Friday, December 27, 2019

Cover Reveal! Focused by Karla Sorensen --- coming January 7th!

Title: Focused
Author: Karla Sorensen
Genre: Sports Romance
Release Date: January 7, 2020 Cover Design: Najla Qamber Designs Photographer: Regina Wamba

If you've ever seen your teenage crush ten years later, and he turns out to be a complete jerk, then you know how Molly Ward feels. 
The last time she saw Noah Griffin was the regrettable day that she decided to climb into his bedroom window and turn her unrequited crush into something more. 
That day was bad enough, but things are about to get worse. 
Noah has become one of the best football players in the country, and he’s just landed on Molly’s front step. 
As a new addition to the Washington Wolves roster, Noah's presence is the key to Molly’s promotion in the front office. 
The problem is, Noah wants nothing to do with Molly, and his surly attitude is making her job very difficult. 
But he's got another thing coming if he thinks Molly will be intimidated by one grumpy football player, no matter how much he hates being around her. 
Once these two go head to head, their mutual dislike explodes into undeniable chemistry. But with what they have at stake, they just might detonate everything else along with it.


Well, let’s see ... I’m a wife and a mother. If the things that I write bring a smile to someone's face, then I've done my job. I am obsessed with Outlander (both the books and the show). I’m almost exclusively a romance reader, which means some people will never consider me a literary snob. If I could meet one historical figure, it would be Jane Austen. I received my Bachelors in Public Relations and worked in health care marketing before I had my babies. I hate Twitter. I do it, but I hate it. Also, if you want to get on my good side, bring me wine and I'll love you forever.
HOSTED BY:

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

The Younger Man, an epic standalone forbidden age-gap sports romance, by New York Times bestselling author Karina Halle, is LIVE!

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A reckless, obsessive soccer star. A forbidden affair that could ruin her career. The locker room has never been this steamy.

The Younger Man, an epic standalone forbidden age-gap sports romance, by New York Times bestselling author Karina Halle, is LIVE!

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Starting over was her only option.
Forty-years old and still reeling from a public and painful divorce, Thalia Blackwood is looking for a fresh start, somewhere far away from her upside down life. When she’s offered a new job as the sports therapist for a football (soccer) team, she jumps at the chance. This is just what she needs to leave the heartbreak and shame of Manchester behind, trading it in for the warmth and hopeful vibrancy of Madrid.
He was her only desire.

Twenty-three year old Alejo Albarado is rising up the ranks in his career. As the charming forward for the Real Madrid team, Alejo’s life revolves around women, parties, and being a tabloid darling, that is until the new sports therapist joins the team.
Their passion could not be ignored.

What starts out as a strictly professional relationship between Thalia and the young Spanish player, slowly evolves into something more. Much more.
Their relationship was forbidden.

But their combustible chemistry and simmering sexual tension can only go so far—should Thalia give into Alejo’s advances, she’s at risk of not only losing her job, but succumbing to a much younger man will drag her through the spotlight again.
Alejo might be worth that risk.

Unless he breaks her heart in the process.

The Younger Man is a full-length standalone romance. Characters from Love, in English make a cameo in this book, however The Younger Man is intended to be read as a STANDALONE. 

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Download your copy today or read FREE in Kindle Unlimited!
Amazon Worldwide: mybook.to/TheYoungerManKH
Add to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2OhIyaE
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Meet Karina:
Karina Halle is a former travel writer and music journalist and The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestselling author of The Pact, Love, in English, The Artists Trilogy, Dirty Angels and over 20 other wild and romantic reads. She lives on an island off the coast of British Columbia with her husband and her rescue pup, where she drinks a lot of wine, hikes a lot of trails and devours a lot of books.
Halle is represented by the Root Literary and is both self-published and published by Simon & Schuster and Hachette in North America and in the UK.

Connect with Karina:
Stay up to date with Karina by signing up for her newsletter here:

Release, an all-new emotional, second chance romance standalone from USA Today bestselling author Aly Martinez is coming January 5th and we have the incredible cover!



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“Aly Martinez is one of the best in the business. You have to read her books.” --Meghan March, New York Times Bestselling author

Release, an all-new emotional, second chance romance standalone from USA Today bestselling author Aly Martinez is coming January 5th and we have the incredible cover!

Release AMAZON
Growing up, Ramsey Stewart branded my soul in ways time could never heal.
At twelve, he asked me to be his girlfriend.
At thirteen, he gave me my first kiss.
By sixteen, we’d fallen in love, planned a future together, and had our eyes set on the horizon.
Love never fails, right?
But for Ramsey, it did.
Love failed him.
I failed him.
The entire world failed him.
At seventeen, Ramsey was convicted of killing the boy who assaulted me.
Move on,he wrote in his first and only letter from prison.
Start a new life, he urged.
I don’t love you anymore, he lied.
There was no such thing as giving up on Ramsey. Love may have been our curse, but he was mine—then, now, and forever.
So here I am, twelve long years later, waiting for a man I don't even know to emerge from between the chain link gates.

Add RELEASE to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2oGE1oo
Sign up now to be notified when RELEASE is live: http://bit.ly/2WnkxjS
 
Cover Designed by: Hang Le
Photographer: Wander Aguiar Photography
Model: Zack Salaun

About Aly
aly martinez profile picOriginally from Savannah, Georgia, USA Today bestselling author Aly Martinez now lives in South Carolina with her husband and four young children.

Never one to take herself too seriously, she enjoys cheap wine, mystery leggings, and olives. It should be known, however, that she hates pizza and ice cream, almost as much as writing her bio in the third person.
She passes what little free time she has reading anything and everything she can get her hands on, preferably with a super-sized tumbler of wine by her side.


Connect with Aly
Facebook Reader Group: http://bit.ly/2DEpPAh
Stay up to date with Aly by signing up for her mailing list today:

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

Regretting You, by Colleen Hoover is now available!! RELEASE BLITZ and GIVEAWAY!

Regretting You by Colleen Hoover 

is now available!!


Summary

Morgan Grant and her sixteen-year-old daughter, Clara, would like nothing more than to be nothing alike.



Morgan is determined to prevent her daughter from making the same mistakes she did. By getting pregnant and married way too young, Morgan put her own dreams on hold. Clara doesn’t want to follow in her mother’s footsteps. Her predictable mother doesn’t have a spontaneous bone in her body.

With warring personalities and conflicting goals, Morgan and Clara find it increasingly difficult to coexist. The only person who can bring peace to the household is Chris—Morgan’s husband, Clara’s father, and the family anchor. But that peace is shattered when Chris is involved in a tragic and questionable accident. The heartbreaking and long-lasting consequences will reach far beyond just Morgan and Clara.

While struggling to rebuild everything that crashed around them, Morgan finds comfort in the last person she expects to, and Clara turns to the one boy she’s been forbidden to see. With each passing day, new secrets, resentment, and misunderstandings make mother and daughter fall further apart. So far apart, it might be impossible for them to ever fall back together.

***


Rafflecopter Giveaway

Direct Link




Excerpt: Regretting You by Colleen Hoover


Despite knowing I just pissed my mother off by being half an hour late for curfew, I still can’t stop smiling. That kiss with Miller was worth it. I bring my fingers to my lips. 


I’ve never been kissed like that. The guys I’ve kissed in the past all seemed like they were in a hurry, wanting to shove their tongue in my mouth before I changed my mind. 

Miller was the opposite. He was so patient, yet in a chaotic way. It was like he’d thought about kissing me so often that he wanted to savor every second of it. 

I don’t know that I’ll ever not smile when I think about that kiss. It kind of makes me nervous for school tomorrow. I’m not sure where that kiss leaves us, but it felt like it was a statement. I just don’t know what exactly that statement was. 

My phone buzzes in my back pocket. I roll over and pull it out, then fall onto my back again. It’s a text from Miller. 

Miller: I don’t know about you, but sometimes when something significant happens, I get home and think of all the things I wish had gone differently. All the things I wish I would have said. 

Me: Is that happening now? 

Miller: Yes. I don’t feel like I was entirely forthcoming with you. 

I roll onto my stomach, hoping to ease the nausea that just passed through me. It was going so well… 

Me: What weren’t you honest about? 

Miller: I was honest. Just not entirely forthcoming, if there’s a difference. I left a lot out of our conversation that I want you to know. 

Me: Like what? 

Miller: Like why I’ve liked you for as long as I have. 

I wait for him to elaborate, but he doesn’t. I’m staring at my phone with so much intensity that I almost throw it when it rings unexpectedly. It’s Miller’s phone number. I hesitate before answering it, because I rarely ever talk on the phone. I much prefer texting. But he knows I have my phone in my hand, so I can’t very well send it to voice mail. I swipe my finger across the screen and then roll off the bed and head to my bathroom for more privacy. I sit on the edge of the tub. 

“Hello?” 

“Hey,” he says. 

“Sorry. It’s too much to text.” 

“You’re kind of freaking me out with all the innuendos.” 

“Oh. No, it’s all good. Don’t be nervous. I just should have said this to you in person.” Miller inhales a deep breath, and then on the exhale, he starts talking. “When I was fifteen, I watched you in a school play. You had the lead role, and at one point, you performed a monologue that went on for like two whole minutes. You were so convincing and you looked so heartbroken I was ready to walk onto the stage and hug you. When the play was finally over and the actors came back out onto the stage, you were smiling and laughing, and there wasn’t a trace of that character left in you. I was in awe, Clara. You have this charisma about you that I don’t think you’re aware of, but it’s captivating. I was a scrawny kid as a sophomore, and even though I’m a year older than you, I hadn’t quite filled out yet, and I had acne and felt inferior to you, so I never worked up the courage to approach you. Another year went by, and I continued to admire you from afar. Like that time you ran for school treasurer and tripped walking off the stage, but you jumped up and did this weird little kick and threw your arms up in the air and made the entire audience laugh. Or that time Mark Avery popped your bra strap in the hallway, and you were so sick of him doing it that you followed him to his classroom, reached inside your hoodie, and took off your bra and then threw it at him. I remember you yelling something like, ‘If you want to touch a bra so damn bad, just keep it, you perv!’ Then you stormed out. It was epic. Everything you do is epic, Clara. Which is why I never had the courage to approach you, because an epic girl needs an equally epic guy, and I guess I’ve just never felt epic enough for you. I’ve said epic so many times in the last fifteen seconds—I’m so sorry.” 

He’s out of breath when he finally stops talking.

I’m smiling so hard my cheeks ache. I had no idea he felt this way. No idea. 

I wait a few seconds to make sure he’s done; then I finally respond. I’m pretty sure he can hear from my voice alone that I’m smiling. “First of all, it’s hard to believe you were ever insecure. And second, I think you’re pretty epic, too, Miller. Always have. Even when you were scrawny and had acne.” 

He laughs a little. “Yeah?” 

“Yeah.” 

I can hear him sigh. “Glad I got that off my chest, then. See you at school tomorrow?” 

“Good night.” 

We end the call, and I don’t know how long I sit and stare at my phone.


***

Q&A with Author Colleen Hoover

You are ‘label-less’ in the fact that you write in several genres. Readers never know what to expect next. If someone asks, how do you label yourself?


When I self-published my first novel I had no idea what genre to put it in. I thought I had written a drama but it turns to that I had written a romance. I’ve learned a lot since then, but I still don’t put a lot of weight in genre when I write. When your best friend is begging you to read a book, it’s not going to matter what genre it is when someone you trust is passionate about the story.


To keep all of your stories and characters straight, you must be very organized.


I’m the most disorganized person you will ever meet! I have no schedule. I can’t wake up before nine in the morning. I probably don’t go to bed until like three in the morning. I usually work about 16 hours a day. 


What happens if you get blocked when you are writing? 


If I get stuck writing, I go for a drive and play music. Music really helps me plot. I love The Avett Brothers, X Ambassadors, Airborne Toxic Event...I could go on and on. 


What can you tell readers about your latest release Regretting You?


I would spoil it if I told you about it! Most of my books are like that. I can’t say what they are about or it spoils it. But I can say that Regretting You is told from a dual point-of-view centered on the inner lives of both a teen and adult protagonist.


Sounds like lots of different types of readers will be interested!


Absolutely. I wanted to write a book that bridged the gap between young adult and contemporary romance so that mothers can read with their daughters. I think it’s exciting to see people sharing reading experiences. 



Author Biography

Colleen Hoover is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of several novels, including the bestselling women’s fiction novel It Ends with Us and the bestselling psychological thriller Verity. She has won the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Romance three years in a row—for Confess (2015), It Ends with Us (2016), and Without Merit (2017). Confess was adapted into a seven-episode online series. In 2015, Hoover and her family founded the Bookworm Box, a bookstore and monthly subscription service that offers signed novels donated by authors. All profits go to various charities each month to help those in need. Hoover lives in Texas with her husband and their three boys. Visit www.colleenhoover.com.





Connect with Colleen: 
Social Media Links


Monday, December 9, 2019

Beard Necessities by Penny Reid - Blog Tour, Review, and Giveaway!

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Billy Winston’s family is going to see him happy and in love if it’s the last thing they do.

Beard Necessities, the final standalone in the bestselling romantic comedy Winston Brothers series from New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Penny Reid, is available now!

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  No one deserves a happily-ever-after quite as much as the second oldest Winston brother and his lady love, Claire McClure (aka Scarlet St. Claire). Cruelty and circumstance tore them apart almost twenty years ago. Secrecy and bitterness kept them separated. But you know who's tired of their separation and stubbornness? Everyone. Especially Billy Winston’s family. And now they're going to do something about it. Well-meaning interference means the star-crossed lovers can’t stop tripping over each other in the hills of Tuscany, the catacombs of Rome, and the waterways of Venice. Billy and Claire find themselves thrown together and at the mercy of the Winston siblings’ shenanigans. But will their forced proximity bring them together? Or push them even further apart? This second-chance romance brings back the entire Winston gang, playing cupid in one last story of love, hi-jinks, and family collusion. BEARD NECESSITIES is a full-length contemporary romantic comedy, and can be read as a stand-alone, but it’s probably best read after books 0.5, 2, 3, 5, and 6 of the Winston Brothers series.
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Download your copy today!
Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/BeardNec
Google Play: http://bit.ly/2nwim1a
Add to GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2mHnbEH

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My Review

Beard Necessities is the conclusion to the Winston Brothers series, and focuses on Billy, the eldest brother.
Billy has always been the one to look out for others. This time, his entire family is looking out for him. They've all conspired to get him and his long-time love, Scarlet, together again. This story involves the entire Winston clan in one way or another. I feel like I can't say too much about this story without revealing the entire plot - just know that it resolves questions that were raised in the "prequel" to this one - "Beard With Me" - and is just what was needed to wrap up this series.
I'm hoping to read more about the Winstons as they're not a group of characters that you can walk away from easily. 

Excerpt

Strolling to the desk, I set down the milk and cookies, crossed my arms and turned to face my brother. “You’re pointing out that Scarlet and I will see each other during various family functions.”

“Correct.”

  “And, therefore,” I continued reasonably, “I need to be nice to her.” I knew that already, and tonight—after watching her face crumple and feeling a part of my soul shrivel at the sight—I’d finally accepted it. I would be nice. I would be so damn nice. I’d be a saint.

But then Cletus said, “No, Billy. Not nice. Nice is for tea parties and doctor’s visits. You need to woo her.”

I blinked once. “Woo her.”

“That’s right. You need to woo the pants off her, hopefully literally, and then make that woman yours. Permanently. Once and for all. Put a ring on it. Woo is where it’s at. Jenn still has the centerpieces from our wedding if you’d like to borrow them.” During this enlightening monologue, he’d moseyed over and picked up the glass of milk and a cookie, dunked the cookie into the milk, and then took a bite just as he’d finished his listings of delusions.

  “That’s never going to happen.”

  “Why not? Those centerpieces are lovely. You don’t know your color scheme yet. Ask Scarlet before you decide.”

  I ground my teeth. “Scarlet and I are never going to happen, Cletus.”

  He shook his head firmly. “I’m disappointed in your lack of ambition, Billy. I thought we’d be on the same page. But I see now, I’m going to have to take a tough love approach.”

“Cletus—”

  “I’m going to give you one chance,” he said, then pushed the rest of the cookie in his mouth and spoke around it as he continued, “One more chance is all you get. I’ve waited long enough for this and you know my feelings on delayed gratification.”

  “Pardon?”

  “It’s overrated.” He took a gulp of milk and picked up another cookie.

  “No, Cletus. One chance on what?”

  “I’m giving you one chance. One.” He pointed the cookie at me. “Tomorrow, you’re going to go find her, apologize to her for whatever that kerflufflefuck was I walked in on. Tell her you were suffering from temporary insanity, hopped up on illicit drugs, abducted by asshole probing aliens, whatever. I’m giving you one chance to make this right, and if you don’t take it, you are not going to 
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like what happens next.”






















Enter the giveaway for a signed paperback set of the entire Winston Brothers Series!

image1Meet Penny Reid
Penny Reid is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today Best Selling Author of the Winston Brothers, Knitting in the City, Rugby, and Hypothesis series. She used to spend her days writing federal grant proposals as a biomedical researcher, but now she just writes books. She’s also a full time mom to three diminutive adults, wife, daughter, knitter, crocheter, sewer, general crafter, and thought ninja.




Connect with Penny
Twitter: @ReidRomance

Thursday, December 5, 2019

THE LINEUP by Meghan Quinn is now available in Kindle Unlimited!!

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THE LINEUP by Meghan Quinn

Release Date: December 5th
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Add to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/2Y9Oupy
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AVAILABLE NOW!!!

FREE in Kindle Unlimited!
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Blurb:
Want to know a secret? It's about that girl over there. 
Don’t look, but she’s the one in the power suit—with the long, black hair and the serious expression, the one I’m about to go on a date with . . . Yeah, according to her, she “accidentally” donated an obscene amount of money to my charity — The Lineup — to win said date but I found out the truth. Miss. 

Button Up Blouse has a secret, passionate crush on me. I didn’t know her name until two days ago, despite the friends we have in common. Was I oblivious? Probably. Was I blind to it? Definitely. But I’m no fool, I see it now. The High Heel Harlot wants more than just a date with Jason Orson, she wants to be able to claim the best butt in baseball as hers. Here's another secret . . . she has no idea I know.
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It isn’t in my nature to cry over burnt ham, but here I am, tearing up like a jackass, because the
meal I’ve been reluctantly slaving over for the past four hours is two shades away from charred
dust.

I had it all planned out. The timing was right, the recipes perfected, the table decorated with
impeccably folded napkins that impersonated angelic swans, and polished silver that I scrubbed
for an hour until I could see my balls in the reflection. Nothing says polished silverware like a
spoon that gives you a clear upside-down view of your gonads.

But even with countless hours of preparing this feast, naked as the day I was born with only an
apron to cover my man-loins, I still ended up with a scorched ham doused in fire extinguisher
agent because somehow, the damn thing caught on fire.

Imagine this, a grown-ass man—no, not just a grown-ass man, but a man at the fresh age of
twenty-eight, built like a linebacker with buttocks you can bounce rocks off . . . thanks to
squatting for a living—dancing around the kitchen on his twinkle toes, arms flailing with pink
and white potholders attached to his hands, screaming like a banshee, as flames light up the
Jenn-Air double oven where the brown sugar and pineapple ham resided.

Are you seeing it?

Add the imagery of said man naked, dick and balls harmoniously bouncing in panic while the
apron his “girlfriend” got him that says <em>Eat my food, Lick my dick</em>, unravels in the fit to unleash the fire extinguisher.
That was me . . . a minute ago.

Frantic, screaming, and all in all losing any last shred of my man card I had left.
It’s why I’m currently weeping like a nitwit into the flaps of my apron, wondering where I went
wrong.

If we’re going to be honest with each other—and I would like to establish honesty with you—I’ll
admit, I’ve always leaned toward the sensitive side. You know, the cuddly grizzly bear. Big and
intimidating but a fucking gooey butterball heart on the inside.
<em>Tell me a love story.</em> I’ll listen the crap out of it.
<em>The Bachelor?</em> Why yes, that’s one of my favorite shows.

Do I smile when sharing a candlelit dinner with myself, followed by a nice long soak in a bubble
bath while Enya—the fucking goddess of all voices—plays in the background? I sure as shit do.
But if some ignorant asswipe gets in my face on the ball field, stirring up trouble, I’m the first to
lay a fist across his jaw and the first to be thrown out of a game.
And I’m not even sorry about it.

People are arriving in an hour. I’m vulnerable as fuck with my bare ass resting against the cold
white-oak floor of my girl’s apartment, while a lonely tear streams down my freshly shaven
cheek. I have no main dish, and the apartment smells like burnt rabbit turd.
Why am I in this hopeless predicament?

Because of one person.

One single person who flipped my life upside down.

A bombshell in a suit, a ravenous sex-fiend in the sheets, a classy and sophisticated tight-ass in
the boardroom. She’s a knockout who’s always on my mind. She’s the girl you do things for,
that you never thought you’d ever do . . .

Like cook a fancy-as-fuck four-course meal for her and her business associates while practicing
interesting conversational starters to ensure the night flows smoothly.

Back in college, I might have been referred to as the mother hen of the boys. I might have
cooked at least two meals a week for the guys in the loft, and yeah, I was the ironing wizard,
the one everyone turned to, to get out the most stubborn wrinkles. The title has carried on over
the years, but my creativity in the kitchen has dwindled with the lack of time, my ironing is now
done by my apartment keeper once a week, and the fresh flowers scattered around my place?
They’re more dead now than alive.

My point—I’m not the lady of the house I used to be. But I’ve been getting back into the swing
of it.

So when my girl asked me to perform the impossible feat of an intimate dinner for four, I
should have ordered in, tossed everything in serving dishes, and called it a night.
But nooooooooo, I had to attempt to be a goddamn hero and try to cook everything myself.

And all for what?

For one girl?

No. Not just "one girl". The girl who owns my balls, who has a grip so tight on them that if she asked me to bellow out my ABCs in soprano while swirling my finger around my belly button . . . I would.

Who is this girl that has brought me to the brink of boo-boo smush bear insanity and caused me
to weep like a schoolgirl in the corner of the apartment?

There’s only one lady with more than enough ovaries to buckle the knees of the mighty Jason
Orson. 
The one and only Dorothy “Dottie” Domico.

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About the Author:
USA Today Bestselling Author, wife, adoptive mother, and peanut butter lover. Author of romantic comedies and contemporary romance, Meghan Quinn brings readers the perfect combination of heart, humor, and heat in every book.





Connect with Meghan:

Monday, December 2, 2019

Shelf Awareness, an all-new hilarious romantic comedy from New York Times bestselling author Katie Ashley is available now!

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"Don't miss this hilarious and sweet adventure in the Green Valley Library series. Five Stars!"--Aleatha Romig, New York Times bestselling author

Shelf Awareness, an all-new hilarious romantic comedy from New York Times bestselling author Katie Ashley is available now!

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After catching her husband in a compromising position, Finley Granger finds herself in a new hell: reentering the dating world. When she moves in with her grandmother, her great-aunt, and their best friend, Finley finds herself surrounded by a trio of well-meaning yet bumbling matchmakers.
In spite of their efforts, Finley only has eyes for one person, and that’s Zeke Masters—the 6’4”, impossibly built, and ridiculously good-looking new man in town. Along with her nether regions, Finley’s journalistic spidey-senses tingle as to why he’s on sabbatical from Seattle. Is he on the lam or escaping a bad breakup? What’s his story?!?!
As Finley finds herself reluctantly drawn to the gorgeous IT guy, she can’t help but wonder: should she indulge in a rebound tryst with the mysterious Zeke, or has she finally met her match?
‘Shelf Awareness’ is a full-length contemporary romantic comedy, can be read as a standalone, and is book #4 in the Green Valley Library series, Green Valley World, Penny Reid Book Universe.
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Download your copy today or read FREE in Kindle Unlimited!
Add to GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2lAahaG

My Review
 When Finley finds her husband has been cheating on her with her trainer…her male trainer…she gets herself out of that relationship and out of town, running to the safety of her grandmother GranBea.  Once there, she’s quickly adopted by the elderly girl-gang of her grandmother, aunt and their friend. She finds herself working in the town library, and meets Zeke, the IT cosplay nerd who is also a temporary resident.

The two end up forging a friendship that turns into more. This was a fun read, and Finley had several hilarious encounters with the elders, and on her own. Zeke was sweet, and the two were good together, but I felt like the seniors stole the show in this one.


Excerpt
As Zeke worked on uploading the census records, I hoisted one of the many boxes from the Henderson’s donation onto the table. It kicked up an epic dust cloud. I reached inside to pluck out one of the moldering tomes of historical literature. Wrinkling my nose, I fought the urge to sneeze. Instead, I cleared my throat. When it still felt like I had swallowed a wad of sawdust, I coughed. And that was my grievous mistake. 

The force of the cough dislodged the Ben Wa ball, sending it into an epic downward dive. Yes, ladies and gentlemen the Ben Wa ball had left the building. Whirling away from Zeke, I used my hand to try an inconspicuous crotch shuffle to send the ball back to its point of origin. What happened next was truly against the laws of motion. Because the universe apparently hated me, the ball escaped the confines of my thong. As it started its descent down my thigh, I squeaked and clamped my knees together. 

“Are you all right?” Zeke asked behind me. 

I threw a glance at him over my shoulder. “Uh, yeah, I . . .” Okay, I had no idea how I was going to get out of this one. It wasn’t like I could say, “Well, here’s the thing. The Ben Wa ball I was using to strengthen my pelvic floor muscles to keep my vagina healthy for the D just slipped out and is about to make a very unhappy trail down my leg.”

“I think a bug bit me or something.”

“Oh no. Want me to take a look?”

“No!” When Zeke’s eyes widened at my outburst, I said, “Sorry. I’m okay.”

“If you’re sure.”

“Totally.”

“I think I might’ve found something interesting for your research.”

The only thing I was interested in at the moment was getting the Ben Wa ball out of my pants without Zeke seeing it. “Oh?”

“I definitely see some Native American female names.”

Damn him for being enthusiastic about my research. The last thing I wanted to do was walk the couple of steps back over to him while trying to keep a Ben Wa ball from rolling down my pants leg. Since I couldn’t see any other way out of it, I nodded. Gritting my teeth, I started shuffling over to him. 

When I started lurching like Frankenstein’s monster, Zeke tilted his head curiously at me. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yep. Totally fine,” I muttered. 

Just as I reached his chair, my knee shifted because of what I imagined was panic sweat overtaking me. As the ball became dislodged, I bit down on my lip to keep from squealing again. There was no saving the ball now or my humiliation for that matter. 

As soon as it plopped onto my shoe, I flung my foot, sending it ricocheting into the desk. Of course, it’s size caused it to make a tremendous ching-ching noise, which in turn caused Zeke to rip his attention away from the screen. “What was that?”

“What was what?” I questioned innocently. 

He furrowed his brows at me. “You didn’t hear that noise?”

“Uh, no.” Plastering a smile on my face, I said, “I’m sorry. I was just so into what you were saying.” 

Ignoring my response, Zeke quickly assessed the area around us. After I’d flung the ball away, it had come to a rest to the right of his desk chair. When he bent over to examine the ball, I inwardly began screaming noooooo while at the same time cursing Estelle for even bringing the Ben Wa ball into my orbit. 

Since the universe hadn’t tortured me quite enough yet, Zeke picked up the ball. “Interesting,” he murmured as he twisted it between his fingers.

I decided it was best to play absolutely and completely clueless in this situation. “What is it?” Silently, I prayed he wouldn’t respond with, “It looks like one of those sex balls you shove up your cooch.”

“I don’t know. Maybe a part off one of the desks or chairs. I should probably give it to maintenance, so they can check all the furniture in here.”

Oh hell no. Without a second thought, I snatched the ball out of his hands. Since I did it rather abruptly, Zeke’s surprise was apparent on his face. Waving my free hand dismissively, I said, “Don’t bother yourself with that. I’ll take it to them.”

“Thanks, Finley.”

After wheezing out a breath, I replied, “You’re welcome.” I jerked my thumb over my shoulder. “I’ll go do that right now.”

I didn’t bother waiting for Zeke to reply. Instead, I power walked right out of the history room. I’m sure if he was watching me he would have been puzzled at my miraculous recovery, considering I’d been limping earlier. 

At the first trash can I could find, I deposited the Ben Wa ball. It seemed abundantly clear that neither I nor my vagina were quite ready to handle the responsibility. 

About Katie Ashley
Katie Ashley is a New York Times, USA Today, and Amazon Top Five Best-Selling author of both Indie and Traditionally published books. She lives outside of Atlanta, Georgia with her daughter, Olivia, her two rescue dogs named for Disney Princesses, Belle & Elsa, an out-numbered cat, Harry Potter, and one Betta fish. She has a slight obsession with Pinterest, The Golden Girls, Shakespeare, Harry Potter, and Star Wars. 

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