Book Reviews
Indie spotlight: Holler Whispers by T.L. Bequette
Independent press mysteries live or die on whether they feel distinct.
Book Reviews
84 posts in this category
Book Reviews
Afrofuturism Short Stories Is the Kind of Anthology That Earns Attention
Collections live or die on voice, range, and purpose. This one looks like it has all 3.
Book Reviews
False War Looks Like the Kind of Book That Does Not Blink
There are novels that ask politely for your attention, and there are novels that stare back until you give it to them.
Book Reviews
Why Roger Spitz Does Not Write Like a Corporate Oracle
The best thing about Disrupt with Impact might be that it refuses to perform certainty for the reader.
Book Reviews
Disrupt with Impact: A Business Book That Earns Its Title
Most business books promise transformation. Few deliver a toolkit. Roger Spitz's Disrupt with Impact: Achieve Business Success in an Unpredictable Wor
Book ReviewsRomance
The Book Swap Still Feels Like a Note Left in the Margins
Some romance novels are easy to enjoy and easy to forget. This one hangs around a little longer than that.
Book ReviewsTweens
Exit Nowhere Is the Kind of Middle Grade Horror That Actually Commits
A lot of spooky middle grade fiction wants the mood without the nerve. Exit Nowhere has both.
Book ReviewsBlog
Here Lyeth Has More Bite Than Most Historical Fantasies
This is the kind of historical fantasy that earns its darkness instead of using it like wallpaper.
Book ReviewsSequential Art
The Worst Ronin Understands That Messy Heroes Are More Fun
A fallen warrior, a determined teenager, and a story smart enough to let failure stay visible.
Book ReviewsFood & Wine
The Wine Bible Is What Happens When Enthusiasm Gets Organized
Few reference books manage to feel both encyclopedic and genuinely contagious. This one does.
Book ReviewsCrafts & Hobbies
Draw Like an Artist: 100 Cartoon Animals
Step-by-Step Creative Line Drawing â A Sourcebook for Aspiring Artists and Designers (Volume 7) This is a very entertaining book about drawing animals. It has s
Book ReviewsCooking
Recipes for Murder: 66 Dishes That Celebrate the Mysteries of Agatha Christie
In Recipes for Murder, author Karen Pierce has curated â66 dishes that celebrate the mysteries of Agatha Christie.â Pierce has broken each dish by decade, rangi
Book ReviewsTechnology
Change your life and career by graduating from Test Engineer to Test Architect in 21 Days
âAn excellent resource for anyone in the field of mobile test automation. Written for engineering students to current test engineers, this book starts with fram
Book ReviewsBusiness & Investing
Hallucinating Stewards: A Potential Financial Crisis
"Despite the Fedsâ aggressive monetary policies, factors such as bank liquidity, high levels of government debt, wayward inflation, and worldwide health crises
BiographiesBook Reviews
The Book of Murder
Murder most malign, this is a description that Mat Murphy, former homicide prosecutor of the Orange County District Attorneyâs Office, would say about the cases
ArtsBook Reviews
Cemetery Reflections
âA beautiful collection of photography displaying the extraordinary structures, intricate carvings, and colorful foliage that bring life to the cemeteries where
Book ReviewsSequential Art
The Worst Ronin
In a faraway village, children have gone missing, and parents feared the worst. Fifteen-year-old Chihiro was offered the chance to prove her fighting skills to
Book ReviewsEarly Reader
I am Hatzegopteryx (I Am Prehistoric)
Do you have a child that loves dinosaurs? Do you love dinosaurs? This book is the perfect book to help kids begin their love of reading. It combines simple word
Book ReviewsTweens
Exit Nowhere
It all started with a research project in history class. Barret Eloise does not want to explore the creepiest place in town, known as Raithfield House, but she
Book ReviewsYoung Adult
Beneath These Cursed Stars
Itâs been three years since Jasalyn was freed from the dungeons of the false king. Three long years of horrific flashbacks to the terror and torture inflicted.
Book ReviewsSpecial Interest
How a King Plays: 64 Chess Tips from a Kid Champion
Since this is book about chess was written by a kid, I thought it best to review it with a kid. Hit it, Aaron! How a King Plays: 64 Chess Tips from a Kid Champi
Book ReviewsSequential Art
ERASED: An Actor of Color's Journey Through the Heyday of Hollywood
Hollywood is the Great Dream Factory and peddler of lies. All those movies we watch will have the audience believing that the hero is the larger-than-life white
Book ReviewsScience Fiction & Fantasy
A Certain Slant of Light
"C.P. Du Toit's A Certain Slant of Light is a refreshing and imaginative addition to the fantasy romance genre. With rich characterization and detailed world-bu
Book ReviewsRomance
The Book Swap
Tessa Bickers' debut novel The Book Swap is a delight for book lovers, especially those who like to write in the margins of their most beloved novels, but it is
Book ReviewsMystery, Crime and Thriller
Death Stake (Trasker)
In Death Stake, we rejoin Brad Trasker, who has been retired from the intelligence arena for a while. He currently works as head of security for an aerospace fa
Book ReviewsModern Literature
Vivienne
A national art museum wants to finally exhibit and recognize the startling work of a long-forgotten surrealist, Vivienne Volker. Vivienne and her family are hea
Book ReviewsHorror
Incidents Around the House: A Novel
Bela is a young girl living with her mother and father in a quintessential suburban household. Bela is loved very much by her parents, Russ and Ursula. Ursula i
Book ReviewsHistorical Fiction
Tangles
I have been recommending this book to my friends as a horror story. It has everything I want out of a historical novel: characters that feel like they belong to
Book ReviewsClassics
Beowulff: A New Translation
Youâve no doubt come across the old story of Beowulf at some point during your life, whether in a movie, referenced in a book, or read a translation . . . or if
Book ReviewsChildren's
How Do You Become a Mad Scientist?
What is a mad scientist? How exactly does one become mad at being a scientist? How to Become a Mad Scientist is a fun book to read during Halloween. This book i
Book ReviewsFiction
The Year of What If: A Novel
Carla Carter is the owner of a successful match-making agency and is on her way to the alter with a successful match for herself. Her fiancé, the board-game lov
Book ReviewsPoetry
A Guest at the Feast
Having only read Colm Toibin's fiction prior to picking up his most recent collection of essays A Guest at the Feast, I wasn't sure what to expect. I can promis
Book ReviewsPoetry
Domestic Affairs: Tales of American Males
"Readers will be in awe of Daniel M. Jaffe's collection of boundary-breaking and strangely intriguing short stories with hilarious, startling concepts such as s
Book ReviewsPoetry
From the Book of Dreams, A Collection of Poems
"Giampaolo has once again created a collection of gems that will surely follow the footsteps of his first, Deep Craving. His beautiful verses cover a myriad of
Book Reviews
Third Wheel by Richard R. Becker
Book Summary: Brady Wilks wished for a new life with a real family in the pre-boomtown years of Las Vegas, 1982. Instead, he finds himself in a precarious situa
Book Reviews
Out of the Far North by Amir Tsarfati and Steve Yohn
Book Summary: Tensions are at a breaking point. The Western markets that once relied on Russian gas have turned to Israel for their energy needs. Furious, Russi
Book Reviews
Just Do Nothing by Joanna Hardis
Just Do Nothing by Joanna Hardis is a timely and insightful book that delves into the often-overlooked value of doing nothing. Hardis' compelling arguments and
Book Reviews
Kissing Asphalt by Delicia Niami
Book Summary: Resilience isnât inherited. Itâs a hard-fought skill forged by our ability to pick up the broken pieces of our past and remake them into something
Book Reviews
Creative Together by Steven Kowalski
If you're tired of feeling stuck in a creative rut, Creative Together by Steven Kowalski is the book that will help you break free. Through his insightful story
Book Reviews
Epicedium â 50 experimental poetic journeys through awakening, alchemy and other worlds by Helene Alexandra JĂŠger
Book Summary: Exploring the realms of death and dreaming, the occult, the unconscious and the soul, Epicedium is a stream of consciousness collection of 50 work
BlogBook Reviews
Fantastic Four: Full Circle
Alex Ross brings non-stop action and excitement, mixed with thought-provoking concepts in Fantastic Four: Full Circle. The story of the superheroes known as The
BlogBook Reviews
A Streetcar Named Murder (New Orleans Mystery, A)
Valerie Cooper thought the toughest thing she would experience was an empty nest without her husband, but then she faces the pushing of a fellow parent Collette
BlogBook Reviews
The Good Lord Willing and the Creek Donât Rise: Pentimento Memories of Mom and Me
Catherine Caroline Murphy lived a life of struggle and accomplishment during her ninety-five-year existence. She imbued her children with a strong will to fight
BlogBook Reviews
One Last Secret
One Last Secret was fantastic from cover to cover. Most of the chapters are narrated by the main character, Dora, who becomes an escort after dropping out of sc
BlogBook Reviews
Half Notes from Berlin
Itâs often said that âthe only thing that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothingâ. This quote, frequently misattributed to Edmund Burke,
BlogBook Reviews
No Game for Knights
No Game For Knights is one of those short story compilations that miraculously has something for every reader to enjoy, regardless of their preferred genre. Are
BlogBook Reviews
Order of the Night Jay (Book One)
Some woodland animals go off to camp, and it seems that not every animal is looking forward to the great outdoors. A bear named Frank likes video games and seem
BlogBook Reviews
The Greatest in the World!
If youâve read Narwhal and Jelly books, youâll like The Greatest in the World, by the same author, Ben Clanton. The two books have the same type of drawings but
BlogBook Reviews
A Ruinous Fate (Witchâs Dice)
Calla Rosewood lives in hiding from the witch queens, never staying in one place for more than a few months. Her Roles of Fate have determined that she will be
BlogBook Reviews
Poor Tom
Poor Tom by Martin Drapkin tells the story of its main character, Julius, a forty-year-old man who I would describe as pretty lost in the world. Julius is a Jew
BlogBook Reviews
Moonlight Can Be Deadly (A Discount Detective Mystery)
On the way to her PI job, Cameron encountered a woman who was clearly upset. After stopping to talk with her she realized that this woman was a potential client
BlogBook Reviews
Two As One Forever: A Better You, A Better Marriage
What is marriage? For some people, it is a union between two people who have committed to loving and supporting each other for the rest of their lives. Apart fr
Book Reviews
CarboN The Primitivision by Larry Hodge
Review: Seattle Book Review â 5 stars CarboN: The Primitivision is the premiere art book by Lawrence Armondo Hodge (aka CarboN). His new book is a collection of
BlogBook Reviews
How to Teach Your Cat a Trick: in Five Easy Steps (How to Cat books)
How to Teach Your Cat a Trick is funny and if you have or know of a cat, very true! The story has steps on how to train your cat to do any trick. In the story,
BlogBook Reviews
Stellarlune
Stellarlune is a great book! I loved this book by Shannon Messenger. My grandma and my father liked this book too. This book continues the story after the previ
BlogBook Reviews
Iâm Ogre It (I Like to Read Comics)
A family learns how to spend more time together when a new and unusual neighbor moves in next door. This book shows how a brother and sister can find something
BlogBook Reviews
Her Hidden Genius
Her Hidden Genius is another fantastic novel about extraordinary but forgotten women by Marie Benedict. Specializing in women with great impact who have been ne
BlogBook Reviews
Eating to Extinction: The Worldâs Rarest Foods and Why We Need to Save Them
Food journalist Don Saladino has assembled an encyclopedic array of gripping food stories collected from around the world. The message is simple yet cautionary:
BlogBook Reviews
White Girl Within: Letters of Self-Discovery Between a Transgender and Transracial Black Man and His Inner Female
For millennia, letters have been a powerful medium through which to express deepest sentiments and feelings about well-kept secrets. Educator and speaker Ronnie
BlogBook Reviews
Worlds Long Lost
The question âAre we alone in the universe?â has never been answered with a definitive yes or no, but that hasnât stopped storytellers from looking to the stars
BlogBook Reviews
The Wine Bible, 3rd Edition
The Wine Bible is the go-to book for anyone with questions about wine, who loves wine, and who wants to know more about wine. The book starts by describing the
BlogBook Reviews
Night Lunch
What struck me first about Night Lunch was the wonderful style of the illustrations. The textures and subtle use of colors among a mainly sepia palette really m
BlogBook Reviews
Doeâs Dandelions (Woodland Friends, 4)
Doeâs Dandelions is the story about a doe (deer) who was excitedly getting ready for the Petal Parade with her friends Porcupine, Squirrel, and Bear. Doe grew d
BlogBook Reviews
Diper Ăverlöde (Diary of a Wimpy Kid Book 17)
In the newest installment of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, Greg Heffley is helping his brother Rodrick bring his band Loded Diper to fame- which is harder th
BlogBook Reviews
A Ruinous Fate (Witchâs Dice)
Calla Rosewood lives in hiding from the witch queens, never staying in one place for more than a few months. Her Roles of Fate have determined that she will be
BlogBook Reviews
Unbound II: New Tales By Masters of Fantasy
Unbound II: Tales by Masters of Fantasy is a new anthology by award-winning author and editor Shawn Speakman. This anthology of seventeen tales contains fantast
BlogBook Reviews
A Madmanâs Will: John Randolph, Four Hundred Slaves, and the Mirage of Freedom
A tragic ending to a story may be all the more reason to read it, especially when that story is true. Almost four hundred enslaved Virginians should have been f
BlogBook Reviews
One Long Listening: A Memoir of Grief, Friendship, and Spiritual Care
In the waning days of struggling with illness and preparing for the inevitable, a chaplain can serve as a guide to achieving spiritual comfort and healing. Read
BlogBook Reviews
Too Many Pigs and One Big Bad Wolf: A Counting Story
Too Many Pigs and One Big Bad Wolf is a different way of telling the story of the three little pigs and the big bad wolf. In this story, there arenât just three
BlogBook Reviews
Stories to Keep You Alive Despite Vampires
Ben Ackerâs Stories to Keep You Alive Despite Vampires is just that. Warning: If you donât like vampires, please do not read this book. It starts out with an in
BlogBook Reviews
Our Shadows Have Claws: 15 Latin American Monster Stories
Our Shadows Have Claws is an anthology featuring different stories by a plethora of Latinx authors. Each story is a creative tale with a mix of cultural folklor
Book Reviews
Learning to Quit by Suzanne Harris and Paul Brunetta
Book Summary: Set yourself free from smoking. Strategy trumps willpower! Personal stories paired with moving photographic portraits. Empathetic, non-judgmental
Book Reviews
How to Feel Sexy by Amine Salhi
Book Summary: Want to wield your sexy mindset and confidence to your advantage? Gone are the days where you can be sexy by the way you dress and groom. Today, s
Book Reviews
Goodbye Homeboy by Steve Mariotti
Book Summary: One sunny afternoon in 1982, a young businessman experienced a terrifying mugging in New York City that shook him to his core. Tortured by nightma
Book ReviewsGift Guide
Aye-Aye Gets Lucky â Endangered & Misunderstood Book 1 by Terri Tatchell
Gift Guide Book Suggestion #5 Book Summary: Join endangered and misunderstood AYE-AYE on his quest to win back the hearts of the people of Madagascar after his
Book ReviewsGift Guide
Heart to Beat by Brian Lima MD
Gift Guide Book Suggestion #4 Book Summary: Success is not reserved for the smartest or most talentedâitâs earned by those who want it the most. Heart conquers
Book ReviewsGift Guide
Rosa by Barbara de la Cuesta
Gift Guide Book Suggestion #3 Book Summary âThere were little sins and big sins, and if you committed too many little sins you were more likely to go on to the
Book ReviewsGift Guide
Adjustments: A Novel by Will Willingham
Gift Guide Book Suggestion #1 Book Summary: By turns thoughtful and hilarious (even, inexplicably, both at the same time), this deeply Midwestern book quietly u
Book Reviews
I AM Manifesto by SB Hilarion
Book Summary: A book of 366 mantras or affirmations to raise and encourage the self-esteem and self-belief of children (plus adults), told through the eyes of y
Book Reviews
Humongous (& Cool) Words For Kids by SB Hilarion
Book Summary: After immersing themselves in mantras in I AM Manifesto, young siblings Hao Finley and Sabine Yi Lee are on their journey of seeking knowledge fro
Book Reviews
Lesath by A. M. Kherbash
Book Summary: Amateur journalist Greg travels to a remote mountain area to investigate rumors of a sinister building only to find himself imprisoned there. As h
Book Reviews
Journey To HealingâThe Art and Science of Applied Kinesiology by Dr. Eugene Charles
Book Summary: True health is not simply the absence of disease. It is a state of being in which the miraculous physical and mental forces that make us human wor
Book Reviews
The Camelot Code, Book #1 The Once and Future Geek by Mari Mancusi
Sophie and Stu have spent countless hours playing a video game about King Arthur, but things are changing as Stu joins the soccer team and Sophie fears being le
Book Reviews
Hollywood Hostage by Jordan Road
Story Summary: Karl Priam isnât such a bad guy, but the Hollywood high life cost him his future as a director⊠until he survives an armed robbery. A solid perfo