Book Review

Sunny Shelly’s Review: Something Like Hate by Piper Rayne

Something like Hate by Piper Rayne is now live! 

I love him.

I loathe him.

It’s like plucking daisy petals in my head, but he’ll never know.

When Miles Cavanaugh, the best safety in the league, was traded to the Chicago Grizzlies football team last year, I could finally breathe. Temptation was miles away.

How naïve to think it would end there because when the opportunity to write for a national magazine based in Chicago lands in my lap months later, I can’t turn it down. Sure, it’s a big city, but the sexual energy feels like a beacon between us the minute my plane lands. 

To make matters worse, I end up having to take over the job of reporting exclusively on the Chicago Grizzlies. Which means traveling with the team, interviewing players, and pretty much having an all-access pass to their lives during the season. 

Miles and I put up a great front, quickly hating on one another, but we both know it’s a lie. We also know the rules are simple. For me, don’t sleep with the subject of your articles. For him, don’t sleep with the journalist who can make or break your career.

I thought straight-laced Miles Cavanaugh followed all the rules… oh how wrong I was.

  Download today on Amazon, Apple Books, Audible, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, and Kobo!

https://books2read.com/slhate

Audio Narrated by: Tim Paige & Stefanie Kay

Add to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/3EUnSiU

Sunny Shelly’s Review: 5 Stars

Having read Piper Rayne’s Kingsman series, I was super excited to dive into Miles and Bryce’s story in the first book of the Grizzlies series, and Something Like Hate did not disappoint!

Something Like Hate checked off all the boxes for an enemies-to-lovers second-chance romance for me. The sexual tension between Miles and Bryce was insane, as was their chemistry. They were part of the same social circle back in San Francisco, where they had a one-night stand two years ago. Bryce ran out the next morning, and they have more or less avoided each other ever since, despite their many mutual friends. But now that Miles has been traded to the Grizzlies, and Bryce is the sports reporter assigned to cover the team, they have no choice but to confront their past and work together.

Over time, Bryce starts to let her walls down with Miles, and he jumps in when he sees the opening. She’s the commitaphobe here, thanks to her womanizing father, while Miles wants nothing more than to settle down like he’s seen his friends and teammates do. Will he be able to convince Bryce to really, truly give the connection between them a fair chance and not run out on him again the way she did that morning two years ago? Fraternizing between the reporters and the players is not allowed, which gives their romance a delicious forbidden twist.

Something Like Hate is the first book in the Chicago Grizzlies series, which is a spinoff of the Kingsman series. Both Bryce and Miles appeared as secondary characters in the Kingsman books, but now kick off this new Chicago world. It is a standalone, but you should just go ahead and read the Kingsman books because Piper Rayne knows how to write a sports romance that will keep you reading for just one more chapter!

I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.

Meet Piper Rayne

Piper Rayne is a USA Today Bestselling Author duo who write “heartwarming humor with a side of sizzle” about families, whether that be blood or found. They both have e-readers full of one-clickable books, they’re married to husbands who drive them to drink, and they’re both chauffeurs to their kids. Most of all, they love hot heroes and quirky heroines who make them laugh, and they hope you do, too!

Connect with Piper Rayne

Website: www.PiperRayne.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15810938.Piper_Rayne

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Piper-Rayne/e/B01ND0R15R

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

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

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Threads: https://www.threads.net/@authorpiperrayne

Book Review

Sunny Shelly’s Review: P.S. I’m Still Yours by Eliah Greenwood

Release Date: September 22

It all started with the worst day of my life.

He waltzed into that church like it hadn’t been years.

Like he’d never taken my first kiss and hopped on a plane, chasing a dream we’d built together.

But the boy who caught fireflies with me is long gone.

He’s famous now.

Filthy rich.

Despicable.

His mom thinks he needs to reconnect with his roots after his latest PR disaster. 

That spending some time at the beach house where we vacationed as kids will set his mind straight. 

And the real kicker? She’s invited my recently homeless family to join.

They say I’ll learn to forgive him in the next three months. After all, time heals all wounds—even the ones caused by green-eyed celebrities. 

Spoiler alert: they’re wrong.

Kane Wilder might have the hearts of millions.

But he’ll never have mine…

 
Buy Your Copy: Here
Sunny Shelly’s Review: 5 Stars
This book took all kinds of twists and turns and I loved it! Kane and Hadley had me hooked from the start, and I loved every last bit of the push and pull between them. Their chemistry was sizzling, the Now chapters played nicely on the history between them back Then, and I loved the progression of this enemies-to-lovers/childhood friends/the one that got away romance.

As this story unraveled, my heart broke for Kane and the weight that he’s been carrying around for years. I already had a soft spot for him when his childhood horrors became clear, and then to learn what he’s been dealing with as far as his career goes just made me love this broody hero even more. He made some horrible choices, but did bad things for good reasons, and was really in a no-win position.

P.S. I’m Still Yours is set in the same universe as Eliah’s Easton High series, but other than a mention of Dia, Lacey and Vee as a classmate in some of the Then chapters, this book mostly takes place after Hadley has graduated HS and is a standalone. And I REALLY hope that we get a story about Drea and Scar because there is so much there to unpack!

I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.

Meet Eliah Greenwood
 

Eliah Greenwood is a Canadian, Amazon Top Ten Bestselling Author, coffee addict and cliché lover!

She started her writing journey online at the age of fifteen. She wrote the majority of her first book Unwritten Rules on the bus on her way home from school. When her debut gathered 31,000,000 reads, she decided to self-publish the trilogy that set so many hearts, including hers, on fire. 

When she’s not writing and screaming at her computer screen, you can find her binge watching her favorite TV shows on repeat or reading in a warm blanket.

 
Connect with Eliah Greenwood

To learn more about Eliah and her books, visit linktr.ee/eliahgreenwood

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Book Review

Sunny Shelly’s Review: Honeyed by Carrie Aarons

Honeyed by Carrie Aarons is now live!

Growing up in a house full of brothers, it’s not a surprise that Alana Ashton is the princess of Hope Crest.

Being the only female of the small town’s founding family means that while she usually gets her way, she has to work doubly hard to earn and keep respect. Veering from her expected path to follow crazy dreams, like opening her own shop, not only isn’t in the cards, it’s also not taken seriously. So when her best friend, the ex-high school quarterback with a smile of gold and a traumatic past, proposes marriage out of the blue after years of Alana not-so-secretly pining after him, the answer isn’t an automatic no.

Marrying him, and the fortune they’ll both inherit if she specifically says I do, could be just the thing to set her vision in motion. But can she keep their decades-long relationship strictly business, or will those long unrequited feelings fool her into thinking this union will be for life?

Warren Teal is the orphan no one wanted but everyone speculated about.

After his father tragically took his mother from him, Warren’s story has been broadcast in the media for years. Cue the Ashtons, who took him under their wings the first time Alana brought him home in middle school. Years later, Hope Crest’s royal family offered him a job at their renowned restaurant, and Warren thought he’d found the quiet, under-the-radar life he’d always been searching for.

Until the day he received a letter leaving him a fortune. There was just one catch; he must marry to receive it. And not just anyone, but the gorgeous, stubborn woman he’d always loved in secret but never felt worthy of. Knowing he could return the favor and grant her wildest dreams, he popped the question.

But when his past comes for the future they’re building, she gets caught in the crossfires of the danger and darkness meant for him. Divorce, and breaking his own heart, seem like the only options to keep her safe.

Even if doing so means he may never get to confess that their fake marriage is the realest love he’s ever experienced.

Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited!

https://mybook.to/Honeyed

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3rt14D4

Sunny Shelly’s Review: 5 Stars

Honeyed is the second book in the Ashton Family series and I was so happy to get back to visit with this family through Alana, the strong-willed, only daughter, and her marriage of convenience with her best friend, Warren.

I adored these two together. Warren had a troubled background, and for a large part of his life, the Ashton family was his safe place. That has a lot to do with why he never pushed for anything more than being just friends with Alana, even though he’s long carried a torch for her. Carrie Aarons wrote a beautiful tale with this fake marriage story. I loved how these two circled around each other for years, never crossing that line when they both so clearly wanted to.

Honeyed is a great romance with a hint of suspense mixed in!

I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.

Meet Carrie Aarons


Author of romance novels such as Fool Me Twice and Love at First Fight, Carrie Aarons writes books that are just as swoon-worthy as they are sarcastic. A former journalist, she prefers the love stories of her imagination, and the athleisure dress code, much better.

When she isn’t writing, Carrie is busy binging reality TV, having a love/hate relationship with cardio, and trying not to burn dinner. She lives in the suburbs of New Jersey with her husband, two children and ninety-pound rescue pup.

Connect with Carrie

Website | www.authorcarrieaarons.com

Goodreads | https://goodreads.com/carrieaarons

Amazon | https://amzn.to/3do0EDf

Facebook | https://facebook.com/carrieaarons

Facebook Group | https://bit.ly/2DDt1xX

Instagram | https://instagram.com/authorcarriea

Bookbub | https://bookbub.com/profile/carrie-aarons

TikTok | https://bit.ly/3fzcrkI

Newsletter | https://bit.ly/authorCAnewsletter

Book Review

Sunny Shelly’s Review: How To Score Off-Field by Sara Ney

HOW TO SCORE OFF FIELD

Sara Ney

Release Date: September 15

FREE IN KINDLE UNLIMITED

I, Drew Colter, have a confession to make…I’m burnt out and need a break.

From school, from football—from living with roommates, my obnoxious twin brother and our older brothers girlfriend. The only person who I can talk to these days is my best friend from high school, and he’s back in our hometown and halfway across the country. Somehow he convinces me that maybe…

…Maybe it’s time to take a trip. Party. Have some fun.

That fun does not include his sister.

Long black hair and even longer legs, Tess Donahue had lost the braces and gained the confidence she never had as a teenager. She’s hilarious, pretty—and when I see her in those cowboy boots?

Whoa.

Stolen glances. Flirty banter. One drunk filled night.

Suddenly, my uncomplicated weekend of ‘living a little’ in my hometown becomes a lifetime being tied to the one girl that was off limits.

Grab your copy!

https://books2read.com/HowToScoreOffField

Sunny Shelly’s Review: 3.5 Stars
How To Score Off Field by Sara Ney wraps up the stories about those hunky Colter brothers. Finally, sweet, sensitive Drew gets his shot at love… or something like it?… with Tess, the younger sister of his childhood best friend.

Tess has had a crush on Drew since she was about 10, but he never noticed her as anything other than Grady’s little sister. That is, until he goes home one weekend to visit Grady, get away from the pressures he’s feeling at college, and starts to see Tess in a whole new light. They have a one-night stand that weekend, and despite the distance between their respective colleges (she back home in Texas, he in Wisconsin), they keep up a flirty banger through text messages and video chats. But then… things go south.

I have some mixed feelings about this book. I really liked Drew and Tess and thought they had a great connection. And I loved getting to know them as they got to know each other through their chats after their Weekend of Fun. The romantic in me LOVED Drew’s confession/apology for not “seeing” Tessa when they were younger. I loved how Tessa’s diary entries from when she was a teenager were interspersed throughout the chapters.

But when The Thing happens, I felt that parts of the story fell apart a bit. So much of it happened off-page, and I wish I got to see it take place on the page between them. Not to mention that Grady’s behavior was appalling.

While the story ends with a HFN between Drew and Tess, but I thought there were too many loose ends. What happened with Drew and Grady? Did Drew ever come to a decision about his future? Did Tessa forgive her brother?

Overall, How To Score Off Field was enjoyable, but it wasn’t my favorite in the series. For the endcap on a series, I wanted more from the story. And maybe an epilogue in the future that shows the Colter brothers all together so we know where their lives went. Am I glad I read it? Absolutely. It’s an emotional story with some sweet and tender moments, and I really enjoyed seeing Drew and Tessa navigate the obstacles thrown at them and come out the other side, together.

I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.

Meet Sara Ney:

Sara Ney is the USA Today Bestselling Author of the How to Date a Douchebag series, and is best known for her sexy, laugh-out-loud New Adult romances. Among her favorite vices, she includes: iced latte’s, historical architecture and well-placed sarcasm. She lives colorfully, collects vintage books, art, loves flea markets, and fancies herself British.

To find out about Sara’s upcoming releases and giveaways, sign up for her newsletter here!

To learn more about Sara Ney & her books, visit here!

Connect with Sara Ney:

https://authorsaraney.com/about/

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Book Review

Sunny Shelly’s Review: Waiting To Score by Evey Lyon

 

💕𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐀𝐕𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐀𝐁𝐋𝐄 💕

𝐖𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐒𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐞, a Small Town, Brother’s Best Friend, Hockey Romance, by Evey Lyon is live! 

“𝙒𝙖𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙎𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙬𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙗𝙞𝙙𝙙𝙚𝙣 𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙨𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙛𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙨. 𝘿𝙚𝙘𝙡𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙑𝙞𝙤𝙡𝙚𝙩 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙟𝙤𝙮, 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙩, 𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙨… 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙚𝙨𝙘𝙖𝙥𝙚!”

1-CLICK HERE!

Universal: http://geni.us/WTSall

Amazon: http://geni.us/WTSzon

Apple: http://geni.us/WTSapple

Nook: http://geni.us/WTSnook

Kobo: http://geni.us/WTSkobo

Google Play: http://geni.us/WTSgplay

Special Edition Paperback: http://geni.us/WTSpaper

What to expect:

✔️Hockey Romance

✔️Brother’s Best Friend

✔️Billionaire

✔️Small town 

✔️All the steam!

BLURB:

Former hockey star Declan Dash loves to play the game, and the one with his friend’s little sister, Violet Spears? He plans to win…

Running into your brother’s billionaire ex-hockey-playing best friend at a special kind of party should have been a red flag. Pulling one another’s names from a bowl at said party was a coincidence. Having a wild night together that we said we’d forget was probably our mistake. 

Especially when Declan shows up weeks later as the new owner of the hockey team that practices in Lake Spark, and he has an offer for me.

Meet him every day in his hotel room for a week to enjoy a little fling while he passes through town.

Yep, I stupidly agree. But the man has a few talents, and I need to take a lunch break from my flower shop anyway. Except, our timeline gets extended and the game Declan plays doesn’t come with a rule book. The lines between us get blurry. My brother will go through the roof if he ever finds out that his friend laid a finger on me, but it’s my heart that feels fragile because I can’t figure out if we have a future or if I’m just a big game where he’s been waiting to score…

𝘋𝘦𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘝𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳’𝘴-𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵-𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦. 𝘞𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘚𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘚𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘖𝘧𝘧-𝘚𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘯-𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘚𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭-𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘺.

Find other books by Evey Lyon here: www.eveylyon.com

ADD TO YOUR TBR:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/150352032-waiting-to-score

After reading the Lake Spark series, this spinoff series starter was the perfect next book. I loved the connection between Declan and Violet from the moment they ran into each other at a seggs party and how both of them kept thinking about the other even after that one night. When he begins spending more time in Lake Spark on business, they continue their fun fling… and of course, it isn’t long before they both catch feelings.

Ah, but Declan is a playboy who doesn’t have time for a commitment, whereas Violet was burned by a past boyfriend and isn’t looking to be played in a relationship. Will that lead them to a face-off, or will Declan realize that scoring with Violet just might be the biggest win of his life?

There are some great moments between Violet and Declan and Ford and Brielle. There’s a pick-up of a scene from the epilogue of Worth The Wait. Also, Ford and Brielle’s son Connor plays into this book quite a bit, setting up his next-gen story to come next. I cannot wait for Connor and Hadley’s story!!

I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.

Book Review

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

MINE TO PROMISE

Natasha Madison

Release Date: September 8

FREE IN KINDLE UNLIMITED

From Wall Street Journal & USA Today bestselling author Natasha Madison comes a small town, one night stand, secret baby, second chance romance.

When two worlds crossover. From the This Is Series and The Southern Series.

From Wall Street Journal & USA Today bestselling author Natasha Madison comes a small town, one night stand, secret baby, second chance romance.

When two worlds crossover. From the This Is Series and The Southern Series.

Addison
I never thought I would see him again.
Especially while I was planning someone else’s wedding—yet there he was holding hands with his girlfriend.
Our one night was wild and passionate; I could never forget him because it changed my life.
Now he’s here—and the result of our one night is twirling in a princess dress at our feet.

Stefano
I didn’t make mistakes.
I was the one you called in when you needed answers.
I was cutthroat but they didn’t pay me to be nice.
I was in control every single second.
The only time I let my guard down was five years ago.
If I thought seeing the woman I could never forget again would throw me off—it’s nothing like seeing our daughter for the first time.

Grab Your Copy!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C1CVR91D

Sunny Shelly’s Review: 5 Stars

Mine to Promise was fantastic! I loved that both Stefano and Addison considered the other the one that got away… their “What If?”

Addison never even got the last name of the guy she had a one-night stand with. So imagine her surprise when Stefano shows up at a wedding she planned as the groom’s cousin. Talk about awkward! From the moment Stefano sees his daughter, it is game on. He is dedicated to getting to know sweet Avery, and winning Addison back.

There’s a nice development to their reunion; I didn’t feel that it was rushed, which I appreciated. Stefano really goes above and beyond to protect his girls.

This swoony story may be my favorite in the series! I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.

Meet Natasha Madison:

When her nose isn’t buried in a book, or her fingers flying across a keyboard writing, she’s in the kitchen creating gourmet meals. You can find her, in four inch heels no less, in the car chauffeuring kids, or possibly with her husband scheduling his business trips. It’s a good thing her characters do what she says, because even her Labrador doesn’t listen to her…

Keep up with Natasha Madison and subscribe to her newsletter https://www.natashamadisonauthor.com/

To learn more about Natasha Madison & her books, visit here!

Connect with Natasha Madison:

https://www.natashamadisonauthor.com/contact-me

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Book Review

Sunny Shelly’s Review: My Favorite Kidnapper by Melanie Moreland

My Favorite Kidnapper by Melanie Moreland is now live!

A laugh out loud, unconventional opposites attract love story from New York Times bestselling author Melanie Moreland – 

I touched her confectionary creation, and she told me off.

Slapping my hands and cursing in her own unique fashion.

No one talked to me that way.

I liked it.

I liked her cake even more.

So, I took her to Italy to bake for me.

I should have asked her first, but I had a feeling she’d say no.

I brought her cat, though—that should count for something.

Now, I just need to convince her to stay.

And forget that little word.

Kidnapper.

I’d prefer lover.

But we’ll wait until she doesn’t want to kill me in my sleep.

Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited!

https://mybook.to/mfk_mm

Purchase the illustrated paperback today!     

https://geni.us/MFK_Discreet_PB

Listen to the audiobook today!

https://geni.us/MFK_Audio

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/mmtsp2023

Sunny Shelly’s Review: 4 Stars

If you ever had dreams of being whisked away to an Italian villa by a handsome billionaire, then My Favorite Kidnapper is for you! I mean, sure, Dante crosses ALL KINDS of lines when he first meets Brianna, including literally kidnapping her in the middle of the night. But let that slide, because it’s a swoony story between two people who are complete opposites that never meant to fall in love with the other.

I loved the banter between Brianna and Dante. I loved that she was sassy and full of attitude around him and had zero issues getting lippy with him. And Dante ate it up, completely enamored with his little bee.

My Favorite Kidnapper is a rather unconventional love story, but most definitely an entertaining one!

I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.

Meet Melanie Moreland


New York Times/USA Today bestselling author Melanie Moreland, lives a happy and content life in a quiet area of Ontario with her beloved husband of thirty-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.

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.

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.

Connect with Melanie

Website | melaniemoreland.com

Goodreads | http://bit.ly/MMorelandGR

Amazon | https://amzn.to/30LukFd

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Book Review

Sunny Shelly’s Review: Everything He Couldn’t, by Harlow James

Release Date: September 1
One of my favorite songs growing up was Jessie’s Girl by Rick Springfield.
Ironically enough, I never realized I’d be living out those lyrics in my own life when I fell for my best friend’s girl—and then my best friend, John Schmitt, died.
Add on the fact that she was pregnant with his child and that I’d been harboring feelings for Evelyn months before all of this happened, and well, now?
Now the lyrics to that song don’t sound so bad anymore.
The worst part is, I’m the one to blame for his death which made facing her an even harder pill to swallow, so what did I do? Pretend like she didn’t exist anymore, even though it was virtually impossible because she was everywhere in our small town of Newberry Springs.
Flashforward six months and suddenly Evelyn finds herself in a legal battle she never saw coming, and I can’t just stand by any longer and pretend like my heart isn’t in shambles.
So I suggest the unthinkable.
I offer to marry her, help her prove that she’s a fit mother and her daughter is being raised well despite John not being in the picture.
But Evelyn doesn’t know that being near her gets my blood pumping, even more so after avoiding her for months.
She doesn’t understand that doing this favor for her is a way for me to gain retribution for John’s death and take a chance to find out if she can reciprocate my feelings.
And she doesn’t get that by being there for her and loving her and her daughter that I’m doing everything that my best friend couldn’t.

Grab Your Copy Here!
Available in KU
Sunny Shelly’s Review: 5 Stars
Harlow James is a new-to-me author and I loved the tale of unrequited love and trauma bonding between Walker and Evelyn in Everything He Couldn’t.

Walker is most definitely a swoony hero, and he was so patient and understanding with Evelyn and her hangups in their fake marriage following the death of his best friend/her babydaddy. They worked together so well as friends and as husband and wife, and he was so supportive of her every step of the way in both the custody case with John’s parents and the estrangement with her own parents. Walker definitely has his own baggage surrounding John’s death, but Evelyn and sweet little Kaydence bring him out of his funk, just as he becomes someone solid and steady that Evelyn can depend on for the first time in her life.

I will definitely be checking out more of this series! I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.

Meet Harlow James

Steamy Romance Author

 

Harlow James is a pen name I use to protect my identity as a high school teacher. Keeping those two roles in my life separate is necessary, but also fun! It’s like a live two lives, and anonymity gives me the opportunity to be bold and take risks in my stories.

 

I stumbled upon romance novels in 2018 when I picked up Driven by Kristy Bromberg, and I was obsessed. I had just lost my grandmother too, so reading offered me an escape from reality and a chance to grieve on my own terms.

 

About a year later, I got an idea for my own book and started writing. I researched self-publishing and jumped in with both feet. I had no idea what I was doing!

 

But now I’ve built a business and hobby that I LOVE! I have an outlet that’s just for me. When I write, I’m not a mom, a wife, or a teacher…I’m a woman who gets to tell stories that no one else can.

 

My books are the perfect blend of heartwarming moments, full-bellied laughs, and PLENTY of steam to melt your Kindles 😉And there are always elements of me sprinkled in to every character and story that I write.

 

When I’m not writing you can find me reading or spending time in my kitchen. I love to cook and feed my family and friends. Otherwise, you can find me watching comedy specials with my husband, camping with our kids, or taking naps. I live for naps 😉

To learn more about Harlow and her books, visit here
 
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Book Review

Sunny Shelly’s Review: Temptress by Jessica Prince

Title: Temptress
Series: Whiskey Dolls
Author: Jessica Prince

Contemporary Romance; Small Town Romance
single dad, tattooed hero, grumpy/sunshine, neighbors to lovers, spicy

Who knew the grumpy single dad next door would turn out to be The One?

As Sloane Chambers stood at her window and creeped on the new guy moving in next door, she was immediately drawn to the tattoos, muscles, and the way his jeans hugged his perfect . . . frame. But when she caught him hacking up her rose bushes with a chain saw, the battle was on.

For Silas Bridger, moving to a new town and starting a new job was his chance for a fresh start. He’d already failed at being a husband, but he was determined to make things right with his teenage daughter and be the father she deserved. Which meant there was no room in his life for complications. Especially in the form of his gorgeous, sassy next-door neighbor.

When the attraction to Sloane becomes too intense to ignore, that line he kept firmly drawn is crossed. But there is no way he’ll let a handful of passionate, earth-shaking encounters turn into something more. He’s done with the dreaded L-O-V-E, or at least that’s what he tells himself. Because Sloane is quickly becoming the kind of complication he may not survive.

**Whiskey Dolls is a series of interconnected, standalone, small town romances.**

Read for FREE with KindleUnlimited

Temptress

I was elbow deep in soil, working in the flowerbeds in my backyard, when the sound of the neighbor’s back door opening and slamming shut drew my attention from the weeds I’d been pulling.

Over the past few days, I’d caught sight of my sexy new neighbor as he came and went a couple of times, but there had been no more attempts at conversation since my efforts to welcome them to the neighborhood had been so rudely rebuffed.

I didn’t know what the hell the guy’s problem was, but he’d been a total asshole. I told myself to ignore him; pretend he didn’t exist.

Only curiosity had me creeping over toward our shared fence, dusting the dirt from my gardening gloves as I leaned forward to peek through the knot hole in one of the boards. Almost every inch of him was covered in white paint, but that did nothing to hide the sadness and defeat etched into his features and the way he held his big, strong body. I would have been lying if I said it didn’t tug at my heart a little as I watched him brace his hands on his hips and tilt his head back toward the sky, or when he heaved out a sigh and dropped it forward, giving it a disheartened shake.

I didn’t know what he was struggling with, but it was clear that whatever it was, it weighed heavily on him.

He moved to the hose coiled on the holder and pulled a few loops free before twisting the handle until water poured from the nozzle. I blinked out of my stupor when he stripped out of his shirt and began to soak himself down, washing the paint off his chest, face, and head in the middle of his backyard.

My mouth went dry as the Sahara at the sight of all those rippling muscles and the tattoos that were drawn into golden tanned skin. If I thought he was a sight with his shirt on, it was nothing compared to what he looked like without it.

Most of the paint was gone thanks to his backyard rinse, but there were still flecks of it here and there he’d have to scrub away. And on that thought, my mind went straight into the gutter. I pictured the man standing naked under the shower spray, working soap across his skin. He was a man’s man, meaning he’d probably used his hands to work up a lather, nothing as froufrou as a shower puff or even as functional as a washcloth. I bet if I were to run my hands across his body to scrub him clean, all those muscles would feel like rocks beneath my palms. I could imagine rubbing across his chiseled stomach like a washboard.

God, he really was gorgeous. It was such a shame he was a world-class jerk.

Sunny Shelly’s Review: 5 Stars

This sexy story between “Sassy” Sloane and grumpy Silas was just the pick-me-up I needed. I adored grumpy single dad Silas. He came off as such a jerk, but he had so much going on at first and was such a stand-up guy in the end.

Jessica Prince always does such a great job with these stories, especially with the single-parent characters. Silas’ daughter, Darcy, wasn’t just an extraneous character; she was a genuine part of the story and I loved the progression of her friendship with Sloane just as much as I loved the progression of Sloan and Silas’ romance.

This story had a couple with amazing chemistry, a solid storyline, and a dirty-talking, grumpy hero! Another great addition to this series from JP!

I received a complimentary copy and voluntarily left a review.

Meet the Whiskey Dolls
a series of interconnected, standalone, small town romances

Read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited
Amazon US | Amazon Worldwide

Read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited
Amazon US | Amazon Worldwide

Read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited
Amazon US | Amazon Worldwide

Read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited
Amazon US | Amazon Worldwide

Born and raised around Houston Texas, Jessica spent most of her life complaining about the heat, humidity, and all around pain in the ass weather. It was only as an adult that she quickly realized the cost of living in Houston made up for not being able to breathe when she stepped outside. That’s why God created central air, after all.

Jessica is the mother of a perfect little boy–she refuses to accept that he inherited her attitude and sarcastic nature no matter what her husband says.

In addition to being a wife and mom, she’s also a wino, a coffee addict, and an avid lover of all types of books–romances still being her all time favs. Her husband likes to claim that reading is her obsession but she just says it’s a passion…there’s a difference. Not that she’d expect a boy to understand.

Jessica has been writing since she was a little girl, but thankfully grew out of drawing her own pictures for her stories before ever publishing her first book. Because an artist she is not.

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Book Review

Sunny Shelly’s Review: The Two-Week Roommate by Roxie Noir

The Two Week Roommate, an all-new must-read, forced proximity, grumpy-sunshine standalone romance from USA Today bestselling author Roxie Noir, is available now!

We used to be best friends. Now we’re snowed in together.

There are probably worse things than being stuck in a remote cabin with the rugged-yet-grumpy forest ranger who saved my life in a blizzard. Getting mauled by a bear, for example, though I might prefer that to eating breakfast with Gideon Bell, the guy who nearly ruined my life when we were kids.

It was twenty years ago. We haven’t spoken since. Our families still hate each other, and our lives are completely different. I’m not sure we’ve got anything in common besides childhood memories.

But when it’s just the two of us for a couple of weeks, none of that really matters.

What matters is the way Gideon grumbles, but makes my tea exactly the way I like it. What matters is how he always gives me the spot on the couch closest to the fireplace. What matters is how he looks at me when he thinks I’m not paying attention.

And those childhood memories? He’s in all my favorites.

Up here, in the cabin, it’s easy to look past all that because it feels so good to kiss him. It’s easy to spend a wild night in front of the fireplace and wake up still wrapped together. But back in the real world, where everything that drove us apart is still alive and kicking? It’s a lot harder.

Can Gideon and I fix what broke twenty years ago, or does what happens in the cabin have to stay in the cabin?

Fall in love todayhttps://geni.us/twrww

Add to Goodreads→ https://bit.ly/3VhYF7j

For more information about Roxie Noir and her books, visit her website:
https://roxienoir.com/

Sunny Shelly’s Review: 4 Stars

I was intrigued by the blurb for The Two Week Roommate, and grumpy cinnamon roll hero Gideon and sunshine heroine Andi did not disappoint in this second-chance, forced proximity romance.

This story has a great balance of snark and playful banter between the two characters, sexual tension, and teasing moments as Andi and Gideon rehash their history 20 years later while trapped together during a blizzard. But when the snow melts and they leave the bubble of the cabin, will they be able to make things work in the real world?

Gideon is such a tortured hero. The guy has some serious religious trauma in his past, and he has had some major struggles in coming to terms with his family and who he is as his own person. During parts of this story, I felt that the religious trauma unnecessarily took center stage, but at the same time, that all kind of made Gideon who he is.

Overall, I enjoyed the progression of Andi and Gideon’s relationship. The story kind of ended abruptly with a HFN, in my opinion, but I am intrigued enough to want to read more from this series as I’m sure Gideon’s siblings will eventually get their own books!

I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.