There are three rules I live by: My boys come first, the rest of my family second, and never mix business with pleasure.
I take pride that I’ve never broken these.
Until her.
She’s a wildcard—the type of woman I never chase.
She has no straightforward plan for her life.
Her version of how to be strict with my boys is laughable.
I swear, she selects her outfits based on what tattoo she wants to peek out, just to make me wonder all day what the rest of it looks like against her flesh.
And that blush she somehow has nailed everytime I look at her, wreaks havoc everywhere it shouldn’t.
The most annoying thing about her?
She’s taken by a neanderthal who treats her like crap (based on the phone conversations I’ve secretly overheard).
Where love melts the ice and dreams come to fruition. Welcome to the Carolina Fury, where passion thaws even the most frozen hearts.
Brooklynn Greene has it all—a successful salon, a close-knit group of girlfriends, and a life she loves. But there’s one thing she can’t seem to get out of her mind–her irresistibly charming neighbor.
She can’t have him. He’s a dream. No, he’s the dream.
Her neighbor is off-limits. At least, that’s the way that she sees it, and she’s tried to keep him at arm’s length. But he needs her help. And it wouldn’t be neighborly to deny him.
Even if it means playing his fake girlfriend.
Forrest Westwood doesn’t worry. He lives his life the way that he wants, knowing that money is no object. The day he turns twenty-five, his trust fund is his. Life is going to be a comfortable one once his checks start coming in.
He plays by his own rules. She’s everywhere. Across the street, in the stands, and his dreams.
Life has a way of becoming complicated. The confident and independent woman is right in front of him. But can a fake relationship between them stay that way, or will the lines between pretend and reality blur as they play the most dangerous game of all—falling in love?
That is until I woke up in Vegas married to a former hockey player who also happens to be my best friend’s ex.
Cole Hebert and I are opposites. I’m the new town doctor, a rule follower, and five-five on a good day. He’s the six-seven bad boy currently doing court-ordered community service.
I’m struggling to earn the respect of the people in our hometown, and he’s doing some soul searching after an injury ended his hockey career. We’ve already drunkenly said I do, so we agree to a marriage of convenience.
Forced to live together, we slowly become friends. I see a side of Cole I never knew existed. He coaches kids’ hockey, knits for the entire town, and loves snuggling while watching Jeopardy.
Soon, we’re growing closer, and the way the hockey-playing lumberjack worships my plus-size body and obsessively calls me his wifey has me embracing my inner bad girl and tearing down all my carefully constructed walls.
Our feelings eventually burn as bright as our passion, but the small town we both love is harboring dark secrets. After a shocking discovery, we learn there are those who want us silenced forever, and we’re forced to risk it all to protect our happily ever after.
Author’s Note: If you enjoy opposites attract, flirty banter, possessive heroes, wood-chopping, meddling moose, and small-town hijinks, you will not be disappointed.
Welcome to Lovewell, Maine, where the moose outnumber the people and you can’t swing an axe without hitting a hot, grumpy lumberjack. The books of the Maine Lumberjacks Series are ALL standalones but are most fun when read in order!
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.
A bad play shouldn’t cause a media meltdown but I’m Kyle Bosco and I’m a competitive jerk. So of course I couldn’t just shut up.
Now I must atone for my comments. Somehow that includes working at a daycare with seven year old Piper who thinks I’m her best friend. But Piper is not the one who has me tied up in knots. That job is reserved for Harper Wallace- her mother.
Harper is fierce, combative, and an irresistibly gorgeous single mom.
If hating me were a sport, she’d be MVP. For reasons I can’t tell you, she’s completely off limits so I obviously should stay away.
But hear me out?
I’m a competitive jerk. I’m not the guy that rides the bench. I’d rather go down swinging and foul out than not play at all.
A small-town single mom like me has no business believing in fairy tales.
But the very handsome, charming, dirty-talking prince (yes, seriously) I met nineteen months ago now has his fine ass and panty-melting grin planted on my front porch.
He’s been searching for me ever since I snuck out after our hot, fantasy-filled weekend together.
And, dammit, that’s a little romantic.
Now that he’s found me, he wants to pick up where we left off.
Because he thinks he’s in love with me.
Oh, and because he needs to get out of the marriage his grandfather, the king, has arranged for him.
Right. Even if I hadn’t lied to him about everything but my first name, the carefree, adventurous woman he burned up the sheets with for three days doesn’t exist.
I’m actually a stressed-out mechanic back in my small hometown, raising a sassy fifteen-year-old daughter, and trying to make amends for my mean girl past.
I just don’t think my grease-streaked work boots scream princess material.
Of course, he won’t take no for an answer.
Shocking, I know.
Instead, he proposes a deal: I give him nineteen days to get to know the real me.
Then he’ll either get over me, go home, and marry someone else.
Or I’ll walk down that aisle.
Rags to Royals is a modern royal romance with a feisty single mom, a golden retriever prince who falls first and hard, and lots of delicious dirty talk and spice on the page. It is the third book in the Royals Gone Rogue series, but can be read as a stand-alone.
Cian has not been able to forget the one night he spent with Scarlett however in the months since he hasn’t been able to find her. When he is finally able to locate her the one thing he does know is that he isn’t about to let her walk out of his life for a second time and he has less than three weeks to convince her.
The woman that Scarlett showed to Cian is not the woman she truly is, and she doesn’t believe that she will fit into life. She stopped believing in fairy tales and happy ever a long time ago however might just make a believer of both her and her daughter.
The romance between them was endearing, the banter between them was humorous and the connection between them undeniable as Cian shows Scarlett she is perfect in every way and helps her realizes it as well.
Erin Nicolle is the new pen name for NYT and USA Today Bestselling romance author Erin Nicholas. While Erin Nicholas is known for her blue-collar book boyfriends and big, boisterous found families in small towns, Erin Nicolle writes rich and royal rogues. But they both love a dirty talking cinnamon roll, a grump who is reluctantly wrapped around a feisty finger, and a gruff, protective guy who falls first and hard.
“Just pick a damn side already, Thomas. Either you want me or you don’t. I can’t keep trying to figure it out.” She threw her words at me like darts, each one hitting its mark.
“That damn mouth.” I took a single menacing step toward her, my chest heaving with our exchange. Our faces were inches apart. I could taste her breath—she was so close. “It drives me crazy,” I said as she looked up at me with those big green eyes.
“Do something about it then. Shut it up. Stick something in it. Jesus, Thomas, put me out of my misery already,” she begged.
Instead of verbally battling any further, I decided to give in.
It was time. But there was still one more hurdle I needed to clear before I crossed this line once and for all and never took it back.
“I can’t do halfway with you, Brooklyn. Not when I have a daughter who adores you. Not when I feel the same way too. And if this is just physical for you, like you need to f*ck me once and get it out of your system, that’s not enough for me, and I won’t do it.”
“Just …” She paused before my words sank in. “Physical for me?” she repeated. “You think I don’t want more than just a wham, bam, thank you, ma’am?”
“Well, do you?” I asked, needing her to give me the right answer. I felt like my heart might fall right out of my chest if she gave me the wrong one. Vulnerability sucked, but I was already in too deep to get out.
“Are you saying you don’t want to have s$x with me?” She was teasing me. And avoiding the one question I was desperate for her to answer.
“I want you, Brooklyn; don’t get me wrong. I want to f*ck you in every way possible, and I plan to, but it’s more than that. So much more. And I need to know it’s more for you too.”
“It is,” she said, but it came out in a whisper, which made me feel like she was unsure.
“Are you sure? You don’t sound sure.” I pushed her harder.
“I’m sure. I want more than just s$x with you, Thomas. And I’m not going to feel bad about it anymore because I’m not doing anything wrong by wanting to be with you and Clara,” she said, and I knew half of those words were for her benefit and not mine.
My poor, sweet, tortured girl.
“No going back after this,” I said as I took her face in my hands and punished her mouth with my own.
BLURB:
Thomas O’Grady is the unofficial King of Sugar Mountain. He’s always been untouchable; the kind of man you admire from afar, but don’t get to be close to. So imagine my surprise when I get offered a job working underneath him at his resort. It’s a dream come true… until it isn’t. He’s grumpy, opinionated and judgemental. I want to tell him exactly where he can shove it, but then I meet his daughter…
Nothing matters more to me than my little girl. My world stops and starts with her. Running my family’s resort is a job. Being Clara’s dad is a gift. I wasn’t looking for a relationship, but when Brooklyn walked into my office with her firey red hair and matching personality, all bets were off. I’ve tried to keep it professional, but that woman pushes every single button I’ve got. And hell, I sort of love her for it.
“I’m not Bryce’s girl,” she says, a point she’s made clear many times.
Still, I can’t help but hate that guy for having had something with her. And having cheated on her. And spreading stories about how clingy she is, and making her sound like a crazy ex to every other girl he bragged to. He used her as clout, used the fact he dated a famous man’s daughter
as a way to up his own cachet.
“I know,” I say in a hushed tone. My eyes zero in on her mouth. I feel her breath against my chin.
“I’m nobody’s girl. I belong to me.” Her eyes are open, and I lean back a tick to meet her gaze and prove to her that I hear her.
“Okay,” I say.
Her attention once again dips to my mouth, and her tongue peeks out between her lips. While her left hand twists my shirt into a tighter hold, her right one nudges my chin toward hers, and I bend down just enough for her sweet, perfect mouth to touch my bottom lip. It takes every ounce of self-restraint in my body not to say fuck it and kiss her the way I want to. But I’d only bust open my stitch and probably bleed all over both of us. So I’ll have to settle for slow.
I indulge in her being in charge of this. She takes my bottom lip between hers and sucks in lightly, her tongue passing along my skin as she holds my mouth to hers. I forgo breathing. In fact, I don’t fill my lungs once after her feet flatten back on the pavement. I definitely don’t draw in air when she unfurls my shirt from her grip. It’s not until her hand falls from my chin and I let go of her face and look into her almond-shaped brown eyes that I remember air exists at all.
“I’ve decided,” she says, climbing into the driver’s side. I ease the door closed.
“Oh, yeah? What’s that?” My eyes don’t know where to focus. What mental pictures to snap most. Her mouth. Her face. The stray blonde hairs blowing across the bridge of her nose. Back to her mouth.
“I like you, Wyatt Stone. Quite a lot, I think.”
The full grin sneaks up on me, and I wince when it stretches my stitch.
I touch the spot with my fingertips and Peyton giggles, then promptly
rolls up her window and drives away.
Blurb:
Football has been my life. Not that I ever had a choice in the matter. When your dad is a retired, future Hall-of-Fame quarterback, the gridiron tends to weave its way into your DNA.
I always loved the game, but I could do without the spotlight that comes with being Peyton Johnson, the great Reed Johnson’s daughter. To make matters worse, when my dad retired from the NFL, he decided his second calling was to take over the head coaching gig at my high school, where he has coached my boyfriend for the last three years.
Correction—my ex-boyfriend.
While the fairytale high-school sweetheart story may have worked for my parents, I have other plans. And following a self-absorbed athlete to college is not part of them, no matter how hard my dad tries to push me and my ex together.
Thankfully, a new high school opens and draws a line through the center of our town, sending half of my dad’s players to a new team. And apparently, their new quarterback is breaking all of my dad’s old state records. It’s the ultimate distraction, giving me the chance to land myself a spot on the cheer team at any college that isn’t close to home.
But then I meet him. Wyatt Stone. The guy my dad considers our enemy. The best quarterback I’ve ever seen. A complete jerk who I can’t quit thinking about. And running into. And rooting for.
Now, I’m the one who is distracted. And repeating my parents’ love story doesn’t sound so bad after all.
Fresh off his championship win, Will de Jong leaves the high-octane life of Monaco behind to spend the holidays in his hometown, Queenstown, New Zealand. As steadfast as the Remarkable mountain range, Queenstown holds the past: his parents still toil at a mountain lodge that isn’t their own, refusing his offers of help.
Returning from the UK, his childhood friend Kat Featherstone is an aspiring fashion designer with dreams as vivid as her creations. Sparks ignite when they reunite, rekindling emotions Will buried five years ago. But along with the chemistry come conflicts. Can Kat break free from her family’s windmill business to pursue her passion?
Two families at odds collide in this enchanting friends-to-lovers romance set against the festive backdrop of a New Zealand Christmas. Will their love navigate the inevitable speed bumps, or are they truly on a fast track to forever?
𝖳𝖧𝖤 𝖲𝖮𝖴𝖭𝖣 𝖮𝖥 𝖲𝖤𝖢𝖱𝖤𝖳𝖲 (The Monsters Duet book 2) by NYT and USA Today bestselling author Jay Crowover releases on October 23rd on all retailers! We are thrilled to share the first teaser with you!
It began with a contract, with Channing Harvey being forced into marriage by the world’s grumpiest billionaire. She hated every moment of her marriage to Win Halliday… until she didn’t. It was hard to resist when he proved he valued her more than his massive fortune. Channing is having a hard time picturing her life without him, and if Win finds that out, he won’t rest until he has all of her. Deep, dark secrets included.
Some secrets scream.
Win Halliday is so close to having everything he’s ever secretly wanted. He’s ready to do battle with Channing’s demons, no matter what they are. Or who they might be. Someone from Channing’s past wants to use her, and they’ll go to desperate lengths to get what they want, including targeting an innocent teenager. But whatever lengths they go, Win will go farther. He finally has the family he’s dreamed of, and he’s going to protect them at all costs.
***NOTE: This is book two, and a continuation of The Monsters Duet. It is strongly recommended that you read The Silence of Monsters first.
**TW: Mental health and mental heath disorders, suicide, domestic violence and loss of a child.
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.
As a single father, I often feel like the weight of the world sits on my shoulders. When my daughter’s nanny gives me her two weeks’ notice, I’m sweating bullets. Fear that my NHL season with the New England Bay Sharks could be derailed consumes me.
Finding a replacement seems impossible when, suddenly, Maci McKenzie—a struggling author who’s running from some deep, dark secret in her past—steps into the picture. She needs a change of scenery to help her write, and I just need someone who isn’t a complete weirdo to watch my kid when I’m not around.
As we grow closer, I learn she’s struggling to write the so-called “spicy” scenes. And, well, me being the nice fella I am, I offer my assistance and show her how a real man should treat a woman in between the sheets. It’s the perfect deal really. I get off, and she gets the inspiration she needs to write a book.
And not just any book … a hockey romance book.
But like all deals, it’s not black-and-white. Soon, I find myself falling in love with the woman. But the closer I get to her … the further she pulls away. Then, I finally find out what’s haunting her from her past.
Whoever says the truth will set you free has never heard a secret like this one.
Football has been my life. Not that I ever had a choice in the matter. When your dad is a retired, future Hall-of-Fame quarterback, the gridiron tends to weave its way into your DNA.
I always loved the game, but I could do without the spotlight that comes with being Peyton Johnson, the great Reed Johnson’s daughter. To make matters worse, when my dad retired from the NFL, he decided his second calling was to take over the head coaching gig at my high school, where he has coached my boyfriend for the last three years.
Correction—my ex-boyfriend.
While the fairytale high-school sweetheart story may have worked for my parents, I have other plans. And following a self-absorbed athlete to college is not part of them, no matter how hard my dad tries to push me and my ex together.
Thankfully, a new high school opens and draws a line through the center of our town, sending half of my dad’s players to a new team. And apparently, their new quarterback is breaking all of my dad’s old state records. It’s the ultimate distraction, giving me the chance to land myself a spot on the cheer team at any college that isn’t close to home.
But then I meet him. Wyatt Stone. The guy my dad considers our enemy. The best quarterback I’ve ever seen. A complete jerk who I can’t quit thinking about. And running into. And rooting for.
Now, I’m the one who is distracted. And repeating my parents’ love story doesn’t sound so bad after all.
Thomas O’Grady is the unofficial King of Sugar Mountain. He’s always been untouchable; the kind of man you admire from afar, but don’t get to be close to. So imagine my surprise when I get offered a job working underneath him at his resort. It’s a dream come true… until it isn’t. He’s grumpy, opinionated and judgemental. I want to tell him exactly where he can shove it, but then I meet his daughter…
Nothing matters more to me than my little girl. My world stops and starts with her. Running my family’s resort is a job. Being Clara’s dad is a gift. I wasn’t looking for a relationship, but when Brooklyn walked into my office with her firey red hair and matching personality, all bets were off. I’ve tried to keep it professional, but that woman pushes every single button I’ve got. And hell, I sort of love her for it.
From the author of Before I’m Gone comes an intensely affecting romance about love, loss, and second chances, sure to elicit a good ugly cry.
Grayson Caballero sees the glass half-empty. Born with a life-threatening heart defect, he’s been living on borrowed time. The uncertainty of tomorrow makes him push people away, helping Grayson to avoid any real commitment.
Then he meets Reid Sullivan and falls madly in love. The two work together at the Wold Collective, Grayson as a project manager and Reid in HR. They even live in the same apartment complex. But Grayson continues to keep his distance, despite their obvious attraction. And Reid’s not interested in waiting around.
When Grayson collapses at a basketball game, Reid learns he’s been keeping secrets from her. Now his life hangs in the balance…and a stranger from Boston holds the key to his survival.
Nadia Karlsson makes a life-changing decision after her husband, Rafe, is involved in a tragic accident near Harvard Square. Her choice will unwittingly alter the course of Grayson’s future—and tie his fate unexpectedly to her own.
Grayson loves Reid and it is because of that love that he does not pursue anything more than friendship and the reason that he is keeping a secret from her that could change everything. When that decision is taken from his hands, he must not only deal with the emotional aftermath his actions would have on him but on her as well.
Nadia is happily married to Rafe and loves the family they have created but sometimes gets distracted by the little things rather than what is important. His sudden death changes her whole world and the way she looks at thing as she is faced with a decision that even though it is selfless is one, she should not have had to make at this time in her life.
This is heartbreaking story about love, loss, and healing as two couples are entwined through tragedy find hope for the future even if it is not as they expected. The emotions are heartfelt and will give you a greater appreciation for how special the people in your life truly are.
“Are you going to win?” She placed her hands on his cheek and scratched her nails against his scruff.
“No,” he told her, despite wanting to. He figured if he won, she’d be over-the-moon happy for him. And if he didn’t, she’d still be proud, and he wouldn’t have let her down. “There are way better runners than me.”
“Next year,” she said. “You can practice more better.”
Rafe didn’t bother correcting her, even though he knew he should. He pulled his youngest closer and held her to his chest, kissed her forehead, and then moved her to his hip. He’d carry her as long as she’d let him.
Rafe couldn’t have scripted his morning any better.
Excerpt From Heartbreak Hill (Uncorrected Proof) by Heidi McLaughlin This material may be protected by copyright.
Heidi McLaughlin is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling author of The Beaumont Series, The Boys of Summer, and The Archers. Originally, from the Pacific Northwest, she now lives in picturesque Vermont, with her husband, two daughters, and their three dogs. In 2012, Heidi turned her passion for reading into a full-fledged literary career, writing over twenty novels, including the acclaimed Forever My Girl. Heidi’s first novel, Forever My Girl, has been adapted into a motion picture with LD Entertainment and Roadside Attractions, starring Alex Roe and Jessica Rothe, and opened in theaters on January 19, 2018, and is now available on DVD & Digital. To stay connected with Heidi visit http://www.facebook.com/authorheidimclaughlin or heidimclaughlin.com
The cameras are rolling, and the Iron Fiends can’t hide anymore.
**Official blurb coming soon**
Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author Winter Travers is a devoted wife, mother, and aunt turned author who was born and raised in Wisconsin. After a brief stint in South Carolina following her heart to chase the man who is now her hubby, they retreated back up North to the changing seasons, and to the place they now call home. Winter spends her days writing happily ever afters, and her nights being a karate mom hauling her son to practices and tournaments.. She also has an addiction to anything MC related, puppies, and baking.
She only wants to save her world, but in doing so, she may lose it all….
Hi. I’m Ash, the most fearless and ambitious fae you’ll meet. Well, only sometimes.
Today, I decided to kill a dragon. No one’s ever done that before, but I figured it would be a way to get in with the high queen. I want to be a crown guardian, you see. There’s a war going on between the Seelie and Unseelie fae, and if it continues, I’m pretty sure the world is going to end.
But let’s not get into that. Today, I killed a dragon. That’s all you need to know about me.
**Crowned by the Fae is the standalone prequel novella to the Fae-blessed series, which starts with Blessed by the Fae. Although there is humor throughout, it does not have a happily ever after. The main series does, however. **
For more information on Jada McCrary and her books:
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Kari's Book Reviews and Revelations 