The Baroness’ Choices of New Books Publishing This Week
2023, Week 46’s New Books
My choices for this week include Cozy Historical Mystery, YA Romantic Comedy, Cozy Culinary Mystery, Sweet Holiday Romantic Comedy, Holiday Romance, Historical Mystery, Cozy Mystery, YA Fairytale and Folklore Adaptation, and Cozy Animal Mystery.
We are a week away from Thanksgiving! Are you planning to spend the holiday with family? Are you traveling or having dinner at your house? Here, we are probably going to just hang out at home and enjoy a peaceful day.
We have a lot of books coming out this week, and I’ve read three of them. The books have a bit of everything going for them, so hopefully, you can find your next read from these wonderful selections. Have I missed one that you were excited about? Tell me in the comments!
Here are my choices for New Books Publishing Week 46 of 2023!
Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord by Celeste Connally
Lady Petra Inquires #1
Publication Date: November 14, 2023
Genre: Cozy Historical Mystery
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Bridgerton meets Agatha Christie in Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord, a dazzling first entry in a captivating new Regency-era mystery series with a feminist spin from Celeste Connally.
London, 1815. Lady Petra Forsyth, daughter of the Earl of Holbrook, has made a shocking proclamation. After losing her beloved fiancé in an accident three years earlier, she announces in front of London’s loosest lips that she will never marry. A woman of independent means―and rather independent ways―Petra sees no reason to cede her wealth and freedom to any man now that the love of her life is gone. Instead, she plans to continue enjoying the best of society without any expectations.But when ballroom gossip suggests that a longtime friend has died of a fit due to her “melancholia” while in the care of a questionable physician, Petra vows to use her status to dig deeper―uncovering a private asylum where men pay to have their wives and daughters locked away, or worse. Just as Petra has reason to believe her friend is alive, a shocking murder proves more danger is afoot than she thought. And the more determined Lady Petra becomes in uncovering the truth, the more her own headstrong actions and desire for independence are used against her, putting her own freedom―and possibly her life―in jeopardy.
Artifacts of an Ex by Jennifer Chen
Publication Date: November 14, 2023
Genre: YA Romantic Comedy
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In the tradition of Jenny Han and Emma Lord, Jennifer Chen’s Artifacts of an Ex is a story of love, art, and finding your way when everything you know has changed completely.
When Chloe Chang gets dumped via USPS after moving across the county from NYC to LA, her first instinct is to throw her box of memories in the garbage. Instead, she starts buying other teenagers’ break-up boxes to create an art exhibit, Heartifacts. Opening night is going great, until she spots Daniel Kwak illicitly filming his best friend’s reaction to his ex’s box. When she tries to stop him, an intense discussion ends up launching a creative partnership and friendship… and a major crush for Chloe.
There’s just one problem: Daniel is dead set on not being another rebound.
Five times he’s been the guy who makes the girls he’s dating realize they want to get back with their ex. And he refuses for there to be a sixth. She insists she’s over her ex, but when he shows up unexpectedly with his new girlfriend, it turns out Daniel was right. She isn’t ready for a new relationship.
She throws herself into making Heartifacts successful, but flashy influencers threaten her original vision of the exhibit. To create the exhibit she’s always wanted, Chloe needs to go back to basics, learn to work with artists in a more collaborative way, and discover what love can be. Only then will she convince Daniel she’s truly ready for everything they could be to one another.
Bulletproof Barista by Cleo Coyle
Coffeehouse Mystery #20
Publication Date: November 14, 2023
Genre: Cozy Culinary Mystery
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When a film crew’s location shoot delivers an actual shooting, Clare Cosi finds herself at the scene of a true crime in this showstopping entry in the beloved Coffeehouse Mysteries from New York Times bestselling author Cleo Coyle.
Only Murders in Gotham, the smash-hit streaming program, is famous for filming in authentic New York locations and using real New Yorkers as extras. For its second season, they’ve chosen to spotlight the century-old Village Blend and its quirky crew of baristas. Shop manager and master roaster Clare Cosi is beyond thrilled, especially when her superb bulletproof coffee lands her a craft services contract for the production.
Madame, the eccentric octogenarian owner of the landmark shop, reveals an old kinship with the star of the show, comedian Jerry Sullivan. Now a Hollywood legend, Jerry frequented the Blend during his early years performing in Greenwich Village comedy clubs. But the past may hold more than nostalgia for Jerry. Suspicious accidents begin plaguing his shoot. Then a real bullet is fired from a stage gun, and Clare becomes convinced something sinister is afoot.
While Jerry’s production moves to exciting new locations, Clare keeps the coffee flowing—and her investigation going—even as a murderer lurks in the wings. But can she root out the rotten player in this Big Apple production before the lights go out on her? Includes a stellar menu of surefire recipes.
Finding the One by Holly Kerr
Suitor Science #6
Publication Date: November 14, 2023
Genre: Sweet Holiday Romantic Comedy
They’ve all found The One.
Rachel and Boen. Bexley and Grayson. Biba and David. Fiona and Mase. And Demi and Tad. Thanks to The Suitor reality TV show, everyone has found their happily ever after.
Until…
Boen has popped the question to Rachel and she’s accepted. As the friends gather to celebrate, there’s more news: after their quickie Las Vegas wedding, FIona and Mase are getting married. Again. Stirling style.
But their wedding day is planned for the same day as Rachel and Boen’s.
Two weddings on the same day, in different countries.
Sides will be chosen. Fights will be had. And unless a Christmas miracle happens, some of the happily ever afters might not make it to New Year’s Eve.
Finding the One is a sweet romantic comedy about friendship and fighting to get your own way, plus a new little love story thrown in as Christmas gift to you!
Hope for the Holidays by Daryl Wood Gerber
Publication Date: November 14, 2023
Genre: Sweet Holiday Romance
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Hope Lyons’s husband ran through all their money and split Portland, Oregon, forcing Hope to sell her beloved Pie in the Sky bakery and move with her two children back to charming Hope Valley, her hometown. She has been working as a waitress and pinching pennies to get their lives back on track; however, when her children win KPRL’s Spirit of Christmas vacation contest, Hope worries about the extra expenses she will incur on such a trip and turns it down.
Steve Waldren, the handsome KPRL sports anchor, is now of an age where he can’t afford to have a gap on his resume. His confidence is already shaky, ever since his fiancée dumped him, claiming Steve would never reach his potential. When Steve’s boss dubs Steve to be Giveaway Santa, he’s forced to accept. Steve, as Santa, readily travels to Hope Valley to award the prize. But when Hope refuses it, he’s at a loss. His boss threatens to fire him if he doesn’t convince Hope to take it, and Steve does all he can to change her mind. But Hope can be stubborn, life can be a challenge, and Hope’s children can be unpredictable. Not to mention, the truth isn’t always what it seems.
Will Hope and Steve find their happily ever after? It might take a holiday miracle.
I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died by Amanda Flower
Emily Dickinson Mystery #2
Publication Date: November 14, 2023
Genre: Historical Mystery
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When a literary icon stays with the Dickinson family, Emily and her housemaid Willa find themselves embroiled in a shocking murder in this new mystery from USA Today bestselling and Agatha Award–winning author Amanda Flower.
August 1856. The Dickinson family is comfortably settled in their homestead on Main Street. Emily’s brother, Austin Dickinson, and his new wife are delighted when famous thinker and writer Ralph Waldo Emerson comes to Amherst to speak at a local literary society and decides he and his young secretary, Luther Howard, will stay with the newlyweds. Emily has been a longtime admirer of Emerson’s writing and is thrilled at the chance to meet her idol. She is determined to impress him with her quick wit, and if she can gather the courage, a poem. Willa Noble, the second maid in the Dickinson home and Emily’s friend, encourages her to speak to the famous but stern man. But his secretary, Luther, intrigues Willa more because of his clear fondness for the Dickinson sisters.
Willa does not know if Luther truly cares for one of the Dickinson girls or if he just sees marrying one of them as a way to raise himself up in society. After a few days in his company, Willa starts to believe it’s the latter. Miss Lavinia, Emily’s sister, appears to be enchanted by Luther; a fact that bothers Emily greatly. However, Emily’s fears are squashed when Luther turns up dead in the Dickinson’s garden. It seems that he was poisoned. Emerson, aghast at the death of his secretary, demands answers. Emily and Willa set out to find them in order to save the Dickinson family reputation and stop a cold-blooded fiend from killing again.
Murder Checks Out by Victoria Gilbert
Blue Ridge Library Mystery #8
Publication Date: November 14, 2023
Genre: Cozy Mystery
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It’s not all snowflakes and sugarplums when murder crashes Taylorsford’s first Winterfest in the eighth installment of the Blue Ridge Library series, perfect for fans of Jenn McKinlay and Ellery Adams.
Returning to her role as an amateur detective is the last thing library director Amy Muir wants. She’s already buried under an avalanche of responsibilities, including sharing the directorship of the local public library, parenting her holiday-obsessed five-year-old twins, and helping her choreographer husband, Richard, present The Nutcracker as part of the town’s festivities. With her frosty mother-in-law, Fiona, visiting for the holidays, Amy definitely has enough on her Christmas cookie plate.
But when the chair of the festival committee is found as dead as Dickens’s proverbial doornail at the town’s ice rink, Amy is determined to uncover the real perpetrator to protect her brother-in-law, Ethan Payne, who was placed at the scene. The clock is ticking down as Sheriff Brad Tucker is equally sure that Ethan is guilty.
It’s beginning to look a lot like the murderer hasn’t wrapped up his killing spree, and now, it might just be “lights out” on the holiday festivities—and on Amy’s life.
To Heal a Broken Heart by Aveline Brooke
Shattered Tales #7
Publication Date: November 14, 2023
Genre: YA Fairytale and Folklore Adaptation
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True love’s kiss is a powerful thing. It can break a curse, or heal a broken heart.
Framed for the murder of the princess he loved, the wizard Lucien is imprisoned in his own tower and cursed to take a repulsive, snake-like appearance. His only hope of clearing his name is to break his curse by earning the love of another maiden – and to love her in return. But he wastes away, knowing that this could never happen.
Anelise has sworn off love since the betrayal of her lover, and focuses instead on running the household after her father’s ruin. When he returns from a last attempt to recover his merchant fortune with nothing but tales of a wizard in a tower who demands his daughter, she insists on complying with the wizard’s orders and returning with her father to save his life. Arriving at the tower, she finds that the wizard is not at all what she expected. When her father is suddenly taken away by a mysterious and violent man – one who threatens both Anelise and Lucien – the pair must work together to save her father.
Lucien must battle with hope as his growing affection for Anelise rivals his notions of true love, and Anelise must reconcile with the idea that perhaps hearts can heal, love is not for swearing off, and that hope can be found in the most unlikely of circumstances.
To Heal a Broken Heart is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. It is one of twelve novellas in The Shattered Tales, a collection of twelve fractured retellings of your favorite fairy tales. They can be enjoyed in any order, so fall in love with the swoony sweet romance, magical adventures, and tale-shattering twists one happily-ever-after at a time!
Trotting into Trouble by Amber Camp
Horse Rescue Mystery #2
Publication Date: November 14, 2023
Genre: Cozy Animal Mystery
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An investigation goes from an easy trot to a full-on gallop into danger in the second Horse Rescue mystery, perfect for fans of Amanda Flower and Mollie Cox Bryan.
It’s business as usual when horse rescue owner Mallory Martin gets a call from Sheriff Grady Sullivan that a loose horse has been found in a popular hunting area. While trying to catch the horse, Mallory stumbles upon the body of his unfortunate rider, Hillspring’s star basketball coach, Douglas Griggs. All signs point to a tragic hunting accident.
Despite her better instincts, Mallory finds herself in the middle of another murder investigation when the coach’s widow begs her to look into the case. Mrs. Griggs believes the sheriff is ignoring any evidence that doesn’t point to an accident.
But Mallory’s troubles are only beginning. As she juggles a blossoming romance, tensions with her best friend Lanie, and responsibilities at the rescue, she discovers that Coach Griggs’s enemies had ample motive to murder him. And now, Mallory may be in the killer’s sights.
Well, that’s it for the New Books Releasing Week 46 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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