She stepped up to my side in a dark club and ordered a whiskey.
My go-to drink.
I didn’t know her name, I knew nothing about her, but every part of me came alive.
For more than a year my life had been turned upside down. I’d hit a wall at every turn, but suddenly the weight had lifted.
And the minute she stepped away, I felt the loss.
Things are not always as they seem.
We all have regrets; parts of our lives we wish we could erase.
For me, I wish I could change the order in which those choices were made.
Had I only met her first.
Had it been her that said yes.
Brynn is everything I could ever want, the problem is, my past may keep us from ever having a future.
Because before we were us, I was a version of myself I’d like to forget.
But that version of me has not yet been laid completely to rest.
C.A. Harms is an avid romance and mystery reader. She’s always had a love for books, getting lost in writing and storytelling even as a young girl. She enjoys happy endings and HEA love stories.
She lives in Illinois and enjoys spending time with her husband and two children. She holds an addiction for Starbucks White Chocolate Mocha’s and KitKat when she should really be focusing on water and maybe a fruit or two to make herself feel less guilty, but that feeling quickly passes…thankfully.
She is easy going, fun, and although she may seem like one of the quiet ones at first, you just wait until she gets to know you better…that quietness changes, fast.
Pregnant and married at the young age of eighteen, I settled into my life not knowing there could ever be more.
Until Mason, with his sexy smirk and magnetic baby blue eyes.
With a single look and a few words, he made me feel sexy and alive.
But as quickly as he came into my life, he was gone, leaving me wanting more.
A few days later, my mom died, and her final words of advice —life’s too short to settle—are what I vowed to live my life by. Not even a year after her death, I was divorced and ready to find the one.
Only I didn’t realize how difficult it would be to find someone who could make me feel the way Mason did.
Five years later, and I’m still single, looking for my forever.
Mason
I’m the guy who fights and f*cks.
The guy who goes fishing but never keeps what he catches.
The responsibility that comes with commitment isn’t for me.
Until Mila comes back into my life, making me want things I’ve never imagined wanting.
Now, the man I’ve always been is quickly losing the fight against the man I want to be.
I’m supposed to want the woman who wants the right now.
Yet, I’m falling for the woman who wants the forever.
Marie Johnston is a RITA® Finalist, and a best-selling and award-winning writer of paranormal and contemporary romance – and an avid reader of them both.
Several years ago, when kids started outnumbering adults in the house, Marie Johnston left her job as a public health microbiologist to stay at home. Settling into working part-time and shuttling kids around gave Marie the opportunity to think about what she wanted to be when she grew up. A die-hard science geek, she explored her previously thought to be non-existent creative side after much time spent making snowman crafts and coloring princesses. Having entertained thoughts of writing a book one day then subsequently deciding it would be too hard, she finally put the figurative pen to paper and began to type – and fell in love with story telling.
The Sigma Menace is the first series by Marie with Fever Claim being her first book EVER. She is humbled by the fact that people are willing to read to her books and looks forward to keeping readers entertained for many years.
Marie lives with her husband and four kids in North Dakota where the summers are gorgeous, the winters are brutal, and spring and fall are luxuries.
The only thing I admire more than the old farmhouse next door is the guy who owns it. My best friend’s brother.
I didn’t mean to give my hot neighbor a full peep show when my puppy locks me outside in nothing but a towel. Yet Austen Knight pretends he didn’t see everything and offers me an interior design job—help him renovate the farmhouse I’ve adored since I was a kid.
I’m a single mom trying to run a business in a small town. I can’t be alone with Austen day in and day out without igniting rumors that could hurt the career I’ve worked so hard for. But I need the money, and he’s leaving after the house is done and goes on the market.
Turns out, renovating with him is fun. Working with him is addicting. And I look forward to our cold beer together after a long day. When works turns to pleasure, I should put a stop to what we’re doing, it’s not professional, but I can’t.
Austen reignites something in me that I left behind long ago. He’s become so much more than my friend’s brother and my neighbor, but he’s going to be gone soon. Guys always leave in the end. I’ll be a struggling single mom again, and he’ll be nothing but a fearless memory.
❤️Review❤️ Now that Austen’s military career has come to an end, he finds himself in his hometown, but it is only temporary until he relocates to California to open up a security business with his teammates. In the interim he is restoring a house and has hired Vienne to assist.
The professional opportunity that Austin has offered Vienne will allow her to show everyone in town she is capable and that there is more to her than her past. She can’t afford to be distracted by anyone, especially a man whose plans have him heading out of town, as her and her daughter’s future depend on it.
Although neither Austen nor Vienne was looking for love they fit together like pieces of a puzzle. He is always there to show others how special she is, and she helps him bridge the gap between him and his family as they combine great chemistry, a little turmoil and characters who draw you in.
At eighteen, Poe Blyton’s life is in shambles and the reason is Alaric Marshall.
After her mom’s death, he appeared out of nowhere and became Poe’s controlling guardian. When she protested his tyranny, he had the audacity to send her away to an all-girls reform school. A school full of iron clad rules and regulations.
But at least she’s graduating soon.
Until Alaric himself arrives at the school as the new principal and takes that away from her as well.
That devil.
He’s really asking for it, isn’t he?
And Poe is going to give it to him.
It doesn’t matter that her sworn enemy has the prettiest dark eyes she’s ever seen. Or that he looks really, really good in his boring tweed jackets. So much so that she wants to rip them off his body and see what’s underneath.
Because scorching hot or not, her new principal or not, Poe is going to ruin Alaric’s life.
For years, tales of the Firefly Man were nothing more than elaborate rumors spread by residents in the Great Smoky Mountains.
Until the night Evelyn Vaughn stumbled upon a dead body in the woods.
Fear gripped her, and silence stole her voice.
All while she watched the boy she was with that night take the fall.
Fourteen years later, Evelyn is nothing more than a shell of her former self.
Her life moves like a clock, from one moment to the next, never a surprise.
Gone are the days of chasing fireflies through the woods.
Until her therapist goes missing and he’s replaced with someone new.
Dr. Lincoln Reed.
A devastatingly handsome single dad with an intensity behind his evergreen eyes that jolts her back to life.
Or does it?
Evelyn is quickly losing grip of the suppressed reality she’s worked so hard to live.
With every new session on Dr. Reed’s couch, comes a startling new revelation that has her past awakening like the sparkles of light she used to chase through the Appalachian woods.
The Firefly Man was supposed to be a rumor, a fable, a spooky tale.
What you will find inside… 💗Small Town 🔥Single Dad 💗Nanny/CEO 🔥Best Friend’s Sister 💗Reformed Playboy 🔥Grumpy/Sunshine 💗Cinnamon Roll in the bedroom 🔥He Falls First 💗Good Girl
That rainy night, when my wife walked out, changed my life forever. Not just mine. Our daughter’s too. All of a sudden, I was a single dad with a newborn. Nothing could’ve prepared me for the years that followed. The heartache and answers to questions that never came. After a while I thought I could be the bachelor forever. It blocked the pain, ensuring nobody got too close. My heart was safe. And it worked. At least a while. Until Skye Hendry came to Stoney Creek. The sister of my childhood best friend, Travis. They moved away when we were young. But now she’s back, she’s the talk of town. And when we meet… fireworks go off. I’m attracted to her instantly, before I even realize who she is. I want her. Badly. But she’s off limits. Not only is she smart, beautiful and a ray of sunshine, she’s also my new nanny. Can I really have her as my nanny when I can’t stop thinking about what I want to do to her? Trying to juggle work at the family distillery, and raising my daughter has never been easy, but having Skye around makes my cold heart soften. She does things to me that no other woman has been able to do in so long. She makes me feel alive. And she’s amazing with my daughter. But I can’t show her how I really feel, not when she has another job offer after the summer. Then she’ll be gone. Forever. No matter how much I crave her, I know I won’t survive the fallout. The shards of my heart would be shattered forever. Clawing my way back isn’t an option. Not this time. But neither is letting her go…
Why you will love this book… 💋Enemies to Lovers 💋Office Romance 💋One-bed 💋Touch her and die 💋Possessive Alpha Male 💋Opposites Attract 💋Rom-Com 💋Hidden Identity
Dear Grumpy Horrible Boss,
You suck as a lawyer. I don’t even know how you passed the bar. Just in case you didn’t know, you can’t fire me just because I have a part-time job working bachelor parties. What I do on the weekend is none of your business and not a part of my employment contract.
As soon as I get my big break as an actress, I will be leaving your employ. I am literally counting down the days. You must be dreaming if you think I’m going to be working 6am-9pm for the next month just so you won’t report me to HR. Go ahead and report me.
See if I care Mr. Wanna-be hotshot playboy lawyer. You’re not that hot and I do not want you.
Also, stop emailing me at night with lists of to-do’s.
Your not very well paid assistant,
Lila Haversham
Lila,
I hope you can count to infinity because that’s how many more days you’re going to be working for me. If your acting is as good as your dancing, you’re not going to be making it anytime soon.
Five words of advice: Don’t quit the day job.
Your very well paid and handsome boss,
Max Spector
P.S. A new phone will be arriving tonight so we can communicate via text and not email. Or if you’d rather, we can communicate from my bed. Or do you not remember our conversation from Saturday night?
Disillusioned and aimless, Evan Spencer makes a pact with herself. To follow wherever the finger of destiny points. Even if that means heading to some obscure Alaskan town she’s never heard of. A place where the primal beauty of the backwoods is rivaled only by a certain pair of steely green eyes.
But Thorne Bay has a dark side. It’s not just rumors and wary gazes that shadow the darkly alluring Tristan and his reclusive family. Her search for self, as it turns out, leads to a discovery of werewolves and a fight for survival. Alaska might just leave an indelible mark. Love and Death will leave her changed forever.
⚾𝐄𝐗𝐂𝐄𝐑𝐏𝐓 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐀𝐋⚾️ FromL.B. Dunbar comes an all-new small-town romance with a big family and the silver fox swoon one expects from her love over-40 romances. STERLING STREAK will be released on June 6, 2024. We are thrilled to share a sneak peek with you!
She shrugs, her smile sweet. “Figured your ego could handle another fan.”
Does she really mean she came to support me? She’d been on tour since last fall. Her personal time must be limited and precious, so it’s hard to believe she flew all this way to see me play ball.
And yet, here she stands wearing a T-shirt with my name on the back, and I’m liking it a little too much.
Looking around me, she narrows her eyes. “Any sign of the ferret.”
“Ferret?”
Felicity, she mouths.
“No ferret. Not today.” Who is even looking? I have my girls here. And Cadence. “You met Ruby and Javier.”
Cadence smiles at the couple lingering close by but giving us space. “We’re best friends already.”
“Of course you are.” I laugh again, jiggle June against my chest and then set her down, flinching once more.
“I’ll take the girls home now,” Ruby says. “We’ve had enough popcorn and hot dogs. I think an apple or two might be in order.” With her hand reaching for June’s, she adds, “Good game, Ford.”
Javier pats my left shoulder and I try not to recoil from the sharp sting.
Zelle takes a few steps forward but then turns back. “When will you be home, Dad?”
“One hour,” I say. “Sixty minutes.”
“I’ll be counting.” Then she takes a step. “One.” Another step. “Two.” Her voice drones on as she moves forward and my chest aches from her fear.
“Better make it one hundred,” I call after her and I hear Zelle start all over again.
“You okay, cowboy?” Cadence asks as I watch the girls walk away and reach for my bat bag, hiking it up and over my right arm.
“Yeah. It’s just my shoulder.” I roll my left again, the pain more than a pinch. I’ll need ice and lots of it.
Cadence walks with me toward the training facility, and I’m hopeful of pulling her away from the prying eyes. Within a few feet, we reach the path leading to the second building and most people respect our privacy as if an invisible line in the pavement is drawn once the team reaches this spot.
“So, why’d you really come?” I bump my elbow into her arm.
Cadence grabs the bill of her cap—my cap—and tugs it downward. “I heard baseball players are superstitious and I worried this hat might be special. I thought I’d bring it back to you, but I was running late, and the game had already started. Some guy wouldn’t let me near the dugout even though I explained I had your lucky cap.”
“Lucky cap, huh?”
“Of course. It’s what you were wearing when you met me.” She smiles wide. Her mouth full.
Those blue eyes dancing.
I shake my head. “Which guy?”
“Don’t know. A silver fox wearing an official jersey.”
Silver fox? What the fuck is a silver fox? An old guy with gray hair? “Half the coaching staff might qualify under that description.”
“Seeing as I know who Ross Davis is.” She exaggerates her heart throbbing by patting her chest with both hands three times. “It wasn’t him.”
“Got a thing for silver foxes?”
“Nah. Just hot center fielders.”
I stop short and Cadence takes a step forward before turning to face me. We stare at one another a second before I clear my throat. “How long are you in town?”
She sighs. “I need to fly out first thing tomorrow morning.” She holds her hands upward and spreads them apart like a headline as she says, “Breaking news in the music industry.”
“Care to share with the class?”
“Maybe over a drink?” Her brows hitch.
“Not tequila.”
She flirtatiously pouts before straightening her lips.
“How do you feel about milk?”
Her eyes widen. “I don’t drink it. Why?”
“It’s what I’ll be serving with dinner.”
Cadence’s mouth falls open and her head nods once before she tilts it the slightest bit. “Ford Sylver, are you asking me over for dinner?”
I think I might be. My cheeks flame and it isn’t because of the hot Arizona sun. Holding out my hand, I say, “Give me your phone.”
With a huge grin on her face, Cadence hands me her phone where Cowboy is indeed listed as a favorite right after Enya. I add my address to the contact so she has it with the number and can easily map a route to the condo.
“How about six?” I need time to ice my arm and shower. And maybe tidy up my place a bit.
She smiles wide. “What can I bring?”
I bite my lip before suggesting her fine ass is enough.
“Just you, TQ.” She’s going to be more than I can handle.
“See you at six.” Nodding once, she steps aside so I can pass for the training facility but once I pass her, I turn and walk backwards.
“Hey, Cadence? Did you see me knock it out of the ballpark?”
“Really?” She tips her head back as the bill of the cap is covering her face too much. “Hadn’t noticed,” she teases. Her gaze lowers slowly, taking me in from top to toe. “I was too busy objectifying you in those pants. No one told me baseball pants were so sexy.”
My face flames a thousand watts again.
“I’m turning around now, Cadence. See you at six.”
“I’m going to objectify you again as you walk away.” She laughs and I swivel for the training center as I give her a backhand wave.
While smiling all the way to the building.
BLURB:
Love was a losing battle for this country music darling and a single dad, baseball star until one night brings them together and one small town sets the field for a possible winning streak.
They call me Lady Boss. Maneater. Queen. But beneath the makeup, blond wig, and glitzy costumes, I’m just a country girl who likes to sing. I don’t hate men, I’m just struggling to find a good one. I’ve learned my lesson. Fool me once, and it will never, ever happen again.
So I’m baffled when I meet Ford Sylver.
A superstar in his own right as centerfielder for the Chicago Anchors baseball team, plus a single dad to three adorable little girls, we share a moment when I save his firm backside and pretend he’s mine. Something that he can never be.
Only, when he suffers a season-changing injury and I need a place to disappear, we both end up back in Sterling Falls, where I’m suddenly and unwittingly his nanny.
There’s danger in having a wild side. I’ll try anything once. However, forced into close quarters with Ford, acting as his personal nurse, and caring for his three little ones might backfire. Because I’m staring at all I ever wanted and never thought would happen for me.
After losing at love in the past, could I finally be on a winning streak?
I swear, one minute I’m dozing off during the night shift—don’t judge me—and the next I’m being told I’m Fate Mated to an ancient dragon.
An ancient dragon I couldn’t help but save when he woke me up out of the aforementioned slumber—again, don’t judge me.
Now this same ancient dragon—that I’m apparently destined to be with—is doing everything he can to win me over, because it’s up to me whether or not he’ll live the rest of his life in absolute agony or absolute bliss.
Oh, and let’s not forget the fact we’re being chased by elves, working with a grumpy Griffin, and have to rescue some poor kidnapped dragon before an evil corporation kills it.
Ugh.
Any chance this is all some crazy dream that I can’t wake up from?
She’s always been his. He’s always been hers. Best friends since they were kids, everyone always assumed they’d end up together. But Rocco and Jasmine forge their own life paths. Despite remaining close, she discovers she needs a break from the life she’s been living in Chicago. When she moves to New York, things change for him. And he panics, thinking he’s lost her forever.
Rocco
Since the day she moved in across the street when we were kids, Jasmine has held my attention with her sparkling green eyes and spunky spirit. She’s independent and headstrong, and I’ve always admired that about her. Hiding behind my bachelor status, no one is the wiser about the secret feelings I harbor for her.
Jasmine
Rocco has always been by my side. Whether it’s making me laugh, teaching me something new, or sharing confidences, he’s been steadfast. When he morphs into a man seemingly overnight, I find it tough to temper my attraction to him. But he doesn’t see me as anything more than a friend.
🏒Review🏒
Jasmine has always treasured her friendship with Rocco, and he been there for here through all the successes and setbacks she has had. The time has come for a fresh start even if it means leaving Chicago and him.
Rocco has been in love with Jasmine for years but didn’t want to jeopardize the most important relationship in his life. Realizing that that he is going to lose her anyway he has a choice to make and either maintain the status quo or go after the woman who has always owned his heart.
The way that Rocco and Jasmine understand and support each other is only one of the reasons that they are destined to be together, and I enjoyed seeing them finally take a chance on the beautiful life they could have together.
👀 Grab your copies of the discreet cover paperbacks for the entire series on Barnes & Noble!
L.J. Shen is a Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Washington Post, and #1 Amazon bestselling author of contemporary, new adult, and young adult romance. Her books have been sold in twenty different countries, and she hopes to visit all of them.
She lives in Florida with her husband, three rowdy sons, and rowdier pets and enjoys good wine, bad reality TV shows, and reading to her heart’s content. Connect with her on her website at www.authorljshen.com or on Instagram (@authorljshen), or join her Facebook group at http://goo.gl/QZJ0NC. Sign up for her newsletter at https://bit.ly/3LhsIrb, and text SHEN to 313131 to get new release alerts (United States only).
Conceited, unattainable, and downright delicious, renowned Michelin-starred chef Ambrose Casablancas has one passion in life—food.
Women are a distraction, and he doesn’t do those. Especially Cal Litvin, his baby sister’s best friend. Her entire existence is a complication; she’s awkward, eccentric, infuriating…
And, much to his chagrin, hotter than his kitchen.
Ambrose has a lot on his plate: a new restaurant to open, a multimillion-dollar property deal to execute, and a violent stalker to tame.
Then Cal shows up at his doorstep, looking for both a job and salvation after their messy goodbye. His resolve, like his patience, is ebbing each day she works at his restaurant.
Because Cal is no longer a doe-eyed girl.
Now? She’s the woman he’ll do anything to conquer.
***
Quirky, compassionate ball of sunshine Calla Litvin can’t catch a break, and not just because she swore off running. Back in her hometown to nurse her mother’s broken heart after losing her father, she finds herself jobless, hopeless, and penniless. She hopes to rekindle her friendship with her former BFF, but Dylan is attached at the hip to her cruel brother—the one Cal’s been secretly crushing on since middle school.
Falling for the bad boy the second time around would be a mistake of gargantuan proportions.
Series: Book 3 of the Oakmount Elite series – Complete Standalone
Release date: July 12th
Genre/Tropes: Forced Proximity / Tortured Hero / Boss x Employee / Enemies to Lovers / Primal Play / Who Hurt You? / Dark Romance / Found Family / Amnesia
Prepare to be captivated by the cover reveal of The Prey by JL Beck!
Get ready for a gripping standalone novel in the Oakmount Elite series, where forced proximity, a tortured hero, enemies-to-lovers, and dark romance collide.
Join us on July 12th as secrets unravel, lines blur, and desire ignites in this thrilling tale of obsession and deceit.
Sebastian Arturo isn’t just cruel, he’s downright terrifying.
With piercing green eyes, a body made for doing very bad things, and a charming demeanor, it’s no wonder everyone thinks the world of him… everyone except me.
When I wake up with pieces of my memory missing he’s the only one who can give me answers.
But he doesn’t give me answers, instead he tells me to stop asking questions, or else…
I heed his warning and do my best to avoid him but since he’s my boss and I live in his house that’s kinda difficult.
Then one night his hate for me reaches its breaking point…and the lines blur.
Hate twists into lustful obsession.
His cruel words become seductive praises.
One touch sparks a raging inferno of desire, and I find myself burned to ash beneath his fingertips.
Just when I think I’ll finally find happiness my memories return bringing with them a vicious truth.
Turns out the man I’m falling for isn’t who I thought he was… and escape isn”t an option. He has me right where he wants, caught in a trap, just like prey.
**This is a standalone, however for better reading enjoyment please consider starting with The Wallflower before reading The Prey. Again this is a dark romance novel, but does contain a happily ever after. It also contains triggering material, and adult content. Please do not start reading till you check the trigger warning at the beginning of the book.**
About JL Beck:
Beck writes steamy romance that’s unapologetic, meaning it makes no apologies for the way it rips you open and makes you crave more. Her heroes are alphas who take what they want, and she pairs them with heroines that bring them to their knees.
She loves writing about darkness, passion, suspense, and of course, steam.
Leaving her readers gasping and asking what the hell just happened is only one of her many tricks.
Her books range from morally grey to dark and spicey but always end with a happily ever after. She loves to write across numerous tropes, but her favorite is enemies to lovers.
She started her writing career in the summer of 2014 and hasn’t stopped since. She lives in Wisconsin and is a mom to two, a wife, and likes to act as a literary agent part-time.
A Hollywood love story, second chance romance from Wall Street Journal & USA Bestselling Author M. Robinson
Bailey McGraw Pierce is Hollywood’s sweetheart, and I’m their bad boy.
She’s everything I’m not.
Proper.
Composed.
Polite.
Little Miss Goody Two-shoes can do no wrong in the limelight. That’s who she is to the world and her family. But I know the girl behind closed doors, the one I experienced all my firsts with, on and off screen.
Now, seven years later, my career depends on America’s sweetheart agreeing to be my love interest for the next romantic blockbuster titled, “Say You love Me.”
M. Robinson is the Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestselling author of more than thirty novels in Contemporary Romance and Romantic Suspense. Crowned the “Queen of Angst” by her loyal readers, you’ll feel the cut of her pen slicing through your heart as your soul bleeds upon the words of her stories with each turn of the page.
Most notably known for the Good Ol’ Boys, M’s newest venture has graced her with the #1 Bestseller on Apple Books with Second Chance Contract. The Second Chance Men are powerful, intelligent and will sweep you off your feet and leave you weak in the knees–every woman’s wildest dreams.
M. lives the boat life along the Gulf Coast of Florida with her two puppies and real life book boyfriend, the inspiration for all her filthy talking alphas, Bossman.
When she isn’t in the cave writing her next epic love story, you can usually spot her mad-dashing through Target or in the drive-thru of Starbucks, refueling. Yes, she’s a self-proclaimed shopaholic, but only if she’s spending Bossman’s money.
You can follow M, Ted, Marley, and Bossman on Facebook, Instagram, and her absolute favorite social platform-TikTok.
Subscribe to her newsletter now to receive exclusive access to upcoming releases, sales, and freebies.
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Kari's Book Reviews and Revelations 