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

Review: Lyrical Bliss in Tuscany by Cindy Irish

Lyrical Bliss in Tuscany by Cindy Irish

Lyrical Bliss in Tuscany by Cindy Irish, the third book in her Bel Homme Quartet Series, is a powerful and exciting love story embedded in the tale of a rising musical star. With vivid style and sanguine spirit, Irish explores themes such as pleasure, sex, and success, but she also touches on the discipline, self-discovery, and self-awareness that a true artist needs in order to fully express themselves.

While Nico is already a world-acclaimed singer, Gina, a local musician, is only starting to discover the full extent of her potential, and not only in her music. Since the first […]

2022-11-01T19:44:44+02:00November 1st, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: |

Review: ’53 on 35th: A “Silent Boomer’s” Recollections by J. Conran Meyer

In ’53 on 35th: A “Silent Boomer’s” Recollections, J. Conran Meyer endearingly recalls a bygone time before technology and social media replaced a child’s reliance on fantasy and invention for fun and entertainment.

1953 was a seminal year for Meyer – at ages 8 and 9, he was powered and defined by his imagination, and that of his 35th Avenue neighborhood gang, including his younger brother, Nick, and his best friend, Billy. With folksy humor, elaborate tales, and obvious affection, Meyer recreates growing up in Sacramento, CA in great detail, complimenting the narration of his childhood experiences with commentary and […]

2022-10-21T16:27:39+02:00October 18th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: |

Review: Family Matters by Lance Lee

Family Matters by Lance Lee

In a memoir that does double duty as a multi-generational history of dysfunction and the effort to define a life shaped by deceptions, Lance Lee unmasks the myths his parents clung to in Family Matters: dreams I couldn’t share and how a dysfunctional family became America’s Darling, The Addams Family.

Lee and his sister, Linda, endured a turbulent childhood controlled by their father David “Gar” Levy, a self-absorbed, generally distant, often emotionally abusive patriarch. A high-powered advertising and television network executive, Gar created the sitcom, “The Addams Family,” which Lee believes Gar infused with his own parents’ dysfunction and […]

2022-10-07T15:00:03+02:00October 6th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: , |

Review: A Rebel’s Path (The Enchanted Isles Book 3) by I.L. Cruz

A Rebel's Path (The Enchanted Isles Book 3) by I.L. Cruz

Author I.L. Cruz summons another tense chapter of the Enchanted Isles YA series with A Rebel’s Path, her third electrifying installment. Between paternal revelations, impending royal nuptials, a resurgence of magic, and an urban legend come to life, the life of Inez Garza and the realm of Canto is as strange and exciting as ever.

Inez’s predestined fate of bringing magic back to the Enchanted Isles is a tall order, particularly since she has no idea how to achieve that seemingly impossible goal. Her powers have proven to be impressive, but difficult to predict and keep hidden, training in […]

Review: Birdie Pesky Was Here by Andrew Augustine Connor

Birdie Pesky Was Here by Andrew Augustine Connor

A spiraling account of a fictional historical heist, Birdie Pesky Was Here: The Story of the Big Bad Buxom Blonde Boston Bank Boost by Andrew Augustine Connor is a rowdy and unpredictable thriller that teeters on the edge of believable from start to finish, making it easy to forget that this novel is a wildly creative piece of imagination.

Cash and Cary make for an unforgettable duo of safe crackers as they scheme their way around their debt to a dangerous don, with a dazzling balance of laissez-faire larceny and daring deeds. They are a delightfully odd couple, and genuinely […]

Review: Hunted by LaBrie James

Hunted by LaBrie James

Author LaBrie James plunges readers into a tangled nightmare in her gripping debut novel, Hunted, a character-driven dive into dark family drama and deadly small-town secrets.

Stalked by a vengeful shadow, one with a face eerily resembling the chief of police, Lennox Rose is slowly recovering from a gunshot wound sustained during a horrific attack, but that brutal night in the snow is only the beginning. After watching her best friend violated and killed, Lennox is shattered both physically and mentally, and has to somehow find a way to rebuild herself.

Finn Holland is the young officer assigned to […]

2022-09-30T09:44:47+02:00September 22nd, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: |

Review: The Eagle That Drank Hummingbird Nectar by Aneace Haddad

The Eagle That Drank Hummingbird Nectar by Aneace Haddad

Reading like a long-form parable for business professionals, The Eagle That Drank Hummingbird Nectar by Aneace Haddad is like no other book in its genre. Blurring the line between fiction, allegory, and self-help, this masterfully penned book probes into the stagnation that can strike anyone, from any life path, and then gently nudges readers into revelation.

Aidan Perez had risen to the top of his industry, achieving the coveted position of CEO, but after his personal life collapsed in tragedy, it radically changed his perspective on wealth and the pursuit of happiness. With his daughter in Singapore and looming loneliness […]

Review: The Point of Murder by Lorne Kent

The Point of Murder by Lorne Kent

Author Lorne Kent delivers a twisted mystery that puts deadly pressure on a “nice neighborhood policeman” in his intro to a new investigator series, The Point of Murder, an engrossing, well-researched, globe-hopping thriller.

When a thirty-year-old Russian activist attempts to flee the oppressive motherland, his escape sets in motion a murderous drama that plays out on the typically quiet streets of Ottawa. Driven by a stellar cast of three-dimensional characters, including a masterful assassin who kills without remorse, this is a gripping dive into evil.

DI Brian Golding is the rule-bending cop who catches the case when bodies start […]

2022-10-10T12:28:40+02:00September 10th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: |
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