The Baroness’ Choices of New Books Publishing This Week
2025, Week 44’s New Books
My choices for this week include Sweet Holiday Romances, Cozy Culinary Holiday Mystery, International Mystery, Police Procedural Mystery, Cozy Animal Mysteries, Historical Mystery, Romantic Suspense, Young Adult Romantic Fantasies, Cozy Culinary Mystery, Romantic Comedies, Crime Thriller, Romantic Suspense, Domestic Thrillers, Paranormal Romance, Cozy Holiday Paranormal Mystery, Middle Grade Fantasy, Young Adult Historical Fantasy, International Historical Mystery, Holiday Romantic Comedy, Cozy Animal Paranormal Mystery, Cozy Paranormal Mystery, Paranormal Women’s Fiction, Sweet Cowboy Romance, and Sweet Animal Holiday Romance.
It’s the week of Halloween. Are you excited? I love it when Halloween is on a Friday. Have any plans? Did you go to any trunk-or-treats? We will probably just be reading or watching TV that night since we don’t get any trick-or-treaters here. 🙁
I have a long list of books for this week. Both Jen and I have a book on our reading list from this list.
Here are my choices for New Books Publishing Week 44 of 2025!
A Wyoming Family Holiday by Virginia McCullough
Back to Adelaide Creek #5
Publication Date: October 28, 2025
Genre: Sweet Holiday Romance
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Can saving a town landmark…
Restore her faith in love?When attorney Sloan Lancaster returns to Adelaide Creek to care for his father, he’s shocked at Winding Creek Rehab and Care Center’s run-down state. He considers moving his dad but is drawn to his high school crush Bethany, in charge of the facility’s restoration. Moved by Bethany’s community spirit and her adorable young daughter, Heidi, Sloan makes an anonymous donation to the center as the holidays bring them all closer. But when Sloan’s identity is revealed, Bethany pulls away, anxious about conflict of interest. Can she overcome her fears to embrace Sloan’s support—and build the loving family she’s always wanted?
At Death’s Dough by Mindy Quigley
Deep Dish Mysteries #5
Publication Date: October 28, 2025
Genre: Cozy Culinary Holiday Mystery
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The next book in the delectable Deep Dish Mystery series by Mindy Quigley, set in a Wisconsin pizzeria.
It’s February in the ritzy lakeside resort town of Geneva Bay, Wisconsin, and love is in the air. Pizza chef Delilah O’Leary is gearing up to celebrate her first Valentine’s Day with hunky police detective Calvin Capone, great-grandson of the infamous Chicago mobster. But their romance is put on ice when a shocking discovery plunges them into a century-old crime with ties to Capone’s notorious forefather.
As old secrets surface, Delilah realizes that nearly everyone in town―from Capone’s cagey cousin to her own quirky customers―has something to hide. With the pressure mounting and the past closing in, Delilah must help Capone follow a trail of clues that could lead them to a priceless treasure… or into a deadly trap. Can Delilah serve up justice before history repeats itself? Or will she and Capone end up sleeping with the anchovies?
Christmas Promises by Shelley Shepard Gray
Matchmaker Knows Best #2
Publication Date: October 28, 2025
Genre: Sweet Holiday Romance
Could just friends…
Turn into something more?With its twinkling lights, evergreen wreaths and freshly fallen snow, small-town Medina, Ohio, is bursting with holiday charm. And accountant Chloe Winner has everything in order, including a successful business and a warm community at the Loaves of Love food bank. But she has one tiny problem—her inconvenient feelings for fellow volunteer Jamison Smith. After all, the easygoing park ranger is her complete opposite. Plus, she’s dating his best friend, who is a much better match…isn’t he? Something about kind, thoughtful Jamison is making Chloe’s season so much brighter. Could falling in love find a place on her Christmas to-do list?
Come Through Your Door by Carlene O’Connor
County Kerry Mystery #4
Publication Date: October 28, 2025
Genre: International Mystery
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Against the stark beauty of southwest Ireland, veterinarian Dimpna Wilde must reckon with a stalker whose obsession has turned deadly in Carlene O’Connor’s gripping, atmospheric Irish crime novel for readers of Tana French, Dervla McTiernan, and Ann Cleeves.
“Isn’t this how every ghost story begins?”
The roads around Dingle are whisper-quiet in the small hours of a rainy night, empty of the tourists who throng the town by day. As she and her assistant, Patrick, drive home after an already traumatic day, Dimpna Wilde isn’t expecting to see anyone, let alone her employee, Niamh, standing in the road, dressed in a nightgown and soaked to the skin.
Dazed and distraught, Niamh passes out after muttering incoherently, and at her apartment, Dimpna and Patrick make a grisly discovery. There’s a dead woman in Niamh’s bed, shot in the head, a hunting rifle beside her. When Niamh comes to, she has no memory of the day’s events, and no idea of the woman’s identity. All she can tell Detective Inspector Cormac O’Brien with certainty is that for weeks, she’s felt like she was being watched.
Suspicion falls on Niamh’s new boyfriend, Mark Gallagher, who her friends have not yet met. But as Dimpna and Cormac try to track him down, they realize there’s no evidence Mark Gallagher ever even existed. All of Niamh’s texts and photos of him are missing or deleted, and he has no social media presence. What lingers is a nagging unease, especially when they learn of another, similar murder one year ago—another woman found shot to death in her bed, a woman who had complained of being stalked, just like Niamh.
As Dimpna delves deeper into a twisting case, she feels someone watching her too, targeting her business, her animals, her family—even her sanity, willing to do anything to stop her from disclosing a terrifying truth . . .
Deadly Trade by Sara Driscoll
FBI K-9 #10
Publication Date: October 28, 2025
Genre: Police Procedural Mystery
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FBI K-9 handler Meg Jennings can never walk away from her job, even amid her Hawaiian Islands honeymoon, where she and her search-and-rescue black Lab encounter a double threat from wildlife poachers and Mother Nature.
After a difficult assignment and the excitement of her wedding to firefighter Todd Webb, Meg is more than ready for two weeks of sun, sea, and gorgeous Hawaiian scenery. Her K-9 partner, Hawk, accompanies Meg and Todd to their resort, reveling in his celebrity status with both staff and guests. After a week of relaxation, all three are ready to get out into nature on the Big Island, where Meg and Hawk can practice search strategies.
In the remote fern forest of Pu‘u Maka‘ala Natural Area Reserve, Hawk’s senses are on high alert. When Meg lets him leave the path, they encounter two men trapping bright birds. The poachers escape, leaving their bounty behind, and when agents from the FBI and US Fish and Wildlife arrive, they confirm that the birds are all endangered species near extinction. Super-wealthy collectors acquire them for private zoos, with no regard for the birds’ survival. Alive or dead, these beautiful creatures are merely trophies.
Meg, Todd, and Hawk join an official search using a local conservation dog to pinpoint vulnerable nesting grounds in an attempt to protect trafficked wildlife and to stop the poachers in their tracks. But beyond the threat posed by determined poachers lurks another danger—Mauna Loa, one of the island’s active volcanoes, has been grumbling, and is poised to turn this mission into their most terrifying yet.
Death by Java by Alex Erickson
Bookstore Cafe Mystery #14
Publication Date: October 28, 2025
Genre: Cozy Animal Mystery
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Krissy Hancock is a little nervous leaving her bookstore-café in Pine Hills, Ohio, in someone else’s hands while she visits family in California. But when a killer strikes during her week out west, it’s a good thing she packed her sleuthing skills . . .
When she arrives in her hometown, the owner of Death by Coffee is startled to see a store called Death by Java. She soon realizes the name belongs to a copycat business run by her mean-girl high school rival, Valerie. It may not be grounds for a lawsuit—but when they stop in and witness a bitter argument with a health inspector, the whole scene leaves a bad taste in Krissy’s mouth. Valerie has even imitated Death by Coffee’s resident feline—except this one is a hissing stray who’s more likely to terrorize customers than delight them.
Despite her irritation, Krissy finds herself trying to help the hapless Valerie. But her old classmate needs a different kind of help when the health inspector is found dead on the premises. As Krissy’s boyfriend cozies up to local law enforcement, she collects a carafe of clues, drip by drip . . .
In Deadly Fashion by Rosemary Simpson
Gilded Age Mystery #10
Publication Date: October 28, 2025
Genre: Historical Mystery
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Heiress Prudence MacKenzie and ex-Pinkerton Geoffrey Hunter are about to become more than partners as investigators—they are to be wed at Trinity Church in Lower Manhattan. But a killer has designs on ruining the wedding as well as their lives . . .
AUGUST 1891: Prudence has her heart set on wearing her mother’s wedding gown on the happy day, but she soon discovers the material has deteriorated so badly that it cannot be refurbished. With time running out, she decides to seek out a new American designer, a woman who trained in the House of Worth, the makers of the original dress in Paris, who now has a shop in New York City.
The gown is nearly complete when the expert seamstress overseeing the project is found dead in the studio, with Prudence’s wedding dress slashed to ribbons and scattered over the body. The murder incites a scandal, as client after client deserts the now struggling designer. Now not only must Prudence find the murderer, she must rescue the talented young couturière’s reputation—all while another gown is being hastily sewn.
The police suspect the seamstress’s disgruntled lover. Prudence wonders about other designers competing in the cutthroat world of high fashion. But when additional wedding plans start to go awry, it’s clear there is an elaborate campaign of sabotage and that either Prudence or Geoffrey or both are being targeted.
Once again they must work as a team to expose whoever is determined to ruin their lives—before the future they’ve so long dreamed of is left in tatters . . .
Missing at Christmas by Deena Alexander
Publication Date: October 28, 2025
Genre: Romantic Suspense
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A dangerous family legacy.
A race to save a baby in jeopardy.When journalist Lexi McKenna receives a desperate call for help, she rushes to her sister’s home, only to find her sister dead and one of her twin nieces missing. With her past mafia ties resurfacing, Lexi must go on the run with agent Noah Thompson to protect herself from her father’s enemies. Although Lexi is the daughter of the mob boss who murdered Noah’s brother, Noah will do anything to take down her family—even work with her. As danger looms from all sides, they must find the abducted baby and dismantle a criminal empire before Lexi and her nieces end up as collateral damage.
Moth Dark by Kika Hatzopoulou
Publication Date: October 28, 2025
Genre: Young Adult Romantic Fantasy
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From the bestselling author of Threads That Bind comes a timeline-crossing romantic fantasy about a girl in love with a world of darkness—and with the mysterious heir to its throne—who must fight to prevent the destruction of all she loves.
This gorgeous hardcover edition features charcoal gray hued edges for a shadowy, ominous look.
Sascia has always loved the Dark. Six years ago, when the world she knew collided with the world of the Dark, she found it thrilling rather than terrifying. Now, she spends her days studying Darkcreatures or seeking them out in the shadows where they thrive.
Then, one day, she—impossibly—pulls a person from the Dark. A person who shouldn’t exist. And they’re here to kill her. Nugau, the heir to the Darkworld, claims to be delivering a sentence for Sascia’s betrayal in a battle she’s never heard of, in a war that hasn’t happened.
Sascia escapes with her life—barely. But tensions are brewing between her world and the Dark, and it’s not long before she discovers that she and Nugau are bound together by forces they don’t understand. As they grow closer, crossing worlds and timelines, they must find a way to fight for peace—and for each other.
Murder by the Millions by Daryl Wood Gerber
Literary Dining Mysteries #2
Publication Date: October 28, 2025
Genre: Cozy Culinary Mystery
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In a beautiful mountain community near Asheville, North Carolina, caterer and personal chef Allie Catt serves up mouthwatering, literary-themed dinner parties inspired by her clients’ favorite books. Her next event is sure to be a roaring success—if a murderer isn’t a killjoy . . .
If it were true that the best thing a girl can be in this world is a fool, then Allie Catt would be out of luck. Fortunately, Allie’s business is a smashing success. And following her Pride and Prejudice event, grander plans await . . .
Feast for the Eyes bookstore manager and Allie’s best friend, Tegan, is hosting a book club soiree and wants it to be a glittering affair based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s iconic Jazz Age-set novel, The Great Gatsby. Soon, Art Deco table settings and visions of flappers are dancing the Charleston in their heads. Even Tegan’s prickly sister, Vanna, is on board. And surely, Allie’s tuxedo cat, Darcy, thinks it’s the cat’s meow.
Amid the planning, charismatic developer Jason Gardner arrives in town to buy some historic buildings on Main Street. He, too, has plans: to create a modern mall. Allie is more than concerned. She even wants to protest. But when Jason invites her to cater a lavish party, she finds him surprisingly likable. Then she’s summoned to his estate for a meeting—and finds him dead.
Once again Allie’s landed in the middle of a crime scene. Worse, one of her earrings is later discovered near the body. And when police learn she was upset about the mall, she’s suspect #1. Allie’s blossoming sleuthing skills once cleared Tegan’s name, but can she save herself—before a killer writes her a not-so-great Gatsbyesque ending . . .
Never Over by Clare Gilmore
Publication Date: October 28, 2025
Genre: Romantic Comedy
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A swoony second-chance romance where facing the one who broke your heart could be the thing that makes your dream come true.
Twenty-five-year-old Paige Lancaster is one contract away from earning a living doing her favorite thing in the world: writing songs. But when a music industry professional suggests she might be holding back with her lyrics to lessen the heartbreak of an old flame, Paige doubts if her music is ready to be heard.
In a rare, impulsive move, Paige reaches out to Liam Bishop after four years of no-contact to ask him for a small favor: date her, and then re-break her heart, all so she can remember what those big, songworthy emotions felt like. And since Liam is the one who first set Paige on this career path, he hesitantly agrees.
Across two months of Liam’s summer work travel, the exes are forced to share hotel beds, rehash the past, and date in the present, all while navigating the building attraction between them they both swore was the one line of their agreement they wouldn’t cross.
But when it becomes near impossible not to act on their rippling chemistry, and as ever intensifying feelings blur reality with what’s driven by the music, Paige and Liam will both have to decide which is more important: art for the sake of it, or love over everything.
Pickle Perfect by Ilana Long
Publication Date: October 28, 2025
Genre: Romantic Comedy
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A second chance at love crashes one woman’s tropical pickleball vacation and serves up an adorkably swoony romantic comedy.
Lulu Gardner only takes predictable shots. After faulting on tennis stardom at eighteen, Lulu, now a thirtysomething single parent, is in control of her game. But when an unanticipated blunder threatens her teaching job, Lulu’s stable, well-planned—okay, boring—world spins out. And somehow, her godparents convince her to join them for a “de-stressing” destination pickleball vacation in Costa Rica. Maybe an all-inclusive picklecation is just the pick-me-up she needs to loosen her grip.
Or it would have been if she wasn’t backhanded by the sight of her high school fling Tyler Demming on the beachside courts. Fresh off the pickleball pro tour, the reigning bad boy of paddle sports is as studly and snarky as ever. Even though his public image took a hit with a ballsy publicity stunt, Tyler seems to be the big shot he’s always been.
But Lulu’s had years to steel herself against his rugged good looks and hypnotic charm. Despite the changes she sees in Tyler since their teenage days, Lulu will have no problem keeping her head in the game and her heart on the sidelines. Or so she tells herself….
Poison Wood by Jennifer Moorhead
Publication Date: October 28, 2025
Genre: Crime Thriller
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From the author of Broken Bayou, a haunting psychological thriller about how far we’ll go to seize our dreams and shield our secrets―and the devastating consequences when we can’t do both.
Ambitious crime reporter Rita Meade is riding high after her docuseries on the Broken Bayou serial killer. But when an anonymous tip promises the story behind a skull found deep in the Louisiana forest, she hesitates. Because this one strikes too close to home.
As a teenager, Rita attended Poison Wood Therapeutic Academy for Girls in that forest, but the school shuttered its doors after a series of disturbing incidents. Now the man who confessed to the murder of her classmate has recanted, and Rita’s father, the judge who put him away, has fallen ill.
Summoned back to those haunted woods, Rita sorts through the mysteries of a rotting schoolhouse basement. She digs up emotions she buried along with her mother―and secrets she’s tried hard to forget. But when her investigation spreads to her family tree, the TV cameras swing her way. How far will she go for a story that could threaten everything and everyone she loves?
Right Where We Belong by Farrah Penn
Publication Date: October 28, 2025
Genre: Young Adult Romantic Fantasy
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Past and present collide in this swoony romance when a girl searching for a sense of belonging may have found it in an unexpected—and undeniably charming—visitor from the nineteenth century.
Delaney Carmichael’s final year of boarding school at Ivernia is not off to a great start. Losing her father has left her feeling completely unmoored—both emotionally and in terms of what she wants to do with her future. So when Delaney discovers that Ivernia—the one stable place in her life—is on the brink of shuttering its doors, it feels like the last straw. If life is measured in what she has to lose, then does anything matter?
Desperate for a solution, Delaney makes a wish—for a way to save Ivernia. The universe’s response? Enter Lord William Cromwell of Dunbry, a tall, handsome, and woefully out-of-place-boy from nineteenth-century London. At first, Delaney thinks this charming English heartthrob might somehow be the answer to her problems, but when disastrous consequences begin to unfold at an alarming rate, she realizes that if she can’t return William to where and when he belongs, the present could unravel completely. Much to Delaney’s dismay, the only person capable of helping her is her brother’s infuriating best friend, Sumner, a boy who seems dead-set on getting under her skin. With time quickly running out, can the two set things straight before the past begins messing with the present in irreversible ways?
She’s Going to Pay by Alexandra Ivy
Publication Date: October 28, 2025
Genre: Romantic Suspense/Domestic Thriller
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In this tense, twisty domestic suspense novel from New York Times bestselling author Alexandra Ivy, a woman returns to her sleepy hometown after her father’s disappearance and uncovers a dark web of family secrets that leaves her questioning everything. . .
Leaving Canton, Missouri, behind was no hardship for Jesse Hudson. When she was a teenager, her stepmother and stepsister abruptly disappeared under suspicious circumstances. Their bodies were never found, but Jesse’s father, Mac, became a murder suspect. When he too vanished, Jesse waited months for him to return. Finally, she left, bouncing from one bartending job to another for years.
Now Jesse is back, hoping to quickly sell her father’s old bar before moving on for good. But coming home to Canton’s quiet, cobblestone streets doesn’t go quite as expected. There are memories resurfacing, and ties that haven’t broken. Then her father’s lawyer makes a startling admission: before he disappeared, Mac had discovered that Jesse’s stepmother, Victoria, was living under an assumed name. “Victoria Hudson” never even existed. Who was she really?
Delving deeper, Jesse grows convinced that her father’s assumed death is tied to Victoria’s real identity. And looking to the past is yielding more than secrets. Someone has been waiting for this homecoming, for a chance to unleash revenge for sins real and imagined. And they’ll make sure that Jesse never leaves town again . . .
Stupid Magical Love by Amy Boyles
Stupid Love #1
Publication Date: October 28, 2025
Genre: Paranormal Romance
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For a sassy Georgia farm girl and an uptight city boy, love is a high-stakes bet that can warm a heart―or break it―in this spicy, emotional, and enchanting romance.
Ever since the magic dried up in Mystic Meadows, Rowe Wadley has fallen on hard times. Her piggycorns aren’t selling, and the family farm is in foreclosure. Then handsome Pane Maddox comes knocking. His pitch: I’m here to save your farm.
The hottie isn’t exactly selfless. His own future is on the line. Competing to become president of a luxury hotel chain, Pane has sixty days to whip a struggling business into shape. Which is okay by Rowe―that means putting the privileged and smug city slicker to work. But Pane never guessed he’d find farm labor so fulfilling, or the spunky country girl so down-to-earth appealing. To Rowe’s surprise, she’s seeing a whole new side to Pane. His dazzling green eyes aren’t bad, either. Soon, sparks fly on the piggycorn farm.
Once this high-stakes bet is over, Rowe knows that Pane is moving on. Though saving the farm is a dream, Rowe fears that now she’s about to lose her heart.
Sugar and Spite by Carol J. Perry
Witch City Mysteries #15
Publication Date: October 28, 2025
Genre: Cozy Holiday Paranormal Mystery
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There’s no place like Salem, Massachusetts—aka “the witch city”—for Halloween. As residents embrace their historic heritage to celebrate the season, WICH-TV program director Lee Barrett is assigned the decadent task of highlighting the village’s delectable sweet shops—only to learn that some revelers prefer deadly tricks over delicious treats . . .
Casa del Chocolate is one of Salem’s most charming boutique candy shops, making it a perfect profile story. Although preoccupied with her own personal sweet news—Lee and her detective husband Pete Mondello are expecting a bundle of joy—she cheerfully agrees to interview the chocolatier. Since becoming pregnant, the radiant and exhilarated mother-to-be has discovered that she is finally free of the unwanted haunting “visions” she has endured since childhood.
Shirley Parker inherited Casa del Chocolate, housed in her beautiful ancestral home on the waterfront, continuing her family’s sweet tradition of conjuring magical treats for the folks of Salem. Mesmerized by the delightful chocolate scented aromas filling the air while touring the kitchen, Lee is shocked when she stumbles upon the murdered body of Barney Bingham, Shirley’s estranged husband.
As the police focus their suspicions on Shirley, Lee learns that many people had reasons for wanting Barney dead. Now, with help from Pete, tarot reader River North, and clairvoyant gentleman cat O’Ryan, as well as some new feline friends, Lee must unmask the true killer—and cope with the sudden return of her troubling “visions”. . .
The Cowboy’s Holiday Plan by Susan Breeden
Destiny Springs, Wyoming #5
Publication Date: October 28, 2025
Genre: Sweet Holiday Romance
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Saddling up…
For a Christmas wedding!Rodeo announcer Dylan James is famous for his deep, smooth, calm voice. But meeting his complete opposite—bubbly wedding planner Georgina Goodwin—makes him nervous, which triggers his stutter. Planning his father’s Christmas nuptials together is going to be a nightmare if he can barely speak…especially when he clashes with Georgina over every detail. Eventually, working through their differences brings them closer. And Georgina makes him open up in a way he never has before. Love wasn’t part of Dylan’s holiday plan! But when opposites attract, could a little yuletide magic send Dylan and Georgina down the aisle…together?
The Grimmelings by Rachael King
Publication Date: October 28, 2025
Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy
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For the first printing only! This paperback features sprayed stenciled edges while the special edition supply lasts.
A girl must unravel the mystery behind disappearances in her community and the arrival of a strange boy and a wild horse in this spellbinding middle grade fantasy adventure perfect for fans of Katherine Rundell and The Whisperwicks.
Thirteen-year-old Ella lives a lonely life near a remote lake where the horses that make up her family’s business are also her only friends. Ever since her father went missing years before, the family household has been made up entirely of women, something that’s viewed with suspicion by their neighbors, who sometimes call them witches.
Ella doesn’t believe in magic, but she does know words have power. She really should have known better than to utter a wish and a joking “curse” on the same day—a wish for a true friend and a curse on the boy bullying her little sister. Before long, the bully goes missing the same strange way her father did, and a strange boy and a beautiful black horse seemingly appear in his place. At first, the new boy seems to be the friend Ella wished for, but he’s pushy, quick to anger, and knows more than he should about her family.
As Ella digs deeper into the mysterious occurrences, she discovers her family is living in the shadow of a vengeful kelpie, and she must break its curse to save not just her family but her entire community.
The Library of Lost Girls by Kristen Pipps
Publication Date: October 28, 2025
Genre: Young Adult Historical Fantasy
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When her sister returns from finishing school a total stranger, a teen seeks out the cause and discovers that the cost of becoming a perfect lady is much higher—and more sinister—than ever expected. A lush, gothic tale that will haunt readers long after they turn the last page.
Gwen Donavan adores her beautiful and rebellious older sister, Izzy. But the Izzy who returns from the Delphi School for Girls is not the sister who left. Now she is Isolde: dull and complacent and—most shocking—eager to marry.
Gwen is determined to discover what happened to Izzy at Delphi, and the only solution she can conceive of is to cheat her way into the mysterious school. If she can see for herself what they did, maybe she can get her Izzy back.
But Delphi is far from the finishing school Gwen expects. Sinister shadows lurk in the hallways of the remote estate, and she is told to never leave her room after dark. More curious, though, are the thousands of books, each with the name of a girl on its spine. They line the walls from floor to ceiling, and the students are forbidden to read them.
Delphi says they’re reforming the girls, but when Gwen discovers a note left for her by her sister, she realizes that what is happening at the school is more terrifying than she could ever have imagined. There’s something dark at the center of Delphi, and somehow it’s tied to those books—and to the girls who are sent there. And if Gwen doesn’t confront what hides in the shadows, it won’t be just Izzy who’s lost forever.
The Tattered Cover by Ellery Adams
Secret, Book and Scone Society #8
Publication Date: October 28, 2025
Genre: Cozy Animal Mystery
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It was a dark, rainy night at Nora Pennington’s Miracle Books when a mysterious death brings the Secret, Book, and Scone Society into the Halloween season on the trail of a murderer . . .
As the residents of Miracle Springs, North Carolina, select their costumes, plan parties, and get excited for a night of tricks or treats, Nora joins in on the festivities by hosting medium memoirist Lara Luz at the bookstore. Charismatic and compelling, Lara mesmerizes the audience with her life story. Struck by a bolt of lightning as a child, she was pronounced dead only to be resurrected with the ability to connect with those on the other side.
Lara performs a reading for a select group of bookstore patrons when the encroaching storm knocks out the power. In the sudden darkness, howling cold winds intensify, and Lara clutches her heart, collapsing dead without warning. But Nora doesn’t believe she died of natural causes. Not one member of the psychic’s reading group—which includes the town’s widower pharmacist, an urgent care nurse, a mystery author, and even truculent Deputy Hollowell—were admirers of Lara.
Nora confirms this when she stumbles upon Lara’s journal in the aftermath of her death. For within its leathery bound pages are the medium and her clients’ deepest and darkest secrets, written in code. Now, Nora and the Secret, Book, and Scone Society must sift through the suspects and their motives to uncover which one of them is a killer before he or she is tempted to strike again . . .
Their Holiday Agreement by Amy Vastine
Seasons Inn #2
Publication Date: October 28, 2025
Genre: Sweet Holiday Romance
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Can their fake romance…
Score a shot at forever?Pro hockey player Theo Seasons has been benched over the holidays due to a knee injury. When he asks the team’s physical therapist Mallory Moore to help him with his rehab at his family’s inn for a week, it’s perfect timing. Because Mallory is looking for an excuse to avoid the chaos—and the pressure to marry—with her family! She tells them she’s spending Christmas with her new boyfriend…never dreaming they would show up at the inn! As Mallory and Theo’s deception spirals out of control and the pretend romance deepens, they may have to face the truth—a real love they can no longer ignore!
Two Truths and a Murder by Colleen Cambridge
Phyllida Bright Mysteries #5
Publication Date: October 28, 2025
Genre: International Historical Mystery
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Agatha Christie’s trusted housekeeper, Phyllida Bright, has become an amateur sleuth in her own right, using her little grey cells to solve crimes. When a party game leads to murder, she decides to crash the investigation in this latest sparkling mystery from Colleen Cambridge.
While her famous employer is happily back home at Mallowan Hall, wrestling with her Belgian detective’s dilemma on board the Orient Express, Phyllida is finding her local renown as a sleuth has put her in high demand. A distraught Vera Rollingbroke suspects her husband of infidelity and has invited Phyllida to a dinner party to observe his behavior, particularly in regard to one Genevra Blastwick.
What she does observe at the party is that Genevra craves attention, in contrast to her shy sister Ethel. Genevra introduces a game called Two Truths and a Lie, and one of her questionable statements is that she once witnessed a murder. At this bold claim, the guests react with disbelief and pepper her with questions. Genevra remains cagey, withholding details, but insists this is not her lie.
The next morning Phyllida learns poor Ethel was purposely run down by a motorcar the previous night while inexplicably walking home alone from the party. She fears Genevra may have been the target, which means someone at the party is a killer—twice over. A chilling thought. With Genevra in potential danger—and Inspector Cork proceeding ponderously as usual—Phyllida takes it upon herself to unmask the killer. With two murders to solve, she will need to grill Genevra and the guests as well as re-examine any past sudden deaths or disappearances. And if she’s smart, she’ll look twice before crossing the road . . .
While It Was Snowing by Julia London
Publication Date: October 28, 2025
Genre: Holiday Romantic Comedy
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Under the mistletoe, a single mom and a professional athlete realize they have more in common than the lake house they unexpectedly have to share for the holidays, in this heartwarming romance from New York Times bestselling author Julia London.
All Amy Casey wants for Christmas is to paint. She needs five new paintings for the holiday show at her local art gallery, but between her two teenage sons, her needy ex-husband, and her overbearing parents, she hardly has any time for herself. Luckily, her best friend has the perfect solution: a vacant family lake house in North Texas, all hers for two weeks of distraction-free painting. Or so she thought.
Turns out professional golfer Harrison Neely also rented the lake house so he can spend the holidays rehabbing the injury that has put his career—and life—on hold. Despite the booking snafu, both Amy and Harrison (along with Amy’s old blind dog and the army of child-sized nutcrackers residing in the living room) agree to share the festive lodging.
When an impending snowstorm has the two cozying up by the fire, sparks fly in more ways than one, and they open up to each other, unwrapping secrets and stories they’ve never shared before. But Harrison is expected back on the tournament circuit after the holidays, and Amy’s family needs her. As their departure date looms and her family and his manager press them for answers, they’ll have to decide if this December to remember has been a fun holiday fling, or if they’ve found a Christmas miracle: true love.
Witch and Tell by Angela M. Sanders
Witch Way Librarian Mysteries #7
Publication Date: October 28, 2025
Genre: Cozy Animal Paranormal Mystery
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Small-town Wilfred, Oregon, is poised to step into the limelight, and the citizens behind the renovation of the old movie palace—into a brew pub—certainly want that to continue. Until librarian and apprentice witch Josie Way discovers a dead body . . .
Local librarian Josie Way’s life is in shambles. Her magical abilities are on the fritz, and her relationship with sexy sheriff Sam has cooled way off since she told him she’s a witch. On top of that, Josie senses a bad energy she can’t explain, which seems to be interrupting her connection with the spellbound library books, usually her sure-fire way to get to the bottom of any mystery.
When she wakes to a fierce pounding in the library’s atrium, she hurries there—only to find a corpse. But after she goes for the phone to call Sam, she returns to the atrium to find the body gone—and all the doors and window are still locked. And that’s just the beginning of a mystery that features Josie as the prime suspect, several shady characters, and possible long-lost relatives. It’s just like the beginning of an old movie, but Josie will need a lot more direction than her grandmother’s magic lessons will provide . . .
Witches of Dubious Origin by Jenn McKinlay
Publication Date: October 28, 2025
Genre: Cozy Paranormal Mystery
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When a librarian discovers she’s descended from a long line of powerful witches, she’ll need all of her bookish knowledge to harness her family’s magic, in this enchanting cozy fantasy from New York Times bestselling author Jenn McKinlay.
Zoe Ziakas enjoys a quiet life, working as a librarian in her quaint New England town. When a mysterious black book with an unbreakable latch is delivered to the library, Zoe has a strange feeling the tome is somehow calling to her. She decides to consult the Museum of Literature, home to volumes of indecipherable secrets, some possessing dark magic that must be guarded.
Here, among their most dangerous collection, the Books of Dubious Origin, Zoe discovers that she is the last descendant of a family of witches and this little black book is their grimoire. Zoe knows she must decode the family’s spell book and solve the mystery of what happened to her mother and her grandmother. However, the book’s potential power draws all things magical to it, and Zoe finds herself under the constant watch of a pesky raven, while being chased by undead Vikings, ghost pirates, and assorted ghouls.
With assistance from the eccentric staff of the Books of Dubious Origin department—including their annoyingly smart and handsome containment specialist, Jasper Griffin—Zoe must confront her past and the legacy of her family. But as their adventure unfolds, she’ll have to decide whether or not she’s ready to embrace her destiny.
Bewitch and Bloom by Wendy Meadows
Willow Creek Midlife Mysteries #1
Publication Date: October 30, 2025
Genre: Paranormal Women’s Fiction
At midlife, Parker Ross expected hot flashes—not hexes, heists, and a homicide investigation.
Freshly divorced and building a jewelry business in her small hometown of Willow Creek, Parker is doing her best to start over. With her empathic best friend Posie by her side, she’s also guarding the secret that the two of them are witches.
But when a well-meaning spell goes sideways and ties their favorite diner to a string of jewelry thefts, Parker finds herself in the middle of a scandal that could ruin everything. Between a suspicious detective, nosy neighbors, and magic that rarely behaves, the stakes are higher than Parker imagined.
Can two midlife witches untangle the truth before the town—and the law—decides their cozy little secret is the real crime?
Favoring the Farmer by Shanna Hatfield
Summer Creek #8
Publication Date: October 30, 2025
Genre: Sweet Cowboy Romance
He’s a weary farmer. She’s a city designer with a rebellious teen in tow. Summer Creek might just be the fresh start they need.
Farmer Dane Becker feels like life has left him behind. With his father gone and the woman he loved like a grandmother now laid to rest, Dane is exhausted, lonely, and convinced his best days are buried in the middle of his wheat field. Then one evening, he spots lights in the house next door. His investigation ends with a mop-wielding beauty mistaking him for a burglar—while unexpectedly stealing his heart.
Bellamy Larken is used to designing one-of-a-kind apparel for Hollywood’s elite, not wielding cleaning supplies against handsome strangers. But when her younger sister Elise’s rebellion spirals out of control, Bellamy—as her guardian—knows something has to change. Inheriting her late aunt’s home in Summer Creek, Oregon, feels like the perfect fresh start. Hastily packing without warning her sister, she drags Elise from the city to small-town life, hoping the quiet community will give them both a chance to heal.
But the house is stuck in a disco-era time warp, Bellamy feels overwhelmed, and the rugged farmer next door is equal parts frustrating and irresistible. Dane insists he doesn’t need anyone, yet Bellamy’s determined heart might be exactly what he can’t live without.
Filled with small-town charm, laugh-out-loud moments, and a tender romance that blossoms under beautiful Oregon skies, Favoring the Farmer is a sweet and hopeful love story about finding where you truly belong.
Puppy Smooches and Peppermint Kisses by Jennifer Faye
Kringle Falls #3
Publication Date: November 1, 2025
Genre: Sweet Animal Holiday Romance
When she wrote to Santa as a child, she didn’t know her wishes would come true years later…
Holly Berry is spending her first Christmas without her grandmother, who had raised her. It’s difficult, but she’s getting through it. Then, unexpectedly, she’s asked to foster a puppy. Feeling out of her depth, she turns to her childhood friend, who offers to give her some guidance.
Veterinarian Colin Bishop has given up on relationships after his busy practice keeps interfering in his private life. But when the girl next-door needs some help, he’s more than willing to make room in his busy schedule. But he knows not to fall for her infectious laugh or dazzling smile because his patients will always come first.
Holly never thought the wishes she wrote on her Christmas list as a kid would come true, but unexpectedly ghosts from Christmas past have come to visit. Will Colin be able to bring the joy back to her holiday? Or will those ghosts ruin everything?
The Kidnapping of Alice Ingold by Cate Holahan
Publication Date: November 1, 2025
Genre: Domestic Thriller
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A harrowing abduction becomes a tantalizing nationwide game in a twisty and ingenious novel of suspense by a USA Today bestselling author.
Alice Ingold has been kidnapped. Call the police. Alert the media. You can’t play this game without all the pieces.
Beautiful, blond, and immensely privileged, Alice Ingold is the perfect victim for a true-crime obsessed culture―and for a masked duo with a singular purpose. Instead of a demand for ransom, her captors have a riddle, and they’re inviting the entire country to solve it.
No one is more invested in the search than Alice’s parents: Catherine, a socialite with obscene generational wealth, and Brian, a visionary AI tech guru. But while Brian turns to machines to solve the problem, Catherine tries to crowdsource the solution, stopping at nothing to bring her daughter home. And America isn’t just watching the story unfold…it’s playing along. The nationwide scavenger hunt for Alice is on.
As an increasingly desperate Catherine strives to understand each new clue, a complex picture of the crime develops. Soon, everyone will see the kidnapping of Alice Ingold for what it is―and Alice won’t be the only one who will need saving.
Well, that’s it for the New Books Releasing Week 44 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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