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GRIND
Gymbros #3
K.M. Neuhold
Amazon
July 3, 2026

Hockey star Diego Ferguson says he knows about the grind, but he’s about to learn that his new personal trainer, Callan, gives the word a whole new meaning.

Everyone in Chicago has been following the news about Diego's injury and the last season spent on the bench. It doesn’t hurt that he's got a major sexy brood going on in every picture I see of him these days.

The last place I expected him to show up was Sweat. But he's looking for a personal trainer to help him get fully back in shape before the season, and I'm just the guy for the job.

It figures that he's straight, but that doesn’t mean I can't enjoy the view while I help get his fine backside ready to get back out on the ice. He's also desperate for some bro time in between workouts, and I'm more than qualified to be the guy for that job too.

Maybe he's not as straight as he claims. Maybe he just needs a little fun to get his confidence back up after last season. Maybe I'll let myself indulge in a harmless fling with a cocky, bi-curious hockey player as a little treat. I work hard after all, and I deserve a little fun too.

We both know it can't last, but puck it, a summer fling is always a good time.


graphics from author's FB page

 
Diego Ferguson is a defenseman for the Chicago Huskies who has been off for hip surgery and a bit lost. His longtime girlfriend left him, and he is worried about getting back on the ice and about teammate dynamics. He's broody, kind of depressed, and in limbo.

When one of his teammates refers him to a trainer at an outside gym, he had no idea it was just a joke, and he sent him to a very gay friendly gym. But there he stumbles upon Callan again. They had previously met one night in a bar and enjoyed a bit of bro-like teasing. 

Callan is a personal trainer. He is friendly, fun, competitive, and motivating, and is just who Diego needs to kick him into the training zone. 

They start to train, hang out, and crush a bit. It is confusing for Diego who has always identified as straight. And Callan has a history of falling for closeted athletes who never want a real relationship with him. But Diego's getting more curious and tired of overthinking, and Callan can't resist letting him explore. As they cruise into a fling and situationship, the reality about a set timeline and the start of a new season is looming over them.

I loved these two together. They have such fun banter, competitive spirits, passion, and motivate and inspire each other. Diego feels seen and understood by Callan, but also cannot cause any kind of drama coming back to his team. And Callan knows he is probably heading for a fall, but cannot help himself. The bi-awakening component was done well and Diego's hockey career added complexity to the situation. 

It brings back the guys from previous books and teases Fender's story. This series is fun and steamy, and I love the dynamics of the gym crew. 



Jacked
Gymbos #1
Goodreads
Amazon
Kim's review

I'm starting to think hooking up with my gym bro roommate might be kind of gay…

The thing about guys is that we communicate on a physical, primal level. A hearty slap on the backside just means “good game, bro”. Some good old fashioned roughhousing just means we’re comfortable with each other. Some late night stress relief? Just dudes being dudes…

Right?

If I were gay, I wouldn't be able to stop thinking about what his lips taste like. I'd want to spend all my time with him and miss him when he's not around. I would find his god awful cooking skills a little charming.

But none of that is true… almost none of it.

We’re just friends. Just roommates. Just a couple of guys doing what guys do.

Of course I love him like a bro, but I'm not falling in love with my roommate, no matter how cool and funny and jacked he is.

Nope, not gonna happen…

Jacked is a low angst, double bi-awakening, idiots to lovers with a pair of meat head roommates stumbling their way through falling in love with each other without even realizing it. Lots of wholesome masculinity, an Only One Sleeping Bag moment, and ‘Bro’ as a term of endearment.


Pumped
Gymbos #2
Goodreads
Amazon
Kim's review

I’m just a nerd, standing in front of a bench press, asking it not to humiliate me in front of my gym crush

I’ve never walked into a gym on purpose in my life, and I’m not sure which part is more shocking, the massive beefcake who immediately challenges me to arm wrestle or the fact that I kind of want to come back.

I spent years of my life refusing to lift anything heavier than a textbook, and it shows. I never expected that coming to the gym and bulking up would give me more gender euphoria than all the T shots in the world.

The crush I’m developing on my Golden Retriever of a personal trainer, Butch, though? Yeah, I should have seen that one coming.

Butch is a guy’s guy. Jockstraps, armpit licking, Sweat enthusiast… what could he possibly find exciting about a scrawny, book-ish nerd like me?

I’m just going to try not to drool on him too hard while he helps me get pumped. And I’m for sure not going to do anything stupid like falling in love with him…


Website | Facebook | Neuhold's Nerds Group | Twitter | Instagram | BookBub

Author K.M.Neuhold is a complete romance junkie, a total sap in every way. She started her journey as an author in new adult, MF romance, but after a chance reading of an MM book she was completely hooked on everything about lovely- and sometimes damaged- men finding their Happily Ever After together. She has a strong passion for writing characters with a lot of heart and soul, and a bit of humor as well. And she fully admits that her OCD tendencies of making sure every side character has a full backstory will likely always lead to every book having a spin-off or series. When she’s not writing she’s a lion tamer, an astronaut, and a superhero…just kidding, she’s likely watching Netflix and snuggling with her husky while her amazing husband brings her coffee.

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Don't Fall
E.M. Lindsey
Amazon
July 1, 2026

Why you need to #ONECLICK this book…

🔥Enemies to Lovers

🔥Forced Proximity

🔥Only One Bed

🔥Praise Kink

🔥Grumpy/Sunshine

🔥Grumpy falls first

🔥Hate Sex

🔥Best Friend's Brother

🔥MM Romance


That’s it. My neighbor has to die. There’s no other way around it. The man must be killed—and I’ll even find a way to do it gently, but this cannot go on.

Okay, maybe I’m a bit dramatic, but living next to my brother’s best friend who decided to befriend the crows that spend all week spreading garbage across my lawn is not what I signed up for.

I wanted quiet.
I wanted peace.
I wanted to stop fantasizing about the gorgeous man I couldn’t stand.

Unfortunately for me, North is a big presence with an annoyingly sunny smile and a way of making life sound like it’s worth living. And as a widower who wants to spend the rest of my life wallowing, the last person I want around is one who makes me question my new life’s purpose.

But these feelings can’t be real, can they? I had my great love, and I lost him. So that’s supposed to be it for me.
Isn’t that the way things go?

I can’t seem to stay away from North, even when I know I should. And when he starts to make me feel like maybe there’s another happily ever after out there, I find that as cautious as I’ve taken each step, I’m on the verge of falling once more.

Don’t Fall is the first book in the small town, enemies to lovers, heavy yearning, MM romance series, Storm Season. It features a virgin EMT whose smile is hiding a lot of things, a disgruntled, grieving writer who just wants solid sleep and a good meal, neighborhood crows 


North Wright is a firefighter/first responder. He’s  a people pleaser and so used to being responsible and taking care of everyone but himself that he’s feeling kind of burned out. He gave up the idea of a career he loved to take the job that would help him support his mother and sisters, but now he’s kind of lost, lonely,  and unfulfilled.  His romantic lifehas been and is still void, and he is actually a virgin. 

His back neighbor is Leo Harris, who’s the younger brother of his best friend, Easton. Leo has been through loss and trauma that still left him with lasting physical and cognitive challenges. He can’t do the things he used to do, and he feels like he’ll never find love again or crawl his way back into some semblance of a life that makes him happy. He is intense and a perfectionist, but doesn't always take care of himself. He struggles, and his brother tries to help, but Leo also wants to be independent.

And he is annoyed by North because the friendly crows that hang out at North's house like to come and tear up his yard and trash. Both of these guys have a bit of a physical attraction to each other and maybe a little crush. But on the surface, they dislike each other and keep annoying each other. But when North realizes that he kinda likes helping take care of Leo in his own way, they spend more time together. Things might just change.

Both of these guys had past trauma and self-worth issues. They both didn’t know if they would be able to find somebody who would look at them and truly want them with all of their emotional and physical scars. These two start out sniping fighting and saying the wrong thing, but a lot of it was self protection and actually being afraid of how interested they were in the other person. I enjoyed seeing their vulnerability come out in both of them and see how they both tried to support each other in their own ways.

This is a grumpy-sumshine, enemies-to-lovers, best friend’s brother, virgin and widow, forced proximity, secret relationship, firefighter, small town romance. These two do not understand why they react so strongly to each other. There is misunderstanding and miscommunication that complicate things and then there’s just drama going on in both of their current lives. And they both have a lot of past trauma and baggage. So there’s a lot of meat to this story and these are not cookie cutter characters. They both deal with challenges, guilt, regret, fear, and self-worth issues. Even the side characters have been given enough backstory to make them intriguing, interesting, and complicated. I’m really interested in the couple for the second book because they’re definitely acting as enemies, but you can tell there’s something underlying it as well.

I think this is a good start to a new Storm Season series and I really enjoy reading about characters that have challenges and limitations and seeing them get to find love even when they don’t think they will or that they deserve it. This author does such a fantastic job with disability rep. It just makes it all the more special when they can see each other's perceived flaws and embrace them as part of the person and love them all the more for them. 

Meet E.M. Lindsey:

E.M. Lindsey is a Romance author, an ancient historian, and avid lover of nerdy things.  EM lives on the East Coast of the United States.  


Connect with E.M. Lindsey:

https://linktr.ee/emlindseyauthor


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Code Name: EMBER
Jameson Force Seattle #1
Sawyer Bennett
Amazon
June 30, 2026

After a career in special forces, then as a smokejumper, Cole Mercer is ready for a new challenge. When he hears that the world-renowned covert operations team at Jameson Force Security is opening a facility in Seattle, Cole knows exactly where he belongs. What he doesn’t expect is to come face-to-face with the woman he never stopped loving—the one who walked away before either of them said goodbye.

Investigative journalist Tessa Ward has uncovered proof that a powerful real estate developer is tied to a string of deadly wildfires in the Pacific Northwest. It’s the kind of story that could make her career… or end her life. When her source is murdered in cold blood, Tessa realizes the truth is more dangerous than she ever imagined. With no other options, Tessa knows she has no choice but to turn to the one man she swore she’d never ask for help.

Some fires are set on purpose. Others never stop burning.

Their past ended in heartbreak, but when it’s clear she’s being hunted, Tessa and Cole are forced to set aside their hurt. As they chase a trail of corruption, arson, and murder, every life-or-death decision reignites old passions. But the closer they get to the truth, the more dangerous the game becomes—and one wrong move could cost them everything, including each other.





Tessa Ward is an investigative reporter who has just been in the wrong place at the wrong time and is now concerned about her safety. And the only person she can think to call is her old boyfriend who now works for the new Jameson Security office in Seattle. 

Cole Mercer is an ex-Army Special Forces and smoke jumper now turned private security specialist in the ultra-tech security business. And he is not prepared to hear from his old love and realize that she is in danger. He is smart, capable, protective, and determined to keep her out of harm's way. I loved Cole is such a devoted and likable guy, but despite his usual control and strength, the thought of her being hurt really affects him. 

Tessa is stubborn, relentless, driven, and sometimes reckless. She is determined to break this story no matter the cost. She is resistant to all the measures Cole wants to take to protect her. Sometimes she frustrated me a bit.

They have a lot of unresolved feelings and tension between them. Along the way, they are reconnecting and realize just how scary it is to find each other again and face the risk of loss. 

This is a second-chance, forced proximity, one-that-got-away, working together and romantic suspense story centered around a dangerous investigation and threats. It kept me intrigued and interested throughout. It starts a new spin-off Seattle series and brings back from old friends from the previous Jameson series and brings us some new ones. I am looking forward to more with this new team.

Tessa Ward is an investigative journalist on the trail of corrupt business practices in the Pacific Northwest. When her source is killed in front of her, she knows the evidence he collected and passed to her must be correct and her only hope is that her identity is still secret. But that’s a chance she can’t take, so she turns to the only person she knows who might be able to help her dig deeper: an ex who couldn’t handle the dangers of her job when they dated years ago.

Cole Mercer is a former smoke-jumper and Special Forces operative who now works for Jamison Force Security in their Seattle expansion office. He never expects to hear from Tessa again, but when he learns she is in danger he can’t help but jump in to protect her and try to control the situation.

As they work together to sift through Tessa’s evidence and Tessa builds her story, it becomes clear that not only does Tessa have a target on her back, but the story has a wider reach than she predicted at the start.

I loved the proximity and the way it forced them to confront the parts of their past that were still holding each of them back. Their chemistry was strong from the beginning.

There were times that Tessa, though fierce and capable, made decisions that made it hard to not be frustrated at her. But she does have a solid head on her shoulders and is a good problem solver under pressure.

I had the opportunity to listen to an advance copy of the audio and love the way Stephen Dexter and Kelsey Navarro Foster gave life to these characters. There were a couple moments where local place name pronunciations pulled me out of the story, but these are minor and the average listener won’t notice. I was otherwise able to sit back and be immersed in this suspenseful world as the narrators added intensity to the character’s plight.

I have always enjoyed the Jameson Force team and am looking forward to continuing their story in a part of the country that holds my heart.


SAWYER BENNETT
Connect with Sawyer Bennett

New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author Sawyer Bennett uses real life experience to create relatable stories that appeal to a wide array of readers. From contemporary romance, fantasy romance, and both women’s and general fiction, Sawyer writes something for just about everyone.

A former trial lawyer from North Carolina, when she is not bringing fiction to life, Sawyer is a chauffeur, stylist, chef, maid, and personal assistant to her very adorable daughter, as well as full-time servant to her wonderfully naughty dogs.

If you’d like to receive a notification when Sawyer releases a new book, sign up for her newsletter (sawyerbennett.com/signup).






 


 

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Big Stick Energy
New York Legends Hockey #2
Sarina Bowen
Amazon
More Links
June 30, 2026

A hockey team captain and a bubbly staffer mix business with pleasure when they start fake dating through the wedding season in this hot sports romance perfect for fans of Mariana Zapata​ and Elle Kennedy. 

Darcy Kendrick is used to putting out fires. As an overworked admin to a hockey team, she’s seen it all. But nothing prepares her for accidentally DMing her very private, very NSFW fantasy to the subject of this fantasy: team captain Eric Tremaine. Nobody actually dies of embarrassment. Right?

But when a wedding invite puts them on a collision course with her chaotic family and his emotionally fraught past, Eric suggests a plan: they fake-date their way through the “Wedding Experience.” It’s mutually beneficial. Totally strategic. And definitely not real. Except between mini tacos, slow dances and lingering glances, Eric starts to wonder if the sharp-tongued assistant with a bottomless to-do list might be the one person who truly sees him. And for Darcy? The fire in her heart might be the only one she can’t put out.

It’s supposed to be fake. It’s supposed to be temporary. So why is it so hard to walk away?


Darcy is the GM‘s assistant for the New York Legends hockey team. She’s the Go-to girl who takes care of everything behind the scenes, and is smart, efficient, and a fixer of everything. Eric Tremaine is the team captain. He’s handsome, confident, reliable, a perfectionist, and a bit intimidating, but generally an overall nice and supportive guy. He is focused on hockey and also taking care of the guys on the team, but does not have much for just himself.

Darcy has a little problem in that she has quite a big crush on the team captain so she has to be a little guarded and prickly around him. Unfortunately, she makes a little social media blunder that alerts him to her real thoughts about Eric, and now he’s looking at her in a whole new light.

And there happens to be a big wedding experience event that they both have to attend coming up so they strike a deal to go together and be each other‘s family buffers.

From a fake wedding date, to reckless fling, to secret dating, these two find new joy in life and support and understanding that they never had before. But he is an important hockey player and she works in admin, so Darcy is worried about complications and repercussions. I really liked these two together and they had great banter and chemistry. But I could understand how things were messy between the trauma bonding over their dysfunctional families, secrecy, and perceived power balances at work. 

This is a forced proximity, secret fling, fake dating, romance centered around a pro hockey team. It brings back characters we met in the first book, and I am looking forward to the next book. 


Darcy is the team’s administrative assistant, at the owner’s beck and call, making sure travel and events go off without a hitch both at home and on the road. She loves her job and the flexibility it gives her to take a few college classes every offseason as she works to complete her degree. She is not looking forward to the wedding experience that is planned for her half-brother. There is a lot of mix feelings and tension in her very non-traditional family.

Eric is the team captain, living and breathing hockey and his team. He is available for any of his teammates, in whatever capacity they may need, at any hour of the day or night -- that’s just what a good captain does. He is also dreading an upcoming wedding invitation that is dredging up pain for his family while he also feels happiness and excitement for the bride (who was formerly engaged to his brother). While he juggles his mother’s debilitating grief, and the pressures of leading his hockey team, he learns that the highly capable admin has a crush on him, the same admin who he has memorized minute details about her preferences and personality.

I loved watching these two develop their fake-dating plan and then execute it thinking they would leave the wedding events without ties to each other. This wedding is full of chaos and family drama to navigate and having someone uninvolved in each set of drama sounds like the easiest way to help. Eric is able to shield Darcy from some of her family's arrogance and abuse, while Darcy sees to the heart of Eric’s family drama in a sensitive but cut and dry way.

The ending of this book had me giggling with emotion. I loved everything about the way these two worked through the things that were keeping them apart. Eric’s teammates provide amazing comedic relief and add another level to the responsibilities Eric is juggling at the beginning of the story.

I loved the way this came together: the workplace romance, the fake-dating, and the secret-dating. Both Eric and Darcy have a variety of family issues to process and deal with over the course of the wedding extravaganza and the following months, giving many aspects to the story beyond the initial attraction.

I can’t wait for more from this team and this series. Sarina Bowen’s hockey romances are always a great balance of sport/business, character development, and humor.

Graphics from Authors' Facebook or promo materials

 Thrown For A Loop
New York Legends Hockey #1
Goodreads 
 
Amazon | Apple | B&N | Kobo | Google | Audible
Our 4.5 star reviews

Fans suspect that the bad boy of hockey has a few skeletons in his closet. They have no idea he also has a sparkly bodysuit… #toepick!

When they met at figure skating camp ten years ago, Chase Merritt was a scrappy hockey player from the wrong part of town, and Zoe Carson was the up-and-coming ice princess. They fell in love faster than you can say triple toe loop, until Zoe makes a fateful error that ends up costing Chase dearly.

Almost a decade later, their fortunes are reversed. Chase is the MVP of the New York Legends hockey team, while Zoe—their new skating coach—has years’ worth of personal and professional bruises. It’s hard to face him again—all six feet and two hundred pounds of muscle and swagger.

And anger. Chase is in hot water with management, and refusing to work with Coach Zoe no matter how badly he needs to shore up his stride—and his image. Until a journalist digs up an old video of Zoe and Chase performing a skating program, and the internet goes wild.

Management seizes on the opportunity for a P.R. redemption, ordering Zoe and Chase to reprise their flashy routine.

Skating with him again—to a love song, of course—is pure agony. But it’s also Zoe’s only chance to unpack the truth of what really happened that night ten years ago. And to at least find forgiveness, if she can’t win back his heart.
 
Hate the Player
New York Legends Hockey #3
April 2027

Sarina Bowen
Website | Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram | Threads

Sarina Bowen is a #1 Amazon bestselling author, a 24-time USA Today bestseller, and a Wall Street Journal bestselling author of contemporary novels. Formerly a derivatives trader on Wall Street, Sarina graduated magna cum laude from Yale University with a BA in economics.

A New Englander whose Vermont ancestors cut timber and farmed the north country in the 1760s, Sarina is grateful for the invention of indoor plumbing and wi-fi during the intervening 250 years. She lives with her family on a few wooded acres in New Hampshire.

Sarina's books are published in more than 15 languages with twenty or so international publishers. 

She is a sitting council member on the Authors Guild, with committee work in finance and advocacy. 

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