Reviewed by Christian Sia for Readers' Favorite

Meet Me Under the Stars by KD Proctor is a tantalizing romance between two irresistible characters — DIY TV star Charlie and a handsome British guy, Nate. It has been three years since Charlie dumped Nate, out of fear of hurting him. She has secrets of her own, but she has never stopped loving him. Nate believes that Charlie never loved him, that she’s been cruel to him. Yet, he still can’t get over losing her. But the last wishes of Gwen, Charlie’s sister, will have the two working together to fulfill that wish, something that also stops Nate from being deported to England to face a family that has already disowned him. Will they have the courage to seize this second chance and make it work?

This is what a real romance feels like — not-so-perfect, genuinely and humanly flawed characters seeking to understand who they are and how they feel, an intense emotional conflict, and a strong plot. Each character is broken in their unique way. The story has many emotional layers and it was just gorgeous watching Nate suffer, clueless of why Charlie would break up with him. KD Proctor has the gift of transporting readers into the hearts of the characters, making them feel the heat, suffer the suspense, and anticipate the outcome.

The realism in this story lifts its level of entertainment and allows readers to see something of themselves in the characters. A fierce romance that will arrest your attention right up to its predictable but satisfying denouement, with writing that is colorful, filled with witticism and a rare sense of humor conveyed through exciting and engaging dialogues. Meet Me Under the Stars turns up the heat and makes sure it stays high.

Reviewed by K S Marsden for Readers' Favorite

In The Selah Branch: A Novel of Time Travel and Race in America by Ted Neill, when Kenia's summer intern plans fall through, she thinks that spending months in Selah Branch, researching poor diets in poor communities, will be a frustrating waste of time. She has to research the usability of a new app, designed to help the average American create a more nutritious diet. Kenia doubts the usefulness of the app itself in a Trump state with vast unemployment, alcohol and drug addiction, and where people can't afford or can't source fresh food. What she doesn't know is that maybe fate brought her there to change everything. Kenia is black, and a woman. This is more than enough to make her feel threatened by the way the world is going. Kenia maintains a professional air and quickly becomes interested in the town's history. Selah Branch had once been a forward-thinking utopia where races and genders were equal, and Kenia starts to dig into where it all went wrong.

This story is very current and up to date with the politics and racial tension occurring in the US. It is well-written, and you stand beside Kenia as she goes through the struggles and prejudices that are very real for many people. The story takes on a sci-fi twist, as Kenia learns that she has inherited a time-traveling gene from her African roots. In increasingly long and dangerous jumps, Kenia is shot back to 1953, to the time of the disaster which destroyed Selah. The Selah Branch has a very scientific voice. The first half, in particular, could have been a university essay condemning the political machinations that gave rise to a new wave of racism. There were a few info dumps as a way to give a full and immediate description of the place. The second half is smoother as Kenia starts to make friends with some of the townsfolk, and the mystery of Selah Branch is slowly uncovered. Then the adventure really starts to kick off. In the end, I really enjoyed this book.

Reviewed by Molly Edwards for Readers' Favorite

The Internship of Pippa Darling: The Summer Abroad Series, Book 1 is my first Gemma McKay novel and most definitely not my last one! The fact that this takes place in Ireland was enough to hook me alone. But, once I sat down and opened the book, it quickly became a book with characters that stole my heart and kept me hooked to the very end. What can I say about Pippa Darling? She is developed very well. Her character is chiseled beautifully. She's captivating and witty. I loved feeling her emotions like they were my own. Watching her interact with Finn and seeing the sparks that literally flew from the pages as I read was such fun.

Finn Burke's character? Deliciously yummy! I mean, seriously? Gemma McKay did a phenomenal job at creating him. He's hot AND Irish. What girl wouldn't want him? Not to mention he's an author? When he was around Pippa, not only could I feel her emotions, his emotions jumped out and enveloped me. I was cheering for him from the beginning! From start to finish, this New Adult book will leave you spinning from the sizzle and panting with desire for the brooding Irishman. Gemma McKay has a true talent for writing and I highly recommend this book with 5 stars. Each turn of the page brought something different, and I found myself sometimes laughing out loud; other times, I wanted to crawl into the book and follow these beautiful characters to the end of their story. The Internship of Pippa Darling will leave you ready for more hot Irishmen and lots of laughs.

Reviewed by Michelle Stanley for Readers' Favorite

“A rough day at sea is better than any day in the office.” – Sailor’s Code # 75. The After House is a young adult paranormal story by Michael Phillip Cash. After a painful divorce, Remy Galway and her daughter, Olivia, move into a 300-year-old cottage in Cold Spring Harbor. The house has an eerie feeling and Remy believes she’s being watched. Captain Eli Gaspar’s ghost wanders the house, brooding over a woman he cares for, but he can’t recollect some things from his past. He dislikes the new tenants who disturb him, so he goads them to leave with a few of his antics. Remy is disheartened when the house is ransacked, but refuses to let anyone, including a ghost, chase her away. However, the Captain has been around for ages and doesn’t intend to leave either.

“The man who has experienced shipwreck shudders even at a calm sea.” Captain Eli is one such man who has experienced shipwreck in this very beguiling novel, The After House. Michael Phillip Cash's writing style is unforced, absorbing, and stirring. There are books that remain memorable because of their poignancy. The After House happens to be one of them that I’ll always remember. Even the book’s cover artwork has a haunting effect. The prologue was suspenseful and I had to know what transpired next. Historical information on whaling, which provided numerous products, as well as Cold Spring Harbor, was interesting. I highly recommend Michael Phillip Cash’s novel for a delightful read.

Reviewed by Grant Leishman for Readers' Favorite

Corruption, greed, black operations, shadowy organisations and the lust for unadulterated power is the setting for Gregory Meritt’s The Adoption. Claire and Logan just wanted a child to complete their lives but, unable to have one of their own, they turned to the adoption route and were rewarded with a beautiful, five-year-old girl by the name of Samantha. Samantha, however, was much more than she appeared to be on the surface. Part of a dangerous experiment conducted by a secret organisation hidden beneath the desert, Samantha is just one of two children “created” by this shadowy organisation and imbued with special powers that the backer hopes will eventually allow him to rule the world. Caught up in an unstoppable chain of events, Claire, Logan and Samantha find themselves running for their very lives, unsure of who or what was after them and who to trust.

This story is incredibly fast-moving and, for me, was an absolute page-turner. I really had to find where the tale was ultimately going to lead. For a debut novel, The Adoption has certainly struck all the right chords with me, the reader. As what may well be the first in a series of stories about the crime-fighting organisation Omega, this book certainly piqued my interest. The author took us on a journey full of twists and turns, engaged in the ultimate of all battles: good vs evil. The characters were strong and believable. I especially liked the way Samantha and her seven-year-old compatriot in the experiment, Scott, were the perfect antitheses of each other in all ways. This story is well written and would be an absolute must-read for conspiracy theorists, but anyone that loves a good, rollicking, spy-style story will certainly enjoy this book. A great first effort from Meritt.

Reviewed by Kris Moger for Readers' Favorite

The Uncommitted by Margaret M. Goss is an intense and harrowing journey built upon love, fear, faith, and destiny. Josie, a young mother, is doing her best for her family. She has an unusual gift, one that her grandmother and mother also shared: taking messages from the dead to the living via visions, dreams and telepathy. Unfortunately, channeling the dead opens her up to dangers she never imagined. When her sanity is questioned, she meets Dr. Andrew Chase, who also has special abilities. The fates of these two characters – Josie and Andrew – are intertwined by their Catholic faith and their supernatural gifts. As Josie strives to understand her path, she discovers a deeper calling that may undo the love, loyalty, and security of her family. As the story progresses, an evil haunts her, intent on destroying not just her life but her spirit.

Author Margaret M. Goss has a wonderful ability to create suspense in The Uncommitted. Through her deft use of descriptive writing and realistic dialogue, she builds a story that is hard to put down. The journey of Josie’s struggle is so honest and raw, it keeps The Uncommitted from falling into a cliched portrayal of faith in one’s religion. Added to that is the sincerity of the character of Andrew and the straightforward use of his gifts, which helps to build an intriguing tale. None of the scenes ever felt forced, and the story moves along at a pace that held even my squirrelly attention. I enjoyed this read even though it has a heavy Christian component to it. This seemed so natural to the characters that I never felt the author was preaching at me.

Reviewed by Ruffina Oserio for Readers' Favorite

The Prize by Geoffrey M Cooper will absorb any category of reader — fans of fast-paced, character-driven stories, medical aficionados, and anyone looking for an exciting read with a huge conflict. Pam Weller has just made a medical discovery that could change the lives of millions positively and provide a permanent solution to Alzheimer’s. Her success comes as a huge blow to Eric Prescott, one of the pioneering researchers in Alzheimer’s with a strong ambition for the Nobel Prize. Now, Prescott is bent on stealing Weller’s work and making her come across to the public as a fraud. Aided by one of Pam’s research partners, he becomes her nightmare, dragging her into a heinous game of deceit and fraud. The question is: Can murder be eliminated from the dangerous game and can Pam Weller find what it takes to outwit the cunning of someone like Prescott?

A medical thriller at its best, featuring themes that are real and contemporary and characters that are highly believable. The reader gets sucked into a world of science and medicine, with characters that are driven and rock-solid. The reader gets the impression that the author brings into the work his world of research and medical specialization to create a universe that will excite the reader’s mind and compel them to sit alongside the intelligent characters. Geoffrey M Cooper demonstrates a great gift for conflict and plot, weaving scenes that are emotionally rich and focused, and keeping the reader excited about the plot with well-crafted suspense and red herrings. The Prize is surely a bestseller in the making, a page-turner that is intelligently plotted and accomplished with unusual finesse and mastery.

Reviewed by Peggy Jo Wipf for Readers' Favorite

Annette Oppenlander opened doors in her heritage that most people would have kept closed when she penned Surviving the Fatherland: A True Coming-of-age Love Story Set in WWII Germany. She records her parents' young lives as they watch fathers, brothers, and friends go off to fulfill their duty fighting for Hitler’s regime. While Gunter Schmidt’s father and brother are sent to fight, he faces battles of his own as the man of the house. Providing for a mother and younger brother, while there wasn’t food to be found, no work available, and Nazi spies planted in the neighborhood, was almost impossible. Lillian Cronen faces unique challenges as a girl. She must support her mother and brother while warding off the attentions of her mother’s beaus.

I feel almost inadequate to write a review on the lives of two people who went through unimaginable turmoil under a dictator who betrayed his own people. Annette Oppenlander’s tribute to her parents through Surviving the Fatherland: A True Coming-of-age Love Story Set in WWII Germany is simply beautiful. She paints a vivid picture of how the German people were broken by the sacrifices they made to their country. At times I could not put Surviving the Fatherland down; at other times I had to walk away from the starving people, the bombings, and sad conditions under which these people lived. Annette carefully records a different Germany than what the outside world perceived. I was amazed at how open her parents were about their suffering, the guilt they felt at times, and what they had to do to survive; it makes me long to read about the events that did not make it into this historical fiction novel. I loved this book!

Reviewed by Deborah Lloyd for Readers' Favorite

Alex Corso embarked on a new adventure by moving to Rome for a contract position with Zero Otto Marketing. His boss, Eleanora Persini, assigned him to work with Pernille Bjorn. Pernille, Scandinavia’s famous chef and cookbook author, was making her debut in Italy. Alex was in charge of promoting her and her new cookbook through television programs, publicity events and social media. However, he was unable to leave his past behind, especially his convoluted relationship with Emily Whitehead. Emily and he met during freshman year at a Boston college, and he had been infatuated with her ever since. Author Lorenzo Petruzziello has written an unique, complex romantic tale in The Love Fool: A Rome-antic Comedy. It had been seven years since he and Emily had any communication, and her visit to Rome presented a crossroads moment for them. At the same time, his work with Pernille, and a brief interlude with an Italian woman, add to the story’s intricacies.

This book is a quick read, as the writing flows easily back and forth, from the present day 2011 to Alex’s and Emily’s 1990s college days. Rome is beautifully and realistically described, from the restaurant and bar culture, to the old buildings and tourist sites, to the unforgiving paparazzi. The book is written from Alex’s perspective; it is refreshing to delve into the thoughts and feelings of the male side of romantic relationships. The Love Fool: A Rome-antic Comedy, written by Lorenzo Petruzziello, is a delightful and thought-provoking tale. The reader is engaged throughout the entire story, and it is not clear how it will all work out until the last pages of the book. An entertaining read!

Reviewed by Deepak Menon for Readers' Favorite

Mercury in Retrograde by Merethe Walther is a futuristic science fiction thriller that keeps the reader on tenterhooks throughout its nail biting action. The book begins with the main protagonist, Aralyn, who has just served out her prison sentence on Tartarys, the most horrific prison in the galaxy, docking her spaceship at a remote dock on a desolate trading planet, Lyria V, somewhere in the vastness of space. As she walks to the entry gate, Caden Madigan, who had been a fellow runner of banned goods with her as well as her ex-boyfriend, accosts her with a complement of custom agents and guards. Caden is wearing the insignia of a ‘Spector’ of the Universal Decisions Assembly, UDA, the feared secret police entrusted with the responsibility of apprehending ‘Runners’ who smuggled goods between planets across the galaxy. She is searched and some minor drugs are found in her pocket, but she escapes imprisonment due to a technicality. Though Caden tries to convince her that he had no hand in her imprisonment, she is full of bitterness and rejects his overtures. Later, after restoring her relationship with Caden, Aralyn goes to meet her mentor and idol Kragg, a blind old man who was a genius in making guns. She had promised him before her imprisonment to smuggle a package, and before leaving smuggling forever, she just had to keep her promise, one that lands her back in Tartarys.

Merethe Walther shows amazing skills in writing and in her descriptions of the living hell that is Tartarys, and the ordeal faced by our heroine. To avoid spoilers is difficult here because I am tempted to put in at least a line for the numerous subsequent events that follow across the galaxy. There are many other great original protagonists, both good and evil, like Eladia Galven, described as a bitch from Helios; Kita Shinkai whose life she saves; the vindictive Proctor Madigan; the hacker Riordan and more. Suffice it to say that the tale covers many unique scenarios, many spectacular action-packed events, heroism, a wide canvas of human frailty and resourcefulness to make it a book to remember for any reader. There is some sex – nothing explicit. The flow is steady and continuous with each event merging seamlessly with the next. This is a well written book though the ending is open ended, probably leaving a window to a sequel which I am sure will be well received.