Reviewed by Romuald Dzemo for Readers' Favorite

Whisked Away is the second book in A Paradise Bay Romantic Comedy series by Melanie Summers and it is packed with fun and humor. After completing her studies at the reputable Culinary Institute of America, Emma Banks is ready to work as a chef in one of the resort restaurants belonging to the family. Instead, she is whisked off to a solitary island getaway belonging to the resort to cater for a difficult client, one who doesn’t even seem to appreciate her work. Pierce Davenport is a successful writer whose fantasy series, Clash of Crowns, has been made into an exciting television series. But he has not been able to deliver on the ending of the epic fantasy and fans and his publisher are putting pressure on him. If he can’t deliver quickly, then his publisher might be looking for scriptwriters to finish the work for him. Now, he has two months to himself to do the impossible — write the conclusion to the series.

The conflict between Emma and Pierce and how an opportunity arises for them to work together is interesting. But can these two characters ever succeed in working on a project and what role can Emma play in Pierce’s work? Whisked Away is one of the best romance books I’ve read in a very long time, with characters that are the complete opposite of each other. The author keeps the reader guessing, wanting to see how the burgeoning relationship between Emma and Pierce plays out. The writing is gorgeous, injected with huge doses of humor and suspense which make the reading experience a very enjoyable one. Whisked Away is ingeniously plotted and the characters are richly developed. It is fast-paced, featuring strong emotional conflict and characters that are fun to follow.

Reviewed by Divine Zape for Readers' Favorite

Turn the Paige by Roseanne Beck is an interesting first entry in the Love Hurts Series, a very engaging read filled with drama and hilarity. Meet Paige, a workaholic who spends the whole day in the office and, by the time she's done seeing her patients, wants only to get back to her condo. She has no plans to add any extracurricular activities in her down time, until she returns home to fulfill her Nana's last request and meets Nick Collins, someone from her past. It turns out Nick knows just how to awaken a fire she's kept hidden inside her. Does she have the strength to resist him or will she listen to the voice of her Nana and give love a chance — even create that time for extracurricular activities?

This is a sweet story with interesting characters. I loved the title as much as the characters. The story is told in the first person narrative and in a voice that is arresting. The point of view of the protagonist — Paige — comes out clearly and beautifully and I enjoyed how she appears as the epitome of the contemporary conundrum of all work and no play. The plot is well structured and I also enjoyed that the conflict is introduced right off the bat. Roseanne Beck is a skilled writer and she knows how to explore the hearts of her characters.

There is some part of Paige in all of us, the part that hides behind what we do. She may love her work, but her job seems to be a front, a means of refusing to become like others. But then Nick appears and he seems to understand the vulnerabilities in Paige's protective walls. The writing is strong, the voice is warm, and the characters are so real it feels like they live next door to the reader. Turn the Paige is a warm and entertaining love story filled with drama.

Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite

Relatively Sane: Relativity Series, Book 2 is a contemporary humorous women’s fiction novel written by Whitney Dineen. While this is the second book in Dineen’s series, she provides sufficient background information for it to be enjoyed as a standalone novel. Cat Masterton grew up wishing she had a normal life, complete with normal parents -- preferably well-to-do ones who rode in a Lincoln Town Car. But no, she lived in a ramshackle farmhouse with a dad who had a penchant for mounted animal heads and preserved mice, and wore his kilt to her school functions with depressing regularity.

Cat had left her Illinois roots and fled to the glitter and urbanity of Manhattan’s canyons as a new adult, but found herself suddenly inexplicably, back at home and with her high school sweetheart once again. And, she was actually getting ready to buy that old farmhouse from her parents. They would be moving to a smaller place in town, which suited Cat quite well, if only she could get them to take all their belongings with them, including the pet cemetery of preserved animals she was stunned to hear were silently moldering away up in the attic. Nan would be staying with Cat in the farmhouse. Cat figured Nan would be moving down into the lower floor digs Cat was currently inhabiting. But one never knew what Nan had in mind, and basically anything she did have in mind was more than likely to happen.

Having read the first book in Whitney Dineen’s hilarious Relativity Series, Relatively Normal, I was looking forward to reading this second offering in the series, Relatively Sane. My expectations for more fun times with Cat Masterton and her quirky family were not at all disappointed. Dineen hits the ground running with this follow-up book. Watching the family as they work through the housing transfers, and seeing how Nan’s suggestion that Cat contact a TV renovation show yields some surprising results, is grand entertainment. The author’s plot is satisfyingly rich and sumptuous, and her characters just keep getting more complex and fun to be around. Being a part of the Masterton clan, albeit vicariously, is just one of the reasons this well-written and enjoyable book should be on everyone’s reading list. Relatively Sane: Relativity Series, Book 2 is most highly recommended.

Reviewed by Romuald Dzemo for Readers' Favorite

A Year of Extraordinary Moments by Bette Lee Crosby is a beautiful tale of romance and difficult choices. All that matters to Tracy Briggs now is taking care of her son with a hearing problem and guiding him to talk while taking care of her family's magazine business. A new romance is beginning to bloom with her son's teacher and Tracy is sure her life is getting back on the right track. Then her son's father resurfaces and wants a second chance, and he won't take no for an answer. Torn between her past and a future she can't tell, Tracy has to make a choice and this becomes even more complicated when an elderly woman comes into the equation.

In the tradition of Nicholas Sparks, this author weaves a tale that explores the choices of the heart. I enjoyed the complexity in the relationships between the characters. It is no wonder that character is one of Bette Lee Crosby's fortes. For instance, the protagonist has had many hurdles to overcome in the past and she has two challenging things to handle - a child with a hearing impediment and a business to run - and coupled with these is her need for love. The relationships are complex and that is why the art of making a choice becomes the focus of the conflict. A Year of Extraordinary Moments is ingeniously plotted and cleverly written, with enough suspense and emotional intensity to leave the reader with only one option: keep turning the pages.

Reviewed by Grant Leishman for Readers' Favorite

A fun frolic down Fantasy Lane is the best way I think I could possibly describe The Royal Treatment by Melanie Summers. This is an out and out funny, chick-lit read with no pretensions of being anything else. Tessa Sharpe, a twenty-eight-year-old former journalist, has adopted the role of Royal Watchdog for the Kingdom of Avonia. Her blogs on the Royal Family and their excesses are grist to the mill of the group of Avonian citizens who consider the royals to be an outdated and unnecessary institution in the twenty-first century. Facing a potential referendum to strip the royals of their powers, Crown Prince Arthur invites Tessa to spend two months at the palace, to live with the royals and to see what it is they really do to help the people of Avonia. What follows is a hilarious romp filled with palace intrigue and, of course, the never-ending question (will they do it?).

I have read so many books over the years that focus on the very worst of the human condition, so it is wonderful, from time to time, to come across a story so frivolous and so much fun as The Royal Treatment. There are few books that can make me chuckle, let alone belly laugh, and yet Summers managed to draw that out of me in this fun tale. It is genuinely funny and yet still has something important to say, on a higher level. Obviously Avonia is a mythical kingdom, but the comparisons can well be made to other European countries still supporting a monarchy, even if that monarchy is merely ceremonial. Many of the issues faced by the Avonian monarchy, and indeed the perception of that monarchy to the citizens, can draw a direct parallel to other monarchies, such as the British. I really enjoyed this book and congratulate Summers on a fine effort. The Royal Treatment is a wonderful distraction from a world where there is much too much angst and seriousness.

Reviewed by Lisa McCombs for Readers' Favorite

Upon the death of George Briggs, Meghan’s plans to attend Grady College of Journalism and fulfill her dream of becoming a writer are hastily set aside so she can take over her father’s business of running the Snip 'N' Save Magazine. Just one year. Meghan decides to postpone her college plans in order to keep her father’s magazine up and running. But, when push comes to shove, she cannot leave the magazine unattended. Especially with the drama of younger sister Tracy’s renegade romance with the dark and irresponsible Dominic. Tracy’s devotion to her lover puts Meghan in the precarious position of playing buffer between mother and daughter. As her plight serves to intensify the loss of her father, Meghan realizes that she is where she needs to be: daughter, big sister, and strong role model in the lives of all she loves.

The Summer of New Beginnings: The Magnolia Grove Series, Book One by Bette Lee Crosby contains a realistic amount of family conflict with just the right amount of drama to place this novel in the genre of clean romance and wholesome family plot format. Bette Lee Crosby, USA Today bestselling author of eighteen novels, enchants the reader with her latest installment of a story of hope. The tasteful dialogue and moral lessons presented in The Summer of New Beginnings leave the reader wanting more. I particularly liked the addition of first person character insights in the insertion of character thoughts and reactions to the story plot line. I really enjoyed this novel.

Reviewed by Divine Zape for Readers' Favorite

Seeds of Intention by Andrea Thome is a well-crafted contemporary romance with great characters and a beautiful setting. After his boss and owner of one of the famous resorts in the country suffers a stroke, Garrett Oliver finds himself being groomed to become the master gardener. Things just seem to fall into place for him and taking his long-distance relationship with his college sweetheart to the next level seems possible now. Heartbroken, Willow Armstrong has just returned to Knoxville to take care of her ailing father when she lands the job at the resort. She would be Garrett’s boss. These two souls are bound together by their work, but as they work together an undeniable attraction begins to develop between them. The reader watches them as the intensity in their attraction for each other grows. The question is: can Garrett forget the love of his life for his boss?

Realistic and intelligently plotted, Seeds of Intention takes the reader on a ride into the inner workings of the hearts of the characters. The setting is colorful, captured in vivid prose and powerful descriptions, from the interior décor of the resort to the surrounding beauty of the Smoky Mountains. Readers will marvel at the natural beauty of Walland, Tennessee, and at the images the author offers them. The narrative voice is strong and it grabs the reader’s interest from the very beginning. Andrea Thome has a great gift for character and even though I never read the first book in the series, it wasn’t hard for me to connect with the characters and to feel like part of their world. Great pacing, compelling characters, and masterly handling of themes!

Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite

The Magic of Cape Disappointment is a contemporary fiction novel written by Julie Manthey. Kay Baker had escaped Cape Disappointment and the expectations that her family lineage had placed upon her. Yes, she was the great-great-great-granddaughter of Kehlok, the daughter of adventurer Meriwether Lewis and Tamahna, a local native medicine woman. Kay had gone to medical school as her mother had wished, even as she co-majored in art, her true love and passion, and she had finished med school before abandoning that professional goal and turning to art full-time. She loved living in Manhattan and was thrilled to have her own studio there. It was a far cry from the small town life of Ilwaco, Washington where she grew up. When she got a call informing her that her parents had both died in a car crash, however, she dropped everything and rushed home to be there. She would be the only support for her Gran, who was ninety-seven and apt to forget where she was in time, until her brother Lou came to help. Kay’s mom’s last request to her was that she would not put Gran in a nursing home, and Kay was determined to abide by that. Suddenly, New York and her life as she knew it was in the past, and she was back in Ilwaco.

Julie Manthey’s contemporary fiction novel, The Magic of Cape Disappointment, is an intriguing and powerful blend of modern-day life, history and mysticism. I loved learning more about the Cascadia range and Cape Disappointment, and found the author’s treatment of the Clatsup history and legends to be fascinating. Manthey also addresses an issue of concern about elderly care, especially for those with Alzheimer’s or other dementia issues, and the resulting stresses that fall upon the relative who somehow finds themselves in the role of caretaker. I could feel for Kay as she loses everything she had built up for her own life’s goals, even as I loved the synchronicity that had her literally visualizing her future path while still in Manhattan. Manthey’s characters are marvelous; her story rocks on so many levels, and her writing is fluid and a joy to read. The Magic of Cape Disappointment is most highly recommended.

Reviewed by Trudi LoPreto for Readers' Favorite

As Jess and Todd are returning home, they are on a dark and untraveled road. It is a cold, snowy, icy night; the car tumbles down a cliff and becomes wedged between two trees. The rest of the story is spent in the freezing car with them. Together they talk about how they met, fell in love, lived their lives so far, and their dreams and hopes for the future. Todd’s leg is hurt and he is in great pain. Jess must be the one to leave the car and try to find a way to survive. As the days pass, their spirits fall and they lovingly say their goodbyes to each other, knowing they have little time and hope of lasting another day. As each moment passes and they get closer and closer to their deaths, all they have left and could hope for was the miracle of being rescued.

Remember When by Lindsay Detwiler is like no book I have read before. It pulled at every single emotion possible. I felt as though I was in the back seat and even though I was in a 95 degree heat wave, I was cold and scared. I could not help but think ‘what if’ my husband and I were in the car; what would our memories be; what would we be saying to each other after over 40 years of marriage? Lindsay Detwiler is a brilliant author who has written a book that cannot help but speak to each and every reader. This is a must-read that will have you crying, laughing and unable to stop reading.

Reviewed by Samantha March for Readers' Favorite

LOL! I really don’t know how else to start off this review, because what a fun and humorous concept for a novel. Laura Kenyon brings us Desperately Ever After, which is book one in the Desperately Ever After Trilogy. Our main characters are Belle, Cinderella, Rapunzel, Snow White, Dawn and Penelopea – yes, our beloved Disney princesses. But this is the real world for the princesses – albeit some magical aspects, of course – but the ladies deal with turning thirty, cheating husbands, and the quest to find true love. And let’s not forget those pesky mothers-in-law either! It’s life after happily ever after…

I loved the concept for Desperately Ever After. I’m such a fan of Disney princesses – Belle and Jasmine being my top two, personally – so this was such a hoot to read. Of course, I would have hoped the ladies had better luck than the majority of the characters in here, but I guess that’s reality, huh? The story lines were serious yet humorous, magical yet real, and overall I had a pretty fun time reading book one. I will say that sometimes I actually got the characters mixed up – Penelopea and Rapunzel in particular – because there is definitely is a lot happening and all at once. The middle slowed down just slightly for me, but I was happy to see the ending pick it back up again and hold my interest. This is the first book in a trilogy and I would definitely read the other two as well!