March 3 brings a fresh wave of new book releases, and leading the pack this week is In Her Own League by Liz Tomforde, already drawing more than 83,000 want-to-reads on Goodreads.
Alongside this weekโs new releases, we published a few more posts that are worth checking out:
In Her Own League
Especially one that comes in the form of the team's tempting field manager who questions her every decision.
Emmett Montgomery is a former All-Star turned coach who treats his players like family and the field like home. After years of running the team his way, the last thing he wants is a new boss, let alone one who seems ice-cold and laser-focused on business. But forced to spend long hours - and too many away games - side by side, he begins to see the fire beneath Reese's control, the heart behind her ambition, and the unwavering determination to prove herself.
When heated banter turns into sizzling chemistry, professional boundaries blur and the spark between them becomes impossible to resist. But Reese is constantly reminded of how many people are waiting for her to fail, and the safest move is to keep Emmett at arm's length - for the sake of the team, the season, and her career.
But keeping their distance is one game neither of them can seem to win.
Across the Vanishing Sky
Braedyn Winslow never expected to return to Starlight Groveโthe town that took everything from her. Not after her best friend, the one whoโd sacrificed so much for her, vanished without a trace. But with a young son to raise and a past that wonโt stay buried, Brae is backโฆand determined to uncover the truth.
She just didnโt count on the brooding, reclusive mountain man living next door.
Dex Archer is the stuff of local legendโsilent, rugged, and surrounded by whispers of his and his brothersโ violent father. But Brae sees through the scowl and his parentage to the man beneath: fiercely loyal, unexpectedly kindโฆand just dangerous enough to protect her when someone starts warning her off her search.
The closer she gets to the truth, the harder it is to stay away from Dex. And as things get more perilous, Brae realizes the only person she can rely on is the one man who swore never to trust again.
Only someone isnโt happy that Brae has been digging, and theyโll do anything to stop her. But Dex? Heโll do anything to save her, even slip back into the darkโฆ
A Far-Flung Life
Instead of leaving them to heal, fate comes back for them in a twist of consequences that will cause one of them to lose their life, and another to sacrifice theirs for the sake of an innocent child.
Set in the expanse of a vast and flat landscape, where the weather is a capricious god and a million-acre sheep station is barely a dot on the map, A Far-flung Life explores the hearts of a handful of isolated souls and the secrets they shield in order to survive.
Capturing a family, a community, A FAR-FLUNG LIFE tells of the many ways humans can do each other wrong and how we move on when things canโt be put right. With shimmering prose and a delicious wit, the mysteries of being human are laid bare in this hopeful meditation on time and resilience and the lengths we go to to protect what we love.
Just Friends
Blair and Declan were inseparable growing upโbest friends who knew each other better than anyone else. But when an impulsive kiss took them from friends to something more, everything changed. Just as quickly as their romance started, one moment shattered it all, leaving them with nothing but heartbreak and silence.
Now, four years later, Blair is back in their coastal hometown of Seabrook to support her mom and care for her great-aunt Lottie as her health declines. To make ends meet, Blair applies to work at a coffee shopโonly to discover itโs managed by none other than Declan. The boy she loved. The boy she lost. The boy who still makes her heart race.
As Blairโs path keeps crossing with Declanโs, old wounds resurface, secrets are revealed, and sparks reignite. But could their future ever be free of their past?
Told in dual timelines that unravel the magic and pain of first love, Just Friends is a moving, romantic story about second chances, the weight of dreams, and finding your way back to the people who feel like home.
No Matter What
After a traumatic accident threatens the foundations of their happy marriage, a young couple tries to rebuild and find their way back to each other, and themselves, in this tender, slow-burn romance by the author of Ready or Not and Promise Me Sunshine.
Roz and Vin canโt look each other in the eyes anymore, let alone share a bed. Itโs been a year since they survived a traumatic car accident and their marriage hasnโt been the same. But Roz has held out hope they can fix thingsโฆuntil she discovers Vin signed a new lease. So she does what any soon-to-be-divorced-Brooklynite would do: sign up for figure drawing class.
Between her determined attempts to improve her skills in class every Friday and adventures with her best friend Raffi, she can almost ignore Vinโs impending move out date and his footsteps in their previously unoccupied guest room. But it would all be a lot easier if Vin wasnโt Raffiโs older brother, and she didnโt still find him incredibly, debilitatingly attractive and kind.
So kind, in fact, that he offers to let Roz draw him. What is she supposed to say? Itโs probably better than her original plan of finding some random male model online, and she needs all the practice she can get. Plus, thatโs sure to make a separation easier right? Focus on every detail of your estranged spouseโs body while drawing them in the nude. But after the year they have spent avoiding each other and their struggles in the aftermath of the accident, it feels good to see and be seen by one another again.
As Roz works to better herself as an artist and capture the wholeness of the person she fell in love with, will they both be able to draw upon the feelings they buried deep inside to finally heal together?
The Library of Amorlin
Former con artist Kasira expected to spend her life as a soldier, miserably working off her prison sentence by hunting down magical creatures for the fanatical kingdom of Kalthos. But when the Kalish ambassador arrives with a non-negotiable assignment, Kasira finds herself swept into the biggest con of her life: infiltrating the Library of Amorlin.
As the heart of all magic and the protector of magical creatures throughout the six kingdoms, the Library is historically politically neutral. Kasira is meant to pose as the new Assistant to spy for the ambassador and destabilize the Library from the inside, clearing the way to dethrone its Librarian.
But when she arrives, Kasira learns that the Library is not all she was told it would be. Neither is the prickly, handsome Librarian, Allaster, whose own monstrous secrets are about to catch up with him.
Swept into the enchanting world of the Library, Kasiraโs reluctant con is jeopardized by her growing affection for the wondrous life the Library promisesโฆand by her complicated, burgeoning attraction to Allaster. As the ambassadorโs game closes in, Kasira must decide where her loyalties lie: to her newfound home, or to her own survival?
You with the Sad Eyes: A Memoir
Christina Applegate came of age on sets and stages, expected to be on time, with lines learned, ready for lights-camera-action. Performing began as a financial necessity and became an emotional escape from a tumultuous home life in the infamous Laurel Canyon scene of the 1970s and 80s. She first gained stardom as an audience favorite playing Kelly Bundy in the sitcom Married...with Children and went on to captivate a vast fandom during her five-decade long career.
In You with the Sad Eyes, Applegate will unveil the full story of her years in the public eye, and the painful moments the public didn't see. She writes about gravitating to the grunge that defined the 90s and finding belonging in the legendary scene at The Viper Room; sparkling on set with fellow comedy icons in the soon to be canonized franchise Anchorman; sharing her love of dance in the Broadway revival of Sweet Charity; and returning to the Emmy stage to a standing ovation in 2024 after her diagnosis of MS. Sheโll dive into the darker moments underpinning her outward her relationship with her mother who fought addiction and won, even in the wake of her fatherโs abandonment; the self-doubt and body dysmorphia that have dogged her from a young age; and the abuse and depression that eroded her health. Her path is ever lit though, by lifelong friends, chosen family, and her experience as a mother. By working through her legacy on the page, Applegate invites readers to take her hand and hear a story not even those closest to her know fully.
You with the Sad Eyes boldly presents a formidable and iconoclastic woman who has had to let go of her acting career, of her ability to dance, of her sense of physical power, but has always fought to find a new and even more fulfilling way of being. The pain will be matched by the joy, the losses mitigated by the extraordinary, the weight of life lifted by Applegate's signature comedic genius.
In her own words, โI truly believe that books can make people feel less alone. That's why I'm doing this. You with the Sad Eyes won't be some big violin scratching for my life. But it will be real. It will be filled with the ups and downs, the humor and grief of life.
So here I am.
Real me.
Lots to say.โ
Lady Tremaine
A widow twice-over, Etheldreda is now saddled with the care of her two children, a priggish stepdaughter, and a razor-taloned peregrine falcon. Her entire life has become a ruse, just like the manor hall they live grand and ornate on the exterior, but crumbling, brick by brick, inside. Fierce in the face of her misfortune, Ethel clings to her familyโs respectability, the lifeboat that will float her daughters straight into the secure banks of marriage.
When a royal ball offers the chance to secure the future she desperately desires, Etheldreda must risk her secrets, pride, and limited resources in pursuit of an invitation for her daughtersโonly to see her hopes fulfilled by the wrong one. As an engagement to the heir of the kingdom unfolds with unnerving speed, she discovers a sordid secret hidden in the depths of the royal family, forcing her to choose between the security sheโs sought for years and the wellbeing of the feckless stepdaughter who has rebuffed her at every turn.
As if Bridgerton met Circe, and exhilarating to its core, Lady Tremaine reimagines the myth of the evil stepmother at the heart of the worldโs most famous fairytale. It is a battle cry for a motherโs love for her daughters, and a celebration of women everywhere who make their own fortunes.
The Secret Lives of Murderers' Wives
Beverley, Elsie, and Margot are not your average housewives. They are all wives of convicted killers. During the sun-drenched summer of 1966, the three women form an unlikely friendship after the discoveries of their husbandsโ brutal crimes. With their exesโsome of Californiaโs most infamous serial killersโdead or behind bars, they are attempting to forge a new future for themselves.
Headstrong Beverley compulsively tries to maintain control of everything around her, all while raising two children. Bookish Elsie fights day in and day out for the chance to make a name for herself in the newsroom, working among men who sneer at her career goals. Glamorous Margot refuses to take anything seriously and devotes all her energy to upholding the appearance that everything is fineโanything to quell the shame from her husbandโs deceit.
They know people look at them and think only one How could they not have known, when their husbands were right under their noses, committing horrific crimes? How much guilt is theirs to carry? And yet when a string of killings hits the news, the three womenโunderestimated, overlooked, shrewdโdecide to get to work. After all, who better to catch a killer than those who have shared their lives and homes with one?
At once a riveting portrayal of shattered trust and a story of gripping suspense, The Secret Lives of Murderers' Wives is a testament to the intricacies of womenโs lives and how the deep bonds of female friendship can empower, uplift, and lead us to endure.
The Bookstore Diaries
Jax has a slight issue with control-as in, she needs it. Always. Too bad she has power only over the Painted Lady Bookstore, the Victorian mansion turned bookshop she inherited. No one else listens to a word she says. Her ex gets engaged for questionable reasons. Her beloved sister, Ryleigh, wants to move away to find a husband. And the handsome contractor Jax has chosen to convince Ryleigh to stay is only interested in Jax.
Still, she's living the bookworm dream-until an unhappy accident erases the names from the bookshop lockboxes where the town keeps their diaries. Which means the only way to find a diary's owner is...to read it.
As secrets spill and scandals surface, life at the Painted Lady Bookstore gets a lot more colorful and chaotic. But for a woman who's always had to take charge, Jax will see that losing control-especially with the right wrong guy-can set you free.
Her Hidden Fire
If he has the ability to wield magical powers, everyone will rejoice โ especially the girl who loves him.
But what happens when they realize she has the gift?
In a world where dragons stalk the skies and magical abilities are an elite privilege, the ruling family of Ailmโs Keep is on a knife can Ionain, the heir apparent, channel magic, or will the family be cast out and replaced by a cruel master from a neighbouring land?
So when รadha, a servant girl who loves Ionain, discovers that she can draw power, she finds herself in grave danger. Itโs extremely rare for a girl to have this talent, and certainly never outside the great families. At Ionainโs moment of truth, รadha makes a desperate gamble to save him, Ailmโs Keep, and ultimately herself.
As รadha and Ionain enter a whirlwind of patriarchy, class, heartache and jealousy, they learn about powerโs terrible cost โ a price others willingly pay to maintain theirs.
How far would you go to empower the one you love?
Where the Girls Were
Itโs 1968, and the future is bright for seventeen-year-old Elizabeth โBakerโ Sheโs the valedictorian of her high school, with a place at Stanford in the fall and big dreams of becoming a journalist. But the seductive free-spirited San Francisco atmosphere seeps into her carefully-planned, strait-laced life in the form of a hippie named Wiley. At first, letting loose and letting herself fall in love for the first time feels incredible. But then, everything changes.
Pregnancy hits Baker with the force of whiplashโin the blink of an eye, she goes from good girl to fallen woman, from her familyโs shining star to their embarrassing secret. Sent to a home for unwed mothers, Baker finds herself trapped in an old Victorian house packed with a group of pregnant girls who share her shame and fear. As she reckons with her changing body, lack of choice, and uncertain future, Baker finds unexpected community and empowerment among the โgirls who went away.โ
Where the Girls Were is a timely unearthing of a little-known moment in American history, when the sexual revolution and feminist movement collided with the limits of reproductive rightsโand society's expectations of women. As Baker finds her strength and her voice, she shows us how to step into your power, even when the world is determined to keep you silent.
Strangers in the Villa
Sydney Loweโs life in New York is shattered when her husband, Curtis, admits to a meaningless affair with a client. Begging for forgiveness and vowing to prove his devotion, Curtis suggests the couple retreat to a remote hilltop house in Spain to repair their marriage.
High above the Mediterranean, Sydney and Curtis are working on the isolated property and their relationship when a pair of Australian travelers turns up at their door in dire need of help. Lonely for companionship and desperate for free labor, Sydney and Curtis invite the attractive young couple to stay. But as the days pass, dark secrets come to light, the Lowesโ bond is tested, and not everyone will leave the villa alive.
That's What Friends Are For
Theodore Copeland has created a fabulous life in the desert oasis of Palm Springs, where he shares a fabulous pink mid-century home with three fabulous friends: Barry, a former actor still clinging to his youth, his hair, and the memory of the dream role that killed his career; Ron, an uprooted Christian from the Midwest with a big heart but no one to give it to; Sid, who, after coming out late in life, has never found love. Teddy is the caustic, unspoken leader of โThe Golden Gaysโโthe foursomeโs monthly drag tribute to The Golden Girls. Despite their foibles and bickering, they have turned their golden years into a golden era.
But the harmony of their desert enclave becomes a carousel of emotional baggage when Teddyโs estranged sister, Trudy, shows up on their doorstep, her dramatic teenage granddaughter in tow. While Teddy keeps Trudy at armโs length, she manages to wheedle her way into the lives of the Golden Gays, until the real reason for her visit is revealed and the secrets theyโve all been keeping from each other unravel faster than a hastily stitched hemline.
A novel that gives thanks to โoldโ friends, That's What Friends Are For proves that while family may be the tie that binds, itโs the chosen family that truly keeps us together.
Midnight on the Celestial
But when she fails her realmโs trial to keep her magic and is deemed too dangerous for society, she faces a harrowing choice: give up her gift or serve a punishment sentence aboard the Celestial, a luxurious magical cruise ship where staff members compete for guest votes to earn a coveted retrial.
As a concierge, Roe juggles the demands of affluent guests, cruel bosses, and the suspicion that an infuriatingly handsome silks performer, Ivander, is determined to keep her from a retrial.
But the true dangers surface after her shift ends when the Celestial transforms into halls of nightmares that kill staff members after dark. Faced with the reality of serving aboard, Roe begins to question the ship, trials, and the system that put her there. But the moment Roe sinks into the ship's dark history, she's wrongly framed for a guest's murder. Vowing to conjure her own second chance, Roe will use whatever power she has to uncover the secrets of the ship, her family, and their entwined bloody past... before she becomes the Celestialโs next victim.
A Thousand Perfect Lies
New York native Billie Vale arrives at Wickham Academy, Englandโs most elite boarding school, with a forged identity as Belinda Winters and one mission: clear her sisterโs name. Isla lies in a coma, accused of killing her best friend. Billie has one shot to uncover the truth in a school built on privilege and deception. Succeed, and her estranged father will finally help her mother. Fail, and it will tear whatโs left of her family apart.
But Wickhamโs secrets run deep, and not everyone wants them exposed. The schoolโs golden prince and its brooding outcast both seem to know more than theyโll admitโand both have reasons to keep Billie close. As she digs into the lies that built Wickhamโs empire, she discovers that loyalty is just another currency, every hallway hides a motive, and everyone here protects their own at any cost.
But someone at Wickham knows what really happenedโฆ
And theyโll bury Billie before they let her find out.
Perfect for readers who loved the dark social hierarchies of Gossip Girl and the twisty, secret-laden tension of One of Us Is Lying, A Thousand Perfect Lies delivers prep-school glamour, sisterly redemption, and a mystery that turns privilege into peril.
Lake Effect
Itโs 1977 and an air of restlessness has settled on the residents of Cambridge Road in Rochester, New York. When Nina Larkin is given a copy of The Joy of Sex by her newly divorced friend, she can no longer dismiss the nearly non-existent intimacy of her marriage. Just as her oldest child, Clara, is falling in love for the first time, Nina finds herself longing for the a midlife awakening. An intoxicating fling with a neighbour brings Nina a freedom she never thought possibleโbut also risks the reputations of both families and unravels Claraโs world, just as she stands on the threshold of adulthood.
Years later, Clara, now a successful food stylist in New York City, has never been able to move past the long-ago scandal. Drawn back home by the pull of a family wedding and wrestling with her own demons, she makes a pivotal decision that turns her life upside down.
Written with Cynthia DโAprix Sweeneyโs signature humor and insight, LAKE EFFECT is a wise and probing look at love and desire, mothers and daughters, loss and grief, and what we owe the people we love most.
It Seemed Like a Good Idea
I really don't need a bodyguardโI run a small-town lavender farm, for bee's sake! But I'm getting one anyway since my identical twin sister just booked the movie role of a lifetime and it's being shot in my hometown. And guess who my new broody, tattooed protector is? None other than the guy I had a one-night stand with last month.
he's the guy with the wicked mouth and heated eyes who ran out on me before the bang without so much as goodbye. And of course he arrives in my tiny hometown where the film is shooting right in the nick of time to save me from the paparazzi at the market. The coffee shop. The dress shop too. I'm trying hard to stay mad after the third time the sexy jerk rescues me.
To top it all off, he's staying in the cottage at my farm. With me. And there's only one bed.
Maybe just one night would relieve all this tension? But one night turns into another, and then into sharing hearts and secrets that are best locked up. Especially since he's leaving and I'm staying, and there's no way we can be more than a summer romance that ends far too soon.
Small town, rom com, grumpy/sunshine, bodyguard, mistaken identity, forbidden romance, only one bed
In Time with You: A Novel
Nieve Monroe is devastated after her boyfriend Carter dies saving her from drowning. Even worse she blames herself for his deathโฆ and so does his best friend, Max. He was there with them on that fateful day, and heโs never liked Nieve.
Unable to pull herself from her grief and wanting to hide from the accusation in his eyes, Nieve goes to stay with her grandmother, who has always had strange stories to tell of uncanny happenings, of magic and make believe. The next morning, Nieve wakes up on the first day of college, the year before.
This time she plans to make sure Carter never follows her into that river. Sheโll do everything in her power to keep him safe, even if it means losing him in other ways. But the more distance she puts between her and Carter, the closer she gets to Max, drawn to him in ways she never expected.
But is she betraying Carter if the only way she can save him is to move on? And can she ever forget her past to embrace her future?
Kristin Dwyerโs In Time With You is a heartbreaking story of first love, loss, and one chance to change everything.
She Drinks the Light
Addae has spent her whole life on the Golden Isle, a private island off the coast of South Carolina that has been in her family for centuries. Island residents donโt really fraternize with mainlanders, and for good reason. Golden Isle was founded by the Kinfolk, descendantsโincluding Addae and her Nana Ama, the island matriarchโof escaped enslaved Black people.
But the Isle and the Kinfolk have secrets that must be protected from the outside world. Secrets of spirituality, mythology that are deeply rooted in their West African culture, beliefs, and traditions. The Kin are bound to protect the Golden Isle and, in turn, it protects them.
When Addaeโs best friend Naria goes missing and one of the Kin turns up drained of blood, Addae's way of life is threatened. It looks like the work of the Adze, West African supernatural beings that drink human blood in order to surviveโalso known as vampires.
Believing Naira is alive, Addae travels to the mainland. But as Addae gets closer to finding Naria, she uncovers deep secrets about Nana Amaโs past, and about her ownโฆ secrets that could change how she feels about the Golden Isle and her lineage.
Torn between two worlds, Addae will have to decide how far she is willing to goโand who she is willing to crossโto save her best friend, and even herself.
The Book Tour
Despite her popular podcast and sold-out speaking events, Ana Movilian still feels like she has to prove herself. To her family, who can't believe she quit med school to build an influencer career, and to literary snobs, who decry her buzzy self-help book. Happily, her upcoming book tour is the perfect chance to show the world just how bright her star can shine.
That is, until her beloved publicist resigns the night before their plane is set to take off, announcing that her replacement is none other than Ryan bleeping Grant.
Ryan specializes in highbrow, "important" books, and his perma-scowl in every interaction with Ana makes one thing clear: he does not get her book. Or her. Heโs the last person who should be promoting her work, the last person she should be stuck with for two weeks . . . and the last person who should look that damn good in business casual.
As they travel from city to city, however, Ana's assumptions about Ryan take new shape. A decidedly more appealing shape. Soon, their growing attraction starts to feel like a ticking time bomb. But crossing that line could derail each of their careers faster than you can say "conflict of interest," and they both have bigger dreams at stake than the bestseller list.
The Heartless One
She won the heart of Deathโฆnow she must fight for the hearts of her people.
Jessamine never expected to be on the Deathless Oneโs sideโlet alone be in love with him. But now that Elric has returned to his corporeal form and Jessamine has joined the coven of witches that sustain his power, the two are stronger than ever.
But the kingdom is still in turmoil. Jessamine and Elric must prepare their coven of witches to meet the kingdomโs forces in battleโbefore the man whoโs usurped her throne learns how to harness the power of Elricโs fellow gods. How can Jessamine accept that to fight for her kingdom, she might have to fight against it?
If You Keep Me
Things I should never, under any circumstances ever do: ask my secret crush, aka. the most notorious (reformed) playboy in pro hockey, to take my virginity.
Too bad, I did.
After a string of terrible dates, I did the unthinkable. I propositioned Flip Madden.
Of course, he said no.
It isnโt that heโs almost a decade older than me, or that Iโm still in university.
Itโs because Iโm his coachโs oldest daughter.
Not to mention my dad would bludgeon him with his hockey stick if he found out.
Which he wonโt, because it will never happen.
And now things are awkward because thereโs no going back.
Except Flip is more protective than ever, and his eyes follow me around every room weโre in together. He brings flowers to my recitals and reads all the books I recommend.
Things I should never, under any circumstances ever do: hope Flip Madden might actually want me too.
*Flip and Tally's coach's daughter, age gap, forbidden romance and the final standalone in the Toronto Terror Series.
Star Shipped
Simon and Charlie, actors on a long-running sci-fi show, canโt stand one another. Charlie is impetuous, outgoing, and basically feral, and Simon thinks he should have stayed in reality television where he belongs. Theyโve spent the better part of a decade quarreling over the spotlight and pretty much everything else, and everybody in the industry knows it. Now that Simonโs contract is finally done, he can move to New York, start fresh with work he actually likes, and get away from Charlie.
Simonโs only problem is that people might assume heโs been pushed off the show due to being impossible to work with. And he is kind of difficult to work with. He doesnโt get along with peopleโunlike Charlie, who somehow tricked everyone on the show into adoring him despite some outrageously bad on-set behavior during the showโs first season. Simon would rather never have to see Charlie again, but reluctantly agrees to stage a very public friendship during the short time before he moves. When Charlie has to leave town to deal with a family emergency, this means Simon comes along. Their road trip brings Simon to places he would never have willingly chosen to visitโand he finds heโs actually not having a terrible time.
The more he gets to know Charlie, the more Simon suspects heโs underestimated his former coworker. Simon also realizes that after seven years, Charlie might know him better than anyone ever has. Even stranger, Charlie seems to be starting to actually like him, despite knowing him so well. Still, Simon is about to move three thousand miles away, so whateverโs starting between him and Charlie canโt really amount to anything... right?
Tropes:
Enemies to Lovers
Opposites Attract
Forced Proximity
Slow Burn
If We Never End
Sylvie Castellano is used to goodbyes. Every summer, her friends leave to vacation at faraway beaches and her parents jet off to work on a luxury yacht, dumping her with her tia Vivian. Sylvie may love her aunt Viv, but just once, she wishes the summer held a big adventure for her, too.
When Sylvie scores the thrift find of a lifetime-a vintage gold watch worth thousands-she thinks maybe her luck is turning around. Then a turn of the watch's dial summons a ghost boy. With no idea who he is or why he's attached to the watch, and only his name to go off of-Penn-Sylvie offers to help him unravel the mystery of his death.
Sylvie's summer is suddenly full of road trips, beach bonfires, and ferris wheel rides as she and Penn try to piece together the life he lost. But soon, Sylvie begins to imagine a future together-a future they can never have. Then a devastating discovery brings everything crashing down. The watch's secrets extend far beyond Penn, and it's not only Sylvie's heart at risk, but her life.
200 Monas
Arvy Keening is just trying to get through the week. Tantalizingly close to leaving her college years at Westheimer University behind, all she has to do is pass her finals, pack up her life, and ship off to San Francisco for a prestigious Big Pharma internship. The problem? Arvy just found 200 hits of Molly in her dead motherโs closet. And when two drug dealers come to collect what they are owed, they reveal that the pills are not Molly, but Mona โ a rare pharmaceutical that induces intense orgasms. The dealers give Arvy an ultimatum: Sell 200 Monas in 48 hours or die.
To aid in her seemingly impossible quest, Arvy recruits Wolf, Westheimer's resident drug dealer who also happens to be infuriatingly charming and distractingly sexy. In a race against the clock, Arvy and Wolf barrel through their college town, leaving a series of erotic shenanigans in their wake; appealing to horny co-eds, lonely barflies, and a mysterious sorority whose sisters have their own ideas for Monaโs potential uses. But if Mona has a knack for unleashing visceral reactions in the body, what will it unlock in Arvy, who has been repressing grief over her motherโs death for weeks?
Unashamedly brash, bold, and blistering, 200 Monas is a truly one-of-a-kind read, a playful and honest examination of sexuality and grief, and a sharp, searing love letter on how to release all thatโs inside you.
A Ghastly Catastrophe
When the corpse of an entitled young man is found entirely drained of blood in a carriage next to Highgate Cemetery, Veronicaโs interest is piqued. And then a second victim is found, his death made to look like a suicide, and Veronica and her intrepid beau, Stoker, know the hunt is on. The two men share one link: they were both members of a society so secretive that only a singular mention of it can be found anywhere.
Thirsty for more clues, Veronica and Stoker hear that a young Roma boy may know more about their first victim, but the only way to the boy is through an old acquaintance of Stokerโs, Lady Julia Brisbane. Lady Julia and her dashing husband, Nicholas, occasionally track down murderers and are only too happy to help. But as it becomes clear the secret society is a dangerous sect looking to entice immortality seekers, Veronica and Stoker find themselves ensnared by a decidedly more sinister couple.
The professed leader of the society claims to be a creature of the night; his partner practices witchcraft and they both fancy themselves emissaries of the otherworldly. Just as Veronica and Stoker get closer to learning the true purpose of the society and unraveling this macabre mystery, another body turns up, and they quickly discover theyโve gone from being the hunters to the hunted. . . .
The Best Little Motel in Texas
After a childhood spent combing the dive bars of Sarsaparilla Falls to collect her fun-loving momma, Cordelia West now enjoys a simple, respectable life in Dallas. Then one phone call from the hometown sheโs spent years trying to forget throws it into chaos.
Cordelia's great-aunt Penelope has passed away, naming Cordelia the sole heir to the Chickadee Motel. She has no memory of a great-aunt and no interest in hospitality, but the will stipulates that the motel canโt be sold until its residents leave or pass away โ so she reluctantly heads back down to Sarsaparilla Falls to figure out who's living in the Chickadee, and how to get them out.
But upon her arrival, Cordelia discovers the Chickadee isnโt a motelโitโs a brothel, housing three women in their sixties known as the Chicks. For decades, Daisy, Arline, and Belinda Sue have entertained the men of Sarsaparilla Falls (with their wivesโ blessings)โincluding the upright Pastor Reed-Smythe, who thunders against the townโs favorite sins when heโs not indulging. Cordelia doesnโt want to be a hotel manager or a madam, but she canโt just sell the only home the Chicks have knownโespecially not after the pastor is found poisoned in Daisyโs bed.
With the Chicksโand the townโon the verge of a breakdown, Cordelia steps up to mop up the mess. For a small town, there are plenty of could it be the obsessed nurse with access to arsenic? Developers eager to gobble up the land? The righteously angry town librarian? Things are heating up in Sarsaparilla Falls, and with the Pastorโs obnoxiously attractive son ArcherโCordeliaโs childhood nemesisโinvestigating the Chicks and getting close, straightlaced Cordelia may just have to get a little dirty to make a killer come clean.
Beast Becomes Her
Edith has always been a good girlโshe has to be, or her foster family might think sheโs like her violent father. No matter how much anger simmers inside her, she keeps it buried, hiddenโฆ
Until the day sheโs pushed a step too far, and that anger comes bursting out in the form of literal claws.
Itโs then that Edith learns sheโs a berserkr, a descendant of ancient Norse warriors with the ability to turn into animals. To avoid jail for attacking a student, Edith is shipped off to the mysterious Skallagrim Academy. The ancient school is supposedly a haven for people like her, a place where she can learn to control her powers and then push them down so deep that theyโll never come out again.
But someoneโor somethingโis stalking the dark halls of Skallagrim.
On her second night, Edith stumbles upon a gruesome murder and is caught at the scene of the crime by Amund, who is tasked with hunting down wayward berserkir. Now, with Amund suspecting Edith as the killer, sheโll have to catch the real culprit to prove her innocence before she ends up in the hunterโs crosshairsโor becomes the killerโs next victim.
Puzzles & Perils: The Crystal Quest: A Novel in 100 Fantastical Puzzles
A fabulously clever and creative puzzle book for all fans of fantasy fiction, with one hundred puzzles to challenge and entertain you.
Join Miralda and Orien, two ordinary orphans from the village of Humblewick, as they embark upon a perilous quest: a mysterious stranger, the wizard Morgoriam, has enlisted them to reclaim the Crystal of Divinair from the ancient sorcerer Nefaron and save their kingdom from eternal darkness.
As you journey with our heroes, you'll solve 100 fantastical puzzles that are woven directly into the narrative. You'll decipher hidden symbols, uncover secret routes, and crack intricate logic puzzles, all while helping Miralda and Orien navigate treacherous landscapes, outsmart cunning foes, and confront their destiny.
From the bustling streets of Tarrimor to the sparkling elf city of Nirian, every step of their quest depends on your puzzle-solving prowess. But be warned: the path ahead is fraught with danger, from menacing goblins and fearsome dragons to power-hungry sorcerers and tricky illusions. Will you help them succeed, or will the world be plunged into darkness forever? The fate of Ellamir rests in your hands!
Turn Off the Light
"A delightful twist on both the haunted-house and beach-read genres." โCarissa Orlando, author of The September House
The Devil enters through doors left openโฆ
On the isolated Eastern Shore of Virginia, Edith is a healer, a woman of knowledgeโand a woman watched. Shadows move where they shouldnโt. Whispers creep through the dark. Terrified she has opened her home to the Devil, Edith makes a desperate choice.
Claire doesnโt believe in ghostsโuntil she returns home to care for her dying father and finds her childhood houseโฆ listening. As one sleepless night bleeds into the next, she becomes convinced something is stirring beneath the floorboards. Something that has waited a long time to rise.
Is the house haunted? What compels this lurking darkness? As the danger mounts, Edith and Claire will discover theyโll need each other to survive. But they are separated by four hundred years. And time is running out for them both.
The Sisters of Book Row
1915: Manhattanโs Book Row, an eclectic jumble of forty bookshops along Fourth Avenue, is the mecca for rare book buyers from around the world, and the haunt of locals looking for a bargain. It is also the target of the most vicious censor in American historyโAnthony Comstock.
And home to three sisters who vow to stop him.
For the three Applebaum sisters, the narrow, four-storied Arcadia Rare Bookshop is the only home theyโve ever known. Olivia, the oldest, is an expert in restoring rare manuscripts. Daphne, the outgoing middle sister, oversees the retail shop and is a favorite with their customers. Celia, the youngest, is left to dust and catalogue, but often sneaks out to do heaven knows what. Little do her sisters know, Celia has joined a group of young people who secretly print and distribute articles on womenโs health by hiding them within the pages of ordinary cookbooks, household hints, and sewing patterns, despite the personal risk.
Meanwhile, the Comstock Laws threaten anybody who owns or circulates โobscene, lewd, or lasciviousโ publications. Even classic literature or fine art could send a person to jail. In the face of such oppression, Celia and the booksellers of Book Row band together. But secrets and a mysterious stranger mean the fate of the famed Book Row is anything but secure.
Hunting the Strange
Family secrets and threats abound in this thrilling sequel to Mystery Royale as Mullory returns to Stoutmire manor amidst new powers, puzzling questions, and an even deadlier mystery. One thing she knows for certain: the games are far from over.
Lost: Amelia Earhart's Three Mysterious Deaths and One Extraordinary Life
When Amelia Earhartโs plane disappeared in 1937, the clues poured in, attracting wild conspiracies about her tragic fate.
In Lost, former National Geographic reporter Rachel Hartigan delves into Earhartโs disappearance, introducing a host of eccentric characters who have become obsessed with finding the truth. Did the great aviator crash land near the Marshall Islands, only to be captured by Japanese soldiers? Did she manage to land on Nikumaroro Island but die of injury or starvation? Or did she run out of fuel and crash into the ocean?
Interspersed with the search for Earhart is the story of her extraordinary her unstable childhood, her itinerant early career, and how a PR-savvy publisher transformed her into an aviation icon and became her husband in an unconventional marriage.
In the spirit of nonfiction blockbusters like The Lost City of Z, Hartigan draws us into the world of Earhart's devotees and unspools a beguiling tale. The theories lead Hartigan from the pilot's birthplace of Atchison, Kansas to an expedition on a remote Pacific Island, where forensic dogs attempt to recover a potential sample of Earhartโs DNA.
As tantilizing new evidence mounts, Hartigan and her fellow investigators descend deeper into a world of conspiracy and obsession. Through its irresistible characters and prodigious research, Lost reveals not just why we remember Amelia Earhart as a trailblazer and adventurer, but why unsolved mysteries keep us forever searching for answers.
Ruby Falls
A tense, claustrophobic historical mystery set almost entirely underground at the onset of the Great Depression about the discovery of a 150-foot waterfall in the middle of a mountain, the unthinkable crime that happens in its caves, and a woman whoโs never felt more alive.
In 1928, a Chattanooga man disappears down a hole in the ground and discovers a 150-foot waterfall in the middle of a mountain that he names after his Ruby Falls. Within months, visitors can buy tickets to see the falls for themselves. Ada Smith has been sneaking into the caves at night, entranced by the natural wonders around her and the freedom granted by this new underground world.
But itโs tough timing for a natural wonder. As the country flounders in the Great Depression, a shrewd public relations ploy seems like the only way to save Ruby Falls. A famous mind reader and mystic agrees to launch himself into the Ruby Falls caverns where he will attempt to locate a hidden hatpin using only his psychic abilities. He'll be joined by five his manager, his wife, a guide, a Chattanooga businessman, and a reporter from the Chicago Times. But theyโre not alone in the caverns. Ada and another guide, Quinton, have been asked to follow the mind readerโs party at a distance, staying out of sight. They are a safety net, in case of a broken leg or busted flashlights.
One of them will be dead before the end of the day.
Faced with a corpse and the stark reality that one of the people in her midst is a killer, Ada needs to get everyoneโthe murderer and the innocentsโback aboveground before their light runs out.
Ruby Falls is both a unique twist on the locked-room mystery and an exploration of loss and what it means to start over. Itโs a heart-racing story of survival and a testament to the threads that bind strangers together. Set against the true story of the discovery of Ruby Falls, the novel also draws on the memoirs of Katie Stabler, a female guide at Wind Caves in South Dakota.
The Valley of Vengeful Ghosts
In the aftermath of her mother's death, Eleanor is unmoored. For years, her mother orchestrated every detail of her lifeโfrom meals, to laundry, to financesโas Eleanor focused on her career as an online therapist. Left to navigate the world on her own, Eleanor clings to her motherโs final directive: use her inheritance to buy a house.
Desperate to obey her mother one last time, Eleanor impulsively buys a model home in a valley-turned-construction site, a picturesque development steeped in a shadowy history. It feels like a fresh start, until the rain comesโan endless, torrential downpour. As water seeps in through the houseโs cracks, the line between what is real and what is not begins to blur. Haunted by the stories of her clients, a stream of workmen and bureaucrats she canโt trust, and visions of ghosts from her past and present, Eleanorโs reality unravels, and she is forced to reckon with the secrets sheโs buried and the choices sheโs made.
Bloom
Morris Warner is withering away. After the sudden death of his husband, Fred, he has shut himself off from the world. No more going to movies with friends, or swims in Lake Michigan, instead preferring the quiet loneliness of his history books and Jeopardy episodes with only the cat to hear his answers.
Morrisโs stepdaughter, Sloan, feels like she has nowhere to grow. Sheโs about to get married to the man of her dreams, if only her mother will let her actually plan her own wedding and trust her to build her own life after her fatherโs death.
Jade is drying out. Literally. As a plant in Morrisโs home, she and her plant housemates have been slowly wasting away, leaf by falling leaf, since Fredโs death and Morrisโs lack of care. She needs to come up with a plan to make her new owner come back to life, no matter what it takes.
New York Times bestselling author Robbie Couchโs Bloom is a wondrous novel where family, love, kindness, and yes, Mother Nature, triumph.
Meet Me Under the Lights
High school junior Eliza Crowley is known as the Princess of Fairfield, a farm town in North Carolina that loves two thingsโtradition and baseball. Although Eliza loves โthe game,โ her life goal is to become a lighting designer on Broadway. Shaking off her reputation as the rich girl and focusing on her town's community theater production are what sheโs set her sights on this summer, and nothing will stand in her way. That is until Reed Fulton, the grandson of a struggling Fairfield farmer, and ace pitcher of the Fulton Hawks, returns to town. Reed dreams of putting the catastrophe of last season behind him and leading the Hawks to a championship victory against the Crowley Cardinals. When his childhood friend turned stranger, Eliza, strolls back into his life, she makes his heart accelerate quicker than his fastball, and heโs not sure he can stay away from the girl heโs supposed to despise. Small-town summers and baseball draw Reed and Eliza together, even though the Crowleys and the Fultons are determined to run each other out of town. When the families make a deal to settle their thirty-year-long dispute once and for all, Eliza and Reed are stuck in the middle during the most important summer of their lives.
The Dragon and the Sun Lotus
A decade ago, the Kingdom of Night began the war against the Kingdom of Rivers, ravaging the lands and releasing mรณโbeautiful, ravenous demonsโto roam free, drinking the souls of mortals. Now the mรณ have made it beyond the magical wards of the immortal realmโthe Kingdom of Skyโand will not stop until the entire world falls to darkness.
รnโyฤซng is determined to banish the mรณ to their realm and return the mortal realm to peace. But a stunning betrayal has turned the tides of this Her handsome rival from the Immortality Trials and the man she was falling in love with, Yรนโchรฉn, is now the enemy. Yรนโchรฉn is half mรณ, his mother none other than Sansiran, the Demon Queen of the Kingdom of Night . . . and the monster responsible for killing รnโyฤซngโs father.
There is one hope for the future, though. The boy in the jadeโรnโyฤซngโs lifelong mystery guardian and heir to the last mortal EmperorโHร oโyรกng. Together, รnโyฤซng and Hร oโyรกng must join forces to rally an army that stretches across realms, from the Four Seas of the Dragons to the Phoenixes of the Golden Desert. But first she must awaken to the immortal power slumbering in her own veins.
The thrilling conclusion of The Three Realms duology
THE SCORPION AND THE NIGHT BLOSSOM โข THE DRAGON AND THE SUN LOTUS
When Justice Comes
Hezekiah "Hez" Webster and his fiancรฉ, Savannah, stand on the brink of a new life, but their dreams are haunted by specters of the past. Just as they're getting ready to adopt her nephew, two other petitioners also file for custody--both of whom only want Simon for their own gains.
Between the financial company that Hez outmaneuvered to save the university from ruin and the bad blood from the head of the Willard family, it's hard to say who wants them out of the way more. Hez and Savannah's quest for justice leads them through a labyrinth of family law, where loyalties are tested and trust is a dangerous luxury when every decision could be their last.
With the clock ticking, Hez and Savannah must confront the ghosts of their past and their deepest fears to secure a future for Simon. But with every secret revealed, the stakes grow higher. Can they build the family they've always dreamed of, or will their enemies succeed in tearing them apart forever?
The Tupelo Grove series reaches its breathtaking conclusion as an enemy's agenda for revenge runs darker than swamp water and justice remains as precarious as quicksand in this heart-pounding narrative that underscores the power of redemption and forgiveness.
Delusions: Of Grandeur, of Romance, of Progress
Beginning with her 29th birthday and ending with her 30th, Cazzie tries to mature in the span of one year. Along the way, she reflects on the delusions that laid waste to her twenties and reckons with their consequences now that the specter of a new decade is looming. Touching on everything from the pressure to find the "right" partner, dealing with the relentless grip of social media, and navigating body dysmorphic spirals, Delusions cuts through the noise, offering personal anecdotes, sharp cultural criticism, and witty, honest contemplations on the chaos of contemporary adulthood.
The Woman and Her Stars
Caroline Herschel has always lived in the shadows. Beholden to her wildly popular older brother, William, who rescued her from servitude, she's worked hard to build a life for herself โ one where she can go unnoticed and repay the debt she believes she owes. But when her brother becomes obsessed with sweeping the heavens, everything changes.
Newly appointed as the King's Astronomer, William is rushed away from the bustling streets of Bath to the quiet countryside of Windsor. When Caroline makes a discovery that could send her right back to the people she was rescued from, she has no choice but to leave her carefully constructed life and follow her brother. Taking up the position as William's assistant, Caroline resolves to learn everything she can about astronomy. But the more she understands, the more she falls in love with her telescope, and soon, she discovers that she might be good at the science, great, even, and that the stars could offer her the freedom she's always secretly wanted. When itโs clear that Caroline is just as much the astronomer as her brother, she realizes she must break free from the life she has lived and find her own place in the night sky.
Based on the true story of Caroline Herschel, The Woman and Her Stars shines a light on a woman who was raised to believe she was worth nothing more than to serve others, but whose genius and resolve made her one of the worldโs leading astronomers. An awe-inspiring story set within the societal boundaries of the Georgian era, itโs a hopeful journey of self-discovery, familial bonds, and passion.
The Only One Who Knows
Minnow Greenwood, previously known for stealing her way into the hearts of viewers as Melbourneโs number one morning show host, is now back in her small hometown of Kangaroo Bay. After a horrifying and unexpected episode, she has no choice but to join her estranged brother in their family business of shark fishing. For an insomniac like Minnow, the work is strangely thrillingโthereโs something alluring about the dark water at night. Something exciting, grimyโฆ fitting. And maybe itโs not even so bad reconnecting with her brother, whoโs the only person who ever saw her for herself. But the last thing she expects to surface on the beach is a human body.
Kangaroo Bay is a town quietly brimming with rage towards invasive tourists and host to a disquieting number of shark attacksโthere's no sympathy for the wayward swimmer. Except the media soon uncover that the victim was declared missing weeks before, and was long dead before they even entered the water. When the journalist in Minnow kicks back into drive, she discovers something for over forty years, there have been a steady number of missing persons around the area, including her own fatherโs disappearance ten years ago.
This is her one opportunity to reclaim her career as a journalist, and to learn what really happened to her father, but as Minnow digs deeper into the spate of missing tourists and the mystery of her father, she realizes someone is desperate to keep the secrets buried. . .and then another body washes ashore.
The Debtor's Game
As a palace faerie, Avery is busy preparing Lady Kassandra, a High Fae of the House of Illusions, for the upcoming coronation. Both of their freedoms rely on Kassandra, to escape her violent brother, and Avery, to pay off rings of debt tattoos she has inherited from her family, which force her to serve the High Fae.
After a series of tragic events, Avery is forced to split her loyalties between Lady Kassandra and the newly crowned King Maxian, an alluring High Fae of staggering power. Avery agrees to spy on the King in exchange for liberating her family from debt, forming a triangle that proves more dangerous by the minuteโfurther complicated by Averyโs warring desire and resentment for both Maxian and Kassandra.
But freedom from her debt grows further out of reach when sheโs forced to test her loyalties, leading her to uncover secrets about the High Fae with earth-shattering implications. Soon, Avery must find out whether the faeriesโand herselfโare really as powerless against the High Fae as they seem...or whether she just might hold the key to freeing them all.
Too Blessed to Stress
Camryn, Savannah, Trishy, and Kristin are #blessed. As influencers at the trendiest megachurch in town, Moving Word, the quartet is committed to sharing everything from modest (but stylish!) clothing tips to advice on finding the godliest man possible. Across platforms (#synergy), they show just how easy it is to be a modern, Christian womanโespecially if you use their discount codes.
But behind their veneer (and veneers), the truth isnโt quite so picture perfect. Despite her popular lifestyle videos, Camryn is barely making ends meet. Savannah struggles to break free of her reality TV upbringing and start a family of her own, while Trishy attempts to leave her less-than-holy past behind. And Kristin, the groupโs youngest member, isnโt finding it as easy to fit in as their color-coordinated outfits make it seem.
When Moving Wordโs charming leader, Pastor Kyle, and his ridiculously perfect wife, Cassidy, decide to host a lavish fundraiser to put the megachurch further on the map, Camryn, Savannah, Trishy, and Kristin find themselves knee deep in the most important event since the Last Supper. But the brighter the spotlight, the darker the shadowsโand when the women discover an incendiary secret at the heart of Moving Word, they are forced to confront questions of hypocrisy, exposure, and how to wield oneโs power for good.
A Death in Arcadia: A Legal Thriller
When fifteen-year-old Trayvon Clapper is murdered by a guard at Camp B in Florida, his fringe-living mother and boyfriend come to Bergman-Deketomis to file a lawsuit against the facility. Details of the case trigger in Deke memories of his own troubled childhood. As a boy, Deke had no stable parents around him, so he lived with several different families over the years as he grew up, avoiding the foster care system. However, his best friend, Bucky, was not so fortunate. He, too, was killed in a similar facilityโฆ and Deke has carried within him a powerful guilt that he has never talked about to anyone, including his wife and children.
Cara Deketomis, Dekeโs daughter, is a young lawyer at the firm also working on the case. She comes to recognize the pain her father is feeling but she does not have the ability to break through to the truth. An opportunity in Caraโs personal life also hammers a wedge between father and daughter, adding more stress to the situation.
Meanwhile, investigation into the case uncovers a hidden threat that could endanger everyone at the law firm. A corrupt Congressman, Bob Minds, and his shady colleague, Skyler Bannock, are โfixersโ for Phoenix Industries, the parent company of Camp B and other child โprotectiveโ services facilities that do anything but that. Minds and Bannock resort to nefarious crimes to make Phoenixโs problems go away, including bribery, intimidation, and even murder. And then thereโs Skylerโs brother, Midas, a killer straight out of a nightmare, who does the teamโs dirtiest work.
Will the ugly forces behind the scenes wreak lethal havoc on Deke and his team? Will the echo of Dekeโs guilt get in the way of a successful legal action against Phoenix? In the tradition of The Middleman, Suspicious Activity,and Inhuman Trafficking, Mike Papantonio takes Deke and his cohorts on a new and different kind of legal gamble, but full of the action and thrills for which he is known.
Prom King
Did I miss anything? Let me know in the comments down below.

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