New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Cassia Leo tops today’s Buffet with Relentless, Book 1 of her “Shattered Hearts” contemporary romance series. Due to strong language, drug use, and sexual content, this book is not recommended for readers under the age of 18.
Cassia grew up in California and has lived in three different countries. She loves to travel and her dream is to one day score a record deal based on her shower singing skills.
Cassia loves her coffee, chocolate, and margaritas with salt. When she’s not writing, she spends way too much time watching old reruns of “Friends” and “Sex and the City.” When she’s not watching reruns, she’s usually enjoying the California sunshine or reading.
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Relentless (Shattered Hearts)
Romance > Contemporary
Author: Cassia Leo
“Sometimes letting someone go is the ultimate act of love.”
Claire Nixon is a college student with a past full of secrets and heartbreak. At seven years old, the death of her mother by drug overdose destroys her faith in humanity and herself as she is tossed from one foster home to another. Feeling unwanted and disposable, she fights to keep herself safe in the system. Until, at the age of fifteen, she is saved by her first love, and soon-to-be rock star, Chris Knight and his mother, who quickly becomes the mother she always wanted.
When Claire encourages Chris to leave town to pursue his dreams of musical stardom, both Claire and Chris don’t realize this will be the biggest mistake of their lives.
One year after Chris leaves on tour, Claire has carved out a new life for herself in a new city far away from the life she left behind with Chris. On a fateful morning, she meets sexy surfer Adam Parker.
To Claire, Adam is just another flirty customer at the cafe, until a chance encounter and seemingly innocent comment spurs a bet between them. The bet is simple: If Adam can get Claire to reveal the secret that made her drop out of college and leave her life behind, she has to re-enroll. If he doesn’t succeed, she gets to keep her secret and he has to stop stalking her at the cafe.
Claire thinks she has this one in the bag. She’s perfected the art of forgetting her past. But she isn’t prepared for Adam’s relentless pursuit or for him to share his own secrets. And she’s definitely not prepared for the love of her life, Chris Knight, and her secret, to come banging down her door one year later.
Against the Tide
Christian Fiction > Historical
Author: Elizabeth Camden
After a childhood rampant with uncertainty, Lydia Pallas has carved out a perfect life for herself. She spends her days within sight of the bustling Boston Harbor, where her skill with languages has landed her an enviable position as a translator for the U.S. Navy.
Lydia’s talents bring her to the attention of Alexander Banebridge, a mysterious man in need of a translator. Driven by a campaign to end the opium trade, Bane is coolly analytical and relentless in his quest. He cannot afford to fall for Lydia and must fight the bittersweet love growing between them.
When Bane’s enemies gain the upper hand, he is forced to turn to Lydia for help. Determined to prove her worth, Lydia soon discovers that carrying out Bane’s mission will test her wits and her courage to the very limits.
Too Close to Home (Women of Justice Book #1)
Mystery > Women Sleuths
Author: Lynette Eason
Samantha Cash is the FBI’s secret weapon. Her methods are invisible, and she never stops until the case is closed. When missing teens begin turning up dead in a small Southern town, Samantha is assigned to help local chief Connor Wolfe find the killer. And he has two problems with that. There’s her faith–in God and herself. And then there’s the fact that she looks exactly like his late wife.
As they get close to an answer, the case becomes personal. The killer seems to be taking an interest in Connor’s 16-year-old daughter, who thinks her dad is getting way too protective. Can’t a girl just have some fun?
To Love Anew (Sydney Cove Book #1)
Religious & Inspirational Fiction > Romance
Author: Bonnie Leon
Hannah Talbot has no one. Forced to leave the only home she’s ever known, she works for a cruel employer who brutally takes the one thing she has left–her dignity. When she is banished from London, she is certain God has turned his back on her.
John Bradshaw was a successful businessman whose untamed spirit sometimes wanted more. When he is betrayed by those closest to him, he loses everything–his wife, his business, even his freedom. John’s and Hannah’s paths are about to cross. Aboard a ghastly, nineteenth-century prison ship from London to Australia, John and Hannah must keep hope alive and trust God’s unconditional love.
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Christmas Pony, The
Historical Romance
Author: Melody Carlson
Eight-year-old Lucy Turnbull knew better than to wish for a pony that Christmas in 1937. Her mother had assured her in no uncertain terms that asking for a pony was the same as asking for the moon. Besides, the only extra mouths they needed at their boarding house were the paying kind. But when an interesting pair of strangers comes to town, Lucy starts to believe her Christmas wishes might just come true after all.
The queen of the Christmas novel, Melody Carlson pens another magical tale of expectation and excitement as one little girl dreams big and the impossible becomes possible.
Wood for Sheep: The Unauthorized Settlers Cookbook
Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Special Occasions
Author: Chris-Rachael Oseland
Real geeks don’t order pizza. It’s not that we don’t want to. It’s that we can’t. Get five geeks together and three of them will have some kind of dietary restrictions. That’s no reason to give up on dinner and boardgames with your friends.
In addition to hextastic homages to The Settlers of Catan, this cookbook includes over 100 recipes tailored to fit nearly any diet. There are over 80 recipes for vegetarians, more than 60 for people with Celiac disease or gluten intolerance, 50 for people with milk allergies or lactose intolerance, over 30 for vegans and nearly 30 for low carb primal dieters. If that’s not nerdy enough for you, nearly all the recipes are also both kosher and halal.
Get your friends together for a game night. No matter how weird they are, you really can have them all under one roof for one meal while you play one game.
The recipes are split into two sections. The first half of the book is loaded with full scale, highly configurable, edible Settlers of Catan maps designed for nearly any gaming situation. The second half pays homage to Building Cost cards with recipes chock full of sheep and grain plus creative interpretations of wood, brick, and ore.
Have your friends over for brunch with the home made Breakfast Taco or Waffle Bar maps, impress them on a picnic with the Settlers of the Cold Salad recipes, or even host a Settlers of Catan themed Thanksgiving dinner.
Inevitable (Harmony Book 1)
Genre Fiction > Coming of Age
Author: Angela Graham
After experiencing a humiliating breakup, twenty-two-year-old Cassandra Clarke is fresh out of college and living a simple solitary life without any intentions of pursuing love anytime soon.
When the estate next door sells, the last thing Cassandra expects is the unnerving attraction she feels for her sinfully handsome neighbor, Logan West, the young and charming single father with a playboy reputation.
It’s through Oliver, Logan’s four-year-old son, who keeps popping up in her childhood tree house, that she slowly begins to catch glimpses of the compassionate and wounded man Logan has hidden beneath his strong exterior.
Cassandra knows it’s wrong and that she’s heading for another heartbreak.
Heartless (Tales of Goldstone Wood Book #1)
Christian Fiction > Fantasy
Author: Anne Elisabeth Stengl
Princess Una of Parumvir has come of age and will soon be married. She dreams of a handsome and charming prince, but when the first suitor arrives, she finds him stodgy and boring. Prince Aethelbald from the mysterious land of Farthestshore has traveled far to prove his love–and also to bring hushed warnings of danger. A dragon is rumored to be approaching Parumvir.
Una, smitten instead with a more dashing prince, refuses Aethelbald’s offer–and ignores his warnings. Soon the Dragon King himself is in Parumvir, and Una, in giving her heart away unwisely, finds herself in grave danger. Only those courageous enough to risk everything have a hope of fighting off this advancing evil.
Prophet (Books of the Infinite Book #1)
Religious & Inspirational Fiction > Science Fiction & Fantasy
Author: R. J. Larson
Ela Roeh of Parne doesn’t understand why her beloved Creator, the Infinite, wants her to become His prophet. She’s undignified and bad-tempered, and at age seventeen she’s much too young. In addition, no prophet of Parne has ever been a girl. Worst of all, as Parne’s elders often warn, if she agrees to become the Infinite’s prophet, Ela knows she will die young.
Yet she can’t imagine living without Him. Determined to hear the Infinite’s voice, Ela accepts the sacred vinewood branch and is sent to bring the Infinite’s word to a nation torn apart by war. There she meets a young ambassador determined to bring his own justice for his oppressed people. As they form an unlikely partnership, Ela battles how to balance the leading of her heart with the leading of the Infinite.
My Reluctant Warden (Ward of the Vampire Serial)
Romance > Paranormal > Vampires
Author: Kallysten
When her boss brought her to the party of the season, Mr. Ward’s birthday bash, Angelina thought she had slipped on Cinderella’s shoes.
Now that she is compelled to remain in the mansion, trapped with a host who was only pleasant to her in a shared fantasy, the dream abruptly turns sour.
Under other circumstances, she might enjoy staying in an opulent guest suite, with a butler waiting on her every desire. But her cage, as gilded as it may be, remains a prison, and her host, even if he wishes she were gone, is still her warden.
As she struggles to get used to the situation, she can’t figure out what to think of Morgan Ward, a man who claims to be a vampire, who at times ignores her and at times shows himself unexpectedly thoughtful. A man she’s attracted to despite her better judgment.
However, an unexpected conversation with her boss may give her no choice but to get much closer to Morgan than she’s ready for…
Best Ever Christmas Dessert Recipes
Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Special Occasions
Author: Lori Burke
41 Delicious Christmas Recipes to make your Christmas Special.
In Best Ever Christmas Dessert Recipes, Lori Burke brings you a collection of both traditional and contemporary Christmas dessert recipes. These kitchen-tested recipes are delicious and easy to make.
There are recipes for Christmas cookies, cakes, pies, breads and desserts. There are also recipes for traditional Christmas drinks.
Included are classic, family Christmas dessert recipes like Christmas Sugar Cookies, Rum Balls, Holiday Thumbprint Cookies, Poinsettia Cookies, Amaretti ai Pignoli, Polish Kolaczki, Christmas Bread Pudding, Christmas Rum Cake, Gingerbread Cake, Homemade Pumpkin Pie and more.
The Fallen Angel: A Novel (Gabriel Allon)
Thrillers > Spy Stories & Tales of Intrigue
Author: Daniel Silva
Regularly $9.99, Today $2.99
Art restorer, assassin, spy—Gabriel Allon returns in The Fallen Angel, another blockbuster espionage thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Daniel Silva. The acclaimed author of Portrait of a Spy, Silva (“a world class practitioner of spy fiction” —Washington Post) is an undisputed master of the genre who has brought “new life to the international thriller” (Newsday).
A breathtaking adventure that races around the globe, The Fallen Angel begins in Rome, where Allon is called upon to investigate a murder at the Vatican, one with disastrous repercussions that could plunge the world into a conflict of apocalyptic proportions. If you haven’t yet been drawn into Daniel Silva’s thrilling universe of intrigue, danger, and exceptional spycraft, start here—and see why thePhiladelphia Inqurer declares that, “The enigmatic Gabriel Allon remains one of the most intriguing heroes of any thriller series.”
Die For Me: A Novel of the Valentine Killer
Romance > Mystery & Suspense
Author: Cynthia Eden
Regularly $9.99, Today $1.99
She thought her fiancé was the perfect man—until he turned out to be the perfect killer…
Katherine Cole is running for her life, desperate to escape the Valentine Killer—so-called because he stabs his victims through the heart and leaves them holding a telltale single red rose. Still he tracks her to New Orleans and begins carving a bloody path to her door. But this time, Katherine refuses to run any farther. This time, she’ll do anything to stop the madman she once loved, even trust the sexy cop promising to keep her safe…
Detective Dane Black never lets his emotions interfere with his job, even as the Valentine Killer surfaces in New Orleans to stalk his prey. But when Dane agrees to protect the killer’s ex-fiancée, Katherine Cole, he can’t ignore the passion kindling between them. After a single unforgettable night binds them body and soul, Dane knows he won’t rest until Katherine is safe in his arms—and the Valentine Killer is dead. Dark and intensely sexy, this romantic suspense novel from USA Todaybestselling author Cynthia Eden is sure to leave readers breathless.
Daddy’s Home
Mystery > Police Procedurals
Author: A. K. Alexander
Regularly $9.99, Today $1.99
They call him “the Family Man,” the cunning killer who preys upon single mothers and their innocent children, hunting for a family to call his own. But when they fail to meet his unyielding demands for perfection—and they always do—he kills.
Holly Jennings is the San Diego PD’s top crime scene investigator. She’s also a single mother struggling to raise her daughter alone and to dealing with her feelings for another man in the wake of her husband’s death. The Family Man case hits her hard—but even harder when her friend becomes his latest victim.
Determined to stop this psychopath once and for all, Holly delves deep into the investigation, combing through evidence for clues to his identity. But the closer she gets to the truth, the further she must venture down a dark path that could cost her everything: her family, her newfound love—even her life. AWall Street Journal bestseller, this edgy page-turner is guaranteed to keep readers riveted into the wee hours of the morning.
The Mighty Storm (The Storm Series)
Women’s Fiction > Romance
Author: Samantha Towle
Regularly $9.99, Today $0.99
Tru Bennett was just fourteen years old when her best friend and first love, Jake Wethers, moved from England to America and left her brokenhearted. Now twelve years later, Jake is the world’s biggest rock star, lead singer of The Mighty Storm and every woman’s bad-boy fantasy. Every woman, that is, except Tru.
A successful music journalist, Tru knows better than to mix business with pleasure. But then she receives the assignment of a lifetime: interview Jake before his band launches its highly anticipated world tour. Tru vows to keep the meeting strictly professional—but nothing can prepare her for the sparks that fly the moment their eyes meet again.
Now Jake wants Tru to join the band on tour, offering her a behind-the-scenes exclusive that any journalist would kill for. There’s just one problem: Tru’s boyfriend, Will. Can their relationship withstand Tru hitting the road with rock and roll’s most notorious womanizer? Or will she risk it all for a second chance with the one who got away?
Falling Kingdoms
Teen & Young Adult > Science Fiction & Fantasy
Author: Morgan Rhodes
Regularly $9.99, Today $2.99
In a land where magic has been forgotten but peace has reigned for centuries, a deadly unrest is simmering. Three kingdoms grapple for power—brutally transforming their subjects’ lives in the process. Amidst betrayals, bargains, and battles, four young people find their fates forever intertwined:
Cleo: A princess raised in luxury must embark on a rough and treacherous journey into enemy territory in search of a magic long thought extinct.
Jonas: Enraged at injustice, a rebel lashes out against the forces of oppression that have kept his country impoverished—and finds himself the leader of a people’s revolution centuries in the making.
Lucia: A girl adopted at birth into a royal family discovers the truth about her past—and the supernatural legacy she is destined to wield.
Magnus: Bred for aggression and trained to conquer, a firstborn son begins to realize that the heart can be more lethal than the sword. . . .
The only outcome that’s certain is that kingdoms will fall. Who will emerge triumphant when all they know has collapsed?
… See the rest of today’s Editor’s Picks here on page 2