Reviewed by Isabelle Reding for Readers' Favorite

Sunshine Sweet wrote Blue Balls: Parenting is Dirty Business in order to laugh at the things kids say that, unbeknownst to them, are a bit naughty. Although it is made up sexual innuendos and is meant for adults, its content and images appear innocent to children, which is the crux of humor. Parents could even read this book with their kids and their children would wonder why their parents were laughing so hard and the seemingly innocent things they were saying.

Blue Balls: Parenting is Dirty Business by Sunshine Sweet is one of the best and funniest books I have read in a long while. It kept my attention, and kept me giggling throughout. The illustrations were incredible, and they showed the innocent, child-like perspective on the double entendre jokes in the book. While I was reading, I was definitely reminded of the title Do You Want To Play With My Balls? by the Cifaldi Brothers. Though Blue Balls does not have a plot or story line like the Cifaldi Brothers’ book, the point of the book was to make adults laugh at the innocent things children say. Sunshine Sweet definitely succeeded in exposing the wonderful humor found in the innocence of children. The only thing I didn’t like about this book was that I wanted more of it. I cannot wait to see what genius Sunshine Sweet comes up with next. I await the next book with great anticipation.

Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite

Mom On The Road is a contemporary humorous novel written by Allyson Ochs Primack. The author used her own experiences travelling around the country with a theatrical cast to craft this work. Maggie was old enough to have enjoyed being young and being sexually liberated before the AIDS crisis made sex dangerous. The child of hippies, she enjoyed a childhood that included summer camp and away-from-home college and she continued these experiences with law school. Life was good. Maggie was in her twenties and still single, but her friends were all getting married and having kids. When she met Paul, there was an instant spark, and they were soon married. By the time she was 40, they had 3 kids, and she had somehow lost track of who she was.

Allyson Ochs Primack's contemporary humorous novel, Mom On The Road, is a funny and totally different type of on-the-road novel, though those who are childless or not women may find a number of cringe-worthy moments sprinkled throughout this women's fiction novel. Maggie, the mommy, often seemed like an alien being or, at best, someone enmired in a domestic purgatory. I imagine some readers who have been contemplating the ticking of their biological clocks may start considering whether quieting those ticking sounds is really worth it. Where this novel shines is when Maggie and her theatrical son, Matt, are on the road. The stories about the different cities they visit and the hi-jinks on the bus are marvelous. Even better is the gradual reawakening of Maggie, the excited and adventurous young woman who somehow had forgotten about her dreams. Mom On The Road is recommended reading.

Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite

The Seven Steps to Closure is a chick-lit contemporary novel written by Donna Joy Usher. Tara's still getting over her breakup with her ex, Jake, and she's just survived hitting the big 30. Her mom keeps bringing her psychologically damaged pets from the animal shelter, and her friends are determined to help Tara get over Jake and back into a relationship. One of them has a back issue of Cosmo with an article designed to do just that called Closure in Seven Easy Steps. Tara, dreading the upcoming marriage of Jake and her cousin, agrees to accept the challenge. The first few steps are easy: her friend Elaine's brother is a gifted hairdresser and gives Tara a whole new look, and a shopping expedition for a new wardrobe is a piece of cake. Lower down on that list are the harder steps.

Donna Joy Usher's contemporary humorous novel, The Seven Steps to Closure, is a fast-paced and very entertaining novel. I knew I was in for a different type of chick-lit story from the opening pages where Tara has an argument with Cocky, her pet bird with a filthy vocabulary. Tara and her friends are fresh and funny, and their adventures are inspired. Usher peoples The Seven Steps to Closure with original and, for the most part, sympathetic characters in whom the reader is quickly emotionally invested. I especially enjoyed vicariously sightseeing in India as Matt and Tara take in the sights and do an awful lot of shopping. The Seven Steps to Closure is a lot of fun, even for readers who wouldn't ordinarily read something in the chick-lit category, and it's highly recommended.

Reviewed by Roy T. James for Readers' Favorite

Dinosaurs & Cherry Stems by Susan Jean Ricci is the story of Cindy, a vivacious woman who, having a defunct marriage, wants to unleash her emotions. She clandestinely obtains her husband’s paramour’s number, telephones, and suffers the agony of finding her suspicions about her husband’s cheating habits to be true. She starts dating with a vengeance, and initially many turn out to be disastrous, including a few attempts through the internet. She learns lessons and other new things, like the fetishes a few of her ‘victims’ entertained. She also finds courtly and gallant gentlemen, and enjoys their companionship as well.

Dinosaurs & Cherry Stems by Susan Jean Ricci makes the heroine gain our sympathies right from the beginning. In man-woman relationships, the probability of either partner becoming an epitome of defects is more or less the same. This is an interesting book, the unsure nature of the male clearly visible in all the ‘adventures’ Cindy jumps into. This novel is a true reflection of human society, the male-female imbroglio.

Reviewed by Tracy A. Fischer for Readers' Favorite

If ever a book begged to be made into a movie and shown on the big screen, Saving Grapes by author J.T. Lundy is it! This funny, fun and rollicking work of fiction follows our protagonist, 30-year-old Jason Barnes, on a madcap adventure to the French countryside, where he must convince a group of stalwart nuns to allow him to sell the vineyard he has just inherited, or risk losing it all. Jason and his friend Stumpy, along with a memorable cast of minor characters, traverse France, encountering one hilarious conundrum after another, all the while plagued by a deadline and a looming threat of imprisonment (yes, imprisonment) for Jason, if he isn’t able to reach his ultimate goal.

I loved this book. Loved it. It’s billed as a humorous book of fiction, and it certainly is that. But it’s also much, much more. Saving Grapes made me laugh out loud, not just once, but often. And I am not, by any means, what someone would term a ‘laugh out loud’ sort of gal. But more than that, it also warmed my heart. I highly recommend J.T. Lundy’s newest book to any lover of fiction, but especially those looking for a fun, funny read and one that will keep your interest from the start through to the finish. I now cannot wait to get my hands on Mr. Lundy’s first book, Happy Utopia Day, Joe McCarthy, and sincerely hope that he is hard at work on his next novel.

Reviewed by Kim Anisi for Readers' Favorite

What can I say and where do I start? Brain - The Man Who Wrote the Book That Changed the World by Dermot Davis is one of the best books I have read in the last few months. The story is about novelist Daniel, who unfortunately does not write what the market wants. His books are not mainstream enough and very different from something like Twilight. He writes high quality - but nobody seems to want that these days. His agent turns his latest book down and Daniel might even have to pay back the advance he received. These are very bad times for the literally starving author who is months behind in paying his rent. So Daniel decides to find out what the market wants and then he writes. What he intended to be a satire of self-help books, however, turned out to be a huge hit - as a self-help book. People take all the ideas - and very strange ideas they are - seriously and Daniel, under a pseudonym, turns into the most popular author. But will he be able to continue the farce, especially when he has to hold seminars and appear on TV shows?

Brain - The Man Who Wrote the Book That Changed the World by Dermot Davis is an excellent, witty, and entertaining book. It shows everything that is wrong with current trends in the book world and how easy it actually is to make people believe things just because they are written down in a book. If a self-help book tells you to walk backwards all day and not use one half of your body the other day and to soak your head in ice-cold water for four hours - would you do it because the author claims it would improve your life?

Brain is a very clever book and very entertaining, especially if you know what it's like to be in Daniel's shoes or if you sometimes despair about the current state of literature. If you would like to get away from vampires, especially the sparkling ones, self-help books, and books about questionable celebrities, then this book is an excellent choice!

Reviewed by Michael McManus for Readers' Favorite

When we meet Jackie for the first time, we encounter a third-grader who is abused by his father and tormented by his classmates. Diagnosed with Autism, Jackie does not fit into the world correctly and is ultimately pulled out of school to be educated at home. When we are introduced to Jimmie, a child who comes as close as anyone to being a friend to Jackie, we learn that peer pressure forces him to embarrass Jackie with a childish prank, one that Jimmie regrets doing for the rest of his life. Thirteen years pass and Jimmie has become an unmotivated, under-achiever living with his parents and unemployed. Although he did earn a degree in English, his prospects of using that degree to earn a living are limited. After months of a failed job search, his mother pulls some strings and gets him an interview at the county’s Department of Social Services. Jimmie is hired to do interviews with welfare recipients to determine if they are, in fact, eligible and are receiving the services for which the county is paying. One of his interviews leads him to the home of one Jackson (Jackie) Rogers, where he finds a handsome young man who has never developed socially from the odd child he once knew. Through a strange, but understandable, turn of events, Jimmie loses his interviewing job but becomes Jackie’s full-time custodian. That is when Jimmie learns of Jackie’s remarkable gift. Through the next two years, Jimmie works to exploit Jackie’s talent. The results of his efforts are inspiring.

The author of Jackie, Dr. Sam Newsome, does a marvelous job of describing the title character’s disability and his gift. I highly recommend this book. The story line keeps you turning the pages and the characters make you cheer at times and cry at others. It is a wonderful read.

Reviewed by Rich Follett for Readers' Favorite

Happy Utopia Day, Joe McCarthy by J.T. Lundy is a witty, satiric cautionary tale about a ‘James Bond wannabe’ U.S. Customs Officer named Chris Thompson, who is summoned from his mundane job by the President of the United States to serve as a special agent during a state of emergency. Apparently, Mexico and Canada are invading the U.S. with the alleged help of the President’s Chief of Staff, in concert with a clandestine McCarthyesque movement determined to scuttle democracy as we know it, thereby righting unspeakable and innumerable evils born of foreign infiltration. The principal characters in this delightful farce - Thompson, his ever-complaining wife, the President, his Chief of Staff and a host of other two-dimensional denizens of J.T. Lundy’s dystopian world - display a spot-on, collective quirky shallowness worthy of Moliére. Both the dialogue and the action are fast-paced, full of reversals and zingers, and sure to please even the most discriminating, jaded readers of political satire.

One of the most delightful aspects of this crazy ride is that the key players seem to be winking at us from the pages, keenly aware of their own incompetence. Early in the game, a chemically compromised President Wright, refusing to relinquish Las Vegas to invaders from Mexico, reveals his misplaced priorities when he declares: “The showgirls at the Flamingo and the buffet at the Bellagio are the only things that keep me going sometimes.” Later, Chris Thompson displays his darkly comic meta-cognitive flair by revealing (after being arrested by campus cops for agitating at a college protest): “We don’t stand a chance. I’m an amateur relying on James Bond movies for inspiration and tactics.” The entire text is peppered with inane Joseph McCarthy quotes (to begin most chapters) and sidesplitting, deadpan neo-Shakespeare asides. This raucous romp truly has something for everyone. At 189 pages, it is also a brisk and entertaining read - perfect bedside fare.

J.T. Lundy’s Happy Utopia Day, Joe McCarthy is a delectable confection of political satire with a healthy dose of prescient real-time insight - a must-read for those who have rationalized the rampant xenophobia that daily threatens to extinguish the American Dream.

Reviewed by Faridah Nassozi for Readers' Favorite

Having missed out on all the fun while growing up due to his Jewish mother's smothering ways, Seth Miller finally got the independence he needed and escaped her constant presence and control. A confirmed bachelor, Seth was living the life and loving it, compensating for all the fun he had missed out on. That is until a call from his mother set in motions events that would bring an end to life as he knew it - apparently he was God's son. After the initial resistance and a phone call from his real father, Seth finally gave in to his new role. He enlisted the help of his disciples, who consisted of his best friend Bob and Maggie - a girl he had just met and was falling in love with - and sets out on a mission to fulfill his duties as the Messiah, a journey filled with confusion and challenges, including fresh doubts about his newly discovered paternity.

The Reluctant Jesus by Duncan Whitehead is a hilarious story and a definite page-turner. Imagine a world with a rambling God who answers to some sort of a committee and his worries include staff turnover in heaven and budget approvals, oh, and he makes phone calls to humans and forgets things. Now add in the fact that he had a son conceived through the Virgin Mary kind of situation, who he forgot about for over thirty years, but now needs that son to be the new messiah. Duncan Whitehead pulled off a brilliantly compelling plot and an amazing cast of characters to produce a comical tale that is full of humor, intrigue, and incredible twists and turns. The Reluctant Jesus is the work of a humorous genius.

Reviewed by Danita Dyess for Readers' Favorite

In the book “Time Warped Travelers” by Robert Westfall, the drama unfolds when Thomas Evans, a self-professed con artist, sees a newspaper ad about a pretty lady, Miss Elizabeth Howard, a cosmetics manager at Woolworth’s. So, the 20 something closes his eyes and pops up in the decade of the 1920s. They meet, get high, drink and have lots of steamy sex. But Elizabeth has a problem: her father has financial problems and her mother is dying. So Thomas “times” back to his modern-day apartment in Ohio equipped with spy cameras. He melts down gold and conspires with G, a dirty cop, Mama Louisa, a crooked pawn shop owner, and Giuseppe, a shady dealer in stolen goods. But Miguel Colidias, his benevolent guardian, warns Thomas about the Clock Watchers, rogue time travelers who threaten to stop Thomas’s efforts to help Elizabeth.

This book is worthy of critical acclaim and literary recognition. “Time Warped Travelers” was truly exceptional. Although there are lessons to be learned, the delivery of the messages through an upbeat, laid-back tone made it a cool thing. The language is graphic; it is part of Westfall’s street smart, humorous style. It is fast-paced. The 1920s slang, e.g., spiffy, apothecary, four bits and skedaddle, brings this piece to life. In his 60s, this is Westfall’s first book. But he is a literary genius who could easily develop a niche by publishing more work in the future. “Time Warped Travelers” is highly recommended.