Uncategorized

✍🏻 I have your weekend read right here. Check out the rebrand for Xavier Neal’s The Gamble. ✍🏻

★✩★ REBRAND BLITZ ★✩★

THE GAMBLE

By XAVIER NEAL

Genre / Tropes: Contemporary Romance | Romantic Comedy | Friends to Lovers | Anti Hero

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30629487/

Hosted by DS Promotions

AMAZON

US https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GQ8R9GW/

UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01GQ8R9GW/

CA https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01GQ8R9GW/

AU https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B01GQ8R9GW/

Apple, Kobo, Nook https://books2read.com/u/md7kvw

BLURB:

3 friends. 2 players. 1 bet.

When Luca Larson makes an expensive wager, guaranteeing the bedding of his only real female friend, he’s expecting the situation to go as smoothly as sleeping with any other woman would.

It doesn’t take long before he realizes his usual plays won’t work. She knows them too well. She knows HIM too well. If Luca wants to win, he’ll have to do things he’s never done before. Friendships will be challenged. Hearts will be broken. Lives will be inevitably changed. But one question will remain. Was it all worth the gamble?

** This is a re-written, updated version of The Gamble. There is additional content and several changes; however, the plot line remains the same. **

Connect with Xavier Neal

Website: https://www.xavierneal.com

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2E1dYwc

Newsletter: https://bit.ly/XNNLSUB

FB: https://www.facebook.com/XavierNealAuthorPage

FB Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1471618443081356

BB: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/xavier-neal

IG: @authorxavierneal

Twitter: @XavierNeal87

GR: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4990135.Xavier_Neal

Books + Main: https://bookandmainbites.com/XavierNeal/bites

About Xavier Neal:

 Xavier Neal is a best-selling romance author who enjoys hopping from sub-genre to sub-genre like a game of Hopscotch she can’t resist.

In between writing, she loves to read (everything from romance to self-improvement books), watch movies (old and new), eat too much Tex-Mex (her Chuy’s t-shirt collection is out of control), and watch AHL hockey games LIVE (preferably against the glass whenever possible).

She currently resides happily in Texas with her bearded husband “Lumberjack”.

Uncategorized

✍🏻 Blog Tour: Lexi Blake’s Treasured, a Masters and Mercenaries story – Have you grabbed it? ✍🏻

Treasured, a sexy must read novella in the Masters and Mercenaries Series from New York Times bestselling author Lexi Blake and 1,001 Dark Nights, is available now!

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Lexi Blake comes a new story in her Masters and Mercenaries series…

Read my review HERE.

David Hawthorne has a great life. His job as a professor at a prestigious Dallas college is everything he hoped for. Now that his brother is back from the Navy, life seems to be settling down. All he needs to do is finish the book he’s working on and his tenure will be assured. When he gets invited to interview a reclusive expert, he knows he’s gotten lucky. But being the stepson of Sean Taggart comes with its drawbacks, including an overprotective mom who sends a security detail to keep him safe. He doesn’t need a bodyguard, but when Tessa Santiago shows up on his doorstep, the idea of her giving him close cover doesn’t seem so bad.

Tessa has always excelled at most anything she tried, except romance. The whole relationship thing just didn’t work out for her. She’s not looking for love, and she’s certainly not looking for it with an academic who happens to be connected to her boss’s family. The last thing she wants is to escort an overly pampered pretentious man-child around South America to ensure he doesn’t get into trouble. Still, there’s something about David that calls to her. In addition to watching his back, she will have to avoid falling into the trap of soulful eyes and a deep voice that gets her heart racing.

But when the seemingly simple mission turns into a treacherous race for a hidden artifact, David and Tess know this assignment could cost them far more than their jobs. If they can overcome the odds, the lost treasure might not be their most valuable reward.

**Every 1001 Dark Nights novella is a standalone story. For new readers, it’s an introduction to an author’s world. And for fans, it’s a bonus book in the author’s series. We hope you’ll enjoy each one as much as we do.**

Grab your copy today!
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2QHWgrg
Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/Treasured

Add Treasured to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3hN4ZUd

Excerpt

What the hell was she doing? 

Tessa glanced down at her watch. She was standing in front of her building ten minutes early, and there was a big part of her that wanted him to be late. Really late. Annoyingly late. 

There had to be something about the man that wasn’t perfect beyond his connection to her employer. 

She’d come down when she realized if she stayed inside one minute more she was going to decide to change again. Because she’d been halfway to convincing herself that she could do a fine job as a bodyguard in that curve-hugging dress that gave her so much confidence. Lots of bodyguards wore four-inch heels and a push-up bra. Yeah, sure they did. 

Coming down here had saved her so much discomfort because in her line of business, slacks, a sensible shirt and shoes, and a blazer were the only way to go. The blazer hid her shoulder holster in a way that off-the-shoulder sex dress never would. And she didn’t care that Hollywood assassins could stuff any number of weapons between their thighs. Hers did not work that way. 

It’s not a big deal.

The words David had said haunted her. What did that mean? It’s not a big deal. It had felt like a big deal. Not texting that smart hottie back had been a big fucking deal to her. She’d agonized over it, and he’d just kind of let it wash over him. He’d taken his shot and moved on. She had thought of nothing but him for weeks. 

Or he was saving face by playing it cool and she was being ridiculous. The man was making this easy on her and she was inwardly complaining that he wasn’t making it harder. It was perverse, but then she had deeply conflicted feelings about David. 

Feelings she could maybe work out over the course of this week. She could get to know him and then she would see he wasn’t as perfect as he seemed to be. Most men showed their true colors when a woman spent too much time with them. He wouldn’t be as patient as he seemed. His charm would wear off when she took charge and he got annoyed. 

Yes, this could be exactly what she needed.

Especially if he was late.

About Lexi Blake
New York Times bestselling author Lexi Blake lives in North Texas with her husband and three kids. Since starting her publishing journey in 2010, she’s sold over three million copies of her books. She began writing at a young age, concentrating on plays and journalism. It wasn’t until she started writing romance that she found success. She likes to find humor in the strangest places and believes in happy endings.

Connect with Lexi
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vTyQyb
Facebook: http://bit.ly/339Svf9
Twitter: http://bit.ly/2JGwnBn
Instagram: http://bit.ly/36oVxOP
Website: https://www.lexiblake.net

For More information about 1001 Dark Nights Visit
Facebook: https://bit.ly/37fl0uT
Instagram: https://bit.ly/2Y7uBQp
Website: https://bit.ly/2AIIr3A
Stay up to date on all 1001 Dark Nights releases, join their mailing list today! https://bit.ly/2zgxaHu

Uncategorized

✍🏻 Kandi Steiner’s Say Yes is LIVE. This book is a beautiful story about accepting yourself and letting go. You WANT this book on your e-reader RIGHT NOW. ✍🏻

Say Yes by Kandi Steiner is now live!

Two strangers.
Two words.
One unforgettable summer…

When you’re an artist, everything has to be perfect.

Or so I thought, until my professor told me my perfection was boring and unoriginal. Studying abroad in Florence has taught me one thing: I know nothing when it comes to what makes art truly beautiful.

So, with my professor’s words in my ear, I step outside one evening and decide to say yes to any and everything I’m faced with until the sun rises.

Of course, I didn’t expect him to show up.

Liam Benson, the broody, sexy, tortured artist from my class who I can’t stand. He’s got a sour outlook on the world and an ego so big no one could properly stroke it to his satisfaction.

When he finds out what I’m doing, he hijacks my “yes” night.
And after just twelve hours with him, I’m desperate for more.

But Liam is running from more than I could ever understand, and with his heart guarded and mind made up about life, I don’t stand a chance.

I convince myself that we can keep it casual.
But walking away from him at the end of the summer is as impossible as painting outside the lines.

I used to think when you’re an artist, everything has to be perfect.

Turns out everything has to be painful, and messy, and fleeting.

If only I’d known that before I fell under Liam Benson’s spell.

Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vNv35O

Amazon Worldwide: mybook.to/SayYesKS

Add to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/2Rfxxeh

Meet Kandi

Kandi Steiner is a bestselling author and whiskey connoisseur living in Tampa, FL. Best known for writing “emotional rollercoaster” stories, she loves bringing flawed characters to life and writing about real, raw romance — in all its forms. No two Kandi Steiner books are the same, and if you’re a lover of angsty, emotional, and inspirational reads, she’s your gal.

An alumna of the University of Central Florida, Kandi graduated with a double major in Creative Writing and Advertising/PR with a minor in Women’s Studies. She started writing back in the 4th grade after reading the first Harry Potter installment. In 6th grade, she wrote and edited her own newspaper and distributed to her classmates. Eventually, the principal caught on and the newspaper was quickly halted, though Kandi tried fighting for her “freedom of press.” She took particular interest in writing romance after college, as she has always been a die hard hopeless romantic, and likes to highlight all the challenges of love as well as the triumphs.

When Kandi isn’t writing, you can find her reading books of all kinds, talking with her extremely vocal cat, and spending time with her friends and family. She enjoys live music, traveling, anything heavy in carbs, beach days, movie marathons, craft beer and sweet wine — not necessarily in that order.

Connect with Kandi

Website: www.kandisteiner.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7319216.Kandi_Steiner

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Kandi-Steiner/e/B00JDJOINE

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

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

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KandiSteiner

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/kandi-steiner

Book+Main: https://bit.ly/39u1KLs

Uncategorized

✍🏻 J.D. Hawkins’s Bad Boy Benefits is LIVE. Get ready because Toby and Maeve will put you through the paces of this romance. ✍🏻

BAD BOY BENEFITS by J.D. Hawkins

Release Date: June 24th

Genre/Tropes: Contemporary romance, Frenemies to lovers

 

Add to Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58240644-bad-boy-benefits

 

AVAILABLE NOW & FREE IN KINDLE UNLIMITED!!

Amazon: https://amzn.to/35Qa5rA

Paperback: https://amzn.to/3gYCu42

Blurb:

She’s my sister’s best friend…

The night we hooked up was definitely the best in my life. But you know sisters—they make things complicated.

So Maeve and I called it one and done, and for the sake of their friendship, we pretended it never happened.

It’s pretty easy to develop a routine. We joke around, make fun of each other. And I never let on that I know what Maeve looks like without her clothes—or how often I think about it.

I’m starting to think we pulled it off when out-of-the-blue she sashays back into my jewelry store. The visit starts like normal. The banter. The teasing.

But then she invites me to a party. And what kind of gentleman would I be if I didn’t walk her home after?

Let’s be real—I’m no gentleman. And Maeve is no lady.

The kind of teasing we’re doing now is dangerous. This is fast becoming a frenemies-with-benefits situation. It’s complicated enough before my sister decides to set us up… with other people.

We can only keep our secret for so long.

I’m starting to think there might be a diamond in all this rough.

But Maeve never lets me have the last word…

 

About the Author:

JD Hawkins writes erotic romance with modern-classic alpha males and strong, independent women. He currently lives with his wife in Austin, TX. He loves to travel and has lived in many places, including LA, New York City, India and Thailand. When he isn’t writing, JD enjoys surfing, training in Mixed Martial Arts, reading and taking naps. He once dreamed of becoming a ballerina. He’s always loved making up stories, especially ones inspired by real life.

Connect w/ JD

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

Join JD’s Readers Group:https://www.facebook.com/groups/689209171219570/

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jd-hawkins

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2nENib9

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1481119.J_D_Hawkins

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/FuckYeaHawkins

Subscribe to JD’s newsletter: https://bit.ly/2PGqXrw

 

Uncategorized

✍🏻 It’s LIVE! The next GD Taylors series book is HERE. Run and grab The Bold & The Bullheaded by Willow Aster and Laura Pavlov. ✍🏻

𝑨 𝒃𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒍𝒑𝒉𝒂. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚 𝒆𝒙𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆. 𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏’𝒕 𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒏𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝑰 𝒕𝒓𝒚.

The Bold and the Bullheaded, an all-new laugh-out-loud romantic comedy from USA Today bestselling author Willow Aster and Laura Pavlov is available now

𝐸𝑚𝑚𝑎…

I don’t do feelings.
Especially not with an arrogant, broody Taylor brother.
But one moment of weakness on an elevator wrecks me.
𝐼 𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑠𝑒 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑛𝑎𝑚𝑒.
𝐼 𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑠𝑒 𝑠𝑎𝑖𝑑 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑟.
Yet I find myself wanting to be trapped in a small space with Spence Taylor again.
And don’t even get me started on his day job.
The man can do just about anything with those hands.
Those big hands, and er—big feet.
I digress.

𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒…

Emma Kingsley is the most infuriating woman I’ve ever known.
Stubborn, arrogant, and sexy as sin.
She drives me crazy.
And she’s determined to hate me.
The funny thing is—I can’t get enough.
But the woman has more walls up than the royal palace.
Lucky for her, I make a living tearing down walls.
And I just found my favorite project.
Time to renovate, Queenie.

**𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝟐 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐆.𝐃. 𝐓𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬. 𝐄𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞. 𝐀 𝐇𝐄𝐀 𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐝!**

Download your copy today!
FREE in Kindle Unlimited
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3hpc0KE
Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/boldbullheaded

Add to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/2SPoscA

About Willow
Willow Aster is the author of USA Today bestseller, True Love Story, In the Fields, Maybe Maby, Fade to Red, Lilith (formerly known as Whore), 5,331 Miles, Miles Ahead, The Kingdoms of Sin series, and co-author of The End of Men series with Tarryn Fisher. Willow loves nothing more than writing the day away—anywhere will do. Her husband and two children graciously put up with her endless daydreaming; otherwise, the writing would never get done. She’s also an avid reader, and has been known to walk, cook, and clean with her nose in a book. She’s lived in Texas, Tennessee, Indiana, and California, but Minnesota has captured her now and doesn’t seem to be letting go. Although shy, this lifelong writer and artist is convinced that the best part of this career for her is meeting and connecting with readers, authors, and all of those in this community of lovers of words.

Connect with Willow
Facebook: http://bit.ly/3f4DIeI
Instagram: https://bit.ly/2QtCRdb
Stay up to date with Willow by joining her mailing list: http://bit.ly/3tMcnSt
Website: http://www.willowaster.com

About Laura
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 of crazy Yorkies. Laura resides in Las Vegas where she is living her own happily ever after.

Connect with Laura
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3o2YUmQ
Facebook: http://bit.ly/37WeBXl
Instagram: https://bit.ly/3rzvuzb
Join her Facebook reader group Pav-Love’s Readers: http://bit.ly/3pA1TUs
Stay up to date with Laura by joining her mailing list: http://bit.ly/38DZh0E
Website: https://www.laurapavlov.com

Uncategorized

✍🏻 Are you a SR Jones fan? Then you’ll want the Dangerous Romance Club’s exclusive box for The Priest. Order your box today. ✍🏻

Dangerous Romance Club is thrilled to present the exclusive edition of The Priest by SR Jones! This special edition is the perfect collector’s item for a mafia romance book lover. You can get them in the Dangerous Romance Club summer boxes — the LUXE size comes with The Priest.

SUBSCRIBE HERE: www.dangerousromanceclub.com

Use coupon code SRJONES15 for new customers to save 15% off!

AVAILABLE NOW!!

https://amzn.to/3jXhI5H

Blurb:

They call me The Priest, but there’s nothing holy about me.

Call sign: PriestOccupation: MercenaryAssignment: Hostage ExtractionThe assignment was simple: Extract the hostage. Take out all hostiles. Relocate the hostage to a safe house.The assignment was simple…Until it wasn’t.Roze is a mafia princess, but she doesn’t live in that world.Innocent, young, and naïve, she’s become mine to protect.Just a broken girl looking for some humanity, and a man with nothing left to give.Yet, she’s the light to my dark and my soul yearns for her.Lines are about to be crossed. Morals burned to the ground.She’s the first thing I’ve wanted in forever, and I’m not about to walk away.God help me.This is a dark romantic suspense and trigger warnings may apply.

Can be read as a standalone.

About the Author:

Hi guys. I’m Skye, a contemporary and paranormal romance author from Northern England. I write hot, dak mafia romance as S.R. Jones, and paranormal romance as Skye Jones.

I live with my husband and two crazy dogs.

I’m addicted to coffee, chocolate, and alpha heroes who are damaged but oh-so-redeemable.

Come stalk me!

Get a free, dark mafia romance by signing up to my newsletter: One dance, and her fate was sealed.

Connect w/ Skye:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Skye-Jones/e/B00RNBV1HK

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

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15283647.S_R_Jones

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

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/skyejonesromanc/boards

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/addicted2alphas

Uncategorized

✍🏻 Age-gap romance your thing? Opposites attracting? Single mom? Then, you should add Prescott Lane’s The Right Side of Wrong to your TBR. ✍🏻

USA Today bestselling author Prescott Lane has revealed the cover for

The Right Side of Wrong!

Releasing July 29, 2021

It wasn’t love at first sight. That would be too easy.

I can tell you all the reasons Paige and I shouldn’t be together.
But love overlooks a lot.

My heart doesn’t care that I’m ten years older.
There’s no age gap in how she makes me feel.

My heart doesn’t care that she’s a single mother.
It just makes more room.

My heart doesn’t care that she’s got secrets of her own.
It’s used to keeping mine.

The moment I laid eyes on Paige, I lost control.
Control of my desires. Control of my secrets. Control of my heart.

Right or wrong, we’re going to have to fight for our happily ever after.

And I don’t plan on losing.

Cover Designer: Lori Jackson Designs
Photographer: Scott Hoover

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/340scu9

Meet Prescott Lane

Prescott Lane is the USA TODAY best-selling author of ALL MY LIFE. She’s written several other romance books with strong heroines and swoon-worthy heroes. She is originally from Little Rock, Arkansas, and holds a degree in sociology and an MSW from Tulane University. She married her college sweetheart, and they currently live in New Orleans with their two children and two crazy dogs. Prescott started writing at the age of five, and sold her first story about a talking turtle to her father for a quarter. She later turned to writing romance novels because there aren’t enough happily ever afters in real life. 

Connect with Prescott
Website | https://authorprescottlane.com
Goodreads | https://bit.ly/2XMt2YM
Amazon | https://amzn.to/33KCvDz
Facebook | https://bit.ly/2XPBh6p
Facebook Group | https://bit.ly/33Kb9xk
Instagram | https://bit.ly/33I2Ulz
Twitter | www.twitter.com/prescottlane1
Bookbub | https://bit.ly/2DxUMJQ
Pinterest | https://bit.ly/3ipzxZi
Book+Main | https://bit.ly/2EaFgmU
Newsletter https://authorprescottlane.com/newsletter/

Uncategorized

✍🏻 Laurelin Paige’s Wild War is coming next week! Need a nibble? Check out this excerpt and teaser. ✍🏻

WILD WAR (Dirty Wild #2) by Laurelin Paige

Release Date: June 29, 2021

Add to Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57530087-wild-war

PREORDER TODAY!

Amazon: https://geni.us/WildWarAmazon

Apple Books: https://geni.us/WildWarApple

Kobo: https://geni.us/WildWarKobo

Nook: https://geni.us/WildWarNook

Google Play: https://geni.us/WildWarGoogle

Excerpt:

She’d moved closer during my rant. Too close. And when she opened her mouth, I was sure she was about to deliver some consoling platitude or insist that I was wrong when it was so very obvious that I wasn’t.

But instead, she stood on her tiptoes and leaned forward, and I was so stunned, that her mouth was already brushing against mine when I had the sense to step back. “What the fuck are you doing?”

Her heels came back to the ground, but she didn’t move. She kept staring at me, barely blinking, and I noticed for the first time that there were green flecks in her blue eyes, and that she had a sweet scent I couldn’t place, and that I wished that I was dumb enough to lean in instead of away.

No.

This was trouble. She was trouble. Being anywhere near her would get us both in too much trouble.

Blurb:

As soon as I saw him, it was war.

I thought at first it would be between me and him.

Cade was cold and hard and didn’t want anything to do with the headmaster’s daughter. I was off-limits.

He didn’t need that kind of trouble.

I didn’t need that kind of trouble, either. And since I did my best to avoid any kind of trouble, that should have been the end of it.

But when I saw him, he also saw me.

All of me.

The lonely parts. The dark parts.

The secret parts.

He became my ally.

I lost the battle with myself and fell in love despite the risk.

But the war isn’t over for either of us.

Not as long as my father is alive.

Book two of three in the final trilogy in the Dirty Universe.

About the Author:

With millions of books sold worldwide, Laurelin Paige is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestselling Author. She is a sucker for a good romance and gets giddy anytime there’s kissing, much to the embarrassment of her three daughters. Her husband doesn’t seem to complain, however.

When she isn’t reading or writing sexy stories, she’s probably singing, watching Killing Eve or Letterkenny, or dreaming of Michael Fassbender. She’s also a proud member of Mensa International though she doesn’t do anything with the organization except use it as material for her bio.

She is represented by Rebecca Friedman.

Connect w/Laurelin:

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

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

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/laurelin-paige

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

Facebook Fan Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/HudsonPierce/

Website: http://www.laurelinpaige.com

Never miss an update! Subscribe to Laurelin’s mailing list:

Newsletter: http://bit.ly/LaurelinNews

Uncategorized

✍🏻 Professor Romance’s 4 ⭐️ Review: Lexi Blake’s Treasured ✍🏻

Overall Grade: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Lexi Blake’s Treasured is more of her fantastic Masters and Mercenaries series. This novella is a quick read filled with her brand of romantic suspense mixed with a little D/s steam. This is David Hawthorne and Tessa’s story. As we’ve found in other stories in the series, Tessa was slated to marry Michael Malone of Malone Oil. However, their engagement fell apart when Tessa and Michael realized they were better as friends than lovers. As Tessa enters Treasured, she’s carrying the weight of guilt associated with calling off the relationship with Michael. As such, she has a huge wall built up emotionally. 

David Hawthorne, the stepson of Sean Taggart, is a prolific professor who is studying an Argentinian mogul. Friends with his son, he’s heading out on his Spring Break to visit the island of this man as a way to write a biography about him. Unfortunately, he is related to a Taggart, so his family wants him protected. David and Tessa meet earlier in the story and feel deeply attracted to each other; however, Tessa realizes David’s background and believes it will be the same type of relationship as the one with Michael. She ends up ghosting him until she becomes assigned to be his bodyguard for his trip. Reticent yet required, Tessa and David journey to the island of his friend’s father only to be met eventually with danger. Will Tessa drop her walls? Will David make it out of the danger on the island?

I think it’s a requirement of a Lexi Blake book to make you work for her couples’ happy endings. Everything you love about this series is here: a keen attraction between her hero and heroine, a hero who falls fairly quickly for the heroine, a heroine who is reticent to develop a relationship with the hero but she can’t deny her attraction to him, a suspenseful story that keeps you turning the pages, and a D/s relationship between the hero and heroine that spices up the suspense of this story? There is a reason that Big Tag reminds his operatives about protection because, over and over again, Lexi Blake’s Masters and Mercenaries characters’ attractions cannot be denied. Tessa and David are more of this. 

I love the complex characterization of David in this book. He struggles with his position in his family. He’s a true academic who gets lost in his work, and he’s the opposite of his persona in the bedroom. If there is one thing I love the most about Blake’s development of him is his willingness to accept Tessa as she is. This man is tenacious, and it’s wrapped in a professorial package. He sees Tessa in a way that Michael would have never been able to see her, and therefore, they are fated for each other. 

The frustration of Treasured is the complications that Tessa makes for the two of them. I think Blake let Tessa sit too long in her reticence. That being said, she is a strong, independent, willful woman which is important in any story. 

Overall, Treasured is the type of story you expect of Lexi Blake. It’s a quick read that has a fulfilling happily ever after for her David and Tessa. 

In love and romance,

Professor A

Uncategorized

✍🏻 Professor Romance’s 4.5 ⭐️ Review: Jana Aston’s The Next Mrs. Russo ✍🏻

Overall Grade: 4.5 ⭐️

Oh, how I’ve missed Jana Aston’s brand of storytelling. With her newest book, The Next Mrs. Russo, her signature is scrawled all over this story. As she so deftly does, Aston takes a one-person POV and she makes you crave more of her story. This romance follows Audrey, a skilled seamstress/designer who repurposes old designer clothing into new, reenvisioned fashion. With a sidekick of a teenager, Miller, as her unofficial assistant and a grumpy cat named Gary, Audrey’s life feels a little bit bumbling but satisfied. Until one day when an older woman, Mrs. Bianchi, enters her store and eventually manipulates a meeting out of her with her son. When Audrey finally meets “Warren,” she realizes that he is her crush and the governor of New York. Agreeing to accompany Warren to a fundraiser, Audrey’s hope is a quick hook-up with a return to her struggling life of design. One date turns into a second one, and soon enough, Audrey finds herself living in the governor’s mansion while Warren fixes the plumbing of her home. Will the governor fall for Audrey as she begins to fall for him, or does he just tolerate her as a “fake” date for his many fundraisers?

At its core, The Next Mrs. Russo is a story that leaves you on a smile. Every turn of the page elicited a chuckle or a grin as Aston’s heroine, Audrey, reveals more of herself. If you’re looking for Warren’s point of view here, you will only find it through the voice of Audrey. This is a common trait of Aston’s romances. And her heroines, ones such as Audrey, are always erstwhile and effervescent even in the midst of their troubles. You can’t help but love a character like Audrey because she’s a little crazy in all the best ways. If I have any criticism, it would be that I’d love a foray into Warren’s brain. 

In this book, Warren is staid, terse albeit $exy. The things that Audrey finds attractive about him would make someone else laugh as they aren’t the usual fare. It’s what makes her attraction to him one of the hilarious parts of the book. Yet, we receive very little from him until the last portion of the story. It’s what builds the anticipation of Aston’s The Next Mrs. Russo

Overall, I enjoyed myself with this book. If you’re having a difficult day, month, year, then you want this one on your e-reader. It’s exactly what you need to save you from the doldrums of life. 

In love and romance,

Professor A