False Dawn by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro

photo courtesy of OpenLibrary.org

Released: 1978

Chelsea Quinn Yarbro is a prolific author of many horror, fantasy, and sci-fi novels and best known for her Saint-Germain series. False Dawn is one of her many stand-alone science-fiction novels.

Set near the beginning of a post-apocalyptic 21st century in northern California, False Dawn introduces us to a woman named Thea who is running from a band of vagrant men known as Pirates—a league of extremely violent and dangerous men on a mission to kill all remaining mutants in the region. Thea—a mutant woman in her 20s—is intent on traveling by foot eastward to a place called Gold Lake, which is rumored to be similar to the Garden of Eden and to provide safe refuge to all mutants.

Too Wilde to Tame by Janelle Denison

Photo courtesy of Tower.com

Released: September 2005

Janelle Denison's Too Wilde to Tame is the 7th book in the Wilde series - a series in which each novel focuses on a member of the Wilde family. Although this novel is part of a series, it can be read as a stand-alone novel.

Dreamworld's Synopsis

Mia Wilde lives up to her name in regards to being wild in various ways - by brandishing a sassy attitude to people constantly, dancing with strangers at the club, and joining wet t-shirt contests. However, although Mia puts on a front to make people believe she is wild, she is actually just a kind, sweet person and talented, aspiring stained-glass artist waiting for Mr. Right to come along.

Death of a Maid by M.C. Beaton

Released: February 2007

Death of a Maid is the 23rd book in the Hamish MacBeth cozy mystery series by M.C. Beaton.

Dreamworld Synopsis

When a nosy and annoying meddlesome maid named Mrs. Gillespie becomes the victim of a violent crime in the small town of Lochdubh nestled in the Scotland Highlands, constable Hamish MacBeth sets out to investigate and interview the local townies. Hamish soon learns that Mrs. Gillespie was very skilled in the blackmailing department, and her long list of "victims" is equal to the number of suspects he must interrogate for her murder.

Daughter of the Blood by Anne Bishop

Released: March 1998

Daughter of the Blood is the first book in the "Black Jewels" trilogy by Anne Bishop; the world and concept of which has also spawned 6 additional books under the "Black Jewels" theme.

Dreamworld Synopsis

In a world with 3 different Realms, women rule as Queens and witches; whereas men are always secondary in hierarchy to women. One night, a fortune-teller in one of the Realms sees in her visions a witch rising to the status of Queen; however, this witch is to be known as Witch (with a capital W!), the most powerful woman the Realms may ever see in their lifetime.

The Legacy of Eden by Nelle Davy

Release Date: February 2012

The Legacy of Eden is Nelle Davy's debut novel, featuring the legacy of an estate named Aurelia - a farm in Iowa.

The novel opens in present-day New York, when Meredith Pincetti receives a letter about the settlement of the Aurelia farm, previously managed by her recently deceased cousin, Cal Hathaway, Jr. Meredith then contacts her sisters regarding the settlement of the estate, and leaves New York to revisit the Iowa farm and gather some of her family's belongings before they are sold. Although readers are under the impression that Meredith's return to Aurelia is highly stressful and upsetting, we do not learn fully why this is so until the end of the novel.

The Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine

Released: January 2012

The Lions of Little Rock is the second novel by Kristin Levine, the author of The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had (2009).

When Marlee begins her first year of junior high in 1958 Little Rock, Arkansas, in the midst of a time when segregation is causing numerous problems, she is desperate for a nice friend she can talk to other than her older teenaged sister, Judy. Finding a friend will be quite the challenge for Marlee, especially since her shyness prevents her from talking to most people.

Special Agent's Surrender by Carla Cassidy

Released: February 2011

Carla Cassidy is a prolific romance novelist who has had a number of books published under the Silhouette and Harlequin labels. Special Agent's Surrender is part of the "Lawmen of Black Rock" series.

On a cold, snowy evening in the middle of winter, the cute and sexy Layla West - a realtor and broker - is attacked by a man hiding in the back seat of her car. After she is able to escape from the serial killer with barely a scratch, Layla is exiled to a cabin hidden deep in the local woods until her stalker can be caught and executed.

Aaron, Approximately by Zachary Lazar

Released: January 1998

Aaron, Approximately is the first novel by Zachary Lazar - an entertaining and comical (yet very dark) coming-of-age tale about Aaron Bright, a young man who struggles with adolescence and young adulthood after he witnesses the death of his father in a freak skydiving accident.

Aaron Bright often feels as if he has been living in his father's shadow, especially with his father being a local celebrity in Denver, Colorado, where he poses as a clown on his own children's television show. After Aaron's father dies and he becomes the man of the house in an all-female household, we are regaled with Aaron's first-person account of his awkward experiences throughout junior high, high school, and his early college years.