At twenty-two, he went in to the Marine Corps a naïve, troubled youth. Nine years and four tours later, Jake finds himself back on US soil, though his mind remains firmly planted in the sands of Afghanistan with the men he left behind.Wounded, chewed up and spat out by war, Jake has only his dog, Nuke, PTSD, and survivor’s guilt to keep him company. He’s lived every day for nine years wondering when it will be his last, but there’s little comfort in the fact that he’s still standing when his platoon isn’t.Ellie Mason doesn’t have time for broken. She’s too busy trying to put food on the table. And keeping up with the demands of her autistic son, Spencer, is sometimes like fighting behind enemy lines. As if navigating the minefields of single parenthood isn’t enough, Ellie finds herself drawn to the quiet Marine who’s just as lonely as she is. But she’s loved damaged men before, and it left her wounded.Set against the picturesque backdrop of Fairhope, Alabama, Ellie and Jake find themselves running toward the sound of chaos.Love is war.Only the strong survive, and surrender is inevitable.

    His rules. Her love.Though his methods may be rough, when it comes to protecting what’s his, Russian vor Sergei Petrovyh’s heart is always in the right place. That’s never been more true than when the gorgeous Evette Labadie asks him for a job. He knows enough to keep his hands off someone as beloved by the locals as Evie, but there’s something about her that calls to him—no matter how badly he burns to make her his.Don’t think Evie hasn’t noticed the powerful Russian mafia boss who makes her favorite diner a regular stop. How can she not? He’s as hot as his reputation is dangerous. But everyone in her struggling New Orleans neighborhood knows he’s the man to turn to. And right now she needs money to get her son out of trouble.Her other needs—needs she knows damn well Sergei can more than satisfy—will have to wait.Evie soon finds herself playing Cinderella to a man who, despite what people believe, is definitely more prince than villain. She can’t help falling deeper in love with each passing day. But when a turf war between Sergei and a rival brings violence to her doorstep, Evie must come to grips with loving a man who will do anything to defend her…or walk away from her best chance at a happily-ever-after of her very own.Read it today!NOLA Knights seriesBook 1: His to DefendBook 2: Hers to TameBook 3: Mine to Keep His to Defend is the highly anticipated spinoff of the Men of Haven series. Order your copies of Rough & Tumble , Wild & Sweet , Claim & Protect , Tempted & Taken , Stand & Deliver and Down & Dirty today!This book is approximately 88,000 wordsOne-click with confidence. This title is part of the Carina Press Romance Promise : all the romance you’re looking for with an HEA/HFN. It’s a promise!

    A new identity. Pregnant and alone. And far away from a past that can never find me. River Wild.Moody. Sullen. Jerk.And my new neighbor.I have no interest in befriending River. And he definitely doesn’t want to be befriended by me.Then, he helps me rescue an abandoned dog. And, that day, I see something in his eyes that reflects back in my own. Sadness. Pain. Loneliness.I know all of those things well.An unwanted and unexpected friendship that somehow works. Then, without warning, it turns into something more.River and I both have our secrets, and that’s okay. Because I understand him. And he understands me.For the first time in my life, I have something I never thought I would have—happiness.But happiness isn’t forever. Not for people like me.Especially not when my past is waiting just around the corner, ready to come and take it all away.

    Being a Plain Jane with a mouth on her hasn’t exactly served Dani well in the guy department. In fact, she’s had nothing but one night stands. Still, she lets go of her insecurities and falls for Liam, despite feeling like he’s holding something back.When Dani finally discovers Liam’s secret, she must learn the true meaning of accepting the ones we love for who they are, or risk losing the best thing that’s ever happened to her.

    Fourteen years ago, this shop was her childhood dance studio... 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."

    I didn't belong in the small town, but my dad wouldn't listen. He dragged me back home in his beat-up truck and dropped a bomb along the way: Chase Matthews was moving in with us. He was the golden boy of my high school, my former best friend, and the last person I wanted sleeping across the hall. His presence was too great a reminder of the ghosts I was trying to forget.I didn't ask for a hero. I don't want to be saved.To me, Lilah Calloway meant late nights sneakin'; out, moonlit hair, and sparklers in July. She was my best friend until the day she left and I'd assumed Blackwater had seen the last of her. Then, like a tempest, she rolled back into town for the final half of senior year. The chopped hair and dark devil-may-care attitude warned most people away, but I knew if I fought hard enough, I could find the lost girl.I didn't want to be her hero. Some girls don't need to be saved.

    Emotional, endearing, and full of romance, don't miss this brand new standalone heart-wrenching story by USA Today Bestselling author Claudia Burgoa!Tucker Decker is an infamous billionaire.He’s ruthless, impulsive, cold-hearted, and hot as sin.He likes his relationships casual and his commitments without strings.But when it comes to his former bandmates, he’d do anything for them.Tragedy demands sacrifice.I’m an independent woman.I’ve learned never to ask for help.And I certainly didn't want it from Tucker.When my sister left us both to care for my niece,we realize co-parenting may be harder than we thought.Especially when we're fighting a desire for each other.When the ghosts of our past come back to haunt us, will we find that there's still an us after all?

    First loves are fun and painful, giving you the beauty and darkness of life in a single relationship, breaking your fantasies like a twig and making you realize that life is not all sunshine, sparkling fireflies, and rainbows. No, it’s not pretty at all. First loves build you up, and just when you think that life can’t get any better, they shatter into a million raindrops, making you see how life really works. First loves crush you, ruining you for anyone else.That’s what Ivy Lynn Abney and Henry Lee Rein have battled with since things ended between them three years ago. Neither of them have spoken and are still hung up on what occurred. They both have regrets and the love they once had for each other never really went away. They were young and wanted different things. Have their wants changed enough to allow their love to reignite? Can first loves become second loves even with secrets?

    Some just change your life. Liz Atwater’s happily ever after was torn from her the instant her husband, Jack, was murdered. She is forced to pick up the shattered pieces of her life and raise her three young sons alone. Reynolds Carter’s picture perfect Hollywood life ended the moment the paparazzi got hold of his girlfriend’s cheating scandal. As he watches his life unfold in the tabloids, he comes to a crossroads in his career and his purpose. When Reynolds takes on the challenge of a new project, his world collides with that of Liz. Neither of them expected their professional relationship to evolve into friendship, or love. But life is never simple. Faced with complications from family, friends, and colleagues, Liz and Reynolds are left to decide whether two people from such different worlds can find happiness together. Can they get past the pain, fear, and guilt and risk their hearts to love again? Not every love story is just a happy ending. Some completely change your life.

    In her, he sees someone who understands his law enforcement career and is strong enough to accept all that comes with it. But the universe has other ideas and throws the good and bad when least expected, turning Lance’s world upside down. Kellie Bryant always believed in the happily-ever-after. All that changed the day Lance Malloy left town, taking her hopes and dreams with him. Falling in love with a man she barely knew wasn’t planned but ruled by her heart, she gambled her future, and that of her niece, Rory.With her world spun on its axis, Kellie can’t afford to hold on to a man who isn't able to love her back.**Forever Blue is the second book in The Weight of the Badge series and is meant to be read in order.

    Then let time pick up the pieces. Everything feels temporary when you’ve experienced tragedy—until Henna Lane meets Bodhi at a music festival. Young and spontaneous, they have a lust for seizing the moment, falling hard and fast. When Bodhi is forced to leave without a goodbye, Henna thinks she’ll never get over him. But then she meets Mr. Malone, her sexy, new guidance counselor. They are reckless. They are forbidden. When their secret is discovered, Henna has to choose between finishing school—banned from seeing Mr. Malone—or dropping out to follow her nomad dreams. Henna chooses her dreams. Over time, she learns that life is not a destination or a journey, some things are more than temporary, and the forbidden can never be ignored. But if she returns for him, will he still be hers? A Place Without You is an emotional story of young love, shattered dreams, and impossible decisions.

    It isn’t until after the police have arrived that Catherine realizes exactly who it is she has saved: Brett Madden, hockey icon and media darling.Catherine has already had her fifteen minutes of fame and the last thing she wants is to have her past dragged back into the spotlight, only this time on a national stage. So she hides her identity. It works.For a time.But when she finds the man she saved standing on her doorstep, desperate to thank her, all that changes. What begins as an immediate friendship quickly turns into something neither of them expected. Something that Catherine isn’t sure she can handle; something that Catherine is afraid to trust.Because how long can an extraordinary man like Brett be interested in an ordinary woman like Catherine…before the spark fades?

    It must be gifted freely.Abby Sullivan cherishes the life she is creating for herself in her hometown of Santa Barbara, California. She adores her best friend and supportive family. Her job as a kindergarten teacher offers her life hope and purpose. She is very talented at many things, especially hiding the pain of her past. That is until her world collides with Caleb Hunter’s, giving them both a lesson in forgiveness and love.A life changing love is cruelly snatched by sickness and death. A person must be willing to give love, the greatest gift of all, to receive love.A successful writer, Caleb is living life day-to-day. Giving refuge to his sad and lonely heart since his wife's sudden death from cervical cancer, his primary focus becomes honoring her memory by rearing their five-year-old daughter, Madison. Yet, when Madison Hunter walks into Miss Abby’s kindergarten class, everything changes for all three of them.With a little nudge from a loving mother-in-law who has everyone’s best interest at heart, anything is possible, especially when forgiveness and love gift even more blessings than ever imaginable.**This is book 1 in the Intertwined Hearts series. Each book in the series follows a different couple and they can each be read as stand alones**

    “Get a good job,” they said. “It will be a piece of cake.” Well, whoever they are, they lied. Sure, college was a blast, but after college, not so much. The finding a job to go with my expensive education, that part was not so easy. At least not until I was offered a position at the new club in town. Life is defined by the little moments that have the power to change it completely. I never thought getting a cup of coffee would change mine, but it did. She did. She’s one of those moments. He’s my boss. She’s my employee. I want him. I can’t resist her.

    Bomb.Ian Donovan may be a richer-than-hell venture capitalist, but he’s no Prince Charming ready to sweep me off my feet. Good thing I don’t need him. I’ve been doing fine on my own for forty years, and I’m not about to start changing that now.Ultrasounds, swollen feet, midnight cravings? Bring. It. On.But why is it when you finally swear off men, you meet one who’s too sexy—and determined we can make it work?F. Bomb.