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On the Ropes by Kathryn Nolan


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Fresh Catch


Kate Canterbary - 2018
     Get away from Silicon Valley's back-stabbing and power-grabbing. Recharge the innovative batteries. Unwind, then come back stronger than ever.Instead, I got lost at sea and fell in love with an anti-social lobsterman.There's one small issue: Owen Bartlett doesn't know who I am. Who I really am. ~~I don't like people.I avoid small talk and socializing, and I kick my companions out of bed before the sun rises. No strings, no promises, no problems. Until Cole McClish's boat drifts into Talbott's Cove, and I bend all my rules for the sexy sailor. I don't know Cole's story or what he's running from, but one thing is certain: I'm not letting him run away from me. Fresh Catch is a standalone novel. A portion of this novel appeared in the 2016 anthology INCOGNITO. The story has been substantially expanded.

The Start of Something Good


Jennifer Probst - 2018
    As a former Special Forces paratrooper, he saw his fair share of conflict, and he came home with wounds, inside and out. At his sisters’ B & B and farm, he can keep all his pain at a safe distance. But quiet time isn’t easy when a fiery woman explodes into his life…It’s business—not pleasure—that brings Manhattan PR agent Mia Thrush reluctantly to the farm. Tightly wound and quick tempered, Mia clashes immediately with the brooding Ethan. Everything about him is irritating—from his lean muscles and piercing blue eyes to his scent of sweat and musk.But as the summer unfolds and temperatures rise, Ethan and Mia discover how much they have in common: their guarded histories, an uncontrollable desire, and a passion for the future that could heal two broken hearts. But will their pasts threaten their fragile chance at a brand-new future?

Office Grump


Nicole Snow - 2020
    I'm his lowly assistant. Some rules are carved in stone.That's my mantra until we're sharing a sunset too beautiful for life.Alone with wandering lips, whispered secrets, and disaster in the making.The plan was simple: punch the clock, get paid, and keep hating my boss.What's the blueprint when the office grump brings me to my knees?Full-length enemies-to-lovers romance with the banter, intrigue, and slow-burn love worthy of a Happily Ever After. The bossman from Hades meets the hellion he totally can't stand—until he can't live without her.

Only When It's Us


Chloe Liese - 2020
    Why she hates me, I don't know. What I do know is that Willa is the kind of chaos I don’t need in my tidy life. She’s the next generation of women’s soccer. Wild hair, wilder eyes. Bee-stung lips that should be illegal. And a temper that makes the devil seem friendly. She’s a thorn in my side, a menacing, cantankerous, pain-in-the-ass who’s turned our Business Mathematics course into a goddamn gladiator arena. I'll leave this war zone unscathed, coming out on top…And if I have my way with that crazy-haired, ball-busting hellion, that will be in more than one sense of the word.  Willa Rather than give me the lecture notes I missed like every other instructor I’ve had, my asshole professor tells me to get them from the silent, surly flannel-wearing mountain man sitting next to me in class. Well, I tried. And what did I get from Ryder Bergman? Ignored. What a complete lumbersexual neanderthal. Mangy beard and mangier hair. Frayed ball cap that hides his eyes. And a stubborn refusal to acknowledge my existence. I’ve battled men before, but with Ryder, it's war. I’ll get those notes and crack that Sasquatch nut if it’s the last thing I do, then I’ll have him at my mercy. Victory will have never tasted so sweet. Only When It’s Us is a frenemies-to-lovers, college sports romance about a women’s soccer star and her surly lumberjack lookalike classmate, complete with a matchmaking professor, juvenile pranks, and a smoking slow burn. This standalone is the first in a series of new novels about a Swedish-American family of five brothers, two sisters, and their wild adventures as they each find happily ever after.

The Bet


Max Monroe - 2021
    But wise words, nonetheless.I just wish the Fortune Cookie People had considered how hard the whole “knowing when to quit” would be to carry out when a woman like me is gambling with her feelings.Heart-palpitating, vageen-tingling, butterflies-in-my-belly feelings for a noncommittal, hot-as-sin player by the name of Jude Winslow.After a crazy night where we were both pretending to be someone else, I’ve found myself immersed in the fun of the fling.The thrill.The irresistible charm.The pleasure of being with a man like him.Problem is, I’m positive he’s the exact opposite of husband material, and that is a serious issue for someone who is fixated on finding her happily ever after.I know the rules and I know the stakes, oh wise Fortune Cookie.Now I’d just like to know how close to self-destruction I have to get before I find the will to quit Jude Winslow.Goodness knows, when your heart is on the line, you can’t ante up your bet with an IOU.Author Note: The Bet is a full-length standalone romantic comedy and the first standalone book in the Winslow Brothers Collection. This book is chock-full of hilarious rom-com moments, but also, it’s spicy. We’re talking alllllll the sexy.

Running into Love


Aurora Rose Reynolds - 2017
    After countless mishaps, mistakes, and unmitigated disasters on the dating scene, she’s decided to give up and move on with her life…solo.Everything changes, however, after Fawn runs into Levi Fremont, a homicide detective new to New York City.Dedication to the job has rendered Levi’s love life nonexistent—until he moves in next door to the free-spirited Fawn. After a series of comedic run-ins push them together, will they finally give in to the inevitable and realize—maybe—they are perfect for each other?

This Is Crazy


Natasha Madison - 2019
     Zara Stone All my life, I’ve said I will never date a hockey player. I know better because I’ve seen and lived it all. My father is a hockey god, my brother is the captain of the most successful NHL team in the world, and my brother-in-law also plays in the league. Their lives are complicated, so I went in the opposite direction. I fell in love with a scholar. But instead of proposing marriage, he broke up with me. Three months later, I saw his engagement picture on Instagram. I couldn’t let him get away with that. No, it didn’t matter what, I was going to make that man see that I did not need him. Evan Richards I was in the running to pass my point record from last year, ready to claim the number one spot in the league. On top of my game, I was riding my career high wave. Then, Hockey’s Princess, Zara Stone tweeted me. She wanted me to crash her ex’s wedding. The worst that could happen? A PR nightmare. The best? A fun night with a beautiful woman. It started out as a game—something I’m good at. Her crazy idea twisted into something I wasn’t looking for, something neither of us wanted. When push comes to shove, one thing runs through my mind: This is Crazy. Also, this is crazy right.

Rewrite the Stars


Charleigh Rose - 2018
    Beautiful and popular, if not a little jaded. A chance encounter with a green-eyed stuntman sets off a chain of events that turns her perfect, little world upside down. Short on options and desperate for adventure, she joins the traveling carnival for the summer. Thrust into a world full of drama, deception, and secrecy, Evangeline tries to find herself and protect her heart in the process. Sebastian McAllister is cursed. He knows better than to think otherwise. He’s content to live out the rest of his life traveling the country as one of the four Sons of Eastlake, seeking thrills the only way he knows how. The one thing he doesn’t see coming is the spoiled blond with stars in her eyes. The only problem is, the more time he spends with her, the more hope starts to stir in his dormant heart. Too bad hope is a dangerous thing when you’re a McAllister

The Perfect First


Maya Hughes - 2019
    Math genius. Lover of blazers. The only girl I know who can make Heidi braids look sexy as hell. And she’s on a mission. Lose her virginity by the end of the semester. I walked in on her interview session for potential candidates (who even does that?) and saw straight through her brave front. She’s got a list of Firsts to accomplish like she’s only got months to live. I’ve decided to be her guide for all her firsts except one. Someone’s got to keep her out of trouble. I have one rule, no sex. We even shook on it.I’ll help her find the right guy for the job. Someone like her doesn’t need someone like me and my massive...baggage for her first time. Drinking at a bar. Check. Partying all night. Double check. Skinny dipping. Triple check. She’s unlike anyone I’ve ever met. The walls I’d put up around my heart are slowly crumbling with each touch that sets fire to my soul. I’m the first to bend the rules. One electrifying kiss changes everything and suddenly I don’t want to be her first, I want to be her only. But her plan was written before I came onto the scene and now I’m determined to get her to re-write her future with me.

Hard Pass


Sara Ney - 2020
    She laughed, walked out of my penthouse—and I never saw her again. It doesn’t matter that I’m a rich, professional athlete; what mattered was my face. Beauty might only be skin deep for some—but I know better.“Pay up.” That’s what the last girl I spoke to said over the phone when I made her an offer she couldn’t refuse. Desperate to sell a set of rare baseball cards, she’s clever and entertaining. I’m instantly smitten, but nowhere ready to reveal myself. Thank god she has no idea who I am—or what I look like.I’m a professional athlete--how hard can playing the love game be?

I Dare You


Ilsa Madden-Mills - 2018
    Good girl.Lover of fluffy kitties and Star Wars. Curious.His dare? Spend one night in his bed—a night he promises will be unforgettable—and she can solve the mystery of who he is. She knows she shouldn't, but what else is she going to do with her boring Valentine's Day?One sexy hook-up later, her mind is blown and the secret's out.Maverick Monroe.Bad boy.The most talented football player in the country.Just ask him.Too bad for him Delaney's sworn off dating athletes forever after her last heartbreak.But Maverick wants more than one night and refuses to give up on winning Delaney’s heart. She isn’t one to be fazed by a set of broad shoulders. Will the bad boy land the nerd girl or will the secrets they keep from each other separate them forever?

Egotistical Puckboy


Eden Finley - 2022
    What more could a gay NHL player want?If it weren't for Anton Hayes, my life would be perfect.Not that he affects my life in any way. At all. That would imply I care what the winger from Philly thinks of me.Which I don't.Not even a one-night stand with him can thaw his misplaced animosity toward me.He says I'm the one with the ego, but he can talk. He rivals me for most egotistical puck boy in the league.I hate him as much as he hates me. Even if I crave a repeat.ANTONWhen it comes to hockey, I'm all about the game.I've worked for years to be one of the best in the league, and l've done it without splashing my orientation all over the tabloids.My hockey image is one I've carefully cultivated, and after one night with Ezra Palaszczuk, I risk it all.He's cocky, obnoxious, and has an ego bigger than Massachusetts. And okay, maybe he's the sexiest man I've ever known.We'll never get along. Not when we sleep together. Not even when my possessive streak awakens.That doesn't stop us from falling into bed together over and over again.

The Assist


Rebecca Jenshak - 2018
    these are the things I knew about him. What I didn't know is that he is a seriously smart jock.Wes What's the best way to get rid of the peppy and unrelenting girl that keeps asking me to tutor her? If I knew, I wouldn't be staring at her tan legs and attempting to teach her statistics.Sorority girl, fine as f**k, determined, ball buster... these are the things I knew about her. What I didn't know is that she is all the things I didn't realize I wanted or needed.Or that one semester with her would change everything.

Someone You Love


Kristen Granata - 2021
    They didn’t make it all the way through the list before she died, but she made Charly promise to finish it and live her life to the fullest.Spending the summer in a coastal mountain city in Maine is next on her list. The scenic town is perfect for finding adventure, and the quirky inn owner makes her feel right at home in the guest house.Except for the fact that her new living quarters belong to the owner’s grump of a grandson.Bryce Holden was an NFL player before sustaining a career-ending spinal injury. The people he thought would stand by his side left him when he was no longer a football star. Now, he prefers to live his life as a recluse, keeping outsiders at arm’s length where his heart is safe.The last thing Bryce needs is to fall for a beautiful woman who will leave him like everyone else. But when he sees Charly’s incomplete bucket list, and the bruised heart she wears on her sleeve, he resolves to help her on her journey.Even if it means losing her at the end of it.

Nothing Personal


Karina Halle - 2018
    Her latest relationship ended while on her much-needed vacation, then upon her first day back at work, she learns that her beloved boss has quit – and despite having worked so hard for it, she’s not being considered for his position. Who is being considered for the position is none other than Kessler Rocha. Her ex-coworker and ex-lover, Kessler’s the man who broke her heart five years earlier and the reason she moved thousands of miles away, switched jobs, and created numerous voodoo dolls in Kessler’s (very burly, very handsome) liking. Yup. Worst week ever. New in town and on her turf, Kessler promises he’s not the same man he was – and considering he’s now a single father to a precocious toddler, he’s telling the truth. But he’s still an arrogant and devilishly charming man who’s taking over the position Nova feels she deserves. The fact that he’s gotten even more sexy over the years doesn’t help either. Now Nova and Kessler have the choice to let bygones be bygones, or fight with each other every chance they get, with unresolved sexual tension only adding fuel to the flames, creating a fire that might just burn down the whole office. In the corporate world they say it’s just business, nothing personal. Nova and Kessler are about to show just how personal things can get.