A Flood of Posies

A Flood of Posies By Tiffany Meuret
Publication date: February 9, 2021
Buy Link: Amazon
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Science Fiction
Summary:

*2020 Cygnus Book Award for Science Fiction Long List*

It’s 2025.

Sisters, Doris and Thea, exist worlds apart, despite living within a few miles of one another. Doris with her regular home and regular husband and regular job, and Thea slinking along the edges of society, solitary and invisible. 

When a storm of biblical proportions strikes, the wayward sisters are begrudgingly forced together as the rain waters rise, each attempting to survive both the flood and each other.

One year later, Thea—now calling herself Sestra—floats throughout a ravaged, flood soaked world. Her former life drowned beneath metric tons of water, she and her only companion, Robert, battle starvation, heatstroke, and the monstrous creatures called Posies that appeared alongside the flood. 

When they run across what they assume to be an abandoned tugboat, their journey takes a new turn, and the truth about the flood and the monsters seems more intricately linked to Thea’s past then she may realize.

—

EXCERPT:

Nobody tells you about the boredom. There isn’t much to do after the terror and shock subsides. Just floating and sitting and getting dizzy from the hamster-wheel laps of the brain thinking about an entire lifetime of floating and sitting. It’d been a year of sitting around waiting to die. Rob swore it was only nine months, as if he fucking knew the difference. He spent all his time lost somewhere in his head, and Sestra couldn’t be sure of his grip on reality, let alone his basic math skills. She wasn’t so sure about herself either. It’s not like it mattered much.

Rob, however despondent, was never short of criticisms of her performance. “Get your hands out of the water if you ain’t even gonna try.”

Suffer Little Children

Suffer Little Children By Freda Hansburg
Publication date: January 26, 2021
Buy Link: Amazon
Genres: Adult, Psychological Thriller
Summary:

Robin Perry’s life is finally on track with her dream job and a promising relationship with Ben Martin, even if his two spoiled children, Amber and Jaden, hate her. 

But things take a downhill turn when Gloria Reyes, an acquaintance of Ben’s, asks her to admit her young son to a cancer study meant for adults and Robin, heartbroken, must turn her down. 

But Gloria won’t take no for an answer and begins an insidious crusade to force the issue.

Amber Martin hates living with her crazy mother since her parents’ divorce, but she can hardly live with her dad, who’s too busy with “Miss Perfect” these days. 

When Amber runs into her mother’s friend Gloria, she’s glad to finally meet an adult who seems to be on her side. But as Amber becomes friends with Gloria’s sickly son, Alex, she begins to think Gloria is not as nice as she first thought, and Alex may be in trouble.

As Gloria’s threatening behavior escalates, Robin must protect the children while finding a way to save her career and her relationship with Ben. But Gloria always manages to stay one step ahead. When a secret comes to light, Robin discovers the stakes are even higher than she imagined.

—

EXCERPT:

“Morning.” Robin settled into the chair opposite Gloria’s as a waitress approached. “Just coffee, please.”

Gloria set down her cup. “So?”

Getting right down to business then. Robin braced herself. So much the better.

“I’ve kept my part of our bargain,” Gloria announced.

“Bargain?” Robin’s eyebrows shot up.

“I spoke to Vanessa about the therapy. I managed to be quite convincing. You see, she posted a rant on Facebook yesterday after Amber defaced a library book.” Gloria shrugged. “I seized the opportunity.”

My Sweet Enemy

My Sweet Enemy By Jenny Hartwell
Publication date: February 8, 2021
Buy Link: Amazon
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance
Summary:

The only thing tempering their insta-hate is delicious attraction.

Sunny chocolatier Charlotte Beecher is unemployed, in student debt, and on the verge of hawking her beloved copper pots just to make ends meet. So when a gourmet chocolate factory chooses her as one of five candidates to help re-launch the company in their Charlie and the Chocolate Factory inspired competition, Charlotte begins to see a light at the end of the tunnel.

Fellow contestant Luke Wells complicates her plans to win by a landslide with his flow charts and marketing projections. Mr. Tall, Dark, and Haughty is all about the bottom line and is as bitter as she is sweet. And when he snubs Charlotte in the first challenge, misunderstanding or not, she transforms from cream puff to jawbreaker. Bring. It. On.

But when these two rivals find themselves distracted by delicious attraction, will they let their passion get in the way of winning the competition?

—

EXCERPT:

She opened the door and stepped inside.

“Oh!” She started at the sight of another person inside the fridge, and her foot rammed into something on the floor. “What are you—” she began to ask.

The other person turned. “The door!” Luke shouted. Charlotte gasped and pivoted, pushing out with her empty hand to stop the door from closing, but she was too late. It closed with a heavy clank.

Protecting Prince (In Midsummer, #6)

Protecting Prince (In Midsummer, #6) By Jessica Frances
Publication date: February 5, 2021
Buy Link: Amazon
Genres: Adult, LGBTQ+, Romance
Summary:

One movie star. One bodyguard. One seductive attraction. One deadly obsession. One chance to have it all. One shot to lose it all.

Henry:
Falling for your bodyguard is so cliché. I cringe at myself sometimes, but then I just have to look at him to understand. How can you not fall for a man like that? Heroic, smart, stubborn, funny, sexy … how could I ever have resisted?

Bryan:
Falling for your movie star client is incredibly cliché. I have heard of people in my position doing just that and used to scoff at them … but then I got placed as Henry Prince’s bodyguard. Unfortunately, his irresistible charm and undeniably sexy self has claimed me, heart and soul. I have no chance of getting out of this unscathed.

Then just as things begin to get red hot, a stalker from the past escapes with the intent to destroy us both. I won’t let anything bad happen to Henry, but what am I supposed to do when potential danger lurks behind every corner, behind every stranger?

Will our cliché beginning blossom into something more? Or are we destined for the typical Hollywood crash and burn?

—

EXCERPT:

“So, you expect me to run away scared? You expect me to live my life dictated by the crazy people who are obsessed and want to hurt me?

“You get that this guy is just the latest in a line that has gone on for a while and won’t ever stop. If I give in now, then I might as well forfeit whatever life I want outside the four walls I call home.”

Bryan’s eyes soften, and his hand twitches at his side. Is he going to touch me? Maybe offer me comfort? Maybe he will run his fingers through my hair and promise to make this go away. That would be totally hot, right?

The Best Man (From Connemara With Love #1)

The Best Man (From Connemara With Love #1) By Alex Kelly
Publication date: November 12, 2020
Buy Link: Amazon
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Summary:

I always turn up at just the wrong moment. I never know how to make the most of a situation; I don’t know the right thing to say, or when I should come or go. 

Let’s just say I have really shit timing.
I’m not a smart guy. I don’t have great ideas.
I’m practical, a hard worker; someone who lives for his family, and for the air that she breathes. 

It’s just a shame that the “she” in question never knew this. It’s a shame that I waited all these years to make my move. It’s useless to tell you, readers, that it was already too late; that I’d screwed everything up, once again. And, this time, my mistakes forced her to come home. 

Except she didn’t want to stay. 

And now she hates me – or maybe she doesn’t. I still haven’t worked out what’s going on between us, but like I said, I’m not the sharpest tool in the box. And even though this could be my last chance, I’m not going to be the one to ask her to stay. Not even if she turns out to be the one I’ve always waited for. 

Because she doesn’t belong in this place.
And she doesn’t belong in my life. 

My name is Alex Brennan, and this is my story: of how I realised I’d lost the most important person in my life, before I even had her.

—

EXCERPT:

I walk behind her wordlessly, until we get to the door of her building. I’m a gentleman, and she knows it. I’ve always walked her to her door – something her brothers have always taken the piss out of me for – because I want to be sure that she gets home okay, and that nothing happens to her. I don’t do it now because of everything that’s just happened; I’ve always done it, and I always will. 

I’m not ashamed of that. If there’s one thing my mother taught me, it’s that I should never be ashamed of who I am and what I feel, and I’m not going to start feeling shameful tonight. So I walk up to the top floor with her without being asked why. Once we get to her front door, Ellie sticks her key into the lock and opens it, then stands, unmoving, with her forehead against the wood, trying to work out what should happen next.

“Don’t ask me,” I say, helping her.

Ellie turns slowly to face me.