700 SENSES OF SUMMER by Maggie Gates is AVAILABLE NOW

Blurb:

He’s a moth to a flame. She’s the inferno.

Aurora Whitlock hit rock bottom.

Broke, single, and mourning her career going up in smoke, she decides to kick-start her new life by renovating the bones of an old beach house hidden along the Carolina coast.

What a cliché—inheriting a fixer-upper from a deceased relative. That kind of thing only happens in books.

But beggars can’t be choosers. The Old Whitlock Place, and all its secrets, is home sweet home for the summer.

Jack Wharton didn’t expect to find a summertimer squatting in the dilapidated mansion next door.
As a career firefighter tasked with protecting Cedar Island, North Carolina, he’s seen a thing or two. But he’s never seen anything quite like her.

Painting walls and fixing floors in the middle of summer shouldn’t be that hard to handle. But the temperature isn’t the only thing that’s hot. Can Jack and Aurora’s sizzling romance stand the heat? Or will the secrets they uncover consume them?

700 Senses of Summer is a fun summer read full of witty banter, the best girl gang you’ll ever meet, mystery, and a scorching romance with a swoony happily ever after! It is book two in the Romantics series but can be read as a standalone.

Buy Link:

https://a.co/d/1By5hEv

Available in KU

Sunny Shelly’s Review: 4 Stars

This story is a charming summer romance between sexy firefighter Jack and spicy black cat Aurora — with a hint of mystery thrown in surrounding the rundown beach house she inherited from her late great aunt.

Aurora is an author in the midst of a dry spell who decides to move to the beach house she inherited and fix it up — hoping that the renovation will also help her fix up her own life. She doesn’t take too kindly at first when her new neighbor, Jack, offers his assistance — but thankfully the guy didn’t give up because Jack was just what Aurora needed in her life and provided her a safe space to land when her life was in chaos. Aurora had no plans to stick around town for longer than the summer… but fate had something else in store for her.

I really enjoyed the banter between these two characters, and the sizzling sexual tension. They worked well together as a couple and I loved the slow build between them, first as friends as they renovated the house, then as their feelings grew. It was a delicious slow burn.

I loved the North Carolina setting; having vacationed many times on the Outer Banks, the scenery was very easy for me to imagine in my mind! There were also some breadcrumbs dropped for additional books set in the same world, which I am interested to read!

I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.

Meet Maggie Gates:

Author Maggie Gates writes raw, relatable, romance novels packed full of heat and humor. Maggie calls North Carolina home. In her spare time she enjoys daydreaming about her characters, jamming to country music, collecting vinyl record, and eating all the barbecue and tacos she can find! Her Kindle is always within reach due to a love of small town romances that borders on obsession.

Connect with Maggie Gates:

https://linktr.ee/MaggieGates

🩷 𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄 🩷 

𝗦𝘂𝗻𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗔𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘀: 𝗔 𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗧𝗼𝘄𝗻, 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗥𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 (𝗘𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗱 𝗟𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗥𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗵 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝟭) by Taylor James is now LIVE! 

𝑶𝑵𝑬-𝑪𝑳𝑰𝑪𝑲 𝑻𝑶𝑫𝑨𝒀! 

𝑭𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝑲𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒍𝒆 𝑼𝒏𝒍𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒅!

https://amzn.to/3FfIUeF

What to expect:

🍓 𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐓𝐨𝐰𝐧

🐎 𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐑𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐌𝐌𝐂

🌼 𝐑𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐇𝐨𝐦𝐞

❤️‍🩹 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞

🎤 𝐏𝐨𝐩 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫 𝐅𝐌𝐂

🩷 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐀𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐁𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐘𝐨𝐮

Blurb: 

Tinsley Jacobs is a global phenomenon. Her songs are all over the radio. Her concerts sell out within minutes. And her latest album is shattering records.

An album she wrote about the summer we shared together. 

It’s been easy to pretend those months never existed. That I didn’t wake up one morning to a note telling me if she didn’t leave now, she never would. That my heart hasn’t been broken since I decided to let her go without a fight, knowing she was destined for more than me and this town. 

But for the first time in ten years, she’s back in Berry Falls, and from the moment we run into each other, I can’t keep my distance. And neither can she.

It’s as if no time has passed as we surrender to the pull between us, spending days on the lake and nights dancing in the fields under a sky full of stars.

The history that broke me feels like it’s repeating itself. 

I know how this will end. 

But I also know what life without her is like, and even though losing her all over again will destroy me, I still want every minute of her time.

One last summer before I say goodbye for good.

Add to Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/222225193-sunrise-arrows

Sunny Shelly’s Review: 4 Stars

Sunrise Arrows by Taylor James was an absolute delight! This is the first book I’ve read by this author, and I adored it!

Archer and Tinsley’s story gave me all the feels. I loved everything about this second-chance romance: the emotion, the history between the characters, the coming-home-again, the crossroads they faced. It was clear to me that there was still so much love between Archer and Tinsley; they just had to figure out how to make it work.

Sunrise Arrows was so well done, and I breezed through this book, falling in love with the characters, the town, the supporting players. I’m really looking forward to more from this series!

I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.

Sawyer by Jessica Peterson is now live! 

Dirty dancing leads to a chance at forever in this sizzling single parent, found family, small town romance by Jessica Peterson.

As a recently divorced single mom, I have zero interest in flirting with guys while on a rare girls’ weekend away with my sisters. I just want to have fun, celebrate my new job, and listen to live music at a honky tonk.

But when I literally stumble into the most gorgeous guy ever on the dance floor, those plans go up in smoke. Growing up on the barrel racing circuit, I’m not immune to the charms of a cowboy. But this particular one is hot as hell: Sawyer’s got a mustache, some sexy tattoos, and a very filthy mouth.

Needless to say, we end up naked in his swanky hotel room. It’s the best sex of my life. And the way Sawyer treats me like a queen? Let’s just say a girl could get addicted to that kind of adoration. 

Good thing he’ll always be just a one night stand I can look back on with a smile. I’m rebuilding our life from scratch, and I need to focus on my three-year-old daughter and the dream job I just landed.

Imagine my surprise, then, when I move to Hartsville and run into a tattooed cowboy with an endearing daughter of his own. Now Sawyer wants more than the occasional playdates between our girls. But the closer we become, the more determined this sexy single dad is to keep me forever. 

As much as I am falling for Sawyer, I’m terrified. I’ve been down this road before with my ex, and I wonder if I can trust this cowboy. Will he rope the moon for me? Or is my heart destined to be trampled all over again?

  Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited

Amazon: https://bit.ly/3CEd62e

Amazon Worldwide: https://mybook.to/SawyerJP

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

Sunny Shelly’s Review: 4 Stars

Single dad Sawyer and single mom Ava meet at an Austin honkey tonk during a rare night out with their siblings, end up having a wicked hot one night stand, and never expect to see the other one again. So of course they cross paths again three months later, shortly after Ava and her daughter have moved to town so she can work as a trainer at another ranch near Lucky River.

Ava is rebuilding her life after a divorce, and worries practically every step of the way with Sawyer that she’ll be losing her freedom if she gives in to her feelings for him. I get that her ex husband was the kind of guy who did the bare minimum — and that is evident when Ava notes over and over again how surprised she is by Sawyer’s actions, like taking care of her, cooking dinner, etc., which just drives home the point even more that Dan was a crappy partner. And Sawyer is the fixer of the family, who for some reason, has been carrying around massive guilt for over a decade that he wasn’t able to save his parents from dying in a car accident. He’s always volunteering to help everyone else, but is hesitant to ask or accept help for himself.

I thought that Sawyer and Ava balanced each other out well when it came to giving the other the exact support that they needed. But he’s ultimately looking for a white and the whole picket-fence life, and she doesn’t want to get married again. Will they be able to find a compromise? (No worries, there is a HEA!)

I adored Junie and Ella (aka Yella) and how the two little girls clicked so quickly and became besties overnight. They were so cute together, and I love the thought of them being raised as siblings.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story. I found there to be some repetition from both characters that I could have done without, but generally found Ava and Sawyer’s story to be enjoyable and easy to read… and much spicier than the previous books in this series!

I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.

Meet Jessica

Jessica Peterson writes romance with heat, humor, and heart. Heroes with hot accents are her specialty. When she’s not writing, she can be found bellying up to a bar in the south’s best restaurants with her husband Ben, reading books with her adorable daughter Gracie, or snuggling up with her 70-pound lap dog, Martha.

A Carolina girl at heart, she fantasizes about splitting her time between Charleston and Asheville, but currently lives in Charlotte, NC.

Connect with Jessica

Website: https://www.jessicapeterson.com/

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/JessicaPetersonGR

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2KoS0sb

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

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

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JessicaPAuthor

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jessica-peterson

JUST SAY YES by LENA HENDRIX is available now!

Getting tangled up with an Olympic rugby player seems like the perfect way to forget about how my life is falling apart. Until I discover he’s my ex-boyfriend’s best friend.

Logan Brown walked into my small town with a charming grin and mischief in his eyes. He’s a world-class flirt and his confident masculinity is almost as distracting as those rugby thighs.

Given my inexperienced history, I’m no match for our undeniable chemistry. I vow to keep him at arm’s length. But with Logan, every lingering stare—every forbidden touch—awakens something inside of me I thought I had buried for good.

We both know we shouldn’t cross that line, but I have spent my entire life being a good girl, and suddenly I’m tempted to be very, very bad.

Especially when Logan tells me to just say yes.

What to expect:

Ex’s best friend

Inexperienced FMC

Olympic Rugby playing hero

Frenemies to lovers

Possessive hero

Forbidden romance

He talks you through

Download Just Say Yes today!

https://geni.us/justsayyes

Sunny Shelly’s Review: 5 Stars

After the heaviness of JP’s redemption story, I loved the lighter tone of MJ’s story in Just Say Yes.

Logan and MJ’s story was a delicious slow burn. I loved how he kind of didn’t know what to do with himself at times, and how hesitant she was to get involved with him because of his connection to her ex. That relationship ended so badly and left her with some major baggage and just a diminished sense of self-worth. Their relationship starts off with MJ being Logan’s good luck charm during some exhibition rugby games, and it builds from a no-strings fling to a wonderful, heartfelt true romance. Logan is such a swoony hero, and was so patient and caring with MJ, both in dealing with her inexperience and her mental fragility.

CJ Bloom and Ryan Hudson were everything as the narrators for this book. The highs, the lows, the vulnerability, the spice… these two perfectly portrayed MJ and Logan.

Having read the Sullivans series first and now the Kings, I am so sad to say goodbye to these two families and all their chaos and the quirky town of Outtatowner! I hope that this is not the last we will see from this gang — please consider a next-gen series, Lena!

I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.

The Arrogant One by Marni Mann is now live!

A sizzling one-night-stand, billionaire romance from USA Today best-selling author Marni Mann …

I’m the arrogant one. She’s the woman who could tame me. What I don’t expect is to fall in love.

The minute I hear her laugh, I smile.
The second my fingers touch hers, I never want to let them go.
When my eyes take her in, I know …

Sadie Spencer is meant to be mine.

She’s everything I never knew I wanted.
Her curves put me in a trance.
Her body has me in a choke hold.
She’s an addiction, and I can’t keep my hands to myself.

It’s the sexiest one-night stand I’ve ever had.

At daybreak, the bed is cold, and Sadie is gone.
And for the first time in my life, the scorching chemistry and carnal memories leave me wanting more.

When I see her again, I’m shocked.
Consumed.
Enthralled.
Obsessed.

But she has secrets in her eyes.
They match the ones in mine.

That’s the wedge between us.

Together, we’ve weaved this web of lies, and when the truth comes out … it might break us.

  Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited

https://geni.us/TheArrogantOne

Audible: https://geni.us/TheArrogantOneAudio

Narrated by: Aiden Snow and Vanessa Edwin 

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/4f4m4Uz

Sunny Shelly’s Review: 5 Stars

The Arrogant One is a great intro to Marni Mann’s new series! We have moved on to the Weston family, who run the restaurants inside most of the Spade hotels, and the series starts off with a bang with Hart Weston.

He’s a billionaire playboy, arrogant, cocky, and a love-em-and-leave-em kind of guy who never gives more than a one-night stand. So of course, he falls to his knees when he meets social media specialist Sadie, a hopeless romantic. The chemistry is explosive between Hart and Sadie right from the get-go, and I loved the push and pull between them, the witty banter, and the sizzling heat. Neither one of them knows who the other is when they first meet, so their true identities (as a food influencer and restaurateur) give this romance a forbidden flair. But when the truth is revealed, will it send Hart and Sadie’s blossoming romance up in flames?

Well done, Marni! I enjoyed this story so much! Looking forward to the rest of this series!

I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.

Meet Marni

Audie® Award–winning and USA Today best-selling author Marni Mann knew she was going to be a writer since middle school. While other girls her age were daydreaming about teenage pop stars, Marni was fantasizing about penning her first novel. She crafts unique stories that weave together her love of flawed beauty, mystery, intense passion, and the depths of human emotion. A New Englander at heart, she now resides with her husband in Sarasota, Florida. When she’s not nose deep in writing, crafting her next tale, she’s fulfilling her wanderlust heart, sipping wine, boating in the Gulf, or devouring fabulous books.
Want to get in touch?

Connect with Marni

Facebook: http://bit.ly/MarniMannFB

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1597153177180837/

Instagram: http://bit.ly/MarniMannIG

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

Bookbub: http://bit.ly/MarniMannBB

Website: http://marnismann.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5400988.Marni_Mann

Pinterest: http://bit.ly/MarniMannPin

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

Sign up for her newsletter: http://marnismann.com/newsletter/

THE AMERICANA PLAYBOOK by Cathryn Carter is AVAILABLE NOW

Blurb:

Parker Montgomery was once America’s sweetheart. She took her first steps in the Capitol when her father was a congressman, and starred in his senatorial campaign ads. But in high school, during his first bid for the White House, she disappeared from the political limelight, leaving her home and best friend, Fitz, behind.

Known for his grit and unwavering determination, Fitzgerald Rhodes is a seasoned quarterback who has just led his team to the Super Bowl. But the bigger win is a chance reunion with his childhood partner in crime, the now sitting-President’s daughter, and–unknowingly to Parker–Fitz’s greatest love.

Reunited, Parker turns to Fitz when a question of inheritance involves not only a wedding, but a return to the spotlight she had been banished from. Seeing this as an opportunity to come clean about his feelings, Fitz agrees to help. But their mutually beneficial relationship grows less convenient as he begins to do just that.

In prime election season, Parker’s revenge on the political dynasty that harmed her unearths not just unrequited love, but secrets and scandal leaving Fitz and his career as collateral damage.

——

The Americana Playbook does include information some readers might find sensitive including: struggles with OCD, highlighting the troubled-teen industry, emotional abuse, details (though not graphic) of physical and emotional abuse as well as sexual harassment.

Buy Link:

https://a.co/d/bPEHlpw

Available in KU

Sunny Shelly’s Review: 5 Stars

Wow. Americana Playbook is the first book I’ve read by Cathryn Carter, and I am now a fan.

Parker and Fitz’s story had be ugly crying. This was not the lighthearted second-chance, marriage of convenience romance I thought it was going to by glancing at the cover. It deals with some really heavy themes, and my heart broke for Parker and all that she went through in the “troubled teen industry” (like the school Paris Hilton attended) and the abuse/neglect she suffered at the hands of her parents and her dad’s political rise. I cried reading Parker’s letters that she wrote to Fitz during her time away.

The story unfolds in flashbacks from Fitz and Parker’s past and their present-day reunion, and Parker was such a strong young lady, even when she thought she was weak. Poor Fitz had no idea what happened when Parker was sent “away to boarding school,” and he lost the love of his life. In present day, he takes such great care of her. Even though he has some issues of his own that he’s dealing with, he takes such great patience with her, being supportive without treating her with kid gloves.

And the secret tattoo! I’m a sucker for a hero with a secret tattoo!

This book was heartwrenching, but a brilliant story from start to finish! I will be keeping The Americana Playbook marked as one to come back to often!

I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.

Meet Cathryn Carter:

Cathryn is a native New Yorker but currently lives in the Middle East with her husband and two children. She often can be found in the corner of one of Amman’s many coffee shops with her laptop. When her head isn’t in a book or she isn’t writing, Cathryn enjoys building enormous structures out of Magna-tiles with her kids. She loves swimming in the Atlantic Ocean, floating in the Dead Sea, and traveling during non-pandemic times.

You can find her on Instagram @cathryncarterwrites

Connect with Carthryn Carter:

https://linktr.ee/cathryncarterwrites

There once was a man who loved me, until he forgot every memory we’ve ever shared…

Gabriel Sinclair would forever be my first. My first best friend, my first kiss, my first love…and my first heartbreak. The accident that nearly took his life ripped the memory of me from his grasp—and for the last decades, I’ve let the guilt of that one terrible night keep us apart.

It took me years to make peace with the fact that he would no longer be in my life, so when he shows up as the architect for my new home, my world’s tossed upside down. Now, I’m trapped in a loveless marriage, raising a child, while Gabriel stirs up feelings I thought long buried. It feels like my soul is waking up after years of being in a deep slumber—and my controlling husband will do whatever it takes to keep us apart.

I know I should push Gabriel away to protect him from the shadows surrounding me. Yet, I can’t deny the hope that blooms whenever he’s near—the chance that he might remember me, that we could reclaim the chapters of our story that we’ve lost. 

Nothing good could come from us, but I can’t help but wonder what would happen if this time…he stayed. 

There once was a man who loved me… And now he’s my only hope for tomorrow.

BUY IT —–> https://amzn.to/42mTyZ3

Sunny Shelly’s Review: 5 Stars

Brittainy C. Cherry is the queen of angsty, emotional stories, and she does it again with Kierra and Gabriel’s second chance in If You Stayed.

From the moment Kierra and Gabriel cross paths at a dinner party, the thread between them pulls taut. She never expected to see her first love again, and he has no idea why he feels such a connection to his new client. The reunion between these two characters is two decades in the making, and is a messy road full of family secrets, memory loss, heartbreak, and grief. There are so many complexities to this story, as Kierra is stuck in a loveless, abusive marriage, and Gabriel can’t remember most of his childhood, especially the whopper of a secret his mother has been keeping from him.

I loved going along for the ride as these two found their way back to one another. Kierra absolutely adores her stepdaughter, Ava, and everything she does is to protect the teen — even at the risk of her own safety. Gabriel really takes Ava under his wing as an intern, and she just blossomed in a way through her friendship with him. And Henry… how I loathed Henry. Which is exactly how the reader is supposed to feel about him, I suppose!

It’s heartwrenching and emotional, and it will make you cry, but If You Stayed is another fantastic book by the brilliant author. There are several red flags in this book, so check out the trigger warnings if you so desire. It’s rough to read at points, but the ending of If You Stayed is a well-deserved one for Kierra and Gabriel after all their hurt and healing.

I received an advanced copy thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca and voluntarily left a review.