Title: Etched in Honor Series: Aspen Pack #1 Author: Carrie Ann Ryan
Genre: Paranormal Romance Release Date: May 23, 2022
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NYT Bestselling Author Carrie Ann Ryan returns to the world of paranormal and Pack worlds in the thrilling and dynamic new Aspen Pack series.
The betrayal that had nearly taken out the Aspen Pack has passed, but the ramifications of starting with a new hierarchy are taking their toll on Audrey Porter. Once traitor to the former leaders for trying to save their people, now she’s the Beta of the Pack and must try to hold their shattered remains together. Only she never expected the man from her past to awaken memories long since buried.
Gavin Powers is the new Tracker for the Aspen, yet it feels as though he’s always been part of the Pack, rather than a newcomer trying to heal a people long since thought forgotten. There are secrets within the den that could alter how the world sees shifters, and if Gavin isn’t careful, his attraction to Audrey could ruin everything.
There is a mysterious new enemy on the horizon, one long since vanquished into myth. As the darkness surrounded the Packs is unveiled, it will take a wolf and a lioness to unbury the past and fight for their future—or risk losing everything before it begins.
I dodged the blacked-tipped talons handily but nearly tripped over the wolf to my side. I winced as I jumped over Ronin and didn’t let the fact that he cowered beside me insult my cat. After all, he was a new wolf. And he didn’t know exactly how to fight yet. This wasn’t exactly the training I had planned for the day, but there was no going back now, not when I needed to fight whatever these things were.
It looked like a man, a normal man, with excessive strength. Its eyes were dark-rimmed, but I couldn’t see its irises to tell what color they were. And its fingernails had turned into claws, or perhaps the talons I had once thought. But they looked as if they had been dipped into black ink. The nails were black for sure, but even the fingertips seemed to radiate that darkness.
I had never seen the like, but as I was part of the Aspen Pack, I knew that not all was what it seemed, and there were many unknowns out there.
I let my claws push through my fingertips and raked the nails down the back of one. The man in front of me let out a shocked gasp, then fell to his knees. I didn’t want any of that black tar or whatever it was to touch me. My cat didn’t like the scent of it, and frankly, neither did the human part of me.
I was a lion shifter in the middle of a wolf Pack, a wolf Pack that was like none other.
And my cat already had enough and arched its back up.
There were two of these creatures in front of me, and they didn’t scent of the rogues that we had been fighting for years, nor did they scent of wolf.
I wasn’t sure if they were a witch gone bad or not, but whatever they were, we needed to deal with it before it was too late.
I grumbled a bit, then found a branch to toss at Ronin. Ronin gave me this odd look, his human face looking puzzled, and I sighed before I made sure he held the stick, and I pulled the dagger out of my boot.
I used my claws on the creature’s back, but I wasn’t about to get anywhere near its mouth.
My senses told me it wasn’t a good idea, no matter what it was.
I used the dagger to stab the closest creature at the base of the skull and twisted. It let out a scream, one abruptly cutoff, before it fell to its knees, its body at an odd angle on the ground.
I went to the other one, but it came at Ronin quickly, ignoring me. I cursed under my breath, my cat ready to slice at those who endangered our people. Ronin was under our watch, and we refused to let him get hurt because we weren’t strong enough.
I kept moving towards it, but Ronin smacked the thing with the branch.
Well, that was one way to fight it. Probably not the best way, but we were getting somewhere. At least I hoped so.
Ronin smacked it again, but then the creature gripped the branch and shook it. He tossed Ronin twenty feet back, and my brows winged up.
Well then, that was some strength. He probably could even beat Hayes when it came to strength, and that polar bear was the strongest person I knew.
It seemed it was time for me to stop pussyfooting around, as it were, and take care of this thing.
It was bleeding from the claw marks, and the blood was red, so I counted that as something to take note of, but I wasn’t sure what it meant.
I didn’t want to wait to find out, so I moved forward and tossed my dagger directly into the creature’s eyes.
It screamed, pulling at the dagger but not falling down.
That image would haunt my nightmares for years to come. Considering the number of things that already haunted my nightmares, that was saying something.
“Okay then. Why won’t you die?”
“This is only the beginning,” the creature growled as he pulled the dagger out of its eye.
I swallowed hard. I hadn’t been aware it could talk. I had no idea what it was, but it wasn’t dead from a dagger to the eye, and it stepped forward once, twice, and fell.
Oh good. It was dead. Thank the goddess because I wasn’t sure exactly what I was supposed to do now.
I sighed and then went to take my dagger back.
Ronin sat on the ground and looked up at me before lowering his gaze.
His wolf was in the golden glow surrounding his iris, and my cat wanted to reach out, bat him on the head, and then hug him close.
Ronin wasn’t submissive by any means, nor was he a paternal wolf. He was a dominant, but so in the middle of the chain that he could wobble either way depending on who was around him. And my cat was one of the most dominant shifters in the Pack.
It didn’t matter that the rest of them were wolves except for a select few. My cat was Beta of the Aspen Pack and had held that title longer than any other leader within the Pack. Everyone else had gained their connection and responsibility after everything had changed.
I alone remained.
My heart ached, but I pushed away the pain.
Just because the rest of the hierarchy was relatively new in the past year and a half didn’t mean we were falling or breaking.
I just happened to be the only one with experience.
Experience that was met with hatred in some eyes, but I was good at ignoring that.
I leaned down in front of Ronin and gripped the back of his neck as I would a pup. He looked up at me then, meeting my gaze for an instant before lowering his eyes but not his chin.
My cat purred in happiness. That was showing who was more dominant, but not lowering. And that I counted as progress.
“Are you okay? Did their claws or teeth or anything else out of the ordinary touch you?”
Ronin shook his head. “No, I’m fine. I’m fine, but I messed up.”
I shook my head. “Whatever that was, was far stronger than either one of us was prepared for.”
He looked up at me then for just an instant and blinked in surprise. “You don’t know what that was?”
I didn’t want any more lies in my Pack, not after years of pain and sacrifice and nothing but lies. So I told him the truth. Chase would have to find his own path and tell me exactly what he wanted the rest of the Pack to know in general. After all, he was my Alpha and had once been my friend.
I pushed that thought away and squeezed the back of Ronin’s neck again. The younger wolf relaxed marginally, and I knew he liked the action. “I don’t know what that was. We’re going to find out, though. It was strong, so strong that I had to use my dagger rather than my claws or strength. You did what you could, and while you aren’t ready to hold a weapon on you at all times like that, we’re getting there.”
“I nearly tripped you,” he grumbled.
“We were just finishing a long training session when those whatever they were slithered out of the trees as they did. They came on us out of nowhere, and we’re both exhausted after our training.”
He wrinkled his nose, and I knew he smelled the lie on that.
“Okay, you were exhausted. I’m tired. Does that make your wolf feel better?” I asked, putting a lighthearted note in my tone.
Ronin nodded. “Yes. Sorry. I’m still getting used to all these scents and everything.”
My heart ached for him, and my cat wanted to reach out and lick his face just to make sure that he felt better. Doing that in human form with a new wolf, one that didn’t know me well, was probably not the best thing.
“Everything’s okay. We are going to figure out what these are and put them in the basement so that way our Healer can take a look at it.”
“Maybe the other Packs know?”
That made me smile. “Hopefully, the others do. They’ve all dealt with many strange things.”
“Well, we have our own strangeness,” Ronin said with a bit of pride, and I felt it too. The Aspen Pack was unique in that we were not just wolves. Other than a few people who held our secrets, the rest of the world thought the only shifters out there were wolves. After all, they were the ones that had been forced to be revealed to the public. And after a war and scary end of times, humans and wolves lived in a decent harmony. The fact that the government had wolf sympathizers helped. Any scary laws that could have restricted the movements and freedoms of anyone magical in nature were now scrubbed off the table indefinitely.
Wolves and witches were able to live freely.
Cats and bears, on the other hand, were unheard of.
I knew of a couple of cats that roamed the earth as individuals, but I was the only lioness that I knew of near here other than Aimee. There was a lynx shifter as well, and she was my best friend, but other than that, it was just me here.
And there was only one bear that I knew of.
Perhaps there were other secret Packs that held them, and I had the hope in my heart that there were. But even most wolves didn’t know we existed, and that had been for a reason years before.
Now I wasn’t even sure what the reason could be.
I looked down at the two dead bodies next to me, my cat hissing, and ran my hand over Ronin’s back. Then I stood up and helped him do the same.
“We should head back into the den, behind the wards. But we need to tell the others what happened.”
There was no doubt that Chase as Alpha would be able to feel that something had indeed happened.
The others would as well since Steele was the Enforcer, and he could feel outside threats to the Pack. This just felt like such a different threat that I wasn’t sure he would be able to tell what it was.
Cruz might be able to tell as well, but he was the Heir and felt so lost that I wasn’t even sure he would know to respond at all. It didn’t matter that he was a dominant wolf. We were all so far out of our depths, it was a little scary.
I rubbed at my chest and then was reminded again that I wasn’t the only cat shifter around. At least the only lioness around. I wanted someone of my own kind, even if it didn’t make sense. I should see Aimee. And check on her. She was a lioness like me because of what I had to do to save her.
I shook my head, remembering the Talon Pack lioness who now lived in a Pack of wolves as I did.
She was strong, mated to the Healer, and could handle anything on her own.
At least, that’s what I figured. It wasn’t like I could truly speak to her often these days, not with my needing to be with the Aspens as much as I was.
I turned to see Steele coming towards me, a glare on his face as always. I didn’t know him well, though that was only because I had to hide my true loyalties for so long that I didn’t know my Pack as I should.
He gave me a tight nod as he looked around at his lieutenants. “What happened here?”
I raised a brow because he wasn’t as dominant as I was. The only person that was within this Pack was Chase, and even then, some days, it didn’t feel like it.
Steele just shook his head, his own wolf understanding that he didn’t get to growl at me like that in front of others. We were all still finding our place, figuring out how to work together as a cohesive unit. The fact that I hadn’t had a cohesive unit with the previous hierarchy spoke volumes. We were taking our cues from the Redwoods and Talons. But even then, the Redwoods had decades of learning to work together and were an actual family. The hierarchy before the current generation was still around, guiding them. They weren’t elders per se, but they were a tight unit.
The Talons, on the other hand, had to rebuild from the ground up at one point, and so we were trying to follow their lead. Much like the Central Pack was doing. Though their Pack had been completely demolished, only coming back with a blessing from the actual moon goddess, the goddess of wolves.
I shook my head and looked over at Steele. “I don’t know. I’m trying to figure it out myself.”
I explained about the dark claws and the fact that it had spoken even after we had shoved a dagger into its eye. Steele raised a brow, then pulled out his phone. “We should talk with the Redwoods and the Talons. They might have seen something when they were down south.”
I frowned, then remembered that nearly a year ago the Tracker for the Redwood Pack had gone down south to meet another Pack of all things and had come up with something similar. The dark smudges and black bite marks.
“Do you think it’s that? I thought that those were genetically modified rogues or whatever that they had found.”
“Not exactly. The dead bodies that piled up happened to be because of that rogue, the wolf that had gotten out thanks to the drug that is no longer a problem within our borders. However, the black marks seemed to be something different.”
I cursed under my breath. “I didn’t know that.”
“I only think I know it because I was talking with Gina.”
Gina was the Enforcer of the Redwood Pack, his counterpart, and had more experience than he did, but only barely.
“Okay. I’ll talk with Chase then. Do you guys have this settled?”
“We do. We’ll meet up with Wren.”
A smile slid over my face at the mention of my best friend’s name. Wren was a lynx shifter and our Healer.
As long as she was connected to the Pack, she could use those bonds to heal those around her. She was also an MD and kept up with her medical studies throughout her years. She had been a doctor before the goddesses had called on her to become the Healer of our Pack. It had fit, and now she worked on the mystical side and the medical side.
“Hopefully, she’ll figure it out, and hey, I hear there’s a new geneticist joining the Pacific Northwest Pack Alliance.”
I grinned. “Is that the name that you’re going with now?” I asked.
Steele rolled his eyes. “I think Cruz is having a little too much fun with the other Packs forming names. But since we’re working so close together, the Pacific Northwest Pack Alliance seems to be working with the four of us.”
That made me smile because it wasn’t just the Redwoods and the Talons any longer. The Aspens were going to bring things to the table, and I knew the Centrals were doing the same. Even though the Centrals had a dark past with the Redwoods, we had just as much of a dark one with the Talons.
My stomach ached at that thought, and my cat scratched at me, so I pushed that thought away and sighed. “I need to go meet with Chase.”
“I take it training’s over then?” he asked, looking at Ronin.
Ronin lowered his head, and if he were in wolf form, his tail would’ve been tucked between his legs. I moved forward, went on my tiptoes, and ran my hand through his hair. “You’re fine. We’ll finish up the day after tomorrow. I know you have your studies.”
The kid, and he really was a kid, only in his early twenties, beamed at me. “Yes, true. Thank you so much for your help. I know I’m getting better, right?”
“You are. You fought well today. We weren’t expecting this, but we made it out because we had each other. So thank you.”
His eyes widened before he walked away, speaking with another wolf his age that was a Lieutenant. That Lieutenant was far stronger in dominance but had just an edge of maternal nature to her that she seemed to ease Ronin’s wolf.
“You’re good with him.”
I looked at Steele. “I’m trying. Sometimes I feel like I have no idea what I’m doing.”
He swallowed hard. “I feel like that too. Even though you’ve been Beta for longer, you had to be a different Beta before.”
I knew he’d said it as a compliment, but it felt like a slap nonetheless. “I know. But we have new wolves joining the Pack every week, it seems.”
“We do. And that’s something that Chase is going to want to talk to you about,” he added with a grimace.
“What?”
“Allister’s here.”
I blinked at his mention of the Thames Pack Alpha. The Thames Pack was over by the actual Thames River in England. “I didn’t realize he was visiting.”
“He wanted to meet with our alliance, or whatever else he wants to call it. And in doing so, he brought with him a lone wolf that’s been with them for a while but wanted to come back to the United States. And since the Centrals and the Aspens are pretty much recruiting for Pack members at this point, he figured this guy would work out well with us.”
“Oh. Okay. What does it have to do with me?”
“As Beta, Chase wants you to help him get acclimated to the den. He’s going to blood him in later today.”
“Him? Just one?”
“There are two women that are joining the Central Pack, from what I can tell. But we get the Tracker.”
My lion perked up, her tail swishing back and forth. “He’s a Tracker?”
“He is, and has the talent for it, and since our Pack doesn’t actually have one as part of the hierarchy, Chase says the moon goddess will bestow the new guy with the title.”
A Tracker was someone who could follow the Pack lines and use extrasensory abilities to find anyone within the Pack. If magic or other impediments were in the way, it didn’t always work, but a Tracker was great to have. We hadn’t had one in a decade. Not since our former Alpha had killed him for daring to disobey him.
I swallowed hard, thinking of another Tracker that I’d met in my lifetime. One I didn’t want to think about too hard because it hurt even to imagine.
“I guess since I’m the Beta, it’s my job to see to the needs of the Pack.”
Steele saluted me as he turned back to work with the dead bodies that I had left behind, and I shook my hair out before making my way towards the den.
The den was situated in the northern part of California, amongst the Redwood trees, much like the Redwood namesake Pack that was a little more north of us. We took over Washington, Oregon, and California once you put all of the Pack territories together. We were a large group, but insular.
Our wards protected the den itself, but a lot of our Pack lived outside the den, within the communities of humans and witches. That was how it should be. A den was a place to come home to.
It hadn’t been like that for so long that it almost felt odd to think that now this den could be healthy once again.
I walked through the wards, past the sentries, and let the magic settle over my skin. My cat preened, enjoying the tingles of magic, and I shook my head at it.
Silly cat.
She wanted to run, to let the world look at her glorious golden pelt, but I ignored her. We had things to do. We could laze in the sun later.
I turned the corner, my cat perking up, an odd scent hitting her nose.
I frowned, wondering why it scented so familiar.
“Audrey. You’re here. Good,” Chase, my Alpha, stated as I came towards him, but my heart stuttered, my skin breaking out into a cold sweat. I couldn’t focus. Not on him.
It couldn’t be.
This wasn’t him.
It was a ghost, a death. This was nothing. I was dreaming. Maybe I had been bitten by whatever I just fought, and now I was dead.
Because this couldn’t be true.
“Audrey, you know Allister, and this is Gavin. He’ll be a new member of the Aspen Pack.”
Gavin. That was the name of the stranger, the stranger with the eyes.
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.
40 and (Tired of) Faking It Silver Foxes of Black Wolf’s Bluff #1 Ella Sheridan
Genre: Contemporary Romance Release Date: May 31, 2022
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Who knew life after forty could get more exciting than the sparklers atop her decadent dark chocolate birthday cake?
A series of lackluster boyfriends led Lily to the ultimate ex. Not only was he terrible in bed, but he told everyone in their small town that it was her fault. Struggling to be seen as successful as the first female mayor is hard enough, but the juicy rumors only give the patriarchy a good reason to keep her in her place.
She’s turning forty, and tired of pretending that her ho-hum life isn’t lacking the important things: love, commitment, and some seriously intense orgasms.
Finding success away from the family who’d hated him consumed John David’s life. He’s back in Black Wolf’s Bluff, but not to stay. He’ll use his skills as a real estate developer to transform the family estate that held his most hated memories into a high-end resort, the kind that would raise the profile of this backwoods town. He’ll need the help of the “lady mayor,” but in return, maybe he can teach her about more than five-star resorts and lavish lifestyles.
He needs to remember he’s here to do a job, then get back to his real life, which doesn’t include lessons in small-town hospitality, quirky residents, or local politics…and definitely doesn’t include seriously intense orgasms with the “lady mayor” who’s nothing like he expected.
Welcome to Black Wolf’s Bluff, where turning forty doesn’t mean your life is over. It might just mean the spark that can light up everything is right around the corner.
Ella Sheridan never fails to take her readers to the dark edges of love and back again. Strong heroines are her signature, and her heroes span the gamut from hot rock stars to alpha bodyguards and everywhere in between. Ella never pulls her punches, and her unique combination of raw emotion, hot sex, and action leave her readers panting for the next release.
Born and raised in the Deep South, Ella writes romantic suspense, erotic romance, and hot BDSM contemporaries. Start anywhere—every book may be read as a standalone, or begin with book one in any series and watch the ties between the characters grow.
★ Danger is rife and rules don’t apply in the ASSASSINS romantic suspense/romantic thriller series.
★ Anything can happen in the shadows of a sultry Southern night. Explore the heat with the SOUTHERN NIGHTS romantic suspense series.
★ Being over forty never felt as hot as it does in the small-town SILVER FOXES OF BLACK WOLF’S BLUFF series.
★ Dark desires come to the fore in IF ONLY, a BDSM contemporary series.
★ Secrets and sex abound in the SECRETS contemporary romance series.
“The perfect blend of suspense and romance.” – Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews
“Ms. Sheridan writes suspense that grabs you and won’t let go.” – Tea and Book
“The perfect kind of naughty…with [characters] that have great chemistry.” – Alpha Book Club
“A great plot, likable characters, witty banter, and seductively wicked love scenes—the perfect recipe!” – Blogging by Liza
Don’t miss a release! Sign up for Ella’s newsletter to find out about new releases and sales: ellasheridanauthor.com. To get to know her, join her Facebook group, Ella’s Escape Room!
Title: The Ones He Left Behind Author: H. D’Agostino
Genre: Second Chance Military Romance Release Date: May 31, 2022
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Ethan has been my whole world for most of my life. From our childhood antics to our promise to love each other ‘til death do us part’. I’ve never known life without him— until now.
When the soldiers knocked on my door, my life forever changed. They stood there in their dress blues, and their words shattered my world.
Ten years have passed, and not much has changed. The pain is less, thanks to the gift Ethan left behind— our son. I’ve found happiness in the small things in life. Everything was good until Ethan’s best friend, Cooper, showed up.
They enlisted together, went to battle together, and then he disappeared. I haven’t heard from him in ten years. Why is he back now, and what does he want with me?
Heather D’Agostino is an avid reader turned Bestselling Author of the Contemporary Romance Series The Broken Series, The Shattered Series, The Second Chances Series, The Cook Brothers Series, and Romantic Suspense series The Witness Series.
She attended the University of North Carolina at Charlotte where she received a Bachelor’s of Arts in Elementary Education with a minor in Mathematics.
She currently lives in Central New York with her husband, two children, dog, and two cats. When she’s not writing she can usually be found at the track, soccer field, or one of the many other places that she plays ‘Supermom’
USA Today best-selling author Leslie Pike, returns with an enduring story of love and family. The HEA World, Swift Series crossover is a passionate tale that explores the ties that bind.
Grumpy Landon Podesta is on a reluctant hero’s journey.
The visit home begins with shielding a good woman from a bad man’s intentions. Followed by becoming caretaker for a recuperating father, his beloved biker bar, and the rundown homestead.
The break in the clouds? A stubborn memory of the dancing woman. And how it felt being her protector.
Widow Kim Ripley knows herself and the life goals she intends on reaching.
Get son Hunter through college, keep the family home in Smyrna, find a fulfilling job.
Being rescued in a bathroom by a brooding bartender was not part of the plan. But a freight train barreling right for you is hard to ignore.
Until Landon is part of the Aurora Rose Reynolds’ s Happily Ever Alpha World. If you loved Until July, then you will want to read Until Landon.
USA TODAY bestselling author, Leslie Pike, has loved expressing herself through the written word since she was a child. The first romance “book” she wrote was at ten years old. The scene, a California Beach. The hero, a blonde surfer. The ending, happily forever after.
Leslie’s passion for film and screenwriting eventually led her to Texas for eight years, writing for a prime time CBS series. She’s traveled the world as part of film crews, from Africa to Israel, New York to San Francisco. Now she finds her favorite creative adventures taking place in her home, in Southern California, writing Contemporary Romance.
Aurora Rose Reynolds and her husband, Sedaka Reynolds, created Boom Factory Publishing to use their experiences to expand and promote upcoming and existing indie authors.
With over five years in the industry, and millions of books sold worldwide, we know what it takes to become a successful author and we will use this knowledge to take our authors to the next level.
“As a successful hybrid author in this ever evolving industry, I know that you’re only as successful as the team that is promoting you!”– Aurora Rose Reynolds
Title: One Way Back to Me Series: The Wilder Brothers #1 Author: Carrie Ann Ryan
Genre: Contemporary Romance Release Date: April 18, 2022
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When the Wilder brothers retire from the military and are forced to learn a new life, things get interesting in the start to a brand new steamy, contemporary romance series from NYT Bestselling Author Carrie Ann Ryan.
I never thought I’d see her again. After one dance at a wedding, I knew she was for me. Only things didn’t work out that way, and I had to watch her walk away with the man she loved instead.
Years later, I’m in desperate need of a wedding planner—not for myself, but for my company. My five brothers and I need to get our new Wilder Resort off the ground, and Alexis is the only one who can help.
Yet the moment we see each other again, we can’t deny the passion or connection. And if we’re not careful, our pasts just might burn through our present.
The anticipation was high for this book after I’d read the prequel and I can say that I wasn’t disappointed.
Set a couple of years after Alexis and Eli initially meet we find the pair in a bit of a role reversal. Life for Alexis has hit a dip while the Wilder brother is beginning to find his way with the retreat that he and his brothers now own.
There’s a lot of drama in this one. I’m not usually a fan of drama or angst in my reads, life has enough of it at times without it being in the books I like to read but in One Way Back to Me it added to the story though I must admit to being at a loss as to why some of it happened. Yeah, it was explained to a point in the book but I still didn’t understand some thought processes.
Eli and Alexis worked as a couple, even though she had some reservations about having a relationship with one of her bosses.
I’m intrigued by Evan and Kendall and am so looking forward to reading about them!!!
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.
Title: The Dragon’s Bride Series: A Deal With a Demon #1 Author: Katee Robert
Genre: Monster Romance Release Date: March 29, 2022
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Briar Rose might have a name out of a storybook, but she learned at a very young age that no prince was coming to save her. She’ll have to save herself. Unfortunately, even that is an impossible task in her current situation—trapped in a terrifying marriage to a dangerous man.
Desperate times call for desperate measures, which is how she finds herself making a deal with a demon. Freedom from her husband…in return for seven years of service.
She expects the service to be backbreaking and harsh. She doesn’texpect to be put on an auction block in a room full of literal monsters and sold to the highest bidder.
To Sol.
A dragon.
He might seem kinder than his fearsome looks imply, but she knows better than to trust the way he wants to take care of her, or how invested he is in her pleasure. In her experience, if something seems too good to be true, it certainly is.
Falling for Sol is out of the question. She’s suffered enough, and she has no intention of staying in this realm…even if she leaves her heart behind when she returns to her normal life.
Katee Robert is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance and romantic suspense. Entertainment Weekly calls her writing “unspeakably hot.” Her books have sold over a million copies. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, children, a cat who thinks he’s a dog, and two Great Danes who think they’re lapdogs.
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.
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.
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.
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