New Releases | Self-Publishing Review

McDowell by William H. Coles

Dr. Hiram McDowell is irascible, he’s arrogant, and he’s tough to love, except as a character, in William H. Coles’ riveting character portrait, McDowell.

A quintessential character who you love to hate, McDowell is indifferent to his wife (his third), his children, and his neighbors. He’s earned his pride as head of surgery in Denver, leading a foundation for the underprivileged in Nepal, and becoming a nominee for the U.S. President’s cabinet. However, with an almost superheroic degree of self-absorption, the novel challenges the reader to stick with a character who has so little to offer as a person.[…]

SPR2019-07-10T11:53:11+02:00July 10th, 2019|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Literary Fiction Book Reviews|

Earth Log by Blaine C. Readler

Earth Log by Blaine C. Readler There are plenty of things we take for granted as humans, but few things seem as easy to overlook as our self-awareness. In Earth Log, a new novel by Blaine C. Readler, that same great power is bestowed upon a ferret, who “wakes up” one day overwhelmed with curiosity, questions, and a new appreciation for the complexity of life.

As the ferret moves through its small universe – his owner Joanne’s apartment – he figuratively and literally bumps into obstacles and quandaries that domesticated animals typically don’t ponder. From tumbling through a laundry shoot, losing his home, and witnessing […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-06-07T12:13:20+02:00June 7th, 2019|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Fantasy Book Reviews|

Murphy’s Luck 3: Curse vs. Jinx by Benjamin Laskin

Murphy's Luck 3: Curse vs. Jinx by Benjamin Laskin

Author Benjamin Laskin delivers his third dose of ludicrous laughter with Murphy’s Luck 3: Curse vs Jinx, which drops Murphy Drummer and his laundry list of hobbies and skills to his most exotic destination yet: the jungles of South America.

After learning that his in-laws have fallen victim to a bumbling cartel, Murphy must overcome his fear of leaving the house – and the fear of his own jinx – to save the day. With an endearing cast of bizarre characters, including his charming daughter Phaedra, who shares Murphy’s impossible luck, this book positively hums with life and anticipation […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2021-11-29T05:56:22+02:00June 1st, 2019|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Contemporary Fiction Book Reviews, Humor|

Apex: A Max Ahlgren Novel (Crucible Book 3) by Ryan W. Aslesen

In Apex, the third thriller in the gripping Crucible series from Ryan W. Aslesen, Max Ahlgren is once again recruited for a high-stakes mission that will take him closer to answers about his family, but also straight into the heart of the jungles of South America, where his hunt for a missing boy quickly becomes a hunt of a very different kind – with him as the prey.

Similar to the previous Ahlgren novels set in Alaska and North Korea, this exotic adventure offers intrigue and a deeply spiraling web of lies with our never-say-die protagonist leading every bullet-riddled […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-05-22T11:02:19+02:00May 22nd, 2019|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Science Fiction Book Reviews|

Madisonville by J.A. Huff

Madisonville by J.A. Huff Madisonville by J.A. Huff is a thrilling novel with a great premise – a prison where prisoners are hunted like prey. Six college students come up with the “perfect” crime: having access to a system of tunnels underneath their town, they plan a series of bank robberies…which go horribly wrong. Things get worse from there, as the young men end up in the prison at Madisonville, and soon they find out that “recreation” at the prison means that they are hunted for sport.

Huff is a spirited and engaging writer – he knows every corner of his story, which keeps […]

Henry Baum2019-05-09T09:34:01+02:00May 9th, 2019|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Thriller Book Reviews|

Nobbin, Bobbin & Cobb by Tracy Sabin

Nobbin, Bobbin & Cobb by Tracy Sabin Nobbin, Bobbin & Cobb is a charming children’s picture book about the wonders of the special moonberry tree, masterfully illustrated by the author Tracy Sabin.

Little Cobb, along with his parents, Nobbin and Bobbin, live inside a wonderful, big moonberry tree. In the fall, they pick all the moonberries off the tree, from which they make jars of moonberry jam as well as moonberry bread, giving them plenty of food to eat. They’re all very happy – until the tree is struck by lightning and they must look for a new home…

Sabin gives young readers a folksy tale that […]

Marta Cheng2019-05-09T09:32:58+02:00May 9th, 2019|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Children's Book Reviews|

On the Occasion of a Wedding by Ollie Bowen

On the Occasion of a Wedding is a love-infused collection of poetry written by Ollie Bowen for two of her friends, as the title implies, on the occasion of their wedding. Broken up into four parts, this is an exquisite exploration of love and pain, fear for the future, and recycling of the past.

A heartfelt and subtly tender collection, there is a sense of intimacy behind every word. “Quanta Qualia” is a particularly haunting meditation on reality after love that must be read twice, while “Tears of the Poet” expresses the act of love between artists in a way […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-05-08T05:33:31+02:00May 7th, 2019|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Poetry Book Reviews|

High Flying by Kaylin McFarren

High Flying, the bold novel by acclaimed author Kaylin McFarren, elevates the time travel genre to new heights – literally. It boasts an instantly engaging protagonist in the persona of Skylar Haines, a volatile powerhouse of a character with an adrenaline addiction and a dark, troubled past.

While flying a plane in one of her daredevil acts, Skylar Haines barely manages to make a safe landing during a terrifying storm, but soon realizes she has somehow slipped back in time. Faced with the prospect of being able to change her family’s past, Skylar must reckon with the timeless conundrum […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2020-08-31T04:30:58+02:00May 2nd, 2019|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Thriller Book Reviews, Time Travel Book Reviews|