Best Friends Don’t Kiss, an all new best friends to lovers rom com from New York Times bestselling author Max Monroe coming November 28th and we have the flirty cover!
Title: Best Friends Don’t Kiss Genre: Holiday Romance Release Date: Nov 28th
Goal: Find a boyfriend, get married, buy a house in the suburbs with a white picket fence, and pop out 2.5 kids.
Deadline: Sixty days.
That’s possible, right?
HAHAHA. *Faints*
I’m kidding. Well, kind of. I mean, I’m not going to attempt a shotgun wedding or try to get knocked up by some guy I met on the internet, but there is no doubt that, this year, home for the holidaystakes on a whole new, terrifying meaning.
I have to travel from New York City—my home and safe haven for the last fifteen years—to my tiny hometown in Vermont for Christmas, my baby sister’s wedding, and my high school reunion.
Talk about a trifecta of single-doom.
Throw in Callie Camden—aka my high school class’s version of Regina George—and it’s a recipe for certified disaster.
Especially since my mouth ran away from me when she asked me if I’d be bringing someone to our reunion, and I told her to put me down for two.
Gah. Now I can’t go alone.
But the online dating world is a cesspool of bad manners, speedy hookups, and outright weirdos.
Handsome, single, successful—that’s what I’m looking for.
And it just so happens that my best friend Luke London fits all of the criteria.
The only problem is best friends don’t kiss…
But maybe it doesn’t count if it’s pretend?
About Max Monroe
A duo of romance authors team up under the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling pseudonym Max Monroe to bring you sexy, laugh-out-loud reads.
Max Monroe is the New York TimesandUSA Today Bestselling author of more than ten contemporary romance titles. Favorite writing partners and long time friends, Max and Monroe strive to live and write all the fun, sexy swoon so often missing from their Facebook newsfeed. Sarcastic by nature, their two writing souls feel like they’ve found their other half. This is their most favorite adventure thus far.
Title: DOOR OF BRUISES (Thornchapel #4) Cover Designer: Hang LeCover Photography: Vania Stoyanova Cover Model: Austin Taylor Simon Genre: Contemporary Romance Release Date: November 30th
Twelve years ago, our fates were sealed with a kiss. We are all, for better or worse, doomed to love each other until death do us part. My heart belongs to Proserpina and St. Sebastian—even if he no longer wants it. Even if she has left it behind to follow him.Delphine’s fled back home, and Becket’s holy calling is in peril.And now only Rebecca and I remain at Thornchapel to face the unknown.The door is open. The door that shouldn’t exist; the door that people have died to close. I don’t feel like the lord of the manor…I don’t feel like a king or a wild god. I am a friend and a boyfriend and a brother—and a failure at being all of these things. But the door doesn’t care about my guilt. It only cares about the sacrifice I’ll make to close it.As the bruising dark of Samhain approaches, so does the fate of our circle, of Thornchapel and the village and the valley beyond it. And I must don the crown, because one thing is still true, even if I must face it alone.Here at Thornchapel, the kings must go to the door. Here at Thornchapel, all kings must die.
EXCERPT
He lifts his head; the deep brown of his irises is almost obsidian in the barely-lit foyer. They remind me of the earth at Thornchapel—near-black and wet, filled with secrets. His eyes could eat bones. They’re already eating mine.He draws in a breath. “You knew,” he says in a juddering kind of voice, “because you always know. Do you know that I don’t want to leave? Do you know that I want to go back upstairs with you? Do you know that I’d let you do anything to me right now? Anything you wanted, Auden, anything at all.” He steps closer, his lips parted, his hands slowly turning so his palms face me in offering.Outside, I hear the trees lashing and fretting in a sudden, gusting wind. “Anything,” I echo. His pulse thrums just above the collar of his borrowed shirt. “Anything.”I could have him now. If I wanted. If I pushed, he’d break. If I pulled, he’d fall. All I have to do is say yes to this churning, crashing need inside me, and I could have him at my feet, I could have him on his stomach and I could be inside him with my palm against his throat and this blazer crushed between us. And he’s looking at me like we’re sixteen again and about to kiss in a bed of flowers, like we’re starting over at the very beginning and there’s nothing between us, nothing but delirious, innocent lust—I could have him.I could have him.But having and loving are only sometimes the same thing.I take a step back. “You’ll be late if you don’t go now,” I say. The words come out gentler than I feel them; they feel like razor-wire leaving my mouth. “Auden . . . ” he says. Pleads. “But I—I miss you.” He says it like I don’t miss him in return. He says it like I’m the bad guy here, like I’m the one who left, and maybe this is the hardest part of loving someone, maybe this was always the test. Not letting him leave, but making him go. I take his hand, wrapping my fingers around his so that my thumb rests on the Guest family ring. My hand is shaking. My entire body is shaking. Grab him. Bite him. Bruise him. Outside the trees are thrashing and behind my eyes it feels like all I can see is forest and rain. I drag in a breath, forcing the feeling down inside me, as if I can tamp whatever it is back into my belly, as if I can pretend that I don’t want to run and chase and hunt. I’m not a king, I’m not so twisted up in Thornchapel that even the trees feel my lust and my pain. I’m just a London boy with a non-Smythson bag and good hair. I’m just a friend and a brother and I’m going to do the right thing, because I’ll pay any price not to have St. Sebastian look at me like he did at Lammas. Because I’ve finally, finally learned that I can’t choose us for him.He has to do it on his own. “Listen,” I say. “You and Proserpina will always be my air and my water—the very things that make up my blood—and that hasn’t changed, because it will never change, it can’t. I can’t.” I put my free hand against his stomach, pressing the ejaculate-damp shirt into his skin. Mine, the gesture says. My own thing. “This is me. But you are you, and I love you as you are, and don’t you see it? Don’t you feel it? You were right about me. A few minutes alone with me, and I have you dressed like a doll and wearing my cum, and if you spend the night with me, I’ll have you shivering and spent and marked all over. If you come back to Thornchapel, I will never stop looking and reaching and wanting. I can’t be trusted.” He’s shaking his head, even though I’m only repeating his own words from Lammas back to him. “You can’t be trusted,” I remind him gently. “You had your reasons for leaving. Have they changed so much that you can abandon them all now? Truly?” He’s stopped shaking his head now, and he’s staring up at me with a look so hopeless I can’t stand it.This is what no one told me about love, about being the Thorn King, about everything.You can be broken, and still you must let people break you again and again. You must help them break you, if necessary. You must allow your own sorrows, your own torments and regrets, to be subsumed in the face of their own. You must cut yourself apart piece by piece and plant those pieces far and wide in the lives of those around you, and then you must not lament when they don’t take root. You must cut yourself apart and do it all over again. As many times as it takes. As many times as it takes. “Go, St. Sebastian,” I say, letting go of his hand. I can still feel the worn crest of his ring against my thumb. The G surrounded by twining, twisting thorns. “Just go.” He swallows. Whispers, “I’m sorry.” And then finally, mercifully, he turns and opens the door. I watch him take the steps with the vague stagger of a dying man, and then I watch him slope off into the night, shoulders hunched forward and head down. I think he’s crying. I know I am.
About the Author
Sierra Simone is a USA Today Bestselling former librarian (who spent too much time reading romance novels at the information desk.) She lives with her husband and family in Kansas City.
The last person she wants might be the second chance she needs.
SYNOPSIS
Adalia Buchanan broke up with art, but it won’t break up with her. So she paints in secret, then destroys her work. Her mentor stole her art months ago, and she’ll never share her work again. After he sold his brewery, Finn Hamilton’s life was supposed to be on an upward trajectory. Instead, he’s lost his way. When he stumbles upon Adalia destroying her painting, two thoughts come to mind: one, she looks like a Valkyrie with blonde hair swinging and paint flying from her blade, and two, she’s talented. Very talented. Suddenly, she’s no longer the sassy sister of his best friend’s girlfriend—she’s an intriguing, beautiful woman he’s dying to get to know better. Too bad Adalia, who’s infatuated with Pride and Prejudice, thinks he’s arrogant and conceited, a modern-day Mr. Darcy. Then again, Elizabeth Bennett changed her mind about Darcy, so there may be hope for them yet…if they can survive an evil cat, a goat-obsessed artist, and their meddling families.
MY REVIEW by CEE CEE HOUSTON
I enjoyed this story.
Better Luck Next Time is the second book in the ‘Asheville Brewing’ series. We met Finn and Adalia in book one but didn’t get much of their story. Finn came across as a bit of a douche. Not the best start for a character, but this duo of authors has managed to turn things around for him. Thankfully, lol.
Adalia had her moments too, she’s had a lot to deal with and tries her best.
Their connection started out slow but once they took the time to really see each other, it was full steam ahead.
While I really enjoyed this story, I would have loved it as a 1st person story. It’s written in the 3rd person and for me personally, it keeps the reader from truly gelling with characters. But, that’s just my opinion, the story was fine apart from that.
EXCERPT
“Working outside of the office?” Finn asked once he’d lowered himself into the other chair. “Sort of.” Adalia didn’t feel like telling him what she was really up to. Not after what he’d said to her. She was worried she’d see disappointment in his eyes, although for the life of her, she couldn’t figure out why his opinion mattered. “But mostly playing the ‘Who are you?’ game.” She was slightly embarrassed to admit it, but it felt safer than talking about the résumé. Or her art. He leaned back, his upper shoulder pressed against the railing around the small seating area, his arms crossed over his chest—did he always wear button-downs or polos?—and an amused look lit up his eyes. “Okay, you’ve got me. What’s the ‘Who are you?’ game?” “It’s simple,” she said, leaning forward, sure this would scare him off. He might talk like a poet, but he was still a rich boy businessman. His name was Finn Hamilton, for God’s sake. “You find someone walking by and come up with a story about who they are and where they’re going.” He cocked an eyebrow. “I’ll start.” She scanned the street and found the mother pushing the stroller as she emerged from a store. “That’s Willow. She’s a former executive of some BS company from Charlotte—they probably made toilet paper or something. Then her husband got a hair up his butt to move to Asheville. She was reluctant at first, but see that yoga mat sticking out of the bottom of the stroller?” Finn turned slightly, nodding when he caught sight of the woman. “She joined a Mommy and Me yoga play group and she’s considering becoming a yogi.” His slight smile turned into a full-blown amused grin. “And her baby’s name?” “Fig Tree, Tree being the middle name, of course.” “Of course,” he said, still smiling. “But you never said where they were going.” “Home. The baby’s about to go down for a nap and she’s eager to try the tantric sex method she learned from the instructor while they sipped organic oolong tea after class.” Adalia had said it to shock him. She was pretty good at catching people off guard, and she’d come to recognize it for what it was—a defense mechanism to keep others at a distance. And she definitely needed to keep Finn at a distance. Only he didn’t look as taken aback as she’d expected. Instead, he pursed his lips as though giving it some thought. “Interesting how you jumped right to sex.” A slow smile spread across her face. He’d surprised her, and she delighted in surprises. Good surprises. “You disagree?” He let his arms drop to his sides and sat up slightly. “No, quite the opposite.” He turned slightly to glance at the woman before turning back to Adalia. “I’m sure her husband is already waiting at home, ready to strip her naked the moment she walks through the door.” The way he said it made Adalia shiver with anticipation, but she mentally shook herself. This was Finn. The man who’d betrayed River by selling Big Catch to one of those mega conglomerates with so many product lines the people who ran it probably only knew about half of them. Finn Hamilton was much too good-looking, rich, and cocky for his own good. He was used to getting anything and anyone he wanted, and she wouldn’t be one of his conquests. Not her and not her art either.
About Denise Grover Swank
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Denise Grover Swank was born in Kansas City, Missouri and lived in the area until she was nineteen. Then she became a nomadic gypsy, living in five cities, four states, and ten houses over the course of ten years before she moved back to her roots. She speaks English and a smattering of Spanish and Chinese which she learned through an intensive Nick Jr. immersion period. Her hobbies include witty Facebook comments (in own her mind) and dancing in her kitchen with her children. (Quite badly if you believe her offspring.) Hidden talents include the gift of justification and the ability to drink massive amounts of caffeine and still fall asleep within two minutes. Her lack of the sense of smell allows her to perform many unspeakable tasks. She has six children and hasn’t lost her sanity. Or so she leads you to believe.
A.R. CASELLA is a freelance developmental editor by day, writer by night. She lives in Asheville, NC with her husband, daughter, two dogs, and a variable number of fish. Her pastimes include chasing around her toddler, baking delicious treats, and occasional bouts of crocheting. Any Luck at All, co-written with New York Times bestselling author Denise Grover Swank, is her first book.
A fiery, passionate MM forbidden romance novel from #1 New York Times Bestselling author Lauren Blakely…
Ever hear the story about the bodyguard who falls for the rock star?
Yeah, it never ends well.
Each day I remind myself that it’s my job to protect Stone. And nowhere in the job description does it say I should lust after the charismatic, charming man.
Especially since we’re opposites.
But every night I spend with him the dangerous, off-limits attraction grows more intense.
Until one night in a limo when we combust.
One time only will have to be enough. One scorching, forbidden night.
Because the mistakes from the past are chasing me. And if I give in again, I’ll lose everything.
But sometimes you grab hold of the desire. And other times, the desire takes hold of you.
No matter the cost.
MY REVIEW by CEE CEE HOUSTON
Oh, my heavens!!
If you thought Lauren Balkely’s first outing into the world of M/m with ‘A Guy Walked Into My Bar’ then you ain’t read nothing yet!! One Time Only takes its predecessor and knocks it on the head. It’s scorching hot with a superb sexy rockstar and his beyond gorgeous security guard. It’s a powerful, emotion-filled, very sexy and seductive story that will leave more than a little hot under the collar- and… ahem, in other places too!!! These two think they aren’t meant to be together but it’s where they belong. I read this book in one sitting and hated to reach the end, but, what a finish. I loooved that epilogue!!!
About Lauren Blakely:
A #1 New York Times Bestselling, #1 Wall Street Journal Bestselling, and #1 Audible Bestselling author, Lauren Blakely is known for her contemporary romance style that’s sweet, sexy and witty. She also writes red-hot, ultra-steamy romance for her Lauren Blakely After Dark line. She’d love to give you a free book today! Check out her web site to grab your free read: https://laurenblakely.com/one-free-book
★ ★ ★ HOT NEW LOOK & FREEBIE! ★ ★ ★ The sexy and emotional Just One series by Stacey Lynn has a hot new look! Start the series of standalones for FREE today with Just One Song!
Synopsis for Just One Song: Nicole Parsons had the perfect life, made complete with the suburban home and the proverbial white picket fence. When tragedy struck and she lost the most important people in her life, she turned away from everything she loved before; shutting out every reminder of the perfect life she lost. It has been one year, three months, one week and six days since the accident, and Nicole is ready to stop counting the days she’s survived, and begin living again. On a dare from her best friend, Nicole encounters Zack Walters – the popular alternative rock star and man who signifies so much of her past – and suddenly everything in Nicole’s safe and quiet life changes. When she’s forced to face the pain she’s carried for so long, will she truly be able to heal from her past and begin to live again? Or will her new adventure ruin her completely?
Hard head. Bad attitude. Terrible boyfriend. That’s what my exes have said about me—but I wasn’t serious about any of them, so what do I care what rumors they spread? What I need is to be left alone; by the press, by the paparazzi, and by women.
Too bad I’m about to be surrounded by them for the weekend. My obnoxious, matchmaking brother is getting married, and he’s doing his damndest find me a wedding date…
“HARD TO FIND.”
That’s what they say about good men—they’re hard to find. Not that when I find one, I’ll be the type he’s looking for; too nice, too ordinary, too boring.
My cousin is getting married, and her fiancé insists on throwing me at his brother. Cold, uncaring professional football player Tripp Wallace would never look twice at a woman like me. Too bad for both of us, I was wrong…
Hard Love is the third book in the ‘Trophy Boyfriends’ series by Sara Ney. We’ve met all the guys. Quiet and shy Noah Harding, Noah’s best buddy, loud-mouthed and joke-playing Trace ‘Buzz’ Wallace and Buzz’s older brother, Tripp.
Tripp comes off as a grouchy, grumpy and self-centered douche for a lot of the story. It makes him hard to like, nevermind love.
Chandler Westbrooke is quite reserved and shy, but she has a backbone when it comes to Tripp after they met for the wedding festivities. It’s certainly not love or even lust at first sight, not like either. No, they are not enamoured with each other at all.
But with time and patience… from Chandler mostly, they do eventually have a meeting of minds and bodies. There are some hilarious moments along the way, sassy, snarky banter and a bit of angst. And yes, Tripp did finally worm his way into my heart. He got his swoon on and had Chandler falling so hard, lol.
I did, and if you one-Click this fun story today you will too.
Meet Sara Ney
Sara Ney is the USA Today Bestselling Author of the How to Date a Douchebag series, and is best known for her sexy, laugh-out-loud New Adult romances.
Among her favorite vices, she includes: iced lattes, historical architecture and well-placed sarcasm. She lives colorfully, collects vintage books, art, loves flea markets, and fancies herself British.
Scott Sebastian is a liar. Fitting, since I’m a liar too. Yet there’s no place for me in his glittering world of half-truths. With all our secrets in the open, I should stop trying. What I’ve learned should send me running far away. I can’t keep pining for a man in love if I’m not the woman he’s in love with. But it’s not that easy to escape the Sebastians. I already knew they owned this city. Now I’ll find out if they also own their son.
With millions of books sold worldwide, Laurelin Paige is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestselling Author. She is a sucker for a good romance and gets giddy anytime there’s kissing, much to the embarrassment of her three daughters. Her husband doesn’t seem to complain, however. When she isn’t reading or writing sexy stories, she’s probably singing, watching Game of Thrones or Letterkenny, or dreaming of Michael Fassbender. She’s also a proud member of Mensa International though she doesn’t do anything with the organization except use it as material for her bio. She is represented by Rebecca Friedman.
A new second chance single dad stand alone romance set in the world of the Wrights from USA Today bestselling author K.A. Linde…
At seventeen, I left Isaac Donoghue behind to become a professional ballerina.
When I return home to dance in the Nutcracker, I never expect to run into him. Let alone on my first day in town.
I can’t help but admire him in a crisp suit with his toned soccer body, chiseled jawline, and all too familiar piercing green eyes. I thought nothing could surprise me more.
Until his five year old daughter runs out of the ballet studio.
I’m only in town for a month.
I shouldn’t get involved with anyone, especially the ex I’ve been pining after for years.
Especially now that he’s a single dad with a daughter to consider.
But where Isaac is concerned, I’ve never been able to stay away.
With the help of some Christmas magic, maybe we finally have a shot at our second chance.
This is the first book I’ve read in the ‘Wright’ series, but it was a stand alone anyway so no problem with not knowing what’s happened in the previous books. A Wright Christmas was a slow burning, sweetly sexy second chance story.
Isaac and Peyton were high school sweethearts in Lubbock, Texas and they were always there for one another. But, Peyton loved ballet and when she was seventeen, she was given a place in the American school of Ballet in New York.
Isaac encouraged her to take the scholarship.
Peyton left home and hardly returned again.
Isaac’s life went on without her. But he never really forgot her.
Sixteen years later, Peyton returns to her home town for a month. She and Isaac met and it’s like no time has elapsed between them. Can they pick up where they left off?
Peyton is a professional ballet dancer and Isaac is a single. Life isn’t as simple as it could be, but sometimes…
Love is all you need.
This was a quick, slightly angsty and heartwarming story. The characters were well written and had me rooting for them from the start.
Loved it and will be reading more from this series.
Meet K.A. Linde
K.A. Linde is the USA Today bestselling author of the Avoiding Series, Wrights, and more than thirty other novels. She has a Masters degree in political science from the University of Georgia, was the head campaign worker for the 2012 presidential campaign at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and served as the head coach of the Duke University dance team. She loves reading fantasy novels, binge-watching Supernatural, traveling, and dancing in her spare time. She currently lives in Lubbock, Texas, with her husband and two super-adorable puppies.
Connect with K.A. Linde
Visit her online at Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @authorkalinde.Join her newsletter for exclusive content, free books, and giveaways every month.
The last person she wants might be the second chance she needs.
SYNOPSIS
Adalia Buchanan broke up with art, but it won’t break up with her. So she paints in secret, then destroys her work. Her mentor stole her art months ago, and she’ll never share her work again. After he sold his brewery, Finn Hamilton’s life was supposed to be on an upward trajectory. Instead, he’s lost his way. When he stumbles upon Adalia destroying her painting, two thoughts come to mind: one, she looks like a Valkyrie with blonde hair swinging and paint flying from her blade, and two, she’s talented. Very talented. Suddenly, she’s no longer the sassy sister of his best friend’s girlfriend—she’s an intriguing, beautiful woman he’s dying to get to know better. Too bad Adalia, who’s infatuated with Pride and Prejudice, thinks he’s arrogant and conceited, a modern-day Mr. Darcy. Then again, Elizabeth Bennett changed her mind about Darcy, so there may be hope for them yet…if they can survive an evil cat, a goat-obsessed artist, and their meddling families.
About Denise Grover Swank
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Denise Grover Swank was born in Kansas City, Missouri and lived in the area until she was nineteen. Then she became a nomadic gypsy, living in five cities, four states, and ten houses over the course of ten years before she moved back to her roots. She speaks English and a smattering of Spanish and Chinese which she learned through an intensive Nick Jr. immersion period. Her hobbies include witty Facebook comments (in own her mind) and dancing in her kitchen with her children. (Quite badly if you believe her offspring.) Hidden talents include the gift of justification and the ability to drink massive amounts of caffeine and still fall asleep within two minutes. Her lack of the sense of smell allows her to perform many unspeakable tasks. She has six children and hasn’t lost her sanity. Or so she leads you to believe.
A.R. CASELLA is a freelance developmental editor by day, writer by night. She lives in Asheville, NC with her husband, daughter, two dogs, and a variable number of fish. Her pastimes include chasing around her toddler, baking delicious treats, and occasional bouts of crocheting. Any Luck at All, co-written with New York Times bestselling author Denise Grover Swank, is her first book.
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