#BookReview: The Last One (Deluxe Limited Edition) @RachelHowzell @RedTowerBooks

Explosive and enthralling romantasy debut from New York Times bestselling author Rachel Howzell Hall...

Thrown into a desolate land of sickness and unnatural beasts, Kai wakes in the woods with no idea who she is or how she got there. All she knows is that if she cannot reach the Sea of Devour, even this hellscape will get worse. But when she sees the village blacksmith fight invaders with unspeakable skill, she decides to accept his offer of help.

Too bad he’s as skilled at annoying her as he is at fighting.

As she searches for answers, Kai only finds more questions, especially regarding the blacksmith who can ignite her body like a flame, then douse it with ice in the next breath.

And no one is what—or who—they appear to be in the kingdom of Vinevridth, including the man whose secrets might be as deadly as the land itself.

#BookReview: It's Elementary by @elisembryant

A fast-paced, completely delightful new mystery about what happens when parents get a little too involved in their kids' schools, from NAACP Image Award nominee Elise Bryant.

Mavis Miller is not a PTA mom. She has enough on her plate with her feisty seven-year-old daughter, Pearl, an exhausting job at a nonprofit, and the complexities of a multigenerational household. So no one is more surprised than Mavis when she caves to Trisha Holbrook, the long-reigning, slightly terrifying PTA president, and finds herself in charge of the school’s brand-new DEI committee.
As one of the few Black parents at this California elementary school, Mavis tries to convince herself this is an opportunity for real change. But things go off the rails at the very first meeting, when the new principal's plans leave Trisha absolutely furious. Later that night, when Mavis spies Trisha in yellow rubber gloves and booties, lugging cleaning supplies and giant black trash bags to her waiting minivan, it’s only natural that her mind jumps to somewhere it surely wouldn’t in the light of day.
Except Principal Smith fails to show up for work the next morning, and has been MIA since the meeting. Determined to get to the bottom of things, Mavis, along with the school psychologist with the great forearms (look, it’s worth noting), launches an investigation that will challenge her views on parenting, friendship, and elementary school politics.

Brilliantly written, It's Elementary is a quick-witted, escapist romp that perfectly captures just how far parents will go to give their kids the very best, all wrapped in a mystery that will leave you guessing to the very end.

#BookReview: The Five Stages of Courting Dalisay Ramos by @MelissadelaCruz

Evan Saatchi can’t keep his eyes off his new co-worker, Dalisay Ramos. Newly arrived from Manila to lead their travel app’s Asia division, nothing matters more to Dalisay than tradition and family. When Evan asks her out, she soundly rejects him for his cheek. Evan learns from his Filipino friends that Dalisay expects more from potential suitors. If he wants a chance with her, he’s going to have to go through the Five Stages, the same courtship ritual that lovers in the Philippines have performed for generations. At first, Evan is skeptical—what, exactly, does “servitude” entail? And he has to sing?! But when Dalisay bets Evan that he doesn’t have the nerve to make it through the stages, the game is on. As Evan attempts to prove to Dalisay that he can win her heart—and the bet—Dalisay is driven to distraction by Evan’s sexy labors, and soon their “courtship” turns into a sizzling secret. But when modern love and family expectations collide, Dalisay and Evan must find a way to carry a rich history into a shared future.

#BookReview: A Bond with the Dark (The Beautifully Broken Saga, #1) by Inara Gage

In “A Bond with the Dark,” a reluctant witch, Sayah Thorne, finds herself thrust into a world of danger and deception. When her family perishes in a mysterious fire, Sayah's quest for truth leads her on a perilous journey alongside her witch aunts. Meanwhile, Dominic Sangravelli and his siblings battle grimspawn, reanimated dead plaguing their existence.

Fate intertwines their destinies when a prophecy designates Sayah as a catalyst for change. Despite opposition from Dominic's vampire family, he is drawn to Sayah, sparking a forbidden romance. But amidst their burgeoning love, dark forces gather, and Sayah becomes the target of those who believe her death will bring about balance.

In “A Bond with the Dark,” love and magic collide as Sayah and Dominic navigate a treacherous landscape, where betrayal lurks around every corner. Can they defy fate and save their world from impending doom, or will the shadows consume them? Delve into a world of mystery, romance, and supernatural intrigue, where alliances are tested, and the line between light and dark blurs.

#BookReview: The Gilded Crown (The Raven's Trade #1) by @theIvyandtheOak

The Witch’s Heart meets The Priory of the Orange Tree in this debut novel about a woman who can bring people back from the dead, and the princess—and only heir to the throne—that she must protect, no matter the cost. The first time Hellevir visited Death, she was ten years old… Since she was a little girl, Hellevir has been able to raise the dead. Every creature can be saved for a price, a price demanded by the shrouded figure who rules the afterlife, who takes a little more from Hellevir with each soul she resurrects. Such a gift can rarely remain a secret. When Princess Sullivain, sole heir to the kingdom’s throne, is assassinated, the Queen summons Hellevir to demand she bring her granddaughter back to life. But once is not enough; the killers might strike again. The Princess’s death would cause a civil war, so the Queen commands that Hellevir remain by her side. But Sullivain is no easy woman to be bound to, even as Hellevir begins to fall in love with her. With the threat of war looming, Hellevir must trade more and more of herself to keep the Princess alive. But Death will always take what he is owed.

#BookReview: Still the Sun by @CNHolmberg

An ancient machine holds the secrets of a distant world’s past for two intimate strangers in the latest romantic fantasy adventure by Wall Street Journal bestselling author Charlie N. Holmberg.

Pell is an engineer and digger by trade—unearthing and repairing the fascinating artifacts left behind by the mysterious Ancients who once inhabited the sunbaked planet of Tampere. She’ll do anything to help the people of her village survive and to better understand the secrets of what came before.

Heartwood and Moseus are keepers of a forbidding tower near the village of Emgarden. Inside are the remnants of complex machines the likes of which Pell has never seen. Considering her affinity for Ancient tech, the keepers know Pell is their only hope of putting the pieces of these metal puzzles together and getting them running. The tower’s other riddle is Heartwood himself. He is an enigma, distant yet protective, to whom Pell is inexplicably drawn.

Pell’s restoration of this broken behemoth soon brings disturbing visions—and the discovery that her relationship to it could finally reveal the origins of the towers’ strange keepers and the unfathomable reason the truth has been hidden from her.

#BookReview: Mountains Made of Glass (Fairy Tale Retelling, #1) by Scarlett St. Clair

"Could you love me?" he whispered. The question stole my breath and burned my lungs in the silence that followed. 

I wanted to answer, to whisper yes into the space between us, but I was afraid.

All Gesela's life, her home village of Elk has been cursed. And it isn't a single curse—it is one after another, each to be broken by a villager, each with devastating consequences. When Elk's well goes dry, it is Gesela's turn to save her town by killing the toad that lives at the bottom. Except… the toad is not a toad at all. He is an Elven prince under a curse of his own, and upon his death, his brothers come for Gesela, seeking retribution.

As punishment, the princes banish Gesela to live with their seventh brother, the one they call the beast. Gesela expects to be the prisoner of a hideous monster, but the beast turns out to be exquisitely beautiful, and rather than lock her in a cell, he offers Gesela a deal. If she can guess his true name in seven days, she can go free.

Gesela agrees, but there is a hidden catch—she must speak his name with love in order to free him, too.

But can either of them learn to love in time?

#BookReview: Spark of the Everflame (Kindred's Curse #1) by Penn Cole

When old secrets catch fire, everything will burn.

In a mortal world colonized by the gods and ruled over by the Descended, their cruel offspring, Diem Bellator yearns to escape the insular life of her poor village.

Her mother’s sudden disappearance—and the discovery of a dangerous secret about her past—offer Diem an unexpected opportunity to enter the dark world of Descended royalty and unlock the web of mysteries her mother left behind.

With the dying King’s handsome, mysterious heir watching her every move, and a ruthless mortal alliance recruiting her to join the growing civil war, Diem will have to navigate the unwritten rules of love, power, and politics in order to save her family—and all of mortalkind.

Spark of the Everflame is the first book in The Kindred's Curse Saga, a four-book fantasy romance series. This slow burn, enemies-to-lovers epic is perfect for lovers of magic, dragons, angst, and banter and will appeal to fans of books like A Court of Thorns and Roses, From Blood and Ash, Gild, and The Serpent & the Wings of Night.

#BookReview: Any Trope But You by Victoria Lavine

A bestselling romance author flees to Alaska to reinvent herself and write her first murder mystery, but the rugged resort proprietor soon has her fearing she’s living in a rom-com plot instead in this earnestly spectacular debut by a stunning new voice.

Beloved romance author Margot Bradley has a dark secret: she doesn’t believe in Happily Ever Afters. Not for herself, not for her readers, and not even for her characters, for whom she secretly writes alternate endings that swap weddings and babies for divorce papers and the occasional slashed tire. When her Happily Never After document is hacked and released to the public, she finds herself canceled by her readers and dropped by her publisher.

Desperate to find a way to continue supporting her chronically ill sister, Savannah, Margot decides to trade meet-cutes for murder. The fictional kind. Probably. But when Savannah books Margot a six-week stay in a remote Alaskan resort to pen her first murder mystery, Margot finds herself running from a moose and leaping into the arms of the handsome proprietor, making her fear she’s just landed in a romance novel instead.

The last thing Dr. Forrest Wakefield ever expected was to leave his dream job as a cancer researcher to become a glorified bellhop. What he’s really doing at his family’s resort is caring for his stubborn, ailing father, and his puzzle-loving mind is slowly freezing over—until Margot shows up. But Forrest doesn’t have any room in his life for another person he could lose, especially one with a checkout date.

As long snowy nights and one unlikely trope after another draw Margot and Forrest together, they’ll each have to learn to overcome their fears and set their aside assumptions before Margot leaves—or risk becoming a Happily Never After story themselves.

#BookReview: Torn (All Torn Up #1) by Carian Cole

"Well-written tension and forbidden longing. The angst in this was incredible!"
— Penelope Douglas, New York Times bestselling author of Birthday Girl

When I was five years old I told Toren Grace we were going to get married someday. He’d been my best friend, my protector, and my rock since the day I was born. He was my world. In fact, his name was my very first word.
 
He wasn’t just my favorite person, though.
 
He was also my dad’s best friend, and my pseudo uncle.
 
But during my senior year of high school, our relationship slowly changed. Innocent friendship turned to stolen glances. Silly conversations morphed into serious heart-to-hearts. And then one day, an unexpected smoldering kiss changed everything.
 
While that kiss was everything I’d ever dreamed of, it knocked Tor clear off his axis. He’s one of the good guys—loving and devoted with a strong moral compass . . . which makes it impossible for him to accept our feelings for each other. Because not only are we both the one person the other should never, ever want, I’m eighteen, and Tor is fifteen years older than me.
 
Despite that, the heart wants what the heart wants, and ours have decided we’re meant to be together no matter what.
 
But neither one of us can stand to betray or hurt my father, who trusts Tor with everything precious to him. We can’t be in a secret relationship forever, so what will happen when my father finds out his best friend is in love with his daughter?
 
Will there be a way for us to find our happily ever after? Or we will all be torn apart?

#BookReview: Dirty Lying Faeries (The Enchanted Fates, #1) by Sabrina Blackburry

"Dirty Lying Faeries is a wholly entertaining new take on a familiar concept." –Fangirlish

For better or for worse, the newest changeling has arrived . . .

When Thea Kanelos’s best friend drags her to an art gala (that’s definitely not her thing), she doesn’t expect a chance encounter with Devin Grayson to change her life forever. The handsome stranger isn’t just anyone―he’s a powerful fae, charged with bringing Thea into his world.

Believing that she’s always been human, Thea must accept that everything she’s known about herself up until now has been a lie. She’s not human at all. She is a fae―funny, because she doesn’t even believe in faeries.


But with strange creatures now visible on the street and fangs and colors flashing in the shadows, it can’t be denied: faeries are real. And with the Winter Solstice approaching, a magnificent ball will bring her fully into the fae world and draw her closer to Devin with whom she has a deepening and dangerous attraction.

As her new powers awaken, Thea learns she plays a more pivotal role to the fae than she ever imagined. And when the barrier between the human and the fae worlds begins to crack, it will be up to her to save not just herself, but everyone she loves from a terrible fate.

Deeply sensual and darkly magical, Dirty Lying Faeries is the first book in an exciting new series that takes readers inside a universe filled with faeries, dragons and werewolves--and those that love them.

#BookReview: Man in the Water by David Housewright

When his wife finds the body of an Army veteran in the lake, it is inevitable that former cop, now unofficial P.I. Rushmore McKenzie will get enmeshed in a complicated case of possible murder.

It all starts with the body in the water—on what should be the first boat day of the season, McKenzie’s wife Nina finds a dead Army vet. As the dock owner and the insurance companies claim that it was suicide, despite the deceased, E.J. Woods, having no obvious reason to kill himself, his widow starts acting suspiciously. McKenzie finds himself pulled into the fight when Naveah, the victim’s daughter, convinced her father was murdered, asks him to investigate.

Further complicating the situation are uncooperative boaters, allegations of PTSD, and the simple fact that there was no reason for E.J. to be in the water. McKenzie’s investigation unearths not only the petty squabbles surrounding the lake and its dock, but details of her father’s past that Naveah is perhaps better off not knowing. With Nina haunted by dreams of the body and the legal fight over cause of death becoming increasingly nasty, McKenzie may be the only one interested in finding justice for E.J.— and uncovering the truth before another person dies.

#BookReview: Pitch Dark (Mike Bowditch, #15) by @pauldoiron

Game Warden Mike Bowditch must chase down a cunning and dangerous fugitive in the North Maine Woods in this nail-biter of a thriller from Edgar Award-nominated author Paul Doiron, Pitch Dark.

Legendary bush pilot Josie Jonson can’t believe her luck when a skilled builder just happens to show up after she purchases land near Prentiss Pond. All Mark Redmond asks in return for building Josie’s dream cabin is that he be left alone to homeschool his 12-year-old daughter, Cady.

For Maine game warden investigator Mike Bowditch, the intensity of Redmond's secretiveness is troubling, especially in light of suspicious criminal activity being reported around the area―including rumors of an armed man offering large sums of money in exchange for the location of Redmond and Cady. Josie, though hesitant to violate the trust of her prized builder, eventually agrees to fly Mike and his father-in-law Charley Stevens to the secluded pond in an attempt to protect Redmond and Cady. But hours after landing, the trip takes a dark turn when they witness a horrific murder and are taken captive themselves.

Freeing himself, Mike is forced to set off through the impenetrable Maine forest towards Canada, alone and unarmed in pursuit of a mysterious fugitive. As he navigates a windblown landscape choked with deadfalls and blocked by swollen streams, he marvels at his enemy’s bush craft. The killer possesses skills surpassing his own, and Bowditch can't tell if he is the cat or the mouse in this dangerous game. Can Mike Bowditch stop his adversary in time to save the life of a young girl, or will he be forced to watch another innocent soul die?

#BookReview: An Epitaph for Jezebel by L. Divine

An Atlanta investigative reporter who speaks for those without a voice. A female-owned strip club famous for treating its performers as well as its customers. But when one popular dancer is ritualistically murdered, reporter Keke McCoy’s investigation won’t leave hers—or anyone’s—secrets safe, in the first of a thrilling mystery series by L. Divine . . .

When Keke starts looking into secretive stripper Monaka's grisly death, she’s instantly caught between her past and her present. Through The Honey Pot club owner "Honey Mama" Thiboudeaux, Keke found refuge from the streets, earned much money from her stage persona "Brandy," and got a chance at a new life all her own. Her bombshell exposé about the club launched her reporting career. But it caused a bitter, seemingly irrevocable split between her, the only family she's ever known—and Drew, the one man Keke won't admit she's never gotten
over . . .

At Honey Mama request's, Keke goes undercover as Brandy to find the truth before political pressures shut the progressive club down for good. But Keke has to watch more than her back when she finds Monaka had an unshakable, dangerously elusive stalker, an illicit club sideline—and vicious conflicts with rival dancers. Even more explosive, Keke's persistence is putting her at odds with Drew, now a police detective working this case . . . and the secrets she herself can no longer hide.

Now with the clock fast ticking down, Keke must tantalize the killer with the one lure he—or she—can't resist. But using fantasy as a trap could put more than her pursuit of justice on the line--it risks ending her career and life for good . . .

#BookReview: Pride and Prejudice in Space by @AlexisLampley

Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is arguably the forerunner of all romantic comedies and certainly one of her most popular and irreverent works. And now, graphic designer and Nerdy Ink co-owner—and obsessive fan of Pride and Prejudice—Alexis Lampley gives this timeless, classic, Regency-era romance a new twist, setting it among the stars in a futuristic universe where spaceships and interplanetary travel is the daily norm. Featuring 50+ color illustrations of the Londinium Lunar System, drawings of gowns by Lydia Bennet, and spaceship designs by Elizabeth Bennet, this is a futuristic take on a classic by a dedicated Jane Austen fan, for Austen newbies and super-fans alike.

#BookReview: Under Your Spell by Laura Wood

The daughter of an aging rock star finds herself working for the hottest musician on the planet and is shocked when sparks start to fly—especially since she swore she’d never, ever date a celebrity—in this unputdownable romance that is perfect for fans of Christina Lauren and Emily Henry.

She wants three things. He isn’t one of them...

Dumped by her cheating ex, fired from her dream job, and about to lose her Clementine Monroe is not having a good day. So when her sisters get her drunk and suggest reviving a childhood ritual called the Breakup Spell, she doesn’t see the harm in it.

But now Clemmie has accidentally ruined a funeral, had her first one-night stand, and she’s stuck with a new job she definitely doesn’t want—spending six weeks alone with the gorgeous and very-off-limits rock star, Theo Eliott.

He’s the most famous man on the planet. Her life’s a disaster. As their summer together turns into its own kind of magic, is Clemmie cursed to repeat the mistakes of her past—or will her future see all her wishes come true?

#BookReview: The Mistress Experience (Society of Sirens, #3) by Scarlett Peckham @scarlettpeckham

The scandalous women of the USA Today bestselling author Scarlett Peckham’s Society of Sirens are back with the final stage in their fight for female rights—and this time the battle is to be waged in bed…

She’s the most infamous harlot in London…and she’s up for auction.

Thaïs Magadalene is a legend. The nation’s most notorious courtesan, she sells herself once a week, for one night only, and never to the same patron twice. Until now. To raise money for the cause of women’s rights, she has auctioned herself off for one month as mistress to the highest bidder.


But the winner is not who he seems.

Lord Alastair Eden is an earl, a radical politician, and a perfectionist in all things—except one. His confidence belies an unexpected he doesn’t know how to please a woman in bed. He’s determined to change that before he marries. And who could be better than the most skilled lover in the country to teach him?

And love is never for sale.

Thaïs dreams of finding a man who will love her unconditionally, never mind her past and reputation. Eden dreams of finding a perfectly bred young lady to be his wife and helpmeet. But when a steamy month in the countryside breeds a connection both in and out of the bedchamber, the two of them must decide how much can be sacrificed for love—one’s dreams, or one’s reputation.

#BookReview: Romancing Miss Stone by @MC_Vaughan @HarlequinBooks

His perfectly planned life is about to go wild.

By-the-numbers Bo Ferguson has his future all planned. Then his archaeologist fiancée dumps him. Via text. From Belize. Navigating the rainforest to win her back is way out of Bo’s comfort zone, but so is the idea of starting over. Fortunately, he’s secured a tour guide willing to lead him into the unmapped jungle. Unfortunately, she’s annoying, impulsive—and attractive as hell.

Jungle expert Alexandra Stone is in no position to turn down a job after her regrettable ex stole everything from her family business and ran. Sure, Bo might be frustratingly uptight, but Alex needs the money. And besides, there’s something…fun about pushing the guy’s adorably rigid buttons, especially when it clearly gets a rise out of him.

But the close confines of their shared camp make it hard to ignore the tension beneath the bickering, prompting the sweltering heat between them to erupt into sweaty, wild passion. Bo can’t deny his brief time with Alex has been the most exciting of his life. But the journey they’re on still leads to one place—his ex-fiancée—forcing Bo and Alex to confront their pasts, their fears and the question of just where this adventure will take them…

#BookReview: My Friends by @Backmanland @AtriaBooks

#1 New York Times bestselling author Fredrik Backman returns with an unforgettably funny, deeply moving tale of four teenagers whose friendship creates a bond so powerful that it changes a complete stranger’s life twenty-five years later.

Most people don’t even notice them—three tiny figures sitting at the end of a long pier in the corner of one of the most famous paintings in the world. Most people think it’s just a depiction of the sea. But Louisa, an aspiring artist herself, knows otherwise, and she is determined to find out the story of these three enigmatic figures.

Twenty-five years earlier, in a distant seaside town, a group of teenagers find refuge from their bruising home lives by spending long summer days on an abandoned pier, telling silly jokes, sharing secrets, and committing small acts of rebellion. These lost souls find in each other a reason to get up each morning, a reason to dream, a reason to love.

Out of that summer emerges a transcendent work of art, a painting that will unexpectedly be placed into eighteen-year-old Louisa’s care. She embarks on a surprise-filled cross-country journey to learn how the painting came to be and to decide what to do with it. The closer she gets to the painting’s birthplace, the more nervous she becomes about what she’ll find. Louisa is proof that happy endings don’t always take the form we expect in this stunning testament to the transformative, timeless power of friendship and art.

#BookReview: The Hangman (The Forgotten Files #3) by Mary Burton

Julia Vargas is a cop with a mission. When she’s not chasing down bad guys, Julia dedicates her time to investigating the Hangman serial killer…the same unsolved case that her father, Jim Vargas, was working on when he supposedly shot and killed himself three decades before. While rumors continue to swirl around her father’s death, Julia attempts to hunt down the truth.

The case once again hits dangerously close, however, when a woman’s bones are discovered in a historic downtown home, together with a photograph of Jim and Julia as a young girl. As horrifying as this discovery is, it may just be the break Julia has waited for. Working alongside Tobias Novak, a homicide detective with whom she shares a complicated—and steamy—history, she’s forced to confront her own past even as the Hangman looms in the shadows. But as the mysterious killer circles closer, Julia can feel her own noose begin to tighten…