The Nursing Home Hoax

By Shelley Thrasher and Others

People of Color
Lawyers

In this fresh take for grown-ups on the classic Nancy Drew series, crime-solving duo Taylor and Marilee investigate suspicious activity at a small East Texas nursing home.

Taylor, a semi-retired lawyer, and Marilee, whom she met in college, reunite in their eighties with a bang. They bond over the return of their college friend Edith, a doctor working in Africa who returns to the US for medical treatment and ends up in rehab at a local nursing home not far from Taylor and Marilee.

But when Taylor and Marilee visit, all is not as it seems. Several long-term patients have been victimized by a cybercriminal, and local law enforcement seem as uninterested as they are inept.

With the help of two high school seniors, amateur sleuths Taylor and Marilee must solve the mystery of who is taking advantage of wealthy residents so they can spend more time dealing with their romantic feelings, which have evolved during their sixty years apart.

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Moments to Treasure

By Ali Vali

International Setting
Multicultural 

Levi Montbard and Yasmine Hassani have found the prize of a lifetime in treasure and in love. Now they’re looking forward to their wedding and returning to find what else might be hidden in the Sahara Desert to kick off their honeymoon. An anonymous coded book sent to them as a wedding present might alter those plans.

The initial treasure is only the beginning of their quest, for some in the church want the mystery of the female Templar Knight to stay hidden. Even with a new and more liberal Pope, the Vatican doesn’t want any other embarrassments.

Levi and Yasmine are once again pulled into a world of hidden secrets and shadowy dangers. Along with their families, they’ll search for the things that matter most important to them and the moments they treasure with each other.

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Stranded

By Ronica Black

Animals 
Close Quarters

Abigail Gardner is finally getting her chance to go to Alaska, traveling to the last frontier on her first assignment for an exclusive adventure magazine. Only the transport driver has an unexpected heart attack, and she never makes it to her final destination. Stranded in the wilderness, the only person she can turn to for help is Whitley Travers, an Alaskan native, experienced pilot, and complete know-it-all pain in Abigail’s ass.

Whitley has seen her great state at its best and its worst. Maybe she is a know-it-all, but experience matters as they’re forced to traverse the unrelenting Alaskan landscape and make impossible decisions to find a way out of this mess. Cold, rain-soaked perilous miles stand between them and safety, and they must put their personal hang-ups and stubbornness aside to survive. When they do, it turns out they don’t hate each other after all, and if they weren’t actively fighting for their lives, they just might find each other attractive.    

But Abigail and Whitley are not alone in the wild. And being stranded far from home isn’t their biggest problem. A stalker is tracking their every move, and they’re in more danger than they know.

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Deep Cover

By Kara A. McLeod

New York City
Federal Agents
An Agent O'Connor Novel | Book 4

No one would ever accuse Special Agent Ryan O’Connor of taking the easy way out of anything. At least not successfully. Her attempts to distract herself from her crushing feelings of failing, fear, and fury have inadvertently landed her in hot water that is way over her head. And she forgot to pack her arm floaties.

As much as Ryan hates to admit it, her girlfriend, Allison, is right. She isn’t trained to bring down a domestic terrorist group. None of them are. But the clock is ticking, and lives are on the line. And if she doesn’t figure out a way to remain focused and keep her head in the game, hers will undoubtedly be one of them.

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Shadow Rider

By Gina L. Dartt

Elemental Riders | Book 1
Other Worlds

The world of the Five Nations is ruled by Elementals, those chosen few capable of controlling earth, air, fire, and water, but it is the Paths of the Shadow Realm that link the nations, navigated by the mysterious Shadow Riders.

Courier Shay Kendrith carries precious goods and crucial documents for the Crown, a solitary and dangerous life that takes her from one end of the world to the other. The last thing she ever expected to discover while traveling the Realm is an Elemental fighting for her life against the deadly wraiths inhabiting the Shadows.

As an Undine, Marshal Keagan Riley wields water, using her abilities to protect and serve the Crown. Being drawn into the Shadow Realm with Shay begins a harrowing journey that will lead them to the Elemental Stones, previously lost to history, but uncovered by unknown forces that may destroy everything they’ve sworn to protect.

In the Shadows, one can easily find death, but can Shay and Keagan find love as they fight to save the Five Nations?

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Untethered

By Shelley Thrasher

Age Gap
International Setting
Close Quarters
Friends to Lovers Romance

A tribute to the value of self-awareness and self-kindness, Untethered is the heartwarming story of a vacation gone wrong that leads to an unexpected journey of the heart.

Helen Rogers is ready for a relaxing cruise in Bali with her friends and married couple Martha Jo and Amy. After flying from Dallas to Australia, they board a small ship bound for Bali, only to quickly realize they have stumbled into a strenuous expedition more suited to CrossFit enthusiasts than vacationers like themselves in their seventies and eighties. Amid shipboard chaos and excursions to seldom-visited Indonesian islands, Helen becomes mesmerized by the younger, enigmatic Grace—unhappily married and searching for a resolution.

Things go from bad to worse when Helen and Amy become ill and must stay in isolation. Totally alone for the first time, memories of her time with Grace begin to haunt Helen. Was Grace’s last declaration that she was returning to her husband true? Why does Helen always fall for unavailable women? Could it have something to do with her lifelong aversion to meeting strangers and socializing in general?

After a nightmarish flight home and several months of recovery and reflection, Helen uncovers an earth-shattering realization that will change her life, and the possibilities of love, forever.

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The Meaning of Liberty

By Sage Donnell

Close Quarters
Dystopian
Bodyguard/Protection Romances

TJ knows she doesn’t fit in the ultraconservative Crusade of the Redeemer Church, no matter that her father is their chief of security, but leaving is difficult to say the least. Still, she has a plan. Until it gets shot to hell when her secret ex-girlfriend is taken to conversion camp where she will absolutely spill the beans. With his job on the line, her father sends TJ away until the storm blows over.

Bailey split her childhood between Portland with her mom and Tulsa with her Patriot Army dad. But she’s stayed out of Oklahoma ever since they decided together it was too risky for her to be there. She strongly prefers the blue state culture of Oregon anyway. But when her dad calls her with a job offer she can’t refuse, she risks going back into the red to protect her childhood crush, TJ.

When TJ and Bailey get caught in the political crossfire, escape is the only plan. On the run and fighting for their lives is not the time to be falling for each other. But the danger is closer than either of them knows, and when TJ is betrayed by those she loves the most, it could spell the end of their chance at forever.

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Digging for Destiny

By Jenna Jarvis

Pirates
People of Color
Asexual/Aromantic
Financial gap/Class disparity
Close Quarters
Food
Enemies to Lovers Romance
Disability
Military
Friends & Community
Animals 
Friends to Lovers Romance
Dragon Circle Series | Book 2
Good girls/Bad girls
Other Worlds
Bisexual
Magic

Kella Mabaki, dragon slayer extraordinaire, devoted sister, and celebrity hero of Jeenobi, has become a nobody by choice. Unable to continue hunting the dragons still tormenting her people and distanced from a brother she no longer understands, Kella is adrift in the city that was once her home. When she’s captivated by a rumor that could mean the end to the dragon sickness plaguing her land, she becomes obsessed with learning the truth of it. Nobody or not, she’s never been one for standing still.

Dragonrider Litz is torn when Kella reappears in her life, devoted to a quest she appears to have invented. Despite her beloved cousin’s disappearance and her growing doubts toward the empire she serves, Litz is experiencing an unexpected period of stability in her life. Kella’s arrival and the brewing war between their nations forces Litz to make a choice. Her country, career, and family, or the chance of making a better world with the woman she hasn’t been able to forget?

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Appalachian Awakening

By Nance Sparks

Friends & Community

Facing yet another failed relationship and a full-blown identity crisis after losing her job in a corporate merger, unemployed executive Amber Shaw realizes she hasn’t been happy in a long time. Who is she if not a CEO, and if everything she’s worked for hasn’t made her happy, what will? Inspired after learning about the Appalachian Trail, Amber sets off in hopes of figuring it all out. 

Leslie Brown lives life on her own terms with nothing to tie her down. She’s an experienced hiker and has one final trail left on her bucket list, the Appalachian Trail. Only problem, all her friends have settled down and started lives that don’t allow for seven months away from responsibilities. She’s out there alone.

Amber and Leslie assume they are polar opposites based on their first impressions of each other, but the more their paths cross, the more this hike of a lifetime begins to look like a love of a lifetime.

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Lost in the Wild

By Kadyan

Close Quarters

Allison, a Vancouver gallery owner, boards a small plane bound for Dawson City to meet a promising young First Peoples artist. Tour guide Mike is returning home to enjoy a well-deserved rest after tourist season. She’s skeptical of the sophisticated city slicker who sits next to her on the flight. The woman looks like she hasn’t camped a day in her life.

Neither the pilot nor the weather forecasters foresee the monstrous storm that forces their plane to crash-land somewhere in the Yukon wilderness, far from any town or road. As the only survivors, Allison and Mike must help each other and overcome their prejudices to survive and get home safely.

 Facing hunger, cold, and a terrifying encounter with a bear, mutual respect begins to blossom, and with it, desire neither expects.

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Of Auras and Shadows

By Jennifer Karter

Friends & Community
Ghosts
Close Quarters
Military
Bodyguard/Protection Romances
Other Worlds
Magic

Eryn is the greatest hero the Community has ever trained. When a priest foresees that she and her guardian will save the Community, it seems like Eryn’s future is assured. But when she loses her guardian on their first mission to gather the ichor that maintains the life-preserving dome over the Community, Eryn is stuck with Rina, the worst-ranked guardian. Things get harder as Eryn’s resentment turns to love. Heroes don’t fall in love with their guardians. It’s supposed to be the other way around.

Rina has spent her entire life trying to prove that shadows don’t always lie. She fights her unconditional love for her hero rather than accepting it as she is supposed to. When Rina discovers that the corruption of the Dark Lands may not just be outside the dome but also in the Community’s system itself, Eryn is the only person who might listen. But will Eryn accept that the Community she loves so dearly is causing the destruction Eryn was prophesied to fix?

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A Talent Ignited

By Suzanne Lenoir

Financial gap/Class disparity
The Valmoran Series | Book 2
Other Worlds
Magic

Evelyne, a disowned noblewoman, and Annika, a peasant girl with unusual powers, made the choice to be together in a kingdom where men make the rules. Now the Temple elders want Annika for murder and mercenaries want Evelyne for theft. But when Evelyne is abducted and Annika believes she has been abandoned, they must risk everything to find each other again.

Annika discovers the Temple has imprisoned children with abilities like hers, and she alone stands between them and death. She’s forced to face her fear of her own powers and soon learns to use them with the help of Zuri, a former slave who is also gifted with magic. Evelyne, no longer entitled to the favors and respect bestowed on the nobility, must convince her beautiful captor to help her return to Annika. 

Doubt and questions plague them both, but one thing is for certain. The Temple has a long memory, and a familiar foe is coming for them.

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Buried Secrets

By Sheri Lewis Wohl

Tuesday Johnson spent her career helping the Spokane, WA, community as a probation officer and a search and rescue K9 handler. After suffering a career-ending gunshot wound, all she wants is to heal and spend quiet time with her mother during her last days of battling cancer. Instead, visions of murder disrupt her hopes for peace, and family secrets shake up everything she thought she knew.

After twenty-five years of searching, private detective Addie Caine has all but given up hope of finding her brother alive. When the last known sighting brings her to Spokane and a routine search uncovers a decades-old burial ground, the hunt for her brother means pursuing a serial killer. Tuesday and Addie, along with Tuesday’s dog, Tripper, struggle to solve a twenty-five-year-old mystery while searching for love and redemption along the way.

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Western Blue

By Suzie Clarke

Coming Out
Multicultural 
Friends to Lovers Romance
Bisexual

In 1868, Caroline Bluebonnet Hutching is forced to leave her Texas home and make a new life in Nevada. But the townsmen are against her, and she can’t get the help she needs. Undaunted, she advertises for female workers, only to find that each woman who answers her ad is as desperate as she is. And she’s entirely unprepared for the one who steals her heart.

When raiders attack Isabel Segura’s horse ranch and slaughter her family, she’s left with nothing—no home, no future, no hope. When she sees Blue’s ad, a new dream sparks to life. Determined to begin again, she sets out on a journey she never could have imagined.

Heroism, loyalty, friendship, and love. The odds are against this unlikely group—but never underestimate women who have nothing to lose.

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Heart of Stone

By Sam Ledel

Royalty
Financial gap/Class disparity
Other Worlds
Magic

Maeve’s quiet life of isolation has kept her from the outside world—as a gorgon, she has to protect herself and others. Princess Keeva Glantor is proud to be a member of Uterni’s royal family. But her mother’s health is failing quickly, and Keeva’s life of ease is turned upside down.

On a hunt for the key to keeping Uterni’s queen on the throne, Keeva meets Maeve. The princess is intrigued by the lone woman in the fen, but she has her own mission to complete and no time for anything, or anyone.

Maeve yearns to believe she has a chance at a regular life and is curious enough to push the boundaries of what she’s always known, revealing a deception that has kept her a pariah in a world she fears as much as it fears her.

Both must unravel lies and come face-to-face with the truth to create a future they can call their own, perhaps even one that includes each other.

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Digging for Heaven

By Jenna Jarvis

Royalty
Good girls/Bad girls
Financial gap/Class disparity
Enemies to Lovers Romance
People of Color
Women in Uniform
Military
Rivals
Non-Binary Gender
Asexual/Aromantic
Magic
Dragon Circle Series | Book 1
Other Worlds
Bisexual
Children / Families

The lands of Jeenobi and Aelshia are separated by hundreds of miles of dangerous desert, and antithetical views on dragons. Now, under a tenuous new peace agreement, Jeenobi has agreed to ban dragon slaying within its borders.

As a visiting ambassador to Jeenobi and a rider to the dragon Loren, Litz expected to meet resistance to all she represents. She did not expect Kella, the kingdom’s most famous living dragon slayer, and she certainly didn’t expect to find her attractive.

When Litz is forced into extraditing Kella to Aelshia for trial, they’ll discover more monstrous things in the wilds of the desert than each other, and they’ll need to put aside their differences if they want to survive. The future of both nations may hang in the balance.

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Never Kiss a Cowgirl

By Ali Vali

Homecoming
Second Chance at Love
Animals 
Sports
Las Vegas
New Orleans 
Friends to Lovers Romance

Asher Evans is living her dreams eight seconds at a time. She’s finally at the top of the rankings and headed for the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, and she owes it all to the man who taught her everything, Silas Wilson.

Reagan Wilson vowed she’d never return to Louisiana. Her father, Silas, had been a world champion rodeo rider until an accident destroyed his career, then killed him. Now she’s interning at a sports clinic in New Orleans, and her first patient is Asher Evans. Seeing her childhood neighbor and teenage crush brings all those painful memories rushing back.

Asher and Reagan are from different worlds, even if they grew up side by side. Reagan doesn’t understand why anyone would risk their life for a title and belt buckle, and Asher doesn’t do safe and predictable. Falling in love makes no sense, but as the spark between them ignites they may have more in common than they think.

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Undiscovered Treasures

By MJ Williamz

Ghosts
Pirates
Enemies to Lovers Romance
Big City
Amateur Sleuths
Friends & Community
International Setting

Cyl Waterford hates Tampa. That she’s inherited a lighthouse there does little to change her mind. Of course, she’s going to sell as soon as she can and return to Colorado. If there are rumors the lighthouse is haunted, that’s something future buyers will need to investigate. Cyl doesn’t believe in ghosts anyway.

When her deceased aunt’s friends Luna and Martinique convince Cyl to have a séance in the lighthouse, everything she thought she knew about the supernatural is shattered. A mystery she can’t ignore sets them all on a quest to find sunken treasure and a missing dead woman.

Cyl’s in for more than an adventure as their quest reveals surprising attractions that have Cyl torn between returning home and following her heart.

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