Tag: friends to lovers

Books, New Release, Romance, series

New Release! TEASE by Melanie Harlow, Cloverleigh Farms #8

Beth
Could Hutton French and I actually be right for each other, or is it all just one big tease?
TEASE, an all new sizzling friends to lovers, fake engagement small town romantic comedy from USA Today and #1 Amazon bestselling author Melanie Harlow, is now available!

I didn’t mean to say I was engaged to a hot billionaire–it just slipped out.

In my defense, I’d had a really bad haircut, a really strong drink, and I was trying to save face in front of the Mean Girl at my high school reunion.

Lucky for me, I happen to know a hot billionaire. Hutton French and I have been friends forever, and even though big social gatherings are not his thing, I called him from the coat closet and begged him for a favor–show up and play my fake fiancé for the night.

Except that word of our engagement spreads like wildfire. Our families are ecstatic. We’re front page news. My little food blog is launched into the stratosphere.

Of course, I offer to set the record straight right away, but Hutton wants to give it a little time–the phony engagement will keep his matrimony-mad mother and every matchmaking granny in town off his back.

He even suggests I move in with him to make the ruse more real.

And we don’t stop there.

We practice kissing. Undressing each other. Saying things–and doing things–we’d never dare if we weren’t pretending. Because it’s all for show, right? We’re just role-playing. Hutton doesn’t want a real relationship, and I don’t want to get hurt. But the more time we spend faking it, the more I start to wonder.

Could Hutton French and I actually be right for each other, or is it all just one big tease?

Grab your copy today or read FREE on Kindle Unlimited!
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Keep reading for a look inside TEASE!

“Want something to drink? Whiskey or scotch?”
“No, thanks. Mostly I just want to take these heels off.”
“Leave them on.”
I was already bending down to unbuckle one ankle strap. I looked up and saw him standing there with his glass in his hand. “What?”
“Leave them on. And come over here.”
I straightened up and took one tiny step.
“On your hands and knees.”
My breath caught. I could feel his eyes on me. Instantly I understood what this was, and even though I was a little nervous, I wanted to play along. I wanted to please him this way.
The only problem was, I wasn’t entirely sure I could get to my knees in this tight dress. But I said a quick prayer and dropped to my knees on the carpet in one smooth motion. Thankfully, the dress material had some stretch, and the seams didn’t pop.
“Good girl,” he said quietly, igniting a firestorm in my blood that surprised me. “Now come here.”
My heart thrummed fast and loud as I lowered my palms to the floor and slowly closed the distance between us. I’d never done anything like this in my life—who am I right now?—but I liked the way it made me feel.
Tempting. Seductive. Alluring. I’d never thought of myself that way before, but here and now, in this tight little black dress with the red satin heels, crawling toward a gorgeous, powerful man in a suit in our Manhattan hotel suite? My billionaire fake fiancé? It was easy to imagine I wasn’t myself at all.
When I reached his feet, I sat back on my heels and looked up. Our eyes met. His lean, muscular silhouette looked imposing above me. Even that rebel lock of hair had been tamed into submission tonight.
He took another sip of his drink and set the glass on the table. Pulled the chair at the head of the table aside. Loosened the knot in his tie. “Are you okay?”
“Yes.”
“If there’s a point tonight where you are not, you should tell me.” He slipped the tie from his collar.
I swallowed hard. “Like a safe word?”
His mouth hooked up on one side. His hand freed the top button of his shirt. “You already have a safe word?”
“No,” I said quickly. “I’ve never needed one before.”
“You do now.” He undid a second button. “So what will it be?”
Of course, I couldn’t fucking think of anything, and I panicked.
“Roy Kent,” I blurted.
He cocked his head, his hand still on his shirt. “Who’s Roy Kent?”
“Never mind. I’ll think of another one.”
Do not say Oklahoma.
Do not say bumblebee.
I racked my brain for something else. “Romeo,” I said breathlessly. “That’s what I’ll say. Romeo.”
He set his tie on the table and offered me a hand.
Placing my palm in his, I rose to my feet. “Is anything going to hurt?” I asked, picturing whips, chains, ball gags, metal cuffs and clamps, shiny rubber gloves.
“I don’t need to inflict pain to feel in control, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“Okay. Should I—”
But that was all I got out because he spun me around and clamped a hand over my mouth, pressing his body tight against my back.

Add to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3Q40TWp

About Melanie Harlow
USA Today bestselling author Melanie Harlow likes her martinis dry, her heels high, and her history with the naughty bits left in. When she’s not writing or reading, she gets her kicks from TV series like Ted, Lasso, Schitt’s Creek, and Fleabag. She occasionally runs three miles, but only so she can have more gin and steak.

Melanie is the author of the BELLAMY CREEK series, the CLOVERLEIGH FARMS series, the ONE & ONLY series, AFTER WE FALL series, the HAPPY CRAZY LOVE series, and the FRENCHED series. She lifts her glass to romance readers and writers from her home near Detroit, MI, where she lives with her husband, two daughters, and pet rabbit.

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Website: www.melanieharlow.com

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New Smartypants Romance Release🔥🔥Parks and Provocation, Green Valley Heroes #2, by Juliette Cross🔥🔥

Beth

Parks and Provocation, an all new enemies-to-lovers small town romance from Juliette Cross, is LIVE in Kindle Unlimited!

Lola Landry stares through the window of her locked car with the keys in the ignition and the radio blaring Beck’s “Loser.” While standing there and sweltering in the soupy Tennessee humidity, she wonders how her orderly life had crashed and burned so badly. Then her high school nemesis saunters up in all of his tall, strapping, fireman-to-the-rescue glory, slapping her with the humiliating proof that it can always get worse.

When the uber-confident Jedediah Lawson requests a date in return for popping her lock, a lightbulb goes off. Revenge is sweet. He would make the perfect victim—guest, that is—for her next podcast episode on Kiss and Tell. What shocks her is the casual way he not only agrees to the post-date interview on air, but ends up hijacking her audience and wooing them with his swoony, southern charm. Not even a low score on the date-o-meter can dissuade the man or keep her fans from demanding more of the charismatic Jed.

What’s worse, she secretly wants a second date with this man who is so different from his teenage self. His unwavering patience and dimpled smile erodes her will, until she breaks the Kiss and Tell rules by agreeing to a second…and a third date. It’s a disaster. Not the date. They’re wonderful. The disaster is that she is falling for a man she once dubbed Jockstrap Jed.

‘Parks and Provocation’ is a full-length contemporary romance and can be read as a standalone. Book #2 in the Green Valley Heroes series, Green Valley Chronicles, Penny Reid Book Universe.

Grab your copy TODAY!

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/3gPs7Qq

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3HY9MN3

Amazon CA: https://amzn.to/3gS5Np9

Amazon AU: https://amzn.to/3gPrNBc

Amazon Print: https://amzn.to/3KiHNIP

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3oWBJ0a

About Juliette Cross

JULIETTE is a multi-published author of paranormal and fantasy romance & the co-host of the podcast, Smart Women Read Romance. As a native of Louisiana, she lives in the heart of Cajun land with her husband, four kids, her labs, Kona and Jeaux, and kitty, Betty. When she isn’t working on her next project, she enjoys binge-watching her favorite shows with her husband and a glass (or two) of red wine.

Find Juliette Cross online

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Books, Kindle Unlimited, New Release, Romance, series, smartypants romance

🔥🔥NEW RELEASE 🔥HOTSHOT AND HOSPITALITY by Nora Everly BLOG TOUR🔥🔥

Beth

Hotshot and Hospitality, an all new charming friends to lovers small town romance from Nora Everly, is LIVE in Kindle Unlimited! 

⭐️⭐️BOOK REVIEW 3.5 Stars This is a fun series and I really enjoyed the other books. Sadly, this one was a disappointment. I usually love Best Friends to Lovers stories. But there was zero chemistry between Garrett and Molly. Plus, she was so afraid of discussing her feelings, she would run away the moment anyone tried to talk about emotions. It got old quick. I’m hoping the next book is about Sadie and Barrett, and that it’s better than this one.⭐️⭐️

Molly Cooper is through with men. She means it this time.

Being stood up and humiliated was the last straw.

But after her all grown up and smokin’ hot childhood bestie kissed her to help her save face, she’s left wondering if it was the tequila or his lips that gave her all the feels.

Garrett Monroe had no intention of falling for his childhood best friend.

Unfortunately, one unplanned kiss in a bar was all it took for him to stumble. 

Now he’s stuck with a crush that won’t quit on the most stubborn woman he’s ever known.

Soon enough they’re overwhelmed by out-of-control feelings, one match making momma, and two tight knit families who think they’re dating when they’re not.

Or are they?

Nothing stays secret in Green Valley, Tennessee.

Can Molly and Garrett navigate the nosy waters and fall for each other in private?

Or will secrets sink their friendship instead? 

‘Hotshot and Hospitality’ is a full-length contemporary romance, can be read as a standalone, and is book #8 in the Green Valley Library series, Green Valley Chronicles, Penny Reid Book Universe.

Grab your copy TODAY!

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/3yVRqI4

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3CRJ8TV

Amazon CA: https://amzn.to/3smSOAG

Amazon AU: https://amzn.to/3jXfa89

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3gdJt9B

Excerpt

“Hey, Garrett,” I returned with haphazard enthusiasm after he made it to the circle booth and nudged me over with his hip. Garrett and I used to be close. We were the same age and had been the best of friends until hormones, other friends, and teenage angst—mostly mine—caused us to drift apart somewhere around age fifteen. We’d remained cordial to each other during our high school years, often running with the same crowd and sometimes even hanging out, but we’d no longer been best friends. I hadn’t spent a lot of time alone with Garrett over the last decade and a half; he’d blown out of Green Valley after graduation to go to college, then enlisted in the Marines right after. He’d been back for about four years and the laws of small-town living dictated that I saw him all the time. Small talk was our thing now—chitchat, a gathering of mutual friends here at Genie’s, the occasional family barbeque, that kind of stuff. “I got stood up, there are too many assholes named Chris in Green Valley, and now I’m totally freaking drunk and alone.” I felt like I could admit it to him. Garrett had always kept my secrets, and he’d know everything soon enough anyway.

His gaze warmed on me as his easy smile slid to the side. “Well, whoever he is, he’s a fool. And, weirdly, I’ve only met one Chris who was worth a damn. The rest? All pricks. So, it seems like you’re better off.” He was decisive as he stole my water and took a sip with his eyes twinkling at me over the rim of the glass. I watched him set the glass down and my own eyes narrowed as his grin broadened and his dimples deepened within the dark whiskers that covered his square jaw. He was close to having a full beard. He was also pretty dang close to being the finest man in the whole stinking bar too. He leaned in, right into my space. “You should have stayed married to me,” he murmured into my ear, then his eyes met and held mine as he pulled away.

My eyebrows hit my hairline and I barely managed to prevent my jaw from dropping before I shot back a response that I hoped conveyed the proper amount of flippant wit and not the fact that he had completely flabbergasted me. He hadn’t flirted with me like this when I saw him at the Piggly Wiggly last Saturday. No, he surely did not. “We were six years old, Garrett. I don’t think it was legally binding, since your dog performed the ceremony. Plus, you never even gave me a ring. Ring Pops don’t count.” I mean, two could play at whatever strange game this was clearly becoming.

Instead of answering me right away, he winked and studied my face with a grin. That wink hit me right between my eyes like a Nerf dart from our days of yore—I didn’t just see it, I felt it. Bam! Tingles shot from my head to my toes. My brain scrambled inside my head and my mouth opened to say something smart, but nothing came out. Freaking tequila! I shook my metaphorical fist at the liquor that had stunted my normal standard of witty banter.

“But we pinky swore it, Coop.” His comically exaggerated pout was adorable. I felt my cheeks heat as I found myself staring avidly at his mouth in lusty contemplation, rather than just merely reading his lips. Why had I never noticed how full and bitable his lower lip was? I bet it was tasty too. “Remember how we spit into our palms to seal the deal?” he asked. I shook my head while my eyes roamed all over every inch of him I could see above the table.

“How soon they forget.” His chest rose and fell as he let out a huge sigh, and to my shame, my eyes bugged out at the sight. All my thoughts fluttered around in my brain like drunk, demented butterflies. Why was winky-flirt Garrett messing me up? I decided to place the blame on the tequila instead of the fact that he was looking ten different kinds of hot tonight. I finally managed to haul my gaze from his broad chest, which was currently testing the strength of his black T-shirt, and back up to his whiskey brown eyes that were still freaking twinkling at me.

Ugh! There was nowhere to look on him that wasn’t sexy, damn it.

And was he flirting with me?

Me?

We’d known each other since babyhood, for crap’s sake. We used to take baths together—me, him, and Mr. Bubble. We’d never flirted before. Ever.

Had we? 

About Nora Everly

Nora Everly is a lifelong bookworm. She started reading the good stuff once she grew tall enough to sneak the romance novels off the top of her mother’s bookshelf and it has been non-stop ever since.

Once upon a time she was a substitute teacher and an educational assistant. Now she’s a writer and stay at home mom to two small humans and one fat cat.

Nora lives in the Pacific Northwest with her family and her overactive imagination.

Find Nora Everly online

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Books, New Release, Romance, series

BLOG TOUR ⭐️⭐️ NEW RELEASE ⭐️⭐️ HEAVY PETTING, BOYS OF THE BAYOU GONE WILD BOOK 2 ⭐️⭐️ BY ERIN NICHOLAS ⭐️⭐️

Beth

He’s her best friend.
A reformed bad boy turned hot teacher.
And after one spur-of-the-moment Vegas wedding… her husband.

Heavy Petting, an all-new heartwarming and laugh-out-loud romantic comedy in the Boys of the Bayou Gone Wild Series by New York Times bestselling author Erin Nicholas is available now!

He’s her best friend.
A reformed bad boy turned hot teacher.
And after one spur-of-the-moment Vegas wedding… her husband.

Jordan Benoit and Fletcher Landry have been best friends since they were six. He’s always been The Guy. When she needed picked up, cheered up, or lifted up–like literally, to see the stage at a concert–Fletcher was the guy.

So when her boyfriend dumps her–on national TV–Fletcher immediately gets on a plane and comes to her rescue.

And when she ends up in a Vegas wedding chapel and needs someone to say, “I do”…yep, Fletcher’s the guy. Of course.

But being The Guy 24/7 is a lot. He just wants everyone to give him a freaking minute to get this marriage thing right. Including his sexy, sweet new wife who he’s wanted for three years. Who is exasperatingly, temptingly all-in from minute one.

Jordan knows what she wants. A life in her hometown. A job with alpacas. And Fletcher. Not necessarily in that order.

They’ve said the vows. They’d told the world. They’ve told their grandmas. Forget taking things slow. Forget just heavy petting. Forget any chance of backing out when things get tough. They’re going to have to go all the way, in every way.

After all, friends becoming lovers should be the easiest thing in the world. Right?

Experience all the feels today!
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vck59s
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Excerpt

“I also think that I need to—”
“Marry me.”
“Date you.”
They spoke at the same time.
Then stared at each other.
“What?”
“What?”
They spoke simultaneously again.
“I was trying to give you some freaking space before I said anything.” He seemed very annoyed suddenly.
She leaned in, bracing her hand on the seat between them. “The last person I need space from is you, Fletcher. I mean, we’ve basically been dating for twenty years. If dating is about getting to know someone and figuring out how well you fit with them and figuring out if you want to spend the rest of your life with them…we’ve done that.”
He shook his head. “You have got to be one of the most exasperating people in my life.”
Her eyebrows rose. “Considering your twin brothers are Zeke and Zander, being one of the most exasperating people in your life is pretty huge.”
He shook his head. “Absolutely exasperating. To think I could’ve kissed you when we were standing next to a king-sized bed and you were only in your bra and panties and you would have been all in.”
Jordan felt her cheeks flush, but she grinned widely. “I really am a pain.”
“You really are.” His gaze dropped to her mouth.
Jordan felt a zing of excitement go through her. She really wanted him to kiss her.
“I think you dating me is a great idea,” he said after a moment.
Thank God.
“You’re sure you’re done dating other people? Having fun with all those girls? All the casual relationships?” she asked.
“If it means I get to be with you? Absolutely.”
Her stomach swooped, harder and faster than before. “This isn’t crazy?”
“It makes a hell of a lot more sense than anything else. Like you dating other men. Or either of us being with anyone else.”
“We’ve never talked about this before.”
“You’ve been taken,” he said simply.
Right. That was true. And Fletcher was too good of a guy to go after another man’s girl.
She still felt compelled to say, “It’s been three years since anything happened.”
“Again, because you’ve been taken.” His voice dropped. “Only because you’ve been taken, Jordan.”
Her heart skittered at that and she wet her lips. She thought about her next words carefully. Several seconds ticked by. Then she said simply, “Prove it.”
Fletcher reached out, wrapped his big hand around her wrist, and tugged her close. He cupped the back of her head and brought her in until they were nose to nose. “This changes everything,” he said. Almost as if it was a warning.
“I know.”
“I’m the last frog you’re ever going to kiss. So be sure you want it now.”
That was exactly what she’d wanted to hear without even realizing it.

About Erin Nicholas

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Erin Nicholas has been writing romances almost as long as she’s been reading them. To date, she’s written over thirty sexy, contemporary novels that have been described as “toe-curling,” “enchanting,” “steamy,” and “fun.” She adores reluctant heroes, imperfect heroines, and happily ever afters.
Erin lives in the Midwest, where she enjoys spending time with her husband (who only wants to read the sex scenes in her books), her kids (who will never read the sex scenes in her books), and her family and friends (who claim to be “shocked” by the sex scenes in her books).

Connect with Erin
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BLOG TOUR!! New Smartypants Romance release! Max About Ewe, Common Threads #1, by Susannah Nix

Beth

Mad About Ewe, an all-new heartwarming second-chance romance from Susannah Nix, is now available in Kindle Unlimited! 

REVIEW: Thanks to the author and Smartypants Romance for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This book had great potential. I don’t read blurbs and I have never read this author. But I love SPR, so I was all in! Unfortunately this book seemed like a YA romance to me.

The good:

The couple was in their late 40s/early 50s. MY AGE! It’s so rare to find that. There are only a couple authors I know that write this age well.

Second chance romance. It’s one of my very favorite tropes, especially if the couple has a complicated history! These two knew each other in high school. She had a crush on him, he hardly knew she existed. We’ve all been there, right?

The connection to the Knitting in the City world. I am such a big fan of Penny Reid, and I’ve read most of the SPR books. Some do a better job with connecting to the world they’re written in than others. For some, a mere mention of a beloved character seems to be all they think is needed. Others are COMPLETELY entrenched in that world. (Guess which one I prefer?!?)

Post-divorce, grown kids, figuring out life on your own, yes. I’m here for it.

The bad:

I hate being negative in my words and in my reviews. I hate being negative in my life! I am like Dawn in this way. I don’t want to step on anyone’s toes or hurt anyone’s feelings. I’d rather not say anything at all. This is not a good way to be, and I’m working on it.

Dawn and Mike both have this issue! So much of their inner monologue was them not wanting to use their words because they were projecting their own feelings on the other. I found this annoying while at the same time completely empathizing with it. I feel this way in life, I don’t want my characters to feel that way! Just a personal preference.

There was the old standby “I found this out by accident” scenario. I hate this in books. However, I will say that they didn’t just sweep it under the rug, they did deal with it. But I prefer more depth in my Big Conflict.

The sexy times were not sexy to me. “I wanted him to plow me like an open field.” No.

It read like YA fiction. It was a good story, but I’d hoped for more. Also the promo materials pictured a couple that was so obviously not in the proper age group. It’s a small thing, but important to me. If the book is about a 51 year old woman, please don’t have the one pictured not even be 30.

I was super happy it didn’t end with an engagement, though. I’m so tired of that in romance books.

This will not stop me from reading this author’s work. I was just disappointed in what could have really been an excellent story for those of us more “seasoned” readers.

Dawn Botstein is doing just fine after her divorce, thank you very much.

She’s got her yarn store to run, her house to herself for the first time in her life, and no use for men anymore. That is until the hottie silver fox who walks into her store turns out to be her old high school crush—the guy who rejected her 30 years ago.

No way is she going to lose her head over him this time, no matter how well he wears that salt-and-pepper lumberjack beard. Okay, so he’s the opposite of her ex in every way, and his attention gives her a thrill she thought she’d never feel again. She’s not risking her heart again.

Mike Pilota is having a mid-life crisis.

Only instead of buying a red sports car he can’t afford and dressing like a 25-year-old who’s time-traveled from the 1990s, he quit his job after his second divorce to move closer to his recently widowed mother.

He didn’t expect to run into Dawn again, but as soon as he lays eyes on her he’s utterly smitten. So he sets out to make up for past mistakes and prove he can be the kind of man she deserves.

But is it too late for second chances? Or will these two lonely hearts find a way back to each other?

‘Mad About Ewe’ is a full-length contemporary romance and can be read as a standalone. Book #1 in the Common Threads series, Seduction in the City World, Penny Reid Book Universe.  

Read for FREE in Kindle Unlimited!

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/399SCgE

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/35Wn4Zz

Amazon CA: https://amzn.to/394iuuu

Amazon AU: https://amzn.to/3fpPfDs

Amazon Print: https://amzn.to/3l7pbQf

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/3ockxRN

Audiobook: Coming later this year! 

Excerpt

Mike Pilota sent you a friend request.

I’d received the notification a week ago but still hadn’t responded. I’d just left it hanging there, unanswered. Ignored.

Out of spite? Perhaps a little. After he’d rejected me yet again, I had to admit I enjoyed the thought of Mike getting a taste of that same rejection for once. I liked to picture him sitting at home, futilely checking his notifications day after day, waiting for a reply that would never come.

I wanted him to know that I wasn’t desperate for his attention and would not be begging for treats like a pet Labrador. I couldn’t care less whether I ever spoke to Mike again.

Of course, it was just as likely he’d forgotten he even sent the request by now. There was no reason to assume he was in any way invested in my response.

I couldn’t imagine why he’d sent it in the first place. Why now? Why would you send a friend request to someone you’d brushed off?

I hadn’t even realized Mike was active on Facebook, which was probably just as well. It had saved me from years of pathetic cyberstalking. And it would be pathetic to be hung up on a man you’d had a childish crush on thirty years ago.

Good thing I wasn’t.

I’d meant what I’d said about being done with Mike Pilota. Finito. Over and out. So long, and thanks for all the fish.

So it was annoying in the extreme when I walked into The Old House Pub and saw him sitting next to Angie. My steps, which had been confident and quick as I entered the bar, faltered as I recognized him.

How? Why? What the blazing hell was Mike doing here?

My eyes narrowed as they homed in on my best friend, the obvious answer to all my questions. She must have recruited Mike for her reunion committee. And I could guess why.

It was clearly some misguided attempt to force another reunion between me and Mike in the hopes that, against all odds, this time sparks would finally fly, and he’d realize his secret attraction to me which he’d been repressing all these years.

Did I mention Angie was a bit of a fantasist?

Obviously, there was no way any of that would happen. The far more likely scenario was that Mike and I would try our level best to ignore each other’s existence while pretending there was no lingering awkwardness between us.

That was my game plan anyway. Mike could do what he liked.

Gathering a deep breath, I forced my feet to carry me to the table where Mike and Angie were seated. There were six chairs, and I set my sights on the one farthest from Mike.

Angie spotted my approach immediately and called out a greeting. Mike looked up, and our eyes caught and held for a charged second before I forcibly tore my gaze away to pin my best friend with an accusatory glare. Angie grinned back at me and shrugged, as if she knew exactly what she’d done wrong and didn’t care one bit.

Before I could claim the chair diagonally across from Mike, he leapt to his feet. “Here, you probably want to sit next to Angie,” he said, and held his own chair out for me.

I had no choice but to accept his offer at that point without looking like an ill-mannered ingrate. Mumbling my thanks, I draped my purse over the back of the chair and sat down.

To my consternation, Mike took the seat right next to me at the head of the table. He was so close our knees brushed as he scooted his chair forward, and I jerked my legs away from him as if I’d been zapped with electricity.

“It’s good to see you again,” he said in that warm, gravelly voice that used to make my limbs quiver like a gelatin mold on a mechanical bull. Fortunately, I was completely over my childish infatuation with him, and therefore impervious to his sexy man voice.

I looked up to find him smiling at me, his lips curved invitingly and framed by his neatly trimmed beard, and my heart gave a little involuntary jump in my chest.

Well, crud.

Perhaps I wasn’t quite as over Mike as I’d hoped. 

About Susannah Nix

Susannah Nix is an award-winning author of contemporary romances featuring smart women and swoony men, including the Chemistry Lessons series of romcoms about women who work in STEM fields and the Starstruck series of movie star romances. 

Susannah resides in Texas with her husband, two ornery cats, and a flatulent pit bull. When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading, cooking, knitting, watching stupid amounts of television, and getting distracted by Tumblr. She is also a powerlifter who can deadlift as much as Captain America weighs.

Find Susannah Nix online

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B072KHZS5W 

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

Facebook Reader Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/160037207970579/ 

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/susannah-nix 

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

Goodreads:https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16880740.Susannah_Nix 

Twitter: @Susannah_Nix 

Website: https://www.susannahnix.com/ 

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Book Review, Books, Christmas, netgalley, New Release, Romance, Uncategorized

Book Review: In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren

Beth

5 out of 5 spectacularly seasonal stars

I never read blubs, especially from authors that I love, because I trust them to tell me a good story. In the case of Christina Lauren, I trust them to give me an excellent story, and this is exactly what I got with In a Holidaze.

Here’s the official description: “It’s the most wonderful time of the year . . . but not for Maelyn Jones. She’s living with her parents, hates her going-nowhere job and has just made a romantic error of epic proportions.

But perhaps worst of all, this is the last Christmas Mae will be at her favourite place in the world – the snowy cabin where she and her family have spent every holiday since she was born. Mentally melting down as she drives away for the final time, Mae throws out what she thinks is a simple plea to the universe: Please. Show me what will make me happy.

The next thing she knows, everything goes black . . . When Mae gasps awake, she’s back on an airplane, beginning the same holiday all over again. With one hilarious disaster after another sending her back to the plane, Mae must figure out how to break free of the strange time loop – and finally get her true love under the mistletoe.

Jam-packed with yuletide cheer, an unforgettable cast of characters, and Christina Lauren’s trademark hilarious hijinks, this swoon-worthy romantic read will make you believe in the power of wishes and the magic of the holidays.“

Since I don’t read blurbs, I had no idea what I was getting into with In a Holidaze, but it ended up being precisely my cup of tea. It starts off with a normal holiday gathering, and all of a sudden, there’s time travel involved! This is also the story of two people who have known each other as friends their entire lives, and I love a couple with a complicated history! There is a big, wonderful cast of characters in addition to Maelyn and Andrew. Sometimes it’s difficult for me to keep track of who’s who in books like this, but these characters were so delightful. It was so fun getting to know them, and they were very easy to distinguish from one another.

Since the main character, Maelyn, bounces back in time and repeats the Christmas holidays over and over again, there is an element of suspense throughout the last half of the book, as you wait to find out if she’s going to lose everything she’s gained in the current go-round by ending back on the plane. I kept thinking “Don’t go back! Don’t go back!” and I will definitely not spoil it for you. But if you’ve read a Christina Lauren book before, you know that they can put you through a lot of heartache and drama and angst, but they don’t leave you there! I loved this book so much that I’m going to buy it on audio. I don’t always have time to reread a book, but there’s always time to listen to one!

Thanks to the Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Books, Free book, Romance, series, Uncategorized

**FREE** from Staci Hart! With a Twist, book one from the Bad Habit series **FREE**

Beth

With A Twist, the first in the Bad Habits series from Staci Hart, is FREE for a limited time. This friends to lovers romance is just what you need! Available now for free from all online book retailers.

Amazon | AppleBooks | Kobo | B&N | Google

Love is somewhere near the bottom of Lily Thomas’ list of life goals, right next to competitive eating and underwater cave diving. She’s spent six years pirouetting and pliéing her way up the ranks of the New York Ballet with her eye on the prize and love in the back seat. But now that Blane Baker — Lily’s long time crush — is finally single, she’ll throw her rules out the window without thinking twice.

Reality with Blane isn’t as epic as the fantasy she imagined, and the truth sends her spinning straight into the arms of the man she never knew she’d always wanted.

West Williams has been friends with Lily since the day she moved into their building and he saved her armoire from a swift, sudden death by staircase. Their friendship has always been easy, the boundaries clearly defined. With neither of them willing to risk their relationship, they’ve drifted happily through the years as companions, never considering more.

 

That is, until they do. And that realization changes everything.

With a Twist is a standalone romantic comedy and part of the Bad Habits series.

Staci has been a lot of things up to this point in her life — a graphic designer, an entrepreneur, a seamstress, a clothing and handbag designer, a waitress. Can’t forget that. She’s also been a mom, with three little girls who are sure to grow up to break a number of hearts. She’s been a wife, though she’s certainly not the cleanest, or the best cook. She’s also super, duper fun at a party, especially if she’s been drinking whiskey. When she’s not writing, she’s reading, sleeping, gaming, or designing graphics.

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Book Review, Books, Romance, series, Uncategorized

Book Review – New Release – Heartland, Truth North series #7 by Sarina Bowen

Beth

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5 of 5 emotional stars

I love Sarina Bowen’s books, especially the Truth North series. I’ve read all but book 6, even though I own it; I just haven’t had the opportunity to read it yet. I was selected to be a member of Sarina’s ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) team recently, and was given the opportunity to read and review this 7th book, and I jumped at the chance.

This book is interesting, because it has a connection not only to the Shipley family and the other Vermont folks we’ve met in the rest of the series, but our heroine has a deep personal history with the hero in book 3, Keepsake. Chastity and Zachariah were both raised on a polygamist ranch in Wyoming, but it would be a spoiler for me to say much more than that. One thing I will say is that they each had to overcome seriously messed up views of men and women and sex. It’s one of the things that made Keepsake such an interesting read, as well. Keepsake looks at it from a man’s point of view, and Heartland sees it from a woman’s.

If you’ve read any of my previous blog posts, you may know that I don’t read blurbs, especially when it’s an author I love.  I actually don’t want to know what is going to happen in a book (or movie or TV show) before I read or watch it. If I know something ahead of time, I’ll spend the whole time anticipating when that thing is going to happen, and I won’t be fully present. So I did not know anything about what Heartland was going to be about, except that the main character was Dylan Shipley.

The last book I read as part of an ARC team was Crush, by Mae Wood. I love her books, but I didn’t really like this one because the heroine was 22. It has been a long time since I was 22, and I couldn’t relate, plus I have a daughter who is 20, so I usually avoid books about kids in college. Dylan is 20, and the heroine, Chastity, is 21, and yet I didn’t have a problem with this story. I’m not really sure what the difference was, but I was hooked from the start of this book and I didn’t want to put it down!

Book Review, Books, New Release, Romance, series, Uncategorized

New Release! Sugarcoated, book 1 in a new series by Erin Nicholas!

Beth

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5 of 5 scrumptious stars

I love Erin Nicholas. Her books are the perfect combination of sweet and sexy. This lady knows how to write, and her characters never have conflicts that are the result of a stupid misunderstanding. The strife that their relationships go through – and overcome – comes from a more organic place, and it always makes SENSE. I always roll my eyes in disgust when one character in a story overhears the other, or discovers something on their laptop, or finds out something important before their significant other has the opportunity to tell them. Erin Nicholas could have done any of these things in Sugarcoated, which is the first book in her new Hot Cakes series. But she DIDN’T.  And I love her for it.

Sugarcoated is the story of Zoe and Aiden. They’ve known each other since they were kids; they grew up together. Aiden is Zoe’s brother Cam’s best friend, and he practically lived with them after his mom passed away. Zoe runs the bakery that has been in her family for many years. Aiden is back in town after moving away to run a very successful business with four of his best friends. He’s back for two reasons: because he loves Zoe and wants to have a future with her, and he and his friends are buying the pastry factory that Zoe and her family sees as their number one competition. It’s a very interesting premise for a story, and Erin Nicholas handles it so well.

I just loved this book. It was so well-written, and the storyline was fun, and sexy, and sets up nicely the rest of the books in the series. If you haven’t read her Sapphire Falls series, that is definitely the place to start. There are enough books in that series to get you through this lockdown quarantine business!!

Buy Sugarcoated on Amazon

audiobook, Books, New Release, Romance

New Audiobook Release – Blindsided by Amy Daws

Beth

HAPPY AUDIO RELEASE DAY TO AMY DAWS! 

BLINDSIDED is a sexy sports romance standalone that was an Amazon Top 100 bestseller for eight weeks straight and is NOW LIVE ON AUDIO! 

⚽ 🎧⚽ 🎧 ⚽

What happens when an almost thirty-year-old virgin agrees to let her Scottish footballer best friend give her some lessons in seduction?

Lots of banter, awkwardness, jealousy, and heat.

Midfielder Maclay “Mac” Logan is a loud-mouthed, tattooed ginger content with focusing on football. But when an adorably-freckled seamstress comes barreling into his life, he finds Netflix-And-Bickering with her to be his new favorite pastime.

Freya Cook is used to being the invisible woman with a needle and thread, offering cheeky punchlines as she helps dress London’s finest. She’s plus-sized in body and spirit, and other than her friendship with Mac, talking to the opposite sex is one skill she never mastered.

However, after one innocent game of Never Have I Ever, Mac offers to play Love Coach for Freya.

What neither of them see coming are the feelings that develop when the clothes come off.

Now they’re both about to learn the biggest lesson of all: Don’t fall in love with your best friend.

⚽️⚽️⚽️

 

Check out the duet narration brilliance bringing the action to your ears!

Get the Audiobook now -> http://bit.ly/BlindsidedAudioUS

 Never have I ever…given my virginity to my best friend. 

Plus-sized and quirky, Freya Cook, agrees to let her loud-mouthed, Scottish best friend give her some lessons in seduction. But when professional footballer, Mac Logan finds out his best friend isn’t just inexperienced, she’s also a virgin, he realizes he can help her in more ways than one.

#Blindsided #AmyDaws #Audiobook #ScottishAudioBrilliance #KiltyPleasure#SportsRomance #Standalone #ScottishHero #BritishHeroine #OppositesAttract#FriendsToLovers