Spotlight: The Secret Cottage by Kate Ellington

Isabel Tate yearns for the simple pleasures she took for granted before scandal rocked her family two years ago. On May Day, she's determined to forget her troubles and enjoy herself at the Claremont family's annual festival. Meanwhile, Robert Claremont steels himself to begin courting the haughty heiress next door, but his bashfulness is only one obstacle to winning her hand. Despite a deep sense of family obligation, he dreams of choosing his own bride. Captivated by each other from the moment they meet, Robert and Isabel are kept apart by a misunderstanding until a chance encounter leads to friendship and more. With opposition on all sides, they must overcome inconceivable odds to claim happiness.

Excerpt

“Isabel glanced around the hall, curious about the townsfolk who would be her neighbors for the summer. As she looked around the room she was startled to see a man staring intently at her. Their eyes met, and she had the sense he'd been watching her for some time. 

She looked away before he did and leaned over to whisper in her aunt's ear. “Who is that man?” 

Verity followed her gaze. “That’s one of the sons of the house. Robert Claremont.” 

“Indeed?” Isabel stole another glance at him. 

“Yes, and the man beside him is Mr. Kensington. He's lived with the Claremonts since he was a boy. He's a friend of your uncle's.” 

“Did you not say there was another brother?” 

“Yes, and there he is.William Claremont, Robert's twin.” 

Isabel watched the Claremont brothers and their friend cross the hall to the high table. Once they were seated Isabel was able to study the brothers more closely. They were both tall and had blue eyes. William was blonde and exceptionally handsome. He looked confident, even arrogant, and Isabel knew at once he would be popular with the ladies. From the way he surveyed the women in the room, William knew it, too. 

The other brother, Robert, was striking in his own way, with wavy black hair and high cheekbones. His angular face suggested haughtiness, but there was a lightness underneath— as if he was thinking of a jest but trying not to laugh.”

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About the Author

Kate Ellington grew up in a woodsy New England town where summer days at the lake seemed to last forever. She read her first historical romance at age eleven when a teacher challenged her to find a book in the library written by an author she’d never heard of. Thus began a life-long love of love stories.

After graduating from college with an art degree she settled in the Pacific Northwest, where she currently resides with her family

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Spotlight: The Devil's Shadow by Burt Tyson

Stories set in the aftermath of conflict often turn inward, focusing less on the fight and more on what it leaves behind. The Devil’s Shadow series by Burt Tyson follows Captain Robert Hester through that shift, tracing the path of a man shaped not just by war, but by what comes after it.

The collapse of the Confederacy leaves Captain Robert Hester with nothing but the remnants of a life that no longer exists. Wounded and marked for death, he must navigate a world where survival replaces structure and personal choice takes the place of command. What follows is a journey shaped by loss, consequence, and the struggle to hold onto a sense of identity.

That transformation takes hold in The Shadow Appears, where Hester returns home and faces a devastating loss that reshapes his entire path. The war becomes something deeply personal, driving him into a relentless pursuit alongside his loyal sergeant. Moving through a broken landscape where former soldiers have become outlaws, each step forward tests the limits of his code and pulls him further from the man he once tried to be.

Excerpt

Chapter 1

The buzzing woke me. I opened my eyes. It was morning. I saw the blowfly on the sheet that covered my chest, staring at me through his two large eyes, his wings vibrating in the still air. 

I didn’t even bother to shoo him away. It was a waste of time. There were too many of them. There shouldn’t have been. It was the last week of March in Richmond in 1865, and there should have been a few in sun-warmed windows and no more. 

But this was the Chimborazo Hospital and blowflies were everywhere, along with the groans and cries of wounded men— many dying—and the ever-present stench of disease, gangrene, human waste, and blood. 

We were a sad lot. Too little medicine. Too little food. Too little hope. Too much pain. Too much fear. And for many, too few limbs. 

But it was far better than the field hospital where I had lain for a day after being shot. Or the jolting, painful wagon ride to Richmond. 

I had been here since the middle of December. First, it was the wound and the blood loss. Then, the fever had come. And, now, it was just the weakness. I didn’t have the strength to get out of bed—a pretty pitiful sight for a cavalry officer. 

I heard the click of cavalry boots on the wooden floor before I saw the figure. Captain Jonathan Washburn stood at the end of my bed. His left sleeve was folded up and pinned at the shoulder. I could never get used to seeing him without his arm. 

“Well, Captain, I suppose you’ve malingered long enough. You have new orders. Get yourself dressed. We’re taking you out of all this.” 

“I’m being released from this hell-hole? You mean that?” 

“I do, indeed. Turley, front and center, man. Get yourself out here and help the captain.” 

Sergeant Josiah Turley materialized as if out of thin air. A lean, wiry mountain boy, Turley was raw-boned, with a shock of red hair and a disposition to match. 

It was Turley, more than anyone else, who had saved me. 

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With that pursuit behind him, The Shadow Grows follows Hester into unfamiliar surroundings, where survival no longer comes with direction. Forced to confront himself, he begins to encounter a different way of living, one shaped by endurance and discipline. When violence reaches him again, he must decide whether to walk away or stand for something new.

Excerpt

Chapter 1

I rode out of Parral with no sense of purpose, no mission. I was lost. I still had the dreams. Every night. 

They began as they always did, with the bloody tears streaming from my mama’s portrait, the wraithlike figures of Aunt Callie, my daddy, my sister, and my fiancée swirling about me, asking why I hadn’t saved them. And then, after the fire and the blood of my home place, the faces of Ruth and Laurie and the bodies of Abby and Jacob. And then all of the loved ones in the dream swirled around me like tormented spirits. Their voices joined together in a single chorus. Though their mouths never moved, I heard their words.

You’ve failed us. Where is our vengeance? Where is our peace? What are we to do? 

Their haunting bodies pressed around me, choking me with their presence. 

And each night I would come awake, unable to breathe, my heart racing. It always felt like I would never regain my breath or still my heart. The oppression of sadness and pain and guilt never seemed to go away. 

As I rode westward, riding the big gray stallion, Quicksilver Ghost, and leading three other horses, Lady Red, the bay I had given my sister, and two black geldings, I still carried the hope of revenge on George Stoneman for what his bummers had done to the ones I loved back in Virginia and North Carolina. But with the failure of Jo Shelby’s plans to regroup and reenter Texas to continue the fight against the Yankees, I had little left but despair. I rode the lonely wastes of Chihuahua State in Mexico, heading for the Copper Canyon. I had nothing else to do that mattered. 

I decided I would enter the Barrancas del Cobre, the Copper Canyon, from the west and ride back toward Texas. I rode through the towns of La Noria, El Tule, San Pablo Balleza, La Loma, Yoquivo, Batopilas, La Bufa, and Cusarare. At each of the towns, I found a place for my horses and cared for them. I ate in whatever cantina the town had to offer and drank mescal. 

At Cusarare, I rode east toward the canyon, descending into the most desolate country I had ever seen. And the most beautiful. From the high mountain ridges to the bottom of the canyon, I went from alpine peaks of pines and Douglas fir at almost eight thousand feet to huge figs and palm trees at the bottom of the canyon at just eighteen hundred feet above sea level. 

For the next two weeks, I rode through the Copper Canyon. I marveled at the copper and green color of the canyon walls and the beauty and stillness of it. There was plentiful game, and I ate well while riding through this marvel of nature. I saw no one and no sign of anyone. 

The peace and solitude felt good. I thought a lot. About my life for the past few years. And about what the Padre had said to me. But I still had the dreams.

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About the Author

Burt Tyson writes historical Western fiction rooted in the aftermath of the Civil War, where questions of honor, loss, and survival take center stage. Influenced by classic storytellers like Louis L’Amour, Larry McMurtry, and the Western television heroes he grew up watching, his work explores what happens when the fight is over and a man is left to decide who he is without it.

His Devil’s Shadow series follows Captain Robert Hester through a fractured post-war America and into the unforgiving frontier beyond.

Tyson lives in a small town in South Carolina, where the landscape is quiet—but the stories he tells are anything but. Visit Burt at his website.

Spotlight: The Taverna at the Edge of Night by H.Y. Hanna

When Daphne travels to a remote fishing village on the Greek island of Crete, she’s looking forward to sun-drenched days, dazzling sea views, and a happy reunion with the best friend she has idolized since university. But from the moment she arrives at the whitewashed taverna perched on the cliffs above the sea, something feels wrong. Roxy is jittery and evasive, the locals avoid questions, and rumors of a cliffside murder have everyone on edge. Then there is an attack in the night. Daphne is left reeling and desperate for answers. She turns to her best friend for help but all she's met with is gaslighting and lies that make her question her own sanity. Completely isolated and unsure who to trust, she now finds herself trapped in a lethal game of deception and caught in a dangerous attraction to a stranger with secrets of his own.

 As Daphne digs deeper, she realizes that someone in this idyllic village has a deadly secret… and that her closest friendship might be the most dangerous thing of all. A lush, atmospheric psychological suspense where the most beautiful locations hide the deadliest betrayals, perfect for fans of The White Lotus and destination thrillers by Lucy Foley, Lucy Clarke and Ruth Ware, as well as the classic gothic mysteries of Daphne du Maurier and Mary Stewart.

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About the Author

USA Today bestselling author H.Y. Hanna writes atmospheric destination thrillers set in beautiful and often deadly international locations, as well as light-hearted “cozy mysteries” blending humor, clever plots and quirky characters. With over 30 novels published and translated into several languages, her books and audiobooks have delighted readers around the world.

After graduating from Oxford University, Hsin-Yi spent years trying to fit into a "real" job, before finally returning to her first love: writing. Throughout her life, she has called many places home, from Taiwan to London, Dubai to New Zealand but she has finally unpacked her bags for good in Perth, Western Australia, where she spends most days fighting with her cat Muesli for her office chair.

You can learn more about Hsin-Yi and her books at her website and don't forget to join her newsletter to get updates on new releases, giveaways and “behind-the-scenes” exclusives and as well as free mystery and suspense stories!  

Spotlight: The Last Lady B by Eloisa James

Lady B may have married Bluebeard; she may have fallen in love with a gorgeous, grumpy solicitor; she may have met a ghost and survived to tell the tale! New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Eloisa James delights with witty historical romance with a gothic twist.

In the depths of winter, Lady Genevieve Hughes, her pet piglet, and her septuagenarian husband travel to a haunted abbey in the Scottish Highlands. Evie is excited to meet a ghost (perhaps one of her husband’s three previous wives), but didn’t expect the funny, quirky guests to become the friends she’s never had. And she certainly didn’t imagine meeting Sir Godric Everly, a sardonic, witty solicitor who loathes her husband.

Yet as secrets and lies turn Evie’s world upside down, Sir Godric becomes the one person whom she can trust.

When ghosts, multiple wills, and a shocking marriage certificate bring Lord Burnsby’s past crashing into his present, Burnsby promptly dies, leaving Evie free to remarry…though as a virgin wife, now a virgin widow, she is more unnerved by the marriage bed than a spectral visit.

More importantly, she has to figure out whose identity is false, whose vows are dishonorable, whose truths could destroy her reputation and where her heart belongs.

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About the Author

Eloisa James is a New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of historical romance novels. Her books have been translated into twenty-six languages with sales worldwide of seven million. As Mary Bly, she was a Shakespeare professor at Fordham University. She lives in New York City and Florence, Italy. Find out more at EloisaJames.com

Spotlight: Dangerously Ours by Krista & Becca Ritchie

Dangerously Ours by Krista & Becca Ritchie is now live!

In the thrilling conclusion to the Webs We Weave series, ex-con artist Phoebe Graves must pull off the biggest grift she’s ever devised to keep her friends and family safe.

Conning the rich and fleeing to new cities is all ex-grifter Phoebe Graves has ever known until she started building real relationships in a small yet wealthy Connecticut town. But she’s worried these new bonds won’t hold fast as more than one big bad wolf threatens to blow down those she loves most.

And now more than ever, she has a reason to stay in one place. Among them is Brayden “Rocky” Tinrock, her best friend’s older brother, who’s been a partner to Phoebe during every daring and exhilarating con. And then of course there’s Hailey Tinrock, her best friend, whose precious secret they’ll do anything to protect. . . .

As Phoebe and her family team up with the Tinrocks to fight for a chance at a home, they confront the demons of their pasts and must do the impossible . . . deceive the most cunning con artist they’ve ever known.

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Audio Narrated by: Grayson Owens, Stephen Dexter, Megan Wicks, Aaron Shedlock, Carly Robins

Spotlight: Hart's Landing by Melanie Harlow

Four friends made a promise to live one night like it was their last.
That night changed everything.

Ten years ago, Mila Ferguson left behind a devastating fire, a stolen kiss, and a shattered circle of friends in her hometown of Hart’s Landing. But when a crisis brings her back, Mila just wants to get in and get out, unscathed by her mother’s constant criticism and unseen by her former crush, Everett McKean.

Only...Everett is everywhere. The town’s attractive, beloved mayor has resisted settling down, but he’s never stopped wondering about Mila. Having her back in Hart’s Landing is the second chance he didn’t know he was waiting for—and he’s not about to waste it.

As Mila slowly opens her heart to Everett and begins to rebuild her fractured friendships, she wonders if coming home was exactly what she needed. But old wounds threaten to open again when questions emerge about what really happened the night Mila left. Who’s really responsible for the fire that destroyed the bakery? And will knowing the truth free Mila from the past, or ignite a blaze that burns down the future she’s trying to build?

People say you can never truly come home again, but sometimes coming home isn’t about where you’ve been. It’s about who you’re brave enough to become.

Sexy, heartfelt, and steeped in small-town charm, Hart’s Landing is a story of forgiveness, friendship, and finding the family who loves you no matter how far you wander.

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About the Author

USA Today and #1 Amazon bestselling author Melanie Harlow writes sweet, sexy, feel-good romance. If she's not writing or reading, she's probably at Orangetheory or pouring a gin martini (up with a twist of lemon). She lifts her glass to readers from her home near Detroit, MI, where she lives with her husband, two daughters, and pet rabbit.

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