Monica Murphy has revealed the cover for The Sophomore!
Releasing: June 17, 2021
Cover Designer: Hang Le Photographer: Michelle Lancaster Model: Lochie Carey
Jackson Rivers.
My not so secret crush.
He’s popular. Gorgeous. Talented.
Also my biggest weakness.
I’ve stood by him for years. Been a friend every time he needed one, but he doesn’t see me. Not like I want him to.
Move on, my friends said. Find someone new. Someone who sees your worth. Someone who gets you. I know they’re right. I’m only a friend to him. He’s never going to see me like I see him. So I take their advice, and try to move on.
But Jackson is always right there. In my face. Running to my rescue. And when I meet someone else, Jackson isn’t having it. For some reason, he’s suddenly determined to stay in my life. Right by my side.
Now he says he wants me, but does he want an actual relationship? Or is that he can’t stand the thought of losing me to another guy?
It’s time to find out what Jackson truly wants…and I’m going to make him work for it.
Monica Murphy is a New York Times, USA Today and international bestselling romance author. Her books have been translated in almost a dozen languages and have sold over two million copies worldwide. Both a traditionally published and independently published author, she writes young adult, new adult and contemporary romance. She’s also known as USA Today bestselling author Karen Erickson.
A native Californian, she lives on fourteen acres in the middle of nowhere with her husband, two kids, one dog, and four cats. When she’s not writing, she’s an assistant coach for her daughter’s high school cheer team, which is a two season sport. Meaning, she’s at practice with a bunch of teenage girls all the time. Or she’s at a football game. Or a basketball game. Maybe someday, she’ll even write about this experience.
The last place Judson wants to be is back home in Burlington, living with his mother. Not so long ago he was a world-class chef with the lifestyle to prove it. Now he’s serving drinks and flying under the radar until he can get the hell out again. But when his childhood best friend reenters his life, looking finer than any entree at a Michelin five-star restaurant, he wonders if it’s time to update his menu of life choices.
Working through past wounds with Skyler won’t be easy, though–especially with a reality-show television camera following (not quite) their every move. When their loyalty is tested, will their newly built stronghold be sturdy enough to withstand the storm?
Stronghold is a sweet and sexy romance for childhood friends to lovers, with some creative use of maple syrup and a TV crew determined to keep appearing out of nowhere.
Formerly famous . . . and planning to keep it that way.
After my band kicked me out, I ran away to Vermont, changed my name, and kept my head down. So far, it’s working and nobody knows who I am. Or who I was. Until I see geeky poet Caleb stumbling through his first open mic night and I can’t help rescuing him. He’s as sweet as the honey my bees make and sexy enough to make me rethink so many things. But I can’t tell him my secret, or I’ll lose the anonymous life I worked so hard to build.
Everyone warns me he’s too good to be true.
I can’t believe a gorgeous, successful winemaker like Tag is into shy, geeky little accountant me. But he helps me blossom and believe in my talent, and works his way into my heart and my bed… not necessarily in that order. I’m falling for a man for the first time, and now I know what the missing number in my equation has always been.
When lies are revealed, though, someone’s going to get stung . . .
One night with Reeve Hale wasn’t enough. I knew it when I kissed him, I knew it when I slept with him, and I was certain of it when I walked out of his motel room the very next day.
So when the shy, gorgeous man is introduced as our newest employee at Vino and Veritas, I can’t help but conjure up all the ridiculous ways to convince him to repeat that unforgettable night. Like asking him to be my fake boyfriend at my sister’s upcoming wedding.
Only, I didn’t expect him to say yes.
Playing pretend shouldn’t feel this real. Especially when Reeve is planning on leaving Vermont after the summer.
We agreed to one night. We negotiated a fake relationship. But I’m the one who broke our terms. I wasn’t supposed to fall in love and he was never supposed to be so unforgettable.
I swore I wouldn’t do this again. Mix sports, school, and sex. But right now the only thing standing between me and the NHL is six feet of frenemy packed into a pair of form-fitting jeans that have me thinking all kinds of things I shouldn’t. Mostly how to get him out of them.
I don’t just want Kolby. I need him. Because I’ve got to pass this theater class–yeah, I said theater–if I’m going to keep my spot on the team. When tutoring sessions turn into dates-not-dates over Shipley Cider at Vino and Veritas, I realize it’s going to be harder than I thought to keep my hands on my stick and off of Kolby. Worse, I think I might be falling for him. But I’m not ready for that. I want to keep this thing between us on the down-low for now.
I mean, Murph’s special. He’s funny and flamboyant and full of life.
While I’m straight, even I can tell these guys aren’t good enough for him.
I had to yell at one date, toss another one out the door, and throw a beer in another’s face.
Kind of embarrassing, really. I don’t know what’s gotten into me.
I ask my sister what’s wrong with me and she says I’m jealous.
Jealous? Please. Me?
Come on.
Only thing is, I hate the thought of Murph kissing any guy. Ever.
Except, maybe … me?
Undone is a contemporary m/m romance about a dreamy insurance agent that might not be as straight as he thinks, an adorable bartender who adds sparkle wherever he goes, and maybe one or two jokes about swords.
Corinne Michaels has revealed the cover for You Loved Me Once!
Available on audio June 17, 2021, and releasing June 29, 2021!
Cover Design: Sommer Stein, Perfect Pear Creative
Photographer: Regina Wamba
From New York Times Bestselling author Corinne Michaels comes a heartbreakingly beautiful standalone story about letting love in.
I’m losing myself trying to save everyone else…
As a doctor, I walk a dangerously delicate balance of being compassionate but not overly invested. The same is true in my personal life–love is a luxury I can’t afford.
It isn’t until Dr. Westin Grant breaks down all my walls and offers me a future, I find myself wondering if I’m brave enough to risk my heart.
When who I was and who I’ve tried to become collide during my clinical trial, the fate of one patient changes everything.
In a single moment, everything I’ve worked for is jeopardized. My integrity, my career, and even my relationship with Westin.
He loved me once, I just hope he can love me always …
Pre-order today on Apple Books, Kobo, Barnes & Noble!
Corinne Michaels is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of romance novels. Her stories are chock full of emotion, humor, and unrelenting love, and she enjoys putting her characters through intense heartbreak before finding a way to heal them through their struggles.
Corinne is a former Navy wife and happily married to the man of her dreams. She began her writing career after spending months away from her husband while he was deployed–reading and writing were her escapes from the loneliness. Corinne now lives in Virginia with her husband and is the emotional, witty, sarcastic, and fun-loving mom of two beautiful children.
Before I even met Donovan Decker, I knew his shoe size.
You see, I’d gone away for a few days, and in my haste to get out of the airport, I’d grabbed the wrong suitcase.
After checking out the expensive footwear and tailored clothes, I dialed the number on the luggage tag hoping maybe Mister Big Spender might have my bag.
A deep, velvety voice answered, and as luck would have it, he had my suitcase, too.
Donovan and I met at a coffee shop to do the exchange.
Turned out, it wasn’t just his voice that was sexy. The man holding my luggage was absolutely gorgeous, and we had an immediate spark.
He got me to admit that I’d snooped in his bag and then convinced me to make it up to him by letting him buy me coffee.
Coffee led to dinner, dinner led to dessert, and dessert led to spending an entire weekend together. Donovan wasn’t just handsome with a panty-dropping voice. He was also funny, smart, and surprisingly down to earth for a man who wore seven-hundred-dollar shoes.
Did I mention he also did my laundry while I slept?
Definitely too good to be true.
So what did I do to repay him for his kindness?
I waited until he was in the shower, then ghosted him.
My life was too complicated for such a great guy.
In the months that passed, I thought about Donovan often. But New York City had eight-million people, so what were the chances I’d run into him?
Then again, what were the chances I’d run into him a year later…when I’d just started dating his boss?
Do you like texts better than email? Receive text notices of Vi’s new releases by texting the word BOOKS to 77948 You will ONLY receive a text when a new book goes live – no other messages at all!
AUTHOR BIO
Vi Keeland is a #1 New York Times, #1 Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling author. With millions of books sold, her titles have appeared in over a hundred Bestseller lists and are currently translated in twenty-five languages. She resides in New York with her husband and their three children where she is living out her own happily ever after with the boy she met at age six.
What do you get when you have a British silver fox with a need for hook-ups to inspire his writing and a younger, grumpy. jilted sugarmaker? Well, an INSATIABLE need for their happy ending.
Rhys Everly’s Insatiable situates itself fairly in the Vino & Veritas world, offering up a slice of it that we, the devoted readers of this world, have yet to read. Given that this series is set in Burlington, Vermont, maple anything is the currency of this area. Enter Brody, a jilted maple winemaker, grumpy at life after being left at the altar. In this world, we have yet to meet characters who actually work with maple syrup in the way that Brody does, so Insatiable makes for an interesting read as it introduces us to this fare. When you add to that a pretty randy British erotica writer, you find yourself exposed to the very stories that the reader inhales from the world of romance. In many ways, Everly’s depiction of Logan feels like a meta-reflection on the artform of erotica.
Brody and Logan are light and dark. Everly finds a balance between the two as Logan steps in to help Brody build his winemaking business, a business that is underwhelming at the book’s beginning. Logan initiates his help with the intent to bed Brody, given that their initial meeting is filled with some serious chemistry. Granted, Brody is unimpressed with Logan’s cockiness. However, he cannot deny his attraction to the older man. As Logan penetrates (pun-intended) Brody’s gruff, surly exterior, their attraction grows and turns into something deeper and more vulnerable, and it is in those moments where Everly’s Insatiable soars.
Now, my biggest criticism of this book is how easily Logan, the playboy, falls for Brody. It causes unevenness in his characterization because it feels rushed and incongruous with his character at the beginning. In the beginning, Logan is a straight-up man-ho and seemingly replete in it. For him to quickly transition the other way undermines the credibility of his character development.
Beyond that, though, Logan and Brody’s journey is a compelling contrast to Logan’s hook-up lifestyle illustrating the gravity of deep, abiding relationships. As Logan realizes how unfulfilled his life is in its temporanity, you can’t help but like him more. Even at the beginning of the story in his insatiable need to bed anyone, as he recognizes Brody’s pain and the reasons behind it, you know that there is more to his character. His compassion for Brody ultimately wins you over to his side especially as Brody’s surliness can put you off initially.
Rhys Everly’s Insatiable is a great addition to the Vino & Veritas world. Brody’s reticence to trust Logan, and Logan’s revelation that he needs more from life draw you into their world with ease. By the end of this book, you’ll want more of Brody and Logan’s happy ending, and Everly is easy to oblige that.
“To truly experience life, you had to live it in community.”
Catherine Cowles, always true to her inveterate storytelling, has written a beautifully tragic story in her newest book, Reckless Refuge, that reminds you that a life half-lived or lived in the shadows is no life at all. What has become her signature, a tempest of emotion swirled in a teapot of romantic suspense, Reckless Refuge ingratiates itself into your heart by the sheer force of emotion. Every turn of the page wrings out story and character that grab at you, moving you forward when you want to hold off the ending because the story is so good. In fact, that’s probably my favorite part of Cowles’s book: her understanding of how to plot and sequence a story so that you want more while also wanting to hold off.
In Reckless Refuge, Shay and Brody’s chemistry is clear from the moment they meet. Their connection is beautifully wrought, making you want more from them from the very beginning. Shay’s past, though, complicates their journey, although Cowles has crafted a stalwart hero in Brody, an artist with a sense for the darkness in people. When his soul recognizes its own darkness in Shay, you will find yourself lost in their love story. This is trademark Catherine Cowles: beautiful couplings born from tragedies. You cannot help but adore Shay and Brody in this book.
Even more, the themes of this story underscore Cowles’s overall message of living abundantly: the idea of choosing your own family, along with the suggestion that trauma doesn’t have to stop life. In fact, Shay and Brody’s romance is the salve for Reckless Refuge because their pasts are shadowed by tragedy. As that portion of the story is unraveled, as a reader, you will find yourself clinging to the depth of their relationship in the book. The sustained suspense keeps you turning the page like you watch a horror movie: peeking through a hand that covers your eyes. Consider that your warning for Reckless Refuge. If you’re a Catherine Cowles fan, though, this won’t be a surprise. As is the case with every Catherine Cowles story I’ve read, I adored Reckless Refuge. From the character journeys of Shay and Brody to the inclusion of the Wrecked series gang to the intentional chronology crafted to sustain your anticipation to the most beautiful of happy endings, this book is an adventure, one that will drill into your soul and leave a piece of itself behind.
“Addictive, truly suspenseful, and utterly romantic, this is a top read of the year!” –Samantha Young, New York Times bestselling author
Reckless Refuge, an all-new emotional standalone romance filled with intrigue and suspense from Catherine Cowles, is available now!
There were shadows I was running from. Ones that haunted and taunted. Ones that made it so I had no choice but to disappear.
I’d spent years hiding from the world. My little island haven, the only assurance of safety.
It all changed the moment he showed up at my door. The hint of pain in his eyes told me that something haunted him, too. And I couldn’t help but be drawn closer.
But finding the person I needed most came with risks I never expected. And when our ghosts find us again, neither of us may make it out this time.
About Catherine Cowles Writer of words. Drinker of Diet Cokes. Lover of all things cute and furry, especially her dog. Catherine has had her nose in a book since the time she could read and finally decided to write down some of her own stories. When she’s not writing she can be found exploring her home state of Oregon, listening to true crime podcasts, or searching for her next book boyfriend.
Sean Anderson has spent his life waiting to get the hell out of West Virginia. His plans got derailed when his dad shipped him off to “pray the gay away,” but he’s over it, ready to prove that he’s a grown-ass man who can take care of himself. Of course, he’d have a better chance convincing himself if he could stop lusting after his grumpy roommate.
Army veteran Cooper Hill returned to Vermont minus one leg and one career, but determined to build a new life. When an army buddy asks Cooper to keep an eye on his nephew, a junior at the local college, Cooper can’t say no. He’s expecting a sheltered kid. What he gets is a gorgeous young man whose brilliant poetry gives voice to everything Cooper’s been trying to express. He wants Sean more than he’s ever wanted anything. And somehow, miraculously, Sean wants him too.
But wanting each other isn’t the same as being good for each other . . . especially when past pain threatens to write its own verse in their song.
A stand-alone novel in Sarina Bowen’s True North world, HEARTSONG contains first love, found family, kisses around the campfire, and two caring men who discover they make beautiful music together.
Excerpt:
Head down against the driving rain, body hunched over the injured dog, I don’t see the taillight of the car pulling out of a parking spot until it’s almost too late. Oh fuck. I close my eyes, turn the dog away, and brace for the impact.
Strong hands clamp down on my upper arms and yank me back. My back slams against a hard, broad chest, and then all three of us, me, my rescuer and the dog, are stumbling into the back bumper of a minivan.
The hands around my arms tighten and I lean against this stranger’s body for a second. The guy is almost the same height as me, but much broader, his chest wide and warm against my wet back. The feel of stubble against my cheek and warm breath blowing over my ear makes me shiver.
“Sean?” he says, voice deep and smooth.
Oh, holy hell. Can it be?
“Cooper, get the hell in here!” a second man calls from behind us.
A’course it is.
I straighten up and try to pull away. I swear his hands tighten on my arms, tugging me back against him for a glorious but far too brief moment before he lets me go. When I look over my shoulder at him, our eyes meet and my words lock in my throat as a sizzle of electricity shoots down my spine. It’s so real, I swear lighting must have touched ground somewhere. By the way his eyes widen, Cooper feels it, too.
I can’t hear anything except our breathing and the rain pounding on the gravel parking lot, soaking my thin t-shirt, and plastering Cooper’s hair to his head.
In my arms, the dog whimpers, and still I can’t look away from Cooper’s piercing gaze. What the hell is going on?
He starts to speak, and I sway towards him, holding my breath.
Those dark, intense eyes narrow and he scowls. “Don’t you fucking know how to drive?”
Speechless, I reel back and he grabs my arm again to keep me from losing my balance.
“Jesus Christ,” the older man says. “Don’t either one of you idiots have the sense God gave a goose? Get the hell inside.”
Cooper drops my arm like it’s scalding him, and I tear my gaze away from his angry face. An older guy with dark-brown skin, grey beard, and salt-and-pepper dreadlocks tied behind his neck waves at us from the open doors of the diner.
Grateful for the save, I walk carefully to the doors and into the diner.
“What happened?” the man asks as I pass him.
“This kid hit a dog and then almost got hit by a car himself,” Cooper answers from behind me.
“Are you always such a dick or is today special?” I snap at him.
Tie Me Down, an all new friends-to-lovers sexy small town romance from USA Today bestselling author Melanie Harlow is coming May 24th and we have the H-O-T cover!
Just friends. That’s all Beckett Weaver and I have ever been. Sure, he’s a hot cowboy who left Wall Street behind to take over his family’s ranch. Yes, I’ve had a secret crush on him since we were seventeen. And who wouldn’t appreciate those strong hands, that massive chest, and the way he fills out a pair of Levis? He makes a girl sweat just looking at him . . . and I look. A lot. But I’m a single mom trying to move on with my life, and he’s running that ranch single-handedly while taking care of his elderly father. We don’t even live in the same state. I only returned to my hometown of Bellamy Creek to sell my late mother’s house, and he just invited me and my son to stay with him because he’s got a big heart. That’s not the only big thing he’s got–which I discover the night I finally sneak across the hall to his bedroom and shed my inhibitions right alongside my pajamas. And once we give into each other, we can’t stop. The hayloft. The bed of his truck. The dock by the pond. Nothing has ever felt so right, but his past has taught him not to believe in happily ever after, and every perfect night I spend in his arms brings us closer to goodbye. Like any cowboy, he’s good with a rope and knows exactly how to tie me up. But what if I want him to tie me down?
Cover Designer: Hang Le Photographer: Michelle Lancaster Model: Tommy Pearce
About Melanie Harlow
USA Today bestselling author Melanie Harlow likes her martinis dry, her heels high, and her history with the naughty bits left in. When she’s not writing or reading, she gets her kicks from TV series like Schitt’s Creek, Homeland, and Fleabag. She occasionally runs three miles, but only so she can have more gin and steak.
Melanie is the author of the CLOVERLEIGH FARMS series, the ONE & ONLY series, AFTER WE FALL series, the HAPPY CRAZY LOVE series, the FRENCHED series, and the sexy historical SPEAK EASY duet, set in the 1920s. She lifts her glass to romance readers and writers from her home near Detroit, MI, where she lives with her husband, two daughters, and pet rabbit.
It was just a bet . . . until feelings got involved.
This job sucks but someone’s got to do it. My readers expect me to chronicle my very real, very steamy encounters in my novels. I’d never want to disappoint my fans, but the creative well has run a bit dry. Burlington, Vermont, seems like a good place to fill it up. This town offers a tempting array of artists, craftsmen, farmers, lumbersexuals . . . and so many beards.
But no one prepared me for Brody. He’s young. He’s hot. He’s definitely a grump. And he’s getting under my skin. Where I want him is under my bedsheets.
When my friend bets I’ll never be able to get Brody there, I make winning my mission. Turns out being with Brody is more than a plot device. He’s so very wrong for my life . . . but is he right for my heart?
Insatiable is a standalone book in the Vino & Veritas series by Heart Eyes Press and contains a big/small, grumpy/sunshine pairing, a bed-hopping author, a jilted sugarmaker and a reluctant fake relationship.
Excerpt:
“And? Have you found the object of your ‘affection’ yet?” Harrison asks. “Current company excluded, of course.”
I shrug and turn around, taking in the bookshop, but someone outside catches my attention, coming out of a restaurant across the street.
Brody Mercier. I’d love to see him sprawled out in my bed, hanging onto my lips as if they are sweeter than maple, and have him shout out my name as I take him six ways to Sunday, effectively turning that frown upside down.
“I think I have,” I say, looking back at my friend with a smirk.
Harrison checks over his shoulder for who I’d been looking at, then turns back to me in horror.
“Oh God. No. Leave the poor man alone. He’s got enough to deal with without you chasing after him,” he says.
I take another sip of my coffee—delicious, by the way—and sit back on the stool.
“The way I see it, he’s got a bad case of the sadsies and could use a…smile,” I say. Or a dick in his mouth. Same difference.
“You’re an idiot.”
Harrison shakes his head, and Oz grimaces.
“What? You think you can get him? Good luck with that. That man has been in a rut for three months now,” he says.
“Is that a challenge?” I say, addressing both of them.
Harrison rolls his eyes and sips his coffee.
“Do you ever not…um…think with your dick?” Oz asks.
“Probably not,” I say.
“I know you’ve had a lot of ‘adventures,’ but Brody Mercier isn’t the type to fall under your spell. He almost got married for crying out loud,” Oz says.
“All the more reason to have some fun and rebound. Hard,” I say. “Hey! That could be the title of my next book. Hard Rebound with the Sugarmaker.”
“I still don’t think Brody is a guy who will want a quickie in the restroom or a BJ behind the bushes.”
“Maybe not at first.”
“Maybe not ever,” Oz counters.
“Wanna bet on it?” I ask, the cogs already turning in my head.
I love nothing if not a challenge, and from the sound—and look of it—Brody Mercier may just be exactly what I need to get me out of my own rut. And we can both have fun in the process. And a bestseller at the end of it.
That’ll show those bloody critics.
“Bet on it?” Oz asks, hesitantly.
“Yeah. Bet. You say I can’t get him, and I’m telling you that I can have him in my bed by the end of the month, if not the week.”
“Gosh, I knew you based your stories on real life, but I didn’t realize all you think about is sex. When was the last time you went without sex for longer than a week?” Oz asks, leaning forward, a hand under his chin, brown eyes staring right at mine.
“A week? Jeez. Does anyone go through such torture?” I ask.
Harrison lets out a surprised wow next to me, but both Oz and I ignore him.
“I’ll tell you what. I’ll bet you can’t get him into bed, and if you lose…” Oz scratches his chin and purses his lips before he speaks again. “If you lose, you can’t have sex for three months.”
A knot forms in my throat, and I start coughing on the coffee dregs still in my mouth.
“What the hell? Three months? That’s plain torture.”
Oz stands up straight again and shrugs.
“Well, if you’re scared—”
“I’m not scared,” I say before he can even finish. “Why would I be? I can get him like that.” I click my fingers, and the snap seems to give me back my confidence.
Getting guys in my bed is what I do. I never fail. The guy to resist me hasn’t been born yet. And Brody Mercier is no exception. He may be a challenge, but he’ll be begging for my cock before long.
“If you say so,” Oz smirks. “But if you lose, you go celibate. Three months.”
“Fine. I lose, I go celibate.” A shudder passes over my entire body at the mere suggestion. “But if you lose, I get your respect for my skills and charm.”
Oz raises an eyebrow and crosses his arms.
“That’s it? That’s all you want from me? Respect? I thought you were going to ask for something naughtier. You, Mr. Graves, surprise me. And…” He reaches for my hand and we shake on it. “You’ve got yourself a deal.”
