There are worse things than getting knocked up by your best friend. Right?
Kiersten won’t make excuses for living her very best life. But being the life of the party has its downsides—like waking up naked next to her best friend.
Ever since Nathan’s wife died a few years ago, he’s avoided commitment. He went from living the family life to a one-and-done mentality. Until Kiersten breaks the news.
She’s pregnant with his baby.
She shoves him back in the friend zone. But there’s no return to normal when he’s already falling in love with her.
Convincing her that his affection runs deeper than their new reality isn’t an easy feat. Not when her lips are his addiction, and her touch is a brand. He’s determined to become more than friends.
Kiersten wants to play it safe, but Nathan is ready for risks. The problem is relationships can go south fast.
And they might learn the truth about what’s worse than getting knocked up by your best friend.
Losing them forever.
Download today on Amazon or read for free with kindle unlimited!
I have a lot of mixed feelings about When Morning Comes. It is a great, slow burn best friends romance between Kiersten and widower Nathan and how their relationship changes when their sexcapades leads to an unexpected pregnancy. But I felt that there were too many holes in the overall story, and too much happened off-page that I was told happened. I want to see it happen on the page.
My biggest issue with this story is that I didn’t get a sense of Kiersten and Nathan’s friendship and history. The book opens with their drunken romp, and I felt like I had to make a lot of assumptions about their friendship, and how she supported him when his wife passed away. Maybe that all took place as a secondary story in the first Arrow Creek book? I don’t know; I didn’t read it. But for this being a standalone, I wish certain things would have been spelled out and detailed.
There is a lot of growth on Nathan’s part as he comes to terms with his grief over losing his wife and his growing feelings for Kiersten. But it was just like, all of a sudden, he’s gone from seeing her as his best friend to being in love. When did that happen? I would have loved to have gotten some glimpses of him in his therapy sessions as he tried to reconcile feeling like he was betraying his late wife.
Those reasons are what made this a 3-Star read for me rather than a 4-Star. But the bones of this story are really good, and I enjoyed the friends-to-lovers turn of events between Kiersten and Nathan, and how they traverse the road of planning to be co-parents to finding a HEA.
I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
Meet A. M.
A. M. Wilson is a USA Today Bestselling author. She loves to infuse her stories with real life–the good, the bad, and the steamy parts. There’s something special about that pivotal moment when two characters realize their love for each other, but she likes wading through a little angst to get there. When she isn’t furiously typing on her computer, she can be found searching for her next all-consuming read. A. M. lives in Minnesota with her husband, two children, and black lab.
USA Today Bestselling author Claudia Burgoa brings you a fresh romantic comedy filled with an unexpected surprise, a wicked billionaire, and plenty of laughs.
The right life is the one you never see coming.
I had it all. The luxury apartment, hot dates, and the big office to go with long nights at the office.
Life was perfect.
But after a one-night stand, two little lines on a pregnancy test, and three lost legal cases later…
Well, overnight I went from career lawyer to single mom.
It’s okay, I can do it. I’m ready to face this alone until…
Along comes Nathaniel Chadwick. Billionaire adrenaline junky. Everyone’s favorite playboy… and my sister’s brother-in-law.
He’s as hot as he is jaded. When it comes to relationships and family, he’d rather jump off a cliff.
I wrote him off long ago, except since he learned about the baby he’s been by my side.
Is it pregnancy hormones or is there something real happening between us?
I didn’t expect any of this…most of all him.
***
Didn’t Expect You is a billionaire romance of unexpected pregnancies, exciting encounters, and flirty love. It includes a very confused dog, a precious newborn, and a family you might want to belong to. This chick-lit novel is a romantic comedy with a HEA guaranteed!
Sunny Shelly’s Review: 4 Stars
Didn’t Expect You was a great follow-up to Wrong Text, Right Love. I am really enjoying the Broussard siblings in their quest for love. This story kind of overlaps the end of WTRL, and follows the slow burn, friends-to-lovers romance between Ford’s twin, Nate, and Persy’s sister, Nyx.
Nyx is the responsible one of the Broussard bunch. While she and Nate butt heads a bit at first, a friendship develops between them, and he eventually begins to convince her that she needs to let loose and have fun. Well, when letting loose ends up in a surprise pregnancy thanks to a one-night stand with her boss’ sleazy nephew, Nate is the guy who steps up and is by Nyx’s side as she prepares to be a single mom.
I really liked that these two developed a friendship first, and that Nate wasn’t the babydaddy. Both of their siblings are against the idea of them being together, but they push through and make their own path. It isn’t pretty, and they both have some issues to work through, but there is a lot of growth on both sides as they grow closer and find themselves turning to the person they least expected to find love with.
This was a beautiful story, and I can’t wait to see what comes next for Eros! I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
About the Author:
Claudia is an award-winning, USA Today bestselling author. She lives in Colorado, working for a small IT. She has three children and manages a chaotic household of two confused dogs, and a wonderful husband who shares her love of all things geek. To survive she works continually to find purpose for the voices flitting through her head, plus she consumes high quantities of chocolate to keep the last threads of sanity intact.
An act so vile, so downright dirty, that I’m not sure as a twenty-year-old man I’ll ever recover. Brace yourself, because what I’m about to tell you might have you gasping in secondhand horror.
Ready? Here it goes . . .
I’ve recently become the pawn of a meddling mom.
Yes . . . A MEDDLING MOM–who’s been trying to set me up all summer.
Now, I understand it’s not a crime for a mother to want her child to fall in love, but when she makes it her relentless MISSION, the heinous act should be classified as a misdemeanor at least.
Of course, my mom, the evil matriarch in the devil’s leggings, made her final stab at finding a girl for me days before I went back to college.
And I hate to admit it, but she saved a doozy for last.
A titan in black skinny jeans.
A boss of nonchalance.
And a girl who would not only turn my life upside down, but do it while juggling a soccer ball, looking effortlessly gorgeous around campus, and is one hundred percent against relationships. Of any sort.
Thanks, Mom.
PROLOGUE:
**LINCOLN**
I’ve fallen victim to a heinous act.
An act so vile, so downright dirty, that I’m not sure . . .
as a son,
as a member of society,
as a twenty-year-old man . . . I will ever recover.
Ever.
I see the concern in your eyes, your hand wandering up your chest to clutch the collar of your sensible cotton shirt, scared to find out the truth.
Brace yourself against something sturdy, because what I’m about to tell you might just knock you back on your ass in horror.
*Deep breaths, everyone*
I’ve recently become the pawn of a meddling mom.
Yup, you read that right. A MEDDLING mom.
The bane of a son’s existence.
I know what you’re wondering . . . what did she do? Make me pick up my socks during summer break?
*Eye-rolling*
*Woe is you*
*Grow up*
You grow up!
Ehhh, that was a little harsh. But before you go and put your judgy face on, you need to know the difference between a nagging mom and a meddling mom.
A nagging mom is one who storms into the living room while you’re trying to watch the series finale of Game of Thrones, complaining about the dishes in the sink you swore you’d take care of once you found out who took the throne.
Nag, nag, nag—part of the daily routine of the person who birthed you, or in this case, one of two moms who adopted me.
But a meddling mom, oh boy. They’re a fresh kind of hell wrapped up in high-waisted leggings and muted tunics. This isn’t some everyday mom who texts you GIFs of squirrels playing with a hula hoop. Nope, meddling moms have an agenda.
An agenda that they believe benefits their children. But it really benefits them . . . and only them.
In this case, my mom’s agenda: get Lincoln to fall in love.
I understand it’s not a crime for a mother to want her child to fall in love, but let me tell you. When she makes it her mission when you’re home from college, it should be classified as a misdemeanor.
That’s right, all freaking summer, my mom has made it her duty to set me up with girl after girl, all of whom she’s met in our hometown Kalamazoo, Michigan. I’d like to say I’m exaggerating that she made a list and set me up with every eligible girl—one by one—but I’m not.
I saw the Excel spreadsheet on her computer.
Girls who were highlighted in red were a no-go.
Girls in green still had a fighting chance.
Girls in yellow? Apparently, I had lukewarm interaction with them, but they showed promise.
Why is she so desperate for me to fall head over heels?
Can you believe she’s been spending time on the Internet, researching relationship statuses of major league baseball players? Well, she has. Too much time. And she said she didn’t want me to end up forty, about to retire, with nothing to say for my life other than that I was able to throw a ball off a mound.
She also wants a girl to fawn over.
When my mothers were adopting, Mom hoped for a girl, but Mama hoped for a boy. Don’t get me wrong, my mom loves me more than anything—hence the meddling and nagging—but she always wanted to do girly things with me, like have tea parties, get our toenails done, shit like that.
Side note: I’ve done the pedicure thing with her, and it’s not that bad.
But she wants a daughter, and apparently, a daughter-in-law is the next best thing.
Which brings me back to my summer of “not love.” I wanted nothing to do with these girls and after my mom’s eighth attempt to set me up—yes, eight—I told her enough was enough. I was done.
And thankfully she listened . . . until the last Saturday before I left for school.
The evil matriarch in the devil’s leggings made her final stab at finding a girl for me.
And I hate to admit it, but she saved a doozy for last.
A fucking titan in black skinny jeans.
A boss of nonchalance.
And a girl who will not only turn my life upside down, but do it while juggling a soccer ball, looking effortlessly gorgeous, and is one hundred percent against relationships. Of any sort.
Thanks, Mom.
*Thumbs up*
Your meddling has made me absolutely miserable.
Sunny Shelly’s Review: 5 Stars
Who would have ever thought that his mom setting him up would lead college baseball hotshot Lincoln to finding his soulmate?
I loved Lincoln and Indie. He is goofy and sweet, focused and determined. He wants nothing to do with the set-ups his mom has been forcing on him, until he meets Indie. A fellow athlete at Brentwood College, she is as determined and strong as Linc is, but perhaps a bit more aloof if that is possible. She doesn’t want love or a relationship (thanks to her parents’ crappy marriage), and neither does he, as Lincoln is focused on going pro. But after they are paired together in one of their education classes, a true friendship forms and it’s not long before these two are relying on each other as best friends.
The turn from best friends to romantic partners is a SLOW BURN. It takes months before anything happens between them, even though the sexual tension is so hot. One searing kiss pushes them over the edge — but to a friends with benefits relationship. Yet try as they might to not get their hearts involved, both of them have caught some major feelings by the time they have to say goodbye when Linc is drafted.
Meghan Quinn has a real knack for propelling her story with the brilliant use of text messages. And The Setup is no different. I loved the fun banter between Indie and Linc while they are at college, and then the eventual decline of their friendship in the years after college, when they went their separate ways. I HATED that it took so long for them to get together and be on the same page, but it was a BEAUTIFUL kind of torture.
Meanwhile, this is a great start to a new generation of players at Brentwood. Linc and Indie are a few years younger than Knox and Co., but there are some nice references for those who have read the earlier books. And Lincoln and Maddox (The Change Up) are roommates for a bit, so there’s a wink and a smile to the chaos going on with Maddox and Kinsey. I really hope that MQ gives us books for Linc’s roommates, because I think I’ll love this group of guys as much as the first batch!
I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
About the Author:
USA Today Bestselling Author, wife, adoptive mother, and peanut butter lover. Author of romantic comedies and contemporary romance, Meghan Quinn brings readers the perfect combination of heart, humor, and heat in every book.
The Wreckage of Us, a standalone romance that will leave you wrecked and wanting more from Brittainy C. Cherry is available now!
Never in a million years did I think it would be Ian Parker who saved me…
I know I should stay away from Ian Parker.
But when my drug-dealing stepdad kicks me out, I have nowhere to go. Squatting in an abandoned shed on Ian’s grandpa’s farm seems like as good a plan as any.
Ian finds me there, of course, and he insists on me moving into his spare room. I should say no, but the appeal of a roof and a warm bed is too much. Not to mention Ian’s brown eyes and strong arms.
We’re nothing alike, but the spark between us is undeniable. My life is finally looking up.
Until I call the cops on my stepdad and unintentionally get my pregnant mom arrested.
Now I have to sacrifice my dreams to take care of my mom’s baby. She’s the only family I have left. Meanwhile, Ian’s band is taking off; his dreams are coming true.
Ian is my one chance at love. I just hope he doesn’t become the one chance that got away.
Download your copy today or read FREE in Kindle Unlimited!
It’s taken me a few days since I read The Wreckage Of Us — in one night! — to collect my thoughts about this book. I know whenever I begin a Brittainy Cherry book that I am going to be tossed around, gutted, and put back together. I can’t remember a book of hers that I’ve read where that didn’t happen. And The Wreckage Of Us was certainly no different.
Hazel has not had an easy go at life. She is desperately trying to move out of the hole she’s been stuck living in thanks to her drug addict mom and drug dealer stepdad, and getting a job at the ranch is a step in the right direction. But Ian, her supervisor and the ranch owner’s grandson, hates everything about Hazel on first sight — because of who her drug dealer stepdad is. But when they become unlikely roommates, Ian soon learns that there is so much more to sweet, giving Hazel than who her POS stepdad is. He just wasn’t willing to open his eyes at first.
This story beautifully covers so much ground as it goes through Ian and Hazel’s friendship — becoming best friends — to a sweet, slow-burn romance and then through their personal struggles with him becoming a rock star and her becoming guardian to her little sister. I really loved the growth of Ian as a character through his arc. The jaded jerk is really a sweet and tender guy underneath the icy exterior, and he’s still the scared little boy who was left behind by his parents. But through Hazel’s love — and the love and support of his grandparents — we get to see so much more to Ian as a character. And while I didn’t like him much as first, I came to adore him by the end.
Hazel, meanwhile, is such a strong heroine. She doesn’t think she is, and isn’t that what always makes them the best kind of heroine? She never puts herself first, and even when it breaks her heart to do so, she puts her own happiness way behind the safety of Ian and Rosie.
The twists and turns that this book took were fabulous. The connection that Ian and Hazel had as a couple was magnificent and I loved seeing how Big Paw became such a mush around little baby Rosie. But beyond that, the six degrees of separation that exist between Big Paw, Hazel, her mom and Ian’s parents was an unexpected surprise, and tied everything together so wonderfully.
The Wreckage Of Us is a wonderful story of wrong first impressions, not judging a book by its cover, sacrificing for love and family, forgiveness and never forgetting where you came from and who is leaving the porch light on for you to come home. Brilliant, BCherry. Absolutely brilliant.
I received an advanced copy from the publisher via NetGalley and voluntarily left a review.
About Brittainy
Author Brittainy C. Cherry is an Amazon #1 bestselling author.
She has been in love with words since the day she took her first breath. She graduated from Carroll University with a Bachelor Degree in Theatre Arts and a minor in Creative Writing.
Her novels have been published in 18+ countries around the world. Brittainy lives in Brookfield, Wisconsin with her fur babies.
The Wreckage of Us, an all-new emotional and passionate standalone romance from Brittainy C. Cherry is available now!
Never in a million years did I think it would be Ian Parker who saved me…
I know I should stay away from Ian Parker.
But when my drug-dealing stepdad kicks me out, I have nowhere to go. Squatting in an abandoned shed on Ian’s grandpa’s farm seems like as good a plan as any.
Ian finds me there, of course, and he insists on me moving into his spare room. I should say no, but the appeal of a roof and a warm bed is too much. Not to mention Ian’s brown eyes and strong arms.
We’re nothing alike, but the spark between us is undeniable. My life is finally looking up.
Until I call the cops on my stepdad and unintentionally get my pregnant mom arrested.
Now I have to sacrifice my dreams to take care of my mom’s baby. She’s the only family I have left. Meanwhile, Ian’s band is taking off; his dreams are coming true.
Ian is my one chance at love. I just hope he doesn’t become the one chance that got away.
Download your copy today FREE in Kindle Unlimited!
Brittainy Cherry’s Newest Release: The Wreckage of Us
The Wreckage of Us takes place in the inauspicious town of Eres, Nebraska. Not exactly a place where happily-ever-afters are made. What made you choose this setting?
I wanted to tell a story about a small town that was overlooked by the world as a whole. Most people would overlook a town like Eres, Nebraska, but there are still people who are living, who are loving, and who are struggling in these small towns. I wanted to show their stories, and how even though the rest of the world may not see them, that they still matter. They deserve their happily ever afters just as much as the rest of the world.
Hazel, your heroine, is newly eighteen when her criminal step-father throws her out of the house. She literally has nothing when the story begins—not even her mother’s support. What choices does Hazel make? Do you agree with them?
Hazel chooses to find a job in order to help her mother from a distance. I think she acts on impulse, not exactly thinking things through. She doesn’t get the opportunity to think far into the future, she only has right in that moment. Second by second. I do agree with her choices in a way, since she isn’t harming anyone with these choices. She is just doing her best to make it to the next day.
Forget about healing, Hazel is in survival mode. What keeps her going?
Her twisted love and care for her mother is keeping her going—along with her unborn sister. She knew what it was like to grow up in her household, and she wouldn’t want her little sister to go through those same kind of struggles. So, that pushes Hazel to keep moving forward and fighting for her family.
Your hero is a very interesting mix of both the town’s “golden boy” as well as the town’s “bad boy”. Ian is…complicated. How did you get to know him? How does Hazel get to know him?
I believe Hazel and I both got to know Ian the same way—piece by piece. He has a wall of protection up from the world due to the trauma he experienced as a child. Being abandoned by his parents really did a number on Ian’s trust. Yet, the beautiful thing about Ian is when he loves, he loves fully. He does everything he can to make sure those he loves are taken care of. Once his pieces are discovered, he makes a beautiful complete puzzle.
Music is Ian’s whole life. He sees it as his escape, a way out of the stifling Eres, Nebraska. However, he struggles with his emotions and allowing himself to really feel the music he is making. What needs to change for him?
He needs to tap into his darkest struggles. He has to go to the edge of his anger, his hurts, and express those feelings on the page in front of him. Ian holds so much in that it becomes a creative block in a way. Once he starts breaking those walls down—with the help of Hazel—he discovers his real creativity. He finds his voice, he finds his songs. He finds himself.
Hazel and Ian are an unlikely pair. They really get on each other’s nerves and they want different things out of life. Yet despite their differences, they find a connection. What is the spark that brings them together?
I think it’s loneliness. They grew up without having the true love of their parents. And in the town of Eres, drugs are a big issue. Those drugs affected both of their parents lives in different ways, but it’s a connecting factor for them both. They are able to connect with one another because they both know what it’s like to hurt so deeply and dream of a parent’s love.
The theme of “impossible love” runs through your novels. Two people that can’t possibly make it work realize that they don’t want anyone else but each other. What excites you about these types of stories.
I think there’s something so exciting about a love worth fighting for. When the passion is given from not only one side of the equation, but both the hero and heroine know the feelings they have run deep. Sure, there are struggles, like there are in everyday life, but they know they wouldn’t want to struggle with anyone else in the world. They fight for their happily ever after, no matter what. And that, in my mind, is what makes the impossible love become possible and true. That’s what gives us the happily ever afters that we as readers crave.
Currently our country and the world are going through unprecedented crisis. The arts have become so important for people to feel a sense of normalcy. As a writer, how do you hope your story affects your readers?
I hope my stories give my readers hope. I hope it reminds them that even throughout the storms, the sun will always shine once the clouds move to the side. There’s beauty in the storms, too, if you are willing to look hard enough. There are lessons of self that can be learned, and I think my characters discover that from time to time. I just hope to showcase that this is still a time to believe in happily ever afters, and that the world’s story as a whole, is far from over. We still have so much beauty to still discover. We still have so much light to find. And those facts alone, give me hope, and I hope my stories do the same for readers. I hope I give them light.
How has our current situation affected projects you are working on now? (Any spoilers you can tell us about what is up next for you?)
I’m finding myself more forgiving of my writing pace! I fell off for a while, and found it hard to be creative, but now that I am in a groove, I am finding writing fun again. It’s my great escape from the issues around me. Words save me day in and day out, and I’m thankful for that. Up next for me is my second book in my Compass series, which is entitled Eastern Lights. It’s my first ever romantic comedy, that is filled with so much heart. I think readers are going to love getting to know Connor and Aaliyah’s story!
EXCERPT
The Wreckage of Us Excerpt
A typical Eres Saturday night.
I wandered the ranch with a notebook and pen in my hand. I kept scribbling down lyrics and crossing them out before trying again to create something better, stronger—realer. I kept drumming my fingers against each other, trying to unlock the pieces that I was missing. As I paced back and forth, a voice broke me away from my mind.
“It’s the words.”
I looked up to see Hazel sitting in the rocking chair that Big Paw built for my mother years ago. I used to sit in Mom’s lap as she’d read me stories before bedtime all those years back.
There’d been times I thought about getting rid of the chair in order to forget that memory, but I hadn’t found the strength to let go just yet.
“What do you mean it’s the words?” I asked, walking up the steps of the porch. I leaned against the railing facing her.
She blinked and tilted her head in my direction. “Your words are trash.”
“What?”
“The lyrics to your songs, they are complete garbage, filled with clichés and bubblegum. Don’t get me wrong, the music style and tempos are brilliant. And even though it pains me to admit, your voice is so solid and soulful that you could be a star in a heartbeat. But your lyrics? They are pig shit.”
“I think the saying is horseshit.”
“After spending weeks in a pig pen, pig shit seems to truly sum up my feelings about your music. But my gosh, your voice. It’s a good voice.”
I tried to push off her insult, and tried to ignore her compliment, too. But it was hard. I had an ego that was easy to bruise, and Hazel was swinging her punches while also speaking words of praise. It was as if every bruise she made, she quickly covered with a Bandaid.
“Everyone else seemed to enjoy it,” I replied, tense with my words.
“Yeah, well, everyone else are morons who are drunk off their minds.”
“Oh? And you think you could do better?”
She laughed. “Without a doubt.” “Okay, Hazel Stone, master of lyrics, give me something to go with.”
She gestured toward the other rocker beside her—the one Dad used to sit in.
I sat down.
She pressed her lips together. “Okay. Give me one of your songs. One that you know is crap but are pretending isn’t crap.”
“They aren’t—”
“Lying isn’t going to get us far tonight, Ian.”
I narrowed my eyes and murmured a curse word before I began flipping through my notebook to find a song for Hazel to magically make better. “Fine. We can do Possibilities.”
“Hmm… What is it about?”
“A new relationship forming. I want to showcase those beginning feelings, you know? The fears and excitements. The nerves. The unknown. The—”
“First chapters of love,” she finished my thoughts.
“Yes, that.”
She took the pencil from behind my ear and took the notebook from my grip. “May I?”
“Please. Go for it.”
She began scribbling, crossing things out, adding things in, doing whatever came to her mind. She worked like a manwoman, falling into a world of creativity that I didn’t think she’d held inside of her. The only thing I knew about Hazel Stone was where she came from, and the clothes she wore. I hadn’t known anything else, but now she was pouring herself out on the page, and I couldn’t wait to see what the hell she was scribbling.
She took a breath and handed the notebook back to me. “If you hate it, no harm, no foul,” she said.
My eyes darted over the words. “It’s possible this is forever ours. It’s possible we’ll reach the stars. We’ll fight for this, we’ll make it real. Is it possible, possible, to show you how I feel?”
“Shit.” I blew out a breath of air. “Hazel…that’s… It’s like you crawled into my head and read the thoughts I couldn’t decipher. That’s the chorus. That’s it.”
About Brittainy
Author Brittainy C. Cherry is an Amazon #1 bestselling author.
She has been in love with words since the day she took her first breath. She graduated from Carroll University with a Bachelor Degree in Theatre Arts and a minor in Creative Writing.
Her novels have been published in 18+ countries around the world. Brittainy lives in Brookfield, Wisconsin with her fur babies.
From USA Bestseller Natasha Madison comes a brand new Hockey series The Only One.
Ralph Being traded to Dallas was a dream come true. I had everything I wanted, my game had never been better, and my wife was due to have our baby any day now.
What could go wrong?
Everything.
I was now raising our baby on my own. After hockey practice and games, I didn’t have time to sleep, let alone make sure my social media was up to par.
I never thought I’d get a second chance at love.
Candace
When my hotshot brother was drafted in the NHL, he didn’t have time to do his social media, so I took over for him. Little did I know it would become my career.
My plate was full with over fifty NHL players, and I wasn’t taking on any new clients.
Yet when he showed up on my doorstep with the cutest little girl in the whole world, I couldn’t say no.
I was just helping, but it turned into more than that. He’s the man I’ve been waiting for.
All it takes is one touch, one night, one chance, and only one kiss.
Only One Kiss is the first book in a spinoff series from Natasha Madison’s This Is series. I have not read all of Natasha Madison’s hockey books, but I did read and love This Is Crazy. So I was excited to see how Ethan’s little sister Candace has matured now that she has her book.
Only One Kiss was adorable. Single dad Ralph is struggling to hold together his hockey career and raise his infant daughter solo after his girlfriend died in childbirth. He’s got some major guilt about that relationship that he is hanging onto and the only girl he wants in his life is baby Ari. But to get sponsorships, Ralph needs to ramp up his non-existent social media presence. And Candace is the best social media manager around. Sparks fly from the moment the two meet, but just as he’s not interested in dating, she doesn’t date clients. Except, of course, they can’t stop thinking about one another and ultimately decide it might be worth the risk.
What I really liked about this story is that the drama that leads to Ralph and Candace splitting up had everything to do with his late girlfriend — but not in the way I was expecting. I shed a few tears when Ralph told his backstory and I felt for both of them. How hurt Candace was, and how clueless Ralph was. It lead to a wonderful reconciliation and the epilogue was the cutest proposal ever.
I really liked Candace and Ralph as characters. They were very sweet with one another, and kinda dirty behind closed doors! Their relationship is very genuine, and they both have issues that they work though together. There are a few appearances by Ethan and Zara, as well the other hockey players in the This Is series, and NM nicely sets up interest in the characters that will be the future books in the Only One series.
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…
If your ex arrives in your hometown eighteen months after you walked out on him while you were eight months pregnant, follow this short list of rules before you give him a second chance.
Rule #1 – Don’t stand in the way of your brothers who want to rough him up.
Rule #2 – Don’t meet him for coffee and agree to allow him to meet your daughter.
Rule #3 – Don’t drool when your daughter falls asleep on his chest for the first time. It’s just your ovaries talking.
Rule #4 – Don’t let him hold your hand. While we’re at it, no hugs, no kisses on the cheek… just no physical contact in general. That only leads to remembering better times.
The last one is the most important…
Rule #5 – When you find yourself needing someone’s help and you’re tired of always asking your family, don’t let him be the one who’s there for you.
Because all those good qualities of his will suck you right back in and you’ll have no chance of fighting your feelings, especially now that he’s ready to be a father to your daughter.
I have been waiting for Sedona and Jamison’s book and it did not disappoint! After the epilogue in Best Friend’s Girl, I couldn’t wait to see how Dating Your Ex would unfold!
We knew a bit about Sedona’s struggles as a single mom from the last book, and we knew that she and Jamison were high school sweethearts thanks to some of the early books in the series. What went wrong? So, so much. Jamison really has the cards stacked against him when he makes his way to Alaska and tries to win back Sedona’s heart. It’s not easy, and he struggles quite a bit as a recovering alcoholic. And Sedona is hesitant to get personally involved again, even if she wants to do right by their daughter. But this story is so sweet, such a lovely second chance romance, complete with all the crazy antics that you would expect from the Bailey bunch.
Jamison really puts in the work to prove to Sedona and the whole Bailey clan that he has changed. And I really loved that when things get prickly with Sedona’s siblings, Jamison stands up for himself and says that the only people he cares about making things up to are Sedona and Palmer.
And we finally know who is behind Buzz Wheel! And of course that is who it was! I am a bit sad to see the Bailey series come to a close, but I can’t wait to see what G’ma Dori and her pal Ethel get themselves into when it comes to fixing up all of Ethel’s single grandkids!
I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
Meet Piper Rayne
Piper Rayne, or Piper and Rayne, whichever you prefer because we’re not one author, we’re two. Yep, you get two USA Today Bestselling authors for the price of one.
Our goal is to bring you romance stories that have “Heartwarming Humor With a Side of Sizzle” (okay…you caught us, that’s our tagline).
A little about us… We both have kindle’s full of one-clickable books. We’re both married to husbands who drive us to drink. We’re both chauffeurs to our kids.
Most of all, we love hot heroes and quirky heroines that make us laugh, and we hope you do, too.
Camryn waits for me to shed my pants. I almost trip over them, anxious
and unsure. She’s getting to me. I toss them on the floor with my bag and hold
out my arms.
“Tell me the damage.”
Camryn makes a slow walk around me, tapping the end of a makeup brush
against her cheek.
“You smeared the color here when you put on your trunks. You should
always wear them for your final day tan to avoid this.” Her hand smooths
something low on my ass, and everything in my body goes warm.
My eyes blink shut, and I try to concentrate on something other than her
touch. I run through my bodybuilding poses, picturing myself on the stage.
Something bonks my nose, and I open my eyes to see Camryn standing there
again. “I have your back acceptable. You shouldn’t lose any points.”
Before I can even get in a thank you, the end of her brush pokes my
chest. “But we have to do something about these abs. You have a light patch
just below your navel in the critical area from belly button to…”
She hesitates. “Below.”
I don’t know what she was going to call it, but apparently it’s a word
she doesn’t want to use around me.
I can’t stifle my grin. “You saying my happy trail is too bright?”
She rolls her eyes. “I’m saying the lack of consistent color won’t do you
any favors with the judges.”
“Do with me what you must.”
Okay, now hold up.
I have to pause the story here.
Because this, my friend, is where Camryn gets on her knees in front of my
junk, a tube in her hand.
And things get really awkward.
Sunny Shelly’s Review: 4 Stars
Hot Pickle was so much fun! I absolutely adored Jason and Nova in Big Pickle, and Max and Camryn’s story in Hot Pickle was equally adorable, endearing, sexy and fun!
Max and Camryn have the most awkward of meetings, but there’s that spark between them from the moment they lay eyes on one another. And for as big and brawny as he is, bodybuilder Max is a sweetheart. Especially when it comes to Camryn and the romance they are trying to keep secret from her brother, his training buddy. Franklin is very much the overprotective big brother when it comes to keeping Camryn away from bodybuilders — even though their relationship seems to be somewhat distant since Max never met her when he and Franklin lived together in college or since they’ve been working out and training over the past year.
But okay. They need to keep their relationship a secret from her big brother because he has a nasty streak and can ruin Max’s success as he rises through the ranks. And that is exactly what happens once Max and Camryn are found out. What Franklin does in retaliation, however, is atrocious. It’s kind of unceremoniously dropped, however, and that bugged me. The thing that Franklin had dangling over Camryn’s head was never explained, and that was a big plot hole that I couldn’t look past. That made the difference in me ranking this 4 versus 5 stars. I loved everything else about this story but there was a huge hole regarding Camryn’s history and ultimate decision in breaking things off with Max that was not plugged up. Or even mentioned again!
I thought I’d get tired of the pickle innuendos… but nope. They are still quite funny! Hot Pickle is a standalone in this series about brothers who own franchises of a family deli, so there were a few hysterical scenes with the rest of the Pickle/Packwood bunch.
I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
“Gruff but funny mechanic burned by love? Check. Guy who takes in orphaned kittens? Check. Hot as can be when he reluctantly falls head-over-heels? Check. My new book boyfriend? All the checks. Drive Me Wild is your summer must-read!” — Julia Kent, New York Times bestselling author
Drive Me Wild, an all-new flirty and heartwarming, opposites-attract romance by USA Today bestselling author Melanie Harlow is available now!
When Blair Beaufort literally crashes into Bellamy Creek wearing a ball gown and a tiara, I should have towed her car, said goodnight, and sent her packing.
I’m a mechanic, not a hotel manager. I’ve got enough on my plate trying to keep my shop from going under, my overbearing mother off my back, and my baseball team in contention for the league championship. I don’t have time for a former debutante with zero street smarts and a cash flow problem, even if she is crazy beautiful.
Problem is, she’s stranded in my small town, and I’m hiding a protective streak underneath my grumpy exterior that runs deep. So I offer her a place to stay and keep my hands to myself.
For exactly one night.
If only she weren’t so gorgeous. So funny. So eager to please. She’s a disaster behind the wheel, but she drives me wild without even trying–at work, at home, in the back of my truck . . . I can’t get enough of the way she makes me feel.
But I know better than to think it can last. She wants a fairy tale, and I’m no prince.
So when it comes time for her to leave, there’s nothing I can do but let her go.
Switching off the lights, I followed her out onto the sidewalk, locking the door behind us. “I need a quick shower and change of clothes. Want to come up with me?”
“Sure.”
I was following her up the stairs to my apartment, looking at her ass and wondering if she had sexual rules and how long it would take me to break them, when I realized she was still talking.
Shit, had she just asked me a question?
At the top of the stairs, she turned around and faced me. “So? Are you going to?”
I stood close. Ridiculously close. So close I could smell her—vanilla and lemon—and she could probably smell me—sweat and motor oil.
“Am I going to what?”I asked, looking at her lips.
She licked them. “Listen to me.”
“Oh. Yeah. I am.” But at that moment, I was pretty sure I was going to do something else to her too.
Suddenly she stepped back. “Good,”she said, her cheeks flushed pink. “On second thought, I think I’ll wait outside. I’m a little warm, and there’s a nice breeze.”
“Okay. I’ll be out in a few minutes.”
Nodding, she turned and descended the stairs so slowly, I wondered if she was dizzy. I watched her hand sliding along the wooden rail, thinking dirty thoughts.
On the landing, she pushed the door open and disappeared from view, but I still couldn’t breathe right.
What would she have done if I’d put my mouth on hers like I’d wanted to just now? Would she have kissed me back? Would she have welcomed my hands on her skin? Or would she have kneed me in the balls and told me to keep my filthy fingers to myself?
She wasn’t like any other girl I’d ever met, which was both the problem and the allure. I didn’t know how to read her.
But damn, I wanted her something fierce.
I took an ice cold shower, hoping it would help.
It didn’t.
Sunny Shelly’s Review: 5 Stars
Drive Me Wild was a fantastic start to a new series by Melanie Harlow. I loved her Cloverleigh Farms heroes, and I suspect I will love the Bellamy Creek boys just as much!!
Debutante Blair literally crashes into grumpy loner mechanic Griffin’s life one night. He is determined to keep himself shut off emotionally from relationships due to a broken heart in the past, but Blair turns out to be everything he never knew he wanted. She’s bubbly and cheerful, he’s grumpy and a loner. But while she crashes in his apartment and works at his shop while her vintage MG is fixed, Blair makes a major impact on Griffin’s life. And not just in the way she gives his shop a makeover.
But when Griffin starts to realize that he’s feeling more than the week-long fling they originally signed up for, he pushes Blair away. And it turns out to be the biggest mistake of his life.
These characters were so much fun, and I loved the larger group of friends. Drive Me Wild is lighthearted and playful, with some really sexy “stories” that Blair and Griffin tell each other. This story is equal parts sweet and sexy, a perfect small-town romance!
I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
About Melanie
USA Today bestselling author Melanie Harlow likes her martinis dry, her heels high, and her history with the naughty bits left in. When she’s not writing or reading, she gets her kicks from TV series like Schitt’s Creek, Homeland, and Fleabag. She occasionally runs three miles, but only so she can have more gin and steak.
Melanie is the author of the CLOVERLEIGH FARMS series, the ONE & ONLY series, AFTER WE FALL series, the HAPPY CRAZY LOVE series, the FRENCHED series, and the sexy historical SPEAK EASY duet, set in the 1920s. She lifts her glass to romance readers and writers from her home near Detroit, MI, where she lives with her husband, two daughters, and pet rabbit.
Two years after the man she loved was killed in Afghanistan, Morgan Bartley is trying to put the pieces of her life back together. The reno on her dilapidated beach house in the Outer Banks might be just the distraction she needs to keep her debilitating anxiety attacks at bay and begin to heal her heart…if she can ignore the ridiculously handsome guy next door.
At twenty-eight, single-dad Jackson Montgomery’s life revolves around his five-year-old daughter and his job as a search-and-rescue pilot for the coast guard. He’s no stranger to saving a damsel in distress, and though his gorgeous new neighbor is clearly in distress, she’s no damsel. She’s stubborn as hell with walls a mile thick, and the dog tags hanging from her rearview mirror give him a pretty good clue as to why.
It doesn’t matter that their attraction is undeniable—she swore she’d never fall for another pilot, let alone a military man. There are some wounds time can’t heal, and some fears too consuming to conquer.
She’s a barely breathing heartbreak on the edge of recovery.
He’s a crash waiting to happen.
Together they could have it all…if they can endure the coming storm.
Sunny Shelly’s Review: 5 Stars
I read The Reality of Everything while I was vacationing on the Outer Banks, so even though some locations were made up for the story, I felt like I was immersed in Jackson and Morgan’s story.
A lot of what Morgan deals with was hard to read. It’s been two years since Morgan’s quasi-boyfriend, Will, was killed in action in Afghanistan. She’s suffering from complex grief, major anxiety and is just a broken shell of a woman when she buys a dilapidated house on the beach. The house is a quite fitting metaphor for her personal life, and as she tries to rebuild herself as she renovates it. The last thing Morgan wants is to get caught up with the sexy single dad who lives next door. Especially after she learns that Jackson is a Coast Guard search and rescue pilot. But Morgan can’t help but fall deep into like with Jackson and his sweet daughter Finley.
All along, Morgan is stuck in her past and her pseudo relationship with Will. It’s definitely a ghost that is part of her relationship with Jackson. And the guy is a saint — he is so patient and understanding as Morgan tries to move past the pain and loss of Will’s death. For a while, things between them are great until Jackson finds out that he is going to be deployed, and Morgan decides that she can’t go through that pain and fear of losing another man again. But is Morgan willing to let the love she feels for Will win out over her fear of being left behind once again? In the end, Morgan realizes that the reality is that Jackson has become her everything.
So…. what I didn’t like… This book is #5 in a series and is technically a standalone. But it’s part of a bigger series and I felt a little lost because I hadn’t read any of the other Flyboy books before. There is a lot of history between the couples and friends and who Will was to the rest of the group and I wasn’t aware of those details. I think the big blowout between Morgan and Paisley would have had a bigger impact on me had I read those other books.
But despite that, I still give this book 5 stars. Morgan’s through-line is beautiful. She comes such a far way from the woman she is at the beginning who can barely even look at Will’s old pickup truck to the woman at the end, who risks her own life in that very same truck to save Jackson’s daughter. The metaphor of the hurricane that hits the Outer Banks fits this story perfectly — not just the actual story, but Morgan’s journey as well.
I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
About the Author:
Rebecca is a Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author of over fifteen novels, and is always ready to bring on the emotions. She’s also the recipient of the Colorado Romance Writer’s Award of Excellence for Eyes Turned Skyward from her Flight and Glory series.
She loves military heroes and has been blissfully married to hers for eighteen years. She’s the mother of six children, ranging from kindergarten to law school, and is currently surviving the teenage years with two of her four hockey-playing sons. When she’s not writing, you can find her at the hockey rink or sneaking in some guitar time. She lives in Colorado with her family, their stubborn English bulldog, and a feisty chinchilla. Having fostered then adopted their youngest daughter, Rebecca is passionate about helping children in the foster system through her nonprofit, One October.
Sunny Shelly Reads 