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Hide Your Wallet: November 4th Release Week
Happy Tuesday!
New month means new releases. I’ve put my monthly preorders in. Have you? A brief little release week for SBTB HQ.
Which new books are on your radar? Let us know in the comments!
Blackthorn
Author: J.T. Geissinger
Released: November 4, 2025 by Bramble
Genre: Gothic, Romantic Suspense, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy
From the diabolical mind of New York Times bestselling author J.T. Geissinger comes a scorching new enemies-to-lovers romance filled with explosive secrets, nail-biting, gothic suspense, and the dangerous lure of dark magic.
You never forget your first love. Especially when he’s also your worst nightmare.
Twelve years ago, Maven Blackthorn fled her small hometown, leaving behind the wreckage of her mother’s suspicious death. But now, drawn back for her grandmother’s funeral, Maven steps onto Blackthorn soil once more, only to find herself thrust into a fresh her grandmother’s body has vanished.
The Blackthorns immediately suspect the Crofts—the ruthless titans of Croft Pharmaceuticals, whose bitter blood feud with the Blackthorns has spanned generations. But when Maven comes face-to-face with Ronan Croft, the son of her mother’s suspected killer and the only man she ever loved, she discovers the forbidden passion they once shared is as alive—and dangerous—as ever.
As long-buried family secrets claw their way to the surface, betrayal lurks behind every whisper, and old vendettas ignite anew. The deeper Maven digs for answers, the more treacherous the game becomes. And the one man she can never seem to escape is hiding a truth that could burn their whole world down.
In a town where the dead won’t stay buried, is love salvation…or the deadliest game of all?
Blackthorn is a page-turning gothic romance with darker themes and scenes that may not be suitable for everyone. Please see the author’s content note at the beginning of the book.
Amanda: I find Geissinger’s books to be compulsively readable in a potato chip sort of way.
Coldwire
Author: Chloe Gong
Released: November 4, 2025 by Margaret K. McElderry Books
Genre: New Adult, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy
Series: Coldwire #1
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Chloe Gong comes the start of a daring new dystopian series where humanity has moved to virtual reality to flee their deteriorating world, following two young soldiers who must depend on unlikely allies in their fight for survival.
The future is loading…
To escape rising seas and rampant epidemics, most of society lives “upcountry” in glistening virtual reality, while those who can’t afford the subscription are forced to remain in crumbling “downcountry.”
But upcountry isn’t perfect. A cold war rages between two powerful nations, Medaluo and Atahua—and no one suffers for it more than the Medan orphans in Atahua. Their enrollment at Nile Military Academy is mandatory. Either serve as a soldier, or risk being labelled a spy.
Eirale graduated the academy and joined NileCorp’s private forces downcountry, exactly as she was supposed to. Then Atahua’s most wanted anarchist frames her for assassinating a government official, and she’s given a choice: cooperate with him to search for a dangerous program in Medaluo or go down for treason.
Meanwhile, Lia is finishing her last year upcountry at Nile Military Academy. Paired with her academic nemesis for their final assignment, Lia is determined to beat him for valedictorian and prove her worth. But there may be far more at stake when their task to infiltrate Medaluo and track down an Atahuan traitor goes wrong…
Though Eirale and Lia tear through Medaluo on different planes of reality, the two start to suspect they are puzzle pieces in a larger conspiracy—and the closer they get to the truth, the closer their worlds come to a shattering collision.
Amanda: Gong is pretty much an auto-buy at this point.
Gilded in Vengeance
Author: Lyssa Mia Smith
Released: November 4, 2025 by Storytide
Genre: Historical: American, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult
Revenge meets the Gilded Age in this thrilling YA fantasy set among the glittering magical elite of late-1800s New York society, from Revelle author Lyssa Mia Smith.
Two girls attended a magical ball, but one was never seen again.
At least that’s what those who betrayed her believed.
Two years after being framed for fraud by the Society of the Charmed, an exclusive club of New York’s wealthiest—and most magical—citizens, Emmy Vallillo wastes away in prison, utterly alone.
Until her cell door bursts open, revealing Jack Fontaine, one of the Society’s favorite sons, now imprisoned for a crime he swears he didn’t commit. They make a deal: He’ll help Emmy escape if she helps destroy those who’ve wronged them.
Together, the two break free and, using Emmy’s magic to transform their appearances, they soon become the Society’s new darlings. Now their enemies want to dine with them. Attend lavish balls with them. Marry them. But ruining lives requires Emmy to trust Jack with hers, despite his dark secrets—and the infuriating attraction between them.
When another betrayal brings their enemies to their doorstep, Emmy must choose: finish exacting revenge, or give up the money, the magic, and her safety in this cutthroat world for the most treacherous thing of all—love.
Elyse: I love a revenge plot.
Of Swamp & Sea, Volume 1
Author: Mia Jay Boulton
Released: November 4, 2025 by 23rd St.
Genre: Graphic Novel, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy
Lore Olympus meets The Witcher in this thrilling supernatural series! Finally available in graphic novel format, Mia Jay and Laurel Boulton’s wildly popular Webtoon series delivers a stirring tale of monsters, magic, and romance.
Mercy Gray Harding’s troubles all started in the swampland on the outskirts of town, where a mist wolf murdered her father. She enlists a monster hunter named Jonah to put the creature down, but the plan quickly falls apart. When the incorporeal beast tries to attack Mercy, it instead possesses her, and is bound to her body and mind. Now Mercy’s human and wolfish sides grapple for control, and she is haunted by the memories of both.
Jonah promises to free her from the monster, and the two set off for a cure. But the open road is full of untold danger, and her new powers come in handy. And is it Mercy or the wolf who is flirting with the handsome Jonah?
Amanda: I’ve been getting into a lot of graphic novels and webtoons lately. Would love to see more romance graphic novels for adults!
Son of the Morning
Author: Awkaeke Emezi
Released: November 4, 2025 by Avon
Genre: LGBTQIA, Paranormal, Romance
From New York Times bestselling author Akwaeke Emezi comes a steamy paranormal romance set in the Black South—a bold new foray that takes us on a journey of magic and fantasy, from the whispering creeks outside the city of Salvation to the very depths of Hell itself.
Tenderhearted Galilee was raised by the Kincaids, a formidable clan of Black women sequestered deep in the weeping willows and dark rushing creeks of their land. Galilee has always known that she’s different—that there is an old and unknowable secret around her very existence. It has been a hollow ache inside her since her childhood, something she assumes she will always have to live with.
Until she meets Lucifer Helel. He’s fronting as the head of security for her wealthy friend Oriaku’s family, protecting a mysterious, ancient artifact, but from the moment she lays eyes on him, Gali knows he’s not human. From her first incendiary touch, Lucifer knows something even Gali herself doesn’t—that she isn’t human either.
Leviathan. As Lucifer’s most trusted prince of Hell, Levi is ruthless and determined to eliminate the intolerable danger that is Galilee before she brings death and disaster to those he loves. While unseen battles rage between Hell, Heaven, and earth, Lucifer and Galilee’s attraction threatens to bring all the structures of their existence crashing down around them.
Soon, loyalties will be shattered and reformed as Kincaid secrets clash with the princes of Hell, driving even the most powerful to their knees. Galilee Kincaid must decide if she will step into herself and embrace the consequences of power in this astonishing, seductive, and wildly original fantasy.
Shana’s pick!
These Violent Delights
Author: Madeleine Roux
Released: November 4, 2025 by Dell
Genre: Historical: European, Romance
Passion engulfs an aspiring painter and her old childhood friend in this stunning Regency romance from New York Times bestselling author Madeleine Roux. But can the star-crossed pair overcome a simmering family feud for a chance at love?
Violet Arden is a burgeoning painter who insists on a life of passion and vivid colors, but scandal is heaped on humiliation at her artistic debut in London. It would be one thing to withstand withering critiques, but the night goes from bad to worse when an illicit affair with her art instructor is exposed. She flees the London limelight to recover from her humiliation at her cousin Emilia Graddock’s country estate, where she plans to continue honing her art under a new mentor and leave all thoughts of love and heartbreak in the past where they belong. That is, until she comes face-to-face with the man who scorned her paintings in front of her friends and family. . . her new next-door neighbor, Alasdair Kerr.
Alasdair Kerr has recently set aside his life of art and travel to return to Clafton, his family’s estate and the site of a tragic fire that claimed his cherished father’s life. Now, he’s ready to finally rebuild the home that was lost and step into his role as man of the house. But his rakish younger brother Freddie can’t seem to leave the off-limits Graddock woman alone, and his mother has brought an overbearing clergyman into their home who appears keen to fill his spot as the favored son.
Violet is determined to ignore Alasdair, which shouldn’t be hard to do considering their families have been in a long-standing feud. . . if only their attempts to end Emilia and Freddie’s secret relationship would stop bringing them together. And when new fires threaten their homes and lives, Violet and Alasdair reluctantly join forces to uncover the identity of the arsonist once and for all. But can they ignore the feelings kindling between them that are but an ember away from igniting into a full blaze?
A new, standalone historical romance!
This request comes from Shana:
