Sports Book Reviews | Self-Publishing Review

Review: Silence in Center by Jody Studdard ★★★★

Silence in Center by Jody Studdard is a heartwarming addition to the Softball Star series.

Melody Gold is a fourteen-year-old fastpitch player who wants to advance from Little League to select ball. The problem is finding a team that will let her play. She’s talented, but Melody has a hearing impairment. She can hear with her hearing aids and she wears them during games, but many coaches say it just won’t work out. Melody’s not a quitter and she’s determined to prove that she can play at the highest level.

Young readers who love inspirational sports stories will like this […]

Review: High Road: Chasing the Yellow Jersey by David Chauner

★★★★½ High Road: Chasing the Yellow Jersey

High Road: Chasing the Yellow Jersey, by David Chauner, will make your heart race.

Kurt Dufour grew up in a world of wealth and privilege. Adulthood hits him hard when at the age of nineteen he’s accused of murder. Just when he thinks his reputation is permanently smeared by the accusation and trial, he receives a second chance. He joins Otto Warner’s American cycling team. Five years later he’s competing in the Tour de France against five-time champion, Jacques Poulain. Can Kurt overcome the obstacles and win?

Professional sports have a way of igniting passion in fans and […]

T B Markinson2017-03-24T10:30:18+02:00June 8th, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Contemporary Fiction Book Reviews, Sports Book Reviews|

Review: Approaching Twi-Night by M. Thomas Apple ★★★★

Approaching Twi-Night Approaching Twi-Night by M. Thomas Apple is an eloquent and tender novel about the minor league baseball pitcher, John “Ditch” Klein, and his on-again off-again relationship with the sport of baseball. He’s got a critical manager, critical family members, and his heart’s not entirely into the game. He’s feeling the tug of being a writer as well. This is a quiet novel in terms of scope, but in terms of the power of its sentences, it’s dynamic and moving. Approaching Twi-Night is literary fiction at its best.

Though the book is best suited for baseball lovers, it could be enjoyed […]

Henry Baum2017-03-24T11:04:20+02:00March 20th, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Literary Fiction Book Reviews, Sports Book Reviews|

Review: The Favorite by Franklyn C. Thomas

Second chances are rare, no matter how much a person wants them. When Michael Dane is given a second chance he has to make the toughest decision in his life. What’s the decision? You have to read The Favorite to find out. It may shock you.

Michael Dane is a fighter who has a shot at becoming the IBF Light-Heavyweight Champion. He’s trained all of his life for this chance, but some mistakes almost ruined his shot. One blunder landed him in prison for eighteen months. Michael’s manager, Dante Alexander, helps Michael elevate his career and has helped him reach […]

T B Markinson2019-01-22T17:14:14+02:00February 24th, 2014|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Contemporary Fiction Book Reviews, Men's Fiction Book Reviews, Sports Book Reviews|

Review: Beneath The Surface By Stanley Yokell

This book full of fictional diving incidents kicks off with two accomplished scuba diving friends, Joe and Thura, in the popular scuba resort in Cuba, where they are intrigued by their encounter with some playful mermaids – so why is their guide so concerned about the sighting?

In this globe-trotting collection of short stories we follow a group of young people as they try out scuba diving spots in just about every continent, and the friendships and romances they develop on the way.

Yokell’s style reminds me of a simplified Michel Tournier with his literary descriptions of people’s lives and […]

Cate Baum2019-01-22T17:45:58+02:00November 4th, 2013|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Contemporary Fiction Book Reviews, Sports Book Reviews|

Review: Butt Ugly by Jimmy Glenn

Butt Ugly is a story of “love and baseball.” It is the heart warming tale of the cantankerous Cole Catalpa Junior, born with a deformity to the face that is so hideous people stare and comment all the time. He proves his bullies wrong when he starts pitching his anger out on his father’s barn door with a baseball and this talent for throwing is encouraged by Cole Senior despite Junior’s indifference,” “I’ve got no taste for that game” I told him. ” Regard it as an assignment,” he insisted.” This eventually shoots Junior into the national leagues of pro […]

Cate Baum2014-05-09T21:33:33+02:00October 24th, 2012|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Men's Fiction Book Reviews, Sports Book Reviews|

Review: Chasing the Runner’s High by Ray Charbonneau

If there’s one thing Ray Charbonneau understands, it is runners. In Chasing the Runner’s High he may claim that he isn’t sure what a typical runner is, but if the proof is in the pudding, not only is Charbonneau a true blue, died in the wool, run in the sun, rain or snow runner, but he talks the runner’s language. And it sounds like heaven.