Back to School Booklist

Ring, ring, ring…school’s back in session and that calls for more books on your reading list. Today’s theme is teachers in love and at least one is featured in each of the fantastic novels below.

Blind Date Bet by Nicole Flockton

Fifth grade teacher Isabella isn’t interested in getting mixed up with a military man again. She’s been down that road before and isn’t keen on getting her heart broken. Air Force K9 trainer Ethan isn’t opposed to love, but isn’t too worried about settling down right away. But could a blind date change both of their minds?

Coming Home by Audrey Wick

When a cyber attack forces college professor Mallory to her hometown in Texas for some much deserved rest, she’s looking forward to letting things back at work die down. Professional mover Alec specializes in helping people get their lives back on track. But when the line between work and something more begin to blur, are they both in store for heartbreak?

Vision in White by Nora Roberts

Wedding photographer Mac is sick of bridezillas. She’s looking for something to take her mind off work, and English teacher Carter fits the bill. But as the casual fling begins to morph into something more, Mac isn’t so sure she’s ready for her own happily ever after.

Crazy for You by Jennifer Cruisie

Highschool art teacher Quinn’s life is in a rut. Her relationship is a wreck, she’s bored to tears, and her future seems bleak. But a stray dog and a local mechanic threaten to shake up her world…if she’ll only let them.

The Temporary Wife by Jeanine Moon

Kindergarten teacher Megan never expected to becoming the guardian of her best friend’s daughter, Molly, or to have the grieving grandparents suing her for custody. Billionaire Jason hates how his parents are treating Megan and will do anything to keep her and Molly happy…even faking a marriage.

Playing at Love by Ophelia London

Choir teacher Tess is struggling to get funding for her students. The school budget only has room for choir or football, so she’s up against her one time love, football coach Jack, to keep her class. Will old feelings get in the way of her big plans or will she be able to keep the choir running?

Getting Schooled by Emma Chase

Garret was the king of his small town when he was the high school football star and still is, years later, as the favorite teacher. Callie thought she’d left her past far behind her when she started a new life across the country. But when she’s forced to come home and work as a substitute teacher, she’s back in close quarters with the one man she can’t stop thinking about.

Take a Chance by Shelley Shepard Gray

Kurt moves his little brother Sam to a new town, hoping for a fresh start. But when Sam gets in a fight, he begins to wonder if he made the right choice. Teacher Emily thinks Sam just needs a little TLC. As she works in close quarters with Kurt to make things better, she begins to question her rule about never getting too involved.

First Semester by Sarah Fischer

College freshman Violet is looking forward to her first year at Elton Hall U. A chance encounter with a handsome stranger gets complicated when she learns he’s not a grad student, but a visiting professor. Will she ignore her feelings for the sake of following the rules, or give in to temptation?

(Not only is this book by the co-founder of this blog, it’s also free!)

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What’s on your back to school reading list? Let us know in the comments! We’re always looking for a good book.

Where They Found Her

I’m not normally a huge crime thriller fan. Slow burns can annoy me and I have a terrible habit of sneaking a peek at the ending since waiting isn’t my strong suit. But I heard wonderful things about Where They Found Her by Kimberly McCreight and decided to give it a shot.

(Trigger warning: this book touches upon off-page rape and infanticide. Nothing is graphic.)

• Genre: Crime Thriller
• Overall Rating: 6/6 Glass Slippers

Molly is a recent NJ transplant, having followed her professor husband from NYC after a tragedy. While her young daughter is in school, she works as a local reporter, usually covering puff pieces. But when the body of a newborn is found on the outskirts of a university, and no one else can take the case, her job, and her life, becomes more complicated than she ever imagined.

Barbara’s motto is happy, not perfect. Although she finds it hard to not work her fingers to the bone to keep up with the facade of being perfect. The perfect wife of the police chief. The perfect mother to her children. The perfect neighbor, friend, daughter, she tried to keep her life flawless in the eyes of everyone who knew her. But when cracks appear on the surface, she may fall apart.

Sandy’s a teen who hasn’t had an easy life. She dreams of a better future, but feels it’s out of reach while she’s hiding money so her irresponsible mother doesn’t spend it on drugs. When she finally tries to go for her GED, she thinks there’s light at the end of the tunnel. But when her mom goes missing, only a peak into the past might be able to help.

A missing woman, a list of victims, a dead baby, and decades of secrets collide in the picture perfect town of Ridgewood, New Jersey.

Wow. I didn’t know if I’d like this book, but I was hooked from page one. From hiding the evidence to a mysterious package to a series of links holding a collection of unforgettable characters together, it was the perfect storm. Maybe my adversity to crime novels was having them be usually narrated by men, making them personally difficult to relate to. Having three women narrate was a choice I have to applaud McCreight for. I could see myself in Molly’s struggle as a mother, Barbara’s eagerness to stay “perfect,” and Sandy’s willingness to try to keep everyone afloat.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my leap into crime thrillers in a way I hadn’t in some time. If you’re new to the genre, unsure if you’d enjoy it, or just want to really go for a wild ride, pick up a copy of Where They Found Her.

The Condemned

Whew, I always need a minute to recover every time I come into contact with a book from the Echoes from the Past series by Irina Shapiro. Beautifully written and emotionally jarring, each installment leaves me wanting more, even though I know not everyone gets a happy ending. Introducing The Condemned.

As always, I’ll try to keep far away from spoilers. But this is book six, and if you’re not already invested in this series, you’re missing out!

• Genre: Historical/Contemporary Romance/Drama
• Heat Level: ❤️❤️❤️

• Overall Rating: 6/6 Glass Slippers

In 1620, England is trying to stabilize their new colony in Virginia and women are asked to go to the New World to marry men they’ve never met and start families. Mary is terrified to leave the only home she’s ever known, but it’s the only way to escape her abusive uncle. She bonds with her fellow wives during the voyage, but her intended is less than she hoped. A chance meeting in the forest with a stranger gives her hope her life could be something more. But in a time of unrest in Virginia, a step in the wrong direction could be deadly.

In 2015, Quinn is called to a seaside cave, where a skeleton is found, evidence of a crude medical procedure and a birth evident. But she can’t focus on the body when she receives news that her twin sister is missing. Through war-torn Afghanistan, Germany, and colonial Virginia, Quinn isn’t just reconstructing the life of a long-dead woman, but her own reality as the puzzle pieces of her past fall into place.

The historical work Shapiro puts into her writing is always fantastic. People have the idea of colonists who went to the New World as happy families who grew corn alongside the indigenous people and loved in cozy cabins. The truth is messier with colonial aggression, “main order brides,” and a history that paints the settlers in a less than flattering light. Then there’s this bit about the lost colony of Roanoke that had me going down a research wormhole, something I always enjoy.

On the question of the Native Americans (Side note, I use this term as this is what my husband and his family describe themselves as. Others may dislike this term and we should take individual wishes into consideration.) described in this book, I always hold my breath when someone is introduced. Since going to college and marring my husband, I’ve learned more about tribal culture and the backstories of forced relocations and “re-education.” So I’m always a bit annoyed with how some books “fetishize” the Native experience. But Shapiro didn’t do that. The ones seen in the book were written as actual people with real struggles. The added conversations surrounding the differing religions and social hierarchies was also true to form, and I really appreciate the added depth.

Overall, I thought this book was amazing. Between the narrative talent of Wendy Wolfson, the sweeping storyline, and the twist near the end that left me reeling, this installment was another hit.

The Husband’s Secret

Hi everyone! The reason I read this book is actually a funny story. I have a guy friend named Mike. He and I went to the bookstore and he pulled if off the shelf, insisting I buy it. Apparently, his aunt read it and told him details about it. The book hooked him so I was naturally curious. Click here for Amazon.

Rating: 4/5 glass slippers

Heat Level: ♥♥♥

This book follows the lives of seemingly unrelated families. There is a married couple with a sex issue but three beautiful daughters. A couple on the verge of a break-up with a young son. And a mother mourning the loss of her daughter. They all live, for the majority of the book, in this one small town. This town is haunted by the memory of a teenage girl who didn’t make it home one night. The person responsible was never caught. Somehow all three of the families have some connection with the little girl. Just when secrets seem buried forever, something tragic happens that open them up wide.

 

I read this book in a sitting and was completely distracted. My poor husband, and the cats, and the laundry…everything was put on hold as I had to find out what happened. However, it was the ending that let me down a bit. It was not a happy one. But then again, it was how it had to end. I would have loved to given this book a five star review, but I felt there were some questions were unanswered. In other words, read the book for an entertaining evening, but recognize there is no happily ever after here.

Publishers Weekly Review

Sarah and I are super excited to share a very special review. The wonderful team at Tule Publishing submitted Royally Abandoned to Publishers Weekly for review and they accepted it! Here’s their thoughts on our sweet, holiday, royal romance:

Fischer (the Elton Hall Chronicles) and McKnight (What Happens in the Highlands) team up for this lighthearted royal romance with a twist: the royal would rather not be royal. Determined to abdicate the throne of Aldora, Prince Greyson Montgomery travels from Aldora, an island kingdom off the coast of England, to Savannah, Ga., where he finds a job as a construction worker and meets Savannah socialite Scarlett Calhoun. As Scarlett falls for Greyson and his appealing, caring nature, he is impressed by her easygoing, charitable attitude. Ironically, Greyson’s omission of his royal status makes him less appealing to Scarlett’s mother, who seems to believe that a construction worker is not good enough for her daughter, adding a possible impediment to their relationship. When Scarlett decides to spend Christmas with Greyson in Aldora and he finally tells her about his royal heritage, they both must decide whether the revelation of his princely status will affect the possibility of their future together. Fans of prince and commoner romances will enjoy this variation on the theme. (Oct.)

Isn’t that exciting? We hope all your royal romance lovers out there love it just as much!

Preorder your copy HERE!

The Second Time Around

Summer is still in full swing, so when I see a beachy cover and a blurb about small town second chances, how can I refuse a read? So, let’s chat about The Second Time Around by Angie Daniels, The Beaumont Series Book 1.

• Genre: Contemporary Romance
• Heat Level:❤️❤️❤️❤️

• Overall Rating: 5/6 Glass Slippers

Jabarie Beaumont had been left at the alter five years before. He thought he was over his ex for good, but when she comes back to the small town of Sheraton Beach, he’s faced with decades worth of feelings he can’t quite sort through. He still has so many unanswered questions about missing money and a broken heart.

Brenna Gathers only planned on being back in town long enough to see her aunt through a broken ankle. Sheraton Beach has too many ghosts and it’s hard to feel at home. The last time she’d been there, she’d been made to feel like the gold digger she never wanted to be and left without a second glance.

It seems like almost everyone who knew them wants the pair to pick up where they left off. They want to childhood sweethearts to have the happily ever after. But for Jabarie and Brenna, it’ll take more than good wishes and their undeniable attraction to fix what was broken.

I do love a good second chance romance and Daniels delivered. For a good chunk of the book, I wanted to shake Jabarie and Brenna. Knowing they were still so into each other but fighting their feelings was the perfect blend of adorable and infuriating.

As Brenna’s fears were explained and more of her past was revealed, it really made a lot of the book make sense. Although, a simple conversation or a text could have fixed the couples problems from the beginning! Still, it was great to see the pair come together after years apart and a silence that stretched out too long.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and found it to be a fabulous poolside read.

Royally Abandoned

It’s finally time for us to reveal the cover for our first joint romance novel, Royally Abandoned. Now available for preorder, this sweet, holiday romance will go live on October 1st, just in time for Christmas.

A seat on the throne or a place in her heart?

Greyson Montgomery dreams of a simple life, but as the crown prince of Aldora, simple is not in his future. Before ascending the throne on Christmas Eve, Greyson is given one month to explore how the other half lives. Armed with a few hundred dollars and a fake backstory, Greyson flies to Savannah, Georgia, to see if he has what it takes to chase the American Dream.

Scarlett Calhoun is a Southern Belle with a heart as big as a Georgia peach. When she meets the charming construction worker, Greyson, it isn’t long before she is embracing the holiday cheer. Soon, she’s teaching him how to cook, falling for his exotic accent and soulful eyes, and joining him on picnic lunches where they talk for hours.

With Christmas Eve nearing, Greyson must fly back to Aldora and either abdicate the throne, or take his rightful place as king. Will he ignore his birthright to remain with Scarlett or will she be royally abandoned?

• Amazon Kindle: click HERE

• Nook: click HERE

• Kobo: click HERE

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