Title: Wilder Games Author: Ali Dean Series: Wilder #1 Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Sports Romance
It’s match point in the most important tennis match in my life, and nothing can distract me. Nothing, that is, except the sight of Jude Wilder sitting in the stands with his little sister on his lap. He’s never watched me play. Never even noticed me before. And yet his eyes are on me now. I know what he must be thinking. I’m not just an outcast, I’m a social pariah thanks to my family being the town’s most notorious con artists. Jude is on the opposite side of the spectrum. Not only is he accepted, he’s worshipped. I’m nobody to him, and yet I’ve got this chance to impress him.
As it turns out, he isn’t at all impressed when I win the match, and I’m worse than a nobody to him. Jude thinks I’m a threat to his family. This should alarm me. It should scare me. Jude in protective mode is hot, all right, but I can’t afford to be on his radar. I’ve got one year to secure a college scholarship. It’s hard enough keeping a low profile with my tennis success, and the last thing I need is Jude Wilder of all people drawing more attention my way.
“I’m on to you, Karis.” I muttered the words, but her eyes widened just enough to tell me she’d heard me, and knew it was a warning.
“You might think we’ve all forgotten what your mom and sister did. How many people they hurt.” Any reaction I thought I’d gotten initially from her was now locked down. She pulled her shoulders back and let a mask slide into place. I took a step forward, getting into her personal space. Wanting to affect her. Needing to.
“Your sister tried to mess with the Jamisons, my family, and I haven’t forgotten it.”
She crossed her arms and I made myself hold her eyes, even as they begged to drop to her cleavage. She’d done it on purpose.
“I’m not them.” She said it with so much calm, I knew it was forced. There was no anger and no bite, and it all played into the image she’d so carefully crafted of herself.
“No, you’ve got a different kind of game going on. The good girl, innocent, so unlike the rest of her family, people wouldn’t suspect a thing.”
Karis shook her head and took a step back, and then another.
“What are you doing? Why are you doing this?”
It wasn’t until her back hit the side of the building that I realized I’d been matching her step for step. Like I was the predator and she was the prey. I couldn’t bring myself to put any distance between us. Instead, I found myself placing an arm above her head and leaning down. As if I was about to kiss her. It was my own little game. Would she try to reel me in tighter? Get me to fall for her? Or was I playing into her hand?
“I don’t want you anywhere near my family.” I enunciated each word. “Stay away from us.”
Her eyes continued to hold mine. She didn’t shrink back, straightening her posture. We were so close I could feel her breasts brushing against me.
Finally, after a long moment, something flickered in her eyes.
A finger pressed into my chest. “You need to stay away from me,” she hissed. My smirk was automatic. I’d finally gotten a reaction.
Ali is a USA Today Bestselling author of sports romance books. She has always loved to read, especially when there’s a happily ever after, but found that there weren’t enough books out there featuring girl athletes. So, she decided to work on that. Like the heroines in her books, Ali is an athlete, with running and skiing her favorite sports these days. Ali hails from Vermont and now lives in her own happily-ever-after in Colorado with her husband, two sets of twins, and golden retriever Pancake. When she’s not pursuing an outdoor adventure, Ali’s less healthy passions include ice cream, coffee, and beer.
Title: Between Author: T.J. Amberson Genre: Young Adult Paranormal
Lana Hathaway wasn’t supposed to die. But when she suddenly finds herself face-to-face with a handsome guardian angel named Kade, Lana learns she has just drowned in her best friend’s swimming pool. Kade explains that because of her untimely death, Lana has become a Watcher like him—a soul stuck in limbo between Earth and Beyond. However, not wanting Lana to suffer his same fate, Kade breaks eternal rules and releases Lana back to Earth.
Soon, Lana and Kade discover that releasing her back to Earth had profound and unexpected consequences: now Lana is being hunted by those who dwell Below, including an enigmatic soul named Damien. With both their eternal destinies on the line, Lana and Kade must decide if Damien is an enemy or an ally as they race against time to save themselves . . . and if they fail, they will remain Between forever.
As the sounds of the conversation finished drawing me out of my slumber, I stirred and opened my eyes. I was lying in bed in my room at home. The golden sunlight of late afternoon was streaming in through the window at my right, casting a glow upon three people who stood at the foot of my bed. The people were talking amongst themselves, seeming not to notice that I was watching them.
Ignoring the dull ache in my head, I pushed myself up to a seated position. “Kade?” I mumbled in weary confusion, rubbing my eyes. “Is that you?”
All three of them snapped their heads in my direction. I stared back. I didn’t recognize the other two members of the trio, but the person who stood farthest to the right was definitely Kade, the same hot-guy hallucination I had seen when I drowned the evening prior. As before, Kade wore a gray t-shirt and jeans, and his dark hair was slightly tousled. This time, though, Kade’s brow was furrowed in a way I didn’t like. A sense of apprehension crept over me. Something was wrong—something even more wrong than the fact that I was apparently experiencing auditory and visual hallucinations, that is.
TJ Amberson hails from the Pacific Northwest, where she lives with her husband and nutty cocker spaniel. When she’s not writing, TJ might be found pretending to know how to garden, riding her bike, playing the piano, enjoying a hot chocolate, or scouring the Internet for cheap plane tickets. She adores all things cozy, seasonal, and holiday-themed; she cheers for happily-ever-afters; and she believes there’s no such thing as too much seasonal decor. With a love of multiple genres, TJ writes sweet romance and romantic comedies for adults and advanced teen readers, and clean fantasy adventures for teen and advanced tween readers.
Title: The Liars Beneath Author: Heather Van Fleet Genre: Young Adult Thriller
A romantically dark YA thriller set in the backdrop of Iowa’s suspenseful farmlands.
After a tragic accident ends her best friend’s life, 17-year-old Becca Thompson succumbs to grief the only way she knows how: by wallowing in it. She’s a fragment of the person she once was—far too broken to enjoy the summer before her senior year. But when Ben McCain, her best friend’s older brother, returns home, Becca must face her new reality head on.
She isn’t interested in Ben’s games, especially since he abandoned his sister during the months leading up to her death. But when he begs for her help in uncovering the truth about what really happened the night of his sister’s death, Becca finds herself agreeing, hoping to clear up rumors swirling in the wake of her best friend’s accident.
An unhinged ex-boyfriend, secret bucket lists, and garage parties in the place Becca calls home soon lead her to the answers she’s so desperate to unveil. But nobody is being honest, not even Ben. And the closer Becca gets to the truth—and to Ben—the more danger seems to surround her.
Clearing her best friend’s name was all she wanted to do, but Becca is quickly realizing that the truth she craves might be uglier than the lies her best friend kept.
It was almost midnight when I heard the knock against my window. Three soft and consecutive thuds, all of which match the beat of my heart. Why he chose that way to get my attention instead of texting, is a mystery. The kind of mystery I was way too amped up to question.
I wasn’t excited in the sense that I like him and want to spend time with him or anything. At least that’s what I told my racing heart when I first saw his smile from the other side of the glass. He’d been crouched on his belly on the roof of our porch like a stealthy spy, and the sight was something I’d never forget.
I’d thrown a hoodie on over the Tee I’m dressed in, pairing it with some denim cutoffs. Then I tossed my hair up into a messy bun and slid on some cherry Chapstick—but only because my lips were chapped. That’s it. No other reason whatsoever.
Once my Docs were on, I slid out my window and met him head on, the two of us jumping the five feet off the low hanging roof. I’d giggled uncontrollably when he landed on his butt instead of his feet, and he’d nearly pulled me down with him when he tried grabbing my laces. That would be the last time I’d ever not tie my boots.
“Guess what?”he whispered when we started to walk away from the house. “I researched your family tree today and found out that you, Becca, are the biggest sap.”He ended that statement with a tap to my nose. My freaking nose, for God’s sake.
He’d booped me.
My response—one which had been paired with a hard thump to his equally as hard abdomen: “You’re so dumb, you planted a dogwood tree and expected a litter of puppies.”
We both laughed at how stupid we sounded, yet at the same time it felt good to just be goofy. Or dare I say, normal. Though that word—normal—was a bit of a stretch when it came to the two of us anymore.
After that, Ben took my hand like it was the most natural thing in the world and proceeded to lead me to where we are now: the middle of the cornfield.
I trail my fingers over the silky corn stalks, marveling at their height and the way the midnight moon reflects off the green color. Nothing about this spot eases my frazzled nerves, of course. It doesn’t give me peace of mind like it once had when I’d come out here with Rose either. It’s kind of like the alcove in that sense—a spot tainted by a bad memory, despite the many good memories trying to override it.
Ben moves closer, our shoulders brushing.
“What are you thinking about?” he asks.
“Stuff.” That no longer matters. A time and a place and a memory that’s long past.
“Rose said you guys used to hang out here a lot.”
I shrugged one shoulder, unwilling to indulge in what happened the last time she and I had been out here. It’s not a huge thing, smoking weed and all, but for some reason, I don’t want Ben to know that it’d been my bucket list item, not Rose’s. It shows my age—how I’d been so young and inexperienced.
Not that I care what he thinks.
“It’s nice,” he continues. “Quiet too. I can see why you liked it.”
“We did some of our best thinking out here.” Thinking that was more along the lines of Rose smoking joints, while I stood by to keep watch.
“Hmm.” He nods, kicks the toe of his foot into the dirt. “I’m gonna go to that party on Saturday,” he tells me out of the blue.
I frown. “You think that’s smart after beating up Adam like you did?”
“Yup.”
“Why?”
“Because Adam’s gonna be there.” He looks away, but I don’t miss the flex of his jaw—not even in the dark. “I don’t trust the guy.”
I turn him around by the shoulders, forcing him to stand in front of me. “What’s there not to trust, exactly?”
“Lots of things.”
“Like what?”
“I’ve got facts that need exploring.” His lips purse.
“Yeah.” I roll my eyes. “Because you’re suddenly a detective now. I forgot.”
Adam wouldn’t hurt a puppy, let alone be behind Rose’s death. He used to talk big, but his love for my best friend was endless. Without a doubt, I know that’s who her secret boyfriend was. I just don’t get why they never went public.
“I’m more of a private eye, actually.” He covers one eye and curls the corner of his upper lip, making an argh noise.
“That’s a pirate, not a private eye, dork.”
“Either way, they’re both sneaky, right?” I sigh, wondering if he’s always been this weird. Cocky, a smartass, and a huge instigator—that’s Ben. Not funny.
Heather Van Fleet is a stay-at-home-mom turned book boyfriend connoisseur. She’s married to her high school sweetheart, a mom to three girls, and in her spare time you can find her with her head buried in her Kindle, guzzling down copious amounts of coffee.
