Secretly hooking up with the team captain’s sister was a bad idea.
In my defense, the first time I saw her I didn’t know who she was.
Kind, gorgeous, a little naรฏve. Ginny brightened my world from day one.
I knew I was no good for her. She was just out of a relationship and I had a reputation for having a new girl in my bed every weekend.
I tried to do the right thing. Honest.
I’m the one who insisted we should be just friends.
That lasted about as long as you’d expect.
But Ginny? She’s the best–best friend, best everything.
So yeah, hooking up with the team captain’s sister wasn’t a great idea.
Would I do it again?
In a heartbeat.
Sunny Shelly’s Review: 4 Stars
I remember when Heath was a cranky, moody high schooler during the Smart Jocks series. Now he is all grown up and quite the charmer!
Secret Puck is a charming, sweet friends to lovers romcom. Heath and Ginny have great chemistry right from the start, even though she is determined to keep him in the friend zone at first. But eventually, it’s clear that they both want much more than friends. So they begin sneaking around to keep their relationship from her brother, Adam, who is Heath’s hockey team captain and roommate, who had asked Heath to keep an eye on Ginny.
Secret Puck is a low-angst college romance with great characters and witty banter. I love Rebecca Jenshak’s sports romances! It was great to see Nathan and Chloe from The Fake, as they finally get married in Heath’s book. There are some appearances from the other Smart Jocks, but Rebecca Jenshak has also introduced us to a new crew of guys at Valley U in Heath’s friends, and I can’t wait to see where their stories take them!
I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
The author is doing a signed paperback/swag giveaway on her Facebook and Instagram pages. Stop by to enter!
Rebecca Jenshak is a self-proclaimed margarita addict, college basketball fanatic, and Hallmark channel devotee. A Midwest native transplanted to the desert, she likes being outdoors (drinking on patios) and singing (in the shower) when she isn’t writing books about hot guys and the girls who love them.
The only thing that gets Charlotte Prescott through the day is the haunting eyes and magnetic voice that uplifts her in the subway station every evening.
All Montgomery Logan wants to do is ease the pain of the woman he feels a strange, protective draw to. He serenades her from afar, knowing their worlds will never intersect.
Until the day they do.
And everything changes.
Will their differences make them stronger or tear them apart?
“Music to soothe the soul…A connection that was felt by both, A smile that set MY heart tingling. <3โ Chele, Goodreads
“I definitely would like to see made into full length stories because they were so engaging from Sydney Logan, Melanie Moreland, and Jo Richardson. โย Shannon, Goodreads
I am a sucker for these kinds of beautiful, emotional stories. And Heart Strings, well, pulled on my heart strings. Lottie and Logan were a beautiful couple. She is so beaten down and sad, and Logan makes it his mission to bring love and light to her life. He is patient and kind, and the perfect kind of book boyfriend.
There is a beautiful build to their relationship as they go from strangers to acquaintances to friends and eventually romantic partners.
Heart Strings is romance gold in its purest form. There is nothing Logan wonโt do for Lottie, and it is full of so many Swoony moments as he proves to her that she is worth everything to him.
I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
NYT/WSJ/USAT international bestselling author Melanie Moreland, lives a happy and content life in a quiet area of Ontario with her beloved husband of twenty-seven-plus years and their rescue cat, Amber. Nothing means more to her than her friends and family, and she cherishes every moment spent with them.ย
While seriously addicted to coffee, and highly challenged with all things computer-related and technical, she relishes baking, cooking, and trying new recipes for people to sample. She loves to throw dinner parties, and also enjoys traveling, here and abroad, but finds coming home is always the best part of any trip.ย
Melanie loves stories, especially paired with a good wine, and enjoys skydiving (free falling over a fleck of dust) extreme snowboarding (falling down stairs) and piloting her own helicopter (tripping over her own feet.) She’s learned happily ever afters, even bumpy ones, are all in how you tell the story.
Melanie is represented by Flavia Viotti at Bookcase LiteraryโฏAgency. For any questions regarding subsidiary or translationโฏrights please contact her at โฏflavia@bookcaseagency.com
From USA Bestseller Natasha Madison comes a brand new Hockey series The Only One.
Miller
They called me the pretty boy on and off the ice. Hockeyโs most eligible bachelor.
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When my teammate asked me to donate one date to his charity, I figured why not. Worst case, Iโd spend the night with a fan. Best-case scenario, she would be hot. What I wasnโt expecting was for my dream girl to be the highest bidder.
For years, she brushed me off, and now, I finally had a chance to take her out and show her who I really was.
With only one shot at this, I really hoped I didnโt mess it up.
Layla
At the top of my career, I was riding the wave of my sports talk show having the best rating on the radio.
I also made it a rule to never date any sports players.
It was my one rule, and I was sticking to it until I bid on the only man who gets under my skin.
All it takes is one touch, one night, one kiss, and only one chance.
Only One Chance was rather unexpected! I really loved Layla and Miller’s story. The push and pull between these characters was great, and any book that has me crying during the makeup is a 5-Star read for me!
Miller has been chasing after Layla for four years, but she refuses to give him a chance. He’s a big flirt, and she wants nothing to do with a guy who won’t treat her with the respect she deserves. After a drunken bid on Miller in a bachelor auction and trying to pawn him off on Grandma Nancy, Layla reluctantly agrees to go out with Miller herself. And she is treated to the most romantic night of her life.
I loved how nervous Miller was when he finally got Layla to agree to go out with him. And he really puts in the effort to woo her, despite her shooting him down every step of the way. His flirtatious nature with his fans is a speedbump in their relationship that they get over rather quickly, but then there is a whopper of a plot twist in regards to Layla’s past that I wasn’t expecting. That hurdle is not so easy for them to overcome — but the revelation explains so much about why Layla was hesitant to get involved with Miller, and the things he says out of hurt and anger just tear them both up.
While Miller felt like it was a lie of omission, Layla was scared to tell him her secret. Once he gets his head on straight, can he convince her to give him one more chance?
That teaser at the end for Manning’s book… AGH! I can’t wait! I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
Meet Natashaย Madisonย
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…
Blurb: I’m the pastor’s son. He’s the star quarterback for a small Kentucky high school. While the town worships him, I pray for God to take my life. He makes my life a living hell by making me his victim. This perverse game we play could end us both.
How can something that feels so right be so wrong? The price if the truth is discovered is death, but I can’t stop.
Neither can he. No one can know. Can I risk it? Is Roman King worth dying for?
**This story is a m/m bully romance including dubious consent, assault, talk of suicide, and is intended for readers 18+. Please proceed with caution.**
Sunny Shelly’s Review: 3.5 Stars
There was a lot of buzz in the book world leading up to the release of Bully King. And the book was okay. I didn’t love it, but it was pretty good.
This M/M romance takes place in the Bible Belt of Tennessee, between a high school football quarterback, Roman, and the son of the new preacher in town, Jonah. Roman at first is interested in Jonah’s sister, Mary, and she eventually turns out to legit be the beard in the relationship as the cover girlfriend. As the book starts, Jonah knows he’s gay, but won’t come out because his own father is a God-fearing man who says homosexuality is wrong. Roman, meanwhile, seems to have a past as a manwhore, but all of a sudden can’t get the new kid in town out of his mind. But as he starts to fall for Jonah, Roman won’t come out because he’s revered as a football God, and a gay couple had previously been beaten to death by the rednecks in town.
I really tried to look past all of the things that made Roman and Jonah’s relationship so forbidden. I understood why it was, but I felt like there was just way more than necessary with the townspeople being against gay men and Dad’s religious diatribes. Looking past that, I tried to focus on Roman and Jonah’s relationship… and there wasn’t much of one. Other than the physical aspect — which was dubious consent most of the time and quite forceful — there wasn’t much of a personal relationship. I knew going in that there was dubious consent, and that didn’t even bother me. I just didn’t feel like I got enough out of Jonah and Roman as people spending time together and building a relationship to then ship them as a couple. I thought Roman was a dick unnecessarily a lot of the time — and I really hated him after the situation with his best friend Taylor. Like, WTF?? And it wasn’t even Roman being a jerk because his dad beats him. Roman was just a jerk. I thought he was an incredible coward, and didn’t find much redeeming about him. I just wanted MORE from him as a character.
There are also several inconsistencies in the timeline. One chapter, Jonah, Mary and Roman are at the movies, then Roman says it’s been a few days, and then Jonah and Mary’s mom is asking them how the movie was “yesterday”. Hopefully this was fixed in the final version, but there were several inconsistencies like that which made me shake my head.
In the end, I thought that this story had a great base to it, but it could have been executed better. I’m really interested in Taylor’s story, and whether he finds love again. Would love to see him get a book of his own. I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
About the Author: Sarcastic and snarky, I love to laugh and read dark fucked up shit. I write about tortured pasts and hot sex, a happily ever after that has to be worked for. My stories tend to be a little dark but with some comic relief, typically in the form of sarcasm.
I like to dabble in a little of everything when it comes to stories. Romantic suspense, MM, a bit of erotica, with plans for Greek retellings, maybe some fairytale retellings, and some shifters. I write broken people who fight for their happily ever after, in all the many forms it takes.
I married a sexy man in uniform who let me spawn and am now raising a mutinous army of hell raisers that I created myself, all while he defends our country. I drink too much coffee and am sexually frustrated for your freedom. If you see me online, I’m probably sitting in a closet, hiding from my kids.
I have a ridiculous addiction to Archer, Sherlock, Supernatural, and The Big Bang Theory. I live my life spewing TV quotes and sarcasm. I’m a self confessed ass, not easily offended, and I love to laugh, almost as much as I love sleep. My laundry is rarely folded or put away and I have probably only showered once this week.
I hate schedules and planning, I have calendars, planners, and my phone yet canโt remember anything. Somehow, Iโve managed to keep 3 kids alive but I really need to become an adultier adult.
Corrupt My Mind has all the makings of a brother’s best friend romance: The overprotective big brother, the bad boy with a heart of gold, the good girl breaking out of her shell, and a bit of danger to raise the stakes.
Zayn is portrayed as the tatted-up bad boy, but I think he’s a good guy making some bad, dumb decisions. His heart is in the right place with those decisions, and he’s really done what he’s done to protect Amelia’s brother, Easton. But because of what he’s been roped in to, Zayn is trying to keep his distance from Amelia. Even though she’s no longer the geeky 13 year old in braces that he used to know. Meanwhile, Amelia arrives at college after attending boarding school on a scholarship. Where Zayn is the stereotypical motorcycle-riding bad boy, she is the standard good girl. Studious, sheltered, and with an overprotective big brother.
Overall, this book was entertaining… but kind of predictable. Much of the drama had to do with Easton’s former drug dealer/Zayn’s boss/Amelia’s boyfriend… and it felt kin of forced at times. I thought that Zayn and Amelia had great chemistry on their own, and would have liked to have seen more of the conflict between them stem from something other than Blade the dealer causing trouble. At times, I was more interested in what was happening off the page between Easton and Amelia’s roommate, Kennedy.
This is the first book in the North Haven University series, which I see is a spinoff of the Haven Grace Prep series featuring several of the supporting characters. It reads as a standalone, but there are many references to things that happened in the other series in regards to the history of the group of friends, which I’m sure that fans of Kelsey Clayton’s will appreciate.
I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
Kelsey Clayton is a 29-year-old mother of two from a small town in lower Delaware. Born and raised in New Jersey, she discovered her love for writing when she used it as a coping mechanism to get through hard times. Since then, she has been passionately writing novels that make people fall in love with the characters and the storylines. She writes from a mix of personal experiences and imagination. As an avid beach lover, her dream is to write an entire book with her feet in the sand.
West Goldenโso easy to hate, yet so hard to resist.
Donโt let that pretty face of his fool you. He isnโt the boy next door, or the kind you trust with your heart. Heโs the devil in designer jeans, with all the charm of a bona fide psycho.
Trust me.
He swears I did something to cross him before I even stepped foot inside Cypress Prep, but itโs a lie. No one knows better than me that Iโm all out of chances. One more misstep and I can kiss my future goodbye, which means I canโt possibly be guilty of whatever he thinks Iโve done.
West marks me with a target anyway, and as this townโs football star, no one dares to go against him. His money, status, and the loyalty of his equally entitled brothers makes him seem untouchable. Only, I know better than that.
This false god isnโt infallible like he wants the world to believe. Whenever I stare into those devilish green eyes, I see it plain as day. The chink in his armor. His one and only weakness.
Me.
The King of Cypress Prep has finally met his match and taking him down just became an inside job.
To celebrate the release of The Golden Boys, Nikki Thorne & Rachel Jonas are giving away a paperback and $100 Amazon gift card! Head here to enter: https://www.facebook.com/authorracheljonas/
Sunny Shelly’s Review: 5 Stars
Welp, I pretty much devoured The Golden Boys in a day. Stayed up waaaay too late reading into the wee hours of the morning because I was so wrapped up in West and Blue’s story. I never liked bully romance all that much, but over the past few months, I can’t seem to get enough of them.
I really can’t wait for book #2, because I need more. Like, now. Is Blue guilty of what West is silently accusing her of?
Both of these characters are really broken. West has lived his entire life as the keeper of some dark family secrets, and Blue just has a horrible, horrible homelife that she is desperately trying to keep together for the sake of her little sister. West hates her something fierce — and feels that his reasons are justified — and Blue has no idea why he has it out for her. That hate fuels some intense interactions between them because their damaged souls are inexplicably drawn to one another.
I can’t wait to see what comes next in this series! I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
The Austen series is coming to an end. The final book in the series is LIVE! I’m so excited to read Pride & Papercuts, a modern love story inspired by Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice! Have you grabbed your copy yet?
Depending on the company, loathe is a good substitute. Abhor might be a little fancy, but it gets the job done. But the word that really sums up how I feel about Liam Darcy is, without question, hate.
He doesnโt seem to think much of me either. The second he lays his fault-seeking eyes on me, he sets out to oppose me. Everything about him is imposing, as if he consumes the nearby air to power the rise and fall of his broad chest, and itโs clear he resents my presence on his advertising team. Every idea I have is shot down. Every olive branch I offer is set on fire by nothing more than the blistering coals he calls eyes.
In return, I light him up with my words.
Itโs not as if he can dismiss me, since I work for his client, Wasted Words. Instead, heโs forced to tolerate me, which seems the closest weโll ever be to friends. Fine by me.
I can be civil and still hate Liam Darcy.
But if thereโs more to him than his exterior shows, I wonโt be able to hate him at all. I might stumble over that line between love and hate and fall right into his arms.
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Sunny Shelly’s Review: 5 Stars
Grumpy hero who is fiercely protective. Spitfire heroine who gets him all wrong. Wrong first impressions, class differences and family loyalty are at the heart of Pride & Papercuts, Staci Hart’s modern twist on Pride & Prejudice.
Liam Darcy is every bit the snobbish hero that I expected him to be. He’s got so much riding on his shoulders when it comes to protecting his family and his sister and the legacy left behind by his late parents. He begins to crack when he meets Laney Bennet. While at first her fire and ire rubbed him the wrong way, Liam soon begins to see that they are more alike than he initially thought. He sticks his foot in his mouth so many times, I almost felt bad for the guy!
Liam and Laney are both such strong characters. Their pride gets in the way so often, but when they do fall, they fall hard and fast for one another. It’s a super-slow burn between Liam and Laney. They only kiss once or twice over the course of the book, and the only sex scene is in the epilogue. But what an epilogue that was!
With Pride & Papercuts, Staci ties together her Bennet brothers series with her Wasted Words/Austen series. I absolutely LOVED the side story of Jett and Georgie. I’ve been intrigued by Jett since I read Coming Up Roses (Bennets #1). I really hope that he will get his own book somewhere down the road, but I suppose this was a good holdover. And I was so happy to see Ma Bennet have her table full! I missed reading Mum’s The Word, so I wasn’t on top of the entire Bennet/Bowers feud that carries over into P&P. But I was able to piece together enough to figure it out without it distracting me from Liam and Laney’s story.
It’s been quite a while since I’ve read Pride & Prejudice, and Staci Hart now has me wanting to go reread that classic piece of literature that I haven’t thought about since college 25 years ago.
I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
Staci has been a lot of things up to this point in her life — a graphic designer, an entrepreneur, a seamstress, a clothing and handbag designer, a waitress. Can’t forget that. She’s also been a mom, with three little girls who are sure to grow up to break a number of hearts. She’s been a wife, though she’s certainly not the cleanest, or the best cook. She’s also super, duper fun at a party, especially if she’s been drinking whiskey. When she’s not writing, she’s reading, sleeping, gaming, or designing graphics.
Overdue, a swoonworthy best friend to lovers, standalone romance from Miranda Elaine is available now!
Growing up, Griffin Thorne was the most annoying, adorable, and infuriating boy Iโd ever met. I told myself I wanted nothing to do with him, but no matter how much I tried to hate him, that crazy boy somehow became my best friend.
As teenagers, we were inseparable. Despite the high school rumors, we never crossed any lines. Friends forever. That was our motto.
Griffin grew up to become a smoking hot firefighter and I got my dream job as the town librarian. Life was perfect. However, when tragedy strikes and weโre forced to move in together, our friendship is put to the biggest test yet.
Do I risk everything for the chance at an epic love? If I follow my heart, I could lose my best friend. But if it works, we could finally get our very own Happily Ever After.
Overdue is a great slow-burn beat friends romance between Griffin, a sexy firefighter, and Leni, a romance book loving librarian. There is great use of flashbacks to establish their past history and chronicle their friendship, juxtaposed to their relationship today where they are both feeling something for the other but hesitant to move on it.
I really enjoyed the build-up to Griffin and Leni finally crossing that line. Sheโs romanticized relationships in her head thanks to all her book boyfriends, and once he finally has Leni as his, Griffin shows her that the real deal is so much better.
This is a pretty classic tale in the best friends to lovers trope. Not much angst, and a nice development from friends to lovers.
I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
Excerpt
It doesnโt take long to get to Jackโs place. Griffin andโฏheโฏhave been working together for years. Jack has always been theโฏbiggest flirt and serial dater up until he met Shelby. But in the span of the eighteen months, he met her, got married in Vegas, and had a kid. It was a quick courtship. Shelby works as an interior designer on the island. She fixes up huge houses for the rich people who will only use them for a couple of months a year. The cookout this weekend was her idea since starting Monday sheโs finally back at work since having their baby, Ava, two months ago. She doesnโt really have any coworkers other than her assistant, Sarah, so Jack invited all the other firefighters and their families over too. We park on the street along with a half dozen other trucks and a few minivans from the family men. Heโs out of the truck and over on my side before I can even get my things together. โHand it over,โ heโฏdemands, hisโฏpalm up waiting for me to comply. I play dumb, wide eyes and innocence on my face. โWhat are you talking about?โ I climb down the too big truck, trying desperately not to fall over . . . again. โThe book thatโs hiding in your bag,โฏLeni.โ He points to the tote bag hanging to my side. โCome on now, give it to me. Easiest way for you not to give in to the desire to hide and read is to remove theโฏtemptation.โ โIโฏleft my book at home. Remember, you saw me set it down.โ I play dumb. โIโve known you since we were nine. If you think I donโt know that you have a backup book in that bag,โฏthen youโre dead wrong.โ โUgh!โ I sigh dramatically as I pullโฏoutโฏmy well-loved copy of Emma and place it in hisโฏhand. He gently tosses it onto my seat, and I smack his shoulder as he does. He knows better than to throw around my books. โGreat, now the Kindle.โ His voice is stern, and I know he means it. โSeriously? Griffin, this is not cool. Iโm a grown woman. I can go a few hours without reading.โ โSure, you can. But I know youโll get overwhelmedโฏby the chaos that is definitely happening in there and youโll retreat to a quiet corner.โ He leans in close enough to me that I can smell his subtle cologne and shoves his hand deep into the tote, pulling my Kindle out in one fast swipe. โDonโt you firefighters take obeying the law seriously?โ I snark at him. โSeems to me youโre stealing my possessions and my lifeline.โ โSue me. Hell, march downtown and file a report with any cop there. Good luck getting them to pursue it. I think they have much bigger fish to fry than me holding onto your electronics while we are at a social gathering. Donโt you think?โ โGrrr,โ I growl at him before stomping off toward the gate with him on my heels. Before I can even acknowledge what is happening, heโs caught up to me and has me caged between him and the gate. I work hard to steady my breath, refusing to let him see how his closeness affects me. I feel his hand slide into the back pocket of my overalls. As quick as itโs there,โฏitโs gone, along with my cell phone. The backup to my backup plan. โI told you, Leni, I know you. You can have this with your Kindle app back on the way home!โ he yells out to me as I let the gate behind me slam in front of him. With a huff, I turn, open the gate, and storm angrily through it. Caught in a fit of laughter, he stands there watching me leave him behind. With the loud sound of the metal gate slamming behind me mixed with the booming laughter coming from Griffin, the party seems to come to a complete standstill. Great . . . everyone is looking my way and my first instinct is to turn and run. But to prove to him I can do this, I stand tall, throw my long red hair over my shoulder, and march myself over to Shelby.
About Miranda Miranda is a loving wife and barely surviving mother of three occasionally good kids. Her hobbies include lying to herself about the calories in donuts and banana pudding, as well as running out of excuses when procrastinating. She’s been an avid reader since she was a young girl. Whether she’s by the pool, curled up in bed, or hiding in the closet, as long as she has a book in her hands sheโs happy.
Will this quarterback score the girl or make the biggest fumble of his life?
I Promise You, an all-new unforgettable, new adult, sports romance from Wall Street Journal bestselling author Ilsa Madden-Mills is available now!
Dillon McQueen: Babe. I promise. You want me. Serena Jensen: Um, who are you?
Thereโs a legend at Waylon University: the first girl you kiss freshman year at the bonfire party is the one youโll never forget. Sheโll crawl under your skin and never leave. Sheโll spark a passion so fierce youโll burn the world down to possess her.
You might even put a ring on it.
As in all things with fate, timing is everything. That kiss can go horribly wrong. She might run in the opposite direction. And boy, did Serena run.
Dillon is Waylonโs hotshot quarterback with something to prove. All he wants is to graduate and make it to the NFL. What he doesnโt need is to finally meet the mystery girl he kissed at the bonfire freshman year. Isnโt it enough that sheโs haunted his dreams for more than a thousand nights?
Fate laughs in his face when he runs into the quirky girl at the Piggly Wiggly. Surrounded by his entourage, heโs got all the Oreos in his cart; she gets revenge by buying every six-pack of his favorite beer.
Obviously, that legend is a curse. Sheโs not his type and hates him. Worst of all, how can she not remember him when she left a Serena-shaped hole in his heart for the past three years?
So why canโt he stop trying to win her?
Will this quarterback score the girl or make the biggest fumble of his life?
I Promise You is another great YA standalone in Ilsa Madden-Mills’ Waylon University college sports series.
This time around, we have cocky quarterback Dillon, a playboy who won’t commit to a girl but is all about his team. Yet there’s that one girl he kissed his freshman year at the bonfire who he can’t get out of his mind, just like the local legend claims. Dillon never expected that the feisty slightly older chick working at the Piggly Wiggly was the same Dandelion who has been invading his thoughts for the past three years.
Both Dillon and Serena have family baggage, and there’s a wonderful arc in this story as they work through those issues, begin to rely on one another, and become each other’s supporters. IM-M did a great job of writing the connection between these characters. Their chemistry is sizzling, and I loved how they were both kind of shy around each other at first.
I love how well IM-M writes her tortured heroes. Dillon is so gutted by guilt over his brother’s death, and I love how vulnerable it makes him once Serena gives in and gets to know him. When she sees that mushy interior that the hot jock is hiding underneath his cocky exterior. This story is full of heart, lots of emotionally intimate moments, and lots of laughs thanks to Nana Nancy.
I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
Excerpt:
The kiss burns a hole right through me and blood rushes to my groin. Iโm in over my headโWho cares?โand I groan, deepening our connection. My hands slide down her cheeks, her throat, then to her arms at her sides. Our joined breaths mingling, I trace my thumbs over the rapid pulse in her wrists. My head swims with images of her body draped on top of meโ A cry comes from her as she breaks away from our kiss. โJerk! Donโt do that. I donโt know you!โ โYou liked it, babe.โ โWhat? No.โ โIโm Dillon.โ โUm, I donโt care. Step away.โ โWhatโs your name? You got a number?โ Dillon McQueen does not give up easily. When he sees what he wants, he goes after it. He also sometimes talks about himself in the third person. โAre you a freshman? I play football. Quarterback.โ Usually thatโs enough to catch a girlโs interest. She shakes her head, looking almost surprised as she touches her lips briefly. I think she mutters pigskin-toting Casanova. Then, she flips around. โNo, wait! Donโt go!โ I say, reaching out for her, but sheโs gone, daring one look over her shoulder as she disappears into the crowd of people. I take off after her, navigating through the throng, jostling into dancers. One of them, a big barrel-chested guy, shoves at me when I bump into him. I fall on my ass. Heart pounding, I scramble back up, dirt and grass on me as I dart through the crowd and look around. My height gives me a decent vantage point, but sheโs vanished. Off in the distance, the football guys hoot my name, then chant Venus over and over. Well, hell. The bonfire got me good. Sheโs gone. Legend 1, Dillon 0.
About Ilsa Madden-Mills
Wall Street Journal, New York Times and USA Today best-selling author Ilsa Madden-Mills is best known for her angsty new adult romances and romantic comedies.
Eight of her eleven novels have placed in the Amazon Top 10 Best-seller List: Dirty English #1; Fake Fiancรฉe and I Dare You #2; I Bet You, Filthy English, and Very Bad Things #6; Boyfriend Bargain #8; The Last Guy, her collaboration with Tia Louise, #4.
A former high school English teacher, she adores all things Pride and Prejudice, and of course, Mr. Darcy is her ultimate hero.
She’s addicted to frothy coffee beverages, cheesy magnets, and any book featuring unicorns and sword-wielding females. Feel free to stalk her online.
When Lacey Winters escapes her stressful New York City life for a relaxing winter vacation in the Caribbean, she’s ready to get some sun and enjoy a little time to herself. But her plans for peace and tranquility are shattered when she finds that her ex-boyfriend is already at the same resort – and with the same woman Lacey found him cheating with.ย
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Reeling from the shock and determined to prove she’s moved on, Lacey impulsively kisses a handsome stranger she spotted on the beach and does it in front of her ex.
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As for the stranger in question, Drew Mitchell was just looking for a fun getaway from his busy life in Chicago. He’s surprised, but pleased at this unexpected turn of events and agrees to pose as Lacey’s new boyfriend.
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As they explore their tropical surroundings as a couple, Drew finds himself drawn toward Lacey. Now, all he has to do is convince her their romance is real and strong enough to flourish once their vacation is over, while Lacey must decide if she’s ready to take the leap and fall in love.
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Sunny Shelly’s Review: 4 Stars
Once Upon A Kiss is a sweet, clean, instalove story that will warm your heart. After being dumped by her boyfriend, Lacey decides to go on the tropical vacation they’d had planned anyway. Her heartbreak is magnified when her ex arrives at the same resort with his new girlfriend. Seeing a cute guy across the way, Lacey makes an out-of-character decision to save face in front of her ex… Meanwhile, Drew is on his family’s annual vacation when he spies Lacey across the way. Before he can make a move, she strikes first by approaching him. Good guy Drew plays along with Lacey needing a fake boyfriend, but both of them catch feelings really quickly in this instalove story.
There’s not a lot of drama in Once Upon A Kiss, but a lot of heart and swoon-worthy moments. This was a solid debut romance from Carina Rose, and I look forward to seeing what she writes next! I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
Sunny Shelly Reads 