Böcker av Shanna Swendson

Welcome to Rydding, the hidden village you might stumble across if you need a home and a fresh start. For Elwyn Howell, the village is a lifesaver when she finds it just as she's run out of strength and hope while running for her life. The abandoned healer's cottage welcomes her, even though she's given up on that calling. She opens a tea shop instead, using her knowledge of herbs and her empathic gift that allows her to select the perfect tea for each customer. Soon, she's feeling at home in the village community. She's afraid it's too good to last, a fear that's confirmed when she finds a wounded man unconscious in her garden. Was he sent by the people who are hunting her? Not even he knows, since he has no memory of who he is or how he got there. As she nurses him back to health, they develop a close bond, but the specter of both their pasts-the one she's fleeing and the one he doesn't remember-gets in the way. He doesn't know what life he may have left behind, and she lives in constant fear that her old life will catch up with her and she'll end up convicted of a murder she's not entirely sure she didn't commit. They can't hide forever, not even in Rydding, and if they want to have a future, they'll have to confront their pasts. A new cozy cottagecore romantic fantasy from the author of Enchanted, Inc.

Someone knows who's been naughty, and they're not being nice about itLexie Lincoln is excited about the holiday season. Stirling Mills puts on a big celebration, with elaborate light displays and numerous events. It'll be like living in one of those TV Christmas movies she binges every December. There's just one damper on her holiday spirit: the Secret Santa, an information vigilante who seems to have access to the Naughty list and who is sharing that information through anonymous notes sometimes slipped into pockets and sometimes left in people's homes during the night. Since nothing is damaged or taken and there's no sign of a break-in, no one has reported these incidents to the police, so they aren't involved, but that doesn't stop Lexie from investigating. Informing people about affairs, backstabbing, and workplace politics stirs up strife, and the fact that the Santa sometimes also leaves gifts that fulfill unspoken needs doesn't help. Lexie's not sure she believes in Santa, but someone who knows secrets, good and bad, and who can slip into homes during the night sounds a lot like St. Nick. Busting Santa might put Lexie on the Naughty list, but she feels she has to save the holiday celebration before the bad vibe drives the tourists away - and before her own secrets are revealed.

Locking the doors may not keep a killer out Lexie Lincoln hoped the Saturday outing Wes Mosby planned would be a date, a step toward defining their ambiguous relationship, but it turns out to be something better: a story. Wes fears there was something shady about the construction of a bridge that collapsed in a recent storm. It's out of his jurisdiction, but he thinks Lexie's just the person to dig into it. She suspects Wes might be right when the county engineer she calls about the bridge invites her to his house for a cookout instead of arranging an interview. There must be something he doesn't want to discuss at the office. But when she arrives, he's nowhere to be found. His family can't get into the house because it's locked from the inside. After the police resort to kicking in a door, they find him dead from an apparent suicide. Or is it? It doesn't make sense for him to invite Lexie over, then kill himself before talking. On the other hand, there are those locked doors. How could the killer have left? Then again, this is Stirling Mills, where half the population can do seemingly impossible things. Getting in and out in spite of locked doors isn't out of the question. If it was murder, was he killed because of the bridge, or was it something else? Either way, Lexie's investigation into the bridge has made her a target of threats. If she's dealing with someone willing to kill to keep her from finding and publishing the truth, and if that person can lock or unlock any door, she won't be safe until she brings the killer to justice.