These former friends might be faking their engagement, but revealed crushes prove there might not be anything fictional about their arrangement.
In college, I often saw Judd Sylver in the library. He was a cool, broody type of guy who reminded me of a deeply tortured soul who might write poetry.
He was very different from the boy I met in third grade on National Make a New Friend Day when I passed him a note, asking if he wanted to be my new friend: Check yes or no.
(I’m a bit obsessed with calendar days.)
He was also vastly different from the young man who stood me up after I asked him to his prom.
Twenty years later, I can let bygones be bygones, especially when he rescues me from a bad date.
Then I witness him breaking up with his girlfriend which resulted in a sticky coffee drink on his chiseled cheeks and ice cubes on his fine-fitting jeans.
I offered him a napkin.
Hey, once a friend, always a friend, right? *insert sarcasm*
However, Judd takes us to the next level at my mother’s garden party, where a misunderstanding occurs with a teeny tiny slip of the tongue and a precious ring on my finger.
And suddenly, I’m Judd’s fiancée.
Fake or not, things are about to get a little too real with my old friend.
This is one of my favorite books this month and I think it might still rank up there come the end of the year!!! 💜
Genie talks about couples goals, well this pair defined couples goals and more!!
They both had a crush on the other when they were younger and were due to go to Judd’s prom but events outwith either of their control and then time and a move across country meant that they hadn’t seen each other since just before the night of that prom some 20+ years ago.
Previously in the series we had been given glimpses of the Sylver siblings dad and how he had been with his kids after the death of their mum and we knew that Judd had, to a degree, distanced himself from his family and didn’t often turn up to family dinner.. this book explains a lot more of the whys of that and my heart hurt for Judd. There were so many layers to this man and there definitely was a very rare unicorn under all of those layers.
Genie was awesome. She was quirky, determined and a bright light in Judd’s life. I kinda understood her feelings towards her mother and how she felt obligated to keep showing up when called but her mother was a horror and I was itching for Genie to stand up to her.
There was so much to this story. Exes, fake engagement, special days, unicorn notebooks and tattoos that meant more than they appeared to.
Judd gave Genie strength and bolstered her self belief and she in turned quieted some of his demons and made him feel whole again.
We got to catch up with the rest of the Sylver siblings and their significant others and they were so supportive of Judd and Genie, giving her a sense of family where she’d lost felt she was mainly on her own.
I love that L.B.’s characters are that bit older. giving us great stories with characters are relatable, with degrees of realistic angst that makes sense.
I read this in a day as I couldn’t put it down and wanted to know what was I store for the pair.
Can’t wait for what’s next in the series.
🦄🦄🦄🦄🦄
Meet L.B. Dunbar:
L.B. Dunbar loves sexy silver foxes, second chances, and small towns. If you enjoy older characters in your romance reads, including a hero with a little silver in his scruff and a heroine rediscovering her worth, then welcome to romance for those over 40. L.B. Dunbar’s signature works include women and men in their prime taking another turn at love and happily ever after. She’s a USA TODAY Bestseller as well as #1 Bestseller on Amazon in Later in Life Romance with her Lakeside Cottage and Road Trips & Romance series. L.B. lives in Chicago with her own sexy silver fox.
To get all the scoop about the self-proclaimed queen of silver fox romance, join her on Facebook at Loving L.B. or receive her monthly newsletter, Love Notes.
OH THE DEAR GODS…. Nathan & Rosie destroyed me…. In the best way! S.J. gave us the best story to finish this Love Letters collection.
This book was heartbreaking for more than a few reasons. Reading about Rosie’s younger life wasn’t easy – and sadly there’s so much reality in her story which made it all the sadder – but watching her grow and strike out to try to live her best life, while still being a good person after all that had happened, had me rooting for her from the start. Nate was a really good guy. A total flirt but when he got Rosalyn back into his life, he knew she was it for him. This guy beat himself up so much and while I understood his frustration, pain and why he’d feel guilt I felt for him as most of what he was feeling happened while he himself was a kid and there really wasn’t much he could have done then…
I loved Rosie’s point of view when it came to their first meeting as adults and her thought process behind it… but reading about why she got it was really sad.
The letters…. Jeez, they broke me. 💔💔💔 I bawled my eyes out during the second half of this read but it was so worth the tears!!!!
I thought I loved Maddox & Hannah from book one (who we catch up with in DR) but I think Nathan & Rosalyn have just edged into favourite couple… they are just awesome together!
I know I’m being kinda vague and there’s so much more I could say about this story but it would give too much away so go grab yourself a copy and get reading to find out this pairs story.
S.J. I really need to know more about Tony… the gods, but this guy is intriguing and I want to know more!!!!!
Meet S.J. Tilly
Like all her books, S.J. Tilly resides in the glorious state of Minnesota, where she was born and raised. To avoid the freezing cold winters, S.J. enjoys burying her head in books, whether to read them or write them or listen to them.
When she’s not busy writing her contemporary smut, she can be found lounging with her husband and their herd of rescue boxers. And when the weather permits she loves putting her compost to use in the garden, pretending to know what she’s doing. The neighbors may not like the flowery mayhem of her yard, but the bees sure do. And really, that’s more important.
Genre: Romantic Comedy Tropes: Second Chance/Secret Fling/Auction Release Date: August 1, 2024
BLURB
You’d think nearly dying trying to get out of a too-tight gown in a dressing room and being saved by a strong, competent man was a good thing.
Not so much, though, when that strong, competent man is your ex. Your secret ex.
And the reason you need a gown is because you’re part of a charity auction.
The charity auction where he gets into a bidding war to win you.
And now, because you’re one of few female coaches in professional baseball, and he’s the captain of the local professional hockey team, and he paid a ridiculous sum of money for you…
The entire city is shipping you. You can’t leave your apartment without getting a knowing wink from strangers. Your bosses want to use the publicity to have you jointly launch a new community outreach program.
That’s bad enough. It truly is.
But even worse?
Duncan Lavoie, the green-eyed, curly-haired, dimple-cheeked, hot as lava hockey player wants a second chance. And he’ll play dirty to get it.
The Secret Hook-Up is a laugh-out-loud romcom featuring the hot-as-sin hockey captain of the Copper Valley Thrusters, the Copper Valley Fireballs’ lady baseball coach he never got over, and a misbehaving formal gown. It stands alone and comes complete with a happily-ever-after.
Pippa Grant = my happy place and IMO there’s no place happier than the Thruster or Fireballs world UNLESS it’s a Fireballs/Thrusters crossover world!!!!
Duncan and Addie were👌🏻perfect. The banter, the antics, the crazy instance where they meet face to face again… honestly, that dressing room scene…. I felt her pain!!!!
I understood Addie’s hesitance and how closed off to a relationship she was initially. She’s in a predominantly male sporting field and, regardless of how well she’s doing or what positive things people say, she still doubts that there’s security in her role or that she’s truly wanted for who she is.
Duncan was Addie’s biggest champion. He didn’t want her to change and he was so supportive of her and everything she was trying to achieve. I loved how he thought about her and that he saw ‘her’ not the coach she let everyone else see.
This pair (and their respective team/teammates) had me laughing at their antics. Both of them had so many people rooting for them and there to support them.
‘Daddie’ had so much chemistry, heat and passion but it was the other moments between them that showed how fabulous they could be together.
A fantastic read. Another hit from Ms Pippa.
AUTHOR BIO
Pippa Grant wanted to write books, so she did. Before she became a USA Today and #1 Amazon bestselling romantic comedy author, she was a young military spouse who got into writing as self-therapy. That happened around the time she discovered reading romance novels, and the two eventually merged into a career. Today, she has more than 30 knee-slapping Pippa Grant titles and nine written as Jamie Farrell. When she’s not writing romantic comedies, she’s fumbling through being a mom, wife, and mountain woman, and sometimes trying to find hobbies. Her crowning achievement? Having impeccable timing for telling stories that will make people snort beverages out of their noses. Consider yourself warned.
Genre: Romantic Comedy Tropes: Second Chance/Secret Fling/Auction Release Date: August 1, 2024
BLURB
You’d think nearly dying trying to get out of a too-tight gown in a dressing room and being saved by a strong, competent man was a good thing.
Not so much, though, when that strong, competent man is your ex. Your secret ex.
And the reason you need a gown is because you’re part of a charity auction.
The charity auction where he gets into a bidding war to win you.
And now, because you’re one of few female coaches in professional baseball, and he’s the captain of the local professional hockey team, and he paid a ridiculous sum of money for you…
The entire city is shipping you. You can’t leave your apartment without getting a knowing wink from strangers. Your bosses want to use the publicity to have you jointly launch a new community outreach program.
That’s bad enough. It truly is.
But even worse?
Duncan Lavoie, the green-eyed, curly-haired, dimple-cheeked, hot as lava hockey player wants a second chance. And he’ll play dirty to get it.
The Secret Hook-Up is a laugh-out-loud romcom featuring the hot-as-sin hockey captain of the Copper Valley Thrusters, the Copper Valley Fireballs’ lady baseball coach he never got over, and a misbehaving formal gown. It stands alone and comes complete with a happily-ever-after.
Pippa Grant wanted to write books, so she did. Before she became a USA Today and #1 Amazon bestselling romantic comedy author, she was a young military spouse who got into writing as self-therapy. That happened around the time she discovered reading romance novels, and the two eventually merged into a career. Today, she has more than 30 knee-slapping Pippa Grant titles and nine written as Jamie Farrell. When she’s not writing romantic comedies, she’s fumbling through being a mom, wife, and mountain woman, and sometimes trying to find hobbies. Her crowning achievement? Having impeccable timing for telling stories that will make people snort beverages out of their noses. Consider yourself warned.
𝚀𝙱 𝙺𝙴𝙴𝙿𝙴𝚁 (𝙱𝚘𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚗 𝙱𝚕𝚒𝚣𝚣𝚊𝚛𝚍 𝚂𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚜 𝙱𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝟹) by C.L. Rose is LIVE!
Don’t miss this all new second chance, brother’s best friend romance!
What to expect:
🏈 Second-Chance
🧵 Brother’s Best Friend
🏈 Spicy Lessons
🧵 Virgin FMC
🏈 All the groveling
BLURB:
TANNER
The summer before my senior year of college, I made the biggest mistake of my life. It wasn’t falling for my best friend’s little sister when I knew she was off-limits…it was leaving her behind thinking what we had was nothing more than a fling. Her pained cries as I walked away have played on a loop in my nightmares since that day. In the years that have passed, there hasn’t been a single achievement I’ve celebrated that wasn’t tainted by her absence. But now, it’s time. I’m going to get my girl back…no matter what it takes.
GRACE
Five years ago, I spent a whole summer learning, exploring, and falling in love with my lifelong protector. His future was bright, and as he broke me into a million pieces, he made sure I knew there wasn’t a place for me next to him under the bright, stadium lights. That girl who waited and hoped for him to come back is gone now, but just when I think I’ve moved on and created a life of my own, a ghost from my past reappears, determined to make things right. Tanner Lake may have once been everything to me, but those days are long over, aren’t they?
Literally have just finished reading Tanner & Grace’s story. I’m gonna clear my head, gather myself (maybe have a cold shower!!! 😉🥵) and I’ll be back with my thoughts!!!
* * *
Ok, I’ve cooled down and got my head straight.
I ADORED Tanner & Grace. I honestly could not wait for Tanner’s story. After all he did to help the guys in the previous books get their heads out of their backsides and see what they stood to lose I needed to know who had broken Tan’s heart!
I loved Grace. She worked so hard to glue herself back together, even though little shards were still missing. Her reaction to seeing Tanner again was completely understandable and I liked that she hadn’t shied away from trying to move on with her life and relationships. That he was the first person she ran into when she needed propped up again gave Tanner the opportunity he so desperately wanted to get close to her again, in whatever capacity that presented itselfi
There were so many things about Tanner that I didn’t expect, but that made my heart sing. Grace was IT for him, even in all the years he stayed away, no one was ever gonna measure up and be as important to him as she was. This guy set the bar high (when we discount breaking both their hearts!!)
Loved the interactions with his teammates and their significant others from previous books. This book had it all; heart, chemistry, second chances and heat (oh the gods, the heat!!!!!)
The Boston Blizzard series couldn’t have ended on a better couple and while I’m sad this was the last book I have to say… I cannot wait for the Daytona Fury series!!!!! 😱
C.L. Rose is a wife and mother of two. She lives in Northeast Ohio with her husband, son, daughter, and dog, Tank. When she isn’t writing, you can find her reading in front of a space heater, wrapped in a thick blanket, probably complaining that she’s cold.
My grandmother summoned me to the family ranch and dropped a contract in my lap. I either marry Pigeon Creek’s resident billionaire and give him a child or we lose the Bar 9.
Pretty soon, I’m leaving NYC behind and moving onto the 7Cs.
A long time ago, my last name didn’t matter and his status meant nothing. Now, he hates me and I can’t forgive him.
Forced proximity reminds us of what we once had, but with so many things left unsaid, can we ever be anything more?
I LOVED this book…. I was intrigued when we were introduced to the Korhonen family in Cole’s book and couldn’t wait to find out what they were all about when the spin-off series was announced.
Zee & Colt were just, yeah, they were everything!! I kinda wanted to dislike Colton but when we discovered what had happened ten years prior and why he reacted the way he did it was nigh on impossible to dislike him at all.
Colt was a protector and that was obvious in both present day and flashbacks. His connection to Zee started more than a decade prior and even though they hadn’t had any contact in the ten years since they last saw each other the flame was still burning for both of them even if they each had their own reasons and secrets that gave them reasons to keep the gulf between them from closing.
Zee (Suzanne) had had a torrid time and had left Pigeon Creek and her family’s ranch with literally no intention of ever returning, this was a place she no longer considered home for multiple reasons. I felt for her when she realised the depths of the arrangement her grandmother had schemed with the head of the Korhonen family. I understood her demands and her reasoning behind her thoughts but I was delighted when things between her and Colt started to improve and the hints of the people they were before started to appear.
There were more than a few things going on in this book and the plot was well done. There were secrets, lies and some skullduggery that kept me guessing and certain side characters that I just could not stand. I had concerns that there was gonna be a communication issue (one of my pet peeves in a book) between our MCs but Colt & Zee built a level of trust that had them keeping (most) lines of communication open. I spent a lot of the read waiting for the other shoe to drop and when it did, it was not quite what I was expecting, but it was delicious!!!! 😈😈😈
I adored Callan and his relationship with Zee was fab. I loved how Colt looked out for his baby brother but still treated him as an important part of the ranch and family.
I’m so looking forward to Cody’s book. The guy has me tied up in knots wondering what’s happened with him.
The epilogues…. They just finished the book so well in my opinion.
This book was 5 solid stars for me and a book I can definitely see myself reading again in the future!
AUTHOR BIO
International Best Selling Author G.A. Mazurke is the crazy lady behind Serena Akeroyd, crafter of smexy heroes you just wanna lick. While Serena has us expecting dark romance with lots of twists and turns … G.A. is her more mainstream/contemporary personality.
She explores her sweeter side while keeping the sexy we love, where the women fall hard but the men fall harder.
Some of G.A.’s books will cross over into Serena’s universes… so expect a cameo or two from beloved characters, while discovering new bands of brothers, with the banter, the laughs and the tears you are used to.
Title: The Copper Valley Fireballs The Complete Series
Author: Pippa Grant
Genre: Romantic Comedy Release Date: May 30, 2024
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Meet the Copper Valley Fireballs, baseball’s lovable losers whose hot heroes are determined to turn this team around and resisting finding love along the way!
This box set includes four full-length romantic comedies and a bonus novella.
About the books:
Jock Blocked is a home run of a feel-good romantic comedy featuring the world’s most superstitious sports fan, baseball’s oldest virgin hero, a rogue meatball, an adorable puppy with a cussing problem, and a happily ever after more satisfying than a game-winning grand slam.
Real Fake Love is a line drive straight to the heart featuring a grumpy athlete, a jilted bride, a fake relationship, and the world’s laziest cat. It stands alone and comes complete with sibling rivalry, the world’s most awkward shower scene, and a sweetly satisfying happily ever after.
The Grumpy Player Next Door is a fun-filled enemies-to-lovers romcom featuring a ray of sunshine on a mission, an athlete who’s only grouchy around her, and an epic prank gone wrong. It stands alone and comes complete with small-town shenanigans, a goat who’s not nearly as wise as his name suggests, and proof that sometimes, love is the best kind of vengeance.
Irresistible Trouble is a hilarious grand slam of a romcom about a baseball player whose ego is catching up to him, a pop star who’s a bit of a hot mess when the cameras aren’t looking (and sometimes when they are), and the kind of family and teammates that everyone deserves… in small doses.
Have Yourself a Grumpy Little Christmas is a hit of holiday sweetness featuring a grumpy retired baseball pitcher who hates the holidays, his best friend’s little sister, and a Christmas tree mishap.
OH MY BASEBALL GODS…… I love Pippa Grant and I adored MacKenzie & Brooks, they were both a little dorky in their own way, had big hearts, loved their families and had baseball in common – though Mac was just a tad more obsessional about the sport than Brooks…. Their initial meeting had me laughing hard and to be honest, I didn’t stop laughing for most of the book.
It was fab that they were each what the other needed but didn’t realise even though their ‘relationship’ didn’t start off on the best footing…. though that added to the fun!
With crazy antics on the leads parts, madcap families, lot of great friends (who we all know and love from previous books), full-of-fun baseball team mates and a guest appearance by a favourite hockey team, JOCK BLOCKED was a fabulous read and another hit from Ms Grant!!!
Can I just say, those epilogues……. there were tears reading one… I admit it!!
A home run 5* laugh-a-lot read………
Irresistible Trouble
OH EM GEEE… Adored Cooper & Waverly!!!
🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰
AUTHOR BIO
Pippa Grant wanted to write books, so she did. Before she became a USA Today and #1 Amazon bestselling romantic comedy author, she was a young military spouse who got into writing as self-therapy. That happened around the time she discovered reading romance novels, and the two eventually merged into a career. Today, she has more than 30 knee-slapping Pippa Grant titles and nine written as Jamie Farrell. When she’s not writing romantic comedies, she’s fumbling through being a mom, wife, and mountain woman, and sometimes trying to find hobbies. Her crowning achievement? Having impeccable timing for telling stories that will make people snort beverages out of their noses. Consider yourself warned.
Sasha Whiskey is done with always doing the right thing. She’s ready to wrangle in the one man not looking to be caught, and give him a taste of Whiskey. With any luck, one taste won’t be nearly enough. Come along for the steamy, emotional ride in this friends-to-lovers, forbidden romance.
Equine rehabilitation therapist Sasha Whiskey has everything she needs right there on Redemption Ranch—a job she’s passionate about, a loving family, and Ezra Moore, the sexy single father who went from trying to nail her as a belligerent teen to keeping his distance as a successful therapist and the person to whom she compares every other man. She’s done with comparisons. She wants the real thing. But going after what she wants means risking everything they’ve both worked so hard to achieve. If only dating co-workers weren’t forbidden.
From New York Times bestselling author Melissa Foster comes The Whiskeys: Dark Knights at Redemption Ranch, a small-town, big-family series of standalone romance novels featuring fiercely loyal, insanely sexy bikers who give horses—and people—a second chance. Buckle up for a wild ride in Hope Ridge, Colorado, as these big-hearted badasses and their sassy sisters wrangle in their forever loves. No cliffhangers, no cheating, and always a happily ever after.
The gods…. I devoured this book… I was so invested in this pairs story that I couldn’t put it down.
Melissa previously gave us Sully & Callahan in the series and I thought they were gonna be my favourite couple from the ranch…. then she introduced us to Sasha, Ezra (and we can’t forget Gus!!!!) Well, now I’m not sure who’re my favourites.
Sasha & Ezra had quite the connection. You knew there was something about them from earlier books in the Redemption Ranch world but then you get their full story and you understand their ties – I was so bummed that they hadn’t had their opportunity before now but had everything crossed that this time things were gonna work out for them.
The spice was definitely spicing in this instalment. My kindle was red hot when this pair were together.
🔥🔥🔥
Then there was the sweetness and sense of belonging that they each felt especially when Gus was around. That child…. his love for his ‘Sugar’ gave you an inkling as to why Sasha and Ezra were scared of messing up the dynamic they had but, in truth, Sasha was more of a mama to that little boy than his birth mother could ever hope to be!
I love the fact that we catch up with other characters from previous books. I adored Tiny in AToW, that man misses nothing!!!! That sense of family and being enveloped in something special is one of my favourite things about Melissa’s stories.
I cannot wait for Doc’s book and to see what happens when he meets his match (‘cos as we know, Melissa isn’t gonna give him a shrinking violet of a heroine… same as with his brothers!)
You could read A Taste of Whiskey as a standalone but I think you should consider starting the series and read in order!
🥃🥃🥃🥃🥃
Author Info
Melissa Foster is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal & USA Today bestselling and award-winning author. She writes sexy and heartwarming contemporary romance and new adult romance with emotionally compelling characters that stay with you long after you turn the last page. Melissa’s emotional journeys are lovingly erotic and always family oriented–perfect beach reads for contemporary romance lovers who enjoy reading about wealthy heroes and smart, sassy heroines.
Title: Reluctantly Royal Series: Royals Gone Rogue #1 Author: Erin Nicholas writing as Erin Nicolle
Genre: Contemporary Romance Tropes: Royal/Commoner, Marriage of Convenience Age Gap, Woman in STEM, Opposites Attract Release Date: March 14, 2024
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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 temporarilyto 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.
Erin Nicolle is the new pen name for NYT and USA Today Bestselling romance author Erin Nicholas. While Erin Nicholas is known for her blue-collar book boyfriends and big, boisterous found families in small towns, Erin Nicolle writes rich and royal rogues. But they both love a dirty talking cinnamon roll, a grump who is reluctantly wrapped around a feisty finger, and a gruff, protective guy who falls first and hard.
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!!! 😉)
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** 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!
Book Loving Pixies 