Reviewed by Arya Fomonyuy for Readers' Favorite

Coming-of-age, inspirational, and Christian romance are genres blended perfectly in a tale of mystery in Leslea Wahl’s debut novel, The Perfect Blindside. The reader is introduced to two gifted teenagers, Jake and Sophie. Jake is a snowboarder with an Olympic Silver Medal, proud and adored by many his age, but his parents move him to a little town in Colorado, a move that he doesn’t welcome. Then there is Sophia, the honors student with a passion for photography and journalism, a girl with her own level of fame. She is opinionated and highly critical, a girl who has followed Jake’s story very closely. The two teenagers are very keen on seeing things that are negative in each other, with jealousy and the desire to appear “better than you” getting in their way of accepting each other and working together. But when their town is threatened and Jake’s reputation is about to be sullied, they have to learn to look beyond appearances and what they think of each other, and work together in trust to unveil what lurks in the secret tunnels.

A beautiful story that is wonderfully told, The Perfect Blindside is a huge success on several counts. First, I was captivated by the narrative voice which is strong. The shifts in POV, alternating between Jake and Sophie, are good, forcing the reader to get into the emotional level of the story. The first person narrative voice is compelling and it makes this tale an engrossing one. The author explores great themes in this work, including family dynamics, faith, love and friendship, and the thin line that separates reality from appearances. Leslea Wahl’s characters are real, well-developed, and memorable. This is a story that will entertain and inspire fans of young adult literature. Jake and Sophie are two magnetic characters that young readers will root for.

Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite

The Girl Who Saved Ghosts: The Unbelievables, Book 2 is a time-travel paranormal fantasy novel for young and new adults written by K.C. Tansley. Kat was way too familiar with ghosts popping up when she least expected them and asking for her help. She had been able to block them in the past, but things had changed; she was not the same girl she had been before the summer vacation. She had had plans for her senior year in prep school, the typical plans most teens have, but their summer adventure at Castle Creighton had left her totally adrift and not at all sure what kind of future she would actually get to have. Not only did she learn that she was able to travel back into the past and actually change things, but she became aware of the Langley family’s heritage. She hadn’t known much at all about her dad; he had left her and her mom years ago when Kat was an infant. Having him send her the Langley ring was strange enough. After years of his seeming neglect, she had simply tossed it in a drawer. Now, she understood a bit more about her ancestry. She was a green-eyed Langley, and the ring had chosen her to be the next Langley heir. The only problem was, Langley heirs don’t live very long at all, and something or someone called the Dark One was determined to destroy her.

K.C. Tansley’s time-travel paranormal fantasy novel for young and new adults, The Girl Who Saved Ghosts: The Unbelievables, Book 2, has monsters, ghosts and a legacy that binds four families together for generations to come. Tansley includes enough background information within the story to allow this book to be read on its own, but I’d strongly recommend starting with The Girl Who Ignored Ghosts, the first book in the series. The author has built up an original and compelling fantasy world in The Unbelievables series and starting with the second one will have readers losing out on the histories, interactions and complex personalities of her characters, as well as missing out on having a deeper understanding of the continuing story line. Tansley’s plot works quite well on a number of levels. There are definite elements of the sword and sorcery genre as well as touches of urban fantasy, coming of age and action and adventure genres. I especially enjoyed watching as Kat forms an enduring kinship with an earlier ancestor who becomes a mentor, friend and more. Tansley gives the reader a lot to think about in this decidedly different and very readable fantasy novel that deftly poses ethical questions and theories about the afterlife mixed in with all the action and suspense. The Girl Who Saved Ghosts: The Unbelievables, Book 2 is most highly recommended.

Reviewed by Lit Amri for Readers' Favorite

Cedar Springs High students Zelda, Sabrina, Andrew, Gabby, and Justin are the ones everyone around them－peers, parents, and teachers－deem as lost causes, which rightly gives this YA mystery thriller its title. Two undercover FBI agents, Ryan Nash and Patricia Nichols, summoned them to a ‘group-therapy program’, where the teens drink a special serum that erases their problems and gives each of them a psychic ability. In return, they must track a killer who murdered one of their town residents.

Despite the premise of The Lost Causes by Jessica Etting and Alyssa Schwartz being slightly formulaic, it’s executed well through the well-paced plot. Characterization is the main strength of the story for me, where each of the characters and their relationships are given enough room to grow. It’s interesting how they adjust to their new abilities and working together to solve the murder case. It’s a play on irony; Justin Diaz, a football player with anger issues, has the ability of psychokinesis or moving physical objects using the mind, while OCD Gabby Dahl’s ability is retro-cognition, or triggering visions of the past by touching objects. I do relate more to the smart but gloomy Zelda or Z, who’s able to read people’s thoughts. Personally, I find Andrew Foreman, the hypochondriac turned genius, has the best deal out of it, but strangely proves his worth differently.

The narrative has a solid clarity and is engaging. There are good moments of humor, camaraderie, and suspense. The proposed mystery is intricate, thrilling and perplexing, making the story a page-turner. YA romance is expected, although I’m ambivalent about a certain romantic relationship between two characters. On the whole, The Lost Causes is surprisingly a gratifying read. Despite being a YA imprint, older readers can enjoy it as well.

Reviewed by Lit Amri for Readers' Favorite

In The Noxhelm Murders by Dr. Bon Blossman, a mob-related incident put the O’Sullivan family into the Witness Protection Program and they were relocated from Boston to the misty town of Noxhelm. Seventeen-year-old Shana tries her best to adjust to the sudden change, particularly when her new home is the haunted Ripper House. Being a new kid in town is difficult as Shana has to face the teenage drama of the local youth and unwillingly learns more about the dark history of the infamous house she’s living in. Things get worse when Shana is accused of murdering a teen at a party.

The characters have enough depth, but the young protagonist Shana is not easily likable and it was difficult to root for her at first. She came across to me as a spoiled teen who refused to accept the situation that she and her parents had to deal with. That said, her reluctance was understandable; her good, easy life had just taken a different turn. The clear-cut prose creates tension at the right moments and the plot is well-structured, well-paced and has good twists. That said, some events are slightly implausible to me, such as Shana’s parents’ reaction to the news about their strange old neighbor, Tabatha Gill, wandering inside their house while they were out, including the fact that Shana’s mother herself had given an extra key to the old woman. Nevertheless, the story is engaging, and the supernatural, horror, mystery, as well as the crime elements in Blossman’s The Noxhelm Murders create a suspenseful novel that will satisfy its targeted readers.

Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite

The Carlswick Deception: The Carlswick Mysteries, Book 4 is a young and new adult mystery novel written by S.L. Beaumont. While this is the fourth book in the series, the author provides enough background information to allow this novel to be read as a standalone story. Stephanie had her hands full with assignments that were due the next day, so much so that she had to turn down the chance to see her boyfriend, James, who would be leaving for Japan soon and had tickets for a concert that evening. She didn’t feel, however, that she could turn down a request for help from Detective Inspector Marks when he called. Marks had helped her in the past when she had gotten herself into some minor trouble, and he had also arranged for her to work at Scotland Yard the previous summer. He was sending one of his detectives, Luke Spencer, to Oxford to speak with the Head of English Literature in connection with the murder of a man who had planned to donate some rare books to the university. Marks was hoping that Stephanie would help Luke navigate the intricacies of the campus and university politics. As luck would have it, his relatively simple request ended up becoming rather more complicated.

S.L. Beaumont’s mystery novel for young and new adults, The Carlswick Deception: The Carlswick Mysteries, Book 4, is a fast-paced and highly entertaining mystery surrounding the thefts of priceless manuscripts and the accompanying escalating violence. I have not read the previous books in this series, but was pleased to find that I was immediately able to follow the mystery as well as to appreciate the interactions of the characters in Beaumont’s story. I have a fondness for British mysteries, especially those dealing with the theft of art, manuscripts or books, and was delighted with the caliber of this story, the finely-tuned plot and the engaging characters I became familiar with as I read on. I’m looking forward to reading more of Beaumont’s work in the future. The Carlswick Deception: The Carlswick Mysteries, Book 4 is most highly recommended.

Reviewed by Trisha Dawn for Readers' Favorite

Vasilisa the Wise & Other Tales of Brave Young Women is a collection of stories. It tells of Vasilisa who was being mistreated by her stepmother and stepsisters. It also narrates how she outwitted an old witch and lived on to win the heart of a Tsar. Then, there’s Katie who showed undying love for her sister. The story tells us all of the things she did to break her sister’s curse and also to save a young lord. The third story in the collection was about how Flora solved a royal family’s crisis. She was driven by her friendship with the prince and sacrificed herself to end his troubles. Another story focuses on Princess Fairer-than-a-Fairy who was kidnapped by an old faery and made a slave, but in the end got the happy life she deserved. Lullala’s story is similar to that of Beauty and the Beast. When her husband turned into a dove, she followed him everywhere without giving up. After this is the tale of Rosemary, a mother looking for her baby. When she finally found out where her child was, Rosemary did anything and everything to get him back. Last in the collection of stories tells of Princess Ursula. She was taken away by her mother’s fairy godmother and was replaced with a toy in her kingdom. All of this was for her to live a happy life. These stories were retold by Kate Forsyth and illustrated by Lorena Carrington.

Firstly, there are not enough words to express how good this book is. Vasilisa the Wise & Other Tales of Brave Young Women is just so enchanting, it will bring out the fairy tale lover in you. Each story has its own charm and is a page turner! Kate Forsyth is definitely a wonderful storyteller. If one thinks about it, these stories are a hundred years old or so but Forsyth was able to retell them to fit the taste of modern day readers without having to destroy the original context. She just made our world a better place by balancing the elements of the stories out. As for the illustrations, they are really jaw-dropping! Lorena Carrington did an amazing job, definitely. These illustrations are unique and they completed the whole package. They are truly mesmerizing. Overall, I think the author and illustrator were able to achieve the main goal and that is to inspire women.

These stories have female leads in them who were their own saviors. They were able to show that you don’t always need a man to get you out of trouble. By the time I finished reading everything, I felt different and I was also longing for more stories like these. Some day, when I have a child – most especially a daughter - I will read this collection to her. I’m pretty sure she will also feel the same way I did – inspired, confident and enlightened. This book is a keeper. Not only should people read this, they should also get a copy for their bookshelves.

Reviewed by Joel R. Dennstedt for Readers' Favorite

Once in a great while, a book of profound insight comes along disguised as a collection of stories about magic. Joseph Campbell penetrated the familiar great world myths to reveal an incredibly rich and complex psychological reality in the lives we live, and thus made magic itself live again with both urgency and relevance. In her beautifully written and illustrated book, Legends of the Grail: Stories of Celtic Goddesses, Ayn Cates Sullivan, Ph.D. brings similar urgency and relevance to the psychological reality behind the Goddess within each human psyche. Her book, however, is not simply an academic rendering of a living spiritual principle. Dr. Sullivan offers something much more subtle, rich, and ultimately satisfying. She offers her audience a viable passage into their own personal mythic journey, with the healing consequences thus implied.

Legends of the Grail does indeed tell stories of Celtic goddesses, but Ayn Cates Sullivan also layers and enriches these stories of ancient Irish myths with vital background information robed with historical importance, with first-person stories told by each chosen Goddess to establish accessible resonance, with symbolic revelations for present-day applications, meditations, and visualizations allowing intimate contact with the Goddess herself. The author includes personal practical suggestions for utilizing the archetypal values embedded symbolically and firmly in the specified Goddess in order to facilitate psychological revival and continued health, and finally a poetic blessing to access the less structured but higher nature of the human mind. Dr. Sullivan accomplishes all this with concise and polished writing that appears deceptively simple, as all captivating stories do, but do not be misled – the Goddess calls.

Reviewed by Viga Boland for Readers' Favorite

Marissa F. Cohen has chosen an unusual way to share her own story, and that of twenty other victims/survivors of sexual abuse, or as she prefers to see them, “warriors,” in Breaking Through the Silence:The Journey to Surviving Sexual Assault. The author weaves the stories of these 20 contributing warriors in and out of her own memoir, simply titled “Author’s Story” to alert readers each time one or more warrior stories ends, and her own resumes. It’s an interesting approach. Furthermore, as each shorter warrior story ends, she includes first person accounts by professionals who work with abuse victims to give readers further insights into aspects and issues raised by the writer of that preceding story. These professionals include police, nurses, social workers, support people, advocates and more, and by the time one finishes reading, it is glaringly apparent how much work must yet go into raising awareness of how and why sexual abuse occurs, and the need to educate children as they grow into puberty. Our young people need to learn how to stand up for, and protect themselves in a society where “boys will be boys” and where parents too often dismiss or refuse to believe what an abused teen tells them.

But it is each warrior’s own approach to coping with their past that will be of greatest support to those who choose to read Breaking Through the Silence. These readers are most likely other victims of abuse, those whose fear, shame, the belief that they are to blame, or who have that hopeless sense that even if a case does go to court, they’ll never win. This is where each warrior’s words have the greatest impact: “Victim mentality…I think that’s the most crippling part of sexual abuse, domestic violence, and rape. Once you take control of it, you are no longer weak and powerless. Take control of your own life, and then every success is a bigger success because you took it into your own hands.”

Or consider the words of this warrior, who chooses to look at blame in a positive way: “The day that I realized that this was my fault was when I realized that I allowed myself to disrespect myself; the men were doing what I was allowing them to do. Once you realize that you have a weakness, you have the power to gain the strength.”

And in light of the current #MeToo campaign, here’s a very powerful statement that force readers to look at the abuse from a completely different angle: “Women can’t do this on our own, because women want to be loved and desired and wanted. In addition to wanting to be respected, they want to be desired.”

How true! And how important that not just women, but men help to turn things around: “You have to have men join you as part of the effort to stop abuse. All it takes is for good people to do something.”

There are good people of all genders out there, just as there are victims of all genders. The twenty warriors who have had the courage to share their stories, along with the author, are part of a rising movement as more and more victims come forward in books, blogs, within private groups and in the media. There cannot be too much of this kind of activity…just too little. Somehow, those who know the truth must break through the silence and tell their stories. Bravo, Marissa F. Cohen, and your warriors for doing so.

Reviewed by Susan Sewell for Readers' Favorite

A terrifying presence is out for revenge in the haunting supernatural thriller The Schoharie by Diane M Johnson. Until the erection of the Schoharie bridge in Fort Hunter, Joe Bonner was considered an upright young man. Soon after the bridge construction began, Joe started acting strangely. He was sabotaging work at the site, but maintained he wasn't responsible. Joe insisted he was being possessed by an entity resembling an Indian, and the Indian was the culprit for his malicious deeds. Joe's mental imbalance ultimately led to his infamous death. Thirty years later, Joe's son, Aaron, is still living with the stigma of his father's insanity and actions. When a flood ravages the bridge, Aaron is nearly a victim to the currents eighty feet below. Narrowly surviving the bridge's collapse, Aaron is standing next to the chasm where the structure once stood. There he witnesses a native in full dress standing on the opposite side. From that moment, the native spirit haunts Aaron, leaving him fearing for his sanity. The return of the phantom Indian once again causes havoc in the community. Is Aaron following in his father's footsteps or is there an ancient dark force punishing those who live in its territory?

The Schoharie by Diane M Johnson is an electrifying supernatural tale infused with mystery and suspense. With life and death hanging in the balance, the unearthly aura of the story draws the reader in at the opening of the story. Hints of sorcery and Native American history weaving in and out of the plot give the story an ominous quality that haunts the reader long after they are finished reading. With unique characters and an eerie backdrop, this is an excellent book to read on a dreary day and will not fail to raise goosebumps. It is an outstanding mystery novel that will delight those who enjoy bone-chilling mysteries with a supernatural flavor.

Reviewed by Michelle Stanley for Readers' Favorite

The Bishop of 12th Avenue is a post-apocalyptic novel for young adults by Ray Lucit. Eighteen-year-old Jacob “Jake” Walker is accustomed to hiding and fighting for survival in the city controlled by corrupt leaders. He rescues a man tortured by federal agents, and the dying man mumbles a chant before placing a ring on Jacob’s finger. He meets beautiful Becky, a churcher who convinces him to return to her hometown because the victim made Jake a bishop. Churchers believe God has a plan for him, but he doesn’t know anything about religion. The teen can’t understand why beautiful Becky and the townsfolk call him Bishop Jacob or constantly pray. The feds come to the town with demands, harming anyone who ignores their orders. Jake decides to take on the law, feeling responsible for “a flock” he inherited. This street-smart bishop prefers carrying knives, not a Bible for a weapon.

“Prayer changes everything” is what the churchers believe in The Bishop of 12th Avenue. It’s a thought-provoking, action-filled religious theme in a post-apocalyptic setting. Jake is a teen who only knew the city he grew up in, so being in a God-fearing, loving community is a big adjustment for him. He struggles with his thoughts about God, romance, and the role he finds himself in. How can a person pray for peace when one can fight for it? The story is meaningful, original, amusing in sections, and is a wonderful read for young adults. Ray Lucit’s writing is strong, convincing and absorbing. The conclusion was unexpected but not disappointing. I would like to see a sequel to this novel.