Friday, 5 November 2021

BLOG TOUR & REVIEW: Before and After You by Hope Ellis

Before and After You, an all-new heartfelt small town romance from Hope Ellis, is LIVE in Kindle Unlimited!

Leigh D’Alessandro is a fighter. She fought to escape her dysfunctional family, to end a soul-killing marriage, and to build a new life in a small Tennessee town. When the fate of the community hospital she works for is threatened, she’s primed and ready for battle. What she can’t fight any longer is her unshakable attraction to her best friend’s brother, who has a notorious reputation and triggers all her worst fears about trust and betrayal.

Walker Leffersbee is a lover. At least that’s the reputation he’s built in his hometown. Scion of a prosperous Tennessee banking family, he’s a known ladies’ man and a confirmed bachelor. His hands are full as he juggles competing demands from his family’s bank and his growing property renovation business. The last thing he needs is to give in to his long-standing craving for his sister’s headstrong and hot-tempered best friend. Especially because she’s the only one who knows the secret that threatens to upend his life.

When a home renovation project brings them too close for comfort, they both struggle to withstand the growing heat. As they grow closer helping each other navigate family minefields, Walker learns that love is not a four-letter word, and Leigh realizes that some battles are meant to be lost.

But Walker’s secret is the one thing that could keep them apart, unless they both decide to fight for the love they never looked for but now can’t live without.

‘Before and After You’ is a contemporary romance and can be read as a standalone. Book #2 in the Leffersbee series, Green Valley Chronicles, Penny Reid Book Universe.

Caroline's Review
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I adored this story!

”We were always locked in some kind of mental combat, our traded barbs and jabs never quite masking the powerful current of attraction between us.”

Leigh D’Alessandro and Walker Leffersbee have always had a slightly prickly relationship. She’s sassy, irreverent and direct, and he’s smooth, flirty and gives as he good as he gets. She’s been burnt in love and is a commitment-phobe. He likes to play the field and is nowhere near ready to settle down. However, a house renovation has them living together and there’s no longer ignoring the chemistry and attraction that’s always been there since the first moment they met. Walker is suddenly rethinking his stance on settling down, but he’s got his work cut out for him overcoming Leigh’s aversion to love and relationships.

”I wondered how the sensitive spot behind her ear would taste, how it would feel to sink my teeth into that smooth skin, to lick away the sting of the imprint left behind.”

The chemistry between Leigh and Walker was electric and undeniable. They were so hot and sensual together. I loved their banter, their directness, and the unfailing support they gave each other. All the while they dealt with family and work issues, I loved how they relaxed in each other’s company, how the other made their day brighter. Their fall into love was natural and beautiful, even with the resistance. This story was also so emotional as both dealt with personal issues, past and present. My heartstrings were well and truly tugged! Such a well-written story. Absolutely loved it!

Grab your copy TODAY!

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/3CMBcmK

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3yUr4Gc

Amazon CA: https://amzn.to/3AZu1WL

Amazon AU: https://amzn.to/3k7jp13

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3klssvE

Start the Leffersbee series of standalones TODAY!

Been There Done That is now available in KU!

https://bit.ly/3my7gVv

Excerpt

I stopped in my tracks, my breath catching in my throat.

Walker Leffersbee.

Damn it.

Indecision glued my feet to the floor, halting my progress as I stared at his frozen profile. I briefly considered turning the opposite way and retracing the same route I’d used coming down.

It wasn’t that I didn’t want to see him.

That wasn’t the case.

Well, not exactly.

But there were several reasons why his sudden appearance was damned inconvenient.

First, Walker was the older brother of my best friend in the world, Zora Leffersbee. But I didn’t consider Walker to be my brother, not by any stretch of the imagination. Through all the years we’d known each other, our relationship had continually evolved. He was as supportive of me as he was of Zora. But we both knew he didn’t think of me as a sister.

Which led to the second problem.

Walker Leffersbee was sexy. Sexy as hell. The kind of sexy that always took my brain captive with the grimy bass line of a 90s R&B song and thickened my blood for the heat of inevitable battle. We were always locked in some kind of mental combat, our traded barbs and jabs never quite masking the powerful current of attraction between us. He would have been easy to ignore if my attraction to him were based solely on his physicality. I’d bounced on more than one pretty man in my day and managed to keep my brain cells unscrambled. But he was hot as hell with all those intriguing layers. Damn it. I didn’t have brain space to deal with Walker right now.

“Leigh?”

I stiffened, surfacing from my thoughts. Walker straightened and ambled closer. He moved with the lumbering grace exclusive to big men, a very slight bowleggedness lending his walk a kind of deliberate, sexy swagger. Advancing, he squinted slightly as if trying to make me out in the muted lighting of the hospital’s basement floor. He stopped only three feet away from me.

I disciplined my eyes, sternly instructed them away from the just-right fit of Walker’s huge shoulders in his white broadcloth shirt. I did not allow my eyes to notice how the tip of his conservative navy tie arrowed the path to his tapered waist and the slightest imprint of powerful thighs just visible in his dark slacks. I refused to dwell on how beautifully his perfectly sculpted dark goatee contrasted with the deep mahogany of his skin.

My fingers clenched against the empty wish for a cigarette.

He wasn’t nearly as circumspect, making no effort to disguise the frank assessment in the gaze that slowly crawled upwards from my clogs in slow degrees. I didn’t miss the banked heat in his eyes when his stare finally met mine.

“Golden Boy,” I said, feeling a perverse pleasure at having launched the opening salvo and earning the answering curl at the corner of his lip. He hated that name, I knew. Hated it whenever I reminded of him of who he was. Son of the richest man in the county, heir apparent to a growing banking empire in Tennessee. Why this bothered him, I’d never know. It was hardly a secret, not with him and his father on billboards advertising his family’s bank around Knoxville and Nashville. But that didn’t make it any less fun to pick at him.

“Umbridge.”

I feigned surprise. “What, have you exhausted all the Disney villains? We’re into the Harry Potter lexicon now?”

His answering smile was sharp and wicked. “You know, there are just so many names for the devil. I don’t think I’ll ever come up empty-handed when it comes to you.”

“Good to know. What are you doing here?” I flicked a pointed glance at the doorway to Radiology he’d evidently just come through, and I noticed the orange paper had somehow disappeared into his pocket by the time he greeted me.

And … cue the third complication.

Walker Leffersbee and I shared a secret, and seeing him here had just made it much more, well, complicated.

About Hope Ellis

USA Today bestselling author Hope Ellis is a health outcomes researcher by day and writes romances featuring sexy nerds by night. She hopes to one day conquer her habit of compulsively binge-watching The Office.

Find Hope Ellis online

Facebook: http://bit.ly/2PszyQ6

Twitter: http://bit.ly/3c6Awey

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Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2I2xDxK

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RELEASE BLITZ & REVIEW: King of Hearts by Ashley Munoz

🖤🖤 ℍ𝕠𝕥 ℕ𝕖𝕨 ℝ𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕖 🖤🖤

𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀, 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝟮 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗯𝘆 𝗔𝘀𝗵𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝗠𝘂𝗻𝗼𝘇 𝗶𝘀 𝗟𝗜𝗩𝗘! 𝗗𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲!

#𝟭-𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆!

BLURB

Failing out of college wasn’t on my dream board.

Neither was getting knocked up.

Just the same, here I am, ready to start another year at Rake Forge University, pregnant and currently homeless.

And it looks like I’m not the only one who’s returned.

Juan Hernandez, my sister’s best friend, saunters through campus with that granite jaw and those raven strands of hair kissing his brow, his whiskey eyes searing everyone to ash.

I’ve avoided him for months, but the second he sees me, the jig is up.

The first thing he does is steal my lips in a ravishing kiss.

A punishment.

The second thing he does is rescue me from sleeping in my car.

A lesson.

Living with him will never work, not with how brash his words are, how hot his constant stare is, or how he touches me.

His fingers brand my skin as if he owns me, and on some level, I know he wants to.

What he doesn’t know is that I belong to another man…and come my twenty-first birthday, I’ll return to him whether I want to or not.

*This is book two in the Rake Forge University series, it is recommended that you read Wild Card, Book One first.*

Add to your Goodreads TBR: https://bit.ly/KingOfHearts-GR

Grab Wild Card, Book 1 in the Rake Forge University series today!

➞ Amazon Universal: mybook.to/WildCardAM

Caroline's Review
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

This was a hot, tense read tinged with danger and heart-pounding emotion.

”Sunshine, silk, and sadness – that was what this girl was made of, and for some f*cked reason, it called to me.”

Taylor Beck has crushed on her sister’s bestie, Juan Hernandez, for years and when she finally plucks up the courage to kiss him, she realises that there is too much at stake to pursue something more with him. So, begins a total love-hate relationship between them. However, no matter how hard she pushes him away, he always seems to be there for her.

”I knew he wanted me. I could feel it, like a crackle of electricity in the air, or like the way the sky darkened before a storm.”

Juan hates his attraction to his bestie’s shallow sister but, every now and then, he has glimpses of the woman she truly is under her careless, easy façade. When they find themselves living at close quarters, they slowly begin to peel back layers of their pasts, although they are both riddled by doubts and mistrust to brave putting their hearts on the line.

”Just stay with me. For as long as you are able. Give me your stars, your moons, and all your light.”

This was a fabulous story! I’ve never come across a couple who were so mired in misconception and assumptions. Honestly, I just wanted to give them both a good, hard shake sometimes, but their emotions completely captivated me. Their attraction was absolutely scorching but they both had a lot on the line to just throw caution to the wind, without considering the consequences of their actions. Taylor was trying to keep him safe, and he only wanted to save her. I loved his devotion, protectiveness and sacrifice. I loved her good heart and determination to ensure he followed his dreams. This story was packed with hot moments, a thrilling edge of danger, and beautiful hearts. Adored it!

PURCHASE LINKS

➞ Amazon Universal: https://books2read.com/u/4A5AX0

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ashley was born in Nebraska, but raised in Oregon where she lives with her four children and husband. If she's not helping her husband with DIY projects around the house, she's writing or sneaking off to a corner to read.

AUTHOR LINKS

Thursday, 4 November 2021

RELEASE BLITZ: Sweeper by Amy Daws

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Daphney Clarke can’t stand the cocky footballer next door. But after one steamy hallway kiss, Zander is convinced that “neighbors-with-benefits” would be a much better game to play than “neighbor wars”. Only question is, who will be the winner? Download now or read in Kindle Unlimited

Title: SWEEPER

Author: Amy Daws

Genre: Sports Romance

Release Date: November 4, 2021

Cover Designer: Amy Daws

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The cocky footballer next door has some serious game…luckily, Daphney Clarke knows how to play. Zander Williams is the hot new American determined to take European football by storm. His head is so big, it barely fits under his backwards hat. And when he’s recruited to one of the biggest up and coming clubs in London, he’s certain to make his name known. Managing the building where they live is only one of Daphney’s many jobs. It’s why she has zero patience for the obnoxious American on the other side of the wall who makes the most ungodly noises and likes to answer his door in nothing but a pink tea towel. Tensions build and after one steamy hallway kiss, neighbor wars quickly shifts into neighbors-with-benefits and that’s a battle they both intend to win. But Daphney doesn’t know the real reason Zander is in London and now she’s stuck in the middle of a game she didn’t even know she was playing.

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Buy Now

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★★★★★ Sweeper is undoubtedly a top 2021 read. A captivating blend of searing chemistry, a charming alpha hero, an exceptionally witty heroine, amusing banter, bursting with emotion, laughter, giggles, heartbreak tears, happiness tears, and steam, inside a world that has become a fictional home, with a family that has embedded themselves in my soul. Their love shines through you long after you reach the end. -Goodreads Reviewer

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“Boop, boop, boop,” a deep voice echoes much too close to my face, and my eyes fly open in terror as I catch sight of Zander Williams’s finger by my nose. “What are you doing?” I exclaim, scrambling up off my sofa and standing behind the arm of it to put some space between us. I hold my chunky blanket out in front of me like it’s somehow going to protect me from the psychopath currently standing in my flat. Zander holds his hands up defensively, his eyes wide. “I didn’t mean to scare you!” I blink back at him as my sleep-fogged mind clears, and I take in the surroundings of my flat. I reach up and touch my nose. “Did you just touch my nose?” “I booped it.” An awkward smile spreads across his face as he grips the back of his neck. “You were sleeping so cutely. I thought it’d be a funny way to wake you up.” “Funny?” I repeat, forking my fingers into my messy bun and glancing down to make sure I wasn’t having another wardrobe malfunction in front of him. “You thought it would be funny to break into my flat and touch me?” His face falls. “Well, when you put it like that, it sounds creepy.”

Read Now on Amazon or with Kindle Unlimited—> https://geni.us/Sweeper

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Check out Amy's Facebook page for an awesome giveaway!

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Football stadium in lights

Even though Sweeper reads great as a standalone, you’re going to want to meet all of the colorful secondaries that pop up in this book! Binge the Harris Brothers Series in Kindle Unlimited or dive right into Sweeper, which reads great as a standalone!

⚽️⚽️⚽️

Amy Daws is an Amazon Top 13 bestselling author of sexy, contemporary romance novels. She enjoys writing love stories that take place in America, as well as across the pond in England. When Amy is not writing in a tire shop waiting room, she's watching Gilmore Girls, or singing karaoke in the living room with her daughter while Daddy smiles awkwardly from a distance. For more of Amy's work, visit: http://www.amydawsauthor.com

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RELEASE BLITZ & REVIEW: His Hollow Heart by Rachel Leigh

HIS HOLLOW HEART (Fallen Kingdom Book 1) by Rachel Leigh

Release Date: November 4th

NOW AVAILABLE!!! FREE IN KU!!!

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/31rYUqi

Universal: http://mybook.to/hishollowheart

ENTER RACHEL’S RELEASE DAY GIVEAWAY!

http://bit.ly/hhhrelease

Add to Goodreads:

http://bit.ly/gr_HHH

Blurb:

Bella

A pact made.

Two orphans who vowed to never part.

I was selfish—for once, I had to be.

The last time I saw Callum he was standing at the dormer window as I sat in the back seat of the car.

His dark eyes foreign to me.

The hatred that radiated from his glare shot through me with more force than a silver bullet.

In a matter of minutes he had become a stranger.

No longer my best friend.

He was now a boy with a hollow heart who was headed down a dark path.

A path I knew I’d never cross again.

Or, so I thought.

Callum

We had a deal—always stay together.

The day Bella left, I vowed I would find her. And when I did, she would feel what I felt as I watched her pull away into a new life, with a new family.

Leaving me behind to endure a life that was wrapped inside the hands of a monster.

It’s been twelve years, but I’ve finally found her.

Now it’s time for her to bask in the darkness she’s created inside of me.

Caroline's Review
🌟🌟🌟🌟

Overall, I enjoyed this story.

”I lost you once and I will not lose you again.”

Bella and Cal were devoted childhood best friends in a foster home, until Cal was betrayed and Bella broke her promise and left him behind to live with her adopted family. Now, a man of power and wealth, he is finally able to have his revenge on all those who had wronged him.

“His way with words is repulsive, but the chemistry that sizzles between us when we touch is undeniable.”

The plot of this story was really good. There were a lot of secrets to unearth and a backstory that was disturbing and heartbreaking. Bella and Cal had such an amazing connection as children - they shared a love that was innocent but with the potential to turn into something more as adults. In the present, Bella was at a turning point in her life as she searched for more. Cal was bent on his revenge. He was cold, calculating and cruel, although I don’t really think he was prepared for how he was going to feel once Bella was with him. Her presence, defiance and passion slowly broke down his barriers. I felt a huge amount of sympathy for him and his suffering. He was a man who seemed to have a lot of control but the story showed that maybe that wasn’t quite true. He wasn’t quite the king of his domain as he didn’t really trust anyone, and therefore couldn’t control everything. My heart hurt for his solitary, loveless existence. Bella was pretty feisty, determined and brave, and not a little impetuous! My main criticism with the story was the delivery. I found it slightly staccato, for want of a better word. It was in the way the characters behaved towards each other and the change in their emotions. I felt that it could have been smoother and more natural, as I thought there was a disconnect between the main characters, which was expected considering the time span since they’d last met. However, there was a feeling of forcing them into a more emotional connection to match their physical one. Otherwise, a great read and I’m looking forward to the conclusion of Bella and Cal’s story.

About the Author:

Rachel Leigh is a USA Today bestselling author of new adult and contemporary romance. You can expect twists and turns, bad boys, strong heroines, and an HEA.

Rachel lives in leggings, overuses emojis, and survives on books and coffee. Writing is her passion. Her goal is to take readers on an adventure with her words, while showing them that even on the darkest days, love conquers all.

Connect w/Rachel:

Website: www.rachelleighauthor.com

Bookbub: bookbub.com/profile/rachel-leigh

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19155638.Rachel_Leigh

IG: https://instagram.com/rachelleighauthor

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rachelleighauthor/

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Rachel-Leigh/e/B07SSK8P2F

Readers Group: http://bit.ly/rl_ramblers

Rachel's Ramblings Newsletter: https://bit.ly/rl_news

Wednesday, 3 November 2021

RELEASE BLITZ: Sinning Like Hell by Trilina Pucci

❤️‍🔥 ℍ𝕠𝕥 ℕ𝕖𝕨 ℝ𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕖 🔥❤️

𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗨𝗦𝗔 𝗧𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗮 𝗣𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗶 𝗶𝘀 𝗟𝗜𝗩𝗘! 𝗗𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗽𝗶𝗰 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝘂𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗻'𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿-𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆!

𝗗𝘂𝗲𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲!
#𝟭-𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆

BOOK BLURB

USA TODAY bestselling author, Trilina Pucci brings you the finale of Sutton and Calder’s heart wrenching love story.

We’ll never run away.

There won’t be stars or a blue sky filled with heaven staring down on us.

All we have is death and destruction.

A life sentence, forced to survive within the absence of our love.

Until five years later.

“Death isn’t waiting for Calder—it’s listening for his instruction.”

Sinning like Hell is the continuation of book one, Just like Heaven.

Book One must be read to understand Book Two.

PURCHASE LINKS

Amazon Universal link: https://geni.us/slhduet

Amazon US: https://bit.ly/SLH-US

Amazon UK: https://bit.ly/SLH-UK

Amazon AU: https://bit.ly/SLH-AU

Amazon CA: https://bit.ly/SLH-CA

Catch up with the duet and grab Just Like Heaven!

Amazon Universal link: https://geni.us/jlhamazon

Amazon US: https://bit.ly/JLH-US

Amazon UK: https://bit.ly/JLH-UK

Amazon CA: https://bit.ly/JLH-CA

Amazon AU: https://bit.ly/JLH-AU

ADD JUST LIKE HEAVEN TO GOODREADS: http://bit.ly/JLH-GR

ADD SINNING LIKE HELL TO GOODREADS: https://bit.ly/SLH-GR-TP

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Trilina is a former professional dancer (you may have even seen her on the MTV Music Awards) and a USA Today Bestselling author who loves cupcakes and bourbon.

When she isn’t writing steamy love stories, she can be found devouring Netflix with her husband, Anthony, and their three kiddos. Pucci’s journey into writing started impulsively. She wanted to check off a box on her bucket list, but what began as wish-fulfillment has become incredibly fulfilling. Now she can’t see her life without her characters, her readers, and this community.

She’s known for being a trope defier, writing outside of the box and creating fictional worlds her readers never want to leave.

AUTHOR LINKS

EXCERPT REVEAL: Whiskey Moon by Winter Renshaw

Amazon - https://amzn.to/3mhuxL3
Goodreads - https://bit.ly/3mlyVJ2

Synopsis

A broken marriage pact gives way to a devastating love that won’t let go in this heart wrenching contemporary romance from Wall Street Journal bestselling author Winter Renshaw.

Bogie had Bacall. Carrie had Big. I had Wyatt.

Growing up, he was the handsome cowboy next door, an unlikely confidant, my best friend, my first kiss, and my favorite person.

We were just a couple of small town kids with ambitions bigger than the stars in our eyes. The summer after graduation, we made a pact: I’d go to college in New York and he’d stay and take over his daddy’s ranch. If by twenty-eight we were both still single, we’d get married …

But as we stood in our high school gymnasium the night of our ten-year reunion, Wyatt told me he loved me too much to marry me.

He’d never broken a promise to me in his life, but in a single heartbeat he broke the only one that ever mattered.

He said it would all make sense someday, that there would come a time I might even be able to forgive him.

But then I stumbled upon the truth.

And there was no forgiving a secret this shattering—one that made me question if I ever knew him at all; one that only made me want him that much more.

Bogie had Bacall. Carrie had Big. I had Wyatt.

EXCERPT FOR REVEAL

“Blaire?” a voice calls Wednesday morning from the end of the produce aisle at the Henderson Food and Drug. “Oh my gawd. Blaire Abbott …”

From the corner of my eye, a bottle blonde in a denim skirt and rhinestone-covered cowgirl boots pushes her cart in my direction before trotting around it, arms wide open.

“It’s been for-ev-er!” She wraps me in a perfumed hug—something I’ve grown used to not receiving in the city. People either stare through you or they do the air kiss. Huggers aren’t a thing in Manhattan. “How are you? And what are you doing back?”

It takes me a second before I realize I’m face to face with a girl from my former high school—Ivy Forsythe. Though the Ivy I knew was a wallflower string bean with mousy hair and a chest flatter than an ironing board. The Ivy before me is spray-tanned, bleached, and teased to the heavens. She reminds me of some of the big rancher’s wives back in the day; the ones who dressed like Southern Belles and retired beauty queens and loved nothing more than looking pretty on the arm of a bona fide cowboy.

I never would’ve guessed this path for her, but she radiates sunshine and bliss and if that isn’t all that matters, I don’t know what is.

“Ivy,” I say, leaning into her embrace. When she pulls away, I spot a glimmering diamond rock on her left finger. “How are you? It’s been so long.”

“I know, oh my gosh. Everyone’s going to be so thrilled that you’re back in town!”

Before I can say a word, she retrieves her phone from her back pocket and taps her acrylic nails onto the screen in quick succession.

“Remember Raina Jorgenson?” she asks. “Well, she’s Raina Mahoney now, but she’s soon to be Raina Jorgenson again. She and Cutter separated this year and their divorce was just finalized today. A bunch of us are getting together Friday at Petty Cash. You should come!”

“What’s … Petty Cash?”

“Oh.” She points behind her. “It’s that bar on the corner of Cornflower and Main, the one with the rusty sign with the neon arrow? It’s owned by Dylan Petty and Cash Buchanan—you remember Cash, right? You dated his brother …”

I could never forget Cash. He was a daredevil wild child with zero filter. A class clown. An attention-starved youngest child who would do anything for a laugh—or a reaction. He also worshipped the ground Wyatt walked on. The two of them were always the closest, being a little shy of two years apart in age.

He must be about twenty-six by now.

“Cash Buchanan owns a bar?” I ask. It’s hard to think of Cash as an astute, responsible businessman, but then again, I never expected Ivy Forsythe to grow up to be one of those bling-bling rancher wives we always joked about when we were younger.

“It’s so fun,” she says. “They’ve got one of those rodeo bulls, live music on Saturdays, and plenty of room for dancing or just hanging out. It’s kind of where everyone goes on the weekends.” Tittering, she adds, “It’s not like there’s much of anything else to do around here, am I right?”

She places her hand on my shoulder, her vibrant pink lips spread into a sweet-as-pie grin.

“Let me just grab your number,” she continues.

“Yeah, sure.” I rattle off my digits and she sends me a quick text—an LOL emoji—so I have hers.

“How long are you here, anyway?” Ivy asks.

“Um, I’m not really sure. A couple of weeks at least.”

“Well that’s nice. I’m sure once everyone gets wind of you being back in town, you’ll have a line of people at your door wanting to catch up with you.”

I scrunch my shoulders. “Yeah, not sure about that. I doubt anyone remembers me.”

“Girl, stop.” She pats my arm. “Like anyone could forget the leading star of every theater production Whiskey Springs High ever put on. I swear your personality entered the room before you did. Remember when you jumped up on the desk in Mr. Carter’s geometry class and sang that song from Chicago? And that other time when we snuck into the auditorium during study hall and you recited that monologue from … what was it again … Twelfth Night or something? I still don’t know how you memorized everything so easily. Are you still acting? I heard you ran off to acting school or something?”

Humbled, I press my lips into a firm line and nod. “I am. And I did.”

“Have I seen you in anything?”

“Only if you’ve been to New York and gone to an off-Broadway play …”

“Oh. Someone said you were doing … adult films … but I told them there was absolutely no way.”

“Wow. Yeah, definitely not. Gotta love those rumors …” Apparently I should’ve come home sooner to dispel some of those.

Her phone vibrates and she lifts her hand to her tawny decolletage. “Oh, this is my husband. I better take it. Anyway, it was great seeing you and please, please, please come out to Petty Cash on Friday … we’ll start around eight but we’re pre-drinking at Raina’s at six. I’ll text you all the info.”

With a little wave, she sashays toward the checkout with her cart, gabbing with her husband about stopping at the feed store on the way home.

I grab a few bananas, some grapefruit LaCroix, a box of white cheddar mac and cheese, and some Greek yogurt before checking out myself.

I take the roundabout way home—the way that winds and ambles past the Buchanan ranch. Growing up, I used to tease Wyatt about being neighbors. While my house was technically in town, it was the last one on the street, just before the road that leads straight to Wyatt’s place ten miles down. Given that there were no other homes between us, my father used to refer to him as “the boy next door.”

By the time I round the last corner, the big white farmhouse with the wraparound porch comes into view. With a held breath and hands white-knuckling the wheel, I cruise past the ghost of what once was.

If my old acting coach were here, she’d probably ask me, “Where do you feel it? In which part of your body does this feeling live?”

Everywhere, I would tell her.

I feel it everywhere.

But it lives in my heart.

About Winter Renshaw

Wall Street Journal and #1 Amazon bestselling author Winter Renshaw is a bona fide daydream believer. She lives somewhere in the middle of the USA and can rarely be seen without her trusty Mead notebook and ultra portable laptop. When she’s not writing, she’s living the American dream with her husband, three kids, and the laziest puggle this side of the Mississippi.

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Monday, 1 November 2021

RELEASE BLITZ & REVIEW: Swoon by Lauren Rowe

SWOON: A Brother's Best Friend Standalone Romance

by Lauren Rowe

Release Date: November 1st

NOW AVAILABLE!!!

https://geni.us/eZOM

Add to Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58978722-swoon

Blurb:

Growing up, I knew my older brother’s best friend thought of me as “Logan’s kid sister.” For me, though, our next-door neighbor, Colin, felt like anything but a sibling. Whenever I spied on him through my bedroom window, as he banged away, shirtless, on his drum kit, I felt sensations inside me I’d never felt for my actual brother. But when we moved away and Colin’s band took off like a rocket, I knew my tweener fantasies would never become a reality.⁣

Fast-forward nine years to my brother’s wedding, when I saw Colin again and we shared a secret, drunken kiss that rocked my world. The next morning, Colin blamed the alcohol. Said we should pretend the kiss, and my unfortunate text afterward, never happened. ⁣

Now that I’m heading to LA to work for Colin and crash at his place, though, all bets are off. I’m determined to make Colin swoon for me, the same way I’ve always done for him. Because no matter what he insisted, Colin’s body during our kiss, and the shocking thing he whispered into my ear right afterward, made it clear he doesn’t really think of me as his little sister, any more than I do.

Caroline's Review
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

This is a new-to-me author and I thoroughly enjoyed this story!

"The minute Amy is in my arms, I feel a tidal wave of affection for her - a rush of the same sort of adoration I always felt for her when we kids."

Amy O'Brien has been in love with her brother's best friend since she was a kid. In fairness, Colin Beretta doted on his little neighbour until he and his mother moved away and they lost touch. It isn't until years later, when Amy is all grown up, that he sees her again at her brother's wedding. By now, Colin is a superstar drummer with one of the hottest bands around, and surely out of her league? However, from the get-go, they click just like old times but with the added dimension of insane adult chemistry. Colin feels that Amy is off-limits but he can't help lusting after her. When they come to a no-strings agreement with an expiry date, all bets are off.

"As he approaches me, he looks feral. Primal. And hot as hell."

I adored this story! It was funny, hella hot and not too angsty. Amy and Colin had crazy hot chemistry and totally belonged together! I loved that she treated him like a normal person instead of being starstruck by his fame, and I adored that he was attentive and thoughtful of her. The little snippets showing Colin's affection for Amy when they were children were super cute! In the present, Colin was in some kind of major denial but I had to love his grand gesture to show Amy how how he really felt. Overall, a fab, fun and engaging read!