Tag: age gap

new release, Review

✍🏻 Professor Romance’s Reviews: Kilby Blades’s Young Buck, a Green Valley Heroes romance ✍🏻

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Overall Grade: A-/B+

Tropes: close proximity/neighbors; age gap; small town; he falls first; grump/sunshine; golden retriever MMC; girl squad

Kilby Blades’s contributions are among the best things that have happened to Smartypants Romance. Don’t get me wrong; I have a lot of authors whom I love writing in this world, but Kilby Blades has a way of bringing more to her romances, and it brings added layers to this world. In Young Buck, Blades introduces us to neighbors, Buck Rogers (a nice throwback to one of my favorite 80s shows) and Loretta. These two have a wild meet-cute that makes you laugh and feel bad for Buck. As the story progresses, Blades gifts us with Loretta’s capacity as an independent, intelligent woman who transcends a traumatic background to succeed in her present day. She wraps Loretta’s story in the genuine adoration of Buck, who falls first. The PR machine behind this book considers Buck the sunshine of the tale and Loretta the grump, but I think the reality is a golden retriever/black cat trope. Loretta, as a PI of cheating spouses, has seen the worst of relationships while also living through it. It isn’t that she’s grumpy; she’s careful and decisive about relationships. With his privilege, Buck has been less thoughtful about it, but a situation in his life allows him an understanding of Loretta’s past. Buck must also navigate a new job in leadership at the Green Valley Fire Department, which brings tension. Blades challenges him throughout this story, and it adds gravity to his “golden retriever” vibe. 

Throughout all of this is an underlying story about Buck’s family that surprises him and the reader. This plotline drives the story forward and keeps the readers engaged. As Buck and Loretta grow closer, their romance becomes the sweet essence of the book. It’s also here where my one criticism of the story lies. Blades makes a choice about Buck that threatens his relationship with Loretta, and I understand its need to create tension in their relationship. However, given how Blades develops Buck’s character, it is “out of character” for him and seems inconsistent. 

With Young Buck, Kilby Blades shows us why we should read her more. She crafts entertaining characters and draws us into her romantic stories. The ending of Young Buck is precisely what is needed to put a smile on your face for the day, the weekend, or your week. Smartypants Romance is better for having her on their author list.

In love and romance,

Professor A

new release

✍🏻 Oh, Lawdy, Troy…you heart stealer! I missed posting this release yesterday, but you don’t want to miss Adriana Locke’s Pulse! It’ll definitely make your pulse race. ✍🏻

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Pulse by Adriana Locke is now live! 

USA Today bestselling author Adriana Locke delivers a spicy, age gap, grumpy sunshine, workplace romance in the first book in the brand new Landry Security series. 

Troy Castelli acts like it’s my fault that we’re cooped up together in a room with one bed overlooking the ocean. I didn’t ask for a stalker to break into my house and then send me a threatening email detailing my demise. And I sure as heck didn’t request that my boss send Troy and his uber elite bodyguard skills to accompany me out of town—although I’m not mad about it. 

A paid tropical vacation with a grumpy, gray-eyed bad boy in a suit isn’t exactly a burden. 

But it is a giant test of my willpower. 

Troy’s alpha protector tendencies drive me wild. His arrogant smirk gets under my skin. But it’s his not-so-innocent touches, heated looks and touch-her-and-die vibes that are the final strike that ignite our explosive chemistry.  

The longer we’re together, the more his broody exterior slips, and I get a glimpse of the real man beneath the sculpted muscles. I’m determined not only to unearth his mysterious past but also to make him realize what we have is more than just a fling in paradise.


That is, unless my stalker gets me first.

  Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3J5HamV

Amazon Worldwide: https://mybook.to/PulseAL

Add to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3vIBdJD

Meet Adriana


USA Today and Amazon Charts Bestselling author, Adriana Locke, writes contemporary romances about the two things she knows best—big families and small towns. Her stories are about ordinary people finding extraordinary love with the perfect combination of heart, heat, and humor.

She loves connecting with readers, fall weather, football, reading alpha heroes, everything pumpkin, and pretending to garden.

Hailing from a tiny town in the Midwest, Adriana spends her free time with her high school sweetheart (who she married over twenty years ago) and their four sons (who truly are her best work). Her kitchen may be a perpetual disaster, and if all else fails, there is always pizza.

Connect with Adriana 

Website: www.adrianalocke.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8379774.Adriana_Locke

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Adriana-Locke/author/B00NPBY8FE/

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

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

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Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/authoralocke

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@adrianalockewrites 

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/adriana-locke

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/authoradrianalo

Other: https://www.youtube.com/adrianalocke

Verve: https://ververomance.com/app/adrianalocke

new release, Review

✍🏻 Professor Romance’s Reviews: J. Saman’s Undeniably Convenient ✍🏻

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Overall Grade: A-/B+

Tropes: second chances; age gap; boss/employee; forced proximity; grump/sunshine; workplace romance

J. Saman’s newest story, Undeniably Convenient, invites us into the next generation of characters from some of her beloved series: Boston’s Billionaire Bachelors and Irresistibly Yours. Nothing excites me more than diving into the kids’ lives and loves of past characters. And this newest book doesn’t disappoint. 

Undeniably Convenient is one of J. Saman’s most intense and passionate stories yet. The characters, Katy (Callan’s niece from Irresisibly Wild) and Bennett ignite the pages with their fiery attraction. Their building chemistry and the complex situation that leads to a baby contract drive the story forward at every turn. Their inability to keep their hands off each other and Bennett’s alpha-male tendencies, especially in the bedroom, make for a captivating, explosive narrative.

Adding some of the other next-generation characters ignites an interest in future stories in this new series. We are granted access to the “bachelors” and the “irresistibly yours” series which grounds us in Saman’s universe. I love it when authors create universes to inhabit because we continue to get glimpses of some of our favorite characters. Saman has shown a penchant for this strategy, and I’m all in. 

Above it all, though, is a complicated storyline in Undeniably Convenient that is tricky as Katy and Bennett reconcile and realize they can have a child together. All of this is fraught with some past villains who threaten their future and a denial of their mounting emotions, holding its readers enthralled. At least, I was engrossed in Katy and Bennett’s rollercoaster of a journey.

I will say that there are a few inconsistencies throughout the story that pulled my attention way. There was simply so much going on with this story because J. Saman’s book packs it all in. 

I am ready for more of this new series. J. Saman knows exactly how to entice her audience, and Undeniably Convenient does not disappoint.

In love and romance,

Professor A

new release, Review

✍🏻 Professor Romance’s Reviews: Kandi Steiner’s Learn Your Lesson, book 3 of her Kings of the Ice series ✍🏻

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Overall Grade: A

Tropes: single dad; teacher/nanny; forced proximity; hockey romance; band of brothers; forbidden; grump/sunshine; age gap; opposites attract; spicy lessons

Two weeks out and Kandi Steiner’s Daddy P still sits with me. Learn Your Lesson, book 3 of her Kings of the Ice series, is my favorite. Why? Well, for a number of reasons.

  1. Kandi Steiner’s writing voice has evolved. I’d like to think it has more to do with her personal life, but the angst of A Love Letter to Whiskey seems a thing of the past. Is there angst in Learn Your Lesson? Why yes there is! However, this isn’t “steal-your-soul-angst”; Steiner recognizes that people are fraught and it affects relationships. Every relationship has ups and downs, and as Will allows himself to love and be loved, he and Chloe must struggle through his battle. This is organic to Learn Your Lesson, and one of the reasons I adore their journey.
  2. Add a kid, and I’m in. Create an unique relationship between the kid, in this case, Ava and Chloe, and the emotional gravitas is built. Ava is everything you love in romance: precocious, adorable, and also fraught like her daddy. Like Chloe and Will, she also undertakes a character journey. While it isn’t the most important journey of the story, Steiner uses it to build Chloe’s character as the true hero of Learn Your Lesson.
  3. Steiner’s craftsmanship of Chloe is my favorite. She is a woman battling the matriarchal rule of her childhood and finding herself. She’s insightful, joyful, and independent. Her tenacity to bring joy into Will and Ava’s life is one of the draws to this story. She knows herself and her wants, and she goes after it. She’s the type of female character romance readers are drawn to.
  4. The band of brothers of the hockey team adds layers to the story. For one, it allows us to revisit the characters of the series’ first two books, but it evolves the characters who have stories to come. Steiner entices and invests us deeper into her series by bringing the old while mixing it with the future. I cannot wait for Aleks’s story based on how much more Steiner gifts us about him in this story.

I’m invested. Daddy P (Will) currently owns my heart in this series. What’s not to love about a recovering grump who falls hard for his sunshiney nanny? Everything!

In love and romance,


Professor A

new release, Review

✍🏻 Professor Romance’s Reviews: Nine Month Contract ✍🏻

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Overall Grade: A-/B+

Tropes: small town; surrogate/baby daddy; mountain man MMC; found family; age gap; grumpy/sunshine; breeding kink; curvy FMC

If you’ve ever met Amy Daws, her self-effacing, almost humble, humorous vibe is her charm. You can’t help but like Amy Daws on meeting her, and I’ve only done so at a book signing, not the best place to get to know someone. Yet, after reading Nine Month Contract, her newest book after a bit of a break, you can’t help but feel that charm threaded through her pages. Daws’s voice is likable and connective. As you read Nine Month Contract, she draws you in with the same humor she exudes in person, but she wallops you emotionally with the sentimentality of her characters. 

I found myself charmed by Nine Month Contract because her characters, Wyatt and Trista, are consumable. That’s a strange word to use for her characters, but Daws has drawn them so that you can’t help but want to know them. Trista is the heart of this book. She’s alone in the world, having never had a family to love her unconditionally. She loves animals who’ve lost their home because she recognizes herself in them. Daws has crafted her foil in Wyatt, a grumpy, gruff mountain man, ready to become a single dad and live out his days building sustainable houses and raising a child. Where Trista is sunny, Wyatt is the opposite, and it creates a pool of deliciousness that you’d love to bathe in. From their meeting, it’s clear that Daws has written rom-com gold. The sharp banter, the inciting chemistry, and the push and pull of their ethical dilemma draw you into the book. The silliness of their situation, coupled with Wyatt’s need to protect and care for Trista from almost a caveman-like place, adds more layers of romance heaven to this story. 

Add to all of this Wyatt’s supportive, but emotionally complicated family. The Fletchers do not have easy relationships per se, but they love each other. Daws uses them to bind Trista and Wyatt’s story together. One of my favorite tropes is the found family especially when a main character lacks that for themselves. The emotional tether of Trista finding a family to love her without any measure is my favorite part of this book, and Amy Daws, who can write humor and banter well, writes Trista’s journey to finding a family to love her unconditionally calls to your emotions. In using the point of view of Wyatt’s niece, Everly, Daws underscores that task even more. 

As I said before, I was charmed by Amy Daws’s Nine Month Contract. I had loved Last on the List, book 5 of her Wait with Me series and the launcher for this new series, but a protective Wyatt falling in love with a beautiful, but lonely Trista was exactly what I needed to be reminded that 1) Amy Daws is a heck of a romance author and 2) her rom-coms are pure heaven.

In love and romance,

Professor A

Cover Reveal

✍🏻 I have never wanted to call someone “daddy”…until NOW! Check out Kandi Steiner’s Daddy P on the cover for Learn Your Lesson! This is the book I’ve been waiting for in this series… ✍🏻

professorromance


  
𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞! 👉 https://geni.us/learnyourlesson  
Or, get an email when it’s live in Kindle Unlimited 👉 https://forms.gle/o8ssBAF6SjcJRXA68  
—————————————————-  
There will be a simultaneous audio release, narrated by the incredible Hannah Chiclana as Chloe and introducing Max Lindsey as Will!  
Paperbacks will go live a few days before release so you have time to ship them to yourself by release day.   
—————————————————-  
There’s still time to request an ARC! 👉 https://bit.ly/3UYFyCZ  
—————————————————-  

𝐌𝐲 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩… 𝐌𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐡.  
  
Her father left her, and then my father left us. Being raised by her and my grandmother, I was surrounded by the reminder to be independent and guard my heart.   
  
After my one and only experience with a boy in college fell flatter than a pancake, I realized they were right — and I was content to live the life of a twenty-six-year-old cat lady.  
  
Until Will Perry blew my quiet world to smithereens.  
  
Starting goalie for the Tampa Bay Ospreys and the kind of hot that scrambles your brain, all I was ever supposed to be to him was his daughter’s kindergarten teacher. Then, in a twist of events, his temporary nanny.  
  
But temporary turns to permanent, and when I move into his pool house, everything changes.  
  
He’s impossibly grumpy and focused on only two things: hockey, and taking care of his daughter. I’m only focused on using this new income to pay back my student loans.   
  
But in that house, I feel his heated gaze beneath that permanent scowl, the way it lingers and warms my skin. And though I know my mother would lose her mind if she knew, my dreams have become midnight fantasies about my long-haired, muscle-lined mystery of a boss.  
  
When the tension becomes too much, we break, and we make a deal.   
  
He still needs a nanny. I still need a paycheck and for my matriarchy to not disown me. But Will agrees to teach me everything I’ve always wanted to learn, and I’m all too eager to be his student.  
  
I can do this. I’m a grown woman. I can explore my sexuality with the hottest goalie on earth and still remain one-hundred percent professional.   
And I can definitely do it all without catching feelings.   
I have to.  
  
Otherwise, I’ll end up heartbroken in my mother’s arms while she shakes her head and asks me if I’ll ever learn my lesson.  
—————————————————-  
𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐒:  
👉 Pro Hockey Romance  
👉 Single Dad/Nanny  
👉 Forced Proximity  
👉 Spicy Lessons  
👉 Grumpy Sunshine  
👉 Age Gap  
👉 Opposites Attract  
👉 Found Family  
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𝙇𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙣 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙇𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙆𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙄𝙘𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨: 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘩𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘺 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴/𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬.  
—————————————————-  
Cover Photography: Ren Saliba  
Cover Design: Kandi Steiner   
Discreet Cover Design: Staci Hart

new release

✍🏻 Stacy Travis’s next Buttercup Hill romance is LIVE. Run and grab this brother’s best friend, a little hate to love (at the beginning), and small-town romance in Love You Anyway. ✍🏻

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Love You Anyway by Stacy Travis is now live! 

A Swoony Small-Town, Brother’s Best Friend, Age Gap Romance

I thought hot nerdy billionaires only existed in books.

Then brilliant astrophysicist Colin Hathaway moved in next door.

After losing his cool on camera, tech’s most eligible bachelor is hiding out in Buttercup Hill, getting a two-week taste of small town life while driving me crazy with that gorgeous smile and those deep blue eyes.

But I need to keep my distance. Not only is he ten years older and my brother’s college best friend, but I’m busy fending off the vultures trying to take over our family winery–and my siblings are just waiting for their little sister’s next bad decision.

Unfortunately, Colin is everywhere I turn. Offering to build me bookshelves, eating grilled cheese sandwiches in my kitchen, flying me off in a luxury helicopter to look at Mars through some fancy telescope.

Who knew the solar system was so sexy?

He’s impossible to resist.

The heat between us is white hot, and no one has ever looked at me the way he does–like I’m smart. Beautiful. Worthy. Strong. When he defends me in front of my family, I realize I’m in deep.

But one slip in front of the media could derail both of our careers. And my heart bears the scars of mistakes I’ve made in the past.

Trusting him could ruin everything I’m working for.

But what if I love him anyway?

Welcome to Buttercup Hill, where the men are hotter than the Napa Valley sun, and the wine flows all day long. LOVE YOU ANYWAY is Book 2 in the series of standalone novels, each with a happily ever after.

  Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited

Amazon: https://bit.ly/3Su0X53

Amazon Worldwide: https://mybook.to/LYATravis

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

Special Edition Paperback: https://amzn.to/430rURN

Audio Live Alert: https://bit.ly/48LcFgt

Narrated by: Hannah Chiclana & Aaron Donaghue

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/48RdK7G

Meet Stacy

Stacy Travis writes spicy small-town romance about bookish, sassy women and the hot heroes who fall for them.

Writing makes her infinitely happy, but that might be the coffee talking. 

She’s worked as a journalist, camp counselor, TV writer, SAT tutor, corporate finance researcher, education technology editor, and non-fiction author. When she’s not on a deadline, she’s in running shoes complaining that all roads seem to go uphill. Or on the couch with a margarita. Or fangirling at a soccer game.

She’s never met a dog she didn’t want to hug. And if you have no plans for Thanksgiving, she’ll probably invite you to dinner.

Stacy lives in Los Angeles with her two sons and a poorly-trained rescue dog who hoards socks. And she’s serious about the Thanksgiving thing.

Connect with Stacy

Website: https://www.stacytravis.com

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/3t2hb64

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3bPwy8H

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

   Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/2B1psS4fbgroup

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

  TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@stacytravisauthor

Bookbub:  https://www.bookbub.com/authors/stacy-travis

Verve: https://ververomance.com/app/Stacytraviswrites

Excerpt/Sneak Peek

✍🏻 Penelope Ward’s The Surrogate is coming Monday, February 26th! I’m 25% in, and I can’t put it down. Get ready for Sig, the grumpy, closed-off MMC and Abby, his biggest challenger.✍🏻

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Title: The Surrogate
Author: Penelope Ward
Genre: Standalone Contemporary Romance
Tropes: Age Gap/Widower/Found Family
Forbidden/Enemies to Friends to Lovers
Release Date: February 26, 2024
BLURB
From New York Times bestselling author Penelope Ward comes a new, STANDALONE novel…

ABBY:

I’m falling for the father of the baby I’m carrying.
The problem is: it’s not my baby.
And the broody widower is not looking for a long-term partner.
As a surrogate, the deal was that I’d only be in England long enough to give birth.
At first, the man seemed as pretentious as his name: Sigmund Benedictus.
He and I butted heads.
Sig challenged my intentions, accused me of just wanting to do this for the money.
Gradually, he learned to trust me.
He even became protective.
Over time, our heated animosity turned into fiery chemistry.
I was falling in love with him.
But my time here had a limit.
I needed to protect my heart from the devastatingly gorgeous older man who’d end up breaking it.

SIG:

When my in-laws told me they wanted to use my dead wife’s eggs to conceive a grandchild, I wasn’t immediately on board.
They swore that on her deathbed Britney told them it was what she wanted—but only if I fathered the baby. Her parents insisted they would be the ones to raise it.
Against my better judgment, I agreed.
I vowed to keep my heart out of it, though.
I’d continue to pretend it wasn’t happening and live the empty, single life I’d become accustomed to the past five years since Britney died.
And despite the fact that a certain younger American named Abby Knickerbocker had awakened things inside me that I thought were long dead…
I most certainly wouldn’t fall in love with the surrogate.
PRE-ORDER LINKS
**No Amazon e-book preorder.
Both the Kindle version and man-cover paperback will go live on/around release day. 
The current paperback preorder is for the special-edition cover only.
WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT
AGE GAP
WIDOWER
BRITISH HERO
FOUND FAMILY
SLOW BURN
FORBIDDEN
ENEMIES-TO-FRIENDS-TO-LOVERS
EXCERPT
Copyright © 2023
By Penelope Ward
My phone rang, and I looked down to find it was Lourdes, a woman I’d hung out with over a year ago. She’d been texting me lately to get together, and I’d been ignoring her messages. I silenced the ringer.
“Who was that?” Abby asked.
“Someone named—none of your business.”
“A woman? Is that why you’re in such a rush to get back to London?”
“Trust me, I haven’t met anyone worth rushing anywhere for.”
“Well, excuse me, Mr. Picky.”
I rolled over a bit to face her, resting my chin on my hand. “You think it’s odd to be selective?”
“I don’t think you’re being selective. I think you’re closed off to everyone. There’s a difference.”
“You seem to have me pegged, but what about you? Why are you single?”
“I had a bad experience, as I think I’ve mentioned, and haven’t felt like having my heart toyed with again.”
“How long ago was that? The guy who broke up with you…”
“Nearly three years now.”
“But you’ve dated since that breakup.”
“Yeah. There’ve been a few brief…”
“Hookups?” I arched a brow.
“I guess I can admit that now that you’re not actively assessing my character.”
“Why would I judge you for that? Sex is natural—necessary for survival, if you ask me.”
“You just don’t want to have anything to do with the women after.”
Unable to deny it, I shrugged. “There haven’t been that many women since Britney. At least nothing compared to when I was younger. Most of the time, I meet someone and decide not to go through with anything. But of the encounters I have had, yeah, it’s never mattered whether I saw them again.”
“What was different about Britney? I mean, when you met her? How did you know she was the one?”
My chest constricted. “I’d love to be able to give you a less cliché answer—because I hate clichés—but I just knew. After about an hour together, I never wanted to be apart from her.”
“Fair enough. They say that’s what happens sometimes. You just know.”
“You’ve never experienced that?”
“Nope.” Abby shook her head. “Still waiting for it to happen to me.” She smiled. “Anyway, for the record, I don’t just hook up with people randomly, like some people.” She elbowed me. “I have to know them first.”
“Knowing you, Abby, I can’t imagine you not asking someone a million questions before you sleep with them.”
“Well, yeah. I need to know who I’m dealing with. I’m not going to waste my time with anyone who’s not a good person—even if I’m wildly attracted to them.”
“Sometimes less is more,” I mumbled.
“This from the man who interrogated me the first time he met me.”
“Well, I need to know a bit more about someone who’s going to be carrying my child than I would someone I’m merely going to…”
“F*ck?” She finished my sentence.
The word on her tongue gave me an unwanted thrill. I wouldn’t have minded hearing her say it a few more times, which probably meant I needed my head checked.
“You wanna go?” she asked.
Somehow I’d forgotten my urgency to leave. I’d become pretty comfortable in this spot on the hay. It wasn’t about the hay at all, though, was it?
“Well, now you’ve made me lazy. You’re a bad influence, Knickerbocker.”
She leaned her head on her hand. “Why don’t you just sleep at the inn tonight? Lavinia loves your company.”
“She’ll be conked out by the time we get back there, but I suppose you have a point. At this hour, I might as well just drive into London with you in the morning.”
“You keep work clothes at The Bainbridge, right?”
“Yes. I have everything I need in my room.” I looked out through the barn door. It was now completely nightfall. “Now that it’s dark, you need to be careful driving back.”
“You’ll be behind me anyway, in case I run into trouble, right?”
“Well, you won’t find me driving in front of you ever again,” I teased.
“Good one.” She laughed as she stood and brushed off her dress. “Can you turn around for a minute?”
I narrowed my eyes but did as she asked. “Okay…why am I doing this?”
A few seconds passed. “All good now.”
“What was that all about?” I asked.
“You promise not to make fun of me?”
“No. But tell me anyway.”
“I had a piece of hay stuck in my underwear.” She flashed a goofy smile.
And then…I laughed for what felt like the first time in years.
AUTHOR BIO
Penelope Ward is a New York Times, USA Today and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author of contemporary romance.
She grew up in Boston with five older brothers and spent most of her twenties as a television news anchor. Penelope resides in Rhode Island with her husband, son, and beautiful daughter with autism.
With over two million books sold, she is a 21-time New York Times bestseller and the author of over forty books. Her novels have been translated into over a dozen languages and can be found in bookstores around the world.

AUTHOR LINKS
OTHER BOOKS BY PENELOPE WARD
AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
SEE MORE BOOKS HERE
Cover Reveal

✍🏻 Stacy Travis’s Love You Anyway, book 2 of her Buttercup Hill series, is coming March 6th. Check out her beautiful cover! ✍🏻

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Stacy Travis has revealed the cover for Love You Anyway!

Releasing: March 6, 2024

Cover Designer: Wildheart Graphics

Photographer: Lindee Robinson

Models: Alexis Susalla and David Turner

A Swoony Small-Town, Billionaire-Next-Door, Age Gap Romance

I thought hot nerdy billionaires only existed in books.

Then brilliant astrophysicist Colin Hathaway moved in next door.

After losing his cool on camera, tech’s most eligible bachelor is hiding out in Buttercup Hill, getting a two-week taste of small town life while driving me crazy with that gorgeous smile and those deep blue eyes. 

But I need to keep my distance. Not only is he ten years older and my brother’s college best friend, but I’m busy fending off the vultures trying to take over our family winery–and my siblings are just waiting for their little sister’s next bad decision. 

Unfortunately, Colin is everywhere I turn. Offering to build me bookshelves, eating grilled cheese sandwiches in my kitchen, flying me off in a luxury helicopter to look at Mars through some fancy telescope.

Who knew the solar system was so sexy?

He’s impossible to resist.

The heat between us is white hot, and no one has ever looked at me the way he does–like I’m smart. Beautiful. Worthy. Strong. When he defends me in front of my family, I realize I’m in deep.

But one slip in front of the media could derail both of our careers. And my heart bears the scars of mistakes I’ve made in the past.

Trusting him could ruin everything I’m working for.

But what if I love him anyway?

Welcome to Buttercup Hill, where the men are hotter than the Napa Valley sun, and the wine flows all day long. LOVE YOU ANYWAY is Book 2 in the series of standalone novels, each with a happily ever after. 

Pre-order today on Amazon!

Amazon: https://bit.ly/3Su0X53

Add to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/48RdK7G

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Meet Stacy

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Stacy Travis writes spicy small-town romance about bookish, sassy women and the hot heroes who fall for them.

Writing makes her infinitely happy, but that might be the coffee talking. 

She’s worked as a journalist, camp counselor, TV writer, SAT tutor, corporate finance researcher, education technology editor, and non-fiction author. When she’s not on a deadline, she’s in running shoes complaining that all roads seem to go uphill. Or on the couch with a margarita. Or fangirling at a soccer game.

She’s never met a dog she didn’t want to hug. And if you have no plans for Thanksgiving, she’ll probably invite you to dinner.

Stacy lives in Los Angeles with her two sons and a poorly-trained rescue dog who hoards socks. And she’s serious about the Thanksgiving thing.

Connect with Stacy

Website: https://www.stacytravis.com

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/3t2hb64

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3bPwy8H

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

   Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/2B1psS4fbgroup

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

  TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@stacytravisauthor

Bookbub:  https://www.bookbub.com/authors/stacy-travis

Verve: https://ververomance.com/app/Stacytraviswrites

Cover Reveal

✍🏻 I know I should say I LOVE the male cover for Penelope Ward’s The Surrogate, but it’s the discrete cover that actually has me swooning! ✍🏻

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Title: The Surrogate
Author: Penelope Ward
Genre: Standalone Contemporary Romance
Tropes: Age Gap/Widower/Found Family
Forbidden/Enemies to Friends to Lovers
Cover Design: Letitia Hasser, RBA Designs
Release Date: February 26, 2024
BLURB
From New York Times bestselling author Penelope Ward comes a new, STANDALONE novel…
ABBY:
I’m falling for the father of the baby I’m carrying.
The problem is: it’s not my baby.
And the broody widower is not looking for a long-term partner.
As a surrogate, the deal was that I’d only be in England long enough to give birth.
At first, the man seemed as pretentious as his name: Sigmund Benedictus.
He and I butted heads.
Sig challenged my intentions, accused me of just wanting to do this for the money.
Gradually, he learned to trust me.
He even became protective.
Over time, our heated animosity turned into fiery chemistry.
I was falling in love with him.
But my time here had a limit.
I needed to protect my heart from the devastatingly gorgeous older man who’d end up breaking it.
SIG:

When my in-laws told me they wanted to use my dead wife’s eggs to conceive a grandchild, I wasn’t immediately on board.
They swore that on her deathbed Britney told them it was what she wanted—but only if I fathered the baby. Her parents insisted they would be the ones to raise it.
Against my better judgment, I agreed.
I vowed to keep my heart out of it, though.
I’d continue to pretend it wasn’t happening and live the empty, single life I’d become accustomed to the past five years since Britney died.
And despite the fact that a certain younger American named Abby Knickerbocker had awakened things inside me that I thought were long dead…
I most certainly wouldn’t fall in love with the surrogate.
PRE-ORDER LINKS
**No Amazon e-book preorder.
Both the Kindle version and man-cover paperback will go live on/around release day. 
The current paperback preorder is for the special-edition cover only.
WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT
AGE GAP
WIDOWER
BRITISH HERO
FOUND FAMILY
SLOW BURN
FORBIDDEN
ENEMIES-TO-FRIENDS-TO-LOVERS
AUTHOR BIO
Penelope Ward is a New York Times, USA Today and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author of contemporary romance.
She grew up in Boston with five older brothers and spent most of her twenties as a television news anchor. Penelope resides in Rhode Island with her husband, son, and beautiful daughter with autism.
With over two million books sold, she is a 21-time New York Times bestseller and the author of over forty books. Her novels have been translated into over a dozen languages and can be found in bookstores around the world.
AUTHOR LINKS
OTHER BOOKS BY PENELOPE WARD
AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
SEE MORE BOOKS HERE