Books Read in July

1. A Kiss Under the Mistletoe by Julia Brandywine

   Just before Christmas, Jessie Barnes breaks into the cabin belonging to Nick Maxwell, who works with her brother Michael. Her brother is missing and she's looking for clues to his whereabouts. Nick catches Jessie breaking in and the two of them wind up working together to find out what's happening to WestTec - the computer design firm Michael and Nick founded, and what's going on with her brother Michael.

2. Accidental Leigh by Melanie James (#1 Literal Leigh)

   How does a girl become a witch? By accident, of course! Leigh Epstein is a grief stricken and lonely elementary school teacher that is devastated by the brutal and unexpected death of her true love at the hands of a careless writer. She overcomes her grief by taking matters in her own hands and takes up a little romance writing to resurrect her vampire-werewolf book-boyfriend. Leigh gets more than she bargained for when she discovers that every steamy erotic scene she creates is magically reenacted by her family, friends and coworkers.
   
   In her hilarious first diary, Leigh unwittingly sets her parents up for a weekend dinner party that they will never forget. She has two weeks to find out what her new found magic is capable of. Can she prevent a wild erotic encounter that could devastate her sweet parent’s marriage? What and who else will get caught up in her magic spells?

3. Candy Cane Kisses by Elle Rush (#3 Forever Christmas)

   All bakery-owner Lindsay Leeds wants for Christmas is for her former high-school crush Sheriff Keith “Bodey” Bodewell to quit playing games. The sheriff has been dancing around asking her out for months and Lindsay is tired of it. His “fake girlfriend” ploy was cute and it was sweet that he recruited her friends to find out what she likes, but enough is enough. She’s a busy woman and he needs to step up or he’s going to lose his shot.
   
   How can a woman who runs two businesses be so clueless when it comes to managing her heart? Bodey has dropped more than enough hints that he’s interested, but Lindsay isn’t catching them. Just when the sheriff is running out of ideas on how he can convince her to be his for Christmas, Lindsay gives him a clue about what it will take for him to get a date. And the answer is pretty simple. At least, it was supposed to be. Christmas is days away and his plays keep failing on a spectacular level.
   
   It’s going to take the jolly fat man to make this holiday romance happen.

4. Chasing Xaris by Samantha Bennett

   Chandler Bloom starts her day like every other—on her surfboard and away from her smothering grandparents. It’s the only way she’s been able to cope since the hit-and-run that killed her parents two years ago. But when a shark nearly turns Chandler into breakfast, a loner surfer named Ari saves her life. Which is great, except that he also triggers new questions about her parents’ deaths. Before Chandler can ask him more, Ari disappears. 

   Desperate for answers, Chandler decides to track down Ari with the help of her best friend Jordan, a surfer guy who’s totally in love with her. The search leads to Ari's home—a hidden island that can only be found with a form of light called xaris. But Chandler isn’t the only one searching for the island or the unearthly elements found there. Her parents died protecting it, and if Chandler doesn’t come to grips with what she’s really chasing, she could be next.

5. Fourth of July by Cami Checketts

   AN ATTACK ON AMERICAN SOIL IS JUST THE BEGINNING.
   
   When eight parade floats explode during the annual Fourth of July celebrations, Agent Chris Harmer must find who planted the bombs before the terrorists strike again. His troubles aren't isolated to terrorism. Chris falls in love with the FBI's feisty psychiatrist, Alexis Osborne. She won't commit to someone who doesn't share her religious values, and Chris has no desire to convert.

6. Haunting Leigh by Melanie James (#4 Literal Leigh)

   It’s Halloween, Leigh’s favorite time of the year. As a rookie witch with high hopes, she has a lot to look forward to. When a mysterious supernatural force meddles in her life things take a turn for the worse. Hunter gets caught in the paranormal crossfire and his very soul may be at risk. Leigh’s job seems to have suddenly gone sour as well. The public school doesn’t share this young teacher’s enthusiasm for what they deem to be a religious holiday. To keep her entire life from falling apart at the seams, Leigh needs serious help. 

   Once again she calls on her trustworthy but inept best friends to pull her through. Magical mayhem abounds. Leigh has a run-in with a bizarre cult bent on human sacrifice, some galloping golems, AND pesky ghosts—not to mention stray bolts of witchcraft! Can Marie Laveau and Hunter’s parents help the gang put together an emergency séance in the historic but haunted Schlitt House? They find out some ghosts can be a real drag, possession has side effects, and exorcisms are unpredictable at best. 

   What will the Witches Halloween Gala in Salem be like? Will we finally find out what the deal is with Luna when she gets her paw read?

7. Here's to Not Catching Our Hair on Fire: An Absent-Minded Tale of Life with Giftedness and Attention Deficit - Oh Look! A Chicken! by Stacey Turis

   Did you know that if you forget to pay a speeding ticket you WILL get arrested—in front of your kids, the neighbors—the dog—and anyone else who happens to be there? True story. And the thing is, Stacey Turis has a million of them, and she imparts these and other nuggets of wisdom to offer others suffering from ADHD some hope in knowing that they are not alone.
   
   A belly-laugh inducing romp through a life so convoluted and chaotic you know it has to be true, Stacey Turis’s debut gives a voice to the genius yet tormented souls suffering from giftedness, ADHD, or a combination of both (a condition known as twice-exceptional) who are too afraid to speak.
   
   Chronicling her life journey from a state of self-loathing to one of self-acceptance, the stories flow timelessly, always incorporating the resulting lessons and reflections gleaned from each adventure. Including both the tragic, stomach churning details of a horrifically abusive time in her childhood to comic adventures such as deciding to dye her hair plum the day before an important presentation to a bank only to have it turn out purple, her life has never suffered from a dull moment. Though she often thought Karma was the reason she found herself in so many “pickles,” a friend explained to her that when you put yourself out in the world more than anyone else, it’s really just a matter of statistics. Lucky for Turis and the rest of us, putting herself out there all these years allows us all to look at life through her pair of less-struggle-more-sass glasses.
   
   With over three hundred million people suffering from ADHD worldwide and experiencing many of the same debilitating symptoms, Turis’ goal is to share her experiences so that others afflicted can rid themselves of the shame of hiding their behavior. A rip-roaring and bracingly honest look at a twice-exceptional life, Here’s to Not Catching Our Hair on Fire: An Absent-Minded Tale of Life with Giftedness and Attention Deficit—Oh Look! A Chicken! turns the rational on its head in a rollicking depiction of a life that seems to be constantly going off the rails.

8. Hope Under Mistletoe by Jessica R Patch (#1 Seasons of Hope)

   A rowdy bar owner. A widowed pastor’s wife. And Christmas hope that brings them together.
   
   After widower Eden Snow’s church almost burns to the ground, she’s compelled to find a temporary place to hold services and Christmas cantata practices.
   
   Has-been hockey player, Knox Everhart, has a reputation for being fast on the ice and with women. Except Eden. She’s always been a fascinating mystery to him, which is why he agrees to let her use the back room of his bar—with one rule: No converting his customers.
   
   But when Eden brings the church to the bar, it offers something the bottle can’t. Hope. And he finds himself falling in love with a woman and a Savior he feels unworthy to pursue.

9. Hopeful Leigh by Melanie James (#3 Literal Leigh)

   If Leigh has learned anything this summer, it’s that magic can be chaotic. Despite some headline making disasters in her last diary, Leigh is eternally hopeful. With Four-bitten Fangtasy behind her, Leigh decides to write a little paranormal erotica with her newest disasterpiece, Bangin’ the Billion-were. She even takes on a rehash of the popular YA dystopian genre, in her novella Regurgitant. It seems that even the editing of other author’s writing can make her unwittingly fire up her literal-witchcraft. Leigh finds out how bad things can get when her friends ask her to edit their own cowboy-biker book, Steel Stetsons. Despite the flurry of writing, Leigh’s romantic heart is racing. Her boyfriend, Hunter will finally graduate from the Chicago Police Academy. Will Leigh and Hunter finally be able to enjoy some quality time on a camping trip? What will Leigh think of Hunter’s unique family? What is Luna capable of when pushed to an act of desperation?
   
   It seems Randy “Johnson” (Designer at Paranormal Chic) and Gertie have unwittingly uncovered a new mystery for Leigh and her hapless coven to sort out. Now, the upcoming Witches Halloween Gala is in jeopardy, not to mention the future of civilization. Follow these magical misfits, as they travel half way around the world to a hexed Scottish Castle and take on the very essence of evil.

10. Mistletoe in Manhattan by Talli Roland

    Holly may never be able to forget this Christmas . . . even if she wants to.
    
    As Little Missington's first Christmas baby in fifty years and the daughter of Christmas When You Like It party-planners, Holly West has been surrounded by the holiday spirit since birth. Trouble is, she's not exactly filled with festive cheer. In fact, Holly can't wait to ditch the tinsel and Santa suits for champagne and celebs, and become a party-planner to the stars.
    
    When British TV star Dean Layton hires her parents' company to throw his holiday bash in Manhattan, Holly jumps at the chance to help, confident she can handle a little Christmas in exchange for access to Dean's exclusive world.
    
    But New York and Dean's over-the-top demands are more than Holly bargained for. Can Holly deck the halls and make it a party to be proud of, or will this Christmas be one she'll never forget . . . even if she wants to?

11. Murder Under The Mistletoe by Deborah Tisdale (#1 Summer Walsh series)

    When former Nashville police detective Summer Walsh visits her favorite B&B in Charleston, South Carolina, during the Christmas Holidays, she discovers the innkeeper's dead body. What she'd hoped would be a relaxing holiday between jobs turns into a stressful and often frustrating experience with another innkeeper who didn't like the victim, a man who toys with elderly women's emotions, an ex-con who will do anything for money, and a very disloyal housekeeper.
    
    Former Nashville police officer Summer Walsh is the quintessential southern lady who embodies kindness, courtesy, and ladylike toughness. She wants what's best for everyone, and she'll do whatever it takes to get it.

12. Serious Leigh by Melanie James (#2 Literal Leigh)

    Oy vey! Shit just got serious in Chicago. The Witches Union has discovered that Leigh Epstein has been dabbling in the dark arts, and now they want to become creative editors for Leigh’s paranormal romance, “Four-Bitten Fangtasy”, a book about a shape shifting-werewolf-vampire hybrid named Vlad. They definitely have something up their sleeves and they've assigned our young apprentice witch to a mentor named Gertie, who isn't quite up to snuff. Can she fulfill the contract and get FBF done before the deadline? What’s in it for the Union anyway? To make matters worse, Leigh’s friends and family are still reeling from their last disastrous episode in Accidental Leigh. Will she make her Sister Sarah's lackluster love life even worse, by attempting to fulfill her erotic fantasy from her favorite BDSM/Navy SEAL/Amnesia novel? And yes, it is titled “Bound to Forget”. Love is in the air, but so is catastrophe, now that Leigh is also getting some very strong feelings for Hunter, the hunky roofer turned Chicago Police Academy cadet. Find out almost everything, and even learn about a Paranormal Pet Shop, what really sank the Titanic, magic brownies, how the Great Chicago Fire really started, and more.