Danielle Collins and Susan Harper
FREE
Cozy Animal Mystery
There’s nothing like the peaceful rocking of a houseboat to help you relax. And nothing ruins that faster than a knife in the back. 🚤 Regina Slim—Reggie to her friends—has just inherited a unique marina where dogs and their people enjoy houseboat living. She’s hoping for a peaceful new chapter. She gets a bloody murder instead.
Worse, Reggie has blood on her hands—literally. She discovered the body, and now she’s got some explaining to do. 🐕 With the help of her sister (a cop, fortunately) and her fellow marina residents, Reggie must solve the mystery before the Gone to the Dogs Marina’s reputation is permanently stained red.
Collins and Harper deliver a cozy mystery with all the essential ingredients: a charming setting, an amateur sleuth in over her head, quirky neighbors with secrets, and plenty of four-legged friends adding chaos and comfort in equal measure. 🔍 The houseboat marina provides a fresh twist on the small-town cozy formula—everyone’s close, everyone’s watching, and everyone has a theory about whodunit.
The investigation unfolds at a satisfying clip, with enough red herrings to keep readers guessing and enough dog-related shenanigans to keep things light. 🦴 Reggie is a relatable protagonist—she didn’t ask for any of this, but she’s not about to let a murderer ruin her inheritance.
Here’s what you’re getting: a fun, fast-paced cozy mystery with interesting characters, troublesome pets, and unexpected twists. 🐾 First in the Dog Leg Cove series—perfect for animal lovers who like a side of murder with their waterfront living.
Clement Clarke Moore
FREE
Christmas Short Stories
This is the poem that invented Santa Claus as we know him. 🎅 Before Clement Clarke Moore’s 1823 masterpiece, Saint Nicholas was a historical figure and a scattered collection of European folk traditions. After it, he was a jolly man in a sleigh pulled by eight reindeer, descending chimneys on Christmas Eve to fill stockings by the fire.
Moore’s verses capture the anticipation of Christmas Eve like nothing else in the language—the house settled into silence, the children asleep, the sudden clatter on the roof that changes everything. 🦌 The rhythm is infectious, the images indelible: the miniature sleigh, the bundle of toys, the nose like a cherry, the bowl full of jelly. Two centuries later, families still read these words aloud on December 24th.
This edition presents the complete poem in a clean, beautifully formatted version perfect for reading aloud. ✨ The pacing is ideal for bedtime storytelling, with verses that build anticipation and a conclusion that sends everyone to sleep dreaming of sugarplums (whatever those are).
Moore wrote the poem for his children, never intending publication, and that intimacy shows. 🎄 This isn’t public spectacle—it’s a father creating magic for his family, and that warmth has radiated outward for two hundred years, making this the cornerstone of Christmas tradition it remains today.
Here’s what you’re getting: the most beloved holiday poem ever written, responsible for more of our Santa Claus imagery than any other single source. 🎁 An essential keepsake for family reading and a perfect gift for young children discovering the magic of Christmas Eve.
Amorette Anderson
FREE
Cozy Mystery
Male calico cats are like unicorns—almost impossible to find. Penny Banks happens to have one, and he’s just thrown up all over her. 🐱 Now she needs to track down Hillcrest’s wacky (and only) vet to figure out what’s wrong with him. Simple enough, except there’s also a killer to catch, ex-boyfriends to avoid, and witchcraft to learn.
Welcome to the life of a not-so-talented, single, messy, amateur witch PI. ☕ Penny is still figuring out her magical abilities, still figuring out her investigative skills, and still figuring out how to keep her beloved cat alive while juggling a murder case and a vampire suitor who won’t take the hint.
Anderson delivers a laugh-out-loud cozy mystery with paranormal elements that never overwhelm the humor. 🔮 Penny’s voice is self-deprecating and charming—she knows she’s in over her head, she knows her cat’s health shouldn’t be competing with a homicide investigation for her attention, and she’s definitely going to need more coffee to get through this.
The Hillcrest setting blends small-town cozy vibes with supernatural complications, and the supporting cast of magical misfits adds color without cluttering the mystery. 💜 The whodunit plays fair, the witchy details are fun, and Penny’s romantic complications add just enough spice.
Here’s what you’re getting: a clean, funny paranormal cozy featuring a hot mess of a witch PI, a mysteriously ill cat, and a murder that won’t solve itself. 🧹 Perfect for readers who like their mysteries light, their heroines relatable, and their coffee strong.
From Cradle to Grave (A Royal Spyness Mystery Book 19)
Rhys Bowen
NEW RELEASE
Amateur Sleuth Mysteries
Lady Georgiana Rannoch is adjusting to new motherhood—which would be challenging enough without also being 34th in line for the British throne and solving a string of suspicious deaths. 👶 Making matters worse, she absolutely despises the strict nanny foisted upon her by her meddlesome sister-in-law. Georgie needs a new childcare solution, and she needs it now.
In search of a replacement, Georgie travels to London to see her old friend ZouZou, only to find her about to leave for a funeral. A young man in her social circle has died unexpectedly. 💀 Sad, but these things happen—until another friend mentions he’s also just returned from burying a school friend who died in a boating accident. And then word arrives that the son of a family friend has also died tragically and suddenly.
Three deaths among young men in overlapping social circles can’t be coincidence. Yet the victims don’t seem to have any direct connection to one another. 🔍 ZouZou shares Georgie’s suspicions that something sinister is at work and begs her to investigate. But as Georgie delves deeper, a chilling pattern emerges—and her own husband Darcy fits the profile of the next victim perfectly.
Bowen, the queen of historical mystery, delivers another delightful installment in this beloved series. 🇬🇧 The 1930s setting sparkles with period detail, the supporting cast of aristocrats and eccentrics provides reliable comic relief, and Georgie remains a charming amateur sleuth—plucky, resourceful, and frequently in over her head.
Here’s what you’re getting: cozy mystery perfection with genuine stakes, as Georgie races to stop a killer before Darcy becomes the next target—all while interviewing nannies. 🎀 Longtime fans will be delighted; newcomers can jump in here, though you’ll want to go back and meet Georgie from the beginning.
Catherine Ryan Hyde
NEW RELEASE
Friendship Fiction
Addie Finch is tough on the outside—an army veteran, a former beat cop, now a security guard. But internally, she’s in crisis. 🛡️ At sixty-two, she’s lonely, introverted, struggling through AA, estranged from her son, and questioning her entire identity as a protector. She’s spent her life keeping people safe, but lately she’s not sure she has anything left to give.
Then she finds Jonathan. The homeless teenager has been abandoned by his mother and is holed up in a warehouse, vulnerable to the elements and to predators. 🌧️ Something about the boy’s gentle nature and surprising wisdom touches Addie. She offers him temporary shelter in her garden shed in exchange for maintaining her sprawling property. It’s an act of kindness that means the world to Jonathan—and unexpectedly becomes a lifeline for Addie as well.
Hyde excels at these unlikely connections between damaged people who heal each other. 💔 Addie and Jonathan are both processing past traumas—hers from decades of witnessing violence, his from abandonment and survival on the streets. As they forge a surrogate grandmother-grandson bond, they become each other’s chosen family, restoring trust neither thought possible.
The novel unfolds with Hyde’s characteristic warmth and emotional precision. She doesn’t shy away from the hard stuff—addiction, estrangement, the particular loneliness of aging—but she finds genuine hope without sentimentality. 🌱 Both characters are fully drawn, and their growing connection feels earned rather than convenient.
Here’s what you’re getting: a poignant story about redemption and chosen family from one of the most reliable voices in contemporary fiction. 💜 Hyde’s readers know what to expect—big-hearted storytelling with real emotional depth—and she delivers once again.
Lucy Darling
NEW RELEASE
Christmas Romance
Candy thought her best friend was protecting her, but he was the one pulling the rug out from under her all along. 🎄 Trapped in a game of revenge between powerful families, she agreed to be a surrogate—only to discover that the baby she’s carrying is biologically hers and belongs to a man she’s never met. She does the only thing she can think of: she runs straight to the stranger who’s now her baby daddy. Little does he know what’s coming.
Hollis left city life behind after an accident and never expected the small town of New Hope to thaw his grumpy heart. ❄️ The town has a mind of its own—and possibly some Christmas magic—because when he growled and pushed people away, they made him mayor. Now his mother is insisting he throw a holiday party for the whole town and has arranged for a party planner who’s clearly meant to be a romantic setup.
Hollis comes prepared with a plan: he tells everyone he’s engaged to his assistant. That should stop the matchmaking. 💍 But New Hope gets what New Hope wants. When the sweetest Christmas treat of a woman shows up on his doorstep, it’s already too late—she thinks he’s engaged, and he thinks she’s the party planner carrying another man’s baby.
Darling delivers the holiday-themed romantic comedy chaos her readers love: forced proximity, secret baby, fake engagement, grumpy-sunshine dynamics, and a meddling small town determined to create happily-ever-afters. 🎁 The misunderstandings pile up deliciously, and the steam is guaranteed.
Here’s what you’re getting: a fun, festive romp with all the tropes stacked high and a guaranteed heartwarming resolution. 🦌 First in the New Hope series—expect the whole town to get their happy endings before the season’s over.