SPR’s book reviews of new self-published books
Ettie Explores Earth by Lynn Holland
The book is nicely interactive to the point where it feels like using a computer program, yet […]
The Elder’s Circle by Jessica Schaub
Picking up right where Gateways, Book I of The Elemental Chronicles left off, Victoria believes that she’ll be home tomorrow. After all, she defeated Ona, the mage who killed her father, and essentially saved the world. Or did she?
The Elder’s Circle is the second book in the series by Christian fantasy author Jessica Schaub. Victoria is a Painter, and can paint anything into existence. But she’s been forced to open a dangerous Earth Gateway, and now the powerful and evil mage Ona is missing. In this installment, the story follows Ona’s followers while they attempt to find her. Meanwhile, […]
Mongolia Monologues: One Woman’s Quest to Experience, Learn and Grow… by Joanne Nussbaum
There’s a refreshing […]
Decay by Mark Lingane
Decay by Mark Lingane is the second book in his YA steampunk/science fiction series, “The Tesla Evolution.” Set in a war-ravaged dystopian future, Decay follows Sebastian, his friend Melanie, and others fighting off a cyborg threat to kill off humanity once and for all. Sebastian, along with some other survivors, find that they have enhanced psionic abilities.
Dubbed the “Teslas,” they now need to fight off embittered and terrified humans suspicious of their powers, as well as the cyborgs. Like other effective dystopian novels, Decay offers good commentary on contemporary society. The cyborgs who are hunting down Sebastian seem to […]
Lost Library by Kate Baray
Lost Library by Kate Baray is the first novel in the “Lost Library” urban fantasy romance series, which so far comprises three novels and three short stories. That investment in world-building is very evident in these pages: the book is both carefully detailed and fast-paced, which will appeal to more readers than those interested in romance.
The book follows Lizzie, a 36-year-old woman who’s at once engaging and fairly bored with her life. That is until a mysterious book bound in leather arrives on her doorstep. She soon discovers that the writing on the pages changes whenever she opens it, […]
Supernatural Hero & The Witches by Eran Gadot
Supernatural Hero & The Witches by Eran Gadot is the follow-up to the award-winning Supernatural Hero. The first book follows Andy, a protypical nerd, who is bullied mercilessly by seemingly everyone in his life. When his beloved grandfather dies, Andy’s gifted with the power to see and talk to the dead. Andy uses his supernatural abilities to win the girl and go from zero to hero.
Now in book two, Andy’s the school hero with his girlfriend by his side, as well as the ghost of his grandfather who helps him along the way. This time he needs to […]
Losing Heart by Donna Brown
Losing Heart by Donna Brown is a fast-paced novella that covers a wide range of emotions in a small number of pages. Helen is facing the most difficult of issues: she is in need of a heart transplant and has only five months to live. Cut to 6 months later and Helen is very much alive and isn’t quite worried about living life on the edge: she’s having an affair with her doctor, Jack, while her husband and the mother of the donor become more and more suspicious.
Though Helen is cheating on her husband, she’s a likable narrator who’s […]
The Representative by Thomas H. Cullen
The Representative by Thomas H. Cullen is a completely unique approach to writing a book, often with less that two sentences per page with many spaces and blank pages between, with an empty black cover. The writing follows a prose-like form, and speaks of a father and daughter, Mariel and Croyan and their relationship, which is enveloping the latter’s current three-Trokan crisis.
This book employs a writing technique that the author insists is “precise”, but it will be up to the reader to both decipher the need for this layout and the actual meaning behind the style of writing. One […]