Book Reviews by the Reluctant Retiree

The Inn at Holiday Bay: Trouble in the Turkey Truck

Posted on January 8, 2026December 31, 2025 by Reluctant Retiree

Holiday Bay is a charming seaside town where every season brings a celebration—and healing comes when you least expect it.

After a heartbreaking loss, Abby Sullivan never imagined she’d find solace in a quaint seaside inn in Holiday Bay, Maine. But surrounded by new friends, cozy traditions, and an endless parade of mysteries, Abby has discovered that sometimes the best way to heal is to start fresh.

In Book 36 of this heartwarming series, Abby joins Mackenzie Cole—niece of her boyfriend, Colt Wilder—and Colt’s father, Hank, for the town’s first-ever Holiday Bay Turkey Olympics. The trio arrives early to get settled, only to discover something far more surprising than turkeys inside the turkey truck…

As the Holiday Bay family prepares for the season’s first snowfall, familiar faces are navigating their own challenges: Georgia is overwhelmed by the pressure of choosing a name for baby Peyton, Hazel’s mysterious cough has everyone concerned, Anna is adjusting to her new life at the inn with cautious optimism, and Lacy is struggling with mixed emotions after letting her triplets travel for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Full of heart, humor, and seasonal charm, this cozy mystery is perfect for fans of feel-good fiction, small-town camaraderie, and the warm magic of the holidays.

Book Tours

The Improbable Road of Return

Posted on January 7, 2026January 7, 2026 by Reluctant Retiree

The Improbable Road of Return
Nath Jones
Publication date: December 17th 2025
Genres: Adult, Romance, Women’s Fiction

What is coming home now? THE IMPROBABLE ROAD OF RETURN is a reentry story about six weeks in the life of a woman named Jenks. In 2012 she accidentally kills a man on a run and does two years in prison for it. After she gets out in 2015 everything is different and her relationships with the two men in her life must change. Does one even know the full truth? How can Jenks be honest? Her mother has to accept her as a murderer, but how can they both acclimate? What will ever be the same? She shoved the man off the bike with the same force she shoves a grocery cart into a parking lot corral. And that makes her among the worst on earth? Well it did kill the man and she did do time. So she must make a way back to who she is. Isandro is her twenty-eight year old lover and Sauveterre is her seventy-four year old neighbor. She isn’t in love with either of them, is she? Or are the relationships of the twenty-first century just that impossible to understand?

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

Author Bio:

Best New American Voices nominee Nath Jones received an MFA in creative writing from Northwestern University. A title in the On Impulse series went to number one on Kindle. Her publishing credits include PANK Magazine, There Are No Rules, and Sailing World, and she has won multiple awards. She lives and writes in Chicago.

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The Improbable Road of Return Blitz

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Book Tours

Northwick Cove Menage

Posted on January 7, 2026January 3, 2026 by Reluctant Retiree

One rugged town.

Too many men.

And just enough strong women to keep them on their toes.

Their Reluctant Catch

Northwick Cove Menage Book 1

by Karen Nappa

Genre: Erotic Reverse Harem Romance

I never imagined fleeing my hometown would mean running straight into their arms…

Stranded on the side of the road in a town I’ve never even heard of in a state about as far from home as I could get is not exactly how I imagined my vacation starting.

And I definitely never expected to be rescued by two gorgeous fisherman brothers.

Sweet, caring Todd immediately puts me at ease, making me want things I know I have no business wanting. While emotionally unavailable Colton draws me in like a moth to a flame, our mutual sense of loss and pain tying us together against both our wills.

Little by little, they each tear down my walls in their own way. And when I’m in their bed, sobbing out their names as they shower me with pleasure, I’m not thinking about the horror I witness back home.

I’m only thinking of them… and wondering how I’m going to survive losing them when I leave.

Amazon * Bookbub * Goodeads

Their Stubborn Fix

Northwick Cove Menage Book 2

All I wanted was a fresh start. Instead, I got the MacAllister brothers and all their hot, commanding ways.

Heartache and grief were the only things I ever seemed to find in my hometown. So I left, looking for a new home, a new life.

What I found were three gorgeous, demanding brothers determined to prove to me that true love exists—and that I could have it with all of them. Whether it’s making me scream with pleasure in their bed or sob over their knee from their strict, humiliating discipline, their sole focus is me. My wants, my needs, my happiness.

But I’m not the only stubborn one in this relationship. And unless we can all find a way to heal the parts of us others have broken, the forever they promised me will remain completely out of reach.

Amazon * Bookbub * Goodreads

Their Unexpected Claim

Northwick Cove Menage Book 3

She wasn’t looking for a man, but can she find happiness with two?

Long burned by betrayal, Judith Walker’s heart is closed to new love. Deeply believing her life is better alone, she hides behind a prickly surface and sharp temper. When Judith arrives in Northwick Cove, she only wants to bring her daughter home. Finding Savannah in a loving Triad, and also unwilling to leave, brings out her fiery nature.

In spite of her protective walls, she quickly attracts the attention and desire of Sam and Henry. They have long ached for a woman like Judith to join their family. However, Sam’s flirty charm and Henry’s steady nature are immediately faced with her suspicion and resistance. When their persistence leads to an eruption of passion, Judith is forced to question everything she believes.

Amazon * Bookbub * Goodreads

Karen Nappa is an Amazon bestselling author of Seasoned BDSM romance with HEA. Her books are available at the popular retailers and include series such as Small Town Submission and Savage Billionaires.

Immersed in the D/s lifestyle herself, she writes realistic albeit romantic stories. When not dominated by her cats or her Master (in that order—even if it earns her a spanking!), she loves going places to discover the stories waiting to be written.

She resides in the Netherlands with her dominant husband, two adult-ish sons—and whoever they might drag home with them—and, of course, her two Chausie cats. If she isn’t writing or texting with friends, she’s probably reading, running, or listening to heavy metal.

Website * Facebook * X * Instagram * TikTok * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads

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#Classics

Tom Clancy Red Winter (Jack Ryan Book 22)

Posted on January 7, 2026December 31, 2025 by Reluctant Retiree

In this previously untold adventure, a young Jack Ryan goes behind the Iron Curtain to seek the truth about a potential Soviet defector in the most shocking entry in Tom Clancy’s #1 New York Times bestselling series.

1985

A top secret F117 aircraft crashes into the Nevada desert. The Nighthawk is the most advanced fighting machine in the world and the Soviets will do anything to get their hands on its secrets.

In East Berlin, a mysterious figure contacts the CIA with an incredible offer—invaluable details of his government’s espionage plans in return for asylum.

It’s an offer they can’t pass up…if it’s genuine, but the risks are too great to blindly stumble into a deal. With the East German secret police closing in, someone will have to go to behind the Berlin Wall to investigate the potential defector. It’s a job Deputy Director James Greer can only trust to one man–Jack Ryan.

Ryan is a former Marine and a brilliant CIA analyst who’s been the architect of some of the CIA’s biggest coups but this time he’s in enemy territory with a professional assassin on his tail. Can he get the right answers before the Cold War turns into a Red Winter?