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Native Gold (California Legends Trilogy Book 1) (affiliate link)
His Ample Desire: (Curves & Cravats) (affiliate link)
“Believe me, darling, the last thing I intend is to fall in love.”
Widowed and notorious, Caroline Spenser is no stranger to scandal. Her lovers are among the highest-ranked gentlemen in London, and she relies on their generosity to fund her extravagant lifestyle—and a secret obligation.
Mr George Comerford is the son of a viscount and leader of the ton, having painstakingly established his reputation. At the age of thirty and with an ailing father, he is expected to marry, and well.
Five years his senior and a widow to boot, Caroline is far from the ideal wife. But taking her as his lover challenges everything he knows about himself and his ambitions. For her, he would risk his entire reputation.
But she has not survived the ton this long by trusting every man who comes into her bed, and she doesn’t intend to start now. Even if George is all her foolish heart could ever want…
The Heiress in Disguise (Love and Secrets of the Ton) (affiliate link)
Angelique de Bourbon-Spencer has been born in the world of privilege, but her life has been a masquerade of servitude since the tragic demise of her parents. Reduced to a servant’s role in her aunt and uncle’s household, she endures a degrading treatment from her step-siblings. In the shadowy corners of a lavish ballroom in London though, Angelique’s fate takes an unexpected turn when her eyes meet those of a mysterious masked gentleman.
As if things were not complicated enough, Angelique finds herself romantically torn between two different men… How could it be though that they do not feel all that different?
Antoine Beauchamp-Fitzalans, Marquess of Exeter, returns to London after years abroad, only to uncover his childhood friend Angelique’s startling secret life as a servant.
Duplicity (Steve Regan Book 1) (affiliate link)
In the depths of the criminal underworld, British detective Steve Regan thrives in the double-dealing world as a no-nonsense undercover cop for the national crime squad. But when a cocaine-smuggling operation stretches from Bolivia to Miami, Regan is thrust deep into the crosshairs of a ruthless cartel led by the enigmatic Enrico Bruno.
As alliances blur and betrayals mount, Regan navigates violent tests, and seductive temptations. His undercover role draws him further into a deadly world of drug trafficking, crooked law enforcement agents, and Mafia conspiracies—forcing him to question how far he’s willing to go to bring justice to light.
With his enemies circling, temptations mounting, and his own life on the line, Regan must decide to remain loyal to his oath of office, and plunge deeper into the criminal world to take it down from within or do the unthinkable.
The New Mrs D (affiliate link)
Bernice Dando thought she had the perfect honeymoon planned in sunny Greece with her new husband, David. But four days in, she’s faced with a shocking truth: David’s complete lack of interest in intimacy is due to his addiction to porn. Devastated, Bernice struggles with the painful realisation that her marriage may be built on a lie. Can she move past it, or will she be labelled as overreacting, frigid, or worse?
When Bernice, a funny, feisty woman in her forties, sets off on the adventure of a lifetime—alone—she never imagines how life-changing it will be. From triggering a Greek fish explosion to spontaneous nude karaoke, her wild holiday turns into the ultimate escape. Bernice soon discovers that life has much more to offer than a humdrum marriage.
But when her husband shows up, begging for a second chance, Bernice faces a life-altering choice: does she return to her old life, or embrace a whole new adventure?
Leine Basso Boxset (affiliate link)
A former assassin is drawn into the twisted game of a serial killer who may be a grisly remnant from her past.
What happens when a reality show turns deadly?
Determined to leave her old life behind, retired assassin Leine Basso accepts a job working security at one of television’s most popular reality shows, Serial Date. When a contestant is found dead in the prop closet, it appears the killer is one of the ‘bachelors’ on the show- an ex-con billed as a serial killer- but the detective in charge of the case isn’t so sure.
When Leine’s estranged daughter is abducted by a man claiming to be the real killer, she’s forced to rely on old skills to find her. She soon realizes the murderer may be a grisly remnant from her past and she’ll need to use all of her cunning to stop him… …and rescue her daughter.
Dream With Me (With Me In Seattle – The O’Callaghans Book 1) (affiliate link)
Kane O’Callaghan knows what it is to have his work shown all over the world. His pieces are on display in palaces and museums, including the O’Callaghan Museum of Glass just outside of his beloved hometown of Seattle. Kane is a bit of a recluse, spending time on his farm alone and committed to his art. His life is full. Until the day he meets her.
Wandering through museums is Anastasia Montgomery’s favorite way to spend her time. Not only does art feed her soul, but it inspires her own art of designing wedding cakes. When her muse seems to be gone, she finds her again among the beauty in the museums of Seattle, and the O’Callaghan Museum of Glass is her favorite. She’s never met the artist, but he must be absolutely brilliant, if he can make such beautiful things out of glass. Bumping into a grumpy stranger at the museum wasn’t in Anastasia’s plan.
Bouchon Bakery (The Thomas Keller Library) (affiliate link)
Baked goods that are marvels of ingenuity and simplicity from the famed Bouchon Bakery
The tastes of childhood have always been a touchstone for Thomas Keller, and in this dazzling amalgam of American and French baked goods, you’ll find recipes for the beloved TKOs and Oh Ohs (Keller’s takes on Oreos and Hostess’s Ho Hos) and all the French classics he fell in love with as a young chef apprenticing in Paris: the baguettes, the macarons, the mille-feuilles, the tartes aux fruits.
Co-author Sebastien Rouxel, executive pastry chef for the Thomas Keller Restaurant Group, has spent years refining techniques through trial and error, and every page offers a new lesson: a trick that assures uniformity, a subtlety that makes for a professional finish, a flash of brilliance that heightens flavor and enhances texture. The deft twists, perfectly written recipes, and dazzling photographs make perfection inevitable.
Bless Your Heart (Valentine Texas) (affiliate link)
I have three simple wishes:
1. Keep my houseplants alive.
2. Open a charming bed-and-breakfast in my small town.
3. Never see or speak to Beckett Valentine again.
None of those things are currently possible.
When Beckett decides he’s also interested in purchasing the Horseshoe Creek Ranch, my dreams of owning a bed-and-breakfast become a nightmare. He refuses to give me what I want while playing dirty—a common theme in our rivalry. Because of him, we’re in a ridiculous bidding war for the land.
We might have hated each other since our teens, but the stakes have never been so high.
And right now, I’m more determined than ever to take down my best friend’s older brother—cowboy boots and all.
Apocalypse: Generic System (The Stitched Worlds Book 1) (affiliate link)
Jeb Trapper tried to kill himself. The gun jammed. Two months later the vet is participating in underground trials of ecstacy to treat his PTSD. Everything seemed to be going great until… The System has Been Installed. Now he’s got to choose the difficulty of his tutorial. Just one problem. He’s high as a kite, and nothing seems Impossible.
A Door in the Dark (Waxways Book 1) (affiliate link)
Ren Monroe has spent four years proving she’s one of the best wizards in her generation. But top marks at Balmerick University will mean nothing if she fails to get recruited into one of the major houses. Enter Theo Brood. If being rich were a sin, he’d already be halfway to hell. After a failed and disastrous party trick, fate has the two of them crossing paths at the public waxway portal the day before holidays; Theo’s punishment is to travel home with the scholarship kids—which doesn’t sit well with any of them.
A fight breaks out. In the chaos, the portal spell malfunctions. All six students are snatched from the safety of the school’s campus and set down in the middle of nowhere. And one of them is dead on arrival.
Ivy Cameo Johnson, an oil baroness from Houston, has wealth that draws men like flies to honey, yet she also possesses intelligence and an awkwardness that runs them off.
John William Dalhart, a Texas oil baron himself, out to prove his father and new business partner both wrong, was also born into wealth. There’s been no end to the women interested in him, but is it for what he has rather than who he is?
Neither has met nor knows about the other. Until fate, and their meddling fathers, intervene. Ivy makes a bet with her friend that she most certainly can work in a menial, minimum wage job for a month. Meanwhile, Will picks up the challenge thrown out by his father and Red Marshall daring him to live in a small town and get a woman to say she’d marry him while knowing nothing about his wealth.
… See the rest of today ‘s Book Picks here on page 2Page 2