Tag: small town

new release

✍🏻 Jessica Peterson’s Sawyer is here. If you love a book boyfriend who is ‘all in’ with his FMC, THIS is the book for you. ✍🏻

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Cover of the book 'Sawyer' by Jessica Peterson featuring a cowboy in a hat and bandana, with a gradient background.

Sawyer by Jessica Peterson is now live! 

Dirty dancing leads to a chance at forever in this sizzling single parent, found family, small town romance by Jessica Peterson.

As a recently divorced single mom, I have zero interest in flirting with guys while on a rare girls’ weekend away with my sisters. I just want to have fun, celebrate my new job, and listen to live music at a honky tonk.

But when I literally stumble into the most gorgeous guy ever on the dance floor, those plans go up in smoke. Growing up on the barrel racing circuit, I’m not immune to the charms of a cowboy. But this particular one is hot as hell: Sawyer’s got a mustache, some sexy tattoos, and a very filthy mouth.

Needless to say, we end up naked in his swanky hotel room. It’s the best sex of my life. And the way Sawyer treats me like a queen? Let’s just say a girl could get addicted to that kind of adoration. 

Good thing he’ll always be just a one night stand I can look back on with a smile. I’m rebuilding our life from scratch, and I need to focus on my three-year-old daughter and the dream job I just landed.

Imagine my surprise, then, when I move to Hartsville and run into a tattooed cowboy with an endearing daughter of his own. Now Sawyer wants more than the occasional playdates between our girls. But the closer we become, the more determined this sexy single dad is to keep me forever. 

As much as I am falling for Sawyer, I’m terrified. I’ve been down this road before with my ex, and I wonder if I can trust this cowboy. Will he rope the moon for me? Or is my heart destined to be trampled all over again?

  Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited

Amazon: https://bit.ly/3CEd62e

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

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

Meet Jessica

A woman with long hair wearing a blue dress sits comfortably on a wicker sofa, resting her head on her hand and smiling warmly.

Jessica Peterson writes romance with heat, humor, and heart. Heroes with hot accents are her specialty. When she’s not writing, she can be found bellying up to a bar in the south’s best restaurants with her husband Ben, reading books with her adorable daughter Gracie, or snuggling up with her 70-pound lap dog, Martha.

A Carolina girl at heart, she fantasizes about splitting her time between Charleston and Asheville, but currently lives in Charlotte, NC.

Connect with Jessica

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

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/JessicaPetersonGR

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

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

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

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JessicaPAuthor

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

new release

✍🏻 Jewel E. Ann is one of my favorite authors. She has this way of reaching into the heart of humanity, while titillating us with her humor and spice. The Apple Tree, the second book of her Sunday Morning series, is HERE, and it’s pure perfection! ✍🏻

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The Apple Tree by Jewel E. Ann is now live! 

He’s a single dad starting over in a new town. She’s a relentless flirt with a penchant for trouble, ten years younger than him, and the babysitter. What could go wrong?

Eve has just graduated from high school, but she doesn’t know what’s next aside from working at the local motel, spying on Kyle, her neighbor, and stealing apples from his orchard. If she doesn’t figure things out soon, she’ll be stuck at home and treated like a child forever.

Kyle is a single dad and the new football coach who needs a babysitter for his adorable son. When he meets Eve, there’s an instant connection because she reminds him of someone—himself. But Eve is the preacher’s daughter, off-limits, and Kyle has already had his heart trampled by his ex.

After earning his son’s affection with her homemade apple sauce and youthful spirit, Eve asks Kyle to teach her things like driving his fishing boat and shooting his hunting bow. Despite his better judgment, he agrees, but swears Eve to secrecy so no one gets the wrong idea about them.

Their playful banter and innocent flirting crosses a line, and Kyle misses the heartbreaking secret Eve’s hidden in plain sight.

When tragedy strikes, can they find their way back to each other?

The Apple Tree is a standalone in the Sunday Morning series by USA Today & Wall Street Journal Bestselling author Jewel E. Ann.

  Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited

Amazon: https://amzn.to/47LyBJy

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

Hardcover: https://mybook.to/AppleTreeHC

Add to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/4dryjbZ

Meet Jewel E. Ann

Jewel is a Wall Street Journal & USA Today bestselling author with a quirky sense of humor. When she’s not saving the planet one tree at a time, you can find her role modeling questionable behavior to her three boys, binge-watching Netflix with her husband, and writing mind-bending romance. 

Connect with Jewel

Website: https://www.jeweleann.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7505427.Jewel_E_Ann

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Jewel-E-Ann/e/B00IJYHDIG/

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

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/485996228236493

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JewelE_Ann

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/jewel-e-ann

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

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jeweleannauthor

new release, Review

✍🏻 Professor Romance’s Reviews: Jewel E. Ann’s Sunday Morning, book 1 of her Sunday Morning series ✍🏻

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Overall Grade: A-/B+

Tropes: brother’s ex; preacher’s daughter; cheating; small town; 80s vibes

Jewel E. Ann surprises me. Over and over again, she writes stories that challenge the thinking of her readers. Sometimes, I wonder why her books don’t explode on “the charts,” and I’m certain it’s because they are hard to qualify or quantify. I’ve listed tropes above in this review, but honestly, her romances transcend tropes, oftentimes only focusing on a specific trope: cheating. She finds ways to write stories that play with the boundaries of cheating, challenging our views on it, especially for a reader like myself who typically eschews books that handle this topic. However, it’s Jewel E. Ann’s interrogation of this trope that constantly challenges me and helps me determine what I’m willing to accept. Her newest book, Sunday Morning, plays with this trope as her MMC and FMC circle the complications of it as their relationship evolves. 

However, that’s but a small portion of the significance of this newest book to her book list. Ann’s characters are fated with a chemistry clear from the beginning of the story. The MMC, Isaac, falls deeply for the FMC, Sarah, before she can understand or reconcile her feelings. They walk a balancing act of emotion and attachment for much of the book until their attraction becomes undeniable, and the chemistry overflows the page. Then, in true JEA form, someone dies, and their worlds are upended. Co-mingled with the journeys of her characters are themes about God (if God is in control, why does he allow bad things to happen to good people or good things to happen to bad people), the importance of living out your dreams on your terms, people pleasing, the complications of family relationships, etc. As her FMC, Sarah, begins to know herself, she challenges the beliefs of her parents and her small town society, and it’s her character growth that provides the “meat and potatoes” of JEA’s story. 

Throughout Sunday Morning, Jewel E. Ann shows us her capacity for storytelling as she weaves her tale with the gravity of her messaging. You are pummeled from all sides with her challenges. If I have any criticisms of this newest book, there are two. I’m still trying to determine why she decided to set this story in the late 80s other than to provoke nostalgia from her readers (or because she simply wanted to write about a time that is nostalgic for her). Additionally, her prose felt starker than her previous books. Her penchant for crafting reflective, quotable sentences is still in Sunday Morning, but more simple sentences and fewer transitional expressions sometimes cause an almost staccato feel to the story. It made it difficult to get lost in her story. 

Jewel E. Ann is a must-read author for me, no matter the story, no matter her insistence on bleeding the cheating trope on the page. I love that she forces me to unpack my thoughts and feelings about complex topics through the scope of her stories, and Sunday Morning dares us to upend our restrictive, inherited views of God, faith, and love. 

In love and romance,

Professor A

new release

✍🏻 “You’re a wanderer with dreams too vast to walk a straight line…” Jewel E. Ann’s first book of her Sunday Morning series, Sunday Morning, is LIVE! This is required reading for your weekend. ✍🏻

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Sunday Morning by Jewel E. Ann is now live! 

A small-town, forbidden, standalone, new adult romance with Footloose meets A Star is Born vibes from USA Today & Wall Street Journal Bestselling author Jewel E. Ann

Her boyfriend’s older brother should be off-limits, but he’s a sinful temptation.

Sarah is a preacher’s daughter and a people pleaser. She’s also on the verge of graduating high school and following her dream of singing in Nashville. The only thing standing in her way is that the entire town of Devil’s Head, Missouri, thinks she will marry Matt, the son of the town’s richest rancher.

But Sarah’s not sure he’s her future husband, especially when his older brother, Isaac, returns home after serving six years in the Army. He has tattoos on his arms and bad habits that are not “father-approved.”

When he’s not working on the ranch or roping at the rodeo, Isaac hangs out in the barn, playing his guitar. He’s trouble, but Sarah’s music-loving heart gravitates toward him.

Isaac loves consuming Sarah’s mind, crawling under her skin, backing her into corners, and whispering inappropriate things in her innocent ears.

After weeks of playful banter and guitar lessons blurring the line between right and wrong, Issac makes Sarah a proposition she can’t refuse.

But when the unthinkable happens, and everything she knows is destroyed, will Sarah make the right choice?

  Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited

Amazon: https://amzn.to/45cPTOH

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

Add to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/4caMm5y

Meet Jewel E. Ann

Jewel is a Wall Street Journal & USA Today bestselling author with a quirky sense of humor. When she’s not saving the planet one tree at a time, you can find her role modeling questionable behavior to her three boys, binge-watching Netflix with her husband, and writing mind-bending romance. 

Connect with Jewel

Website: https://www.jeweleann.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7505427.Jewel_E_Ann

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Jewel-E-Ann/e/B00IJYHDIG/

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

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/485996228236493

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JewelE_Ann

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/jewel-e-ann

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

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jeweleannauthor

new release, Review

✍🏻 Professor Romance’s Reviews: Jessica Peterson’s I Wish We Had Forever, the final book of her Harbour Village series ✍🏻

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Overall Grade: A-

Tropes: brother’s best friend; best friend’s sister; small town; unrequited until it’s not; fated/soulmates; opposites attract; fake marriage

Jessica Peterson’s I Wish We Had Forever is the perfect exclamation point to a series that has stolen the hearts of many, including mine. A story in her Harbour Village series, her newest book tells the story of Abel, the friend of the heroes in the first two books of the series, and Jen, the younger sister of Tuck from book 2. Peterson has crafted a narrative that delves deep into the emotional struggles of two souls meant to be more, but Abel’s past and family have taught him that he “isn’t enough” for Jen. The tension between Abel’s clear love and attraction for Jen and his reticence to pursue her for something more is a heart-wrenching journey. You want to reach into the story and comfort him, telling him he is worthy of Jen’s brand of “good girl” love. Peterson uses the character of Abel to incite your emotions because his denial is painful to endure at times. 

The heat of the book comes from Jen’s willingness to accept his idea of a fake marriage. In fact, this is one of Peterson’s steamiest since Abel likes it rough and dirty. When Jen and Abel decide to get it out of their system, it lights the pages on fire. Peterson vacillates between their $exfest and their emotional entanglement. 

Thankfully, I Wish We Had Forever has the Harbour Village crew to add dimension to Abel and Jen’s story. From the tension between Tuck and Abel to the fatherly advice of Tuck and Jen’s father, Joe, readers find themselves on a roller coaster of emotions. As Joe shows Abel the truth about himself, he recognizes that he has loved and will always love Jen, mitigating their final coupleship. For me, Joe and Abel’s talk was the impetus for my tears in this story because Abel just wants to love and be loved by the love of his life. 

Jessica Peterson’s I Wish I Had Forever provides the perfect ending to her Harbour Village series. It stands as a powerful testament that love, when given a chance, can conquer our pasts and set us up for a beautiful future. It’s a beacon of hope, reminding us that love has the power to heal and transform, if we simply allow it.

In love and romance,

Professor A

new release, Review

✍🏻 Professor Romance’s Review: Pippa Grant’s The Bride’s Runaway Billionaire, a Three BFFs and A Wedding Romance ✍🏻

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Overall Grade: A

Tropes/Characteristics: runaway bride FMC; movie star MMC; close proximity; surprise baby; second chance; small town; found family; opposites attract

Throughout reading Pippa Grant’s The Bride’s Runaway Billionaire, I kept asking myself what is it about her romances that tug at me. At face value, Pippa Grant writes quirky rom-coms. The group of writers I put her in is Penny Reid and Lucy Score. They have a distinct writing voice and presence in their stories. Oftentimes, the face of the story is laden with quirky characters and inconceivable plot points. However, by the end of the romance, it’s clear this is a facade. Beneath cute animals such Yolko Ohno, the one-legged chicken, in Grant’s newest offering and the over-the-top antics of the supporting cast of characters abides a deep, loving relationship between her MMC and FMC. There is always something deep below the surface of Pippa Grant’s romances, and the marriage of the light facade with the depth of character rendering is why I always come back for more. 

Throughout Grant’s most recent series, Three BFFs and a Wedding, she’s crafted a small-town world where everyone knows everything and everyone else, and it feels tempestuous at times. In the first two books of the series, she has a big problem: how to handle the upended wedding between Emma and Chandler. Book 2, The Gossip and the Grump, is where she holds us in suspense about Emma’s situation, and she wallops us at the end of that book with a surprise. Crafting this series in this way sets up The Bride’s Runaway Billionaire to be the most anticipated story of the series, which has the potential to cause a problem: what happens if Book 3 doesn’t live up to the hype? Well, you need not fear because, for this reader, The Bride’s Runaway Billionaire is my favorite of the three. Grant definitely saved the best for last, and she fulfilled the promise of creating a series that ends with the cherry on top of the sundae. Why did I love it so much?

  1. Emma makes her MMC work for it. I love that. I’m not a fan of second-chance romances where the hurt FMC lets go of her pain too easily. It undermines the tension of the reconciliation, and Grant superbly takes her reader through the paces of the MMC’s groveling.
  2. What this does is make us fall deeply in love with her MMC. Here’s the thing: I am attempting to write this review without naming him. I know others will do it in their reviews; however, I won’t. Grab the book and find out for yourself. Just know that the inclusion of this MMC into this book is pure genius. It connects the Pippa Grant universe (which I’m a particular fan of doing – it shows me that an author has a distinct and intelligent plan for her stories, even if she figured it out at the last minute. Plus it allows us re-entry into a book world that we previously loved). Secondly, Grant has written this MMC to be everything we need him to be for Emma’s journey. He takes responsibility, he recognizes his shortcomings, there is no gas-lighting, and he accepts his reckoning, all while falling deeply, madly in love with a character who has suffered previously. This is the type of heroic characterization that makes a reader swoon. 
  3. The family of friends in this series is pure joy. The needling, the love, the respect – everything with this cast of friends adds another layer to The Bride’s Runaway Billionaire. The reflections and the reconciliations make for a feel-good read.

Almost a week out from reading Pippa Grant’s newest book, and it still swims in my mind. Emma and her MMC were a delight to read, and I’m so thankful that Pippa Grant knows who she is as a writer because her books bring so much light into a world that oftentimes feels dark. The Bride’s Runaway Billionaire is simply a must-read.

In love and romance,

Professor A

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new release

✍🏻 Happy Release Day for Kristen Ashley! The Girl in the Woods is LIVE!!✍🏻

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Do you love…

💙 an MMC who looks like Henry Cavill and has the character qualities of Clark Kent

💙 an FMC who is a boss bitch with a FABULOUS wardrobe and home

💙 a twisty, turny story of romantic suspense

💙 a quirky small town that acts as the backdrop of the story

If so, RUN! Grab A Girl in the Woods TODAY! I finished it this morning because I couldn’t put it down.

This body would be the last for Zachariah Lazarus…

The Crystal Killer’s latest casualty was discovered in a sleepy town in the Pacific Northwest, Misted Pines.

His years in the FBI, and tracking the Crystal Killer, have taken their toll on Rus. He lost his marriage to the job. And the burdens he carries for the victims were crushing him.

Misted Pines has recently survived a killer’s rampage and a town scandal that made global news. The media was primed to devour a new story. So Rus already has his work cut out for him.

But it’s more.

Something is just not right with this latest victim.

As Rus works with the local sheriff to unravel the mystery, the victim’s employer, Lucinda Bonner, decides she’s going to do everything she can to help.

To help Rus find the killer. To help Rus survive the hunt. To help Rus navigate the intricate, and sometimes sordid, history of the town of Misted Pines.

And to help Rus let go of his burdens.

Grab your copy of THE GIRL IN THE WOODS!

The Girl in the Woods