This feature essentially looks at titles that are being released in eBook format without an accompanying hardback or paperback. Sometimes it’s a release ahead of those formats, sometimes it’s a release after and sometimes it’s only being released in eBook format. At the minute I have one reliable (free) source (not Amazon, which doesn’t work for this). So lets give it a go and see whether this idea has legs!
Just a reminder as I don’t see any advance copies, my choices are based on the cover, blurb, gut instinct and what takes my fancy at the time. Essentially that’s how I decide on my own purchases.
(NB This post features Affiliate links from which I earn a small commission on qualifying purchases)
Index
Crime, Thriller and Mystery (includes Historical Crime/Mysteries)
Historical (I tend to take this as pre 1960’s ie not in my lifetime!)
Crime, Thriller & Mystery
Fear of Any Kind by Ed James
Fear stalks familiar ground…
Acting DCI Rob Marshall is back in the Borders with a permanent promotion dangled in front of him – but storm clouds are gathering, with his new boss eyeing cutting Marshall’s Major Investigation Team.
When a seventeen-year-old boy is found murdered in Hawick, Marshall finds a community on the edge. As his team struggles to connect the dots, what seems like a straightforward case unravels into something far more sinister – the details echo another investigation and Marshall finds himself following a trail of secrets hidden in plain sight.
With his team’s future hanging by a thread, Marshall must determine if he’s hunting a copycat or just chasing shadows. But the deeper he digs, the more he realises some fears are founded in truth. With his team under threat and pressure mounting, can Marshall separate truth from deadly misdirection?
I Don’t Like Mondays by Maria Frankland
I don’t know who I am. I don’t know who to trust. But someone out there knows what really happened to me.
The faces staring back at me feel wrong, their voices uncomfortably distant. Ever since I woke from the coma, it’s like I’ve been locked in a stranger’s life. My memories are fractured – frozen at thirty, yet they insist I’m forty. A wife. A mother. But these strangers? They say they’re my family.
Daniel, my husband, swears he loves me, yet I can’t recall saying ‘I do.’ My children’s faces stir nothing but guilt. Even the wedding album feels staged. But I remember Brad, my first husband – and my last clear and carefree memory is of him.
Then there’s the train station. The tracks. That Monday morning.
I have too many questions, and nobody is giving me answers. The more I dig, the more the fear grows. Everyone in my life seems to be hiding something. Secrets. Lies. Grudges. One of them knows more than they’re letting on.
Nothing feels real, not even my own reflection. I just need to remember what happened that Monday.
It’s the only way I can piece my life back together.
The Norfolk Theatre Murders by Judi Daykin
One witness who can’t be trusted.
Seven actors who’ll never stray from the script.
And a costumed killer, waiting in the wings . . .
Behind the front door of Mr and Mrs Morgan’s elegant Norwich townhouse, something is terribly wrong. Detective Sara Hirst pushes it open to find a scene of utter devastation. Furniture upended. Shattered china and torn papers strewn across the floor. And, amid it all, James Morgan himself. A frail old dementia sufferer, crying out for his wife.
Where’s Carole?
Amateur actress Carole Morgan was out late last night, running lines with her castmates at the Rosegarden Theatre. James waited up for her for hours. But now he knows, she’s never coming home.
A stranger came calling in the night to tell James as much. A masked stranger, wearing a monk’s habit.
Now, James begs Detective Sara, Norfolk Serious Crime’s finest, to hunt for the intruder behind the mask, certain that the trail will lead straight to his missing wife.
Sara takes his ramblings with a pinch of salt. It’s just his distressed mind playing tricks on him.
But when a body is found, hidden beneath the boards of the Rosegarden stage, she’s forced to think again.
Now Sara’s in a race against time to track the ruthless killer. With a cloaked figure watching her every move from the shadows . . .
The Ghost Portrait by KT Galloway
Every Masterpiece Hides a Secret
When renowned artist Eliza Warren is found dead in her studio, there’s no sign of violence. But her expression is one of pure terror. Annie O’Malley & DI Joe Swift have seen a lot of crime scenes, but nothing like this. Eliza wasn’t just killed—she was frightened to death.
At the centre of the studio sits an unfinished portrait, its subject haunting. But when Annie starts asking questions, the painting vanishes and the case takes a darker turn.
The woman in the portrait is linked to an unsolved disappearance from twenty years ago—that of Margot Grayson, who was last seen in the orbit of powerful art collector Edward Brannon.
As Annie and Swift dig deeper, they realise someone is determined to keep Margot’s story buried. Witnesses are silenced. The past is rewritten. And then, another body appears—posed like a work of art.
Somewhere in Eliza’s stolen painting lies the truth. A truth someone is willing to kill for.
Can O’Malley and Swift find the ghost portrait and find Eliza’s killer before one of their team becomes the next macabre exhibition?
General/Contemporary Fiction
The Secret Collector by Abigail Johnson
When an elderly eccentric collector and a troubled teen become each other’s only hope of getting their lives back on track, what can possibly go wrong?
Alfred is an elderly widower who uses antiques and collectibles to fill the hole in his heart left by his late wife. Kian is a lost teen who has been let down by the care system and finds it difficult staying on the straight and narrow.
After Kian throws a brick through Alfred’s window, the shock sends Alfred to hospital and a social worker to his home, where his hoarding becomes impossible to ignore.
Begrudgingly, and at the request of the authorities, they both agree to enrol Kian on a restorative justice programme, helping to make Alfred’s home liveable again. The only problem: Alfred doesn’t want to throw any of his treasures away, and he certainly doesn’t want Kian for company.
What unfolds is a surprising and delightful journey of two characters who help each other more than they ever could have anticipated and, along the way, form the unlikeliest of friendships.
Historical
The Paris Code by Natasha Lester
A strong woman. A dangerous city. A fight for freedom . . .
1928. Eighteen-year-old Marie-Madeleine is not the kind of woman who goes through life sitting down, something her new husband can attest. Her unconventionalities – rally car driving, flying planes and dabbling in intelligence work for the French government – earn her a reputation, but she knows who she is at heart: an adventurer.
Ten years later, as Europe teeters on the brink of war, a chance encounter with a mysterious man codenamed Navarre turns Marie-Madeleine’s life upside down. Recruited to help build a resistance network known only as Alliance, she conceals her identity – and gender – as she navigates a perilous double-life away from her children and the man she loves. Capture and death are only ever a heartbeat away.
But when the resistance finds themselves without a leader, Marie-Madeleine steps into the role, heedless of the many men who doubt her abilities. Will she, a young mother from Paris, help turn the tide of war?
The Library of Lost Dollhouses by Elise Hooper
When a young librarian discovers historic dollhouses in a hidden room, she embarks on an unexpected journey that reveals surprising secrets about the lost miniatures.
Tildy Barrows, Head Curator of a beautiful archival library in San Francisco, is meticulously dedicated to the century’s worth of inventory housed in her beloved Beaux Art building. She loves the calm and order in the shelves of books and walls of art. But Tildy’s life takes an unexpected turn when she, first, learns the library is on the verge of bankruptcy and, second, discovers two exquisite never-before-seen dollhouses.
After finding clues hidden within these remarkable miniatures, Tildy sets out to decipher the secret history of the dollhouses, aiming to salvage her cherished library in the process. Her journey introduces her to a world of ambitious and gifted women in Belle Époque Paris, a group of scarred World War I veterans in the English countryside, and Walt Disney’s bustling Burbank studio in the 1950s. As Tildy unravels the mystery, she finds not only inspiring, hidden history, but also a future for herself—and an astonishing familial revelation.
The Fallen Woman by Fiona McIntosh
In an ancient orchard, a fallen woman rises to claim her destiny
In the shadows of Edwardian society, talented botanical artist Jane Saville faces an impossible choice when her ruthless mother exiles her to the English countryside to protect another’s reputation. Forced to live in poverty and secrecy to shield her family from scandal, Jane’s world seems destined for darkness until she meets Guy Attwood.
Heir to an industrial fortune, Guy defies his family’s ambitions, choosing instead to pursue his passion: hunting England’s rarest apples for the Royal Kew Gardens. His quest to find an endangered species worthy of naming for the soon-to-be King George V leads him to a hidden orchard—and to Jane.
As their worlds intertwine beneath the ancient spires of Salisbury Cathedral, Jane dares to dream of a different future. But in a society ruled by duty and appearances, their blossoming friendship awakens dangerous jealousies. When treachery and misunderstanding threaten to tear them apart, it will take the innocent wisdom of a child to show Jane that her greatest strength lies not in conforming to society’s rules, but in daring to defy them.
The Surgeon of Royaumont by Susan Neuhaus
A young Australian woman on the battlefields of World War I finds her calling through her work as a surgeon – and her legacy in compassion. Based on real-life characters and events this thought-provoking novel is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit amidst the ravages of war.
As one of only a handful of female medical graduates working at the Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney, Clara Heywood refuses to be denied the chance to become a surgeon because of her sex. As her male colleagues, including her unofficial fiance Edward, head off to war, Clara grapples with a sense of her own unfulfilled purpose. In defiance of her own family and all convention, she leaves for France to work at the Scottish Women’s Hospital at Royaumont Abbey, a hospital managed entirely by women on the Western Front.
There, under the tutelage of Miss Frances Ivens, Clara is thrust into the brutal realities of war, the technical intricacies of surgery and the profound ethical and emotional toll it exacts. Surgery tests not only her skills but her values and Clara discovers that her greatest adversaries are not the wounds of war but the internal conflicts that shape her understanding of humanity, and the heavy burden of her own ambition.
Clara’s journey transcends the confines of history, embodying the timeless struggle for identity, purpose, and humanity amidst the horrors of war, and bringing to light the courage and sacrifice of women.
Wedding Bells for the East End Library Girls by Patricia McBride
No further detail available
The Summer Bride by Anne Marie Brear
Lincolnshire, 1854.
After much reflection, Caroline Lawson has accepted Max Cavendish’s marriage proposal. Yet, their peaceful life on the farm is soon threatened by a series of mishaps and the strange deaths of livestock. As the pressure mounts for Max to make the farm a success, the weight of responsibility becomes overwhelming, with the future of many resting on his shoulders. With events spiralling out of control, Max faces his greatest task — protecting his home and family.
Meanwhile, Caroline’s closest friend, Trixie, struggles with a deep conflict between friendship and love and the want of another. Can she balance both, or will fate decide for her?
As Caroline dedicates herself to her family and new home, she discovers that fulfilling everyone’s needs requires both resilience and wisdom. Her patience is tested by her staff, her family demands her attention, but it’s Max, the man she loves, struggling under the weight of circumstances beyond his control, who needs her the most.
She cannot let them down. But will she have the strength to withstand the trials that challenge her at every turn?
Romance
Roses & Romance at Ruby’s Restaurant by Sarah Hope
Welcome to Nettleford, a small but bustling town in the heart of the charming Cotswolds…
After years of building her dream and pouring her heart into her restaurant, Ruby Reynolds never thought she’d still be single.
Between managing her bustling restaurant and taking care of her dad who has come to stay, romance is now the last thing on Ruby’s mind. But when a cute stranger walks into her restaurant, she can’t help but feel a spark of attraction.
As she navigates through the quirky and lovable community of Nettleford, Ruby finds herself torn between following her heart and keeping up with her busy life.
Escape to Nettleford with Sarah Hope’s delightful new series, where love, friendship, and quirky characters await. A cosy romance featuring a charming small-town setting, a fresh start, and a love that’s as sweet as the desserts Ruby serves in her restaurant!
Delicate Storm by Katherine Jay
A newly single dad, I wasn’t looking for love. I wasn’t looking for anything. Period.
My son’s mom had deserted us, I was trying to balance my home life with a football career, on the back of a Super Bowl win… and my rookie teammate was dragging my name through the mud.
If I made it through my day without drama, I considered it a win.
But fate had other ideas…
Paige blew into my life like a hurricane and it was impossible to shake her. Everywhere I turned, she was there. Smiling. Tempting me. Making me question things I shouldn’t.
Like sneaking around with my team owner’s daughter. What did I get myself into?
She’s the polar opposite of me. She’s a socialite, while I prefer solitude. She’s a talker, while I’m a man of few words. And she’s the sunshine, when I prefer rain.
At least I used to… Now I’m staring at the sun, knowing my life could go up in flames, and I’m doing it willingly.
Together our connection is fire. Apart, our lives are a complicated mess, threatening to take us all down.
Including my son, Isaac.
With all that’s at stake… is love really worth the risk?
For the first time in my life, I think it might be…
Summer at the Cornish Garden Cafe by Rachel Griffiths
Come to Cornwall and spend some time at the charming Cornish Garden Café. Surrounded by a beautiful, peaceful garden, the café is a haven at any time of the year. Breathe in the clean sea air, listen to the waves crashing against the shore and relax while you sip a refreshing drink and enjoy a tasty bite to eat…
Freelance journalist, Lena Teller, is renting a cottage in Cornwall for the summer. After a few challenging years, she’s decided to start writing her first romance novel and feels that three months of sun, sea, and cream teas will be the perfect inspiration.
Former professional footballer, Thomas Dryden, comes to stay in Cornwall with his sister, Marnie, and her family. Following an accident that left him with both physical and mental scars, he felt he had no choice but to quit the game. Thomas isn’t sure what comes next but knows that he needs to recover and spending some time in Cornwall seems like a good first step.
When Lena and Thomas meet, there’s a spark of attraction but both are wary. Their backgrounds are very different, and they both have heavy emotional baggage. Just as it seems like romance is blossoming, a story about Thomas appears online and he withdraws while he tries to work out if Lena has betrayed him.
Will Lena and Thomas find a way to trust each other, or will their doubts mean that this was never going to be more than a summer fling?
Swept Away by Beth O’Leary
Lexi is looking for no-strings-attached fun with a stranger. She deserves one night for herself, doesn’t she?
Zeke is looking for love. But for one night with a woman like Lexi, he’ll break his rules . . .
Sparks fly at the pub, one passionate kiss leads to another and they end up stumbling home to the marina together.
The next morning, hungover and shaken by an amazing night together, Lexi is more than ready for Zeke to leave. There’s just one small problem . . . the houseboat they stayed on has been swept out to sea.
As their supplies start to run dangerously low, and the waves pick up, Zeke and Lexi soon realise there’s much more on the line than their new relationship.
How long can they really survive on a drifting houseboat in the North Sea? Will search and rescue find them? And who will they be if they both make it back to dry land?
No Ordinary Love by Myah Ariel
A PR relationship between a pop superstar and a pro-athlete bad boy turns into so much more in this swoony romance from the acclaimed author of When I Think of You.
A scandal, a spark and a second chance.
This is one partnership they can’t fake . . . ❤️🔥
Ella Simone’s popstar life is what dreams are made of. Her eight year marriage to renowned music producer, Elliot Majors, has helped garner the hits, awards, and adoring fans to prove it. But when Ella tires of Elliot’s many infidelities, she decides to fight for her independence despite the ironclad prenup that threatens her career.
To help her case, Ella is under strict orders to stick to The Plan: no headlines, no rumors, no rocking the boat. But this strategy is thrown a curveball after an awards show wardrobe snafu and quick rescue by Miles Westbrook, MLB’s most eligible player, sends the tabloids into a frenzy. Amid tricky divorce proceedings, Ella’s magnetic connection with the charismatic pitcher might just be her downfall.
Now the pressure is on to turn a scandal into an opportunity and give their teams what they want: a picture-perfect performance that will shore up both Ella and Miles’ reputations. But as the lines between reality and PR begin to blur, Ella will either stick to the choreographed life she knows so well, or surrender to a love that could set her free.
The Nanny is Off Limits by QB Tyler
Rowan Kincaid hasn’t dated in over a year.
Not since the mother of his children unexpectedly passed away leaving him to parent their three children alone.
Exhausted, overworked and feeling like he’s failing at every turn he’s desperate for help.
The help that shows up?
A gorgeous woman almost twenty years younger than him.
She’s compassionate and charming and the kids fall for her instantly.
And despite the fact that she should be off limits,
he falls for her too.
Stolen Kisses by Layla Hagen
Chase Sterling is a pompous grump—a gorgeous one, but still a grump.
I meet him at the airport while waiting for the flight to my sister’s wedding. It’s delayed and no one is happy, but Mr. Arrogant Sterling thinks he’s the only one of importance. After we exchange a few heated words, I curl up in my chair and ignore him until we board.
Whatever, it’s not like I’ll ever see him again.
Except, I do!
And if I couldn’t be any less lucky, he’s the best man! I don’t want him ruining my sister’s big day, so I keep a very close eye on Mr. Fancy Pants.
One sensual dance and a stolen kiss later, I realize that there is more to Chase Sterling than the grumpy ass I first met at the airport.
After the wedding, I get back to reality. I’m trying to save the inn I inherited from my grandmother, but it ate up all my savings. That’s why I desperately need a job.
So when Sterling Investments offers me a position, I accept — planning to avoid Chase Sterling at all costs.
Will I manage to see this grump as my boss and forget all about our stolen kisses?
Time will tell.
But judging by the seductive smile he gives me as he welcomes me in, I’m pretty sure that I will fail…
Never Your Girl by Jennifer Sucevic
Can you really blame me for loving the scandalous texts exposing Bridger Sanderson for the jerk he is? As far as I’m concerned, it’s sweet karma for ghosting me after we hooked up two years ago. Cocky, infuriating, and way too gorgeous for his own good, Bridger thinks he’s untouchable.
The best part?
He’s convinced I’m behind the messages.
Ha! I wish.
Unfortunately, my life takes a turn for the worst when Bridger uncovers my secret side hustle. Now he’s blackmailing me, forcing me to stick close—we’re talking 24/7—until he figures out who’s airing his dirty laundry on campus.
I should hate him for dragging me into his mess.
And I do…
Mostly.
Except… the more time we spend together, the harder it becomes to ignore how he looks at me. It’s almost like he can see straight through the walls I’ve built to protect myself. Or how his own guard slips, revealing the cracks in his armor when he thinks I’m not paying attention.
The only person who’s ever gotten this close is ColdAsIce17, my anonymous confidant on the school chat app. With him, I can totally be myself.
But what happens when the lines blur between the guy I hate and the one I can’t stop thinking about?
What happens when I realize… they might be the same person?
Crash Landing by Annie McQuaid
Piper Adams is completely, totally, one hundred percent over Wyatt, the former love of her life. At least, that’s what she tells herself. After he broke her heart, she stopped taking risks and focused instead on building a perfect—and perfectly safe—life. But bumping into Wyatt at the airport on the way to her best friend’s destination wedding wasn’t part of the plan. Neither was a canceled flight nor Wyatt’s offer of a ride on the tiny plane he’s flying to attend the same event. Desperate to make it on time, she accepts his offer, but things go from awkward to full-blown nightmare when their plane crashes in the Caribbean, stranding Piper on a deserted island with the last person she ever wanted to see again.
At first, rule-following Piper clashes with adventure-driven Wyatt, but as the days tick by, she can see the boy she once loved has grown into a man. A man who makes her laugh, knows his way around a fire, and is annoyingly hot shirtless. A man she could love again. As the chemistry still simmering between them boils over, Piper begins wishing Wyatt was more than just a survival partner. But for their love to survive a second chance, she’ll have to not only trust Wyatt again, but also learn to trust herself and find the courage to let go of her carefully curated life for the chance at something far greater—if they can survive the island long enough for rescue.
In Good Company by Kat Singleton
Callahan Hastings is relentless when it comes to getting what he wants, and what he wants is me–to be his private chef in the Hamptons for the summer.
My dream job served to me on a silver platter by one of the wealthiest members of Pembroke Hills Country Club.
The only catch? He’s my ex-boyfriend’s older brother with a reputation for being as charming as he is cunning.
But Cal doesn’t take no for an answer. He draws you in with flirty smiles and extravagant promises.
I should have seen him coming, but I didn’t. I should have stayed away, but I couldn’t.
His playful touches and burning gaze have ignited a fire in me. The more I resist him, the more irresistible he becomes.
I’ve always known there’s an expiration date on the job–an expiration date on us.
But leaving isn’t going to be easy with Cal on his knees, begging me to stay…
Their Greatest Strength by Hannah Cowan
I’ve been tackled by defensive linemen twice my size and sprinted into end zones with thousands of fans screaming my name, but nothing―and I mean nothing―could’ve prepared me for Blakely.
I should have known from the first time we met that she’d change everything for me. How could she not? A woman bold enough to break into my house and attempt to steal from me isn’t exactly someone you forget and move on from.
So, when I’m asked, or told, to find a wife, I know it has to be her.
That’s supposed to be all it is. She needs somewhere to live, and I need the headlines. But what starts as a simple arrangement quickly becomes something far more complicated. Blakely is guarded, unpredictable, and protective of those she loves. The more time I spend with her, the more I realize this isn’t about my career anymore.
With just two months on the clock, can I break down her walls before she breaks my heart?
Finding Home by Jenn McMahon
But sometimes the heart has a mind of its own. It falls without warning.
The last thing I want to do is fall for the angry cowboy.Blair Andrews has spent the better part of her adulthood playing trophy wife to her politician husband in San Francisco. All she knows is her pampered, polished, perfect life.
Until it all comes crashing down around her.
After hiding out in her sister’s spare bedroom for months to avoid pitying looks on the streets, she decides it’s time to escape city life and learn to stand on her own.
On a whim, Blair buys a tiny home in a small Wyoming town where she is certain her new neighbor, Griffin Barlow, can’t stand her. He owns the local bar, is constantly covered in dirt from working on his family’s ranch, and never smiles.
Is he grumpy because she infiltrated his privacy when she moved onto the once quiet street? Or is there more to it than that?
Blair has sworn off relationships, leaving the city behind to start fresh and find her independence.
But in Bluestone Lakes, Wyoming, she’s finding more than that.
Maybe…she’s 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙤𝙢𝙚.
Takes One to Know One by Lissette Decos
Daniela is risk-averse, blazer-obsessed, and likes to be taken seriously. So when her record label job is on the line, she’s prepared to do anything to keep it. Except for working with the genre of music she hates most: reggaeton. It’s supposed to inspire sensual hip-swinging dance moves and Dani’s hips do not swing—not like that anyway. Out of desperation, Dani lies and says she loves reggaeton. But not only does Dani get to keep her job, she gets a ticket to Puerto Rico . . . on a mission to clean up the scandalous image of international reggaeton singer Rene ‘El Rico’ Rodriguez.
Despite her best act, Dani’s dislike of his music and Rene’s prickly disposition is palpable, resulting in them butting heads at every turn. Yet as the two spend more time together under the island’s sizzling sun, Dani realizes there’s more to Rene than his rough edges and good looks. The man that many only see as a sex icon actually cares about his music, community, and culture. Against her will, she slowly begins finding him harder to hate. And before she knows it, Rene is teaching Dani how to find the rhythm of the music and learn to let go. But will she ever be ready to acknowledge the heat growing between them and put her heart on the line?
So that’s all for this week.
Happy Reading!
![Love’s a Witch by Tricia O’Malley [blog tour]](https://som2nynetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/PXL_20250826_093728847.MP2_-336x220.jpg)
