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
Rating:
4.1 / 5.0

In E. Ozie's THE BEAUTIFUL MATH OF CORAL: A Novel, a young woman defies her father's expectations and heads to college to study STEM in...

IR Approved
September 22, 2023

THESE THINGS HAPPEN

By Michael Eon
Rating:
4.8 / 5.0

Less a story and more an experiential tapestry of interwoven lives and indelible emotional scars, Michael Eon's THESE THINGS HAPPEN explores the inexplicable complexities of...

IR Approved
August 28, 2023

ANOTHER CRESCENT MOON

By Josh Cook
Rating:
4.7 / 5.0

By turns funny, harrowing, and touching, Josh Cook's ANOTHER CRESCENT MOON is a thought-provoking tale about disability and the nature of personal freedoms.

IR Approved
July 26, 2023

THE GRAVE LISTENERS

By William Frank
Rating:
4.1 / 5.0

For all its brevity, William Frank's THE GRAVE LISTENERS is an ambitious, floridly written book that, although lacking in some particulars, offers a lively, farcical...

IR Approved
June 7, 2023

THERE IS NO DEATH IN FINDING NEMO

By Jeffrey M. Feingold
Rating:
4.0 / 5.0

Stories in Jeffrey M. Feingold’s THERE IS NO DEATH IN FINDING NEMO are sometimes poignant, frequently hilarious, and almost always surreal.

IR Approved
Rating:
4.4 / 5.0

Zeb Beck's THE MELANCHOLY STRUMPET MASTER is a rambunctious tale that gives a vivid portrayal of the two sides of Tijuana, the grittier side of...

IR Approved
Rating:
4.4 / 5.0

W. C. Latour’s THE BARGAIN SHOPPER (The Confessions of a Soldier of Truth in the Age of Pandemic) is a curious, startling read, all artifice...

IR Approved
May 5, 2023

AS TIME GOES BY

By W. Royce Adams
Rating:
4.2 / 5.0

AS TIME GOES BY by W. Royce Adams offers poignant reminiscences of days past, seen through the eyes of an old man of the point...

IR Approved
Rating:
4.2 / 5.0

GHAD 's STRONG FAMILY MEMBERS is by turns hard to stomach, ugly, and objectionable; but it is also gripping and suspenseful – and, as with...

IR Approved
April 26, 2023

AMAGANSETT ’84

By Shelby Raebeck
Rating:
4.8 / 5.0

A touching coming-of-age story set in a sleepy eastern Long Island fishing community, and by turns poignant, romantic, and tragic, AMAGANSETT '84 by Shelby Raebeck...

IR Approved
April 17, 2023

HYPHENATED RELATIONS

By Daniel Maunz
Rating:
5.0 / 5.0

HYPHENATED RELATIONS by Daniel Maunz is a warm, humorous novel about family, love, loss, and relationships. Twists and turns in its story lead to a...

IR Approved
April 17, 2023

YOUNG MOTHER WITH RED HAIR

By M. A. Dunn
Rating:
5.0 / 5.0

Engrossing from start to finish, M. A. Dunn's YOUNG MOTHER WITH RED HAIR is often unsettling, sometimes affirmatory, and occasionally sinister and yields queasy insights...

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