Recipe for Joy Monica Comas

 Belle Sutton is a little lost these days.

She has a stalled career, a New York apartment she can’t afford, and her sister, Lexie, is more estranged with each passing year. Belle’s one true consolation is her beloved grandmother, who’s powered through her own broken family ties with a tenacious zest for life and a passion for cooking. But when her grandmother suddenly passes away, a grieving Belle feels her only connection to the past is gone forever.

That’s when Belle receives a series of letters, along with a cookbook, photographs of Belle and Lexie when they were young and happy, and her grandmother’s last wish that the sisters mend severed ties before it’s too late. For the love of Gran, a challenge is met that sets Belle and Lexie on a journey of hope, reconciliation, surprising discoveries, and the nourishing power of family, forgiveness, and tradition. All they have to do is follow the directions.

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Amazon.com: Recipe for Joy: A Novel eBook : Comas, Monica: Kindle Store

Monica Comas was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English from The Ohio State University and a master’s in journalism from New York University. She’s worked as a newspaper reporter, a journalist covering stocks and the economy, and a financial editor. But fiction has always been her true love. Monica lives in New York with her husband, John, and their tiny shih tzu, Poirot.

The Exception by Vi Keeland

 A new, sexy standalone from #1 New York Times Bestseller, Vi Keeland.

He lives by a set of rules. She might be his one exception.
I just wanted a distraction, something to take the edge off before facing a wedding I was dreading. So on the flight back to New York, I signed up for a dating app. Harmless enough, right?
Wrong.
Turns out, it wasn’t just any app—it catered to people with very specific tastes. By the time I realized it, I was already on my date.
Tall, confident, and sinfully handsome, Jagger Langston seemed like the full package. The chemistry between us was instant—electric enough to burn the whole city down. Though things took a turn when we figured out I’d misunderstood who should join the app. We laughed it off, said goodbye, and went our separate ways.
Or so I thought.
Until I walked into my new internship Monday morning, ready to put the weekend behind me, and there he was—my boss.
Now I’m caught between the rules he lives by—and the temptation to make him break every single one of them.

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The Exception - Kindle edition by Keeland , Vi , Royer-Ocken, Jessica . Contemporary Romance Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

Vi Keeland is a #1 New York Times, #1 Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling author. With millions of books sold, her titles are currently translated in twenty-seven languages and have appeared on bestseller lists in the US, Germany, Brazil, Bulgaria, Israel and Hungary. Three of her short stories have been turned into films, and two of her books have been optioned for movies. She resides in New York with her husband and their three children where she is living out her own happily ever after with the boy she met at age six.

Stop by and meet Vi in her private reader group, Vi's Violets, on Facebook!

My Thoughts... 

I was hooked from the very beginning. This book was the best escape from reality. Hello Jagger! The tension, the laughs. This book hit all the right notes. Romance lovers are in for a fantastic treat with this book. I very rarely give 5 stars out they are saved for the best books, and this one is a 5 star read. 

Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required, and all views expressed are our own.

Pendergast by Preston & Child

 It only took six months for the life of Special Agent Dwight Chambers to crumble around him. First, he lost his partner, and then, tragically, his wife. Returning to work at the New Orleans Field Office, Chambers is dismayed to find himself saddled with mentoring a brand new FBI agent—a certain A. X. L. Pendergast. As Chambers tries to pull himself together, his enigmatic and exasperating junior partner pulls an outrageous stunt that gets both of them suspended.

Pendergast welcomes the banishment, because it gives him the opportunity to investigate a peculiar murder in Mississippi that has captured his fancy. Chambers grudgingly goes along. What starts off as a whimsical quest swiftly turns into a terrifying pursuit, as Chambers and Pendergast uncover a string of grisly, ritualistic killings that defy any known serial killer profile.
 

Thanks in large part to Pendergast’s brilliance and unorthodox methods, they solve the case and find the killer… and that is when the true horror begins.

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Pendergast: The Beginning (Agent Pendergast Series): Preston, Douglas, Child, Lincoln: 9781538765746: Amazon.com: Books

Douglas Preston is the author of forty books, both fiction and nonfiction, thirty-two of which have been New York Times bestsellers, with several reaching the number 1 position. He has worked as an editor at the American Museum of Natural History in New York and taught nonfiction writing at Princeton University. His first novel, RELIC, co-authored with Lincoln Child, was made into a movie by Paramount Pictures, which launched the famed Pendergast series of novels. His recent nonfiction book, THE MONSTER OF FLORENCE, is also in production as a major television series from Apple. His latest nonfiction book, THE LOST CITY OF THE MONKEY GOD, tells the true story of the discovery of a prehistoric city in an unexplored valley deep in the Honduran jungle. In addition to books, Preston writes about archaeology and paleontology for the New Yorker, National Geographic, and Smithsonian magazines. He is the recipient of numerous writing awards in the US and Europe, including a shared Edgar Award and an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from Pomona College. From 2019 to 2023 he served as president of the Authors Guild, the nation's oldest and largest association of authors and journalists.

Don't let the size of this series scare you. The books can be read as stand alones and this book was by far the best in the whole series, just look at that gorgeous cover.

Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required, and all views expressed are our own.

The Mr. & Mrs. Mistake by Brighton Walsh

 When Willa Jameson stumbled into my bar drunk, heartbroken, and desperate to save her family farm, I offered to marry her. For “convenience.”

Which is hilarious, because nothing about my attraction to this hurricane with hips has ever been convenient.

Now we’re sharing a roof, a bed, and a potential felony thanks to our fake marriage.

It’s supposed to be a favor between not-quite-friends-but-not-quite-enemies. Then our late-night arguments turn into practice make out sessions.

But according to her, that changes absolutely nothing between us.

No matter how many lines we draw, we keep crossing them—in the kitchen, on the porch, in the tiny bed that’s become both heaven and hell.

And the woman who swears she hates me starts looking at me like I might be exactly what she needs.

She calls me her temporary husband. I call her my daily torture, because every day we play house, it feels less like pretending and more like home.

When this ends, I don’t know how I’m going to forget what it felt like to call her mine. So either I walk away with her, or I don’t walk away at all.

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Amazon.com: The Mr & Mrs Mistake (Steele Brothers of Starlight Cove): 9781685180515: Walsh, Brighton: Books

Award-winning USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Brighton Walsh spent a decade as a professional photographer before taking her storytelling in a different direction and reconnecting with her first love—writing. She likes her books how she likes her tea—steamy and satisfying—and adores strong-willed heroines and the protective heroes who fall head over heels for them. Brighton lives in the Midwest with her real life hero of a husband, her two kids—both taller than her—and her dog who thinks she’s a queen. Her boy-filled house is the setting for dirty socks galore, frequent dance parties (okay, so it's mostly her, by herself, while her children look on in horror), and more laughter than she thought possible. Connect with her online at brightonwalsh.com/quicklinks.

The banter between these two was the best. Lincoln is my favorite book boyfriend of 2025. The audio book was so good. I highly recommend this one. My favorite book in the series.
Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required, and all views expressed are our own.

The grumpiest Billionaire by Pippa Grant

 That didn’t turn out the way I planned it.

All I wanted was five minutes with Oliver Cumberland to explain to him that proposing to my sister—again—is a bad idea.

Instead, I’m now trapped in his car, on a cross-country road trip I didn’t anticipate, attempting to talk the grumpy billionaire out of something much, much worse than an arranged marriage for business purposes.

I don’t care if Mr. Square Jaw McMoneyPants wants to give away his entire fortune and disappear to live out his life working the popcorn counter at a movie theater or whatever in Podunk, USA.

But I do care that dozens of non-profits will lose their funding without Oliver in charge of his family’s empire. After all, I work for one.

I have to convince him to go home.

But by the end of the first week of our (mis)adventure, one thing is becoming obvious:

Oliver refusing to return home is the least of my problems.

The fact that I’m starting to fall in love with my sister’s ex is the real issue.

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The Grumpiest Billionaire: A Road Trip Romcom (Small Town Sisterhood Book 2) - Kindle edition by Grant, Pippa. Romance Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

Pippa Grant wanted to write books, so she did.

Before she became a USA Today and #1 Amazon bestselling romantic comedy author, she was a young military spouse who got into writing as self-therapy. That happened around the time she discovered reading romance novels, and the two eventually merged into a career. Today, she has more than 30 knee-slapping Pippa Grant titles and nine published under the name Jamie Farrell.

When she’s not writing romantic comedies, she’s fumbling through being a mom, wife, and mountain woman, and sometimes tries to find hobbies. Her crowning achievement? Having impeccable timing for telling stories that will make people snort beverages out of their noses. Consider yourself warned.

Someone to Hold by Michelle Major

 She’s the one woman I can’t let myself want.

Molly McAllister is my best friend’s widow, a single mom trying to keep her flower farm alive, and the last person in this small town who should look twice at me.

I ride bulls for a living. My body’s a battered mess with my heart in even worse shape. I’m carrying enough scars—inside and out—to know I don’t deserve someone like her.

But when she ends up laid up with a broken ankle, I’m the one who shows up to help. I’m supposed to be the guy she hates. Hell, I’ve given her plenty of reasons. Instead, I’m the one carrying her up the damn stairs and flipping pancakes for her twins like I belong in her kitchen. In her life. Her bed.

She thinks I’ve come to take her land. The truth? Every time I look at her, I’m in danger of handing her my heart.

She’s sunshine and second chances. I’m storm clouds and bad decisions.

We’re supposed to be enemies. But the longer I’m in her world, the harder I fall. Fast, deep, and way past the point of no return. If I’m not careful, I could lose more than my heart…I might lose her, too.

If you love enemies-to-lovers, second chances, he falls first cowboy heroes and so much found family goodness, this is your next read. Book 4 of The Skylark Series can be read as a standalone and has a guaranteed HEA.

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Amazon.com: Someone To Hold: A Small Town Enemies To Lovers Romance (The Skylark Series): 9798270005832: Major, Michelle: Books

USA Today and Top 5 Amazon Bestselling author Michelle Major writes swoon-worthy stories full of heart, heat, and guaranteed happily-ever-afters. When she’s not dreaming up romance, you’ll find her hiking the trails (or avoiding housework) in her home state of Colorado.

Connect with her at her website or come say hi on Instagram and Facebook.

I was so ready to go back Skylark. And I was so excited for Molly and Chases story. This was a typical Major read; one I could not put down until the very end. This can be read as a standalone, but I can't recommend this whole series enough.
Do not miss this one.
Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required, and all views expressed are our own.

The Shark House by Sara Ackerman

 A haunting mystery beneath the ocean’s surface. One woman’s reckoning with the past. Long-buried secrets waiting to rise.

Hawai’i, 1998. When a string of rare shark attacks unsettles the once-peaceful Kohala coast, marine biologist Minnow Gray is called in to investigate. Known for her uncanny connection to sharks, she is the island’s best hope for uncovering why the attacks are happening—a mystery that has both the local community and the tourism industry on edge—and for determining whether the same great white still haunts the coastline.

Witness to an unspeakable tragedy involving a white shark and her own father, Minnow has carried a darkness with her ever since. She knows, deep inside, that unlocking the memories of that long-ago morning is the only way to truly heal. And as she searches for answers, the past and present collide, revealing shocking and unexpected truths that cut deep as the sea itself.

The longer she's in Hawai'i, the more she comes to see that her journey here might be as much about finding herself as finding the shark.

An atmospheric exploration of the intricate/fragile dance between humans and sharks, set against a backdrop of stunning Hawaiian landscapes and deep-sea danger, The Shark House is a tale of resilience, redemption, and the raw power of the natural world—and of the courage to face what lies within.

Dive in, if you dare.

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Amazon.com: The Shark House: A Novel: 9781400347971: Ackerman, Sara: Books

Sara Ackerman is the Hawaii born, bestselling author of The Codebreaker's Secret, Radar Girls, Red Sky Over Hawaii, The Lieutenant’s Nurse, and Island of Sweet Pies and Soldiers.

Sara's books have been labeled “unforgettable” by Apple Books, “empowering & deliciously visceral” by Book Riot, and New York Times bestselling authors Kate Quinn and Madeline Martin have praised Sara’s novels as “fresh and delightful” and “brilliantly written.” Amazon chose Radar Girls as a best book of the month, and ALA Booklist gave The Codebreaker’s Secret a starred review.

Find out more about Sara and her books at www.ackermanbooks.com and follow her on Instagram @saraackermanbooks and on FB @ackermanbooks.