Overall Grade: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Okay, okay. So romance. It’s one of those things where there is something for everyone. If you love that delicious smut, you’ll find it. If you want a romance with some greater message, written with the most beautiful of prose, you can find it. It doesn’t matter what you’re in to, everyone’s kink can be found in romancelandia. 

I think one of the tropes that romance readers sometimes struggle to accept is bully romance. I’ve seen romance authors post out on Facebook, curious over people’s interest in it. I responded to such an author with my answer: bully romance is delicious because the alpha-hole who is doing the bullying is usually brought to his knees in a way that is more profound than your average romance hero. At least, that’s the reason I adore bully romance, even when I’m cringing over the behavior of the hero towards the heroine. 

J.L. Beck and C. Hallman have brought us the zenith of bully romance with the third book in their series of standalones, Hurting You. The first two books in this series, Hating You and Breaking You, were the quintessential bully romance books. Both incorporate heroes who despise their heroines, but they can’t resist them. Your heart can’t help but weep for their treatment of the heroines. It’s abusive, yet the inner torture of the heroes who need those heroines in their lives is more delicious than the gravity of the abuse poured out on the heroines. One minute, you cringe, while in the next minute, your figurative lenses are fogged up by the steam between the hero and heroine. It’s this odd, but entertaining cycle. 

Enter Beck’s and Hallman’s newest book, Hurting You. To say that these two authors raised their game is an understatement. In this book, there are two very alpha, very masculine heroes who have committed a crime. Unfortunately, our heroine comes upon them as they are preparing to dispose of the crime scene, and they decide to threaten her life and possess her. Unlike the heroes in the first two books, these guys are ruthless and overpowering, not to mention that there are two of them. This story borders dubious consent. Yet, Beck and Hallman toe the line carefully, showing us the heroine’s interest in the treatment of her heroes. 

As is the case with the first two books in this series, this is one steamy romance. Hurting You is $exy and deliciously forbidden-feeling. There are moments when you feel uncomfortable because Easton and Cameron can be awful to Stella, the heroine. This is a heroine who must journey towards self-confidence. It takes most of the story for her to achieve her heroic superstrength, but for much of the story, there is a distinctive push and pull between her and the guys. In my opinion, they are greater bullies than Parker or Warren, the heroes from the first two books. 

Hurting You is also MFM romance, so Beck and Hallman have added to the usual bully trope. This adds another layer of steam to the book. I love reading this type of romance because it seems so improbable in real life. Yet Beck and Hallman write it so well that you almost wish you could be Stella in the story (well, almost). 

Overall, Hurting You is just good plain torturous fun. It finds its happy ending. In order to get there, though, you have to grit your teeth a bit and accept that Stella can fall for Easton and Cameron. If you’re into the pleasure of dark bully romance with some MFM on the side, then Hurting You is DEFINITELY your book. It sure was mine!

In love and romance,

Professor A

“I can’t even wrap my head around what I just read. Reading BB is like hitting the refresh button and getting a shot of adrenaline. I swear she’s creating her own genre.” -Kate Stewart, USA Today Bestselling Author

Fighting for Rain, the unforgettable second installment in The Rain Trilogy from BB Easton is available now!

Read my 5 ⭐️review HERE.

The world was supposed to end on April 23, but Rainbow Williams’s world ended days before that.

The mass hysteria caused by the impending apocalypse claimed everything she’d ever loved. Her family. Her city. Her will to live.

Until she met him.

Wes Parker didn’t have anything left for the apocalypse to take…he’d already lost it all by the time he was nine-years-old. His family. His home. His hope of ever being loved.

Until he met her.

Brought together by fate and bound by a love that would last lifetimes, Rain and Wes were prepared to die together on April 23.

They were not prepared for what would happen on April 24

Download your copy today!
Read for FREE in Kindle Unlimited

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2MO0QPB

Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/FightingforRain

Add to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/344kr4H

Start the trilogy with Praying For Rain!

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2HNtHTo

Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/prayingforrain

About BB Easton

BB Easton lives in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia, with her long-suffering husband, Ken, and two adorable children. She recently quit her job as a school psychologist to write books about her punk rock past and deviant sexual history full-time. Ken is suuuper excited about that.

Praying for Rain is BB’s first full-length work of fiction. The idea, fittingly, came to her in a dream.

If that sounds like the kind of person you want to go around being friends with, then by all means, feel free to drop her a line. You can find her procrastinating at all of the following places:

Connect with BB

Facebook: http://bit.ly/2U7mjc0

BookBub: http://bit.ly/2FOmhgA

Twitter: http://bit.ly/2FM0MwF

Pinterest: http://bit.ly/2OCobn9

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2TZZeE0

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2V6MFaA

Instagram: http://bit.ly/2I3Bc86

Stay up to date with BB by joining her mailing list: http://bit.ly/2DUGa3m

https://www.artbyeaston.com/

“My go to girl for funny, sexy rom com is back! Weekend Wife is the perfect, irresistible romantic comedy. Back off, ladies, Grant Caldwell is mine.”

—Erin Nicholas, New York Times bestselling author

Weekend Wife, an all-new standalone romantic comedy from New York Times bestselling author Erin McCarthy, is coming February 3rd, and we have the adorable cover!

Billionaire businessman in need of a fake fiancé…

It should be the easiest job ever for an out-of-work actress, right?

All I have to do is pose as Grant Caldwell (the Third)’s fiancé for a fancy-pants weekend in the Hamptons. Easy. Wear designer clothing and sip champagne? Don’t mind if I do. Flirting with Grant? It’s so delicious I should be paying him.

Nothing can go wrong as long as if I can just keep my hands off of him.

But that’s the hard part. And I do mean hard.

Because Grant is sexy.

And bossy.

And surprisingly sweet, a real rarity in his pretentious family.

Oops. I’m not as good at faking it as I thought. Or maybe they call this method acting. Because it’s getting harder to figure out where my character ends and I begin…

It just might be the role of a lifetime.

Add WEEKEND WIFE to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/35JEWEF

Be notified FIRST when Weekend Wife is live: http://bit.ly/2tYmOsP

Cover Designed by Hang Le

About Erin

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.

Connect with Erin

Facebook: http://bit.ly/39K0yDk

Instagram: http://bit.ly/37EuvCQ

Twitter: http://bit.ly/2ZWtdQT

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2QtYjMD

BookBub: http://bit.ly/2uqW6Jx

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2FrgL2d

Stay up to date with Erin by joining her mailing list: http://bit.ly/2tYmOsP

Website: https://erinmccarthy.net

Overall Grade: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“He dropped his forehead to hers. ‘Jesus. You level me.’”

So what is it about rom-coms that make us come back for more? The usual smart-alecky hero? The heroine who easily stands her ground against said hero? The sarcastic quips bantered back and forth? The snarky words that act as foreplay to some steamy bedroom scenes? The author’s inherent humor infused in the lines of her/his story? The underlying earnestness of the hero and heroine’s trial to a happy ending? If you answered “yes” to all of this, then you know the power of the rom-com. And Lucy Score writes rom-com SO well. Enter Protecting What’s Mine, and you have one of my favorite new romantic comedies. 

So what is it about this new book that should move your finger to the cursor to one-click Lucy Score’s new romance? Well, here goes:

*Linc. Hands down, Linc is everything you love in a rom-com. Equal parts handsome, smarta$$, and smart but emotionally dense, he is also a firefighter. He’s no stranger to entering dangerous situations, acting as the big hero. His heart is big, and he’s great with kids. He is everything you love about a hero in a rom-com because, from the first chapter, Linc is bought into the character of Mackenzie. Even when he’s making mistakes pursuing her, it’s clear how much Linc wants a future with Mack that he’s willing to forgo his own safety for her. He is your favorite requisite hero. He’s good, mind, body, and soul. And he has a cute nickname for his doctor love, Dreamy. <Swoon>

*Mackenzie “Mack”. Like Linc, she is everything that makes a rom-com interesting. Quite frankly, Mack is a “bad-a$$” female. She thrives on danger, one-night stands, and temporary situations. However, when you look deeper, these are all symptoms of past emotional injuries. She challenges Linc in that she doesn’t fall quickly for his “game.” Instead, she makes him work for her. She’s mentally intelligent, but she has to learn emotional intelligence on her journey. Her struggle towards permanence and falling for Linc is the challenge of their journey. While Linc has lived the single life, he’s willing to forgo it for the right woman. Mack becomes the hold-out in this story, driving its tension. When she finally accepts Linc’s love for her, her journey becomes the message of Protecting What’s Mine: allowing yourself to be more than you believe you can be and letting go of dreams that no longer work. 

*The surrounding cast of characters. Protecting What’s Mine is settled within Score’s other books such as Pretend You’re Mine and Finally Mine. As such, there are characters here who Score readers have already fallen for, so they return to pull you back into Score’s storytelling universe. This is like returning to high school for a reunion, but you actually love the people in attendance. It’s nostalgic and welcoming. And these other characters provide support for Linc and Mack. Thankfully, they speak wisdom into them as they struggle toward their happy ending. Infused in their relationships is hilarity, adding the layers of humor endemic of rom-coms.  

*Scenes upon scenes of funny, sad, or sweet. It’s all here. There were so many times when I sighed from happiness, wiped a tear from my eye, or laughed out loud at Linc’s version of wooing Dreamy. Add to that the quips of their friends, along with the wisdom of Mackenzie’s co-workers. There is so much to love in this book that, before you know it, it’s over. The plot points and inherent scenes keep you reading page after page until the end, which brings the sweetest of surprises, usurping your typical rom-com proposal. There isn’t any part of this book that you don’t love. 

So, why do we read rom-com? I mean, they’re predictable. We know there will be a happy ending, and the journey of the hero and heroine will be somewhat easy. Well, we read writers such as Lucy Score because, quite simply, they put easy smiles on our faces and leave us with the levity of their story. As a book reviewer, I have found myself, of late, mired in heavy reading, stories that tear at my soul (of which I adore…don’t get me wrong). However, stories such as Protecting What’s Mine lift my soul and help me fall deeper in love with romance because their stories are essential to the world of romance. We need laughter with our pain. We need the predictability of their form to offer us respite from the darkness of romance. Even more, Lucy Score has so much diversity in her storytelling that she challenges romance tropes within the realm of her light romance. There is always a message running deeper in her stories. Protecting What’s Mine is the best of what you love about rom-com, and it’s an easy one-click.

“Plans changed. Dreams grew. And happiness sometimes just snuck up on a person when they were least expecting it.”

In love and romance,

Professor A

Overall Grade: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

In one word, B.B. Easton’s Fighting for Rain is provocative. In the world of romance, in any given year, you read a handful of books that could be described with that one word. As the second book in the trilogy, you hope that it can hold the attention of the reader after the first book, and Easton does this so succinctly that, at its end, you can’t help but cringe because you know you have to wait for the next one. From the first to the last page, Fighting for Rain is spellbinding even in its moments of darkness.

I don’t want to give any plot to you other than this is a continuation of Praying for Rain, the first book of the Rain Trilogy. In that book, we meet Rain and Wes as they fall for each other amidst the looming end of the world. However, at that book’s end, all is not as it seems, and it leaves Fighting for Rain, the second book, to answer the questions of the first book. In this second book, Rain and Wes are faced with other challenges, greater than the ones present in the first book. Amidst their daily struggle, they grapple with the past’s influence on their burgeoning relationship. At times, all seems lost until it isn’t. It’s this struggle that keeps the reader engaged, even as the story becomes more complicated and more violent. As Fighting for Rain ends, once again, Easton leaves us with more questions and more heartbreak. But, as we find in the first book, there is always an undercurrent of hope, and it’s that hope that will keep Easton’s readers waiting with bated breath for the third and final book of the trilogy, Dying for Rain. Given the provocative and violent nature of this story, why should readers read it? Why is it worthy of my 5-star review? Here goes:

*There is an emotional gravitas to Fighting for Rain. While it would be easy to dismiss Easton’s grandiose story of life pre-apocalypse, she crafts a gravity into the characters’ stories that suspends your disbelief. Wes’s struggle for acceptance, moving past his demons, resonates with her readers whose pasts haunt them. Rain’s struggle with the acceptance of her situation and her overwhelming grief for her past life are many of us who have endured the pain of death in our lives. All of the characters in this trilogy lose something whether it’s their dreams, their possessions, their sanity, or their power; the loss is heavy in this story, yet it’s true to life. No, we aren’t living in an apocalyptic world (even when it seems like it), but we can empathize with the characters in the process of their journey because their emotions are our emotions. Easton concocts this connection and pulls us in hook, line, and sinker.

*This story is layered. I can’t tell you the number of romances I have read where the only layer is the relationship between the hero and heroine. I’m not saying that is a problem, or that it makes a poor story. Yet, when you read a book such as Fighting for Rain, it reminds you of the weight of storytelling when there is more than the hero and heroine. In this book, the underlying layer is survival. Everyone in this book is trying to survive, and they must sacrifice portions of themselves in order to do that. Another layer of this story resides in the ancillary storyline of the reasons behind the world ending. It’s evil and demonstrates the misuse of power by a government to a heinous end. There is more revelation behind the four horsemen in Fighting for Rain, so this layer shows the abiding danger of this new world. Besides these first two layers is the layer of Wes and Rain’s developing connection. In this book, it’s more fraught than Praying for Rain because both of them are dealing with internal emotional upheavals that seek to torpedo their connection. Beyond that, Easton designs the environmental layer. This incorporates the other survivors and the dangers of this world. In these layers, Easton shows her storytelling muscle, bringing us romance within the scope of a broken, unloving world. This dichotomy is the brilliance of this story.

*Finally, Easton’s inventiveness in creating Wes and Rain’s relationship is key to understanding Fighting for Rain, but even more, in this trilogy. Encapsulated in their relationship is a microcosm of their new world. There is beauty as evidenced by a singular moment on Wes’s return back to Rain. And there is sorrow in Wes’s abandonment of Rain. There is a deep love between these two, but their individual traumas have the potential to wreck their present. Their relationship illustrates the world around them. It’s their coupling that I think pulls the reader through the story. At least, that was the case for me. As the world outside of them becomes darker, they become lighter, and you can’t help but continue reading, hoping they can exist in this fractured, morally destitute world. Unfortunately, there is always sacrifice, and Easton finds the most compelling way to offer it to her reader. In doing so, her readers are now ravenous for the final book.

In its provocation of romancelandia, Fighting for Rain (along with its siblings) is poking at the norm. The world of the Rain Trilogy isn’t beautiful; it’s mangled and mutilated. Yet, Wes and Rain, in its midst, remind me of the plant from the film, Wall-E. Poking up through the wreckage is this innocent, fast-growing relationship of soulmates: starcrossed, fighting for survival, resilient. This isn’t the bedroom of a billionaire; it isn’t the small-town romance; and it isn’t even the dark bully romance of a high school/college. Fighting for Rain is life, and B.B. Easton beautifully imagines where love is light, fighting to cast out the darkness of a world that has forgotten the power and gravity of love. Read. This. Trilogy. Now. It’s found its niche in the world of romance.

In love and romance,

Professor A

Dear Ava, an all-new full-length, enemies-to-lovers, high school standalone romance from Wall Street Journal bestselling author Ilsa Madden-Mills is coming February 2nd, and we have the smoking hot cover!

The rich and popular Sharks rule at prestigious, ivy-covered Camden Prep. Once upon a time, I wanted to be part of their world—until one of them destroyed me.

The last thing I expected was an anonymous love letter from one of them.

Please. I hate every one of those rich jerks for what they did to me. The question is, which Shark is my secret admirer: Knox, the scarred quarterback and their leader, Dane, his twin brother, or Chance, the ex who dumped me…

Dear Ava,

Your eyes are the color of the Caribbean Sea.

That’s stupid.

What I really mean is, you look at me and I feel something REAL.

It’s been ten months since you were here, but I can’t forget you.

I’ve missed seeing you walk down the hall.

I’ve missed you cheering at my football games.

I’ve missed the smell of your hair.

The truth is, I wanted you back then—but you had him.

And then everything fell apart that night.

Don’t hate me because I’m a Shark.

I just want to make you mine.

Still.

An excerpt of Dear Ava appeared in the anthology Team Player 2 in 2019. (No longer available.) This full-length version is 100,000 words.

Add DEAR AVA to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2Z2jwQx

To be notified FIRST when Dear Ava is live text ROMANCE to 21000

*Standard text messaging rates apply*

Vote as most anticipated read on Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2tBYQDn

Designer: Letitia Hasser, RBA Designs

Photographer: Corey Thomas

Model: Christian Hogue

About Ilsa Madden-Mills

Wall Street Journal, New York Times and USA Today best-selling author Ilsa Madden-Mills is best known for her angsty new adult romances and romantic comedies.

Eight of her eleven novels have placed in the Amazon Top 10 Best-seller List: Dirty English #1; Fake Fiancée and I Dare You #2; I Bet You, Filthy English, and Very Bad Things #6; Boyfriend Bargain #8; The Last Guy, her collaboration with Tia Louise, #4.

A former high school English teacher, she adores all things Pride and Prejudice, and of course, Mr. Darcy is her ultimate hero.

She’s addicted to frothy coffee beverages, cheesy magnets, and any book featuring unicorns and sword-wielding females. Feel free to stalk her online.

Connect with Ilsa

Join her Unicorn Girls Group on FB, the best way to keep up: http://bit.ly/37B6Nay

Sign up for phone alert for book releases (max of 4) Text ROMANCE to 21000

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2nY2pxT

Instagram: http://bit.ly/35xfNfo

Stay up to day with Ilsa by joining her mailing list: http://bit.ly/2ZWaTYh

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2EESfM9

Bookbub: http://bit.ly/2GaR6cn

Book+Main: http://bit.ly/2s4j9ci

Website: https://www.ilsamaddenmills.com

Excited about Vi Keeland’s upcoming release, Inappropriate?

Check out this SNEAK PEEK

I wondered if he’d be here.

I was mid-conversation with some former colleagues I hadn’t seen in a few years when I got my answer. The sight of him made me lose my train of thought.

On the other side of the room, Grant Lexington stood wearing a classic black tuxedo. He was talking to an older gentleman, which gave me the opportunity to really take him in—tall, broad shoulders, yet not overly bulky, a narrow waist with one hand resting casually in his pants pocket. Even from a distance, his confidence registered. There was something about the way certain men held themselves that showed they were in charge, and that really worked for me. It could take a man who was a seven and make him an eleven in my book. On the other hand, a handsome ten with a meek personality could be reduced to a five.

Mr. Confident held a drink in his left hand and raised it to his mouth, but he stopped before drinking. He seemed to sense something and looked around the room. When his eyes caught mine, a slow, wicked smile spread across his face. He excused himself from the conversation and strode toward me.

My body tingled as I watched him approach with long strides, and I turned from the group I’d been standing with.

“What a pleasant surprise,” he said.

I tried to appear casual as I sipped my champagne. “I’m filling in for Bickman.”

He nodded. “Of course.”

Grant eyed the group next to me. “Are you here with a date?”

“No. You?”

He smiled and shook his head. “Would a compliment be unwelcome? I wouldn’t want to sexually harass you.”

“Compliments are always welcome, Mr. Lexington.”

His eyes sparkled. Taking hold of my elbow, he led me a few feet away from the group I’d been standing with. “That’s a dangerous thing to say to a man like me.”

“What was the compliment anyway?”

Grant’s eyes swept over me. “You look beautiful tonight.”

I blushed. “Thank you.”

Grant stopped a waiter as he passed. He gulped back the rest of the amber liquid in his glass and slipped the flute of champagne from my hand, setting them both down on the waiter’s tray.

“I was drinking that.”

He motioned for the waiter to move along and returned his attention to me. “I’ll get you more when we’re done.”

“Done with what?”

He held out his hand. “Dance with me.”

I shook my head. “I’m not sure that’s such a good idea.”

He smirked. “I’m fucking positive it’s not.”

★★★

Excited? We are too!

RELEASING JANUARY 20^th 

Pre-orders available now:

Apple Books pre-order ➜ https://apple.co/32Yd3GJ

Audio pre-order ➜ http://hyperurl.co/o2wokp

B&N pre-order ➜ https://fave.co/2MYCXoz

Kobo pre-order ➜ https://fave.co/39JzjJ4

Google pre-order ➜ https://fave.co/2tuihOm

Paperback pre-order ➜ https://fave.co/32ZdzEv

Add to Goodreads ➜ https://fave.co/35dJdPU

Please note: There will not be an Amazon ebook pre-order, but it will be available on Amazon on release day.

Sign up for Vi’s mailing list now and be the first one notified when it goes live! ➜ https://www.subscribepage.com/i6h3o5

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!

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.

Facebook Fan Group:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/ViKeelandFanGroup/

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/vi.keeland

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Vi-Keeland/435952616513958

Website

http://www.vikeeland.com

Twitter

@vikeeland

https://twitter.com/ViKeeland

Instagram

@Vi_Keeland

http://instagram.com/Vi_Keeland/

Goodreads

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6887119.Vi_Keeland

“Unexpectedly Yours is absolutely SWOON-WORTHY! Sweet and sexy and so romantic! Prepare to be swept away by Andrew and Grace!”

– A.L. Jackson, New York Times bestselling author

Unexpectedly Yours, an all-new intense and sexy standalone office romance from USA Today bestselling author Rebecca Shea, is coming January 27th and we have the first sneak peek!

One night of unbridled passion.

It was the only thing Andrew McPherson and Grace Morgan could afford.

Intense.

Sexy.

Unforgettable.

They promised they would never see each other again, but fate had other plans.

Andrew’s entire life has been spent working toward one goal—to own the top advertising and public relations company in the world. He’s driven, ruthless when it comes to business, never letting anything stand in his way . . . until Grace.

Grace has worked hard to build her advertising career. She’s fiercely talented and dedicated to her clients. Grace has no interest in getting involved with a man when she knows her focus should be on her career and paying off her mounting debt.

Andrew knows better than to get involved with a woman who is completely off limits, but he never backs down from what he wants, and he won’t stop until Grace is his . . . only this might cost him more than he’s willing to give.

Pre-order your copy today!

AppleBooks: https://apple.co/33GDy3X

Nook: http://bit.ly/2rRODSe

Kobo: http://bit.ly/361cEFc

Google Play: http://bit.ly/2YdRfpZ

To be notified when Unexpectedly Yours is live on Amazon, sign up here: http://bit.ly/2DDAn2e

Add to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2qFZRJ6

Sneak Peek:

The office is just starting to come alive when I slide into my cube. The weather—on top of it being the first day after a long holiday weekend—has everyone getting a late, lazy start. I fire up my laptop just as Jamie comes gliding across the floor, carrying two cups of coffee. I smile at her, and she smiles back. I wouldn’t know what to do without her.

“You always have my back, don’t you?” I say as she shoves the cup of steaming cardboard at me.

“Always.” She side-eyes me sarcastically. “Except when you ignore my texts and calls for an entire weekend.”

I glance away from her and hold the coffee between both of my hands, letting the contents of the cup warm my fingers. “Guilty,” I manage between sips of the hot liquid. “And I’m sorry. It’s just been so crazy, I don’t even know what to tell you or where to start—”

She cuts me off in her endearing, commanding way. “How about we pick up where we left off on Friday.” Her eyebrows raise knowingly, and I pinch my eyes closed, feeling awful for ignoring her.

I glance across the office and notice that Drew’s office lights are still off, which means he hasn’t arrived yet. I heave a sigh of relief, knowing that he’s not here and I can catch up with Jamie before he arrives. I stand up and reach for Jamie’s hand.

“Conference room,” I tell her, nodding toward the dark room. I drag her down the hall and the room lights up when we enter thanks to the motion sensors. I close and lock the door, drawing the privacy screens next so people can’t see us.

Throwing herself into a chair, Jamie grins at me. “Must be good if we have to talk about it in a conference room.” She spins in her chair like an excited little girl.

“I can’t have anyone in the office knowing about this,” I tell Jamie seriously. “I can’t have this jeopardize my career or have anyone thinking I’m doing anything inappropriate,” I start.

Her eyes widen like she knows this is going to be juicy, but she says with all seriousness, “I know. I didn’t mean it like that—”

“Jamie,” I cut her off. “I need you to promise me you’ll keep this under wraps. I need this job, I love this job. I’ve loved this job long before Mr. McPherson bought the company…”

“Is that what you call him? Mr. McPherson?” she interrupts with a giggle. “Deeper, Mr. McPherson,” she jokingly says and I roll my eyes. “Okay, sorry. I’ll be serious now.” She straightens up in her chair and pulls her coffee to her. “Tell me everything.”

I sit next to Jamie and start from Friday night. I tell her about the elevator, our night at the hotel, condo shopping, dinner, furniture shopping, and even about our picnic. I tell her I confessed about my money problems, problems even Jamie doesn’t know the gritty details of. She knows I’ve got shit to take care of, but she doesn’t know the extent of it. Jamie listens intently as I tell her everything. When I finally finish, she simply stares at me.

“Damn,” she murmurs, dazed. “You guys jumped right into this, didn’t you?”

I can’t do anything but nod my damn head in response. “I know, and it fucking scares me.”

About Rebecca

Rebecca Shea is the USA Today Bestselling author of the Unbreakable series (Unbreakable, Undone, and Unforgiven), the Bound & Broken series (Broken by Lies and Bound by Lies) and two stand alone novels, Dare Me and Fault Lines. She has also co-written two books with her friend, A.L. Jackson, The Hollywood Chronicles: One Wild Night and One Wild Ride

She lives in Phoenix, Arizona with her family. From the time Rebecca could read she has had a passion for books. Rebecca spends her days working full-time and her nights writing, bringing stories to life. Born and raised in Minnesota, Rebecca moved to Arizona in 1999 to escape the bitter winters.

When not working or writing, she can be found on the sidelines of her sons football games, or watching her daughter at ballet class. Rebecca is fueled by insane amounts of coffee, margaritas, Laffy Taffy (except the banana ones), and happily ever afters.

Connect with Rebecca

Facebook: http://bit.ly/2DDyjHE

Twitter: http://bit.ly/2PcNltn

Pinterest: http://bit.ly/2Rgn3sx

Instagram: http://bit.ly/2Ycudzy

GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2ONbEiy

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2rVxJCf

Stay up to date with Rebecca by joining her mailing list: http://bit.ly/2DDAn2e

Website: https://www.rebeccasheaauthor.com

“Stacey Lynn brings all the feels when Hollywood and the heartland collide in this heartwarming tale. A definite must read!” ~ JL Berg, USA Today Bestselling Author

This Time Around, an unforgettable and emotional, small town romance from Stacey Lynn is free for a limited time only. 

Don’t miss this steal of a deal. Read for free today!
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2FwKhp8 
Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/thistimearound 
Apple Books: https://apple.co/2D8uW8R 
Nook: http://bit.ly/2D9OMAx 
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2FngeAU 

Five years ago, I married the man of my dreams. He was supposed to be my last first kiss–my happily ever after.  He promised to hand me the world, but in one night, all of those promises were shattered. 

Now, I was barely surviving the tragic loss of my husband, struggling daily to manage what was left of the life we’d promised to build together, when Cooper Hawke unexpectedly walked into my life.

The Hollywood heartthrob had plenty secrets of his own and his eyes held the same darkness as mine. I couldn’t stop myself from needing to know why. And as much as I tried to keep him out of my heart, he slipped past all my defenses. 

We both had pasts that destroyed our trust and had broken our hearts, but nothing will stop Cooper from trying to convince me we could have it all this time around.