150 Award Genres
Children
- Children - Action
- Children - Adventure
- Children - Animals
- Children - Audiobook
- Children - Christian
- Children - Coming of Age
- Children - Concept
- Children - Educational
- Children - Fable
- Children - Fantasy/Sci-Fi
- Children - General
- Children - Grade 4th-6th
- Children - Grade K-3rd
- Children - Mystery
- Children - Mythology/Fairy Tale
- Children - Non-Fiction
- Children - Picture Book
- Children - Preschool
- Children - Preteen
- Children - Religious Theme
- Children - Social Issues
Christian
- Christian - Amish
- Christian - Biblical Counseling
- Christian - Devotion/Study
- Christian - Fantasy/Sci-Fi
- Christian - Fiction
- Christian - General
- Christian - Historical Fiction
- Christian - Living
- Christian - Non-Fiction
- Christian - Romance - Contemporary
- Christian - Romance - General
- Christian - Romance - Historical
- Christian - Thriller
Fiction
- Fiction - Action
- Fiction - Adventure
- Fiction - Animals
- Fiction - Anthology
- Fiction - Audiobook
- Fiction - Chick Lit
- Fiction - Crime
- Fiction - Cultural
- Fiction - Drama
- Fiction - Dystopia
- Fiction - Fantasy - Epic
- Fiction - Fantasy - General
- Fiction - Fantasy - Urban
- Fiction - General
- Fiction - Graphic Novel/Comic
- Fiction - Historical - Event/Era
- Fiction - Historical - Personage
- Fiction - Holiday
- Fiction - Horror
- Fiction - Humor/Comedy
- Fiction - Inspirational
- Fiction - Intrigue
- Fiction - LGBTQ
- Fiction - Literary
- Fiction - Magic/Wizardry
- Fiction - Military
- Fiction - Mystery - General
- Fiction - Mystery - Historical
- Fiction - Mystery - Legal
- Fiction - Mystery - Murder
- Fiction - Mystery - Sleuth
- Fiction - Mythology
- Fiction - New Adult
- Fiction - Paranormal
- Fiction - Realistic
- Fiction - Religious Theme
- Fiction - Science Fiction
- Fiction - Short Story/Novela
- Fiction - Social Issues
- Fiction - Southern
- Fiction - Sports
- Fiction - Supernatural
- Fiction - Suspense
- Fiction - Tall Tale
- Fiction - Thriller - Conspiracy
- Fiction - Thriller - Environmental
- Fiction - Thriller - Espionage
- Fiction - Thriller - General
- Fiction - Thriller - Legal
- Fiction - Thriller - Medical
- Fiction - Thriller - Political
- Fiction - Thriller - Psychological
- Fiction - Thriller - Terrorist
- Fiction - Time Travel
- Fiction - Urban
- Fiction - Visionary
- Fiction - Western
- Fiction - Womens
Non-Fiction
- Non-Fiction - Adventure
- Non-Fiction - Animals
- Non-Fiction - Anthology
- Non-Fiction - Art/Photography
- Non-Fiction - Audiobook
- Non-Fiction - Autobiography
- Non-Fiction - Biography
- Non-Fiction - Business/Finance
- Non-Fiction - Cooking/Food
- Non-Fiction - Cultural
- Non-Fiction - Drama
- Non-Fiction - Education
- Non-Fiction - Environment
- Non-Fiction - Genealogy
- Non-Fiction - General
- Non-Fiction - Gov/Politics
- Non-Fiction - Grief/Hardship
- Non-Fiction - Health - Fitness
- Non-Fiction - Health - Medical
- Non-Fiction - Historical
- Non-Fiction - Hobby
- Non-Fiction - Home/Crafts
- Non-Fiction - Humor/Comedy
- Non-Fiction - Inspirational
- Non-Fiction - LGBTQ
- Non-Fiction - Marketing
- Non-Fiction - Memoir
- Non-Fiction - Military
- Non-Fiction - Motivational
- Non-Fiction - Music/Entertainment
- Non-Fiction - New Age
- Non-Fiction - Occupational
- Non-Fiction - Parenting
- Non-Fiction - Relationships
- Non-Fiction - Religion/Philosophy
- Non-Fiction - Retirement
- Non-Fiction - Self Help
- Non-Fiction - Short Story/Novela
- Non-Fiction - Social Issues
- Non-Fiction - Spiritual/Supernatural
- Non-Fiction - Sports
- Non-Fiction - Travel
- Non-Fiction - True Crime
- Non-Fiction - Womens
- Non-Fiction - Writing/Publishing
Poetry
Romance
Young Adult
- Young Adult - Action
- Young Adult - Adventure
- Young Adult - Coming of Age
- Young Adult - Fantasy - Epic
- Young Adult - Fantasy - General
- Young Adult - Fantasy - Urban
- Young Adult - General
- Young Adult - Horror
- Young Adult - Mystery
- Young Adult - Mythology/Fairy Tale
- Young Adult - Non-Fiction
- Young Adult - Paranormal
- Young Adult - Religious Theme
- Young Adult - Romance
- Young Adult - Sci-Fi
- Young Adult - Social Issues
- Young Adult - Thriller
Illustration Award
Recommend this book:
Proportional Response
Stefan Vucak
2015 Finalist
363 Pages
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Fiction - Intrigue
As China transforms itself into a prosperous full market economy, the United States is struggling with the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis that threatens its standing as the world’s foremost economic and military superpower. In Stefan Vucak’s Proportional Response, the relationship between the two countries unravels following a friendly state visit between the Chinese leader Zhou Yedong and the U.S. President, Samuel Walters. Keung Yang, Chairman of the Standing Committee, looks on with disgust as Zhou kowtows to the U.S. Keung’s populist Tuanpai coalition is on the decline, and the scions of China’s elite are now in power, turning it into a capitalist society. He will set into motion a chain of events that will test international diplomacy and bring the world to the brink of nuclear war.
What makes Proportional Response a powerful novel is that it is realistic and convincing. Award-winning author Stefan Vucak not only knows his subject well, but he also has an effective writing style. As global disaster seems inevitable, it is interesting to note the disparity between the American and Chinese cultures, which ultimately directs the actions of the main protagonists in the story. This is a tale of international politics that sadly seems all too familiar in our world today, except that in this case the reader gets to know what is really going on behind the news headlines. Fast paced and peppered with interesting technical details, Proportional Response is a book that is difficult to put down, especially because the events might well be happening in our midst right now!
Recommend this book:
Resist
Among Us Trilogy Book 2
Anne-Rae Vasquez
2015 Honorable Mention
276 Pages
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Fiction - Intrigue
Resist is book two of the Among Us trilogy by Anne-Rae Vasquez. Harry and Cristal continue to search for answers to the question of their missing family and friends, all the while getting deeper and deeper into the Global Nation's twisted workings.
I admit, getting into the book after not reading the first book was very difficult. This is not the kind of series that you can jump into without reading the prequels. Make sure you are fully invested in the story and in book one before you start, because you are going to want to know everything there is about this book and its characters. There are some amazing plot twists, (such as how Gabriel came to still be in book 2) but after some savvy explanations, you feel like they were the answers all along. Overall, my favorite thing about this book is that there is such a gritty and fun tone to it that you can't help but get swept away.
Anne-Rae Vasquez has a very creative mind. Some of the mythology and pseudo supernatural qualities of the characters are super original and not like anything that I've read recently. I really liked the world building (though I didn't get enough of it, partially because of missing out on book 1!). I found it fascinating how the spiritual world and ours would intersect and how the characters managed to navigate the troubled waters that blended between the worlds. Resist is an action packed follow up and needs to be read by anyone who loves adventure, supernatural, or speculative fiction.
Recommend this book:
The House of Dark Shadows
Digger Cartwright
2015 Silver Medal
436 Pages
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Fiction - Intrigue
Digger Cartwright welcomes you to the world of online dating in The House of Dark Shadows. On the outside, it appears that Alex Rommel has everything. He has the best of everything, but on the inside, he is just a lonely man. When he meets an old friend, he finds out that his old buddy found love on the internet and is blissful to say the least. Envious and desperate to let go of the past and lost love, Alex ventures into the world of online dating to see what it has in store for him.
The murky world of internet dating brings Hope in his life. Hope is a French journalist and just about everything he ever desired. But she has her own secrets and her past. It appears that something sinister is coming towards him from all directions. His mother is constantly badgering him, his lusting secretary is getting on his nerves, his business is getting more demanding, and Hope is making him suspicious. There are shadows all around him and he cannot decipher if any of them are friendly or all of them are enemies. Can he rescue himself before all is lost and he is destroyed?
Since I started reading this novel, I have been thinking of a word to describe Alex Rommel. The only word I find suitable enough is jaded. The House of Dark Shadows is an amazing psychological thriller and it entices the reader from the get go. The storyline is good and very entertaining. Alex is a little tough to love, but I think that is just a part of his character. Nonetheless the novel was good and deserves to be read again and again.
Recommend this book:
The One
The Tale of a Lost Romantic in Seoul
Steve Justice
2014 Bronze Medal
372 Pages
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Fiction - Intrigue
The Tale of a Lost Romantic in Seoul by Steve Justice is a novel as remarkable as its title that tells the story of a middle-aged English professor and his struggles to come to terms with his normal and nice but unhappy life. Trapped in a marriage that was never his desire, enslaved by a job that only brings routine and disillusion, living in a country with no excitement, he decides to abandon his perfectly fine life and move to South Korea with the hope of a new and stimulating life. Unfortunately, his new life will only bring the same meaningless routine and the same feelings of discontent; in fact, all that changed was the landscape. His life only begins to find its meaning when he encounters a younger woman, and realizes that could be the intellectual match he has been looking for all along. Intelligence and youth are powerful aphrodisiacs and the professor would soon find out how much darkness and hurt can be caused by an oppressed and tortured soul.
To say that The Tale of a Lost Romantic in Seoul is a beautifully written psychological thriller with an unforeseen outcome is an understatement. Resembling Nabokov’s Lolita, Steve Justice’s novel has a way of making you get into the protagonist’s mind, and even if there may be time when you guess the outcome, the professor comes along and pushes you back into his world of disillusion and false hope. The slow pace of the story complements the psychological profiles of the characters and keeps readers from anticipating the ending. Even if in the beginning you would find it hard to empathize with the professor, by the time you read more than half way you find yourself so deep into his head that you would not have it any other way.
The professor sees himself as a lost romantic, a hero on a mission to find the one he loves and to offer her eternal happiness; all that gets in the way is a string of obstacles that he has to overcome in order to have his happy-ever-after, no matter who he ends up hurting in the process. This book was a pleasure from cover to cover, and even though it is not a story with a happy ending, it offers everything a good psychological thriller should.
Recommend this book:
Consumed
A Bad Divorce Can Be Murder
Michael W. Bugni
2014 Honorable Mention
312 Pages
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Fiction - Intrigue
Consumed by Michael W. Bugni has all the elements of a good murder mystery. In Leslie McKee we have a rarity, at least according to current popular thinking. Leslie is a divorce lawyer who is also an ethical and moral man. He is not perfect and has had a nasty experience operating on the shady side of the law, but he learned from that and is in a place in his life where he tries to do the right thing. Part of the pleasure of reading Consumed is watching Leslie as he navigates through an emotional and legal quagmire. The story opens with Leslie watching a hot air balloon crash from the deck of his house. He doesn't know it at the time, but this accident is going to turn his life upside down.
I like Consumed. I like Leslie McKee and his determination to do the right thing even when it's not easy. I like the portrait of life in the state of Washington among the successful high-tech community, their families, and of course their lawyers. Michael W. Bugni is the best thing to happen for honorable young lawyers since John Grisham. He has crafted an excellent story here. His instinct for portraying the right scene at the right time is perfect. If he has a few more stories like this inside him I predict a future of considerable commercial and critical success. I love finding a book like this to review. If you like stories about lawyers, you will love Consumed.
Recommend this book:
Aegis Rising
An Aegis League Novel
S. S. Segran
2014 Silver Medal
440 Pages
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Fiction - Intrigue
“From the flames of Cerraco five will arise, Saplings of Aegis, the bearers of light...” In S.S. Segran’s Aegis Rising, sixteen-year-old Tegan Ryder was enjoying a smooth flight in northern Canada with her four best friends; Mariah Ashton, Jag Sanchez, Aari Barnes, and Kody Tyler. A freak storm caught them by surprise, and one of their engines was struck by lightning. They survived the plane crash and found themselves in Dema-Ki, a hidden valley inhabited by mysterious people. The Elders of the people believe that the teenagers are the saviors as foretold in their prophecy. Hesitant at first, the five youths accept their fate, but are they ready to face both the dangers in and outside the valley?
This first book in the Aegis League series is well-written and gave me an interesting set of premises to read. S.S. Segran has managed to weave together threads of youth leadership, love, loss, intrigue, excitement, and action in just the right amount without the scenes becoming too artificial. The relationships between characters in the book are deftly depicted and easily convinced me about the depth of their feelings. The story flows along well, with twists placed perfectly in the plot, and I absolutely love the part when the teenagers undergo their training. Due to Segran’s great skill at building the teenagers’ relationships among themselves and with other characters, every scene affects my emotions, ranging from intrigue, hilarity, excitement to anger. I recommend this book to any YA fans that enjoy well-paced, immersive sci-fi/fantasy series worth following.
Recommend this book:
Deceptive Cadence
The Virtuosic Spy: Book One
Kathryn Guare
2014 Gold Medal
434 Pages
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Fiction - Intrigue
Written by Kathryn Guare, Deceptive Cadence: The Virtuosic Spy Book One, is about Conor McBride, who is recruited by MI6 to go on a mission to India and capture his own brother, Thomas McBride. Unwillingly going deeper into the world of secret espionage, Conor discovers, as an absolute amateur operative, that there is more to the mission than meets the eye.
Being a fan of spy and conspiracy stories, I was immediately drawn to Deceptive Cadence by, what else, the words The Virtuosic Spy in the title. Another deal-clincher was the word “virtuosic.” If there is any anti-hero of the genre that deserves any kind of happiness that can be squeezed out of a miserable situation, it is Conor McBride. He was once a promising violinist, but was, unfortunately, wronged by his own brother.
Kathryn Guare definitely gives a lot of heart to the story. Humor is there as well which delighted me very much. It is very readable from start to finish, with no glitches whatsoever in the plot and writing. Characters are easily believable - Conor, his Ma, Phillip, and even the dodgy Frank. The level of suspense is well-maintained and kept my interest. This book is truly a fun spy thriller and I enjoyed it very much. Overall, this is a brilliantly written piece of storytelling, and should appeal not just to fans of spy stories, but everyone as well. I look forward to reading the second book of the series.
Recommend this book:
The Romanian Connection
A Spy Romance Novel
Richard Roche
2013 Finalist
324 Pages
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Fiction - Intrigue
The Romanian Connection by Richard Roche is a work of fiction that reads like non-fiction. I had to check more than once to make sure the author had correctly listed this book. The prologue hints at the intrigue that lies ahead. The setting is 1995; Jack Hollingsworth had questions and was determined to find the answers. His wife was found dead with a blood alcohol level of 0.24, three times the legal limit. Cynthia would drink a glass of wine on holidays but that was all. She was found in five feet of extremely cold water; that alone was enough to kill her. The more he searched for answers the more questions he found. Who was the extremely ugly man she was seen with right before the accident? Jack discovered she had written a manuscript that exposed corruption in the Romanian government.
Jack had spent many years in Romania and he suspected his wife’s death was connected to Romania. The CIA has a problem; one of their operatives spotted what he thought was a nuclear warhead and five long range missiles. They felt Jack was the best man to send to Romania to investigate; this could be the opening Jack needed to find out the truth behind his wife’s death.
I was quickly drawn into this tale. I walked alongside Jack Hollingsworth as he searched for information concerning his wife’s death. His search led to extreme danger and the death of his daughter, keeping me on the edge of my seat. The Romanian Connection is a stunning work filled with intrigue, romance, and danger. There are twists and turns to keep readers turning the pages. The plot has great potential; however this book needs more editing.
Recommend this book:
Secrets in a Time of Peace
Robert A. Shaines
2013 Gold Medal
248 Pages
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Fiction - Intrigue
"Secrets in a Time of Peace" opens slowly on a beautiful sunny morning in Islamabad, Pakistan, in the garden of General Masharif, who is a suspected supporter of a jihad movement of Islam. He is having breakfast with his guests that include retired General Igor Belinsky of Russia, Prince Ali Hussein Al Saudi and Samiel Bin Laden of Saudi Arabia, and Abdul Qadeer Khan of Pakistan. What follows is a fascinating story that is set after the collapse of the Soviet Union, which effectively ended the Cold War. It has been discovered that plutonium bombs from Russia's arsenal are missing and it is feared that the wrong countries or terrorist groups will get hold of these weapons of mass destruction. The United States of America, Russia, China and Israel go into a concerted effort to trace these bombs that are so portable that they can fit in a suitcase. As terrorism grips the world, the mission is considered as top secret to prevent the general population from going into panic. Will they be able to find these nuclear bombs and prevent the horrors that will certainly happen if they fall into the the wrong hands?
Robert Shaines is a practicing lawyer who was also a contractor for the Defense Nuclear Agency in the US. He also worked in Russia on the Cooperative Threat Reduction Treaty from 1993 to 1996. This is why his book "Secrets in a Time of Peace" is a historical fiction that might have actually happened. As an insider, the author is well versed in his subject but it is his writing style that makes the story more vivid and real. The plot builds up slowly and the characters are well-developed. There seems to be a rhythm that goes with the narrative. Like a Mozart concerto, the reader is taken on a roller coaster ride that is sometimes slow and sometimes frantic. As the book traces the efforts of four countries, United States, Russia, China and Israel, to find the missing nuclear bombs and keep them out of terrorist hands, the reader is faced with the real terror and the urgency of the situation. This is because Shaines is a master story teller who knows exactly what he is talking about so that after reading the book, I am convinced that this scenario might just as well be happening right now. All the elements of a blockbuster historical fiction is here: a gripping plot, compelling characters and a master story teller.
Recommend this book:
Surly Bonds
Michael Byars Lewis
2013 Bronze Medal
362 Pages
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Fiction - Intrigue
"Surly Bonds" by Michael Byars Lewis is the story of Jason Conrad and his fellow Lieutenants Matt, Vince and Lenny as they train to become fighter pilots. The story takes place at the Vance Air Force Base in Enid, Oklahoma. Jason seems to be struggling to keep up with the studies and flight tests. He also has some romantic entanglements that serve as unwanted distractions. His ex-wife is pestering him and reopening the wounds caused by her infidelities, and an attractive local woman, Kathy, seems like the real deal.
Lewis has crafted an intriguing and suspenseful thriller that also gives the reader a birds-eye view of life as a pilot-in-training. I particularly enjoyed the vicarious experience of walking around the plane with Jason under the eagle eye of his instructor and going for the flight sessions. There are two plots in it: after we get to know Jason and his classmates, a second story starts to form on the other side of the world in Russia, and Lewis deftly moves the action along in both plots. Jason is a compelling character. He works hard for his grades and has a strong sense of loyalty to his friends, even the ones who seem to have a much easier time with their coursework than he does. It is interesting to see how he copes with problems and critical situations and gets stronger as he goes along. This is a suspenseful and well-crafted thriller that delivers, and I enjoyed every minute spent reading it.