Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Adult Paperback Fiction

If the Slipper Fits by Olivia Drake
Cinderella Sisterhood Series Book #1

Will she have her happily ever after?

Is This Love Real?

Raised in a girls’ school, Annabelle Quinn longs for the world outside the walls of the academy. When she’s hired as the governess to an orphaned duke, Annabelle never expects the child’s breathtakingly handsome guardian to capture her imagination—or her heart.

Or Are They Living In a Fairytale?

Falling for his young nephew’s governess is an irksome complication in Lord Simon Westbury’s orderly life, but Annabelle’s quiet beauty and wry intellect are too much to resist. Meanwhile, a mysterious danger looms over the remote Cornwall estate. Will their newfound desire stand the test of time? Or are some happy endings just too good to come true?

 
Haunting Jordan by P.J. Alderman
Port Chatham Mystery Series Book #1

RITA-nominated author P. J. Alderman weaves present-day supernatural sleuthery with nineteenth-century intrigue in the first book of an enchanting new mystery series set in picturesque Port Chatham, Washington.

Jordan Marsh left L.A. for the quaint Pacific Northwest town of Port Chatham in pursuit of some much-needed R & R. As the prime suspect in her cheating husband’s murder, she had been hoping to immerse herself in the restoration of the charming Victorian she’d just bought—and put all talk of homicide investigations behind her. But as she soon discovers, the coldest of cases cry out to be solved, too.

For this old house comes fully furnished—with two garrulous ghosts who have a century-old murder of their own they’d like her to look into. Now, if Jordan can keep the L.A. police at bay, and sort through a suspect list of shady characters circa 1890, she might just clear a wrongly accused man’s name—and her own.


Thread on Arrival by Amanda Lee
Embroidery Mystery Series Book #5

Embroidery shop owner Marcy Singer gets hung up on a tapestry that may lead to sunken treasure and be the motive for murder....
When Marcy’s friend Reggie, Tallulah Falls’ local librarian, asks her to teach an embroidery class as therapy for domestic abuse victims, she gladly agrees. One of the women wants to flee from her abusive husband but is afraid to leave her elderly father-in-law behind. And she thinks Marcy can help.

The elderly gentleman shows Marcy a tapestry his grandmother made, which he believes reveals the location of pirate treasure off the Oregon coast. He’ll move to a shelter—provided Marcy takes the tapestry to keep it safe. But when the police arrive the next day to escort him out, they find the old man murdered and the house ransacked. Does someone want that treasured tapestry desperately enough to kill for it?


Book, Line, and Sinker by Jenn McKinlay
Library Lover's Mystery Series Book #3

Answering tricky reference questions like this one provides plenty of excitement for library director Lindsey Norris. But when a shocking murder is committed in her cozy coastal town of Briar Creek, Connecticut, the question of who did it must be answered before an innocent man gets the book thrown at him...
  
Lindsey is enjoying her second year in Briar Creek as the library director, meeting with the crafternoon club, and happily dating tour boat captain Mike Sullivan. But when a salvage company arrives in town to dig up treasure buried on Pirate Island over three hundred years ago, the locals are torn between protecting the island and welcoming the publicity.   

In spite of the squabbling, Charlie Peyton, Lindsey’s downstairs neighbor, takes a job with the salvage company. But when Trudi Hargrave, the local tourism director who hired the company, is found murdered at the excavation site, Charlie becomes the chief suspect. To help him, Lindsey must do some digging of her own before the real killer buries the truth for good….
 
Copycat Killing by Sofie Kelly
Magical Cats Series Book #3

Everyone thinks their cats are special—but Owen and Hercules have powers that go far beyond an adorable look or an irresistible purr. Along with their owner, librarian Kathleen Paulson, they have an uncanny instinct for solving crimes...

It's been raining cats and dogs in Mayville Heights. The small town's been deluged, and now the local artists' co-op is on the verge of flooding. Kathleen has been up all night helping her friends move their creations to the safety of the upstairs studio.

The artwork survives, but when controversial mask maker Jaeger Merrill is found drowned in the co-op basement, Kathleen questions whether the death was accidental. After she discovers the artist was using an assumed name, she realizes she can't actually assume anything about him. With the help of handsome detective Marcus Gordon—and her cats' extraordinary powers of detection—it's up to Kathleen to unmask a killer.


Royal's Bride by Kat Martin
Bride's Trilogy Book #1

Though he is a tilted nobleman, Royal Dewar is singularly unlucky…forced to choose between his soul mate and his salvation. After years abroad, Royal has returned to Bransford Castle to find his father dying and the family treasury nearly empty. Then the old duke wrests a final promise from his guilt-ridden son: that Royal will marry heiress Jocelyn Caulfield and restore the estate to its former glory. However, it is not his fiancĂ©e who quickens Royal's pulse, but rather her beautiful cousin Lily Moran.

Penniless Lily knows that nothing can come of their undeniable attraction—but there is a way she can help Royal. Enlisting some questionable characters from her past, Lily concocts an elaborate ruse to recover some of the Bransford fortune from a notorious confidence artist. As the dangerous scheme unfolds, Lily and Royal are thrown together in pursuit of the very thing—money—that keeps them apart.

 
Reese's Bride by Kat Martin
Bride's Trilogy Book #2

Wounded in battle, Major Reese Dewar returns to England—but his injuries are nothing compared to his shattered heart. Years ago, love-struck Reese departed his home at Briarwood with a promise from raven-haired Elizabeth Clemens that she would make a life with him upon his return. But mere months later, she married the Earl of Aldridge, attaining wealth and status Reese could never match. Memories of that betrayal make his homecoming far more bitter than sweet.

Seeing Elizabeth on his doorstep dressed in widow's garb twists the knife even deeper. But fear for her young son's safety has overcome her pride: she begs Reese for protection from those who would see the boy dead to possess his fortune. He agrees to an uneasy alliance, sensing Elizabeth still harbors deep secrets—and Reese knows that he's placing himself in danger…of losing his heart all over again.


First Comes Marriage by Mary Balogh
Huxtable Quintet Series Book #1

Against the scandal and seduction of Regency England, New York Times bestselling author Mary Balogh introduces an extraordinary family—the fiery, sensual Huxtables. Vanessa is the second daughter, proud and daring, a young widow who has her own reason for pursuing the most eligible bachelor in London. One that has nothing to do with love. Or does it?
The arrival of Elliott Wallace, the irresistibly eligible Viscount Lyngate, has thrown the country village of Throckbridge into a tizzy. Desperate to rescue her eldest sister from a loveless union, Vanessa Huxtable Dew offers herself instead. In need of a wife, Elliott takes the audacious widow up on her unconventional proposal while he pursues an urgent mission of his own. But a strange thing happens on the way to the wedding night. Two strangers with absolutely nothing in common can’t keep their hands off each other. Now, as intrigue swirls around a past secret—one with a stunning connection to the Huxtables—Elliott and Vanessa are uncovering the glorious pleasures of the marriage bed…and discovering that when it comes to wedded bliss, love can’t be far behind.

 
Then Comes Seduction by Mary Balogh
Huxtable Quintet Series Book #2

Katherine, the youngest sister—and society’s most ravishing innocent—is about to turn the tables on the irresistible rakehell sworn to seduce her, body and soul....
In a night of drunken revelry, Jasper Finley, Baron Montford, gambles his reputation as London’s most notorious lover on one woman. His challenge? To seduce the exquisite, virtuous Katherine Huxtable within a fortnight. But when his best-laid plans go awry, Jasper devises a wager of his own. For Katherine, already wildly attracted to him, Jasper’s offer is irresistible: to make London’s most dangerous rake fall in love with her. Then Jasper suddenly ups the ante. Katherine knows she should refuse. But with scandal brewing and her reputation in jeopardy, she reluctantly agrees to become his wife. Now, as passion ignites, the seduction really begins. And this time the prize is nothing less than both their hearts.

 
Forged in Steele by Maya Banks

The Kelly Group International (KGI): A super-elite, top secret, family-run business.
Qualifications: High intelligence, rock-hard body, military background.
Mission: Hostage/kidnap victim recovery. Intelligence gathering. Handling jobs the U.S. government can’t…

Steele, a KGI team leader, is an enigma not even his team mates understand. His emotions are tightly locked down and nothing can break that icy exterior. Nothing except Maren Scofield, a doctor on a mission, a woman who has gotten under Steele’s skin and threatens to crack that unflappable cool he’s legendary for.

Steele is determined not to allow Maren past his carefully guarded defenses, but when she’s in danger, there’s no way he’ll allow anyone else to protect her. She’s hiding something. He’s sure of it. But he isn’t prepared for the shocking discovery her secrets reveal. Or how they will forever alter the course of his destiny. He has a decision to make. Hold tight and shut her out. Or take a chance on something more powerful than he’s ever faced. Love.


The Heart of a Hero by Janet Chapman
Spellbound Falls Series Book #4

Originally from the ancient mythical island of Atlantis, Nicholas has spent the last year deep in the mountains of Maine, serving as Director of Security for the Nova Mare and Inglenook resorts. Fully embracing his life in the twenty-first century, he finds himself irresistibly drawn to a trouble-prone employee, and is determined to keep her safe.

The last thing Julia Campbell needs is a man with a hero complex, especially one as handsome and imposing as Nicholas. All she has to do is keep it together until her younger sister turns eighteen, and then she can focus on her own life. But strange things have been happening at the resort—and it’s Nicholas who keeps coming to her rescue. When Nicholas is suddenly the one in trouble, Julia realizes he’s not quite what he seems—and that she’ll do anything to help the man who’s stolen her heart.

 
Foul Play at Four by Ann Purser
Lois Meade Mystery Series Book #11

Lois Meade has worked through all the days of the week, turning up clues and scrubbing up messes and murderers in the village of Long Farnden. But sleuthing is rarely a spotless endeavor...

A series of robberies have begun to plague Long Farnden, and Lois's own daughter, Josie, is shaken when a thief makes off with a hundred pounds from the till in her grocery shop. But before her policeman fiancé can crack the case, someone cracks Lois's husband on the head when he interrupts a burglary in progress. Now Lois-and the besotted Inspector Cowgill-must determine who's cleaning out Long Farnden, and clean up after an increasingly violent crime spree.

 
As Twilight Falls by Amanda Ashley

Photographing ghost towns across the American West, Kadie Andrews takes a wrong turn and ends up in Morgan Creek—a spot that isn’t on the map. It’s a quaint little place, but there’s something off about its complacent residents. And when twilight falls, it takes on a truly sinister air…

Unable to run or to find any way out, Kadie finds herself a prisoner, hunted for her blood. Still more disturbing, her spirit and beauty have captured the attention of the town’s leader—the mysterious Rylan Saintcrow. When he looks into her eyes, she can see his hunger. When he takes her in his arms, she can feel his power. When he presses his lips against hers, she can taste his need. Saintcrow may be the most powerful creature she’s ever imagined, but Kadie knows in her heart that he is also a man. A man who needs a woman. To want him, desire him, crave him. To be his willing prisoner—for all eternity…

 
The Loner by Lindsay McKenna

A man at war with himself.

In all her years as deputy sheriff, Shelby Kincaid never met a man as stubborn as Dakota Carson. Practically eaten by a grizzly bear and still that man insists on returning, alone, to his isolated cabin in the Tetons. Shelby's not even sure why it ruffles her, but she suspects it has a lot to do with the instant, powerful connection she feels with Dakota. If only he'd let down his guard with her.

Ten years as a navy SEAL took its toll on Dakota's body, his mind and his heart. Since being released, he's endured months of painful physical therapy, and brutal nightmares. Dakota wants nothing more than to hide from the world, so why does Shelby's gentle presence suddenly make him question his seclusion? But when Shelby's life is threatened, Dakota knows his warrior spirit won't hide any longer. He just hopes it's not too late.

 
Perfect Timing by Catherine Anderson
Kendrick,Coulter, Harrigan Series Book #11

Tragedy has struck the Harrigans—Quincy’s beloved sister-in-law Loni is gravely ill and nearing death. Quincy, like his brothers, feels helpless to save her, and the clock is ticking. Then, with perfect timing, a winsome red-haired woman named Ceara O’Ceallaigh mysteriously appears on Quincy’s property and insists that Loni can be cured. Only Quincy, she says, as the sole remaining Harrigan bachelor, can make it happen—by marrying Ceara.

To Quincy, Ceara is a charming and quite likely deranged spinner of dreams who can’t prove she’s telling the truth. But how can he pass up any attempt to restore Loni to health? Against all better judgment, he decides to marry Ceara. Maybe he’s making the worst mistake of his life. Or maybe he’s opening himself up to possibilities that defy explanation...and will send him on a miraculous journey toward enough love to last forever.

 
Murder of a Barbie and Ken by Denise Swanson
Scumble River Mystery Series Book #5

In search of a social life in Scumble River, Skye Denison has revently joined the GUMBettes-the ladies auxiliary of the men's Grand Union of the Mighty Bulls. Now she and her boyfriend Simon hobnob with the upwardly mobile professionals in town. 

But when a seemingly perfect couple is murdered, Skye discovers that success doesn't equal survival...