Love at First Fright by Nadia El-Fassi, 356 pages

 In this cosy and spicy paranormal romance, a successful horror author whose novel is being adapted into a movie clashes with the actor cast as the male lead, all in a spooky mansion filled with ghosts, from the author of Best Hex Ever.

Rosemary is a successful horror author with a secret: she can see ghosts. So when the set of her hit novel’s film adaptation turns out to be a haunted countryside manor, she’s unfazed. What she’s less prepared for is the maddeningly handsome, completely miscast actor playing her leading man.

Ellis is a Hollywood heartthrob tired of his action-hero persona. Instead, he dreams of being a serious actor, and having free time to spend gardening with his dog. Landing the lead in a historical horror movie is his chance to start fresh… until he discovers the author tried to have him replaced.

But as filming progresses, and the manor's ghosts make their presence known, the chemistry between Rosemary and Ellis becomes undeniable. With secrets being spilled, sparks flying, and spirits stirring up trouble, can they face their demons and write themselves a happily-ever-after before it's a wrap?

The Nightmare Before Christmas by Sara Raasch, 356 pages

Nicholas “Coal” Claus used to love Christmas. Until his father, the reigning Santa, turned the holiday into a PR façade. Coal will do anything to escape the spectacle, including getting tangled in a drunken, supremely hot make- out session with a beautiful man behind a seedy bar one night.

But the heir to Christmas is soon commanded to do his duty: he will marry his best friend, Iris, the Easter Princess and his brother’s not-so-secret crush. A situation that has disaster written all over it.

Things go from bad to worse when a rival arrives to challenge Coal for the princess’s hand…and Coal comes face-to-face with his mysterious behind-the-bar hottie: Hex, the Prince of Halloween.

It’s a fake competition between two holiday princes who can’t keep their hands off each other over a marriage of convenience that no one wants. And it all leads to one of the sweetest, sexiest, messiest, most delightfully unforgettable love stories of the year.

Thinly Veiled by Monica Ross, 356 pages

 THINLY VEILED is equally sexy and smart. It’s about making your own happiness in a world eager to find fault with you, and embracing family, even when they piss you off.

Big boobs, tiny waist, wide hips, and long legs. That’s definitely me, Zelda Gordon.

I don’t care if the world calls me plus-sized, and I’ve learned to stop caring if my sister calls me flawed.

Because I’m about to call those sexy, loving fellas, Drew and Aithan, my husbands.

When I look in the mirror, I finally see the beautiful woman my men love. We’ve survived a hellish year, and we're on track for happiness. Until greed slithers from the dark corners of Drew's past, and pride tries to drive a wedge between Aithan and me.

That monster, Spite, brought along its wicked cousins, Avarice and Scorn. They're crafting thinly veiled threats, but our unconventional family is ready to tear them apart. Because nothing will stand in our way. Nothing will ruin our happiness. Nothing.

Wanderlust by Elle Everhart, 356 pages

 People We Meet on Vacation meets The Unhoneymooners in this sparkling debut romantic comedy about two near strangers—and complete opposites—who win a radio contest for a trip around the world.

Love's about to take flight .

Feeling stuck at work and tired of London’s dreary weather, magazine writer Dylan Coughlan impulsively rings a radio station one day only to win a once-in-a-lifetime trip around the world. The catch? Her travel partner must be a contact randomly selected on her phone. And of course this stressful game of contact roulette lands on a number listed only as Jack the Posho , an uptight, unbearably posh guy she met on a night out and accidentally ghosted.

The two couldn’t be more different, and as the trip kicks off, Jack seems like he’d sooner fling himself into the sun than have a conversation with Dylan. But more is hinging on this trip than the chance to see the world. For the past two years, Dylan’s been relegated to writing quizzes (and only quizzes) at her lifestyle magazine after an article about her past abortion went viral—and not in the good way. If she’s able to make a series about their trip successful, her overbearing boss will give her a chance at a permanent column. Dylan’s willing to do anything to make the series a hit, even if it means embellishing her and Jack’s relationship to satisfy readers. But as the column’s popularity grows, so does the bond between Dylan and Jack, and Dylan is forced to consider if the one thing she thought she always wanted is worth the price she'll have to pay to get there.

Unsolved Mysteries of World War II: From Nazi Ghost Trains and Toyoko Rose to the Day Los Angeles Was Attacked by Phantom Fighters by Michael Fitzgerald, 256 pages

 During World War II, many deeply mysterious events took place in the fog and chaos of conflict. These were classified, hushed up and kept from the public eye, and yet with the recent opening of secret archives, new light has been shed on these strange circumstances. This brilliant book fills you in on these unsolved cases, teasing fact from fiction.

Topics include:
• The lost treasure of the Amber Room - a masterpiece made from 5,900 kg of amber which was supposedly spirited away to a secret location and never uncovered since.
• The Man Who Never Was - a corpse dressed in military uniform, fitted out with fake documents who was deliberately allowed to fall into Nazi hands. His real identity is still disputed.
• The murder of socialite and possible spy, Jane Horney. Her body was never discovered, and many believed she swapped identities with her friend and lookalike before her disappearance.

Within these pages the reader will also discover the secrets of the Nazi Ghost Trains; the 17 British soldiers at Auschwitz; and 'the curse of Timur's Tomb'. These intriguing and often chilling conspiracies and subterfuges will leave you stunned.

Behind Every Great Man by Marlene Wagman-Geller, 356 pages

 Who Said Men Get to Monopolize the Glory?

Discover the Little Known Women Who Have Put the World's Alpha Males on the Map.

From ancient times to the present, men have gotten most of the good ink. Yet standing just outside the spotlight are the extraordinary, and overlooked, wives and companions who are just as instrumental in shaping the destinies of their famous—and infamous—men.

This witty, illuminating book reveals the remarkable stories of forty captivating females, from Constance Lloyd (Mrs. Oscar Wilde) to Carolyn Adams (Mrs. Jerry Garcia), who have stood behind their legendary partners and helped to humanize them, often at the cost of their own careers, reputations, and happiness. Through fame and its attendant ills—alcoholism, infidelity, mental illness, divorce, and even attempted murder—these powerful women quietly propelled their men to the top and changed the course of history.

Meet the Untold Half of History, Including:
•Alma Reville (Mrs. Alfred Hitchcock)
•Elena Diakonova (Mrs. Salvador Dali)
•Winifred Madikizela (Mrs. Nelson Mandela)
•Ann Charteris (Mrs. Ian Fleming, a.k.a. Mrs. James Bond)
•Ruth Alpern (Mrs. Bernie Maddoff)

And 35 more!

The Great Unexpected by Dan Mooney, 356 pages

This book should come with a warning label. I finished it on my lunch, sitting in my car and before I knew it, I was crying. I almost had to call into work, lol.
Joel lives in a nursing home, and he’s not one bit happy about it. He hates being told when to eat, when to sleep, when to take his pills. He’s fed up with life and begins to plan a way out when his new roommate, a retired soap opera actor named Frank, moves in and turns the nursing-home community upside down.

Though the two men couldn’t be more opposite, a fast friendship is formed when Frank is the only one who listens to and stands up for Joel. When he tells Frank about his burgeoning plan, they embark together on a mission to find the perfect escape, and along the way will discover that it’s never too late for new beginnings.

Filled with colorful characters, sparkling humor and deep emotion, The Great Unexpected is the story of friendship, finding oneself later in life and experiencing newfound joy in the most unexpected places.

Gay Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen & Kate Christie, 356 pages

Because Queer People Deserve Happily Ever After, Too.

For the Bennet sisters, life in quiet Hertfordshire County is about to change. Netherfield Hall has just been let to a single man of large fortune. But while it is true that such a man is generally considered to be in want of a wife, it is equally true that not all men desire female companionship, just as not every woman dreams of being married.

Like other variations on Jane Austen's classic romance novel, Gay Pride & Prejudice poses a question: What if some among Austen's characters preferred the company of their own sex? In this queer revision of the classic original, Kate Christie offers an alternate version of love, friendship, and marriage for Elizabeth Bennet, Mr. Darcy, and others among their circle of friends. But even as the path to love veers from the straight and narrow, the destination remains much the same.

If you have an open mind, dear reader, you may discover the book Jane Austen would likely never have approved, but which, nonetheless, affords a window onto gay and lesbian life in early nineteenth century England. 

The Golden Age of Piracy: The Truth Behind Pirate Myths by Benerson Little, 356 pages

For thousands of years, pirates have terrorized the ocean voyager and the coastal inhabitant, plundered ship and shore, and wrought havoc on the lives and livelihoods of rich and poor alike. Around these desperate men has grown a body of myths and legends—fascinating tales that today strongly influence our notions of pirates and piracy. Most of these myths derive from the pirates of the “Golden Age,” from roughly 1655 to 1725. This was the age of the Spanish Main, of Henry Morgan and Blackbeard, of Bartholomew Sharp and Bartholomew Roberts.

The history of pirate myth is rich in action, at sea and ashore. However, the truth is far more interesting. In The Golden Age of Piracy, expert pirate historian Benerson Little debunks more than a dozen pirate myths that derive from this era—from the flying of the Jolly Roger to the burying of treasure, from walking the plank to the staging of epic sea battles—and shows that the truth is far more fascinating and disturbing than the romanticized legends.

Among Little’s revelations are that pirates of the Golden Age never made their captives walk the plank and that they, instead, were subject to horrendous torture, such as being burned or hung by their arms. Likewise, epic sea battles involving pirates were fairly rare because most prey surrendered immediately.

The stories are real and are drawn heavily from primary sources. Complementing them are colorful images of flags, ships, and buccaneers based on eyewitness accounts.

Past Malice by Dana Cameron, 356 pages

Asked to join a dig at the site of the eighteenth-century Chandler House, archaeologist Emma Fielding and her student crew have descended upon Stone Harbor, Massachusetts. But certain residents of the tiny coastal community are none too happy about Emma's arrival -- especially when her excavation uncovers a pair of freshly slain corpses. There are dark forces at play in this dangerously divided town, where a distrust of strangers wars with a desire for tourist dollars. And when a young local's life is snuffed out, Emma is determined to get to the twisted roots of the strange secrets buried in this killing ground. But a mystery that lies among the tumbled ruins of a once grand manor could change Stone Harbor forever. And for some murderous someone, one more death -- Emma's -- would be a small price to pay to keep it hidden.

Double Fudge Brownie Murder by Joanne Fluke, 356 pages

I really enjoy this series. It was nice that this book seemed lighter than the last couple, it had gotten a little dark. I can't wait to see what happens in the next book.

Emily & Einsten by Linda Francis Lee, 356 pages

The latest book club book. Everyone really enjoyed it and it was a different read.

The Sherlockian by Graham Moore, 356 pages

I LOVED this book. The lost diary of Arthur Conan Doyle has been located, covering the time period of his decision to bring Sherlock Holmes back from the dead. What lead to this decision after his many vocal outbursts stating that Holmes was dead forever? And where has the diary been?
The book alternates chapters between Arthur Conan Doyle in the early 1900s and Harold White, a member of the Baker Street Irregulars in present day. This book was a gushing fanletter for all the Sherlockians out there. I am buying a copy of this book for my own collection. I liked it that much.