Friday Finds & Reader Recommendations – 11-22-2024

LIVE!! PENNY REID'S LATEST! THEY'VE GOSSIPED ABOUT HER...

"...Hannah Townsen has often been a subject of local gossip. Folks shook their heads when Hannah's daddy ran out on her momma; folks blessed her heart after Hannah's momma had that tragic accident; and folks really talked up a tizzy when Hannah became an exotic dancer in order to pay off her parents' debt and put food on the table. But now, ten years after being dubbed as a hometown-stripper-with-a-heart-of-gold, Hannah has seemingly—and finally—fallen off the gossip mill's radar.

That is, until the enigmatic Isaac Sylvester shows up at Hannah's retirement party wanting so much more than a private dance. . ."

LIVE!! THE LATEST BY MARIE FORCE!! LOVE AFTER LOSS (but he's sick as well)

"...Almost three years after losing my husband, Jim, to ALS, I’ve started to emerge from the fog of widowhood, thanks in large part to my sexy roommate—and former high school crush—Tom Hammett. When he offered me a suite in his spacious home, he got me out of my parents’ basement where I’d lived with Jim during his illness and since his death.

But now Tom is experiencing a health crisis, and I’m not sure I have it in me to go down that road again, even if I suspect I might be falling in love with him. I have to decide if I can risk losing my fragile heart to another man with a potentially life-threatening health condition..."

SUPER-BARGAIN!! AND I LOVE THIS AUTHOR!!

"...the story of a former actress turned successful audiobook narrator—who has lost sight of her dreams after a tragic accident—and her journey of self-discovery, love, and acceptance when she agrees to narrate one last romance novel..."

Connie: Thank You for Listening opened up a whole new world about audiobook narrators. Shockingly, it is better than My Oxford Years. The banter! I had NO IDEA Julia Whelan is a narrator. Fascinating world and what a great story she wove in that environment.

Mona: Connie, thank you for recommending Thank You for Listening! I just finished it and loved it!

KRISTEN HANNAH SUPER-SALE CHRISTMAS ROMANCE!!

"Joy Candellaro once loved Christmas more than any other time of the year. Now, as the holiday approaches, she is at a crossroads in her life; recently divorced and alone, she can’t summon the old enthusiasm for celebrating. So without telling anyone, she buys a ticket and boards a plane bound for the beautiful Pacific Northwest. When an unexpected detour takes her deep into the woods of the Olympic rainforest, Joy makes a bold decision to leave her ordinary life behind—to just walk away—and thus begins an adventure unlike any she could have imagined.

In the small town of Rain Valley, six-year-old Bobby O’Shea is facing his first Christmas without a mother. Unable to handle the loss, Bobby has closed himself off from the world, talking only to his invisible best friend. His father Daniel is beside himself, desperate to help his son cope. Yet when the little boy meets Joy, these two unlikely souls form a deep and powerful bond. In helping Bobby and Daniel heal, Joy finds herself again..."

LIVE!! HOCKEY ROMANCE!!

"...To be fair, when I looked at the pregnancy test results, I didn't think it would literally make me have a seizure. Then, I woke up in the hospital with my brother's best friend by my side and the doctor congratulating us on our baby.

Our. Baby. But the worst part? I didn't correct him. Oops.

Now, Griffin Thorne is the only man on the planet who knows about my not-so-little secret. And yes, that includes the real father...for now..."

LIVE!! CHRISTMAS HOCKEY ROMANCE!!

"...As much as I eye roll my overly large, overly loud family, I’d do anything for them. Including date the captain of the Icebreakers. Barf.

Ryder is a Boy Scout. He doesn’t swear. He uses words like ma’am and sir. On our date, he opens my door, pulls out my chair, and helps me with my coat. He even volunteers at the local animal shelter and loves handmade sweaters. No, it is not cute! Three warm, gooey cinnamon rolls dressed up as a six-five, hot AF hockey player are not my type. At all. Nope..."

J.D. ROBB SUPER-BARGAIN!!!

"Ancient church rituals meet cutting-edge crime-solving in this thriller in the #1 New York Times bestselling series featuring NYPSD Lieutenant Eve Dallas.

Seconds after partaking of wine during a Catholic funeral mass, Father Miguel Flores is dead on the altar. Detective Lieutenant Eve Dallas confirms that the consecrated wine contained enough potassium cyanide to kill a rhino. And though the East Harlem neighborhood is a long way from the stone mansion she shares with her billionaire husband Roarke, it’s the holiness flying around St. Christobal’s that makes her uneasy..."

SUPER-BARGAIN!! THE SOCIALITE & THE MECHANIC

"...When one night goes horribly wrong—with the whole world watching—she’s challenged to swap lives with the salty, albeit gorgeous, man she rear-ends with her car.

For mechanic Evan Bailey, life is definitely not a party. There’s no “daddy’s credit card” for fixing up his family’s auto shop, raising his too-precocious-for-anyone’s-good niece, and getting his accounts from deep in the red to black. Which is precisely when opportunity—and celebutante Lexi North—smashes into his life..."

LOVE AFTER LOSS

"...Almost three years after losing my husband, Jim, to ALS, I’ve started to emerge from the fog of widowhood, thanks in large part to my sexy roommate—and former high school crush—Tom Hammett. When he offered me a suite in his spacious home, he got me out of my parents’ basement where I’d lived with Jim during his illness and since his death.

But now Tom is experiencing a health crisis, and I’m not sure I have it in me to go down that road again, even if I suspect I might be falling in love with him. I have to decide if I can risk losing my fragile heart to another man with a potentially life-threatening health condition..."

LIVE!! HOCKEY ROMANCE!!

"Riding shotgun to face my boyfriend wasn't exactly on my bingo card... Especially when the man behind the wheel is the one my boyfriend demanded I cut ties with.

Griffin Thorne is LAU's hockey captain, my brother's best friend, and my roommate.

He's also the only person I can rely on at the moment, even though he hates me after I followed through my boyfriend's...suggestion."