Hi there! It’s time for another Spell the Month in Books. This was originally created by Reviews from the Stacks, and the idea is to spell the month using the first letter of book titles. This month, I’m including 2023 releases I’m excited for. Let’s check them out!
N: Not That Kind of Ever After by Luci Adams
Title: Not That Kind of Ever After
Author: Luci Adams
Page Length: 400
Publication Date: Feb. 16, 2023
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Synopsis: Fairytale meets feminism in this frothy adventure of one woman’s journey to claim happily ever after in times of serial dating, swiping right, and the quest to find your soulmate.
Bella Marble’s life isn’t what she imagined. Instead of an author, she’s receptionist at a small press. Instead of happily married, she’s single, and her lovey-dovey parents are divorcing. And to top it off, her best friend of twenty-nine years, Ellie Mathews, is moving out and marrying the heinously boring Mark. (He’s not worthy of her. No one could be). Bella feels rudderless, only slightly soothed by time spent with Ellie’s (not hot) brother, (he’s not hot) Marty (okay, he’s hot. But he’s also the aggravating brother she never had—right)?
When Marty recommends Bella stop looking for “the one” and just have fun, Bella finds a new, empowered side of herself. But when she posts a fairy-tale retelling of a disastrous one night stand on a storytelling app, all of a sudden, Bella has become @B.Enchanted. And she’s gone viral.
Now, Bella’s in a fight with Ellie, her new roommates are so, deeply, weird, and the pressure is mounting to find new fairy tales to write about—but she’s got to live them first.
LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon
O: One Duke Down by Anna Bennett
Title: One Duke Down
Author: Anna Bennett
Series: Rogues to Riches #2
Page Length: 352
Publication Date: Jan. 24, 2023
Publisher: St. Martin’s Pub
Synopsis: A FISHERMAN’S DAUGHTER
Miss Poppy Summers is determined to keep her family’s fishing business afloat. Her poor widowed father has fallen ill, and her foolhardy brother has moved to London, leaving her precious little time to read or pursue her own dreams. But she’ll do anything for her family, so she cheerfully spends mornings in her rowboat, casting her nets. The very last thing Poppy expects or wants to find tangled in them is a dangerously attractive man. Especially one with a head wound—who’s convinced he’s a duke.
AND A DUKE OUT OF WATER
Andrew Keane is the Duke of Hawking, but he’s having the devil of a time convincing his wary, fiery-haired rescuer of that fact. The truth is he came to the seaside resort of Bellehaven Bay to escape his life in London. Unfortunately, someone in Bellehaven wants to kill him—and he intends to find out who. He implores Poppy to tend to his injuries and hide him on her beach, reasoning it will be easier to find his attacker if that man assumes Keane is already dead. She wants no part of the scheme but can’t refuse the generous sum he offers in exchange for food and shelter while he recovers. It’s a mutually beneficial business arrangement…nothing more.
ARE ABOUT TO MAKE WAVES
Under Poppy’s care, Keane regains his strength—and a sense of purpose. As they work together to solve the puzzle of his would-be murderer, he’s dazzled by her rapier wit and adventurous spirit; she’s intrigued by his mysterious air and protective streak. Though Poppy’s past gives her every reason to mistrust someone like Keane, the seawalls around her heart crumble in the storm of their passion. But when clues hint at the prime suspect in Keane’s attempted murder, Poppy must decide where her loyalties lie. Torn between the world she’s always known and the one she’s always dreamed of, she’ll need true love for a shot at her fairytale ending.
LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon
V: Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto
Title: Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers
Author: Jesse Q. Sutanto
Page Length: 352
Publication Date: March 14, 2023
Publisher: Berkley Books
Synopsis: A lonely shopkeeper takes it upon herself to solve a murder in the most peculiar way in this captivating mystery by Jesse Q. Sutanto, bestselling author of Dial A for Aunties.
Vera Wong is a lonely little old lady–ah, lady of a certain age–who lives above her forgotten tea shop in the middle of San Francisco’s Chinatown. Despite living alone, Vera is not needy, oh no. She likes nothing more than sipping on a good cup of Wulong and doing some healthy detective work on the Internet about what her Gen-Z son is up to.
Then one morning, Vera trudges downstairs to find a curious thing–a dead man in the middle of her tea shop. In his outstretched hand, a flash drive. Vera doesn’t know what comes over her, but after calling the cops like any good citizen would, she sort of . . . swipes the flash drive from the body and tucks it safely into the pocket of her apron. Why? Because Vera is sure she would do a better job than the police possibly could, because nobody sniffs out a wrongdoing quite like a suspicious Chinese mother with time on her hands. Vera knows the killer will be back for the flash drive; all she has to do is watch the increasing number of customers at her shop and figure out which one among them is the killer.
What Vera does not expect is to form friendships with her customers and start to care for each and every one of them. As a protective mother hen, will she end up having to give one of her newfound chicks to the police?
E: Ellie is Cool Now by Victoria Fulton & Faith McClaren
Title: Ellie is Cool Now
Author: Victoria Fulton & Faith McClaren
Page Length: 352
Publication Date: March 21, 2023
Publisher: Forever
Synopsis: In this laugh-out-loud romantic comedy, one woman finds that to keep her dream job, she’ll have to face her worst nightmare: high school.
Ellie Jenkins definitely didn’t peak in high school. She was an outsider, an invisible girl with a desperate crush on Mark Wright, a guy who hardly knew her name. Ten years later, she’s living in Los Angeles, trying to write a hit show about cool high school kids, when an invitation for her high school reunion arrives. She doesn’t want to go, but her writing has been suffering and her boss makes her an ultimatum: go to this reunion or lose her big break forever. He even gives her a list of challenges to complete! Ellie takes the bait and returns to the school determined to find friends, fun and to prove to Mark Wright, once and for all, that Ellie is cool now.
M: Make a Wish by Helena Hunting
Title: Make a Wish
Author: Helena Hunting
Series: Spark House #3
Page Length: 368
Publication Date: Jan. 24, 2023
Publisher: St. Martin;s Griffin
Synopsis: Ever have a defining life moment you wish you could do over? Harley Spark has one. The time she almost kissed the widowed father of the toddler she nannied for. It was so bad they moved across the state and she never saw them again.
Fast forward seven years and she’s totally over it. At least she thinks she is. Until Gavin Rhodes and his adorable now nine-year-old daughter, Peyton, reappear at a princess-themed birthday party hosted by Spark House, Harley’s family’s event hotel. Despite trying to avoid the awkwardness of the situation, she can’t help but notice how unbearably sexy he looks in a tutu. Add to that a spontaneous hives breakout, and it’s clear she’s not even remotely over the mortification of her egregious error all those years ago.
Except Gavin seems oblivious to her inner turmoil. So much so that he suggests they get together for lunch. For Peyton’s sake, of course. It’s the perfect opportunity to heal old wounds. Or it could just reopen them. This is one of those times Harley wishes she could see the future…
B: Beguiling Her Enemy Warrior by Lucy Morris
Title: Beguiling Her Enemy Warrior
Author: Lucy Morris
Series: Shieldmaiden Sisters #3
Page Length: 288
Publication Date: Jan. 24, 2022
Publisher: Harlequin Historical
Synopsis: Kidnapped by the warrior
Tempted by the man…
Captured by the infamous Lord Rhys, a Welsh prince intent on revenge against her family, Viking healer Helga must keep her wits about her if she’s to be freed. Easier said than done when she desires him rather than fears him! Helga senses there’s good inside Rhys and feels compelled to reach his heart. But first, she must make him see there’s more to her than just his enemy…
E: Exes and O’s by Amy Lea
Title: Exes and O’s
Author: Amy Lea
Page Length: 400
Publication Date: Jan. 10, 2023
Publisher: Berkley Books
Synopsis: A romance novel–obsessed social media influencer revisits her exes on her hunt for true love in this romantic comedy from the author of Set On You.
Romance-novel connoisseur Tara Chen has had her heart broken ten times by ten different men–all of whom dumped her because of her “stage-five clinger” tendencies. Nevertheless, Tara is determined to find The One. The only problem? Classic meet-cutes are dead thanks to modern dating apps. So Tara decides to revisit her exes in hopes of securing her very own trope-worthy second-chance romance.
Boston firefighter Trevor Metcalfe will be the first to rush into a burning building but the last to rush into a relationship. Love just isn’t his thing. When his new roommate Tara enlists him to help her reconnect with her exes, he reluctantly agrees. But Tara’s journey is leading him to discover his own new chapter.
The more time they spend together, the more Tara realizes Trevor seems to be the only one who appreciates her authentic, dramatic self. To claim their happily-ever-after, can Tara and Trevor read between the lines of their growing connection?
R: Revelle by Lyssa Mia Smith
Title: Revelle
Author: Lyssa Mia Smith
Page Length: 464
Publication Date: Feb. 14, 2023
Publisher: Harperteen
Synopsis: Inspired by Moulin Rouge! and set on an island in a magical version of Prohibition-era New York, Revelle is a breathtaking YA stand-alone fantasy full of dazzling magic, romance, and mystery from debut author Lyssa Mia Smith.
On the island of Charmant, magic flows like bootlegged champagne, and fantasies can be bought for the price of a gemstone.
Luxe Revelle, star of her family’s fantastical show, knows the splendor is just an illusion. With Prohibition threatening their livelihood, her family struggles to make a living, watering down champagne and patching holes in their sequined costumes. So when the son of Charmant’s wealthiest family makes her an offer—everything the Revelles need to stay in business, in exchange for posing as his girl and helping him become mayor—she can’t refuse.
The moment Jamison Port sets foot in Charmant, he can’t shake the feeling of familiarity. An orphan with as few memories as gemstones, he’s desperate to learn what happened to his parents. But as he delves into the island’s secrets, he risks angering the wrong person and discovering a truth that just might break his heart.
When Luxe and Jamison accidentally meet, the sparks that fly are more than her magical enchantments. But keeping secrets from powerful people is a dangerous game . . . one that could destroy them both.
Are you looking forward to any of these?
Omg, I love that cover for One Duke Down? They’re both smiling so beautifully (haha) and the colours are stunning! 😍 Revelle also sounds like an interesting concept and that’s a very eye-catching cover as well. Great book picks!
Aren’t they both great? So different, yet both gorgeous in their own right. Thanks Dini!
Love the cover for Revelle!
I agree – it’s very eye-catching!
I have a few of these on my list for next year too!
Awesome! I hope you enjoy them when you get to them!!
I have Exes and O’s on my TBR! It looks so cute!
Doesn’t it? And I really liked Set on You, so I’m hoping I’ll like this one just as much.
I haven’t read that one either! This cover just caught my eye a while ago!
One Duke downs cover 😍😍
Right!!! So gorgeous!