Their Just Desserts & Until the Clock Strikes Midnight

Life comes at you fast but publishing comes at you faster. One minute you’re staring at your inbox waiting for some good news and the next you’ve got a book to launch and a surprise cover to reveal and you’re supposed to be making honey goat cheese tortellini (they were delicious). You’ve spoken to no one in weeks and suddenly you’re in everyone’s inbox asking for blurbs and help revealing that surprise cover. It’s a lot, I know, but we’re all on this book journey together, and there’s no getting off the boat now. So, avast ye hearties, yo ho!

Their Just Desserts launched this week… look at these cuties getting ready to solve a diamond theft at a reality baking show competition. If you read The Cookie Crumbles, you know you’re in for a zany, foodtastic good time (synopsis below)! You can get bookplated copies here: Books of Wonder, Mysterious Galaxy, and East City Bookshop!

Perfect for fans of The Great British Baking Show and Clue, this enchanting and rollicking sequel to The Cookie Crumbles follows two best friends caught up in a twisty mystery when jewels go missing at a high-stakes baking competition.

Baker extraordinaire Laila Thomas and budding journalist Lucy Flores are living it up at the top of the junior high food chain as eighth graders. But between busy schedules and kinda-boyfriends, these two best friends haven’t gotten to hang out as much. So, when Jaden, an ex-competition rival, begs the duo to step back into the world of cooking competitions and crime—the answer is yes.

Jaden is desperate: His father is accused of stealing prized jewels on the set of an amateur kids’ holiday baking show. The plan is for Laila to smash the competition while Lucy investigates behind the scenes—but their half-baked plan gets turned totally upside down when Lucy ends up in front of the cameras instead.

As the investigation and competition heat up, Lucy and Laila’s bond is put to the ultimate test. Can they solve this bakeoff mystery, or will they—and their friendship—crack under pressure?

LASTLY. We’ve a cover to reveal for UNTIL THE CLOCK STRIKES MIDNIGHT in 3…2…1

I mean… WOW, amirite? The colors! The glitter! The eye shadow. Wait till you read this cozy YA romantasy. It’s got everything; fairies, books, magic, a sparkly wand, serious/unserious aka the new grumpy/sunshine pairing, debates on the purpose of existence, you know, everything. It also features Black, bipolar, plus-size, queer representation. Synopsis below along with a question:

The Good Place meets the Brandy version of Cinderella in Until the Clock Strikes Midnight, a cozy, romantic fantasy from award-winning author Alechia Dow.

Darling is the most talented—and unusual—Guardian to get a chance at winning the coveted once-in-a-generation Mortal Outcome Council mentorship. Getting the spot would mean having the opportunity to shape the future happiness of all mortal realms—if she succeeds at her first assignment, Lucy Addlesberg. Darling thinks it’ll be an easy razzle-dazzle job… until she actually meets Lucy. Her life is a complete mess, from her failing bookshop in her downtrodden village to her doomed flirtation with the princess of Lumina. But if there’s one thing Darling’s good at, it’s a makeover.

Calamity is the most talented—and arrogant—Misfortune of his class. It’s his job to save mortals from their own terrible decisions made in the pursuit of the mythical "Happily Ever After." When Calam is granted a shot at the Mortal Outcome Council mentorship, he thinks his dreams are finally coming true. But first, he must pass the test. It should be easy—Lucy Addlesberg has been unfortunate for years. All he has to do is continue her string of bad luck so she can finally come to terms with reality and settle for a safer, more logical path in life. Yet when he arrives, he finds that Lucy has a Guardian assigned to her too—a chipper overachiever who is as colorful as the magic pouring from her glittery wand.

To thwart each other, Darling and Calam insert themselves into Lucy’s life posing as a betrothed couple. As they try to guide her down what they each see as the best path for her, they start questioning their roles and ultimately what they truly want for themselves... and if those feelings of loathing they have for each other might actually be something more like love.

DOESN’T THAT SOUND DREAMY? It comes out on February 3, 2026. You can preorder now… Although, I’m wondering if there’s a Black-owned bookstore you adore and you think I should reach out to for a preorder campaign? Furthermore, what would you like to see in a preorder campaign? Commissioned artwork, bookmarks, pins, what’s hip these days my fellow youths?

Despite the world being what it is, I’m forever grateful to have this job and to be in your bookish community! Thank you all for reading and your support :)

Alechia out!