Our Books to Binge On feature is pretty simple in its purpose. Every month, we put together a monthly new releases list of books that we’re all looking forward to. These are the books that we can’t wait to read and want everyone to add to their monthly binge-reading lists. Here are the books that we plan to binge on in February of 2023.
Things We Hide From the Light (Knockemout #2) by Lucy Score
Nash Morgan was always known as the good Morgan brother, with a smile and a wink for everyone. But now, this chief of police is recovering from being shot and his Southern charm has been overshadowed by panic attacks and nightmares. He feels like a broody shell of the man he once was. Nash isn’t about to let anyone in his life know he’s struggling. But his new next-door neighbor, smart and sexy Lina, sees his shadows. As a rule, she’s not a fan of physical contact unless she initiates it, but for some reason Nash’s touch is different. He feels it too. The physical connection between them is incendiary, grounding him and making her wonder if exploring it is worth the risk.
Too bad Lina’s got secrets of her own, and if Nash finds out the real reason she’s in town, he’ll never forgive her. Besides, she doesn’t do relationships. Ever. A hot, short-term fling with a local cop? Absolutely. Sign her up. A relationship with a man who expects her to plant roots? No freaking way. Once she gets what she’s after, she has no intention of sticking around. But Knockemout has a way of getting under people’s skin. And once Nash decides to make Lina his, he’s not about to be dissuaded…even if it means facing the danger that nearly killed him.
The Counterfeit Scoundrel (The Chessmen: Masters of Seduction #1) by Lorraine Heath
Born into an aristocratic family, yearning for a life beyond Society’s strictures, Marguerite “Daisy” Townsend is an enterprising sleuth. Hired to obtain proof of a wife’s infidelity, she secures a position in the household of the woman’s lover, never expecting to be lured into the seductive blackguard’s arms herself.
Devilishly handsome, David Blackwood, known widely as Bishop, quickly realizes the enticing maid is interested in far more than dusting. She aims to uncover his sins. Although tempted by the dangerous beauty, he can’t risk her learning the truth: his affairs are chaste. As a boy who witnessed his mother’s abusive relationship, Bishop now helps desperate wives escape unhappy marriages.
Yet when he is accused of murdering the husband of a “paramour,” he is forced to seek Daisy’s assistance in proving his innocence. As their perilous search draws them into a web of deceits, they can no longer deny their simmering desire. Once secrets are revealed, will Daisy’s counterfeit scoundrel give up the scandalous games he plays and surrender his heart into her keeping?
Cold-Blooded Liar by Karen Rose
Sam Reeves is a kindhearted psychologist who treats court-ordered clients. After one of his patients–a pathological liar–starts revealing plausible new details from a long-unsolved serial murder case, he’s compelled to report anonymously to the SDPD tip line, though his attempts to respect patient confidentiality land him facedown and cuffed by the aggressive (and cute) Detective McKittrick.
San Diego homicide detective Kit McKittrick loves the water. She lives on a boat, and when she’s not solving crimes with the SDPD, she’s assisting her foster sister with her charter fishing business, scuba diving, or playing with her poodle. But there’s nothing that intrigues Kit more than a cold case, so when an anonymous caller leads her on the path of a wanted killer, she’s determined to end the decade-long manhunt.
Sam is soon released but goes home with both a newfound distaste for the SDPD and a resolve–not unlike Kit’s–to uncover the truth. Kit and Sam repeatedly butt heads in their separate investigations but are forced to work together to find one of the deadliest serial killers the city has faced in a decade.
It was a glittering event full of A-listers, hosted by Eliza Lane and Brant Fitzhugh, the most glittering of all celebrity couples. Everyone had expected the party to be in the newspapers the next day but not because one of the hosts was murdered! As the crowd had gathered to watch Eliza sing, Fitzhugh had raised a final toast to his glamorous wife and fallen to the floor. Death by cyanide poisoning. It’s time for Lt. Eve Dallas to make her entrance.
From all accounts, Fitzhugh wasn’t the kind of star who made enemies. Eliza, on the other hand, had many rivals, and a few of them could class as enemies. Since the champagne cocktail that killed Brant was originally intended for Eliza, could it be that she was the real target?
With so many people at the party, Eve has her work cut out determining who could commit murder in the middle of a crowd. As one who’s not fond of the spotlight, she dreads the media circus surrounding a case like this. All she wants is to figure out who’s truly innocent, and who’s only acting that way…
The New Guy (Brooklyn #11) by Sarina Bowen
My name is Hudson Newgate, but my teammates call me New Guy.
That was my nickname in Chicago, too. And Vancouver. That’s what happens when you keep getting traded. Brooklyn is my last chance, especially after my poor performance last season.
But I can make this work. The new guy knows to keep his head down and shoot the puck. The new guy puts the game first.
What he doesn’t do is hook up with the other new guy—a hot athletic trainer who lives in my building. Gavin needs this job with my team. He’s a single dad with responsibilities.
We can’t be a couple. My arrogant agent–who’s also my father–will lose his mind if I’m dating a dude. And my team needs me to score goals, not whip up a media circus.
Too bad Gavin and I are terrible at resisting each other…
The House Witch 3 (The House Witch #3) by Delemhach
House witch Finlay Ashowan is pulled out of the kitchen—and into the fire—as war, family, and love collide in the third book of this fantasy romance series.
Having somehow convinced Lady Annika Jenoure to marry him, all Finlay Ashowan wants to do is settle down, cook some good meals, and enjoy a quiet life in Daxaria. But fate has different plans.
Fin’s father, Aidan Helmer, fire witch and servant of King Matthias of Troivack, has arrived in the kingdom with devastating news: Annika’s brother Charles has been taken prisoner, and the only way his life will be spared is if Annika or Fin goes to plead his case. Given that an attack from Troivack is imminent, there’s no way some trickery isn’t involved in this plot.
Now it’s up to Fin, with the help of his family, friends, and wily kitten familiar, Kraken, to attempt a daring mission of rescue and espionage. But he’ll need to move quickly—because if he can’t find a way to fend off his father and keep Daxaria safe, all his dreams might go up in flames.
With twists and turns around every corner, The House Witch 3 brilliantly continues this irresistible new series, replete with romance, magic, courtly intrigue, mystery, and humor.
Only You (Adair Family #5) by Samantha Young
Once upon a time, Monroe Sinclair was Brodan Adair’s best friend, but now he’s a stranger and one of Hollywood’s leading men…
It took Monroe Sinclair eighteen years to return home to Ardnoch after a fateful night that devastated her friendship with Brodan Adair. She fled her unrequited love for him, as well as her difficult family life, and tried not to look behind her. Only a daughter’s guilt could lure her back to the Highlands and the assumption that Brodan Adair rarely ever sets foot in their hometown. She can handle seeing the rest of the Adairs so long as she can avoid her ex-best friend and the only man she’s ever loved.
Nothing is more important to Brodan than family, and only his demons have the power to keep him from them. For years, acting was something he was lucky enough to be good at, yet it wasn’t his priority—Ardnoch and his siblings were. But when a ghost from his past returned out of the blue, Brodan tried to outrun its haunting, taking him further and further from home. When exhaustion finally forces him back to the family fold, the last thing he wants is to encounter another ghost. But that’s exactly what Monroe Sinclair has been to him.
When a promise to his nephew obliges Brodan to work with Monroe, it forces them to face their past. The explosive connection that has always existed between them resurrects truths long buried. Yet, just when they might be on the brink of a second chance, the ghost from Brodan’s past finally catches up to him and threatens not just their happiness, but their very lives.
A Very Filthy Game (Winner Takes All #3) by Lauren Blakely
When the British billionaire wants to teach the cocky athlete a brand new kind of game…
Lately, I’ve been full of questions. One hot summer night, I find all the answers when I kiss another guy for the first time. But he disappears, leaving me wondering who my mystery man was.
I can’t stop thinking about him. Even on the ball field, I’m daydreaming about his hungry hands, and the filthy things he whispered in his posh British accent.
Somehow, I still win one of the biggest games of my career, and afterward, the man surprises me with an invitation: “Meet me in a private suite.”
When I RSVP, he makes me an offer–one chance to try all the things I’ve never experienced. Then we’ll walk away.
But once will never be enough.
Soon I’m locked into an intense lessons-in-seduction game with the secretive billionaire who keeps love at a distance, all while he pushes the boundaries of my brand-new desires.
Then, I learn that all my desires come with a terrible cost, as he breaks down the walls around my heart.
The new Sarina Bowen book and the one by Lorraine Heath both look enticing!
So many of the books I had on my January TBR had their publication dates postponed until February. Meanwhile, I already had a number of books set for February, so if all of the upcoming dates pan out, I’m in for a lot of reading. However, even since I put this list together last week, some dates have changed (the dates listed are the most recent publication dates), so I suppose only time will tell.
WILDER AT LAST (February 7) is the fifth (and final?) book in Serena Bell’s Wilder Adventures series about a family that runs a outdoor adventures company. This features antagonists who fall in love as the hero helps the heroine attract the attention of a celebrity chef.
BITTER PLAY (February 7) is the third book in Alison Rhymes’s False Start series of “football-adjacent” romances (the heroes are either football players or former football players). I loved the first book in the series, BROKEN PLAY, a nuanced view of marital infidelity, but I was less enthusiastic about the second, BRUTAL PLAY, which I thought suffered from having an awful hero. I’m hoping Rhymes rights the ship with BITTER PLAY (which features the “man in love with his sister’s best friend” trope).
COWBOY, PROMISE ME ALWAYS (February 9) is the sixth and final book in Genevieve Turner’s Cowboy Homecoming series. I’ve really enjoyed this entire series and am looking forward to the final story—a Beauty & the Beast retelling with enforced proximity.
THREE TO GET READY (February 16) is the third book in Skye Warren’s series about the Hughes family who are fabulously wealthy but cursed by a genetic condition that causes early dementia. The previous book, TWO FOR THE SHOW, ended on a cliffhanger with the hero’s father (who has been kept secluded for several years) having a public meltdown that revealed his condition.
WED FOR THEIR ROYAL HEIR (February 21) by Jackie Ashenden begins a new HP series, Three Ruthless Kings. This one features an unplanned pregnancy.
HE SAID FOREVER (February 21) by Ruth Cordello is the fourth book in her Lost Corisis series. Sometimes the books in these series require constant reference to a family tree (which Cordello helpfully provides) to keep all the characters and their relationships straight.
FAIR GAME (February 21) is the third book in Amelia Wilde’s series about a woman who becomes involved with the man who holds her father responsible for his parents’ deaths.
THE PLAYING GAME (February 21) is a welcome return for Ainsley Booth (who has recently been publishing more frequently under her alternate pen name of Zoe York). Booth’s books are generally sexier, leaning more toward erotic romance, than the ones she publishes as Zoe York, so I’m expecting this m/f hockey romance to be smoking hot!
COWBOY WILD (February 21) is the third book in Maisey Yates’s Four Corners Ranch series of cowboy romances. This one features the “older brother’s best friend”–not one of my favorite tropes, but if anyone can make it work, it’s Yates.
THE NEW GUY (February 28) is a new book in Sarina Bowen’s Brooklyn Hockey series. This is an m/m romance—which I think may be a first for the Brooklyn Hockey books (although Bowen has written plenty of m/m books, including some featuring hockey teams, but not within the Brooklyn Bruisers universe).