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✍🏻 It’s the Cover for A. S. Teague’s The Undisputed Series, Coming June 5th ✍🏻

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Follow Breccan Carlisle and Ryker Hawke’s journey through triumph, adversity, love and heartbreak, both in and out of the cage.

The Undisputed Series by A.S. Teague, in one boxed set with all-new, exclusive content, is coming June 5th and we have the sexy cover!

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Undisputed:

Sidney O’Neil isn’t my type. While I spend my nights out drinking at the trendiest clubs in town, she spends hers taking care of her sick nephew. She is nothing I thought I wanted, yet she’s somehow become the one thing I need.

But what happens when the world is tipped on end and I’m no longer who she needs?

How do I convince her that we’re worth the fight when all she knows is defeat?

Sometimes, the toughest fight of your life is outside the cage.

Undone: An Outside the Cage Novella:

Breccan and Sidney set off on the adventure of a lifetime. But, with every new excursion, a new set of problems arise.

They may be doing it for all the right reasons, but they’re losing themselves with each task completed. Can they keep their promises without ruining each other?

Unraveled:

When my job, my livelihood, and my passion are suddenly snatched away from me, I’m left scrambling to keep my head above water. Desperate, I’m forced to walk into the last place I ever thought I’d go.

Rebecca Toler’s living the dream––or so I thought.

Beautiful, funny, and tough as nails, she answers to no one.

It’s time to take my life back, and I’m starting with her.

But, as I’ve learned over the years, sometimes the toughest fight of your life is outside the cage.

Undaunted: An Outside the Cage Novella:

Our life was crazy, but we were happy. But when the kid that Ryker had trained for years goes missing, we realized that our lives wouldn’t be complete without him.

The obstacles that we were forced to face were challenging, but if there’s one thing we knew, it was that there was nothing that was too daunting for Ryker and Rebecca Hawke.

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Pre-order your copy today!

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

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

Add to GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2vL3hto

About A.S. Teague

A.S. Teague enjoys the warmth of South Carolina with her husband and two daughters. The stereotypes about peach cobbler and sweet tea are not overstated. After years in the medical field, she is now enjoying every minute of being a stay-at-home mom. She loves wine, the beach, wine on the beach, and crying at Disney movies. When she doesn’t have a book in her hand, she can be found pestering her husband with pictures of animals she wants to rescue, as well as debating whether to exercise or take a nap.

Connect with A.S. Teague

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

GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2Hh2Vl9

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

Twitter: http://bit.ly/2Ur9c1e

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

Stay up to date by joining A.S. Teague’s mailing list today: http://bit.ly/2HcdeHb

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✍🏻Blog Tour for Emily Goodwin’s Cheap Trick✍🏻

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Cheap Trick by Emily Goodwin

Release Date: May 16th, 2019

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Cheap Trick, a full-length, friends-to-lovers/fake fiancé, standalone romance novel by New York Times bestselling author Emily Goodwin.

Danielle Cross has spent her whole life running from breakups and troubles. She’s never stayed in the same place for long…until now.

The moment she walks through the doors of Logan Dawson’s bar, there’s an attraction between them neither can deny.

And when Danielle needs a date to her sister’s wedding, Logan is the man for the job. A cheap trick to fool her family is a small price to pay for a weekend in paradise.

Playing pretend is easy. The hard part? Trying to convince yourself the feelings are only fake.

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Download your copy today or Read FREE in Kindle Unlimited!

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2HnDA8V

Amazon Worldwide: mybook.to/CheapTrick

Add to GoodReads: http://bit.ly/30c2HTj

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Excerpt

“Lightweight.” I feel the couch sink down as Logan sits down at my other side.

“Hey,” I grumble, slitting my eyes open. “I actually had like three drinks and a shot tonight. That’s a lot.”

“It is. I’ll change that lightweight to a lush then.”

“Asshole.” I try to throw a pillow at him but just end up smacking him in the face. I push myself up and laugh. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

“Now you’ve done it.” Logan grabs another pillow and chucks it at me. Dexter gets way too excited and pounces on Logan, with one of his large paws landing right between his legs. Logan doubles over in pain, and I laugh even harder.

“Who’s the asshole now?” he chokes out.

“Don’t call Dexter-Wexter an asshole,” I gasp in fake shock and slip my fingers under Dexter’s collar, gently pulling him back and off the couch. I get up to grab the pillow I threw and trip when Dexter tries to do a flying leap back onto the couch.

I don’t know how he moves so fast, but I’m grateful he did. Because I’m still too drunk to have a good reaction time, and I’m about ready to fall backwards onto the glass coffee table.

Logan’s arms fold around my waist at the last second. He pulls me to his chest and straightens up. I have one hand on his chest and the other is gripping his bicep. Which is strong. Firm. Warm, just like the rest of him.

A second passes, and we’re still standing there like this. I splay my fingers over his chest and turn my head up, looking into his brown eyes. Inhaling deep, my breasts crush against his body. His hand that’s on the small of my back inches lower, and his fingertips press into my waist.

Heat flashes through me, unlike anything I’ve felt around him before. I’ve worked hard to keep these kind of reactions from happening, but my whiskey-soaked mind has lost all its will right now.

“You okay?” he asks, though by now it’s obvious I am.

“Yeah. Lost my balance.”

“No shit.”

I purse my lips and go to shove him away. Dexter is on the floor behind him now, and Logan trips over the dog and falls back onto the couch, taking me down with him. That same heat ripples through me again, making my skin break out in goosebumps. My heart lurches and is beating so fast I’m sure Logan can hear it.

I should push him away.

Run and hide.

I definitely shouldn’t be inching closer, taking note of the way his cologne smells, or the fact that his shirt is pulled up a bit, exposing a few inches of his abdomen.

I shouldn’t want more.

Our eyes meet and I part my lips, feeling my heart beating faster and faster in my chest. I know one kiss is all it will take to change things between us, and the thought terrifies me.

My life has been one mistake after another, and each seems to try its damnedest to outdo the last. I love what we have between us. Logan is my best friend. I don’t want to mess that up.

But Lord have mercy on me right now. His heart is hammering along with mine, and he looks at me with an intensity I’ve never seen before. One that heats me from the inside out, melting the panties right off me. My face is moving slowly toward his, eyes zeroed in on his perfect lips. He closes his eyes, long lashes coming together, and inhales, pushing his chest up against mine.

About Emily:

Emily Goodwin is the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author of over a dozen of romantic titles. Emily writes the kind of books she likes to read, and is a sucker for a swoon-worthy bad boy and happily ever afters.

She lives in the midwest with her husband and two daughters. When she’s not writing, you can find her riding her horses, hiking, reading, or drinking wine with friends.

Emily is represented by Julie Gwinn of the Seymour Agency.

Connect with Emily:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/emilygoodwinbooks

Instagram: www.instagram.com/authoremilygoodwin

Bookbub: http://bit.ly/2EPLbu3

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2tCZn28

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2pEHdf8

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✍🏻 Devney Perry’s Cover Reveal for Gypsy King – Just WOW! ✍🏻

BLURB:

The former Tin Gypsy motorcycle club has everyone in Clifton Forge, Montana convinced they’ve locked their clubhouse doors and ripped off their patches. Everyone but Bryce Ryan. There’s more happening at the club’s garage than muscle car restorations and Harley rebuilds. Her instincts are screaming there’s a story—one she’s going to tell.

As the new owner of the small town’s newspaper, Bryce is hungry for more than birth announcements and obituaries. When a woman is brutally killed and all signs point to the Tin Gypsies, Bryce is determined to expose the club and their leader, Kingston “Dash” Slater, as murderers.

Bryce bests Dash match after match, disappointed her rugged and handsome opponent turns out to be an underwhelming adversary. Secrets are exposed. Truths defeat lies. Bryce is poised to win this battle in a landslide.

Then Dash breaks all the rules and tips the scales.

One kiss, and she’s fighting to save more than just her story. She’s fighting to save her heart from the Gypsy King.

LINKS:

Amazon: https://geni.us/OJrjJqo
Apple: https://geni.us/lNxYz
Nook: https://geni.us/YkLih
Kobo: https://geni.us/THXK

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✍🏻 It’s Release Day to the Queens of Rom-Com, Max Monroe! The Billionaire Boss Next Door is OUT, and It’s a Must Read! ✍🏻

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The Billionaire Boss Next Door, an all-new hilarious romantic comedy from New York Times bestselling author Max Monroe, is available now!

Boss-next-door-(Cover)

My new boss has it all. In spades.

Gorgeous green eyes? Check.

Hard-and-sexy body? Check.

Intelligence? Check.

Success? A big fat billionaire… Check.

Too bad I haven’t started out on the best foot.

My big mouth has already turned him against me, and tempting good looks and success aside, Trent Turner is no peach either. He’s stubborn and thick-headed, and son of a fruitcake, he thinks he knows everything there is to know about the hotel business.

With him running the development of the new Vanderturn New Orleans Hotel and me doing the design, our work relationship is far too intimate for two people who absolutely despise one another.

But that’s not all.

See, he isn’t just my billionaire boss from hell. He’s my new neighbor, too.

Same city.

Same building.

Same floor.

Trent Turner is my billionaire boss next door.

Holy moly, let’s hope my career—and hormones—can survive.

Disclaimer: If you generally love to suffer, hate fun of any kind, and are allergic to laughter, this book is not for you.

TBBND - AN

Download your copy today or read FREE in Kindle Unlimited!

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Vy4KOk

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

Add to GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2uEva5S

TBBND - Teaser 1 AN

About Max Monroe:

A secret duo of romance authors team up under the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling pseudonym Max Monroe to bring you sexy, laugh-out-loud reads.

Max Monroe is the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author of more than ten contemporary romance titles. Favorite writing partners and long time friends, Max and Monroe strive to live and write all the fun, sexy swoon so often missing from their Facebook newsfeed. Sarcastic by nature, their two writing souls feel like they’ve found their other half. This is their most favorite adventure thus far.

Connect with Max Monroe:

Website: https://www.authormaxmonroe.com/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/max-monroe

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

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

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authormaxmonroe/

Stay up to date with Max Monroe by joining their mailing list today: https://www.authormaxmonroe.com/newsletter

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✍🏻 It’s Release Day for Emily Goodwin! Logan and Danielle are LIVE in Cheap Trick ✍🏻

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Cheap Trick, a full-length, friends-to-lovers/fake fiancé, standalone romance novel by New York Times bestselling author Emily Goodwin is live!

Cheap Trick Ebook Cover.jpg

Danielle Cross has spent her whole life running from breakups and troubles. She’s never stayed in the same place for long…until now.

The moment she walks through the doors of Logan Dawson’s bar, there’s an attraction between them neither can deny.

And when Danielle needs a date to her sister’s wedding, Logan is the man for the job. A cheap trick to fool her family is a small price to pay for a weekend in paradise.

Playing pretend is easy. The hard part? Trying to convince yourself the feelings are only fake.

AN FB.jpg

Download your copy today or Read FREE in Kindle Unlimited!

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2HnDA8V

Amazon Worldwide: mybook.to/CheapTrick

Add to GoodReads: http://bit.ly/30c2HTj

Release Blitz teaser.jpg

About Emily:

Emily Goodwin is the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author of over a dozen of romantic titles. Emily writes the kind of books she likes to read, and is a sucker for a swoon-worthy bad boy and happily ever afters.

She lives in the midwest with her husband and two daughters. When she’s not writing, you can find her riding her horses, hiking, reading, or drinking wine with friends.

Emily is represented by Julie Gwinn of the Seymour Agency.

Connect with Emily:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/emilygoodwinbooks

Instagram: www.instagram.com/authoremilygoodwin

Bookbub: http://bit.ly/2EPLbu3

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2tCZn28

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2pEHdf8

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✍🏻 Release Boost: J.A. Huss’s Wild Thing ✍🏻

Title: Wild Thing
Author: JA Huss
Genre: Contemporary Romance
(Captive Submissive/Forced Marriage)
Release Date: May 13, 2019
Blurb
Kidnapping her was the easy part. Now I’ve got to tame
her.
Runaway corporate princess, Lyssa Baylor, was born with a
silver spoon in her mouth.
But that’s not what I’ll be sticking in there.
LYSSA
Freelance princess hunter, Mason Macintyre, thinks he’s so
tough with those bulging muscles. He thinks he’s so smart with his plan to tame
me with spankings and submission. Well, I’ve got news for him. They don’t call
me Wild Thing for nothing.  I’ve been playing unruly princess my
whole life and I’m not about to stop now.
MASON
This was supposed to be a simple kidnap job. Catch her and
bring her in so she can be married off to the son of a family friend. But once
her father realizes the man he hired to reform his unruly brat of a daughter
won’t be able to handle her, he blackmails me into completing the job.
No one blackmails me, I don’t care how rich and powerful you
are. Her father might be untouchable, but Lyssa isn’t. I’m gonna touch her all
over and punish her so hard, that forced marriage will be her only way out of
my little princess reform school.
***
WILD THING is a smokin’-hot, sexy story of a runaway
princess and her reluctant Prince Charming. A tantalizing tale of forced
marriage, captive submission, and a hero who doesn’t know he’s a hero until he
meets the girl he was meant to save.
Purchase Links
AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
Free in Kindle Unlimited
Excerpt
She smiles
at herself in the mirror. “Now this
is a wedding dress.”
And I
agree. So different than the one she used to wipe my come off her face.
“But oh,”
she says, turning to look at her ass in the mirror. “Panty lines.”
And then,
before I even realize what she’s doing, she reaches inside the side slits along
each thigh and pulls her panties down, kicking them off to the side.
“Lyssa!”
“This is
why I never wear underwear,” she explains. “I need to see if it looks OK
without them. Because with them—”
“You are
not walking down the aisle with no panties on.”
“Oh, yes, I
am. This is a no-panties dress and you picked it out. So you have to live with
it.”
My cock
agrees with her. Because I’m fully fucking hard now.
She glances
down at it, then lifts her eyes to mine, and says, “I hope you’re not
thinking—”
“I’m not,”
I say.
“—because
if you wanted to do dirty stuff in here, we could get caught—”
“Don’t
worry,” I say.
“—and
Margaret would be so disappointed in us if she caught the best man fucking his
best friend’s
fiancée.”
“What?” I
say, doing a double-take.
“That’s
what I told her. It’s kinda hot, isn’t it?”
“No,” I
say. “It’s kinda sad, actually.”
“Well, it was
a lie, anyway. So that just makes it hot.“
“Jesus,
Lyssa.”
She mouths
the words Wild Thing at me, then reaches down to grab my cock.
I push her
away, but she backs me into the mirror with a bang.
“Everything
OK in there?” Margaret calls from the other side of the door.
“Just
fine,” I yell back, glaring at Lyssa.
“Come on,”
she whispers. “Wild thing, hold me tight.” And then she giggles.
“That’s not
even how the song goes—”
But I stop.
Because the next thing I know, she’s on her knees in front of me, the button
popped on my jeans, the zipper down, and my cock is in her hands.
“Lyssa,” I
groan.
“Tell me
no,” she says, then sticks the head of my cock in her mouth, pressing her
tongue up against my shaft, before I even have a chance.
“Would you
like another dress?” Margaret calls.
Lyssa eases
her mouth off my cock with a loud smacking sound and looks up at me. “What do
you think, Mason? Do we need to try on another one?”
“No,” I
call back to Margaret. “We’ll let you know if we need anything else.”
“I could
wrap it up for you,” Margaret offers, just as Lyssa puts my cock back in her
mouth and takes me deep into her throat.
“Uh… we’re
not quite…. oh, God… done yet,” I say.
“OK, I’m
right out here if you need anything.”
“Great,” I
groan. Because Lyssa is giving me a full-on head-bobbing messy blow-job. And
against my better judgment, my fingers are now tangled in her hair, urging her
on.
She pulls
off me, both her hands on my thighs, pushing me back, and then she stands
again.
“What are
you doing?” I ask.
“Making you
choose.”
“Choose
what?”
She backs
up against the mirror and whispers, “You know why you chose the dress with two
slits?”
I already
know where this is going.
“Because I
can do this.” She pulls the center portion of material aside and flashes her
bare pussy at me. “And you,” she says, grabbing my shirt and pulling me towards
her so my cock bumps into her leg, “can put that inside me and I don’t even
have to take my clothes off.”
“I’m not
gonna fuck you,” I whisper back.
Why not? she silently mouths and
simultaneously pouts.
“Because
you’re not mine, Lyssa.”
She sighs.
Frowning. Giving up. Because she leans back against the wall and wilts. “I want
to be yours.”
“You can’t
be,” I say.
“Why not?”
“Because
you’re engaged. And I’m just… I’m just your fucking babysitter.”
She slides
her hand between her legs, then withdraws it and places the tip of her
glistening wet finger against my lips.
I close my
eyes and open my mouth, my cock totally in charge now. I suck on her finger the
way she was just sucking on my cock.
“Please,”
she whispers. So low, I almost don’t hear her. “I promise to be good in every
other way if you just… make me feel loved right now.”
I pull her
finger out of my mouth and say, “Lyssa,” feeling sad for her.
“We can
pretend,” she says. “Right?” She places both her hands on my cheeks and leans
in. Kisses me.
I kiss her
back.
I know I
shouldn’t. I feel the guilt of a best man fucking his best friend’s fiancée, and
I don’t even care.
If her name
is Lyssa Baylor then I want to fuck my best friend’s
fiancée.
“Everybody
pretends,” she whispers past my lips. “It’s all fake, Mason. So who cares,
anyway?”
She pulls
her dress aside again, reaching for my cock. And when she tugs on it, I do the
unthinkable. I take two steps forward and we’re not even two steps apart. So
now my chest is pressing up against her breasts, forcing her against the wall.
She lifts up her leg and I brush the middle section of satin dress over the
side of her thigh to get it out of the way.
And after
that, it takes no effort at all to slip my cock inside her.
The one
thing I told myself I wouldn’t do.
I would eat
her out, and let her blow me. And kiss her, and suck her nipples, and smack her
ass, and all that other stuff. And it would be OK if I just didn’t fuck her.
And now I’m
fucking her.
In her
wedding dress.
Also Available
AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
Free in Kindle Unlimited
AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
Free in Kindle Unlimited
Author Bio
JA Huss is
the New York Times Bestselling author of 321 and has been on the USA Today
Bestseller’s list 21 times in the past five years. She writes characters with
heart, plots with twists, and perfect endings.
Her new
sexy sci-fi romance and paranormal romance pen name is KC Cross and she writes
novels and teleplays collaboratively with actor and screenwriter, Johnathan
McClain.
Her books
have sold millions of copies all over the world, the audio version of her
semi-autobiographical book, Eighteen, was nominated for a Voice Arts Award and
an Audie Award in 2016 and 2017 respectively. Her audiobook, Mr. Perfect, was
nominated for a Voice Arts Award in 2017. Her audiobook, Taking Turns, was
nominated for an Audie Award in 2018. Five of her book were optioned for a TV
series by MGM television in 2018. And her book, Total Exposure, was nominated
for a RITA Award in 2019.
She lives
on a ranch in Central Colorado with her family.
Author Links
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✍🏻 Winter Renshaw’s For Lila, Forever Chapter Reveal – Buy This Book Now! ✍🏻

Amazon – smarturl.it/ForLilaWR

Goodreads – http://bit.ly/2C0YS9m

Synopsis
The words “For Lila, forever” adorned the front of the envelope in blue ink, the handwriting all too familiar. But it didn’t matter what it said. I didn’t have the heart to open it.

We couldn’t be together.

Not after everything …

Leaving Rose Crossing, Maine was one of the most painful moments of my life—or at least it was until the day I came face-to-face with Thayer Ainsworth again.

After a decade of searching, he’s found me, and he wants to know why I quit my housemaid job and left his family’s island estate without so much as a goodbye. But I’m bound by a devastating secret much bigger than the two of us, and telling him the truth has consequences.

Looking into the eyes of the only man I’ve ever loved, I tell him the only thing I’m allowed to: never contact me again. And when he’s gone, I sit down and finally open his letter.

Only it isn’t a letter at all.

It changes everything.


PROLOGUE

Thayer

“Where … are … they?” My lungs burn after sprinting from The Lila Cottage to my grandfather’s house where I stormed into his study, a man on a mission.
“Thayer.” He rises from his leather chair, a cordial smile on his face as he dog-ears his Architectural Digest magazine and rests it on a coffee table. “What a pleasant surprise. Wasn’t expecting you until tomorrow. Come on in. Have a seat.”
He waves me over, but I remain planted. I won’t rest, I won’t make myself at home until I know why the Hilliards are nowhere to be found.
The boat dropped me off at the dock a half hour ago, and as I made my way to the main house, I couldn’t help but notice from a distance that The Hilliard Cottage looked … off. And then I realized there were no flowers. Junie always plants flowers at the end of April, and it’s the middle of May. Also there were weeds growing out of the old flower beds. Ed never would’ve allowed that to happen. Curious—and concerned—I made my way to their cottage, only to find the front door unlocked and the place looking different from the last time I was there.
I made my way from room to room, and it only took me a minute to realize all the family photos that Ed and Junie had were gone. In their place were the faces of smiling and posing strangers. I went to the main bedroom next, only to find the closet half-filled with women’s clothes, not so much as a hint of anything a man would wear. When I went to Lila’s old room next, I found it stripped to the bones. Not a picture. Not a book. Not a single article of clothing on the dresser.
The Hilliards were gone.
I left their cottage and sprinted to the abandoned cottage. I know Lila—she wouldn’t have left without an explanation. I was positive I’d find a note somewhere in the house, and I tore the place up looking for it only to come up empty handed—except for the notes I’d written and hidden for her before I left.
She didn’t find a single one, never had a chance to read them.
Granddad rises from his chair, the corners of his lips turning down. “I’m not sure why that’s any of your business.” And then he chuckles. “Or why you’re so visibly upset.” Walking toward me, he places a hand on my shoulder. “Let’s head to the kitchen. I’ll have Bernice prepare a snack for you. I’m sure you’re hungry after your travels.”
“Bernice?”
He ushers me out of his study. “The new help.”
“Where are the Hilliards?” I ask as we walk.
He chuffs through his nose, taking his time answering. “They retired, Thayer. That’s what people do when they reach a certain age.”
I exhale, the tension in my shoulders dissipating in small increments. Retirement makes sense. They were in their early sixties last I knew, and they’d been caring for the family’s island off the coast of Maine since before I was born. Junie did the cooking and the cleaning and Ed tended the garden, maintained the landscaping, combed the private beaches, and kept up the boats and three main houses all twelve months of the year.
“They moved to the mainland then?” I ask.
“I haven’t the slightest. I sent them on their way last fall and haven’t heard from them since. For all I know they’re living their golden years in sunny Florida, or perhaps they made their way to Arizona. I believe Junie has a sister there. Either way, they’re having themselves a time, I’m sure of it.”
His nonchalance is nothing short of concerning.
Ed and Junie were like family. They’d been around for decades. I can’t imagine they wouldn’t stay in touch—or that my know-it-all grandfather wouldn’t have so much as a clue as to where they went. That coupled with the fact that Lila didn’t so much as leave a goodbye letter tells me that he’s not giving me all the facts.
I follow him to the kitchen where a middle-aged woman with gray-brown hair stands at the sink, washing dishes by hand. She’s shorter and thinner than Junie, her hair straight and cut blunt at her shoulders. There’s a permanent scowl etched on her face. She doesn’t light the room like Junie did.
“Bernice, this is my eldest grandson, Thayer,” Grandfather says.
The woman glances over her shoulder, offering a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it half-smile and a nod, her yellow-gloved hands still deep in the dirty dishwater.
“Very nice to meet you,” she says, her back toward us. “I’ve heard so much about you. Your grandfather tells me you’re pre-law at Yale?”
“Yes, ma’am,” I say.
“Just finished his second year.” Grandfather beams from ear to ear. It thrills him to no end that I’ve chosen to follow in his collegiate footsteps. “Anyway, he’s made quite the jaunt today and my boy is starving. Would you mind preparing him a sandwich?”
“It’s fine. I’m not hungry,” I say.
“Don’t be ridiculous.” He puffs his chest and follows with a pompous chuff. “You just drove several hours and then you ferried in.”
He’s right.
I drove four straight hours from New Haven, not stopping once, because all I could think about was getting here—to Lila, Ed and Junie’s granddaughter. And then I waited two hours for a ferry that took three hours to get me here because of all the other island stops we made.
Mile after mile, the thought of seeing Lila kept me going. The sheer excitement and anticipation of being together again was all the distraction I needed.
I daydreamed about sneaking up behind her and wrapping my arms around her waist.
I pictured her sweet smile and her sparkling amber-green eyes.
I felt her hands on my face and her hair between my fingers as I stole her away and claimed her pink lips with a kiss behind the boathouse.
“How can I find them?” I ask my grandfather.
His thick brows knit. “Who, Thayer? I’m afraid you’re going to have to be a bit more specific.”
He’s playing dumb. I know better than to buy into his act.
“The Hilliards,” I say, without naming Lila specifically.
“And what reason on God’s green earth would you have to contact them?” my grandfather asks. “They’re retired. I’m sure we’re the last people they want to hear from.”
“They were a big part of my childhood. I considered them family,” I say. “It’d just be nice to be able to keep in touch is all. Would’ve been nice to know the last time I saw them was going to be … the last time.”
Granddad hooks a hand on my shoulder and gives it a squeeze.
“You’re too sentimental, boy. Just like your mother. Speaking of which, she’ll be here in two days. The rest of the crew should be here by the weekend. Say, I was going to get the ol’ ketch out and go for a sail this afternoon. You’ll join me.” In true Howard Bertram fashion, he isn’t asking.
“If you don’t mind, I think I’m going to pass. Not in a sailing mood today.”
His cheery disposition fades and he studies me for a moment. “This isn’t about the Hilliards, is it? If you’d like to write them a letter, I’d be happy to have my attorney work on locating them and sending it on.”
I consider his offer. “And how long do you think that would take?”
He squints. “Is this an urgent matter? I was under the assumption you were simply wanting to keep in touch.”
Yes, it’s urgent.
The woman I love—the only woman I’ve ever loved and will ever love—is out there somewhere and I haven’t the slightest idea as to where she is, how to contact her …
… or why she would’ve left without saying goodbye.
Lila had my address at school—before I left, I gave it to her for emergency purposes as well as my number and email address. She could’ve written me a letter. The Hilliards didn’t own a personal computer of any kind, but there was a lab at the public library in Rose Crossing—she could’ve easily looked me up and emailed me.
The last thing I told Lila when I left here last August was that I loved her more than anything in the world. She kissed me hard as the ocean breeze played with her sun-bleached waves, and then she whispered, “Two hundred and sixty-three days…”
We didn’t do the long-distance relationship thing. Not in the traditional sense. During the school year I focused on studies and extra-curriculars, and she planned to stick around Rose Crossing Island and help her grandparents whittle away at their never-ending To-Do List. When I left, we agreed that we didn’t have to spend hours on the phone talking about nothing to keep that flame flickering. We agreed we didn’t have to wait by mailboxes for handwritten letters every week as proof that our unwavering devotion was still received and reciprocated. Not that either of those things were options, but we both just knew. We knew that the other was always going to be there no matter what.
Waiting.
Trusting.
Missing.
Loving.
I believe that the Hilliards retired, but I don’t believe that Lila would have left here without so much as leaving a letter in the cottage.
Something isn’t adding up here.
“Thayer.” My grandfather clears his throat. “I’m speaking to you. Are you all right?”
I realize now that I’m sitting at the base of the grand staircase in my grandfather’s foyer. I don’t remember walking here. I don’t remember sitting down and placing my hands in my hair, tugging until my scalp throbs.
Coming to, I pull in a deep breath and force myself to stand. “I’m fine. Think I just need to lie down for a bit.”
His mouth flattens. He’s disappointed I won’t be sailing with him this afternoon, but he’s not going to push it. The summer is young, I’m sure he’s thinking.
“All right. I’ll have Bernice get you the key to Ainsworth,” he says. “We weren’t expecting you home this early, but everything should be in order. If it isn’t, let me know. This is her first time opening the island for the summer.”
Opening the island …
He opened the island the way other people open their pools for the summer: with checklists and procedures and quiet fanfare. “Opening the island” was always his expression for this time of year, when our entire extended family would abandon their modern lives, their work and school in favor of sun, sand, and sailing off the coast of a New England island hideaway. It was always Ed and Junie who would prepare for our arrivals. All the linens would be freshly washed, beds made. Junie used to fold our towels into little animal shapes, like we were at some resort, and Ed would shine up the boats and hose off the dock. Junie would place freshly picked and trimmed flowers in vases in every living room, kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom—that alone must have taken her hours if not days considering each home had at least five bedrooms and six baths. But she always loved to go the extra mile to make our annual homecoming a splendid affair.
My grandfather disappears into the kitchen, returning with a set of keys to my family’s designated house just a few hundred yards down the drive.
“Dinner will be at six,” he says, dropping the key ring in my hand. “Get some rest, but don’t be late. We have much catching up to do.”
As soon as he’s gone, I realize I’m squeezing the set so hard, the metal teeth are leaving indentations in my palm. Relaxing, I show myself out and head down the path to Ainsworth, gaze locked on the cedar shake siding that covers the backside. Last summer, I stole a kiss from Lila next to the white peony bushes on the north side of the house.
The bushes are lackluster now, appearing as if they hardly intend to bloom this year.
Once I get to the house, I unlock a side door and head in. My lungs fill with stuffy, slightly damp air. Apparently Bernice didn’t air out the house the way Junie always did in anticipation of our arrival, but I know she’s new so I won’t fault her for it.
Passing down the hall, I make my way to the living room before cutting through the foyer to get to the kitchen. There’s no bowl of fresh fruit waiting on the counter. Not a single vase filled with picked hydrangeas or lilacs as per tradition.
A moment later, I climb the stairs to the second floor and find my room at the end of the hall.
No folded swan towels.
No welcome note in Junie’s whimsical handwriting.
No secret welcome note from Lila tucked into my pillowcase.
I head to the windows first, sliding up the sashes and letting some much needed fresh air fill the space.
Collapsing on the bed next, I slide my hands under my neck and stare at the lifeless ceiling fan above. Everything … and I mean everything … has taken on an empty quality.
The island.
The house.
Me.
It’s like a substantial part of me is missing—and that part of me is her.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I try to rest despite knowing damn well my head isn’t going to stop spinning long enough to make that possible. But I need to calm down so I can come up with a game plan.
There’s no internet access on the island—my grandfather contacted the local phone company once, and they were told there was not enough infrastructure to support running cable or DSL lines to Rose Crossing at the time, and then they said that running those lines to the island would’ve been humanly impossible. The only options he was given were satellite or dial up. My grandfather made the executive decision to forgo both—deciding that the island was better off with as minimal technology as possible because family time was too priceless to sacrifice for “computers and video games and the like.”
I grab my cell from my pocket and check the service. It’s always been spotty out here, even at the highest point, which happens to be the attic of my grandparents’ house, so I don’t hold my breath.
One bar.
One bar is enough to make phone calls if you’re okay with the sound cutting in and out, but it makes any internet capabilities virtually useless.
I try to refresh my email inbox as a test … my point proven in under two minutes when the app times out before it has a chance to load.
I’ll have to try and sneak away to town in the next day and use the computers at the library.
I’m sure a quick online search will tell me exactly where she is …
Placing my phone aside, I close my eyes once more and listen to the crash of the ocean outside my windows.
It doesn’t sound the same without her here.
And it sure as hell doesn’t feel the same.
I close my eyes and try to get some rest.
I’ll look for Lila forever if I have to.
I’ll start first thing tomorrow, and I won’t stop until I find her.

About Winter Renshaw

Wall Street Journal and #1 Amazon bestselling author Winter Renshaw is a bona fide daydream believer. She lives somewhere in the middle of the USA and can rarely be seen without her trusty Mead notebook and ultra portable laptop. When she’s not writing, she’s living the American dream with her husband, three kids, and the laziest puggle this side of the Mississippi.

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✍🏻 Happy Release Day, Skye Warren! You need Concerto Today! ✍🏻

Title: Concerto
Series: North Security #2
Author: Skye Warren
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance
Release Date: May 14, 2019
Blurb
The spotlight lands on Samantha Brooks. Years of practice build to the opening
night of a global tour. She plays her heart out, but there are darker forces
underneath the stage.
There are eyes watching from the wings.
Liam North fights to keep her safe with every weapon he owns. She’s his greatest pride—and his greatest weakness. The danger comes from somewhere no one expected. Betrayal threatens to destroy everything he’s built. His business. His family.
His life.
When the curtain falls, only one of them will be left standing.
“Swoon-worthy, forbidden, and sexy, Liam North is my new obsession.” – New York Times bestselling author Claire Contreras
Purchase Links
AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
Also Available
AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
Author Bio
Skye Warren is the New York Times bestselling author of contemporary romance such as the Chicago Underground series. Her books have been featured in Jezebel, Buzzfeed, USA Today Happily Ever After, Glamour, and Elle Magazine. She makes her home in Texas with her loving family, two sweet dogs, and one evil cat.

Author Links

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✍🏻 5- Star Review: Skye Warren’s Concerto ✍🏻

Overall Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Do you ever read a romance book or books and wonder if there is something seriously wrong with you because you love the darkness and angst of said book? I oftentimes think there is something a little bit broken in me because the angstier (yes, not really a word…but so), the happier I become. I think it has to do with the precision by which a writer must write to achieve that level of feeling in his/her reader. I mean this with no disrespect, but I think it is harder to write angst than rom-com. That’s just my belief, and I won’t judge anyone who will disagree with me.

Concerto by Skye Warren is the type of book (like her other stories from Tanglewood) that delivers on the soul-wrecking, delicious angst that readers like me pine for. This is the second book in the North Security series, and it continues to follow Samantha and Liam. In Overture, Samantha and Liam embrace their forbidden feelings and consummate their lust for each other. At the end of Overture, Samantha has left to go on tour, but, more importantly, to find her independence from Liam, after he has pushed her away for her own protection. In Concerto, Samantha is recently arrived in Tanglewood for the start of the concert tour, and she is adapting to life independent from Liam. However, every day is a struggle without him. Shortly after arriving in town, there is a threat to her security, and Liam arrives to protect her from the threat. As they struggle with their lust and feelings for each other, each pushes the other away at various times, creating so much delicious tension that the reader is compelled to read to see its resolution.

This you will not find wholly in Concerto, however. If you are looking for the end-of-book HEA in Concerto, it isn’t here. Instead, we are left with a huge, life changing cliffhanger for Samantha and indirectly for Liam. I believe the next book, Sonata, ends the trilogy, and hopefully, it leads us to a HEA for Liam and Samantha because these two are, by definition, tortured.

Obviously, Samantha’s torture cannot compare to the tortured mind of Liam. In fact, there are so many times when I want to yell at the man to get a therapist. Call me insensitive, but the depths of his guilt create the thick, high wall between him and Samantha. While she is the junior to his senior, she surprisingly carries an emotional depth that will save Liam from his “wells.” However, as the reader, we have to endure the depth of these wells to get tidbits of connection and love.

What I love about this book so much, besides the angsty moments between Liam and Samantha, is Warren’s brilliance in telling Liam and Samantha’s stories. For one, the titles of these books are intentional to understanding the general premise of each book. A concerto in musical terms often “highlights a solo instrument against the background of a full orchestra. […] In a concerto, a piano, violin, flute, or other instrument plays solo parts that are backed up or highlighted by an orchestra” (vocabulary.com). This obviously connects with Samantha’s entree into the independent life. While she is seemingly in “solo,” she is surrounded by a group (Liam, Josh, Bethany, Harry, her father, etc.) who add different levels of support (or hindrance) to her solo life. Her life becomes the actual concerto.

Additionally, the image of wells in the story illustrates how Liam’s past still informs his present (and possibly his future). He can never escape the literal well from his youth because he believes, in loving Samantha, she becomes his figurative well. While he seemingly loves her, the well continues to dirty him, and by extension, he will sully Samantha. So…he engages in a fraught relationship with her, one where he at once needs her and repels her. This image is powerful and completely realized in Liam’s mind in association with Samantha. So so brilliant on Warren’s part.

Finally, Warren’s way in creating this story (along with her other books) shows her ability to keep her reader guessing. There is a BIG revelation near the end of this story that breaks open possibility for the next book. I would love to say more, but I don’t want to spoil it. The genius behind this revelation turns this book from a forbidden, darker romance into one that seems more romantic suspense. There is more to Samantha than originally thought, and I imagine it will be an explosive realization in Sonata.

There is something so delicious about an author like Skye Warren when you realize her ability to craft tortured souls into a romance that keeps you guessing is nothing short of genius. She holds the reader accountable to supposition about a story by offering them twists and turns at every page. As her reader, you can never be quite sure that all is as it seems, and her newest book, Concerto, is no different in this sense. When I ended this book, I was left hungry for more of Liam and Samantha’s story. In fact, I flew through the pages of this book. Thankfully, we get it in Sonata, but if I’ve read enough Warren books to know, there will be HEA, but it will still have a bit of a melancholy to it, angst in all of its realized glory.

I simply cannot wait for the final book in this trilogy.