Author: professorromance

 Sneaking Around with the Player by Rebecca Jenshak is now live! 

It was supposed to be a quick conversation with a cute boy at the airport while I dodged my ex and his new girlfriend.

We weren’t supposed to trade numbers.

He wasn’t supposed to be a football player.

And I definitely wasn’t supposed to fall for him since he’s attending a college a thousand miles away.
I saw past his jersey. And he saw past my last name.

Now it’s semester break, and by some Christmas miracle, he’s going to be close. So close.
I want to meet him again, but there’s just one problem.

My older brother can’t, under any circumstances, find out I’m dating his rival.

Download today on Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, and Kobo!

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 Meet Rebecca

Rebecca Jenshak is a USA Today bestselling author of new adult and sports romance. She writes sexy, feel-good stories with lots of swoon-worthy moments.

Rebecca lives in Arizona. When she isn’t writing, you can find her cheering on local sports teams, hanging out with friends and family, or curled up with a good book.

Sign up for her newsletter to be notified of new releases: https://rebeccajenshak.com/newsletter/

Connect with Rebecca

Website: https://www.rebeccajenshak.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16681160.Rebecca_Jenshak

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Rebecca-Jenshak/e/B074F258NP/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rebeccajenshak

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1523746940998401

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Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/rebecca-jenshak

She’s Charmed, He’s Sure

Witcha Gonna Do by Avery Flynn is now live!

An unlucky witch and her know-it-all nemesis must team up in the first of a new, spicy romantic comedy series from USA Today bestselling author Avery Flynn.

Could it possibly get any worse than having absolutely no magical abilities when you’re a member of the most powerful family of witches ever? It used to be that I’d say no, but then I keep getting set up on dates with Gil Connolly whose hotness is only matched by his ego. Seriously. I can’t stand him. Even if I also can’t stop thinking about him (specifically kissing him) but we’re going to pretend I never told you that part.

So yeah, my life isn’t the greatest right now, but then it goes straight to the absolute worst hell when I accidentally make my sister’s spell glitch and curse my whole family. And the only person who can help non-magical me break the spell? You guessed it. Gil the super hot jerk.

Now we have to work together to save my family and outmaneuver some evil-minded nefarious forces bent on world domination. Oh yeah, and we have to do all that while fighting against the attraction building between us because I may not be magical, but what’s happening between Gil and I sure feels like it.

Download today on Amazon, Audible, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, Kobo!

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3wa0cDM

Apple Books: https://apple.co/34Na62O

Nook: https://bit.ly/3Id9l0z

Kobo: https://bit.ly/3JihcLx

Google Play: https://bit.ly/3CSThjC

Audible: https://bit.ly/3Uq98wY

Narrated by: Sarah Pesek & Adam Gold

Add to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3KLATvx

 Meet Avery Flynn

When Avery Flynn isn’t writing about alpha heroes and the women who tame them, she is desperately hoping someone invents the coffee IV drip. She has three slightly wild children, loves a hockey-addicted husband, and has a slight shoe addiction. Find out more about Avery on her website, follow her on Twitter, like her on her Facebook page, or friend her on her Facebook profile. Also, if you figure out how to send Oreos through the internet, she’ll be your best friend for life.

Connect with Avery

Website: http://averyflynn.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4894804.Avery_Flynn

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Avery-Flynn/e/B00560LIP0

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AveryFlynnAuthor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/averyflynn/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AveryFlynn

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/avery-flynn

Overall Grade: 4.5 ⭐️

Tropes: single mom; former MLB baseball player with a secret; small-town romance; insta-attraction

One of my favorite parts of reading romance is reaching the end of a book and finding a fulfilling HEA or HFN, the kind that makes your heart swell and threatens to put a perma-smile on your face. This is the case with Adriana Locke’s The Sweet Spot. Adriana Locke has found her niche in the world of romancelandia, and she continues to create stories that make you pine for her characters even after the book has ended. In this newest story, Palmer and Cole simply and effectively steal your time because you hate to leave them to their love affair. There are some intentional and important choices that Locke has made in her story that make it effectively a time guzzler.

Palmer (what a great name for a heroine) has lived a life where the people in her past and present have stolen her hope. She lives her life raising a son who is a great citizen and human being, but his father has done very little to contribute. As many single moms know, it falls on her to bear the burden of raising her child. She does this with aplomb, but given her experience with an alcoholic father and an absentee ex, she isn’t hopeful that she would ever find a man to love her as she needs to be loved. She knows that she wants to marry a man and have another child, but she’s reticent to believe she will ever find what she needs. Palmer is every woman, and vulnerability and trust don’t come easy for her as it doesn’t for many of us.

What Locke does so brilliantly is craft a hero in Cole Beck who is not interested in relationships to act as a foil to Palmer. What’s profound about his characterization is he’s been raised to be a relationship-type of guy. His parents are incredible examples of love and marriage. He’s lived a fairly idyllic life, and he cares for people. Post-baseball, he doesn’t know himself. He also harbors a secret that Locke does well to hide for much of the book. Palmer and Cole’s character arcs side by side look like a potential trainwreck, but, with her writing prowess, Locke shows us how a single mom can grow hope through the careful actions of a stalwart hero. Together, they grow into each other, and their journey looks like a fairy tale. They are both loveable and extraordinary and likable.

Add to their pairing Cole’s parents, Palmer’s tween-age son, Ethan (by the way, probably the wisest person in the story), and Palmer’s best friend, Val. These people conspire to hold Palmer and Beck’s feet to the romance fire so to speak. They also provide carefully placed wisdom and humor to the story’s plot. It would be fun in the future for Val and Ethan to receive stories in Locke’s idyllic small-town world, but The Sweet Spot is so good on its own that I feel replete at its end.

Adriana Locke is a small-town romance force of nature. Every time I enter her stories, I’m astounded at her ability to woo me with characters so loveable you want to know them in real life. This is definitely the case for The Sweet Spot. Using an oft-used baseball metaphor, she hit a home run with this one.

In love and romance,

Professor A

THE SWEET SPOT by Adriana Locke

Release Date: 11/29/2022

Genre/Tropes:

Single Mom, Baseball Pro, Small Town Romance

THE SWEET SPOT by USA Today bestselling author Adriana Locke is NOW LIVE!

Grab this all-new small town romance TODAY!

NOW AVAILABLE! FREE IN KU!

https://geni.us/TSSpot

Add to Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60806368-the-sweet-spot

Blurb:

She wants forever. He plays it day by day. They’re both wishing for the best in USA Today bestselling author Adriana Locke’s charming and sexy hopefully-ever-after romance.

Single mom Palmer Clark will not be sidelined by the new man in town. Sure, the honey-tongued baseball legend is gorgeous, loves puppies, and has charmed his way into the community’s heart, but Palmer craves stability. Nothing about Cole says forever. So why is he so hard to resist?

Cole is swinging through town to visit his parents when he meets the kind of down-to-earth distraction he’s been looking for since retiring from the majors. True, his long-term relationship score is zero. But even though raising his average with Palmer seems impossible, it’s worth a shot.

As promising as the summer nights are, fate turns small-town dreams upside down, and some lessons are learned the hard way. But having faith in love and choosing hope over fear might get Palmer and Cole to the sweet spot they’re looking for.

About the Author:

USA Today and Washington Post bestselling author Adriana Locke lives and breathes books. After years of slightly obsessive relationships with the flawed bad boys created by other authors, Adriana has created her own.

She resides in the Midwest with her husband, sons, and two dogs. She spends a large amount of time playing with her kids, drinking coffee, and cooking. You can find her outside if the weather’s nice and there’s always a piece of candy in her pocket.

Connect w/Adriana:

Website: https://adrianalocke.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authoradrianalocke

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/booksbyadrianalocke

Twitter: https://twitter.com/authoralocke

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authoradrianalocke

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8379774.Adriana_Locke

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3ivy7xd

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/adriana-locke

Newsletter Signup: http://bit.ly/NewsletterAddy

Overall Grade: 4.5 ⭐️

“‘I am many Adelaises, and I like being many Adelaises. And it’s not that any one version of me feels wrong or anything, it’s only that there are so many of being me that feel right. But I can’t choose every day who I am depending on what feels right. I have to be what other people expect.’ Adelais thought a minute. ‘I suppose that’s why I choose to be the Wolf as often as I can. When you’re a story, then people expect you to be different, at least. And maybe that’s as close as I can get.’”

The last story of Villian I’d Like to F…”The Conquering of Tate the Pious” by Sierra Simone offers this quote. After reading Joanna Shupe’s, Eva Leigh’s, Nicola Davidson’s, and Adriana Herrera’s, along with Sierra Simone’s,  offerings to this anthology of delicious villainous romances, this quote reminds you of the true nature of people. It made me think on Lady “Viper” and Mr. Molineaux, Blake Evans, Billy Baxter, the bootleggers Camden and Vincenzo, and the Wolf. How each of these “villians” was painted as such by a society based solely on their deeds. Yet, what made them a villain? Are the social norms the issue? Through many of these stories, that’s the means for villainy. Even more, each of the characters crafted by the ingenious authors of this anthology comes with baggage, some trauma that has shaped their worldview. This, dear readers, is where they steal your heart. Do they engage in shady business practices? Yes. Do they terrorize others? Indeed. However, as this anthology shows, those are identities crafted by pain and forged by an unforgiving society. 

As with the former anthologies by these authors, the eroticism of this book entices you to keep reading. I know romance readers love spice, and it’s turned to high in this book. But what I love more is the promise of this book: that even the big baddie can be loved. That it takes an incredible person to see past the facade that frightens the average person because there is more to a person. There are different identities in all of us. Finding the space to live our truest self, all of them together, is where love can be found. Oh, how I love Shupe and Leigh and Davidson and Herrera and Simone. If they write it, I will come…

In love and romance,

Professor A

Overall Grade: 4.5 ⭐️

Tropes: dark romance; instant attraction; extended family trials; cinnamon roll hero; romantic suspense

“Camden and I were destined to crash into each other and leave scars.”

Jolie, you good? The newest series from Jolie Vines, Dark Island Scots, is a departure from her Highlander-loving Scotsmen of her earlier series, and it’s exciting and compelling. Now, for three books, she has enticed her readers with a prolonged storyline, wrought through plot ups and downs. That she compels her readers to dive into the books of this series is a testament to her capacity to keep her readers engaged. There is just something intriguing about her characters, Struan, Sin, Scar, and Burn. This found family that is actually blood-related pulls you into the story. However, it’s the running plot through the stories that drives readers forward. By the end of Scar, the newest story, there is no telling where the overarching story is going. We left with three complex heroes finding love amid the chaos of their lives. Woven into the fabric of this series is a delectable dark erotic spirit. 

In Scar, we meet Camden “Scar” and Breeze who are brought together through the astounding events surrounding the men’s creep of a sp*rm donor. From the moment they meet, Breeze entrances Camden. Like Vines’s heroine, Cait, in Obsessed, Camden, unlike his brothers, has never felt $exual towards anyone. Yet, from seeing Breeze bound on a bed, he’s enthralled, much to his chagrin. Vines plays with the idea that kink is passed down through genetics throughout this series. Thankfully, she understands how to write heroes who transcend their pasts and parentage, so it’s safe to say that the heroes of this series might enjoy some pain, a little breeding, and bondage, but they lack the sinister of their birth father. I love how Vines questions this idea.

Scar is a literal twist and turn of a story. Leaving one chapter and going to the next absolutely sends you into chaos. Undergirding it, however, is a love affair between two people who simply want to be loved and find it in each other and their found family. This binds the entire story together and keeps you engaged when you’re nervous to turn the page for the action ahead of you. I’m excited about Burns’s story. I can’t wait for the villains to get their comeuppance finally. Jolie Vines – you have created a series that is a delectable prolonged series of erotic fireworks.

In love and romance,

Professor A

Overall Grade: 4.5 ⭐️

Tropes: Vegas wedding; brother’s best friend; little sister; forbidden relationship; heroine seeking more than familial expectations; love from afar

“‘Regrets are made in the things in life you don’t do, not in the things you do. Everything leads you to who you are meant to be. Doing nothing is not a life lived.’”

Catherine Bybee is a new author to me. I was intrigued by her blurb for Be Your Everything. What’s not to love about a “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” situation, which boils over into everyday life, the antics of two Italian Catholic families, and a forbidden relationship? This story is fraught with tension from the beginning to the end, and Bybee creates two characters in Chloe and Dante, who ingratiate themselves into your feelings. You cannot help but love their story even when you want to scream at them for their choices. It takes a clever author to create those feelings in her reader.

Let me start by saying that I’m not a huge fan of the brother’s best friend/little sister trope. Inevitably, authors draw the protective older brother(s) as the villain of the story, and they create complications where, I think, they are warranted. Bybee has done this with Be Your Everything. To be fair, we are talking about an Italian family without a father, so it’s believable that Chloe’s older brothers, Luca and Gio, could struggle with her attraction and eventual coupleship with Dante. I get it; I just don’t care for it. Bybee handles it well, crafting a backstory for Dante that explains why Gio, his best friend, would be reticent to approve of his relationship with Chloe. But here’s my issue with this trope: It’s not Gio’s decision, and he shouldn’t have a say in it. Again, I understand the fun of this trope, the tension that squeezes through a story, but I’m not sure Bybee has done anything different with it in her newest book. 

That being said, Chloe and Dante’s journeys are compelling. Chloe is looking to forge her own path, seeking independence from the family. Dante is ready to make changes in his life to be closer in proximity to Chloe and his family. They both worry about regretting their decisions, but Bybee’s romance suggests that the only regret is never making a choice. 

Bybee treats her readers with a burgeoning love affair that blooms in Bali. When Chloe and Dante finally accept their feelings for each other and stop fighting them, Bybee builds hope in her readers that they will find their happy ending. Some miscommunications seek to upend this, but Chloe and Dante eventually trust the other to do what they say they will do. 

There are additional points of view in Be Your Everything beyond Chloe and Dante, namely Chloe’s brother, Gio. I see this as Bybee’s launching pad for Gio…and possibly Salena’s story. Given the easy read and emotional connection to Bybee’s recent story, I will be downloading and reading the next of this series of standalones. If you love loving Italian families with a ton of character, you should read this one.

In love and romance,

Professor A

It’s the season for gift giving!

Six FREE standalone holiday short stories!

Get Sleighed by Vi Keeland & Penelope Ward

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

Christmas in Birdville by Jewel E. Ann

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

The Lucky One by Sarina Bowen

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

First Holiday by Katee Robert

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

A Cloverleigh Farms Christmas by Melanie Harlow

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

Have Yourself a Grumpy Little Christmas by Pippa Grant

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

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

But the bigger problem?

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

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

COVER CREDIT:

Cover designer:  Sommer Stein, Perfect Pear Creative

  

Grab your free copy today, before it goes away! 

Available for only a limited time!

https://BookHip.com/ZBPNBVP

🖤🏝🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 SCAR (Dark Island Scots #3) is NOW LIVE 🖤🏝🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

𝐆𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B77KZYB1

Camden and Breeze light up the pages of Scar.

A scar tore his face. Mine would carve his heart.

I’d do anything to save my missing sister, even sell my body to the highest bidder.

Until he steals me from my buyer’s mansion.

Camden rescued me, but he won’t let me walk away. Especially when I discover he’s my buyer’s son.

And the strange thing? I can’t even be angry at the sweet, gentle, scarred Scotsman for the terrible thing he did.

Chasing after me will hurt him. And loving him will only leave me with scars.

—

Scar is the third episode in the wildly popular Dark Island Scots series. As with the previous brothers’ stories, this is darkly delicious and may raise eyebrows. Check the note inside the book for warnings. Remember Camden is a tattoo artist?

Just wait and see where he lays down his…skills.

Let Camden and Breeze leave you emotionally scarred!

#joliesdarkislandscots #DarkIslandScots #mustread #mustreadromance #mustread #NowAvailable #GetYourCopyNow @jolievinesx

THE SWEET SPOT by Adriana Locke

Release Date:

11/29/2022

Genre/Tropes:

Single Mom, Baseball Pro, Small Town Romance

Narrators:

Stella Hunter and Teddy Hamilton

Preorder available:

https://geni.us/TSSpot

Add to Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60806368-the-sweet-spot

EXCERPT

I’m lifting my glass to take another sip of sugar when a shoulder brushes against mine. I’m two seconds from turning and giving someone a warning . . . but stop.

My body stills as a set of large, calloused hands presses against the laminate countertop next to me.

Thick, muscled wrists attach to forearms the size of my biceps. The space around me is impregnated with a very heady, very masculine vibe.

A bubble of curiosity blooms in my stomach. The intrigue grows as a rich, balmy scent licks at my senses. It’s the kind of cologne I love—the type that makes the person smelling it feel better, more confident, more attractive by proxy.

That is not a harbinger of good things, though. I know from experience.

I ignore the warning bells dinging in my head like the seasoned expert I am and twist to the side . . . and nearly fall off my stool.

Holy. Man. Candy.

His hair—thick and wild, lying to the side in an errant wave—is the color of tobacco. It’s a stark juxtaposition to the chips of sapphire sparkling in his eyes. A sharp jaw is dusted with more than a day’s worth of stubble, finishing the glorious package with a sinful edge.

“Hey,” he says, his voice smooth and inviting.

“I’m sorry,” I say, finding my voice. “Do I know you?”

He grins. “Not yet.”

Blurb:

She wants forever. He plays it day by day. They’re both wishing for the best in USA Today bestselling author Adriana Locke’s charming and sexy hopefully-ever-after romance.

Single mom Palmer Clark will not be sidelined by the new man in town. Sure, the honey-tongued baseball legend is gorgeous, loves puppies, and has charmed his way into the community’s heart, but Palmer craves stability. Nothing about Cole says forever. So why is he so hard to resist?

Cole is swinging through town to visit his parents when he meets the kind of down-to-earth distraction he’s been looking for since retiring from the majors. True, his long-term relationship score is zero. But even though raising his average with Palmer seems impossible, it’s worth a shot.

As promising as the summer nights are, fate turns small-town dreams upside down, and some lessons are learned the hard way. But having faith in love and choosing hope over fear might get Palmer and Cole to the sweet spot they’re looking for.

About the Author:

USA Today and Washington Post bestselling author Adriana Locke lives and breathes books. After years of slightly obsessive relationships with the flawed bad boys created by other authors, Adriana has created her own.

She resides in the Midwest with her husband, sons, and two dogs. She spends a large amount of time playing with her kids, drinking coffee, and cooking. You can find her outside if the weather’s nice and there’s always a piece of candy in her pocket.

Connect w/Adriana:

Website: https://adrianalocke.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authoradrianalocke

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/booksbyadrianalocke

Twitter: https://twitter.com/authoralocke

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authoradrianalocke

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8379774.Adriana_Locke

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3ivy7xd

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/adriana-locke

Newsletter Signup: http://bit.ly/NewsletterAddy