The Nichan Smile Cover Photo

The Nichan Smile – Grin And Bear It

It’s time for you to switch it up, slow down, and read something unique. C.J. Merwild’s The Nichan Smile tells a haunting yet hopeful story of two young boys and the friendship they develop over many years and against the odds. It is beautiful and terrible and will definitely stand out among your TBR, though…

The Sword of Kaigen – Clumsy Wonder

Today I am diving into the increasingly popular The Sword of Kaigen: A Theonite War Story by M.L. Wang. This self-published, Japanese culture-inspired novel has been making larger and larger waves in the fantasy genre over the past few years and is held in quite high regard. I finally managed to find a moment to…

We Ride The Storm – All Prosed Up And Nowhere To Go

Self-published books are a really interesting conundrum. On one hand, they represent some of the best finds and recommendations a reviewer can make due to their unknown nature. On the other hand, while there are some very good self-published books, there are a lot of really bad ones. What is particularly exciting is when other…

The Flight Of The Darkstar Dragon – Flight Of Fancy

Alright, let’s reveal a fun, embarrassing, personal fact. Ever since I was a young boy I have usually used the same moniker when playing videogames. As you might imagine, being a boy of about seven when I first came up with it, I was not particularly creative. I went with “Darkstar” because I thought it…

Construct – The Foundations Have Been Laid

I’ve never had the inclination to read self-published titles. I’m always worried I’ll read into it too deeply or be overly critical, because I can so rarely turn off that portion of my brain. So when Luke Matthews reached out to me and requested an honest review of his self-published book Construct, I was a…

Kings of Paradise – An Epic Beach Read

Self-published books are a huge mixed bag of quality, but occasionally you can strike gold. Kings of Paradise, by Richard Nell, is one of those books. An epic fantasy novel about a tropical empire, this book has the makings of a modern classic. If you are involved in the self-published fantasy scene, you have probably…