Why you need to #ONECLICK this book… Enemies to Lovers Firefighter MMC Strong Heroine Found Family
When Kennedy met River at a frat party ten years earlier, sparks definitely flew—but not the kind she would have preferred.
A decade later, they find themselves thrust together at their best friends’ wedding. Even though their intense attraction remained, nothing else seemed to mesh between the two. Constantly opposing one another, they couldn’t run faster in opposite directions.
Too bad fate had different ideas.
Their lives became a continual game of push and pull until the day came when they could no longer fight that overwhelming connection.
What started as a way to just scratch an itch soon turned into unexpected feelings and questions of what-ifs.
Can these two enemies find their way to true love, or will they be destined to challenge what the future has in store for them?
Sunny Shelly’s Review: 5 Stars
Stefanie Castro has quickly become a must-read author for me, and I loved this kick-off to a new series. River and Kennedy’s story gave me all the feels for an enemies-to-lovers romance.
These characters were so fabulously flawed. They hated each other for years, and there is a fine line between love and hate. Once they gave in to that passion, they were combustible! A secret relationship soon became so much more as these two commitaphobes realized they had more in common than they ever realized. There is also a lovely layer of the long-term effects of grief and the loss of a parent, and I thought that was handled so well by SC.
River and Kennedy complemented each other so wonderfully! I loved the supporting characters, and the sense of found family among the friend group. I CANNOT WAIT for Clay’s book!
I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
From USA Today bestselling author Meghan Quinn comes a witty, friends-to-lovers… turns… enemies-to-lovers romance. BRIDESMAID UNDERCOVER is now available in all formats! Check out the excerpt below and one-click your copy of this steamy, hilarious romance today!
Everly Plum is delighted to be heading up the Bridesmaid for Hire program at Magical Moments by Maggie. And when Hardy Hopper, one of their billionaire investors, approaches Everly for help with his friends’ wedding, she’s more than happy to step in. But Hardy has an extra assignment for her: his ex-girlfriend will be the maid of honor opposite his role as best man, and he wants Everly’s help getting her back.
There’s only one problem: Everly may have a tiny crush on the dashing businessman. But despite the way Hardy makes her stomach flutter, she’s determined to prove herself, both as a bridesmaid and as a matchmaker. That is, until she finds her crush turning into real feelings. Not to mention, Hardy can’t help but notice how well he clicks with Everly, and before he knows it, he’s not looking for his ex’s attention anymore.
But even after their simmering attraction finally rises to the surface, they will have to contend with meddling friends, poor timing, and professional boundaries—and the risk that no one might get a second chance after all.
“When I say no one ever wants to share pizza with me, I’m not kidding,” Hardy says as he picks up a piece from our shared pie. The Uber dropped us off at a hole-in-the wall Italian place downtown, and we may as well be in Lady and the Tramp, just minus the spaghetti. “They always say pineapple isn’t supposed to be on pizza, but I don’t agree.”
“I’ve never had just pineapple, it’s always accompanied by ham or pepperoni, but I’m not opposed to this. It’s sweet, and the side of barbeque sauce is a nice surprise.”
“Good, right?” Hardy asks, waggling his brows.
“I would say more along the lines of interesting.”
“Hey, I’ll take it,” he says with a smile. “Maple never liked pineapple on pizza.”
Which makes me a better fit for Hardy than she is, but we’re not going to mention that or make this a competition because Maple is actually really sweet.
But just for my own personal record and satisfaction…ha, Maple, I can share a pizza with Hardy, and you can’t.
Okay, pettiness is over.
“Shame,” I say. “Because it’s good. The dipping sauce I’m still adjusting to.”
“Hang out with me some more and I’ll win you over.” He winks.
Boy, you have already won me over.
You won me over months ago.
After he swallows and takes a sip of his drink, he says, “So, tell me about your day.”
“Pretty sure you know about my day,” I say.
“Yeah, but you’re not eating dinner alone tonight, so act like I don’t know anything about what happened today.”
Well…that makes my heart nearly beat out of my chest as I look into his perfectly blue eyes. With comments like that, he’s making it next to impossible for me to even think about anyone else but him.
Samantha Brentmoor and Jason Clarke narrate in duet this steamy, enemies-to-lovers romantic comedy. BRIDESMAID UNDERCOVER is now available on Audible!
I feel like all of my Meghan Quinn reviews include this line lately: Each time I think she can’t possibly top herself, she absolutely does! Hardy and Everly’s story is brilliant! It’s charming, sexy, and laugh-out-loud hilarious, with awesomely rich characters that you just can’t help but root for.
I loved seeing the friendship grow between Hardy and Everly as she helped him win back his college love, Maple. Their “undercover” disguises and briefs were some of the best parts of this book! Things get complicated for Everly, who has long had a crush on Hardy, when she develops real feelings for the guy while trying to help him win back his ex-girlfriend. And it’s not too long before Hardy realizes that Everly is a pretty perfect match for him…
And JP Cane! Our penguin-loving friend, JP Cane, picks up a new cause in flamingoes in this story. If you know, you know…
I thought that Jason Clarke and Samantha Brentmoor did a wonderful job in their duet narration. They captured the nuances of playing multiple characters, and really shone as Hardy and Everly.
Bridesmaid Undercover is a perfect example of why Meghan Quinn is one of my go-to authors! I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
ABOUT MEGHAN QUINN:
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.
Never miss another NEW RELEASE, text READ to 474747.
Lennon Harding, heir to his father’s billionaire law firm, could have had anyone. But he chose me. Well. . . not quite.
On my nineteenth birthday, he whispered sweet nothings into my ear. Six years later, while his family tried to screw over mine, he’d looked at me as if we’d never met. Now, at his father’s funeral, Lennon learns inheriting the Harding legacy won’t come without a price.
So, when he proposes the idea of me becoming his wife, I’m quick to turn him down. I’m no stranger to being used, and Lennon’s proposal is no different, but when tragic news hits my family, I’m suddenly sprinting to meet him at the altar.
Because I desperately need him now, almost as much as he needs me.
But the more we settle into our roles of husband and wife, the harder I find it to ignore the feelings of our past reigniting. The way his lips feel against mine. The way his hands easily wander without thought. And before long, I’m starting to wonder if his whispers of sweet nothings have always meant as much to him as they have to me. But with a heart as dark as his, that isn’t possible . . . is it?
Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited!
Tortured, broody billionaire hero who is secretly harboring feelings for a one-night stand from six years ago who he now is being forced into a marriage of convenience? Yes, please!
I adored Laurel and Lennon. Despite the drama in her family, Laurel was feisty and fun. And Lennon — my heart just broke for him! He had such a hardened exterior but was yet so vulnerable in so many ways. I thought these two had great chemistry, and I really loved that they quickly went from being together only due to a marriage contract to really living as husband and wife.
I also loved the snippets we got of Jude and Victoria and their little baby girl. I’m looking forward to seeing more from the Harding brothers in Micah’s story!
I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
Meet Brittany Taylor
Brittany is a New Adult, Contemporary romance author best known for writing steamy, heart-clenching love stories, pulling out all the feels. She resides in Maine with her two sons and husband. She loves reading and writing spicy romances and is a Starbucks addict.
𝑷𝒆𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑯𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕: 𝑨 𝑯𝒐𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒚 𝑹𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 (𝑷𝒖𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝑯𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝑩𝒐𝒐𝒌 3) by USA Today bestselling author Ivy Fox is LIVE! Don’t miss this all new angsty hockey romance!
I care deeply for all my patients, but falling in love with one was never a risk.
My heart had closed up shop years ago.
As the Boston Guardians’ in-house therapist, I was perfectly content helping athletes deal with their pain and trauma, happy to see others thrive and overcome life’s obstacles.
I was content…until I wasn’t.
Everything changed when a devastating accident shattered the life of the club’s star goalie—Caleb Donovan.
I was tasked with saving him from his self-sabotaging ways and told to become his beacon of hope and savior in the darkness.
How could I have ever predicted that as I delved deeper into the tangled mess of his fractured emotions, I’d find that his broken spirit mirrored mine?
That his heart would call out my name in the dark, pulling me in?
On the hard, paved road to healing, Caleb changed courses on me, preferring my ruin over his salvation.
And now…my career, my reputation, and my very sanity are all in jeopardy.
In a world where love can be the ultimate downfall, do I have the courage to risk it all for a glimpse of happiness, or will I succumb to the shadows of guilt and fear that threaten to consume us both?
This is the third standalone novel in the interconnected Puckered Hearts series.
Oh wow, Penalty To The Heart was intense! Caleb and Roxanne’s story was an emotional rollercoaster!
The story opens the night that Caleb and his brother Jack — both players for the Guardians — get into a horrible car accident. As the older brother, Jack has his stuff together; he’s married with a family, steady and responsible. Caleb, meanwhile, is 23 and has yet to grow out of the party boy phase, and his brother often bails him out of trouble. That is how the story opens, with a car accident that changes their lives forever. (I missed #2 in this series, so I missed the lead-up to the car accident, and I wish I had that background.)
A few months later, Caleb is a hot mess as he’s dealing with survivor’s grief. He blames himself for the accident, and as a result of his downward spiral, he’s become a liability for the team. So GM Trent sends him to see the team’s in-house therapist, Roxanne. (The same lovely woman who helped Nate break thought his barriers in #1.)
Most of this book is about Caleb’s struggle in therapy, but there’s a definite spark between him and Roxanne from the very start. Their romance is a super slow burn, and it borders on unprofessional and forbidden since Roxie is technically still his doctor when they begin a personal relationship. That didn’t bother me, however, since I felt that these characters were so well matched and understood each other on such a deep level.
Caleb goes through such a huge change in this book! Ivy Fox really did a great job in showing his progression and growth. He’s not afraid to be vulnerable, then fight for what he wants when it comes to Roxie. And her backstory is equally as sad, since she is living with a ghost. Caleb is so patient with her, proving that he will take the bits of her heart that she’s willing to share with him.
Things work out for the best all around by the end of this story, and I was so happy with the way things turned out!
I received a complimentary copy and voluntarily left a review.
ABOUT IVY FOX
Ivy Fox is a USA Today bestselling author of angst-filled, contemporary romances, some of them with an unconventional #whychoose twist.
So don’t be surprised if you pick up a book of hers and find out that her heroine ends up with more than one guy.
Wink wink.
Just like her, Ivy lives a pretty chill life, surrounded by her two most important men—her husband and son. The only thing that keeps her up at night are the fictional characters in her head that can’t seem to shut up until she writes their story.
But she’s gotten used to them running the show and is all too happy to oblige.
Books and romance are her passion.
A strong believer in happy endings and that love will always prevail in the end, both in life and in fiction.
Ricky Dunn is the equivalent to a splinter under my fingernail.
Romantic?
Right.
He’s the older brother of my best friend, and no matter how hard either of us try, we can’t seem to avoid each other. The problem started on the night my best friend and I graduated from high school. The party was joyous, a celebration.
That night, I willingly gave Ricky a part of me—more than the kiss we told others about.
Our deal was simple.
No strings.
Ricky kept his side of the bargain.
Years have passed.
Being from the same small town and crossing paths, I haven’t noticed how handsome he’s become or the way he’s filled out.
If you ask me, he hasn’t noticed me either.
Until he calls.
I’m working for a finance company, one he’s now interviewing for.
“Marilyn, will you be my date for the dinner with the partners? It’s only for one date and no strings.”
The problem is my heart hasn’t kept my side of our bargain.
I want at least one string.
Do I agree to his proposal, or do I turn him down flat?
It’s been a really long time since I’ve read anything by Aleatha Romig, and I really enjoyed Ricky and Marilyn’s story in One String.
Years ago, when Marilyn and her best friend Devan graduated high school, she slept with Devan’s older brother, Ricky, whom she always had a crush on. There is a 10-year age difference between Marilyn and Ricky, and it seemed so huge when she was 18 and he was 28. They agreed to one night with no strings… but Marilyn still had her feelings hurt when Ricky ghosted her afterwards. In the years since, she’s given him snarky attitude when she’s seen him. The book starts at Devan’s wedding, where Marilyn is the maid of honor and Ricky is the best man. They put aside their differences for the night, and come to a truce of sorts.
A year and a half later, Ricky (who has since gone on to college as a later-in-life student) is up for a job at Marilyn’s firm and asks her to be his plus-one at a recruiting dinner. She reluctantly agrees, and during a catch-up dinner with Ricky before the dinner party, she finds out that she actually quite enjoys spending time with him. A stupid mistake from Ricky’s past derails their renewed friendship, but he does some major groveling and Marilyn agrees to give him yet another chance.
But just as Marilyn and Ricky are finding their footing as a couple, another tragedy threatens to tear them apart again.
I liked the connection between these two characters, and the larger group of family and friends surrounding them. I thought the journey of Marilyn and Ricky’s relationship was well-paced, and he did prove himself in the end after making numerous mistakes when it came to breaking her trust.
I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
Meet Aleatha Romig:
Aleatha Romig is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author who lives in Indiana. She grew up in Mishawaka, graduated from Indiana University, and is currently living south of Indianapolis. Together with her high-school sweetheart and husband of over thirty years, they’ve raised three children. Before she became a full-time author, she worked days as a dental hygienist and spent her nights writing. Now, when she’s not imagining mind-blowing twists and turns or her new lighter side, she likes to spend her time with her family and friends. Her pastimes include reading and creating heroes/anti-heroes who haunt your dreams!
The One I Stood Beside by Piper Rayne is now live!
It’s the classic story—best friends since childhood agree to a fake marriage, thinking they can pretend to love each other without their relationship changing.
Jude would do anything for me. He’s stood by my side since we were six, and I’ve done the same for him.
When my father dies, leaving our family farm drowning in debt and on the brink of being auctioned, I’m not surprised Jude steps in to help. I just never dreamed he’d fall to bended knee and devise a plan for us to fool everyone into thinking there’s more than a lifelong friendship between us.
Soon, I’m moving into his house, we’re planning a wedding on his family’s ranch, and we discover a new side to our relationship. I keep reminding myself it’s not real—it’s only to secure a loan to save the farm.
I’ve secretly loved Jude all my life, and now that I know how good we are together, I’m not sure we can return to being just friends.
Download today on Amazon, Apple Books, Audible, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, and Kobo!
When I read The One I Left Behind, I was itching for Sadie and Jude’s story. And despite a few things I shook my head over, Piper Rayne delivered a satisfying best friends/secretly-in-love-with-each-other/fake marriage romance in The One I Stood Beside.
To help Sadie save her family farm, Jude offers to marry his best friend. Except that he’s been in love with her forever, and she’s been in love with him forever, and they both really wish their marriage was the real deal. I was glad that Sadie and Jude ‘fessed up to their real feelings for one another shortly after their fake wedding and it wasn’t dragged out. Because I was already shipping these two characters hard, and I wanted to see how they acted as a couple.
But I kind of got tripped up on the fact that these two characters are in their 30s and never told each other how they feel. There were so many missed opportunities. Both of them have some hangups, and I feel like we really got a look into Jude’s head and how he always compared himself to his successful pro-athlete brother, Ben. Therefore, always feeling that he was never good enough. I just wished there weren’t so many missed opportunities between Jude and Sadie, because I really loved how well they complemented one another.
Troy Duran and Rose Dioro did a great job with the duet narration in telling Sadie and Jude’s story, and I look forward to more from the Naughton family!
I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
Meet Piper Rayne
Piper Rayne is a USA Today Bestselling Author duo who write “heartwarming humor with a side of sizzle” about families, whether that be blood or found. They both have e-readers full of one-clickable books, they’re married to husbands who drive them to drink, and they’re both chauffeurs to their kids. Most of all, they love hot heroes and quirky heroines who make them laugh, and they hope you do, too!
Hold Me Until Morning by A.L. Jackson is now live!
I should have known I’d be playing with fire when I found the sexy as hell woman moving in next door…
It was pouring rain, so I figured the neighborly thing to do would be to lend a hand.
I nearly dropped to my knees when I realized who she was.
Hailey Wagner.
It’s been six years since I’ve seen her, and she’s always been the one person on earth who is off limits.
My past sins I’ve kept like an ugly secret made sure of that.
Too bad this single mom with the soulful eyes still makes my pulse speed the way it did back then, and I soon find our chemistry is just as strong.
When I find her ex threatening her, I insist on staying with Hailey and her little girl until I’m sure they’re safe.
I thought I could handle being under her roof. Only the tension between us strains, and with one forbidden kiss, all restraint is lost. We collide in a lightning bolt of greed, the two of us locked behind her door night after night.
Falling so hard I know there will be no coming back from it.
But being with Hailey exposes the past I’ve been trying to hide, and I’ll do anything to protect her from it. Because if I don’t? We’re both going to pay the consequences…
Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited
Hold Me Until Morning was a great wrap-up to the Time River series. It’s not a second-chance romance in the traditional sense since Cody and Hailey never technically dated, but there were strong feelings between them that grew that summer six years ago, and that spark is still there today, as strong as ever!
Recently separated from her husband, Hailey moves back to the area after several years away, living with her young daughter Maddie and grandmother Lolly in the house next door to Cody. As it turns out, Cody is also the landscaper working on a big project at the horse ranch where Hailey recently got a new job. Although they try to keep out of each other’s way, they are drawn to one another like magnets.
But Cody is keeping a huge secret from Hailey from what went down that summer six years ago, and Hailey has a possessive ex who is determined to not let her go so easily. Will their pasts ruin any chance they have a present and future? I loved the twists and turns that this story took, and it was a joy to listen to narrators Stephen Dexter and Erin Mallon as Cody and Hailey.
Grandma Lolly was a hoot, and I adored the sweet relationship that Maddie and Cody developed. I especially loved that AL Jackson gave an extended bonus scene from the perspective of all four guys, so we got to see where Caleb, Ryder, Ezra and Cody are a few years in the future with their loves. Well done!
I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
Meet A.L. Jackson
A.L. Jackson is the New York Times & USA Today Bestselling author of contemporary romance. She writes emotional, sexy, heart-filled stories about boys who usually like to be a little bit bad.
If she’s not writing, you can find her hanging out by the pool with her family, sipping cocktails with her friends, or of course with her nose buried in a book.
Taking over the family farm in our small town was the only future I knew. But the never ending work left me with no social life and my virginity intact. Until my childhood rival graced us with his presence and was convinced he could help me with my…problem.
Owen Ramsey was an elite professional baseball player that left Ashfield without a backward glance. But when he was left at the altar, he sought refuge back in our town. I hated how he could simultaneously make my heart race and my hands fist. And I really despised how good he looked in a pair of baseball pants.
He needed my help just as much as I needed his. If I agreed to fake date him, he would help me snag the man I had my eye on and I would help convince his ex that he wasn’t heartbroken.
But with his return to baseball looming, we realized maybe the hate we felt was really something more like love.
The fear of disappointing my family was too great, even though I craved something different for the first time ever. Owen was used to hitting balls out of the park, but I wasn’t sure I was meant to be his home run.
All For You was the perfect book to binge on a rainy Sunday. This enemies-to-lovers, small-town, fake relationship romance between pro baseball player Owen and farmer Aspen was a perfect escape on a dreary day.
It’s been years since Owen has been home to Ashfield. The town may be idyllic, but it holds nothing but bad memories for the pro baseball player. But when he catches his wife cheating just moments before their wedding ceremony, he heads home to Tennessee to lay low for a while… and immediately resumes his bickering with his old rival, Aspen. While he’s in town, Owen comes up with a proposal that they should fake date so his ex-fiancee will stop calling him and Aspen gets the relationship experience she’s looking for so she feels more confident around her crush.
While I wish some conversations had been shown, not told (like Owen talking to Aspen after learning that his mom had sold his family’s land), I thought this story was very well done. Both characters were developed nicely, and I really felt that I got to see them fall for one another as they “fake-dated” while he was in town.
Owen and Aspen have sizzling chemistry, and their spicy lessons are sizzling hot. But there is also a very sweet side to Owen, and he takes care of Aspen in a way that nobody else ever has. As the youngest in her family, she’s often been pushed aside by her siblings, and the responsibilities of the family farm have fallen on her, leaving little room for Aspen to have any kind of personal life. I loved how she helped Owen deal with the demons of his traumatic past, and he helped her realize that it is okay to want more for herself than what she’s responsible for around the farm.
All For You was chock full of emotions, and a satisfying small-town romance! I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
Meet Renee Harless:
Renee Harless is a USA TODAY bestselling author with an affinity for wine and a passion for telling a good story.
Renee Harless, her husband, and children live in Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. She studied Communication, specifically Public Relations, at Radford University.
Growing up, Renee always found a way to pursue her creativity. It began by watching endless runs of White Christmas – yes even in the summer – and learning every word and dance from the movie. She could still sing “Sister Sister” if requested. In high school she joined the show choir and a community theatre group, The Troubadours. After marrying the man of her dreams and moving from her hometown, she sought out a different artistic outlet – writing.
To say that Renee is a romance addict would be an understatement. When she isn’t chasing her kids around the house, working her day job, or writing, she jumps head first into a romance novel.
Represented by Stephanie at SBR Media for Foreign and Audio Rights.
When I was three years old, I started drawing a house with a red door. Next to the house I drew a happy family—a husband, a wife, a baby, and their dog. For years I cried every night, clutching the drawings, begging my mother to take me home to my real family.
I was labeled odd—a talented child with an overactive imagination.
But one day I wandered straight to that house with the red door, and I found the man and the dog I had been drawing.
Alex Fox was quiet. A sexy, brooding artist. A recluse hiding behind an eye patch and shaggy hair. A grieving widower, suspended in time, never moving forward. Waiting for his love to return.
As I grew up we developed an unlikely but easy friendship, bonding over our mutual love of art. He felt familiar, his home felt like home. But as the years passed I found it harder and harder to ignore not only my growing feelings for him, but the odd visions that played through my mind every time I got too close to him, or spent time in his house.
Or more accurately, when I touched his late wife’s things. Like her wedding gown. And her husband’s lips.
Dreams, reality, and sanity began to blur until I came to a startling revelation. I wasn’t having visions, and I wasn’t delusional. I was having memories. Alex’s late wife’s memories, to be exact.
Alex fights our undeniable connection, believing I’m off limits and too young for him. He tries desperately to do what’s right—pushing away the one and only thing he’s been wishing for since that tragic day when he lost everything. Or so he thinks.
He was mine, once upon a time, in a prior life. And I’m going to make him mine again.
The Lovely Return is the kind of gripping emotional story that will stay with you long after that beautiful epilogue. The story of Alex Fox and Penny Rose is unconventional, but so hauntingly beautiful. There were so many twists and turns in the story, and Carian Cole did a brilliant job of crafting this epic, heartbreaking romance.
As the story unfolds over 20+ years, these characters go through so much on their way to their happily ever after. The day that his wife went into labor was a life-changing moment for Alex Fox, but not in the way he expected it to be. He was consumed by grief and depression, and lived in the shadows until a little girl named Penny Rose entered his life six years later. The connection between them was clear from the start, and a lovely friendship grew between the artist and his student, even though they both felt that their relationship had a more profound meaning.
There are so many ups and downs in Alex and Penny’s story. On top of the forbidden romance between these two characters, Carian Cole explores grief, forgiveness, recovery, mental health, and reincarnation in telling this lovely tale of a lovely return.
This story is one that will stick with me for a long, long, time, and I’m sure it will have a spot on my “reread often” shelf.
I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
Meet Carian Cole:
I have a passion for the bad boys–those covered in tattoos, sexy smirks, ripped jeans, fast cars, motorcycles and of course, the sweet girls who try to tame them and win their hearts.
Born and raised a Jersey girl, I now reside in the mountains of beautiful New Hampshire with my husband and our multitude of furry pets. I spend most of my time writing, reading, and vacuuming.
I started to read at a very young age and began to write as soon as I could hold a crayon and put sentences together. My mom saved most of my writings, and I have them now. Of course back then, my stories were about cute puppies chasing butterflies. Now they’re about hot guys chasing after pretty girls.
Kyle Robbins: Seattle’s rookie tight end and the first boy to break my heart.
Oh, did I mention he’s also my new client… and fake boyfriend?
I thought I left Kyle and our complicated past behind me, but when he saunters up as my new client at a house showing, I’m quickly reminded how much he still haunts me.
I try to walk away, but the stubborn jerk isn’t having it. In fact, he doubles down on working with me, as if our tragic history doesn’t exist at all.
The commission from working with him is the key to a new life for me and my son. It’s worth putting up with the cocky athlete long enough to find him a house. But when Kyle sees the bruises left by my darling ex-husband, he thinks he can save me—and suddenly, he’s interested in much more than just being a client.
Before I know it, I’m wrangled into a scheme so crazy it just might work. Kyle pretends to be my fake boyfriend so he can keep my ex in line until I get the commission from this house sale and get the hell out of Seattle for good.
But with a past as thick with chemistry and tension as ours is, it’s not long before those fake touches feel all too real. Every brush of his hand against my back has me spinning back to that night. Every kiss has me dizzy with the love I felt at eighteen. And every day that passes without me finding him a house has me wondering how much longer I can survive this game we’re playing.
Fake-dating each other was supposed to be for my safety.
But I can’t help thinking my heart is more at risk now than ever before.
Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited
False Start was such a wonderful, emotional romance!
Years after she was his babysitter of sorts back in high school (there’s only an age gap of a year or two), realtor Madelyn and football rookie Kyle reconnect when he contacts her to help him look for a home. A lot has happened in the decade that they’ve been apart, and there are hurt feelings on both sides. As it turns out, that was because of a wild misunderstanding, but it sets the scene for an enemies-to-lovers, fake relationship, second-chance, single-parent romance.
This story has some real depth to it as well. There are several TWs to this story, and Kandi Steiner handles the delicate situations with grace and her talent for crafting an emotional, gut-wrenching tale. There are also some really fun and light-hearted moments in this story as well, but I was absolutely hooked on Kyle and Maddie’s relationship and the vulnerability they showed with each other as they confronted the hurts of their shared past, dealt with her abusive ex, and forged ahead with a future together.
Kyle was such a softie when it came to Madelyn and Sebastian. I loved how he just went all-in on being a father figure and proving to Maddie that she deserved to be treated like a queen.
I read this book in tandem while listening to the duet narration of Heather Schroeder and Wesley Mercer. Both narrators are new to me, and I very much enjoyed listening to them tell Madelyn and Kyle’s story!
I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
Meet Kandi
Kandi Steiner is a #1 Amazon Bestselling Author and whiskey connoisseur living in Tennessee. Best known for writing “emotional rollercoaster” stories, she loves bringing flawed characters to life and writing about real, raw romance — in all its forms. No two Kandi Steiner books are the same, and if you’re a lover of angsty, emotional, and inspirational reads, she’s your gal.
An alumna of the University of Central Florida, Kandi graduated with a double major in Creative Writing and Advertising/PR with a minor in Women’s Studies. Her love for writing started at the ripe age of 10, and in 6th grade, she wrote and edited her own newspaper and distributed to her classmates. Eventually, the principal caught on and the newspaper was quickly halted, though Kandi tried fighting for her “freedom of press.”
She took particular interest in writing romance after college, as she has always been a die hard hopeless romantic, and likes to highlight all the challenges of love as well as the triumphs.
When Kandi isn’t writing, you can find her reading books of all kinds, planning her next adventure, or pole dancing (yes, you read that right). She enjoys live music, traveling, hiking, yoga, playing with her fur babies and soaking up the sweetness of life.
Kandi Steiner may be coming to a city near you! Check out her “events” tab to see all the signings she’s attending in the near future: www.kandisteiner.com/events
Enemies to Lovers
Sunny Shelly Reads 