Hide Your Wallet

Happy Tuesday!

A few big books are coming out this week that are probably on many of the Bitchery’s radar. There’s also a romance with an older couple and as always, more dark and fantasy romances.

Which releases are you excited for? Let us know in the comments!

An Academic Affair

From the “masterly” (The New York Times) Jodi McAlister, a charming new romance about two English professors who embark on a fake relationship…only to discover that it may be harder to pretend than they realized.

Sadie Shaw and Jonah Fisher have been academic rivals since they first crossed paths as undergraduates in the literature department thirteen years ago. Now that a highly coveted teaching opportunity has come up, their rivalry hits epic proportions. Jonah needs the job to move closer to his recently divorced sister and her children, while Sadie needs the financial security and freedom of a full-time teaching position.

When Sadie notices that the job offers partner hire, however, she hatches a plot to get them both the job. All they must do is get legally married. It’s a simple win-win solution but when sparks begin to fly, it becomes clear that despite their education, these two may not have thought this whole thing through.

Perfect for fans of Ali Hazelwood and Abby Jimenez, An Academic Affair pairs Jodi McAlister’s “smart, scorching, and emotionally resonant” (Freya Marske, author of A Restless Truth) writing and academic background to prove that she’s one of the smartest rom-com writers working today.

Shana: McAlister is a new auto buy author for me since I was obsessed with her Marry Me Juliet series.

Lara: I absolutely adored this book. Full review incoming.

[Add to Goodreads To-Read List →](http://www.goodreads.com/search?q=An Academic Affair Jodi McAlister)

Between Two Kings

From internet sensation and USA Today bestseller Lindsay Straube comes the second book in the sexy, biting Split or Swallow series, featuring dangerous basilisks, competitive seduction, and a love triangle that could destroy kingdoms.

Tem never thought she’d fall in love.

But now she’s caught between the Serpent King and the newly crowned human king…

And the war that is brewing between the basilisks and the humans.

Tem led a simple life on the family chicken farm, but now, her eyes had been opened—to love, to lust, to the pull of power, gold, obligation, and the violence of greed and war.

When Tem embraced her basilisk half and crested Leo, she thought she’d set him free. Though it nearly broke her, now he could find his first love again, and she could be happy with Caspen.

But love is complicated. As much as Tem embraces her serpent side, rules and loopholes keep her beholden to Leo…despite her marriage to Caspen.

And as it becomes clearer that her decision may not be so simple, their desire continues to smolder…and if one tinder flickers into flame, it could set the entire kingdom on fire.

The highly anticipated continuation of the Spit or Swallow series.

[Add to Goodreads To-Read List →](http://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Between Two Kings Lindsay Straube)

Brigands and Breadknives

Author: Travis Baldree Released: November 11, 2025 by Tor Books Genre: LGBTQIA, Science Fiction/Fantasy Series: Legends and Lattes #2

Return to the cozy fantasy world of the #1 New York Times bestselling Legends & Lattes series with a new adventure featuring fan-favorite, foul-mouthed bookseller, Fern.

Fern has weathered the stillness and storms of a bookseller’s life for decades, but now, in the face of crippling ennui, transplants herself to the city of Thune to hang out her shingle beside a long-absent friend’s coffee shop. What could be a better pairing? Surely a charming renovation montage will cure what ails her!

If only things were so simple…

It turns out that fixing your life isn’t a one-time prospect, nor as easy as a change of scenery and a lick of paint.

A drunken and desperate night sees the rattkin waking far from home in the company of a legendary warrior surviving on inertia, an imprisoned chaos-goblin with a fondness for silverware, and an absolutely thumping hangover.

As together they fend off a rogue’s gallery of ne’er-do-wells trying to claim the bounty the goblin represents, Fern may finally reconnect with the person she actually is when there isn’t a job to get in the way.

**Baldree is back with another cozy fantasy adventure. **

[Add to Goodreads To-Read List →](http://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Brigands and Breadknives Travis Baldree)

Right on Time

The Love Was Always There. The Timing Was Never Right. Until Now…

Sweet Nora Clayton has always put others’ needs first before her own. Because of this, Nora stayed in an unhappy marriage for the sake of her daughter. Now an empty-nester and at the ripe age of fifty, Nora is now divorced from her husband after putting up with his cheating for years. Nora wants to live the rest of her life in peace and is resigned to never fall in love again. What Nora doesn’t count on is the sexy CEO of the company she works for setting his sights on her.

Thaddeus “Thad” Sanborn, President and CEO of one of the most successful communications companies in the country has reached the pinnacle of his career. There’s no business deal he can’t close. No offer has ever been rejected and there have never been any terms he couldn’t negotiate. He’s stayed on top of the game while raising three sons on his own. Thad is handsome, rich, successful and has been voted one of the most eligible bachelors over the age of fifty in Savannah. So, why is getting his Vice President’s executive assistant to notice him so damn hard?

The attraction between Thad and Nora has always been present but dismissed due to company rules against fraternizing. So, what happens when these two travel together to the beautiful island of Maui to close a multi-million-dollar deal?

Things heat up, of course! For Thad, the decision is simple; he wants Nora in his life. But for Nora, who is still healing from her divorce, it’s not quite that simple. Ultimately, she must decide which she wants to her career or the love of a lifetime?

RIGHT ON TIME is a novella featuring an interracial romance between an MMC and FMC fifty years of age and older. This spicy little, short story is the perfect little intro to the SENSUAL SILVERS series featuring “smut for your mama” with main characters who find the love later in life. This series will bring all types of heat and sensual scenes without all the ‘heavy lifting’ topics associated with growing older.

Because life, love, and good sex doesn’t end at fifty! It just gets better!

Shana: Hello, it’s a novella with a couple over 50.

[Add to Goodreads To-Read List →](http://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Right on Time Bryckk Wilkes-DuBois)

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The Seventh Champion

A dragon princess joins forces with a scarred prince to escape a competition for her hand in marriage, unaware he is hiding dark secrets of his own in the first of a new romantasy duology from the author of Bride of the Shadow King.

Swept from her quiet life as an apothecary’s apprentice to the treacherous court of the High King, Rosie Harpwood is shocked to discover she is the long-lost daughter of the demonic Dragon Queen. Reawakening her dormant magic is the kingdom’s only hope for salvation, but the journey is perilous, and she’ll need a champion to guide her. So the High King hosts a series of trials to determine which prince is worthy of the honor — as well as claiming Rosie’s hand in marriage.

Rosie, however, has other ideas.

A talented healer and lover of small, fluffy creatures, Rosie wants nothing to do with demon queens or saving the world. Determined to escape this fate, she joins forces with one of the champions to plot her getaway. Prince Valtar may be enigmatic and a little bit terrifying, but something about him makes her blood burn in ways that have nothing to do with her dragon heritage.

Trained from youth to serve the Dragon Queen, Valtar has proven himself a ruthless assassin. Posing as a suitor to get close enough to his target shouldn’t be a problem. But Valtar wasn’t planning on his target being Rosie, the girl he failed to assassinate years ago . . . who has haunted his dreams ever since.

Elyse: I enjoyed her Shadow King series.

[Add to Goodreads To-Read List →](http://www.goodreads.com/search?q=The Seventh Champion Sylvia Mercedes)

Turns of Fate

A young detective investigating crimes of the uncanny will learn that bargains can change your fate—for good or ill—in this darkly enthralling fantasy from the New York Times bestselling author of the Others and the Black Jewels series.

Words have power. Intentions matter.

Most people come to Destiny Park for entertainment. They come to have their cards read to tell them a bit about their future. They come to walk through a beautiful park and to eat at the hotel’s restaurant. They come in the hope of catching a glimpse of the Arcana, the paranormal beings who rule the Isle of Wyrd.

But some people come to make a bargain with the Arcana—to change their fate. And some people come for dark purposes.

When Detective Beth Fahey is sent to Destiny Park to inquire about a “ghost gun,” she will begin a strange journey on which she must learn to navigate the Arcana’s unforgiving laws and dangerous attractions. Her search will draw her into seemingly impossible cases and the secrets of her own past as tensions rise between the Arcana and their human neighbors across the river.

For the Isle of Wyrd is a place where the dead ride trains to their final destinations, predators literally become prey, and seekers’ true natures are revealed in the ripples of destiny unknowingly stirred in their wakes.

Who will live? Who will die? And who will be lost in between?

Amanda: New series by Anne Bishop!

[Add to Goodreads To-Read List →](http://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Turns of Fate Anne Bishop)

Your Knife, My Heart

From USA Today Bestselling author KM Moronova comes a brand-new compelling and addictive dark romance in her Dark Forces world.

Dark. Deadly. Irresistible.

Cameron Mortem has a problem—he can’t stop killing his partners. Officially labeled clinically insane, he’s also one of the most lethal assets in the Dark Forces, a brutal underground military operation built on obedience, survival, and silence. But an experimental drug has fractured his control, making him a liability whenever someone else is on the field. As punishment, he’s thrown back into the Under Trials—a merciless boot camp designed to break the weak and sharpen the ruthless.

His one directive? Don’t kill the new girl.

Emery Maves narrowly escapes a death sentence after her own brutal crimes, only to find herself forced into the same violent world. Assigned to Cameron, she’s expected to survive the Trials and her partner’s unstable nature. But Emery quickly realizes there’s more to Cameron than bloodlust and body counts. Beneath the madness lies a terrifying allure—and a strange, dangerous tenderness.

As the Trials push them to their limits, Emery must navigate the brutal demands of the Dark Forces while resisting the pull of a man who could just as easily kill her as protect her. And Cameron must fight the one urge he’s never been able to overcome.

Their bond is intoxicating, chaotic, and born of violence. And if it doesn’t destroy them both, it might just save them.

Amanda: The marketing campaign got me, especially since I’ve been on a dark romance kick lately.

[Add to Goodreads To-Read List →](http://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Your Knife, My Heart K.M. Moronova)

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