Hide those wallets because March is ending with a bang!
On average, I feel like we have 6-7 books between all of us that we’re looking forward to in a release week. This week, we’re at eleven! And the start of April is looking equally as busy.
What new releases are you excited for this week? Let us know in the comments!
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A Governess’s Guide to Passion and Peril
Author: Manda Collins
Released: March 26, 2024 by Forever
Genre: Historical: European, Romance
Series: Ladies Most Scandalous #4Two friends reunite—and discover hidden feelings—while investigating a murder in this sensual, witty historical romance.
Jane Halliwell once dreamed of a home of her own—but those dreams (and her dowry) died with her father. Now, she works as a governess, preparing her charge for a future no longer within her reach. When her employer is murdered during a house party, however, Jane is forced back into the world of the ton. But stepping in as hostess will require working with the same lord who once broke her girlish heart.
Lord Adrian Fielding was too consumed with his job at the Foreign Office to pay young Jane much heed, but he always considered her a friend. Which is why he’s confounded by her icy demeanor now. More troubling still is his desire to melt the tensions between them. But his mentor’s murder means he must first find the culprit—and ensure Jane’s safety as she manages a house full of foreign dignitaries.
Only Jane insists on joining the investigation, and Adrian, despite all his diplomatic skills, finds himself seduced by her sharp wit and sparkling eyes. But with a vicious killer circling ever closer, will it soon be too late for their chance at forever?
The next book in the Ladies Most Scandalous series.
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Cover Story
Author: Rachel Lacey
Released: March 26, 2024 by Montlake
Genre: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA, RomanceNatalie Keane is one of Hollywood’s top leading ladies, but she’s paid a steep price for her fame. After she was stalked eight years ago, the ensuing media frenzy almost broke her. So when a new threat arises, Natalie agrees to extra security, but she wants to keep it under wraps. The last thing she needs is another tabloid spectacle, especially during awards season.
Taylor Vaughn has made a career as a bodyguard to the stars, but an injury has kept her sidelined for the past three months, jeopardizing her future in the job she loves. When an opportunity arises to work for Natalie Keane, Taylor jumps at the chance—even before knowing the details of the assignment.
From the moment they meet, Natalie knows this could Taylor, the bodyguard, masquerading as her girlfriend. The perfect cover story. But as circumstances push the two women closer, the lines between fantasy and reality begin to blur.
Elyse’s pick!
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The Duchess
Author: Sophie Jordan
Released: March 26, 2024 by Avon
Genre: Historical: European, Romance
Series: The Scandalous Ladies of London #2The thrilling second book in New York Times bestselling author Sophie Jordan’s amazing new high concept series, The Scandalous Ladies of London, which chronicles the lives of a group of affluent ladies reigning over glittering, Regency-era London, vying for position in the hierarchy of the ton. They are the young wives, widows, and daughters of London’s wealthiest families. The drama is big, the money runs deep, and the shade is real. Life is different in the ton.
“I liked my husband well enough … but I like him even better dead.”
It’s been a year since her wretched cad of a husband died and Valencia, the Dowager Duchess of Dedham, is finally her own woman. Flitting from party to party, freedom is sweet and life should be perfect. Until the new duke surfaces.
Nothing like the haughty noblemen who populate the ton, Rhain, the newly minted Duke of Dedham, is a big brawny Welshman with an accent that makes Valencia’s knees go weak as he boldly moves into her home with his six wild unwed sisters. The rude and humorless usurper thinks her vain and spoiled. But with a pittance to her name, Valencia needs his support to remain in London and enjoy all the pleasures her new position as a merry widow has to offer.
So a bargain is struck. Valencia will usher his sisters into Good Society and see them happily betrothed. In return, he’ll give her the financial security and independence she craves. But the more time they spend beneath the same roof, the more she realizes it’s not safety she wants but the dangerously seductive Rhain. Valencia has vowed never to risk marriage again. And yet how can she resist the tempting man when he might be the greatest adventure of her life?
Sarah: The Scandalous Ladies of London series looks very fun – the pitch worked on me: “I liked my husband well enough … but I like him even better dead.” She didn’t kill him, but he sucked.
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The Emperor and the Endless Palace
Author: Justinian Huang
Released: March 26, 2024 by MIRA
Genre: Fantasy/Fairy Tale Romance, Historical: Other, LGBTQIA, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy“What if I told you that the feeling we call love is actually the feeling of metaphysical recognition, when your soul remembers someone from a previous life?”
In the year 4 BCE, an ambitious courtier is called upon to seduce the young emperor—but quickly discovers they are both ruled by blood, sex and intrigue.
In 1740, a lonely innkeeper agrees to help a mysterious visitor procure a rare medicine, only to unleash an otherworldly terror instead.
And in present-day Los Angeles, a college student meets a beautiful stranger and cannot shake the feeling they’ve met before.
Across these seemingly unrelated timelines woven together only by the twists and turns of fate, two men are reborn, lifetime after lifetime. Within the treacherous walls of an ancient palace and the boundless forests of the Asian wilderness to the heart-pounding cement floors of underground rave scenes, our lovers are inexplicably drawn to each other, constantly tested by the worlds around them.
As their many lives intertwine, they begin to realize the power of their undying love—a power that transcends time itself…but one that might consume them both.
An unpredictable roller coaster of a debut novel, The Emperor and the Endless Palace is a genre-bending romantasy that challenges everything we think we know about true love.
This one has been getting so much buzz!
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The Good, the Bad, and the Aunties
Author: Jesse Sutanto
Released: March 26, 2024 by Berkley
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Mystery/Thriller, Romance
Series: Aunties #3What should have been a family celebration of Chinese New Year descends into chaos when longtime foes crash the party in this hilariously entertaining novel by Jesse Q. Sutanto, bestselling author of Dial A for Aunties.
After an ultra-romantic honeymoon across Europe, Meddy Chan and her husband Nathan have landed in Jakarta to spend Chinese New Year with her entire extended family. Chinese New Year, already the biggest celebration of the Lunar calendar, gets even more festive when a former beau of Second Aunt’s shows up at the Chan residence bearing extravagant gifts—he’s determined to rekindle his romance with Second Aunt and the gifts are his way of announcing his courtship.
His grand gesture goes awry however, when it’s discovered that not all the gifts were meant for Second Aunt and the Chans—one particular gift was intended for a business rival to cement their alliance and included by accident. Of course the Aunties agree that it’s only right to return the gift—after all, anyone would forgive an honest mistake, right? But what should have been a simple retrieval turns disastrous and suddenly Meddy and the Aunties are helpless pawns in a decades-long war between Jakarta’s most powerful business factions. The fighting turns personal, however, when Nathan and the Aunties are endangered and it’s up to Meddy to come up with a plan to save them all. Determined to rescue her loved ones, Meddy embarks on an impossible mission—but with the Aunties by her side, nothing is truly impossible…
We’re onto the third adventure of Meddy and her aunties!
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How to Solve Your Own Murder
Author: Kristen Perrin
Released: March 26, 2024 by Dutton
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Series: Castle Knoll Files #1For fans of Knives Out and The Thursday Murder Club , an enormously fun mystery about a woman who spends her entire life trying to prevent her foretold murder only to be proven right sixty years later, when she is found dead in her sprawling country estate…. Now it’s up to her great-niece to catch the killer.
It’s 1965 and teenage Frances Adams is at an English country fair with her two best friends. But Frances’s night takes a hairpin turn when a fortune-teller makes a bone-chilling One day, Frances will be murdered. Frances spends a lifetime trying to solve a crime that hasn’t happened yet, compiling dirt on every person who crosses her path in an effort to prevent her own demise. For decades, no one takes Frances seriously, until nearly sixty years later, when Frances is found murdered, like she always said she would be.
In the present day, Annie Adams has been summoned to a meeting at the sprawling country estate of her wealthy and reclusive great-aunt Frances. But by the time Annie arrives in the quaint English village of Castle Knoll, Frances is already dead. Annie is determined to catch the killer, but thanks to Frances’s lifelong habit of digging up secrets and lies, it seems every endearing and eccentric villager might just have a motive for her murder. Can Annie safely unravel the dark mystery at the heart of Castle Knoll, or will dredging up the past throw her into the path of a killer?
As Annie gets closer to the truth, and closer to the danger, she starts to fear she might inherit her aunt’s fate instead of her fortune.
Amanda: This sounds like such a quirky, fun mystery!
Sarah: I’m very curious about this one, in particular because it’s probably going to have several generations of gossip and secrets.
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Icarus
Author: K. Ancrum
Released: March 26, 2024 by HarperTeen
Genre: LGBTQIA, Romance, Young AdultPerfect for fans of Adam Silvera and Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, this suspenseful queer YA romance from critically acclaimed author K. Ancrum reimagines the tale of Icarus as a star-crossed love story between a young art thief and the son of the man he’s been stealing from—think Portrait of a Thief for YA readers.
Icarus Gallagher is a thief. He steals priceless art and replaces it with his father’s impeccable forgeries. For years, one man—the wealthy Mr. Black—has been their target in revenge for his role in the death of Icarus’s mother. To keep their secret, Icarus adheres to his own strict rules to keep people, and feelings, at Don’t let anyone close. Don’t let anyone touch you. And, above all, don’t get caught.
Until one night, he does. Not by Mr. Black but by his mysterious son, Helios, now living under house arrest in the Black mansion. Instead of turning Icarus in, Helios bargains for something even more dangerous—a friendship that breaks every single one of Icarus’s rules.
As reluctance and distrust become closeness and something more, they uncover the gilded cage that has trapped both their families for years. One Icarus is determined to escape. But his father’s thirst for revenge shows no sign of fading, and soon it may force Icarus to the escape he’s dreamed of, or the boy he’s come to love. Reaching for both could be his greatest triumph—or it could be his downfall.
Dahlia: K. Ancrum is one of the most brilliant and interesting authors in YA right now and I can’t wait to see what she does with the myth of Icarus, especially knowing this one has rare intersex representation.
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Manila Takes Manhattan
Author: Carla de Guzman
Released: March 26, 2024 by Afterglow Books by Harlequin
Genre: Contemporary Romance, RomanceFans of Jasmine Guillory and Helen Hoang will adore this irresistibly engaging story of two Filipino celebrities caught between everything they want…and everything they are.
How do you follow your heart when it’s in two places?
Filipino musician and producer Mon Mendoza has been in New York for less than a day. Just long enough to feel like he doesn’t belong despite landing a life-changing opportunity. All he can do is set a date night for just himself and some pancit canton. Which, as it turns out, is the only invitation his gorgeous Pinoy neighbor needs…
Actress Olivia Angeles can wear a character like a well-fitted dress. It’s her real self she’s having a hard time fitting into, craving a niche in Hollywood that doesn’t compromise her identity in the name of success. And right now, all she wants is comfort in the form of tasty noodles and her outrageously hot new neighbor. One night. Just enough to lose herself in his touch and the feel of his lips…
Only their sexy little tryst isn’t quite what they signed up for. Because for the next month, Mon and Olivia are working on the same movie. Together. Now they’re discovering they have a lot more in common than Pinoyness and sizzling chemistry. But how do you find yourself and your person when you’re caught between two different worlds?
Aarya: Excited to try books by the new Harlequin imprint Afterglow Books!
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Maya’s Laws of Love
Author: Alina Khawaja
Released: March 26, 2024 by MIRA
Genre: Contemporary Romance, RomanceA bride-to-be convinced she’s cursed in romance finds her luck changing—at exactly the wrong time.
Maya Mirza is so convinced she’s unlucky in love that she’s come up with a list of laws to explain it. Most importantly…
•Maya’s Law #1: Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.But that’s about to change. Maya’s headed to Pakistan for an arranged marriage with a handsome, successful doctor who ticks all the right boxes. First comes marriage, then comes love—she’s sure of it. Except…
•Law #4: When you think you’re lucky, think again.From the start, Maya’s journey is riddled with disaster, and the cynical lawyer seated next to her on the plane isn’t helping. When a storm leaves them stranded in Switzerland, she and Sarfaraz become unlikely travel companions through bus breakdowns and missed connections.
•Law #6: Trips are never smooth sailing.And before long, Maya’s wondering whether she’s just experienced the ultimate in misfortune—finally meeting the right man a few days before she marries someone else. And Maya might just be the worst person to keep a secret.
•Law #18: If you’re overtired, you’ll always spill your guts.But maybe, if she’s willing to bend some laws, this detour could take her somewhere totally—and wonderfully—unexpected.
This contemporary romance and its “road trip” element sounds super cute!
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The Other Side of Disappearing
Author: Kate Clayborn
Released: March 26, 2024 by Kensington Books
Genre: Contemporary Romance, RomanceHairstylist Jess Greene has spent the last decade raising her younger half-sister, Tegan—and keeping a shocking secret. Ever since their reckless mother ran off with a boyfriend she’d known only a few months, Jess has been aware that he’s the same accomplished con man who was the subject of a wildly popular podcast, The Last Con of Lynton Baltimore.
Now thirty-one, Jess didn’t bargain on Tegan eventually piecing together the connection for herself. But Tegan plans to do exactly what Jess has always feared—leave their safe, stable home to search for their mother—and she’ll be accompanied by the prying podcast host and her watchful, handsome producer, Adam Hawkins. Unwilling to let the sister she’s spent so much of her life protecting go it alone, Jess reluctantly joins them.
Together, the four make their way across the country, unraveling the mystery of where the couple disappeared to and why. But soon Jess is discovering other things too. Like a renewed sense of vulnerability and curiosity, and a willingness to expand beyond the walls she’s so carefully built. And in Adam, she finds an unexpected connection she didn’t even know was missing, if only she can let go and let him in . . .
Aarya: Not the biggest fan of podcast-centric romance, but it’s Kate Clayborn.
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The Witch Queen of Halloween
Author: Kresley Cole
Released: March 26, 2024 by Valkyrie Press
Genre: Paranormal, Novella, Romance
Series: Immortals After Dark #18.5The next spellbinding installment in the #1 New York Times bestselling Immortals After Dark series .
A demon soldier of fortune . . .
Rök Kours dives into a dangerous job, only to cross swords with the one woman who bewitched him.A Wiccan mercenary . . .
Poppy Dyer has never let her uncontrollable magic interfere with her work, but she can barely withstand one demon’s charms.Trapped in a terrifying lair.
If the two rivals can defeat Halloween’s worst nightmares to escape a haunted castle, can they overcome their pasts to claim a future together?Amanda: Look, it’s not a full-length novel, but I’ll take it.
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Only one book on my tbr this week: A TYCOON TOO WILD TO WED by Caitlin Crews (releasing today) is an HP (which should be obvious from the title) in which a couple must marry to fulfill the provisions of a will. I expect the usual round of angsty heartache and euphemistically-expressed sexy-times that are part of Crews’s stock-in-trade.
The Other Side of Disappearing is FANTASTIC; a top ten book of the year for me. Liked Governess’ Guide too, though not an Squee/A levler for me. The rest are on the TBR.
In the blurb for Cover Story, the last paragraph contains an enigmatic phrase: “Natalie knows this could Taylor,” which apparently should be “Natalie knows this could work: Taylor,” which is a great deal less mysterious.
Sarah Zachrich Jeng’s speculative thriller WHEN I’M HER came out today. Beginning of blurb on amazon:
How far would you go to get even with the woman who ruined your life?
In this electrifying thriller, a young woman gets everything she’s ever wanted—and everything she doesn’t—when she swaps bodies with her sworn enemy.
(SZJ is a friend)
I placed a library hold on the Rachel Lacey. I loved “Read Between The Lines”, liked “No Rings Allowed” okay (too much insta-love, not enough time to make it believable), and really liked “Stars Collide”.