Reviewed by Rosie Malezer for Readers' Favorite

The Grey Eyed Storm by Christie Stenzel is the first book in the Occuli series. Remy Verbetta had been just twelve years old when her mother, Emmery, had taken her own life. Her nine-year-old sister, Makayla, had vanished without a trace soon after. On her eighteenth birthday, Remy is not only given a necklace which her mother had always worn, but also discovers (after sleepwalking to her mother’s grave) that she is one of the seven varieties of Occuli, easily identifiable by eye color, each with a variety of powers which can affect others as well as the elements around them. As an additional birthday gift, Remy receives a bodyguard from her cousin, Ruby, in the form of a boy, Zias, whom Remy had been having dreams about for quite some time. At school, Remy finally meets the new boy in town, Drake Cook, and cannot help but be startled by his eyes; it is never good to know that a Reaper has arrived. Unable to determine whether Drake is good or evil, and trying to decipher her mother’s and her grandmother’s memories, Remy finds herself in a race against time to figure out who she can trust in order to save her kind from obliteration.

Without a doubt, The Grey Eyed Storm is one of the most in-depth and entertaining paranormal books I have ever read. Christie Stenzel’s introduction to the Occuli series leaves me desperately wanting more and I look forward to reading the rest of the series when it is released. Living in a spiraling world of heartache after her mother and sister are both gone, the main character discovers on her eighteenth birthday that nothing in life is what she thought it to be. As her powers come into effect and she finds out who and what she truly is, Remy spins through a pinwheel of emotions that strike without warning, making her wonder whether or not she is going crazy. Each of the characters is well-written and brings an important element to the story as a whole, whether good or evil. I fully enjoyed The Grey-Eyed Storm and recommend it to all die-hard lovers of the paranormal who enjoy mystery, humor, romance, adventure and excitement in a mind-bending tale of magic which eclipses all others.

Reviewed by Liz Konkel for Readers' Favorite

Champions of the Dragon by Michael James Ploof is the first book in the Epic Fallacy trilogy. In every generation, five are chosen by the Most High Wizard Kazimir to be the Champions of the Dragon. The five chosen are unlikely companions: Murland is an apprentice that always dreamed of being a great Wizard, but has failed to successfully cast a spell. Gibrig is a Dwarf suffering from Humanism, and doesn't have the heart to harm anyone. Brannon is a Prince refusing to bend to his father's will, and give up his love for the warrior Valikimir. Willow is an ogre with an unsustainable appetite, strength, and a past victory of defeating a crocodile. Sir Eldrick is an alcoholic knight, formerly banished from the kingdom after being caught with the queen. Little do they know that this quest is a fool's mission, not to defeat a dragon and claim heroism, but to be fed to it.

Michael James Ploof brings to life a vast array of characters, making each one different with flaws, strengths, and quirks. Ploof breaks several fantasy stereotypes with charm and cleverness, allowing each character to be sympathized with, and spending every scene growing the characters. The villains are very ominous and mysterious, a perfect fit for the world of eccentricities. Not a lot is learned about their motivations, but it's clear that this is only the beginning of everyone's stories. Each of the “champions” is an outcast trying to find his way, and their differences tend to clash with each other, but as the story unfolds, the more they become a team. Champions of the Dragon is a delightful satirical treat, with humor, emotion, outrageous moments, and eccentric characters that come to life off the page.

Reviewed by Samantha Dewitt (Rivera) for Readers' Favorite

The Hunter seeks only to live as normal a life as possible, but with demons haunting him everywhere he goes such a life is beyond him. With Soulhunger and the demon to lead him, there is little that he can do but kill again and again, bringing himself to a chaos and a hatred that has led him to nearly take his own life. But when he meets Sir Danna and Visibos, he’s certain he can hide the part of himself that wants to kill, at least, until they discover who he is. Now he’s on a hunt to find that which is his and to protect himself and maybe the rest of humanity from the demons that seek to destroy them all, but is it even possible? Between Bardin and the others, he’ll have to find a way to overcome the power that has controlled him for as long as he can remember - but will he succeed in The Last Bucelarii: Lament of the Fallen (Book 2) by Andy Peloquin?

This book is filled with a whole lot of action and adventure. You feel like you know where things are going and what’s going to happen and then it turns things around. Even though The Hunter isn’t a ‘good guy,’ you still feel like you’re rooting for him to succeed the whole way and you’re hoping that he’ll overcome what’s holding him back and find the woman that he’s seeking from his dreams. It’s an intriguing book and there are plenty of interesting characters, from Aspos and Bardin to Sir Danna and Visibos and, of course, The Hunter himself. Lament of the Fallen is definitely a book for anyone who likes plenty of action and violence in what they read.

Reviewed by Liz Konkel for Readers' Favorite

The Ill-Kept Oath by C.C. Aune is the story of two young women in 1819 England; Lady Josephine Weston and Prudence Fairfeather. Josephine fears she'll always be known as an immature child, and be forever confined to her country home, but her summer begins to look up with the arrival of soldiers with the unusual request to camp out in the yard. When she discovers a trunk of her mother's that contains a female soldier uniform and pistols, she discovers more than heirlooms, but a mystery. Does it have anything to do with the supposed beasts the soldiers are hunting? Meanwhile, Prudence is spending her summer in London with Aunt Amelia, dreaming that one day she'll marry for love. She finds herself with two baffling mysteries: a dashing heroic gentleman, and objects of her mother's called Talismans. Through letter correspondences, they work to unravel the secrets of their pasts.

C.C. Aune captured the tone of the time period perfectly from the prose to the dialogue. It helped bring me into the time of the story, which allowed for a better understanding of Josephine and Prudence. It's not a crazy idea now to marry for love, but wanting to do that in 1819 showed how headstrong Prudence is, which made me like her from the start. Josephine is also an independent woman who doesn't let her cousin Edward push her around, and even goes about trying to reclaim the house from him, and learning to fence. There's several fantasy elements to it, but it's subdued, and instead the story is driven by the characters. The Ill-Kept Oath is charming, delightful, with some romance, humor, and adventure. I didn't want it to end!

Reviewed by Arya Fomonyuy for Readers' Favorite

The Soul Mender by R.S. Dabney is the first part in The Soul Mender Trilogy, a gorgeous read for fans of the paranormal genre. Meet Riley Dale, a woman who has had a troubled childhood characterized by nightmares. Now, she is targeted by a mysterious Rocky Mountain killer and she could be his next victim, running for her life. But she is suddenly plunged into a parallel universe, with Las Vegas becoming a place with a cornucopia of churches and terrorist activities. As she plunges into a world where nothing seems like what it is, she gains a deeper understanding of good and evil, and makes the shocking discovery of her ancestry. She is a descendant of a race with unique and powerful skills, who lost their skills through a stupid mistake. She could be the ransom for an error not of her making. Read on to discover how she survives, pursued by a dangerous sect and by shady government agents. What really is her destiny?

First off, I found the prose irresistible, the kind of seductive language that inundates the reader’s imagination with vivid images. R.S. Dabney had me hooked from the very beginning of the story with the stunning image and the intriguing dialogue: “Dark hair swirled around the faces of two figures looking down on the lights of a city far below. They stood motionless on a precipice, unmoved by the wind and pelting rain. Sharp daggers, gilded and set with precious stones, hung from scabbards hidden beneath long coats that billowed with each gust.” I couldn’t stop reading because the pace moves faster than in most books of this kind and the reader is suddenly swept off their feet into a whirlwind of action, punctuated by dramatic conflict. The Soul Mender features compelling characters, a gritty plot, and a world that will absorb the reader into itself until the very last page.

Reviewed by Melinda Hills for Readers' Favorite

Life is tough for Rosetta Melki as she does the best she can to raise her 15-year-old daughter, Izzie, in Epiphany: The Golding by new author Sonya Deanna Terry. As a free spirit trying to make ends meet in a tough world, Rosetta faces challenges like the rest of us, but with a positive attitude and the help of her friends. The ‘Friday Fortnight’ book club is reviewing an old text written by a reverend in 1770 and comes to suspect that there’s more to it than fantasy. Odd things begin to take place, seemingly combining elements of the story with everyday life so that Rosetta and a few of her closest friends feel as though the old text is coming alive through them. While the sprites are facing their own struggles in an ancient time and place, hope shines through in a complicated relationship between Pieter, a sprite, and Eidred, a princess of the greed-driven Grudellan royal family. Just as Pieter and Eidred create a bond, Izzie develops a friendship with an enigmatic Dutch boy with surprising abilities, and Rosetta thinks more and more about a man she recently met. How will the future play out as the story that reflects ancient times comes to life in the modern world?

Epiphany: The Golding is a story within a story about a mystical forest, an ancient prophecy, and a love that spans lifetimes. Sonya Deanna Terry has deftly and creatively combined two story lines, bringing them closer together as the book progresses until they actually overlap. While both are fiction, the two plots are taken from real life – greed, oppression, a struggle to survive and, as a balance, hope, love, faith and friendship. Epiphany has everything you want in a fantasy story – great characters, vivid descriptions of another place and time, believable present day action, and clear cut villains and heroes with a few surprises. Well worth reading for fun and for a subtle yet critical look at the future of the real world.

Reviewed by Charity Rowell for Readers' Favorite

In The Coven by Chrissy Lessey, newly divorced mother, Stevie Lewis, has dedicated her life to providing her Autistic son, Charlie, with the best possible care she can. Between caring for Charlie and the local shop that she part owns, Stevie doesn't have the time or inclination to date other men or join the Beaufort Historical Society, both of which her mother keeps urging her to do. However, when Charlie's life is in danger, Stevie discovers that she comes from a long line of witches whose powers have been passed down through generations, and that she will one day become the leader of a coven that has been covertly operating in Beaufort for hundreds of years.

I always enjoy reading magical fantasy involving the Craft and its history in the United States, and The Coven by Chrissy Lessey is no exception! In the first chapter, I was immediately struck by the touching and poignant dialogue which conveyed the emotions in the situation and the sacrifices Stevie's ancestors made to ensure the continuation of their line. I liked the fact that Stevie felt a spark, an inkling of magic when she found a family heirloom; this prevented me from feeling that Stevie came into her powers suddenly when she first used her abilities to save Charlie. Subtle nuances like this made the story more engaging because I wanted to see what would happen next. I also greatly enjoyed the modern dynamic of the coven; old customs and perspectives were modernized to make them more relevant and appealing to contemporary readers. Interesting characters, well-written dialogue, and a rich history combine to make The Coven by Chrissy Lessey an engrossing read. If you liked the movie Practical Magic, then I think you will love The Coven!

Reviewed by Bobbie Grob for Readers' Favorite

When the Serpent Bites by Nesly Clerge tells a riches to rags story of a man, Frederick Starks, who has anything and everything the money from his successful business empire can buy. Along with that, he has a beautiful wife, three children, a loving family and friends, and well wishers as far as the eye can see. Life is about to get a whole lot less pretty for Starks, though, as one night of rage leads to a whole different reality. Starks' well-heeled life takes a turn for the worst, and he goes from being a hugely powerful man in the corporate world to the newest inmate in a maximum security prison in what seems to be the snap of a finger.

I've always enjoyed a good legal drama so I was glad to grab a copy of Nesly Clerge's When the Serpent Bites, although I wasn't expecting to be riveted to the pages. I was sucked right into Frederick Starks' life and drama, and I had more than one late night when I had to stay up and read far later than I would normally have. This does not read like an amateur novel. The characters have real depth - something I am big on - and the drama on the pages made me feel as though I was right there watching it. The book is fast paced and, in my opinion, downright amazing. You will get to the end of this book and want more, more, more! This is less a legal drama than the story of finding a way through a new life, but it is no less worth the read for that.

Reviewed by Viga Boland for Readers' Favorite

If I hadn’t checked Nesly Clerge’s bio, I might have concluded that When The Dragon Roars was written by someone with a degree in psychology and criminal studies, or that the author was at least a therapist of some kind. But the brilliant Nesly Clerge has emerged from a science-based background to continue following his lifelong passion of writing with this second book in a trilogy about one Frederick Starks in When the Dragon Roars.

In the first book, When the Serpent Bites, the lifestyle of the super-wealthy Starks comes to a crashing end when he is sentenced to prison for 15 years to face a world that is no longer his oyster. Six months after his incarceration, the Starks we meet in When the Dragon Roars has attempted suicide twice, been sliced mercilessly and beaten into a coma by other inmates. Now recovered, he shaves his head and tattoos his body with a dragon, an exterior symbol of new resolve to survive the next 14 1/2 years, using the smarts he acquired as a businessman. What he learns as When the Dragon Roars unfolds is that it will take a lot more than his business acumen to battle the challenges of dangerous cons with murder on their minds, guards whose protection must be purchased, and friends whose loyalties are never guaranteed. But the biggest challenge of all is the one he least wants to face: that of being honest with himself and admitting that he too is responsible for all that has happened to him. To his surprise, it is the con men themselves that best help him recognize his faults.

When the Dragon Roars is an absolutely riveting read, full of surprising twists and turns and brilliant writing. The chapters are short; the dialogue realistic; the characters believable and the plot gripping. But, for me, it’s Frederick Starks’ reflections on human nature that are the most engaging. As eager as I was to turn each page to see what happens next, I found myself lost in thought along with Starks. While Starks reflects and analyses what he is learning about himself, I found myself doing the same about myself. I couldn’t help but think how much Starks is like me and possibly everyone else out there. How hard is it for any of us to face the truth about ourselves? The answer is obvious.

The one thing that did disconcert me was the last few lines at the end of the book. I turned the page only to realize the book had ended! What? I must have missed something. I re-read that last page and smiled. Of course! When the Dragon Roars is book 2 of a trilogy. I’m going to have to read the third and final book to see what Starks ultimately decided to do. Clever, Nesly Clerge ... very clever. I hope you don’t keep this reader waiting too long for Book 3 of The Starks Trilogy.

Reviewed by Mamta Madhavan for Readers' Favorite

The Old Man And The King by Joe Corso is an action packed entertainer that revolves around Lom, a seventy-two-year-old Korean War vet, originally from the hills of Tennessee, who is now settled in New York after being discharged from service. Toby, the King, meets Lom at the Good Burger restaurant in midtown Manhattan as he escapes from a bloody shootout on Second Avenue. Lom misses his old life of adventure, danger, and intrigue, and he is interested in finding out who is trying to harm the King. Readers will be gripped as the story takes them on a ride through different places, finally leading them to jewel thieves and gun runners. Will the Old Man be able to save the King?

The author weaves a good plot filled with suspense, intrigue, mystery, and a hint of romance between the Old Man and Martha, which gives a gentle touch amid all the action in the story. All the characters are well portrayed and strong and they leave a lasting impression in the minds of readers. The author handles the meeting between Lom and Toby well and, along with Charlie, they add to all the fun and action in the story.

I enjoyed the story with all its characters and settings. It is an amazing and absolutely novel idea to have a seventy-two-year-old hero in the story. There is an element of urgency that in turn gives a good pace and movement to the plot and makes readers curious to know what is going to happen next. It is definitely a good read for all readers who love action and suspense stories.