SPR’s book reviews of new self-published books
The Peril Protocol by Robert Thornton
A Spiritual Journey by Susan Kapatoes
Kapatoes’ story is gripping because she perceives an absolute reality to her spiritual awareness. Her awakening is not merely intellectual, […]
The Life Engine by Rick Baker
B The EXXtinction by Santiago Mantilla
As in many dystopian fantasies, there’s a kernal of truth to what […]
Long Plastic Hallway by Joyce V. Harrison
Twenty-somethings Ellis, Bax and Chloe set out for a roadtrip only to quickly find they have no money. Busking to get by, Ellis eventually makes his way to Los Angeles and into the cut-throat music business, and all the highs (literally) and lows you find there. A story as much about friendship as it is about the music industry, Long Plastic Hallway is a generation-defining book that’s as fun to read as it is for these characters to live.
Taking a listen to Harrison’s Soundcloud account, it’s obvious she knows the music industry very well, and her passion for music […]
Exile (Bloodforge Book 1) by Tom Stacey
Exile (Bloodforge Book 1) by Tom Stacey is an epic fantasy novel that heralds the beginning of an exciting new series. The Verian Empire is in shambles – on the edge of war, in the past and on the horizon – a land where heroes no longer remain. Out of this chaos, new heroes emerge to fight the Echoes, demons in a human facade, who want to claim this land for their own.
Stacey is a born fantasy writer. Exile has all the elements of a strong epic fantasy: a detailed world that feels like a real place, complete with […]
Celluloid by Holly Curtis
Jimmy Clifford is sick of his life – sick of his friend Oswald’s card games, sick of the drugs that don’t seem to be fun anymore, and the anti-depressants have stopped working. When he finds out that his cherished local […]
My Daylight Monsters by Sarah Dalton
My Daylight Monsters is the prequel novella to Sarah Dalton’s Young Adult Mary Hades series. Though the book is called a prequel, Dalton recommends in the beginning of the book to start with this short work, and it establishes Mary Hades as a riveting, exciting, and sensitive young adult heroine.
My Daylight Monsters finds 17-year-old Mary Hades being institutionalized after having “visions” of zombies and skull-headed monsters. As she’s in a mental institution, there’s always a nagging sense that Mary might actually be crazy – to the reader, and to Mary herself. Woven into this narrative are an interesting cast […]