✨NARRATOR REVEAL: BEAUTIFUL MESS by @authorashleyjames writing as A. James is coming to audio May 12 and will be performed by the amazing CJ Bloom and Alex Kydd!
Why you will love this book… 💕Small Town 🔥Age Gap 💕Ex Boyfriend’s Dad 🔥Single Mom x Single Dad 💕Grumpy Sunshine 🔥Daddy Kink 💕She Falls First/He Falls Harder 🔥Baker 💕Blue Collar 🔥Forced Proximity
I’m pretty in pink dipped in sunshine and sweet Southern smiles. He’s blue collar wrapped up in a gruff summer storm with a scowl. He also happens to be my ex-boyfriend’s dad. Not only is Conway Levine grumpy, arrogant, and entirely too handsome for his own good, with the salt and pepper scruff lining his sharp jawline and his thick, corded arms, but he also had a front row seat fourteen years ago to a drunken night so mortifying I can’t look him in the eye without feeling the shame all over again. Living in a small town makes avoiding him impossible, even more when you add in the fact that his daughter is friends with mine. When a little tardiness and a whole lot of bad luck lands me partnering with him at our children’s school, I’m certain I won’t survive. Before I know it, the dread from having to work with him turns into a burning desire impossible to ignore when his once stone cold demeanor shifts into longing, heated stares, and somehow, he knows all the right things to whisper in my ear to get under my skin… and my dress. Between his filthy mouth and stifling need to devour me any chance he gets, the chemistry we share between the sheets quickly becomes something out of my wildest dreams. Except Conway doesn’t do relationships, and I’m not built for casual. But I couldn’t quit him even if I tried. When all is said and done, will I be able to protect my already tattered heart or will it end up shattered into a million beautiful, messy pieces?
I’m the unapproachable NHL captain with a reputation for chewing up reporters in interviews, forwards on the ice and shutting down anyone who tries to get close to me. And that’s how I like it—no feelings, no complications, and zero chance of reliving the grief I experienced when my wife passed away seven years ago.
But sometimes the best laid plans go up in flames, and that’s exactly what Collins Mackenzie does when strolls into a bar one post-game night and gives me a taste of the cold shoulder I’ve bestowed on all those around me.
The only person she doesn’t dismiss? My boy. In fact, she lights him up with her pink hair and perfectly winged eyeliner, leaving him fascinated and me infatuated.
There’s only one problem: she’s nine years younger, convinced I’m not her type and doesn’t do relationships. She doesn’t even hang around in the same city beyond a few months. Trouble is, I want her permanence right next to me—on the couch watching movies and in my bed on lazy mornings.
I’m ready to chase her, no matter where she goes or how quickly she hits the accelerator. This girl is a ride I never want to get off.
𝐓𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐜𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐜𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐬. Sometimes that refers to clients as well. When we took this job, it was supposed to be a simple pickup. That all went to hell the moment we stepped onto the tarmac and found bullet casings instead of the actor and actress who were supposed to be returning to Kansas with us for a “real-life training scenario”. If anyone questioned why a person might kidnap Audrey Leigh at gunpoint, all they had to do was wait for her to open her mouth. Full of sass and spice, this woman drove me freaking insane. 𝙎𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙮, 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙣𝙚. My teammates were supposed to have my back, but instead, they tossed me into the lion’s den with a woman who would be damn near impossible to resist. That leather outfit was made for sinning, but then again, so was her mouth. She was a temptation I needed to avoid, yet she pushed me at every turn, forcing me out of my comfort zone until I snapped. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙩 𝙬𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚. She had more men trying to take her than any client I’d ever had before. I lost count of the number of people who want her and her best friend dead. At least he knew how to follow instructions. But I would be lying if I said their closeness didn’t bother me. Supposedly, it was strictly platonic, but the way he always held her hand and smothered her with homemade smoothies said otherwise. It would be so much easier if she hated me. Or better yet, wasn’t my client. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬-𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐩𝐮𝐬𝐡 𝐦𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐈 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐭.
The Only Thing That’s Real is book three in the Only in Goose Hollow series by USA Today Bestselling author Lisa Shelby! In this interconnected standalone, take a trip back to Goose Hollow and go on tour with the Hollow Knocks!
Ryan Staley has got to go.
We hired the beautiful, fierce journalist to chronicle my band’s farewell tour.
But that was before my life blew up.
Before every stage I performed on became shrouded in the shame of my secret.
A secret I haven’t even shared with my bandmates, my chosen family.
Now is not the time for deep-diving questions about my life, but Ryan is around every corner I turn and refuses to be intimidated or ignored.
She wants to know what I’ll do when my touring career comes to a screeching halt, and I move back to the small town I couldn’t run away from fast enough.
A town I can no longer avoid.
But Ryan has claimed every spare thought in my head. Her lips, hypnotizing to the point of distraction. The perfect rasp of her voice, sending chills down my spine, asking questions I can’t answer, and making me risk spilling all my secrets.
Welcome to Music City Park, where the lights shine bright, the stakes are high, and the players of the Tennessee Terrors don’t just risk it all on the baseball field — they gamble with their hearts too.
From second-chance romance to forbidden love, grumpy meets sunshine to enemies to lovers, single moms and single dads, fake dating and opposites attract, these baseball stars are about to learn the game doesn’t end when the ninth inning does.
Batter up …
Let the season of love begin!
BLURB:
I was the single dad baseball star living my dream life filled with family pride, games, and a community that cheered me on. But when a surprise trade to Nashville whisked me away from everything I knew and loved, I found myself struggling with my new normal and questioning my career.
Then I went and did something I haven’t done in years–I surrendered to a wild, impulsive one night stand with a gorgeous redhead, whose blue eyes mesmerized me the moment she glanced my way. After the numerous games my ex played on me, I was anti-relationships. So I took advantage of a lonely night to have some consensual fun.
But fate has a wicked sense of humor and threw me another curveball: the woman from that steamy night walked back into my life, this time as a candidate interviewing to be my daughter’s nanny. Hiring Cassie Warner might be the wrong decision, but I’m desperate to find someone, so I make it clear to her there will be no repeat performances of our hook up. Problem is that every time our eyes meet, I’m pulled back to that memorable night, which leaves me wanting more.
𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐅𝐚𝐬𝐭 by USA Today Bestselling Author Louise Bay is coming on May 16th! A runaway bride finds unexpected love with a billionaire in this sizzling standalone romance.
𝓟𝒓𝒆𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓 for $3.99 (price goes up on release day) + add it your 𝑨𝒎𝒂𝒛𝒐𝒏 𝑾𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝑳𝒊𝒔𝒕: https://geni.us/LoveFast
I never thought I’d be a runaway bride. But when it came down to it, I just couldn’t marry the wrong man.
So, I ran.
And somehow, I ended up in Star Falls, Colorado—stranded, no luggage, no plan—in a wedding dress with a past I’d rather forget.
Fate lands me in the only available rental in town, a cozy little cabin… right next door to Byron Miller, the brooding billionaire who wants nothing to do with me. Or this town.
𝐁𝐲𝐫𝐨𝐧
I left Star Falls years ago, along with every mistake. Now I’m back, determined to build a luxury resort that might just rewrite my past.
The last thing I need is a distraction—especially not one like the runaway bride that moved in next door. She has too many secrets and a smile so wide, I just can’t look away.
But no matter how hard I try to keep my distance, there’s something about her, that refuses to be ignored.
Snow falls. Sparks fly. Late-night porch talks turn into something more, something neither of us expected. But Rosey’s past isn’t far behind, and my future here is hanging by a thread.
She’s just passing through. I’m trying not to put down roots. But Star Falls, Colorado has its own plan.
He’s too busy raising his daughter to be looking for love but it seems fate had other ideas. When Luke Steele started his shift as a paramedic this morning, he never thought he’d end up finding the woman who’d steal his heart.
All it took was some tears and a shared bowl of ice cream and Luke knew his life would never be the same. He vowed never to go there again but Charlotte Rowe isn’t just any woman. She’s a smart, beautiful, hard-working doctor who’s shattered after losing a patient.
Teaming up with his six-year-old daughter, Isla, Luke’s determined to give love a second chance and mend Charlotte’s broken heart.
**
She’s sworn off men. Walking in on her fiance’s side piece wearing her dream wedding dress turned Charlotte Rowe’s heart to ice… except when she’s focused on becoming the best pediatric oncologist Chicago’s ever seen.
Overcome at the loss of one of her patients, Charlotte falls apart only for a s3xy, kind, EMT to find her and take her for ice cream – because ice cream makes it all better.
But when two damaged hearts collide, how can they stay away? Will the driven doctor give his daughter the mom she’s always dreamt of, or will the harsh realities of life keep them apart?
Protected is a standalone single parent, second chance, ugly cry book. 1-Click today to find out if Luke and Charlotte’s love story is strong enough to beat the odds!
💛Review💛
Luke is a man who is always there for anyone which makes him a perfect match for his career as a paramedic and a devoted father to Isla, his daughter. When he comes across Charlotte during an emotional moment he offers support and understanding.
After her last relationship Charlotte is guarded when it comes to men however Luke shows her that not all men are like her ex. Spending time with him and his daughter shows her what life could be like but it isn’t without its complications.
Charlotte and Luke are perfect for each other in every way and with Isla are a heartwarming family. The feelings between them are intense however they must also overcome the effects that their pasts are having on the present.
After my human death, I found a new and purrfect life as the feline familiar to a witch. But my safe haven is about to crumble. Winnie, my witch, is performing more spells, draining both our magic reserves and acting suspiciously as she works on a secret project. Since curiosity kills cats, I escape into the arms of Charlie: the handsome and grumpy hacker next-door that I want, but can never have. When supernatural visitors show up asking him for help we are introduced to realms beyond our world. A faei, his demon lover, and the irresistible titan, Zaide, who I’m instantly drawn to, are looking for something…and it might be closer than they think. As the mysteries of Winnie’s project unfold, I’m horrified by what I discover. I go against my witch, and lose my fur to help Charlie and his new friends. But with my human body comes the haunting memories of my human past. I only hope the men I’ve come to care for will help me remember how good being human can be.
Alder Duke was my high school sweetheart turned husband, then he became a stranger who wanted his freedom. I gave it to him.
Fifteen years later, I’m a single mom who desperately needs a place to live. He’s a powerful CEO who needs a wife in order to get the house he grew up in, thanks to a trust his grandma left behind.
He makes a deal with me: get married to him—again—and live with him for a year. Once the house is in his name, we can divorce—again—and he’ll rent the place to me.
Just one year. No strings. No feelings. Simple.
But nothing about my ex-husband is simple. Gone is the man who wanted to stay out all night drinking with his buddies. This Alder cooks and cleans and unclogs sinks in gray sweatpants. He gets my stubborn daughter to like him. And with me? He looks at me like I’m the only woman in the world.
I can’t fall for his sweet daisy whispers. I know how it ends. This time we planned it. My life was already derailed by him once, and I barely came out intact. He’s had my heart forever, but he only gets one year.
Meeting Bolan Adler, professional baseball catcher and single dad, is a complicated story.
One involving a one-time kiss when I was young and silly. And a two-time tryst as some kind of midlife breakdown moment.
Anyway, in the game of baseball, three strikes mean: you’re out.
I thought my third one might happen when Bolan Adler is the newest client of the sports management agency I work for.
The same business that just promoted me to agent status when I haven’t asked for the position.
Also, the ridiculous company that wrote up a reputation repair report for the newest member of the Chicago Anchors which includes:
Bolan Adler needs a wife.
He’s decided I’m it. Only this isn’t a game of tag.
Hearts are on the line when I meet Bolan’s sweet sixteen-month-old, and my role goes from babysitting the bad boy of baseball to bonus-mom for his precious daughter.
Complicated, like I said.
Add in when my fake husband starts tossing out real emotions about love, marriage, and a baby, and I’m just hoping to stay out of the strike zone. Because the obvious opponent on the field is love.
He was fae. I was sure of it. A sorcerer, full of cool, clear-eyed control, looking for a seeress to read thoughts and tell the future. And he was here for me.
Four months from starting a quiet teaching career, Cassandra Whelan receives a message the disrupts everything. Her beloved grandmother has been killed, and she’s given Cassandra the strangest inheritance ever: the family beach house, a centuries-old secret to protect that seems suspiciously like Pandora’s Box, and a coveted position on the council of the magi: the mysterious governing body of the fae world, which Cassandra knows nothing about.
After all, it’s hard to care about your magical powers when they never do anything but misbehave.
Now, to avenge her grandmother and protect a legacy that has cost her family everything, Cassandra must embark on a new kind of education: one that teaches her how to become the most powerful seer of a generation, even if other fae don’t believe she can do it.
Fae like Jonathan Lynch, an enigmatic (and somewhat grumpy) sorcerer-shifter sent to guide her on her new path.
With every passing day, Cassandra comes closer to full manifestation, when she can take her seat on the council—unless, as she suspects, they are hiding their own terrible secret.
Love, hate, and lies. It seems everyone in the fae world has a hidden agenda—and who better to find the truth than the most clairvoyant seer of a generation?
If, that is, she can finish her training alive.
Addictive and action-packed, A Winding Wave of Magic is a gorgeous, soul-searing, and surprising romantic fantasy!
A note to readers: Parts of this book were previously published under the Nicole Demery as novellas in The Magi Series. While the story is at its heart the same, large portions of the book have been edited, rewritten, and reconfigured. The story also includes an additional 50,000 words that were never published and provides an end to this story. I hope you enjoy it!
Nicole French is a USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance. She’s also a hopeless romantic, Springsteen fanatic, and total bookworm. When not writing, she is hanging out with her family, playing soccer with the rest of the thirty-plus crowd in Seattle, or going on dates with her husband. In her spare time, she likes to go running or practice the piano, but never seems to do either one of these things as much as she should.
Keep up with Nicole French and receive your FREE copy of one of her books when you subscribe to her newsletter here
🧡 Brother’s Best Friend 🧡 Football Romance 🧡 Roommates/Close Proximity 🧡 Secret Romance Author 🧡 Teenage Crush 🧡 Golden Retriever Hero 🧡 Slow Burn 🧡 Interconnected Standalone
Tyler Quinn
There is a beautiful woman unexpectedly living in my house. A woman I sort of know because she’s my best friend’s little sister. Although, she’s definitely not so little anymore.
My entire professional career, I’ve been the starting tight end for the Tampa Tarpons. Life as a football player keeps me in the spotlight, when my preference is the dark. Through unfortunate past experiences, I guard my privacy the most, therefore I don’t do roommates, ever. But when my best friend calls and says he needs a favor, I don’t say no. Although I wish I had. Now she’s here, with her gorgeous turquoise eyes, big trusting smile, and taking up my spot on my couch. I’ve established the rules for how this is going to go, but as time passes, and she opens up, I find it’s becoming harder and harder not to break them.
Lily Kent
If I know one thing for certain, I’m never dating another football player again.
After walking away from a very long and expired relationship, I needed a place to stay to plan out my life. My new life. I can work anywhere, so when my brother suggests crashing with his best friend Tyler, I say,”Yes.” Who doesn’t love palm trees, sunshine, and an attractive roommate? Tyler is the definition of tall, dark, and handsome, but the best part is he’s also kind. He makes me feel grounded when everything else feels upside down. He makes me feel things I wasn’t expecting. I know I said no more athletes, but in those moments when his hand grazes my back or when he makes me laugh, I wonder about my plans. Maybe I should change them, if we should, after all, fate did lead me to his door.
Harlow James is a pen name I use to protect my identity as a high school teacher. Keeping those two roles in my life separate is necessary, but also fun! It’s like a live two lives, and anonymity gives me the opportunity to be bold and take risks in my stories.
I stumbled upon romance novels in 2018 when I picked up Driven by Kristy Bromberg, and I was obsessed. I had just lost my grandmother too, so reading offered me an escape from reality and a chance to grieve on my own terms.
About a year later, I got an idea for my own book and started writing. I researched self-publishing and jumped in with both feet. I had no idea what I was doing!
But now I’ve built a business and hobby that I LOVE! I have an outlet that’s just for me. When I write, I’m not a mom, a wife, or a teacher…I’m a woman who gets to tell stories that no one else can.
My books are the perfect blend of heartwarming moments, full-bellied laughs, and PLENTY of steam to melt your Kindles 😉 And there are always elements of me sprinkled in to every character and story that I write.
When I’m not writing you can find me reading or spending time in my kitchen. I love to cook and feed my family and friends. Otherwise, you can find me watching comedy specials with my husband, camping with our kids, or taking naps. I live for naps 😉
“I’m here to see my fiancé. I believe you know Parker, Dad…”
That sentence seems innocent enough in the right setting.
But the woman’s father? Yeah, he happens to be my boss.
The first time I met Cashlynn O’Neil, she thought she was going to die before the plane we were on ever left the ground.
So I did what any gentleman would do—I comforted her, kept her distracted, and then later that night, she ended up back in my hotel room to thank me.
But then a year later she waltzed in the Carrington Cove Animal Hospital and told her father we were engaged.
And that would have been harmless, except the last time I was engaged it left me scarred beyond repair, vowing never to entertain the idea of love again.
I can’t fall for my boss’s daughter.
I can’t keep lying to myself about how I feel either.
But is it possible that someday you learn that it’s not the wrong person that will make you question what you want in life, but it’s the right one?
🎧Review🎧 After his previous foray into love Parker has closed himself off to letting anyone close as he has his family and his career as a veterinarian. He spent one night with Cashlynn and never expected to see her again let alone that she would arrive in hometown months later and not only is she his boss’s daughter, but she claims he is her fiancé as well.
Cashlynn is conflicted between following the course her father wants for her and following her own dreams as she doesn’t want to hurt him. A pretend engagement with Parker will give her the time to set her career plans in motion while also being there for her father and there is also the one night with Parker that she hasn’t been able to forget.
Not only do we get to see the beautiful romance between Parker and Cashlynn unfold but we also get to catch up with the rest of Parker’s family which is also a treat. Teddy Hamilton never disappoints as he portrays all the emotions that Parker is feeling while Emma Wilder’s portrayal of the fun and flirty Cashlynn only reinforces how perfect she is for Parker.
I might be the most promising quarterback in college football today, but once I was just a boy desperately in love with the wrong girl, one I’d very much like to win back. She blocks me better than any player on the field, but to figure out my best play, first I need to understand how we got here.
We have been apart longer than we were together but we can’t seem to stop torturing each other. Every guy she touches or allows to touch her is like a knife right to my heart.
Not to be outdone, I play her game. No one will ever accuse me of giving less than everything. These are her rules after all, and I’ve always been competitive.
I thought her being my stepsister would keep us apart forever, but it’s the damage we did trying to resist each other that sealed our fate. And yet, despite the ways we’ve betrayed each other over and over, I can’t let her go.
What we have could almost be love if it didn’t hurt so much.
My heart, black and broken as it may be, will always belong to the girl with sad eyes. Are we damaged beyond repair, or do we dare try one more time?
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Kari's Book Reviews and Revelations 