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
September 30, 2024

THE PURSUIT

By Jim Ruth
Rating:
4.0 / 5.0

Though based around one family’s story, Jim Ruth's THE PURSUIT is a very readable and well-designed narrative history book that offers plenty for a general...

Rating:
3.5 / 5.0

Written by his wife, Katherine J. Batsis, DR. ANDREW BATSIS, HUSBAND! DENTIST! KIWANIAN! SANTA CLAUS? is a comprehensive and well-rounded tribute to its subject. For...

IR Approved
May 22, 2024

WOODLAWN GIANTS

By Robert Ross Williams
Rating:
4.5 / 5.0

A nostalgic look into a happy childhood, Robert Ross Williams’s WOODLAWN GIANTS is a charming and heartfelt memoir reflecting on the life of a young...

IR Approved
April 8, 2024

MARGINAL MAN: Life of Emilio Goggio

By Paul Redvers Brown
Rating:
4.6 / 5.0

With MARGINAL MAN: Life of Emilio Goggio, Paul Redvers Brown makes good on a decades-old promise and delivers a fascinating glimpse of the socio-political climate...

June 12, 2023

WITNESS FOR MY FATHER

By Barbara Bergren
Rating:
3.5 / 5.0

Barbara Bergren's WITNESS FOR MY FATHER is a richly detailed story and a testament to the indomitable human spirit.

Rating:
3.0 / 5.0

Genealogy lovers will be enthralled by author Stephen Watts’ SEARCHING FOR CHARLES, a fascinating, authentic and epic search to uncover his American family tree.

IR Approved
January 27, 2023

HE CHARGED ALONE

By John R. Strasburg
Rating:
4.2 / 5.0

John R. Strasburg's HE CHARGED ALONE is an impeccably researched biography of one of the most decorated American soldiers in history - scrupulous, thoughtful, and...

IR Approved
January 20, 2023

LADY OF THE ARMY: The Life of Mrs. George S. Patton

By Stefanie Van Steelandt
Rating:
4.5 / 5.0

A magisterial recounting of the life of George S. Patton's wife Beatrice, Stefanie van Steelandt's LADY OF THE ARMY offers a frank and sympathetic portrait...

November 23, 2022

LOVE ALWAYS, ALICE

By Mary Matthews Fetterman, Captain Alice Matthews, ANC
Rating:
3.0 / 5.0

In LOVE ALWAYS, ALICE, Mary Matthews Fetterman shares a collection of World War II letters written by her aunt, Captain Alice Matthews, that create a...

IR Approved
July 20, 2022

WALKS BY BIG ALEX’S POND

By Henry Van Berkel
Rating:
4.6 / 5.0

Exploring the cyclical nature of life through a pair of life stories set a century apart, Henry Van Berkel’s WALKS BY BIG ALEX’S POND is...

IR Approved
June 10, 2022

LEAVES IN THE WIND (HOJAS AL VIENTO)

By Ricardo Suárez-Gärtner
Rating:
4.7 / 5.0

Ricardo Suárez-Gärtner’s LEAVES IN THE WIND (HOJAS AL VIENTO) is an intriguing, unique journey through the author’s lineage, using brief stories and two languages to...

IR Approved
February 2, 2022

WARRIOR IN THE MUD

By Nicole Martin Salter
Rating:
5.0 / 5.0

Nicole Martin Salter's WARRIOR IN THE MUD is an uplifting memoir of an extraordinary life, written with skill, insight, and no small amount of courage.

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