Happy Tuesday!
December is probably the slowest month in publishing. Not only does publishing take time off at the end of the year, but releases can get buried in all the holiday hubbub. Expect some pretty short lists this month. We’ll also be combining the entries for the week of the 17th and the 24th, especially since we run our Best Of content during Christmas week.
Is it a quite month for you? What releases are on your TBR pile this week?
-
Keep Me
Author: Sara Cate
Released: December 3, 2024 by Sourcebooks Casablanca
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Erotica/Erotic Romance, Romance
Series: Sinful Manor #1Their marriage of convenience is anything but…
All Killian Barclay wants is to be left the hell alone. He’s had enough heartache to last a lifetime, and he has no more need for love—earning him the reputation of a broody Scot and eventually turning his famous ancestral home into a den of iniquity. It doesn’t take long for tales of his raunchy house parties to reach the rest of his family, though, inspiring them to hatch a plan to shake Killian out of his routine.
New Yorker Sylvie Devereaux is tough as nails—as the daughter of famous yet neglectful parents, she’s grown a hard shell and keeps everyone at arm’s length. So when she sneaks into Barclay Manor during a trip to Scotland to get a glimpse of a famous heirloom, she doesn’t anticipate facing off against the brutish, maddening highlander who lives there. And she certainly didn’t expect to ever see the bastard again.
Yet just weeks later, she’s approached by Killian’s family with a proposal—move to Scotland and marry Killian to improve his playboy reputation, and after one year, she’ll walk away with ten million dollars. Sylvie agrees, even knowing that their plan is more deceptive than he realizes. But as she grows closer to Killian and the end of their year together, she has to Is the love of a good man with a dark soul worth keeping, or is she willing to break Killian’s heart now that it’s well and truly hers?
“This book has IT factor. Really loved it. Super sexy and angsty.” —Helen Hoang, New York Times bestselling author, for Praise
Amanda: I love a sexy modern marriage of convenience.
Elyse: I loved the Salacious Players Club series so I’m excited for this book.
Add to Goodreads To-Read List →
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks! -
The Peculiar Garden of Harriet Hunt
Author: Chelsea Iversen
Released: December 3, 2024 by Sourcebooks Landmark
Genre: Gothic, Historical: European, Literary Fiction, Science Fiction/FantasyA lush, enchanting story of a woman who must use the magic of the fantastical plants that adorn her crumbling estate in Victorian London to thwart the dark plots of the men around her…
Harriet Hunt is completely alone. Her father disappeared months ago, leaving her to wander the halls of Sunnyside house, dwelling on a past she’d rather keep buried. She doesn’t often venture beyond her front gate, instead relishing the feel of dirt under her fingernails and of soft moss beneath her feet. Consequently, she’s been deemed a little too peculiar for popular Victorian society. This solitary life suits her fine, though – because, in her garden, magic awaits.
Harriet’s garden is special. It’s a wild place full of twisting ivy, vibrant plums, and a quiet power that buzzes like bees. Caring for this place, and keeping it from running rampant through the streets of her London suburb, is Harriet’s purpose.
When suspicion for her father’s disappearance falls on her, she marries a seemingly charming man, the first to see past her peculiarities, in order to protect herself. It’s soon clear, however, that her new husband might be worse than her father and that she’s integral to a dark plot created by the men around her. To free herself and discover the truth, she must learn to channel the power of her strange, magical garden.
At once enchantingly mesmerizing and fiercely feminist, perfect for fans of The Magician’s Daughter and The Once and Future Witches, the vibrant world-building and sinister undertones of The Peculiar Garden of Harriet Hunt make for the perfect modern fairytale about women taking control of their lives—with a little help from the magic within them.
Amanda: The comparison to Once and Future Witches sold me!
Add to Goodreads To-Read List →
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks! -
Under Loch and Key
Author: Lana Ferguson
Released: December 3, 2024 by Berkley
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Paranormal, RomanceA woman discovers that not all monsters are her enemy—the opposite, in fact—in this new paranormal romance by Lana Ferguson, author of The Fake Mate.
Keyanna “Key” MacKay is used to secrets. Raised by a single father who never divulged his past, it’s only after his death that she finds herself thrust into the world he’d always refused to speak of. With just a childhood bedtime story about a monster that saved her father’s life and the name of her estranged grandmother to go off of, Key has no idea what she’ll find in Scotland. But repeating her father’s mistakes and being rescued by a gorgeous, angry Scotsman—who thinks she’s an idiot—is definitely the last thing she expects.
Lachlan Greer has his own secrets to keep, especially from the bonnie lass he pulls to safety from the slippery shore—a lass with captivating eyes and the last name he’s been taught not to trust. He’s looking for answers as well, and Key’s presence on the grounds they both now occupy presents a real problem. It’s even more troublesome when he gets a front row seat to the lukewarm welcome Key receives from her family; the strange powers she begins to develop; and the fierce determination she brings to every obstacle in her path. Things he shouldn’t care about, and someone he definitely doesn’t find wildly attractive.
When their secrets collide, it becomes clear that Lachlan could hold the answers Keyanna is after—and that she might also be the key to uncovering his. Up against time, mystery, and a centuries old curse, they’ll quickly discover that magic might not only be in fairy tales, and that love can be a real loch-mess.
Elyse: I really liked The Nanny so I can’t wait to read this.
Add to Goodreads To-Read List →
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks! -
The Wrong Lady Meets Lord Right
Author: Suzanne Allain
Released: December 3, 2024 by Berkley
Genre: Historical: European, RomanceWhen a young woman trades places with her noble cousin, their innocent ruse leads to true love in this sparkling new Regency-era romantic comedy of manners from the author of Mr. Malcolm’s List.
When Arabella Grant’s wicked aunt dies suddenly, both Arabella and her cousin Lady Isabelle cannot help but feel relieved. She’d made their lives miserable, and now Lady Issie is free to read to her heart’s content, and Bella is free from taunts about her ignoble birth.
Their newfound freedom is threatened, however, when Issie’s great-aunt commands her to travel to London for a come-out Issie has never wanted. Issie, who is in poor health, is convinced she’ll drop dead like her mother did if she drops into a curtsy before the queen. So when her great-aunt turns out to be nearsighted and can’t tell the noble Lady Isabelle from her commoner cousin Arabella, Issie convinces Bella to take her place. Bella can attend all the exclusive entertainments that her lower birth would typically exclude her from, and Issie can stay in bed, her nose in a book.
A new historical from Suzanne Allain that features a bit of a switcheroo.
Add to Goodreads To-Read List →
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks!
I have three books on my tbr this week:
Briar Prescott’s THE CHRISTMAS SWITCH (December 3) is an antagonists-to-lovers paranormal with “Freaky Friday” elements: two workplace rivals, working together to put up decorations for the company Christmas party, somehow switch bodies when there’s a problem with the Christmas lights. What will each of them discover when inhabiting the other’s body? I anticipate this will be a lot less angsty than Prescott’s usual output.
Kelly Hunter’s MUST LOVE MISTLETOE (December 4) is the latest in her long-running Montana Bachelors and Babies series. This one features a man in love with his late best friend’s widow. One of my favorite tropes from one of my favorite romance writers. Can’t wait!
SIN AND SNOWFLAKES: A MAFIA CHRISTMAS ANTHOLOGY (December 5) is exactly what it says on the tin. I’m looking forward to Mafia Christmas stories from Cate C. Wells, Alexandr Voinov, and Lucy Monroe—and perhaps I’ll discover a new writer or two in this multi-author offering.
Schemes and Scandals by Kelley Armstrong. This is a Christmas novella in the FBI-agent time hopping series. (Rip in Time, I think. Her other time-hopping series is Stitch in Time.)
The Rivals by Jane Pek. Follow up to The Verifiers, which was 99% mystery with a hint of attraction, which may follow up in this book. TW: The Chinese mother in this book is emotionally abusive to her children.
The Wrong Lady Meets Lord Right is very charming book; not quite my favorite Allain, but still good. The rest are on my TBR!
Only one book on my list: PS: I Hate You but Lauren Connelly, although it’s definitely staying on the tbr until after New Years due to a crucial plot point. FMC is on a mission to scatter her brother’s ashes at various points around the world accompanied by his BFF, her nemesis. Not the sort of emotions to make the season sparkle. Looking forward to having my heartstrings manipulated in January
Beth Revis’s “How to Steal a Galaxy,” the second in her Chaotic Orbits series, is out today. I liked the first one, so I look forward to this one.
“Free From Falling” by E.L. Massey. (Dec. 3). The 4th book in her Breakaway series where at least one of the protagonists is a hockey player. Book 4 — a male hockey player and a trans frontwoman for an up and coming rock band. New adult, the first 3 books are m/m. I loved them all and am looking forward to this one!
The Dratsie Dilemma by Gail Carriger (M/M shifters) is on my TBR pile right now. I’m just waiting for some free time to savor this latest add on to the San Andreas Shifters series.