Please leave your message at the sound of the beep…
Penelope, I know that it’s three o’clock in the morning, but I have to get this off my chest.
I can’t give you any more advice on landing this other guy, can’t tell you another “sexy” thing that you should do, or suggest a new set of filthy words that you should text him late at night.
As your best friend, I’ve reached my limit, and I can honestly say that he doesn’t deserve you.
I’m not saying all of this because I’m f-cking jealous, or because he had the audacity to say that he makes more money than me. (I still can’t find his name on the Forbes 500 list, and I know damn well that he’s renting that Ferrari, but that’s a story for a different day.)
He’s not who you think he is, and the better man has always been right in front of you…
You have every reason to never give me a chance since you know me better than anyone, and you agree with all the tabloids calling me “The Cocky King of New York,” and the “Untamed Playboy of Manhattan.” But I honestly believe that you’re better off with someone else, and I need you to see.
I’m not asking for too much…I just want you to break up with him, for me.
About the Author:
Whitney G. is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling author. Her books have been published in twelve languages.
Whenever she’s not penning a new novel, you can find her blogging about self-publishing at The Indie Tea, drinking hot coffee, or traveling the world in sweater boots.
Don’t forget to sign up for Whitney’s monthly newsletter here: http://bit.ly/1p9fEYF
“Combining sweet nostalgia with the important issues Kennedy never shies away from, Queen Moveis nothing less than wonderful.
I couldn’t put it down and never wanted it to end!”
— Alexa Martin, Author of Intercepted
Queen Move, an all-new powerful second chance standalone from Wall Street Journal bestselling and RITA® Award-winning author Kennedy Ryan, is coming May 26th and we have your FIRST LOOK!
Make sure to enter on Kennedy’s site to win a QUEEN BOX, stuffed with a signed paperback and all the things you’ll need to
treat yourself like a queen!
Prologue
Kimba
Two Years Before Present
Is there anything sadder than a daddy’s girl at her father’s funeral?
My mother’s quiet sniffs a few seats down give me the answer.
A grieving widow.
“He was a good man,” someone in the long line of mourners offering condolences whispers to her.
Mama’s head bobs with a tearful nod. In this day and age, she still wears a pillbox hat and veil. It’s black and chic like Mama, channeling tragic Jackie Kennedy or Coretta Scott King. My father was not just a good man. He was a great man, and everyone should know he leaves behind a widow, grieving deeply, but ever-fly. I squeeze the funeral program between my fingers, glaring at the printed words.
Joseph Allen leaves behind a wife, Janetta, three children, Kayla, Keith and Kimba, and six grandchildren.
He leaves behind.
Daddy’s gone, and I don’t know how to live in a world my father does not inhabit. The casket is draped with sweet-smelling flowers in the center of the funeral tent. When we leave the cemetery, it…he will be lowered into the ground with unfathomable finality, separated from us by white satin lining, six feet of dirt and eternity.
Kayla, my older sister, sobs softly at the end of our family’s row. Her four children watch her carefully, probably unused to seeing their unshakeable mother shaken and reduced to tears. Even I’d forgotten how she looks when she cries—like she’s mad at the wetness streaking her cheeks, resentful of any sign of weakness.
It’s not weak to cry, Daddy used to say. It’s human.
“But doesn’t the Bible say even the rocks will cry out?” I’d challenged him when I was young, loving that something from Sunday school took. “So maybe tears aren’t just for humans.”
“You’re getting too smart for your britches, little girl,” he’d said, but the deep affection in his eyes when he kissed me told me he was pleased. He liked that I asked questions and taught me to never accept bullshit at face value.
I miss you, Daddy.
Not even a week since his heart attack, and I already miss him so much.
Humanity blurs my vision, wet and hot and stinging my eyes. I want this to be over. The flowers, the well-dressed mourners, the news cameras stationed at a distance they probably deem respectful. I just want to go to the house where my parents raised us, retreat to Daddy’s study and find the stash of cigars that only he and I knew about.
Don’t tell your mother, he used to whisper conspiratorially. This will be our little secret.
Mama hated the smell of cigars in the house.
“Tru.”
Who would call me by that name? Now, when the only people who use it, my family, are all preoccupied with their own pain? A tall man stands in front of me, his thick, dark brows bunched with sympathy. I don’t know him. I would remember a man like this, who stands strong like an oak tree. A well-tailored suit molds his powerful shoulders. Dark brown, not quite black, hair is cut ruthlessly short, but hints at waves if given the chance to grow. His prominent nose makes itself known above the full, finely sculpted lips below. His eyes are shockingly vivid—so deep a blue they’re almost the color of African violets against skin like bronze bathed in sunlight. No, a man like him you’d never forget. Something niggles at my memory, tugs at my senses. I’d never forget a man who looked like this, a man with eyes like that…but what about a boy?
“Ezra?” I croak, disbelief and uncertainty mingling in the name I haven’t uttered in years.
It can’t be.
But it is.
Keep Going!
Read the REST of the prologue and enter the QUEEN BOX giveaway on Kennedy’s website:→ https://bit.ly/35U65FL
**QUEEN MOVE will have the special pre-order and release week price of $3.99. After that, the price will increase.**
The boy who always felt like mine is now the man I can’t have…
Dig a little and you’ll find photos of me in the bathtub with Ezra Stern.
Get your mind out of the gutter. We were six months old.
Pry and one of us might confess we saved our first kiss for each other.
The most clumsy, wet, sloppy . . . spectacular thirty seconds of my adolescence.
Get into our business and you’ll see two families, closer than blood, torn apart in an instant.
Twenty years later, my “awkward duckling” best friend from childhood,
the boy no one noticed, is a man no one can ignore.
Finer. Fiercer. Smarter.
Taken.
Tell me it’s wrong.
Tell me the boy who always felt like mine is now the man I can’t have.
When we find each other again, everything stands in our way–secrets, lies, promises.
But we didn’t come this far to give up now.
And I know just the move to make if I want to make him mine.
About Kennedy Ryan
A RITA® Award Winner, Wall Street Journal and USA TodayBestselling Author, Kennedy Ryan writes for women from all walks of life, empowering them and placing them firmly at the center of each story and in charge of their own destinies. Her heroes respect, cherish and lose their minds for the women who capture their hearts.
Kennedy and her writings have been featured in Chicken Soup for the Soul, USA Today, Entertainment Weekly, Glamour and many others. She has always leveraged her journalism background to write for charity and non-profit organizations, but has a special passion for raising Autism awareness.The co-founder of LIFT 4 Autism, an annual charitable book auction, she has appeared on Headline News, The Montel Williams Show, NPR and other media outlets as an advocate for ASD families. She is a wife to her lifetime lover and mother to an extraordinary son.
I swear all my family wants from me is kids. Or at least my mother does.
But I’m the black sheep of the family. The one that left for bigger and better things.
No farm for me. I’m a self-made billionaire bad boy now.
Real Estate is the game and making money is my thing.
All is well in my bachelor-like world until I rent a cottage on my property to a beautiful school counselor.
Sweet. Curvy. Smart as hell.
This woman shouldn’t be out of my league, but it feels like she most certainly is.
Good thing she falls for me too. I need a fake girlfriend to take back home, and I’m hoping she’ll be up for the ruse.
Which she is not. Go figure.
Things don’t always work out the way I plan, especially when she’s hiding something from me.
A baby. One I didn’t think I wanted until it was inside of her.
She’s walking away and I’m begging. I don’t need forever to win her back.
Just give me the weekend.
Excerpt:
Moving with grace I wouldn’t have expected from a man who had to be at least six and a half feet tall, he carried his lean muscled frame over to me. At least, I was guessing that was the kind of frame he had.
He definitely looked built, solid and broad, but not in an obnoxious, roid-ridden, monster way. There was no giant bulk of muscle. It was far more subtle than that. Just the way I liked it.
It had been a long time since my blood had made a visit south of the border, but it was certainly flowing there now. It was easy to imagine tangling my fingers into his thick, dark brown hair and stare into his golden-flecked milk-chocolate eyes.
About the Author:
Hey there. I’m Weston.
Have we met? No? Well it’s time to end that tragedy.
I’m a former firefighter/EMS guy who’s picked up the proverbial pen and started writing bad boy romance stories. I co-write with my sister, Ali Parker, but live in Texas with my wife, my two little boys, a dog and a turtle.
Yep. A turtle. You read that right. Don’t be jealous.
You’re going to find Billionaires, Bad Boys, Military Guys and loads of sexiness. Something for everyone, hopefully.
Mallory Murdoch has found herself in one really long dating dry spell. With a new school year starting, the kindergarten teacher has agreed to let her girlfriends take her out for an end of summer hoorah.
Despite her girlfriends’ ambitious plans for her, she never expected to wake up in an unknown bed, next to a bearded, tattooed bartended who is definitely not her type. Not to mention, he is crude, cocky and fifty shades of irritating.
One night. One night was all it took for Ellis Phillips to bid good riddance to the tiny, prissy, know-it-all, even if he did enjoy giving her the best night of her life.
Unfortunately, fate is a fickle bitch and she has plans of her own.
They say there’s a thin line between love and hate, and that you can quickly go from feeling one to the other.
But what they don’t say, is that the two emotions are so full of passion, that often times you can’t feel one without also feeling the other.
Hate to Love is the second standalone novel in the Quick to Fall series.
Although it is not necessary to read the previous novel in the series to enjoy this one, it is recommended as characters are introduced in the previous novel and are seen in future novels as well.
Hate to Love is a sweet and sexy romance, there is no cheating and has a HEA, it is intended for mature audiences, as it contains adult language and scenes
My Review:
Finished in one sitting! Loved it! Loved Ellis! There was an element of surprise that I loved. I actually read the blurb again to make sure I didn’t miss it lol. A one night stand that changes their lives. He doesn’t think he is worthy of her, she can’t stop thinking about him. They’re from two different worlds.
Ellis is a down to earth bartender and Mallory is a kindergarten teacher. They cannot surely be together other than a one night stand. Fate has other ideas.
It was an easy read, a quick read. The author had my attention from the beginning. I like the writing. Obviously had a happy ever after. Looking forward to future books by this author
I was gifted an ARC in return for an honest review
“𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧.”
Synopsis
𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙨, 𝙖.𝙠.𝙖. 𝙏𝙧𝙪𝙘𝙠, 𝘿𝙖𝙮𝙩𝙤𝙣is focused on two things: settling into his position at the Coast Guard Academy and helping his younger brother stay out of trouble. So even though the beautiful, fandom loving 𝙅𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙮𝘽𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙧is tugging at his chest in funny ways, he doesn’t intend on acting on those emotions. Not when he’ll eventually be moving on, and she’ll be staying behind.
But when Jersey suddenly finds herself in desperate need of medical care that she can’t afford, Truck does the only thing he can think of to help… he marries her.
Jersey has been struggling to keep her and her sister afloat ever since their dad was sent to jail. The pain she feels on a regular basis isn’t anything she can stop to think about until she ends up at the E.R. in the protective arms of the one man who makes her pulse beat faster than the superheroes she worships.
When chaos invades their lives, their temporary deal starts to crumble, leaving hearts and souls twined together in such a way that there’s little chance of escape without permanent damage. Unless they just surrender to it all and let love heal them both.
From award-winning author, LJ Evans, comes a novel inspired by Lady Antebellum’s “Ocean” about resilience and love. You don’t want to miss this slow burn, military romance.
ALL THE FEELS… that’s what this book did to me. Had my emotions everywhere.
Jersey & Travis – I fell in love with him at “marry me”. And I empathized with Jersey throughout the book. She and I have so much in common and he was just the perfect Captain Coast Guard.
As usual LJ did not disappoint with this story. It was beautifully written. Has real life issues that isn’t addressed enough. Has real love in it, and not the fairy tale type. The unusual type. The type that makes it real and makes you work at it. The type we don’t believe we deserve.
Both these characters are broken in a sense. Both feel responsible for the situation that they’re in. Both feel like failures, even too each other. And yet, they are both superheroes in their own right and perfect for each other!
I have read every one of the books in the Anchor Series and let me tell you, they keep getting better and better. This author has the gift of telling stories that pull at your heartstrings.
Go! Read this book. There’s love, sibling complications, a coastie to fall in love with and a comic loving heroine.
Avenged by Love will be released on 29 April 2020.
My Easter Weekend was filled with some Romantic reads and this was one I wanted to talk about.
Synopsis
It’s no secret that me and love don’t mix.
Not after it schemed to rip my heart out and leave me a single father.
The biggest question I have is what to do with forever now that my wife is gone.
As much as I hate it, it’s time for a break from my famous life.
A year off to spend time with my little girl is what the doctor ordered.
Giggles, smiles, and tons of ice cream for the two of us.
And somehow, the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen runs the ice-cream parlor.
But getting involved isn’t a choice. Not even when my little girl falls head over heels for this woman that’s stealing my every thought.
No matter how much I want to give up everything for the curvy girl that’s rocking my world day and night.
She deserves far more than me, but I’m just selfish enough to want to deny her another lover.
To take up residence in her heart and stay.
It gets even more serious when I find myself playing her fake boyfriend to her uppity mother.
It’s a part I’d love to play daily.
The promise of healing, love, and a big family have me running fast and hard because that same question plays over and over again…
What if fate takes her away too?
I loved this dedication so much that I had to share it with you.
Review:
Do you believe in love after losing the love of your life?
This single dad romance was lovely. It was so special to see the love he had for his daughter. Putting her first. Then he falls for someone, who has not only captured his heart, but has captured his little girl’s heart too.
I loved this little love story. I loved the way this rock star dad put his daughter’s needs above his own. I love how he forgave himself for feeling the guilt he did for falling in love with someone else after his tragic loss of his baby mamma.
Tiffeny and Callen definetly tried hard to figure out the pull they had, but they clearly could not resist it.
A lovely little love story that captured my heart and I certainly fell in love with little Winter
Yes I recommend this read, especially if you’re into single dad romance.
Disclaimer: I received this book from Jonathan Ball Publishers for an honest review
SYNOPSIS:
Roxy Nouvelle understands the art of deception. The daughter of a world-renowned magician, Roxy has inherited her father’s talents – and his secret life as a jewel thief. She loves the thrill of the game and can take care of herself.
Roxy is smart and resilient, but she has one weakness: Luke Callahan, a sexy escape artist with a roguish reputation. Five years ago they fell into a passionate affair – but then, true to his art – he disappeared, leaving Roxy broken hearted and furious.
Now Luke is back, trailing secrets and danger in his wake. Why did he run out on Roxy all thos years ago? And can she trust him again?
MY REVIEW:
Love and magic have a great deal in common. They enrich the soul, delight the heart. And they both take unrelenting and unabating practice. – Maximillian Nouvelle – Honest Illusions
I was transported to a carnival and lived in New Orleans while reading this book. Roxy and Luke, two very stubborn, very charismatic characters. Loved it.
As usual, Nora Roberts did not disappoint. The book was easy to follow, the writing great. I enjoyed reading it. The further into the book, the more I couldn’t put it down.
We follow the lives of our two lead characters Roxanne and Luke. They grow up together. The book also speaks a great deal of Maximillian Nouvelle, Roxy’s father, who, has a knack for taking in strays. A story of love of family, friendship and magic.
A slow burn romance, friends-to-lovers trope has you routing for these two. A love that blossomed like magic and as Max advised Luke – both magic & love take unrelenting and unabating practice.
Nora Roberts is a fantastic author that can transport you into another life while reading her stories. Brilliant!
Genre: Contemporary romance, military romance, fake marriage
ASIN: B084DHJRBH
ISBN: 979-8607529789
Format: Print and digital
Tag Line: “Love is the only real superpower.”
BOOK DESCRIPTION:
“𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧.”
𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙨, 𝙖.𝙠.𝙖. 𝙏𝙧𝙪𝙘𝙠, 𝘿𝙖𝙮𝙩𝙤𝙣 is focused on two things: settling into his position at the Coast Guard Academy and helping his younger brother stay out of trouble. So even though the beautiful, fandom loving 𝙅𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙮𝘽𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙧 is tugging at his chest in funny ways, he doesn’t intend on acting on those emotions. Not when he’ll eventually be moving on, and she’ll be staying behind.
But when Jersey suddenly finds herself in desperate need of medical care that she can’t afford, Truck does the only thing he can think of to help… he marries her.
Jersey has been struggling to keep her and her sister afloat ever since their dad was sent to jail. The pain she feels on a regular basis isn’t anything she can stop to think about until she ends up at the E.R. in the protective arms of the one man who makes her pulse beat faster than the superheroes she worships.
When chaos invades their lives, their temporary deal starts to crumble, leaving hearts and souls twined together in such a way that there’s little chance of escape without permanent damage. Unless they just surrender to it all and let love heal them both.
From award-winning author, LJ Evans, comes a novel inspired by Lady Antebellum’s “Ocean” about resilience and love. You don’t want to miss this slow burn, military romance.
“Excuse me?” I asked because I was sure I’d heard him wrong.
He dragged a hand over his face. “Sorry. Screwed that up. Let me try again.”
Try again? He was going to ask me to marry him in a different way? I looked around, expecting Violet to be filming this as some weird prank to post on her social media accounts.
“I was thinking,” he started, and this time, I could tell he was nervous.
“Stop. Don’t. Whatever you’re going to say, just don’t. You don’t even know me.”
This seemed to knock him out of whatever apprehensive state he was in, because he chuckled. A slow rumble that bubbled its way across my frame and made me want to lean in and taste it. Taste him and his joy. But it certainly didn’t make me want to marry him.
“Jesus. I really am doing this all wrong. Can we sit down?”
I stared at him for a moment. “Have you been drinking?”
Our dad used to say some really bizarre things when he was drunk. Tony Stark had done some pretty stupid things when he’d been drunk. Drunk and men were a series of bad choices and decisions.
I received this book from Jonathan Ball Publishers in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis
When a family man is tortured, killed and dumped in front of his home for all the world to see, Eve Dallas knows she is on the hunt for a particularly dangerous killer. But death uncovers secrets and the killer leaves a note revealing the victim to be far from the family man he appears.
As Eve works to link victim and killer, another body is found. Another man with a dark and murky past.
The race is on before the killer strikes again but Eve must wrestle with her demons and her conscience as she decides whether she really wants to protect men who may just deserve everything they get…
Review
Men! Beware! Lady Justice is out looking for revenge!
This was the feeling of this book. It’s my first “In Death” book and I must say I quite enjoyed it. Took me a while to read because life but read it I did. It’s great reading about two strong female lead characters. They’re strong, work together as a team and lift each other up.
JD Robb did a great job of this story. I always enjoy a good crime novel but very seldom find one with a good female presence. Women are usually the victim but, not in this story. Here you’re bound to find women as victim, cop, perpetrator.
If you enjoy a good crime novel, this is a good one to read.
I received this book by Jonathan Ball Publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis:
What if a prank leads to murder?
When Freya arrives at her dream job with the city’s hottest start-up, she can’t wait to begin a new and exciting life, including dating her new colleague Jay. However, Nicole, Jay’s ex and fellow employee, seems intent on making her life a misery.
After a big deadline, where Nicole continually picks on her, Freya snaps and tells Jay about the bullying and together they concoct a revenge prank. The next morning, Nicole is found dead in her apartment . . .
Is this just a prank gone wrong? Or does Freya know someone who is capable of murder – and could she be next?
Review:
Who is it? Is it Jay? Julian? Kate? Freya? Who did it? The question I kept asking while reading this book.
The story goes back and forth into the lives of Freya and Isla. We learn about what brought them here to this point in their lives. What makes them survivors of sexual abuse.
It’s a story of bullying in the workplace. A story of sexual harassment. A story of how easy predators get away with this type of abuse because they have money and power. Or so they think.
I loved the plot twist at the end!
This book was well written and I’m sure touched something in readers who have experienced this type of abuse in their lives some way or another.
A great read. And I understand why the hype was about. Well done to Amy Heydenrych
Hey Candi! What are you reading??? 