It’s time to see what those wonderful folks at Fresh Fiction have packed into my November subscription box.  This month’s goodies includes two e-book downloads, three paperbacks, two trade size paperbacks, and two packets of pumpkin spice tea.  As always, the bright pink FF box kept all the contents safe and undamaged. (And it’s great to use as a storage box, too.)  The books range from historical romance to contemporary romance to mystery to straight up fiction.  If you subscribe, each month you’ll always receive at least 2-3 ebook downloads and 3-5 actual books – the contents vary with each subscriber, and the books cover many different genres.  As historical romance is my favorite, I’m particularly excited about Shana Galen’s THIRD SON’S A CHARM, while THE ONES WHO GOT AWAY by Roni Loren and MOST OF ALL YOU by Mia Sheridan sound very enticing.  For all the details about subscribing to this service, check out FRESH FICTION BOX.

Also be sure to check out FRESH FICTION for book reviews, author interviews, and entertainment information.

For your further information, below is a blurb for each of the books in this month’s box, and clicking on the title will take you to directly to the Amazon page.  

Eaves of Destruction (A Fixer-Upper Mystery)  by Kate Carlisle – At the annual Victorian Home and Garden Tour, Lighthouse Cove, California’s premier contractor, Shannon Hammer, realizes that the competition is about to turn deadly….

Shannon is in high demand among rival homeowners, who will do anything to win Best in Show. One-upmanship and even espionage break out among neighbors, construction crews, decorators, and landscapers. Thanks to several new hires, Shannon is sure she can handle the extra load–until murder throws a wrench in the works.

The small town’s corrupt building inspector is found dead on one of Shannon’s jobsites, and soon plenty of suspects are coming out of the woodwork. When another body is discovered, Shannon calls on her team of close friends and devilishly astute thriller writer Mac to help her nail down the details and build a case against the killer before the door shuts on someone else–for good.

Third Son’s a Charm (The Survivors Book 1)  by Shana Galen – Ewan Mostyn thinks a job as a duke’s daughter’s bodyguard will be easy―but Lady Lorraine has a few tricks up her sleeve that spark an undeniable passion…

Fiercely loyal to his friends and comrades, Ewan Mostyn is the toughest in a group of younger sons of nobility who met as soldiers and are now trying desperately to settle back into peaceful Society. Ewan trusts his brawn more than his brains, but when he’s offered a job watching the Duke of Ridlington’s stubbornly independent daughter, he finds both are challenged.

Lady Lorraine wants none of her father’s high-handed ways, and she’ll do everything in her power to avoid her distressingly attractive bodyguard―until she lands herself in real trouble. Lorraine begins to see Ewan’s protectiveness in a new light, and she can only hope that her stoic guardian will do for her what he’s always done―fight for what he wants.

The Boy Friend: A Platonically Complicated Novel  by Mika Jolie – According to the law of attraction, women and men can’t be friends.

Contrary to this myth, my friendship with Coriander Phillips does not rest on unrequited love or un-actualized lust. We’ve been inseparable since the day I pulled one of her pigtails and she punched me in the gut.
She’s hilarious, fun to hang out with. Together, we’re like peanut butter and jelly, spaghetti and meatballs, wings and beer. A match made in heaven.
She’s the bomb.
Did I mention she’s smokin’ hot? I’ve checked her out…maybe once or twice. Hey, I’m a guy.
Seriously, no awkwardness, no secret yearning for our relationship to escalate beyond the purely platonic. I’m the boy friend—the loyal shoulder she cries on, the dispenser of coffee, sympathy, hugs, advice, and affection with no expectations.
Until the invisible line between friends and lovers became blurry.
Now I want more. I want her.
All I have to do is convince her we can be more than friends.
Right?
If only it were that easy.

The Ones Who Got Away  by Roni Loren – Liv’s words cut off as Finn got closer. The man approaching was nothing like the boy she’d known. The bulky football muscles had streamlined into a harder, leaner package and the look in his deep green eyes held no trace of boyish innocence.

It’s been twelve years since tragedy struck the senior class of Long Acre High School. Only a few students survived that fateful night—a group the media dubbed The Ones Who Got Away.

Liv Arias thought she’d never return to Long Acre—until a documentary brings her and the other survivors back home. Suddenly her old flame, Finn Dorsey, is closer than ever, and their attraction is still white-hot. When a searing kiss reignites their passion, Liv realizes this rough-around-the-edges cop might be exactly what she needs…

Never Mine: A Base Branch Novella (Titan World)  by Megan Mitcham – Jillian Cooper never wanted Callum, until a dream morphs him from her best friend’s husband to a singular nocturnal fantasy. Revolted by her own mind and loyal to a fault, she refuses to give the dream life. Still, it manages to make her awkward around her only family; Amery, Callum, and their two stunning daughters. As an orphan and an Explosive Ordinance Tech with the Navy, things have a way of crashing down around her. The world crumbling call came in the form of a single car, single fatality accident. Amery died.

While she spins in dizzying circles, the girls she’s loved since they were in their momma’s belly cling to her. When Callum’s strong arms fortify them and keep them all from falling apart, Jillian’s inner struggle reaches a breaking point. She does the only thing she can to honor her friend’s memory…run to the other side of the world to contract for Titan Group, an elite private securities force in need of an EOD.

Callum Bradfield adapts and overcomes. Even after the tragic death of his wife, his core values as a Navy SEAL march him forward…to safer waters. His gig as mission transport for Base Branch—the special operations force for the UN—isn’t as adrenaline laden, but he refuses to make his girls orphans.

Things are beginning to regroup when Jillian bales on his girls—and him—without a word. To ensure she’s safe, he hacks her personal information and follows the crumbs into Titan’s database. Crossing that line gets them both under a microscope in the middle of a desert, searching for the proof they need to show their innocence, while he tries to convince Jillian he’s more than just her dream.

Most of All You: A Love Story  by Mia Sheridan – Crystal learned long ago that love brings only pain. Feeling nothing at all is far better than being hurt again. She guards her wounded heart behind a hard exterior, and carries within her a deep mistrust of men who, in her experience, have only ever used and taken.

A man in need of help . . .

Then Gabriel Dalton walks into her life. Despite the terrible darkness of his past, there’s an undeniable goodness about him. And even though she knows the cost, Crystal finds herself drawn to Gabriel. His quiet strength is wearing down her defenses and his gentle patience is causing her to question everything she thought she knew.

Only love can mend a shattered heart . . .

Crystal and Gabriel never imagined that the world that had stolen everything from them would bring them a deep love like this. Except fate will only take them so far and now the choice is theirs: Harden their hearts once again or find the courage to shed their painful pasts.

The Secret Life of Sarah Hollenbeck  by Bethany Turner – Becoming a Christian is the best and worst thing that has ever happened to Sarah Hollenbeck. Best because, well, that’s obvious. Worst because, up to this point, she’s made her very comfortable living as a well-known, bestselling author of steamy romance novels that would leave the members of her new church blushing. Now Sarah is trying to reconcile her past with the future she’s chosen. She’s still under contract with her publisher and on the hook with her enormous fan base for the kind of book she’s not sure she can write anymore. She’s beginning to think that the church might frown on her tithing on royalties from a “scandalous” book. And the fact that she’s falling in love with her pastor doesn’t make things any easier.

With a powerful voice, penetrating insight, and plenty of wit, Bethany Turner explodes onto the scene with a debut that isn’t afraid to deal with the thorny realities of living the Christian life.

Happy Reading!