A Little Too Close by Rebecca Yarros
Nine years ago, Weston Madigan saved me. I came to Colorado penniless, heartbroken, and pregnant, searching for a fresh start. Weston gave me a job at his family’s resort, then left the next day and never returned, not even to visit.
Then I stumble in on Weston cooking breakfast shirtless—gloriously, inappropriately shirtless—in the shared kitchen of my duplex in employee housing. Given the shock on both our faces, he wasn’t expecting a roommate either, let alone two.
The growly pilot is only home to start his family’s new heli-skiing operation. I can handle being his temporary roommate, right? Chemistry and attraction aren’t impossible to ignore when you agree on ground rules. Besides, even with those gorgeous, brooding brown eyes, the guy is a walking thundercloud…until my daughter, Sutton, makes him laugh and he smiles at me. Then everything changes. Cue inconvenient heart flip.
This is only temporary.
I can’t fall for Weston.
I. Will. Not. Fall. For. Weston.
But rules go out the window when you’re a little too close.
The Perfects by Rachel Van Dyken
Everything was perfect.
Until it wasn’t.
Until my family took on a foster girl and placed her across the hall from me. A charity case to look good and a person who should have never existed in my world.
I kissed her to get her to stop talking, and then I kissed her again because I liked the taste of her words—I liked her.
It was our secret until we got caught—that night changed everything.
We became strangers living in the same house, seeing the same ghosts of our past mistakes, but I can’t stop thinking about us, about those forbidden moments.
I pretend to hate her, I tell her I’ll never forgive her, and then Quinn, my ex-best friend, steps into the picture. I can’t tell if he actually likes her or if he has a death wish and just likes pissing me off, but what do I say? Stay away from my foster sister?
She’s mine?
I’ve already had her?
Saying that to him would expose what we were and ruin everything.
We’re all three of us living multiple lies, and eventually, I know our ivory tower of perfection is going to come crashing down.
He knows my secrets.
I know his.
And now she knows both.
She wants.
He wants.
But I always—always get what I want.
And what I want is the girl, no matter what it may cost me.
Give Me Forever by Heidi McLaughlin
Elle James has it all: a loving fiancé in Ben, a promising career as a music manager, and a supportive family. She couldn’t be happier with her life. That is until the unthinkable happens and she must accept the consequences of her actions and figure out how to come clean to her family or continue living the lie.
Ben Miller had it all: a loving fiancée, a budding career, and the support of people who loved him like family. That was until he wanted more, and his fiancée was unable to meet him halfway. He makes a decision, one that affects everyone. When his life takes an unexpected turn and he’s diagnosed with a life changing illness, he finds himself fighting for more than just love.
With their happily ever after slipping through their fingers, will Elle and Ben be able to survive, or will life’s curveball be too much for them to handle?
Runaway Groomsman by Meghan Quinn
Hollywood screenwriter Sawyer Walsh knows a good love story when he sees it. But when it comes to real life romance, he’s a mess. That’s how he finds himself standing at the altar…as his ex-girlfriend ties the knot with his very famous best friend. The pressure, the resentment, the media coverage—it’s all too much—and before he knows exactly what he’s doing, he’s making a run for it, leaving a shocked congregation and flashing cameras in his wake.
Needing to lie low amid the media fallout, Sawyer lands in the charming town of Canoodle, California, where he crosses paths with Fallon Long, who runs the Canoodle Cove Cabins, a family-owned business and Sawyer’s new short-term residence. Overwhelmed with renovations and her long list of responsibilities, Fallon is struggling to make ends meet while attempting to bring the cabins back to their original glory. So when Sawyer arrives, she is grateful for the income, but immediately writes him off as just another vapid Hollywood hack, until he begins to prove her wrong at every turn.
As Fallon comes closer to saving the family business, an undeniable bond forms between her and the handsome screenwriter. But the pressures of her family obligations and Sawyer’s notoriety might prove to be too much for anyone to handle. Could Canoodle be the setting for a new romance—or is true love just a Hollywood cliché?
Butt-dialing the Billionaire by Annika Martin
It was just some silly fun. A goofy imitation of the faceless mega-billionaire who owns our faceless international mega-corporation.
Yes there was laughter–screams of it.
How was I to know that Dave from accounting had sat on the speakerphone, butt-dialing said mega-billionaire? Or that he’d listen to me make fun of him for ten straight minutes.
Ummm…he could’ve announced himself!
They say he’s a notorious rake. A paparazzi-punching scoundrel. An international jet-set bad boy.
And now I hear he’s determined to track down the jokester. Me.
Eep!
But we’re tight like family in this office—no way will my co-workers rat me out, in spite of the pressure from the top. Plus, who brings the cookies? Moi!
Things die down after a few months, and I’m pretty sure I’m safe.
Thank goodness, because I have my hands full with our lazy, arrogant new office gopher. He has the worst work ethic I’ve ever seen—how did he even get hired? He doesn’t know how to work a vending machine, and he’s baffled when we send around a card to be signed for somebody’s birthday. It’s as if he’s never set foot in a place of business in his life.
But little by little, we’re drawing closer. He’s funny. Sexy. Wicked. Still, he’s all wrong for me. I like respectable men with a work ethic.
Also, I can’t shake the feeling that he’s hiding something…****
A romantic comedy standalone!
The Belle of Belgrave Square by Mimi Matthews
Tall, dark, and dour, the notorious Captain Jasper Blunt was once hailed a military hero, but tales abound of his bastard children and his haunted estate in Yorkshire. What he requires now is a rich wife to ornament his isolated ruin, and he has his sights set on the enchanting Julia Wychwood.
For Julia, an incurable romantic cursed with a crippling social anxiety, navigating a London ballroom is absolute torture. The only time Julia feels any degree of confidence is when she’s on her horse. Unfortunately, a young lady can’t spend the whole of her life in the saddle, so Julia makes an impetuous decision to take her future by the reins—she proposes to Captain Blunt.
In exchange for her dowry and her hand, Jasper must promise to grant her freedom to do as she pleases. To ride—and to read—as much as she likes without masculine interference. He readily agrees to her conditions, with one provision of his own: Julia is forbidden from going into the tower rooms of his estate and snooping around his affairs. But the more she learns of the beastly former hero, the more intrigued she becomes…
Bake Off by Denise Grover Swank
When Maddie Baker offers a self-defense course, a terrified young woman asks her for private lessons to escape a chokehold. Maddie readily agrees to meet Amy the next morning, but when she doesn’t show up, Maddie becomes concerned.
She enlists the help of Detective Noah Langley and his partner Lance Forrester. Since it’s not an official investigation, and the only thing they know about her is her first name, it’s not long before their hands are tied.
Besides, Noah has a dilemma of his own. A rash of home burglaries has taken a disturbing turn. Noah and his partner Lance feel pressed to catch the burglars before someone is physically assaulted…or worse.
To top things off, Maddie’s ex-boyfriend Steve is in town suddenly wanting her back. Her aunt’s dementia is worsening, and her best friend Mallory has shown up on her doorstep with news of her own.
Maddie’s got her hands full, so she should let her concern for the missing woman go, right? Only she’s trusting her gut, and it’s telling her something’s rotten in Cockamamie.
Silver Lining by Aleatha Romig (Live 10.12)
Lena Montgomery’s time and energy is spent making her dreams of wealth and power a reality, no matter who she leaves in her wake. She’s taken risks, climbed the ladder, and doesn’t intend to take a step back. Her hardline is involving herself with employees, and the last thing on her mind is blurring the lines with a man twelve years her junior.
As danger nears, it’s not her mind that wants to break her own rule; it’s her body.
What happens when the lines are blurred?
Are you ready for Lena’s story?
Hold on tight.
Have you been Aleatha’d?
Play Smart by Aly Stiles (Live 10.13)
Nash Ellis knows music. Producing, performing, writing—if it involves the creative process he’s there for it. He knows nothing about copy machines. Or financial reports. Or anything related to the stuck-up business world his best friends have been chasing since they were kids. But Nash also needs money, so when his roommate gets him a paid internship at Reedweather Media, he reluctantly agrees. At least his know-it-all intern competitor is kind of cute in a nerdy-librarian sort of way—especially when she’s being tormented by an angsty rocker she can’t stand.
The only thing Paige Andrews hates more than failure? Nash Ellis. She has little patience for incompetence and zero tolerance for indifference. He clearly doesn’t belong in their corporate world, so why does he insist on ruining her dream job? And the worst part—he’s not what he seems. In fact, it’s all the things he’s hiding behind those electric blue eyes that make him straight-up captivating in an ironic-slacker sort of way.
But their smoldering friction bursts into open flames when the feuding interns are forced into a high-stakes mission that requires intimate knowledge of the music industry. Yep, what could go wrong when the least-qualified candidate to ever walk the halls of a major corporation becomes their only hope of success?
‘Play Smart’ is a full-length contemporary romance and can be read as a standalone. Book #5 in the Work For It series, Educated Romance World, Penny Reid Book Universe.
