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The Critic by Joanne Schwehm


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Always You


Stephanie Rose - 2015
     All we had was friendship and my silly hope for more. When he left and took all of that with him, I moved on. Settled. I figured that happiness wasn't in the cards for me. Until, one night of drinks with an old "friend" gives me a hope I never expected, but don't know what to do with. This time, I have the chance I always dreamed about—but I'm not free to take it. *** Ten years ago, Samantha was only a friend, a sweet girl I never wanted to hurt. Now, she's everything I want and nothing I can have. She belongs with me, even if she's not really mine, and I can’t settle for anything less than all of her. Now that I’ve got a second chance, I'm grabbing it with both hands. Why did it take so long to realize that it was Always You?

Dirty Deals


Michelle A. Valentine - 2016
    Women, business, pleasure: When I want it, I get it. I’m never denied. Including her. I will break her. I will show her who the king of this city really is. The Feisty Princess of Manhattan will learn I am not a man that can be tempted. No matter how damn bad I want her in my bed.Dirty Deals: The Complete Sexy Manhattan Story

Speak From The Heart


L.B. Dunbar - 2013
    Back at her grandmother’s summer home, she’s only in Elk Lake City for a visit which can’t end soon enough. Especially when she can’t seem to get away from one grumpy repairman who shows up everywhere. Fortunately for him, his daughter is sweet even if she refuses to speak.Jess Carter is a hometown favorite and a hot single father. Sworn off love for several reasons, foremost is the silence of his daughter. His little one has a secret and he doesn’t know the why behind it. Unfortunately for him, his six-year-old has taken a liking to the beautiful new woman in town visiting her nana. And everywhere he goes, there she is, invading his space and his heart.While silence might be golden, the voice in lonely hearts refuses to remain quiet.** PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED in 2014 as Sound Advice, Sensations Collection 1.

Swallow Me Whole: A Friends To Lovers Romance


Gemma James - 2018
    She’s my sister’s best friend. The girl I’ve known since grade school. The girl I’ve always considered off-limits. She’s the girl that crawled under a table in a bar one night and changed everything between us. Now the brain in my pants is more than willing to step up. The rules are simple. No kissing. No screwing. No falling in love. But the more I let her use my body in the name of experimentation, the more I know being friends isn’t enough. Is it too much to want it all with her? The taste of her lips. The sweetness of her innocence. The chance to earn her love. I might have a real shot with her…if her douchebag ex and my past don’t ruin everything. Note from the author Swallow Me Whole is a friends-to-lovers standalone romance. Full-length at 77,000 words. Please note that parts of this story were previously published as a serial under the pen name of Angel Allen. This standalone novel includes the complete story. For a limited time, Trashy Foreplay is included as a bonus book in this copy of Swallow Me Whole, so the main book ends at about the 58% mark.

Game Player


B.J. Harvey - 2016
    Matt Taylor’s motto:“I’m the king of the cut ‘n’ run. I wine them, dine them, then slide inside them, making sure I get up, get dressed and get out before they can even utter the words “second date.” Mia Roberts’ motto:“I’m queen of the chase. I meet them, greet them, date them and leave them. A social butterfly, I’m happily single and happy to stay that way.”The players have been found. The challenge has been set. Whatever happens, they’ll soon find out that playing the game can get you played in the best possible way.

More Than Lies


N.E. Henderson - 2015
    But not for us. We’re locked somewhere between love and hate.TARALYNN EVANSI’ve loved Shawn nearly all of my life. But college is almost over, and it kills me that he’s been with every girl in town except me. It’s time I let go of old dreams, and of this pain. I’m just not sure I’m strong enough. He’s like a tattoo . . . permanently inked on my heart.But when the foundation of my life crumble, who will be there to put the broken pieces back together?SHAWN BRADENInk, sex, and lies—that's me. I'm the guy who screws a girl against the wall and then walks. I've been pushing Tara away for years, knowing she’s too good for me, even though it burns to see her with other guys. Now she’s the one walking and I’m not sure I can handle losing her.Then tragedy rips our lives apart, and I realize too late that I wasted my chance.Love is stronger than lies . . . or is it?

This Regret


Victoria Ashley - 2014
    That's how long it's been since my brother's been gone and not a day goes by that it doesn't kill me, knowing that I'll never see Adric again. It's been a rough journey, one I've barely survived, but with the help of my childhood friend Kade Haze, I'm finally learning to piece what remains back together. Or so I thought... Just when life is beginning to make sense again and a feeling of normalcy is on the horizon, my carefully constructed walls come crashing down, making it hard to breathe once again. When walking into the tattoo shop one day, the last thing I'm expecting to see is Kellan Haze, Adric's best friend who no one has seen or heard from since the day they found my brother's body. He's nothing like I remember him as a child, with his wild messy hair, tattoos that cover most of his undeniably sexy body, and eyes so intense they make my legs quiver with one look. The one thing even I can't deny is the instant rush I feel just by being in his presence. But how can I choose between love and lust when one of these holds a dark secret, one that can crush my world to pieces and leave me gasping for air. Who can I trust when my mind is pulling me in two different directions and my heart has to choose for me? The Haze brothers are sexy, daring, and possibly . . . dangerous. This Regret is a story of love, lust, betrayal, and danger with an ending no one will see coming.

Sweet on Wilde


Fabiola Francisco - 2015
    Inappropriate messages. Disaster dates.I was tired of being “Savannah, profile 8713,” but I made a deal with my best friend to give online dating a chance. What I wasn’t counting on was meeting a guy at the local bar. Parker Wilde won me over with his two-step and blue eyes. He brought out the best in me and understood the worst, but when an amazing opportunity presents itself and our lives take different directions, is being sweet on Wilde enough for us?Note: This book is as sweet as the cupcakes the heroine makes and as charming as the hero. Low on drama, high on love.

Forever: A Lobster Kind of Love


Jody Pardo - 2015
    The small town that once embraced her was now her personal hell. She made the decision to leave her hometown of Nazareth, Pennsylvania and move to Eastport, Maine, to start over in the last happy place she ever knew.When the sea tried to claim Ryan, he was left a broken man. Starting over in a wheelchair was the last thing he expected to do. Ryan was born to be a lobster fisherman, not a buoy. When Lydia became his home care nurse, he never expected her to be the light at the end of his tunnel. Will their broken hearts survive a second chance or will they remain locked in their cages?Lobsters mate for life. Lobster love is forever.

The Last One


Kristen Luciani - 2014
    They always have such a funny way of not working out.Jessica Latham thought she was sailing down the aisle toward happily ever after until a devastating diagnosis sent her fiancé fleeing like a fugitive. Bad judgment and too much wine hurled her into the arms of a sexy stranger as a distraction from her crushing reality. No strings attached, no last names, just pure unbridled passion.It was only one night, nothing that could ever come back to haunt her. Or so she thought.But when a vindictive frenemy reveals Jessica’s secret, her past mistake puts everything at risk, including her heart.

Compulsion


Alison Mello - 2017
     Life is short, and I know my parents—may they rest in peace—would have wanted me to follow my heart. So I pack my bags and head to Los Angeles. Then my world turns sideways... Logan… I run the hottest club in L.A., where gorgeous women flock to show skin on the dance floor. But as soon as I spot her, I know she’s different. We have a connection, something more powerful than I’ve ever felt. But I’m not the only one who notices her. She’s getting a lot of attention on the club circuit, and the way other men look at her when she’s on stage drives me crazy. I want her for my own, but she’s not about to let me control her. And then my past returns… This could turn into a deadly situation. Formally Chasing Dreams By Alison Mello

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Piper Lawson - 2016
    Just another twenty-something girl, living the dream. That’s what I tell myself every morning. That I’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 didn’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 wouldn’t hurt if I’d had sex in the last year, either. (My best friend insists Jorge the Nightstand Boyfriend doesn’t count.)But when you know where you're going, you don’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 I’d call. Sure, he made the indie video game that broke the internet. And yeah, his eyebrow piercing’s sexy, in a ‘what-are-you-in-a-band?’ kind of way. And fighting with him gets me going faster than Jorge on bezerker mode…He’s still colder than a cactus and twice as prickly. And I’m not talking about his face, because the guy’s barely old enough to shave. It’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.

More, Please


Kate Aster - 2015
    And it has nothing to do with the hot Navy SEAL I picked up in a bar.Really... it doesn't.Even though the pressure of his lips on mine fires me like a hot kiln, and the feel of his ripped chest beneath my hungry fingertips...Wait... I'm digressing. Focus, Allie.Since graduating from college, I've been juggling two jobs while fostering abandoned dogs, with my sights set on opening a rescue kennel. I'll do whatever it takes to succeed, even if it means fighting back my cravings for the man who's been fueling my fantasies since I got my first taste of him in a hotel elevator.This guy is too full of secrets. Dark ones, hidden behind his ice blue eyes. Secrets of his Special Ops past and of a billionaire family that employs half our town. He won't let me into his world, and it's for the best.Logan Sheridan is more than I can handle. But when he slips his way into my life, searing the memory of his rock-hard body pressed against mine into my consciousness, all I can do is remember that night in the elevator......and ask for more, please.*More, Please is a stand-alone romance with no cliffhangers.*

Own It


M. Dauphin - 2017
    Cancer sucks. Especially when it takes a young life. Like the life of my five year old son. You want to know what I have to say about that? Nothing. Absolutely nothing because I don’t have the drive anymore. There’s nothing left in me except emptiness. That much is obvious. I’ve lost my car, my career, and my apartment. At least I have my brother. Actually, I just have a place to stay because of my rich, single brother. I’m struggling to find purpose again. After what life’s shown me it can do to a person, I really don’t care if I’m breathing anymore. I am, but barely. Then Jett Voss showed up and it’s like he’s an oxygen mask I don’t need or want. She’s got no cares left in the world and I’m determined to resuscitate her heart. It was a one-night stand that connected us. She only had one want that night, and I took care of it. I’m not stopping there though. I may have not known her before her heartbreak, but I know there’s life inside of her still. I will find it. That means I need to stick around town for a while. I guess I don’t have many other options. I’ve just been forced to run a company I never wanted and I’m a little bitter about it. The circumstances of why this fell into my lap makes it the hardest. Death is a cruel reality. My bike shop, occasionally the open road, not answering to anyone... this is the life I was living and wanted. It’s insane what one look, one night, one person can change in you. *** Don't miss out on this heartwarming story of love, life, and learning to live with the hand you've been dealt. *18+

Charming Hannah


Kristen Proby - 2018
    Despite living in Cunningham Falls for five years, she’s still considered a “move in” by most of the locals, and that doesn’t bother her in the least. She’s the “new girl”, and she hasn’t regretted it for one day. This town is her sanctuary. Her home. The one place she finally fits in and feels safe after a lifetime of being different and running from the memories and a past so far away it can’t haunt her anymore. As the newly appointed police chief, Brad Hull has the responsibility to keep his citizens safe and to maintain order. His roots in this town are deep—five generations deep, to be exact. Cunningham Falls, Montana is his town, and being a cop and protecting what’s his is his passion. Everything’s running like clockwork until a sassy redheaded doctor moves in and disrupts the order—and Brad’s focus. She’s not just beautiful, funny, and strong. Hannah’s everything he’s been looking for in a woman. The chemistry is undeniable, and the heat in the bedroom is off the charts. Brad knew the minute he met Hannah that she was the one for him. He’s tenacious in his pursuit of her. But when the past catches up with Hannah, will Brad be able to protect her and their hearts?