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ALEATORY by Xavier Neal

Release Date: March 25th

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Blurb:

Aleatory.

As in ey-lee-uh-tawr-ee.

As in an adjective.

As in a synonym for unpredictable.

As in the only word to describe making the mistake of falling for someone who is not only ten years younger than you, but your best friend’s son…

About the Author:

Xavier Neal is a best-selling romance author who enjoys hopping from sub genre to sub genre like a game of Hopscotch she can’t resist.

In between writing, she loves to read (everything from romance to self improvement books), watch movies (old and new), eat too much Tex-Mex (her Chuy’s t-shirt collection is out of control), and watch AHL hockey games LIVE (preferably against the glass whenever possible).

She currently resides happily in Texas with her bearded husband “Lumberjack” and her rather lazy dog, Missy.

Connect w/Xavier:

Website: https://www.xavierneal.com

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

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TURNABOUT BY LAUREL GREER

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Shorby → https://shor.by/vino-and-veritas

About the Book:

I don’t have time for an unplanned visit home to help out in my father’s struggling letterpress shop. My stint in Vermont will have to be short, for a couple of reasons: 

One, I’m a busy executive trying to climb the corporate ladder.

Two, my ex is still my dad’s right-hand man in the shop. And I am not over him.

Nothing has changed at the Burlington shop. Auden still has his infuriatingly sexy Scottish accent. He’s still hot, and still stubborn. Between operating the antique press with his shirtsleeves rolled up, and moonlighting at Burlington’s hottest inclusive wine bar, he pushes every one of my attraction buttons.

My falling-in-love-again buttons, too. Except I’m his polar opposite. I love change, and taking chances. Everything he avoids in life. 

So why am I trying to convince him to reach for more than we’ve ever dreamed of—the possibility of forever?

Turnabout is a second-chance romance with interfering family, groveling, and a large helping of artisan stationery geekery.

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UNGUARDED BY JAY HOGAN

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About the Book:

I fled Boston and my cheating jerk of an ex with three hundred dollars and a lip gloss in my pocket. Waking up the next day in Burlington, Vermont, with a crick in my back and a frozen ass wasn’t exactly in the plan. If there was one. Which there wasn’t. Story of my life.

Three hours later and I’ve been hired as temporary help in the local veterinary and grooming clinic, which is kind of impressive since I know zip about animals and even less about grooming. But one thing I do know—I’m crushing hard on the sexy, absent-minded vet I work for. 

My life is a hot mess. The last thing I need is another relationship. Emmett pushes all my buttons, but he isn’t out. He’s overwhelmed with a business to run and a son to look after and the kind of domestic life I never thought I wanted.

I should walk away.

But Emmett believes in me, and I might just be starting to believe in myself. As different as we are, is it possible we’re exactly what the other needs?  

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INSATIABLE BY RHYS EVERLY

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About the Book:

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.

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DAYBREAK BY KATE HAWTHORNE

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About the Book:

When a sunny young musician gets stranded with a grumpy mechanic during a snowstorm, a lack of heat is the least of their problems…

Liam Luckett is on an adventure. He’s dropped out of his Master’s program without telling his overbearing parents and set off on a road trip across the country. Armed with little more than his guitar, he’s looking for his best life. He never expected his car to break down in the middle of nowhere Vermont with a huge storm pending, leaving him stranded and at the mercy of a hunky local mechanic.

Jasper Cunningham is in a holding pattern. Three years after the death of his husband, he still hasn’t moved on. A hot, younger, stranded tourist is exactly the sort of complication this mechanic has been avoiding. But he also can’t leave him in the snow. He brings Liam home and lets him sleep on the couch. The air is heavy with more than snow, and when the power goes out, the two men become closer than either of them expects.

Every silken note Liam sings on that guitar thaws Jasper’s heart a little.  Suddenly, Liam’s itchy feet aren’t so eager to move on. When their feelings get too big to ignore, the bond they’ve formed is tested. Will daybreak leave them going their separate ways? 

This opposites-attract, hurt/comfort romance features a grumpy widower who is only soft for one specific blue-eyed musician, a remote farmhouse, a friendly dog, and enough snow to knock the power out until love catches fire. 

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HEARTSONG BY A.E. WASP

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About the Book:

The best music comes from the heart.

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.

Reckless, an all new opposites attract standalone romance from USA Today bestselling author Adriana Locke is coming April 8th, and we have the delicious cover!

“How did you get in here?”

That’s not what you want to hear when you’re staring into the sea-green eyes of the hottest man you’ve ever seen. Yet I suppose it’s a fair question, considering I’m an uninvited stranger standing in Boone Mason’s kitchen.

If you think that’s bad—just wait. It gets worse.

This charming and wealthy playboy, who can’t pay his bills on time or find his way to the grocery store (but we all have flaws, right?), is sweet. Confident. Playful. He’s almost perfect. And, to make matters worse …

He’s smitten with me.

I know what you’re thinking. You’re rolling your eyes. You’re assuming this is some opposites attract situation—or that maybe we can be friends who turn into something more.

How can this be a bad thing?

Well, it’s simple. I’m not the kind of girl you fall in love with. Just to be sure, the universe reminds me of that in an unforgettable, in-your-face kind of way.

I might have broken into Boone’s house, but I won’t let him break my heart. I won’t break his either. There’s too much on the line to be that reckless.

Pre-order your copy today!
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About Adriana Locke

USA Today, Washington Post, and Amazon Charts 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, four 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 with Adriana

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THE GLASS SLIPPER (Cinderella #3) by K. Webster
Release Date: April 13th

 

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Start the Series today with Stroke of Midnight!
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B&N: https://bit.ly/3bk35oN
Kobo: https://bit.ly/3gQXjMO
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Blurb:
Betraying the most powerful man in New York wasn’t something I ever envisioned when I first started playing games with Winston Constantine. But he’s engaged in far more dangerous games than ours, and his enemies are out for blood.

Winston has my heart, the Morellis have incriminating photos, and I’m left with nothing except three stepbrothers who want to hurt me and a future in doubt. I knew Winston wouldn’t be my prince charming, but that didn’t stop me from falling for him.

After all, the slippers fit, and I let myself believe I’d be dancing with Winston forever.

Until too much truth comes to light.

Until I realize instead of ruling the board, I was just a pawn.

In the end, I have only one question. When his game with me is over, will I be able to pretend as if the glass slipper wasn’t a perfect fit?

 

 

 

 

About K. Webster:
K Webster is a USA Today Bestselling author. Her titles have claimed many bestseller tags in numerous categories, are translated in multiple languages, and have been adapted into audiobooks. She lives in “Tornado Alley” with her husband, two children, and her baby dog named Blue. When she’s not writing, she’s reading, drinking copious amounts of coffee, and researching aliens.

Connect w/K. Webster:
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Under Pressure, an all-new opposites-attract new adult romance from Allie Winters, is now available in Kindle Unlimited! 

Mia knows stress. She’s dealt with it her whole life. So when she gets an opportunity to run a psychology study to help her get into grad school, it should be no problem dealing with the prickly guy she suddenly finds herself paired with.

The one she had a secret crush on last year. The one who refuses to let anyone close. The one she’s discovering by the day may have a softer side than he lets anyone else see…

Tyler knows stress. He’s grappled with it for as long as he can remember. And just because he has to share credit with this girl on his new psychology study doesn’t mean he has to be friends with her. Except she somehow keeps worming her way into his life. In school. In the boxing gym.

In his bed.

But everyone knows it’s safer to keep to yourself. You can’t hurt anyone that way. Even if it means giving up the best thing that’s ever happened to him.

As things heat up in the Stress Lab, will this match be able to work together without disruption, or will this growing attraction between them eventually… combust?

‘Under Pressure ‘ is a full-length new adult contemporary romance and can be read as a standalone. Book #1 in the Lessons Learned series, Educated Romance World, Penny Reid Book Universe. 

Read for FREE in Kindle Unlimited!

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Goodreads: http://bit.ly/3b5GnTw

Audiobook: Coming Soon!

Excerpt

“Close your eyes,” he says in that beautifully deep voice, “and take a deep breath. Focus on relaxing each muscle of your body and slowing your breaths. Inhale and exhale with me.” He counts to three steadily, bringing air in, then releases it on the same count of three.

I do all I can to concentrate on his words, the rhythm of it more than anything else, just trying to get out of my own mind. If I can just breathe with him, everything will be okay. This crushing weight will release.

I clutch at his arms like he’s a lifeline and he lets me, wrinkling the sleeves of his soft cotton shirt, taking in shaky breaths next to his strong ones.

We continue that way for long minutes until it’s safe for me to open my eyes, my chest finally rising and falling in an even tempo. My lashes and cheeks are still wet as I look up at him and he slowly brings a hand up to wipe the moisture away, his thumb featherlight on my skin.

He moves to tuck an errant curl behind my ear, brushing my neck as his hand wanders down, leaving shivers in its wake, then cups the back of my head, cradling it tenderly. The warmth of his fingers relaxes the muscles there, even more so when he gently massages the area, loosening the still lingering tension.

He’s silent, his eyes flicking back and forth between my eyes and mouth, and it takes me a moment to realize what he’s signaling. I’m unable to move, to think, to focus on anything but his face gradually coming closer.

I shut my eyes at the first gentle press of his lips. I didn’t know he was capable of such softness, such tenderness. My stomach dips in anticipatory delight as his other hand slides into my hair, holding me more securely to him as he moves his head a fraction, changing the angle of the kiss so it’s deeper now, but still just as slow and exquisitely soft.

I sway toward him, relaxing my hold on his shirt, kissing him back with enthusiasm. I had no idea he felt this way, that he likes me—

A sharp burst of laughter from the hallway outside the lab has us breaking apart, like we were caught doing something wrong… 

About Allie Winters

Allie is the author of the Suncoast University series, the Bishop Brothers series, and the Lessons Learned series. She lives in sunny Florida with her husband, daughter, and two cats. A librarian by day, she spends her nights writing happily ever afters. She enjoys reading, playing video games, and all things Disney.

Find Allie Winters online

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Weights of Wrath, an all-new surprise pregnancy romantic comedy from M.E. Carter, is now available in Kindle Unlimited!

Read my review HERE.  

Rosalind Palmer was blessed with the perfect stage name. Or so she’s been told. There are just a few problems with it:

1) Her family doesn’t know she’s a stripper

2) She’d like to keep it that way

3) She got over the nickname somewhere around seventh grade.

Unfortunately—because she likes her job and she really likes her independence—her unexpected pregnancy means Rosalind’s days on a pole are numbered. Even so, she’s determined to make this co-parenting thing work.

Joey Marshall never thought much about having kids until he got the text announcing his impending fatherhood. Now it’s all he can think about. But there are a few concerns:

1) He doesn’t know anything about babies.

2) Adulting usually leads to disaster.

3) It’s his best friend’s cousin he knocked up.

First things first, making sure his baby’s mama is in this for the long haul. Because now he’s got baby on the brain, he can’t wait to make this co-parenting thing into so much more.

Now all he has to do is convince Rosalind, which shouldn’t be too hard . . . right?

Join us at Weight Expectations. You never know what to expect.

‘Weights of Wrath’ is a full-length contemporary romance, and can be read as a standalone. Book #4 in the Cipher Office series, Seduction in the City World, Penny Reid Book Universe.

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Audiobook: Coming later this year!

Excerpt

My door opens quietly, and I immediately sit up, knowing there’s only one person it could be.

“Rosalind? Are you okay?”

Seeing me awake, she quickly slips in and shuts the door behind her. Her long legs are bare, ass barely hidden by an oversized t-shirt that’s sliding off one shoulder. Her hair is pulled up so I can see the gracefulness of her neck. She looks beautiful in the moonlight and I can’t help wondering if this is a good time to finally kiss her again.

But no. We need to build a solid relationship. I don’t want to pressure her into anything she’s not ready for.

Gliding up to my bed, she pulls the covers back. “Move over.”

“What?” Okay, I don’t think she’s ready for anything sexual, but now I’m not so sure.

She sighs sounding as exhausted as my body feels. “My bed is uncomfortable. And my room has shitty ventilation. I am the baby mama. Move over.”

“Isn’t it the same bed you’ve been sleeping on for years? Suddenly, it’s uncomfortable?” I poke playfully. Really I don’t mind her being in here. I just can’t resist the chance to see the fire in her eyes.

“I don’t make my body hurt,” she retorts as she slides under the sheets. “I just try to accommodate whatever it wants right now.”

Admittedly, she’s not wrong. I got a preview of her mattress when I flopped down on it after moving it up two flights of stairs. It is pretty shitty. “Okay.” I move out of the middle and onto the far side of the bed as she moans her appreciation for a quality pillowtop. I may not be domestic at all, but a man knows the benefit of a good night’s sleep after a hard day at the gym. Still, I’m not positive of her intentions, and she’s been staring in my dreams for weeks now, so I need to clear something up.

“Does this mean we get to have sex now?”

Rosalind snorts a laugh and punches the pillow as she settles in. “No.”

“What? You’re moving into my bed, and I don’t get any of the benefits?” I joke back.

“You get the benefit of my presence and knowing your baby and I are both getting a good night’s rest.”

She’s got me there. At this point, their safety and well-being are my biggest priorities. I suddenly understand why Abel is such a worry wart when I babysit.

Don’t give her too much sugar, Joey.

Don’t let her stay up too late, Joey.

Don’t burn the house down trying to cook spaghetti, Joey.

One time. It was one time that I blew up the spaghetti pot.

I make a quick mental note never to make spaghetti around my child.

“Hey, Rosalind?” I clasp my hands behind my head, staring up at the ceiling again.

“Hmm.”

“Are you nervous?”

She takes a deep breath, and I get the feeling she’s been up all night, wrestling with her thoughts, too. “About which part?”

“I think… maybe, all of it?”

Rosalind rolls over, putting her hands under her cheek as she stares me dead in the eye. “I’m terrified. What if I’m not cut out for this, Joey?”

“What do you mean? I saw you with Mabel and Ainsley at Thanksgiving. They love you. You’re a natural with kids.”

“Mabel and Ainsley are easy,” she retorts. “I smile and laugh and talk to them like real people. I don’t have to keep them alive. I don’t know how to keep a baby alive.”

Shit. She’s right. “Neither do I.”

We lie there some more, lost in our own thoughts again. I’m so excited to become a dad and I’m equally as terrified, which is such a weird feeling. There is so much that can go wrong. So much I don’t know how to do yet. So much to expect that I haven’t even thought of. Babysitting Mabel and Ainsley is easy. Pop in a Wii game and let them go nuts. But a baby? That’s a whole different thing I’ve never done before.

About M.E. Carter

My name is M.E. Carter and I have no idea how I ended up writing books. I’m more of a story teller (the more exaggerated the better) and I happen to know people who helped me get those stories on paper. I love reading (read almost 200 books last year), hate working out (but I do it anyway because my trainer makes me), love food (but hate what it does to my butt) and love traveling to non-touristy places most people never see. I live in Houston with my four kids, Mary, Elizabeth, Carter and Bug, who was just a twinkle in my eye when I came up with my pen name. Yeah, I’ll probably have to pay for his therapy someday for being left out.

Find M.E. Carter online

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Overall Grade: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Riveting, realistic, and rife with steam, Kandi Steiner’s Hazed is everything you love about her Palm South University series. Hazed brings us right back to where she left off in Ritual. The crew, Adam, Cassie, Skyler, Jess, Erin, Bear, and Ashlei, have returned after winter break. In this story, Jess, Erin, and Lei have graduated and moved into the real world. As each of them encounters various struggles, it’s clear that life didn’t necessarily get easier after graduation. Bear and Adam are on the cusp of graduation with one semester of Palm South U to go, while Skyler and Cassie will finish up at the end of the school year. Each of Steiner’s characters is struggling in some way with the daunting nature of their future, and it casts this interesting shadow on the series, the knowledge that the Palm South U series is coming to an end. At the conclusion of Hazed, I find myself excited for the final book of the series while also feeling already nostalgic for the wide-eyed characters we found in Rush, the first book of the series. 

In two words, Hazed is all about second chances. I am always amazed when I read one of the Palm South U books at Steiner’s ability to juggle so many different perspectives and stories. It truly reads like episodic reality television. I think what I find most interesting about Hazed is how invested I am in Steiner’s characters. It makes sense given the broad and ambitious nature of this series. At the end of this book, Steiner leaves you with a bit of a cliffhanger that makes your stomach feel knotted up. At least it did for me. While Hazed isn’t the end of this series, it is the book before the end, which feels ominous in wrapping up these stories. I’m hoping the Palm South U series ends like a Jane Austen novel with everyone getting the perfect happy ending. When you get to the end of Hazed, Steiner brilliantly makes you doubt that. Even more, she reminds you why you can’t help but ADORE her stories as they burrow into your heart, making you want more of the drama and the love and the steam and the happy endings. 

If you’re the type who loves the drama, who adores reality television or serialized television, or who loves new adult romances, then you will love Hazed and its compatriots in the Palm South University series. But get ready…I think this series is going to end with a bang. 

In love and romance,

Professor A

Overall Grade: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Have you ever wanted to reach into a book, find the author in it, and hug said author? Have you ever been so emotionally drawn to the pain evoked from the author’s story? Evie Interrupted by Alison G. Bailey is that such a book for me. After several months of reading stories that interested me, but didn’t invest me emotionally, Bailey’s Evie Interrupted is a provocative rendering of love. If you’re looking for a traditional romance in her book, you will find it, but it isn’t the most important love on the page. Instead, Bailey’s book is a love story between a mother and a daughter. It’s about hero-making and the pain of living in that hero-worship when the hero (or heroine) seems no longer worthy of it. It’s about the switching of roles between a child and a parent in the face of a devastating illness. And it’s about living the same life over and over again, becoming static, and feeling like you have to live in that space when you just want to fly. 

After the first couple of chapters of Bailey’s book, I didn’t know if I would survive it. You should know that I did, and it stretched me as a person. Using the past and present to tell her story, Alison G. Bailey captured a piece of my heart with Evie Interrupted, and I don’t want it back. I also really want to meet her someday and give her the biggest hug when it’s allowed because this book requires it. 

I was drawn to Evie Interrupted by its cover and its blurb. But I fell in love with it through its ability to show the pain of life. There is indeed a beautiful traditional romance in this book, complete with a hero who is everything you love in heroes: handsome, $exy, compassionate, and wholly in love with the heroine. There is also a heroine (well, actually, two) who falls deeply in love with the hero almost at first sight. But she is much more complicated, and you will struggle to love her at times. Yet, it’s her love for the other heroine in this book that will captivate you, that will make your heart bleed, and that will steal a piece of your soul. Come to this book, girded with a box of tissues, but know that you will leave Alison G. Bailey’s Evie Interrupted changed in all the best of ways. 

In love and romance, 

Professor A

Overall Grade: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

How do you move beyond your hurts? How do you find a way to live life again after trauma? Garrett Leigh’s Heartscape seeks to answer these questions with the one answer that makes sense: to love and be loved. Heartscape tells the story of Vino & Veritas’s resident manager, Tanner. We find out in an earlier V&V book that Tanner needs a job as a way to save him from himself. In that book, nothing is divulged about his past, but he takes to managing the wine bar side of V&V even though his wine proficiency is low. Add in a hero such as Jax, who like Tanner, is fleeing from his past decisions. When these two meet, it is instant combustibility, even though they deny it to the other for some time. As each reveals their secrets, they find that their burgeoning love might be the only thing that saves them from their pasts and launches them into forever. 

I appreciated the overall message of Leigh’s story. It’s clear that Tanner and Jax are stuck, even though they are moving forward. However, they aren’t settled or at peace until they meet each other. I love how they feel more complete together than apart, especially as Tanner works through his past trauma. 

My struggles with Heartscape came through its style. The way in which Leigh puts words together made the story feel dense and, sometimes, informal. The progression of the story felt heavy in the way that Leigh placed the words on the page. I liked Jax, and I was drawn to Tanner, but there was something missing at an emotional level for me. 

Overall, as a new Vino & Veritas offering, Garrett Leigh’s Heartscape grapples with trauma and the veracity of love to overcome it. If you’ve been reading the World of True North stories, then you’ll want to grab Tanner’s for sure. 

In love and romance,

Professor A

Tattered Stars, an all new emotional small town standalone romance from author Catherine Cowles is coming February 1, 2022, and we have the gorgeous cover!

Be brave. Just for sixty seconds. Twenty breaths.

One night changed them both forever.

Their lives shattered, beyond repair, with jagged edges and pieces askew.

Now, Everly has a chance to make things right. To bring healing to the place where everything fell apart. But it means facing the family her father almost destroyed, and the boy with the dark eyes—now grown—who still haunts her dreams.

Just one breath away from having your life ripped out from under you.

The last thing Hayes wants is another reminder of all the ways he failed sixteen years ago. When Everly drives back into Wolf Gap, his only mission is to get her to leave. For his family’s sake, and for his own, those demons need to stay buried for good.

But everything about this woman is a surprise, from her spine of steel to the sanctuary she hopes to create with the land her mother left behind. And Hayes is powerless to stay away.

As a careful friendship sparks into something more, someone watches. And they’ll do anything to tear it all apart…

Pre-order your copy today!
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Cover Designer: Hang Le
Photographer: Michaela Mangum

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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.

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