New Release & Review: Wound Tight by Tessa Bailey

wound-tight-reviewWOUND TIGHT
Series: Made In Jersey #4
Genre: MM Romance
Author: Tessa Bailey
Release Date: December 5, 2016add-to-goodreads-button-2

wound-tight

A sexy new M/M romance from New York Times Bestselling author Tessa Bailey

When CEO Renner Bastion walks into a room, everyone keeps their distance. Well, everyone but the sarcastic, tattooed, Boston-bred security guard whose presence has kept Renner in New Jersey longer than intended. As if the unwanted attraction isn’t unsettling enough, Renner finds out his protector isn’t as unavailable as originally thought.

Milo Bautista just came out to his wealthy, ultra-confident boss, a man he secretly respects and admires…in more ways than he’ll admit. Worldly, experienced Renner would never look in his direction, let alone share some of that confidence he wears like a cloak, so Milo has set his sights on someone else to be his first.

Until Renner offers him private lessons in seduction…

Buy LinksAMAZON | iBOOKSReview-DGR4 stars

I make the decisions. Do you understand? Boss inside work, boss outside of work. That’s me. Your dick seems to like that idea just fine.”

Ever since I realized that Mr. Tightpants and big and bad boss Renner Bastion was gay in Thrown Down, I’ve been wiggling in pervy anticipation for his book. Can you blame me? Take Tessa Bailey’s gift of writing some of my favorite dirty talking alphas and multiply that by TWO? Sign me the hell up! But I was also a little nervous, too. Can an author that’s written mainstream contemporary romance pull off an MM without making it cliche and suffering some of the pitfalls that some author have when taking on something that’s away from their norm? In the case of this book, it’s a resounding HELL YES.

He had a strict set of rules when it came to other men, and Milo violated them all by being his employee. Not to mention being too young…and too straight.

Now before you go getting the wrong idea here, no, this isn’t a GFY. Milo is very much gay. He knows who he is and embraces it. But coming to the realization that he’s gay a bit later in his life is also making him question his approach. Watching his boss be so comfortable in his own skin and sexuality makes him follow him around not only to keep him safe. So of course it makes the perfect sort of sense to ask Renner for his help…in navigating this new to him world and eventually getting the attention of the man responsible for his sexual realization. A man that is NOT Renner.

…please stop acting like a nightclub is Mars, for the love of God. You could easily do this on your own, but apparently you’re rubbing off on me because I feel…” He shivered. “Obligated to guide your path. You’ve turned me into a gay Yoda. It’s not a good look.”

But the second these two touch, the sexual fireworks go off, the lines get blurred, and all of a sudden what was supposed to be, isn’t, and what shouldn’t be happening, is.

Renner was every bit the brooding and broken alphahole I expected him to be. But getting pieces of his past does help you understand why he is the way he is. Milo is his antithesis. Fun-loving to his serious, quit to laugh to his brooding. But together they make the perfect sort of sense. The sexual chemistry between them was utterly sizzling. This was more mainstream MM and it hit the spot just right for this reader. I loved the way that Milo was so sure of his own self even while Renner questioned everything. Runner’s past does explain some of his behavior, though I didn’t feel that it was enough to make him be AS hesitant as he was. He frustrated me to no end with the way he handled certain things with Milo at times. Then again, he was just the right amount of endearing that I forgave him everything at the end.

Wound Tight was a perfectly delicious conclusion to the Made In Jersey series. It was steamy and with the right amount of emotion (though there was some cheese thrown in at the end that was a touch too sweet for me). But it was also entirely satisfying and a totally enjoyable read. If you’re looking for a spicy MM romance to spend an evening with, you can’t go wrong with this one.


THE MADE IN JERSEY SERIES

CRASHED OUT
BUY | READ MY REVIEW

ROUGH RHYTHM
BUY | READ MY REVIEW

THROWN DOWN
BUY | READ MY REVIEW

WORKED UP
BUY | READ MY REVIEW

New Release: Womanizer by Katy Evans

womanizer-rt-bannerWOMANIZER
Series: Manwhore #4
Author: Katy Evans
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: December 5th, 2016add-to-goodreads-button-2

womanizer-v2-ebook

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Katy Evans comes a brand new contemporary romance. WOMANIZER is a full length standalone, and no other books in the series need to be read.

You’ve seen the headlines: Womanizing billionaire player! Watch out! Stay away!

We were just two strangers. Facing a forbidden attraction, a chemical connection. Neither of us expected or wanted it to amount to more.

But I had never been drawn to a guy the way I was drawn to this one: my brother’s best friend, and CEO of the company where I interned.

Even knowing I should stay away, I proved to be too human, after all.

The chemistry was amazing.

The laughs were incredible.

I opened up to him in more ways than I’d opened up to anyone before.

But sex was as far as I’d go.

Just sex because he was too irresistible.

Just sex because I wouldn’t be falling for him.

Just sex because I’d leave in three months, and I’d like for my brother not to kill me, and for nobody to find out he was my wicked little secret.

He wasn’t the One.

He was just a womanizer.

But for a time, he would be mine.

 

Buy LinksAMAZON | iBOOKS | B&N | KOBO | AUDIBLE | AMAZON PAPERBACK

showmeAbout the AuthorKaty Evans is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author. Her debut REAL shot to the top of the bestselling lists in 2013 and since then 9 of her titles have been New York Times bestsellers. Her books have been translated into nearly a dozen languages across the world.

Connect with the Author:

Email: katyevansauthor@gmail.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/authorKatyEvans

Twitter @authorkatyevans

Website: www.katyevans.net

New & Upcoming Releases: December 5-6

New Releases-DGR

Holy epic release week!! It’s like the book gods knew that it was my birthday week and decided to shower me with all sorts of goodies! I’ve been lucky to have already ready a few of these and LOVED! WOUND TIGHT by Tessa Bailey, THE PAWN by Skye Warren, SOMEONE LIKE YOU by Lauren Layne are just a few of my favorites releasing this week that come to mind 🙂


ALREADY RELEASED


WOUND TIGHT by Tessa Bailey

wound-tight

 

A sexy new M/M romance from New York Times Bestselling author Tessa Bailey

When CEO Renner Bastion walks into a room, everyone keeps their distance. Well, everyone but the sarcastic, tattooed, Boston-bred security guard whose presence has kept Renner in New Jersey longer than intended. As if the unwanted attraction isn’t unsettling enough, Renner finds out his protector isn’t as unavailable as originally thought.

Milo Bautista just came out to his wealthy, ultra-confident boss, a man he secretly respects and admires…in more ways than he’ll admit. Worldly, experienced Renner would never look in his direction, let alone share some of that confidence he wears like a cloak, so Milo has set his sights on someone else to be his first.

Until Renner offers him private lessons in seduction…

Each book in the Made in Jersey series is a standalone, full-length story that can be enjoyed out of order.


DASHING THROUGH THE SNOW by M. Leighton

dashing-through-the-snow

A dash of perfect for the holidays!

Dilyn Hart hates Christmas, so when her boss (and ex-boyfriend) hands her an assignment to interview champion snowboarder and gorgeous playboy extraordinaire, Dash Grainger, on Christmas Eve, she takes it. There are several things she doesn’t plan for—a surly driver, a chalet in the middle of nowhere, a freak snowstorm—but the biggest surprise of all is Dash himself.

Dash Grainger lives for the high, and so far in his twenty-six years, he’s never met anyone or anything he loves more. Nothing has ever thrilled him as much as slick snow, cold air, and breakneck speed.

Until he meets Dilyn.

But one perfect night doesn’t mean clear, blue skies the next day. Some storms can’t be weathered.

Christmas might just be one of them.

**This is a fun, sexy, standalone Christmas novella. If you want to lighten up your holiday, warm up your night or steam up your windows, give this a read. Mature readers only.**


DEVIL’S SLAVE by Lola Hale

devils-slave

I thought I knew what hell was. After years as a cop, I was sure I’d seen the worst humanity had to offer.

I had no f*cking idea.

Now I know I’ve seen hell. Hell is the basement of an industrial warehouse where the rich, bored and psychotic buy their pleasure at the cost of innocent men and women.

I will take these bastards down, but first, I have to let myself be sold…

My life as a sexual slave should destroy me. Maybe I’m made for hell because as much as I want to end Domingo Morgan and his sick empire, I can’t wait for the next moment I feel his hands on my throat.

Every day I spend as his property, I crave him a little bit more.

Lover. Cop. Victim. Damned if I know who I am anymore. My life as Hugh Kincaid, police officer, is over. The only thing that means anything, the only thing that matters now, is that I belong to him.

Lola Hale explores your darkest erotic fantasies in DEVIL’S SLAVE, the first book in her addictive male/male American Monsters trilogy. This book contains explicit content, including dubious consent. 

Hugh and Domingo’s love story continues in DEVIL’S DUE and DEVIL’S DOWNFALL. Don’t miss them! 


DECEMBER 6 RELEASES


THE PAWN by Skye Warren

the-pawn

The price of survival…

Gabriel Miller swept into my life like a storm. He tore down my father with cold retribution, leaving him penniless in a hospital bed. I quit my private all-girl’s college to take care of the only family I have left.

There’s one way to save our house, one thing I have left of value.

My virginity.

A forbidden auction…

Gabriel appears at every turn. He seems to take pleasure in watching me fall. Other times he’s the only kindness in a brutal underworld.

Except he’s playing a deeper game than I know. Every move brings us together, every secret rips us apart. And when the final piece is played, only one of us can be left standing.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

THE PAWN is a full-length contemporary novel from New York Times bestselling author Skye Warren about revenge and seduction in the game of love. It’s the first book in the brand new ENDGAME series.


BLOOD VOW by JR Ward

blood-vow

#1 New York Times bestselling author J. R. Ward returns with an all-new tale of paranormal passion in the world of the Black Dagger Brotherhood.
 
The Black Dagger Brotherhood continues to train the best of the best to join them in the deadly battle against the Lessening Society. Among the new recruits, Axe proves to be a cunning and vicious fighter—and also a loner isolated because of personal tragedy. When an aristocratic female needs a bodyguard, Axe takes the job, though he’s unprepared for the animal attraction that flares between him and the one he is sworn to protect.

For Elise, who lost her first cousin to a grisly murder, Axe’s dangerous appeal is enticing—and possibly a distraction from her grief. But as they delve deeper into her cousin’s death, and their physical connection grows into so much more, Axe fears that the secrets he keeps and his tortured conscience will tear them apart.

Rhage, the Brother with the biggest heart, knows all about self-punishing, and he wants to help Axe reach his full potential. But when an unexpected arrival threatens Rhage and Mary’s new family, he finds himself back in the trenches again, fighting against a destiny that will destroy all he holds most dear.

As Axe’s past becomes known, and fate seems to be turning against Rhage, both males must reach deep—and pray that love, rather than anger, will be their lantern in the darkness.


HIT THE SPOT by J. Daniels

hit-the-spot

Is this love or just a game?

Tori Rivera thinks Jamie McCade is rude, arrogant, and worst of all . . . the sexiest man she’s ever laid eyes on. His reputation as a player is almost as legendary as his surfing skills. No matter how her body heats up when he’s around, she’s determined not to be another meaningless hookup.

Jamie McCade always gets what he wants. The sickest wave. The hottest women. And Tori, with her long legs and smart mouth, is definitely the hottest one. He knows Tori wants him-hell, most women do-but she won’t admit it. After months of chasing and one unforgettable kiss, it’s time for Jamie to raise the stakes.

Jamie promises that soon Tori won’t just want him in her bed, she’ll be begging for it-and he might be right. Somehow he’s found the spot in her heart that makes her open up like never before. But with all she knows about his past, can she really trust what’s happening between them? Is Jamie playing for keeps or just playing to win?

This book can be read as a stand-alone. 


THE ROMAN by Sylvain Reynard

the-roman

Raven and her sister, Cara, are at the mercy of a small detachment of Florentine vampyres, who are delivering them as a peace offering to the feared Curia in Rome.

Though she’s unsure William survived the coup that toppled his principality, Raven is determined to protect her sister at all costs, even if it means challenging Borek, the commander of the detachment.

In an effort to keep Raven from falling into the hands of his enemies, William puts himself at the mercy of the Roman, the dangerous and mysterious vampyre king of Italy. But the Roman is not what he expects …

Alliances and enmities will shift and merge as William struggles to save the woman he loves and his principality, without plunging the vampyre population into a world war.

This stunning conclusion to the Florentine series will take readers across Italy and beyond as the lovers fight to remain together. Forever.


NICO by Sarah Castille

nico

A dangerous proposal

In Nico, the first book in the Ruin & Revenge series by New York Times bestselling author Sarah Castille, Las Vegas Mafia boss, Nico Toscani, is used to getting what he wants, whether it is having the City of Sin under his rule or a beautiful woman in his bed. But when he meets his match in the gorgeous, headstrong Mia Cordano, the daughter of a rival crime lord, all bets are off. . .

Sexy computer hacker, Mia, struggles to break free of her ruthless father’s Mafia ties…but she can’t resist the powerful and seductive Nico, who will stop at nothing to possess her. With their families locked in a brutal war for control of the city, Mia and Nico enter into a forbidden game. Will they surrender to the passion that burns between them—and risk tearing apart their families? Or will Nico be forced to betray the only woman who sets his blood on fire?


JAMES (7 Brides for 7 Brothers Book 6) by Roxanne St. Claire

james

Meet the Brannigan brothers—seven sexy brothers who bring the heart and the heat! From bestselling authors Barbara Freethy, Ruth Cardello, Melody Anne, Christie Ridgway, Lynn Raye Harris, Roxanne St. Claire and JoAnn Ross comes a brand new contemporary romance family series: 7 Brides for 7 Brothers. You won’t want to miss a single one!

JAMES
Running a billion-dollar hedge fund doesn’t leave a lot of time for fun in the sun, but that doesn’t bother James Brannigan. After spending his youth helping his widowed father raise six younger brothers, James took a cue from his workaholic dad and channeled all his energy into business. So when he learns that his father left him a tiny winery on the Amalfi Coast, he’s not thrilled. A trip to Italy is the last thing his busy schedule needs, but the winery has to go. Which means…he has to go to the winery.

Kyra Summers is the definition of a free-spirit. In her thirty years on earth, she’s never stayed in one place long enough to put down roots until she arrived in Positano and fell hard for the bold flavors, hot sun, warm people, and above all, the wonderful wine. Her job at a small, local winery is her first attempt to make a real home and the people who run the place start to become like family to her. Until the winery’s new owner, a devastatingly handsome, shockingly ruthless billionaire, arrives with plans to shut it all down. Kyra’s willing to do whatever it takes to save this place she loves–even if it means cozying up to a man who’s harder than granite and twice as cold.

But the Italian sunshine has a way of heating things up–with every fiery exchange, they strike sparks and draw irresistibly closer together. James is stunned by his attraction to a woman unlike any he’s met before, and Kyra discovers a simmering passion hidden behind his polished exterior. But passion won’t be enough to change James’s mind and his priorities, which is exactly why his late father sent him to Italy. Changing James is going to take a much bigger risk–it’s going to take love.


TROPHY WIFE by Noelle Adams

trophy-wife

From the New York Times bestselling author of Fooling Around comes a steamy novel about a pampered princess who’s starting over—and the hot guy next door who knows exactly how to melt that tiara right off.

Alison Davies used to just be a trophy wife. Now she’s just flat broke. Thanks to an ironclad prenup, she’s worse off than she was before the day she rushed down the aisle with a wealthy jerk eight years ago. After her steep fall from riches to rags, Alison refuses to shackle herself to any man who treats her like a possession—no matter how good he looks in a pair of well-worn jeans, or how his muscles ripple while he’s carrying her couch.

Underneath his rugged exterior, Rob West is a gentleman. So when he sees his beautiful new neighbor moving in, he’s going to help her out no matter how loudly she protests. In fact, Alison’s determination to go it alone just strengthens his resolve—and his desire to find out what makes her tick. But after one spur-of-the-moment tumble in the sheets, it’s clear that their connection goes way deeper. And that Rob won’t be happy until Alison surrenders to the passion they share.


SWEET ESCAPE by Nina Lane

sweet-escape

Meet the men of the Sugar Rush Candy Company…

SWEET ESCAPE is a sexy contemporary romance by New York Times bestselling author Nina Lane. It can be read as a standalone or enjoyed as part of the Sugar Rush series.

When whipped cream goes wrong…

Hannah Lockhart travels the world and blogs about love. At least she used to before she promised to look after her sister’s bakery. Now, stuck in small town California for the next six months, Hannah is desperate to find romantic content for her blog or risk losing both readers and income.

Then a whipped cream disaster sends her into the arms of sexy, charming Evan Stone, heir to the Sugar Rush Candy Company.

Since childhood, Evan has been trying to overcome family concerns about his defective heart. Known as “The Heartbreaker,” he’s found an outlet with women. And when bad news strikes him, he seeks a diversion by offering to show Hannah the romance of the Bay Area.

Hannah jumps at the chance…as long as they keep things platonic. But soon Evan’s hot combination of charm, perfect kisses, and a serious sweet tooth melts her defenses.

As Hannah and Evan surrender to their delicious attraction, they are forced to confront the reality of her wanderlust and his heart condition. When love and hearts collide, can Hannah and Evan find their sweet ending?


SOMEONE LIKE YOU by Lauren Layne

someone-like-you

Lauren Layne’s bestselling Oxford Series continues with the poignant, heartwarming story of New York’s most eligible bachelor, Lincoln Mathis, a man who’s living a lie—until his dream woman takes away the pain.

Lincoln Mathis doesn’t hide his reputation as Manhattan’s ultimate playboy. In fact, he cultivates it. But behind every flirtatious smile, each provocative quip, there’s a secret that Lincoln’s hiding from even his closest friends—a tragedy from his past that holds his heart quietly captive. Lincoln knows what he wants: someone like Daisy Sinclair, the sassy, off-limits bridesmaid he can’t take his eyes off at his best friend’s wedding. He also knows that she’s everything he can never have.

After a devastating divorce, Daisy doesn’t need anyone to warn her off the charming best man at her sister’s wedding. One look at the breathtakingly hot Lincoln Mathis and she knows that he’s exactly the type of man she should avoid. But when Daisy stumbles upon Lincoln’s secret, she realizes there’s more to the charming playboy than meets the eye. And suddenly Daisy and Lincoln find their lives helplessly entwined in a journey that will either heal their damaged souls . . . or destroy them forever.


INTENDED FOR BRISTOL by L.P. Dover

intended-for-bristol

L. P. Dover’s tantalizing Second Chances series scores once again as the Carolina Cougars’ infamous bad boy takes a shot at seducing a driven career woman who’s supposed to be out of bounds.

Trying to live down his very public indiscretions, Carolina Cougars kicker Jaxon Reed feels like the most hated man in the NFL. Fans and teammates alike treat him with the disrespect he figures he deserves. Unfortunately for them, Jaxon’s no easy target. As payback, he sets his sights on the quarterback’s sister: a sultry brunette who’s curvy, confident, and sexy as hell. But what begins as a revenge fling turns into so much more—a lesson in humanity, and in love.

Bristol Thomas doesn’t have time for games, especially those played by her brother’s Neanderthal teammates. A talented interior designer with lofty goals, she doesn’t know the first thing about football, or Jaxon—except that he’s exactly the type of man she usually avoids. But when his deep laugh and deeper kisses break through her walls, she becomes the target of a fan who’s obsessed with Jaxon. Now she needs to know that Jaxon has her back . . . because he already has her heart.


WORTH FIGHTING FOR by Kirsty Moseley

worth-fighting-for

Kirsty Moseley brings us the sequel to Fighting to be Free.

Sometimes in life you have to walk away . . .

Leaving Jamie Cole was the hardest thing Ellie Pearce ever had to do. Somehow, she moved on. She made a new life in a new city with a new man. So when a family tragedy calls Ellie back home, she believes all her old feelings for Jamie-the hunger, the heat, the heartbreak-are safely behind her. But the second she lays eyes on him, the intensity of their connection is as strong as ever.

Sometimes you stay and fight . . .

Jamie knows pain. He’s felt it fighting in the streets, and he felt it fighting to survive in prison. Yet nothing he’s experienced has been as painful as the day Ellie left-until the moment she came back. This time Jamie is determined to hold on to Ellie forever. But as much as she still loves him, she can’t ignore the dark world he’s now a part of. Jamie has enemies. Dangerous ones. And after seeing Jamie with Ellie, they know exactly how to take him out . . .


SHUT UP AND KISS ME by Jessica Lemmon

shut-up-and-kiss-me

Hailed by Katee Robert as “an author to keep your eye on,” Jessica Lemmon brings her heartfelt storytelling to a sizzling novel about a steamy kiss—and a relationship that only gets hotter from there.

Cade: I tried. I really tried. I should be out of this small town by now, finishing my law degree and partnering up with my buddies, but I couldn’t resist one last street race. Now I’m sidelined in the hospital, and while my injuries will heal, I’m not so sure my voice will return. What kind of attorney can’t talk? Yeah, exactly. I’m afraid that I won’t be able to come back from this . . . until Tasha Montgomery reawakens every competitive bone in my body.

Tasha: I nearly watched Cade Wilson die on that lonely stretch of road. He’s damn lucky just to be alive, even if he doesn’t realize it. I know he’s destined for bigger and better things, but I don’t mind helping him get there as he relearns everything he took for granted. Cade’s a good student, a real perfectionist; I can tell how much his stutter bothers him. But when he lets his kisses do the talking, everything else disappears. And one day, maybe he’ll be able to tell me that he wants me—as much as I want him.


MAKE IT HURT by Jackie Ashenden

make-it-hurt

The Texas Bounty series heats up as a female bounty hunter goes toe-to-toe with the tantalizing biker who never stopped loving her.

Nora Sutcliffe enjoys having tough guys at her mercy—preferably in handcuffs. The best fugitive recovery agent in the business, Nora always gets her man. But when her latest pursuit leads her to a notorious biker hangout, she’s reunited with “Smith”: the one man who was too hot for Nora to handle. Once upon a time, she was a rich girl and he was a bad boy from the wrong side of the tracks. Now she needs his help, and she’ll do whatever it takes to get it.

Eight years ago, Smith let a pretty little Texas debutante break his heart. He picked up the pieces, went to hell and back with the army, then rode out of the darkness with a gang of outlaws at his back. The last thing he needs is a blast from the past like Nora, who has reinvented herself as a gun-toting badass with the stones to challenge him in front of the whole club. But if she thinks Smith will give up one of his brothers for a single night of pleasure, she’s in for a rude awakening.


RULES OF CONTACT by Jaci Burton

rules-of-contact

In the new Play-By-Play novel by the New York Times bestselling author of Unexpected Rush, a football player who knows how to win on the field needs a better game plan for his love life.

A defensive end for the San Francisco Sabers, Flynn Cassidy is used to being in the spotlight—he just doesn’t enjoy it. But if getting in front of the cameras will help his new restaurant succeed, he’s willing. Now if he could just meet a woman who loved him and not his fame…

After her divorce, Amelia Lawrence is thrilled to start over as head chef at Ninety-Two. It’s just the opportunity she needs to heat up her career—if only she wasn’t wildly attracted to her sexy new boss. Their chemistry might be sizzling hot, but Amelia has no intention of being burned again.

Flynn can’t get enough of Amelia, and Amelia loves every second she spends with the tough yet tender Flynn. But trust is a hard-fought battle for both. Breaking the rules of contact and surrendering to their passion was the easy part. Are they willing to risk their hearts to win at the game of love?


HOOKED by Brenda Rothert

hooked

From the author of the On the Line and Fire on Ice hockey romance series comes a sultry standalone novel featuring a brooding NHL player who’s hell on skates—and the no-nonsense woman who forces him to clean up his act.

Miranda: Even though I’m broke, putting myself through college, and working two jobs, I’m trying to make the best of it. Meanwhile, Jake Birch, hockey’s hottest bad boy, lives in a luxury hotel in downtown Chicago—and still complains about every little thing in his penthouse. But after I tell him off, instead of getting me fired, Jake requests me as his personal housekeeper. Then he starts flirting with me. Only I’m not flirting back . . . at least, I’m trying not to. Did I mention that he’s hockey’s hottest bad boy?

Jake: I’ve met the best woman at the worst possible time. Miranda is the fire to my ice—a sexy, charmingly candid spark who breaks down my walls and reminds me what it’s like to feel again. But I’m being forced to date my team owner’s daughter to keep my job, so I can’t be caught with Miranda. Still, we’re getting closer—until Miranda finds out about my “girlfriend.” And that’s not the only secret I’ve been keeping. But Miranda’s the one I want . . . even if she doesn’t believe me.


THE SOUL OF A SEAL by Anne Elizabeth

the-soul-of-a-seal

Love may be the toughest battle of all 

Captain Bennett Oscar Sheraton
Navy SEAL, the best of the best

Dr. Kimberly Warren
Brilliant engineer, founder of secret space program

When scientists on Dr. Warren’s super-secret space mission start dying, Navy SEAL Captain Sheraton is sent in as an astronaut candidate with a hidden agenda-find the person sabotaging the program.

Kimberly and Bennett’s instant attraction may prove to be a major distraction-or it might be the key to both of their dreams coming true…

West Coast Navy SEALs Series:
A SEAL at Heart (Book 1)
Once a SEAL (Book 2)
A SEAL Forever (Book 3)
The Soul of a SEAL (Book 4)


NO PRINCE CHARMING by Angel Payne & Victoria Blue

no-prince-charming

FROM BESTSELLING AUTHORS ANGEL PAYNE AND VICTORIA BLUE

Book one in the Secrets of Stone series – newly expanded version!

Once upon a time, there was a girl who dressed up and went to a big party at the palace. When she was there, she met a prince. They danced and fell in love…

Damn good line. Too bad I don’t believe a word of it anymore. My name is Claire Montgomery and I’m not a princess. I’m a fighter. I worked hard to earn my place on the emergency image repair team for one of the biggest public relations companies in the country. We’ve been called to the renowned Chicago headquarters of Stone Global Corporation, where it’s our job to clean up a heap of the Stone family’s filthiest laundry. Our success will be the biggest victory of my career. I’m on my game. I’m ready.

Why doesn’t ready include a contingency plan for Killian Stone?

My name is Killian Stone. They call me the enigma of Magnificent Mile and that’s the way I like it. Elite tycoons want into my bank account. Their wives and daughters want into my pants. They’ll all do anything for a piece of the enigma—until a crack in the castle is too huge for anyone to ignore. What they all don’t know is that I’m thrilled about the fissure. Their fascination with the scandal means nobody will look at the bigger secret of the Stone family. I’m safe. Until Claire Montgomery walks through my doors. Her honesty, her bravery, her humor… They pull me in, a prism against the gray walls of my tower. I’m captivated. For the very first time, I long to shed the enigma. To share my secret. But what the hell will that get me?

Even if she fits the slipper I offer…I’m no Prince Charming.


ON THE LINE by Victoria Denault

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He had total control of his game–until she changed all the rules . . . 
As one of the best players in the NHL and the “golden boy” of the league, Avery Westwood knows he has to keep his cool–on and off the ice. His whole life is a carefully constructed image of perfection for the media and his brand sponsors. Of course, that means he can never let his true feelings show. But when it comes to the sexy sister of his former teammate, Avery might be willing to make an exception . . . even if it means breaking all his own rules.
As far as Stephanie Deveau is concerned, having a thing for Avery is the equivalent of psychological napalm. Très bad idea. Then he moves in next door, all sexy smiles and a deliciously hot body that she can’t resist. Something’s happening between them–it’s intense, a little (a lot) out of control, and real. Only Avery doesn’t know everything about Stephanie’s past. And the one exception to his rule might just be the one girl who could destroy his career.

UP IN SMOKE by Sidney Bristol

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He’s always loved her… 

Fireman Chaz Fairchild has always held more than brotherly affection for his former step-sister—a wild child with a nose for danger. When Payton shows up on his doorstep without notice, days before Christmas, he knows she’s in trouble. He’ll do anything to keep her safe, but can he protect her from his forbidden desire? Touches turn to kisses and more as Chaz does his best to show Payton he’ll put it all on the line for her.

She knows she’s bad for him… 

Undercover DEA Agent Payton Harris can’t let anyone too close. But Chaz is her anchor, her heart, the person who keeps her going at the darkest of times—and her enemies know it. Loving him means putting him at risk, which is why she has to walk away from any chance of a future with him. But when Chaz is taken prisoner by the people she’s been hunting, Payton will have to trade herself for his safety or risk losing the one person she’s ever been able to love.


SNOWED IN by Jenna Bayley-Burke

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Marissa Clarke was going to murder someone. And that someone was her former sorority sister—now former friend—who had just kicked her out of her own hotel room…in the middle of the night…at their friend’s wedding…for some hanky-panky with an old fling. So much for sisterhood. With no room in the inn and no place to stay, she’s forced to accept help from the last person she ever wanted to spend the night with again: Scott, devilishly handsome, smart, and her ex-fiance’s ex-best man.

Scott Parker has loved Marissa since the first day he bumped into her freshman year of college. Only he’d never been able to tell her. After all, you didn’t just grab your best friend’s girlfriend, kiss her and tell her she was the One for you, no matter how often he’d dreamed about it. Now, years later, Marissa is single and, in a moment of pure luck, staying at his cabin. When a winter storm blocks the roads and snows the two of them in, Scott is determined to make Marissa see there can be more between them than a shared history…if only she’ll let him.


TAKEN BY THE DARKNESS by Alexandra Ivy

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Previously published in Yours for Eternity
 
They are the Guardians of Eternity, strong, skilled, seductive vampires chosen to protect—and to destroy. And they will risk anything to fulfill their duty, and satisfy their desires…

The daughter of a witch, Juliet Lawrence has inherited magical powers—powers that could be quite useful to Victor, Marquess DeRosa, London’s most powerful vampire. But that’s not all Victor desires of Juliet. He wants the unpredictable beauty in his bed—and he is accustomed to getting what he wants…

 


NOTHING LESS by Anna Todd

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Book 2 of a new series featuring After worldwide fan-favorite Landon Gibson as he leaves Washington to navigate love and life in New York City. At the end of the After Ever Happy, Landon got married—but readers everywhere have been wondering who will get to call the nicest boy in the After series their forever love? Read it and find out!

“I’m so excited for everyone to get to know Landon Gibson. Whether you’re just hearing about him or already know him from the After series, I know that readers are going to love his story. He’s kind and fiercely loyal, and when he falls in love, he loves hard.” (Anna Todd, New York Times and #1 international bestselling author of the After series)


 

Review & Excerpt Tour: Perfectly Paired by Lexi Blake

perfectly-paired-reviewPerfectly Paired
Series: Masters and Mercenaries: Topped #3
Genre: Contemporary, BDSM Romance
Author: Lexi Blake
Release Date: November 29, 2016add-to-goodreads-button-2

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A table for two

Waitress Tiffany Hayes knows what she wants and she wants Sebastian. Top’s grumpy sommelier calls to her in a way no man has before. She simply needs to show him that they belong together. Finding an opportunity to spend some quality time with him turns out to be the easy part. Convincing Sebastian to look beyond his damaged heart and soul is far more difficult.

A thirst he can’t deny

After losing everything he held dear, Sebastian Lowe has finally rebuilt his life and the walls around his heart. Tiffany is a sweet temptation he struggles to resist. She’s bright and complex, but he’s sure she can’t handle his dark desires. When they’re thrown together on an assignment, he can’t help himself.

A perfect pairing

As passion builds, the new lovers are both forced to face their pasts. To have a future, they must find a way to heal the wounds they thought would haunt them forever.

Buy LinksAMAZON | iTUNES | B&N

Elegant young handsome man over night city background

Excerpt

Damn but she was a beautiful woman. She was also something he needed to keep his hands off of. No matter what Big Tag said, he did not date women he worked with.He didn’t really date anyone. He played with subs. When the need got too great, he found a partner for a brief time. He didn’t sleep with anyone. He fucked, and that was starting to get very old. Empty.

“So you said something about house rules?” Tiffany leaned forward, her elbows on the bar. “Are these housekeeping rules or like big bad Dom rules?”

“I don’t suppose I differentiate.” He couldn’t let those big eyes of hers soften him up. It had almost happened at her apartment. When she’d stood up after he’d spanked her and there had been tears running down her face, his impulse had been to reach for her. He’d wanted to draw her in the way he had that night when she was drunk and she’d cried on his shoulder. He’d wanted to smooth back her hair and promise her everything was going to be all right, that he could fix things for her. It was a path that was sure to lead to discomfort for her and humiliation for him. “I prefer a clean living space. I don’t like for things to be messy. I expect that you will keep your things in their proper place.”

Because no matter how hard he tried, he could still trip. The legs he now walked on were only a year old. He’d spent the first two years in a wheelchair.

The Garden’s Wheelchair Dom.

He still wasn’t completely comfortable in the prosthetics.

“I can try,” she said with a frown. “I’ll be honest, I’m not the world’s biggest neat freak.”

He’d been able to tell that from the state of her apartment. It had been cluttered, a bit dusty. With the exception of her easel. That had been perfectly taken care of. He rather wished he’d taken the time to ask to see her art.

He’d seen one painting that night he’d taken her home. It had been a painting of three laughing girls, the swirling colors so vibrant he could hear them giggling as they splashed in a puddle on a rainy day. The figures had been more impressions than photographic reality, but he’d known what she was trying to convey.

“If you cook I’ll clean, and the other way around.” He’d started a list in his head on the long drive. The drive that would have been considerably shorter had they left at the proper time. As she’d sung along to sugary pop songs after she’d changed his radio, he’d sat and considered how to proceed.

With caution. Lots and lots of caution.

“I’m not the best cook in the world,” he continued, “but I can manage. Most nights, of course, we’ll be eating at Top as our training sessions for the new restaurant will last long hours, but I would prefer to eat breakfast here rather than skipping the meal or picking up fast food. Eric made sure the fridge was stocked with a few items I requested.”

“Breakfast.” She gave him a little salute with her free hand. “I can manage that.”

“In addition to our duties at Top, we will now be taking on the additional task of appearing to be a long-term D/s couple, and we need to talk about what that should look like.” Another thing he’d been thinking about ever since that moment the trap had closed around him. “You know you probably could have gotten us out of this assignment. It’s much more difficult for the Dom to say no. The sub always holds the power. Is there a reason you didn’t use yours today?”

“I didn’t want to,” she replied simply. “I don’t have a full-time Dom and I thought it would be interesting to see what that’s like.”

Was she thinking at all? “You know nothing about how I function as a dominant partner.”

“And now I do,” she replied. “You like rules and schedules and you tend to be very fair.”

“I can be quite exacting in my standards.”

“I can be quite flexible,” she shot back as the sexiest smile crossed her face. “I’m serious about that. I can still do the splits and everything.”

“You’re far too reckless, Tiffany.” He didn’t appreciate recklessness so why was she like a siren calling to him? If he listened, he would end up wrecked.

“You’re far too uptight, Sebastian.”

Erotic moments of couple in bed

Review-DGR4.5 starsperfectly-paire-dgr-teaser

A smart girl got what she wanted. A good girl made sure her Dom got what he needed, too.

tumblr_nh648kl9fl1u6bin0o3_400Lexi Blake brings the feels with this one. Big time. So sexy and swoony. I adore everything this woman writes. She has a knack for writing a romance that not only scorches but packs an even more solid punch of emotion. It’s perfectly balanced. It’s perfectly written. It’s has a couple that’s perfectly paired.

That’s the trade, baby. Love can lift us up or it can crash us right down. Nothing good comes without risk.

Tiffany Hayes isn’t afraid to go after what she wants. And what she wants is the perfectly mannered but grumpy and standoffish sommelier, Sebastian. These two are polar opposites. Tiffany is fun loving and sunny while Sebastian shies away from any attention and prefers the shadows. Losing everything you ever held dear may do that to a man. Now he feels like a shell of a man he used to be, a monster. He doesn’t understand why a bright ray like Tiffany may be attracted to someone like him. But Tiffany isn’t above manipulation to get what she wants. And suddenly a flooded apartment and a few other “occurrences” and Tiffany is the only sub available for a Dom/sub training that Ian Taggard asks Sebastian to do…well…in his own Ian Taggard way.

Dude, will you take over the baby Doms for me? There’s a new crop coming in and they need to be sown. Otherwise they’ll all be like ‘brah, let’s go spank some bottoms and drink craft beer’ and then I’ll have to murder them. Seriously. I’ve been told not to murder them. Millennial Doms. Has it really come to this?”

Can I just say how much I love Ian? Because I swear the man is the perfect comedic intervention in every single book he appears in. I will never, and I mean EVER get enough of him.

It’s not like I’m getting any right now. Have you ever tried to top a woman who recently had a baby you put up in her? Charlie’s not having any of it. And Seth and I here are still outnumbered because someone neutered Bud and now the dog doesn’t have a dick either. Or balls. Yeah. I think he’s got a dick, but no balls. Isn’t that right, Sean? It’s the same thing. You kept your dick, but they cut off your balls. Dude, I don’t know how you survived. It made the dog cranky so he ate one of my shoes. That made me cranky. God, I’m tired.”

As for Tifanny and Sebastian? I couldn’t get enough of them together. I loved the way that Tiffany was determined to break down all Sebastian’s walls. She doesn’t bow down or run away when things get difficult. She pushes his and forces him to see things the way they should be. She gives as good as she gets, if not better, and man but I loved her for it.

And Sebastian? Holy mother of swoons but I adored this man. Watching the painful struggle of him still trying to deal with his past and his present was absolutely gut wrenching. I hurt for him. I cried for him and everything that he’s been through. The man was just so perfectly imperfect.

This book was everything I love about romance; an endearing and strong heroine, a broken alpha that just needed the right female touch, a perfect balance of swoon and steam, and all with the spice of Lexi Blake’s BDSM to top it all off. It’s the perfect book to warm you up on a cold winter’s night. Simply delicious.
About the Authorlexi_blakeNY Times and USA Today bestselling author Lexi Blake lives in North Texas with her husband, three kids, and the laziest rescue dog int eh world. She began writing at a young age, concentrating on plays and journalism. It wasn’t until she started writing romance and urban fantasy that she found the stories of her heart. She likes to find humor in the strangest places and believes in happy endings no matter how odd the couple, threesome, or foursome may seem.

FACEBOOK / TWITTER / WEBSITE / AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE

New Release & Review: Downed by Jen Frederick

downed-reviewDOWNED
Series: Gridiron #3
Genre: New Adult Romance
Author: Jen Frederick
Release Date: December 1, 2016add-to-goodreads-button-2

downed

He’s the guy no one likes…

Despite winning two national championships, JR “Ace” Anderson was sent packing from his old school after losing the trust of his coach. At Southern U, he has a second chance to prove that his college legacy isn’t endless debauchery and selfishness. But his reputation precedes him, and his teammates offer a chilly welcome in the locker room. The one person who is willing to accept him is the very woman he should stay away from—his new coach’s daughter.

She’s the girl everyone loves…

Bryant Johnson’s only goal in life is to make others happy, even at her own expense. One look at her father’s new star quarterback, and she knows that Ace is her next project. With a reputation for being a “jerk whisperer”, Bryant has spent her last three years at college reforming sorry behavior and turning bad boys into the best boyfriends ever. In Ace, though, she’s met with surly resistance and a sizzling attraction she doesn’t expect. Fixing this wounded warrior will be her biggest challenge yet. Not falling for him will be even harder.

Between her big heart and his damaged one, a battle is ensuing. In this game of love, every defense will crumble.

Buy LinksAMAZON Review-DGR4 starsdowned-dgr-teaser

He likes to take control—on and off the field. He plays hard, loves hard. I should’ve been prepared for him, but I wasn’t.

Well spank my butt and call me Larry, I did NOT expect to like this as much as I did. Now, now, don’t go getting all hissy on me, let me ‘splain. See, the thing is, for as much as I loved Ace in Sacked and was salivating for his story, I was torn between wanting to sack him in the nuts and whacking him with a blunt object until he sees reason in Jockblocked. He single-handedly ruined the book for me. The man was a damn drama queen is what I’m telling you here. I didn’t think anything was going to redeem him after that mess in my eyes, but I was definitely willing to give it a go. Turns out, all Ace needed was a sugary sweet souther girl, who’s as pushy as she is nice.

I chalk it up to unfinished business. She’s an itch I need to scratch. I get in bed with her, screw her, repeat my no-relationships speech, and then we’re done. Over. Finito.

Ace lost everything after his ego and actions led him to almost see his budding football career go up in flames. Now he’s at a new school, hoping for a fresh page and a new start. But some things are hard to escape and it’s not long before he finds himself in a similar predicament, but with a different girl.

There are two things I’m good at: sex and football, and right now I need to concentrate on the latter.

Everyone loves Bryant Johnson, and it’s not hard to see why. She’s sweet as sugar, never cusses, ready to help anyone at the drop of hat, is a phenomenal cook and an even better friend, and the football coach’s daughter. But it’s not all shiny perfection that it seems. Bryant’s actions are all centered around a very painful loss. Everything she does now is all in an exercise to fix the future, so her loss isn’t experienced by some other woman. But nothing quite prepared her for the full impact of JR “Ace” Anderson

You going to come for me when I tell you to? You going to be there with me—really be there, when I’m fucking you so hard and so deep that you won’t be able to walk the next day?” A strangled noise escapes her mouth. “Y-yes.”

So confession time; I don’t usually like the sugary sweet heroines. But something about Bryant just grabbed me. Perhaps it was because there was always that little crack to the shiny foundation that everyone sees on the outside that humanized her. She was almost too perfect at times, but it also worked for her. She was the perfect balm that Ace’s ragged edges needed.

I hadn’t come looking for it, that’s for damn sure. But I don’t regret it. All of the acts of my past—both good and bad—led me to her.

Did Ace redeem himself in this book? More than. THIS is the man that I was hoping was under all that false ego and bluster. You really got to see the heart of him here, and suddenly all of his past actions begin to make sense.

Downed was a delicious combination of sweet and spicy, sexy and romantic. It was one of those perfect college sport romances that made me remember why I enjoy NA in the first place. It had just the right amount of angst and just the right amount of steam to keep me reading well into the night. Dare I say, it was my favorite in the series

Football is a game, but Bryant’s my future. And I’ll keep fighting for her for as long as it takes. Good thing I know how to win.


THE GRIDIRON SERIES

 

SACKED: BUY | READ MY REVIEW

JOCKBLOCKED: BUY | READ MY REVIEW

 

 

Pre-Order Blast: The Pawn by Skye Warren

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THE PAWN by Skye Warren is available for preorder EVERYWHERE!

“Positively sinful, and outrageously sexy! Emotions run high and readers will be left gasping.” – New York Times bestselling author Lisa Renee Jones

PREORDER NOW:
Amazon | iBooks | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

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About The Bookthepawn-1600x2400

“Sinfully sexy and darkly beautiful, The Pawn will play games with your heart and leave you craving more!” – Laura Kaye, New York Times bestselling author

The price of survival…

Gabriel Miller swept into my life like a storm. He tore down my father with cold retribution, leaving him penniless in a hospital bed. I quit my private all-girl’s college to take care of the only family I have left.

There’s one way to save our house, one thing I have left of value.

My virginity.

A forbidden auction…

Gabriel appears at every turn. He seems to take pleasure in watching me fall. Other times he’s the only kindness in a brutal underworld.

Except he’s playing a deeper game than I know. Every move brings us together, every secret rips us apart. And when the final piece is played, only one of us can be left standing.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

THE PAWN is a full-length contemporary novel from New York Times bestselling author Skye Warren about revenge and seduction in the game of love. It’s the first book in the brand new ENDGAME series.

thepawn-teaser-v2GiveawayAnd one lucky reader will win a $125 Gift Card to Amazon to buy even more books

ENTER THE GIVEAWAY HERE
https://goo.gl/forms/60zWNPQk81CqGC7F2

About the Author13680481_812207255582123_3040574096772318693_o

Skye Warren is the New York Times bestselling author of contemporary romance such as the Chicago Underground series. Her books have been featured in Jezebel, Buzzfeed, USA Today Happily Ever After, Glamour, and Elle Magazine. She makes her home in Texas with her loving family, two sweet dogs, and one evil cat.

Contact Skye:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/skyewarren
Twitter: https://twitter.com/skye_warren
Instagram: https://instagram.com/skyewarrenbooks
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Website: www.skyewarren.com

McNaught-E Mondays: Excerpt from Kingdom Of Dreams

McNaught E-Mondays continue today with another excerpt. This one from a book that comes highly recommended to me by everyone I know and I can’t wait to read; KINGDOM OF DREAMS.

If you missed the other posts, then I am so excited to share with you that since November 1, the fourteen Judith McNaught titles listed below are available for the first time in E-Book! If you previously read any of these amazing titles, revisiting them in E-Book is not “All for Naught,” as each E-Book will contain original, new content (a letter) from Judith McNaught.

About The Book A Kingdom of Dreams

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Abducted from her convent school, headstrong Scottish beauty Jennifer Merrick does not easily surrender to Royce Westmoreland, Duke of Claymore. Known as “The Wolf,” his very name strikes terror in the hearts of his enemies. But proud Jennifer will have nothing to do with the fierce English warrior who holds her captive, no matter what he threatens. Boldly she challenges his will—until the night he takes her in his powerful embrace, awakening in her an irresistible hunger. Suddenly Jennifer finds herself ensnared in a bewildering and seductive web of pride, passion, and overwhelming love. This beloved tale about two defiant hearts clashing in a furious battle of wills in the glorious age of chivalry “will stay in your heart forever and be a classic on your shelves” (RT Book Reviews, Top Pick).

S&S | iBOOKS | AMAZON | B&N | GOOGLE PLAYExcerpt

CHAPTER 1“A toast to the duke of Claymore and his bride!”

Under normal circumstances, this call for a wedding toast would have caused the lavishly dressed ladies and gentlemen assembled in the great hall at Merrick castle to smile and cheer. Goblets of wine would have been raised and more toasts offered in celebration of a grand and noble wedding such as the one which was about to take place here in the south of Scotland.

But not today. Not at this wedding.

At this wedding, no one cheered and no one raised a goblet. At this wedding, everyone was watching everyone else, and everyone was tense. The bride’s family was tense. The groom’s family was tense. The guests and the servants and the hounds in the hall were tense. Even the first earl of Merrick, whose portrait hung above the fireplace, looked tense.

“A toast to the duke of Claymore and his bride,” the groom’s brother pronounced again, his voice like a thunderclap in the unnatural, tomblike silence of the crowded hall. “May they enjoy a long and fruitful life together.”

Normally, that ancient toast brings about a predictable reaction: The groom always smiles proudly because he’s convinced he’s accomplished something quite wonderful. The bride smiles because she’s been able to convince him of it. The guests smile because, amongst the nobility, a marriage connotes the linking of two important families and two large fortunes—which in itself is cause for great celebration and abnormal gaiety.

But not today. Not on this fourteenth day of October, 1497.

Having made the toast, the groom’s brother raised his goblet and smiled grimly at the groom. The groom’s friends raised their goblets and smiled fixedly at the bride’s family. The bride’s family raised their goblets and smiled frigidly at each other. The groom, who alone seemed to be immune to the hostility in the hall, raised his goblet and smiled calmly at his bride, but the smile did not reach his eyes.

The bride did not bother to smile at anyone. She looked furious and mutinous.

In truth, Jennifer was so frantic she scarcely knew anyone was there. At the moment, every fiber of her being was concentrating on a last-minute, desperate appeal to God, Who out of lack of attention or lack of interest, had let her come to this sorry pass. “Lord,” she cried silently, swallowing the lump of terror swelling in her throat, “if You’re going to do something to stop this marriage, You’re going to have to do it quickly, or in five minutes ’twill be too late! Surely, I deserve something better than this forced marriage to a man who stole my virginity! I didn’t just hand it over to him, You know!”

Realizing the folly of reprimanding the Almighty, she hastily switched to pleading: “Haven’t I always tried to serve You well?” she whispered silently. “Haven’t I always obeyed You?”

“NOT ALWAYS, JENNIFER,” God’s voice thundered in her mind.

“Nearly always,” Jennifer amended frantically. “I attended mass every day, except when I was ill, which was seldom, and I said my prayers every morning and every evening. Nearly every evening,” she amended hastily before her conscience could contradict her again, “except when I fell asleep before I was finished. And I tried, I truly tried to be all that the good sisters at the abbey wanted me to be. You know now hard I’ve tried! Lord,” she finished desperately, “if you’ll just help me escape from this, I’ll never be willful or impulsive again.”

“THAT I DO NOT BELIEVE, JENNIFER,” God boomed dubiously.

“Nay, I swear it,” she earnestly replied, trying to strike a bargain. “I’ll do anything You want, I’ll go straight back to the abbey and devote my life to prayer and—”

“The marriage contracts have been duly signed. Bring in the priest,” Lord Balfour commanded, and Jennifer’s breath came in wild, panicked gasps, all thoughts of potential sacrifices fleeing from her mind.

God,” she silently pleaded, “why are You doing this to me? You aren’t going to let this happen to me, are You?”

Silence fell over the great hall as the doors were flung open.

“YES, JENNIFER, I AM.”

The crowd parted automatically to admit the priest, and Jennifer felt as if her life were ending. Her groom stepped into position beside her, and Jennifer jerked an inch away, her stomach churning with resentment and humiliation at having to endure his nearness. If only she had known how one heedless act could end in disaster and disgrace. If only she hadn’t been so impulsive and reckless!

Closing her eyes, Jennifer shut out the hostile faces of the English and the murderous faces of her Scots kinsmen, and in her heart she faced the wrenching truth: Impulsiveness and recklessness, her two greatest faults, had brought her to this dire end—the same two character flaws that had led her to commit all of her most disastrous follies. Those two flaws, combined with a desperate yearning to make her father love her, as he loved his stepsons, were responsible for the debacle she’d made of her life:

When she was fifteen, those were the things that had led her to try to avenge herself against her sly, spiteful stepbrother in what had seemed a right and honorable way—which was to secretly don Merrick armor and then ride against him, fairly, in the lists. That magnificent folly had gained her a sound thrashing from her father right there on the field of honor—and only a tiny bit of satisfaction from having knocked her wicked stepbrother clean off his horse!

The year before, those same traits had caused her to behave in such a way that old Lord Balder withdrew his request for her hand, and in doing so destroyed her father’s cherished dream of joining the two families. And those things, in turn, were what got her banished to the abbey at Belkirk, where, seven weeks ago, she’d become easy prey for the Black Wolf’s marauding army.

And now, because of all that, she was forced to wed her enemy; a brutal English warrior whose armies had oppressed her country, a man who had captured her, held her prisoner, taken her virginity, and destroyed her reputation.

But it was too late for prayers and promises now. Her fate had been sealed from the moment, seven weeks ago, when she’d been dumped at the feet of the arrogant beast beside her, trussed up like a feastday partridge.

Jennifer swallowed. No, before that—she’d veered down this path to disaster earlier that same day when she’d refused to heed the warnings that the Black Wolf’s armies were nearby.

But why should she have believed it, Jennifer cried in her own defense. “The Wolf is marching on us!” had been a terrified call of doom issued almost weekly throughout the last five years. But on that day, seven weeks ago, it had been woefully true.

The crowd in the hall stirred restlessly, looking about for a sign of the priest, but Jennifer was lost in her memories of that day.

At the time, it had seemed an unusually pretty day, the sky a cheerful blue, the air balmy. The sun had been shining down upon the abbey, bathing its Gothic spires and graceful arches in bright golden light, beaming benignly upon the sleepy little village of Belkirk, which boasted the abbey, two shops, thirty-four cottages, and a communal stone well in the center of it, where villagers gathered on Sunday afternoons, as they were doing then. On a distant hill, a shepherd looked after his flock, while in a clearing not far from the well, Jennifer had been playing hoodman-blind with the orphans whom the abbess had entrusted to her care.

And in that halcyon setting of laughter and relaxation, this travesty had begun. As if she could somehow change events by reliving them in her mind, Jennifer closed her eyes, and suddenly she was there again in the little clearing with the children, her head completely covered with the hoodman’s hood . . .

“Where are you, Tom MacGivern?” she called out, groping about with outstretched arms, pretending she couldn’t locate the giggling nine-year-old boy, who her ears told her was only a foot away on her right. Grinning beneath the concealing hood, she assumed the pose of a classic “monster” by holding her arms high in front of her, her fingers spread like claws, and began to stomp about, calling in a deep, ominous voice, “You can’t escape me, Tom MacGivern.”

“Ha!” he shouted from her right. “You’ll no’ find me, hoodman!”

“Yes, I will!” Jenny threatened, then deliberately turned to her left, which caused gales of laughter to erupt from the children who were hiding behind trees and crouching beside bushes.

“I’ve got you!” Jenny shouted triumphantly a few minutes later as she swooped down upon a fleeing, giggling child, catching a small wrist in her hand. Breathless and laughing, Jenny yanked off her hood to see whom she’d captured, mindless of the red gold hair tumbling down over her shoulders and arms.

“You got Mary!” the children crowed delightedly. “Mary’s the hoodman now!”

The little five-year-old girl looked up at Jenny, her hazel eyes wide and apprehensive, her thin body shivering with fear. “Please,” she whispered, clinging to Jenny’s leg, “I—I not want to wear th’ hood—’Twill be dark inside it. Do I got to wear it?”

Smiling reassuringly, Jenny tenderly smoothed Mary’s hair off her thin face. “Not if you don’t want.”

“I’m afeert of the dark,” Mary confided unnecessarily, her narrow shoulders drooping with shame.

Sweeping her up into her arms, Jenny hugged her tightly. “Everybody is afraid of something,” she said and teasingly added, “Why, I’m afraid of—of frogs!”

The dishonest admission made the little girl giggle. “Frogs!” she repeated, “I likes frogs! They don’t sceer me ’tall.”

“There, you see—” Jenny said as she lowered her to the ground. “You’re very brave. Braver than I!”

“Lady Jenny is afeart of silly ol’ frogs,” Mary told the group of children as they ran forward.

“No she isn—” young Tom began, quick to rise to the defense of the beautiful Lady Jenny who, despite her lofty rank, was always up to anything—including hitching up her skirts and wading in the pond to help him catch a fat bullfrog—or climbing up a tree, quick as a cat, to rescue little Will who was afraid to come down.

Tom silenced at Jenny’s pleading look and argued no more about her alleged fear of frogs. “I’ll wear the hood,” he volunteered, gazing adoringly at the seventeen-year-old girl who wore the somber gown of a novice nun, but who was not one, and who, moreover, certainly didn’t act like one. Why, last Sunday during the priest’s long sermon, Lady Jenny’s head had nodded forward, and only Tom’s loud, false coughing in the bench behind her had awakened her in time for her to escape detection by the sharp-eyed abbess.

“ ’Tis Tom’s turn to wear the hood,” Jenny agreed promptly, handing Tom the hood. Smiling, she watched the children scamper off to their favorite hiding places, then she picked up the wimple and short woolen veil she’d taken off in order to be the hoodman. Intending to go over to the communal well where the villagers were eagerly questioning some clansmen passing through Belkirk on their way to their homes from the war against the English in Cornwall, she lifted the wimple, intending to put it on.

“Lady Jennifer!” One of the village men called suddenly, “Come quick—there’s news of the laird.” The veil and wimple forgotten in her hand, Jenny broke into a run, and the children, sensing the excitement, stopped their game and raced along at her heels.

“What news?” Jenny asked breathlessly, her gaze searching the stolid faces of the groups of clansmen. One of them stepped forward, respectfully removing his helm and cradling it in the crook of his arm. “Be you the daughter of the laird of Merrick?”

At the mention of the name Merrick, two of the men at the well suddenly stopped in the act of pulling up a bucket of water and exchanged startled, malevolent glances before they quickly ducked their heads again, keeping their faces in shadow. “Yes,” Jenny said eagerly. “You have news of my father?”

“Aye, m’lady. He’s comin’ this way, not far behind us, wit a big band o’ men.”

“Thank God,” Jenny breathed. “How goes the battle at Cornwall?” she asked after a moment, ready now to forget her personal concerns and devote her worry to the battle the Scots were waging at Cornwall in support of King James and Edward V’s claim to the English throne.

His face answered Jenny’s question even before he said, “ ’Twas all but over when we left. In Cork and Taunton it looked like we might win, and the same was true in Cornwall, until the devil hisself came to take command ’o Henry’s army.”

“The devil?” Jenny repeated blankly.

Hatred contorted the man’s face and he spat on the ground. “Aye, the devil—the Black Wolf hisself, may he roast in hell from whence he was spawned.”

Two of the peasant women crossed themselves as if to ward off evil at the mention of the Black Wolf, Scotland’s most hated, and most feared, enemy, but the man’s next words made them gape in fear: “The Wolf is comin’ back to Scotland. Henry’s sendin’ him here with a fresh army to crush us for supportin’ King Edward. Twill be murder and bloodshed like the last time he came, only worst, you mark me. The clans are making haste to come home and get ready for the battles. I’m thinkin’ the Wolf will attack Merrick first, before any o’ the rest of us, for ’twas your clan that took the most English lives at Cornwall.”

So saying, he nodded politely, put on his helmet, then he swung up onto his horse.

The scraggly groups at the well departed soon afterward, heading down the road that led across the moors and wound upward into the hills.

Two of the men, however, did not continue beyond the bend in the road. Once out of sight of the villagers, they veered off to the right, sending their horses at a furtive gallop into the forest.

Had Jenny been watching, she might have caught a brief glimpse of them doubling back through the woods that ran beside the road right behind her. But at the time, she was occupied with the terrified pandemonium that had broken out among the citizens of Belkirk, which happened to lie directly in the path between England and Merrick keep.

“The Wolf is coming!” one of the women cried, clutching her babe protectively to her breast. “God have pity on us.”

“ ’Tis Merrick he’ll strike at,” a man shouted, his voice rising in fear. “ ’Tis the laird of Merrick he’ll want in his jaws, but ’tis Belkirk he’ll devour on the way.” Suddenly the air was filled with gruesome predictions of fire and death and slaughter, and the children crowded around Jenny, clinging to her in mute horror. To the Scots, be they wealthy noble or lowly villager, the Black Wolf was more evil than the devil himself, and more dangerous, for the devil was a spirit, while the Wolf was flesh and blood—the living Lord of Evil—a monstrous being who threatened their existence, right here on earth. He was the malevolent specter that the Scots used to terrify their offspring into behaving. “The Wolf will get you,” was the warning issued to keep children from straying into the woods or leaving their beds at night, or from disobeying their elders.

Impatient with such hysteria over what was, to her, more myth than man, Jenny raised her voice in order to be heard over the din. “Tis more likely,” she called, putting her arms around the terrified children who’d crowded against her at the first mention of the Wolf’s name, “that he’ll go back to his heathen king so that he can lick the wounds we gave him at Cornwall while he tells great lies to exaggerate his victory. And if he does not do that, he’ll choose a weaker keep than Merrick for his attack—one he’s a chance of breeching.

Her words and her tone of amused disdain brought startled gazes flying to her face, but it wasn’t merely false bravado that had made Jenny speak so: She was a Merrick, and a Merrick never admitted to fear of any man. She had heard that hundreds of times when her father spoke to her stepbrothers, and she had adopted his creed for her own. Furthermore, the villagers were frightening the children, which she refused to let continue.

Mary tugged at Jenny’s skirts to get her attention, and in a shrill little voice, she asked, “Isn’t you afeert of the Black Wolf, Lady Jenny?”

“Of course not!” Jenny said with a bright, reassuring smile.

“They say,” young Tom interjected in an awed voice, “the Wolf is as tall as a tree!”

“A tree!” Jenny chuckled, trying to make a huge joke of the Wolf and all the lore surrounding him. “If he is, ’twould be a sight worth seeing when he tries to mount his horse! Why, ’twould take four squires to hoist him up there!”

The absurdity of that image made some of the children giggle, exactly as Jenny had hoped.

“I heert,” said young Will with an eloquent shudder, “he tears down walls with his bare hands and drinks blood!”

“Yuk!” said Jenny with twinkling eyes. “Then ’tis only indigestion which makes him so mean. If he comes to Belkirk, we’ll offer him some good Scottish ale instead.”

“My pa said,” put in another child, “he rides with a giant beside him, a Go-liath called Arik who carries a war axe and chops up children . . .”

“I heert—” another child interrupted ominously.

Jenny cut in lightly, “Let me tell you what I have heard.” With a bright smile, she began to shepherd them toward the abbey, which was out of sight just beyond a bend down the road. ‘7 heard,” she improvised gaily, “that he’s so very old that he has to squint to see, just like this—”

She screwed up her face in a comical exaggeration of a befuddled, near-blind person peering around blankly, and the children giggled.

As they walked along, Jenny kept up the same lighthearted teasing comments, and the children fell in with the game, adding their own suggestions to make the Wolf seem absurd.

But despite the laughter and seeming gaiety of the moment, the sky had suddenly darkened as a bank of heavy clouds rolled in, and the air was turning bitingly cold, whipping Jenny’s cloak about her, as if nature herself brooded at the mention of such evil.

Jenny was about to make another joke at the Wolf’s expense, but she broke off abruptly as a group of mounted clansmen rounded the bend from the abbey, coming toward her down the road. A beautiful girl, clad as Jenny was in the somber gray gown, white wimple, and short gray veil of a novice nun, was mounted in front of the leader, sitting demurely sideways in his saddle, her timid smile confirming what Jenny already knew.

With a silent cry of joy, Jenny started to dash forward, then checked the unladylike impulse and made herself stay where she was. Her eyes clung to her father, then drifted briefly over her clansmen, who were staring past her with the same grim disapproval they’d shown her for years—ever since her stepbrother had successfully circulated his horrible tale.

Sending the children ahead with strict orders to go directly to the abbey, Jenny waited in the middle of the road for what seemed like an eternity until, at last, the group halted in front of her.

Her father, who’d obviously stopped at the abbey where Brenna, Jenny’s stepsister, was also staying, swung down from his horse, then he turned to lift Brenna down. Jenny chafed at the delay, but his scrupulous attention to courtesy and dignity was so typical of the great man that a wry smile touched her lips.

Finally, he turned fully toward her, opening his arms wide. Jenny hurtled into his embrace, hugging him fiercely, babbling in her excitement: “Father, I’ve missed you so! ’Tis nearly two years since I’ve seen you! Are you well? You look well. You’ve scarce changed in all this time!”

Gently disentangling her arms from about his neck, Lord Merrick set his daughter slightly away from him while his gaze drifted over her tousled hair, rosy cheeks, and badly rumpled gown. Jenny squirmed inwardly beneath his prolonged scrutiny, praying that he approved of what he saw and that, since he’d obviously stopped at the abbey already, the abbess’s report had been pleasing to him.

Two years ago, her behavior had gotten her sent to the abbey; a year ago, Brenna had been sent down here for safety’s sake while the laird was at war. Under the abbess’s firm guidance, Jenny had come to appreciate her strengths, and to try to overcome her faults. But as her father inspected her from head to toe, she couldn’t help wondering if he saw the young lady she was now or the unruly girl she’d been two years ago. His blue eyes finally returned to her face and there was a smile in them. “Ye’ve become a woman, Jennifer.”

Jenny’s heart soared; coming from her taciturn father, such a comment constituted high praise. “I’ve changed in other ways too, Father,” she promised, her eyes shining. “I’ve changed a great deal.”

“Not that much, my girl.” Raising his shaggy white brows, he looked pointedly at the short veil and wimple hanging forgotten from her fingertips.

“Oh!” Jenny said, laughing and anxious to explain. “I was playing hoodman-blind . . . er . . . with the children, and it wouldn’t fit beneath the hood. Have you seen the abbess? What did Mother Ambrose tell you?”

Laughter sparked in his somber eyes. “She told me,” he replied dryly, “that ye’ve a habit of sitting on yon hill and gazing off into the air, dreaming, which sounds familiar, lassie. And she told me ye’ve a tendency to nod off in the midst of mass, should the priest sermonize longer than you think seemly, which also sounds familiar.”

Jenny’s heart sank at this seeming betrayal from the abbess whom she so admired. In a sense, Mother Ambrose was laird of her own grand demesne, controlling revenues from the farmlands and livestock that belonged to the splendid abbey, presiding at table whenever there were visitors, and dealing with all other matters that involved the laymen who worked on the abbey grounds as well as the nuns who lived cloistered within its soaring walls.

Brenna was terrified of the stem woman, but Jenny loved her, and so the abbess’s apparent betrayal cut deeply.

Her father’s next words banished her disappointment. “Mother Ambrose also told me,” he admitted with gruff pride, “that you’ve a head on your shoulders befitting an abbess herself. She said you’re a Merrick through and through, with courage enough to be laird of yer own clan. But you’ll no’ be that,” he warned, dashing Jenny’s fondest dream.

With an effort, Jenny kept the smile pinned to her face, refusing to feel the hurt of being deprived of that right—a right that had been promised to her until her father married Brenna’s widowed mother and acquired three stepsons in the bargain.

Alexander, the eldest of the three brothers, would assume the position that had been promised to her. That, in itself, wouldn’t have been nearly so hard to bear if Alexander had been nice, or even fair-minded, but he was a treacherous, scheming liar, and Jenny knew it, even if her father and her clan did not. Within a year after coming to live at Merrick keep, he’d begun carrying tales about her, tales so slanderous and ghastly, but so cleverly contrived, that, over a period of years, he’d turned her whole clan against her. That loss of her clan’s affection still hurt unbearably. Even now, when they were looking through her as if she didn’t exist for them, Jenny had to stop herself from pleading with them to forgive her for things she had not done.

William, the middle brother, was like Brenna— sweet and as timid as can be—while Malcolm, the youngest, was as evil and as sneaky as Alexander. “The abbess also said,” her father continued, “that you’re kind and gentle, but you’ve spirit, too . . .”

“She said all that?” Jenny asked, dragging her dismal thoughts from her stepbrothers. “Truly?”

“Aye.” Jenny would normally have rejoiced in that answer, but she was watching her father’s face, and it was becoming more grim and tense than she had ever seen it. Even his voice was strained as he said, “ ’Tis well you’ve given up your heathenish ways and that you’re all the things you’ve become, Jennifer.”

He paused as if unable or unwilling to continue, and Jenny prodded gently, “Why is that, Father?”

“Because,” he said, drawing a long, harsh breath, “the future of the clan will depend on your answer to my next question.”

His words trumpeted in her mind like blasts from a clarion, leaving Jenny dazed with excitement and joy: “The future of the clan depends on you . . .” She was so happy, she could scarcely trust her ears. It was as if she were up on the hill overlooking the abbey, dreaming her favorite daydream—the one where her father always came to her and said, “Jennifer, the future of the clan depends on you. Not your stepbrothers. You.” It was the chance she’d been dreaming of to prove her mettle to her clansmen and to win back their affection. In that daydream, she was always called upon to perform some incredible feat of daring, some brave and dangerous deed, like scaling the wall of the Black Wolf’s castle and capturing him single-handedly. But no matter how daunting the task, she never questioned it, nor hesitated a second to accept the challenge.

She searched her father’s face. “What would you have me do?” she asked eagerly. “Tell me, and I will! I’ll do any—”

“Will you marry Edric MacPherson?”

“Whaaat?” gasped the horrified heroine of Jenny’s daydream. Edric MacPherson was older than her father; a wizened, frightening man who’d looked at her in a way that made her skin crawl ever since she’d begun to change from girl to maiden.

“Will you, or will you no’?”

Jenny’s delicate auburn brows snapped together. “Why?” asked the heroine who never questioned.

A strange, haunted look darkened his face. “We took a beating at Cornwall, lass—we lost half our men. Alexander was killed in battle. He died like a Merrick,” he added with grim pride, “fighting to the end.”

“I’m glad for your sake, Papa,” she said, unable to feel more than a brief pang of sorrow for the stepbrother who’d made her life into a hell. Now, as she often had in the past, she wished there were something she could do to make him proud of her. “I know you loved him as if he were your own son.”

Accepting her sympathy with a brief nod, he returned to the discussion at hand: “There were many amongst the clans who were opposed to going to Cornwall to fight for King James’s cause, but the clans followed me anyway. Tis no secret to the English that ’twas my influence which brought the clans to Cornwall, and now the English king wants vengeance. He’s sendin’ the Wolf to Scotland to attack Merrick keep.” Ragged pain edged his deep voice as he admitted, “We’ll no’ be able to withstand a siege now, not unless the MacPherson clan comes to support us in our fight. The MacPherson has enough influence with a dozen other clans to force them to join us as well.”

Jenny’s mind was reeling. Alexander was dead, and the Wolf really was coming to attack her home . . .

Her father’s harsh voice snapped her out of her daze. “Jennifer! Do you ken what I’ve been saying? MacPherson has promised to join in our fight, but only if you’ll have him for husband.”

Through her mother, Jenny was a countess and heiress to a rich estate which marched with MacPherson’s. “He wants my lands?” she said almost hopefully, remembering the awful way Edric MacPherson’s eyes had wandered down her body when he’d stopped at the abbey a year ago to pay a “social call” upon her.

“Aye.”

“Couldn’t we just give them to him in return for his support?” she volunteered desperately, ready— willing—to sacrifice a splendid demesne without hesitation, for the good of her people.

“He’d not agree to that!” her father said angrily. “There’s honor in fighting for kin, but he could no’ send his people into a fight that’s no’ their own, and then take your lands in payment to him.

“But, surely, if he wants my lands badly enough, there’s some way—”

“He wants you. He sent word to me in Cornwall.” His gaze drifted over Jenny’s face, registering the startling changes that had altered her face from its thin, freckled, girlish plainness into a face of almost exotic beauty. “Ye’ve your mother’s look about ye now, lass, and it’s whetted the appetites of an old man. I’d no’ ask this of you if there was any other way.” Gruffly, he reminded her, “You used to plead wi’ me to name you laird. Ye said there was naught you wouldna’ do fer yer clan . . .”

Jenny’s stomach twisted into sick knots at the thought of committing her body, her entire life, into the hands of a man she instinctively recoiled from, but she lifted her head and bravely met her father’s gaze. “Aye, father,” she said quietly. “Shall I come with you now?”

The look of pride and relief on his face almost made the sacrifice worthwhile. He shook his head. “ ’Tis best you stay here with Brenna. We’ve no horses to spare and we’re anxious to reach Merrick and begin preparations for battle. I’ll send word to the MacPherson that the marriage is agreed upon, and then send someone here to fetch you to him.”

When he turned to remount his horse, Jenny gave into the temptation she’d been fighting all along: Instead of standing aside, she moved into the rows of mounted clansmen who had once been her friends and playmates. Hoping that some of them had perhaps heard her agree to marry the MacPherson and that this might neutralize their contempt of her, she paused beside the horse of a ruddy, red-headed man. “Good day to you, Renald Garvin,” she said, smiling hesitantly into his hooded gaze. “How fares your lady wife?”

His jaw hardened, his cold eyes flickering over her. “Well enough, I imagine,” he snapped.

Jenny swallowed at the unmistakable rejection from the man who had once taught her to fish and laughed with her when she fell into the stream.

She turned around and looked beseechingly at the man in the column beside Renald. “And you, Michael MacCleod? Has your leg been causing you any pain?”

Cold blue eyes met hers, then looked straight ahead.

She went to the rider behind him whose face was filled with hatred and she held out her hand beseechingly, her voice choked with pleading. “Garrick Carmichael, it has been four years since your Becky drowned. I swear to you now, as I swore to you then, I did not shove her into the river. We were not quarreling—’twas a lie invented by Alexander to—”

His face as hard as granite, Garrick Carmichael spurred his horse forward, and without ever looking at her, the men began passing her by.

Only old Josh, the clan’s armorer, pulled his ancient horse to a halt, letting the others go on ahead. Leaning down, he laid his callused palm atop her bare head. “I know you speak truly, lassie,” he said, and his unceasing loyalty brought the sting of tears to her eyes as she gazed up into his soft brown ones. “Ye have a temper, there’s no denyin’ it, but even when ye were but a wee thing, ye kept it bridled. Garrick Carmichael and the others might o’ been fooled by Alexander’s angelic looks, but not ol’ Josh. You’ll no’ see me grievin’ o’er the loss o’ him! The clan’ll be better by far wit’ young William leadin’ it. Carmichael and the others—” he added reassuringly, “they’ll come about in their thinkin’ o’ you, once they ken yer marrying the MacPherson for their sake as well as your sire’s.”

“Where are my stepbrothers?” Jenny asked hoarsely, changing the subject lest she burst into tears.

“They’re comin’ home by a different route. We couldn’t be sure the Wolf wouldn’t try to attack us while we marched, so we split up after leavin’ Cornwall.” With another pat on her head, he spurred his horse forward.

As if in a daze, Jenny stood stock-still in the middle of the road, watching her clan ride off and disappear around the bend.

“It grows dark,” Brenna said beside her, her gentle voice filled with sympathy. “We should go back to the abbey now.”

The abbey. Three short hours ago, Jenny had walked away from the abbey feeling cheery and alive. Now she felt—dead. “Go ahead without me. I—I can’t go back there. Not yet. I think I’ll walk up the hill and sit for a while.”

“The abbess will be annoyed if we aren’t back before dusk, and it’s near that now,” Brenna said apprehensively. It had always been thus between the two girls, with Jenny breaking a rule and Brenna terrified of bending one. Brenna was gentle, biddable, and beautiful, with blond hair, hazel eyes, and a sweet disposition that made her, in Jenny’s eyes, the embodiment of womanhood at its best. She was also as meek and timid as Jenny was impulsive and courageous. Without Jenny, she’d not have had a single adventure—nor ever gotten a scolding. Without Brenna to worry about and protect, Jenny would have had many more adventures—and many more scoldings. As a result, the two girls were entirely devoted to each other, and tried to protect one another as much as possible from the inevitable results of each other’s shortcomings.

Brenna hesitated and then volunteered with only a tiny tremor in her voice, “I’ll stay with you. If you remain alone, you’ll forget about time and likely be pounced upon by a—a bear in the darkness.”

At the moment, the prospect of being killed by a bear seemed rather inviting to Jenny, whose entire life stretched before her, shrouded in gloom and foreboding. Despite the fact that she truly wanted, needed, to stay outdoors and try to reassemble her thoughts, Jenny shook her head, knowing that if they stayed, Brenna would be drowning in fear at the thought of facing the abbess. “No, we’ll go back.”

Ignoring Jenny’s words, Brenna clasped Jenny’s hand and turned to the left, toward the slope of the hill that overlooked the abbey, and for the first time it was Brenna who led and Jenny who followed.

In the woods beside the road, two shadows moved stealthily, staying parallel with the girls’ path up the hill.

By the time they were partway up the steep incline, Jenny had already grown impatient with her own self-pity, and she made a Herculean effort to shore up her flagging spirits. “When you think on it,” she offered slowly, directing a glance at Brenna, “ ’tis actually a grand and noble thing I’ve been given the opportunity to do—marrying the MacPherson for the sake of my people.”

“You’re just like Joan of Arc,” Brenna agreed eagerly, “leading her people to victory!”

“Except that I’m marrying Edric MacPherson.”

“And,” Brenna finished encouragingly, “suffering a worse fate than she did!”

Laughter widened Jenny’s eyes at this depressing remark, which her well-meaning sister delivered with such enthusiasm.

Encouraged by the return of Jenny’s ability to laugh, Brenna cast about for something else with which to divert and cheer her. As they neared the crest of the hill, which was blocked by thick woods, she said suddenly, “What did Father mean about your having your mother’s ‘look about you’?”

“I don’t know,” Jenny began, diverted by a sudden, uneasy feeling that they were being watched in the deepening dusk. Turning and walking backward, she looked down toward the well and saw the villagers had all returned to the warmth of their hearths. Drawing her cloak about her, she shivered in the biting wind, and without much interest, she added, “Mother Abbess said my looks are a trifle brazen and that I must guard against the effect I will have on males when I leave the abbey.”

“What does all that mean?”

Jenny shrugged without concern. “I don’t know.” Turning and walking forward again, Jenny remembered the wimple and veil in her fingertips and began to put the wimple back on. “What do I look like to you?” she asked, shooting a puzzled glance at Brenna. “I haven’t seen my face in two years, except when I caught a reflection of it in the water. Have I changed much?”

“Oh yes,” Brenna laughed. “Even Alexander wouldn’t be able to call you scrawny and plain now, or say that your hair is the color of carrots.”

“Brenna!” Jenny interrupted, thunderstruck by her own callousness. “Are you much grieved by Alexander’s death? He was your brother and—”

“Don’t talk of it any more,” Brenna pleaded shakily. “I cried when Father told me, but the tears were few and I feel guilty because I didn’t love him as I ought. Not then and not now. I couldn’t. He was so—mean-spirited. It’s wrong to speak ill of the dead, yet I can’t think of much good to say of him.” Her voice trailed off, and she pulled her cloak about her in the damp wind, gazing at Jenny in mute appeal to change the subject.

“Tell me how I look, then,” Jenny invited quickly, giving her sister a quick, hard hug.

They stopped walking, their way blocked by the dense woods that covered the rest of the slope. A slow, thoughtful smile spread across Brenna’s beautiful face as she studied her stepsister, her hazel eyes roving over Jenny’s expressive face, which was dominated by a pair of large eyes as clear as dark blue crystal beneath gracefully winged, auburn brows. “Well, you’re—you’re quite pretty!”

“Good, but do you see anything unusual about me?” Jenny asked, thinking of Mother Ambrose’s words as she put her wimple back on and pinned the short woolen veil in place atop it. “Anything at all which might make a male behave oddly?”

“No,” Brenna stated, for she saw Jenny through the eyes of a young innocent. “Nothing at all.” A man would have answered very differently, for although Jennifer Merrick wasn’t pretty in the conventional way, her looks were both stiking and provocative. She had a generous mouth that beckoned to be kissed, eyes like liquid sapphires that shocked and invited, hair like lush, red-gold satin, and a slender, voluptuous body that was made for a man’s hands.

“Your eyes are blue,” Brenna began helpfully, trying to describe her, and Jenny chuckled.

“They were blue two years ago,” she said. Brenna opened her mouth to answer, but the words became a scream that was stifled by a man’s hand that clapped over her mouth as he began dragging her backward into the dense cover of the woods.

Jenny ducked, instinctively expecting an attack from behind, but she was too late. Kicking and screaming against a gloved male hand, she was plucked from her feet and hauled into the woods. Brenna was tossed over the back of her captor’s horse like a sack of flour, her limp limbs attesting to the fact that she’d fainted, but Jenny was not so easily subdued. As her faceless adversary dumped her over the back of his horse, she threw herself to the side, rolling free, landing in the leaves and dirt, crawling on all fours beneath his horse, then scrambling to her feet. He caught her again, and Jenny raked her nails down his face, twisting in his hold. “God’s teeth!” he hissed, trying to hold onto her flailing limbs. Jenny let out a blood-chilling scream, at the same moment she kicked as hard as she could, landing a hefty blow on his shin with the sturdy, black boots which were deemed appropriate footware for novice nuns. A grunt of pain escaped the blond man as he let her go for a split second. She bolted forward and might even have gained a few yards if her booted foot hadn’t caught under a thick tree root and sent her sprawling onto her face, smacking the side of her head against a rock when she landed.

“Hand me the rope,” the Wolfs brother said, a grim smile on his face as he glanced at his companion. Pulling his limp captive’s cloak over her head, Stefan Westmoreland yanked it around her body, using it to pin her arms at her sides, then took the rope from his companion and tied it securely around Jenny’s middle. Finished, he picked up his human bundle and tossed it ignominiously over his horse, her derrière pointing skyward, then he swung up into the saddle behind her.


 Judith McNaught Historical Romances:

Let New York Times bestselling author Judith McNaught who “is in a class by herself” (USA TODAY) sweep you off your feet and into another time with her sensual, passionate, and spellbinding historical romance classics, featuring her “unique magic” (RT Book Reviews)! 


SEQUELS SERIES


 Once and Always

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Victoria Seaton, a blithe and fiercely independent orphan, leaves her home in America to travel across the vast Atlantic to claim her long-lost inheritance: a labyrinthine English estate named Wakefield. There she encounters her distant cousin, the notorious, proud, and mysterious Lord Jason Fielding. Drawn to his magnetic charisma, Victoria can’t help but suspect that like her, he harbors a dark and painful past. Neither Victoria or Jason are able to resist one another’s charm but, in a moment of blinding anguish, Victoria discovers the shocking truth that lays at the heart of their love—a love she had dreamed would triumph.

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 Something Wonderful

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“Judith McNaught not only spins dreams but makes them come true” (RT Book Reviews) in this sensual and moving tale of a tempestuous marriage facing its ultimate test. Alexandra Lawrence, an innocent country girl, and Jordan Townsende, the rich and powerful Duke of Hawthorne, have always had a stormy relationship. But when she is swept into the endlessly fascinating world of London society, free-spirited Alexandra becomes ensnared in a tangled web of jealousy, revenge, and overwhelming passion. But behind her husband’s cold, haughty mask, there lives a tender, vital, sensual man…the man Alexandra married. Now, she will fight for his very life and the rapturous bond they alone can share.

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Almost Heaven

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Elizabeth Cameron, the Countess of Havenhurst, possesses a rare gentleness and fierce courage to match her exquisite beauty. But her reputation is shattered when she is discovered in the arms of Ian Thornton, a notorious gambler and social outcast. A dangerously handsome man of secret wealth and mysterious lineage, Ian’s interest in Elizabeth may not be all that it seems. His voyage to her heart is fraught with intrigue, scandal, and a venomous revenge.  As a twisting path of secrets takes them from London’s drawing rooms to the awe-inspiring Scottish Highlands, Elizabeth must learn the truth: is Ian merely a ruthless fortune hunter at heart? “Well-developed main characters with a compelling mutual attraction give strength and charm to this romance set in nineteenth-century Great Britain” (Publishers Weekly).

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WESTMORELAND DYNASTY SAGA


 Whitney, My Love

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A saucy spitfire who has grown into a ravishing young woman, Whitney Stone returns from her triumphant time in Paris society to England. She plans on marrying her childhood sweetheart, only to discover she has been bargained away by her bankrupt father to the arrogant and alluring Clayton Westmoreland, the Duke of Claymore. Outraged, she defies her new lord. But even as his smoldering passion seduces her into a gathering storm of desire, Whitney cannot—will not—relinquish her dream of perfect love. Rich with emotion, brimming with laughter and tears, Whitney, My Love is “the ultimate love story, one you can dream about forever” (RT Book Reviews).

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Until You

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In this unforgettable romantic adventure, a teacher of wealthy young ladies finds her life changed forever when she travels from the wilds of America to elegant London. Sheridan Bromleigh is hired to accompany one of her students, heiress Charise Lancaster, to England to meet her fiancé. But when her charge elopes with a stranger, Sheridan wonders how she will ever explain it to Charise’s intended, Lord Burleton. Standing on the pier, Stephen Westmoreland, the Earl of Langford, assumes the young woman coming toward him is Charise Lancaster and reluctantly informs her of his inadvertent role in a fatal accident involving Lord Burleton the night before. And just as the young woman is about to speak, she steps into the path of a cargo net loaded with crates. Sheridan awakens in Westmoreland’s mansion with no memory of who she is; the only hint of her past is the puzzling fact that everyone calls her Miss Lancaster. All she truly knows is that she is falling in love with a handsome English earl, and that the life unfolding before her seems full of wondrous possibilities.

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Miracles (in A Holiday of Love)

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Now available for the first time ever as an e-novella, New York Times bestselling author Judith McNaught’s short historical romanceMiracles—which ties up ends left open in the Westmoreland Dynasty Saga—is available for the first time ever as a standalone e-novella. In Regency London, world-weary lord Nicki du Ville receives an outrageous proposal from Julianna Skeffington, who is Sheridan Bromleigh’s charge from Until You.

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Judith McNaught Contemporary Historical Romances:

Discover the sensual and sweeping power of love in New York Times bestselling author Judith McNaught’s contemporary romances that will make “you laugh, cry, and fall in love again” (RT Book Reviews)!


STAND-ALONES


Tender Triumph

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On Friday, a sensuous stranger enters Katie’s life. By Sunday, her life is irrevocably changed forever.

Katie Connelly submerges her painful past in a promising career, an elegant apartment, and men she can keep at a distance. Yet something vital is missing from her life—until she meets proud, rugged Ramon Galverra. With his charm and his passionate nature, Ramon gives her a love she had never known. Still she is afraid to surrender her heart to this strong, willful, secretive man—a man from a different world, a man with a bold, uncertain future. Will Katie’s relationship with Ramon survive once the thrill of their simmering passion subsides?

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Double Standards

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In the exclusive, glittering world of business superstars, Nick Sinclair is a legend. The ruggedly handsome president of Global Industries handles his business the way he handles his women—with charm, daring, and ruthless self-control. A man used to the very best, Nick hires Lauren Danner and assumes the proud beauty will soon be another easy conquest. But Lauren’s flashing wit and rare spirit dazzles him and slowly, against his will, he’s intrigued, challenged, and in love. Yet he doesn’t know that Lauren is living a lie and, trapped in a web of deceit, she fights her growing love for Nick. Her secret could destroy his fragile trust and the promise of life with the most compelling man she has ever met.

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FOSTER SAGA


Remember When

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When multinational tycoon Cole Harrison approaches her on a moonlit balcony at the White Orchid Charity Ball, Diana Foster has no idea how life-changing the night ahead will be. The most lavish social event of the Houston season had brought out Texas aristocracy in glittering array but Diana only agreed to attend to save face after reading about her fiancé leaving her for an Italian heiress in a sleazy gossip magazine. Her Beautiful Living magazine is her family’s success story, and Diana knows that as a single, childless, and suddenly unengaged woman, she is not living up to its lucrative image of upscale domestic tranquility. But when she spots the pride of Dallas billionaires, Cole Harrison, closing in on her with two crystal flutes and a bottle of champagne, she has no idea that he has ulterior motives for seducing her tonight. And he certainly has no idea that a match made in what he considers logic’s heaven might be headed straight for an unexpected, once-in-a-lifetime love. “Judith McNaught once again works her unique magic in this charming, sparkling romance” (RT Book Reviews, 4 stars).

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 PARADISE SERIES


 Paradise

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“Judith McNaught comes close to an Edith Wharton edge” (The Chicago Tribune) in this stylish and fast-paced classic. Ruthless corporate raider Matthew Farrell is poised to move in on the legendary department store empire owned by Chicago’s renowned Bancroft family. In the glare of the media spotlight, it’s a stunning takeover that overshadows the electric chemistry between Matt, once a scruffy kid from steel town Indiana, and cool, sophisticated Meredith Bancroft. Their brief, ill-fated marriage sparked with thrilling sensuality but ended with a bitter betrayal. Now, locked in a battle that should be all business, dangerous temptations, and bittersweet memories are stirring their hearts. Will they risk everything for a passion too bold to be denied?

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Perfect

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A rootless foster child, Julie Mathison has blossomed under the love showered upon her by her adoptive family. Now a lovely and vivacious young woman, she is a respected teacher in her small Texas town and is determined to give back all the kindness she has received, believing that nothing can ever shatter the perfect life she has fashioned. Zachary Benedict is an actor whose Academy Award-winning career was shattered when he was wrongly convicted of murdering his wife. After the tall, ruggedly handsome Zack escapes from a Texas prison, he abducts Julie and forces her to drive him to his Colorado mountain hideout. She’s outraged, cautious, and unable to ignore the instincts that whispers of his innocence. He’s cynical, wary, and increasingly attracted to her. Desire is about to capture them both in its fierce embrace but the journey to trust, true commitment, and proving Zack’s innocence is just beginning.“A mixture of virtue and passion that is almost—ahem—perfect” (Kirkus Reviews) this is a captivating tale that fans will adore.

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Night Whispers

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In this “exciting tale of loyalty, love, and danger” (Publishers Weekly), Sloan Reynolds, a small-town Florida policewoman, knows that her modest upbringing is a long way from the social whirl of Palm Beach, the world inhabited by her father and her sister, Paris. Total strangers to Sloan, they have never tried to contact her—until a sudden invitation arrives, to meet them and indulge in the Palm Beach social season. Reluctant to accept the long-overdue familial gesture, Sloan is convinced to visit when an FBI colleague informs her that her father and his associates are suspected of fraud, conspiracy, and murder. The only catch is she must hide her true profession from her family. Sloan is on top of her game until she meets Noah Maitland, a multinational corporate player and one of the FBI’s prime suspects. She finds herself powerfully attracted to him, against her deepest instincts. When a shocking murder shatters the seductive facade of the wealth and glamour surrounding her, Sloan must maneuver through a maze of deceit and passion in this superb and enthralling tale of breathtaking suspense.

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Someone to Watch Over Me

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Leigh Kendall is relishing her stellar Broadway acting career in her marriage to Logan Manning, scion of an old New York family, when her husband finds the perfect mountain property for their dream house. But while driving upstate on a winter’s night, Leigh is run off the road in the midst of a blinding blizzard. When she awakes in the local hospital, seriously injured, the police inform her that her husband has mysteriously disappeared, and Leigh becomes the focus of their suspicions. The more she discovers about her husband and his business affairs, the less she realizes she knew about Logan Manning. Now, Leigh is heading deeper and deeper into unknown territory—where friends and enemies are impossible to distinguish, and the truth becomes the most terrifying weapon of all in this thrilling tale filled with unrelenting suspense, unforgettable characters, and powerful traces of greed, ambition, and desire. 

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About the Author

Judith McNaught is the New York Times bestselling author who first soared to stardom with her stunning bestseller Whitney, My Love, and went on to win the hearts of millions of readers with Once and AlwaysSomething WonderfulA Kingdom of Dreams, Almost Heaven, ParadisePerfectUntil YouRemember WhenSomeone to Watch Over Me, the #1 bestseller Night Whispers, and other novels. There are more than thirty million copies of her books in print. She lives in Houston. Please visit her at JudithMcNaught.comand on Facebook at AuthorJudithMcNaught.

New Releases: Nov 28- Dec 1

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It’s Cyber Monday, y’all! And if you’ve been keeping an eye on my FACEBOOK page, I’ve been posting a ton of freebies and sales. So that way, you won’t feel as guilty setting your one-clicker loose on all these new releases! BECAUSE HOLY CRAP THIS LIST!


ALREADY RELEASED


AFTER WE FALL by Melanie Harlow

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Jack Valentini isn’t my type.

Sexy, brooding cowboys are fine in the movies, but in real life, I prefer a suit and tie. Proper manners. A close shave.

Jack might be gorgeous, but he’s also scruffy, rugged, and rude. He wants nothing to do with a “rich city girl” like me, and he isn’t afraid to say so.

But I’ve got a PR job to do for his family’s farm, so he’s stuck with me and I’m stuck with him. His glares. His moods. His tight jeans. His muscles.

His huge, hard muscles.

Pretty soon there’s a whole different kind of tension between us, the kind that has me misbehaving in barns, trees, and pickup trucks. I’ve never done anything so out of character—but it feels too good to stop.

And the more I learn about the grieving ex-Army sergeant, the better I understand him. Losing his wife left him broken and bitter and blaming himself. He doesn’t think he deserves a second chance at happiness.

But he’s wrong.

I don’t need to be his first love. If only he’d let me be his last.


OWN by K.I. Lynn

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Kira’s finally mine.
Mine.
And nobody and nothing is going to take her from me. I’ll fight for her, to the death. Do anything for her.
There’s no more living without her. No more holding back my feelings.
If only it was enough.
We’re surrounded every day.
Watched.
Stalked.
Judged.
Everyone knows us. Now, they suspect. The odds are stacked against us more than before.
We live in the shadows, hiding our love from the entire world.
But not for long.
I refuse to live like this anymore.
I’ll do whatever it takes to own her. I’m waging a dark war against those that stand against us.
And I will win.
That girl is going to be mine forever, and there’s nothing anyone can do about it.


FIRE IN YOU by J. Lynn

fire-in-youFrom the # 1 New York Times and International bestselling author, Jennifer L. Armentrout writing as J. Lynn, comes a richly moving story about heartbreak and guilt, second chances and hope. Full of familiar, fan-favorite characters and no two people more deserving of a happy ending, Fire In You will burn bright beyond the last page…

Jillian Lima’s whole world was destroyed in a span of a few hours. The same night her childhood love, Brock ‘the Beast’ Mitchell, broke her heart, her life was irrevocably altered by the hand of a stranger with a gun. It takes six years to slowly glue together the shattered pieces of her life, but Jillian is finally ready to stop existing in a past full of pain and regret. She takes a job at her father’s martial arts Academy and she’s going out on her first date since a failed relationship that was more yuck than yum. Jillian is determined to start living.

She just never expected Brock to be a part of her life again. But he’s firmly back in her life before she knows it, and not only is he older, he’s impossibly more handsome, more teasing and more everything. And when he sees Jillian, he’s no longer capable of thinking of her as the little girl who was his shadow growing up or the daughter of the man who gave him a second chance at life. He sees the woman who’d always been there for him, the one person who believed in him no matter what.

Brock knows she’s the one he should’ve made his, and what begins as a tentative friendship quickly turns to red-hot chemistry that sparks a flame that burns brighter than lust. Falling for Brock again risks more than her heart, because when the sorrow-filled and guilt-ridden past resurfaces, and a web of lies threatens to rip them apart, the fallout could lay waste to everything they’ve fought to build together, and destroy the dreams of those they care most about.


NOVEMBER 29 RELEASES


SCORING HER by Max Monroe

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A secret duo of romance authors team up under the New York Times & USA Today Bestselling pseudonym Max Monroe to bring you the end of their sexy, laugh-out-loud Billionaire Bad Boys series.

The end of the Billionaire Bad Boy era, the series comes to a close.

From Kline and Benny to Wes and Winnie with Thatch and Cassie in between, spend time with the characters that have stolen the hearts of both each other and readers alike, and meet the men of the upcoming spinoff series Mavericks Tackle Love.

Suggested Series Reading order:
#1 Tapping the Billionaire
#1.5 Tapping Her
#2 Banking the Billionaire
#2.5 Banking Her
#3 Scoring the Billionaire
#3.5 Scoring Her


CHASE by Sidney Bristol

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The Classic Rides crew takes on top secret at top speed—and chases the same thrills between the sheets . . .

For Gabriel, the FBI is just a painful memory. His new team of motorheads may work for the Feds undercover, but they’re nothing like the backstabbers and bureaucrats he left behind. Hunting drug dealers and smugglers in Miami gets him the adrenaline rush he wants and the justice he needs. All that’s missing is the seal on the badge—and Nikki, his sexy ex-partner.

Until she shows up at his garage, wearing short shorts and a look that spells trouble. Nikki has never forgotten the heartbreak Gabriel left her with last time. Even if she can’t have him, she still has to work with him. There’s a homegrown terrorist recruiting military vets to a cult of fear and deception, and they all have roots in Miami.

It will take Gabriel and all the Classic Rides crew to stop a catastrophe. But in close quarters with sparks flying, it’s only a matter of time before the old flame ignites . . .


INK EXPOSED by Carrie Ann Ryan

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The Montgomery Ink series continues with the brother that deserves a second chance, and the woman who has always loved him.

Alex Montgomery lost his first love and then proceeded to leave himself in the bottle. Only he and his ex-wife truly know why he fell so hard and so fast down a path he never thought he’d take. Now he’s clean, out of rehab, and learning how to be a Montgomery once again—a task that isn’t quite as easy as some of his family assumes.

Tabby Collins is an honorary Montgomery and the organizational mastermind behind Montgomery Inc., the family’s construction company. She loves her planners, friends, and a certain dark-haired man who’s never given her a second glance.

Alex is slowly re-immersing himself back into the world, but the demons he faced before aren’t out of the picture, and he’ll have to learn to rely on others to make it out whole. When Alex discovers that Tabby’s life is in danger, he not only finds a way to help her but also learns the true woman behind the soft smiles he’s always seen. Their romance won’t be an easy one, but nothing this passionate and heart-pounding ever is.


TAKEN by Cynthia Eden

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In New York Times bestselling author Cynthia Eden’s latest novel, the Last Option Search Team (LOST) returns— and for one agent, the hunt for a serial killer just got very personal . . . 

HE SWORE TO PROTECT HER . . . 

Bailey Jones somehow survived her harrowing abduction by the infamous Death Angel. But while her physical scars have healed, she can’t stop wondering about a woman she helped to escape, who simply disappeared. When LOST agent Asher Young is assigned to her case, Bailey instantly feels an attraction to the intense ex-SEAL who seems to be carrying dark secrets of his own.

BUT KEEPING HIS PROMISE . . . 

Asher can’t afford to let his growing feelings for Bailey distract him from his job. Only she can soothe his horrific nightmares, but the last thing he wants is for the demons from his past to ever hurt her. Bailey has gotten past his guard, and the emotions he feels for her—they’re as dark and dangerous as the past he doesn’t want to face.

COULD COST BOTH THEIR LIVES

When corpses begin surfacing—all marked with the same tattoo depicting the Death Angel’s calling card—Asher must race to stop a twisted killer who wants nothing more than to claim his next prize: Bailey . . .


FAMILY JEWELS by Denise Grover Swank

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The first book in the Rose Gardner Investigation series, a spinoff of the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today best selling Rose Gardner Mystery series.

Trouble always comes to those who court it. Rose Gardner’s ability to see glimpses of the future has gotten her into hot water time and again, but so have her curiosity and her sense of daring. Those very qualities helped her defeat the most powerful man in Arkansas—a man so adept at hiding his crimes there was no way to defeat him inside of the law—but her success came at a steep personal price. Now she’s throwing herself into her landscaping business, trying to live a life that’s as orderly as one of her gardens.

Rose’s best friend, Neely Kate, is struggling with her own losses, so when she suggests they help a local man find a missing necklace, Rose agrees. It’ll give both of them a welcome distraction, and besides, it’s a simple investigation. What harm could befall them? But things that should be simple rarely are. In seeking out the necklace, Rose and Neely Kate find themselves in the thick of a power struggle in the Fenton County underworld, one that could dethrone Rose’s friend James Malcolm, the surprisingly moral king.

The last thing Rose should do is court more trouble, but she’s not the type to step away from a friend in need—and she’s also not so sure she wants an orderly life.


WHEN ALL THE GIRLS HAVE GONE by Jayne Ann Krentz

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Jayne Ann Krentz, the New York Times bestselling author of Secret Sisters, delivers a thrilling novel of the deceptions we hide behind, the passions we surrender to, and the lengths we’ll go to for the truth…
 
When Charlotte Sawyer is unable to contact her stepsister, Jocelyn, to tell her that one of her closest friends was found dead, she discovers that Jocelyn has vanished.

Beautiful, brilliant—and reckless—Jocelyn has gone off the grid before, but never like this. In a desperate effort to find her, Charlotte joins forces with Max Cutler, a struggling PI who recently moved to Seattle after his previous career as a criminal profiler went down in flames—literally. Burned out, divorced and almost broke, Max needs the job.

After surviving a near-fatal attack, Charlotte and Max turn to Jocelyn’s closest friends, women in a Seattle-based online investment club, for answers. But what they find is chilling…

When her uneasy alliance with Max turns into a full-blown affair, Charlotte has no choice but to trust him with her life. For the shadows of Jocelyn’s past are threatening to consume her—and anyone else who gets in their way…


MAYBE THIS TIME by Jennifer Snow

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Starting over means a second chance . . . 

Abigail Jansen is done with hockey . . . and hockey players. After leaving her two-timing NHL-star husband, Abby decides to start over in her hometown of Glenwood Falls, Colorado. There she doesn’t have to deal with people gossiping behind her back or hear the word “hockey”—until her daughter tries out for the junior hockey team. Now Abby has to face her fears . . . and coach Jackson Westmore. He’s tall, dark, handsome—and happens to hate her.

All through high school, talented hockey player Jackson Westmore had a crush on Abby, but he would never make a move on his best friend’s girl. He gave her the cold shoulder out of self-preservation and worked out his frustrations on the ice. So when Abby returns, newly divorced and still sexy as hell, Jackson knows he’s in trouble. Now even the best defensive skills might not keep him from losing his heart.


BLIND RETRIBUTION by K.T. Roberts

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It should have been an open-and-shut case. When a car bomb explodes, taking with it the wife of a prominent heart surgeon, NYPD detective Maxine Turner is sure she has arrested the right suspect—until Cory Rossini, a private investigator, begins muddying the waters. Max already has enough to deal with: her longtime partner is retiring, her latest case is suddenly anything but simple, and she now has a troubling attraction to a man who is proving to be annoyingly persistent.

Having taken on the task of proving his friend’s innocence, Cory isn’t about to drop the ball—no matter how distractingly beautiful he finds the detective assigned to the investigation. When his sleuthing turns up other homicides connected to the cardiology department, including a young woman whose throat has been slit, he convinces Max that they should work together. And as they delve further into the vicious murders, they search for the one lead that will steer them straight to a killer…


MAX by Lynn Raye Harris

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Meet the Brannigan brothers—seven sexy brothers who bring the heart and the heat!  From bestselling authors Barbara Freethy, Ruth Cardello, Melody Anne, Christie Ridgway, Lynn Raye Harris, Roxanne St. Claire and JoAnn Ross comes a brand new contemporary romance family series: 7 Brides for 7 Brothers. You won’t want to miss a single one!
MAX – Lynn Raye Harris

Former Navy SEAL Max Brannigan is a loner with a strong protective streak and an ocean of survivor’s guilt that drives him to take risks no sane man would take. When he gets the news his billionaire father died and left him a horse farm in Kentucky, he’s busy protecting American military contractors in a war zone. The first moment he’s able, he’ll fly back to the US and dispose of the farm. What does a man like him need horses for anyway? Of all the things his father could have left him, this certainly ranks up there as the most bizarre.

Elinor Applegate lives for her horses, but life on the farm isn’t easy. Once-thriving Applegate Farm has fallen on hard times in the past few years. Only an influx of cash from her mother’s old friend enabled Ellie to keep the family operation going. All her hopes to turn around the business and buy back the land lie on the hooves of a colt destined to greatness. She’s just got to get him there first.

But when sexy, ruthless, infuriating Max Brannigan shows up, Ellie realizes her troubles are far worse than she thought. He knows nothing about horses—and he cares less than nothing about her dreams. To Max, the horses are useless and have to go—in spite of the fact that every encounter with Ellie only makes him want to drag her into his arms and kiss the fire right out of her. But Ellie will fight hard to keep her dreams alive, even if she has to fight dirty. Max has spent most of his life protecting people from danger—but can he protect himself when Ellie launches a full-scale assault against the walls surrounding his heart?


RULE by Michelle St. James

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“Come to Paris.”

It had been a dream Charlotte Duval was only too happy to believe in. But then she’d packed up her life in L.A. and flown across the Atlantic to find that Christophe Marchand had abandoned her.

Again.

She knew when it was time to give up on a man. And it was past time to give up on Christophe Marchand.

She goes about her business, settling into her father’s antique shop as she tries to forget the man who broke her heart. When she makes one final pass by his house in Saint-Germain, she finds the street lined with cars, the lights on inside for the first time in weeks. Bracing herself for the truth of his abandonment, she approaches the house, determined to get closure. What she finds instead nearly brings her to her knees.

She’d been waiting for him. And now she would think he didn’t love her.

Christophe Marchand wanted nothing more than to fulfill his promise to Charlotte. To take care of her and protect her. To let her know him and to know her in return. Then he was ambushed and taken prisoner by the newly-freed Raneiro Donati and his men. As he suffers through their torture, there’s only one thing that sustains him.

Charlotte. His heart and soul.

He waits for the rescue he knows will come, determined to exact his revenge — and secure the Paris territory against a coup d’etat by Raneiro.

But taking out Raneiro proves more difficult than expected, even with the help of Farrell Black and Luca Cassano. When their woman come under attack it becomes clear they need reinforcements — and there is only one man who can do the job.

As the group fights for their business, their women, and their very lives, Charlotte realizes she’s committing to more than a man. She’s committing to a lifestyle unlike any other.

And whatever happens, there will be no going back.

*** This is the final booking the Paris Mob series, and the book that brings the entire Mob Boss series to a stunning conclusion. ***


A VEIL OF VINES by Tille Cole 

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To most people, princes, princesses, counts and dukes are found only in the pages of the most famous of fairytales. Crowns, priceless jewels and gilded thrones belong only in childhood dreams.
But for some, these frivolous fancies are truth.
For some, they are real life.
On Manhattan’s Upper East Side, people have always treated me as someone special. All because of my ancestral name and legacy. All because of a connection I share to our home country’s most important family of all.
I am Caresa Acardi, the Duchessa di Parma. A blue blood of Italy. I was born to marry well. And now the marriage date is set.
I am to marry into House Savona. The family that would have been the royals had Italy not abolished the monarchy in 1946. But to the aristocrats of my home, the abolition means nothing at all.
The Savonas still hold power where it counts most.
In our tight-knit world of money, status and masked balls, they are everything and more.
And I am soon to become one of them.
I am soon to become Prince Zeno Savona’s wife…
… or at least I was, until I met Achille.
And everything changed.


NOVEMBER 30 RELEASES


A HUSH OF GREEK by Tina Folsom

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After a devastating heartbreak, Eros, the god of love, is disillusioned with love and refuses to shoot his arrows. As a result, people on earth aren’t falling in love anymore. When Zeus gets wind of it, he’s furious and seeks help from Eros’s best friends and fellow gods Triton, Dionysus, and Hermes. They are tasked with making Eros believe in love again. And what better way than to make him fall in love with the enticing human florist Psyche, who’s just as cynical about love as Eros?

Out of Olympus Series (A romantic comedy series about Greek Gods):

Book 1: A Touch of Greek
Book 2: A Scent of Greek
Book 3: A Taste of Greek
Book 4: A Hush of Greek


DECEMBER 1 RELEASES


DOWNED by Jen Frederick

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He’s the guy no one likes…

Despite winning two national championships, JR “Ace” Anderson was sent packing from his old school after losing the trust of his coach. At Southern U, he has a second chance to prove that his college legacy isn’t endless debauchery and selfishness. But his reputation precedes him, and his teammates offer a chilly welcome in the locker room. The one person who is willing to accept him is the very woman he should stay away from—his new coach’s daughter.

She’s the girl everyone loves…

Bryant Johnson’s only goal in life is to make others happy, even at her own expense. One look at her father’s new star quarterback, and she knows that Ace is her next project. With a reputation for being a “jerk whisperer”, Bryant has spent her last three years at college reforming sorry behavior and turning bad boys into the best boyfriends ever. In Ace, though, she’s met with surly resistance and a sizzling attraction she doesn’t expect. Fixing this wounded warrior will be her biggest challenge yet. Not falling for him will be even harder.

Between her big heart and his damaged one, a battle is ensuing. In this game of love, every defense will crumble.


FROM SAND AND ASH by Amy Harmon

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Italy, 1943—Germany occupies much of the country, placing the Jewish population in grave danger during World War II.

As children, Eva Rosselli and Angelo Bianco were raised like family but divided by circumstance and religion. As the years go by, the two find themselves falling in love. But the church calls to Angelo and, despite his deep feelings for Eva, he chooses the priesthood.

Now, more than a decade later, Angelo is a Catholic priest and Eva is a woman with nowhere to turn. With the Gestapo closing in, Angelo hides Eva within the walls of a convent, where Eva discovers she is just one of many Jews being sheltered by the Catholic Church.

But Eva can’t quietly hide, waiting for deliverance, while Angelo risks everything to keep her safe. With the world at war and so many in need, Angelo and Eva face trial after trial, choice after agonizing choice, until fate and fortune finally collide, leaving them with the most difficult decision of all

Jennifer’s Review: To The Ends of The Earth by Skye Warren

review-to-the-ends-of-the-earthTitle: To the Ends of the Earth (A Stripped Series Novella)
Series: Stripped
Author: Skye Warren
Genre: Dark Romance
Release Date: November 15, 2016add-to-goodreads-button-2

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Another rundown apartment. Another job that pays cash. Every new city it becomes harder to hide but I can’t stop running.

There are two men after me. One wants to save my soul. The other wants to claim my body.

Part of me wants Luca to catch me, even knowing what he’s capable of. An enforcer. A fighter. The only language he speaks is violence.

How far will he go to find me?

What will he do once he does?

A wild glance over my shoulder. The shadows are moving. I’m about to find out.

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Review-DGR4 starsI really enjoyed Luca and Beth’s story. This was a great ending to one of my favorite series by Skye Warren!!!
à la Mode St. » fashion

A man like this isn’t anyone’s prince.

à la Mode St. » fashionWe first met Luca & Beth in Pretty When You Cry, where Luca is a bodyguard/enforcer and saves Beth from the cult. This book picks up at their beginning. I loved getting to know Beth’s story from her point of view. Beth comes from…..hell on earth. I cannot even imagine growing up in a cult. I can’t. If I even begin to think about it, I get this crazy rage inside me because it just makes me so angry. Which is why I really liked this story because Beth breaks free from that life of horror. Even though Luca saves her, she is the one who saves herself. After finding out that she is pregnant, she fights for herself and her daughter. I loved that Skye gave her a while to be on her own without Luca. I think her character truly needed that, even though it was hard. But once Luca finds her……DAYUM! Beth is still running from the cult, so Luca has to fight to protect her. He doesn’t let go. He doesn’t her leave or fight on her own any more. And he literally fights for her.
à la Mode St. » fashionFighting’s in my blood. This is what I was born to do. And you’re the best reason I’ve ever had to do it.

à la Mode St. » fashionThis story is short, but well-developed. I thought there was nothing left unsaid or undid (Lol). I also loved that it was hot, but because of Beth’s past, Luca didn’t push her even though he could have (sorry for being vague. I’m trying not to spoil anything).

You don’t have to read the other books before this one, but if you don’t, you will definitely want to read them after because all of these characters are just so good!

Review: Split by JB Salsbury

split-reviewSPLIT
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Suspense
Author: JB Salsbury
Release Date: November 15, 2016add-to-goodreads-button-2

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JB Salsbury is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who has captivated readers around the world. Her unforgettable new novel is a story of romance and suspense, with a twist no one will see coming . . .

What do you do when you wake up with no memory of what you did last night?

Lucas spent the first half of his life protecting himself from others, but now his own mind is his biggest enemy. He doesn’t know what happens when the blackouts overtake him, but he can recall the feelings–the rage, the confusion, the fear. Thankfully the quiet life he’s found in Payson, Arizona has kept the darkness at bay. Until his boss’s estranged daughter shows up in town, asking questions she shouldn’t and sparking a desire Lucas can’t control. Getting close to Shyann is the best thing that’s ever happened to him, but when his blackouts return, unleashing the truth he’s battled so long to hide, he may just lose her forever . . .

Buy LinksAMAZON | iBOOKSReview-DGR3 stars

 SPOILER FREE

I was meant for this. To love the unlovable.

If there’s one thing I can tell you is that Split is one of the most unconventional and unique romances I’ve read in a long while. It’s not going to a be a book or story I’ll soon forget, and that certainly deserves some praise. The writing is engaging, the characters multi layered, and there’s enough twists and turns to keep you glued to the book from cover to cover.

What we have isn’t conventional, it wouldn’t be considered ideal, but it’s perfect for us. Because love never discriminates. Even when you’re split.

I was riveted to the pages from the very beginning. There’s enough mystery worked in to guarantee your kept interest.

Shyann Jennings couldn’t leave her small town fast enough to pursue her dream career and to put the pain of her past behind her. Now after her career that she put her blood and sweat and tears into has gone up in spectacular flames and she’s back into the small town she ran from to lick her wounds. While she dreads everything about coming home, what she doesn’t expect is the quiet, unassuming and beautiful stranger that works for her father and draws her in for a reason she can’t understand. Lucas is different from any man she’s ever been with. He’s shy, quiet, keeps to himself, but yet there’s also something beneath the surface that may be much more than meets the eye.

People hate what they don’t understand, shun those who are different.”

While I loved both characters, I have to admit that I never did understand the draw that Shy had towards Lucas. This is especially true when all the secrets came out. While I get the lust and romance, the love was tough to swallow. I had a hard time buying into it. This was more so on Shy’s side than Lucas’s. I adored Lucas and his character is what kept me turning the pages.

That’s not what I want with her. What I want is to freeze time. I want to record how she feels in my hands, the longing in her eyes, the heat of her breath. I want to slow every single moment with her down so seconds last hours until her touch is branded into my memory.

Ultimately what brought my rating down was the ending. I had a really tough time swallowing all of that. I couldn’t wrap my mind around some of the choices the characters made and especially the way they dealt with them. It just wasn’t believable. And yes, I get that I’m reading a psychological thriller and fiction, but at the same time, I want some believability in the story and it just wasn’t there.

I hated a particular decision that Lucas made but I found a way to look past it. What I couldn’t look past was the way Shyann deals with everything. It was just too much.

Would I still recommend this romance? Absolutely. It’s unique and original and worth the read for that alone. It could have easily been a 5 star for me if not for that ending. But different folks and all that, and you may not have the same issue with it that I did. So read it and judge for yourself.

Copyright © 2015 · Dirty Girl Romance

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