Lady Gouldian by Calia Read (Read my Review)
I was just eight-years-old, looking up at the clouds, when Asa Calhoun became my one true love. He was my brother’s best friend. He was stoic and solemn, and always believed everything in life had to be perfect. But I saw past his eccentric mannerisms. I found him fascinating.
I was seventeen when I had my debutante ball. Throughout the years, there was a gradual shift between us. I stopped being the little sister he’s always known me as and transformed into a lady. By the end of that night, he found me fascinating.
I was twenty-one when he first kissed me. My one true love became my soulmate. I was certain nothing would ever come between us.
I married at twenty-three. But I wasn’t Mrs. Asa Calhoun. At the time I believed it was for the best, leaving Belgrave and my memories of Asa behind.
I was twenty-eight when my husband died. The pain was swift and sharp. I saw what could have been and all that I let go of. Including Asa.
Nearly seven months later I’m back in Charleston, because six years of a broken heart is too much for anyone to endure.
Asa once told me he would always be my home, but will he still mean those words when I walk through the church doors and object to his marriage?
Second First Impressions by Sally Thorne
Dazzle (n): Brightness that blinds someone temporarily.
Position Vacant: Two ancient old women residing at Providence Retirement Villa seek male assistant for casual exploitation and good-natured humiliation. Duties include boutique shopping, fast-food fetching, and sincerely rendered flattery. Good looks a bonus—but we aren’t picky.
An advertisement has been placed (again!) by the wealthy and eccentric Parloni Sisters. The salary is generous and the employers are 90 years old, so how hard could the job be? Well, none have lasted longer than a week. Most boys leave in tears.
Ruthie Midona will work in Providence’s front office, and be at the Parloni’s beck and call, forever. That’s sort of her life plan. If Ruthie can run the place in her almost-retired bosses’ absence, with no hijinks/hiccups, she has a shot at becoming the new manager. She might also be able to defend her safe little world from Prescott Development, the new buyer of the prime site. Maybe after all that, she can find a cute guy to date. All she needs to do is stay serious—and that’s what she does best.
Until, one day, someone dazzling blows in to town.
Teddy Prescott devotes his life to sleeping, tattooing, and avoiding seriousness. When Teddy needs a place to crash, he makes a deal with his developer dad. Teddy can stay in one of Providence’s on-site maintenance cottages—right next door to an unimpressed Ruthie—but only if he works there and starts to grow up.
Ruthie knows how this sweetly selfish rich boy can earn his keep—and be out of her hair in under a week. After all, there is a position vacant…
Bombshells by Sarina Bowen
This is my last chance to ditch my playboy reputation and finally fulfill my potential. So I’ve made three rules for our biggest season yet: no boozing, no women, and no scandals.
Especially that last thing.
So who do I befriend on the very first day back at the rink? An amazing female hockey player. I want Sylvie in a way that’s more than just friendly. I crave her. But I have a championship to win, and so does she.
Then she gets her heart broken by my teammate, and I make the foolish mistake of comforting her in the best way I know how. Our night together sets off a string of sins.
Nobody can know about our affair, especially my overprotective teammate. I can’t let anyone see into my greedy little heart. Not even her.
The things I want from her, and the things we’ve already done? If anyone knew, there’d be bombshells.
Vampire by Rebecca Zanetti
From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Rebecca Zanetti comes a new story in her Dark Protectors/Rebels series…
Dr. Mariana Lopez has finally stopped bailing friends out of difficult situations. Well, except for substituting as the leader for another anger management group, pitching in as a campaign strategist for a prospective sheriff, and babysitting three dogs. Even with such a full life, she can feel the danger around her—a sense that something isn’t right. Nightmares harass her, until the real thing comes to life, and only the dark and sexy male sitting in her group can save her. However, with safety comes a price she might not be willing to pay.
Raine Maxwell is one of the Maxwells out of Montana, which means he’s not only one of the most deadly vampires alive, but his path is set and his mate has been chosen for him. To save him—to continue his line. Unfortunately, his mate is an enhanced human female who has no idea of her abilities, of his species, or of her future. He’d like to lead her gently into this new world, but his people aren’t the only ones who’ve found her, which puts her into more danger than she can imagine. Plus, in order to follow his laws, he only has one week to convince her that immortality with him is what she wants—and needs.
**Every 1001 Dark Nights novella is a standalone story. For new readers, it’s an introduction to an author’s world. And for fans, it’s a bonus book in the author’s series. We hope you’ll enjoy each one as much as we do.**
Mr. Smithfield by Louise Bay
I’m a single father, a lawyer and some say the most serious man in London. I’m completely focused on raising my four-year-old daughter.
Since my wife walked out three years ago, the only woman who has ever caught my eye is the strictly off-limits sister-in-law of my best friend, Autumn Lumen.
But temptation is easy to resist because Autumn is only visiting London from Oregon.
Until she moves to London. The nanny quits. And she’s the only woman for the job.
Every Time I Fall by Lexi Ryan
He’s my brother’s best friend.
The hot guy with the heart of gold I’ve never let myself want.
Guys like Dean don’t go for girls like me.
Curvy. Thick. A big girl. Whatever label you put on me, I know who I am and what it means. And that’s fine. I’m content to be Dean’s buddy and nothing more.
Or so I thought. But when Dean finds out about my bedroom issues and decides to help me fix them, everything changes.
He swears there’s no such thing as “bad in bed” and pleasure is all about chemistry. I’m not convinced, but he intends to prove it. With his mouth. With his body. With his dirty texts and whispered promises.
I know from the first kiss that I’m going to fall hard. That this can’t last, and the end might break me. But, for these days and nights with Dean, all the hurt might be worth it.
My One Night by Carrie Ann Ryan
Elise Hoover never expected this. She didn’t want to go to another party, but when her friend pulls her in, she somehow finds herself hiding in a corner with…him. Dillon Connolly. The smirking, so-called good guy with the shadows in his eyes. A single glance, a sweet smile, and she lets herself have one night of giving in. Only she has to promise herself not to fall in love. No matter the cost.
Dillon never expected her. Elise haunts his dreams more than he cares to admit. He never thought he stood a chance–until she said yes. When a single night turns to two, he know he’s in over his head, but somehow, she makes him believe he can have anything. Until the sun rises, and his past along with it. He thought he’d run from the problems that could hurt them both, but now he’s falling for her and he can’t stop. He knows he doesn’t deserve her, but now he has to fight to keep her…or save her from himself.
A Battle of Blood and Stone by Sawyer Bennett
Another day, another step closer to Hell on Earth being unleashed.
With every piece that falls into place for the queen of the Underworld, Kymaris gains strength and power that will make it more difficult to defeat her when the time comes. It feels as if we’re in a desperate race to get just one step ahead of her, but my demise feels closer than it ever has before with still so much to do.
The first order of business is to unlock the angelic powers with which I was gifted at birth, and Carrick insists on getting help from my archnemesis to do so. Yes, I have to save the world, but my priority has now become rescuing my sister from the Underworld. While there are many questions still to be answered about my long-lost twin, I know I will not win this battle without her by my side.
In the midst of all the doom and gloom, Carrick has become my beacon of shining light. Our connection unimaginable, my heart recognizes his as the other half of its whole. Inexplicable and deeper than one could ever imagine, the love I hold for him is forged by destiny, however ill-fated it may turn out to be.
And those are the feelings I must hold close…to keep me going. Because a painful lesson is on the horizon—betrayal never comes from your enemies.
A Battle of Blood and Stone is book four of the Chronicles of the Stone Veil series and is best enjoyed if read in series order.
Earn Your Extra Credit by Meghan Quinn (Live 4.15)
“She went home with someone else that night?”
Hearing the disbelief from my best friend’s mouth makes the events of my failed date sting that much more.
I would like to make it known, I have a lot more swagger than what it seems. I don’t normally ask a girl out, have her fail to recognize it’s a date, and then give me a high five–as if I’m her wingman–and take off with someone else.
No. Normally I’m the one taking the girl home but with Stella, it’s been one failed attempt after another and frankly, I’m done trying.
But thanks to my best friend getting married in Hawaii right before the school year starts, I’m stuck on a tropical island, watching Stella parade around in what she claims is a bathing suit.
Unfortunately, that’s not the worst of it, just the tip of the iceberg. Because what I think is going to be a relaxing vacation, avoiding the one girl I can’t seem to make it work with, has turned into a spectacle of being recruited as Stella’s doting fake fiancé so she can save face with an old “friend” from high school.
Now I’m navigating through purgatory while trying not to get turned on by the way she holds my hand or kisses my jaw. It’s all fake, that’s what I keep telling myself, even though it feels entirely too real.
One Wright Stand by K.A. Linde (Live 4.16)
A one-night stand prequel romance to USA Today bestselling author K.A. Linde’s Wright with Benefits…
I can’t tear my eyes away from the stranger.
He’s too hot for this small town. Too polished for this seedy bar. And a hundred percent my type. Tall, dark, and handsome in a suit with brooding eyes that say he’d lay waste to my body. And I’d let him.
Our connection is immediate. The desire is blatant. I’ve never felt anything like it.
Then I make the mistake of a lifetime: I let him walk out.
I’m still kicking myself when I show up to my best friend’s Wright family pool party. I walk outside and stop dead.
He’s here.
And he’s a Wright cousin.
My best friend’s brothers are off limits, but she never said anything about her cousin.
The Virgin Rule Book by Lauren Blakely (Live 4.16)
Let me make a few things clear. I didn’t go to the wedding intending to dance with the best man, to dare him to show me a very sexy pic on his phone, or to accidentally kiss him in the hotel elevator after the reception ended.
But you know how it goes. Things just happen at weddings…
The next day, Crosby and I agree to put all those shenanigans behind us. The fun-loving, stupidly gorgeous, all-star baseball player might be my brother’s best friend, but he’s my friend too and has been for years, so it’s easy to move on, especially since I have a high-profile business to run.
But since he’s newly single and I’m always single, it turns out we both desperately need plus ones. We agree to “publicly date” over the next two weeks of galas, parties and events before his baseball season begins.
The only trouble is the more time I spend with Crosby, the more I keep imagining how much I want him to take my V-card.
And when I broach the possibility with Crosby, his answer surprises the hell out of me.
