New releases coming at ya this week
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BORN OF MIST & LEGEND by Kat Bastion
Following her award-winning debut, Kat Bastion returns to the Highland Legends series with the epic journey… Born of Mist and Legend.
Amid mythical lands, where Arthurian tales run blood-deep and castles vanish into fabled mist, a stormy sky breaks open with deafening thunder on a dying mother’s whispered enchantment… and her newborn’s die is cast. Eighteen summers later, magick sparks to life within the charmed child’s veins, and the fates resume their course.
Rise of a fallen angel…
Rebirth of a Highland goddess…
Revenge of a legendary wizard, craving their power.
Dark angel, outcast of his kind—lone angelic guardian of time itself—Skorpius receives a bewildering dual directive. Protect a human female. And end her.
Once bright and innocent, sister to the laird of the mysterious Clan Brodie, Brigid awakens to incredible magick within her. And the ability to sense a foreign energy: Another stalks her, a beast hunting its prey.
On a quest to protect her clan and save humankind, Brigid forges beyond the only home she’s ever known into the wilds of Scotland. Her destiny—to battle an ancient lurking menace—beckons her. She braves her task with fierce determination, even though she’s a mere novice among masters.
Upholding his vow to protect time against any threat, Skorpius is duty-bound to guard the female, with or without her consent. For he alone presides as judge and executioner.
As unprecedented danger to the fabric of time looms, the two beleaguered souls walk a tightrope between cure and cause. Yet while the destiny of every realm hangs in the balance, they are all that stand between salvation and destruction.
But against insurmountable odds…will they both survive?
*** Born of Mist and Legend is a standalone full-length romance told in dual POV. Due to mature themes and adult language, this book is for those 18 and older. ***
RELEASING APRIL 14
ASK ME IF I CARE by Lani Lynn Vale
Ares saw him for the first time at a Kilgore Police Department benefit dinner. She’d gone with her dad as his plus one. Hayes Romine had gone by himself and brooded silently across the same table as her, drinking whiskey and not saying a word.
It only took that one time for her to become interested.
The next time she saw him, he was doing another benefit—but this one requiring a whole lot fewer clothes. And that was when she knew. She wanted him. Badly. But the morose Hayes was too busy thinking about his sins to see what was right in front of his face—Ares.
***
Hayes Romine knew the moment that he saw the feisty Ares Downy again that he should’ve stayed away. Maybe if he hadn’t done the stupid calendar, he wouldn’t be questioning every single woman’s intentions.
Maybe if he’d listened to that niggling feeling telling him to stay away, he would’ve been able to do his job a little better. But seeing her with a knife to her throat, in the middle of a building set to blow, made his usually well-wired brain start to malfunction.
Because nobody was allowed to touch her like that—only him. Nobody was allowed to scare her, either. Not and live to tell the tale.
MADAM TEMPTRESS by Meghan March
From New York Times bestselling author Meghan March comes the stunning conclusion to the highly-anticipated Magnolia Duet.
I didn’t choose this path. No one would.
I played the cards I was dealt.
This life made me. This city made me.
I won’t apologize for who I’ve become.
Moses wouldn’t have me any other way.
He says he wants forever, and I’m starting to believe him.
But I can’t outrun my past, and my sins are catching up with me.
If it’s time to atone, I’ll gladly pay my penance.
We might be getting our second chance, but we have to make it out alive first.Madam Temptress is the second book of the Magnolia Duet and should be read after Creole Kingpin.
DARK PROMISE by Danielle Rose
There’s a little witch in all of us…
Ava López’s best friend from childhood is missing, and her former coven has asked for her help to find her. Despite all the pain the witches have treated Ava to with their rejection, she is determined to find Liv—even though her new allies harbor resentment.
Ava hopes finding Liv will put an end to the feud between the two groups, but she realizes that to help the witches, she must turn her back on the vampires. But this is the least of her problems.
Ava must choose sides and test loyalties with a decision that comes at a cost—one even Ava, with her ever-growing powers and connection to spirit magic, never could have foreseen. To repent for her disloyalty, Ava must bind herself to a dark promise. A promise no magic can break.
NOT THAT KIND OF GUY by Andie J. Christopher
An office attraction becomes something more when they’re off the clock in this delightful romantic comedy by the USA Today bestselling author of Not the Girl You Marry.
State attorney Bridget Nolan is successful in all aspects of her life—except romance. After breaking up with her longtime boyfriend, she’s been slow to reenter the dating scene. To be honest, she has more important things to do like putting bad guys behind bars. But with her brother’s wedding right around the corner, she suddenly needs a date and fast. Lucky for Bridget, the legal intern is almost done with his program.
Matt Kido is dumbstruck by Bridget—total love at first sight—but there’s one problem. She’s totally off-limits while she’s his boss. But the moment he no longer reports to her, Matt decides to take a chance. An impulsive decision takes them to Las Vegas where, as the saying goes, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.
Unless you put a ring on it.
THE HAPPY EVER AFTER PLAYLIST by Abby Jimenez
From the USA Today bestselling author of The Friend Zone comes a fresh romantic comedy full of “fierce humor and fiercer heart” about one trouble-making dog who brings together two perfect strangers. (Casey McQuiston, New York Times bestselling author of Red, White & Royal Blue)
Two years after losing her fiancé, Sloan Monroe still can’t seem to get her life back on track. But one trouble-making pup with a “take me home” look in his eyes is about to change everything. With her new pet by her side, Sloan finally starts to feel more like herself. Then, after weeks of unanswered texts, Tucker’s owner reaches out. He’s a musician on tour in Australia. And bottom line: He wants Tucker back.
Well, Sloan’s not about to give up her dog without a fight. But what if this Jason guy really loves Tucker? As their flirty texts turn into long calls, Sloan can’t deny a connection. Jason is hot and nice and funny. There’s no telling what could happen when they meet in person. The question is: With his music career on the rise, how long will Jason really stick around? And is it possible for Sloan to survive another heartbreak?
MONEY MAN by Nancy Herkness
She’s small-town business. He’s Manhattan high finance. Together they ignite in a novel about unexpected love and danger by Nancy Herkness, award-winning author of the Wager of Hearts series.
New Jersey bookkeeper Alice Thurber has a carefully constructed risk-free life. Everything in perfect balance. Until little discrepancies show up in her clients’ accounts. Most would ignore it. Not the impeccably precise Alice. In desperation she reaches out to a high-powered consulting firm for help. New York City’s movie-star handsome financial wizard Derek Killion reaches back. All he has to do is smile and Alice’s fantasies stir. A girl can dream, can’t she?
A cofounder of KRG, Derek’s promise is to advise small-business owners in trouble. He never guessed that assisting the diffident but sexy Alice would be so captivating and make it so hard to keep his desires in check. But just as intriguing is the alarming puzzle behind the computer glitch that’s unsettled his client. As the investigation unfolds, they must also confront an attraction too palpable to ignore. Every new dark twist they follow is only bringing them closer together—in passion and in danger.
CUTIE AND THE BEAST by M.E. Carter
Living with her mother seemed like a good idea at the time. But Elliott Donovan’s living arrangements are not working for her anymore. Desperate to get back on her financial feet after a divorce and out from under her mother’s thumb, Elliott takes a job in the child care center at Weight Expectations, a local gym.
It has everything she needs – family friendly hours, more pay than she expected, and a super cute trainer who just happens to have part of his house for rent.
Abel DiSoto was living the good life until his wife walked out taking half of the family income with her. The blow to his ego was bad enough, but after a fire at the gym scattered Abel’s clients, and consequently his commissions, he’s stuck figuring out how to make ends meet, too. Renting out the master suite of his house to his new co-worker seems like an easy solution. They’re both mature adults, they both have eight-year-old daughters, and their work schedules coordinate so they can lend each other a helping hand to ease the burden of single parenthood.
The only downside? Living like a blended family when you’re not actually a family can present some challenges.
Welcome back to Weight Expectations, where the unexpected is likely to happen.
‘Cutie and the Beast’ is a full-length contemporary romantic comedy, can be read as a standalone, and is book #3 in the Cipher Office series, Knitting in the City World, Penny Reid Book Universe.
SUNRISE ON HALF MOON BAY by Robyn Carr
Sometimes the happiness we’re looking for has been there all along…
Adele and Justine have never been close. Born twenty years apart, Justine was already an adult when Addie was born. The sisters love each other but they don’t really know each other.
When Addie dropped out of university to care for their ailing parents, Justine, a successful lawyer, covered the expenses. It was the best arrangement at the time but now that their parents are gone, the future has changed dramatically for both women.
Addie had great plans for her life but has been worn down by the pressures of being a caregiver and doesn’t know how to live for herself. And Justine’s success has come at a price. Her marriage is falling apart despite her best efforts.
Neither woman knows how to start life over but both realize they can and must support each other the way only sisters can. Together they find the strength to accept their failures and overcome their challenges. Happiness is within reach, if only they have the courage to fight for it.
Set in the stunning coastal town of Half Moon Bay, California, Robyn Carr’s new novel examines the joys of sisterhood and the importance of embracing change.
SONGBIRD by Cecilia London
Christine Sullivan isn’t an easy person to love. She knows how the world sees her – aloof, standoffish, cold…perhaps even bitchy. After a lifetime in politics, including a stint with an expat government in exile, President Sullivan has taken her share of body blows, but now she’s back in Philadelphia…a widow, a recovering Republican, a former public servant seeking a quiet, private existence.
On her to-do list – rebuild her relationship with her estranged daughter and invent the rest of her life. She has her best friend Caroline, her brand spanking new condo, and her ever frustrating Secret Service detail to keep her company. That should be enough for anyone, right?
Until Alexander Guardiola comes along… liberal, emotionally unguarded, younger. A lot younger. Everything Christine isn’t. And isn’t ready for.
But opposites attract, don’t they? And hearts and minds can always be changed…
This is a standalone spinoff in the Bellator Saga series that takes place after the events of Bellator Saga #1-6.
Content Warning: grief, psychological and physical trauma, death
JUST ONE KISS by Layla Hagen
Success. Willpower. Ruthless negotiations. Those are three things that have defined my name – Ryker Winchester. It’s what I’m good at. I always get what I want.
I was completely unprepared for Heather.
She challenges me and melts under my touch. She’s a feisty single mom, and I can’t get enough of her. The way she gives in to me is intoxicating, but I need more than hot nights and sexy dates.When she introduces me to her daughter, I fall for that little girl hook, line and sinker. No one has ever played me for a fool like that kid can do with a single dimpled grin.
I want to keep them both. I want them to be mine to love and to protect.Heather doesn’t trust easily, but I’ll prove to her that we’ll have an incredible future together.
I’m Ryker Winchester and I’m relentless when I go after what I want.
PROVOKE by Rachel Van Dyken
From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Rachel Van Dyken comes a new story in her Seaside Pictures series…
The music industry called me a savant at age sixteen when I uploaded my first video and gained instant fame. And then Drew Amherst of Adrenaline became my mentor, and my career took off.
Everything was great.
Until tragedy struck, and I wondered if I’d ever be able to perform again. I fought back, but all it took was a falling light to bring it all back to the fore. So, I walked away. Because I knew it wasn’t just stage fright. It was so much more.
The only problem?
Drew and the guys are counting on me. If I can’t combat the crippling anxiety threatening to kill me, I might lose more than I ever dreamed of.
Enter Piper Rayne, life coach, with her bullshit about empowerment, rainbows, and butterflies. She smiles all the damn time, and I’m ninety-nine percent sure there’s not a problem she can’t solve.
Until me.
She was given twenty-one days to fix me. To make me see what’s important. What’s real. The problem is, all I can see now is her. The sexy woman who pushes me. Provokes me.
Only time will tell if she’s able to do her job—and I can make her mine.
**Every 1001 Dark Nights novella is a standalone story. For new readers, it’s an introduction to an author’s world. And for fans, it’s a bonus book in the author’s series. We hope you’ll enjoy each one as much as we do.**
SOUTHERN COMFORT by Natasha Madison
Buried secrets never stay hidden in the South.
Olivia
When you find out that your fiancé is arrested for swindling over ten million dollars from his clients, you do what any sane woman would do. You escape reality and go undercover, trading in your city-girl Louboutins for country-pumpkin cowboy boots.It wasn’t a forever change—it was temporary. I only had to stay here until things back home got straightened out, or so I thought.
Casey
I was riding horses before I was walking, or at least that was what they told me. I always knew I would take over the family farm. It’s in my blood.
Country boy at heart, the minute I saw her dragging her luggage up the gravel driveway I knew she was out of my league.
I shouldn’t have started anything with her, because I knew she was just passing through.
I couldn’t stop it, I fell in love with her. Even though I knew, in the end, she would leave me.
RELEASING APRIL 16
TENNESSEE TRUTHS by Ashley Munoz
Faith:
Our story was classic.
A typical fairytale.
Two young kids falling in love under an onyx sky.
He was my dream …and I naively thought I was his.
Until he bartered our love and sold me a lie.Now, I’m returning to the life I once knew…but not as the pathetic mess that left five years ago.
I’m a married woman, wed to the richest man in Nashville.
But it seems I wasn’t the only one who changed during my time away…Hardened by life, Jace Walker’s glares drip with heat and derision.
He has war in his eyes and venom in his veins.I thought I would be safe coming back home, but it seems I only ran from my present to be caught in the crosshairs of my past.
Jace:
I traded my future for a life.
I knew what was on the line when I made the deal, I knew what I could lose, but I also knew that I didn’t really have a choice.
I gambled and lost.
Now the one person I had dreamed of having a future with was walking back into my life bearing the last name and wearing the ring of another man.
Lips painted red, hair that same honey gold and there against her creamy throat was our promise to one another, still dangling, reminding me that I may have lied, but she ran.
I was a liar, she was a coward.
Now she was home, and she wasn’t mine.This is a standalone- second chance- enemies to lovers romance
EASY PUCK by Melissa Belle
Turns out we both need to score… a second chance hockey romance.
Hunter
I can’t be alone. But I can’t be in a relationship. And now I can’t even score on the ice. I’m in a slump.
I figure an off-limits pet sitter is just what I need. Until I see who the agency sent me.
Winter Allen is standing all grown up at my front door.
She’s my hat-trick: the looks, the heart, and the history.
I let her run off to Broadway because she deserved to follow her teenage dreams as much as I did.
We both got everything we wanted. So why does she look so damn lonely?
Winter
I didn’t plan to see Hunter Storm again. And I don’t plan to tell him why I’m back home in New Orleans.
But after one devilish grin, my body tells me Hunter’s the only man who can help me.
Turns out we both need to score again. So who’s to say it’s a bad idea to mix his fire and my gasoline?
What are we doing? I’m not sure, but it feels too good to stop.
FINAL SERENADE by N.N. Britt
A secret affair with your teenage celebrity crush? Yes, please!
Music journalist Cassy Evans believes her career is made when she snags an exclusive interview with rock singer Frankie Blade.
Once a superstar of the generation, Frankie has been a recluse since a freak motorcycle incident sent his career into a tailspin seven years ago. Now that he’s returned to claim back his crown, Cassy hopes to kill two birds with one stone—secure her magazine a top spot in the rankings and meet with the man of her adolescent dreams.
A dinner invitation isn’t what she expects to get out of this interview, but the chemistry between them is undeniable.
With paparazzi watching Frankie’s every move as the two jump into a stormy relationship, Cassy risks her career and her privacy—and possibly her heart—to be with the biggest rockstar on the planet. But is Frankie worth it? Is he the humble man she thinks he is or is he just that good at hiding his demons?
Final Serenade is the first installment in “The Encore” series. Cassy and Frankie’s story concludes in One Last Verse.
RELEASING APRIL 17
FAVOURITE HELLO. HARDEST GOODBYE by E.S. Carter
Ellis.
I feel him.
Before I even lay eyes on him, I sense him.
The air in the room seems charged, my awareness of him heightened, but he is a stranger to me.
Unfamiliar, yet familiar.
Unknown, yet known.
And something inside me says, “Hello, I’ve been waiting for you.”Macsen.
I see him.
I’ve seen him a hundred times before and I know this will not be the last, but each time I do, I feel it.
That invisible tether.
I remember everything.
I remember him.
His eyes lock with mine and then move away too quickly.
I am nothing more than a stranger, another face in the crowd.
While he is my favourite hello, and my hardest goodbye.
DO ME A FAVOR by Christina Hovland
Some days things just click. Today is not that day.
Love is a battlefield, and divorce attorney Sadie Howard is entrenched on the frontlines. She thought she might have met the right man once, but he was a career military guy who got shipped overseas and left her heart on the tarmac. These days, the only commitment Sadie wants is the one she’s made to her Denver law practice.
Combat photographer Roman Dvornakov is back. Fresh out of the U.S. Army, he’s using family connections to snap photos at a few weddings while he builds his civilian photography practice. After all he’s captured on film, a few posed wedding shots should be a cakewalk. Seeing so much death through the camera lens, he’s now ready to build something worth living for. A thriving photography business, definitely. But he’s certain his new mission also includes Sadie, the girl who slipped away.
Sadie isn’t convinced, and she’s not willing to open her heart anytime soon. Besides, she’s got a high-profile divorce case taking up all her attention. Winning the case for her client will make or break her practice. So what if it’s a custody dispute over a ridiculously expensive fish tank? When Roman discovers the soon-to-be divorced couple are still in love, he and his slightly-nutty grandmother, Babushka, are determined to convince them to cancel the proceedings. He’s not camera shy when it comes to matters of the heart, but interfering with Sadie’s clients could wreck her career and any chance they’ll ever have together…
