If you’re new to Hide Your Wallet, this is where we list new releases we’re pretty excited for in the coming month.
Each reviewer has a book maximum (five per person), and we’ve separated HYW into two parts. The first HYW of the month will cover books that release from the 1st to the 14th. The second HYW will cover books released from the 15th to the end of the month.
We also think this will help us feature books from smaller publishers who don’t have buy links up as early as the bigger trade houses.
As always, if we missed any books that you’re particularly looking forward to, tell us all about them in the comments.
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The Number 94 Project
Author: Cheyenne Blue
Released: December 6, 2021 by Ylva Publishing
Genre: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA, RomanceRenovation takes a sexy turn when a cute country girl rocks up with a tool belt and plans that throw the whole gay neighbourhood into disarray in this light-hearted lesbian romance.
When handywoman Jorgie’s uncle leaves her an old house in Melbourne, it’s a dream come true. Sure, 94 Gaylord Street is falling apart, and she has to deal with her uncle Bruce’s eccentric friends thanks to his unusual Will.
But that’s okay. She’ll fire up her power tools and turn the dilapidated terrace house into a desirable inner-city pad. Then she’ll sell up and head home to the country.
Jorgie hasn’t counted on falling for cute neighbour Marta, who’s found her heart-home among the tight queer-community of Gaylord Street. Between mugs of too-strong tea and Jorgie’s lack of a working shower, the two forge a surprising connection.
But what happens when the renovation’s complete? Can Jorgie really just toss aside her tool belt and saunter away?
Shana: So many of my favorite tropes, and I love a renovation romance!
Note: This one slipped through the cracks because the pub date kept changing!
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Fire of the Frost
Author:
Released: December 22, 2021 by Brightlynx Publishing
Genre: Fantasy/Fairy Tale Romance, Romance, Science Fiction/FantasyAarya: I read Draven’s novella when it was a short story (loved it!) and am intrigued to reread it in a longer format.
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The Bad Boy Experiment
Author: Reese Ryan
Released: December 28, 2021 by Harlequin Desire
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Romance
Series: The Bourbon Brothers #6A steamy fling with an old crush who doesn’t do commitment? What was she thinking! Find out in the conclusion to Reese Ryan’s Bourbon Brothers series.
What happens when you say yes to a bad boy?
Even if divorcée Renee Lockwood were willing to give love a second chance, she wouldn’t choose Cole Abbott. The sexy, successful real estate developer doesn’t do commitment. But he’s perfect for a no-strings fling—exactly what Ren needs now that she’s moved back home to raise her son. Mind-blowing pleasure with the man she once crushed on is harder to quit than Ren expected. Impossible, in fact. Is time running out before the bad boy bolts…or will the results of her experiment surprise her?
Aarya: Reese Ryan writes category romance brilliantly (and she always wins the cover lottery at Harlequin!).
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Bold Fortune
Author: M.M. Crane
Released: December 28, 2021 by Berkley
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Romance
Series: The Fortunes of Lost Lake #1Opposites burn hot enough to melt the snow and ice of an Alaskan winter in this all-new series from USA Today bestselling author Megan Crane.
Quinn Fortune is the official protector of all the unspoiled beauty in Lost Lake, Alaska, as the head of the community trust. A rugged frontiersman through and through, he doesn’t do soft. But he can’t help his fascination with the pink-clad professor who shows up in Lost Lake seeking his approval for her cheerful outsider’s proposal about land that isn’t hers. Still, he agrees to consider it–if she can handle a month of good old-fashioned Alaska living. He’s betting she’ll head back to the safety of the Lower 48 within the week.
Violet Parrish is a thinker, not a doer, but desperate times call for extraordinary measures–like taking on the Alaskan wilderness. In January. Off the grid. With a mountain man hot enough to melt a glacier. The frozen Alaskan tundra should be no match for Violet’s determination, but the sheer immensity of the Last Frontier takes her by surprise–as does her attraction to gruff, impossibly handsome Quinn, and the unexpected heat that burns between them during the freezing Alaska nights…
Lara: I can never resist the grump/sunshine trope!
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Proper Scoundrels
Author: Allie Therin
Released: December 28, 2021 by Carina Press
Genre: Historical: European, LGBTQIA, Romance, Science Fiction/FantasyDon’t miss this standalone spin-off in Allie Therin’s acclaimed Magic in Manhattan universe!
Their scandalous pasts have left them wounded and unworthy—and hopelessly perfect together.
London, 1925
Sebastian de Leon is adjusting to life after three years spent enthralled by blood magic. The atrocities he committed under its control still weigh heavily on his conscience, but when he’s asked to investigate a series of mysterious murders, it feels like an opportunity to make amends. Until he realizes the killer’s next likely target is a man who witnessed Sebastian at his worst—the Viscount Fine.
Lord Fine—known as Wesley to his friends, if he had any—is haunted by ghosts of his own after serving as a British army captain during the Great War. Jaded and untrusting, he’s tempted to turn Sebastian in, but there’s something undeniably captivating about the reformed paranormal, and after Sebastian risks his own life to save Wesley’s, they find common ground.
Seeking sanctuary together at Wesley’s country estate in Yorkshire, the unlikely pair begins to unravel a mystery steeped in legend and folklore, the close quarters emboldening them to see past the other’s trauma to the person worth loving beneath. But with growing targets on their backs, they’ll have to move quickly if they want to catch a killer—and discover whether two wounded souls can help each other heal.
Aarya: A spinoff from Therin’s Magic in Manhattan trilogy.
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The Rebel and the Rake
Author: Emily Sullivan
Released: December 28, 2021 by Forever
Genre: Historical: European, Romance
Series: League of Scoundrels #2He holds her fate in his hands—she holds his heart in hers.
Rafe Davies might seem like just another charismatic rake, but in reality, he is one of the crown’s most valuable agents. As relentless as he is reckless, Rafe has never come upon a mission he couldn’t complete. But when he encounters the intriguing-yet-prickly lady’s companion Miss Sylvia Sparrow while on assignment at a Scottish house party, he finds himself thoroughly distracted by the secretive beauty.
Though most women would be thrilled to catch the eye of a tall, dark, and dangerously handsome man, Sylvia is through with that sort of adventure. She trusted the wrong man once and paid for it dearly. The fiery bluestocking is resolved to avoid Rafe, until a chance encounter between them reveals the normally irreverent man’s unexpected depths—and an attraction that’s impossible to ignore. But when Sylvia begins to suspect she isn’t the only one harboring a few secrets, she realizes that Rafe may pose a risk to far more than her heart . . .
Aarya: I will read any historical with a house party!
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The Replacement Wife
Author: Darby Kane
Released: December 28, 2021 by William Morrow Paperbacks
Genre: Mystery/ThrillerA domestic suspense novel that asks, how many wives and girlfriends should disappear before your family notices?
Elisa Wright is a mom and wife, living a nice, quiet life in a nice, quiet town. She’s also convinced her brother-in-law is a murderer. Josh has one dead wife and one missing fiancée, and though he grieved for them he starts dating someone new. Elisa fears for that woman’s safety, and she desperately wants to know what happened to her friend, Josh’s missing fiancée.
Searching for clues means investigating her own family. And she doesn’t like what she finds. A laptop filled with incriminating information. Other women.
But when Elisa becomes friends with Josh’s new girlfriend and starts to question things she thinks are true, Elisa wonders if the memories of a horrible incident a year ago have finally pushed her over the edge and Josh is really innocent. With so much at stake, Elisa fights off panic attacks and a strange illness. Is it a breakdown or something more? The race is on to get to the truth before another disappearance because there’s a killer in the family…or is there?
Elyse: I loved Kane’s last book, Pretty Little Wife.
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The Untold Story
Author: Genevieve Cogman
Released: December 28, 2021 by Ace
Genre: LGBTQIA, Science Fiction/Fantasy
Series: The Invisible Library #8In this thrilling historical fantasy, time-traveling Librarian spy Irene will need to delve deep into a tangled web of loyalty and power to keep her friends safe.
Irene is trying to learn the truth about Alberich-and the possibility that he’s her father. But when the Library orders her to kill him, and then Alberich himself offers to sign a truce, she has to discover why he originally betrayed the Library.
With her allies endangered and her strongest loyalties under threat, she’ll have to trace his past across multiple worlds and into the depths of mythology and folklore, to find the truth at the heart of the Library, and why the Library was first created.
Susan: More bisexual dimension-hoping librarian-spies, yay!
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The Ladies’ Column by R. A. Wallace: I’m interested in reading the sample: “Love is in the air. Unfortunately for Goldie Weston, her fiancé has romantic ideas for someone else. If anyone asked her for advice on the situation she now faced, she would suggest they make lemonade of the lemons.
Determined to leave the past in the past and embrace a new future, she dreams up the ideal job for someone with her skills. It involves offering advice to other women who are also navigating a new world of independence after WWI.”
And then there’s a murder.
Eve Dangerfield’s latest, RETURN ALL, was released yesterday. It’s the second book in her Rebirth series (also the second romance she’s published since she returned from romance-writing hiatus/retirement). It’s a second-chance romance between a famous football player (he’s the friend/teammate/housemate of the hero of Dangerfield’s earlier BEGIN AGAIN, AGAIN) and the woman he loved a decade ago—she now runs a non-profit that builds and provides affordable housing to the economically-disadvantaged. As in Dangerfield’s ACT YOUR AGE, there is an element of Daddy kink in the couple’s dynamic, but it’s all fully consensual.
Also, for Christmas reading: TWELVE NAUGHTY DAYS, an anthology of Christmas-themed short stories inspired by “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” I haven’t started it yet, but writers include some of my favorites: Skye Warren, Sierra Simone, CD Reiss, along with others like Claire Contreras, Nana Malone, and Angelina M. Lopez. All proceeds from the sale of the books go to the Trevor Project for suicide prevention.
Seasons, PsyCop Briefs Vol 2 by Jordan Castillo Price comes out Dec 21.
To piggyback on DDD’s comment, Sierra Simone’s short story is kind of based on that infamous Folgers Christmas commercial – “You’re my present this year.” I’m curious…
“Minding Their Manners” – Book 6 in the Neighborly Affection series by M.Q. Barber comes out Dec 28.
MirandaB, every book description is better with “And then there’s a murder.”
I love the Magic in Manhattan series, so I’ll look for that one.
These are all on my TBR pile!
I only saw this by chance – ON A MIDNIGHT CLEAR by Lily Morton just dropped. M/M Christmas novel, looks to have a bit of a fantasy element.
One more drop – I had this on pre-order but hadn’t noted when it would appear: BODY AT BUCCANEER BAY by Josh Lanyon, Book 5 in the Secrets and Scrabble series. These are light mysteries with a romantic element (m/m, closed door). Entertaining and a nice break from more intense reads.