Author: bookafterbook

Publication: 20th June 2024 – HarperCollins UK

One toxic family. Eight suspicious guests. Everyone is guilty. But who is a killer?

Welcome to the McAlpine Lodge: a secluded mountain getaway, it’s the height of escapist luxury living.

Except that everyone here is lying. Lying about their past. Lying to their family. Lying to themselves.

Then one night, Mercy McAlpine – until now the good daughter – threatens to expose everybody’s secrets. Just hours later, Mercy is dead.

In an area this remote, it’s easy to get away with murder. But Will Trent and Sara Linton – investigator and medical examiner for the GBI – are here on their honeymoon.

And now, with the killer poised to strike again, the holiday of a lifetime becomes a race against the clock…

AMAZON

WATERSTONES

I can’t never get enough of the Will Trent and Sara Linton series and in this twelfth book they are at last married (how long have I been waiting for this?!). And, for their honeymoon, Will chose a luxury cabin in a remote family-run resort in the mountains a few hours from Atlanta. But what was supposed to be a relaxing week of romance, hiking, yoga, fishing, and canoeing is interrupted on the first night when the resort manager, Mercy McAlpine, is found stabbed by the lake. With no easy access to the resort, the family and the other guests are all suspects and it seems that they are all keeping secrets. And since leading the investigation is an incompetent sheriff influenced by years of prejudices against the victim, Will and Sara call his partner Faith and his boss Amanda for help.

Let me start by saying that this is not an easy read. It’s gripping and suspenseful and immersive, but it’s not for the light-hearted. There are themes of abuse, assault, alcohol and drug abuse, and toxic family relationships. The story is told from many perspectives, including the victim as we relive her last day and discover the events that led to her murder. For Will, the investigation is more personal than usual as one of the suspects is someone from his past and brings back up memories of his childhood and the mother he never met. He’s backed by three strong-minded and resolute women. His partner Faith who doesn’t think twice about giving up her much awaited week off to help him; his boss Amanda who would rather he enjoyed his honeymoon; and his now-wife Sara, who supports him in everything, even when he dangerously jumps in a river to save someone. I love these two characters. They are adorable together and, after many years of problems, miscommunications, and past loves coming between them, they are happy together (murder aside, of course).

This Is Why We Lied is another intense and incredible novel by Karin Slaughter (she can’t ever do wrong). A remote location, murder, dysfunctional family, and secrets and many many twists will keep you glued to the page until the very end!

A huge thank you to HarperCollins UK and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of this fantastic novel.

Karin Slaughter is one of the world’s most popular storytellers. Published in 120 countries with more than 40 million copies sold across the globe, her novels have all been Sunday Times bestsellers. Slaughter lives in Atlanta, Georgia, and is the founder of the Save the Libraries project―a nonprofit organization established to support libraries and library programming. Her standalone novel Pieces of Her is now a Netflix series, and the Grant County and Will Trent series are in development for television.

Publication: 18th June 2024 – Penguin Random House Canada / Viking

The third book in the Mr. Darcy & Miss Tilney Mystery series, which finds the amateur sleuths facing their most daunting challenge yet: preventing the murder of the imperious Lady Catherine de Bourgh.

Someone is trying to kill Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Esteemed aunt of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, generous patroness of Mr. William Collins, a woman of rank who rules over the estate of Rosings Park with an unimpeachable sense of propriety–who would dare? Lady Catherine summons her grand-nephew, Mr. Jonathan Darcy, and his investigative companion, Miss Juliet Tilney, to find out.

After a year apart, Jonathan and Juliet are thrilled to be reunited, even if the circumstances–finding whoever has thus far sabotaged Lady Catherine’s carriage, shot at her, and nearly pushed her down the stairs–are less than ideal. Also less than ideal: their respective fathers, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy and Mr. Henry Tilney, have accompanied the young detectives to Rosings, and the two men do not interact with the same felicity enjoyed by their children.

With attempts against Lady Catherine escalating, and no one among the list of prime suspects seemingly capable of committing all of the attacks, the pressure on Jonathan and Juliet mounts–even as more gentle feelings between the two of them begin to bloom. The race is now on to provoke two confessions: one from the attempted murderer before it is too late–and one, perhaps, of love.

AMAZON

The adventures of Jonathan Darcy (eldest son of Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pemberley) and Juliet Tilney (eldest daughter of Catherine and Henry Tilney of Northanger Abbey) as amateur detectives have reached Rosings Park. The tenacious Lady Catherine De Bourgh has been the victim of a few attempts on her life and demands that Jonathan and Juliet investigate the matter and put a stop to it in the briefest time possible. Both accompanied by their fathers, who fear a possible attachment between the two of them, Juliet and Jonathan set out to investigate. The suspects are all inside of Rosings: there is Colonel Fiztwilliam, now married to Lady Catherine’s daughter, Anne: where does he disappear every day for hours? There is Anne who resents her mother for sending her young son to boarding school. And then, there is the loyal Mr. Collins and his family who certainly keep their fair share of secrets. Juliet and Jonathan must discover the truth quickly, as the attempts on Lady Catherine’s life escalate.

As a huge fan of Jane Austen, I enjoy reading adaptations of her novels and the Mr. Darcy & Miss Tilney series is very-well made. Featuring the protagonists from Pride & Prejudice and Northanger Abbey, it often sees the appearances of other characters from Austen’s other novels. The Perils of Lady Catherine De Bourgh is the third novel in the series and, so far, my favourite. Jonathan and Juliet are wonderful characters and, in this third book, they finally acknowledge the feelings they have for each other, at least to themselves. Following the past investigations, Juliet Tilney has taken an interest in criminology, making experiments in the Northanger Abbey kitchen, even though it’s not proper for a young lady in society. She is fun, smart, and witty and, like Elizabeth Bennett before her, not afraid to speak out in front of Lady Catherine. Jonathan Darcy is my favourite character. Very intelligent and sweet, but also socially awkward, he is considered strange by society. The only person who seems to accept him for who he is (besides his mother) is Juliet. Those two characters are charming and adorable and I can’t wait for more of their adventures!

Well-written, engaging, and immersive, this is the perfect series for all Jane Austen lovers out there!

A huge thank you to Penguin Random House Canada and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of the novel.

CLAUDIA GRAY is the pseudonym of Amy Vincent. She is the author of the Mr. Darcy and Miss Tilney Mysteries, which began with The Murder of Mr. Wickham. She is also the writer of multiple young adult novels, including the Evernight series, the Firebird trilogy, and the Constellation trilogy; in addition, she’s written several Star Wars novels, such as Lost Stars and Bloodline, and is one of the story architects of the High Republic series. She makes her home in New Orleans with her husband Paul and assorted small dogs.

Publication: 20th June 2024 – HarperCollins UK

When family life gives you lemons, trade them for grapes!

Mummy Ellen is on a well-earned sabbatical from work, and she has A Vision. She is going to cherish *every* moment this holiday with her Precious Moppets Peter and Jane, alongside her ride-or-die best friend, Hannah. There will be wicker baskets! Vintage bicycles! Pink sunshine wine! And not an electronic babysitter in sight.

But as she strives for her picture-perfect “Ultimate Family Summer” in the sun-kissed bliss of her almost-chateau, reality crashes the party. With small feral hell-beasts to keep alive on the daily, and Hannah suddenly and mysteriously MIA, wine o’clock gets earlier and earlier as each day crawls by.

Can she keep The Vision alive without resorting to nightly beige ‘freezer tapas’ (aka guilt-flavoured chicken nuggets)? Or will she reach the end of her Gentle Parenting book and her tether as her dream holiday descends into a nightmare?

Join Ellen on her uproarious quest to salvage one of the #18PreciousSummers, or simply find her Grape Escape.

AMAZON

WATERSTONES

She’s back! The funniest and most chaotic mother in the world is back right on time for the summer holidays. This year, Ellen has decided to take a two-month sabbatical from her work (which she hates, by the way), so that she doesn’t have to juggle babysitters and summer camps during the school holidays, and she has decided to make the most of it. Together with her best friend Hannah, she’s organized fun activities, picnics and adventures (lots of “japes and frolics”) so that they can have their Summer of Happy Memories. Of course, things never go according to plan. First, Hannah leaves her alone to go and spend three weeks with her ex-husband in Cape Town, so Ellen decides to make new friends (and make Hannah jealous) by spending time with perfect yummy mummies Fiona Montague and Lucy Atkinson’s Perfect Mummy which involves healthy food, intellectual activities, and Fiona’s ever-present clipboard. Then, her disapproving mother moves in with her, luckily Ellen and her family are going to France to spend two weeks at her in-laws “chattete”, but the presence of her crystal crazy sister-in-law (who lives nearby in a house paid for by her) doesn’t help things. Also, it may be time to decide what to do with her life and the job she dreads returning to.

I love the Why Mummy series and I am always looking forward to a new story. I don’t know how many times I laughed out loud while I was reading this book. Why Mummy Drinks on Holiday is hilarious, entertaining, but also relatable as it addresses topics of friendships, how to juggle friends and family, and trying to appear different to be accepted by new friends. Highly recommended!

A huge thank you to HarperCollins and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of the novel.

Gill Sims is the author of the hugely successful parenting blog and Facebook site ‘Peter and Jane’. Her first book Why Mummy Drinks was the bestselling hardback fiction debut of 2017, spending over six months in the top ten of the Sunday Times bestsellers chart, and was shortlisted for Debut Novel of the Year in the British Book Awards. Her globally bestselling Why Mummy… series has now sold over a million copies.

She lives in Scotland with her husband, two children and two Border terriers, because apparently one terrier didn’t cause her enough trouble.

Gill’s interests include drinking wine, wasting time on social media, trying and failing to capture her lost youth, and looking for one of the dogs when he decides to go on one of his regular jaunts, while trying to stop the other one eating unspeakable things.

Publication: 20th June 2024 – Simon & Schuster UK

She only wants three things. He isn’t one of them… 

Dumped by her cheating ex, fired from her dream job, about to lose her flat: Clementine Monroe is not having a good day. So when her sisters get her drunk and suggest reviving a childhood ritual called the breakup spell, she doesn’t see the harm in it.
 
But now Clemmie has accidentally ruined a funeral, had her first one-night stand, and she’s stuck with a new job she definitely doesn’t want – spending six weeks alone with the gorgeous and very-off-limits rock star, Theo Eliott. 
 
He’s the most famous man on the planet. Her life’s a disaster. When it comes to love, Clemmie is learning you should be careful what you wish for…

AMAZON

WATERSTONES

I have read some of Laura Wood’s young adult novels, especially I enjoyed her historical romance series, The Agency for Scandal, so I was excited to read her adult debut and I can’t tell you how much I loved this book. Under Your Spell is, without any doubt, at the top of my favourite books of the year and one of the best romcom I’ve read in a while. I adored the characters, the story, the setting, and the writing is exceptional.

The protagonist of the story is Clementine “Clemmie” Monroe. As the daughter of famous rockstar Ripp Harris, she’s always been under the spotlight, especially because she and her sisters Serena and Lil were born almost at the same time from three different women and were raised together in a big house (without their rockstar father). Whenever things were bad, they did a breakup spell, but they haven’t done it since they were teenagers, when Clemmie had her heart broken. Following another break up, the loss of her job and soon of her house, Clemmie and her sisters perform another breakup spell and make three wishes. 

After a one-night stand with a stranger she met at a funeral, Clemmie is offered a very well-paid job by her sister Serena. Famous rockstar Theo Elliot is two years behind delivering his new album so his record company has organized for him to stay in a family cottage in Northumberland for six weeks, away from everyone and everything, and they need someone to babysit him and make sure that he works. With no other prospects in sight, Clemmie accepts the “babysitting” job, after all, how hard can it be? If only Theo wasn’t so handsome and charming and she wasn’t so attracted to him…

I couldn’t put down this book. Clemmie and Theo’s slow burn romance, their witty banter, the painful revelations about their past, the hilarious interruptions from their families kept me glued to the pages. I loved these two characters and how relatable and authentic they feel. She is introvert, bookish, with a love for vampire drama tv series, Chaucer and Enid Blyton, while he is honest, with a big heart and currently rediscovering his love for carbs and sugar.

Under Your Spell is a brilliant, funny, and addictive story of romance and family, but the author also addresses themes of mental health, grief, and parental neglect and it’s a story I will be thinking about for a long time (and probably rereading many times)!

A huge thank you to Simon & Schuster UK and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of this wonderful novel.

Laura Wood is a bestselling and acclaimed author of mostly children’s and young adult novels. Under Your Spell is her first adult novel. With a PhD in 19th-century literature, Laura lives in Warwickshire, England, with her husband, and their dog, Bea.

Publication: 6th June 2024 – Penguin Books UK

From the moment Lily Harper arrives at a remote retreat on the breath-taking Scilly Isles, she is itching to get back to civilisation – and her thriving business.

Slowing down simply isn’t in her vocabulary, and so she quickly clashes with the gorgeous but dour Sam who runs the retreat.

Just as Lily is about to give up and leave, disaster strikes, and she is involved in an incident that changes her perspective on everything.

Lily is no longer sure she wants to return to the life she thought she loved. But will she have the courage to give the retreat, and Sam, a second chance?

AMAZON

WATERSTONES

Lily Harper is a workaholic and high-achiever with her own company, that promotes hand-made products, and little time for herself and for her family. After passing out in her own office and urged by her personal assistant and her brother-in-law, Lily decides that maybe it’s time to take a break so she books a two-week stay in a resort on the Scilly Islands. Except, where she expected luxury, massages, and time to make the occasional phone and video call for work, she finds a work in progress. The cottage where she will be staying is the only one finished and the only person working at the resort is the grumpy yet handsome owner, Sam Teague. With no phone signal or internet on the island there is no way she is going to survive, yet alone relax, for two weeks. Except, as she spends time drawing the beautiful Cornish landscape and helping Sam decorate the cottages, she finds herself finally relaxing, and Sam may not be as grumpy and unapproachable as she initially thought.

Second Chance Summer is my first Phillipa Ashley novel and what initially attracted me to it is the setting. Cornwall is at the top of my bucket list of places to visit and I love reading about it in novels and the author’s beautiful and detailed descriptions only increased my desire to visit it (and probably stay there forever!). While the setting was my favourite part of the novel, I also really enjoyed the story and the characters. There is romance, of course, but also friendship, family, self-discovery and new beginnings, with also a touch of intrigue thanks to ghost legends and threatening messages. Lily and Sam are two wonderful and well-developed characters, both with past experiences that still torment them. The two weeks they spend together forces not only to face their problems, but also the attraction they feel for each other.

Second Chance Summer is a well-written, heart-warming, and entertaining novel and it introduces me to an author whose past (and future) books I am already planning to read!

A huge thank you to Penguin Books and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of this novel.

Phillipa Ashley is a Sunday Times, Amazon and Audible best-selling author of uplifting romantic fiction.

After studying English at Oxford University, she worked as a copywriter and journalist before turning her hand to writing. Since then, her novels have sold well over a million copies and have been translated into numerous languages.

Phillipa lives in an English village with her husband, has a grown-up daughter and loves nothing better than walking the Lake District hills and swimming in Cornish coves.

Publication: 20th June 2024 – Michael Joseph

He’d once called her dangerous. And he had been right.

She was a spy. A warrior. A weapon.

Aya has returned home at last.

But she is not the same person who left Tala all those months ago.

And Tala isn’t the same either.

The threat of a war that could destroy the realm continues to grow and she is the only one who can save it.

Because she is also the Second Saint.

But there are those that see her as a pawn and want to use her powers for their own gain. Aya is about to learn that the real danger is closer to home than she ever could have imagined.

AMAZON

WATERSTONES

The Curse of Saints was one of my favourite books last year so I can’t tell you how much I’ve been waiting for its sequel, The Curse of the Sins, to come out and it was worth the wait. Engrossing, action-packed, and full of surprises, I couldn’t put it down.

The Curse of the Sins picks up right after the ending of the first book. After discovering the truth about their queen and her plans for the Second Saint, Aya and Will return to Tala with every intention to stop her. Once enemies, now lovers, they have to pretend that nothing’s changed during their stay in Rinnia, while trying to save their realm from war.

As the Second Saint, Aya is popular now. Everyone expects great things and power from her and she feels the pressure of these expectations, especially as she keeps playing a game of pretending with everyone, except Will. Oh, the romance between these two was perfect! Swoony, sexy, and full of chemistry and tension that kept me completely absorbed.

In the meantime, in Rinnia, Aedion must face responsibilities and challenges as the new king. He’s always known he was heir to the throne, but he didn’t expect to kill his uncle to do it. With so many enemies around him, he doesn’t know who to trust, and he is keeping secrets that, if discovered, could put everyone in danger.

The Curse of Sins is even better than the first book. As the first book in the trilogy, The Curse of Saints focuses more on world building and introduction to the characters and the plot. The Curse of Sins brings it all together, adding exciting romance, a bit of drama, and many more twists and turns, with a fantastic and explosive cliffhanger that makes me count down the days until the third book.

A huge thank you to MichaelJoseph and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of this fantastic novel.

Kate Dramis is an Atlanta-based writer whose obsession with fantasy worlds and escaping into a good love story eventually drove her to chase her dreams of being an author. She is the author of the instant #2 Sunday Times Best Seller, The Curse of Saints.

When she’s not busy writing banter that makes her laugh in an embarrassingly loud fashion, you can find her impulse-booking her latest travel adventure, snuggling with her dogs and cat, or tormenting her growing legion of readers on TikTok and Instagram with vague book teasers.

Publication: 28th May 2024 – Headline Eternal

When former naval captain, Harry Kincaid, is left in the lurch with his flighty older sister’s three unruly children, he hasn’t a clue how to handle it. Desperate, and prepared to pay whatever it takes, he turns to Miss Prentice’s School for Young Ladies for an emergency governess who can get his formerly ordered house running shipshape again.

After a strict and miserable upbringing, fledgling governess Georgie Rowe doesn’t believe that children should be seen and not heard. She believes that childhood should be filled with laughter, adventure, and discovery (. . . everything hers wasn’t). Thankfully, the three Pendleton children are already delightfully bohemian and instantly embrace her unconventional approach. However, their staid, stickler-for-the-rules uncle, is another matter entirely.

Georgie and Harry are soon butting heads over their differences, but as time passes, their attraction soon becomes undeniable and, after all, all’s fair in love and war…

AMAZON

WATERSTONES

When I read a novel by Virginia Heath I always expect a good dose of entertainment, romance, and intrigue and All’s Fair in Love and War didn’t disappoint.

Sixteen-year-old Georgina “Georgie” Rowe is left by her odious stepfather on the steps of Miss Prentice’s School for Young Ladies where she will learn to become a governess. Six years later, all her friends have found jobs, while she’s just failed her thirty-third job interview because she simply can’t help voicing her more progressive teaching method to the parents.

Captain Henry Kincaid comes home from a long day of work to discover that her free-spirit sister has left her three young children in his care while she is off on an adventure with her husband in Egypt. Desperate for help, he turns to Miss Prentice and offers Georgie a job on the spot. Right from the beginning, they argue on their different ideas not only about teaching, but about everything. After a troubled childhood spent following her stepfather from navy base to navy base, Georgie wants to make sure that the children have the care and stability that she’s never had and she prefers children to have fun while learning. Henry, on the other hand, was raised by a stern Admiral who instilled in him a sense of duty and discipline and, following a romantic mishap that almost put a stop to his rise in the Navy, he has put his job in front of everything else, including his family. Being a Navy man, he believes in time management and order and prefers a more traditional and strict kind of schooling and life. Of course, the more time they spend together, the more their differences pale against the attraction they feel for each other.

If you are looking for a witty and romantic read, I can’t recommend All’s Fair in Love and War enough: there is slow-burn enemies-to-lovers romance, an adorable dog who often gets in trouble, and three energetic and charming children who know how to create havoc!

A huge thank you to Headline Eternal and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of the novel.

When Virginia Heath was a little girl it took her ages to fall asleep, so she made up stories in her head to help pass the time while she was staring at the ceiling. As she got older, the stories became more complicated, sometimes taking weeks to get to the happy ending. Then one day, she decided to embrace the insomnia and start writing them down. Twenty-one books and two Romantic Novel of the Year Award nominations later, and it still takes her forever to fall asleep.

Publication: 23rd May 2024 – Hodder & Stoughton

The brilliant third novel from the acclaimed author of THE COLOURS OF DEATH.

During a remote meeting, a Portuguese official watches from Lisbon as his colleague, Emanuel Francisco, a diplomat based in London’s Portuguese embassy, dies of what looks to be a heart attack. When no one comes into the room to Francisco’s aid, he tries frantically to contact the consulate to get immediate help.

No one picks up.

When local police finally arrive hours later, they walk into a disturbingly silent and horrific scene. Everyone inside the building is dead.

Inspector Isabel Reis, a Gifted Inspector with Portugal’s PolÍcia Judiciária, has developed a reputation for closing sensitive cases involving powerful people. When the gravity of what has happened in London is revealed, she’s called up to assist the Met’s CID in the investigation.

Two things quickly become very clear: this was a mass killing, and only one person escaped. The person the embassy was secretly protecting within its walls.

Now Isabel must quiet her turbulent mind and come face to face with a killer more ruthless than she has ever seen before . . . The answers lie with the sole survivor.

AMAZON

WATERSTONES

The third book in the gripping series that sees as protagonist Inspector Isabel Reis of the Portugal’s Policia Judiciaria is as exciting and immersive as the previous two books. Set in a world where some people are Gifted with powers of telepathy and telekinesis, Isabel is one of them. From her native Lisbon, Isabel and her partner Aleksander Vonorov travel to London to help the local police in a mysterious and diplomatically sensitive case. During a video call, the Portuguese ambassador in London dies suddenly and no one is answering the phones in the consulate. The English police can’t enter it without a delegate from the Portuguese government and that’s why detective Reis and Vonorov are on their way to London. When they finally enter the consulate, the scene in front of them is quite disturbing: all the people inside are dead. What’s more, someone was hiding inside the consulate and they managed to escape. As they try to figure out what happened inside the consulate and what happened to the only survivor of the attack, Isabel must also deal with the aftermath of a previous investigation and the growth of her gift.

Broken Oaths is another brilliant addition to this well-written and captivating series by Patricia Marques. The case Isabel is working is fascinating, thrilling, and full of twists. Unlike the previous books, Isabel is not the one in charge of the investigation, but she must follow the lead of the English police, who doesn’t seem to trust her and her powers. While her powers become stronger, she also feels isolated and more vulnerable as she keeps secrets from Vonorov and her friends.

Part mystery, part paranormal, Broken Oaths kept me completely immersed and I couldn’t put it down and it left me anxiously waiting for the next book!

A huge thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of this fantastic novel.

Half-Angolan and half-Portuguese, Patricia was born in Portugal but moved to England when she was eight. As well as the MA in Creative Writing from City she holds a BA in Creative Writing from Roehampton. She lives in London and The Colours of Death was her first novel. House of Silence is her second.

Publication: 23rd May 2024 – HarperCollins UK

As one of the daughters of an English Earl and his Indian Mistress, Anya Marleigh has defied Regency society’s rules by playing her sitar and singing beautifully for Queen Charlotte at the court of George III.

When she comes into an unexpected inheritance, her change of fortune comes with a catch ― she must marry before her twenty-fifth birthday or the money will go to her trustee ― the infuriating but devilishly sexy Lord Damian Ashton, who also has the power to approve her choice of husband.

As Anya begins to attract the wrong sort of marriage suitor, Lord Ashton is the only thing standing between her and a fate worse than death. But does he have his own reasons for hindering her happy ever after …?

AMAZON

WATERSTONES

The third season of Bridgerton left me in quite a reading slump and I couldn’t settle on anything to read until I started Unladylike Rules of Attraction, which kept me so engrossed that I read it in one sitting without even noticing it was the middle of the night by the time I finished it.

This is the second book in the Marleigh Sisters series which revolves around the three illegitimate daughters of an Earl and an Indian woman. After the death of their parents in India, the three sisters were brought to England to be raised by their evil stepmother and stepbrother and, when they grew up, they went their separate ways.

Now, Anya is a singer at the court of Queen Charlotte. She’s been left a huge inheritance by Dowager Countess Budleigh who preferred her to her own children. The only problem is that she will inherit the money only if she marries before her twenty-fifth birthday, which is only four months away. Until then, the money will remain in the hands of a trustee, lord Damian Ashton, a distant cousin raised in Jamaica, who came into title only after the sudden and mysterious deaths of his other relatives, and who will need to approve Anys’s choice of a husband. Anya is not short of suitors, but she and Damian don’t exactly get along, despite their attraction to each other. Also, the Budleigh family has no intention of standing by as someone else inherits the money that they feel should go to them and are determined to do anything, including accusations of murder, to get it.

I really like the characters of Anya and Damian. Both must deal with their own share of prejudice because of their origins and both have created their own fortune. Anya is clever and compassionate. She could use the inheritance to earn independence for herself and her protégée Trixie, but can she marry someone she is not remotely attracted to? And why does she keep thinking about Damian? Damian cares only about one person in his life, his brother Jeremy, but he intends to make sure that Anya gets what it’s hers.

Unladylike Rules of Attraction is a delightful and witty mix of romance and intrigue with a cast of fantastic characters and I am looking forward to the next book!

A huge thank you to HarperCollins and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of the novel.

Amita Murray lives in London. Just to keep things interesting, she writes in two genres: Regency romance and contemporary mystery. Her Arya Winters mysteries are published by Agora and are under a TV option. Her mystery novel Thirteenth Night won the Exeter Novel Prize in 2022. A collection called Marmite and Mango Chutney won the SI Leeds Prize in 2016 and her short story “A Heist in Three Acts” comes out in Ellery Queen Magazine in 2022.

Publication: 28th May 2024 – Bloom Books

From bestselling indie author and TikTok favorite Laura Thalassa comes the next installment of a witch fantasy set in the world of the Bargainer series. Only the dangerously handsome Memnon the Cursed can help Selene find the answers she seeks…if she doesn’t lose her heart first.

No one told witch Selene Bowers having a soul mate would be so difficult. Nor did they warn her that he might be a vengeful, ancient sorcerer who would frame her for murder, force her to remember a past life he swears she lived, and then coerce her into an unbreakable marriage pact. But that’s exactly what happens the night of the Samhain Ball, when Selene finds herself in a jail cell.

After waking from enchanted sleep, Memnon swore to discover why Selene betrayed him long ago. But when his soul mate’s memories return, the truth reveals something else entirely. Horrified by his own actions and desperate to make amends, Memnon offers Selene the unthinkable: a magic bond that will give her full control over his will. And Selene is desperate enough to accept it.

But other enemies still haunt Henbane Coven, Selene’s magical academy, and they’ve taken a keen interest in her. If she wants to stop them, she’ll need Memnon’s help. But partnering with the sorcerer is a tricky business, especially when he’s dead set on winning her heart. And that can’t happen…because the bond controlling him will break the moment she falls in love with him.

AMAZON

Bespelled starts off right after the events of Bewitched, in which twenty-something witch Selene Bowers wakes up the powerful Memnon from a two-thousand years old curse only to discover that she is his soul mate and wife and he is out for revenge. Now, after recovering all her memories, Selene remembers her past life as Roxi and the events that led to the curse. Discovering that Selene is not the cause of his fall and eager to prove himself to her, Memnon offers her a magic bond that gives her control over him and that will be broken only when she falls in love with him. But can she really trust him? Also, someone is still kidnapping and killing witches on campus and Selena is determined to find out the truth and stop the murders once and for all.

I must admit that I enjoyed this book more than the first. I liked how Selene develops and is more dependent and stronger and how, even though she finds herself in danger many times, she is determined to protect the witches from being murdered. Her relationship with Memnon is still full of banter and fun and steamy, but now she is the one with the upper hand and the power, although he doesn’t mind obeying her orders. 

Bespelled is action-packed and full of twists. There is a swoony romance, there is horrifying murder, a morally gray handsome hero that doesn’t mind groveling for the woman he loves, a kickass heroine and, once again, an unexpected ending that makes me really look forward to the next book.

A huge thank you to Bloom Books and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of the novel.

Laura Thalassa is the author of over a dozen paranormal and fantasy romance novels. She fell in love with stories as a child and decided she never wanted to escape them. She lives in sunny southern California with her husband and children. When not writing, she can be found reading about lost civilizations, splashing with her kids in the Pacific, and hoarding chocolate for the apocalypse.