She handles her screwdriver every day, but she has no clue how much he likes it.
Yeah. There’s a real man in that tool, and he’s determined to break a curse for love.
Sophia’s a handy girl with a toolbox, a job using it, and a vibrating silicone toy that takes care of those special needs. All that’s missing is a few grand for a new pickup truck to get her business running.
A new contracting job with Jaeger Duke, the slimy son of a politician, will get her the dollars, but she doesn’t realize how dangerous this dumb, coked-up, nepo-douche baby can be.
Fortunately, the guy cursed to live inside her screwdriver knows the deal and is willing to strip some threads to protect her.
Unfortunately, the woman he’s pining for only appreciates him for his flathead.
That’s when an itsy-bitsy spider that’s possessed by an ambitious demon drops by with a way to break the curse. Sophia has to grasp her screwdriver’s thicker side in a very intimate way before she and her entire toolbox get completely screwed.
——
If, when you finish this book, you ask yourself “What the heckiddy-heck did I just read?” then I have done my job.
If, despite this pertinent and valid question, you’re interested in watching this story turn into a Why Choose, stay tuned for three more novellas about Sophia and the rest of the toolbox crew.
About the Author:
CD Reiss has a long history of aimlessly moving from place to place. She finally settled in Los Angeles where she earned a master’s degree in cinematic writing from USC. After graduation, she ultimately failed to have one line of dialog put on film, but stayed in Hollywood out of spite.
Since screenwriting was going nowhere, she switched to novels. Soon after, luck arrived with a complete set of baggage. She now has over two dozen titles under her belt. Two of those are NY Times Bestsellers and a handful more are USA Today bestsellers. Her audiobooks have won APA Audie Awards and Earphones Awards, swelling her ego to an inhuman size.
She lives with her family, two cats and her long-suffering husband in a small Hollywood house that’s been outfitted with huge, ego-sized doorways.
Retired fencing Olympian Hugo De la Vega lives a quiet life in Olive Township. He has his friends, his olive orchard, and a recurring daydream about what he would say to his father’s murderer if given the chance to look him in the eyes.
True crime podcaster Mallory Hawkins arrives in the eclectic small desert town with one purpose: to investigate Hugo’s father’s unsolved murder from twenty years ago.
A chance meeting at a sandwich shop has Hugo harmlessly flirting with Mallory, until he realizes she’s the stubborn woman who has been hounding him for months. Hugo’s swift and emphatic refusal to support her investigation forces Mallory to reveal her personal connection to the case.
Now Hugo is spending time with the woman whose emails he once deleted. She’s witty, eternally curious, and pregnant. Finding this out should make it easier for Hugo to deny the magnetic pull he feels toward her, but it has the opposite effect.
When a situation threatens Mallory and her baby’s safety, Hugo finds himself moving her into his house at the orchard. Now they’re splitting time between a search for justice and fighting their mutual attraction… until a middle of the night encounter in the kitchen has them taking their relationship from professional to personal.
With each passing day, Hugo gets closer to laying it all out on the line for Mallory.
As long as the killer doesn’t get to her first.
*Hugo is the second in a four-book contemporary romance series inspired by the film The Princess Bride. Expect swoon, sass, spice, and happily ever afters.
Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited
Jennifer Millikin is a bestselling author of fifteen contemporary romance and women’s fiction novels. She is the two-time recipient of the Readers Favorite Gold Star Award, and readers have called her work “emotionally riveting” and “unputdownable”.
Following a viral TikTok video with over fourteen million views, Jennifer’s third novel, Our Finest Hour, has been optioned for TV/Film. She lives in the Arizona desert with her husband, children, and Liberty, her Labrador retriever.
💚Review💚 Hugo has tried to make peace with the death of his father and he doesn’t want to bring up the pain that it brought his family. Even though he may not want to help Mallory uncover the truth that doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to spend time with and the baby she is expecting.
Mallory has never been able to move past the death of her sister, and she believe that only the truth will set her free. She has reached out to Hugo in the past with no success so she has come to town hoping to not only convince him their losses are linked and working together will give them both the closure they need.
Hugo is the perfect mix of protective and caring while Mallory may have come to town for one reason but opening her heart to Hugo not only helps her find answers in the present but the future as well.
I used to believe in happily ever afters, until the man my mother married stripped away my innocence, piece by piece.
For years, he kept me completely isolated, locked away and out of sight. If not for my diary, I’m not sure I would have survived his torment.
But when two pink lines turn my world upside down, I know it’s now or never—I have to escape before the monster down the hall learns my secret and destroys my only reason for living.
Alone and on the run, help comes from the last place I’d ever expect—his son.
Atlas swears he’s nothing like his father. He says he only wants to protect me and my unborn baby.
Slowly but surely, he earns my trust and begins stitching me back together again, and before I know it, I find myself falling for him.
But no matter how much he feels like home, I can’t shake the fear of what will happen if his father finds me. Because no amount of paper and ink will shield me from the past… or him.
HIS TO SAVE is the first standalone in the all new Lake Fortune series. If you enjoy small-town suspense, an over the top protective hero who will do anything for his woman, a pregnant heroine running from her dangerous past, a slight age gap, a slow burn romance brimming with all of the feels, and a guaranteed HEA, pre-order your copy today!
It’s been ten years since I was forced to let Zara go. I joined the military and fought hard to forget her, but since I returned home to become our club’s Sergeant at Arms, I’ve always watched from afar to make sure she’s safe.
Now Zara is back in Crown Village on the anniversary of a traumatic event that changed her family forever. And I can’t stay away.
I can see the longing for me in her eyes, yet she hesitates to get too close. She’s scared to trust me again, and I don’t blame her.
When new information linked to her family tragedy comes to light, I’m determined to help solve the mystery and find the answers she needs because the War Brothers MC protects our own.
But digging up the past means revealing secrets that someone wants to remain dead and buried. And when they’re uncovered, they have the power to destroy our bond forever…
“We should dance,” she coos. “Wouldn’t that be fun?”
“Darlin’, as long as you don’t mind your toes being stepped on a few times, let’s do it,” I drawl, standing and taking her hand in mine and tugging her upward.
I’m aware of Tripp’s glare on us, but when Saylor waves her fingertips at him, he waves back.
His expression is odd, but so is hers. Before I can think on it too much, she tugs me out onto the dance floor. And I’m just thankful as hell when it switches from some fast-beat pop shit to a slow country song by Riley Green.
Fuck, I’m jealous of that dude’s mustache. To be honest, I’m sort of jealous of everything when it comes to the dude. Sometimes, I open TikTok, and I swear to fuck, he’s half my feed. I can’t even be mad at the dude either because he’s one smooth motherfucker.
She wraps her arms around my neck, flashing me a drunken grin as my arms slide around her waist. “Worst Way” plays, and for a country song, that shit is sexy as hell.
“So, you didn’t tell me, what are you doing here, drinking all by yourself, sweet thing?” I murmur, tilting my head closer to hers so that our foreheads almost touch.
She tries to shrug it off, but there’s a pain in her eyes I’ve never seen before. I don’t know what happened to her, but I know she’s sad.
“Sometimes, a girl just wants to drink alone, Pretty Boy,” she says, her voice as smooth as silk.
“Easier to pick up guys like you when I don’t have any competition.”
“Right.” I practically snort. “Guys like me.”
“Well, yeah,” she coos. “Attractive, muscly, rich guys like you.” She winks. “And let’s not forget, you said you have a big dick. So, basically, you’re a top-tier hookup choice.”
“Careful with the words you’re throwing around, darlin’,” I mumble. “You’ll get more than you’re bargaining for.”
We sway on the dance floor, and with every passing second, it feels like our bodies are closer even though they aren’t.
“What I’m bargaining for is a release, Cambridge. Because I could really, really use one after this week.” She tries to play bashful, but it’s an act. “What do you say, Ry-Ry? Can you put this supposedly big dick to good use and help a girl out?”
Holy fucking shit.
In all the years I’ve known Saylor, I’ve been wildly attracted to her, but I’ve never made a pass at her out of respect for her brother. That, and Saylor always seems to have some love interest, even if it is just a fuck buddy. But admire her? Fantasize about her? That I’ve done. A lot.
“Are you trying to use me as a revenge fuck, Saylor?” I say, sliding my hands a little lower,
resting them just above her ass. “Is that it?”
“Does it matter?” She cocks her head to the side. “You either want to fuck me or you don’t. My reasoning behind why I’m doing this doesn’t really matter, does it?” She slides one hand from my neck to my chest. “Either way, I’m craving a man’s touch. And, yeah … fucking one of Rowan’s friends—or in your case, ex-friend—well, that’s just the icing on the cake, baby.”
BLURB:
Life as a professional hockey player keeps me plenty busy, and yet it often feels like I’m on autopilot as the world passes me by. I suppose I can’t complain. I have the honor of calling myself a New England Bay Shark, so I have more than enough money to buy some form of happiness.
Sleeping around with beautiful women may come with the territory, but I’ve never taken the time to actually get to know any of them. In fact, there’s only one I’ve relentlessly thought about, but she’s off-limits. Everyone knows you can’t go after your best friend’s little sister. Especially if he’s already forbidden it.
I’ve had a crush on Saylor Sawyer since I met her years ago, and even though I’ve spent many showers and nights alone creating my own fantasies, starring her, I know I can’t
act on those … filthy thoughts.
No matter how hot they are.
When a teammate hurts her badly, Saylor’s on the warpath, looking for sweet revenge. I just happen to be the lucky bastard sitting at the other end of the bar.
One hookup gets entangled with a lie, and things get complicated fast. But the lie wasn’t mine, and I’m going to make damn sure she knows it too.
See, the night she used me to get back at her ex awakened a beast inside of me. A beast that only wants Saylor Sawyer.
Tyler Falcon is protective, flirtatious…and frustratingly responsible. We almost did something reckless when he found me alone in my wedding dress, and I blurted out all the things I’d never truly experienced.
Now, the sexy single dad is saving me again with a job I desperately need—and a promise to never mention The Night of 1001 Confessions.
I live in his house. Take care of his kids. Pretend I don’t notice his heated gaze lingering on me after they fall asleep.
Until one night, the tension snaps.
Now we have a deal. Five lessons in seduction. No strings attached.
But he’s not just good in bed. He spoils me with thoughtful gifts and supports my dreams. For the first time, I feel like I belong.
Except…this was never meant to last. I’m his employee. He has kids to protect. And neither of us can afford to make a mistake.
The more nights we spend tangled up together though, the harder it is to pretend it’s just physical. Because I’m not only falling for my boss—I’m falling for the man whose kids have stolen my heart.
Tropes: single dad/nanny, runaway bride, forced proximity, spicy lessons, she’s his daughter’s skating coach, confession of all secrets, love notes, found family
He’s drilling. I repeat—my hot, single-dad boss is drilling. I might as well strip out of all my clothes right now. Instead, as I hold the bookshelf against the wall, he drills holes in the brackets. He’s inches from me, and his woodsmoke scent taunts me, curling past my nose and drifting into my mind.
I swallow roughly as his arm vibrates from the drill.
Pretty sure I vibrate too.
His body is so close. I let myself stare freely—the way the muscles in his corded forearms flex, how his biceps move, how his shirt clings to him.
His focus is intense, his eyes narrowed on the bracket on the second shelf, since he already hung one. A few more seconds pass, then he turns off the drill and shifts his gaze to me.
His hazel eyes radiate hopefulness but also pride, as he asks, “What do you think?”
Like he wants me to like it.
But news flash: I love it. And what I really think is that I was today years old when I discovered my new guilty pleasure: hot dad capableness. Yum.
“I think it looks…well hung,” I say before I even consider the words leaving my mouth. The second I do, I slam my palm over my lips. I should not be allowed to speak sometimes. Where does this part of me even come from? Little Miss Perfectionist Sabrina never blurted out her dirty thoughts when she was with F*&k Chad.
Tyler blinks. Once. Twice. But when he clears his throat, he’s no longer caught off guard—he’s in control. “It is, Sabrina. It is,” he says, his voice low and amused as he pats the shelf. “Sturdy. Want to give it a tug?”
My heart beats too fast. He’s playing with me, and I love it. “Yes,” I croak out.
I reach for the shelf, grab it, and yank. Yep. This shelf does not lose its strength at all. When I let go, I scramble for something appropriate to say but completely fail. Instead, I blurt, “Chad was never handy. I like handy.”
“Well, that works out for both of us, doesn’t it?” Tyler’s charm flashes, teasing, a little flirty—but never quite crossing the line.
“It does.”
ABOUT LAUREN BLAKELY:
A #1 New York Times Bestselling, #1 Wall Street Journal Bestselling, and #1 Audible Bestselling author, Lauren Blakely is known for her contemporary romance style that’s sexy, feel-good and witty. Her books have been featured in US Weekly and People. Lauren likes dogs, cake and show tunes and she is the vegetarian at your dinner party.
Well, sixty nine if you count me, Elizabeth Sweet, Monhegan’s newest resident and retired child star.
When I first step off the boat, I’m ready to be charmed by the island that holds the sweetest memories from my childhood. A place so remote that even the pesky media won’t bother to look for me here.
What I get instead is exasperation.
“Summer people.” It’s grumbled like a curse, a growl of sorts. No one seems to want me here, least of all the grumpy sheriff who seems affronted by my mere existence.
He’s stupidly handsome, goes nowhere without his beloved golden retriever Bing, and speaks in nothing but grunts.
Unfortunately for Fisher Jones, I’m not going anywhere. In fact we’re neighbors. And his niece Sutton, like every other eight year old in America, is obsessed with me.
Summer in Monhegan isn’t at all what I expect, but neither is Fisher. I haven’t quite figured out why he’s so miserable, but I’m also not volunteering what I’m running from.
All I know is the Islanders aren’t the only ones worming their way into my heart. Though, I suppose it won’t matter how I feel, if my past catches up to me. Maybe I’m destined to be nothing more than 𝙨𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙧 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚.
I let her go once because she wasn’t mine. This time, I’ll die before I give her up…
I want her.
That smile… those curves.
But Ava doesn’t belong to me.
Then she arrives in my clubhouse, seeking refuge. My gut churns at the sight of the bruises on her face, the fear in her eyes.
Before I was the president of the War Brothers Motorcycle Club, I was a sniper in the military who hunted down evil men like her husband. Now I avoid relationships because the wounds I have are more than skin deep.
But Ava’s different, and when I find her in the wrong bedroom—my bedroom—one night, what happens next changes everything.
I let her go once because she was married, but I won’t make the same mistake twice.
I’ll die before I let her dangerous husband, the jealous women in our club, or the enemy our club didn’t see coming lay a finger on her.
USA Today bestselling author Laura Pavlov delivers a spicy enemies-to-lovers romance about a billionaire developer and a small-town entrepreneur battling their desires in the Land of the Midnight Sun.
Myles St. James is tearing my world apart.
Wish I’d known that before I slept with him.
It was supposed to be a one-night stand.
Like I knew anything about those.
But I needed to blow off steam.
My ex had just gotten engaged.
My dry spell was nearing six months.
And my booming wedding planning business—the one I started with my bestie—was about to lose its favorite venue to some bulldozer-happy developer from New York.
The Seaside Inn is such a special place.
My second home.
And ever since that famous singer got married there, people are flocking to Blushing, Alaska, for their own weddings too.
Guess whose fling turns out to be the hotshot real estate guy?
But he isn’t what I expected.
And sleeping with the enemy doesn’t feel nearly as wrong as it should.
Because Myles St. James is rocking my world.
Too bad giving in to him could mean giving up my dreams.
Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited
Laura Pavlov writes sweet and sexy contemporary romance that will make you both laugh and cry. She is happily married to her college sweetheart, mom to two awesome almost-grown kids, and dog-whisperer to one temperamental yorkie and one wild bernedoodle. Laura resides in Las Vegas where she is living her own happily ever after. Be sure to sign up for updates on new releases. Laura loves to hear from readers!
🩷Review🩷 Spending the night with a sexy stranger is the perfect way to ensure that Montana’s ex remains in the past where he belongs. Finding out that he is also man who is planning to redevelop the Inn that she loves which also threatens her business has now made him her adversary.
Myles is a man who is focused on his plans for the inn and even though he is drawn to Montana he isn’t about to be deterred. What was supposed to be one-night turns into fun and flirty banter and a decision to be together until he moves onto the best project however the best laid plans don’t always turn out the way you expect.
Even though their personalities are very different they are kindred souls. The chemistry between them is intense but it is the heartwarming love that neither was prepared for that will have you believing in destiny and happy ever after.
Genre/Tropes: Small Town; Blue Collar; Alpha Male; Playboy MC; Sunshine FC; Best Friends Little Sister; Enemies-to-Lovers Vibes; Accidental Pregnancy
Release Date: June 9, 2025
Cover Design: Karen Hulseman at Feed Your Dreams Designs
Off-limits. That’s what we are to each other.
Eirik has been my older brother’s best friend since we were kids. Back then, he was nice to me, friendly, even though I was the annoying little girl who constantly shadowed them. But as we’ve gotten older, our relationship has become strained. Instead of showing kindness, we pick fights and bring out the worst in each other. He’s known as the town playboy, and was never supposed to be on my radar. So why do I find him so irresistible?
Amelia is the forbidden fruit that’s only gotten sweeter with age. I’ve been captivated by her since we were teens. I considered us friends once, but now we’re more like frenemies. We fight like cats and dogs. No matter what I do, I annoy her. But I’ve never lost sight of how incredible she is, and when I realize I have feelings for her that are more than just a passing fancy, I have to make my move. Damn the consequences.
But what if something unexpected happens just as we’re starting out? Will we be able to survive it?
Is there anything worse than getting dumped by your boyfriend in a very public, very humiliating way? How about agreeing to fake-date the jerk to help get his matchmaking mother off his back and make his new love interest jealous?
My friends and family don’t think so, but I’m getting Giants season tickets out of the deal. I can do anything for a short couple of months, right? However, when my ex’s sexier older brother, Delcan, moves back home, I realize I’m not that confident after all.
For five years, I’ve avoided Moose Village, New York, as much as possible for one reason: the girl I’ve crushed on since high school was already spoken for–by my brother. Now discharged from the military, I’m coming home, tentatively heartened by the fact that they’re no longer a couple. Except…it seems they are. But something’s different this time. Harper doesn’t seem as smitten as she was the first time around.
Meanwhile, the chemistry sizzling between us is what I’ve dreamed of for years. Even if I’m able to get to the bottom of the weird behavior between my brother and Harper, I’ve gone from one dangerous career to another. I’ve already got my anxious mother badgering me to quit. Will my career choice be too much for Harper, too?
I can only hope this feeling between the two of us is enough.
Kelly Elliott is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling contemporary romance author. Her bestselling works include, Wanted, Broken, Lost Love, and Never Enough, to name a few.
Kelly lives in central Texas with her husband, Gus, her chocolate lab, four cats, and endless wildlife creatures. When she’s not writing, Kelly enjoys reading and spending time with her family.
To find out more about Kelly and her books, you can find her through her website.
💗Review💗 When her long-term boyfriend ended their relationship in such a callous way Harper thought that would be the end however it isn’t long before he wants her to pretend they are back together. She agrees as she gets what she wants out of the arrangement but the one part she hadn’t contemplated was that Declan, his brother and the man she had hidden feelings for, returns home and changes everything.
Declan has had feelings for Harper for years as well however between his career serving his country and the fact that she was involved with his brother it was never the right time. Now that he is back he is conflicted as the relationship between Harper and his brother raises more questions than answers and this time he isn’t about to step away.
Whenever Declan and Harper were together you could feel the chemistry and connection between them, and they knew it as well as they finally follow their hearts which lead them to each other.
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Kari's Book Reviews and Revelations 