Hello, everyone. This week I thought I would give you an idea of all of the Mass Market paperbacks that are coming out in January. Some of them have been printed before, as hardcovers, and some are just coming out as original Mass Market Paperbacks.
A lot of the Mass Market Paperbacks tend to be either romances or thrillers, and that’s exactly what we have. There is one contemporary fiction story, The Secret of Snow by Viola Shipman, which is about a reluctant homecoming of a 50-year-old female meteorologist in need of a new start in her old hometown. You can see the full descriptions of each of these novels at the bottom of this blog.
We also have five romances. The first romance is a contemporary romance, When Stars Collide by Susan Elizabeth Phillips, who returns to her beloved Chicago Stars series with a romance between a Chicago Stars quarterback and one of the world’s greatest opera singers—and a major diva.
The other four romances are actually historical romances – from four different times. The first is about a secret affair between a free-spirited heiress and an uptight duke (in the Gilded Age) which turns more passionate than either could have imagined, in The Duke Gets Even by Joanna Shupe.
Secondly, we have In Her Highlander’s Bed by Lynsay Sands, in which a Scottish Laird gets into a tussle with a young lad who turns out to be a woman trying to steal his plaid. He accidentally wounds her, and takes her back to his bed, unconscious. She wakes up, and not knowing if she could trust him, pretends she doesn’t know who she is, and why she ended up bruised and naked in the woods. She actually had been kidnapped and was being forced to marry her clan’s enemy, and escaped. You can take it from there…
The third historical romance is Her Lessons in Persuasion: A School for Scoundrels Novel by Megan Frampton (a Victorian novel). In the first book in her new series, A School for Scoundrels. Five gentlemen with unbreakable bonds navigate life—and love—in London. This book involves a fake courtship set up by a stepmother to get other men interested in her stepdaughter, and definitely agreed to by the woman in question, who wanted no part of marriage, and saw this as a way to get her inheritance by going through the motions. Ah, but is the wooing actually fake?
The last romance is Halfway to Heaven by Susan Wiggs, book 3 of her Calhoun Chronicles historical romance series. Follows The Charm School and The Horesemaster’s Daughter.
Now for the thrillers. Confessions On The 7:45 A Novel by Lisa Unger is a gripping and unforgetable thriller about two strangers who meet on a train, and the dark secrets that inextricably link them. Perfect for fans of Harlan Coben, Lisa Gardner, and Karin Slaughter.
Last but not least is the thriller Point Last Seen by Christina Dodd. This is a brand new, standalone suspense story about a reclusive artist who retrieves a seemingly dead woman from the Pacific Ocean…only to have her come back to life with no memory of what happened to her. With a strong female protagonist, a chilling villain, and twisty secrets that will keep you turning the pages, POINT LAST SEEN is perfect for the thriller/suspense category and for fans of Lisa Jewell, Jayne Ann Krentz and Sandra Brown.
As always, thank you for making our shelves your destination
FICTION:
THE SECRET OF SNOW by Viola Shipman
As comforting and familiar as a favorite sweater, The Secret of Snow is a promise of heartfelt family traditions, humorously real experience, and the enduring power of love and friendship.
The forecast is calling for a reluctant homecoming and regrettable decisions with a strong chance of romance…
When Sonny Dunes, a SoCal meteorologist whose job is all sunshine and seventy-two-degree days, is replaced by a virtual meteorologist that will never age, gain weight or renegotiate its contract, the only station willing to give the fifty-year-old another shot is the very place Sonny’s been avoiding since the day she left for college—her northern Michigan hometown.
Sonny grudgingly returns to the long, cold, snowy winters of her childhood…with the added humiliation of moving back in with her mother. Not quite an outsider but no longer a local, Sonny finds her past blindsiding her everywhere: from the high school friends she ghosted, to the former journalism classmate and mortal frenemy who’s now her boss, to, most keenly, the death years ago of her younger sister, who loved the snow.
To distract herself from the memories she’s spent her life trying to outrun, Sonny throws herself headfirst into covering every small-town winter event to woo a new audience, made more bearable by a handsome widower with optimism to spare. But with someone trying to undermine her efforts to rebuild her career, Sonny must make peace with who she used to be and allow her heart to thaw if she’s ever going to find a place she can truly call home.
First published in October 2021 in Trade Paperback format. Also available as a library hardcover.
CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE:
WHEN STARS COLLIDE by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
#1 New York Times bestseller Susan Elizabeth Phillips returns to her beloved Chicago Stars series with a romance between a Chicago Stars quarterback and one of the world’s greatest opera singers—and a major diva.
“Re-entering the world of the Chicago Stars is like a beloved friend come to call.” — #1 New York Times bestselling author Robyn Carr
Thaddeus Walker Bowman Owens, the backup quarterback for the Chicago Stars, is a team player, talented sideline coach, occasional male underwear model, and a man with a low tolerance for divas.
Olivia Shore, international opera superstar, is a driven diva with a passion for perfection, a craving for justice, too many secrets—and a monumental grudge against the egotistical, lowbrow jock she’s been stuck with.
It’s Mozart meets Monday Night Football as the temperamental soprano and stubborn jock embark on a nationwide tour promoting a luxury watch brand. Along the way, the combatants will engage in soul-searching and trash talk, backstage drama and, for sure, a quarterback pass. But they’ll also face trouble as threatening letters, haunting photographs, and a series of dangerous encounters complicate their lives. Is it the work of an overzealous fan or something more sinister?
This is the emotional journey of a brilliant woman whose career is everything and a talented man who’ll never be happy with second place. Tender and funny, passionate and insightful, this irresistible romantic adventure proves that anything can happen…when two superstars collide.
HISTORICAL ROMANCE – GILDED AGE
THE DUKE GETS EVEN by Joanna Shupe
A Mass Market Original
By beloved USA Today bestselling author Joanna Shupe, the fourth installment in the Fifth Avenue Rebels series about a secret affair between a free-spirited heiress and an uptight duke which turns more passionate than either could have imagined.
A rebellious heiress.
A duke in dire straits.
An anonymous midnight tryst.
To escape the shackles of marriage, Nellie Young purposely ruined her reputation a long time ago. Now she dedicates herself to hedonistic pleasures only, like kissing a handsome stranger in the ocean under the moonlight…
To save his estate, the proper Duke of Lockwood must marry the perfect bride—wealthy, with an unblemished reputation. While in New York he’s the perfect gentleman, and no one knows he’s suppressing his darkest desires. The last thing he needs is another scandal.
Except Nellie sees through Lockwood’s charade, straight to the real man underneath. This uptight duke is far more than he lets on, and she can’t resist him. Their secret affair turns scorching, far more than either expected. And when his beautiful rebel finds an unconventional cause, Lockwood has to decide if he’s willing to sacrifice everything to keep her.
HISTORICAL ROMANCE – HIGHLANDERS
IN HER HIGHLANDER’S BED by Lynsay Sands
A Mass Market Original—Also Available as a Hardcover Library Edition
For fans of Outlander, New York Times bestselling author Lynsay Sands’ newest installment of the Highland Brides series brings us a sweeping tale of passion as a laird’s swim in a loch leads to the love of a lifetime.
An invigorating swim in the loch was exactly what Calan Campbell, Laird of Kilcairn, needed after defeating his enemies in battle. What he didn’t need was a thief running away with his plaid while he swam. Calan gave chase and managed to catch the lad, only the lad turned out to be a lass, and obviously a lady. Having hit her head when he’d tackled her to the ground, the woman was now unconscious and couldn’t explain how she had ended up bruised and naked in his woods. He’d have to take her back to his castle and tend her wounds to learn that.
Kidnapped and forced to wed her clan’s enemy, Allissaid MacFarlane had risked death to escape. But after a struggle over a plaid she tried to “borrow,” she awakens in a strange bed with a strange man seated in a chair beside her. Unsure if he is friend or foe, she claims not to remember her own name or how she’d come to be in the clearing. However, the more time she spends with Calan, the more she falls for this strong, honorable laird. She soon decides she can trust him with her life. . . but can she trust him with her heart?
HISTORICAL ROMANCE – VICTORIAN
HER LESSONS IN PERSUASION: A SCHOOL FOR SCOUNDRELS NOVEL by Megan Frampton
A Mass Market Original
Megan Frampton dazzles in the first book in her new series, A School for Scoundrels. Five gentlemen with unbreakable bonds navigate life—and love—in London. Perfect for fans of Sarah MacLean and anyone who loves BRIDGERTON!
To Lady Wilhelmina Bettesford, the “game” of finding a husband is a competitive sport she wants no part of…until her much-younger step mama forces her to play it. So when her stepmother asks sexy barrister Bram Townsend to pretend to woo the amateur astronomer to boost Wilhelmina’s popularity, it’s up to Wilhelmina to navigate a fake courtship that will keep the family from forcing her into a marriage—any marriage—before she finally receives the inheritance that will allow her to live as she wants.
The trouble is every time Bram takes her in his arms she has a most difficult time remembering theirs is an act…the make-believe passion feels very real indeed.
Bram Townsend is a man on the way up: living for his books and his beliefs. Squiring Lady Wilhelmina through London’s dusk-to-dawn social whirl is hardly an ordeal—she’s beautiful, bright, and bold, everything he finds tempting in a woman. Their deal means he can meet the “best” people while she keeps her family at bay. The challenge is he quickly finds himself wanting her to say “yes” when she’s so determined to say “no.” She persuaded him to make this impetuous bargain, but how can he convince her to make it real?
HISTORICAL ROMANCE – REGENCY
HALFWAY TO HEAVEN by Susan Wiggs
Book 3 of the Calhoun Chronicles historical romance series by #1 New York Times bestselling author Susan Wiggs. Follows The Charm School and The Horesemaster’s Daughter
Washington, D.C., 1870s
At a glittering White House gala, Abigail Cabot discovers the man of her dreams. Only, he’s not interested…yet. So the gifted lady astronomer, whose passion for measuring stars has left her woefully lacking in social graces, seeks someone to educate her…someone who is a master at the art of seduction.
Jamie Calhoun’s handsome looks and easy charm have made him as popular on the Senate floor as he is with the capital’s most attractive women. But secretly he loathes the cynical, manipulative man he’s become. Initially, he befriends Abigail as a means to a political end. But somewhere along the way the plan goes awry.
First laughter and then love take them completely by surprise in this wildly romantic story. For a man convinced he’s incapable of love and a woman who believes she can reach the stars, could this be a match made in heaven?
THRILLERS:
CONFESSIONS ON THE 7:45 A NOVEL by Lisa Unger
Reminiscent of the classic Strangers on a Train, by one of the most celebrated writers in crime fiction, Confessions on the 7:45 is a gripping and unforgetable thriller about two strangers who meet on a train, and the dark secrets that inextricably link them. Perfect for fans of Harlan Coben, Lisa Gardner, and Karin Slaughter.
COMING TO NETFLIX
“Intricate and nuanced—on par with the best top-flight psychological suspense.” —L.A. Times
INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER
From master of suspense Lisa Unger comes a riveting thriller about a chance encounter that unravels a stunning web of lies.
Selena Murphy is commuting home on the train when she strikes up a conversation with a beautiful stranger in the next seat. The woman introduces herself as Martha and soon confesses that she’s been stuck in an affair with her boss. Selena, in turn, confesses that she suspects her husband is sleeping with the nanny. When the train arrives at Selena’s station, the two women part ways, presumably never to meet again.
Then the nanny disappears.
As Selena is pulled into the mystery of what happened, and as the fractures in her marriage grow deeper, she begins to wonder, who was Martha really? But she is hardly prepared for what she’ll discover…
Looking for more gripping suspense? Don’t miss Lisa Unger’s chilling locked-room thriller, Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six, coming November 2022!
POINT LAST SEEN by Christina Dodd
From New York Times bestselling author Christina Dodd comes a brand new, standalone suspense about a reclusive artist who retrieves a seemingly dead woman from the Pacific Ocean…only to have her come back to life with no memory of what happened to her. With a strong female protagonist, a chilling villain, and twisty secrets that will keep you turning the pages, POINT LAST SEEN is perfect for the thriller/suspense category and for fans of Lisa Jewell, Jayne Ann Krentz and Sandra Brown.
“When it comes to nerve-shredding, edge-of-your-seat suspense, Dodd consistently delivers the goods…Point Last Seen is a gobsmackingly great read.”—Booklist STARRED REVIEW
Perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell, Karin Slaughter and Sandra Brown, New York Times bestselling author Christina Dodd’s all-new thriller, POINT LAST SEEN, will have readers keeping the lights on all night.
LIFE LAST SEEN
When you’ve already died, there should be nothing left to fear… When Adam Ramsdell pulls Elle’s half-frozen body from the surf on a lonely California beach, she has no memory of what her full name is and how she got those bruises ringing her throat.
GIRL LAST SEEN
Elle finds refuge in Adam’s home on the edge of Gothic, a remote village located between the steep lonely mountains and the raging Pacific Ocean. As flashes of her memory return, Elle faces a terrible truth—buried in her mind lurks a secret so dark it could get her killed.
POINT LAST SEEN
Everyone in Gothic seems to hide a dark past. Even Adam knows more than he will admit. Until Elle can unravel the truth, she doesn’t know who to trust, when to run and who else might be hurt when the killer who stalks her nightmares appears to finish what he started
“No one does high-stakes, high-voltage suspense quite like Dodd.”
—Booklist (starred review)
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