SPR’s book reviews of new self-published books
Wine Into Water: A Pastor Stephen Grant Novel by Ray Keating
Though Wine into Water and the Stephen Grant series could most certainly be classified as Christian fiction, the book can […]
Paroxysm Effect by Ashleigh Reynolds
Fighting to survive in a world gone mad is a bold premise for any novel, particularly a dystopian one where the author is simultaneously required to world-build and deliver high-intensity action. In Paroxysm Effect, author Ashleigh Reynolds creates a utopian world of peace and prosperity, and then quickly destroys that façade, dropping her main character into a tangled plot of behavior-control chips that have suddenly ceased to function after 5 decades of dominion. The subsequent murder and mayhem makes for fast, voracious reading, and the pacing of this novel rarely lets up.
The story is highly original and shows […]
Tainted by Hate (T. D. Book 3) by Patrice M. Foster
Though this is a book laden […]
Bright Moon Ridge: A Search in China by Linus Treefoot
It’s […]
Must be Relevant to Make Some Money by Dr. Phil Copeland
Must be Relevant to Make Some Money by Dr. Phil Copeland (“The Other Dr. Phil,” as it says on the cover) is a comprehensive guide outlining long-term planning for businesses, focusing on such important facets as leadership, innovation, sustainability, marketing strategy, and effective engagement with consumers.
The book is exhaustive about sound business practices, yet Copeland never completely defines what “relevance” is in terms of business production, even if he begins each chapter with the same sentence: “You must be relevant to make some money.” While relevance obviously means “connected” or “pertinent,” these in themselves are vague and open-ended terms. […]
Not Just Talent: The Millennials Redefining Talent and Human Capital Management by Philipe Bruce
Bruce tackles the dilemma of how to demograph and analyze this new skillset. There are some generalizations that can be made and proven to be true: Generation Y are “digital natives” and have skills that come naturally other generations had […]
Dead Lemons by Finn Bell
Author Finn Bell’s exciting New Zealand thriller about a missing girl and a suicidal disabled man on a mission opens with a quote from Hitler about God. This powerful start is surprisingly the exact scene-setter for what can only be described as an unforgettable, cutthroat fable that examines ego and self-obsession in the face of murder. All of this in a book set in New Zealand, it’s unlikely readers will have picked up anything quite so original in this genre for some time.
Finn Bell, the protagonist and author of the book you are reading, takes us on a journey […]
The Tale of Miss Berta London by Jihan Latimer
In The Tale of Miss Berta London: “Recollections of Accomplishments,” readers experience the turmoils of the eponymous character as she overcomes adversity with shocking resolve, and demonstrates an ability to roll expertly with life’s many punches in her role as a fashion editor for the international E-Fashion Magazine and then onto becoming a nanny for the Williamson children.
As a character, Berta is compelling and interesting to read, but she is theatrically so , and the book is written in a journalistic style. The writing is also highly declarative, as Berta reminisces on her working life in a diary […]