The Baroness’ Choices of New Books Publishing This Week
2023, Week 17’s New Books
My choices for this week include Cozy Mysteries, Women’s Fiction, Sweet Cowboy Romance, Royal Romance, Mystery Thriller, and Dystopian Romantic Suspense Mystery.
It’s the last full week of the month. How was your April? Find any good books? Both Jen and I have reviews for these books this time. I just love the covers, and since I have read most of these authors’ books, I can’t wait to get them on my list and read them.
Did you find any books that you think I should have put on this list?
Here are my choices for New Books Publishing Week 17 of 2023!
Cafe au Slay by A.N. Sage
Orchard Hollow #2
Publication Date: April 24, 2023
Genre: Cozy Culinary Paranormal Mystery
Goodreads | Bookhype | BookBub | Amazon | BAM | Book Review
Piper Addison is not a normal witch. If she’s even a witch at all…
Life after the big four-oh isn’t so bad. Piper Addison, resident witch and coffee shop owner, finally found her groove. Business is flourishing, her ghost familiar is miraculously supportive, and she might even have a date for the weekend.
There’s only one small catch… A dead body puts Piper in an impossible situation.
Orchard Hollow’s biggest secret is about to be revealed, and Piper might be the only one who can save the town’s paranormal residents. If only she can get a handle on her strange magic.
If that wasn’t enough, the town sheriff trusts Piper to solve the case. Can she help catch the killer before the whole world finds out about magic?
A Grave Roast is a paranormal cozy mystery, complete with an unlucky witch, a ghost familiar, and a feisty raccoon with a talent for getting into sticky situations.
#TagMe for Murder by Sarah E. Burr
Trending Topic Mystery #2
Publication Date: April 25, 2023
Genre: Cozy Mystery
When murder trends too close to home, social media influencer Coco Cline will have to swipe through a sea of trolls to tag a killer.
After cracking her first case, Cordelia “Coco” Cline’s life is finally getting back to normal—or as normal as life can be when you have over three million followers online. With a thriving business, a devoted boyfriend, and her two besties living right up the street, Coco is set to have the most fun summer of her life until Larry and Rosalynn Dunmer move into the condo next door.
Coco and her friends do their best to avoid the confrontational duo, but when a party at a swanky new wine bar brings everyone together, things become less than neighborly faster than a celebrity-themed hashtag goes viral. Larry levels some super shady threats toward Coco and her BFF Jasper, which could have dire consequences for their multimedia empires. Just as Coco begins to wonder if she’ll have to spend the rest of the summer looking over her shoulder, she gets a shocking request from police. As part of her PR gig with the Central Shores PD, they need her to come to the beach and keep the public at bay. A body has washed ashore.
Thinking a poor swimmer drowned just before the Salute to Summer festival kicks off, Coco arrives to find Larry Dunmer, dead with a corkscrew sticking out of his neck. What’s even more unbelievable is that Jasper quickly shoots to the top of Chief McInnis’s suspect list. In full-on panic mode, Coco decides to use her tech-savvy sleuthing skills to clear her best friend’s name before his rep is ruined. She soon discovers that Larry made quite a few enemies during his very short stay in town. But who hated him enough to kill him?
Return to the beaches of Central Shores as Coco Cline and her squad assemble to catch a killer before they get canceled…permanently.
A Vineyard Season by Jean Stone
Vineyard Novel #6
Publication Date: April 25, 2023
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Goodreads | Bookhype | BookBub | Amazon | BAM | Book Review
For fans of Debbie Macomber and Elin Hilderbrand, Jean Stone’s “lovingly rendered” (Booklist) novels are heartwarming beach reads set on beautiful Martha’s Vineyard, featuring bestselling mystery author and Vineyard Inn proprietor Annie Sutton as she makes a fresh start on the island she’s come to call home.
There’s no place like home. Especially when home is an island paradise in full bloom . . .
With her wedding only weeks away, Annie should be grateful to be back on Martha’s Vineyard, running her cozy Inn and crafting her artisan soaps. But her recent trip to L.A. to see her bestselling novels turned into films has her fantasizing about a life in California. Annie knows her fiancé, John, would never relocate—the small-town police officer’s whole life is here. And Annie is looking forward to the imminent birth of a baby in her own extended family. Yet somehow she can’t stop imagining . . .
Then John’s older daughter is diagnosed with a serious illness, rocking their world and sending John off-island to tend to her, alongside his ex-wife. When Annie’s newfound celebrity attracts a stranger into her midst with a secret that could wreak havoc on her half-brother Kevin’s life, Annie is faced with a choice that will test their relationship. With the distance between her and John growing deeper every day, suddenly Annie is questioning everything—including her ties to the only place she has ever dared to call home . . .
Ashes to Ashes, Crust to Crust by Mindy Quigley
Deep Dish Mysteries #2
Publication Date: April 25, 2023
Genre: Cozy Culinary Mystery
Goodreads | Bookhype | BookBub | Amazon | BAM
Ashes to Ashes, Crust to Crust is the second book in Mindy Quigley’s delectable Deep Dish Mystery series, set in a Wisconsin pizzeria.
Newly single pizzeria owner Delilah O’Leary is determined to keep her restaurant afloat in the picturesque resort town of Geneva Bay, Wisconsin. To boost her bottom line, she sets her sights on winning the hefty cash prize in the town’s annual “Taste of Wisconsin” culinary contest. In her corner, she’s got her strong-willed, “big-boned” cat Butterball, her wisecracking BFF, her cantankerous great-aunt, and a nearly-flawless recipe for Pretzel Crust Deep-Dish Bratwurst Pizza. But while Delilah and her team have been focused on pumping out perfect pizza pies, her ex-fiancé has cozied up to a new squeeze, juice bar owner Jordan Watts―Delilah’s contest rival.
When one of Jordan’s juice bar customers is poisoned by a tainted smoothie, Delilah lands deep in the sauce. Accusations fly, suspects abound, and a menacing stranger turns up with a beef over some missing dough. Between kale-juicing hipsters and grudge-bearing celebrity chefs, Delilah must act quickly before another one bites the crust.
Cinnamon Twisted by Ginger Bolton
Deputy Donut Mystery #7
Publication Date: April 25, 2023
Genre: Cozy Culinary Animal Mystery
Goodreads | Bookhype | <BookBub | Amazon | BAM
Weeks before summer begins, Deputy Donut Café owner Emily Westhill has it all—a tabby cat by her side, cinnamon twists powdered to perfection, and a murderer on her case . . .
An ordinary late-spring afternoon for Deputy Donut Cafe owner Emily Westhill becomes one that will remain baked into her memory from the moment a customer gives Emily’s cat a toy donut and then flees Deputy Donut, dropping an earring in her panic. Concerned about the customer, Emily attempts to return the earring . . . only this time the customer doesn’t have a pulse. Things get more complicated when an ambitious police detective finds the earring and an unsealed envelope addressed to Emily at the murder scene. The envelope contains a cryptic letter and a fading photograph of a woman standing in front of Emily’s house.
Why did the customer grab her cinnamon twists and flee Deputy Donut? With the detective eying Emily as a prime suspect, Emily is determined to find out. But once a donut-shaped murder weapon is discovered in her own backyard, Emily has no time to lose as she pulls apart the connection between the victim and the strange history of her property—while stopping the real culprit from ensuring her fate is done and sugar-dusted . . .
Dedication to Murder by Lauren Elliott
Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery #9
Publication Date: April 25, 2023
Genre: Cozy Crafts and Hobbies Mystery
Goodreads | Bookhype | BookBub | Amazon | BAM
Oh, bother! In the riveting new mystery from the USA Today bestselling author Lauren Elliott, a first edition set of Winnie-the-Pooh books throws Beyond the Page bookstore owner and rare books expert Addie Greybourne on an investigation into her family’s past.
Wedding bells are about to ring again in Greyborne Harbor, and as Addie slips into her white dress her thoughts are focused on a bright future with Dr. Simon Emerson. But a discovery in her attic leads her to startling revelations about the past. As the owner of Beyond the Page Books and Curios and a lifelong bibliophile, Addie is delighted to find a rare collection of classic children’s books gathering dust in a secret room beneath the rafters, including a first edition of The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams. To her surprise, a handwritten inscription on the title page provides a clue to unraveling a complex mystery in Addie’s family . . .
But that’s only the first surprise in a series of shocking twists that will turn Addie’s vision of where her life is going and where she’s come from upside down—including a suspicious death in the present that suggests foul play.
Her Surprise Cowboy Groom by Cathy McDavid
Wishing Well Springs #4
Publication Date: April 25, 2023
Genre: Sweet Cowboy Romance
Goodreads | Bookhype | BookBub | Amazon | BAM
An instant family
Could change her plans!Ambitious wedding dress designer Laurel Montgomery can’t afford to be distracted…especially not by easygoing cowboy Max Maxwell. Wrangling his three-year-old twin daughters, a rambunctious puppy and a fledgling business, Max has his hands full, too. But he also knows the value of going for ice cream and fishing with his girls. Can he show Laurel there are more important things than making it big—like love and family?
His Accidentally Pregnant Princess by Jennifer Faye
Princesses of Rydiania #1
Publication Date: April 25, 2023
Genre: Royal Romance
Goodreads | Bookhype | BookBub | Amazon | BAM
In the latest Harlequin Romance by Jennifer Faye, the CEO is in for two shocking surprises when the princess regains her memory…
The CEO, his housekeeper…
and her double confession!
When CEO Antoine meets a stranger in need, he offers her work and refuge as his temporary housekeeper. Their mutual attraction is intensely distracting, yet Antoine knows he should resist the woman who’s lost her memory. But when they give in to their undeniable desire, Antoine is faced with shocking consequences… Because Cecelia is actually a princess—and now she’s accidentally pregnant!
Mother of the Bride Murder by Leslie Meier
Lucy Stone Mysteries #29
Publication Date: April 25, 2023
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Goodreads | Bookhype | BookBub | Amazon | BAM
As part-time Tinker’s Cove, Maine reporter Lucy Stone says “oui” to her daughter’s surprise wedding invitation in France, she must also make a different kind of vow—to catch a killer!
When Lucy Stone arrives at a sprawling French chateau with the whole family, it should be the trip of a lifetime—especially because she’s about to watch her oldest daughter, Elizabeth, marry the handsome, successful man of her dreams. But while navigating the vast countryside estate owned by her impenetrably wealthy in-laws-to-be, the jet-lagged mother of the bride has a creeping feeling that Elizabeth’s fairytale nuptials to Jean-Luc Schoen-Rene are destined to become a nightmare . . .
Maternal instincts are validated the moment a body is pulled from a centuries-old moat on the property. A young woman has dropped dead under mysterious circumstances—possibly at the hands of someone at the chateau—and unflattering rumors about the Schoen-Rene line and their inner circle flow like champagne. Then there’s the matter of Elizabeth’s hunky ex beau showing up on the scene as she prepares to walk down the aisle . . .
With tensions building, personalities clashing, and real dangers emerging at the chateau, Lucy is determined to protect her family, together for the first time in years, and expose the one responsible. She’ll have to locate the culprit among a list of worldly jilted lovers and potential criminal masterminds, or Elizabeth’s trip down the aisle could end in tragedy . . .
Negative Reaction by Lori Roberts Herbst
Callie Cassidy Mysteries #5
Publication Date: April 25, 2023
Genre: Cozy Animal Mystery
Wedding bells are ringing in Rock Creek Village. But when a venomous villager crashes the nuptials, events take a toxic turn…
The long-awaited day has arrived—photographer Callie Cassidy’s best friend is tying the knot. With a gentle snow falling outside and family and friends gathered inside, the wedding couldn’t be more perfect. Even Callie’s golden retriever, Woody, and her tabby cat, Carl, have donned tuxes for the occasion. And the icing on the cake? Callie’s trainee, Braden, is acting as official photographer, with the assistance of his twin brother, Banner. Callie is as proud as if she were their mother.
But as the ceremony ends, an uninvited and apparently inebriated visitor barges into the Event Center. The guests are shocked—and more than a little dismayed—to see Brian Ratliff, the twins’ absentee father, who slunk out of town two years prior, leaving his teenage boys to fend for themselves. Several volatile confrontations ensue, concluding with an angry altercation between Brian and Braden.
When Brian later winds up in a coma, the victim of poisoning, suspicion mounts against Braden. Callie is incensed, certain the boy isn’t capable of harming his father. Besides, plenty of villagers despised the man—any of them might have slipped him the toxin that rendered him unconscious.
As evidence accumulates against Braden, Callie fears he will end up taking the fall. With Detectives Raul Sanchez and Lynn Clarke stonewalling her, she turns to family and friends—including the town’s feisty new cub reporter—for help. Together, can they prove Braden’s innocence—and reveal the true culprit?
On the Slayed Page by Jasmine Webb
Poppy Perkins Mystery #3
Publication Date: April 25, 2023
Genre: Cozy Mystery
It’s supposed to be home sweet home, not home sweet horror.
Just when Poppy feels like life is getting back to normal, the universe decides to throw her another curveball when one of her neighbors is found dead in the lobby of her building. The police think it’s a suicide, but Poppy knows the truth—the victim told her three days earlier that she was being followed—and refuses to let the killer get away with it.
Enlisting Ophelia’s help, the two of them set about finding the killer, and the case quickly turns into more than Poppy ever could have expected. And with Nick joining the investigation, Poppy is sure the three of them are going to get to the bottom of this.
But soon, strange things start happening, and Poppy is pretty sure she’s being followed. Is she going to hit a home run and find the killer, or is she about to get struck out?
Paper Cuts by Ellery Adams
Secret, Book, and Scone Society #6
Publication Date: April 25, 2023
Genre: Cozy Culinary Paranormal Mystery
Goodreads | Bookhype | BookBub | Amazon | BAM
Miracle Springs, North Carolina, is famed for its healing springs, but bookstore owner and bibliotherapist Nora Pennington has a tendency to land in a different kind of hot water. When she isn’t prescribing the perfect book to cure her customers’ maladies, she’s solving local crimes with the help of her Secret, Book, and Scone Society members. Just a touch of magical realism and strong, female-driven stories are winning this series raves from readers and fans of Kate Carlisle and Lorna Barrett.
Nora escaped her past a decade ago. So it feels like a visit from another world when Kelly Walsh—the woman her ex-husband left her for—walks through the door of Miracle Books along with her son, a sweet, serious boy with a talent for origami. Kelly hasn’t come to gloat, though. As it turns out, she’s been dumped too. She’s also terribly ill, and all she wants from Nora is forgiveness.
Shockingly, however, this woman who’s been the victim of so much misfortune is about to become a murder victim. Who would do such a thing? Certainly not Nora, but that doesn’t stop the gossip and suspicion—especially after Kelly’s brother claims that he saw the two women arguing.
In seeking justice for Kelly, The Secret, Book, and Scone Society joins forces with the sheriff’s department, but they’ve barely begun their probe when life throws another wrench. After serving a twenty-year sentence, Estella’s father returns to Miracle Springs. And when his past comes back to haunt him, it might be more than the four friends can handle.
Poaching is Puzzling by Daryl Wood Gerber
Cookbook Nook Mystery #12
Publication Date: April 25, 2023
Genre: Cozy Culinary Mystery
Goodreads | Bookhype | BookBub | Amazon | BAM
In the cutthroat world of crossword solvers, Jenna Hart will have to decipher some puzzling clues to catch a killer…
The annual crossword puzzle contest has drawn contestants from near and far to Crystal Cove, and Jenna watches in amazement as puzzle-themed books fly off the shelves at the Cookbook Nook. Her aunt Vera is putting up a sizable cash prize, and no one is more surprised than Jenna to discover there’s bad blood between Vera and the prominent puzzle constructor who’s acting as master of ceremonies. And when the puzzle guru has his throat slit while he’s out hiking, the police instantly peg Aunt Vera as the culprit.
Jenna can’t stand by and watch her aunt take the fall. It’s been clear since the victim arrived that he had contentious relationships with a number of the contestants—even going so far as to steal puzzles from some of them and claim them as his own—and Jenna’s certain one of them is the killer. Trading puzzle solving for crime solving, she sorts through the convoluted clues and cryptic suspects, hoping to nab the guilty party before they decide she’s a problem they’ll solve with another murder . . .
Includes mouthwatering recipes!
Red Hot Murder by Michele Pariza Wacek
Charlie Kingsley Mysteries #6
Publication Date: April 25, 2023
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Charlie Kingsley’s tea customers have two things in common:
They rave about her teas.
AND they have a knack for attracting trouble.
There’s never been a connection between the two … until now.
One night, one of Charlie’s customers passes out, only to wake up to her fiancé dead in her home and no memory of what happened the night before.
But one thing she DOES remember is drinking a cup of Charlie’s tea.
Charlie knows it wasn’t the tea, but everyone else is suddenly blaming her, so she has no choice but to get to the bottom of this mysterious death.
Meet Charlie. Better known as “Aunt Charlie” from the award-winning Secrets of Redemption series. She’s back, making teas and solving cases in this funny, twisty, cozy mystery series set in the 1990s in Redemption, Wisconsin.
Secrets and Sequins by Gayle Leeson
Ghostly Fashionista Mysteries #5
Publication Date: April 25, 2023
Genre: Cozy Paranormal Mystery
The masquerade may be over, but a deadly mystery still looms.
Amanda Tucker, a masterful retro fashion designer, jumps at the chance to showcase her skills by designing stunning gowns for an upcoming masquerade ball. Her talented assistant, Zoe, is tasked with creating matching masks for the occasion. However, the festivities are cut short when the caterer is found brutally murdered, and Zoe’s mother becomes the prime suspect.
As if that weren’t enough, Amanda’s Grandpa Dave faces a life-changing decision. He must choose whether to stay in the town he’s called home for decades or move across the country with his girlfriend. Meanwhile, Amanda uses her keen fashion sense and sharp attention to detail to unravel a tangled web of secrets and lies that threatens to destroy everything and everyone she holds dear. Will she be able to solve the case and bring the killer to justice, or will the killer strike again?
The Bantam Menace by Kirsten Weiss
Wits’ End Cozy Mystery #8
Publication Date: April 25, 2023
Genre: Cozy Paranormal Mystery
Break in wedding shoes ✓
Walk through venue ✓
Solve murder.Reformed control-freak Susan has organized the perfect rustic mountain wedding with the love of her life, Arsen Holiday. But when an early arriving guest is found dead, Susan doesn’t have a contingency plan for murder.
Susan will have to tread carefully to avoid provoking her soon-to-be in-laws as she unravels the mysteries in Arsen’s past. And she’ll have to move faster than a bridesmaid leaping for the bouquet. Because a cunning killer seems determined to stop the wedding. At any cost.
If you love quirky heroines, twisty mysteries, and laugh-out-loud humor, you’ll love The Bantam Menace, book eight in the Wits’ End cozy mystery novels. Buy The Bantam Menace and start this hilarious caper today!
The Girl Who Saw the Truth by Amy Vansant
Shee McQueen Mystery Thriller #5
Publication Date: April 25, 2023
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Revenge is a dish best served cold, and even better if simmered in years of anger and resentment…
When Croix’s favorite hacker is chased into The Loggerhead Inn & mercenary nest, the bad guys don’t live long but the mystery has just begun.
Now Shee will run her first mission since her father’s death…but first it’s time to recruit.
Chocolate Mousse and Murder by Cindy Bell
Chocolate Centered Cozy Mystery #22
Publication Date: April 26, 2023
Genre: Cozy Culinary Animal Mystery
A clean, fun cozy mystery that will keep you glued to the page.
Ally’s days are filled with spending time with her detective husband, her adorable feline-friend, and playful pot-bellied pig. She is enjoying making chocolate treats at Charlotte’s Chocolate Heaven with her grandmother.
But then, the local dressmaker is found murdered. And Gabby, the employee at the chocolate shop, is the prime suspect. Ally and her grandmother believe she’s innocent, so along with the three quirky chocolate shop regulars, Mrs. Bing, Mrs. Cale, and Mrs. White, they help track down the killer.
But they soon discover that Gabby has some secrets of her own. Is she pulling the wool over their eyes and she really is the murderer?
Recipe Included: Triple Chocolate Mousse
Join the chocolate-making sleuths, their lovable pets, and eccentric friends for a fun-filled, puzzling, delicious cozy mystery by USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author Cindy Bell.
Survaine by Sarah Westill
Gen-Heirs: The Guardians of Sziveria #6
Publication Date: April 27, 2023
Genre: Dystopian Romantic Suspense Mystery
He made her promise to wait for him…
Years after convincing a mysterious young woman not to jump from a bridge, Caidon Survaine receives shadowy orders to eliminate her. Suspicious of the command, he returns home to find a nefarious group has infiltrated the depths of the Sziverian government. No one can be trusted. Guardians meant to protect have been coerced or corrupted. And the young woman he saved is in more danger than she could realize. Caidon has plans of his own where she’s concerned.
Doing the right thing always seems to leave Ramsey Hunter in peril. Yet, she can’t stop herself from protecting those in need. When she discovers her rare genetic talent can save passengers on a ship destined for trafficking, she ignores her brothers pleas to remain safe at home and embarks on a world adventure with Caidon at her side. She has only one condition for the assassin— he won’t deny the passion flaring between them.
Together they navigate new cultures, and their own awakening desires, in a race against the ice flows. If they can’t reach the ports of the violent nation of Mark Inland before the last of the thaw, hundreds of lives will be at stake.
Well, that’s it for the New Books Releasing Week 17 of 2023
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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