I was content with being a bachelor, never planned on settling down. Why would I, when every woman in my life, starting with my own mother, always walked out and never looked back.
I liked my strict Army life—all I needed after my deployment was a vacation and time with my dad.
Then it all changed…
One beautiful songwriter.
One chance meeting.
One last first kiss.
One smile.
Her smile.
That was all it took to captivate me and send my world spinning on its axis. After that, I knew I’d never be the same.
Peyton has not had the best of luck when it comes to the women in his life, so he is content with his military career, his family, and his friends. When he meets Stacey, she inspires feelings in him that he has never felt before and seeing her only leaves him wanting more.
Music is a large part of Stacey’s life and she believed she was content with her life until she met Peyton. The romance between them is heartwarming as they realize how special what they share is.
The depth of the feelings between them or the fact that they were what the other was missing in their lives was never in question.
Meet Samantha Lind:
Samantha Lind is a USA TODAY Bestselling contemporary romance author. When she’s not dreaming up new stories, she can often be found with her family, traveling, reading, watching her boys on the ice, or watching her favorite professional hockey team (Go Knights Go!), and listening to country music. She can be contacted by email or found on Facebook.
Keep up with Samantha Lind and subscribe to her newsletter: http://bit.ly/FDSLNL
To learn more about Samantha Lind & her books, visit here!
The couch was large, but so was Cole. He took up so much space that we were always sort of touching.
And I loved it. The comfort of his proximity helped push aside all the bullshit of the day.
Eventually, I leaned into him, my body sagging against his.
As I read, I soaked up his warmth and let his strength anchor me.
He knit, a peacefulness settling over my little cabin. Our little cabin—what was mine was now his, after all.
As my eyes drooped, I knew I’d be paying for staying up too late if I didn’t get to sleep.
“I need to go to bed.” I stood and stretched wide.
As I turned, ready to head down the hall, he caught my hand, garnering my attention.
Even sitting, he was almost at my eye level. Slowly, he turned my wrist. Then he angled closer and gently pressed his lips to my pulse point.
I couldn’t breathe; I couldn’t speak. That simple gesture had my entire body screaming with pent-up desire.
He looked up at me, his lips inches from my skin, his dark eyes molten.
The look sent a shiver down my spine.
People tended to underestimate Cole, write him off as unserious or a clown.
But he possessed this intensity, this focus. And the closer we got, the more I saw of it.
My skin was on fire where his rough fingers touched me, and my insides were heating up too. I swore a primal need flashed in his eyes, causing my breath to hitch as I struggled to understand the sensations pummeling me from such minimal contact.
As quickly as desire hit, panic replaced it. Why was he holding my hand and looking at me like that? This was wrong. But was it? A wrist kiss was hardly a display of desire. Though with the way he watched me, it certainly felt like it was. The feel of his lips on my skin was not something I’d ever forget. Never mind the fire in his eyes.
“Emmersyn,” I greet her, my voice coming out gruffer than I intended.
“Caleb,” she responds, her lips curving into a slight, almost challenging smile. The years might have changed us both, but the chemistry—that electric pull between us—is still very much alive.
When I agreed to marry her, I didn’t think about anything beyond what she was offering. If I’d taken a minute to really consider what I was getting myself into . . . well, things might have turned out differently. We didn’t marry for love. There wasn’t even any physical attraction—at least, that’s what I told myself. It was just convenient at the time. But convenience screwed me over in more ways than I care to count. That’s not going to happen again. Not this time.
Why did it screw me over? Because as soon as we were married, I realized the chemistry between us was explosive. We were like two volatile elements, and when combined, we didn’t just ignite—we detonated. Sometimes, the explosion was vibrant and thrilling, like when we kissed. Those kisses . . . they weren’t just sparks. They were all-consuming, the kind that left me breathless and wanting more, even when I knew better. Other times, the explosion was more like a nuclear meltdown, especially when we couldn’t see eye to eye. Our fights? They were legendary, the kind that left destruction in their wake.
Ethan, sensing the charged atmosphere, gives me a nod. “I’ll leave you two to it,” he says, but not before adding with a smirk, “The box of condoms is in the bathroom.”
With all the stunning winter-themed book covers we’ve been seeing, Authors @C. N. Noble and @Sophea Chan couldn’t resist circling back to a brilliant idea—a Winter Event!
We’re thrilled to announce that the form is READY, and we’re just putting the final touches on the website.
Submissions for our very first event officially open tomorrow, October 20th! Don’t miss your chance to be part of this unforgettable winter book fest!
Jessica Peterson has revealed the gorgeous cover for Wyatt!
Releasing: December 26, 2024
Cover Design: Najla Qamber, Qamber Designs
Roping horses leads to riding cowboys in this sexy friends-to-lovers, fake-dating, lessons-in-seduction romance by Jessica Peterson.
Wyatt Rivers is the perfect no-strings hookup—a cowboy Casanova who rocks a Stetson, looks smokin’ hot in his Wranglers, and never rests his head on the same pillow twice.
He’s exactly what I’m looking for. If only Wyatt wasn’t also my best friend…
I’m back in my hometown of Harstville, Texas, for a few months while I wait for my dream job to start thousands of miles away. While I’m here, I hope to end an epic dry spell in the bedroom, preferably with a local cowboy. If the rumors are true, they really do ride harder and stay on longer.
Wyatt and I have been best friends since second grade, and I’ve been in love with him for almost as long. But he’s as wild and untamed as a colt that can’t be broken—not to mention, totally out of my league with his good looks and heartbreaker reputation.
Then I get to thinking: since Wyatt is such an expert, why doesn’t he teach me the ropes of how to find a hookup? He begrudgingly agrees, and a little fake flirting suddenly leads to fake dating, which leads to real kissing, which leads to real…well, everything else.
And let me just say, the rumors are absolutely true.
Now, I want so badly to be Wyatt’s last rodeo. But I’m leaving town, and even if I wasn’t, I’m not sure Wyatt would ever change his playboy ways.
I know cowboys can’t be tamed. Apparently, neither can hearts…
Jessica Peterson writes romance with heat, humor, and heart. Heroes with hot accents are her specialty. When she’s not writing, she can be found bellying up to a bar in the south’s best restaurants with her husband Ben, reading books with her adorable daughter Gracie, or snuggling up with her 70-pound lap dog, Martha.
A Carolina girl at heart, she fantasizes about splitting her time between Charleston and Asheville, but currently lives in Charlotte, NC.
L.B. Dunbar loves sexy silver foxes, second chances, and small towns. If you enjoy older characters in your romance reads, including a hero with a little silver in his scruff and a heroine rediscovering her worth, then welcome to romance for those over 40. L.B. Dunbar’s signature works include women and men in their prime taking another turn at love and happily ever after. She’s a USA TODAY Bestseller as well as #1 Bestseller on Amazon in Later in Life Romance with her Lakeside Cottage and Road Trips & Romance series. L.B. lives in Chicago with her own sexy silver fox.
To get all the scoop about the self-proclaimed queen of silver fox romance, join her on Facebook at Loving L.B. or receive her monthly newsletter, Love Notes.
Let’s start here. The twelve days of Christmas are actually after the holiday.
And my dad, being the great guy he is, and the fire department’s battalion chief, signs up one of his rebellious firefighters for a retreat because of his bad behavior.
The guy is a total grouch.
But when the grumpy silver fox misses the bus for the adult redemption camp, Dad sticks him with me for twelve days.
Alone.
So, on the dozen days some mysterious true love—which I have yet to experience—should be bringing me gifts, like French hens and golden rings, I’m in charge of this firebird on our pear farm. Being the city man he is, he doesn’t have a clue how to can fruit, mend fences, or milk cows.
But he knows how to kiss . . .
Not that we should be doing such a thing. Only his silver beard is sexy, and his crooked smile kind of sweet. He has this alpha energy vibrating around his well-honed body but underneath the grumpy exterior is a man lonely for something more in his life, like me.
And instead of gifting each other random birds, leaping lords, and piping pipers, the gift we give one another is time . . . and our bodies.
But what about our hearts?
Maybe true love will strike after all.
A lot can happen in twelve days.
+ + +
In a new tradition from L.B. Dunbar comes another holiday hottie certain to heat up your holidays.
I’m known as the bad boy of baseball, and I’ve always used that to my advantage. Men want to be me. Women want to be with me. I’ve ridden that wave all the way to the top. But when my quick temper lands me in hot water with my team, I have to think fast in order to save my spot on the Daytona Fury roster. Unfortunately, the only person who can help me carry out my crazy plan is the one woman I can’t stand, but also want so badly that I can barely control myself.
MONROE
I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth. My pretentious parents controlled my every move, and when I finally realized it was more for their interests than mine, I left home and started fresh, reinventing myself into the woman I always wanted to be. But when I unexpectedly find myself needing a source of income, the only option is to move to Daytona and pretend to date a man I loathe—the same man who, after one wild night last year, ruined me for anyone else. I’m here to do a job and move on to the next chapter of my life. I just have to figure out a way to resist him so I don’t get caught in his grip for a second time.
Callie Caldwell is doing her best to juggle single motherhood, an unpredictable career, and her own cautious heart. She doesn’t have time for romance—especially with her brother’s friend, James Carmichael, the handsome firefighter who lives next door. No matter how much Callie tries to fight it, James keeps slipping through her defenses. He’s dependable and steadfast, and his easy charm, protective nature, and late-night visits make it hard for her to deny what’s between them. With every lingering glance and gentle touch, Callie finds herself falling for him in ways she never expected.
But just as she begins to imagine a future with James, hotelier Sterling Whitmore arrives in Snowfall Valley to open a luxury ski resort. When Callie lands a job working on his finance team, there’s something disarmingly familiar about the sophisticated New Yorker, and as their paths continue to cross, long-buried memories begin to surface until an unexpected revelation forces Callie to confront her past.
Now, will Callie let the ghosts of old decisions shatter her dreams of happily ever after, or will she realize the life she’s been yearning for has been right in front of her all along?
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.
The job was supposed to be easy. Get my best friend’s older brother back on his feet and put my life back together.
But when we end up sharing a bed, all those plans flew out the window.
He was a notorious underground rodeo champion. Ladies’ man and legend. It’s not until he sustains an almost career ending injury that his family learns his secret – he wasn’t just the head of Sunny Brook Farms after all.
What started as professional morphed into something more, and not only because the cowboy refused to wear a shirt around the house.
Not that I was complaining.
But he was like a tempting piece of dessert that I needed to steer clear of.
Except, the more time I spent with him, the more I learned he was more than what he seemed. He was protective and devoted, and when I had my first taste of him, I was hooked.
We knew it was wrong.
We knew it would be our secret.
Neither of us wanted to cross the line drawn in the sand. There was his sister to consider and my crushed heart.
But all of it was about to get more complicated when that pink plus sign showed up.
From New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Probst, discover Book of the Month…
She’s desperate for another bestseller… and she’ll go to any length to get it. Even if it means sacrificing her pride to chase the hottest bachelor in town and get him to break her heart…
Once the literary world’s golden girl, Aspen Lourde can’t seem to produce another successful book, and the pressure’s on to prove she’s not just a one-hit-wonder. But there’s a catch: her bestseller was a heartbreak hit, straight from her own love life disaster. Without any fresh romantic turmoil to fuel her pen, Aspen needs inspiration quick enough to create a book her agent can sell to her publisher. So she escapes for the summer to the Outer Banks with a plan to live a story worth writing.
Brick Babel is a romance novelist’s dream: a local heartthrob with a reputation as wild as the horses running free in the town. He’s everything Aspen needs for a muse kickstart—gorgeous, moody, and notoriously unattainable. His affairs are legendary in the small town, and every woman warns her off, including her sister.
Too bad a good heartbreak is exactly what she needs to meet her deadline.
But Brick refuses to play the game, rejecting all of her advances. When Aspen hears his tour company is on the verge of bankruptcy, she offers him a deal: fake a whirlwind summer romance, then ditch her, drama guaranteed.
Desperate to save his grandfather’s business, Brick agrees to the ridiculous deal. What starts as a contractual fling spirals out of control as lines blur and real feelings emerge. Brick’s falling hard, and Aspen’s rethinking her plot twist. The novel might be her ticket back to the top, but at what cost?
Because Aspen’s finally found her muse, but some stories may be too true to share.
Book of the Month isn’t just about finding love where you least expect it. It’s about finding yourself in the pages of life’s unexpected chapters.
📚Review📚 After the success of her first book Aspen is left wondering if that is where it ends as her subsequent stories have not held the same appeal. Needing to get inspired she decides to spend some time with her sister and when she meets Brick, he is exactly what she believes she needs in her hero.
With the family business in jeopardy that is where Brick needs to be focused and not on Aspen. It begins as a simple arrangement that will allow them both to get what they need however it is not long before breaking up is the last thing that either of them wants.
Brick has a reputation he has not been able to live down and that is what draws Aspen to him however the more time they spend together she realizes he is not that man. In addition to Aspen and Brick there is an eclectic group of secondary characters that make this heartwarming story even better.
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Kari's Book Reviews and Revelations 