Lead stories from SPR’s ever-growing independent book portal
Review: Squirrel Days by Dustin Costa ★★★★
The novel is madcap at times, hardboiled at others, and then absurdist sci-fi […]
Review: Weeping Water by J.T. Ruby ★★★★
Weeping Water by JT Ruby is an epic novel about cryonic suspension – freezing something with life-threatening injuries in order to heal them when there are significant advances in medical technology. It follows Annie, who dies in a plane crash in the eighties, and Elliot, who dies in a car accident in the nineties, as they try to piece together their lives after being unfrozen. Spanning many generations and covering cryogenics from every angle, Weeping Water is a fast-paced and thought-provoking read.
Like the best of science fiction, Weeping Water poses a number of interesting questions about advances in technology. […]
Review: Illuminarium by Truth Devour ★★★★
Illuminarium, by Truth Devour, is the creative and thought-provoking first installment in the planned five book Soliloquy’s Labyrinth series.
Harper, a forensic psychologist, discovers a book while hiking in a redwood forest. The book isn’t normal and Harper feels compelled to read it. York, the author of the book, describes the horrors he lived through during his stay in a sanitarium many decades ago. York is struggling between good and evil and Harper is glued to the pages. But is the book only a book or is it more? And why did it present itself to Harper?
This fantasy […]
Review: The Midnight Land: Part One: The Flight by E.P. Clark ★★★★
The story of the unhappy princess of an exotic land is nothing new to fiction, of […]
Review: Dissident (Forbidden Things #1) by Nikki McCormack ★★★★★
Indigo has great power, but her country, Caithin, has placed severe limitations on the use of ascard, which can strengthen, heal, and create. It can also destroy. Indigo, an orphan from a disgraced family, is engaged to an abusive and jealous man and is afraid to leave him because of her tenuous situation in society.
Yiloch, the prince of Lyra, wants to overthrow the mad emperor, who is also Yiloch’s father.
When Indigo and Yiloch meet their lives change as well as the fate of […]
Review: Sharky Marky and the Scavenger Hunt by Lance Olsen ★★★★
Sharky Marky and the Scavenger Hunt (An Alphabetic Adventure) finds Sharky Marky in a car race as he races to find different items in a scavenger hunt, each corresponding to a letter in the alphabet. Written in rhyming verse, it’s a sweet, good-natured children’s book with colorful and detailed illustrations.
Like Sharky Marky and the Big Race, Scavenger Hunt begins with a stoplight countdown. Sharky Marky then races to the finish line to find each item in the alphabet. First, Sharky sees some algae (“Marky scoops up some Algae, his first on the list. As he speeds by Eddy […]
Review: Sharky Marky and the Big Race by Lance Olsen
★★★★½ 
Sharky Marky and the Big Race is a fun children’s book for ages 3-5 about a racecar-driving shark as he races against a collection of sea creatures. The book teaches counting, as the child is entertainingly instructed to count down from ten for every car Sharky Marky passes. Along the way, a couple participants attempt to derail Sharky Marky by puncturing his tires and spraying ink in his face, but Sharky Marky is triumphant in the end.
The narrative is very reminiscent of Pixar – sort of “Finding Nemo” meets “Cars.” That’s not a criticism, because who doesn’t love […]
Review: Detour Amour (Detour Paris Series Book 3) by Jack Dancer ★★★★★
Tucker Blue is not playing Mr. Nice Guy anymore. The woman he loves is still being held captive and his enemies have pushed him too far. Tucker wants to destroy them, but he’s an advertising guy, not Rambo.
Tucker turns to unconventional means to out his nemesis in an attempt to rescue his princess. Will his plan work? And at what cost?
The main ingredients of the series thus far has been humorous unpredictability and crazy escapades. This series is creative, entertaining, and cringe-worthy. After […]