Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite

Flexible Wings is a novel for preteens written by Veda Stamps. Eleven-year-old Summer Stevenson is not terribly happy with the upcoming move her family is making. This is simply the most recent one in a succession of moves necessitated by her mom and dad being in the military. While her dad is no longer serving, her mom still is. They're moving from Berkeley to Valencia in Southern California, and Summer is upset about leaving her friend Esperanza and her little casita in the backyard. All the moves that this military family have made have been very stressful for her. When they finally arrive in Valencia, Summer likes the backyard, especially the hummingbirds which seem to be everywhere. She's also excited about finally being part of a swim team, but she's still faced with the impossible task of making new friends, and her mom's been called to active duty again.

Veda Stamps's preteen novel, Flexible Wings, is marvelous and very inspirational. I empathized with Summer's problems with the upheavals in her family's life and her understandable reluctance to always being the new kid in school -- though if you do have to move, Valencia sounds like a pretty amazing place. Stamps does an impressive job of giving the reader a sense of what it's like for the families of servicemen and servicewomen, and the necessary adjustments that are a part of their everyday lives. While my two favorite characters in this book were Summer and her grandmother, Baachan, all of the people in Flexible Wings seemed quite real after a while, and the swimming events are spectacular and great fun. Flexible Wings is an awesome read, and you don't have to be a preteen to enjoy it. I know I did. It's most highly recommended.

Reviewed by Brenda Casto for Readers' Favorite

I have been anxiously awaiting this book because the last book left me needing to know the fate of Maggie Murray. Blood Lines, the latest installment in S. Thomas Bailey’s Gauntlet Runner Series, certainly didn't disappoint. I found myself drawn right back into the danger and drama taking place where the last book left off. Even though Maggie is a captive of the Delaware Indians, she never lets her guard down and is always looking for her next chance to escape. Meanwhile, Jacob feels the guilt of not being there to protect his wife when the fort was raided. He will do whatever it takes to get her back, whether his men decide to follow him or not. As he tracks her, he learns that his trek will take him into unknown territory. With danger at every twist on the trail, along with the approaching winter, one is left wondering whether the Murray family will ever be reunited.

Blood Lines, the fourth book in the Gauntlet Runner series by S. Thomas Bailey, is very well researched. Mr. Bailey has a knack for blending just the right amount of detail and action, along with the characters’ personal insight and feelings, to provide for a page turning read. The day to day stress that the characters feel permeates the pages, making me feel on guard just as the characters do, wondering what might lurk around the next bend in the trail. I always find myself caught up in the drama that plays out as Jacob faces the next enemy, or the determination that Maggie always feels to survive. I love that Mr. Bailey makes Maggie such a strong character, being resourceful, able to survive independently, but he also allows the reader to feel her longing of wanting to be with her family. Mr. Bailey actually does an outstanding job of capturing the emotions and feelings of Jacob as well, enabling me to visualise him as a real man with doubts and fears. It's the emotional insight into his characters that makes this entire series shine. Vivid descriptions allow the various scenes of the story to literally jump from the pages, from a pox-ridden Indian village to the arduous trek that the characters make through the vast wilderness - it is so easy to be drawn into each scene because of the descriptive writing. A story that effortlessly transports the reader back in time, making them feel as if they are stepping right into frontier life and the dangers that it entails.

Even though Blood Lines is a work of fiction, Mr. Bailey knows how to bring history alive with smooth, easy to read writing. He makes this time period interesting and actually reading this series has rekindled my interest in this important time in our country’s history. On a scale of one to five, this entire series deserves a six because it's just that good.

Reviewed by Eduardo Aduna for Readers' Favorite

Armor of Glass is an emotional and harrowing journey through the domestic turmoil that has become the life of an ex-Marine. Brick reminisces on his daily train ride, thinking about the decisions he has made in his life. From his childhood days to his current life, we see the world through the eyes of a man whose emotions have been battered, frayed, dulled and ultimately reignited.

R.M.A. Spears' Armor of Glass captures the tribulations military personnel experience as they live out their lives in the civilian world. The military is portrayed as a machine that takes in human beings and churns out emotionally damaged individuals. Double standards, machinations, and power plays become a jarring counterpoint to the honor and valor the armed forces are supposed to portray. We see the military from the viewpoint of a grunt, the common foot soldier caught in its system, who realizes the stark reality of that system's failings but still comes back again and again because the military is all he has become. The melodic prose is mesmerizing at times. Brick as the emotionally-battered Marine is a lesson in perseverance and resilience. The book strikes numerous chords and a raw nerve or two. By the middle of the book, characters become all too real, their actions and decisions arousing a variety of emotions from the reader. From the pedophile Coach to the manipulative Selma, we are given a slew of villainous characters that, in reality, could be anyone we encounter in our daily lives. Brick's elusive smile, his brief happiness, becomes all the more exquisite as I endured existence through his eyes.

Armor of Glass is one of the most realistic love stories I have ever read. There are no happy endings, no happily ever after. There is only life and learning to live through the bad and to enjoy the good while taking the time to reminisce about love lost. R.M.A. Spears has crafted an emotionally intense novel that had me hooked from page one.

Reviewed by Roy T. James for Readers' Favorite

Gooseberry Island by Steven Manchester has its beginnings in a chance encounter between Lindsey Wood and David McClain, which sparks romance between them. The romance is kept alive through Skype when he is back on duty in Afghanistan. In Afghanistan he has to witness horrendous acts of war, arson and violence, mostly senseless. On completion of his stint, he returns to find himself horribly affected. This leaves Lindsey in terrible grief; she is already in the doldrums owing to her father’s condition, being a Gulf veteran. Her experience with this comes in handy when David finds it more or less common among such repatriates, and with mutual assistance they make peace with the present. David and Lindsay begin their journey.

Gooseberry Island by Steven Manchester is bound to take its toll on one's emotions: the instant chemistry between Lindsey and David, the exchange of numbers in the hopes he will call, and the call doing wonders, as well as his invitation to a party without telling her that it’s his going away party! I have had the occasion to witness something similar and have always felt how treasured such moments are. Steven has adopted a good degree of moderation; at no stage do the emotional scenes and exchanges seem unnatural. A moving story with a complete plot, it leaves one with the same feeling as the last thought of the hero: “Life is better than good.” And just like him, with a smile.

Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite

"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.

Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite

Solo Vietnam (Flying Solo Series) is a historical military novel written by Jeanette Vaughan. It takes place during the late 1960s on two fronts: New Orleans, Louisiana and Vietnam. Nora Broussard is a singer and pilot who survived a bad marriage to an abusive husband and is raising her children on her own. She'd like to have been involved as a pilot in Vietnam, but, unlike during WWII, women are not allowed to fly in any sort of military capacity during this conflict. When we first meet her, it's Fat Tuesday and everyone in New Orleans is happily participating in the last few hours of the mad partying except for Nora. It brings back all too well the surrender of her last baby for adoption. She was the love child of Nora and Steve Novak, a married man whose wife was very ill. Later that year, Nora decides that she can make a difference in Vietnam and volunteers her services to the USO. She commits to an 18-month contract as a USO club manager.

Jeanette Vaughan's military novel is a beautifully written and meticulously researched work, chronicling the Vietnam War from the perspectives of a USO worker, a pilot and a prisoner of war. It's a remarkable and gritty book that covers so many bases. Much of the story deals with pilots, their perspective of the war, and the dangers and challenges they met. There are some truly astounding descriptions of air battles in Solo Vietnam. Vaughan also brings to life the challenges and changes women faced during this time of transition, where their roles were slowly changing. She brings out little details like the rules that USO girls had to wear mini-skirts and were not allowed to wear slacks in their role of bringing comfort and home to the boys. Solo Vietnam is a marvelous historical novel and is highly recommended.

Reviewed by Alice DiNizo for Readers' Favorite

In 1940, General Charles DeGaulle sent a letter to his fellow Frenchmen urging them to resist the Nazis. And so began the famous French Resistance with its many unsung heroes. In the United States in 1944, teenage Joe and Raymond watch as the owner of the local Always Inn and Tavern is arrested as a Nazi spy with crates of ammunition found in his basement. Raymond is a prankster at school but Joe has a genius and has built a radio that blocked out the local radio station for hours. Now seventeen years of age, Joe is recruited to be a radio operator for a secret upcoming covert operation history now known as D-Day. He is flown to Scotland and then secreted into France by a Resistance hero known as Henri. He is coached to speak in perfect French, not the French Canadian spoken by his mother, and is taken to the basement of Henri's farmhouse where behind an old wine cellar lies a radio center for Allied communications. What lies ahead for Joe?

"Code Name Sonny" is a brilliantly written story of World War II and the valor of people in the French Resistance like Henri and young American men like Joe who grow into manhood overnight as they witness atrocities against innocent people. It is also a tale of modern day revenge carried out against deeds done long ago. Joe, or "Sonny" as his mother calls him, Joe's wife Claire, his son Jack and Jack's wife Emily, Henri, Marie and others from the time of World War II are totally believable. The suspense is first-rate as the plot unfolds to the story's end and will have the readers on the edge of their seats. "Code Name Sonny" should be on everyone's reading list as it is a remarkable, memorable book that will stay in people's minds for a long,long time.

Reviewed by Samantha Rivera for Readers' Favorite

In The Gomorrah Principle by Rick DeStefanis, Brady is a man on a mission, a mission to discover what happened to his best friend, the brother of the woman he loves. In order to accomplish his mission he’ll have to go to the last place his friend is known to have been, Vietnam. But traveling to Vietnam during the war is harder than it might seem, unless you’re part of the military. Lacey is certain that if Brady joins the military he’ll die just like her brother, but that doesn’t stop him from signing up. It’s going to take all his skill to discover what happened to Duff without ending up the same way he did.

This book really opened my eyes to what happened during the Vietnam War and what the men who fought in it really went through. Brady was a very interesting character and seeing the way he changed throughout the course of this book made it more realistic; after all, no one can go through an entire war completely unscathed. Lacey is also a fun character who is trying to become someone new. She’s really trying to grow and develop as a person but doesn’t know how to do it. Throughout this book she definitely shows how women tend to become less naïve as they grow older. The Gomorrah Principle works for both of them and it’s something that they will not forget any time soon. I know it’s something I’ll remember (and I’ve never been a hunter).