Tag: novella

new release, Review

✍🏻 Professor Romance’s Reviews: L.B. Dunbar’s Grouch-ish, a Holiday HOTTIES novella ✍🏻

professorromance

Overall Grade: B

Tropes: forced proximity; insta-attraction; first-responder MMC; silver fox; holiday romance; single dad; boss’s daughter FMC

L.B. Dunbar’s Holiday Hotties stories have engaged readers over the past couple of holiday seasons. This year’s offering, Grouch-ish, offers more of the same holiday spice with a fireman MMC who falls for his boss’s daughter while staying at the boss’s house. Her characters, Brock and Pear, aka Paradise, are shaded nicely in light and dark. Brock struggles with his guilt over the loss of a probie and the ending of his problematic marriage. He has been asked to his boss’s winter camp as a last-ditch effort to work through his issues. Pear has left her life behind, intent on reconnecting with her father over the holidays. Unfortunately, her father has other plans, leaving Pear lonely in his absence. When Brock arrives late and misses the shuttle to the camp, he’s left to earn his penance with Pear. It’s where Brock and Pear begin to fill something emotional and, eventually, physical in each other. 

I enjoyed Pear and Brock’s journey to falling in love. Dunbar has a way of creating highs and lows in her plotting that keeps her reader engaged. However, one of my criticisms of Dunbar’s storytelling lies in her need to draw a heavy-handed allusion through her story. She’s done this in many of her stories, which detracts from the natural storytelling. In Grouch-ish‘s instance, she alludes to the Twelve Days of Christmas. Unfortunately, given the timing of her story, she adds a note at the beginning of her story to make allowances for it. I understand it as a mechanism to attach meaning to a holiday tradition; however, it’s not necessary for us to fall in love with Brock’s grumpiness turned romantic or Pear’s acceptance of her circumstances and future choices. 

Overall, Grouch-ish is an enjoyable holiday romance for this holiday season. Brock and Pear will steal your heart for the holiday season.

In love and romance,

Professor A

new release

✍🏻 I love Lexi Blake’s Masters and Mercenaries series. The New Recruits spin-off has been refreshing. Her next release in this new series, The Bodyguard and the Bombshell is HERE! ✍🏻

professorromance

She’s chaos and he’s just the man to handle her.

The Bodyguard and the Bombshell, a Masters and Mercenaries: New Recruits novella from New York Times bestselling author Lexi Blake & 1001 Dark Nights is now live!

The Bodyguard…

Nate Carter left Australia’s elite SASR unit after a tragic accident. Shattered by the experience, he thought taking a job in the States might be a good way to start over. His father’s former employer, McKay-Taggart, has a position for him in the bodyguard unit. He never imagined himself risking his life for celebrities and the wealthy, but it will do for now. It will also give him a chance to reconnect with old friends, including the girl who’d been like a little sis to him ten years before.

These days, however, his feelings for Daisy O’Donnell are anything but brotherly.

The Bombshell…

Daisy O’Donnell is a girl on a mission, and it does not include falling for one of her brother’s best friends. She has plans, and while chaos always seems to follow her, she’s determined to see this through. Daisy finds herself in need of a bodyguard when a job goes terribly wrong. She’s sure her dad will find someone suitable, but she didn’t expect a big, gloriously masculine Aussie to show up ready to take a bullet for her. Maybe spending some time with Nate Carter won’t be so bad after all.

An explosive match…

Thrown together by danger, Nate and Daisy can’t resist the insane chemistry between them. But when his past and her present collide, they must decide if they can hold it together or go their separate ways forever.

Grab your copy today, exclusively on Amazon!
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3t8VK8C
Amazon Worldwide: https://mybook.to/TBATBLB
Amazon Print: https://amzn.to/3x4GEDx

Add The Bodyguard and the Bombshell to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/4c0LO28

new release

✍🏻 Blue Moon by Skye Warren is LIVE! This novella adds some spice to the already steamy world of the Cirque des Miroirs universe. Grab this little nibble TODAY! ✍🏻

professorromance

A dangerous ringmaster claims his rebellious acrobat for a sensual show you cannot miss.

Blue Moon, a Smoke and Mirrors novella from New York Times bestselling author Skye Warren is now live!

Charismatic. Devious. Secretive. Emerson Durand is the ringmaster for the illustrious Cirque des Miroirs. In each city he finds a new woman to command for the night. Until he finds the one woman who doesn’t bow to his demands.

Luna Rider soars through the air as an aerial acrobat. She’s determined to provide for herself and her sister, but she doesn’t count on being gambled away. Or the secrets that hover under the striped tent.

Grab your copy today, exclusively on Amazon!
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3sbD5sn
Amazon Worldwide: https://mybook.to/bluemoonSW
Amazon Paperback: https://amzn.to/3Fv3ogq

Add to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/45EST4R

Keep reading for a look inside Blue Moon!

Instead, the person who opens it is none other than the stranger from earlier.
He is surprisingly not black and blue, not beaten to bits. In fact, he looks healthy and haughty. His dark eyes twinkle like he has a secret with me. “Luna,” he says as if we’re old friends, which is not a good thing. It’s just another reason for my father to hate me later. Because whatever happens between this man and I, whether it’s sexual or not, dangerous or not, there’s no way I’m leaving Blue Moon Circus. “Come on in.”
I step cautiously into the room.
I’ve stepped foot into this trailer thousands of times, maybe millions of times, I don’t even know. This was my family home, my childhood home, if the word home could be applied to such a place of terror. But the scene is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before.
Instead of my father’s poker game or a few of the female performers passed out on his lumpy couch for him to use whenever he wants, there are two men I don’t recognize with guns. Pointing them at my father and a couple of his buddies who usually play poker with him.
Chips are scattered all around the room.
The card table is upended. Something bad happened here though you couldn’t tell by looking at Emerson, he smiles. “We had a slight disagreement at the end of our card game. However, the results stand. I won, which means that you come with me.”

For More Information about Skye Warren, visit her website:
https://www.skyewarren.com/

For More Information about 1001 Dark Nights, visit:
Website: https://www.1001darknights.com/
Facebook: https://bit.ly/3ONzTtZ
Instagram: https://bit.ly/3rTZdo3
TikTok: https://bit.ly/3G98oYh

**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.**

new release

✍🏻 You can absolutely read Kristen Ashley’s Rock Chick Rematch as a standalone. However, the beauty of this story comes if you read the series. Malia and Darius are soulmates GOLD!✍🏻

professorromance

Life cut him down, she remained.

Rock Chick Rematch, a Rock Chick novella from New York Times bestselling author Kristen Ashley, is now live!

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Kristen Ashley brings a new story in her Rock Chick series…

In high school, Malia Clark found the man of her dreams.

Darius Tucker.

But life hits them full in the face way before it ever should. Darius makes a drastic decision to keep his family safe and Malia leaves town with a secret.

When Malia returns, she seeks Darius to share all, but Darius finds out before she can tell him. At the same time, she finds out just how much Darius has changed in the years she’s been away.

She just refuses to give up on him.

Until he forces her hand.

Secrets come between Malia and Darius, at the same time Malia has to worry about weird things going on at the law firm where she works, her kid wants a car and she’s stuck in slow-cooker hell. Luckily, her ride or dies have her back.
And in the meantime, she might just learn she never should have lost hope in Darius Tucker.

Grab your copy today, exclusively on Amazon!
Amazon: https://amzn.to/48IaPhT
Amazon Worldwide: https://mybook.to/rockchickrematch
Amazon Paperback: https://amzn.to/46a0p8W

Add to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/473F4yW

Keep reading for a look inside Rock Chick Rematch!

I’d wanted to be a lawyer.
But life was tough with a curious two-year-old, even if my mom and dad and sister and all the aunties and uncles and cousins pitched in to help me out.
I needed to keep my nose clean.
And I needed to stay away from Darius Tucker.
Everyone told me he’d turned to the dark side.
However, I thought it was time. It was time he shook himself out of this garbage.
It was time he learned he had a child and had to step up.
It was time three years ago, but I’d been young and scared and hurt, so I’d made an emotional decision and my parents had stepped in to support and protect me.
Off I went to Fort Collins.
Now I was back.
So, yeah.
It was time.

For More Information about Kristen Ashley, visit her website:
https://www.kristenashley.net/

For More Information about 1001 Dark Nights, visit:
Website: https://www.1001darknights.com/
Facebook: https://bit.ly/3ONzTtZ
Instagram: https://bit.ly/3rTZdo3
TikTok: https://bit.ly/3G98oYh

**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.**

new release

✍🏻 Professor Romance’s Review: Dylan Allen’s The Wild Card, a Rivers Wilde novella ✍🏻

professorromance

Overall Grade: B

Tropes/Characteristics: novella; standalone in an interconnected series; opposites attract; close proximity; second chance romance

Dylan Allen does what she does best in her newest Rivers Wilde story, The Wild Card: create emotional, erotic, entertaining romance. Her voice is decidedly spicy, and her characters bear all in this story of second chances. She draws Cassie and Leo together in the most creative of ways: jewelry theft (although that isn’t the situation at all), and as Allen does so well, she crafts an emotional journey between soulmates. Do they have different backgrounds? Yes, but it’s the individual struggles of her characters that unite them. Allen draws you into her story as they work through those struggles and find happiness and completion in each other. Dylan Allen has a special way of building empathy between her characters, their story, and her readers. My only criticism of hers is a need for polish to the story and consistency within a particular character’s development.

However, Dylan Allen’s Rivers Wilde series is one of my favorites, and The Wild Card is another wonderful story to add to the mix. It returns us to a beloved place, and it allows us to fall back in love with this extraordinary fictional community, adding more interesting characters to the mix.

In love and romance,

Professor A

new release

✍🏻 Rivers Wilde is one of my favorite fictional places. And Dylan Allen has brought us back there again in her newest story of sizzle, second chances, and soulmates. Run and grab The Wild Card, out TODAY! ✍🏻

professorromance
In a game of second chances, will their messy past be a winning wild card or their downfall?

The Wild Card, a Rivers Wilde novella from Wall Street Journal bestselling author Dylan Allen is now live!

Wall Street Journal bestselling author Dylan Allen continues the Rivers Wilde series with a neighbors-to-lovers second-chance romance.

A billionaire with family secrets looking for a fresh start.
A reformed jewel thief.
And a choice that changes everything.

Leo has two priorities: putting down new roots and making up for his mistakes.

He doesn’t have time for a blind date with his new neighbor.

Until he finds out she’s the woman he let slip away…but never forgot.

Cassie has finally paid her debts and is living the life she’s always wanted.
Her new neighbor sounds like he could be Mr. Right.
Only, he turns out to be the man who promised her the world then disappeared without a trace.

In another time and another place, he was a playboy who made her believe in miracles.
Now, he’s a danger to everything she’s worked hard for.

He wants to pick up where they left off.
She wants to keep her distance.

But when they’re together, their chemistry is undeniable.
The heat between them burns hot and fast.
Until a secret whips up a fire that threatens to engulf them all.

**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, exclusively on Amazon!
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3YkDHrv
Amazon Worldwide: https://mybook.to/thewildcardDA
Amazon Paperback: https://amzn.to/3rC09R8

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

Keep reading for a look inside The Wild Card!

I drop my phone into my pocket and grab my suitcase’s handle to turn around.

“Hey, watch—” I hear him too late and crash into the man trying to warn me with a thud that knocks the wind out of me and pushes me back onto my heels. I windmill my arms to try and correct my balance but cry out as it proves in vain and my body teeters backward. I brace myself for a fall.

Instead, an arm wraps around my waist and I find myself staring into the mirrored lenses of a dark pair of Ray-Bans.

Even with his eyes hidden and his face covered in sweat he’s easily one of the most handsome men I’ve ever seen in person. He’s got a mouth most women would envy and a nose that belongs in a museum. His pores are amazing. I need to find out what he uses on his skin.

“Are you alright?” he asks, still hovering over me, still holding me up as if I weighed nothing.

“Yes.” I cough to clear the husk from my voice. “I’m sorry I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

“I was,” he murmurs.

“You were…watching where I was going?”

“No. Where I was going. So, I saw you. Caught you.” The heat from his hand seeps through the thin fabric of my sundress.

I can’t see his eyes but I swear I can feel them on my face and I don’t like that I can’t see him.

And that’s my cue to end this little…whatever it is.

“Can you let me up?” I press my hands to his chest.

“Oh.” He starts as if he didn’t realize he was holding me.
“Yes, sorry.” He straightens and lets me go. But the heat from his touch doesn’t.

“Thanks for breaking my fall. I’m Cassie.” I give a lame wave.

He flashes an unfairly perfect grin. “Nice to meet you. How long are you here?”

“All week. I’m working at the resort. You?” I ask as he starts to jog in place and glances at his watch.

“Two weeks. At least. So…maybe I’ll see you around?”

“Sure. What’s your name?”

“They call me Wild Card.” He winks and runs off.

Oh shit. I’ve already fucked up. Well at least I know who to avoid.

“I glance over my shoulder and watch him run away, his back muscles a thing of art and perfection, and sigh. “What a waste.”

For More Information about Dylan Allen, visit her website:
https://www.dylanallenbooks.com/

For More Information about 1001 Dark Nights, visit:
Website: https://www.1001darknights.com/
Facebook: https://bit.ly/3ONzTtZ
Instagram: https://bit.ly/3rTZdo3
TikTok: https://bit.ly/3G98oYh

new release, Review

✍🏻 Professor Romance’s Review: Kristen Ashley’s Sharing the Miracle ✍🏻

professorromance

Overall Grade: A+

Tropes: surprise baby; novella; found family

As a novella form goes, Kristen Ashley’s surprise release, Sharing the Miracle, is a treasure. I adore Kristen Ashley as an author in how she mixes the unreality of life through the ways she expounds on designer clothing and extravagant living with the reality of life: messy relationships and situations. In this newest story, she returns us to Hale and Elsa, one of the most profound stories in her beloved River Rain series. In this book, Hale and Elsa receive surprise news: a baby. What Kristen Ashley does with the short space of this novella is inspired. She illustrates the profundity of female relationships in discussing and processing female issues, the largesse of a found family for a character who is seemingly alone but not really, and the reality of the emotional daring required of parents. But it was Sharing the Miracle that truly showed me the underlying and decided detail of the River Rain series: Kristen Ashley’s knowledge and capacity for drawing the unevenness of grief. Kristen Ashley’s talent in storytelling is marrying fiction with the realism of life. I realized as I teared up over Hale’s experiences with grief that she captures so beautifully the complications we encounter as we continue to live after the loss of someone we love. It’s the ups and downs of that grief that make it palpable and ever-present. I reflected on the stories thus far in the River Rain series as I was reading Sharing the Miracle, and I recognized this to be true of every character of the series thus far. Life must be lived with or without Corey, and his absence as life goes on lays heavy on the various characters of this series. That Kristen Ashley can capture that reality without heavy-handedness but with a quietude through the development of her narrative is exquisite and impressive and another important reason to dive into her stories.

Can Sharing the Miracle be read alone? Sure, but you’d be missing the gradient of color that is the prism of the River Rain series. If you have yet to jump into this world, don’t wait. Hale and Elsa’s story in Fighting the Pull will always be my favorite story of this series, and this inspired novella is the frosting on the delectable cake of their romance.

In love and romance,

Professor A

new release

✍🏻 I downloaded this SO fast. I’m currently 30% in and remembering how much I ADORE the River Rain series. Kristen Ashley is a writing BEAST! ✍🏻

professorromance

★★★NEW RELEASE★★★

Exciting news!! Sharing the Miracle, an all-new page-turning River Rain novella featuring Fighting the Pull characters Hale and Elsa from New York Times bestselling author Kristen Ashley and Blue Box Press, is available now!

Grab your copy today→ https://bit.ly/413sJYL

Add Sharing the Miracle to Goodreads→ https://bit.ly/47yRK0w

Read Fighting the Pull today→ https://bit.ly/47ptayX

From New York Times bestselling author Kristen Ashley comes a new novella in her River Rain Series…

Elsa Cohen has everything she ever wanted.

A challenging career. A bicoastal lifestyle.

And an amazing man—the kind, loving and handsome Hale Wheeler—who adores her and has asked her to be his wife.

She isn’t ready for the surprise news she’s received.

And she doesn’t know how to tell Hale.

Once Hale discovers that his future has taken a drastic turn, a fear he’s never experienced takes hold.

He just doesn’t understand why.

Family and friends rally around the couple as they adjust to their new reality, and along the way, more surprises hit the River Rain crew as love is tested and life goes on.

Please note: This is a slice-of-life novella in the River Rain series. It was written to be read after Fighting the Pull.

Review

✍🏻 Professor Romance’s Review: Helena Hunting’s Where It Begins, an origin story for Hunting’s Pucked series ✍🏻

professorromance

Overall Grade: A

Tropes: single mom; single dad; insta-attraction; prequel

Helena Hunting’s Where It Begins is the romance you didn’t know you needed. This engaging novella, a tome under the 1001 Dark Nights press, is the prequel story of Skye, Violet’s mom from Hunting’s beloved Pucked, and Sidney, Miller’s father from that same book. There isn’t much complication in this story; it’s one of those reads that will put a smile on your face because it breeds nostalgia for one of Hunting’s favorite series. Skye is the OP to Violet’s characterization. If you loved Violet in Pucked, you will adore Skye because Violet is a carbon copy of her mother. This means lots of nervous, inappropriate chatter, gut problems, and huge ti…knockers. Sidney’s characterization is underwhelming in this story because he’s simply her love interest. That isn’t to undermine his character development. Where It Begins is a love note to Hunting’s Pucked series fans. It’s intended for you to read and feel nostalgic for that series (at least that’s the case for me). I finished this fun and entertaining novella, pining for a re-read of Pucked. And that is the brilliance of this story.

Even if you haven’t read Helena Hunting’s Pucked series, you can read Skye and Sidney’s story. When you’re done, jump into the Pucked world. You will not regret it.

In love and romance,

Professor A

header with brand information and book pages
new release

✍🏻 Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone’s Snow Place like LA returns to Christmas Notch. Angel and Luca’s story is a dirty, delectable novella, perfect reading for a week in July! ✍🏻

professorromance

SNOW PLACE LIKE LA BY SIERRA SIMONE & JULIE MURPHY

Release date: July 11th

Genre / Tropes: MM Romance / Christmas in July / Second Chance / Romantic Comedy

🎄 Get ready for a steamy second chance with Snow Place Like LA by Sierra Simone and Julie Murphy!

This Christmas in July rom-com takes you on a whirlwind journey of love, fate, and unexpected reunions. Join Angel and Luca as they navigate the twists and turns of a small town that suddenly feels too small.

Don’t miss out on this heartwarming and steamy read!

Get your copy now and experience the magic of love.

Amazon: sierrasim.one/KindleSnowPlace

Apple Books: sierrasim.one/AppleSnowPlace

Kobo: sierrasim.one/KoboSnowPlace

Nook: sierrasim.one/NookSnowPlace

Google: sierrasim.one/PlaySnowPlace

Add to your TBR

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/44hnGF4

Bookbub: https://bit.ly/3O7HPb8

Blurb

Cowritten by #1 New York Times bestselling author Julie Murphy and USA Today bestselling author Sierra Simone—a steamy second chance Christmas in July rom-com.

After Angel and Luca connected on the set of Duke the Halls and had a whirlwind romance in the literal snow globe of Christmas Notch, Vermont, Luca found himself falling in love. Hard. He’d never been one to believe in fate or true love, but one thing was certain: Angel was his person. He knew it as well as he knew the history of American figure skating. But when Angel left for an art school semester abroad without a word, Luca’s already brittle heart was broken. No one ghosted Luca. Unless he was in a haunted house.

But with the spring semester long over, Angel is back home in Los Angeles for the summer, and unfortunately for Luca, this big town is turning out to be smaller than either of them ever expected.

About Sierra Simone:

Sierra Simone is a USA Today Bestselling former librarian (who spent too much time reading romance novels at the information desk.) She lives with her husband and family in Kansas City.

Connect w/Sierra Simone:

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

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheSierraSimone

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1PDR4K4

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1oo9WEh

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

Website: http://authorsierrasimone.com/

Subscribe to Sierra’s newsletter:

https://www.subscribepage.com/sierrasimone

About Julie Murphy:

JULIE MURPHY lives in North Texas with her husband who loves her, her dog who adores her, and her cats who tolerate her. After several wonderful years in the library world, Julie now writes full-time. When she’s not writing or reliving her reference desk glory days, she can be found watching made-for-TV movies, hunting for the perfect slice of cheese pizza, and planning her next great travel adventure. She is also the author of the young adult novels Dumplin’ (now a film on Netflix), Puddin’, Ramona Blue, and Side Effects May Vary. You can visit Julie at www.juliemurphywrites.com.

Connect w/Julie:

Website www.juliemurphywrites.com

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

Twitter https://twitter.com/andimJULIE

Pinterest http://pinterest.com/andimjulie

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