August 2023 Wrap-Up

Here is what I read/posted/bought in August.

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:


Books I got from NetGalley:


Books I got from Authors/Indie Publishers:


Giveaway Winners

Ignite the Magic by Donna Grant


Books Reviewed:

The Shadow Girls by Alice Blanchard—review here (3 stars)

Ride for Glory by Ann Hunter—review here (4 stars)

Gone Tonight by Sarak Pekkanen—review here (3 stars)

The Gullfather: Birdsy Seagull: Vol 1: A Seahawk Situation—review here (4 stars)

Stalking Around the Christmas Tree by Jacqueline Frost—review coming October 17th

Overdue or Die by Allison Brook—review coming October 10th

A Clue in the Crumbs by Lucy Burdette—review here (4 stars)

The Hundred Loves of Juliet by Evelyn Skye—review here (4 stars)

Dark Corners by Megan Goldin—review here (4 stars)

Assault: Girl With a Knife by James T. Hogg—review here (4 stars)

Mister Magic by Kiersten White—review here (4 stars)

California Golden by Melanie Benjamin—review here (4 stars)

A Killer in the Family by Gytha Lodge—review here (4 stars)

Spin a Black Yarn by Josh Malerman—review here (4 stars)

North of Nowhere by Allison Brennan—review here (4 stars)

The One That Got Away by Charlotte Rixon—review here (2.5 stars)

In the Wick of Time by Valona Jones—review coming October 17th

Marry Me by Midnight by Felicia Grossman—review here (4 stars)

Unexpecting by Jen Bailey—review here (3 stars)

One Night by Georgina Cross—review here (3 stars)

The Body in the Back Garden—review here (4 stars)

A Dragon’s Dyne by Brett Salter—review coming September 5th (4 stars)


Reading Challenges:

July

Scavenger Hunt TBR Book Challenge (find a book with the same amount of pages as the last book and read it)—Woman Scorned

Scavenger Hunt (a book translated from another language)—Anxious People

Popsugar Reading Challenge 2023 (a book with “Girl” in the title)—The Fireproof Girl

2023 TBR Toppler (a book over 500 pages)—The Yellowstone Conundrum

2023 Monthly Themes (books in the heat/summer)—What Happened at the Lake

2023 Reading Challenge (a book with a yellow cover or yellow title)—A Worse Secret

2023 ABC Challenge (G)—Girl with No Fingerprints

Romanceopoly 2023! (Adult or New Adult friends to lovers)—Anything for Love

2023 TBR Prompts (longest book on my TBR)—The Needle House

August

Buzzword Reading Challenge 2023 (body-related words: the body itself or body-related works like heart, skin, liver, flesh…etc)—Broken Heart Syndrome

2023 Sami Parker Reads Title Challenge (a book with a wild animal in the title. Common companion animals like dogs, cats, ferrets, fish, snakes, lizards, and horses do not count)—The Wolf Within

Cover Scavenger Hunt 2023 (a heart)—Lost Shadows

The StoryGraph Reads the World (South Africa)—The Warning Bell

The StoryGraph’s Genre Challenge (a nonfiction history book about an LGBTQIA+ issue or person)—Gender Queer

Beat the Backlist 2023 (fairy/folktale you haven’t heard before)—Splintered

Scavenger Hunt TBR Book Challenge (find another book with a title that has the same amount of letters as the last book and read it)—The Beginning

Scavenger Hunt (a book from my least favorite genre that I might like)—the sun and her flowers

Popsugar Reading Challenge 2023 (a celebrity memoir)—Stories I Only Tell My Friends


Books I bought:

Bite Me by Lisa Renee Jones

My Favorite Night by Claudia Burgoa

Tales from a Magical Teashop: Stories of the Tea Princess Chronicles by Casey Blair

Mercury’s Shadow by P.J. Garcin

Sensibly Wed by Kasey Stockton

Runaway Love by Melanie Harlow

Home Game by Lisa Suzanne

Spooning My Chuchunya by Marilyn Barr

Veronique’s Journey by Patti Flinn

The Bond by Robin Kirk

Constantine: A History by Donna Grant

Moon Kissed by Donna Grant

Where Lost Girls Go by B.R. Spangler

One Man by Lisa Renee Jones

Intrigued by Z.L. Arkadie

Shopaholic on a Honeymoon by Sophie Kinsella

Just for Show by Tawna Fenske

When You Return to Me by Dana Morton

The Prince’s Prisoner by Quinn Blackbird

Engelstatt by Samuel Church

Wormwood by D.H. Nevins

It’s in His Kiss by Bria Quinlan

Stay by Chelsea Camaron

Bunny Hearts Bear by V. Vaughn

That’s Why the Lady is a Tramp by Merry Farmer

The Fairy Tale Bride by Kelly McClymer

Duke Looks Like a Groomsman by Valerie Bowman

Il Padrone by Leigh Kenzie

Seaside Sweets by Melissa Chambers

Mystery of the Tea Cup Quilt by Jodi Allen Brice

Herbs and Homicide by Carly Winter

Dancing with Danger by Kerrigan Byrne

Killing Time by K.J. Waters

The Doctor by Nikki Sloane

Bookish Travels—January 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 a chance to go. That includes places of fantasy too!!

So….enjoy!! Please let me know if you have read these books or traveled to these areas (other than the fantasy….lol).


Panem

District 12, Capitol

United States

Florida
Ohio (Chestnut)
Maine (Dearmont)
New York (New York City, upstate New York)
Crooked Tree (unknown state)
New York (Willow Cove)
Massachusetts (Boston, Riverton)
Massachusetts (Pittsfield, Boston, Amherst)
Florida (The Everglades)
California (Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Pasadena, Studio City)
Texas (Houston)
North Carolina (Raleigh)
Washington D.C.
Massachusetts (Coventry)
California (San Verde)
Wisconsin (Fontana, Lake Geneva)
Florida (Accident)
Colorado (Last Word)
Washington (North Bend, San Juan Islands, Seattle), Montana
Illinois (Chicago)
Pennsylvania (Johnston)
Iowa (Ames, Sibley), Minnesota, South Carolina (Columbia),
Alabama (Summerland, Hell), New York (New York City)
Illinois (Chicago), New York (New York City), Montana

Ljosland

Hrafnsvik

Japan

Tokyo

Guatemala

Guatemala City

France

Limoges, Perigueux
Giverny

Scotland

Edinburgh
Edinburgh, North Berwick

England

Hull
London
Bellehaven Bay, Regency London
Essex, London, Kent

India

Delhi, Kanpur, Calcutta, Brahmapur

Argentina


Italy

Ostia, Padua, Port of Civitavecchia, Palmro, Sicily, Florence, Rome, Milan, Pompeii, Amalfi, Tropea

Hungary

Budapest

Slovenia

Ljubijana

Germany

Berlin

Austria

Vienna

January 2023 Wrap Up

January was a busy reading month for me. Because of that, I could complete all my reading challenges for the month!! Woot!!

It was also a busy month, personally, for me. The highlights of this month are:

  • Miss B left her dual high school and college credits program.
  • Snickers going to the emergency vet with a bloody eye. She came home with a torn tear duct and a torn lower lid.
  • BK going back to traveling each week
  • And my not-so-great, horrible week last week.

BK and I have been watching Game of Thrones (we’re on season 7), and we started watching The Last of Us.

I have been experimenting with new cooking recipes. I made a Greek Lemon Chicken Orzo soup with Miss R last week.

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:

KU Purchase—No Review
From Author
Kindle PurchaseNo Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
From Publisher—Review coming February 17th
From Publisher
From Publisher
From Publisher
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
KU Purchase—No Review
From Publisher
From Author
From Publisher
From Publisher
From PublisherReview coming July 11th, 2023
KU Purchase—No Review
Kindle Purchase—No Review
From Author
Kindle Purchase—No Review
From Publisher
From Publisher
From Publisher
KU purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
From Author
From Publisher
Kindle Purchase—No Review
From Publisher—Review Coming February 2nd
From Publisher—Review coming February 3rd
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
From Author—Review coming February 3rd

Books I got from NetGalley:

Wish Granted from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine/Bantam
Limited Time Read Now from SMP
Read Now from Crooked Lane Books
Read Now from John Hunt Publishing
Invite from SMP
Read Now from Crooked Lane Books
Read Now from Crooked Lane Books
Read Now from Crooked Lane Books
Read Now from Crooked Lane Books
Read Now from Crooked Lane Books
Wish Granted from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine
From SMPG
Invite from SMP
Read now from Crooked Lane Books
Wish Granted from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Del Rey
Wish granted from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine/Del Rey
Limited Time Read Now from St. Martin’s Press/St. Martin’s Griffin
Invite from Saint Martin’s Press

Books I got from Authors/Indie Publishers:

From Author
From Author
From Novel Cause
From Author
From Author
From Author

A Paroxysm of Fear by Chad Miller

From Author

Giveaway Winners

Paperback—Won from a giveaway. Not sure which one….lol
Kindle—Won from Goodreads Giveaway
Kindle—Won from Goodreads Giveaway

Books Reviewed:

Fatal Intent by Tammy Euliano (review here)

Misfire by Tammy Euliano (review here)

The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff (review here)

The Family Game by Catherine Steadman (review coming February 17th)

All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham (review here)

The Nightmare Man by J.H. Markert (review here)

The Rom-Com Agenda by Jayne Denker (review here)

Son of the Poison Rose by Jonathan Maberry (review here)

Emily Wilde’s Encylopedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett (review here)

The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes (review here)

Shadowed Visions by Reily Garrett (review here)

The Things We do to Our Friends by Heather Darwent (review coming February 27th)

The Devil You Know by P.J. Tracy (review here)

Hello Stranger by Katherine Center (review coming July 11th)

A Body Washes Ashore by Bradley Pay (review here)

All Hallows by Christopher Golden (review here)

A Guide to Being Just Friends by Sophie Sullivan (review here)

One Duke Down by Anna Bennett (review here)

Murder Up to Bat by Elizabeth McKenna (review here)

Dead and Gondola by Ann Claire (review here)


Reading Challenges

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (for Cover Scavenger Hunt 2023—a bird)Finished 1-1-2023

A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth (for The StoryGraph Onboarding Challenge—-Read a book with more pages than the longest book you read in 2022)—Finished 1-17-2023

Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica (for The StoryGraph Read the World—Argentina)—Finished 1-17-2023

The Tea Dragon Society by Kay O’Neill (for The StoryGraph’s Genre Challenge—a contemporary or literary fiction novel with disability rep)—Finished 1-24-2023

The Reader by M.K. Harkins (for Beat the Backlist 2023—a backlist book)—Finished 1-24-2023

The Shape of Thunder by Jasmine Warga (for Scavenger Hunt TBR Book Challenge—Read the most recently added book to your TBR)—Finished 1-3-2023

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston (for Scavenger Hunt—a book written by a woman using a male perspective)—Finished 1-19-2023

The Nightmare Man by J.H. Markert (for Popsugar Reading Challenge 2023—a book you meant to read in 2022)—Finished 1-5-2023

Lost Soul by Adam J. Wright (for 2023 TBR Toppler—a TBR vet)—Finished 1-3-2023

In Our Blood by William J. Goyette (for 2023 Monthly Themes—books that make you feel cold)—Finished 1-10-2023

Before the Coffee Get Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi (for 2023 Reading challenge—a translated work)Finished 1-11-2023

All Hallows by Christopher Golden (for 2023 ABC Challenge—A)—Finished 1-19-2023

The Family Game by Catherine Steadman (for Romanceopoly 2023!—read a thriller or mystery where one of the main characters are a detective or private investigator)—Finished 1-3-2023

Hello Stranger by Katherine Center (for 2023 TBR Prompts—a 5-star prediction)—Finished 1-16-23

WWW Wednesday: January 25th, 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:

I hope you all had a wonderful week last week.

I haven’t had the best week. There is too much to put here. The Reader’s Digest version of everything is that people suck and need to learn patience. Oh, and not to talk to me like I’m an idiot. While I might be laid back and quiet, it doesn’t mean that I put up with that. And that person got an earful yesterday…sigh.

I was so stressed and upset yesterday that I didn’t write the review for a Guide to Being Just Friends or write this post and schedule it. But it’s in the past, and things can only get better (and they have….karma came for that person I mentioned above).

Shows I Watched: Game of Thrones (we’re on Season 7) and The Last of Us.

What I Cooked/Baked: Miss R and I have been cooking together. This week, we made a kid-friendly Greek Lemon Chicken-Orzo Soup. Miss R enjoyed making this. I had her cut the lemons, squeeze the juice out of them (which she didn’t like), whisk all the ingredients together, crack one of the eggs, and add the orzo. BK had pre-shredded the chicken, and I separated two yolks from the eggs. It was OK. The kids said it was too lemony. I will not be keeping this recipe. Next week, we’re making pizza lollipops, cheesy pizza hot dogs (Miss B will be eating something else, she hates hot dogs), and grilled pizza roll-ups.

Reading:

I got a lot of reading done from Wednesday to last night. Being stressed out and not being able to sleep made me read. This contrasts with last week, when I couldn’t read because of what happened to Snickers.

The longest book I read this week: I didn’t get hung up or have long books this week. Everything was either short, a manga, or a novella.

The shortest book I read this week: The three I read last night. They’ll be mentioned below.

Other Interesting Bookish News: I am reordering my Goodreads Shelves again. I decided I had too many NetGalley shelves, so I removed the shelf that held the books I put under Will Not Give Feedback. Those books went back into my Want To Read shelf. I added a new shelf called Series and have started going through the remaining shelves (Read, Want to Read, Downloaded to Kindle, Kindle Unlimited, Indie Authors, NetGalley, and The StoryGraph Reading Challenges). Any book that is a prologue or book 1 (and is not free)goes onto the Want to Read shelf. The book is part of a series; I go through and add the series (making sure they are on Amazon. If not, I remove them.). If there are free books on any of those shelves from Amazon, I download them, and they go on the Downloaded to Kindle shelf. The other books stay either on Want to Read or, if they are on KU, go on that shelf. It doesn’t sound very clear, but it makes sense to me.

How was your week? Read anything good? Did you do anything exciting? Watch anything new? Cook anything good?

As always, let me know if you have read or are planning to read any of these


What I Recently Finished Reading:

Bought from KU/Read for The StoryGraph’s Genre Challenge

From the award-winning author of Princess Princess Ever After comes The Tea Dragon Society, a charming all-ages book that follows the story of Greta, a blacksmith apprentice, and the people she meets as she becomes entwined in the enchanting world of tea dragons.

After discovering a lost tea dragon in the marketplace, Greta learns about the dying art form of tea dragon care-taking from the kind tea shop owners, Hesekiel and Erik. As she befriends them and their shy ward, Minette, Greta sees how the craft enriches their lives—and eventually her own.

Bought for free from Amazon/Read for Beat the Backlist 2023

Hunted, shot, and without her memory, eighteen-year-old Ann Baker wakes in shallow water on a deserted Pacific Northwest island. She is soon approached by two young men claiming to be her friends. Something isn’t right, but when gunshots sound, Ann is left with little choice but to allow Devon and Archer to help her escape. Soon she finds herself in their North Bend mountain compound, where the higher evolved humans claim to be mind-readers. While Ann heals, she realizes they believe her to be one of the last and most powerful of all – The Lost One.

She’s welcomed by most with opened arms, but not everyone is happy about her arrival. A jealous adversary has plans for Ann, which spirals the entire Reader community into chaos.

As lies, murder, and betrayal threaten to rip apart the once harmonious mountain dwellers, Ann is thrust into making a decision that could save or devastate not only The Readers, but all of mankind. But there’s just one glitch: by doing so it may require her to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Won in a Goodreads Giveaway/Read for pleasure

She wants a favor. He has ONE condition.

The honeymoon is over…

When Veronica said “I do” to Sebastian Sinclair, Duke of Edgefield, she thought all her dreams had come true. He was dashing and doting, and she absolutely adored him—until he betrayed her trust, shattering their marriage, and her heart, into a million tiny bits. She hasn’t seen her husband in the two years since, and she’d just as soon make it twenty. But when she learns that her beloved grandfather’s dying wish is for her and Sebastian to attend the family’s Christmastide celebration, she swallows her pride and asks him a favor: to pretend they’re the happy couple they once were.

But the passion still simmers.

Sebastian is shocked to find his lovely duchess on his doorstep, but he’s ready and willing to play the part of a devoted husband for the Christmas season…if Veronica will grant him a favor in return. All he asks is that she share his bed every night. All night. And maybe even give him the heir he needs.

Could their love be the real deal?

Veronica must be mad to agree—especially since Sebastian seems intent on using every weapon in his arsenal to charm and seduce her. She knows it’s just pretend and yet, she can’t help but wonder if the falling snow and Christmas cheer will work a little magic. Maybe she and Sebastian will end up with more than either of them bargained for…


What I am currently reading:

ARC from NetGalley/Review is set for 2-2

Cheerfully irreverent, bitingly funny, and filled with romantic charm, The Second You’re Single is all about navigating the most romantic month of the year, and how love always seems to arrive when you least expect it.

Freelance writer Sora Reid believes in inertia. She’s the odd one out in a close-knit family of go-getters, including her Japanese-American mom, who hints about her need to lose weight, and her soon-to-be married, overachieving younger sister, who needs her to have a date for the wedding, since a wedding party couples’ dance with their Scottish great uncle Bob simply won’t do. For Sora, minimal input, minimal expectations is the way to go. She’d rather stay at home with her insufferable neighbor and her adorable pitbull.

The one thing that disrupts her inertia: an intense dislike for Valentine’s Day. What is it with the commercial love machine? Why do we pin our hopes on one romantic day, when staying home with a package of bacon and a bottle of tequila would be way better? Sora’s been betrayed and disappointed more than once and her heart is starting to feel like her Grandma Mitsuye’s antique Japanese ceramic bowl, with its many gold-filled cracks.

When her pledge to stay single in February inspires readers to #gosolo, Sora has a responsibility to empower her readers. But relationships aren’t built to last, so it shouldn’t be that hard. Right?

Enter Jack Mann. A muscle-bound baker who looks like he lifts logs on the weekends, Sora hasn’t thought of Jack since they were in elementary school together. When they see each other at the local grocery store and the attraction hits hard, Sora knows she has to shut it down, quick. She can’t #gosolo AND get the guy. She can’t let down her readers. And relationships always end, so why should Jack be any different–even though he’s confounding all her long-held expectations of love?


What books I think I’ll read next:

From author/review is set for 2-3

Bree Gordon looks nothing like a bodyguard. But the short, slender woman knows how to keep her principal safe. And one of her most potent weapons is her appearance. People see her and dismiss her. Their mistake.

Jameson Ford is a technical whiz who’s working on a program that’ll be a game changer. The military wants it. So does the CIA, along with some unsavory players. Someone close to him wants it, as well – one of the engineers in his lab.

When he reluctantly hires a bodyguard, he’s shocked when Bree shows up. But it doesn’t take long for him to appreciate her abilities. Will the attraction flaring between them be their salvation? Or will it be their downfall?

ARC from NetGalley/Review is set for 2-3

A young Black girl goes missing in the woods outside her white Rust Belt town. But she’s not the first—and she may not be the last. . . .

It’s watching.

Liz Rocher is coming home . . . reluctantly. As a Black woman, Liz doesn’t exactly have fond memories of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, a predominantly white town. But her best friend is getting married, so she braces herself for a weekend of awkward and passive-aggressive reunions. Liz has grown, though; she can handle whatever awaits her. But on the day of the wedding, somewhere between dancing and dessert, the bride’s daughter, Caroline, goes missing—and the only thing left behind is a piece of white fabric covered in blood.

It’s taking.

As a frantic search begins, with the police combing the trees for Caroline, Liz is the only one who notices a pattern: a summer night. A missing girl. A party in the woods. She’s seen this before. Keisha Woodson, the only other Black girl in school, walked into the woods with a mysterious man and was later found with her chest cavity ripped open and her heart missing. Liz shudders at the thought that it could have been her, and now, with Caroline missing, it can’t be a coincidence. As Liz starts to dig through the town’s history, she uncovers a horrifying secret about the place she once called home. Children have been going missing in these woods for years. All of them Black. All of them girls.

It’s your turn.

With the evil in the forest creeping closer, Liz knows what she must do: find Caroline, or be entirely consumed by the darkness.

Bought for free from Amazon/Reading for 2023 Monthly Themes (Fantastical February)

What seventeen-year-old Leland finds in the abandoned basement of his house is something he will never forget.

Leland lost his father when he was seven. Since then, he has successfully adapted to the awful life of being a student, the man of the house, and a father figure to his two younger siblings. All of that changes when he and his best friends stumble upon a secret in his deserted basement, and fall into another dimension with three moons, foggy woods, and an ancient castle-Oremanta.

Learning who he really is, how he came to this remote planet, and the shocking, ugly mystery of Oremanta aren’t as bad as the quest he finds himself obligated to complete-killing someone he never thought he’d meet in Oremanta to save everyone.

Bought for free from Amazon/Reading for Cover Scavenger Hunt (a door)

“Confess!”
Patrick Lahm is down on his luck. Late for his book signing, out of gas and stuck in a storm. He hitches a ride to the Kurtain Motel where he is forced to spend the night. The small motel seems harmless enough at first, but as the night drags on, Patrick and the other guests slowly begin to realize there is a lot more to their temporary lodging than meets the eye.

Something evil is at work at the Kurtain Motel; something that creeps into the deepest, darkest corners of your mind and tugs at the chords of sanity until they finally break. On the longest night of his life, Patrick soon finds out that there is a reason why skeletons are kept in closets. He realizes that your sins always find a way to catch up with you, no matter how hard you try to run.

Welcome to the Kurtain Motel, where all your nightmares come true.

Goodreads Monday: The Unexpected Duchess (Playful Brides: Book 1) by Valerie Bowman

This is a weekly meme where anyone can choose a random book from their Goodreads TBR and highlight it. Once you choose a book, make sure you link and reference @LaurensPageTurners.


This week’s selection:

Book Cover
Click on picture to go to Goodreads

Synopsis:

Is there any greater surprise than falling deeply, madly in love?

In This Battle of Wits

Lady Lucy Upton’s tongue may be too sharp to attract suitors but her heart is good, and when her painfully shy friend Cassandra needs help she devises a brilliant scheme to help her discourage an unwanted suitor, the Duke of Claringdon. Lucy will hide behind the hedgerow and tell Cass just what to say to discourage the duke…but it turns out that he’s made of sterner stuff than either of them anticipated. And Lucy is shocked to discover that tangling with the tenacious man is the most fun she’s had in ages.

Kisses Are the Best Weapon

Lord Derek Hunt made a promise to his dying friend to marry the demure Cassandra, and for a man who wants nothing more than peace and quiet after the horrors of war, she’ll make the perfect bride. If only the impudent Miss Upton will let him court the girl! Doing battle is the last thing on his mind, but bantering with Lucy behind the bushes is too tempting to resist. And the spoils of this war just may be true love…

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

Book Cover
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

Book Cover
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

Book Cover
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.