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Rowan Gray is a former photojournalist starting a new life on The Bounding Storm, one of the Atlantic Ocean’s most decadent cruise ships. She’s friendly and excited for her new career, but she’s also hiding a secret that could unravel everything she’s trying to build. When a young woman goes missing, head of security Quinn Davenport—a former military man who expected drinking infractions and the occasional pickpocket—becomes suspicious of Rowan’s intense interest in the case. 🚢
For her part, the worried photographer is desperate to find the missing girl and keep her secret safe from Quinn’s pointed questions. The problem is that they’re madly attracted to one another, although neither wants to admit it, and they can’t quite manage to stay away from each other. Quinn left a career in the military to become head of security expecting routine problems, but what he gets is so much more complicated. 💔
Quinn and Rowan find themselves in an unusual situation with a missing girl, suspects they can’t pin down, and a group of friends acting out of sorts. When a second girl appears to be in imminent peril, Quinn isn’t sure how to handle the situation but he’s determined to help—and Rowan refuses to let him do it alone. Between investigating disappearances, protecting their secrets, and fighting their undeniable chemistry, they’re navigating dangerous waters in more ways than one. 🔍
What makes this intriguing: Former photojournalist with secrets starting over on luxury cruise ship, ex-military head of security suspicious of her motives, young women disappearing on the high seas, undeniable attraction complicating the investigation, and cozy mystery with romantic tension on the Atlantic.
Never let your past define your future. Single mom Haley Dunn is ready for a new start for herself and her four-year-old son Noah. When she loses not only her job and home but the man who she thought cared about her, she decides to leave her Michigan hometown and head to the west coast. Why not get as far away from her past as possible? What she doesn’t plan for is getting stranded in a small Montana town in a snowstorm. ❄️
Cowboy Ryder Brookes has been on his own since he left his family’s horse ranch near Pine Meadows, Montana eleven years ago. He hasn’t intended to ever go back, but when his widowed mom falls and needs help, his sister talks him into coming home—just until he can hire someone. He’s not planning to stay, and he’s definitely not planning on complications. 🐴
When fate lands both of them at the same place at the same time, can they help each other stop running from the past and learn to believe in true love? With a little help from Noah, a few horses, and one adorable kitten, they just might find a forever home and their happily ever after. Sometimes the detour you didn’t plan becomes the destination you needed all along. 💕
What makes this heartwarming: Single mom stranded in Montana snowstorm fleeing her past, reluctant cowboy returning home to help injured mother, four-year-old boy and adorable kitten playing matchmaker, horse ranch setting, and two wounded souls learning that home isn’t a place—it’s the people who heal you.
He was never meant to want her. He was only meant to end her. Dagan Krayl is a soul-reaper—demigod, enforcer, and harvester of the dead—born of the Underworld and bound to its laws. Roxy Tam is mortal, a sworn protector of innocent lives, determined to destroy everything Dagan represents. They should be enemies. They should never have met. But when Dagan’s brother is murdered and his corpse stolen, everything changes. 💀
The ritual to resurrect Dagan’s brother threatens to tear down the boundary between gods and mortals. If it succeeds, ancient powers will rise and the fragile peace between realms will shatter. Roxy’s mission is simple: stop the resurrection, prevent the chaos, preserve human lives—even if it means destroying Dagan. But when their paths collide, something unexpected catches fire. ⚔️
In the crucible of betrayal, violence, and supernatural danger, Roxy and Dagan discover they’re the only ones who can unravel the mystery—and maybe survive it. Forced to trust each other despite being natural enemies, forced to choose between duty and desire, they navigate a world where gods walk among mortals and the stakes couldn’t be higher. The Underworld has its rules, but desire has its own laws. 🔥
What makes this explosive: Soul-reaper demigod meets mortal sworn to destroy him, murdered brother’s corpse stolen for resurrection ritual, ancient powers threatening to shatter peace between realms, enemies forced to work together, and forbidden romance in a mythic underworld setting where duty battles desire.
Starting over in New Orleans, I’m torn between two men: my general contractor and the charming ghost of a 19th century policeman who’s haunting my house. After my divorce, I was ready for a fresh start. Inheriting my great-aunt Myra’s historic New Orleans mansion seemed like the perfect opportunity—until my renovation revealed hidden newspaper clippings and unleashed something way more dangerous than leaky pipes. 🏚️
At night, mysterious footsteps echo through my empty hallways, curtains rustle without any wind, and I could swear someone keeps whispering sweet nothings into my ears. And in my dreams? Yeah, that’s a whole other story. Once I drift off to dreamland, I’m visited by the incomparably handsome spirit of Drake Montague, the ghost of a 19th century police officer. His presence is intoxicating, his touch feels real, and our connection deepens with each passing night. 👻
If that weren’t enough to throw my life into a confusing tailspin, there’s my uber sexy neighbor and general contractor Ryan Kelly, who’s as hot as he is alive. Between the living man who makes my heart race during the day and the dead one who visits my dreams at night, I’m navigating the most complicated love triangle imaginable. Add in the mystery of what those newspaper clippings revealed and what really happened to Drake Montague, and my fresh start is turning into supernatural chaos. 💕
What makes this enchanting: Divorced woman starting over in historic New Orleans mansion, love triangle between living contractor and charming 19th century ghost, mysterious newspaper clippings unleashing supernatural forces, dream visits from irresistible spirit, and midlife paranormal romance mixing renovation chaos with ghostly intrigue.
Dear Diary, leukemia’s been my life since I was eleven. Now, six years later, I want my life back—only I’m not sure what that is. The test results came back today: 22,000. Which means I’m officially out of remission—again. I have three options: another round of chemo, a super-new experimental drug, or dump it all—forget the meds and treatments and enjoy the time I have left. I think I know what I want. Then, in walks Damian, changing everything. 💔
He’s got his own set of issues. It binds us together, you know? We understand what it’s like to lose what matters most in seconds. Still, the last thing I need is to have someone else to crush if I can’t fight hard enough. And the last thing he needs is someone else to grieve. Never mind. I’m down to two options now. The sand in my hourglass is seeping to the bottom faster than I want to admit. 💕
Somehow I know that whichever option I choose, the result will be the same. With limited time remaining, I hope there’s enough left to show Damian that life’s worth living, worth fighting for, worth dying for. Between hospital visits, treatment decisions, and falling for someone who makes me want to fight harder, I’m learning that sometimes love is the best medicine—and the cruelest reminder of what I stand to lose. Love Always, Kate. 🌟
What makes this powerful: Seventeen-year-old cancer patient out of remission facing impossible choices, told through diary entries with raw honesty, boy with his own tragic losses who understands her pain, romance blooming while time runs out, and heartbreaking question of whether to fight or surrender when every day is precious.
Antony and Cleopatra
Preeminent historian Adrian Goldsworthy goes beyond the romantic narratives of Shakespeare and Hollywood to create a nuanced and historically accurate portrayal of history’s most iconic lovers. Set against the political upheaval of their time, he presents two lives lived at the center of profound social change—a narrative crossing cultures and boundaries from ancient Greece and Egypt to the Roman Empire. This is love, politics, and ambition on an epic scale. 👑
Drawing on his prodigious knowledge of the ancient world, especially the period’s military and political history, Goldsworthy creates a singular portrait of two legendary figures who were, in his words, “first and foremost political animals.” With close analysis of ancient sources and archaeological evidence, he explains why Cleopatra was often portrayed as Egyptian despite being Greek, and argues that Antony had far less military experience than popular legend suggests. At the same time, Goldsworthy makes a persuasive case that Antony was a powerful Roman senator and political force in his own right. ⚔️
This compelling reassessment of a major episode in ancient history strips away centuries of myth to reveal the real people behind the legend. From Cleopatra’s calculated political maneuvering to Antony’s struggles between duty and desire, Goldsworthy delivers a story of ambition, passion, and the collision of empires that shaped the ancient world. The result is both scholarly and utterly engrossing—history as it actually happened. 🏛️
What makes this definitive: From a preeminent ancient world historian, historically accurate portrayal beyond Hollywood myths, analysis of ancient sources and archaeological evidence, and the true story of two political powerhouses whose romance changed history.
After four years stuck in a soulless job on the West Coast, journalist Annie Baker can’t wait to return to Cape Cod and surprise her father with the reason for her visit—she’s coming back to cover her family newspaper’s one-hundredth anniversary. But when she arrives in Harmony Cove, the surprise is on her. Someone has already beaten her to the story, and that someone is sitting at her old desk. 📰
Finding Sean Morrison—the man who left her for a bigger career six years ago—is only the first shock upon Annie’s return. When she learns that her tight-knit family has unraveled in her absence, she’s determined to piece her broken home back together, along with her heart. Sean walked away from the life he loved years ago, but now he’s faced with the possibility of a second chance—if he’s willing to take it. The problem is that staying in Harmony Cove could cost him the one thing that matters more than anything: Annie. 💔
As they work together to honor her family’s century-old legacy, Annie and Sean must navigate the hurt of the past while rediscovering what drew them together in the first place. Between covering local stories, family drama, and undeniable chemistry that never quite faded, they’re forced to decide how they can hold on to the newspaper—and each other—while redefining the true meaning of home and their place in it. 🏖️
What makes this heartwarming: Second-chance Cape Cod romance, journalist returning to save family newspaper, working alongside the ex who broke her heart, tight-knit small town setting, and the question of whether home is a place or the person you’re with.
A Confederate veteran seeks peace in the frozen western mountains, wanting only to leave alone and be left alone in the years after the war. In a remote gold camp far from civilization, he doesn’t expect to fall in love with the beautiful daughter of an immigrant. But he’ll soon learn that he cannot flee far enough to escape man’s inhumanity when a gang of vigilantes—for whom the guns of war still thunder—turn up in camp asking for him by name. 🏔️
The 78th novel from Western word slinger Robert Peecher is equal parts tale of vengeance and love story, following broken men surviving through those years after the American Civil War when for those who went through it, the whole world seemed broken. It’s gritty Westerns set in frozen mountains, tales of hard-scrabble men who tote Colt six-shooters on their hips and understand more about right and wrong than the folks who make laws. 🔫
This is the kind of practical love that binds two people for a lifetime, tested by violence, vigilante justice, and the ghosts of war that refuse to stay buried. Saddle up your most sure-footed horse and ride along with Staker Barrett and Hank Grover as they negotiate the rocky slopes and outlaw gangs in Wyoming Territory in the 1860s, where survival depends on quick draws and quicker thinking. ❄️
What makes this authentic: Robert Peecher’s 78th Western delivers gritty frontier realism, Confederate veteran seeking peace in gold camp, forbidden romance with immigrant’s daughter, vigilante gang bringing war’s violence west, and frozen mountain setting where survival itself is the ultimate test.
In a matter of weeks, Massachusetts has been overrun by an insidious rabies-like virus spread by saliva with a terrifyingly short incubation period of an hour or less. Those infected quickly lose their minds and are driven to bite and infect as many others as they can before they inevitably succumb. Hospitals are inundated, hysteria has taken hold, and the commonwealth is under quarantine and curfew. Society is breaking down and the government’s emergency protocols are faltering. ⏰
Dr. Ramola “Rams” Sherman, a soft-spoken pediatrician in her mid-thirties, receives a frantic phone call from her friend Natalie, who is eight months pregnant. Natalie’s husband has been killed—viciously attacked by an infected neighbor—and in a failed attempt to save him, Natalie was bitten too. Her only chance of survival is to get to a hospital as quickly as possible to receive a rabies vaccine. The clock is ticking for her and her unborn child. 🏥
Natalie’s fight for life becomes a desperate odyssey as she and Rams make their way through a hostile landscape filled with dangers beyond their worst nightmares. Terrifying, strange, and sometimes deadly challenges push them to the brink as they navigate a world descending into madness. With every passing minute bringing Natalie closer to infection, their journey becomes a race against time itself—through checkpoints, panicked mobs, and the infected who want nothing more than to spread the disease. 🦠
What makes this terrifying: Rabies-like virus with one-hour incubation period, pregnant woman bitten racing to hospital, desperate odyssey through quarantined Massachusetts, society collapsing in real-time, and Paul Tremblay’s masterful suspense as two friends fight for survival against an impossible deadline.
The perfect family? Or the perfect lie? It’s their daughter’s graduation and Rachel and Ed Hartley are expecting it to be one of their family’s happiest days. But when Gemma stumbles and falls on stage during the ceremony, a beautiful moment turns to chaos: she’s been shot, and just like that, she’s fighting for her life. What should have been a celebration becomes a nightmare as their daughter lies bleeding. 🎓
PI Matthew Hill is one of the first on the scene. A cryptic message Gemma received earlier in the day suggests someone close to her was about to be exposed—but who? As Matthew starts to investigate, he finds more and more layers obscuring the truth. He even begins to suspect the Hartleys are hiding something big from him and from each other. The perfect family façade is cracking, revealing secrets that someone was willing to kill to protect. 🔍
While Gemma lies in a hospital coma, her would-be killer is still out there, potentially planning to finish the job. Matthew must unravel the family’s carefully guarded secrets before the attacker strikes again. Every member of the Hartley family becomes a suspect, every friend a potential enemy, as the investigation reveals that this picture-perfect family has been living a lie. The question becomes: which secret was worth attempted murder? 💔
What makes this explosive: Daughter shot at graduation ceremony, perfect family hiding dark secrets, PI uncovering layers of deception, victim in coma while killer still at large, and the chilling realization that the threat comes from within the family circle.
… See the rest of today ‘s Book Picks here on page 2Page 2