Spotlight: Keeping the Countess by Lille Moore

Publication date: June 24th 2025

Genres: Adult, Historical, Romance

Synopsis:

In this first installation of the DAMSELS IN DISGUISE series, a passionate clergyman on a mission to steal an earl’s secrets finds himself captivated by a cunning and courageous countess.

Charismatic curate Jonah Sinclair survived the deadly streets of south London with two well-trained fists and divine intervention. He will let nothing—not his vocation, nor his yearning to find love—stop him from pursuing the criminals who killed his father. When he learns the notorious Earl of Rochford could hold the key to retribution for his family, he seizes on the chance to become tutor to the earl’s young ward. But the only trace of Rochford he discovers at the mysterious Ravenglass Hall is his abandoned countess, a woman whose fierce strength stirs a forbidden temptation.

Faith Trenton, Countess of Rochford, is on the brink of ruin. Betrayed and abandoned by her husband, she disguises herself as a man to defend her estate from an embezzling steward. Jonah’s arrival threatens her carefully constructed masquerade, and despite the irresistible spark between them, she must send him packing, or risk having him expose the dangerous secrets she keeps hidden. But when a succession of attacks threatens everything that Faith has fought to protect, she’s forced to place her trust in Jonah, and pray he won’t unravel the truth, or her heart.

Helping Faith could sabotage Jonah’s mission. Loving her might cost him everything.

Excerpt

Jonah marched out of the tavern, his vexation blinding him to any semblance of the direction where he headed. It did not take long to realize he was absolutely stranded, alone in a country wilderness.

In the disorienting shadows of the soaking evening, a seed of regret at his impulsivity sprouted. As he contemplated swallowing his pride and turning back to the tavern, a preternatural cry sounded on the moor.

The ground shook, heralding a beast rising out of the fog.

Jonah wouldn’t have dared called the creature a horse; that was far too earthly a comparison. It sped toward him as if it had escaped straight from the ninth circle of hell.

Unholy thoughts clouded his brain. Unholier curses tumbled from his lips. He was pleased to discover the passage of time and years of service in Her Majesty’s Church had not scrubbed them from his memory.

The shriek of the wind rose over the roar of approaching hooves. This was the exact reason Jonah avoided Gothic novels like vermin; he preferred interacting with the supernatural in the controlled boundaries of the King James Bible.

Through the sheets of rain, he spotted a slight figure mounted on top of the enormous steed. Was the rider attempting to bring the monster under control? Or did he urge it on, hoping he might flatten a weary traveler to the ground?

A shrill cry sounded from the rider. Was it a warning? An apology? A prayer?

“MOVE OUT OF THE BLEEDING WAY, YOU DAFT FOOL!”

With a screeching whinny, the beast reared up before him, a black wall of menacing horseflesh. As lightning flashed around them, Jonah braced his arms over his head and curled himself into a protective crouch, precisely as the hell-beast tossed its rider from the saddle.

A moment of raw stillness followed.

The rain relented, revealing where the rider lay motionless on the path.

Jonah staggered across the short distance toward the body. With a deep breath and a short prayer, he kneeled down to examine the fallen man.

The crash of two thick skulls meeting each other upended his balance. He slipped on the drenched ground, falling on top of the rider, who protested wildly by snarling in a manner more feral than a quayside cat. The body entwined with his was as scrappy and slim as one. He had to be a young lad.

“Get off of me!”

“I’m trying!” Jonah protested as they tussled in the mud. Muck worked its way beneath the collar he’d starched himself, to make a good impression for the toffs who’d forgotten him. The potential embarrassment he’d face if he ever arrived at his destination burned energy into his limbs.

An instinct he thought he’d long retired kicked in and he rolled, quickly pinning the rider’s shoulders by pressing his own weight into the lad’s chest.

And therein, he discovered a very distinct set of curves that most decidedly did not belong to a young man.

The body beneath him hissed.

Jonah scrambled away and staggered to his feet. With his last remaining ounce of sense, he extended his hand to the rider.

The woman he’d just groped in the darkness.

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About the Author

Lille Moore writes romance with a twist on time-honored tropes and tales. Her first career in public diplomacy and strategic communications took her across five continents and six of the Seven Seas and spurred a lifelong love affair with uncovering new worlds through storytelling. She lives with her spouse in Texas

Connect:

https://lillemoore.com/newsletter/

https://lillemoore.com/

https://www.facebook.com/lillemoorebooks/

https://www.instagram.com/lillemoorebooks/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/56823663.Lille_Moore

Spotlight: Smoke on the Wind by Kelli Estes

In the magnificent Scottish Highlands, two devoted mothers separated by centuries discover a haunting connection in a gripping novel by the USA Today bestselling author of The Girl Who Wrote in Silk.

Struggling with the tragic end of her marriage, Keaka Denney is on a bittersweet adventure in Scotland with her son, Colin. She’s joining him on a weeklong hike along the West Highland Way before he enters university in Glasgow. Soon into the journey, Keaka’s disquieting visions begin―a woman from ages past reaching for Colin, a burning cottage, violence.

Scotland, 1801. After Sorcha Chisholm and her son are wrenched from their home in a brutal eviction, they face an arduous trek toward a new beginning. When Sorcha learns she’s wanted for a murder she didn’t commit, she and her son run for their lives. Then help arrives from the strangest woman in the most unexpected ways.

Centuries apart, Keaka and Sorcha walk the same path―devoted mothers in circumstances beyond their control who will do anything to keep their sons safe. Defying logic, they find strength in each other. But what does their connection mean? And how far will it go?

Buy on Amazon | Bookshop.org

About the Author

Kelli Estes is the USA Today bestselling author of The Girl Who Wrote in Silk, which has been translated into eleven languages, was the recipient of the Pacific Northwest Writers Association Nancy Pearl Book Award and the Women’s Fiction Writers Association STAR Award, and is currently under option for film/TV; and Today We Go Home, a nationwide Target Book Club pick. Kelli is passionate about stories that show how history is still relevant to our lives today. Her lifelong love of Scotland has her learning the Scottish Gaelic language and the Scottish fiddle (both badly, but she’s working on it). She has walked three of Scotland’s long-distance trails (so far) and is currently planning the next. Kelli lives in Washington State with her husband and two sons. 

To learn more please visit www.kelliestes.com

Connect with Kelli on social: 

Instagram: @kelli.estes

Facebook: @KelliEstesAuthor

Spotlight: Wild in Minnesota by Mary Lee Painter

Date Published: June 23, 2025

The last place Fern wants to be his back home as the Maid of Honor in her cousin's wedding. She's at a cabin by herself for a few days getting ready for the bachelor/bachelorette weekend, when rough and tough Gabe bursts through the door in the middle of the night. Thinking he's an intruder she starts throwing punches resulting in a brawl in the kitchen. She then learns he's a NHL hockey player and teammate of her brother's.

Fern doubts every Instinct she has due to her terrible past life choices. With an undeniable spark between the two, they hatch up a " weekend pass" option allowing her a few days with the wild one while keeping her heart intact. But after the crazy wedding party weekend including a high-speed chase, Fern overhears a shocking conversation and bolts. Gabe persuades her for another chance at the same time her brother finds out and all hell breaks loose.

After an unexpected twist and a decision that ends with her bringing a fake date to the wedding, her cousin disappears. Fern has no option but to turn to Gabe to help her locate the missing bride.

Buy on Amazon | Bookshop.org

About the Author

Mary Lee Painter resides in Omaha Nebraska with her family. She is the author of Wild in Minnesota as well as the romcom The Other Fork in the Road on Amazon or barnesandnoble.com. Mary Lee has her first YA novel entitled Worst Idea Ever which will be published by Melange Books in February 2026, and adult romcom called Ding Dong, I'm home in July of 2026. She also has an adult rom-com entitled Quarterback Blitz that would be released in February of 2027.

Mary Lee loves Minnesota Wild Hockey, hanging with family, and Dove chocolate.

Connect:

Website: https://maryleebooks.net/maryleebooks

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maryleepainterauthor

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@maryleeauthor

BookBuzz: https://bookbuzz.net/romantic-comedy-wild-in-minnesota-by-mary-lee-painter/

Spotlight: The Final Episode by Lori Roy

When a true crime series chronicles the tragic childhood summer that changed her life forever, a young woman must grapple with the truth about her father…and herself.

Jennifer Jones and her best friends spend every summer at Big Cypress Swamp, and this summer, Jennifer will finally turn eleven. She hopes to gain the “second sight” foretold by family legend and fulfill her destiny. Instead, the swamp serves up dangers greater than the gators lurking on Halfway Creek. Little Francie Farrow vanishes—and Jennifer’s father goes to prison.

Twenty years later, Jennifer has almost shed the label of Paul Jones’s daughter when her past comes barreling back. Inspired by True Events, a TV series that solves the unsolvable, is recreating that fateful summer. As the series plays out, Jennifer wonders: Did the show finally find Francie Farrow? And is Jennifer’s father truly guilty?

Someone else wants answers even more than Jennifer does, and they won’t let her forget it.

As the series nears its finale and the long-awaited truth, Jennifer must come to terms with who her family is…and what that makes her.

Excerpt

Twenty-two years later . . .

The distant rumble of an engine made me sit up in bed. I held my breath and listened. I was already awake, because it’s in my blood to wake at just the right time. It’s in my blood to  now when trouble is coming.

When the hum of the engine continued to grow louder, and I was certain a car was headed this way, I paused what was playing on my phone. Same as I’d been doing for the past seven weeks when I couldn’t sleep, I was watching the first episode of Inspired by True Events.

This season, the show is recreating the case of Francie Farrow. It’s telling our story. I’m not sure if you know that. Probably, you do. It’s odd, watching versions of all of us on the screen, saying and doing the things we said and did that last summer on Halfway Creek.

 In seven days, the final episode will air. That’s the one that has me worried. And that’s why I’m writing to you again. It’s been a while, not that you’d know that. I suspect you never read these letters. But I need to write now, because once the show ends, I think I might never want to again.

Closing my eyes, I pressed my lips into a hard line and willed the car to drive past my house. It didn’t. I knew it wouldn’t. Instead, the tires slowed. Gravel stopped raining down. An engine rattled and went silent.

The sound of a car approaching deep in the night was like a familiar voice, a warning I’d been hearing since you went away twenty-plus years ago.

That’s what Dehlia and I call it. You went away. We don’t say you went to prison.

Slipping out of bed, I smoothed my sheet and comforter and tidied the corners. I’d say I like order. Others would say I’m compulsive. When I was a kid, Dehlia sent me to several doctors. They all said my need for neatness was a way of bringing order to a life that had been dumped upside down. She’ll outgrow it, they said. I didn’t.

After scooting Belle, my three-year-old lab, into her kennel, I tiptoed toward the living room.

Once there, I pressed against the wall next to the picture window and peeked outside.

It was Beverley Farrow in that car, and I’d been expecting her. Not that I knew for certain she’d come tonight and yet, I did.

But I don’t have second sight. I promise, I don’t. I wouldn’t call it that.

I knew it was Mrs. Farrow because every time in the past twenty years when a car pulled up late in the night, it was always her.

Episode seven brought her. It didn’t deliver the big reveal everyone was waiting for. If this season is like the last, that will come in the eighth episode, the final one. But anyone who watched the show tonight is now certain you were the one-and-only villain that summer. No doubt about it. They believe that two decades ago you took Francie Farrow and almost certainly killed her. To be fair, most people have always believed that, and you being in prison for what you did to Nora Banks isn’t enough for them.

To Mrs. Farrow especially, episode seven is proof of what she’s always thought. And if you took Francie Farrow, that must mean I know more than I’ve been telling her.

Under a trickle of foggy moonlight, I saw nothing outside my window that didn’t belong. At the far edge of my mostly gravel yard, a stand of ragged pines blocked my view of the road running past my house. Knowing I wouldn’t be able to see her, Mrs. Farrow always parked behind those pines.

A car door slammed. Holding my breath, I listened. What came next was important.

I closed my eyes even, reasoning I’d hear better that way, but they popped open again. The moonlight on my face made me realize my mistake. I’d forgotten to draw the drapes. Now Mrs. Farrow could cup her hands around her eyes, press them to the wide-open window, and see inside.

Maybe see me.

Mrs. Farrow’s late-night visits started in the months after my eleventh birthday. You had gone away by then, and Dehlia and I still lived together at the house in Naples, the one we all shared. Everything in my life either started or ended with that birthday. With that summer. You could say the same, I suppose.

Not having time to pull the drapes closed, I scanned the living room to make sure I wasn’t casting a shadow. Mrs. Farrow getting a glimpse of me, even the shadow of me, was like water on a grease fire. Those nights always erupted into something bad.

When a second car door closed, I exhaled. That was what I’d been hoping for. Relief made my fingers tingle as the blood started flowing again. Two doors closing meant Robert Farrow was with his wife. Robert Farrow meant less chance of trouble.

From behind the pines, Mrs. Farrow appeared and began walking toward the house. She was only a shifting shadow, but with every step, her lines sharpened. She wore a thin nightgown, was barefoot, and carried something as she marched across my ragged lawn. Under the moonlight, her gown shimmered, and as she gathered speed, it fluttered in the breeze. She drew closer.

Yes, she cradled something in her arms.

Still hugging the wall, I fixed my eyes on the pines. Even though there had been a second slamming car door, no second shadow appeared. No sign of Mr. Farrow. And no one else would come to help me. Being this far outside of town, the lots are large and the pines are thick. No one was going to hear. No one was going to call the police.

Mrs. Farrow had almost reached the porch. Her long hair, faded from blond to white after all these years, hung loose. It fluttered in waves that brushed her shoulders and the sides of her face. You’ll remember her, I’m sure. She’s still beautiful. Still tall and straight. And still strong, because in her arms, she carried a cinder block.

The second door that slammed hadn’t been Mr. Farrow. It had been Mrs. Farrow opening and closing it when she took the cinder block from the back seat.

“I know you’re in there, Jenny Jones,” she shouted.

I didn’t dare look out from my hiding place, but from the sound of her voice, she’d stopped at the stairs leading onto the porch.

“If you have a decent bone in your body, you’ll come out here right now and tell me the truth.”

A wooden tread creaked—Mrs. Farrow stepping on the first stair leading to my porch.

“Why won’t you tell me?” she said, her voice strong. “You still hoping they’ll let him out? They won’t. They’ll never let him out.”

Buy on Amazon | Bookshop.org

About the Author

Lori Roy’s debut novel, Bent Road, was awarded the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best First Novel by an American Author. Her work has been twice named a New York Times Notable Crime Book and has been included on various “best of” and summer reading lists. Until She Comes Home was a New York Times Editors’ Choice and a finalist for the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Novel.

Let Me Die in His Footsteps was included among the top fiction books of 2015 by Books-A-Million and named one of the best fifteen mystery novels of 2015 by Oline Cogdill. The novel also received the 2016 Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Novel, making Roy the first woman to receive an Edgar Award for both Best First Novel and Best Novel―and only the third person ever to have done so.

Roy lives with her family in West Central Florida.

Spotlight: Defending Love by Aleatha Romig

Release Date: June 23

I’m Elijah Rhodes top-tier Guardian Security agent. We protect the world’s power players: heads of state, royalty, A-listers. The elite. 

I didn’t grow up with much, and nothing came easy. My time in Special Ops hardened me, gave me purpose, and left me with a black heart. I took the missions no one else would. Still do.

My rules are simple:
No long-term assignments.
No repeats.
No attachments.
Keep it professional. Keep it distant.

It’s how I’ve survived. Until her.

Dr. Danielle Sinclair is brilliant, beautiful, off-limits. I protected her, then did what I always do. I walked away.

Now, a year later, tragedy strikes. Dani’s life is in danger, and every instinct in me demands I break my own rules to keep her safe.

Some lines shouldn’t be crossed.
Some rules were made to be broken.

I’ll protect Dani with my life, but I can’t give her a heart I don’t have.

Have you been Aleatha’d?

DEFENDING LOVE is a steamy, high-stakes, standalone romantic suspense with bodyguard vibes, second chances, and all the feels—set in the same world as the Sinclair Duet.

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Meet Aleatha Romig

Aleatha Romig is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author who lives in Indiana. She grew up in Mishawaka, graduated from Indiana University, and is currently living south of Indianapolis. Together with her high-school sweetheart and husband of over thirty years, they've raised three children. Before she became a full-time author, she worked days as a dental hygienist and spent her nights writing. Now, when she’s not imagining mind-blowing twists and turns or her new lighter side, she likes to spend her time with her family and friends. Her pastimes include reading and creating heroes/anti-heroes who haunt your dreams! 

Keep up with Aleatha Romig and subscribe to her newsletter: https://www.aleatharomig.com/contact

To learn more about Aleatha Romig & her books, visit here!

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Spotlight: Dealbreaker by Kat Mizera & Elise Faber

Release Date: June 23

She’s the biggest movie star in the world.

And she’s in danger.

My specialty is security for the rich and famous, so when legendary actress Willow St. Claire asks for my help protecting her, I can’t say no.

The only problem is that I’m in danger too.

Of losing my heart.

She’s smart and sweet, beautiful and kind, and despite my determination to never fall in love again I know I’m going to make her mine.

But when her past catches up with her, the future I’ve begun to plan is suddenly at risk.

I might lose her.

And everything I never knew I wanted.

Authors' note: There are some difficult themes in this story. For CW information, please check out this book's page on Elise's website.

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Meet Kat Mizera

USA TODAY Bestselling Author Kat Mizera was born in Miami Beach with a healthy dose of Wanderlust. She's lived from coast to coast, and everywhere in between, but home is wherever her family is. A devoted mom and wife to her wonderful and supportive husband (Kevin) and two amazing boys (Nick and Max), Kat loves to travel the globe with her adventurous, hockey loving family. Greece is at the top of that list. She hopes to one day retire there, spending her days writing books on the beach.

Kat is former freelance sports writer who now writes steamy hockey romance about her favorite fictional teams, the Las Vegas Sidewinders and the Lauderdale Knights. The library of novels she's penned also include sexy contemporary stories about baseball stars, alpha sex club owners, bodyguards, rock stars, and royalty. Regardless of genre, her books about bad boys with hearts of gold will steal your breath, rock your world and melt your heart.

To find out about Kat Mizera’s upcoming releases and giveaways, sign up for her newsletter here

For more information on Kat Mizera and her books visit: https://katmizera.com/

Connect with Kat Mizera: https://katmizera.com/pages/contact-kat

Meet Elise Faber

USA TODAY bestselling author, Elise Faber, loves chocolate, Star Wars, Harry Potter, and hockey (the order depending on the day and how well her team—the Sharks!—are playing). She and her husband also play as much hockey as they can squeeze into their schedules, so much so that their typical date night is spent on the ice. Elise changes her hair color more often than some people change their socks, loves sparkly things, and is the mom to two exuberant boys. She lives in Northern California. 

To find out about Elise Faber’s  upcoming releases and giveaways, sign up for her newsletter here

For more information on Elise Faber and her books visit: https://www.elisefaber.com/

Connect with Elise Faber: https://www.elisefaber.com/contact