Princess Ana has been a prisoner for years — kept alive by forbidden potions, hidden away while the kingdom of Trova rots under the rule of those who locked her away. She was never meant to survive, but she endured. She held on. She will not give up on Trova, not even in the dark of her cage. 👑
Then a fae prince with eyes like fire breaches her prison. He’s a spark in the void — sharp, intoxicating, impossible to resist. And then he leaves her for dead. But death never came. Escape did. 🔥
Zara Storm writes dark fantasy romance with genuine stakes and a heroine who has survived the unsurvivable. Now, with kingdoms clashing and ancient forces stirring, Ana is thrust into a world of ruthless courts, seductive bargains, and the dangerously magnetic prince who abandoned her once before. The question of whether she can trust him — or anyone — is the thing that might determine whether she reclaims her kingdom or loses everything again. ⚔️
What makes this irresistible: A princess imprisoned for years is freed by a fae prince who leaves her for dead — but she survives, and now she’s navigating ruthless courts and dangerous magic to reclaim the kingdom that abandoned her. Dark fantasy romance with a resilient heroine, a magnetic (and potentially treacherous) fae prince, and the kind of stakes that don’t allow for mistakes.
The Alien Adoption Agency promises Luna a hundred acres of land, a modest stipend, and the child she’ll raise on a frontier moon. What it doesn’t mention is the dangerous animals, the short lonely nights, or the big blue warrior who informs her he’s on permanent security duty for the baby. Luna didn’t count on any of that. 🌙
Aurora Day is on the run from a crime she didn’t mean to commit, hiding out on the remote moon of Clotho by adopting an alien baby. The intergalactic soldiers hunting the woman known as the Fox don’t care about details or intentions. What Aurora doesn’t expect is that a dragon warrior of the Invicta is part of the adoption package. 🐉
Tasha Black writes science fiction romance with warmth and genuine charm — the premise is delightfully bonkers, the worldbuilding is vivid, and the warriors assigned to protect these women (and their adopted babies) are exactly the kind of grumpy-protective heroes the genre does best. This collection gives excellent value for fans ready to commit to the series. 💫
What makes this special: Women seeking fresh starts on a frontier moon discover their alien baby adoptions come with protective warriors who aren’t leaving — science fiction romance with a wonderfully weird premise, big blue (and dragon) warriors, babies that need protecting, and the kind of found-family warmth that makes you want to move to a frontier moon yourself.
On the surface, Leighton is just another city — tall buildings, busy streets, populated by the usual variety of people going about their lives. It also has rats. These particular vermin are unlike the average pest because they’re carrying a deadly contagion that turns the infected into something considerably worse than sick. 🐀
Kristal Stittle writes outbreak horror with genuine urgency — the virus seeps into the unsuspecting population fast, turning friends and family against each other, and the atrocities of savage behavior spread faster than anyone can outrun. Desperation escalates recklessly. Some people join forces. Some stand alone. Everyone is focused on one thing: survival. 😱
The problem, as always with this kind of apocalyptic scenario, is that not everyone will escape with their life. Stittle doesn’t pull punches about who makes it and who doesn’t, which gives the book real stakes and keeps the tension relentlessly high throughout. 💀
Why this grips from page one: Rats carrying a deadly contagion turn the city of Leighton into a nightmare of infection and savage violence — science fiction horror with the kind of outbreak premise that moves fast, hits hard, and doesn’t promise that everyone you care about will survive. For fans of visceral, no-holds-barred apocalyptic fiction.
Witches With Benefits (Nightshade Detective Agency Book 1)
New Orleans is already a paranormal mecca — shifters, witches, the whole ecosystem — but even there, a vampire-witch hybrid is something people treat with a particular mix of reverence and wariness. Freya Holmes has never been interested in the opulent world her parents inhabit. She found her power in magic and put it to work founding the Nightshade Detective Agency. 🌙
Amanda M. Lee gives Freya a partner she absolutely did not ask for: Knox Cullen, a paranormal bounty hunter who clawed his way out of poverty on the poor side of New Orleans using his shifter genes, and who can take a punch and throw one. He is not remotely prepared for Freya. When a local mobster turns up dead and the culprit appears to be a supernatural assassin, both of them are on the case — with zero intention of cooperating. 🔍
Two hard heads, one murder, and a city full of paranormal complications. Lee writes cozy paranormal mystery with real wit and a gift for combustible partnerships. Strong series opener. 🐍
What makes this irresistible: A vampire-witch hybrid detective and a paranormal bounty hunter who can’t stand each other are both hunting the same supernatural assassin in New Orleans — new release paranormal cozy mystery with a crackling odd-couple dynamic, a richly drawn city setting, and a heroine who is genuinely unique even in a city full of supernatural residents.
On their anniversary, Eleanor Bradshaw’s husband tells her she’s become too boring and unadventurous for him and that he wants a divorce. Eleanor, in her mid-forties and suddenly untethered from the life she built, makes an impulsive decision: she buys an old house in a charming seaside town called Magnolia Shore and sets about renovating it into something that feels like hers. 🌊
Fiona Baker writes coastal women’s fiction with the kind of warmth that makes you want to move to wherever her characters are living, and Magnolia Shore is a beautifully realized setting — the kind of beachfront community where people show up for each other in ways the protagonist didn’t expect and doesn’t quite know how to accept yet. ☀️
The fresh start Eleanor is attempting turns out to be harder than the impulse that launched it, which is exactly as it should be. Baker doesn’t paper over the difficulty of rebuilding a life in your forties — she just makes it worth watching. 💛
What makes this special: A woman told she’s too boring for her husband of decades buys a house in a seaside town and starts over — new release coastal women’s fiction with a heroine reclaiming herself on her own terms, a charming community that becomes her anchor, and the quiet kind of romance that sneaks up on you.
What makes this irresistible: A Korean-American matchmaker who can find everyone’s soul mate but her own has a birthday fling with a younger man — and then discovers he works for the fated love she’s been searching for. Romantic comedy with a magical premise, real emotional stakes, and the kind of love triangle that doesn’t resolve the way you expect. A Read with Jenna pick.