Release Date: June 16, 2020 Cover Design: Najla Qamber Designs
Every action has a consequence, and Claire Ward knows it. And yet, even knowing that her decision to swap places with her identical twin sister, Lia, for a night could be disastrous, she still does it.
Why?
Because it will give her an evening with the man she’s been crushing on for years, Lia’s best friend, Finn.
Miss Straight A Student has thought through all the angles, and knows the risk is worth it. And everything would have been fine, if Finn had been the one to show up at her door.
But it wasn’t.
Bauer Davis— Finn’s half brother and his exact opposite in just about every definable category is the one waiting for her instead. A professional snowboarder, Bauer is covered in ink, full of attitude, and has a chip on his shoulder the size of Mt. Olympus. The kind of bad boy that Claire has never been attracted to before.
Now the good girl is with the wrong brother for a night, and when the consequence is that they have to pretend to be together for an event, it’s nothing she could have predicted. But maybe, just maybe, what makes Bauer so bad, is exactly what Claire needs.
Well, let’s see … I’m a wife and a mother. If the things that I write bring a smile to someone’s face, then I’ve done my job. I am obsessed with Outlander (both the books and the show). I’m almost exclusively a romance reader, which means some people will never consider me a literary snob. If I could meet one historical figure, it would be Jane Austen. I received my Bachelors in Public Relations and worked in health care marketing before I had my babies. I hate Twitter. I do it, but I hate it. Also, if you want to get on my good side, bring me wine and I’ll love you forever.
Wrecked With You is the latest book from J. Kenner’s Stark Universe, and it will keep you reading to the last page. Since her first book in the Stark Security series, I’ve been hooked. There is this commonality between these books in that the heroes and heroines have something missing in their lives. They have generally devoted themselves to revenge or living singularly for their jobs. Quite frankly, they are all lonely. Until that time that they find their “better half.” Wrecked With You is no different.
This story follows Antonio Sanchez and Emma Tucker (Eliza’s sister – Shattered with You). These two are “lone wolf” types. Antonio has spent much of his life looking for the man responsible for killing his mother and uncle, while Emma has worked to take down the men responsible for the difficulties of her and her sister’s childhood. Damien Stark wants Emma and Antonion for his SSA team, but both of them worry that it will take away the freedom of choice they have to seek out their revenge. When Antonio receives a tip on finally finding The Serpent, he enlists Damien’s help outside of the SSA. Damien suggests Emma as his partner. From first sight, Emma and Antonio are drawn to each other. What begins as an initial physical attraction becomes deeper as these two recognize the similarities of their pasts. For the first time, Emma believes she has found someone in Antonio who can truly understand her. Unfortunately, their lives become complicated when Antonio finds out something about his past, and this threatens to derail their burgeoning relationship. Is it possible for these two loners to find their happy ending?
What Kenner does so well with her Stark brand of romance is marry the suspense with the steam. Wrecked With You is more of this, and it’s what we love about her books. I sometimes think she does the suspense parts of her story, though, better than building the romantic relationships. She definitely writes the steam well in this one, always pushing a little further than the average romance. Yet, even though you might have to suspend your disbelief for the romance for this one (Antonio makes a quick change of mind that seemed like more a need to end the story than organic to the chronology), the suspense, SSA parts, are compelling. And like her other Stark Security books, we are treated to cameos from past characters in the other books. This is what Kenner does very well. I think she knows that her readers want to stay connected to the Damiens, Ryans, Quincys, Elizas, Dennys, and Liams of her world. Every time we enter her books, she invites us back to a place where we feel at home in her romance. And that is her power as a writer of romance.
Overall, Wrecked With You is THE perfect beach read. It moves fast, it’s a little smutty, and it keeps you engaged to the very last page of the story. As the beaches are opening and summer is on the horizon, this is the perfect time to grab J. Kenner’s Wrecked With You.
He never wanted a partner. And then she came along.
Wrecked With You, an all-new sexy must-read contemporary standalone romance in the Stark Security Series by New York Times bestselling author J. Kenner is available now!
After more than a decade chasing shadows, Antonio Santos finally has a lead on the hiding place of The Serpent, the elusive villain who kidnapped him as a child and murdered his mother and uncle. But in order for Tony to get close, he’ll need access to an exclusive private island—where he can only enter with a woman on his arm.
Antonio goes to Stark Security to call in a debt … then walks out with Emma Tucker on his arm. A loner, Antonio isn’t interested in having a partner. He just needs a female. But the striking redhead’s skills soon impress him. More than that, her lush body and beguiling self-assurance tease his senses in unanticipated ways.
A longtime operative with deadly skills, Emma resents being arm candy for someone else’s agenda. But the more she works with Antonio, the more she admires his razor sharp intelligence and formidable prowess. And when the island’s games push them over a sensual cliff, she can’t deny his talents in the bedroom, too.
As passion rises on this island playground full of lust and danger, they both fight the growing attraction between them. But with danger racing toward them from both on and off the island, they soon realize that more than their hearts are at stake. Because unless they can trust and rely on each other, they also risk losing their lives.
Kenner (aka Julie Kenner) is the New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, Wall Street Journal and #1 International bestselling author of over one hundred novels, novellas and short stories in a variety of genres.
Though known primarily for her award-winning and international bestselling erotic romances (including the Stark and Most Wanted series) that have reached as high as #2 on the New York Times bestseller list, JK has been writing full time for over a decade in a variety of genres including paranormal and contemporary romance, “chicklit” suspense, urban fantasy, and paranormal mommy lit.
JK has been praised by Publishers Weekly as an author with a “flair for dialogue and eccentric characterizations” and by RT Bookclub for having “cornered the market on sinfully attractive, dominant antiheroes and the women who swoon for them.” A six time finalist for Romance Writers of America’s prestigious RITA award, JK took home the first RITA trophy awarded in the category of erotic romance in 2014 for her novel, Claim Me (book 2 of her Stark Trilogy) and in 2017 for Wicked Dirty in the same category. Her Demon Hunting Soccer Mom series (as Julie Kenner) is currently in development as a television show.
Her books have sold over three million copies and are published in over twenty languages.
In her previous career as an attorney, JK worked as a clerk on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and practiced primarily civil, entertainment and First Amendment litigation in Los Angeles and Irvine, California, as well as in Austin, Texas. She currently lives in Central Texas, with her husband, two daughters, and two rather spastic cats.
From New York Times bestselling Author Kristen Proby comes an all new stand-alone novel in her beloved With Me In Seattle Series…
You Belong with Me is now live!
Elena Watkins is used to getting what she wants. She grew up the daughter of one of the most powerful mafia bosses on the west coast, an indulged, rich girl who got away with everything.
Except the love of her life.
Archer was the king of their high school. His charming grin swept her off her feet. Days after graduation, they ran away together and eloped. Elated to spend the rest of their lives together, Archer and Elena were on cloud nine.
Until Elena’s father discovered what they’d done.
He swore to keep them apart, even if it meant taking Archer’s life. Knowing what her father was capable of, Elena left Archer, and never looked back. The pain of leaving him would pale to the pain of losing him.
That’s what she’s told herself every day for twelve years. But now her father is dead, and Archer is back. Finally, they should be able to piece the broken pieces of their love back together.
Kristen was born and raised in a small resort town in her beloved Montana. In her mid-twenties, she decided to stretch her wings and move to the Pacific Northwest, where she made her home for more than a dozen years.
During that time, Kristen wrote many romance novels and joined organizations such as RWA and other small writing groups. She spent countless hours in workshops, and more mornings than she can count up before the dawn so she could write before going to work. She submitted many manuscripts to agents and editors alike, but was always told no. In the summer of 2012, the self-publishing scene was new and thriving, and Kristen had one goal: to publish just one book. It was something she longed to cross off of her bucket list.
Not only did she publish one book, she’s since published close to thirty titles, many of which have hit the USA Today, New York Times and Wall Street Journal Bestsellers lists. She continues to self publish, best known for her With Me In Seattle and Boudreaux series, and is also proud to work with William Morrow, a division of HarperCollins, with the Fusion Series.
Kristen and her husband, John, make their home in her hometown of Whitefish, Montana with their two pugs and two cats.
They say a lady shouldn’t, but we’ll bet you’re dying to know who’s between our covers. Top Shelf Romance brings you 4 irresistible book boyfriends in just one book.
Don’t Break this Kiss is a collection of four best selling novels including:
Explicitly Yours by Jessica Hawkins
Before You by Marni Mann
Lies by Kylie Scott
Wrapped in Ink by Carrie Ann Ryan
Top Shelf Romance represents the best of the best in romance. There are no cliffhangers. These are simply must-read novels for readers looking for the best in happily ever afters.
Top Shelf Romance is bringing you the best modern classics of romance in Collection 5, DON’T BREAK THIS KISS, featuring FOUR bestselling books from authors Jessica Hawkins, Kylie Scott, Marni Mann, and Carrie Ann Ryan!
Top Shelf Romance represents the best of the best in romance. There are no cliffhangers. These are simply must-read novels for readers looking for the best in happily ever afters.
“The joyous, heartfelt romance we need right now!” — Lexi Blake, New York Times bestselling author
Queen Move, an all-new powerful and moving, not-to-be-missed second chance romance from RITA® Award-winning and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Kennedy Ryan, is available now!
The boy who always felt like mine is now the man I can’t have…
Dig a little and you’ll find photos of me in the bathtub with Ezra Stern.
Get your mind out of the gutter. We were six months old.
Pry and one of us might confess we saved our first kiss for each other.
The most clumsy, wet, sloppy . . . spectacular thirty seconds of my adolescence.
Get into our business and you’ll see two families, closer than blood, torn apart in an instant.
Twenty years later, my “awkward duckling” best friend from childhood,
the boy no one noticed, is a man no one can ignore.
Finer. Fiercer. Smarter.
Taken.
Tell me it’s wrong.
Tell me the boy who always felt like mine is now the man I can’t have.
When we find each other again, everything stands in our way–secrets, lies, promises.
But we didn’t come this far to give up now.
And I know just the move to make if I want to make him mine.
**QUEEN MOVE will have the special release week price of $3.99. After that, the price will increase.**
A RITA® Award Winner and USA Today Bestseller, Kennedy Ryan writes for women from all walks of life, empowering them and placing them firmly at the center of each story and in charge of their own destinies. Her heroes respect, cherish and lose their minds for the women who capture their hearts
Kennedy and her writings have been featured in Chicken Soup for the Soul,USA Today, Entertainment Weekly, Glamour and many others. She has always leveraged her journalism background to write for charity and non-profit organizations, but has a special passion for raising Autism awareness.The co-founder of LIFT 4 Autism, an annual charitable book auction, she has appeared on Headline News, The Montel Williams Show, NPR and other media outlets as an advocate for ASD families. She is a wife to her lifetime lover and mother to an extraordinary son.
Overall Grade: More than 5 ⭐️. One of the top reads of 2020.
Remarkably, but not surprisingly, Kennedy Ryan has, once again, woven a romantic tapestry of ideas that challenge our thinking about identity, inclusion and diversity, and womanhood in her newest book, Queen Move. Sometimes, unbeknownst to the reader, opening and reading a Kennedy Ryan book is a step in activism. Her heroine’s father raises his children with the ideology that “big moves make big waves.” When you take one step into a Ryan romance, you are choosing to align yourself with the possibility of making big waves. Each Ryan story is intentional and grounded in hours and hours of her research about societal issues, challenging us to expand our knowledge and our thinking. As Kimba, her heroine, suggests “simply being myself is an act of resistance.” Likewise, simply inhaling the words of a Ryan romance is also a call to change.
To begin, the absolute power of this story is Ryan’s heroine, Kimba. She is the quintessential Kennedy Ryan heroine. At the very least, you should read Queen Move as it exemplifies the power of her heroines through one of her most impressive ones, Kimba. One of my favorite parts of reading certain authors is their surety in developing their voice and their “brand.” I don’t even know if “brand” is the right word, but their voice and style have evolved into creating archetypes specific to their brand of romance. And Kennedy Ryan’s heroines are an archetype. In the world of romance, they are a necessary character type. In brief, a Ryan heroine is always intelligent first, beautiful second. They are not perfect; their power comes in embracing their weakness and finding strength in the hero to support that weakness. Notice I didn’t say clarify it or correct it or complete it. Her heroines’ weaknesses are acknowledged and accepted by her heroes. Even more, Ryan oftentimes monopolizes on it and turns it into power. In Queen Move, this looks like Kimba’s stutter. I remember reading Ryan’s All the King’s Men duet and telling myself that Kimba’s words of wisdom for Lennix were always profound, insightful. As you read Queen Move, this is even more clear. Interestingly enough, Ryan gives her the weakness of a stutter. So, in the Ryan universe, the weakness of a character is the power of the greatest moments of her story. The stutterer is the most eloquent when it’s needed. You see this same thing happen over and over again with any of her heroines. She empowers their weakness. And in my most inarticulate of ways, that’s pretty da$n impressive.
Through Kimba, Ryan introduces us to the bits of her messages in Queen Move: the struggle of being a woman and the expectations for us to oftentimes sacrifice parts of ourselves to follow a dream. In Queen Move, infertility becomes a front and center message, along with the juggling of identities that women so often engage in. As Kimba moves from political strategist to daughter to sister to lover to woman, Ryan calls for us to recognize that feat. It becomes a reminder that the expectations for women feel sometimes more profound, and we sometimes sacrifice aspects of those identities as we inhabit the others. And that sacrifice oftentimes feels like a “lack.” Kimba encounters this feeling over and over again in this story that when one of the biggest moments comes in the book, Ryan has constructed this profound moment of emotion. It rolls over you tying your heart to her story. I would like to say that this is accidental or momentary or specific to this book, but it’s part and parcel for Ryan’s heroines. Her ability to craft of heroines is one of the many impressive tools in her writing toolbox.
Along with the Ryan heroine comes the Ryan hero. Now, there is a bit more diversity of this archetype. Quite often, they are incredibly alpha, always $exually adept meeting the deepest needs of their heroine, and intelligent (oh and don’t forget, handsome and virile). This intelligence isn’t only in terms of thinking; so often, they have an emotional intelligence that girds their maturity. They might make a rash decision (we see you Maxim), but they learn quickly from their mistakes and work diligently to rectify the situation. Like her heroine, these seem to be the innate qualities to her heroes. However, there are some differences in terms of traditional expressions of masculinity. With Ezra Stern, Ryan is playing with this idea. Ezra is a special brand of hero. Yes, he is traditionally masculine. Yet, Ryan molds him with soft edges. Fatherhood is a primary identity for him, and he wears it well. He offers us a complex mix of fathering with tenderness, insight, and awareness. He makes comments about guiding Noah to speak out his emotions. Ezra is the 21st-century father. He wants his children to express themselves and bring more into the world than take from it. As such, his children are aware and mature. It’s all of these traits that make it easy for you to fall in love with Ezra Stern. Add to that a willingness to be careful with his words, using them sparingly so that they are weighted. Kimba’s trust is easy with Ezra because his words are the commerce of his integrity and love.
Additionally, through Ryan’s creation of Ezra, one of her other messages finds its home: the idea of identity and diversity. This is one of the biggest messages of the story, and (not to undermine Kimba’s travails) it’s most profound. We live in a culturally, racially, $exually diverse society oftentimes at odds with each other. There are more and more instances of insensitivities to people’s differences, and an almost disinterest by certain segments of our society to be open and inclusive. Ryan’s solution, as outlined in Queen Move, is embracing it. Fall into each other; try new foods, new cultures. Be open; communicate. Recognize it. Know it. Read about it. Talk about it. Quite literally in this book, marry it and bring it all together. Ryan gives us her truth in the end when she says “[a] cacophony that from the outside looking in probably seems discordant and sounds like a mass of noise. But to us it makes sense, all the notes fitting together. Harmony where there would be chaos. The tastes, the sounds, the stories, gathered from distant lands, borne by our blood, blended in our bonds.” Through Ryan’s hero, Ezra, we are treated to the gravity of this message beyond her typical heroic archetype, and it should challenge us all to be better, to think better, and to do better.
Queen Move is a story of soul mates, a standard of Kennedy Ryan romance. Ezra and Kimba are Lennix and Maxim or Grip and Bristol or any of the couples of the Hoops series. They are fated. As such their journey is never easy, and that’s the masochistic fun in reading Ryan’s romance. One minute, you find yourself falling over yourself at Ryan’s powerful exemplifications of Ezra and Kimba’s love for each other, and the next minute, you find yourself crying at life’s disruptions to their journey. It’s this evil rollercoaster ride that a Ryan Reader embraces. You throw your hands up and live for the valleys and the highs because the story feels lived in for you. Their chemistry, their $exual attraction, their almost feral, base pairing adds more height and depth to their journey. Queen Move is just as fiery as her other books. That’s the magic of her pairings, and one of the many reasons we buy books like Queen Move.
When it comes to Kennedy Ryan’s style, there are few who touch her, in my opinion. There is a consciousness in detail after detail of her storytelling. The eloquence, the lilt, the rhythm of her words push you further and deeper into her story. It’s the cadence of her romance. The words equal the kisses and the emotions and the passion of her story. She knows how to build chemistry through pacing and her ability to create pictures, and it grounds you to her romance. Every word is intentional, and if you’re like me, you end her book with too many highlights in a variety of colors. For me, Kennedy Ryan’s voice slays me every single time, and Queen Move manifests this as all of her other books do. As I was reading this book, I wanted to shout to the heavens my adoration for Ryan because her prose flows through me like some type of life force. When I read and review books, there are very few times when the words for my review begin to come to me as I’m reading the story. My next comment is not hyperbole: Ryan’s style inspires the words of my reviews that they spring from my mind onto any scrap of paper or Google Doc that I can find while I’m reading her book. Her words quite simply inspire me and make me cry at their beauty.
When you choose to read Queen Move or any of Kennedy Ryan’s books, you are taking action: “an act of resistance.” What is involved in that act? Acknowledging that romance can be more than $ex or love or happy endings. Instead, romance books such as Queen Move can challenge our thinking and push us to be more, think better, and embrace change. Without any doubt, Queen Move is a “big move” sure to make” big waves” in a world of happily-ever-afters.
Royal Hearts Academy is a series of standalones, but you can catch up with the first book, Cruel Prince, right here: Amazon:https://amzn.to/30l209E & Ruthless Knight, Book #2 Amazon: https://amzn.to/30qGilH
They call me a heartless bitch. An evil manipulator. A wicked princess who enjoys hurting people.
They tell me terrible things happened. Things that changed my life forever.
Only problem is…
I can’t remember any of it.
About the Author: Ashley Jade loves to tackle different genres and tropes within romance. Her first loves are New Adult Romance and Romantic Suspense, but she also writes everything in between including: contemporary romance, erotica, and dark romance.
Her characters are flawed and complex, and chances are you will hate them before you fall head over heels in love with them.
She’s a die-hard lover of oxford commas, em dashes, music, coffee, and anything thought provoking…except for math.
Books make her heart beat faster and writing makes her soul come alive. She’s always read books growing up and scribbled stories in her journal, and after having a strange dream one night; she decided to just go for it and publish her first series.
It was the best decision she ever made.
If she’s not paying off student loan debt, working, or writing a novel—you can usually find her listening to music, hanging out with her readers online, and pondering the meaning of life.
Check out her amazon page and Facebook page for future novels. She recently became hip and joined Twitter, so you can find her there, too. She loves connecting with her readers—they make her world go round’.
Katherine Gates has been in love with Cash Greer since the moment he saved her life from a runaway goat. According to Cash, she’s the little sister he never had, the greatest roommate in the world and his favorite coworker. They’re friends—best friends.
In the dark days of her youth, it was his friendship that kept her alive and made life in a junkyard worth living. So she’s learned to shove her feelings for Cash down deep, even if that means ignoring eyes that shine brighter than the Montana summer sun and the smile that illuminates the snowiest winter day.
Except with every passing year, the denial takes its toll on her wounded heart until one day Katherine decides to take an impulsive road trip to the Oregon coast. Alone. That is, until Cash cons his way into the passenger seat.
The farther they travel, the harder it is to pretend. And when she confesses her feelings, she learns that Cash has some secrets of his own. Secrets that will either bond them together.
There’s no such thing as love at first sight–right?
Forty Day Fiancé, an all-new fun and flirty romantic comedy from New York Times bestselling author Erin McCarthy, is coming June 1st, and we have the irresistible cover!
Admittedly, my first plan was a little crazy.
I had forty days to execute it. Find a fake fiance, move in with him, and convince the powers-that-be that we’re madly in love.
Surely this British girl can sweet-talk a few American officials.
Step One: the sexy, wealthy doctor I’ve been chatting up agrees to my plan–with a demand of his own. A baby. An actual ring. A for-real marriage and family. Turns out, there’s someone more bonkers than me.
So Step Two: I now have forty days to convince my fake fiance that we can’t be real.
Because there’s no such thing as love at first sight–right?
USA Today and New York Times bestselling author Erin McCarthy sold her first book in 2002 and has since written over seventy-five novels and novellas in the romance and mystery genres. Erin has a special weakness for high-heeled boots, martinis, and Frank Sinatra. She lives with her renovation-addicted husband (he built her a bar, so it’s all good!) and their blended family of kids and rescue dogs.
Well, let’s see … I’m a wife and a mother. If the things that I write bring a smile to someone’s face, then I’ve done my job. I am obsessed with Outlander (both the books and the show). I’m almost exclusively a romance reader, which means some people will never consider me a literary snob. If I could meet one historical figure, it would be Jane Austen. I received my Bachelors in Public Relations and worked in health care marketing before I had my babies. I hate Twitter. I do it, but I hate it. Also, if you want to get on my good side, bring me wine and I’ll love you forever.
About Kennedy Ryan
Professor Romance 