This Christmas, in the romantic Scottish Highlands, a white lie and a fake-dating proposal between exes snowballs out of control in the brand-new festive romance from Emily Stone.
Christmas with your ex and his family in a cosy cottage in the snowy Scottish Highlands? It’s the last place Mel imagined spending the holidays. But when her ex-boyfriend Finn shows up on her doorstep, only months after inexplicably dumping her at his sister’s engagement party, asking her to pretend to his family they’re back together, she agrees – on one condition. Mel can publicly dump Finn at the end of the week and show him just how it feels. But with Finn’s mother set on making this Christmas picture-perfect, can Mel and Finn keep up the act without falling back into old feelings? As their white lie snowballs out of control, and the ice between them starts to thaw, Mel must decide if she really wants their romance to be just for the season – or something more…
❤️Fake dating
❤ Second chance romance
❤ Christmas romance
❤ Exes to lovers
❤ Family meddling
Emily Stone is the author of five bestselling festive romance novels, including Always, in December. Her novels have been translated into eleven languages. Emily has lived in many places over the years, including London, Wales, Cornwall, Germany and Mozambique – before finally settling down in Bristol, where she spends most of her free time with her two rescue ponies. Emily Stone is the pen name for Becky Hunter, and she also writes speculative romance under her own name, Emily loves connecting with readers. You can find her on Instagram at @emstonewrites – she’d love to hear from you!
They came for an inheritance. They stayed for revenge.
Annabelle Marconi thought she’d already lost everything—first her father to cancer, then her mother in a brutal hit-and-run. But the worst blow comes at their double funeral, when a woman named Mary steps forward… with Annabelle’s half-brother, David.
The revelation of her father’s secret life shatters the family. Still reeling, Annabelle’s siblings make a reckless decision: they invite Mary and David to stay at the family ranch while the estate is settled. Annabelle can’t shake the feeling something is off—and when a strange car begins following her and her sister suddenly falls dangerously ill, her instincts are proven right.
Someone is determined to erase the Marconi family for good. As paranoia spirals into terror, Annabelle must unearth the truth about her father’s past—and face a chilling question: What if the enemy is already inside the house?
Theo Baxter loves writing psychological suspense thrillers. It’s all about that last reveal that he loves shocking readers with. He grew up in New York, where there was crime all around. He decided to turn that into something positive with his fiction. His stories will have you reading through the night—they are very addictive!
My thoughts: This was very, very good. I really liked Annabelle, she had excellent instincts and knew there was something about Mary and David that wasn’t right. But her siblings, especially Isabel, were stubborn and wouldn’t listen to her or do any due diligence – like hire a PI, which would have saved them all a lot of trouble and from nearly dying.
Thankfully the apparently disinterested detective at the police was paying attention and did his job, investigating Annabelle’s concerns, from being followed by a strange car, to Isabel’s poisoning, her medication going missing, someone prowling around the family ranch. Because they were all in danger.
That final twist, did not expect that. Shocking and edge of the seat stuff. So good.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
Life couldn’t be sweeter for Honey Driver, floating around the Med on her own private yacht, with her dishy detective husband Steve. But dark clouds are gathering on Honey’s perfect horizon. And the forecast looks like murder!
When Honey’s love boat sinks in a freak accident, she has no choice but to return to rain-drenched Bath. But now that Honey needs him, her insurance broker, silver-tongued Norman Glendower, is nowhere to be found. He’s not at his luxury offices in town and he’s not answering his phone. Honey could kill Norman for leaving her in this fix. But what if someone got there first?
Behind the gates of leafy Regency Gardens, the exclusive complex where Norman lives, something is terribly amiss. Norman’s mewling cat leads a curious neighbour straight to his dead body! He’s been bludgeoned and left for dead on the pristine tiles of his designer kitchen. Which of his many enemies was the one to strike the fatal blow?
Honey’s on the case — with a killer watching her every move . . .
Jean, the alter ego of bestselling historical author Lizzie Lane, has lived in and around the Bath area for some time and was indeed a member of Bath Hotels and Restaurants Association — so well in touch with the hospitality trade in that fair city. However, unlike Bath hotelier Honey Driver, she was never asked to be Crime Liaison Officer and neither does she collect antique underwear! However, her daughter assures her she is just as zany as the quirky Honey Driver and will never grow old gracefully.
The beautiful Cotswold village of Rowan Vale is run as a living museum, allowing tourists to see history in action. But there’s more to the place than any visitor would guess…
Fifty-something Shona grew up in the village and now runs its vintage, 1940s-themed teashop. Not everyone knows that the previous manager, her great-aunt Polly, still lives there too… as a ghost!
When newcomer Max arrives, hoping to find out more about the place where his German grandfather was a prisoner of war, both Shona and Polly are unsettled. Shona, because handsome, interesting Max is the first man to catch her eye since her divorce, and Polly, because she must finally confront the terrible truth about her past. A 1940s-themed weekend planned for the village brings the families’ connections to a head and tragic secrets to light.
Can Shona help her ghostly great-aunt to find love and forgiveness once more, while also creating her own happy ever after?
The second in the comforting, feel-good, romantic series with a dash of fantasy that started with Kindred Spirits at Harling Hall.
Sharon Booth is the author of feel-good stories set in charming, quirky locations, and now writes cosy romances with a magical twist for Boldwood. She lives with her husband in East Yorkshire, England.
My thoughts: There’s mystery, tragedy, romance and a happy ending in this book, I really enjoyed it and went back and read the first book in the series (which is on KU).
Shona runs her family’s 1940s teashop in the magical living history village Rowan Vale. Her great-aunt Polly is an ever-present ghostly figure that only a few people (including Shona and her dad) and see. The village has lots of ghosts for some reason but only certain people even know they’re there.
When Max, whose daughter works at the farm as a land girl, comes to the village on the trail of his grandfather’s time as a PoW, it stirs up a lot of feelings, especially for Polly, she knew Gerhard, and it might be time to reveal how she died.
With a 1940s themed weekend planned for the village, complete with music and a tea dance, Polly can’t avoid her past, she died in the 1940s. Can Shona help her unravel the secrets she’s held for so long?
Funny, clever and highly enjoyable, this was a truly lovely read, I liked getting to know more of the village’s residents, living and otherwise, as well as the mystery of Polly’s death being resolved and Shona and Max finding a second chance at happiness.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
Three women. One summer on Arran. And a secret that could change everything they knew about love.
Rosie, seeking solace on the quiet Isle of Arran after a heartbreaking divorce, hopes to rediscover herself in its peaceful surroundings. But as she settles into the old cottage that was once her family’s retreat, she begins to question if she’s truly left her past behind.
Isobel, her lifelong friend, arrives to support Rosie. But what begins as a simple visit soon becomes complicated. Beneath her warmth and laughter, Isobel holds secrets of her own — secrets that threaten to change everything for both her and Rosie.
Bella, Isobel’s daughter, has always wondered about her father, but her mother refuses to talk about him. When Bella stumbles upon a hidden diary, a shocking revelation sends her to Arran in search of answers. Instead, she finds herself torn between the love she’s always known and the possibility of a new and unexpected romance.
As the women confront their pasts, they learn that sometimes the truth can lead to the most surprising new beginnings — and even a second chance at love, when they least expect it.
Ellie Henderson lives near the sea on the east coast of Scotland and is a regular visitor to the Isle of Arran on the west coast of Scotland. When she’s not writing she runs creative workshops in the community. Ellie also writes psychological fiction under the name Lorna Henderson.
My thoughts: This was a really lovely read, there were no horrible moments, just people falling in love, secrets being revealed that led to happy things and beautiful summer weather on Scotland’s Isle of Arran.
Bella wants to know who her father is, from a diary she’s found, she thinks it’s former pop star Luke, only the diary isn’t actually her mum, Isobel’s. Which leads to a misunderstanding that will eventually lead to Rosie finding new love after her ratbag husband cheats on her and leaves, Bella finding her dad, and falling in love, and happy endings all round.
The sort of feel-good-fiction we all need sometimes. Lovely stuff.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
The most dangerous people are those with nothing to lose. Who don’t care if they live or die.
Simon Peake does care… he just isn’t sure about what right now. The ex-soldier’s life is as close to rock bottom as it gets. He needs a job and he needs a quiet life. What he gets is a whole load of mess working for New York-based Irish mobster Harry Lafferty. A job that requires him to use his special skills on some very unsavory people. His relationship with Harry’s niece isn’t exactly conducive to a quiet existence either…
As Peake tries to walk the fine line between surviving in this new life, and atoning for his old one, he struggles on both counts. And when his past comes back to bite him, and those closest to him are threatened, the reckoning will be merciless for anyone who stands in his way.
Rob Sinclair is the million copy bestseller of over twenty thrillers, including the James Ryker series. Rob previously studied Biochemistry at Nottingham University. He also worked for a global accounting firm for 13 years, specialising in global fraud investigations.
My thoughts: Simon Peake is a troubled man, former army, he’s spent time in prison for serious assault. He’s clearly been damaged by his past experiences, leaving him prone to bursts of violence that leave the unlucky person who pushed him in pieces. Getting a job as a driver for the head of an Irish-American crime family might not be the best idea. Sleeping with the boss’ niece definitely isn’t.
As he gets drawn into the Laffertys’ world, the violence around him increases, a dangerous place for a volatile man. Then his past comes crashing into his present, putting the few people he cares about in danger.
A thriller driven by one man’s attempts to put his life into some sense of order, while the demons of his past play havoc with his mind and eventually come to take revenge.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own
Happy release day and congratulations to author Cassandra Aston on the release of Whispers Among Thorns, the first book in the Deadly Fae duology!
Whispers Among Thorns (Deadly Fae Duology Book 1)
Release Date: June 24th (ebook) & June 25th (print)
Genre: A Dark Fantasy Forbidden Romance
💀 Enemies to Lovers
🌿 Slow Burn
💀 Forbidden
🌿 Age Gap (she’s older)
💀 Morally Grey FMC
🌿 Cinnamon Roll MMC
💀 One Kelpie/One Horse
Quicksilver meets Throne of Glass in a New York City setting, where she’s the centuries old fae and he’s the son of her enemy.
There’s only one rule that truly matters. Never fall in love with a human. Break it and die.
Banished to the human realm, stripped of her magic, and bound by the unjust laws of the Inter-Species Alliance, Sav is forbidden from harming humans… or loving them. Now she’s meant to live quietly, obey the rules, and forget the power that once throbbed beneath her skin.
When the leader of the anti-fae movement destroys her home in an attack on her people, she’s captured and brought to their headquarters. The only thing standing between her and freedom is Jack. Sharp-edged, unafraid, and entirely off-limits, he stirs something in her she thought long buried. Something that makes her question everything she knows.
Darkly gripping and dangerously addictive, Whispers Among Thorns is a story of forbidden love, fractured loyalties, and a girl who was never meant to follow the rules.
A Victorian asylum. A woman imprisoned. A deadly secret.
England, 1875. London journalist, Harris Mortimer, visits a Hampshire lunatic asylum to investigate society’s treatment of the insane, only to find himself in a fateful encounter with a beautiful woman claiming to be wrongly incarcerated.
Horrified by a series of murders, he soon becomes drawn into the strange world of the asylum and begins to wonder who is truly mad and who is sane.
Back in London, Harris meets Nancy Carter, a young woman striving to become a music hall star. Nancy’s shocking act, based on madness and murder, has uncanny parallels with Harris’s recent experiences in Hampshire.
Is it all just a coincidence? To what lengths will one person go to exact their revenge?
As the fates of Harris and Nancy intertwine, they are about to discover the terrible consequences of uncovering the truth.
Music, madness and murder collide in this thrilling historical mystery for fans of Stacey Halls, Jessie Burton and Elizabeth Macneal. A perfect book club fiction selection, Murder at the Lunatics’ Ball discusses themes of social control, the female lunatic stereotype, and the struggle by women to earn their bread and find their voice in Victorian England.
R S Leonard was born in Cheshire, England, and after a long stint in London, then Hampshire, now lives back in her home county.
She’s always had a deep love of storytelling and history, inspired, no doubt, by her mum encouraging her to get the utmost out of the public library as a kid. She has a PhD in Nineteenth-Century Literature and Culture and MAs in Creative Writing and Victorian Studies. These inspired her recently-published second historical mystery novel, Murder at the Lunatics’ Ball, as well as her first, The Body, the Diamond and the Child.
My thoughts: This was an interesting read, with several very surprising twists along the way.
Journalist Harris Mortimer is sent to write about the modern asylum for The Times newspaper, a family friend happens to be the senior doctor at one in Hampshire, and is here he meets both inmates and staff, although at times he struggles to see who is truly mad.
He also meets Titania Rossetti, a beautiful patient who seems to be terrified of something or someone at the asylum. He’s told she suffers from a specific type of melancholy – an Ophelia – heartbroken from lost love. This was an actual diagnosis. There is a weird focus on women needing to fit into specific categories at the asylum, and Harris finds the whole thing peculiar.
The titular murder does indeed take place at a ball (of sorts) organised for the inmates. It won’t be the only one. Shocking and depraved, the murderer is among the residents, both patients and staff, and Harris is on the frontline. The reporting makes his name and on returning to London he is riding high.
Meanwhile Nancy Carter, actress, returns home too. She’s been away, supposedly in Birmingham, but on return must get back into her sister’s good books and rebuild her performing career.
As Harris spins into madness, Nan works to build a new, successful life, and leave any evidence of the recent past, and her activities, behind her.
There were times when I didn’t think Harris was particularly bright, especially when Miss Rossetti and her friend Miss Millais meet him for tea. There are clues about his beloved’s reality but he just can’t seem to see them.
Nan is a brilliant character, both monstrous in her rage and revenge, her strange stage act that plays with murder and madness, but also sweet and beguiling, trying to find a way to take care of what’s left of her family.
This was an incredibly interesting and clearly well researched book, I am interested in the treatment of mental illness historically as it varies wildly and so much of it seems utterly barbaric. What Titania experiences demonstrates this, while some doctors are keen to treat their patients gently and with kindness, others prefer the more inhumane ideas that preceded them. But the true madness lies elsewhere in this story.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
We have an absolutely gorgeous cover reveal for you all today! Check out Jeweler to the Blessed by Jillian Witt! You’re going to want to pre-order this one!
Jeweler to the Blessed (Champions of Chaos #1)
Expected Release Date: Aug 19th
Genre: Romantic Fantasy
– Bodyguard romance
– Succubus like mood ring magic
– Meddling goddesses
– Deadly forest
– Touch her and die
In a kingdom where touch drains emotions for power, Emberline masks hers, but when she becomes the key to the Blessed’s magic, her broad-shouldered, irreverent guard could make her feel too much.
His touch would be her undoing.
With a single touch, the ruling Blessed could realize Emberline Arkova is immune to their magic. She’s determined to leave the kingdom in search of answers, because every day she remains is a risk.
But her uncle’s sudden disappearance upends her plans. Thrust into his role as jeweler, she’s gone from avoiding the Blessed to becoming the center of their world. Uniquely able to identify the gems required for their magic, she’s now their most precious resource.
To protect their prize, Hart, a broad-shouldered guard with particular irreverence, is assigned to keep Emberline safe. His motives may be murky at best, but he’s not as loyal to the king as a Blessed should be, and now, putting her trust in him is her best bet to escape without discovery.
Hart may be one of them, but he awakens long-restrained feelings within Emberline. She can’t fall for a Blessed; his touch would expose her secret. But as she unearths the mysteries of magic and politics in the isolated and restless kingdom, Emberline is faced with a choice: flee her fate and hide her feelings—or embrace it and unleash them.
The swoon-worthy tension of From Blood and Ash meets One Dark Window’s unique magic system and rich world-building in this new adult romantasy.
We have a gorgeous new release for Jane Eyre fans! Check out Keeping the Countess, book one in Lille Moore’s new series, Damsels in Disguise!
Keeping the Countess (Damsels in Disguise #1)
Release Date: June 24, 2025
Genre: Historical Romance
A passionate clergyman must overcome his forbidden desire for a scandalous countess to uncover his father’s killer in this historical romantic mystery.
Forbidden romance
Big Jane Eyre energy
He falls first
Mystery & mayhem
All the angst
Victorian gothic vibes
Clergyman hero & heroine with back against the wall
A man obsessed with justice
Reverend Jonah Sinclair survived the deadly streets of London due to divine intervention and two well-trained fists. Determined to bring his father’s killer to justice, he’ll risk his vocation—and his life—for answers. When the notorious Earl of Rochford offers him a position as tutor to his young ward, Jonah accepts, believing the mysterious Ravenglass Hall could lead him to the murderer. But instead, he finds himself drawn to the earl’s abandoned countess, a woman whose fierce strength stirs a forbidden temptation.
A lady with a dangerous secret.
Faith Trenton, Countess of Rochford, is struggling to defend her crumbling estate from an embezzling steward. To keep her enemies at bay, she disguises herself as a man, until Jonah’s arrival threatens to expose her perilous secrets. Despite their irresistible chemistry, she must push him away to keep her home and her family safe.
But when a succession of attacks threatens everything Faith has fought to protect, she’s forced to place her trust in Jonah, and pray he won’t unravel the truth, or her heart.
Helping Faith could sabotage Jonah’s mission. Loving her might cost him everything.
The DAMSELS IN DISGUISE is a new steamy Victorian romance series featuring cunning, courageous heroines, passionate heroes, and copious amounts of intrigue, seduction, and scandal. Perfect for Elizabeth Hoyt and Sarah MacLean fans.
ramblingmads 