I never pictured a life without Kip. It was supposed to be me and him until the end, but the universe always has a way of screwing things up.
Moving on after losing him wasn’t something I thought I was capable of, but when Penn Brookes comes into the picture, I realize I’m not so alone.
Suffering the same kind of loss as me and trying to be the best dad he can, I start to gravitate toward him.
We’re one in the same, building our lives around broken pieces, and suddenly, something I never thought possible happens.
That spark I’ve only felt once before returns and ignites something deep inside me.
Can we overcome our grief and build something great, or will the circumstances of the past burn down the future we want?
💜Review💜
Penn thought he had his future all planned out until a devastating loss has him trying to pick up the pieces and be the father that his son Fletcher needs him to be. He isn’t ready to let someone else into his life and his heart but fate had other ideas.
Tatum has endured a devastating loss of her own and she is dealing with the guilt and regret on a daily basis. Penn and Fletcher are the first people to make her feel but will it be enough for her to overcome the past?
This is an emotional story about two people who are struggling with the circumstances that have changed their lives. They understand each other in a way that few people do and might just be able to help each other heal from the past.
About DL Gallie:
DL Gallie is from Queensland, Australia, but she’s lived in many different places all over the world. She currently resides in Gladstone with her husband and two kids. She and her husband have been together since she was sixteen, and although they drive each other crazy at times, she couldn’t imagine her life without him.
Shortly after her son was born, DL began reading again. With encouragement from her husband, she picked up the pen and started writing, and now the voices in her head won’t shut up.
DL enjoys listening to music, drinking white wine in the summer, red wine in the winter, and beer all year round. She’s also never been known to turn down a cocktail, especially a margarita.
I’m determined to enjoy myself during what was supposed to be my honeymoon, crashing alone at my brother’s best friend’s houseboat. But I’m not alone–he’s here, and he’s tan, toned, and tempting as hell. Readers who enjoy the Man of the Month Club collection will devour Flirt Like a Fool by Ellen Brooks, a steamy, small town, brother’s best friend, beach romance.
I don’t need a change of pace; I need a change of life, but for now I’ll settle for a week of surf, sand, and fun in the sun, along with my new mantra—flirt like a fool.
I’m determined to enjoy myself during what was supposed to be my honeymoon even though, thanks to a cheating ex-fiancé, I won’t be a newlywed lounging at a five-star resort in the Caribbean, but rather crashing solo at my brother’s best friend’s houseboat in the Florida Keys while he’s away.
It might be a Christmas themed small town, but it’s still the beach, right? As long as there’s a fruity frozen cocktail with my name on it, I’ll be fine, really.
Until I arrive and discover my brother’s best friend isn’t away after all. He’s right here and is toned, tan, and tempting as hell. But, he’s off limits… even if his houseboat only has one bed.
With one towel wrapped turban-style around my wet hair and another around my body, I emerge from the bathroom, belting out the chorus and dart to grab my clothes from the dryer down the hall, not expecting to slam directly into AJ’s broad frame.
Startled, I slip, and my wet feet slide out from underneath me. I flail one arm out and try to grab the doorjamb but go down, landing unceremoniously on my ass with a loud, “Oomph.”
My other hand keeps a deathlike grip on the towel, which fortunately, has prevented it from falling off completely. As it is, the slit gapes wide, and my entire thigh and half of my ass are on display. I squeeze my legs closed and hope he’s tall enough that, from his angle, my position doesn’t reveal any more than that.
AJ springs forward and reaches down to help me to my feet. With one warm hand on each of my shoulders, he holds me steady. His eyes, wide with concern, meet mine. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” I insist, aware of how my breathless answer sounds completely unconvincing, and add a firm nod.
Our bodies are mere inches apart. Close enough the towel brushes him. I secure it tighter around my naked body. The fall jarred the one wrapped around my head, and it’s about to slide off, so I reach up and pull it down, shaking out my hair. The wet strands fall past my shoulders. I don’t even want to think about how I look right now, not that my thoughts are anywhere close to coherent at the moment. Not with this sexy man so close his body warmth is raising my temperature—fast.
Then I register his appearance. If someone told me an athletic apparel company was doing a photoshoot on Candy Cane Key and AJ was the model, I wouldn’t doubt it. His face is flushed, eyes bright with energy, and the light stubble across his cheeks and jaw beg for my touch.
A sheen of perspiration glows on his skin, and sweat darkens his light blue shirt. He opens his mouth as if he is going to speak but then snaps it closed without uttering a word. He shakes his head. Not a vigorous movement. In fact, it’s barely noticeable. Likely, I would have missed it if he wasn’t so close. And staring directly at me.
My tongue darts out to wet my lips, and his gaze falls to my mouth. His eyes narrow, and it might be my imagination, but he leans in, and I tilt my head up.
He’s going to kiss me. I feel it in my bones. But the boat rocks on a wave and interrupts the moment. As if coming to his senses, he releases my shoulders and steps back. Cool air rushed to fill the gap, and I shiver.
After Olivia’s personal life imploded she needs to get away so her brother suggests that she stay on his friend’s houseboat in Candy Cane while he is out of town.
AJ knew that Olivia would be staying on his houseboat while he was away however a mix-up has them staying in close proximity. After the sparks fly he now needs to convince her to stay.
Fun and flirty I enjoyed the seeing Olivia and AJ find their way to each other. This is my first story by this author, but I would definitely read her other stories.
About Ellen Brooks
Ellen Brooks believes in love at first sight, eating cake for breakfast, and staying up way too late. She’s a classically trained pastry chef who now spends her days whipping up sexy and satisfying modern day love stories. When she’s not dreaming up her next characters, or plotting a happily ever after, you’ll find her absorbed in a book, relaxing into shavasana, or downing a caffè americano. Oh, and belting out the lyrics to Hamilton. Ellen lives in the desert southwest where she still *occasionally bakes a batch of cookies for her real-life hero and two girls. *code for not often enough, if you ask them
Tropes: Cinnamon Roll Hero; Reverse Grumpy/Sunshine; Small Town
Release Date: March 30, 2023
“These two had me basking in all the feels as they tugged at my heartstrings and tickled my funny bone. It is impossible not to laugh out loud as you read this book, but your heart is also going to wickedly ache for Andi.” -Gladys, Goodreads
“I know all good things must come to an end but I am not ready to say goodbye to this series! …the perfect epilogue that left me in tears.” Booked On Lattes
“…another hilarious and sweet rom-com from Marika Ray.” Jenn, Goodreads
I’m unemployed and down to my last dollar—thank you stranger who bought my coffee when my card was declined this morning. If that wasn’t bad enough, I just T-boned the truck belonging to the guy I was meeting on a first date.
Ethan Hellman, small town sweetheart with a secret, and an instant—unbelievable—love for me despite me denting his truck.
It’s not that I don’t believe in love per se. It’s just that I’ve done the calculations—it won’t happen to me. And especially not now when I’m bouncing off rock bottom with the bruises to prove it.
But Ethan doesn’t seem to care about all that. He offers me a job, a place to live…and a rock on my finger. I just have to turn my back on my career, pretend to be giddy in love, and be the face of his new company. His constant sunshine makes me grumpy. It’s also kind of addicting. So I agree to his terms and find myself living a life I don’t even recognize.
Things are going surprisingly well when someone from my past reappears offering a similar lifeline. I’ll have to make some tough decisions that just don’t compute in my logical brain.
Ethan may have fallen first, but I’m afraid I’ve fallen harder.
I’d done more crazy things in the last forty-eight hours than I’d done in my lifetime. And apparently, I wasn’t going to stop anytime soon. Marching across the room, I flung open the door and didn’t even wince when it slammed against the wall with a bang.
“Ethan?” I called, heading toward the living room.
“In the kitchen,” he called back.
I hightailed it in that direction, not giving my brain a chance to talk me out of this. I, Andrea Higgs, was going to grab life by the horns—err, Ethan by the ears—and kiss the hell out of him. I wasn’t sure how and I wasn’t sure if it would even be any good, but I was going to do it.
He was standing by the refrigerator, door open as he pondered the contents. His head came up as I approached and his lips started to curve up in a smile I wanted to taste. I walked right up to him, stepped on his foot, and lifted up onto my toes to mash my lips to his with all the finesse of a toddler. His eyes popped wide open. I knew this because my eyes were wide open too.
I couldn’t even explain what happened next. I was a first-party witness to the whole thing, but it didn’t make any sense. Usually this was when the snoozers would make a boob grab like that was enough to make me wild for them.
This was not the move Ethan made. He changed from the mild-mannered man I’d agreed to work for and fake marry to the kind that growls like an animal. I knew it was him because I felt the vibration of his chest as the growl was let loose. His arms came around my waist and my eyes slammed shut. My legs climbed him like a koala in a love tree, a move he must have anticipated because he grabbed my hips with both hands and spun us until my back knocked against the refrigerator.
Someone whimpered but it couldn’t have been me because Ethan’s tongue was familiarizing itself with mine. The room began to spin and the fever was back. Ethan’s lips were not like that of a fish, I was happy to find out.
Ethan’s rough palm swept across my jawline and into my hair, tilting my head to the side so he could devour me like a TSwift album the night it was released. My thighs quivered with need and Ethan pulled back just enough to whisper against my lips.
“I’ve been wanting to do this since the second I saw you.”
Review
When Ethan meets Andi he was enchanted by her and wasn’t about to deterred even when they got into a fender bender before their first date. He knows that she is everything he wants and more and is patient and understanding until she realizes it as well.
Andi is going through a difficult time in her life both personally and professionally so she doesn’t see herself the way that Ethan does. What she views as weaknesses only makes Ethan adore her more as he shows her she is perfect just the way she is.
This story had the perfect mix of humor and romance. The characters are captivating, the storyline entertaining and it was great to catch up with the other Hellman’s as well.
Marika Ray is a USA Today bestselling author of steamy and sweet RomComs, spending her time behind a computer crafting stories, walking any beach she can find, and making healthy food for her kids and husband whether they like it or not. Prior to writing novels, Marika held various jobs in the finance industry, with private start-up companies, and then in health & fitness. Cats may have nine lives, but Marika believes everyone should have nine careers to keep things spicy. All her books come with a money-back guarantee that you’ll smile at least once with every book.
💙Review💙
The story of Francesca and Xavier continues, and it doesn’t disappoint. They spent one night together, five years apart and now they find themselves reunited as they try to balance their relationship, their responsibilities and their daughter.
Family obligations force Xavier to return to England however he isn’t about to go alone. The adjustment he is facing is difficult but what Francesca is facing is even more difficult. Before Xavier returned she had control of her life and now she feels powerless as she feels disdain, disapproval and unsupported.
The chemistry and emotion between this couple is indisputable however they are facing so many obstacles, both from the outside and each other, that will test their relationship and will leave us wondering if they can find overcome everything trying to tear them apart.
Meet Nicole French
Nicole French is a USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance. She’s also a hopeless romantic, Springsteen fanatic, and total bookworm. When not writing, she is hanging out with her family, playing soccer with the rest of the thirty-plus crowd in Seattle, or going on dates with her husband. In her spare time, she likes to go running or practice the piano, but never seems to do either one of these things as much as she should.
Keep up with Nicole French and receive your FREE copy of one of her books when you subscribe to her newsletter: bit.ly/NicoleFrenchNewsletter
To learn more about Nicole French & her books, visit here!
Title: Declan: A Reverse Age Gap, Single Parent Romance Author: Laramie Briscoe Genre:New Adult, Contemporary Romance, Single parent and Reverse age-gap Release Date: March 24, 2023 Normal Cover Photographer: Wander Aguiar Model: Brooke Alternate/Discreet Cover Cover: Tall Story Designs/Ben Ellis Hosted by:Buoni Amici Press, LLC.
My sister’s best friend has always taken my breath away…
Declan Tennyson At twenty-two most guys my age are living it up. Swiping left and right, trying to find what’s good for the night, instead of what’s good for life. Me? I have one of the best examples to follow. Trick and Hadley Tennyson are still in love twenty-plus-years on, and dad is looking to slow down. Which means I have a decision to make. Take the shop, or make my own way. I thought I had it all worked out, until a single-mom with brunette hair, blue eyes, and the cutest son ever needed my help on a freezing, snowy night.
Claudia Wilson Declan Tennyson was always cute and annoying. My best friend’s little brother could always be counted on to be underfoot, or secretly listening to our girl talk. But the last three years? He grew into a man without me noticing. Being a single-mom is harder than I ever expected it to be, and I haven’t had time to notice anything. Not until the night Declan saved us in the snow, and if I’m not careful, he’s gonna end up saving me from myself.
🧡Review🧡
Claudia is a single mother who is trying to balance college and being a single mother to her son Jay with little emotional or financial support. When she finds herself stranded on the side of the road she never expected her best friend’s younger brother to come to her rescue or how it would change their relationship.
Declan may be younger than Claudia but he has always known what he wanted and that is a life with her. He is determined to show her that she can count on him to be there for her and her son through all the challenges that life throws at them.
Declan is the perfect mix of sweet and swoony and the chemistry between them is intense as he shows her what love and family really means.
Laramie Briscoe is the USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author of over 30 books, with sales of over half a million copies.
Since self-publishing her first book in May of 2013, Laramie has appeared on the Top 100 Bestselling E-books Lists on Apple Books, Amazon Kindle, Kobo, and Barnes & Noble. Her books have been known to make readers laugh and cry. They are guaranteed to be emotional, steamy reads.
When she’s not writing alpha males who seriously love their women, she loves spending time with friends, reading, and marathoning shows on Netflix. Married to her high school sweetheart, Laramie lives in Bowling Green, KY with her husband.
She clears her throat, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. “May I ask you to let me see your emails, please?”
Excuse me?
I press my lips together, curiosity getting the best of me, and pull my phone out of my pocket.
“Jess?”
“No, you may not see my emails.”
Her hands go to her hips. “Please?”
“What are you up to, Pip?”
She reaches for my phone in a quick, bold move. Unfortunately for her, I’m quicker. I hold it up in the air and effectively out of her reach.
“Please, don’t look at them. At least not with me standing here,” she says, hopping a whole foot off the ground to try to reach the device.
I chuckle. “What did you do?”
“Give it to me.” She hops again. “Now.”
“Not a chance.” I swipe the screen and find my email app as she tries to tug my arm down. “Will you stop it?”
“Jess,” she says, fake crying. She stops hopping. “Wait.”
I laugh at her little pout. “You are so fucking cute.”
“I hate you.”
“You do not.”
The app opens, and I scan my inbox. It’s the third message from the top that catches my attention.
Plum, Pippa Re: SEEKING AN EX-HUSBAND
Blurb:
SEEKING AN EX-HUSBAND
I need a fake ex-husband.
Let me explain …
I may have let it slip to my new co-workers that I have an ex-husband. Now they’re fascinated with the details, specifically with him.
Why wouldn’t they be? He’s gorgeous, has exceptional skills in the bedroom, and is determined to win me back.
But there’s a problem. He doesn’t exist.
The bigger problem? I have to produce him to save my job.
This is where you come in.
I’m seeking someone to play a smitten ex-husband for two weeks. You’ll need to remember our love story—details matter when it comes to romance! Please be prepared to travel in-state at a moment’s notice. We may be in close proximity and sharing a bed may be required.
One more thing—kisses are required for optics as necessary.
If this sounds interesting or, at the very least, entertaining, let me know.
Signed,
Your Future Ex-Wife
Buckle up for a steamy adventure between friends-turned-lovers in this new “fresh twist on a favorite trope!” take on fake dating, close proximity, and romance in the workplace from USA Today Bestselling author Adriana Locke.
About the Author:
USA Today Bestselling author, Adriana Locke, writes contemporary romances about the two things she knows best—big families and small towns. Her stories are about ordinary people finding extraordinary love with the perfect combination of heart, heat, and humor.
She loves connecting with readers, fall weather, football, reading alpha heroes, everything pumpkin, and pretending to garden.
Hailing from a tiny town in the Midwest, Adriana spends her free time with her high school sweetheart (who she married over twenty-five years ago) and their four sons (who truly are her best work). Her kitchen may be a perpetual disaster, and if all else fails, there is always pizza.
Emmett Hudson is just trying to play college football at Clearview Falls University while keeping all the balls from spinning his life apart. He thought he had everything under control until the coach threatened to bench him if he didn’t get his grades up with the help of a tutor.
Lucy Parker isn’t into football players, except the one she’s crushed on since high school. But he’s the star quarterback and doesn’t even know she exists.
The answer to this problem comes when a deal is struck with her new tutoring assignment, aka: Emmett. He promises a way to get his teammate’s attention if Lucy commits to being his fake girlfriend for three dates.
Three. Seems easy enough. Right?
But even with safeguards in place, their fake relationship soon begins to feel more real than either Lucy or Emmett expects.
And with their hearts on the line, it could turn this winning strategy into a losing proposition.
🏈Review🏈
Emmett is focused on football and his family however when difficulties with one of his classes could jeopardize his ability to play he is assigned a tutor. Due to a misunderstanding their first meeting did not go well but as they spend time together a friendship develops so he suggests an arrangement that will give them both what they want.
Lucy is focused on her education and not the social aspects of college. She believes she knows who he is before they even meet however as they spend time together she beings to see a different side of him. His offer to help her takes a turn and now she is conflicted as to what and who she really wants.
Emmett is the perfect boyfriend who always puts Lucy first and even though Lucy took a little longer to acknowledge their feelings there is no denying that they belong together.
Meet SE Rose
USA Today & International Bestselling romance author, S.E. Rose lives near Washington D.C. with her family.
When she’s not wrangling her cats or keeping up with her kids, she’s plotting her next story.
She loves all things wine, coffee, and cats.
In her non-existent free time, she enjoys traveling, going to concerts, binging on her favorite shows, and reading, especially if it’s a good mystery or comedy.
SIERRA HILL wrote and published her first contemporary new adult romance in 2014 and has since published over thirty novels. She is a 2020 RONE Award-Winning author of Game Changer, as well as award-winning college sports series, Courting Love, and the twice award-finalist erotic ménage serial, Reckless – The Smoky Mountain Trio.
Sierra lives in the Seattle area with her husband of twenty-five years and their rescued German Shepherd. When not writing, she enjoys baking, reading, and traveling to see her favorite alternative rock band, Pearl Jam.
To learn more about Sierra and her books, visit here!
“Here.” Tyson offers me the second glass of whiskey and I look from it to him, making no attempt to accept it. “I didn’t drug it,” he growls.
“I don’t believe you.” I lift my chin.
He rolls his eyes and throws the one he’s offering me back, proving that it was, in fact, not laced with something. Setting both down on the tray, he walks over to me, closing the distance and I stiffen. “Why would I drug you?”
I swallow nervously but answer honestly. “Makes me compliant. Easier to take advantage of.”
Reaching up, he runs his hand through what’s left of my bun, pulling bobby pins loose and letting them drop to the floor at our feet. The long, wet curls fall down across my bare back and over my shoulder, some falling in front to frame my face. “That would be too easy.” He finally speaks, his knuckles brushing it off my shoulder. “I want you to feel me holding you down. I want you to hear yourself gasping for breath when I force you to come. And I want your eyes on mine while I make you cry. I’ll never drug you, Lake, because I don’t need you compliant. You’re now my wife, and I can take whatever I want from you.”
BLURB:
HIS LADY
A Lord is to marry after he graduates from Barrington University, an elite college for the rich. A Lady’s job is to help him fit into a world unaware of his secret society. The Lord does not
get to choose who he spends the rest of his life with. But there is always an exception to the rule. And I just so happen to be his.
I VOW. YOU VOW. WE VOW.
I was to wed a Lord of my parents’ choosing. Wealth can’t buy you everything, or I would have had freedom years ago. Instead, my strict parents made sure I lived a dull life in a mansion resembling a prison.
But on my wedding day, I was handed over to another man—an even more ruthless Lord that my family hated. Tyson Riley Crawford only wanted me for his revenge. I’m nothing more than a debt to be paid. I didn’t have a say in the
matter. So when I said my vows before the congregation, I knew I’d break them. Consequences be damned.
Too bad I underestimated my husband and didn’t realize he was more determined to punish me than I was to succeed at escaping. He’ll make me choke on those words I used to bind myself to him.
Yet even he couldn’t have seen what our future held. Ultimately, we’re all just pawns in a game that none of us can win unless you’re willing to pay the ultimate sacrifice … and even that may not be enough.
About the Author:
Shantel is a USA Today & Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author. Who lives in Oklahoma with her high school sweetheart, who is a wonderful, supportive husband and their two daughters. She loves to spend time cuddled up on the couch with a good book.
She considers herself extremely lucky to get to do what she loves while wearing pajamas. Going to concerts and the movies are just a few of her favorite things to do. She hates coffee, but loves wine. Although she has a passion to write, her family is most important to her. She loves spending evenings at home with her husband and daughters, watching Netflix.
Playing by the Rules by Monica Murphy is now live!
Camden Fields is the star quarterback of our college football team. Quiet. Smart. Absolutely gorgeous. He’s the man all the women on campus rave about. And while he’s had a few casual hookups over the years, it’s never anything serious. Cam doesn’t do serious. He also doesn’t do me. See, I’m his best friend’s little sister, and whenever we’re around each other, he’s always warning me that I’m off limits. That nothing can ever happen between us. But I see the way he looks at me when he thinks I’m not watching. The heat in his gaze. The hunger. He can deny it, but that man wants me. I want him too. I’m tired of always being the good girl and doing what everybody expects. For once, I’m going to break all the rules that have restrained me my entire life. I’m going after Camden Fields. And no one can stop me.
Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited
🏈Review🏈
Despite the fact that Cam is her brother’s best friend he is the man that Blair has given her heart to. Now that they are attending the same university she is determined to show him that they belong together and isn’t about to let anyone stand in their way and that includes him and her brother.
Cam has feelings for Blair as well but knows he needs to keep his distance and it isn’t only because of her brother and his best friend and teammate. What he wasn’t prepared for was how determined she was and how she chipped away at his walls until he can’t imagine a future without her.
This is a story of two people who belong together and they takes us on an emotional journey as one person is fighting their relationship every step of the way despite the fact that his actions speak louder than words and when he finally relents hang on you’re in for quite the ride.
Meet Monica
Monica Murphy is a New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling romance author. Her books have been translated in almost a dozen languages and have sold over two million copies worldwide. Both a traditionally published and independently published author, she writes young adult, new adult and contemporary romance. She’s also known as USA Today bestselling author Karen Erickson. A native Californian, she lives on fourteen acres in the middle of nowhere with her husband, two kids, one dog, and four cats. When she’s not writing, she’s an assistant coach for her daughter’s high school cheer team, which is a two season sport. Meaning, she’s at practice with a bunch of teenage girls all the time. Or she’s at a football game. Or a basketball game. Maybe someday, she’ll even write about this experience.
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Kari's Book Reviews and Revelations 