FWAR is the third book in The Hometown Heartless series and contains a crossover character from The Next Life series. FWAR DOES contain spoilers for The Next Life duet and The Hometown Heartless series.
Reading the The Next Life duet and The Hometown Heartless series prior to FWAR will enhance your appreciation of this story as well as provide a better understanding of the depth of the character dynamics, personalities, and backstories.
How to complicate your rookie season in the NHL: fake date your former college rival and now teammate’s ex-girlfriend.
It’s a bad idea, and I know it, especially since Kendra Hart has had a hold over me since our freshman year of college. She has no idea how I feel, and I have zero control over my mouth when her life goes up in smoke and she needs a friend, along with a place to stay.
My coach, who also happens to be my stepdad, is warning me to stay away not only for the team’s sake but to spare me from getting hurt. I should probably listen to his advice. However, taking the simple route has never been my thing. And with every “fake” look, touch and kiss I give her, I think she might be starting to like me for more than just my British accent.
I’m starting to think this might be my best idea yet…
A New York brunch can be just brunch—a get-together with friends to carb off a hangover or go through the Sunday papers. But today isn’t just brunch. I can tell by the way Leo—one of my five best friends—is nervously fingering his collar. And by the way his new fiancée, Jules, is shifting her weight from hip to hip.
In fairness, the stakes are high today. We—Leo’s friends-slash-brothers in all but blood—will be meeting Jules’ best friend for the first time. It’s going to be fine. I’m sure of it. But the happy couple wants it to be more than fine.
“What do you think, Worth?” Jules asks. “Is it too obvious to put Fisher next to Sophia?”
I glance between Jules and Efa, the only two women in the room. “Obvious how?” I ask, picking my words carefully. I’m not sure exactly what should be obvious.
“That we’re setting them up,” Efa says, thwacking me on the arm as she leans forward on the table.
“I think it’s fine with Worth on the other side of her,” Jules says, answering her own question. “Like, she’s not going to think we’re setting her up with Worth and Fisher.”
I push my hands through my hair, trying to think what to make of that statement, when there’s a rush of noise by the door.
I glance around to see… the top of a woman’s head. She has long blonde hair that reaches the floor as she bends over to pull off a heel and toss it on the ground.
“I have to take these shoes off. They’re not made for walking. I was trying to be ladylike and refined, but you can take the girl out of Cincinnati—”
She straightens and we lock eyes. She’s beautiful. Her blonde hair is lighter at the front, like she’s spent the entire summer outside. And I can’t tear my gaze from her mouth—dusky-pink lips that form an almost-perfect circle as she stares back at me. I trace a line around the edge of her lips in my mind. A smattering of freckles kiss the bridge of her nose, and her hair is long and loose. I have to fight a full-body shudder at the thought of how it would feel against my skin.
Jesus, I want to stalk right over to her, back her up against the wall, and kiss her into Wednesday of next week. I’m not sure I’ve ever felt such a visceral, primal urge to be close to a woman in my life.
In fact, visceral, primal urges aren’t the norm for me at all. That’s exactly what makes me good in a crisis. I’m a cool head. A logical thinker. I don’t make rash decisions.
I don’t get the sudden urge to possess a woman. Not until today.
I’m vaguely aware of chatter behind me as the woman and I stare at each other like we’re sharing the exact same thoughts. All of a sudden, Efa pulls the beauty into a hug, effectively breaking our eye contact and bringing me back to the moment.
“Worth!” Jules practically bellows. “Meet my best friend in the entire world, Sophia.” She turns to Sophia. “I’m sitting you next to Worth, because honestly, he’s the best man in the world after Leo—”
“Hey,” Efa calls from across the room. “What about Bennett?”
“You didn’t let me finish my sentence. Whoever said the British are polite never met you!”
Efa and Jules dissolve into laughter, and Sophia’s eyes grow wide. She glances over at me, confused. I want to go to her, assure her that Efa and Jules are joking and there’s nothing to be concerned about, but before I put one foot in front of the other, she starts toward me.
“Hi,” she says, her smile blinding like I’m looking at the sun or something. She seems to be surrounded by lightness, like she’s glowing. I hear Bryan Ferry in the background, singing about being a slave to love—or am I imagining it? I need to snap the fuck out of whatever this is or I’m going to start seeing bluebirds lifting her napkin into her lap and squirrels pulling out her chair.
“Hey,” I say. Normally I’d hug anyone introduced to me by Efa or Jules, but I can’t risk touching Sophia. Instead, I hold out my hand, like I’m in a f*cking boardroom.
I’m an idiot.
A f*cking idiot.
Surprisingly, her smile widens, like offering to shake her hand is even better than scoring the winning touchdown at the Super Bowl. We stare at each other for a beat, oblivious to what’s going on around us. I’m vaguely aware of more people at the door and the clinking of glasses, but I have no desire to move out of the bubble I find myself in—we’ve found ourselves in.
Sophia slides her hand into mine and a small gasp escapes her lips. A growl reverberates in my chest. Her hand feels so soft, so tiny, so… mine, it’s difficult to describe.
Jules breaks the moment by shouting, “Turn this music off, Leo. Put on something fun.” Then she takes Sophia’s free hand and pulls her away from me. Sophia glances back over her shoulder, and I can’t do anything but stare at her: the way her hair falls down her back, wavy and loose, like water running over stones; the way her jeans hug her ass in exactly the way I want to; the way I can feel her hand in mine, even now when she’s across the room.
“Bryan Ferry is fucking cool,” Leo replies.
He’s right. Bryan Ferry is f*cking cool. Although I never thought so until just now.
Everyone arrives except Byron, who’s rarely in New York. He’s messaged the group to say he’s in Acapulco. I’m probably the only one who knows that actually means he’s in Montana. Long story.
Jules guides us to our seats. We all have place cards. Now, I like the fact that our group of six is expanding to include the women who have fallen for my best friends. Things are bound to shift and change, and I’m okay with that too. I also really like Efa and Jules. But place cards? Next we’ll be wearing tuxedos for brunch.
I scan the place settings and find my name next to Sophia’s. Okay, so maybe place cards aren’t such a bad thing. Fisher sits down on her other side—which is when Jules and Efa’s excited chatter about setting up
Sophia with Fisher comes back to me.
Sophia is meant for Fisher. Not me.
A dull kernel of disappointment lodges in my gut, and I try to shake it off as everyone takes their seats around the table. How can I be disappointed? Fisher is a great guy. I love him like a brother. He’s the life and soul of the party, creative but with a business brain. In personality, he’s almost my exact opposite. Jules is Sophia’s best friend. If Jules thinks Fisher is a good fit for her, she must be right.
This is fine. This is how it’s meant to be. Fisher and Sophia. Perfect.
Blurb: Loyal, hardworking, and trustworthy, I’m used to putting everyone’s needs before my own. I’m the ultimate good guy. But when Sophia Jones walks into my life, everything changes. Beautiful, guarded, and completely off-limits, she’s all I can see. Even though she’s being set up with one of my best friends, I want her for myself.
I try to fight my feelings but soon realize it’s futile. Thrown together at our friends’ wedding in Vegas, the more I spend time with her, the greedier I am for longer.
Vegas has a way of turning rules upside down, and one night changes everything. Between stolen glances and secret moments, I do the unthinkable—I ask her to marry me. Maybe it’s the drinks. Maybe it’s the city. Or maybe it’s because she feels the same connection I do, but she says yes.
Sophia’s hiding something—I can see it in her eyes—but it doesn’t matter. She’s mine now. And I’ll do whatever it takes to convince her this isn’t just a mistake. This is the beginning of forever.
“I’m fine,” I say quickly. Not wanting to sleep while wrapped in one of his shirts.
He turns to face me, his large frame seeming to fill the entire hallway, and I step back until I feel the press of the wall against my backside.
“You’re fine?” he asks, so close that the warmth of his breath tickles my neck.
I swallow hard. “Yeah.”
He reaches out and runs his knuckles over the front of my still-damp sweatshirt.
“Don’t think I can handle the thought of you … wet in my bed,” he murmurs as he steps in closer.
The deep, seductive tone of his voice and the heat of him render me speechless for a few beats.
“What?”
“You heard me, Tiger.”
The sound of his old nickname for me pulls me from my momentary brain fog, and I bring my hands up between us and give him a firm shove.
He doesn’t budge.
“Step back,” I demand. “And save your dirty mouth for someone who would appreciate it.”
“I seem to remember my dirty mouth being one of your favorite things,” he whispers into my ear before he leans back.
The man is walking, talking sex on a stick. Why does he have to be so damn attractive? A gentleman would have gone away for a few years and returned with a beer belly and a receding hairline, but not Parker Alston. No, this asshole came home taller, broader, and with fucking rock-hard abs.
I glance up at him and narrow my eyes at the triumphant grin gracing his stupidly handsome face.
“Yeah, well, I had nothing to compare it to back then. Turns out, that mouth isn’t as talented as I once thought,” I say.
His grin widens. “Oh, trust me, it was talented then, and it’s only gotten better with practice.”
Blurb:
They say time heals all wounds, but some cut too deep—or so I thought.
I’ve built a life I love and am proud of in Sandcastle Cove, running the bar, keeping things simple, and enjoying my single life. I don’t need anyone, especially not Parker—the boy who shattered my heart and left me to pick up the pieces after we lost everything.
Then he walks back into town. But he’s no longer that scared, reckless seventeen-year-old; now he’s a man—steady, confident, and determined to make amends. He says he’s here to stay and ready to fight for us.
But what does he expect? That I’ll just hand him my heart again? Forgiving him feels impossible. Trusting him? Even harder. Yet every time our eyes meet, it reminds me of what we once had, and my walls crack a little more, making me wonder if it’s worth risking my heart again.
Check out this trailer and preorder for a Dark Fantasy Romance with an unapologetic villain! Bonded Chaos: Twisted Fates Duology Book 1 by K.J. Johnson
The one man who wouldn’t hesitate to kill me if he discovered the truth about me… believed he was my mate.
It was a fleeting moment.
A chance encounter that would slip away like so many before it.
Or so Cadence thought.
But when she woke imprisoned in the Unseelie Kingdom, with no memory of how she got there, and no way to escape, she soon realized that fate had other plans for her.
Cadence
My life was simple. I ran the apothecary in my village, cared for my parents, and tried to keep my reckless brother out of trouble.
I hid in the shadows of the unremarkable, blending seamlessly into the background, unnoticed and overlooked.
It was safer that way.
That was, until he walked into the marketplace, with his storm-grey eyes and a smirk that was as sinful as it was dangerous. His presence stole my breath away, and the overwhelming urge to run consumed me.
To him, or from him? I didn’t know.
Ryker
The moment I laid eyes on her, she became mine.
My Temptress.
My Mate.
The more Cadence tries to fight me, the more desperate I become to conquer her.
It’s a slow descent into madness.
A pull I’m unable to resist, even though it threatens to bring me to the edge of myself. I know it will tear me apart. Yet, I would never escape it, because in the darkness she is mine, and mine alone.
For more information on K.J. Johnson and her books:
𝑽𝑰𝑪𝑰𝑶𝑼𝑺 𝑨𝑫𝑫𝑰𝑪𝑻𝑰𝑶𝑵𝑺: A Mafia Romance (The Next Vicious Generation Book 1) by USA Today bestselling author Ivy Fox releases on February 28th. Check out this teaser!
Vicious Addictions is the first installment in this action-packed and drama-filled mafia romance series from USA Today Bestselling Author Ivy Fox.
“Enter the dangerous world of power, passion, and forbidden love in The Next Vicious Generation—where blind loyalty always comes at a price.”
This is Jude Romano’s story.
Full blurb to come.
Author’s note: The Next Vicious Generation is an interconnected standalone series that serves as a spin-off to the Rotten Love Duet. Each book in this series will focus on one of Selene’s children, now grown up and just as fierce and fearless as their fathers. While reading the Rotten Love Duet is not essential before starting this series, it is highly recommended for a deeper understanding of the characters and their backstory.
Why you need to #ONECLICK this book… 🏈Sports Romance (He’s the Quarterback)
💕Scientist Heroine (She’s a workaholic)
🏈Opposites Attract
💕Paris Fling
🏈He Falls First
💕Small Town
🏈Close Proximity
💕Celebrity Romance
🏈Billionaire Romance
💕1st POV
Quarterback Clay “Mr. Perfect” Braden is determined to show sexy scientist Pepper Montgomery the benefits of hands-on research in PLAYING MR. PERFECT, the first book in the Bradens at Ridgeport series. Loaded with heat, humor, and heart, this steamy, small-town, opposites-attract standalone romance is unputdownable.No cheating, no cliffhangers, and a happily ever after that will leave you breathless.
What happens in Paris, stays in Paris, right? Oh, Pepper. If only…
Okay, I admit it.
Sleeping with the NFL quarterback who the media has dubbed Mr. Perfect might not have been the smartest move, but I’m in the City of Love, I’d had a few drinks, and was jacked up on giddy girl talk and hopeful hearts—two things I never buy into—and I threw caution to the wind.
I want to sneak out before he wakes up, but when I open my eyes, he’s already up.
In more ways than one.
Convincing the ridiculously cocky (pun intended) man that I’m not the woman he slept with last night is awkward. Actually, he makes it impossible.
The thing is, I don’t even know who that woman was.
They say time heals all wounds, but some cut too deep—or so I thought.
I’ve built a life I love and am proud of in Sandcastle Cove, running the bar, keeping things simple, and enjoying my single life. I don’t need anyone, especially not Parker—the boy who shattered my heart and left me to pick up the pieces after we lost everything.
Then he walks back into town. But he’s no longer that scared, reckless seventeen-year-old; now he’s a man—steady, confident, and determined to make amends. He says he’s here to stay and ready to fight for us.
But what does he expect? That I’ll just hand him my heart again? Forgiving him feels impossible. Trusting him? Even harder. Yet every time our eyes meet, it reminds me of what we once had, and my walls crack a little more, making me wonder if it’s worth risking my heart again.
J.S. Wood is the author of the Average Gents series. After coining the phrase “Nice Guy Romance”, she has used this to make a brand for herself to represent the underrated nice guy. Originally from Colorado, she now resides with her husband and children in Wyoming, writing anything that inspiration strikes. Her next series, The Three Rivers Trevors Ranch, is inspired by her horse training upbringing and will bring a slew of ‘touch her and —” cowboys.
He thought pushing her away would keep her safe. Now he’s back, and he’s not leaving without her.
CT Trevors made the biggest mistake of his life when he walked away from Dani West, thinking he was saving her from heartbreak. But when her cousin reaches out, saying Dani needs help with a horse that’s suddenly gone skittish, CT sees his chance—a second chance to make things right.
Dani doesn’t want his help. She’s still smarting from the way he ended things, and the last thing she needs is CT stirring up old feelings. But she knows he’s the only trainer for miles who can get her back in the ring.
As they work side by side, secrets from her past trainer come to light, and old wounds start to heal. Dani says they’re just working together. CT says he’s winning her heart back. She insists she’s done with him for good.
But CT’s ready to fight for her this time—even if it scares him to death.
On the Fence is a swoon-worthy second-chance Western romance, packed with forced proximity, tension, and a rugged cowboy hero who’ll steal your heart. Perfect for anyone ready to dive into their cowboy era.
🤠Review🤠 Even though it has been years Dani was devastated when Cade ended their relationship and being around him only make it difficult. That is why she is hesitant for him to help her with her horse, but she does relent as she knows it is the only choice that she can make. She is determined to keep their relationship professional as she would not be able to survive the heartbreak a second time.
Ending his relationship with Dani was a decision that Cade made from desperation and pain. It is the biggest regret of his life, so he is not about to let this opportunity pass by. He is determined to show her that they have always belonged together, but he is also patient and allows her to set the pace.
The love that Dani and Cade have shared has always been there despite the mistakes and missteps along the way. They take us on an emotionally wrenching journey as they not only need to heal from the past but ensure that history does not repeat itself.
As the rookie catcher of the Daytona Fury, I have a lot to prove. Not only do I need to be perfect on the field, but I’m doing it all while fulfilling a promise to the woman who raised me. Graduating college was never as important to me as it was to my grandma, but I gave her my word that I’d finish, even though my future in the majors was sealed. When I find out I need one more class—one I know nothing about—I decide to hire a tutor to help me through it. But as soon as we get into our lessons, I realize I want her to teach me much more than the curriculum suggests.
LARK
Starting over isn’t easy, especially when your ex-husband and his family are set on making it impossible. When I find myself without a job because they don’t want me switching to a “less respectable career”, I’m stuck paying for my own tuition to make my dreams come true. So when a side gig tutoring the city’s hottest professional baseball player in his Human Sexuality class lands in my lap, I take it, not expecting to feel all sorts of conflicting emotions once I get to know him. Ace Mathers may be ten years younger than me, but he’s determined to show me how to live.
Virginia native Mari Carr is a New York Times and USA TODAY bestseller of contemporary sexy romance and romantic suspense novels. With over two million copies of her books sold, Mari was the winner of the Romance Writers of America’s Passionate Plume award for her novella, Erotic Research. She has over a hundred published works, including her popular Wild Irish and Compass books, along with the Trinity Masters series she writes with Lila Dubois.
The Stingrays call goalie Coulton Moore their gentle giant. The tall, imposing man is the team’s rock, their steadying influence on and off the ice. However, that mild disposition disappears completely when the beautiful bartender he’s been lusting after from across a crowded bar is attacked. Then, it’s all bets off as he steps in to defend her, protect her, and claim her as his.
Ainsley doesn’t have time for any more men in her life. Between serving a rowdy bunch of guys in her family’s dive bar, caring for her ailing father, and dealing with her brother and his ever-growing pile of gambling debt, her cup overfloweth when it comes to the male population.
When her brother’s enemies track her down, looking for retribution, a sexy, dominant stranger steps forward to save her. At first, it’s simple enough to accept his help and his kisses and his tantalizing touches because, after a lifetime of crap, she figures she’s due a night of mind-blowing passion with Coulton, the hottest man she’s ever met.
The problem begins when morning comes and he informs her what they shared was never going to be just a one-night stand. Nope. Coulton, the stubborn, determined, possessive man is settling for nothing less than her.
Both are dangerous, deadly, and powerful. Both are second-generation soldiers proving themselves in the Roríguez cartel.
Both want me.
Of course, I wasn’t told until it was too late. That’s the way things work in the famiglia. My fate is up to Dario Luciano, my guardian.
He doesn’t care the way the men make me feel. How when I’m near them, the air crackles and my skin warms with stinging electricity, stirring something deep inside me that never before existed.
One fills me with desire, twisting my insides.
The other recognizes my need to be loved, filling me with a comfortable warmth.
By the time I learn that both have requested my hand, a deal has been brokered.
Neither man from the Roríguez cartel will have me.
I’ve been promised to another, the son of Dario’s sworn enemy.
Will I have any say in my future?
What will happen to the alliance between the Luciano famiglia and the Roríguez cartel when tragedy strikes?
Have you been Aleatha’d?
QUEENS AND MONSTERS is a stand-alone dangerous Mafia/cartel romance in the “Brutal Vows” series. Each arranged-marriage story is filled with the suspense, intrigue, and heat you’ve come to expect from New York Times bestselling author Aleatha Romig.
Jasmine has always been sheltered from the harsher sides of the mafia life by Dario however it has been decided that it is now time for her to marry. What began as an attempt to claim her independence with Reinaldo and Emiliano takes a twist that no one saw coming and now she finds herself engaged to a man she doesn’t want.
One kiss is all it would take for the man that Jasmine is destined to be with to realize the lengths he would go to for her. He is determined to protect her from the future that has been planned for her and that means showing Dario who she truly belongs with.
The love between these two is enduring as there is nothing that our hero won’t do for Jasmine with little concern for the consequences as they take us on quite the ride filled with suspense that keeps you on edge, surprises you don’t see coming and a future worth fighting for.
Meet Aleatha Romig:
Aleatha Romig is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author who lives in Indiana. She grew up in Mishawaka, graduated from Indiana University, and is currently living south of Indianapolis. Together with her high-school sweetheart and husband of over thirty years, they’ve raised three children. Before she became a full-time author, she worked days as a dental hygienist and spent her nights writing. Now, when she’s not imagining mind-blowing twists and turns or her new lighter side, she likes to spend her time with her family and friends. Her pastimes include reading and creating heroes/anti-heroes who haunt your dreams!
Genie tilts her head, smiling at the inventiveness. “And what would National Judd Day involve?”
“Doing whatever Judd says.”
“Like the game Simon Says?”
I hum. “Something like that.”
“And what is it Judd would demand on National Judd Day?”
I dig my teeth into my lower lip and roam my gaze over her face. Then I lower my eyes to take in the column of her throat and the curve of her shoulders.
“I’ll come up with a list of bylaws and get back to you.”
I press my forehead against hers, my breath ragged, my body trembling with the force of holding back.
This is it.
I line myself up with her, my breath coming fast and hard, my entire body trembling with the need to claim her. When I push inside, all the way in one deep thrust, I lose myself completely.
She cries out, her body tensing against mine, and I realize too late how rough I’ve been. The sound of her pain cuts through the haze in my mind, and I freeze, buried to the hilt inside of her.
The tight, wet heat of her grips me, and I feel her body quiver as she sucks in sharp, shallow breaths. My stomach twists violently, guilt and possessive need warring inside me.
I drop my head to her neck, inhaling her soft scent, trying to restrain myself, but the feel of her nails digging into my shoulders only deepens the ache in my chest.
“Breathe, princess,” I whisper, and my voice breaks.
.png)
Kari's Book Reviews and Revelations 