Happy Tuesday!
We’re combining this week and next week given how sparse things are in terms of new releases. And then skipping for the rest of December. If you have any releases you’d like to mention for the month, drop them in the comments!
Otherwise, we’ll be back with new releases in 2026.
Which books are on your TBR pile this month? Let us know!
Audrey Lane Stirs the Pot
Author: Alexis Hall
Released: December 9, 2025 by Sourcebooks Casablanca
Genre: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA, Romance
Series: Winner Bakes All #3A charming new LGBTQIA+ romcom from the bestselling author of BOYFRIEND MATERIAL.
Audrey Lane is perfectly fine. Really. So what if she left her high-powered job as a Very Important Journalist—and her even higher-powered long-term girlfriend—to live a quiet life as a reporter for the second-biggest newspaper in Shropshire? And so what if she keeps hearing that same higher-powered long-term now-ex-girlfriend in her head night and day, constantly judging just how small Audrey’s allowed her life to become?
She’s fine. She’s happy. She’s perfectly within her groove. Do not-in-their-groove people get weekday drunk and impulsively apply for the UK’s most beloved baking show?
All right, so maybe she’s not completely fine, but being on Bake Expectations is opening her world again in ways she never anticipated. First through fellow contestant Doris, whose personal story of queer love during WW2 captures Audrey’s heart, imagination and journalistic interest like nothing has in ages. Then through Jennifer Hallet, the most foul-tempered (and fouler-mouthed) producer, woman, and menace Audrey has ever met. Jennifer should be off-limits, but her fire lights something unexpected inside of Audrey, making her want to burn back a million times brighter. A million times hotter. A million times more herself than she’s been in a long, long time.
Book three in the Winner Bakes All series!
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As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks!Everyone in the Group Chat Dies
Author: L.M. Chilton
Released: December 9, 2025 by Gallery/Scout Press
Genre: Mystery/ThrillerA deliciously thrilling new novel about a mysterious threat that puts targets on the backs of a group of roommates, from the author behind the “darkly funny, hilariously twisty, and completely charming” (Jennifer Close, New York Times bestselling author) Swiped.
Kirby Cornell needs a break—particularly from her crumbling apartment in a sleepy town that is only known for serial killer in the ’90s, her dead-end job, her sleazy landlord, her sloppy housemates, and, most of all, the terrible thing they all did.
Luckily, that hasn’t caught up with her just yet. Until a new message in their old group chat pops up from ex-roommate “Everyone in the group chat will die.” The threat isn’t the most disconcerting part of this—it’s the fact that Esme died a year ago.
With his signature “plot twists and wicked” (Margarita Montimore, USA TODAY bestselling author) prose, L.M. Chilton proves that he is a wickedly entertaining author to look out for.
Sarah: The pitch says it’s a laugh-out-loud thriller and I feel like that’s a dare directed at me. WILL I LAUGH? Let’s find out!
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As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks!Her Time Traveling Duke
Author: Bryn Donovan
Released: December 9, 2025 by Berkley
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Time Travel, RomanceMagic meets science and sunshine meets grumpy when a love spell whisks a Regency-era duke to modern times.
Rose Novak, a free-spirited museum employee who dabbles in magic, has had her share of disappointments. So when she tries a little spell for a romance with an “old-fashioned gentleman,” she doesn’t really expect it to work…especially literally. And yet, the duke from a painting she admired at the museum is now standing in her apartment, demanding to know who abducted him.
A man of science and truth, Henry Leighton-Lyons, the Duke of Beresford, has searched tirelessly for a way to turn back time and be with his late wife again. Instead, just as he’s about to pose for his portrait, he’s ripped centuries forward by a feckless, scantily dressed—and utterly bewitching—woman who believes in nonsense like magical crystals and astrology.
Unable to immediately reverse her spell, Rose vows to help Henry return to his own century, even though disguises and high jinks are required to get their hands on an enchanted astrolabe and master the art of time travel. But it’s hard not to fall for the irritable yet honorable duke.
Little does she know that he’s starting to did a reckless love spell get it right, after all?
A grumpy/sunshine romance with a time traveling hero.
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As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks!How to Grieve Like a Victorian
Author: Amy Carol Reeves
Released: December 9, 2025 by Canary Street Press
Genre: Contemporary Romance, RomanceIt’s fine. She’s fine. Really.
When life’s turned you into a big hot mess, there’s still love, laughs, and snark to be had…
Dr. Lizzie Wells, professor of British literature and bestselling author, is not okay. She wasn’t consulted when her beloved husband died unexpectedly, so she’s going to grieve however she damned well chooses. Keeping a lock of his hair in a choker around her neck and donning widow’s weeds. You bet. Notifying colleagues and students that she will only accept paper letters instead of email. Why not? Very nearly kissing her late husband’s best friend, Henry. Unfortunately, er…yes.
So when she’s offered a trip to London, Lizzie grabs it. What better place to escape, heal, and be reborn than in the same city where Queen Victoria famously mourned her beloved Prince Albert? Encouraged by new friends to be bold, have champagne and oysters before noon, and celebrate the beauty and the messiness of life, Lizzie begins to embrace it all.
Still, there’s that almost kiss with Henry she just can’t forget. Their cross-Atlantic ‘check-ins’ turn into FaceTime hangouts and their friendship evolves into something more. When Henry shows up in London, Lizzie fears she’s falling in love with him… Will she bravely embrace this second chance, too?
The title alone makes this seem like the Bitchery may be interested in this one.
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We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks!Murder in Manhattan
Author: Julie Mulhern
Released: December 9, 2025 by Forever
Genre: Historical: American, Mystery/ThrillerInspired by one of the first real-life female columnists at the New Yorker, this enticing historical mystery follows Freddie Archer as she solves crimes while reporting on the glamorous world of the rich and famous in 1920s Manhattan.
This writer just found her next scoop . . . and it’s deadly.
New York, 1925 – Freddie Archer frequents speakeasies and wild parties with her friends Dorothy Parker and Tallulah Bankhead. And the best part is that it’s all in a day’s work. Freddie loves her job writing the nightlife column for Gotham Magazine.
But Freddie’s latest piece just won her a bit more attention than she bargained for—from the police. A man mentioned in her column has been murdered. And Freddie is asked to keep an eye out for his fashionable female dinner companion. She’s told in no uncertain terms to stay out of the case herself.
So naturally, Freddie throws herself into an investigation that takes her from the elegant stores that line Fifth Avenue to the tenements south of Houston Street. Now between sipping gin rickeys with Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald and casting Broadway shows with Groucho Marx, she’s dodging bullets and dating a potentially dangerous bootlegger.
Freddie wanted adventure and excitement. But will she survive it?
Lara: Start of a series!
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We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks!A Most Worthy Husband
Author: Faye Delacour
Released: December 16, 2025 by Sourcebooks Casablanca
Genre: Historical: European, Romance
Series: The Lucky Ladies of London #3When she picks the most unsuitable bachelor in London to ruin her reputation with a kiss, neither of them counted on her mother making a gentleman out of him….
Perfect for fans of Evie Dunmore, India Holton and Bridgerton .
Hannah Williams would never want a marriage like her parents’. She’d be perfectly happy to spend her life as a spinster and support herself by helping to run her sister-in-law’s gambling club. But no matter how many schemes Hannah hatches to repel suitors, her mother won’t accept defeat. To wrest back control of her life once and for all, Hannah takes drastic measures. She’ll ruin herself with a man so unsuitable that no one will force them to the altar, making her unmarriageable forever. What could possibly go wrong?
Silas Corbyn is nothing but trouble. Disinherited by his family and dishonorably discharged from the Navy over a fight with his sadistic superior, the ton has dismissed him without hearing his side of the story. When an old friend from the Navy gives him work as a dealer at a lady’s gambling club, Silas doesn’t intend to repay the favor by compromising the man’s little sister on his first night, but Hannah offers him an obscene amount of money for just one kiss. Money that he could use to build a new life for himself.
Neither of them counted on Hannah’s mother deciding to salvage her daughter’s reputation with a hasty marriage. Now they need to find a way to call off their engagement before it’s too late. Unless they lose their hearts first.
Given the current state of historical romances, we try to spotlight new releases where we can!
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As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks!No Love in L.A.
Author: Katta Kis
Released: December 17, 2025
Genre: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA, Romance
Series: Pagans & Pop Stars #3A heavy metal goddess with a crush on…
The stern goth who hates her…
The spark that ignites them both.
Recovering from a breakdown, metal superstar Angela Alice is clawing her way to self-improvement. Except she’s got writer’s block, touring freaks her out, and her mother is getting out of prison.
Oh, and she keeps running into her ex’s best friend: the beautiful goth control freak she’s crushed on for years. Too bad they can’t stand her.
Too bad they can’t stand her.
Benji Nakamura understands mental health meltdowns, a breakdown ended their old band and remade their life. Now, they’re running an indie label, writing songs, renovating their house, and helping their mom reboot her punk band.
They have it under control—if a certain chaotic singer would stop tilting Benji’s world on its axis. And if they didn’t secretly enjoy it.
When Angela is attacked by bigots, Benji spirits her away to their probably-not-haunted Sacramento mansion. Hidden away, the mutual attraction is too strong to resist.
But it’s not all black roses and orgasms. For two people with scarred pasts and sharp edges, love is a four-letter curse.
Benji and Angie might fit together better than they ever expected, but can this spark survive or will it be just another regret?
No Love in LA is a standalone (though it doesn’t hurt to read the first two books) angsty contemporary rock star romance with an HEA and no cheating.
Shana: I hated this heroine in the earlier books so I’m excited to see her redemption arc.
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