London, 1923. American expat librarian Eden Brior thinks things are bad when she is accidentally locked overnight in the St. Cecelia’s Library vault with the charming and unreliable Simon Cross. Then she emerges to find the body of his estranged wife — a celebrated French actress — draped over a chair upstairs.
Detective Inspector William Garrett is methodical, quietly perceptive, and already fairly certain he has his man. He tells Eden firmly to go home and leave the detecting to the professionals. But how can she?
Racing to clear their names before Garrett closes the case, Eden follows the truth from the bright footlights of the London stage through the sleek drawing rooms of Jazz Age society, and into secrets that someone will kill to keep buried.
Steeped in the style of the golden age of detective fiction, The Harlot of St. Cecelia’s captures a London still glittering on the surface and shadowed underneath — where every drawing room hides a secret and every secret has a price.
Perfect for fans of Jacqueline Winspear’s Maisie Dobbs series.
Praise for The Harlot of St. Cecelia's:
"This novel consistently delights, from the spicy title to the last page." ~ Kirkus Reviews
Book Details:
Genre: Historical Mystery Published by: Independently Published Publication Date: May 3, 2026 Number of Pages: 306 ISBN: 979-8195315580 Series: Inspector Garrett Mystery Series, Book 1 Book Links:Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads | BookBub
Read an excerpt:
Author Bio:
Darcy Graves grew up in Boston and holds an MA in English history and a BS in copywriting. A marketing content writer for over thirty years, she brings to her work a deep love of the golden age of detective fiction — particularly Agatha Christie and P.D. James — and the whimsy of P.G. Wodehouse.
Darcy lives in the Berkshires with her daughter, two ragdoll cats, and a very naughty terrier named Merial. The Harlot of St. Cecelia's is her first novel.
Secrets run deep, and emotions run high in this new historical
mystery debut.
The Harlot of St. Cecelia's is the first book in
author Darcy Graves's new 1920s London-set mystery series featuring Detective
Inspector William Garrett of the Dayneton CID. When the body of a beautiful
French actress is discovered in the Reading Room of the university library, DI William
Garrett is tasked with finding her killer. Clues, however, are hard to come by,
and the only witnesses on site were purposely locked in the basement vault the
entire time.
The 1920s time frame and London setting provide a vivid, often
rainy backdrop for this tale of jealousy, betrayal, revenge, and murder. The victim,
Isabelle Jalbert, while having many admirers over the years, is not well liked
among her peers, and several characters are glad to see her demise. Jealousies
among the theatre fold abound, and I thought there were a couple of very strong
suspects coming from that direction. However, Isabelle had also developed
strong emotions outside the theatre, and Garrett had his eye on both witnesses
from the library.
While Simon Cross, a former soldier with a damaged soul from
his time in the First World War, seemed resigned to his being the chief
suspect, his sister, Meg, and his library companion, Eden Brior, were not
nearly as complacent as to allow the police to dilly-dally around. I enjoyed how
they teamed up and took the bull by the horns, working through several clues to
try to identify the real killer. The final reveal is exciting and is a
surprising showdown of sorts. I look forward to seeing these characters return for
the next case.
I recommend THE HARLOT OF ST. CELELIA'S to readers of
historical mysteries.
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Her magic comes naturally. His is synthetic. Their different approaches could
get one of them killed.
Wisconsin, 2050. Kallista Marquis
doesn’t expect much anymore. When poor air quality and undrinkable water
are everyday problems, the pessimistic gardener is just glad to have a roof
over her head. But when a handsome glassblower informs her she’s a
natural witch, she eagerly learns the illicit craft as she discovers her
ability to finally impact the world.
Fort Meade. Evan Wells should be
thrilled with his special assignment. Desperate to keep taking the
wish-granting drug that makes him feel invincible, the Army specialist focuses
on hunting down naturals and avoiding the snarky yet attractive private who
hardly gives him a moment’s peace. But when his lack of progress again
threatens a court-martial, his spiraling anxiety endangers more than he's
willing to risk.
Trapped by the economic, governmental, and environmental
pressures of their time, these opposing sides believe magic is the only
glimmer of hope either of them has. But is that power worth it? Is it worth
dying for? Is it worth killing for?
Uncertainty, love,
secrets, and sorcery tangle the threads of fate in this slice-of-life
dystopian fantasy.
D. Lieber writes character-driven stories for every mood. Her characters
breathe as if they have souls, and her effortlessly immersive worlds hold
inner harmonies that cleverly tie everything together.
Beyond her skeptic
and slightly pessimistic mind, Lieber wants to believe. She is a romantic
idealist at heart, always fighting to keep her feet on the ground and her head
in the clouds. When she isn’t planning her next physical adventure,
she’s recklessly jumping from one fictional world to another. Her love
of reading led her to earn a Bachelor’s in English from Wright State
University. She lives in Wisconsin with her husband (John) and cats (Yin and
Nox).
Molly groaned and rolled over to check the red numbers on her bedside clock. She wanted to jump back into the dream she’d been having before the voice rudely awakened her. In that dream, her thoughts lingered on her neighbor, Duncan, the one with the scar etched across his ear. Something in the scene comforted her; she wished to slip back into that warm haze and forget all the chaos that surrounded her.
“It’s five am, Zane. I’m not making you breakfast this early.” Her older brother, Zane, tended to work odd hours as a firefighter, but Molly spent three days climbing out of the grip of the flu going around the high school where she taught theater. She had no desire to indulge her brother’s cravings.
“Molly Gravenhurst. Please wake up. We need to talk,” the new voice pleaded.
The voice of her grandmother, Dawn, reached her foggy brain. Her dead grandmother.
Molly jerked up in bed and focused on the two ghosts that stood at the end. The appearance of her grandmother didn’t surprise her. What her grandmother called her “second sight” made her capable of communication with earthbound spirits. Genuine shock and abject horror slammed into her when she saw her brother, Zane. The night before, he’d been alive and kicking.
“No,” Molly whispered in utter terror. A simple, horrifying truth struck her. If her brother were a ghost, then he was dead.
Molly could see ghosts, a gift she possessed since toddlerhood. Three years ago, when her grandmother died, she and Zane inherited her house and the care of their grandmother’s ghost. While he lived, Grandma Dawn’s ghost remained invisible to Zane. Now, a ghost himself, he could finally see her.
“I know this is a shock, Molly, but Zane needs you to pull yourself together.” Grandma Dawn’s tone snapped Molly out of her silence.
“Wha-wha-what happened, Zane?” Molly fisted her blanket while she tried to gather herself.
“Jillian dropped me off at Paddy’s. He wanted to continue the Halloween party back at his house. After Paddy and I walked into the garage, everything is blank. I appeared in the kitchen here, where I found Grandma.” Zane spoke with clinical precision, not an ounce of emotion. She understood the pain of death since she dealt with the pain ghosts experienced every day.
“Where’s Jillian?” Molly grabbed her cell phone from her bedside table. “I need to call her.”
“She’s asleep on the sofa.” Zane’s voice cracked at the end of his statement. “I just peeked for a second. I can’t go …I don’t …”
Grandma Dawn took Zane’s hand in hers in a gesture of comfort and compassion.
Molly struggled with what to do next. She’d barely adjusted to her grandmother’s death. How could she live without her brother’s hugs, his teasing slaps, or witnessing his love and devotion for Jillian?
“What do I need to do?” Grandma Dawn died in her sleep. She found her in the primary bedroom of the very house she lived in. Where was Zane’s body? If it were at Paddy’s house, Paddy would have called her by now? He was Zane’s best friend. He’d had her number since the day she got it thirteen years ago.
Before Zane or Grandma Dawn had a chance to answer, Jillian burst into Molly’s attic space.
“You’re awake. Thank God.” She burst into the room and threw herself onto Molly’s bed, her blonde hair pulled back into a crooked ponytail. “Zane hasn’t come home yet. It’s still pouring outside. Visibility is shit. What if he got in an accident? What if he and Paddy are in a ditch? What if he tried to walk home and got hit by a car? I’ve called him five times and texted him six times. He hasn’t responded.”
Jillian’s frantic questions made sense, but she couldn’t confirm anything because she didn’t know whether any of those possibilities were correct. Neither did either of the ghosts.
“Let’s think.” Molly pushed away the knowledge of her brother’s death and gathered her thoughts. “You all went to that big Halloween party downtown, right?”
“Yeah. Paddy invited a bunch of us over to his house, but I told Zane I needed sleep. My sinuses have been getting worse. I think I caught whatever you have.” Congestion clogged Jillian’s voice, and tears or illness left her eyes red and bloodshot. Molly’s heart sank. The same symptoms had stalked her for the past several days.
“You dropped him off at Paddy and Lucky’s house, then?”
Jillian nodded. “It started to rain a few minutes before I got here. Now it’s pouring.”
“Let’s call Paddy first. Who else came to the party?” Molly scrolled through her numbers in her contacts to find Paddy’s number.
“Barb Sterling and her husband, Rhett.” Jillian dialed the number on speaker. “Then Marty and Ellen Culver. Maybe Grant Hannah. I think Paddy’s little brothers and a bunch of their friends were in town and staying with him for a while.” Voicemail answered after five rings. “It’s Jillian and Molly. Zane isn’t home. Is he with you, or do you have any idea where he went? Call me.”
“I’ve got Barb’s number.” Molly dialed and placed it on speaker.
“Molly?” Barb answered with a yawn. “What’s going on? It’s the butt crack of dawn.”
“Zane never came home from Paddy’s last night. Did he stay over? We can’t contact Zane or Paddy.”
“Wait a minute.” The sound of sheets and blankets shifting came through the speaker. “Jillian’s car pulled up outside Paddy’s house, but neither of them came in. I tried calling and texting Zane after her car left, but I never got an answer. We left here around two.”
“We need to look for him. I dropped him off and came back to his house,” Jillian’s voice carried extreme anxiety, burgeoning into mania.
“Jillian?” Barb yawned again on her end.
“What’s going on?” Molly heard a sleepy Rhett ask on the other end of the line.
“Jillian said she dropped Zane off at Paddy’s. I never saw him, did you?” Barb asked her husband.
“No. I thought it was weird you said you saw Jillian’s car, but they didn’t come in. But I started singing karaoke with Marty and lost track of everything.” Molly imagined the sound of strangled cats coming from Marty. None of Zane’s friends had a lick of musical or theatrical talent as she did.
Every wasted second ratcheted up Molly’s anxiety. They were no closer to answers. She looked to Zane for any suggestions while Jillian threw out scenarios left and right. Zane shrugged as he watched his girlfriend torment herself with grim what-ifs.
Barb decided she would come pick up Jillian, and they would search around town. Molly agreed to stay home in case Zane made his way back.
Molly knew for an absolute fact that November 1st would be the worst day of her life.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Lindsey Gray is a writer, an over-thinker, and a chronic list-maker, but her passion for writing stories you'll love always tops the list. Her author journey began in 2010 with the publication of her first novel, and she has spent the last decade creating worlds for readers to play in. In addition to her own work, Gray uses her skills in novel formatting for other authors and hosts the weekly show Gray Matters on TMV Cafe Internet Radio. She lives and writes fueled by iced tea, her handsome hubby, and the beautiful chaos of mothering her children.
Secrets. Betrayal. And the woman left to pick up the pieces.
At seventy, Katrina Johnson thought she understood the shape of her life. She was a devoted wife, a mother who did her best, and the keeper of a Victorian farmhouse that had held her family’s joys and sorrows for generations. Then her husband dies and everything she believed about her marriage begins to unravel.
As grief gives way to long-buried secrets, Katrina faces a devastating medical diagnosis, mounting financial pressure, and the very real possibility of losing the home that defines her past. Old fractures in her family deepen. Her relationship with her daughter remains painfully distant, while her son, caught between loyalty and resentment, attempts to hold what little remains together.
When Katrina is forced to rent out rooms in her farmhouse, the presence of a young tenant unsettles her in ways she can’t ignore, awakening memories and betrayals she thought she had survived that now refuse to stay buried. Katrina now must confront the cost of the choices she made to preserve her marriage.
With the past pressing relentlessly into the present, Katrina must face the life she built through silence and sacrifice and the parts of herself she left behind. She must decide whether reclaiming herself requires embracing the very wounds that shaped her.
Tender, reflective, and emotionally resonant, this novel explores love, betrayal, identity, and the quiet courage it takes to begin again. It asks a haunting question at the heart of many lives: when so much has been lost, is it still possible to choose yourself?
Praise for All That Was Left Unsaid:
"Through an emotionally engaging plot and nuanced characters, Danielle Dragona’s All That Was Left Unsaid elegantly explores the process of discovering the person you want to be and figuring out how to get there." ~ IndieReader Approved Review
"In All That Was Left Unsaid, Danielle Dragona has created complex characters involved in fragile relationships. The plot is intensely charged, and a couple of bombshells are dropped, which threaten to destroy these relationships. The author has a way with words as well, identifying old age as the evening of life and the bucket list as the Love List. This story is about nurturing and valuing all our relationships, no matter their source."" ~ Donna Stevenson, Readers' Favorite ★★★★★ Five-Star Review
"All That was Left Unsaid is a poignant, powerful novel, exploring heartfelt, realistic issues. Readers will connect with the characters and their intense emotional journeys, finding the story both heartbreaking and beautiful, yet ultimately uplifting. Danielle Dragona’s lyrical style will appeal to fans of Anita Shreve and Jodi Picoult. An outstanding debut!" ~ Valerie Biel, award-winning author of Haven and Beyond the Cemetery Gate
"All That Was Left Unsaid by Danielle Dragona is a heartfelt story. The book was beautifully written, and the author handled sensitive topics with great care. I enjoyed reading the book and found myself pondering over it." ~ Alma Boucher, Readers' Favorite ★★★★★ Five-Star Review
"... the author, takes you on a heart wrenching yet heartwarming ride through the main character's journey of self discovery and self healing. The book will make you cry, will warm your heart and make you root for all the characters in her book. If you only read one book this year, I recommend reading this one because you wont regret it!" ~ Vered Cecilio
"This book is great! I couldn't put it down! Danielle really takes you along an emotional rollercoaster of Katrina's journey and has you feeling what Katrina is feeling. The character development throughout the book is beautiful and the twist at the end, amazing! I love when a story has a good twist! I highly recommend this story!" ~ Nicole Stallone
All That Was Left Unsaid Trailer:
Book Details:
Genre: Women's Fiction, Psychological Fiction Published by: Book Publishing Plus Publication Date: July 15, 2026 Number of Pages: 274 ISBN: 9798950388514 Book Links:Amazon | KindleUnlimited | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads | BookBub
Read an excerpt:
From Chapter 3...
At once, I’m transported back to the night when the image of what I thought was our perfect family erupted like a raging volcano. We were seated at our dinner table for Sam’s fifty-fifth birthday. The smell of freshly baked lasagna floated through the air like a scrumptious cloud atop our laughter, and the aroma of my spiced apple tea greeted my nose with its irresistible fragrance.
Up until a few months prior, Sam and I were having our fair share of marital issues as well as intermittent difficulties from his untreated PTSD that lingered on, so we decided to restore our love for each other to get our relationship back on track and inject some happiness back into our bond. Except for a few hiccups, which were to be expected, I truly believed we were on the path to regaining what we’d lost.
Filled with a renewed commitment to strengthening our marriage, I anticipated his birthday with such eagerness that year. To that end, I commissioned a surprise gift specially made just for him. I purchased a watch he had been ogling, and had it engraved with the words, “When I met you, time stopped,” with the date of our marriage underneath.
We sang Happy Birthday, and when I went to the counter to cut his birthday cake, instead of placing a slice on his plate, I positioned the box with the sparkling bow on it instead. With zeal, I requested he open it. He unwrapped the dazzling box, his robust hands deftly undoing the multicolored ribbons. As he revealed the treasure, his eyes lit up brighter than a star in a glittering night sky. When he read the engraving, a smile emerged like gold on his face. I fastened the watch on his wrist and kissed his lips, which tasted of red wine.
Just as our celebration was winding down, there was a knock at the door. I opened it with the plate in my hand that housed Sam’s precious present a short time before. A younger woman with luxuriously long brown curly hair and emerald green eyes was on the other side, wearing a little purple dress with sunflowers and white stiletto heels. When I gazed at Sam to discern who this woman could be, his eyes glazed over, and the blood drained from his face, rendering him as white as a ghost.
“Sam, who’s this?” I asked as my eyes searched his, my heart beating out of my chest.
“I’m so sorry, Katrina,” was all he could say, guilt and remorse plastering his face, mixing in one ugly heap.
“Sorry for what?” I gasped, but deep down I knew, and everything I thought was true crashed down around me like meteors striking at my heart.
“Tell her who I am,” the woman bellowed as she shoved herself into our home, the aroma of her cheap perfume gagging me.
“Gloria, what are you doing?” Sam moaned plaintively, and life as we knew it shattered all around us into irreparable pieces.
“You’ve been telling me you were going to leave for years. It’s just excuses after excuses. Be honest with your family. Be honest with yourself,” she shrieked, the veins bulging out of her neck in a fit of rage, her words punching me in the gut, knocking the wind out of me.
“How could you do this to me, Sam, to our family?” I howled as the glass plate that held bliss and love moments earlier slid out of my hand, crashing onto the floor into a million pieces like our life together. My body went numb. “I thought you loved me.”
“I do, Katrina,” he protested, but the words were hollow, and I felt nothing except ice and emptiness.
“You’re such a phony, Sam. He tells me how much he loves me all the time, and how he wants to leave you,” Gloria bellowed, spitting in my face.
Billy shot up out of his chair like a blazing rocket ship.
“Get the hell out my house you pathetic whore,” he screamed ominously, in a pitch I never heard before.
“I’m your father’s whore, and he loves every minute of it,” Gloria declared with a caustic snicker.
“Enough, Gloria,” Sam retorted viciously, his eyes ablaze with anger that his secret had been unleashed into the world.
“Don’t talk to me like I’m some submissive and docile woman with no backbone like you tell me she is,” she spewed, her perfectly manicured index finger pointing in my direction. “This is it, Sam. You either make up your mind, or I’m done, and this time I mean it. Oh, and happy birthday. I hope I made it a special one,” she screamed, slamming the door behind her.
My legs buckled, and I fell to my knees in despair, plummeting into the glass shards from the broken plate that sparkled like gems, cutting my skin as I tried to push myself back up. Tears streaked down my face like a raging waterfall. I couldn’t catch my breath. I was drowning, sinking into hell. Disbelief suffocated my brain, disorienting me as I realized what I was living before was a lie. Billy helped me to my feet as Sam sat motionless in his chair, his face expressionless and vacant, a stranger to me now.
In the months that followed, I realized that I was weak. I was submissive and docile. I couldn’t let go. Instead of hating him, I started to loathe myself for not being able to leave, for loving him so much that I was willing to accept the lies, the deceit, and the infidelity. I despised my powerlessness, and in turn, I detested myself.
***
Excerpt from All That Was Left Unsaid by Danielle Dragona. Copyright 2026 by Danielle Porciello. Reproduced with permission from Danielle Dragona. All rights reserved.
Author Bio:
Danielle Dragona has always possessed a passion for the written word. As a child, she kept fledgling journals, but as she matured into young adulthood, the chronicles acquired a more complex narrative, dissecting feelings, beliefs, and working through challenging emotions originating in childhood while trying to find the meaning in it all.
Danielle is captivated by the human condition—riveted by its beauty even amidst chaos, tearing apart the messiness of existence to ultimately unearth the glimmering pearl. As an explorer of emotion, she continually works to uncover what lies beneath the surface in an unapologetically raw, real, and authentic manner.
When she’s not writing, Danielle enjoys travelling, exploring new places, historical sites, music of all kinds, spending time with her family and friends, and being a perpetual student of life. She has a degree in English literature from William Paterson University in Wayne, NJ and lives in Northern New Jersey with her husband and young son.
Long-held secrets come to light after the death of a woman's
spouse.
All That Was Left Unsaid is a new women's fiction
novel by Danielle Dragona that explores how a new widow is forced to face her
new future, and I was glued to every page, so immersed in the story that I read
it in one evening. After the death of her husband from cancer, Katrina Johnson
must come to terms with the secrets he had been keeping throughout their long
marriage. While working through her grief, she comes face to face with betrayal,
disillusionment, and, eventually, her own mortality.
Katrina, the main character, met and married Sam Johnson during
the Vietnam War, and theirs was what people called "a traditional marriage":
he was the breadwinner, and she was the stay-at-home mom and homemaker. Never
holding a job outside the home, except for an exceptional level of volunteerism
for their small community, and not the one paying the bills, she is shocked when
she uncovers some of Sam's secret financial activities. Katrina is also forced
to confront the evidence of Sam's infidelity, the pain of which still lingers
in her and their two grown children. Each has handled their father's long-ago betrayal
in different ways, the damaging effects of which have long impacted their
relationships with each other and potential partners as well.
The story is riveting. Just as you think Katrina's situation
has hit rock bottom, a new twist comes along to dig the hole a little deeper. However,
I wasn't surprised when one of the hits she takes involves her health, as I've
seen this happen time and time again in real life. The descriptions of the medical
treatments she undergoes are vivid and realistic. I was worried she would face
additional complications as more details about Sam's infidelity were revealed.
The best part of the story for me was the evolving
relationships between Katrina, her friends – old and new, her adult children,
and herself. Katrina experiences such growth, which felt especially amazing considering
her age. She starts out so lost, hurt, and angry, and through her experiences
becomes the woman she always wanted to become. It is all that she goes through
to get to her destination, her journey, that makes this book such a satisfying
page-turner. You may need tissues.
I recommend ALL THAT WAS LEFT UNSAID to readers of women's
fiction.
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The Awful Truth Melanie Summers (The Glass Houses Collection, #2) Publication date: September 24, 2026 Genres: Adult, Suspense, Thriller, Women’s Fiction
They have money. Status. And terrible judgment.
It was supposed to be the ultimate escape. A curated guest list. A luxury yacht. A week on the crystal-clear Adriatic, far from everyone’s real lives.
Except no one is there for the view. Careers, contracts, and futures are all quietly in play.
Antonia and Ted have built a global brand on their perfect marriage, which would be more convincing if they could still stand each other. Mercy has spent years smoothing over the worst instincts of her powerful husband, convinced the man she fell in love with is still there. Winslow is hiding a secret that could end his career, while his husband, Miguel, is carrying news that will change everything between them.
And then there’s Charlotte—the assistant everyone overlooks. Which gives her an excellent view of everything.
The first night, the drinks flow, the gossip gets vicious, and everyone shares far more than they should. But what’s a little indiscretion among new friends?
The trouble with a yacht is that there’s nowhere to go once you’ve said too much. No separate hotels. No quick exits. Just the same people, fewer places to hide, and another breakfast together in the morning.
By the third day, one marriage is as good as over. One guest is desperate enough to do something irreversible. And Mercy is realizing the man she loved was all for show—and the man she fears is who he really is.
Before any of them set foot on solid ground again, one of them will be dead in the water.
Privilege has protected them from consequences for years. But desperation can make even very comfortable people do terrible things.
The Awful Truth is a sharp, warm, wickedly funny domestic suspense novel about marriage, power, and the spectacularly bad decisions people make when they have everything to lose. For readers who love the wit and heart of Liane Moriarty and Sally Hepworth, with the glamor and menace of The White Lotus.
Heat Level: Open door, spicy not explicit Tone: A fast-paced, suspenseful, emotional, character-driven drama Series Type: Standalone, part of a collection of domestic suspense novels Ending: Emotionally satisfying, book club / upmarket resolution POV: Multi-POV, third person Content Notes: Infidelity, emotional abuse dynamics, death, suicidal ideation, brief sexual violence, psychological tension
Charlotte sat back, tuning out the conversation while she stared out at the hills and smattering of buildings along the highway. So far, the city wasn’t much to look at. A lot of low brush and an irritating bank alongside the road that only allowed the briefest glimpse of the water. But soon, she’d be surrounded on all sides by the clear blue Adriatic Sea, and she felt a surge of excitement. It was her first time in Europe. As a teenager, she always thought she’d go right out of high school—backpacking and staying in hostels for a few months, really living, as her mother, who’d never gone farther than Niagara Falls from their home in Muskegon, would say. But in the end, Charlotte met a boy and decided he was more exciting than Italy and France and England combined. Only he wasn’t. He was a huge disappointment, and by the time she realized it, it was already move-in week at the University of Michigan.
So here she was, at the ripe old age of twenty-nine, getting her first taste of the ‘old world.’ This wasn’t how she imagined it (few things were)—sandwiched between her lover and her lover’s wife in the back of a limo—but this was how she had arrived. Charlotte was sleepy and mixed up and felt guilty as all hell, but she was here. She had made it. She’d take as many glamorous pics as she could to post on her Instagram account. Her friends would be filled with envy which they would mask with comments like, ‘Looking hot, mama!’ and ‘You deserve it. You work so hard. Have an amazing time, girlie!’
But she wouldn’t be having an amazing time, would she? She’d likely be working long hours—maybe even through the night—to liaise between the studio and her bosses, not to mention having a front row seat to the ‘Ted and Antonia pretending to be blissfully happy’ show, which she’d much rather skip. She knew it was all bullshit, at least on Ted’s part. An act meant to keep the multi-million-dollar ruse going. It was bad enough when they were on set and she had to watch them gaze into each other’s eyes and act like they were still in the playful honeymoon phase. Ted had warned her that they’d have to lay it on extra thick around Mr. and Mrs. Bishop, but not to let it get to her. Because he only wanted her.
None of that was stuff she could share on Instagram, or tell her friends, for that matter. She’d keep her secret and smile, like she always did. But at least she could pretend she was having a wonderful time.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Melanie Summers also writes steamy romance as MJ Summers.
Melanie made a name for herself with her debut novel, Break in Two, a contemporary romance that cracked the Top 10 Paid on Amazon in both the UK and Canada, and the top 50 Paid in the USA. Her highly acclaimed Full Hearts Series was picked up by both Piatkus Entice (a division of Hachette UK) and HarperCollins Canada. Her first three books have been translated into Czech and Slovak by EuroMedia. Since 2013, she has written and published three novellas, and eight novels (of which seven have been published). She has sold over a quarter of a million books around the globe.
In her previous life (i.e. before having children), Melanie got her Bachelor of Science from the University of Alberta, then went on to work in the soul-sucking customer service industry for a large cellular network provider that shall remain nameless (unless you write her personally - then she'll dish). On her days off, she took courses and studied to become a Chartered Mediator. That designation landed her a job at the R.C.M.P. as the Alternative Dispute Resolution Coordinator for 'K' Division. Having had enough of mediating arguments between gun-toting police officers, she decided it was much safer to have children so she could continue her study of conflict in a weapon-free environment (and one which doesn't require makeup and/or nylons).
Melanie resides in Edmonton with her husband, three young children, and their adorable but neurotic one-eyed dog. When she's not writing novels, Melanie loves reading (obviously), snuggling up on the couch with her family for movie night (which would not be complete without lots of popcorn and milkshakes), and long walks in the woods near her house. She also spends a lot more time thinking about doing yoga than actually doing yoga, which is why most of her photos are taken 'from above'. She also loves shutting down restaurants with her girlfriends. Well, not literally shutting them down, like calling the health inspector or something--more like just staying until they turn the lights off.
She is represented by Suzanne Brandreth of The Cooke Agency International.
One of Our Darcies is Dead: A Hawthorne Cove Mystery Cozy Mystery 1st in Series Setting:Hawthorne Cove, a seaside town in New England Publisher: Paper Lantern Press Publication date: September 1, 2026 Print length: 193 pages Paperback ISBN-13: 979-8951927019 /ASIN: B0HG6CNYH1 Digital ISBN-13: 979-8951927002 / ASIN: B0HFYYY4F4
The residents of Hawthorne Cove are determined to prove their seaside town deserves a place on every literary lover's travel list. With a brand-new Jane Austen Festival, charming boutiques, and enough Regency flair to satisfy even the most devoted Austen fan, they're ready for their grand debut. But when opening night ends with a dead Mr. Darcy, literature professor Chloe Sinclair, in town to escape a life that hasn't gone to plan, learns that the most captivating stories aren't always the ones written in books.
Grace Caldwell writes cozy mysteries for people who'd bring a book to a murder. An award-winning screenwriter and a professor of creative writing and literature, she's published across more genres than she can reasonably list at a dinner party, but cozy mysteries are where she feels most at home. She lives in Central Florida with two fluffy feline assistants, Elsa and Anna, who supervise every page and approve of none of her deadlines.
A family secretly struggles with their grief after the sudden death of their wife and mother.
Sisters Alone by Shifa Saltagi Safadi is an emotional middle-grade novel written in verse about two sisters coping with grief after the unexpected loss of their mother six months earlier. Eighth-grader Rama and sixth-grader Leena secretly struggle mentally and emotionally in the aftermath of their mother's sudden death, neither one knowing what the other is going through because each claims to be doing okay. The truth couldn't be further from the truth. While Rama feels left behind and abandoned, she is slowly being consumed by rage and the burden of keeping the family together all on her own. Leena feels responsible for her mother's death because it occurred while her mother was running an errand on her behalf. Even their widowed father is finding it difficult to keep it together as he adjusts to life without the woman he loved and takes up the reins of being a single working parent.
On the surface, life has moved on. The sisters bicker as siblings are wont to do; the eldest striving for and demanding perfection, the younger girl careless and inattentive, with a penchant for getting her older sister to pick up the slack. But Rama has her own worries. Her best friend, Madiha, has begun including a new friend in all their activities, and seems to prefer her company over Rama's. Leena, trying to keep her mother's memory alive, is devoting all her time to creating a scrapbook rather than studying and completing her schoolwork and chores. This inattention becomes critical when the sisters are scheduled for a school-sponsored winter break ski trip, and only students who have met all academic requirements and submitted the proper paperwork can attend. Their father is counting on them to go so he can take a mandatory business trip to Japan, leaving the same day the girls will. So when Leena is denied a place on the bus at the last minute, the girls suddenly find themselves home alone with a massive blizzard headed their way. As their relationship troubles and individual emotional isolation come to a head, the storm hits, and the girls must work together under the worst conditions just to survive.
The author's writing is sublime, and her use of verse to tell the story is stylish, precise, and evocative. Told from the alternating points of view of the two sisters, readers are privy to what's really going on inside each girl's head. Both sisters are eminently relatable and engaging. The narratives shift frequently, creating natural stopping points for young readers to pause; however, readers with more time may enjoy the entire family drama in one riveting reading session.
I recommend SISTERS ALONE to middle-grade readers, especially those who enjoy stories about a family in crisis.
I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advance Review Copy through Toppling Stacks Tours.
This hero of legend will encounter a challenge he has never
faced before . . .
present-day New York City.
Tempus Unbound
Sacred Band Series Book 6
by Janet & Chris Morris
Genre: Dark Epic Fantasy Adventure, Mythology
Is this the Lemuria of antiquity, or of times to come? Once
you've ridden the storm clouds of heaven from the edge of time, anything is
possible. Demonic hordes threaten to destroy the very fabric of time itself.
The fate of all humanity rests on the shoulders of Tempus the Black, Favorite
of the Storm God. But even this hero of legend will encounter a challenge he
has never faced before . . . present-day New York City.
Not one of the hundred pillows in Chiara’s bedroom
remained on her bed when the god finally had had enough of the woman who ruled
here as Lemuria’s Evening Star. She lay belly down on marble tiles in a slick
of oil and wine and surrounded by candles he was quenching, one by one, with
his fingers.
His short sword gleamed from the midst of the mess, hair
from her body and her head on its blade. He hadn’t done a protracted ritual for
the god in a very long time, and Lemuria’s rites rang as ancient and primal as
Enlil’s name.
Their tryst had included moments when fear glazed her
round, brown eyes, and moments when he felt certain the god overestimated what
Tempus’ human flesh could give and hers could accept.
Still, he’d never killed a woman unintentionally, and although
she might hurt when passion fled, now she merely lazed, intoxicated, malleable,
sated and unresisting in the middle of the floor.
Once he’d snuffed
the last candle, she reached for a pillow and propped her chin upon it so she
could watch him more easily.
The big bed might have been easier on her, but she and
the god had done things by the book. Still on her belly with the pillow under
her jaw, she said, “You’ll really go with Rath and Mano into their horrid world
tomorrow?”
“You tell me.” He was hunting for his leathers among her
pillows.
“Stay here. With
me. We could recast the lot. You could be free of your god forever, here. Stay,
and you’ll learn of pleasures you never dreamed . . .”
“I’m a fighter, a soldier, a simple mercenary who had the
bad luck to fall in with an insatiable god. It’s been so long, I wouldn’t know
how to do anything else.”
“You could be the first not to succumb to Lemuria’s
legerdemain. Don’t cast a lot, and you’re safe here until you do. We have
strife close at hand, should you crave excitement: all the strife of many
lands. From here you can help all of humanity — ”
“You must have
mistaken me for a politician or a would-be king. I’m not the one to chart any
soul’s course. Not after what I did with mine.”
“What do you
want, then?”
And Faun’s words
came back to him: “Survival, that’s the thing.”
Don’t miss the
rest of the Sacred Band Series!
The Sacred Band
of Stepsons series is Homeric and heroic fiction following the exploits of an
ancient cavalry unit modeled on the Sacred Band of Thebes. Deftly mixing
history, myth, and fantasy, Morris’ Sacred Band of Stepsons live and die in a
world where gods are real and magic works — sometimes.
Morris’
accursed cavalry commander, Tempus, first appeared Sacred Band first appeared
in the million-selling Thieves’ world shared-universe in 1981. Subsequently,
Janet Morris, first alone and subsequently with her husband Chris Morris, take
the Sacred Band into their own series of novels, set in the fourth century BCE.
Passionate, gritty, lyrical prose and unforgettable characters make this
series. Perseid Press Sacred Band novels includes the “Author’s Cut” of the
Beyond Sanctuary Trilogy and Tempus, as well as the epic novel The Sacred Band,
and The Fish the Fighters and the Song-girl.
Bestselling author Janet Morris began writing in 1976 and published more than 30 novels, many co-authored with her husband Chris Morris or others. Most of her fiction work was in the fantasy and science fiction genres, although she also wrote historical and other novels. Morris either wrote, contributed to, or edited several book-length works of non-fiction, as well as papers and articles on nonlethal weapons, developmental military technology and other defense and national security topics.
Christopher Crosby Morris (born 1946) is an American author of fiction and non-fiction, as well as a lyricist, musical composer, and singer-songwriter. He is married to author Janet Morris. He is a defense policy and strategy analyst and a principal in M2 Technologies, Inc. He writes primarily as Chris Morris but occasionally uses pseudonyms.
In the Frame: A Fake Dating Queer MM Romance Hayden Stone (The London Arts Club, #2) Publication date: August 29, 2026 Genres: Adult, Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance
An artist. A developer. And an art gallery which they both want—for very different reasons.
When recent uni grad Matty Gowen-Smith, a talented painter and not so talented bartender, spills a tray of drinks on a hot-shot investor, Florian de Ligt, he’s left with no choice to make amends. Especially after Matty ruins Florian’s suit on a big night out for Florian’s birthday.
Trying to make things right, broke artist Matty offers Florian his only suit in a desperate effort to not get fired from his job. Conveniently, Matty is flat sitting around the corner, where his one prized suit awaits his friend’s wedding next weekend. Not so conveniently, they are soon trapped together in an elevator at Matty’s flat, and things rapidly go from bad to worse until landing on an uneasy truce.
Which is where a pact is born to come right from this mess. Florian needs a date for an upcoming art gala, a world he knows little about. Matty desperately needs a respectable date for his friend’s Brighton wedding to prove he’s a success in his new London life.
Two fake dates and an unexpected kiss later, fake feelings begin to feel a bit too much like real feelings. Which wouldn’t be a problem if Florian wasn’t so determined to dismantle Matty’s art community by redeveloping a popular local art gallery into luxury condos. An art gallery which may give Matty the solo exhibition he’s dreamt of to launch his art career. And now Matty must choose between his community or what might be a real chance at love…
In the Frame, the second book in the London Arts Club series, features forced proximity, boy next door, and fake dating in a fun new adult romcom.
The fact is I’m kind of a shit bartender in a not-so-shit London bar. A popular bar full of discerning hipsters with deep pockets and others who want to be seen. It’s my first Saturday night working here at my new job. Which is exactly what I need to be doing to bring in some cash, and not spending money I can’t afford on supplies from the local art shop around the corner in Soho.
Forget that my new boss has all the makings of a tyrannical dictator—one who already has me nestled comfortably in his crosshairs. It’s not all smooth sailing despite the luxurious queer glamour of Ivan’s. Dramatic high-coffered ceilings soar overhead with gleaming chandeliers, and chic paintings from highly successful contemporary artists hangs on dark walls. The last part’s like artisanal sea salt in a career-shaped wound.
I have no idea why they hired me. Aside from me technically being qualified for the job. And also technically having the right references.
Never mind. I’m here now and I need to get on with it. The paycheck will make up for my current suffering, and, at best, low-key competence.
Around me, the upscale bar glows with burnished wood counters, gleaming glassware, and a stylishly imposing pink neon display (saying you have arrived and it reminds me a little of Tracey Emin’s works in neon), accompanied by a thousand bottles of premium, backlit spirits on the brick wall behind me that the finest of London’s equally premium queers will enjoy. Backlighting optional.
Clenching my jaw, I wring the bar cloth into the sink, rinse it, and give the counter in front of me a quick wipe, because I inadvertently slopped some ale when I should have slid the glass over with a certain panache expected of a bartender in a place like this. With every last drop of said ale staying within the confines of its glassware.
Except I panicked, because nerves.
Because Saturday night. Because there are hot men everywhere, where the hotness per capita rating is off the charts—to the point there should be a public health warning and an exclusion zone for the susceptible to distraction, like me. It’s definitely the sort of hotspot in London where people go when they want to be noticed. The occasional celeb makes their way through here too, tipping off the paparazzi who wait outside. There’re regularly high numbers of influencers in Ivan’s, all vying for social media clout.
Meanwhile, the remaining froth I missed looks obscene on the walnut bar. I wring out the cloth one more time for luck.
People in the queue for drinks are thankfully looking at the mess and not at me. In my crisp white shirt and black waistcoat and pressed trousers, I at least look the part like the rest of the wait staff, if not the clientele. In fairness to me, I do tidy up quite nicely when I try. Except I’ve got no chill, especially not tonight.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
More animal than mineral, Hayden Stone (he/him) is a writer of fun queer fiction, especially with kissing. Hayden is the author of the When Snow Falls, Being Royal, and The London Arts Club romcom series. He currently lives in Victoria, Canada, and has previously lived in Vancouver, Canada and London, UK. You can find out his latest news on Instagram or his website: haydenstonebooks.com
