise has managed to capture what we all fear lurking in the shadows, providing a visceral experience for any reader.

The stories deal with a range of topics, from transference of consciousness to dialogues on evil itself. Reminiscent of Stephen King’s short stories, every story focuses on the human element; these are real, flawed characters who we can all relate […]

SPR2020-03-10T12:34:54+02:00May 5th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Horror Book Reviews, Paranormal Book Reviews, Short Stories Book Reviews|

Review: Recall by R. Lawson

The Vietnam War remains one of the most controversial and tumultuous times in American history, leaving a shadowy legacy that affects politics, culture, entertainment and art to this day. Author R. Lawson takes readers back into those confusing times in his new novel, Recall, which falls into the historical fiction genre, but is also deeply influenced by his own experiences in the war.

As with many novels and films about this period in history, the human element is the most engaging and heartbreaking aspect of the story, as readers are shown the devastating effects that war can have on […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2020-02-21T06:17:56+02:00May 4th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Historical Fiction Book Reviews, Military Book Reviews|

Review: Chasing the Red Queen by Karen Glista

Chippewa legends and vampirical lore make for interesting bedfellows in Chasing the Red Queen, an edgy YA paranormal romance by Karen Glista.

Sixteen-year-old Donja Bellanger is devastated to be leaving behind her childhood home and all those she holds dear to start a new life in another town, thanks to her mother’s marriage to widower, Carson Hampton. Worse yet, she’ll have to share a bedroom with Carson’s privileged daughter, Makayla, during renovations to the old manor into which they just moved.

Surprisingly, the two girls quickly become fast friends, bonding over their tragic loss of a parent, and on […]

Marta Cheng2020-02-21T07:14:31+02:00April 20th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Paranormal Romance Book Reviews, Young Adult Book Reviews|

Review: Mnemosyne’s Daughters by Brit Chism

Mnemosyne’s Daughters is a thought-provoking collection of modern day short stories inspired by Greek mythology that author, Brit Chism, uses to highlight social issues affecting women in today’s society.

Told from a surprisingly male perspective, there are nine short stories in all – a few somewhat blandly titled after women. Then there are the rest, like “Alice Silver-Blue Hair and the Saints,” “Elysian Fields Next Exit,” “Mnemosyne’s Daughters,” “Layla and the Rage,” and “Medea Royal,” each of which express the author’s robust imagination that is evident throughout this collection.

At the heart of each story are women from all walks […]

Marta Cheng2019-01-22T11:13:27+02:00April 18th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Short Stories Book Reviews, Women's Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: Panther Across the Stars by Lon Brett Coon

The travesty of Native American history in the United States is well known, and is a common topic for authors and artists who seek literary – if not literal – justice for the past. In Panther Across the Stars, the debut novel by author Lon Brett Coon, this shadowy and shameful chunk of American history is depicted in a decidedly new way.

While Native American culture and lore overflows with mysticism and spirituality, Coon’s angle leans deeper into the science fiction genre. This novel tells the tale of one young Red Indian brave befriending three otherworldly visitors, and their […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2018-05-09T10:46:28+02:00April 17th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Science Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: Get the Heck Out of Our Way! by Dale W. Cox

Get the Heck Out of Our Way! by Dale W. Cox

Businessman Dale W. Cox expresses his deep concern over the proliferation of government regulations and their consequences to ordinary citizens in the United States in Get the Heck Out of Our Way!: Examples of Government Regulations That Are Eroding Our Freedoms, Holding Back the Economy, and Costing Us Money and What We Can Do about It.

Cox asserts that early on in our history very few government departments were deemed necessary, but in the past 100+ years such departments have increased in number, size, influence, and power. As someone who desires to pursue small business, he is affected directly, […]

Barbara Scott2019-01-22T11:33:04+02:00April 16th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Business Book Reviews, Politics Book Reviews|

Review: Whither, Willie Wicked? by Jan Ewing

Whither, Willie Wicked? by Jan Ewing

In Whither, Willie Wicked? Jan Ewing has produced a terrific piece of work, tackling hard subjects that are both topical and magical, melding the real with the imagined.

The story follows Thomas Llewellyn Gareth, known as Gareth, a private investigator tasked with locating the punk rock star Jeff Christopher after his disappearance in light of a rape accusation. All is not as it may seem, with rumors that Jeff Christopher has turned into someone else, Willie Wicked, and questions arise as to his father’s intentions after Gareth learns Jeff squeezed him out and lost his father a lot of money.[…]