SplendeurCaisseBooks

  Like It’s Christmas Diana A. Hicks (Winterstorm Village, #1) Publication date: October 29th 2024 Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Historical, Romance At Winterstorm Village, a record-breaking blizzard always ends in a wedding before the season is over. This year promises to bring the mother of all snowstorms, and the residents couldn’t be more excited to see who’s next to tie the knot… Rhett Parker hates Christmas. When the Mayor of Winterstorm has an unfortunate accident and ends up in a coma, Rhett is left hanging with the proverbial Santa Gift Bag. To make matters worse, the only one who can help him save their money-making tourist season is his office nemesis, Ms. Christmas cheer in a bottle, Parker Cruz. Parker Cruz, the Mayor’s daughter, is determined to save Christmas now that her dad isn’t there to make it all happen. The only person standing in her way is the town’s Scrooge, the newly appointed Mayor, Rhett Parker. She’s willing to do whatever it takes to make goo...

  A world of enchanted injustice needs a disenchanting woman in the newest fantasy series by the   Wall Street Journal   bestselling author of   The Paper Magician . The orphaned Elsie Camden learned as a girl that there were two kinds of wizards in the world: those who pay for the power to cast spells and those, like her, born with the ability to break them. But as an unlicensed magic user, her gift is a crime. Commissioned by an underground group known as the Cowls, Elsie uses her spellbreaking to push back against the aristocrats and help the common man. She always did love the tale of Robin Hood. Elite magic user Bacchus Kelsey is one elusive spell away from his mastership when he catches Elsie breaking an enchantment. To protect her secret, Elsie strikes a bargain. She’ll help Bacchus fix unruly spells around his estate if he doesn’t turn her in. Working together, Elsie’s trust in—and fondness for—the handsome stranger grows. So does her trepidation about the ri...

  A bookseller and a duke? She couldn’t have written anything more perfect. Dorian Whitaker, Duke of Holland, needs an heir after his so-called “fairytale marriage” ended in disaster. When the intriguing bookseller he’s hired to liquidate his late wife’s library finds love letters revealing an affair, he is drawn into a mystery alongside a lady whose sharp intellect dazzles him and dares him to imagine a new adventure outside the gilded cage of the Ton. If anyone found out Caroline Danvers writes erotic novels under a pen name, she’d face utter ruin. Except her latest hero inspiration is none other than the Duke of Holland—a man with the power to destroy her family’s bookshop. And yet the real man proves to be so much more than the character she created. Even as they expose the dark secrets of his past, she knows he can never discover her own. But the more time they spend together, the more tempting it is to rewrite their ending and turn fantasy into reality. My Review Good Duke Go...

  Inheritance  is the first in The Lost Bride Trilogy by #1  New York Times  bestselling author Nora Roberts―a tale of tragedies, loves found and lost, and a family haunted for generations. 1806: Astrid Poole sits in her bridal clothes, overwhelmed with happiness. But before her marriage can be consummated, she is murdered, and the circle of gold torn from her finger. Her last words are a promise to Collin never to leave him… Graphic designer Sonya MacTavish is stunned to learn that her late father had a twin he never knew about―and that her newly discovered uncle, Collin Poole, has left her almost everything he owned, including a majestic Victorian house on the Maine coast, which the will stipulates she must live in it for at least three years. Her engagement recently broken, she sets off to find out why the boys were separated at birth―and why it was all kept secret until a genealogy website brought it to light. Trey, the young lawyer who greets her at the sprawlin...

 Another review from the First To Read program. I really miss it. This also falls under a series I need to finish. Priceless artwork has gone missing from the home of a wealthy baronet, and his wife stands to take the blame. When Kat's employer asks for help in clearing her friend's name, Kat trades her kitchen for the homes of Mayfair's wealthiest families. Soon antiques are disappearing not only from the extravagant households of connoisseurs and collectors but from the illustrious British Museum. As the thefts increase in frequency, Kat calls upon her friend Daniel McAdam, who has already set himself up in a pawnshop on the Strand as a seedy receiver of stolen goods. When a man is murdered in the shop, Kat must use all of her wits to see that the thieves are caught and justice is done. My Review Scandal Above Stairs by Jennifer Ashley My rating: 4 of 5 stars I was able to read this book through First To Read. It is the second book in a series. And even though I hadn...

The Forger and the Duke Misty Urban (Ladies Least Likely, #2) Publication date: March 5th 2024 Genres: Adult, Historical, Romance In 1776 London, orphaned vicar’s daughter Amaranthe Illingworth supports her small household with her skills as a copyist, but her quiet routine is shattered the day three children show up at her door seeking aid from her brother, their tutor. Behind them storms in Malden Grey, would-be barrister and their erstwhile guardian, who accuses Amaranthe of kidnapping the young Duke of Hunsdon and his siblings. The former duke’s illegitimate son, Malden Grey has learned to live by his wits, and he’s told he’ll advance to the bar if he takes a proper wife. As she helps him restore order at Hunsdon House, Amaranthe seems a likely candidate—if only Mal can unearth the truth behind the rumors that she’s been forging, and selling, priceless medieval manuscripts. Amaranthe, in the meantime, needs to stay on her guard lest the charming Malden Grey steal her heart at th...

  Plucked by the Orc Jenna Larkin (Regency Monster Romances, #1) Publication date: February 5th 2024 Genres: Adult, Historical, Romance Carnival Row meets My Fair Lady with a steamy sensibility. Welcome to the first Regency Monster Romance , in which the Lords of the Hidden Realm have a place in Society but never in the hearts of London’s fine human ladies. Until Now. Scratching by as a flower girl, Iris Gabbert speaks first and asks questions later. All the better to survive the rough and tumble East End streets. So if an odd-looking bloke knocks over a basket brimming with a girl’s means of making a living, what else is she to do but give him a tongue lashing he won’t soon forget? Even if it was an accident. Even if his lordship dresses like a right dandy. Even if he is more alluring than any gent who has passed her way before. Broad of shoulder and abrupt in manner, the infamous Lord Barrington presents a proposition that promises all the honey with none of the bee’...

  Touch of a Witch S.G. Slade (Darkness Rising, #1) Publication date: October 31st 2023 Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Historical When visions of death haunt her every move, only the darkest magic can save her. Sarah Stone’s family have always closely guarded the secrets of their witchcraft. Though they tend as healers to those that know them, few guess the truth of the family’s skills. But others have secrets too, and when Sarah finds herself caught in the grip of a terrifying curse, she fears for the fate of all she holds dear. As a dark shadow haunts the taverns and brothels of Bankside, whispers of the curse begin to spread. Then she is accused of witchcraft, and there seems to be no escape. In a world where the those called Witch end up on the gallows, can Sarah find a way to turn the curse aside? Or will the price be too high to pay? Content warning: strong sex scenes and the occult. Touch of a Witch is the first standalone novel in the seductive Darkness R...

The Widow Queen and her Lover Alan Gold Publication date: September 1st 2023 Genres: Adult, Historical No longer one of the spoils of war, Catherine, Queen of England and France, resolves to fight for her new life – on her own terms Catherine of Valois, daughter of the defeated king of France, looks down from the battlements as her future rides to greet her. As one of the spoils of war, she is to be married to her father’s enemy, Henry V of England. She is prepared to do her duty – what could be worse than continuing to live with her ailing father and cold mother – but she wasn’t prepared to fall in love. Henry is everything that she wanted in a husband, and a king. In him she finds a devoted lover and inspiring ruler. When he dies, shortly after she has delivered his heir, her future and that of her son is in doubt. Not only must she protect her baby, the young Henry VI, she must protect his legacy from the grasping and scheming of his uncle and protector. When Owen Tudor — Wels...

  A Viscount for the Spinster Samantha Holt (Spinsters and Rebels, #1) Publication date: July 27th 2023 Genres: Adult, Historical Romance Some sinners deserve a second chance. Not this one, though… Miss Maisie Beaufort has no intention of running away ever again. She’s more than ready to return home after a decade in the midst of society and take charge of her life as a spinster businesswoman. Nothing will distract her. Especially not her first love, the rebel who destroyed her young heart… Apollo Everly always knew Maisie was too good for small town life…and for a spare heir like him. He never stopped wanting her, though. Not that it matters. Even though he’s reformed and a viscount, his lingering reputation is still a threat to her. He should stay away. But fate—and Mother Nature—seem to have other ideas… If Maisie and Apollo want to rebuild their village after a devastating flood, they’ll need to work together. The only question now is whether they can trust each other whe...

The Rose of Florence Angela M. Sims Publication date: March 23rd 2023 Genres: Adult, Historical, Romance Prologue (1460): Gianetta is born in a farmhouse in Fiesole. Her mother dies in childbirth. The unnamed father is distraught but leaves her in the care of her grandmother and returns home. The Story (1478): Gianetta grows up and moves to Florence, where she is in service to a wealthy family of textile merchants – the Rosini. They are friends to and supporters of the powerful Medici clan. In the small, tight-knit group of staff, we meet Eleonora (cook), Luigi (Signor Francesco Rosini’s private assistant), Antonio and Lucia and our hero, Matteo. Gianetta and Matteo are in love and have a happy, peaceful life with the kind and generous Rosini family. They enjoy entertaining at Palazzo Rosini, where the Medici and Botticelli are frequent visitors. Following the suspected poisoning of Lorenzo de’ Medici and near death of Giuliano de’ Medici, both within the Rosini family home, ther...

  The Romanov Heiress Jennifer Laam Publication date: March 20th, 2023 Genres: Adult, Historical Four sisters in hiding. A grand duchess in disguise. Dark family secrets revealed…a n alternate future for the Romanov sisters from Jennifer Laam, author of The Secret Daughter of the Tsar and The Lost Season of Love and Snow. With her parents and brother missing and presumed dead, Grand Duchess Olga Romanova must keep her younger sisters safe. The Bolsheviks are determined to eliminate any remaining holdovers from the tsarist regime, hunting down the last Romanovs and putting them to death. Now living in England, the Romanov sisters remain hidden to protect their identities, even as isolation strains their relationships. But they can’t distance themselves from the world forever. Olga learns that a peer of the realm has accused the late Empress Alexandra of betraying Russia and her allies during the Great War. Under the spell of the scheming Grigori Rasputin, Alexandra disclo...

The Dollmaker Morgan Shamy Publication date: February 28th 2023 Genres: Young Adult, Historical, Mystery No one is safe. Not when the Dollmaker lurks in the shadows. When Dawn Hildegard’s best friend Rose is kidnapped by “The Dollmaker,” a crazed serial killer who creates “art” from women’s bodies, she drops everything to find her—including her dream of becoming a doctor. With the help of a handsome new acquaintance and his mysterious brother, they set off to find the killer. Although they quickly become friends, Dawn cannot shake the uneasy feeling that the brothers know more about the murders than they admit. As more and more victims are found murdered and displayed throughout town, Dawn must use her wits to find Rose before it’s too late. And before she too becomes the Dollmaker’s next victim. Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Google Play / Kobo — EXCERPT: He slowly began to pace in front of her, his shaded head tipped in thought. His legs were long in the dark...