Renee Harless is a USA TODAY bestselling author with an affinity for wine and a passion for telling a good story.
Renee Harless, her husband, and children live in Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. She studied Communication, specifically Public Relations, at Radford University.
Growing up, Renee always found a way to pursue her creativity. It began by watching endless runs of White Christmas – yes even in the summer – and learning every word and dance from the movie. She could still sing “Sister Sister” if requested. In high school she joined the show choir and a community theatre group, The Troubadours. After marrying the man of her dreams and moving from her hometown, she sought out a different artistic outlet – writing.
To say that Renee is a romance addict would be an understatement. When she isn’t chasing her kids around the house, working her day job, or writing, she jumps head first into a romance novel.
Represented by Stephanie at SBR Media for Foreign and Audio Rights.
Lark Carrington came to Coral Bell Cove for a fresh start. A fading inn, a quiet life, and a chance to rebuild something steady after everything she’s lost. She didn’t expect her first real connection to come in the middle of chaos.
Holt Wright is used to being underestimated—long before he ever put on a uniform. The easygoing one. The goofball. The brother no one expected much from. Until he became a firefighter. Now, when the alarm sounds, he’s the one people trust when it matters most.
The one who shows up.
The one who stays.
Even for her.
What begins as a single moment—smoke, heat, and the steady presence of the man who pulled her back from the edge—turns into something neither of them can ignore. Long days restoring the Carrington Inn. Late nights that feel a little too honest. A connection that builds slowly… and burns deeper than either of them expected.
Because Lark doesn’t trust easily. And Holt is still learning what it means to be the man people finally believe in.
And when the past Lark tried to outrun starts to catch up with her… they’ll have to decide if this is just a spark—or something worth risking everything for.
At First Spark is a tender, slow-burn small-town romance about healing, showing up, and discovering that sometimes the person who saves you… is the one you choose to stay for.
Ever hear the story about the dating coach who got dumped on the hockey arena’s jumbotron?
Everyone did. But I lived it. Including the moment when Lake Axelrod, the team’s broody, tattooed right winger, swooped in on skates to rescue me from public humiliation.
Even more surprising? When the famously grumpy (and ridiculously sexy) hockey star insists on being my fake boyfriend for my sister’s high-profile wedding.
It’s the perfect plan. His family stops pressuring him to settle down, and I’ll get the ultimate revenge, since my ex is the best man. Bonus – I might even salvage my professional reputation.
We need rules though.
To pull this off, everyone from his teammates to my boss has to believe we’re a real couple.
That means swoony touches and knee-weakening kisses are required.
When it ends, we walk away.
But the intensity in Lake’s eyes after every post-game kiss makes me wonder if he’s pretending. With each whispered secret, the line between fake and real bends. Until it shatters one night in a hotel room.
Soon, he isn’t just playing the protective boyfriend—he’s the only one who truly sees me.
If I’m not careful, I’m going to break the most important rule of all: don’t fall for your fake date.
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.
New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author Sawyer Bennett uses real life experience to create relatable stories that appeal to a wide array of readers. From contemporary romance, fantasy romance, and both women’s and general fiction, Sawyer writes something for just about everyone.
A former trial lawyer from North Carolina, when she is not bringing fiction to life, Sawyer is a chauffeur, stylist, chef, maid, and personal assistant to her very adorable daughter, as well as full-time servant to her wonderfully naughty dogs.
If you’d like to receive a notification when Sawyer releases a new book, sign up for her newsletter (sawyerbennett.com/signup).
Kace Elliott is the hockey player with a genius IQ and a secret side hustle in applied physics. He’s falling for his research partner, but she doesn’t know who he is outside of the lab. Now, the closer they get, the harder it becomes for him to keep his two worlds from colliding.
On the ice, I’m Kace Elliott—starting goalie for the Pittsburgh Titans, fighting to prove myself in the playoffs. Off it, I’m William—a scientific researcher, quietly holding on to the academic world I’ll return to when hockey is over. Both versions are real, they just aren’t meant to overlap.
Until Dr. Laurel Kent.
Laurel is brilliant, principled, and deeply rooted in a world where transparency matters. She knows me online as William, her intellectual equal, the man who shares her passion for data, late-night collaboration, and easy, unexpected chemistry. William is very much her type whereas athletes are not.
I need her to like the bigger part of me—the hockey player. When she meets me in person, as Kace, I make the choice to let her see the type of man she’s sworn off from ever dating. She gets the Titans goalie and all the craziness that comes with the playoffs. But here’s where it gets complicated: I make the dangerous decision not to tell her Kace and William are the same person.
By some stroke of luck, Laurel agrees to give Kace a shot, and our time together is more than I ever hoped for. The closer together we grow, the less she talks about William, and I convince myself I’ll tell her the truth when the timing is better, once I’m able to prove I’m more than the label she’s written off. But timing has a way of unraveling even the best intentions.
As the pressure of the playoffs intensifies, the boundary I’ve relied on becomes impossible to maintain. When Laurel discovers how closely intertwined my worlds really are, I’m faced with the cost of asking someone to love only part of me.
And winning on the ice means nothing if I lose the woman who made me want to stop dividing my life in two.
🏒Review🏒 Not only does is Kace the goaltender for the Pittsburgh Titan but he always works as a research assistant for Laurel. Even though they have never met the feelings he has for her are real so when he finds out she is attending a speed dating event he is determined to use that opportunity to meet her however the only catch is that she doesn’t realize that he and her research assistant are the same man.
Laurel’s intelligence is off the charts which doesn’t always allow her to relate to other people. When she meets Kace she can’t deny that she enjoyed the time she spent with him but not only is he an athlete but she believes they have nothing in common. As they spend time together she begins to feel like she has found a place to belong however there is still a lot about him that she doesn’t know.
I really enjoyed this story as Kace and Laurel just fit in all arears of each other’s live. This story has the perfect balance of humor, heat and emotion with a little angst thrown in to keep you on edge. Isabell Ruther gives a great voice to Laurel and allows us to understand all her feelings while Aiden Snow brings out both the swoony and sensitive side of Kace and the struggle he finds himself in.
For the last five years I’ve been running from both my sisters vengeful anger, and from my husband’s intense obsession.
When Gaven finally captures me, I have no other choice but to use him the same way he always planned to use me. The closer I am, the more information I have, the safer we both are. So, I’ll take his punishment for leaving. I’ll take his pain and his pleasure.
My wedding night might have ended in pain and betrayal, but I won’t let my life end the same.
He’s a killer and I’m a target. In the end, someone has to die, but who is it going to be this time?
Light, bright, bubbly Dolly Parker is my reason for breathing, but she deserves more than a reclusive mountain man grump. For over a year, I’ve resigned myself to one monthly haircut being the closest I’ll ever get to the woman I love. Half an hour spent in her chair is the highlight of my trips down the mountain. But then she enters the Annual Foxy Falls Fundraiser Auction, and the thought of her with any other man makes me lose control. In an act of territorial, lust-filled obsession, I buy all three dates with her, claiming her publicly for the first time. I expect Dolly to be confused, disappointed, and sure as hell pissed. What I don’t expect is for her to demand I take her home and make her mine.
What to expect from a Lara London romance: Quick Reads. Big Heat. Forever Love. Steamy, short, insta-love romances with quirky heroines, obsessive heroes who fall hard, no cheating, and guaranteed HEA — delivered with heat, heart, and humor.
Why you need to #ONECLICK this book… 🔥small-town 🔥brother’s-best-friend 🔥found family 🔥friends-to-lovers 🔥steamy 🔥contemporary romance
Touching Spencer—even for a millisecond—did things to my body. Wild things I could barely control. I hate dentists. Except for Dr. Spencer Holland. It’s hard to hate him when he smiles at me, and those adorable crinkles appear at the corners of his big, brown eyes. I’m nervous as hell when he’s aiming sharp dental tools at me, but I’m also imagining how his lips would feel against mine. How his arms would feel wrapped around me. How our bodies would fit together perfectly.
I can’t actually have this sexy dentist though because he’s my brother’s best friend and totally off limits. Actually, Spencer is friends with all of my brothers—all five of them.
Oh, did I forget to mention I have five brothers? Five brothers who circle like me like a pack of protective wolves. Yeah, so anyway . . .
I’ve managed to hide my attraction to Spencer for fourteen years ever since he came to my rescue on my prom night. Lately ignoring my feelings for him, however, is a full-time job. One I’m failing at. Epically.
And there are these . . . moments when I almost believe Spencer wants me too. But that couldn’t be.
Could it?
I’m tired of being underwhelmed by every relationship I attempt with other guys. None of them measure up to Spencer, and it’s time I did something to make him mine.
Just don’t tell my brothers.
💜Review💜 Vanessa is part of a close and loving family which includes five brothers who try to shelter her the best way they can. She has had feelings for Spenser for years however his close relationship to her brothers and her family are part of the reasons that she has never acted on her feelings for him. Years later when she realizes he feels the same a secret relationship begins which brings its own set of complications.
Spenser has had feelings for Vanessa for years however due to his tragic past her family has also become his family and he doesn’t want to do anything to change that. Although they have only recently given in to their feelings this is a slow burn that has been developing for years and was always the way meant to be.
This is a heartwarming story about family that includes entertaining interactions, romance and all the feels. The secret romance adds another aspect to the story as well as the challenges that one of Vanessa’s students was going through which only made their relationship stronger.
From New York Times bestselling author Penelope Sky, an unforgettable golden retriever mafia romance set in modern-day Italy, bursting with violence, dripping with blood, and crackling with desire.
We spent weeks planning this trip to Sicily together. And I was damn sure going to enjoy it, even if my lying, cheating boyfriend just abandoned me.
I push aside self-pity to venture out and take photographs. Later, I lock eyes with a stranger at a bar. This tattooed god, Constantine, is way out of my league, but to my surprise, he’s all in—every inch. And up in his hotel suite, he claims me for his own. Over and over again.
Constantine’s touch helps take away the pain, and he possesses me like I’ve never known. I fall hard. But beneath his kindness to me, to his family, to his dog, I sense danger. How could I know that to the city of Rome, he’s a brutal enforcer?
When I trust the wrong man, I discover just how dangerous Constantine can be. He may call me sweetheart, but the Roman Republic calls him Emperor—and trembles at his feet.
Meet Penelope Sky:
Penelope Sky is an international phenomenon and multiple Amazon Charts, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author. She’s best known for her dark romance, mafia romance, and romantic thrillers, and with books translated into dozens of languages around the world, she’s sold more than five million copies worldwide. Sky also writes fantasy romance under the pen name Penelope Barsetti. Follow and connect with the author on Instagram or TikTok at @penelopeskyauthor.
🖤Review🖤
Aurelia had high hopes that the vacation that she and her boyfriend planned will bring them closer instead it tore them apart. Now she finds herself spending the vacation alone until she and Constantine have a chance meeting and he makes the trip unforgettable, but it doesn’t end there as they both live in Rome however his lifestyle is unlike anything she has experienced.
Constantine is a powerful man who is feared by many. When he meets Aurelia he knows that she is his destiny however even though he knows she has deep feelings for him she is also uncertain what a future with him would mean. He knows he needs to be patient and understanding even if it goes against who he is and what he feels.
Constantine is dark and dangerous when it comes to everyone except Aurelia as there is nothing he won’t do to show her that not only will he protect her but he will cherish her as they take us on journey filled with heat and emotion.
Melanie Moreland said it’s Tuesday, and you need to suffer a little. 😉🍀
He reached up, wrapping his hand around my nape and dragging my face to his.He kissed me as if he needed me to breathe.As if my mouth was the only way to survive.
💚 SULLIVAN. April 22. I am not okay, and I refuse to be okay alone.
An Irish millionaire with dangerous ties and a silver fox who kisses like survival — this is what’s coming for us in two weeks, and I need everyone to be aware of what Melanie is doing to us. 😮💨
🍀 One Bed 🍀 Vow to Rescue 🍀 Long Distance 🍀 Irish Silver Fox with an accent 🍀 He crossed an ocean to keep his word
✨NARRATOR REVEAL: TROUBLEMAKER by @kayleyloring is coming to audio May 1 and will be performed in multicast duet narration by JF Harding and Erin Mallon with Emma Wilder, Jason Clarke, & Teddy Hamilton!
TO: Alex Vega FROM: Emilia Stiles SUBJECT: Hello Dear Mr. Vega, I felt it necessary to follow up on today’s meeting, since we weren’t able to speak candidly in front of your son. I was shocked to discover that you are Ryder’s dad. Given that your ex-wife will be out of the country for a while and you are currently his primary caregiver, I’m sure you understand why we need to establish boundaries and etiquette. I think it would be best if we just pretend that we met in person for the first time today. Your son is a very bright (flirtatious and talkative) student and since his education is a top priority for both of us, I hope I can count on you to respectfully refrain from grinning at me, using that sexy tone of voice, and undressing me with your annoyingly beautiful brown eyes if we should happen to interact with each other again in the future. Thanks so much, Miss Stiles
TO: Emilia Stiles FROM: Alex Vega SUBJECT: Re: Well, hello again… Dear Miss Stiles, Great to hear from you. My son’s education is indeed a top priority. As such, I respectfully agree to refrain from doing all of the aforementioned things. However, I can’t promise to stop thinking about that kiss at the bar this summer. I’ve been thinking about it for the past month. It’s interesting how humorless and uptight you are about my son’s totally awesome personality, given that I have personally witnessed just how flirtatious and talkative you yourself can be when mildly intoxicated. You’re so welcome, Alex P.S. I volunteered to be a chaperone for your next field trip. See you then.
✨EXCERPT: TEST OF TIME by @harlowjamesauthor releasing April 10th! This will be a simultaneous release in Audio with the amazing narrators Aiden Snow and Ava Erickson in DUET!
I close the distance between us and crush my lips to hers. When my tongue darts out to find hers, she shoves me away, but her eyes are wild and her cheeks are flushed. “What the hell, Rhonan?”
The only sound resting between us is our heavy breathing, our chests rising and falling with each labored inhale. Our eyes bounce between one another, the silence deafening even though that seems impossible.
But before I can say anything else, Vienna launches herself at me, jumping into my arms and wrapping her legs around my waist, smashing her lips back to mine.
My adrenaline kicks in, closing her front door behind me and then spinning around, pinning her up against it while our tongues clash and my cock presses against my zipper. I thrust my erection right between her legs, spurring a moan from deep in her throat, but Vienna doesn’t miss a beat. She writhes against me, creating the friction I know she needs.
“God, you’re infuriating,” she mumbles against my lips.
“I’m aware. You’re not a saint either, you know.”
Vienna deepens our kiss, yanking on the strands of my hair between her fingers. “God, Rhonan. Yes.”
Our mouths continue to move over one another, and even though I know I should stop this—whatever the hell this is—my body won’t let me.
Kari's Book Reviews and Revelations 