Moments in Time is a very fitting title for this wonderful small-town, best friends, second-chance romance. It’s got the perfect balance of sexy and sweet, lots of feels, and the right amount of angst.
Jamison and Violet were best friends once upon a time, but their relationship fell apart and they fell out of touch. Violet has always been the one that got away — so when she literally falls into his lap during a lap dance at a private party, he’s determined to be a part of her life once again. And that means tracking her down in the small town where they grew up. Jami is also there to help his brother Anderson run the family campground, so reconnecting with Violet is a bonus.
I really liked the way Jami and Violet’s complicated history is drawn upon in this story as it goes back and forth from then to now. Were they dating? It was never labeled, but they were so much more than just best friends back then. It takes a while for them to move past the hurt of the past, but once they bring their relationship to the present, they are honest with each other about how they are feeling and it was lovely to see that kind of growth between them.
Moments In Time is set in the same world as The Weight of Regret. While I struggled to connect with Jami’s brother, Anderson, and Hope in that book, I am bumping it back up to the top of my TBR list after finishing Moments in Time.
I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
Meet K.K. Allen
K.K. Allen is the USA TODAY Bestselling and award-winning contemporary romance author of sweet, sexy, and inspiring stories that evoke emotion at every turn.
K.K.’s debut romance novel, Up in the Treehouse, was named the Best New Adult Book of the Year by RT Book Reviews, an honor beyond belief. And she continues to take reader’s emotions on an epic ride every single time with real, layered, coming of age romance stories that will make you fall in love over and over again.
Born in Hawaii, raised in Washington, and currently residing in Florida, K.K. lives for laughs with her little dude, the great outdoors, watching football, dancing the night away, and her eclectic taste in music.
K.K. also loves connecting with her readers and attends signings when she can! You can find upcoming event dates and other information at:www.kkallen.com.
★★★★★ “It was edgy, raw, heart-stopping and highly emotional- checking all my boxes.” -BC Booklover
Blurb:
The last time I saw the only woman I’ve ever loved, we stood in a church as I tried to stop her from walking down the aisle toward the wrong man. I failed.
In the four years that have passed, she had his kid while I went on to achieve the sort of success with my band that we never could have dreamed.
I’ve sampled enough of the female population to realize no one will ever measure up to the woman who holds my heart, but she’s a mom now, and I’m unsuitable for kids.
They’ve built their life far enough away from me, but they’re coming to California. They want to see me.
My first response? No comment.
The fire that always burned between us still rages when they show up, but I should really stay away. After all, she didn’t just marry some random guy. She married my brother.
Once again, Lisa Suzanne delivers a powerful, emotional, angst-filled love triangle with No Comment. Tommy and Rachel’s story is a bumpy, wild ride full of missed opportunities, regrets, and a love that won’t die. Lisa Suzanne’s love triangles have always intrigued me, and the story between Tommy, Rachel and Eddie reminded me a bit of the triangle between Mark, Reese and Brian in the first trilogy of the Vail series. But she ups the ante with No Comment because not only is Rachel the one that got away for Tommy, but she is married to his brother Eddie and they have a child.
TW: There is some cheating involved, but I thought it’s handled in a way that flowed well with the story. It also lead to some major anticipation to see Rachel and Tommy finally reunite.
And that bonus epilogue? I cried.
This book is part of the Capital Kingsmen series, but can be read as a standalone. It is also set in the Vail world since CK is on Mark Aston’s Ashmark record label — and I LOVED the scenes between Mark and Tommy as they discussed the unique heartbreak of loving your brother’s girl.
I received a complimentary copy and voluntarily left a review.
From USA Today and Wall St. Journal bestselling author comes a brand-new contemporary romance—an angsty, emotional love story between a grumpy firefighter who thinks he has his life figured out and a beautiful ad exec whose life is anything but.
Between Hello and Goodbye by Emma Scott is now live!
She’s a city girl in Seattle. He’s a firefighter in a rainforest. This is never going to work…
Faith Benson isn’t your emergency contact, she’s the party-girl friend you call for a good time. The gal-pal who loves mimosas at brunch and martinis at Happy Hour. But her carefree lifestyle threatens her job at a top Seattle ad agency. There’s no one better at landing big accounts (when she shows up) but her boss demands she take a leave of absence to get her head on straight.
Faith heads to the remote Hawaiian island of Kauai, far away from the vices that get her in trouble. A twisted ankle on Day One requires rescuing by a man who is vice personified–a gorgeous firefighter who awakens feelings in her heart she never knew existed.
Asher Mackey doesn’t get involved with beautiful tourists beyond taking them to bed and then watching them leave his tiny island. He’s devoted his life to the safety and care of everyone around him…except himself. Until he meets Faith Benson, the city girl whose vibrant, inner beauty shines a light on the dark corners of his life, showing him how safe—but empty—it truly is.
Despite their best efforts to keep their distance, Faith and Asher fall hard and fast, but there’s an ocean between them. Both are building their lives on opposite sides of the Pacific while their feelings for each other grow more profound and undeniable by the day.
Something has to give.
When Asher receives devastating news, he and Faith have to decide once and for all to entrust their hearts fully to the other or return to their safe—but separate—worlds. Because neither can endure much longer, living somewhere between hello and goodbye.
Between Hello and Goodbye is a contemporary romance about love, loss, and experiencing life in all its facets. It deals with sensitive topics that may be triggering for some readers.
Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited
Between Hello and Goodbye is so much more than an opposites attract, grumpy/sunshine romance. Emma Scott’s latest story delivers an emotional punch that will leave you with a book hangover.
As hard as Asher and Faith try to ignore the crazy chemistry between them, it’s inevitable. But she’s a city slicker ad exec from Seattle on retreat to “reset” her life in Hawaii, and he’s a firefighter in a small island town. Sure, he was once a Wall Street hedge fund manager, but Asher’s traded in that life for a simpler existence. How will they ever make their vacation fling work?
As it turns out, the distance between Hawaii and Settle is not the only thing working against Asher and Faith. They both have baggage to work through and just when it seems that they’ve made their way through that, a devastating turn of events threatens to tear them apart for good. This book is emotional, heartbreaking, heartwrenching, and every other angsty synonym you can think of. But so, so beautiful despite the heartache that befalls Asher and Faith.
I didn’t realize at first that Faith was Silas’ fake fiance from Someday, Someday, and I loved that she got a story of her own — as emotional and teary as it was!
I received a complimentary copy and voluntarily left a review.
Emma Scott is a USA Today and Wall St. Journal bestselling author whose books have been translated in six languages and featured in Buzzfeed, Huffington Post, New York Daily News and USA Today’s Happy Ever After. She writes emotional, character-driven romances in which art and love intertwine to heal, and in which love always wins. If you enjoy emotionally-charged stories that rip your heart out and put it back together again, with diverse characters and kind-hearted heroes, you will enjoy her novels. Visit www.emmascottwrites.com
“Everything amazing about a small town romance…family, secrets, old wounds, unforgettable connections, plus the sweetest love story that had my heart soaring. An absolute must read! Addie and Beckett were magic together!”–A.L. Jackson New York Times Bestselling Author
Hidden Waters, an all-new touching and heartfelt friends to lovers, small-town romance from bestselling author Catherine Cowles, is now available!
My family tried to break me. But, somehow, I made it out alive, even though the wounds from that survival are forever carved into my bones. Now, my only wish is for…normal. To know what it’s like to have friends, a job, a home.
The last thing I want is for my new roommate to see the scars I’m so desperate to keep hidden, especially not the ruggedly handsome man who steals my breath and sends my heart into overdrive.
But something tells me that Beckett has demons, too. I see it in the shadows haunting his gorgeous eyes and the way he looks at me with gentle understanding.
As our unlikely friendship becomes so much more, forces from my life slink out of the shadows. And we could both lose everything we’ve fought so hard for—down to our very last breaths…
“I’m getting it. I’m making that beautiful life now. And I’ll appreciate it so much more because of what I’ve been through.”
It wasn’t enough for me. It never would be. But I admired how Addie could view her past. I struggled not to hold her too tightly. The urge to burn the world down around me was too strong. I wasn’t good the way Addie was. I still wanted to start with Allen.
“Beckett,” she whispered against my ear. “I’m okay. It doesn’t hurt. The skin is ugly but—”
I reared back. “Nothing about you is ugly.”
Her cheeks flamed. “It is. It’s just facts. I don’t care. There are so many more important things.”
“Show me.” I was already climbing to my feet.
“W-what?”
“Show me.”
Addie stood shakily. “I don’t want you to see it.”
My gaze locked with hers. I poured everything I was feeling into that one look. “Please.”
She didn’t say anything for a moment, searching my face for something. Then she nodded and turned around. Slowly, so painfully slowly, she unbuttoned her blouse. When she was done, she simply stood there, not lowering the shirt. Her ribs expanded and contracted in ragged breaths. Then she let the fabric fall to the floor.
Angry slashes crisscrossed her back. They were varying tones, shapes, and depths. In that moment, I knew Allen had done this to her over and over. My hands fisted so tightly I was in danger of breaking a knuckle.
I moved closer and then sank to my knees again. “It’s just me.” My hands went to Addie’s hips. She gave a slight jolt. I stilled. “You okay?” She nodded, the movement jerky, her breaths ragged. I slowly swept my thumb across a patch of raised skin. Then I bent forward, my lips going to the worst of the scars. I ghosted them over the flesh that had been torn apart but had come back together stronger than it had been before.
“Beauty in the strength that carried you through. Beauty in how you refused to be broken. Beauty that you never let yourself become cruel like him. Addie, there isn’t a thing about you that isn’t beautiful.”
Everything I’ve read by Catherine Cowles has been mesmerizing, wonderful, haunting, brilliant… but Hidden Waters kind of blew the rest of those books, well, out of the water. Addie and Beckett’s story was fantastically written, a heartbreaking and uplifting story that gave me a serious book hangover.
Having met Addie in the previous two books, I couldn’t wait to see what her story brought to this series. She just came alive in this book through her friendship with Beckett, and blossomed into such a confident woman. I loved watching her find herself after a lifetime of abuse, neglect, and being stifled by here dad. Their friendship was so much more right from the start. Beckett is also a very tortured soul, and these two are drawn together immediately.
Narrators Sebastian York and Ava Erickson were Magic in telling this tale. Their nuanced performances brought this couple to life spectacularly.
I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
About Catherine Cowles Writer of words. Drinker of Diet Cokes. Lover of all things cute and furry, especially her dog. Catherine has had her nose in a book since the time she could read and finally decided to write down some of her own stories. When she’s not writing she can be found exploring her home state of Oregon, listening to true crime podcasts, or searching for her next book boyfriend.
Brooke Turner has always had a complicated relationship with her father. But when his health takes a turn for the worse, she drops everything to care for him. He’s her dad, after all, and he needs her. What Brooke doesn’t anticipate is the unraveling of her long-term relationship and a cross-country move to San Diego’s Little Italy.
Luca D’Angelo is the oldest of three children and a single father to a young daughter. When his mother rents the top floor of their house to Brooke, he’s angry. Who is this beautiful stranger with no ties to the neighborhood? Can she be trusted in such close proximity to his family?
As Luca learns of Brooke’s difficult journey with her ailing father, his heart softens. And Brooke, who witnesses Luca’s struggle as a single parent, develops feelings for him, too. But when it all falls apart, will love heal their wounded hearts?
About the Author
New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author Catherine Bybee has written twenty-eight books that have collectively sold more than five million copies and have been translated into more than eighteen languages. Raised in Washington State, Bybee moved to Southern California in the hope of becoming a movie star. After growing bored with waiting tables, she returned to school and became a registered nurse, spending most of her career in urban emergency rooms. She now writes full-time and has penned the Not Quite Series, the Weekday Brides Series, the Most Likely To Series, and the First Wives Series.
When It Falls Apart is a heartbreaking exploration in the heroine’s attempts to juggle her personal life and career with the demands put upon her in caring for her aging parent. Brooke is trying to hold it all together but her life and career fall apart after her father falls ill. She has to pack up her life, put her father into assisted living, end a long-term relationship and try to pick up the pieces of her life. She never expects to find a support system in the crazy chaos of the family she’s renting an apartment from. Or find her soulmate in the hot single dad.
I really liked Brooke as a heroine. She had a lot on her shoulders but handled it well. And Luca was so patient and attentive with her when it came to dealing with her father and showing her what a boyfriend should do for his girlfriend. (Seriously, her ex was a grade-A jerk.) Little Franny was absolutely adorable, and I appreciated how Luca and Brooke presented a united front when his ex-wife suddenly reappeared out of the blue.
However, what I didn’t like about this book was the style of storytelling.
This book is 3rd POV dual perspective, but I found the transitions really choppy. We get the POV of both Luca and Brooke in the same chapter, sometimes with no clear break between whose view we are reading. I haven’t read anything else by Catherine Bybee before, so maybe that is her writing style. But the majority of the books I read are dual POV, and the stories flow so much better with alternating chapters.
There were also a few POV sections with Mama Marie, which I enjoyed. I liked getting her insight to Brooke and Luca’s relationship, and how she knew as soon as she met Brooke that she was the one for Luca. But I think those may have worked better as their own chapters when it comes to the flow of the story.
Despite the choppiness of the storytelling, I did enjoy this story and I will definitely check out the future D’Angelo books because I’m interested in what’s to come for Chloe and Gio!
I received a complimentary copy via NetGalley and voluntarily left a review.
Interview with Catherine Bybee
For anyone wondering the plot of your newest release, you give a great sneak peek with the title—When it Falls Apart. What is “falling apart” in this novel?
All the threads that hold my heroine, Brooke, together are crumbling down around her. When it Falls Apart begins with Brooke’s romantic relationship crashing and burning. At the same time, in a different state, her father is circling the drain in the ICU. And for the cherry on the top of her “falling apart life”, Brooke has found herself demoted at work. In short, everything in Brooke’s life is dissolving around her.
Like all of your books, When it Falls Apart has a beautiful romance, however, there is a rawness about Brooke’s story. How was writing this novel different from your others?
If you read my notes both in the front and the back of this novel, you’ll soon realize that the story was very personal to me. Rawness comes from experience. The relationship Brooke has with her father is hauntingly familiar to me and my dad. The emotions that the heroine experienced when taking care of him were easy for me to grasp onto and write about. Sadly, the love story with Luca was completely made up and I didn’t have the support of a strong Italian family to help deal with the struggles, but I digress.
Relationships with a parent who wasn’t there for you growing up are messy. When that parent ages and needs their child, sometimes that help comes with a bucketload of resentment, even if the child wishes they could stop those ugly feelings from creeping up on them. And THAT is the rawness you speak of.
Books, TV shows, and movies oftentimes glamorize what it means to care for a loved one. However, in When it Falls Apart you don’t sugar-coat anything about caregiving and the toll it takes on a person. How do you think readers who have been in similar situations will be affected by this story?
Justified. Validated. Accepted.
It’s a hard job taking care of an elderly family member. And if there aren’t other siblings to help, or won’t help, it’s made even more difficult. It’s difficult, gritty, dirty work that only has a bad ending…eventually. What I do hope my readers take away is that they’re not alone. That the struggle is very real and that if they don’t find balance (which is almost impossible at times) they will burn out completely and not be fit to help at all. I hope my readers are empowered to set boundaries and balance, so they come out on the other side of caring for an elderly loved one whole themselves.
Brooke gets virtually no support from her significant other, which has her reevaluating their relationship. She realizes she has settled and has to make some hard decisions. Do you think this happens too many times to women in real life?
100% Yes! There is a song by Taylor Swift with a line that says, and I’m paraphrasing here, I can be what you want for the weekend. But often that weekend ends up being a relationship that women hold on to or are convinced they can’t live without. Often it takes a huge shake-up to remove yourself from that situation. But once you’re away from the day to day dysfunctional relationship, the easier it is to see the dysfunction.
After her breakup and move, Brooke is not looking for a relationship. In fact, she tells her best friend: “I haven’t wiped off my smeared mascara from Marshall yet, the last thing I want is to jump into anything else.” Her crying over a man lasts all about two minutes when she meets Luca. Tell us about him.
Hmmm, Luca… he is the kind of man who doesn’t want a place on Brooke’s dance card…he wants to rip it up.
Luca is wired to help the people in his life. Brooke becomes a part of his inner circle simply by moving into the family building where he sees her every day.
Now, if Luca had flat out asked Brooke on a date, she would have run the other way…so no, he doesn’t go about it that way. He simply shows up and does not leave. Not when things get tough, or messy…or when his own past peeks its head in. Luca is a man who is right there at Brooke’s side without question or censor on why she does the things she does. His support and validation of her feelings is the part she was missing. Add in the hunky Italian single father and “Mamma Mia!”
At first, Luca is not thrilled that Brooke is renting a room in his family’s building. What changes his mind about her?
Her strength and vulnerability. I know that sounds contradicting, but some of the strongest women I know have a big vulnerable spot in their life that if you know them well enough, you see. The biggest smiles often hide the deepest pain. Luca sees her struggle and dedication to helping her elderly father and since family is first on Luca’s list, she passes his unconscious test.
Luca’s family, the D’Angelo’s, are incredibly close and share everything from ownership of the family restaurant to helping care for Luca’s daughter Franny. How is this different from Brooke’s relationship with her family?
Brooke doesn’t have that family. She has a father who abandoned her as a little girl that she carved out a relationship as an adult, and now she’s charged with caring for. Even her previous romantic relationship didn’t support her unconditionally the way the D’Angelo’s do for each other. She’s rather dumbfounded when they start treating her like family. It’s a wonderful thing to watch happen.
San Diego’s Little Italy plays a huge part in the story. The community, language, and food are in full display. Tell us about your own experiences in your adopted city.
I love Little Italy, the food, the pace… the people. There are many places in San Diego that are overrun with the college scene, San Diego is a college town. But Little Italy is more family friendly. Very touristy, but there isn’t a day you don’t see locals hanging out. I go to the farmer’s market often. Pick up authentic Italian ingredients for my own home cooking. I try new restaurants and take all my friends there when they are visiting from out of town. Not to mention it was the closest thing to the “real Italy” that I could go during the travel restrictions. So why not write about it and tell the world of this small island within San Diego that shouldn’t be missed?
There are two more siblings in the D’Angelo family. Where will you be taking readers next with the series?
Chloe is a yogi. Think Bali!
And Giovanni loves wine… think Tuscany, Italy.
I cannot wait to show you what I have in store for these two!
“I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH. I love Lena’s writing and I’m not kidding when I say her story’s are sooooo easy to get into. There’s just something about them!”
-Goodreads Reviewer
The moment I kissed my wife, I knew I was in trouble.
A stoic, dangerous man with ties to the Mafia has no business keeping a gorgeous ray of sunshine like her, but she was scared and I was desperate.
On the run, we land at a secluded ranch designed to protect federal witnesses. As long as everyone believes we’re married, she won’t have to testify against me for killing the man who put his hands on her.
But the longer we pretend, the lines between fact and fiction begin to blur. My eyes linger a second too long. My hands soften on her skin. My kiss, a little too demanding.
Before I can help it, our pretending extends behind closed doors and our relationship begins to feel very, very real.
My plan is to hide out until I know she’s safe. Set her up for life and disappear, but I’m drawn to the way she breathes life into me without even trying. A better man would walk away.
The Alias and the Altar is the second book in Lena Hendrix’s Redemption Ranch series, and I absolutely adored everything about Parker and Sienna’s fake marriage romance! We briefly met them at the end of The Badge and The Bad Boy, and I was excited to see what their story was going to be all about once I learned that they had a marriage of convenience!
Sienna and Parker are on the run from his mafia associates back in Chicago, and they head to Redemption Ranch for refuge. The fact that Parker’s brother, Evan, is working there is not coincidental — Parker is hoping for a chance to repair his relationship with Evan and their sister while hiding out at the ranch, which is a front for people in witness protection.
As they are hiding out in Montana, Parker and Sienna slowly begin to get to know each other as more than the waitress and the broody guy who always ordered a meatball parm sandwich. I fell for gruff, grumpy Parker right away and how Sienna brought out a softer side to him. Most of the world saw Parker as an intimidating, tattooed mobster. But with Sienna, he wasn’t afraid to show his vulnerable side — stress cleaning and steamy bodice-ripper romances! And Sienna — she’s lost so much in her life already, I loved that she found a home of her own creation in Parker and his siblings and the rest of the ragtag crew at Redemption Ranch.
TAatA takes place during the time that Evan and Val are split up at the end of The Badge and the Bad Boy, so it was nice seeing Evan being all grumpypants with Val being gone from the ranch. I can’t wait to read Gemma and Scott’s book! Those teases have me hooked!!
I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
Am I willing to start a new life with a guy I’ve only known a few weeks?
Crash With Me, an all-new must-read small town, opposites-attract runaway bride romance full of steam from bestselling author Allie Everhart, is available now!
Brody Kanfield Impulsive. Messy. Bold. My complete opposite. And the guy I met on the day I was supposed to get married.
After calling off my wedding, I ran away… and drove into a blizzard that landed my car in the ditch. Luckily Brody, a big tall guy with gorgeous blue eyes and an easygoing smile, was driving by and saved me.
The plan was to stay with him until the storm passed, but I knew I’d need more time to face what waited for me back home.
So I made Brody a deal: I’d pay him to let me stay there for three weeks, the time that should have been my now-canceled honeymoon. We’d be roommates only, nothing more.
The agreement might’ve worked if we weren’t stuck in his house together for days. If we hadn’t been drinking. If we weren’t so darn attracted to each other.
Three weeks later, I don’t want to leave. I never imagined myself with a guy like Brody, but now I can’t see myself with anyone else.
But am I willing to start a new life with a guy I’ve only known a few weeks?
On the day of her wedding, Kate realizes she is making a horrible mistake by marrying a man she’s not in love with and leaves him at the altar. While everyone in her life thinks she’s made a huge mistake, it turns out to be the best thing she could have ever done for herself. Because by leaving uptight Cam, Kate finds a safe space to truly be herself, be free, and follow her heart with Brody.
Crash With Me spans about three and a half weeks, but sometimes that’s all you need to know what’s right. And Brody and Kate are right. Sure, they are complete opposites. Have little in common. He doesn’t tick all the boxes (or any of the boxes) her parents want her to have in a spouse. But Kate finds peace almost immediately after Brody rescues her in a blizzard that she’s never felt before. And having Kate around makes Brody realize that he doesn’t want to be alone. Being with Kate makes him want to be a better man. There is such a sweet, honest connection between these two, and I loved that. It certainly helped that Cam was a grade-A jerk!
Crash With Me is book 3 in the Kanfield Brothers series, but stands on its own. There are appearances by Brody’s brothers and their girlfriends, but I did not feel like I was missing out on any backstory by not having read the previous books in this series.
This book is a light read, an entertaining escape that is perfect to get lost in on a summer day!
I received a complimentary copy and voluntarily left a review.
Excerpt
“What’s your name?” I ask. “Katelyn, but I go by Kate. What’s yours?” “Brody,” I smile. “But I go by Brody.” She laughs a little. “So you work at the orchard?” “No. I had enough of that place growing up there.” “You didn’t like it?” “It was great. I just didn’t want that being my job. That’s my parents’ business. I wanted my own.” “So what do you do?” “Lawn care and snow removal. That’s why I’m out in a blizzard. I was heading to a customer’s house to clear their driveway but decided it’s no use plowing it when it’s snowing like this. I’ll have to wait for the storm to end.” I slow down as we come into town. There isn’t a single car on the road. Even the plows aren’t out. Snow’s piled up everywhere, some of it drifted over the road. “Where’s your house?” Kate asks. “Near downtown. We’re almost there.” She gets out her phone. “My battery’s dead. Maybe that’s good. I won’t have to hear from my family.” “So what exactly happened? You just decided you didn’t want to get married?” I told you I don’t want to talk about it,” she says, sounding annoyed. “Why? I thought girls liked talking about stuff.” “We do, but only when we’re ready.” “What do you have to be ready for?” She sighs. “Okay, fine. I left. I left my wedding. I couldn’t go through with it.” “Why?” She looks at me. “Seriously? We just met.” “Yeah? So? It should be easier to tell a stranger than someone you know. There’s no judgment. I don’t care that you left some guy at the altar. The bastard probably didn’t deserve you.” She smiles a little. “Thanks.” “For what?” “Saying that. Everyone assumes I’m the problem and that Cam is perfect.” “Nobody’s perfect.” I glance at her. “Cam’s the guy you were going to marry?” “Yes,” she mutters. “It’s short for Cameron.” As we approach the downtown I press on the brakes and feel the truck sliding. Kate grabs hold of the dash. “We’re fine,” I assure her, steering us back in the lane. “I drive in this stuff all the time.” She lets out a breath. “I was having a flashback of going in the ditch. I can’t believe that happened. Cam is going to kill me.” “That’s his car in the ditch?” “Yes. My parents took me to the church this morning. I didn’t want to go home with them so I asked Cam if I could borrow his car.” She looks over at me. “Are you always like this?” “Like what?” “Asking all these questions. Most guys don’t even want to talk, unless it’s about themselves.” “I was just wondering what your story was. It’s not every day I find a girl in the middle of the highway during a blizzard wearing a wedding dress.”
About Allie Allie Everhart is the author of more than 50 books and several bestselling series, including The Jade Series, The Kensington Series, and The Wheeler Brothers. Allie writes angsty love stories, often with a twist of mystery and suspense. She loves reading for hours in a comfy spot, drinking strong coffee, walking in the woods, and writing emotional stories that make the characters work for their happy ending.
She has her heart set on a hockey player. Any hockey player.
When the new general manager of the Chicago Rebels tasks Tara Becker with faking it with one of his players to help clean up the naughty jock’s act, she’s all over it. She’ll make that misbehaving hunk of muscle look good and get her dream guy into the bargain.
Only the path from fake to real is riddled with thorns . . .
New Rebels GM Hale Fitzpatrick thinks ditzy blonde and wannabe WAG Tara is the perfect solution to his PR problem – until she isn’t. Soon Fitz realizes that maybe he doesn’t have control of the strings after all . . . especially when he starts to fall for his pretty little puppet.
A fake relationship hockey romance – with a twist!
Tara is a wannabe hockey WAG. Hale is the new GM who needs to give one of his players an image overhaul and asks her to pretend to date the guy. Pretty much everyone thinks Tara is nothing more than an airhead and pretty face (including Tara herself). But the more time Hale spends with her, the more he discovers what a remarkable woman Tara really is.
And there comes the twist in this fake-relationship romance. Because now what Tara and Hale are feeling for one another is very real, but she’s in a high-profile (albeit fake) relationship with one of Hale’s players.
Tara was an interesting character with a lot of issues stemming from her childhood. I liked how patient Hale was with her, and it lead to some really sweet and tender moments between them. She kept pushing Hale away over and over again, but eventually she came to realize that he was exactly what she needed.
This book is part of a series, but I was able to jump in pretty easily even though I hadn’t read any of the other books.
I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
Meet Kate Meader
Originally from Ireland, USA Today bestselling author Kate Meader cut her romance reader teeth on Maeve Binchy and Jilly Cooper novels, with some Harlequins thrown in for variety. Give her tales about brooding mill owners, oversexed equestrians, and men who can rock an apron, fire hose, or hockey stick, and she’s there.
Now based in Chicago, she writes sexy contemporary romance with big-hearted guys and strong heroines – and heroes – who can match their men quip for quip.
New York Times bestselling author Corinne Michaels brings you a new small-town, brother’s best friend romance.
In one second, my life disappeared. My past. My memories. My future. The only certainty I have from the last three years is that my older brother is dead, and I am the only eye witness.
In order to protect the case, the lawyers demand that no one give me any information about my life . . . I must remember on my own. My only help comes from my brother’s best friend and world-renowned investigative reporter, Spencer Cross.
He has no idea how many nights I’ve spent dreaming of his name—and his body—next to mine.
Now we’re a team and our goal is to recover my memories and retrace my past. But each day we spend together, he’s looking at me as more than his friend’s little sister and I find it harder to want my old life back. Instead I’m wishing for a new one—with him. His kiss feels like home. His arms make me feel safe, and I never want this to end.
As my memories return, forcing me to face my future, everything falls apart… especially when I find an engagement ring hidden in my apartment. I have no idea who gave it to me, or what it means about my past.
I may have asked Spencer to help me remember, but now I wish I could forget.
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Wow, this book blew me away. Help Me Remember is different from the other books I’ve read by Corinne Michaels. It still has all the same feel-good vibes, but there is so much more depth to Brielle’s story. Sure, she struggles to regain her memories after a horrific accident that left her brother dead. But this book is also full of forgiveness, family, love, friendship, about having a safe place to land, and feeling at peace.
Her loved ones are faced with an impossible task after Brie wakes up: don’t give her any info. At all. As she pieces together who she is, who she loves, and the day of the attack, Brie’s life is flipped upside down over and over again. This journey was a wonderful one, not just for Brie, and I cried so much when reading her guy’s chapters.
All the feels. Swoony moments. Sweet moments. Cameos from other books. What more can you ask for?
I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
Corinne Michaels is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of romance novels. Her stories are chock full of emotion, humor, and unrelenting love, and she enjoys putting her characters through intense heartbreak before finding a way to heal them through their struggles.
Corinne is a former Navy wife and happily married to the man of her dreams. She began her writing career after spending months away from her husband while he was deployed–reading and writing were her escapes from the loneliness. Corinne now lives in Virginia with her husband and is the emotional, witty, sarcastic, and fun-loving mom of two beautiful children.
I’ve slapped my cuffs on Luna Lancaster too many times to count, and not a single one was for fun.
As the sheriff of Starlight Cove, I shouldn’t crave her but I do. She’s chaos, mayhem, and sunshine wrapped up in too-tight yoga pants. The lawbreaker might have the town enamored with her free spirit, but she’s a thorn in my side, even if she is the sexiest woman I’ve ever seen.
I want her out of my town and out of my head.
Trouble is, she’s made it perfectly clear she isn’t going anywhere. And her spree of minor infractions—who runs a yoga class without a license?—is hitting dangerously close to home. Her latest protest has her chained to a tree on the boundary of my family’s resort. The last thing we need is bad press ruining the short tourism season when the resort is already one bad month away from bankruptcy.
I’ll do whatever it takes to save Starlight Cove. Even if that means handcuffing Luna to my bed.
Defiant Heat is an entertaining start to a new series. It’s been a few years since I’ve read a Brighton Walsh book, and I really enjoyed getting reacquainted with her style in Luna and Brady’s grumpy/sunshine story.
Brady is a by-the-book smalltown sheriff. Luna is a free-spirited yoga instructor. There is nothing these two have in common aside from their intense dislike for each other, but sometimes that is what makes the best kind of opposites-attract story! These two just love to press each other’s buttons, and it is so hot. Defiant Heart is steamy and sexy, with the perfect balance of sweet and swoon.
Luna and Brady are definitely one couple I will be coming back to for a reread! I loved Starlight Cove, and can’t wait to see what books come next in this small town series! I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
Meet Brighton Walsh
USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Brighton Walsh spent a decade as a professional photographer before taking her storytelling in a different direction and reconnecting with her first love—writing.
She likes her books how she likes her tea—steamy and satisfying—and adores strong-willed heroines and the protective heroes who fall head over heels for them.
Brighton lives in the Midwest with her real life hero of a husband, her two kids—one who’s already taller than her and one who’s catching up too fast—and her dog who thinks she’s a queen. Her boy-filled house is the setting for dirty socks galore, frequent dance parties (okay, so it’s mostly her, by herself, while her children look on in horror), and more laughter than she thought possible.
Sunny Shelly Reads 