The Baroness’ Choices of New Books Publishing This Week
2025, Week 1’s New Books
My choices for this week include Young Adult Romances and Cozy Paranormal Mystery.
Can you believe that 2025 will be here this Wednesday? A lot happened in 2024! Are you going to stay up on New Year’s Eve to welcome the New Year?
My reading challenges will be different next year. I am trying to streamline what books I am reading. We shall see how that goes.
I have four great books for you to take a look at. I will be reading one of them. Here are my choices for New Books Publishing Week 1 of 2025!
Better Than Revenge by Kasie West
Publication Date: December 31, 2024
Genre: Young Adult Romance
Goodreads | Bookhype | BookBub | StoryGraph | Amazon
A swoony new romance from the author of Sunkissed! When her football-player boyfriend and now ex lands the podcast job she’s been dreaming of, a girl takes matters into her own hands by enlisting the help of his nemesis to get revenge.
Seventeen-year-old Finley has only ever had one goal: to become a famous podcaster. This includes coming up with the perfect pitch to land her on her school’s podcast team. But when her football-obsessed boyfriend, Jensen, decides to also try out—and uses her idea—she’s left confused and betrayed.
Determined to get back at him, Finley and her friends try to find the perfect revenge scheme, but quickly discover that Jensen is almost-impossible to best. Keyword, almost.
By chance, Finley discovers a knack for kicking and decides to take Jensen’s spot on the football team. To help her train, she recruits Jensen’s cute but conceited nemeses, Theo. Soon the two discover that their connection runs deeper than football. But Finley can’t let herself get distracted, and Theo has secrets of his own. Is true love really better than the perfect revenge?
Includes an author Q&A!
Dating and Dragons by Kristy Boyce
Publication Date: December 31, 2024
Genre: Young Adult Romance
Goodreads | Bookhype | BookBub | StoryGraph | Amazon
From the author of the nationally bestselling Dungeons and Drama comes another gaming romance that’s sure to win you over!
Quinn Norton is starting over at a new high school and hopes that joining a D&D game will be the trick to making friends. The plan sounds even better when she’s invited into a group that includes Logan Weber, the cute and charming guy she met on her first day of class. But this isn’t your average D&D campaign— this group livestreams their games and enforces strict rules: no phones allowed, and no dating other group members.
Quinn is willing to accept the rules, even if it makes Logan off-limits. And she quickly learns that doing so won’t be a problem, since Logan goes from charismatic to insufferable as soon as she agrees to join. As their bickering—and bantering—intensifies inside and outside the game, Quinn can’t help wondering: Is Logan’s infuriating behavior a smokescreen for hidden feelings? Quinn is risking it all, and the twenty-sided dice are rolling!
Ex Marks the Spot by Gloria Chao
Publication Date: December 31, 2024
Genre: Young Adult Romance
Goodreads | Bookhype | BookBub | StoryGraph | Amazon | Karen’s or Jen’s Book Review
A swoony rivals-to-lovers romance . . .
Family secrets that can’t stay buried . . .
A globe-spanning treasure hunt with puzzles to solve . . .This latest YA novel by acclaimed writer Gloria Chao takes readers on a soaring adventure through love, loss, and the lively streets of Taiwan.
For Gemma’s whole life, it has always been her and her mom against the world. As far as she knew, all her grandparents—and thus her ties to Taiwanese culture—were dead. Until one day when a mysterious man shows up at her door with two shocking things: the news that her grandfather has just recently passed, and the first clue to a treasure hunt that Gemma hopes will lead to her inheritance.
There’s just one major problem: to complete the hunt, she has to go to her grandfather’s home in Taiwan. And the only way Gemma can get there is by asking her ex and biggest high-school rival, Xander, for help. But after swallowing her pride, she finds herself halfway across the world, ready to unearth her life-changing prize. Soon Gemma discovers that the treasure hunt is about much more than money—it’s about finally learning about her family, her cultural roots, and maybe even finding true love.
Filled with ingenious puzzles, a vibrant Taipei setting, and a delicious romance, Ex Marks the Spot is an exciting adventure by award-winning writer Gloria Chao, perfect for fans of Loveboat Taipei, The Inheritance Games, and Thirteen Little Blue Envelopes.
Frosting and Fairies by Danielle Garrett
Sugar Shack Witch Mysteries #7
Publication Date: January 2, 2024
Genre: Cozy Paranormal Mystery
Goodreads | BookBub | StoryGraph | Amazon
A romance book festival comes to Winterspell, but not everyone is feeling the love.
Small-town journalism isn’t exactly a thrill ride. Between PTA meetings and bake sale bulletins, I was drowning in monotony. But when I begged my editor for a juicier assignment, I should’ve been careful what I wished for.
Enter the Summer Lovin’ Book Festival. BOGO deals on paperbacks with a side of beefcake, as five hunky models vie to become the next Captain Riker Bones, the shirtless swashbuckler adorning Grandma Rose’s favorite bodice-rippers.
Sure, a little eye candy never hurt anyone, but ten minutes of watching grown women cry over washboard abs has me wishing I’d volunteered to write up the waste management ordinances instead.
But when one of our would-be pirates turns up dead in his hotel room, my puff piece transforms into a full-blown murder mystery. And the plot thickens faster than my family’s famous buttercream when a poison-laced cupcake from Sugar Shack is found at the scene.
Now I’m racing against time to catch a killer, clear my family’s name, and keep Grandma Rose from sailing into the sunset with one of the wannabe pirates. Someone pass the rum.
Well, that’s it for the New Books Releasing Week 1 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!
Baroness’ Book Trove is an Amazon affiliate, meaning that if you click the link and purchase something, this blog gets a tiny percentage back. Mainly, this helps with the cost of the website and a few giveaways.
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