I made the critical mistake of falling in love with my best friend. Even worse? He fell for me too.
But beautiful things are fleeting. The onset of my depression blinded me to the warning signs and when I needed him most, he vanished with only a cryptic note.
Now, as I finish college in the town we swore we’d escape, I’m finding myself more lost than ever. Trying to drown out the misery in my mind, I tag along to a party when the ghost of my past returns looking as haunted as me.
I can’t fall for Win Rhodes again.
I won’t survive it.
But he’s not giving me a choice.
WIN:
It should’ve been a wake-up call to move back home with my parents after failing out of college and getting discharged from rehab. But that would imply I have something to live for. Idiotically, I agree to attend a rager, either from boredom or an innate drive to sabotage my sobriety, I’m not sure. Though, all plans of nose-diving into my vices come to a screeching halt when I stumble across him.
My sunshine boy.
The very one I had to leave behind.
I think I’ve rediscovered my purpose: Make Remy Sullivan mine again.
Scarlett Cole is a contemporary romance and romantic suspense author who calls both Toronto, Canada and Manchester, England home. A born city dweller, she periodically quashes the urge to live in the country by hiking up a mountain to remind herself that living away from people would terrify the pants off her.
She believes everybody deserves their love story to be told and loves her heroes on the rough and rugged side…and usually tall (because she married one of those 6ft 6” men you read about in romance!). She’s an A-type personality and Scorpio star sign, so good luck getting her to do anything she doesn’t want to.
When she isn’t writing, she’s happy to talk hot men and expensive shoes while drinking a cold gin and tonic. Don’t bring up olives. As far as Scarlett is concerned, they are the devil’s food. As long as you don’t bring up olives, she’s happy to hear from any time.
USA Today bestselling author Scarlett Cole, writing as S. Cole, delivers an electrifying small-town, enemies-to-lovers, age-gap romance set deep in the Florida Everglades.
MAREN
Everyone in Gator Flats knows Knox.
They know the sound of his bike rolling through the swamp. The way men step aside when he walks into a room. And they know my father shot his brother and somehow kept his badge.
I should hate Knox.
Instead, every time he looks at me, I feel like he sees the parts of me I’ve spent my whole life trying to hide while working at the Magnolia Bait and Marine Supply.
Wanting him is dangerous.
But maybe staying exactly who I’ve always been is worse.
KNOX
I rule Gator Flats.
Seventeen years wearing the president’s patch, and every man in this swamp answers to me. So when someone gives up a club member’s location to an enemy, I take it personal.
What I don’t need is Maren Caldwell driving past my compound like her father didn’t change both our lives forever.
She’s too young. Too tied to things that never washed clean. And every time I look at her, I forget that wanting something and taking it are two different things.
🏍️Review🏍️ All Maren wants is to manage the business that she inherited from her grandfather and keep her distance from her father, the town sheriff with his own agenda, as well as the MC. When she finds herself caught in a dangerous situation through no fault of her own the last thing she wants is to see Knox at her door and the domino of events that it would start.
Knox is the President of the Iron Outlaws MC who would do anything for his MC. He has a preconceived idea of what Maren is like because of what her father did to his family, so their first meeting doesn’t go well. Finding out that she is caught in the middle of events that she has no control over his feeling for her change from foe to protector.
The interactions between them were engaging and the feelings between them are power. Even though they appear to be opposites in every way and that people wouldn’t want them to be together that isn’t enough to turn away from the love they share.
I knew she was in trouble the second she looked at me.
Bruised. Terrified. Barely standing.
And when she mouthed the word help through the window of that van, there was no walking away.
I’ve spent my life in dangerous places. Former Special Forces. Private security. Violence doesn’t scare me.
But the woman I pull from that nightmare?
She gets under my skin fast.
Allora Sterling is beautiful, stubborn, and fighting to survive something that should’ve destroyed her. The men who took her hurt her in ways that make my hands shake every time I think about it.
Now someone wants her back.
And after the traffickers tear apart her condo looking for her, I take her home with me because it’s the only place I know I can keep her safe.
One apartment. One bed. One broken woman who still finds the strength to smile at me.
I should keep my distance.
Instead, I become obsessed with making her feel safe again. Feeding her. Holding her through nightmares. Touching her like she’s something precious instead of something broken.
But the deeper we fall, the more dangerous things become.
Because the men hunting Allora aren’t random criminals.
This is personal.
And when they take her from me a second time, they make one fatal mistake—
They leave me alive.
Now there’s nowhere on earth I won’t go, nobody I won’t destroy, to bring her home.
Even if I have to burn the whole world down to do it.
GRIM is a dark romantic suspense featuring an elite bodyguard hero, a survivor heroine, forced proximity, touch-her-and-die protection, found family, motorcycle club ties, and a fiercely possessive happily ever after.
Content Warning: This book contains mature content and sensitive material. For details, please visit this book’s page on my website.
USA TODAY Bestselling Author Kat Mizera was born in Miami Beach with a healthy dose of Wanderlust. She’s lived from coast to coast, and everywhere in between, but home is wherever her family is. A devoted mom and wife to her wonderful and supportive husband (Kevin) and two amazing boys (Nick and Max), Kat loves to travel the globe with her adventurous, hockey loving family. Greece is at the top of that list. She hopes to one day retire there, spending her days writing books on the beach.
Kat is former freelance sports writer who now writes steamy hockey romance about her favorite fictional teams, the Las Vegas Sidewinders and the Lauderdale Knights. The library of novels she’s penned also include sexy contemporary stories about baseball stars, alpha sex club owners, bodyguards, rock stars, and royalty. Regardless of genre, her books about bad boys with hearts of gold will steal your breath, rock your world and melt your heart.
To find out about Kat Mizera’s upcoming releases and giveaways, sign up for her newsletter here
I met Ben Wells at an airport on one of the worst days of my life. We talked, laughed, connected, and survived a travel disaster. Then we shared one wild, passionate night together.
That was where the story was supposed to end.
Ben went back to his life as a professional rugby player, and I went back to mine as a college student. Except mine came with a positive pregnancy test and a life I never planned for. One Ben made it clear he wanted no part of.
I didn’t fall apart or chase him. I picked myself up and brushed myself off, raised my daughter, and fought my way into law school.
For five years, we did just fine without him. We were happy, even.
Then, out of nowhere, Ben crashes back into our lives, smiling like nothing ever happened, and everything I thought I knew comes undone. Because some misunderstandings don’t just break hearts. They steal years.
Now Ben is determined to make up for lost time, and not just with our daughter.
The passion we shared is still alive and well, but the stakes are much higher now. But if there’s one thing Ben is good at—besides being relentlessly cheerful and sexy in his rugby uniform—it’s persistence. He doesn’t give up.
If Ben has it his way, the end of our story will be only the beginning.
Author Maggie Gates writes raw, relatable, romance novels packed full of heat and humor. Maggie calls North Carolina home. In her spare time she enjoys daydreaming about her characters, jamming to country music, collecting vinyl records, and eating all the barbecue and tacos she can find! Her Kindle is always within reach due to a love of small town romances that borders on obsession.
Statistics professor Amelia Hawthorne never expected to find herself in a rundown Atlantic City casino. But here she was, counting cards to help pay off her brother’s debt under the watchful eye of the mysterious Judah Greear.
The last thing Jude wanted to do was kidnap the hot brainiac, but orders were orders. Especially when they came from legendary mob boss John Valentine.
Now, Jude must choose between duty and desire. Will he protect the girl who sees past the tattoos and mugshots or save himself?
♦️Review♦️ Amelia would do anything for her brother, so when he finds himself in a difficult spot she resorts to using her math skills to count cards to pay back the money he owes. Her activities don’t go unnoticed however she refuses to heed the advice of Jude so when the situation escalates she finds herself on the run with him.
Jude works security in a casino owned by a dangerous man and when he sees what Amelia is doing he tries to protect her from herself. When that doesn’t work he finds himself protecting her while they try to find a way out of the precarious situation they find themselves in.
Amelia’s feisty personality is the perfect match for the protector in Jude. His intentions were to keep her safe and then go their separate ways however between the emotional connection, the way they understand each other and the suspenseful adventure they found themselves there is nothing temporary about their feelings for each other.
A dirty-talking, grumpy hockey player MMC that takes his cat on walks??? Say less.
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Lauren Blakely, comes the next standalone hockey rom com in her Hockey Ever After series, JUST PLAYING FOR KEEPS! This spicy, fake dating, grumpy/sunshine, only one bed in a room, opposites attract hockey rom com is filled with all the steamy tension, yearning, and heat! JUST PLAYING FOR KEEPS is now available in all formats, including the special edition hardcover, and free to read in Kindle Unlimited. Check out the excerpt below, and one-click your copy today!
Ever hear the story about the dating coach who got dumped on the hockey arena’s jumbotron?
Everyone did. But I lived it. Including the moment when the team’s broody, tattooed star Lake Axelrod swooped in on skates to rescue me from public humiliation.
Even more surprising? When the famously grumpy (and ridiculously sexy) hockey player insists on being my fake boyfriend for my sister’s high-profile wedding. It’s the perfect sweet revenge plan since my ex is the best man. Bonus – I might even salvage my professional reputation.
We need rules though.
To pull this off, everyone from his teammates to my boss has to believe we’re a real couple.
That means swoony touches and knee-weakening kisses are required.
When it ends, we walk away.
But the intensity in Lake’s eyes after every post-game kiss makes me wonder if he’s pretending. With each whispered secret, the line between fake and real bends. Until it shatters one night in a hotel room.
Soon, he isn’t just playing the protective boyfriend—he’s the only one who truly sees me.
If I’m not careful, I’m going to break the most important rule of all: don’t fall for your fake date.
This is Lake and Remy’s romance. Tropes include: grumpy/sunshine hockey romance, fake dating, workplace romance, best friend’s brother, obsessed hero
I lift my chin, look in the mirror in the dressing room, and meet his gaze. “Thank you. For coming in here.”
“Only place I want to be.” He lowers his face, gazing at my body as he runs his hands over my bare shoulders and coasts them down my arms, slow and sensual. When he reaches my hands, he slides his fingers through mine. A double clasp, and it feels like a reassuring embrace from behind me. I’m fizzy everywhere, bubbles popping in every cell.
He meets my gaze straight on in the mirror again. “You’d better go put on some lipstick, Remy. I’m going to do everything in my power to absolutely f*&k it up on camera.”
A #1 New York Times Bestselling, #1 Wall Street Journal Bestselling, and #1 Audible Bestselling author, Lauren Blakely is known for her contemporary romance style that’s sexy, feel-good and witty. Her books have been featured in US Weekly and People. Lauren likes dogs, cake and show tunes and she is the vegetarian at your dinner party.
🏒Review🏒 When Remy finds a jewellery box she believes that her boyfriend is about to propose at the arena as that is where they first met so she sets up the perfect situation. The only problem with the plan is that now the entire arena has witnessed the end of their relationship and all she wants to do is crawl under her seat. Good thing Lake, her best friend’s brother, finds a way to try and detract the attention.
Lake is a professional hockey player who has had feelings for Remy for a while however she was involved with another man. When he sees her situation he doesn’t hesitate to step in even when it includes pretending they are in a relationship so that she can show her ex she has moved on while he tries to show her how he is the man she was meant to be with.
The banter between them is humorous, the situations they find themselves in entertaining and the romance is endearing and the chemistry enchanting as despite their insecurities Lake and Remy open their hearts to each other. Jason Clarke brings out the sweet and swoony sides of Lake while Erin Mallon brings out the fun as well as the uncertainty that Remy is feeling.
She’s a star with a secret. He’s the man who could expose it all.
As the headlining celebrity impersonator at the hottest club on the Vegas strip, Siri Wright has the world at her feet. But when a family crisis calls her back to Alabama, she’s forced to trade the glitz and glamour for small-town quiet and a dangerously irresistible new neighbor.
He’s all muscle, discipline, and unwavering focus. The kind of man who could ruin everything.
Can love bloom amid the secrets?
*Previously published as Mr. Sexy in 9G / Stalking the Stripper
Brittanee is an author who lives in Rhode Island with her husband and two children. Her town is a character in itself in all of her books.
When she is not writing she enjoys spending time outdoors by the water with her children, reading at the beach or by the pool (or really anywhere), dancing with her friends, singing Karaoke, spinning, bike riding and boating.
Some of her favorite authors are Sophia Kinsella, Elin Hilderbrand, Liane Moriarty, Mary Higgins Clark, Meghan Quinn, Daphne Elliott, Amy Alves, Claire Kingsley, Melanie Harlow, Christina Lauren, Sally Thorne and Sarah Adams. (Clearly, she has a problem and can’t pick favorites.)
From the bestselling author of the Boston Bolts Hockey Series comes a friends-to-strangers-to-lovers hockey romance featuring the next generation of Langfields.
There are only two things I’ve ever truly wanted in my life. To be a goalie in the NHL and JJ Hanson.
In a twisted way, both dreams have come true. Rather than a spot on the roster though, I’m now the first female goalie coach in the NHL. JJ Hanson’s coach, specifically.
Not only is he one of my players—making him totally off limits—he’s also a single dad and still technically married. Oh, and thanks to my father’s meddling, he’s now my roommate, along with his cousin and her three kids, my sister and her four-year-old twins, my cousin, and JJ’s daughter, who I unfortunately adore.
Yup, I’m living with six kids under the age of five, and the only man I’ve ever loved.
There was a time when JJ was my closest friend, and for one perfect moment, he was mine. Now we don’t even talk. JJ is determined to change that, though, and when opportunity strikes and suddenly both of my dreams are within reach, I have to make a decision. Can I step out onto that ice as the first female goalie in the NHL and trust JJ with my heart?
I’ve never been one to walk away from a challenge. Maybe the only way JJ and I can move forward is to go back to the start.
Paper Rings is a friends-to-lovers, single-dad, second-chance hockey romance with dual POV and a dual timeline featuring a Brownstone like Mother Faker and many of your favorite characters from the Langfield Brothers’ family. It is the first book in the New Romantics Series and a complete standalone.
🏒Review🏒 Addie’s impressive resume as a goalie makes her the perfect choice to be the goalie coach even if it means she and JJ can no longer keep the distance between them. He was her best friend and first love until it took a heartbreaking turn and now not only is she is coach, but she finds herself living with him and his daughter Avery as well as other family.
JJ may regret the events that tore he and Addie apart, but he could never regret his daughter. Now that Addie is back in his life he wants a second chance however that would mean not only discussing where things went wrong but dealing with what happened and finding a path forward.
There is so much turmoil between Addie and JJ that could have been easily overcome but what is the fun in that. The living situation is entertaining, the banter is humorous, the emotion heartfelt, the chemistry intense and the relationship that Addie has with both JJ and Avery will touch your heart.
A Small Town, Friends-to-Lovers, Forbidden Love Standalone Romance from USA Today and Amazon #1 Bestselling Author, Laura Pavlov.
Gracie Reynolds and I have been best friends since we were kids. She’s smart, kind, funny, beautiful—and one of the best parts of my life. When Gracie walks into a room, people notice. I always notice.
But when she moved across the world with a guy I despised, it felt like I’d lost a piece of myself. I missed her in ways I still can’t explain.
Now she’s back— and she’s crashing at my place for a couple of months while she figures things out. She’s single and ready for a fresh start. I’ve always had her back, and that hasn’t changed.
What has changed? The way that she looks at me. The way I can’t stop looking at her. So, when Gracie makes me a once in a lifetime proposition–obviously, I’m all in. But this isn’t your average gray area–it’s a full-on, sweat-inducing, five chili pepper detour we never meant to take.
Gracie has big dreams though, and I’d never be the guy to hold her back. Even if all I want…is to be the reason that she stays.
Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited
Paperback: https://geni.us/Ybk1p Order now and receive the stunning DELUXE FIRST PRINT RUN while supplies last―featuring gorgeous detailed sprayed edges, custom designed endpapers and an exclusive bonus scene, only available in print.
💚Review💚 There hasn’t been a time that Gracie hasn’t been best friends even though her decision to follow her heart led her to relocating for a year with the man she thought she loved. She has recently returned home to regroup and decide what comes next and where better than with Cutler. When they finally gave in to the chemistry between them she faces the decision of whether to stay or to follow the plan she previously made.
Cutler has always loved Gracie, but he wanted her to be happy even if that was with another man. When he realizes that her relationship wasn’t all romance and roses he wants to show her what it could be like with him. The only problem is that her dreams seem to be directing her to leave town once again.
Cutler and Gracie have always belonged together and their feelings for other heartwarming and intense. The story finds the perfect balance between humor, romance and emotion as Cutler and Gracie try to find a way to have each other as well as their dreams.
Tropes: Friends with Benefits Agreement; Childhood Enemies; Curvy Heroine; Grumpy x Sunshine
Release Date: June 1, 2026
Crawling back home with my tail between my legs was not the way I saw my life going.
I had it all.
A fantastic job. A fiancée who adored me, and a life any man would dream of.
That’s about the time it all fell apart.
But Montana has a way of healing all wounds, from the beautiful sunrises to the fresh mountain air.
Sure, my father still hated me for leaving. My mother still defended him at every turn.
And the gossip…
It was enough to drive me insane.
And then I sat next to her at The Beaver and Boot.
Gorgeous, curvy, full of life, and so easy to talk to.
She was perfect.
Until I realized she was the same girl I tormented as a kid.
Yep, I was that boy who didn’t know how to tell a girl he liked her, so he picked on her. And boy, did she let me know how much she hated me.
Every Tuesday and Thursday night.
But the one thing she couldn’t ignore was the undeniable chemistry when my body was pressed against hers.It was only supposed to be a friends with benefits situation, but she wormed her way into my head, and made it impossible to ignore my own Foolish Pride.
“Fine. I’ll admit that he has pleasant features.”
They both burst out laughing at that.
“Okay, more than pleasant. Have you seen him?”
Delaney shook her head, waiting on tenterhooks for something more descriptive than “pleasant”.
“He’s…taller.”
“Taller,” she repeated. “That’s all you’ve got for me?”
I stuttered over my thoughts in frustration. I didn’t want to think about him or hot he was. It would only ruin my plan to stay as far away from him as possible. But she wasn’t having it.
“Not that much. But it’s one of those things that you can see through his shirt.”
Delaney sighed dreamily. “I love it when you can see their shirts stretched across their biceps.”
“Not to brag, but I have one of those,” Josie grinned.
Delaney smacked her arm. “Hey, some of us can only dream for now.” Then she turned back to me. “Go on.”
“Um…well, he still has warm, chocolate eyes. And his hair is shorter than it used to be.”
“Can you still run your fingers through it?”
As soon as I thought about it, shivers raced down my spine. That was not good. “Yes.”
“Oh my God,” Josie whispered. “Did you hear that hitch in her voice?”
“I definitely did. Tell us more.”
“There was no hitch.”
“There was definitely a hitch. Which means it’s really good. Now spill!”
I’m a stay at home mom that loves to read. Some of my favorite titles are Pride and Prejudice, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and Horatio Hornblower. I started writing when I was trying to come up with suggestions on ways I could help bring in some extra money. I came up with the idea that I could donate plasma because you could earn an extra $500/month. My husband responded with, “No. Find something else. Write a blog. Write a book.” I didn’t think I had anything to share on blog that a thousand other mothers hadn’t already thought of. I decided to take his challenge seriously and sat down to write my first book, Jack. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed writing. From there, the stories continued to flow and I haven’t been able to stop. I hope my readers enjoy my books as much as I enjoy writing them. Between reading, writing, and taking care of three small kids, my days are quite full.
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🎉Review🎉
Ryder thought that his personal and professional life was exactly where he wanted it to be only to realize that trying to do the right thing will change everything. He now finds himself back in his hometown looking for a fresh start however running into the woman he liked but didn’t treat well when they were in high school wasn’t part of the plan.
Ellie tried to do the right thing however the outcome has her feeling like an outcast in her own town. Finding out that the man who played on her insecurities as a teenager is back was something she wasn’t ready for especially when it comes to the unexpected feelings they are developing for each other.
This is a story of healing, second chances and a love that neither saw coming. You can’t help but feel what both Ryder and Ellie are going through and that ending will leave you needing the next book in this series.
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