New Releases | Self-Publishing Review

Carousel and Other Stories by Carla Maria Verdino-Süllwold

Carousel and Other Stories by Carla Maria Verdino-Süllwold is a lyrical collection of stories about the small poetic moments in a marriage. Whether it’s a couple rekindling their passion on vacation, couples facing the daunting prospect of the draft, it’s a collection about fears and dreams unfulfilled, but each finding contentment among the difficulty. Verdino-Süllwold’s prose is eloquent and thoughtful. She has clear affection for her characters and sympathy for their troubles, which only evokes the same feeling in the reader.

Smartly, Verdino-Süllwold uses the motif of the carousel to describe the cyclical nature of her characters’ lives. Though they’re […]

Lysa Grant2016-02-03T03:03:21+02:00February 2nd, 2016|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Short Stories Book Reviews|

Choosing Differently: A Memoir of a Software Entrepreneur’s Wife by J.S. Joseph

Choosing Differently: A Memoir of a Software Entrepreneur’s Wife by J.S. Joseph Choosing Differently: A Memoir of a Software Entrepreneur’s Wife is the candid story of a divorce. It’s also a story of an internet startup, which ultimately failed, so the story is about heartache and poor decisions on two fronts. Choosing Differently is at once sober and heartfelt, as Joseph tackles the problems in her life with a deepening sense of self-respect and adventure, while giving an interesting front-row seat to the competitive, and oft-times disappointing, world of software development.

What could have been a memoir of airing dirty laundry, it never succumbs to this, as Joseph is equally candid about […]

Lysa Grant2016-02-02T06:16:45+02:00February 2nd, 2016|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Memoir Book Reviews, Non-Fiction Book Reviews|

Odes on Ali by David A. Bates

Odes on Ali by David A. Bates Odes on Ali by David Bates is a poetic account of the life and times of Muhammad Ali. Covering each one of Ali’s fights in rhyming verse, it’s a backstage pass beyond a traditional biography that covers all the blood, sweat and tears of Ali’s life.

The book begins with a passionate and eloquent introduction to Ali the fighter, covering the major moments from his life and how he has been such a huge influence on the world of sports and beyond. After the introduction, each fight by Ali is described in rhyming verse that calls to mind Ali’s own […]

Henry Baum2016-01-29T14:30:30+02:00January 29th, 2016|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Sports Book Reviews|

The Real Matrix by Michael Evans

The Real Matrix by Michael Evans is not about a technological Matrix, in which we’re caught in a computer simulation. However, we’re caught in a simulation all the same: one that’s built by upbringing, societal pressure, the media, and more that not only inform how we think, but lock us into a particular mindset. The Real Matrix lays out all the ways we’re conditioned and aims to break those bonds.

The book is at its best when its talking about big picture issues – such as the impact of religion or law on personal outlook. For example, the issue of […]

Henry Baum2018-05-09T10:22:02+02:00January 22nd, 2016|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Non-Fiction Book Reviews, Self-Help Book Reviews|

The Widows Guild by Anna Castle

The Widows Guild by Anna Castle is an engrossing historical mystery with an intriguing and dynamic protagonist: the one and only Francis Bacon – philosopher, scientist, statesman, and possible author of Shakespeare’s plays.

Part 3 of the Francis Bacon Mysteries is set in London in 1588: under threat by a Spanish Armada, a killer is using the unrest as cover to murder Catholics. Unscrupulous Lady Alice Trumpington has designs on killing her husband, but he ends up dead by another person’s hand, yet is locked away in the prison tower. Bacon is tasked to free her from her bondage, and […]

Henry Baum2016-01-20T03:05:37+02:00January 20th, 2016|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Mystery Book Reviews|

The Professional Security Manual Class 1, Urban Security by Charles White

The Professional Security Manual Class 1, Urban Security by Charles White The Professional Security Manual Class 1, Urban Security by Charles White might not sound like it, but it’s an inventive and hilarious take on a training manual, and one security guard’s over-the-top take on just what it takes to become a rent-a-cop. Covering important topics such as dealing with ghosts and how to use a stapler as a ninja weapon, this book will have you covered and then some. Mixed in with Charles White’s instructions are footnotes from a mysterious ghostwriter who finds himself imprisoned by Charles White, and ridiculing him the whole way through.

After the first footnote, it’s […]

SPR2018-10-29T12:19:16+02:00January 14th, 2016|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Humor, Satire Book Reviews|

Hope by Taryn Feldmann

Hope by Taryn Feldmann is a novel about abuse and recovery. Emily and Sarah have had a horrible upbringing due to their abusive father. Emily moves to New York with dreams of being an actor, while Sarah succumbs to drug addiction. When Emily learns of the healing power of a horse named Hope, she brings her sister to Wyoming to help put her on the right course. However, Emily falls ill to Leukemia and finds she needs the healing power of Hope as much as her sister. An emotional novel about overcoming pain and a troubled past.

While the novel […]

Lysa Grant2016-01-05T06:15:28+02:00January 5th, 2016|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Contemporary Fiction Book Reviews|

Rise from Darkness: Paths Out of Depression Toward Happiness by Kristian Hall

Rise from Darkness by Kristian Hall Rise from Darkness: How to Overcome Depression through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Positive Psychology: Paths Out of Depression Toward Happiness is Kristian Hall’s comprehensive guide to overcoming depression. Combining personal history, a guide for both sufferers and friends/family members, and step by step instructions about how to lift yourself or others from the scourge of depression, the book covers depression from every conceivable angle with great erudition and empathy.

The book’s main weakness is one of organization. Someone who is in the deep throes of depression may not have the patience to read the fundamentals of brain chemistry, for example. […]

Henry Baum2018-05-09T10:22:20+02:00January 4th, 2016|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Non-Fiction Book Reviews, Self-Help Book Reviews|