Where I Left Off

Releases I'm Looking Forward to in 2025

• Kristen Bahls • Season 2 • Episode 41

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Speaker 1:

welcome back. I'm your host, kristin balls, and you are listening to where I left off a bookish podcast, and on today's episode I get to talk about all of the new releases that are coming out really in 2025 and which ones I am for sure going to be reading and on the lookout for. So that is coming up in this episode. This is going to be a long one because there are a lot. I tried to also do several different genres, so again, there were a lot. I started making this list maybe in like December or January and, thankfully for some of my awesome author friends and friends of the podcast, they gave me some insights into their upcoming books for 2025. So I can give you a couple blurbs and stuff and talk a little bit about that. So I have all of that coming up indie and traditionally published releases. But before I get into that, I'll be very quick. But really it's just been crazy around here and I have some really exciting episodes coming up for you. I am trying to edit as fast as I can and I have even enlisted some help from editors, so I am getting editing help as well. So hopefully between all that, more episodes, more and more episodes will just be coming your way. So also I am trying to juggle book stuff.

Speaker 1:

If you did not know which you probably know I am currently writing my debut novel. It's called A Flare for Trouble. I don't know that I've said that on the podcast yet it's called A Flare for Trouble. It's a cozy mystery with some romance in it and it's very tame, very light romance. It's mainly a cozy mystery about two teachers who become amateur detectives when a parent meets an untimely end at a school event, at an afterschool event. So that's what that's about. Right now it is with beta readers. They are giving me all the feedback so I can adjust it, rip it apart a little bit before I get it off to my editor. So it is, it is coming along, it's happening. So I'm trying to juggle all of these things and I am very overwhelmed, which is why this episode is coming to you in February, or I mean I guess it could be March, but hopefully I'll get it out there in February.

Speaker 1:

So some of these releases have already released. Pub Day has already happened, they are already out there in the world. So I'm going to go ahead and get started, because this is going to be a long episode, so I won't keep you any longer. Okay, starting off in romance had to start in the romance genre. Also, there will be chapters, chapter markers for each book and everything will be in the show notes links to pre-orders and all that. So if there is a book that you are interested in, just make sure you check either the show notes or you can jump around with the chapter markers.

Speaker 1:

So, first up, we have an indie release and friend of the podcast, rebecca Writes, has another book coming in the Nat 20 series and this is called Desperate Haste is the title, and it is coming in May 2025. The things that I know about it so far is that it's definitely open door and it's going to be pretty spicy. I was able to read chapter one through the newsletter. I believe you can still do that if you sign up for her newsletter. Chapter one is intense. Things are already happening.

Speaker 1:

The stories are kind of interconnected within the series. Of course you know it's like one of those interconnected standalone things. You could read it standalone, but it does have a tie in because Ophelia, the female main character, this is Malcolm and Ophelia's story. If I haven't said that already, ophelia is friends with Bailey from Mending Me, so, and of course you know, you have the guys that are in the same D&D campaign that make up the group and of course it's each of their love stories. So we have book three coming out in May and that's Malcolm and Ophelia's story. Again, chapter one is available should be available on her newsletter. I've read it. It is intense. So looking forward to that one.

Speaker 1:

It is part of the nat 20 series. Definitely reading when it comes out, also coming out in march. Like all of these releases are very, very much right now or spring. So by the time I get to fall, I don't know, maybe there are more that I just haven't even looked up because, honestly, it was impossible not to leave some off the list because it just seemed to keep going and going and going and then I just kept adding books to it. So you know it's one of those things.

Speaker 1:

But next up, I am very excited for the last book in the DC Eagle series. I'm so sad that it's gonna be the last book. I'm hoping that maybe one day Leah will revisit it in some way. But you, you know I get it. She's been with these characters a while. There are three and a half books in this series previously. I love all three books. I really cannot pick a favorite. So this last book is called Secret or Shutout and it is coming March 27th. This is closed door hockey, so again, closed door fade to black. Um, and, like I said, it's the last book in the DC Eagle series.

Speaker 1:

This is Bruce and Farrah story and if you remember from betrothal breakaway, there is a little tie in because fair is going through a divorce and she is Ford slash, remy's sister. She's Remy's sister, but of course you know Amber Ford's wife calls him Ford instead of Remy because she grew up with him. So anyway, but he's known for the rest of the series and Remy so it's Remy's sister, farrah's Remy's sister. Oh my gosh, farrah, yeah, farrah's Remy's sister. I don't know why, I was fixing that up for a second. But yeah, there's that whole like set up at the end of Betrayal or Breakaway, which really intrigued me. I checked and on Amazon there is a blurb available. So I'm going to read that to you now Word for word. The blurb on her website is told in first person from Bruce. So yeah, so just letting you know that if you're like, why are you saying I? Because it's it's told in first person through Bruce.

Speaker 1:

So here it is a six five NHL goalie walks into a bar and meets the love of his life. No, this isn't the start of a bad joke. I had a chance encounter in a dimly lit bar that led to an earth shattering kiss with a beautiful stranger. But then the next morning my world is rocked again when I walk inside my team captain's house and see her. Farrah Remington isn't a mysterious stranger. After all, she's a little sister of my captain and best friend, a woman firmly off limits to anyone on the DC Eagles. Now I have to pretend that kiss never happened. But the more I see Farrah, the hotter our chemistry burns and the stronger our connection grows, until we can't resist each other any longer. Sneaking around isn't ideal, but what my team captain doesn't know won't hurt him or piss him off. In the middle of the Stanley Cup playoffs. I'm with my dream girl and my team is sailing through playoffs until the truth comes out. Now my team captain hates me. I can't keep pucks out of my net to save my life and the woman I love won't speak to me. Can I save my relationship, my friendship and enough goals to help the DC Eagles finally win the cup, or will I get shut out of Farrah's life forever? Okay, that's the blur.

Speaker 1:

I'm excited. I believe I'm on the ARC team for Leah's books so I should get this early so I'll be able to give you a review. But I am so excited. Like I said, I've loved all the books in this series. Haven't found one that I don't like. You've probably heard me talk about the DC Eagles series, desire Defenses, book one I talk about. I feel like all of them a lot, a lot, because they're just so good, so funny. The banter's great, the found family's great, like everything is just next level good. With these books I would highly recommend them. Very, very entertaining. So I am totally looking forward to that one. And again, that is an indie release. Next up I have another indie release. So this is Love in the Time of Conversation Hearts. This one is already out now and it is by Hannah Bird and Ali Samberts. They decided to co-write this one and some of the tropes that are in it are only one bed, workplace romance, forced proximity, adversaries to lovers, which I like, that twist and it's a novella and it has a date auction and I have like an official blurb to read to you.

Speaker 1:

Cora Bennett is the Valentine's Day queen. Normally it's her job to drive tourism to her tiny lakeside town, and she's really good at it. In February, that means organizing her favorite event, the annual Valentine's Day fundraiser. Too bad, this year she's been distracted by her work nemesis Adam Sullivan, the handsome but infuriating mayor of Heartsong, california. Adam is everything. Cora is not, at least that's what she's always thought. When a work conference leading up to the big event leaves the two sharing more than just a hotel room, the idea that they're all that different starts to fade. In its place is something even scarier a desire to repeat what should have been a one-time mistake. When the fundraiser is looming closer, cora has to make a decision. Is it time to give love a try, even if it's with the last person she suspected, or is she better off letting Cupid's arrow pass her by?

Speaker 1:

And this book is open door. If I didn't say that before, I can't remember, but it is open door. I have this on my Kindle. It is out now and I need to read it and I'm very excited for it. So I love all of Allie Sandberg's stuff and I haven't read anything by Hannah Bird yet, but she is on my TVR and I have friends that are like you've got to read her stuff, so I will get there. I will get there Next up in Indie Land. So this is a Rachel Lewis release. I don't know what the title is yet and I don't know when it's coming out. I just know that it's coming out this year, I think. So anyway, I'm using what she talked about when she was on the podcast for this one, but this will be the next book in the series.

Speaker 1:

Yours unexpectedly is book one and this would be Open Door and also just letting you know on yours yeah, on yours unexpectedly there are closed door modifications in the front in the author's note. So it is an open door book but it does come with closed door modifications. Ok, so I do know that. She did confirm it is going to be Jules' story and the book is set up when we meet the love interest at the end of the novella Merrily Yours. So if you want to see kind of the setup I know that it's a single mom and I know that it's going to be Jules and all of the Bardot siblings are going to get their own book and I am very, very excited for it. I fell in love with them from book one.

Speaker 1:

Yours, Unexpectedly, was fantastic. I would highly recommend it if you haven't already read it. Really really fun, and the Found Family is awesome. So I can't wait to see Jules. Jules is my favorite. He's my favorite brother, so I am very excited for him to get his own story next. So that is coming out, I believe, sometime in 2025, but I wanted to put it on your radar, get you caught up and have you read yours unexpectedly, because it is definitely on my radar. I can't wait to continue the series.

Speaker 1:

Okay, and then my friend, sarah Blair, and this is her Love Creek series. So I am very close to these books and so I can give you a little bit of kind of insider information, I guess. So, basically, I don't I can't tell you the title of this one because I'm pretty sure she hasn't released the title, but this is going to be in the Love Creek series and this is an open door series. Sarah previously wrote the Tides of Darkness fantasy series, which Darkness Shifting was one of my favorite books last year. Sarah is amazing. I love her writing style. She is my mentor Fantastic. I love chatting with her every day. We're really good friends too. So anyway, um, I just wanted to point out that I absolutely love her writing and she is amazing, and she has a book coming out this year. Um, it was originally going to be Love Creek and it still may be, but I'll tell you what she gave me on Love Creek and then what other series she's working on, so one of them will be out this year. We will get a romance novel from her. Okay, so this is going to be open door. They're both open doors. She does write a little bit on the spicier side.

Speaker 1:

And this Love Creek series. Here's what I have about it. With the family farm and a century-old legacy resting entirely on his shoulders, jackson Love is focused entirely on his shoulders. Jackson Love is focused entirely on keeping things together. He hasn't got time for distractions, especially when they come in the form of celebrity chef Mia Delaney.

Speaker 1:

Okay, and I have read some of some chapters of Love Creek. I'm trying. I don't even remember what chapter I'm on, to be honest, but I have been reading what Sarah has written. I am one of her alpha readers and so or critique partners, whatever you want to call it, and so, anyway, we basically like pass our chapters back and forth to each other. So I have read a lot of Love Creek and it really plays out just like a movie. It is so good, it's really entertaining. Mia's a celebrity chef and Jackson, you know, owns the family farm. Like they said, the found family in this is really really good. Um, and the friendship is amazing and Mia has a friend who I don't want to like spoil it and say the character's name, but Mia has a friend that is hilarious throughout and I think that Sarah just does such a good job with her side characters, with her writing and especially with her pacing. This book was very entertaining from what I've read so far. So I can't wait to see the Love Creek series kind of come into fruition. So I'm very excited about that.

Speaker 1:

She is also working on a Lumberjack series and I am also reading chapters of the Lumberjack series as well and, wow, it is also really good in a completely different way, like they're really different. They're really really different from each other, but I do love them both. Uh, the lumberjack series for me it it reads like um, allie Hazelwood meets Elsie Silver, but just with like lumberjacks. It just I was laughing really hard, I snorted, I think it just I was laughing really hard, I snorted. I think I snorted because I was laughing so hard and I almost fell off the couch while I was reading, because they're just it's like the comedic timing of the way that she does things and again there are side characters that make everything funny and it's just their banter and the quippiness of it and the way that she writes things in this one is very, very entertaining of it and the way that she writes things in this one is very, very entertaining.

Speaker 1:

So I had to give Sarah a shout out because I will be looking forward to this release. I cannot wait to read all the things and see how she changes it after you know feedback and all that, and how it adjusts and grows to be, you know, a final novel. So anyway, I did want to point that out because I am very much looking forward to Sarah's books. They are really really good, really unique. I love the banter. I just enjoy reading them and I really enjoy reading anything that she writes. So I had to. I had to plug her book. Also I have um, I have a few more in Indie land and up next I have Natalia Williams. So she was on for both Taking the Cake, which I love, that book and her sophomore novel Two to T it yet.

Speaker 1:

So this is going to be a rivals to lovers workplace romance set in a restaurant, like kind of business setting and she said it's just wants to get it out of their systems vibes and the characters are introduced um into to tango and it's one. It's one of the cousins of the main character in Two to Tango and I am so excited for this. I really like that storyline and I like the way it played out in Two to Tango so I'm looking forward to how it plays out into like its own full length novel. And Natalia previously said that the first book in the Tango series has the most like actual Tango and it's about a group of cousins who you know, one of them inherited, uh, their grandma's tango shoes and so the cousins are kind of like connected by their grandmother and their family heritage and all of that. So that's kind of how they're connected and how the series is as a whole. But the second book is going to have a lot less tango than book one will, so throwing that out there. But I am very much looking forward to Natalia's releases.

Speaker 1:

I love her writing. Um, I'm always telling her I feel like her writing is very similar to me uh, to Jessica Joyce. So if you do really like Jessica Joyce, I would definitely check out Natalia and all of the authors that I've mentioned so far, also all on Kindle Unlimited. So, um and again, I'll link them so you can pre-order. But they are also on Kindle Unlimited. So, um and again, I'll link them so you can pre-order, but they are also on Kindle Unlimited. If you want to catch up on their back list, cause a lot of these books are the second, third, fourth in a series, and while most of them are interconnected standalones, it's still nice to be able to catch up because they give you a lot of hints between the novels and the novellas of who the next like grouping of characters are going to be. So it is very helpful to have here we go, so up.

Speaker 1:

Next we have Harriet Ashford's next book, and Harriet wrote the Trouble with Love and Ink. That was her debut novel that came out this past year and it was awesome. Again, if you need a really good novel to enjoy, then pick up the Trouble with Love and Ink, and this is book two in that series. So it is called the Trouble with Love and Coaches and it is going to be out April 8th and Harriet gave me a blurb and and she also does a lot of sneak peeks and has them available on her Instagram as well. So definitely check her out. She gives a lot of updates in kind of real time. So here is what she said April Bard is determined to finish in Ironman.

Speaker 1:

It was her mom's goal for the two to cross the red carpet together, but a car wreck laid that dream to rest, leaving April with the conviction to complete the race in her memory, even if it's 140.8 miles of misery in the form of running, cycling and swimming. The distance would be daunting enough on its own, but April is certain that she has an Ironman curse. What else could explain the storm flu and broken collarbone that have forced her to DNF the last three years? Now her coach has even bailed. She figures she's out of luck until Gabriel Torres ducks into her shop. Coach Torres has a real shot at making a team for his triathlon coaching company. His athletes just have to follow the path that he's laid. Then he discovers April's coach. His rival has dropped her mid-season. Adding April as an athlete will risk everything he's worked for, but he sees a spark in her, something he'd pay good money to bottle up and put in his other athlete's running belt. As training heats up, their relationship slips from professional to casual to something else entirely, and they soon realize they have more to risk than just a race.

Speaker 1:

Yay, I'm so excited for Harriet's book. Again, I feel like I've said that with like half of these authors, but her banter is so good you got to read it. It is so good. I'm really looking forward to book two. Cannot wait to just be able to see it. And I get to meet Harriet this year at Ink and Indie, so. And I get to meet Sarah this year at Ink and Indie. And I get to meet Stacy, who is our other member of our group, who owns Romance Landia. We, we are a friend group and we get to meet each other at Ink and Indie, so I am excited to get signed copies from everyone and get to talk to them in person. So I am very much looking forward to this book. Harriet is very talented, sarah super talented. Really, all these indie authors are incredibly talented and I genuinely love their writing. And all of these books really read like a movie and they will just. They'll grab you and you will not be able to stop reading.

Speaker 1:

So next up on my awesome indie authors list is Dr Melissa Diamonds, and this book is coming fall 2025 and it is called Holiday Love. And, if you did not know, there is book one, holiday Star. Book two, holiday Wedding, and then this is book three, holiday Love, and it's a love story between Gwen's younger brother and a female ER doctor named Helen. I'm really looking forward to this one. I need to catch up on this series. So I've read Paging Dr Hart by Dr Melissa Diamond and I absolutely loved it. Of course, you know I've read that because we talked about it on the podcast. I have convinced several of my friends to read it and they also loved it. Actually, I believe, like almost all of these books, I've convinced so many people to read and everyone has loved them. So that's again another testament to how awesome these authors are. Holiday Love is coming up. It is definitely on my list. I need to catch up on this series and hopefully I will be able to. I feel like before fall I can totally do that and then it'll be perfect because it'll be right back around the corner with another holiday release.

Speaker 1:

Back around the corner with another holiday release and also something interesting that Melissa told me was that she has a pen name and she is writing under a pen name. The book is already out and it's called Deeply Examined and her pen name is Lexi Davis and it is already out. She already warned me. She was like this is too spicy, spicy for you. I don't think that you're gonna want to read it. I'm like, okay. So I appreciate that. You know me from listening.

Speaker 1:

If you like books that are spicier than what I typically read, this may be totally up your alley. And here's what she told me about it. It's a very spicy, dark, forbidden medical romance between a morally gray doctor and his patient called deeply examined, examined, and she said that she wanted to try writing something different. So it's a big departure from her usual books and that is Deeply Examined by Lexi Davis. So that is Dr Melissa Diamond's pen name and she tried something different. And yeah, that is out there. So I will probably not be reading it because it probably is too spicy for me. But if you like stuff that's spicier than what I typically read, which a lot of people do, then you got it Because, yeah, like I said, I have a group of friends that if I think something's too spicy, I tell them and they immediately read it and they end up loving them. So there really is a spice level preference for everyone.

Speaker 1:

Next up we have Please Be Mine by K-Sinko. This is already out. I have read this and it is a novella and so I'm going to read you the blurb. It is very, very sweet, very. I say sweet. I was about to say cute. I mean it is cute, but it's it's a little bit more angsty, I think, than just saying oh, it's cute. So you'll see from the blurb. Here's the blurb.

Speaker 1:

Jake Talbot focused on the darkness for six years, but now he's trying his best to focus on the light. He's finally cleaning out his mother's house and getting it ready to sell when he finds an old pair of trousers in the corner of his bedroom it's the pair of pants he wore at his mother's funeral and in the pocket he finds a folded slip of paper with an address, an address of a girl he hasn't thought about in six years. But now he can't stop thinking about her. So he sits down to write her a letter. Please Be Mine is a story of healing and reconciliation between two former friends who find one another after years apart. Between personal tragedies, heartbreaks, cross-country moves and battling mental illness, these two marching band nerds are reacquainted with joy and possibly something more. But while sharing your heart in a letter can seem easy, moving it off the page is a completely different story. So that is Please Be Mine. It was very, very fun. I really enjoyed the read. Like I said, it's not cute, it's. I mean, there's some sweet moments, but it is a little bit more emotional of of a novella and the cover is super cute. So I would highly recommend that it is also on Kindle Unlimited.

Speaker 1:

Next up. Next up is I'm kind of crossing over into traditionally published territory and the reason that I try to remember to tell you that I'm crossing into traditionally published territory is just so you know how you can find it. Most of the time most of the time, not always indie books do tend to be on Kindle Unlimited and so you can find them there. And of course, traditionally published books are easier to find, like through your library. But also, you know you can always recommend a book to the library, even if it's indie. So I just tell you that for like findability, so you know where you can find it. So next up for the romances, I believe all of the rest are traditionally published.

Speaker 1:

So up first we have Unloved by Peyton Corrine. It is already out, I have already read it, I have page flagged this and if you have followed me on Instagram, you know how much I love this book, because I've already started to talk about it. But I'm not going to tell you why I love it, because I have a review on this coming soon. I review on a lot of these books that I have already read, thankfully, through arcs and different things, so don't worry, it's coming soon. I'll give you my thoughts, but I get to tell you what the blurb says. This book just blew me away. Okay, I'll stop. I'll stop talking about it and tell you the blurb. So here it is.

Speaker 1:

Matt Freddie Frederick is all smiles, at least on the surface. On the ice he's the star left winger for the Waterfowl Wolves, with a stellar reputation in bed and a potential future in the NHL. But in the classroom he's barely scraping by on a 2.0 GPA, retaking dropped classes and struggling through a rough mix of dyslexia, dyscalculia and ADHD. Freddie has plans to enter the NHL draft at 18, but then his estranged father added a graduation clause to his inheritance and now he needs help to pass biology with a professor who's already betrayed him before.

Speaker 1:

Roe Sheriff is a hopeless romantic with terrible luck and love, and now Freddie's new tutor. She keeps telling herself that she's very happy with her on-again, off-again boyfriend, but Ro is desperate for real affection. As her tutoring sessions with Freddie lead to friendship and late-night phone calls, an undeniable heat begins to simmer between them, which they're both trying desperately to ignore, although they are too protective of their newfound friendship to cross that line. Ro can't stop thinking about how Freddie was her first kiss, her freshman year at Waterfell. Fine, tingling moments seared into Ro's memory that Freddie doesn't seem to remember. And Freddie is determined to protect Ro from his reputation at all costs. Meanwhile, ro wants to prove to him that, despite what others have led him to believe, he's worth more than his body. But maybe, just maybe, together they can learn how easily the right person can love every part of you, even your flaws.

Speaker 1:

I'm like almost crying reading this blurb. Okay, I'm moving on to the next one before I can say anything else. I literally my eyes are watering just having read that blurb. It's like reliving the book all over again. Okay, um. Next up is Beg, borrow or Steal by Sarah Adams. I've also read this one. It is great. I will wait. No, I've already talked about this. Yeah, I've already talked about this one. I've already talked about Beg, borrow or Steal. It is really good. Um, again, practice Makes Perfect is still my favorite, because duh. But anyway, here is the blurb. It is out now. So this is Emily Walker's story. This is the when in Rome series, and here's the blurb.

Speaker 1:

Emily Walker hates having her carefully crafted world disrupted by anyone, most of all her legendary nemesis, jack Bennett. He is the opposite of the wonderful hero she dreams up in her double life as a romance writer, which is why Emily was perfectly happy when Jack left Rome, kentucky, mid-school year with his fiance. The last thing Emily saw coming was Jack's return at the start of the summer, after calling off the wedding and ending his relationship. But he's here to stay as her colleague and her neighbor. Jack is glad to be back, eager to renovate his house and work on the next mystery novel under his best-selling pen name. But when he realizes he's now neighbors with the one woman who has always pushed his buttons, he discovers something he's even more excited about thwarting Emily and her petty plans to sabotage his return With their chemistry-fueled animosity at an all-time high.

Speaker 1:

Emily accidentally sends an email to their school's principal that could reveal her secret literary side hustle. She needs to steal back her manuscript and Jack, she hates to admit, is just the man to help her. Surprisingly, he agrees. Will their unlikely alliance put an end to their rivalry, or could it lead to a steamy plot twist they never saw coming? Okay, and also, this book is open door, even though it's by Sarah Adams, but there are closed door modifications in the author's notes. All of Sarah Adams open door books, which is the Rulebook and Beg Bower or Steal, have closed door modifications. So just putting that out there. Sarah Adams is closed door primarily, and then those two books do have closed door modifications.

Speaker 1:

Next up, okay, we have Catherine Center's release. This is coming May 20th and it is called the Love Haters. I have also already read this book and I will have a review for you soon as well. If you can't tell, I got a decent amount of arcs lately. So this is Catherine Center's latest release. Here's the blurb.

Speaker 1:

Katie Vaughn has been burned by love in the past. Now she may be lighting her career on fire. She has two choices Wait to get laid off from her job as a video producer or, at her co-worker Cole's request, take a career-making gig profiling Tom Hutch Hutchison, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer in Key West. The catch Katie's not exactly qualified. She can't swim but fakes it that she can. Plus, cole is Hutch's brother and they do not get along. Next stop Paradise. But Paradise is messier than it seems. As Katie gets entangled with Hutch, the most scientifically good-looking man she has ever seen, but also a bit of a love hater, along with his colorful Aunt Rue and his rescue great Dane, she gets trapped in a lie or two. Swim lessons, helicopter flights, conga lines, drinking contest, hurricanes and stolen kisses ensue, along with chances to tell the truth, to face old fears and to be truly brave at last. Okay, that was Captain Center's latest release. It is coming out May 20th. And then we have Alexa Martin, and it is how to Sell a Romance is her latest book. It is coming out July 15th.

Speaker 1:

Also, again, I am very annoying with all the books that I like. You've probably heard about them a million times, but if you have not read Next Door Nemesis, come on, add it to your TBR. I love that book. I had so much fun when I was reading it the first time I was just giggling. It was so funny and I really love Alexa's style. And it was funny because I had um, I got over to my mom's house and so I was reading the book and whenever she would hear me giggling she'd be like, are you reading Next Door Nemesis? And I was like, yep, I am. So it is a really really good book. Also, I am in the middle of the playbook series by Alexa Martin and she is an NFL wife and so that all plays into the validity of her characters and her world in the playbook series and it is really really really well done. I have really enjoyed all of her books that I've read so far. I'm working through her backlist, so this latest upcoming novel is called how to Sell a Romance and again, it's coming out July 15th. Let me read you the blurb.

Speaker 1:

Emerson Pierce loves everything about being a kindergarten teacher, except the painfully low salary. Agreed, it isn't until she hears about Petunia Lemon, an opportunity to sell makeup products, make some extra money and meet a group of skincare aficionados, that she begins to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Sure, it sounds a little too good to be true, but what's the worst that could happen? Investigative reporter Lucas Miller didn't always have a chip on his shoulder until his wife joined Petunia Lemon, drained their savings and filed for divorce. Now he's a little bitter, a lot single, and determined to expose the company After infiltrating their largest convention. Yet the last thing he expects is to lose sight of his mission for one night with the gorgeous woman at the bar. When Emerson and Lucas learn that she's his daughter's teacher, they decide to ignore their scorching chemistry. Until things with Petunia Lemon turn downright diabolical and Emerson turns to Lucas for help. They work together to bring the company down. But can the two of them come out on top in this pyramid scheme of love? Yay, okay, I'm very excited for that book.

Speaker 1:

A teachers, b reporters Two of my favorite things. You know I've talked about it a million times. I have a broadcast journalism degree, so I love reporter stuff, radio stuff, tv stuff, film stuff, all that kind of stuff. And then teacher duh, I was a former teacher, so I love anything teaching too. So anyway, it combines like two of my favorite things. So I cannot wait for this book. I am very excited. Again.

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July 15th next we have a first time caller by BK Borson. It is out now. No, I have not purchased it yet. Yes, I am debating like absolutely running to Barnes and Noble, but I'm trying to hold myself off a little bit and wait until I'm actually going to get a chance to read it, because I do have some arcs that I really need to read right now. So I think those are just going to be the priority. But I will be reading this book. I can't remember how it's phrased, if it's a Sleepless in Seattle, reimagining retelling or just inspired by, but anyway, I think it might just be inspired by Sleepless in Seattle. But enough said, come on, like how would you not already want to read it? Just for me saying that here's the blurb for First Time Caller. Oh, and, if you didn't know, bk Morrison wrote the Love Light Farm series, so this is her first kind of like standalone novel.

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Outside of that, aiden Valentine has a secret. He's fallen out of love with love and as the host of Baltimore's romance hotline, that's a bit of a problem. But when a young girl calls into the station asking for dating advice for her mom, the interview goes viral, thrusting Aiden and heartstrings into the limelight. Lucy Stone thought she was doing just fine. She has a good job, an incredible family and a smart, slightly devious kid. But when all of Baltimore is suddenly scrutinizing her love life, or lack thereof, she begins to question if she's as happy as she believed. Maybe a little more romance wouldn't be such a bad thing. Everyone wants Lucy to find her happy ending, even the handsome, temperamental man calling the shots. But when sparks start to fly behind the scenes, lucy must make the final decision between the radio-sponsored Happily Ever After or the man in the headphones next to her.

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Ah, this sounds so cute. I cannot wait to read this book. And the cover is gorgeous. You've probably seen it. I mean, unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably seen it so that one is also coming out. Then it is already out, but I'm excited for it.

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Then we have Wild Side by Elsie Silver, and this is book three in that series. Yeah, three, sorry. I had to think for a second. I went. I read, uh, wild Eyes, like just in the middle. So I need to go back and read Wild Love. But I loved Wild Eyes. I thought it was fantastic. And again, I don't like cowboy romance. But Elsie Silver and Lila Sage changed my mind. So this is the third book coming up March 4th. It's called Wild Side Again. You've probably heard of it, but here is the blurb.

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She's always dreamed of her wedding day, and those dreams never included saying I do to a man she hates. But when Tabitha's nephew's guardianship is contested, she decides she'll do whatever it takes to keep him in Rose Hill, even if it means marrying the enemy, reese Dupree, a man who is secretive, broody and completely infuriating, a man whose work takes him away for weeks on end and brings him back covered in mysterious bruises, ones that he won't talk about. In fact, tabitha and Reese barely talk at all, which would be fine, except when he's not talking, he's staring, and the way he looks at her is borderline indecent. The tension between them has always been palpable, but living under the same roof is a dangerous temptation. Tabitha swore she would never forgive him, but that was before she knew the man behind the mask, the one who's fierce and protective, the one who's gentle and patient, the one who shows up for her and her nephew when they need him most. He's not at all who she thought he was, and that makes hating her husband so much harder and loving him just a little too easy.

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Okay, I am looking forward to that book. Like I said, elsie Silver is awesome, um, I so so funny, so great, the pacing you know, you've duh, I mean you've heard of her, but I am really looking forward to that book as well. It comes out March 4th. I need to get on it and read Wild Love. I will read the first book of that Interconnected standalone series but I was fine and I wasn't really confused, starting with Wild Eyes. So if you like a little bit of chaos too, you really confused, starting with Wild Eyes. So if you like a little bit of chaos too, you can always start in the middle of the series. But I didn't officially recommend that to you because I feel like everyone would jump down my throat for that and tell you to go back and like read from Powerless and Reckless and Flawless and all those um, because that's the, this is the Rose Hill and that's the Chestnut Springs series. I believe, I think I got that right. Hopefully I did. But yeah, so Elsie Silver.

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Then, like I said, following it up with my one other cowboy romance, this is coming out April 15th and it is Wild and Wrangled by Lila Sage. I did receive an ARC of this one and I have already read it and it is so good. But I will give you my full review and talk more about it spoiler freeiler free, of course, soon. So, like I said, I will be getting I'll be getting that review. You'll get Catherine Sinter. You'll get Lila Sage. Like you get all the books I've been reading least recently and a lot of the arcs and unloved all, all of those like newer releases. You'll be getting them, so you know if they are for you. So anyway, wild and Wrangled, this is the last book in the Rebel Blue series. Oh man, oh, it's so good. Okay, anyway, let me go ahead and read you the blurb for this one.

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Camille Ashwood has always loved to plan. Her latest was her best. Yet. She was going to get married so she could secure her daughter's future, get her overbearing parents off her back and finally start building her own life in small town, meadowlark, wyoming. Easy right. But when her groom doesn't show up to the wedding, cam's life is turned upside down and she doesn't even have a place to live. That is until she finds out the house she's loved since high school is available to rent. There's only one problem the neighbor, dusty Tucker, has spent nearly all of his adult life running Running. From what, though? More like who? Cam Ashwood. But ever since he returned home last year, the girl who was his first well everything has become a woman seemingly determined to keep him at arm's length. He was okay with that, at least that's what he kept telling himself. She was getting married after all, but now she's single and living next door. Dusty wants to show her that they can be friends and that he can stay put. Despite her best attempts to stay far away from Dusty Tucker, cam realizes that being close to him is like slipping into her favorite jeans Easy, comfortable, that is. Until past wounds start to open up and feelings, both old and new, wreak havoc. Nearly 10 years after they first met, dusty and Cam begin to wonder if their first love can also be their last, and this time will it be forever.

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Okay, I did want to also point out that this series was actually kind of based off of loosely off of Friday Night Lights. So just putting that out there. And I have a lot of people that are like I have never read Cowboy Romance, I don't want to read Cowboy Romance. I'm like. I fully understand, I completely agree with you, but Lila Sage like, just give her books a chance and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised Again. I am a monster and I started in the middle of the series on Lost and Lassoed and then I read, uh. Then I read Done and Dusted, book one, and then I read book four, wild and Wrangled, and I still haven't read Swift and Saddled, book two. So I read the series all out of order, but I absolutely loved it. Um, yeah, it's a really good. I can't. I'm going to give you my review later, but I will just point out in case this is the only um episode that you listen to with Wild and Wrangled.

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If you do get this book, make sure you look past the acknowledgments. I don't know how it'll be laid out on the final book, but in the arc there is kind of like a second epilogue slash, extra bonus. That really sums it up between the nope. I don't. I don't know that. I can tell you that, but it has this whole aspect uh, from a kick. I can't. Ah, this is so hard. I'm like I can't. I don't want to give anything away and ruin it for you, but there is an extra bonus scene slash, epilogue. I was a puddle. It was so well done, it was fantastic. It was really emotional, it hit right to the heart and it was a perfect way to really like give you some closure and end up the series. And you know, if Lila ever wants to return back to Rebel Blue, I totally think that she should.

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Okay, now that I've spent almost an hour talking your ear off about romance novels, we're getting into thrillers Again. Romance was the longest section. I I just kept adding novels so I had to draw the line somewhere. So there are not as many thriller and fantasy books and a lot of that is romance, and also these are books that I went to read. So I tried. I tried to get a lot, but at some point I'm like I'm not even going to get to all these books this year. So I tried.

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I don't know why I left off um Deep In by Allie Hazelwood, but somehow I did and I just got that like yesterday. Have not read it yet, don't know a lot about it, haven't looked up reviews, so I I don't know. All I know is that they're college swimmers. So go ahead and add Deep In to my list of books I want to read. Don't really know much more than that. So okay, on our list for thrillers. First up we have Stacey Willingham. If you have not read a flicker in the dark, add it to your tbr. It is one of my favorite thrillers and she has a new release coming out this year. It is coming in August 2025 and it is called forget me not. And here is the super long blurb.

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22 years ago, claire Campbell's older sister, natalie, disappeared on her 18th birthday. Days later, her blood was found in a car. A man was arrested and the case was swiftly closed. In the decades since, claire has attempted to forget her traumatic past by moving to the city and climbing the ranks as an investigative journalist, until an unexpected investigative journalist Until. An unexpected call from her father forces her to come home and face it all anew.

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With the entire summer now looming ahead, a summer spent with nothing to do in her childhood home with her estranged mother, claire decides, on a whim, to accept a seasonal job at galloway farm, a vineyard in coastal South Carolina less than an hour away from where she grew up. At first glance, galloway is an idyllic escape, a scenic retreat full of slow-paced nostalgia, as well as a place where her sister seemed truly happy in that last summer before she vanished. It feels like the perfect place to pass the time. However, as soon as Claire starts to settle in, she stumbles across an old diary written by one of the vineyard's owners, and what at first seems like a story of young rebellion and love turns into something much more sinister as it begins to describe details of various unsolved crimes. As the days stretch on, claire finds herself becoming more and more secluded as she starts to obsess over the diary's contents, as well as the lingering feeling that her own sister's disappearance may somehow be tied to it all. Galloway was supposed to be a place to help her move forward, but instead Claire quickly finds herself immersed in her own dark and dangerous past.

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I'm really excited for this one. I think it sounds like it kind of has the magic of a flicker in the dark and I like the way that it's going. I really love like when someone's actively trying to like solve a case or there's some kind of FBI connection, like all that I really enjoy in a thriller. So I am very excited for this one from Stacey Willingham. She is one of my favorites.

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Next up we have a book. Um, so this book is by Mary Kate Williams, and Mary Kate is awesome If you have not checked out her author resources. She has a bunch of them. She has a YouTube channel and she has books. Um, I am reading her books and always watching through her YouTube channel videos. She is awesome and so incredibly helpful. But she is traditionally publishing her first traditionally published book, um, and it is called heifer and it is out january 8th, so it is already available and let me go ahead and read this to you. Um, so this is from a french publisher, so it will be in french, okay, here. Here is what it's about.

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So this climate thriller is a blend of Welcome to Gattaca and the Handmaid's Tale. In 2071, the world is plagued by a climate-induced famine that has decimated most food sources, including livestock. This makes milk more valuable than gold. Mina Hodge is one of the top heifers in the US, women who sell their breast milk to food producers. She uncovers a sinister plot to reverse the famine and must decide what she values more her career or her autonomy. Hugo is a French publisher, so basically, this book is going to be available everywhere you can find books in French, and I have faith that it will be published in English soon, and when it is, I am totally buying a copy.

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This sounds really interesting and I have never, never, heard of a plot like this. That's what I do love about MK Williams or well, this pen name is Mary Kate Williams for her traditionally published things, but her self-published things are under MK Williams and, either way, I really enjoy her writing style. Um, and especially her plots are just very unique and very different. Uh, she has several different genres that she writes in. I read interview with a van lifer and really enjoyed it, and I also have on my shelf from her, um, the infinite infinite, which is the first book in that series, and that is a sci-fi thriller. And then I've also, like I said, I've used her writing resources, so I've bought some of her nonfiction books as well, and they've been very helpful, especially for self-pub. Anywhere where you get French books, then definitely pick up Heifer, it sounds amazing. Like I said, I already know that Mary Kate's writing is amazing. I can't wait for it to be translated into English and brought here as well.

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So next up we have you Belong here by Megan Miranda. I really enjoy Megan Miranda's writing. Again, very strong thriller writer. I don't have that many favorite thriller writers that I can say I genuinely love almost all of their books because, of course, with thrillers they can just be kind of hit or miss. So Megan Miranda is one of my favorites and her latest book is coming July 29th and it's called you Belong here and here we blurb is coming July 29th and it's called you Belong here and here. A blurb.

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A decades-old secret that drove a mother from her hometown now threatens her college-bound daughter in this twisty new thriller. There's a tradition on campus to chase through the woods for some kind of hazing game and that's how this all happens. Based on the um, there was like uh, what's it called? A book trailer that was there and this has a woods element. I have been dying for a woods thriller because a couple of years ago I say a couple, it might've been more like a few years ago Basically there were all these books that had, like, this wood element, that were fantastic and it was just like amazing thriller after amazing thriller after amazing thriller and for some reason most of them had a woods element and we have not seen that in a bit. So I'm very excited that Mega Miranda is hitting us with the woods element. I feel like Stacey Willingham is going back to her roots and getting closer to a flicker in the dark.

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I'm just so. I'm so excited for these thrillers. I really hope they help break my thriller slump that I am still, unfortunately, kind of like in and out and in and out, because, yeah, I don't know me and thrillers, just I, maybe I've gotten picky, I don't, I don't know, maybe I've read too much romance lately. I don't even know what it is. But then we have again. This is another book that sounds fantastic. So I'm really looking forward to the thrillers coming out this year, and I wasn't excited about a lot of the thrillers from last year, so I this is a breath of fresh air to just be excited about thrillers again.

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This is With a Vengeance, by none other than Riley Sager, and this is coming out June 10th. And if you don't, you know Riley Sager, come on. Um, I enjoyed. I know a lot of people don't like it, but I liked Final Girls. I liked Final Girls. Um, I liked Final Girls. Uh, the Only One Left is my favorite by Riley Sager.

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He also wrote the House Across the Lake. There's a car, one that's something about surviving, and I'm blanking on the exact title and Lock Every Door Like he. He has a lot and, oh, this past year. He just came out with Middle of the Night, which I enjoyed that book as well. It's a little bit slower, so it kind of got mixed reviews, so it just depends on what you like.

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But with the Vengeance is coming up, here's the blurb for that. Anna Matheson has waited 12 years to confront the people who destroyed her family, and now she's lured them on to an overnight luxury train journey from Philadelphia to Chicago to extract confessions and hand them to authorities at the end of the line. But Anna's plan is quickly derailed by the murder of one of the passengers, forcing her to hunt the mystery killer while protecting her sworn enemies. It's a race against time as the train barrels towards its final destination with Anna's life hanging in the balance. I mean a train, the woods what more could you ask for?

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I'm very excited for those three thrillers. That's all I put for my thriller section. I know you're like that's so short, but I was getting very tired by this point. And gosh, I think this outline is like 14 pages. So yeah, didn't have a whole bunch of thrillers. Moving on to fantasy again, I read a very specific type of fantasy, typically kind of like YA fantasy. So I'm sorry, I did not include every fantasy release. We would be here all day if I included any, like all of the releases anywhere, we'd be all day, but I am really looking forward to Watch Me. By Tahara Moffey.

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This book is coming out April 15th and it is the first book in a spin-off series from the original, iconic, acclaimed Shatter Me series that I fell in love with last year. Here here we go. It is actually called the New Republic series and, like I said, this is a spinoff with James who is Adam's little brother from the original series. If you know, um one warning I deleted a spoiler out of the blurb because there was a massive spoiler for the shatter me series. So just letting you know, if you look up the real thing and read the entire real blurb, um, and you have not read the original shatter me series, there are some huge. There's a huge spoiler in there, a huge spoiler, but I am shocked that they put that was a big reveal in the whole shatter me series. Again at this point, maybe they're like everyone that's already is going to read shatter me has read shatter me. If you haven't, I would recommend it Again.

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With Shatter Me, you got to get to book three. Book three is really where the series hits its stride. So if you read book one and you're like, what are you talking about, kristen? No, no, no, no, no, no, get get to book three. Book three through really five. Six was good but, like, book three through, five are just the best of that series. And the Found Family is really fantastic and there's a lot of action and there are crazy cliffhangers absolutely crazy. Okay, watch me. Here is the blurb for that.

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James Anderson has a plan, or half of one. All that matters is that he managed to do what the famous Aaron Warner never did infiltrate Ark Island, the last refuge of the reestablishment. In the past decade, no outsider has braced the stronghold of the authoritarian regime. But James is in In a prison cell, sure, but as far as James is concerned, a win is a win. It's been 10 years since the fall of the reestablishment, 10 years since the notorious duo, juliet Farrars and Aaron Warner, led a worldwide rebellion and established the new Republic of the West. But after a decade of unsettling quiet, the reestablishment is ready to make a devastating move, and they have the perfect person for the job. Rosabelle Wol Wolf had a plan. She always has a plan On Ark Island where constant surveillance is packaged as security.

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Even emotions must be experienced with caution. A trained assassin, her every movement is monitored by synthetic intelligence, and when she's given an order to kill, she never hesitates. Intelligence, and when she's given an order to kill, she never hesitates. Brimming with pulse pounding action and torturous romance, watch me as an explosive journey through a dystopian landscape where enemies to lovers has never felt more impossible. Step into a beloved and breathtaking world that demands an answer to a desperate question who are we when no one is watching? Ah, I cannot wait for this book. I'm so excited. Um, again, this is why I fantasy. And if you haven't read, shatter me, read it, um, but read it when you're ready, because you have to read the novellas. There's a novella in between every full standing book in the series, so you have to be ready to read all six books plus their corresponding novellas.

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I made the mistake of starting this series when I didn't have time to be reading this series and I absolutely had to tear through it, and I was also on a book ban. So I was running back and forth to the library like every other day trying to get the next book because I was just flying through them. So Shatter Me was fantastic. I know I'm late to the party, but it's fine because now I I remember everything for watch me and I don't have to reread the series. So yay me, okay. Uh, next up we have fearless by Lauren Roberts, and this is coming out on April 8th.

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I know I loved powerless okay, I really loved powerless and I enjoyed reckless a lot and the ending the ending cliffhanger on recklessckless was insane. So I am looking forward to that. And again, I think the consensus that I've really gotten and when I was talking about it with a book friend is that if you've read a lot of fantasy, this book is going to bug you and you're probably not going to like this series. But if you haven't read a whole lot of fantasy, this might be perfect for you. Again, you're gonna notice a lot of like similarities to Red Queen and Hunger Games, but for me, I just really enjoy the banter between Peyton and Kai. So that's that's what keeps me coming back and the crazy cliffhangers.

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I want to see how this trilogy ends. This is the last book in the powerless trilogy and here is the blurb. It's super short from what I could see or what I could find at this moment in time. So Paden Gray and Kai Azur return to the kingdom of Ilia, and Paden has a life-altering choice to make. Whatever she decides will determine her fate and the fate of those around her forever. In the ultimate battle of love and loyalty, who wins? Ah, I just want to know. I just want to know. If she ends the series on a cliffhanger, I will revolt. If she leaves this trilogy on a cliffhanger, I will revolt. I really hope she doesn't. That's going to be a first for her. She's going to have to not leave it on a cliffhanger this time. But yes, that that is Lauren Roberts latest book, fearless, coming out April 8th.

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Again, you've heard of it. You've been under a rock. If you haven't, sorry. Ok, last but not least, as if I have not talked enough, this is in the fantasy category, so those other two were YA fantasy. This is my only adult fantasy book on this list. Again, I got tired of making this list. I'm sure that I will read other series and get into them and find more adult fantasy books that I'm looking forward to and will read this year, but I'm in the middle of a lot of series.

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So, yeah, I have not read the first book in this series, but everyone that has read it has just raved about it, has raved about it, and they do typically read fantasy novels. Um, I also actually have a signed copy of the first book and I met the author because she came to my local Barnes and Noble and she was so incredibly nice. And again, when an author is incredibly nice which I have not run into a mean author but every time I go to a signing event and the author is super nice, it just makes me want to support their books even more. So I haven't even read the first book, the Games Gods Play, but I am looking forward to when I read it and my copy has the pretty sprayed edges and it's signed and it's super fancy and has like art in the beginning, so I think I'm gonna love this book. I've heard nothing but fantastic reviews.

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Anyway, once I get done reading the first book book, book two, the Things Gods Break, comes out September 16th and here is the blurb. And again, this is part of a trilogy and this would be book two in said trilogy, when Hades, the shadowy king of the underworld, chooses a cursed and reluctant champion to fight for him in the Crucible games. Ancient rivalries ignite, secrets unravel and forbidden alliances form. As the trials intensify, the line between mortal and divine blurs, and the stakes may reach far beyond the throne of olympus. Wow, that was a really well written blurb. After like reading all these blurbs, I'm like, wow, that that really stood out. Okay, I am definitely looking forward to that book.

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I'm looking forward to all these books. Don't forget they will be in the show notes. If you want to pre-order things. It really does help the authors out to pre-order. I need to put in some pre-orders. I need to decide which of these I'm gonna pre-order. I have read some of the books, the books that I've read in this grouping. I wrapping up and writing a review for you soon and posting it in between all the awesome episodes I have coming out in the future. I have talked long enough, so I will see you next time. Thank you.