Love on the Lake, a beautiful small town standalone romance filled with laughter and tears from New York Times bestselling author Helena Hunting, is live now!
Teagan Firestone has always been the dutiful daughter, especially since her mom died. But as her father finally begins to move on, it’s her turn to do the same. Her destination: Pearl Lake, a close-knit community with an entrepreneurial spirit and secrets of its own.
One of them is Aaron Saunders, who dropped out of college to work construction for Pearl Lake’s upper class. He’s a mystery and has a playboy reputation—that is, until he meets Teagan. Neither of them is looking for love, but in a town this small, it’s hard not to let your heart get involved.
As their romance heats up, Aaron’s elusive past comes to light and Teagan is there for him, bringing them even closer together. But when Teagan is forced to face her own demons, her inability to accept the support of friends and family threatens the life she’s worked so hard to build.
Can Aaron love her, even when she can’t love herself?
She crooks a finger, beckoning me closer. But there’s only six inches separating us. If I take a step forward, my boots will touch her toes. So I bend instead, until my ear is next to her lips, like I’m waiting for her to tell me a secret. For a moment I consider the fact that I’ve been up and down the stairs to the loft at least a dozen times. The only air circulation in here is from a portable fan, so I’ve been sweating and shirtless for several hours. I might not smell all that fresh. But that thought disappears when her fingertips drag along my collarbone and I feel the warmth of her breath at the edge of my jaw. “Aaron.” Her palm wraps around the back of my neck. So soft. So warm. I swallow and grind out, “I’m listening.” Her thumb finds that spot between my ear and my jaw, and she presses, gently at first and then more firmly. Her lips brush the shell of my ear, and she whispers, “Look at me.” I feel like a marionette, and she’s pulling all my strings. I turn my head toward her, and her lips brush across my cheek, sending a hot shiver down my spine, lighting me up like a pinball machine. Teagan Firestone is a dangerous woman. Sweet, beautiful, broken, and yet . . . bold and resilient. She’s a lethal combination, and it’s all compounded when those soft lips meet mine. I don’t even know what’s happening. Well, I know. I’m kissing her. Or she’s kissing me. She definitely started it. It’s like an explosion. Like an entire warehouse of firecrackers igniting at the same time. I groan into her mouth and wrap an arm around her waist, pulling her flush against me. Our tongues tangle, and her other hand grips my biceps, sliding up and over my shoulder. She knocks my hat off my head, and it drops to the floor behind me. And then both of her hands are in my hair, sliding through the damp strands, gripping at the crown, angling my head farther to the side. Deepening the kiss. Dragging it out.
About Helena Hunting
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of PUCKED, Helena Hunting lives on the outskirts of Toronto with her incredibly tolerant family and two moderately intolerant cats. She writes contemporary romance ranging from new adult angst to romantic sports comedy.
Title: My Biggest Break Series: Crazy in Love #2 Author: T. Gephart
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Comedy Release Date: March 18, 2022
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Vision boards and positivity were great, except when you’re late for a big audition and the director was literally the worst. Oh, Jagger Hartley was young, talented, exceptionally good-looking with a famous last name, but that’s about all he had going for him. If only he’d known Belle Mathews wasn’t the kind of woman who’d take no for an answer, and she was going to finish her audition even if she had to take him hostage. Which she kinda did . . . oops! But even a hijacked meeting under duress couldn’t overshadow how gifted Belle was—a born star who belonged on stage. Pity he was crazy attracted to both her undeniable beauty and her generous heart. So he was either going to be her biggest break, or she was going to his.
T Gephart is a USA Today and International bestselling author from Melbourne, Australia. With an approach to life that is somewhat unconventional, she prefers to fly by the seat of her pants rather than adhere to some rigid roadmap. Her lack of “plan” has resulted in a rather interesting and eclectic resume, which reads more like the fiction she writes than an actual employment history. She’d tell you all about it, but the statute of limitations hasn’t expired yet. But all those crazy twists and turns have led her to a career she loves—writing romantic comedy. When she isn’t filling pages with sassy and sexy characters with attitude, she’s living her own reality show in the ‘burbs of Melbourne with her American husband, two children, and her fur child—Woodley. She loves adventure, to laugh, travel, and strives to live her life to the fullest.
Samantha Lind is a contemporary romance author. Having spent the first 27 years of her life in Alaska, she now calls Iowa home where she lives with her husband and two sons. She enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, reading, watching hockey (Go Knights Go!), and listening to country music.
Title: Lone Star Ex-Con Series: Saddle Creek, TX: The Crawfords #1 Author: Kat Baxter
Genre: Contemporary TX Western Romantic Comedy Release Date: March 17, 2022
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Monroe I just got out of prison. I literally have blood on my hands. It doesn’t matter if it was an accident or even justified. I’m tainted. One look at the bespectacled, curvy librarian, and I’m hooked. Clean, educated, and polished, Callie is beautiful, sweet, and the sheriff’s sister. She’s the last person I should want because I’m the worst person for her. But when she offers to marry me to meet the conditions of my grandfather’s will, I practically run to the courthouse.
Callie I know “Roe” is different the minute he steps into the library. It’s not his scowl or his tattoos or even the intelligence he tries so hard to hide. There’s something in his eyes that calls to me. I feel a connection with him I can’t explain. Of course he’s also the most devastatingly handsome man I’ve ever laid eyes on. He needs a wife. And he can provide something I want. So despite the fact that he’s younger and way hotter than me, I offer to meet him at the altar. But I never expected to fall in love with my husband.
Welcome to Saddle Creek, TX. Cattle ranches scattered amidst the rugged hills; the land dotted with wildflowers, cacti and longhorns. Small town, but home to the big Crawford family. These cowboys and mountain men have been busy working their land and haven’t had time for romantic complications. But when the terms of a will mandates they all find brides or risk losing their family’s land? It’ll be a race to the altar as each of them is determined to do their part to save their slice of heaven. But none of them expects that finding a bride will also mean finding love.
Kat Baxter writes fast-paced, sweet & STEAMY romantic comedies. Readers have dubbed her books “laugh-out-loud funny,” “hot enough to melt your kindle,” and “The Queen of Adorkable.” She lives in Texas with her family and a menagerie of animals. Kat is the pseudonym for a bestselling historical romance author.
Title: Evernight Unleashed Series: Ravenwood Coven #3 Author: Carrie Ann Ryan
Genre: Paranormal Romance Release Date: March 17, 2022
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In the dramatic conclusion to the Ravenwood Coven series by NYT Bestselling Author Carrie Ann Ryan, this sleeping magical paranormal town knows that war can be a beginning…and an ending.
Rowen Ravenwood is the final witch of her line—the only one standing in the way of Oriel, the dark necromancer who wants the core of the town’s magic for his own. With each passing battle and loss, Rowen is one step closer to losing it all if she doesn’t rely on the one man she refuses to love again. Only this time she might not have a choice when family secrets come to light.
Ash Christopher’s family curse hit him harder than anyone knows. He’s cool, relentless, and only feels what he needs to in order to survive. He’s gained everything in power and lost all else to his ambition—including Rowen. After all, a man cannot have a soul mate when he does not possess a soul.
The town of Ravenwood is dying and as the final battles come to pass, it will take the courage of a coven reborn, a mating bond broken, and a love worth fighting for in order to save all before it is lost.
Carrie Ann Ryan is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of contemporary, paranormal, and young adult romance. Her works include the Montgomery Ink, Redwood Pack, Fractured Connections, and Elements of Five series, which have sold over 3.0 million books worldwide. She started writing while in graduate school for her advanced degree in chemistry and hasn’t stopped since. Carrie Ann has written over seventy-five novels and novellas with more in the works. When she’s not losing herself in her emotional and action-packed worlds, she’s reading as much as she can while wrangling her clowder of cats who have more followers than she does.
As Manchester Athletic’s record signing, I should be basking in the adoration of fans and enjoying the perks that come with the job. Only that’s never been my style. I keep a low profile and stay focused on doing my job. A chance one-night stand on my way back from the States is about as anonymous as I can make it. She had no idea who I was, and I was pretty sure she gave me a fake name too. No numbers were exchanged, and we headed back to our so-called ordinary lives. The chance of a repeat should’ve been zero. Until we meet again in Manchester. Different names this time, but the same chemistry. Two people escaping their realities in anonymous hotels. It’s the perfect relationship until the media reveals our true identities to the world – and each other.
Hollywood Ball is the second standalone in the Manchester Athletic series. It’s a fake identity, insta-lust, jet set romance with a super geek soccer player and a super-sassy heroine.
Annie lives in the north of England, not too far from the amazing city of Manchester. She is owned by several cats and many hens, narrowly avoiding being a mad cat woman by enslaving a very understanding husband. She’s an avid reader of many genres and if she’s not writing a book, she’s usually reading one!
Title: You Didn’t Know Me Then Series: Riviera View #2 Author: Lily Baines
Genre: Small Town Romance Release Date: March 16, 2022
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Chemistry pulls them together. Falling in love might tear them apart.
Hope Hays, a divorced mother of two, has decided it’s finally time to test the waters in the dating world. Her first excruciating attempt at flirting combusts—the failed experiment even more humiliating as it is witnessed by a handsome stranger.
Political advisor Jordan Delaney swam with D.C. sharks until he bled. Now licking his wounds in his hometown, he is reluctantly intrigued by the quirky redhead chatting up a bartender with obscure chemistry facts.
In this small-town meetings are unavoidable and Jordan finds Hope’s awkward sincerity refreshing after the poker faces of politics. He falls for her the more he knows her, fearing she’d like him less if she knew him more. Hope falls for the man who makes her feel seen even though she’s certain someone like him would never want a single mother’s unglamorous life.
Their undeniable chemistry is an inflammable combination, but her scars and a secret from his past threaten to burn them both down.
‘You Didn’t Know Me Then’ is perfect for readers who love small-town, slow-burn romance, opposites attract, a relatable, everyday heroine, and the gorgeous man (inside and out!) who falls for her. It’s book 2 in the Riviera View series but can be read as a standalone.
The way he looks at me makes me feel like I’m me again, not just someone’s mom, ex, teacher, friend, daughter, sister. Me. Hope. And it’s scary. Because I forgot who she was but I see her in his eyes.
#2
It was the first time she had seen Jordan in a t-shirt and a pair of jeans, and by God, it didn’t make matters easier. All the muscles she had felt under his shirt with her eager palms when they had kissed, were now exposed and were in every way as mouthwatering as she had imagined they’d look. And just where the sleeve of his blue tee ended, over his left bicep, was a tattoo. A wave rising and curling in black and grey ink. To battle her unwarranted attraction to him, especially in light of what had happened, she had told herself that he was just a slick-talking ivy league and ivy life champion who was circling way out of her orbit, crashed against her accidentally, caused a little earthquake, and regretted it immediately. But somehow a tattoo made him seem so … down to earth. Silly as it was, it now became an intervening variable in her experiment.
#3
They stood less than a foot apart and she could see every line and edge of his face and a hint of his aftershave and detergent reached her. She ensured her gaze didn’t drop lower than his chin because whenever it did, all she could think of was the small gap between his shirt and his skin.
#4
She switched the light off again. Jordan grabbed her wrist and pinned it above her head, then turned the light back on, stilling above her and looking into her face in the softly lit room. “I prefer the light off,” she expelled into his face. “And I prefer to see you,” he rasped, his eyes flaring, searing hers. “I want to see this,” he half-whispered, skimming his gaze over her face, caressing her with his eyes from her hair to her lips, drawing his thumb over the same path, parting her lower lip, and sliding down her chin. “And this.” He traced his gaze further down, his palm sliding with it to her breasts, and further south to her stomach.
Lily Baines is a mother, wife, and author (not always in this order). For 20 years she worked in Human Resources but kept writing to maintain her sanity and flow of creative juices. For the last 3 years Lily is dedicating her time to her 3 children, husband, family dog, bottomless laundry basket, full kitchen sink, and her writing. Her first book was published in 2020. This is her 6th book.
Title: Wild Side Series: Burgers and Brew Crüe #4 Author: Lacey Black
Genre: Contemporary Romance Release Date: March 15, 2022
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Jameson
Last man standing. I’ve watched all three of my friends fall in love with no desire to ever follow in their footsteps. Collectively, we own the hottest restaurant, bar, and brewery in town. They are a few of the places I find peace, a refuge against this cruel world. When I’m on the stage playing music, everything just seems to fade away.
Until I saw her.
She was sitting in the crowd, a bright, beautiful ray of light, fighting against the darkness surrounding me. I do everything I can to keep her in the friend-zone, but she’s making it difficult.
I don’t just want her; I need her.
Madelyn
The first moment I saw him on the stage I knew he was different. Rough, tattooed, and with the voice of an angel, he was playing guitar and singing a song about love and hurt. I was captivated, completely drawn to the emotions I saw in those warm whiskey eyes. From that moment on, I felt compelled to be his friend.
He didn’t make it easy.
The boundaries between friendship and relationship start to blur, and even though he fights me every step of the way, I can’t help the way I feel. I promised him I’d always be his friend.
I loved Walker and Mallory in the first book but I honestly feel that Jameson and Madelyn are up their with them as my favourite couple of the series. Lacey Black didn’t disappoint with this pair.
Jameson. He had walls so high that at times it was surprising even his inner circle had scaled them but Madelyn was prepared to try and crumble the fortress he’d built and yeah, she did a great job…. Reading how she got to him and how she affected him so quickly was fun. I really liked that they were so different on the outside but that there was more to their upbringings that made them understand each other on a deeper level.
‘Tank’ was protective, loyal but running scared, for both him and Mads as he honestly didn’t think he was capable of being in a relationship given how he’d grown up. What he couldn’t see, that was right in front of him with the family of choice he had, was that he did relationships well and was capable of caring and loving someone else.
Madelyn – seeing her take control of her own life and deciding that with her family was was where she was meant to be was great. She blossomed in her new home, cared for by family she had only recently got to find out about and making new friends with the Brew Crue ladies. I so wanted her to end up with Jameson but I could have coped if they’d remained friends as long as she was happy…. (ok, I’d have barely coped but…just saying….I liked seeing her happy and learning/settling into who she was)
I loved catching up with the guys and their significant others, seeing how all of their lives were changing. Madelyn’s grandma was fab and I really liked Reagan, her cousin. A couple of side characters I could quite happily have dug a hole for and buried them given how vicious and awful they were but in the grand scheme of things they added to Madelyn’s growth and Jameson’s realisation of what and who he really wanted.
The last book about the original group, I was sad we were ending things with them until…… yeah, there’s gonna be another read in the series and I cannot wait to find out more!!!!
4.5*
AUTHOR BIO
USA Today Bestselling Author Lacey Black is a Midwestern girl with a passion for reading, writing, and shopping. She carries her e-reader with her everywhere she goes so she never misses an opportunity to read a few pages. Always looking for a happily ever after, Lacey is passionate about contemporary romance novels and enjoys it further when you mix in a little suspense. She resides in a small town in Illinois with her husband, two children, and three rowdy chickens.
He’s intense, he’s fearless, and he’ll stop at nothing to save her.
My job is to protect the innocent, but Blake van Hamilton has never been innocent. With killer curves, silky brown hair, and silvery-blue eyes, she’s been an inconvenient object of my lust since we were teens. Now I’ve been hired to guard her against a gang of criminals who want her money, and maybe even her life. Still, I’m the last person she wants helping her. Blake van Hamilton hates me, but it won’t stop me from doing my job.
Hutch Winston may be sexy as hell, but I won’t fall for his white knight, alpha-protector act. Not since he used it to ruin my life at sixteen. But when my best friend turns up dead and my uncle goes missing, Hutch is my only option. Moving into his family estate is the real test. It gets worse when I accidentally see him naked in the shower, moaning my name. I have to keep my head and my heart in line—not to mention my body. Every part of me wants him in every possible way. I may be fearless, but how I feel about him scares me most of all.
(FEARLESS is a stand-alone, enemies-to-lovers romantic suspense novel. It contains an insanely hot alpha protector and the curvy, feisty socialite he’s hired to protect. A forced proximity angle sets it all ablaze. No cheating. No cliffhangers.)
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.
Title: Beyond the Team Series: Out of Reach #4 Author: Kaylee Ryan
Genre: Contemporary Romance Release Date: March 8, 2022
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Griffin
All it takes is four days to change my carefully planned-out life. Four days to fall for Peyton Monroe. Four days to convince her to give me… us a chance.
Before her, baseball was the center of my world. Being the best. Getting a full-ride scholarship. Getting drafted. Going pro. But from the moment my frisbee lands at her feet on the beach, I can’t stop thinking about her.
She’s beautiful, funny, smart… and lives thirteen hours away. Long-distance love is a complication I should avoid, but staying away from Peyton is not an option. This goes beyond the team and my love of the game.
Peyton
I’m looking to get away, not searching for love. But it all but lands at my feet on spring break anyway. A beach full of hot guys, and of course I find myself falling for a handsome baseball player.
Griffin Anthony’s charming smile draws me in. We fall hard and fast, but when it’s time to say goodbye, he tries to convince me that we can make this work long distance.
Now I’m torn between following tradition and playing it safe or throwing out the rule book and following my heart across the miles. He wants me to trust our connection. Can I risk my heart?
New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Kaylee Ryan has been crowned the Queen of Swoon by her readers. With nearly fifty romance books under her belt, she’s known for penning happily ever afters with heart. When she’s not writing, you can find her with a book in her hand or hanging out with her family where she resides in her home state of Ohio.
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