We were more than we pretended to be. Or maybe we were nothing at all.
-Olivia-
I loved him when I shouldn’t have. And I left him to save us both. Now my life is in danger and he’s the only one who can offer the protection I need.
I hate being so vulnerable, so weak… But if I’m going to bare my secrets to anyone, it’s him.
Even if he hates me for them.
-Aiden-
I would have risked it all for her, but she quit before she ever gave us a chance. She chose another man and another life, instead. And now his choices might cost her hers.
I don’t hate her like she thinks I do, but this is more than a job for me. This is my chance to prove that Olivia and I…
More Than a Memory is a wonderful second-chance romance between two people who never stopped loving one another. With a traumatic past, a dead husband, a heroine in danger, and the brother’s best friend trope added in.
Aiden and Olivia are remarkable characters. She’s been through so much but she is such a strong heroine. And even though Aiden *wants* to hate her for ghosting him without a trace all those years ago, he knows the second he sees her again that she still owns his heart. Now, Olivia needs protection and Aiden is the only one who can keep her safe. Will their love be more than just a memory?
This book is part of the Cole Creek series but is a standalone story. This story had the right blend of romance, heat, suspense, angst, and sizzling chemistry between the H and h. There are some difficult scenes to read in regards to some trauma in Liv’s past, but I thought that Molly McClain handled that very nicely and it helped propel this couple forward as they dealt with Aiden’s guilt in the matter and where they go in the future.
I received a complimentary copy and voluntarily left a review.
Molly McLain lives in a tiny Wisconsin town with her husband, three kiddos, and two adorable German Shorthaired Pointers. She’s addicted to 80’s ballads, 90’s rock, cheesecake, and office supplies, and she’s been scribbling down love stories in spiral notebooks since she was old enough to daydream about hunky boys and happily-ever-afters. Now, she turns those daydreams into steamy, small town romance novels.
Seeing him again has her second guessing everything.
Unfinished Ex, an all-new steamy romance with a surprise twist from bestselling author Samantha Christy, is out now!
He wanted everything I couldn’t give him. A doting wife, a perfect family, a white picket fence, and game nights.
It’s not that I didn’t want to be his wife anymore. I just wanted something more—a career. So when an opportunity came up two years ago, it was easier to make him hate me than have him think he wasn’t enough.
Now, a day after our divorce is final, I find myself thrust back in the town we grew up in, down the street from the house we once owned together.
Seeing him again has me second-guessing everything. My priorities. My reason for leaving. My secrets. When we cave, and have one explosive night of ex sex, everything changes. Or nothing has.
And I have to decide if history is about to be repeated.
“Aren’t you popular?” a familiar voice spews behind me. I stiffen, then turn. “Jaxon.” I spin back and motion for the bartender. My hair gets moved aside, and strong fingers come around the side of my throat. For a second, I think he might strangle me. Then his grip relaxes, and his thumb brushes against the hollow of my neck. Tingles shoot through my body. It’s the first time I’ve felt his touch in years. “As if being all over television isn’t enough,” he says. “You have to come here and rub it in my face? What the hell, Nic? Is there any guy here you haven’t come on to?” “Give me a break.” I shrug his hand off me and huff. “It’s my reunion too. And if you don’t want to see me on TV, change the channel. Anyway, don’t you have a girlfriend you should be dancing with?” The disdain in our voices is surprising. We never spoke like this to each other when we were married. And I’m not sure why I’m speaking to him this way now. He doesn’t deserve it. But seeing him on the arm of another woman all night has been… devastating, to say the least. And my defenses are up. He takes my arm and leads me to the dance floor. I know I should resist, but I don’t. Not much anyway. “What are you doing?” “Talking with my ex-wife. And showing everyone here that we can be civil.” I glance around. Everyone is staring. And guffawing. And videoing. I suppose they either think I’m going to punch him or fuck him. “Can we be civil?” I ask. “Because based on the two times we’ve seen each other, we’re either glaring at or ignoring one another.” “I think we should try to be. How else are we going to survive two months of you being here?” “Avoidance,” I say, trying to ignore the warmth of his hands. The solidness of his body. The familiarity of his scent. Every synapse in my brain is firing, telling me to pull away. But my heart strings—apparently they think we’re still tethered together, and I find myself swaying to the music. He moves with me. “How’s that working for you? Apparently not well since you decided to show up at the one place you knew I’d be. Not to mention my friends.” “Oh, your friends.” “Yeah, my friends. You left them too. Or have you forgotten?” “I remember perfectly well. More than you could ever know.” I break away from him because being in his arms is suffocating. “I have to go. I need to be up early.” “Then why did you even come?” Why did I? “It was obviously a mistake.” I go back to the bar and Paige, who is holding up a shot. I’ve never needed one more. “Thanks. And now I’m leaving.” She checks the time. “You almost made it an hour. That’s longer than I thought you’d last.” She glances behind me. “Oh shit.” I turn to see Calista standing in the hallway, the sadness of her stare burning through my skin from twenty feet away. She saw us dancing. Not bothering to say goodbye to anyone, I hightail it to the back door. I’m barely to the back gate when I hear, “Why can’t you leave well enough alone?” Slowly, I rotate and face Calista. She walks toward me in what seems like slow motion. Is she going to call me names? Pull my hair? Tackle me to the ground? Behind her, people pour out from inside. “Calista, now is not the time. We’ve both been drinking.” “You think I’m going to cause a scene?” “No, because I’m walking away.” I get another thirty feet when I hear her heels on the pavement behind me. She runs ahead and stops my progress. Not with her fists or her body, but with her eyes. Her sorrowful, poignant stare that makes me feel even more guilty about being here. “Calista, I don’t have time for this.” “You left. You chose your career over him. You were selfish, uncaring, and insensitive. Not to mention you broke him. Do you know how long it took him to even ask someone out?” “Cal—” “It’s my turn. You had your turn. You had your chance with him. You don’t get to waltz back into town and pretend like everything is normal when you’re the reason he can’t be. He was just starting to heal. And tonight, I had a feeling he might even commit to this relationship. Then you show up and all anyone can do is look at you, and then look at him to see if he’s looking at you, and then look at me to see if I’m bothered by any of it. Why are you here? You made your choice. You don’t even want him, so why don’t you stay away and give him room to breathe? Please, Nicky. I’m begging you.” I’m stunned by the lack of anger in her confrontation. But I shouldn’t be. Even when we butted heads back in high school, she was still nice about it. She didn’t get to be head cheerleader, class president, and prom queen by intimidation. She did it because she was delightful, caring, and perky. The kind of person who’s perfect for Jaxon. Jaxon comes out of the pub and sees us. Calista glances between him and me. “Unless you still want him.” Her eyes become glassy. “Do you?” “I…” I clutch my pendant. “I have to go.” I run through the parking lot. Then I run down the street. Then I take my shoes off and run barefoot until I get inside the house and up to my room. Then I collapse on my bed, knowing everything she said was one hundred percent true. Especially the part about me wanting him. Because I was lying to myself. Being in his arms wasn’t suffocating. It was like going home.
Sunny Shelly’s Review: 3 Stars
I really liked parts of this book, and really disliked other parts of it. I have such conflicted feelings! While I loved the second-chance romance between a divorced couple who so clearly still was madly in love with one another, there were so many plot points in this story that I kept rolling my eyes over.
The good: There is a lot of growth on the parts of both Nicky and Jaxon in this book when it comes to their relationship and how they drifted apart in the past because of her career aspirations. Unfortunately, I felt that was overshadowed by the lie that Nicky told Jax in the first place and… the ickiness… of the surprise pregnancies in this book.
So Nicky lied about having cheated on Jaxon so he wouldn’t come after her because she felt like she wasn’t enough for him anymore since she had dreams of being a broadcast meteorologist. Except that she lied about it. And then his indiscretion was brushed under the rug by them both on their way to reconciliation. Okay, I can suspend belief for that. But Jaxon getting his ex-girlfriend and Nicky pregnant within weeks of each other was a bit too much. Calista was just a wretched woman who kept coming up with excuse after excuse to spend time with Jax because she was jealous he and Nicky were seeing each other again. I will admit that Jax and Nicky handled Calista’s pregnancy like champs, and came out the other side rock solid as a result. In the end, everything got tied up in a neat little bow and they make it work for all parties involved, including Calista, so this story does have a HEA for everyone.
I wish this book would have come with a trigger warning for miscarriage because that is a sensitive subject for me that I need to know about going into a story.
If I could pluck out certain parts of this story, I would give this book a higher rating. Because I really enjoyed how Nicky and Jaxon found their way back to each other. But I felt that the outside drama was unnecessary since they had enough to work with between the distance, their breakup, their loss, and where they go in the future.
I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
About Samantha Christy Samantha Christy’s passion for writing started long before her first novel was published. Graduating from the University of Nebraska with a degree in Criminal Justice, she held the title of Computer Systems Analyst for The Supreme Court of Wisconsin and several major universities around the United States. Raised mainly in Indianapolis, but also living in Lincoln, NE for a time, she decided to devote herself to family upon the birth of her third child and became a stay-at-home mom. It was then when the writing bug really took hold as she was a voracious reader. Being a stay-at-home mom facilitated her ability to follow her dream of becoming an author. When she is not writing, she keeps busy cruising to every Caribbean island ships sail to. Samantha Christy currently resides near St. Augustine, Florida with her husband and the two of her four children who haven’t flown the nest. Oh, and her dog, Ozzy, who she worships and thinks is the most adorable Whoodle on the planet.
You know that girl from your past that you can’t quite stop thinking about? The one that you pushed away because you had a goal that seemed so much bigger, so much more important than any crush you might have had?
That’s Adaline Wilder for me.
Nothing came before football. Not in college, and not in my five years in the pros. All I wanted was to win games, win a championship, carve my own path out of the illustrious Ward family football legacy. And I’ve done all that. But something is missing.
I’ve never been wrong about what I want. Except with her.
She moved on to someone else, but that baseball playing moron just broke her heart. I don’t blame her for not trusting me, but even Adaline can’t deny the heat when we’re together.
I have one shot at winning her back. And I intend to take it.
I wish I could give Emmett and Adaline more than 5 stars! I think The Crush is one of Karla’s best books, and Emmett had A LOT to live up to as Logan Ward’s son!
The long-distance yearning and missed connections and wrong timing of Emmett and Adaline’s relationship was written so beautifully. I just wanted them to be together!! I love how once Emmett realized that Adaline was the one he is meant to be with, he moved mountains to be with her.
I really feel like I’ve gotten to know the Ward family over the last few years thanks to the original Wolves books and now the next-Gen spinoff. And since Adaline is a character who has been around a bit in previous books, I was already shopping these two as soon as I read the blurb. I cried for the Wilder family as well, and I loved reading Karla’s note at the end, because I am not ready to say goodbye to this universe.
I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
Meet Karla Sorensen
Well, let’s see … I’m a wife and a mother. If the things that I write bring a smile to someone’s face, then I’ve done my job.
I am obsessed with Outlander (both the books and the show). I’m almost exclusively a romance reader, which means some people will never consider me a literary snob.
If I could meet one historical figure, it would be Jane Austen. I received my Bachelors in Public Relations and worked in health care marketing before I had my babies.
I hate Twitter. I do it, but I hate it. Also, if you want to get on my good side, bring me wine and I’ll love you forever.
Happily engaged. Fulfilled by a lucrative career. Addison McCormick thought she had it all—until she caught her soon-to-be-husband cheating.
Forced to start anew, Addison decides a vacation is just what she needs to escape the wreckage of her life in LA, and serene Colorado is calling her name.
What she doesn’t expect to find is Chase Prescott: the sexy, brooding neighbor at the cabin she’s renting. She sees him as nothing more than a vacation boyfriend, a quick and dirty fling to help her get over her recent heartbreak.
But when that spontaneity leads to the surprise of her life, Addison discovers that Chase’s mysterious allure isn’t just a front, and that he has a secret that will change everything.
What happens when the fantasy they created crashes head-on with their harsh reality? Can Addison find her new place in a world she might not be welcomed?
The In Between Duet is the first book I’ve read by Amanda Cuff, and I very much enjoyed Addison and Chase’s story. I didn’t think it needed to be spread out in a duet, but I was glad that both books released on the same day so that I could continue straight through with both parts!
In All That Lies Between Us, Addison’s life has been turned upside down when she found out her fiance cheated on her and her dad pretty much then writes her off for not putting up the front of the perfect, dutiful daughter. It’s almost a blessing in disguise because Addison was bored with her life as an attorney and she’d just been going through the motions with her fiance.
Addison drags her best friend, Olivia, along for a spur-of-the-moment trip to Colorado to get away from it all and reset… And finds herself resetting with Chase, the guy who owns the cabin next door.
Chase has some secrets and we don’t know what those are in All that Lies Between Us. There’s a reason he’s so hesitant to get involved with Addison, despite how much he immediately likes her. They embark on a week-long fling while Addison is in town, both of them knowing that whatever is between them has an expiration date.
But when an emergency takes Chase away and back to his “real life” sooner than expected, will his abrupt departure break Addison more than finding out her fiance cheated on her did?
This first book is a lot of setup, I felt. I really felt the spark between Chase and Addison came across on the page, but there wasn’t a lot of “meat” to their story. Well, keep on going for book two….
All That Lies Ahead is the conclusion to the In Between duet, and picks up where All That Lies Between Us left off. It’s been a few weeks since Addison and Chase had a steamy vacation fling, and now they are back to their real lives. And their real lives are complicated.
When Addison has to track Chase down at his family’s business, she knows that she will be delivering some big news to him. And she gets some shocking news in return. This story took a twist I didn’t see coming, and it was not a traditional take on this particular trope! As much as this story was about Addison and Chase trying to make their relationship work among his obligations, it is also about sacrifice and knowing that life can change in an instant.
This story was so full of love — romantic love, friendship, making a family of your own choosing. It warmed my heart despite the sadness of this story. I was on a rollercoaster of emotions reading the conclusion to this story, but it was as beautiful as it was heartbreaking.
I hope that Olivia and Drake get a book of their own, because I am totally shipping them!
I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
Meet Amanda Cuff
Amanda is a mom of four and military wife living wherever the government dictates. She squeezes writing time in between mountains of laundry, taxi mom duties, and stuffing her face with carbs. She never turns down a strong margarita, her husband’s cooking, or a good Netflix binge.
To learn more about Amanda and her books, visit here!
Could Hutton French and I actually be right for each other, or is it all just one big tease?
TEASE, an all new sizzling friends to lovers, fake engagement small town romantic comedy from USA Today and #1 Amazon bestselling author Melanie Harlow, is now available!
I didn’t mean to say I was engaged to a hot billionaire–it just slipped out.
In my defense, I’d had a really bad haircut, a really strong drink, and I was trying to save face in front of the Mean Girl at my high school reunion.
Lucky for me, I happen to know a hot billionaire. Hutton French and I have been friends forever, and even though big social gatherings are not his thing, I called him from the coat closet and begged him for a favor–show up and play my fake fiancé for the night.
Except that word of our engagement spreads like wildfire. Our families are ecstatic. We’re front page news. My little food blog is launched into the stratosphere.
Of course, I offer to set the record straight right away, but Hutton wants to give it a little time–the phony engagement will keep his matrimony-mad mother and every matchmaking granny in town off his back.
He even suggests I move in with him to make the ruse more real.
And we don’t stop there.
We practice kissing. Undressing each other. Saying things–and doing things–we’d never dare if we weren’t pretending. Because it’s all for show, right? We’re just role-playing. Hutton doesn’t want a real relationship, and I don’t want to get hurt. But the more time we spend faking it, the more I start to wonder.
Could Hutton French and I actually be right for each other, or is it all just one big tease?
“Want something to drink? Whiskey or scotch?” “No, thanks. Mostly I just want to take these heels off.” “Leave them on.” I was already bending down to unbuckle one ankle strap. I looked up and saw him standing there with his glass in his hand. “What?” “Leave them on. And come over here.” I straightened up and took one tiny step. “On your hands and knees.” My breath caught. I could feel his eyes on me. Instantly I understood what this was, and even though I was a little nervous, I wanted to play along. I wanted to please him this way. The only problem was, I wasn’t entirely sure I could get to my knees in this tight dress. But I said a quick prayer and dropped to my knees on the carpet in one smooth motion. Thankfully, the dress material had some stretch, and the seams didn’t pop. “Good girl,” he said quietly, igniting a firestorm in my blood that surprised me. “Now come here.” My heart thrummed fast and loud as I lowered my palms to the floor and slowly closed the distance between us. I’d never done anything like this in my life—who am I right now?—but I liked the way it made me feel. Tempting. Seductive. Alluring. I’d never thought of myself that way before, but here and now, in this tight little black dress with the red satin heels, crawling toward a gorgeous, powerful man in a suit in our Manhattan hotel suite? My billionaire fake fiancé? It was easy to imagine I wasn’t myself at all. When I reached his feet, I sat back on my heels and looked up. Our eyes met. His lean, muscular silhouette looked imposing above me. Even that rebel lock of hair had been tamed into submission tonight. He took another sip of his drink and set the glass on the table. Pulled the chair at the head of the table aside. Loosened the knot in his tie. “Are you okay?” “Yes.” “If there’s a point tonight where you are not, you should tell me.” He slipped the tie from his collar. I swallowed hard. “Like a safe word?” His mouth hooked up on one side. His hand freed the top button of his shirt. “You already have a safe word?” “No,” I said quickly. “I’ve never needed one before.” “You do now.” He undid a second button. “So what will it be?” Of course, I couldn’t fucking think of anything, and I panicked. “Roy Kent,” I blurted. He cocked his head, his hand still on his shirt. “Who’s Roy Kent?” “Never mind. I’ll think of another one.” Do not say Oklahoma. Do not say bumblebee. I racked my brain for something else. “Romeo,” I said breathlessly. “That’s what I’ll say. Romeo.” He set his tie on the table and offered me a hand. Placing my palm in his, I rose to my feet. “Is anything going to hurt?” I asked, picturing whips, chains, ball gags, metal cuffs and clamps, shiny rubber gloves. “I don’t need to inflict pain to feel in control, if that’s what you’re asking.” “Okay. Should I—” But that was all I got out because he spun me around and clamped a hand over my mouth, pressing his body tight against my back.
The best friends romance trope is one of my current faves, and Melanie Harlow did a fantastic job with Felicity and Hutton’s story in Tease. Felicity and Hutton are totally relatable characters, and their story is full of angst and does-he-like-me-too feelings of insecurity, and so much sweetness and swoon. There’s also the added layer of both characters suffering from anxiety, which I thought MH handled brilliantly in how it affected each of their reactions with other people and one another.
I devoured this heart-warming tale of two best friends who were afraid to cross the line but were so clearly meant for one another. And wow, does Hutton know how to take control *wink, wink*
Tease is a next-generation book in MH’s Cloverleigh series, and it is a standalone. But there are some great little moments with some of the other couples from this series and obviously Felicity’s parents, Mack and Frannie, from the OG series.
I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
About Melanie Harlow 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 Ted, Lasso, Schitt’s Creek, and Fleabag. She occasionally runs three miles, but only so she can have more gin and steak.
Melanie is the author of the BELLAMY CREEK series, the CLOVERLEIGH FARMS series, the ONE & ONLY series, AFTER WE FALL series, the HAPPY CRAZY LOVE series, and the FRENCHED series. 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.
Hold Me Close, an all-new heartfelt, angsty and emotional novella set in the All of Me world from USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Siobhan Davis, is live now!
Sons pay for the sins of their fathers…
Bodhi and Easton Lancaster O’Donoghue have grown up sheltered from the truth. Until it’s time for their parents to reveal what happened and how it shaped the events that came later.
Bodhi is quiet. An intelligent, introspective boy who hides his pain deep inside. Shattered by the harsh reality of the past, he spirals into a dark place where no one can reach him.
Easton loves his brother fiercely and has always been there for him. Despite his own grief and confusion, he tries his best to support Bodhi—even if he seems determined to push everyone away.
Vivien and Dillon knew this moment would come. Yet nothing prepared them for the massive fall-out. As Bodhi retreats, and Easton struggles, they fight hard to keep their family together.
Before history repeats itself and they suffer more devastating loss.
It was so great revisiting Dillon and Vivien in Hold Me Close! Set about seven years after the duet, this novella deals with the trials and tribulations of Dillon and Viven raising two teenage sons. This novella is not a standalone story and should be read after the All of Me duet.
Easton and Bodhi are now high schoolers, and the boys have learned the truth about their family’s scandalous past. I loved how Dillon and Vivien handled their sons’ heartache. This story is messy and chaotic and the boys are each carrying around so much hurt and anger, but Dillon and Vivien rely on one another to get through the hurricane that their family life has become. With multiple chapters from the POV of Dillon, Vivien, Bodhi and Easton, we get everbody’s take on the situation, and I loved that storytelling decision!
I thought there was a missed opportunity for Dillon to have a serious sit-down with Bodhi and talk to him about his own teenage angst. It’s alluded to, but it happens off the page and I really would have loved to have seen how that conversation went! Still, Hold Me Close was a fantastic reunion with a couple that I loved the first time around!
I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
About Siobhan Siobhan Davis is a USA Today, Wall Street Journal and Amazon Top 10 bestselling romance author. Siobhan writes emotionally intense stories with swoon-worthy romance, complex characters, and tons of unexpected plot twists and turns that will have you flipping the pages beyond bedtime! She has sold over 1.5 million books and her titles are translated into several languages.
Prior to becoming a full-time writer, Siobhan forged a successful corporate career in human resource management.
She lives in the Garden County of Ireland with her husband and two sons.
Moments in Time is a very fitting title for this wonderful small-town, best friends, second-chance romance. It’s got the perfect balance of sexy and sweet, lots of feels, and the right amount of angst.
Jamison and Violet were best friends once upon a time, but their relationship fell apart and they fell out of touch. Violet has always been the one that got away — so when she literally falls into his lap during a lap dance at a private party, he’s determined to be a part of her life once again. And that means tracking her down in the small town where they grew up. Jami is also there to help his brother Anderson run the family campground, so reconnecting with Violet is a bonus.
I really liked the way Jami and Violet’s complicated history is drawn upon in this story as it goes back and forth from then to now. Were they dating? It was never labeled, but they were so much more than just best friends back then. It takes a while for them to move past the hurt of the past, but once they bring their relationship to the present, they are honest with each other about how they are feeling and it was lovely to see that kind of growth between them.
Moments In Time is set in the same world as The Weight of Regret. While I struggled to connect with Jami’s brother, Anderson, and Hope in that book, I am bumping it back up to the top of my TBR list after finishing Moments in Time.
I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
Meet K.K. Allen
K.K. Allen is the USA TODAY Bestselling and award-winning contemporary romance author of sweet, sexy, and inspiring stories that evoke emotion at every turn.
K.K.’s debut romance novel, Up in the Treehouse, was named the Best New Adult Book of the Year by RT Book Reviews, an honor beyond belief. And she continues to take reader’s emotions on an epic ride every single time with real, layered, coming of age romance stories that will make you fall in love over and over again.
Born in Hawaii, raised in Washington, and currently residing in Florida, K.K. lives for laughs with her little dude, the great outdoors, watching football, dancing the night away, and her eclectic taste in music.
K.K. also loves connecting with her readers and attends signings when she can! You can find upcoming event dates and other information at:www.kkallen.com.
From USA Today and Wall St. Journal bestselling author comes a brand-new contemporary romance—an angsty, emotional love story between a grumpy firefighter who thinks he has his life figured out and a beautiful ad exec whose life is anything but.
Between Hello and Goodbye by Emma Scott is now live!
She’s a city girl in Seattle. He’s a firefighter in a rainforest. This is never going to work…
Faith Benson isn’t your emergency contact, she’s the party-girl friend you call for a good time. The gal-pal who loves mimosas at brunch and martinis at Happy Hour. But her carefree lifestyle threatens her job at a top Seattle ad agency. There’s no one better at landing big accounts (when she shows up) but her boss demands she take a leave of absence to get her head on straight.
Faith heads to the remote Hawaiian island of Kauai, far away from the vices that get her in trouble. A twisted ankle on Day One requires rescuing by a man who is vice personified–a gorgeous firefighter who awakens feelings in her heart she never knew existed.
Asher Mackey doesn’t get involved with beautiful tourists beyond taking them to bed and then watching them leave his tiny island. He’s devoted his life to the safety and care of everyone around him…except himself. Until he meets Faith Benson, the city girl whose vibrant, inner beauty shines a light on the dark corners of his life, showing him how safe—but empty—it truly is.
Despite their best efforts to keep their distance, Faith and Asher fall hard and fast, but there’s an ocean between them. Both are building their lives on opposite sides of the Pacific while their feelings for each other grow more profound and undeniable by the day.
Something has to give.
When Asher receives devastating news, he and Faith have to decide once and for all to entrust their hearts fully to the other or return to their safe—but separate—worlds. Because neither can endure much longer, living somewhere between hello and goodbye.
Between Hello and Goodbye is a contemporary romance about love, loss, and experiencing life in all its facets. It deals with sensitive topics that may be triggering for some readers.
Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited
Between Hello and Goodbye is so much more than an opposites attract, grumpy/sunshine romance. Emma Scott’s latest story delivers an emotional punch that will leave you with a book hangover.
As hard as Asher and Faith try to ignore the crazy chemistry between them, it’s inevitable. But she’s a city slicker ad exec from Seattle on retreat to “reset” her life in Hawaii, and he’s a firefighter in a small island town. Sure, he was once a Wall Street hedge fund manager, but Asher’s traded in that life for a simpler existence. How will they ever make their vacation fling work?
As it turns out, the distance between Hawaii and Settle is not the only thing working against Asher and Faith. They both have baggage to work through and just when it seems that they’ve made their way through that, a devastating turn of events threatens to tear them apart for good. This book is emotional, heartbreaking, heartwrenching, and every other angsty synonym you can think of. But so, so beautiful despite the heartache that befalls Asher and Faith.
I didn’t realize at first that Faith was Silas’ fake fiance from Someday, Someday, and I loved that she got a story of her own — as emotional and teary as it was!
I received a complimentary copy and voluntarily left a review.
Emma Scott is a USA Today and Wall St. Journal bestselling author whose books have been translated in six languages and featured in Buzzfeed, Huffington Post, New York Daily News and USA Today’s Happy Ever After. She writes emotional, character-driven romances in which art and love intertwine to heal, and in which love always wins. If you enjoy emotionally-charged stories that rip your heart out and put it back together again, with diverse characters and kind-hearted heroes, you will enjoy her novels. Visit www.emmascottwrites.com
Brooke Turner has always had a complicated relationship with her father. But when his health takes a turn for the worse, she drops everything to care for him. He’s her dad, after all, and he needs her. What Brooke doesn’t anticipate is the unraveling of her long-term relationship and a cross-country move to San Diego’s Little Italy.
Luca D’Angelo is the oldest of three children and a single father to a young daughter. When his mother rents the top floor of their house to Brooke, he’s angry. Who is this beautiful stranger with no ties to the neighborhood? Can she be trusted in such close proximity to his family?
As Luca learns of Brooke’s difficult journey with her ailing father, his heart softens. And Brooke, who witnesses Luca’s struggle as a single parent, develops feelings for him, too. But when it all falls apart, will love heal their wounded hearts?
About the Author
New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author Catherine Bybee has written twenty-eight books that have collectively sold more than five million copies and have been translated into more than eighteen languages. Raised in Washington State, Bybee moved to Southern California in the hope of becoming a movie star. After growing bored with waiting tables, she returned to school and became a registered nurse, spending most of her career in urban emergency rooms. She now writes full-time and has penned the Not Quite Series, the Weekday Brides Series, the Most Likely To Series, and the First Wives Series.
When It Falls Apart is a heartbreaking exploration in the heroine’s attempts to juggle her personal life and career with the demands put upon her in caring for her aging parent. Brooke is trying to hold it all together but her life and career fall apart after her father falls ill. She has to pack up her life, put her father into assisted living, end a long-term relationship and try to pick up the pieces of her life. She never expects to find a support system in the crazy chaos of the family she’s renting an apartment from. Or find her soulmate in the hot single dad.
I really liked Brooke as a heroine. She had a lot on her shoulders but handled it well. And Luca was so patient and attentive with her when it came to dealing with her father and showing her what a boyfriend should do for his girlfriend. (Seriously, her ex was a grade-A jerk.) Little Franny was absolutely adorable, and I appreciated how Luca and Brooke presented a united front when his ex-wife suddenly reappeared out of the blue.
However, what I didn’t like about this book was the style of storytelling.
This book is 3rd POV dual perspective, but I found the transitions really choppy. We get the POV of both Luca and Brooke in the same chapter, sometimes with no clear break between whose view we are reading. I haven’t read anything else by Catherine Bybee before, so maybe that is her writing style. But the majority of the books I read are dual POV, and the stories flow so much better with alternating chapters.
There were also a few POV sections with Mama Marie, which I enjoyed. I liked getting her insight to Brooke and Luca’s relationship, and how she knew as soon as she met Brooke that she was the one for Luca. But I think those may have worked better as their own chapters when it comes to the flow of the story.
Despite the choppiness of the storytelling, I did enjoy this story and I will definitely check out the future D’Angelo books because I’m interested in what’s to come for Chloe and Gio!
I received a complimentary copy via NetGalley and voluntarily left a review.
Interview with Catherine Bybee
For anyone wondering the plot of your newest release, you give a great sneak peek with the title—When it Falls Apart. What is “falling apart” in this novel?
All the threads that hold my heroine, Brooke, together are crumbling down around her. When it Falls Apart begins with Brooke’s romantic relationship crashing and burning. At the same time, in a different state, her father is circling the drain in the ICU. And for the cherry on the top of her “falling apart life”, Brooke has found herself demoted at work. In short, everything in Brooke’s life is dissolving around her.
Like all of your books, When it Falls Apart has a beautiful romance, however, there is a rawness about Brooke’s story. How was writing this novel different from your others?
If you read my notes both in the front and the back of this novel, you’ll soon realize that the story was very personal to me. Rawness comes from experience. The relationship Brooke has with her father is hauntingly familiar to me and my dad. The emotions that the heroine experienced when taking care of him were easy for me to grasp onto and write about. Sadly, the love story with Luca was completely made up and I didn’t have the support of a strong Italian family to help deal with the struggles, but I digress.
Relationships with a parent who wasn’t there for you growing up are messy. When that parent ages and needs their child, sometimes that help comes with a bucketload of resentment, even if the child wishes they could stop those ugly feelings from creeping up on them. And THAT is the rawness you speak of.
Books, TV shows, and movies oftentimes glamorize what it means to care for a loved one. However, in When it Falls Apart you don’t sugar-coat anything about caregiving and the toll it takes on a person. How do you think readers who have been in similar situations will be affected by this story?
Justified. Validated. Accepted.
It’s a hard job taking care of an elderly family member. And if there aren’t other siblings to help, or won’t help, it’s made even more difficult. It’s difficult, gritty, dirty work that only has a bad ending…eventually. What I do hope my readers take away is that they’re not alone. That the struggle is very real and that if they don’t find balance (which is almost impossible at times) they will burn out completely and not be fit to help at all. I hope my readers are empowered to set boundaries and balance, so they come out on the other side of caring for an elderly loved one whole themselves.
Brooke gets virtually no support from her significant other, which has her reevaluating their relationship. She realizes she has settled and has to make some hard decisions. Do you think this happens too many times to women in real life?
100% Yes! There is a song by Taylor Swift with a line that says, and I’m paraphrasing here, I can be what you want for the weekend. But often that weekend ends up being a relationship that women hold on to or are convinced they can’t live without. Often it takes a huge shake-up to remove yourself from that situation. But once you’re away from the day to day dysfunctional relationship, the easier it is to see the dysfunction.
After her breakup and move, Brooke is not looking for a relationship. In fact, she tells her best friend: “I haven’t wiped off my smeared mascara from Marshall yet, the last thing I want is to jump into anything else.” Her crying over a man lasts all about two minutes when she meets Luca. Tell us about him.
Hmmm, Luca… he is the kind of man who doesn’t want a place on Brooke’s dance card…he wants to rip it up.
Luca is wired to help the people in his life. Brooke becomes a part of his inner circle simply by moving into the family building where he sees her every day.
Now, if Luca had flat out asked Brooke on a date, she would have run the other way…so no, he doesn’t go about it that way. He simply shows up and does not leave. Not when things get tough, or messy…or when his own past peeks its head in. Luca is a man who is right there at Brooke’s side without question or censor on why she does the things she does. His support and validation of her feelings is the part she was missing. Add in the hunky Italian single father and “Mamma Mia!”
At first, Luca is not thrilled that Brooke is renting a room in his family’s building. What changes his mind about her?
Her strength and vulnerability. I know that sounds contradicting, but some of the strongest women I know have a big vulnerable spot in their life that if you know them well enough, you see. The biggest smiles often hide the deepest pain. Luca sees her struggle and dedication to helping her elderly father and since family is first on Luca’s list, she passes his unconscious test.
Luca’s family, the D’Angelo’s, are incredibly close and share everything from ownership of the family restaurant to helping care for Luca’s daughter Franny. How is this different from Brooke’s relationship with her family?
Brooke doesn’t have that family. She has a father who abandoned her as a little girl that she carved out a relationship as an adult, and now she’s charged with caring for. Even her previous romantic relationship didn’t support her unconditionally the way the D’Angelo’s do for each other. She’s rather dumbfounded when they start treating her like family. It’s a wonderful thing to watch happen.
San Diego’s Little Italy plays a huge part in the story. The community, language, and food are in full display. Tell us about your own experiences in your adopted city.
I love Little Italy, the food, the pace… the people. There are many places in San Diego that are overrun with the college scene, San Diego is a college town. But Little Italy is more family friendly. Very touristy, but there isn’t a day you don’t see locals hanging out. I go to the farmer’s market often. Pick up authentic Italian ingredients for my own home cooking. I try new restaurants and take all my friends there when they are visiting from out of town. Not to mention it was the closest thing to the “real Italy” that I could go during the travel restrictions. So why not write about it and tell the world of this small island within San Diego that shouldn’t be missed?
There are two more siblings in the D’Angelo family. Where will you be taking readers next with the series?
Chloe is a yogi. Think Bali!
And Giovanni loves wine… think Tuscany, Italy.
I cannot wait to show you what I have in store for these two!
“I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH. I love Lena’s writing and I’m not kidding when I say her story’s are sooooo easy to get into. There’s just something about them!”
-Goodreads Reviewer
The moment I kissed my wife, I knew I was in trouble.
A stoic, dangerous man with ties to the Mafia has no business keeping a gorgeous ray of sunshine like her, but she was scared and I was desperate.
On the run, we land at a secluded ranch designed to protect federal witnesses. As long as everyone believes we’re married, she won’t have to testify against me for killing the man who put his hands on her.
But the longer we pretend, the lines between fact and fiction begin to blur. My eyes linger a second too long. My hands soften on her skin. My kiss, a little too demanding.
Before I can help it, our pretending extends behind closed doors and our relationship begins to feel very, very real.
My plan is to hide out until I know she’s safe. Set her up for life and disappear, but I’m drawn to the way she breathes life into me without even trying. A better man would walk away.
The Alias and the Altar is the second book in Lena Hendrix’s Redemption Ranch series, and I absolutely adored everything about Parker and Sienna’s fake marriage romance! We briefly met them at the end of The Badge and The Bad Boy, and I was excited to see what their story was going to be all about once I learned that they had a marriage of convenience!
Sienna and Parker are on the run from his mafia associates back in Chicago, and they head to Redemption Ranch for refuge. The fact that Parker’s brother, Evan, is working there is not coincidental — Parker is hoping for a chance to repair his relationship with Evan and their sister while hiding out at the ranch, which is a front for people in witness protection.
As they are hiding out in Montana, Parker and Sienna slowly begin to get to know each other as more than the waitress and the broody guy who always ordered a meatball parm sandwich. I fell for gruff, grumpy Parker right away and how Sienna brought out a softer side to him. Most of the world saw Parker as an intimidating, tattooed mobster. But with Sienna, he wasn’t afraid to show his vulnerable side — stress cleaning and steamy bodice-ripper romances! And Sienna — she’s lost so much in her life already, I loved that she found a home of her own creation in Parker and his siblings and the rest of the ragtag crew at Redemption Ranch.
TAatA takes place during the time that Evan and Val are split up at the end of The Badge and the Bad Boy, so it was nice seeing Evan being all grumpypants with Val being gone from the ranch. I can’t wait to read Gemma and Scott’s book! Those teases have me hooked!!
I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
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