Reviewed by Viga Boland for Readers' Favorite

Gracie’s father is awaiting execution on death row for having killed Gracie’s mother. Gracie hasn’t seen him in a decade, but her memories are of a good man, a good father, one of only two men she has ever loved. The other man is Jori, who loves her almost to the point of obsession. With her father’s execution imminent, Gracie decides she must see him. She needs him to tell the truth about the murder. Though he doesn’t want to go, Jori feels compelled to accompany her. And now, as each of them, along with her father, takes turns telling readers what really happened when Jori and Gracie were barely teens, the truth is about as ugly as it gets and we understand why both these kids are so messed up mentally. Yet, in each other’s love, they find sustenance and the strength to survive.

Is incest ever okay? The most natural and usual response is “no way”! But then, a book like The Lies Between Us by Yolanda Olson comes along and gives you pause. In fact, your answer, after reading the story of Gracie and Jori might not be quite what you would have instinctively given. If you can hold off making judgement calls for now, enter the strange, broken lives of these two young adults who cling desperately to each other in a world that has hurt each of them terribly, a world so full of lies they cannot function without each other. For some readers, the details of Jori and Gracie having sex will be too explicit. Skip those pages if you must. But don’t stop reading the rest of the story because The Lies Between Us is absolutely haunting. The events and the characters stay with you long after you put the book down. It’s easy to see why Yolanda Olson is an award-winning author. Jori, Gracie and her father touch parts of us we didn’t know we had or believed we could condone. Don’t be surprised if, when you’re done, you find yourself rethinking your stance on many social issues, including incest. A touching, riveting story that just might be closer to truth than to fiction!

Reviewed by Trudi LoPreto for Readers' Favorite

Conflicting Hearts by J.D. Burrows is a story of love, commitment and compassion. Life has been hard for Rachel; she has been the victim of abuse, both as a child and an adult. Conflicting Hearts begins as Rachel is alone with not much to look forward to, feeling sad and lonely on her thirtieth birthday. She is on her way to work, gazing at an accident on the side of the road, and slams into the car in front of her. She immediately senses that this will ruin an already bad day and is preparing herself for the worst. When the tall, handsome man in the very expensive car she has hit knocks on her window, checking to see that she is not hurt, Rachel knows he will soon be suing her for the damages. She is surprised and amazed to find out he is calm and not at all concerned about the condition of his car. She panics when, later in the day, she receives a beautiful bunch of red roses from him and an invitation to dinner. She and Ian soon acknowledge an attraction for each other and begin the dating game. Because of her past, Rachel has trouble with a normal relationship and believing anyone can love her. Ian understands her and is willing to put up with a variety of problems. The story follows their ups and downs and makes for a touching and caring story.

Conflicting Hearts tells the story of an abused woman in a very real way. I could not help but feel Rachel’s pain, hurt and confusion, and laugh and cry along with her. J.D. Burrows presents the facts in a beautiful love story that was impossible to put down. The sex scenes were in good taste without unnecessary graphic descriptions. Conflicting Hearts is a good book for any woman to enjoy, but for someone who has been abused it is a great offering of hope and strength. I highly recommend Conflicting Hearts to all women who enjoy a good romantic novel.

Reviewed by Arya Fomonyuy for Readers' Favorite

The Intersect: When Life Veers off Course, Strangers Find Comfort and Lasting Connection by Brad Graber is a compelling and fascinating story with a powerful political and social setting, a story that explores the links between humans in a fast-paced consumerist culture. Set against the backdrop of Arizona in 2010, this novel explores the lives of different characters, whose paths cross in unusual circumstances. Charlie and Dave are in a relationship and have just bought a home in Phoenix, a deal that almost destroys their relationship when an old lady shows up. They just learn that she hasn’t been aware that her relatives have sold the house. Things escalate pretty fast as secrets come to light and connections are made. Readers will encounter great characters like Anna, who channels the spirits of the dead, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, and many others. But how these characters connect is what will blow the reader’s mind.

Brad Graber has crafted a heartwarming, engaging tale in The Intersect, a story that explores elements of romance, human connection, hospitality, and the link between the living and the dead, and what it meant to be gay at the time. The writing is excellent and accessible, and the author offers some excellent social commentaries that will interest readers. I enjoyed the compelling cast of characters. The writing features many dramatic moments and it is punctuated by humorous episodes that will keep the reader entertained. This is a story that rings with originality; it is well-crafted, and exhilarating.

Reviewed by Danielle DeVor for Readers' Favorite

The Roadrunner Café by Jamie Zerndt is a coming-of-age story about a boy who learns to live again after finding his father’s body after an apparent suicide. With his mother’s alcoholism and his sister’s absenteeism, Carson must learn to live for himself. But sometimes it isn’t so easy. There’s that damn tree. Yes, his father had planted a tree for each family member and no one can stop staring at his father’s tree. When his mother decides to have the tree removed, Carson is shocked. And, honestly, it has an effect on the family that no one would ever have expected.

The characterization of Carson is very strong. He is completely believable. I felt Georgie, his sister, could have been a little stronger. But Zerndt does a really good job of showing interpersonal relationships and bringing out conflict in his characters. The mother, however, breaks my heart. Carson used to find her getting drunk funny, but after his father’s death the realities of her alcoholism become blatant. Although it comes out that Carson’s father also cheated on her prior to his suicide, Carson’s mother just doesn’t know how to deal with it. She has no way of holding herself together, let alone being able to help Carson and his sister outside of her grief. This is a solid novel. And an interesting way to spend an afternoon.

Reviewed by Chris Fischer for Readers' Favorite

The Shape of the Atmosphere, the excellent book written by a promising debut author, Jessica Dainty, is a story that I found very difficult to put down once I started reading it. Follow the story of young Gertie MacLarsen, a teenager who has felt ugly and mostly unloved her entire life. Raised by her alcoholic mother and a fairly absent father, Gertie's life has certainly not been easy. When her mother commits her to Willow Estate, a mental institution, on her 16th birthday, and after a devastating family tragedy, it seems likely that her life could only get worse. And in many ways that does happen. Encountering cruelty and difficulties around every corner, Gertie also finds an odd family of sorts amongst those at Willow Estate, and in some ways, finds herself as well.

I found The Shape of the Atmosphere to be a surprising and unique read, especially one coming from an author new to the scene. Author Jessica Dainty has produced a book that belies her newbie status, a sophisticated and poignant read, and does an excellent job in portraying what mental health treatment was likely all about in 1950s America. I feel that almost any reader who enjoys fiction would find this an extremely worthy read, and it is with excitement that I offer this book my very highest recommendation. I feel that author Jessica Dainty is certainly one to watch. With talent as obvious as hers, it is unlikely that she will remain undiscovered for long!

Reviewed by Kathryn Bennett for Readers' Favorite

A Faithful Son by Michael Scott Garvin is the coming of age story of a young man who is trying to find his place in the world. Zach Nance is struggling to decide where he belongs in the world while it changes ever faster. Durango, Colorado is where we find Zach and a group of characters that all have their own color to offer the story. When Zach's previously close family falls apart, he finds himself needing to protect his mother and his sister from the choices his father made. Can he keep his vow of protection without losing himself?

Michael Scott Garvin has created a cast of characters that you feel you could drive out and see at any moment. This book reaches out and grabs you by the collar and hauls you into the story, not allowing you to leave until it is done. There is a little something for everyone in this book, from spinsters to drag queens, and you can't help but enjoy each little tidbit you learn about the lives of these people. The story flows perfectly and is like a fine piece of craftsmanship. I could feel what Zach was going through as I read each word, a young man who really did have to redefine his entire life.

It is moments like a family falling apart in which any of us would find ourselves tested, and how it would test loyalties and our mettle in general. I won't give away how Zach's journey ends, but he truly does go on a journey, and this book makes you feel like you are walking right along with him as he travels. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a well crafted story that comes to life and leaps off the page and into your heart.

Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite

The Art of Hero Worship is a new adult contemporary romance written by Mia Kerick. What was supposed to be a pleasant evening watching a friend perform in a college production of Shakespeare's Hamlet turned into a night filled with unrelenting horror for Jason Tripp, when a lone gunman stepped out onto the stage and began shooting into the audience. He seemed determined to kill everyone in the theater and, to Jason, it seemed that the killer wouldn't give up until he had found him where he was crouched on the floor next to his girlfriend Ginny, who had already died. As the killer approached his aisle, he heard a voice whisper instructions to him, telling him to squeeze down tightly under the seats, and then the speaker covered Jason's body with his own. The gunman seemed almost right over them when a sound distracted him and he turned away. Jason's protector seemed to know exactly when it would be safe to make a run for it, and he guided Jason straight to a trapdoor. As he was opening it, the gunman saw them and came running down the aisle towards them, but, somehow, miraculously, his hero got the two of them out of the building and into his car, and they drove away to safety.

Mia Kerick's new adult contemporary romance, The Art of Hero Worship, begins with an explosive and gripping scene that catapulted me into the action and kept me on edge as Jason and Liam attempted to survive the gunman's attack. I've read and thoroughly enjoyed several of Kerick's young adult romances in the past, and I fully expected that I would be entertained by this book as well, but, if anything, The Art of Hero Worship far exceeded my expectations. Jason and Liam's harrowing experiences at the theater begin the process of forging a sweet and utterly mesmerizing friendship that turns into a love that neither of them expect or really know what to do about at first. Kerick handles the gender and sexual orientation issues in this book with respect and an uncanny depth of insight and compassion. Watching as these two young men fall in love is transcendent, and their story is oh, so beautifully told. I'm eagerly looking forward to reading more young adult and new adult fiction from this very talented author. The Art of Hero Worship is most highly recommended.

Reviewed by Tracy A. Fischer for Readers' Favorite

In The Lives Between Us by author Theresa Rizzo, we are faced with the question: how far would we go to avenge the death of the one person we allowed ourselves to love? That is the exact question faced by our protagonist, reporter Skylar “Skye” Kendall. Skye lives her life in such a way that she’s been able to shut everyone out, and that’s the way she wants it. Fearful of being left by someone who loves her, she prefers to leave before that can happen. At least, until her niece, Niki, is born, and Skye finds it impossible not to love the little tyke. But when Niki falls gravely ill at nine years old, and the only treatment with a chance at helping her involves stem cells, Skye is desperate to do all she can to help. When all that she can do isn’t enough, Skye’s desperation turns to anger, and she’s determined to take that anger out on the senator whose voting record she blames for blocking the help Niki so desperately needed. When the senator’s best friend is determined to find out what is behind Skye’s scathing articles, and Skye is determined to use his connections for an even more in-depth look into the politician's making decisions that are so important to her, the last thing either of them expect is to fall in love.

I loved this book. It’s not an easy read, but it is extremely worthwhile. Author Theresa Rizzo is an extremely gifted storyteller, and one who is wonderful at crafting characters that you will truly care about. Skye Kendall is such a character, and I find that I am still thinking about her and her story, long after I finished reading the book. The Lives Between Us would appeal to any reader who enjoys fiction, stories about politics, stories with a bit of romance, or someone looking for just an excellent read. I am very pleased to highly recommend The Lives Between Us by Theresa Rizzo and I, for one, am very much looking forward to reading her next work.

Reviewed by Tracy A. Fischer for Readers' Favorite

In an absolutely fascinating new read by author Jim Bailey, The End of Healing is certainly a story that will stick with its readers long after the final page is turned. The story is written through the eyes of a new physician, a doctor-in-training if you will, naive to the ways of the American healthcare system. Dr. Don Newman, our newbie protagonist, seems to find, with every twist and turn that this novel takes, that the Hippocratic oath he took when becoming a physician, the promise to do no harm, is nearly impossible to accommodate in the world when doctors must bow down to the requirements of insurance companies, Medicare and Big Pharma. Giving up his dream of focusing on cardiology, he decides instead to focus on studying the medical underworld that seems to rule the world. Will he be able to help to make changes that our country so desperately needs, or will his findings be silenced by the mighty powers that be?

I so enjoyed The End of Healing. Written with a true insider's perspective, the author's decision to make this book a fictional novel was a wise one. Both entertaining and able to impart the truth of our troubled medical system, this story will captivate readers from the very start. I learned a great deal from this book, and was thoroughly entertained at the same time. Any reader with the slightest interest in our medical system should put this on the top of their "to be read" list. I highly recommend The End of Healing. I certainly hope that author Jim Bailey is hard at work on his next effort in this vein. I, for one, will be anxiously watching for its arrival!

Reviewed by Ankita Shukla for Readers' Favorite

Spirit Woman by Debra Shiveley Welch is a magnificent combination of fiction and reality. Nickie, tormented by her troubled childhood, shuts herself down to her surroundings. She does not share the details of her past with anyone. Her low self-esteem forces her to believe that there is no hope for her to find love, and so she has almost given up her quest for true love until she meets Javan Whitman. With him, her fears and doubts vanish into thin air, and -- in spite of her well wishers' warnings -- she ties the knot as soon as he proposes. However, right from the next day of her wedding, she realizes that she has married a demon, and thus begins her marital journey filled with violence and hatred.

The portrayal of the characters is done on an emotional level by sharing their stories. In any book, as a reader, I find it the best way of making an instant connection with the characters. The narrative style of writing does justice to the overall plot of the book. The introduction of a guardian angel was a pleasant and welcome surprise. Some readers may find it bizarre, but being a hopeless believer in extraordinary existences, I found it intriguing.

In Spirit Woman, Debra has touched on many social issues. In her sneaky way, she advises everyone not to jump into a relationship. Love is blind, but you don't have to be. Living alone may be depressing, but living with a monster would be life threatening. She has also highlighted the lifelong lack of self-esteem in people who have had a less than happy childhood. The story is packed with dramatic twists, which are capable of keeping readers' eyes fixed on the pages. I would recommend this book to readers who feel very strongly about the prevailing injustices against women and who believe in the existence of angels -- or, at least, enjoy reading about them.