Reviewed by Tshombye K. Ware for Readers' Favorite

Girl Soldier by T.R. Horne is a plot driven story about a young girl’s discovery of her parents’ true identity. An unplanned meeting with federal agents sparked an inner curiosity within Rain, only to be squashed when she found out that her parents were agents. After a brief meeting at the CIA headquarters, Rain and her father were informed that her mother had gone missing from duty; no communication whatsoever. A mission to locate her for briefing was under way. Her father’s refusal to get back in the line of duty left a gap — an opportunity for Rain to prove she’s able to perform the required tasks at hand, while holding onto the fact that she’d get to see her mother. After a tug of war with her father, Chief of Staff Christopher Dalton agreed to put Rain through rigorous training to see if she’d pass sniper training. As Rain absorbed everything, one persistent thought pulsated within her - if she could make it through everything, she’d get a chance to see her mother. As of now, it had been ten years since Rain had last seen her.

The author has the art of storytelling in a wonderful tale that I enjoyed thoroughly. I found myself reading past my breaking point because of the gripping plot. The author did a wonderful job of creating the scenes to really pull you into the plot. I loved the format of the story and the descriptions really painted a vivid picture. One thing that jumps right out is the courage of the protagonist as she is compelled by a burning desire. The story is woven with a complex plot that is unpredictable and leaves you with a satisfying ending — a hunt turns into a family rescue mission.

Reviewed by Rabia Tanveer for Readers' Favorite

Craved by Lola Smirnova is the second book in a trilogy that will take you on a mind boggling journey to make you understand some hard truths about your life. The novel follows the stories of three sisters, Natalia, Lena and Julia. They are from Ukraine and they were prostitutes. They came to South Africa in the hopes of putting their prostitution days behind them, but they soon realized that they have jumped from one vice only to land in another.

Working as strippers is “easy money,” but Julia is not ready to leave her days as a prostitute behind. The temptation is too much, especially when she is rejected by clients, one after another. Planning to return to Europe, she is brought back to reality when some familial issues make her rethink things. Can she survive the harsh world of sex and stripping? Or will she cave in and plunge down the hole that is laced with drugs and danger?

I know this is something close to a suspense novel, but I would like to call this novel a psychological thriller. The way these sisters are living, the turmoil Julia is going through, makes these women super human and something out of this world. I have read the previous novel, Twisted, and I have to admit, I put it down at least three times, not because it was badly written, but because it was a little too dark and real.

It is a miracle that these women were able to hold on to their sanity for this long. Craved is a dark and dangerous tale of survival that makes you re-think your life and takes you on a journey where you are thankful for everything you have. This dark, mesmeric tale will take you on a carefully crafted and twisted journey that will make you beg for more. An amazing, thrilling suspenseful ride. I, for one, cannot wait for the next novel.

Reviewed by Lisa McCombs for Readers' Favorite

After two well-deserved years on death row for the inexcusable murder of a family of four, Tobias Butler only scoffed at the Pen Pal mails that adorned his prison cell. The anger dripping from the ink of multiple avengers of the death penalty was quite amusing. And the holier-than-thou sentiments had become boring. Then a letter arrived that created an entirely new mind set for Tobias. Jessica Phang sounded like the real deal. Beautiful, intelligent, wealthy, and obviously captivated with his story, this pen pal could very well be his ticket back to the free world. All he had to do was turn on the charm and Attorney Jessica Phang would be his. As their relationship becomes too good to be true, Tobias swallows his revulsion and plays the game Jessica devises to make the perfect prison break, the perfect romance, and the perfect gift of new found freedom. As the convicted murderer becomes confident in this turn of fate, he somehow misses a few very important details in his legal defense.

Emancipation: Pen Pals and Serial Killers - Story One by Jo Michaels is a thrilling story of suspense and gripping sexual tension that grows more intriguing with each page turned. Just when I think I cannot be more surprised with Michaels’ grasp on a true crime story, she adds another twist to make this reader doubt the outcome. Emancipation is a fast-paced tale that will leave the reader slapping his/her head at the outcome. I really, really enjoyed Emancipation. I cannot wait for the second in the Pen Pal series!

Reviewed by Rosie Malezer for Readers' Favorite

Vanished is the second book in The Saved Series by Lorhainne Eckhart. Living on military barracks, Abby and Eric are proud parents of a beautiful, healthy baby boy, Charlie, but Abby seems disinterested immediately after his birth. Having been rescued from Seyed Hossein – the man who had purchased her – when she was pregnant with her first child (Rachel), Abby had been nursing a lot of wounds, and had severe nightmares from what she had endured. Now married to Eric, Abby finds herself unable to cope with both of her children at the same time, often having moments of memory loss and seeing Rachel’s father (and her abuser), Hossein nearby. Finally, one night while Eric is at sea, Abby has a nightmare worse than any that had come before. She walks out the front door and vanishes, leaving the babies to fend for themselves. Eric rushes home from his post and is horrified to find furniture upturned, while neighbors tell him that they heard nothing and are caring for Charlie and Rachel. An officer of the NCIS, Terri, spends the next several months trying to help Eric discover the truth of what had really happened that night. Not realizing that Abby had been suffering from PTSD after her trauma with Rachel’s father, Eric needs to put the pieces together and discover what is real and what is not.

As a domestic violence survivor, I was able to relate quite well to Abby and found Vanished to be gripping, disturbing and very realistic. People associated PTSD with returned soldiers, not realizing that women who have been severely abused over a period of time also suffer from this nightmarish mental illness. Lorhainne Eckhart has captured the symptoms and attempted recovery of Abby’s mind quite well. I flinched each time Abby had seen her ex nearby, with Lorhainne Eckhart’s writing style bringing every chapter to life in such detail. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is an illness which is rarely talked about, yet this novel brings it to light and discusses it in detail, showing the inner turmoil and thoughts of both Eric and Abby alternatively. Some post traumatic battles never end, and I recommend Vanished to all readers aged 15 and over, in the hopes that PTSD and the journey inside the mind of a battered woman can be better understood.

Reviewed by Chris Fischer for Readers' Favorite

Wow! I just finished one of the most truly unique and interesting books that I have read in a very, very long time. In author D.K. Cassidy’s new book, Curious Reality, we are again following characters from the author’s previous work, Spilt Milk - Caleb, Joy and George. All three have dark and difficult pasts, and things are certainly not any different when we find them now. But all three have hopes and plans, things they believe will lead them to a better place in their lives. And the experiences they feel, the things they encounter, certainly take us on an interesting and curious ride.

I really enjoyed this book. Author D.K. Cassidy has a creative and special voice, not one you will see often in current literature. Her writing style is almost poetical, and the world she creates with her pen is simply fantastic. One of the great gifts of her writing is that she truly gets into the heads of her characters, and writes with a sympathy and empathy for them that is wonderful. Each of the characters is struggling with their own form of mental illness, and the fact that author Cassidy is able to portray them in a way that makes them both likable and sympathetic is of great importance in a book such as this.

Curious Reality would appeal to any reader who enjoys literary fiction, beautifully written prose, or books with characters that will stay with you long after you’ve finished reading about them. I certainly hope that D.K. Cassidy is hard at work on her next book, because I, for one, will be watching eagerly for its release.

Reviewed by Sherri Fulmer Moorer for Readers' Favorite

The Spectrum Conspiracy by Craig Faris is a novel about your worst nightmares: weapons of mass destruction, terrorists, and political conspiracy. It opens with the assassination of the President of the United States during a speech, and progresses on a wild ride that involves the FBI, Homeland Security, Cabinet Level officials, scientists, conspirators, and even ordinary, everyday people with an ugly ax to grind with the government. The most interesting of these characters are Special Agent Dervin Crosby, who is struggling to salvage his career after a devastating error several years prior, and his friend Gerald McMullin, a reporter who thinks he's chasing a woman he met on a chance encounter, but is actually on the verge of something much bigger.

The Spectrum Conspiracy is by far one of the most intriguing political thrillers I've read over the past few years. While the cast of characters is expansive, they're tied together in ways that aren't too obvious or too complicated. Likewise, the plot weaves through these characters in an intriguing and interesting way. Directly or indirectly, it all works together perfectly in a story that's fast paced, thrilling, and keeps you guessing until the very end. Craig Faris did an excellent job not only with the research, but with keeping the book and the cast of characters moving together without making the end too obvious. There are plenty of surprises to keep you reading. I'm happy to give this thrilling, fast paced adventure a five star review, and I highly recommend it to anybody that enjoys adventure, suspense, or political thrillers.

Reviewed by Anne-Marie Reynolds for Readers' Favorite

Tourist Trapped by K.J. Klemme is a thriller of epic proportions. Amanda Sloane is a high-powered divorce attorney who suddenly finds herself engaged to politician Matt Baird. She is also handling the divorce of Celeste and Gordon Harding. A phone call from her father reveals that her half-sister Rebecca has gone missing in Mexico with her husband. After refusing to drop everything to look for her, Amanda changes her mind and flies to Mexico with Chad Cooper, an attorney with whom she is working on the Harding case. Between them, they crisscross the islands and old haunts of Mexico, chasing across the Yucatán to save her sister. Not everyone is who they seem to be though, and the pair encounter more than a kidnapping gone wrong. A short deadline for a million-dollar ransom speeds things up as Chad and Amanda fight to find Rebecca before it’s too late.

Tourist Trapped by K.J. Klemme is one of my favorite books of this year. I found myself hooked from the word go. Ms. Klemme has written a stunning suspense thriller here with a fantastic storyline. I found myself rooting for Amanda and Chad all the way, but couldn’t work out who was responsible and who wasn’t for the kidnapping. There are also two other stories going on in the book, both of which tie in to the main one quite nicely. Excellent book! I understand this is the first of a trilogy so I am looking forward to the next one with bated breath.

Reviewed by Trudi LoPreto for Readers' Favorite

I found it impossible to put down Devil’s Lake after reading the very first sentence. Aaron Paul Lazar has changed the traditional format of a mystery story in a very unique and enjoyable way. He starts the book with a happy ending and works backwards, ending with another happy ending. The story begins with Portia having escaped from the man who has kept her prisoner. She has just returned home to the farm and her beautiful horses that she has only been able to dream about over the last two years. She can hardly wait to see her mother, father and younger sister again. Boone, her childhood friend and next door neighbor who has never stopped believing that she would return, is an added bonus. Portia has had little food and been kept inside a small cabin, not seeing the outside world, just cooking for and pleasuring Murphy, her captor. Planning her escape has been the only thing that keeps her going from day to day. Part Two goes back to the beginning and we learn how Portia was taken and the terrible times she had to endure. Parts three and four of the story are the confrontation, revenge, end of Murphy and the beginning of Portia’s new life.

Devil’s Lake has everything: mystery, romance, strong family ties filled with love, excitement, happiness and sadness. I was pulled into the book and lived the story right up until the very last word. Aaron Paul Lazar is a brilliant author who has created characters that are impossible not to like, except for Murphy, and a plot that takes many twists and turns, several surprises and lots of suspense and action. It is very easy to give this book top honors and kudos for being everything it promises and more. I highly recommend it to mystery fans. Devil’s Lake is a sure fire winner. Lazar has written other books which I have not yet read, but he has certainly jumped to the top of my must-read authors list.

Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite

The Schwarzschild Radius is a crime thriller written by Gustavo Florentin. Rachel Wallen is a brilliant science student at Columbia University who's embarked singlehandedly on a mission to rescue her missing younger sister, Olivia. Olivia volunteered at a mission for homeless kids which was run by the charismatic priest, Evan Massey, before she disappeared. Rachel is working undercover, posing as an underage runaway who knew Olivia, and she enters Transcendance House seeking shelter. She's told that Olivia was dismissed after her stripping and sex work was exposed. Rachel joins forces with a young woman who caters to men who like underage girls and child pornography in her attempt to find the man who's taken Olivia. The detective on the case, John McKenna, a veteran sniper whose marriage had floundered after his return from service, is unaware of Rachel's efforts.

Gustavo Florentin's crime thriller, The Schwarzschild Radius, is an awesome read. The Webmaster is genuinely scary, and Rachel is filled with naive optimism and determination that the reader just knows is going to get her in trouble. The New York City setting for this novel is inspired; I loved the chases along the highways that connect Long Island to the mainland of New York and shivered at the scenes that took place in the abandoned subway tunnels. John McKenna is a marvelous character. I'm hoping that this book is the start of a police procedural series featuring this complex and multi-faceted detective. The action in The Schwarzschild Radius is riveting and filled with suspense, and the ending is not at all predictable. I really enjoyed reading The Schwarzschild Radius and highly recommend it.

Reviewed by Anne-Marie Reynolds for Readers' Favorite

Cicada Spring by Christian Galacar is a story of suspense set in 1979, Heartsridge, Massachusetts. An ordinary day in the lives of ordinary people, until 15-year-old Kara Price stumbles home, following a brutal attack and rape. The perpetrator? A highly public figure in the town, one who is loved by all. Heartsridge is changed, divided. A mayor who can do nothing wrong, despite his temper. A sheriff with a guilty conscience. A father who wants revenge for his little girl, and a killer. Then there’s Kara. She just wants to put it all behind her and move on. But she can’t. There are too many people who accuse her of lying, of being nothing more than an attention seeker. Will justice prevail or will the guilty party walk away, leaving Kara to pick up the pieces of her life?

Cicada Spring is an impressive debut novel by Christian Galacar. From page one, you will not be able to put it down, I guarantee you of that. It is fast and full of exiting action. Twists and turns like no other and the expert handling of a real human interest subject show that Mr. Galacar has set the wheels in motion for a runaway novel. I expect this book to explode onto the scene and receive the accolades it richly deserves. The insight into the mind of a rape victim is deep and will affect any reader. This is a fantastic novel, with strong characters and a strong plot, and I really hope that it signals the beginning of a strong career for Christian Galacar. I look forward to seeing more from this promising author.