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Every Shade of Love (affiliate link)
TWO WEDDINGS, TWO PEOPLE FROM DIFFERENT WORLDS, ONE TRUE LOVE
It is the summer of 1987 in Dublin. Though they know they are not in love, friends Helena and Omar will be married within the year – Helena to her childhood sweetheart, Omar to the woman his Indian parents will choose for him.
Will they marry the wrong person and live the lives ordained for them, or will they face down the truth and the prejudice about their relationship, even as their families come to terms with the realities of half-lived lives?
Or will they choose love over loyalty and freedom over duty, upending their families’ world?
Island Refuge (Wildflower B&B Romance Book 1) (affiliate link)
Five-Star-Chef Zoe Griffin walked away from her dream job. Did she make a mistake?
Her engagement off, Zoe Griffin retreats to tiny Wildflower Island in the Puget Sound. Hiding out as a cook and maid at a shabby bed-and-breakfast seems crazy for a chef who’s used to running her own five-star kitchen. And just as she starts to feel at home, her klutzy mishaps make Zoe fear her handsome new boss will fire her.
Dr. Nick Jackson is done with medicine, and owning a B&B is as far from doctoring as he can get. He needs help, but his only employee’s mistakes give him doubts. As Zoe lets her defenses down, Nick begins to see a competent and caring woman. One whose wounds are as deep as his own. But as they fall for each other, Nick and Zoe must learn the hardest lesson of all—to forgive. Only then can they heal the past and embrace the future . . . together.
The Dragon Blood Collection, Books 1-3 (affiliate link)
A thousand years have passed since a dragon has been seen in the world. Science and technology have replaced magic, which has dwindled until it has become little more than an element of myth and legend.
There are those who still have dragon blood flowing through their veins, distant descendants of the mighty creatures of old. These rare humans have the power to cast magic, the power to heal, and the power to craft alchemical weapons capable of starting wars… or ending them. But they are feared for those powers, and in recent centuries, they have been hunted nearly to extinction.
The few remaining survivors must find a way to change how humanity perceives them or be lost to the world forever.
Murder by Moonlight (Felines of Fairytale Forest Book 1) (affiliate link)
When murder strikes at their amusement park, Cat and the Felines of Fairytale Forest must solve a roller coaster of a case!
At Fairytale Forest, a theme park in the South Carolina Lowcountry, the custodial staff and a clowder of feral cats keep things neat and tidy. Until something very messy happens—one of the custodial managers is found strangled to death.
Catherine Lyon is a night-shift custodian who finds herself topping the list of suspects. Sure, no one liked the victim—but someone really hated her enough to murder her in cold blood on the park’s main street? Cat certainly didn’t do it—and she wants to prove it by finding the real killer.
She’s shocked when Zoe, a member of the cat colony charged with eliminating vermin in the park, leads her to the dead body and the first clue. Can Cat, Zoe and the rest of the felines clean up the mess and solve the murder of the manipulative, mean-spirited manager?
Bells, Tails & Murder (Dickens & Christie Book 1) (affiliate link)
She crossed an ocean to start her life over. Can she nab a killer before her quaint village becomes a graveyard?
Recently widowed Leta Parker desperately needs a change of scenery. Pursuing her lifelong dream of retiring to the Cotswolds, she leaves her soulless corporate hustle in Atlanta and moves to England with her talking dog and cat companions—Dickens and Christie. But she’s barely begun making new friends when she stumbles across her housekeeper’s body …
With several villagers pegged for the crime, Leta teams up with a retired English teacher and her sharp-as-a-tack octogenarian mother to track the killer before the trail goes cold. As the not-so-friendly local policewoman elbows them out and scandalous rumors plague the tight-knit community, it’s left to the ladies and their pets to sleuth for the truth.
The Silent Touch of Shadows (Shadows from the Past Book 1) (affiliate link)
Lose yourself in the spellbinding tale of two women from the same family, separated by 600 years, but their fates no less intertwined.
A love that echoes through the ages . . .
After genealogist Melissa Grantham’s marriage falls apart, she escapes to her family’s ancestral home in Kent.
But from the moment she arrives at Ashleigh Manor, vivid dreams of a young couple in love from the fourteenth century haunt her.
Before she can dismiss them as nothing more than her imagination, Melissa meets a handsome stranger who lives in a nearby cottage. The same man from her dreams.
Melissa feels a burning attraction to Jake, but can she really trust her feelings, or are they merely caused by a love so strong it has echoed through generations . . .
Sweet Home Macrame: A Beginner’s Guide (affiliate link)
Top Etsy seller Casey Alberti is the founder of Sweet Home Alberti, a small business selling macrame items and knotting lessons. In this complete guide to working with macrame, Alberti shares her techniques and showcases her fresh, vibrant macrame art.
Learn about:
The supplies you’ll need for macrame, including cord and rope
How to make the most common knots, such as lark’s head, square, and gathering
Selecting a color palette
Personalizing your macrame pieces
And so much more
The 12 step-by-step projects show you how to make gorgeous items such as:
Plant hangers
Coasters
Wall hangings
A fruit basket
A disco ball hanger
Earrings
And more
A Long, Long Time Ago & Essentially True (affiliate link)
On the eve of World War II, in a small Polish village, a young man nicknamed the Pigeon falls in love with a girl fabled for her angelic looks. To build a place in Anielica’s heart, he transforms her family’s modest hut into a beautiful home. But war arrives, cutting short their courtship and sending the young lovers off to the promise of a fresh start in Krakow.
Nearly fifty years later, the couple’s granddaughter, Beata, repeats this journey, seeking a new life in the fairy-tale city of her grandmother’s stories. But instead of the rumored prosperity of the New Poland, she discovers a city full of frustrated youths, caught between its future and its past. Taken in by her tough-talking cousin, Irena, and her glamorous daughter, Magda, Beata struggles to find her own place in the world. But unexpected events—tragedies and miracles both—change lives and open eyes.
Drawing in Black & White: Creative Exercises, Art Techniques, and Explorations in Positive and Negative Design (affiliate link)
Working with only positive and negative lines and shapes keeps the focus on the basics: composition, balance, and harmony. And using white and black gel, ink, and paint pens on black, tan, and gray papers allows you to experience drawing in a whole new way! Drawing in Black & White is a clever drawing and design book that contains 36 inspiring exercises and a gallery of artwork. Follow the tips and draw on black, gray, and tan paper to learn how different colored papers can make simple images pop. You’ll find lessons on drawing, pattern drawing, drawing with cut paper, and simple collage. Learn to see your drawings a new way by drawing in black and white!
Temptation (affiliate link)
Kyla and Jefferson Blake count their 16 years together as a wonderful blessing from God. Their marriage is passionate, their daughter is a joy, Jefferson’s medial career is prospering and they have loyal friends.
Kyla knows her newly divorced and lifelong friend, Jasmine, is desperately unhappy and no amount of prayer or encouragement seems to help. But what Kyla doesn’t know is that Jasmine has a plan to move her life forward with the type of man she feels she should have married in the first place.
A man like Jefferson.
Alexis Ward, Kyla’s, best friend, is single and successful and willing to wait for the right man for all the right reasons. But, when “Mr. Right,” Dr. Brian Lewis, finally appears she finds herself facing a new challenge. Does she really have to walk away from what she believes in order to have a man in her life?
Own Your Money: Practical Strategies to Budget Better, Earn More, and Reach Your 6-Figure Savings Goals (affiliate link)
In Own Your Money, Michela shares all the tools you need to manage, save, invest, and set a routine to improve your financial life. You’ll find chapters for:
Budgeting: Don’t make it a dreaded B-word! Learn about various strategies including 50/30/20, zero-based, and 3-bucket budgets.
How to save: It’s all about being SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound).
How to spend money: That’s right, a plan for spending is important too! With a quick analysis of values and priorities, you can spend without feeling guilt—yes, even on fancy coffee.
Investing: Learn the difference between 401ks and IRAs, investment types from index funds to target date funds, and relate it all back to core concepts in investing (like diversification).
Jobs and careers: If your dream job doesn’t exist, join the club! Learn how to find satisfaction through the tasks you want to do, networking, and career pivots.
Increase your earning potential: Set yourself up for a raise/promotion, negotiate a job offer, and figure out if a side hustle is right for you.
Once and Again (Petal, Georgia Book 1) (affiliate link)
At twenty-eight, Lily Travis never imagined she’d be back living with her mom and dealing with her messed-up little brother. Yet that’s exactly where she finds herself, seven long years after she left Petal, Georgia—and the boy who broke her heart—in the dust. Her first order of business? Getting her ex to help turn her brother’s life around.
If he happens to notice just how much she hasn’t been missing him, all the better.
As a teacher, Nathan Murphy is used to dealing with the unexpected, but nothing prepares him for Lily—looking like a smokin’ hot vintage pinup come to life—strolling through his door and right back into his heart. He always regretted the way things ended between them; this could be his chance to make up for past mistakes.
Lily can’t resist Nathan’s Southern-honey charm, or the way he makes her melt when she’s in his arms. She fell for him once—falling for him again could destroy her. But it could also mean finding love in the last place she ever expected: home
… See the rest of today ‘s Book Picks here on page 2Page 2