What happens when you meet your perfect match at the wrong time, in the wrong place? Leana Mackenzie is craving something more at twenty-two. She’s ready to trade the peaceful rhythm of her life on the Isle of Skye—the quiet mornings, the familiar faces, the predictable routines—for the pulse of the big city where anything seems possible. With her heart full of dreams about who she might become, she leaves the comfort of her close-knit family and her quiet village to dive headfirst into the vibrant bustle of Edinburgh. 🏴
Enter Alasdair: a talented singer-songwriter with a voice as captivating as his smile and dreams as big as hers. Their chemistry is undeniable from the first meeting, and soon Leana finds herself swept up in a whirlwind romance that feels like everything she left home to find. Life with Alasdair feels like the adventure she’s always dreamed of—until the shine of city life begins to dull, the crowds feel suffocating instead of exciting, and the yearning for home tugs at her soul in ways she can’t ignore. 💕
But just as Leana starts to question where she truly belongs, Alasdair is offered the break of a lifetime that will take him far from Scotland. Now Leana faces an impossible choice: follow the man she loves into the world of fame and fortune where she’ll always be an outsider, or return to the quiet, predictable life she thought she’d left behind. Hannah Ellis launches Loch Lannick with small town romance about finding yourself. 🌊
What makes this essential: A small town romance launching Loch Lannick where twenty-two-year-old Leana Mackenzie leaves her peaceful Isle of Skye life for Edinburgh’s pulse, meeting talented singer-songwriter Alasdair with captivating voice and undeniable chemistry, swept into whirlwind romance that feels like the adventure she dreamed of until city life’s shine dulls and home tugs at her soul—just as she questions where she belongs, Alasdair gets the break of a lifetime, forcing her to choose between following him into fame and fortune or returning to the quiet, predictable life she thought she’d left behind.
An ancient predator has been reborn in the caves beneath Crater Lake and it’s hungry for human flesh. Ex-cop Henry Shore has been Chief Park Ranger at Crater Lake National Park for eight years and he likes his park and his life the way it’s been: safe, tranquil, predictable, free from the violence he left behind in law enforcement. But he’s about to be tested in ways he never imagined. First the earthquakes begin shaking the ground beneath the pristine lake, then people begin to go missing from campgrounds and hiking trails without any logical explanation. 🦕
Then there’s some mysterious water creature that’s taken up residence in the caves below Crater Lake and it’s not only growing in size with each passing day, it’s aggressive, cunning, and very hungry. And it’s decided it likes human beings—to eat, not befriend. And it can come up onto land, making nowhere safe. So Henry, with the help of his wife Ann who refuses to leave his side, a young paleontologist named Justin who has theories about what they’re facing, and a band of brave men willing to risk their lives, must not only protect his park and his people from the monster but somehow find where it lives in the vast cave system and destroy it before it can kill again. Kathryn Meyer Griffith delivers science fiction adventure about prehistoric predators in modern parks. 🏞️
What makes this essential: Science fiction adventure where ex-cop Henry Shore has been Chief Park Ranger at Crater Lake National Park for eight years, liking his park and life safe, tranquil, and predictable—until earthquakes begin, people go missing, and a mysterious water creature takes up residence in caves below the lake, growing in size, aggressive and cunning, deciding it likes eating human beings and can come onto land, forcing Henry with wife Ann, young paleontologist Justin, and brave men to protect his people and find where it lives to destroy it before it kills again.
When the vicious fae king catches Tessa stealing his powerful gemstones that are the source of his magical power, he demands a cruel punishment. She must leave her family and friends behind and become his future human bride in a political arrangement designed to humiliate her. Tessa has never stepped foot inside the glittering fae city until now—no mortal is allowed past the enchanted walls that separate the realms. There, things are far more monstrous than she ever dreamed in her sheltered human existence. King Oberon humiliates her publicly, terrorizes her privately, and threatens those she loves to keep her obedient. 👑
But when she escapes his palace using magic she didn’t know she possessed, someone far worse finds her in the wilderness. The lethal Mist King, the enemy fae who trapped her people beneath the reign of King Oberon in the first place through ancient curses. The one who destroyed human cities centuries ago and watched them burn without mercy. He takes her captive and then offers her a deal that changes everything. Become the first mortal to kill a fae king, and he will free her people from their subjugation. 🗡️
But the mists beyond the kingdom walls are dangerous, ruthless, and mesmerizing in ways that make her question everything, and so is he with his silver eyes and deadly grace. As Tessa fights her growing desire for the enemy who should terrify her, she must make a choice. Her dagger can kill only one fae. Which king will it be? Jenna Wolfhart launches The Mist King with romantasy about choosing between tyrants. 🌫️
What makes this essential: A romantasy launching The Mist King where vicious fae king catches Tessa stealing his powerful gemstones, demanding cruel punishment—become his future human bride, leaving family behind for the glittering fae city where no mortal is allowed, discovering King Oberon humiliates, terrorizes, and threatens those she loves—but when she escapes, the lethal Mist King who trapped her people beneath Oberon’s reign finds her, offering a deal to become the first mortal to kill a fae king and free her people, except the mists and he are mesmerizing as she fights growing desire, her dagger able to kill only one fae king.
Battle of Surigao Strait (Twentieth-Century Battles)
Surigao Strait in the Philippine Islands was the scene of a major battleship duel during the Battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944, representing one of the last times these massive warships would face each other in direct combat. Because the battle was fought at night under conditions of limited visibility and confusion, and had few survivors on the Japanese side to provide testimony about what actually happened, the events of that naval engagement have been passed down in garbled accounts that often contradict each other and leave crucial questions unanswered about tactics, decisions, and outcomes. 🚢
Anthony P. Tully pulls together all of the existing documentary material from both American and Japanese archives, including newly discovered accounts that have never been published before, survivor testimonies that challenge the official narrative, and a careful analysis of US Navy action reports that reveals discrepancies in the received version of events. His meticulous research creates a new and more detailed description of the action that corrects decades of misconceptions. In several respects including the sequence of events, the effectiveness of different weapons systems, and the actual cause of Japanese ship losses, Tully’s narrative differs radically from the received versions and represents an important historical corrective to the standard accounts found in most naval history books. ⚓
Also included in the book are a number of previously unpublished photographs from private collections and official archives, plus detailed charts that bring a fresh perspective to the battle by showing exactly where ships were positioned during crucial moments. Tully’s work demonstrates how careful archival research and cross-referencing of sources from both sides can overturn long-accepted interpretations of historical events, revealing that what “everyone knows” about Surigao Strait may not be what actually happened that night in 1944. Naval military history for readers who want the truth behind the legend. 🌊
What makes this essential: Naval military history where Surigao Strait in the Philippine Islands was the scene of a major battleship duel during the Battle of Leyte Gulf—because the night battle had few Japanese survivors, events have been passed down in garbled accounts, until Anthony P. Tully pulls together all existing documentary material including newly discovered accounts and careful analysis of US Navy action reports, creating a new detailed description that differs radically from received versions in several respects, representing an important historical corrective with previously unpublished photographs and charts bringing fresh perspective to what actually happened.
Gayle Merrill knew things would change when she finally worked up the guts to leave her loveless marriage after more than twenty-five years of pretending everything was fine. What she hadn’t counted on was her lazy, cheating, soon-to-be ex all but stealing the business she’d nurtured from the ground up into a successful eatery and bar—using legal technicalities and connections she didn’t have to claim what was rightfully hers through decades of sweat equity. At first she feels adrift without the business that defined her identity and the marriage that consumed her adult life, but she quickly realizes that if she did it once, she can do it again with even better results! 💪
All she needs to do is throw herself into the work 110% like she always has, using the skills and experience nobody can take away from her to build something new from scratch. When a handsome, slow-talking mountain man comes into the picture though—someone who sees her as a woman rather than just a business owner or an ex-wife—she’ll have to decide whether the job is enough to fill the empty spaces in her life, or if she can make some room for a little love alongside her ambitions. 💕
There have been some major changes for Jack Merrill too, most of them forced by circumstances he can’t control. The best one of all? He’s earned a second chance with his ex Corinne through patience and proving he’s changed. But he still needs to mend some fences with people he hurt during his worst years. Will he be able to convince his estranged son Wyatt that he’s a different man than he used to be—that sobriety and therapy and genuine effort have transformed him—or is it all too little, too late for a relationship damaged by years of neglect and broken promises? Christine Gael delivers women’s friendship fiction about fresh starts, second chances, and whether it’s ever too late to become the person you should have been all along. 🌸
What makes this essential: Women’s friendship fiction where Gayle Merrill leaves her loveless marriage after twenty-five years, only discovering her lazy, cheating soon-to-be ex all but steals the business she nurtured from the ground up—at first adrift, she quickly realizes if she did it once she can do it again, throwing herself 110% into the work until a handsome, slow-talking mountain man forces her to decide if the job is enough or if she can make room for love, while Jack Merrill earns a second chance with ex Corinne but must convince estranged son Wyatt he’s different now or face too little, too late.
The Hangman rides into Rociada to do another job, his reputation preceding him across the New Mexico Territory. And no name in Elijah Creed’s ledger has ever escaped his rope—not outlaws, not gunfighters, not even men with powerful friends who thought money or connections could save them from justice. But the man riding by Creed’s side this time has come to Rociada to do a job of his own that has nothing to do with legal executions and everything to do with personal vengeance that’s been simmering for years. 🤠
It’s a gallop through the New Mexico Territory as the hangman turns posse, pursuing the Hodge brothers who’ve been terrorizing towns and leaving bodies in their wake. And nobody’s safe until justice is carried out—whether that justice comes from the end of Creed’s rope or from the gun of the man riding beside him who has his own reasons for wanting the Hodges dead. ⚖️
If you love gritty westerns where you can feel the trail dust in your teeth and smell the gun powder burning your nose, then grab your Colt and your fastest saddle horse and join the posse as they ride hard across the harsh New Mexico landscape. Check that you’ve got six beans in the can (a full cylinder of ammunition) before you start this journey. And just be sure you stay on this side of the law so that you don’t find your name written in the Hangman’s ledger, because once Elijah Creed writes it down, there’s only one way your story ends. Robert Peecher launches The Hangman’s Ledger Series with western frontier adventure about justice, vengeance, and the thin line between them. 🔫
What makes this essential: A western frontier adventure launching The Hangman’s Ledger Series where the Hangman rides into Rociada for another job—no name in Elijah Creed’s ledger has ever escaped his rope—but the man riding by Creed’s side has come to do a job of his own with personal vengeance, gallopping through New Mexico Territory as the hangman turns posse pursuing the terrorizing Hodge brothers, and nobody’s safe until justice is carried out through Creed’s rope or his companion’s gun, in gritty westerns where you can feel trail dust in your teeth and smell gun powder burning your nose.
… See the rest of today ‘s Book Picks here on page 3Page 3