I would have been much happier curled up at home eating Halloween candy by myself, but I had Mom’s voice in my head telling me to make an effort now that I was in college, to put myself out there and socialize.
If I’d stayed home, I wouldn’t have met him.
SILVAN
Men have always committed atrocities chasing after their desires.
The men in my family have it down to an art form.
Personally, I’ve never experienced a desire that ran so deep it poisoned my soul.
Until the night I laid eyes on her.
It’s really too bad she didn’t feel the same way. It could have been a fairy tale.
I guess our story was meant to be something a little more twisted.
Oh well.
I desire Sophie Bradwell, and I don’t care how many terrible things I have to do to get her… and keep her.
USA Today best-selling author Marni Mann knew she was going to be a writer since middle school. While other girls her age were daydreaming about teenage pop stars, Marni was fantasizing about penning her first novel. She crafts sexy, titillating stories that weave together her love of darkness, mystery, passion, and human emotions. A New Englander at heart, she now lives with her husband in Sarasota, Florida. When she’s not nose deep in her laptop, working on her next novel, she’s scouring for chocolate, sipping wine, traveling, boating, or devouring fabulous books. Want to get in touch?
The Unseelie are one step ahead of us and I should be focusing on stopping them…But my mind is focused on the one guy who doesn’t want anything to do with me.One kiss turned my world upside down, but if I don’t get back into the game, the enemy will win. Why do I want him when I have other guys who are trying to win my heart?This second year is going to test my very limits with learning my new powers, hunting the Unseelie, and ignoring every handsome distraction.
Check out these gorgeous covers for 𝗙𝗢𝗢𝗟 𝗠𝗘 𝗢𝗡𝗖𝗘 (𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗕𝗮𝘆 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗸𝘀 #𝟯) by Hannah Gray, releasing March 6th!!! This is a slow burn, second chance, professional hockey romance.
It’s true what they say, you really are wiser when you’re older, because I’ve hated my younger self for years. After leaving behind the girl that I spent my entire life loving from afar, younger me deserves the hate, though. But when her dad told me I was ruining her life, I let my own insecurities consume me and knew I had to set her free.
Now, I’m a defenseman for the New England Bay Sharks, living my dream. At least, that’s what everyone thinks. Inside, I’m haunted by past mistakes, wishing I had a clock to turn back time and right my wrongs.
Just as I lose hope that she’s ever coming back, she shows up in Portland, bruised and battered—claiming she was in a car accident. She isn’t the same strong-willed girl with the bright eyes she was before. No, replacing that girl is a woman in pain. A woman who’s scared. And a woman who really hates my guts.
Right away, I knew there was no car accident. No…those bruises were put on her perfect body by a monster. One that was supposed to care for and love her till the end of time.
Worried for her safety, I craft a plan to keep her safe. One that includes her living in my house while pretending to be my girlfriend. After what I did to her all those years ago, I’ll do anything to earn her forgiveness.
I may have promised her that it’s all for show and that I have no motive for wanting to keep her so close, but the truth is…I never stopped wanting her, and that’s not about to change now.
Why you will love this book: 🩷RomCom 💍Woke up Married 🩷Marriage of Convenience 💍Forced Proximity 🩷‘My Wife’ 💍Jilted Groom 🩷Plus Sized Pastry Chef Heroine 💍Cinnamon Roll IG Influencer Hero 🩷On the road 💍Opposites Attract
Faking forever never tasted so sweet.
When Calla Nikolakis gets the cake commission of her dreams, she’s in love… with how much exposure she’ll get from doing ultra-hot lifestyle guru Jay Rustin’s wedding.
Smash cut to twelve hours later. She wakes up buck naked next to Jay, wearing a ring on her finger and sporting a Jay bird brand-new tattoo. In case anyone’s counting, that’s two bad decisions for the price of one.
The next thing she knows, a viral post of her and Jay saying “I do” spreads like wildfire. Everybody and their mama has seen her become Mrs. Jay Rustin.
Normally, Calla is known for being calm in any situation. But one look into her now-husband’s panty-meltingly blue eyes, and she’s anything but cool and collected. Before she can freak the geek out, Jay makes her a new proposal.
Stay married for three months. Go on a crazy hillbilly honeymoon to appease his sponsors. Convince everyone they’re the real deal.
In exchange, Jay promises to boost her business to guarantee that her bakery stays afloat. She can hardly say no. Besides, with the opportunity to spend weeks sleeping in Jay’s bed… why would she want to decline?
There’s just one thing she promises herself: absolutely no falling in love. No looking at his sculpted muscles as they hike. No peeking beneath the covers just out of curiosity. And absolutely no swooning when he feeds her buttercream with his fingers.
It’s all for show to convince the world they’re a dream couple. It should be no problem… just as long as he doesn’t accidentally love her back.
“That’s probably the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.”
I whip around to see Mia standing exactly where Jensen was. “How did you get in here?”
She taps her finger against the side of her head as I make my way over to her, pulling off my gloves and setting my stick against the side. “I have my ways.”
When I wrap my arms around her ass and lift her up, she loops her legs around my waist and I skate us to center ice, spinning us around slowly as she hovers above me, her arms thrown over my shoulders and her bag in one hand.
“Breaking and entering now. This good-girl mask of yours is slipping further, Sweetheart.”
“Jensen gave me the code,” she admits with a giggle, the sound giving me life. “I knew you’d still be practicing late, so I came to pick you up. I also knew you wouldn’t be checking your phone, and the last message from Kate read something like, If anyone is late, I cannot be held responsible for my actions.”
Gliding back to the edge of the rink, I step off the ice and carry her down the hallway to the locker room. “Better get going then.”
The second I push through the door to what I know is an empty room, Mia pinches her nose. “Ugh, Destroyers or the Scorpions—both locker rooms are equally gross.”
I set her down on her feet and take a seat on the bench, undoing the laces on my skates. “I don’t remember you complaining about the smell the last time you were alone with me after practice. In fact”—I sit up straight and pull my bottom lip between my teeth, taking in how gorgeous she looks in a gold skirt and purple top—“I don’t remember you saying all that much at all.”
She props her hands on her hips, fighting a smile. “Is that right?”
“Come here,” I say, flipping my hands toward me.
When Mia steps up to me and sets her bag down on the bench next to us, I reach forward and pull her down onto my lap, and she sits across me, her arms around my neck.
“I think this was one of my favorite moments we shared,” she whispers, resting her head against my shoulder.
I nod, remembering Mia sneaking into the locker room after practice in her hot-as-fuck black suit. I’d stayed late that night as well, not because I wanted to practice my shots, but in the hopes that she’d come and find me.
Tipping her chin up with my finger, I bring her in for a kiss. “Remember the photo we took right after we finished making out for, like, ten minutes straight?”
She chuckles and bites down on her bottom lip. “The selfie?”
I roll my eyes. “The one where I had to get the angle just right.”
Reaching behind her, she pulls out her phone from her purse and unlocks it, bringing up a saved gallery. When she finds the photo of us both, she holds it up in front of us at the exact same angle we took it. “Ugh, I look so much better there.”
I can’t help the emotion as it floods my senses, and I drop my head down, taking a second to center myself.
When I pick my head back up, I look at my girlfriend, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. “Trust me, there is nothing more beautiful than you in this moment. Will you take another for me?”
Her eyes scan mine as she hovers the phone above us. “Yeah, sure.”
The click of the photo echoes around the silent locker room as she brings the phone toward her and inspects the photo. “It’s like a then-and-now kind of thing.”
“Can you send me both shots?”
She looks up, her brows slightly knitted. “You don’t have the original?”
I swallow down the lump in my throat. I told Mia I’d answer every question she had. “When it all ended, you and me, I was told a trade was the only option. I let everything go.” The moment my thumb hovered over the Delete button replays in my head. “I was convinced that I’d never see you again and thought I didn’t deserve to either. So, I deleted every memory, thinking it would somehow erase the pain.” Bringing my hand to the nape of her neck, I pull her as close as I possibly can. “Turns out, love isn’t pixelated, and you can’t just erase the emotions.”
When she pulls her leg around to straddle me, I swear I can feel her heat through my pants.
“Everyone you have in your life—me, your friends, your fans—you absolutely deserve, Jessie. If there’s one thing my mom taught me, it’s that some of us find our people sooner than others, and sometimes, we find them too early as well.” She presses a palm over her heart. “I know if my mom had been around to meet you, then she would’ve fought for us to be together sooner, and she definitely would’ve told my dad to hear you out. She never believed that every piece of a puzzle had to fit perfectly in place for it to make sense. I know we still don’t have all the pieces, but the picture looks pretty perfect to me. You’re perfect to me.”
Blurb:
They think my greatest gift is my ability on the ice. But they’re wrong.
I’ve been hailed as the guy who has it all when it comes to hockey. Powerful people have invested their time and money, determined to turn my potential into their reality.
The most influential of those people? Graham Jenkins—former NHL player and the General Manager of the Dallas Destroyers. The second he set eyes on me in the little leagues, he piled all his resources into my success. And when the Destroyers were awarded the first-round draft pick, he didn’t hesitate to snap me up.
He thought I was the golden boy, the star that would make his team as successful as his playing career. Only I wasn’t. Instead of unleashing my potential in front of the goal, he discovered my real talent—secrets.
And I have many that I will never share. One for every scar disguised beneath the tattoos painting my body, along with the childhood memories either buried deep inside my broken mind or drowned out by empty bottles lining my kitchen counter.
There’s only one secret I wish I didn’t have to keep. She’s also the addiction I know I’ll never kick. A detox my heart could never survive since it only beats for her. And even years after we were torn apart, my fixation hasn’t changed. Although neither have our circumstances—I’m still the broken boy, suffocated with trauma. And she’s still Mia Jenkins, the good girl, and daughter of the man who offered me everything except his blessing to date her.
But one thing about addiction? It never seeks permission.
TW include: Abusive parents, domestic violence, substance abuse, off page child loss (not involving the main characters) mental health rep namely PTSD, off page discussion of self harm.
I drove toward the old Aimsley farm with my heart in my throat. I had no idea what I’d find when I got there. When I reached the entrance, I remembered the old house that used to sit on the edge of the road. There was no home there anymore. It was like it had never been there at all; no old scraps of wood or even a roof shingle remained.
Pulling onto the drive, I followed it for what felt like miles. Maybe it was. It definitely wasn’t. But when I glanced in the rearview mirror, the main road was no longer visible, and the trees blocked any view one might have. It was privacy at its finest and fit Patrick to a T.
I continued following the road until what looked like landscaping and the outline of a house started to come into view. There were wildflowers growing everywhere. And then I saw it. The most beautiful home I’d ever laid eyes on. The wood ranged from planks to old-fashioned circular logs, with stone accents, just like Patrick had drawn up all those years ago. The garage, railings, balcony, and roof trim were all a deep, dark brown. But the windows were framed in a pretty pale yellow that I’d picked out. Just seeing it in real life had my eyes pricking with unshed tears.
I shut off the engine and wiped the tears from my eyes as Patrick suddenly appeared on the balcony, his head cocked to the side as he looked down at me with surprise. Jasper started bounding down the stairs and headed in my direction as I quickly got out of my dad’s truck to greet him.
“Hi, buddy,” I said as I patted his head, his tail wagging.
Glancing back up, I noticed that Patrick was making his way toward us as well. I took the few moments until he reached me to look around some more. I couldn’t get over what I was looking at.
“Patrick …” I could barely get his name out of my throat. I swallowed. Or at least I attempted to.
The house was so incredibly beautiful. It was everything we’d ever dreamed about, and he’d made it a reality.
“You really built it,” I choked out, my emotions getting the best of me.
“I did.”
“But you built it after I left,” I said, not sure why those particular words were the ones that had decided to come out.
“I always hoped you’d come back,” he said before closing the space between us.
His hands were on my face, and my eyes closed in response to being touched by him. Before I could even think of anything else, his lips crushed against mine, claiming me in ways he never had before. I’d always belonged to Patrick in the past, but in this version, he was taking what was his, leaving no room for doubt.
BLURB:
I’ve been in love with Addison Whitman since high school. I knew right away that she was my end game and I thought she felt the same. I never thought there’d come a time when she’d leave me behind, but that’s exactly what she did. And as much as I’ve tried to move on and be happy without her… the truth is that I can’t do either of those things. I want one woman, and one woman only, but I don’t think she’s ever coming back.
Leaving Patrick was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to chase my dreams in New York City. Not to mention the chance to reconnect and spend time with my little sister. I never expected to stay away from Sugar Mountain for so long, but it’s been almost 4 years now and I haven’t been home once.
How long is too long to stay gone?
And can love find its way back together after that much time apart?
♡ public displays of “she’s mine, and I’ll burn the world down for her”
♡ unhinged hockey friend group
♡ girl group bonding
♡ poor girl/rich boy
♡ tracks her without her knowledge
♡ only soft for her
♡ he falls first
♡ touch her/ look at/ breathe near her and literally die
♡ virgin FMC & MMC
♡ somno w/ prior consent
♡ birth control refusal/tampering
♡ mirror play
♡ s*xting
♡ co*kwarming
♡ no third act break up
♡ no other woman drama
If he can’t have her, no one can. 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.
Eagle lived for one thing…the club. But when the Disciples MC became defunct, he felt lost. Needing to hustle and make more money, he took a side-gig at a swanky event center to work security. The money was decent, but the boss…she was everything Eagle always wanted in a woman. He stayed for her and no matter how hard he tried to resist her; she had a pull over him like no other ever had. And when another man goes a little too far, he’ll do anything to keep her safe.
Lacey’s had one too many broken hearts. She decided she needed a break and wanted to focus on her work. She had her dream job, and everything started to go her way. Until her last boyfriend, who lied about being married, tries to get her fired. As her personal and business life collide, everything spirals out of control. Lacey doesn’t have much hope in men when a biker she’d hired steps in, having her back like no one else.
And what should’ve stayed a professional relationship takes them on a path they never expected, but neither one could stop. Can two broken hearts find love again?
🧡Review🧡 Lacey enjoys her job as an event planner but the wedding she is currently responsible for is complicated as the father of the bride is a man she was in a relationship for over a year until she found out he was married. When the situation comes to a breaking point it is Eagle who is there for her as they finally give in to their feelings for each other.
Eagle is a member of the Disciples MC who offers security for the events that Lacey organizes. He has been attracted to her for a while, but he has a messy past of his own. When the chemistry between them escalates they must not only deal with the turmoil in the present but in his past as well.
Eagle is so supportive of Lacey when it comes to her job, and she wants him for the man he is. Both Lacey and Eagle have been hurt in the past and find themselves facing major life changes and that includes a future with each other. Jason Clarke and Samantha Brentmoor do a wonderful job with the rough yet protective Eagle and the strong and resilient Lacey.
Destined to be together, forbidden to love, two lost souls fight evil in an everyday world that belongs to the night. A dark romantasy by a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author.
Mackenzy Fox is an author of contemporary and steamy themed romance novels. When she’s not writing she loves vegan cooking, walking her beloved pooch’s, reading books and is an expert on online shopping.
She’s slightly obsessed with drinking tea, testing bubbly Moscato, watching home decorating shows and has a black belt in origami. She strives to live a quiet and introverted life in Western Australia’s North West with her hubby, twin sister and her dogs.
New Release Rafferty (Pittsburgh Titans, Book #15)
Sawyer Bennett
Synopsis:
Rafferty Abrams has been having the time of his life since joining the Pittsburgh Titans, but a poorly thought out one-night stand is about to cause unwanted drama with potentially serious repercussions.
As a member of the Pittsburgh Titans, I’m afforded a certain level of leniency in my behavior. The perks of being a celebrity, I suppose. But a run-in with my “one-night stand turned borderline stalker” has me crossing all sorts of lines with a beautiful but unsuspecting grocery store employee. When I surprise the complete stranger with a giant kiss and quiet plea to help a guy out, she not only plays along but gets my blood racing like I’ve never experienced before. Score one for Rafferty Abrams.
Temperence Martin isn’t just the stunning girl in the international foods aisle. Tempe is also a devoted daughter taking a break from college to help her mother as she heals from a serious accident. That includes making sure her younger brother stays on track with school and keeping everything running at home. To say she’s burning the candle at both ends is an understatement, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t see the spark in her eyes after our spontaneous make out session. That’s exactly what has me coming back for more, even if I use that pesky stalker as my excuse.
As we get to know one another, I realize a fake relationship just isn’t going to work. I want something other than a ruse, something real, and lucky for me, so does Tempe. But when my mistake of a hookup starts telling lies in retaliation for my alleged betrayal, things get messy. For me and for Tempe, who has found herself embroiled in a love triangle that doesn’t even exist. I can only hope Tempe isn’t scared away by the baggage I unintentionally brought to our relationship because the truth is, I saw my happily ever after with her the first time our lips met.
Rafferty has recently joined the Titans, and everything is going well except for the one thing. He spent one night with Tansy, the cousin of the team owner, who also works for the team in marketing however he wasn’t looking to repeat the experience. When she shows up at the grocery store, he shares one kiss with Tempe, one of the clerks, hoping that she will move on.
Tempe has put her college education on hold so that she can help her family. She agrees to one kiss with Rafferty but when Tansy isn’t deterred, they pretend to be dating which will help him with Tansy and allow her to support her family. There are two complications they hadn’t counted on which include the feelings they are developing for each other or the fact that Tansy wasn’t about to give up.
The pacing of the relationship between Rafferty and Tempe was perfect as you could feel the chemistry between them, but they didn’t act on it until they got to know each other. The narrators were a perfect choice for the characters as they showed the independent and sassy personality of Tempe and the protector in Rafferty.
About the Author:
New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author Sawyer Bennett uses real life experience to create relatable stories that appeal to a wide array of readers. From contemporary romance, fantasy romance, and both women’s and general fiction, Sawyer writes something for just about everyone.
A former trial lawyer from North Carolina, when she is not bringing fiction to life, Sawyer is a chauffeur, stylist, chef, maid, and personal assistant to her very adorable daughter, as well as full-time servant to her wonderfully naughty dogs.
If you’d like to receive a notification when Sawyer releases a new book, sign up for her newsletter (sawyerbennett.com/signup).
New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author Sawyer Bennett uses real life experience to create relatable stories that appeal to a wide array of readers. From contemporary romance, fantasy romance, and both women’s and general fiction, Sawyer writes something for just about everyone.
Kari's Book Reviews and Revelations 