New Releases | Self-Publishing Review

Headless 1776 by Tom Schneider

Headless 1776 by Tom Schneider A haunting origin story, Headless 1776 by Tom Schneider is a wildly imaginative YA novel for those who love a good mix of fact and fiction.

A young boy named Elijah loses his last real connection to family on the way to a new life during the early years of the Revolutionary War. What he encounters in his new home leads to a riveting and unexpectedly good ghost story. This occasionally gory and fast-paced piece of historical fiction is engaging from the first page, as readers are introduced to a savage mercenary who has since become a headless legend, thanks […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2021-02-10T08:03:52+02:00February 10th, 2021|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Historical Fiction Book Reviews, Horror Book Reviews, Young Adult Book Reviews|

Book Endings by Syntell Smith

Book Endings by Syntell Smith Workplace drama, emotional tragedy, and the winding roads of reconciliation abound in Book Endings: A Call Numbers Novel by Syntell Smith.

Following on the heels of this series’ first installment, readers once again find Robin Walker in the surprisingly dramatic muddle of mid-90s life in New York City. Despite the traditionally quiet atmosphere of a library, Robin’s world is packed with opinionated and argumentative peers who add color, conflict, and energy to this character-driven workplace drama. Managing the emotional exhaustion of his declining grandfather, navigating the patchwork alliances and fleeting loyalties among his colleagues, and even testing the waters of […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2021-02-08T08:18:12+02:00February 8th, 2021|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Contemporary Fiction Book Reviews|

Element of Reflection by T.C. Elofson

Elements of Reflection by T.C. Elofson A stunning new fantasy world reveals itself in Element of Reflection, the first visionary installment of The Waterbringer Trilogy by T.C. Elofson.

The mystical realm of Hisan once trembled in the shadow of the old gods, but even as their memory fades, some are still blessed with their elementalist gifts, including Takayo Jin, a fearless teenage pirate. Her ability to masterfully manipulate water – dehydrating an enemy in seconds, or commanding the sea like a weapon – is only one form of these ancient powers of the gods. Suddenly severed from the life she has known for so long, […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2021-02-08T07:59:43+02:00February 7th, 2021|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Fantasy Book Reviews|

Let’s Blow Up The Elite College Admissions Black Box by Terry Connelly

Let's Blow Up The Elite College Admissions Black Box by Terry Connelly Terry Connelly delivers a rousing and unrelenting call to action with Let’s Blow Up The Elite College Admissions Black Box: It’s Roiling Young Lives, Rigged for the Rich, and Wrong for America, a stirring treatise addressing the historical and worsening inequities in America’s college admissions process.

Connelly wields his impressive career experience from the financial and academic worlds like a broadsword, eviscerating common objections and weak arguments in defense of wealth-driven advantages, legacy admissions, and other outdated practices of entrenched institutions. Underpinned by a proposal called the Transparency, Equity and Fairness in College Admissions Act, this book suggests a […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2021-02-02T08:10:37+02:00February 2nd, 2021|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Education|

Last Star Standing by Spaulding Taylor

A dauntless soldier’s epic tale of rebellion, escape, and redemption, Last Star Standing by Spaulding Taylor is a dazzling and chilling vision of the future.

In a post-World War III dystopia, Earth’s problems spin even further out of control when they are conquered by the Xirfell, an advanced alien species that ravages the planet and the survivors that remain. Drawn by his duty to the scattered shreds of humanity, and determination to lead the rebel cell to victory, Aiden is a fiery protagonist that makes this outlandishly creative novel a pleasure to read. With the author’s imagination running wild through […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2021-02-01T08:53:05+02:00February 1st, 2021|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Science Fiction Book Reviews|

Incarnate: Existence by Thomas Harper

Incarnate - Existence by Thomas Harper

The first installment of an eon-spanning epic, Incarnate: Existence by Thomas Harper is a colossal undertaking and an impressive achievement.

Dragged through the endless cycle of mortality, and cursed with the memories of all those past lives, Marcy Rivera is one of the most complex protagonists in recent memory. The book’s introduction offers a small slice of her traumatic foundation as a character, as well as her inner strength that has sharpened her over the millennia. In her latest incarnation, she is a high school history teacher with a sharp tongue and profound loneliness, but when she discovers that she […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2021-01-27T05:14:02+02:00January 27th, 2021|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Science Fiction Book Reviews|

A Most Mutual Bond by Norman Luce

A Most Mutual Bond by Norman Luce A young woman finds the confidence to explore her more taboo fantasies, bringing her handsome suitor face to face with his past, in A Most Mutual Bond by Norman Luce.

Capturing the pace and passion of a college romance, this novella traces the birth of a fetish, and the journey Sarah takes to communicate those desires in a safe and shame-free way. The romantic tension between Sarah and Kyle is well-developed, and their open conversations are encouraging for young people, twenty-somethings, and anyone else who may blush or struggle when talking about sex.

The book dives headfirst into delicate and […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2021-01-26T05:22:55+02:00January 25th, 2021|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Erotic Book Reviews, New Adult Book Reviews|

Baby Moses by John Cowlin

Greed, bigotry, history, and revenge collide in Baby Moses, a gritty and soulful southern drama by John Cowlin.

When a young black man comes back home after a hard seven years, trouble has no problem finding him, as his path is crossed by two thieves on a slippery slope of violence and burglary. Defending the only mother he’s ever known, the dignity of his community, and his fundamental rights as a man, Moses quietly and confidently steps into the fray, but his sharp mind and quick tongue may be too untamed to keep him safe.

This powerful story is […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2021-01-21T04:29:46+02:00January 21st, 2021|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Historical Fiction Book Reviews|