Ten Trends to Seduce Your Bestfriend by Penny Reid
Winnifred Gobaldi and Byron Visser are not best friends.
Yes, they’ve known each other for years, but they’re not even friendly. Winnie considers them more like casual, distant acquaintances who find each other barely tolerable, especially when he’s being condescending (which is all the time).
The truth is, they have nothing in common. She’s a public school science teacher with stars in her eyes, and he’s a pretentious, joyless double PhD turned world-famous bestselling fiction author. She loves sharing her passion for promulgating women in STEM careers and building community via social media, and he eschews all socialization, virtual or otherwise. She’s looking for a side hustle to help pay down a mountain of student debt, and his financial portfolio is the stuff of fiduciary wet dreams. So why are they faking a #bestfriend relationship for millions of online spectators?
When a simple case of tit-for-tat trends between nonfriends leads to a wholly unexpected kind of pretend, nothing is simple. Sometimes, it takes a public audience to reveal the truth of private feelings, and rarely—very rarely—you should believe what you see online.
Ten Trends to Seduce Your Bestfriend is a full-length, complete standalone, adult contemporary romantic comedy.
Flirt by Adriana Locke
I’m a single female who’s tired of relationships ruining my life. However, there are times when a date would be helpful. If you’re a single man, preferably mid-twenties to late-thirties, and are in a similar situation, we might be a match.
Candidate must be handsome, charming, and willing to pretend to have feelings for me (on a sliding scale, as the event requires). Ability to discuss a wide variety of topics is a plus. Must have your own transportation and a (legal) job.
This will be a symbiotic agreement. In exchange for your time, I will give you mine. Need someone to flirt with you at a football party? Go, team! Want a woman to make you look good in front of your boss? Let me find my heels. Would you love for someone to be obsessed with you in front of your ex? I’m applying my red lipstick now.
If interested, please email me. Time is of the essence.
Fall of the Stars by Monica James
England is bleeding.
And there isn’t a thing I can do about it.
I am once again a prisoner to Wessex, captured by King Egbert because holding me hostage will bring them to him—my two Vikings who will risk heaven and earth to save me.
But I don’t need saving.
I am Princess Emeline, and I was taught by the best, and his name…Skarth the Godless.
The man whom I love more than anything in this world.
But things begin to blur when Ulf the Bloody reminds me of the promise I made, and that promise is that I belong to him.
We must work together to overthrow King Egbert, but the war I fight within my heart is far more dangerous than anything I will ever face on the battlefield.
The choice is not simple because we all must make sacrifices. But I soon realize that all is not fair in love and war.
Lives will be lost.
Hearts will be broken.
And come dawn, life as we know it will be changed forevermore.
Something Like Love by Claudia Burgoa
I’m down on my luck.
Scratch that. This is the worst week of my life.
Enter the last person I want to deal with: Burke St. James.
He’s wealthy.
He’s a womanizer.
And a big liar.
And it turns out we need each other.
Burke needs a fiancée to seal the deal of a lifetime. I need help or my business is going belly-up. So, Burke very non-romantically asks me to marry him. Well, he asks me to be fake engaged to him, anyway.
I’ll attend a few dinners, pretend I’m in love, and meet the family.
In exchange, he’ll invest in my company and help me launch it off the ground.
All is easy, except his kisses feel more real than they should.
And the sex…damn, we’re not supposed to have sex.
It’s all for show…right?
Did I mention he’s a really good liar?
Pretending not to fall in love is more complicated than I thought.
Behind Closed Doors by Skye Warren
From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Skye Warren comes the next installment in her Rochester series.
Marjorie Dunn is hiding in plain sight. The past can’t find her at the peaceful inn she owns in a quiet coastal town in Maine.
Until Sam Brewer walks through the door. He arrives in the dead of night, with a dark suit and storm-gray eyes.
Marjorie knows better than to trust this stranger, but she can’t resist his touch. Every kiss binds them together. Every night draws the danger close.
She risks her heart with him, but more than that, she risks her life.
The past has caught up with her. And it wants her dead.
Falling Embers by Catherine Cowles
I’ve loved Calder Cruz from the moment he taught me how to fly. Racing down a mountain and giving me the release I so desperately needed. My understanding. My safe space.
Hadley has fought for a life of her own ever since her sister’s kidnapping. When she was drowning in expectations and family pressures, Calder was always the one who understood her.
Until one night changed it all. From best friends to strangers in a single breath.
She’s like a fire that lives inside me. Even when I thought it was all burned out, there were still embers that lived in my bones.
Calder knows what it’s like to almost lose the people he loves most. He’ll never make that kind of mistake again. Working at the fire station and taking care of his daughters are the only things he needs.
All it takes is a single moment to make him realize how wrong he is. A split second of coming close to losing the woman he has always loved.
But as long-buried embers light anew, there are those who lurk in the shadows. And they’ll do whatever it takes to extinguish that flame for good…
Royally Remembered by Emma Chase
The lives of the Wessco royal family have always been extraordinary. Abounding in power and wealth, and marked by moments of soul-searing passion, exquisite love, and tragic loss.
In this collection of short stories, set during the time period of the Royally books and beyond, we explore the moments that helped shape these characters into the irresistible heroes and heroines readers have come to know and cherish.
We meet Prince Nicholas and Henry’s parents, Prince Thomas and Lady Calista; we see the struggle to balance family relationships with the demands of the monarchy; and we continue the story of Queen Lenora and Prince Edward, whose deep, abiding love lasts beyond a lifetime.
Royally Remembered is not a standalone—it is a companion novella meant to be read after Royally Screwed, Royally Matched, Royally Endowed, and Royally Yours.
Show Me Forever by Layla Hagen
I moved to Chicago six months ago, determined to finally open my own bakery. My landlady was this sweet woman who treated me like her granddaughter.
Then she sold the house. Now the devil himself is my landlord and neighbor since I live in the guesthouse on his property. Declan Maxwell is moody, unreasonable, and takes himself far too seriously. Unfortunately for me, he’s also damn sexy.
When he shows up on my doorstep in the middle of the night ordering me to turn down the music, I give him hell. Secretly, I’m also checking him out. We go toe to toe like this almost every night.
The man is impossible. But here’s the thing. I need a place to stay while I save for my business and this place is a steal. So, I need to put up with this handsome devil, though from a distance—because he’s far too gorgeous.
Then one day I come home injured from work and he surprises me by taking care of me.
And kissing me.
And just like that, all my best intentions go up in smoke.
The No-Show by Beth O’Leary
Siobhan is a quick-tempered life coach with way too much on her plate. Miranda is a tree surgeon used to being treated as just one of the guys on the job. Jane is a soft-spoken volunteer for the local charity shop with zero sense of self-worth.
These three women are strangers who have only one thing in common: they’ve all been stood up on the same day, the very worst day to be stood up—Valentine’s Day. And, unbeknownst to them, they’ve all been stood up by the same man.
Once they’ve each forgiven him for standing them up, they are all in serious danger of falling in love with a man who may have not just one or two but three women on the go….
Is there more to him than meets the eye? Where was he on Valentine’s Day? And will they each untangle the truth before they all get their hearts broken?
Ambiguous by Leslie McAdam (Live 4.13)
Love is for other people, not for me.
At least that’s what I believed, until I met him.
Julian Hill.
The most famous rock star on the planet. A music god with untidy hair and the voice of an angel.
I’ll never be anything but out, and he has very good reasons to stay in the closet.
After all, every move he makes is dissected, critiqued, and posted on social media, so he just wants a little privacy.
I understand that. Truly.
But no one makes me feel the way he does, and I’m pretty sure he has feelings for me as well.
Which is inconvenient since his record label hired me to sue him.
I should’ve sorted things out before I kissed him.
Oops.
Ambiguous is a forbidden mm rock star romance about a fashion-forward singer who hates labels of all kinds (except for clothing), a dapper attorney who already has a (fake) boyfriend for a very good reason, and the possibility of love saving the day.
Book Smart by Amanda Pennington (Live 4.14)
Melanie Hirsch is tired of watching life pass her by…
I’ve spent the last few years watching my dreams of a writing career and true love fade away, settling for a dead-end job and denying my feelings for my best friend – until I find a list of dating advice for single women to “find a husband” in the 1950s. I decide to experiment: try out the 1950s advice on my 21st-century dating pool and write about the results. If love is timeless, some of the dating advice still holds value. Maybe my experiment will launch my writing career. Maybe I’ll get over my best friend and meet someone new. Either way, I’m done watching from the sidelines.
Cameron Whitacre can’t wait forever…
I’ve spent the last few years in love with my best friend, hoping she’ll notice my friendly overtures have more than friendly intentions – but before I realize what’s happening, she declares me her wingman for a dating experiment. This idea could launch her writing career, so I’m trying to be supportive. But her experiment turns my life into a desperation-fueled dumpster fire. I need to show her how I feel without jeopardizing our friendship, all before she falls for someone else.
‘Book Smart’ is a full-length contemporary romance and can be read as a standalone. Book #3 in the Work For It series, Educated Romance World, Penny Reid Book Universe.
Not Fooling Anyone by Allie Winters (Live 4.14)
The deal is simple—pretend to be Ethan’s girlfriend for a psych study and we each get a nice payday. Despite him being a dumb jock who willingly gets punched for fun at my dad’s boxing gym, I can handle it. I’ve mastered the art of keeping others at a distance. Especially after… Well, never mind that.
Except, I didn’t count on him not understanding the definition of boundaries. Suddenly, we’re having to fake being in love all over campus to keep up the ruse. And when he tries to slip under the barriers I’ve worked so hard to create? Yeah, that’s not happening. Even if it turns out he’s surprisingly understanding… and funny… and charming… and smarter than I ever would have given him credit for. Not to mention that muscled body from all that boxing…
No, that’s irrelevant. I may have misjudged him, but that doesn’t mean I’m interested. He has no idea what kind of baggage I’m carrying. A relationship is the last thing on my mind.
Even if I’m not fooling anyone.
‘Not Fooling Anyone’ is a full-length contemporary romance and can be read as a standalone. Book #2 in the Lessons Learned series, Educated Romance World, Penny Reid Book Universe.
