The Weekly Edit

Roksana, heiress to the vampire slayer throne, has performance anxiety.

She’s supposed to kill Elias, but so far she’s only succeeded in maxing out his credit card. Now her failure to stake the brooding vampire has sent her back to Moscow in disgrace to face her mother’s wrath. Expecting punishment by death, she’s given a rare reprieve. She now has three tasks to complete, the last of which is to finally kill Elias. She will not fail this time.

If only the memories of one magical evening–back when Elias was human–would stop holding her back. He claims to have forgotten that night. Why can’t she?

Three years ago, Elias was a SWAT team member on a guys’ weekend in Vegas. Playing poker and minding his own business, his life changed forever when a captivating blonde strolled past his table in a light-up bra. He followed Roksana as if compelled, his very bones demanding he do so, his soul resonating with the belief she would be important to him. Always. That turned out to be a vast understatement–and nothing has changed.

Roksana embarks on her mission, determined to win back her mother’s approval, but when an astonishing truth emerges in the eleventh hour, will her stake pierce the very heart that beats in her honor? Or will love triumph over duty?

I never meant to say a word, not one single word.

But I did.

Now because of something I leaked—without even realizing it—I’ve inadvertently broken up one of the Ice Knights’ most legendary bromances. And worse—I’ve kicked hockey star Ian Petrov’s grumpy level to insane levels of grump.

And what could make it worse? How about the two of us being trapped together in a remote cabin after a massive blizzard. Neither of us can leave. Just us, the snow, his resentment, and OMG sexual tension so thick it would take a snowplow to break through it.

I’ve got to get out of here before I do something even dumber than I’ve already done and kiss the sexy with his misplaced anger and perfect pecs. That would be the worst, the absolute worst. But… would it be terrible if we gave in? Just a little? It’s not like we’re ever going to have to spend time together again.

Until the next morning when we’re told we have to play chummy for the press until this news cycle blows over. F.M.L.

USA Today bestselling author Talia Hibbert returns with another charming romantic comedy about a young woman who agrees to fake date her friend after a video of him “rescuing” her from their office building goes viral…

Danika Brown knows what she wants: professional success, academic renown, and an occasional roll in the hay to relieve all that career-driven tension. But romance? Been there, done that, burned the T-shirt. Romantic partners, whatever their gender, are a distraction at best and a drain at worst. So Dani asks the universe for the perfect friend-with-benefits—someone who knows the score and knows their way around the bedroom.

When big, brooding security guard Zafir Ansari rescues Dani from a workplace fire drill gone wrong, it’s an obvious sign: PhD student Dani and former rugby player Zaf are destined to sleep together. But before she can explain that fact to him, a video of the heroic rescue goes viral. Suddenly, half the internet is shipping #DrRugbae—and Zaf is begging Dani to play along. Turns out his sports charity for kids could really use the publicity. Lying to help children? Who on earth would refuse?

Dani’s plan is simple: fake a relationship in public, seduce Zaf behind the scenes. The trouble is, grumpy Zaf is secretly a hopeless romantic—and he’s determined to corrupt Dani’s stone-cold realism. Before long, he’s tackling her fears into the dirt. But the former sports star has issues of his own, and the walls around his heart are as thick as his… um, thighs.

The easy lay Dani dreamed of is now more complex than her thesis. Has her wish backfired? Is her focus being tested? Or is the universe just waiting for her to take a hint?

As the hottest bodyguard on Security Force Omega, Oscar Oliveira has no trouble finding a warm body at any odd hour. But he’s ready for more.

And for the first time in this ex-pro boxer’s life, he just got rejected. For a kiss.

Oscar’s friends warned him not to fall for the straight guy, but flirty, sexy-as-hell Jack Highland made that difficult. Now Jack has Oscar’s sweatshirt. His belt. His bandana. And Oscar seriously wants them back.

As for Jack – well, Jack wants a lot of things.

But for the first time in this confident filmmaker’s life, he’s absolutely 100%… confused. Add another ultra-complication in a sea of complicated: Enter Charlie Cobalt.

The enigmatic famous one that Oscar is sworn to protect wants his own show, and he’s asked Jack to film it. A Charlie-centric docuseries will force Oscar & Jack to share the same air again.

Option 1: Ignore each other.
Option 2: Flirt, aw yeah. And act like the rejection never happened.
Option 3: Confront each other about the rejected kiss.

With options on the table and their romantic lives unsettled, both Jack & Oscar are concerned about why Charlie wants his own show. And the longer filming lasts, the more tumultuous their personal & professional worlds become.

Chaos reigns when you’re around the Cobalts, and Jack & Oscar are swept up among the most destructive one.

A chance meeting with a handsome stranger turns into a whirlwind affair that gets everyone talking. 

Dating is the last thing on Olivia Monroe’s mind when she moves to LA to start her own law firm. But when she meets a gorgeous man at a hotel bar and they spend the entire night flirting, she discovers too late that he is none other than hotshot junior senator Max Powell. Olivia has zero interest in dating a politician, but when a cake arrives at her office with the cutest message, she can’t resist—it is chocolate cake, after all.

Olivia is surprised to find that Max is sweet, funny, and noble—not just some privileged white politician she assumed him to be. Because of Max’s high-profile job, they start seeing each other secretly, which leads to clandestine dates and silly disguises. But when they finally go public, the intense media scrutiny means people are now digging up her rocky past and criticizing her job, even her suitability as a trophy girlfriend. Olivia knows what she has with Max is something special, but is it strong enough to survive the heat of the spotlight?

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Last House Guest—a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick—comes a riveting new novel of psychological suspense about a young woman plagued by night terrors after a childhood trauma who wakes one evening to find a corpse at her feet.

Everyone knows the story of “the girl from Widow Hills.”

Arden Maynor was just a child when she was swept away while sleepwalking during a terrifying rainstorm and went missing for days. Strangers and friends, neighbors and rescue workers, set up search parties and held vigils, praying for her safe return. Against all odds, she was found, alive, clinging to a storm drain. The girl from Widow Hills was a living miracle. Arden’s mother wrote a book. Fame followed. Fans and fan letters, creeps, and stalkers. And every year, the anniversary. It all became too much. As soon as she was old enough, Arden changed her name and disappeared from the public eye.

Now a young woman living hundreds of miles away, Arden goes by Olivia. She’s managed to stay off the radar for the last few years. But with the twentieth anniversary of her rescue approaching, the media will inevitably renew its interest in Arden. Where is she now? Soon Olivia feels like she’s being watched and begins sleepwalking again, like she did long ago, even waking outside her home. Until late one night she jolts awake in her yard. At her feet is the corpse of a man she knows—from her previous life, as Arden Maynor.

And now, the girl from Widow Hills is about to become the center of the story, once again, in this propulsive page-turner from suspense master Megan Miranda.

“No list of thrillers is complete without Robyn Harding,” proclaims Real Simple. Now the USA TODAY bestselling author of The Party delivers a riveting tale about the toxic relationship between two couples after a night of sexual shenanigans, and the manipulative teenager with an explosive secret at the center of it all.

Low Morrison is not your average teen. You could blame her hippie parents or her looming height or her dreary, isolated hometown on an island in the Pacific Northwest. But whatever the reason, Low just doesn’t fit in—and neither does Freya, an ethereal beauty and once-famous social media influencer who now owns the local pottery studio.

After signing up for a class, Low quickly falls under Freya’s spell. And Freya, buoyed by Low’s adoration, is compelled to share her darkest secrets and deepest desires. Finally, both feel a sense of belonging…that is, until Jamie walks through the studio door. Desperate for a baby, she and her husband have moved to the island hoping that the healthy environment will result in a pregnancy. Freya and Jamie become fast friends, as do their husbands, leaving Low alone once again.

Then one night, after a boozy dinner party, Freya suggests swapping partners. It should have been a harmless fling between consenting adults, one night of debauchery that they would put behind them, but instead, it upends their lives. And provides Low the perfect opportunity to unleash her growing resentment.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Rachel Van Dyken comes the next standalone rockstar romance in her Seaside Pictures series…

I had his posters on my wall when I was sixteen and when I accidentally got pregnant in high school–his was the face I dreamt of when I closed my eyes at night.
Now, over twenty years later, that dream’s turned into a reality.
Not only is Drew Amhurst in my tiny town of Seaside, live and in the flesh…
But he’s mentoring my rockstar son.
Drew says he’s mine for a week.
And he made me three promises.

“No strings attached.”
“No falling in love.”
“It’s only seven days.”

He’s confident that he can help me rediscover myself both in and out of the bedroom, and I’m confident that he’s too arrogant for his own good.
And at the end of seven days, he swears he’ll walk out of my life the way he came into it.

The only problem is, the more I get to know him, the more I want to surrender the last pieces of my heart and beg him to stay.

From USA Today Bestselling Author Devney Perry comes a small town, second chance romance.

Gemma Lane built an empire. Not a small feat, considering her home as a teenager was a makeshift tent in a California junkyard. She’s dedicated her life to turning pennies into millions. She has power, fortune and prestige.

And she’s leaving it all behind.

Gemma is headed across the country in her best friend’s Cadillac when a detour in Montana reunites her with old acquaintances and a man who hasn’t changed. Easton Greer challenges her every word and tests her every limit because he doesn’t believe she’s really abandoned her riches. She ignores his snide remarks and muttered censure—until the day she’s ready to return to the wild highway, and Easton taunts her to stay.

She’ll prove to him she’s not just running back to her wealthy life, that she’s more than her money. She’ll unlock her guarded heart and hope that this time around, he’ll treasure the key.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author S.C. Stephens comes a complex romance about finding your purpose, living your dreams, and loving your soul mate.

Valerie would never do anything to hurt her sister, but when the man of Valerie’s dreams turns out to be her sister’s new boyfriend, remaining loyal to her family becomes increasingly difficult. Valerie knows nothing can ever happen between her and Jake, but that doesn’t prevent her from growing hopelessly fond of him.

By keeping her distance, Valerie is mostly successful in pushing her feelings for Jake aside, but when she struggles to land a job after culinary school, it’s Jake who offers her the opportunity of a lifetime working with a world-renowned chef…and also, working with Jake.

Valerie’s heart twists with indecision. Does she take the job of a lifetime cooking and sailing around on a yacht, but torture herself in an isolated situation with a man who is perfectly made for her yet absolutely off limits? Or does she reject the offer that could get her so much closer to making her dreams come true?

Exploring identity, class struggles, and high-stakes romance, Tanaz Bhathena’s Hunted by the Sky is a gripping adventure set in a world inspired by medieval India.

Gul has spent her life running. She has a star-shaped birthmark on her arm, and in the kingdom of Ambar, girls with such birthmarks have been disappearing for years. Gul’s mark is what caused her parents’ murder at the hand of King Lohar’s ruthless soldiers and forced her into hiding to protect her own life. So when a group of rebel women called the Sisters of the Golden Lotus rescue her, take her in, and train her in warrior magic, Gul wants only one thing: revenge.

Cavas lives in the tenements, and he’s just about ready to sign his life over to the king’s army. His father is terminally ill, and Cavas will do anything to save him. But sparks fly when he meets a mysterious girl—Gul—in the capital’s bazaar, and as the chemistry between them undeniably grows, he becomes entangled in a mission of vengeance—and discovers a magic he never expected to find.

Dangerous circumstances have brought Gul and Cavas together at the king’s domain in Ambar Fort…a world with secrets deadlier than their own.

Rebecca Ross, acclaimed author of The Queen’s Rising duology, delivers a thrilling new fantasy about the lengths two sisters will go for each other. Perfect for fans of Ember in the Ashes, Sky In the Deep, and Court of Fives.

After eight years, Evadne will finally be reunited with her older sister, Halcyon, who has been serving in the queen’s army. But when Halcyon unexpectedly appears a day early, Eva knows something is wrong. Halcyon has charged with a heinous crime, and though her life is spared, she is sentenced to 15 years.

Suspicious of the charges, brought forth by Halcyon’s army commander, as well as the details of the crime, Eva volunteers to take part of her sister’s sentence. If there’s a way to absolve Halcyon, she’ll find it. But as the sisters begin their sentences, they quickly learn that there are fates worse than death.

If he kisses me right now, I’ll drown.

Every sip of air is shallow and burning, because in the arms of my best friend’s brother, I’m the closest I’ve ever been to sin.

His eyes flick to my lips, and I remember the first time I tasted him, seven years ago before I left this town and vowed never to return. His hands grip my waist, and I remember the pain when he rejected me, when my entire world crashed down at his command. His jaw clenches, and my senses come alive with one stinging reminder.

I’m not his to kiss, and he’s not mine.

I tried to stay away from Tyler Wagner, putting an entire country between us. But when his sister’s wedding brings us back to the same town, to the same house, I can’t avoid him, no matter how hard I try.

He’s always there, his dark eyes bewitching, luring me into their depths. The memory of us pulls me under like a rip current, and when he flashes that smile, I lose my breath, along with my will, unable to escape his grip and find the surface.

Now, hours before our plus ones arrive for the wedding, I’m in his arms, begging him to make me hate him, knowing he never could.

If he kisses me right now, I’ll drown.

And I’ll take him down with me.

He’s a beast in the spreadsheets and a boss in the bedsheets

Mr. Santillian,

Despite the fact I’m currently living out of your guest room and sleeping with you most nights, I am writing to announce my resignation effective two weeks from today.

In other words, I’ll locate someone who is both obscenely overqualified and willing to devote their days to the handful of tasks you are able to wrench from your perfectionist, micromanaging grip. It may be difficult to find a Nobel laureate genius looking for basic filing work on such short notice, but I’ll do my best.

Don’t worry about your sister’s wedding this weekend. I still plan to attend as your date, assuming you’ve finished hating me by then.

Thank you in advance for your understanding.

Zelda

Ms. Besh,

Resignation not accepted.

I’ll see you at home.

Ash