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Sunny Shelly’s Review: The Girl in the Front Row by Kelsey Kingsley

๐Ÿ–คNOW AVAILABLE ๐Ÿค

๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—š๐—ถ๐—ฟ๐—น ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—™๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜ ๐—ฅ๐—ผ๐˜„by Kelsey Kingsley is live!!! This is a contemporary, rock star romance you will not want to miss!  Grab yours today!

Purchase here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BG6Z1SPY/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61371573-the-girl-in-the-front-row?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=1WMxBzMiMi&rank=1

Review Form: https://forms.gle/5ihkUJGTQ7qE6PTSA

About the Book:

Lennon Jacobs is nobody.

Born with a rare eye condition and living in a world of black and white, sheโ€™s unable to drive, find an accommodating job, and have the life sheโ€™s always dreamed of. From her viewpoint, she canโ€™t see anything special about herselfโ€”but Dylan Pierce disagrees.

When the famous rock star spots her from across a crowded room, he sees something in her she doesn’t and is desperate to uncover her secrets. Lennon makes the split decision to pretend to be someone sheโ€™s not. For one night and one night only, she manages to be someone confident, worthy, and important, then slips away expecting to never see him again.

Imagine her surprise when the first man to make her feel like somebody shows up at her front door โ€ฆ

Find more books by Kelsey Kingsley here:ย  https://kelseykingsley.com/links/

Sunny Shelly’s Review: 5 Stars

The Girl in the Front Row is so much more than a rockstar romance. It is a heartfelt story of learning how to love and accept yourself, finding a reason to fight through the darkness of depression, and an inside look at what it’s like to live life with an invisible disability.

Lennon and Dylan’s story starts off with heated passion and lust when a superfan has a one-night stand with the rock god she’s been obsessed with since she was a kid. (He is 10 years older than her.) But it evolves into a fantastic, sweeping kind of epic romance. This brilliant story is full of angst, full of push and pull, involves a love triangle and a bit of emotional cheating, and so much vulnerability.

Having been born with a rare eye condition that made her legally blind, Lennon has always lived her life in a cloud of darkness. But Dylan’s amputation happened when he was 35, and he has been struggling to figure out how to deal with that trauma and the blow it gave to his fragile ego. Who is he, Dylan Pierce, without his rockstar swagger? Will the sold-out crowds come back if he can’t give them the energetic performances that he used to? Will he ever be able to write another song again, having been changed so dramatically on so many levels?

Dylan finds his muse in Lennon, and while it’s fun at first to be dating her celebrity crush, he’s not exactly a constant in her life. This story is far from one full of rainbows and unicorns, and it is a hard-earned happily ever after for this couple. Because they go through A LOT to be together. There is a ton of growing up that Dylan does in this book, and Lennon goes through a metamorphosis of her own as she fights for independence and confidence after having lived her life completely dependent on those around her.

I’m trying to not give many details away, because this story truly is inspirational, and one of a kind. Just read it. Yes, it’s a story about an average girl who falls in love with her celebrity crush, and he even loves her back. But The Girl in the Front Row is so much more than that. It is really eye-opening when it comes to the struggles of people with disabilities, and I am so in awe of how Kelsey Kingsley for pouring her heart and soul into this story, drawing upon her own experiences to do so.

I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.

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Sunny Shelly’s Review: The Troubles With Heartbreak by Brittany Taylor

The Trouble with Heartbreak by Brittany Taylor
Release Date: October 14th

Trouble #1:
Levi Hawkins. Always….

Levi Hawkins has been trouble since the first time I saw him through the lens of my camera our senior year of high school.

He was the star quarterback.
I was the yearbook photographer.

Although Leviโ€™s hatred for me was no secret, I spent the entire school year fighting my feelings for him, counting down to the day of graduation.

When that day finally came, I foolishly thought I’d seen the last of him. Until five years later, when he walked into the same newspaper I worked for. Only now, he was no longer a football star. He’s the paper’s newest reporter.

Disguised by a grand opening of a hotel on the shores of South Padre Island, Levi dragged me on an assignment. His college football reunion.

But just when I thought he’d roped me in enough trouble, he asked for one more favor.

Pretend to be his fiancรฉ… for the entire reunion.

I knew he had dragged me along to get a story, but it wasnโ€™t long before I realized there was more written between the lines.

And then I remembered… Levi Hawkins has always been trouble.

*This is the final book in the Heartbreak Series.

Grab your copy!

Sunny Shelly’s Review: 4 Stars

Thereโ€™s a fine line between love and hateโ€ฆ. Cassidy and Leviโ€™s story brings the Heartbreak series to an end. This one is a forced-proximity, fake engagement, enemies-to-lovers story with a lot of steam, loads of vulnerability from the hero, and some pretty heated barbs exchanged between Cassidy and Levi that are actually just covering up their true feelings for one another.

While I enjoyed this story very much, I didnโ€™t think it had the punch that the first book in this series did. Once everything was all out on the table between Levi and Cassidy, I felt like I was expecting more for his reasons why he hated her. The way he used her as part of a revenge plot to one-up his college rival was crappy, but he did do some good groveling to win her back. Ultimately, Levi came around from a hero I didnโ€™t really like much at the start, which is a testament to Brittany Taylorโ€™s writing.

I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.

Meet Brittany Taylor:

Brittany Taylor grew up all over the world including places such as California, England and Texas. Today she resides in Connecticut with her husband, son and two cats. She loves reading, but loves writing even more. Her favorite things in life are her family, binge watching Netflix, and tacos. 

Brittany Taylor has been obsessed with reading since kindergarten. She followed her lifelong dream in 2017 when she published her first novel, Without You. Ever since, she’s been hooked and can’t write the stories in her head fast enough. 

Connect with Brittany Taylor:

Website https://www.brittanytaylorbooks.com 

Newsletter https://www.brittanytaylorbooks.com/newsletter 

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/authorbrittanytaylor/ 

Amazon Author Page https://amzn.to/3HjQhyA 

Goodreads https://bit.ly/3Hny6rx 

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/authorbrittanytaylor/ 

BookBub https://www.bookbub.com/profile/brittany-taylor 

TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@authorbrittanytaylor 

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Sunny Shelly’s Review: The Secret Roommate by Sara Ney

Release Date: October 3

ย 

All I need is a place to hide for a few weeks.

The paparazzi were on my ass 24/7 and I needed a bit of breathing roomโ€”an escape from the madnessโ€”before the media frenzy begins.

Sure, I could have gone to a secluded cabin in the woodsโ€”but I didnโ€™t want to be bored out of my mind. Iโ€™d seen enough wide open spaces as a kid from Texas to last me a lifetime.

So instead, I let my agent hook me up with a modest house in the burbs where we didnโ€™t think anyone would find me hiding in plain sight.

Iโ€™d have a roommate; but supposedly, she was going to give me space. Stay out of my way and respect my boundaries. According to my agent,ย I wouldnโ€™t hear a peep from her.

Wrong. He was wrong about everything and now my life was never going to be the same.

Grab Your Copy Here!
Available in Kindle Unlimitedย 
Sunny Shelly’s Review: 4 Stars
Man, I thought that Posey and Duke were going to kill each other with their prank wars before they ever got it on! The Secret Roommate was hilarious. Even though Duke was described as a giant a-hole, he was a squishy marshmallow of a giant when it came to Posey.

Football star Duke needs a place to hide out until news breaks about his trade in teams, and Eli and Molly (from The Make Out Artist) convince Molly’s former roommie, Posey, to let him stay with her for two weeks. Naturally, the first meeting does not go off without a hitch, setting these two off on the wrong foot. The pranks escalate from there, and even though Posey finds Duke to be a big doofus, she eventually sees a sweeter, softer side to the brute. And she finds his Texas twang irresistible!

This book is super cute. No major drama, just some stupid decisions that cause tension between them. It’s a feel-good romcom that will leave you with a smile on your face!

I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.

Meet Saraย Ney

Sara Ney is the USA Today Bestselling Author of the How to Date a Douchebag series, and is best known for her sexy, laugh-out-loud New Adult romances.ย 


Among her favorite vices, she includes: iced lattes, historical architecture and well-placed sarcasm. She lives colorfully, collects vintage books, art, loves flea markets, and fancies herself British.ย 
ย 
Connect with Sara Ney
Newsletterย | Website |ย Facebook |ย Instagram |ย Twitter |ย Book+Mainย |ย Pinterestย |ย Goodreadsย  ย ย BookBubย | Ney’s Little Lattes


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Sunny Shelly’s Review: Royal Escape by JJ Knight

Title: Royal Escape
Series: Royally Pickled Trilogy #3
Author: JJ Knight
Genre: Standalone Romantic Comedy
Release Date: October 1, 2022
BLURB
The hot mess everyone knows as Princess Lili is falling in love with one man and having wild monkey business with another. Yeah, I mean me. Iโ€™m the hot mess.
Donโ€™t judge me. Not yet. Thereโ€™s some back story.
First, I ran away from my royal duties.
I escaped to America, party hopping as the wild, red-haired lifestyle influencer Indigo Flame. I peddle everything from blue eye shadow to flavored pickles to get by.
Donโ€™t judge me!
Then, I met the kind, sensitive artist Jesse Adams while looking like the real me โ€” princess me. This is a problem. Huge. I can only see him in secret or the jig is up.
But then I discovered the Masked Man. I met him at a vampire ball dressed as Indigo. Within ten minutes, we were locking the door of the dressing room and things got hot.
I planned to lead a double life all along. I have to if I want to be free of my royal shackles.
But now I have a triple life? Quadruple?
All I know is that Jesse opens my heart, and the Masked Man opens … everything else.
And if I donโ€™t get my act together, Iโ€™m going to lose everything.
___
Royal Escape is a hot, hot, hot romantic comedy about a princess pretending to be an influencer pretending to be a princess, a man who canโ€™t keep his hands off her (as long as heโ€™s wearing a mask), a meddling Pickle family who opens a castle in Colorado without realizing the pretend princess is a real princess, and a triple-double twist that everybody sees coming โ€” except the donkeys.
Royal Escape is the final book in the Royally Pickled trilogy, but can totally be read as a standalone.
PURCHASE LINKS
AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
Free in Kindle Unlimited
EXCERPT
I pause in front of an unexpected door. Does this hotel room have another room?
I twist the deadbolt and try to open it, but it doesnโ€™t budge. I jerk and shake it, then realize there is another latch that drops into the floor. I bend down and lift it.
The door opens to reveal โ€” another door. But this one doesnโ€™t have a knob. Thatโ€™s odd.
This door rattles. I press my ear against the wood to listen.
Then suddenly, the door flies open, and I fall onto the floor on the other side!
My face smashes into orange carpet. It smells like an orange, too. I lift my head. โ€œWhat in thunder?โ€
Thereโ€™s a mandarin duvet on the bed. Orange walls, textured to look like the inside of a peel.
Then, right by my cheek, two feet.
Man feet. Square nails.
Pants, no cuffs. The hem lands exactly where it should, custom tailored.
I rise to my hands and knees, shaking off my fall as I lift my head. The pant legs are tapered and crisply ironed. The belt is Italian leather. The shirt is pale green, the cuffs rolled up to reveal strong, tan forearms.
The neck is unbuttoned.
Then I see his face.
Good Lord. Heโ€™s gorgeous and blue-eyed with sandy hair. He must be a model, comped a stay by the hotel. Iโ€™d comp him anything he asked for.
He stares at me with an odd expression of amusement. โ€œFalling for me already?โ€
Worst opening line ever.
But yes, yes, I am.
Sunny Shelly’s Review: 4 Stars
Princess Lilli escapes the royal palace during a royal birth and heads undetected to New York, where she’s living a double life as a social media influencer, lusting after the guy staying in the hotel room next door, and having steamy sex with a masked dude at a charity ball. That pretty much sums up the first few chapters of Royal Escape, and Lilli and Jesse’s story just snowballs from there!

Lilli — as Ellie/Indigo Flame — has a pretty good thing going for a while in New York. She just gets to be an ordinary girl when she’s with Jesse, and she treasures the freedom. I loved that she was able to find her way around Manhattan and fend for herself, and wasn’t this damsel in distress. But eventually, Lilli is discovered by her Pickle in-laws, and her grand escape plan comes to an end when she’s dragged back home in front of mom and dad, aka the King and Queen. But will Lilli and Jesse get their happy ending?

There are a lot of sweet moments between Lilli and Jesse as they get to know one another, and this book was definitely steamier than the other books in the Pickleverse. It’s a lot of fun, a little campy, and captures the zeitgeist with an inside look at the life of a social media influencer. Royal Escape also brings in the cast of characters that we’ve gotten to know โ€” and all of the antics that come along with them.

I received a complimentary copy and voluntarily left a review.

ALSO AVAILABLE
AMAZONย USย /ย UKย /ย CAย /ย AU
Free in Kindle Unlimited
AMAZONย USย /ย UKย /ย CAย /ย AU
Free in Kindle Unlimited
AUTHOR BIO
JJ Knight is the USA Today and Amazon Top 100 bestselling author of contemporary romance and romantic comedy including Tasty Mango and Big Pickle.
AUTHOR LINKS
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Sunny Shelly’s Review: Give Me Love by Corinne Michaels

Give Me Love by Corinne Michaels is now live!

New York Times bestselling author Corinne Michaels brings another second chance standalone in the town of Rose Canyon.

My biggest mistake was falling in love with my fake husband.
It was supposed to be a marriage of convenience between two best friends in the military. Our plan was to collect extra money and stay stationed together.
But what failed? Me. I did. Because suddenly I wanted a man who was never meant to be my real husband.

In an attempt to remedy my mistake, I severed all ties and put my life as a combat medic and Emmett Maxwell behind me. Iโ€™ve lost too many people to open myself up to love.

Now Iโ€™m working as a private investigator, and fate has stepped in, forcing our paths to intersect again when Iโ€™m looking into the disappearance of a missing girl with ties to Emmettโ€™s hometown. A case I fear puts his life in danger.

He gives me one week to prove my suspicions and then I need to sign the divorce papers and leave. The problem with that? The moment I see Emmett again, I realize how foolish it was to leave him, to think I could ever stop loving him. All I want is a second chance.

When the case threatens not only my life but also his, Iโ€™m faced with my worst fear. How many times can a heart break before it shatters beyond repair?

Download today or read FREE in Kindle Unlimited!

Amazon: https://geni.us/GML_Zon

Original Paperback: https://geni.us/GML_PB

Special Edition Paperback: https://geni.us/GML_SE

Audible: https://geni.us/GML_Audio

Narrated by: Vanessa Edwin & Jason Clarke

If you havenโ€™t read Help Me Remember, you can read it Free in Kindle Unlimited: https://geni.us/HMR_Zon

Goodreads: https://geni.us/GML_GR

Sunny Shelly’s Review: 5 Stars

Ooh, I love a book where the hero has been wronged and the heroine is the one who has to grovel. A marriage of convenience becomes one very much of inconvenience when two and a half years later, Emmett wants to move on but Blakeley won’t sign the divorce papers!

Give Me Love picks up at Brielle and Spencer’s party, where Blakely arrived and announced that she and Emmett were married… Blake and Emmett’s book is full of so many ups and downs. He loves her so much, and she loves him too but is so afraid to let down those walls. These characters have been through so much — both together and on their own — and their story is so well-written. Even though solving a crime is what initially brought Blake to Rose Canyon, winning back her husband soon becomes just as important and I loved the journey these two characters went on.

In Give Me Love, Corinne Michaels continues the thread of the mystery that started in Help Me Remember, and we get to spend lots of time with the rest of this group of friends. I am dying for Hunter and Addie to get together, so please don’t make us wait too long!

I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.

Meet Corinne

Corinne Michaels is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of romance novels. Her stories are chock full of emotion, humor, and unrelenting love, and she enjoys putting her characters through intense heartbreak before finding a way to heal them through their struggles.

Corinne is a former Navy wife and happily married to the man of her dreams. She began her writing career after spending months away from her husband while he was deployed–reading and writing were her escapes from the loneliness. Corinne now lives in Virginia with her husband and is the emotional, witty, sarcastic, and fun-loving mom of two beautiful children.

Connect with Corinne

Website: http://corinnemichaels.com

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/2N1H2Gb

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1NVZmhv

Facebook: https://bit.ly/1iwLh6y

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/corinnemichaelsbooks/

Instagram: https://bit.ly/2L1Vzo6

Twitter: https://bit.ly/2Jcp29z

TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@corinnemichaelsauthor

Bookbub: https://bit.ly/2yc6rss

Pinterest: https://bit.ly/2m7MkEL

Verve: https://ververomance.com/app/corinnemichaels

CMBOOKS TO 77948

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Sunny Shelly’s Review: Mine To Cherish by Natasha Madison

Release Date: September 13

From USA Today bestselling author Natasha Madison comes a small town, enemies to lovers second chance romance.

 

Things are supposed to go smoothly on your wedding day.
Aren’t they?

Clarabella
Did I want to get married today?
It’s hard to say when he proposed in front of over a hundred people.
Everything happened so fast, and I thought it was just nerves.
It was not.
The knock on the door showed me that what I was feeling was more than just cold feet.
I was a runaway bride.

 

Luke
The whole town was busy attending her wedding.
She was the one I let get away when I told her our night together was a mistake and then left town.
So I planned to spend the weekend getting drunk.
When she ran out of the church looking for a hideout, I opened the car door for her.
My cabin has one bed, and my longing looks don’t mix well.
Somehow, I have to keep my heart intact and her reputation together.

Maybe she was just mine to cherish.

Grab Your Copy Here!
Sunny Shelly’s Review: 5 Stars
I am absolutely loving the Southern Wedding series by Natasha Madison, and adore Clarabella and Luke’s story in Mine to Cherish. What a romantic tale of a second chance with the one that got away!

Clarabella and Luke have such a great chemistry, so it was easy for me to root for them as the endgame even though she’s engaged to someone else when they cross paths again. And it was only six months ago that they crossed the line of their friendship, so they are both still at the forefront of each other’s minds. Because of that connection, I hate to say that this story is a rebound romance. Because Luke and Clarabella should have been together all along. Edward was never right for her, and that was super obvious.

When Luke offers Clarabella an escape plan from her wedding, their time alone at his cabin provides them with a forced reason to reconnect. They approach their resumed romance with a lot of transparency in their communication, and though they each allow anger and hurt to overcome them a few times, they are quick to apologize and set things right, which I found refreshing.

I thought the last chapter was a bit rushed, to be honest, but NM made up for it with the two epilogues!

Bring on Presley and Bennett! 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…



 
Connect with Natasha Madison


 
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Sunny Shelly’s Review: The Love of My Next Life by Britt Benson

ย Release Date: September 8

I calmed his demons.โ€จย 

He created mine.

ย 

Macon Davis.

My best friendโ€™s brother.โ€จ

My tormentor.

My least favorite person.

Pothead. Delinquent.

A careless, directionless loser.

ย 

Thatโ€™s what I used to believe,

but I didnโ€™t really know him.

And when I finally saw him,

it was the best and worst thing to ever happen to me.

ย 

We burned hot and fast.

Passion. Anger. Love. Pain.

We were reckless. Naive.

We were doomed from the start.

ย 

When I finally saw Macon Davis for who he was,

We both went down in the flames.

ย 

***

ย 

โ€จThe Love of My Next Life is part one of a duet.

It is just as much a love story as it is a tale of ruin.

While the duet will end with an HEA, book one does not.

Book two is set to release in October 2022.

Grab Your Copy Here:

Amazon US | Amazon UK |ย Amazon CA | Amazon AUย 

Available in KUย 

Sunny Shelly’s Review: 5 Stars
Wow. Macon and Lennonโ€™s story is a doozy. I read this book in a day because it was one of those stories that I just had to keep reading โ€œone more chapterโ€ โ€” and the next thing I knew, it was 1 am.

This story is definitely not sunshine and rainbows. Itโ€™s dark and gritty, and Macon does some despicable things. Not that itโ€™s an excuse for his behavior, but the dude has some serious demons.

The push and pull between these two drove me crazy, which Iโ€™m sure was Bensonโ€™s intention. Two steps forward, five steps back. Mostly because Macon is such a broken heroโ€ฆ and donโ€™t we all secretly love that? I felt every emotion that these two went through. How conflicted Lennon was about her feelings for Macon, how he struggles with falling for his sister’s best friend when he shouldnโ€™t. I felt so much for these two with the life twist that affects them just when things are going well and the betrayal that follows. So much angst and family drama wrapped up in a slow-burn romance!

There are trigger warnings that Benson lays out for the readers, so beware that this story deals with some sensitive subjects. And that ending was a fabulous cliffhanger to set up the rest of this duet!

I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.

Meet Brit Benson

Brit Benson writes romance novels that are sassy, sexy, and sweet.

ย 
When sheโ€™s not dreaming up her next swoony book boyfriend and fierce book bestie, sheโ€™s reading.ย 
ย 
When sheโ€™s not reading, sheโ€™s probably marathoning a Netflix series or wandering aimlessly up and down the aisles in Homegoods.
ย 
Brit currently resides somewhere near the Blue Ridge Parkway with her husband, daughters, and dogs.
mailer
ย 

To learnย more about Brit and her books, visit here! ย 

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Sunny Shelly’s Review: Pretend With Me by Allie Everhart

Pretend With Me, an all-new fake-engagement small-town standalone romance in the Kanfield Brothers Series from bestselling author Allie Everhart is available now!

Jason Kanfield.
Tall, athletic, really hot baseball coach.
My first and only one-night stand.
And surprise! The father of my child.

I met Jason at a friendโ€™s wedding and our chemistry was off the charts.

After a night of dancing and a few too many drinks, we ended up in his hotel room.

The next morning we decided not to see each other again since Iโ€™d be moving away soon.

Months later, Iโ€™m still thinking about him, wanting to see him, but not sure if I should.

A positive pregnancy test made the decision for me.

Jasonโ€™s shocked at the news and wants to know how weโ€™ll co-parent with me moving away. But I have a more immediate problemโ€ฆ my parents coming to town.

My very traditional parents would be crushed if they knew I was having a baby with a guy I barely know. I canโ€™t disappoint them like that. So I hatch a plan.

A fake engagement, just for the week my parents are here.

Problem solved.

Or so I thought, until that little white lie gets leaked to the whole town.

I have to make a decision: Tell the truth or keep pretending.

I decide to fess upโ€ฆ until Jason gets down on one knee. With an engagement ring.

Download your copy today or read FREE in Kindle Unlimited!
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3psXzYZ
Amazon Worldwide: https://mybook.to/pretendwithme

Add to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3QuZ5VU

Excerpt

I walk up to Jason in the kitchen. โ€œRemember how you said you owed me a favor for going to the wedding?โ€
โ€œYeah. What about it?โ€
โ€œYou said youโ€™d do anything, right?โ€
โ€œWithin reason. Why?โ€
โ€œYou didnโ€™t say within reason. You canโ€™t add that part now.โ€
He laughs. โ€œMia, what is this about?โ€
โ€œMy parents donโ€™t know that Iโ€™m pregnant. I was going to tell them after my graduation, but I donโ€™t think I can wait. Theyโ€™ll want to know who the father is and since youโ€™re here, and theyโ€™re here, and Iโ€™m here, I thought Iโ€™d introduce you to them.โ€
โ€œOkay. But thatโ€™s not doing you a favor. Iโ€™m happy to meet your parents. I want to.โ€
โ€œYeah, um, thatโ€™s not really the favor part.โ€
โ€œThen what is it? What do you want me to do?โ€
โ€œI need you to pretend to be my fiancรฉ.โ€
โ€œFiancรฉ? Weโ€™re not even dating.โ€
โ€œBut my parents donโ€™t know that.โ€
โ€œWhy would you lie to them?โ€
โ€œBecause theyโ€™re old-fashioned. I donโ€™t want them knowing I hooked up with you at a wedding and havenโ€™t seen you in months. I was going to tell them weโ€™ve been dating this whole time.โ€ I pause. โ€œAnd maybe part of last year.โ€
Jason laughs. โ€œYouโ€™re kidding, right? This is some kind of joke?โ€
โ€œItโ€™s not a joke. I need you to do this.โ€ I clutch his arm. โ€œIโ€™m begging you to. If you knew my parents, youโ€™d understand.โ€
โ€œIโ€™m sure they know things have changed since they were our age. People have kids outside of marriage all the time.โ€
โ€œYes, I know, but itโ€™s not what they wanted for their only daughter. Jason, you said youโ€™d do anything if I went to your brotherโ€™s wedding. I did my part of the deal. Iโ€™m asking you to do yours.โ€
โ€œSo what happens when you leave at the end of the summer?โ€
โ€œIโ€™ll tell them we broke up. Iโ€™ll say we tried to make it work but it didnโ€™t.โ€
He shakes his head. โ€œI donโ€™t know, Mia. I donโ€™t like this. I think you should just tell them the truth.โ€
โ€œAnd break their hearts? Jason, Iโ€™ve seen how much you love your parents. If you knew something would hurt them and disappoint them, but there was a way to avoid all that, wouldnโ€™t you do it?โ€
โ€œMaybe. But Iโ€™d be more likely to tell them the truth.โ€
My phone dings with a text. โ€œMy mom says theyโ€™ll meet me for breakfast in a half hour. Iโ€™m going to go pack up.โ€
โ€œYouโ€™re leaving?โ€
I nod. โ€œMy parents want me to stay and spend the week with them but itโ€™s too risky. Iโ€™d end up running into your family and then Iโ€™d have to tell my parents everything. Iโ€™m just going to go with my original plan of telling them Iโ€™m pregnant right before they leave.โ€
โ€œWhat are you going to tell them about the father?โ€
โ€œI havenโ€™t decided, but Iโ€™ll figure it out.โ€ I go to the bedroom and pack up my things. I take my suitcase out to the living room and see Jason sitting on the couch.
โ€œBye, Jason.โ€ I walk to the door.
โ€œWait.โ€ He jumps up. โ€œIโ€™ll walk you out.โ€
โ€œYou donโ€™t have to.โ€ I donโ€™t want him to because Iโ€™m pretty sure Iโ€™ll burst into tears when I get past the door. I really thought heโ€™d do this for me, but he wonโ€™t.
Jason goes with me to my car. He puts my suitcase in the trunk, but doesnโ€™t close it.
โ€œJason, I need to hurry. Iโ€™m going to be late.โ€
He closes the trunk and walks up to me. โ€œWhat would I tell my family? If we did this?โ€
โ€œYou donโ€™t have to tell them anything. My parents donโ€™t live here, and as long as we keep them away from your parents, they never have to know.โ€
โ€œWhat if your parents want to meet mine?โ€
โ€œWe could tell them we havenโ€™t told your parents yet. We could say we just got engaged and that you wanted to wait to tell them about the baby.โ€
โ€œThis is never going to work.โ€
โ€œMy parents arenโ€™t going to be here that long. Thereโ€™s very little chance theyโ€™ll run into your parents.โ€
He checks his watch. โ€œI need to clean up. Iโ€™ll meet you there.โ€
โ€œReally? Youโ€™ll really do this?โ€
He shrugs. โ€œI owe you. I have to pay you back.โ€

Sunny Shelly’s Review: 4 Stars

Pretend With Me is the second book in the Kanfield brothers series that Iโ€™ve read, and I enjoyed it just as much as Brody and Kateโ€™s story. Jason and Mia clicked right from the start, and I felt every ounce of their connection the night they meet at a wedding. And the yearning after! Mia was planning to move back home to Boston in a few months, so they both decided pursuing a relationship was pointless. Until Mia realized she was pregnant.

But man, I felt like I was getting hit over the head with all the back and forth about how she needs to love back home to take care of her aging parents, and he wonโ€™t leave his family to go with her. I got it the first time, but between the multiple conversations and all of the inner dialogue, I felt it was all these two spoke and thought about. And as soon as Miaโ€™s old-school parents came to visit and she and Jason pretended to be engaged since she was pregnant, the solution was so obvious. I canโ€™t believe it took so long to get there!

Still, Pretend With Me was a pretty low-angst, instalove story that I easily read in a day. It hits all the right notes, and ends with a HEA for all! I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.

About Allie
Allie Everhart is the author of more than 50 books and several bestselling series, including The Jade Series, The Kensington Series, and The Wheeler Brothers. Allie writes angsty love stories, often with a twist of mystery and suspense. She loves reading for hours in a comfy spot, drinking strong coffee, walking in the woods, and writing emotional stories that make the characters work for their happy ending.

Connect with Allie
Website: http://allieeverhart.com/
Newsletter: https://bit.ly/3re4Tcd
Facebook: https://bit.ly/3jhrTTt
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3KnO867
Instagram: https://bit.ly/3Jju5El
Pinterest: https://bit.ly/3NYY9si
Bookbub: https://bit.ly/3v3ANJz
TikTok: https://bit.ly/3ulhRH0

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Sunny Shelly’s Review: Ten First Dates Anthology

Pick a trope, any trope!
This anthologyโ€™s got you covered!
Ten First Dates, a FREE, swoony romance collection featuring ten all-new prequels from ten bestselling authors, is out now!

He was the last person on earth sheโ€™d ever want to be stuck with for a weekendโ€ฆ
Their eyes met across the room and she knewโ€ฆ
Theyโ€™d been friends forever but everything was about to changeโ€ฆ
Once upon a timeโ€ฆ

There are so many ways a great romance can start, and weโ€™ve got TEN of them right here for you!

Ten ALL NEW, never-before-seen prequels from ten bestselling romance authors all in one place!
Find out how these swoony heroes and feisty heroines are first thrown together on the path to their happily ever after!

Enemies to lovers? Friends to lovers? Opposites attract? Small town? Weโ€™ve got it all!

TEN FIRST DATES features brand new stories from:
Ainsley Booth, Angela Denise, Erin McCarthy, Erin Nicholas, Julia Kent, Kaylee Ryan, Molly Mclain, Piper Rayne, Samantha Chase & Zoe York

Download your FREE digital copy today!
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3ayUjaA
Nook: https://bit.ly/10-First-Dates-BN
Google Play: https://bit.ly/10-First-Dates-GP
Apple Books: https://apple.co/3w2cblH
Kobo: https://bit.ly/3vVE5Qr

Sunny Shelly’s Review: 5 Stars

I love these multi-author anthologies, because they are a great way to introduce yourself to new authorsโ€ฆ and the there are always some favorites mixed in!

In Ten First Dates, I loved reading a False Start, Piper Rayneโ€™s prequel story for the upcoming book You Had Your Chance slew Burrows. I adored Lee and Shaynaโ€™s backstory in college where she is his tutor and he makes a bet with his friends about her. Heโ€™s only trying to keep her away from his roommate, but that backfired spectacularly! I canโ€™t wait to read the rest of this book when they meet again eight years later!

I also really liked Angela Deniseโ€™s prequel for Matchmaking a Single Dad, and getting the backstory to the steamy kiss Cole and Holly shared a year before the book takes place.

This anthology is FREE so donโ€™t miss out!

Connect with the Authors
Ainsley Booth
https://www.facebook.com/ainsleyboothwrites
Angela Denise
https://www.facebook.com/AngelaDeniseAuthor
Erin McCarthy
https://www.facebook.com/ErinMcCarthyBooks
Erin Nicholas
https://www.facebook.com/ErinNicholasBooks
Julia Kent
https://www.facebook.com/jkentauthor
Kaylee Ryan
https://www.facebook.com/KayleeRyanAuthor
Molly McLain
https://www.facebook.com/mollymclainbooks
Piper Rayne
https://www.facebook.com/PiperRayne
Samantha Chase
https://www.facebook.com/SamanthaChaseFanClub
Zoe York
https://www.facebook.com/ZoeYorkWrites

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Sunny Shelly’s Review: Rule Bender by BJ Harvey

Title: Rule Bender

Series: Chicago First Responders
Author: BJ Harvey
Genre: Steamy Firefighter/Boss’s Daughter/Best Friends Romantic Comedy (Interconnected Standalone)
Release Date: July 21, 2022

London Kelly is in love with her best friend and has been for years.
Too bad heโ€™s an adorably clueless idiot who a) just doesnโ€™t see what everyone else sees and b) abides by the rule of โ€˜donโ€™t screw the crewโ€™s sisters, daughters, or exes.’ And since Londonโ€™s dad is his fire captain, that puts her firmly in the do not touch category.
Then one night, London decides to throw caution to the wind and kisses him, finding her unequivocally placed in the friend zone.
That’s when London decides that maybe itโ€™s time to move on.
Except fate decides to have the last laugh, calling Luca to the scene of a fire at the very same restaurant where London is on a secret blind date, bringing him face-to-face with the reality that he could lose his girl.
Suddenly all bets are off.
Besides, bending the rules isnโ€™t the same as breaking themโ€ฆ right?
***
USA Today Bestselling Author BJ Harvey brings you Rule Bender – Book 4 and the last book in a spin-off to the Cook Brothers steamy rom-com series featuring first responders in Chicago who are fighting the good fight and also finding love at the same time. This series can be read as a standalone and is set in the same world as the Bliss and Cook Brothers series before it.
Sunny Shelly’s Review: 4 Stars
This book is adorable!! Best friends is one of my favorite romance tropes, and I adored Luca and London’s story.

While Luca was so dense at times when it came to London’s feelings for him and I wanted to slap him upside the head, this story was a wonderfully charming one. London is the daughter of his fire captain, therefore she should be off limits, and Luca was all kinds of flustered as he debated crossing the line with his best friend. And London just couldn’t walk away, No matter how many times her heart got hammered!

I haven’t read anything else in this series, so there were some questions I had, but I didn’t find that took away any enjoyment from Luca and London.

I received a complimentary copy and voluntarily left a review.

โ€œIโ€™m not a child, Luc,โ€ London pipes up. I look down at her mascara-smudged glare, my annoyance level dropping at the sight thatโ€™s more hilarious and adorable than menacing.

โ€œNever said you were, Lonnie.โ€

โ€œI prefer being called beautiful,โ€ she grumbles.

I take a step forward and lift the clean corner of the towel and gently wipe around her mouth, my lips twitching as I look down at her gorgeous face. โ€œBeautiful, youโ€™re a cute drunk but youโ€™re also a messy one, especially when you share your liquor with my turnouts and boots.” She giggles and my anger disappears completely. “Iโ€™m trusting Brock toโ€”โ€

โ€œPerfectย Brock.โ€

The corner of my mouth tips up. โ€œI ainโ€™t calling him that, beautiful. You know there isnโ€™t a man on earth thatโ€™ll ever be good enough for my girl.โ€ย 

Her breath catches, a soft moan vibrating in her chest as her eyes flutter closed before slowly opening again.ย 

โ€œBut I want you to go home, grab some water and some Tylenol, and go to bed. Iโ€™ll take care of your car and will come get you tomorrow on the way to lunch at my parentsโ€™, yeah?โ€

She stares at me for a good long while, but when the truckโ€™s horn sounds, I know Iโ€™ve got to get a move on. โ€œCan you do that for me, Lonnie?โ€

โ€œYes, Luc,” she nods, slowly at first then more enthusiastically.ย 

โ€œGood girl,” I say, earning a beaming, blinding smile this time. “And make sure you text me when you get home. Can you do that for me, beautiful?โ€

After she nods again, I lean in and touch my lips to her temple, ignoring how right it feels.

Before leaving her, I pinย Perfect Brockย with a knowing glare. โ€œStraight home, man. Iโ€™m trusting you with something precious to me here.โ€ย 

He tilts his head, rubbing his chin and studying me.ย โ€œI can’t work out if you’re an idiot or you just don’t see it,โ€ he says, pulling London snugly into his side. He looks to Cohen. โ€œCโ€™mon. You see it too, right?โ€

Cohen purses his lips and shrugs, not exactly denying it.

โ€œWhat the fuck?โ€ I ask.

He leans in and lowers his voice. โ€œOne date with this woman and I already know she’s someone special.”ย 

I grind my teeth together so hard my jaw aches.ย 

“And I don’t owe you anything, especially not after your friendly disposition tonight. But just so we’re crystal clear, thisย dateย stopped being a date when she told me she canโ€™t get over her stupid crush on her best friend, and because Iโ€™m a nice guy, a good guy, and not the asshole you seem to think I am, Iโ€™ll give you some free advice. Youโ€™ve got a choice to make, and you’re gonna have to make it sooner rather than later.”

“Oh yeah? Enlighten me, wise one, who seems to know everything about my girl here.”ย 

His eyes flash. “You can either open your eyes to whatโ€™s right in front of you and how good it could be, or you can let her go so she can get over you and find a man whoโ€™ll give her the world she desperately wants from you.โ€

Then, like he hasnโ€™t just laid me out where I stand, he carefully turns London around and walks her down the sidewalk away from us, leaving me standing there wondering what the hell just happened.

BJ Harvey is the USA Today Bestselling Author of angsty contemporary romance, romantic comedy, and sometimes a little bit of romance suspense. She regards herself as a smut peddler, suspense conjurer, and a funny romance thinker upper. An avid music fan, you will always find her singing some hit song badly and loving every minute of it. Sheโ€™s a minerโ€™s wife, a mom to two beautiful teenagers, and was born in New Zealand and currently lives in Perth, Australia.
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