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.
Many assistants didn’t survive Julian Haven, billionaire, business shark, and a walking storm cloud. Now, I’m lucky number seven on the assistant list. The one who’s supposed to run screaming before the ink on my contract dries.
Except I’m not like the others, and he isn’t impressed that I’m the sunshine that he never saw coming. His grumpy scowls? Don’t scare me. His impossible demands? Don’t faze me. The twisted little games he plays? I’ll be his match. His habit of peeling off those crisp white shirts in his office like sin? Not. Even. Blinking…really, totally…okay, a little.
But then came my solid evening dress choice.
His eyes were possessively on me.
The first crack in his icy armor—and my eager lips.
Somehow, I became his—kept close, kept hidden. And I want it that way.
But Julian uncovers a secret he never knew he was keeping—one that will make him fight for me, even when I promise that he’ll never have me.
Now, he isn’t just my boss—he’s the man determined to keep me, even if it means following me back to my tiny hometown and staying until he makes me his again.
The first book in the new Haven Crossroads series, where city billionaire egos collide with small-town hearts. A spin-off from Everhope Road and can be read as a standalone.
Live on Amazon, available in Kindle Unlimited, ebook, paperback, and hardback. Available in select libraries, too!
Sunny Shelly’s Review: 3.5 Stars
Clashing Hearts is a billionaire boss/enemies-to-lovers/workplace romance that kicks off a new series from Evey Lyon.
Savannah has been an executive assistant at her company for years, and has a stellar reputation. But when her boss, the COO, retires, she is reassigned to the prickly CEO, Julian — who has a reputation for never keeping an assistant for longer than a few weeks. It quickly becomes a battle of wills between Julian and Savannah, and I enjoyed the back-and-forth between these two. The banter is sassy and fun, and the heat between them is sizzling.
The relationship is further complicated when a development company threatens to shut down the riverboat dinner restaurant that Savannah’s aunt runs. (Her aunt raised her after her parents passed away.) As it turns out, Julian’s estranged father’s business is the one behind the redevelopment, and that becomes the main source of conflict for the couple.
Overall, Clashing Hearts was enjoyable. I’ve read other books by EL that I enjoyed much more, but the breadcrumbs that were dropped for the future of this series interested me enough that I will definitely return to see what happens next in Haven Crossroads.
I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
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.
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.
🎧🎧🎧 Show Me Forever by Jennifer Sucevic is NOW IN AUDIO 🎧🎧🎧
From Top 30 Amazon and USA Today Bestselling Author Jennifer Sucevic comes a steamy, pro hockey romance featuring a one-night stand, surprise pregnancy, forced proximity, and a hero who falls first and harder than he ever expected.
I thought I had Oliver Van Doren all figured out. The Railers’ star forward with the charm of a devil, the discipline of a toddler, and a talent for creating messes I always get stuck cleaning up. We’re barely friends and definitely better off pretending the sexual tension humming between us isn’t combustible.
It’s the only explanation for how one moment of weakness turns into a night I can’t forget. And the worst part? I can’t stop. It’s too damn good.
Two pink lines change everything.
Suddenly I’m living with the one man who knows exactly how to get under my skin. Only Oliver isn’t who I thought he was. He’s patient. Attentive. Protective. And somehow, day by day, he makes it impossible to pretend he’s not everything I’ve been too terrified to want.Now I can’t help wondering if what started as a mistake… Might just be the beginning of forever.
Show Me Forever is a swoony, boy-obsessed, enemies-to-lovers pro hockey romance packed with off-limits workplace tension, a one-night stand, a surprise pregnancy, and a hero who was all in from page one. It’s book three in the Chicago Railers series and can be read as a standalone.
Sunny Shelly’s Review: 4 Stars
OOH, this was delicious!
After Rena, the PR director of the Chicago Railers hockey team, and Oliver, the team’s top troublemaker, have a one-night stand, she is determined not to go for a repeat, especially since she has a no-fraternization clause in her contract with the players. But for Oliver, one night with Rena wasn’t nearly enough, since he’s had a thing for her for a while, and they begin a casual situationship. Except nothing about it is casual for Oliver, so he sets out to prove to Rena that he is the one for her.
Then, when Rena discovers that she’s pregnant, all bets are off because Oliver has found his way in to show her that they are meant to be together for the long haul. Having been raised by a single mom, Rena has it ingrained in her brain that she needs to be self-sufficient and not depend on a man. So Oliver really has his work cut out for him when it comes to convincing Rena to give them a real chance.
I really loved the connection between these two characters. My one complaint about the story was that it starts when they are already hooking up, so I missed out on the whole how-it-came-to-be between them.
Narrators Jason Clarke and Mollie Stark were a dynamic duo in telling Oliver and Rena’s story.
I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
Kylie and Knox’s story was so, so good! I have really been enjoying this spin-off series, and I was looking forward to reading about Kylie and Knox after learning they would be the next couple. And Natasha Madison did not disappoint!
Right out of the gate, my heart broke for Knox, who finds his wife in bed with his sister’s husband. So I knew that he was going to have some issues with not wanting to get into a relationship again so soon. We met Kylie in the previous book (as Kirby’s sister), but we really got more about how their family history affected her in this story. Needless to say, she has sworn off love, having only ever experienced it as something that comes with strings. So watching these two characters fall in love — then try to figure out what to do with the unexpected feelings they were feeling! — after their less-than-stellar first meeting was wonderful.
From the first moment they meet (he assumes she’s a puck bunny hitting on him), these two are fire. Their banter was hilarious, I absolutely loved the hate-sex in the car, and they just gripe at each other constantly. Somewhere along the repeated this-will-be-the-last-time hookups, Kylie and Knox really started connecting on a deeper level, and I thought that NM did a great job of executing that change in their relationship.
Gregory Salinas and Rose Dioro narrated Only For Him, and they did a wonderful job in bringing this story to life.
I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
Meet Natasha Madison:
When her nose isn’t buried in a book, or her fingers flying across a keyboard writing, she’s in the kitchen creating gourmet meals. You can find her, in four inch heels no less, in the car chauffeuring kids, or possibly with her husband scheduling his business trips. It’s a good thing her characters do what she says, because even her Labrador doesn’t listen to her…
I loved the premise of this book. Ryan is the author of WWII thrillers, who went viral for a rant against the romance genre, and he’s secretly written a romance book. Now that he needs to go on a press tour, ghostwriter Luci is hired to be the face behind the story. The only problem is that Luci doesn’t see the hype in the book everyone is raving about, and she’s not so keen on Ryan. But pretending to be the face of the book will give her the connections to have her own romance novel published.
This story was fun. The pacing was well done, I loved that Luci’s priorities were more about her career and family than finding love, and there was a wonderful group of supporting characters. I really liked Ryan and how he struggled with his secret. That said, I felt there was a lot of “telling” as the story unfolded, and I wish that there had been more showing as Ryan and Luci fell in love. There were a lot of subplots that I found distracting and not necessarily relevant to the main plot.
Overall, this book was enjoyable, but it just fell short of a four-star read for me.
I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
Meet Heatherly Bell:
I’m a USA Today bestselling romance author who’s passionate about fast-paced, emotion-filled romantic suspense and science-fiction romance. I love writing about people overcoming unbeatable odds and achieving seemingly impossible goals. I like to believe it’s possible for all of us to do the same.
My parents are to blame for my insatiable need to mix action, adventure, and romance. When I was young, I raided my mother’s romances and my father’s action adventure thrillers. I love being exhilarated and left just a little breathless. I’m a sucker for that moment when the team is walking in slow motion, shoulder-to-shoulder heading off into battle.
When a film crew descends on my flower farm to shoot a romcom, my stress levels shoot through the roof. A secret fling with my hot, origami-loving bodyguard is exactly what I need to blow off steam… and exactly what I can’t have.
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Lauren Blakely comes IT SEEMED LIKE A GOOD IDEA, the first standalone small town romance in her upcoming Darling Springs rom com series! This sexy, only one bed, forced proximity, forbidden small town rom com answers the question: what happens when a lavender farmer gets a bodyguard who just happens to be the sexy grump from her one-night-stand who got away! IT SEEMED LIKE A GOOD IDEA is now available in all formats and free to read in Kindle Unlimited! Check out the excerpt below, and one-click your copy today!
⛅Grumpy/Sunshine 🏡Small Town Shenanigans 💙He’s Her Bodyguard 💋Forced Proximity 🛏️Only One Bed in the Room 🏃One-Night-Stand Who Got Away 🚫Forbidden 😄Romantic Comedy ❤️🩹Hate to Love 💟Protective Hero 🪻She Owns a Lavender Farm 😜Banter for Days 🩵“You’re Mine” Swoon 😍DIY Toys ⛔“We Can’t Keep Doing This” Vibes
About IT SEEMED LIKE A GOOD IDEA:
He ghosted me once, now he’s supposed to protect me?
I don’t need a bodyguard—I run a small-town lavender farm, for bee’s sake. But when my identical twin sister lands the movie role of a lifetime that’s being shot in my hometown I get one anyway.
And guess which broody, tattooed protector the studio sends to keep the paparazzi off my porch?
Last month’s almost one-night stand.
The guy with the wicked mouth and heated eyes who slipped out before the fun even started. But turns out the sexy jerk is excellent at rescuing me from sneaky photographers at the market. Then the coffee shop. I’m trying hard to stay mad after the third time my new bodyguard saves me.
To top it all off, he’s staying in the cottage at my farm. With me. And there’s only one bed.
Maybe if we finally give in and finish what we started, it’ll relieve the tension? But one night quickly turns into another. Then into late-night secrets and soft confessions we shouldn’t say out loud. Especially since he’s leaving and I’m staying, and there’s no way we can be more than a summer romance that ends far too soon.
Escape into a spicy and hilarious forbidden small town rom com from #1 New York Times bestselling author Lauren Blakely!
He’s touching me in some kind of slo-mo seduction. His fingers move to my jawline, the pads grazing along my face, then coming to a stop at my chin where he holds me. Roams his thumb right under my lower lip. Breathes out hard, full of wanting.
I am done.
“Just kiss me,” I whisper, already begging.
His lips curve up in the pleased grin of a man who holds the cards. “Patience,” he says, voice deep and in charge.
“I’m not feeling very patient,” I murmur.
“Good,” he says, a lion toying with his prey.
Pounce on me.
ONE-CLICK YOUR COPY TODAY!
Sunny Shelly’s Review: 4 Stars
I knew from the meet-cute/ghosted one-night-stand that I was going to love Ripley and Banks, and I certainly did! Lauren Blakely is a master of funny romcoms and she knocked it out of the park with It Seemed Like a Good Idea!
Right from the start, the banter between these characters was witty and kept me laughing. Moments before he’s about to have a ONS with Ripley, Banks gets hired for a bodyguard gig, and mistakenly believes his new client is Ripley’s identical twin sister, a famous actress. So he bails. It makes for an awkward second meeting between them when he shows up in Darling Springs, where her sister’s new movie is about to be filmed at Ripley’s lavender farm. Ripley is not thrilled to have a bodyguard assigned to her, and the story just gets better from there.
There is a ton of chemistry between these two characters, and narrators Erin Mallon and JF Harding were *chef’s kiss* in hitting all the right notes as Ripley and Banks’ story unfolded. Banks is reluctant to talk about his past, and I loved seeing how he opened up the more he got to know Ripley.
It Seemed Like A Good Idea is the first in the Darling Springs series, and LB perfectly set up a cast of quirky supporting characters (whom I imagine will be the focus of future books).
I received a complimentary copy and voluntarily left a review.
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.
What happens when the youngest, most successful coach in the NHL comes face-to-face with the woman he never got over — only to find out she’s married to his new General Manager?
Everything I’ve spent my life building is suddenly at risk.
I loved Ariana Ridley long before the world knew my name. Before the NHL. Before the pressure of being one of the youngest coaches in the league. Before I learned how to survive by locking my heart down tight.
Leaving her was the hardest thing I’ve ever done — and the one choice I never made peace with.
Now she’s back. And she belongs to another man.
My new General Manager.
I tell myself I can handle it. Discipline is my job. Control is my strength. I know how to keep my distance — how to respect the lines that should never be crossed.
But every glance drags the past to the surface. Every quiet moment reminds me the love I buried never died.
I see the cracks she tries to hide, the fear she’s learned to live with, and the way she still looks at me like I’m the one place she can breathe.
I want to protect her. I want to fight for her. And I want things I have no right to want.
Because if I cross that line, I don’t just risk my career — I risk shattering the woman I never stopped loving.
Some choices haunt us forever. Some loves never let go.
And trying to right my wrongs might just ruin us both.
You can download in KU, grab your ebook copy, pick up the model or discreet paperback, or listen to the amazing DUET narrated audiobook.
Wow, Right Your Wrongs was intense! This book definitely is a bit heavier than most of Kandi Steiner’s books, but it was such a beautiful second-chance story as Coach Shane reunites with the one who got away…. who is now married to the team’s new GM.
Shane and Ariana’s reconciliation was an emotional rollercoaster. The book is told in past and present chapters, so we get to see Shane and Ari in college two decades ago, what led to their breakup, and how they come to reunite. At the time, Shane thought he was doing the best thing for Ari by ending their relationship, but he had no idea what course that would set her on with the next man she met. When they cross paths again, Shane realizes he must keep his distance, but there are little red flags that he notices here and there about her marriage — and what kind of sleazeball Nathan really is — that eventually turn into huge warning signs. And that’s when Shane decides he’s going to right the wrongs he made in the past.
This was a great story of resilience and true love. Kandi did a great job in telling the delicate aspects of this story and what Ari was going through at home. The audio is told in duet by narrators Savannah Thomas and Devon Braithwaite. I am not very familiar with either one of them, but I thought they did a wonderful job in bringing this story to life.
I really hope that Kandi has a book in mind for Ari’s brother, Georgie, because I would love to get to know that newly minted doctor better!
I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
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 
Sunny Shelly Reads 