First Reads Amazon

From New York Times bestselling author J.T. Ellison comes a taut thriller about one author at the pinnacle of her career, whose past threatens to destroy everything she has—and everyone she knows. A great writer knows when to deliver a juicy plot twist. But for one author, the biggest twist of all is her own murder. With a number of hit titles and a highly anticipated movie tie\-in, celebrated novelist Columbia Jones is at the top of her game. Fans around the world adore her. But on the final night of her latest book tour, one face in the crowd makes the author collapse. And by the next morning, she’s lying dead in a pool of blood. Columbia’s death shocks the world and leaves Darian, her daughter and publicist, reeling. The police have nothing to go on—at first. But then details emerge, pointing to the author’s illicit past. Turns out many people had motive to kill Columbia. And with a hungry reporter and frustrated cop on the trail, her secrets won’t stay buried long. But how many lives will they shatter as the truth comes out?

The fate of a cursed nation depends on a princess who must outwit a mortal enemy and outlast the trials of a death\-defying ritual in a thrilling adventure by USA Today bestselling author Sariah Wilson. Lia is the princess of Locris, a dying desert nation cursed centuries ago by an earth goddess—one still worshipped by the thriving and adversarial nation of Ilion. Every year, Ilion offers the goddess a sacrifice: two Locrian maidens forced to compete in a life\-and\-death race to reach her temple. In a millennium, no maiden has made it out of Ilion alive. This year, Lia is one of the hunted. An education in battle gives her a fighting chance, but the challenges are greater than she feared: Lia’s beloved but untrained sister Quynh has been put in the path of danger. The winding streets of Ilion itself have been transformed into a labyrinthine maze of countless choices and dead ends. And if the risks weren’t significant enough, Lia is reluctantly drawn to the commandingly attractive Jason, an Ilionian sailor she loathes to trust and desires like no man before. The tribute game is on. It’s up to Lia to lift the goddess’s curse, restore Locris to its former glory, and change the fate of every young woman destined to follow in her path.

In this twisted journey into the shadows of the Golden Gate, an inspector and an FBI agent must track down the source of an unknown drug, but their attraction and their own secrets keep getting in the way. The streets of San Francisco aren’t as sunny as the city pretends they are. Inspector Lennon Gray has learned this the hard way, and it’s starting to wear on her. When a new case plunges her into the depths of the transient community, Lennon must once again face ugly truths about humanity. Her new partner makes things a little easier, though. Agent Ambrose Mars is charming—innocent, somehow, despite his own hard years in the field. The combination leaves Lennon fascinated and disturbed at the same time, and she’s even more drawn to him for it. As they investigate the hallucinogenic drug that’s forcing homeless citizens into bizarre and dangerous role\-plays, Lennon and Ambrose find their relationship intensified with every new twist. But when these revelations begin to uncover secrets she wasn’t prepared to know, Lennon will have to decide how much more she can take…before something important is taken from her.

Finding missing children is Matthew’s job—but this time it’s his own daughter who’s disappeared. When private investigator Matthew Hill picks up the call from his wife, Sally, his world comes crashing down. Their eight\-year\-old daughter, Amelie, is missing. One second, she was there, the next, she was gone. It’s the very nightmare they’ve been dreading. Long ago, Matthew left the force after a woman blamed him for her son’s death, promising that he too would one day feel her pain. It’s a threat that’s hung over his family ever since, and now it’s Amelie’s picture on the news. Matthew knows how these things go—the longer their daughter is missing, the less hope there is of finding her alive. As the clock ticks and a canal is searched, he and Sally must reckon with their greatest fear…

Living a lie becomes a matter of life and death for a woman hiding from her past in a novel of mounting psychological suspense by the bestselling author of Jane Doe and The Hook. Traveling nurse Elizabeth May has a promising new home in Santa Cruz. And another new identity. It’s a pattern of reinvention for a woman escaping a traumatic childhood—and hiding from the decades of notoriety and destruction that followed. Invisibility has kept Elizabeth safe. Until now. After all these years, someone sees her for who she is. Threat by threat, a vengeful stalker is dismantling Elizabeth’s carefully constructed lifetime of lies. And no one in her temporary circle can be trusted. Not her fleeting new love interest. Not the supportive friend she knows only from online forums. And certainly not the police. They’ve never been there for her. As dread sharpens to fear, Elizabeth soon discovers something about her past that even she didn’t know. The revelation could finally set her on a path of healing and redemption. Or, now alone in the dark, it could be Elizabeth’s worst nightmare.

Two good neighbors make the best of a bad Valentine’s Day in a funny and improbably romantic short story by the \#1 New York Times bestselling author of Just for the Summer. It’s Valentine’s Day weekend, and Charlotte and Seth are not looking for romance. Armed with emotional\-support bear spray, Charlotte is in self\-imposed isolation and on guard from men. Having a stalker can do that to a person’s nerves. Just across the hall and giving off woodsy vibes is Seth, a recently divorced arborist. As in today recently. Heights, he’s fine with. Trust? Not so much. But when disaster traps them one flight up and no way down, an outrageously precarious predicament forces a tree\-loving guy and a rattled girl next door to embrace their captivity. Soon their defenses are breaking away. Considering how close they both are to the edge, Charlotte and Seth could be in danger of falling—in love.

There are some things books can’t teach… Incredibly resilient and determined to rewrite the possibilities of life with a chronic illness, Penny is ready to leave her family behind and go to college by herself, accompanied by a snazzy new wheelchair and a backpack full of confidence. When she meets the charming actor CJ, who is studying the same course, there’s an immediate spark. But Penny worries that her life isn’t fast-paced enough for CJ and assumes they’re better off as friends. But Penny and CJ find themselves inspiring each other, and gradually discover, as they put their feelings under the microscope, that leaning on another person can be a sign of strength, not weakness. Because when it comes to the science of romance, the first rule never ignore your own chemistry… A swoonworthy and utterly gorgeous STEM college romance that will melt your heart and have you flying through the pages. Fans of Ali Hazelwood, Hannah Bonam-Young and Elle Kennedy will fall completely in love!

A young woman who escaped captivity in the court of a cruel king returns in disguise to bring him down for good, but her feelings for the king's son complicate matters.

From New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter comes a fusion of modern and fantastical worlds, where a young woman must navigate a secret society, uncover a shocking enemy…and resist an undeniable attraction. Twenty-year-old Arden Roosa knows only Ourland. Two worlds split and stitched together, with broken pieces from each, statues of fallen gods, and heavenly artifacts that are worshipped…or feared. But nothing is more fearsome than the night. A strange madness haunts the darkest hours, turning innocents into gleeful killers. Arden does her best to stay safe, until she reads a book written about her life―The Book of Arden―and everything changes. Forced to join Fort Bala Royal Academy, Arden is paired with the ruthless High Prince Cyrus Dolion. But while he trains her for combat against a mystical adversary, she can’t deny the sparks burning between them. If her panic attacks and war games aren’t enough, Arden is also tapped to join the Tome Society, rumored guardians of an invisible library with books that foretell the future. But the more she learns about the society, the less she understands about Ourland, the gods…and the person she’s destined to be.