THE VIRGIN RULE BOOK, a sexy, friends-to-lovers standalone sports romance from #1 New York Times bestseller Lauren Blakely, is AVAILABLE NOW!
Things you don’t want to miss:
⚾️ Sexy times in a limo
⚾️ A hot athlete in and OUT of a tux
⚾️ Naughty jokes, flirty vibes, & brand-new dirty word combos
⚾️ A hilarious, confident, & caring heroine
⚾️ One swoony elevator scene
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A sexy, brother’s best friend sports romance from # 1 New York Times bestseller Lauren Blakely!
Let me make a few things clear. I didn’t go to the wedding intending to dance with the best man, to dare him to show me a very sexy pic on his phone, or to accidentally kiss him in the hotel elevator after the reception ended.
But you know how it goes. Things just happen at weddings…
The next day, Crosby and I agree to put all those shenanigans behind us. The fun-loving, stupidly gorgeous, all-star baseball player might be my brother’s best friend, but he’s my friend too and has been for years, so it’s easy to move on, especially because I have a high-profile business to run.
But since he’s newly single and I’m always single, it turns out we both desperately need plus ones. We agree to “publicly date” over the next two weeks of galas, parties and events before his baseball season begins.
The only trouble is the more time I spend with Crosby, the more I keep imagining how much I want him to take my V-card.
And when I broach the possibility with Crosby, his answer surprises the hell out of me.
Sunny Shelly’s Review: 4 Stars
Nadia hasn’t had much luck in the dating arena, and her brother’s best friend, Crosby, is on a dating hiatus. So they agree to be each others’ plus-one to her brother’s wedding… and then continue to fake date until the start of baseball season for Crosby, a pro player. Things are going so well in their non-relationship that Nadia asks Crosby to take her V card. And that’s when lines begin to blur and this fake dating suddenly begins to feel all too real.
I really loved how strong of a heroine Nadia is. She owns an NFL team and is a confident, kick-ass girl boss. She’s a virgin, and while the crux of her romantic relationship with Crosby rests on that fact, she doesn’t let it define her. She doesn’t apologize for it, but embraces it. And even though Crosby is her brother’s best friend, that is kind of a non-issue as well, since there is nothing taboo about these two young professionals getting involved.
What you get is a typical Lauren Blakely romcom — full of heat, full of witty banter and funny moments, a sweet connection between the H/h and a wonderful group of side characters. The story sets up the further books in the series, and one of the epilogues is told from the POV of Holden, presumably the next book’s hero. I’m intrigued to see what more LB brings to this series, because it is off to a great start!
I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
A #1 New York Times Bestselling, #1 Wall Street Journal Bestselling, and #1 Audible Bestselling author, Lauren Blakely is known for her contemporary romance style that’s sweet, sexy and witty. She also writes red-hot, sexy romance and USA Today bestselling LGBTQ romance.
With fourteen New York Times bestsellers, her titles have appeared on the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestseller Lists more than 100 times, with more than 50 titles on the USA Today Bestsellers list alone. She’s sold more than 4 million books. She likes dogs, cake and show tunes.
I left our hometown—a place she once called paradise—when we were just a couple of dirt poor teenagers. I left to flee the aftermath of a horrifying event that completely broke us. And now, ten years later, I’m going back to face the wreckage that I thought I’d put behind me—my father’s gruesome legacy, the trauma of our past, and the girl who survived it all without me by her side.
She hates me now for leaving her behind and I don’t blame her.
I don’t blame her, but I want her.
I want her, even though I know I should stay away from her.
I could be dangerous.
I am my father’s son, after all.
Content Warning: This book contains brief scenes of violence and is premised around a theme of trauma and healing. Some parts may be triggering to some readers—discretion is advised.
Sunny Shelly’s Review: 5 Stars
Wow, this book was tough. This is the first book I’ve read by Brynn Ford and I was kind of blown away.
Jagged Line Paradise is told in two parts — 10 years ago and then the present, when Andres returns to their small desert town a decade after a traumatic event turned Avalon’s upside down and he took off. Everything was perfect and sweet the night of her 18th birthday, and then it all fell apart the next morning. While Avalon was afraid to leave their hometown afterwards, Andres felt like he had no choice other than to leave town afterwards. They never spoke again, until 10 years later when he comes back home to make a documentary about the tragedy that hit their small town.
Avalon felt like she was deserted when she needed Andres the most. He felt like there was no way they could build a life together with the reputation that was following him. Their reunion doesn’t go well at first, but eventually these two figure out how to bury the demons between them and realize that their love for the other never faded.
It’s not an easy book to read, and there is a lot of angry sex involved, so beware if that isn’t your thing. But at it’s core, Jagged Line Paradise is all about finding beauty and strength, that our scars are badges of honor, and that peace and paradise can be a person, not a place.
This emotional story is full of angst, but a beautiful one! I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
About the Author:
Brynn Ford is an author of dark and dirty romance for daring readers. She is a lover of the dark, twisted, and playful and strives to bring the unmentionable aspects of passionate romance into her stories.
Brynn resides in the Midwest with her husband and sons, whom she expects will someday be embarrassed by their mom’s books. When she isn’t obsessively writing, you may find her binge watching favorite shows while eating far too much junk food or fanatically reading, always seeking to lose herself in the emotional roller coaster of a damn good story.
She is quite the idealist, despite her fascination with the wicked and warped aspects of humanity. Some of her stories may run out of words before a happily ever after, but she’s a firm believer that her characters continue to live on outside the pages in the minds of her readers. Stories don’t end just because there aren’t any more pages to turn.
Vaughn Tucker is the hot playboy drummer of the Tucker Brothers band, whose four albums have all hit number one. Vaughn is drop-dead gorgeous … and completely out of contro
Gigi Hayes’s life is a million miles from packed stadiums and high-profile tour schedules. She’s a small-town girl who spends all her time working in the library and studying to become a qualified social worker. For … reasons.
For the first time in his life, Vaughn is the one who’s star-struck. But Gigi is saving herself for true love. And she’s not deluded enough to believe the world-famous rock star is capable of such a thing.
But when her first case study happens to be a certain patient who’s causing mayhem at the rehab by insisting he’s outpatient material—and when Gigi is the only one he’ll respond to—she finds herself drawn, against her will, to the beautiful, trouble-written-all-over-him superstar.
Vaughn has already fallen hard. And Gigi’s refusals only make him crazier. She’s an angel and he may as well be the devil himself. But when heaven meets hell, all bets are off …
Nashville Nights is a sexy standalone rockstar romance starring an out-of-control alpha musician and the one woman who’s everything he never knew he needed.
Nashville Nights takes the quintessential bad boy rocker, addicted to sex, drugs and alcohol, and makes the stereotypical good girl next door be the one who brings him to his knees, the woman he wants to be a better man for.
I confess that I skimmed a lot of the beginning of Vaughn and Gigi’s story at first, because it seemed like another instalove bad boy/good girl tale. But once Vaughn’s addiction really became an integral part of the story, I was hooked. He isn’t just partying because he likes to party. The guy is carrying around so much psychological baggage, and immense guilt. While he drinks to forget his demons, Gigi wants to be a social worker to put her own ghosts to rest. She couldn’t save her dad, but she knows there is someone out there she IS meant to save. She never expected it to be the tattooed rockstar who moved in next door.
While I found Vaughn and Gigi’s relationship to be a tad codependent, they did balance each other out and bring out the best in one another. She quiets his demons and grounds him, much in the way that helping him work through his addiction gives her purpose. However, I did feel let down that his intervention happened off the page after all of his spiraling and the talk of how bad his behavior had been in the past, and didn’t like how his treatment was handled.
This is book 2 in an interconnected series, and I did not read the first but had no problem following along. I plan to go back and reread Nashville Days because I am intrigued by Travis and Ruby’s story!
I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
Meet Julie Capulet
Julie Capulet writes fun, sexy romance starring obsessed alphas and the sweet and sassy women who bring them to their knees.
Her stories are inspired by true love and she’s married to her own real life hero.
When she’s not writing, she’s reading, walking on the beach, drinking wine and watching rom-coms♥
Hearing the disbelief from my best friend’s mouth makes the events of my failed date sting that much more.
I would like to make it known, I have a lot more swagger than what it seems. I don’t normally ask a girl out, have her fail to recognize it’s a date, and then give me a high five–as if I’m her wingman–and take off with someone else.
No. Normally I’m the one taking the girl home but with Stella, it’s been one failed attempt after another and frankly, I’m done trying.
But thanks to my best friend getting married in Hawaii right before the school year starts, I’m stuck on a tropical island, watching Stella parade around in what she claims is a bathing suit.
Unfortunately, that’s not the worst of it, just the tip of the iceberg. Because what I think is going to be a relaxing vacation, avoiding the one girl I can’t seem to make it work with, has turned into a spectacle of being recruited as Stella’s doting fake fiancé so she can save face with an old “friend” from high school.
Now I’m navigating through purgatory while trying not to get turned on by the way she holds my hand or kisses my jaw. It’s all fake, that’s what I keep telling myself, even though it feels entirely too real.
EXCERPT:
“Do you want to sit next to Stella on the airplane?” Arlo asks.
“What? Fuck, no,” I say while turning up the game so I can hear the announcers over my tedious, wedding-planning best friend.
Arlo snatches the remote from my hand and turns off the TV. The room is silent for a moment before uproarious objections fill the air.
“Gentry is up next,” Gunner, my other best friend and former teammate, complains from next to me. “He’s three for three so far.”
“We need to talk,” Arlo says in that stern, alpha-like voice that won over his fiancée. Little does he know it doesn’t work on me.
I reach for the remote but he swats my hand with a resounding thud, causing me to yank my hand back. “What the actual fuck, man?”
When I decided to have the guys over to my loft, I assumed we’d tear up some wings, drain some brews, and watch the Bobbies game. Never in my wildest fucking dreams would I have pictured Arlo Turner, the grumpy curmudgeon of the Forest Heights English department, to roll in like a beaming bride, holding a wedding planning folder to his chest, and consume the night with questions about what he should wear and if coconut cake is too “Hawaiian-y” for his Maui destination wedding.
But here we are.
“Cut the crap, Romeo.”
“Cut what crap?” I reach over to the coffee table and pick up my almost empty glass of beer.
“I’m not about to have the Bickersons attend my wedding, so what the hell is going on with Stella?”
“Nothing is going on,” I answer, then take a small sip of my beer, making the liquid last so I don’t have to get up for a refill.
Gunner leans in and asks, “If we get to the bottom of the problem, can we turn the TV back on?”
“Yes,” Arlo answers.
“Then it was the baseball game he took her to.”
“Dude,” I say in protest while sitting up on the couch. “What the fuck happened to don’t say anything?”
Gunner unapologetically shrugs. “I really want to watch the Bobbies kill the Rebels in interleague play.”
“What baseball game?” Arlo asks. “Do you mean the game you took her and Cora to?”
“Yup.” Gunner pops a chip in his mouth from the bowl on the coffee table. “Except Cora wasn’t supposed to go. It was supposed to be a daaate,” Gunner drags out.
“You asked Stella out?” Arlo asks, shocked.
“Way to sell me out for a game, you dick.”
Not showing an ounce of remorse, Gunner stands from the couch and takes my glass from me.
“I’ll top you off. You’ll need it.”
Seething, I pass my hand over my head and say, “Yeah, I asked her out. She invited Cora. End of story.”
“That’s not the end of the story,” Gunner says from the kitchen, the open concept of my loft allowing his voice to carry to us easily.
When you think a friend is trustworthy and then they go and shock your fucking nuts right off by divulging everything you told them in secret . . . without even a blink of an eye. Gunner is dead to me.
You’re probably wondering why I didn’t say anything to Arlo about what happened, given he’s one of my best friends, right? It’s simple. Gunner got me drunk and I relished in the comfort of far too many cold beers and a listening ear. If it wasn’t for that, I’d have kept my mouth shut, because the entire incident was fucking humiliating.
Between you and me, I’ve liked Stella Garcia, the Spanish teacher at Forest Heights, for a while now. Far too long actually. I can’t quite pinpoint when it happened, but all I know is over the three years I’ve known her, I’ve been pining after the girl for the majority of the time.
Fucking bold, quick-witted with a sharp tongue, loves sports, shy when it counts. Flat-out gorgeous with her long, wavy brown hair and fascinating green eyes that have a ring of brown around the pupil. She’s had my attention for a while and last year, I decided to finally make a move.
Enough was enough. We shared too many dinners together as friends. She’s pressed her lips to my beer glass without a second thought way too many times. The moment presented itself, I grew a pair, and asked her out to a baseball game knowing she loves watching the sport as much as I do.
But fuck did it backfire.
“What’s the end of the story?” Arlo asks, growing agitated. His patience runs thin, which is surprising, given his profession of educating the youth.
He’s not going to drop it.
Arlo’s relentless when he wants to know something.
Dragging my hand down my face, I say, “It was supposed to be a date.” Gunner sits next to me and hands me my refilled glass, which I gladly take. “She invited Cora. Which was fine. We had a good time, I still sat next to Stella, and we shared jokes even if there was a third wheel. But it was what happened afterwards that—”
“That gutted him,” Gunner finishes for me. When I snap a look at him, he smirks. “That’s what you told me. Just thought I’d help tell the story.”
“I wasn’t gutted.”
Maybe I was a little.
Hell . . . I was humiliated.
Gutted isn’t a strong enough word for what happened.
“What the fuck happened after? Christ. Why are you taking so damn long to get to the point?” Arlo practically growls.
“Go easy on our guy.” Gunner grips my shoulder. “He was embarrassed, man.”
“It’s fine, I’m over it now,” I say in a passive-aggressive tone.
“You’re clearly not if you and Stella can’t even be in the same room together. I don’t want anything ruining this trip for Greer, and your constant arguing with Stella is driving everyone fucking crazy.”
“Great, then I just won’t talk to her. Simple.”
“Just tell him,” Gunner says, nudging me.
Christ.
Staring down at my beer, I quietly say, “She went home with someone else that night.”
The room falls silent.
They don’t have to react for me to know what they must be thinking. They know I’ve liked Stella for a while. They know I’ve been trying to figure out a way to ask her out.
And this . . . hell, this was an epic fail on my end.
It wouldn’t be as bad if I weren’t already carrying a chip on my shoulder about the way I was forced to twist my life around.
Five years ago, everything changed.
Five years ago, I was stripped of the one thing that brought me life.
A ruptured Achilles tendon ended everything for me.
I never got the chance to appreciate my last game.
I never had the opportunity to sit on the field and say goodbye.
Instead, playing professional baseball was stripped from me and I was forced to fall back on my teaching degree I earned while playing in college.
To say I’m bitter, resentful, and fucking angry . . . yeah, that’s an understatement.
I live with regret daily and harbor more animosity than anyone should.
So, when I took Stella to the game, on a date, hoping to tell her how I feel, and she went home with someone else, it fucking stung.
Do you know what stung more, though?
The fact that she looked right past me and instead went for a rookie on the Bobbies.
Why go out with a washed-up baseball player turned phys ed teacher with a slight limp in his walk, when you can go out with an unmarred professional baseball player?
Yeah. There’s resentment for a reason. She chose the star. That’s who she wants.
That’s who I’ll never be.
And that’s why I plan on staying as far away from Stella Garcia on this trip as I can.
And when we get back to Chicago and the school year starts, everything will go on as planned.
Avoid. Avoid. Avoid.
Too easy, right?
Sunny Shelly’s Review: 5 Stars
AH! Stella and Brock’s story was everything I wanted it to be! These two just COULD NOT get on the same page!
Miscommunication abounds in this story, and it leads to lots of frustration and hurt and anger on both their parts. Neither one of them actually comes out and says how they feel about the other until it is almost too late, and that’s a shame because they are made for one another.
Stella and Brock’s relationship is so easy. They were best friends for a long time before either of them realized that they wanted something more from the other. That friendship is a solid base for them, but Stella has some family drama she needs to work through before she can be the woman that she thinks Brock deserves to be with. And all Brock wants to do is be there for her, to hold her hand, be the shoulder she cries on…. The guy is a saint when it comes to waiting for Stella to be ready to take their relationship to the next level!
I loved all the shenanigans with this group of friends. The way that the guys and the girls both come together for each other is amazing. And I love the interactions between the girl group and the guys as well. Those text messages between the guys crack me up! I know that Cora’s book is coming next, and I would love to see a Keiko/Kelvin book. And this has all made me realize that I would have loved to have read a longer story between Gunner and Lindsay. Oh well!
Great job, Meghan! Bravo! I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
I swear I didn’t mean to flirt with the world-famous Brayden Clarke—especially not right in the middle of an interview for a job.
It was a slip—or perhaps a gut reaction to his smoldering eyes and deep, sexy voice.
To my total disbelief, they give me the assignment. My task is simple: advise Brayden and his band on how to communicate with their fans. Easy-peasy. Or so I thought…
I can handle the job, but the sexy lead singer who’s intent on getting under my skin might be too hot to resist.
But our lives are too different. His life is under constant scrutiny. I thrive on freedom and spontaneity. I like exploring the streets of New York and meeting up with my siblings without needing security detail.
But when we’re together, all our differences fade, and I can’t get enough of this man. And he won’t quit until he makes me his.
Say You’re Mine starts off a new spinoff series from Layla Hagen’s Irresistible Bachelors series. It is a standalone, but the connections between the characters in the IB books are explained well enough.
This instalove story is entertaining and lighthearted. Brayden’s band needs some social media assistance to connect with their fans, so Isabelle is hired to do an analysis. There is an instant connection between them, even though they (of course!) try to resist one another. I love that Isabelle doesn’t care that Brayden is one of the biggest rock stars — and of course that is what he finds intriguing about her. She could care less about who he is, and he finds the possibility of being in a real relationship with her intriguing. She’s kind, honest and down to earth, and the more time Brayden spends with her, the more he realizes that he wants to be with her.
But Isabelle and Brayden can’t live their lives in a bubble. Will she be able to handle the scrutiny and life in the spotlight that goes along with being Brayden Clark’s girlfriend? Will their romance go past the expiration date of when Brayden’s band leaves for their next tour? There are many ups and downs to their relationship as they navigate trying to find a middle ground. This story was well-written, and Isabelle and Brayden are great characters who are easy to connect with.
I look forward to seeing more from the Gallaghers in this series! I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
Meet Layla Hagen
Welcome! My name is Layla Hagen and I am a Contemporary Romance author.
I fell in love with books when I was nine years old, and my love affair with stories continues even now, many years later. I write romantic stories and can’t wait to share them with the world. And I drink coffee. Lots of it 😀
She was never mine to keep, still I took every second that girl was willing to give me.
I always knew she’d go back to him.
But I never expected she’d take a piece of me with her.
Hayden
He changed my life forever, and it happened long before our two weeks together.
I didn’t mean to fall for him.
But how could I not when he gave me the most precious gift of all?
We’re Made of Moments (A Cole Creek Novel) is the first book in a brand new, small town romance series by Molly McLain. This series is full of Molly’s guaranteed feel-good vibes, amped up emotion, and page-sizzling heat. If you liked the River Bend and Velocity series, you will LOVE Cole Creek!
“Daddy’s here!” Jett shrieks from the first floor and, just like that, my stomach drops to my toes.
Lane winks. “You got this, gorgeous.”
I know I do. But that doesn’t mean I have to like any part of it.
When he turns away, I paste on my game face and chink my armor firmly into place, just like I do every other Friday. I also send up a prayer for extra grace this week, because these exchanges seem to be getting harder and harder. I’m not sure why, but I feel the unease creeping in a little more with every swap.
“Mama, come on!” Jett yells again, and I pull in a deep breath. Shoulders back, girlfriend.
I make it halfway down the stairs when my son yanks the front door open and launches himself at the brick wall of a man standing on the other side.
Big arms wrap around our little boy and lift him from the floor, while my lungs hold every ounce of air in my body hostage.
My son adores his father. Of that, I am absolutely certain. And when aquamarine eyes, the exact same color as Jett’s meet mine over the top of our little boy’s head, I realize that no matter how hard I try to prepare myself, this will never get easier.
Sunny Shelly’s Review: 5 Stars
We’re Made of Moments is the first book I’ve read by Molly McLain, and I was totally hooked on Jesse and Hayden’s story! This second-chance romance is the rip your heart out and piece it back together kind of tale that I love to devour! The prologue hooked me, and the rest of the book was just as gut-wrenching.
Hayden and Jesse knew each other socially from around the small lake town where her parents had a cabin and he was from a local family. He always liked her, but respected that she had a boyfriend. They shared a few moments of pure connection over the years, so when Hayden’s boyfriend, Lane, cheated on her, Jesse was the guy she sought out when she escaped to her family’s cabin. Their two-week fling was never supposed to amount to anything more, and when Hayden eventually returned home, she reunited with Lane… and stayed with him even after discovering that she was pregnant with Jesse’s child.
Jesse.. wow. What a stand-up guy. I knew from the first time he and Lane were introduced in this book that I would be rooting for Jesse to get the girl. The guy is a super dad, and everything he does is for Hayden and their son, Jett. Even though he is hopelessly in love with Hayden, he respects her relationship and is the best co-parent he can be. But when Lane and Hayden split and she admits that she’s had feelings for him all along, Jesse wants his shot at truly making his family his.
The reunion between Hayden and Jesse isn’t easy. There are some issues they both have to hash out as far as their insecurities and personal demons, but We’re Made of Moments is a beautiful journey as they do exactly that. My heart broke for each of them at times, and I was overjoyed to see them finally get their happily ever after. This book is the gut-punch kind of story that gives you all the feels!
I will definitely be looking for more of the Cole Creek series! I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
AUTHOR BIO
Molly McLain lives in a tiny Wisconsin town with her husband, three kiddos, and two adorable German Shorthaired Pointers. She’s addicted to 80’s ballads, 90’s rock, cheesecake, and office supplies, and she’s been scribbling down love stories in spiral notebooks since she was old enough to daydream about hunky boys and happily-ever-afters. Now, she turns those daydreams into steamy, small town romance novels.
In the middle of a crowded bar in our small Alaskan town, my estranged wife snuggles up to me as if we’re still a happy couple.
Don’t get me wrong, we were a happy couple—before she walked out on me a year ago. We were the high school sweethearts everyone thought were destined to be together forever. We thought so too, which is why we married shortly after graduation.
We had a good marriage. Until she left me without any real explanation.
Now, she’s back—and this is the real kicker—she has amnesia and thinks I’m still her husband. Technically I am, although the divorce papers are sitting at the lawyer’s office.
She’s desperate to remember her life in Sunrise Bay but I only want to find out why she left me. Once we conjure that memory up, it’s sayonara because there’s no second chances here. But as you probably already figured out, things didn’t go quite as I planned.
Absolute perfection! Adam and Lucy’s story is a heartbreaking, heartwarming, emotional journey. I felt every bit of Adam’s pain as he tried to help his estranged wife recover her memories. And I loved Lucy’s ups and downs as she tried to figure out who she was, and adjust to the “new” Lucy.
After meeting Adam in My Beautiful Neighbor and seeing how depressed he was, I was set to not like Lucy. But wow, the reason why she left Adam was just… wow! There is so much love between Adam and Lucy, and this second-chance romance is a beautiful, gorgeous, emotional story of second chances and true love!
I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
Meet Piper Rayne: Piper Rayne, or Piper and Rayne, whichever you prefer because we’re not one author, we’re two. Yep, you get two USA Today Bestselling authors for the price of one. Our goal is to bring you romance stories that have “Heartwarming Humor With a Side of Sizzle” (okay…you caught us, that’s our tagline).
A little about us…. We both have kindle’s full of one-clickable books. We’re both married to husbands who drive us to drink. We’re both chauffeurs to our kids. Most of all, we love hot heroes and quirky heroines that make us laugh, and we hope you do, too.
Gabriel’s Album Sian Ceinwen
(Cruise Control Heroes, #1)
Publication date: March 14th 2021
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
The rock star always gets the girl…
I’m living my dream. For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to be a rock star. And now here I am, about to start my first big tour, when she comes along.
Ariana.
From the second we meet, she’s all I can think about.Asking her to come on tour with me is easy. But she’s shy, insecure, and the paparazzi scare her. We live in two completely different worlds.
I love her and I know that she’s worth fighting for. The problem is, I’m not sure if love is enough.
Gabriel’s Album is the first book in the Cruise Control Heroes series. It’s the companion novel to The Album. Fall in love with Gabriel and Ariana all over again as Cruise Control embarks on their first world tour.
EXCERPT
Sebastian hands us our bottles of water and walks over to a trunk with ‘DREAMS COME TRUE’ written on it. He opens it and pulls three journals and pens out if before giving one of each to both me and Hayden.
“This is called the Wisdom Tree,” Sebastian informs us. “You write your thoughts, ideas, or dreams in these books. People add to them all the time. I thought this might be good for you, Gabriel.”
I flick through the journal he gave me, reading the thoughts, dreams, and ideas that other hikers have contributed. My heart rate increases as I consider what I should add to this. I close my eyes and take some deep breaths while I think about it. I’ve just achieved a life dream, probably my biggest one, but I know what I want. I begin to write.
I’ve worked hard to get where I am. I’ve succeeded in achieving my goals. What does it mean if I can’t have you?
It’s the thought that I’ve been struggling with since Ariana left. I thought that what we were building together could become something much more. The possibility that she might not come back to me is too painful to bear. I have to cling to the hope that Heather will get through to her while she’s back at home, and we can get through this.
A single tear drops from my face and splashes on the page, causing the ink in front of me to blur. I wipe the other tears from my face and close the book before walking over and placing the journal and pen in the trunk again.
I cough and ask, “Are you guys done?”
“Just finished,” Hayden smiles.
“I’m done too,” Sebastian nods.
If either of them notices my tears, they don’t mention them, and we continue on our way to the sign. On the way there, Sebastian stops and drops the backpack on the ground before pulling out my phone.
“You can check it if you want,” he says as he holds it out to me.
My heartbeat increases as I take it from him, and I can barely breathe as I check the screen. Nothing. I take a deep breath and fight back tears. Surely, Heather should’ve gotten a hold of her by now.
I hand the phone back to Sebastian without saying a word, or even unlocking it. He puts it away without further comment, but for the rest of the hike, my mind is a blur. I can’t focus on the amazing scenery; I can only focus on my inner turmoil. Everything is wrong. I hate knowing that I’m going to see the Hollywood sign without Ariana. She should’ve been here.
When we get to the point where we can see the sign, we finally see other hikers. Sebastian was right about the Burbank Peak Trail being a solitary hike. I see a couple of the other hikers take photos of us, but they don’t approach us.
“Should we go and try to climb the sign?” Sebastian asks with a cheeky grin on his face as he gestures to the chain-link fence protecting it.
“Pass,” Hayden laughs. “I don’t feel like being arrested today. Can you even imagine what Cooper would say?”
“You’re not talking me out of it,” Sebastian smirks, then looks at me, and his face drops. “Okay, bad idea, I guess. Well, let’s get pictures. I’ll put them on Instagram and make Heather jealous, at least.”
We take selfies in front of the view of the sign below us. I’ve gotten so used to posing for photos that when I look at the ones we’ve taken, you can’t even tell that my heart is broken and every cell in my body is aching for Ariana. I look like any other guy out on a hike with his friends.
Sebastian takes some more pictures of the view, then we have a drink of water before beginning the hike back to the car.
When we reach the Wisdom Tree again, I say, “Wait a second.”
I open the trunk and pull out another journal and pen. I open it to write another message.
If you don’t come back to me, I know the pain will fade. My love, though? That will remain the same.
I know Ariana will never read this, but it doesn’t matter. I feel better for writing it down. It’s the truth, as well. I can barely stand to think about her not coming back to me, but even if she doesn’t, I will always love her. I kiss the words on the page, wishing they were Ariana’s lips, and place the journal back in the trunk.
By the time we get back to the car, I’m tired, both physically and emotionally. Sebastian and Hayden talk on the way back to the hotel, but I’m grateful that they don’t push me to talk at all. As soon as I reach the quiet darkness of my hotel suite, I pull out my phone again and see nothing of interest. People have called and messaged, but none of them are Ariana. So, I call her.
Hi, I’m Sian Ceinwen and I live in Western Australia with my husband and two kids. I started writing this in the third person but it was just odd. A little bit about me, I’ve enjoyed writing all my life, getting the worlds and characters in my head down for other people to enjoy is my passion.
Writing a book wasn’t something I ever thought I could really do but inspired by a song, I aimed to do it. With a lot of coaxing from my friends for me to finish it so they could find out the ending.
I released Gabriel and Ariana’s story, The Album, on March 14th, 2020. Harrison and Heather’s story, The Wedding, came out on June 6th, 2020. Sebastian and Lita’s book, The Baby, was released on November 18th, 2020.
The first book in the companion series, Gabriel’s Album, is available for pre-order and will be released on March 14th, 2021. It’s Gabriel and Ariana’s story retold from Gabriel’s point of view.
I hope that you will fall in love with the Cruise Control world the same way that I have.
He’s a movie star. I’m just a girl from a small town.
He lives in L.A when he’s not traveling the world. I live in Utah, and the furthest I’ve been is a few states away.
He’s beautiful. I’m . . . just me.
Talbot Green is the man who has everything—fame, money, adoring fans—and I’m just a girl from a small town, childhood friends with his publicist, and looking forward to spending a few days in warm and sunny California.
Then I saved his life.
In front of the paparazzi.
And suddenly, my face is everywhere—on social media, on TV, on magazine covers. Suddenly, I’m not just a girl from a small town, who’s living a small life. Suddenly . . . I belong to Talbot Green, at least in the eyes of the media.
And also . . . perhaps in the eyes of Talbot himself.
But maybe, just maybe, he belonged to me right back.
Sunny Shelly’s Review: 4 Stars
Meet Cute is absolutely adorable! I loved Tammy and Talbot’s story, from start to finish. Both of them lead very different lives, but they are so similar in so many ways due to their childhoods. They each have been searching for something, but didn’t know what they was, until the night that she saved him from an intruder.
This forced proximity/instalove story takes place in a bubble, but Tammy and Talbot are perfectly matched for one another, and put in the effort to make their real life matter.
I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
About the Author:
USA Today bestselling author, Elise Faber, loves chocolate, Star Wars, Harry Potter, and hockey (the order depending on the day and how well her team—the Sharks!—are playing). She and her husband also play as much hockey as they can squeeze into their schedules, so much so that their typical date night is spent on the ice. Elise changes her hair color more often than some people change their socks, loves sparkly things, and is the mom to two exuberant boys.
She lives in Northern California. Connect with her in her Facebook group, the Fabinators or email her at elisefaberauthor@gmail.com. Connect with Elise!
It’s not every day the woman who broke your heart asks to be your wife.
Life is good. I’m single. I’m an emergency room doctor. And according to my hookups, I’m hot AF.
Then she walks back into my life.
I haven’t seen Mazzy Pembrooke since the night she betrayed me. So when she comes into my work asking me to make good on a childhood pact and marry her, I’m speechless.
She’s the last woman I’d want to marry—even if it’s pretend and with a definitive end date.
But after I find myself in a sticky situation at work, marrying Mazzy might just benefit me too.
Once we’re living as husband and wife under the same roof though, I struggle to remember that I hate this woman and the fake marriage doesn’t feel so fake anymore.
Don’t Mind if “I Do” is a fake marriage, friends to enemies to lovers rom-com loaded with laughs. No cheating. HEA.
Everly Ashton’s books are so much fun! I’ve really been enjoying reading this series, since her debut book came out a few months ago. This time, we get Nick and Mazzy’s story — an enemies-to-lovers, fake marriage, second-chance romance that is fun to read with witty dialog, awesome characters and twists I wasn’t totally expecting.
I thought Mazzy was going to be a bit of an airhead, a socialite who was just looking for her next husband. She proved me wrong: Her looks were definitely deceiving, because she proved to be a strong heroine when her world got flipped upside down. She had some tough choices to make, and handled the situation with grace.
Nick and Mazzy are childhood friends, ex best friends, and there is that layer of history between them that gives depth to their story. Nick’s been holding a grudge against her for years, and there’s a wonderful journey between them as they hash out their issues and move forward as fake spouses.
UPDATED FOR AUDIO: Teddy Hamilton is my favorite narrator, and I loved listening to him bring Nick to life. I’d forgotten how much I loved Nick and Mazzy’s story when I read it a year ago. Listening to Teddy and Ava Erickson tell the story as an audiobook was like a fresh read of this story all over again!
Don’t Mind If I Do is a fantastic, entertaining second-chance/fake marriage romance!
I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
Meet Everly Ashton
Everly Ashton is a USA Today Bestselling Author who wanted to try something a little different under a new name. She loves brooding heroes, spunky heroines, and happily ever afters. You can usually find her with a Kindle in one hand and a cup of caffeine in the other. And because she’s using a pseudonym she can’t tell you much more than that. 😉
Sunny Shelly Reads 