The Girls I’ve Been by Tess Sharpe (The Girls I’ve Been book 1)

 

“Nora O’Malley’s been a lot of girls. As the daughter of a con-artist who targets criminal men, she grew up as her mother’s protégé. But when mom fell for the mark instead of conning him, Nora pulled the ultimate con: escape.

For five years Nora’s been playing at normal. But she needs to dust off the skills she ditched because she has three problems:

#1: Her ex walked in on her with her girlfriend. Even though they’re all friends, Wes didn’t know about her and Iris.

#2: The morning after Wes finds them kissing, they all have to meet to deposit the fundraiser money they raised at the bank. It’s a nightmare that goes from awkward to deadly, because:

#3: Right after they enter bank, two guys start robbing it.

The bank robbers may be trouble, but Nora’s something else entirely. They have no idea who they’re really holding hostage…” - taken from Goodreads.

This was an unexpected book that wasn’t on my radar but I’m so glad that I picked it up. Imagine going to the bank to make a deposit with your ex-boyfriend and current girlfriend and hoping that it will be quick. If that isn’t enough of a nightmare, before you can leave, wwe bank is held up for a robbery that goes terribly wrong. Readers get to meet Nora O’Mallery (not her real name) as she tries to figure out a way to get everyone out of the situation alive. Told in present day with flashbacks to Nora’s previous lives with her con artist mother and hoe she escaped, readers will be clamoring for the ending to see if everyone survives and what Nora chooses to divulge about her past.

Book two, The Girl in Question, is out now.

Visit Tess Sharpe’s website.

Your Blood, My Bones by Kelly Andrew

 

“Wyatt Westlock has one plan for the farmhouse she's just inherited -- to burn it to the ground. But during her final walkthrough of her childhood home, she makes a shocking discovery in the basement -- Peter, the boy she once considered her best friend, strung up in chains and left for dead.

Unbeknownst to Wyatt, Peter has suffered hundreds of ritualistic deaths on her family's property. Semi-immortal, Peter never remains dead for long, but he can't really live, either. Not while he's bound to the farm, locked in a cycle of grisly deaths and painful rebirths. There's only one way for him to break free. He needs to end the Westlock line.

He needs to kill Wyatt.

With Wyatt's parents gone, the spells protecting the property have begun to unravel, and dark, ancient forces gather in the nearby forest. The only way for Wyatt to repair the wards is to work with Peter -- the one person who knows how to harness her volatile magic. But how can she trust a boy who's sworn an oath to destroy her? When the past turns up to haunt them in the most unexpected way, they are forced to rely on one another to survive, or else tear each other apart.” - taken from Goodreads.

Once again, Kelly Andrew has written a fantasy romance story that is a horror tale at its core. Wyatt Westlock is prepared to burn down the family home after her fathers death until she makes a shocking discovery that derails her plans. The more she digs into her father’s past, the more twisted her family’s legacy becomes. Determined to right the wrongs of her family's past, the more she must rely on the boy who broke her heart. 

Peter just wants to end the Westlock line and his suffering. But the closer he gets to Wyatt, old feelings begin to resurface between the two of them. Plans begin to change as the two decide how to break the cycle and move forward. But not everything is as it seems and not everything can be put back the way it was.

Visit Kelly Andrew’s website.