On the Line Amanda Chaperon (For the Boys, #2) Publication date: December 9th 2022 Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Sports
Two years ago, professional hockey player Mitch Frambough and headhunter Lexie Monroe met on a late-October night and sparks flew. They fell hard for each other, and everyone thought they were endgame.
But now they’re not together.
In fact, they don’t even live in the same state.
When Mitch was traded from the Warriors to the Los Angeles Knights, his entire life changed with one phone call. His relationship with Lexie was in ruins, and the only way he could prevent further heartbreak was to leave Michigan without a backwards glance. Except, when his life is once again upended in a split second, he finds himself back in the Mitten. Surprisingly, everyone welcomes him home with open arms. Everyone except the one person he desperately wants: Lexie.
Lexie has never believed in love, and for good reason. The one time she gave it a shot—her relationship with Mitch—it ended in disaster. Now she’s washed her hands of the whole thing: love, relationships, him. Having him clear across the country helped. But when he returns to Detroit, everyone in her life is begging her to give him another chance. The only problem is Mitch doesn’t seem interested. Plus, she’d be stupid to let him close enough to break her again.
Call it karma or the gods or fate, but something has drawn these two back together. And now it’s time for them to choose: either they put their hearts on the line again, or they walk away for good this time.
After all, how often does love get a second chance?
AGE RANGE: 18+
TRIGGER WARNINGS: Please note this book contains an alcoholic parent, traumatic injury, using alcohol and sex as a bandaid for emotional pain, emotionally unavailable parents/issues of abandonment, strong language, and explicit sex.
Amanda Chaperon realized her passion for books, and for writing, at a young age. Growing up, she was rarely found without a book in her hands, a hobby she carried into adulthood. After joining bookstagram in 2020, she felt the pull to try her hand at novel writing. FOR THE BOYS is her first novel, but it won’t be her last.
She currently lives in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula with her two-year-old Golden Retriever, and is a legal secretary by day. You can follow her on Instagram at @written.word.nerd.
Frozen by Lies Martha Sweeney (Sleigh Riders, #1) Publication date: December 6th 2022 Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Romance
BESTSELLING author Martha Sweeney presents her first paranormal romance/fantasy series (Sleigh Riders) that features bikers, swearing, spiked hot chocolate, magic, innuendos and so much more.
The bitter fault of one caused the magic from within to wither and die.
A feud has ensued for many generations, leaving most from both the Frost Clan and the Klaus Clan unaware of its origin. What happens when Noelle Frost and Nikolaus Klaus find themselves drawn to each other? Will their worlds collide, destroying everything in their wake? Or, do they have the power to bridge the ancient chasm and restore balance to the world?
This is NOT your average holiday story and NOT for the faint of heart.
Martha Sweeney is a BESTSELLING author who writes in a variety of genres: romance (contemporary, romcom, suspense, paranormal and historical), suspense, fantasy, thriller, coloring books, and soon, science fiction. She strives to push herself as a storyteller with each new tale and hopes to push her readers outside of their comfort zone whether it be genre or the stories themselves.
With a B.S. in Psychology, Martha utilizes her knowledge of human and animal behavior successfully in the business world and in her writing to present realistic characters and situations. She’s been creative since she was little, always drawing, coloring or making crafts, so her venture into being an author was a natural transition.
The Unsolved Case of The Secret Christmas Baby Hannah Byron Publication date: December 6th 2022 Genres: Adult, Historical, Mystery
A presumed dead baby who’s just turned fifty, a grieving widow on a mission, a female haberdasher hiding a scandalous secret
The Cotswolds, England, December 1895
Fifty-year-old Imogene Lynch has recently moved to the tight-knit community of Dartmond after her husband passed away.
In the decades of her husband’s job as chief constable of the neighboring Landdulton, the childless Imogene often assisted him in solving seemingly unsolvable crimes. On his deathbed Thaddeus Lynch has one last request to his wife: solve the secret Christmas baby’s mystery.
Overcome by grief, but with the promise as a stamp on her heart, Imogene sets out in her roundabout way to unearth Sir Finley Lowther’s mysterious origins. The first trace leads to Miss Eloise Platt, a well-respected Dartmond shopkeeper.
But when a baby’s skull is dredged up from the bottom of Tiverstock Lake and Miss Eloise confesses to the murder, Mrs Imogene Lynch faces a stalemate. While the Dartmonders squabble over Miss Platt’s fate, the widow-turned-detective worries she’ll never fulfil her promise.
To break through her impasse, she pays a visit to the elderly Lady Lowther in Ridgeview Asylum with far-reaching consequences. For Imogene, the mystery is now solved, but getting Miss Platt to tell the truth is another matter.
With her characteristic quirky style, Mrs Lynch confides in the most unlikely candidate in her arsenal, her landlord, Mr Richard Hopewell. If the mute bookkeeper can shed light on what he witnessed on that fateful Christmas Day in 1845, she has the ally she needs to confront Miss Platt.
After fifty-one years, Constable Thaddeus Lynch’s brown file on the Secret Christmas Baby can be closed for good. With Finley’s adoption mystery solved and Miss Platt redeemed, all Dartmond joins in the merry 1896 Christmas celebrations.
This first book in the Victorian Cozy Mystery Series introduces Mrs Imogene Lynch, a willy-nilly detective who talks too much and eats too little.
“Ever since I could hold a pen, I’ve written stories and poems, and I’ll write till my dying day.”
Historical fiction author Hannah Byron’s crib stood near the Seine in Paris, but she was raised in the south of Holland by Anglo-Dutch parents. In her bestselling WW2 historical fiction series, The Resistance Girl Series, Hannah’s heroines also traipse from one European country to the next, very much like their creator.
Now a retired university lecturer and translator, the European traveler and avid researcher is about to cross a new border and settle down south of Dublin.
What started as curiosity about her family’s connection to D-Day, evolved into an out-of-controlish study into WW2 history. To blame, or thank, must be Uncle Tom Naylor. If he’d not landed on the beaches of Normandy and help liberate Holland, her British mother would never have met her Dutch Dad after the war.
Strong women are at the core of her clean and wholesome romance novels. Every book is a tribute to the generations who started the women’s lib movement, got dirty in overalls, flew planes, and did intelligence work. Today’s girl bosses can but stand on the shoulders of these amazons.
Side-by-side with their male counterparts, Byron’s heroines fight for freedom, equality and… love.
In December 2022, Byron will launch her first Historical Mysteries. The Mrs Imogene Lynch Series stars the kind but opinionated Victorian widow of Constable Thaddeus Lynch.
Copper Waters Marlene M. Bell (Annalisse, #4) Publication date: December 5th 2022 Genres: Adult, Crime, Mystery
A rural New Zealand vacation turns poisonous.
Antiquities expert Annalisse Drury and tycoon Alec Zavos are at an impasse in their relationship when Alec refuses to clear up a paternity issue with an ex-lover.
Frustrated with his avoidance when their future is at stake, Annalisse accepts an invitation from an acquaintance to fly to New Zealand—hoping to escape the recent turbulence in her life.
But even Annalisse’s cottage idyll on the family sheep farm isn’t immune to intrigue.
Alec sends a mutual friend and detective, Bill Drake, to follow her, and a local resident who accompanies them from the Christchurch airport dies mysteriously soon after. A second violent death finds Annalisse and Bill at odds with the official investigations.
The local police want to close both cases as quickly as possible—without unearthing the town’s dirty secrets.
As she and Bill pursue their own leads at serious cost, the dual mysteries force Annalisse to question everything she thought she knew about family ties, politics, and the art of small-town betrayal.
Marlene M. Bell is an award-winning writer and acclaimed artist as well as a photographer. Her sheep landscapes grace the covers of Sheep!, The Shepherd, Ranch & Rural Living and Sheep Industry News, to name a few.
Her catalog Ewephoric began in 1985 out of her desire to locate personalized sheep stationery. She rarely found sheep products through catalogs and set out to design them herself. Ewephoric gifts may be ordered online or request a catalog at TexasSheep.com.
Marlene and her husband, Gregg reside in beautiful East Texas on a wooded ranch with their dreadfully spoiled horned Dorset sheep, a large Maremma guard dog named, Tia, along with Hollywood, Leo and Squeaks, the cats that believe they rule the household—and do.
Oliana knows that every family has a secret, but she never expected hers to come from the grave.
High school senior Oliana Mercer dreams of attending the prestigious Reyersen Drama Academy and pursuing her acting career. But when tragedy strikes, Oliana discovers secrets hidden from her by her adopted parents, dimming the lights on her perfect world. As the sins of the past surface, Oliana finds herself caught up in a tug-of-war between two families while the love for her boyfriend is tested. Determined to find some form of happiness in life, Oliana becomes student director in the high school’s senior play. When her best friend, Devin Worthy, dies during dress rehearsal, Oliana is re-cast as the lead. Everyone thinks the death was a suicide, except Oliana, whose search for clues may be enough motive for the killer to murder again.
“Numbness held me in place as I closed the notebook and tucked it inside the wig. What did this mean? Is the Oliana mentioned in the notebook me? It had to be. But what was this about being set free? My bio parents died in a car accident.
For a second, I felt like I was standing next to a furnace, smoldering in its waves of heat. I hurried out of the attic and stood outside, trying to catch my breath.
Rain pelted my face as I glanced up at my parents’ window on the second floor, then at the driveway where Mom’s minivan and Dad’s pickup were parked. Inside the house, the lights were on in the kitchen. Probably doing what they always do together, cooking dinner.
Grief hollowed my insides. Now was not the time to confront them about what I found. Besides what was I going to do? Tell Mom, I was snooping and found something that freaked me out? The problem was I wanted to go in there and disturb their happiness, so I could get answers about what I’d read. Answers about the handwritten note to Mom by the woman I believed was my birth mother.”
Excerpt From Shadowed Seats: Oliana Mercer Series Marguerite Ashton
Author Bio:
When Marguerite Ashton was in her twenties, she took up acting but realized she preferred to work behind the camera, writing crime fiction. A few years later, she married an IT Geek and settled down with her role as wife, mom, and writer!
Her blog, Criminal Lines: Settled Writer Past 40 is her outlet while building dollhouses and plotting out her next book.
A Forest of Stolen Memories Callie Thomas Publication date: December 2nd 2022 Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult
A royal wedding turns to disaster when a curse goes awry. A victim of the Sorcerer’s prophecy, Roselyn’s memories are instantly erased, leaving her panicked at the altar. Confused, she flees to the place her prince fears most—the enchanted Mistbrooke Forest. Danger lurks closer than she can imagine, forcing her to seek help from a dark stranger who may be the key to recovering her lost memories. Can she break the curse without breaking her heart?
I didn’t care that he was a prince—they would not force me to marry a stranger.
Yards of white lace, patterned with roses over a white satin gown, clung to the top half of my body, then fanned out around me. Dazed, I stared at them, confused why I couldn’t remember a single detail about my dress. Or about myself.
Who am I? Why could I not remember?
“Rose? Darling?” the handsome prince whispered, his words warm like honey, coaxing my eyes to his. So familiar . . . those silver eyes lined with impossibly long sandy-brown lashes. They matched his styled hair, which curled around his golden crown, not a strand out of place.
His thumbs rubbed in a soothing motion across my knuckles, my fingertips trapped in his grip. I tugged my hands, his eyes narrowing at my struggles as his hold turned painful.
“Please let me go,” I cried out.
He slid closer, so close that his warm breath caressed my cheeks, and I inhaled his lemon scent. Fear rooted me in place, the feeling of confinement strangely paralyzing. His eyes trailed over my features with heated possession, stopping to linger at my lips. Releasing one of my hands, he reached his gloved fingers for my face.
Did he think he could kiss me just because he wished it?
Not if I had anything to say about it!
Author Bio:
Callie Thomas was born in California but moved away immediately after, living in more places in the United States than she can remember. Even now, she can’t stay in one spot too long, but you can usually find her on the sandy shores of someplace tropical, possibly with a coconut drink in her hand. Callie has been writing since middle school when her teacher caught her writing stories instead of vocabulary words in her 7th grade English class. Plagued by doubt, she went in a completely different direction and graduated college at George Mason University with a Bachelor of Science in Graphic and Web Design. But the stories never stopped. Older and wiser (she hopes), she is finally ready to take a leap of faith with her writing. She recently published her first Vella series, A Forest of Stolen Memories, and is currently writing her first novel, The Captain’s Daughter.
Things I Overshared Kelsey Humphreys (Heartlanders Series, #2) Publication date: December 6th 2022 Genres: Adult, Comedy, Contemporary, Romance
Things I Overshared, an extrovert/introvert romantic comedy
Samantha Canton has had a rough year, to put it mildly. So, she is overjoyed to find out she gets to go on her dream work trip to Europe. But she’s not going alone. She’ll be crossing the pond with the company’s CFO, Emerson Clark.
Icy Emerson, as the industry calls him, is logical, serious and quiet. He likes solitude, the color gray, rain and hot tea – he is British, after all.
And he cannot stand Samantha in all her southern, chatty, upbeat, neon-dress-wearing glory.
No problem, she’s never met someone she couldn’t befriend. Until Now.
Commence nervous verbal diarrhea.
And commence the ultimate Grumpy Sunshine, Billionaire, Enemies to Lovers, Slow Burn Romance with rich characters and a payoff that will leave you absolutely giddy.
**This is a swoony, steamy, full-length standalone adult contemporary romance. Prepare for Manhattan, London, Paris, surprise twists, laugh-out-loud banter, a happily ever after, and a sisters group text thread you’ll wish you could join.
This is the second book in the Heartlanders Series but can be read on its own.**
After tens of millions of video views, comedian Kelsey Humphreys has captured her hilarious, heart-warming characters in book form. Her steamy stories dig into deep truths about love, identity, purpose, and family. When she’s not writing romance or creating comedy videos, she is reading, running, mom-ming and wife-ing in Oklahoma. Follow her funnies on Facebook, Instagram and Tiktok
Resting Grinch Face Alina Jacobs Publication date: November 17th 2022 Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Holiday, Romance
Synopsis:
I might not be able to ruin his life, but I will ruin his Christmas. Yeah, I’m totally a grinch. But I come by it honestly. Because of Oliver Frost, I flamed out at Harvard in the most humiliating way possible. Now I’m back in my small town—just in time to suffer through a display of small-town Christmas cheer so festive it will make you puke your eggnog. But who cares about being home for the holidays when you live with your family like a loser and have to share one bathroom with seven other people?
I plan to spend my Christmas purgatory being tsked at by elderly residents and passive aggressively prodded by my mom’s friends about what I plan to do with my life. I don’t know, Deborah, work in the Christmas market and get screamed at by tourists because I didn’t put enough sprinkles on their little brats’ coffees? Seriously, who gives five-year-olds that much caffeine anyway?!
See? Like I said. A grinch. I hate Christmas. I set a nativity scene on fire. Got in a fistfight with an elf—I lost, by the way. And threw a vat of Snowman Surprise all over Oliver. Don’t ask. Small-town Christmas insanity. Sleigh what? Oliver is here??? The man who humiliated me and ruined my life?
Ho ho ho…. no!
He doesn’t deserve a quaint small-town Christmas. He doesn’t deserve a fancy Christmas tree from my family’s farm. And he certainly does not deserve to win a bottle of whiskey in the daily Christmas market raffle. Goddamn, I needed that drink. He should be haunted like Ebenezer Scrooge by the Ghost of Christmas Past. Or at least the Ghost of Hookups Past.
Momma’s gonna have herself a very merry Christmas revenge. Swapping the salt and sugar so his Christmas cookies are ruined? Be still, my shriveled little heart. Spying on him so I can gather recon to ruin his holidate? Damn, I forgot how ripped his chest was. Sneaking down his chimney to steal all the presents under his tree? Amateur hour. Until I get caught…
Guess I’m spending Christmas in jail. But when he sees I’m not wearing a bra under my ugly Christmas sweater, Oliver smiles like Santa has come early. Crap! I knew I should have worn my good underwear.
Hold on to your stockings because the eggnog is spicy and mostly booze. This is a Santa-stalker, holiday-revenge romantic comedy. Featuring Christmas-hating heroines with poor decision-making skills, ripped guys who will leave a very large package under your tree, and adorable corgis dressed up as reindeer, this standalone book has a happily ever after, guaranteed!
Coraline Patten enjoys nothing more than facing new challenges, but when she’s asked to evaluate Moonriver’s ruling faction, she worries she’s bitten off more than she can chew.
Allasandro Stephans has reigned since she’d been a child, unwavering in his dedication to Moonriver. His heir, Calden, has supported him every step of the way. Together, the shapeshifting widower and his son appear to be the perfect men for the job of preserving and protecting their home.
When Moonriver’s heir asks her to free his father from the burden of leadership, Coraline is determined to do what is best for her people, even if it costs her the love of her life.
I should have called in sick. Had I pretended to suffer from some ailment, my name wouldn’t have been added to the list of potential sacrificial lambs doomed to work for the Hunters of Moonriver for the next week, possibly for longer.
I enjoyed change, and I preferred it on a daily basis.
The Hunters of Moonriver would give me change for a few days, but after the first week, the monotony would drive me insane. All factions were alike. Once someone settled into their role, that was that. They stared down an endless tunnel of the same old, climbing the social ladder for higher pay, slight modifications to their duty, and more responsibility.
After a month of that, I would surely go mad.
As one of Moonriver’s unaffiliated, I flitted from faction to faction, filling in for those who couldn’t work for whatever reason. I preferred when I covered for one of the craft factions, but after a week of doing the same job, I craved new waters, new experiences, and new people.
I loved the thrill of discovery, and none of the factions had offered me the variety I needed to be satisfied with my lot in life. As such, I remained one of the oldest unaffiliated in the city, working at a temp firm.
My boss understood how I ticked and made sure I could test new waters often.
Had I done something to irritate my boss? A job with a minimum duration of a week would drive me insane, although I would do it with a smile fixed into place on my face if it was asked of me.
“I knew I should have selected a faction last quarter.” Of my co-workers, Sila tended to be the first to voice a complaint but the last to do anything about her situation. Had anyone else tried that garbage with me, I would have moved on, but Sila somehow managed to make me smile even in the most dire of situations. While she complained and rarely acted, if she could help someone else, she would.
My friend was the queen of contradictions.
She cleared her throat to make certain she held my attention. As she rarely put up such a fuss, I did as she wanted and met her gaze.
“I told you we should have made our selections last quarter, Coraline,” Sila whined.
Any other day, I would have told her to mind her own business or muttered about her attitude. Today, I wanted to join her, abandoning my professionalism to indulge in a childish temper tantrum over the situation. If I had picked a faction last quarter, I would have avoided the entire situation, but I doubted I would have been happy with my choice. Still, she made a good point. “You might be right. How many qualified for the job?” With a little luck, all six hundred or so employees could be picked, significantly limiting my chance of being the unlucky one.
The last thing I needed was a long-term contract with the any faction, let alone the undisputed rulers of Moonriver.
“Twenty,” Sila informed me in a solemn tone. “Of which we are two of the twenty. I peeked at the list. More accurately, the boss asked me to warn you that you are on the list, and that he will not believe any excuse you might concoct to dodge this. As such, you can’t dodge your dance with doom, and I fear it’s probable you’re the unlucky soul stuck with the Hunters contract. Why else would he make me make you show up?”
Until it was confirmed I was stuck with the contract, I would hold hope someone else would win the assignment. As there were more than twenty people in the room, I assumed our boss had another reason for calling most of our floor together for handing out our daily duties. Usually, he either dropped the contracts off or sent us an email telling us we had feet and should use them.
I longed to voice a curse, but professionalism demanded I remain silent.
“There’s a rumor that the odds aren’t equal. By request.”
I relaxed, as my general skill set meant I spent most of my time working with craft or artisan factions. “The boss asked you toy with me, didn’t he?”
“Maybe a little. He didn’t tell me who was picked, just that somebody has already been assigned the contract, and that you have to deal with the same stress just like everyone else. But you’re no Hunter, and everybody knows it. But maybe the boss wants to add a little extra versatility to your resume? It’s only for a week or two, as far as I know.”
The wolf-dominated Hunters needed athletic, strong people with a fondness for difficult challenges.
I preferred difficult mental challenges, especially when numbers were involved. While anyone could discover their animal and begin shifting at any age, those who wanted to shift actively pursued their magic—or partnered with a shapeshifter.
I had opted against putting in the effort; I struggled enough with life without the additional complications of shapeshifting. I also dodged dating shapeshifters, as most who married a shifter developed their magic through frequent exposure.
As such, I did my best to avoid anyone associated with the Hunters of Moonriver, who ran the city and the nearby towns with iron paws but common sense and tolerable ethics.
“Well, that should eliminate me, then,” I said, allowing myself a relieved sigh. “Me, working with the Hunters? You said it yourself. I’m no Hunter.”
Fur would fly, and not in a good way.
Author Bio:
Audrey Greene writes sweet paranormal and urban fantasy splashed with some romance and hints of science fiction. She lives in California, loves going to the beach, and appreciates taking the time to smell the roses.
Happy Publication Day to A Fire Endless by Rebecca Ross!
From the blurb:
In the stunning conclusion to the Elements of Cadence duology, A Fire Endless finds the delicate balance between the human and faerie realm threatened by Bane, the spirit of the North Wind, whose defeat can only come through fire, song, and heart-rending sacrifice.
East and West. Humans and Spirits. Breccans and Tamerlaines. The Isle of Cadence has always held itself and its residents in a tenuous balance. But now Bane, the spirit of the North Wind, has pushed everyone and everything in his path off-kilter in a bid to claim dominion over all.
In the West, Adaira struggles to adjust to the more brutal, bitter ways of life among the Breccans. Striving to find her place in the clan, she swiftly realizes that it just might be the last role she desires to hold. And while magic blooms effortlessly for the Breccans in the west, the spirits continue to suffer beneath Bane’s harsh power, felt in every gust of wind.
In the East, Jack is adrift without Adaira until he sings to the ember-weak fire spirits, acquiring a dangerous mission he never expected. One that is destined to lead him westward. Likewise, Torin and Sidra are consumed by a new mystery as sickness spreads first amongst the crops, and then to the people of the Tamerlaine clan. While Sidra desperately searches for a cure, Torin dares to strike a bargain with the spirits—a precarious folly anytime, but especially now as the days grow darker.
With the island falling further out of balance, humans and spirits alike will need to join together to face Bane, and Jack’s gift with the harp will be called upon once more. Yet no one can challenge the North Wind without paying a terrible price, and the sacrifice required this time may be more than Jack, Adaira, Torin, and Sidra can bear to pay.
Rebecca Ross writers fantasy novels for teens and adults. She lives in the Appalachian foothills of northeast Georgia with her husband, a lively Australian Shepherd, and an endless pile of books. When not writing, she can be found reading or in her garden, where she grows wildflowers and story ideas.
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