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Sunny Shelly’s Review: The Lie, by Karla Sorensen

Release Date: September 15

 

 

Rule number 1 for the team owner’s daughter? Don’t date the players.
Especially not hotheaded tight ends with tattoos and impulse control problems. 
That’s why Dominic Walker is completely off my radar. Sort of.
Babysitting the team troublemaker when he’s forced to volunteer for the foundation where I work means I can’t exactly avoid him.
I wish I had though. Because once I get to know Dominic, it’s almost impossible to ignore the feelings he brings out in me. 
Pretty soon, I’m breaking all my rules. I just have to hope he doesn’t break my heart in the process.  

 

 

Grab Your Copy Here:

Amazon US | Amazon CA | Amazon UK | Amazon AU

Free in KU 

 

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Sunny Shelly’s Review: 5 Stars

Unputdownable! Grumpy, tatted bad boy is really a gushing romantic? Yes, please!

I read The Lie in a single night because I just could not tear myself away from Faith and Dominic! The Lie is set in the Washington Wolves world, and is another next-generation book like the Ward Sisters series. Faith is the daughter of Luke Pierson and Allie Sutton Pierson from The Bombshell Effect, the book that started this world. I loved getting to see Luke and Allie all grown up and happily married!

But back to Faith and Dominic. They clash immediately. He’s grumpy, has a bad attitude, and a reputation for being a troublemaker. She’s sunshine and rainbows, and he hates her on sight. Yes, Faith is privileged, but she’s also a super hard worker, and busts her butt working for the philanthropic foundation her stepmom Allie had started years ago. So when Allie has Faith “babysitting” Dominic while he does some community service after a mess-up at the stadium, neither of them are very happy to be spending forced time with the other.

But oh, how things change! Something clicks for Dominic and makes him realize that he was completely wrong about Faith. And though she’s got whiplash from his 180, she soon realizes that he’s really a big old softy with an incredibly generous heart — even if he doesn’t show it often to people. But even though Dominic lets his walls crumble down around Faith, there is one huge secret left between them, and his lie of omission could ruin everything they are building together.

How I loved this story! The Lie checks all the boxes for a feel-good romance, and I absolutely devoured it. The banter between Dominic and Faith is amazing. I totally fell for this couple as they went from hating one another to falling head over heels. I cried during the breakup, and then cried again when Dominic worked on his own issues to win Faith back.

The Lie is perfect! 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. 

 

Connect with Karla Sorensen

Website | NewsletterFacebook | Instagram | Twitter | Amazon Author Page | Goodreads | BookBub | Reader Group

 

 

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Sunny Shelly’s Review: Wild With You, by J.H. Croix

Release Date: August 31

A brand new firefighter series from USA Today Bestselling Author J.H. Croix!

All bets are off when a hotshot firefighter and a homecoming queen whose crown slipped off meet in the wilds of Alaska.

I don’t have time for romance, much less for prissy Madison Glen. The first time I meet her, I kiss her. The second time I meet her, she’s breaking into my neighbor’s house. She swears up and down she’s not a criminal. Maybe not, but she is definitely a distraction I don’t need. 

I’ve got my hands full with my mouthy daughter and an insanely busy life as a hotshot firefighter. It doesn’t surprise me at all to learn Madison was homecoming queen in high school. 

She’s stubborn, impractical, and she’d win the contest for least-likely to survive in small town Alaska. She’s also sultry and sassy. She’s everything I don’t need. It doesn’t matter what I tell myself though. I can’t keep my hands to myself when she’s around, and she kisses like a dream.

Graham & Madison’s story is perfect for readers who love small town romance, hotshot firefighters, alpha heroes, sassy heroines, frenemies to lovers, hate to love, opposites attract, slow burn, emotional romance with a dash of angst, plenty of steam and swoon, and a deeply protective grumpy hero.

Grab Your Copy Here:

Sunny Shelly’s Review: 5 Stars

Slow-burn, small town, single dad goodness! Wild With You is a great series starter about a bunch of hotshot firefighters in a small Alaskan town. The series begins with Graham and Maddie, who have a heated kiss when they cross paths in a rest stop and then a hotel. They both figure they will never see each other again, so of course, Graham ends up being Maddie’s next-door neighbor when she settles in at the cabin she inherited from her late grandfather.

I adored these two. Graham has his hands full as a firefighter and parenting his teenage daughter, Allie, and Maddie is licking her wounds after her world imploded thanks to her dad’s financial scandal. (BTW, her mom is just wicked.) It’s a super slow burn as Graham and Maddie grow from friends to more, and it’s a wonderful journey. I also really loved Maddie’s friendship with Allie. It was so heartwarming to see this lonely teenager find the mother figure she was longing for in Maddie.

Wild For You is a super sweet, absolutely heartwarming small-town romance, and I can’t wait to see what comes next in this series! I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.

Meet J.H. Croix

 

USA Today Bestselling Author J. H. Croix lives in a small town in the historical farmlands of Maine with her husband and two spoiled dogs. 

 

Croix writes steamy contemporary romance with sassy women and rugged alpha men who aren’t afraid to show some emotion. Her love for quirky small-towns and the characters that inhabit them shines through in her writing. 

 

Take a walk on the wild side of romance with her bestselling novels!

Connect with J.H. Croix
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Sunny Shelly’s Review: One More Click, by C.E. Lashua

Title: One More Click
Author: C.E. Lashua
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: August 13, 2021
Cover Design: Sarah Kil Creative Studio

True love.
That’s what everyone wants, isn’t it?
A love that would stand the tests of time.
A relationship that would never falter.
A person to grow old with.
That’s what I wanted when I signed up for all of those dating apps.
There were so many people out there looking for the same thing I was.
One of them was bound to be the one, right?
My one?
True love.
What a crock.
More like true despair.
All I received for my efforts was a stalker that turned my every fantasy into a nightmare.
A man that built up my hopes just to destroy them.
And a game that had deadly consequences.
So, you know what?
F*ck waiting for true love.
I’ll take it from the one I choose.
*One More Click is a contemporary romance with dark themes, violence, and sexual content that some readers may find triggering. Recommended for readers 18+ due to mature content. This book can be read as a standalone.

Sunny Shelly’s Review: 3.5 Stars

One More Click is not what I was expecting — I figured it would be a dating-app romance, but I somehow missed how dark this book was going to be. Still, it was an intriguing novella, more of a mystery with steamy romance scenes than a romantic suspense story.

We have Shelly, our beautiful heroine who meets Griffin, the perfect boyfriend on a dating app. Griff will do anything to protect Shelly. Then there’s The Stalker, who wants Shelly for himself.

Every time I thought I knew where things were going, something else came out that had me second-guessing my thoughts. There are lots of twists and turns, tons of creepy happenings, and an obsessive psychopath that makes you wonder if you ever really know people.

There are clues dropped about The Stalker’s identity here and there, and I thought it was brilliant that the alternate POV to Shelly’s throughout this book was actually The Stalker. Not what I was expecting at all! But I had some questions by the end of the story that left me feeling somewhat unsatisfied…I plan to do a re-read and see if I can string together those breadcrumbs that I missed the first time around.

I received a complimentary copy and voluntarily left a review.

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Sunny Shelly’s Review: The Highland Fling, by Meghan Quinn

 

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THE HIGHLAND FLING by Meghan Quinn

Release Date: August 24th

Genre/Tropes: Romantic Comedy/Contemporary Romance

Montlake Publishing

 

GRAB THIS ALL- NEW HILARIOUS, SEXY ROMANTIC COMEDY TODAY!!

 

AVAILABLE NOW!!

FREE in Kindle Unlimited!!

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/3D2747c

Universal: mybook.to/TheHighlandFling

Audio: https://adbl.co/3D1qcBW

 

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Add to Goodreads:

https://buff.ly/3xgV8Kt

 

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Blurb:

In this steamy tale by USA Today bestselling author Meghan Quinn, an American searching for her purpose escapes to a Scottish town but finds more questions than answers when she meets a brooding yet handsome handyman.

 

Freshly fired from her third job in a row, Bonnie St. James has lost her way. So when she and her best friend stumble upon a “help wanted” post to run a coffee shop in the Scottish Highlands, they apply on a whim. Who knows? Maybe traveling to a new place is just what she needs to figure out her next move.

 

When the friends arrive in the tiny idyllic town of Corsekelly, they instantly fall for the gorgeous Highland landscape and friendly townspeople. But Bonnie finds a less-than-warm welcome in Rowan MacGregor, the rugged local handyman. Busy wrestling his own demons, Rowan’s in no mood to deal with the quirky American—even if she is a bonny lass.

 

As Bonnie and Rowan’s paths inevitably cross, insults—and sparks—fly. Can the pair build on their similarities to help each other find purpose and direction…and maybe romance too? Or will their passionate tempers fling them apart?

 

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Excerpt:

“I know you would have done the same for me.” I move my hands slowly across his chest. “Rowan?”

“Hmm?”

“Does this mean . . . we’re starting something?”

“Are you fishing for a date, lass?”

“Wouldn’t hurt you to ask, you know.”

“Okay.”

And I wait . . . and wait . . . and wait.

“Uh, are you going to ask?”

“On my terms, Bonnie. Now just go to sleep.”

“On your terms—what does that even mean?”

“Means I’ll ask when I ask.”

“Well, I can’t wait around forever, you know. I’m fresh meat in a Scottish meat market. I might be asked out tomorrow, and because you never asked me out, I would take that date.”

“Then take it,” he says casually.

I pinch his side, and he barely flinches. “You’re not supposed to say that.”

“I know you wouldn’t take it. You’re too infatuated with me.”

“Oh, now you did it,” I exclaim. “Now I’m going to go ask Lieth out just to spite you.”

He chuckles. “Good luck. I heard he likes to lick necks on first dates.”

“Well, then he’s the perfect man for me.”

Sunny Shelly’s Review: 5 Stars

Meghan Quinn does it again! Escape to Scotland with this adorable enemies-to-lovers romcom and fall in love with Bonnie and Rowan!

Grumpy Rowan is as surly as they come. He feels stuck in his life, wants more than what his tiny Scottish village has to offer, but can’t bring himself to abandon his parents and chase after his own dreams after a tragic accident that tore his family apart. American Bonnie is going through life aimlessly, searching for her purpose, her reason, the thing that she is *great* at. Never in a million years did Bonnie imagine that she’d find her purpose in a small, struggling coffee shop in Scotland. Never in a million years did Rowan think that the person who infused life back into his existence would be a feisty, stubborn American. These two met their match in one another, and it was a joy to watch Rowan and Bonnie fall in love!

I received an advanced copy via Montlake from NetGalley and voluntarily left a review.
 
 

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About the Author:

USA Today Bestselling Author, wife, adoptive mother, and peanut butter lover. Author of romantic comedies and contemporary romance, Meghan Quinn brings readers the perfect combination of heart, humor, and heat in every book.

 

Connect with Meghan:

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

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7360513.Meghan_Quinn

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorMegQuinn

Website: http://authormeghanquinn.com

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/meghan-quinn

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2LitE4x

 

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Sunny Shelly’s Review: A Photo Finish, by Elsie Silver

A Photo Finish, an all-new emotional and angst-filled standalone romance from Elsie Silver, is available now!

I’ve seen every square inch of Violet Eaton’s delectable body and she has no idea who I am.

Until now.

What happened between us online, in our chats, was meant to stay anonymous and in the past.

Until it didn’t.

It’s a small world, but Ruby Creek is even smaller. When I move to the tiny town, the grumpy facade I’ve created slips when we’re forced to live under the same roof.

Every flush of her cheeks, every time her eyes flare with heat, every time she begs me not to stop, the ice I’ve encased myself in melts. She has me wanting things I can’t want. Things I’ve been dreaming about since I first laid eyes on her two years ago—things I don’t deserve.

But my invisible wounds have the power to ruin us both. As a former soldier, I should have the discipline to walk away, but the more I open up to Violet, the more I want to keep her.

I came back from the war a different man, but my scars are older and deeper than anyone knows—and I planned to keep it that way. I planned to keep my secrets hidden.

Until her.

Download your copy today!
FREE in Kindle Unlimited
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3iaND3v
Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/photofinish

Add to A Photo Finish to Goodreads→ https://bit.ly/3zryfWZ

Excerpt

Shaking my head as I march back into the barn, I head down the long hall of offices toward the laundry room at the end. I live in a small apartment above the barn so I just do my laundry down here. I grew up on a proper ranch, in the dirt and snow, usually with hay in my hair, so the thought of washing all my clothes in the same machines used for the hairy horse laundry doesn’t bother me at all.
I’m almost to the door when I hear it.
“Violet.”
That voice. The low rumble of it. The threat woven into it. The man behind it. I swear my feet grow roots that shoot out and bind me to the ground. My heart knocks violently in my chest like it’s trying to get out and run away. And quite frankly, I don’t blame it. I want to get out of here too.
He wasn’t supposed to be here yet. I was supposed to be gone down the highway by the time he showed up. He was supposed to be out of my life. I was supposed to have left him behind. Forgotten him.
But I haven’t. I’ve warred with myself, wrestled and fought. Been with other men to prove to myself that I’m fine. But one word out of his mouth, and I seriously wonder if I am. I could run and hide, but that’s not how the new me handles this. The new Violet isn’t a shrinking Violet. That’s what I keep telling myself anyway.
Maybe one day it will feel true.
So I suck in as much oxygen as I can and hold my head up high. I refuse to let this man make me feel small or embarrassed. We have a shared past, but we’re both adults. This will be fine.
Spinning on one heel, I turn and march back to the office I just passed. The one that has sat empty for years. I stop just inside the doorway, partly because I don’t want to go any further and partly because I’m reeling. All it takes is one look at Cole Harding, sitting behind a desk in a dark suit, spinning the cufflinks on his shirt, for me to lose all the bravado I just puffed myself up with. I literally feel it roll right off me like someone has doused me with a bucket of cold water. My body’s reaction to him has never been normal, and today is no exception.
The inky hair, the gray eyes, the square shoulders, the sad tilt to his mouth. He crosses his arms under my gaze, and I roll my lips together at the sight. Just the way he moves, so sure and so calculated, drives me to distraction. There’s so much power coiled in every inch of his body. A soldier’s body.
His biceps are where my eyes land, and where they stay. They’re incredible. I wonder how they’d look completely bare, how they’d feel wrapped around me. I hate myself for even going there. But I keep my eyes trained on them, because it’s less unnerving than looking him in those soulful eyes. Silvery pools, deep and haunted and swirling with so much. The ones full of anger, and pain, and sorrow. Those are a much bigger problem for me. And for my heart.
“Violet.” He says my name like it’s a sentence, a full thought. Like I should know exactly what he means when he says it. But I don’t know anything where Cole Harding is concerned. I think I actually know less than anything. Other than the hair on my arms is standing up like there’s an electrical current running over me, and my stomach is flipping like I just shot down off the high point of a roller coaster. Which is apt, because my history with Cole is nothing if not a roller coaster.
“Everyone calls me Vi.” I hate how quiet my voice comes out. I hate the way my name sounds on his lips, too formal and too familiar all at once.
His eyes rove my body, but he doesn’t smile. It’s not appreciative. It’s more like he’s assessing me, like I’m a mess that needs cleaning up and he’s trying to figure out how. Shame lurches in my gut, flashes of the way he talked to me once and how it warmed me to my bones pop up in my head, but I do my best to will it away. I’ve worked too hard at moving on to go down that rabbit hole again.
“I’m not everyone,” he says plainly.
I hiss as I suck air in, trying not to sound like I’m gasping for it. Trying not to give away the fact that he’s just winded me with his words. Blood rushes in my ears and pools in my cheeks—like it always does. You look so pretty in pink. He’d told me that once, and now it takes every ounce of my strength not to let my mind and body wander back to that day.
“What do you want, Cole?”
His eyes flash, and his body goes rigid right as his jaw ticks. Like somehow I’m the one who’s annoying him when he’s the one who called me in here. He could have kept his mouth shut, and I’d have been none the wiser. We could have avoided this entire encounter.
“I just want to make sure that we’re on the same page. That we can continue to stay out of each other’s way while I work out here. That you can keep things . . .” his eyes slide down my body and then back up, “professional.”
Professional. Nothing between us has ever been professional. He’s seen me naked, trampled my heart, and then showed back up out of nowhere with nothing but cool looks and mocking words and now expects me to keep things professional? Indignation flares up in me over the fact that he feels entitled to dictate how I should conduct myself. Like I don’t come up against enough of that in this industry as it is. It’s a sore spot, and he should know. I spent long nights telling him about my childhood. About how I struck out on my own. And now he’s going to waltz in here and talk to me like that? No way.
“Let me be clear, Cole.” This time I don’t let my voice waver, and I don’t stare at his biceps. I stare right into his steely eyes. “This is my place of work, and I am nothing if not professional. The way you’re talking to me right now? It isn’t professional. So, I’m going to continue doing exactly what I have been for the past year and you can stay out of my way. Think you can manage?”
His body snaps back slightly, and his eyes go wide. Like he didn’t see that coming. Didn’t see me coming. And he lashes out at me for it. I see the flash of insecurity on his face right before he spews his words back at me. And it’s that hint of sorrow that takes the bite out of them.
“Pretty in Purple was so sweet. What happened?”
I shake my head at him sadly. Because when it comes down to it, that’s what I feel when I see him, when I think of him. Sad.
“Seems like you mistook Pretty in Purple for a doormat.”
I look at him just long enough to see the forlorn look on his face, the crack in his cold exterior, before I turn and walk away. The spear to my damn heart. Golddigger85 is just as lost as he was before, just as complicated. Just as broken. And I’ve already decided I won’t tolerate the way he lashes out. We all make choices. That’s what he told me once, and he wasn’t wrong.
It’s why I moved on. It’s why I disappeared without a word. It’s why this awkwardness between us now is on him, not me. My head knows exactly what choices to make where Cole Harding is concerned.
But my heart?
It’s not so sure.

Sunny Shelly’s Review: 4 Stars

A Photo Finish is the first book I’ve read by Elsie Silver, and I quite enjoyed it! The story goes back and forth between the past and the present, as Violet and Cole’s relationship unfolds. Years earlier, they met online, and while Cole knew what Pretty in Purple looked like, Violet had no idea what her virtual beau looked like. When they eventually unexpectedly meet, it kinda freaks Cole out that Violet has a connection to his family’s ranch, where she rides as a jockey.

A few years later, Cole is reluctantly back at the ranch, and Violet needs to recuperate after a riding accident, leading to a good old forced proximity romance as they try to deny their feelings for each other despite the crackling sexual tension between them. A Photo Finish is a wonderful slow-burn romance as these two slowly start to fall for each other.

A Photo Finish is the second book in the Gold Rush Ranch series, but I did not feel like I was missing backstory having not read Billie and Vaughan’s book first. Cole and Violet’s romance hits all the sweet spots for a grumpy/sunshine romance and has all the feels!

I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.

About Elsie
Elsie Silver is a Canadian author of sassy, sexy, small town romance who loves a good book boyfriend and the strong heroines who bring them to their knees. She lives just outside of Vancouver, British Columbia with her husband, son, and three dogs and has been voraciously reading romance books since before she was probably supposed to.

She loves cooking and trying new foods, traveling, and spending time with her boys–especially outdoors. Elsie has also become a big fan of her quiet five am mornings, which is when most of her writing happens. It’s during this time that she can sip a cup of hot coffee and dream up a fictional world full of romantic stories to share with her readers.

Connect with Elsie
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3x9ltu2
Facebook: https://bit.ly/2TJbgH6
Instagram: https://bit.ly/2VcaiU0
Stay up to date with Elsie by joining her mailing list: https://bit.ly/3i5a7D1

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Sunny Shelly’s Review: The Parent Trap, by Jasinda Wilder

The Parent Trap by Jasinda Wilder is now live!

He was my worst enemy. He spent every waking moment devising fresh new ways of torturing me. No one has ever been able to make me cry like Matthais Bristow: my twin brother’s best friend, and the person on this planet I hate most.

Then, he left for college and I was free of him. For ten blessed years, I was free of his torture. 

Now, he’s back, and he owns half of the family business I spent my entire life preparing to take over. 

Is this going to be a new round of his old favorite game, Make Delia McKenna Cry, or are am I to believe he’s actually come back with good intentions?

  Download today!
 Amazon: http://mybook.to/theparenttrap
Apple Books: https://apple.co/2VJFrP4
Nook: https://bit.ly/3iDZh77
Kobo: https://bit.ly/3Azjscx
Google Play: https://bit.ly/3AqPp6W

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3hJZyVR
Bookbub: https://bit.ly/3yHVNGl

Sunny Shelly’s Review: 4 Stars

The Parent Trap was an absolute delight to read. I was highly entertained by Delia and Matthais’ story. For her entire life, Delia was tortured by Thai, her brother’s best friend. He’s been gone for a decade, while Delia was groomed to take over her family’s business. But when her dad dies, the company went to both Delia and her wayward brother Dell — and Dell wants nothing to do with it so he promptly sells his shares to his best friend, forcing Delia and Thai to work together.

Delia has no reason to think that Thai will be anything but awful to her, considering their history. But can people truly change? Thai does. I didn’t want to like him, but I found myself really wanting this bad boy to be redeemed and grow into a man worthy of Delia’s love. I loved these two together — from their snarky, biting comments, to the sweet, tender moments.

I will definitely be coming back to this book again in the future, and Jasinda Wilder ended The Parent Trap with a perfect set-up for Dell’s story!

I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.

Meet Jasinda Wilder

NEW YORK TIMES, USA TODAY, WALL STREET JOURNAL and international bestselling author Jasinda Wilder is a Michigan native with a penchant for titillating tales about sexy men and strong women. Her bestselling titles include ALPHA, STRIPPED, WOUNDED, and the #1 Amazon and international bestseller FALLING INTO YOU. You can find her on her farm in Northern Michigan with her husband, author Jack Wilder, her six children and menagerie of animals.

Connect with Jasinda
Website | http://jasindawilder.com
Goodreads | https://bit.ly/3xJV86H
Amazon | https://amzn.to/3wB0ccj
Facebook | https://bit.ly/3rgt5td
Facebook Group | https://bit.ly/3rerg08
Instagram | https://bit.ly/3ySCLwK
Twitter | www.twitter.com/jasindawilder
TikTok | https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMdqvAwvA/
Newsletter | https://bit.ly/2UgUAa7

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Sunny Shelly’s Review: The Amazing Date by Mel Walker

Release Date: August 19

When my eyes first set on Rylee, I knew she had the ability to either steal my heart or break it.

 

I never expected her to do both.

 

Four years later, I thought she was my past, but once again I am wrong.

Fate has decided to play a game with my heart. Rylee and I are entered in a multi-day team competition that will have us racing around the country. And, you guessed it, she’s my partner. 

Can I survive being attached at the hip to the one woman who has my blood boiling and my heart racing at the same time?  Time to find out.

Ready…Set ….Go. 

 

Let the games begin.

 

Grab Your Copy Here!

 

Sunny Shelly’s Review: 3 Stars
I struggled to get through this book. I liked Roberto as a H but just couldn’t connect with Rylee as the h and as a result, I wasn’t that invested in their story. I liked the concept of the running competition that brought Roberto and Rylee back together after all these years, and the story was well-written — this is the first book I’ve read by Mel Walker, and I’ll definitely be checking out more of his books. This one just fell flat for me, unfortunately.

I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.

Meet Mel Walker

 

Mel Walker has been writing fiction most of his adult life. Specializing in Short Stories and Contemporary fiction and Romance Novels. 
 
A native New Yorker and life-long frustrated NY Mets fan. He loves to write about ordinary people placed in difficult situations, especially as it relates to their closest relationships.

Connect with Mel Walker Here!

 

 

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Sunny Shelly’s Review: Love At First Hate, by Denise Grover Swank and A.R. Casella

Love at First Hate, an all new not-to-be missed enemies to lovers contemporary romance from New York Times bestselling author Denise Grover Swank and USA Today bestselling author A.R. Casella is available now!

The first book in a new series by Denise Grover Swank and A.R. Casella, authors of the USA Today bestselling Asheville Brewing series.

She wants his story. He wants his secrecy. Too bad he can’t stay away from her.

Molly

Blogging about bad dates used to be fun, but a girl can only take so much foolishness. So I broke up with my job.

Okay, full disclosure, I was fired. It’s a long, sordid tale, involving my sourdough starter—RIP, Fred!—and my ex-boss’s serious lack of humor.

Newly funemployed and in need of a break, I go to Asheville to dogsit for my sister…and stumble onto a scoop big enough to put my fake-dating days behind me forever.

Augusta Glower, local success story, wrote a bestseller about the self-help group she started. People think her system works, and copycat Bad Luck Clubs have sprung up nationwide. Something feels off, though, and a little poking around by yours truly suggests she stole the idea.

There’s one problem. I have to prove it, and the guy she ripped off—super-hot house flipper Caleb Reynolds—seems to…well, hate me. Which is too bad since his secrets aren’t the only thing I’d like to peel away.

* * *

Cal

Molly O’Shea is my worst nightmare.

Is she sexy as sin? Well…yeah. Does she smell like honeysuckle and trouble? No doubt. Is she determined to dig up my secrets with a backhoe? I’m pretty sure she got a two-week rental. But I’ll never talk. If the reason I started the club gets out, my whole life will implode.

So why is she so damn irresistible?

Grab your copy today!
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3yxZbnH
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Excerpt

It’s steeper as we approach the summit, and I turn back to make sure she’s still behind me and not faltering on the loose rock. When we reach the steps to the observation area, I let her go first so I can watch her reaction. Around the corner there’s a stone patio, and she gasps as she walks across it to the low rock wall surrounding the space. 

The sunrise is everything I hoped it would be. Clouds hang low in the east, providing enough cover to let the rays of the sun paint the sky with pinks and deep purples. Beneath the sky stretch the peaks and valleys of the Blue Ridge Mountains. A thin river runs in the distance. Rhododendrons blossom all around us.

I move next to her and see she’s shivering in that stupid T-shirt and shorts. It’s windy up here and colder than on the trail. At least we were moving back there and protected by the trees and bushes. Now that we’ve stopped and are standing out in the open, we’re being pelted by gusts of cool wind. Without thinking, I press my side into hers and wrap my arm around her back, covering her upper arm with my hand. I can feel goose bumps under my fingers. 

“What are you doing?” she asks, but it’s not adversarial. She’s challenging me to admit the truth. 

You’re sexy as hell, and I want you more than I’ve wanted a woman in a very long time. 

But while that’s true, it’s not the only reason I drew her close. She’s also cold, and I don’t like seeing her uncomfortable. 

Somehow, admitting to that seems more dangerous. 

“How many times do I have to tell you that I want to see the sunrise?” I ask, purposely sounding annoyed. “You’re freezing, so you’d be complaining in about three seconds. Now I get at least three more seconds to enjoy the view in peace.” 

She looks up at me, and I can tell she has a smart-aleck response on the tip of her tongue, but she doesn’t speak. 

Jesus, I want to kiss her, not to keep her quiet like I’ve insinuated, but to taste her lips, her tongue… 

I want to taste every part of her.

From the look of surprise on her face, she must see my raw hunger. When she jerks her gaze back to the living work of art before us, I can’t decide whether I’m relieved or disappointed. 

Her body leans into mine, though, and I feel the heat of her nestled against me. 

“It’s beautiful,” she says. 

This view never ceases to steal my breath and remind me that the world is bigger than my problems. But for the first time since I began making these hikes, I’m sharing it with someone other than a random fellow hiker encountered on the trail. I’m spending this moment that I usually reserve for myself with Molly, and the two of us are in our own little world. 

I glance down at her, smiling to myself at the awe on her face. One of the many faces of Molly O’Shea, and I have the disadvantage of being attracted to every one of them. 

Sunny Shelly’s Review: 5 Stars

I adored this book! Molly and Cal’s story was full of heartache and pain, but also so many sweet and funny moments. He has a secret he desperately wants to keep buried — his reason for founding the Bad Luck Club — and Molly is after the scoop that can save her career — that someone else is taking credit for Cal’s creation.

Both of these characters are carrying around some baggage, but they are brought together by their grief, guilt, and sorrow. Despite the heavy tones of their suffering, this enemies-to-lovers romcom is also a sweet story full of hope and inspiration. I loved how rich and full Molly and Cal are as characters. Even the supporting players in Love at First Hate are wonderful characters. I felt like I really got to know Cal and Molly, what made them tick, and why they acted the way they did at times.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author pair, but I’m interested to go back and reread their back catalog, especially since Molly’s sister Maisie and several other Bad Luck Club members had their stories told in the Asheville Brewing series. I’m intrigued!

I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.


About Denise Grover Swank

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Denise Grover Swank was born in Kansas City, Missouri and lived in the area until she was nineteen. Then she became a nomadic gypsy, living in five cities, four states and ten houses over the course of ten years before she moved back to her roots. She speaks English and smattering of Spanish and Chinese which she learned through an intensive Nick Jr. immersion period. Her hobbies include witty Facebook comments (in her own mind) and dancing in her kitchen with her children. (Quite badly if you believe her offspring.) Hidden talents include the gift of justification and the ability to drink massive amounts of caffeine and still fall asleep within two minutes. Her lack of the sense of smell allows her to perform many unspeakable tasks. She has six children and hasn’t lost her sanity. Or so she leads you to believe.

Connect with Denise
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Website: https://bit.ly/3hRjcNl

About A.R. Casella

A.R. CASELLA is a freelance developmental editor by day, writer by night. She lives in Asheville, NC with her husband, daughter, two dogs, and a variable number of fish. Her pastimes include chasing around her toddler, baking delicious treats, and occasional bouts of crocheting. Any Luck at All, co-written with New York Times bestselling author Denise Grover Swank, is her first book.

Connect with A.R. Casella
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Website: https://www.arcasella.com/
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3zhUaQB
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Uncategorized

Sunny Shelly’s Review: The Sinner by Emma Scott

The Sinner by Emma Scott is now live!

Shy, introverted Lucy Dennings lives a quiet little life in New York City, working for a nonprofit and keeping to herself. Every afternoon, she goes home to her empty apartment and Edgar, her houseplant, and every night, she loses herself in the pages of her beloved romance novels. Her lonely heart seeks solace in tales of passionate, enduring, all-consuming love, but more and more, Lucy feels she’s not just reading for pleasure but searching for a lost piece of herself in the pages. As if she once touched something beautiful but it’s been ripped away.

Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3CChAlc

Amazon Worldwide: mybook.to/TheSinnerAMZ

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3gsEfHZ

Sunny Shelly’s Review: 5 Stars
I am not really a paranormal romance fan, Twilight and Discovery of Witches aside. But I wanted to read The Sinner because I am an Emma Scott fan. And i am so glad I did!

Cas and Lucy’s story was one of those epic sagas that really make you believe in soulmates finding one another over multiple lifetimes. I adored this sweeping romance and how tormented and tortured Casziel was over the centuries about having failed to protect the one he most loved.

The Sinner’s two epilogues were amazing! Double the happiness for this marvelous couple!

I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.

 


Emma Scott is a USA Today and Wall St. Journal bestselling author whose books have been translated in five 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 http://www.emmascottwrites.com

RECENT RELEASES

Someday, Someday (M/M standalone)

A Five-Minute Life (standalone)

Bring Down the Stars (Beautiful Hearts #1)

Long Live the Beautiful Hearts (Beautiful Hearts #2)


“At Santa Cruz Central High, we called them the misfits, the outcasts, the weirdos. But most of us knew them as the Lost Boys.”

The Girl in the Love Song (Lost Boys #1) : http://bit.ly/2MLnYhU

When You Come Back To Me (Lost Boys #2) : http://bit.ly/37BsCHh

The Last Piece of his Heart (Lost Boys #3) : http://bit.ly/2QeVlfa


You can follow me at all the places…

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Uncategorized

Sunny Shelly’s Review: Hu$h Money, by B.L. Mute

🖤💰 𝑯𝑶𝑻 𝑵𝑬𝑾 𝑹𝑬𝑳𝑬𝑨𝑺𝑬 💰🖤

𝐇𝐮$𝐡 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐁𝐋 𝐌𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄! 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐛𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐧, 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤, 𝐛𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞!

𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲!

BLURB

𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗴𝗶𝗿𝗹, 𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗹 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝘀𝗻’𝘁…

Seducing a man for the sole purpose of blackmailing him never crossed my mind. Until it was my only option. I thought it would save my family, and all my father worked for. Instead, I found myself running from Bexley Falls to escape what I did.

Broke and alone, I had no choice but to return to my life as a heiress and face my mistake.

Only Malcolm McLane isn’t the forgiving type.

He’s been gathering information on me and launches into a game of cat and mouse that could destroy us both. At first, I thought I could handle him. Now, I find my control slipping in a battle that could swallow me whole. My only way out is with the help of his son, Carter.

I shouldn’t be attracted to Carter.

He’s forbidden.

Dangerous.

Yet as he helps me plot my escape, I feel an undeniable magnetism drawing me to him.

𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗮 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗳𝗮𝗿𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜’𝗺 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗲𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘂𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲.

Add to your Goodreads TBR http://bit.ly/HM_GR

𝐏𝐔𝐑𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐒𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊

Amazon Universal: https://books2read.com/HushMoney

Preorder Blood Money: A Captive Romance (The Dirty Money Duet Book 2), releasing November 16th!

https://books2read.com/u/mZrLg2

GIVEAWAY

To celebrate the release of Hu$h Money, BL Mute has an amazing giveaway for you!

Enter here: https://kingsumo.com/g/el2rz1/huh-money-giveaway

Sunny Shelly’s Review: 4 Stars

Wow, this book is all kinds of messed up! The triangle between Lydia, Malcolm, and Carter was not what I was expecting. Nothing about this book was what I was expecting! Go into this book blind, because the twists and turns are worth not knowing what is ahead. Lydia’s story is gritty and dark, and this story has some disturbing situations and a possible trigger. But the journey that Lydia goes on had me quickly turning the page to see what comes next.

I absolutely loathed Malcolm — which I’m sure was the author’s intention — and adored the relationship that Lydia and her childhood friend, Carter, rekindled. Their friendship was rocky at the start, but when they realize how much they had in common, they begin to rely on each other in the best of ways. The only way for either of them to escape the situation they are in is to work together against their shared enemy.

This book is tagged as a duet, but I felt that Carter and Lydia’s story was complete. The epilogue features Lydia’s best friend, Carmen, and leaves a cliffhanger for book 2, but I assume that story will focus primarily on her.

I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

BL lives in north Texas with her husband and three children. She enjoys writing different sub genres of romance, and building flawed and broken characters. You can most likely find her mommy-ing, watching her husband cook (because she is a horrible chef), getting tattoos, or walking into the pole you’ve told her to watch out for. She loves interacting with her readers and other authors in the community. Friends and family classify her as fierce, loyal and ditsy at times.

AUTHOR LINKS

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