Category: Uncategorized

Overall Grade: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

The Bayside Heroes’ series second book, Screwed Up, by Harloe Rae is a jaunt into the opposites attract, “one-night-stand-into-more” relationship between hospital security guard, Dane, and the resident psychiatrist, Larsen Belle. Rae plays with the Beauty and the Beast allusion throughout her story, denoting how Dane and “Lars” are quite different, but clearly suited for each other. These two have clear chemistry throughout the entire book, and their romantic trek towards realizing a future beyond one night is the driving force of this book. The ultimate climax of the book comes about 80ish% in when they have to face the hurts of their pasts in order to fully realize their happy ending. Yet, for much of the book, Dane and Larsen’s story is more exploratory than anything. Rae has created moments, inauspicious dates, between the two where they learn about their growing love for each other and they simply have fun together. Dane breathes life into Larsen’s carefully controlled life, and Larsen brings Dane a connection. There isn’t really a surprise when they acknowledge their feelings for each other. Rather, Screwed Up is a rolling journey into love for these two with very few pitfalls along the way. 

If you love the sweetness of two people finding their “one,” you’ll really love this story. Screwed Up isn’t really screwed up after all. 

In love and romance,

Professor A

It’s beginning to look a lot like…scandal. 

Surprise! A Kade Christmas, a brand-new Christmas novella in the Fallen Crest and the Crew universe from New York Times bestselling author Tijan, is available now!

Grab your copy today!

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

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

Apple Books: https://apple.co/3oMEiC5

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Fallen Crest Hardcovers and $50 gift card giveaway: https://bit.ly/33dPdwm

Logan and Taylor head to Hawaii for their own getaway. 

What happens there was supposed to “stay” there, but when James decides to disrupt the entire family with his latest scandal, all the secrets start coming out. 

Mason’s getting a call. 

Nate takes a trip. 

There might be some dogs and alpacas involved too. 

Either way, it’s a holiday to be remembered for the Fallen Crest family! 

** This is a novella from Fallen Crest and the Crew universe. Timeline takes place after Nate.

Overall Grade: All the 5 ⭐️

Parker S. Huntington’s Darling Venom is one of my top ten reads of 2021. Easily. In fact, I inhaled her story shortly after receiving it, and I’ve been sitting on my review because there are no words to describe my feelings about Darling Venom because there are too many positive adjectives I could use to explain how much I felt loved and tortured by her book. If anything coherent comes out of this review, it should be that you should read it. Period. I would also like to say that there is power in publishing fewer books in a year. My experience as a reader has been more positive about books when the writer doesn’t churn out book after book in a given year. The best books I’ve read this year, one such as Darling Venom, were written by authors who didn’t aspire to a high book count but took their time, made their intention clear, and wrote a story that still sticks to my soul. Darling Venom has left this reader with a HUGE book hangover, to say the least. So let’s begin…

There is an interesting structure to Darling Venom. There are a variety of points of view, but Tate and Charlotte/Charlie figure in as the loudest voices. However, this story is about more than Tate and Charlie, so Huntington’s choices for this book, its narrative structure, are compelling. While we are talking about her story structure, let’s talk about Huntington’s prose. There are moments in this story when you find yourself agog at the language of it. To say that this is a highly quotable book is an understatement. I have highlighted the heck out of this book because Huntington’s capacity for stringing words together to form delicious morsels of truth is immense, and they cling to your soul like Saran-wrap to a bowl.

This is a book about trauma. How does one move beyond it? How does it write wounds onto your heart and soul, and how do you ever heal from it, forever leaving a scar behind? Tate and Charlie are left in limbo after a traumatic event. Each of them, however, approaches life in a different way. Initially, their lives look the same: they are trapped in the trauma, taking steps forward in life, but not living abundantly. When they encounter each other, it’s a trigger for action. One of them makes choices to heal, while the other one stays immobile, fighting for control over feelings. One of them challenges that control and recognizes the need to let go, while the other one fights to the bitter death to stay unfeeling. It’s this journey, this tug-of-war between the two that creates a compelling read in Darling Venom. Tate and Charlie are so complex in their characterization that you find yourself holding your breath that they will find a happy ending, but wholly prepared for the worst. There is a darkness that shrouds them from the beginning of the story through almost to the end that sometimes steals your breath. In fact, I’m fairly certain I turned pages while holding mine. 

You should know…Darling Venom is a slow burn. It finds its steam, but that isn’t the purpose of this book, in my opinion. This story is meant to remind you about the scars left behind and our need to surpass them, to find greater meaning. By the end of this book, you have felt as though you’ve gone round after round in the boxing match. Yet, Huntington rewards you with the best ending. In fact, I pride myself in that I saw the secret of the book coming, but it wasn’t obvious and Huntington makes you wait to the very last page for its revelation. 

That writing and publishing figure heavily into Darling Venom make it spectacular for this reader. The idea that a life is crafted on a page and used to help heal trauma is powerful. The mechanism of this in the story is the impetus for the resolution of tension in Darling Venom, and it feels like a meta-reflection on the power of writing.

I honestly could go on and on about Parker S. Huntington’s Darling Venom, but it will never do the book justice. Instead, grab a box of tissues, find a comfortable place to read, and lose yourself in this edgy, impeccable story about the choices we make in our lives and the power they hold over them. It’s about the idea that we can make the choice for something better at any point if we are simply brave enough to make this change. This is now the fifth book I’ve read from Huntington, and she will be a forever read for me. 

In love and romance,

Professor A

My first love ended in tragedy.
My second began with his brother.

Darling Venom, an all-new emotional second-chance romance from Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author Parker S. Huntington is now live!

My first love ended in tragedy.
My second began with his brother.

From Wall Street Journal bestselling author Parker S. Huntington comes an angsty, broken love story.

I wasn’t supposed to be on that roof on Valentine’s Day.
Neither was Kellan Marchetti, the school’s designated freak.

We met on the verge of ending our lives.
Somehow, the tattered strings of our tragedies tangled and tightened into an unlikely bond.

We decided not to take the plunge and agreed to check on each other every Valentine’s Day until school ended.
Same time.
One roof.
Two restless souls.

We kept our promise for three years.
On the fourth, Kellan made a decision, and I was left to deal with the consequences.
Just when I thought our story ended, another one began.

They say all love stories look the same and taste different.
Mine was venomous, disgraceful, and written in scarlet scars.
My name is Charlotte Richards, but you can call me Venom.

Fall in love with Tate and Charlie today!
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About Parker S. Huntington
Parker S. Huntington is a USA Today bestselling author from Orange County, California. She has a B.A. in Creative Writing from the University of California, Riverside and a Master’s in Liberal Arts in Literature and Creative Writing from Harvard University.

Connect with Parker
Facebook: http://bit.ly/2rn7GE8
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Overall Grade: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Adriana Locke’s Resolution, the final book of her Mason Family series, provides just that: a neatly-tied bow on the package of this beloved series. Featuring Wade Mason, probably my favorite Mason brother besides Boone (don’t tell Wade that), this story hits my happy spot. There is nothing better than an uptight, grumpy, workaholic hero finding his happy ending with a heroine who pours light and levity into his life. The heroine in this story, Dara, is an example of the prototypical heroine for this series: a woman alone in the world and the Masons provide a family that surrounds her in love and support. 

The best parts of Resolution entail Dara undermining Wade’s embattled exterior. From the minute they meet, she sees how controlled Wade is, and she works hard to break it. The fun of the story lies in her helping Wade loosen that control to live his life more abundantly. In return, Wade offers her protection and his family as a reward. 

Resolution does a great job of wrapping up this series. It puts to rest Hollis’s story, welcomes a birth and a wedding, and gives Wade the happy ending that he deserves. The thing I enjoyed the most, though, is Wade’s softening. He will always be the most intellectual and controlled of the Mason boys, but the Wade at the end of Resolution is the best version of himself. If you have yet to read this series, jump in now. While the Mason boys are the best, Siggy Mason, their mother, is actually worth reading every page of this series. 

In love and romance,

Professor A

TITLE: Resolution
AUTHOR: Adriana Locke
RELEASE DAY: December 10, 2021
BUY LINK: https://amzn.to/3ExNT5k

BLURB:

From USA Today Bestselling author Adriana Locke comes a workplace romance between a grumpy, alpha architect and his new client—who just so happens to have the blueprint to bring him to his knees.

Romance is not in Wade Mason’s portfolio.

This is tragic. It’s unfair that a man so maddeningly gorgeous—an architect with a deliciously squarish jaw, adorably dimpled chin, and the hottest black glasses that straddle the line between professional and provocative—rebukes all things love.

I knew this well before I walked into his office.

The man is a conundrum—a complicated, steel wall of a puzzle. On the one hand, he brushes against me in the conference room with a broodiness that sets me on fire. He demands in-person meetings about the house we are working on together. I catch him watching me out of the corner of his eye with a look that’s anything but platonic. But any talk of hookups, love, or relationships—even in general? Completely off the table.

I’m determined to peel back his layers until I get to the bottom of the mysterious businessman. But my plan is foiled by a surprise that leaves both of us reeling. Neither of us sees it coming, but it changes everything … forever.

Excerpt:

Much to my surprise and annoyance, she laughs as she walks by me. Her elbow grazes my stomach in a move that I think is intentional. Before I can react, she’s down the hall and standing in front of Eliza.

“That dress is stunning on you,” she tells Eliza as if we weren’t in a strained conversation five seconds ago. “Where did you get it?”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” I grumble as I slam my door. The framed copy of the first building I ever designed shakes against the wall.

I lean against my desk and suck in a deep lungful of air. The scent of coconuts only intensifies my frustration.

I open a window and then sit down.

“Busy men always go through the motions and never have time to be creative. I’m not sure that fits my needs.”

What the hell?

Relational intimacy.

Loads of rubbish, just as it was ten years ago.

Instead of listening to spoiled, silver spoon-fed women who want their ridiculous projects handled, I have real work to do.

My heart pumps from the interaction with Dara, and I find myself replaying much of our conversation. It’s not until I get to relational intimacy do I realize how much time I’ve wasted—and am still wasting.

I put my phone on Do Not Disturb and get back to the only thing I ever want to know intimately—my work.

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
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authoradrianalocke
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/booksbyadrianalocke
Twitter: https://twitter.com/authoralocke
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authoradrianalocke
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8379774.Adriana_Locke
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3ivy7xd
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/adriana-locke
Newsletter Signup: http://bit.ly/NewsletterAddy

Overall Grade: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Dreams. We don’t often consider the devastation wrought on dreams. We don’t recognize that lost dreams oftentimes lead us to living safe lives, fearful of losing more of our dreams since the gravity of a lost dream is life-changing.

It would be too reductive to see Saffron A. Kent’s These Thorn Kisses as new adult romance. It would be easy to chalk up Kent’s story to an age-gap forbidden romance between a young girl and her best friend’s older brother who just so happens to be her high school soccer coach. And it would be too simple to tell you, readers, that Kent’s newest St. Mary’s Rebels book is a decadent story replete with an eroticism that screams off the page.

But again…all of that is too small an explanation for this story because the essence of These Thorn Kisses, its true depth, lies in its message about lost dreams and the consequences of it in the context of the romance between Conrad, Kent’s hero, and Bronwyn, her heroine.

If you’ve been reading Kent’s St. Mary’s series, then you know the running theme of it: forbidden romance usually between an older hero and a teen-aged heroine. Usually, the older hero underestimates the teenage heroine, thinking they know better about the situation. However, Kent infuses her heroines with a backbone and an intuition that falls the hero. This is the case in These Thorn Kisses. Yes, Kent drafts Conrad as protective and possessive in the very best ways for a romance hero. Yet, it’s Bronwyn’s tenacity and insistence on loving Conrad even when he cannot or will not love her back because she knows that Conrad’s existence has been predicated on living his life for other people at the expense of his dreams. This truth is infused in every aspect of These Thorn Kisses. Kent takes the entirety of the story to remedy this problem, the force that drives her story forward.

In a different way, besides her need to be an artist, Bronwyn’s hope (read this as dream) is her parents’ acceptance of her dreams and their support for them. Instead, Conrad becomes the purveyor of her dreams and the protector of them against her parents as she realizes that they will never accept her and her dreams. This is what binds them and makes their partnership fated. Therefore, she is his wallflower, and he is her thorn.

It’s this message that pulls at your heart and allows you to accept the relationship between an eighteen-year-old and a thirty-three-year-old. It is easy to suspend your disbelief over their coupling because Kent makes it necessary for them to be together. You cannot consider anyone else for Conrad even though there is a different offering, and Bronwyn’s existence isn’t complete without Conrad.

Add in the other St. Mary’s Rebels characters with future teases of Poe’s story, and you will fall madly in love with Saffron A. Kent’s These Thorn Kisses. I will say that there are moments that feel repetitive in a way that I didn’t find in the first two books of this series. That is the reason for my 4-star review. Yet, this book is everything you expect from Kent: a stream-of-consciousness delivery, a delicious offering of eroticism, and a tortured hero and heroine who eventually find the most decadent of happy endings. I could tell you that this is a new adult, forbidden age-gap romance, but I would be undermining the depth of this story’s message to follow your dreams even when you must reimagine them.

In love and romance,

Professor A

Title: Western Waves

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Brittainy Cherry has been in love with words since the day she took her first breath. She graduated from Carroll University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Theatre Arts and a minor in Creative Writing. She loves to take part in writing screenplays, acting, and dancing–poorly of course. Coffee, chai tea, and wine are three things that she thinks every person should partake in! Brittainy lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. When she’s not running a million errands and crafting stories, she’s probably playing with her adorable pets.

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Jessica Peterson has revealed the cover for Southern Bombshell!

Releasing: January 25, 2022

Cover Design: Najla Qamber

Photographer: Rafa Catala

Model: Hanna Jousselin

Releasing: January 25, 2022

The Wedding Planner’s Rulebook:

1. Keep the bride happy.
2. Keep the wedding party out of trouble.
3. Never let anyone know you’ve been in love with the groom for years.

I lived by these rules. Until Nate Kingsley.

The Capulets and Montagues have nothing on the Beauregards and Kingsleys. Our families have feuded for centuries, and Nate was always forbidden—which made fooling around with him that much more delicious. But then I fell for him, and he fell off the face of the earth, ghosting me without so much as a goodbye.

Fast-forward two years: as an expert in romance, I’m a wedding planner to the rich and famous. I never expected Nate to show up at my office, least of all with a shiny new fiancée on his arm. She’s got money to burn, and she wants me to plan the most extravagant wedding of my career.

It’s a make-or-break moment for my business. I convince myself I can do Nate’s wedding and keep my feelings for him in check, even if he does look good.

Really, really good.

But when the secrets we buried years ago come to light, what kept us apart suddenly binds us together. Even if my heart belongs to Nate, and his belongs to me, he belongs to someone else. And that’s a rule we absolutely cannot break.

SOUTHERN BOMBSHELL is a full length, standalone romance coming to Kindle Unlimited January 25, 2021!

Pre-order your copy today!

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Enter to win a $25 Giftcard!

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Meet Jessica

Jessica Peterson writes smokin’ hot romance set in her favorite cities around the world. She grew up on a steady diet of Mr. Darcy, Edward Cullen, and Jamie Frasier, and it wasn’t long before she started writing swoon-worthy heroes of her own. She loves strong coffee, stronger heroines, and heroes with hot accents.

She lives in Charlotte, NC with her husband Ben and her smelly Goldendoodle, Martha Bean. She’s hard at work on writing her next favorite sex scene. Stay tuned for exciting news on her next release!

Connect with Jessica

Website: https://www.jessicapeterson.com/

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/JessicaPetersonGR

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2KoS0sb

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

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/PetersonsPupils/

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Twitter: https://twitter.com/JessicaPAuthor

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jessica-peterson

Verve: https://bit.ly/3g0UtVJ

Title: Claimed

Laura Pavlov writes sweet and sexy contemporary romance that will make you both laugh and cry. She is happily married to her college sweetheart, mom to two awesome almost-grown kids, and dog-whisperer to a couple crazy yorkies. Laura resides in Las Vegas where she is living her own happily ever after.