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.
𝚂𝙲𝙾𝚁𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝙿𝙾𝚂𝙸𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽 (𝙳𝚊𝚢𝚝𝚘𝚗𝚊 𝙵𝚞𝚛𝚢 𝚂𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚜 #𝟸) by C.L. Rose is now LIVE!
Don’t miss this all new reverse age gap, sports romance!
What to expect:
⚾️ Professional Baseball X Tutor
🩵 Reversed Age Gap
⚾️ Inexperienced MMC
🩵 Divorced FMC
⚾️ Role Play/K!nk Play
🩵 Switchy Dom/Sub Play
⚾️ He Reads Smut
🩵 ALL THE SPICEE
BLURB:
ACE
As the rookie catcher of the Daytona Fury, I have a lot to prove. Not only do I need to be perfect on the field, but I’m doing it all while fulfilling a promise to the woman who raised me. Graduating college was never as important to me as it was to my grandma, but I gave her my word that I’d finish, even though my future in the majors was sealed. When I find out I need one more class—one I know nothing about—I decide to hire a tutor to help me through it. But as soon as we get into our lessons, I realize I want her to teach me much more than the curriculum suggests.
LARK
Starting over isn’t easy, especially when your ex-husband and his family are set on making it impossible. When I find myself without a job because they don’t want me switching to a “less respectable career”, I’m stuck paying for my own tuition to make my dreams come true. So when a side gig tutoring the city’s hottest professional baseball player in his Human Sexuality class lands in my lap, I take it, not expecting to feel all sorts of conflicting emotions once I get to know him. Ace Mathers may be ten years younger than me, but he’s determined to show me how to live.
Just when I thought I couldn’t like Candice’s books any more than I did she gave us Ace & Lark….. the gods, where to start!
I loved Lark. Our FMC hadn’t had the easiest of times of late and was recently divorced… that was a case of good riddance to dead weight is you ask me…. anyhoo, I digress! She’s just lost her job and needs something to help her fund her way through college courses, enter a job offer that seems too good to be true – but unknown to her will be life changing. Lark’s growth through the story was fab. Older than Ace by 10 years, she had lost some of herself in her marriage but time with the younger ball player gradually brought back her love of life and made her realise that age is really just a number.
Ace… the gods, this guy. There was so much more to him than people gave him credit for and while his teammates all thought he was kinda like them, he was quite different. His reasons for finishing college were so sweet and his instant pull to Lark and what she could potentially be to him made me like him all the more.
This book is H.O.T, 🔥☄️🔥 like seriously volcanic hot at times (a fan or maybe an ice bath might be needed at points!!) but this pair also spent a lot of time together fully dressed, having fun and enjoying life and those times added so much more to their relationship.
I loved how they stood up for each other and how supportive their friends and his team family were. It was great to catch up with Riggs and Monroe (will she ever not give him a hard time?! 😈) and we also saw more of Friggle in SP, to the point that I’m now honestly intrigued by the person in the mascot outfit!!
This has been one of my fave reads this month and definitely one I recommend.
⚾️⚾️⚾️⚾️⚾️
About the Author
I’m C.L. Rose! I’m a wife and mom of 2 from Northeast Ohio. I’ve always had a passion for writing, but was too scared to take the leap until the summer of 2023, when I began working on my debut novel, Hot Route. I always knew that I’d start off with a football-related series because I’m a huge fan of the sport. And since I’m a New England Patriots girl, what better city to write about than Boston? So the Boston Blizzard was born! The past year of this journey has been nothing short of a dream come true and I can’t wait to see where it goes!
Title: Lovestruck Author: L.L. Collins w/aLiane Mae
Genre: Contemporary Romance Tropes: Sport Romance/Instant Chemistry/He Falls First/Pop Star & Football Player/Opposites Attract Cover Design: Kari March, Kari March Designs Release Date: February 6, 2025
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For Allie Witt, there’s one thing she’s always been successful with—her music. A former teen phenomenon, now at the top of her game in her late twenties, she has more awards and accolades than anyone else in the business.
But she doesn’t have the one thing that seems more and more unreachable: a guy who will stay. Oh, sure, they like the beautiful global superstar they see in the media. But what they get tired of quickly is the life she leads and the attention she garners.
After being dumped by her boyfriend of five years on opening night of her new tour, she runs—literally—into the hottest man she’s ever seen: Theo Nolan, star football player for the Florida Blaze.
Allie is convinced that love isn’t in the cards for her and that Theo will never be able to handle her chaotic life, but Theo isn’t letting their chance meeting go. He is determined to show her that it can be different.
Even though a new relationship is the opposite of what she needs in her life, Allie can’t deny their chemistry when he sets his sights on her. But can she trust him with her heart?
Allie must decide whether to surrender her heart to a love that defies expectations, or miss out on the one thing she’s written and sung about her entire career—true love.
Liane Mae has loved words since she knew what they were. As a kid, she carried a notebook everywhere she went and has a collection of stories over the course of her lifetime to prove it. She also is, and has always has been, an avid reader. One thing that has always stayed the same was her love of love. From the butterflies of new love to the idea that soulmates really do exist, her writing has always followed the same track– stories that make people believe in romance and happily-ever-after. While this is her first book under this name, Liane has been publishing in the romance world for over ten years.
We promised our love was forever. A decade later, two little blue lines might settle the score.
You’ve heard of those kids who peak in high school? Meet my love life. Garrett Bradford was mine from the moment we saw each other in ninth grade. Even then, he was a six-foot-four mountain of muscles with bright blue eyes, a wide grin, and a way with his hands. He was the high school football star, and I was the dance team captain. We were the storybook cliché… until we weren’t.
Now he’s the most famous offensive lineman in the league, and I’m a buttoned-up, ultra-professional lawyer. My dancing days are over, and my carefully controlled life is a mess. Infertility killed my marriage, or that’s what I told myself. Infertility and a cheating ex. And my inability to get over Garrett Bradford.
One reckless night at his little sister’s wedding is only supposed to be a reunion, a trip down memory lane to a time when life was happier. Six weeks later, I’m staring at a positive pregnancy test wondering, How did this happen?
I figure I’m on my own until Garrett overhauls his life, moves back to our small town, and shows up every day to massage my feet, hold my hair when I barf, and go with me to all my doctor’s appointments.
Our situation has an end date, just like it did so many years ago. Unless this little score changes the game and gives us the second chance I thought we’d lost.
Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited!
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.
NEVER miss a New Release or Sale–get her newsletter now: http://smarturl.it/TLMnews OR Get New Release Text Alerts: Text “TiaLouise” to 64600 (U.S. only)
Keep up with her at TiaLouise.com or Instagram (@AuthorTLouise) or Facebook (@AuthorTiaLouise).
I wrote romance stories. But I never expected to be living in one.
At least, it started out that way.
In the kind of meet-cute I’d put in my own books, I met Xavier by the romance section in a bookstore. Within the first five minutes, I knew he was someone I wanted to see again. And in some stroke of luck, he felt the same way, asking me out on a date before he left.
For the next few months after that, everything was perfect. An amazing boyfriend—handsome, sweet, not just former Special Forces, but worked for an elite security company—who treated me like gold. It was just like all the stories I created in my head, but this time, it was real.
Until the worst night of my life. When I was taken. Held captive. And the fate I faced was worse than anything I could have written. My romance story turned into a nightmare.
My only hope? Xavier. I know he’s looking for me. My only hope is he finds me before it’s too late.
From the moment I met her, I knew she was the one.
After years of avoiding relationships, of insisting I was happier being single, she stole my heart with a smile.
Lucy’s smile is like the sun. Warm. Bright. Happy. It thaws the cold parts of me and makes me think anything is possible. A home filled with love. A wife. And maybe one day, even a family.
I would do anything for her.
Then she’s taken, I discover what that really means.
With the help of my team at Blade and Arrow Security, we track her down. Free Lucy from her terrible captivity. But she’s hurt. Traumatized. And still in danger.
It might be enough to scare off a lesser man. Not me. Not for the first woman I’ve seen a future with. And I’ll do anything to keep her safe.
Guarded from Danger has a protective alpha hero, a strong and sweet heroine, a team of former Green Berets, lots of twists and turns, action and danger, forced proximity, and plenty of sweet and steamy moments. No cliffhangers and a happily-ever-after guaranteed! (Can be read as a standalone!)
About Gia:
Gia Cobie is a librarian and author living in upstate New York. In her spare time, Gia enjoys reading and spending time in the Adirondacks. She has a soft spot for cheesy reality romance shows, although she also enjoys paranormal and fantasy. Gia loves writing about protective heroes and strong heroines in her Blade and Arrow Security, Heroes of Sleepy Hollow, and Green Mountain Guardians series. In the mood for some paranormal romance? Take a look at her Tenebris Desire series.
Genre: New Adult College Romance Tropes: M/F, M/M, Winter Break Antics, Skiing Bros, Drama Release Date: January 14, 2025
BLURB
It’s no secret that, over the past couple years, Elite has been through it. For real, when I look around, I think, Two billion years of evolution for this?
But even with the heaping pile of crazy tossed at us on the regular, we still have each other’s backs and are stronger than ever. With Westbrook’s winter break coming up, it’s time Elite got their relax on. Leaving our Speedos behind, we load up the Jeeps with skis to spend an entire week in a private chalet at White Pine Summit.
Bro, yeah!
It’s also the perfect time for me to finish some unfinished business.
Remember that rock I put on my girl’s finger? It’s blinding all these bros around here. They act like they don’t even see it, telling me I can’t call Jess my wife because we aren’t actually married.
I’m sick of reminding everyone I’m not boyfriend or even fiancé material. I’m one hundred percent husband. And a snowy getaway is the perfect time to make good on my promise of forever.
The entire fam, a gorgeous venue, and a week out of the pool… What could possibly go wrong? Knowing Elite… probably something.
But it doesn’t matter. Whatever winter break has in store for us, we’ll handle it just like everything else. No amount of drama or snow is gonna keep me from wife-ing up.
By the end of this vacay, Jess and I (and who knows who else) will officially be Wedlocked.
Cambria Hebert is a bestselling novelist of more than fifty titles. She went to college for a bachelor’s degree, couldn’t pick a major, and ended up with a degree in cosmetology. So rest assured her characters will always have good hair. Besides writing, Cambria loves a pumpkin spice latte, staying up late, sleeping in, and watching K drama until her eyes won’t stay open. She considers math human torture and has an irrational fear of chickens (yes, chickens). You can often find her running on the treadmill (she’d rather be eating a donut), painting her toenails (because she bites her fingernails), or walking her chihuahuas (the real bosses of the house). Cambria has written in many genres, including new adult, sports romance, male/male romance, sci-fi, thriller, suspense, contemporary romance, and young adult. Many of her titles have been translated into foreign languages and have been the recipients of multiple awards.
Awards Cambria has received include:
Author of the Year 2016 (UtopiaCon2016) The Hashtag Series: Best Contemporary Series of 2015 (UtopiaCon 2015) #Nerd: Best Contemporary Book Cover of 2015 (UtopiaCon 2015) Romeo from the Hashtag Series: Best Contemporary Lead (UtopiaCon 2015) #Nerd: Top 50 Summer Reads (Buzzfeed.com 2015) The Hashtag Series: Best Contemporary Series of 2016 (UtopiaCon 2016) #NERD Book Trailer: Best Book Trailer of 2016 (UtopiaCon 2016) #Nerd Book Trailer: Top 50 Most Cinematic Book Trailers of All Time (film-14.com) #Nerd: Book Most Wanted to be Adapted to Screen: (2018) Amnesia: Mystery Book of the Year (2018)
Cambria Hebert owns and operates Cambria Hebert Books, LLC. You can find out more about Cambria and her titles by visiting her website: http://www.cambriahebert.com Stay up to date on all of Cambria’s new releases and more by signing up for her newsletter: http://eepurl.com/bUL5_5
Welcome to Undercover Lovers—the series where passion runs deep. Each hero is fearless in the pursuit of their hearts’ desires, embracing the challenges that come with their intense feelings. The bigger the challenge, the harder they fall. With each book, you’ll find a new romance that will sweep you off your feet, proving that love can conquer all. If you’re a fan of Tory’s signature style, you’re in for a treat. Expect overprotective heroes who love their heroines with a fierceness that’s all-consuming.
Blurb:
The moment Asher Fontaine’s gaze met hers, something deep within him stirred—something he hadn’t felt in years.
She wasn’t the kind of woman who needed him. She wasn’t the kind of woman who needed anyone, it seemed.
She doesn’t need a man like him—someone who keeps his distance, hiding behind his career and a past of his own. But the more he watches her, the more he craves the warmth she unknowingly offers.
What he isn’t expecting is the pull he has toward her sweet, soft smiles she offers and the way she moves with a quiet strength, despite the sadness behind her eyes.
And now, for the first time in a long time, Asher’s wondering if he might be willing to change his ways.
Tory Baker is a mom of two teenagers and a dog mom to one wild and active Weimaraner, Remi. She lives in a small coastal town on the east coast of sunny Florida. Oftentimes you’ll find her outside soaking up the rays with at least three drinks surrounding her, a wandering imagination, and a notebook in hand where she’s jotting down a plot for her next story. She’s a lover of writing happily ever afters with Alpha heroes and sassy heroines.
Title: My Dark Prince Series: Dark Prince Road #3 Authors: Parker S. Huntington & L.J. Shen
Genre: Contemporary Romance Tropes: Enemies to Lovers/Second Chance/Amnesia Sleeping Beauty Retelling/Fake Relationship Release Date: February 9, 2025
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From Wall Street Journal bestsellers L.J. Shen and Parker S. Huntington comes a twisted second-chance romance between a prince haunted by a dark secret and his reluctant Sleeping Beauty.
Oliver I don’t usually trap women with amnesia into marriage. But I guess there’s a first time for everything. When the woman of my dreams falls into my lap, I can’t help but wonder what else she can do in that position. She’s here. In my house. At my mercy. And she thinks we’ve been lovers the entire decade we spent apart. Briar and I have always been unfinished business. Now it’s time to seal the deal.
Briar I’m marrying a beautiful monster. A crooked fraud. America’s wealthiest bachelor. He claims we’re in love, yet all I taste in our kisses is hate and lust. I don’t remember why or how. But I do remember he’s the enemy. Now, I’m stuck inside a nightmare. And Oliver will do anything to keep me in the dark.
Authors’ Note: My Dark Prince is a standalone enemies-to-lovers Sleeping Beauty retelling, in which a damaged billionaire with a dark past and his childhood sweetheart fall in love—literally. It is set in the decadent Dark Prince Road universe.
Parker S. Huntington is a stay-at-home dog mom from SoCal, where she discovered her allergy to rain.
In spite of her shoddy attendance record and strong aversion to homework, she earned a B.A. in Creative Writing from the University of California, Riverside and an A.L.M. in Literature from Harvard.
When she’s not writing or exchanging food pics with her friends, she’s binge-watching an unhealthy amount of Netflix while curled up with her dogs.
Parker hates talking about herself and is (also) allergic to social media, but you can catch up with her in her newsletter or through the occasional TikTok video.
L.J. Shen is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Washington Post, and #1 Amazon bestselling author of contemporary and NA romance. Her books have been translated in over twenty different countries. She hopes to visit all of them.
She lives in a picturesque beach town with her family, pets and inner demons, and enjoys reading, traveling, cooking and spending time with her grumpy cat.
One minute, I’m minding my own business, and the next, I’m rescuing a beautiful woman in front of my family’s hotel.
I’m not prepared for the instant attraction I feel for her, but the chemistry is undeniable.
Paige warns me all she can give me is London, and I agree, but when our time is up, I’m desperate for more.
I slip my card into her purse, hoping she will call, but after two months of silence, it’s clear she’s not going to.
So, I do what any man in my position would do …
I go after her.
𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐠𝐞
What started as a grand gesture for the man I thought was the one ends with me fleeing after catching him with my best friend.
With tears in my eyes and my heart in my hand, I stumble on the cobblestone. One second, I’m closing my eyes and praying I don’t die, and the next, I’m being swept off my feet by a handsome stranger—literally.
Nate shows me passion like I’ve never known, and it only takes five unforgettable days to fall head over heels for him.
Faced with the harsh reality of long-distance love, I make a heart-wrenching decision to throw away his number—a choice I believe will spare us both from inevitable heartbreak.
But after returning home, I realize what a colossal mistake I made. Because what had happened in London didn’t stay in London…
Nikki Ash is a USA Today Bestselling author of contemporary romance, focusing on single parent, secret baby, and surprise pregnancy romances. She spends her days and nights getting lost in words. When she’s not writing, she’s reading. From the Boxcar Children, to Wuthering Heights, to the latest single parent romance, she has lived and breathed every type of book.
Nikki resides in South Florida with her husband, two children, and dog that she considers to be one of her kids. When she’s not reading or writing, she’s traveling the world with her family—in search of inspiration.
Genre: Contemporary Romance Tropes: Billionaire/Opposites Attract/Friends to Lovers Accidental Pregnancy/Nerdy MMC Release Date: January 13, 2025
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Daring Destiny is a sweltering saga of billionaire intrigue, opposites-attract, slow-burn, friends-to-lovers with an unexpected life-changing twist.
Before I founded my AI tech company, I spent my high school years silently pining over Astrid Gustafsson, the unattainable ice-blonde beauty. Fast forward a decade and I’m shocked when she asks to collaborate on a secret project. The opportunity is too enticing to pass up.
Our newfound friendship quickly ignites into a wildfire of desire, and my passion for Astrid intensifies, leaving me eager to risk everything for our future. The challenge is, relentless demands of my high-stakes empire threaten to smother the flames of our burgeoning romance.
When fate dramatically intervenes, will a life-changing twist dare us to embrace our destiny?
Kaylene Winter is a best-selling author of steamy, contemporary romance.
Each character-driven novel is filled with snappy dialogue, pop-culture references and enough steam to make you fan yourself. Kaylene weaves authenticity, emotion and angst into a turbulent rollercoaster ride of love, passion and soul-searing romance always ending with a delicious HEA.
Kaylene lives in Seattle with her amazing Irish husband and her Pomsky, Phalen. She loves creating art of all kinds.
Book Loving Pixies 