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Adrift
Isabel Jolie
(Haven Island)
Publication date: June 8th 2021
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

I can be your dream girl…for a price…

Ever heard of Only Fans? It’s not my ideal job, but it pays the bills.
It’s even made me somewhat of a celebrity. My subscribers love my provocative shots, and I’m oh-so-good at teasing them.
Then he shows up in my small town and complicates everything.
See, Mr. Green-Eyed Gazillionaire is so far out of my league it’s ridiculous. We’re polar opposites.
That doesn’t change the fact that even though I’m a fantasy to most men, I only want to be his reality.
But nothing real can ever happen between us. Logically, I know that.
Too bad logic and I have never had anything but a passing acquaintance.
Because now, if I’m not careful, I’m afraid this sexy billionaire will smash my poor, pathetic heart into oblivion…

A delicious hot billionaire romance featuring two polar opposites adrift on a resort island with a small-town atmosphere, right of the coast of North Carolina.

This is a steamy contemporary romance with a happily ever after, no cliffhanger, and no cheating.

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Enjoy this peek inside:

“Did you hang up on me?” Shock enveloped his words.

“Yeah.” Get over it.

“Don’t do that. If I say something that offends you, tell me. But don’t end the call. I had a shitty day. I called you because I was reaching out as a friend.”

“Yeah, do you ask all your friends what they’re wearing when you call them? Does Tate give you a good rundown?”

“Fine. I might…I don’t know. That was bad flirting. I got it. I won’t do it again.”

I sipped my wine, waiting for an actual apology.

“How’d your meeting with the bank go?”

My emotions shimmied around uncontrollably. “Not well. I’ve decided that on my next loan application I need to take a different approach to describe my current business.”

“What did they say about it?”

“It wasn’t a they. It was a he. And…” I trailed off, unsure about what to admit.

“Did he come on to you?” he asked. I thought I picked up on a mixture of anger and disbelief. The desire to hang up on him evaporated.

“In a totally professional way. Maybe I was reading into it.” It was probably all in my head. He really didn’t do anything wrong. Some might say he was being nice.

“Tell me what he said.”

“He said I wasn’t likely to get a loan without experience running a restaurant, but he was willing to help me work on my business plan—if I met him at a hotel bar.” I held my breath for Gabe’s reaction, curious. He could say that was normal and how things were done in the business world. In Wilmington, I’d seen business executives hovering around the bar. I’d been in the exact Holiday Inn bar he mentioned once.

Gabe muttered something I couldn’t quite pick up. “Look, the restaurant sector isn’t an area I know. But let me make some phone calls. I’ll have an industry expert consult with you.”

“That’s—”

“Poppy, this is how it’s done. You learn from those with more experience and knowledge. I could tell you something off the top of my head that needs improvement in your presentation, but my feedback won’t be as useful as an industry expert. And what the banker said, about the lack of experience, that could be a legitimate obstacle. Does the chef you are partnering with have any ownership or management experience?”

“No.” I’d fluffed his experience up. Clay was currently the line cook at Jules. But he liked healthy food. And my plan was for more of a wine bar, a place for vacationing adults to come and hang out in a relaxing atmosphere, even after dinner.

“Let me make some calls.”

“How much would a consultant cost?”

“Consider it a favor for hanging out with me and letting me crash on your sofa.”

“Gabe, I don’t want to be indebted to you. How much?”

“Won’t cost a thing. I’ll call in some favors. It’ll be an initial consultation, and you can decide how you want to take it from there.”

“Thank you.”

He sighed. “No problem.”

“Why’d you have a shit day?”

“Ah, just another day in the business world.” Shrill beeps and a robotic voice sounded through the phone. “Premise is secure.”

“Are you just getting home now?”

“Yeah. I had dinner with brokers.”

I checked the time. After ten. “You sound tired.”

“I am. I wake at four a.m. This is a late-night for me. Especially given it’s only Monday.”

“Four a.m.? That’s inhuman.”

He chuckled. I sensed he spoke while walking and talking, maybe even preparing for bed.

“I suppose I should let you go so you can get a good night’s sleep.”

“I’ll have my assistant email over a consultant’s name. And, Poppy?”

“Yeah?”

“That banker was an ass. And I didn’t mean to be.”

~~~~~

Author Isabel Jolie

Isabel Jolie, or Izzy to her friends, is an Amazon bestselling indie author with an unquenchable thirst for a good, sexy love story. Izzy’s heart pumps faster for stories with strong heroines, down-to-earth realism, and an unexpected twist.

When she’s not writing or reading, she can often be found with a glass of wine in hand relaxing with her husband, daughters, and good friends lakeside.

Izzy fills her Instagram feed with funnies, inspirational “brain candy”, and anything that meshes with her mood of the day. #mood.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

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Hasty
by Julia Kent
(Do-Over Series, #4)
Publication date: July 28th 2020
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

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AN ALL-NEW STANDALONE FROM NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR JULIA KENT

I never thought my perp walk would lead to true love.

Then again, I never thought I’d be arrested on RICO charges and hauled away in zip ties on camera for the world to see, minutes after closing the most amazing deal of my career.

And all of it in front of my biggest viral, billionaire wunderkind Ian McRory.

I am broke.

I am disgraced.

I am alone.

I am a sucker.

But the worst part? I have to go back to my hometown and live in my bedroom filled with relics from my childhood.

Lisa Frank never made me so mad before.

Just when I needed a rescue, I got one — in the form of help from my biggest rival.

He can’t bring back my money.

He certainly can’t bring back my reputation or my pride.

But there’s one thing he can bring back to me.

A sense of hope.

Maybe even love.

Ian sees something in me no one else does, and he’s relentless about making me see it, too. As we grow closer, I’m starting to see that while my entire life used to be a lie, the truth is staring me in the present — and it’s a truth I like very, very much, hot eyes and gorgeous smile and all.

But I have to be careful.

I can’t be too —

That’s right.

Hasty.

The final book in the USA Today bestselling Do-Over Series (Fluffy, Perky, Feisty), as Mallory’s sister, Hastings “Hasty” Monahan gets her turn at a happily ever after that starts off with an arrest.

Hers.

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Book 2, Perky, is currently 99¢ for a limited time. And also the prequel (Little Miss Perky) is free!

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Check out the Excerpt:

Today is the best day of my life.

I know people say that, and they mean it, but they don’t mean this. My best day is better than anyone else’s. Trust me.

I know.

I’m sitting at a table at Essentialz, a five-star restaurant in San Francisco. Everyone at the table watches me as I tuck the signed paperwork away in my black Bottega Veneta woven leather brief bag.

I, Hastings Monahan, just signed a nine-figure investment deal on behalf of the venture capital firm I work for.

Full partner, here I come.

Of course, lawyers will handle the majority of this. The signatures are symbolic as much as they are legal. But the fellow diners at my carefully crafted table will go back to China with an exciting opportunity for their company, Zhangwa Telecommunications, to enter the North American market with climate-change technology projecting yields that are the best aphrodisiac ever.

As I sip from my glass of Montrachet Grand Cru, I catch the eye of Ming Bannerton, a consultant with Zhangwa whose father is a high-ranking U.S State Department official in China, a woman who has a hunger for financial success that I can spot in anyone in three seconds flat. There’s something special about a fellow hustler–and when I use the word hustler, I don’t mean it pejoratively.

People who hustle get things done.

We connect. We network. We pattern match. We ruthlessly apply what we intuitively feel to what we operationally know in order to produce optimal outcomes.

In short–we hustle.

And we win.

But in competition, there can only be one winner.

One.

Tonight, I’m it.

Her smile mirrors mine, red lips stretched over perfectly white teeth that are as straight as a new picket fence. The smile doesn’t reach her eyes, but an intensity infuses her. She’s about five years younger than me, with a knowing eye that tells me we need to stay in touch. Someday soon, she may shoot past me, and that’s where all the legwork pays off.

In this business, you network down as well as you network up, if you want to get anywhere.

And the manila folder resting in my brief bag, the one that feels like a warm gold ingot pressed against my lips? That, ladies and gentlemen, is how you get somewhere.

“Where is Burke?” Mr. Zhao Bai asks, his head at a slight tilt, a gesture of genuine curiosity as his eyes survey me, looking for information that doesn’t come directly from my mouth. He’s the youngest of the four men at the table, a fast talker who looks around the room like he’s a mob boss. Negotiating with him took a steady hand I didn’t know I possessed, but now I understand.

Burke is part of the deal, and I didn’t realize it.

The contracts are signed, though. That makes my husband an off-the-books addendum. No matter what, this is my accomplishment.

My husband, Burke Oonaj, is one of the hottest market makers in finance right now. Even he will have no choice but to be impressed by the deal I’ve just put together.

But the inquiry about my husband makes my uterus fall.

And it’s not like he’s around to catch it.

“Good question,” I say before taking another sip of wine, needing to buy myself a smidgen of space and time. I only need a split second.

Normally.

For some reason that I can’t explain, my emotions are tangling in my mind, and that’s an unpredictable variable I have to weed out.

Fast.

My heart feels strangely heavy in my chest, a sense of dread filling me that has no right to be here. This is MY night, I tell that sense of dread. This is MY deal. This is my culmination of six years of careful work, all coming together, right now.

Go away, dread.

But Mr. Zhao’s question is a good one, because Burke isn’t answering any of my texts or emails or phone calls, and hasn’t for the last three days.

My husband has disappeared.

Not literally, of course, because husbands don’t just do that. Business travel can be intense. Plenty of stretches of time have gone by without hearing from him. They involved twenty-four hours or less, though.

Not eighty-one hours and thirteen minutes.

Not that I’m counting.

I can’t admit any of this to anyone at this table, of course, so instead, I give what my pattern-matching brain tells me is the optimal answer, designed to make me look good.

“Burke’s fine,” I say with a grin, the glass of wine still full enough to make more sips look like an appropriate response. “He sends his best regards. He would have been here tonight, but… you know.”

Two of the men share a look I don’t like. It’s a fleeting glance, the type that is practiced and meant to look like nothing. You think I’m paranoid, that I’m inventing it all?

Wrong.

I’m in a state of hyperarousal.

No, not the sexual kind. Haven’t felt that in a long time, at least not with Burke. My hyperarousal is based around the stress hormones pumping through me from the excitement of what I just accomplished.

Me. Myself. Alone.

Independent of Burke.

As workday smiles stretch to become the more casual, intimate grins of people enjoying bottle after bottle of excellent wine, I loosen up. The answer I gave them sufficed. We can move on.

My body feels numb and excited at the same time. I’m on top of the world. The pinnacle.

I am Peak Hastings.

Which is why, when the maître d’ approaches my side, I don’t pick up on the gravity of his whisper. No one would. Because learning that my credit card has been declined for this business dinner is definitely not part of the plan, and the areas of my brain assigned to processing language literally can’t comprehend it.

“It’s what?” I whisper, standing carefully, legs still steady, my alcohol consumption measured, even if my tablemates have made their way through more wine than an entire wedding party back home.

The maître d’, José, gives me a wide-eyed but polite look. “I’m sorry, Ms. Monahan. This has never happened before when you’ve dined with us. But the credit card company was very firm. You cannot use this one.”

Mr. Zhao gives me an inquiring look. My stomach sinks. Did he overhear?

“Will you all excuse me?” I tell them, hating the disruption, my legs turning into two steel beams covered in chilled skin.

“Something must be wrong with the credit card processor,” I snap at the maître d’ as I hurry away from my group. I want to get the taint of this failure out of the way and get back to my stellar success.

Once we’re out of sight of my table, I rifle through my purse and find another business credit card. “Use this one. And let me be very clear, to you and to your boss, that this is absolutely, abjectly unacceptable.”

He inserts the card, chip side in. “I realize this, Ms. Monahan, but we cannot…”

Beep.

He stares at the credit card terminal.

I read the display upside down. “Declined!” I hiss. “This is impossible! That card has no limit!”

“Perhaps you’ve had your identity stolen, or there are fraud alerts on your account? Perhaps you’re the victim of a financial crime?” José suggests.

“I can’t be the victim of a financial crime!” I snap at him. “I’m a financial expert! This doesn’t happen to people like me. Here!” I shove a third company card at him. This one better work.

I only have one more.

My mind races ahead, conjuring contingency plans, even as my cheeks burn with shame.

Shame.

Why would I feel shame for someone else’s mistake? And yet, there it is, and I have to override it fast. Because if I don’t, it gets a toehold.

And that is the fastest way to lose your edge.

José closes his eyes and lets out a sigh through his nose, a split second before the display terminal beeps.

Again.

“Your computer system is down,” I declare, pulling out the fourth card and my phone, texting my office manager. Maybe something went wrong. Maybe José is right. Maybe we were hacked. But this is surreal enough to let the dread come inside me and have a seat, as it decides whether to become an overnight guest.

It doesn’t matter. What matters is that I’m staring at a mid-four-figure bill that I owe, right now, and have no way to settle.

This cannot be happening.

As he runs the fourth card, the main door opens. My spine straightens, calves stretching tall, and not just from the five-inch heels I’m wearing.

I know that man.

I hate that man.

And he’s the last person on Earth I want to see in the middle of this debacle.

Ian McCrory cannot see me like this.

Author Julia Kent

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Julia Kent writes romantic comedy with an edge. Since 2013, she has sold more than 2 million books, with 4 New York Times bestsellers and more than 19 appearances on the USA Today bestseller list. Her books have been translated into French and German, with more titles releasing in 2020 and beyond.

From billionaires to BBWs to new adult rock stars, Julia finds a sensual, goofy joy in every contemporary romance she writes. Unlike Shannon from Shopping for a Billionaire, she did not meet her husband after dropping her phone in a men’s room toilet (and he isn’t a billionaire she met in a romantic comedy).

She lives in New England with her husband and three children where she is the only person in the household with the gene required to change empty toilet paper rolls.

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Between the Pages
Lauren Baker
Publication date: July 20th 2020
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Synopsis

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Check out the excerpt:

They stepped out into challenging weather — the rain had picked up in intensity while they were dining, coupled with a buffeting wind that made even walking a few hundred yards unpleasant work. Eric was holding her close, and mellowed by the food, the drink, the music, Emmy leaned into his body, instinctively seeking the warmth radiating from him.

“This time, I’m not letting you go home alone in this godawful weather,” he said, steering her towards the car that pulled over at their level.

Emmy would’ve resisted, but her body betrayed her, too happy to spend longer wrapped in his warmth and to escape being lashed by the wind and drenched by the rain. The car was warm and spacious, its leather seats comfortable, the driver a silent presence behind a glass screen, while Eric was next to her, his arm now slipped behind her shoulder, in a loose familiar hug that neither threatened nor excluded further action.

He smelled masculine and enticing, with a hint of discreet cologne, and when she found herself inhaling deeply, he in turn pulled her in a little closer, until her head was on his shoulder and her whole body tingled with slow-burning arousal. It was both so very wrong and so perfectly right as they sped through the rain-soaked night, the city lights flickering in every puddle and wet surface they passed, the low hum of the engine lulling her into a sensual torpor.

The movement was almost imperceptible, but his hand was suddenly near her face, and his thumb brushed lightly against her full bottom lip, which sent unerring messages of lust through her body. His thumb stroked her mouth two, three times, before she parted her lips, and heard him draw a shuddering breath. Oh. Oh. He was at least as into this as her, clearly.

Next thing she knew his mouth was on hers, his hand sliding to the back of her head as he kissed her tentatively. His lips were warm, soft, and gentle on hers, the kiss light, but it set off a wave of desire rippling through her body, the strength of which shocked her. Eric was obviously holding himself in check — he was taking his time, dropping kisses from one corner of her mouth to the other, feather light touches that were unraveling her entirely. He tasted of bitter coffee and dark chocolate, and somehow these had just become the most delicious and exciting flavors in the world.

His tongue flickered out, sweeping against her lip, electric, and she couldn’t contain a whimper of raw need which in turn spurred him on, from tentative to more demanding, until she surrendered her mouth to him, and God, Eric Oswell could kiss.

He pulled her closer to him, chest to chest, her nipples erect and aching pressed against his solid frame, and she ran a hand up his shoulder and into his hair, fingertips cradling his head as the kiss deepened. His hands were stroking her neck and back, leaving trails of fire in their wake, and Emmy became aware of a deep throbbing need in her that was threatening to overwhelm her sanity. She wanted more, more of his insatiable mouth, more of his agile tongue, more of the masculine scent that was invading her senses.

When he pulled away and rested his forehead against hers, drawing shaky breaths as they both tried to regain control of themselves, she realized she was trembling. Also, that the car had pulled over in what, upon close inspection, turned out to be her street. Time to call it before they hit the point of no return, and no matter how desperately she wanted him to come up to her apartment, there was absolutely no way she was going to ask him.

Author Lauren Baker

London based journalist with a sideline as a romance writer; also a prolific reader, and keen on all things fiction – on the page, the stage, the big screen and the small. Dreamer at heart.

Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads

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The Art of Serendipity
Karen Anne
Publication date: July 21st 2020
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Synopsis

Lorelei Parker has her dream job teaching AP English at an elite prep school on the upper east side. Between her love of literature & moderating the school drama club, Lorelei is more than content. But when her star student is caught with drugs and expelled, Lorelei discovers life is about to become as complicated as one of her books.

When a call from his ex-wife alerts him that his son has just been kicked out of the prestigious Astley Academy, Jack Flynn’s quiet life on his ranch in North Carolina is uprooted. Not knowing how to fix Brodie’s shattered senior year, he takes his son under his wing, hoping life on the ranch and some hard work will be a way to reach the son he feels he’s lost.

The last thing Lorelei expected was an email from Jack Flynn asking her advice on how to help his son, Brodie. So begins an email exchange between the two that unlocks a secret, a way to get Brodie back on track, and a budding romance that can only be described as serendipity.

Goodreads / Amazon

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Enjoy this peek inside:

He got out of the stall and walked close to me. I drew in a breath as I took him in. He had on a blue button down chambray shirt with the sleeves rolled up and black jeans.

He walked right up to me, and for a minute, I thought he was going to kiss me, but he didn’t. He just stared into my eyes long enough to make my stomach do a flip. “How’d you sleep?” he asked, and I was surprised by his question.

“Great. Woke up early.”

“Me too.” His gaze fell to my mouth, and I felt that pang of longing remembering what it was like to be in his arms last night, to have his full lips move across mine. “Are you ready to meet the other horses?” he asked, and I blinked back at him, registering the fact that he still wasn’t kissing me.

“Uh, yeah.”

He walked around the bend to another row of stalls. “We have twenty-four horses on the ranch, including little Rosie. Of those, fifteen are used for riding lessons, trails and so forth.”

Jack walked down the aisle, pointing out the various breeds and discussing their personalities. He knew so much about each individual horse, just as I could easily discuss any of my students at length.

“This is Annabelle. Very sweet temperament. She’s seven years old, knows the trail well. She won’t get you lost, so don’t you worry.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

“I wasn’t sure if you had ever been on a horse before, so I wanted to pick one you’d be very comfortable on.”

“You want me to ride her?”

“Well, yeah. This is a ranch.” He rested a hand on his belt buckle and laughed. “How else did you think we’d get up the mountain?”

“I thought we were going to hike up the mountain.”

Jack glanced down at my boots. “And those are the boots you chose for hiking?”

My ears prickled with heat. I glanced down at Jack’s boots, noting the spurs. “Why didn’t you say we’d be horseback riding?”

“I’m sorry. I really thought it was obvious, but if you don’t want to then we don’t have to.”

“No… I want to.” I didn’t sound convincing.

“Have you ever ridden before?”

“Sure, when I was in fourth grade and the girl scouts took us to a dude ranch but halfway through one of the horses got spooked and stood up on its hind legs. There was a lot of screaming, and we all had to turn around and head back. Oh, and another time I rode a camel at a Renaissance fair, but it was just in a circle, and there was a guy leading the camel by a rope.”

“Well, a camel isn’t a horse. I think this experience will be a lot better.” He opened the gate in front of Annabelle’s stall and led her out. “She’s already been saddled. Go ahead, say hello.”

I laid my hands on her chestnut coat. The horse didn’t so much as flinch when I touched her, making me feel invisible. She was beautiful and powerful and apparently going to carry me up a mountain.

Jack led another horse out of a stall. It was pitch black and much bigger than Annabelle. He was magnificent. “Who’s this?”

“This is Midnight. He’s Rosie’s father.”

“Is Pebbles going to be upset to discover her man is out with another woman?”

“We won’t tell.” He took my purse off of my shoulder. “You won’t need this.” He walked over to the far wall and hung the purse on a hook then took a black helmet down and handed it to me. “Put this on. It straps under your chin.”

I took the helmet from his hands and frowned like a child. “You’re not wearing a helmet.”

“I’ve been riding since I could walk, and Midnight knows me. I raised him. I know every bend and dip in the trail.” He took the helmet from my hands, placed it on my head, and fastened the buckle beneath my chin. “You, my dear, are about to have a maiden voyage, and I can’t take a risk with such precious cargo.”

He held my face up by my chin, studying me for a moment. My heart rate began to accelerate. Whatever Jack Flynn was doing, he was quite good at it. I really hoped I pulled off equestrian chic in that hat. At the very least, I’d settle for cute. He winked and dropped his hand, releasing me from his physical hold, but mentally, I was tethered to Jack and blindly about to trust him as he led me up a mountain.

Author Karen Anne

Karen Anne was writing before she could read. As a toddler, she sat with a book in her hands and made up the stories, eager for the day when she’d find out if it all truly ended in happily ever after. Karen still determines the destiny of other people’s lives, but this time, the characters are her own.

She is a Contemporary Romance author who lives in New York.
Coffee drinker by day, wine enthusiast by night, she loves cats and deeply misses 90’s grunge.

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From What’s Broken
by R.M. Demeester
Publication date: June 21st 2019
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Synopsis

Amanda and Matthew are on the cusp of their happily ever after. They have a stable marriage and a lovely daughter, and they are eagerly awaiting the birth of their second. Suddenly tragedy strikes and the couple’s picture-perfect life crumbles. Ivory, their firstborn child, dies in an accident. Not knowing how to deal with their pain, Amanda and Matthew blame each other for their loss and drift apart. They soon realize their relationship might not bear the burden, leaving their surviving daughter to cope with the aftermath of two grief-stricken parents.

Goodreads

About Author R.M. Demeester

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