Who is ready for Christmas? I know I am! It’s the most wonderful time of the year and I enjoy every minute of the holiday season. Do you reread old holiday favorites or will you pick some books off of our list of new releases? There seems to be a lot to look forward to!
Of Blood and Bone (Chronicles of The One, #2) by Nora Roberts.
They look like an everyday family living an ordinary life. But beyond the edges of this peaceful farm, unimaginable forces of light and dark have been unleashed.
Fallon Swift, approaching her thirteenth birthday, barely knows the world that existed before—the city where her parents lived, now in ruins and reclaimed by nature since the Doom sickened and killed billions. Traveling anywhere is a danger, as vicious gangs of Raiders and fanatics called Purity Warriors search for their next victim. Those like Fallon, in possession of gifts, are hunted—and the time is coming when her true nature, her identity as The One, can no longer be hidden.
In a mysterious shelter in the forest, her training is about to begin under the guidance of Mallick, whose skills have been honed over centuries. She will learn the old ways of healing; study and spar; encounter faeries and elves and shifters; and find powers within herself she never imagined. And when the time is right, she will take up the sword, and fight. For until she grows into the woman she was born to be, the world outside will never be whole again.
Casee: I read Year One last year and I liked it yet didn’t like it. It wasn’t quite a love/hate relationship. Whatever it was, it was enough for me to want to read the second book in the series.
Before We Were Strangers by Brenda Novak.
Something happened to her mother that night. Something no one wants to talk about. But she’s determined to uncover her family’s dark secrets, even if they bury her.
Five-year-old Sloane McBride couldn’t sleep that night. Her parents were arguing again, their harsh words heating the cool autumn air. And then there was that other sound–the ominous thump before all went quiet.
In the morning, her mother was gone.
The official story was that she left. Her loving, devoted mother! That hadn’t sat any better at the time than it did when Sloane moved out at eighteen, anxious to leave her small Texas hometown in search of anywhere else. But not even a fresh start working as a model in New York could keep the nightmares at bay. Or her fears that the domineering father she grew up with wasn’t just difficult–he was deadly.
Now another traumatic loss forces Sloane to realize she owes it to her mother to find out the truth, even if it means returning to a small town full of secrets and lies, a jilted ex-boyfriend and a father and brother who’d rather see her silenced. But as Sloane starts digging into the past, the question isn’t whether she can uncover what really happened that night…it’s what will remain of her family if she does?
Casee: I highly enjoy Brenda Novak’s books and I love that she still writes standalones.
Outcast (Hunter: Thieves #4) by Lexi Blake.
On the hunt for a vicious killer, Kelsey discovers that the true threat lies closer than she could have ever imagined.
It’s been months since Trent Wilcox was sentenced to exile, but Kelsey hasn’t given up on finding a way to bring him home. Grayson Sloane doesn’t share her enthusiasm. Loving two men is challenging enough without them being at each other’s throats, and she is unwilling to compromise on the future she knows is meant for them.
Kelsey’s only hope for bringing them all together comes in the form of the Hell lord who insisted on Trent’s exile – Gray’s father. Lord Sloane is willing to acquiesce on Trent’s punishment if Kelsey will do one little job for him. A stray wolf is on a killing spree in Wyoming and he’s killed a number of witches in Lord Sloane’s service. The situation is made all the more complicated by the presence of a sinister werewolf cult in the area. Lupus Solum is known for being cruel to their own kind, and even worse to outsiders.
Caught between a craven wolf cult, a brutal killer, a Hell lord, and a mounting pile of bodies, Kelsey is going to have her work cut out for her. But if she can solve the case, she might have a chance to earn her happily ever after.
Casee: I have this series in my Audible library. I’m really looking forward to listening to them.
The Duke I Once Knew (Unlikely Duchesses #1) by Olivia Drake.
First love is always the sweetest.
For years, Abigail Linton devoted herself to caring for her aging parents and the children of her siblings. Now, eager to make her own life, she takes a position as governess on the neighboring estate. It shouldn’t matter that her absentee employer is Maxwell Bryce, the Duke of Rothwell, the infamous rake who once broke her youthful heart. Surely he’s forgotten her, for he hasn’t set foot on his estate for fifteen years. At least, that is, until he arrives unexpectedly.
Max is incensed to meet his sister’s new governess. But why does Abby appear just as displeased to see him when it was she who’d rejected him all those years ago? Why is he so drawn to the independent spinster she has become? And why is there a sparkle in her beautiful blue eyes that suggests they might have a second chance at love?
Holly: Reunited lovers + Kids = My Personal Crack.
A brilliantly funny, scorchingly sexy new romance from #1 New York Times bestselling author Lauren Blakely!
Picture this – I’m ready to win back the love of my life, and I’m going big this time. We’re talking boom box, sing her name in the rain, let the whole damn neighborhood know I’m good and ready this time around. After all, if you’re going to grand gesture the ever-loving hell out of a second chance, you need to pull out all the stops.
There’s only one little problem.
My college girlfriend isn’t the one who shows up when I play my “I’ll do anything to win you back” tune.
The woman who flings open the second-floor window tells me my ex doesn’t live here anymore. But she’ll help me win her back. Anything for romance, anything for a guy so willing to go big for love. And that’s what I want at first. Until I get to know my new “romance coach” and discover she’s funny, clever, and keeps me on my toes. And boy, do I ever need that.
Now I don’t want to win anyone else’s heart. I want the woman who’s been helping me all along.
Trouble is – she thinks I’m in love with someone else, and when we take off on a road trip, everything I think I know about women is about to be unzipped and turned inside out.
Holly: I really like Lauren Blakely. I’m looking forward to this new book.
Rowena: I haven’t heard anything about this book but after reading that blurb, how can I not add it to books I want to binge on this month? What a super cute romance this sounds like. Count me in!
My Favorite Half-Night Stand by Christina Lauren.
Millie Morris has always been one of the guys. A UC Santa Barbara professor, she’s a female-serial-killer expert who’s quick with a deflection joke and terrible at getting personal. And she, just like her four best guy friends and fellow professors, is perma-single.
So when a routine university function turns into a black tie gala, Mille and her circle make a pact that they’ll join an online dating service to find plus-ones for the event. There’s only one hitch: after making the pact, Millie and one of the guys, Reid Campbell, secretly spend the sexiest half-night of their lives together, but mutually decide the friendship would be better off strictly platonic.
But online dating isn’t for the faint of heart. While the guys are inundated with quality matches and potential dates, Millie’s first profile attempt garners nothing but dick pics and creepers. Enter “Catherine”—Millie’s fictional profile persona, in whose make-believe shoes she can be more vulnerable than she’s ever been in person. Soon “Catherine” and Reid strike up a digital pen-pal-ship…but Millie can’t resist temptation in real life, either. Soon, Millie will have to face her worst fear—intimacy—or risk losing her best friend, forever.
Perfect for fans of Roxanne and She’s the Man, Christina Lauren’s latest romantic comedy is full of mistaken identities, hijinks, and a classic love story with a modern twist. Funny and fresh, you’ll want to swipe right on My Favorite Half-Night Stand.
Holly: Rowena is making me read it. 🙂
Rowena: I have enjoyed many of Christina Lauren books and I’m hoping that I will enjoy this one too. I’m kind of nervous because it’s not getting a lot of good reviews from my most trusted book bloggers so far but I’m still hopeful that I’ll enjoy it. Wish me luck!
Not the Duke’s Darling (The Greycourt Series #1) by Elizabeth Hoyt.
New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Hoyt brings us the first book in her sexy and sensual Greycourt Series!
Freya de Moray is many things: a member of the secret order of Wise Women, the daughter of disgraced nobility, and a chaperone living under an assumed name. What she is not is forgiving. So when the Duke of Harlowe, the man who destroyed her brother and led to the downfall of her family, appears at the country house party she’s attending, she does what any Wise Woman would do: she starts planning her revenge.
Christopher Renshaw, the Duke of Harlowe, is being blackmailed. Intent on keeping his secrets safe, he agrees to attend a house party where he will put an end to this coercion once and for all. Until he recognizes Freya, masquerading among the party revelers, and realizes his troubles have just begun. Freya knows all about his sins-sins he’d much rather forget. But she’s also fiery, bold, and sensuous-a temptation he can’t resist. When it becomes clear Freya is in grave danger, he’ll risk everything to keep her safe. But first, he will have to earn Freya’s trust…by whatever means necessary.
Holly: A new series from EH! Hurrah!
The Duke’s Suspicion (Rogues and Rebels #2) by Susanna Craig.
An English war hero must unlock the secrets of an Irish beauty’s heart . . .
Named for the heather in her native Ireland, botanist Erica Burke dreams of travel-somewhere she won’t be scorned for her scientific interests. Instead, a storm strands her with cool and commanding Major Tristan Laurens, the Duke of Raynham.
An unexpected heir, Tristan is torn between his duties as an intelligence officer and his responsibilities as a duke. A brief return to England to set his affairs in order is extended by bad weather and worse news-someone is after the military secrets he keeps. Could the culprit be his unconventional Irish guest? He needs to see her journal to be sure, and he’ll do what he must to get his hands on it . . . even indulge in a dangerous intimacy with a woman he has no business wanting.
Erica guards her journal as fiercely as she guards her heart, fearing to reveal a side of herself a man like Tristan could never understand. But though she makes Tristan’s task infernally difficult, falling in love may be all too easy . . .
Holly: I don’t know why so many books on my buy list this month are historicals. I’m still in a weird slump with those. And yet..This sounds so good! Gimme.
Owen (Undercover Billionaire #3) by Melody Anne.
In New York Times bestselling author Melody Anne’s blazing novel of desire and betrayal, a second chance at love is a hot—and dangerous—proposition.
There was a time when Eden’s entire world revolved around Owen Forbes. They were inseparable childhood sweethearts. They planned a life together. Then, without so much as a goodbye, Owen vanished. Now, after ten years, he’s returned to town as the hottest new firefighter on the force. Whatever secrets pulled them apart, Eden can’t fight the sparks reignited by the man who broke her heart.
Owen knows he did Eden wrong. If only he could tell her why. As body meets body, he’s whispering for a second chance—wanting her back so bad it hurts. It can also be dangerous. An arsonist is targeting the small town of Edmonds, and Eden with it. And it’s Owen himself who’s become engulfed in suspicion.
Eden knows that with a past as hot and mysterious as Owen’s, their future together could go up in flames. Because the one man she’s afraid to trust is the only man she desires—and the only one who can save her.
Holly: I was browsing upcoming Kindle Unlimited reads and found this. I haven’t read the other books in the series, but it sounds good.
Across the Horizon by Aly Martinez.
“Sometimes love happens when you least expect it.” That was what my husband’s mistress told me the day I found out about their affair.
I didn’t believe it until five minutes later when mouth-watering celebrity chef Tanner Reese walked up, tossed his arm around my shoulders, and told my cheating husband to take a hike.
Tanner and I couldn’t have been more different. He spent his weekends at clubs, rubbing elbows with fellow A-listers. I spent mine in yoga pants with cheese boards and a glass of wine—or six.
Our relationship shouldn’t have worked, but it did. That is until Tanner proved to me that even though love happens when you least expect it…
So does heartbreak.
Holly: I love when an ex gets a comeuppance from a new love interest. I can’t help it.
Don’t forget…
What books are you looking forward to reading this month? Share in the comments!
I hear you concerning Year One, Casee, but I’ll also be reading Of Blood and Bone. I have to admit that not many of the books above are calling to me. I definitely have no lack of books to read already on hand, so I won’t go book-hungry!
I did remember one book I’m looking forward t o~ Mariana Zapata has a new book coming soon!
Elizabeth Hoyt’s is on the top of my list!!!