Books Publishing this Week: July 2-8
Books Publishing this Week: July 2-8
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Business or Pleasure by Rachel Lynn Solomon
Chandler Cohen has never felt more like the ghost in "ghostwriter" until she attends a signing for a book she wrote—and the author doesn’t even recognize her. The evening turns more promising when she meets a charming man at the bar and immediately connects with him. But when all their sexual tension culminates in a spectacularly awkward hookup, she decides this is one night better off forgotten.
Unfortunately, that’s easier said than done. Her next project is ghostwriting a memoir for Finn Walsh, a C-list actor best known for playing a lovable nerd on a cult classic werewolf show who now makes a living appearing at fan conventions across the country. But Chandler knows him better from their one-night stand of hilarious mishaps.
Chandler’s determined to keep their partnership as professional as possible, but when she admits to Finn their night together wasn’t as mind-blowing as he thought it was, he’s distraught. He intrigues her enough that they strike a deal: when they’re not working on his book, Chandler will school Finn in the art of satisfaction. As they grow closer both in and out of the bedroom, they must figure out which is more important, business or pleasure—or if there's a way for them to have both.
The Dane of my Existence by Jessica Martin
Portia Barnes is the youngest managing partner in her law firm’s history, and she and her stilettos are poised to step into the role of her dreams—leading the firm’s new Boston office. But first she’s taking a summer sabbatical in her hometown of Bard’s Rest, New Hampshire, where she discovers something’s rotten in the midst of the town’s annual Shakespeare festival.
Hotshot commercial developer Benjamin Dane is sniffing around Bard’s, and while Portia isn’t necessarily a Shakespeare fanatic like the rest of her family, she’s not about to let him bulldoze the town’s beloved outdoor theater. Yet to Portia’s dismay, Ben proves as skilled as she is when it comes to outworking, outmaneuvering, and one-upping the competition. While she’s never hesitated to wage war against hyper-successful alpha males, Portia is caught off guard by Ben’s openness and lack of arrogance. As her own long-constructed walls start to come down, Portia begins to wonder if he might be more than an archnemesis.
With her heart on the line and the future of the town hanging in the balance, Portia faces an impossible decision—Ben or Bard’s?—unless she finds a way to broker the merger of her life, and ensures the curtain falls on a happy ending for everyone.
Kiss Me, Mi Amor by Alana Quintana Albertson
Enrique Montez, smooth-talking heir to the Taco King empire, is man enough to admit that he made a critical error when he underestimated Carolina Flores. The agricultural hotshot should have been an easy conquest—who would turn down the chance to partner with California’s largest fast-food chain? But instead of signing her name on the dotted line, Carolina has Enrique eating out of the palm of her hand, and when fate steps in with an unexpected opportunity, Enrique is willing to do whatever it takes to capture her heart.
Growing up as the daughter of farmworkers, Carolina spent her youth picking strawberries in the fields of Santa Maria and vowing to improve the lives of people like her parents. Now, as one of only a few Latina farm owners, she has no time for romance and she’s certainly not about to let the notorious Montez brother anywhere near her business—even if just being near Enrique makes her skin tingle.
But she is willing to let him help get her overinvolved family off her back. When Carolina’s father and her lovelorn sisters mistake Enrique for her (nonexistent) boyfriend, she reluctantly agrees to a series of pretend dates to their town’s traditional Mexican-American holiday celebrations. Soon the fake feelings turn real and both Carolina and Enrique must convince each other to take a chance on love before their vacation romance is over.
One Summer in Savannah by Terah Shelton Harris
A compelling debut that glows with bittersweet heart and touching emotion, deeply interrogating questions of family, redemption, and unconditional love in the sweltering summer heat of Savannah, as two people discover what it means to truly forgive.
It's been eight years since Sara Lancaster left her home in Savannah, Georgia. Eight years since her daughter, Alana, came into this world, following a terrifying sexual assault that left deep emotional wounds Sara would do anything to forget. But when Sara's father falls ill, she's forced to return home and face the ghosts of her past.
While caring for her father and running his bookstore, Sara is desperate to protect her curious, outgoing, genius daughter from the Wylers, the family of the man who assaulted her. Sara thinks she can succeed―her attacker is in prison, his identical twin brother, Jacob, left town years ago, and their mother are all unaware Alana exists. But she soon learns that Jacob has also just returned to Savannah to piece together the fragments of his once-great family. And when their two worlds collide―with the type of force Sara explores in her poetry and Jacob in his astrophysics―they are drawn together in unexpected ways.
When Do You Feel Free? by Ryland Hormel
Photographer Ryland Hormel traveled across the United States from Alaska to Florida, asking people “When do you feel free?” Respondents wrote down their answers on 3” x 5” index cards, then had their photographs taken with Hormel’s vintage Leica M6 analog camera.
When Do You Feel Free? is a collection of over 100 hand-written responses, alongside photographs that put the answers in context. The pages contain answers of photographs of recent immigrants, former convicts, fishermen, cowboys—that all come together to create a collective conversation about freedom through the fragmented perspectives of individuals across America. When Do You Feel Free? makes the reader realize freedom isn’t a location, but a state of mind, one that can be uncovered at any time.
The Door-to-Door Bookstore by Carsten Henn
The charming international bestseller about an unlikely friendship between an elderly door-to-door bookseller and a nine-year-old girl that changes his life.
Small-town German bookseller Carl Kollhoff delivers his books to special customers in the evening hours after closing time, walking through the picturesque alleys of the city. These people are almost like friends to him, and he is their most important connection to the world.
When Kollhoff unexpectedly loses his job, it takes the power of books and a nine-year-old girl to make them all find the courage to rebuild their bonds with each other.
A bestselling phenomenon internationally, Carsten Henn's The Door-to-Door Bookstore is a feel-good novel about books and friendship.
Grayson's Vow by Mia Sheridan
Some vows are meant to be broken, but others are worth risking everything for…even your heart.
Kira Dallaire is desperate. She must get married, and fast, to access the inheritance her late grandmother left her. Otherwise, she’ll find herself at the mercy of her wealthy, abusive father. With little money and even fewer options, she uses her quick wit and impulsive heart to come up with a plan.
Grayson Hawthorn is losing hope. A convicted felon with limited capital and dwindling resources, his vow to resurrect his family’s struggling vineyard seems destined to fail. That is, until a young woman enters his office with an outlandish proposal—a win-win business marriage he can’t refuse.
But what begins as a temporary arrangement soon threatens to become more, as vibrant, spirited Kira challenges detached, arrogant Grayson to want more from life. To want more for himself. As their wills clash and fiery passion ignites, the two realize that sometimes the past creates walls too difficult to climb, and lies and deception rarely precede a happily ever after.
Break of Day by Colleen Coble
Annie Pederson’s happily ever after is finally within sight . . . If she can stay alive long enough to grasp it.
Law enforcement officer Annie Pederson’s life has been rocked by tragedy, but things finally seem to be heading in the right direction. Her relationship with the love of her life—who’s also the biological father of her precious daughter—has never been better, and it looks like an engagement ring is in Annie’s future. She’s also slowly building back trust with her sister, Sarah, after a separation that lasted for decades.
When a man escapes law enforcement custody and Sarah’s safety is suddenly in question, Annie’s personal and professional lives once again merge. Meanwhile, her investigation of hikers who have gone missing in the remote woods of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula puts her in the crosshairs of a deadly game.
Now, Annie is the one being hunted. When she discovers the terrible truth about the men who are stalking her, she realizes that she’s in for the fight of her life if she’s going to redeem the sister she once lost, build the family she dreams of, and keep all those she loves safe.
Return to the beloved town of Rock Harbor in the final installment of the Annie Pederson trilogy by bestselling suspense author Colleen Coble.
Miranda Nights by Gail Ward Olmsted
She has a loving husband and a successful career- who says you can’t have it all? Miranda Quinn is living her very best life… until she’s not.
It’s been two years since her legal advice TV show was canceled, but the former Assistant District Attorney has rebounded with a late-night radio show, Miranda Nights. When her closest friend’s teenaged son gets arrested, Miranda tries to help but the evidence against him is overwhelming. Following a family member’s medical diagnosis, Miranda begins to wonder if her ‘happily ever after’ has been canceled as well.
But the real trouble arrives when a persistent caller, desperate for Miranda’s attention, embarks on an all-out effort to get her to see the error of her ways. Threatening messages and slanderous social media posts escalate to break-ins and arson when a fanatical fan claims to be her only path to salvation.
Miranda Nights is a fast-paced, witty story full of hidden dangers, with a strong and resilient woman at its core.
In the Weeds by B.K. Borison
Evelyn St. James isn’t the kind of woman you forget. Beckett Porter certainly hasn’t. One incredible weekend in Maine, and he’s officially a man distracted. He’s not unfamiliar with hot and heavy flings, but Evie wove some sort of magic over him during their tumble in the sheets. He can’t stop thinking about her laugh. Her hand pressed flat against his chest. Her smiling mouth at his neck.
So when she suddenly appears on his farm as part of a social media contest, he is…confused. He had no idea that the sweet and sexy woman he met at a bar is actually a global phenomenon. When Evie disappears again, Beckett resolves to finally move on.
But Evie, who has been feeling disconnected from her work and increasingly dissatisfied with life online, is trying to find her way back to something real. She returns to the last place she was happy: Lovelight Farms and the tiny town of Inglewild. And it has absolutely nothing to do with the hot farmer she spent two incredible nights with.
