Books

Short Books For Busy People

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Don't think you have time to read? Struggling to hit your Goodreads Reading Challenge quota for the year? Just want to read more books? I've got you covered!

As we approach the end of the year you might find yourself looking at your reading progress over 2023. Have you read as many books as you'd wanted to?

I know I haven't read nearly as many books as I would have liked to. I always seemed to be too busy. That's why this post is as much for myself as it for you. A form of motivation for us all to get some more books read before the end of the year. 

Short Books You Can Read In A Day

All the books on this list have less than 100 pages.

The Secret Diary of Helen Blackstone (Secrets of Redemption) by Michele Pariza Wacek 

Amazon - Goodreads

The Secret Diary of Helen Blackstone is a prequel psychological thriller novella in the award-winning Secrets of Redemption series by USA Today bestselling author Michele PW (Pariza Wacek). Ideal for fans who love twisty mystery and suspense stories with a touch of supernatural.

Is it madness? Or something even worse ...

In 1929, Helen Blackstone is forced to do the unthinkable—return to her childhood home.

A place full of secrets and lies … where her mother had gone mad.

Helen had hoped she had left those dark days behind her, but when her brother is threatened, she uncovers a shocking truth that changes everything …

When the Clock Chimes Two: A Short Story (An Italian Village Mystery) by Adriana Licio

Amazon - Goodreads

About the book:

Zoe Zerbino, sobbing, downtrodden and taken for granted, discovers the power of a perfume to change her life for the better. That is, until she finds herself accused of murder.

The Love Potion by Becky Monson

Amazon - Goodreads

From bestselling author Becky Monson, comes a charming workplace romantic comedy. **Please note, this novella was originally part of the Love in the City box set.**

Can a magic love potion help her see what’s right in front of her?

Ally Hawkins, ever cheerful and always willing to see the bright side of things, has never had a date for Valentine’s Day. But this is her year. She can feel it in her little optimistic heart. Even if she, a full-grown woman, resorts to believing in a love potion she bought at a county fair. After all, the day she accidently got some of the smelly concoction on herself, the object of her desire asked her out to lunch. That can’t be a coincidence, can it?

But ever since the potion came into her life, Josh Wise, Ally’s coworker and office BFF, has been acting strange. He’s been pulling away from her, and she finds that she’s missing his playful antics and the way he can always make her laugh and smile. The potion, it would seem, is lifting the curtain on a reality that Ally has been blind to. But will she recognize what’s been right in front of her all along before it’s too late?

The Getaway by Marnie Vinge

Amazon - Goodreads

15 years ago, on a mountain road, a fully restored blue and white ‘66 Shelby Mustang carrying 2 high school seniors crashed at high speed into a 250 year-old redwood.

One of them miraculously survived.

Nancy Grove, a journalist, has made every effort to move on with her life. In the summer of 2005, her name splashed across every local newspaper’s front page. Not just because she survived the car wreck and her best friend didn’t, but because Nancy has no memory of anything that happened that night after a certain point.

She doesn’t know why Mel was driving over 75 miles per hour down a twisting mountain road, surrounded by massive redwood trees. She doesn’t know why they were in her friend Danny’s dad’s Mustang. She doesn’t know what prompted them to leave the party.

In 2021, her father dies unexpectedly in San Francisco and Nancy goes home for the funeral. She promises herself it will be a quick trip. But when her flight home is canceled and a handwritten invitation shows up at her hotel room, the journalist in Nancy feels compelled to investigate.

Arriving at the luxurious cabin in the woods, Nancy finds her 2 friends who were there that fateful night at the party. Danny owns the cabin now, and he’s invited Nancy and Jack to celebrate their 15 year reunion as only they can, by being forced to explore memories of that fateful night and what their relationships still mean to each other.

And then a surprise guest arrives. Someone else who was there that night.

Just as they’re getting settled in, a storm hits, stranding them in the woods. In the familiar surroundings, memories begin to come back to Nancy, and she’s forced to grapple with what really happened that night.

And why Mel wanted out of that cabin so badly.

Mousse and Mayhem by Sue Hollowell

Amazon - Goodreads

Frozen ravioli, a mountain resort wedding, and business burglars...

Tilly has one eye on the wedding plans for her adoring, quirky uncle while she is scouting clues in a rash of neighborhood business thefts.

Emotions run hot as shop owners point fingers while the thief’s daylight deeds become more brazen. Tensions escalate as a dead body appears, whacked by a bag of frozen ravioli.

Tilly is running out of time to locate the murderer before the wedding. Can she vindicate the long suspect list of family and friends or will she be led down the aisle of no return?

By Pain of Death by Suzanne Clay

Number of pages: 54

Amazon - Goodreads

About the book:

Can the winter in his heart be thawed?

Hades has lost track of the passage of time beyond sorting the deceased into their eternal homes. With each arrival of another soul, the agony they experienced in their final moments seeps into his ichor. It is a painful, isolated existence within Hades's palace, but far safer than returning to the Underworld beyond its doors.

Hades's predictable days are interrupted by the arrival of Hermes with a stranger of a deity that Hades can barely recall. When the god introduces himself as Seph and explains that he needs a safe place where his life-entwined mother can't follow, Hades is forced to confront the loneliness that dwells deep within him—and his personal belief that he deserves little more than death as well.

By Pain of Death is a 9,500-word low heat M/M retelling of the Hades and Persephone myth with a disabled protagonist and a trans man love interest.

This book is intended only for adult audiences. Content notes may be found in the book's front matter and on the author's website.

The Devil’s Dollmaker by William Baker

Amazon - Goodreads

About the book:

Somewhere in the dark, the Dollmaker butchers another victim.

Going against her instincts, K decides to follow Lisa to the police, where she introduces her to Jerry, a cop that seems to distance himself from the corruption of the system. What surprises K more is that the task force has been expecting her arrival, addressing her as ‘special agent’ Rose. Is this another unexpected twist her anonymous boss has thrown her way, or could it be an elaborate scheme to trap her?

The lack of physical evidence on the case and her only unreliable witness leave her no time for caution. Thanks to Jerry’s tech skills and Lisa’s charm, they follow the missing women’s traces to the dark web, where a man called the Dollmaker deals in favors and twisted requests. But the most disturbing revelation of all is why these women answer his call…

What they find on that page scars Lisa, but K is hellbent on uncovering the man behind the operation. She knows whatever lies inside the sickest minds is best to remain hidden, but unless they act fast, more will die, and the killer’s trail will run cold.

This time there is no room for error. Not while the Dollmaker is out there mutilating his new toy.

Prepare for a relentless psychological thriller series of mystery and suspenseful vigilante justice with heart-pounding cliffhangers that will leave you yearning for the next installment.

This is the first book in season 1 of the Devil's Dolls series by William Baker. Don't forget to read The Devil's Origins - Devil's Dolls Prequel Part 1 and Vengeance In Black - Devil's Dolls Prequel Part 2.

Just Her Luck by M. J. Padgett

Number of pages: 80

Amazon - Goodreads

About the book:

Amelia's life has just been turned upside down. She bombed a meeting, sprained her wrist, and lost her job all in one week. To make matters worse, now she's stuck in a snowstorm with no car, no hotel, and no help in sight. Just when Amelia thinks her luck can't get any worse, her high school nemesis swoops in to save the day. Kieran's offer to let her stay at his apartment stinks, but it's her only option. Can Amelia survive under the same roof with him, or will she strangle him with tinsel?

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What short books would you recommend to someone looking for quick reads? 

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