Windborn by Alex S. Bradshaw

SPFBO7

Drowning is only the beginning... Edda Gretasdottir is a raider, a fell-handed shield-maiden, feared along every coast. Hers is a life woven in battle scars. But she never wanted to walk the warrior's path. All she wanted was freedom, to earn enough gold to buy her family their own remote farm, and to escape their oppressive chieftain. Now, she has enough plunder so that she can finally hang up her shield and live in peace. That peace is stolen from Edda, however, when raiders burn her home, destroy all that she loves, and toss her, wounded and bleeding, into the ravenous ocean. But the fates are cruel and this is not the end for Edda: she rises from the bloody surf as a Windborn, a cursed warrior whose supernatural gifts are a poor exchange for everything she has lost. Fuelled by rage and armed with strange new powers Edda will hunt for whoever sent the raiders, for whoever is responsible for taking everything from her. She will show them the sharp edge of her axe... or die trying. Windborn is a dark, character-driven Norse fantasy packed with emotion, deadly foes, and vicious battles.

Diamond Wishes: An Aladdin Retelling (All That Glitters #12) by Abigail Manning

A mute guard, a chatty parrot, and a diamond ring that could change it all... Few people have heard the legend of the wondrous wishing diamond, and even fewer have wasted their efforts searching for it. Kya could care less about jewels unless they can sell for enough money to feed her and her mouthy parrot. Her chronic fainting spells make it impossible to hold down a real job, and difficult to escape the guards when a charming stranger interrupts her heist. Caught and caged, Kya admits defeat as she wastes away in the palace prison. Not even befriending a royal guard can get her out of her chains, but a deal with a smooth-talking nobleman might... It would seem that the boy from the market isn’t the only person on a diamond hunt. If anyone can find a diamond ring in a cave full of treasures, it’s a jewel thief, but that doesn’t mean she knows how to use it. Wishes gone wrong and a power struggle between royals quickly trap Kya once again, but this time as a fake princess. Even a counterfeit diamond can sparkle, but can it fool a treasure hunter? Life as a royal sure does have a nice ring to it, if you can live long enough to wish for a crown. Diamond Wishes is a standalone, no-spice, fairy retelling and is a part of the series "All That Glitters." A collection of 12 treasure-themed fairy tale retellings full of adventure, romance, and glittering gold.

Orc The Halls: A Snowed-In Christmas Romance (OrcFire Book 9) by Alana Khan

Some Christmas gifts come with muscle, tusks, and a promise you’ll never be cold again. Laney My plan to cover next semester’s vet school tuition—holiday pet-sitting at my late grandma’s snowy mountain sanctuary—is going down in flames. The exotic animals are staging a revolt, a blizzard’s closing in, and failure means losing everything. Then he shows up. Ryder six-foot-eight of green-skinned, musclebound orc firefighter with a voice that could melt snow and hands that promise ruin. He’s calm with the animals, gentle with me—and when he calls me sunshine, my icy walls start to melt. But I’ve been left behind too many times to believe in happy endings. Ryder I came here to do a quick pet-care favor. What I found? A fierce, brilliant woman holding her world together with grit and hope. Laney thinks I’ll walk away like everyone else. But this orc? I’m not going anywhere. I’ll earn her trust. Melt her defenses. And prove that I love hard, protect harder, and know exactly how to heat up a snowbound cabin. Escape into a snowed-in mountain romance where Christmas miracles come with fierce devotion, possessive growls, and the kind of dominant orc who brings the fire. Scorching scenes guaranteed, along with your new green-skinned book boyfriend. For readers 18+ who love their holidays hot, their heroes huge, and their monster romances equal parts heart and heat.