We’ve made it — one way or another — to the last month of 2020. It’s definitely been a rollercoaster, but the light at the end of the tunnel is the fact that we get a bunch of brand new books this month! (Including today!) We’re kicking off the last month of the year with some awesome books, including the first book on this list, which was one of my most anticipated releases of the year. (I 100% preordered it ASAP back in May.)

Let me know in the comments what books you’ll be reading this month!

December 1

“Stay With Me (She’s With Me #2)” – Jessica Cunsolo

Wattpad Books

Love has never been more dangerous.

In the sequel to her riveting debut, She’s With Me, Wattpad superstar Jessica Cunsolo brings us the dramatic continuation of a romance that always defies the odds…

Amelia Collins finally finds happiness in the arms of Aiden Parker, who accepts her for who she is―even when their pasts become hopelessly entangled in their present and threaten to completely unravel their futures. As Aiden’s accused of a crime he didn’t commit and struggles to keep his family together, Amelia fights a battle of her own: how to tell Aiden she needs to leave.

Determined to put real life on hold for just a little bit longer, Amelia and her friends leave the chaos of King City behind for a beach house and holiday celebrations. Still, it’s only a matter of time before close quarters reveal their secrets and Aiden fully understands the awful truth about the man pursuing Amelia.

Amelia knows she can’t outrun the painful memories of the past and killer’s obsession with her. Her beloved friends are in danger, and she will not let them be harmed. Overwhelmed by love but haunted by fear, Amelia must decide if staying with the person she loves is worth risking his life.

“The Ballad of Ami Miles” – Kristy Dallas Alley

Swoon Reads

Raised in isolation at Heavenly Shepherd, her family’s trailer-dealership-turned-survival compound, Ami Miles knows that she was lucky to be born into a place of safety after the old world ended and the chaos began. But when her grandfather arranges a marriage to a cold-eyed stranger, she realizes that her “destiny” as one of the few females capable of still bearing children isn’t something she’s ready to face.

With the help of one of her aunts, she flees the only life she’s ever known, and sets off on a quest to find her long-lost mother (and hopefully a mate of her own choosing). But as she journeys, Ami discovers many new things about the world… and about herself.

“The Cousins” – Karen M. McManus

Delacorte Press

Milly, Aubrey, and Jonah Story are cousins, but they barely know each another, and they’ve never even met their grandmother. Rich and reclusive, she disinherited their parents before they were born. So when they each receive a letter inviting them to work at her island resort for the summer, they’re surprised . . . and curious.

Their parents are all clear on one point—not going is not an option. This could be the opportunity to get back into Grandmother’s good graces. But when the cousins arrive on the island, it’s immediately clear that she has different plans for them. And the longer they stay, the more they realize how mysterious—and dark—their family’s past is.

The entire Story family has secrets. Whatever pulled them apart years ago isn’t over—and this summer, the cousins will learn everything.

“The Love Curse of Melody McIntyre” – Robin Talley

Harper Teen

Perfect for fans of Becky Albertalli and Nina LaCour, this #ownvoices romantic comedy from New York Times bestselling author Robin Talley has something for everyone: backstage rendezvous, deadly props, and a seemingly insurmountable obstacle to True Love.

Melody McIntyre, stage manager extraordinaire, has a plan for everything.

What she doesn’t have? Success with love. Every time she falls for someone during a school performance, both the romance and the show end in catastrophe. So, Mel swears off any entanglements until their upcoming production of Les Mis is over.

Of course, Mel didn’t count on Odile Rose, rising star in the acting world, auditioning for the spring performance. And she definitely didn’t expect Odile to be sweet and funny, and care as much about the play’s success as Mel.

Which means that Melody McIntyre’s only plan now is trying desperately not to fall in love.

“Admission” – Julie Buxbaum

Delacorte Press

From the New York Times bestselling author of Tell Me Three Things comes an of-the-moment novel that peeks inside the private lives of the hypercompetitive and the hyperprivileged and takes on the college admissions bribery scandal that rocked the country.

It’s good to be Chloe Wynn Berringer. She’s headed off to the college of her dreams. She’s going to prom with the boy she’s had a crush on since middle school. Her best friend always has her back, and her mom, a B-list Hollywood celebrity, may finally be on her way to the B+ list. It’s good to be Chloe Wynn Berringer–at least, it was, until the FBI came knocking on her front door, guns at the ready, and her future went up in smoke. Now her mother is under arrest in a massive college admissions bribery scandal. Chloe, too, might be facing charges, and even time behind bars. The public is furious, the press is rabid, and the US attorney is out for blood.

As she loses everything she’s long taken for granted, Chloe must reckon not only with the truth of what happened, but also with the examination of her own guilt. Why did her parents think the only way for her to succeed was to cheat for her? What did she know, and when did she know it? And perhaps most importantly, what does it mean to be complicit?

“This Time Next Year” – Sophie Cousens

G.P. Putnam’s Sons

In this warm-hearted love story for fans of One Day in December, a man and woman who were born at the same hospital on New Year’s Day meet on their thirtieth birthday and discover the many times their paths almost crossed before.

Down-to-earth baker Minnie Cooper knows two things with great certainty: that her New Year’s birthday has always been unlucky, and that it’s all because of Quinn Hamilton, a man she’s never met. Minnie and Quinn were born at the same hospital just after midnight on New Year’s Day thirty years before, and not only did he edge her out by mere minutes to win the cash prize for being the first baby born in London in 1990, but he stole the name she was meant to have, as well. With luck like that, it’s no wonder each of her birthdays has been more of a disaster than the one before.

When Minnie unexpectedly runs into Quinn at a New Year’s party on their mutual thirtieth birthday, she sees only more evidence that fortune has continued to favor him. The handsome, charming business owner truly seems to have it all–including the perfect girlfriend. But if Quinn and Minnie are from different worlds, why do they keep bumping into each other? And why is it that each frustrating interaction somehow seems to leave them both hoping for more?

December 3

“The Revenge Pact (Kings of Football #1)” – Ilsa Madden-Mills

*ARC review coming soon!

River Tate is a god on campus.
The king of football.
A tattooed bad boy with gunmetal eyes that see right through you.
The only chink in his armor is her, the girl he pretends doesn’t exist, the forbidden one with the shy smile and lavender hair.

Anastasia Bailey is a nobody.
The queen of nothing.
An outsider with the face of an angel and a body made for sin.
The only chink in her armor is him, her boyfriend’s frat brother, the football player who hates her.

But when Anastasia’s life comes crashing down, River’s the one who sweeps in and picks up the pieces.
Torn between loyalty, lies, and secrets, he battles the temptation to take everything from her when they make their revenge pact.

He can’t tell her no.
Because revenge (or love) is, sweet, and once you get a taste, the craving never ends.

The Revenge Pact is first in a series about three college football players.

December 10

“The Romantic Pact (Kings of Football #2)” – Meghan Quinn

*ARC review coming soon!

I haven’t seen her in three years.

I haven’t talked to her since the kiss.

So why am I on a plane, flying across the world to spend a week with her in Germany?

One word: Pops.

My life’s a mess.

My possible football career is hanging on by a thread.

I’m driving the roads of Germany in honor of Pops with the one girl I can never have.

And I’m sharing a bed with her, the girl I’ve measured everyone else up to, while desperately trying to not to touch her.

We made a pact growing up, never to get romantic with each other – never fall in love.

And I’m about to break that pact. For good.

December 11

“Kiss to Forget (Blairwood University #2)” – Anna B. Doe

*ARC review coming soon!

Something about her drew him in from the start.

Yasmin Hernandez—4.0 student, hard worker, volunteer. Starting Blairwood University is her chance at a new beginning. It doesn’t matter that it’s all a lie, does it?

Nixon Cole has it all—money, good looks, charm and a national championship win to wrap it all up. But there is more hiding behind his charming smile than he lets on.

Until he found out the secret she’s been hiding.

Nixon has had a thing for Yasmin from the moment they met, but she isn’t about to let another player near her heart. When a chance encounter reveals his secret, Yasmin will realize they have more in common than either of them thought.

Kiss by kiss they’ll forget reality. Will it be enough to save them, or will it be the cause of a broken heart?

December 17

“The Relationship Pact (Kings of Football #3)” – Adriana Locke

*ARC review coming soon!

How hard can it be?

That was the question rolling around Larissa Mason’s mind just before she asked Hollis Hudson to be her fake boyfriend.

It was only supposed to be for five minutes, after all.

Granted, that was also before she felt his hand on the small of her back as he charmed the heck out of her family.

She hadn’t heard his laugh yet either.

And it was definitely before she saw the football god shirtless. Otherwise, she would’ve had an idea of just how hard some things could be.

It turns out that pretending to be in love with a crazily handsome, somewhat enigmatic, and absolutely unforgettable tight end (that has an amazing tight end) is easy.

Reminding herself that just because opposites attract doesn’t mean they’re forever is much harder.

What they have isn’t love—it’s a relationship pact. Right?

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