Reviewed by Mamta Madhavan for Readers' Favorite

Hatred Day by T.S. Pettibone is a compelling read that revolves around 18-year-old Snofrid Yagami who is an alien trying to co-exist with humans. Set in the future, the story shows a society which is full of savagery and where magic has found its way into Earth. Snofrid has lost her memory and she is hated by her own Inborn clan. But she has help from her brother as she is trying to figure out who likes her and who hates her. The Inborns are hated and hunted by humans, and Snofrid now wants a way out and to be free. She makes a deal with Commander Hadrian and his ruthless set of soldiers. Hadrian is manipulative and has a lot of enemies. Will Snofrid be able to achieve what she is looking for?

The story has many dimensions to it and is laced with magical powers, aliens, humans, and many other elements that reveal a futuristic society, and that makes it an engaging read. All the characters are authentic and unique, and the fluidity in the writing style gives the book a good pace and movement. The author blends science fiction and fantasy together effortlessly, making readers wait in anticipation for the next volume. The book has all the ingredients that will hold the attention of readers till the very end. Snofrid's character is well sketched and all the scenes in the book are vivid, as well as the plot, the characters, the background, and the villains. The plot is fascinating and thrilling, and will keep readers hooked till the very end.

Reviewed by K.C. Finn for Readers' Favorite

The Phantom Of Faerie Mountain is a young adult fantasy novel by E.M. McIntyre. Set initially in contemporary Scotland, the plot follows our fourteen-year-old heroine Abby Fletcher, who appears to be just an ordinary girl. Things take an incredible turn when she encounters a dog with peculiar powers, and then a prophecy is unveiled: “The Red King must set me free.” Abby finds herself thrown seven hundred years into the past, where she and Scottish hero Rory begin unravelling the mystery at hand. Expect action, riddles and occasional insertions from the mysterious Finlay as Abby’s modern attitude clashes with the time she’s trapped in.

I would recommend that this book is very much situated at the youngest end of the young adult spectrum, with no graphic content that would be unsuitable for its readership. It was wonderful to read a YA tale that didn’t center on a pointless love story, as E.M. McIntyre firmly gives Abby and Rory their own goals and motivations within the plot. The pace of The Phantom Of Faerie Mountain is speedy but vividly descriptive. I particularly enjoyed Rory’s dialect, which enhanced the medieval Scottish setting of most of the novel. The fantasy elements of the story were fascinating and well developed, and I feel that fans of YA fiction are bound to be swept up in the action and puzzlement of the tale. Overall, I’d definitely recommend The Phantom Of Faerie Mountain for readers looking for a non-romantic, action packed plot.

Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite

Fiona Frost: Blood Dolls - Fiona Frost Mystery Series, Volume 5 is a young adult mystery novel written by Dr. Bon Blossman. While this is the fifth volume in the Frost Series, the author provides enough background information within the text to allow this book to be read as a stand-alone novel. Fiona is college bound, and she has passed the reins of the Crime Lab and the Forensics Club of Godley Grove High School to her second-in-command, Doug and her cousin, Haley. The two of them will continue handling investigations with Detective Chase, Fiona's longtime mentor and friend. During the summer before college, Fiona's been given the opportunity to participate in an internship at Quantico, along with her friend, Maddy Christie, boyfriend, Wolfe Nero, and a last-minute replacement that has the three of them on edge: Remy Sinclair. Sinclair had earlier placed Fiona's life in jeopardy and was recovering from a bullet wound. Unbeknownst to the others, he had directly contacted Agent Jonas and was given the last spot on the team. Their internship becomes more of an official assignment, however, as the attacks of the Blood Doll killer have continued to perplex and frustrate the FBI. Their supervisor, Agent Jonas, has decided to use Fiona and the others as part of the second investigative team assigned to identify and apprehend the serial killer.

Dr. Bon Blossman's young adult mystery novel, Fiona Frost: Blood Dolls, is a fast-paced and exciting investigative murder mystery pitting the young forensic specialists against an unknown group with high-tech resources and a sinister plan of murder and revenge. Fiona is a strong, competent, and fearless character who's a marvelous role model for young adults. Watching as she, Maddie, Wolfe, and Remy work with the FBI to solve the mysteries of the Blood Dolls and the Bleak Society is highly entertaining, and the resolution of the story will challenge even the most skillful of those readers who like to solve the mystery on their own. Blossman's plot is filled with red herrings and twists and turns, and it all happens at a breakneck pace. Her writing is accomplished, and her style is perfectly suited for this genre. Fiona Frost: Blood Dolls - Fiona Frost Mystery Series, Volume 5 is a captivating mystery that's most highly recommended for mystery lovers of all ages.

Reviewed by Lit Amri for Readers' Favorite

“The few friends I had, if you could call them friends, turned away from me when I started seeing things. Visions. Clairvoyant was the term my therapist used. Freak was the term kids at school gave me.” Visions: The Mystical Encounter Series, Book 1 by Kimberly Readnour is a mystery thriller about a not so ordinary teenager, Heather Reiner. The story opens with an intriguing prologue, enough for me to invest all my attention in each page. It’s a fitting start to its premise, which definitely piques my interest.

Heather is an outcast and she makes sure that she stays that way. A simple touch can cause her visions to appear. Her mother tries to help by moving them out of Clayton to another town – a fresh start. As they move into their new house, Heather picks up a strange mixture of coldness and sadness from her bedroom. The mystery intensifies as a vision of a small boy haunts her after she touched an old toy truck that her mother found.

On the whole, Visions is a solid read. The story moves at an appropriate pace, enticing you as you delve deeper into the plot. Readnour knows how to use her words to maximum effect. The seamless prose fruitfully rewards the well-crafted plot, making it a completely accomplished novel that is easy for readers to enjoy. It is a great start to the series and it will likely surprise you as much as it did me. I look forward to Book 2.

Reviewed by Lit Amri for Readers' Favorite

Kat Preston doesn't believe in ghosts. She has to because it’s the only way she could protect herself. A ghost with dark hair and silver eyes had tried to steal her life when she was nine years old. Since then, ghosts are something that Kat Preston actively avoided for years. Disbelief keeps her safe, that is until her junior year at McTernan Academy. As a research project for the eccentric Professor Astor, Kat must investigate a notorious double murder that had happened at Castle Creighton in 1886, located at a tiny, private island off the coast of Connecticut. Protagonist Kat is restless about her research project. Castle Creighton is a place where ghosts thrive and going there could be her undoing. However, she discovers that two ghosts from her past are connected to the murder mystery, therefore her fear of the ‘unbelievables’ must be put aside. There’s a vital truth that is waiting to be unearthed.

The Girl Who Ignored Ghosts, Book 1 from The Unbelievables series by K.C. Tansley, is a YA paranormal that is already compelling with its beautiful cover alone, and credit goes to the cover artist, Creative Paramita. I consider paranormal as well explored by writers, but The Girl Who Ignored Ghosts is truly a welcome fresh addition to the genre. As a fan, the premise is a proverbial one for me, but K.C. Tansley has crafted a substantially interesting plot interwoven with ancestral curses, powerful spells, time travel, crime solving and memorable characters (the living and the dead). What we have is a sublime, engaging YA paranormal story that demonstrates the evocative talent of its writer. I truly enjoyed it and look forward to reading more in this series.

Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite

First Impression is the first title in the Shadow Maven Paranormal series written by Pauline Creeden. Chira is 16 and attends a prep school on scholarship. She lives with her mom, a waitress in the local diner, and her very unpleasant step-father. Her best friend, Tasha, suggests that they go along with a group of students who are visiting the Old Schoolhouse at night. It's supposedly haunted, and there are plans to make a video of the outing. The group Chira and Tasha are in actually sees a spectral figure, and Tasha runs out of the building in a panic. Tasha is hit by a car and is placed in a medical coma, and, one by one, the other students who were with Chira have horrible accidents. A new transfer to school, Ben, has made keeping Chira safe his top priority, though she chafes at the constant companionship until she's the last one standing.

Pauline Creedon's young adult paranormal mystery begins with the kind of sentence every writer wishes they had thought of. One that made this reader grin to himself and settle in for a good read. There's a little bit of everything in First Impression: a haunted schoolhouse, an enigmatic transfer student who was raised by monks and has a pet owl, a surly step-father, and the mysterious disappearances of teens from a nearby town. Chira is a strong and compelling character who is fiercely independent and stands tall despite the rumors and nastiness at school regarding her sexual orientation. Creedon writes smoothly and fluently, and her story is hard to put down. First Impression is the first Creedon book I've read, and it made a very good first impression indeed. It's highly recommended.

Reviewed by Gaynor Lincoln for Readers' Favorite

Don’t Forget to Breathe by Cathrina Constantine is a fast paced, punchy murder mystery. Leo is a high school student whose mother was brutally murdered a year before the story begins. The murder remains unsolved. Leo develops a friendship with Henry, the boy who comes to live across the road. But she is romantically interested in Becket, a high school senior, and Henry becomes increasingly jealous of the developing relationship between the two. Henry supports Leo’s drug habit and leads her into situations in which she would rather not find herself. After a small drug tryst with Henry in a cemetery, noises frighten her and she runs. She hears the screams of two drug dealers who are found murdered the next day. Clues lead Detective Dyl to believe whoever murdered the drug dealers also murdered Leo’s mother. As the story develops, multiple characters become reasonable suspects for the murders, including Leo’s alcoholic father. The reader is left hanging as Leo finds herself in dangerous situations with some of the suspects.

Don’t Forget to Breathe is an engaging novel with continual plot development. If I had to put it down, I found I wanted to get back to it. The author has an intense writing style and her use of unusual and vivid verbs fascinated me. Some verbs nailed it and brought sharper meaning. I wouldn’t have thought to use them in the context she had, yet they created strong images of the action taking place. I enjoyed reading this novel, yet I’m 60 years old. I think that says something of the author’s skill to grip a reader.

Reviewed by Kim Anisi for Readers' Favorite

The Silent Deal: The Card Game, Book 1 by Levi Stack tells the story of Victor, an average serf boy, and Romulus, a boy who lives in the forest. Victor has recurring dreams about the 'Brass Art' in his city, graffiti of playing cards. Cards are outlawed; owning one is punished with death, talking about them gets you in big trouble, too. When Victor sees that Romulus owns a special card, he becomes even more interested in the strange boy who lives in the forest and who seems to be able to bear more pain than others. Soon, the two boys become friends and try to find out the secret behind the cards. Why are they forbidden? Why does nobody want to talk about them? And why do people turn up dead once the Leopard finds out that there still is one card out there? And is the old castle really haunted?

The Silent Deal: The Card Game, Book 1 by Levi Stack is one of the best books I have read via Readers Favorite so far. When I saw that the book had over 450 pages, I hoped that it would be a really good story because good, long books by new authors seem to be a rarity these days, especially when it's book 1 of a series (books in series are usually short and often rather dull, or have little character development). I am very glad that I discovered Levi Stack's book. The main characters, and even most of the minor characters, are all unique, and very well developed. You care for them, and you really want to know what will happen to each of them, and what kind of part they play in the overall picture.

The plot of The Silent Deal moves along at a perfect pace. It is a long book, so you won't be able to finish it in just one sitting. It is the kind of book you enjoy coming back to at the end of a day or for a little break during the day. It is hard to put down because the story moves on in a way that makes you think that you should read just one more chapter to get one question answered - and then the next question or problem appears. I enjoyed reading this story a lot, and hope there will be more from this author in the future.

Reviewed by Cheryl Schopen for Readers' Favorite

In Unspeakable, the first book in the Freedom series, by Michelle K. Pickett, Willow is beautiful, smart, has awesome friends, and is dating Jaden, captain of the football team and most popular guy in school. It can’t get any better than that, right? Looks can be deceiving. She has kept a horrible secret from everyone and when someone finds out, this person uses it against her and makes her feel like a prisoner. If she doesn’t do what he says, he will tell everyone. Then Brody comes into her life. He affects her in a way she never thought possible. She finds herself falling for him but is scared to take things further and leave Jaden. Now she has to figure out if Brody and the life she could have with him is worth risking it all.

This just became my new favorite book. I’m not exaggerating. And I am officially sleep-deprived because of this book. Staying up until 5 in the morning because I can’t bear the thought of going to sleep without knowing what happens to fictional people is not a consistent habit of mine. I loved Willow. Her obsession with caffeine, her sarcastic T-shirts, and the fact that she’s both tough and vulnerable make her such a unique character that you can’t help but root for her. She is going through the unimaginable at both home and school, and throughout the book, you hope she finds the strength to stand up for herself. And then there’s Brody. Oh, Brody. Before Brody, Willow was just going through the motions, counting down the days to graduation when she could escape, but after meeting him, she begins to feel alive and yearns to truly be happy and feel loved.

I give kudos to Michelle K. Pickett for not only creating such amazing characters, but also for portraying such a realistic relationship. The pace was perfect, and the gradual buildup from annoyance with each other to friendship to something more was flawless. While the story does tackle some serious issues, it goes to show how real this book really is. If you’re anything like me, you’ll smile from ear to ear, cry uncontrollably, practically scream with excitement, and want to do unthinkable physical harm to some characters in the book. Unspeakable is an absolute must-read, and I will be impatiently waiting for the rest of the series. Thank you, Michelle K. Pickett, for writing such an incredible book.

Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite

Rising Tide: Dark Innocence: The Maura DeLuca Trilogy, Book 1 is a young adult paranormal coming of age novel written by Claudette Melanson. Maura just couldn’t get why her mom suddenly wanted to drag her off to Vancouver, BC. She was a junior now in high school and had expected to complete her high school experience in Pennsylvania and then go on to college. It wasn’t that she had tons of friends in school -- she actually didn’t have any when her mom sprung the news on her, but her life would be drastically altered by the move. Granted, the cool, cloudy environs would be a welcome change from Pennsylvania’s blazing summer sun, especially for Maura. Unlike the other kids, Maura’s skin had a ghostly pallor, and she was highly intolerant of the sun. That difference from the rest of her peers had marked and shaped her lonely school existence. Direct exposure would not only cause her skin to instantly redden, but she’d feel physically ill from it. Making the upcoming move even harder, however, was her sudden popularity in school. First it was the perky cheerleader, Katie Parker, who had tormented her since they first met in grammar school; then there was Ron who made her world rock.

Claudette Melanson’s young adult paranormal coming of age novel, Rising Tide: Dark Innocence: The Maura DeLuca Trilogy, Book 1, is an entertaining and well-written story about a young woman on the cusp of undreamed of changes. I loved watching as Maura’s world expands from her stifling and introverted existence of study and housekeeping for herself and her controlling mom to a life filled with friends, dating and even an open-house party at a frat house. Melanson leaves plenty of tantalizing clues for the reader to suss out the nature of Maura’s burgeoning transformation, and the tautly dramatic ending of the story had me looking forward to the next book in her Maura DeLuca Trilogy. Rising Tide: Dark Innocence is most highly recommended.