“What?” She grimaced. “Parker, you’re my best friend.”
“How could I forget, sunshine?” I leaned over and flicked her nose. “I’ll be your fake boyfriend,”
I clarified. “So Duke leaves you alone.”
“You want to… fake date?”
“Yeah.” I went back to eating my food, knowing she needed time to process this.
She bit her lip, worrying it in between her teeth. “I couldn’t ask you to do that.” Her food was completely forgotten in front of her, like she was so distracted she couldn’t even remember to eat.
I’d noticed that she got so busy that she forgot to eat during the school day last semester. It was one of the reasons I texted her and asked if she wanted to get dinner almost every night. Our schedules might not always line up for lunch, but I was making sure she got fed.
I crossed my arms over my chest. “You’re not asking, Rosie. I’m offering. And besides, it makes sense. We’re spending all of this time together anyway. And now I’m doing the musical with you.”
Assuming the audition went well. I still had to prove I could do it.
“How long would we even do this for?”
“Till the end of the musical, I guess.” Even if it was fake, at least I’d get to be by her side. That was what I was telling myself.
“Right. That makes sense.” Audrey blew out a breath, blowing her bangs off her forehead.
“Hey.” I rested my hand over hers, and when she looked at me, her eyes were filled with so much uncertainty. I hated that. “Are you okay?”
She shrugged, stabbing at a piece of pasta instead of responding to me.
“It’s okay if you’re not, you know,” I whispered. God knows I wasn’t okay, not. Not after last semester. Maybe she’d understand why I wanted to help her if I told her. But I couldn’t make my mouth form the words. Not yet. It was still too raw. Too real.
“It doesn’t feel like that,” she admitted. “I feel like everyone expects me to be happy all the time.”
“You don’t have to be,” I insisted. “You don’t have to be anything with me other than yourself.
You know that, right? I’m friends with you, Audrey. Not whoever people expect you to be. I like the girl who loves wearing pink, but also was never afraid to play in the mud with me when we were younger. When we were biking, you’d cry when you scraped your knees, but it never stopped you from getting back. What’s stopping you now?”
“I don’t know,” she murmured. Something was holding her back. I knew it was. What had happened to make her draw into herself? To lose the sparkle in her gorgeous violet-hued eyes? I wanted to help her get it back.
Squeezing her hand, I let go. “I’m here. Whenever you need me, I’m always here.”
✨TEASER: SOMETIMES YOU FALL by @harlowjamesauthor is coming January 17th! This will be a simultaneous release in Audio with the amazing narrators Sebastian York and Samantha Brentmoor!
Brick Wall is a college hockey romance with a hero who falls hard and fast for the one girl he can’t have.
JT
Life hasn’t always been easy, but things are beginning to look up. I’m the starting goalie for the BU Wolves, Coach Baylor has become the family I have always wanted as a kid, and my dream career is waiting for me. All I need to do is defend my net for the next few seasons so I can prove to the Boston Bruisers that they drafted me for a reason. That’s a pretty bright future for a man with a past like mine.
When I hit up a party with a bunch of my roommates, I never expected to fall hard. But from that night on, it’s out of my control. Maggie Baylor is the one for me, no matter how much she tries to deny it.
Just when I think we’re getting somewhere, she ghosts me. But there’s one thing Maggie doesn’t understand: I’m not letting anything or anyone—not even Coach—stand in our way.
Maggie
As a transfer student, I have one goal: finish my senior year without any drama. And, ok…I may have lost sight of that goal before the year officially started. But that’s not my fault—Hottie Gym Shorts Guy was…well, hot. And sweet. And so very talented. That’s why I bolted the next morning. I didn’t move back home to fall in lust or worse, love. I came back to Bainbridge to spend time with my Uncle Hudson and earn my degree.
Besides, there won’t be any drama because I’m never going to see him again.
Except I do. We just keep running into each other. It’s fine, though. I can resist.
Until I can’t. JT is crumbling all my defenses. I’m on the verge of letting myself fall in love, even if I know my uncle will disapprove, when two little pink lines appear. I brace myself for impact because the only thing I know about love is that it doesn’t last.
But JT doesn’t leave my side. He slays my dragons and rubs my feet and makes me reconsider everything I thought I knew.
Is this really something I can believe in, or will our world come crashing down just when we need each other the most?
***
Brick Wall is the third book in the Bainbridge U hockey series, but it can be enjoyed as a standalone. If you love a stoic hero who’ll do anything to protect the woman he loves and the family they’ve created, no matter who tries to stop him, JT Norris will melt your kindle. If you can’t resist a jaded heroine who learns to trust again, Maggie Baylor is your kinda girl. If you want all the laughs, all the feels, and every single bit of steam, and no third act break-up, then settle in with your favorite snack—Maggie recommends dark chocolate peanut butter cups—and dive into this forbidden love, surprise baby college hockey romance.
Laura Pavlov has revealed the gorgeous cover for You, Me and Forever!
Releasing: May 27, 2025
Cover Designer: Hang Le
Photographer: Madison Maltby
USA Today bestselling author Laura Pavlov delivers a spicy enemies-to-lovers romance about a billionaire developer and a small-town entrepreneur battling their desires in the Land of the Midnight Sun.
Myles St. James is tearing my world apart.
Wish I’d known that before I slept with him.
It was supposed to be a one-night stand.
Like I knew anything about those.
But I needed to blow off steam.
My ex had just gotten engaged.
My dry spell was nearing six months.
And my booming wedding planning business—the one I started with my bestie—was about to lose its favorite venue to some bulldozer-happy developer from New York.
The Seaside Inn is such a special place.
My second home.
And ever since that famous singer got married there, people are flocking to Blushing, Alaska, for their own weddings too.
Guess whose fling turns out to be the hotshot real estate guy?
But he isn’t what I expected.
And sleeping with the enemy doesn’t feel nearly as wrong as it should.
Because Myles St. James is rocking my world.
Too bad giving in to him could mean giving up my dreams.
Laura Pavlov writes sweet and sexy contemporary romance that will make you both laugh and cry. She is happily married to her college sweetheart, mom to two awesome almost-grown kids, and dog-whisperer to one temperamental yorkie and one wild bernedoodle. Laura resides in Las Vegas where she is living her own happily ever after. Be sure to sign up for updates on new releases. Laura loves to hear from readers!
A.L. Jackson has revealed the gorgeous covers for Under an Endless Moon!
Releasing: February 10, 2025
Cover Design: Qamber Designs
Photographer: Michelle Lancaster
I should have known I’d break the oath I made when I offered to let my best friend’s little sister move in with me…
She’s the sweetest woman on the face of the planet.
And to my great misfortune, the sexiest one, too.
She’s been living under her brother’s roof her entire life, and she’s ready to spread her wings.
And I’m the masochist who offers she stay at my place until she can find an apartment.
When I hear her having a nightmare, the only thing I can do is go to her. Hold her so she knows she’s safe from her demons.
The second she’s in my arms, the attraction I’ve tried to hide sparks to life. I know better than to push past the boundaries I’ve set for us, but when she begs me to touch her in a way she’s never been touched, I can’t resist.
And with my name on her lips as I send her soaring for the first time, I know there’s no going back.
I’m willing to break every rule and oath I’ve ever made to keep her.
Accept every consequence.
Only she and I have a dark, dangerous history that no one knows about.
And I’m afraid the consequences of loving her have just caught up to us…
A.L. Jackson is the New York Times & USA Today Bestselling author of contemporary romance. She writes emotional, sexy, heart-filled stories about boys who usually like to be a little bit bad.
If she’s not writing, you can find her hanging out by the pool with her family, sipping cocktails with her friends, or of course with her nose buried in a book.
Stacey Lynn has revealed the gorgeous cover for Love Me Gently!
Releasing: February 18, 2025
Cover Design: Shanoff Designs
A swoony first love, single dad, returning to hometown romance from bestselling author Stacey Lynn
At eighteen years old, Katrina “Trina” Mills had dreams far larger than her small mountain town in North Carolina. She was bound and determined to become the next world-famous model, and was willing to risk leaving everything she knew, and everyone she loved, behind to get it.
Turns out, her dreams took her on a path toward a nightmare. She might have achieved all the success and stardom she’s always wanted but she’d sold her soul for them and was still paying the painful price.
The regrets she has now are much larger than the zeros in her bank account.
When a chance encounter occurs with her first love and high school boyfriend, now single father, Cole Paxton, she doesn’t expect the disaster that happens next. Forced to confront her past, her present, and all the decisions she made in between, returning home may end up being the safe solace she needed all along.
With the help of family, old friends, and an old flame who never gave up on her, Trina starts to believe she can heal and move on…
Until her husband shows up in town and threatens to tear it all away….
A long-time dreamer, Stacey Lynn has always loved the emotional journey of two different and complex individuals finding their way to a happily-ever-after.
The author of over fifty romance novels, many of which have been best-selling titles on Amazon, AppleBooks, and Barnes & Noble, she loves being able to turn her vivid imagination into a career that brings entertainment and joy to her readers. Focused on emotional, small-town romance, she happily admits her books might require keeping tissues nearby.
Born in Texas and raised in the Midwest, she now makes her home in North Carolina and loves all things Southern. Blessed with her ultimate tall, dark, and handsome hero, and four children, she loves every minute of her wild and wonderful life.
London Snow likes her heroes unhinged and obsessed. Whether it’s a brooding cowboy or a possessive hockey captain, they are always willing to burn the world down for the object of their obsessions. When she’s not dreaming up moody broody suspenseful romances, she’s hiking with her pup Kodi. If you want sneak peeks of her upcoming books, follow along on her socials for all the unhinged and obsessed vibes.
Hayden Lockwood harbors a dark obsession with Madison Caldwell. The brooding hockey captain’s unhinged infatuation began the instant he laid eyes on the most untouchable girl on campus. The night his mother and her father were found slain amidst their affair, Hayden couldn’t tear his eyes away from the girl who didn’t shed a single tear. Hayden’s fixation on Madison deepens as he watches her every move, intervening at every imposing threat and sabotaging any potential suitor.
Madison can’t avoid the hothead hockey player when their surviving parents find comfort in each other and decide to marry. As their parents’ wedding approaches, a violent attack on campus forces Hayden and Madison to make life-altering choices. When someone threatens to expose the dark secrets of their elite circle, Hayden is forced to reveal just how obsessed he is with Madison, and how far he’s willing to go to protect her.
Kings of Castlebrook are elite hockey legacies born to cause trouble on and off the ice. Please read Pucking Obsessed with caution as it contains dark themes, and please note that this book is not enemies to lovers and there is no malice between the main characters.
Between Now and Forever by Adriana Locke is now live!
Neighbors to lovers can be a risky proposition in this funny, sexy, and swoony romantic comedy between a single mother and the grumpy man next door by USA Today bestselling author Adriana Locke.
When Gabrielle Solomon falls, she falls hard. Even if that means literally toppling over a porch railing in nothing but a flimsy towel—right in front of her sexy new neighbor.
Jay Stetson is 100 percent hero material with those arms, that chest, and his deliciously oh-so-sexy smirk. The chiseled hunk in flannel has an irresistible off-limits attitude while plucking Gabrielle out of the bushes and saving her from a snake. Unfortunately, he’s not indulging in what Gabrielle is offering—not with his emotional train wreck of a past.
Just neighbors. Just friends. Or so he says.
Secretly, he’s smitten with the single, fierce mama bear of two who plays Miss Fix-It at the house next door. He doesn’t even really mind the noise or the chaos her young sons cause. What he does mind is how his lonely heart races when looking into her emerald-colored eyes.
Can Jay let his painful memories go, or will he let the woman of his dreams slip between his fingers?
Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited
USA Today and Amazon Charts Bestselling author, Adriana Locke, writes contemporary romances about the two things she knows best—big families and small towns. Her stories are about ordinary people finding extraordinary love with the perfect combination of heart, heat, and humor.
She loves connecting with readers, fall weather, football, reading alpha heroes, everything pumpkin, and pretending to garden.
Hailing from a tiny town in the Midwest, Adriana spends her free time with her high school sweetheart (who she married over twenty years ago) and their four sons (who truly are her best work). Her kitchen may be a perpetual disaster, and if all else fails, there is always pizza.
Gabrielle wants to help her and her two sons heal from the passing of their father and her ex and she believes the best way for that to happen is to return to her hometown where they will be surrounded by people who care about them. She has found the perfect home, even if it needs a little work, but the one thing she hadn’t taken into consideration was her new neighbor and the feelings she would have for him.
Jay isn’t looking for love or a relationship especially with a single mother due to events from the past. Despite that rather than distancing himself from them he finds himself wanting to spend time with them but the adjustment is complicated not only when it comes to Gabrielle and Jay but her children as well.
Both Jay and Gabrielle bear the emotional scars of the past which doesn’t always have them making the right choices. I enjoyed seeing them give in to their feeling and find the love, romance and family they have always wanted but didn’t think they could have.
There’s a storm coming… and he’s not taking no for an answer.
Life has dealt Kasi one blow after another. Following her mother’s untimely death, her family implodes, leaving her alone to run the farm. Fatigue and stress have become her new best friends, every day passing in a blur of work, work, and more work. When Levi Storm, her lifelong crush, keeps her from face-planting due to exhaustion, she’s mortified…and more than a little bit turned on.
A person could set a clock by Levi’s daily routine, right down to his afternoon trip to the Mills’ farm market to buy one of Kasi’s delicious pies. He’s known Kasi her entire life, so when the beautiful young woman faints in front of him, coming to in his arms, Levi is stunned by the sudden realization that she’s meant to be his, and he’s prepared to move heaven and earth to claim her.
Kasi should at least try to shake the sexy new six foot five shadow she’s acquired, but Levi’s much-needed help around the farm, his comfort as she struggles with grief, and his breath-stealing kisses are reigniting the hope and happiness she’s lost.
Until reality crashes in again, forcing her to choose between the dominant, possessive, amazing man who makes her heart race and her family’s beloved farm.
Twice In A Lifetime from bestselling author Jessica Prince is now available!
When I moved away from Hope Valley at eighteen years old, I told myself it was for good. There were too many unpleasant memories, too much history, and too many reminders of the boy who had broken my heart.
Years passed and I built a life and a family with a man I loved. Then, in the blink of an eye, that life was ripped away from me, and the secrets he’d kept from me refused to follow him into his grave.
Now I’m back in my hometown, a shell of my former self, trying to pick up the pieces of my shattered life and fit them back together. My heart has been broken for the second time in my life, but I have to put on a brave face and fake it for the sake of my kids and the people I love.
I thought I was doing a pretty good job of hiding the pain, but there is one person I’ve never been able to fool. One person who was always able to see through the masks I tried to wear, and he is determined to chase my shadows away.
Rhodes Bradbury is all grown up now. The boy who had been my first love is now all man. And to make matters worse, my body still reacts to him the same way it did all those years ago. My heart still races in his presence, and a single look from those deep, dark eyes is enough to make my skin tingle. The voice in the back of my head is screaming at me to steer clear, but there’s just one problem.
The boy he was might have broken my heart, but the man he is now wants a second chance. He isn’t afraid of my baggage. In fact, he wants nothing more than to carry it for me.
I’m trying my hardest not to repeat the mistakes of the past. But he’s doing everything in his power to convince me that most people aren’t lucky enough to have what we had even once, let alone twice in a lifetime.
The passing of Blythe’s husband was difficult enough for her and her children but learning that he wasn’t the man she thought only made it more difficult. She has returned to her hometown, and she wants answers, but she never expected that it would also bring Rhodes back into her life, the man who broke her heart years earlier.
Rhodes regrets ending his relationship with Blythe but believes that it is the best decision that he could make at the time. Now that she has returned to their hometown, he is determined to help her heal both from the hurt that he inflicted but her husband as well.
This is a second chance at love for Blythe and Rhodes that doesn’t disappoint. I enjoyed seeing Blythe reclaim the woman she used to be and their journey included a heartwarming romance and all the feels.
Book 1: SCORNED HEIR: When the ruthless billionaire proposes a fake relationship to make the man she wants jealous. Fake Dating, Forced Proximity, Marriage of Convenience, Billionaire Mafia, Morally Gray romance (not dark), Obsessed and Jealous-possessive Hero, Groveling, Touch her & die.
✨Review✨
Sera was born and raised in a mafia family and has always known that a marriage based on alliances not love was part of her future. Until that happens, she wants to pursue the feelings she has for her best friend’s brother Daniel however her attempts are met with resistance. When Matteo, Daniel’s friend, suggests that they pretend to be in a relationship to show Daniel what he is missing out on that she realizes the truth of her feelings.
Matteo has his own agenda for pretending to be in a relationship with Sera and it isn’t just to help her claim the man she wants. The more time he spends with her the more she intrigues him, but it is what she doesn’t know that could destroy the fragile relationship between them.
Humorous interactions, great chemistry, betrayal and suspense as despite the circumstances that brought Matteo and Sera together there was no denying that they were meant to be.
Book 2: SCORNED VOWS: He was the perfect husband until she got pregnant. Arranged Marriage, Epic Grovel, Age Gap (11 years), V-card Heroine, Heroine has a secret, Jealous Possessive scenes, Morally Gray romance, Mafia Romance, Touch her & die
✨Review✨
Natalya had hope for her marriage to Luca that was arranged between their mafia families however it didn’t get off to the best start. It began with a tumultuous wedding day but the honeymoon they shared was everything she could have asked however that all changed when she returned home and found out she was expecting their baby. She puts up with more than anyone should have to and it is only when she finds herself in danger that she shows how strong she really is.
Luca has an agenda when it comes to Natalya and that is to have her fall in love with him while keeping his distance to ensure that he is still viewed as a powerful man who is all business. He will treat this as a business alliance and by the time he realizes how he really feels circumstances will unfold that will make it difficult for them to overcome.
In the beginning Luca is a man you will loathe while Natalya is a woman that deserves more that she is receiving but I did enjoy the evolution of both their characters. Suspense, angst and surprises as Natalya and Luca fight for their second chance.
Book 3: SCORNED LOVE: Shallow. Unappealing. Obnoxious. Mr. Satan. Interracial couple, (Contemporary) Enemies to Lovers, Broody Hero, Heroine with surprises, Forced Proximity, Workplace-like Romance, Top Tier banter, Bodyguard, Mafia drama, Touch her & die
✨Review✨
Ivy is not about to let Nico know how she really feels about his negative opinion of her and that she is a bad influence on his sister who is also his best friend. Instead, she gives as she gets through every interaction they have and when she shows him how strong and capable she truly is it changes everything.
Nico has been denying his true feelings for Ivy behind the animosity they share. He was content to keep the status quo until he realizes that there is a lot about her, he doesn’t know. This only makes him want her more and now he just needs to convince her.
Even though Ivy doesn’t need protecting I enjoyed seeing Nico want to do that for her. They take us on an adventure filled with heat, twists and two captivating characters.
The Man I Love, Sequel to The Boy I Hate by Taylor Sullivan is a Best Friend’s Brother Road trip romance is coming January 27 & available to preorder now!
Three thousand miles, two shattered hearts, and a new life on the way.
Three years after their life-changing road trip, Samantha Smiles and Tristan Montgomery are back at it again—only this time, the stakes are higher. Samantha is pregnant with Tristan’s child, and they are no longer together.
Now, as they embark on another cross-country trip to move Samantha back to LA, the air between them is thick with unresolved pain and misunderstandings. Their once-passionate connection has been strained by time and separation. Samantha is struggling to navigate her own emotions while dealing with the realities of impending motherhood, and Tristan is haunted by the mistakes of their past and the burden of his own fears.
Forced into close quarters, old wounds are reopened, and new truths are revealed. Can they mend their fractured relationship and find common ground for the sake of their child? Or will the weight of their past and the pressure of their future drive them further apart?
In a journey fraught with emotional turbulence and unexpected revelations, Samantha and Tristan must confront their deepest fears and rediscover the love that once bound them together. Will they find their way back to each other before it’s too late, or will their latest road trip be their last?
The Man I Love is a poignant exploration of love, forgiveness, and one choice. To cherish one another for the rest of their lives, or lose the love they once cherished forever.
Aurora Rose Reynolds is a New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author whose wildly popular series include Until, Until Him, Until Her, Underground King, Shooting Stars, Fluke My Life and How to Catch an Alpha series.
Her writing career started in an attempt to get the outrageously alpha men who resided in her head to leave her alone and has blossomed into an opportunity to share her stories with readers all over the world.
Bax Mayson thought he had escaped the family curse—until he saw Olivia Gannon again.
It’s been eight years since he last laid eyes on his best friend’s little sister, and now, fate has thrown her back into his life. As if their undeniable connection isn’t complicated enough, a mysterious threat looms, determined to tear Olivia away from him.
Available in KU
💕Review💕 Olivia has had feelings for Bax for a while, but he has never seen her as more than his best friend’s brother. Now that she has returned home and is his neighbor that has changed as he sees her for the woman she has become but not only is there the complication of her brother but the suspicious happenings that have her feeling threatened.
As hard as Bax tries to deny his feelings for Olivia that is a battle he isn’t going to win. He knows that the reward of being with her is worth the risk and not only won’t he allow anything or anyone to come between them, but he will protect her with his life.
Bax is the perfect mix of sweet and swoony who has met his match in Olivia. The romance is endearing, the chemistry is intense and the way he treats and protects her is everything you could want and more.
I’m a total nerd, but I look like a jock. I had a perfect GPA in high school, and my GPA in college is perfect too. I smile when I’m supposed to smile. I have two loving parents and a brother and sister who are always by my side. I’m the perfect all-American guy.
But the only thing that actually defines me is the before. The things I keep hidden deep inside because I’m too afraid of losing what I have now.
The past lives deep inside me as I force the plastic smile on my face. And no one sees through it because I’m just that good.
No one except . . . him.
Ronan
Every day is like a dream. A dream I live, not knowing when I’ll wake and find I’m still living in a nightmare.
I never made it out, and these past few years have all been fake.
Then he walks into my classroom . . . with that cocky smile in place. Not a care in the world. I doubt he’s ever had to worry about a thing in his entire life.
He’s exactly like all of the entitled, spoiled brats I teach every day in my part of the college campus, but something about Fletcher Moore really rubs me the wrong way.
I shouldn’t let him get to me, but something about him makes me too angry. Too annoyed.
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Kari's Book Reviews and Revelations 