STICK AROUND by E.M. Lindsey is AVAILABLE NOW

Blurb:

“Would you slap a teammate for twenty-five grand?”

“Uh, yeah. There are a few I’d slap for free. Just point me in the right direction.”

Problem number one: My personal life is falling apart.

Problem number two: My public life is also on thin freaking ice.

Problem number three: The ridiculously hot NHL D-man with the inability to remove his head from his ass has decided I’m his number one target.

And that last one is a bit of an issue since his idea of targeting me is to have absurdly hot hate-hookups with me in the locker room. Which I don’t necessarily mind…

Except there’s one tiny snag in his plan: I don’t like guys.

Or, well, I didn’t think I liked guys.

But when Alexio Zeki drops to his knees and, uh, gets to business, I realize my very narrow view of my own sexuality needs some adjustment.

And that’s ironic coming from a blind man.

Admitting I’m bisexual is the easy part.

Admitting I’m kind of, sort of, ridiculously into the man I claimed to hate is something else entirely. But the more he insists that I’m worth keeping, the more I start wanting to believe him.

Stick Around is the first book in the Punk as Puck spin-off series, Legends and Fury. It’s a high heat, enemies to lovers rom-com with a snarky NHL goalie who has a lot of big opinions and doesn’t care if they’re unsolicited, a PPHL goalie with a mountain of problems and no way to reach the top, locker room hookups, praise, swoony romance, a low-stakes bi-awakening, hockey bro banter, tons of chirping, and the swooniest happily ever after.

Buy Link:

https://mybook.to/lafstickaround

Available in KU

Sunny Shelly’s Review: 5 Stars

Stick Around is the first book I’ve read by E.M. Linsey, and I quite enjoyed it. I understand that this book is the first in a spinoff series about players in the professional para hockey league. I thought that Jonah and Alexio’s story was pretty self-contained, even though Jonah apparently had been a side character in the previous series. For that reason, I’m sure frequent readers will love the continuation of the series with this new couple, but I had no problems diving into Jonah and Alexio’s romance without having that background.

I really liked Jonah. He has the weight of the world on his shoulders when it comes to the family drama surrounding his sick father (who has Alzheimer’s) and his brothers, who have written their father off. And I have to admit, finding out how horribly the dad treated the three brothers when they were young… yikes! No father of the year award there! But that really made Jonah’s plight resonate more with me, and I appreciated how far he’s come in his life.

With Alexio, I thought he came off a bit brute-ish at times and arrogant when it came to the disabilities of Jonah and his teammates. I get that there’s this “us” versus “them” mentality because Alexio plays for the NHL team that is more or less forced to share their arena with the PPHL team, and I was glad to see that after being called out on more than one occasion about how insensitive he was being, Alexio began to change his tune. Otherwise, I would have really struggled with this enemies-to-lovers story. But I thought that all came together nicely, and I really enjoyed this story and the disability rep with the para athletes.

Overall, Jonah and Alexio’s journey was messy and emotional, just what I love in an enemies-to-lovers story. And even though Jonah is blind, he “sees” Alexio and vice versa; these characters had a lovely connection. There is a great friend group that shows up for one another when the going gets tough. I also really enjoyed the tease at the end of this book for Jonah’s brother, Micah, and Vanya, as the couple in the next book!

I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.

Meet E.M. Lindsey:

E.M. Lindsey is a Romance author, an ancient historian, and avid lover of nerdy things.  EM lives on the East Coast of the United States. 

Connect with E.M. Lindsey:

https://linktr.ee/emlindseyauthor

AVAILABLE NOW IN AUDIO CHARMER: The Charmer Tour Edition by Kayley Loring in multicast duet narration by Jason Clarke and Emma Wilder with Erin Mallon and Teddy Hamilton! This is the MULTICAST DUET version of Charmer by Kayley Loring, narrated by Jason Clarke, Emma Wilder, Erin Mallon, and Teddy Hamilton. The content is the same as the original Jason Clarke and Mackenzie Cartwright dual-narrated version, which is still available. Jason Clarke sings all of the song lyrics in this multicast version and he plays guitar for most of the songs. Charmer is a standalone story, but if you listen to SLEEPER: The Palisades Edition first you’ll be familiar with most of the characters. NICO She serves me coffee late at night when I come around to write lyrics, but it’s not the caffeine I’ve gotten addicted to. We’ve got the spark, but she’s the only woman in town who seems to be immune to my charms. When it’s time for me to leave for my cross-country tour, I just can’t imagine not seeing her for months. So I offer her a job on the road with me. KAT Everyone in LA knows that Nico Todd has a way with songs and with the ladies. What he doesn’t know is that I would love to let him have his way with me. But my life can only revolve around one infuriatingly cute guy—the six-year-old that I live with. Imagine my surprise when Nico finds out about my little boy and tells me to bring him and my mom on the road too. And imagine Nico’s surprise when he realizes my son is the biggest charmer of them all. Audible:https://adbl.co/4s87gtV Ebook – Available in KU: https://a.co/d/0fncD6SP

Sunny Shelly’s Review: 5 Stars

I fell in love with Nico back in 2020 after reading Sleeper, and I was thrilled to listen to this new special edition, full-cast audio!

Singer/songwriter Nico Todd has a rep for being a ladies’ man, but from the moment he saw sweet waitress Kat serving coffee in his favorite late-night diner, he was smitten. She’s brushed him off for months, despite feeling a flicker herself whenever she’s around Nico. But as a single mom, Kat knows that her lifestyle and Nico’s lifestyle would just not gel.

But when Nico learns that Kat is a gifted photographer, he offers her a job documenting his upcoming music tour, and takes her son and mother along for the ride. And as it turns out, little Tate is just as charming as Nico! Although Kat tries to keep things completely professional between them when they are on the road, that plan quickly goes by the wayside. They get to know each other well in their close quarters, and Nico not only wins over Kat, but Tate and her mom as well.

Charmer is an absolutely charming story. I love the way Nico breaks down Kat’s walls, and she makes him want the life and family that he never thought he wanted before. He totally steps up as a dad for Tate, and their relationship is heartwarming. Low on angst, big on all the feels, Sleeper is a perfect love story to get lost in! Jason Clarke and Emma Wilder bring Nico and Kat to life in a wonderful duet narration, with Teddy Hamilton and Erin Mallon voicing the supporting characters. What a fab foursome! And Jason Clarke singing Nico’s songs and playing guitar? Holy smokes!

I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.

Then There Was You by S.L. Scott is AVAILABLE NOW

Synopsis:

I’d almost forgotten what it felt like to smile, to laugh, and to really live. Until I met him.

Heart-stoppingly handsome.
Totally forbidden.
Keats Matthews looked at me like I was something special.

He was escaping his past. I wanted to escape my present. Together, we fell hard and fast and knew we had found forever. Or so we thought …

Six years later, his shoulders are broader than I remembered, his charming smile thaws my frozen heart, and it’s so tempting to run my fingers through his hair like I did years ago. But it’s the tenderness and warmth in his brown eyes that remind me of the forever we almost shared.

It’s magic when we’re together again. Our chemistry has only magnified. Seeing him, confident and more irresistible than ever, has me falling for him all over again and hoping for a second chance.

But he still believes our timing was off before. He’s wrong. It was the secret I kept hidden that was our undoing. Time hasn’t healed old wounds, and not everything hidden has come to light. When it does, we’ll stand together or fall apart. Either way, we must find out.

Then There Was You is NOW AVAILABLE

Amazon & KU: https://geni.us/TTWYAm

Audio is live on Audible: https://geni.us/TTWYAudible

Right Person Wrong Time

Forbidden Romance

Star-Crossed Lovers

Narrated by Erin Mallon & Tor Thom

Sunny Shelly’s Review: 5 Stars

Then There Was You was full of angsty goodness.

Keats and Sosie are the quintessential opposites attract story: She’s a society princess, raised in a gilded cage by parents who parade her around like an accessory, and he’s a struggling student, raised by a single mom who didn’t quite know what she was doing and he’s had to fight for every scrap he has. They meet one night when he’s a cater waiter working her parents’ annual holiday party, and the connection between them is off the charts. They spend one beautiful night together before her father intervenes, and they are torn apart.

This book has a six-year time jump, and during that time, neither one of them has ever truly moved past their one night together. So when they reconnect, will they still have the same combustible chemistry?

If you love star-crossed lovers, forbidden romance, it’s always been you, the one that got away, etc. — then this story is definitely one worth getting lost in!

I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.

BEYOND THE PAGES by K.H. Oakes is AVAILABLE NOW

Blurb:

He found me during the best time of my life.

Okay, it wasn’t exactly the best time of my life. I was on the side of the road, a flat tire on my

truck, but I digress…

He was the man I never saw coming.

Which explains why I aimed my pepper spray at him when he approached. Honestly, a girl can

never be too careful, especially when her daughter’s involved. Still…

He was everywhere in my new hometown.

No, he wasn’t a stalker. Just my knight in denim-clad armor, full of Southern charm, with rugged good looks…he even called me ma’am.

And, when it mattered most, Cameron Brown was there on the worst day of my life. But

will my pain bring back the trauma of his past?

Please check the author’s trigger warnings. Your mental health matters.

Buy Link:

https://a.co/d/5BzGb89

Available in KU

Sunny Shelly’s Review: 4 Stars

Beyond the Pages by K.H. Oakes was an impressive debut novel!

Rosalie and Cameron are both single parents, and they have the cutest meet-cute when she gets a flat tire as she and her young daughter are moving to a new town. This book is slow-burn perfection! The banter between the characters was amazing. I loved the supporting cast of characters, the cozy feel of this small town, the growth between Cameron and Rosalie (especially Cameron, a widower), the connections with their kids, and the range of emotions (especially grief and healing) in this story.

Beyond the Pages is definitely a book I am placing on my re-read list. I can’t wait to see what this author gives to us next!

I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review

Meet K.H. Oakes:

K.H. Oakes lives in Northwest Arkansas with her husband and two kids. She is an occupational therapist by day, a parent by night, and an author in her “free” time. She enjoys hanging out with her family, traveling, reading a variety of romance books, playing tennis, and anything to do with animals. Sarcasm is her love language.

Connect with K.H. Oakes:

https://linktr.ee/authorkhoakes

The Last Great Almost by Quintana McConnell is now available on Amazon and KU!

What to expect:

Childhood Friends to Strangers to Lovers

Second Chance

Small Town

Found Family

Mental Health Rep

Second Coming-of-Age

Black Cat x Golden Retriever

BLURB

Phases fade. Eras echo.

You don’t always know you’re in one, until it’s gone.

When thirty-three year old Nora Lowe unexpectedly returns to her small Midwestern hometown, she must confront the ghost of her past: Elliott Ashby, the best friend and secret love she abandoned fifteen years ago. Nora never intended to go back to the boy who knew her better than she knew herself, but now the old feelings—and old secrets—are clawing their way out of the shadows.

Face-to-face for the first time since she fled, Nora and Elliott must decide if they can move beyond their troubled backgrounds, rumor mills, and wounds to embrace a future they never named. The alternative is the unraveling of everything they’ve built in the interim, and Nora’s continued struggle to break free from her past and find the love she feels worthy of.

Told in dual POV across layered timelines, The Last Great Almost is a slow-burning meditation on emotional imprinting, chosen family, and the quiet ways we carry each other—long after the moment has passed.

Sunny Shelly’s Review: 3.5 Stars

Childhood best friends Nora and Elliott haven’t spoken in a decade; not since everything changed between them and she left town and never looked back. Now, following a breakup, Nora returns home to lick her wounds, and she and Elliott are thrust back into one another’s lives… and the opportunity presents itself to heal some of the old heartbreak.

The story is a sweet, clean, second-chance romance, told in dual POV and in past and present. There was a lot of miscommunication between these characters, and I was kind of surprised at how not-that-big-of-a-deal Nora’s reason for leaving town was. I feel like it could have been settled much sooner had these two actually talked about it. But I did appreciate the always-been-you microtrope, and how Elliott never really moved past Nora’s leaving.

The Last Great Almost is the first book I’ve read by Quintana McConnell. Overall, I liked it; I didn’t *love* it. Will I come back to re-read it? Maybe.

I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.

Prepare to fall in love amongst the wildflowers this spring. . .

From the romance superstar author of The Boston Bolts hockey series comes a rivals-to-lovers, grumpy-sunshine romance about a young woman returning to her family’s daffodil farm only to find someone unexpected running her daddy’s business.

They say you can never tame a wildflower…

When aspiring pastry chef, Tally Darling, returns home to her family’s daffodil farm, the last thing she expects to find is a hot—half-naked—farmhand living in her childhood bedroom and running her late daddy’s business.

Jesse Walker might be gorgeous but he’s also infuriatingly grumpy. Walker has no time for Tally and the feeling is mutual.

That is, until Tally hears him moan over one of her signature salted honey cupcakes. And then discovers how good it tastes when they kiss.

As dewy April days turn into warm May evenings, Walker and Tally soon realize that there is a thin line between love and hate. But will their budding connection grow into something that lasts beyond one season?

Sunny Shelly’s Review: 4 Stars

Darling Daffodils Farm was such a fun story!

After her father passes away, Tally returns home to help run the family’s daffodil farm… and encounters a handsome stranger living in her childhood bedroom and running the farm. Walker and Tally definitely get off on the wrong foot. She definitely doesn’t trust him at first (and with good reason, because he’s keeping secrets on behalf of her mother), but the chemistry between them is electric. The more time they spend together, the more they realize they don’t hate each other after all, and this grumpy cowboy turns out to be a big softie when it comes to Tally.

There are some complications that the couple encounters (See: Secrets), but I thought that the resolution played out nicely. I loved how these two characters complemented each other. Walker was a solid, supportive rock when Tally needed it, and she brought a lightheartedness to him that the grumpy cowboy was missing in his life.

I’ve been a big fan of Brittanee Nicole’s Boston Bolts hockey series, so I was excited to read something different by this author, and Darling Daffodils Farm did not disappoint! I’m looking forward to the rest of this series!

I received a complimentary copy via NetGalley and voluntarily left a review.

GENTRY

Ashley James

Release Date: March 17

Blurb:

I’ve spent my life doing the right thing.

Wanting him is the first thing that’s ever felt impossible to resist.

Remington Buchanan is the golden-boy firefighter everyone in town trusts with their lives. He’s wears a dimply smile that doesn’t seem to dim for anyone and makes me forget that he’s off limits. Because not only is he half my age, he’s also my son’s best friend.

I’ve built my world on responsibility. On early mornings, hard work, and putting my family first. There’s no room in it for reckless desire. And yet, every time he walks into a room smelling like smoke and sunshine and looking at me like I’m more than just his best friend’s dad, my carefully built restraint starts to crack.

When he takes in a thirteen-year-old boy who just lost his whole world, I tell myself I’m only helping because it’s the right thing to do. Nothing more.

But late nights together in secret turn into shared glances and accidental touches that linger too long. The space between us grows heavy with everything I’m pretending not to feel.

Loving him would mean risking my relationship with my son. It would mean admitting that after years of playing it safe, I want something that could burn my whole life to the ground.

Wanting him feels like crossing a line I can’t uncross.

Because if this goes wrong, I don’t just lose him—I lose my son. My family. My quiet, comfortable life I’ve spent decades building.

But when Remington looks at me like I’m not too old, not too closed off—just his—I start to wonder if doing the right thing has kept me safe… Or just kept me alone.

Some things are worth the risk.

And this time, I’m not sure I’m ready to walk away from the life, and the love, taking shape right in front of me.

Sunny Shelly’s Review: 4 Stars

So usually, the best-friend’s-dad trope is not one I generally enjoy, but since I liked the other books in this series (and the breadcrumbs that were dropped of what was to come in the last book, knowing Remi was crushing on Gentry), I wanted to check out this story, especially since it was going to be a high-stakes, risky romance.

Remi is kind of an over-the-top character, and I enjoyed the contrast in his golden retriever energy to Gentry’s grumpy personality. Both characters showed so much vulnerability with one another, and those were some of my favorite scenes in this book.

Overall, I enjoyed this story, but I felt it was lacking some oomph that the previous books had. Parts of the story felt rushed, and other parts felt glossed over. I think I would have liked to have seen how Gentry bonded with Lukas more, and more of Remi and Gentry being an actual couple. So much was in secret — which I get, because of the forbidden factors of their age gap and Gentry being the father of Remi’s best friend. I liked the emotional layer that gave their story, and I thought the characters navigated those obstacles well, but I just really wanted to see more than what we got of them out and about together, and navigating that aspect of their relationship after spending so much time together in secret. But this story really delivered on the high emotional stakes, so that was a win for me.

I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.

Meet Ashley James:

Ashley James is a romance author who enjoys writing (and reading) LGBTQIA+ books. She is from Washington State—and no, not Seattle—and currently resides in South Carolina with her two kids and hairless kitties, Goose, Maverick, and Houston. Ashley is introverted and slightly (okay, majorly) awkward. She refuses to make this section sound like a tacky dating app profile, so she won’t be telling you how much she enjoys music, how she thoroughly enjoys dancing and singing in her kitchen, despite not being able to carry a tune, and she won’t be telling you about her love of toxic and broken fictional men.

Connect with Ashley James:

https://authorashleyjames.com/links/

Rule Breaker is NOW LIVE on Kindle Unlimited download it here: https://geni.us/ctRtqj

BLURB:You could say Jesse Winters and I got off on the wrong foot. The first time I laid eyes on him, I let him know exactly where he could shove that smug grin on his face.

I’ve met plenty of guys like Jesse—handsome, charming, infuriating. He skates through life on good looks and charisma, leaving a trail of broken hearts along the way. It’s clear that most girls find him impossible to ignore, but then, most girls haven’t been raised with a powerful political family legacy resting squarely on their shoulders. My parents taught me to be poised, polished, and perfect. And to stay far away from men like Jesse Winters.

Unfortunately, he’s one of the owners of the company I now work for and seeing as I uprooted my entire life and moved to Deep Cove for this job, I tell myself to just do my best to avoid him.

That is, until an out-of-town gala I’m pressured to attend forces us together. An airplane ride away from the office and the town we both call home, we’re stuck sharing one hotel room. And one bed. Suddenly, Jesse is my fake date for the weekend—only nothing about it feels like we’re pretending.

Especially not the possessive way he looks at me.

Or how much I like it.

It doesn’t take long to realize that underneath that bad boy charm is a heart I didn’t expect and a softness I didn’t see coming, and it threatens to break through every carefully constructed piece of who I’m supposed to be. 

As Jesse and I grow closer, my parents begin to see him as a threat to the legacy they expect me to uphold. So, they do what they’ve always done when something gets in the way of their plans: lie, manipulate, and play dirty to get what they want. And what they want now is to keep us apart.

I was raised to follow the rules. Jesse has spent his entire life breaking them. But the more we collide, the harder it becomes to deny what’s between us or how much it could cost me if I choose him.

What to Expect:

• Spicy small-town
• Enemies to lovers
• West coast Playboy x Poised Political Princess
• One bed
• Millionaire
• Workplace
• Opposites attract
• Protective hero 

.

.Sunny Shelly’s Review: 5 Stars

After getting to know the Winters brothers in Deal Breaker, I couldn’t wait to get to the next book. Jesse and Madeline had an instant connection from the moment they first crossed paths at the local bar. I loved the way she sassed him and didn’t fawn over him the way most women did — the fact that he was her soon-to-be-boss had a lot to do with that, but Jesse didn’t know it!

The characters developed a wonderful rapport as they began working together, and the slow burn between them exploded when Jesse accompanied Mads to a gala event her parents demanded she attend as her fake date. (Seriously, I hated her parents!) But while their relationship began as a fake one, it wasn’t long before it became something very real for both of them.

Both characters have complicated parental situations — she faces an extreme amount of pressure from her political family, whereas his father essentially abandoned the boys after their mother passed — and it was interesting to see not only how they each handled that, but how they supported one another in those matters.

I really enjoyed Jesse & Madeline’s story, and I can’t wait to see what comes next for the Winters boys! (Wes and Lottie, fingers crossed!)

I received a complimentary copy and voluntarily left a review.