Reviewed by Scott Cahan for Readers' Favorite

And My Father Was There by Noah McCaffrey is a fictional story that is built around a true baseball legend. The main character is a young man named Laird Young the third. He is the son of a former baseball player/former soldier from World War One. As the story begins, Laird is bitter toward his father for going off to war when Laird was only three years old and then coming home badly wounded and unable to interact with him for the past 20 years. A special gift from Laird’s Mom sets him on a journey of personal discovery that will lead Laird in many unexpected directions.

And My Father Was There is about several very important themes. It’s about the history of professional baseball during the early part of the twentieth century. It also gives us a painful look at the devastating effects a war can have on a soldier and his family. Although both of those themes are played out beautifully throughout the story, they are not the main theme that brings this book to life. And My Father Was There is first and foremost a vivid picture of an imperfect but happy American family during the 1940s. This book is a slice of Americana that gave me a glimpse back in time and made me wish I was there.

McCaffrey’s characters are all colorful and relatable. His plot moved slowly, just as a character-driven story should, but it was still full of enough twists and turns so that I found it difficult to put down at times. And My Father Was There will have you laughing and crying and reading with wide eyes to see what will happen next to the loveable characters of this all-American portrait. I enjoyed it very much and I’m not even a baseball fan. At least I wasn't before. Now I find myself wanting to learn more about the early days of baseball. Great book.

Reviewed by Romuald Dzemo for Readers' Favorite

A man who has lost everything — his job, his wife and daughter — gets the one chance to redeem himself, to save a person’s life. In The Chosen Ones by Lisa Luciano, Brody gets fired from his job as a reporter and his wife leaves him. The sports editor of the newspaper gets an anonymous voicemail which claims that one of the top male skaters will be dead before the end of the Winter Olympics. The editor asks Brody to go undercover as a trainer to uncover the source of the plot. Brody knows a life hangs in the balance and time is ticking by, every minute, every day, drawing towards the end, but does he have what it takes to save a life or will he live with the guilt of not having tried hard enough?

I am not a fan of skating, but the reader gets the impression that the author did good research on the topic, allowing readers to have a detailed glimpse of what happens in big sporting competitions — the greed, the corruption, and the racism. The characters are emotionally rich and convincing. I loved the psychological depth of the protagonist, a broken man struggling to find important answers to save a life. The writing is atmospheric and the setting is vividly captured in engaging prose. Lisa Luciano uses suspense to get readers turning the pages, wondering who can possibly be the victim and who is the killer. It’s a story with a powerful premise, a strong conflict, and a gripping plot. The Chosen Ones is a good read.

Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite

The Backwards K is a sports-themed inspirational novel written by J.J. Hebert. It was the defining moment of his young life, the goal every kid who’s ever played baseball has ever dreamed about. Jet Brine was at bat for his team -- the Boston Red Sox. His fans, who had followed his meteoric rise to fame straight out of high school, were shouting out his name and cheering for his team. Jet could remember the thousands of times he had been at bat since he was young, could feel that satisfying impact of ball hitting bat, the crisp cracking sound, followed by the hushed awe of the crowd as they followed the ball’s trajectory. But this time, at this most crucial moment, when the World Series win depended on him, something awful happened. First, he swings and strikes, and the shock of it seems to freeze him, to end the effortless grace that had gotten him this far, and the next two strikes fly by untried for. Years later, an older, sadder Jet would pack up his old playing cards and other memorabilia and join the graying ex-athletes at the succession of collector shows held in conventions across the country, where he’d haggle with dads who’d try to bargain down his prices.

J.J. Hebert’s inspirational sports-themed novel, The Backwards K, follows the efforts of aging baseball great, Jet Brine, as he tries to get past that awful defining moment of his baseball career and reclaim his life. Hebert’s story examines the concepts of forgiving oneself for the past and finding the courage to start fresh and new. Jet’s first real job as data entry clerk will feel remarkably true to life to most readers who’ve ever worked in a company setting, and his interactions with his coworkers and peers feel authentic and real. Hebert also addresses addictions and the havoc they can wreak on good people’s lives, and the difference that having a support structure can make when trying to change addictive behavior. In Jet’s case, it’s gambling that calls out in a siren song whenever things get bad, and the relationship between him and his sponsor, Boone, as they work to conquer that addiction is a marvelous thing to read. The Backwards K is an uplifting and inspiring tale that is most highly recommended.

Reviewed by Anne-Marie Reynolds for Readers' Favorite

Better Days by Len Joy is an action-packed thriller. The FBI wants to talk to Darwin Burr. Why? His best friend Billy has disappeared and the FBI needs Darwin to help them find him. He’s happy in his life with a beautiful Latvian wife, Daina, a great house, a job helping coach his daughter’s high school basketball team. Who could want for more? He didn’t reckon on Fariba Pahlavi, the flirty coach, and he didn’t reckon on turning up his wife’s secret past, a past that threatens her life. He’s fallen hard for Fariba but he can’t leave Daina and their daughter, Astra. As the hunt for Billy begins, Darwin starts to find out things he wished he never knew. With the FBI’s sights set on him, and his wife taking on a teenager whose family is being targeted by gangs, Darwin’s quiet life is about to undergo major disruption. Can laidback, happy-to-let-the-world-drift-by Darwin cope? Can he find Billy? Or is all hell about to be let loose and turn his life upside down?

Better Days by Len Joy is a fast read, highly entertaining and written in the first person by our main protagonist, Darwin. Packed with action, Better Days takes us on a journey with plenty of twists, some humor thrown in for good measure and a great plot that just keeps you reading. This is more than just an action story. It explores and deals very well with the issues of betrayal, loyalty, gangs, racism, and trust. It is a unique plot that starts off on a steady note but be prepared; it soon revs up and takes off at high speed, leading you through the twists and turns of a shady life as Darwin begins to uncover secrets and lies he wishes had stayed buried. It has some incredible characters, rich, colorful and entirely relatable; this is an exciting story written from the heart by a very talented writer. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and it is highly recommended for anyone who wants to lose themselves in a great adventure.

Reviewed by Grant Leishman for Readers' Favorite

American Past Time by Len Joy is a dive into the world of family and family dynamics across several crucial decades in America’s growth as a world power and the incredible social change that was being felt across the country during that period. The author tells his story through the eyes of Dancer Stonemason, a semi-professional ball player who is just a few days from his potential major league call-up. It is September 1953 and playing in what could be the last game for his team, Dancer finds himself on the cusp of pitching a “perfect” game. The dilemma for Dancer is this: Does he pursue the perfect game and risk his upcoming major league debut or does he put his future and his family’s future first and foremost? From the dizzying heights of adulation and fame as a small-town hero, Dancer’s life and that of his family take a downward spiral. We follow them through the “bucolic” fifties, as life seemed to improve for all Americans, through the social change of the sixties and into the seventies, with the backdrop of the war that polarized Americans, the Vietnam War. Through all of this turmoil, Dancer seeks to find the path that will give him the life he so clearly wants.

Author Len Joy has given us a simple story with a powerful message. In American Past Time, using the game of baseball as a metaphor for life, he portrays the rise and fall of a simple, working man in rural America. What I particularly liked about this story was the corollaries that can be drawn between today’s rhetoric and that time in American, seen by many as the “golden age”. It’s well worth noting from this narrative that despite the “rose-tinted” glasses, there was much that was not great about the America of the fifties, sixties, and seventies, particularly for groups of marginalized Americans, especially people of color and those who did not conform to the strict societal and evangelical rules of the time, such as the LGBTQ community. I think the author did an excellent job at highlighting the immense social injustices of the wealth equality gap and the race gap, particularly as it applied to southern, rural America of the time. Dancer as a character was exceptionally well-drawn with recognizable flaws but with a heart for his family and his beloved game. The read is easy, the language simple and the story compelling. This is an excellent book on the social, economic and familial dynamics of a period of American history often hailed as “the good old days”. For many, they weren’t.

Reviewed by Samantha Dewitt (Rivera) for Readers' Favorite

For Tatsuyama, the sport of sumo is all that he wants and all that he knows, but the world out there is changing fast. When he is approached by men who want to turn the sport around and allow betting to begin in earnest, he thinks nothing of it, at least, not until the rest of his life starts to come crashing down as well. Before he knows it, Tatsuyama is in a race to not only get his career back, but his very life as well, and he’ll have to use a variety of new allies in order to get where he wants to be ... if it’s at all possible in Sumotori by G.P. Hutchinson.

This book was definitely an adventure story and one where you never knew what was going to happen next. Each of the characters was very deep and seemed to be really believable. You felt like you were drawn into the story from the start, and with a plot that was different from what you’ll find anywhere else. This is a unique storyline and it’s something that you’ll want to check out for yourself. It has a lot of adventure and thrilling scenes with just enough of the romance and camaraderie to tie it all together. With Tatsuyama, Naoko, Shiori and Detective Kobayashi, you’re going to want to immerse yourself in the story, and with the author's writing style you’re not going to have a problem with that. Sumotori is a great book that I will recommend.

Reviewed by Christian Sia for Readers' Favorite

The Hook by Kathleen Doler is aptly subtitled: Surfing to Survive a Shattered Family, Drugs, Gangs and the FBI. Set in an idyllic surfing town, this book explores the depth of kinship, crime, and justice, while looking at how far a woman can go to keep her brother out of trouble. As teenagers, Shane and Dana developed an incredible bond while surfing. One has the impression that they grew up in water. Now an adult, Shane has a run-in with a ruthless drug lord who is after him, and the FBI has developed a special interest in him. Dana wants to help her brother and, as she explores the issue, she has to come face-to-face with her brother’s illegal ties to a gang and get embroiled in a war she never asked for.

Everything about this book compels the reader to read on. It includes surfing jargon that will help readers who are not used to surfing understand the experience better. The writing leaps majestically off the pages like irresistible music and begs to be read. The story itself is awesome, with just enough backstory to deepen characterization, intense action, and incredible surfing experiences. Kathleen Doler is a very gifted writer with exceptional skills in prose, plot, and setting. Few writers succeed in making the geography within which the story evolves come clearly to life as this writer does. The plot is indeed the very definition of the hook. I was hooked from the beginning by the plot lines and couldn’t stop reading as each chapter read like a promise of more incredible action to follow. The Hook is, indeed, a satisfactory read.

Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite

Cauliflower Heart: Wrestling With Life is a romantic sports novel written by Diana Hart. Claudine Bellamy had gone from being happily married to Drew, a champion wrestler, to being his widow after his suspicious death in Germany following an international competition. To add to the grief and stress, the purse he had won, which was $100,000, had disappeared. Her father, Billy Bonham, and brother, Toasty, were concerned about her as she answered the many condolence cards and tried not to think about the future. Billy wasn't a wealthy man, and he'd do everything in his power to help his daughter and two grandchildren, but he realized it wouldn't be nearly enough. Claudine thought perhaps that the smooth-talking Toni, a reporter who had interviewed Drew in the past and had recently put together a video for his funeral, actually had a plan that might save her financially. Toni wanted to co-write Claudine's autobiography. She had great plans for it, and the numbers she promised that they'd earn would help her pay the bills and keep her little family afloat. There was even a small advance that went right into the bank to pay some overdue bills. The widow and the reporter went right to work on Claudine's story, but she soon realized that her past and Toni's spin on it were not necessarily the same thing.

Diana Hart's romantic sports novel, Cauliflower Heart: Wrestling With Life transports the reader into the life of a wrestling family in Manchester. I was fascinated by the amount of wrestling lore and sporting information I encountered in this book, and had a grand time reading it. Claudine is a wonderful character; one I just couldn't fault for her somewhat naive faith in the scheming Toni, especially in circumstances where anyone's mind would be clouded in grief. Hart's characters are beautifully fleshed out, and you just can't help but get involved in their lives, especially Claudine and her son and daughter. Her plot is a finely balanced blend of sports and family, and her writing style is strong and assured. This is the second book in Hart's Cauliflower Heart series, but it works well as a standalone read as well. It's highly recommended.

Reviewed by Rosie Malezer for Readers' Favorite

Chasing Swells is a romance novel written by A.L. Goulden. After teasing his father, Randy, about being able to catch more swells, a young Dean Bazner sits on his surfboard, relaxing as his father tries to catch up. Years later, while on his way to Fiji (a stopover to Bali), Dean is advised that a writer will be joining him in order to write about his travels as a surfer. Nonplussed, Dean hopes the guy that they assign to the job keeps out of his way so he can train and compete in peace. A freelance reporter, Azure Thomas, arrives on the island, excited at having been chosen to write about the travelling experiences of the famous surfer, but after encountering some surfers during her initial journey to Fiji, she is less than impressed by their display of immaturity. The chemistry between Dean and Azure is electric from the moment they lay eyes on one another, but both maintain their cool exteriors in the name of professionalism. They soon realize that they share similar tragic pasts in the loss of their families so young, and feel an inexplicable need to protect each other from any unexpected curve-balls that life throws their way. While their inner voice keeps telling them both how much they need to distance themselves from each other, their attraction grows more and more, making it hard to keep their focus on their careers, which had originally brought them together in the first place.

This is certainly one of the most fun and realistic romance novels I have ever read. Getting inside the head of each of the main characters throughout the story made it very easy to relate to and engage with them both. A.L. Goulden’s use of coarse language at exactly the right moments and in the right doses adds to the realism of this wonderfully romantic (and often hilarious) tale of two adults who are in high profile careers and are used to others gushing over them, but who are determined to appear uninterested in each other, despite the more their feelings grow. Having a writer who knows nothing at all about the sport of the celebrity she has been assigned to follow creates an innocence all of its own, especially since the only knowledge that the writer has prior to her arrival on the island is a few hours of Googling. I found myself smiling throughout most of this book, seeing a shy boy and a modest young girl getting to know each other in such a beautiful setting while overcoming past relationships which have left them both scarred. I very much enjoyed Chasing Swells and recommend it to all those who love action, adventure, drama, jealousy and humor tucked into the perfect romantic tale.

Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite

Tracks: Racing the Sun is a historical fiction novel written by Sandro Martini. Journalist Joe Deutsch has come to Venice to speak with Johnny Finestrini, a retired journalist and author, at the hotel where he's living in L'Isola Del Lido. It's 1968, and the story Deutsch is researching begins with the rise to fame of the legendary racers Achille Varzi and Tazio Nuvolari, and follows the races in which they competed in the years before and during World War II. The two were friendly rivals and sometime enemies whose daring exploits, inspired driving and disregard of danger inspired nationalistic fervor. Finestrini was a reporter for the Italian newspaper, the Gazzetta, and his daily column covered the races, the race car makers, and the drivers who lived and died on the track, but in the process he had become much more than a reporter and observer.

Sandro Martini's historical fiction novel, Tracks: Racing the Sun, is a monumental achievement that brings to life the motor racing experience of Italy and Germany during the first half of the twentieth century. It's a remarkable story that is impeccably written and researched. I was spellbound as Johnny Finestrini's recollections and tales unwind. Martini masterfully recreates the tension, expectations and mood of Italy's citizens under fascism and Mussolini, and details the political expedience that pressured racers to excel, challenge boundaries and risk their lives as national heroes. I especially enjoyed reading about the design and evolution of the Italian and German racing cars. Tracks: Racing the Sun is filled with stories and anecdotes that are historical as well as those that serve to fill in the gaps with what might have been, and the blend of fact and supposition works marvelously in this enthralling and fascinating tale. I had a marvelous time reading Tracks: Racing the Sun. If you're a racing fan as I am, you're in for a thrill when you start reading this book. If you're not, you might just become one, or at least get a better idea of what all the fuss is about. Tracks: Racing the Sun is most highly recommended.