Tag: contemporary romance

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✍🏻 Professor Romance’s 3.5 ⭐️ Review: Allie Everhart’s If I Could ✍🏻

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Overall Grade: 3.5 ⭐️

Each month, I’ve decided to read a new author to me. Based on her cover’s subtle, beautiful design and her blurb that teases but gives nothing away, I chose Allie Everhart for her book, If I Could. With the promise of angst, I dived into this new book. Everhart’s story is good, utilizing a treasure trove of tropes” small-town romance, a bit of suspense, opposites attract, and a little hate-to-love with attraction at first. Was I hoping for a bit more from it? Yes. Was it as angsty as I believed? No. 

Her main characters, Kyle and Sage, are likable. Even in the beginning when Kyle attempts to put Sage off with his grumpy demeanor, you want to know his story. Everhart crafts Sage in a way that we can know her; we easily earn her backstory. However, Everhart utilizes Kyle to create the suspense of her story. We don’t learn much of his background until almost 80 percent. This has two repercussions: 1) there is an inconsistency in Kyle’s characterization. For me, this created problems partly because Kyle’s changes in mood were immediate.  It causes a whiplash effect throughout much of the book. Secondly, it slows the pacing of the book down. The actual action of the story comes much later. This means Kyle and Sage’s story spins in a circle for much of the book. This was frustrating as a reader, and I found myself easily pulled from Kyle and Sage’s romance.

The ancillary characters of the story, Hank, Nina, and Josh, bring levity to Sage and Kyle’s journey. I’d love to see a book for Nina and Josh. In fact, I think they’d have more chemistry than Sage and Kyle. Because, ultimately, that is what was missing for me. The investment in feeling didn’t occur until almost the end of the book. Even then, Kyle and Sage are sweet, but they didn’t impress themselves upon me.

Will I read more from Allie Everhart based on If I Could? If it’s the right book. Maybe another cover and blurb will capture my attention, but I was expecting a bit more from this book than I received. Did I like Kyle and Sage? Yes. Did their story steal my breath and tap into my emotions? Not really. 

In love and romance,

Professor A

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✍🏻 Max Monroe have DEFINITELY saved the best for last. Remy and Maria in The Redo are pure titillating romance. This story will absolutely steal your heart. Run and grab this NOW! ✍🏻

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He’s a blast from her past,
but he feels like her future.

The Redo, an all-new forced proximity, second-chance rom-com from New York Times bestselling author Max Monroe, is now available!

Put a finger down if you’ve ever been a single woman who got stuck in a New York City elevator in the middle of a summer blackout with your former high school sweetheart—whom you haven’t seen in years—while pregnant with a baby that isn’t biologically yours. And you can’t believe how handsome that blast from your past is, so you unwittingly flirt with him a little even though your life is so crazy complicated you’re barely keeping your head above water, but everything about him makes you think you could totally still be in love with him.

*puts a finger down*

What? Just me?

Needless to say, my current status is thorny. And no, I didn’t miss how close that word is to another one.

Even though he’s the epitome of tall, dark, and incredibly handsome, Remington Winslow has been a single bachelor for most of his life. It’s clichéd and basic—until you consider the fact that once upon a terrible time, he got left at the altar.

He doesn’t do relationships. He definitely doesn’t fall in love.

And I’m just trying to survive a tangled web of unexpected motherhood and running one of the top real estate firms in the city that never sleeps.

He’s the jaded guy who doesn’t want to settle down, and I’m the career-focused woman with more baggage than a 747 can hold.

We’re just two friends who used to be in love.

Now, if someone would tell my hormones I’m not a teenager anymore, I’d be set.

Grab your copy today, exclusively on Amazon!
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3spUdb2
Amazon Worldwide: https://mybook.to/TheRedo_Ebook

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

About Max Monroe
Many moons ago, a dynamic duo of romance authors teamed up under the pseudonym Max Monroe, and, well, the rest is history…

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

Connect with Max Monroe
Website: www.authormaxmonroe.com
Newsletter: www.authormaxmonroe.com/newsletter
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authormaxmonroe/
Facebook Reader Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1561640154166388/
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Instagram: www.instagram.com/authormaxmonroe
TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMe1jv5kQ/
Goodreads: https://goo.gl/8VUIz2

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✍🏻 If you haven’t met Hutton and Felicity, what are you waiting for? Melanie Harlow’s Tease is AVAILABLE NOW! ✍🏻

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Could Hutton French and I actually be right for each other, or is it all just one big tease?

TEASE, an all new sizzling friends to lovers, fake engagement small town romantic comedy from USA Today and #1 Amazon bestselling author Melanie Harlow, is now available!

Read my 4.5 ⭐️ review HERE.

I didn’t mean to say I was engaged to a hot billionaire–it just slipped out.

In my defense, I’d had a really bad haircut, a really strong drink, and I was trying to save face in front of the Mean Girl at my high school reunion.

Lucky for me, I happen to know a hot billionaire. Hutton French and I have been friends forever, and even though big social gatherings are not his thing, I called him from the coat closet and begged him for a favor–show up and play my fake fiancé for the night.

Except that word of our engagement spreads like wildfire. Our families are ecstatic. We’re front page news. My little food blog is launched into the stratosphere.

Of course, I offer to set the record straight right away, but Hutton wants to give it a little time–the phony engagement will keep his matrimony-mad mother and every matchmaking granny in town off his back.

He even suggests I move in with him to make the ruse more real.

And we don’t stop there.

We practice kissing. Undressing each other. Saying things–and doing things–we’d never dare if we weren’t pretending. Because it’s all for show, right? We’re just role-playing. Hutton doesn’t want a real relationship, and I don’t want to get hurt. But the more time we spend faking it, the more I start to wonder.

Could Hutton French and I actually be right for each other, or is it all just one big tease?

Grab your copy today or read FREE on Kindle Unlimited!
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3xm3ELq
Amazon Worldwide: https://mybook.to/teaseMH

Keep reading for a look inside TEASE!

“Want something to drink? Whiskey or scotch?”
“No, thanks. Mostly I just want to take these heels off.”
“Leave them on.”
I was already bending down to unbuckle one ankle strap. I looked up and saw him standing there with his glass in his hand. “What?”
“Leave them on. And come over here.”
I straightened up and took one tiny step.
“On your hands and knees.”
My breath caught. I could feel his eyes on me. Instantly I understood what this was, and even though I was a little nervous, I wanted to play along. I wanted to please him this way.
The only problem was, I wasn’t entirely sure I could get to my knees in this tight dress. But I said a quick prayer and dropped to my knees on the carpet in one smooth motion. Thankfully, the dress material had some stretch, and the seams didn’t pop.
“Good girl,” he said quietly, igniting a firestorm in my blood that surprised me. “Now come here.”
My heart thrummed fast and loud as I lowered my palms to the floor and slowly closed the distance between us. I’d never done anything like this in my life—who am I right now?—but I liked the way it made me feel.
Tempting. Seductive. Alluring. I’d never thought of myself that way before, but here and now, in this tight little black dress with the red satin heels, crawling toward a gorgeous, powerful man in a suit in our Manhattan hotel suite? My billionaire fake fiancé? It was easy to imagine I wasn’t myself at all.
When I reached his feet, I sat back on my heels and looked up. Our eyes met. His lean, muscular silhouette looked imposing above me. Even that rebel lock of hair had been tamed into submission tonight.
He took another sip of his drink and set the glass on the table. Pulled the chair at the head of the table aside. Loosened the knot in his tie. “Are you okay?”
“Yes.”
“If there’s a point tonight where you are not, you should tell me.” He slipped the tie from his collar.
I swallowed hard. “Like a safe word?”
His mouth hooked up on one side. His hand freed the top button of his shirt. “You already have a safe word?”
“No,” I said quickly. “I’ve never needed one before.”
“You do now.” He undid a second button. “So what will it be?”
Of course, I couldn’t fucking think of anything, and I panicked.
“Roy Kent,” I blurted.
He cocked his head, his hand still on his shirt. “Who’s Roy Kent?”
“Never mind. I’ll think of another one.”
Do not say Oklahoma.
Do not say bumblebee.
I racked my brain for something else. “Romeo,” I said breathlessly. “That’s what I’ll say. Romeo.”
He set his tie on the table and offered me a hand.
Placing my palm in his, I rose to my feet. “Is anything going to hurt?” I asked, picturing whips, chains, ball gags, metal cuffs and clamps, shiny rubber gloves.
“I don’t need to inflict pain to feel in control, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“Okay. Should I—”
But that was all I got out because he spun me around and clamped a hand over my mouth, pressing his body tight against my back.

Add to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3Q40TWp

About Melanie Harlow
USA Today bestselling author Melanie Harlow likes her martinis dry, her heels high, and her history with the naughty bits left in. When she’s not writing or reading, she gets her kicks from TV series like Ted, Lasso, Schitt’s Creek, and Fleabag. She occasionally runs three miles, but only so she can have more gin and steak.

Melanie is the author of the BELLAMY CREEK series, the CLOVERLEIGH FARMS series, the ONE & ONLY series, AFTER WE FALL series, the HAPPY CRAZY LOVE series, and the FRENCHED series. She lifts her glass to romance readers and writers from her home near Detroit, MI, where she lives with her husband, two daughters, and pet rabbit.

Connect with Melanie
Facebook: http://bit.ly/2RPwr51
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1NPkYKs
Bookbub: http://bit.ly/36kL7yB
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TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTR1ecpH1/
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Join Melanie’s Reader Group: https://bit.ly/3mYzBBo
Stay up to date with new releases and sign up for Melanie’s mailing list: http://bit.ly/2P7MATT
Website: www.melanieharlow.com

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✍🏻 Professor Romance’s 4.5 ⭐️ Review: Melanie Harlow’s Tease ✍🏻

professorromance

Overall Grade: 4.5 ⭐️

“She was familiar to me, and yet she was a revelation.”

Hutton French and Felicity MacAllister are a revelation. In the world of romance, we often read very “put-together” characters. This isn’t always the case, but it is more so than not. Hutton and Felicity are not this. From the outside, Hutton may seem to be: he’s an extraordinarily handsome billionaire. Yet, Hutton and Felicity are like me, hyperthinkers, fiction makers in their minds. And because of this, their story is a slow burn evolution into love. Melanie Harlow’s Tease isn’t passion on fire. It isn’t a quick jump into bed between friends. This is a lot of misses and misinterpretations, and these lead you by a tether through Harlow’s Tease. 

Hutton and Felicity have been friends since middle school, and they’ve liked each other most of that time. However, Harlow has crafted two people who are their own worst enemies. Hutton is awkward, dare I say a bit of a neurodivergent character which makes him an exciting characterization. In romancelandia, handsome billionaires are self-possessed and controlled. In his mind, this isn’t the case. Hutton, in a word, is messy. As such, he doesn’t act upon his feelings because he second-guesses his actions. Felicity is also complicated, mostly because she plays the comparison game, contrasting herself with her sisters, Millie and Winnie. Additionally, she has a secret from her childhood that shades her understanding of relationships, While she isn’t like Hutton in his neurodivergent ways, Felicity manifests her anxieties by cutting her hair and speaking without thinking about the consequences. This leads to the drama and excitement of Tease: a fake engagement. All of the messiness of their characterizations conspires to build a romance that captivates Harlow’s readers, at least it did that for me. 

What captivated me the most about Tease is the uneasiness of Hutton and Felicity’s coupling contrasted with its safety. Felicity adds ease to Hutton’s life. She sees him in ways that others don’t. She breathes fresh wind into the space of his mind’s anxieties. And this all happens as they struggle to understand their burgeoning relationship. While Hutton fights against his former rules about relationships, he is comforted by Felicity’s acceptance of him. It’s such an interesting place to inhabit in Tease, but it’s what makes the friends-to-lovers trope work in Harlow’s book. 

I gobbled Tease on my plane ride home from Book Bonanza. It wiled away the flight time home. If there is any big revelation after reading this story, it’s the constant reminder that I’d love to inhabit Melanie Harlow’s Cloverleigh Farms world, if it was only real. 

In love and romance,

Professor A

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✍🏻 If you love a decidedly alpha hero who has shut down his feelings for love, then you will LOVE Vi Keeland’s The Boss Project, now available. Merrick Crawford falls HARD! ✍🏻

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Title: The Boss Project
Author: Vi Keeland
Genre: Standalone Contemporary Romance
Release Date: July 11, 2022
BLURB
The first time I met Merrick Crawford was during my job interview.
Well, technically, I’d met him twenty minutes earlier when he’d barged into a fitting room a few doors down from my appointment.
I yelled. He yelled. After an argument while standing in my bra, I proceeded to smash the door into the gorgeous jerk, trying to yank it shut.
As you might imagine, I was freaked out when I discovered that the rude guy was my potential new boss.
Yet he didn’t seem to recognize me. Or so I thought… Until we wound up bickering again during my interview and he told me to go sniff my armpit.
Okay, so maybe I hadn’t exactly been changing when he walked in on me. In my defense, I’d been stuck on a hot train for two hours and wanted to make sure I didn’t smell.
I obviously didn’t expect to get the job. But somehow an invitation to a second interview arrived in my inbox.
Before I left, I asked to see Merrick. I needed to know why I was even in consideration after our disastrous start.
Turned out, Merrick only wanted to hire me because I was the least competent candidate. It seemed his board was making him fill the position, against his wishes.
I didn’t really want to work in a place where my boss expected me to fail. But I figured maybe I’d enjoy proving him wrong. It was a little thing I dubbed the boss project.
What I wasn’t prepared for was that there would be other things I’d enjoy doing to Merrick Crawford.
Getting involved with the boss wasn’t the smartest choice.
But you know what they say about choices: Some we regret, some we are proud of. I just had no idea where this one was going to land.
PURCHASE LINKS
AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
AUTHOR BIO
Vi Keeland is a #1 New York Times, #1 Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling author. With millions of books sold, her titles are currently translated in twenty-seven languages and have appeared on bestseller lists in the US, Germany, Brazil, Bulgaria and Hungary. Three of her short stories have been turned into films by Passionflix, and two of her books are currently optioned for movies. She resides in New York with her husband and their three children where she is living out her own happily ever after with the boy she met at age six.
AUTHOR LINKS
OTHER BOOKS BY VI
AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
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✍🏻 Looking for your weekend read? Catherine Bybee’s When It Falls Apart is your next emotional read. Check out the giveaway at the bottom of my page for a $50 Amazon gift card. ✍🏻

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Interview with Catherine Bybee

For anyone wondering about the plot of your newest release, you give a great sneak peek with the title—When it Falls Apart. What is “falling apart” in this novel?

All the threads that hold my heroine, Brooke, together are crumbling down around her. When it Falls Apart begins with Brooke’s romantic relationship crashing and burning. At the same time, in a different state, her father is circling the drain in the ICU. And for the cherry on the top of her “falling apart life”, Brooke has found herself demoted at work. In short, everything in Brooke’s life is dissolving around her.

Like all of your books, When it Falls Apart has a beautiful romance, however, there is a rawness about Brooke’s story. How was writing this novel different from your others?

If you read my notes both in the front and the back of this novel, you’ll soon realize that the story was very personal to me. Rawness comes from experience. The relationship Brooke has with her father is hauntingly familiar to me and my dad. The emotions that the heroine experienced when taking care of him were easy for me to grasp onto and write about. Sadly, the love story with Luca was completely made up and I didn’t have the support of a strong Italian family to help deal with the struggles, but I digress. 

Relationships with a parent who wasn’t there for you growing up are messy. When that parent ages and needs their child, sometimes that help comes with a bucketload of resentment, even if the child wishes they could stop those ugly feelings from creeping up on them. And THAT is the rawness you speak of.

Books, TV shows, and movies oftentimes glamorize what it means to care for a loved one. However, in When it Falls Apart you don’t sugar-coat anything about caregiving and the toll it takes on a person. How do you think readers who have been in similar situations will be affected by this story?

Justified. Validated. Accepted.

It’s a hard job taking care of an elderly family member. And if there aren’t other siblings to help, or won’t help, it’s made even more difficult. It’s difficult, gritty, dirty work that only has a bad ending…eventually. What I do hope my readers take away is that they’re not alone. That the struggle is very real and that if they don’t find balance (which is almost impossible at times) they will burn out completely and not be fit to help at all. I hope my readers are empowered to set boundaries and balance, so they come out on the other side of caring for an elderly loved one whole themselves.

Brooke gets virtually no support from her significant other, which has her reevaluating their relationship. She realizes she has settled and has to make some hard decisions. Do you think this happens too many times to women in real life?

100% Yes! There is a song by Taylor Swift with a line that says, and I’m paraphrasing here, I can be what you want for the weekend. But often that weekend ends up being a relationship that women hold on to or are convinced they can’t live without. Often it takes a huge shake-up to remove yourself from that situation. But once you’re away from the day to day dysfunctional relationship, the easier it is to see the dysfunction.

After her breakup and move, Brooke is not looking for a relationship. In fact, she tells her best friend: “I haven’t wiped off my smeared mascara from Marshall yet, the last thing I want is to jump into anything else.” Her crying over a man lasts all about two minutes when she meets Luca. Tell us about him.

Hmmm, Luca… he is the kind of man who doesn’t want a place on Brooke’s dance card…he wants to rip it up.

Luca is wired to help the people in his life. Brooke becomes a part of his inner circle simply by moving into the family building where he sees her every day.

Now, if Luca had flat out asked Brooke on a date, she would have run the other way…so no, he doesn’t go about it that way. He simply shows up and does not leave. Not when things get tough, or messy…or when his own past peeks its head in. Luca is a man who is right there at Brooke’s side without question or censor on why she does the things she does. His support and validation of her feelings is the part she was missing. Add in the hunky Italian single father and “Mamma Mia!”

At first, Luca is not thrilled that Brooke is renting a room in his family’s building. What changes his mind about her?

Her strength and vulnerability. I know that sounds contradicting, but some of the strongest women I know have a big vulnerable spot in their life that if you know them well enough, you see. The biggest smiles often hide the deepest pain. Luca sees her struggle and dedication to helping her elderly father and since family is first on Luca’s list, she passes his unconscious test.

Luca’s family, the D’Angelo’s, are incredibly close and share everything from ownership of the family restaurant to helping care for Luca’s daughter Franny. How is this different from Brooke’s relationship with her family?

Brooke doesn’t have that family. She has a father who abandoned her as a little girl that she carved out a relationship as an adult, and now she’s charged with caring for. Even her previous romantic relationship didn’t support her unconditionally the way the D’Angelo’s do for each other. She’s rather dumbfounded when they start treating her like family. It’s a wonderful thing to watch happen.

San Diego’s Little Italy plays a huge part in the story. The community, language, and food are in full display. Tell us about your own experiences in your adopted city.

I love Little Italy, the food, the pace… the people. There are many places in San Diego that are overrun with the college scene, San Diego is a college town. But Little Italy is more family friendly. Very touristy, but there isn’t a day you don’t see locals hanging out. I go to the farmer’s market often. Pick up authentic Italian ingredients for my own home cooking. I try new restaurants and take all my friends there when they are visiting from out of town. Not to mention it was the closest thing to the “real Italy” that I could go during the travel restrictions. So why not write about it and tell the world of this small island within San Diego that shouldn’t be missed?

There are two more siblings in the D’Angelo family. Where will you be taking readers next with the series?

Chloe is a yogi. Think Bali!

And Giovanni loves wine… think Tuscany, Italy.

I cannot wait to show you what I have in store for these two!

***

Excerpt

“Oh my God, Carmen. He was standing at his car first thing this morning. Like ‘hop in, bella, let’s get stuff done today.’ Who does that?” 

Brooke had picked up the phone as soon as Luca was off in search of a dump guy. 

“We’re talking about the single, hot, Italian dad, right?” 

Brooke rolled her eyes. “Yes. Luca.” 

“Oy, oy, oy.” 

“Stop it. I need advice. And I need it before he gets back.” 

Carmen stopped teasing. “You don’t need advice. You need to relax. He sounds like one of the good ones. Let it happen.” 

“Let it happen,” she mocked. “I don’t ‘let’ things happen. It happens to me and it’s never good.” 

“You didn’t used to be such a pessimist.” 

“Once upon a time the glass was half full. Not these days.” 

“Okay, Debbie Downer. You want my advice . . . here it is. Keep doing whatever it is you’re doing.” 

“I’m not doing anything. Zero effort.” 

“Really?” Carmen didn’t sound convinced. “Makeup . . . a nice dress?” 

Brooke hesitated. “Maybe . . . a little last night, but that was it.” 

Carmen chuckled. 

“Carmen!”

“Sorry. Okay . . . any red flags?” 

Brooke thought about that. “He loved his ex-wife.” 

“That’s a red flag?” 

“I guess not.” 

“Is he good to his mom?” 

Brooke looked back on the dinner the night before. “To the whole family. He takes being the oldest brother quite seriously.” 

“And his daughter?” 

All Brooke could do was smile. “Great dad. We should all be so lucky.” 

“He’s Italian, does he smoke?” 

“No.” 

“A lot of Italians smoke,” Carmen pointed out. 

“In Italy. The San Diego variety are less in that wheelhouse.” 

“That’s good.” Carmen sighed. “I don’t know what to tell you, Brooke. How does he kiss?” 

“He hasn’t kissed me,” Brooke nearly yelled. 

“Now then . . . we have a problem.” 

“There hasn’t been . . . I don’t even know if—” 

“Stop right there. He did not drive your sorry ass all the way to Upland to do grunt work all day if he wasn’t interested in kissing you, bellllaaa. More than that, you want him to.” 

Brooke closed her eyes, and even in her own head she couldn’t convince herself that Carmen was wrong. 

“Let it happen. You deserve some happiness, Brooke.” 

The van with the air conditioning repair guy pulled into the driveway. 

“I gotta go.” 

“I want a kissing update the next time we talk,” Carmen teased. 

“Love you,” Brooke said with a laugh.

“Back at ya, boo.” 

She hung up. 

Her best friend was such a dork.

***

About the Title

Title: When It Falls Apart

Author: Catherine Bybee

Release Date: June 21, 2022

Publisher: Montlake 

Summary

Brooke Turner has always had a complicated relationship with her father. But when his health takes a turn for the worse, she drops everything to care for him. He’s her dad, after all, and he needs her. What Brooke doesn’t anticipate is the unraveling of her long-term relationship and a cross-country move to San Diego’s Little Italy.

Luca D’Angelo is the oldest of three children and a single father to a young daughter. When his mother rents the top floor of their house to Brooke, he’s angry. Who is this beautiful stranger with no ties to the neighborhood? Can she be trusted in such close proximity to his family?

As Luca learns of Brooke’s difficult journey with her ailing father, his heart softens. And Brooke, who witnesses Luca’s struggle as a single parent, develops feelings for him, too. But when it all falls apart, will love heal their wounded hearts?

About the Author

New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author Catherine Bybee has written twenty-eight books that have collectively sold more than five million copies and have been translated into more than eighteen languages. Raised in Washington State, Bybee moved to Southern California in the hope of becoming a movie star. After growing bored with waiting tables, she returned to school and became a registered nurse, spending most of her career in urban emergency rooms. She now writes full-time and has penned the Not Quite Series, the Weekday Brides Series, the Most Likely To Series, and the First Wives Series.

Social Media Links

Website: http://www.catherinebybee.com 

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/catherinebybee 

Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@catherinebybee1 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2905789.Catherine_Bybee  

Rafflecopter Giveaway

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/07c2363f277 

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✍🏻 Professor Romance’s 4.5 ⭐️ Review: Emma Scott’s Between Hello & Goodbye ✍🏻

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Overall Grade: 4.5 ⭐️

“We’re stuck, aren’t we? Trapped somewhere between hello and goodbye.”

I want to say something profound about Emma Scott’s Between Hello & Goodbye. I want to find all the words to tell people about the gravity of emotion in this story about instant attraction, but words seem inadequate to elaborate on the beauty of this story. Set in Hawaii and Seattle, Scott has created a story about choices and control and life. 

Faith is a woman without direction. She is wildly successful at her job in advertising, but her life is an aimless journey of one-night stands and meaningless evenings out with friends. When she shows up late for an important meeting with a client, she’s forced to take a leave of absence to figure out her priorities. She goes to Hawaii to work on herself, away from men, work, and the friends who bring her down. While there, she has an accident and must be rescued. It is then that she meets Asher, one of the firefighters who rescues her. Asher and Faith are drawn to each other. While Asher would like to stay away from her, he can’t. Over the course of her time in Hawaii, they grow closer, but their time is troubled by her eventual departure. Asher has no intention of leaving Kauai to follow Faith, but he can’t let her go. Therein lies their initial issues. Is it possible for Asher and Faith to find their happy ending? If Asher isn’t able to let go of his control to protect his loved ones from pain, and if one of them isn’t willing to make choices to move and be together, it might not be possible. When tragedy strikes, though, their outlook on life changes. Will they find their happily ever after?

Between Hello & Goodbye is the type of romance that sneaks up on you. I had read the blurb for this book, so I was anticipating some angst. Every turn of the page was met with anticipation for the angst of Scott’s story. As such, I crawled through Asher and Faith’s story, ready for the happy ending because these two characters run the gamut of emotions. Both of them are stubborn and strong-willed, characterized as such to build the tension of their coupling. There is an emotional investment easily made in Asher and Faith’s journey. 

Emma Scott’s Between Hello & Goodbye is a beautiful reminder about the precariousness of life and the need to live it fully. Be sure to have a box of tissues with you when you read it. You won’t regret it. 

“Aloha means to hear what is not said, to see what cannot be seen, to know the unknowable.”

In love and romance,

Professor A

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✍🏻 Award-winning Kennedy Ryan has a book sale for you. Hook Shot is on sale for $2.99. This book is heaven because Lotus and Kenan are the couple you can’t help but fall for. Grab this sale price now! ✍🏻

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★ ★ ★ SALE ALERT ★ ★ ★

“HOOK SHOT is the kind of novel you read and flip to the beginning to read again.” — Lexi Ryan, New York Times bestselling author

Hook Shot, a deeply emotional standalone from RITA® Award-winning and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Kennedy Ryan, is on sale for a limited time! 

Download your copy today for only $2.99! 

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2FA9vk6

Apple Books: https://apple.co/2UF3gmU

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

Nook: https://bit.ly/2wEOwwi

Kobo: https://bit.ly/2QKYRha

Google Play: https://bit.ly/2JlEz9y

Divorced. Single dad. Traded to a losing squad.

Cheated on, betrayed, exposed. 

My perfect life blew up in my face and I’m still picking up the pieces.

The last thing I need is her.

A wildflower. A storm. A woman I can’t resist. 

Lotus DuPree is a kick to my gut and a wrench in my plans 

from the moment our eyes meet.

I promised myself I wouldn’t trust a woman again, 

but I’ve never wanted anyone the way I want Lo. 

She’s not the plan I made, but she’s the risk I have to take.

A warrior. A baller. The one they call Gladiator.

Kenan Ross charged into my life smelling all good, looking even better and snatching my breath from the moment we met. 

The last thing I need is him.

I’m working on me. Facing my pain and conquering my demons.

I’ve seen what trusting a man gets you.

I. Don’t. Have. Time. For. This.

But he just keeps coming for me. 

Keeps knocking down my defenses and stealing my excuses 

one by one.

He never gives up, and now…I’m not sure I want him to.

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✍🏻 Nikki Sloane’s The Redemption is coming soon! Check out this sexy teaser! ✍🏻

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Pre-order Today!
Amazon US – https://amzn.to/369oyxj
Amazon Universal – http://mybook.to/theredemption
Apple – https://apple.co/2MHYTUN
Nook – http://bit.ly/2rFpv1r
Kobo – http://bit.ly/2rEhWYQ
Google – http://bit.ly/37nKpBy

Add to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/38H5aIz

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✍🏻 Professor Romance’s 4 1/2 ⭐️ Review: Winter Renshaw’s The Best Man – LIVE Today! ✍🏻

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Overall Grade: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2

When Winter Renshaw’s ARC for The Best Man hit my Kindle, I was salivating for it. Unfortunately, I had other more pressing ARCs to read so as to meet my deadlines for those reviews. Yesterday, when it went LIVE EARLY was the first time I could finally sit back and read it. I was nervous. It’s 50ish chapters. I knew I needed it read by last night, and I worried that I would have to pull an all nighter.

Yet, I needn’t worried BECAUSE in true Winter Renshaw fashion, The Best Man is a book that you simply cannot put down. It’s pacing and story draw you in, and you keep reading until you have gobbled every page.

The story follows Cainan and Brie. Initially, these two meet in a bar where Cainan proceeds to “hit on” Brie, and she spurns his one-night stand intent. He ends their connection with a comment: “Next time we meet, we won’t be strangers.” Unbeknownst to them both, Brie and Cainan meet when she witnesses a horrible crash and saves the life of the man in the crash, not realizing it is Cainan. Worried over him, she stays in the hospital to receive updates on his status and meets Cainan’s best friend, Grant. These two live in the same state and end up engaging in a relationship.

Cainan wakes up from his coma and believes he is married with two kids. His visions/dreams while sleeping are so vivid that he can’t believe he isn’t. For weeks and months after his surgery, he thinks about this woman in his dreams. Eventually, after healing and therapy, he returns to his life where one night he runs into her again at the same bar, only he doesn’t remember their first meeting, but he knows her face. She ends up leaving him again out of duty to life, and he struggles to move on from her. When his friend, Grant, tells him that he is getting married, Cainan eventually sees a photo of Grant’s fiancee, only to realize it’s the woman of his dream and the woman in the bar. Knowing that she is Grant’s, he resolves to move on from her. However, circumstances conspire to make it difficult.

Above all, this story is a slow-burn romance. If you are looking for $exy bedroom scenes, this isn’t the book. The beauty of this book is its story that keeps you suspended in anticipation because Renshaw designs characters that MUST be together. As the reader, you NEED Brie and Cainan to find their happy ending because Renshaw forms them to complete each other. If you’re worried that Brie cheats on Grant, you need not worry. Even more, this romance doesn’t even read as a romance where she must choose between two men. This isn’t the point of Renshaw’s The Best Man. Her purpose is telling a story of two people completely fated for each other that it takes on almost a paranormal feel. I hate using that word as it instantly reduces this story because that isn’t this story. Brie and Cainan are completely made for each other that their story reminds us that love shouldn’t be an obligation, but a source of power, pleasure, and peace.

Renshaw’s style is such that it almost feels quiet at times. I’ve observed this in her other books. Even when the hero (actually, usually the hero) or heroine is raging in the story, the romance whispers across the page. It’s this quietude that allows for the story to flow, so that a reader like me easily crushes the book. Like I said at the beginning of this review, I began it in the early evening hours and finished it before I went to sleep at midnight. As I also mentioned the number of chapters in this book, you should know that many of them are short, so that you breeze easily through them on your way to the ending. Every chapter seemed necessary as it lays out both Brie and Cainan’s point of views. The structure of this story along with her prose offers up The Best Man as an extravagant read.

Winter Renshaw’s The Best Man is a perfect read for our times. It allows you to fall into Cainan and Brie’s journey as you pass your time at home. It will grab your heart and pull you into its charms, as it reminds us all that we should always choose love first.

In love and romance,

Professor A