From bestselling author Jillian Cantor comes a smart, edgy update of Jane Austen's beloved classic Emma.
Emma Woodhouse is a genius at math, but clueless about people. After all, people are unreliable. They let you down—just like Emma's sister, Izzy, did this year, when she moved to California for college. But numbers...those you can count on. (No pun intended.)
Emma's senior year is going to be all about numbers, and seeing how far they can take her. When she and George, her Coding Club co-president, are tasked with brainstorming a new project, The Code for Love is born—a matchmaking app that goes far beyond swiping, using algorithms to calculate compatibility. George disapproves of Emma's idea, accusing her of meddling in people's lives. But all the happy new couples at school are proof that the app works. At least at first.
Emma's code is flawless. So why is it that perfectly matched couples start breaking up, the wrong people keep falling for each other and her own feelings defy any algorithm? Emma thought math could solve everything. But there's nothing more complex—or unpredictable—than love.
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A Royal Christmas Quandary
Series: None
Author: Samantha Hastings
October 6th 2020 by Swoon Reads
Readers looking for a light, fun read full of holiday mischief will be delighted by Samantha Hastings' A Royal Christmas Quandary, perfect for fans of A Christmas Prince.
When you spend Christmas in a castle, anything is possible.
1860. Lady Alexandrina Gailey is looking forward to a cozy holiday at Windsor Castle with her best friend, Princess Alice, and her long-time crush, Lord George Worthington. But Drina's plans are all but dashed when Alice's parents, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, declare that Alice must choose one of two royal princes to become engaged to before Christmas.
There's just one problem: George, a junior member of the Foreign Office, has accidentally misplaced one of the princes.
Together, Drina and George scour the town of Windsor for the missing prince, desperately hoping to deliver him to the royal dinner party with the queen and king none the wiser. They might just need a royal Christmas miracle to pull it off.
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The Tower of Nero
Series: The Trials of Apollo #5
Author: Rick Riordan
October 6th 2020 by Puffin
It's time to face the final trial . . .
The battle for Camp Jupiter is over. New Rome is safe. Tarquin and his army of the undead have been defeated. Somehow Apollo has made it out alive, with a little bit of help from the Hunters of Artemis.
But though the battle may have been won, the war is far from over.
Now Apollo and Meg must get ready for the final - and, let's face it, probably fatal - adventure. They must face the last emperor, the terrifying Nero, and destroy him once and for all.
Can Apollo find his godly form again? Will Meg be able to face up to her troubled past? Destiny awaits . . .
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London's Most Elusive Earl
Series: Midnight Secrets #4
Author: Anabelle Bryant
October 13th 2020 by Lyrical Press
From USA Today bestselling author Anabelle Bryant comes a thrilling novel of unexpected passion—and its surprising consequences...
“Your philandering ways need to come to an end. I’ll not have my heritage die by your foolish neglect.” Lord Jonathan Cromford, Earl of Lindsey, is not surprised by his cold-hearted late father’s will and the numerous conditions for claiming his inheritance. But requiring that the rogue first produce an heir is beyond the pale. Still, there was nothing for it but to sacrifice his desires for the sake of his well-being. Temporarily, at least. Yet when Lindsey accidentally meets Lady Caroline Nicholson, he finds that his life is suddenly full of the unexpected...
Recently returned to London from Italy, Caroline won’t allow the questionable circumstances of her family’s hasty departure to overshadow her desire to marry well. With the help of her society-savvy cousins, she intends to be engaged before the season ends. But even her best laid plans do not prevent her from becoming tongue-tied upon meeting legendary rakehell, the Earl of Lindsey. She can only hope their instant attraction won’t devastate her future, much less her reputation. Still, as chemistry and fate throw them together, both Caroline and Lindsey may have to choose between comfort and pleasure, fear and truth, security and risk.
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A Scandalous Bargain
Series: The Pretenders #2
Author: Darcy Burke
October 13th 2020 by Darcy Burke Publishing
Tricked into marriage five years ago, Thomas Devereaux, Lord Rockbourne is suddenly a widower. Rumors abound that his wife’s death may not have been an accident and given the troubling secrets Thomas keeps buried, even he isn’t entirely sure. But when a woman sees what happened, he agrees to accept her help to disguise the facts in exchange for not divulging her suspicious behavior. Their arrangement grows more complicated under the force of a scorching mutual attraction.
Abandoned by her father—a duke—after the death of her mother—his beloved mistress—Beatrix Linley has fought to become a daughter he could be proud of, that he would regret leaving. She becomes the toast of the Season until her penchant for pilfering pretty things threatens to expose the illicit past she needs desperately to remain hidden. Soon the scandal and darkness both Beatrix and Thomas fear comes to light, compelling them to finally face their demons—and potentially driving them apart forever.
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The Redemption of a Rogue
Series: The Duke's By-Blows #4
Author: Jess Michaels
October 13th 2020 by The Passionate Pen LLC
The next steamy historical romance from USA Today Bestseller Jess Michaels.
Imogen Huxley was already questioning her decision to seek out a lover at a notorious brothel, but never more so than after she witnesses a murder! She flees for her life and runs right into the arms of Oscar Fitzhugh, a mysterious club owner. She has no choice but to take his offer of protection while he tries to save her life. The passion that comes with that protection is just a bonus.
Oscar Fitzhugh was at the brothel investigating the death of his former mistress. He’s one of the infamous by-blows of the Duke of Roseford, but he cut himself off from that life long ago. Now he lives his life, trying desperately to keep everyone around him at arm’s length. But Imogen is too intriguing not to protect and seduce.
Danger is at every turn, pleasure in each touch. But as they circle ever closer to a future that could be everything they’ve ever needed, the murderer looking for Imogen is also coming nearer. If he finds them, all will be lost.
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Any Rogue Will Do
Series: Misfits of Mayfair #1
Author: Bethany Bennett
October 13th 2020 by Forever
He ruined her reputation―now he's the only one who can save it.
For exactly one season, Lady Charlotte Wentworth played the biddable female the ton expected―and all it got her was society's mockery and derision. Now she's determined to be in charge of her own future. So when an unwanted suitor tries to manipulate her into an engagement, she has a plan. He can't claim to be her fiancé if she's engaged to someone else. Even if it means asking for help from the last man she would ever marry.
Ethan, Lord Amesbury, made a lot of mistakes, but the one he regrets the most is ruining Lady Charlotte's reputation. He's older and wiser now, but his attraction to Lottie never wavered. Going along with her charade is the least he can do to clean the slate and perhaps earn her forgiveness. And, if he's lucky, her love.
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A Golden Fury
Series: None
Author: Samantha Cohoe
October 13th 2020 by Wednesday Books
Thea Hope longs to be an alchemist out of the shadow of her famous mother. The two of them are close to creating the legendary Philosopher’s Stone—whose properties include immortality and can turn any metal into gold—but just when the promise of the Stone’s riches is in their grasp, Thea’s mother destroys the Stone in a sudden fit of violent madness.
While combing through her mother’s notes, Thea learns that there’s a curse on the Stone that causes anyone who tries to make it to lose their sanity. With the threat of the French Revolution looming, Thea is sent to Oxford for her safety, to live with the father who doesn’t know she exists.
But in Oxford, there are alchemists after the Stone who don’t believe Thea’s warning about the curse—instead, they’ll stop at nothing to steal Thea’s knowledge of how to create the Stone. But Thea can only run for so long, and soon she will have to choose: create the Stone and sacrifice her sanity, or let the people she loves die.
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Shine
Series: Shine #1
Author: Jessica Jung
October 15th 2020 by Electric Monkey
Crazy Rich Asians meets Gossip Girl by way of Jenny Han in this knock-out debut about a Korean American teen who is thrust into the competitive, technicolor world of K-pop, from Jessica Jung, K-pop legend and former lead singer of one of the most influential K-pop girl groups of all time, Girls Generation.
What would you sacrifice for a chance to live your dreams?
For seventeen-year-old Korean American Rachel Kim, the answer is almost everything. Or at least that’s been the answer for the past six years, ever since she was recruited by DB Entertainment—one of Seoul’s largest K-pop labels, known for churning out the industry’s most popular stars.
The rules are simple: Train 24/7. Be perfect. Don’t date. So while Rachel and her fellow trainees face grueling practices, punishing expectations, and ruthless competition, they know it’s worth it for the chance to debut in DB’s newest girl group.
And when the opportunity to sing with K-pop star and DB golden boy Jason Lee arises, Rachel knows this is her chance to get noticed. To finally debut. The only problem? Jason is charming, sexy, and ridiculously talented—he’s exactly the kind of distraction Rachel can’t afford to have. And exactly the kind she can’t stay away from.
Get ready as Jessica Jung, K-pop legend and former lead singer of Korea’s most famous girl group, Girls Generation, takes us inside the twisted, technicolor world of K-pop. Where following your dreams might just mean living through a nightmare. Where the stakes are high, but for one girl, the cost of success might be even higher.
It’s time for the world to see: this is what it takes to SHINE.
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The Devil's Own
Series: The Wicked Waywards #1
Author: Liana LeFey
October 19th 2020 by Entangled: Amara
All hell breaks loose, when the devil falls in love with an angel.
Lord Devlin Wayward, gambler and dedicated rake, returns home for the first time in years, and lands himself and his identical twin, Daniel, the good reverend, in deep trouble. Devlin ends up with a broken leg and unable to travel to London, yet he must return. He’s got an important deal that will make or break his fortune. He persuades the reluctant reverend to take his place in London while he temporarily minds his brother’s flock.
Miss Mary Tomblin is taken with the devastatingly handsome reverend. He represents everything she desires in a husband, after narrowly evading a ruthless rake last Season. Mary knows she'll make him an excellent wife, but the vicar rebuffs every advance – until he suddenly accepts her help with pastoral duties while his broken leg heals. Mary seizes the chance to show the good reverend what an excellent helpmeet she will be.
The devil takes on the role of village vicar and discovers it's nowhere near as easy as he imagined—especially when he falls in love with an angel who mistakes him for a saint.
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Among the Beasts & Briars
Series: None
Author: Ashley Poston
October 20th 2020 by Balzer + Bray
Cerys is safe in the kingdom of Aloriya.
Here there are no droughts, disease, or famine, and peace is everlasting. It has been this way for hundreds of years, since the first king made a bargain with the Lady who ruled the forest that borders the kingdom. But as Aloriya prospered, the woods grew dark, cursed, and forbidden. Cerys knows this all too well: when she was young, she barely escaped as the woods killed her friends and her mother. Now Cerys carries a small bit of the curse—the magic—in her blood, a reminder of the day she lost everything. The most danger she faces now, as a gardener’s daughter, is the annoying fox who stalks the royal gardens and won’t leave her alone.
As a new queen is crowned, however, things long hidden in the woods descend on the kingdom itself. Cerys is forced on the run, her only companions the small fox from the garden, a strange and powerful bear, and the magic in her veins. It’s up to her to find the legendary Lady of the Wilds and beg for a way to save her home. But the road is darker and more dangerous than she knows, and as secrets from the past are uncovered amid the teeth and roots of the forest, it’s going to take everything she has just to survive.
Goodreads
Once Upon a Time in Bath
Series: The Brides of Bath #7
Author: Cheryl Bolen
October 26th 2020 by Harper & Appleton
Lord Appleton may be a bit of a rake but he’s never been one to lose his head at the gaming tables. Yet he loses everything on a night of which he has no memory. How will he dower his sisters? Where will they live when the vile man who bought his debts forces them from their house in Bath? Lord Appleton will do anything to reclaim their house and avoid hurting his family—even if it means having to marry a peculiar heiress.
When Miss Dorothea Pankhurst arrives in Bath with her ailing father—and the four cats she’s never without—she is ignorant of the ways of Society. Then the kindly Lord Appleton and his gracious sister take her under their wing. She’s immediately smitten with the handsome viscount and thrilled beyond measure when he asks for her hand in marriage.
After the murder of a young dealer at the gambling house where Appleton played, Dot and Appleton grow closer as they work together to find the killer. But they’re not fully aware of the sinister forces trying to pull them apart . . .
Goodreads
Kingdom of the Wicked
Series: Kingdom of the Wicked #1
Author: Kerri Maniscalco
October 27th 2020 by Jimmy Patterson
Kerri Maniscalco introduces her next series, a dark tale of a beautiful young witch, a troubled demon, and their epic romance, set against a 19th century Italian backdrop.
Emilia and her twin sister Victoria are streghe - witches who live secretly among humans, avoiding notice and persecution. One night, Victoria misses dinner service at the family's renowned Sicilian restaurant. Emilia soon finds the body of her beloved twin...desecrated beyond belief. Devastated, Emilia sets out to discover who did this, and to seek vengeance at any cost—even if it means using dark magic that’s been long forbidden.
Then Emilia meets Wrath, the outlier among the seven demon brethren, always choosing duty over pleasure. He’s been tasked by his master with investigating a series of women’s murders on the island. When Emilia and Wrath’s fates collide, it’s clear this disturbing mystery will take a bewitching turn...
Goodreads
The Virgin Who Ruined Lord Gray
Series: The Swooning Virgins Society #1
Author: Anna Bradley
October 27th 2020 by Lyrical Press
Behind the doors of the Clifford Charity School for Wayward Girls, there lies a secret society of brilliant, fearless women who are bringing justice to London's most corrupt aristocrats, one nobleman at a time...
Other young ladies might occupy their spare time with drawing or needlework, but Sophia Monmouth spends hers scaling rooftops and shadowing suspicious characters. Her objective: to gain information that will free a friend wrongly accused of murder. She hasn't bargained on being spotted and followed back to the Clifford School by a mysterious earl who holds almost as many secrets as she does.
Tristan Stratford, Lord Gray, earned the nickname the Ghost of Bow Street because no man has ever escaped him. Sophia—all soft curves beneath her disguise—is a unique challenge. Determined to learn the truth about the Clifford School, he joins Sophia in a scheme that leads from Newgate's cells to the pinnacle of power. But when desire is at odds with justice, succumbing to temptation may lead them both into the heart of danger...
Goodreads What has caught your eye for October? Have you read any of these? Let me know :)