Books I Plan to Reading September 20-26 and last week's results

 

Czesc (Hello in Polish),

I hope everyone had a good week. I have been fairly productive this week with regards to packing up my house. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. It has been a long time coming. (Enough tacky common phrases.) So has fall reached your area? We are finally spending more days in the 70's, going down to the 60's at night. Regardless of the temperatures, I am spending most of my waking hours inside, either reading or packing.

Here is last week's reading. I began one ebook and one audiobook that were planned, but I did not complete either. I will finish them up over the next couple of days.

Ebooks:

April's Fool by E.C. Land - 5 stars

Knight by Kate Bonham - 5 stars

Custody in the Crosshairs by Barb Han - 4 1/2 stars

Audiobook: 

Code Violation by Ruth Stilling - 4 1/2 stars

Planned reading for September 20-26

Ebooks:

(finish) Prey for Me by Allie Oleander

I am waiting on two possible ARCs so it could be one of these:

OR

Audiobook:

(finish) Can't Run with the Big Dogs by Tracy Carter

As with the ebooks, I have an audiobook ARC I am waiting on so it could one of these.

OR

Recently, I have been agreeing to fewer ARCs as I don't want to disappoint anyone once I begin our drive west when I will have less time to read. It should only be a week of travel, but I could still fall behind. This is at least a month off, so I have no firm plans.

As I say goodbye for the week, I want to remind you all to take a moment to relax every day. If you find a couple hours with nothing to do, look in that closet you seldom go in and go through what is there. I am finding stuff from when my in-laws lived here, and I do not have a use for it. Do not forget to donate those items that are still in good shape if you don't want it. I took about 7 boxes to one of the local donation drop offs. 

Well for now, Do widzenia (goodbye in Polish),

Release: Zombie Zoo (Felix & Ninja Adventures in Tub #1) by Melanie Abed with a giveaway

Zombie Zoo

Adventures in Tub (Felix & Ninja, Book 1)

by Melanie Abed

Upper Middle Grade

Date Published: 09-15-2026

Publisher: Oculus Print

Two orphan loners. One supernatural plague. When wood-eating zombies threaten their island, mismatched investigators Felix and Ninja must combine science and instinct to save Spinachi-before they're next.

ZOMBIE ZOO is Book 1 in a five-book middle grade adventure series for readers ages 8-13, blending paranormal mystery, zombies, unlikely friendship, and STEAM-powered problem-solving.

When 13-year-old aspiring naturalist Felix Fizzystyxx discovers that orphans at Wayward Amok Orphanage are transforming into wood-eating zombies, his quiet tree-fort observations are no longer enough. Someone has deliberately unleashed a strange plague on Tub's island town of Spinachi-and they're still out there.

To find a cure, Felix must team up with Ninja, a shadow-dwelling orphan who trusts her instincts and never backs down. Intense and razor-sharp, she notices what others overlook and lives up to her name as the island's most mysterious sleuth. With their eccentric mentor Doc Brunne compromised and the town's water supply contaminated by a glowing bioluminescent substance, the two mismatched investigators must combine scientific observation with sharp intuition to stop the outbreak before their island home is devoured.

Set on the fictional island of Tub, this fast-paced, humorous adventure naturally weaves in STEAM concepts-biology, chemistry, bioluminescence, water systems, pattern recognition, and the scientific method-within an age-appropriate supernatural mystery. Themes include unlikely friendship, identity, trust across differences, courage, and finding your voice when adults won't listen.

Featuring diverse protagonists, quirky humor, spooky-but-fun scares, and strong female and male leads. ZOMBIE ZOO is ideal for reluctant readers and fans of Max Brallier's The Last Kids on Earth, B.B. Alston's Amari and the Night Brothers, and Goosebumps. Comprehensive educator resources-including discussion guides, vocabulary lists, STEAM extension activities, and printable maps-support classroom use, library programming, book clubs, and make this title ideal for cross-curricular lessons bridging ELA, STEAM, and SEL.

About the Author

Melanie Abed is a behavioral expert turned story weaver. She believes dragons are real but hiding, and finds thunderstorms equally delightful and terrifying. A tea-loving bookworm, she champions young minds and writes to help kids discover their superpowers are real.

Contact Links

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Goodreads

Pinterest

Instagram: @byMelanieAbed

Purchase Links

https://mybook.to/ZombieZoo

Amazon

B&N

Walmart

Preorder: Talking Heat (The Forbidden Heat Series #5) by J.L. Stray

Talking Heat 

by JL Stray 

Releases on September 24th!

https://geni.us/TalkingHeat

Read With Kindle Unlimited

She's looking for redemption. He's looking for a new beginning. Neither expected to find both in each other.

My rookie coaching season didn't end the way I'd imagined. It ended in scandal.

Now I'm in Tampa, trying to rebuild my reputation with the Blaze, the NWSL's newest expansion team and a franchise that Florida still isn't sure it wants. This was supposed to be a fresh start, a chance to focus on soccer and prove I belong. Making friends was never part of the plan.

Then Ash Monroe, our starting goal keepers’ brother, keeps showing up.

At first, he's just a familiar face who always seems to be in the right place at the right time, determined to start conversations I'd rather avoid. I've spent months keeping everyone at a distance, convinced it's the safest way to move forward. But somehow, he slips past my defenses.

As Ash struggles to navigate a new reality and a future he never expected, I find myself caring about him in ways I never intended. The more time we spend together, the more I realize we're both searching for the same thing: a place to belong after everything we thought we knew fell apart.

The problem? Being with him feels dangerously familiar. Like I'm falling into old patterns, chasing a story I've already lived through once before.

And I'm not sure if this time the ending will be any different.

 

Cover Reveal and Preorder: Just Scoring with Love (Hockey Ever After #3) by Lauren Blakely

When she's practice dating her hockey star best friend, but it starts to feel like the real thing...

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Lauren Blakely, comes the next standalone hockey romance in her Hockey Ever After series, JUST SCORING WITH LOVE!

This spicy, childhood best friends-to-lovers, forced proximity, it’s always been you hockey romance about the cinnamon roll hero who’s secretly pining over his best friend releases January 13th in all formats, and will be free to read in Kindle Unlimited. Check out the cover and blurb below and pre-order your copy today!

✦ Amazon ➜ https://blkly.pub/JustScoringAMZ
✦ Audible ➜ https://blkly.pub/JSWLAudible

Cover Illustration and Design: Qamber Designs & Media

About JUST SCORING WITH LOVE (Coming 1/13/2027):

Confession - I've been secretly fake dating my hockey-playing best friend.

I went to his house for dinner and walked straight into a matchmaking trap!

Miller’s teenage siblings have decided he’s been off the dating market long enough raising them, so it’s time for him to get back out there. And as his childhood best friend, they appoint me to “practice date” him.

Even though it’s walking a dangerous line, the forbidden goalie with the sexy smirk supported me when an injury shattered my own hockey dreams, so I say yes. 

To writing his profile. Taking photos of him. Going on “trial” dates.

Huge mistake.

Looking at my best friend through a new lens becomes pure torture. 

I can’t stop imagining his talented hands gripping my hips, his tempting mouth coasting across my skin.

Until a desperate kiss late one night at the rink changes everything. 

But I’m a sports broadcaster trying to break barriers in a male-dominated industry. I don’t have time for romance, especially since I cover his team now.

So we make a new deal: a temporary arrangement to get it out of our systems.

Only the way Miller touches me after dark suggests he’s playing to win, and has been for years. And I want more. 

But can I risk the one relationship I can’t live without? 

This is Miller and Anna’s romance. Tropes include: hockey romance, single guardian, childhood best friends to lovers, it’s always been you, secret pining, practice dates and fake dating, forced proximity, workplace romance, he has a dog.

PRE-ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY!

✦ Amazon ➜ https://blkly.pub/JustScoringAMZ
✦ Audible ➜ https://blkly.pub/JSWLAudible

ABOUT LAUREN BLAKELY:

A #1 New York Times Bestselling, #1 Wall Street Journal Bestselling, and #1 Audible Bestselling author, Lauren Blakely is known for her contemporary romance style that’s sexy, feel-good and witty. Her books have been featured in US Weekly and People. Lauren likes dogs, cake and show tunes and she is the vegetarian at your dinner party. 

Connect w/ Lauren:

Website: laurenblakely.com 

NL Signup: http://laurenblakely.com/newsletter  

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LaurenBlakelyBooks

Instagram: http://instagram.com/laurenblakelybooks

Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@laurenblakelybooks 

 

Preorder: A Very Grumpy Green Beret (Wolf Valley: Grumps #18) by Shaw Hart

A Very Grumpy Green Beret 

by Shaw Hart 

Releases on September 25th!

https://geni.us/VeryGrumpyGB

Read On All Platforms

I only needed a place to hide. I didn’t expect the town’s grumpiest Green Beret to decide I was his.

Perry
I came to Wolf Valley to disappear.
So, the last thing I wanted was attention, especially not from the towering, scarred, permanently scowling man who lives in the cabin at the edge of town.
Luca Kane.
He barely speaks, barely smiles, and somehow always knows when something’s wrong.
When my tire blows on a deserted road, he’s there.
When a stranger asks too many questions, he’s suddenly at my side.
When my past comes creeping too close, he steps in without hesitation.
He fixes things I never asked him to, protects me like it’s instinct, and looks at me like he already knows all my secrets.
And that terrifies me, because I didn’t come here to fall in love, and I definitely didn’t come here to belong to a man like him.

Luca
I left the military to be alone.
No more noise, chaos, or attachments.
Then Perry walks into town with haunted eyes that she tries to hide behind a smile.
The second I look at her, something inside me locks into place.
She says she’s fine, but I know that’s a lie.
She jumps at shadows, sleeps with the lights on, and flinches like she expects the world to hurt her again.
Not on my watch.
Whatever she’s running from will have to come through me.
And that won’t end well for them because I didn’t survive war just to lose the woman who owns my heart.
And she is mine.

Whether she’s ready to admit it or not.

 

Release: Shielded by My Mate (Night Grove Falls: Midnight Haven #9) by Luna Wilder

Shielded By My Mate 

by Luna Wilder 

Available now!

https://geni.us/ShieldedByMyMate

Available On All Platforms

He’ll shield her from any danger.

Ansel
Now that my brother has found his fated mate, it’s lit a fire under me to find my own.
I’m about to head out to do just that, when I hear gunshots in my backyard.
When I go out to investigate, I see her.
My curvy little mate.
She’s pinned down behind some trees, and I growl as I charge into the fight to save her.
I shield her with my big body, an action that earns me a bullet wound to my shoulder, but I’m able to scare off the men and rescue my mate.
Now I have my mate with me, but we have a bigger problem.
How am I going to keep her safe when I’m injured myself?

Mira
When I wake up in the back of a moving truck, I know that I’m in trouble.
I’m able to get free, and I run, but I don’t make it far before they find me.
That’s when a strange man shows up.
He saves my life, taking a bullet for me in the process.
I know that I owe him everything.
He says he only wants one thing from me.
My heart.
And the terrifying part?

I think it already belongs to him.

 

Ebook Review: Custody in the Crosshairs (Wilde Country #1) by Barb Han

 

Blurb: 

To protect an innocent child,

danger will follow them at every turn.

Child Protective Services agent Carys Aldric is caught between doing what’s right and following protocol. Especially when it comes to rancher Blaize Wilde, the potential father of an orphaned baby, and hopefully the kind of man worth breaking the rules for. But unraveling the web of deception surrounding Blaize’s connection to the baby puts them straight in the line of fire, dodging bullets and searching for safety. Danger closes in from a past that refuses to stay buried—and a mystery mother who may have secrets of her own.

From Harlequin Intrigue: Seek thrills. Solve crimes. Justice served.

Discover more action-packed stories in the Wilde Country series. All books are stand-alone with uplifting endings but were published in the following order:

Book 1: Custody in the Crosshairs

Amazon: Amazon.com: Custody in the Crosshairs (Wilde Country Book 1) eBook : Han, Barb: Kindle Store

B&N: Custody in the Crosshairs | Barnes & Noble®

Kobo: Custody in the Crosshairs eBook by Barb Han - EPUB | Rakuten Kobo United States

Google: Custody in the Crosshairs by Barb Han - Books on Google Play

Goodreads: Custody in the Crosshairs (Wilde Country Book 1) by Barb Han | Goodreads

My Review - 4 1/2 of 5 stars - 

4 1/2 stars. I loved Carys and how much she cared about people. She was willing to break work rules in order to help one little baby. She was smart, and I enjoyed how she learned what she was actually capable of. Blaize had just come home and was feeling overwhelmed. He cared very much about his grandmother and the ranch. He was gallant, intelligent, patient, and very caring, even thinking of ways to help and/or keep the baby. Secrets lead to danger, faked death, and almost real death. I enjoyed their journey to help out this little baby find her mother rather than be in an orphanage.

This is my unsolicited review.

Audiobook Review: Code Violation (The Rules of the Rink #2) by Ruth Stilling, narrators Raven Hawkins and Tristan Josiah

 

Blurb: 

I’m in love with my brother’s ex-girlfriend.

After years of acting like Vesper Stone isn’t the girl of my dreams, I owe it to myself to be honest, even if the confession can only ever remain a secret.

There are so many reasons why I should forget about her. As the captain of the Seattle Rogues, I shouldn’t betray my only sibling, and I ought to honor the promise I made to our late mom to stand by him.

But my brother isn’t a good man, and I can’t take my eyes off the stunning bartender with sleek black hair and a smile that falters whenever she gets a text from the guy who never deserved her.

Voicing my feelings is a terrible idea. My brother isn’t only a bad person, but he’s dangerous, too, and my top priority is protecting the one girl I can never have.

But I didn’t make it as a pro hockey player without going after what I wanted, and regardless of who she is to my family, I can’t stop showing up at her apartment.

Maybe we can just be friends. I’d rather have that than lose her altogether. My brother doesn’t need to know we hang out and eat pizza while watching a movie.

But friends don’t hold their breath whenever they catch each other’s gaze, and they definitely don’t do what we did the other night …

I should walk away.
For her.
For us.
For the sake of keeping the peace.

So, why am I standing outside Vesper’s door right now, ready to lay my heart on the line? And why am I about to speak the words I vowed to take to my grave?

Because now that I’ve had her in my bed, I’ll go to war to keep her—and our baby—forever.

Amazon: Amazon.com: Code Violation (The Rules of the Rink Book 2) eBook : Stilling, Ruth: Kindle Store

Audible: Code Violation Audiobook by Ruth Stilling

Bookbub: Code Violation (The Rules of the Rink Book 2) by Ruth Stilling - BookBub

Goodreads: Code Violation (The Rules of the Rink #2) by Ruth Stilling | Goodreads

My Review - 4 1/2 of 5 stars - 

4 1/2 stars. I did enjoy this story. Silas was very patient, waiting for the right time to let Vesper know his truth, even while she was with his brother. He protected her, covered for her, and loved her. Vesper had allowed Kane to walk all over her until she realized she deserved better. I was glad that she finally saw her worth and what was truly in front of her. Secrets, steam, and some dangerous moments made their journey worth the read.
The narration was well done by Raven Hawkins and Tristan Josiah. I felt that they added an extra dimension to their personalities.

I received a copy through Hambright, and this is my unsolicited review.

Audiobook Preorder: Goode Tidings (Serendipity and Shenanigans) by Jennifer Millikin, narrators Hannah Chiclana and Aaron Donahue

Goode Tidings by Jennifer Millikin is now available for pre-order on audio!

Narrated by Hannah Chiclana & Aaron Donahue

Releasing on October 1, 2026 

Callum Goode, the grumpy creator of the beloved website Goode Tidings, never planned on unlawfully occupying the abandoned lakeside cabin where he spent summers as a child. But after a painful and humiliating betrayal, he trades the city for a secluded life in the mountains. There he finds peace, solitude, and a hot tub—which is where Callum happens to be when Eden Madigan and her teenage son wander onto his property claiming the cabin is theirs for the next year.

Seeking space from the newcomers, Callum moves into the small backyard office. Eden might be beautiful and funny, but she's also the no-filter ex-wife of Callum's former stepbrother, making her totally off-limits.

Callum appears to be all scowls and ruggedly handsome, but Eden knows there's more to him. She's determined to peel back his layers, but what she's really doing is getting under his skin in a way neither of them expected.

Eden maintains that bringing Callum coffee every afternoon is just a simple kindness. Callum claims he was only offering a friendly ear when Eden was upset. But the way Callum has been showing up in town wearing an uncharacteristic smile on his face says otherwise.

With tentative touches lingering, and lengthy glances heating up, Callum's grasp on his control begins to slip.

And when the tension finally snaps? There's no going back.

Pre-order today!

Audible: https://bit.ly/4cQho5H

Amazon: https://bit.ly/46nycgL 

Add to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/4gW82b7 

Cover Reveal and Preorder: Mechanic's Christmas Match (Trinity Falls Sweet Romance - Village Christmas #2) by Clara Pines

Mechanic's Christmas Match 

by Clara Pines 

Releases on October 6th!

https://geni.us/MechanicsMatch

Available on Kindle Unlimited

What happens when a lonely mechanic falls for the matchmaker trying to brighten his Christmas?

Rory Dunn moved to Trinity Falls last year for a fresh start, close to the only family he has. After years of fixing up motorcycles while trying to dodge a gang in the city, he’s relieved to have a good job at a repair shop in a tight-knit small town where everyone knows his name.

The only problem he can’t seem to solve is the way he feels about Ana Gutierrez, the owner of the local dress shop. Rory’s heart aches every time he catches sight of Ana. But she has a busy life she shares with her mother and the three-year-old nephew she adopted last winter.

Besides, with his unhappy past, Rory isn’t sure he’s worthy of being her man.

So, when Ana tries to set him up with a friend, Rory decides to go along with it. After all, it’s an excuse to spend more time with Ana and her family. And besides, the woman Ana has in mind won’t actually fall for him—he’ll make sure of that.

But as the holiday season kicks into gear, Rory, Ana, and adorable Theo start to spend more time together, and Rory starts to wonder if he can keep his feelings to himself. Especially when just about everyone in town seems to have big opinions about who this mechanic’s Christmas match should really be.

Trinity Falls Sweet Romance is all about finding family – one clean & wholesome romance at a time. The Trinity Falls Sweet Romance: Village Christmas inspirational series celebrates the people who live and work in a small Pennsylvania town at Christmastime, and find love and meaning in the season. If you love no spice books with cowboys, single dads, found family, caring community, and slow burn romance that makes you smile and sigh, this is the series for you!