Lead Story

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

Review: The New Holy Warriors by Alice Sandoval

The New Holy Warriors by Alice Sandoval

An international thriller based around the events of September 11, 2001, The New Holy Warriors combines a rich mix of fact and fiction.

Just two days after the horrific happenings of 9-11, a California-based Mexican-American lawyer, Marc Bravo, gets word that his physician father and nurse mother have been missing for three days in Mexico, where they were working as volunteers for Doctors Without Borders.

Shaken by the attack on the US, Bravo is doubly unnerved when he hears this news and quickly enlists the assistance of his younger brother Richard, an archeology student, and an old friend, Paul Levy […]

2018-07-10T05:27:15+02:00July 7th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: , |

Review: Songs for Lucy by Philip Wilson

Songs for Lucy by Philip Wilson

Songs for Lucy, a poignant work of women’s fiction by Philip Wilson, conveys the heartfelt message that a death sentence doesn’t mean one should stop living.

Allison “Allie” Connelly has a bright future ahead of her: she’s Valedictorian of her graduating class at Boston Highlands University and has been accepted to Harvard Law. Best of all, she’s also been offered a summer job teaching tennis at a club in Providence, Rhode Island, allowing her to spend the summer with her widowed father.

Then the unimaginable happens. Her father is killed by a drunk driver on his way home from […]

2019-01-22T11:16:32+02:00June 26th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: , |

Review: The Good Fight (The Last Enemy Series Book 1) by Dan E. Hendrickson

The Good Fight by Dan E. Hendrickson

Intrigue and adventure abound in The Good Fight, the first installment in the Last Enemy thriller series by Dan E. Hendrickson.

Twenty-five-year-old Danielle Edwards is the heir apparent to Edwards Auto, the thriving family auto business founded by her paternal grandfather. Danielle is still reeling from the recent deaths of her parents and grandmother after their plane had crashed into the Pacific while on their way to Australia. In Danielle’s mind, it should have been her father at the helm of the family business but with his death, it’s now all hers.

However, Danielle isn’t ready to take it […]

2018-07-24T12:29:11+02:00June 25th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: , , |

Review: Widow Walk (The Widow Walk Saga Book 1) by Gar LaSalle

Widow Walk by Gar LaSalle

Peeking into the past can provide valuable insight about the present, even if the two time periods and places seem like very different worlds. In Widow Walk by Gar LaSalle, readers are transported into the lives of bold settlers in the Pacific Northwest, determined survivors in the wilderness, who must face seemingly endless trials in their bid to make that land a home.

The brilliant component of this novel is that it doesn’t come across as distant historical fiction for the sake of escapism or novelty – it is packed with timeless life experiences, existential crises, and subjects of sovereignty […]

2019-01-25T12:59:07+02:00June 5th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: , |

Review: The Girl from the Moon (The Elemental Tides Book 1) by Maria Beta

The Girl from the Moon by Maria Beta

When modern authors peer into the future, it often seems that humanity’s destiny is bleak. The Girl from the Moon, the new novel by Maria Beta, is no exception to this trend. After the ozone layer collapses and global society begins to crumble under the weight of human neglect, science must step in to save the species. Constructing a massive artificial shield to block the earth and mimic an atmosphere is a bandage for a bullet wound, however, and life is far from serene.

Cate and Victoria Weelah, the daughters of the scientist who originally created Earth’s protective layer […]

2018-06-08T10:08:31+02:00June 4th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: , |

Review: The Divine Dream by Christopher Schmitt

The Divine Dream by Christopher Schmitt

In The Divine Dream, author Christopher Schmitt finds a new – and quite brilliant – take on life and death. The novel explores the breaking point between science and faith, while also offering the author’s personal reconciliation between these two complex, dynamic subjects.

After suffering from an inexplicable collapse and tragically dying, young Apollo, the spiritual protagonist of this story, enters a strange realm between life and death, where souls and spirits mix and mingle – a waiting room after leaving the world of the living, which also acts as a time-bending training ground. While years of spiritual enlightenment […]

2018-05-30T12:10:35+02:00May 29th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: |

Review: The Final Departure by Epp Marsh III

The Final Departure by Epp Marsh III

Partially based on real history, The Final Departure by Epp Marsh III tells an alternate history where Marcus Garvey’s Greater Liberia Act is put into widespread effect. In 1929, Civil Rights pioneer Marcus Garvey strikes a devil’s bargain with the Ku Klux Klan to turn the United States into an all-white nation. Congress enacts the Greater Liberia Act, arranging passage for every black American to Africa, while leaving unprotected any black citizen who choose to stay behind.

The novel tells the story of Ruth Gaines who remains in the U.S. with her true love Lance Wainwright, the eldest son of […]

2019-01-22T10:54:59+02:00May 16th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: |

Review: Jake, Lucid Dreamer by David J. Naiman

Jake, Lucid Dreamer

Jake, Lucid Dreamer by David J. Naiman is a charming look at a middle-schooler’s struggle to navigate grief and acceptance. With a touch of the surreal, Naiman has woven a fantastical tale with a powerful message about learning to face your demons, traversing the tricky plains of middle school, and how important compassion is in the face of adversity.

Jake wakes on his birthday after one of his lucid dreams. We see his life, a typical, moody teenager – his family, a darling little sister, and a father with patience to spare. They serve as a grounding force for Jake, […]

2019-01-22T11:02:56+02:00May 12th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: |
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