The Baroness’ Choices of New Books Publishing This Week
2023, Week 23’s New Books
My choices for this week include Cozy Mystery, Contemporary Western Romantic Suspense, Cozy Culinary Mysteries, Cozy Animal Mystery, Middle Grade Fantasy, Historical Mysteries, Young Adult Romance, and Cozy Crafts and Hobbies Mystery.
It’s the first official week of June! How is it already June?! Time is flying by, it seems like this year. Anyway, here’s the first week of June’s new releases! Jen has read/will be reading three of these books. So be on the lookout for those reviews!
Here are my choices for New Books Publishing Week 23 of 2023!
A Brew to a Kill by Ellie Alexander
Sloan Krause Mystery #6.5
Publication Date: June 6, 2023
Genre: Cozy Culinary Mystery
It’s the opening weekend of the spring farmers market in the charming Bavarian village of Leavenworth, Washington, where the hills are alive with the sound of…murder. Includes recipes!
Sloan Krause and Garrett Strong are eager to showcase their latest offering—canned hoppy Northwest ales. They’re even more enthusiastic when Josh, a young travel influencer known for scaling peaks and downing pints, offers to feature Nitro’s new cans at the top of the latest mountain he’s set to climb. Josh’s A Brew to a View has millions of followers and should mean great exposure for Nitro.
But when Josh is found stone-cold dead at the local youth hostel, leaving a trail of breadcrumbs and brews behind, Sloan and Garrett will have to tap into their sleuthing skills to solve a crime that has left the picturesque village in a state of shock. Could the killer be a jealous rival travel influencer, an enigmatic hiker who has been seen around town, or perhaps someone closer to home? Can Sloan piece together this intoxicating puzzle before it’s too late? Because if she can’t crack open the truth, she might just find herself crushed under the weight of a sinister beer can conspiracy.
Casanova Cowboy by Jamie Schulz
Montana Men #2
Publication Date: June 6, 2023
Genre: Contemporary Western Romantic Suspense
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She’s used to the glitzy, big-city life. He hides behind country-boy charm.
Will these total opposites spark unquenchable flames of attraction?Izabel Silva is wary of men. After escaping an awful relationship and a workplace betrayal, the talented marketer seeks refuge with an old friend in small-town Montana. And though worried she’s falling in with another control-obsessed hunk, she accepts the kindly neighbors’ invitation to stay with them and their flirtatious son.
Zack MacEntier longs to live down his reputation. With his ranch’s bank accounts at rock bottom, the one-time lady’s man isn’t ready to take on a gorgeous and strong-willed Latina. But when his mother volunteers him to show the lovely newcomer around, the loyal cowboy is secretly glad of an excuse to spend more days in the fierce woman’s company.
Taken aback by local prejudice, Izabel’s concerns over Zack’s stubborn protective streak start to fade when he comes rushing to her rescue. And even as the brave rancher fears that he has nothing to offer the beautiful outsider, their growing passion has placed them firmly in danger’s crosshairs…
Can they survive the unexpected threat and claim a scorching love?
Casanova Cowboy is the steamy second book in the Montana Men romantic suspense series. If you like determined women, heroes with hidden depths, and slow-burn chemistry, then you’ll adore Jamie Schulz’s fiery path to happily ever after.
Buy Casanova Cowboy to flirt with trouble today!
* No cliffhangers. Though the stories intertwine in places, each book is a standalone suspenseful, western romance with adult content. The perfect read for fans of strong heroines, broken heroes, cowboys, horses, slow-burning love, and small-town romance!
Clue in the Carriage House by Kathi Daley
Inn at Holiday Bay #23
Publication Date: June 6, 2023
Genre: Cozy Culinary Mystery
A heartwarming cozy mystery series about losing everything, taking a chance, and starting again.
After suffering a personal tragedy Abby Sullivan buys a huge old seaside mansion she has never even seen, packs up her life in San Francisco, and moves to Holiday Bay Maine, where she is adopted, quite against her will, by a huge Maine Coon Cat named Rufus, a drifter with her own tragic past named Georgia, and a giant dog with an inferiority complex named Ramos. What Abby thought she needed was alone time to heal. What she ended up with was, an inn she never knew she wanted, a cat she couldn’t seem to convince to leave, and a new family she’d never be able to live without.
In book 23 in the series, Lonnie helps Jeremy convert the carriage house into a home as important life changes loom on the horizon. Meanwhile, Velma works with Lou on a solution to her own situation, and a whole new group of guests, each with their own life situation to figure out, check in at the inn.
Death Knells and Wedding Bells by Eva Gates
Lighthouse Library Mystery #10
Publication Date: June 6, 2023
Genre: Cozy Animal Mystery
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Librarian Lucy’s wedding is nearly perfect—aside from a missing guest and the strangled body she finds. Now, she must vow to find the killer in this 10th Lighthouse Library mystery.
Lucy and Connor planned for the perfect Outer Banks wedding—and that’s exactly what they got. Aside from typical rumblings of familial tensions, the late spring weather allowed for a beautiful day, the food was delicious, and everyone had a good time, until one of the guests goes missing.
Before Lucy can look forward to the rest of her life in Nags Head and the work she does at the Bodie Island Lighthouse Library, she gets a phone call from her boss, Bertie James. Eddie, Bertie’s friend, never made it back home after the reception. Initially, Lucy doesn’t think anything of it—sometimes wedding guests simply have a little too much fun. But this quickly turns to something darker when she discovers the body of a wedding guest strangled in a locked closet, and the police immediately start asking questions about Eddie. Lucy must figure out if the two are connected before it’s too late—both for Bertie’s friend and the rest of her wedding guests.
With the Classic Novel Reading Club reading the Selected Works of Edgar Allan Poe—Lucy wonders if the master of the macabre can assist her investigation or if the hunt for the killer’s identity will remain as nothing more than an unsolved mystery.
Hot Pot Murder by Jennifer J. Chow
LA Night Market #2
Publication Date: June 6, 2023
Genre: Cozy Culinary Mystery
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Trouble is brewing for cousins Yale and Celine Yee after a hot pot dinner gets overheated and ends in murder in this second novel of the L.A. Night Market series by Jennifer J. Chow.
Yale and Celine Yee’s food stall business is going so well that they’ve been invited to join an exclusive dinner with the local restaurant owners association. The members gather together for a relaxing hot pot feast…until Jeffery Vue, president of the group, receives a literal shock to his system and dies.
Everyone at the meal is a suspect, but the authorities are homing in on family friend Ai Ho, owner of the restaurant where Jeffery was killed—and Yale’s dad is a close second on their list. Yale and Celine step up to the plate and investigate the dinner attendees: the association’s ambitious VP, a familiar frenemy, a ramen king, a snacks shopkeeper, and a second-generation restaurateur. It’s up to the detecting duo to figure out what really happened before their friends and family have to close their businesses for good.
Lei and the Fire Goddess by Malia Maunakea
Publication Date: June 6, 2023
Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy
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Curses aren’t real.
At least, that’s what twelve-year-old, part-Hawaiian Anna Leilani Kamaʻehu thinks when she listens to her grandmother’s folktales about sacred flowers and family guardians. Anna’s friends back home in Colorado don’t believe in legends, either. They’re more interested in science and sports—real, tangible things that stand in total contrast to Anna’s family’s embarrassing stories.
So when Anna goes back to Hawaiʻi to visit her Tūtū, she has no interest in becoming the heir to her family’s history; she’s set on having a touristy, fun vacation. But when Anna accidentally insults Pele the fire goddess by destroying her lehua blossom, a giant hawk swoops in and kidnaps her best friend, and she quickly learns just how real these moʻolelo are. In order to save her friends and family, Anna must now battle mythical creatures, team up with demigods and talking bats, and evade the traps Pele hurls her way.
For if Anna hopes to undo the curse, she will have to dig deep into her Hawaiian roots and learn to embrace all of who she is.
Nightmare Island by Shakirah Bourne
Publication Date: June 6, 2023
Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy
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From rising star Shakirah Bourne, author of Josephine Against the Sea, comes a mysterious adventure that explores one of the most chilling tales in Caribbean mythology: the faceless douen children.
Twelve year-old Serenity Noah has never told anyone about her recurring nightmares — the haunting images of silver butterflies whose flapping wings drive away all sound, leaving only suffocating silence in their wake. Her parents already favor her “perfect” younger brother, Peace, and she doesn’t want to be seen as the “problem” child.
Instead, Serenity’s found a productive way to channel her fears: creating a horror movie as scary as her nightmares.
When Peace suddenly becomes afraid of the dark and refuses to sleep alone, their parents take him away for “treatment” on Duppy Island. Serenity has a very bad feeling about the mysterious island and the facility’s creepy leader, Dr. Whisper. And when she sees a silver butterfly from her nightmares in the forbidden forest she realizes that something is seriously, dangerously awry.
But nothing could’ve prepared Serenity for the truth: the island is home to douens — faceless children with backward feet who are trapped in limbo between the world of the living and the land of the dead. And unless Serenity acts soon, her brother is going to join their ranks…
Passport to Spy by Nancy Cole Silverman
Kat Lawson Mystery #2
Publication Date: June 6, 2023
Genre: Historical Mystery
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After losing her job as an investigative reporter for The Phoenix Gazette, Kat Lawson has a new gig. The FBI has asked her to work undercover as a reporter for Travel International to cover Munich, Germany’s festive holiday scene—an excuseto get close to Hans von Hausmann, a very charismatic and popular museum curator suspected of hiding a cache of stolen masterpieces believed to be part of the World’s Largest Art Heist. The job comes with lots of perks: airfare, travel expenses, the opportunity to see the world…and for a seasoned reporter like Kat, nothing she can’t handle. But, when a trusted source is found dead, Kat realizes the tables have been turned. Armed with evidence that will expose a cache of artwork stolen from museums and the homes of wealthy Jews during the 2nd World War, Kat must find a way to avoid being caught by the German Polizie, who have enough evidence to charge her with murder, and those who want her dead to keep their hidden treasures forever secret. The hunter has become the hunted; now, Kat has a target on her back.
Something More by Jackie Khalilieh
Publication Date: June 6, 2023
Genre: Young Adult Romance
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A contemporary teen romance novel featuring a Palestinian-Canadian girl trying to hide her autism diagnosis while navigating her first year of high school, for fans of Jenny Han and Samira Ahmed.
Fifteen-year-old Jessie, a quirky loner obsessed with the nineties, is diagnosed as autistic just weeks before starting high school. Determined to make a fresh start and keep her diagnosis a secret, Jessie creates a list of goals that range from acquiring two distinct eyebrows to getting a magical first kiss and landing a spot in the school play. Within the halls of Holy Trinity High, she finds a world where things are no longer black and white and quickly learns that living in color is much more fun. But Jessie gets more than she bargained for when two very different boys steal her heart, forcing her to go off-script.
Songs of Wine and Murder by Lynn Cahoon
Tourist Trap Mystery #15
Publication Date: June 6, 2023
Genre: Cozy Culinary Mystery
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In the latest Tourist Trap Mystery by New York Times bestselling author Lynn Cahoon, series sleuth Jill Gardner is trying to drum up business for Coffee, Books, and More—but a killer has other ideas . . .
With the Moonstone Beach Festival coming up, Jill is touching base with her fellow small business owners to make it as successful as possible. It’s frustrating when Darla, the owner of South Cove Winery, is late to a big meeting, but they manage to get the discussion rolling about the kite flying event and the big Battle of the Bands—which Darla’s musician boyfriend is hoping will be his big break. And Jill, of course, will be there with her food truck, hoping for a financial boost after a slow spring.
But amid the fun in the California sun, someone will soon be planning a funeral instead of a festival—and Jill and her detective fiancé will have to find out who ruined the Moonstone Beach mood with murder . . .
The Kingdom Over the Sea by Zohra Nabi
Publication Date: June 6, 2023
Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy
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Aru Shah meets One Thousand and One Nights in this lavish middle grade adventure following a girl who must travel to a mystical land of sorceresses, alchemists, jinn, and flying carpets to discover her heritage and fulfill her destiny.
My own Yara, if you are reading this, then something terrible has happened, and you are on your own. To return to the city of Zehaira, you must read out the words on the back of this letter… Good luck, my brave girl.
When twelve-year-old Yara’s mother passes away, she leaves behind a letter and a strange set of instructions. Yara must travel from the home she has always known to a place that is not on any map—Zehaira, a world of sorcerers, alchemists and simmering magic. But Zehaira is not the land it used to be. The practice of magic has been outlawed, the Sultan’s alchemists are plotting a sinister scheme—and the answers Yara is searching for seem to be out of reach.
Yara must summon all her courage to discover the truth about her mother’s past and her own identity…and to find her place in this magical new world.
The Last Drop of Hemlock by Katharine Schellman
Last Call at the Nightingale #2
Publication Date: June 6, 2023
Genre: Historical Mystery
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In The Last Drop of Hemlock, the dazzling follow up to Last Call at the Nightingale, even a dance can come with a price…
The rumor went through the Nightingale like a flood, quietly rising, whispers hovering on lips in pockets of silence.
Life as a working-class girl in Prohibition-era New York isn’t safe or easy. But Vivian Kelly has a new job at the Nightingale, an underground speakeasy where the jazz is hot and the employees look out for each other in a world that doesn’t care about them. Things are finally looking up for her and her sister Florence… until the night Vivian learns that her friend Bea’s uncle, a bouncer at the Nightingale, has died.
His death is ruled a suicide, but Bea isn’t so convinced. She knew her uncle was keeping a secret: a payoff from a mob boss that was going to take him out of the tenements and into a better life. Now, the money is missing.
Though her better judgment tells her to stay out of it, Vivian agrees to help Bea find the truth about her uncle’s death. But they uncover more than they expected when rumors surface of a mysterious letter writer, blackmailing Vivian’s poorest neighbors for their most valuable possessions, threatening poison if they don’t comply.
Death is always a heartbeat away in Jazz Age New York, where mob bosses rule the back alleys and cops take bootleggers’ hush money. But whoever is targeting Vivian’s poor and unprotected neighbors is playing a different game. With the Nightingale’s dangerously lovely owner, Honor, worried for her employees’ safety and Bea determined to discover who is responsible for her uncle’s death, Vivian once again finds herself digging through a dead man’s past in hopes of stopping a killer.
The World Behind the Door by Pari Thomson
Greenwild #1
Publication Date: June 6, 2023
Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy
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The thrilling first book in the most extraordinary new fantasy series from debut author Pari Thomson.
Open the door to a spellbinding world where the wilderness is alive and a deep magic rises from the earth itself . . .Eleven-year-old Daisy Thistledown is on the run. Her mother has been keeping big, glittering secrets, and now she has vanished. Daisy knows it’s up to her to find Ma―but someone is hunting her across London. Someone determined to stop her from discovering the truth.
So when Daisy flees to safety through a mysterious hidden doorway, she can barely believe her eyes―she has stepped out of the city and into another world.
This is the Greenwild. Bursting with magic and full of amazing natural wonders, it seems too astonishing to be true. But not only is this land of green magic real, it holds the key to finding Daisy’s mother.
And someone wants to destroy it.
Daisy must band together with a botanical genius, a boy who can talk with animals, and a cat with an attitude to uncover the truth about who she really is. Only then can she channel the power that will change her whole world . . . and save the Greenwild itself.
The Incorruptible Ivy Jackson and the Café Corpse by Rosie A. Point
Incorruptible Ivy Jackson Mysteries #2
Publication Date: June 7, 2023
Genre: Cozy Crafts and Hobbies Mystery
A bride on the run. A corpse in the local cafe.
The Incorruptible Ivy Jackson and her border collie, Boo, are summoned to a local cafe by the owner when a corpse is found hanging from the ceiling. The groom of a local wedding has been murdered on the morning of his nuptials. The bride is on the run.
With the police chasing down the prime suspect, Ivy and Boo are left to ponder the intricacies of the mystery. They determine that the case is far from solved, and that the real murderer is determined to claim another victim before the week is through.
Ivy must solve the mystery before the killer strikes again and Somewhere, Ohio, her hometown, becomes unlivable.
Weddings and Wishes by Melissa McClone
Berry Lake Cupcake Posse #4
Publication Date: June 8, 2023
Genre: Sweet Romance
Find out what’s next for Nell, Selena, Bria, Juliet, and Missy…
Friendship has kept the Berry Lake Cupcake Posse going, and they’ll need each other even more to survive the challenges life keeps throwing at them. But their struggles to reopen beloved Berry Lake Cupcake Shop might just break them apart.
Well, that’s it for the New Books Releasing Week 23 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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