This year’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday book deals didn’t do much for me, which means hopefully I’ll have a few more dollars to spend on December new releases. Usually as the year winds down, I use December to catch up on books that I meant to read, but didn’t. The thing is, the are some great December releases in romance and romantic suspense you’ll want to check out. Just in time to settle in with a hot cocoa or a cup of tea.
The December new releases we’re looking forward to:
The Accidental Beauty Queen by Teri Wilson (Gallery Books; Dec. 4)
Charlotte Gorman loves her job as an elementary school librarian, and is content to experience life through the pages of her books. Which couldn’t be more opposite from her identical twin sister. Ginny, an Instagram-famous beauty pageant contestant, has been chasing a crown since she was old enough to enunciate the words world peace, and she’s not giving up until she gets the title of Miss American Treasure. And Ginny’s refusing to do it alone this time.
She drags Charlotte to the pageant as a good luck charm, but the winning plan quickly goes awry when Ginny has a terrible, face-altering allergic reaction the night before the pageant, and Charlotte suddenly finds herself in a switcheroo the twins haven’t successfully pulled off in decades.
Woefully unprepared for the glittery world of hair extensions, false eyelashes, and push-up bras, Charlotte is mortified at every unstable step in her sky-high stilettos. But as she discovers there’s more to her fellow contestants than just wanting a sparkly crown, Charlotte realizes she has a whole new motivation for winning.
Get the Accidental Beauty Queen at the Ripped Bodice | Amazon | Apple Books
My Favorite Half-Night Stand by Christina Lauren (Gallery Books, Dec. 4)
Millie Morris has always been one of the guys. A UC Santa Barbara professor, she’s a female-serial-killer expert who’s quick with a deflection joke and terrible at getting personal. And she, just like her four best guy friends and fellow professors, is perma-single.
So when a routine university function turns into a black tie gala, Mille and her circle make a pact that they’ll join an online dating service to find plus-ones for the event. There’s only one hitch: after making the pact, Millie and one of the guys, Reid Campbell, secretly spend the sexiest half-night of their lives together, but mutually decide the friendship would be better off strictly platonic.
But online dating isn’t for the faint of heart. While the guys are inundated with quality matches and potential dates, Millie’s first profile attempt garners nothing but dick pics and creepers. Enter “Catherine”—Millie’s fictional profile persona, in whose make-believe shoes she can be more vulnerable than she’s ever been in person. Soon “Catherine” and Reid strike up a digital pen-pal-ship…but Millie can’t resist temptation in real life, either. Soon, Millie will have to face her worst fear—intimacy—or risk losing her best friend, forever.
Perfect for fans of Roxanne and She’s the Man, Christina Lauren’s latest romantic comedy is full of mistaken identities, hijinks, and a classic love story with a modern twist. Funny and fresh, you’ll want to swipe right on My Favorite Half-Night Stand.
Get My Favorite Half-Night Stand at the Ripped Bodice | Amazon | Apple Books
Hot Shot Doc by R.S. Grey (Dec. 6)
Dr. Russell has a bad reputation around our hospital. The scrub techs say he’s cold-blooded, the nurses say he’s too cocky for his own good, and the residents say he’s the best surgeon in the world—really, just a swell guy!—on the off chance he’s within earshot.
I try to avoid him and his temper at all costs. It’s just as easy to admire his sexy, grip-it-while-he’s ravishing-you hair and chiseled jaw from a healthy distance, preferably from the other end of the hallway half-hidden behind a plant.
Unfortunately, my plan crumbles when my trusty ol’ boss decides to swap his white coat for a Hawaiian shirt. His retirement leaves me with two terrible options: switch specialties and spend months retraining, or take an open position as Dr. Russell’s surgical assistant.
That means I have to stand near him in the OR for hours on end and anticipate his every need without letting his biting words and bad attitude intimidate me. Oh, and as if that’s not difficult enough, my silly crush on him—the one I’ve tried to stomp on until it disappears—might just be reciprocated.
It’s fine.
I’m fine.
I take my job seriously. There will be no smoldering bedroom eyes across the operating table, no angry almost-kisses in the storage closet. (Well, no more of those.)
What’s the phrase? An apple a day keeps the doctor away?
Maybe I should go for a whole damn bushel.
Pre-order Hotshot Doc for 99 cents on Amazon
Verity by Colleen Hoover (Hoover Ink; Dec. 7)
UPDATE 12/4: Colleen Hoover moved up the release date to Dec. 7)
Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts the job offer of a lifetime. Jeremy Crawford, husband of bestselling author Verity Crawford, has hired Lowen to complete the remaining books in a successful series his injured wife is unable to finish..
Lowen arrives at the Crawford home, ready to sort through years of Verity’s notes and outlines, hoping to find enough material to get her started. What Lowen doesn’t expect to uncover in the chaotic office is an unfinished autobiography Verity never intended for anyone to read. Page after page of bone-chilling admissions, including Verity’s recollection of what really happened the day her daughter died.
Lowen decides to keep the manuscript hidden from Jeremy, knowing its contents would devastate the already grieving father. But as Lowen’s feelings for Jeremy begin to intensify, she recognizes all the ways she could benefit if he were to read his wife’s words. After all, no matter how devoted Jeremy is to his injured wife, a truth this horrifying would make it impossible for him to continue to love her.
Get Verity on Amazon.
NOVELLAS:
Hoops Holiday by Kennedy Ryan (Dec. 17) Cover and more info coming 12/5
What we know so far:
-Full-Court Press novella, originally published in the TEAM PLAYER Anthology (expanded with new content & epilogue)
-Approximately 100 pages of NEW content for LONG SHOT (Iris & August) and for BLOCK SHOT (Banner & Jared)
-Preview of HOOK SHOT (Lotus & Kenan), slated for March 2019.
One Bed for Christmas by Jackie Lau (Dec. 14)
A friends-to-lovers story with unrequited love, an inflatable T-Rex costume, and an elderly barbershop quartet. More details coming soon.
This is a prequel to Jackie Lau’s upcoming Baldwin Village series. It will be free for newsletter subscribers (sign up here), then available days later at retailers for 99 cents.
