Category: Uncategorized

Overall Grade: 4.5 ⭐️

Tropes: Vegas wedding; brother’s best friend; little sister; forbidden relationship; heroine seeking more than familial expectations; love from afar

“‘Regrets are made in the things in life you don’t do, not in the things you do. Everything leads you to who you are meant to be. Doing nothing is not a life lived.’”

Catherine Bybee is a new author to me. I was intrigued by her blurb for Be Your Everything. What’s not to love about a “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” situation, which boils over into everyday life, the antics of two Italian Catholic families, and a forbidden relationship? This story is fraught with tension from the beginning to the end, and Bybee creates two characters in Chloe and Dante, who ingratiate themselves into your feelings. You cannot help but love their story even when you want to scream at them for their choices. It takes a clever author to create those feelings in her reader.

Let me start by saying that I’m not a huge fan of the brother’s best friend/little sister trope. Inevitably, authors draw the protective older brother(s) as the villain of the story, and they create complications where, I think, they are warranted. Bybee has done this with Be Your Everything. To be fair, we are talking about an Italian family without a father, so it’s believable that Chloe’s older brothers, Luca and Gio, could struggle with her attraction and eventual coupleship with Dante. I get it; I just don’t care for it. Bybee handles it well, crafting a backstory for Dante that explains why Gio, his best friend, would be reticent to approve of his relationship with Chloe. But here’s my issue with this trope: It’s not Gio’s decision, and he shouldn’t have a say in it. Again, I understand the fun of this trope, the tension that squeezes through a story, but I’m not sure Bybee has done anything different with it in her newest book. 

That being said, Chloe and Dante’s journeys are compelling. Chloe is looking to forge her own path, seeking independence from the family. Dante is ready to make changes in his life to be closer in proximity to Chloe and his family. They both worry about regretting their decisions, but Bybee’s romance suggests that the only regret is never making a choice. 

Bybee treats her readers with a burgeoning love affair that blooms in Bali. When Chloe and Dante finally accept their feelings for each other and stop fighting them, Bybee builds hope in her readers that they will find their happy ending. Some miscommunications seek to upend this, but Chloe and Dante eventually trust the other to do what they say they will do. 

There are additional points of view in Be Your Everything beyond Chloe and Dante, namely Chloe’s brother, Gio. I see this as Bybee’s launching pad for Gio…and possibly Salena’s story. Given the easy read and emotional connection to Bybee’s recent story, I will be downloading and reading the next of this series of standalones. If you love loving Italian families with a ton of character, you should read this one.

In love and romance,

Professor A

It’s the season for gift giving!

Six FREE standalone holiday short stories!

Get Sleighed by Vi Keeland & Penelope Ward

When my ex dumped me right before Christmas, I was left with a luxury, all-expense paid trip for two to Cabo—private jet and all. Somehow, my best friend roped me into giving away the other half of the trip as a contest prize on her podcast.  Kelly won the “World’s Worst Dump Story.” She and I didn’t meet until we arrived at the airport, which was when I discovered she was actually a he. Apparently we’d forgotten to include open to women only in the rules. My trip to Cabo started as a disaster, but as time went on Kelly and I grew close. Until someone unexpectedly showed up…

Christmas in Birdville by Jewel E. Ann

Henry Bechtel’s mom is coming home for Christmas. Only, he lost the family house in a game of poker. Days before his mom’s arrival, he meets the new owner and seizes the opportunity to coerce her into letting him move back “home” for the holidays. What he doesn’t know is that she has questionable motives, too.

The Lucky One by Sarina Bowen

Finnish hockey player Ivo Halla is new in town. He can’t speak the language, he can’t understand the coach. Life is hell until he walks into an Italian cafe (thank God “pizza” is the same in Finnish and English) and falls for the waitress. He’d better learn the language soon, or she won’t agree to date him… 

First Holiday by Katee Robert

After a year of turmoil, Hades and Persephone prepare for their first holiday together.

A Cloverleigh Farms Christmas by Melanie Harlow

Christmas Eve at Cloverleigh Farms is even more exciting this year, thanks to a blizzard, a power outage, and a baby that wants to make a dramatic entrance. Catch up with the beloved Sawyer family and find out what happens when Meg and Noah’s bundle of joy gives the family a wonderful–and sudden–reason to celebrate!

Have Yourself a Grumpy Little Christmas by Pippa Grant

Trevor Stafford hates Christmas. But his best friend’s little sister, whom he stupidly agreed to take in as a temporary roommate when she got a new nannying gig down the street from him, loves it.

She’s turning his house into a freaking winter wonderland of bad memories.

But the bigger problem?

He’s had a crush on her for years, and there’s no amount of annoying holiday cheer that can cure him of his attraction. If anything, watching her in her natural element is making it worse.

What’s a grump to do when the last thing he ever wanted is suddenly the only thing he needs?

COVER CREDIT:

Cover designer:  Sommer Stein, Perfect Pear Creative

  

Grab your free copy today, before it goes away! 

Available for only a limited time!

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🖤🏝🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 SCAR (Dark Island Scots #3) is NOW LIVE 🖤🏝🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

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Camden and Breeze light up the pages of Scar.

A scar tore his face. Mine would carve his heart.

I’d do anything to save my missing sister, even sell my body to the highest bidder.

Until he steals me from my buyer’s mansion.

Camden rescued me, but he won’t let me walk away. Especially when I discover he’s my buyer’s son.

And the strange thing? I can’t even be angry at the sweet, gentle, scarred Scotsman for the terrible thing he did.

Chasing after me will hurt him. And loving him will only leave me with scars.

—

Scar is the third episode in the wildly popular Dark Island Scots series. As with the previous brothers’ stories, this is darkly delicious and may raise eyebrows. Check the note inside the book for warnings. Remember Camden is a tattoo artist?

Just wait and see where he lays down his…skills.

Let Camden and Breeze leave you emotionally scarred!

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THE SWEET SPOT by Adriana Locke

Release Date:

11/29/2022

Genre/Tropes:

Single Mom, Baseball Pro, Small Town Romance

Narrators:

Stella Hunter and Teddy Hamilton

Preorder available:

https://geni.us/TSSpot

Add to Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60806368-the-sweet-spot

EXCERPT

I’m lifting my glass to take another sip of sugar when a shoulder brushes against mine. I’m two seconds from turning and giving someone a warning . . . but stop.

My body stills as a set of large, calloused hands presses against the laminate countertop next to me.

Thick, muscled wrists attach to forearms the size of my biceps. The space around me is impregnated with a very heady, very masculine vibe.

A bubble of curiosity blooms in my stomach. The intrigue grows as a rich, balmy scent licks at my senses. It’s the kind of cologne I love—the type that makes the person smelling it feel better, more confident, more attractive by proxy.

That is not a harbinger of good things, though. I know from experience.

I ignore the warning bells dinging in my head like the seasoned expert I am and twist to the side . . . and nearly fall off my stool.

Holy. Man. Candy.

His hair—thick and wild, lying to the side in an errant wave—is the color of tobacco. It’s a stark juxtaposition to the chips of sapphire sparkling in his eyes. A sharp jaw is dusted with more than a day’s worth of stubble, finishing the glorious package with a sinful edge.

“Hey,” he says, his voice smooth and inviting.

“I’m sorry,” I say, finding my voice. “Do I know you?”

He grins. “Not yet.”

Blurb:

She wants forever. He plays it day by day. They’re both wishing for the best in USA Today bestselling author Adriana Locke’s charming and sexy hopefully-ever-after romance.

Single mom Palmer Clark will not be sidelined by the new man in town. Sure, the honey-tongued baseball legend is gorgeous, loves puppies, and has charmed his way into the community’s heart, but Palmer craves stability. Nothing about Cole says forever. So why is he so hard to resist?

Cole is swinging through town to visit his parents when he meets the kind of down-to-earth distraction he’s been looking for since retiring from the majors. True, his long-term relationship score is zero. But even though raising his average with Palmer seems impossible, it’s worth a shot.

As promising as the summer nights are, fate turns small-town dreams upside down, and some lessons are learned the hard way. But having faith in love and choosing hope over fear might get Palmer and Cole to the sweet spot they’re looking for.

About the Author:

USA Today and Washington Post bestselling author Adriana Locke lives and breathes books. After years of slightly obsessive relationships with the flawed bad boys created by other authors, Adriana has created her own.

She resides in the Midwest with her husband, sons, and two dogs. She spends a large amount of time playing with her kids, drinking coffee, and cooking. You can find her outside if the weather’s nice and there’s always a piece of candy in her pocket.

Connect w/Adriana:

Website: https://adrianalocke.com

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Overall Grade: 4.5 ⭐️

Tropes: second chance romance; single dad hero; Christmas story

Call me Scrooge. I’m not the biggest fan…rather, I’m not really a fan of Christmas stories. It’s part “been there done that” part “I’ve seen it on Hallmark already”. However, when one of your favorite over 40 authors writes a Christmas romance, one entitled Scrooge-ish, you read it. At least I did. And it was a lovely read. It combines second-chance romance with a single dad and a heroine who detests Christmas because she experiences a loss at that time of year at the age of 10. L.B. Dunbar connects her readers to Eva and Zebb through her journey to stop living in the past. It’s a gift of enduring love, spicy scenes (who gets edged at a high school football game), and forgiveness. I could say it’s cheesy, but Dunbar is careful to dole that out in small doses. Instead, she reminds her readers that we can and should choose to live in the present while letting go of the pain of our pasts. The characters are loveable, the story is engaging, and the happy ending will make you smile. Scrooge-ish will win over the heart of any Christmas-hating reader.

In love and romance,

Professor A

Overall Grade: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Tropes: second chance romance; forced proximity; Vegas wedding; small town romance; found family

A Forest Between Us is the third book I’ve read by author Allie Winters. Winters has an easy way of storytelling, and she engages her reader quickly in her stories. Her newest story follows Harper and Owen, a couple who spend a night together in Vegas and marry each other. The story begins 5 years later when Harper realizes that the marriages in Vegas are actually real. She finds Owen and travels to ask him for an annulment. Due to many incidents, she spends several days with him…in his home…by themselves. What happens…well, what happens in Oregon stays in Oregon. 

Let me start with the aspects of A Forest Between Us that I struggled with:

1. I’m not a fan of insta-love. It moves too fast for this reader. I would have liked for the beginning of this story to spend more time developing their backstory, but eventually, Winters finds the groove for this couple. In the middle to the latter part of the book, I was invested in Harper and Owen.
2. Harper is intelligent. Really, she is. However, the believability of her thinking Vegas weddings don’t count was low. Maybe it’s because I live in California, a state that borders Vegas. I’m not sure, but I had a hard time believing that Harper would have that understanding.

Now, as to what I loved about this story:

1. Other than Owen’s insta-love, he is the pinnacle of this story, the reason you should read it. Honestly, he’s a little beta here. When he and Harper finally hit the bedroom, he likes himself a bossy woman. But it’s the way he adores and cherishes her that makes him a swoony romantic hero. His ability to ford streams, carry the woman through the forest, cut wood, and sundry other physical tasks also make him every romance reader’s dream.

2. The world that Allie Winters is building here is an interesting one. I’m invested in the other characters of the story, namely Owen’s siblings. I want to read more from Winters in this world because there is something idyllic here, but there are real-life problems. The world of A Forest Between Us is one I want to spend more time in. 

3. The found family trope is probably one of my favorite tropes as it reminds us that we are not alone. If we have horrible blood relations, we can construct a family of friends who meet our emotional needs. Winters shows us the power of this through Harper’s friendships with her best friends and with her inclusion into Owen’s family. In both groups, Harper receives the love she didn’t feel growing up, and it’s a promise to us all that we can find people to love us. 

Allie Winters’s A Forest Between Us was a cute read at a time when I needed something a little sweet, a little spicy, and a little small-town. Don’t miss this one. I think you’ll find yourself smiling wide for Harper and Owen’s journey.

In love and romance,

Professor A

“Before I Let Go is a masterpiece… A beautifully honest portrayal of love in its many forms, and the most raw, poignant, and romantic journey of healing I’ve read in a long time.”—Ali Hazelwood, New York Times bestselling author

Before I Let Go, an all-new sensual and poignant second chance romance from USA Today bestselling author Kennedy Ryan, is out now!

Read my more than 5 ⭐️ review for one of my top reads of 2022 HERE.

Their love was supposed to last forever. But when life delivered blow after devastating blow, Yasmen and Josiah Wade found that love alone couldn’t solve or save everything.

It couldn’t save their marriage.

Yasmen wasn’t prepared for how her life fell apart, but she’s is finally starting to find joy again. She and Josiah have found a new rhythm, co-parenting their two kids and running a thriving business together. Yet like magnets, they’re always drawn back to each other, and now they’re beginning to wonder if they’re truly ready to let go of everything they once had.

Soon, one stolen kiss leads to another…and then more. It’s hot. It’s illicit. It’s all good—until old wounds reopen. Is it too late for them to find forever? Or could they even be better, the second time around?

Discover the romance everyone is raving about!

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3Fk8s6I

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Paperback and Hardback

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Audio

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Add Before I Let Go to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/BILGGR

Pre-order Signed, Personalized Paperbacks!
Quail Ridge (Raleigh, NC): https://bit.ly/BeforeILetGoQR
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In addition to appearances in North Carolina, Kennedy will also be on tour in Atlanta, New York City & Los Angeles!

Find all tour details here: http://www.kennedyryanwrites.com

Keep reading for a look inside Before I Let Go!

I knock and wait for Josiah’s deep baritone telling me to enter. He sits behind his desk, eyes trained on the laptop in front of him. He doesn’t look up, but keeps typing. The silence persists, stretches to awkwardness, so I drop into one of the armchairs in the center of the room along with a sofa and coffee table, and set my purse on the floor.

“Harvey’s on his way,” he says, still not looking away from the screen. “His last meeting ran a few minutes over, but he’ll be here soon.”

“Oh. Sure. Great.”

I run damp palms over my legs, the jeans smooth and cool beneath my hands. Fidgety and looking for something to do, I tighten my topknot. I got box braids last weekend because I was tired of messing with my hair. This morning they’re studded with a few gold cuffs scattered throughout the strands. All in all, I feel pretty. And confident, and I won’t be shook by the pissy mood Josiah seems to have saved just for me. Finally, he closes the laptop and walks over to the sitting area. I study my nails, taking my turn to ignore him.

“I like the braids.”

Surprised, I glance up to find him sitting on the arm of the leather sofa across from me. I didn’t expect him to say anything personal. Definitely not about my appearance. When I meet his eyes, they’re cool like they’ve been for weeks, and his face remains unreadable.

“Thanks.” I scour my mind for something else to say. Gone are the days when I couldn’t get the words out to him fast enough. We’d watch couples eating dinner in absolute silence and promise each other that would never be us.

“Um, did you see Deja’s report card?” I ask.

“Yeah.” He frowns. “I can’t believe she got a C in English.”

“It used to be her best subject. It’s not just the grade itself, but I worry she’s spending too much time on social media.”

“I think she’ll find the balance without us having to come down hard. Your relationship with her is already strained enough and—”

“Strained?” I ask, my voice dropping to a quiet warning.

“You’ve said that yourself, Yas.” He crosses his stupid muscular arms

across his stupid broad chest. “Let’s not fight over how we need to handle things with Day. Have you given any more thought to Kassim playing football?”

“You mean since I said never when you asked last time? No. Besides, he has soccer.”

“He really wants to play football too.”

“A kid can really want a lot of things that aren’t good for him, like literally ramming his brain into a brick wall over and over again and risking his life, his mind, for what? A game? With all that’s come out about CTE, I just don’t think it’s worth the risk. Lots of parents aren’t doing football anymore.”

“Don’t you think you’re being a little dramatic? I played football. Preach played. Theo’s playing.”

“I love Preach, but him letting Theo play doesn’t mean a damn thing to me. What he and Liz decide for their kids has no bearing on what we decide for ours. Kassim has barely mentioned football to me.”

“He hasn’t mentioned it,” he returns with obvious stretched patience, “because he loves you and he doesn’t want to displease you, but he asks me almost daily.”

“Of course, because you’re the cool parent.”

“Well, I’m not the one who says no to everything because I’m too scared or too uptight to allow my kids some freedom to make their own decisions.”

“How dare you!”

I surge to my feet, unable to stay seated one more second. I need to move, let this anger circulate, or it will clog in my veins. My steps eat up the space separating us, and before I know it, I’m right in front of him, standing in the vee of his powerful legs. The air sizzles with a lightning strike, sudden and hot and dangerous. Unpredictable. I should take shelter, but I don’t step back. His expression remains inscrutable, the stark beauty of his face unaffected, but his breathing deepens. In response, my breasts rise and fall with the struggle to draw breath as the air between us thickens. This close, his presence overwhelms me and my deprived senses devour him. The way his cologne mingles with his unique male scent. The hardness of his jaw at war with the sensual curve of his mouth. The heat his big body radiates, even at rest, surrounds me.

I lick suddenly dry lips, and he tracks the movement with narrowed eyes. I feel hunted by that look, like I stepped into a trap laid by my own body, devised by my own mind. Something I thought we’d buried long ago rises, encircles us, breathing new life into a connection I thought was dead. I’ve known for months that I’m still attracted to Josiah, but right now, with his eyes darkening and his jaw flexing and his hands curling into fists, I can’t help but wonder . . .

Is he still attracted to me too?

About Kennedy Ryan

A RITA® and Audie® Award winner, USA Today bestselling author Kennedy Ryan writes for women from all walks of life, empowering them and placing them firmly at the center of each story and in charge of their own destinies. Her heroes respect, cherish, and lose their minds for the women who capture their hearts. Kennedy and her writings have been featured in Chicken Soup for the Soul, USA Today, Entertainment Weekly, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, TIME, O magazine, and many others. She is a wife to her lifetime lover and mother to an extraordinary son.

Connect with Kennedy

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Overall Grade: 4.5 ⭐️

Stacy Travis’s He’s A Player is a cornucopia of delicious tropes: second chance romance, adversaries-to-friends, fake relationship, complex parental relationships that inform the characters’ sense of self, opposites attract, and sports romance. It follows the handsome, playboyish Tim, one of the stars of Travis’s San Francisco Strikers – a professional soccer team, and Jordan, the newest team doctor. Tim and Jordan have a past. In high school, Tim, as an international student, lived with Jordan’s family. When she eventually propositions Tim to take her virginity, he denies her request and leaves her family’s home shortly after. After this humiliation and being confronted with Tim’s presence on the Strikers, she’s intent on remaining professional. However, at their reunion, she finds herself in an embarrassing situation. In the wake of that, Tim and Jordan try to deny their attraction to each other, but Tim is dealing with physical issues and needs Jordan to protect his position on the team, and Jordan needs Tim’s help with team management. Their solution becomes a fake relationship and eventual engagement. However, the past is never far as a reminder of Jordan’s humiliation. Are Tim and Jordan fated for a happy ending?

I am absolutely enjoying Stacy Travis’s newest series, the San Francisco Strikers. I’m a big fan of sports romance, and Travis balances sports with character development and romance well. To date, He’s A Player is one of my favorite stories from her after Isla’s story in her Berkley Hills series. Traversing the many tropes of this book, you never lose sight of Tim and Jordan’s journey, and Travis balances her book well. If I have any suggestions, it would relate to the ending. It felt rushed, but I may be the only reader who wanted more after Tim’s recognition he can be everything Jordan needs. However, that aside, I’m ready for more stories in Stacy Travis’s newest story world.

In love and romance,

Professor A