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Lead stories from SPR’s ever-growing independent book portal

Review: Harriet: A Jane Austen Variation by Alice McVeigh

Harriet: A Jane Austen Variation by Alice McVeigh

Harriet Smith boldly catapults herself into the delicate world of high society in Harriet: A Jane Austen Variation, another masterfully penned homage by Alice McVeigh. Youthful passions, fanciful romance, and shifting social dynamics make this an entertaining drama, a peek into the past, and a subtly modern treat.

Casting herself in the role of Emma Woodhouse’s protege, or live-in pet project, in an effort to move herself into a new sphere of society, Harriet cuts a strong, fearless, and authentic figure. Austen fans will be familiar with Emma’s character, from the novel of the same name, but this variation […]

2022-02-03T05:42:59+02:00February 3rd, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: |

Review: Amerlee and the Green Void by George Hudoba

Amerlee and the Green Void by George Hudoba

Author George Hudoba holds nothing back in the chaotic cosmic opera, Amerlee and the Green Void, his latest novel from The Monarch in the Milky Way series. Captain Aa, Tata Crubon, Azure, Agent Sasha, Smith the immortal Emperor, the Toxic, and more return for this light-speed sequel to Agent Sasha, the first installation of the alternate reality sci-fi saga.

Picking up where the first book left off, readers are plunged right back into the action, as an elaborate two-pronged bank heist is executed to retrieve precious goods stolen by the Trust from the UNHL (United Nations of Humanlike […]

2022-02-03T05:52:03+02:00February 2nd, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: |

Review: Black, White, and Gray All Over by Frederick Douglass Reynolds

Black, White and Gray All Over by Frederick Reynolds

A riveting and eye-opening read for every American, Black, White, and Gray All Over by Frederick Douglass Reynolds is a powerful story of family, struggle, redemption, and resilience as a black police officer on the mean streets of Compton.

Recounting his life in emotional detail in the opening chapters, the author’s roots are revealed, as are the early struggles that led him towards a career in law enforcement. The majority of the book then details his decades on the force, delving into the nitty-gritty history of Compton street gangs and power structures, as well as the near-constant war being waged […]

2022-04-27T04:41:58+02:00January 26th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: |

Review: Bird of Passage by Dr. Nooshie Motaref

Bird of Passage by Dr. Nooshie Motaref

Bird of Passage by author Dr. Nooshie Motaref is a fascinating account of a woman born in Iran who moves through the world looking for love, spiritual healing, and an understanding of what has happened to her homeland.

Wherever Mitra goes, she finds adventure, insecurity, romance, danger and, at times, disappointment. Yet her inner strength remains honed to the tasks that face her. Her namesake, from Indo-Persian mythology, is a wise woman who speaks truth, “with a thousand ears…ten thousand eyes.” This fortitude will be especially needed, as when following the ascension to power of the Khomeini regime in Iran, […]

2022-01-24T05:41:58+02:00January 23rd, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: |

Review: Hourglass by Daniel James

Hourglass by Daniel James

A genre-busting thriller from author Daniel James, Hourglass is an occult masterwork of tension and grit, layered with shadowy government agencies, demonic villains, baggage-laden ghosts, and an unlikely pair of comic book heroes.

Clyde Williams is holding it together as best he can, despite struggling to finish his comic book, wrestling with the recent murder of his roommate Kev, and then navigating Kev’s ghostly return to the apartment from beyond the grave. However, when an Hourglass agent shows up at his door, inviting them both to join a nebulous government cell dealing with “post-life entities,” it’s clear that life is […]

Review: Saving Me First III by Hui Beop

Saving Me First 3: Unlocking What's Always Within Us by Hui Beop

In the third volume of her self-help series, author Hui Beop takes a dynamic look at Korean and other medical systems to help us analyze how and why we feel and act the way we do in Saving Me First III: Unlocking What’s Always Within Us.

Hui Beop’s manual begins in full spin, declaring that each of our five major organs – kidney, heart, liver, lung, and stomach – is essential for life and each carries within it both physical and psychological or emotional tendencies. One whose health is dominated by a strong heart, likes to have an audience […]

2022-01-17T04:32:23+02:00January 15th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: , |

Review: Under the Orange Blossoms by Cindy Benezra

Under the Orange Blossoms by Cindy Benezra

An emotionally vulnerable, authentic memoir about enduring horrific childhood trauma and learning how to cope and survive, Cindy Benezra’s Under the Orange Blossoms is a testament to human strength and the power of positivity.

When living with her mother and sister in Spain at age 17, author Benezra started having frightening, visceral nightmares about being sexually abused by her father when she was younger. Uncovering these painful memories lead her down a difficult path of emotional strife, suicidal ideation, dissociative episodes, reckless daredevil behavior, and withdrawal from friends and family, all while her parents’ problematic relationship lingered off and on […]

2022-01-06T07:03:09+02:00January 5th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: |

Review: Snowlands: A Blood Moon by Morr Meroz, Illustrated by Collin Fogel

Snowlands by Morr Meroz

Author Morr Meroz and illustrator Collin Fogel have summoned a beautifully stunning world with their immersive graphic novel Snowlands: A Blood Moon.

Feba the snow-white wolf cub is forced to flee her pack to avoid a curse – or a death sentence – launching her on the journey of a lifetime, as she crosses paths with many other creatures wandering in the wild, some who are keen to join her adventure, and others who aren’t so sure. Gathering allies and making friends along the way, like Batu the monosyllabic wildcat, Usha the grief-stricken leopard seeking the Seeress, a pacifistic […]

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