Fortune may favor the bold, but lately, it hasn’t favored Bree Faust.
Raised in the neon-lit embrace of Fortuna Casino & Resort, Bree is a twenty-two-year-old with more than a smattering of freckles and a sense of loyalty that runs deep. When change is thrust upon her again, she finds herself at a major crossroads and is torn between embracing her legacy as Lady Luck or drawing a card for a new life filled with unknowns.
Enter Vinh Lott, a twenty-nine-year-old with a fierce protective streak and a heart scarred by fire. A reserved software engineer moonlighting at his parents’ new restaurant, Vinh is the steady rock Bree never knew she needed. When fate brings them together in the chaos of the casino, Bree faces the biggest gamble of her life—trusting Vinh to be both her anchor and safe harbor in the greatest storm she has ever faced.
As obstacles loom, from Bree’s demanding grandmother, the return of an antagonistic former friend, and the temporary nature of Vinh’s stay on the coast, their love story unfolds against the glittering backdrop of a casino resort. Will Bree and Vinh beat the odds, or will they lose it all in the grand game of love?
Lane O’Neil is a former enneagram Type 2 and current enneagram Type 9 (Cancer sign, if you must know) who loves change. You can just ask her husband—who is asked to rearrange their living room furniture every seven business weeks—to verify that statement.
Born, raised, and forever resident of Atlanta-ish, Georgia, she loves egg rolls, blankies, and her four dogs—a feisty mutt and three pitties, or “senior pitizens.”
Lane rekindled her love of reading during the tumultuous, emotional trench warfare time of her life known as the postpartum period after she had her first and only son in 2021.
That renewed spark led her to link up with indie authors as an alpha and beta reader, which eventually led to a crazy idea—one that had never once crossed her mind before.
What if she tried to write something?
Once her mortifying flashback to completing the writing portion of her SATs in 2009 was done and she took a shower to wash off the nervous sweats, she opened a document and began writing.
Genre: Contemporary Romance Standalone Trope: Frenemies to lovers, pregnancy scare, small town
Synopsis
There’s a thin line between love and hate. Good thing I have excellent balance.
If only that was enough.
Willa Hayes and I have a long history. We went from friends to enemies to frenemies…with benefits. The benefits part is our secret though.
Not how I’d prefer it, but after what I did, I’m lucky she still talks to me at all.
Our chemistry is undeniable. An addictive push and pull that has taken on a life of its own. One that fuels the long burning flame deep within me.
None of our friends have any idea that she and I have been sneaking around for the better part of a decade. Neither does anyone else in our small Georgia town. And if word were to get out, that would be the end of us.
That is, until Willa drops a bomb I never saw coming. It’s the last thing I expected – but also the perfect chance to show her who I really am. To be the man I wasn’t ten years ago. The man she deserves.
This is our chance for a happy ending. It’s now or never. As long as I don’t screw it up again.
I may hate him with the fire of Shakespeare’s thousand suns, but man, can Nash Keller kiss.
All my fury and annoyance, the flood of negative emotions that were flowing a second ago, are now taking a backseat. They’re still there, but suddenly pushed aside by something else.
Desire.
My insides light up like the sky on New Year’s Eve, each beat of my pulse a new firework exploding. And all he’s done is kiss me.
My knees wobble as Nash’s hand slides to my ass, his massive palm the perfect size to cup a cheek. As he gives it a squeeze, I moan into our kiss, unable to control myself. I give in, letting him control the pace, still desperate for more. He squeezes again, this time a little harder, and I come alive.
As if he can read my mind, he deepens the kiss, his other hand finding my backside, hoisting me up. Instinctively I wrap my legs around his waist, my core making contact with the bulge already forming in his pants, and that’s all it takes.
I’m ready to go.
I grind my hips against him, seeking the high that only he can give me. Nash Keller is a drug. One that I’ve been addicted to since I was a teenager, unable to give up, even though I know how bad it is for me. I’ve tried to convince myself there are worse vices out there than him—real drugs, for instance—because deep down I know this man will be my undoing.
In fact, we might already be there.
His touch feels too good for that to be a worry right now. In this moment, the only thing I care about is getting him naked.
I claw at his shirt, our mouths still fused together in forceful, messy kisses, the thin, soft fabric malleable in my hands. Each time I try to pull back from his claim on my lips so I can focus on taking his shirt off, Nash stops me. His tongue dances with mine, sending lightning straight to my core, my clit already throbbing with anticipation.
I need him naked. Now.
Digging my nails into the cotton, I yank at it, the threads giving way easily, like a hot knife through butter. The ripping sound cuts through the air, finally getting Nash’s attention.
Looking down in between us then up again, I watch as his eyes darken, brow furrowing. “This shirt was a gift, Princess.”
“From me,” I remind him pointedly. I glide my finger down his chest, in between his pecs, licking my lips.
A wicked smile takes over from his scowl, sending another shot of lightning through me. It’s the exact same smile he gave me when he opened the gift that Christmas a few years back—Kenzie, Sylvie, the twins, and I all gathered in the small living room of his and Noel’s house—before Dustin’s return and the rest of our friends coupling off. The dark gray shirt, complete with a cartoon cow and the words “Man-ure hot” had gotten a good laugh out of everyone. But only Nash had understood the secret message behind it.
One he properly thanked me for later.
“Still, you’re gonna pay for that.”
I shiver, my body continuing to betray me. Because I want every bit of whatever he’s about to dole out. My head tells me it’s a bad idea, but it’s getting vetoed. The physical connection between us is too strong.
Without another word, Nash twists, depositing me on the bed. My eyes are glued to him as he rips the shirt the rest of the way off, showing off his impressively chiseled chest. His gaze holds me in place, my breath slowing as he undoes his belt, then flicks the button of his jeans open, the whole thing a choreographed dance designed to turn me on.
Letting his jeans drop to the floor, Nash steps out of them, leaving him in nothing. Absolutely nothing. My eyes dance up and down his long, lean body, mouth watering at the sight of him like this.
USA Today Best Selling Claire Hastings is a walking, talking awkward moment. She loves Diet Coke, gummi bears, the beach, and books (obvs). When not reading she can usually be found hanging with friends at a soccer match or grabbing food (although she probably still has a book in her purse). She and her husband live in Atlanta.
Title: Mr. Important Series: Honeybridge #2 Authors: Lucy Lennox & May Archer
Genre: Contemporary MM Romance Tropes: Age Gap/Father’s Best Friend Enemies to Lovers/Boss-Employee Release Date: March 14, 2024
BLURB
One New Year’s masquerade. One anonymous hookup. One billionaire-sized mistake.
Once upon a time, someone looked at my scrawny, quiet eight-year-old self and nicknamed me Mr. Important… and I believed them.
That was my first mistake.
Two decades, a dozen failed careers, and a thousand meaningless hookups later, I’ve made more mistakes than I can count. My parents have decided I’m purely decorative, my brother thinks I need pep talks, and the gorgeous billionaire who hired me as a favor to my dad? He’s forgotten I exist.
So I’m done with mistakes.
Call it my New Year’s resolution. From now on, I’m going after what I want… starting with the mysterious silver fox in the Roman warrior mask who approached me at the charity gala and offered me a scorching, anonymous one-night-stand.
Unfortunately, when our masks come off I realize mistakes are not done with me.
Because the bossy guy who blew my mind? He’d thought I was someone else. Worse than that, he’s my father’s friend. A supposedly-straight workaholic. The person I’m stuck on a road trip with for the next two weeks. And, oh yeah, my actual boss.
The farther we get from New York, the closer we become, and the harder it is to pretend I’m not falling for him. But I can’t see how someone as brilliant, controlled, and successful as Thatcher Pennington would risk everything to be with someone like me… even if he makes me feel like I’m finally Mr. Important.
Lucy Lennox is a USA Today bestselling author and winner of the A.C. Katt Gay Debut Novel Award.
After enjoying creative writing as a child, Lucy didn’t write her first novel until she was over 40 years old. Her debut novel, Borrowing Blue, was published in the autumn of 2016. Lucy has an English Literature degree from Vanderbilt University, but that doesn’t hold a candle to the years and years of staying up all night reading tantalizing novels on her own. She has three children, plays tennis, and hates folding laundry. While her husband is no shmoopy romance hero, he is very good at math, cooks a mean lasagne, has gorgeous eyes, looks hot in his business clothes, and makes her laugh every single day. She writes gay romance with heart, humor, and heat!
May is an M/M author who lives in Boston. She spends her days raising three incredibly sarcastic children, alternating eating Jax and Tostitos, planning beach vacations, avoiding the gym, reading M/M romance, and occasionally writing it.
A marriage proposal from a deliciously handsome and wickedly charming prince sounds like a fairytale.
But for a nerdy scientist with severe social anxiety, it’s a horror story.
Prince Torin O’Grady, with his mischievous blue eyes and cocky grin, is always in the spotlight. And he needs to marry me to inherit the crown.
But we have nothing in common. He’s a future king. And I’m perfectly happy slogging through mud in my work boots.
So why can’t I stop thinking about him?
Maybe because he won’t stop texting me. And sending me gifts. And making me feel like everything I find awkward and weird about myself is special and amazing.
And there’s also that little detail of him offering me my dream job and telling me that together we can change the world.
Well, I could probably 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 for him.
And if I have to marry him 𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘺 to get what we both want, then fine. It’s for the greater good.
It has nothing to do with the way he kisses me. Or that dirty mouth. Or the 𝘳𝘰𝘺𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 he gives me in the bedroom.
Fine. Maybe it does. Still, it’s only a year. Then I can turn in my tiara and come back to my normal, boring, behind-the-scenes life.
But Torin is determined to turn me from reluctantly royal to royally 𝘩𝘪𝘴.
She presses her lips together, takes a breath, then asks, “What else do you want?”
I decide to be honest. “I want to whisk you away on my private plane to an actual palace and give you everything and anything you could ever want or need.”
Her eyes widen. “You don’t even know me.”
I tuck my hands into my back pockets. To try to look casual. But also to keep from reaching for her.
“I’ve read all about your work,” I tell her. “I started by just wanting to know about that job you said you hated so much. But then I kept reading. I know all about you.”
She’s staring at me. She’s sitting up straighter now and even in the pale light, I can see her shock.
“You…read about me?”
“Not just about you. I read all of your papers. Your work in college. Your dissertation. The articles you’ve published. I even stumbled upon some social media posts.”
“I…Oh…” She shakes her head. “I thought you wanted to sleep with me.”
I chuckle softly. “Oh, Abigail, I most definitely want to sleep with you.”
She swallows hard.
“I wanted that before I knew you are a damned genius who could come to my country and revolutionize agriculture and completely overhaul our economy.”
I can see that she’s breathing faster now.
“So you want to hire me?” she asks. “Which means we can’t sleep together because you’ll be my boss.”
I step up on the first step.
“I don’t want to hire you. But I do want to bring you to Cara to do your work.”
“I don’t understand.”
I step up onto the next step, but she doesn’t back up. There’s only a step between us now. “I want you to marry me.”
Her eyes widen. But she says nothing.
“Be my princess,” I go on. “You’ll have influence and resources. You can do anything and everything you’ve ever wanted to do.”
She’s staring at me. Then when she realizes I’m done talking, she laughs.
“Marry you? Is that how things work for you? You just smile that smile, waltz a couple of waltzes, and women just say yes to anything? Even marriage?”
Well…
“I’ve never asked anyone to marry me before, so I don’t really know,” I answer.
She’s still smiling. “Thank you for the offer. But I’m not going to marry you.”
“As princess of Cara you can see your plans in action. Right now, they’re all just on paper. You’re not actually doing any of it. Don’t you want to see it come to life?”
Now she’s not smiling. She’s just watching me. She takes a deep breath. “Of course I do.”
“This is the perfect way. There’s no red tape. Nothing between your amazing brain and making it all happen for real.”
“What’s the catch?”
“No catch. My country needs a prince and princess in place before my grandfather steps aside. The country deserves to know who will be there to step up and take care of them. My grandfather needs a successor in place before his heart gives out.”
“He has a bad heart?” she asks.
“He’s already had three heart attacks. I really need to get married to give him and the country peace of mind.”
“So you’re serious about finding a wife?”
“I am.”
She steps down a step.
“Abigail.”
“Yes?”
“If you step down one more step, I’m going to kiss you.”
She wets her lips.
“So if you want to just keep talking, you need to keep your sweet ass right there on that step.”
She looks down at the step that would start the kissing.
“And if you don’t want to keep talking…or anything else… you need to go back inside.”
She’s staring at me. But she seems more fascinated than anything. “Okay. I understand.”
“Good.”
Two heartbeats pass.
Then she steps down onto the step right above mine.
I groan and cup her face, bringing her mouth in against mine.
BLP REVIEW – Tracy
While Erin Nicholas is better known for The Landry Family and the small town of Autre – some of my favourite books and series – I’m so looking forward to what’s to come from her alter-ego, Erin Nicolle.
I adored Torin & Abigail. We’d met Torin previously on his trips to visit Fiona and Saoirse in Autre, while Ani had been introduced via her sisters’ stories.
We knew a bit about Cara. That they needed a new king ti take over from Torin’s grandfather as he’s getting older and his health hasn’t been good but the level of expectation on Torin from the old boy was a little more than anyone expected I think!!
I liked how Torin knew Abi was the one for him and even though she seemed set on the end date of their he never listened to sight of the future he wanted with her. Torin grew up quite a bit throughout the read and for me, he was gonna be a really great leader…. if he has the right partner (hint, hint… Abi) by his side.
Then there’s Abi. For someone with social anxiety she definitely bloomed in this book….. her confidence, self belief and understanding of what she could do if she set her mind to it all developed during her first few months with Torin as he was so supportive and proud of her, which he never failed to convey.
This pair were made for each other. They were sweet, funny, engaging and smoking hot in equal measures and I’m hoping we see more of them in future ‘Royals Gone Rogue’ books.
A really fab start to a new series and I can’t wait to see what Erin has in store for Torin’s brothers (and hopefully their best friends/bodyguards!!! 😉)
* *
** My thanks to Erin for an advance ecopy of Reluctantly Royal. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I’ve also got my kindle copy on pre-order. **
Erin Nicholas is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over sixty sexy contemporary romances and rom coms. Her stories have been described as toe-curling, enchanting, steamy, and fun. She loves to write about reluctant heroes, imperfect heroines and happily ever afters. She lives in the Midwest with her husband who only wants to read the sex scenes in her books, her kids who will never read the sex scenes in her books, and family and friends who say they’re shocked by the sex scenes in her books (yeah, right!).
While Erin Nicholas is known for her blue-collar book boyfriends and big, boisterous found families in small towns, her alternate pen name, Erin Nicolle writes rich and royal rogues. But they both love a dirty talking cinnamon roll, a damn grump who is reluctantly wrapped around a feisty little finger, and a gruff, protective guy who falls first and hard.
And Erin also writes spicy, why choose rom coms as Emma Foxx with her author bestie, Erin McCarthy (yes, another Erin)!
You can find all three pen names on Amazon, Goodreads, Instagram and Tik Tok!
I wasn’t planning to propose to Raif Jones, the bad boy from the wrong side of town.
The one with the tattooed muscles, naughty blue eyes, and dimpled, James-Dean grin.
It all started with a series of bad decisions.
First was flirting with a dangerous criminal to rescue a little girl I didn’t even know.
Second was throwing a massive, masked gala in my small-town hideout (complete with drag queens) and not expecting to draw attention…
Then Raif rode in on a motorcycle and melted my undies (and my heart), saying he wouldn’t let anybody hurt me.
Of course, I asked him to marry me.
Imagine my surprise when he said yes.
We’re a little naughty and a lot hot, and the perks of being married are very… perky.
They’re perky in the shower, on the kitchen table, against the front door…
Until Bad Decision #1 tracks me down (thanks to Bad Decision #2), and my outlaw husband turns Alpha Protector, risking everything to keep us safe.
It’s just a marriage of convenience. It’s supposed to have an end date.
But when the dust settles, walking away from Raif Jones could be the worst decision I’ve ever made.
(A LITTLE NAUGHTY is a small-town, marriage of convenience romance with single-mom vibes, a protective hero, no third-act breakup, and light suspense. No cheating. No cliffhanger.)
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Tia Louise is the USA TODAY best-selling, award-winning author of super-hot and sexy romances. All her heroes are alphas with hearts of gold, and all her heroines are the smart, sassy ladies who love them.
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Keep up with her at TiaLouise.com or Instagram (@AuthorTLouise) or Facebook (@AuthorTiaLouise).
A small town, second chance, forbidden romance from bestselling author Kara Kendrick.
I’ve only ever loved one woman.
Juliet Capelli.
The one person I can’t have. Generations of bad blood runs between our two families – and she’s on the wrong side of the feud.
Now she’s back in town and I can’t seem to stay away. From her sexy curves, her beguiling eyes, that sassy mouth.
But it’s going to take more than sliding back into my sheets to get her to trust me again. Fifteen years ago, I broke her heart to protect her from her toxic brothers.
Can I prove to her that we deserve a second chance?
Everyone is against us. I only hope the sins of the past can be undone.
Download today orread for FREE with Kindle Unlimited
Kara Kendrick writes fun and flirty small-town romance destined to give you all the feels. A reformed English major, she also has a master’s in counseling and was an elementary school counselor in her pre-mom life.
She loves the beach, wine, and rock hard abs, not necessarily in that order. When she’s not dreaming up Happily Ever After’s, you can find her chasing after her boy-girl twins, working out semi-hardish, or walking her adorable Shiba pups with her husband, who’s not too bad himself.
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