SPR’s book reviews of new self-published books
Danloria: The Secret Forest of Germania by Gloria D. Gonsalves
Danloria: The Secret Forest of Germania by Gloria D. Gonsalves is a book for 4 to 7-year-olds about Stan who goes venturing into the forest and meets a magical collection of plants, mushrooms, and other fauna. In each meeting with the different plant-creatures, we learn about different plant’s properties (such as fern, moss, blackberry, and many others). When Stan falls ill, we then learn the medicinal properties of all these different plants. Gonsalves deftly integrates real facts about plants without seeming too encyclopedic – kids will learn and appreciate the different forms of plant life without even realizing they’re learning![…]
Wine Into Water by Ray Keating finds Pastor Stephen Grant navigating the treacherous world of counterfeit winemaking. A student of wine himself back in his CIA days, Grant is tasked with uncovering a counterfeit ring, which also involves dead restaurateurs, as well as members of his investigative team. Part thriller and part mystery, Wine into Water is full of action, suspense and an electric cast of characters – both villainous and heroic – that will satisfy fans of crime thrillers.
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.
Tainted by Hate by Patrice M. Foster is a harrowing but important book about friendship, racism, drug abuse, self-cutting, and trying to rise above it all. Angela and Jessica are good friends, but Angela’s family comes between them, as Angela’s father is a virulent and abusive racist and forbids their relationship. Angela turns to self-harm in the form of drug abuse and cutting, threatening not just the friendship, but her own life. Jessica must help her friend, and Angela must muster the strength to transcend her family and all the damage it has wrought.
Bright Moon Ridge by Linus Treefoot is a literary adventure about Johnny Bartooth who’s dropped a bombshell at 19-years-old – he learns, via a journal brought to him by an aging hippy, about the origin of his parents, who he’s never known. His father once traveled through China and met the beautiful Mei, a doctor tending to his wounds after a vicious attack. They start a love affair, but Mei is trapped in China, so Johnny’s father must go back to save her. Years later, Johnny follows in his father’s footsteps to China to finally discover his parents’ fate.
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.
Philipe Bruce has a passion for human resources and how to maximize potential in a diverse workforce. Millennials, otherwise known as Generation Y, are changing – and breaking – the rules of business, and talent management heads are going to have to learn how to make the most of this resource, as millions of young workers enter the job market.
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.