Only for the Holidays by Abiola Bello

 “City girl Tia Solanké is dreading the festive season. She and her boyfriend are on a break and the last thing she wants is to spend Christmas away from London. Dragged to Saiyan Hedge Farm by her mother, Tia takes an instant disliking to the countryside estate. She falls in horse manure, is chased by sheep and the Wi-Fi sucks. How can she stalk her ex and concoct a foolproof plan to win him back from here?

Country boy Quincy Parker and his family run the farm, and this year they’ve been selected to host the biggest event in the town’s calendar—the Winter Ball. Preparations are underway, and Quincy is working around the clock to make it a success. The only problem is, he’s told everyone he has a date to the ball, when in reality that couldn’t be further from the truth.

At first, Tia and Quincy don’t see eye to eye, until they realize they both have something to gain by pretending to be a couple. But when a snowstorm threatens to cancel the Winter Ball, their fake relationship is put to the test. Will Tia and Quincy be able to keep up appearances and save the day, or will real feelings get in the way?” - taken from Goodreads.

Tia is unhappy to be spending the Christmas holidays in the countryside, away from her boyfriend who wants to take a break from their relationship. A true city girl, she struggles at the farm much to her chagrin. Determined to find a way back to London for her boyfriend’s party, even though he is distant, she strikes up a deal with super cute Qunicy. She will be his fake girlfriend for the town’s winter ball if he will take her to London for the party. What starts as a sham between them soon turns into something more. Will Quincy and Tia’s Christmas wishes come true? 

Visit Abiola Bello’s website.

The House Saphir by Marissa Meyer

 

“Mallory Fontaine is a fraud. Though she comes from a long line of witches, the only magic she possesses is the ability to see ghosts, which is rarely as useful as one would think. She and her sister have maintained the family business, eking out a paltry living by selling bogus spells to gullible buyers and conducting tours of the infamous mansion where the first of the Saphir murders took place.

Mallory is a self-proclaimed expert on Count Bastien Saphir—otherwise known as Monsieur Le Bleu—who brutally killed three of his wives more than a century ago. But she never expected to meet Bastien's great-great grandson and heir to the Saphir estate. Armand is handsome, wealthy, and convinced that the Fontaine Sisters are as talented as they claim. The perfect mark. When he offers Mallory a large sum of money to rid his ancestral home of Le Bleu's ghost, she can’t resist. A paid vacation at Armand’s country manor? It’s practically a dream come true, never mind the ghosts of murdered wives and the monsters that are as common as household pests.

But when murder again comes to the House Saphir, Mallory finds herself at the center of the investigation—and she is almost certain the killer is mortal. If she has any hope of cashing in on the payment she was promised, she’ll have to solve the murder and banish the ghost, all while upholding the illusion of witchcraft.

But that all sounds relatively easy compared to her biggest learning to trust her heart. Especially when the person her heart wants the most might be a murderer himself.” - taken from Goodreads.

This book is based on the fairytale Blue Beard by Charles Perrault. Right from the start I knew that The House Saphir was going to be my favorite book by Marissa Meyer. Mallory Fontaine is quite the spunky character. She is trying to keep the fact that she isn’t a true witch like her mother and keep Armand Saphir in the dark about the truth in order to make enough money to start a new life elsewhere. The only magic Mallory does have is the ability to see ghosts, including Le Bleu’s three murdered wives. Before too long, she finds herself drawn to Armand. When a new murder occurs at the Saphir house, the Fontaine sisters realize that they are truly in over their heads. Can Mallory solve the murders surrounding Le Bleu and House Saphir before it is too late?

Visit Marissa Meyer’s website.

My Return to the Walter Boys by Ali Novak (My Life with the Walter Boys book 2)

SPOILER ALERT! If you haven’t read the first book in the series, My Life with the Walter Boys, Stop! I don’t want to ruin the story for you.

“Jackie Howard returns to the Walter ranch after a summer in New York. She needed space—and got it. But she doesn't know where things stand with her and Cole Walter after that goodbye kiss. Over the summer, she stopped texting him. She never stopped thinking about him.

Still, with Cole living off in town to work at Tony's garage before he heads off to college, Jackie thinks it'll be easy to avoid him—only to find that when she sees him face to face at last, it's, well... impossible to resist him. Things are getting complicated: he's the boy she can't get off her mind, and the Walters have become the family she loves and needs. How can Jackie move forward when she's afraid of taking the next step?” - taken from Goodreads.

Jackie has returned to Colorado after spending the summer in New York, trying to deal with the grief over losing her family. Now that she is back, she must come face to face with Cole after their kiss. Except, there have been several changes in the Walter family. As the school year begins, Jackie tries to figure out where her place in the Walter family is with it without Cole in her life.

Visit Ali Novak’s website.

The Blood Phoenix by Amber Chen (Fall of the Dragon book 2)

SPOILER ALERT! If you haven’t read the first book in the series, Of Jade and Dragons, Stop! I don’t want to ruin the story for you.

“Two years after Ying leaves the Engineer’s Guild and the ghost of her father’s unjust death behind, life seems to regain a semblance of normalcy. But the winds of unrest continue to stir within the Nine Isles, and the aftermath of a horrific pirate attack by the mysterious Blood Phoenix fleet forces Ying back into the tense political world of the new High Commander, Ye-yang. And soon, Ying, Ye-yang and her former friends from the guild must work together to find a way to outsmart the cunning pirates who terrorise the straits—and the elusive mastermind who’s controlling them.  

Meanwhile, Ying’s sister, Nian, now lives in the capital, awaiting the day she will finally marry the High Commander. While her relationship with Ye-yang remains distant, she finds company in her friendship with the fourteenth prince, Ye-kan, and discovers her unexpected affinity for governance and strategy. But the capital is more dangerous than she expects, and when a dark conspiracy arises, Nian and Ye-kan must unravel the mystery in time to prevent the High Command from collapsing from within. 

New dangers arise at every moment, threatening to tear the Nine Isles apart. In order to sail through this storm, Ying and her loved ones must make difficult choices amidst terrible betrayals. With the world on the brink of destruction, will they find a way to defeat their enemies and survive? And will it be worth the cost?” - taken from Goodreads.

Two years have passed and Ying has gone back home, leaving the Engineering Guild and Ye-yang behind. But a pirate attack by the Blood Phoenix forces Ying back to the capital to face not only Ye-yang but her younger sister Nian, who are engaged to one another. She must work with her former friends at the Engineer’s Guild to find a way to stop the Blood Phoenix before an  internal coup can overthrow Ye-yang from the High Command. Nian and Ye-kan work to see who wants to unseat Ye-yang before it's too late.

Visit Amber Chen’s website.

Girls Who Play Dead by Joelle Wellington

 

“When Mikky Graves left his small, stifling hometown of Prophets Lake to live with his estranged mother, he thought nothing could ever make him return for good.

Until his sister Kyla’s best friend, Erin, is murdered.

Mikky never worried about leaving Kyla behind at their family-owned funeral home so long as she had Erin. But when Mikky heads home, determined to help Kyla grieve, the sister he encounters barely resembles the one he remembers. Mikky decides, then and there, to do the one thing that seems even more impossible than stay.

As Kyla spirals further into her rage and secrets, Mikky realizes the only thing that can help his sister is finding the truth about who killed Erin. But the more he investigates, the further he’s pulled into other ugly mysteries of Prophets Lake and the beauty brand that is its lifeblood. The town’s rot runs deep, and everyone has something to hide. Perhaps no one more than Kyla herself.” - taken from Goodreads.

Kyla's best friend Erin is found murdered and the search for her killer is underway. Erin was an up-and-coming influencer for Cook Cosmetics, the town's leading employer. Mikky, Kyla's older brother, only comes back to live in Prophets Lake to be with his sister in her time of grief. Or so he thinks. After being away for more than three years, Mikky finds that Kyla has changed and it’s not for the better. Upon Erin's death, Kyla has taken over the role of resident mean girl. It's not too long before Mikky begins to realize that not all is what it seems in the town of Prophets Lake. Who killed Erin and why? And what secrets is Kyla keeping?

Visit Joelle Wellington’s website.

Sisters in the Wind by Angeline Boulley

SPOILER ALERT! This book is a companion to Firekeeper’s Daughter and the main characters of that story play a major role in this one, as well as spoilers from the previous book are revealed.

“Ever since Lucy Smith’s father died five years ago, “home” has been more of an idea than a place. She knows being on the run is better than anything waiting for her as a “ward of the state.” But when the sharp-eyed and kind Mr. Jameson with an interest in her case comes looking for her, Lucy wonders if hiding from her past will ever truly keep her safe.

Five years in the foster system has taught her to be cautious and smart. But she wants to believe Mr. Jameson and his “friend-not-friend,” a tall and fierce-looking woman who say they want to look after her.

They also tell Lucy the truth her father hid from her: She is Ojibwe; she has – had – a sister, and more siblings; a grandmother who’d look after her and a home where she would be loved.

But Lucy is being followed. The past has destroyed any chance of normal she has had, and now the secrets she’s hiding will swallow her whole and take away the future she always dreamed of.” - taken from Goodreads.

This is a follow-up to Firekeeper's Daughter that I wanted to read four years ago. Once I realized that not only Daunis but Jamie are more than minor characters in the story, this book rose to the top of my TBR list. Lucy has had a hard life bouncing between foster home placements since the death of her father. Readers will discover that she is harboring a secret that may cost her her life. The heart of the story is told through Lucy's flashbacks leading up to the present day. Recovering with the help of both Jamie and Daunis, readers will be clamoring to find out what Lucy is hiding as well as discover what the future holds for both Jamie and Daunis. The events from Firekeeper's Daughter are told to Lucy from both Daunis and Jamie as a recap for readers. Needless to say, the ending did break me a bit.

Visit Angeline Boulley’s website.

Falling Like Leaves by Misty Wilson (Bramble Falls book 1)

“Ellis has a lot of expectations for her senior year, but moving from Manhattan to Bramble Falls, Connecticut is not one of them. Yet in the wake of her parents' separation, that's exactly where she and her mother are headed.

Bramble Falls might be charming, but it's also full of distractions. Like local barista Cooper Barnett, Ellis's one-time best friend—and first kiss—who has not only majorly glowed up but wants nothing to do with Ellis.

Then there's the Falling Leaves Festival, a month-long tourist attraction run by Ellis's aunt—celebrating everything autumn. The festival seems nice and all, but Ellis doesn't have time to be roped into her aunt's enthusiastic planning. Dragged to each event, she can't stop bumping into Cooper, the one person she's hoping to avoid.

But the longer she stays in Bramble Falls, the harder it is to pretend she's not falling for this town and the people in it. As her return to Manhattan gets pushed further and further out, Ellis is forced to confront exactly what she wants for her future—and what that means for her present.” - taken from Goodreads.

A cute fall rom com where every weekend is another autumn festival. Ellis is angry to be plucked from NYC and her dreams of following in her father's footsteps and set down in Bramble Falls, Connecticut. She plans on making the best of the situation until she can get back to the city and pursue her dreams of going to Columbia. Ellis doesn't count on falling for Cooper Barnett who isn't exactly happy to see her back in town. What will happen when Ellis’s dreams for her future seem to change the longer are stays in Bramble Falls?

Visit Misty Wilson’s website.