Bookish Travels—April 2023 Destinations

I saw this meme on It’s All About Books and thought, I like this!! So, I decided to do it once a month also. Many thanks to Yvonne for initially posting this!!

This post is what it says: Places I travel to in books each month. Books are lovely and take you to places you would never get to. That includes places of fantasy too!!

Bon Voyage!!

Please let me know if you have read these books or traveled to these areas.


Earth 2

Government, Settlement

United States

New York (Crescent Cove), Nevada (Las Vegas)
Maryland (Pikesville)
California (Los Angeles)
Washington (Seattle)
New York (Seneca Springs)
Colorado (Longmont)
Kansas (Liverly)
Indiana (English), California (San Fransisco), Virginia (Perryville), Arizona (Tombstone), New York (New York City)
North Carolina (Neapolis)
New York (Manhattan), California (Newport Beach, Balboa Island, Newport, Menlo Park, Santa Barbara, Montecito, Goleta)
Louisiana (Unknown city), Rhode Island (Emerald Bay)
Unknown State (Unknown City)
New York (New York City, New Rochelle)
Wyoming (Wallace), Iowa (Fort Madison)
West Virginia (Huntington), Ohio (Crown City)
Pennsylvania
California (Mojave Desert, Aspen Flats, Pasatiempo, Santa Cruz, Watsonville, Aptos, Pajaro Dunes)
Southern California, Arizona
Colorado (Denver, Arvada)
Illinois (Chicago, Downers Grove)
Connecticut (Wingate)
New York (New York City, Brooklyn)

Western Foalinaarc

University of Western Foalinaarc

England

Unknown City
Regency London, Kingsclere, Amesbury, Bath
Oxford
Richmond-on-Thames, London, Birmingham, Guildford, Penzance
Oxford
Colchester, London

Hell


Train

Pan Pacifica

The Czech Republic

Prague

Italy

Florence, Rome, Tuscany

France

Paris

Post Apocalyptic Earth

ARC (fall-out shelter), Hope City

Ukraine


The Netherlands

Amsterdam

Canada

Toronto, Niagara Falls

South Korea

Seoul

Malta


Island States

Prospera, Annex, Nursery Isle

Kenya

Nairobi

April 2023 Wrap Up

Here is what I read/posted in April.

As always, let me know if you have read any of these books and (if you did) what you thought of them.


Books I Read:

ARC from author
KU Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Non-ARC from Novel Cause
Non-ARC from Novel Cause
ARC from Sourcebooks Casablanca
ARC from author, Level Best Books, IBPA, Member’s Titles
Free Kindle Purchase—No review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Non-ARC from author
KU Purchase—No Review
Free Amazon Prime Reads—No Review
KU Purchase—No Review
KU Purchase—No Review
KU Purchase—No Review
ARC from St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books
ARC from St. Martin’s Press
Non-ARC from Author
Non-ARC from Author
KU Purchase—No Review
KU Purchase—No Review
KU Purchase—No Review
ARC from St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Paperbacks
ARC from Sourcebooks Fire
Non ARC from author
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Kindle Purchase—No Review
KU Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
ARC from author
ARC from Crooked Lane Books
ARC from Sourcebooks Casablanca
ARC from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Ballantine Books
ARC from Random House Publishing Group – Random House, Dial Press Trade Paperback

Books I got from NetGalley:

Read Now from St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books
Wish granted from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Bantam
Wish Granted from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Bantam
Read Now from Tor Publishing Group, Tor Books
Wish Granted from Sourcebooks Casablanca
Wished Granted from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Delacorte Press
Invite from Random House Publishing Group – Random House, Random House Trade Paperbacks
SMP Influencer Program pick from St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books
Wish Granted from Random House Publishing Group – Random House, The Dial Group
Wish Granted from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Ballantine Books
Request from Meryl Media Group, Rosewind Books

Books I got from Authors/Indie Publishers:

Non-Arc from author
ARC from Novel Cause
ARC from author
Non ARC from author
Non-ARC from author
Non-ARC from author
ARC from Author

Giveaway Winners

Goodreads Giveaway—Kindle download
Goodreads Giveaway—Paperback
Goodreads Giveaway—Paperback
Goodreads Giveaway—Paperback

Books Reviewed:

The Witch and the Vampire—review here

Prince of Typgar: Nurjan and the Monks of Meirar—review here

Read to Death at the Lakeside Library—review here

Dirty Laundry by Disha Bose—review here

Body Count by SM Thomas—review here

Prince of Typgar: Nujran and the Corpse in the Quadrangle by Krishna Sudhir—review here

Wings Once Cursed and Bound by Piper J. Drake—review here

No Time to Breathe by Lori Duffy Foster—review here

Another Chance at Happiness by Dani Phoenix—review here

Tales from the Box, Volume 1 by Weston Kincaide—review here

Pieces of Me by Kate McLaughlin—review here

Where Coyotes Howl by Sandra Dallas—review here

Bait by D.I. Jolly—review here

Missing by Amy Kulp—review here

How to Best a Marquess—review here

This Delicious Death—review here


Reading Challenges:

2023 Monthly Themes (Continue a series or reread an author already read this year): Claim My Baby—Finished 3-31-23

Romanceopoly 2023! (Read a book where the main character works at or owns a bar)-About LoveFinished 4-1-23

Buzzword Reading Challenge 2023 (words in the title related to emotions, from happy to sad, smile to frown, pride to rage)—P.S. I Hate You—Finished 4-3-23

2023 Sami Parker Reads Title Challenge (a book with one of these words in the title: Sunny, Bright, Cloud or Rain): Brightest Shadow—Finished 4-6-2023

Cover Scavenger Hunt 2023 (a flower): A Spirited Manor—Finished 4-7-2023

The StoryGraph’s OnBoarding Reading Challenge 2023 (read one of the first 10 books you added to your to-read pile): The Night Swim—Finished 4-8-2023

The StoryGraph Reads the World 2023 (Italy): Find Me—Finished 4-10-2023

The StoryGraph’s Genre Challenge (a biography about someone you don’t know much about): Killing Kennedy: The End of Camelot—Finished 4-11-2023

Beat the Backlist 2023 (take place primarily in winter or a cold region): Tainted—Finished 4-19-2023

Scavenger Hunt TBR Book Challenge (go to the acknowledgments of the last book you read for this prompt. What name did you first see? Find a book written by an author with that name): Frost Burn—Finished 4-20-2023

Scavenger Hunt (Book I found that day): Delicate Ink—Finished 4-20-2023

Popsugar Reading Challenge 2023 (a book by a first time author): The Fifth Floor—Finished 4-21-23

2023 TBR Toppler (continue a series): Ten Thousand Lies—Finished 4-22-23

2023 Reading Challenge (book that has been on my TBR for the longest time): Purple Death—Finished 4-23-23

2023 ABC Challenge (D): Descendants—Carrying over to May

2023 TBR Prompts (A BookTok Favorite): The Song of Achilles—Carrying over to May

WWW Wednesday: March 28th, 2023

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words.

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?


Personal:

Things have been quiet around here, which it hasn’t been for a couple of weeks. We are all feeling better and back to our day-to-day activities. Even the cats have been chill, which is amazing.

Shows I watched this week: Shadow and Bone: Season 2, 1899 (which is super creepy), and OnPatrol Live.

What I Cooked/Baked: Nothing. I am waiting for meat and chicken prices to come down before experimenting with recipes.


Reading/Blog:

I think I have made up for the books I didn’t read when I was sick…lol. I finished all of my reading challenges as well as all of my ARCs for this month. So, yay me!! I will try to get a head start in April and May, mainly May. I kinda overbooked myself for that month.

The longest book I read this week: The Dark Rift. There was so much happening with that book. Add in that I was having concentration issues. It took me a couple of days to read.

The shortest book I read this week: Vicious Delights. It was a cute Hunger Games knockoff that took me under 4 hours to read (thank you, car rider line!!)


What I Recently Finished Reading:

Set on the planet Syzegis, in a distant galaxy, Nujran is the spoiled pre-teen son of King Rababi and Queen Roone in the kingdom of Typgar. Enter Maestro Amsibh, a gifted teacher with extraordinary qualities, and the prince’s transformation begins.
But, why does he have to leave his sheltered life at the palace and his gorgeous friend Zaarica, with the maestro and two bodyguards? Who are the mysterious Monks of Meirar, and what strange powers do they possess? What motivates Hoanan, the villainous politician, who wants to unseat the king and usurp the throne? And amidst all the turbulence in Typgar, can Nujran find his way back home?
With numerous plot twists and turns, the reader will be transported on a fast-paced adventure with our young prince, where he encounters romance and conflict, friendship and betrayal, while building strength and character through his experiences in the real world.


What I am currently reading:

Perfect for fans of Jenn McKinlay and Ellery Adams, Rain Wilmot must find a novel solution in order to catch another killer—before her book club members are picked off one by one.

Summer is in full swing as tourists flock back to the Northwoods and travel to Lofty Pines, Wisconsin. For Rain Wilmot, owner of the Lakeside Library, this is the perfect opportunity to bring back her mother’s summer book club. But the summer sun starts to really heat up when one of the club’s members, Lily Redlin, is found dead in her own home not long after the first meeting.

Alongside her sidekick and neighbor Julia Reynolds and the charming Jace Lowe, Rain discovers that the murder is seemingly inspired by the book club’s recent selection of Agatha Christie’s classic mystery novel, Sparkling Cyanide. But who would kill Lily, and more importantly, why?
The deeper Rain goes into the story, the more confusing and complicated the plot becomes. Was Lily murdered to cover up a tragic accident involving an old classmate years earlier? Or were the rumors true—did Lily really possess priceless original Laura Ingles Wilder manuscripts and someone killed her for them? And who stands to gain the recently inherited piece of waterfront property that Lily received from a long-lost relative?

With a long list of suspects and motives, Rain realizes that all leads come back to people involved in the book club. Rain and her friends take a page from Agatha Christie’s book by hosting a reenactment of the club’s first meeting to flush out the killer. Will Rain’s plan succeed—or will this librarian’s book be checked out for good?


What books I think I’ll read next:

A twisty, domestic suspense debut about a clique of mothers that shatters when one of their own is murdered, bringing chaos to their curated lives.

She was the perfect wife, with the perfect life. You would kill to have it…

Ciara Dunphy has it all–a loving husband, well-behaved children, and a beautiful home. Her circle of friends in their small Irish village go to her for tips about mothering, style, and influencer success–a picture-perfect life is easy money on Instagram. But behind the filters, reality is less polished.

Enter Mishti Guha: Ciara’s best friend. Ciara welcomed Mishti into her inner circle for being… unlike the other mothers in the group. But, discontent in a marriage arranged for her through her parents back in Calcutta, Mishti now raises her young daughter in a country that is too cold, among the children of her new friends who look nothing like her. She just wants what Ciara has–the ease with which she moves through the world–and in that sense, Mishti might be exactly like the other mothers.

And there’s earth mother Lauren Doyle, born, bred, and the butt of jokes in their village. With her disheveled partner and children who run naked in the yard, they’re mostly a happy lot, though unsurprisingly ostracized for being the singular dysfunction in Ciara’s immaculate world. When Lauren finds an unlikely ally in Mishti, she decides that her days of ridicule are over.

Then Ciara is found murdered in her own pristine home, and the house of cards she’d worked so hard to build comes crumbling down. Everyone seems to have something to gain from Ciara’s death, so if they don’t want the blame, it may be the perfect time to air their enemies’ dirty laundry.

In this dazzling debut novel, Disha Bose revolutionizes age-old ideas of love and deceit. What ensues is the delicious unspooling of a group of women desperate to preserve themselves.

Widowed sounded better than divorced.
Or at least it did the first time.


Despite having survived the trials and tribulations of The Diseased – Paige finds herself in a situation that seems even more impossible.

The President is dying.

Those four words set Paige’s life on a course she could never have predicted.

The President is dying, only Paige can save him.

Those eight words are the only ones keeping her friends Georgia and Violet alive.

The President is dying, only Paige can save him. She won’t.

It is those ten words that keep Paige motivated, that keep her sane.

You’re going to be a daddy.
 
Those were the last words I ever expected to hear.
 
As one of the fabled Hamilton twins, I enjoy my life just as it is. Why wouldn’t I? Check out my stats.
 
Co-owner of Hamilton Realty, a multimillion dollar business.
 
Doting uncle to my niece, Laurie, and my soon-to-be nephew.
 
All-around sexy, single guy who doesn’t do strings—ever.
 
Then I went to Vegas with my sister-in-law’s best friend, Sage.
 
Choices were made. Alcoholic beverages were consumed. Virginities were taken.
 
Hers, not mine.
 
Then Sage announced I’d knocked her up. And oh yeah, she doesn’t expect me to take an active role, because she knows I can’t handle anything except my d*ck.
 
Say what?
 
She’s so wrong, and I’m going to prove it to her. I’m going to claim my baby—and Sage. 

USA Today Bestselling Author, Lexy Timms, brings you a new series About Love and everything in between the road to forever.

The course of true love never did run smooth… William Shakespeare

After losing her money and fiancé in one go, Kellie Margolis, the one-time owner of a lucrative business, checks out of society. She needs to become something—or someone—unassuming. She’s hired on as a waitress at a bar called Darkness. It’s in a dangerous part of town, locally known for its Russian-American population.

Betrayed and humiliated by her fiancé who used her business as a front for an escort service, Kellie wants to keep her world small and simple. Unexpectedly, her new life involves the erotic, shady, and incredibly charming Sasha Petrov. Sasha’s too good-looking for words. Life for Kellie becomes passionate, adventurous, erotic, and bold—but by no means simple.

Though too many signals say Sasha plays dirty, Kellie decides she’d be a fool to deny herself the pleasure he brings her. Their affair becomes more like a fairy tale, and Kellie starts believing Sasha is the love she deserves after her hard times. He lavishes her with opulence and tends to her every need like no one has ever done. When Kellie’s past unexpectedly comes full circle, she realizes how small the world really is.

Will an unforeseen discovery break Kellie’s heart for good, or will Sasha be the bad boy hero he’s set himself up to be?

Goodreads Monday: Have My Baby (Crescent Cove: Book 1) by Taryn Quinn

This is a weekly meme where anyone can choose a random book from their Goodreads TBR and highlight it. This meme was formerly featured on LaurensPageTurners and was taken over by Budget Tales Book Blog.


Have my baby.  
 
That was what my single dad best friend Seth said to me while I was waitressing at the diner. 
 
His little girl wants a sibling. But Seth is a workaholic millionaire and doesn’t have time to meet someone.
 
Someone who won’t screw him over, like his kid’s mother. 
 
Only problem is this someone has secretly been in love with him since high school. I’ve been hiding it forever, not wanting to risk our friendship.
 
Sleeping with him is my biggest fantasy. And I’ve fantasized plenty, being a virgin. Another thing he doesn’t know.
 
Now I have to make the biggest decision of my life.
 
Is having a no strings attached affair just to make a baby better than never having him at all?

Bookish Travels—February 2023 Desinations

I saw this meme on It’s All About Books and thought, I like this!! So, I decided to do it once a month also. Many thanks to Yvonne for initially posting this!!

This post is what it says: Places I travel to in books each month. Books are lovely and take you to places you would never get to. That includes places of fantasy too!!

Bon Voyage!!

Please let me know if you have read these books or traveled to these areas.


Oremanta

Tanemba, Millory, Castle

United States

Connecticut (just outside Hartford)
New York (New York City, Long Island)
New York (New York City, Brooklyn), Pennsylvania (the Poconos), Indiana(Terre Haute, Indianapolis), Missouri (St. Louis, Kansas City), Oklahoma (Tulsa, Oklahoma City), Texas (Amarillo), Arizona (Bisbee, Tucson), New Mexico (Socorro, Las Cruces)
New York (New York City)
New York (New York City, Hudson Valley)
Massachusetts (Boston)
Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh)
Pennsylvania (Oak Plains, Pittsburgh), Georgia (Mapleville)
California (Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Malibu, Santa Monica)
Alaska (Juneau), California (Los Angeles), New York (New York City)
Texas (San Antonio, Fort Hope, Fredericksburg, Austin, Stonewall, Johnson City)
Washington (Whidbey)
Illinois (Chicago), Pacific Northwest (Beckett Island)
Massachusetts (Waltham, Watertown, Boston), Montana
Kansas (Bishop)
Illinois (Chicago)
Massachusetts (Pilgrim Cove)
Unknown State (Ashdale)
Maine (Chapel Green)
Texas (Williamson County, Austin), California (Orange County)
Oregon (Lake Howling)
Texas (Houston)
Illinois (Chicago, Joliet), Ohio (Mercy)
Louisiana (Mandeville)
Massachusetts (Boston), New York (New York City)
New York (Crescent Cove)

Scotland

Friar’s Ridge
Scottish Highlands, Glasgow, Ullapool, Lairg

Afghanistan

Bagram Air Force Base

Mexico


China

Beijing, Qincheng Prison, Wuhan

Zem’

Pristanograd

Rusti


England

Regency London
Unnamed English village
Oxford, London

Aiol

Pergamon, Aeolia, Malea, Aigiriossa

Shantawi

Karsh

Anatole


Russia

Moscow

Uzbekistan

Tashkent

Columbia


Lightlark


Wilding


Valcora


The Netherlands

Amsterdam, Jordaann

Switzerland

Geneva

Andras

Lighura

February 2023 Wrap Up

Here is what I read/posted in February.

As always, let me know if you have read any of these books and (if you did) what you thought of them.


Books I Read:

Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
From Author
ARC from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Ballantine Books
ARC from St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
From Author
KU Purchase—No Review
KU Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
From Author
Bought from Amazon Prime Reading
ARC from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Ballantine Books
ARC from St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
From Novel Cause
ARC from Blackstone Publishing
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
ARC from St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
KU Purchase—No Review
ARC from St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin
Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Giveaway winner—No Review
Arc from author

Books I got from NetGalley:

Invite from SMP
Invite from SMP, Wednesday Books
Invite from SMP, Wednesday Books
Invite from SMP, Minotaur Books
Read Now from Crooked Lane Books
Invite from SMP, Wednesday Books
Invite from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Bantam
Invite from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Dell
Read Now from St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin
Read Now from St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin
Invite from St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books
Wish granted from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Dell
Wished granted from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Del Rey
Read now from Crooked Lane Books
Limited time Read Now from Sourcebooks Fire
Read now from St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books

Books I got from Authors/Indie Publishers:

From Novel Cause
From Novel Cause
From BookSirens

Giveaway Winners

Kindle—Won from Tordotcom
Kindle—Won from Goodreads

Books Reviewed:

Murder Up to Bat by Elizabeth McKenna—Review Here

Dead and Gondola by Ann Claire—Review Here

The Second You’re Single by Cara Tanamachi—Review Here

Jackal by Erin E. Adams—Review Here

The Drift by C.J. Tudor—Review Here

Not Your Ex’s Hexes by April Asher—Review Here

After the Music by Elena Goudelias—Review Here

Unnatural History by Jonathan Kellerman—Review Here

Take the Lead by Alexis Daria—Review Here

Once a Killer by Margaret Watson—Review Here

The Family Game by Catherine Steadman—Review Here

The Tracks We Leave by Maggie Maxfield—Review Here

Angeline by Anna Quinn—Review Here

Where Darkness Blooms by Andrea Hannah—Review Here


Reading Challenges

Buzzword Reading Challenge (Life and Death)—Death’s Queen—Finished 2-17-2023

Buzzword Reading Challenge (Verbs)—Deadly Awakening—Finished 2-18-2023

2023 Sami Parker Reads Title Challenge (book with direction in title)— Southern Rocker Boy—Finished 2-20-2023

2023 Sami Parker Reads Title Challenge (book with a season in title)—Summer’s Deadly Kiss—Finished 2-18-2023

Cover Scavenger Hunt (A Door)—Kurtain Motel—Finished 1-31-2023

The StoryGraph’s Onboarding Reading Challenge 2023 (Read a book you discovered via the community page)—Fine or PunishmentFinished 2-14-2023

The StoryGraph Reads the World 2023 (Columbia)—Lightlark—Finished 2-15-2023

The StoryGraph’s Genre Challenge 2023 (a nonfiction book about startups)—Lost and Founder by Rand FishkinFinished 2-2-2023

Beat the Backlist 2023 (cozy read or cover)—Her Long Walk Home—2-16-2023

Scavenger Hunt TBR Book Challenge (What color was on the previous prompt’s book’s cover? Read a book with the complimentary color on the cover)—The Demon Deception—Finished 2-3-2023

Scavenger Hunt (book written by a man using a woman’s perspective)—When They Came—Finished 2-9-2023

Popsugar Reading Challenge 2023 (A book you bought from an independent bookstore)—The Happy ChipFinished 2-3-2023

2023 TBR Toppler (The newest book you own)—A Duke for All Seasons—Finished 2-8-2023

2023 Monthly Themes (Fantastical February)—Nostalgic Rain—Finished 1-30-2023

2023 Reading Challenge (A red book. Can have red on the cover or in the title)—My Sister and IFinished 2-8-2023

2023 ABC Challenge ( B)—The Billionaire Shifter’s Curvy Match–Finished 2-11-2023

Romanceopoly 2023 (Free Choice)—A Guide to Being Just Friends—Finished 1-21-2023

2023 TBR Prompts (A book from an author you love)—Capture Me–Finished 1-14-2023

Top Ten Tuesday: Books with Questions in the Title

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

How it works:

She assigns each Tuesday a topic and then posts her top ten list that fits that topic. You’re more than welcome to join her and create your own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list as well. Feel free to put a unique spin on the topic to make it work for you! Please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own post so that others know where to find more information.


1. What Have You Done by Matthew Farrell

Book Cover
When a mutilated body is found hanging in a seedy motel in Philadelphia, forensics specialist Liam Dwyer assumes the crime scene will be business as usual. Instead, the victim turns out to be a woman he’d had an affair with before breaking it off to save his marriage. But there’s a bigger problem: Liam has no memory of where he was or what he did on the night of the murder.

Panicked, Liam turns to his brother, Sean, a homicide detective. Sean has his back, but incriminating evidence keeps piling up. From fingerprints to DNA, everything points to Liam, who must race against time and his department to uncover the truth – even if that truth is his own guilt. Yet as he digs deeper, dark secrets come to light, and Liam begins to suspect the killer might actually be Sean …

When the smoke clears in this harrowing family drama, who will be left standing?

2. Am I the Killer? by Dan Petrosini

Book Cover
Is it really possible not to remember killing someone?
Peter, a brain-injured veteran with a motive, is arrested for murder. The victim bullied Peter throughout his youth, and, on the night of the murder, he discovered the bully stole his fianceé while Peter served overseas.
Detective Luca leads the investigation but believes the marine’s inability to recall events on the fateful night are injury related and not an attempt by Peter to hide the truth.

As political pressure to solve the case rises, Luca pursues other leads but evidence points at Peter. Even his brother, Vinny, who dropped everything to help his injured brother recover, begins to question Peter’s guilt.
Peter’s lawyers, faced with a client either unwilling or unable to assist in his own defense, recommend he cop a plea. Frustrated, Luca attempts to move on but is haunted by an old case that fuels his obsession to determine the truth about what happened that night.

3. Who is Audrey Wickesham? by Sara Shrieves

Book Cover
I know everything that’s happened is my fault. I try to tell myself that it’s okay, I never wanted a normal life to begin with. But then I think about who’s been hurt, and I wish that I could go back to the beginning. Back to when I was just a nobody wandering the halls of my high school, alone and unnoticed. Back to when I was completely oblivious to what killing somebody felt like.

You have to understand though, I had no choice.

4. Have You Seen Her by Karen Rose

Book Cover
Special Agent Steven Thatcher has a lot on his hands. Not only is there a serial killer on the loose, stalking area high schools, but Steven’s teenage son Brad is suddenly acting up and failing in school. His schoolteacher, Jenna Marshall, is also worried about Brad. As their conversations about the troubled teen increased and grow more intimate, Jenna and Steven soon find they’re falling for each other, though they tread cautiously as both carry hidden wounds of their own. Their situation turns even more dangerous when Jenna finds herself on the twisted path of the serial killer Steven is investigating.

5. Did You Miss Me? by Karen Rose

Book Cover
Best be nimble, best be quick, I’m right here and you’re my pick…

The last thing Ford Elkhart remembers is walking his girlfriend back to her university dormitory. Now he’s lying tied and gagged on a cold, dark floor, with only one chance to escape before he ends up like the bones surrounding him…

Assistant State’s Attorney Daphne Montgomery is devastated by her son’s disappearance, and is immediately convinced that his kidnapping is connected to the white supremacist she’s just had jailed for murder.

FBI Special Agent Joseph Carter isn’t so sure – especially when he learns that Ford’s girlfriend is also missing. Is Ford’s abduction payback for Daphne’s courtroom victory? Or is he a pawn in an even more dangerous game?

6. Who’s the Daddy by Taryn Quinn

Book Cover
He was only supposed to deliver a pizza. And yes, I ordered sausage, but I never expected such a personal…touch.
 
I’m a good girl. I teach little kids, brake for squirrels, and always donate to cookie drives though I so don’t need the extra ten pounds.
 
My sympathetic nature led to me sleeping with my ex after his granny’s funeral. The next day, he dumped me—again—via text, and I decided I needed a fresh start.
 
Luckily, I found a new apartment near my new school. Yay me. I also found myself unexpectedly naked with Dare, the smoking hot, single dad mechanic who works next door.
 
Dare did more than clean my spark plugs that night, let me tell you.
  
Then my worlds collide when Dare shows up at his son’s parent-teacher conference.

Next thing I know, surprise! Pregnant.

Dare knows I’m worried about my job at the Catholic school. And about how I’m going to handle the baby that might be his.
 
Please, God, let it be his.
 
I just never expected Dare to propose marriage. And he wants me to become his wife in all ways.
 
Especially the Biblical ones. 

7. Cop or Killer? by Dan Petrosini

Book Cover
Breaking the law to protect your family seems reasonable, until its not.

Detective Luca’s life is shattered when he’s accused of a revenge killing.

A corpse turns up and it doesn’t look good for Luca. The body belongs to someone who harassed his precious Mary Ann, and the circumstances of death point a grisly finger at Luca. Suspicion spreads quickly that he has morphed into a killer and he’s black balled.

But Luca’s problems don’t end there. While he scrambles to prove his innocence in the murder case, a mortal enemy is on the loose and has him in his cross hairs. Its a vicious serial killer he once put behind bars, a psychopath hell-bent on revenge.

Luca has nowhere to turn for help. With the department closing in one side and an escaped serial killer on the other, Luca is left on his own to clear his name and capture the escapee before he gets to Luca.

Failure means he loses his freedom – or his life.

8. Mr. Hunt, I Presume by Valerie Bowman

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He never forgot her…

When General Collin Hunt is ordered to take a much-needed holiday, he resigns himself to rest and recreation at his brother’s country estate. But when the only woman he ever loved—and selflessly gave up—shows up as his sister-in-law’s governess, his carefully ordered life is turned inside out.

She’ll never forgive him…


When Erienne Stone defied her family and fled her life of privilege, she never expected to be reunited with the man who’d abandoned her more than a decade before. But Lucy, Duchess of Claringdon, is a hard woman to say no to, even when Erienne’s heart is in danger of breaking all over again.

A meddling matchmaker may be the key to their second chance…

After a decade of pain and heartache, can two star-crossed lovers trust the truth in their own hearts?

9. Where’s My Cow? by Terry Pratchett

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At six o’clock every day, without fail, with no excuses, Sam Vimes must go home to read Where’s My Cow?, with all the right farmyard noises, to his little boy. There are some things you have to do. It is
the most loved and chewed book in the world.

But his father wonders why it is full of moo-cows and baa-lambs when Young Sam will only ever see them cooked on a plate. He can think of a more useful book for a boy who lives in a city.

So Sam Vimes starts adapting the story. A story with streets, not fields. A book with rogues and villains. A book about the place where he’ll grow up.

10 Shall We Dance by Chris Keniston

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Shall We Dance is a short story written after two characters from Dive into You triggered the author’s curiosity.

From Dive into You : Doug grabbed his beer bottle and started to the corner booth Jonathan and his girl had staked out. Halfway there he noticed a sultry couple on the tiny square of a dance floor. For just a moment the intensity of emotions rolling off them in waves stopped him short.

What’s not to love about a bar called the Surf’s Up Saloon?


Shall We Dance

Success in the courtroom comes easily for J.P. Hartley, but not so much in his love life. Tired of superficial pretty faces, after a bitter loss in court all he wants is to unwind with his best friend and colleague Kimberly Anderson. That is, until a snazzy blonde forces him to face what—or who—has always been right in front of him.