Summary

A new romantic comedy from your favorite snort-laughing duo!

Liam

The moment Sadie Matthews walks through the daycare center door, I feel my world tilt in her direction. Again. I fell for her when I was fourteen, and I’m still not over her. Problem: she still thinks of me as a teen she used to babysit. But I’ve learned a few things about pleasing a woman in the last fifteen years. I can’t wait to show her how good it could be. I need to move quickly before I lose her again. This is more than a game to me, but I still plan to win.

Sadie

I’ve just survived the worst year of my life. As a single mom of twin toddlers, I don’t have time for a man. I barely have time to finish a thought. Who knew that Liam McAllister would grow up to be so devastating? He’s everything my husband was not: tall, built, and willing to have a tea party with my girls.

I can’t possibly get involved with him. He’s too young for me. Too handsome. But he’s so persuasive…

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My Review

Readers of Sarina Bowen and Tanya Eby’s Man Hands Series have had a front row seat to the disintegration of Sadie Matthews’ marriage as well as her self-esteem after her husband cheated on her and left her to raise their twin daughters alone since he couldn’t be bothered to stand up and be a father, and like Brynn and Ash, we’ve felt helpless as Sadie’s life imploded and she was left to pick up the pieces of her heart while also ensuring her baby girls are cared for and happy.

I think readers will all agree that it’s beyond time Sadie gets her happily ever after and now that her douchey ex is no longer tearing her down, the hope is that she finds a man who would love and cherish her and her twin daughters the way they deserve, and even though Sadie never imagined it would be someone from her past who steps up in a huge way, it becomes more than clear, through his words and his actions, that this guy wants to claim Sadie and her girls as his own and if Sadie gets out of her own way, she’ll see that he’s everything she never knew she needed and wanted.

I can’t imagine how difficult it is to be a working single mom of TWINS; Sadie is wearing so many hats at once and while she thinks she’s doing an awful job, it’s clear she’s doing the best she can with how her life has turned out and she needs to cut herself some slack and take time for herself or she’ll quickly burn out.

All that Sadie has to deal with as a divorcee, a mom, and a woman in her thirties makes her an extremely relatable character and readers can easily put themselves in Sadie’s position and identify with her guilt, her feelings of inadequacy, and the fact that somewhere along the way, she lost herself by being what everyone else needed her to be, but eventually, with a little help from her friends and Liam McAllister stepping into her life and proving that he’s not the teenage boy Sadie once knew…he’s a grown man who has so much to offer than just his pecs;)

I absolutely ADORED Liam…his fourteen-year-old Liam thoughts and comments…his passion for childhood development…his ability to corral a bunch of toddlers or even a set of rambunctious twins who have such different personalities…he’s like the toddler whisperer and his attitude, his patience, and his easy going demeanor are huge assets for the type of job he has, but it’s also those characteristics along with his intelligence, his thoughtfulness, and his ability to know exactly what Sadie and her girls need that proves to Sadie that Liam will never and can never simply be her boy toy because he deserves more…he deserves all of her and despite her fears and the fact that her head tries to control her heart and even her body, he’s her person, which means that Sadie needs to find a way to see beyond their age difference and realize just how good she and Liam are together, and how much love, passion, and kindness he adds to her life and the lives of her girls. 

Boy Toy is definitely my favorite out of the three Man’s Hands stories; Liam is a miracle worker when it comes to, not only kids, but a certain woman he’s fantasied about and had a crush on since he was a teenager. He demonstrates in almost every scene that he’s the kind of man that Sadie needs and deserves and he works hard to prove that he’s the right choice for Sadie as well as Kate & Amy, and he even works his magic and puts Sadie’s ex and his own parents, particularly his father, in their place. Liam brings the old Sadie back…the one who laughed, swooned, and felt beautiful and with Liam by Sadie’s side and her girlfriends at her back, she feels beyond good enough and proves to herself that she is one heck of a therapist, a mom, a friend, a lover, and a woman.

Sadie and Liam’s story is a sweet, funny, and steamy read, and I enjoyed every minute of it, especially every interaction that included Sadie’s twin girls because they’re beyond cute but they’re also quite the handful and there is never a dull moment when they’re in the mix of things, and I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

4.5 Poison Apples

Excerpt

I messed up. Big time.

These are my thoughts as I rush into the bathroom for the world’s fastest shower. The hot spray of water judges me as I hastily wash Liam off my thighs.

A better mother wouldn’t let this happen. I shouldn’t have a younger lover. If I didn’t, he wouldn’t be so deliciously appealing. I couldn’t lose my mind, wake him up out of a sound sleep to ride him like a pony. And then collapse beside him in peaceful, sated slumber.

Seriously, how did I let that happen?

You know how, my hormones scold me. Because he’s the hottest thing you’ve ever tasted.

Oh yeah. That.

After showering I get dressed at top speed. Poor Liam is currently shouldering all my parental responsibilities. Throwing on yesterday’s sundress, I pause for a moment to pop a birth control pill, because that’s one thing I won’t goof up.

Then I hurry downstairs.

The sight in the kitchen gives me heart palpitations. But not because there’s flour dusting much of the countertop. Rather, it’s the hot, shirtless guy holding my toddler and making a dump truck sound as Amy tips the measuring spoon over a bowl.

“Yes! Well done, little miss,” he says, relieving her of the spoon. “Batter up!” he says, easing her to the floor and catching Kate, who’s trying to climb him like a tree.

Aren’t we all.

Liam easily rests Kate on one of his perfect arms, measures a half teaspoon of baking powder one-handed and then hands the spoon to Kate. “Beep beep beep,” he says, making the sound of a truck backing up. “Look out below!”

Kate dumps the spoonful into the bowl and giggles.

“Awesome. Who wants to add the milk?”

“My do it!” Amy yells.

Boy, I need another minute of alone time to compose myself. Because I love this picture a little too much. I love Liam’s ease with my girls. I love how calm he is at the center of toddler-induced mayhem.

It causes a little pain in my heart as I allow myself one more comparison to my former life. The truth is I never once saw Decker elbows-deep in kitchen chaos with a kid on one arm. Starting breakfast with twins in tow? He was more likely to captain a NASA expedition to Mars than he was to do this simple Saturday morning thing.

I feel like crying for no reason at all. Clearly I’m on some kind of emotional overload. Maybe coffee will help.

Sliding into the kitchen, I go right for the coffee grounds.

“Mama!” Amy says. “Wiam making pancakes.”

“That is amazing,” I say in a wobbly voice. “What a lucky girl you are.”

“Sorry about the mess,” he says, casting a glance in my direction. And I know he doesn’t just mean the flour on the counter, but the bigger mess of waking up naked in my bed.

“You know,” I say with a small sigh. “Messes shouldn’t scare me so much. It’s going to be fine.”

Liam’s smile is so filled with relief, that I now feel like an ogre. This man wants to make pancakes with us on Saturday morning, and I said no to that before? I’m clearly insane.

“Which frying pan should I use?” he asks, casting an eye on the cookware hanging from the rack over the sink.

“Oh, no. You want this.” I pull a double-burner griddle out of a lower cabinet.

“Oooh,” he says. “Mommy has the fancy pancake griddle.”

Kate giggles. She’s gazing at Liam as if he invented fun.

And in my life, I guess he did.

Here’s the tricky thing about being a shrink—sometimes you notice that you’re doing something that’s exactly contrary to the advice you’d give your patients.

I’m having one of those moments right now.

If I had a single mom in my office telling me there was a lovely guy in her life who was kind to her kids—and yet she was giving him the stiff arm? I’d tell her: “Be kind to yourself. Don’t push away the good people in your life, especially if you think you don’t deserve them. Let people surprise you.”

I’m such a hypocrite.

Also, I need caffeine.

Ten minutes later I’m sipping from a mug of coffee, but Liam’s is cooling on the countertop. The man has his hands full right now as he puts pancakes on the griddle with “help” from my daughters.

“How about a few of these?” he asks, holding up a bag of chocolate chips. Meanwhile, Kate waves the spatula around like a ninja. “A guy needs to make smiley faces in his pancakes sometimes.”

Good. Lord. It’s a miracle I’m not just a puddle of my former self right now. This is some serious mommy porn I’m watching. Shirtless guy feeds toddlers before eight a.m. I walk over to the high cabinet where I keep the ramekins. “We could make smiley faces with dried organic currants,” I say, just to be a pain in the ass.

Liam makes a face of disgust as I take the chocolate chips from his hand and pour some into a ramekin. “Joking! Here.”

He gives me a big, hot smile. Okay, it probably wasn’t meant to be hot, but I feel flutters down below.

“Choc-it!” Kate yells, grabbing for the ramekin.

“Easy,” Liam says with a laugh. “That’s for my artwork. Come here and I’ll show you.”

I set the table and pour the sippy cups of milk. And Liam manages to serve up two smiley pancakes—one for each girl—at exactly the same moment, in exactly the same size. This is a man who knows his way around toddlers.

“Not cut it!” Amy yells when I approach her plate with a knife. She picks up the pancake in two hands and takes a bite right out of the side of its face.

“Okay, right.” I back away. Forks are optional today, then. No big deal.

Liam takes advantage of this moment of quiet to quickly pour six more pancakes onto the griddle. He leans over his work, dotting them with chocolate chips.

I step closer to him and put a hand on his lower back. “Thank you,” I whisper.

“For trashing your kitchen?”

“No.” He glances at me and I give him a shy smile. “For being so amazing all the time.”

His eyes get very warm, and I just want to stay right here in that blue-eyed gaze as long as I can. “This might be a good time to confess that I didn’t make smiley faces on my own pancakes.”

“No?” I look down at the griddle. Side by side, two of them have a different design—little bullseyes in their centers. “Those are…?”

“Boobs,” he whispers. “My inner fourteen-year-old has a dirty mind. He can’t shut it off sometimes.”

“Drink your coffee,” I whisper, handing him the mug. “Sit down. Let me finish these for you. Or go put on a shirt because my inner fourteen-year-old has her tongue hanging out all the time, too.”

He gives me a wicked, wicked smile and then runs upstairs to find his shirt.

Connect with the Authors

Sarina Bowen

https://www.sarinabowen.com/

https://twitter.com/SarinaBowen

https://www.facebook.com/authorsarinabowen

https://www.pinterest.com/sarinabowen/

https://www.instagram.com/sarina.bowen/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7737308.Sarina_Bowen

Tanya Eby

http://www.tanyaeby.com/

https://twitter.com/Blunder_Woman

https://www.facebook.com/TanyaEbyNarrator/

https://www.instagram.com/tanya_eby/

 

Review

I love reading romances where the heroine comes into her own or at least works towards that goal as she reconnects with the guy who held her younger heart and unknowingly broke it. In Talia and Cage’s story, their connection stems from Cage’s friendship with Talia’s older brother, but when they meet back up when Talia’s a college student at NYU, it’s clear that Cage never really saw Talia for the beautiful and intelligent woman she was/is, which means that if he wants her in all ways possible, he needs to decide if it’s worth potentially losing a friend and Talia needs to figure out if she can come out of her shell with or without Cage by her side.

Wild is a sweet and steamy quick read that will make older readers think back on their college years and either identify with Talia’s shyness and her desire, amidst her fear, to let loose and/or cheer Talia on as she attempts to break out of her shell and go just a little bit wild, enough to prove to herself that she has enough self confidence to go after what and whom she wants; either way, all readers will be eager to find out how things turn out between Talia and Cage and if the fact that Talia’s his best friend’s little sister and she still remembers how he made her feel all those years before is something that they can overcome or if, once again, he’ll break her heart and make her regret giving him a chance.

Because Wild is not a lengthy story, the events of the plot line and the conflicts and complications that Talia and Cage endure occur quickly, and while, for the most part, the speed of the text doesn’t interfere with getting to know the main characters or recognizing the push and pull between them amidst the sexual tension, the resolution felt a bit too rushed and I was left feeling like the characters’ decisions didn’t have the depth of discussion that I wanted so that I could understand everything that went down between Talia and Cage. 

Despite the abrupt conclusion, I really enjoyed Talia and Cage’s story, and I’m excited to see what this writing duo has in store for their readers’ next read.

4 Poison Apples

Blurb

Booze, women, and brotherhood—that’s what my good friend Quinn’s bachelor party should have been.

Booze, one mysterious raven-haired woman, and an arrest—that’s what it was.

 As Cam Mitchell, a New York Maverick and one of the best tight ends in the professional football league, my to-do list should be pretty simple.

Play ball.

Get laid.

Have fun.

But after one hour with a stripper named Trixie, that list of mine has shifted dramatically.

Tell Quinn to call my lawyer.

And, for the love of God, don’t get fired from the Mavericks.

I swear, I tried to make it stop there.

But one tiny thing keeps finding its way to the very top… 

Find out more about the dark-haired beauty with the big blue eyes and make her mine.

Too bad it’s a hell of a lot more complicated than that.

How do you fall in love with a woman whose real name you don’t know?

Well, ladies and gentlemen…I’m about to find out.

From the New York Times & USA Today bestselling author of TAPPING THE BILLIONAIRE comes a hilarious and sexy standalone about a secret, forbidden romance and just how tricky love can be.

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Contact the Author

www.authormaxmonroe.com

 

Mended Hearts by Julia Sykes

Cover Reveal: August 14th

Release Date: September 4th

Add to Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40971226-mended-hearts

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Blurb

I wrote down our story in a book. I bled all over the pages, laying bare my scarred soul.

But I revealed your scars, too. Will you hate me? Or will you come back to me?

I told you I no longer believe in happily-ever-after, but that was a lie.

I’m still waiting for you.

Note: Mended Hearts should be read after Wounded Hearts

 

About Julia Sykes

Julia Sykes is the USA Today bestselling author of the Impossible Series. She has always kept dark stories tucked away in her mind, so she was thrilled when she discovered that other people actually want to read them. Her books blend romance, suspense, and BDSM.

You can usually find Julia in Starbucks with a venti iced coffee clutched in her hand (two pumps of mocha, liberal half and half). If she’s not in Starbucks, you will find her with a glass of prosecco in hand, probably reading Harry Potter. Again.

Connect with Julia

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

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The right words can save your life.

For fans of Nicholas Sparks and Jodi Picoult… A soldier falls in love with his battle buddy’s sister through their letters and returns home from Afghanistan with a secret that could destroy their fragile relationship.

Don’t miss THE LAST LETTER by Rebecca Yarros, pre-order your copy today!

About THE LAST LETTER

Beckett,

If you’re reading this, well, you know the “last-letter” drill. You made it. I didn’t. Get off the guilt train, because I know if there were any chance you could have saved me, you would have.

I need one thing from you: Get out of the army and get to Telluride.

My little sister Ella’s raising the twins alone. She’s too independent and won’t accept help easily, but she has lost our grandmother, our parents, and now me. It’s too much for anyone to endure. It’s not fair.

And here’s the kicker: there’s something else you don’t know that’s tearing her family apart. She’s going to need help.

So if I’m gone, that means I can’t be there for Ella. I can’t help them through this. But you can. So I’m begging you, as my best friend, go take care of my sister, my family.

Please don’t make her go through it alone.

Ryan

PREORDER YOUR COPY TODAY!

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About Rebecca Yarros

Rebecca Yarros is a hopeless romantic and a lover of all things coffee and chocolate. She is the author of the award-winning Flight & Glory series and The Renegades. She loves military heroes, and has been blissfully married to her Apache pilot for seventeen years.

When she’s not writing, she’s tying hockey skates for her four sons, sneaking in guitar time, or watching brat-pack movies with her two daughters. She lives in Colorado with her husband, their rambunctious gaggle of kids, and their menagerie of pets. Having adopted their youngest daughter from the foster system, Rebecca is a passionate advocate for children through her non-profit, One October.

Website ** Facebook ** Twitter ** Newsletter ** Goodreads

 

TWO WEEKS TO GO!

Shimmy Bang Sparkle by Nicola Rendell

Release Date: August 21st

Add To Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37916608-shimmy-bang-sparkle?

Blurb

To catch a thief…or fall for one?

All Nick Norton wants is to stay on the straight and narrow…and never get caught stealing again. Then he lays eyes on her: Stella Peretti—100 percent sexy and absolutely irresistible. Especially when he sees her smooth moves lifting a two-karat diamond. Nick realizes he’s found the sparkling woman of his dreams—one so perfect for him it’s almost criminal.

The Shimmy Shimmy Bangs are master jewel thieves who are planning the heist of the century. And Shimmy leader, Stella, isn’t about to let anyone—even if he is a hunky, tatted-up studmuffin—get in her way. But when two of her girls are put out of commission, Stella realizes that Nick isn’t just a red-hot distraction. He might be the answer to her pilfering prayers.

Now, Nick and Stella are putting everything on the line for one last job. But when two thieves have this much chemistry, it’s only a matter of time before somebody’s heart gets stolen.

 

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Excerpt

Two hours later, I was standing in a department store in Palm Desert, wearing gray dress pants, a pair of Italian loafers that squeaked when I walked, a light blue button-up shirt, and . . .

Suspenders.

When she’d picked them out, I’d said, “Oh, fuck no,” but as she stood in front of me outside the men’s dressing room, buttoning them into the slacks and making helpless groans and moans, I knew I didn’t have the strength to tell her no for real. At this rate, I’d be buying dipped fruit and suspenders for the rest of my life, and honestly . . .

I was psyched about it. When I turned to check myself out in the mirror, I realized the suspenders didn’t look so bad. Not at all. They looked sharp. Old-fashioned in the right way, like out of Peaky Blinders. But I was an ex-con who weighed 275 pounds and drove a motorcycle. I couldn’t be wearing suspenders, for Chrissake.

“It’s a big ask, Stella,” I said, eyeing her as she riffled through a rack of dress shirts. Over her shoulder was a dog carrier bag she’d brought with her, pink-and-white with black paw prints. Priscilla had nodded off and was slowly sliding down into the bag, her lip stuck on the top edge.

Stella froze with one finger perched on a hanger hook as she chewed an enormous chunk of apple, moving it around in her mouth so that it expanded the inside of her cheek. “I know,” she said, with her palm covering her overstuffed mouth. “But just look at you.”

As she said it, a woman approached, pushing a stock cart. When she glanced in my direction, she promptly drove the cart right into a mannequin, and its arm popped off. That, in turn, knocked over a second mannequin, which knocked over a third. Everything the lady did just made it all so much worse. I stepped in to stop the domino-mannequin effect, while Stella stood next to the shirts with a big told you so smile on her face. The woman clutched an arm and a foot, and stared at me, as I tried to reposition a mannequin in a fuzzy track suit on its stand.

“Oh sir, that ensemble is very nice!” she cooed, with big Bambi eyes. Her gaze went from my tattoos to the suspenders, to the pants, and back again.

“You like it?” I asked as I rolled up my sleeves.

The woman gulped. “I do. Very much. Very much.”

Stella circled back around a table covered with dress shirts, and I saw that in her hand she was holding a fedora—like a stylish hipster sort of thing. Not my jam at all.

“Oh no you don’t,” I growled, teasing her, trying to snatch it out of her hands. But she pressed her body up against mine, and instinctively I pulled her into me. She took advantage of me being a fucking sucker for her body, and put the hat on my head. Her eyes lit up, and she leaned back in my arms. Then she said to the salesgirl. “What do you think?”

The salesgirl didn’t even speak. Just dropped a plastic mannequin arm and smiled. Stella made a long, adorable, “Mmmhmmmm!” as she slipped from my grasp, and headed off toward cocktail dresses.

Once I’d changed, and made was sure the woman wasn’t going to knock over another row of mannequins, I followed along behind Stella, weaving and dodging between racks and displays. Stella held up a stunning little black dress, classy and with a slit up a side that was mouthwatering even on the hanger. But then, behind her, there it was. The dress. Little black dresses were fine, but we were going out on the town for our first real date, and that dress was the one. A showstopper. So I shook my head at the black one in her hand, and Stella rumpled up her eyebrows. She put the dress back on the rack, plunged her hand into her purse, and emerged holding the apple on its stick. She took a bite, and stuck it back in its bag, and turned her attention to a strapless red number that would’ve looked great on her, no doubt. But still, it wasn’t the dress.

I tickled her side to get her attention, and when she turned to me, I pointed behind her, at a two-story atrium. The mannequin was set up on a round platform, with a spotlight on it, next to a piano that wasn’t being played. The dress was nothing but rhinestones, with thin jeweled straps coming up from a plunging neckline.

Stella hooted and approached the dress while laughing and shaking her head. “I can’t possibly wear this,” she said, and ran her fingertips over the jeweled front. “I’m not sure anybody can wear this.”

“Oh yeah,” I said as I circled her. “You most definitely can.”

I took the first dress off the nearby rack and held it up. The tag said XS/S. Seemed about right. I held it out, imagining her in it. The very idea made me start to get hard. I let it dangle from my finger and waited for her to take it.

She grabbed the size tag of the dress I was holding. A huge laugh shot out of her mouth, echoing around the marble foyer. “Oh you,” she said, shaking her head, and then grabbed the dressed marked M/L. She took the dog bag off her shoulder, and I transferred it to mine. Priscilla was out cold, snoring softly. I gave her tummy a little scratch as Stella headed off to the ladies’ fitting rooms.

While she was gone, I picked out a gorgeous light-pink teddy for her, and a pair of black panties that had a red ribbon up the back, corset-style. I was thinking through what it’d be like to pull that ribbon off with my teeth while she had them on when my phone buzzed in my pocket.

I don’t think I can pull this off.

Let me see.

I look like I just got Bedazzled.

Let me see.

I feel like my phone case.

Let me see.

Or like a disco ball.

Let me see.

Or like the rhinestone aisle at Michaels.

Stella . . .

I can’t wear a bra OR panties!

You’re getting the fucking dress.

About the Author

Bestselling author Nicola Rendell loves writing naughty romantic comedies. After receiving a handful of degrees from a handful of places, she now works as a professor in New England. Nicola’s work has been featured in USA Today’s Happy Ever After and the Huffington Post. She loves to cook, sew, and play the piano. Her hobbies might make her sound like an old lady, but she’s totally okay with that. She is represented by Emily Sylvan Kim at the Prospect Agency.

Connect with Nicola

Website: http://nicolarendell.com

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorNRendell

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15292581.Nicola_Rendell

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Nicola-Rendell/e/B01JCVXOAU/

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/nicola-rendell

 

From #1 New York Times Bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout, comes THE PRINCE, a new novella in her Wicked Series, brought to you by 1,001 Dark Nights!

Be sure to grab your copy today!

From #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout comes a new story in her Wicked series…

She’s everything he wants….

Cold. Heartless. Deadly. Whispers of his name alone bring fear to fae and mortals alike. The Prince. There is nothing in the mortal world more dangerous than him. Haunted by a past he couldn’t control, all Caden desires is revenge against those who’d wronged him, trapping him in never-ending nightmare. And there is one person he knows can help him.

She’s everything he can’t have…

Raised within the Order, Brighton Jussier knows just how dangerous the Prince is, reformed or not. She’d seen firsthand what atrocities he could be capable of. The last thing she wants to do is help him, but he leaves her little choice. Forced to work alongside him, she begins to see the man under the bitter ice. Yearning for him feels like the definition of insanity, but there’s no denying the heat in his touch and the wicked promise is his stare.

She’s everything he’ll take….

But there’s someone out there who wants to return the Prince to his former self. A walking, breathing nightmare that is hell bent on destroying the world and everyone close to him. The last thing either of them needs is a distraction, but with the attraction growing between them each now, the one thing he wants more than anything may be the one thing that will be his undoing.

She’s everything he’d die for….

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon AU | Amazon Canada

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My Review

I’m a huge fan of Jennifer L. Armentrout’s paranormal series; I would happily get lost in her Lux world despite its danger, and now that I’ve been introduced to her wickedly delicious characters in The Prince, A Wicked Trilogy novella, I’m eager to immerse myself into the New Orleans’ setting and the otherworldly characters, especially the Summer and Winter Fae, who may or may not want to take control over the human world.

I’ve read several stories that have included these beautifully mysterious and dangerous creatures, the Fae, and in each one, there have always been two sides or categories of the Fae, and Armentrout stays true to that concept with added insight about what happens when the two types of Fae become blurred and it’s difficult to tell who’s on whose side because the Fae’s facade doesn’t truly reveal who and what they are and what they want.

Readers who are familiar with the series and the Prince’s actions during Ivy and Ren’s trilogy might find it difficult to trust what this new version of the Prince says and does, but it’s clear that his guilt and his need for vengeance drive him, even when he’s drawn to Brighton and she interferes with his game plan by hunting the beings responsible for her attack and her mother’s death. Through Brighton’s perspective, Armentrout allows readers to get to know the Prince/Caden and while his endgame isn’t clear, we must acknowledge that there’s something igniting between Caden and Brighton; he sees the real her…he wants the real her, and while that’s an added complication for Caden, he can’t fully tamper his desire even though his future appears to already be planned.

While I’m definitely intrigued by the Prince’s words and actions, Brighton’s transformation, her need to avenge her mother’s death, and her struggle to determine who she truly is, is what drove my reading, and Caden definitely has a hand in her figuring out the true Brighton and making her more visible than she ever thought she would be, she’s the only one who can decide why her life was spared and what that means for her future in the Order and in the fight against the Fae & their Ancients.

Even though The Prince was my first read of this series, I didn’t feel lost in its events or characters; each novella in the 1001 Dark Nights collection is meant to garner new readers, which means that the story can be read as a standalone with the hope that readers will then want to read other books from each specific author and series. The Prince is the perfect introduction into Armentrout’s Wicked world, and I’ll definitely be reentering this setting!

4.5 Poison Apples

Excerpt

Did it make you a bad friend if you were completely, a hundred percent envious of that friend? Yes? No? Kind of?

I figured it was somewhere in between.

That’s what I was mulling over as I watched Ivy Morgan brush thick, red curls over her shoulder, laughing at something her boyfriend Ren Owens had said to her.

At least I wasn’t envious of that—their love. Okay, well, that wasn’t entirely true. Pretty sure anyone who was as single as me would be envious of all that warm and fuzzy that was passed back and forth with each long look or casual brush of skin. The two could barely tear their gazes away from one another to eat the dinner we’d grabbed at the cute little diner inside the shopping center on Prytania Street.

I honest to God couldn’t be happier for them. They’d been through so much—way more than two people should ever have to go through to be together, and here they were, stronger and more in love than ever, and they deserved that happiness.

But their epic love story wasn’t the source of a current case of the green-eye monster that was sitting on my shoulder.

Ivy was just such a… badass.

Even right now, relaxed in the chair, surrounded by twinkling Christmas lights with her hand in Ren’s and her belly full of a cheeseburger deluxe and crinkle fries and half of my tater tots, she could kick ass and take names along with addresses, telephone numbers, and social security numbers.

If the proverbial poo hit the fan, you called Ivy or Ren.

If you needed to know what streets Royal intersected with, you called… me. Or if you needed coffee or fresh beignets but were currently busy, you know, saving the world, you’d call me.

The three of us were all members of the Order, a widespread organization that was literally the only thing that stood between mankind and complete, utter enslavement and destruction by the fae. And not the super cute fae found in Disney movies or some crap like that. Humans thought they were on top of the food chain. They were wrong. The fae were.

The only thing pop culture got right about the fae was their slightly pointy ears. That was it. The fae were more than just beings from another world—the Otherworld—they were capable of glamouring their appearance to blend in with humans. But all Order members, even me, were warded at birth against the glamour. We saw through the human façade to the creature that lurked beneath.

 

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About Jennifer L. Armentrout

# 1 New York Times, USA Today and international bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing. she spends her time reading, working out, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell Loki. Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen. Her book Obsidian has been optioned for a major motion picture and her Covenant Series has been optioned for TV. She also writes adult and New Adult romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.

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From New York Times bestselling author Meghan March comes a brand new saga of forbidden love and second chances.

A Riscoff and a Gable can never live happily ever after. Our family feud is the stuff of legends.

Ten years ago, Whitney Gable caught me off guard with her long legs and grab-you-by-the-balls blue eyes.

I didn’t know or care what her name was.

Like any Riscoff worth the family name, I went after what I wanted. We burned like a flash fire until she married another man.

She hates me, and she should.

I objected on her wedding day.

Now she’s home, with those same long legs and man-eater stare, but there’s no ring on her finger.

They say a Riscoff and a Gable can never live happily ever after . . . but I’m not done with Whitney Gable.

I’ll never be done with her.

iBooks ⇢ https://apple.co/2Ibzm6g
Amazon US ⇢ https://amzn.to/2Ir40Vk
Amazon UK ⇢ https://amzn.to/2IoBIPe
Amazon AU ⇢https://amzn.to/2GpW4Se
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Goodreads TBR: http://bit.ly/2IleF7X

Guilty until proven innocent.

That’s the way the world works, right?

I’m tired of being convicted without evidence, all because my last name is Gable.

The Riscoffs might own this town, but I’m done following their rules.

If only I could forget just how easily Lincoln Riscoff can drag me under his spell.

iBooks ⇢ https://apple.co/2KzjP0w

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BN ⇢ http://bit.ly/2tLXDG4

Whitney Gable is the kind of woman you fight to the death to protect.

To keep.

To cherish.

I’ve finally learned my lesson, and it’s time to prove I’m the man who’s worthy of her.

I don’t care what it takes, because failure is not an option.

No matter who or what stands in our way—this time, she’ll be mine forever

iBooks ⇢ https://apple.co/2NgM1nd

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A New York Times, #1 Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of over twenty novels, Meghan March has been known to wear camo face paint and tromp around in woods wearing mud-covered boots, all while sporting a perfect manicure. She’s also impulsive, easily entertained, and absolutely unapologetic about the fact that she loves to read and write smut. Her past lives include slinging auto parts, selling lingerie, making custom jewelry, and practicing corporate law. Writing books about dirty talking alpha males and the strong, sassy women who bring them to their knees is by far the most fabulous job she’s ever had.

Sign up for Meghan’s newsletter and receive exclusive content that she saves for her subscribers: http://meghanmarch.com/subscribe

To get the inside scoop on a daily basis, search Meghan March’s Runaway Readers on Facebook and join the fun.

FACEBOOK | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM | AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE | TWITTER | PINTEREST

From the national bestselling author of Before We Were Strangers, Swear on this Life, and Wish You Were Here comes a powerful story of two people who spend years denying their scientifically-proven chemistry.

Penny spends her afternoons sitting outside a sandwich shop, surrounded by ghosts. Fourteen years ago, this shop was her childhood dance studio—and she was a dancer on the rise. Now she’s a suburban housewife, dreading the moment her son departs for MIT, leaving her with an impeccably-decorated McMansion and a failing marriage. She had her chance at wild, stars-in-her-eyes happiness, but that was a lifetime ago. After The Kiss. Before The Decision.

The Kiss was soulful. Magical. Earth-shattering, And it was all for a free gift card. Asked to participate in a psych study that posed the question, “Can you have sexual chemistry without knowing what the other person looks like?” Penny agreed to be blindfolded, make polite conversation with a total stranger, and kiss him. She never expected The Kiss to change her life forever and introduce her to Gavin: tattooed, gorgeous, and spontaneous enough to ask her out seconds after the blindfolds came off.

For a year, they danced between friendship and romance—until Penny made The Decision that forced them to settle for friendship. Now, fourteen years later, both of their lives are about to radically change—and it’s his turn to decide what will become of their once-in-a-lifetime connection.

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2oLi4B8

BN: http://bit.ly/2H5u47f

iTunes:  https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/book/blind-kiss/id1329484994?mt=11

Excerpt

WE SAT AT the bar of the pub as I continued to stare at him, a mixture of curiosity and fear boiling in my gut. He ordered a beer, and I ordered Chardonnay with beer-cheese pretzels.

“That’s different for you.”

I usually stuck to salads, an old habit from my dancing days, but I had lost a lot of weight in the past few weeks. “Don’t think you can distract me so easily. Tell me what’s going on. Did you break up with Briel?”

He took a long pull from his beer and stared straight ahead. “Don’t be mad, okay?”

I stared at him, wordlessly, the fear fully boiling over. And then he dropped the bomb on me.

The next few minutes were hazy as Gavin, the bar, and my glass of Chardonnay swam together before my eyes. I tried to reach for the glass but found it suddenly empty. That’s weird. It was full a minute ago. I motioned to the bartender for another, then poured it down my throat in a steady stream.

I was breathing fast when I slammed the glass on the bar, shattering my fugue state—and bringing Gavin into sharp relief. I was reeling.

“Shit, Penny! Be careful. You almost shattered your glass!” He practically yelled.

“You’re moving to fucking France?!” I yelled back.

The bartender jerked his head toward the door, and within minutes Gavin was forcibly dragging me out of the bar by the arm. I slipped out of his grip and stood in the middle of the parking lot, seething, very much drunk, and fully freaking out. “So, do you love her?”

“Briel? What kind of question is that?”

“Just answer me.”

“Fuck, Penny. That’s not what this is about. I don’t really have a choice here, though, do I?”

“You always have a choice.”

He glared at me. “That’s fucking rich, coming from you.”

I shook my head vigorously. “Totally different situation.”

“Like hell it was.”

“When do you leave?”

“In two days.”

“WHAT?!”

He ran up and shook me by the shoulders. “Jesus, if I knew you were gonna take it like this, I wouldn’t have told you in public. Pull yourself together.”

I screamed at the top of my lungs and then made a guttural sound as I hunched over and held my stomach.

“First Milo, now you?”

“Don’t you put that on me. I’m not the reason why you’re about to be alone and unhappy.”

“Fuck you, Gavin!”

“Fuck you, Penny!”

He didn’t turn around—he just stormed off in typical Gavin fashion: petulant, recalcitrant, and a total shithead. People in the parking lot were gawking, appalled, covering their children’s ears. But no one made a move to leave. When Gavin and I got like this, we were like a car wreck by the side of the road, impossible to look away from.

Gavin slid into his ’67 Chevelle and fired up the engine. I hated that car because he loved it so much. It had a black leather interior, a flawless paint job, and tinted windows, like it belonged to some kind of celebrity—which Gavin definitely wasn’t. It was his only possession worth a dime, besides his garage, a few guitars, and a Zippo lighter he swore River Phoenix had given to him at the Viper Room the night of his death.

I ran to the exit and stood in the middle of the lane, daring him to run me over as he ripped out of his parking spot and raced around the corner toward the exit. “We’re not done talking, you coward!”

He slowed but let the car idle while he revved the engine. “I dare you!” I yelled.

He stuck his head out the window, leaned his tattooed arm against the door, and actually grinned at me.

So smug. What a dick.

“You look ridiculous standing there. Get out of the way!”

I walked toward his window and noticed that his demeanor had completely softened. There was even humor in his expression. He wanted me to block him, and he knew I would.

“Can’t you have a proper fight without running away?”

“You were lecturing me, yet again. I have a mother, thank you. You have a child you can order around . . . and a husband you can control. I don’t need your shit, okay? Don’t you realize that I’m freaking out, too? I’m going through the hardest time of my life, and you’re making this all about you.”

“You’ve been going through the hardest time of your life for the whole fourteen years I’ve known you.”

“And as my friend, do you think you’re helping my situation right now?” he spat back, his mood shifting once again. “Don’t even. Don’t you dare act like I haven’t been a good friend to you. You’ve put me in the most awkward situations, you’ve bolted on me, you’ve stopped speaking to me for weeks at a time, but still . . . I make myself available to you. I’ve been here for you, always. And now you’re moving thousands of miles away when I need you most?”

He shook his head slowly. “That’s right, Penny. You have been here. You’ve been right by my side, lecturing me, rolling your eyes at me, pressuring me to get serious about Briel, all so I could go and fuck up my life even more while you sit in your nice house, with your KitchenAid mixer, your Oracle espresso machine, and your fucking yellow Lab.”

“Don’t talk about Buckley that way! He’s a good dog. And you love our espresso machine.”

Gavin’s lips turned up at the corners. “You’re so messed up, Penny. You definitely have a chemical imbalance.”

I pointed to my chest, shocked. “Me? Look who’s talking? Please, pull into a parking space. I don’t want to stand here anymore, making a spectacle of myself. Some parent from Milo’s school is probably watching this whole thing. There’ll be whispers at the next PTA meeting. Is that what

you want for me?”

“Don’t pretend like you go to PTA meetings. And look around; everyone’s gone. It’s just us.”

He was right. The parking lot had cleared out. Gavin was sitting in his idling car while I was standing outside his window like a moron.

“I resent you for saying I pushed Briel on you. And yes, for your information, I do go to PTA meetings.”

“You encouraged me to go out with her, then you needled me about it until I finally did.”

“You were horribly depressed! I thought you were gonna jump off a bridge. I told you to go out with her and to have some fun. She’s a nice girl. I didn’t say turn your life upside down, pack up, and run away with a foreigner! You’re thirty-six-years old, Gavin. I think it’s time you grew up.” I shook my head. “God, I can’t believe you.”

He jerked his head back and squinted. “Great band but not totally PC to call someone a foreigner, Penny.” His voice was low.

“Are you going to become a French citizen now, too? You better brush up on your French.”

“Everyone speaks English there.”

“No, they don’t! People always say that, but you’ll see. They might be able to communicate to a degree, but it’s not conversational English.”

Why am I still standing here, screaming about French people?

I needed to tie this conversation up in a pretty little bow. I needed closure. I couldn’t say good-bye to my best friend without it. He was leaving, going to France to chase a girlfriend

I knew he didn’t love. I was losing him. And it was my fault. We couldn’t leave each other angry.

“I’ll figure it out,” he said. “Try not to make me feel worse about my situation, though I know that’s hard for you.” “Your situation? It’s always your situation. What about my situation?” He just stared at me. He was hurting; I could tell. But I was hurting, too. “Listen—”

“What?”

“Don’t interrupt me.” I cleared my throat. “Gavin . . . it’s just . . . I’m going to fucking miss you, okay? I’m having a hard time right now, and life is about to get a whole lot harder the second you leave.” I started to cry.

He hated it when I cried, but he didn’t ask me, “Why are you crying?” He never had to ask. He took a deep breath in through his nose, then released it forcefully in a burst of frustration. A second later his car stalled. He put it in gear, got out, and swooped me up in a bear hug. “Penny, Penny, Penny . . . my crazy girl,” he said as he rubbed my back. I was wiping my snot-covered nose on his black T-shirt and he didn’t care one bit.

He held me for a long time. When he started to release me, I said, “It’s not enough.”

He picked me up again and squeezed me harder. Tucking his face into my neck, he said, “It’ll never be enough.”

“Why?” I said, fully bawling against his shoulder. He brushed a strand of my hair, damp with tears, behind my ear. “I have to go, and so do you. You need to be with your family now.”

I felt the lump in my throat growing. “You don’t have to constantly remind me that I have a family. I love my family. But you’re a part of it, too, and that’s why I’m here. That’s why I’m fucking crying in the parking lot in front of Bank of America.”

He pulled away and we stood there, two feet apart, staring at each other, as if we were committing each other to memory. Allowing one another to really look at and take the other person in, stripped down to our bones, without scrutiny.

“Is this it?” I asked.

“This is it, P.”

I shook my head, leaned up on my toes, and wrapped my arms around him. We hugged again for a long time before he got into his car. I tried to hold on to the feeling of having him in my arms, or maybe I was trying to hold on to the feeling of being held in his.

He started the engine as I stood there, waiting for him to leave.

“We’ll talk on the phone or email or something, okay?”

“Okay,” I told him.

He swallowed nervously. Looking up at me from the car window, he said, “I wish it were you, Penny.”

That was my bow. He knew I needed it, good or bad—no matter what feelings it shook loose from our long and complicated history together.

Renée Carlino is a screenwriter and bestselling author of contemporary women’s novels and new adult fiction. Her books have been featured in national publications, including USA TODAY, Huffington Post, Latina magazine, and Publisher’s Weekly. She lives in Southern California with her husband, two sons, and their sweet dog June. When she’s not at the beach with her boys or working on her next project, she likes to spend her time reading, going to concerts, and eating dark chocolate. Learn more at www.reneecarlino.com

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Genre: Romantic Comedy

Release Date: August 13, 2018

US: https://amzn.to/2KyCshb
UK: https://amzn.to/2LTy6ql
CA: https://amzn.to/2McwPKs
AU: https://amzn.to/2KzhdeZ
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2LZzuYn
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/man-candy-lila…/1129284870/
iBooks: https://apple.co/2LUXXhw
Google Play: http://bit.ly/2OUi0dF

Add to TBR: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40162786-man-candy

Blurb

What’s hotter than a sexy man and unlimited chocolate? Indulge in the delicious new rom-com from Lila Monroe!

Private investigator Nick Cameron is six foot two of chiseled, hunky trouble. He needs a fake fiancée to help him go undercover at the hottest candy company around, and he picks… me?!

OK, he thinks I’m the safe, reliable choice. But what he doesn’t know is that I’ve been waiting for the chance to get out from behind my desk and indulge my Bond girl fantasies. Goodbye, Moneypenny. Hello, femme fatale!

It’s my chance to take a risk and prove I’m more than just a secretary… but I didn’t bank on the sizzlin’ hot chemistry and Nick’s lick-able abs. And between our wild cover stories, after-hours investigation, and not-so-fake romps, the line between fiction and reality is melting faster than a Hershey’s kiss in the summer sun.

Can our delicious fake relationship turn into something real? Or will my sexy sugar rush crash before we can unravel the chocolate conspiracy? Find out in the latest BILLIONAIRE BACHELOR romance from Lila Monroe!

BILLIONAIRE BACHELORS SERIES:
1 Very Irresistible Playboy
2 Hot Daddy
3 Wild Card
4 Man Candy
5 Mr. Casanova (Oct)
6 Best Man (Dec 2019)

My Review

In Man Candy, readers reenter Lila Monroe’s Billionaire Bachelor world, and she introduces readers to Nick Chambers, a private investigator in need of a fake fiancée for an undercover operation at a candy company, and Nick wants Olivia’s secretary, Alice Jones, to be his arm candy in order to investigate a potential fraud/industrial espionage case.

But here’s where things get quite a bit more interesting because even though Alice was chosen for this role due to the fact that she is a responsible, reliable, and hardworking woman, there’s more to her than her administrative skills and throughout the course of Nick and Alice’s two week assignment, Nick gets to know exactly who Alice is, which puts him in a difficult position because as their attraction builds and their fake affection becomes real, Nick’s focus is split between his growing feelings for Alice and the task at hand, which puts him in a precarious position and forces him to determine if he can handle his personal and professional life coexisting or if he’ll have to put aside what he feels for Alice in order to not only get the evidence he needs but to protect Alice as well.

I love Lila Monroe’s romantic comedies, and her Billionaire Bachelor series has a great blend of humor, wit, and steam. Even though each book in the series is based on a fake relationship, Monroe varies the plot lines and the situations that her characters are placed in, so nothing is overused or repetitive. Nick and Alice’s story adds another dynamic to the series due to the undercover aspect of their ruse and the James Bond like maneuvers that have to be used, and that’s the part that intrigued me the most because Nick and Alice work well together and despite the pressure to uncover the proof Nick needs and the fact that Nick starts to question who he can trust, the reality is that Nick and Alice need and want each other way passed their two week fake engagement.

Who knew that sticky situations in a candy company could lead to illegal activities instead of a great product, but that’s the case that brings Nick and Alice together and it’s their sizzling connection that could melt just about any product that surrounds them.

4 Poison Apples

Author Bio

Combining her love of writing, sex and well-fitted suits, Lila Monroe wrote The Billionaire Bargain. Lila enjoys writing, as it gives her a flexible schedule to spend time with her kids and a wonderful excuse to avoid them. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, who strips out of his well-fitted suits nightly.

Website: http://www.lilamonroebooks.com
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