Reviews by Tammy and Kim

It’s the season for gift giving!

Six FREE standalone holiday short stories!

COVER CREDIT: 

Cover designer:  Sommer Stein, Perfect Pear Creative 

Grab your free copy today, before it goes away!

Available for only a limited time!

https://BookHip.com/ZBPNBVP

Get Sleighed by Vi Keeland & Penelope Ward

When my ex dumped me right before Christmas, I was left with a luxury, all-expense paid trip for two to Cabo—private jet and all. Somehow, my best friend roped me into giving away the other half of the trip as a contest prize on her podcast. Kelly won the “World’s Worst Dump Story.” She and I didn’t meet until we arrived at the airport, which was when I discovered she was actually a he. Apparently we’d forgotten to include open to women only in the rules. My trip to Cabo started as a disaster, but as time went on Kelly and I grew close. Until someone unexpectedly showed up…

Christmas in Birdville by Jewel E. Ann

Henry Bechtel’s mom is coming home for Christmas. Only, he lost the family house in a game of poker. Days before his mom’s arrival, he meets the new owner and seizes the opportunity to coerce her into letting him move back “home” for the holidays. What he doesn’t know is that she has questionable motives, too.

The Lucky One by Sarina Bowen

Finnish hockey player Ivo Halla is new in town. He can't speak the language, he can't understand the coach. Life is hell until he walks into an Italian cafe (thank God "pizza" is the same in Finnish and English) and falls for the waitress. He'd better learn the language soon, or she won't agree to date him... 

First Holiday by Katee Robert

After a year of turmoil, Hades and Persephone prepare for their first holiday together.

A Cloverleigh Farms Christmas by Melanie Harlow

Christmas Eve at Cloverleigh Farms is even more exciting this year, thanks to a blizzard, a power outage, and a baby that wants to make a dramatic entrance. Catch up with the beloved Sawyer family and find out what happens when Meg and Noah's bundle of joy gives the family a wonderful--and sudden--reason to celebrate!

Have Yourself a Grumpy Little Christmas by Pippa Grant

Trevor Stafford hates Christmas. But his best friend’s little sister, whom he stupidly agreed to take in as a temporary roommate when she got a new nannying gig down the street from him, loves it.

She’s turning his house into a freaking winter wonderland of bad memories.

But the bigger problem?

He’s had a crush on her for years, and there’s no amount of annoying holiday cheer that can cure him of his attraction. If anything, watching her in her natural element is making it worse.

What’s a grump to do when the last thing he ever wanted is suddenly the only thing he needs?

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WRECKED BUT NOT RUINED
(Spark of Hope #3)
Nicole Dykes
Add to Goodreads
Amazon and KU

Release Date November 21, 2022

Ethan

I had everything. I was going to college and having a blast. Enjoying myself and not taking much seriously. But then, two years ago, everything changed.

A car wreck destroyed my life. It sent me into a total tailspin. I walked away, even when everyone said I wouldn’t be able to.

But I haven’t recovered from it.

The only thing I have left is my best friend, but I’m sure he’ll give up on me soon. Even so, I can’t fight the truth . . . I’m irrevocably ruined.

Knox

College is coming to an end, and I couldn’t be happier to finally start my real life.

Ethan and I had plans. So many amazing plans. And then, everything changed. He was in a horrific wreck, but he miraculously survived. Except it took a piece of him.

I’ve tried to help him get it back. Tried to get him to go to a trauma support group and come back to me.

He thinks he’s broken, but I know the real Ethan is still there. The brave, outgoing man I’ve known my entire life. And I’m going to help him see the truth. That he can overcome this.

That he may have been a little wrecked, but he wasn’t ruined.

**Wrecked But Not Ruined is a standalone with a HEA in the Spark of Hope Series. It’s set around a trauma-support group and will, therefore, touch on extremely sensitive subjects. I’ll always do my best to handle these topics with care and healing and with no intention of hurting anyone. But please, heed this warning if you have any triggers.

some graphics from Author's Facebook page

Ethan was a popular, outgoing, social, college guy until an accident changed everything. Now, two years later, he is still suffering the repercussions and his mental state has never recovered. He’s anxious and experiences panic which has made him more reclusive and affected his self-worth and general life functioning.

His best friend Knox has been by his side, the whole time and continues to try to push him to get better. He is smart, caring, loyal, protective, and supportive. He is gay and has been hurt in relationships before so is afraid of getting hurt again.

Ethan has just been stuck in a rut and can’t seem to break out of it. The guys at the support group want to help them as well. But during this process, something unexpected happens, and all of a sudden seemingly straight Ethan is looking at his gay best friend a little differently. And Ethan has even more motivation to want to find his confidence and be able to live a full life again.

This is an inspiring, emotional, low-relationship angst, best friends, roommates, bi-awakening story of overcoming fears, hope, and healing after trauma. Ethan and Knox have such a strong bond and connection built on a foundation of friendship but it is fortified by new discoveries and even deeper feelings. But they also both have some challenges to overcome.

This book brings back the other characters from the previous books sharing their support and teases future stories.

BRUISED BUT NOT BROKEN
(Spark of Hope #1)
Goodreads

Amazon

STALKED BUT NOT AFRAID

(Spark of Hope #2)

Goodreads

Amazon

ABNA

(Spark of Hope #4)
Amazon pre-order

CBND

(Spark of Hope #5)
Amazon Pre-order

Nicole Dykes

Nicole Dykes is a wife and a professional assistant/mom to two gorgeous girls. Currently residing in Kansas, she’s a lover of coffee, Kansas City Chiefs, and all things romance.

She writes contemporary, NA, and M/M romance because love is love is love. She enjoys cranking up the angst level regardless of genre or trope, making her readers cry, and turning those tears into the coffee that fuels her writing.

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TEMPT
(Cloverleigh Farms #9)
Melanie Harlow
Release Date November 21, 2022

Buy Amazon | Amazon Worldwide or KU Add to Goodreads

You’ve heard the story about the wedding planner who falls for the groom?

Well, this is the one where she falls for his father.

And that groom? He’s my ex.

I didn’t realize who the gruff, gorgeous older man was the night he rescued me from a creep in a Manhattan hotel bar. All I knew was that a hot, bearded stranger with a protective streak showed up right when I needed a reminder that real gentlemen still exist.

(Although he left his manners behind after asking me up to his room.)

It was the hottest night of my life, but I never thought I’d see the former Navy SEAL again.

Imagine my surprise at the rehearsal dinner one week later, when my sexy one-night stand is introduced as the father of the groom. Even more surprising? That temptation we felt in New York was no fluke.

In public, we pretend there’s nothing between us.

In private, we can’t keep our hands off each other.

The situation is beyond complicated. Zach never even knew he’d fathered a child until recently, and he wants to earn his son’s trust and respect. As for me, I’m looking for a man who wants to start a family, and Zach has made it clear he’s not that man. He’s fifteen years older, newly divorced, and he lives across the country.

But no matter how many times we draw the line, we keep crossing it.

Nothing so wrong should ever feel so right.

Millie and Zach meet in a bar, throw caution to the wind, and have one hot one-night-stand. They did not expect to keep thinking about it. And they certainly had no idea that they would meet again in the most unexpected way and that things were about to get really complicated.

They also find that the sexual tension, passion, and connection that they found that night hasn’t gone away. They know they shouldn’t talk anymore or see each other again. But the temptation is real. And they just keep enjoying each other when they can knowing that it cannot lead anywhere and that they need to keep messy feelings out of it.

These two are opposites. There’s an age gap and they live in different parts of the country. She has deep roots in her community and he travels. There are connections in their life that add a layer of complication and secrecy to the whole affair. But sometimes the body and the heart want what they want, and the head gets ignored.

I absolutely adored these two together. Millie is a curvy girl, who is confident, sexy, sassy, smart, and motivated to be the best she can be and also help others. Zach is a mature, burly, growly, protective, caring, alpha. He is ex-military and works in private security so is used to being in control and focused. But they completely distract each other and together they are just pure magic. Their chemistry is combustible and sets fire to the pages. It is intense and passionate and in addition to that, there’s this underlying friendship, companionship, trust, and vulnerability that they’ve never shared with someone else. I loved that Millie is a plus sized-heroine with confidence and body positivity, and that Zach finds her totally sexy and entrancing. The man is insatiable!

This is an age-gap, small-town, one-night-stand-turns-into-secret-fling story with two people that have so many reasons that they should not be together. But they cannot seem to quit each other either. It is full of passionate stolen moments mixed with guilt and fear of being hurt. But eventually, they will have to figure out if they want to take a risk on love, compromise, and deal with the fallout that could occur.

It brings in some fun cameos for fans of Corrine Michaels and more of the Cloverleigh Farms gang. I enjoyed the crossovers and catching up with some other couples. I was pulled right into this story and totally devoured it. I loved everything about it. I completely fell for these two and they are one of my favorite couples from this author.

Keep reading for a look inside TEMPT!

I was just lifting the glass to my lips when I noticed someone sitting around the curve of the bar to the left. He was broad through the chest and shoulders, wore a black dress shirt with the cuffs rolled up, and sat alone. His hair and beard were short and dark. Our eyes met and my body grew warm. His bone structure was beautiful—his face looked like it was chiseled from granite. He held my gaze for a moment then looked away, and I did as well, focusing on the first cold sips of my martini.

But in seconds, my eyes were drawn to him again, and I noticed the hand holding his glass—wide palm, long, solid fingers, thick wrist. I indulged in a brief and magnificent fantasy that involved those hands in my hair, his beard against my cheek, that brawny chest bare and warm above me. Was it hairy? I’d bet yes. He looked like a man’s man. My nipples tingled inside the bustier I wore beneath my dress.

Once more he caught me staring, and I realized too late that I was actually biting my lip.

Gawd.

The guy next to me whistled loudly and yelled at the bartender, “Hey! Can I get another round down here?”

The bartender, who was busy making other drinks, didn’t even look over. I didn’t blame him.

“The service is so shitty in this place,” he said. “You need a pair of tits to get any attention.” He glanced at my chest. “Yours are fantastic, by the way.”

Horrified, I picked up my glass and finished my drink in a couple swallows. I should have thrown it in his face, but it would have been a waste of a good martini. Setting the empty glass down, I reached into my bag for my credit card.

“Hey, don’t rush off.” The asshole leaned closer. He wore a white shirt and blue blazer, and he reeked of cologne. “We’re just getting to know each other.”

“Not interested,” I said, trying to catch the bartender’s eye so I could get my check and leave.

“Why not? I’m alone, you’re alone.” He covered my hand with his. That’s when I noticed he wore a wedding band.

I snatched my hand away and slid off my stool, putting it between us. “I’m not alone.”

“Oh no?” He laughed and glanced around. “Looks like it to me.”

I finally caught the bartender’s eye, and he came right over. “Can I get you something?”

“I’ll cash out,” I said quickly.

The bartender glanced at the asshole. “Everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine, I was just waiting for someone, but he couldn’t make it, so I—”

“Sorry I’m late.” A hand circled my wrist.

Startled, I spun around and saw a black shirt. Wide shoulders. Dark eyes.

The hot stranger and I exchanged a look of understanding before he leaned in and kissed my cheek. His beard was softer than I’d imagined.

“Forgive me?” His voice, by contrast, was deep and gravelly.

“Of—of course,” I stammered, my heart pounding. I couldn’t stop staring—the guy was gorgeous. A little older than I’d thought—there was silver in his hair and beard—but those dark eyes, that deep voice, and the possessive grip on my wrist? The whole package made my knees go weak.

He looked over my head at the bartender. “She’s with me.”

“Dude, she’s not with you,” argued the jerk in the blazer. “You were over there by yourself a minute ago. I saw you.”

Dropping my wrist, the stranger turned to him and growled, “You should go.”

The jerk slid off his barstool and put one palm up. “Listen, I don’t want any trouble. I just thought—”

“It’s fuckin’ obvious what you thought.” The stranger’s words were laced with fury, but he kept his volume low. Somehow it was even scarier than if he’d yelled. “Now get the fuck out of here, and don’t even look in her direction as you walk out, or you’ll be trying to do it with two broken legs.”

The jerk stood up taller, like he might be thinking of protesting, but he looked like a gerbil facing off against a Doberman. Then he adjusted his lapels and moved toward the exit without even glancing my way.

The stranger watched him go with hooded, hawklike eyes before looking down at me again. “You okay?”

“Yes.” But I was struggling to catch my breath.

“Can I bring you two another round?” the bartender asked.

The stranger looked at me. “Would you like another drink?”

I took a breath, willing myself to be brave. “Only if you’ll stay and have one with me.”

He hesitated, rubbing one hand along his jaw. “Okay. Sure.”

“Another martini for the lady and a Glenlivet on the rocks, coming right up,” said the bartender.

I perched on my barstool again, crossing my legs. “Thanks for coming to my rescue.”

“You’re welcome.” He sat down next to me. “I hope I didn’t insult you.”

“Insult me?”

“I didn’t mean to imply you couldn’t handle that jackass on your own.”

“Oh! Well, maybe I could have.” I laughed a little. “But I liked your way better.”

One side of his mouth twitched, setting off a thousand butterflies in my stomach.

“This round is on me,” I said as our drinks appeared.

He shook his head. “Not a chance.”

“But I’d like to repay you for standing up for me.”

“No payment necessary. Any gentleman would have done it.”

“Gentleman, huh?” I tilted my head and gave him a playful smile. I was a pretty good flirt when I wanted to be. “So you’re saying I’m safe with you?”

He didn’t answer right away, and I sat up a little taller in my seat. Slightly arched my back. But his eyes stayed put on mine. “You’re safe with me.”

Well, damn.

What on earth was I going to do about that?

Cloverleigh Farms

Next-generation:

IGNITE
(Cloverleigh Farms#6/next gen #1)

Buy Amazon
Add to Goodreads
Kim's 5 star review

TASTE
(Cloverleigh Farms #7/next gen #2)
Buy Amazon | Amazon Worldwide
Add Taste to Goodreads Kim's 4.5/5 star review
Tease
(Cloverleigh Farms #8/next gen #3)
Buy Amazon | Amazon Worldwide
Add to Goodreads Kims 4.5/5 star review

Melanie Harlow 

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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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CHECK OUT THIS HOT, HOT, HOT COVER!
THE RSVP, an all-new standalone from #1 NYT bestselling author Lauren Blakely is coming January 6th!
Make sure to preorder this brand new steamy, age-gap, off-limits, office romance TODAY!

The RSVP

Lauren Blakely

Add to Goodreads
Pre-order Here

Photographer: Wander Aguiar
Model: Kaio Q
Cover Designer: TE Black
Genre/Tropes: Forbidden Romance/Off-Limits Romance/Office Romance/Age-Gap

Our days are full of secrets. Our nights are for seduction…

For the last year, I’ve wanted someone I can’t have.

The man my father built his latest multimillion dollar business with.

He’s a decade older than I am, and he’s entirely forbidden.

The fact that he’s never given me a second glance only makes me long for him more.

But the other night, across the room at a gala, everything changed. His broody gaze lingered on me and grew darker.

So I’m officially done being the good girl.

Tomorrow I turn 21. As a gift to myself, I plan to seduce my father’s business partner.

Happy birthday to me.

PREORDER TODAY!
The RSVP will release on Nook, Apple, Kobo and Google on January 1st and will
release in audio and on Amazon in Kindle Unlimited exclusively on January 6th!

✦ Amazon ➜ https://blkly.pub/AmazonTheRSVP
✦ Apple ➜ https://blkly.pub/AppleTheRSVP
✦ Nook ➜ https://blkly.pub/NookTheRSVP
✦ Kobo ➜ https://blkly.pub/KoboTheRSVP
✦ Google ➜ https://blkly.pub/GoogleTheRSVP

✦ Audible ➜ Sign up for my audio newsletter to receive news on this title!

Narrated by Vanessa Edwin and Joe Arden!

http://www.subscribepage.com/LaurenAudio

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 65 titles on the USA Today Bestsellers list alone. She’s sold more than 5 million books. She likes dogs, cake and show tunes, and is the vegetarian at your dinner party.

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