I am a fairly avid library user, though with reading more Indie books, I definitely use it less than I used to. However, when I’m looking for a traditionally published book, I tend to go to the library and use their digital collection. This post isn’t focusing on how to use the library or how to add multiple bards to expand your access. Today’s post is focusing on what I have on hold at the library.
Over the years, I’ve shifted how I’ve added books to my holds list. I used to have 30+ books on hold and realized how unrealistic it was because I wasn’t reading any of them. I kept hitting the “deliver later” button (which is a gift from the Diety of your choosing). This year I changed all of that. Now I try and keep a low amount of holds and keep it to books I’m genuinely interested in reading in the near future (though I still hit that “deliver later” button…).
Here are the handful of books I currently have on hold at the library.
Girls with Bad Reputations by Xio Axelrod
Series: The Lillys #2
on February 6, 2024
Genres: Fiction / African American & Black / Women, Fiction / Friendship, Fiction / Romance / African American & Black, Fiction / Romance / Contemporary, Fiction / Romance / Rock Stars, Fiction / Romance / Romantic Comedy, Fiction / Women
Pages: 448
Goodreads"Hot chemistry, fantastic writing, realistic character flaws, triumphs, and family drama—Xio Axelrod never misses a beat!" —REBECCA YARROS, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author
READY OR NOT, SOON THE WHOLE WORLD IS GOING TO KNOW HER NAME...
Once upon a time, the pressure to be the perfect daughter nearly broke Kayla Whitman. Desperate to find an outlet away from her controlling mother, she picked up a pair of drumsticks, forever altering the rhythm of her life. Since then, she's been determined to make her own way, finding her home with her bandmates even as she fights to keep her past and her present firmly separate.
Things were simple enough when the Lillys were playing local gigs at dive bars, but now they're on their first official tour—and all Kayla can see are warning signs. Desperate to escape the worry churning inside her, Kayla finds solace in quiet tour bus driver Ty Baldwin...and discovers in him a kindred spirit like no one she's ever met before.
Their connection is immediate and intense, but when increasing scrutiny from the press threatens to destroy Ty's newfound peace and Kayla's carefully guarded secrets, Kayla's forced to make an impossible choice: pursue her dream and risk destroying everyone around her? Or give in and lose the chance of ever becoming the person she's always known she could be.
THE LILLYS:
The Girl with Stars in Her Eyes, Book 1
Girls with Bad Reputations, Book 2
All This Twisted Glory by Tahereh Mafi
Series: This Woven Kingdom #3
Published by HarperCollins on February 6, 2024
Genres: Young Adult Fiction / Diversity & Multicultural, Young Adult Fiction / Fairy Tales & Folklore / Country & Ethnic, Young Adult Fiction / Fantasy / Epic, Young Adult Fiction / People & Places / Middle East, Young Adult Fiction / Romance / General, Young Adult Fiction / Royalty
Pages: 416
GoodreadsA New York Times bestselling series!
The highly anticipated third novel in the This Woven Kingdom series, full of powerful magic, searing romance, and heartbreaking betrayal, from the award-winning and bestselling author of the Shatter Me series. Perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo, Sabaa Tahir, and Tomi Adeyemi.
As the long-lost heir to the Jinn throne, Alizeh has finally found her people—and she might’ve found her crown. Cyrus, the mercurial ruler of Tulan, has offered her his kingdom in a twisted exchange: one that would begin with their marriage and end with his murder.
Cyrus’s dark reputation precedes him; all the world knows of his blood-soaked past. Killing him should be easy—and accepting his offer might be the only way to fulfill her destiny and save her people. But the more Alizeh learns of him, the more she questions whether the terrible stories about him are true.
Ensnared by secrets, Cyrus has ached for Alizeh since she first appeared in his dreams many months ago. Now that he knows those visions were planted by the devil, he can hardly bear to look at her—much less endure her company. But despite their best efforts to despise each other, Alizeh and Cyrus are drawn together over and over with an all-consuming thirst that threatens to destroy them both.
Meanwhile, Prince Kamran has arrived in Tulan, ready to exact revenge…
Layered with exquisite tension and heart-stopping romance, All This Twisted Glory is the explosive third book in the captivating, bestselling Woven Kingdom series.
Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood
Published by Penguin on June 11, 2024
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Contemporary, Fiction / Romance / General, Fiction / Romance / Workplace
Pages: 400
GoodreadsAn Indie Next and a Hall of Fame LibraryReads Pick!
A forbidden, secret affair proves that all’s fair in love and science—from New York Times bestselling author Ali Hazelwood.
Rue Siebert might not have it all, but she has enough: a few friends she can always count on, the financial stability she yearned for as a kid, and a successful career as a biotech engineer at Kline, one of the most promising start-ups in the field of food science. Her world is stable, pleasant, and hard-fought. Until a hostile takeover and its offensively attractive front man threatens to bring it all crumbling down.
Eli Killgore and his business partners want Kline, period. Eli has his own reasons for pushing this deal through—and he’s a man who gets what he wants. With one burning exception: Rue. The woman he can’t stop thinking about. The woman who's off-limits to him.
Torn between loyalty and an undeniable attraction, Rue and Eli throw caution out the lab and the boardroom windows. Their affair is secret, no-strings-attached, and has a built-in deadline: the day one of their companies will prevail. But the heart is risky business—one that plays for keeps.
Fate of the Sun King by Nisha J. Tuli
Series: Artefacts of Ouranos #3
Published by Grand Central Publishing on June 4, 2024
Genres: Fiction / Fantasy / Action & Adventure, Fiction / Fantasy / Romance, Fiction / Romance / Fantasy
Pages: 448
GoodreadsThe highly anticipated third installment of the steamy Artefacts of Ouranos series journeys deeper into the glittering fae world as Lor puts both her life and her heart on the line in this enemies-to-lovers fantasy romance.
With the Heart Crown now in her possession, Lor must navigate the dangers of being an heir on the run, knowing more than one power-hungry ruler is after her blood. When she returns to Aphelion to unlock her magic and recover her family's legacy, it becomes clearer than ever that all that’s gold doesn’t sparkle. No stranger to battles, she continues to fight her attraction to the Aurora Prince, understanding this might be the one she finally loses.
As the past mixes with the present, Lor uncovers the truth about the Artefacts and their role in shaping her destiny. Now, her future hangs in the balance, leaving her closer than ever to getting everything she's ever wanted... or losing it all forever.
The Design of Us by Sajni Patel
Published by Penguin on July 16, 2024
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Multicultural & Interracial, Fiction / Romance / Romantic Comedy, Fiction / Women
Pages: 368
GoodreadsOne impulsive lie leads to a weeklong adventure of fake dating for two bickering coworkers in this swoony destination wedding rom-com by Sajni Patel, author of The Trouble with Hating You.
Sunshine incarnate Bhanu brings big UX energy to whatever she does, including going for the promotion where her only serious competition is her work nemesis, AKA Sunny, the grump with the Denzel voice. She expected to get a reprieve from him while visiting her family in Hawai’i, but the universe has other plans. When Bhanu runs into Sunny at the hotel and witnesses his ex criticizing him about being single, Bhanu does the first thing that comes to mind: she impetuously claims to be Sunny’s girlfriend just to get some peace and quiet. Except Sunny is on island for a friend’s wedding and his ex has already texted the entire wedding party about this mysterious girlfriend.
Bhanu truly is the bane of Sunny’s existence. But the last thing he wants to do is cause tension during his friend’s wedding festivities, much less be the object of their pity. He has no choice except to play along, if only he and Bhanu can put aside their quarreling and act like a real couple.
Between Bhanu’s hilariously meddling family and Sunny’s ecstatic friends, the two are pushed closer together, even as stress mounts over the impending promotion.
They say what happens on island, stays on island. But as Sunny and Bhanu let their guards down, will either of them be able to resist this romantic getaway without crossing the line?
The Truth According to Ember by Danica Nava
Published by Penguin on August 6, 2024
Genres: Fiction / Indigenous, Fiction / Romance / Romantic Comedy, Fiction / Romance / Workplace
Pages: 384
GoodreadsA Chickasaw woman who can’t catch a break serves up a little white lie that snowballs into much more in this witty and irresistible rom-com by debut author Danica Nava.
Ember Lee Cardinal has not always been a liar—well, not for anything that counted at least. But her job search is not going well and when her resumé is rejected for the thirty-seventh time, she takes matters into her own hands. She gets “creative” listing her qualifications and answers the ethnicity question on applications with a lie—a half-lie, technically. No one wanted Native American Ember, but white Ember has just landed her dream accounting job on Park Avenue (Oklahoma City, that is).
Accountant Ember thrives in corporate life—and her love life seems to be looking up too: Danuwoa Colson, the IT guy and fellow Native who caught her eye on her first day, seems to actually be interested in her too. Despite her unease over the no-dating policy at work, they start to see each other secretly, which somehow makes it even hotter? But when they're caught in a compromising position on a work trip, a scheming colleague blackmails Ember, threatening to expose their relationship. As the manipulation continues to grow, so do Ember’s lies. She must make the hard decision to either stay silent or finally tell the truth, which could cost her everything.
Dark Restraint by Katee Robert
Series: Dark Olympus #7
on August 6, 2024
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Contemporary, Fiction / Romance / Fantasy, Fiction / Romance / New Adult
Pages: 320
Goodreads
Also by this author: An Indecent ProposalHe was my savior. My monster. My obsession. My destruction.
*A scorchingly hot modern retelling of Ariadne and her Minotaur.*
Ariadne Vitalis is in trouble. She's betrayed her father—and his dangerous benefactor—and now she's left to rely on Olympus' questionable mercy. But in this city, mercy comes with a price. For Ariadne, that means a sham marriage to Dionysus. She has no choice but to agree, even if there's only one man she's ever wanted—a man she fears just as much as she desires.
The Minotaur never had any illusions about Minos's plans. He was willing to get his hands dirty as long as the old man kept his word—at the end of their bloody work, the Minotaur would be given Ariadne as a reward. She's meant for him, and he intends to have her, no matter the cost.
Ariadne knows better than to encourage the Minotaur—she's all too aware of how hot a passion like theirs can burn. Besides, she can never forgive him for the terrible things he's done, and he can never change. But when his hands are on her body and his wicked words are whispered in her ear, she might just be willing to let all of Olympus burn...
Dark Olympus:
Neon Gods: Hades & Persephone
Electric Idol: Eros & Psyche
Wicked Beauty: Helen & Achilles & Patroclus
Radiant Sin: Apollo & Cassandra
Cruel Seduction: Aphrodite & Hephaestus & Pandora & Adonis
Midnight Ruin: Charon & Orpheus & Eurydice
Dark Restraint: Ariadne & the Minotaur
