Chosen by FreshFiction.com as their Fresh Pick for October 22, 2013
Kat Bastion's award-winning debut in the Highland Legends Series:

Isobel MacInnes wakes up in present-day California, lunches in medieval Scotland, and by ten days' end, falls in love with a man and his country, only to lose them in a heart-wrenching twist of fate . . .

Found in the arms of her second soul mate . . .

Forced to balance the delicate strands of time between two millennia . . .

Shocked by revelations rewriting the very foundations of history . . . of everything.

Isobel, a rising-star archaeology student, is dropped into two ancient worlds without warning . . . or her permission. Her fiery spirit resists the dependency thrust upon her. Amid frustration at her lack of control, she helplessly falls in love. Twice.

She struggles to adjust to the unimaginable demands of two leaders of men--a laird in the thirteenth-century Highlands and a Pict chieftain in a more ancient Scotland. Isobel transforms from an academic, hell-bent on obtaining archaeological recognition, to a woman striving to care for those she loves, and ultimately . . . into a fearless warrior risking everything to protect them.

*** PLEASE NOTE ***
Scorching (explicit) sex scenes.
Fire extinguisher highly recommended.

They were heading for Venus. Somewhere else found them first…

When a sudden impact sends a spacecraft bound for a distant research station hurtling towards a previously unseen and inexplicable planet, responsibility for the safety of its passengers immediately falls on Ivy ‘Holly’ Wood, a former poster-child of the public space program now fleeing Earth’s tyrannical leadership.

The mysterious planet’s startlingly Earth-like atmosphere initially breeds optimism among Holly’s group of stranded survivors, but before long it becomes clear that Earth’s rules don’t apply and that nothing can be taken for granted.

With all hopes of escape dependent on discovering the true nature of this increasingly hostile planet, Holly and the rest of the desperate survivors know only one thing for sure: their newly discovered world will not give up its secrets without a fight.


Terradox is a sci-fi thriller/adventure novel from the author of the breakout bestseller Not Alone, an Audible.com ‘Best of 2016’ finalist. [Paperback length: 550 pages]

The last words of a dying teenage car thief set off a race across Europe to find an SUV that may be harboring a terrible secret. If the device that could be hiding in the truck, fell into the hands of those who murdered its inventors, the world would usher in a new unprecedented era of terrorism. Carter knows that it’s no coincidence that his old FBI boss, Agent Saunders reaches out to him once again—two days before Carter and Stella are to leave on vacation—for Europe. The only reason why he reluctantly agrees to help is because he knows only too well what would happen if the device was weaponized. The car theft ring spans two continents and the police on both ends have been watching it for some time. Still, no one, least of all Carter would have thought that beside the dangerous invention that may be hiding in the SUV, other far more deadlier goods are being smuggled out of California’s laboratories.

Within seventy-two hours of landing in Nice, Carter and Stella are in the proverbial eye of the storm. What swirls around them in a deadly funnel is a chilling conspiracy that reaches the highest spheres of money and political power in Europe. And just as Carter is asking himself whether the vacation could get any more dangerous, something even more sinister than political machinations rises in their path. A mythological entity that even Stella thought was a pure myth, forces them to take a challenge neither is prepared for.

Eric Beckman, a mind-reading private investigator, is spending Christmas in snowy Vermont with his wife and daughter. He needs a break from solving cases, but the townspeople convince him to look into the village mystery: Every holiday season, someone switches the baby Jesus with one of the other figures in the town’s nativity scene.

With the help of his ten-year-old daughter, also a mind reader, he soon learns that some of the residents of the small town are not who—or even what—they seem to be. There’s something supernatural going on in Newburn, Vermont.

His investigation causes an escalation of strange happenings, and soon, swapped manger figures are the least of the town’s worries. If Beckman can’t adjust his view of the world—force himself to believe in things he never thought possible—the Christmas vacation could turn out to be his family’s last.

A Mind Reader’s Christmas may be read as a standalone book or as Book Four in the Eric Beckman series.

WHEN YOUR EX ARRESTS YOUR MOM FOR MURDER, YOU…
(A) SET UP A GoFundMe FOR BAIL
(B) BUST HER OUT
(C) INVEST IN A MAGNIFYING GLASS… (ANSWER BELOW)
Missy DeMeanor, voluptuous craft queen extraordinaire, is big and beautiful, disciplined, ambitious, hard-working, resourceful, creative, and – yes, suspected of murder.

Not even a sighting of Missy’s hot ex-boyfriend at the bookstore where she works can deter her from her flea market quest. It’s a perfect September Saturday for garage sale shopping in tiny Grove City, Pennsylvania -- blue skies, seventy-five degrees – and Missy DeMeanor is set on scoring that cabinet she’s had her eye on. Driving a hard bargain is one thing, but now the seller is dead – and the so-handsome investigating office says it’s murder!

Who should the investigating officer turn out to be but Tyler Brock, the boy Missy dated in high school, recently returned to Grove City after a decade in Philadelphia, with an undetermined marital status. And he’s acting like he still has feelings for her – when he’s not asking pointed questions and scribbling in his notebook. Surely Tyler doesn’t think she’s a killer!

But the whole town seems in on family secrets Missy’s just learning that could be a strong motive – secrets about a business deal gone bad between the murdered man and Missy’s own father, and about a violent incident involving her mother, whom even Tyler acknowledges to be “the sweetest woman on earth.” Even worse than being suspected of murder? Missy’s mother being suspected of murder. Things have gotten so out of hand that Missy deduces her friend Noreen, the avid mystery reader, is right: it’s up to Missy to find the killer! And like that: a talented amateur sleuth is born.

Since Missy works in a bookstore, devotees of Carolyn Hart’s Death on Demand series will think they've come home again. Animal lovers will fall for her dog Cody, and fans of women sleuths, especially light, delicious cozies you can read fast, with no cliffhangers, on-the-page violence or graphic scenes will eat this series up. If you like Gina LaManna, Jana DeLeon, Mary Daheim, and Leighann Dobbs, give Missy a try!

EDITOR'S NOTE: In an earlier version of this book, Missy's distress came out in a couple of unseemly expletives. She has since gotten hold of herself; this one is squeaky clean!

“From the forest depths there burst forth the terrible uproar of battle. The deep tones of the cannon marked time to the incessant roll of musketry, which, like the explosion of long strings of fire-crackers, ran along the whole line where the contestants retreated or advanced to the attack…”

Recollections of a Private is a vibrant and exhilarating account of what life was like as an ordinary Union soldier in the Army of the Potomac. Unusually for an account of the Civil War of the mid-1800s, Warren Lee Goss describes with detail life behind-the-scenes in the soldiers’ camps, lending as much detail to these prosaic but intimate scenes as to the violent battle scenes. Grave accounts of skirmishes, campaigns, human losses, injuries are juxtaposed with humorous interjections about the diets of mules – did you know “they eat anything, including canal boats and rubber blankets”? – or snippets of the playful conversations between the young men. These lend this Civil War account an unparalleled sense of honesty. Bursting with vivid, colourful details about life interacting with civilians, both friend and foe, the perils of marching through mud, and the heart-stopping first experiences on the battle-field, Goss’s writing is sure to transport you back in time with his eye-opening, frank-yet-funny recollections.

Albion Press is an imprint of Endeavour Press, the UK's leading independent digital publisher. For more information on our titles please sign up to our newsletter at www.endeavourpress.com. Each week you will receive updates on free and discounted ebooks. Follow us on Twitter: @EndeavourPress and on Facebook via http://on.fb.me/1HweQV7. We are always interested in hearing from our readers. Endeavour Press believes that the future is now.

Handsome, New York City, Beatles-music-obsessed prep school graduate, Colin falls for free spirit and wild child Jasmine from Laguna Beach, California in this teenage love story. Green eyes, high cheekbones, long blond hair. He thinks she is beautiful. Colin find himself madly in love with Jasmine, believes he has met "the one" and experiences all the agony and ecstasy of a first romance. But dating Jasmine turns out be a rollercoaster ride that changes Colin's life forever.

After centuries of religiously motivated war, the world has been split in two. Now the Blessed Lands are ruled by pure faith, while in the Republic, reason is the guiding light-two different realms, kept apart and at peace by a treaty and an ocean.

Children of the Republic, Helena and Jason were inseparable in their youth, until fate sent them down different paths. Grief and duty sidetracked Helena's plans, and Jason came to detest the hollowness of his ambitions.

These two damaged souls are reunited when a tiny boat from the Blessed Lands crashes onto the rocks near Helena's home after an impossible journey across the forbidden ocean. On board is a single passenger, a nine-year-old girl named Kailani, who calls herself The Daughter of the Sea and the Sky. A new and perilous purpose binds Jason and Helena together again, as they vow to protect the lost innocent from the wrath of the authorities, no matter the risk to their future and freedom.

But is the mysterious child simply a troubled little girl longing to return home? Or is she a powerful prophet sent to unravel the fabric of a godless Republic, as the outlaw leader of an illegal religious sect would have them believe? Whatever the answer, it will change them all forever... and perhaps their world as well.

“The book is like a salve.  I think the world feels disordered right now.  The count’s refinement and genteel nature are exactly what we’re longing for.” – Ann Patchett

“How delightful that in an era as crude as ours this finely composed novel stretches out with old-World elegance.” —The Washington Post

He can’t leave his hotel. You won’t want to.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Rules of Civility—a transporting novel about a man who is ordered to spend the rest of his life inside a luxury hotel.

In 1922, Count Alexander Rostov is deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, and is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol, a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin. Rostov, an indomitable man of erudition and wit, has never worked a day in his life, and must now live in an attic room while some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history are unfolding outside the hotel’s doors. Unexpectedly, his reduced circumstances provide him entry into a much larger world of emotional discovery.

Brimming with humor, a glittering cast of characters, and one beautifully rendered scene after another, this singular novel casts a spell as it relates the count’s endeavor to gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be a man of purpose.

“And the intrigue! . . . [A Gentleman in Moscow] is laced with sparkling threads (they will tie up) and tokens (they will matter): special keys, secret compartments, gold coins, vials of coveted liquid, old-fashioned pistols, duels and scars, hidden assignations (discreet and smoky), stolen passports, a ruby necklace, mysterious letters on elegant hotel stationery . . . a luscious stage set, backdrop for a downright Casablanca-like drama.” —The San Francisco Chronicle

Soon to be a major motion picture from Pascal Pictures, starring Tom Holland.

Based on the true story of a forgotten hero, the #1 Amazon Charts bestseller Beneath a Scarlet Sky is the triumphant, epic tale of one young man’s incredible courage and resilience during one of history’s darkest hours.

Pino Lella wants nothing to do with the war or the Nazis. He’s a normal Italian teenager—obsessed with music, food, and girls—but his days of innocence are numbered. When his family home in Milan is destroyed by Allied bombs, Pino joins an underground railroad helping Jews escape over the Alps, and falls for Anna, a beautiful widow six years his senior.

In an attempt to protect him, Pino’s parents force him to enlist as a German soldier—a move they think will keep him out of combat. But after Pino is injured, he is recruited at the tender age of eighteen to become the personal driver for Adolf Hitler’s left hand in Italy, General Hans Leyers, one of the Third Reich’s most mysterious and powerful commanders.

Now, with the opportunity to spy for the Allies inside the German High Command, Pino endures the horrors of the war and the Nazi occupation by fighting in secret, his courage bolstered by his love for Anna and for the life he dreams they will one day share.

Fans of All the Light We Cannot See, The Nightingale, and Unbroken will enjoy this riveting saga of history, suspense, and love.

Is she the answer to his dreams … or the person who will be forced to destroy them?

He’s a farmer, dammit, not a bookkeeper

When Stetson Miller inherits his father’s farm in Idaho, he’s too focused on crops and yields to pay attention to the financial side of things. The next thing he knows, he’s got a stack of unpaid bills, the bank is threatening to foreclose … and the auditor who’s come to examine his accounts is the sexiest thing he’s ever laid eyes on.

But she’s a city girl, just like the last one who left him at the altar. He’ll guard his heart – but he can’t help wanting her.

She’s checking him out … in more ways than one

Jennifer Kendall doesn’t mind a tough job, but the handsome Stetson is trouble of a different kind. When he isn’t making her mad, he’s filling her head with all sorts of forbidden fantasies.

The sparks between them fly even faster when the road washes out and Jennifer has to spend the night on the farm. But passion alone won’t pay the bills. Can Jennifer find a way for Stetson to save his farm?

And if she can’t, will he ever forgive her?

Accounting for Love is the first novel in the Long Valley world, although all books in the Long Valley world can be read as standalones. It has some strong language, and oh my, sexy times. If you would prefer the sweet version, it is also available on Amazon. Either way, enjoy!

She's here for her Christmas holiday
But she might find more than just snow!
A baby is not even a part of the deal, 
If only plans worked all the time! 

Training the rich to ski and landing hot ski bunnies at every turn is my passion
This season again I am all ready for my next set of girls at Aspen
But one look at Bea and I realise, I'm in trouble...
Her beautiful looks, and those perfect curves steal my heart;
And one hot night of passion, 
Leads to more than what I bargained for. 
I am not sure I'm even ready for...this baby.

Note from Mia: This is a FULL LENGTH Christmas and New Year Secret Baby Romance with HEA guaranteed!!! Also included with this book are some HOT bonuses to double your pleasure!!! 

PLEASE NOTE: Although this book is part of the IRISH LOTTERY SERIES, there is no cliffhanger. It is true that the characters get older as the series progresses, but each book is a complete story, and can be enjoyed without having read the previous book.

It's danger on the high seas for the Barnetts, but will it come from the authorities, Mother Nature or family Flood?

In Wisconsin six years ago, Ursula Barnett accidentally defrauded her local church of thousands. The statute of limitations is inching closer, and the police are circling in. Panicked, Ursula books herself and her American family passage on a budget centennial Titanic cruise, hoping to ride out the investigation and embark a woman redeemed.

But lurking amongst the leaky walls of the Queen of Crabs is a danger worse than disgruntled, poorly-paid staff, bad food and terrifying onshore excursions: her Irish family, still resentful of the Barnett's lottery win years earlier. Sister-in-law Fionnuala Flood, knowing Ursula is a sitting duck for the next twelve days, rallies the family to retaliate, stopping at nothing to drag lady of leisure Ursula back down into the gutter that is their own life. The Queen of Crabs, though, is not Derry, Northern Ireland, but an alien battlefield, where the Barnetts and Floods find more enemies lurking outside the family than within.

Fleeing The Jurisdiction is equal parts Titanic, Love Boat and Voyage of the Damned, a darkly comic story of family relationships, the politics of envy and, perhaps, some personal redemption.

In April 1861 war was declared between the Union and the Confederacy.

When the news came it made Fletcher nervous, as he was working but didn’t want to miss his chance to enlist; reaching an agreement, he began his journey the following day.

Two years later, on the third day at Gettysburg, Fletcher recalls how he became temporarily afflicted with a “bad case of cowardly horror” following the order to prepare to charge.

But Fletcher could also be a restless man and was brave to a fault, frequently seeking permission for dangerous raids or patrols in the lulls between battles.

Wounded on numerous occasions, Fletcher became incapacitated for further infantry service and was transferred to the cavalry, where he would serve for the rest of the war.

It was during this time that he was taken prisoner by Union troops, and Fletcher’s account of his capture, and the formation and execution of his escape plan is worthy of a classic thriller.

With its combination of straightforward prose and unexpected philosophising, Rebel Private is an arresting account of one line soldier’s experience.

William Andrew Fletcher (1839-1915) was a lumberman, scout and soldier from Louisiana. In 1856 the family moved to Texas, and five years later he enlisted in the Confederate Army. Serving throughout the Civil War, he survived and returned to Texas, where he later married and raised a family.

I'm gonna have to show her how things are done out in the country.
Felicity Hamilton is everything I expect a New Yorker to be: classy, sassy, and a royal pain in the butt. And she doesn't understand the first thing about life in Montana.

I know her type, city girls looking for a hook-up that's different and wild, as long as they can go back to their pedicures and fancy cocktails the next day.

Everything about her makes me sweat. But is she working for me? Or for the corporation trying to buy my ranch?

This ranch has been in my family for three generations. Some sexy little slip of a girl from downtown coming in here and telling me how to run my business? Not happening.

Although I'm big enough to admit that maybe spanking that bare butt of hers wasn't the right way to deal with this.
Even though I know she liked it.

Truth is, she's all I can think about. I crave her, but I don't know if I can trust her.

I'm burning to be with her, but if she thinks I'll give up the ranch without a fight, she'll find out just how cold a Montana winter can be.

Leather & Lace -

"No one does Alpha heroes like Samantha A. Cole!"—New York Times, USA Today, #1 Amazon Bestseller, and Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author, Susan Stoker

How does a “vanilla” woman write a BDSM novel? With hands-on research!

Kristen needs inspiration and personal experience for a sequel to her unexpected and kinky bestseller. Devon, an ex-Navy SEAL and private club owner, is all too happy to help.

Soon, a single weekend of hot and dirty sex turns into something more. But while they fight their connection, a killer has Devon in his sights.

Will they survive with their hearts and lives intact?

His Angel -

Angie has been looking for Mr. Right, but all her dates have turned out to be Mr. Oh-so-wrong. Until she meets her new neighbor’s boss—tall, dark, and deliciously dominant.

Ian, owner of a private security company and an elite BDSM club, has had his eye on the pretty blonde since the day they were introduced. He convinces himself he should stay away from her until a secret he must keep to himself gives him a reason to get closer to her.

When trouble knocks on Angie's front door, she puts her life in Ian's hands. His security team is determined to keep her alive at all costs, but when the smoke clears, will Angie walk out of Ian's life forever?

Waiting For Him -

Thirty-six hours was all it took for eighteen-year-old Ben to go from being the happiest man alive to having his world fall apart.

Kat was his best friend’s sister and the only woman to ever hold the key to Ben’s heart. Then she and her family were gone in an instant, killed in a devastating accident.

Twelve years later, Kat emerges from the shadows of the Witness Protection Program, only to find the danger her father had placed them in still out there. The last thing she wants to do is put her high-school sweetheart in danger, but he's the only person she trusts with her life.

Working for a private-security firm, Ben is shocked when his evening appointment is a ghost from the past. He knows he can't refuse to help Kat, but when it's over he knows he’ll have to let her go; she deserves better than the man he's become.

Will Ben and Kat survive, or will he once again have to bury the only woman he's ever loved?

***The Trident Security series contains elements of the BDSM lifestyle, sensual romance, nail-biting suspense, and happily-ever-afters.

Will Ben and Kat survive? Or will he once again have to bury the only woman he's ever loved?

The books of the Trident Security Series can be read as stand-alones, however, for optimum enjoyment they are best read in order.

Rick fears two things, the holidays and losing Linnea.

Too many lights on the taproom Christmas tree? Impossible. Linnea layers on lavish holiday abundance. Yet, every decoration she hangs darkens Rick’s mood and expands the divide between them.

When orange and black Halloween decorations shift to holiday red and green, Rick waits for that call. It always comes, and he always responds. Grace won’t survive another winter on the streets of Portland without his help. Yet, his stubborn sister refuses to accept more. Rick gives what she will receive - a blanket, food, a tarp, and money.

Accustomed to hiding this broken holiday tradition, Rick manages on his own, avoiding pity and pain.
Linnea could help if Rick shared the truth. Pushing away the woman he loves protects his pride, but she craves all of this man, even the broken pieces of his heart.

Mr. Dreamy saved my life.
Now, he's staring at me like I'm his prey.
The temperature outside may be subzero.
But the heat between us is dangerously high.
Cabin fever has never felt this good.

Liam:
There she was, lost, scared and alone.
And f*cking stunning.
I gave society the finger when I moved to the mountains.
But, when I saw her hurt and afraid, my inner beast went on overdrive.
Now, it's just me and her, alone in my cabin.
We're waiting for the storm to stop - but as a man with needs...
I'm finding it hard to resist her intoxicating beauty.
And, the look in her eyes tells I'm not alone.
Meeting Whitney was chance... but letting her go just isn't an option.
I hope my days of hell from the Navy don't ruin the best damn thing to happen to me.

70,000+words in this full length standalone romance. Bonus content included after the main story, including a new secret baby romance. Grab your copy today.

It's Christmas in snowy Colorado, and the Trent brothers are home for the holidays.
All six men have their eyes set on one lucky lady.

They were rough. Rugged. And ridiculously sexy.

NOW A TOP 50 AMAZON BESTSELLER!

The Trent boys were my best friends.
Football games were always fun.
Body to body contact.
With them, I always liked it rough.
But, that's where it stopped.
Because they were the Lost Boys.
And I was their Tinkerbell.

Now, I'm home for Christmas.
And something is different.
Maybe it's the way their eyes examine my body.
And linger at my peaks and valleys.

I must be imagining it, right?
How can all six mountain brothers want me?

One night, they want to play a naughty game of truth or dare.
Six untamed mountain men.
One unassuming girl.
One secluded cabin in the woods.

Will this be the most unforgettable night ever?
Or, will I regret letting my inhibitions finally get the best of me?

70,000+ words in this full-length standalone romance. Bonus content included after the main story, including a full-length reverse harem Christmas Romance. Grab your copy today.

Jana
How to seduce a cop for Christmas
Flirt shamelessly when said sexy cop pulls you over.
Send naughty texts.
Sweet-talk him into dinner.
Melt... 
Wait a sec. This was supposed to be just a little harmless fun.
He's in way too deep.
So is my heart.

Finn
A fender bender lands Jana Sparks in my police cruiser.
All I'm supposed to do is give her a ride.
Instead, I'd like her to ride me.
She's bold, brash and beautiful.
I thought I was too cynical to fall for someone again.
Jana makes me so hot, I ache for her.
I can't keep my hands off of her, and I can't keep her from stealing my heart.
My heart was hers the first night we spent together.
I just have to make her believe it.

*This is a steamy, full-length standalone romance with a guaranteed happily-ever-after. No cliffhangers. Nothing but steamy romance & HEA!