Reviewed by Rabia Tanveer for Readers' Favorite

Appearances by Sondra Helene is a family drama where our protagonist is caught between a rock and a hard place. Samantha had everything she could wish for. She had a wonderful life with her husband, a happy home and she loved her sister. While her husband Richard loved Samantha with all his heart, he merely tolerated her family. However, he despised her sister Elizabeth and the two just couldn’t stand each other. That put a strain on Samantha and Richard’s relationship but they were powering through it when something terrible happened. Elizabeth was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer and Samantha had no idea what to do. She wanted to be there for her sister and appease her husband at the same time. Before she knew it, she had to make a very tough decision: choose to remain with her husband or help her sister get through that hard time. What will Samantha do?

Appearances by Sondra Helene is a very heavy story to read. Samantha’s journey was hard and filled with pain. She wanted to be truly happy with her husband and enjoy her family, but that didn’t seem to be in the cards for her. She was surprisingly very perceptive; she kept her mental health in check and made sure she was present for her sister. The connection between Elizabeth and Samantha was beautiful. Samantha stuck by her side through the hardest and the easiest times of Elizabeth’s journey. The treatments were painful to read; however, they made the story even more realistic. The narrative was smooth, it was empowering and it was emotional. I was holding back tears at some points and smiling at the same time. It was bittersweet but it was worth it. I felt like I was sitting beside Samantha and Elizabeth during each hospital visit and went through everything with them. This emotionally-charged drama was worth every emotion I went through while reading it.

Reviewed by Astrid Iustulin for Readers' Favorite

What would you choose between a quiet private life and a public life that can be very rewarding but also risky? I think that we have asked ourselves this question at least once in our lives. Richard Robbins asks his readers the same question in his novel, Panicles. This amazing book tells the story of the Murnanes, a wealthy family with serious political ambitions, and of the Wax family, which finds prosperity thanks to an unexpected legacy. Scandals and questionable political actions surround the characters. Good ideas turn out to have negative consequences, while morally reprehensible actions can have positive results. What is the price to pay?

Panicles is a novel that invites reflection with its subtle and significant meaning. The characters have serious decisions to make, and often they are not blameless. Robbins does not openly condemn disputable deeds, but he rather aims at showing how difficult it is to make the right choices. He does not prevent further discussion by giving a definitive answer, but he presents the facts and lets the reader decide what is good and what is not. Panicles is not just about politics, however. Family is also an important topic, and Robbins develops this theme with remarkable skill. In a delightful scene at the beginning, Little Emily, the Murnanes’ daughter, cries because the flowers are dead. This scene comes to the reader's mind later when she explains what Panicles are, and her explanation adds a deeper meaning to the story. Connections, effects, and a great storyline make Panicles a remarkable novel from many points of view.

Reviewed by Jamie Michele for Readers' Favorite

Faithful Valor by Isabella is a military suspense romance that follows Colonel Nicole (Nic) Caldwell and the life she is attempting to rebuild after deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, the latter of which left her scarred both physically and mentally. The book is narrated through three points of view: Nic, her former comrade CeCe, and Nic's wife Claire. Set in Monterey, California where Nic and Claire live with their daughter Grace, Nic is adapting to life after her trauma in the hopes of teaching. On Nic's advice, Cece relocates from Los Angeles to Monterey to work as a university cop—at the same school where Claire is a student—in the hopes of taking her daughter, Melita, out of the gang-infested environment she's growing up in. On a trip to a local mini-mart, Nic has a violent encounter with two Marines that live on the nearby base. The confrontation kicks off a series of events that explode when one of the PFCs sets out for revenge against Nic, determined to take from her what he believes was taken from him: everything.

I don't even know where to start, to be honest. Faithful Valor is an excellent book that deftly balances multiple themes with an intriguing plot and subplots. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, suicide, rehabilitation, family issues, romance...it's all there, wrapped up in a tension-filled LGBTQ page-turner. A standout for me was the fact that this book featured three strong female protagonists and exactly zero men coming to the rescue. The relationship between Nic and Claire has all of the right swoon components and relationship goals we look for in a romance, with a layered understanding of Nic's health. All three have unique voices, written crisply by Isabella with the skilled hand of a seasoned author. The climax is explosive and vivid with the scenery coming to life, catapulting our wounded warrior from the darkness of PTSD, so severe that it causes blackouts, into the light.

Reviewed by Jessica Barbosa for Readers' Favorite

Gill D Anderson’s The Chosen Seven tells the story of six strangers whose lives are changed forever when a lunatic with a gun came into Alessandro’s Cucina. Farzad Abed, crazy and angry with the world, claimed to be a terrorist and that his sudden violence was an Islamic State attack on Australia. He started with a restaurant full of hostages but narrowed it down to six. He claimed that he and his remaining hostages would be known as the chosen seven. Farzad believed that after brainwashing the hostages to take his side, they could make the world sit up and take notice. The chosen seven would change the world. Jacob Brown, Jagriti Goshal, Regina Terry, Levi Haines, Bill Walker, and Paul Townsend were brought together by a dangerous situation. Helpless, frustrated, and angry, they were handpicked by Farzad to play along in his delusion. Stuck inside the restaurant with their lives on the line and their rescuers hesitating outside, the handpicked victims realized that if they want to survive that night, they may need to work together and rescue themselves.

The Chosen Seven is a remarkable book that captured my attention from the very first chapter. Gill D Anderson wrote in so many characters with differing characteristics and backgrounds that it was hard to believe sometimes that they weren’t real. Their struggles and regrets in life were realistic and easy to relate to. The six hostages were so different from each other but they came together brilliantly when the situation called for it. Of course, in a situation like that, there were bound to be some challenges. I love how it all came together in the end. All the loose strings were tied up neatly. It starts with these different people, each living their own lives, minding their own business, each with their own imperfection, and their own problems, and I got to see into their lives and understand them on a deeper level. Their stories reached out and took hold of my heart and it was easy to sympathize with them and fear for their lives. Most of the characters changed after the harrowing incident and I think it was a perfect depiction of how people evolve from their experiences and learn something new. The hostages and their families’ new perspective in life after the incident was my most favorite part of the entire book. This was an incredible and exceptional piece of work and I would definitely read it again.

Reviewed by Anne-Marie Reynolds for Readers' Favorite

Ripples in the Generations by Joyce K Gatschenberger is a tale of betrayal and deceit. Dove-Whispering and Dacia meet during a high school science class and immediately become friends as they work together on a DNA project for an upcoming science fair. The results of that project will rip their worlds apart as they discover they are related genetically. And thus begins a rollercoaster journey back in time, through days of deception, of the ultimate betrayal. Family secrets are laid bare, shaking the Henry family skeletons right out of the closet. Can they find a way forward or will this destroy them forever?

Ripples in the Generations by Joyce K Gatschenberger is a very intense, deep story. Extremely well written, there are lots of twists and turns that keep you on your toes – don’t blink or you’ll lose the thread! The story has everything you would expect – death, secret adoptions, betrayal, sordid affairs and more besides. It was an exciting story, with a great plot that moved at a good pace. There weren’t any dead spots, no red herrings that led to nowhere, and plenty of action. The characters were excellent, both in development and dialog and you will find it hard not to want to take sides! The story will grab you from the very beginning as it drags you deep into the plot straightaway. It’s a roller-coaster read, one you won't want to put down. I enjoyed it, and am looking forward to reading the next installment in the story.

Reviewed by Viga Boland for Readers' Favorite

The Imperfect Offering by Gary McCarragher is a quick read, and that has nothing to do with its length. It’s a quick read because it’s utterly engaging from the word go. What makes this fiction drama engaging is not just its intriguing plotline, but the character of its protagonist, Dr. Thomas Haydn: he’s the kind of doctor you’d like all doctors to be - truly concerned about what is best for his patients. But that also gets him into a situation he shouldn’t be in.

After 15 years as a primary care physician, Dr. Haydn has learned how the right words can mean more to a patient, especially one who is dying, than all the meds anyone can prescribe. When we meet him, he has moved into hospice care. As the rather mysterious plot unfolds, the author smoothly inserts brief vignettes that demonstrate Dr. Haydn’s very caring attitude toward each patient. But lest you think this slows down the plot, it doesn’t: these moments help explain why Dr. Haydn ends up finding himself in an ethical dilemma. Most doctors wouldn’t care enough about a dying patient to agree to do what Dr. Haydn does for a dying patient.

And what is that? There is no way I’ll spoil your enjoyment of this story by telling you how the good doctor ends up entangled in a situation involving a huge sum of illicitly obtained money and ultimately facing the possibility that one of his patients was murdered. Approach The Imperfect Offering expecting the unexpected and you’ll enjoy the read. Gary McCarragher keeps the plot moving with plenty of realistic dialogue, one most unpleasant character and plenty of nice ones, and when he ties up all the threads neatly at the end, you will close the book with satisfaction.

Reviewed by Lesley Jones for Readers' Favorite

In an upmarket apartment block opposite Central Park in 2012, the residents are neighbors but know very little about one another. Although they are aware that there are some famous people and residents with murky pasts around them, they know little else, even though they share a postcode. The residents have their own priorities dealing with their complicated lives. However, one fateful day is going to change that. An accident involving an M7 bus is about to bring these distant neighbors into each other's lives, from the well-known writer who resides on the fourteenth floor to the lawyer in 8B. Who are the people that you innocently pass by each day as you go about your daily routine? What goes on behind closed doors may surprise you, if only you take the time to strike up a conversation with the strangers you call neighbors.

Cooperative Lives by Patrick Finegan offers a deliciously rich, intricate plot with so many twists and turns that will take you completely by surprise. Each of the six main characters was extremely well-developed with such a detailed backstory and little personality quirks which made them so realistic and relatable. The storyline moves along at a good pace and is a great example of how an action by one character causes a ripple effect that affects the other characters. The story has everything I look for in a fiction novel; espionage, intrigue, tension, corruption and a fantastic display of real human behavior. Although this is a work of fiction, I couldn't help but draw some similarities to recent US political history. Overall, this is a perfect example of character interaction and development. I think you have to be a writer yourself to really appreciate how the author has entwined such strong sub-plots together so effortlessly.

Reviewed by Kim Anisi for Readers' Favorite

In The Swan Garden by Anne Biggs, readers are introduced to Alice, who is sent to a mother-baby home by her parents because they don’t want to deal with a pregnant daughter. The pregnancy was not planned, nor did it happen because she carelessly slept with someone she loves without protection. It happened because she was assaulted and raped on her way back home. But everyone, especially the sisters in her new “home,” thinks that Alice must have done something to actually MAKE the rapist rape her. Alice’s life turns into a hell of verbal and physical abuse. People in power do what they want to whomever they want. We follow Alice as she gives birth, loses her daughter and is sent to a laundry home to work off the debt her parents refused to pay. I don’t want to give away too much, but readers spend a lot of time with Alice until she grows into an old woman. It is a life full of challenges, and the story of an extraordinary woman.

I was pleasantly surprise by the quality of the writing of The Swan Garden by Anne Biggs. It is the kind of writing that makes it easy to be drawn into the story, and to imagine how the world the characters live in looks like. There is a fine line between describing too much and too little. Anne Biggs found the golden mean. Her characters come to life on the page; the good, the bad, and the ones who can’t be put into any of these categories. I wasn’t a fan of some of Alice’s decisions, but you never meet characters that always do what you want them to do. I guess, it would also be a bit boring! Alice is quite different from me, so I never quite knew what she’d do next, and that added to the enjoyment of the story. I don’t often read books outside the fantasy, sci-fi and horror genres, but for some reason this book caught my attention, and kept it for every single page of every single chapter. So I really don’t hesitate in giving this a five star rating!

Reviewed by K.C. Finn for Readers' Favorite

Tiger Drive is a contemporary family drama novel penned by author Teri Case. Written for adults due to its complex themes, language, and content, the story focuses with a deep and insightful perspective on the Sloan family, residents of the titular address at which the novel is set. Mother Janice is sick of managing her dysfunctional family and drunken husband and still harbors the dreams of her youth. As her daughter Carrie plans a college escape, husband Harry takes a step too far and the whole family ends up under investigation. As the dirt flies, everyone’s dreams seem on the verge of collapse, but there’s a small glimmer of hope that they can prevail.

Fans of family sagas, shifting perspectives and powerful literary fiction are certain to adore this dramatic but highly realistic work by author Teri Case. The connection and commitment to character development stand at the center of this immense wealth of interpersonal knowledge and deep-set family traumas, characterized perfectly in the dialogue style and intimate narrative techniques used. We sit on the shoulders of the family members to glimpse deep into their relationships and alternate ideas about one another, finding pathos and sympathy in some ways and frustration and heartache in others. Janice takes center stage as the action and the mystery elements heat up but, all in all, there’s a well-rounded message with a true emotional rollercoaster right to the end. Overall, Tiger Drive is a superb modern drama work that comes highly recommended indeed.

Reviewed by Samantha March for Readers' Favorite

Degrees of Love by Lisa Slabach is her debut novel, but I would have never guessed that. I was immediately hooked by the story, and I couldn’t stop swiping frantically at my Kindle to see how the story unfolded. We follow Susan Sinclair, a wife, mother, and also career-driven businesswoman who is determined to bring her kids up right, fit in with her Silicon Valley neighbors, and climb the corporate ladder. While I do not have children yet, I immediately could relate to Susan. Through the entire story in each choice Susan makes, I was right there with her, understanding, feeling hurt for her, wanting her to succeed in the end. There are, of course, moments where I felt she was making the wrong decision, but I never felt judgmental towards her, often times more sad or heartbroken for her.

The ending actually made me sit back and think. I couldn’t just move on to the next book. I went back through my Kindle to reread some of the passages. This is a novel that had me talking to my girlfriends about it, going through the scenarios of Susan’s life, asking each other what we would do. The ending physically hurt me to read how Susan’s story had played out, and how much I truly wanted happiness for her. I highly recommend this women’s fiction novel and I encourage readers to order this book in anticipation of the release date. Degrees of Love by Lisa Slabach is going to be quite the 'buzzed about' novel going into 2018, I can feel it.