Category: ARC

The Girl in the Tower (The Winternight Trilogy: Book 2) by Katherine Arden

The Girl in the Tower (The Bear and the Nightingale #2)

5 Stars 

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Del Rey

Date of publication: December 5th, 2017

Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy

Number of pages: 384

POV: 3rd person

Series: The Winternight Trilogy

The Bear and The Nightingale – Book 1 (review here)

The Girl in the Tower – Book 2

Where you can find The Girl in the Tower: Barnes and Noble | Amazon

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

The magical adventure began in The Bear and the Nightingale continues as brave Vasya, now a young woman is forced to choose between marriage or life in a convent and instead flees her home—but soon finds herself called upon to help defend the city of Moscow when it comes under siege.

Orphaned and cast out as a witch by her village, Vasya’s options are few: resign herself to life in a convent, or allow her older sister to make her a match with a Moscovite prince. Both doom her to live in a tower, cut off from the vast world she longs to explore. So instead she chooses adventure, disguising herself as a boy and riding her horse into the woods. When a battle with some bandits who have been terrorizing the countryside earns her the admiration of the Grand Prince of Moscow, she must carefully guard the secret of her gender to remain in his good graces—even as she realizes his kingdom is under threat from mysterious forces only she will be able to stop.

Trigger Warning: None

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The Curious Affair of the Witch at Wayside Cross (The Curious Affair of: Book 2) by Lisa Tuttle

The Curious Affair of the Witch at Wayside Cross (The Curious Affair Of, #2)

3 Stars

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group, Hydra

Date of publication: November 28th, 2017

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Science Fiction, Fantasy

Number of pages: 314

POV: 1st person

Series: The Curious Affair of

The Somnambulist and the Psychic Theif – Book 1

The Curious Affair of the Witch at Wayside Cross – Book 2

Where you can find The Curious Affair of The Witch at Wayside Cross: Barnes and Noble | Amazon

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

The paranormal answer to Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, Jesperson and Lane are turning the Victorian era upside down in this bewitching series from John W. Campbell Award winner Lisa Tuttle.

“Witch!” cries the young man after stumbling unexpectedly into the London address of the consulting-detective partnership of Mr. Jasper Jesperson and Miss Lane. He makes the startling accusation while pointing toward Miss Lane . . . then he drops dead. Thus begins the strangest case yet to land—quite literally—on the doorstep of Jesperson and Lane.

According to the coroner, Charles Manning died of a heart attack—despite being in perfect health. Could he have been struck down by a witch’s spell? The late Mr. Manning’s address book leads Jesperson and Lane to the shrieking pits of Aylmerton, an ancient archaeological site reputed to be haunted by a vengeful ghost. There they sift through the local characters, each more suspicious than the last: Manning’s associate, Felix Ott, an English folklore enthusiast; Reverend Ringer, a fierce opponent of superstition; and the Bulstrode sisters, a trio of beauties with a reputation for witchcraft.

But when an innocent child goes missing, suddenly Jesperson and Lane aren’t merely trying to solve one murder—they’re racing to prevent another.

Trigger Warning: Talk of rape

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Poison by Galt Niederhoffer

Poison

Title: Poison

Author: Galt Niederhoffer

Publisher: St. Martins Press

Date of publication: November 21, 2017

Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

How many pages: 304

POV: 3rd person

Where you can find Poison: Barnes and Noble | Amazon

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

Poison is a literary psychological thriller about a marriage that follows minor betrayal into a bubbling stew of lies, cruelty, manipulation, and danger.

Cass and Ryan Connor have achieved family nirvana. With three kids between them, a cat and a yard, a home they built and feathered, they seem to have the Modern Family dream. Their family, including Cass’ two children from previous relationships, has recently moved to Portland —a new start for their new lives. Cass and Ryan have stable, successful careers, and they are happy. But trouble begins almost imperceptibly. First with small omissions and white lies that happen daily in any marital bedroom. They seem insignificant, but they are quickly followed by a series of denials and feints that mushroom and then cyclone in menace.

With life-or-death stakes and irreversible consequences, Poison is a chilling and irresistible reminder that the closest bond designed to protect and provide for each other and for children can change in a minute.

Trigger Warning: Domestic Violence

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Hard Cover by Jamie K. Schmidt

Hard Cover

Title: Hard Cover

Author: Jamie K. Schmidt

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group, Loveswept

Date of publication: November 21st, 2017

Genre: Erotica, Romance

Number of pages: 232

POV: Alternating 1st person

Where you can find Hard Cover: Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Book Synopsis (from Goodreads):

He can read her like a book. But will he give her a happy ending?

Dawn: I’d do anything to keep my bookstore. It’s a safe place for all women, somewhere to let their freak flags fly. I call it sex-positive. The menfolk call it smut. That’s how I met Rory Parker, the local billionaire trying to shut me down on behalf of the “moral majority.” He walked in with an offer I couldn’t refuse . . . except I did. Now Rory wants to play dirty. Well, he picked the wrong bookseller. Let’s see how much support he still has after people get a load of the little movie I recorded of the two of us going at it like wild animals in my shop. 

Rory: I could care less how Dawn Nolan makes her money. The only thing I care about is how much she’s making. Her bookstore isn’t the kind of upscale attraction my investors want in this sleepy little tourist trap, so it’s got to go. But when Dawn personally finds out how I treat bad girls who misbehave, she seems to enjoy it as much as I do. Now I just need to destroy the copies of that video she’s threatening to post—as soon as I stop watching it. The trouble is, when I’m with her, all I want to do is get started on the sequel.

Trigger Warning: None

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The Whispering Room (Jane Hawk: Book 2) by Dean Koontz

The Whispering Room (Jane Hawk, #2)

5 Stars

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Bantam

Date of publication: November 21, 2017

Genre: General Fiction, Mystery, Thriller

Number of pages: 528

POV: 3rd person

Series: Jane Hawk

The Silent Corner – Book 1 (review here)

The Whispering Room – Book 2

The Crooked Staircase – Book 3 (expected publication date: June 2018)

Where you can find The Whispering Room: Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

Jane Hawk–fiction’s most relentless, resourceful, stunning new heroine–continues her battle against a murderous conspiracy in the riveting sequel to The Silent Corner.

“No time to delay. Do what you were born to do. Fame will be yours when you do this.” 

These are the words that ring in the mind of mild-mannered, beloved schoolteacher Cora Gundersun–just before she takes her own life, and many others’, in a shocking act of carnage. When the disturbing contents of her secret journal are discovered, it seems certain that she must have been insane. But Jane Hawk knows better.

In the wake of her husband’s inexplicable suicide–and the equally mysterious deaths of scores of other exemplary individuals–Jane picks up the trail of a secret cabal of powerful players who think themselves above the law and beyond punishment. But these ruthless people bent on hijacking America’s future for their own monstrous ends never banked on a highly trained FBI agent willing to go rogue–and become the nation’s most wanted fugitive–in order to derail their insidious plans to gain absolute power with a terrifying technological breakthrough.

Driven by love for her lost husband and by fear for the five-year-old son she has sent into hiding, Jane Hawk has become an unstoppable predator. Those she is hunting will have nowhere to run when her shadow falls across them.

Trigger warning: None

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The Trouble with Twelfth Grave (Charlie Davidson: Book 12) by Darynda Jones

The Trouble with Twelfth Grave: A Novel (Charley Davidson Series Book 12) by [Jones, Darynda]

4 Stars

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Date of publication: October 31, 2017

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Paranormal

Number of pages: 283

POV: 1st person

Series: Charlie Davidson

First Grave on the Right – Book 1 (review here)

For I Have Sinned – Book 1.5

Second Grave on the Left – Book 2

Third Grave Dead Ahead – Book 3

Fourth Grave Beneath My Feet – Book 4

Fifth Grave Past the Light – Book 5

Shimmer – Book 5.5

Glow – Book 5.6

Sixth Grave on the Edge – Book 6

Seventh Grave and No Body – Book 7

Eight Grave After Dark – Book 8

Brighter Than the Sun – Book 8.5

The Dirt on Ninth Grave – Book 9

The Curse of Tenth Grave – Book 10

A Very Charley Christmas – Book 10.5

Eleventh Grave in Moonlight – Book 11

The Trouble with Twelfth Grave – Book 12

Untitled – Book 12 (expected publication date – October 30th, 2018)

Where you can find The Trouble with Twelfth Grave: Barnes and Noble | Amazon

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

Grim Reaper Charley Davidson is back in the twelfth installment of Darynda Jones’ New York Times bestselling paranormal series.

Ever since Reyes escaped from a hell dimension in which Charley accidentally trapped him, the son of Satan has been brimstone-bent on destroying the world his heavenly Brother created. His volatile tendencies have put Charley in a bit of a pickle. But that’s not the only briny vegetable on her plate. While trying to domesticate the feral being that used to be her husband, she also has to deal with her everyday life of annoying all manner of beings—some corporeal, some not so much—as she struggles to right the wrongs of society. Only this time she’s not uncovering a murder. This time she’s covering one up. 

Add to that her new occupation of keeping a startup PI venture—the indomitable mystery-solving team of Amber Kowalski and Quentin Rutherford—out of trouble and dealing with the Vatican’s inquiries into her beloved daughter, and Charley is on the brink of throwing in the towel and becoming a professional shopper. Or possibly a live mannequin. But when someone starts attacking humans who are sensitive to the supernatural world, Charley knows it’s time to let loose her razor-sharp claws. Then again, her number one suspect is the dark entity she’s loved for centuries. So the question becomes, can she tame the unruly beast before it destroys everything she’s worked so hard to protect?

Trigger Warning: None

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Cuffed by His Charm (Dirty Little Secrets: Book 4) by Stacey Kennedy

Cuffed by His Charm (Dirty Little Secrets, #4)

4 stars

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group, Loveswept

Date of publication: November 14, 2017

Genre: Romance, Women’s Fiction

Number of pages: 188

POV: Alternating 1st person

Series: Dirty Little Secrets

Bound Beneath His Pain – Book 1

Tied to His Betrayal – Book 2

Restrained Under His Duty – Book 3

Cuffed by His Charm – Book 4

Where you can find Cuffed by His Charm: Barnes and Noble | Amazon

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

A tabloid scandal unites a powerful mogul and a woman from the wrong side of the tracks in this tantalizing novel from the USA Today bestselling author of Bound Beneath His Pain and the Club Sin series.

The multimillionaire owner of a chain of successful Irish pubs, Gabe O’Keefe loves being in the spotlight almost as much as he loves women. But when all his secrets are exposed in a shameless tabloid, his glistening reputation takes a hit. What hurts most is learning who sold him out: sweet and sensual McKenna Archer, his own employee. Gabe thought he could trust her. But now he’s got bigger problems than keeping his hands off McKenna.

After putting a difficult past behind her, McKenna would never betray Gabe. But she knows someone who would: her brother, a compulsive gambler who owes money all over town. To make things right, McKenna will have to set aside her feelings for her boss. Easier said than done. Gabe oozes pure temptation. But when they team up, McKenna sees that he isn’t the manwhore she always thought. He’s strong. He’s real. And the heat between them is the only thing that makes sense anymore.

Trigger Warning: Bondage scenes, explicit sexual scenes, explicit violence

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Begin Again (Again: Book 1) by Mona Kasten

Begin Again (Again, #1)

4 stars

Publisher: be-ebooks

Date of publication: November 14th, 2017

Genre: Romance, Women’s Fiction, New Adult

Number of pages: 278

POV: 1st person

Series: Again

Begin Again – Book 1

Where you can find Begin Again: Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

He makes the rules. She breaks them all.

A new start. It’s the only thing keeping Allie Harper going when she packs up her life and moves across the country to Woodshill, Oregon. She’s about to start college, desperate to leave the ghosts of her past behind her. Even if that means never talking to her parents again.

Now the hard part – finding an apartment before classes start. Just when it seems she’ll have to live out of her car, Allie visits one more place. It’s beautiful. With one exception: can she stand being roommates with campus bad boy Kaden White? Sure, Kaden is sexy with his tattoos and careless attitude, but he’s also an arrogant jerk. With nowhere else to go, Allie moves in.

The first thing Kaden does is make a set of rules. Either Allie obeys, or she’s out:

1. Don’t talk about your girl problems.
2. Keep your mouth shut if I bring someone home.
3. We will NEVER hook up.

Easy enough, thinks Allie. Who would want to get involved with a brute like Kaden? But the more she gets to know him, the more she sees beyond his gruff facade. He, too, is harboring some painful secrets. For Kaden and Allie, it gets harder and harder to ignore the sparks between them. And the lines between the rules start to blur-

Begin Again is a beautiful romance that shows us just how possible it is to start over. To find freedom in heartbreak and love in the most unlikely places.

Trigger Warning: rape, sexual abuse, talk of suicide

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Taking a Chance (Whisper Creek: Book 6) by Maggie McGinnis

Taking a Chance (Whisper Creek, #6)

4 Stars

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group, Loveswept

Date of publication: November 7th, 2017

Genre: Romance, Women’s Fiction

Number of pages: 256

POV: 3rd person

Series: Whisper Creek

Accidental Cowgirl – Book 1

A Cowboy’s Christmas Promise – Book 2

Once Upon a Cowboy – Book 3

Unlucky in Love – Book 4 (review here)

Meant to Be – Book 5 (review here)

Taking a Chance – Book 6

Where you can find Taking a Chance: Barnes and Noble | Amazon

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

A fun-loving troublemaker gives a workaholic Southern gal a real taste of Montana magic at the one and only Whisper Creek Ranch.

A rising star in the corporate world, Emma Winthrop enjoys the view from her cubicle in sunny Florida. But when she’s dispatched to a nursing home in Whisper Creek for three months of field experience, she discovers a slice of heaven made of mountains and mayhem—mostly in the form of rugged, drop-dead gorgeous Jasper Stone, who grinds his specialty beans at the town’s best coffee shop in between organizing dodge-ball games and wheelchair races in Emma’s hallways.

When Jasper walks in on this beautiful angel in silky purple underwear trying to rinse out her blouse, it’s a breathtaking view—even for a Montana native. Wreaking havoc here at Shady Acres keeps his dad in good spirits, but getting under Emma’s skin is proving to be even more fun. Jasper knows that he’s falling faster than a man with his past has any right to, but his body and his heart have a mind of their own. And Emma appears to be claiming both.

Trigger Warning: None

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The New Dark by Lorraine Thomson

The New Dark

3 Stars

Publisher: be-ebooks

Date of publication: November 1st, 2017

Genre: Fantasy, Dystopia, Young Adult

Number of pages: 221

POV: 3rd person

Where you can find The New Dark: Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

“She thought she knew who she was and where she came from. Then her home was destroyed. Her brother lost amongst the ashes. And the boy she loves vanished. She owed her own survival to a mutant — the very forces behind the destruction. Now Sorrel will never be the same again.”

There is no “Before”, there is only “Now”. Because now there’s no internet, no TV, no power grid. Food is scarce, and the world’s a hostile place. But Sorrel lives a quiet life in the tiny settlement of Amat. It’s all she’s ever known …

Until a gang of marauding mutants destroys the village, snatching her brother Eli, and David, her boyfriend. Sorrel sets out after them, embarking on a journey fraught with danger. Can she survive? The only thing that keeps her going is Eli and David. They are out there somewhere. They must be alive. And if she has her way, she will find them.

THE NEW DARK is the first book in a new YA-trilogy and will be published in November 2017. The second and third books in the series (THE NEW DAWN & THE NEW DAY) will be released in 2018.

Lorraine Thomson was born in Glasgow. She won a UK writing competition and was short-listed for the Dundee Book Prize. She now lives in Ullapool on the rugged north-west coast of Scotland.

Follow the author on Twitter: @LGThomson1

Trigger Warning: remembrance of infanticide

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