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

Review: Déjà Vu by Niki

Déjà Vu by Niki

A genre-defying exploration of art, death, identity, and redemption, Déjà Vu by Niki is an afterlife drama like no other, and a modern-day sojourn into the realms of mythology.

When the emotionally tortured Zenia makes the fateful choice to cut her life short, she is forced into a soul-baring trial by the Queen of the Underworld. As punishment for her fatal sin, Zenia must traverse the damned worlds of her own making and memory, where “her body carries proof of a crime,” each arm stained with blood she cannot wipe clean.

From revealing interrogations with the ancient Chorus and delirious […]

2025-11-13T09:59:24+02:00November 12th, 2025|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: |

Review: The Half-Full-Glass User’s Manual by Richard A. Meyers

The Half-Full-Glass User's Manual by Richard A. Meyers

A unique and effective blueprint for self-improvement that aims to simultaneously educate, amuse, and inspire, The Half-Full-Glass User’s Manual: Mindfulness Meets Playfulness: A Guide to Joy, Gratitude, and Guffaws by Richard A. Meyers is a breezy and thought-provoking guide to maintaining a healthy mental space.

Cleverly designed as a rediscovered philosophy (The Manual) linked to a long-lost tool (The Glass) that can grant access to a higher level of awareness (The Consciousness), the book insistently nudges the reader into a journey of self-discovery. With the central conceit that using The Half-Full Glass, which we all possess in some form, and […]

2025-11-11T15:08:13+02:00November 11th, 2025|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: |

Review: It’s Time to Grow by Freddie Floyd Jr.

It's Time to Grow by Freddie Floyd Jr.

A provocative collection of sacred riffs and existential essays, It’s Time to Grow: How Focusing on Spiritual Growth Can Transform Your Life and Relationships by Freddie Floyd Jr. is a fount of healing wisdom that doesn’t hold back. Combining a healthy dose of tough love with impassioned reasoning and sound interpretations of Scripture, this is an unfiltered guidebook for spiritual and personal growth.

Building on humanity’s established need for more maturity, kindness, and self-awareness, both as believers and citizens of the world, the author presents a wide-ranging collection of essays about areas of life where improvements can be made. He […]

Review: Entropy Loop & Other Poems by Jeffrey Heath

Entropy Loop and Other Poems by Jeffrey Heath

An ambitious but unassuming collection of quietly brilliant verse, Entropy Loop & Other Poems by Jeffrey Heath runs the gamut of raw human experience, transcending the tropes and familiar emotions of contemporary poetry.

Cascading through visceral recollections of heartbreak tangled in abstract metaphor, these pieces explore the mercurial landscapes of memory. At first glance, it feels as though the author is processing grief and uncertainty right along with each reader, while hesitantly striving toward a more hopeful future. Using simple, accessible language to express profound and existential feeling is the telltale sign of a masterful poet, and Heath demonstrates that […]

2025-10-24T11:52:01+02:00October 24th, 2025|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: |

Review: Marianne by Alice McVeigh

Marianne by Alice McVeigh

Expertly adding to her expansion of Jane Austen’s ouevre, Marianne by Alice McVeigh is the fifth thrilling piece of an impressive historical fiction series.

Marianne, recently widowed but prone to unreasonable love, is offered condolences as often as invitations from the endless supply of eager new suitors in London, but her heart is distracted by the presence of her first true love. Navigating this new and overwhelming world of social climbing only becomes more complicated when her firecracker of a younger sister, Margaret, arrives on the scene to stir up trouble and swoon at the resultant drama.

Bouncing between the […]

2025-10-23T14:56:00+02:00October 22nd, 2025|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: |

Review: Vandemonian Spirit by Missy Birch

Vandemonian Spirit by Missy Birch

An intense period drama laced with the timeless theme of love lost and found, Vandemonian Spirit by Missy Birch is a powerful tale of feminine resilience and the relentless pursuit of joy in the face of systemic indifference.

After a selfless act of desperation to save her sister’s life, Hannah Fearn lands in the hands of the law, and she is sentenced to seven years of servitude in Van Diemen’s Land, the colonial name for present-day Tasmania. Forced to leave her life of squalor, she hardens herself to the inevitable cruelty of the years to come as she sails to […]

2025-09-30T11:56:07+02:00September 30th, 2025|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: |

Review: The Reluctant Bully by Gary Rivera

The Reluctant Bully by Gary Rivera

A second thought-provoking Smoochie adventure, The Reluctant Bully: A Smoochie Family Story by Gary Rivera continues Madeline’s journey as she navigates the high hopes and dramatic lows of middle school.

With her victorious lunch-money treasure hunt still fresh in her mind, Madeline, aka Lynn/aka Smoochie, turns her attention to the worrying drama going on in her brother’s life. B hasn’t been himself lately – he’s quieter and more disconnected, and it seems like one of his high school classmates, Jordan, may be responsible for the shift. As Smoochie asks more questions and digs deeper into the history of her friends […]

2025-09-30T12:21:28+02:00September 29th, 2025|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: |

Review: No More 24/7 by Catherine Cowart Roe

No More 24/7 by Catherine Cowart Roe

A thorough guide to gaining your freedom as a dedicated business owner, No More 24/7: Entrepreneurs, Take Your Life Back by Catherine Cowart Roe is an invaluable resource for anyone who feels like they’re never truly off the clock.

Primarily focusing on the importance of running your own business without letting it overtake your life, this insightful guide touches on the most crucial aspects of entrepreneurial experience, from time management and delegation of responsibilities to self-care and mindfulness techniques, which gives the book the original pull of a self-help guide, rather than a by rote leadership or organization manual.

The […]

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