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
N: No Ordinary Duchess
Title: No Ordinary Duchess
Author: Elizabeth Hoyt
Series: Greycourt #3
Pub. Date: Dec. 10, 2024
Page Length: 352
Publisher: Forever
Synopsis: Julian Greycourt, the new Duke of Windermere, is called the Duke of Ice because of his complete, artic control. One glance from the duke’s icy blue eyes has been known to make men faint. Windemere is correct, dispassionate, and completely ruthless. There are rumors, though, about the scandalous demands he makes of his paramours in the bedroom.
Lady Elspeth de Moray, the thoughtful and shy youngest sister of the Duke of Ayr, only wants to end the warfare between her brother and Windermere. When Windermere suggests a truce bound by a marriage between the families, Ayr immediately turns him down. But Elspeth, knowing that this may be the only way to bridge peace between the families, secretly goes to Windermere and offers herself… as his bride.
LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
O: Of Princes and Poisons
Title: Of Princes and Poisons
Author: Brianna Joy Crump
Series: The Culled Crown #2
Page Length: 544
Publication Date: June 18, 2024
Publisher: Wattpad Books
Synopsis: Once there were ten.
Ten goddess-touched girls were born. Each was blessed―or cursed―with a unique power that set them apart. As part of an ancient ritual called the Culling, they were supposed to fight to the death in the arena until only one survived. That girl would marry the prince and ascend to the throne. Now only four girls remain.
Power in her blood.
Monroe Benson is one of the lucky ones. With fire at her fingertips, she survived the arena and the intrigues of the palace. Now she’s turned her back on her destiny, choosing to throw in her lot with the rebellion seeking to overturn the Erydian rulers. Monroe has never wanted the throne. She knows that her future lies elsewhere, but first she’ll have to convince the rebels to believe her.
A traitorous heart.
Monroe thought Cohen was one of the few good things about the Culling. She believed that he would have made a good ruler, but that doesn’t mean that she wanted to sit beside him on the throne. And now, she finds herself drawn to a rebel leader. A man with secrets of his own. In the end, Monroe will have to trust in more than her power or even her heart if she’s to forge her own path and find her freedom.
LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
V: Vilest Things
Title: Vilest Things
Author: Chloe Gong
Series: Flesh and False Gods #2
Page Length: 384
Pub. Date: Sept. 10, 2024
Synopsis: Calla Tuoleimi has succeeded in the impossible. Despite the odds, she has won San-Er’s bloody games and eliminated King Kasa, her tyrant uncle and the former ruler of Talin. She serves now as royal advisor to Kasa’s adopted son, August Shenzhi, who has risen to the throne.
Only Calla knows it isn’t really August.
Anton Makusa is still furious about Calla’s betrayal in the final round of the games. In an impossible feat, he took over August’s body to survive, and has no intention of giving up this newfound power. But when his first love, the beautiful, explosive Otta Avia, awakens from a years-long coma and reveals a secret that threatens the monarchy’s authority over Talin, chaos erupts. As tensions come to a boiling point, Calla and Anton must set their conflicts aside and head to the kingdom’s far reaches to prevent anarchy… even if their empire might be better off burning.
LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
E: Earl Crush
Title: Earl Crush
Author: Alexandra Vasti
Page Length: 352
Pub. Date: Jan. 21, 2025
Synopsis: In Alexandra Vasti’s newest Regency rom-com, a reclusive earl’s life is turned upside down when a stranger shows up on his doorstep with an astonishing proposal—and an inconvenient connection to espionage.
For three years, wallflower heiress Lydia Hope-Wallace has anonymously penned seditious pamphlets. And for almost as long, she’s corresponded with the Earl of Strathrannoch, whose political ambition is matched only by his charm. When Arthur’s latest letter reveals his dire financial straits, Lydia sets out for Scotland to offer him the only salvation she can think of—a marriage of convenience. To, um, herself.
Unfortunately, the Earl of Strathrannoch has no idea who she is.
When a bewitching redheaded stranger offers him her hand in marriage, Arthur Baird is stunned—but when he learns that his traitorous brother has been writing to her under Arthur’s name, he’s bloody furious. He’s content to live alone in his moldering castle, and he has no desire for a provocative, radical wife. (Or at least, he shouldn’t.)
But Arthur is desperate to track down his brother, who’s become dangerously entangled in British espionage, and he needs Lydia’s help. What he doesn’t need? The attraction that burns hotter each moment they spend together. As Lydia slips past his defenses and his brother’s mysterious past becomes a very present threat, Arthur will have to risk everything to keep her safe—even his heart.
LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
M: More Than a Blind Date
Title: More Than a Blind Date
Author: Remi Carrington
Page Length: 246
Publication Date: July 20, 2024
Publisher: Phrey Press
Synopsis: I need a fake fiancé for the next six months. That shouldn’t be too hard to find, right? Hopefully my blind date is in a good mood because I’m about to put my desperation on full display by asking him to pose as my fiancé for six months.
The cute cowboy not only agrees to my crazy plan to get my family to leave me alone until my brother’s wedding, but he’s also so good at playing the part, going above and beyond, that it makes even me believe this whole charade is real.
When he turns all protective, I start to wish we weren’t pretending. But fake or not, Dallas makes me feel brave enough to stand up for myself.
During the six months, the lines blur and as the end of our agreement approaches, I’m not sure we’re pretending anymore. And now that I’ve grown a spine, I’m brave enough to admit I want the real thing with him.
But after the wedding, Dallas acts like our deal is done and walks away, dragging my happily-ever-after along with him. If he can’t trust me enough to talk about what changed his mind, then we aren’t meant to be.
Except I think we are. Nobody’s that good at faking love.
GOODREADS | AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE
B: The Bones Beneath My Skin
Title: The Bones Beneath My Skin
Author: T.J. Klune
Pub. Date: Feb. 4, 2025
Page Length: 416
Publisher: Tor
Synopsis: A spine-tingling thriller by New York Times bestselling author TJ Klune, about a 10-year-old girl with an impossible power, her father, and an unlikely stranger, who come together to confront the dangerous forces that want her at all costs. A strange story of family, love, comets, and bacon. Perfect for fans of Stranger Things.
In the spring of 1995, Nate Cartwright has lost everything: his parents are dead, his older brother wants nothing to do with him, and he’s been fired from his job as a journalist in Washington DC. With nothing left to lose, he returns to his family’s summer cabin outside the small mountain town of Roseland, Oregon to try and find some sense of direction. The cabin should be empty. It’s not. Inside is a man named Alex. And with him is an extraordinary little girl who calls herself Artemis Darth Vader. Artemis, who isn’t exactly as she appears.
Soon it becomes clear that Nate must make a choice: let himself drown in the memories of his past, or fight for a future he never thought possible. Because the girl is special. And forces are descending upon them who want nothing more than to control her.
LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
E: An Education in Malice
Title: An Education in Malice
Author: S.T. Gibson
Page Length: 352
Publication Date: Feb. 13, 2024
Publisher: Orbit
Synopsis: Sumptuous and addictive, An Education in Malice is a dark academia tale of blood, secrets and insatiable hungers from Sunday Times bestselling author S.T. Gibson, author of the cult hit A Dowry of Blood.
Deep in the forgotten hills of Massachusetts stands Saint Perpetua’s College. Isolated and ancient, it is not a place for timid girls. Here, secrets are currency, ambition is lifeblood, and strange ceremonies welcome students into the fold.
On her first day of class, Laura Sheridan is thrust into an intense academic rivalry with the beautiful and enigmatic Carmilla. Together, they are drawn into the confidence of their demanding poetry professor, De Lafontaine, who holds her own dark obsession with Carmilla.
But as their rivalry blossoms into something far more delicious, Laura must confront her own strange hungers. Tangled in a sinister game of politics, bloodthirsty professors and dark magic, Laura and Carmilla must decide how much they are willing to sacrifice in their ruthless pursuit of knowledge.
LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
R: Rebel Witch
Title: Rebel Witch
Author: Kristen Ciccarelli
Series: The Crimson Moth #2
Page Length:
Pub. Date: Feb. 18, 2025
Synopsis:The stakes are even higher in this epic, romantic conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Crimson Moth duology.
A WITCH…
Rune Winters is on the run. Ever since the boy she loved, Gideon Sharpe, revealed who she was and delivered her into enemy hands, everyone wants her dead. If Rune hopes to survive, she must ally herself with the cruel and dangerous Cressida Roseblood, who’s planning to take back the Republic and reinstate a Reign of Witches—something Cressida needs Rune to accomplish.
A WITCH HUNTER…
Apparently it wasn’t enough for Rune to deceive Gideon; she’s now betrayed him by allying herself with the witch who made his life a living hell. Gideon won’t allow the Republic to fall to the witches and be plunged back into the nightmares of the past. In order to protect this new world he fought for, every last witch must die—especially Rune Winters.
AN IMPOSSIBLE CHOICE…
When Rune makes Gideon an offer he can’t refuse, the two must pair up to accomplish dangerous goals. The more they’re forced into each other’s company, the more Gideon realizes the feelings he had for Rune aren’t as dead and buried as he thought. Now he’s faced with a terrible choice: sacrifice the girl he loves to stop a monster taking back power, or let Rune live and watch the world he fought so hard for burn.
LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
