January 2025 Lopt & Cropt Releases

Just one this month!

The Power of Refusal by Mary Alice Alexander

This is a Pride and Prejudice variation in which Elizabeth realizes the only power she has in life is the ability to choose her husband and to refuse the men who will not make her happy. And she gets to experience FIVE increasingly terrible proposals, but comes to regret turning down only the second one (Darcy's).

Through misunderstanding, miscommunication, and missed chances, it's never the right place or the right time for Darcy and Elizabeth. But what if it finally could be? Find out on KU now!

An Accidental Meeting by Melanie Rachel

This is a Pride and Prejudice variation in which Darcy and Elizabeth meet at Pemberley, and Darcy invites her and the Gardiners to stay at the house. He's trying to do everything he can to show Elizabeth that he's changed, and it's working! They're on their way to falling in love when they discover a mysterious treasure, and things (and people) around Pemberley start getting weird and suspicious.

This is a super engaging and funny novella that explores Darcy and Elizabeth's shaky new relationship in a sweet, lighthearted way, like all of Melanie's work in this series of novellas has. (They're all standalones so you don't have to read the previous to understand this one.) An Accidental Meeting is out now on KU!

Rising Courage by Heather Moll

How do we feel about kidnapping in our romances? How do we feel when the hero and heroine are kidnapped together?
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
This is a Pride and Prejudice variation where Darcy still makes his terrible proposal to Elizabeth and gets shot down. Elizabeth takes herself out for a walk after this, and kidnappers mistake her for Anne de Bourgh. Darcy sees her getting kidnapped and he gets taken along with her so that he can protect her (and also ‘cause he’s rich and can be ransomed for $$).
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Now, stuck together (gotta love that forced proximity!) and desperate to escape, Darcy and Elizabeth have to work together, get past their misunderstandings, and save themselves from danger.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Adventure and angst await! Rising Courage is out now on KU!

Sex, Lies and Sensibility by Nikki Payne

Nora is not having a good year. She’s just discovered that she and her sister Yanne are her late father’s secret family, all they got left in the will was a barely habitable house in MAINE of all places, and oh yeah, her sex tape just went viral. With no options at home, she and Yanne head to Maine with hopes of fixing the place up and making it a viable inn before they run out of money.

Bear has a habit of taking on more responsibility than he can handle, and the weight of his Abenaki community rests on his shoulders. If his tourism business fails, the community fails too—and it’s not looking good for business right now, especially since the abandoned house they use as a home base is suddenly un-abandoned by a beautiful woman and her sister. But maybe if they work together, all of them can succeed—or maybe it’ll bring all of them down?

This is a modern retelling of Sense and Sensibility, and in Nikki’s capable hands, it’s fresh and funny and sexy. It’s out everywhere today!

(I’m not the editor on this one—just worked with Nikki on an early version of the story. But I’m always happy to hype her up!)

An Accidental Proposal by Melanie Rachel

This is a Pride and Prejudice variation in which Darcy doesn’t quite get the chance to put his foot in his mouth when proposing to Elizabeth for the first time (oops, spoiler for a 211-year-old book) because someone ELSE barges in and accidentally proposes (not to Elizabeth).

But as Darcy and Elizabeth sort out the implications of this other proposal between their friends, they get to know each other better, and both of them start to understand where they’ve gone wrong with each other in the past. But will they fall back into their old patterns before Darcy can propose properly this time?

Melanie always writes unique and banter-y Austen variations, and this one is no exception. An Accidental Proposal is out on Amazon and KU now!

An Old Acquaintance by Cat Andrews

Surprise! A brand-new release dropping from Cat Andrews just in time for Christmas!

This is a Pride and Prejudice-inspired modern second chance romance, where our Darcy is a musician trying to make it big and he meets Elizabeth at a Christmas frat party when they’re at college in the ‘80s. Except we start with them separated in the ‘90s.

We see the Christmases when he makes a disastrous first impression to their happier holidays together and then how things fracture and the awkward post-breakup run-ins in holidays following. So can they make it back together at a future holiday season?

As always with Cat’s stories, this gets deep into emotions and angst, plus the chemistry and heat that she brings to every book. An Old Acquaintance is available now on Amazon and KU!

Mr. Darcy's Christmas Letters by Melanie Rachel

SO. MUCH. PINING.

(And yes, it’s a pun, because Christmas.)

It’s release day for Melanie Rachel’s Mr. Darcy’s Christmas Letters!

Darcy didn’t come back to propose to Elizabeth after Lydia’s disastrous elopement, and he’s been regretting it ever since. He’s heading back to Hertfordshire for Bingley and Jane’s wedding in December and trying his best to respectfully stay away from Elizabeth. All he can do is write a letter to confess all his feelings, though he never intends to send it.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth has also been pining for him and wishing she didn’t waste her chance with him. When Darcy gets detained at Netherfield (for...nefarious reasons?), they’ll finally have a chance to actually clear the air—if Caroline Bingley doesn’t get in their way first. (And what happens with the letter? You’ll have to read to find out.)

A second-chance holiday novella that’s perfect for a cozy afternoon of reading! It’s out on Amazon and KU now!