Reviewed by Donna Gielow McFarland for Readers' Favorite

The Librarian: A First Contact Story is a short sci-fi tale told by M.N. Arzú. Jane Logan is deciding on an evening snack while she awaits the return of her husband, Nick, who went hiking alone for the day. There’s a knock on her door, but instead of her husband, Jane is greeted by a very imposing US General Mitchell who whisks her away to his base. He tells her they’re holding an impostor who is impersonating Nick. Nothing makes any sense, and it makes even less sense when Jane arrives and meets the man who looks like Nick, but his image on the video monitor shows him made entirely of light, an alien being. And, he's radioactive. Jane wants to flee, but the alien insists on talking to her and the General insists that she listen. But where is Nick?

I thought The Librarian was a fantastic story with a perfect ending. Arzú’s writing is economical – nothing is wasted and the narrative moves along at a brisk pace. Besides being a fine piece of science fiction, The Librarian is also a very sweet love story. There is not much time to develop Nick and Jane’s relationship and yet we learn everything we need to know. Besides not showing up on video, the alien’s voice also doesn’t show up on recording devices, so a young army private is assigned to type all his words. Private Connors is an enjoyable addition to the story. From start to finish, I loved this book. Recommended for sci-fi fans and romantics alike.

Reviewed by Sarah Stuart for Readers' Favorite

Sarah & Zoey by Linda Watkins opens with Sarah, who is happily married to successful corporate lawyer, David Palmer, and mom to Thad. Her only problem is an unfinished article for the Boston Globe that stops her going on a sailing trip with her husband and son, and mild concern over dark clouds on the horizon. David and Thad don’t return for lunch. They don’t return, period. Sarah is plunged into a deep depression, but she adopts Zoey, a dog being rehomed in Boston, a thousand miles from Randall James Watson. Zoey leaves behind Mindy Sue, Watson’s abused wife, whose life she saved almost at the cost of her own, but can she save Sarah’s sanity? Will Mindy Sue recover from a broken spine, and contrive to evade Randall’s revenge?

Linda Watkins has written a fascinating, in-depth study of two very different women. Sarah, a wealthy “world-at her-feet” woman who loses her husband and son in a freak storm at sea, and a poor country girl, Mindy Sue, who miscarried her baby and has been living with her violent drunken husband ever since. Zoey is the dog who links them across class and distance with her gift of unconditional love. Every character is beautifully drawn, the contrasting lives and settings are vivid and so very different, the pace is fast, and the end utterly unpredictable. Sarah & Zoey is a powerful, heart-tugging story that must be read at one sitting; it’s too enthralling to put down. I loved this five-star novella, and I’ll be looking for more by Linda Watkins.

Reviewed by Lit Amri for Readers' Favorite

In the sci-fi novella Liquid Gambit by Bonnie Milani, Rick is a bar owner at the Bogue Dast Station, a talon-less, broken-hearted Lupan with just enough self-motivation to run his bar every day, dealing with rough crowds and authorities. He turns down his Lupan kinsmen’s offer to go home with them. With his wife and children gone, there’s no longer a real home for Rick. When a mysterious woman named Emma walks into his bar, asking for a job, Rick never expected that she would evoke his past and bring an unforeseen trouble.

It took a while to familiarize myself with the world-building. That said, the narrative is very engaging and has a slight noir-esque feel to it. I kept wondering about what would happen next, and it got more interesting when Snicket, a young thief, hid a vial of Home World water－a clean vial of water from the old Earth herself－in Rick’s bar. This prompted the antagonist, Bayliss, to search the place. The plot is well structured and well executed for this novella, even better in some aspects compared to a few lengthy novel plots that I’ve read.

Milani also makes the well rounded characterization seem effortless. It’s easy to relate to the characters, particularly the protagonists Rick and Emma. I would love to see Liquid Gambit come alive visually on screen. The ending is nicely done, but I hope there’s a continuation for this story since its concept and premise are excellent. On the whole, this is a short but substantial and enjoyable read from Milani.

Reviewed by A. L. Peevey for Readers' Favorite

Lucent Sylph by RJ Conte is a short story with heart about hearts. A Lucent Sylph is, in the words of the author, “…a translucent glass fairy that can sit in the palm of your hand.” They originate from Sylpha, an otherworldly land inexplicably connected to America by a portal. Although they are much coveted as pets, not only by twenty-fourth century Americans, but the rest of the world as well, Lucas Thissel wants nothing to do with them, for he fears causing them harm and ultimately their death. Yet, what he most fears is love. Then, one day he discovers Nissa, a Lucent Sylph to whom he had been previously introduced, now abandoned by ex-friend and insufferable gaming rival, Josiah. Despite his best efforts to mind his own business, Lucas can’t control his heart nor ignore Nissa’s plight.

RJ Conte’s Lucent Sylph is somewhat reminiscent of The Little Prince, each tale making observations about human existence through the words of unearthly beings. Lucent Sylph is about love, but is not a typical love story. On the part of Lucas, there is a certain wistful longing for some romance, “but if a bird loved a fish, where would they live?” The need for love is an obvious theme, as is loss, and that loss can be turned into purpose. God is unabashedly referred to more than once, so are the Lucent Sylphs really angels sent to teach humans more about love? I loved the cover and the story and its message. The writing is fun and poetic at times. I found the language of Lucent Sylph taut yet enchanting. All in all, Lucent Sylph is well worth your time.

Reviewed by Emily-Jane Hills Orford for Readers' Favorite

Joy, sorrow, suffering, tragedy, loss – the entire spectrum of human emotions can envelop a person for either good or evil. Nothing expresses the magnitude and infinitesimally emotional power of music and art than the story surrounding the lives that both created them and those that nurtured and enjoyed them. Music and art are the very essence of being human. So, the story that follows music and art creates a powerful life force of its own. A story wrought with the joy of giving, the agony of having the gift removed, the guilt that follows the one who took the gift, and the violence that both frightened and expunged the beauty of life itself, making the beauty of the painting and the music dull in comparison.

We’re talking about a painting of a garden with a violinist playing off in the corner. The painting is by a famous Impressionist artist, Claude Monet. He painted the violinist into his garden scene and then gifted the painting to the violinist. A treasured gift that held prominence in the Jewish home for years captured the eye of a Nazi soldier after the Warsaw Ghetto uprising. The violinist and his family were sent to Auschwitz, the painting was hidden in the Imperial crypt of the Hapsburgs in Vienna, and the Nazi thief lived the remainder of his days in fear of being brought to trial for his war crimes and with regret for what he had done. But there’s another twist to this story, a mystery about the painting itself. Is it the real Monet? Or is it a forgery?

Very seldom does a story capture my emotions as deeply as this one did. Like the 1998 movie, The Red Violin, Gabriel Farago’s The Forgotten Painting: A Historical Mystery Novella takes the reader on a journey led by a painting and the music it represented. This is a story about a painting, but it is so much more. It’s a narrative, complex and intricate in its presentation, that traces a drama from the early 1920s, through the horrors of the Second World War and projecting a connection to a monastery in the outback of Australia and a young boy, Jack Rogan, a celebrated writer, a passionate storyteller, who will follow the clues that lead back to the hidden painting. Powerful writing. A mystery within a mystery.

Reviewed by Melinda Hills for Readers' Favorite

When Carly Matthews is at the end of her tether with the life she and her brother, Mitchell, are subjected to, she discovers an amazing escape. In the Storm by Karen Metcalf poignantly and heartbreakingly describes the force of Carly’s will as she discovers an alternate universe into which she escapes. In this special place that opens to her after tremendous stress, and is represented by varying degrees of weather and severe thunderstorms, Carly meets Morgan, who is supposed to try to protect her. Unfortunately for Morgan, Carly is too stubborn and finds out more about this different path of reality than she is supposed to know. Torn between protecting her little brother from their drunken, dangerous step-father and enjoying the peace of her special clearing at the base of a tremendous tree, Carly tries to find a way to save the two of them and escape the horrors of home. What happens is a lesson in determination, but is tempered by the whims of fate – knowledge that Carly should not have had.

In merely 86 pages, Karen Metcalf provides a universe full of amazing action, emotion and personal choices. In the Storm gets right to the heart of a teen’s struggle with the horrible reality of her life as she takes responsibility for her 5-year-old brother while she wishes that things could be different. Vivid descriptions of nature provide a stark backdrop to the feelings Carly experiences and heighten the impact of the story. With several amazing twists, the story leaves you breathless, with plenty to think about long after you close the book. Incredible story that is as gripping as a full length saga! It's hard to believe that so much emotion fits into so few pages! This is an amazing read for YA and adult readers who are looking for something different and quite stimulating.

Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite

Adam's Stepsons is a military science fiction novella written by M. Thomas Apple. To the military establishment at Armed Forces HQ, the clones were things, to be addressed using the pronoun "it", but their creator, Dr. Heimann, had considerable difficulty conforming with that protocol. Granted, they were the result of a scientific act rather than begotten as a true human would have been, but they were still flesh, blood and brain, fully functional human beings. Heimann's quandary was increased by the fact that the cloning had used the cells of his nephew, a young man he had raised ever since the boy's parents died in a skirmish years before. Patel had died in a crash and using his cells for the process was the most expedient means of getting the cloning process going. While his theories had formed the basis of the entire project, Heimann had been vocal in opposing it. The clones would be subliminally programmed and engineered to be killing machines. They would be sent to Mars as a genetically enhanced and deadly force whose target would be anyone of the Far Asian Consortium. The process was riddled with problems, however, as these cloned organisms sprang forth as fully formed adults with no childhood or developmental phase. The AF’s rigorous dehumanizing treatment seemed reckless and insufficient, prone to failure. Number Six was one such possible aberration. He had inexplicable memories of a crash on Mars. He also wondered why Dr. Heimann called him Seth instead of Number Six, and he began to question the restrictions imposed upon him and the others. Much as Dr. Heimann cared for that being who so recalled his nephew, he began to fear the clone who might have retained the worst of human emotions.

M. Thomas Apple's high-tech science fiction novella, Adam's Stepsons, confronts the ethical issues surrounding cloning head-on as Dr. Heimann's "sons" are systematically dehumanized and considered as little more than high-functioning military equipment. Apple's thoughtful and ethically minded Dr. Heimann is the perfect narrator for this thought-provoking and chilling science fiction story, and anyone who remembers Patrick McGoohan's mesmerizing futuristic television series, The Prisoner, will appreciate Heimann and Seth's conversation about the significance of Number Six. As I read, I could hear McGoohan's character proclaiming loudly and angrily, "I am not a number; I am a free man!" and found it a startling contrast with the way the clones are treated in this gripping futuristic tale. The characters of Heimann and Six are well-defined, and the developing tensions between the erstwhile father and son make this tale hard to put down. Adam's Stepsons is most highly recommended.

Reviewed by Rosie Malezer for Readers' Favorite

Taking a Chance is a romance novella written by Becky Monson. Eliza (Liza) Parker feels like she is crumbling within herself, riding in an elevator within the Empire State Building. Absolutely terrified of elevators and heights, Liza feels her chest tighten as it becomes more and more difficult to breathe. The kindness of a stranger, Jay Sanders, pulls Liza out of the mental quicksand which is drowning her, enabling her to make her way to the top. Only in town for one day during a stopover to London, Jay is determined to see the city while helping his new friend overcome her debilitating fear of heights and closed in spaces. When he learns of Liza’s reasons for trying to conquer her fears, doing things she would otherwise never do, his heart sinks, but he is all the more determined to free Liza from her agoraphobic prison. As the day moves on, not only does Liza feel more and more liberated, but she also finds herself falling for her volunteer therapist.

As a long-time sufferer of Agoraphobia with Panic Disorder, I was easily able to empathize with and relate to Liza during her terrifying ride to the top of the Empire State Building. A person who suffers from severe and crippling anxiety disorders doesn’t experience situations normally, instead finding themselves thinking about the worst case possible scenario that could happen if disaster were to strike. Becky Monson’s descriptions of the mortifying sensations which go through an Agoraphobic’s mind and body are right on the money, showing that the author has either experienced it first hand, or is very close to somebody who experiences panic attacks on a regular basis. With the use of distraction – a technique which can take an Agoraphobic’s mind off the situation they find themselves in – the visual images created within the mind change from disturbing to pleasant, sometimes taking away the feeling of panic completely.

Although I suffer from extreme phobias, I will most definitely be reading this book again, not only due to the wonder of the unusual romance which takes place inside the story, but also as a way to help me relax my mind, even if just being able to see the world through Liza and Jay’s eyes. Taking a Chance is a quick read, filled with fun and humor, while tackling the sensitive issue of anxiety and panic in public places. I recommend this book to readers who enjoy a good romance novel, especially if they are plagued with irrational fears which they wish to rid themselves of.

Reviewed by Hannah Richburg (Teen Reviewer) for Readers' Favorite

When Leaves Fall by C.A. King is a gripping story. Ralph, whose identity we have yet to learn, wakes up in a dilapidated shed. He is tied up by his neck and held captive there. He doesn't know where he is or why he is there. During Ralph's confinement, he is mistreated by his captor and fed only small portions of food that do not satiate his hunger. He believes that he committed a horrible crime to be treated in such a way. The only thing that keeps Ralph going is the idea of his family rescuing him from the shed.

When Leaves Fall by C.A. King is a powerful story that strikes at the hearts of everyone, even those made of the hardest stone. C.A. King builds intense suspense throughout his short story as he delays the revelation of the captor's identity and his place in Ralph's life. When Leaves Fall made me appreciate everything that I have in life, even the smallest of things. Ralph had close to nothing, although he captured my heart from the beginning and never released it. C.A. King's work struck me on a deeply emotional level and made me want to be more diligent in my community. When Leaves Fall conveys a strong message that drives the reader into action. It's a powerful and necessary story that tugs at your heartstrings and inspires you at the same time. I would definitely recommend this tragic thriller to any reader.

Reviewed by Tshombye K. Ware for Readers' Favorite

Unwrapping Noel by Jennifer Theriot is a romance novel about Noel, a public relations expert juggling her personal life and career. After suspecting her husband of infidelity, she files for divorce. A year later, she is still living with the man she divorced, due to feelings of guilt once she finds out that her ex-husband is stricken by testicular cancer. From that moment, her life is placed on hold. Later, through a series of events, a secret withheld by her ex-husband sends her emotions into a frenzy and starts her on a new path.

The novel starts off with a bit of action as Noel ponders on the events of the last year, involving her divorce and reason for choosing to live with her ex-husband. He's been stricken with cancer and she feels it's her duty to remain by his side. I felt for Noel. In my opinion, she felt it would be inhumane to abandon anyone during a critical time. In the back of my mind, I hoped Dave would see her compassion and ultimately change. His unprecedented office exploit was rather surprising. I love how the author didn't reveal the act until Noel was staring at the humiliation. One again I thought she would go into an emotional frenzy. The fact that she held her peace, to a degree, showed strength and character. As the story continued, she travelled far away and became swept off her feet by Leon, the Adonis type.

The story, even though romantic, had just the right amount of drama. Whenever an author balances romance with other themes, it creates a powerful climactic read. For those who enjoy romance sizzlers with just the right amount of drama, I recommend picking up a copy of Unwrapping Noel by Jennifer Theriot. You will not be disappointed. Maybe a little shocked, but not too much.