Overall Grade: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2

How many of us play a part? We look at various situations and make assumptions about the types of behaviors and reactions necessary for that situation. When we do this, however, we move further away from our organic self and closer to the expectations of others. This can cause problems: we can struggle to “be real,” and we can set up walls against people we’d like to know better. This is the truth behind Stella Weaver’s Sticking to the Script.

I hate putting labels on books, but I know readers want to know the “type” of book. Stella Weaver’s book is an MM romantic comedy of sorts. It tells the story of Dr. Ken Miles and Steven Thompson. Steven is the VP of finance for Cipher Systems, a security firm. He accompanies his friend, Elizabeth, a colleague of Dr. Miles, to a retirement party. Elizabeth introduces Steven and Ken, and Steven is instantly drawn to him while Ken looks disinterested and acts socially awkward. Steven notes that Ken looks as though he is “putting on” a persona but doesn’t think anything of it. 

On the contrary, Dr. Ken Miles finds himself attracted to Steven. He feels as though Steven sees the real him. This both unnerves him and attracts him to Steven. What Steven and Ken don’t know is that the other man is looking for a long-term relationship. Steven has tried the momentary dalliances, while Ken has made work a priority that he has had very little time for relationships. Additionally, while Steven identifies as gay, Ken identifies as bisexual. At first, Steven doesn’t realize this, and he fails to see Ken’s attraction to him. Thinking he is asking Steven on a date, Ken views them as dating, while Steven believes they are hanging out as friends. After some confusion, the two finally recognize their attraction to each other and begin to act upon it. Unfortunately, complications arise, and the future seems uncertain for their coupledom. Will Dr. Ken and Steven find their “happily-ever-after?”

This isn’t my first MM book, but I haven’t read many of them. I’m always curious when an author decides to create a gay character and one who is bisexual. I’ve seen it in menage books more often than MM books. In the case of Sticking to the Script, Dr. Ken’s bisexuality causes a bit of trouble, and it tends to underscore the messiness of “looking the part”. While Ken doesn’t live closeted, what we find is he isn’t as forward with his bisexuality as he believes. This creates a “lost in translation” situation for him and Steven. I personally loved this tension because Weaver uses it to highlight how both Steven and Ken struggle to live their own truths. 

Steven uses humor to distance himself from people, including Ken. He struggles with his attraction to Ken because he perceives that Ken is temporary, given his bisexuality and attractiveness. He fails so often in this story because he fails with vulnerability. It is only Ken’s love for him that finally allows him to open up to Ken and his friends. He protects himself well to a fault, and Weaver crafts him to be the person who is truly “sticking to the script” here even though she places those words beside Ken. 

Quite frankly, Dr. Ken was my favorite character in this romance. Oh my goodness, he has the biggest heart, and it gets hidden by his social awkwardness. It’s adorable how he struggles to show Steven that he likes him and is dating him. It provides some of the funniest moments in the story. And he adores Steven even when Steven is mean to him. He’s protective, nurturing, and loves without conditions. And it’s so beautiful when he sees the very best in Steven, even when Steven doesn’t see it for himself. Yes, Dr. Ken is seemingly stuffy, but we find that he has an easy sense of humor. He is easily the most likeable person in this story.

Together, Ken and Steven are magic. Like most romances, these two have their growing pains, and they have to find a way back to each other. Yet, their stories are a reminder that we don’t have to “stick to the script.” We don’t need to act the part when we are in love with our soulmate. Instead, all we need to do is allow them to love us and all of our pieces, good and bad. Stella Weaver has woven a sweet tale in Sticking to the Script, one that will make you swoon all the way to the end. 

In love and romance,

Professor A

Overall Grade: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Willow Aster’s Downfall is a tale of romance and woe. Set among royalty, this story illustrates the deals completed behind the scenes to ensure peace between royal houses. Unfortunately, there is a human cost to those arrangements, and that cost can be heartbreaking while also empowering. 

Downfall tells the story of Eden and Luka. Eden is the daughter and princess of Farrow. Luka is the oldest son of King Titus of Niaps. From their early teenhood, they have been arranged to be married. Sent off to college, Eden and Luka finally meet, and Luka makes it clear to Eden that he is unhappy with their arrangement. He does everything in his power to humiliate her. Unfortunately, on a threat by a neighboring country, Luka and Eden are forced into their marriage earlier than originally expected. Out of obligation, Eden follows the plans of the families, but Luka makes it difficult. On the day they are married, an outside threat wreaks havoc for her family, and she is sent away with Luka and his family sooner than planned. During this time, Eden’s daily experience is difficult because Luka acts both interested in her and cold to her, confusing her. When a tragedy strikes her family, Eden must return home. Will she and Luke ever find her happy ending, or is Eden doomed to an unhappy marriage?

I picked up Willow Aster’s book in the evening on a Saturday night. Thinking I would only read for a couple of hours, I found myself engaged in her story. Downfall is the type of book with a story that compels the reader forward. I couldn’t put it down because I needed a happy ending for Eden. There is something so heavy about her experience in this book. Through all of the insult and, quite frankly, bullying, she maintains her sense of self. Even in her broken moments, Eden is a beacon of strength. Given the way in which she is treated as a pawn, it would seem impossible for her to maintain steadfast to her ideals, but she does so. And it’s inspiring. 

In contrast, I was not a personal fan of Luka. Honestly, Aster writes him as an indulged, whiney lothario. You need to know that there is cheating in this book. While some would say that, given the arranged marriage aspect of the story, cheating seems permissible. In the context of Downfall, it can be painful. At least it was for me. Luka’s personality switches so often in the story that it takes most of the book to accept him as a partner for Eden. One minute, he acts as though he adores her. The next minute, he detests her and bullies her. While I wanted to read to the end for Eden’s happy ending, I also read for Luka’s change, for his growth. One of my favorite types of heroes is the ones who seem unredeemable who find redemption. Thankfully, Aster spares us heartache, and Luka’s growth becomes the second best part of her story. 

This story is also a story of suspense. As is the case with most stories about royalty, there intrigue and pole-positioning for power. The dealings among royals are scattered throughout Luka and Eden’s story. It works as a tool to twist the plot in different directions. Thankfully, Eden’s family is the buffer to the torment of the story. Her brother, Jadon, is one of my favorite people because he offers her refuge when she needs it. 

With the current popularity of bully romances, Willow Aster’s Downfall evokes a bully romance for royalty. That’s how I read it because, before Luka can fall in love with Eden, he makes her life exponentially difficult simply because he can. At times, I found my stomach clenching and tears wetted my pillow for Eden.  I hoped for a happy ending for her because she endures much and is everything you love about a heroine: stalwart, fearsome, innocent, and loving, even when her hero treats her poorly. I’m excited for the other books in this series of standalones. I think Aster’s telling of a royal tale is just what the romance doctor ordered. 

In love and romance,

Professor A

Overall Grade: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“Welcome to Weight Expectations. Where Great Things Happen.”

The slogan for the fictitious gym in M.E. Carter’s newest book, Weight Expectations, goes far to show the “greatness” of this book. Carter’s story is an admonition, a reminder, of the need to love yourself as you are, so that we don’t become stagnant as we fail to meet impossible societal expectations. It’s that realization that we often find ourselves settling in situations because we fear trying something new and failing. This suggestion along with Carter’s craftsmanship of her heroine, Rian, a BBW, challenges her reader to be more to find the “great things” that happen in her book.

The story follows Rian, as she strives to lose weight and become healthier at the request of her employer. She decides to join a gym as a means to this end. This is not an easy move for her, as she has never joined a gym previously, and the experience is foreign to her. Thankfully, her trainer, Abel, along with Tabitha, the smoothie maker extraordinaire for the gym, help her attempt to adjust to this new experience. For the most part, Rian has been self-conscious of her weight for most of her life. She accepts that she is a heavier woman, but other people’s expectations and comparisons of her have made her more comfortable by herself.

Carlos is a gym rat. Like Rian, he began working out as a way to fit in with the security specialists of his employer, Cipher Systems. Even though he is a successful COO of his company, he, like Rian, compares himself to the brawny security personnel and strives to create a body that can compete. Unfortunately, there is a part of him that never believes he quite lives up to his perception of them. Therefore, he lives a highly-structured fit lifestyle.

Additionally, Carlos is not interested in relationships, given his parents’ divorce. He prefers bedding women in one-night stands or short flings. He finds a “type”: more physically attractive in the traditional sense than deep in substance. This works fine for him. Through Tabitha, Carlos and Rian meet. Rian is not Carlos’s type, yet he finds himself drawn to her intellect and personality. Yes, he finds her attractive, but, again, she isn’t his usual interest. Unfortunately, Carlos cannot seem to forget Rian, while Rian believes that Carlos would never choose a woman like her. Are Carlos and Rian destined for each other? That seems to be the question of Carter’s romance.

From the outset of this book, I fell in love. Well, at least, I fell in love with Rian. See, I absolutely connected with her self-image struggles and the way in which she girded herself up against the societal judgment regarding her weight. Her most impactful support system, her family, is actually fraught with problems because they fail to see the true Rian. Instead, they criticize her lifestyle choices and fail to provide her the support she needs to recognize her worth. I think we all see a bit of ourselves in Rian. It doesn’t matter if the problem is weight-related or some other perceived personal deficiency. At some point, we’ve felt that we simply don’t meet someone else’s expectations of us, and we make choices to remain comfortable instead of challenging ourselves to be better for ourselves. Rian’s character is the first representation of this in the book, and Carter does such a beautiful job of crafting Rian’s insecurity. Her words become the words that we say to ourselves in our own insecurities. Yet, Carter overrides those negative words through Carlos’s love of Rian.

Like Rian, Carlos also struggles with a failure to meet expectations. Yes, it seemingly looks like a body image issue. However, as his story progresses, his struggles relate to relationships. He doesn’t believe he can offer the necessary feelings for anything long term, so as Rian does with her weight and her career, he hides behind meaningless flings. Everyone around him can see the depth of his character, as Carter creates it. Yet, his lack of belief in his ability to love another person fully stunts any meaningful connections with women. Until Rian.

Through Carlos and Rian, Carter’s words find purchase in your soul. As Rian struggles to accept Carlos’s love, your heart hurts for her because Carter crafts it to be so. The truth of these two characters is challenged throughout the story through the wise words of Tabitha, Abel, and Frank. When Carlos almost misses his opportunity with Rian, Carter’s words cut at my heart a little. Thankfully, she repaired it through the wisdom of the other characters in the story. This occurs multiple times throughout the story that, once the words act as a salve, you can’t help but consider your own negative self-talk. There is so much wisdom about loving yourself and meeting your own expectations in this story that you’ll find yourself highlighting Carter’s writing like mad because it’s just so darn good.

As a professor of writing, I love ideas. In reading romance, it’s easy to feel your heart pulled into the relationship between the characters and their stories. It’s easy to read the same story over and over again and continue to fall in love with an author’s vision. Yet, there is something more profound in reading romance that has a mission: to offer a truth about life that is bigger than the romantic story. That exists in M.E. Carter’s Weight Expectations. Yes, there is a beautifully written story about two unlikely people falling in love despite their internal challenges. Yes, this romance has its requisite happy ending. And yes, there is the tension-filled climax, threatening the reader will all kinds of turmoil. What Weight Expectations has that many other romances don’t have is a reminder, a heady message of personal acceptance. Trying to meet other people’s expectations will leave us discouraged always. Instead, Carter shows us that we are wonderful just as we are, and that is truly where “great things happen.”

In love and romance,

Professor A

Overall Grade: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Code of Conduct, one of the books of the SmartyPants Romance group, is a story of finding one’s place. Disguised as romantic suspense, this book is a reminder that we all need a place to belong no matter our life situation. In the case of this story, it takes being loved to help the heroine open herself up to the possibilities of what it means to live.

Shane is a private investigator tasked with helping spouses confirm their spouses are cheating on them. One night, she meets with a man who is cheating and transfers money from a hidden account to his wife’s account. Unbeknownst to Shane, one of the best security firms, Cipher Security, is protecting this man. Alerted to her transfer, a Cipher Security team shows up to investigate, and Shane notices one of the men, Gabriel. She is drawn to him, in the same way, he is drawn to her. Ensuring she escapes, she leaves into the night. However, Shane is drawn to Gabriel and places herself in his way. On finding out that the wife has disappeared, Gabriel encourages Shane to work with him to investigate the wife’s disappearance and the shady dealings of the husband. As the two scrutinize the case together, they grow closer and more rooted in their attraction to each other. When Shane’s life becomes endangered, Gabriel does everything to keep her safe. But as the two grow closer, the more Shane wants to push Gabriel away. Will Gabriel and Shane discover the betrayal behind the husband’s dealings, and will Shane lower her guard to make room for Gabriel in her solitary life?

If you don’t know, Code of Conduct is one of Penny Reid’s SmartyPants Romance books. This is the third book of this group that I’ve read, and what I love thus far with these books is their social consciousness. Code of Conduct is no different. Wrapped up in a burgeoning, fiery romance is a message, an important one. Our heroine, Shane, is an amputee. She loses her leg in an accident, and it changes her identity. In many ways, she’s incredibly independent, trying on various “legs” to suit her needs. In other ways, her injury acts to keep people at bay. Losing her leg is one of her many traumas, and White shows us through the characterization of Shane how people sometimes empower themselves in ways that distance themselves from others. Sparky, the inventor of her many legs, tells her she needs to let people into her life because she has spent her post-amputee life, distancing herself from others. She doesn’t seek help because living alone is more comfortable. Unfortunately, as White shows us, it also keeps us complacent, never seeking adventure. White crafts Shane in a way where we get a real sense of her before the various traumas in her life. It’s easy to see she has stopped truly living until Gabriel comes into her life. It’s a reality check that we should look to our own lives to determine if we, too, are keeping people at “arm’s length,” effectively stagnating our lives in the pursuit of comfort and ease.

There are also messages in this book about pre-judgment. As an amputee, Shane talks about how people often can only see her loss: “people didn’t usually see me. They saw my face and my height if any prosthetic was out of sight, or they saw the fake leg and only the fake leg if it wasn’t.” White also illustrates this through Gabriel. He’s a black man, albeit one who wears beautiful suits and has a British accent. Yet, throughout the story, we see him struggle against the societal judgment of black men. One such incident occurs the night that Shane is threatened, and her life is endangered. Instead of the police handling the situation correctly, they focus their attention on Gabriel, the one who had saved Shane from danger simply because he is a black man, and the villain of this tale is a white man. Again, in this instance, White shows us the difficulty of people looking beyond the outer package. It causes others to unfairly judge people based on a loss of limb or more melanin in one’s skin. And it’s an important message for readers to consider.

As our hero, Gabriel is dreamy. From the outset, I loved him. He’s caring, sensitive, and masculine. These qualities are not mutually exclusive in this story. We find out quickly that he has been raised in a mostly female household. This has given him a sensitivity and respect for women while offering him a place to develop the skill of protection. And we see this is a balancing act in this story. White creates a tense moment between Shane and Gabriel when he fails to find the balance between caring and masculinity. At that moment, White is placing a magnifying glass on how masculinity usurps feminine strength. It’s another moment of reflection in this story. As she does so well with the other messages of her book, White offers a solution to it, one that remedies the tension between our hero and heroine.

Together, Gabriel and Shane are modern-day hero/heroine magic. With her internal strength, Shane challenges Gabriel and his expectations of women, while Gabriel challenges Shane to open her heart to others. To borrow from the movie, Jerry Maquire, they “complete” each other in ways that are mature and heady in our world of social messages. While I’ve spent time focusing on White’s messages in Code of Conduct, it needs to be said that her messages aren’t heavy-handed. They are woven brilliantly amid Shane and Gabriel’s romance and the suspense of this story.
Nonetheless, adding the depth of these messages to her romance gives it an essential place in romance. I think this is what I love the best about it. Yes, it’s easy to see the brilliance of an amputee heroine with the strength of personality to take down the bad guy. It sets Shane apart from your average romantic heroine.

It’s April White’s insistence on focusing us on greater social ills in Code of Conduct that make it a worthy read, a necessary one. This book is deep; it’s wrapped in a package of a comfortable, suspense-filled romantic story. But it’s anything but that. I love what Penny Reid and authors such as April White are doing with the SmartyPants Romance books. They are giving us “smart” romance, romance that uses typical romance tropes to challenge our thinking about life. If your romance manna is romantic suspense, then you need Shane and Gabriel’s story in your Kindle Library. You’ll thank me in the end.

In love and romance,

Professor A

CROSSING THE LINE

By Kendall Ryan

Release Day: January 2020

About the Book

Hello, rock?
Meet hard place.

Recuperating from a pulled groin muscle isn’t exactly how I planned to spend my much-needed summer vacation.

But I’ll admit, being nursed back to health by my gorgeous friend Bailey, who’s just graduated from medical school, doesn’t exactly sound like a hardship.

We spend a week together at my family’s beach house, a week of swimming and barbecues, a week of entertaining my little cousins and sleeping right across the hall from each other. A week of watching Bailey grow closer with my mom and sisters, and my wacky but lovable grandma. A week of enjoying Bailey tending to me—which is saying something, because it involves a lot of shoving ice packs into my underwear and taping up sore muscles.

She’s funny and kind, and after just being myself for the first time in a long time, my walls come tumbling down. But when Bailey says she’s not looking for a relationship, I’m bound and determined to be more than just the fun hookup who sprained his groin a second time—this time with her.

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About Kendall Ryan

A New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of more than three dozen titles, Kendall Ryan has sold over 3 million books and her books have been translated into several languages in countries around the world.

Her books have also appeared on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists more than 70 times. Ryan has been featured in such publications as USA Today, Newsweek, and InTouch Magazine.

She lives in Texas with her husband and two sons.

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Landon & Shay, an all-new emotional and touching duet from Brittainy C. Cherry is coming October 30th, and we have the gorgeous covers!

Shay Gable hated my guts, and I hated hers, too.

We went out of our way to avoid one another at all times. When she came my direction, I went the other. When we locked eyes, she’d turn and walk away.

All of that changed the day I was presented with a challenge. It started out as a stupid bet: make Shay fall in love with me before I fell in love with her first.

That was an easy bet for me to win.

I didn’t love; I hardly liked.

Yet slowly the game started to shift. Shay made me crave things I never knew I wanted like love, happiness, and her.

The closer we grew, the more she challenged my darkness, and the parts I kept locked away.

The hurts.

The pains.

The truth.

The game between us became too real, our feelings intermixed, and the risks of hurting one another grew higher.

But you know what they say…

All’s fair in the game of love and war—especially the heartbreaks.

Preorder Landon and Shay: Part One now!

Releasing October 30th

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Landon and Shay: Part Two will be releasing December 4th!

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About Brittainy

Author Brittainy C. Cherry is an Amazon #1 bestselling author.

She has been in love with words since the day she took her first breath. She graduated from Carroll University with a Bachelor Degree in Theatre Arts and a minor in Creative Writing.

Her novels have been published in 18+ countries around the world. Brittainy lives in Brookfield, Wisconsin with her fur babies.

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Wanderlove, an all-new emotional contemporary romance from Rachel Blaufeld is coming October 21st! But you can pre-order this heart-stopping new adult romance today!

Don’t miss the story early reviewers are calling “the best read of 2019!” 

Pre-order your copy today! 

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Sick of living under her dad’s rules, Emerson Bender bolts when she’s eighteen. On her own for the first time, she heads to the only place her mom ever lived—New York City—desperate to find the woman who dropped her off on her dad’s doorstep. 

Content to spend the rest of his life in Small Town, Pennsylvania, Price Barnes is plucked out of his idyllic life by his estranged father. Missing his mom and stepfather, he’s dropped in New York City to attend college and live an all-expenses paid lifestyle. Cushy, right? But not the life he wanted.

She’s looking to fill a hole in her heart, and he’s looking to forget the man who disrupted his life. Together, they’re both wandering, looking for acceptance and hoping to forget the rejection.

🔥🔥 NEW RELEASE 🔥🔥

Falling For My Brother’s Best Friend

by Piper Rayne!!

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The Baileys #4 will be back October 15!

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Let’s say you’re an independent, self-sufficient woman who runs the family company and you find yourself falling for your little brother’s best friend. Now, more than ever, you need to count all the reasons why you need to abandon falling.

Abandon Falling #1 – He’s a womanizer. Hasn’t had a serious relationship a day in his life and changes women more often than he changes his sheets.

Abandon Falling #2 – He’s never serious. He cracks one-liners, mostly at your expense.

Abandon Falling #3 – When things go wrong, he seems unfazed and always remains in control. It’s so annoying.

Abandon Falling #4 – He has tattoos. Lots of them. Everywhere. Not to mention, he owns a tattoo parlor. (Damn it! Why doesn’t that sound like a bad thing anymore?)

Abandon Falling #5 – There’s a growing list of how different you two are. You can’t get along for fifteen minutes—a lifetime together would land one of you in prison.

Keep repeating those reasons and drown yourself in work. Pretend you don’t notice his good qualities or how enticing he looks without a shirt, and do not, I repeat, do not agree to live with the man while your place is being repaired from flood damage.

Trust me, even the strongest of us can only forego temptation for so long.

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Sweet Retribution, the stunning conclusion to the Rydeville High Elite Series from USA Today bestselling author Siobhan Davis, is available now!

Check out my review HERE.

The good thing about hitting rock bottom is I’ve nothing left to lose, and the only way is up.

He thinks he’s destroyed me. Broken me beyond repair.

But he always underestimates women.

All he’s done is reinforced my resolve. I won’t stop until justice prevails and he gets what’s coming to him.

Kaiden is the only light in the darkness. He gives me the strength to continue fighting for the future we both crave—a world where we are free to love one another and make our own choices.

Until then, the charade must continue.

Game on.

This concludes Abby and Kai’s romance. 106k words, full-length novel. This is a dark romance, and some scenes may be triggering. Only recommended to readers aged eighteen and older.

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Excerpt

Abby

A chorus of agreement rings out around the room as everyone, unanimously, confirms their support.

Adrenaline courses through my veins, and I just know this is it.

The pivotal moment where everything changes.

Where the power shifts and the people in this room are primed to take back control.

I cast a glance over everyone again, and powerful emotion swims up my throat. Before, the guys were fond of tossing out sentiments that they would kill for me or take a bullet for me, and I was skeptical. Especially when everyone in this room has betrayed me in some way.

But that’s in the past.

Because I look at them now, and I know it’s the truth.

I know they are in this with me.

That they want this as badly as me, and they will do whatever it takes to help me reclaim control over my life.

It’s a surreal feeling.

To know I have such a formidable group of guys standing behind me, watching my back, and supporting my decisions. The feeling of empowerment is incredible. Indescribable. And exactly what I need to get me through the weeks and months ahead. It’s not going to be easy, especially the part I have designated to play. But I know I’m up for the challenge with my crew at my side.

We will make it happen.

This time, the bastard is going down.

And there will be no getting back up.

About Siobhan

USA Today bestselling author Siobhan Davis writes emotionally intense young adult and new adult romantic fiction with swoon-worthy romance, complex characters, and tons of unexpected plot twists and turns that will have you flipping the pages beyond bedtime! She is the author of the international bestselling Kennedy Boys, Saven, and True Calling series’.

Siobhan’s family will tell you she’s a little bit obsessive when it comes to reading and writing, and they aren’t wrong. She can rarely be found without her trusty Kindle, a paperback book, or her laptop somewhere close at hand.

Prior to becoming a full-time writer, Siobhan forged a successful corporate career in human resource management.

She resides in the Garden County of Ireland with her husband and two sons.

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Title: Out of the Darkness
Author: Jessica Prince
Series: Hope Valley
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: November 11

Goodreads

Visit Hope Valley
a series of interconnected, standalone romances

Read for FREE on Kindle Unlimited

Out of My League
Amazon US | Amazon Universal

Come Back Home Again
Amazon US | Amazon Universal

The Best of Me
Amazon US | Amazon Universal

Wrong Side of the Tracks
Amazon US | Amazon Worldwide

Stay With Me
Amazon US | Amazon Worldwide

Out of the Darkness
Goodreads

Born and raised around Houston Texas, Jessica spent most of her life complaining about the heat, humidity, and all around pain in the ass weather. It was only as an adult that she quickly realized the cost of living in Houston made up for not being able to breathe when she stepped outside. That’s why God created central air, after all.

Jessica is the mother of a perfect little boy–she refuses to accept that he inherited her attitude and sarcastic nature no matter what her husband says.

In addition to being a wife and mom, she’s also a wino, a coffee addict, and an avid lover of all types of books–romances still being her all time favs. Her husband likes to claim that reading is her obsession but she just says it’s a passion…there’s a difference. Not that she’d expect a boy to understand.

Jessica has been writing since she was a little girl, but thankfully grew out of drawing her own pictures for her stories before ever publishing her first book. Because an artist she is not.

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