The Forest and the Sea: A Cinderella Retelling

The Forest and the Sea: A Cinderella Retelling By Tracy Zumwalt
Publication date: November 12, 2024
Buy Link: Amazon
Genres: Fairy Tales, Retelling, Romance, Young Adult
Summary:

Reynette is desperate to escape the servitude of her step family at Laudermann Manor and the lustful desires of the loathsome, Sir Bjorn.

Lord Ehrhart seeks to please his father and their subjects by securing a future wife and future Duchess of Badenberg.

Will a chance meeting in the woods lead them to find their hope and future within each other’s arms?

The people of Badenberg are preparing to celebrate the anticipated, Midsummer Festival.

In the worn hallways of Laudermann Manor, a young servant girl longs for freedom and love. Bound by duty to her cruel step family, she yearns to attend the festival and meet a kind, brave suitor who will seek her floral wreath and therefore, declare his intent to pursue her.

Her hope takes a turn when her wreath is sought by a mysterious, yet somehow familiar man.

Meanwhile, Lord Ehrhart, son of the Duke, is under growing pressure to find a bride. Trusting his future to the Duke’s advisor, Ehrhart agrees to a series of balls to seek the next Duchess of Badenberg.

But, behind the festivities and beautiful floral decor, a dangerous scheme unfolds— the Duke’s brother and his ruthless son, Sir Bjorn, conspire to seize the Duke’s position, putting love, power and loyalty to the ultimate test.

Help arrives through an unexpected ally as Reynette and Ehrhart seek to unravel the web of deceit and hidden motives.

Extravagant balls are thrown, secrets are revealed, and murderous plots are uncovered in thisreimagining of the Cinderella story.

—

EXCERPT:

His father and Badenberg needed him to find a suitable wife. Ludwig’s solution was to host the two balls and hope Ehrhart found a wife among the wealthy and titled of Badenberg. But, though Ehrhart had agreed to such a plan, he couldn’t help but feel he’d find a wife on his own terms. Would that be Beatrice? He stared down at his hands loosely wrapped around the reins. 

Beatrice was certainly a plausible solution to his problem, but could she be a woman he’d love for the rest of his life? She appeared interested in him and his attention, but did he truly know her intentions? He had meant what he’d told his sisters, he was interested in more than just a pretty face.

Suddenly, a loud thud echoed through the trees, followed by another and another. Then he heard a piercing crack to his left. Ehrhart peered up just in time to watch a tree fall along the path. The jarring movement and sound caused Storm to rear.

Bloody is the Night

Bloody is the Night By Robin Jeffrey
Publication date: November 12, 2024
Buy Link: Amazon
Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Romance
Summary:

Unbeknownst to humans, the werewolves of the world live in tight knit gangs, or “dens”, for protection from outsiders – and each other. Every major metropolis has one; to belong to a den is to have a family for eternity. 

Shaye Cassidy, an unhoused human woman scraping by on the streets of Los Angeles, hasn’t had anything close to a family in over ten years. Shaye left her home under a cloud to chase the dream of a new start, a dream that quickly turned into a nightmare; a nightmare that grows even more twisted when Shaye witnesses a werewolf killing a fellow unhoused man.

Andy Vasquez is a top member of Sangre Sagrada, second only to the den leader herself. When she tasks him with tracking down a werewolf gone rogue, someone who is killing humans for sport and risking the exposure of their world, Andy dedicates all his resources to the task. He couldn’t have predicted that the key to uncovering the identity of the rogue wolf would be a human woman, any more than he could have predicted that he would fall in love with her.

Now, Andy must protect Shaye not just from the rogue wolf, but also from those within his den who wish she would disappear. Shaye has her own secrets, however, and in the city of angels, everyone has a devilish side.

—

EXCERPT:

I faced forward and froze.

Sitting on the stool across the table was the slim man from the library. He looked me over with an unimpressed glaze to his eyes, leaning against the table, his breathing somewhat labored.

“Shaye Cassidy?” he said casually, as if we had arranged to meet here on a blind date.

I pushed away from the table, my eyes widening. “Shit–!”

The Man

The Man By Avishai El
Publication date: November 12, 2024
Buy Link: Amazon
Genres: Adult, Thriller
Summary:

An AK-47 and a series of premonitions.

Will it be too late? What is he doing here? Is she safe?

Vaughan Mystique is on the run of a lifetime. Will she live?

—

EXCERPT:

It was almost ominous of where her life was headed. As she went in the back to grab it for the customer, she was startled by a man’s head in her peripheral. She jumped back and almost fell back into the wall. She felt his eyes burning into her, sensing her fear which she tried incred- ibly hard to hide. Her breath caught in her throat, and she dared to look up. Nothing. Nobody. 

He was gone. Was it a vision? Was it a premonition? Was it reality? The questions raced through her mind at an uncomfortable speed, clashing into one another. Vaughan had 4 hours left to work, she just had to pull herself through it and stop over- thinking. Maybe it wasn’t something to worry about. She then grabbed the rifle, the rifle case, and went back up to the front of the store.

The Mistress of Bannister (The Mistresses of Rose Lake)

The Mistress of Bannister (The Mistresses of Rose Lake) By Stacy-Deanne & Venus Ray
Publication date: October 5, 2024
Buy Link: Amazon
Genres: Adult, Historical Romance
Summary:

The wealthy and powerful Edward Bannister III becomes obsessed with Gini, a stunning maid from Nigeria who rescues him from drowning. 

Gini too becomes captivated by the intoxicating businessman and spends days and nights praying she’ll see him again. 

But Gini is under the control of Brenden Marx, a cruel industrialist who brought her to America as his mistress so there is no way she could be with another man.

Despite this, Edward and Gini embark on a secret affair, unable to resist their intense love for each other. But when Marx discovers their relationship, he declares war on them both, promising to do whatever he can to keep them apart.

Tropes: interracial, age-gap, billionaire, triangle, small town, 19th Century, western

—

EXCERPT:

Gini watched from her window as Mr. Marx’s carriage pulled off the following afternoon. She hurried and got dressed, stole a horse from the stables, and rode out to Edward’s estate.

Larger and even more refined than Mr. Marx’s place, Edward’s estate was a sprawling property with well-manicured gardens, towering oak trees, and a grand entrance gate with golden bars.

Before Gini got off her horse, a middle-aged white woman with her high-collar dress tight around her pudgy body, popped out of the house and inquired about Gini’s identity.

Things I Wish I Said

Things I Wish I Said By Gracie Graham
Publication date: November 7 2024
Buy Link: Amazon
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Summary:

Lung cancer patient Ryleigh Sinclair wants a boyfriend for the summer.

And my mother wants me to be the one to make her wish come true.

Me. The eternal pessimist. The guy who no longer believes in happy endings after my dad died of pancreatic cancer and my girlfriend dumped me in the same month.

But after weeks of spending time with Ryleigh, she somehow does the impossible. She fills the gaping hole of my father’s absence until I’m the one hoping for a miracle.

I’ve learned my lesson about wishes.

Happily ever afters are a lie.

Yet I’m the one wishing like hell for another outcome for Ryleigh.

I lost my father to cancer; I can’t lose her too.

—

EXCERPT:

“You make me happy.”

I swallow, afraid to move and the break the spell we’re under. “No, I don’t,” I say, my throat raw.

“You do. This last month, I’ve laughed more than I have since I lost him. You make me forget to be so damn sad all the time.” His other hand rises, and he drags his thumb over my lower lip while my heart crashes into my ribs.

“Grayson . . .”

“You asked me why I kissed you.”