Reviewed by Mamta Madhavan for Readers' Favorite

Twisted (Volume 1) by Brittany Hawes is the first part of the Twisted series which revolves around Lola Phillips, who from a young, smart and homeless kid transforms into a secret agent. Lola Phillips is a spoilt child. One day when Lola wakes up, she finds that her life has changed forever. Her parents have disappeared and when she runs out of utilities, Lola goes to her aunt's house. She lives there until she 16 and then moves out. She is trying to survive and, at that time, find out more about her missing parents when she meets a mystery man. He offers to help her and Lola takes the name of Harlot Rue to become his personal assistant and assassin in a secret organization. In the meantime, Lola meets Retro and falls in love with him. Will she be able to hold back her feelings and, most important of all, will Lola be able to find her parents?

The plot is compelling with a lot of twists and turns which will glue readers to the story. Lola's character is complex with many shades to it and the author has handled this well. Her character from that of an 8-year-old kid to that of Harlot Rue is an amazing transformation which will fascinate readers. I found the plot very gripping and the characterization real and believable. The story has all the ingredients - excitement, futuristic gadgets, love interest and much more - for readers to enjoy.

Reviewed by Brenda Casto for Readers' Favorite

"Glimpse" by Steven Whibley introduces us to Dean Curse, an almost fourteen year old who finds himself witnessing a crime, and becoming an unlikely hero one morning while going to school. When the victim whispers the word "Glimpse" to him just before passing out Dean has no idea what the world it means. When he starts having hair-raising visions of people of course he is terrified. When he tells his best friends Lisa and Colin what is going on they help him figure out that the visions he is seeing are of people that have twenty-four hours to live, and that Dean's job is to try and save them which is no easy task! When he has as a "Glimpse" of someone close to him he is determined to intervene and save them or die trying!

Steven Whibley creates a page turning story that is surely going to appeal to young readers and adults alike with "Glimpse!" In addition to the characters being totally easy to relate to they also seem so very realistic. The relationship between Dean and his younger sister Becky was very real and the picking and fighting was totally a brother sister relationship, but when Becky was in trouble Dean didn't hesitate to do what he had to do! The friendship between Dean, Lisa and Colin totally works. While Dean is the shy one, Colin is the jokester and more outspoken, while Lisa seems to be the voice of reason. Instead of a perfect hero that saves everyone, Dean is someone who often fails, but doesn't give up, and when he does fail, his reactions are human. I like the fact that therapy is used in the story, allowing readers, especially teens, to realize that it is okay to need help once in a while. I also find the family feel of the story appealing. Dean's parents are great characters. Mr. Whibley hits the right balance with them, allowing them to be involved, but not overbearing. He creates a very good parental relationship. Mr. Whibley has the uncanny ability to provide tension, but also knows when to throw in a bit of humor to take the edge off! He also knows how to describe scenes allowing the reader to fully understand what is going on without being graphic, making this a great read for anyone who enjoys a story filled with tension, mystery, suspense and a touch of paranormal, where the characters are teens plunged into something that they truly have no idea about! "Glimpse" is a story that is mature enough for adults, but will totally be a hit with the younger set as well.

Reviewed by Tania Staley for Readers' Favorite

My Name is Rapunzel, by K.C. Hilton, is an entertaining twist on the classic fairy tale. It is a story that has been told hundreds of times and in many different ways, but one thing has always remained true: the lonely young girl with the enchanted hair trapped in her tower. In Hilton’s tale, Rapunzel finally gets a chance to set the record straight. 250 years is too long to be trapped without the comfort of love or companionship. With only Gretta, the witch who cursed her, for company, Rapunzel longs to tell her story and stop hiding from the world she is afraid will not understand her and will fear her. Little does she know that telling her story may be just the thing that could lead to finding love once more and breaking the curse that has plagued her all these years.

K.C. Hilton’s new telling of the Rapunzel tale is quite fun and entertaining. Fairy tales, while obviously compelling due to their never-ending recreation, are often one-dimensional and flat, and Rapunzel’s tale is often one that gets lost, because of the success of Cinderella, The Little Mermaid, and Snow White. So, it is quite fun to see a re-imagining and reawakening of the Rapunzel tale. Hilton’s Rapunzel is intelligent and strong. Her plight depresses her, but it does not halt her life or keep her from planning for a life outside her confines. She is a character that other women can look up to. Hilton’s romance and definition of love within the novel is quite wonderful as well; it explores the multiple facets of love and highlights the struggle of choosing between loving someone new or remaining loyal to a past love. There is nothing one-dimensional about this Rapunzel’s tale, and it will have readers guessing about the outcome until the very end. I highly recommend this new fairy tale, and I hope to read more from K.C. Hilton.

Reviewed by Lee Ashford for Readers' Favorite

The Sect: The Windgate, Book 1 of The School of Minsitry Series by Braxton A. Cosby is a tantalizing tale of the ongoing battle of Good versus Evil in the supernatural realm. Three men are essentially kidnapped and brought to the School of Ministry, where they are informed that each of them has important spiritual gifts of great value to The Way, a secret society of Christian warriors, and they will be trained as a team to fight demons and evil spirits. The three are each put through excruciating training, where they are developed physically, mentally, and spiritually. They are taught to trust and be trustworthy. They are taught to respond quickly and correctly to any situation without wasting even a split second to “think” about their response. They are faced with all seemingly unacceptable choices, from which they must choose the most correct one immediately, before the choice is taken out of their hands. They struggle most of all with learning to trust each other, rely on each other, and know what each other is capable of and likely to do in a crucial fight.

The School of Ministry is not a religious “beat-them-over-the-head-with-the-Bible” kind of story. There is a great deal of praying, reliance on the Holy Spirit, and facing down demons and other evil spirits, but at no time does Braxton Cosby attempt to convince the reader to follow any particular religious sect or dogma. Indeed, I know of no such sect as the one featured in this engrossing tale. Cosby presents a fictional account of a very real ongoing battle, which takes place outside the normal reach of human senses. He presents this battle in a way that is tantalizing, as I noted above; I can think of no better word to describe this tale, not even by using my thesaurus.

The team of three new recruits faces many trials and tribulations, individually as well as together. The spiritual gifts they possess are extraordinarily helpful and effective as they work together toward common goals. Ultimately, they are sent to protect “the Windgate” from an extremely wicked man and a host of demons which he controls. The Windgate is a portal from Heaven to Earth through which the Holy Spirit travels; if the Windgate is destroyed, the Holy Spirit will cease to be a factor in the war of Good versus Evil. Consequently, the team’s mission is as critical as any mission could conceivably be. This story is fascinating, and will be appreciated by virtually all who read it. I highly recommend this engaging adventure.

Reviewed by Jean Hall for Readers' Favorite

I have to admit that I shed a few happy tears when reading "Hating Heidi Foster" by Jeffrey Blount. Not that being moved at a story about life, death and an intense friendship between two high school girls is something to hide. I was involved in the story from the very beginning. Mae is the main character, a 14-year-old who has an avalanche of emotions after the death of her father in a fire. The fire takes his life and fuels anger in the tender-hearted Mae. You see her best friend Heidi is saved in the blaze thanks to the heroic action of her father. She plays volleyball, looks at a poster of the Hobbit's Bilbo Baggins and tries to comfort her bereft mother. One friend tells her to use her anger on the helpless volleyball and she shines for a minute or two playing the game.

This is a story of dealing with anger and a story of relationships. The lettering format of the story fits the plot to a tee. The broken and bold lettering reminds me of Mae's broken heart. And the chapters have a simple number to introduce a new part of the simple but masterful plot. Mae's internal thoughts are peppered by timely dialogue and an interplay of instant messages. The tragic yet hopeful tale is all about the girls' friendship and the mystery surrounding the circumstances of the fire. Let's just say that Mae's heart heals just a little.

Reviewed by Lorena Sanqui for Readers' Favorite

Robin in the Hood by Diane J. Reed is about Robin, a girl who grew up in a privileged life and her adventures when all those benefits were taken away from her. Robin grew up rich and lonely but when her father had a stroke and she discovered that they were actually broke everything changed. She is poor but no longer lonely, with her new set of family. This is based loosely on Robin Hood and his tales of thievery. Robin along with Creek steals money from bad people to give to those in need in their trailer park. In the end, she figures out that she does not need all the riches in the world to be happy.

I loved this book. The characters are quirky, fun and just really cute. I especially loved the TNT twins, imagining them in their boulder costumes. If this book is made into a movie I would definitely watch it. I loved all the thoughts that go on in Robin’s mind. It really showed how her character evolved from a spoiled, rich brat to a self actualized person. I also loved Creek: his loving and caring character. The way he protects everyone makes him a real hero, even if he does it in a not so legal way. Everyone else is also adorable, Grandma Tinker and her crystal ball, Colonel and his fleet of geese, the TNT twins and all their fireworks and everyone else. Overall the story is great and the characters are well-developed.

Reviewed by Samantha Rivera for Readers' Favorite

Seven children made terrible mistakes in their past that cost others their lives and now they are paying for it with their own. These seven children have spent the last five years in reform schools and are now being sent on a pilot program to make a pilgrimage that is intended to change their lives for the better. But with so much baggage and so much hatred within the community, this story presents problems for these children at every turn. Each one is willing to change and each one is struggling to do so but the world around them seems to have other ideas.

I actually read this entire book in one day because I just couldn't put it down. I really liked the way that the characters were all very real. They had made mistakes and they definitely had problems but the things that they had gone through were things many people go through. These kids made the wrong decision to solve their problems but it was easy, reading along, to relate to what they suffered and why they did what they did. Charlie Canning was able to take the story of seven very different kids and turn it into one cohesive novel that really had me intrigued. "The 89th Temple" is a real coming of age story with a great plot-line and some very interesting peeks into the past of some terrified children. I liked the way the characters changed and really grew throughout the story since that made everything even more believable as if these things could really happen to anybody.

Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite

"Bounty Hunter: The Beginning" is the story of Ben, an orphaned 16 year old boy whom we first meet when he is living alone in his father’s cabin. The story is set in the troubled years after the Civil War, and as Ben is growing up, his father teaches him to protect himself with his rifle. When two horse thieves attempt to rob him in the middle of the night, he is assisted in his defense by an unlikely ally, a large black stallion which had just been captured by a rancher and then stolen by the rustlers. Ben has an affinity for animals of all types, and they have the same for him, and this stallion is no exception. Ben ties up the rustlers and brings them in to the sheriff. He is surprised and pleased to be given a bounty for each of them and decides to make bounty hunting his avocation. He is determined to find the biggest, baddest outlaws and bring them to justice. His posse consists of the stallion, Blaze, and a coyote, Tracker, that he rescued from a trap. Later on, he meets up with a real bounty hunter, Tom, who takes him under his wing and becomes his mentor and friend.

This historical Western is a great coming of age story. We first see Ben as an isolated and uncertain boy on his own and watch as he becomes a man. The relationship he has with the horse and coyote is a lot of fun and really makes his character come alive. Billi Tiner has the ability to vividly paint the scenes in this book, from the campfire and traveling to the forays into town, and the exciting scenes where Ben and the townspeople try to stop the outlaws from waylaying the stagecoach. It is obvious from the details in "Bounty Hunter" that Tiner put a lot of effort into researching her story. Ben is an engaging hero and watching Tom teaching him how to succeed as a bounty hunter is marvelous. Ben quickly learns that there is much more to people than what their exterior shows as he comes to know and respect Tom. I enjoyed "Bounty Hunter" and was a bit saddened when I came to the last page. There is plenty of action and adventure, and the reader comes away with a new perspective on this period of American history. I highly recommend it.

Reviewed by Molly Burkemper for Readers' Favorite

"Untraceable" is the story of a teenager named Grace whose father disappeared some months ago. He worked in wildlife patrol and rescue, and everyone assumes he is dead. Grace believes otherwise, however, and she takes it upon herself to prove it. Her days are spent in the woods, searching for clues as to her father's whereabouts. With the aid of an ex-boyfriend, Grace gets the information she needs from the unhelpful local police. In her mission, she meets a cute and mysterious boy, and she also discovers a secret that is bigger than her father's disappearance. Grace must work to uncover the evidence and find her father--if he is still alive--before she gets herself into more trouble than she can handle.

This story is action-packed and very funny in some parts. There is even a bit of young romance. It has all the makings of a good book. The story is incredibly easy to read and understand, although that may disappoint someone who is looking for profundity. There are some minor problems in plot and character development--it becomes a little predictable at times--but for younger readers, that is not as much of a problem. The book is very informative about the land and the animals of the mountain region, and readers receive helpful wildlife tips in each chapter. There is a strong message of wildlife conservation, so it is somewhat educational in that aspect. Overall, "Untraceable" is a good read for young people who are simply looking for a bit of action to pass the time.

Reviewed by Joy Hannabass for Readers' Favorite

Just the thoughts of a fifteen year old boy waking up on an African ship with no idea how he got there give me chills, but that is what happens to Jack Sligo in this story. And it is what happened to David Paul Collins in real life. Spellbound by his Irish grandfather’s tales of adventure, Jack Sligo had dreams of traveling around the world as part of the crew on a cruise ship. But did he dream of starting out this way? “Shanghaied” is a novel based on the author’s own true story as a merchant seaman, making this not just a fictional story, but a story told with realistic accounts of what actually happens in the life of a merchant seaman.

I was hooked from the beginning of this story because I wanted to see what happened to Jack Sligo. I can only imagine the shock this guy felt waking up on that ship of strangers! In this well-written story, David Collins takes you to the sea with him as he starts his sea journey at a very early age. I have never been at sea, but it felt almost as if I was there, smelling the sea, feeling the spray of salt water, and as a merchant, taking in everything on the entire ship from top to bottom. I always enjoy reading a book by an author writing from personal experiences, and this is truly one of my favorites. I enjoyed the writing style of Collins, and felt I could laugh and cry with him throughout his journey. I highly recommend this book as a fantastic read for anyone, and especially for those looking for a great adventure. This book will take your adventurous juices and take them to a level you never knew you had. After reading “Shanghaied”, you will want to take those adventures with a stronger determination.