The Baroness’ Choices of New Books Publishing This Week
2022, Week 49 and 50’s New Books
My choices for this week include Sweet Holiday Romance, Cozy Animal Holiday Mystery, Cozy Paranormal Mystery, Cozy Mysteries, Dystopian Romantic Suspense Mystery, Middle Grade Fantasy, Holiday Romances, Romantic Comedy, Historical Romance, Police Procedural Thriller, and Sweet Historical Holiday Romance.
Are you ready for Christmas? Presents wrapped? Have you watched any Christmas movies on television?
I am still unpacking. My bookshelves were installed and painted over the weekend. Now I get to unpack my books and the rest of my room. I am so excited. Expect to see some #shelfie posts on my Instagram soon.
Remember that books are excellent presents ~ especially for bookworms.
Here are my choices for New Books Publishing Weeks 49 and 50 of 2022!
Christmas, Actually by Melinda Curtis, Anna Adams, and Anna J. Stewart
Christmas Town, Maine
Publication Date: December 4, 2022
Genre: Sweet Holiday Romance
Get in the holiday spirit with a collection of heartfelt, feel good, sweet romances set in small, snowy Christmas Town!
Grab your mug of hot chocolate, your favorite fuzzy blanket, and get ready for a dose of holiday spirit! Here are three connected, sweet holiday romances set in charming Christmas Town where local legend has it that a kiss beneath the gazebo on the town square during the holiday season means a wedding in the new year.
Welcome to Christmas Town, Maine!
The Banning siblings are in need of a little magic this holiday season, the kind that brings love and happy-ever-afters. There’s Jack, a trauma surgeon who would prefer working to dealing with memories of his time in service. Then there’s Callie, a grade school teacher who’s trying to fill the void left by her mother and volunteering too much around town. And finally, there’s Nick, one of the town’s handymen. He’s got an unrequited crush on the owner of The Tea Pot and is going to great lengths to get a date with her this Christmas.
If you enjoy Hallmark, UPTV or Great American Family TV holiday movies, you’ll love this collection of clean, heartwarming romances, each with a happy-ever-after and no cliffhangers. There’s something for everyone, including secret identity, medical romance, bakery romance, instant attraction, and more!
This set kicks off the Heartwarming Christmas Town series which has over 60 connected sweet romances, all written by Harlequin Heartwarming authors (past & present). Be sure to check out our companion series – The Christmas Carousel (The 12 Days of Heartwarming Christmas) – featuring one novella and 12 full-length holiday romances. These books, also set in Christmas Town, feature the restoration of a carousel and preparation for a Christmas wedding.
This book was previously published.
A Christmas Memory by Kathi Daley
Cottage on Gooseberry Bay #11
Publication Date: December 6, 2022
Genre: Cozy Animal Holiday Mystery
USA Today Bestselling author Kathi Daley brings you a heartwarming mystery series about finding answers and fostering hope while building friendships and embracing the magic of life by the sea and small town holidays.
Ainsley Holloway had come to Gooseberry Bay to find answers about her past. She’d come to find an explanation for the dreams that haunted her after the death of the cop who’d both rescued and raised her. And she’d come to identify the family she couldn’t remember but knew in her heart she’d once belonged to.
Ainsley hoped that by finding these answers, she’d also find healing. She hoped that once she’d resurrected the memories buried deep in her mind, she’d find peace.
The Cottage at Gooseberry Bay is a series about, not only finding answers, but finding hope.
It’s a series about family and friendship.
It’s a series about shared holidays, festivals, and celebrations.
It’s a series about shared heartbreak and hardship.
And it’s a series about the bond that can be forged amongst strangers when tragedy binds two or more individuals with a common goal.
In book 11 in the series, Ainsley is hired to help a woman prove to the police that she actually saw a kidnapping she’s sure she witnessed as a child but only just recently remembered after returning to Gooseberry Bay for the first time in decades.
A Medium Homecoming by Lynn Cahoon
Haunted Life Cozy Mystery #2
Publication Date: December 6, 2022
Genre: Cozy Paranormal Mystery
Eddie Cayce has come home to New Orleans. Good or bad, she’s made her bed and now she has to sleep in it, like her mama always said. Even though she loves the town where she grew up, the gift she’d been given from her late grandmother was causing problems. Major problems.
Her aunt isn’t talking to her. Eddie’s talent is turned up to the equivalent of a million-watt light bulb. Walking down the street from her newly purchased antique store, she has to dodge questions and demands from the newly and not so dearly departed.
When her marketing associate, Tessa Hunt, dies unexpectedly, her ghost demands that Eddie find her killer, Eddie agrees to make some calls. Now if she could just keep Tessa from pushing her bad marketing tactics from beyond the grave.
All Eddie wants is a little peace and quiet so she can run her new business and find the perfect house. Is that too much to ask? Apparently, the answer is yes, at least in New Orleans.
Death Checked Out by Leah Dobrinska
Larkspur Library Mystery #1
Publication Date: December 6, 2022
Genre: Cozy Mystery
When in doubt, go to the library…and solve the murder mystery!
Greta Plank, library director in the small, lakeside town of Larkspur, Wisconsin, prefers her rose-tinted glasses extra rosy, thank you very much. It’s how she copes with the hard stuff in life…like her sister’s death and her ex-boyfriend’s deception. But Greta’s cheery resolve takes a hit when she stumbles upon a dead body on her way home from work. What she assumes is a terrible accident Greta soon learns is something more sinister, and to make matters worse, a new-to-town detective cites her as not only his primary source for the case, but his top suspect.
To clear her name and save her reputation, Greta decides to do some off-the-books clue cataloging of her own. After all, asking questions is what she does best. With the help of her fellow librarians and her lawyer mom, Greta flips through the pages of the murder, uncovering details about Larkspur’s real estate market and the deceased’s rare book collection as she tries to understand why anyone would have authored his death.
With friends and neighbors stacking up as both victims and suspects, Greta must cross reference the facts and put a hold on her idyllic worldview if she wants to get the full story without paying the fine of her life.
Death in the Margins by Victoria Gilbert
Blue Ridge Library Mystery #7
Publication Date: December 6, 2022
Genre: Cozy Mystery
The theater is no place for murder—but a case of backstage betrayal drags library director Amy Webber into a case that could mean curtains in critically acclaimed author Victoria Gilbert’s Blue Ridge Library mystery.
It’s early summer, and while Richard Muir and his dance partner, Karla, are preparing their new choreographic piece, Richard’s wife, Amy, is gathering the dance’s source materials. Based on folktales and the music of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the production is set to premiere at an old cinema that has been converted to a theater. But when dancer Meredith Fox—Richard’s former fiancé—is found dead backstage, Amy is once again propelled into a murder case that threatens the careers and lives of those she loves.
After Amy teams up with Chief Deputy Brad Tucker and the sheriff’s department to discover the killer, they find that there’s no shortage of suspects: Meredith’s wealthy ex-husband, several fellow dancers, a romantically spurned accompanist, and others whom the talented but haughty dancer dismissed or betrayed over the years.
With Richard and Karla’s help, and information gleaned from locals who know a wealth of small-town secrets, Amy desperately tries to unveil the killer before the premiere. But she’s pursuing a ruthless murderer who’s willing to kill again—and who might just be waiting for Amy in the wings.
Frozen Flowers Fallen by Sarah Westill
Bella and the Beast Master #1
Publication Date: December 6, 2022
Genre: Dystopian Romantic Suspense Mystery
In a country obsessed with genetically inherited gifts, Bella Fenwick is no one special. At least that’s what she’s been led to believe. Then a handsome Ruthenian walks into her life, a wolf at his side. He won’t let Bella hide behind her desk and discredit the evidence she’s discovered that could lead to a murderer.
Sent by his high marshal to investigate the death of an official’s daughter, Beast Master Markus Ralston and his wolf, Lunah, don’t let something as trivial as politics get in the way of learning the truth. Markus knows Bella can help, even if she doesn’t want to believe him, and he insists on her assistance in the case. Much to Lunah’s dismay, Markus soon realizes more than the Sziverian woman’s unique talent may have drawn them together as whisperings of mate slide across his nerves anytime they touch…
Following the clues no one else has bothered to look for, they quickly realize they’re on a race against time before the frozen nights thaw and the serial killer disappears…
Sleuthing in Stilettos by Debra Sennefelder
Resale Boutique Mystery #5
Publication Date: December 6, 2022
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Kelly Quinn, owner of a high-end consignment shop, is a booster for her Long Island town’s small businesses—but now a store owner’s murder has brought big trouble . . .
Locals in Lucky Cove seem to harbor hostility toward Miranda Farrell, proprietor of a new shoe store. Nevertheless, Kelly invites her along to a Chamber of Commerce meeting. But soon afterward, Miranda’s body is found in her shop, with Kelly’s uncle—who’s had multiple public arguments with her—standing nearby. Could her uncle really have committed murder over a business dispute? Or is Miranda’s death related to her late husband’s long-ago embezzlement case?
Kelly feels compelled to investigate, despite her detective boyfriend’s objections—not to mention her commitment to promoting Small Business Saturday. But her effort to pump up sales may fall flat. After her presentation to the committee is sabotaged, the Chamber gives her the boot—and tongues start wagging. Now she has to do some fancy footwork to find the killer . . .
Sparks Along the River by Amy Craig
Publication Date: December 6, 2022
Genre: Holiday Romance
FROM EXCITING ROMANCE AUTHOR AMY CRAIG
A Secret Santa story
Her new friend’s brother is totally off limits.
Rachel flees an abusive relationship and takes shelter in rural Louisiana before the Christmas holidays. Grateful for a new friend and a place to hide out, Rachel runs her media empire from the swamplands and tries to keep her hands off her friend’s older brother.
On Christmas Eve, bonfires light up the levee, but when the embers cool, Rachel must choose whether or not to return home.
The Broken Mirror by Melissa de la Cruz
Chronicles of Never After #3
Publication Date: December 6, 2022
Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy
Real life and fairy tales collide in Never After: The Broken Mirror, book three of the funny and thrilling middle-grade saga perfect for fans of The Land of Stories series from the #1 New York Times bestselling creator of the Descendants, Melissa de la Cruz.
The Never After crew is back for another twisted adventure. This time, they’re off to Snow Country—that is, after they rescue the beleaguered Lord Sharif of Nottingham from the evil Robin Hood, who has been plaguing the land with his thievery and mischief.
But Robin’s antics aren’t the only dangers afoot in the Kingdom of Never After. At the behest of her daughter, the evil Cinderella, Queen Olga has turned Prince Charming into a Frog after his wedding to the beautiful Hortense. And how could we forget the ominous Prophecy, which still looms large over Filomena and her friends?
Along with Jack, Alistair, Gretel, Beatrice, Byron Bessley, and some new Snow Country pals like Rose Red and a chatty magic mirror, Filomena sets off to find the only ones who can save the kingdom once and for all: The League of the Seven – a group of fearless warriors devoted to fighting the ogres at any cost.
Still, new threats lurk around every corner, both in Never After and back home in North Pasadena . . . Even with the League of the Seven’s help, can Filomena and her friends rescue the land from Olga’s clutches? Or will the ogres finally prevail?
The Key to My Heart by Lia Louis
Publication Date: December 6, 2022
Genre: Romantic Comedy
A Goodreads Most Anticipated Romance
A heartwarming novel about hope after loss as a young widow receives mysterious messages of love from the “must-buy author” (Jodi Picoult) of Eight Perfect Hours.
Sparkly and charming Natalie Fincher has it all—a handsome new husband, a fixer-upper cottage of her dreams, and the opportunity to tour with the musical she’s spent years writing. But when her husband suddenly dies, all her hopes and dreams instantly disappear.
Two and a half years later, Natalie is still lost. She works, sleeps (well, as much as the sexually frustrated village foxes will allow), and sees friends just often enough to allay their worries, but her life is empty. And she can only bring herself to play music at a London train station’s public piano where she can be anonymous. She’s lost motivation, faith in love, in happiness…in everything.
But when someone begins to mysteriously leave the sheet music for her husband’s favorite songs at the station’s piano, Natalie begins to feel a sense of hope and excitement for the first time. As she investigates just who could be doing this, Natalie finds herself on an unexpected journey toward newfound love for herself, for life, and maybe, for a special someone.
The Mysterious Mr. Marcellus by Tomi Tabb
Publication Date: December 6, 2022
Genre: Historical Romance
After four unsuccessful Seasons in London, Helen Davenport is aware that she is out of time. Her father cannot afford another Season. With a meager dowry and few connections, what gentlemen would have her? At the age of three and twenty, she might as well consider herself a spinster.
Yet, Helen’s father, Mr. Davenport refuses to give in so easily. After finding a way to raise the funds, Helen soon finds herself in London for one final Season.
When an accident during a morning walk through Hyde Park literally throws her into the path of a gentleman named Mr. Marcellus, Helen learns that there are some circumstances that lie beyond her control. Namely, the vile gossip of the Ton.
With her reputation called into question, Mr. Marcellus promises Helen he will do his duty as a gentleman and marry her. Except there is one problem…no one in town has ever heard of her rescuer. Just who is the mysterious Mr. Marcellus?
The Troubled Girls of Dragomir Academy by Anne Ursu
Publication Date: December 6, 2022
Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy
From the acclaimed author of The Real Boy and The Lost Girl comes a wondrous and provocative fantasy about a kingdom beset by monsters, a mysterious school, and a girl caught in between them.
If no one notices Marya Lupu, is likely because of her brother, Luka. And that’s because of what everyone knows: that Luka is destined to become a sorcerer.
The Lupus might be from a small village far from the capital city of Illyria, but that doesn’t matter. Every young boy born in in the kingdom holds the potential for the rare ability to wield magic, to protect the country from the terrifying force known only as the Dread.
For all the hopes the family has for Luka, no one has any for Marya, who can never seem to do anything right. But even so, no one is prepared for the day that the sorcerers finally arrive to test Luka for magical ability, and Marya makes a terrible mistake. Nor the day after, when the Lupus receive a letter from a place called Dragomir Academy—a mysterious school for wayward young girls. Girls like Marya.
Soon she is a hundred miles from home, in a strange and unfamiliar place, surrounded by girls she’s never met. Dragomir Academy promises Marya and her classmates a chance to make something of themselves in service to one of the country’s powerful sorcerers. But as they learn how to fit into a world with no place for them, they begin to discover things about the magic the men of their country wield, as well as the Dread itself—things that threaten the precarious balance upon which Illyria is built.
The Widowmaker by Hannah Morrissey
Black Harbor #2
Publication Date: December 6, 2022
Genre: Police Procedural Thriller
A wealthy family shrouded in scandal; a detective tasked with solving an impossible cold case; and a woman with a dark past collide in Hannah Morrissey’s stunning Black Harbor mystery, The Widowmaker.
Ever since business mogul Clive Reynolds disappeared twenty years ago, the name “Reynolds” has become synonymous with “murder” and “mystery.” And now, lured by a cryptic note, down-on-her-luck photographer Morgan Mori returns home to Black Harbor and into the web of their family secrets and double lives. The same night she photographs the Reynolds holiday get-together, Morgan becomes witness to a homicide of a cop that triggers the discovery of a long-buried clue.
This could finally be the thing to crack open the chilling cold case, and Investigator Ryan Hudson has a chance to prove himself as lead detective. If only he could stop letting his need to solve his partner’s recent murder distract him. But as Morgan exposes her own dark demons, could her sordid history be the key to unlocking more than one mystery?
Witcha Gonna Do by Avery Flynn
Witchington #1
Publication Date: December 6, 2022
Genre: Paranormal Romantic Comedy
One of Amazon’s Best Romances of December
A December LibraryReads PickAn unlucky witch and her know-it-all nemesis must team up in the first of a new, spicy romantic comedy series from USA Today bestselling author Avery Flynn.
Could it possibly get any worse than having absolutely no magical abilities when you’re a member of the most powerful family of witches ever? It used to be that I’d say no, but then I keep getting set up on dates with Gil Connolly whose hotness is only matched by his ego. Seriously. I can’t stand him. Even if I also can’t stop thinking about him (specifically kissing him) but we’re going to pretend I never told you that part.
So yeah, my life isn’t the greatest right now, but then it goes straight to the absolute worst hell when I accidentally make my sister’s spell glitch and curse my whole family. And the only person who can help non-magical me break the spell? You guessed it. Gil the super hot jerk.
Now we have to work together to save my family and outmaneuver some evil-minded nefarious forces bent on world domination. Oh yeah, and we have to do all that while fighting against the attraction building between us because I may not be magical, but what’s happening between Gil and I sure feels like it.
The Christmas Kiss by Shanna Hatfield
Hardman Holidays #10
Publication Date: December 8, 2022
Genre: Sweet Historical Holiday Romance
He’s a devoted single dad still grieving the loss of his wife.
She’s an outrageously fun female with a temper that runs as hot as a teakettle.
Will the two of them find a way to work together to give his son a Merry Christmas?
When Gracy Randall returns to Hardman after almost six years away, she can’t wait to see the look of surprise on her parents’ faces. But the surprises are for her, it seems, as everything she thought she could depend on turns out to be different than she expected. The family ranch? Sold. The fabulous job she lined up for her return? Gone. The life she left behind? Memories. Now what will she do?
Cord Granger has problems of his own. The ranch he bought to make a fresh start requires far more work and time than he’d anticipated. Until he can find someone to take care of the house and his son, Bodie, he struggles to keep up with each day’s demands. Yet, the thought of letting another woman into his home, even if she is hired to be there, feels like dishonoring the memory of his wife. But he has to do something. The work? Piling up. The grief he faces every day? Staggering. The life he left behind? Memories. Who can he trust to help?
After landing on the wrong foot the moment they meet, the last thing Gracy and Cord want to admit is that the other may hold the answer to their problems. Can a little holiday hope help Gracy bring fun and joy back into Cord’s world? Will Cord’s return to the land of the living break the heart she locked up six years ago?
Find out in The Christmas Kiss, a sweet historical holiday romance brimming with the wonder of the season, a town full of humorous characters, and heartwarming story of love.
Devil’s Delight by M.C. Beaton
Agatha Raisin Mystery #33
Publication Date: December 13, 2022
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Beloved New York Times bestseller M.C. Beaton’s cranky, crafty Agatha Raisin—the star of her own hit T.V. series—is back on the case again in Devil’s Delight.
Agatha and her assistant, Toni, are driving to their friend Bill Wong’s long-awaited wedding, thinking of nothing more than what the beautiful bride will be wearing when a terrified young man comes running down the country lane towards them wearing…nothing at all.
The encounter leads them to become embroiled with a naturist group, a disappearing corpse, fantasy games, witchcraft, an ice cream empire, intrigue and murder. In the meantime, Agatha’s hectic life swirls along at dizzying pace, her private detective agency as busy as ever and her private affairs in turmoil, with old loves to contend with and a new suitor on the scene.
But when she begins to close in on a suspected murderer, she finds herself in deadly peril, as the sinister nature of the ice cream business leads her to a chilling conclusion…
Faking It for the Holidays by Soraya Bancroft
Publication Date: December 14, 2022
Genre: Holiday Romance
Marley Fitzpatrick needs a decoy to stop her mother from trying to marry her off to every eligible bachelor she can back in her hometown this Christmas. Alex Foster, the hottest employee she’s ever hired has no plans this holiday season and agrees to be her fake boyfriend.
As luck would have it, they get stranded in a snowstorm, and the strict no fraternization policy Marley lives by is shoveled aside when Alex turns out to be the lumberjack she’s been waiting for.
Guiding the Grouch by Shanna Hatfield
Summer Creek #5
Publication Date: December 15, 2022
Genre: Sweet Holiday Romance
He’s a billionaire set on escaping the holidays and his demanding family.
She’s a single mom with a sunny smile who keeps her heart safely hidden.When she makes him her personal Christmas project, what could possibly go wrong?
Gabe Gatlin would do anything to evade the obligatory family holiday hobnobbing that is nothing more than one horrible business event after another, all wrapped up with a gaudy Christmas ribbon. Then the opportunity arises to explore a property in the small town of Summer Creek, Oregon, and gives him the idea to run away for the holidays. This year, he’s skipping Christmas. All he has to do is hide out until January in the quirky little town where the residents have dubbed him Grouchy Gabe. But when a delightful woman starts making his sleigh bells jingle, he might find it impossible to avoid losing his three-sizes-too-small heart.
Single mom and waitress, Dani Latham, has two priorities: give her son the stable life she never had, and spread joy to her friends and neighbors in Summer Creek. When a stranger with a humbug attitude sits at her table, she makes it her personal mission to make him smile. As she guides him into a flurry of Christmas festivities, she starts to wonder if this grouch’s heart will ever return to normal size. And even worse. . . if it does, who is going to save hers from breaking when he leaves?
Will a little Christmas magic and wonder bring these two lonesome people together?
Discover the joys of the season mixed with humor, holiday fun, and moments that tug at your heartstrings in this sweet contemporary Christmas romance.
Well, that’s it for the New Books Releasing Weeks 49 and 50 of 2022
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!
Leave a Reply