The Baroness’ Choices of New Books Publishing This Week
2025, Week 20’s New Books
My choices for this week include Paranormal Mystery, Romantic Fantasy, Young Adult Romantic Comedy, Middle Grade Fantasy, Mystery, Young Adult Gothic Romance, Young Adult Adventure Romantic Mystery, Young Adult Romance, and Middle Grade Culinary Mystery.
How is everyone doing? Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms. I hope you all have the day that you want.
We have some fantastic books coming out this week. I do have a book from this list on my TBR.
Here are my choices for New Books Publishing Week 20 of 2025!
A Charming Touch of Tarot by Melissa Holtz
Gin and Tarot Club #2
Publication Date: May 13, 2025
Genre: Paranormal Mystery
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Four friends discover that their new magical skills may not be enough to save them from a stalker hell-bent on turning their lives upside down.
Alyssa, Nina, Lanie, and Corinne’s friendship is being put to the test. With Nina’s marriage falling apart, Lanie acting distant, Alyssa’s new romance, and no one quite trusting Corinne, this may be more than their bond can take. But when Nina appears at Alyssa’s door, and confesses not just a decades-old secret, but a newfound magical power, the friends know that the only way to face this is together.
Someone has been blackmailing Nina for years, but lately the threats to reveal her secret have changed to threats on her life, and on the lives of those she loves. With Alyssa contacting ghosts for insight and Nina getting used to her telepathy skills, they dash from city to city to track down the threat. There’s someone out there that will go to any lengths to keep their control over Nina, and it will take all four friends to get out of this without ruining, or losing, their lives. But with the strength of their friendship—and a little help from the beyond—these women are out to prove they’re not to be messed with.
A Simple Twist of Fate by April Asher
Publication Date: May 13, 2025
Genre: Romantic Fantasy
Goodreads | Bookhype | BookBub | StoryGraph | Amazon
A witch and a shifter get a second chance at love in this new paranormal romantic comedy from USA Today Bestselling author April Asher.
At the bright-eyed age of eighteen, witch Harlow “Harry” Pierce attended her first Fates Festival Finding Ceremony certain the Blue Willow Wisp would lead her to her Fated match, her cougar shifter boyfriend, Jaxon Atwood. But Fate had other plans, guiding her best friend to him instead. With a broken heart, all her belongings, and a vow to never return, Harry did the only thing a heartsick witch could do. Run.
Thirteen years later, she returns to her magical hometown―with her half-human, half-shifter goddaughter in tow―hoping that not only would the town work its magic on the troubled teenager, but that the local Alpha of the Rocky Mountain Pack could help Grace identify―and control―her fiery abilities.
Jaxon Atwood was a shifter of few words and even less patience… until his mother retired as Alpha of the Rocky Mountain Pack and left the running of things to him. It’s a headache he didn’t need, and one that brought the witch who’d ripped his heart from his chest knocking on his door.
Ever since the disappearance of the town’s Fate Witch over a decade ago, Fates Haven’s magic has been slowly going haywire. There hasn’t been a Fated Match made in thirteen years, putting the town in serious jeopardy of losing its title of Highest Fated Mates Percentage in the World. But now, something is stirring in Fates Haven, Colorado, and it smells like the past, tastes like change, and looks like A SIMPLE TWIST OF FATE.
Eliza, from Scratch by Sophia Lee
Publication Date: May 13, 2025
Genre: Young Adult Romantic Comedy
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Perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Rachel Lynn Solomon, this charming, poignant rom-com follows an academics-obsessed teen who learns big truths about love, family, and herself when a scheduling snafu lands her in a culinary arts class.
Eliza Park’s senior year will be perfect: She’s going to be salutatorian, give a tear-jerking graduation speech in front of her parents, and enjoy her last year with her equally ambitious best friends. But when a scheduling mishap enrolls her in Culinary Arts, Eliza is suddenly the most clueless person in the class. Her typical title of star student belongs to the aggravatingly arrogant Wesley Ruengsomboon, a charming Thai American boy whose talent in the kitchen leaves Eliza both awed and annoyed.
With her rank on the line, Eliza’s only hope is to snatch the midterm cooking contest win from Wesley, however improbable that may be. Add in the flavor of her grandmother’s Korean recipes, the heat of being class partners with Wesley, and the sweetness of unexpected feelings—and Eliza must now rebuild everything she knew about success, love, and what it means to be herself, from scratch.
Ista Flit and the Impossible Key by Clare Harlow
Tidemagic #2
Publication Date: May 13, 2025
Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy
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In book two of this middle-grade fantasy trilogy, Ista Flit — a daring heroine with the magical ability to look like anyone she’s ever seen — must help her father escape from an enchanted trap.
In her first adventure, Ista Flit and her friends saved the town of Shelwich from a monstrous foe—but her father is still missing.
She has a new clue though: a key, engraved with mysterious symbols, and a note saying “any door with a keyhole will do.”
This key transports Ista, Nat, and Ruby to Glass Island—where creatures Ista thought were mythical turn out to be very, very real. A sinister wraith haunts the reed-beds, and deviously seductive, fairy-like marsh spinners lure people in to dance at their revels—and never let them go.
Ista is sure her father must be trapped in the marsh spinner’s lair. She’s determined to devise a plan cunning enough to infiltrate the revels and rescue Pa.
When the tide is high and magic is at its peak, Ista and her friends will face off with the trickiest creatures imaginable. Can they win Ista’s father’s freedom? Or will the revels claim three new dancers forever…?
No One Was Supposed to Die at this Wedding by Catherine Mack
Vacation Mysteries #2
Publication Date: May 13, 2025
Genre: Mystery
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The second in a witty, USA Today bestselling series following author Eleanor Dash as she goes from wedding guest to murder mystery investigator at her best friend’s wedding on Catalina Island.
Attending your best friend’s wedding should be a piece of (wedding) cake, but not for Eleanor Dash, bestselling author of the Vacation Mysteries series. Because murder seems to follow her every time she goes on vacation and is definitely her uninvited plus-one to the special occasion.Emma Wood, Eleanor’s best friend since childhood, is starring in the movie adaptation of When in Rome, Eleanor’s first novel. Emma is also marrying Fred Winters, a major movie star and Emma’s co-star, who just happens to be playing Connor Smith, Eleanor’s ex and leading man of the series.
Filming wraps and they invite the whole cast and crew to their wedding at nearby Catalina Island. There may be a storm headed their way―because of course there is―but nothing will stop their nuptials . . . that is until Emma receives a note that says “Someone is going to die at the wedding.”
Eleanor is a professional at this point, and she’ll do everything she can to uncover the murderer so true love can prevail . . . before it’s too late for her and the rest of the storm-trapped wedding party.
Of Earthly Delights by Goldy Moldavsky
Publication Date: May 13, 2025
Genre: Young Adult Gothic Romance
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A contemporary YA gothic romance about a dark family secret, a lush, mysterious garden, and a love that never dies, from New York Times bestselling author Goldy Moldavsky.
Aspiring artist Rose Pauly is not happy moving from her home in New York City right before her senior year of high school. But on her first miserable day in Connecticut, she meets Hart Hargrove. The two share an immediate, undeniable connection.
Hart introduces Rose to his slice of paradise–the immense private garden nestled behind the Hargrove family mansion. There, the two spend a fever dream of a summer together. But as their bond blossoms into love, Rose can’t shake the feeling that all is not as it seems.
When Rose uncovers the truth about the garden, she’s forced to question how genuine her love story truly is. But Hart can’t bear to lose Rose, and he will stop at nothing to save their relationship.
Posing haunting questions about beauty and desire, this is an atmospheric and darkly romantic tale that will enthrall readers.
Out of Air by Rachel Reiss
Publication Date: May 13, 2025
Genre: Young Adult Adventure Romantic Mystery
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Wilder Girls meets Outer Banks where a group of scuba diving friends stumbles across lost treasure, a legendary cave, and a new type of power… that comes at a price.
The deeper you go, the darker you fall.
Phoebe “Phibs” Ray is never more at home than when she’s underwater. On a dive six months ago, she and her four closest friends discovered a handful of ancient gold coins, rocketing them into social media fame. Now, their final summer together after high school, they’re taking one last trip to a distant Australian island to do what they love most – scuba dive.
While diving a local reef, Phibs discovers a spectacular underwater sea cave, rumored to be a lost cave with a buried treasure. But when Phibs and her best friend Gabe surface from the cave, they notice that they’re undergoing strange changes. Oozing gashes that don’t heal. Haunting whispers in their heads… Something has latched onto them, lurking beneath their skin, transforming them from the inside out.
When treasure hunters arrive, desperate to find the location of the cave and hold Phibs’ group for ransom, she’ll do anything to keep her friends safe. In the process she learns that, of all the dreadful creatures of the sea, she might be the most terrifying of them all.
The Romance Rivalry by Susan Lee
Publication Date: May 13, 2025
Genre: Young Adult Romance
Goodreads | Bookhype | StoryGraph | Amazon | Karen’s Book Review
She’s read every romance…except her own…
Irene Park loves romance novels—so much so she’s made a career of them as an online book reviewer with a massive following. But Irene’s real life dating story? Non-existent. So when she starts her freshman year of college, she sets her sights on finding true love using the one thing she really understands…romance book tropes.
If only it were that easy.
Enter Aiden Jeon, Irene’s online book review rival and biggest nemesis. When Aiden challenges her to see who can find love-by-trope first, he becomes the one person standing in her way to getting everything she wants both professionally and personally, too. So when the competition takes an unexpected turn, forcing the two of them to have to partner in the ultimate trope, fake dating, Irene is not prepared for everything she believed about romance, and Aiden, to flip on its head.
As Irene tackles the challenges of college life, struggles to figure out what she really wants for herself, all while trying to win the race for love, Irene realizes the answers may not be found in a romance novel. Happily Ever Afters seem so easy on page. But for Irene to find her ultimate HEA, she’ll have to get her nose out of the book and become the main character of her own story.
Their Just Desserts by Tracy Badua and Alechia Dow
Cookie Crumbles #2
Publication Date: May 13, 2025
Genre: Middle Grade Culinary Mystery
Goodreads | Bookhype | BookBub | StoryGraph | Amazon
Perfect for fans of The Great British Baking Show and Clue, this enchanting and rollicking follow-up to The Cookie Crumbles follows two best friends caught up in a twisty mystery when jewels go missing at a high-stakes baking competition.
Baker extraordinaire Laila Thomas and budding journalist Lucy Flores are living it up at the top of the junior high food chain as eighth graders. But between busy schedules and kinda-boyfriends, these two best friends haven’t gotten to hang out as much. So, when Jaden, an ex-competition rival, begs the duo to step back into the world of cooking competitions and crime—the answer is yes.
Jaden is desperate: His father is accused of stealing prized jewels on the set of an amateur kids’ holiday baking show. The plan is for Laila to smash the competition while Lucy investigates behind the scenes—but their half-baked plan gets turned totally upside down when Lucy ends up in front of the cameras instead.
As the investigation and competition heat up, Lucy and Laila’s bond is put to the ultimate test. Can they solve this bakeoff mystery, or will they—and their friendship—crack under pressure?
Well, that’s it for the New Books Releasing Week 20 of 2025
Drop a comment if you like one of the books above or if you have one to recommend.
Thank you for stopping by,
Happy Reading!
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