As a dark cloud descends over Hope and Rock’s already precarious future, will a long-hidden secret push them both past the point of no return?
Struggling attorney Hope Kendall loves her outlaw biker boyfriend Rochlan “Rock” North with all her heart, but the questionable activities his motorcycle club is involved in threaten her legal career.
But does she even want this career anymore?
As a near-death situation makes their professional differences seem insignificant, a cloud descends over their personal relationship’s already unsteady future.
Even though Hope seems to have finally found her niche in the club as Rock’s ol’ lady, can she mingle in politics with neighboring clubs as well? A trip to the Lost Kings MC downstate charter will put her to the test.
While Rock works hard to give Hope the honesty she craves without betraying his loyalty to his brothers, tension from outside forces threatens to push him to the brink. But it’s the one secret Hope has hidden all along that may finally drive them apart for good.
This is the third book in the Lost Kings MC series and shouldn’t be read as a stand-alone.
Strength from Loyalty is a full-length (over 100,000 words) novel.
As an only
child, Autumn kept herself entertained by making up all sorts of stories. For a
long time, life and school dimmed her enthusiasm for creative writing. But as
soon as she rediscovered her love of storytelling, she put her fingers to the
keyboard and hasn’t looked back.
Her favorite
books to read are mystery, thrillers, horror, romance, erotica and urban
fantasy.
Her favorite
thing to write is romance. All of her stories have to include a hunky hero and
an optimistic ending.
When she’s
not writing, Autumn spends time listening to music, going to concerts, and
driving her family nuts. She enjoys reading, gardening, acting, and collecting
nail polish. (Her husband says she shouldn’t be allowed to include gardening in
her list of hobbies, because she makes him do all the work, but that’s not
relevant.)
Autumn
lives in Upstate New York with her husband and their three rescue dogs. She is
actively involved with several dog rescue groups and her local RWA chapter.
From NY Times and USA Today Bestselling author, J. Daniels
Book three in the Alabama Summer series.
For the past nine years, I’ve kept my heart as far away from my dick as possible.
Those two can’t be anywhere near each other. They don’t play nice, and one of them undoubtedly winds up getting hurt.Not my dick. My dick is good.
The
women I take home know exactly what they’re getting from me—sex.
Nothing more. At least, that’s what’s supposed to happen. The sweet
brunette from Kentucky I set my sights on tonight shouldn’t have been
any different. I had her right where I wanted her. Where I needed her.
But when my past comes walking into McGill’s pub, the woman in my arms
decides to take things to a whole new level, putting me into a situation
I never saw coming.
My heart is about to get fucked. My dick can sit this one out.
*** Warning: This book is recommended for readers over the age of 18 due to strong language and explicit sexual content.
J. Daniels was born and raised in Maryland.After putting her kids to bed, she escapes into her cheeky world where some of her characters kiss, and some of them do a lot more than kiss.
She is an avid reader and enjoys everything from unconventional romance to fantasy novels.
My father was the leader of a protection racket; a criminal group that uses violence to ensure our clients won’t be harmed or robbed, and that their businesses will remain protected. What we do isn’t legal, but it’s the way we’ve lived for many years now.
Memphis Reed—my father—was formidable. He was a man people both respected and feared. He taught me everything he knew, and when he died I was left in charge.
Before his death, a battle was brewing on the streets. Lies were told, deceptions were made, and people were killed. People we thought we knew changed, relationships and friendships were torn apart, and loyalties were questioned. After his death, a full on war is raging, and Roman Rios—a man we now know we can’t trust—wants to move in on our business.
With me now being the leader of nine men, it’s up to me to protect them from Roman and his own crew of ruthless criminals. I’ll do whatever’s necessary to keep my business my own and protect everything my father worked for. Even if I have to go up against Xavier Delgado. Roman’s number two. A man with no heart and a black soul. A man Roman trained to be as vicious and cold-blooded as he is. A man who once upon a time I thought I was in love with.
Yes, I’m a she. My name is Chevelley Reed, and all’s fair in love and war.
Isabel Lucero is the author of the romantic suspense novel The Secrets That We Keep and the bestselling erotic romance books Living in Sin, Unforgivable Sin, and Sins & Mistrust; books one, two, and three in The Escort Series.
She was born in a small town in New Mexico and was lucky enough to escape and travel the world thanks to her husband’s career in the Air Force. She’s been married for eleven years to the love of her life and Jr. High School sweetheart. Together they have two of the best and most beautiful kids in the world.
Isabel‘s love for reading is anything but new, she’s been reading since before she was a teenager, enjoying a multitude of different types of stories.
She’s a multi-genre author, tackling genres such as romantic suspense, erotic romance, crime drama, and contemporary romance.
She currently lives overseas and is constantly coming up with new book ideas, so keep an eye open for new stories coming your way. Isabel loves connecting with her readers and fans of books in general. You can find her on her personal website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Going undercover has its challenges. When Detective Ryan Clark is sent to the sleepy coastal town of Fremantle to dismantle the country’s most lethal drug syndicate, it’s worth the risk. Even if he becomes a fatality, in the war against drugs.
Ryan finds himself coming back to the same coffee shop. Blondie, the local barista, has him hot under the collar and reaching for his piece. He knows the attraction isn’t just one-sided.
She’s trying to keep her distance.
It only makes him want her more.
Willow Asher left it all behind, but not by choice.
After two long years, she’s finally getting somewhere. Willow has a busy café with her buxom business partner, Gabby, who is the closest thing she has to family.
Although Willow’s past still plagues her thoughts, she’s determined to have her happily-ever-after. As soon as her demons stop haunting her.
What she doesn’t need is the complication of Mr Sexy-Brown-Eyes, who seems to be drinking more and more coffee.
New Adult and erotic romance writer, and author of the Spark series.A sexy imagination, a life-long love of books and a sucker for romance, Jennifer Ryder couldn’t stifle her creativity any longer.
Writing steamy adult romance has become her new focus. Living on a rural property in New South Wales, Australia, she enjoys the best of city and country.
Her loving husband is ever willing to provide inspiration, and her two young cherubs, and sheep that don’t see fences as barriers, keep life more than interesting.
Jennifer placed third in the International Stringybark Erotic Short Fiction Award 2013.
The Sugartown series is one of Rebecca’s favourites.
‘NOW LEAVING SUGARTOWN’ is out NOW and is a definite must read!!!!
Title: Now Leaving Sugartown
Series: Sugartown #4
Author: Carmen Jenner Genre: Adult, Contemporary Romance
Release Date: March 11, 2015
Synopsis
Pepper Ryan grew up the troublesome, spoiled child of a rock god. With her less-than-stellar parentage, and the bipolar disorder that has plagued her existence, to say this little firecracker is a handful would be the understatement of the century.
Sammy Belle spent more than half his life saving Pepper. He’d been her strength, her sanity, and the protective brotherly figure she never wanted to have.
They were never meant to be together.
They gave in anyway.
And just when Sammy thought he had everything he wanted, Pepper ran.
Now twenty-three, Pepper returns to Sugartown, a failed tattoo artist with one too many screws loose who’s down on her luck, wielding an ice cream van as beaten up as her heart.
Sugartown’s most coveted bachelor has always been content with the quiet life he leads until Pepper, the hellion from his past, returns to test his strength, his patience, and perhaps even his sanity. But two can play at that game, and Pepper is about to learn that Sam can give as good as he gets.
Can this good country boy survive Pepper’s cruel city world, or will the whole thing be put down to a bout of temporary insanity?
One thing is for certain:
He’s crazy about her.
She’s just crazy.
Warning: Intended for an 18+ audience. Contains sexual content, oodles of profanity, a firefighter so hot you may need a very cold shower, and one pink-haired crazy Harajuku girl.
Carmen Jenner is a thirty-something, USA TODAY Best Selling Author, doctor, pilot and CIA agent.
She’s also a compulsive, flagrant prevaricator who gets to make things up for a living.
While Sugartown may not technically exist, Carmen grew up in a small Australian town just like it, and just like her characters, she always longed for something more. They didn’t have an Elijah Cade, though.
If they did, you can be sure she would have never left.
Author: Carmen Jenner Genre: Adult, Contemporary Romance
Release Date: March 11, 2015
Synopsis
Pepper Ryan grew up the troublesome, spoiled child of a rock god. With her less-than-stellar parentage, and the bipolar disorder that has plagued her existence, to say this little firecracker is a handful would be the understatement of the century.
Sammy Belle spent more than half his life saving Pepper. He’d been her strength, her sanity, and the protective brotherly figure she never wanted to have.
They were never meant to be together.
They gave in anyway.
And just when Sammy thought he had everything he wanted, Pepper ran.
Now twenty-three, Pepper returns to Sugartown, a failed tattoo artist with one too many screws loose who’s down on her luck, wielding an ice cream van as beaten up as her heart.
Sugartown’s most coveted bachelor has always been content with the quiet life he leads until Pepper, the hellion from his past, returns to test his strength, his patience, and perhaps even his sanity. But two can play at that game, and Pepper is about to learn that Sam can give as good as he gets.
Can this good country boy survive Pepper’s cruel city world, or will the whole thing be put down to a bout of temporary insanity?
One thing is for certain:
He’s crazy about her.
She’s just crazy.
Warning: Intended for an 18+ audience. Contains sexual content, oodles of profanity, a firefighter so hot you may need a very cold shower, and one pink-haired crazy Harajuku girl.
Where do you start with Now Leaving Sugartown?!?!?!?!?
Every time I think it can’t get any better that sneaky Carmen Jenner shifts it up another gear………
Why is she sneaky? Because she has you laughing with a panty tsunami going on thoroughly enjoying the fabulous raunchy riot that is Sugartown, Pepper and Sam, then WHAM! Tears, huge fucking feels and a breaking heart. Effortless, seamless, flawless and bloody genius.
IT’S RAUNCHY, SASSY, SEXY, FUNNY AND FULL OF SUCH TOTALLY HONEST OTT DRAMA MOMENTS (TOLD YOU!)THAT YOU CANNOT PUT IT DOWN. I LOVE THE BANTER BETWEEN THE TWO OF THEM AND THE WARMTH, AFFECTION AND FRIENDSHIP IS VERY WELL WRITTEN AS IS THE SEX THAT IS HILARIOUS FAST AND FURIOUS!
^^ I wrote that in my review for Enjoy Your Stay but Now Leaving Sugartown has been on steroids, every word still applies but large, supersized and bloody fabulous.
THE JOY OF A CARMEN JENNER BOOK IS THAT BENEATH THE SMUT, MUCK, AND LAUGHS SHE DOES SO WELL SHE INTERWEAVES THE POIGNANT, THE SAD AND LEAVES YOU LAUGHING AND CRYING, SOMETIMES ON THE SAME BLOODY PAGE. AND HAVING READ THE EPILOGUE I WANT ‘NOW LEAVING SUGARTOWN’ NOW…… IMMEDIATELY…… SHE IS GOING TO ROCK HIS WORLD IS EVERY WAY AND I THINK THEY WILL TURN OUT TO BE MY FAVOURITE COUPLE. YOU ARE A TEASE CARMEN JENNER!!!
SUGARTOWN, I MISSED YOU AND THIS VISIT WAS EVERTHING I COULD WANT. STEAMY, SEXY, KINKY, DIRTY, SWEET, SAD, DRAMACTIC, ANGST RIDDEN AT POINTS AND ULTIMATLEY BEAUTIFUL. IT’S BEEN EMOTIONAL.
UNTIL NEXT TIME…………………………………………
^^ yeah, wrote that after reading Greetings from Sugartown and again every word (except kinky maybe because let’s face it Elijah & Ana, Holly & Jackarse own that shit!) applies this time, Pepper and Sam are my favourites, she does rock his world and he is her rock in the storm – yin to her yang, peanut butter to the jelly. I was always going to be sad writing this review because it’s the last Sugartown book and I don’t want it to end, I have adored each and every one but this last instalment is so special. From the first time Pepper runs back into him in the ice cream van (in a scene that is just so funny and 3 d in my mind) I knew we were in for a rollercoaster ride, and she does not disappoint, the range of feels she would wring out of me, bleeding, crying, shredding, laughing, turned on and smiling and happy. The depth of her writing and characters is deceptive sometimes because Carmen Jenner interweaves the angst with that trademark humour and dirty sexiness so well that the feels creeps up on you in that sneak attack.
Pepper is complicated, her demons/illness chase her and dictate the choices she makes, her battle is heartbreaking and so sad, shocking and surprising it was totally addictive reading through every single high and low. Sammy is loyal, protective and torn between doing what is right for Pepper, right for the families, right for them as a couple and a decision he can live with.
Fireman Sam and Pepper broke my heart, made me cry, made me laugh, and gave me wet panties plus the urge to rape the hubby. Feels. Huge. I am not putting anything else in this review about the story as I detest spoilers but please, go one click that bitch, because Sugartown is special, these characters are special, for me Pepper is outstanding. Carmen Jenner is a hugely talented sneaky crazy lady who will deliver for you, give you the feels and leave you smiling and satiated having had multiples.
What bloody more could you ask for ?!?!?!?!?
Author Bio
Carmen Jenner is a thirty-something, USA TODAY Best Selling Author, doctor, pilot and CIA agent.
She’s also a compulsive, flagrant prevaricator who gets to make things up for a living.
While Sugartown may not technically exist, Carmen grew up in a small Australian town just like it, and
just like her characters, she always longed for something more. They didn’t have an Elijah Cade, though.
If they did, you can be sure she would have never left.
He was brooding and arrogant, but I loved him anyway.
Together we were wild and uncontained — a hurricane raging.
Then I had to leave, and words were exchanged that could never be undone.
But now I was back, and Mathias better watch out, because this bitch wasn’t finished with him.
Game. Set. Match.
All is fair in love and war, right?
Mathias Wade, the lead singer of Willow Creek, is used to getting everything he wants. Except for Remy Parker — the one that got away. Childhood friends that grew into more, Remy was the one constant in his life until she moved away. In anger, he lashed out and broke the only girl he ever loved. With temptation around every corner Mathias drowns his sorrow in women and alcohol. When the band returns to their hometown for the holidays the last thing Mathias expects is to run into Remy—but she’s back, and she’s not done with him.
Remy never forgot Mathias or the pain he caused her. When she moves back to the place she grew up
to take care of her ailing grandma her heart is set on revenge. She’s determined to make Mathias fall in love with her all over again — only this time she’s going to break his heart.
But Mathias never stopped loving Remy — and she soon discovers that her feelings haven’t disappeared either.
Can two people too stubborn for their own good overcome their own demons and find the love they always deserved?
I jumped up on the counter and he moved to stand in front of me, bracing his hands beside my hips. I kicked my legs against the cabinets like a little kid as he stared down at me intensely. I wasn’t sure what he was looking for in my eyes, but he must have found it, because he cupped my cheek and leaned in.
“This feels like when we were younger,” he whispered. “Like no time at all has passed.” His words echoed my previous thoughts.
I closed my eyes, feeling his breath fan across my lips.
God, I’d missed him.
It didn’t seem possible to miss someone I’d grown to hate, but I did.
I was pretty sure that when someone like Mathias came into your life they were impossible to forget.
He was like the sun, burning so bright that even once he was gone I was still blinded.
“Did you ever miss me?” I asked. “Even once?” I held my breath, waiting for him to explode— because that was Mathias. He could be nice one minute and an asshole the next. I wouldn’t put it past him to kick me out for my question.
Instead he surprised me by leaning in impossibly closer and nuzzling my neck. “Always.”
Author Bio
Micalea Smeltzer is a bestselling Young and New Adult author from Winchester, Virginia.
She’s always working on her next book, and when she has spare time she loves to read and spend time with her family.
He’s my best friend’s brother – and the only boy I’ve ever loved. Movie star, manwhore, and totally off-limits.
Until now.
I told myself it was time to move on, until one epic night changed everything. Now there’s no denying the way I feel when he touches me, or the reckless desire in his eyes.
Once we cross that line, there’s no going back. But can I risk it all for him when he’s still hiding secrets of his own?
Some love stories are destiny. Ours is still unwritten.
I only have one New Year’s resolution, and it’s the same I’ve had for six years now:
Make Blake Callahan fall madly, deeply, and uncontrollably in love with me.
Every year, I write it in big block letters on the first page of my new journal, and every year, I finish out December with those some words still taunting me. But not this time. This year, I’ve decided, I’m really going to make it happen.
“Happy New Year!”
Noise floods through my thoughts. The party is in full swing around me, hundreds of people crammed into the amazing beachfront mansion. Music plays so loud I can feel it in my chest, and
everywhere I look, people are flirting and laughing, getting ready for that midnight kiss.
I check my phone. Just a few minutes to midnight. My heart beats faster. If I’m going to do this, I need to do it now. I can see Blake out on the deck, looking illegally hot in a vintage white T-shirt and jeans that deserve an award for their services to womankind. I haven’t seen him in a couple of years, but
clearly, he only gets more devastating with age. It’s the reason he’s tipped as the hot new Hollywood star, about to break out in his first big movie role. But to me, he’ll always be plain old Blake Callahan:
my first love, my unrequited crush.
My best friend’s older brother.
I’ve always been too scared to cross that line, but tonight is different. Tonight, everything changes. I take a deep breath, slide the doors open, and step outside.
“Hello, stranger.” My voice comes, sounding flirty and bold. Good start.
Blake turns, and I swear, his jaw drops. I feel another tremor of nerves, but they melt away when I recognize the familiar look in his eyes, the one I’ve seen from plenty of guys since my transformation, but never from him
Desire.
He blinks at me in disbelief.
“Zoey?” he says, sounding uncertain. “Holy shit, what happened to you?”
Play it cool, I remind myself. Easy, breezy, like he’s been the last thing on your mind.
I arch an eyebrow. “Good to see you too.”
I sashay over and lean in to kiss him on both cheeks, the way I learned in Europe. I leave a smudge of scarlet on his skin, so I reach up and wipe it away. He looks confused. “Sorry, Paris,” I explain, kicking myself for the familiar gesture.
“Uh, hey,” Blake recovers. “Welcome back. Is it just a vacation visit?”
“It depends,” I say.
“Uh, depends on what?” Blake asks. His gaze drifts down my body, all the way to my peep-toe sandals, the ones that usually make me feel invincible. But now, I feel stripped naked under his blue eyes, my heart beating so loudly in my chest I swear he can hear it over the muffled sound of the music inside.
You.
I bite back the truth. “You’ll see,” I answer cryptically instead. “But, yes, I’m back.”
“Tegan will be happy, I know she missed you,” Blake smiles.
“Me too.” I try to relax. This is Blake, I remind myself. Not some stranger. I know him. “I missed all of you guys,” I add, thinking of the whole Callahan family: Tegan, and their two other brothers too. “Europe is a long way from home.”
I take the spot beside him and lean out to watch the dark shadow of the ocean play along the distant shore. “So what’s your resolution?” I ask, trying to sound flirty.
“I guess… Make some great movies this year,” he smiles. “Not screw up and wind up waiting
tables again to make a living.”
I laugh. “No way. We all knew you had the talent, it just took the world a little while to catch on.”
“You haven’t seen me act,” Blake retorts, teasing.
“Sure I have,” I remind him. “I remember a certain show you did on Christmas…”
“No!” Blake bursts out laughing. “God, why would you remind me about that?”
“Come on,” I tease him, “you were the hunkiest Ebenezer Scrooge that Santa Monica ever saw.” He dressed up as a surfer Scrooge and played scenes on the promenade for fifty bucks. His brothers
never shut up about it; we teased him all year.
“Please tell me you don’t have photos, the tabloids would go crazy,” he groans.
“Your secret is safe with me.”
“I knew I could count on you.” Blake smiles, and I’m hit all over again with the force of him: that chiseled, handsome face, the smile, those magnetic blue eyes that always belonged on a movie screen. I feel the same flip in my stomach I felt the day we first met; time and distance have done nothing to lessen his effect on me.
I think I see something shift in his expression, a glimpse of desire, but it must be wishful thinking, because he turns away.
“You better get back inside,” he says shortly. “You’ll miss the party.”
Disappointment crashes over me.
I turn and slowly walk away, feeling like a fool. All my plans are for nothing; I tried and struck out again.
But did you really try? A small voice nudges me. Didn’t you promise to give it your best shot?
I gulp, then before I know what I’m doing, I whirl around and stride back to him. I put my hand on his arm, and pull him around to face me.
“It’s the New Year,” I say stubbornly, my heart racing.
“Not for another ten seconds.” Blake looks confused. They’re counting down inside, chanting the
numbers.
Time is running out.
“Then I guess we’ll have to pass the time.” I take a deep breath, gathering all my courage, and then I reach up on my tiptoes and press my lips against his.
“Nine! Eight! Seven!…”
The voices fade away as I fall into the kiss. Blake’s mouth is warm, and I can taste the bourbon on his lips, feel the faint scrape of stubble on his jaw.
This is it. I’m finally kissing him.
But then I realize, Blake is frozen in place. He’s not kissing me back—but he hasn’t pulled away either.
I loop my arms determinedly around his neck and pull his body down against mine. As if it was the signal he was waiting for, Blake suddenly sweeps me into his arms. He spins me around, pushing me back against the railings as he kisses me hard and deep, and I come undone.
God… This is what I dreamed about, all those years of innocent fantasy. I must have played this moment a hundred times over in my mind, but nothing is as sweet as the feel of his lips claiming mine,
the heat and desire blazing to life throughout my whole body.
He eases my lips apart and sinks his tongue deep into my mouth. I moan against him, arching up to press closer against his body. I can feel the taut muscle through his clothes, the gorgeous planes of his shoulders and back. His hands slide over my body, cupping my ass and molding me to him, until there’s not an inch of space between us. And all the while, his mouth is driving me crazy, teasing and
demanding, his tongue sliding hotly against mine, igniting a fire in my bloodstream that spirals low between my thighs.
The sound of fireworks cuts through the haze. I pull away, breathless. Bursts of glitter and stardust light up across the bay, and there’s the sound of cheering inside. For a moment, I feel like the universe is celebrating our kiss, then I realize we kissed our way into the New Year.
Elation crashes through me. He kissed me back. I wanted a sign, and here it is: big neon letters saying “He wants you too.”
“That’s decided then,” I murmur to myself. Blake is standing there, looking shell-shocked. I smile. “Happy New Year.”
I turn on my heel, and quickly duck back into the house before I can ruin the moment. But just as quickly, my joy fades. Because now that I know there’s something between us, my feelings aren’t so safe anymore.
Loving him could destroy my friendships, my sense of family—everything that’s important to me in the world. Once we cross that line, there’s no going back.
So do I take that risk?
Author Bio
Melody Grace is the New York Times bestselling author of the Beachwood Bay series. A small-town girl turned SoCal beach lover, after spending her life with her nose in a book, she decided it was time she wrote one herself. She loves steamy romance novels, happily-ever-afters, and lusting after fictional menfolk. She lives in LA with her two kittens, Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers.
A book where the romance is just as dangerous as the crime….
FBI Agent Devon Mitchell is trying everything he can to move on with his life.
Except he can’t.
After losing the one person he loved more than life itself, he struggles to carry on with the guilt and burden of letting her go. When a new assignment in his old hometown lands on his desk, he can’t help but feel drawn to it.
Drawn to her…
But this isn’t a case he was assigned, but a secret undercover mission that could ruin his career if his
cover is blown.
Tegan Anderson wishes for a normal life. Pushing her way through college, she finds herself in dead
end relationship number three—except this time, the guy is into something far more dangerous than your usual twenty-three-year-old is involved in.
Drugs, dirty money, and casino debts are just a few things her ex has found himself wrapped up in.
When the people he owes money come looking for him, she finds herself in a situation that could be the
difference between life and death.
With the odds stacked against them, and a herd of angry men after them, can Devon and Tegan survive
the mayhem that is about to ensue? Can they overcome the past or will it shatter both of them?
Sometimes, love isn’t enough, but could theirs be truly invincible?
J.L. Beck is the Best Selling Author of Indebted (A Kingpin Love Affair Vol: 1), and The Bittersweet Series. She plays mother and wife by day, and writer extraordinaire by night. When she’s not writing, reading or doodling, you can find her watching The Vampire Diaries, and The 100. She currently resides in the tiny town of Elroy, in the state of Wisconsin with her husband of seven years, and three year old hellion.
Title: Love Brewing Series: Love Brothers #3 Author: Liz Crowe
Release Date: March 2, 2015 Paperback Release: March 14, 2015
The Love Brothers ~ Family saga with humor, heat and heart…not to mention beer, bourbon and basketball.
SYNOPSIS
Every family has one—the black sheep, the problem child, the prodigal. But Dominic Sean Love could teach all of those guys a lesson or two. Stuck in the middle of a boisterous group of siblings, he’s given “acting out” a new meaning from the day he drew his first breath. While he’s the one son who follows his strict father’s footsteps into the Love family business, he’s also the one who butts heads with him the hardest. Their epic clashes are the stuff of family legend. But they have made peace and work side by side to take Love Brewing to the next level of success. Until Dominic does the one thing his father can never forgive. Diana Brantley has been Dominic’s friend, girlfriend and ex-girlfriend so many times she’s lost count. When he shows up at the farm she’s slowly transforming into a wildly popular farm-to-table resource for restaurants all over the U.S. her first impulse is to shoot first and ask questions later. But she doesn’t. And their lives entwine once more, for good, bad and ugly.
PURCHASE LINKS #3 Love Brewing (Amazon only for 90 days) US: UK:
TRAILER for the series, produced by Fiona Jayde Media, starring model Scott Nova, photography by Taria Reed. Narrated by Daniel Dorse, who will record all the books for Audible.com
EXCLUSIVE SNEAK PEAK AT CHAPTER ONE:
Diana patted Pepper’s flank as she released him into the paddock then leaned against the barn door, relishing the soreness in her muscles. The sun burned a white hole in the light-blue late summer sky. Smells of her childhood filled her nose, smoothing her edges. A bit of coolness in the air, heralding the coming seasonal transition sent a shiver of anticipation down her spine. Masie, the pregnant cow, uttered a low moo, snapping Diana out of daydreaming about her favorite season—the hunting kind. It brought her long to-do list flashing across her brain, reminding her she still had to finish mucking out the rest of the barn. The garden was in desperate need of weeding, too. The last of her tomatoes were due in and her sister had already sent three texts that morning about the chicken salad Diana still had to make and get over to the shop. With a heavy sigh, she let the light wind cool her skin. Her arms burned and her thighs shook in a wholly welcome, familiar way, post long ride. She dropped onto the overturned bucket from the horse’s cool-and-wash. “Go on, get out there, ya big baby.” She smiled when the huge animal nuzzled her shoulder before he trotted away obediently, sticking his nose into the water trough, tail flicking lazily, indicating satisfaction with the morning’s proceedings. Bees buzzed, the cow made another lowing sound, late season locusts hummed, and the sun heated her skin. Drifting, her mind calm and free of Jen’s endless demands and catering menus she let the sweet sounds and distinct odors of her family’s farm soothe her. When the horse whinnied and snorted, Diana ignored it and stretched her legs out. One of the dogs let out a loud bark then the other two joined in. They sounded delighted, so Diana figured that her sister must have arrived in the catering van to pick up the chicken salad—the one Diana hadn’t even started yet. Deciding to pretend she was alone a minute longer and enjoy the peace and quiet she always found in the barn, Diana closed her eyes. “Hey.” A distressingly familiar male voice hit her ears. “Um…Diana?” She blew out a breath, unwilling to acknowledge how much she would have given at one point in her life to hear that voice say her name again. “What do you want?” “Just a place to crash. Hide a bit, I don’t know.” “Why now? I thought you and your folks were gettin’ on like a house afire.” She tried to keep the anger out of her words, but it was nearly impossible. “Diana. Please.” She opened her eyes and observed the man she’d loved as long as she could recall. Dominic Love stood in front of her dressed in, of all things, a pair of dress pants and crumpled, long-sleeved shirt. A red tie hung loose around his neck. He had his blond hair scraped back and tied at his nape so she could see he’d added more body art. He stood still, hands tucked in his trouser pockets, his expression scarily blank. She rose and smacked the dust off her ass then stood, arms crossed, willing him not to be there, not to tempt her, because God help her still loved the man, despite how badly he’d treated her. “I am not letting you back in my bed, Dom.” When the corner of his full lips lifted in a smirk, she imagined how satisfying it would feel to smack it off his face—with a blunt instrument. “Not asking for that…yet.” “Go to hell.” She brushed by him, forcing him out of her brain. He snagged her arm and held on tight. “I’m already there, babe, trust me. I swear I just need a friend right now and someplace to lay low. I’ll help around the place, you know that.” As if on cue, the horse bumped Dom’s shoulder, shoving the man forward. The grip on her arm tightened and Dom leaned in close. She yanked away from him, keeping her gaze on the far horizon and her mind on the fact that if she went with her gut right then, she’d pull him back into her life, no questions asked. “You can sleep out here.” He let go. “Thanks, babe.” She clenched her jaw. “Stop calling me babe, you shit-heel, motherfucking, selfish, cheating asshole.” “Okay,” he muttered, but his eyes were bright in a way she knew well. She walked away, letting the memory of their last, and she believed final, fight fill her mind, fueling her fury as she put one boot in front of the other, placing as much distance as she could between them. The dogs circled her legs, escorting her en masse to the door. It slammed, cutting off their nervous whines and snuffling, leaving her standing in the middle of her outdated, overworked kitchen. Usually being in this room helped her forget all the crap going on in the real world while she transformed the various vegetables from her large garden and the meats she’d either hunted or raised herself into meals fit for a five-star restaurant. She shook her head. There were no five-star-restaurants in her universe and there never had been. Even thinking those three words in that order caused heat to rise up her neck and into her face at the memory of her ex-husband—the man who’d swooped in right after Dominic’s last rejection of her and convinced her that he would open the restaurant of her dreams, using the inheritance money she’d saved. Yeah, that had worked out not-so-well. Men. Stupid, lying, cheating men. Stupid me and my stupid need to have one nearby all the stupid time. Her hand landed on something substantial and her fingers curled around it. She picked up the cast iron pan slowly, contemplating it for a split second, recalling she’d left it out to use for frying bacon. With a noise between a grunt and a yell, she put every bit of long-forgotten frustration into the effort to fling the pan at the door. At the last second she worried she might hit one of the dogs. But there was no canine yip of pain. They’d vacated her immediate area, likely sensing the temper eruption on her horizon before she did. It did bust a satisfying hole through the screen at the top of the door and hit the back porch railing with a musical clang that echoed back to her still burning ears. She blew her hair out of her eyes, ready to tackle the next thing on her long to-do list—this time free of any memory of her last disaster of a relationship. That loser—now officially her ex-husband—had been floating through, setting up some chain restaurant over in Lexington. Memories of his handsome face and lying mouth rolled through her head even as she tried to halt them. A real five-star restaurant, Di, he’d liked to say, usually when they were naked. That and, You should try it, and, I could use thirty thousand of your dollars to make it work, plus, let’s get married! And they were naked a lot. Diana groaned and leaned over the sink for a few seconds then straightened. She had too much to do. There was no time for that kind of useless reminiscing. Damn Dominic Love to hell and back for showing up and sending her into this tailspin. She grabbed her mother’s soup pot, slammed it into the sink and starting filling it from the leaky tap. A breeze lifted the lace curtains at the window, stirring the hair around her face. She smelled the rain a few seconds before it let loose, pounding onto the grass between the kitchen window and the barn. Squinting through the sheeting water she spotted Dominic standing in the middle of the paddock, seemingly impervious to the deluge. Pepper trotted over to see what could possibly make the tall, yellow-haired male human stand in the rain like an idiot. When Dom didn’t respond to nudging, the animal gave every appearance of shrugging and glancing in her direction with a whattaya gonna do look before getting under cover in the barn. Within a very few minutes, Dom’s drenched dress shirt clung to him. She watched, gape-jawed and shivering as he yanked his hair from its tie and shook it free, turning his face to take the full force of the increasing downpour, arms outstretched as if preparing for crucifixion. Then he seemed to disappear in the space of a blink. She turned off the tap, which was overflowing the pot by then anyway, and ran out the door. Heart pounding, ears ringing with well-remembered panic over what she might find, she took the expanse of grass between house and paddock in a few long strides. In her fury at how casually he’d sauntered back into her life that morning, she hadn’t thought to study his eyes very closely. Diana had memorized long ago how Dominic’s deep-brown gaze took a particular edge, a kind of sharp, distinctive sparkle, when he hovered on the verge of a breakdown. The rain soaked all the way to her skin by the time she rounded the post at the paddock. At a burst of lightening, she flinched and started counting, only getting to three seconds before the ear-splitting thunderclap. She squinted, seeking a prone, muddy Dominic. But the paddock was empty. Cursing, she glanced back at the house. It was pretty well futile to run back now that she’d gotten drenched. She mirrored Dom’s earlier stance, letting the rain pound against her cheeks, forehead, and lips. Lightning flashed. Thunder followed. Laughter bubbled up from her throat, only getting louder as she realized what an utter whack job she must be, out there, cackling and drinking rain.
ALSO RELEASING MARCH 2, 2015 #1.5 SAFE LOVE: A BONUS Love Brothers Companion Novella
SYNOPSIS
Antony Ian Love has a lot on his ample shoulders. He owns and runs a small business, is estranged from his teenaged daughter AliceLynn, his beloved mother is dying of cancer, and he’s come face to face with his youngest brother Aiden’s sudden reappearance into the Love family circle. Years of sublimating his true self in deep mourning for his long dead wife have hardened the surly, emotional shell he’s nurtured, but one woman seems to have broken through. Rosalee Norris is the young widow of Antony’s best friend Paul and their mutual sorrow and close friendship has slowly morphed into something more.
Family therapist and recent divorcee Margot Hamilton is dropped into the close-knit Love family by necessity but fate has a real design twist in mind. With her heart and mind closed to anything resembling an emotional connection, Margot is shocked to discover something about Antony the very first time they meet–something she tries, and fails, to resist.
SAFE LOVE, The Love Brothers novella is a tale of love’s realistic complications within the saga of family devotion that runs as wide and deep as the Ohio River–except on Sundays when brothers Antony, Kieran, Dominic and Aiden work out their frustrations on the basketball court, Love brother style.
“I’m going to try a little experiment with you.” She came around the side of the desk and headed to him, just as he jumped to his feet. “Sit down, Antony,” she said, using her best ‘take no shit’ voice as she invaded his personal space with the blindfold in one hand. “It will be all right, I promise.” He shook his head but sat, leaving her standing over him, which gave her a shiver of anticipation that she promptly quelled. His strong arms hung loose at his sides, his jeans clad legs sprawled out, too long for the chair. She stood behind him and placed the black silk blindfold over his eyes. After tying it in a way she knew would be nearly impossible to release, she placed her palms on his broad shoulders. As she had hoped, his thrumming, nervous energy calmed under her touch. Too easy, she thought. Not good, she also thought, tamping down the extreme urge to lean over him and lick her way up his neck. Instead, she spoke into the air over his head. “Now, tell me one thing you miss about Crystal.” “Uh…” he said, clenching and unclenching his fingers. “It’s…um… been such a long time and I…” “One thing Antony, quick, without thinking too hard.” He took a long, shuddering breath. “Her lips.” “Okay, now another thing.” She kept her hands pressed on his shoulders, willing him to be calm and to open up to her. “Her ass,” he ground out. She smiled. “Now we’re getting somewhere. One more thing please.” “Her…” He sucked in a breath. “The way she’d be in charge.” “Hmm…” Margot said, willing herself to stay put, to not place herself in front of him and do what she really wanted. “And what do you mean by that? She balanced the checkbook?” “No,” he whispered. “Okay then. Where was she in charge?” She caught herself even as she said it, implying that Antony’s wife had been “in charge” in a specific place. It cut to the chase, so why not? “I’m, um…not really comfortable with this.” His leg was jittering up and down as tension rose in him again. Margot took a deep breath, cursing her body for betraying her. She squared her shoulders. “I know. That’s why we’re not looking at each other.” Unable to stop herself, she leaned down and put her lips near his ear, sucking in a huge breath of leather, a hint of smoke, cotton and a clean, soapiness that made her want to weep. “It’s all right. I’m in charge in this room so you can just…relax.” She saw him grit his teeth and knew he was trying hard to do the exact opposite of what she was telling him to, so she tightened her grip on his shoulders, not an easy feat considering how firm they were. A point had to be made and she knew her options for making it were limited, since she’d promised herself that this would be nothing more than a therapy method. “The bedroom,” he said, so low she barely heard him. “Crystal was in charge in our bedroom, in private. It was…something we…liked.” Margot straightened, smiling but shaking at the same time, even more confused about how to proceed. Keeping her hands on him, knowing he required at least that much from her, she got herself under some modicum of control and plowed forward. “How was she in charge?” “Oh, I’m pretty sure you know,” he said, surprising her with the sudden strength in his voice. “And I’m also pretty sure I’ve told you enough.” He jumped up, ripped off her un-rip-able blindfold, sending it fluttering to the floor in two strips of black fabric and kicked the chair out of the way. She stumbled, blinking fast, brain spinning and body going into overdrive at the look on his face. He was begging her now, using his unconscious body language, but she could not—she would not—give into the urge to shove him to his knees. Her butt hit the bookshelf, making her stumble and curse. Antony stopped, looming over her and sending out the sort of obvious vibe she’d spent years coming to terms with and assuming she understood—until recently. “Step away from me,” she said. “This isn’t what you think.” He frowned and got even closer, pissing her off and making her inner self rise up and take over. She put her hands on his impossibly firm chest and shoved, forcing him to move out of her personal space so she could breathe and process how quickly she’d lost control of the situation. Typical, she thought with a shudder of disgust. No wonder Gavin left you. You’ve gotten weak. Antony bent down and picked up the pieces of the blindfold. When he held them in his outstretched hands, his expression did nothing to dispel her dismay. “Sorry about this,” he said. She grabbed them, her heart pounding way too fast. “Get out,” she whispered. “Just go. I’m sorry. I can’t…do this.” “You’re the only one I’ve ever told…about Crystal and me and what we…you know, liked.” She willed away the girlie tears. “I know,” she said. “It’s not something you’d share with your brothers.” Antony chuckled and ran a hand around the back of his neck, breaking the tension in the room enough for her to breathe again. “I, um, I’m engaged. And I love her, Rosie, and her boy.” He dropped his gaze to the carpet. Without thinking, Margot tilted his face up, ignoring that strange electrical charge that snapped between them. “It took me nearly four years to even kiss her, Rosie. And we only just… um…” A charming blush rose from his neck to his face, making Margot faint with lust. “I don’t know why in the hell I’m telling you this.”
Amazon best-selling author, beer blogger, brewery marketing expert, mom of three, and soccer fan, Liz Crowe is a Kentucky native and graduate of the University of Louisville currently living in Ann Arbor. She has decades of experience in sales and fund raising, plus an eight-year stint as a three-continent, ex-pat trailing spouse.
Her early forays into the publishing world led to a groundbreaking fiction subgenre, “Romance for Real Life,” which has gained thousands of fans and followers interested less in the “HEA” and more in the “WHA” (“What Happens After?”). More recently she is garnering even more fans across genres with her latest novels, which are more character-driven fiction, while remaining very much “real life.”
With stories set in the not-so-common worlds of breweries, on the soccer pitch, in successful real estate offices and at times in exotic locales like Istanbul, Turkey, her books are unique and told with a fresh voice. The Liz Crowe backlist has something for any reader seeking complex storylines with humor and complete casts of characters that will delight, frustrate and linger in the imagination long after the book is finished. Don’t ever ask her for anything “like a Budweiser” or risk bodily injury.
There is a giveaway for $40 + $10 Amazon gift cards,
choice of an entire series by Liz (ebook only: Stewart Realty OR The Black Jack Gentlemen OR Turkish Delights)
& single book of winner’s choice from Liz 25 book backlist!
Book Loving Pixies 