Reviewed By Arya Fomonyuy for Readers' Favorite

A Century of Secrets by Teresa Syms is a gripping story of a family, covering its history over a century and the main players that have given it the visage it has. Readers are introduced to a character who has been through a lot of pain because of the lies, abuses, dark secrets, and intrigue played out in her family over the period of a century. The story explores the conflicts, the deceptions, and the protagonist’s struggle to redefine herself and reconquer her inner freedom. Here is a story that many readers will relate to, the story of a family with its own struggle to function normally.

The reader will be surprised at the honesty of the narrator whose voice comes across powerfully. Teresa is a character that readers will love to know better because she carries in her a pain that many people bear in silence. But how she overcomes depression, finds her voice, and stands up for herself is a lesson that will speak volumes to readers. Just after describing a horrible scene in which the protagonist gets violated by a medical doctor, the narrator notes that: “Teresa’s life was a tortured hell without her love. She became moody and very depressed.” The writing is beautiful, featuring powerful and vivid descriptions that allow the reader to clearly imagine the scenes, the characters, and the action. It is well paced and Teresa Syms has succeeded in getting the reader interested in following the characters. A Century of Secrets is a story that powerfully documents what repression and abuse in the family setting can lead to; it’s a courageous story that explores freedom and the determination to create a life of meaning. Highly entertaining!

Reviewed By Michelle Stanley for Readers' Favorite

Job Joy: Your Guide to Success, Meaning, and Happiness in Your Career is written by Kristen J. Zavo. She encourages people to find success and happiness by doing work that matters. Her aim in writing this guide is to provide strategy and tangible action items to help people get the rewarding jobs they want. The pros and cons of staying in a good paying job is good advice to ponder. When you’re unsure what to do, ask your future self for advice. The more reflective you are, the more effective you are. Sometimes one has to think outside the box to evaluate and appreciate their work or seek other careers. When looking for a new job, think of yourself as the product and market it accordingly. One of the productive tips states that we should make quality time for ourselves while working to reduce stress.

A lot of information in this handbook comes from Kristen J. Zavo’s personal experience from several career changes, as well as friends. The chapters are divided into sections with encouraging and motivating step-by-step guidelines that are very helpful. One always has options and it is never too late to use them. The benefits of working part-time, networking events, money concerns, fears, and insecurities are a few of the interesting subjects discussed. Job Joy: Your Guide to Success, Meaning, and Happiness in Your Career is a book you will be thankful for to help make the right changes in your life for a more positive future in the workforce. The key to happiness is the decision to be happy.

Reviewed By Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite

A motivational self-help workbook, 15 Minute Pause: A Radical Reboot for Busy People is written by Michelle Burke and Lilamani de Silva. Burke is an author, speaker and motivational coach, and is the founder and president of Energy Catalyst Group. De Silva is a work/life coach with a background in public relations, film production and biochemistry. She also provided the illustrations for the book. Although geographically separated, the authors worked together to compare their “discoveries, tools and insights” which they used to develop the 15 Minute Pause. Life is meant to be a joyful experience, but most people are just too busy to actually experience those sensations of joy or wonder in this modern work-a-day world. While the authors get that most people do have busy lives with obligations both at work and in their personal lives, they argue that everyone can give themselves 15 minutes out of each day. With that short amount of time, one’s entire outlook on life and capacity for joy can be radically changed for the better.

Those 15 minute breaks can help people get off the treadmill mentality and give them the opportunity to practice mindfulness. From there, they can begin to see where they’re failing to provide themselves with adequate self-care, which, for example, can be in the form of skipping lunches or outings with friends in order to finish a job or impress a boss. Once one’s gotten reacquainted with their sense of self-awareness, the authors offer advice on how to make conscious choices about life and how to make positive changes. What do you really want from life? The authors' 15 Minute Pause: A Radical Reboot for Busy People is an interactive workbook that helps you rediscover the dreams you had as a young adult and make them viable again. Each chapter presents a topic, gives suggestions for working with the material covered, and includes an interactive section called Reflection that helps you make that material your own.

Michelle Burke and Lilamani de Silva’s motivational self-help book, 15 Minute Pause: A Radical Reboot for Busy People, offers readers unlimited potential and opportunities for growth and joy, and it all starts with only 15 minutes a day. I was most impressed with the ideas presented in this workbook, and enjoyed working through the chapter-end Reflection sections. Each aspect of their work is clearly presented, and their suggestions make it easy for anyone to feel engaged and involved with making their lives more joyful and fulfilling. The authors’ writing style is smooth and conversational, making it feel as though they are working directly with you, making 15 Minute Pause: A Radical Reboot for Busy People a highly recommended read.

Reviewed By Mamta Madhavan for Readers' Favorite

A Better Human: The Stoic Heart, Mind, and Soul by George J. Bradley is a thought-provoking and insightful book that tackles the philosophy of Stoicism, which is not only relevant to modern life but offers the keys to success and fulfilment. This philosophy was said to have developed through a succession of Greek teachers and thinkers, but blossomed in Rome. The book draws heavily on the thinking and writing of three philosophers: Seneca (an advisor to Emperor Nero), Epictetus (a freed Greek slave who did well as a teacher in Rome), and the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. The amazing transformative power Stoicism can have in life, and the basics of the heart, mind, and soul of how to live a Stoic life have been discussed with expertise, and will help readers to experience the benefits of Stoicism.

The book is encouraging, uplifting, and will motivate readers to look into themselves, change their mindset, make rational choices and thereby progress towards self improvement. The author has broken it up into three sections, heart, mind, and soul, making it easy for readers to comprehend the Stoic mindset and lifestyle, and encourages them to work towards self control. The author discusses a philosophical topic in a simple way that makes it easy for readers to understand and practice this naturally in daily life. The author's writing style is fluid and he handles a philosophical topic easily. The practical examples shared make it easy for readers to connect with what the author is trying to convey, and will encourage readers to learn more about Stoicism and its philosophy, and perhaps to read more about Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius.

Reviewed By Mamta Madhavan for Readers' Favorite

Compounding Your Confidence: Strategies to Expand Your Opportunities for Success by Jill J. Johnson is a useful tool for all readers as it tackles the topic of how to navigate the road to success. Confidence is a life skill and this can hold many back from reaching their true potential. A disciplined focus is required when it comes to building confidence and the author provides readers with the takeaways required when it comes to compounding confidence. The author shares her story of how she navigated building her career, business skills, and leadership skills, thereby giving readers excellent tips on how to create a better life for themselves.

The book is encouraging as it is good to read about the author’s approach and the different strategies that played a role in expanding her opportunities for success. Her suggestions and advice are simple and can be practiced and incorporated without much difficulty. The writing style is not too preachy; instead she weaves in her personal stories, experiences, and practical lessons, making it interesting and tangible to readers. This book makes you understand how essential confidence is when it comes to differentiating those who get access to leadership opportunities. The book is an eye-opener when it comes to understanding and creating opportunities for success, and it is all about having confidence and applying the right approach to winning. This is a must-read for everyone as it is about a relevant topic: confidence and how to create a successful journey to a golden future.

Reviewed By Mamta Madhavan for Readers' Favorite

Sergeant to CEO: A Foster Kid's Lessons in Family, Fidelity, and Financial Success by Sean P Jensen is an inspiring and motivating book that encapsulates the author’s life story. The emphasis of the book is on family, on loyalty, and on persistence which, according to the author, have been the ingredients of his success personally and in business. The story is unique and the book covers the author’s life and experiences in entrepreneurship, how important events shaped him into being the CEO he is today, his good and bad decisions made on the way to success, and how he found the courage to succeed during times of chaos and confusion. In a nutshell, the book makes readers understand that the biggest teacher in life is living life.

The book is uplifting and thought provoking and the stories, life lessons, and the path to success shared by the author will inspire many readers while pursuing excellence and happiness. There are references to both his business, Polu Kai Services LLC, and to his Hawaiian heritage. The narration and descriptions are detailed and readers are taken right into the author’s personal space from his childhood days till now. The message is that everyone can change their destiny by being positive, by doing the right thing, and making the right decision at the right time. It is a good read for all entrepreneurs as it highlights the importance of family as well as business, and how to set things right and make life successful at home and at work.

Reviewed By Rabia Tanveer for Readers' Favorite

Hidden Treasure: How to Break Free of Five Patterns that Hide Your True Self by Alice McDowell is about discovering yourself and making yourself the best you can be. Sometimes we can be our own critics, which is all good and well, but when it stands in the way of our progress, it becomes wrong for us. We all have some self-destructive patterns and behaviors that can make us our own worst enemy and stand in the way of our success. This book helps the reader recognize such patterns, evaluate them, and helps in breaking free of them.

The title of the book is pretty self explanatory. This book has a number of exercises - breathing, spirituality, meditation and even visualization of the future and present - that can help the reader improve and stop the mannerisms and behaviors that can be damaging to one’s self. This is an incredibly encouraging book for anyone who wants to break free of the patterns that we have adopted to save us from failure, but in fact, these are just holding us back.

What I truly enjoyed about this book is that it was very easy to digest and the exercises were easy to follow. The book has many insights taken directly from psychology and spiritual sources that help the reader to connect with the words and have confidence. The exercises are easy to do, as Alice McDowell describes everything in a calm and comforting tone that just makes the whole experience even better. This can truly help those people who want to become better and more confident versions of themselves.

Reviewed By Lesley Jones for Readers' Favorite

Keith McArthur's 18 Steps to Own Your Life by is the ultimate guidebook to improve every aspect of your mind, body, and soul. You will not find a better handbook to achieve a self-authentic life. You will be taken through each area of your life and shown simply and effectively how to make small changes to achieve huge results. Using some personal revelations, the author will show you the actions to take to get anything you want. How to interact and connect with people. How to get a good night's sleep and improve your diet. How to condition your mind to end bad habits and begin new fulfilling ones. How to identify unhealthy people who are damaging your self worth and remove them from your life.

Keith McArthur's 18 Steps to Own Your Life is one of the finest books in this genre I have ever read. From the first chapter, I knew this was going to be a new outlook on the self-help genre. You are told from the outset what you will learn from this guide and it didn’t disappoint me. You are encouraged to take the first of a ‘million tiny steps’ and with easy to follow bullet points, that make sense. This is the only guide you will need, not just to improve relationships and self-esteem but much much more. How can you connect with any person and build rapport? How do you change your limiting beliefs and destructive rituals? If you buy just one self-improvement guide this year then this is the one you should get. A fantastic insight into the mind, and you will be blown away by what you learn about yourself.

Reviewed By Mamta Madhavan for Readers' Favorite

Elevate: An Essential Guide to Life by Joseph Deitch is a fascinating read that explores many questions that usually baffle everyone, and the author gives answers to these questions that are enlightening, powerful, transformational, and easy to absorb. The answers shared by the author are simple tools and techniques that can be used with ease every day. Readers will see a change in life when obstacles become possibilities, frustration becomes fascination, and the insights and skills for realizing the fullest potential in every relationship becomes clear and inviting. This book will change the way you look at life and is good for the betterment of your inner and outer journey.

I liked the author’s approach to the concept; it is simple and easy to incorporate into daily living. Readers can see the world around them changing when they change. The insights and universal skills in the book will bring about miraculous changes, and reading this book is like taking a journey of increased awareness. The two parts of the book, Awareness and Action, form a dynamic and continuous spiral of growth, thereby creating a Stairway of Success in the process. The concepts are introduced with a nice quote and it is a good book for all those seeking to make changes in their lives by improving themselves. This book will help readers understand the importance of behaving responsibly and creatively so that the benefits reverberate throughout society. It is a handy guide that will inspire and motivate readers to elevate their thinking, and elevate their lives.

Reviewed By Robert A. Groves for Readers' Favorite

Proud American: The Migrant, Soldier, and Agent by Sergio Tinoco is a first-person account of three distinct phases of the author’s life. Beginning his senior year in high school, Sergio realizes he wants to be the one to break the cycle of migrant work his family has used for multiple generations to provide their sole means of support. He has bigger dreams for himself and enlists in the United States Army as a vehicle to finally break that cycle. His active duty years encompass the period the nation was involved in Bosnia-Herzegovina. His telling of the horrors he experienced during a deployment there is breathtaking. Following the deployment, Sergio demonstrates remarkable resiliency in battling PTSD symptoms. But, Tinoco’s service to the nation does not end with the military. Perhaps his most important contribution, and one that has the most positive impact, is his years of service with the Border Patrol as an agent on the southern border. Being of Mexican descent, he can relate to immigrants without apology.

Sergio Tinoco’s Proud American: The Migrant, Soldier, and Agent is a story for the present when the topic of immigration is a hot button issue. Sergio’s story is one of the best American dream tales I’ve read. His perseverance to make a better life for himself warms the heart. One will gain a greater sense of tolerance for an under-represented segment of our population – the migrant worker. There were parts of Tinoco’s story that made me smile and clap, some which made me laugh out loud, and yet others which caused tears. He has included it all here. Proud American will empower everyone who yearns for a better life to just do it!