November 2023 Wrap-Up
An Unlikely Match for the Governess
Lauri Robinson
The most unlikely match…
might be the best fit!
After the young twins she cares for are orphaned, their governess Aislinn will do anything to stay with them. So when their maverick uncle – aristocrat turned rancher Luke – returns to England, determined to gain guardianship, she proposes a convenient marriage! As an unexpected connection develops between them Aislinn begins to long for a real future with Luke. But his home is in Montana… could it be hers too?
Paris: The Memoir
PARIS HILTON
A MILLION MEANINGS IN A SINGLE NAME…
Heiress. Party girl. Problem child. Selfie taker. Model. Cover girl. Reality star. These are labels that have been attached to Paris Hilton by others.
Founder. Entrepreneur. Pop Culture Maker. Innovator. Survivor. Activist. Daughter. Sister. Wife. Mom. These are roles Paris Hilton embraces now as a fully realized woman.
Paris rose to prominence as an heiress to the Hilton Hotels empire, but cultivated her fame and fortune as the It Girl of the aughts, a time marked by the burgeoning twenty-four-hour entertainment news cycle and the advent of the celebrity blog. Using her celebrity brand, Paris set in motion her innovative business ventures, while being the constant target of tabloid culture that dismissively wrote her off as “famous for being famous.” With tenacity, sharp business acumen, and grit, she built a global empire and, in the process, became a truly modern icon beloved around the world.
Now, with courage, honesty, and humor, Paris Hilton is ready to take stock, place it all in context, and share her story with the world. Separating the creation from the creator, the brand from the ambassador, Paris: The Memoir strips away all we thought we knew about a celebrity icon, taking us back to a privileged childhood lived through the lens of undiagnosed ADHD and teenage rebellion that triggered a panicked – and perilous – decision by her parents. Led to believe they were saving their child’s life, Paris’ mother and father had her kidnapped and sent to a series of “emotional growth boarding schools,” where she survived almost two years of verbal, physical, and sexual abuse. In the midst of a hell we now call the “troubled teen industry,” Paris created a beautiful inner world where the ugliness couldn’t touch her. She came out, resolving to trust no one but herself as she transformed that fantasy world into a multibillion-dollar reality.
Recounting her perilous journey through pre-#MeToo sexual politics with grace, dignity, and just the right amount of sass, Paris: The Memoir tracks the evolution of celebrity culture through the story of the figure at its leading edge, full of defining moments and marquee names. Most important, Paris shows us her path to peace while she challenges us to question our role in her story and in our own. Welcome to Paris.
Crescent Phase
J.P. FEATHER
Twenty-four-year-old Arabella struggled to stand on her own two feet despite being incredibly hard-working. Long hours in her waitressing job did little to help provide the income needed for the one-room apartment she shared with her best friend, Letty. A childhood gift from her parents, Letty, an owl, had always remained by her side. On her 25th birthday, when Arabella blow out the candles on her birthday cake, her life changed forever. Letty flew out of the window of her cramped apartment, and in a panic, Arabella followed her. Reaching the edge of her small town, she catches the owl and returns home to find the apartment on fire. With her entire past gone up in flames and white smoke rising into the sky, Arabella feels desolate. That was, until she noticed a strange red tag pinned to Letty’s leg. Taking the tag, she opened it with curiosity, and inside, a small blue note…
Arabella Evans, Congratulations on your acceptance to Moon Academy.
Bleeding Love
J.S. HART
Love is the blood of life. To live forever, one must drink every last drop. The line between love and hate is often drawn in blood.
For Celeste, a powerful witch who sold her soul for revenge, living her lives hunted and feared is nothing new. Death is her companion, and darkness is her friend. But when both take the form of a lethal vampire who tries to kill her, her precarious fate hangs in the balance in more ways than one.
For Roman, a listless vampire who exists solely because his Master wills it, turning into a creature of darkness and death was never a choice. His life ended the night his heart ceased to beat and for a thousand years, there had been nothing that made him want to live. But when a witch drenched in blood and magic crosses his path, something he thought long dead inside of him awakens.
Joined by desire. Separated by hate.
Can two monsters help each other heal from the wounds of the past or will they choose to destroy that which promises salvation?
One thing is for certain: there will be blood. And if they are lucky, it won’t be theirs.
Bleeding Love is part of The Soulless Witch series, but it can be read as a standalone.
Bitten under the Mistletoe
LARA BRONSON
My life was perfect. I had my beloved wife and son close to me. And soon my daughter, Athena, alongside my in-laws would visit us for Christmas. What more could a man want? It was worth trading my human life to become a vampire.
Then, the dreams started. But they weren’t my dreams. No, no. They were my wife’s. And to my horror, they were about my doppelgänger.
And if this wasn’t disturbing enough, the dreams were of a… sensual nature.
When I asked Petra about it, she said it was nothing to worry about.
Except, the dreams didn’t stop. And I had to do something about it. No man, doppelgänger or not, can have my wife. Not even in her dreams.
Sage, Rosemary, and Time
Harmke Buursma
In 1967 as a gifted pianist with a scholarship awaiting her at the prestigious Curtis Institute Of Music, Rosemary Scott’s future seems bright. However, her world is shattered when her brother is drafted into the Vietnam War, and her mother receives a devastating cancer diagnosis.
Forced to abandon her aspirations and care for her ailing mother, Rosemary’s world becomes a blur of responsibilities and sacrifices. While running an errand, Rosemary stumbles upon a mysterious bookshop that transports her to the year 1764. In this unfamiliar world, she narrowly escapes a carriage accident and finds refuge with the dashing Leo Abernathy.
Amidst political tensions and personal struggles, Rosemary finds herself torn between her affection for Leo and the responsibilities awaiting her in her own time. Yet, when the owner of the magical bookshop presents Rosemary with a choice, she must confront the ultimate decision.
Will she forsake everything she knows and remain in 1764, or will she summon the strength to return to her own time, prioritizing her family above all else?
Meet Me There
Judy Corry
A dark Chemistry lab. A fake British accent. It’s all fun and games until somebody falls in love.
When sixteen-year-old, Ashlyn Brooks, runs into a sweet British guy in the dark Chemistry lab, she has no idea she’s actually sitting in the pitch-black room with her longtime rival, Luke Davenport. She also doesn’t know that she’s stepped into another one of the football captain’s pranks. It isn’t long before she’s sharing things she’s never told anyone, and starting to fall for the mysterious guy with a sexy accent who seems to understand her in a way no one ever has before.
When Luke’s mom dies the summer before his senior year, he turns to pranking Ashlyn to keep his mind off his loss. But the more he gets to know her, the more he regrets using his fake British accent in the first place. Soon Luke is walking the thin line of keeping his lies a secret and wishing he could tell her that the boy she’s falling for is really him.
MEET ME THERE is a standalone novel in The Ridgewater High series. Perfect for readers who enjoy sweet YA romance with ballad-worthy chemistry, passionate kisses and endearing characters.
Don’t Forget Me
Judy Corry
Sparks are flying between these best friends. Could a practice kiss change everything?
Seventeen-year-old Eliana Costa has never kissed a guy. Her best guy friend, Jess, is more than willing to help her out. He has plenty of experience since he finds a new girlfriend every other week. But when a practice kiss brings on feelings Eliana hadn’t bargained for, her already messy life is thrown into a new level of chaos.
Life is already more than she can handle after her dad’s disappearance. Eliana worries that if she admits her feelings to Jess, she just might lose her best friend. And right now, a best friend is all she needs. But when another girl tries to date Jess, Eliana is forced to decide if taking a chance on love is worth the risk.
DON’T FORGET ME is a standalone novel in The Ridgewater High series. Perfect for readers who enjoy sweet YA romance with ballad-worthy chemistry, passionate kisses and endearing characters.
The Old Man and the Sea
Ernest Hemingway
The Old Man and the Sea is one of Hemingway’s most enduring works. Told in language of great simplicity and power, it is the story of an old Cuban fisherman, down on his luck, and his supreme ordeal, a relentless, agonizing battle with a giant marlin far out in the Gulf Stream. Here Hemingway recasts, in strikingly contemporary style, the classic theme of courage in the face of defeat, of personal triumph won from loss.
Written in 1952, this hugely successful novella confirmed Hemingway’s power and presence in the literary world and played a large part in his winning the 1954 Nobel Prize for Literature.
The Bookstore Sisters
Alice Hoffman
From New York Times bestselling author Alice Hoffman comes a heartfelt short story about family, independence, and finding your place in the world.
Isabel Gibson has all but perfected the art of forgetting. She’s a New Yorker now, with nothing left to tie her to Brinkley’s Island, Maine. Her parents are gone, the family bookstore is all but bankrupt, and her sister, Sophie, will probably never speak to her again.
But when a mysterious letter arrives in her mailbox, Isabel feels herself drawn to the past. After years of fighting for her independence, she dreads the thought of going back to the island. What she finds there may forever alter her path—and change everything she thought she knew about her family, her home, and herself.
The Little Prince
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
A pilot stranded in the desert awakes one morning to see, standing before him, the most extraordinary little fellow. “Please,” asks the stranger, “draw me a sheep.” And the pilot realizes that when life’s events are too difficult to understand, there is no choice but to succumb to their mysteries. He pulls out pencil and paper… And thus begins this wise and enchanting fable that, in teaching the secret of what is really important in life, has changed forever the world for its readers.
Few stories are as widely read and as universally cherished by children and adults alike as The Little Prince, presented here in a stunning new translation with carefully restored artwork. The definitive edition of a worldwide classic, it will capture the hearts of readers of all ages.
The Witch of the North Pole
Snow Eden
A heart-warming tale of Christmas, elves, Santa Claus…and a really mad witch.
There are many things Cinnamon Mercy Claus is struggling with this holiday season: the memories of long-forgotten holidays when the Christmas season was about family; that she’s just found out her grandfather is Santa Claus; and that her grandmother is a witch—who is bent on destroying Christmas for them all.
Book #1 of the Cinnamon Mercy Claus Series
A dose of Hallmark-warmth mixed with crazy witch mayhem!
All books in this series are considered a clean read. There is no profanity.
The Witch of the North Pole can be read as a stand-alone, but it’s encouraged to continue on to the rest of the series. Whether it’s Christmas chaos or supernatural mysteries, Cinnamon Mercy Claus is never too far behind!
The Cleaners
Ken Liu
Touch the past or wash it away? Two sisters have a choice in this unforgettable short story of everyday magic and the power of memory by the Hugo and Nebula Award–winning author Ken Liu.
Gui is a professional cleaner at A Fresh Start, scrubbing away the unpleasant layers of memory that build up on the personal objects of his customers. Memory-blind himself, he can’t feel those wounds. Clara can, and she prefers them irretrievable. Until her sister, Beatrice, ultrasensitive to memory, raises one that could change Clara’s mind. For Gui, the past is gone. For Clara and Beatrice, deciding what to remember reaches to the heart of their shared history.
The Cleaners is part of Faraway, a collection of retold fairy tales that take the happily-ever-after in daring new directions. Whether read or listened to in one sitting, prepare to be charmed, moved, enlightened, and frightened all over again.
The Wickeds
Gayle Forman
The reviled villainesses of Snow White, Cinderella, and Rapunzel team up to set the record straight in a subversively funny short story by the number one New York Times bestselling author of If I Stay.
Envious queen? Evil stepmother? Kidnapping hag? Elsinora, Gwendolyn, and Marguerite are through with warts-and-all tabloids, ugly lies, and the three ungrateful brats who pitted them against each other and the world. But maybe there’s more to the stories than even the Wickeds know. Is it time to finally get revenge? After all, they’re due for a happily-enough-ever-after. Even if they have to write it themselves.
The Wickeds is part of Faraway, a collection of retold fairy tales that take the happily-ever-after in daring new directions. Whether read or listened to in one sitting, prepare to be charmed, moved, enlightened, and frightened all over again.
The Guard of Adriane
Audrey de Leon
In the country of Adriane, Eric Sinclair is a precocious orphan who has had a rough childhood. When Princess Diana, heir to the throne, receives threats, he obtains the enviable role of being her personal bodyguard.
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What starts as a friendly business relationship quickly turns into much more, a forbidden attraction neither can deny. However, Eric’s life may be in danger when their affection is discovered. With the help of her friends, Princess Diana must figure out a way to save Eric and their relationship.
The Guard of Adriane is a forbidden bodyguard royalty romance intended for mature audiences.
Now it’s your turn!
Share your November reads and let’s discuss — what were your favorite reads from the past month? Or is there a book you’re looking forward to this month? Any new discoveries or treasured rereads? We’d love to see your recommendations and thoughts!
