Indie book reviews

IndieReader’s reviewers are tough, but fair

Our Reviewers won’t judge your book as compared to other self-published titles, but against other books, period. Our ratings are based on the following criteria, although reviewers are able to award partial stars (i.e. a 1.3 or a 4.7), rather than rounding up or down to a whole or half number.

1/5

Really bad 
Work on it.

2/5

Mediocre
1-2 bright spots.

3/5

Good
Worth reading.

4/5

Very Good
1-2 spots that need work

5/5

Excellent!
Must-read.

* IndieReader receives compensation for most of the books it reviews, along with copies of those books.

IR Approved
October 28, 2024

TOO MUCH

By Cindy Lee Neighbors
Rating:
4.0 / 5.0

Challenging but rewarding, Cindy Lee Neighbors’s TOO MUCH is an incisive memoir of the soul-crushing dysfunction of both medical and military culture in the US.

IR Approved
Rating:
4.5 / 5.0

OBJECT: A Memoir of Childhood Abuse and a Shocking Cover-Up at the Highest Ranks of Government is a powerful memoir of childhood abuse and its...

IR Approved
October 9, 2024

RAISED BY WOLVES, POSSIBLY MONSTERS

By Michael Swerdloff
Rating:
4.7 / 5.0

Raw, compassionate, and perceptive, Michael Swerdloff's memoir RAISED BY WOLVES, POSSIBLY MONSTERS is a vital excavation of toxic masculinity's rot—and an urgent call for individual...

Rating:
3.7 / 5.0

BLINDSIGHTED: A Journey of Identity, Faith, and Healing is a carefully constructed family history that pivots on a shock DNA revelation. Author Rich Christiansen skillfully...

Rating:
3.8 / 5.0

Jimmy Mulzet's FACING THE CHALLENGE, BEATING THE ODDS is an honest and inspirational account of one man's struggle to overcome debilitating illness.

IR Approved
August 5, 2024

WATER LUST

By Gerhard Pohle
Rating:
4.5 / 5.0

WATER LUST by Gerhard Pohle is a lively and engaging autobiography that includes humor, tragedy, loneliness, love, catastrophe, and triumph. It is a rich reminiscence...

IR Approved
July 26, 2024

THE PIANIST’S ONLY DAUGHTER: A Memoir

By Kathryn Betts Adams
Rating:
4.0 / 5.0

THE PIANIST’S ONLY DAUGHTER: A Memoir is a clear-eyed and poignant account of one of the most difficult chapters of American life. Kathryn Betts Adams...

IR Approved
July 17, 2024

MEMOIRS OF A SUBURBAN TROUBLEMAKER

By Ellen R.B. Smith
Rating:
4.2 / 5.0

Ellen Smith’s MEMOIRS OF A SUBURBAN TROUBLEMAKER is an engrossing coming-of-age memoir. Sometimes funny, sometimes shocking, these anecdotes are always winningly candid.

IR Approved
June 24, 2024

WHILE I BREATHE

By Susan M. Reynolds
Rating:
4.2 / 5.0

Susan M. Reynolds’s WHILE I BREATHE is heart-breaking in its account of her deep, enduring love and the hardships encountered during her son’s brief life.

IR Approved
May 20, 2024

CAVEMAN CHRONICLES

By Todd Mayo
Rating:
4.7 / 5.0

CAVEMAN CHRONICLES marks an impressive debut from an unconventional voice. Those who appreciate a blend of earnest soul-searching and the rebellious spirit of rock will...

Rating:
3.7 / 5.0

Greg Munck's memoir THE GUIDE—Survival, Warfighting, Peacemaking benefits from many interesting and touching passages, though the mixture of memoir and sermonizing can make for some...

May 13, 2024

STONER TO SEEKER: 1970s Asian Hippie Trail

By Gordon Schwerzmann
Rating:
3.5 / 5.0

Full of colorful historical and religious information, Gordon Schwerzmann’s STONER TO SEEKER: 1970s Asian Hippie Trail is mostly an engaging and entertaining read about a...

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