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Veritas


A.L. Woods - 2021
    š—ŖšØšØšš¬...ā£ā£š˜”š˜¢š˜³š˜Ŗš˜¢ā£It was supposed to be a fling.ā£A one-night stand. ā£Then Jordan Kovacs asked for more.ā£A date. I donā€™t dateā€”I f*ck. ā£While he showered, I left. ā£The end. ā£Or so I thought. I have a problem.ā£My ex-f*ck buddy is getting married. ā£And I canā€™t get out of goingā€”long story.ā£I need an arrangement I can understand from a man who only had me for a night.ā£But Jordan has other plans for me.ā£Things that will tip the scales in his favor.ā£ā£ā£š˜‘š˜°š˜³š˜„š˜¢š˜Æā£A tryst was what she was looking for. ā£A date was what I wanted.ā£A chance. ā£I understand Maria Tavares. ā£Sheā€™s a beautiful lie. ā£Now she needs something from me: a favor. ā£So Iā€™ll function in a way she can understand: an arrangement. ā£Three months. ā£All in. Strings attached. No interferences. Titles exchanged. ā£The plan is simple, with only one ruleā€”veritas.ā£Letā€™s see if Mariaā€™s ex-f*ck buddy understands that, too.

Ashes


Gail Haris - 2021
    Brombergā€™s Everyday Heroes Worlds project. Featuring Collins from Combust. All that remains are ashesā€¦Fighting fires is in his blood. Itā€™s more than a jobā€”itā€™s part of who Carter Collins is. Everything was going according to plan until one fateful night. With only his brothers at the Sunnyville Fire Department and his grandmother to answer to, Collins is content with life the way it is. His heart of ash isnā€™t capable of being in a relationshipā€”but then she comes along. Natalia Vasquez took a position at the Sunnyville Hospital to leave her old life behind with hopes to escape the permeant ache in her chest. When a fire her destroys her apartment, a strikingly handsome firefighter comes to her rescue.With no choice but to move again, Natalia isnā€™t thrilled to find that the heroic ass is her new neighbor.She is determined to find herself. He longs for peace from his inner demons.Will the tension burning between them be enough to rekindle the ashes that smolder inside of them?

Play


Piper Lawson - 2016
    Just another twenty-something girl, living the dream. Thatā€™s what I tell myself every morning. That Iā€™m successful, self-aware, and well-balanced. It's just a tiny fib. I would be all of those things, if I had friends who didnā€™t work with me at the bank. And if I made it to pilates more than once a quarter. And if watermelon slushies weren't the main source of nutrients in my diet. It wouldnā€™t hurt if Iā€™d had sex in the last year, either. (My best friend insists Jorge the Nightstand Boyfriend doesnā€™t count.)But when you know where you're going, you donā€™t need to enjoy the ride. Right?Even if some teeny part of me did want to fool around, Max Donovan would be the last guy Iā€™d call. Sure, he made the indie video game that broke the internet. And yeah, his eyebrow piercingā€™s sexy, in a ā€˜what-are-you-in-a-band?ā€™ kind of way. And fighting with him gets me going faster than Jorge on bezerker modeā€¦Heā€™s still colder than a cactus and twice as prickly. And Iā€™m not talking about his face, because the guyā€™s barely old enough to shave. Itā€™d really be best if we just ignored each other. Which is a problem, because Max Donovan is my new biggest client.So what happens when the girl who lives to work meets the guy who was born to play?Game on.

When Sparks Fly


Helena Hunting - 2021
    After years of working hard and making personal sacrifices, Avery and her two younger sisters have turned the Spark House into the premier destination in Colorado Springs. Avery is living her best lifeā€”she works with her sisters and loves every minute of it, she has a great group of friends, and she lives in a fantastic condo with her best friend Declan. She might not have any love in her life, but she's happy.But everything comes to a screeching halt when Avery is in a car accident, leaving her immobile for weeks. After nearly losing Avery, Declan insists that he will be the one to take care of her while she recovers. However, as Declan becomes Averyā€™s caretaker, lines begin to blur.Avery and Declan have been best friends since college and always had an attraction to one another, but when she ended up dating his best friend, Sam, they successfully stamped down any feelings they may have ever had for one another. Now, as Declan and Avery spend more time together, they each begin to wonder what wouldā€™ve happened if she'd dated him instead of Sam. What starts as a friend helping out another friend turns into foreplay and, before they realize it, they recognize how deeply they care for one another. But when things get serious their past threatens to destroy everything they have built.

Kamila Knows Best


Farah Heron - 2022
    She lives a life of comfort, filled with her elaborate Bollywood movie parties, a dog with more Instagram followers than most reality stars, a job she loves, and an endless array of friends who clearly need her help finding love. In fact, Kamila is so busy with her friendsā€™ love lives, sheā€™s hardly given any thought to her own . . .Fortunately, Kamila has Rohan Nasser. A longtime friend of the family, heā€™s hugely successful, with the deliciously lean, firm body of a rock climber. Only lately, Kamilaā€™s ā€œharmless flirtingā€ with Rohan is making her insides do a little bhangra dance.But between planning the local shelterā€™s puppy prom, throwing a huge work event, and proving to everyone that sheā€™s got it all figured out, Kamila isnā€™t letting herself get distractedā€”until her secret nemesis returns to town with an eye for Rohan. Suddenly, it seems like the more Kamila tries to plan, the more things are starting to unravelā€”and her perfectly ordered life is about to be turned upside down.

Heartbreak for Hire


Sonia Hartl - 2021
    Once a rising star following in her motherā€™s footsteps, sheā€™s now an administrative assistant at an insurance agencyā€”or so they think.In reality, Brinkley works at Heartbreak for Hire, a secret service that specializes in revenge for jilted lovers, frenemies, and long-suffering coworkers with a little cash to spare and a man who needs to be taken down a notch. It might not be as prestigious as academia, but it helps Brinkley save for her dream of opening an art gallery and lets her exorcise a few demons, all while helping to empower women.But when her boss announces sheā€™s hiring male heartbreakers for the first time, Brinkleyā€™s no longer so sure sheā€™s doing the right thingā€”especially when her new coworker turns out to be a target she was paid to take down. Though Mark spends his days struggling up the academic ladder, he seems to be the opposite of a backstabbing adjunct: a nerd at heart in criminally sexy sweater vests whoā€™s attentive both in and out of the bedroom. But as Brinkley finds it increasingly more difficult to focus on anything but Mark, she soon realizes that like herself, people arenā€™t always who they appear to be.

Josh and Gemma Make a Baby


Sarah Ready - 2022
    Sheā€™s driven, energetic, and a positive thinker. She has a great career working for famed self-help guru Ian Fortune, she lives in a cute studio apartment in Manhattan, and her family is supportive and loving (albeit a little kooky). Her life is perfect. Absolutely wonderful. Except for one tiny little thing.After a decade of disastrous relationships and an infertility diagnosis, Gemma doesnā€™t want a Mr. Right (or even a Mr. Right Now), she just wants a baby.And all she needs is an egg, some sperm, and IVF.So Gemma makes a New Yearā€™s resolution: have a baby.Josh Lewenthal is a laid back, relaxed, find-the-humor-in-life kind of guy. The polar opposite of Gemma. Heā€™s also her brotherā€™s best friend. For the past twenty years Josh has attended every Jacobsā€™ family birthday, holiday, and event ā€“ heā€™s always around. Gemma knows him. Heā€™s nice (enough), heā€™s funny (-ish), heā€™s healthy (she thinks) and he didnā€™t burn any ants with a magnifying glass as a kid. Which, in Gemmaā€™s mind, makes him the perfect option for a sperm donor.So Gemma wants to make a deal. An unemotional, businesslike arrangement. No commitments, just a baby.To Gemmaā€™s surprise, Josh agrees.They have nothing in common, except their agreement to make a baby and their desire to keep things businesslike.But the thing about baby-makingā€¦itā€™s hard to keep it businesslike, itā€™s nearly impossible to keep it unemotional, and itā€™s definitely impossible to keep your heart out of the mix. Because when youā€™re making a baby together, things have a way of starting to feel like youā€™re making other things too ā€“ like a life, and a family, and love. And when the baby-making ends, you wish that everything else didnā€™t have to end too.

How Sweet It Is


Dylan Newton - 2021
    (Kirkus, starred review)Event planner Kate Sweet is famous for creating the perfect happily-ever-after moment for her clientsā€™ dream weddings. So how is it that her best friend has roped her into planning a bestselling horror writerā€™s book launch extravaganza? But the second Kate meetsā€”or rather, accidentally maimsā€”the drop-dead-hot Drake Matthews, her well-ordered life quickly transforms into an absolute nightmare.Drake Matthews is tired of the spotlight and tired of his reputation as the KnightĀ of Nightmares. He's really a nice guy! But heā€™s not prepared for Kate, a fearless agent of chaos in steel-tipped stilettos, or for that sweet sting of attraction he feels for her. Sheā€™s inspiring him to take his writing in a whole new directionā€”one that no one expects. Because now Kate and Drake are changing up the rules, and this plot twist might just surprise everyone . . . including themselves."Fans ofĀ The Hating GameĀ by Sally Thorne,Ā Red, White and Royal BlueĀ by Casey McQuiston,Ā Get a Life, Chloe BrownĀ by Talia Hibbert, andĀ Written in the StarsĀ by Alexandria Bellefleur will adoreĀ How Sweet It Is!" --The Nerd DailyAs featured in:PopSugar:Ā Must-Read July BooksPopSugar: 12 Swoonworthy Romances to Read in One Sitting

In a New York Minute


Kate Spencer - 2022
    Sheā€™s been laid off from her (admittedly mediocre) job, the subway doors ripped her favorite silk dress to ruins, and now sheā€™s flashed her unmentionables to half of lower Manhattan. On the plus side, a dashing stranger came to her rescue with his (Gucci!) suit jacket. On the not-so-plus side, he canā€™t get away from her fast enough.Worse yet? Someone posted their (entirely not) meet-cute online. Suddenly Franny and her knight-in-couture, Hayes Montgomery III, are the newest social media sensation, and all of New York is shipping #SubwayQTs.Only Franny and Hayes couldnā€™t be a more disastrous match. Sheā€™s fanciful, talkative, and creative. Heā€™s serious, shy, and all about numbers. Luckily, in a city of eight million people, they never have to meet again. Yet somehow, Hayes and Franny keep running into each otherā€”and much to their surprise, they enjoy each otherā€™s company. A lot. But when Frannyā€™s whole world is turned upside down (again!), can she find the courage to trust in herself and finally have the lifeā€”and loveā€”sheā€™s always wanted?

Tough Love: A Forced Proximity Romance


Melanie A. Smith - 2021
    Smith comes a standalone steamy contemporary romance about life choices, love, and finding yourself in between. Sometimes you need a bit of tough love to get where youā€™re supposed to be ā€¦ Mia Anderson has been living a life that was chosen for her. But her impending thirtieth birthday is the wake-up call she needed to stop wasting time on all the wrong pursuits. Just as sheā€™s figuring out what she wants to do about it, her beloved grandmother falls ill and Mia drops everything to be with her. What she didnā€™t expect to find in her grandmotherā€™s tiny mountain town is the courage to quit working for her father, supplied by a little tough love from her Gran. Now faced with an uncertain future, the last thing on her mind is finding love. Nate Edwards is living a solitary life deep in the Cascade Mountains of Washington. Heā€™s content, or at least he thinks he is ā€” until the granddaughter of a good friend shows up and he starts having feelings he thought heā€™d never have again. But Miaā€™s future isnā€™t in Alpine Ridge, so acting on it would lead to nothing but heartbreak. Still, their connection is undeniable and circumstances continue to push them together, despite their resistance. Will Mia stick to her decision to carve her own path? And if she does, will it be with Nate? Or is he doomed to an isolated life?

Hard Rules


Lisa Renee Jones - 2016
    His reckless and ruthless brother, Derek wants to keep Brandon Enterprises cemented in lies, deceit, and corruption. But the harder Shane fights to pull the company back into the light, the darker he has to become. Then he meets Emily Stevens, a woman who not only stirs a voracious sexual need in him, but becomes the only thing anchoring him between good and evil.Emily is consumed by Shane, pushed sexually in ways she never dreamed of, falling deeper into the all-encompassing passion that is this man. She trusts him. He trusts her, but therein lies the danger. Emily has a secret, the very thing that brought her to him in the first place, and that secret could destroy them both.This is book ONE of FOUR in Shane and Emily's story.

The Girl with Stars in Her Eyes: A story of love, loss, and rock-and-roll


Xio Axelrod - 2021
    Seb was a little older, a lot wiser, and he became Toni's way out, promising they'd escape their small town together. Then Seb turned eighteen and split without looking back.Now, Toni B is all grown up and making a name for herself in Philadelphia's indie rock scene. When a friend suggests she try out for the hottest new band in the country, she decides to take a chance. She's in for a surprise when one of the decision-makers turns out to be none other than Seb. Toni can handle it. No problem. Or it wouldn't be if Seb didn't still hold a piece of her heart, not to mention the key to her future.

Lease on Love


Falon Ballard - 2022
    When one drink turns into one too many, Sadie mixes up a long-ignored dating app for a roommate-finding app and finds herself on the doorstep of Jack Thomasā€™s gorgeous Brooklyn brownstone. Too bad sheā€™s more attracted to his impressive real estate than she is to the man himself. Jack, still grieving the unexpected death of his parents, has learned to find comfort in video games and movie marathons instead of friends. So while he doesnā€™t know just what to make of the vivaciously verbose Sadie, heā€™s willing to offer her his spare bedroom while she gets back on her feet. And with the rent unbeatably low, Sadie can finally pursue her floristry side hustle full-time. The two are polar opposites, but as Sadieā€™s presence begins to turn the brownstone into a home, they both start to realize they may have just made the deal of a lifetime.

Ten Rules for Faking It


Sophie Sullivan - 2020
    But catching your boyfriend cheating on you with his assistant?Even clichĆ©s sting.But this is Everlyā€™s year! She wonā€™t let her anxiety hold her back. Sheā€™ll pitch her podcast idea to her boss.Thereā€™s just one problem.Her boss, Chris, is very cute. (Of course). Also, he's extremely distant (which means he hates her, right? Or is that the anxiety talking)?And, Stacey the DJ didnā€™t mute the mic during Everlyā€™s rant about Simon the Snake (syn: Cheating Ex).Thatā€™s three problems.Suddenly, people are lining up to date her, Bachelorette-style, fans are voting (Reminder: never leave house again), and her interest in Chris might be a two-way street. Itā€™s a lot for a woman who could gold medal in people-avoidance. Sheā€™s going to have to fake it ā€˜till she makes it to get through all of this.Perhaps sheā€™ll make a list: The Ten Rules for Faking It. Because sometimes making the rules can find you happiness when you least expect it.

The Trouble with Hating You


Sajni Patel - 2020
    The moment she realizes her parents' latest dinner party is a setup with the man they want her to marry, she's out the back door in a flash. Imagine her surprise when the same guy shows up at her office a week later -- the new lawyer hired to save her struggling company. What's not surprising: he's not too thrilled to see her either after that humiliating fiasco.Jay Shah looks good on paper...and off. Especially if you like that whole gorgeous, charming lawyer-in-a-good-suit thing. He's also arrogant and infuriating. As their witty office banter turns into late night chats, Liya starts to think he might be the one man who truly accepts her. But falling for each other means exposing their painful pasts. Will Liya keep running, or will she finally give love a real chance?