 
                            by Rachel Grant ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 15, 2023
Exciting, heartfelt, and full of surprises.
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A grieving archeologist risks everything in Grant’s romantic thriller.
Diana Edwards is an archeologist on a quest to prevent precious artifacts from being trafficked and sold to fund terrorists. After the death of her fiance, Salim, she hasn’t had anything else to live for, and nothing to lose; she trains to become a part of Friday Morning Valkyries, a group dedicated to stopping artifact trafficking. When she’s taken hostage by the terrorists she’s trying to stop, she sees an opportunity to gather information on one of the worst in the world: Makram Rafiq. Navy SEAL lieutenant Chris Flyte is brokenhearted and still recovering from his wife leaving him. Tasked with rescuing Diana, he sees the mission as his chance to prove himself. In the heat of the moment, Diana seizes an opportunity to refuse Chris’ rescue and stay with the terrorists to uncover more information and save people’s lives, sacrificing her efforts to protect ancient artifacts and putting her and Chris’ lives in danger. In the aftermath of the harrowing experience, Diana and Chris find themselves trying to live normally; after they are set up on a date, sparks fly (“Damn. He was handsome, and he was looking at her lips like he was wondering how she’d taste”). But tension grows between them as people doubt Diana’s story about finding Makram Rafiq. Diana and Chris might be back home, but they’re far from safe, as secrets abound and someone dangerous is lurking around the corner. The author elevates an intense thriller romance full of unexpected twists and turns with spectacular character development. Diana’s passion for archeology is believable, and her decision to throw that away in the hope of bringing down a horrific terrorist is equally convincing. Chris’ conflict between his sense of duty and his love for Diana also feels real and palpable. Their chemistry is fantastic, and their relationship grounds an exhilarating plot.
Exciting, heartfelt, and full of surprises.Pub Date: June 15, 2023
ISBN: 978-1944571658
Page Count: 502
Publisher: Janus Publishing
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by Rachel Grant
 
                            by Colleen Hoover ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 18, 2022
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.
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After being released from prison, a young woman tries to reconnect with her 5-year-old daughter despite having killed the girl’s father.
Kenna didn’t even know she was pregnant until after she was sent to prison for murdering her boyfriend, Scotty. When her baby girl, Diem, was born, she was forced to give custody to Scotty’s parents. Now that she’s been released, Kenna is intent on getting to know her daughter, but Scotty’s parents won’t give her a chance to tell them what really happened the night their son died. Instead, they file a restraining order preventing Kenna from so much as introducing herself to Diem. Handsome, self-assured Ledger, who was Scotty’s best friend, is another key adult in Diem’s life. He’s helping her grandparents raise her, and he too blames Kenna for Scotty’s death. Even so, there’s something about her that haunts him. Kenna feels the pull, too, and seems to be seeking Ledger out despite his judgmental behavior. As Ledger gets to know Kenna and acknowledges his attraction to her, he begins to wonder if maybe he and Scotty’s parents have judged her unfairly. Even so, Ledger is afraid that if he surrenders to his feelings, Scotty’s parents will kick him out of Diem’s life. As Kenna and Ledger continue to mourn for Scotty, they also grieve the future they cannot have with each other. Told alternatively from Kenna’s and Ledger’s perspectives, the story explores the myriad ways in which snap judgments based on partial information can derail people’s lives. Built on a foundation of death and grief, this story has an undercurrent of sadness. As usual, however, the author has created compelling characters who are magnetic and sympathetic enough to pull readers in. In addition to grief, the novel also deftly explores complex issues such as guilt, self-doubt, redemption, and forgiveness.
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.Pub Date: Jan. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5420-2560-7
Page Count: 335
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
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SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
 
                            by Ali Hazelwood ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 6, 2024
Sink your teeth into this delightful paranormal romance with a modern twist.
A vampire and an Alpha werewolf enter into a marriage of convenience in order to ease tensions between their species.
As the only daughter of a prominent Vampyre councilman, Misery Lark has grown accustomed to playing the role that’s demanded of her—and now, her father is ordering her to be part of yet another truce agreement. In an effort to maintain goodwill between the Vampyres and their longtime nemeses the Weres, Misery must wed their Alpha, Lowe Moreland. But it turns out that Misery has her own motivations for agreeing to this political marriage, including finding answers about what happened to her best friend, who went missing after setting up a meeting in Were territory. Isolated from her kind and surrounded on all sides by the enemy after the wedding, Misery refuses to let herself forget about her real mission. It doesn’t matter that Lowe is one of the most confounding and intense people she’s ever met, or that the connection building between them doesn’t feel like one born entirely of convenience. There’s also the possibility that Lowe may already have a Were mate of his own, but in spite of their biological differences, they may turn out to be the missing piece in each other’s lives. While this is Hazelwood’s first paranormal romance, and the book does lean on some hallmark tropes of the genre, the contemporary setting lends itself to the author’s trademark humor and makes the political plot more easily digestible. Misery and Lowe’s slow-burn romance is appealing enough that readers will readily devour every moment between them and hunger to return to them whenever the story diverts from their scenes together.
Sink your teeth into this delightful paranormal romance with a modern twist.Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9780593550403
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2023
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