The Devil Himself by B.B. Easton
Growing up, I spent every night tucked under my mother’s arm, dreamily listening to tales from her favorite book series—Legend Has It by Darby Donovan, a collection of spooky folklore about a town called Glenshire and the lonely, gray-eyed fairy prince who haunted the woods there. I knew they were just stories, but when my mother died and left me in the care of my cold, abusive father, that fictional fairy prince suddenly became very, very real to me. It was as if he was always there, hiding in the shadows, offering me his silent comfort. I turned him into an imaginary friend when I needed one most.
And thirteen years later, I’m doing it again.
When my coastal Irish town is bombed by the new Russian president, a Bratva leader seeking revenge on the United Irish Brotherhood, those missiles destroy everything I’ve ever known—my home, my family, and evidently my sanity—because when I pull an injured Russian Navy officer out of the sea, a man who led the charge against my town, I can’t bring myself to let him die.
Secluded together in my secret hiding spot, we’re safe from the Mafia war raging outside, but the overwhelming connection I feel to this stranger is a battle I fight every single day. I hate him with everything that I am, but when he looks at me with those smoky gray eyes, all I see is my friend. When he touches me, all I feel is desire. And when he wraps his lips around the sustenance I offer him, all I want is to feel them pressed against mine, loving me, putting me back together.
But no one can live in a fantasy world forever, and when reality finally finds us, the truth about him is worse than anything I could have imagined.
The man I rescued is no fairy prince.
He’s the goddamn Devil himself.
The Summer I First Saw You by Elizabeth O’Roark
Once upon a time, my buddy’s niece was a toddler in a swim diaper following me around the beach. Now Daisy’s twenty-one, the loveliest thing I’ve ever laid eyes on, and blackmailing me into letting her stay for the summer.
If she’s not bent over on my deck in yoga pants, she’s in a bikini that covers far less. She makes me laugh when I want to stay pissed off and forces me to remember all the things I used to love. If only she wasn’t so damn young and so incredibly off-limits.
The sizzling tension between us is getting harder to resist, but giving in would destroy some of my oldest friendships. Worst of all, though?
It might destroy Daisy too.
Torrid by Abbi Glines
Liberty
Thing is, my Mama D never had a one-night stand with an older man who never told her his last name and left behind a souvenir that was gonna be life changing – but I had.
My life had started as a fairytale, then morphed into a nightmare by the time I was ten years old. From the moment I’d been kicked out at eighteen, I had found a way to survive. Anything was better than the home I’d left behind. At some point, everyone gets a break, right? You would think so, but fate keeps tossing things at me, trying to see how much I can take.
Looks like it won because I’m stuck right back where I started. Living in my sister’s house, who hates me, with the clock ticking until I’m homeless again.
Liam
It was time I settled down. Found a woman I could grow old with because, let’s face it, I was so close to fifty I could reach out and touch it. The daughter I hadn’t got to raise was now in my life. Grown, married, with two little boys. I wanted to be someone she could be proud of and respect. I recently started dating a doctor, she was gorgeous, smart, and independent. It all looked good when you checked off the list. My daughter couldn’t wait to meet her. I wished like hell I felt something for her. A spark, a pull, anything at this point would do.
Then, one night, when I’m leaving her bedroom, I see a familiar face looking back at me from the other end of the hallway. The sexy bartender I should have left alone six weeks ago and couldn’t get out of my head shouldn’t be here. But she is. Which means she’s the doctor’s spoiled, selfish brat of a younger sister. This was not going to end well.
Daydream by Hannah Grace
When his procrastination lands him in a difficult class with his least favorite professor, Henry Turner knows he’s going to have to work extra hard to survive his junior year of college. And now with his new title of captain for the hockey team—which he didn’t even want—Henry absolutely cannot fail. Enter Halle Jacobs, a fellow junior who finds herself befriended by Henry when he accidentally crashes her book club.
Halle may not have the romantic pursuits of her favorite fictional leads, but she’s an academic superstar, and as soon as she hears about Henry’s problems with his class reading material, she offers to help. Too bad being a private tutor isn’t exactly ideal given her own studies, job, book club, and the novel she’s trying to write. But new experiences are the key to beating her writer’s block, and Henry’s promising to be the one to give them to her.
They just need to stick to their rule book.
Oh, and not fall in love.
Heart of Frost and Scars by Pam Godwin
In the chilling finale of the Frozen Fate trilogy, Frankie enters a world far deadlier than the one she escaped.
A sinister threat lurks in the shadows, hunting her with a dark obsession as her savage protectors battle the rules of society.
Thrust into the civilized world, they spiral into violence and refuse to conform, their wild natures threatening to tear apart their bond.
Amid these struggles, her seductive billionaire husband fights to reclaim her love.
Caught between possessive men, a deadly stalker, and a legacy of pain, she must decide her fate.
Choose wrongly, and she’ll lose everything to a monster with a heart of frost and scars.
Tropes: Adult Romance, Age Gap, Alpha Hero, Angsty, Band of Brothers, Billionaire, Boy Obsessed, Close Proximity, Fish out of Water, Forbidden Love, Forced Proximity, Found Family, Heroine in Danger, Menage, MFM, One Bed, Poly (3+ people), Protector, Romantic Suspense, Scars, Stalker, Starting Over, Taboo, Touch Her And Die, Tragic Past, Troubled Marriage, Unrequited Love, Why Choose, Will They or Won’t They
Hart Breaker by M.J. Fields
Before starting my NFL career, I flew into the city closest to the town I’d call home. I booked a room, went out to grab a bite, and ended up talking football with the locals, who had no clue who I was. Oh yeah, and I had a few too many drinks.
As the night wore on, everything became a little bit blurry. Deciding to use the men’s room before grabbing a ride back to the hotel to catch some ZZZs, the door to the stall behind me swung open and a chick with an SU ball cap on, barely containing her wild, dark locks, stepped out, glanced down at my junk, and said, “That will work.”
My response? “You sure about that?”
It worked. Of course, it worked. I’ve never had a problem making it … work.
Even after finding out she was related to the owners of the New York Knights, there wasn’t a problem. We agreed it was no big deal. I didn’t even take offense to what that could have meant south of the border, either.
Ruthless by Hannah Gray
Hudson
The first time I saw Briar James, I knew she was trouble. Maybe not as far as everyone else was concerned. But for me, she was a red-hot flag that I needed to avoid at all costs. But that wasn’t an option. After all, I was hired to be her security guard. And when she looked like an angel with a voice as sweet as syrup and the body of a temptress… the job went from hard to mission impossible.
I’ve always made myself indifferent to other people’s problems. I’ve done my job and turned a blind eye when need be. But when it came to her, for the first time in my life, I couldn’t look away. But it becomes pretty clear that she’s not nearly as helpless as she’s led on.
I’m about to learn that Briar James backs down to no one. Including me. And that I can either fight alongside her or lose her altogether. And the latter? Yeah. Not an option.
Bonnie and Clyde fought together, and they both wound up dead. The question is…will that be me and my sweet Dove’s fate too?
Briar
Hudson never looked at me when he walked into a room. Instead, he’d act like I wasn’t there at all. But I knew he saw me. I just never realized how much until the night he saved my life and kissed me in the dark. And even though my uncle was forcing me to marry another man, my heart didn’t beat the same after that night.
He called me Dove because he saw me as a helpless, pathetic girl who did as she was told. He thought I was weak. Blind to my surroundings. Obedient.
He couldn’t have been more wrong.
I’ve always heard that true love has no limits. I just never realized how true that was.
How We Fooled by Lauren Runow
Liza
After moving to the small town of Mason Creek, I meet the perfect man.
He’s everything I’ve ever wanted—sweet, sexy, protective.
I fall for him fast and hard.
Then, I find out he’s a senior in high school.
And he’s one of my students.
I should walk away. Being with him could burn my life to the ground.
Trouble is, I’m starting to think it might be worth it …
Eli
I don’t have time for romance. Between school and sports, I’m too busy.
Until I meet her.
I know I’m younger than her. I know student-teacher relationships are forbidden.
But none of that matters when I’m with Liza.
Soon, I’ll be a professional baseball player, and the tiny age gap between us won’t mean anything.
We’ll have our happily ever after.
Assuming I can keep the disapproving world from breaking us apart first …
Castles in the Air by Felice Stevens
Ryan Matson dreams of a new life, one with a future where drugs aren’t in control. But lying to himself isn’t helping him achieve that goal. Neither is pretending he’s sober, especially not with Logan Silver, his one-night stand and longtime crush. When Ryan’s world implodes and all his hopes for a fresh start vanish, he heads down a familiar, self-destructive path, doing what he does best: running and hiding. Only this time, he’s got Logan Silver searching for him.
And Logan won’t stop until he finds him.
Logan Silver is the man who has everything and yet nothing at all. After losing his brother to drugs years ago, Logan is heartbroken, unable to regain his footing or open himself to others. Except to Ryan, the only one to break through the pain that haunts him each day. He is driven by a need to protect Ryan, to give him all he can—a home, a chance at a fresh start…everything, no strings attached. Then Ryan disappears, taking Logan’s trust with him. And when he returns, insisting on keeping his distance, Logan feels like he’s been used. And nobody uses Logan.
Logan and Ryan are unable to deny their attraction, but this time has to be different: no more lying to themselves and each other. Logan must let go of his heartbreak and fear to support Ryan as he discovers his own way. Because Ryan doesn’t need a savior. He needs to own his truth, believe in himself, and accept that he deserves to be happy. Only then can the two have a future together—one built on a foundation of love and trust—that won’t vanish like clouds in thin air.
Bitter Truth by Jillian Liota & Meredith Wild
After nine years in LA, aspiring singer Murphy Hawthorne leaves behind her broken dreams to return to her family’s vineyard. But as she helps open the property’s new restaurant, she faces a family still bitter about the fact she ever left, and old wounds quickly resurface. The only refreshing note is the handsome head chef, Wesley Hart.
Hired to draw more tourists to the Hawthorne vineyard, Wes is a culinary master with a reputation he wishes he could forget. Struggling with regrets and complex family dynamics of his own, he’s trying to start over, too. The biggest mistake he could make right now is to act on his attraction to his boss’s younger sister. If only he could get her out of his head…
Despite all the reasons to keep their distance, Murphy and Wes can’t deny the connection that keeps drawing them together. In each other, they find refuge and a sense of belonging neither could have imagined. But to forge a new future together, they must answer one important question: Can they face the past—and forgive it?
The Heartbreaker by Sara Cate
I’m nothing like my brothers. I’ve devoted my life to my work, and I don’t care about God or family.
I live alone, and I like it that way. Soon, I’ll have the job of my dreams far away from this place, and that’s all that matters.
Everything is going perfectly.
That is until Sadie Green walks into my class.
She is brilliant and funny and infuriating, and she’s ruining everything I have planned for my life.
When she gets the news that she’s pregnant, and the baby’s father isn’t going to help her, I step in.
She needs guidance, control, and discipline.
Moving her into my house is a risk. If I’m caught living with my pregnant student, I will lose my job and everything I have planned.
But the first time she asks me to punish her, I know it won’t be so easy to walk away—because I love it.
Being with her would risk everything, but God help me, I can’t seem to stop.
Before long, I don’t recognize the good teacher I used to be.
Tempest by Alison Rhymes
You can fall in love in a matter of days.
It can take years to recover from the loss of it. I know that all too well. When I fell for Gavin Vaughn, I never expected to watch him marry someone else. The experience changed me, shaped the woman I became.
Now he’s divorced and wanting to reconnect after twenty years. As if that same shattered heart doesn’t still beat inside me.
He’s as charming as he ever was, better looking, too. And a star player for the NHL team in the city I just relocated to.
I’m not that same girl who loved him and watched him leave. I’m a woman who built her own empire from scraps. I’m also the woman who will be mentoring his daughter to do the same.
I’m the woman who can still be brought to her knees by the only man she ever cared about. But it’s going to take more than sly smiles and bouquets of flowers to convince me he’s worth my time. Or my heart.
The Rocker’s Muse by Penelope Ward
No one but me knew why I was actually in the California desert that day.
Nestled deep within the desolate, rocky area was a recording studio.
When a door suddenly opened, a man mistook me for someone he was supposed to be interviewing for a job.
The next thing I knew, I was whisked inside.
The position? An assistant on the upcoming tour for one of America’s most famous rock bands.
Pretty exciting opportunity for a twenty-two-year-old, just out of college.
Not surprisingly, I bombed the interview.
When I ended up mistakenly walking into the men’s room on my way out, I struck up a conversation with a stranger—not realizing it was the lead singer, Tristan Daltrey.
He seemed to like the fact that I had no idea who he was, that I saw him as a normal person.
That night, I got a call offering me the job.
So began my complicated story with Tristan.
Millions of women loved him.
Yet for some reason, after the shows, he only wanted to hang out with me.
Late-night talks. Casual dinners in his hotel room.
I wasn’t supposed to be fraternizing with the band’s frontman.
Despite our fifteen-year age difference, Tristan and I had a connection.
But I had a secret.
One that would eventually lead to my leaving the tour.
And one that would lead Tristan and the band straight to the small town where I came from.
