In the far future, alien technology captured by the Union Earth Privateers has fueled Earth’s tenuous expansion from a single planet to a handful of systems across the Orion Spur. Victoria Marin, captain of the U.E. Condor, and her crew of Vultures have been running dry for months. In danger of losing her command and her credibility if she can’t locate fresh salvage, she locks onto the distress signal of an alien ship in hopes of valuable cargo. What she finds instead is First Prince Tavram, the heir apparent to one of the largest empires in known space. Tavram’s ship has been crippled after narrowly escaping an ambush and his would-be assassin is coming to finish the job. 🚀The Vultures launch a high risk mission to rescue the prince and recover every last scrap of xenotech they can before the hunter catches up to his prey. But there are more dangers than notorious interstellar assassins when it comes to ferrying an alien prince across the stars, and Victoria must contend with dangerous alliances, old grudges, and even her own government if she means to bring her crew home alive. Whether she succeeds or fails, the consequences of her choices will affect the path of all humanity. 😱
Why I’m including this: In the far future, alien technology captured by Union Earth Privateers has fueled Earth’s tenuous expansion across the Orion Spur. Victoria Marin, captain of the U.E. Condor, and her crew of Vultures have been running dry for months. In danger of losing her command if she can’t locate fresh salvage, she locks onto the distress signal of an alien ship. What she finds instead is First Prince Tavram, heir apparent to one of the largest empires in known space. Tavram’s would-be assassin is coming to finish the job.
NEVER take the short cut. Rika Martín wasn’t in Bolo, Texas, five minutes before she was run off the road, tripped over a dead body, then arrested for murder. And she’s not so sure about Nick, the lawyer who’s been assigned to her, even when he’s shirtless, wearing a cowboy hat, and holding an extra-long hose. (Okay, maybe then.) All Nick Owen can think about is getting out of Bolo, a hometown he never should have returned to. Until he goes to pick up his best friend Gabe—the local judge—for a round of golf and is forced to represent a murder suspect. Gabe, of all people, knows Nick has sworn off murder trials after what happened last time. Unfortunately, he also knows Nick is a damn good trial lawyer. Even worse, this “Paprika Anise Martín”—if you can believe that—seems more determined to solve the murder case than to defend herself against it in court. 😂With claims of devil worshipers in the area and at least one shooter determined to take Rika out, can Nick and Rika resolve this case before the murderer gets rid of her for good? Nina Cordoba delivers funny romantic mystery where never taking short cuts means being in Bolo Texas five minutes before run off road tripping over dead bodies then arrested for murder. 😱
Why I’m including this: NEVER take the short cut. Rika Martín wasn’t in Bolo, Texas, five minutes before she was run off the road, tripped over a dead body, then arrested for murder. And she’s not so sure about Nick, the lawyer who’s been assigned to her, even when he’s shirtless, wearing a cowboy hat, and holding an extra-long hose. All Nick can think about is getting out of Bolo, a hometown he never should have returned to. With claims of devil worshipers and at least one shooter determined to take Rika out, can they resolve this case before the murderer gets rid of her for good?
Maggie Lydon rides the bus to her cleaning job every day. It’s an ordinary existence until she notices him sitting just two rows behind her. She doesn’t know his name, nor anything about him. All she knows is that he watches her and it’s the most exciting part of her week. Shay Riordan notices her the very first time he takes the bus. She’s captivating, a beauty who moves through the world like no one else can see her, but she’s far from invisible to him. He wants to sit next to her, introduce himself, but it’s hard to do when you can’t speak. 🚌Then, late one Friday evening they both board the bus, and an unexpected occurrence plunges Maggie into Shay’s world, and Shay into Maggie’s. L.H. Cosway delivers contemporary romance where riding buses to cleaning jobs every day becomes ordinary existence until noticing him sitting two rows behind watching her creating most exciting part of week until unexpected occurrences plunge them into each other’s worlds. 💕
Why I’m including this: Maggie Lydon rides the bus to her cleaning job every day. It’s an ordinary existence until she notices him sitting just two rows behind her. She doesn’t know his name or anything about him. All she knows is that he watches her and it’s the most exciting part of her week. Shay Riordan notices her the very first time he takes the bus. She’s captivating, a beauty who moves through the world like no one else can see her, but she’s far from invisible to him. He wants to sit next to her, introduce himself, but it’s hard to do when you can’t speak.
Shadow Beasts (Shelving Magic Book 1)
Paige Turner has always been a bit of a disaster, but this time, she might have really outdone herself. When Paige’s bank account screams for help, she never imagined her next gig would be as Shadow Harbor’s newest (and possibly most accident-prone) librarian. But forget about organizing dusty old books—Paige is now in charge of shelving something a tad more explosive: magic. And not the fun, sparkly kind. We’re talking dark, dangerous, and likely-to-blow-up-in-your-face magic. 📚Her job? Keep the supernatural subworld from going berserk, all while fetching and filing magical artifacts from around the globe. No pressure, right? Except one tiny mistake could spell doom for the entire world. Or, you know, get her flattened by a rogue spell gone wrong. Teaming up with a teacup-sized dragon who’s heavy on the sass and light on the help, Paige stumbles—literally—through her new role. And when her first assignment turns into a chaotic math lesson involving way too many werewolves, she starts to wonder if the world can survive her as the new librarian. 🐉
Why I’m including this: Paige Turner has always been a bit of a disaster, but this time she might have outdone herself. When her bank account screams for help, she never imagined her next gig would be as Shadow Harbor’s newest (and possibly most accident-prone) librarian. But forget dusty old books—Paige is in charge of shelving magic. Dark, dangerous, likely-to-blow-up-in-your-face magic. Keep the supernatural subworld from going berserk while fetching magical artifacts from around the globe. One tiny mistake could spell doom for the entire world.
I don’t know what I’d expected to find. Pictures of her mother, maybe, or a locket. Instead, there was a letter. My breath came fast as I read the first few sentences. When Julie’s mother falls ill, she has no choice but to return to her parents’ Wisconsin resort, Wood Violet, for the summer. Away from the pressures of city life, Julie also hopes the trip will give her and husband Tristan the chance to heal after the heartbreak of another miscarriage. 💔Back home, surrounded by nature and old friends, Julie starts to feel a sense of calm she’d thought she’d lost forever. But her fragile peace is shattered when she stumbles upon an eighteen-year-old girl hiding out in an abandoned cabin. The girl, Margaret, seems lost in the world and Julie wants to help her. But when she finds the letters in her backpack, Julie realizes she isn’t telling the whole truth about why she’s here. And if Margaret finds what she’s looking for, it could expose a long-buried secret that could destroy Julie’s family’s reputation and tear all their lives apart. 😱
Why I’m including this: When Julie’s mother falls ill, she returns to her parents’ Wisconsin resort, Wood Violet, for the summer. Away from the pressures of city life, she hopes the trip will give her and husband Tristan the chance to heal after the heartbreak of another miscarriage. Back home, Julie starts to feel calm she’d thought she’d lost forever. But her fragile peace is shattered when she stumbles upon an eighteen-year-old girl hiding in an abandoned cabin. When she finds letters in the girl’s backpack, Julie realizes she isn’t telling the whole truth—and what she’s looking for could expose a long-buried secret.
Autumn Sanderson goes by Lark now. No one in her new life can know who she was. No one from her old life can know where she is now. Drowning in debt, Lark is desperate to land a job—any job. When she finds herself at an interview for a mysterious company offering her an exorbitant salary, she jumps at the chance. But things aren’t quite what they seem. 💼She soon learns of the company’s peculiar hiring process. Locked in a luxury cabin with five strangers who go only by their code names, Lark begins to question exactly what it is she signed up for. The company, riddled with secrets and led by a cryptic boss known only as Mr. X, has strange rules and even stranger challenges for their candidates. After each day’s competition, the candidates gather around the dinner table to eat, drink, and spill their darkest secrets. When Lark sees something she shouldn’t, she begins to ask questions, but soon gets a warning to stop. It’s obvious she’s in danger, but why? What does the company want? How much can she trust the others in the house? Trapped in the remote house with no technology allowed, Lark realizes she must take drastic measures to find out the truth. 😱
Why I’m including this: Autumn Sanderson goes by Lark now. No one in her new life can know who she was. No one from her old life can know where she is now. Drowning in debt, Lark is desperate when she finds herself at an interview for a mysterious company offering her an exorbitant salary. But she soon learns of the company’s peculiar hiring process. Locked in a luxury cabin with five strangers who go only by code names, Lark questions exactly what she signed up for. The company is riddled with secrets and led by a cryptic boss known only as Mr. X.
… See the rest of today ‘s Book Picks here on page 3Page 3