Reviewed by Christian Sia for Readers' Favorite

Dreaming of Oranges: An Unreliable Memoir by Marcelline Thomson is a memoir that captures the spirit of adventure in two young women. In a story set in 1961, readers are introduced to two gutsy young women, just graduated from an exclusive college in Westchester. Instead of thinking about marriage, they set out on an adventure to the Middle East, thanks to the inspiration they got from The Alexandria Quartet by Lawrence Durrell. But while dreams can be fascinating, reality can be something quite different, and these two are about to discover it as they navigate a new and unfriendly terrain, find themselves wanting the same man, finding their lives caught up in the political whirlwind of the region, and fleeing for safety in the desert. Can their friendship ever remain the same after the challenges they face?

Told in a hypnotic, evocative tone, Dreaming of Oranges: An Unreliable Memoir is a rollicking ride for fans of adventure, a story that is so beautifully told and enriched by the finesse of humor that permeates the narrative. The witticism is also exceptional. The pathos is strong, the plot fascinating, and the characters so real that no one would doubt this is a true story. I enjoyed the prose and the way the author captures elements of the setting — the strong images, the smells, the wonderful sights and the myriad sensations that connect characters to places. Here is an example of such beauty: “The scent of lemons, the trembling hand on my skin, the smoke of kebobs in the souk, a muezzin’s cry, the clutch of dust and sand at my throat …” Marcelline Thomson will seduce you with her unique storytelling skill and her ability to allow her characters to speak straight to the hearts of readers. Deeply moving and hugely entertaining.

Reviewed by Lisa McCombs for Readers' Favorite

Molly Monroe: beauty queen, hopeful performing arts major, destined for great things in front of and behind the camera. Molly is always sheltered by older brother Nick, her fierce protector and male role model in the Monroe household. Momma Donna does her best to guide Molly along the right track for a successful career and promising future. If only John Michaelson was not so handsome, so captivating. If only John Michaelson was not such a close friend to the Monroes. If only Molly desired the same things in life as her mother. If only Lieutenant John Michaelson, Nick Monroe’s best friend and the Alpha Company Platoon Commander, could support Molly’s decision to trade her beauty queen existence to be a United States Marine, life would be so much more uncomplicated.

Model Marine by Sondra Sykes Meek is more than a military-themed romance. Meek’s characters represent realistic individuals attempting to adjust to unfamiliar situations while facing life altering events. As a female service person, Molly Monroe is challenged by prejudices within a normally male populated work area. As she strives to prove her worth, she also must sort out her emotions in relationship to family, friends, relationships and work expectations. I really enjoyed the format of this novel, with short reading passages that tease the reader into consuming “just one more chapter.” The flashbacks revealed more insight into the character development while saving time to project the story. Discovering that author Sondra Sykes Meek is a retired Marine Corps Master Sergeant and a Project Manager in the Defense Industry proves that realistic based fiction is plausible and enjoyable.

Reviewed by Arya Fomonyuy for Readers' Favorite

“School, career, and family: maybe they’re all as important in life as breathing. But isn’t living more than breathing in and out?” Love, Life, and Logic: A Literary Fiction by Uday Mukerji is a young man’s odyssey to uncover the meaning of life, a story that unfolds through very beautiful settings, taking the reader through the Indian city of Goa, Singapore, and Central Europe. Growing up in Goa, young Rohan has a whole life in front of him. But what does he make of it? At the crossroads of life, he leaves his job and family and sets out to explore the world, seeking answers. Read on to discover his emotional pain, the lust, the love, the loss and, above all, his awakening.

This is a brilliant story that weaves the themes of love, friendship and life’s ultimate meaning into a powerful plot that will have readers enthralled. Rohan is one of those characters that young readers can easily relate to. I enjoyed his portrait — a young and restless man, caught up in an emotional turmoil, unable to resist the pleasures of the world. There were moments when I felt irritated with him, moments when I wanted him to be more of a man than he is. For instance, he seems to be unusually weak in front of women. He could have taken the lead with Adeline, but he lacks the discipline that allows a man to be in control of his life. Nevertheless, the reader will love the way he develops throughout the story and the man he becomes at the end. The conflict is well developed at the emotional level. Love, Life, and Logic: A Literary Fiction is an emotionally charged story that explores crossroads questions that many young people live with; a wonderful read.

Reviewed by Samantha Rivera for Readers' Favorite

Mike Hegan has given several years of his life to defending his city as an officer, but now they’re ready to push him out the door in the middle of a big case. Mike isn’t having any of that, however. He’s determined to find out what happened in this case and when things start coming together he refuses to give up. It’s difficult to say what a prize racehorse and his trainer have in common with a school janitor, and what any of them have in common with a mob ring, but Hegan is determined to find out no matter what the police department may say about his ability to work cases. A Woman to Blame tells the story of Mike, Ariel, Frankie, Gorman, Trujillo, Portia, Charles and more.

If you’re looking for a story that will keep you guessing with all its twists and turns, then A Woman to Blame by Vincent Panettiere is the perfect book. There are so many characters and you feel as if you’re pulled right into their world. It’s easy to understand each of them and, whether it’s a good or bad character, you feel yourself relating to them. Being able to fully immerse yourself in this story from every angle really keeps you interested. You never know what’s going to happen next or who the good guys and bad guys really are. There’s a lot going on behind the scenes and everything could change in an instant. There’s definitely more to each of these people than meets the eye.

Reviewed by Sefina Hawke for Readers' Favorite

The Siege (A Psychological Thriller) by James Hanna is a fiction novel that follows a prison takeover. The Siege will appeal most to an audience of adults who enjoy prison fiction with all of its raw grittiness. The story takes place in The Indiana Penal Farm where one hundred prisoners hold twelve guards hostage in the laundry room. In an attempt to defuse the situation without any loss of life, a dorm counselor, Tom Hemmings, has been brought in to talk the prisoners down. However, with the inmates divided into different gangs and tension building quickly, will Tom Hemmings be able to keep everyone alive and safe?

The Siege by James Hanna is a well-written psychological thriller with a realistic feel. While the book itself is fiction, it is clear that the author has done research into prisons due to the true-to-life feel of the inmates and the prison environment. The Siege reminded me a lot of a negotiator with the hostage situation, and emergency services relying on one person to save the day. I found Tom Hemmings to be my favorite character; he was well developed over the course of the book, and I liked his determination in the face of uncertainty and danger. Overall, I greatly enjoyed reading The Siege by James Hanna and I enjoyed the fast pace and realistic grittiness of the plot!

Reviewed by Joel R. Dennstedt for Readers' Favorite

One reader of Eric Peterson’s novel, The Dining Car, describes perfectly the nature of its central character Horace Button - a celebrity editorialist on all things cultural but specifically gastronomical - as Falstaffian. Physically huge and attitudinally challenged, a drinker par excellence, Horace provides the gravitational focus around which this book and its dazzling characters revolve. Even the narrator of this story, a conscripted bartender for Horace’s uniquely chosen manner of transportation - a handsomely reconstituted, elegant, 1932 Pullman-built, private railroad car - cannot escape the black-hole entrapment of Horace’s over-sized personal charisma. Horace is a drunk. The most cultured, opinionated, ornery, bellicose, and anachronistic drunk one might ever be disinclined to meet. The reader likewise succumbs to such astronomical force with the ambivalent love-hate feelings shared and endured by every incidental character in the book. The saving grace? From the very inception of its gloriously slapstick, eye-popping introductory scene, The Dining Car promises and delivers nothing less than a Falstaffian feast of fun.

Do not, however, be misled by such a fun-filled promise. There are moments of genuine pathos embedded in Eric Peterson’s roller-coaster book, The Dining Car. Such an unredeemable character as Horace is duly bound to come with some satisfying surprises. And though this most definitely remains a character-driven book, dominated by a truly unforgettable “character-at-large,” prepare also to be pleasantly surprised by the masterful prose offered up here by the author, whose pacing, descriptions, dialogue and plotting are seamlessly and effortlessly impeccable, allowing one to fully concentrate his attention upon the fine, if most eccentric, gourmet dining experience of a lifetime.

Reviewed by Divine Zape for Readers' Favorite

Even in Darkness: A Novel by Barbara Stark-Nemon is a lyrical tale that explores a family saga, taking the reader through three generations of the family and through three different continents. Kläre Kohler is born into a wealthy German-Jewish family, and the future is nothing but bright; however, things are not always the way we dreamed they would be. Her story becomes one of survival as the world around her teeters towards destruction. In these pages, readers will be introduced to characters and a family they will cherish, even after closing the book, and they will follow Kläre’s heartbreaks, hurts, resilience, and unforeseen journey of love.

Barbara Stark-Nemon is an incomparable storyteller and she has crafted a story with compelling historical and human references. The reader is immediately pulled in by the beauty of the prose, which captures the setting brilliantly, offering readers a gorgeous treat of exquisite scenes and colors, delivering vivid images, and transporting them to places they can easily visualize. The intricacy of the plot is arresting and the reader is catapulted from one surprise to another. I enjoyed the way the author writes about family and how she explores the psychological conflict in the story, featuring amazing streams of consciousness. Apart from the high quality of the prose, the reader is thrilled by well-crafted dialogues that are both character-driven and plot-enhancing. Even in Darkness: A Novel is a great read and there is no doubt that the author has a wonderful gift for plot and character. Engrossing and exceptionally satisfying!