Even war heroes need a little help sometimes...
After spending years fighting for his country and too damn long learning to navigate life with a prosthetic leg, Grant Silver returns to Silver Island to figure out a future he couldn’t fathom without fatigues and a gun in his hand. He’d almost forgotten how a man could suffocate from the warmth and caring community in which he’d grown up, and if that weren’t bad enough, his buddies’ beautiful and far-too-chipper younger sister won’t stop flitting into his life, trying to sprinkle happy dust everywhere she goes.
As a cancer survivor, Jules Steele knows better than to count on seeing tomorrow. She doesn't take a single moment for granted, and she isn’t about to let a man who used to be charming and full of life waste the future he’s been blessed with. She's determined to get through to him, even if it takes a few steamy kisses…
Jules wasn’t a prude, but she was a virgin. She’d dated guys here and there, and she’d fooled around, running the bases, before realizing that most guys were simply unremarkable. She’d never felt the type of explosive chemistry and unstoppable lust their older sisters talked about to make her want to go all the way. Until Grant came back to the island and set her hormones on overdrive. What no one else knew, including Bellamy, was that every time they were in close proximity, sparks flew and she had an unrelenting desire to touch and be touched by him. It didn’t matter that the ex–covert operations specialist was eight years her senior and one of her brothers’ best friends, that he’d been injured last year, resulting in a below-the-knee amputation of his left leg, or that he’d only begrudgingly returned to the island over the summer. She’d known Grant all her life, she liked and trusted him, and he was the only man who had ever lit her body on fire and caused scorching-hot dreams like the ones that had become her nightly companion.
In fact, sparks had flown between them when he’d been home before leaving for his last mission, and that attraction had been simmering inside Jules for almost two years. But while she still felt the heat between them, he’d been gruff, distant, and reclusive since coming home, which she completely understood after all he’d been through. That didn’t change the fact that given the chance, she’d gladly crawl between the sheets with the handsome beast and spend an entire weekend exploring every inch of his glorious body, letting him make all of her dirtiest fantasies come true.
But she kept those steamy thoughts to herself, because she had bigger fish to fry and she didn’t need to make things uncomfortable with Bellamy.
The first few beats of “Thriller” came on, and the girls squealed excitedly. One of Jules’s favorite movies was 13 Going on 30. They’d watched it dozens of times and had practiced the “Thriller” dance for weeks until they knew it by heart.
Tara put down her camera and the candy she’d stolen from Jules, and they fell into line doing the “Thriller” dance. They threw their arms up, swinging them in the same direction as their hips, dancing across the patio. The crowd formed a circle around them. Their family and friends clapped and sang as the girls danced. Jules’s brother Levi, her sister Leni’s twin, took pictures, and her sisters made fun of her for singing the wrong lyrics. It didn’t matter how hard Jules tried; she never got the words to any songs right. But she didn’t care. She loved music, and she loved times like these, when her family and friends were together and happy.
When the song came to an end, the crowd applauded. The girls bowed and hugged each other, giggling as everyone else went back to partying.
“We nailed it!” Jules exclaimed.
“It’s our seventh-grade talent show all over again!” Tara agreed.
“And Grant missed it again.” Bellamy rolled her eyes.
Jules hated that Grant’s unhappiness was tearing apart his family the way Jock and Archer’s rift had torn apart hers.
“Remember how he used to get right in the middle of us when we danced?” Tara asked. “He’d do all the wrong moves and laugh the whole time.”
“I know he’s gone through a lot, and I hate saying this, but it’s like when they amputated his leg, they took the best parts of his personality, too,” Bellamy said sadly.
“They didn’t, Belly,” Jules said adamantly.
She knew Grant would probably never be the life of the party again. Nobody could go through what he had and not come out the other side a changed person. But she also knew he wasn’t destined to be an outsider, either, which was why she’d been trying to get him out of the house to spend time with friends and family. She knew how quickly a life could be taken away, and she wasn’t about to let a man who used to be charming and eager for everything that came at him throw away the future he’d been blessed with. He just needed to find his new happy place, and she was the perfect person to help him.
“Everyone thought Archer would be spiteful and angry forever. Remember?” Jules said. “And look how happy he is now.”
They looked across the courtyard at Archer laughing with his friends and eyeing their sister Leni’s friend Indi.
“If Archer could let go of his anger after all those years,” Jules said, “we can help Grant deal with and move past his struggles, too.”
Tara and Bellamy exchanged a disbelieving glance.
“I know you mean well, and you’ve tried really hard to help Grant,” Bellamy said. “But you know how he is, Jules. He grunts at me more than he talks to me these days. I don’t think he’s going to let any of us help him with anything.”
“I know exactly how he is, keeping himself locked away in the Remingtons’ run-down beach bungalow like a recluse. He’s blocking everyone out of his life like we don’t exist, and you know what? I’m done letting him do that to us and to himself. He needs to see that we care about him. He will be happy again. He just doesn’t realize it yet.” Jules put her hand on her hip. “You know what? I’m going to drag his surly butt to this party and remind him of all the things he loves about this island and everyone on it. But first I need to get Indi’s makeup case.” She headed for Indi, a professional makeup artist who lived in New York like Jules’s sisters Leni and Sutton and had come to the island with them to do their family’s makeup for the party. They were leaving in the morning, as were Levi and his daughter, Joey.
“Makeup?” Bellamy called after her.
Jules spun around. “It’s a Halloween party, and you know Grant won’t have a costume!”
“But you have the haunted walk soon!” Bellamy hollered.
Jules gave Bellamy a thumbs-up and made a beeline for Indi. She’d spent ten years holding her family together when Jock and Archer weren’t getting along. She was not afraid of a challenge, and Grant Silver just might be her biggest challenge yet. She was a woman on a mission, and nobody was going to stop her until that broody bad boy was on his way to being happy again—ideally with her.
Melissa also writes sweet and clean romance under the pen name Addison Cole.
Melissa has painted and donated several murals to The Hospital for Sick Children in Washington, DC. Her interests include her family, reading, writing, painting, friends, helping others see the positive side of life, and visiting Cape Cod.
Melissa is available to chat with book clubs and welcomes comments and emails from her readers. Visit Melissa on social media or her personal website.
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Hearing the disbelief from my best friend's mouth makes the events of my failed date sting that much more.
I would like to make it known, I have a lot more swagger than what it seems. I don't normally ask a girl out, have her fail to recognize it's a date, and then give me a high five--as if I'm her wingman--and take off with someone else.
No. Normally I'm the one taking the girl home but with Stella, it's been one failed attempt after another and frankly, I'm done trying.
But thanks to my best friend getting married in Hawaii right before the school year starts, I'm stuck on a tropical island, watching Stella parade around in what she claims is a bathing suit.
Unfortunately, that's not the worst of it, just the tip of the iceberg. Because what I think is going to be a relaxing vacation, avoiding the one girl I can't seem to make it work with, has turned into a spectacle of being recruited as Stella's doting fake fiancé so she can save face with an old "friend" from high school.
Now I'm navigating through purgatory while trying not to get turned on by the way she holds my hand or kisses my jaw. It's all fake, that's what I keep telling myself, even though it feels entirely too real.
OFF- LIMITS (Rixon High #1)
by L.A. Cotton
Release Date: March 30th
Tropes: Opposites attract, Sports romance
Read the series prequel FREE: http://bit.ly/BlurredLinesFREEBIE
𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘴𝘵… 𝘋𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘢… 𝘍𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱… 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘭. 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳?
Blurb
𝗟𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗮 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿.
But it’s senior year, and she wants nothing more than to try and push her boundaries and embrace the last year of high school.
𝗞𝗮𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗼𝘁𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗱.
But now he finds himself in enemy territory forced to prove himself to his new coach and teammates.
It starts with a dare. Seven minutes of heaven in a boat shed. But it quickly turns into something neither of them saw coming.
He’s everything she should resist.
She’s everything he shouldn’t want.
But neither of them are willing to walk away because together, their demons seem that little bit easier to silence.
There’s just one problem ... Lily is the coach’s daughter.
𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗵𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳𝗳-𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁𝘀.
MY REVIEW
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About the Author
Author of over thirty mature young adult and new adult novels, LA COTTON is happiest writing the kind of books she loves to read: addictive stories full of teenage angst, tension, twists and turns.
Home is a small town in the middle of England where she currently juggles being a full-time writer with being a mother/referee to two little people. In her spare time (and when she’s not camped out in front of the laptop) you’ll most likely find LA immersed in a book, escaping the chaos that is life.
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God, I don't know where to start with this review. L.A. Cotton has been recommended to me and I've added so many of her books to my TBR but this is the first one I have actually read and I'm an idiot. Because damn, that book was absolutely what I needed to read right now. I love new adult sports romance, and recently I've read a few books back to back that were just outside of my normal preferences. And while I've enjoyed it this felt like coming home.
I literally couldn't put it down and I didn't want to. Lily and Kaiden were awesome. They were so different and so perfect for each other I couldn't get enough of them. They each had their own issues, but who doesn't? And they dealt with it all so beautifully I forgot how young they were meant to be.
I really wish I had read the og series of the earlier generation because I feel like they were great characters. But I am really excited to think about the fact I just added a massive collection of books to my TBR. For now I can't wait to see all the characters I just met get their stories told because the hints all through this book and the glimpses into each of them has me dying to read them all right now.
Although the tease of Peyton and Xander at the end of this book has me wrapped up in knots with tears streaming down my face so we better be getting that one soon. Especially since it broke me out of my very happy Lily and Kaiden bubble.
Title: The Rebel
Series: Looking to Score
By Kendall Ryan
Release Day: March 30, 2021
I never thought I’d see her again.
We shared one hot night together back in college before our paths took us in different directions.
But now, the most brilliant and beautiful woman I’ve ever met is back in my life. And the chemistry I remember? It’s more combustible than ever.
Except…our fling is forbidden and must exist only in secret. Her rules, not mine.
I can’t be her forever. I’m not that guy, and even she knows it.
But I can’t stay away from her either. I’m determined to claim not just her body but her heart, even if that’s the one thing she’s vowed not to give me.
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About Kendall Ryan
A New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of more than three dozen titles, Kendall Ryan has sold over 3 million books and her books have been translated into several languages in countries around the world.
Her books have also appeared on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists more than 100 times. Ryan has been featured in such publications as USA Today, Newsweek, and InTouch Magazine.
She lives in Texas with her husband and two sons.
Visit her at: www.kendallryanbooks.com for the latest book news, and fun extras.
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aftermath
by l.a. witt
Blurb
Brent Weyland was the life of the party until an injury ended his hockey career. Now he’s retreated alone to a lakefront house, trying to make sense of a life and body that don’t feel like his anymore.
Jon Norquist was happily married right up until he wasn’t. Now a single father in his forties, he’s trying to figure out what comes next. In the meantime, he pours his heartache and regret into the lyrics he sings for the wine bar crowd a couple of nights a week.
When a friend coaxes Brent out for a night of wine and music, he puts Brent and Jon on a collision course. Their chemistry is instantaneous. Jon gives Brent’s battered body a much-needed remedial lesson in pleasure. And Brent gives Jon a reason to smile again.
Multiple reasons, actually. Neither man wants anything serious, but love has a habit of showing up whether it’s welcome or not. No matter how hard they try, the two can’t help having feelings for each other, even as life continues to throw them curveballs.
But they’ve both got baggage to unpack and hurt to move past, and if they can’t leave their pasts in the past, they might just miss out on an amazing future.
My Review
EXCERPT
If there was one thing I was good at when I performed onstage, it was engaging my audience without being distracted by them. The lighting here at Vino and Veritas didn’t mask the crowd in shadows like bigger venues did—no blinding stage lights in my eyes obscuring the people beyond them—which meant I could make out a lot of faces. And there was usually a fair amount of activity, too. People came and went. Waiters brought out drinks and food. Bartenders poured drinks. Quiet conversations went on. Some loud ones, especially as more alcohol flowed.
I was used to it, and I was never distracted by it. The sea of motion and faces was easy to ignore.
Except for that guy’s face.
One glance at him, and thank God I’d been between songs, or I’d have forgotten what I was doing.
And it didn’t help at all that he’d been looking right back at me as if I’d caught his eye the way he’d caught mine. Not just like people casually watched a performer onstage, but like something I’d done had made him stop dead and stare. He was still, his eyes wide and his lips parted as he stared at me. I couldn’t tell if it was a trick of the lights, but I swore he blushed too.
As I played on, I kept my gaze down, or at least tried to only let it drift toward the side of the room where he wasn’t sitting. Otherwise I was going to go blank on every note and every lyric.
But then I was far enough into the music that I forgot, and I glanced in that direction again, and there he was, still looking right at me, and—
What song is this?
I only missed a beat or two, fortunately, and I recovered quickly. I doubted many people noticed, if any of them did. In a venue like this, a lot of people were only half-listening, as opposed to during an actual concert when they were all focused on me. I was background noise for most, even those who applauded between songs. Just as well when I was this distracted.
By some miracle, I made it through my set, and people didn’t mutter things like, “Oh my God, finally,” or “One more and I was going to stab my own eardrums” as I left the stage. Given that this hadn’t been my best or most focused performance, I’d take it.
In the back room where overflow books and promo items from the bookstore were kept, I put my guitar in its case and downed the rest of my water bottle. That had been, hands down, the hardest set I’d done since I’d started
singing here. The first few had been tough because the emotions had been a lot more raw—because I’d been real smart, singing what I’d just written about my painful divorce-in-progress—so it had been rough for a while. But even during that period, I’d never actually struggled like I had tonight to remember lyrics and chords, or to keep my fingers from slipping or my tongue from getting tied.
And now I needed a drink. Not just water this time, either.
So, I left my guitar and jacket in the back where they were safe, and then headed up to the bar for a glass of wine. Only one, since I was driving. I’d probably have a couple more when I got home. Maybe not the healthiest thing in the world, but I’d been in a shitty place all day, and singing about my divorce poured some salt in wounds that hadn’t closed yet. I wasn’t apologizing for numbing that with a little alcohol once in a while.
“The usual?” Rainn asked over the bar.
I shook my head. “Glass of pinot blanc.”
Our eyes met. Then Rainn nodded and stepped away to get the wine. He knew me and what I’d been through the last several months, so he didn’t question me. He just didn’t need to know that my ex-wife wasn’t the one screwing with my concentration tonight.
He handed me the glass, and I thanked him before taking a sip. I wasn’t much of a drinker, but I had to say, I loved the wine they poured in this place. One of these days, I’d buy a bottle or two to keep at home. Maybe after I finished redoing the kitchen and had a place to put a wine rack.
That was another depressing thought that didn’t need to take hold tonight, so I focused on enjoying the amazing wine while I wound down after my set. My son was at his mom’s tonight, so I didn’t need to rush out of here to pick him up from the babysitter. I preferred the evenings where he was with me, but when he wasn’t, I couldn’t complain about relaxing here for a little while.
Someone stepped up to the bar beside me, and as I moved aside to give them some room, I glanced up and—
Oh. God.
Him.
