Book Review: The Shop on Hidden Lane by Jayne Ann Krentz

The Shop on Hidden Lane
by Jayne Ann Krentz
January 6, 2026
Genre: Romantic Suspense
New York Times bestselling author Jayne Ann Krentz dives into an enthralling new romantic suspense novel filled with deeply entrenched grudges, psychic dangers, and a conspiracy that threatens not only two families but also the entire paranormal community.

The Harper and the Wells families have regarded each other with deep suspicion for four generations. The Harpers have been known to offer their psychic talents for less-than-legal purposes, and the powerful Wells clan has a reputation for playing both sides of the street. But for all the years of history and distrust between them, there is a mysterious pact binding the two. They share the responsibility for protecting a long-buried and very dangerous secret.

Sophy Harper and Luke Wells are shocked to learn that her aunt and his uncle have been sleeping together—and now they are both missing. Not only that, but the last traces of them are at the scene of a murder soaked in negative paranormal energy. Clearly, someone is willing to kill to obtain the secret their families have been charged with protecting. Despite their mutual distrust, which, as far as Sophy is concerned extends to Luke’s hellhound of a dog, they both know that the terms of the pact must be honored.

Their investigation uncovers a psychic trail leading to a bizarre desert art colony where nothing is as it seems. But Luke and Sophy are concealing a few secrets, too. By a strange twist of fate, a Harper and a Wells have no choice but to trust each other and the fierce attraction that is binding them as surely as the pact between the families.

I've been watching reruns of a show my Mom loved, Physic. This story came along at the exact right time; it feels like we really needed a psychic detective to help these folks out. I loved that this story was delivered in a classic "who-done-it" style, but at the pace of all the modern-day paranormal lore I love.

If you like Clue or playing any type of detective game, you will enjoy this one. It could have used some more comedy at parts to just keep things light, but overall it was certainly enjoyable and had me sucked in till the very end.

Never felt like a fake or forced story, and that can be really tricky in this genre. By the end, I was ready for more! Worth a read on a lazy weekend.

Getting 4 Sheep

 

 

KD

About the Author:

website

The author of over 50 New York Times bestsellers, JAYNE ANN KRENTZ writes romantic-suspense in three different worlds: Contemporary (as Jayne Ann Krentz), historical (as Amanda Quick) and futuristic (as Jayne Castle). There are over 35 million copies of her books in print.

* photo credit: Chandra Wicke Photography

Visions of Eterna by Samara Kalz

Visions of Eterna
by Samara Kalz
January 21, 2026 

• Rivals to Lovers
• He falls first
• Found family
• Slow burn
• Forced proximity
• Self Discovery
• Adventure
• Prophecy
• Portals
• Elemental Magic
• Banter
• Grumpy and over Protective MMC.

Mia has always sensed something just out of reach, like a word on the tip of her tongue, or a dream forgotten too soon.

On her twenty-first birthday, she wakes with no memory of the night before. It isn’t the first time. Blackouts. Visions. A growing feeling that she doesn’t fully belong in the life she’s living. When her parents confess she’s adopted, with no record of where she came from, the unease sharpens into something else, a pull she can’t ignore.

Then she meets a stranger, and everything begins to unravel—a history Mia never knew, a city hidden from the world, and a journey that will take her beyond the world she thought she belonged to.

Eterna was once a place of wonder, a city that never stopped blooming. Now, the magic that sustained it is fading. The land is cracking. And Mia may be more entangled in its fate than anyone is prepared to admit.

With her best friend by her side, and resentment simmering among those she meets—especially a man whose bitterness runs deeper than she understands—Mia must now navigate a world that remembers her, even if she doesn’t remember it.

Some answers come looking for you.
Some places never let you go.
And some destinies are written long before you’re ready to claim them.

Visions of Eterena is an Upper YA fantasy book that will appeal to readers who love the Inheritance Games, The Cruel Prince, and Six of Crows.

Amazon

About the Author:
Website
Samara Kalz is an emerging voice in the world of fantasy fiction. Originally from Colorado, she now lives in Texas with her husband and two children. A lifelong lover of books, Samara holds a B.A. in English Literature and has been passionate about storytelling for as long as she can remember.

When she's not immersed in writing or getting lost in a good book, Samara enjoys spending quality time with her family and creating handmade crafts for her home and loved ones. As the eldest of a large family, she developed a strong sense of responsibility and a deep-rooted love for caring for others—qualities that often find their way into the heart of her stories.




Samara Kalz is an emerging voice in the world of fantasy fiction. Originally from Colorado, she now lives in Texas with her husband and two children. A lifelong lover of books, Samara holds a B.A. in English Literature and has been passionate about storytelling for as long as she can remember.
When she's not immersed in writing or getting lost in a good book, Samara enjoys spending quality time with her family and creating handmade crafts for her home and loved ones. As the eldest of a large family, she developed a strong sense of responsibility and a deep-rooted love for caring for others—qualities that often find their way into the heart of her stories.

A Box Full of Darkness by Simone St. James

Three siblings. One missing brother. A ghost who says: Come home.

A Box Full of Darkness
by Simone St. James
January 20, 2026

Genre: Supernatural Suspense/Horror
Simone St. James, the New York Times bestselling author of The Sun Down Motel, returns with her scariest, most shocking novel yet in this pulse-pounding story about siblings who return to the house they fled 18 years before, called back by the ghost of their long-missing brother and his haunting request: Come home.

Strange things happen in Fell, New York. A mysterious drowning at the town’s roadside motel. The unexplained death of a young girl whose body is left by the railroad tracks. For the Esmie siblings—Violet, Vail, and Dodie—the final straw was the shocking disappearance of their little brother. It started as a normal game of hide-and-seek. The three closed their eyes and counted to ten while Ben went to hide. But this time, they never found their brother—he was gone and the ongoing search efforts turned up no clues.

As their parents grew increasingly distant, Violet, Vail, and Dodie were each haunted by visions and frightening events that made them leave town and never look back. Violet still sees dead people—spirits who remind her of Sister, the menacing presence that terrorized her for years.

And now after two decades running from their past, it’s time for a homecoming. Because Ben is back, and he’s ready to lead them to the answers they’ve longed for and long feared. If the ghosts of Fell don’t get to them first.

A Box Full of Darkness is another propulsive thriller from the author of The Broken Girls and The Book of Cold Cases, a surprising horror story from a writer who is “particularly gifted at doling out twists” (The New York Times).

PRAISE FOR SIMONE ST. JAMES’ NOVELS
“From the book’s chillingly creepy setting, which previously appeared in The Sun Down Motel (2020), to a nerve-jangling plot that effectively borrows from a mix of genres to the writing itself, which shimmers with a dazzlingly sharp sense of wit, everything about St. James’ latest is done to perfection.”-Booklist (starred review)
“Fast, chilling, entertaining, unexpectedly touching, and with two broken, memorable characters at its core, this might be St. James’s best novel yet.”—The New York Times Book Review

“From its nerve-shredding start to its thrilling end...it's a trip well worth taking.”—Riley Sager, New York Times bestselling author

“As creepy and unsettling as a rain-faded wreath and teddy bear found by the side of the road to mark a missing person, Murder Road lingers like a ghost long after it’s finished.”—Grady Hendrix, New York Times bestselling author 

Amazon

 

About the Author:
website

Simone St. James is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Sun Down Motel and The Broken Girls. Her debut novel, The Haunting of Maddy Clare, won two RITA Awards from Romance Writers of America and an Arthur Ellis Award from Crime Writers of Canada.

Simone spent twenty years behind the scenes in the television business before leaving to write full-time. She lives just outside of Toronto, Canada with her husband and a spoiled rescue cat. 

Cover Reveal: Swallowed by Night by Jeremey Harrison

We're thrilled to present the cover for Swallowed by Night, a MM vampire romance by Jeremey Harrison!

Swallowed by Night
by Jeremey Harrison
April 14, 2026
Genre: MM Vampire Dystopian Romance

• Enemies to Lovers
• Why Choose
• Chosen One
• Forbidden Love
• Dystopian
• Love Triangle
• Golden Retriever Boyfriend Energy
• "Touch Him and 💀"

In a world ravaged by war and a plague that threatened to end humankind,

Deliverance came with an unexpected consequence:

Vampires.

Vincent Asposito lives a life of luxury, locked in a gilded cage by his father. Longing to break free, Vinny devises a daring plan to sneak out, only to have his first taste of freedom end in being kidnapped by Jude, the human son of the resistance leader.

On the surface, Jude embodies everything Vincent should despise: a sworn enemy determined to destroy the only world he knows, yet he can’t help his attraction to the infuriatingly handsome man. Forced into a reluctant alliance, the two embark on a risky mission that could tip the scales of war between humans and vampires.

As their bond deepens, dangerous revelations come to light, forcing Vincent to decide where his loyalties lie—and who he’s willing to sacrifice.
 

PRE-ORDER HERE

Triggers - Sexual Content, Foul Language, Alcohol Use, Abduction, Use of Weapons (guns, knives, bombs), Descriptions of Blood, Injury, and Violence, Manipulation and Gaslighting, Death 

About the Author:

website

Jeremey Harrison currently lives in Rhode Island with his husband, two pugs, and can always be found searching for the perfect espresso martini  

IG: @jeremeyhwrites @rrbooktours
TIKTOK @jeremeyhwrites @rrbooktours

Tags:

#rrbooktours #rrbtSwallowedbyNight #mmromance #whychooseromance #queerromance #coverreveal

The Younger Gods (The Night-Singers Duology) by Katie Shepard

A gender-flipped Orpheus and Eurydice retelling with sharp banter, searing tension, and god-tier stakes, THE YOUNGER GODS follows Iona Night-Singer’s descent into the underworld to save her lost love—only to find he’s been reborn as a trickster god with no memory of her.

The Younger Gods (The Night-Singers Duology)
by Katie Shepard
January 13, 2026
464 pages
Genre: romantasy, retelling,
Danger looms when a former priestess sails to the realm of the dead to find her fallen lover, only to discover the gods she thought she defeated are preparing for war.

Iona Night-Singer thought she’d overthrown the gods. Her mortal rebellion eked out a painful victory by using the gods’ own powers against them—though she lost her betrothed, Taran, in a final battle with the god of death. Months later, the war doesn’t feel over. Not with Taran gone. Especially not when the gods still answer the prayers she sings.

Angry, grieving, and with a gnawing dread that the gods will return, Iona strikes a deal with her former patron goddess: if Iona can convince Taran to follow her home from the Underworld, he’ll be free to live again. If she fails, they’ll both be trapped there forever.

No sooner does she find him, she makes a horrible discovery. The dead gods have been reborn, they are plotting revenge—and Taran, it seems, was always one of them. This reincarnated trickster god with Taran’s face no longer remembers her or the war they fought together, and she doubts not just his loyalties but his love.

Determined to stop the next war without revealing her part in the last one, Iona enters her deadliest battle yet, one where she fights to bring Taran home without him even knowing it.  

Review
"Palpable danger and romance fill this fast-paced novel, which comes complete with a complex religious system and some tantalizing teasing about where the series will go next."—Publishers Weekly

"A darkly romantic, twisty epic of evil gods and tortured heroes that propels the reader through heartbreak, resurrection and redemption as Iona searches the heavens and the Underworld for her lost lover."—Julie Soto, New York Times bestselling author of Rose in Chains

“A work of art. Katie Shepard’s richly imagined and meticulously crafted world is a soaring canvas for her beautiful prose, which is as haunting as it is melodic. Brimming with lush atmosphere, searing romance, and ancient defiance, this enthralling and poignant tale is simply unputdownable.”—Thea Guanzon, New York Times bestselling author of The Hurricane Wars

"The Younger Gods is everything I want in a fantasy novel! It’s full of beautiful imagery, rich worldbuilding, gasp-inducing plot twists, and devastating emotion. Katie Shepard uses her trademark wit and gorgeous prose to weave a tale of love and rebellion in the wondrous and horrifying realm of the gods...This is exquisite."—Sarah Hawley, USA Today bestselling author of Servant of Earth

Amazon

 

About the Author:
website
Katie Shepard is, in no particular order, a fangirl, a gamer, a bankruptcy lawyer, and a romance author. Born and raised in Texas, she frequently escapes to Montana to commune with the trees and woodland creatures, resembling a Disney princess in all ways except age, appearance, and musical ability. When not writing or making white-collar criminals cry at their depositions, she enjoys playing video games in her soft pants and watching sci-fi shows with her husband, two children, and very devoted cat.