Week of July 11, 2022
The first time I met Merrick Crawford was during my job interview.
Well, technically, Iโd met him twenty minutes earlier when heโd barged into a fitting room a few doors down from my appointment.
I yelled. He yelled. After an argument while standing in my bra, I proceeded to smash the door into the gorgeous jerk, trying to yank it shut.
As you might imagine, I was freaked out when I discovered that the rude guy was my potential new boss.
Yet he didnโt seem to recognize me. Or so I thoughtโฆ Until we wound up bickering again during my interview and he told me toย go sniff my armpit.
Okay, so maybe I hadnโt exactly been changing when he walked in on me. In my defense, Iโd been stuck on a hot train for two hours and wanted to make sure I didnโt smell.
I obviously didnโt expect to get the job. But somehow an invitation to a second interview arrived in my inbox.
Before I left, I asked to see Merrick. I needed to know why I was even in consideration after our disastrous start.
Turned out, Merrick only wanted to hire me because I was theย leastย competent candidate. It seemed his board was making him fill the position, against his wishes.
I didnโt really want to work in a place where my boss expected me to fail. But I figured maybe Iโd enjoy proving him wrong. It was a little thing I dubbedย the boss project.
What I wasnโt prepared for was that there would beย otherย things Iโd enjoy doing to Merrick Crawford.
Getting involved with the boss wasnโt the smartest choice.
But you know what they say about choices: Some we regret, some we are proud of. I just had no idea where this one was going to land.
It was the friends-with-benefits proposition he never saw comingโฆ
While Arran Adair might have followed the call of wanderlust in his younger years, it isnโt the reason he stayed away from Ardnoch. Home now, desperate to put the sins of his past behind him, and rebuild his life in the Scottish Highlands, Arran could never have predicted Eredine Willows. The Ardnoch Estate Pilates instructor is a complicated mystery and one Arran canโt help but want to solve.
Eredine has spent the last eight years hiding in Scotland and building walls between her and the people she cares about. Arran is the first Adair who doesnโt treat her as if sheโs fragile and demands a genuine friendship. Yet, the attraction sizzling between them is undeniable. So when she realizes she trusts him, Eredine surprises them both by offering Arran one night of no-strings passion.
Arran knows one night will inevitably lead to a desire for more and heโs willing to stay by Eredineโs side for as long as it takes to convince her thereโs something real between them. However, just when Arran thinks they might build a future together, Eredineโs past returns to stalk her. And Arran wonโt just have to battle her demons to keep them together. Heโll need to battle his own.
From internationally bestselling author K.A. Tucker comes the second novel in her Fate and Flame series,ย an adult fantasy story that should be read in series order.
โI do not know how to love youย and be a good king to my people.โ
From jewelry thief to interloper to queen-in-waiting, Romeria flees Cirilea a traitor to all. But the yawning distance between her and Zander troubles her more than any kingโs bounty on her head. While Zander may have escaped by her side, he seeks to regain his throne, and no immortal will ever welcome her as Islorโs queen. She fears it wonโt be long before Zander abandons her as everyone else sheโs ever loved has.
Zander sacrificed his crown to save Romeriaโs life, yet he dreads what her existence means for the future of his realm. As Ybarisโs plan to destroy Islor unfurls, a more insidious threat, orchestrated by rival fates, lurks beneath the surface. He can offer his allies no honest explanation for why he protects the Ybarisan princess and takes counsel from Queen Neilinaโs caster, leading those closest to doubt his wisdomโand his allegiance.
As their company aims for the Venhorn Mountains, steered by prophecy, Romeria is desperate to wield her newfound abilities to undo Princess Romeriaโs treachery before the kingdom tears itself apart. But with the mortal rebellion swelling, bolstered by the gift of Ybarisโs poison, it may already be too late.
The Seaside Chronicle
July 12, 2022
Buzz Bait
Seasiders,
News on the docks is Adelaide Bradley is back in Seaside, and rumor has it sheโs here to stay! (No ring was spotted on her finger, I might add!) After eight long years of living in the big city and working for Massachusetts General, she has decided to return to the shores. One can only imagine how thrilled Barbara and Keegan are to have their oldest daughter back.
But it makes you wonder if Adelaide will continue to peruse her nursing career or is she here to help at her familyโs restaurant, The Seaside Grill.
A little seagull has planted in my ear that Gannon Wilson is taking the news rather well, considering Adelaide broke his heart all those years ago. I did notice Gannon has been working more than usual, piloting that precious cargo through our ship channel. Maybe he is picking up extra hours to purchase a piece of jewelry, considering he was seen in Reef Jewelers only days ago.
Weโre rooting for the two of them to reunite at least as friends. Everyone knows the former homecoming king and queen had a bright future ahead of them untilโฆwellโฆthatโs another story for another issue, Seasiders!
Fair winds and following seas!
From #1ย New York Timesย bestselling author P. C. Cast comes INTO THE MIST, the first book in a pulse-pounding dystopian duology for our times.
Practical Magicย meetsย Station Elevenย in this gripping take on female power and the inevitable, destructive path of violent patriarchies.
As men fall to the mist, the age of womankind begins to rise.
The world as we know it ends when an attack on the U.S. unleashes bombs that deliver fire and biological destruction. Along with sonic detonations and devastating earthquakes, the bombs have also brought the green mist. If breathed in, it is deadly to all menโbut alters the body chemistry of many women, imbuing them with superhuman abilities.
A group of high school teachers heading home from a conference experiences firsthand the strength of these new powers. Mercury Rhodes is the Warrior, possessing heightened physical powers. Stella Carver is the Seer, with a sixth sense about the future. Imani Andrews is the Watcher, with a rare connection to the earth. Karen Gay is the Priestess, demonstrating a special connection with Spirits. And Gemma Jenkins is the Healer, a sixteen-year-old student who joins the group after losing her parents.
As they cross the Pacific Northwest, trying to find a safe place to ride out the apocalypse, the women soon learn they can’t trust anyone, and with fresh danger around every corner, it will take all their powers to save themselvesโand possibly the world.
With timely commentary on power and community,ย Into the Mistย delivers a thrilling and fantastical future that is equal parts a feminist commentary and an amazing, witty adventure filled with wine and womenโ as only P.C. Castโs brilliant storytelling can bring to life.
THE SCANDAL is an all-new marriage of convenience, age-gap novel fromย New York Timesย bestselling author Kristen Proby, set in her Single in Seattle Series, featuring Stella McKenna!
Who knew that weddings in Vegas were the real deal? I certainly didnโt when I agreed to marry my co-worker while on a bender in Sin City. Now, I need a quick annulment, which means I need an attorney, STAT.
Honestly, with a name like Grayson Sterling, Esquire, I expected an old man in a three-piece suit. But the guy behind the desk is anythingย butย stuffy and old. Tall and sexy with tattoos and striking blue eyes, I simply canโt take my eyes off him, and I have no intention of declining his offer of a dateโฆand more. So much more!
The conversation between us is good, and the man should win awards for his bedroom escapades. I find myself trusting him in ways I never thought I wouldโuntil he breaks that trust.
Gray insists he can fix it.
He claims he loves me.
But I donโt know if we can survive this.
Hallie Scott expected the hangover from her thirtieth birthday. She did not expect to find her calm, orderly life as Swan Coveโs head librarian to completely change overnight when her best friend added Hallie to the mayoral ballot because of one little remark. One. Now sheโs going head-to-head with the small coastal townโs prominent โprince,โ Fitz Montgomeryโฆwhose charm is about to get seriously checked.
All Fitz wants is to prove himself, beyond being the latest in the unbroken line of Montgomery mayors. Nobody, least of all Fitz, expected the townโs cute-as-hell librarian to step up and run against him. Hallieโs definitely in over her head, which is a problem, since Fitz wants a fair fight. But is he helping Hallie level the playing fieldโฆor arming his opponent?
Hallie and Fitz are on completely different sides. Their backgrounds, their lives, their ongoing ebook vs paperback argument. But theyโre both about to learn that the art of war is nowhere near as complicated as falling for the enemy…
The mind-blowing new thriller from theย New York Timesย bestselling author ofย Dark Matterย andย Recursion
โYou are the next step in human evolution.โ
At first, Logan Ramsay isnโt sure if anythingโs different. He just feels a little . . . sharper. Better able to concentrate. Better at multitasking. Reading a bit faster, memorizing better, needing less sleep.
But before long, he canโt deny it: Somethingโs happening to his brain. To his body. Heโs starting to see the world, and those around himโeven those he loves mostโin whole new ways.
The truth is, Loganโs genome has been hacked. And thereโs a reason heโs been targeted for this upgrade. A reason that goes back decades to the darkest part of his past, and a horrific family legacy.
Worse still, whatโs happening to him is just the first step in a much larger plan, one that will inflict the same changes on humanity at largeโat a terrifying cost.
Because of his new abilities, Loganโs the one person in the world capable of stopping whatโs been set in motion. But to have a chance at winning this war, heโll have to become something other than himself. Maybe even something other than human.
And even as heโs fighting, he canโt help wondering: what if humanityโs only hope for a future really does lie in engineering our own evolution?
Intimate in scale yet epic in scope,ย Upgradeย is an intricately plotted, lightning-fast tale that charts one manโs thrilling transformation, even as it asks us to ponder the limits of our humanityโand our boundless potential.
2022 FAVORITES
The #1ย New York Timesย bestselling author of the โclaustrophobic spine-tinglerโ (People)ย One by Oneย returns with an unputdownable mystery following a woman on the search for answers a decade after her friendโs murder.
April Clarke-Cliveden was the first person Hannah Jones met at Oxford.
Vivacious, bright, occasionally vicious, and the ultimate It girl, she quickly pulled Hannah into her dazzling orbit. Together, they developed a group of devoted and inseparable friendsโWill, Hugh, Ryan, and Emilyโduring their first term. By the end of the year, April was dead.
Now, a decade later, Hannah and Will are expecting their first child, and the man convicted of killing April, former Oxford porter John Neville, has died in prison. Relieved to have finally put the past behind her, Hannahโs world is rocked when a young journalist comes knocking and presents new evidence that Neville may have been innocent. As Hannah reconnects with old friends and delves deeper into the mystery of Aprilโs death, she realizes that the friends she thought she knew all have something to hideโฆincluding a murder.
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