I have not read most of the new releases listed (although I always end up one-clicking quite a few as I prepare these posts LOL).
‘AB’ denotes audiobook and the Amazon buy link.
NOTE: Amazon recently renamed AmazonKU as AmazonK+.
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CROWN: MOST WANTED ALIEN BRIDES (INTERGALACTIC DATING AGENCY) by Candice Gilmer
I proposed a marriage of pure strategy. I did not plan on chasing my own wife. Darik of Vorjan House holds final authority over the trade agreement, the weight of an entire noble line, and a simple plan: marry an Earth woman, prove his people’s commitment to the alliance, and manage the whole affair with his usual flawless control. Then he proposes to Beka. She hears him out. She asks questions he isn’t prepared for. And she agrees — on one condition. Equal partnership and genuine respect, or there’s no deal. Then she goes back to work, and Darik realizes he’s just been dismissed for the first time in his life. Beka clawed her way free of a family that tried to own her and built a life entirely her own. She doesn’t need Darik’s rank, his protection, or his approval — and she hasn’t so much as noticed that the most powerful man on the station has started rearranging his schedule just to be in the same room as her. The marriage was supposed to be a performance. Neither of them planned on it becoming real.
GARNYTH: SMOLDERING FOR HER (INTERGALACTIC DATING AGENCY) (CONSUMED BY THE ALIEN HEAT BOOK SIX) by Zoey Indiana
She has spent five years making sure the IDA does its job correctly. She did not account for the possibility that the IDA’s job might include her. Skyla Marchetti is the Intergalactic Council’s Earth-based accountability officer for alien-human treaty compliance, which means she knows every clause in the IDA’s reformed operating charter, every oversight protocol, and every instance of noncompliance in the past decade. She is not against the IDA. She simply holds it to its own standards with the focused intensity of someone who takes promises seriously. Garnyth of the Thyren has been the IDA’s alien-species diplomatic representative for three years, which means he has been in Skyla’s quarterly review meetings for three years, which means he has spent three years giving her careful, accurate, complete answers to her questions and not quite managing to give her honest ones. When the compatibility scan flags a 96.8% match between them, Skyla sets it aside to finish the quarterly review. Garnyth sits with it for an entire week before he says anything. She sees through everyone. He has made himself transparent to everyone and available to no one. The IDA, with its usual impeccable timing, thinks this is exactly the point.
MINOS: COLONY: LABYRINTH BOOK TWO (INTERGALACTIC DATING AGENCY) by Demelza Carlton
She can’t stand him, but the Intergalactic Dating Agency swears the alien minotaur is her match. Brit is better with tech than people. A week on an alien farm is supposed to teach her what she needs for her next terraforming project. Falling in love isn’t on the itinerary. Especially with Minos, the horned minotaur farmer who didn’t even try to impress her—and the one man she crossed off her dating sheet. Now she’s stuck on his farm, his machinery is broken, and the harvest has to come in by hand. Their cupid insists they belong together. Brit thinks the electric zing whenever they touch is more of a warning. Fortunately, she can fix anything with a circuit. A few repairs, a little AI assistance, and she’ll be ready to leave. Except Minos is proving much harder to resist than she expected. And on a colony where AIs are forbidden, her clever fix could cost her any chance of a future with him. Amazon Apple Books Kobo
DARK MATTER: ELLIS MCFADDEN MYSTERIES by Kristin Painter
VS Note: There is a slow burn romance in the series.
Step into the enigmatic world of the Athos—a vessel that blends the luxury of a cruise ship, the intrigue of a scientific research station, and the might of a military starship. Here, amidst the stars, you’ll find Ellis McFadden, the ship’s head librarian, enjoying the quiet of the fallow phase with her knitting, her android cat Harry, and her growing romance with Frank. Even better that she gets to experience it all while in proximity to her daughter, who just happens to be the vice admiral. But life aboard the ship takes a darker turn when the Athos docks at Bastion 8 to take on three prisoners—including the trillionaire mining magnate accused of brutally murdering his lifelong best friend and business partner. As the ship’s librarian, Ellis is required to provide reading material to the prisoners. When the main suspect insists he’s innocent and begs for law books to build his defense, Ellis can’t shake the feeling that something isn’t right. With the help of Frank, Harry, and her friends, she begins quietly digging into the case—only to discover some key witnesses are also aboard. Armed with her wits, the loyalty of her eclectic friends, and a growing sense that the official story has too many holes, Ellis dives into a mystery as dangerous as the rare and dangerous mineral at the heart of the crime. Can she uncover the truth and clear an innocent man before the real killer strikes again? AmazonK+ AB
THE ALIEN PRINCE’S FEAST (HOLIDATES OF BOREALIS IV BOOK TWO) by Eden Ember
I needed a sous-chef. I got an alien Prince who thinks “Only One Bed” is a valid diplomatic strategy. As the Head Chef of the galaxy’s most luxurious resort, I have zero time for romance. I have a Harvest Banquet to prep, a staff that’s quitting on me, and a reputation to save. Enter “Varr.” He walks into my kitchen with a hood over his face, forearms of steel, and knife skills that make my knees weak. He’s the best assistant I’ve ever had. He’s calm, efficient, and looks at me like I’m the only dessert he wants to taste. But Varr has a secret. He isn’t just a drifter; he’s the Crown Prince of Borealis IV, hiding from a political marriage he doesn’t want. When his royal mother crashes the resort, Varr begs me for a favor: Pretend to be his fiancée for the week. I should say no. But he looks so good in that apron, and his thumb brushing my lip makes my brain short-circuit. Now we’re sharing a suite, sharing secrets, and—oops—sharing a bed. Fake dating a Prince is dangerous. But falling for the chef might just burn the whole kingdom down. AmazonK+
STRIKE (RENEGADE ALIEN WARRIORS BOOK ONE) by Hattie Jacks
I’m in trouble, REALLY big trouble. I’m trapped in a cage with an alien…and he growled a word which sounded like MINE. Last thing I remember was blasting off from Earth on the first all female crewed mission to Mars. But somehow I’ve ended up in a cage with an enormous winged alien male and he’s just broken me out. If I had any other options, I’d be running like hell, but instead I throw my lot in with this huge, tattooed alien mercenary. He might appear to be the big bad merc, but underneath he’s as soft as his feathers, even if his time spent with females of any species is very much limited. So I spend my time chasing him out of the bathroom, because he wants to be sure I’m safe, dealing with the fact he has no concept of personal space and…oh, yes…teaching him how to kiss. That part I rather like…and so does he. I’ve done so many dangerous things in my life, including strapping myself to a rocket and been fired into space. But the more I know about him, the more time I spend with him, I think the most terrifying thing of all will be losing my heart to Mav. Especially when there’s something hunting us both, I still haven’t found my ship or crew, and we’re running out of time to find them before all the bad guys in the galaxy work out where we are…and come for us both. AmazonK+
MONSTERS OF OHIO by John Scalzi
VS Note: Not a romance but a science fiction release of note.
Welcome to Richland, Ohio. Things aren’t great. The town’s biggest employer is closing shop, and Richland’s on the brink. It’s where Mike Boyd, with his own set of problems, finds himself returning to after decades away. He’s not planning to stay. But Richland has other plans for Mike, his old friend Dave, and a newcomer Andi. They’re caught in a swirl of local troubles, private equity, executive theft… and something extremely weird involving Jeremy Keller’s prize cow. Welcome to Richland. Leave your expectations behind. Bring a tarp. Amazon AB Apple Books Kobo
BIRTH OF THE DRAGON LORDS (DRAGON LORDS OF VALDIER) by S E Smith
A goddess’s gift will ignite a legacy. For the first time in her eternal existence, Aikaterina knew she was dying—and she was at peace. Born alongside the universe itself, she had witnessed the birth and death of galaxies, watched stars rise and fall, and marveled as barren worlds blossomed with life. But there was one rule she and her kind had agreed to never break: they were there to observe, but never interfere. No matter how precious the life, no matter how deep the connection. Until now. On a distant world, in a desperate moment, Aikaterina makes a choice that will echo through time. In an act of compassion, she gives her blood, her essence, and her love—and alters the fate of a dying people. And from that sacrifice, the Dragon Lords of Valdier are born. Discover the origin of Valdier’s most powerful legacy… and the Goddess who broke the rules to protect them.
THROUGH THE DOOR (SHATTERED STARS BOOK 28) by Viola Grace
Trapped in a job that is killing her, Aya uses every fleeting opportunity to send a call for help. Help arrives in a surprising incarnation, just in time. Aya was always good at calming people, but exposure to the dust of the asteroid has turned it into a measurable skill. Identified as a soother who can calm the most violent of impulses, she takes a position on a station and uses her psychic skills to calm lust and rage, making for safer warships. At first, life in space was exciting, but then she learned she was not being allowed out into the station. She had no window. She couldn’t see the stars, and she was stuck in a room that was large enough for a comfortable bedroom but had no communications and no way out unless a client was coming to sit in the chair and have his lust eased into nothing with her psychic skills. After years, she knew her time was short, so she taught herself to send a plea for help every time the door opened or closed. One day, time stopped, and help arrived. Devran was astonishingly tall and calm, and he supported her through the station and to his shuttle. The weirdest part wasn’t him; it was that everyone on the station was frozen in whatever action they had been doing when he came in. This is when she realized there were scarier things than Hmrain out there, and this one was taking her away.
CLAIMED BY MY WEREDRAGON (WEREDRAGON MATES BOOK THREE) by Celeste Raye
He was ordered to watch her. He never expected to become her mate. Diana Montanari has spent eighteen months fighting to save a dying world while raising her son and navigating a court determined to control her. Kavren has spent twenty-six years obeying orders, becoming the Dowager’s most trusted guard. When he is assigned to protect Diana, their attraction is impossible to ignore—but so is the danger surrounding them. With Dobromia’s sun dying, a rebellion rising, and enemies determined to destroy the alliance, Kavren must choose between the loyalty that shaped his life and the woman fate has claimed as his. Because once a Weredragon finds his mate, there is nothing he won’t do to keep her. AmazonK+ AB
WEEKEND WITH A HOSA by Nikki Clarke
Zeba Mayes has been on her new home planet, Rhy’n, for a year and–she don’t like it. Her fellow Earth transplants are either hooking up with their (admittedly hot) alien hosts or trying to make Rhy’n feel like Earth, which is opposite of the alien experience Zeba hoped for. As one day blends into the next, she starts to believe her satisfaction for true other-worldliness might exist elsewhere. After saving a visiting alien emissary’s young son from drowning, Zeba is gifted a life debt: a vacation home on a new planet. Jumping at the chance to see if a change of scenery refreshes her perspective of life off-world, she wastes no time packing a bag. Her new property’s lush, tropical landscape and purple beach access are perfect for a little exploration. Unfortunately, her supposedly private vacation home already has an occupant–a seven-foot-tall, horned Hosan named Treii. Treii is celebrating a promotion from his King with some time at his family’s vacation home. He plans to relax, do some hunting, maybe invite some friends from a neighboring quadrant, but that plan gets blasted into space when Zeba arrives. He wants her, and even as she eye-rolls her way through their every interaction, he hopes to make their weekend one that lasts forever. AmazonK+
*******************BRIEF BREAK BEFORE THE FANTASY/PNR BOOKS!**************************************
VS: I’m going to hilite a series which doesn’t get much attention from my backlist…the two books are available wide. I have book three’s plot in my head and I already have a cover for it (I plan it to be a five book series) but it’s just a question of when I’ll get time to write it. I have so many projects!
************************* THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT IF YOU DECIDE TO CHECK OUT THE BOOKS (because my own books pay my bills) AND A BIG THANK YOU IF YOU ALREADY HAVE! AND ONWARD WE GO!*********************
A RELIC CLOAKED IN THORNS (ROGUES OF GOLTHWAINE BOOK TWO) by Krista Walsh
A reluctant thief longing for escape, a dragon shifter desperate for independence, and a one-night stand that binds them together. For years, Ashara’s identity as a notorious mage thief has been held over her head, until her blackmailer offers a way out: Find the fortune-making ring and earn her freedom. Her first step is to seduce a handsome stranger for information. Not a hardship. Except after their night together she can’t get him out of her head, and the distraction might get her killed. When Syrus is promised a king’s ransom to find a stolen ring, he jumps at the chance. He needs to grow his hoard, and this sale will make his future. But a night of passion with a captivating stranger changes his plans. He accidentally mates with her and is struck with a longing he can’t fight. Worse, the incomplete bond has blocked his shift, a disadvantage that will make securing the ring even riskier. The closer they get to the relic, the more they discover the danger is greater than they expected. Tensions flare and desires run hot as they realize they stand a better chance of survival working together than apart, even knowing only one can claim the prize. Amazon
A BAD GIRL’S RULES FOR A BEARY MERRY CHRISTMAS (PNR ROMANCE HOLIDAY MATES) by Heather K Carson
As if coming home for Christmas—jobless and broke—wasn’t bad enough, I’m still a magic-less human in a small mountain town full of paranormal creatures, without even a tail to tuck between my legs. I can’t let anyone know about my bad luck. My family is great, but I hate being treated like I’m made of glass. If they find out, I’ll have an army of dragons and witches coming to save the day. That’s just my relatives. Don’t even get me started on the bear shifters. On him. Dakota. The bear who stole my heart when I was young, and crushed it before I escaped this town. He’s handsome. Obnoxious. Grumpy. And just as possessive as every other shifter I know. I’m grown enough to see him without stirring up these old feelings…So why does the sight of him rushing to help in a snowstorm bring me right back to the girl who wished she was good enough to stay? You know what? Screw it. I’m not the same woman that left here years ago, and I’m tired of always being the good little human. It’s one Christmas. No strings. No tinsel to tie me down. One week of frolicking in the past, and then I’ll be on my way. After everything I went through, maybe it won’t hurt to be a little naughty this year. I did it once. I’m sure I’ll be able to leave this small, supernatural town again. This time, I plan to keep my fragile human heart intact when I go. Unless fate has other plans. AmazonK+
SELKIES AND SOUFFLE (SUGAR SHACK WITCH MYSTERIES BOOK 11) by Danielle Garrett
Some people come home from vacation with a sunburn. I’m hoping to come home without a curse. After saving the magical world from disaster, Orion and I have earned a break. A few days at the beach, a little sun, and absolutely nothing to investigate. That was the plan, anyway. Then my sisters invited themselves. And their boyfriends. And our rental cottage turns out to be less “seaside charm” and more “bog witch chic.” Still, a disappointing vacation is better than no vacation. Right? But when a local is hit with a nasty hex, the whole town starts talking, and our host lands at the top of the suspect list. Which means we might be sleeping under a hexer’s crumbling roof. I should have asked for a refund. AmazonK+
BOO, HISS (NINE LIVES MYSTERY NOVELLA) by Danielle Garrett
Halloween used to be my night. Then the household got a baby, and suddenly everyone’s idea of a wild evening is pizza, a movie, and lights out by nine. And it’s not even a scary movie. So I’m going out. Alone. Unsupervised. Fabulous. I was promised candy, chaos, and a night of heckling people in unfortunate costumes. Instead, I got a missing grimoire, a panicked protégé, and a town that has no idea how much trouble it’s in. Someone has to save Halloween. Fine. I’ll do it. But I’m billing for my time. AmazonK+
DEAD SEXY: MM HALLOWEEN ROMANCE (COMMON GROUNDS BOOK FOUR) by Merry Farmer
A haunted house, a Halloween party at Common Grounds, and two men who are about to find out that falling in love is dead sexy. Marco – I moved to Glenside to build a new life on my own terms. That includes good cheese, good neighbors, and a fresh start next door to Common Grounds. The last thing I expected was to also end up with a Victorian fixer-upper with a very opinionated ghost. Turns out the only man in town who can help is the gorgeous, broody funeral director across the street, who looks like he stepped out of a gothic romance novel and talks to the dead for a living. So of course I invite him over for hot pasta and to investigate ghostly cold spots…in the bedrooms. He kisses me like he means it, then runs like I’m the scary one. Bastian – People in small towns have opinions about everything. That includes weirdos with bright red hair who wear black like me. I don’t do reckless. I don’t do public. I definitely don’t do falling for loud, warm, ridiculously charming shopkeepers who bring me manchego and invited me over for a ghost hunt. Except somehow I do, one midnight investigation, one Halloween party, one brush of his hand against mine at a time. Marco makes me want things I stopped letting myself want. All I have to do is stop hiding and embrace my freak as much as he seems to want to. AmazonK+
A CONSPIRACY OF CHARMING MONSTERS: ILLUSTRATED TALES FROM ELFHAME (THE FOLK OF THE AIR) by Holly Black
A reluctant king is thrown into turmoil when the girl he loves to hate is stolen by the Undersea. An exiled redcap, trapped in the mortal world, must rediscover his inner monster. A mortal girl sacrifices the other half of herself for an unworthy faerie lover. A tiny sprite’s determination to prove herself puts the entire High Court in danger. In this collection, #1 New York Times bestselling author Holly Black combines her signature wit and lush world-building with stunning full-color art by Frostbite Studios in six irresistible tales that return readers to the world of the Modern Faerie Tales and Elfhame, including two never-before-seen stories: one revealing the interior life of Madoc while in exile and the other featuring the moment that High King Cardan realizes what he most desires. Amazon AB Apple Books Kobo
DEFY THE DUSK: BOOK ONE OF THE SUNDERING DUET by Danielle L Jensen
In the Sundered world, there are two options: Ride the dawn, or face what rises in the night. Twenty years ago, Lirien’s magic fractured the world and unleashed nocturnal creatures that brought civilization to its knees. Amidst the carnage came salvation: The most powerful survivors were invited to board Dawnrider, a high-speed rig that would deliver those aboard into a new era. The rest of humanity was left to die. Instead, a king rose from the darkness to lead them. In the years since, Lirien has dedicated her magic to Dawnrider while secretly plotting to overthrow the tyrant who rules the rig with an iron fist. But just as Lirien is ready to strike against him, she is violently abducted by Vox—the king of the feralists. The mercurial Vox gives her two choices: Fight the creatures that hunt the night or be fed to them. Lirien agrees to join his ranks, but embarks on a strategy of seduction that will return her to Dawnrider. Yet as Vox pushes the limits of her magic, Lirien begins to question whether defying the dusk is the true path to salvation. Intoxicated by both Vox and his war against the night, Lirien must decide where her loyalties truly lie—and how far she’s willing to go for redemption. Amazon AB Apple Books Kobo
THE DARKEST ART (COLLEGIA MORTIS) by Karina Halle
At Collegia Mortis, a prestigious university for necromancers, Professor Bastian Vale holds his students to impossible standards and keeps every one of them at a distance. Every one except Saturna Greythorn. She’s spent weeks catching glimpses of someone else behind that cold exterior, someone who watches her when he thinks she won’t notice, finding excuses to keep her after class. Eventually the tension between them becomes too powerful to ignore. Flames ignite. Hearts get crushed. And what starts with fire ends in blood. She finds Baz’s body, brutally murdered. So she does the one thing that could expose what she really is—she brings her professor back. Now Baz is bound to her, his life tethered to hers by a bond that could fail at any moment, his memories in pieces, and his killer still walking the halls. Finding the truth means staying close. Dangerously close. But the deeper they dig, the more she realizes his murder was only the beginning. And someone at the Mortis will kill again to keep those secrets buried. AmazonK+
FATED CHOICE: FF VAMPIRE PNR (THE IMMORTAL REIGN BOOK FIVE) by Ariel Marie
Hunted by her own kind. Protected by her greatest risk. Petra Orsava has spent years serving the Crown as the local commander’s trusted advisor and liaison to humans. She believes there can be peace and a future where both can coexist. When an elite human special forces unit arrives to train under the vampire command, Petra finds herself drawn to someone she never expected. Captain Locara Hayes is lethal, disciplined, and dangerously perceptive. She’s seen the worst of vampires—and refuses to trust easily. Being assigned to Petra’s personal guard detail wasn’t part of her plan… and neither was the undeniable pull toward the vampire she has to protect. Tensions begin to rise amongst vampires with a rogue faction emerging from the shadows. They believe humans are nothing more than prey. With dangerous alliances forming between vampires and lycans, Petra becomes their next target. To them, she is a mistake that must be corrected—or destroyed. With enemies closing in and trust hanging by a thread, Petra and Locara are forced into a fight neither of them expected. They must decide if their bond is worth the cost. Because in a world ruled by blood and power…love isn’t fate. It’s a choice. Amazon Apple Books Kobo
A GLIMMER OF DEATH (MERRY gENTRY BOOK 10) by Laurell K Hamilton
I am Meredith Gentry. Princess of the realm of faerie, private investigator in the mortal land of Los Angeles, mother of triplets, and lover to my men—the royal guards sworn to protect me. With a family and a court to support back home, I can’t say no to a job investigating a string of magical attacks against up-and-coming Hollywood actresses. Not when the case raises old nightmares from my own past. This time when I find out who is responsible for all this pain, I can make him pay. But affairs in the land of faerie keep interrupting my hunt. Aisling is supposed to be the next king of the Seelie Court, but he is doubly cursed once by beauty and once by despair. If we cannot cure him my uncle Taranis, former King of Light and Illusion, may regain the throne. If he does he will destroy me and everyone I care about. Only true love will cure Aisling of his curse but is my love true enough? If not, I will share his fate and lose myself to the haunted magic that torments him. While we fight for one kingdom of faerie, my aunt Andais, Queen of Air and Darkness, claims my deceased best friend, Keelin, has turned up alive and well along with a child supposedly sired by her dead son. If this baby is the true child of my former rival to the Unseelie throne, my enemies might use it to take the throne from me. Mysterious fey babies, curses both ancient and new are shaking the delicate balance of the faerie courts, and I am still hunting a monster terrorizing the women of Los Angeles.
STARDUST LOST PRINCE by Evelyn Hope
Lara Voss is a drug dealer, just not in human circles. In Midnight City, ruled by monsters, she trades in Stardust. The most sought-after substance among vampires, werewolves, witches, and necromancers. The elite crave it. You can find Lara everywhere that matters, best parties and popular clubs. Her product is rare and expensive, but Lara never seems to have any money left. One problem is her lavish lifestyle, the other is being addicted herself. Haunted by her own demons, she’s breaking the oldest rule in the game: Never get high on your own supply. Problems begin when one of her new clients, a young, wealthy, and influential vampire, disappears. She was the last person to see him, and now vampires are hunting for answers. But the fun doesn’t end there… she also catches the eye of a filthy-rich, powerful werewolf whose interest in her quickly turns obsessive. Amazon
DAMON’S DAY OUT (AGGIE’S BOYS) by Raven Storm
Aggie has one rule before leaving for a much-needed weekend away: Don’t let Damon out. Three powerful supernatural men. One twenty-eight-pound shadowdemon disguised as a cat. What could possibly go wrong? Thirty-two minutes later, Damon is loose. Now Karl, Luka, and Seth have forty-eight hours to find him before Aggie comes home—and Damon is having the best weekend of his very long life. Stolen cars, angry dogs, questionable decisions, and one terrified village later, this demon cat who has absolutely no intention of making this easy. Damon’s Day Out is a chaotic, bonus novella set in the Forty-Year-Old Virgin Witch world. AmazonK+
INKED BY PRIDE: BLACK LEDGER SERIES by Raven Storm
Every debt demands payment. An ancient, sentient ledger exists outside time—The Black Ledger. It does not judge good or evil. It records imbalance. Men whose lives have tipped too far—through excess, denial, cruelty, obsession, or neglect—find their names written inside. Once marked, they are collected. Their punishment isn’t death. It’s confrontation. Each man is forced into a supernatural reckoning centered on the very flaw that defined him—made worse by the one thing he never planned for: love. Caleb Hart doesn’t believe in redemption. In a town that keeps its secrets quiet, Caleb lives by one rule: keep his head down, pay what’s owed, and never let anyone close enough to see the mark burned into his skin. The Ledger doesn’t forgive—it records. Every choice. Every failure. Every life crossed in the process. Desiree was never supposed to matter. She’s the bartender everyone underestimates, the woman holding herself together after her father’s death, the last person Caleb should want anything from. But one conversation turns into another. One look turns into a pull he can’t explain. And the Ledger notices. As Caleb is dragged deeper into a system older than sin—one that demands penance instead of mercy—Desiree becomes both his anchor and his greatest risk. Because the Ledger always collects. And loving her might be the most unforgivable debt of all. AmazonK+
HIS FORGOTTEN LOVE: MM FRIENDS TO LOVERS VAMPIRE ROMANCE (BOUND IN BLOOD BOOK TWO) by Colette Rivera
The biggest mistake of Mateo Rojas’s life is twenty years in the making. It starts when Mateo meets his roommate freshman year of college. Hunter is the best friend he thought he’d never have, and when their medical careers align, Mateo decides to never leave Hunter’s side. Hunter Beaumont has a crush on his straight roommate, but he’s handling it. He’d never sacrifice his friendship with Mateo. Even when Hunter is turned into a vampire, a monster that isn’t supposed to be real, and he stands to lose everything, Mateo is all that matters. But Hunter’s life has a new dark side, and keeping Mateo safe comes at a price. As the years go by, their friendship shifts. Straight no longer fits Mateo, and Hunter reveals his vampire nature. Magic is destroying Hunter’s life, but perhaps Mateo can fix it. No one has ever scientifically defined vampire powers. What if understanding is the key to breaking Hunter free of his bonds? It’s a brilliant idea. If only it didn’t lead Mateo to ruin. If only working so hard to preserve their friendship didn’t break Hunter’s heart. Mateo did it all for love. For Hunter. The mess he made might be impossible to untangle, but he has to try. AmazonK+
WAYWARD DAUGHTER (UNNATURAL LORE BOOK ONE) by JB Trepagnier
Logan Ledoux, Monster Hunter extraordinaire at your service. Did your eccentric aunt leave you a bad ass mansion that happens to be haunted by the malevolent spirit of a Victorian child? Did you rescue a werewolf who was hit by a car because you thought it was a German Shepherd and now they think you’re their mate? Did you happen to donate blood to a vampire posing as a phlebotomist And now they’ve gotten a taste for you? If someone in Kansas bought another haunted doll at the antique road show, I’m going to need hazard pay to deal with it because the Governor has banned me from Kansas and the state police would love to arrest me. If you’ve pissed off a witch, you’ve probably got it coming. Call me, baby. It all started thirty years ago when my mother shoved an ornate knife in my hands and stashed me in a trap door under the floor. The sounds I heard in that hole will forever haunt me. When my uncle came to let me out, there was blood all over the walls and my mom was missing. My uncle trained me to hunt monsters so nothing like that would ever happen to me and I could eventually figure out what happened to mom.
I’m getting close. I have to be. AmazonK+
KINGDOM OF YESTERDAY: BOOK OF ARDEN 3 by Gena Showalter
He conquered kingdoms. Now, he’s coming after her. Cyrus Dolion has claimed his throne, dethroned gods, and fused his soul with the deity of ruin and madness. He’s building a new world—and yet, he cannot reclaim Arden Roosa. She slipped through his fingers once, and he’ll do anything to win her again. Arden knows exactly what Cyrus wants: to use her body as a vessel for his goddess wife, her will dismantled and rebuilt in his image. She refuses. Sworn to Soal, the Source of All Light, she trains under the formidable Domino Crane, learning to wield powers she barely understands, preparing for a war she didn’t choose, and fighting the most treacherous battle of all: the one inside her own heart. Because Domino sees every scar, every fracture, every mistake—and wants her anyway. As kingdoms collapse beneath betrayal and divine ambition, Arden finds herself torn between two impossible forces: the emperor willing to destroy the world to make her his queen…and the warrior willing to destroy himself to stand at her side. AmazonK+
ABRAXOS (DARK WARRIOR ALLIANCE BOOK 28) by Brenda Trim
A lethal warrior angel with scarlet wings…Though the sultry streets of New Orleans are full of temptation, Abraxos has no time for distractions. As Heaven’s most skilled fighter, he’s on the hunt for Lucifer. But when ancient evil stirs and cosmic barriers begin to crack, Abraxos finds himself drawn to the one female who could shatter his legendary control. And she’s not the simple human she appears to be. A woman discovering her powerful heritage…Sarah Morgan thought owning an occult bookstore was as supernatural as her life could get. Then her carefully ordered world erupts in chaos. She’s suddenly in possession of latent abilities and emerging powers that haven’t been seen since the dawn of Creation, though it’s the irresistible warrior angel haunting her shop that disturbs her most. A date with desire and destiny…As primordial beings known as the Titans awaken from ancient slumber, Sarah and Abraxos team up to prevent a cosmic catastrophe. But Sarah’s newfound powers place her firmly in harm’s way and soon Abraxos is fighting his overwhelming need to claim her as his own. Will their explosive attraction derail their mission to save life as they know it, or can they master their connection before the Titans regain their full power? AmazonK+
BAYOU BONES AND EVIL THRONES (TWISTED SISTERS MIDLIFE MAELSTROM BOOK 18) by Brenda Trim
The Six Twisted Sisters didn’t survive this long by saying yes to things they didn’t understand. They said yes anyway. One weekend. A cooking competition. Camera crews and string lights and tourists who’d never look close enough to see what lived in the shadows behind the charm. The plantation had played this role before—beautiful, composed, hiding its teeth—and the sisters were good at maintaining a mundane appearance. Probably too good. Turns out they should’ve kept their heads down. Something has been waiting in the bayou south of their property line since before New Orleans had cobblestones. Something long-suffering. Something that perseveres. After all, impatience is for things that haven’t learned to fail well. This has failed a hundred times and still returned, sharpened by each defeat. Now there’s a crack in the ward that held it out for nearly two centuries, and it’s about to overcome that magical bond the way that water finds every weakness in old stone. Then a vampire with knowledge that predates the nation appears like the swell of ocean waves in the hours before a hurricane. She’s not here with a warning. Warning implies time. She’s here because the bloodlines connecting all nine lineages are waking up. And like it or not, if the Sisters can’t hold the line, there won’t be anything left worth protecting. Not the plantation. Not the city. Not the lights strung through the oaks that glow at dusk like something holy. The competition finale is in three days. And the ancient power yearning to break free isn’t going to wait for the credits to roll. AmazonK+
TENEBROUS: MM DARK MONSTER ROMANCE by Bree Wiley
A simple night shift guarding an old lumber mill deep in the mountains sounded easy enough. Make a quick buck, no people, no reminders of the life I destroyed back home. Then the locals started warning me to stay out of the woods.
None of them will tell me what they’re so afraid of, but I’ve felt it watching me in the dark. Seen its eyes through the trees, felt its breath on my neck. The people here are keeping secrets. And the further I fall down the rabbit hole on the history of this town, the more I understand why my parents fled before I was born. I came here to escape my past. Instead, I may have stumbled into something far worse. AmazonK+
MORTIS: MM MONSTER ROMANCE by Lily James
Some beasts never wanted to be monsters. The most dangerous ones always did. For sixty years, Kael has survived by hunting anyone foolish enough to enter Barrowfell Woods. Bound to his inner demon, every meal leaves him drowning in guilt. When he finally refuses to kill again, desperation drives him beyond the treeline and into the world of humans. Teddy Adler has spent his life surrounded by the dead. As the mortuary technician at his family’s funeral home, corpses don’t scare him. Demons, apparently, don’t either. Instead of running from the seven-foot cryptid he catches eating one of his clients, Teddy offers Kael a solution neither of them expected. One that lets him feed on the dead instead of the living. But while Teddy teaches a demon how to survive without murder, a centuries-old cult is preparing to finish what its founders started. Their leader has spent a lifetime searching for the beast his family once enslaved, and he’ll burn down an entire town to drag Kael back into chains. AmazonK+
HUSH: MM MONSTER ROMANCE by Avery Collins
Deep in the Sweet Rivers forest, something ancient is watching…After my life fell apart, a ranger post in my old hometown sounded like the perfect escape. Quiet trails, familiar woods, and enough distance from my past to finally breathe again. I don’t expect the thing watching me from the trees. The locals have always whispered about the Lantern Stalkers—horned creatures with skull faces, swinging lanterns, and a trail of disappearances behind them. It’s all just folklore to me until I see the light in the forest and feel him watching me. Powerful, possessive, and bound to the forest by a forgotten goddess, Onyx is no campfire story. I know I should run from the monster in my woods. Instead, I follow the pull in my blood and discover that being claimed by a monster feels less like ruin and more like coming home. But Onyx isn’t the only thing hiding in the woods. There’s another creature out here—something that has decided if I belong to Onyx…Then I belong to him, too. AmazonK+
NOCTIS: MM MONSTER ROMANCE by H L Day
The monster never promised to be good. Only loyal. ROWAN – After my mother’s murder sends my life spiraling, my boyfriend carts me off to an isolated rehab facility. He calls it saving me. I call it suspicious. But the therapy and forced sobriety aren’t the worst things waiting inside. Something watches me from the corner of my room. Red eyes. Horns. A body made of shadows. He calls himself Caligo. And wherever I go, he follows. He wants to touch me. To possess me. And the more time I spend with him, the less certain I am that I want him to stop. CALIGO – Humans are fascinating creatures―fragile, flawed, and deliciously dishonest. Rowan Hayes, however, is different. His pain drew predators who mistook him for prey. They were wrong. Anyone foolish enough to betray him will answer to me. And if blood must be spilled to see him smile again…So be it. He thinks he belongs to the human world. He never did. His fear. His grief. His heart. All mine. AmazonK+
SOLAIS: MM MONSTER ROMANCE by C S Autumn
Caspian – I didn’t die that day. My best friend says a beast saved me. A monster. A legend. A creature from stories told around campfires. But he’s wrong. Monsters don’t exist. That’s what I keep telling myself. And yet my dreams are filled with him—tall and strong, claws sharp like knives, vibrant green eyes that glow like beacons. He shouldn’t be real. He can’t be. Since the accident, I’ve been scrambling to hold my life together, fighting to keep what’s mine from being taken from me. Running my bakery, and caring for my farm, while drowning in grief and jumping at shadows. I’ve never felt so afraid or so alone. Then a stranger arrives in Newbridge, carrying a sense of familiarity I can’t explain and warmth I want to lose myself in. Sterling – I saved him that day. Dragged him from the waves and laid him on the beach in the shadow of his lighthouse. Now I watch him. Protect him. Care for him. And show him the only version of me he believes is real. The man and not the monster. There is nothing I won’t do for him. Because he is mine. AmazonK+
THE LONG WITCH GOODNIGHT (WICKED WITCHES OF THE MIDWEST BOOK 29) by Amanda M Lee
A late night at work means bad things for Bay Winchester when she’s attacked from behind and knocked out before she can use her magic to protect herself. Upon waking, she finds herself in a dreamscape with a woman she doesn’t know. Bay’s escape from the dreamscape is fraught, and when she wakes in the hospital, she assumes it was all a dream … right until she recognizes the woman in the bed across the room from her. It’s the same woman from the dreamscape. The doctor warns Bay that her recovery is dependent on sleep, and her family decides that needs to happen under the watchful eye of her mother. Bay, however, is not one for bed rest. Upon making a jailbreak with Aunt Tillie, Bay goes searching for answers … and she doesn’t like what she finds. The woman in the other bed has been in a persistent vegetative state for years. No one knows how she got there. Nobody knows how it happened. All Bay does know is that she’s still out there, somewhere, and Bay is going to help her. Bay’s search takes her deep, and what she finds isn’t what she expects. There are different types of monsters. This one might change the entire course of Bay’s life … forever. AmazonK+ AB
MINOTAUR’S CARNAL FEAST (SEASONAL SIN MONSTERS) by M Q Rush
I set a place at the table for a guest. Instead, I got a captor. Nothing ruins a family dinner like my unconventional choices getting more attention than the turkey. I’ve had enough. This Thanksgiving, I’m staying at the old farmhouse with expensive wine and nobody to judge me. Setting an extra place for the “Lonely Spirit” is my little joke. Until a hulking minotaur accepts my invitation on his own twisted terms. Beros has horns, centuries of pent-up hunger, and the nerve to eat my wineglass. I’ve offered him a feast. According to his rules, that includes the hostess. I planned to spend Thanksgiving alone. He plans to spend it with me at his mercy. AmazonK+
EMBRACED BY THE GHOST: A NOVEL OF HIDDEN HOLLOW by Evangeline Anderson
GARRIK – A century haunting Blackthorn Manor is enough to make anyone grumpy. Once, I was Guardian of the Veil. Then a wicked witch cursed me, leaving me a ghost trapped in my own home. No one has touched me in a hundred years—until Celeste walks in and SLAPS me! She’s curvy, beautiful, stubborn, and apparently a rare Veil Witch who might break my curse. But Halloween is approaching, something evil is stirring beneath the manor, and I’ll do anything to protect the woman I’m falling for—even if it costs me my chance to live again. CELESTE – I thought hot flashes and mood swings were the worst perimenopause had to offer. Turns out, it’s also awakening my witch powers. Now I’m stuck in Hidden Hollow, a magical town full of monsters where it’s always Autumn, and falling for Garrik Blackthorn—an enormous, handsome, ridiculously grumpy ghost! He’s the first man in years to make me feel beautiful, cherished, and wanted. Unfortunately, I have no idea how to use my new magic! If I can’t break Garrik’s curse before Halloween, the Gateway beneath his haunted mansion could claim him forever. I’ve finally found a man worth loving, and I’m NOT letting him go without a fight—even if saving him means risking my heart and my life! Amazon Apple Books NOTE: Did not see the book on KOBO as of the day I checked.
BROOMSTICKS AND BREAKDOWNS (GERRI WILDEE’S MAGICAL MIDLIFE RESET BOOK TWO) by Milly Taiden
Her kids moved out. Her feelings moved in. Unfortunately, they brought a magical raccoon. Mirelle Ainsley thought becoming an empty nester would mean quiet mornings, too much coffee, and figuring out what to do with herself after decades of being Mom. Instead, one badly timed wave of loneliness cracks open her dormant magic and fills her kitchen with glowing creatures. Now her emotions have paws, her raccoon has claimed the local café, and the witches of Spelltide Cove insist the only way to stop multiplying her magical menagerie is to actually feel her feelings. Horrifying. Tor Varyn has spent years keeping Spelltide Cove’s magical disasters contained, categorized, and preferably nowhere near his personal life. Mirelle ruins that system in about five minutes. His wolf knows exactly what she is to him, her unpredictable magic refuses to follow procedure, and the more time Tor spends teaching her control, the harder it becomes to remember why keeping his distance seemed like such a good idea. Then Mirelle discovers her loneliness isn’t entirely her own. Someone has been deliberately pushing her emotions, using her awakening magic to weaken the town’s defenses. With strange creatures breaking through, a suspicious man stalking her, and her own summoned guardians developing opinions about Tor, Mirelle is done letting anyone else decide what she should feel. Especially when starting over might include one stubborn wolf who makes her feel anything but alone. AmazonK+
STRIPES AND KISSES (PARANORMAL DATING AGENCY BOOK 118) by Milly Taiden
She’s used to flying high. He’s used to being in charge. Somebody’s about to crash and burn. Pilot Lila Channing loves three things: her jet, her freedom, and telling bossy men to shove their opinions. So when Gerri Wilder offers her a ridiculously well-paid charter flight, Lila figures it’s easy money. What she doesn’t expect is Niko Mercer—a six-foot-plus, growly, muscle-packed tiger Alpha with a killer body and an attitude that begs to be adjusted. The man takes one look at her and starts acting like he owns the cockpit. Too bad for him, Lila doesn’t take orders. Especially from men who make her panties spontaneously combust. Niko Mercer runs a security empire, commands dangerous shifters, and has never met a situation he couldn’t control. Then one sexy, smart-mouthed pilot walks into his life, and his tiger loses its damn mind. She’s his mate. His future. The one woman he wants beneath him more than his next breath. Too bad Lila treats his Alpha authority like a personal challenge. Niko wants to protect her, claim her, and convince her that surrendering to him could be the best ride of her life. Preferably somewhere private, where clothing is optional, and she can argue with him all she wants. But when saboteurs bring down Lila’s jet and rogue shifters come hunting, their simple charter turns into a deadly game of survival. Stranded in the wilderness with killers on their trail, Lila’s determined to prove she can handle herself, while Niko’s tiger is one growl away from going completely feral. Now Lila has to survive a murderous conspiracy, an overprotective Alpha, and the terrifying possibility that falling for one bossy tiger might be the biggest thrill of her life. And somewhere, Gerri Wilder is probably already picking out honeymoon destinations. AmazonK+
SHADOWS AND STONE by Kota Quinn
VS Note: MM PNR.
You’re formally readmitted to Creelin University, known locally as “Creepin U.” The only things wilder than the monsters prowling around campus are the spicy male/male love stories unfolding between classes. ‘Shadows and Stone’ is a monster romance. This is a fun and steamy novel between a protective gargoyle who lost his memories and the famous K-drama actor he wants to claim. Expect a sexy monster turned bodyguard, a sassy human with purple hair, and a romance that has the perfect blend of spicy and sweet. It’s part of the Creepin U: Season 2 collab series, and each book has a HEA. AmazonK+
FIRST KISS WITH A MIOTHMAN by CD Rachels
VS Note: MM PNR.
I only want to keep my antennae down at college. That can’t happen while the distracting human boy has me hearing a new type of music. Being the most well-known mothman in the country, I was never meant to live a normal life. My upbringing was far from average. I simply want to get my degree and start working. But then I’m butting heads with a human dude, the only blind guy on campus. When we realize we have more in common than we thought, he asks to hang out. For some reason, he wants to be friends with a grumpy bug like me. Still, I choose to befriend Arie. I find him more fascinating than I should. He’s a vulnerable human who ought to be more scared of the world than he is. He’s cheerful, optimistic, and way too endearing. When his life is irrevocably changed before Halloween, I help him navigate this new identity. I need to be there for him as his friend, his confidante, and so much more. Our lives are so different. Despite this, Arie is a flame I can’t stay away from. If we get together, will we fly into the sunset together? Or is our ballad a tragedy from the start? AmazonK+
BOY MEETS MONSTER by Leslie McAdam
VS Note: MM PNR.
Matt: Only I could end up in a love triangle between two people. Caleb: Your geometry has a certain logic, given our circumstances. Caleb: Except it can’t be “only” you since you’re conveniently forgetting the second person in this triangle. Matt: I am not. You’re unforgettable. Matt: I see you preening over there. Caleb: What can I say? When you look as good as I do— Matt: Hush, huldrekall. And by the way, no one’s going to know what a huldrekall is. Caleb: Some will. Matt: But for those who don’t, do you think we should tell them? Caleb: No. Let them find out by reading the book. Matt: Are you also going to tell them how you made getting me in your bed the subject of an ill-advised bet with your frat brothers? Or are you going to keep that from them the way you kept it from me?…(more blurb on ebook seller’s page) AmazonK+
GOLDEN RECEIVER by Essie Sloane
VS Note: MM PNR.
Kieran – When I got recruited to transfer to Creelin University to play football, I thought this might be my chance. I would be the first human on the team. I would make campus history. Okay, really, I just liked the full scholarship that came with it. It was a great way to escape the small town I lived in with my Pops my whole life and the not-so-great college I attended. I didn’t expect to feel like a fish out of water. I really didn’t expect there to be a werewolf going after the same position as me. How can I compete with a supernatural creature? Evander – When Coach Shaw said we were getting a human on the football team, I was excited! Except the human in question is grumpy, surly, and I’m not sure he knows how to smile. He also wants to be the number one wide receiver on the team, the same position I’m trying to get. I know I’m the better player, but he keeps distracting me. He smells really good, you know? I really need to stay focused, and not on the distractingly handsome grumpy human. AmazonK+
ANCHORED TO YOU by Ashley Rayne
VS Note: MM PNR.
Beck – This year at Creepin U, I only have three priorities: get through my classes, play baseball, and work enough to make money for school. I don’t have time for distractions, drama, and especially not hookups. Then I find out my new roommate is the one person I never expected to see again, and I know I’m screwed. After ghosting Talon last year, I told myself it was nothing more than a hookup. And it wasn’t. I had too much going on back then, and I have even more going on now. But living with him makes forgetting impossible. We’re sharing a small space, and the more time I spend with him, the more I want a second chance to prove I’m not the guy he thinks I am. Talon – Getting ghosted hurts. But getting ghosted by the person who’s your new roommate is worse. But he doesn’t need to know that, so I lie. I tell him that night meant nothing and that I’ve moved on. But when he comes back asking for another night together, I can’t help but agree. No feelings, no expectations, only hooking up. But the more I try to prove to him and myself that it means nothing, the harder it is to ignore my feelings. Maybe the biggest mistake wasn’t hooking up again? Maybe it was believing that we could do it again without catching feelings. AmazonK+
MY SOUL TO KEEP by Rae Simmons
VS note: MM PNR.
Tate – Creelin U has been all the rage since they started accepting humans. I never imagined I’d be one of those humans. I’d only applied on a dare. I wasn’t supposed to actually get accepted, let alone become fascinated with the broody new transfer. But now I knew how Miley felt. I felt so out of place, so desperate to connect with someone that when my roommate asked to host a party, I couldn’t say no. Little did I know what that party would entail, and what my participation would bring. Luc – I wasn’t sure what compelled me to apply to CU. College life had never appealed to me, but there’s a first time for everything, I suppose. Then I found him, the adorable bright-eyed boy who’d summoned me. The first time I laid eyes on him, I knew he had to be mine. Then he made me a deal: his virginity for my experience. You know what they say: Never make a deal with a devil, unless you’re prepared to take the heat. AmazonK+
VS Note: MM PNR.
Thane feels like a fish out of water when he enters Creepin U. Most of his life has revolved around taking care of his younger siblings and now that he’s on his own, it hits him all at once that he’s a thirty year old who’s got a lot to catch up on. For one, it might be nice to finally experience his first kiss. Maverick needs a break. When he’s offered the position of taking care of the campus medical center, Maverick jumps at the chance at a slower paced job. That’s where he sees Thane for the first time and sparks fly. The two can’t seem to stop running into each other and what starts as mild intrigue, very quickly turns into something much deeper. Terrible parents, deadlines, jobs, and blood moons threaten to make them stumble but every twist and turn only serves to bring them closer together. All of Thane’s focus is on taking care of his family while Maverick just wants to take care of Thane. AmazonK+
THE ART OF LIVING FOREVER (THE SUNDERED GODS BOOK ONE) by A T Rainach
A centuries-old rivalry is reignited in A.T. Rainach’s dark romantasy debut, which follows the ancient God of War as he discovers the reincarnated soul of the woman he once loved. He could never forget her. Not in any lifetime. Not even after a thousand years. Grace is desperate to escape the future planned for her—a forced engagement to a vile English lord an ocean away—when a mysterious stranger who looks at her like he’s known her for lifetimes catches her eye. Aris is bound by a past he cannot escape. Haunted by a woman with eyes the same gray-blue as a raging sea, he is determined to have her back. No matter the cost. But in the shadows of Napoleonic Europe, Grace finds herself caught between a love she is only beginning to understand and a darkness that has been waiting for her, setting off a millennia-old conflict between two powerful gods.
CAPTIVE TRAITOR KING (BRAIDED FAITH BOOK TWO) by Brigid Kemmerer
CAPTIVE. Asher has always sworn loyalty to Jory, the princess he’s loved from afar—but now the King of Incendar has claimed a place in his heart too. Someone wants them both dead, and only Asher’s blade can keep them safe. Yet his past won’t let him go, and he must decide if he can break free—or remain prisoner to his old scars. TRAITOR. Princess Marjoriana of Astranza agreed to marry the King of Incendar to secure peace, but betrayal runs closer than she ever imagined. With her own brother unmasked as her enemy, two kingdoms teeter on the edge. To protect her people, she must take the throne. But there are still dark secrets to unravel that will force Jory to confront where her true allegiance lies. KING. Maddox Kyronan has discovered trust—and something more—with his reluctant bride and her deadly protector, but the fragile alliance between their nations threatens to unravel. His people are starving. His enemies are circling in. Torn between the crown and his heart, Ky risks losing it all. As buried truths surface and tensions reach a breaking point, Jory, Asher, and Ky must confront the desires that could save their kingdoms—or shatter them forever. Amazon AB Apple Books Kobo
CLAIMED BY THE ORC KING (FATED AND BOUND BOOK ONE) by Roxy Taylor
A fated mates monster romance featuring an orc king, a portal to a brutal fantasy realm, and a heroine who refuses to kneel. Thena came to FantastiCon to survive the weekend with minimal human interaction and maximum sarcasm. She didn’t plan on catching the attention of a seven-foot orc painted in war green—or the way her pulse stutters when he looks at her like she’s already his. Viggo Klausson isn’t a cosplayer. He’s the High Chieftain of the Eastern Orcs, stranded in the human world while searching for the mate fate promised him. The moment he scents Thena, the bond snaps tight. Then a portal drags her into Korule—a fractured kingdom where women are rare, power is carved in blood, and claiming a mate can start a war. Thena refuses to become anyone’s prize. An ancient magic awakens inside her, and suddenly she’s not just the king’s fated mate. She’s dangerous. Viggo may be steady. He may be patient. But when enemies circle, he does not hesitate to bare his teeth. He found his mate. Now he has to earn her.
THE CURSED DIAMOND: A NOVEL by Anna Rasche
In New York City a century apart, two women’s fates are bound by the dark legacy of the Midnight Diamond – 2010. Jennie is working as a runner in the Diamond District when a friend’s sudden death leaves her with a cryptic note: “Not Safe.” Her search for answers leads her to an antique jewelry box, a clue to a century-old mystery and the legend of the Midnight Diamond—a rare blue gem rumored to bring ruin to all who possess it. As Jennie is pulled deeper into a world of secrets and danger, she realizes she is not just chasing a lost treasure; she is uncovering a story that was meant to stay buried. 1910. On an ocean liner bound for New York, heiress Marcella Porter returns home after being disgraced by scandal in London. Her path collides with a charismatic nobleman and the magnificent Midnight Diamond, which she unknowingly smuggles into the city. Mesmerized by its brilliance, Marcella feels an irresistible pull toward the diamond, and when the glittering façade of her charmed life begins to crack, Marcella must decide whether the Midnight Diamond is her salvation—or her doom. Can Jennie break the centuries-old curse before it brings more ruin? Inspired by history’s most captivating gemstone, The Cursed Diamond is a thrilling mystery about fate, obsession, and the deadly costs of ambition.
DROWN THE BONES by Alexandra Kennington
The spare heir must work with an enemy prince to discover who murdered her twin in this gripping slow-burn romantasy. As the younger twin, Merridan has never minded being the “spare” to the Rothian royal throne. She knows her brother, Von, will be an excellent king, and she’d rather devote her time to the Goddess, faithfully using her magic to send deceased spirits from the holy lake to the Afterworld. When the unthinkable happens and her brother is murdered, she is certain their rival kingdom, Nova, is to blame. After all, they worship a false deity and use their magic to toy with necromancy. But when the Goddess halts the investigation of Von’s death, Merridan takes matters into her own hands, performing a forbidden Novian ritual to attempt to speak to her brother’s ghost. The last thing Merridan expects is to raise the wrong ghost. Now she’s bound to Phoenix Darragon, the arrogant crown prince of Nova—who was murdered the same night as Von. The prince makes Merridan a deal: if she takes his spirit to Nova to be resurrected, he will help her find her brother’s killer. But uncovering the truth about the murderer means discovering Phoenix’s secrets, too. As the attraction between Merridan and the prince becomes undeniable and the threat of war builds, she must decide whether finding the truth is worth its cost if it means her beloved relationship with the Goddess is changed forever. Amazon AB Apple Books Kobo
MAGE OF TIDES: THE SIREN’S SEA BOOK ONE by Margaret Couplet
VS Note: MM Fantasy.
Everything changed when Jet sank beneath the waves. Outcast for his solitary nature and his mother’s lack of status, Jet holds a dangerous secret that will kill him if anyone finds out. But when the sea god’s High Priestess demands a sacrifice to appease her lord and bring prosperity to their small village Jet is damned anyway. Shashida always knew he’d be King of Merlaton one day but numerous assassination attempts threaten to bring that day closer than anyone would want. After the most recent attempt the prince swims off to a nearby reef to think only to find a strange and wonderful surprise. AmazonK+
EAST OF ENVY (THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE LAND BOOK TWO) by Nikki St Crowe
Oz smiles like a fairy tale and bites like a curse. And Dorothy is trapped in its teeth. Dorothy Gale has been betrayed by the Wizard of Oz; he used her, broke her, and left her stranded in a strange land. Now she’s forced to team up with the last person she should trust: the Tin Woodman. A heartless mercenary with an axe to grind and nothing left to lose. Because the Wizard didn’t just steal his heart, he took Tin’s little brother, Gabriel, too. Everything about Tin is dangerous. And the closer Dorothy gets, the harder it is to tell what scares her more—his blade, or the fire he ignites within her. But defeating the Wizard won’t be easy. His magic hums beneath every brick and coils through every whisper, until you’re walking in circles on the Yellow Brick Road. He has all of Oz under his spell and more power than anyone. Or does he? Because Dorothy is more than she seems, and the longer she’s in Oz, the more she remembers. Things about her past, about what she is, and about the magic awakening inside her.
FALLEN BEAUTY by Astrid Scholte
Eighteen-year-old Thorelea Winyard has been a prisoner her entire life, forced to paint dead animals pushed into her cell. She dreams of the world outside her tower and everything she’s been denied. When one of her subjects comes back to life, Thorelea is thrust into a royal court where she can have anything she desires—aside from her freedom. Here, she learns that the king and queen have ruled for centuries; their immortality is gifted through the power of their court painter, who dutifully updates their magical portraits. It is also here that she meets the sole other mortal of the court: Prince Kelter. Desperate to become immortal so he can join the ranks of the battalion waging war against a neighboring kingdom, he offers her a deal. Thorelea will paint the portrait Prince Kelter has been denied by his parents, and he will help her escape from the ruthless royal court. They meet each night in secret. As they grow closer, they must face the monstrous realities of Thorelea’s powers. Will she be forced to choose between her heart and her freedom? Amazon AB Apple Books Kobo
THE FRIDAY BOOKSHOP by Sawako Natori, Yui Kajita (Translator)
Welcome to the Friday Bookshop, a cozy little bookstore tucked inside a rustic train station north of Tokyo. Rumor has it, you’ll find the perfect book there—one that you need at that particular moment, even if you don’t know it yourself….When college student Fumiya visits the Friday Bookshop as a last-ditch effort to find a book for his ill father, he is disappointed in its ordinary appearance despite whispers of its peculiar charm. But he soon discovers that it not only includes a café where the food menu changes daily on the chef’s whim but also a vast underground vault lined with bookshelves, lovingly converted from an old abandoned subway platform. The bookshop, run by a quirky trio who have been close friends since high school, quickly becomes Fumiya’s favorite place—so much so that he begins to work there part-time. Fumiya, who was never really a reader, learns to embrace the joy of reading, and that books can be a means to connect with other people and navigate the twists and turns of life. Through colorful interactions with the zany shop owners and their visitors, as well as mouthwatering dishes inspired by the books the owners recommend, it’s impossible not to fall in love with the seemingly ordinary yet enchanting little bookstore in the subway station in Kanto. Amazon AB Apple Books Kobo
DRAGON’S REDEMPTION (IRRESISTIBLE DRAGONSD BOOK NINE) by Nora Phoenix
VS Note: MMM PNR.
Zack has survived the red tent, earned his place as third-in-command, and built a life on never sitting still long enough to process. He is determined to be free, to be happy—even if it is alone. He certainly doesn’t have time for the broad, quiet alpha assigned to guard him at the upcoming tribunal that will judge the worst monsters their world has known—or the hollow-eyed dragon slayer who’s become his unlikely friend. But Blair is the alpha who gives him the entire hallway without saying a word. The one who notices when Zack flinches. And it matters, maybe more than it should. And Duff is the slayer who chose mercy, the man who is determined to atone for what he did wrong. That, too, matters. Maybe Zack should make time for them. For not being alone. As old enemies face justice and a long-buried prophecy stirs at last, Zack, Blair, and Duff will discover that redemption isn’t earned alone, and that the door each of them closed long ago was never locked. It only ever needed three keys. AmazonK+
A GRIM REAPER’S GUIDE TO LIVING TWICE (A S.C.Y.T.H.E. MYSTERY BOOK THREE) by Maxie Dara
He’s been charged with possession before, but never like this. Jack McCoy was a thief and a liar. Then he died.
Margaret Chen transported souls for the biggest afterlife collection company in North America. Then she met Jack. Possession isn’t really supposed to be possible, but Jack McCoy never let a little thing like reality stop him. Now he’s committing the ultimate identity theft, living a new life in Margaret’s body while his own lies six feet under. Keeping up appearances as a geriatric grim reaper for S.C.Y.T.H.E. is a full-time job, but when Jack is sent to collect the soul of an old friend, his criminal past catches up with him and suddenly he’s planning the heist of his (after)life with a gang of misfits he never thought he’d see again. Now the only woman he’s ever loved depends on his success in stealing a priceless list of souls from S.C.Y.T.H.E., but someone keeps beating him at his own game. Time is running out. If Jack puts one bunioned foot out of line it will cost him not only the people who matter most but also his second chance at life. Amazon AB Apple Books Kobo
JUST LIKE A DREAM by Lauren Evans
Olivia’s life is exactly how she wants it. She lives in the house she’s always loved, she’s close to her family, and her childhood best friend lives down the street. And to top it all off, she loves her job at the World Dream Center, where she designs and implements dreams. As the invisible strings in the giant web that connects everyone, dreams subconsciously influence people to make decisions—move, change jobs, write a book—that move the plot of the world forward. Olivia is great at her job. Stellar, even. But when she’s assigned to create a dream for one of her friends, things start to unravel. Olivia has followed the Dream Playbook to the letter, suggesting that her friend date a certain coworker. But her friend isn’t taking the hint, and it’s holding up other Dream Workers who can’t move forward until this relationship causes its intended ripples. Enter Connor, who’s an expert at handling difficult dreams with unorthodox methods—the same unorthodox methods that drove Olivia crazy when they went to high school together, making her less than enthused when he’s partnered with her to deliver results. Everyone thinks he’s a genius at his job, but to Olivia, he’s just another handsome face skating through life. The more they work together, the more sparks fly between them. But the harder Olivia tries to change someone else’s course in life, the less sure she becomes of her own. With her job on the line, she has to work fast—and if she’s not careful, this assignment could turn into a nightmare. Amazon AB Kobo
THE MERIDIAN FORGE by Tara Sim
The heirs will face their strongest demons yet in the breathtaking conclusion to the Dark Gods Saga. In the shocking aftermath of the battle in Solara, the heirs realize killing gods is trickier than they thought. They need to destroy not only the gods’ bodies but also the sources of their divine power. Each heir must return to their respective world to confront their ancestral deities. But the paths they take are dire and will require calling upon the unknown—and unstable—depths of their power. Meanwhile, Orsus, the long-dead fifth god, seeks to return to full strength, though their motives and methods remain suspect. Only one thing is for certain: The answer lies at the Meridian Forge, the cradle of creation. For every heir there is a fate. But all fates have a cost.
SLEIGH BELLS AND HOUSE CALLS: MM MPREG SHIFTER CHRISTMAS ROMANCE by Colbie Dunbar
A man calls at two in the morning and asks me to make a house call to his reindeer farm. I moved up north to escape burnout and bought a vet practice, but nobody warned me about the snow. After my car slides into a ditch during a blizzard, I land in the arms of Cutler, who owns the farm. One of his reindeer has a broken leg, but the patient has an attitude and enjoys watching football. While I’m wearing a pair of borrowed boots and learning to skate on a frozen lake, I’m falling for Cutler who says his life is complicated. Amazon+
SAVED BY THE SPELL by Tanya Huff
At the High School for Magical Arts, the teachers are dismayed at the rise of a Hero…because it means a Villain isn’t far behind – It’s September, and the teachers at the High School for Magical Arts are gearing up for another school year, and hoping it will be a quiet one. Teach students some magic, help them learn their craft, and get out in one piece. Unfortunately, by the end of the first day, it’s become obvious that they have a potential Hero. All the signs are there. By the end of fourth period, Bex Olynyk has stood up to a bully, turned out to be more powerful than anticipated, and acquired a smart frenemy and a nerdy, loyal roommate. The problem? Where there’s a Hero, there’s bound to be a Villain. And when Heroes and Villains face off, it’s going to be anything but a normal school year. Overworked and underpaid, the teachers at the High School for Magical Arts did not sign up for this, but now it’s also their jobs to keep the Hero alive, keep damage to a minimum, keep math scores up to the national level, and find the student who will turn out to be a power-hungry, amoral villain. Will no one think of the teachers?
FRIGHTFUL by Renee Rose and Vanessa Vale
PACK RULE 13 – PROTECT YOUR TERRITORY – I might be a happy-go-lucky Christmas tree farmer, but this holiday season, I’m all bah humbug. Blame the beautiful, infuriating Fairchild Hotel heiress, who’s swept into town to open a–gasp–luxury resort. A spa. A freaking yoga retreat on the land next to mine. No one in Cooper Valley hates the idea more than me. But no one needs her more than me because one whiff of her sweet scent, and I know she’s mine. My enemy. My fated mate. The more I fight with her, the more she gets under my skin. When the weather outside turns frightful, we’re stranded together in my cabin. There’s only one territory my wolf is interested in claiming this holiday. Her. Amazon AB Apple Books Kobo
HEAD FOR THE HORSEMAN (WHAT HAPPENS IN BOULDER BRIDGE…BOOK ONE) by Leigh Kelsey
In Boulder Bridge, most things go bump in the night. No one knows that better than Cleobella Vane, a witch living on the edge of the town’s magical forest. But a horseman with mouth-watering abs and a pumpkin for a head? That might be taking things too far. The headless hunk needs her help. Unless Cleo can help him find his head, he’ll forever vanish from the living plane. In return for her help, the horseman promises Cleo the best night of her life. How can she refuse…? Amazon
PERFECTLY AVERAGE MONSTERS (PERFECTLY MATED BOOK ONE) by Yve Vale and Aren Vale
I just want a perfectly average guy. Human, please. No fae bros need apply. I don’t need the ripped abs or supernatural good looks of a fae f-boi. No magic or massive… equipment. Just one good man in the sea of jerks. When I move into my new house, I think the Goddess must have a sense of humor. My hot new neighbors are a trio of sweet but quirky guys. They’re flirty, but I’m pretty sure they’re a throuple. Conrad taunts me with au naturel morning yoga in his backyard. Zeke has a huge personality waiting to burst out from behind those button down shirts and nerdy professor glasses. Then there’s Silas, a shy, artistic landscaper, whose reserved nature intrigues me more than I want to admit. Yet, something is a bit… odd. I’m beginning to think they are more than they appear. I just hope my cursed past doesn’t catch up with me. The guys: All we ever wanted was to belong, but we can’t be ourselves no matter which world we’re in. We’re the feared and hunted bogeymen in any realm…Mythics. Monsters. When a cute human moves in next door, we’re tripping over tentacles and tails to win her over. But will she be able to accept our beasts? Could she be the answer to our dreams, or will she be our downfall? AmazonK+
WATEREDGE (CROW’S COVEN BOOK THREE) by Milena McKay
VS note: FF PNR.
Never Forgive and Never Forget. Hunted as witches during the Salem Trials and haunted by their past sins, the Crowhart women carry a deep secret and an inescapable curse. Lark Thibodeaux is alone. She’d never asked anyone for anything, but she could really use a new start and a little break. After all, she is trying to get as far away as possible from the only place she used to call home and everything it holds. An island off the coast of Massachusetts seems to be the farthest she can go. An island that recently made the news for being a sanctuary for women like her… Women running for their lives. Seren Crowhart, Water Herself, has been waiting quietly for love her entire life. Little does she know that Fate is about to walk into her coffee shop, haunted and hunted by the world. A woman with eyes that hold all the answers. A woman whose very presence will upend Seren’s existence and awaken old ghosts. Step back onto Dragons Island as Water meets Destiny, and the Crowhart family approaches the culmination of an age old curse in Book 3 of Crow’s Coven Quartet, Wateredge. AmazonK+
DON’T JUDGE A VAMPIRE BY HER FANGS (MAGICAL MIDLIFE DEATH BOOK 19) by Tia didmon
Power has a price, and this time it wants everything I love. Rene’s collapse sets the entire clan on edge. Whispers of succession spread like wildfire, Edward and Siris circle for advantage, and Constantine steps into the chaos with the full force of the Death Dealers behind him. While the clan fights over leadership, I’m fighting something far more private. Raven’s magic is bleeding into me, stabilizing in ways that terrify us both. Our only hope lies in the final Pentacoris fragment, hidden somewhere on the covenstead. The witches meet us with secrets instead of help, and Cerise attacks without warning, forcing me to draw on my dwindling well. Constantine tries to shield me, but even he can’t stop what comes next. An ambush leaves me bleeding out, and Con is forced to offer me his blood. If his love becomes the very thing that enslaves me, will I survive the price it demands? AmazonK+
THRONE OF GLASS AND BLOOD (WRATH REAPERS BOOK ONE) by Tia Didmon
Bloodglass was meant to make her an assassin. A forbidden familiar will make her a threat. Callie Rowen is branded a traitor after her family is accused of murdering the Crown Witch of Hartmere. Her punishment is the Bloodglass Passage, a brutal trial where aspiring assassins train for the privilege of bonding with a magical familiar. One that can become any beast it chooses. Most candidates won’t survive long enough to be chosen. Callie must endure deadly trials, ruthless rivals, and Gideon Locke, the merciless commander who believes her family murdered his mother. But Callie has secrets of her own. She was the Crown Witch’s hidden apprentice, she carries forbidden magic inside her heart, and intends to kill the assassin who slaughtered her family. She only needs to survive Bloodglass first. But what happens when a familiar chooses her, and is betrayed by someone she trusts? AmazonK+
TALK WITCHY TO ME (WITCH ON THE ROCKS COZY MYSTERY BOOK 15) by Lily Harper Hart
Hali Waverly is focused on her future. There’s a new bar in the works. There’s also an old enemy to banish. There’s, unfortunately, also a new enemy on the horizon. When Hali’s best friend witnesses a hit and run, nobody believes it could be paranormal in nature. That assumption switches fast when weird things start happening and somebody infiltrates the hospital to finish off the victim. Hali’s first assumption is that her old enemy is back to start a war. She’s proven wrong quickly, however, and she and her fiancé, Gray Hunter, have no choice but to go undercover in a doomsday cult to figure out who is pulling the strings. There are all kinds of magic, good and evil. What’s fueling this cult is full evil, and the leader is aiming to end the world. Only Hali and Gray—and their motley group of friends—stand in the way. This fight is going to be a doozy, and the apocalypse may be just around the corner. AmazonK+
SORCERER (MYSTIC GUARDIANS BOOK EIGHT) by Rinda Elliott
VS Note: MM PNR.
Xavier, the most powerful sorcerer known to exist, has made a life running a bodyguard company in Seattle—which is currently under threat. Powerful preternaturals are wreaking havoc with the ley lines under the city and he must put a stop to it. It doesn’t help that he’s being tormented by reoccurring visions of someone dying, visions that haunt him because of his past. Firefighter Jake Novak loves to live to the fullest, but he longs for a real relationship. When he’s saved by an intriguing sorcerer, he is stunned by the power of his attraction to him. By the deep connection he feels instantly. But Xavier seems wary. Xavier has his reasons, but fate is a powerful thing. So is love. AmazonK+
GHOST ORCHID: A NOVEL by Dani Cessna
Deep in the swamps of Florida, a grieving park ranger forms a friendship with a mysterious recluse—and uncovers long-rumored secrets about a plant that raises the dead. Once ambitious and spontaneous, all park ranger Miranda wants after losing her best friend is stillness. Her new job at Everglades National Park and the rekindled connection with an old flame offer some stability and comfort. But everything changes after a rash decision brings her face-to-face with the so-called swamp witch. In Estelle, Miranda finds an unexpected friendship. The old woman is feisty, independent, and extraordinarily green-thumbed. Plants, Estelle tells her, have a language of their own. Miranda learns to listen to the whispers of peace lilies and desert roses, and witnesses their uncanny power to heal or reveal hidden truths. But a hurricane brews off the coast, and tensions rise. Rumors spread about Estelle’s abilities, including her knowledge of the rare ghost orchid said to resurrect the dead—bringing the most dangerous kind of grief to Estelle’s doorstep. In the lush Everglades, the swamp can grow, transform—or destroy. Miranda discovers that true growth means releasing the grief that keeps us rootbound. And somewhere, in the tangled heart of the swamp, the ghost orchid waits. AmazonK+ AB
THIEF OF HEARTS (THE HEART OF THE GODDESS BOOK ONE) by Sariah Wilson
Basileia has never lost a fight. Goddess-blessed and battle-hardened, she’s trained her whole life to lead her Thracian clan—until her mother names her sister as heir instead. Desperate to change her mind, Basileia enters a deadly tournament in a hidden desert city. The prize: a diviner stone that can answer any question. But to claim it, she must survive brutal races, bloody combat, and fellow competitor Zain—the devastatingly roguish king of thieves, who’s far too willing to help. Basileia doesn’t trust easily. And she definitely shouldn’t trust a thief whose every word might be a lie. But as the tournament’s dangers escalate and the attraction between them ignites, she begins to wonder if he might be the one person she can rely on. Until he betrays her. Furious but not broken, Basileia finds herself deep in the deadly Wastelands, where gods meddle with mortal lives and monsters guard a weapon that could save—or destroy—everything. To survive, she must give Zain what he doesn’t deserve: a second chance. AmazonK+ AB
LIGHTWING (CROWN OF HEARTS AND CHAOS BOOK TWO) by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti
Never listen to the pleas of the dead. Never betray the oaths made to the spirits. Never make a deal with a Hag. Never trust the Fae. The Great Elm placed a task upon my soul which only death or triumph can release me from. I am more than I thought myself to be but less than fate seems to believe I might be. Hendrix Bane has marked me for death as surely as I have marked him as my enemy. I am trapped in the castle of my adversary and all that passed between us before this moment has been cast aside like ashes from a fire that burned too hot and too fast to bask in. My sister is lost to me once more and doubts gnaw at my insides. All the things I never wanted myself to believe have forced themselves to the forefront of my mind. Did I even achieve anything in those trees? Or will the world rejoice at my success only to curse my name for their downfall in the end? I have an impossible task to fulfil and my accomplice in it has nothing but hatred for me in his heart. So now I’m at the mercy of the man who helped me survive the curse of the forest. And his wrath is nothing short of sinful. I only pray I don’t lose myself to the corruption which has taken hold of him. And I don’t know if I will escape him before I’m consumed by it too. But maybe that’s what I’m hoping for. AmazonK+ AB
INTERNET’S MOST HAUNTED INFLUENCER (SUPERNATURAL SUCKERS BOOK FOUR) by Silvana Falacon
VS note: MM PNR.
One failed exorcism. One viral haunting. One deeply inconvenient crush. For a ghost, Leo is terrible at haunting. His doors won’t slam. His threats go ignored. The intruder he’s trying to scare away is taking notes. In his defense, he’s working with limited resources. He doesn’t remember his name, his life, or much of anything before an idiotic medium ripped away half his mind. So when another one shows up with a tape measure, a toolkit, and a YouTube channel, Leo reacts about as well as you’d expect. Nate comes from a long line of mediums, but he treats the family gift like a real estate hack: buy haunted, exorcise, renovate, flip. It’s always worked. Until Leo. Nate can’t exorcise him. He can’t sell the house. He can’t even get the ghost to stop criticizing his paint colors and waging war against the Roomba. Leo is annoying, impossible, and far too easy to look at for someone technically dead. Then the renovation bills start piling up, and the haunting starts looking like a solution: bad for property values, great for views. Going viral might save Nate’s career. But falling for the ghost was never part of the business plan. AmazonK+
BLACK FOREST CAKE AND BIGFOOT (MURDER IN THE MIX BOOK 28) by Addison Moore
My name is Lottie Lemon, and I see dead people.Okay, so I rarely see dead people, mostly I see furry creatures of the dearly departed variety, who have come back from the other side to warn me of their previous owner’s impending doom. When the Bigfoot Believers Bonanza descends on Honey Hollow for a week-long convention at my mother’s bed and breakfast, I’m ready to serve sasquatch-shaped cookies and stay far away from the chaos. With twin babies who refuse to sleep, a bossy two-year-old who thinks she runs the world, and the ghost of a creature who’s about eight feet tall and extremely furry, what could possibly go wrong at a wholesome Bigfoot convention? Of course, when the founder of the New England Bigfoot Research Association ends up dead in the woods and a translucent sasquatch starts grunting at me like he’s got something to say, I realize this convention just became a crime scene. Between scorned lovers, embezzlement schemes, and enough secrets to fill a Bigfoot evidence vault, half the attendees had motive to commit murder. And to make matters worse, someone’s been breaking into homes all over Honey Hollow—including mine. But when the investigation reveals this case has more layers than a conspiracy theory, I know I’m dealing with a killer who’s been hiding in plain sight. With my spatula in one hand and my sleuthing skills in the other, plus a ghost who may or may not be trying to tell me something important and enough suspects in flannel to populate a lumberjack convention, I’ll need to solve this case before the killer decides I know too much. Living in Honey Hollow can be deadly. AmazonK+
BLOODBANE: WITCH BOUND: BOOK FOUR by Opal Reyne
Briar has spent her entire life pretending to be a man – and not just any man, but the noble commander of the most fearsome army in Belsper. So when she’s ordered to go into the perilous barbarian southlands, she doesn’t hesitate.
What she learns there violently skews her whole world. Then there’s the mysterious warlord who delivers the mind-shattering revelations. Despite his physical allure and dangerous aura, their nations are enemies. She cannot fall for him. Volkan and his siblings control Nixnheim. They’re a ruined bloodline, one whose legacy of betrayal shakes the very foundations of the past. They were born to lead and raised to destroy, but he desires more than this life. So when a cunning woman pretending to be something she’s not strikes at him, he finds himself renewed. She’s a dragoness in human form; she was destined to be at his side. He knows she must relinquish everything she’s earned through deception to seize her own happiness, but he cannot snap her unbreakable will by force. However, Volkan’s never been one for gentle, and he will stop at nothing to get what he wants. AmazonK+
INFERNAL BONDS (ELYRDIN BOOK TWO) by Stephanie Denne
VS Note: Cliffhanger. Also “Elyrdin Fate is a polyamorous romance between one woman and four men (MMFMM), including MF, MM, and group scenes where no one has to choose.”
“Even if Fate stole our Nyrith connection, Rae belonged to both of us—just like we belonged to each other.” I spent my life hiding from monsters no one else could see. Now I’m living in their world, discovering that I might have belonged here all along. Coming to Elyrdin was supposed to give me answers about my family, my blood, and the bonds tying me to Ash, Cyn, Zeke, and Ezra. Instead, my new home comes with royal expectations, dangerous secrets, and a ruler determined to find out what I am. Elyrdin’s council expects me to bond with all four princes. That’s easier said than done—even if I wanted to. Ezra keeps me at a distance, revealing so little that I barely know him. Zeke loves Cyn, and I won’t risk ruining what they’ve built together. And Cyn betrayed me. I should want nothing to do with him, but the attraction to the magnetic asshole hasn’t gone away. Neither has the hurt. At least my bond with Ash gives me someone to lean on. But learning to live with them becomes the least of my problems when someone decides I don’t belong in Elyrdin at all. With every new disaster we face, one dangerous truth becomes clear: the bonds I’m still learning to trust could be the very thing that destroys us. Because losing me won’t just break their hearts. It could cost them their lives. AmazonK+
STILLWATER (DESIRE AND DECAY BOOK ONE) by Bernie Brackford
VS Note: MM PNR.
Fate is a fickle creature, is he not? Sunday – My name is Sunday Mourning. Yes, you heard that correctly. And no, I don’t want to talk about it. I don’t want to talk about the fact I’m having a dry spell, or that I’m about to lose my job because I told a kid to screw off. And I definitely don’t want to talk about the fact that my impromptu nosebleeds have just proven the existence of the occult. Bellamy – After my marriage rots apart, I take a leap of faith and pursue a job at a museum in Salem. It feels like a lifeline, the perfect opportunity for a fresh start. That is until I stumble upon their resident taxidermist, a ghost from my past I’d thought I’d never see again. But when Sunday gets himself into a spot of my particular brand of trouble and realizes that I was never joking when I said I could see dead people – it seems like our tattered past might stitch itself together again. AmazonK+
HALF AN ORANGE IN GRETNA GREEN (MIDLIFE RECORDER BOOK SEVEN) by Linzi Day
Galicia should be warmth, wine and golden sunsets. Instead, Niki McKnight finds a realm where every blessing has a price, every sin comes with a fine, and a powerful church has spent centuries collecting anything of value. Following directly on from the end of Spilling the Tea in Gretna Green, the Recorder is called to arbitrate what appears to be a simple goat dispute. Niki expects to hear both sides, deliver a fair decision, and send everyone home with minimal shouting, sighing, and zero divine intervention. But simple ends the moment she starts pulling threads. Behind Galicia’s beauty lies a culture shaped by greed, gold, guilt, and carefully polished lies. Children are controlled. Inhabitants are oppressed. Grief is exploited. And the people responsible are certain the Recorder’s authority does not apply to them. For the first time, they may be right. With Dola out of patience, the truth obscured, the Gateway crew struggling, and a god on the missing list, Niki must separate faith from control and truth from propaganda. AmazonK+
SHADOW REBORN (SHADOW WAR ACADEMY BOOK THREE) by Rumer Hale
The war with the Hollow is finally over. But it looks like the real battle has just begun. With Levington no longer hiding behind his facade, he’s instead decided to up his game. This time it’s not my mates he’s going after, it’s my claim to the throne. By backing Sasha as the lost heir, his lies spread like wildfire making those in the Volar academy see her as their queen. But instead of being able to come out and reveal who I am, I’ve been left powerless and without the help of my Alita side. At least until I can figure out how to awaken my abilities once more. But it looks like my mates have gotten a little upgrade that should help our fight. And as our bond grows stronger, there’s no telling what else they’re capable of. I’ll just have to learn to accept who I really am once and for all. Because more and more Shadows are turning up feral. And if I don’t figure out how to become the royal they deserve and save them. There will be no Shadows left to rule over. AmazonK+
KNOTTED BY KRAMPUS (KNOTTED FOR THE HOLIDAYS) by Imani Jay
He’s been keeping a list all year… and she’s been very naughty. Kisha thought the mysterious invitation to San Francisco’s most exclusive Krampusnacht ball was too good to be true. She was right. One look at the hot stranger in the VIP section, and she’s done for. Following him into his dark lair, getting punished in ways she’s only ever read about in her smutty books, screaming his name while he claims her in ways that definitely aren’t human. Turns out Krampus is real. He came to punish a naughty little omega and found his mate instead. And now that he’s got her? He’s never letting go. AmazonK+
MOONLESS (MOON BRIGHT SERIES BOOK TWO) by Leah Ryan
KESTRIA – I’ve been shot before. It’s never taken this long to get better. It’s never taken anything, either. Whatever was in that bolt is gone now, and it took something with it on the way out. I’m not ready to say what. He pulled me out of his river. Then he told me I’m not leaving. RAUK – The wolves didn’t come when my people died. Now one of them is bleeding on my floor, and I’m the one keeping her alive. AmazonK+
THE BIGFOOT’S DOUBLE (BATHHOUSE BEASTS BOOK 17) by Blake R Wolfe
VS Note: MM PNR.
A snarky bartender. Two massive Bigfoots. And a bathhouse hookup that’s twice the fun. Kit is a sassy bartender who knows what he wants and isn’t afraid to use his body to get it. When a hot, arrogant werewolf flakes on their date, Kit blocks his number and heads to the local men-only bathhouse to blow off steam instead. He’s looking for a good time, not a relationship, and he definitely isn’t looking for two boyfriends. But when he wades into the steaming Roman bath, he spots a pair of massive, fur-covered cryptids lurking in the shadows. Dale and Milo are college-aged Bigfoots who have never picked up a third at the bathhouse before—mostly because guys are too intimidated by their size. Kit, however, isn’t easily scared. Lured to a private room upstairs, the brave bartender quickly realizes that handling one Bigfoot is a challenge, but taking on two requires some serious dedication. Luckily, Kit is an enthusiastic team player, and he’s more than ready to show these cryptid boyfriends exactly how much he can handle. AmazonK+
A DRAGON’S GUIDE TO MERMAIDS AND MOUNTAIN TROLLS (DRAGONS OF SAFE HAVEN BOOK FOUR) by Julia Huni
Coral Thistlewick can mix the perfect cup of tea for anyone in Safe Haven. Anyone except herself. And, lately, anyone standing near Oswin Boulden. Eight years ago, Coral broke the mermaid’s first rule to fish a man out of a storm. She tucked his memory away, dropped him safely ashore, and settled into her cozy tea shop, where the biggest excitement is whether Goodwife Terman will complain about the scones. But now that man is mayor of Valebra–and the reluctant groom in a marriage contract his father signed years ago. He’s spent a decade trying to wriggle out of it, since breaking the contract would sink his flax farm that employs half the village. When a helpful sea dragon brings him face to face with the tea shop owner who feels strangely familiar, their unexpected attraction starts to grow. With one meddling dragon, a mer king who mistakes charisma for wisdom, a grandmother with a devious sense of humor, and a half-troll mother-in-law whose stew pot has been bubbling steadily since roughly the dawn of time, Coral and Oswin might discover that the best matches are the ones that were arranged all along. AmazonK+
Severin didn’t come to New York looking for a mate. He came to mend what was broken—a bond with his twin brother shattered centuries ago. But the moment he sees Thana, every carefully constructed wall crumbles. She is his Bonded Female, the one Fate herself created for him, and nothing will keep him from claiming her.
Thana has survived over a hundred and seventy-five years on her own terms. She isn’t looking for a male to complete her—until Severin makes her question everything she thought she knew about herself. She’d lived long enough to stop believing in fate. Until fate refused to be ignored. But before their bond can take root…darkness surfaces beneath New York’s shadowy streets. The Society—a corrupt organization obsessed with power—has been hunting humans with special abilities, deceiving them, imprisoning them in secret facilities where they are tortured, tested, and discarded. Their endgame? The creation of hybrids designed to surpass every known species. Severin’s Clan will fight. His brother Scepter and his chosen Family will stand beside him. But the battle ahead may demand more than any of them are prepared to give. He has spent five centuries surviving. Now, for the first time, he has something worth dying for. Can he protect the female who has become his entire world, or will the monsters the Society created take everything he has left to lose? AmazonK+
MERCURY RAINE: LAID TO REST by Sarah M Eden
Aventine Manor is under siege, with Mercury and his ghosts in hiding. The Forever Flame has powers that defy explanation, leaving even the unshakable Mercury on edge. Protecting his ghosts and the lady he loves may no longer be possible. The dangers in his past collide with secrets Aventine has been keeping for a millennium. Only by unraveling those secrets and restoring what has been broken can Mercury hope to save any of them. With the world around him tearing itself apart and an undefeatable enemy closing in, Mercury may be facing the one battle he cannot win. AmazonK+ AB
TO LOVE A SIREN (FAIRY TALE HEARTS BOOK TWO) by Christina Farley
An enemies-to-lovers Little Mermaid romantasy where a hunter falls for the mermaid princess he’s sworn to destroy. The song of my heart, the hunter of my soul…Hans Christian Andersen spends his life hunting monsters. He never expects the most dangerous one to be a mermaid princess who steals his heart. Desperate to save her kingdom from the Enchantress, Princess Serena enters the deadly competition for the crown to hunt the undead in order to protect her kingdom. But when Hans and Serena face each other in battle, they realize they might be enemies, but they need each other to survive. Forced into an uneasy alliance, they venture through enchanted forests, haunted waters, icy planes, and a sea witch’s castle, where deadly secrets draw them closer, and truths threaten to rip them apart. Except time is running out and their cursed destinies are as dangerous as a dark-storm sea. To save their worlds, they must choose between those they’ve sworn to protect and the love they can’t bear to lose. Amazon
LEG DAY IS HELL: MM FANTASY ROMANCE (HOTTER THAN HELL) by Callie Colby
Danny joined the 24-hour gym to get over a breakup, not to accidentally sign his soul away to a personal trainer from the underworld. All Danny wanted was to sweat out his heartbreak on a treadmill and maybe get revenge-body hot. He didn’t read the fine print on the membership contract. If he had, he might have noticed the clause about “eternal commitment.” Now he’s stuck with Brontes. Brontes is a Demon of Physical Agony who feeds on human suffering. He loves the gym. He loves the grunts, the sweat, and the despair of leg day. But he’s baffled by Danny. Danny doesn’t suffer with dignity; he trips over yoga mats, gets tangled in resistance bands, and apologizes to the weights when he drops them. Determined to mold this soft, sad human into a warrior worthy of Hell’s armies, Brontes takes a hands-on approach. A very hands-on approach. But somewhere between the squat rack and the locker room showers, the dynamic shifts. Brontes stops feeding on Danny’s pain and starts hunger for something else entirely. He’s discovering that while Danny might be terrible at cardio, he’s surprisingly good at taking direction—especially when he’s pinned against a locker by a seven-foot demon demanding he feel the burn. AmazonK+ AB
ARRIVAL IN RED (FIRST DRAGON SHIFTER ACADEMY BOOK ONE) by Eunice Amnell
VS Note: From OCT 15.
Five elite dragon Alphas. One slum-born human Omega. And a secret mission that could bring the entire Shifter Alliance Federation to its knees. In the Federation, your district determines your worth. I’m Sable Ashborn, born and raised in District 10—the slums of the ten districts, burdened with backward infrastructure, restricted travel, and zero future. So when the Federation’s mandatory genetic mate-matching program reveals I’m a ninety-percent-plus match with all five members of the Montgomery unit, the world stops. Everyone wants to know how a slum-born nobody could be the ideal central bond to the only all-dragon battle unit in the Federation. Biologically, I’m exactly what their unraveling inner beasts need. Politically and socially? I’m everything the elite in District 1 despise. Because “fated” mate-match results above seventy percent are automatically broadcast nationwide, the Federation has no choice but to put on a show. They “grant” me a temporary resident permit, a provisional seat at the elite First Dragon Academy, and medical care for my sick little brother back home. They’re stalling for time, waiting for me to fail publicly. They expect me to break. They don’t know they’ve just handed me the opportunity of a lifetime…(more blurb on ebook seller’s page) AmazonK+
WARRIORS SURPRISE (THE PROTECTORS SERIES) by Teresa Gabelman
Some surprises were never meant to exist. The Warriors have learned the hard way that life can change in the blink of an eye. Just when they think they’ve seen it all, one impossible revelation threatens to send shockwaves far beyond the compound. With every answer comes another question, and some truths bring dangers no one could have imagined. AmazonK+
QUEEN’S ALLIANCE (THEIR VAMPIRE QWUEEN RETURNS BOOK THREE) by Joely Sue Burkhart
Forge deeper alliances. Reveal long-buried secrets. And survive. The old blood may have been purged from the courts, but trouble brews and breeds in the catacombs beneath Paris. Even from beyond the Veil, the Dauphine continues to pose a deadly threat to Shara Isador, Triskeles Triune queen. At least staying a few days in Paris allows her to explore the grand Palais de Isador where her mothers once ruled. However, artifacts from Egypt aren’t the only secrets she uncovers, which makes integrating her mothers’ surviving Blood into her own all the more challenging. Of course she must also sort the Valois siblings to determine who’s trustworthy enough to join her alliance. Unravel the Dauphine’s affairs when they still can’t find her consiliari. Oh, and also survive herself. Because vicious traps laid centuries ago still lie in wait, not just in Paris but also New York City. With the Queen of Camelot on her own grail quest for more Blood, Shara must take control of the former Skye Tower herself. Remember what died in the basement…Because it might prove to be the deadliest threat of all. Not just to House Isador but the entire world. AmazonK+
DOUBLE SHOT (GOLIATHS OF WRESTLING BOOK FIVE) by Lily Mayne
VS Note: MM PNR.
Klaus – I just want to be loved. Is that so much to ask? Apparently it is, especially when you’re an incubus, which means people only want you for one thing. Yes, that thing. After an endless string of terrible dates, I keep bumping into a certain werewolf wrestler… a very handsome werewolf wrestler who turns out to be sweet and shy and everything I could ever possibly want in a man. And he actually likes me back. He’s perfect. However, he’s soperfect that he’s determined to prove he wants me for more than just… you know. Which means he wants to court me. Real dates with hand-holding and goodnight kisses and, to my horror, no sleepovers. An incubus can only go so long without…Brian – When I briefly met Klaus at that meet and greet all those months ago, I was too flustered to really take him in. But after, uh, bumping into him again at a bar one night, I can’t stop thinking about him. Our first few encounters end up being pretty… hot and heavy. So I put a ‘no intimacy’ rule in place while we start dating properly and get to know each other. It’s almost unbearable, and we’re not great at sticking to it, but I want to prove to Klaus that I want him for him. Except I’m a werewolf. And he’s an incubus. Restraining ourselves only works for so long until certain biological impulses take over. Then restraint is no longer possible. AmazonK+
ETERNAL STORM (STAR TOUCHED, WITCHBLADE BOOK FOUR) by Michelle Madow
A divine sword. An impossible love. And a choice that could shatter the world. The sea voyage that was supposed to save Jade Harrington destroyed her instead. Now the crew is scattered, the secrets are out, and she’s on the run with the only person she has left—Logan Ashford, the man she loves more than her own destiny. Their destination: Pine Valley, a wolf shifter sanctuary protected by goddesses, where Jade finally comes face-to-face with another star touched champion. But belonging comes with a catch. Because every champion carries a celestial weapon forged by their goddess… except for Jade, whose goddess has been ignoring her for months. It turns out her weapon is buried at the heart of the Eternal Storm—the most violent lightning storm on Earth, which has been raging for five hundred years. Claiming it means surviving the creature that guards it, answering to the goddess who hid it, and facing a truth Jade would give anything to outrun. Because the blade forged to save the world is destined to destroy the man she loves. And when the gods demand a choice between love and fate, Jade will have to decide how far she’s willing to go to defy them both. AmazonK+
COLT: THE BEARS (KING LAKE SHIFTERS BOOK SIX) by R E Butler
Waverly has one rule: never date another shifter. When her ex promised her the moon and then left her the moment he found his truemate, she learned a painful lesson about shifters and forever. After slipping away from her sister’s birthday party at a tavern, she has a steamy encounter with a guy who seems perfect. Until he growls. Alpha bear Colt left his den to start over and create a home where bears are allowed to mate who they want without being forced into arranged matings. The moment he catches Waverly’s scent in the tavern, he knows she’s his truemate and every decision he made was worth it. But when Waverly discovers Colt’s a shifter, she walks away, convinced that history will repeat itself. When fate brings them together again, Colt is given another chance to prove that Waverly will never be second best, and that not every promise is meant to be broken. Because in King Lake… sometimes forever doesn’t begin with trust, it begins with earning it. AmazonK+
JUST ONE WISH: A MAGICAL CHRISTMAS SHORT STORY by Kristen Painter
When antique shop owner Evie Halloway uncorks an old perfume bottle on Christmas Eve in Cocoa, Florida, she accidentally releases a cursed genie named Jasper. He’s devastatingly handsome, infuriatingly smug, and magically obligated to grant her three wishes (that always backfire) during the holidays. Desperate to save her failing shop, Evie makes a wish … and chaos ensues. Now, with time on her last two wishes ticking down, the pair must navigate holiday disasters, a meddling Christmas spirit, and a growing attraction neither of them wished for. Because the only way to break the curse? True love’s kiss. Just so long as it happens before midnight. AmazonK+
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LINKS TO RECENT NEW RELEASES POSTS from Veronica
“New” is generally plus or minus a week or two. I try to catch up on ones I missed in recent months. And I may mention ‘special items’. I go by the ebook release.
NOTE: I’m doing my best to avoid listing anything generated from use of AI but it’s sometimes tricky to detect from the resources I have available. As far as covers go, I list the Amazon cover whether it’s AI or not.
I do NOT cover every single new release in SFR/FantasyR/PNR. I never have. That would be an impossible task for any human! I assemble my list by hand every week based on various informal inputs, and I do curate the list to some extent…
Some authors aren’t in KU but still don’t list books with Apple or other platforms. This report is very time consuming to prepare so I’ve always had to limit myself and cannot go and look up every book on all the platforms. If an author gives me their other buy links, I include them here but generally I develop the post on my own, not from author-supplied information. I curate and prepare this post individually every week to help connect readers/books/authors and I have to be very careful not to give it so much time as an activity that I don’t write my own novels! Thanks for the feedback and happy reading!























































































































































































































































































































































































































