Publication Day – Page 53

Happy Publication Day – 8 May 2023

Playing For Keeps By Julie Hammerle

Bryce Barrett has disappeared off the face of the earth. Well, technically she’s just temporarily hiding out in a teeny Midwest town, away from her ruined marriage and professional demise…at least until she can figure out her next steps. But when she bumps into her ex—dressed in what could be only described as “dumpster chic”—she does the only reasonable thing a woman can do: panics and pretends the cute security guard on the scene is her new boyfriend.

Free-spirited nomad Jake Warner knew returning to his hometown was a bad idea. It’s bad enough that his family’s pressuring him to step into his dad’s hypercompetitive shoes and settle down, but when a complete stranger (cute, though possibly unbalanced) enlists him as her fake boyfriend, Jake knows he’s making some questionable choices…especially when he inexplicably goes along with it.

Now these two mismatched misfits are temporary allies against a town filled with happy, normal, and annoyingly stable people. Fake dating keeps everyone off their back while they plot their respective escapes. But nothing botches a plan more than unexpected chemistry…

Not Today Cupid By Jennifer Bonds

Well, my fellow corporate drones, it’s another less-than-exciting investor meeting with the executives (Loud Talker, Human Buzzword, Master Delegator). And at the front, CEO Nick Hart, the world’s coldest—and ok, unbelievably sexy—tech badass. The man hasn’t smiled in the history of ever, he runs a tight ship filled with miserable employees, and gosh, he just really does not love feedback. Especially from me.

Development updates, acquisition delays, and…holy hell, why does he keep looking at me? I don’t work for him. I work for his brother. Which is good, because otherwise I’d spend every meeting secretly wondering what actually lies beneath that cool, aloof demeanor. Like, is he an uptight geek in the boardroom…and a sexy-assed freak in the bedroom?

He’d better not find out I’m the one stuffing the company suggestion box. What’s so wrong with a Valentine’s Day Social, anyway? But the fact that my notes are less professional and more entertainment is one seriously dangerous game. Because if he ever found out what I really thought of him, there’d be all kinds of sweet, delicious hell to pay…

Happy Publication Day – 4 May 2023

New Beginnings In The Little Irish Village By Michelle Vernal

Welcome to the little Irish village of Emerald Bay where the sun is shining, the locals are gossiping, and romance is in the air. But will returning home be the fresh start Imogen Kelly needs?

Thirty-two-year-old Imogen Kelly is meant to be living her best life in Dublin but the bright lights of the city aren’t making her truly happy. So she leaps at the chance to take on an interior design job at the big country manor at the edge of Emerald Bay. It also gives Imogen an excuse to return to the place where she spent an unforgettable summer with her first love, Lachlan Leslie, the heir to Benmore House.

Imogen’s heart is full of hope at the thought of seeing her childhood sweetheart but on the way there she nearly has an accident on the winding, muddy country road. She arrives at Benmore House late and flustered, only to discover the builder working with her on the renovation project is none other than Ryan O’Malley – the class prankster who was forever pinging her bra strap at school.

Within seconds it’s clear he’s still a cheeky charmer, even if he’s transformed into a gorgeous guy who unexpectedly sets her pulse racing. Forced into close proximity with relentlessly cheerful Ryan, who’s forever (badly) singing rock ballads at the top of his voice, Imogen at first finds him an annoying distraction.

With St Patrick’s Day celebrations in full swing, Imogen has her work cut out to keep the job on track. Spending more time with Ryan, she discovers that, behind his warm smile and generous ways, he’s nursing heartache. But when she finally sees blue-eyed Lachlan again,Imogen has to face up to the truth about the secret summer romance they shared.

Will she leave Emerald Bay broken-hearted? Or will Imogen realise that home really is where the heart is?

FBI Agent’s Reluctant Lover By Leslie North

True love is worth fighting for…

Single mother Rachel has enough on her plate with two rambunctious twin boys to raise. Still mourning her husband, she isn’t looking for romance—until Chance, a strikingly handsome ex-FBI agent, shows up at her door.

While it’s clear Rachel knows nothing about his case involving a kidnapped baby, it’s also obvious she’s in over her head with her own little ones. Chance steps in to help, and suddenly all the chaos of her life seems to disappear. Chance is caring, hot, and he has a calming way about him that soothes her soul—and fires up her desire. But love? She’s not sure she’s ready for that…

No two ways about it… Chance is enthralled by Rachel. She’s everything he’s ever wanted in a woman. Smart, strong, and beautiful—more than enough to get him imagining what it would be like to be in her life permanently. Unfortunately, Rachel doesn’t seem nearly as interested in him as he is in her.

When he was an FBI agent, Chance always got the results he wanted. But now that he has found the perfect woman, can he convince her that he is what she wants?

Happy Publication Day – 27 April 2023

The Sweet Shop Of Second Chances By Hannah Lynn

Starting over never tasted so good
Holly Berry has it all: a good career, a steady boyfriend, and enough savings that the two of them will soon be able to buy a nice little house. But when she finds out her boyfriend has been cheating on her, she decides to retreat to the Cotswolds and a place full of far sweeter memories.

Quite literally.

However, Holly discovers the quaint village sweet shop she worked in as a teenager is starting to crumble. Putting all her chocolate eggs in one basket, she says goodbye to the city, and sets her sights on a new project.

After all, how hard can running a sweet shop be?

Love Blooms At The Second Chances Sweet Shop By Hannah Lynn

Romance has never been so sweet…
While Holly Berry may have finally purchased Just One More and landed a date with one of Bourton-on-the-Water’s most eligible bachelors, it is far from plain sailing.

A face from the past threatens to torpedo Holly’s fledgling relationship before it even gets going.

Will everything go according to plan? Or is Holly’s dream life at risk of turning sour?

Happy Publication Day – 25 April 2023

Blue Moon Haven By Janet Dailey

Kelly Jenkins heads to bucolic Blue Moon, Alabama, believing a new life will heal the two orphaned children in her care. Signing on to revive the drive-in theater seems like a worthy venture, until she discovers the property is in deep disrepair. Still, spurred on by the elderly owner’s plea, Kelly takes on the renovation, beginning with an ancient tree that needs to come down—and unexpectedly bringing on the wrath of her reclusive neighbor…

Seeing Kelly take an ax to his little girl’s favorite tree is like being struck in the heart—whatever heart Seth Morgan has left after losing his daughter. With his own attempt to buy the old drive-in thwarted, Seth reluctantly steps in to help Kelly, even offering her and her kids shelter in his home, a place that hasn’t seen a woman’s touch—or a child’s joyful laughter—in far too long…

Soon everyone is bound up in the fate of Blue Moon’s drive-in—and the new family taking root in town. Because it looks like the love blooming between Kelly and Seth just may rival any found on the silver screen…

Strawberry Lane By Jodi Thomas

Starri Knight is a big believer in fate. How else to explain the compelling connection she feels to the stranger she pulls out of a wrecked car on the very same road where her parents died twenty years earlier? Alongside Auntie Ona-May, the only mother she’s ever known, Starri saves Rusty O’Sullivan’s life—just as Ona-May once did when Starri was an orphaned babe. But convincing Rusty he has something to live for is going to take all of Starri’s faith in miracles . . .

Like a wish he hadn’t even known to make, Starri landed in Rusty’s life, filling him with a longing for a family. . . . Then Jackson Landry, a new lawyer, turns up to present a surprise that will change the direction of his life: An inheritance from the father Rusty never knew—and the promise of the family he’d never had. It’s a lot for the hard-bitten loner to accept as love rushes into his life . . .

A sense of duty has Rusty heading to Honey Creek to deal with his father’s estate—and find his lost siblings. But having family is one thing, learning to love them is another. Good thing new friends are by his side to help him along the way.

Return To Hummingbird Way By Reese Ryan

Ambitious real estate agent Sinclair Buchanan is ecstatic to be her best friend’s maid-of-honor—until she discovers the best man is Garrett Davenport. Sin and Rett’s mutual hate crush ignited when they were teens and hasn’t let up since . . . except for that one extremely hot (and extremely regrettable) night they shared five years ago.

Nothing gets Rett fired up like going toe-to-toe with Sinclair. She’s as infuriatingly stubborn, and as absolutely gorgeous, as when he fell for her back in high school. Working together to plan their best friends’ last-minute wedding is one thing, but when his matchmaking grandmother gets involved Rett knows he’s in deep. Attraction has always simmered between them, but this time, they’re both in danger of losing their hearts.

Happy Publication Day – 18 April 2023

Vacation Wars By Meghan Quinn

Prepared for a good time, Tessa is thrilled to spend the weeks before her sister’s wedding at their family’s favorite vacation spot: Santorini. Sandy beaches, stonewashed houses, attractive men—it’s heaven.

But Tessa’s idea of a girls’ trip comes to a screaming halt when her sister thinks it’s high time Tessa finds some love herself. Unfortunately, Tessa forgot about the deal she made back in high school: she has to find her soulmate before her sister’s wedding. Or else.

As she dodges suitors and her sister’s pranks, Tessa finds an ally in the oh-so-dreamy Myles, her childhood crush who just so happens to work at the resort. But Myles is dealing with some family conflict of his own. He’s elated at being reunited with Tessa, but his father’s refusal to acknowledge his interest in the family business and relegating him to only grunt work casts a dark cloud.

As Tessa and Myles help navigate their way through their families’ antics, they begin to realize that their past feelings may have a future—if only they can turn their island fantasies into something real.

Under A Greek Sun By Mandy Baggot

Eve Collins is looking forward to the holidays.

Her job as a counsellor has been as taxing as it has been rewarding, and she can’t wait for some downtime on the Greek island of Corfu with best-friend, Gabby. But between Eve’s brother, Ben, unexpectedly joining and Gabby’s job at the animal rescue centre keeping her busy, Eve might have to start mucking in…
When Gianni arrives in the village of Episkepsi, it’s like a model has stepped straight off the pages of Vogue Italia… with an uptight personality to match. He may be super-sexy but there are obvious chips on those broad shoulders.
As Eve and Gianni get to know each other and both start to lean into the Greek customs and avrio mentality, an initial attraction starts to turn into something more. But with so much family drama in both their lives, neither of them were looking for a holiday romance…

Happy Publication Day – 17 April 2023

Chasing Dreams On Sunshine Island By Georgina Troy

Welcome to Sunshine Island – where the beaches are golden, the lifestyle is perfect and anything is possible.

It’s December and Jax Hudson doesn’t mind the cold. He’s still wearing shorts and walking barefoot on the beach. He’s looking forward to spending Christmas with his girlfriend until she unexpectantly calls time on their relationship.

Alone and feeling very sorry for himself, Jax accepts an invitation to a Christmas Eve party and bumps into Phoebe Bishop who is still mortified about kissing him in the summer.

As the first snow flurries delight the party guests, the festive joy soon turns to disaster when a snowstorm knocks out the island’s power. Panic ensues as people realise their Christmas plans may have to be cancelled.

Phoebe is reluctantly enlisted by Jax to help transport the partygoers to the comforts of their own homes. As Jax and Phoebe spend time together they realise they have more in common than either had imagined…

Could this be a Christmas full of magic, mistletoe and happy-ever-afters?

The Bachelor Contract By Victoria James

New mom May Peterson can’t believe she’s back in her hometown. She has eight weeks to fix up, and sell, her childhood home. Just enough to say hello to her best friend and goodbye to her painful past. But in the warm, tightly-knit community of Maple Hill, it’s impossible to avoid anyone—especially the cute “boy next door.” And while May is definitely over the idea of love, his irresistible smile still makes her toes curl…

When they were kids, Austin Merrick only ever saw May as his sister’s best friend. Over time, they’d become friends, sharing late-night chats over cheddar popcorn. Now May Peterson has returned with an adorable baby that quickly wraps him around her little finger. But after seeing the damage a broken heart can do, Austin and his brother made an agreement: to never, ever fall in love. No marriage. No kids. Ever.

Now they’re working together to fix up her old home, and sparks of attraction are making it almost impossible to keep to their no-romance rules. But when it comes to love, hearts never play by the rules…especially when it comes to finding “the one.”

Playing It Tough By Amy Andrews

Cosmetic tattoo artist Orla Stewart doesn’t do anything in half measures. She went from being the ultimate party animal to living a life that’s ridiculously straight and narrow. Turns out, cancer can change a girl. A lot. Adios to delicious cheeses, boozy dance parties and easy men. Hel-lo to celibacy and a sweet house-sitting gig with a massive pool. Until one very hot, very unwelcome intruder turns things upside down.

American rugby import Ronan Dempsey’s partying is trashing both his reputation and his game—and risking his chances for making the US Olympic team. He needs to clean up, and the pool house belonging to a family friend is the perfect place to hideaway. No. More. distractions. Which is exactly when a gorgeous, pink-haired hellion knocks Ronan on his ass…

The chemistry is instantaneous, charged, and absolutely, completely, totally off-limits. Proximity makes temptation nearly impossible to resist. Now it’s a deliciously torturous game of pushing boundaries and holding out. It’s just a matter of time before someone breaks…

Happy Publication Day – 13 April 2023

One Last Summer At Seabreeze Farm By Jo Bartlett

A summer to remember…

Georgia Banks knows she’s living on borrowed time. So, when doctors tell her she’s got one last summer to make all her dreams come true, she’s determined to make every day count.

The one thing that’s never in doubt, is that she wants her best friend, Gabe, to be with her every step of the way. And so, Georgia draws up her not-a-bucket list with all the things she’s determined to tick off before she goes – number one of which is to spend one last summer by the sea.

Seabreeze Farm perched high on the cliffs above the English Channel is the perfect spot, and surrounded by the antics of its menagerie of rescued animals and the warmth of the friendship she’s offered there, Georgia starts to believe she can live out all her dreams before it’s too late.

And just when she thinks there’s nothing left to wish for, Georgia gets another chance at life. But taking it might mean losing the one person she cares about the most.

As she faces her biggest challenge yet, Georgia wonders if her last summer at Seabreeze Farm will mean the end of her biggest dream of all.

Happy Publication Day – 11 April 2023

Talk Of The Town By Jennifer Bardsley

In this lighthearted romance filled with small-town humor and high jinks, an unsuspecting real estate agent becomes the wildest dream come true for all the single moms—except the one he wants.

They’re coworkers, friends, and confidants, but Peter Marshal has always pined for a little something more with Noelle Walters. As a widow and a single mom, Noelle prefers to play it safe, and falling for Peter was never part of the plan.

Then again, neither of their plans accounted for the well-meaning but meddling actions of Peter’s sister, who offers him up as their town’s most eligible bachelor in the local moms’ Facebook group. He’s none the wiser about the source of this sudden surge in attention, but he only has eyes for Noelle. And from where she’s standing on the sidelines of Peter’s popularity, it’s getting harder to pretend that she doesn’t see what everyone else sees in her best friend.

With all eyes on them, will Peter and Noelle finally see beyond the hurdles to the happily ever after that’s been there all along?

One Hot Cowboy Wedding By Carolyn Brown

He’ll do whatever it takes to get ownership of that ranch…

When our lawyer went over Gramps’s will and told me that my ranch would be signed over to my no-‘count cousin Cole unless I got married, I was in despair. I had a week left to get married and not even a girlfriend to propose to.

And then there’s the woman he loves…

When I told Ace I’d marry him, it was just to help out an old friend. He’d have a marriage license to show his lawyer, and the time would pass the same for me whether I was married or not. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, right? Right—unless your secret wedding is filmed and shared with the entire world.

Captivated By Callie By Jennifer Bishop

Devon Steele wants his sexy new neighbor, but will her secret drive them apart?

Callie Hargraves is on the run and the sleepy beach town of Flamingo Cove seems the perfect place to hide.

She’s just starting to feel safe again when her peace is disturbed in a totally different way when her new neighbor moves in… Devon Steele. A retired military man who wants nothing more than a quiet life as a boat captain. He can tell Callie is hiding something, and he wants nothing to do with her. He’s had his fill of troublesome women in the past and is determined not to repeat his mistakes.

They manage to fight their attraction to each other until the day Callie’s secret catches up with her. With her life in danger, will Devon break his promise to himself to keep her safe?

Happy Publication Day – 7 April 2023

The Renegade By Kimberly Kincaid

He’s a younger man. An ex-Marine with a traumatic past. And he wants only one thing.

Her.

The last thing Jo Rossi expects when she goes to Remington for a make-or-break audition is to end up meeting an ex-Marine who’s more than half a decade younger than her and hotter than a freaking supernova.

And wait. Is he flirting with her?

The one and only time Jo has ever acted on impulse, she ended up with a surprise baby and a career she had to put on hold for six years. She needs to play it safe. Smart. And she definitely needs to not have a wild, impulsive, no-strings-attached fling so far from home.

Except Sawyer Knox is definitely flirting with her. And the more she gets to know him, the harder it is to resist…

Sawyer learned the hard way how short life can be. So when he sees Jo at the end of his bar, with her sassy smile and her mile-long legs, hell yes he flirts with her. He just didn’t mean to have a scorching-hot fling with her. Or to spend so much time with her after that.

He definitely didn’t mean to fall for her so fast or so hard.

Sawyer wants her. He wants it all. But Jo has to decide—can she risk her heart and go from fling to forever?

Happy Publication Day – 6 April 2023

Summer Nights At The Starfish Cafe By Jessica Redland

A new beginning…

As her summer wedding to Jake approaches, Hollie is excited for their new beginning as a family. But when some unexpected news threatens the future she and Jake had hoped for, Hollie will need to find the strength to overcome heartache once more.

A fragile heart….

Single mum, Kerry, loves her job at The Starfish Café, but behind the brave smiles and laughter with customers there is a sadness deep within. So when someone from her past re-appears in her life, Kerry can either hide away or face her demons and try to finally move on from her heartbreak.

A summer to remember…

For Hollie and Kerry it promises to be an emotional rollercoaster of a summer, but the community at The Starfish Café will always be there to help them through – after all, with courage nothing is impossible…